Chapter 112
The way someone acts when they like a person cannot be hidden.
The instant Song Fengshi laced their fingers together, Lin Zhiqiao’s mind went completely blank. He simply could not focus on the sunrise in front of him at all.
Song Fengshi’s clothes were a little too big on him, but that still could not escape the eagle eyes of the viewers.
[Did they just secretly hold hands???]
[They did! They definitely did!]
[Ahhh, FengQiao CP has to be real!!!]
[Who understands, I’m currently twisting, writhing, and crawling darkly across my bed in excitement [screaming madly.jpg]]
[What a perfect title, A Family. Our Xiao Qiao isn’t he bound to become part of Song Fengshi’s family sooner or later [doge.jpg]]
[A CP personally vetted by the Gossip King himself—no need to worry about it collapsing in the future, so of course I’m going to ship it like crazy [slurp.jpg]]
After the sunrise viewing activity ended, Lin Zhiqiao clearly felt that the atmosphere between him and Song Fengshi had changed.
Even something as simple as meeting each other’s eyes was enough to make his heart race. Just one extra glance, and he would feel as if he had been drinking—dizzy and drifting, unable to tell east from west.
It had only been one brief handhold, and yet it had such terrifying power.
888 gave its judgment on the matter: [Host, you’re done for.]
Lin Zhiqiao agreed wholeheartedly: [Yeah. I’m done for.]
That state continued all the way until everyone came down the mountain and got picked up by the program team’s cars to head to the next location.
By the time they reached the seaside, it was already dark.
The relay baton passed from the Ji family to the Song family. The second experience location was the Song family’s private beach.
[What do you mean private beach? I haven’t even seen a public beach in my life [tears of humble poverty falling.jpg]]
[I’m jealous to the point of insanity! I want to kiss you rich people!!]
[Lin Xiao Qiao: Look me in the eye and say that again?]
[President Song: If you’re not Xiao Qiao, don’t come near me [smile.jpg]]
The seaside scenery was beautiful, but unfortunately everyone had spent two days climbing mountains and were completely exhausted. After following Song Fengshi to the beachside villa, they all went back to their rooms to rest.
Lin Zhiqiao’s room happened to be right next to Song Fengshi’s.
His body was tired, but his mind was still strangely excited.
His phone suddenly buzzed. Lin Zhiqiao picked it up and saw a message from Song Fengshi: ‘Can’t sleep?’
They were clearly right next door to each other, yet he still had to send a message.
Could it be that President Song liked this kind of… emm, romantic fun?
Lin Zhiqiao burrowed a little deeper into his blanket and replied: ‘You can’t sleep either?’
Not long after sending the message, a voice call came through.
Lin Zhiqiao paused for a moment before answering. “…Song Fengshi.”
The person on the other end gave a low mm. His voice was very soft, and through the phone it sounded a little unreal. “There’s sleep incense in the bedside drawer.”
Lin Zhiqiao leaned over and opened the drawer, and sure enough, there was a small, delicate incense stick inside. A lighter had even been thoughtfully placed beside it.
As soon as he lit the incense, a faint elegant fragrance began drifting through the room.
Some rustling sounds came from the phone. He had no idea what the person on the other end was doing, but after a moment, a gentle melody suddenly began to play through the speaker.
“Go to sleep early,” Song Fengshi said. “Tomorrow I’ll take you out over the sea.”
The sleep incense, paired with the lullaby, really did seem to have a bit of an effect.
Lin Zhiqiao closed his eyes and mumbled, “You too.” Before long, listening to the breathing that sounded almost right by his ear, he drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, everyone boarded the Song family’s private cruise ship.
The weather was perfect, and the sea was calm—ideal conditions for taking a leisurely cruise.
Whatever Song Fengshi did, he wanted to bring Lin Zhiqiao along with him, even if it was just lying under the sunshade on the deck together, looking at the sky and the sea.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ji Ran took Cheng Xia and Song Xinqiu with him to “eat gossip,” while the parents of the two families sat leisurely on the deck, enjoying the fine pastries provided on the yacht.
Only the Lin family was left isolated, completely outside the two groups.
The way the Song and Ji families excluded the Lin family was blatant and totally undisguised. Actually, excluding was not even quite the right word—they simply did not put the Lin family in their eyes at all.
Faced with truly powerful elite families, everyone in the Lin family was, in the end, somewhat constrained and awkward.
The online comments were all over the place, and Lin Mubai finally could not sit still anymore.
Seizing the chance when Ji Ran went to the bathroom, Lin Mubai followed him there.
There were no cameras in the bathroom. It was the best possible place to talk.
Ji Ran pushed open the stall door after finishing up and immediately saw the figure standing by the sinks.
If this had been in the past, Ji Ran would definitely have rushed over excitedly asking for an autograph and a photo together, maybe even trying to get his contact information if possible.
But now—
He looked straight ahead as if he had not seen him at all. He washed his hands at the sink and then headed directly for the bathroom exit.
Lin Mubai’s expression stiffened slightly, and he reached out to stop him.
Ji Ran looked a little impatient, but he still stopped. “What is it?”
“My eldest brother said he wants to play board games tonight, but we’re still two people short.” Lin Mubai smiled brightly, looking as though Ji Ran’s attitude had not affected him in the slightest. “Can you and Cheng Xia come?”
“No.” Ji Ran rejected him without even thinking. “We already have plans tonight.”
Lin Mubai settled for second best. “Then what about tomorrow?”
“Busy tomorrow too.” Ji Ran’s brows were knitted tightly, his refusal undisguised. After saying that, he tried to go around Lin Mubai, but Lin Mubai blocked him again.
“Ji Ran.” Lin Mubai frowned, and his handsome face carried confusion and a trace of grievance. “Do you have some misunderstanding about me?”
“A misunderstanding?” Ji Ran laughed out loud. “I really don’t think what I know about you is any misunderstanding.”
Lin Mubai pressed his lips together. A face like his, paired with that kind of expression, really was the sort of thing that could easily make people feel guilty.
Unfortunately, Ji Ran no longer fell for that act. The broken engagement of his close friend had made him see the true face of the person he used to admire most.
“Lin Mubai.” Ji Ran’s expression was cold and his tone sharp. “We’re all adults. We all have our own judgment, and we should all be responsible for the things we do.”
After saying that, he pushed aside the Lin Mubai standing in front of him and walked out directly, leaving Lin Mubai alone in the bathroom, where his expression shifted unpredictably for a long time.
—If he had known Ji Ran would become this hard to approach, then back when Ji Ran was still his fan, he should have strengthened Ji Ran’s favorability toward him much earlier.
But it was too late for regrets now.
Lin Mubai adjusted his emotions and returned to the deck.
When they saw him come back, Father Lin, Mother Lin, and both older brothers all raised their heads in perfect unison, their expressions seeming as though they wanted to say something but held back.
Lin Mubai’s heart gave a heavy thump, and a bad premonition instantly surged up.
Thinking of the cameras nearby, he forced himself to stay calm and smiled as he asked, “What’s wrong? Why are all of you looking at me like that?”
Lin Chen pulled him down into a seat and patted him on the shoulder. “Mubai, don’t take some things too much to heart.”
Lin Juezhou also comforted him. “Want to play board games? We can play with fewer people. Our family can play too.”
The ominous feeling in Lin Mubai’s chest grew even stronger, but he still pretended nothing was wrong and casually chatted with his family for a while before finding an excuse to step away from the cameras and check his phone.
It would have been better if he had not looked. The moment he did, his legs went weak, and he nearly lost his footing.
—The bathroom indeed had no cameras, that was true. But who could have expected that Ji Ran, while going to the toilet, had forgotten to turn off the audio equipment he was carrying on him?!
And because of that, the words Lin Mubai had secretly gone to say to Ji Ran were basically no different from public execution.
[Holy shit, holy shit—what does Young Master Ji mean by that? Is he hinting at something???]
[Wasn’t Baby Ran a fan of Lin Mubai before? Did he turn from fan to anti [blankly stunned.jpg]]
[Ji Ran liked one of Young Master Jing’s posts a while ago, right? They’re good friends, so of course he wouldn’t have any good attitude toward someone who interfered in his friend’s engagement.]
[Does Young Master Ji know some inside story? Is this proof that Lin Mubai really was the third party [breaking down.jpg]]
[Ji Ran literally didn’t say anything specific though? Some people really need to stop fantasizing so hard.]
[There are still people speaking up for your fav? That fake tea energy is so thick it’s making my head hurt.]
Lin Mubai only read two glances’ worth before turning the screen off, unwilling to look anymore.
The Heartthrob System reminded him: [Host, the general public favorability is showing another sharp downward trend. You—]
[Did I need you to remind me of that?!] Lin Mubai snapped angrily. [What were you doing just now? Why didn’t you warn me that Ji Ran’s audio equipment was still on??]
The Heartthrob System replied: [Host, your favorability points are critically low right now. I’m already no longer able to activate the monitoring function.]
Its tone was completely flat, carrying the cold, mechanical feeling unique to AI, but in his fury, Lin Mubai failed to notice that change.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere between Lin Zhiqiao and Song Fengshi was just right.
The yacht was not moving fast. The two of them stood by the railings, and the sea breeze blowing over them felt wonderfully comfortable.
A little black dot appeared in the distance. After squinting and examining it for a while, Lin Zhiqiao asked, “Is that an island?”
“Yes.” Song Fengshi nodded. “It’s a private island.”
The moment he heard the words private island, Lin Zhiqiao immediately understood. “Your private island?”
Song Fengshi gave a quiet mm. “I only acquired it recently. It’s still under development and renovation. We can’t go today. If you’re interested…”
He paused, but Lin Zhiqiao picked up the sentence for him. “It’s fine. Then we’ll wait until next time.”
Song Fengshi spoke almost at the same time he did: “Then I’ll give it to you.”
Lin Zhiqiao rubbed his ear, wondering if he had heard wrong. “…Huh? What did you say? The sea wind is too loud, I didn’t hear clearly.”
Song Fengshi turned slightly to shield him from the wind and said, “That island is for you. And this private beach too. We can find a time to transfer them over.”
Lin Zhiqiao froze on the spot, genuinely not knowing what kind of reaction he was supposed to have.
[So this is the world of rich people? They’re not even at the level of giving away cars or houses anymore—they just directly give away… an island? Ah???]
When he finally snapped back to himself, Lin Zhiqiao hurriedly waved both hands. “No, no, no—this really won’t do! This is way too—”
Even the word expensive was nowhere near enough to describe what Song Fengshi was trying to give him.
“This time it does count,” Song Fengshi said instead. “That island was originally prepared as a gift for the person I love.”
Lin Zhiqiao’s heart gave a heavy leap.
If Song Fengshi had said boyfriend or marriage partner, maybe it would not have struck him this deeply.
But the person I love—
Lin Zhiqiao did not know how other people thought of it, but to him, the person I love meant the one you loved, a title carrying love within it, fundamentally different from all the other names people used.
Maybe Song Fengshi had only said it casually, but… sometimes things said casually could feel especially sincere.
Song Fengshi suddenly took his hand. “Zhiqiao, people online are all saying I’m your rumored boyfriend.”
Then he lowered his head and let his lips brush lightly against the fingertips of the hand he held, just a fleeting touch before parting.
It was not even enough to count as a kiss, but Lin Zhiqiao still shivered all over. The place that had been touched seemed to catch fire, and the rising heat ran up his arm straight into the deepest part of his heart.
Then he heard the person in front of him speak, his voice as sincere as ever:
“I want to know whether you’d be willing to give me a chance—a chance to become your official boyfriend.”
