Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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School ended at 8 PM, and by the time Yan Han got back to Lin Jianlu’s house it was almost 9 PM. Eating veal at that time wouldn’t be good for his digestion. But Yan Han was still a high school student, young, with a fast metabolism and high physical and mental energy consumption, so he could eat whatever he wanted.
Therefore, despite her disapproval, Lin Jianlu told Aunt Tian early in the morning that Yan Han would be staying there that night. He didn’t need to tell her anything else; the two aunts naturally knew what Yan Han liked to eat and what to prepare for him.
At school, whether eating in the cafeteria or having someone bring him food, Yan Han often didn’t dare to eat too much to avoid suspicion.
He never stopped eating snacks like chocolate, but for him, those things were purely for energy. If he really enjoyed eating something, it had to be… meat!
The kind of meat that was tender yet chewy, juicy and flavorful, enough to fill your cheeks!
What’s more, Aunt Tian’s braised veal in Spanish gravy was absolutely divine. Both the flavor and the tenderness of the meat were flawless; Yan Han always managed to eat a whole bowl every time he went!
He didn’t dare eat too much at school, but at the Lin family home, in front of Brother Lin and the two aunts, he didn’t have so many inhibitions.
After a satisfying meal, Lin Jianlu took Yan Han for a walk. It was already past ten o’clock at night. After a day of intense studying and eating so much, Yan Han was already feeling a bit sleepy.
But strolling in the Lin family’s garden, with someone he liked and who liked him beside him, the cool evening breeze brushing between them, carrying a faint fragrance of flowers and earth, made Yan Han feel that everything was damn beautiful…
If only he didn’t feel sleepy.
Yan Han yawned, looking at Lin Jianlu with teary eyes, “Brother Lin, don’t you usually feel sleepy?”
Speaking of which, he seemed to have never seen Lin Jianlu yawn before.
It seemed rare to see Big Brother Lin taking a nap at his desk during lunch breaks or between classes.
Although he didn’t show much energy— Lin Jianlu was usually so serious he was almost lifeless— he never seemed to show any signs of fatigue.
Lin Jianlu said, “I do get sleepy sometimes.”
“Hmm.”
“When I feel sleepy, I imagine myself soaking in a hot spring and then take a short nap.”
“…”
Yan Han: “This… this actually works?”
“It usually effectively eliminates fatigue. Why don’t you try it?”
“No.” Yan Han said awkwardly, “I won’t try it.”
Just kidding, Big Brother Lin’s brain was so versatile; he could completely block out all sounds and senses in the real world by focusing his attention on a single point. Even Guan Yu needed to drink some wine to have his bone scraped for treatment[1], but he didn’t need that. This was just giving himself a full-body massage through imagination; it was probably not that difficult.
Although Yan Han, who possessed deep focus skills, couldn’t achieve the same level of concentration as Lin Jianlu, he firmly believed in the powerful and magical functions of Lin Jianlu’s brain, so he didn’t expect to be able to use this technique himself.
Unexpectedly, Lin Jianlu said, “I mean, let’s go soak in a hot spring now.”
Yan Han: “!!!”
“Where are we going this late?”
“Come with me.”
Lin Jianlu said, taking Yan Han’s wrist, turning him around, and walking towards the garden’s exit.
Yan Han: “…”
He temporarily forgot about the hot spring, after all, the warm touch on his wrist reminded him that his older brother Lin was holding his hand…
So why was it a wrist-holding and not a hand-holding?!
At school, they couldn’t hold hands to avoid setting a bad example for their classmates, but now that they were home, wasn’t it natural to hold hands?
Besides, it wasn’t the first time they’d held hands.
When he needed someone to overcome the psychological barrier of touching others, he held hands quite tightly.
Why was he only holding his wrist now?
“Ahem.” Thinking it over, he realized this wouldn’t do. His older brother couldn’t keep this to himself, so he coughed twice and deliberately asked Lin Jianlu, “Um, if we touch, you really won’t feel uncomfortable, right?”
“Yeah.”
Although he didn’t know why he asked that, Lin Jianlu answered without hesitation.
“Then…” Yan Han continued the conversation, unconsciously licking his lips, “Really, it won’t be uncomfortable no matter how long we touch, right?”
As he asked, he twisted his wrist, easily freeing himself from Lin Jianlu’s palm, then pulled his arm up slightly, placing his palm between Lin Jianlu’s slightly relaxed fingers.
His slender fingers paused, then firmly grasped Lin Jianlu’s hand.
In the dim night light, Lin Jianlu turned to look at him, still incredibly serious, and said, “We’ll have to test it out to see how long we can touch.”
As he spoke, his thin lips curled slightly, revealing a smile he rarely showed to others.
Yan Han gave a casual “Hmm,” but was immediately blinded by Lin Jianlu’s beaming smile and quickly looked away.
He felt that dating was like studying; a solid foundation was crucial.
Whatever foundation you built was what you would be; you couldn’t be awkwardly holding hands later on!
However, this was the first time he’d ever taken the initiative to hold hands.
Luckily, it was late at night, and the garden lights weren’t too bright to create a hazy atmosphere, so he was sure Lin Jianlu couldn’t see his flushed cheeks.
Otherwise… blushing over holding hands would be incredibly embarrassing.
Yan Han felt he couldn’t handle that kind of awkwardness.
Anyway, their hands remained clasped together for a while.
Yan Han thought, “This is all thanks to me.”
Holding hands, they walked out of the garden, and Lin Jianlu immediately pulled him into a golf cart.
“The reason the Lin family chose this location for their old house was because there’s a natural hot spring in the northwest corner,” Lin Jianlu explained.
Yan Han: “…”
Well, he’d been to the Lin family’s place countless times, but he still hadn’t explored it all, so he wouldn’t be surprised if Lin Jianlu brought him somewhere else.
No wonder he didn’t know there was a hot spring here. It took about ten minutes in the golf cart to get there. The Lin family’s hot spring was located in a courtyard, built like another small villa; someone unfamiliar with the area wouldn’t guess it was part of the Lin family’s property.
Unlike the main courtyard, this hot spring villa boasted a purely ancient Eastern design. Upon entering, the first thing you heard was the gentle sound of flowing water, instantly evoking a scene of a tranquil stream. Directly opposite the gate stood a low two-story building, its pavilions, terraces, and carved beams adorned with bright vermilion lacquer, exuding a modern yet not antiquated feel.
Crossing a wooden bridge and parting the vines and bamboo to reach the villa’s entrance, you would find the interior fully furnished and decorated in a classic, antique style.
The design was ingenious, blending modern technology with ancient style, creating a captivating atmosphere without feeling eerie, even late at night.
The lighting in the vicinity was excellent, though he wondered how they achieved it.
For example, the lanterns hanging in front of the villa were currently casting a soft, warm orange-yellow glow, illuminating the entire villa.
Yan Han had never encountered such an ancient style of architecture before. Embarrassingly, when he first approached, his first thought was of scenes from ghost stories.
But with the lighting, the feeling was completely different.
He even looked up at the lanterns, curious about how they could be so bright, and with such a warm light…
Lin Jianlu faithfully explained to him, “Those are LED lights, just shaped like lanterns.”
Yan Han: “…”
Okay, he should have thought of that earlier!
Lin Jianlu led him into the two-story building in the courtyard. The interior wasn’t as large as he had imagined. The first floor had a large hall and a reception room, a semi-open layout with only one cubicle, making all the furnishings clearly visible.
Lin Jianlu said the second floor had two guest rooms, fully equipped with modern amenities, sometimes used to entertain guests.
However, in recent years, Lin Jianlu’s grandfather had gone abroad for treatment due to a serious illness, and his elder brother, who managed part of the family business, didn’t return home often. So the old house was rarely visited, and the place had remained vacant.
There was always someone to clean it every week, and the person who cleaned the pool also came to wash the hot spring pool, so it was spotless and clean enough to use right away.
“There should be clothes for soaking in the hot spring in the guest rooms upstairs. I’ll call and have someone bring some clean clothes over later. Shall we go upstairs and change?” Lin Jianlu said.
Yan Han: “…Ah, oh.”
Forgive him, his mind was still stuck on the Lin family history that his older brother had casually mentioned earlier, and he hadn’t pulled himself back.
So far, he had only heard Lin Jianlu mention his older brother and his grandfather, but he had never heard him mention his father and mother.
Perhaps because he hadn’t received much parental love growing up, Yan Han was quite sensitive about this.
Especially since his older brother had developed such a closed-off personality because no one was around to teach him about relationships when he was young…
This made him even more curious. He wasn’t one of those wild children in movies who grew up in the mountains, raised by wolves or monkeys. What kind of family background did his older brother have to become the way he was now…?
Besides curiosity, he was also filled with heartache.
Because he felt sorry for him, he didn’t even dare to ask or inquire further; some experiences weren’t easy to confide in others.
Yan Han felt so sorry for Brother Lin that when he slowly realized what the other had just said… his face flushed red on one side.
Lin Jianlu said, “Let’s go upstairs and change.”
We…we…
He looked down at their intertwined fingers. They had been holding hands with their palms touching, but now their fingers were clasped together.
Yes, he had been driving the golf cart for a while, and their intertwined hands had naturally separated.
As for when they had held hands again… Yan Han was too busy admiring the architecture to notice.
And now, their clasped hands didn’t seem to be separating…
There were two guest rooms upstairs.
But Lin Jianlu said they should go change clothes together…
He took a deep breath. Before his true identity was revealed, the other person would never have made such a request. Later, he let loose in front of Brother Lin, and even though he knew they were both men, Lin Jianlu was still the polite and well-mannered Lin Jianlu and would arrange a separate room for him to change clothes as well.
But now Lin Jianlu was his boyfriend… there were some things he couldn’t think about.
Just thinking about it made his face burn with embarrassment; if he looked in the mirror, it would probably be red all the way to his ears.
But he was respectfully addressed as Brother Yan, so how could he back down at a time like this?
Before he could catch his breath, Yan Han took another deep breath, and then pretended to be calm and said, “Then let’s go.”
As he spoke, he pulled Lin Jianlu along with a strong hand.
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[1] The story of Guan Yu scraping bone to cure poison is a famous tale of bravery from the Three Kingdoms period, where the general Guan Yu allowed the physician Hua Tuo to cut open his arm and scrape poison from his bone, all while playing a game of weiqi (Go) and drinking wine without showing any signs of pain.
