What Are Your Tastes? chapter 7
CEO-style Male Lead
After taking medicine for two days, Lu Yunchu clearly felt his symptoms receding. Ning Ruowei bought him things in Japan, including a silk scarf and some sweets. She heard he was sick and came to visit with gifts.
In the studio in the evening, the staff had already left, leaving only the soft light in the office, casting shadows of the two figures, tall and short.
“Didn’t I tell you not to bring anything?”
“It’s not heavy,” she said, “How’s your health?”
“It’s nothing serious,” Lu Yunchu poured two glasses of lemon water, “But it’s flu, not fully recovered yet. Aren’t you afraid of getting infected?”
“If I can get infected, that’s a skill,” she wrinkled her nose, “Knowing you’re not fully recovered and still smoking, isn’t that contradictory?”
“How did you know I smoked?” he had clearly opened the door and let the smell linger.
She lightly hummed, “Non-smokers are far more sensitive to the smell of smoke than you think.”
“Is that so… Sorry about that.” Lu Yunchu did indeed smoke. Afraid of bothering others, he would usually leisurely light up only when he was alone.
“You should take some responsibility for yourself,” she said, resting her head on the table. “By the way, which hospital did you visit the day before yesterday?”
“People’s Hospital.”
“People’s Hospital?”
“Yeah, it’s the closest one around here.”
“An Yuan works as an internist at People’s Hospital,” Ning Ruowei muttered to herself.
Lu Yunchu remembered that aloof-eyed doctor. Could she really be the travel roommate mentioned by Ning Ruowei? But weren’t they on bad terms… Why would she talk about her in that tone?
He didn’t tell her that the doctor he saw that day was named An Yuan, instead asking back, “Don’t you dislike her?”
“No, I don’t,” she suddenly straightened up, “Why would I dislike her?”
“You said she’s obsessive about cleanliness and likes to control you.”
“That was all a misunderstanding,” Ning Ruowei immediately changed to a smiling face, “After those days, I thought she was pretty nice.”
Lu Yunchu understood her orientation and realized it wasn’t that simple just from her expression.
In college, Ning Ruowei had once confessed boldly to a girl she liked, only to be treated like a plague and avoided, causing quite a stir. Although naturally cheerful and carefree, she had been deeply hurt at the time, and in these years since, he hadn’t heard her mention any girls around her, just occasionally chasing celebrities. Now repeatedly mentioning another woman, it was probably due to some favorable impression.
If it weren’t for confusing identities, the doctor named An Yuan seemed far from the nature of a good friend, and Lu Yunchu didn’t understand why she suddenly changed her attitude. Of course, everyone’s emotions needed to be explored on their own, even if they were good friends, he wouldn’t say much.
Perhaps Ning Ruowei hadn’t sorted it out herself and didn’t intend to confide in him about these things. The topic started and then fizzled out. She leaned closer to the office display shelf, casually glancing at it.
Previously, Lu Yunchu had made a small clay model for Hongchuan’s design, one of which was still on the shelf. Ning Ruowei noticed the “little horse.”
“Yunchu, is this for the museum?”
After figuring out which model she was asking about, Lu Yunchu chuckled, “No, it’s for Hongchuan.”
“Oh?” Ning Ruowei was somewhat surprised, “Hongchuan, that place… isn’t it inappropriate for something like this?”
Although the finished product was very detailed and lifelike, it didn’t quite fit in a modern industrial park.
“The boss insisted on this type.”
“The boss?” Ning Ruowei widened her eyes in astonishment, “Have you met their big boss, surnamed Zhou?”
“I have,” not only had he met him, but he had also been quite upset, “How else would I know his requirements?”
“What kind of person is he?”
“What kind of person…” Lu Yunchu had several very different impressions of Zhou Yanchuan in his mind. Having tea in the office, eating together, communicating on WeChat… these weren’t extensive contacts, but they had left him deeply confused. His most recent impression came from the WeChat message after returning from the hospital that day, asking himself if he was sick.
At the time, Lu Yunchu had replied to him: [It’s okay, just a cold. What about you, why were you at the hospital?] [I went to visit someone. Why do you look so bad with just a cold?]
Lu Yunchu’s first reaction was to worry that his image in the hospital wasn’t good.
[What’s wrong with my appearance? How do I look so bad?] [Like you’re half-dead.]Lu Yunchu: “…”
Well, let’s assume he was showing concern.
So he told Ning Ruowei, “As long as you don’t oppose him, he’s actually a decent person.”
It was too vague an assessment, and Ning Ruowei couldn’t make head or tail of it, still a bit puzzled.
“How come you’re interested in men now?”
“I’m not interested,” she waved her hand, “Just a bit curious. I’ve seen him in the media a few times; he’s a famous bachelor in our circle.”
“Him?” Well, he was indeed rich and handsome, and Lu Yunchu could tell what she was hinting at, “Is he single?”
“Yeah, never married, no rumors either.”
“He’s not a celebrity; what rumors could there be?”
“You never know,” Ning Ruowei shrugged, “Those big bosses are public figures too; anything slightly off can be dug up.”
Having spent a long time in Sen city, she was somewhat familiar with gossip about celebrities, and idle chatter was idle chatter. She enthusiastically told Lu Yunchu about the recent marriage of the boss of Chen’an Real Estate.
Lu Yunchu had met the new wife of Chairman Lin of Chen’an, who had been with him at the last party and was reportedly twenty years younger.
“Second marriage, booked an entire hotel, that convoy was worth more than ten of me,” Ning Ruowei vividly described, “I wonder how the CEO of Hongchuan would organize his wedding…”
Zhou Yanchuan getting married? Lu Yunchu’s mind quickly churned. With his aesthetic taste, he might turn the wedding scene into some kind of tacky theatrical stage.
However, what he was most curious about was how Zhou Yanchuan would approach a relationship. His appearance, demeanor, and status could perfectly fit into the ancient CEO male lead in Weibo posts.
For example, a male lead with Zhou Yanchuan’s face backed a female lead against the wall and asked in a deep voice, “Do you know who you belong to now?”
Or holding a teacup, with a devilish smile, “Listen to me, I call the shots.” Just like that day when he pressured him to revise the draft.
Lu Yunchu shook off the goosebumps and switched scenes in his mind.
Similarly, a male lead with Zhou Yanchuan’s face telling the female lead, “Be good, call me ge and I’ll spare you.”
The more Lu Yunchu imagined, the more it seemed to fit Zhou Yanchuan’s style, making him feel deeply sympathetic towards his future wife.
“Yunchu? Yunchu!”
Ning Ruowei called twice before Lu Yunchu snapped out of it, “What’s wrong?”
Ning Ruowei pulled a face, “Do you know what expression you just had?”
“What?”
“A lecherous grin.”
Lu Yunchu wasn’t pleased. That wasn’t a lecherous grin; it was clearly due to the chill.
“What are you thinking?” Ning Ruowei scanned him up and down. “You’re not… interested in Mr. Zhou from Hongchuan, are you?”
“Nonsense,” Lu Yunchu’s face flushed. He hurriedly denied, “How could I have the taste of a Weibo ad!”
“What’s a Weibo ad…” Ning Ruowei didn’t understand the little drama he had concocted in his mind and continued to complain, “Anyway, your taste in men isn’t that great.”
She immediately realized she had said the wrong thing, inadvertently touching on his past taboo.
“I’m sorry, Yunchu, I… I forgot…”
Lu Yunchu didn’t feel offended. He had been sad about the past and let it go. “That’s ancient history, no big deal.”
“You really don’t mind?”
“Of course,” he leaned against the table, arms crossed. “Throwing away a scumbag is as satisfying as taking out the trash. I’m not losing out.”
He had a purity in his approach to relationships akin to his approach to art. Since that man couldn’t even manage basic loyalty, he didn’t deserve to talk about the future.
“Exactly, clearly, he was the blind one!”
The unpleasant topic was swiftly passed over, and the atmosphere lightened. Ning Ruowei had dinner before coming over and soon left. Lu Yunchu remained alone in the office, facing the French windows that opened onto the terrace.
The cigarette box from earlier was still on the table. He relied on his youthful constitution; even with his health issues, he hadn’t consciously given up his bad habits. Leaning against the glass for a while, he took another cigarette from the box. The flame flickered, and a red dot of smoke rose.
Outside, Zhou Yanchuan sneezed a few times while having dinner. His companion, Mo Ziyang, asked with slight concern, “Are you catching a cold?”
“No,” he grabbed a tissue, “probably someone badmouthing me.”
“Don’t be superstitious,” Mo Ziyang frowned. “I’m telling you, tomorrow the TV crew is coming to film. You need to perk up a bit, don’t look like a sickly child.”
“You’ve said that a hundred times,” Zhou Yanchuan rubbed his temples, “Are you going through menopause?”
“Get lost.”
Mo Ziyang had initially planned to accompany Zhou Yanchuan for dinner while waiting for his child to finish class. Seeing the time was up, he bid him goodbye.
“Go on,” Zhou Yanchuan waved his hand, “look how many classes you’ve signed Tao Tao up for, he hasn’t even started elementary school yet.”
“Nowadays, who doesn’t do that?” Mo Ziyang turned away disdainfully, giving him a glance. “You’ll understand someday.”
Mo Ziyang and his wife were college classmates, married early, and their child was almost five years old. Since his first love broke up, Zhou Yanchuan had never dated again, let alone entered the realm of marriage.
Understand my ass, Zhou Yanchuan thought to himself. Having a child was simply asking for trouble. He thought of his own childhood; although he didn’t study much and had poor grades after starting school, he was happy. Wasn’t that good enough?
Tomorrow, he would have something troublesome to deal with.
He was most worried about dealing with the media, and his level of annoyance was probably comparable to accompanying officials for meals.