DA chapter 74

Lin Jia stood in the corridor outside the door.

A neighbor who had just come out of the Fish Belly returned. His tired gaze fell on Lin Jia and the bouquet of camellias in his hands. He probably didn’t expect someone from the Underwater World to bring flowers, so he was stunned for a moment. Then, he seemed to realize that someone in the Underwater World had actually brought flowers. The fatigue on his face swept away, and he couldn’t help but smile.

Yan Xu’s neighbor went back home, and Yan Xu opened the door.

“You really didn’t leave a key.” Yan Xu raised his eyes. “Didn’t we say we’d meet next time? You’re still running a fever, and you chased me here—”

His voice suddenly stopped when he saw the flowers in Lin Jia’s arms.

The emotions he had repeatedly tried to control by breathing in and out suddenly overwhelmed him.

Lin Jia asked, “When?”

Yan Xu said, “I sent you a message.”

He turned his head away several times yet unconsciously kept letting his gaze fall on Lin Jia—on his striking appearance and the gorgeous flowers in his arms.

Lin Jia took out his phone and glanced at it. Without opening the message, he lied: “Oh, I didn’t notice. Then I’ll go back.”

He turned and left, taking his blooming appearance and the flowers with him.

“…Hey.” Yan Xu called him back.

“What do you want to eat?” There was no good food at Yan Xu’s home. Usually, he either ate boxed meals with his brothers on the inspection team or made do with a bowl of noodles.

But Lin Jia couldn’t just make do. Yan Xu grabbed his keys, waiting for Lin Jia to give the word so he could go buy something.

Lin Jia didn’t have much of an appetite, but he didn’t want Yan Xu to leave. He didn’t want to wait.

“Whatever Captain Yan usually eats, I’ll eat.”

Yan Xu smiled. “Hey, don’t joke. That place last time? That crab? That… roe?”

“Not joking.” Lin Jia glanced at him and then noticed the crushed, empty bottle on the ground. He bent down, picked it up, and pressed the dent so the bottle could stand upright again.

Then, brushing past Yan Xu, he went to the kitchen, filled the bottle with water, and placed the flowers he had brought inside it.

His gaze swept around Yan Xu’s apartment, looking for suitable places to put the flowers.

Yan Xu watched as Lin Jia placed one by the TV cabinet and another in the center of the dining table.

The pure white camellias ended up in plastic bottles, looking out of place. Yet, Yan Xu felt that his cold, empty home suddenly had a vibrant liveliness.

Camellias—Lin Jia must like them a lot.

Yan Xu often smelled camellia fragrance on Lin Jia.

A white egret had brought camellias to decorate his home.

His heartstrings were plucked. The answer that Yan Xu had repressed surged back like a buoy floating on the surface, guiding his chaotic, confused, and slightly uneasy feelings.

Lin Jia turned to look at him. Yan Xu avoided his gaze. “Want noodles?”

Lin Jia: “Yes.”

Yan Xu: “I’ll say it first. It won’t taste good.”

Lin Jia: “Mm.”

Yan Xu rubbed the back of his head, feeling indescribable, and went to the kitchen to cook noodles.

Lin Jia pulled out a chair and sat down. While Yan Xu wasn’t around, he took a light sniff.

The floral fragrance slowly spread throughout the room. By the time Yan Xu finished cooking the noodles, the fragrance would probably fill and linger throughout the entire space.

Cats are somewhat allergic to pollen. The fresh flowers sent by the hotel management made the cat sneeze repeatedly.

On the way here, Lin Jia had asked the hotel for a bouquet of flowers.

He wanted to see whether the cat itself was sensitive to pollen, or if it was being influenced by someone—because the person was sensitive to pollen, the cat was also affected.

If it was the latter, then he had found another piece of evidence that Yan Xu was the cat himself.

His plan was simple: accumulate evidence while pushing and pulling at the same time. Once he had gathered enough evidence and his relationship with Yan Xu had reached a certain threshold, he could merge the person with the idea.

Lin Jia didn’t like accidents. He was good at meticulously arranging things to achieve his goals and preparing safeguards for his plans in advance.

The noodles were quickly done. A steaming bowl was placed in front of him, and Yan Xu handed him a pair of chopsticks. He said very unconfidently, “Try the taste first.”

If it didn’t suit Lin Jia’s taste, the restaurant at this hour wasn’t closed yet. As long as he moved quickly, he could still buy a proper dinner for Lin Jia.

Lin Jia took the chopsticks and stirred the noodles.

They weren’t that great, but they were much better than what he could make himself.

After a few bites, he looked up and saw Yan Xu staring at him nervously. “How is it?”

It was somewhat rare. The person who had asked Fishman crazy questions by exploiting bugs in the Fish Belly was actually nervous because of a bowl of noodles.

Because he was nervous, Yan Xu didn’t notice the camellia fragrance filling the room.

Lin Jia noticed that the tip of his nose and his cheeks were slightly red. It was unclear whether the redness was from the steam while cooking noodles or from the pollen.

To figure out the cause of the redness, he just needed to wait a bit longer and let Yan Xu stay in the fragrant room a little longer.

-“Achoo, achoo.”

-“Lin Jia, can you throw these flowers away?”

-“My whole body is itchy, my eyes are itchy too, I can’t take it anymore!!! Achoo!”

The cat’s aggrieved complaints echoed in his mind.

Lin Jia fell silent for a moment, then lowered his head and took a few more bites of noodles.

In the end, he stood up and took the bottles from the dining table and the TV cabinet. Just as he was about to throw them away, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.

Yan Xu fell into self-doubt. “Are my noodles so bad that you have to throw away the flowers?”

Lin Jia looked at the hand on his wrist, then raised his head to look at Yan Xu.

Yan Xu still didn’t let go. “Well, the flowers look quite nice. It’d be a pity to throw them away. What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”

The capitalist, who rarely showed kindness and didn’t want to harm others, was blocked. Lin Jia said, “The flowers are nice, but isn’t Captain Yan allergic to pollen?”

During this pause, small red spots had already started appearing on Yan Xu’s handsome face.

Lin Jia moved to throw the flowers away, but the hand on his wrist tightened, refusing to let him.

Yan Xu: “When have I ever been allergic to pollen? I’m not.”

Lin Jia looked at Yan Xu’s face, then used his free hand to drag Yan Xu straight into the bathroom.

A mirror was attached to the bathroom wall, and the two stood in front of it.

Lin Jia’s gaze fell on Yan Xu’s face in the mirror, and Yan Xu’s fell on Lin Jia’s.

Lin Jia raised his hand and touched the mirror over Yan Xu’s reflection with his fingertips, pointing out the evidence of his pollen allergy to the person who stubbornly denied it.

Caught red-handed, Yan Xu straightened up and said firmly, “Don’t throw them.”

Lin Jia: “Playing with death again, Captain Yan? Did you forget what you promised me?”

Who would have thought that a bouquet of camellias could be linked to the promise of “staying alive well”? Yan Xu didn’t want Lin Jia to think he was a man who broke his promises, but he also didn’t want Lin Jia to throw the camellias away.

If he wanted to keep the flowers, he needed to give Lin Jia a reasonable explanation.

Yan Xu hesitated for a moment, then turned his face away. “….It’s the first time I’ve received flowers from someone. I want to keep them as a memento.”

Lin Jia could tell that this wasn’t the only reason Yan Xu wanted to keep the flowers.

It was reasonable, but not enough to convince the cold, indifferent capitalist. The refined egoist capitalist chased over while sick—not to become a distant and unfamiliar “someone” in that explanation.

“Oh?” He put down the flowers. “Captain Yan is so handsome. No one’s chasing you?”

At least Lin Jia wasn’t insisting on throwing the flowers anymore. Yan Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Lin Jia was waiting for an answer, Yan Xu released his grip on Lin Jia’s wrist and pointed to his reflection in the mirror. “Is this handsome?”

The red on his face had spread even more in the mirror, and the rash had deepened in color.

“Is it?” Lin Jia turned on all the bathroom lights, and bright light poured down. “Maybe the lighting wasn’t good. Let me take another look.”

But this time, he wasn’t looking at the mirror—he was observing the real person.

The apartment wasn’t large to begin with, and the bathroom was even more cramped. With both of them inside, they took up almost all the space, and their breathing was clearly audible to each other.

The overhead light was as bright as day, like the sun at noon. Lin Jia slightly raised his head to look at Yan Xu. He didn’t speak, not wanting to disturb the quiet enveloping the two of them.

Objectively speaking, with Lin Jia’s aesthetics as the highest standard, Yan Xu’s looks completely suited his taste.

Under the white light, Yan Xu’s face appeared translucent, like pure honey, and the reddish rashes looked like floating points of light.

The HR department always had ridiculous hiring requirements, such as “fresh graduates with work experience.” However, Lin Jia wouldn’t mind if HR recruited someone like Yan Xu—someone who had been away from society for years, had no work experience, and could no longer be considered a fresh graduate.

Lin Jia didn’t advocate romanticism, but this kind of concession was the greatest favor he could give Yan Xu.

But this was the Underwater World. He knew he should say something while their eyes met.

Lin Jia thought of the pounds Yan Xu had tipped: “When our eyes meet fondly, it is a spiritual kiss of humanity without sexual desire.”

Eye contact is a spiritual kiss of humanity without sexual desire.

Lin Jia knew Yan Xu would understand.

The last time he came to Yan Xu’s home, Lin Jia’s attempts to provoke him had failed miserably. It wasn’t too late to make up for it now, though.

He calmly observed Yan Xu, waiting for his reaction.

His words had indeed made an impact—Lin Jia saw Yan Xu’s Adam’s apple move.

After a long while, Yan Xu asked in a hoarse voice, “What if I have sexual desire?”

Lin Jia’s voice was soft and teasing. “Captain Yan means…you want to kiss? Like last time?”

“No.” Yan Xu shook his head. “Not the same.”

Lin Jia asked, “What’s different?”

“Last time was an accident.” Yan Xu’s gaze fell on Lin Jia’s red, full lips as he leaned closer. “This time, it’s intentional.”

His view was briefly blocked by Yan Xu leaning in.

Before Lin Jia could react, he felt softness on his lips—a light, fleeting kiss, like a dragonfly touching water.

His fingers curled, and he froze in place.

Capitalists are all unwilling to suffer losses. He had brought flowers and chased Yan Xu all the way here, thinking he would at least get something from him.

But unexpectedly, what he got was a first innocent kiss.

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