"If you want to see Lin Jian, go through me first."

When Lin Jian returned home, Shen Ke had already taken a shower and was sitting on the sofa in his cotton house pants and T-shirt, working on his paperwork.

Hearing the door open, Shen Ke looked up from his iPad page and asked with a smile, "Didn't you say you'd be here before me?"

Lin Jian raised his eyebrows helplessly and replied, "The bus I happened to catch got a flat tire in the middle of the journey, so I walked back with two stops left."

After saying that, he went to the sofa, put the paper bag with a few books in his hand on the coffee table, and said, "I'll take a shower first."

Shen Ke let out a "hmm", and waited for Lin Jian to walk into the bathroom with his clothes before withdrawing his eyes from his back and returning them to the iPad in his hand.

When Lin Jian came out of the bathroom after showering and drying his hair, he saw Shen Ke sitting on the sofa, flipping through the books he had just brought back with great interest.

Lin Jian pursed his lips, which were slightly moist after being stained by the water vapor, and walked to Shen Ke's side, just wanting to make a sneak attack to pull the book back from his hand, who expected that Shen Ke's reaction would be one second faster than him, and in the moment his fingers touched the book's shell, he raised his arm upward swiftly, letting Lin Jian grasp the book in the air.

"What for?" Shen Ke kept the same movement and asked with a smile, "Not showing?"

Lin Jian stared for a moment at the large words 'Senior Partner Insider' on the book's dust jacket and blushed a little involuntarily, "No."

There was something really twisted and adorable about that look on his face.

It's very much like when I was a child, when Shen Ke teased me, I was reluctant in my heart, but on the surface, I had to cooperate.

"Why do you want to see this?" Shen Ke took Lin Jian's hand and made him sit next to him, "Why are you suddenly interested in business operations?"

Lin Jian sat down readily, and because of the close proximity, one could faintly smell the end of the same scent of shower gel that he and Shen Ke were wearing, like an extremely secret and intimate hint, seemingly a metaphor for the extraordinary intimacy between them through this very faint and light odor.

Lin Jian's heart suddenly calmed down.

He put down the towel he was holding to wipe his hair, thought for a moment, and replied, "In fact, a year ago, shortly after I first joined the company, I thought, if the time is ripe one day, is there any possibility for me to become a partner on my own? At that time, taking over designs and talking about projects should be a bit more spontaneous."

Shen Ke was silent for a moment after hearing this answer, and then raised his hand to grasp the still slightly damp hair at the back of his head and asked in a warm voice, "Are you unhappy at work?"

"It's just a small matter." Lin Jian gave a short laugh, but in turn comforted him, "Don't think about relieving me of my worries, I'm an adult in my twenties, I'm not as fragile as you think."

"And didn't you say not long ago that emotions are precious things, and I don't usually waste them so easily now on things and people that don't deserve them."

"...... is it?" Shen Ke also laughed out loud, stroking the hand behind Lin Jian's head that hadn't been withdrawn yet smoothly turned to the side of his face, his fingertips gently rubbing his jaw, "So obedient, huh?"

Lin Jian froze for a moment, then turned her face away and slapped the back of Shen Ke's hand, "Don't do that."

The back of his hand was slapped with a very light crunch, but it didn't hurt at all, so it was clear that the person who had hit him hadn't given up much in the way of force, and the smirk under Shen Ke's eyes deepened as he asked, "Why?"

"......" Lin Jian said breathlessly, "It's very much like teasing a leather egg."

The next moment, Shen Ke could be heard stifling a giggle.

This alone time is too cozy for words, the two of them nestled in the sofa, and casually chatting about something or the other, after a while, Shen Ke turned the topic to "partners", curious: "Is there any plan or intention already? "

Lin Jian was no longer sitting against the back of the sofa, he was half inclined, his head resting on Shen Ke's leg, and because he was too tall, his calves could only rest on the armrests of the sofa at the other end, but it was this position, which might not seem too comfortable, that made Shen Ke feel Lin Jian's relaxation from the inside out.

Lin Jian thought for a moment and said, "In fact, not long after I joined the company, the big boss of the design institute talked to me and wanted to subscribe sole proprietorship for two green technology patents in my hands in the garden design category, which I refused at that time."

"Now what?" Shen Ke is undoubtedly the perfect listener, never disturbing or interrupting the narrator, but throwing in the right words at the right time to guide the exchange.

"The design institute side means that this subscription invitation is valid for a long time, no matter whether I am still working or not, but now ......" Lin Jian paused, tilted his head and dropped his eyes from bottom to top to Shen Ke's face, "I was thinking that besides subscribing for IR, there is also the possibility of becoming a partner in the patent. "I'm wondering, besides subscribing to the IR, is it possible for me to become a partner of the design institute by taking the patent as a share?"

"Of course, with the current volume and size of our company, it's not realistic to become a senior partner at once." Lin Jian regulations very clearly analyzed, "but intermediate partnership, should be no problem ...... do you think?"

Lin Jian's eyes were sincere and pure, as if he was seriously waiting for an answer.

Shen Ke just in that pure and clear gaze, drooping eyes pondered for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Lin Jian, why did you choose this major in the first place, just because of me?"

After all, no one knows more about Shen Ke's youthful regrets and unfulfilled wishes than Lin Jian, and no one feels more sorry for him than Lin Jian.

Lin Jian quieted down, but answered with certainty: "I don't deny that there is a factor of you, but by no means is it all, and even ...... can say that you only account for a very small part of the reason."

"Oh?" Shen Ke curled the ends of his eyes and smiled, "Expand the conversation?"

"Your dreams or visions back then were so pure, and I was the same." Lin Jian's voice was calm as he replied word for word, "I never did anything to give up my own dream just to like someone, to fulfill someone else's wish in a compromising way."

"Maybe other people will think, I chose gardening major completely because of you, want to complete your unfinished dream, but ...... how can it be." Lin Jian said, "I really love the vitality and interest contained in the grass, trees and flowers, and I also love the ambition and elegance hidden behind the pavilions and pavilions and flying pavilions and flowing dan."

"Just like when I was a child, every time I went to the Falling Interest Garden with you, looking at the jagged rocks and rouge flowers and reds that filled my heart, I was still." Lin Jian spoke in a soothing tone and said in a faint voice, "At that time, I felt that the mountains and water testify to their own state of mind, and that the pleasure of fellowship with the grass and trees is actually far greater than that of a human being." He seemed a bit embarrassed at this point, and feigned calmness to add a sentence---.

"What I choose is bound to be what I like, so ...... you really don't have to be too full of yourself."

"So ......" Shen Ke let out a low chuckle, his fingertips nudging at someone's face, already visibly tinged with a thin blush after he'd finished that sentence, and responded steadily, "Okay, I get it. "

"So?" Lin Jian asked, "Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"

"Because before I'm going to give some advice, it's necessary for me to know what's really going on inside of you so that I don't run the risk of misleading you."

"Uh-huh." Lin Jian agrees with this statement and casually says, "So what did you learn?"

"That's a lot of information." Shen Ke says, "The first thing that's clear is that I'm not really that important in someone's mind."

Lin Jian: "......"

Still pillowed in Shen Ke's legs, someone blinked slowly, after realizing that they "in the scheme", abruptly widened his eyes, then his face once again hot and red, gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "Shen, scrupulously! You deliberately looking for things, right?"

"I'm looking for something, why are you blushing?" Shen Ke fingertips have a nod on the side of his face, very sincere smile, "Control Designer Lin, it's all hot."

Lin Jian suddenly blinked and was about to get up to clean up the person, but just as his upper body left the sofa cushion, he was pressed back by Shen Ke's one arm, not lightly but not heavily: "Lie still, I haven't finished yet."

Lin Jian stared at him somewhat incredulously for a long time, moved his lips noiselessly, but finally said nothing, and with a slight hint of helplessness like a twist, reluctantly lay back down.

"Well, then, speak up, or you'll be late."

The tone of the words was unkind, but how they sounded and looked was like a willing love game.

Shen Ke warm palm against the skin on the side of his neck, at this time finally not in the tease, Ken returned to the topic: "I was going to tell you, as emotional management, the workplace, the same is not worth hanging on to, especially if you are currently engaged in the work of talking about not out of the heart of the like, then it is just a means of earning a living to make money, this time, only need to look at the input-output ratio can be, do not have to be so sentimental. need to look at the input-output ratio can be, do not need to be so true feelings."

"But-" Shen Ke paused slightly and smiled again, "if your job, or the industry you work in is really what you like, then you can be more serious; money still has to be made, but the sense of acquisition is more than making money more important."

Lin Jian listens slightly mesmerized, and two seconds apart, asks seriously, "Like what?"

"For example, not everyone is so lucky to be able to really develop their preferences into a career, and not everyone who is in the middle of it is able to continue this preference for a long time, because no matter what a person likes, as long as this preference turns into a regular nine-to-five, and once it is linked to the earnings, then over time, it will also get bored and tired. "

Lin Jian quieted down and said softly and surely, "I didn't, I didn't feel tired, on the contrary, I felt very interesting, even the exhaustion when working overtime to catch up with the design, all made me willing."

"That's why I said ...... " Shen Ke lowered his eyes to meet Lin Jian's clear eyes, before telling him with a smile, "Lin Jian, you're really rare. "

Lin Jian was stunned, and then his heart burned slightly.

"So what you just brought up, about becoming a technical partner in the design institute, my opinion is that there's actually room to broaden the landscape and open your eyes a bit more."

"What does ...... say?"

Shen Ke smiles and explains, "If the current work environment or problems that have arisen have made your hobby that has developed into a career unhappy and impure, or if you want to get back to that passion, then to become a partner-"

Lin Jian only felt his heart rate start to accelerate, "What?"

Shen Ke Closing Argument: "Then this is not the only design house available to you."

"......"

Lin Jian looked at Shen Ke with surprise for a long time, half shocked and speechless.

Yeah--

Why do you have to draw yourself so narrowly?

He's so young and has endless possibilities.

Competing or not, to prove something or not, consuming your heart and soul on people and things that are not worth it is really ...... a bit silly.

Like Shen Ke said, if it's really for the love of it, then the road ahead of him could have been wider and more open.

There is absolutely no need to confine yourself to this small space.

Since it's for the love of it, if hot blood is hard to cool, then--

The road to prosperity and flowers is never just a straight road.

"I ...... "After a long time had passed, Lin Jian slowly sat up from the couch, rubbed his face, and whispered, "I understand."

"Hm?" Shen Ke looked at the young man's sudden look of enlightenment, and couldn't help but laugh a little, "What did you understand?"

"Just what you just said." Lin Jian thoroughly summarized, "I am myself, starting with love, then I can follow my heart and mind."

"And?" Shen Ke asked suddenly.

"...... And?" Lin Jian froze for a moment and lifted his face from his palm, his expression once again filled with a bit of confusion, "What else?"

Outside the window, the moonlight is clear and valiant, the trees are in shadow, the indoor air conditioning is at a constant temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, which makes the body feel comfortable and cozy. Shen Ke's gentle gaze falls on Lin Jian's stern but beautiful eyebrows, and after a moment, he suddenly leans down and kisses the corner of his forehead.

Lin Jian was slightly surprised to hear Shen Ke's deep and slow voice fall into his ears, saying, "And that's it, just listen to the big ideas, and if you don't want to or aren't in the mood, that's perfectly fine, there's still me."

"I'm here, you can do whatever you want, it doesn't matter if it's over the top, I can come and set things right and clear away any obstacles that make you unhappy if you want."

Shen Ke says, "After all, you are more important to me than the principle dream."

-You're the most precious.

Lin Jian completely froze.

But the words of Fang Jingwei, not long ago, suddenly came to mind--

"What are you going to do? Run to that uncle of yours to complain, so that he will feel sorry for him, or even worse, directly rushed to the blue face, annexed and acquired the design institute?"

Lin Jian was in a trance, thinking that Fang Jingwei's words did not seem to be wrong--

Even if he really did so, Shen Ke, I am afraid, would not hesitate to say yes.

In the middle of the day, Lin Jian regained his senses from the great dizziness, and his originally cold and indifferent eyes were thoroughly colored with warmth.

He leaned in slightly, kissing the corner of his forehead gently as Shen Ke had just done, then rubbed his forehead against the side of his neck unconsciously, and muffled two words from between his lips.

"Faint."

*

After a long talk with Shen Ke, Lin Jian's mind has been enlightened.

What he didn't expect was that Shen Ke would just stay in his apartment for two days like before, but when they woke up the next morning, Shen Ke informed him that she would be staying for a while longer this time.

Lin Jian just woke up from a nap, his hands and feet were still a little weak, and his original clear and crisp voice was also a bit dumb: "Why, is the company so idle these days?"

"Work can be done anywhere." Shen Ke casually replied, and then lifted the thin quilt that was resting on both of them to get out of bed, poured a cup of lukewarm water and returned, handing it to Lin Jian's mouth, "The first cup of water for the day, there are still seven cups left, I'll supervise you to drink them all."

"You're ......" Lin Jian froze for a moment, then laughed in a low voice, "What middle-aged and old people can not keep up with the times of the law of health."

But he still lowered his head and drank the first cup obediently from Shen Ke's hand.

Lin Jian thought he was just joking, but when Lin Jian was called away from the construction site on Sunday night and came back, he saw Shen Ke standing in the kitchen in his housecoat and apron, seriously studying how to clean the defrosted prawns, he realized that he was actually serious.

"You're really not leaving?" Lin Jian asked suspiciously during dinner.

"What, Designer Lin can't spare more of my chopsticks?" Shen Ke asked with a smile as he placed a bowl of chilled green bean soup in Lin Jian's hand.

Lin Jian gave him a look that didn't say anything, but that look was instantly decoded by Shen Ke.

It's as if the forest designer is saying: are you kidding, I can support you until the end of time.

Shen Ke secretly hooked the corner of his mouth, used a soup spoon to scoop up a small mouthful of cool and sweet green bean soup, the next second he put it in his mouth, he could hardly restrain himself from frowning, hesitated for a moment, but still swallowed the soup in his mouth with difficulty.

Unsurprisingly, Chairman Shen, who hasn't condescended to enter the kitchen once in a thousand years, has lived up to his reputation by boiling the soup.

Then he looked up and gazed at Lin Jian who was drinking without changing his color, and after two seconds, he suddenly sighed, pressed down the strange taste of slightly bitter and salty at the root of his tongue, and reached out to take the soup bowl in front of Lin Jian.

"Don't drink this--"

Just as his hand reached out, Lin Jian blocked it without moving, looked up at Shen Ke, and then picked up the bowl of soup and finished what was left of it.

Shen Ke frowned at him with a slight frown.

"It's okay," Lin Jian curled the corner of his mouth indifferently and said, "Compared to the pot of birthday noodles you made for me back then, this tastes pretty good."

Shen Ke: "......"

This is not good, Chairman Shen silently sighed, in the back of his mind calculating, it seems that in addition to the key business of the time he stayed in Lin Jian's place, he also need to find a way to save the child's not picky but really poor stomach ah.

But Shen Ke was too self-conscious to be inspired by the idea of grabbing a man's stomach - after all, compared to his near-zero experience in the kitchen and his poor cooking skills, takeout from a high-end restaurant is more reliable.

So during the week of living in Lin Jian's small apartment, Lin Jian was fed with signature dishes from top restaurants every day, and even though he was shuttled around the construction site under the blazing sun, his weight actually increased a little bit.

During the daytime Lin Jian is almost entirely entrusted with the work, either at the project site or in communication with the contractor or Teng Sheng progress and details of the project, only at night from the construction site back, time to return to his own hands.

These days, while Lin Jian is busy, Shen Ke is always immobile in his apartment, occupying Lin Jian's sofa and small coffee table to deal with the group's affairs, and all the meetings he needs to attend have been changed to an online format, while other business entertainments or negotiations are handed over to the board of directors of the several executive vice presidents, who will report back and deal with the matter.

Every evening, when Lin Jian returns home in a cloud of smoke and dust, after taking a shower to tidy up, if the time is not too late, the two of them will drive to the supermarket to shop for ingredients and daily necessities, and if Lin Jian's overtime is too long, the two of them will take a walk in the park's fitness park to eat after dinner, blowing the night breeze, and chatting to enjoy themselves.

All in all, the week Shen Ke was here, all the time, seemed like a preparation for Lin Jian.

Lin Jian focuses on foreign affairs while he keeps watch.

Finally, on the Monday of the second week, Shen Ke once again waited for the delivery box with no mailing information.

It's the same frozen kitten corpse, but the message on the post-it note is more and more touchingly treacherous--

"Dear kitten, I can't wait to meet you, come to me and let me gaze at you for a long time."

Shen Ke, with a sullen expression on his face, disposed of the delivery without a word, and returned to his apartment, dialing Assistant Xu's number.

"Chairman Shen."

"What happened to the last thing I asked you to look into?"

Assistant Xu slightly lowered his voice and replied, "There's already a clear picture, we can determine that the courier was sent from a remote township on the outskirts of Lin City, the logistics management of this kind of place is very unstandardized, that's why it will give the mail people a chance to take advantage of it."

"What's the address?" Shen Ke asked.

"Still finalizing." Assistant Xu rigorously said, "The specific scope has been locked, but that area belongs to a typical poor mountain hollow village, the resident population is mostly wage earners from factories in the outskirts of the nearby city, a mixed zone, I'm afraid--"

Shen Ke stood in front of the sink and repeatedly rinsed his hands several times with hand sanitizer until he was sure that not even half a bit of blood was left between his fingers before he turned off the water and said in a deep voice, "There is no need to have concerns, in this case, it is better to kill a thousand people by mistake than to miss one."

Having followed Shen Ke for so many years, Assistant Xu seldom heard such a gloomy tone from Shen Ke, so he paused for a moment and immediately said, "I understand.

Before ending the call, Shen Ke asked, "How are the offer letters and contracts coming along?"

"It's been ready for a long time." Assistant Xu said, "It was in the works when you handed it over last year, but due to the age of that design manuscript and the fact that it was submitted as evidence to a foreign arbitration center in the middle of the process, it consumed some time on the recall process, but it's foolproof now."

"Good, hard work." Shen Ke concluded, "Find out the exact address and notify me immediately." And only then did he hang up the phone.

Assistant Xu is worthy of being the gold-medal personal assistant of Shen's Chairman Shen, and his efficiency is extremely high. Especially after Shen Ke's authorization of "whatever it takes", he finally sent a detailed electronic information to Shen Ke's private mailbox on the third day.

Shen Ke sat down in front of his computer, clicked on the unread e-mail, and the first thing that caught his eye was a picture of a white man.

The man in the photograph had a hawkish nose, dark hair and brown eyes, and his chiseled lips were curved in an eerie curve-

A crazy bloodthirsty grin flowed out.

This is Lin Jian's biological mother's second stepson.

Below the photo, the address of the person's current location is detailed, along with an 11-digit domestic cell phone number, and Assistant Xu makes a point of explaining that the card is not a real name, but a black card purchased from a peddler in a private vendor's shop.

The fluorescence of the computer screen reflected on Shen Ke's face like water, never calm and gentle eyes at this time there is no temperature, a long time, Shen Ke took out his cell phone, wrote down the string of numbers and temporary address, and then cleanly destroyed the mail.

It was almost lunchtime, Lin Jian had specially said before he left the house this morning that he would go to Teng Sheng for a short meeting with the design team in the morning and didn't need to run to the construction site, so he could come back to have lunch with him at noon.

Shen Ke glanced up at his wristwatch and thought, "This is a meal he's probably going to miss.

He dialed the reservation line of a nearby restaurant, and when Lin Jian casually remarked that his specialties were delicious, Shen Ke took note of the reservation number.

This restaurant delivers quickly, and the delivery man was at the door shortly after ordering lunch for Lin Jian.

Shen Ke replaced a few meals into the family's dinner plates and put them in the microwave to keep them warm, and briefly tidied up the room again before sending a message to Lin Jian.

[The company has something temporary, I need to go back to South City, and I'll come over to accompany you when I'm done.]

Two minutes later, Lin Jian's reply came.

[In such a hurry, can't you have lunch before you leave? I'm already on my way home.]

Go home.

Perhaps it was because the warmth that flowed out between these two words was too ironic and heartwarming, Shen Ke finally wordlessly hooked the corners of his mouth and tapped the word to reply.

[It's true that it's rather urgent and can't wait much longer. But lunch has been kept warm in the microwave, so you'll have more when you get back.]

This time Lin Jian's reply was very fast and came in two consecutive posts.

[...... When did you learn to use a microwave?]

[Okay, then you take care on the road.]

Shen Ke The smile at the edge of his mouth slowly enlarged, after the heat of the warmth of the eyes, finally melted a trace of the frosty coldness of the bottom of the eyes.

[Good.]

Out the door and down the stairs, Shen Ke pulled the car out of the park before digging out the number from his cell phone that he had saved a while ago and dialed it without hesitation.

After three rings, the phone connected and a hoarse, dark voice came through with an inexplicable coldness.

"Hello?"

Shen Ke drove the Barbos to the national highway leading to the edge of the city, and two seconds later asked the person on the other end of the line, in a calm, soft voice, "Are you looking for Lin Jian?"

The breathing on the other side first came to a violent halt, and then suddenly sharpened, and then the other party switched to not-so-fluent Chinese and asked in a vicious tone, "Who are you?!"

"Not important." Shen Ke said, "You'll know in an hour."

"If you want to see Lin Jian, go through me first."