Chapter 88.2 Unique game (6)
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The next day, sunlight awakened Lin Zhaohe from his dream.
Lin Zhaohe opened his eyes and took a few seconds to realize that he had spent the night at Zhuang Lao’s place. He sat up in bed but didn’t see Zhuang Lao. Instead, he saw a neatly arranged breakfast in front of him.
Lin Zhaohe felt sore all over and limped his way to the breakfast table, where he noticed a note left by Zhuang Lao.
“Xiao He, there’s an urgent matter at the company, so I had to go there first. If you’re not feeling well, don’t come over. Rest well at home and let the butler know if you need anything. If you feel uncomfortable telling him, you can tell me too.” At the end of the note, there was even a bright smiling face drawn, which seemed a bit childish but quite cute.
Lin Zhaohe’s mood improved significantly. After thinking for a moment, he opened the company group chat on his communicator.
It seemed that everyone, despite wanting to play games at home, had no intention of giving up their jobs. They had all obediently gone to work today.
Qi Ming, that guy, was privately chatting with others in the group. Did he play games to the point of wanting to quit his job?
Lin Zhaohe thought for a moment and replied, “Busy with dating, so I won’t go today.”
Qi Ming bombarded him with a bunch of question marks, asking what happened and mentioning the affair he had with the boss.
Lin Zhaohe: “……”
Qi Ming: “I think you shouldn’t let the boss know about your dating. Otherwise, you might have to look for another job.”
Before Lin Zhaohe could say anything, Xiao Ci chimed in, “I saw the boss today. Don’t know who he found, but that person was quite impressive. You could see strawberry marks all over his neck!”
Lin Zhaohe: “……” The impressive person is none other than me.
Qi Ming: “Huh? What do you mean? Are you saying that Lin Zhaohe and the boss have found their respective partners?”
Lin Zhaohe: “You’re too nosy.”
Qi Ming sarcastically said, “So you have a girlfriend and didn’t bring her to show Brother, and now you blame Brother for being nosy?”
Finally, Yun Yuzi, who had already known the situation, quietly said, “Has anyone considered that the person who left the strawberry marks on the boss might be in our group?”
The group fell into a deathly silence.
To avoid the awkwardness, Lin Zhaohe sent a cute cat emoticon, trying to act cute.
In the next moment, the screen was flooded with messages. The gossipmongers in the group resurrected and began to interrogate Lin Zhaohe using various aggressive words. They questioned how he managed to seduce the boss when he always appeared honest. No wonder the boss gave him a raise alone. Apparently, they had been involved for a long time.
Lin Zhaohe claimed innocence and explained that it was only in the past few days that he started getting involved with the boss.
No one believed him. They urged Lin Zhaohe to treat them to a meal while discussing his journey of capturing the boss’s heart.
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t help but laugh and cry. He reluctantly agreed under pressure.
“Did something happen at the company?” Lin Zhaohe asked.
With their good rapport, Zhuang Lao hurriedly left, indicating that something significant must have occurred. Lin Zhaohe asked his colleagues about it, but none of them had any idea. They replied, stating that nothing major had happened.
This puzzled Lin Zhaohe. He couldn’t understand what kind of major issue would require Zhuang Lao to handle it alone.
After contemplating for a moment, Lin Zhaohe decided to call Zhuang Lao. The phone rang for a while, and just when Lin Zhaohe thought no one would answer, Zhuang Lao picked up. “Hello, Xiao He, awake?”
“Yeah, I’m awake,” Lin Zhaohe said. “Boss, are you at the company?”
“Yeah, at the company,” Zhuang Lao replied. “There’s something urgent, so I came over.”
“What’s the matter?” Lin Zhaohe asked. “Is it serious?”
“It’s alright,” Zhuang Lao said. “Don’t worry, it’s not a big problem.”
However, Lin Zhaohe had some doubts. Even over the phone, he could hear the noise coming from Zhuang Lao’s end—loud and chaotic, with screams and wailing. After Zhuang Lao finished speaking, he exchanged a couple more sentences and then found an excuse to hang up. Lin Zhaohe stared at the beeping phone, a bewildered expression on his face.
Zhuang Lao had too many secrets, and even though they had now shared an intimate relationship, Lin Zhaohe had not gained any additional understanding of Zhuang Lao.
Zhuang Lao knew everything about Lin Zhaohe, but Lin Zhaohe only knew Zhuang Lao’s name and appearance. It was a complete imbalance of information.
Lin Zhaohe inexplicably grew restless. He changed his clothes without eating breakfast and decided to go to the company to check things out.
When the butler saw him heading downstairs, he still wore a kind smile. Lin Zhaohe glanced at him and suddenly spoke up, “Mr. Butler, how long have you been taking care of my boss?”
“I have been taking care of Mr. Zhuang for some time,” the butler’s mouth remained tight-lipped.
“Are you also from the 2D world?” Lin Zhaohe asked.
“Yes,” the butler replied. “I have come from the 2D world.”
“Then, what about my boss?”
“If you have any matters regarding the master, you can personally go and ask him,” the butler said in a gentle tone. “You are the first person that the master brought home in all these years.”
This remark brought a small sense of joy to Lin Zhaohe. He knew that he and Zhuang Lao were each other’s first love.
“Are you leaving now?” the butler asked.
“Yes,” Lin Zhaohe said. “I have something to take care of outside.”
“Then, please take care of yourself.”
Lin Zhaohe nodded and turned away. The butler watched his figure and took out a communication device, dialing a number.
Lin Zhaohe dragged his body to the company, displaying strength and determination.
His colleagues at the company were surprised to see him. Xiao Ci at the front desk joked, “Brother Lin, are you setting an example for us as the boss’s wife? Even in such a condition, you still come to work.”
Lin Zhaohe didn’t have time to pay attention to her teasing. “Where is the boss?”
“Isn’t he in his office?” Xiao Ci replied. “What’s wrong?”
Lin Zhaohe shook his head, not saying a word. He went straight to Zhuang Lao’s office and knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.
“Boss?” Lin Zhaohe turned the doorknob.
With a creak, the office door opened, but Lin Zhaohe didn’t see Zhuang Lao, who should have been inside.
“Boss?” The office was empty, with only the Qi Mola egg placed on the desk. Lin Zhaohe slowly walked into the room, noticing that Zhuang Lao’s computer screen was still on. He saw rows and rows of densely packed text, resembling a novel. He glanced briefly at the screen, intending to examine it more closely, but someone gently pressed down on his shoulder.
“Xiao He,” Zhuang Lao had returned, holding a teacup in his hand, appearing as if he had just come back from the pantry.
However, Lin Zhaohe didn’t feel the same way. He caught a faint scent of gunpowder on Zhuang Lao, a scent that his keen sense of smell detected.
“Where did you go, Boss?” Lin Zhaohe didn’t bring it up.
“There was a little incident in the fusion zone,” Zhuang Lao said casually, “so I went there for a while.” He brushed off the dust from his clothes effortlessly. “Nothing major, just came back.”
Lin Zhaohe asked, “Boss… What are you looking at? A novel?” He glanced at the screen.
The words on the screen were unfamiliar to him. He searched his memory but couldn’t find any recollection of these words. It seemed to be a novel he had never read before, but he had a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere but had forgotten…
“Seems like you’re in good spirits,” Zhuang Lao smirked. “Why are you concerned about what novel I’m reading? Don’t worry…” He leaned in close to Lin Zhaohe’s ear and whispered, “I wouldn’t even glance at anything except Xiao He’s novels.” As he spoke, he lightly nibbled on Lin Zhaohe’s earlobe in a natural manner.
Lin Zhaohe, already weakened, couldn’t stand firm anymore. This action triggered memories from last night, causing Lin Zhaohe to reflexively take a few steps back, afraid that Zhuang Lao was going to play another prank on him. If it happened again, he might truly collapse.
Seeing Lin Zhaohe’s fearful expression, Zhuang Lao couldn’t help but laugh softly. His laughter grew louder, and in the end, he embraced the little dog in his arms and ruffled its fur. “Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore. It’s an original novel from the fusion, just browsing to be prepared.”
That did make sense, but Lin Zhaohe inexplicably felt that something was still amiss. He looked at Zhuang Lao and asked, “What novel is it? Is it famous?”
“It has no name,” Zhuang Lao replied. “No one has read it, so it doesn’t matter.”
Lin Zhaohe responded with an “Oh…”
Zhuang Lao: “Why did you rush to the company to find me? Missed me?”
Of course, Lin Zhaohe couldn’t possibly say that he felt something was amiss and just came to check. So, he went along with it and nodded obediently. “Yes, I missed my boss.”
“Sorry for leaving in a hurry,” Zhuang Lao said. “I won’t do it again next time.”
It was indeed regrettable not being able to open his eyes and see each other after such a wonderful encounter. However, due to the urgent matter at hand, Zhuang Lao had to deal with it as quickly as possible and reluctantly left Lin Zhaohe alone.
“Take a rest for a while,” Zhuang Lao suggested.
“Okay…” Lin Zhaohe agreed with a nod. However, his mind was still occupied with the words he saw on Zhuang Lao’s computer. Those words were just an ordinary plot, but they left a deep impression on Lin Zhaohe, evoking a strange sense of familiarity as if he had encountered similar scenes somewhere before.
This intense feeling of familiarity suddenly reminded Lin Zhaohe of the discarded drafts he had once seen in the library.
Lin Zhaohe looked at Zhuang Lao and said, “Boss.”
Zhuang Lao: “Hm?”
Lin Zhaohe: “Do you have all of my drafts?”
Zhuang Lao: “Yes.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Does that include the discarded drafts that I never published?”
Zhuang Lao paused for a moment and said, “Of course not.”
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