Raised To Be His Wife After Moving In - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At first, Xie Yu felt that Lin Qiusu possessed a maturity in handling himself that was far beyond his peers.

Since giving him the new phone, he decided to temporarily withdraw that opinion.

Lin Qiusu had initially been reserved and hesitant, embarrassed to accept such an expensive gift, until Xie Yu lied and said the phone was Lin Guanqing’s idea and that Lin Guanqing had paid for it. Upon hearing this explanation, Lin Qiusu’s psychological burden vanished, and he spent half the day bouncing around Xie Yu in delight.

He muttered things like, “Is it really for me?” and “I like it so much, thank you for the trouble. How do I unlock this?”

Xie Yu taught him the basic operations. He learned quickly and immediately began tinkering with it himself.

He’s still a bit childish after all, Xie Yu thought.

He was just a kid who wouldn’t hold back a smile after receiving a gift he truly liked.

Lin Qiusu was focused on registering for WeChat, completely unaware of Xie Yu’s wandering thoughts. After a while, he reached out and tugged on Xie Yu’s sleeve. He asked, “Can you push Lin Guanqing’s WeChat contact card to me? Is that the right step?”

Xie Yu scanned his code to add him and then sent him Lin Guanqing’s contact.

At this time, Lin Guanqing had just landed in the UK and hadn’t responded to the request yet; his younger brother could only see his profile picture: a photo of a sunrise taken from a plane, with the sea of clouds dark and chaotic and a blurred, ambiguous streak of orange-red appearing at the far end. It perfectly fit his persona of an “overseas poser.”

Lin Qiusu said, “He’s probably sleeping, right? Long-distance flights are so tiring; I won’t disturb him for now.”

He didn’t notice the contradiction: if Lin Guanqing was exhausted, he couldn’t have suddenly contacted Xie Yu to pay for a phone.

Immersed in simple happiness, Lin Qiusu opened the App Store and downloaded several popular apps. Watching him fiddle with the gift, Xie Yu went to the study claiming he had work to do, gently pulling the door shut behind him.

Then, he made eight voice calls to Lin Guanqing.

On the eighth try, the call was picked up with heavy resentment.

“You’d better have something important, like urging me to come back to save a dying project, or maybe you’ve finally fallen in love and are inviting me to your wedding.”

Across the ocean, Lin Guanqing was extremely irritable, clearly awakened from a nap. His tone was so malicious it sounded like he was ready to commit murder.

Xie Yu said, “Neither of your examples is possible, but there is something equally important that needs your cooperation.”

When he picked up Lin Qiusu yesterday, he felt that not having a smartphone in this era made traveling incredibly inconvenient. Besides, if possible, who wouldn’t want the latest and best product? Although Xie Yu wouldn’t expose the boy’s bravado to his face, he kept it in mind and went to buy one as soon as he had time this afternoon.

To dispel Lin Qiusu’s concerns, he told a temporary lie, using Lin Guanqing’s name to give the gift. Fearing the truth would be exposed later, Xie Yu was racing against time to align their stories.

Lin Guanqing lost his temper and, after a long silence, said “Thank you.”

“Qiuqiu always says he doesn’t need anything too good. I thought it wasn’t necessary for high school either and planned to get him one when he got into college,” he said. “If you hadn’t been a step ahead, I was just about to tell him.”

He added: “My brother doesn’t seem very interested in these things. I won an MP4 once and tried to give it to him, but he said I should just sell it for money.”

Xie Yu thought to himself: How is your brother not interested? The kid is over the moon. Why are you two brothers so formal with each other?

Combining this with the various things Lin Qiusu hid from Lin Guanqing, Xie Yu realized that perhaps Lin Qiusu, as the one being cared for, was simply using his own way to lighten the burden on his family. Thinking of this, Xie Yu let out a troubled “tsk,” but didn’t say anything either way.

After hanging up, he received a large transfer from Lin Guanqing that far exceeded the cost of the phone.

Xie Yu: [Did you send a tip to the wrong account, Big Brother Top Donor?]

Lin Guanqing: [My brother is too well-behaved; sometimes he’s too hard on himself. Help me keep an eye on him. Spend money when it needs to be spent.]

He was truly overtired. He had never been a “top donor” before and had no interest in it. Normally, if Xie Yu intentionally misinterpreted him like this, he would have dismissed it with disdain. Now, he lacked the energy to argue; after sending that message, he fell right back to sleep.

…

It wasn’t until Monday that Lin Qiusu’s friend request was finally accepted.

The working hours in the internet industry are very late, especially in the gaming sector, where 10:30 AM is the deadline for clocking in. It was a fifteen-minute drive or a thirty-minute walk to the office, making the commute very convenient; one could sleep until they woke up naturally.

At 9:40 AM, Lin Qiusu finished frying two eggs and saw Xie Yu coming out of the walk-in closet, fully dressed. Many city professionals wear suits and ties, often dressing exquisitely to show off their value. Although Xie Yu had been promoted to producer, he dressed casually and cleanly. Lin Qiusu had seen a row of luxury watches in the closet, but not one was being worn today.

Without any ostentatious accessories, Xie Yu still stood out at a glance. Accustomed to a privileged life, he possessed a natural, innate elegance. Lin Qiusu blinked his long, thick eyelashes, said a clear “Good morning,” and then looked away.

Today, he finally adapted to the new non-stick pan. The fried eggs looked excellent, so he took a photo and sent it to Lin Guanqing to show off.

Lin Guanqing sent a voice message: “The new phone’s pixels are pretty good.”

His focus was unconventional, but it happened to please Lin Qiusu. Still excited that his wish had been granted, Lin Qiusu replied: “Yes! You’re so amazing, how did you guess this was my favorite model?”

The boy’s voice was pleasant, and his words weren’t exaggerated or fake—they were full of joy. The two were rarely so harmonious. Lin Qiusu also chattered about enrolling in driving school, hoping to get his license as soon as possible.

“There’s a classmate who lives nearby and is also going to F University. We’re learning to drive at the same place,” he said. “He said we can usually finish the exams by next month.”

Lin Guanqing said, “Oh? How are you guys getting along? If he bullies you, remember to punch him back directly.”

“How could I get bullied? I was trying to say that once I have time to earn money from a part-time job, I’ll buy things for you too!” Lin Qiusu felt speechless.

After chatting for a while, he curved his watery fox-like eyes, never giving Xie Yu a single glance throughout the process. Xie Yu ate his wontons while listening to Lin Qiusu being incredibly sweet-talked—but only toward Lin Guanqing.

Through the steam of breakfast, Xie Yu couldn’t control his gaze and glanced at Lin Qiusu several times. He noticed a small, light-colored mole near the boy’s curved eyes and saw the dimples when he smiled.

Lin Qiusu was in a good mood and was lightly “pardoning” Lin Guanqing’s “crimes.”

“Thanks for your gift. For the matter of you dumping me on your friend, let’s call it even.”

As the friend who was forced to take him in, Xie Yu not only didn’t want to call it even but also felt strangely stifled. He wasn’t one to be petty or narrow-minded, but…

Shouldn’t that smile have belonged to him?

How did he end up being the anonymous “Seashell Girl” (unsung hero)?

Xie Yu secretly thought Lin Guanqing got off too easy. If he had known, he would have used a different excuse to lie to the kid—he could have just said he won a new phone in a lucky draw. Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret, and Xie Yu stopped thinking about it, treating it as if he were playing a role of a hidden benefactor.

…

He went out to work, and Lin Qiusu needed to buy fruit, so they took the elevator together. Seeing that he didn’t go to the underground garage, Lin Qiusu asked, “How are you going to the office?”

Xie Yu said, “The roads are too congested on workdays. Waiting through three red lights at one intersection… in that time, I could crawl there. I cycle unless there’s a special circumstance.”

He had a mountain bike parked in the mansion’s bike shed. He had bought it in high school and had used it for several years. However, it didn’t look old; the paint and maintenance were well-kept, making it very eye-catching.

Lin Qiusu saw it and said, “Many people at my school ride bicycles. Usually, they modify them to add a back seat.”

Xie Yu asked, “Do they do side jobs after class and carry passengers? Wouldn’t a tricycle be better for business?”

“Others use them for dating, with the girl they like sitting on the back.” Lin Qiusu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his train of thought.

Xie Yu sneered: “Oh, boring. My bike wouldn’t be cool if I added a back seat.”

Lin Qiusu choked for a moment, thinking to himself: How can this man be so unromantic? Just looking at his face, he probably received plenty of love letters in school, but the moment he opened his mouth, those love letters would turn into declarations of war.

He urged: “Don’t you want to be late? You only have fifteen minutes left!”

Xie Yu dithered: “What’s the rush? Do you not want to see me?”

Lin Qiusu refused to take the blame: “I didn’t say that.”

“I knew it,” Xie Yu chuckled. “You were peeking so enthusiastically at the airport; how could you get tired of the new and favor the old so quickly?”

Lin Qiusu: “…”

He stared fixedly at the ground, refusing to look up at him, feeling that the consequences would be even more disastrous if he did. Although he had always been a good student, at this moment, he wanted to curse out loud.

I should have just admitted that seeing him is annoying! Lin Qiusu thought through gritted teeth.

…

However, starting this week, Xie Yu was so busy he was rarely seen at home. Sometimes Lin Qiusu would be half-asleep and occasionally hear the sound of the door opening, usually around two or three in the morning.

It made sense; the project team’s schedule was usually full, and Lin Guanqing had always been a core figure in the R&D module but was suddenly transferred for a business trip. The work he handled was too difficult for the subordinates to pick up, so it had to be transferred to his superiors. One could imagine how heavy the burden on Xie Yu’s shoulders was.

The newly bought bed was moved into the guest bedroom. Lin Qiusu confirmed that the light in that room wasn’t broken, and then returned the master bedroom to Xie Yu.

Days passed. He appeared calm but was worried deep down; after all, living in someone else’s house made him feel a bit restless. He asked Lin Guanqing every few days when a return date would be set.

This continued for quite a while until one evening, Xie Yu suddenly stopped him.

“I heard you’ve been ‘summoning’ your brother every day. What did I do to make you so anxious? You want to run away that badly?”

Lin Qiusu answered warily: “I didn’t. Did Lin Guanqing say something nonsense to you?”

Xie Yu said, “He said he was having a video meeting with foreigners, and a bunch of black-and-white panda head memes popped up on his screen, and every single one looked like it was saying ‘NMSL’ (Fuck your mom) to him.”

Lin Qiusu: “…”

The brotherly bond that had finally become harmonious was shattered once again by a few words from Xie Yu. In fact, Lin Guanqing had only asked Xie Yu how Lin Qiusu was doing, as his brother seemed to miss his family a bit. After being provoked by Xie Yu, Lin Qiusu felt like he wanted to find a new home anywhere else.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he explained stumbling. “Seeing how busy you are, I thought if he came back sooner, you could relax a bit.”

Xie Yu put on airs: “Being shown consideration so suddenly… it’s actually quite embarrassing.”

Lin Qiusu: “…”

I don’t see any sign of you being embarrassed at all!

Xie Yu had been buried in work lately and hadn’t paid much attention to what the guest at home was doing, nor did he know if any help was needed. He remembered now and felt he should engage in some small talk.

Given Lin Qiusu’s shyness, he couldn’t help but overthink a bit, fearing that showing concern might make the other person awkward. But now, the other party didn’t seem shy with him at all. This time, Xie Yu wasn’t wrong; that was indeed the case. In his heart, Lin Qiusu was just cursing him for being shameless.

“How is your driving practice going?” Xie Yu asked.

Lin Qiusu reported somewhat proudly: “I’ve scheduled the Level 1 exam for the day after tomorrow.”

The progress was quite fast, showing he was actively preparing. The exam site wasn’t close, there was no direct public transportation, and with the high temperatures lately, traveling was an issue. Xie Yu asked for the specific exam time and went home early that afternoon to drive Lin Qiusu to the test.

Lin Qiusu was very surprised at first. After successfully finishing the exam and leaving the building to find Xie Yu waiting in the car, his expression went completely blank. However… Xie Yu was Lin Guanqing’s best friend; perhaps his brother had coerced or bribed Xie Yu to be nicer to him.

Being forced to look after someone out of courtesy… Xie Yu must be quite annoyed, right? Lin Qiusu thought this and made some effort of his own toward their relationship.

He got into the car, took out the candy from the drawer that he had won earlier, and began showing Xie Yu how big a bubble he could blow with the gum. Seeing this, Xie Yu was quite impressed and eagerly wanted to try as well.

Then, they somehow became competitive. The display turned into a contest; the entire process only required two unromantic hearts.

Xie Yu and Lin Qiusu were particularly unwilling to lose. The car stayed parked in front of the building for a long time, and the atmosphere inside gradually heated up. The competition intensified, moving from chewing one piece to chewing five at once!

Lin Qiusu’s cheeks hurt a bit. He stared at the huge bubble Xie Yu blew and tried for a final comeback based on size. At the same time, Xie Yu also turned his head to look at Lin Qiusu, thinking that something seemed a bit off.

As for what exactly was off, he didn’t have time to think about it. Just as his nose twitched while pondering the smell in the air, Lin Qiusu’s bubble burst with a “pop.”

The two were too close and were now staring at each other. A large glob of bubble gum was stuck on both of their faces.

Lin Qiusu was stunned. He had been so immersed in the game just now that he hadn’t realized…

The flavor of this pack of gum.

It was Stinky Tofu flavored (Chestnut blossom flavor/Semen-scented).