198: tired
Shen Lian hadn't planned for much more; this was meant to be the end of it.
However, he clearly underestimated how much Chu Yilan loved this.
"I'll buy it," he had said in the afternoon, and the contract was signed an hour later.
Sun Binghe even sent a message to apologize, stating that Yun City was a bit far, so checking records and communicating with contacts had caused a slight delay.
Shen Lian watched in a daze as a man who looked like an engineer came to take measurements; the whole process took less than ten minutes before he left again.
Shen Lian: "That was..."
"Those two small log cabins aren't enough," Chu Yilan interjected. "I plan to build a villa similar to the one back home."
"To be used for..."
"Retirement!" Chu Yilan's tone held an unusual and hair-raising tenderness, as if no matter what Shen Lian said at this moment, he would nod and agree.
Wait, whose birthday is it anyway?
That wasn't all. Chu Yilan endured and endured, but he still felt it was necessary to give his brothers an update.
Never one to share, he rarely took a photo to post in the group chat.
Young Master Feng was online twenty-four hours a day: [Ooh, where did you go to play? So many roses.]
Chu Yilan: [Shen Lian gave them to me.]
Zhou Yuanlin: [...When it was your birthday back then, we brothers gave you a Porsche and didn't see you moved at all.]
Chu Yilan automatically ignored this sentence.
Ning Sixian teased: [These roses aren't that expensive when you count them up.]
Chu Yilan: [What the hell do you know.]
[... ]
Everyone was between laughter and tears, but they could all feel that Chu Yilan was truly happy.
The brothers' birthday gifts had arrived in the morning—luxury watches, collectibles, nothing was missing.
Things were progressing smoothly. The only thing that exceeded Shen Lian's plan was that he originally intended to go out for a candlelit dinner in the evening, but Chu Yilan's feet seemed rooted to this land; he wouldn't budge no matter what. He even wanted to have a table brought over from a restaurant. Shen Lian immediately waved him off and took out his phone to make arrangements. After some changes, it ended up with him cooking in the log cabin. If nothing else, a few home-cooked dishes plus a few specialties Aunt Fen had taught him were more than enough to eat.
Chu Yilan wanted to help out, but the scenery outside was too charming. For the first time, he slacked off in front of Shen Lian, pulling up a stool to sit down. He felt the cool breeze and watched the sea of flowers still swaying as twilight transitioned into the night view.
Shen Lian let him be, and then briskly cooked nine dishes.
Who would have thought that the rising star actor and the head of Qudu's leading enterprise would be sitting outside an aged log cabin? The table and stools were all old, yet on the table sat a bottle of red wine worth six figures that Chu Yilan had specially ordered to be delivered.
Shen Lian put a meatball into his bowl and asked, "Can I have a glass?"
Chu Yilan: "One sip."
He said one sip, and as their glasses clinked, Shen Lian had just barely taken a sip before it was taken away by Chu Yilan.
Shen Lian: "..."
Teacher Shen smacked his lips. What did it taste like again?
But it didn't matter; the birthday boy was the most important today.
Chu Yilan finished the bottle alone. Aside from a slight flush on the man's cheeks, there was no change in his expression; he still had that tender and intoxicated look.
Shen Lian was finishing up the last few bites of food when he suddenly heard Chu Yilan's voice turn deep: "If it weren't for the rose thorns, I would really want to pin you down right here tonight."
The hand Shen Lian was using to hold his chopsticks trembled. He looked up abruptly. Chu Yilan was watching him seriously, thin lips pressed tight, as if the sentence just now was an illusion.
Shen Lian swallowed the food in his mouth: "What?"
Chu Yilan's eyelashes lowered for a moment. This man already had extremely superior looks; when he restrained his aura, he actually appeared somewhat holy against the backdrop of the clear moonlight and the sea of flowers behind him. But before Shen Lian could admire him for long, the man looked at him again. That sudden, powerful, and wild predatory pressure caused Shen Lian's body to stiffen.
Then he heard Chu Yilan say calmly: "I want to f*ck you."
The sudden thrill that pierced his soul made Shen Lian slam his chopsticks onto the table with a 'snap.'
Shen Lian's gaze also instantly grew sharp edges.
He couldn't refuse this version of Chu Yilan; one could even say he was incredibly attracted.
Shen Lian thought seriously for a moment: "Are you good with pain?"
Chu Yilan: "..."
With a "thud," the table was pushed back half a meter under a violent impact. A pale, slender hand gripped the corner of the table, the knuckles turning white from the force. The next second, a larger hand covered it, and the vague sounds of passion began to echo in the air.
In the gaps of his surrender, Shen Lian instinctively tried to look around.
"There's no one," Chu Yilan said in a deep voice. "Focus."
Hearing this, only the cloying scent of roses remained at the tip of Shen Lian's nose.
"Are there too many planted?" he said haphazardly.
Chu Yilan patiently replied for the last time: "I also want to plant that entire area behind us."
Shen Lian could no longer make a sound.
Shen Lian didn't understand immediately that on Chu Yilan's birthday, as long as he had him, only he was the best gift.
A gift must be unwrapped, held out, toyed with meticulously, and ravaged to the extreme, until the next day's sunlight fell in, and it was precious restored to its original state.
Of course, the next morning, while Teacher Shen was still alive, even moving a finger was a struggle.
He could hear movement outside. First, Chu Yilan was standing outside the door talking to someone, then the man came in and checked his forehead's temperature. Afterward, Chu Yilan went out again. After a sound of splashing water, a warm towel wiped his cheeks.
"The car is almost here. I'll take you to the hot springs in a bit," Chu Yilan whispered.
Ah, Shen Lian remembered. It wasn't that he had just woken up, but that he hadn't slept all night... Hahaha, that quack Ning Sixian said his heart couldn't take big stimulations. It was so stimulating last night that he felt like he was flying into the clouds, yet wasn't he perfectly fine?
Finally, Shen Lian was wrapped in a blanket by Chu Yilan and carried into the car.
By the time he opened his eyes again, it was another evening. Shen Lian even had the illusion of "Did I sleep?"
He sat up and immediately felt much more comfortable. He confirmed it—it was the evening of the next day.
He should be in a room at the hot springs now; he could hear the sound of gurgling water outside. Shen Lian grabbed his phone from beside the pillow and opened it to find it full of messages.
Hu Kailan had arranged an activity. Without thinking much, Shen Lian agreed. Next were Sun Binghe, Feng Yueshan, Ning Sixian, and so on.
Sun Binghe: [I hope Teacher Shen and the Boss can have a pleasant night.]
Shen Lian: [It was so pleasant that I'm still savoring it now.]
Feng Yueshan: [What's with you two? You don't answer calls or reply to messages. Did you go into the mountains to mine coal? Such a good birthday, and you spent it just guarding a field of roses? Take a photo and let the brothers see.]
Shen Lian: [What coal mining? You wouldn't understand the affairs of a young couple.]
Feng Yueshan replied instantly: [???]
[Damn you... I don't want to know, OK?]
Shen Lian thought to himself: If you don't want to know, then why did you ask?
Ning Sixian: [Cough, cough. Be that as it may, I'd like to remind you to take care of your body.]
Shen Lian: [Your medical skills might be lacking; I'm very impressive, thanks.]
Ning Sixian's side kept showing 'typing,' probably thinking of how to phrase a retort to Shen Lian without being held in a grudge by Chu Yilan. Shen Lian waited for a bit, didn't get one, and simply tossed his phone aside and lay straight back down.
Exhausted.