Chà Chà Novel

On the drive from the family estate back to the villa, Qin Fan seemed to have put himself on mute. He did not say a single word.

Sitting beside him, Lin Huaiqing could more or less guess why he was upset.

But he had no intention of speaking first.

He should never have gone today in the first place. Qin Fan had insisted, and everything else had happened only after he arrived.

Could he be blamed for that? Of course not.

The two remained locked in a silent battle of wills. Even when they went to bed, neither had spoken.

Lin Huaiqing lay with his eyes closed, thinking. His breathing was steady, making him look asleep.

What exactly had happened between Shen Jingyi and Qin Feng today?

What would drive her to flee the engagement and go abroad?

And how should he help her?

As he grew drowsy, he felt Qin Fan move beside him. Assuming he was getting up to use the bathroom, Lin Huaiqing did not react.

Qin Fan, meanwhile, mistook his prolonged stillness for sleep.

Looking at Lin Huaiqing’s peaceful face, he could not bring himself to stay cold toward him.

In the quiet of the night, he could only let out a deep sigh.

“If I never spoke to you again, would you really go your whole life without making the first move?”

He seemed to be asking the sleeping man beside him, but it sounded even more like a question to himself.

“You stopped talking to me first. What are you, an elementary school kid?”

The unexpected answer startled Qin Fan.

“You’re still awake?”

“I’m thinking.”

“About what you said to my father?”

“Of course not!”

Now that Qin Fan had started the conversation, Lin Huaiqing abandoned any attempt at sleep. He pulled him upright and switched on the bedside lamp.

“Based on what I saw, I think your brother might be seeing someone else!”

Lin Huaiqing was wearing silk pajamas, the top two buttons undone to reveal smooth, pale collarbones beneath the muted amber light.

Like an exquisite piece of porcelain, he seemed to hold a peculiar luster in the darkness.

For a moment, Qin Fan was thoroughly distracted. He pressed his dry lips together.

“Hey! What are you staring at? I’m talking to you! I asked whether your brother’s having an affair. Why are you looking at me?”

“Huh? An affair?”

“I saw Shen Jingyi crying. I even gave her my coat.”

At that moment, Lin Huaiqing was bursting to share everything.

It was all Qin Fan’s fault for sulking. Otherwise, he would have spilled the whole story on the way home.

Qin Fan cleared the indecent thoughts from his head and forced his hungry gaze away.

Even so, a jealous edge crept into his voice.

“You’re so concerned about other people. Why have I never seen you worry about me like that?”

Lin Huaiqing was speechless.

“Your brother’s cheating, and you’re still thinking about that? Don’t tell me you already knew!”

“Stop jumping to conclusions. Whatever is going on between them, let them sort it out themselves. Get some sleep.”

Qin Fan reached to turn off the lamp, but Lin Huaiqing refused to let him. The two began tussling on the bed.

Naturally, Lin Huaiqing was no match for Qin Fan’s strength. Before long, Qin Fan had caught both his hands and pinned him down near the headboard.

As the atmosphere grew heated, Lin Huaiqing had no choice but to surrender.

“All right, enough. Turn off the light and go to sleep. We have work tomorrow.”

“Now you want to sleep, but I’m wide awake. Unless…”

Lin Huaiqing’s gaze drifted downward. Qin Fan certainly was “awake.”

“Help me out? I’ll come to the company with you tomorrow.”

His voice was husky as he offered the tempting bargain.

Every visit Qin Fan made to his company taught Lin Huaiqing a great deal. Naturally, he wanted to take advantage of such a good opportunity.

“How? There’s no clause about this in the contract.”

“Relax. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

As it turned out, no man’s promises were worth trusting at a time like this.

The next morning, Lin Huaiqing drove to work with dark circles under his eyes, resentment written all over his face as he rubbed his aching wrists and arms.

In the passenger seat sat Qin Fan, refreshed and brimming with energy.

They had barely arrived before the employees’ private group chat erupted.

Receptionist: 「Alert! Alert! The Living King of Hell and young Mr. Lin are in the elevator. All departments, stay on guard!」

Business Team Three Leader: 「Are we supposed to survive this? It’s his third visit this week.」

Finance Manager: 「Why do those two always appear together? They even arrive in the same car.」

Reception Girl: 「Am I the only one who thinks young Mr. Lin and Secretary Hell are perfect together? A BL novel has come to life, everyone!」

Security Guard: 「“Secretary Hell.” I can’t with you people.」

Rather than going straight upstairs, the two made a round of the departments on every floor.

“I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but everyone here seems much more alert whenever you show up.”

“It might just be because it’s Friday. The engagement banquet starts at nine tomorrow morning. I need to get there early, so don’t be late.”

“Yes, yes, I know. You keep reminding me.”

Lin Huaiqing sat at his computer checking the Lin Group’s stock performance, while Qin Fan remained beside him, watching him intently.

The scrutiny made him uneasy. Then the memory of the previous night surfaced, turning his ears red, and he shot Qin Fan an irritated look.

Qin Fan took it as flirtation. Leaning closer, he pressed a kiss to the corner of Lin Huaiqing’s mouth.

But midway through the kiss, Lin Huaiqing abruptly stood and pushed Qin Fan into his executive chair.

“Why do you always get to take the lead? This time, I’m on top!”

Qin Fan laughed indulgently and spread his hands, leaving it entirely up to him.

Having finally reclaimed the initiative, Lin Huaiqing did not hold back. He turned Qin Fan to face him, leaned down, and planted one knee on the chair between his legs. With his back slightly arched, he was just about to kiss him.

Click.

The door handle turned.

If anyone saw them like this, no amount of explaining would clear things up.

Startled, Lin Huaiqing tried to straighten, but Qin Fan wrapped an arm around his waist and held him in place.

“Young Mr. Lin, here’s this month’s financial rep—”

The employee delivering the documents took in the astonishing scene and promptly lost the ability to speak.

“S-sorry! I’ll bring it back later!”

She hurried out, remembering to close the door behind her.

Only after she had gone did Qin Fan finally let go.

Lin Huaiqing’s face was scarlet. Where did Qin Fan get all that strength? Struggling against him was utterly pointless.

“Why didn’t you let go? She saw us!”

He was mortified.

“So she saw us. At worst, they’ll say President Lin is using his position to seduce a subordinate.”

Right. Given their position just now, anyone would assume he was taking advantage of his secretary—a male secretary, no less.

What was left of his dignity?

“You! You did that on purpose!”

In the Lin Group employees’ private chat.

Guoguo, Finance Team Three: 「Oh my God! Breaking news! Young Mr. Lin and Secretary Hell are a couple! I just saw them in the office…」