Chapter 72: Reality: An Apology

Chapter 72: Reality: An Apology

An unexpected visitor arrived on a beautiful sunny day.

After finishing his schedule, Yan Qiling was taking pictures of the newly blossomed pomegranate flowers in the courtyard, enjoying a brief respite.

Pomegranates bloom in February, May, and October, but only those that flower between May and July bear fruit; the rest are false flowers. Noticing the bud's readiness to bloom yesterday, he made a mental note to capture it for remembrance.

Pan Hu entered through the balcony glass door with his phone, respectfully saying,

"Sir, Tuan Mi mentioned that Mr. Lin Yongjian is already at the entrance. I just checked through the peephole, and indeed, there's someone wearing a mask and a hood standing outside. How should we handle this?"

Yan Qiling adjusted the camera's focus, his expression giving away no emotions. He simply asked,

"How did he get the address?"

Pan Hu, anticipating the question, replied,

"Tuan Mi suspects that the address was given by one of the assistants who left previously... She mentioned that Lin Yongjian has been inquiring about your whereabouts within the circle for quite some time. She's already informed everyone around her who knows your address, so it must be someone she couldn't reach before who leaked the information."

"Mm-hmm."

Raising the camera to his eye, the man clicked three times and then lowered it to review the captured images with a detached tone.

"Let him in, lest we attract paparazzi."

Pan Hu obeyed the command while Yan Qiling continued shooting.

He heard the sound of shoes being changed at the entrance, as well as Pan Hu whispering with others.

The visitor politely asked for names and titles, and expressed admiration for the house's interior design as if going through a routine.

None of this disrupted Yan Qiling's focus; he didn't even consider putting down the camera to greet the guest.

A green ladybug landed on a crimson pomegranate petal.

With patience, Yan Qiling adjusted the camera's aperture and sensitivity. Just as the lens focused on the ladybug, a cheerful voice suddenly rang out:

"Mr. Yan, I didn't know you were here. Wow, is this your garden? It's so well-tended."

The ladybug flew away, leaving behind an image of a petal with distinct veins.

Yan Qiling didn't respond immediately. He lowered his head to adjust his camera, then, after a while, looked up with a smile as if he had just heard the question.

"Why are you here all of a sudden? I haven't prepared anything."

"Oh, it was my impromptu visit. Mr. Yan, there was no need for you to prepare anything."

Lin Yongjian, standing on the terrace, quickly squatted down.

Being tall and standing on the elevated platform, even when he knelt, he still towered over Yan Qiling by half a meter. However, wearing house slippers, he couldn't simply jump down into the soil. Thus, he reluctantly hunched over.

"Mr. Yan, you didn't mention that you were on vacation. I only found out after asking around that you're taking a break these two days... Oh, right, I brought a nice wine. It's a 30-year-old dry red from a newly acquired vineyard's cellar. I hope Mr. Yan will enjoy it."

Yan Qiling closed his camera lens and left his shoes on the terrace below.

With his bony, pale feet, he stepped slowly up the side stairs, now looking down at Lin Yongjian.

The man offered a cool, indifferent smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"It's fine. Just remember to inform me next time before you come. What if no one's home?"

His ambiguous tenderness stirred something in Lin Yongjian's heart. He promptly stood up, circling around Yan Qiling like an endearing little dog.

"I made sure to ask Meiya before coming over. Teacher Yan, I assume you haven't forgiven me yet, so you didn't call. I'm truly sorry about the incident with the studio shoot. Are you still angry at me, Teacher Yan?"

Yan Qiling remained silent, putting away the camera in a cabinet before turning to him.

"I'll make some tea for you."

Pushing out an integrated electronic tea table from a corner, Yan Qiling opened a package of tea to check its variety.

The design of the tea table was retro, but its functions exuded a modern technological feel. The overall appearance was strangely harmonious and captivating, yet it was hard to imagine that Yan Qiling would use such an item.

Flipping through the packets to find one he wanted, Yan Qiling asked,

"Do you drink Cloud Mist tea? A friend from Mount Lu sent it to me."

"I'll drink, I don't have any preferences," Lin Yongjian replied, his eyes shining brightly as though he only had this person in his sight.

Yan Qiling was not fond of the sensation of being stared at so intensely; it felt like sticky gum was attached to his skin, making him feel as if he needed to wash off the dirt on his clothes.

However, his innate manners restrained his impulse. He simply opened the metallic packet and asked casually, "You must be quite busy lately, with appointments to attend this afternoon, right?"

Lin Yongjian smiled and said, "Not really, I took a leave from work with Meiya." He added, "This whole afternoon is for Teacher Yan."

Yan Qiling rinsed the tea set with hot water nonchalantly and apologized with a leisurely tone, "I plan to fix my camera lens this afternoon, so I might not be able to keep you company for long. Normally, I should entertain you properly since you've taken the trouble to come, but things just happened to overlap."

A fleeting flash of displeasure flickered in Lin Yongjian's eyes, but he suppressed it.

Considering himself possibly the first "colleague," aside from Yan Qiling's agent and assistant, to have entered this man's home in many years, he didn't wish to give the impression now that he was too troublesome for Yan Qiling.

Thus, he pretended to nonchalantly raise a smile.

"Absolutely, I can accompany Professor Yan in the afternoon. I'll be fully disguised, so no one will recognize me! Please rest assured, Professor Yan. Besides, I haven't gone out for a stroll in ages. It would be a great opportunity to broaden my horizons alongside Professor Yan."

Their conversation was cut short by a sudden downpour of rain.

A minute later, the rain fell furiously upon the balcony's floor-to-ceiling windows, as if someone were relentlessly hosing the glass from the rooftop with a high-pressure water jet.

"Wow, this rain is tremendous."

On the surface, Lin Yongjian appeared contemplative, but inwardly, he was wildly ecstatic:

"There are many delicate components in the camera. It would be a real headache if it gets wet. Will Teacher Yan still go this afternoon?"

Yan Qiling gazed at the rain outside. A faint, mocking smile faded into the dimming light:

"Never mind."

Lin Yongjian was as delighted as a cat that had tasted forbidden fish, openly admiring the exceptionally handsome man before him.

Satisfied with the butler's tact for staying in the kitchen and not disturbing them, he indulged in watching the man handle the teacups with his long, elegant fingers. This unbridled admiration triggered more pulse-quickening images in his mind, which became even more pronounced amidst the gentle pitter-patter of the rain.

He recalled meeting Yan Qiling for the first time two years ago.

Back then, he had fallen out with his family and taken on a modeling gig purely based on his looks. Yan Qiling had been his partner during that assignment.

Back then, Yan Qiling was also a newcomer, much like him. His otherworldly, aloof appearance, which initially seemed untouchable, would melt into gentle spring water when he encountered others, leaving them mesmerized and forgetful of the mundane world.

Lin Yongjian was different from those people. Although he was impressed, he believed that external appearances were just that—superficial and insignificant.

Due to his fallout with his family, coupled with his father's business struggles, those who assumed his family was on the decline started to show their true colors openly, giving him the cold shoulder.

Even those who had never held a grudge against him, in their quest to curry favor with the influential, wouldn't hesitate to step on him.

The slightly more neutral ones simply turned a blind eye to him, acting as if nothing concerned them.

Only Yan Qiling's gaze upon him remained perpetually serene and unchanged, as it always had been in their interactions.

His model attire was soiled by others, but Yan Qiling arranged for it to be refashioned and delivered personally. When the makeup artist deliberately ruined his hair, claiming it suited the shoot's style, Yan Qiling replaced the stylist and skillfully trimmed his hair himself.

This person watched as others set obstacles in his path without showing any cheap sympathy or pity. Instead, he calmly resolved these difficulties, just like overcoming challenges at work, clearing the way for him to continue forward successfully.

Somewhere along the line, he had become enamored with this simple tranquility.

He strived upward, not just to prove that even with nothing, he could still grasp all that belonged to him in society. But also to seize the right moment to invert their positions.

He was determined to be this person's guiding light, just as Yan Qiling once was for him.

He hoped to disrupt the stillness of that tranquil pond, creating ripples because of his presence.

Actually, he had initially assumed that Yan Qiling would achieve success before him.

But this man seemed to have no interest in the entertainment industry, content with a lukewarm existence within the modeling world through photography. Occasionally, when he gained some traction outside his circle, he would intentionally withdraw for a period of time.

Perhaps Ding Tai would feel regretful.

But Lin Yongjian believed that this was his chance.

Many people sought to get close to Yan Qiling, but none were more sincere, more skilled, or more understanding of who the man truly was.

Yan Qiling was like a cluster of ocean waves; the closer one approached, the further they were pushed away.

The farther away one stood, the more one could sense that desireless purity.

A pure and transparent crystal existed solely to be stained black.

Previously, he had regretted not shooting that photoshoot with Yan Qiling.

But now, he was grateful for not having done so, as it provided an excuse to draw even closer.

No one could reject him, not even Yan Qiling.

Right then, the abrupt sound of the doorbell pierced through the dense rain, ringing clearly in the entrance hall.

In the kitchen, Pan Hu, having finally finished his chores, wiped his hands and emerged, glancing at the security camera display by the door. He let out an "Ah" and returned to the living room, announcing,

"Sir, Mister Ming is here."

Yan Qiling's hand, in the midst of brewing tea, paused slightly. He spoke nonchalantly,

"Let him in."

Lin Yongjian keenly sensed that something was amiss.

The sound of a door opening echoed in the foyer. After a moment, the lazy yet audacious voice of a young man resounded in the quiet atmosphere:

"Someone's cooking, smells delicious. Where's Yan Qiling?"

Yan Qiling handed Lin Yongjian a cup of misty cloud tea and whispered,

"It's hot, drink slowly. I'll go greet our guest."

With that, he strolled out of the living room.

With a warm cup of tea in hand, Lin Yongjian's initially relaxed mood began to turn anxious, an unwitting frown forming between his brows.

He heard Yan Qiling's pleasantly cool voice drift in from the living room:

"Why are you here?"

"I came to deliver something. Who knew it would start pouring halfway through? Meeting you seems to invite nothing but misfortune."

Though the young man was complaining, one could sense a hint of jest beneath his words:

"I'm drenched now. Is it okay if I use your bathroom?"

"First, wipe yourself off with a towel so you don't soak my floor."

Lin Yongjian's eyes widened in surprise.