Blazing fire is hard to extinguish chapter 64
Extra If Line Personal Nurturing 4
Li Tingyan held Lin Chi with one hand and picked up a spoon with the other, scooping a wonton from the bowl and putting it in his mouth.
The taste was quite ordinary.
The meat filling was mediocre, and the seasoning was heavy. To Li Tingyan’s picky taste, it was simply subpar.
But he chewed it carefully and swallowed.
He asked Lin Chi, “Did you make all of this yourself? Did you wrap it yourself?”
Lin Chi nodded.
“I even chopped the meat filling myself,” he showed Li Tingyan his finger, “and I cut myself.”
When he was making it, the kitchen servants were very nervous, as if he couldn’t do anything and kept trying to help.
As a result, he got distracted and cut his hand. Fortunately, it wasn’t too deep and only bled a little.
Li Tingyan looked at Lin Chi’s outstretched fingers.
Lin Chi’s hands were the roughest part of his body.
A young man from a poor background, who started helping his family with odd jobs in middle school, looking for part-time work, and even went into the mountains to gather medicinal herbs, his hands wouldn’t be delicate.
But after a month of pampering, without even touching cold water, Lin Chi’s good genes started to show. His hands became noticeably smoother and whiter, like they were self-repairing.
So the cut was quite conspicuous, especially since Lin Chi hadn’t put on a band-aid.
Li Tingyan held Lin Chi’s hand.
According to the teachings he received from a young age, and what his mother taught him about manners, he should feel guilty about Lin Chi’s injury.
But in reality, as he held this hand and looked at Lin Chi, he felt an inexplicable sense of pleasure.
The comment he made about Lin Chi doing something that made him happy was just a casual remark, a momentary whim to tease Lin Chi.
But Lin Chi took it seriously.
Not only did he make wontons by hand, but he also made peace knots for him.
The feeling was like having a cat in his arms that suddenly brought a small gift from outside, just to make its owner smile.
Even though he would soften and help the little cat groom and bandage its wounds, he couldn’t help but feel satisfied.
Look.
His little cat is so smart.
He quickly mastered the way to survive by his side.
Li Tingyan couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why haven’t you bandaged it? Doesn’t it hurt?” he said to Lin Chi, opening a drawer by his desk and taking out iodine and band-aids.
Lin Chi allowed Li Tingyan to disinfect and bandage his wound, feeling that Li Tingyan was making a fuss.
But soon, he heard Li Tingyan say,
“I really like your gift.”
He said it lightly.
Lin Chi was stunned.
He raised one eyebrow, not quite believing, “Really?”
“Yes.”
Li Tingyan threw away the wrapping.
He said, “Your mother was right, things made by hand are always liked. I don’t need anything you buy me since I’m not short of money.”
“So you should put thought into it for me.”
He smiled at Lin Chi, giving gentle advice.
“Even if the thought is a bit clumsy, I will be understanding.”
Lin Chi frowned in irritation, suspecting that Li Tingyan was implying something.
But Li Tingyan was his boss.
The one who paid him.
He endured it and said, “I understand.”
Li Tingyan’s smile deepened.
The bowl of wontons were a bit overcooked, but he still ate them.
He also scooped a few for Lin Chi, feeding him like one would feed a cat.
Lin Chi reluctantly ate.
For the next hour or so, he didn’t let Lin Chi leave.
Instead, he made him attend an English class.
In just over a month, Lin Chi would be transferring to a new school and becoming a high school student.
However, Li Tingyan had arranged for a teacher to give him a placement test. Despite Lin Chi’s decent performance in Changyu County, he was a mess when it came to C City.
Especially in English.
The first time Li Tingyan heard Lin Chi’s peculiar English pronunciation, it was truly painful.
After a month of trying, Lin Chi still hadn’t fully corrected it. The teachers Li Tingyan hired were excellent and taught seriously, but due to the Li family’s influence, they were always gentle with Lin Chi, focusing on encouragement and praise.
From Li Tingyan’s perspective, Lin Chi’s progress was agonizingly slow.
He mercilessly announced to Lin Chi, “Starting tomorrow, your extra classes will be extended to six hours. On Saturdays, you’ll come with me to learn horseback riding, and on Sundays, you’ll learn swimming and tennis. I don’t want you to fall behind academically or lack skills when you go to the new school and become out of place with your classmates. Got it?”
Lin Chi stared at the test paper in agony, feeling like he wanted to hit himself.
Why did he have to deliver a late-night snack to Li Tingyan during his free time?
Now, he was being made to attend extra classes.
But he dared not show his anger, biting his lip and forcefully writing a “C” on the paper, so hard that he tore through it.
“Got it.”
He replied unwillingly.
Li Tingyan completely ignored Lin Chi’s frustration and focused on studying Lin Chi’s progress report from the teacher.
He sighed deeply and marked the report—fail.
For the next month or so, Lin Chi was as busy as a spinning top.
Li Tingyan seemed even freer than before, spending much more time teaching him.
Originally, his schedule was packed with tutors, but Li Tingyan, as the young master, sat nearby like an overseer.
Lin Chi reluctantly finished another physics test paper, so frustrated he could have punched a small figure.
He wasn’t particularly talented in studies. He was just above average in his class before, but now surrounded by highly educated teachers hired by Li Tingyan, he felt like an idiot every day, his face full of worry.
On the other hand, he enjoyed the swimming and horseback riding lessons a bit more.
But Li Tingyan would also personally teach him those.
“Don’t you have anything of your own to do? Don’t you need to go to school?” Lin Chi asked Li Tingyan skeptically.
If he remembered correctly, Li Tingyan was only twenty and still in college, where did he get so much time?
“I have summer vacation too.”
Li Tingyan glanced at him and led him to interact with the horses.
It was a white warmblood horse, known to be the most gentle in Li Tingyan’s stable, specially chosen as a teaching horse.
“Stand beside it, not in front,” Li Tingyan instructed. “You can get familiar with your horse first. Don’t be afraid, and don’t rush.”
Li Tingyan stepped aside.
Lin Chi hesitantly approached, feeling both excited and uncertain.
He stood beside the horse for a while, then reached out to touch it.
Just as Li Tingyan said, the large white horse was indeed very gentle and even lightly nuzzled his palm.
The feeling was intimate. Lin Chi, who naturally loved animals, became excited.
He turned to Li Tingyan with bright eyes and asked, “Does she like me?”
He looked strangely childlike.
In the month or so since he arrived at the Li family, he mostly wore a stern face, always wary, as if ready to run away at any moment.
Only with Zheng Xin did he relax a bit.
This was the first time he had smiled so happily.
Li Tingyan couldn’t help but smile slightly as well, and said with certainty, “Yes, she likes you a lot.”
For the next half day, Lin Chi followed the teacher to learn how to mount a horse and was led by the coach, trying out a lap in the riding arena.
Before leaving, Li Tingyan also took him to the stable to feed the horse named “Sierra.” Lin Chi was reluctant to part with Sierra, patting the horse’s head and muttering something.
Li Tingyan vaguely heard a few phrases, probably something like “I’ll come see you next time,” “You really eat a lot,” and “If it’s tasty, I’ll come feed you again next time.”
Childish.
Li Tingyan thought, but he didn’t rush him, letting Lin Chi dawdle for a bit, and then some more, until an hour later when they got in the car to leave together.
On the way back, Lin Chi was so exhausted he fell asleep, his face tilted and resting on Li Tingyan’s shoulder.
Li Tingyan looked at him expressionlessly for a while, and for some reason, lifted his hand to poke his cheek.
When they got home, Li Tingyan didn’t let the driver take over; he carried Lin Chi out of the car himself.
Lin Chi was deeply asleep. Li Tingyan hesitated for a moment, then had someone bring a blanket, took off Lin Chi’s outerwear, and carried him to the lounge.
Meanwhile, he sat nearby, dealing with some accumulated work.
When Lin Chi woke up, Li Tingyan had just finished a brief meeting.
The room was dimly lit. Li Tingyan was wearing headphones, speaking in a very low voice. When he noticed Lin Chi had woken up, he said to the other end, “Alright, arrange it this way for now. End the meeting for today.”
He turned off the meeting.
Lin Chi was still groggy, sitting up in bed and staring blankly at Li Tingyan.
“Get up and eat if you’re awake,” Li Tingyan said lightly, “Go take a shower; you’re all sweaty.”
Lin Chi was covered in sweat.
Even though he had removed his clothes, Li Tingyan, with his cleanliness obsession, felt very uncomfortable.
Allowing Lin Chi to sleep in the lounge was already his leniency.
Lin Chi blinked, struggled to understand Li Tingyan’s words, and did not argue.
He took a shower and then sat down with Li Tingyan at the long table for dinner.
The table was filled with dishes he liked. Even though he had never made any specific requests, the Li family’s servants had accurately found out his preferences through observation.
Lin Chi ate a shrimp slowly, his eyes constantly glancing at Li Tingyan.
“Why are you looking at me?”
Li Tingyan’s gaze was still on his phone’s news page, but he accurately caught the movement beside him.
He turned his head and looked at Lin Chi, “Is there something on my face?”
Lin Chi shook his head.
“Then why are you staring?” Li Tingyan asked.
Lin Chi’s chopsticks fiddled with the mushrooms in his bowl, hesitatingly biting his lip.
“You…”
Why are you being so nice to me?
He was very confused.
It was already strange enough that Li Tingyan kept him around, but he also spent so much time teaching him, guiding him, and caring about his grades.
Although he was tormented by his homework and often wanted to bite Li Tingyan, he wasn’t ungrateful. Hearing from the servants that Li Tingyan even personally undressed him and took care of him while he slept, his confusion reached its peak.
This was too strange.
He had never received such treatment, even in the happier years of his family. His parents had never been so attentive.
This made him bite his chopsticks, looking at Li Tingyan with growing curiosity.
He felt like Li Tingyan’s brain might not be functioning well.
But when he met Li Tingyan’s gaze, he swallowed these words.
He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
It was unclear whether it’s Li Tingyan’s illusion, but since accompanying Lin Chi to the horse riding class, Lin Chi seemed to have become a bit more obedient and also more willing to get closer.
He also did his homework when asked.
Although his face was sullen, he would actively bring his test papers to be checked.
Sometimes he even came over to watch videos next to him while he did his own homework. Lin Chi wouldn’t bother him and would put on headphones, but insisted on squeezing onto the same sofa.
Ye Fengshan and Xu Mu once caught them together and were both stunned.
“Oh, you’ve had this little cat for almost two months, and it really has gotten used to you.”
Ye Fengshan said in a low voice.
Meanwhile, Xu Mu was peeling chocolate for Lin Chi. Xu Mu naturally had a friendly face and was very likable. Lin Chi’s expression towards Xu Mu was much better than towards Ye Fengshan. Xu Mu handed over the chocolate and a gift. Lin Chi glanced at Li Tingyan, and seeing him nod, accepted it.
“Good boy.”
Ye Fengshan was even more shocked, “He actually listens to you now and only accepts the gift after seeing you nod.”
Li Tingyan smiled slightly but did not deny it.
He could indeed feel Lin Chi’s recent dependence on him, though he wasn’t sure why.
After thinking about it, it might be because he accompanied him to wait for Zheng Xin to have surgery.
At that time, Lin Chi showed his first signs of panic and fear, and Li Tingyan held him the whole night, comforting him clumsily.
“If he were not obedient at all, what would be the point of raising him?” Li Tingyan said.
But just five minutes later, his words were slapped back at him.
Lin Chi suddenly brightened up after hearing something from Xu Mu and ran over.
“Xu Mu said there’s a Samoyed at his house. Can I go see it?”
A Samoyed?
The one at Xu Mu’s house that only sticks out its tongue and grins?
So dumb.
“What’s so interesting about it,” Li Tingyan said, “The dog at his place is both stupid and drools.”
“Stop talking nonsense,” Xu Mu protested, “Amantha is very well-behaved and smart.”
Li Tingyan sneered, “Only you think that.”
But Lin Chi was clearly just informing him. Upon hearing that Xu Mu’s house was nearby, he quickly grabbed his hat.
“I’ll go with Xu Mu Ge and be back soon.” Lin Chi said while putting on his hat, without caring whether Li Tingyan agreed or not, and quickly grabbed Xu Mu’s sleeve.
Xu Mu was extremely pleased and gave Li Tingyan a look.
“Let’s go,” Xu Mu said, “I’ll buy you ice cream on the way. Don’t listen to Li Tingyan’s nonsense, Amantha is especially cute.”
Soon, only Li Tingyan and Ye Fengshan were left in the room.
They exchanged glances.
Ye Fengshan chuckled and said, “It seems like Lin Chi isn’t that obedient after all.”
Li Tingyan kicked him.
Because Lin Chi ran off with Xu Mu, Li Tingyan was very sulky and did not show a smile all evening.
Lin Chi was almost speechless.
He secretly wrote in his diary that Li Tingyan was petty and unreasonable, while sighing and going to Li Tingyan, pretending to complain about arm pain, saying it might be from practicing piano too much in the afternoon.
He moaned for nearly three minutes before Li Tingyan finally gave him a glance, called the housekeeper, and asked for a doctor to be brought over.
Author’s note:
I’m really worried about how long this extra chapter will take to finish…
It’s already been four chapters, and they’re still not together.
I still have new stories to write QAQ