Chapter 101
The people in the private room next door were still showering Song Fengshi with compliments.
With something weighing on his mind, Lin Zhiqiao kept lifting his head every now and then, sneaking glances at the expression of the person beside him.
But Song Fengshi remained as steady as a mountain. His handsome, sharply defined face looked the same as usual, without any obvious emotion on it, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
It was as if that earlier line—“not yet”—had only been a casual remark, without any deeper meaning behind it.
Lin Zhiqiao pressed his lips together, suppressing the strange feeling rising in his chest.
I’m probably overthinking it… he muttered inwardly, completely failing to notice the brief, meaningful glance the man beside him cast his way.
Song Fengshi was clearly not familiar with the people in the neighboring private room. Before long, he interrupted their endless flattery and led Lin Zhiqiao and Song Xinqiu into the room.
The moment the door closed, his little niece walked straight to one of the two-seater sofas and stuffed both herself and the huge stuffed doll into it.
That left only one other two-seater sofa in the room. With no other choice, Lin Zhiqiao could only sit down beside Song Fengshi.
He was still thinking about that earlier sentence, his thoughts drifting, and his hands resting on his lap unconsciously twisted together.
Song Fengshi took in every tiny movement of his, but said nothing.
Song Xinqiu sat on the opposite sofa, the fluffy oversized doll covering most of her face, and silently mouthed, So cowardly.
The auction soon began.
The first few items were simply there to warm up the atmosphere. Lin Zhiqiao glanced at them twice, then his attention drifted off again.
They were all things he could not afford.
Might as well eat some gossip instead.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, 888 tacitly began opening blind boxes.
Unlike the banquets he had attended before, the auction Lin Zhiqiao was attending this time was clearly a large, formal event, where only the real elite were qualified to receive invitations.
Surely the gossip surrounding these people would be even more exciting.
That was what Lin Zhiqiao thought.
And yet—
Someone had a life-sized God of Wealth statue stolen from a rival’s lobby overnight, just to undermine their momentum…?
Lin Zhiqiao paused, thinking he had read it wrong, and immediately opened another blind box.
Someone else sneaked into a rival company alone, secretly cut the power to their entire office building in the dead of night, then played recordings of a female ghost, causing rumors that the place was haunted. Within a single month, dozens of employees resigned, and even their top salesperson got scared into quitting!
Lin Zhiqiao nearly burst out laughing.
He laughed wildly in his heart. Hahaha! So this is what real business warfare looks like? It’s so plain and down-to-earth it’s hilarious!!!
Song Xinqiu silently hugged her doll tighter, her whole face spelling out the word childish.
Lin Zhiqiao was trying so hard not to laugh that even the ends of his hair seemed to tremble. Could it be that the Song family’s business wars are this grassroots too?
Song Fengshi: “…”
He wanted to explain something, but did not know where to begin. After hesitating for quite a while, he said nothing in the end.
Probably not… President Song doesn’t seem that ridiculous. Lin Zhiqiao thought.
Come to think of it, he and Song Fengshi had actually interacted quite a lot. He had also opened gossip blind boxes many times while around him, yet aside from the gossip about Song Chuan he got when he had first bonded with 888, he had never again opened any gossip related to the Song family.
Much less any involving Song Fengshi, the head of the Song family himself.
Lin Zhiqiao muttered inwardly, Could it be that President Song has no gossip around him at all?
Song Fengshi glanced at him, his lips moving slightly, but no sound came out.
And it seemed the blind box had sensed the host’s inclination and responded accordingly—
From childhood, Song Fengshi spoke little and showed even fewer expressions. His parents once suspected he had autistic tendencies and facial paralysis, and because of that they took him to the hospital no fewer than ten times.
Lin Zhiqiao secretly laughed inwardly. That really does sound like something that would happen to President Song, hahaha!
Song Fengshi pressed his lips together and, unsurprisingly, received another silent, mocking look from his little niece.
Clearly, among all the people in such a huge auction venue, it was not just Song Fengshi and his niece who could hear Lin Zhiqiao’s inner thoughts. For Song Fengshi, this was no different from being publicly executed.
And yet, unusually, he did not feel annoyed. Instead, far more complicated emotions rose in his heart.
A little nervousness, a little anticipation, and the faintest trace of fear.
Even Song Fengshi himself could not quite tell what he was afraid of.
Was he afraid Lin Zhiqiao would realize what he felt?
No.
Perhaps he was afraid of being rejected.
Song Fengshi tugged at the corner of his mouth slightly, as though mocking his own cowardice in this moment.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhiqiao, completely absorbed in the gossip, clearly did not notice the subtle changes in the emotions of the man beside him.
President Song has never been in love in his life. Even when people his age were all going through those first stirrings of youth, he had never liked anyone at all, as if he had no worldly desires. His parents even suspected that when he grew up, he would shave his head and become a monk…
Lin Zhiqiao bit down hard on his lower lip and used the greatest self-control of his life to swallow the laughter that had already risen to his mouth.
Hahahaha! Even if President Song really did become a monk, he would definitely be the youngest and most handsome abbot around!
Lin Zhiqiao laughed wildly inside. So Song Senior and Madam Song no longer think that way now because President Song already has someone he likes?
It’s a little actor from the entertainment industry? Named Lin Zhiqiao… ah?
His laughter stopped dead.
Lin Zhiqiao fell silent.
Song Xinqiu hugged the giant stuffed doll tightly.
Song Fengshi’s fingers clenched so suddenly that his knuckles went faintly white.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the auctioneer’s passionate countdown, utterly out of place with the atmosphere in the private room.
“Five million from Mr. X! Any higher bids?”
“Five million once! Five million twice… three times! Sold!!!”
The sound of the auction hammer echoed through the venue. Amid the lingering resonance, Lin Zhiqiao suddenly heard Song Fengshi’s voice, low and gentle:
“Would that trouble you?”
Lin Zhiqiao did not react immediately. He looked up blankly and let out a confused “Huh?”
At that moment, he met the man’s deep black eyes. So many emotions were hidden in them—heavy ones, sharp ones, ones full of possessiveness… yet all of them were restrained behind a thick layer of gentleness, never crashing fully into the pale-colored eyes facing them.
Lin Zhiqiao’s breathing hitched. For that instant, he almost felt Song Fengshi could see straight through all the thoughts in his heart.
But Song Fengshi suddenly curled his lips slightly. The smile was faint, but it was unmistakably a smile.
“Your expression says it all,” he said. “You’re so clever—you must have already guessed.”
He was alluding to that earlier line he had let slip—“not yet”—and Lin Zhiqiao had indeed been led by that line to think in exactly that direction.
It had not been his imagination.
It had been deliberate on Song Fengshi’s part, a cautious little test directed at him.
So… was he troubled?
Lin Zhiqiao shook his head. “Not troubled, exactly. Just…” He paused. “A little surprised.”
A little? I’m stunned out of my mind!!! Lin Zhiqiao screamed inwardly, frantically trying to recall at what point exactly he had caught Song Fengshi’s attention.
Could it really have been because of that so-called “life-saving favor”?
Song Fengshi did not offer any explanation.
He simply looked at Lin Zhiqiao, his expression calm, without any of the oppressive weight expected from someone in such a position of power.
He did not want to place any psychological pressure on Lin Zhiqiao at this moment.
That gentleness was so rare, like the glow of sunset clouds brushing over one’s shoulders, and it gradually calmed the tangled mess in Lin Zhiqiao’s heart.
“There’s nothing to be surprised about,” Song Fengshi said. “Some people are simply special. Even seeing them once is enough to make them unforgettable.”
His voice was soft, yet full of certainty that no one could doubt.
“Lin Zhiqiao, you are far more unforgettable than you think,” he said. “You shine.”
He had not directly confessed, and yet hearing those words, Lin Zhiqiao felt his heartbeat turn unsteady.
It was hard not to be moved, being looked at by such a handsome face while hearing such sincere words.
Especially when the one saying them was the head of the Song family, a man whose words were rarely questioned.
Lin Zhiqiao was so shaken by what he said that he could not make a sound.
But Song Fengshi suddenly withdrew his gaze and changed the subject.
“But you don’t have to feel pressured,” he said. “Liking you is my business, and pursuing you is my choice. Whether you respond to me, accept me, or reject me—that is your right and your choice.”
As for what he would do if he really were rejected… Song Fengshi lowered his eyes and thought that he would deal with that after it happened.
And before that, he would do his best to make Lin Zhiqiao give up the idea of rejecting him.
