Chapter 031 (1/2)
The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal Assistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
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Chapter Thirty-one
Ling Miao glanced at Su Yuyang’s text, and his fingers gripped his phone tighter and tighter, as if he wanted to crush it to pieces. Maybe he grew pained at the memory of the money he had spent, because he quickly loosened his grip and threw the phone at the bed, hard.
Thunk—
The loud sound made Ji Linxi jump. He clutched his pounding heart and asked, “What the hell?! That scared me to death!”
Ling Miao let out a frustrated ‘hmph,’ then faced Ji Linxi with a fierce yet tearful expression. “Fuck it, I left in such a hurry that I forgot my computer! Now that bastard Su Yuyang’s using my drafts to threaten me!”
“Exactly how much of a hurry were you in when you left? Your clothes aside, you didn’t even take your suitcase full of books or your computer. Ling Miao, are you sure you don’t have other feelings towards Su Yuyang? If not, why are you acting so strange?” Ji Linxi said faux-thoughtfully in a teasing tone.
Ling Miao didn’t see Ji Linxi’s expression, but he could imagine what Ji Linxi’s face looked like from his shit-eating tone of voice.
Ling Miao kicked the chair Ji Linxi was sitting in and said witheringly: “Nah, I don’t. What I’m annoyed about is that I really don’t freakin’ want to go back, but he has leverage. Fuck, he went so far as to threaten me. That’s how low of a person he is.”
Ji Linxi knew Ling Miao was genuinely mad and didn’t provoke him any further. He reminded: “Forget Su Yuyang for a bit. Go wash the shampoo out of your hair, then we’ll see.”
“Fuck.” Ji Linxi’s reminder reminded Ling Miao he had been showering. Su Yuyang had stirred him up so much that his brain only had room for Su Yuyang’s crafty face.
The shower should have been refreshing but Ling Miao was extremely frustrated. He’d just mistakenly used Ji Linxi’s facial wash for toothpaste, and it was Su Yuyang who’d made him so absent-minded!
“Linxi, what should I do?” Ling Miao lay on the bed and said weakly.
Ji Linxi retorted: “How should I know what you should do?”
After a period of silence, Ji Linxi asked: “You don’t want to go back because Su Yuyang maligned you by saying you’re an anti-fan, but Su Yuyang clearly knows you’re not. So why would he say that?”
“Of course, isn’t it because I didn’t check his chapters after uploading them?” Ling Miao was still mad when discussing this matter. “Why didn’t he check them himself? What writer’s this irresponsible?”
“Dumb cat.” Ji Linxi sounded as if he wanted to drag Ling Miao into the bathroom and splash Ling Miao’s fury-addled head with cold water.
“Hey, no need to dredge up the past, okay?!” Ling Miao sat up, his manner and his movements just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Ling Miao, can you use your head, please? You’ve made a lot of mistakes like this before. Why did Su Yuyang only discover it this time?” Ji Linxi suddenly took on a lecturing tone. Ling Miao’s eyes flashed as if Ji Linxi had really reminded him of something. He said carefully, “Su Yuyang trusted me a lot?”
Ji Linxi said nothing. Ling Miao’s gaze remained on Ji Linxi’s face, as if he’d bore a hole into Ji Linxi’s head should the latter not provide a satisfactory answer.
Ji Linxi finished his work and stretched lazily before saying, “I don’t think Su Yuyang is threatening you. I think he couldn’t find another way to get you to go back, so he’s using your drafts to lure you back.”
“Lure?” Ling Miao didn’t understand.
Ji Linxi pulled up the text Su Yuyang had sent Ling Miao and explained: “Su Yuyang only said ‘your drafts are still here, come back.’ He didn’t say what he’d do to your drafts if you didn’t go back. So he’s luring you, not threatening you.
“Honestly speaking, Su Yuyang’s actions are very strange. Maybe he really, to you…” Ji Linxi hadn’t finished speaking when Ling Miao took the phone from him and called Su Yuyang.
“Hey, Su Yuyang, if I don’t go back, what will you do to my drafts?” Ling Miao asked in a conciliatory voice.
“I don’t know,” Su Yuyang replied calmly. “But they have a lot of typos. It’s tiring me out.”
“I…” Ling Miao was about to retort, “What business is it of yours if I have typos,” but that, “It’s tiring me out,” struck Ling Miao’s heart.
“Is he editing my drafts?” Ling Miao’s mouth dropped open with surprise.
Ling Miao didn’t reply for a long time. Su Yuyang asked worriedly, “Ling Miao, are you alright?”
“I… you…”
As if knowing what Ling Miao was going to ask, Su Yuyang laughed and said: “I know you care a lot about doing your best, so I’m editing your update for tomorrow. But your drafts won’t last very long, so if you don’t come back…”
Though Su Yuyang didn’t finish, Ling Miao already understood what Su Yuyang wanted to express.
“Isn’t Su Yuyang’s hand hurt? He’s still helping me edit my drafts. I…” Ling Miao felt as if someone had struck his heart. Upon closer observation, the hand that had struck his heart was covered in boils, like the hand in the photo Su Yuyang had posted on his blog.
“You… Never mind, I’d better go back.”
Ling Miao actually really wanted to ask Su Yuyang to send over the drafts by email, but thinking about the fact that Su Yuyang had hurt his hand and was alone at home with no one to look after him—more importantly, that Su Yuyang was still editing Ling Miao’s drafts for him—Ling Miao’s heart momentarily melted and caused him to say he’d go back.
Su Yuyang seemed to have expected, but also not expected, Ling Miao’s answer. Su Yuyang’s face broke into a joyful smile, but his tone didn’t change: “I’ll wait for you.”
I’ll wait for you.
The four simple words didn’t have much emotional inflection, but when Ling Miao heard them his cheeks turned red.