Chapter 9 Online Dating Meets in Person

Chapter 9: Meeting the Online Love in Person

“Zaishan must be worn out from the business trip,” Sun Lanru said, putting a small piece of emerald-green broccolini into her mouth with a fork. Probably worried about smudging her lipstick, she opened her mouth wide in an exaggerated way, chewing a few times before squinting her eyes at Lin Zaishan, her face—overdone with cosmetic procedures—stiff in an indescribable way when she smiled. “Auntie can tell from your complexion—you're not looking too good, huh?”

“Exactly,” Lin Yajun, seated at the head of the table, chimed in first, her gaze concerned as she looked at her son. “I noticed the moment he got off the plane, but when I asked him, he just said it was nothing. This kid.”

“Really, it’s nothing, Mom.” Lin Zaishan smiled, then turned politely to Sun Lanru across from him. “Thanks for worrying about me, Auntie. It’s just a bit tiring from the long flight. I’ll rest tonight and be fine.”

“You should rest well,” Sun Lanru jumped in immediately, giving Lin Zaishan a meaningful smile. “Zaishan was away for about half a month this time, right? My husband, Old Xu, was asking me just the other day if you were off on a honeymoon with Miss Yuan. I told him, that came out of nowhere! The wedding hasn’t even happened yet!”

With that, she let out a dry, hollow laugh. After laughing enough, she turned and gave Lin Yajun a wink. “So, tell me, before I fly off to Hawaii this year, will I get to see your future daughter-in-law?”

Hearing this, Lin Yajun’s expression stiffened for a moment, but out of respect for her old friend, she forced a smile and responded, “I’ve told you, Simiao is still in school. We can’t just have her quit school for a wedding.”

As she spoke, her gaze slid imperceptibly toward Yuan Che, who had been sitting quietly beside Lin Zaishan. It lingered for a moment before drifting away indifferently. She lowered her head, forked a neatly cut piece of dessert, and put it in her mouth.

Though brief, that look made Yuan Che visibly flustered. He quickly lowered his head, then secretively glanced sideways at Lin Zaishan, his hands clenched into fists and placed properly on his lap. The plate in front of him had been empty since he sat down, and his water glass was only half-empty.

Lin Zaishan noticed his gaze and turned his head to look at him, lowering his voice. “Why aren’t you eating?”

Yuan Che seemed startled by the sudden concern, but then broke into a bright smile and said quietly, “I’m not very hungry.”

That smile made Lin Zaishan pause for a full two seconds.

He quickly collected himself, his face betraying nothing, but his mind sifted through the image—this guy had lost weight—a lot of weight since the last time they met. Dark circles pressed against his pale skin, giving him a sickly look. Was it from exhaustion? Or illness?

After a moment’s thought, he decided not to ask. He just couldn’t be bothered.

Lin Zaishan dropped his gaze, prodding the piece of cod on his plate with his fork. In his mind, he calculated: Yuan Simiao was 23 this year, so this younger brother should be in his early twenties. But that smile showed he was still just a little brat who hasn’t grown up yet.

And a little boy at that. The thought made him even more annoyed.

“Alright then,” Lin Zaishan pushed down his feelings, his tone returning to its usual warm and considerate one, “I’m a bit tired today too. After we finish eating, I’ll take you home.”

Hearing this, Yuan Che immediately nodded. “Okay, whatever you say.”

Lin Zaishan curled the corner of his mouth, gave him a slight chin nod, and turned back to cutting his cod.

The table fell silent again, broken only by the faint clink of utensils. Lin Zaishan kept his head down, cutting carefully with knife and fork, but his mind had already wandered far away—from that one look, he saw clearly: Yuan Che was indeed thinner, but his good looks were still there. At least with that face at home, he wouldn’t be embarrassed.

“If you ask me, Zaishan and Simiao have such a great relationship,” Sun Lanru brought up a new topic in a chatty tone. “Which brother-in-law nowadays would be so willing to take care of his wife’s younger brother?”

As she spoke, her gaze darted back and forth between Lin Zaishan and Yuan Che, finally landing on Yuan Che. She flashed that exaggerated smile again. “Are you adjusting well here? The climate must be different from the island, right?”

Lin Zaishan paused for a moment before realizing she was asking Yuan Che.

“It’s fine, Auntie,” Yuan Che replied politely, giving Sun Lanru a smile. “Better than the island.”

“How could that be?” Sun Lanru tilted her head in mock surprise, her tone practically dripping with mockery. “If you ask me, the climate and air quality here aren’t as good as in the countryside. My husband Old Xu always says he wants to buy a house in the countryside after retirement, raise a few chickens, grow some vegetables—healthy and good for exercise. Perfect!”

“We can’t grow vegetables where I’m from,” Yuan Che corrected seriously, still polite.

“Can’t grow vegetables?” Sun Lanru covered her mouth lightly in exaggerated surprise. “What do you eat then? I heard it’s quite troublesome to get to the mainland from your place—it takes several hours, and the internet isn’t great either.”

“It’s not very convenient,” Yuan Che nodded, his voice still calm. “But I’ve never seen anyone grow vegetables on the island. The vegetables we eat at home… seem to come by plane. If you’re curious, Auntie, I can give you Auntie Chen’s contact information.”

“Auntie Chen?” Lin Yajun, who had barely spoken, now couldn’t help asking. “Who’s Auntie Chen?”

“She’s our domestic helper,” Yuan Che answered quickly. “The helper in charge of buying groceries.”

When the words landed, Sun Lanru’s expression turned noticeably sour. Lin Yajun, however, had a smile creeping onto her face. She gave Sun Lanru a meaningful glance before turning back to Yuan Che. “No need for the contact info, Auntie. Uncle Xu’s retirement is still far off.”

“Alright,” Yuan Che nodded obediently, then asked, “And you, Mom?”

That clear, candid “Mom” instantly plunged the table into an eerie silence. Lin Yajun’s hand holding her cup paused slightly. Sun Lanru’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Even Lin Zaishan subconsciously turned his head to look at him.

Realizing his mistake—Lin Yajun had told him not to mention the marriage—Yuan Che quickly corrected himself. “I mean, Auntie! Auntie, would you like to grow vegetables?”

“I… I'd rather not,” Lin Yajun stammered, then quickly lifted her cup and took a sip of water to cover it.

“Then would you like to raise chickens, Auntie?” Yuan Che pressed, trying to bury his earlier blunder with more questions.

Lin Zaishan couldn’t stand listening anymore. Under the table, he gently placed his hand over Yuan Che’s, which was resting on his leg, and interrupted quietly, “Alright, let’s talk about island matters when we get home, okay?”

Yuan Che’s face turned red. He shyly lowered his head, saw Lin Zaishan’s hand on his own, and turned an even deeper shade of red. The reaction struck Lin Zaishan as cute. He was about to say something more when the sound of the private room door opening cut him off.

He looked up to see a young woman walk in, carrying a handbag with a pair of sunglasses covering half her face.

“Auntie Lin, I’m so sorry. Traffic was terrible, and the driver changed routes, but it only made it worse.” Xu Lingzhi greeted Lin Yajun cheerfully as soon as she entered, her tone light and slightly playful.

“You’ve come just in time,” Lin Yajun replied with a smile. “The dishes aren’t all here yet.”

“What did I tell you before I left? Making the whole table wait, you're something else,” Sun Lanru scolded, but the corners of her eyes crinkled with a smile.

“Oh, Mom, stop nagging.” Xu Lingzhi threw an arm around her shoulder, leaning in affectionately, but her gaze swept past her, lingering briefly between Lin Zaishan and Yuan Che.

“Xiao Zhi, do you still remember Auntie Lin’s son?” Sun Lanru turned her head to ask.

“Right, right,” Lin Yajun chimed in. “The last time you two met, you were both still little kids.”

The two mothers exchanged a smile, reminiscing about the old days. The subtle tension from earlier at the table was instantly glossed over by this lighthearted nostalgia.

Xu Lingzhi took the opportunity to stand up and extend her hand toward Lin Zaishan. “Hello, I’m Xu Lingzhi.”

Lin Zaishan stood, shook her hand briefly, and let go. “Lin Zaishan.”

Yuan Che, still seated, watched the two shaking hands. He stood up as well and extended his own hand to Xu Lingzhi across from him, his movement smooth and natural, with the ease of a host.

“Hello.”

“Hello,” Xu Lingzhi smiled warmly at him, offering her hand again. “Congratulations on the wedding. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your sister’s ceremony.”

“Thank you, but they didn’t have a ceremony,” Yuan Che replied calmly.

Lin Zaishan watched coldly from the side, silently giving Yuan Che a score—not bad. It seemed that as long as he wasn’t talking to him or Lin Yajun, this guy was perfectly normal, even quite dignified, with none of the naive, easily-blushing manner Lin Zaishan had in mind.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief: at least the guy wasn't dumb.

The only problem now was that he was a man.

Lin Zaishan certainly didn’t discriminate against homosexuality—he’d said it countless times, on drinking tables, at private clubs, clinking glasses with his group of friends. If anyone ever made a homophobic remark, he would even casually shoot it down.

And after years in the business world, he'd seen it all in the business world. But seeing was still about other people's lives. Now that he had to marry a man himself, he couldn’t accept it.

Fortunately, this Yuan Che was easy to deal with. When Lin Zaishan said he didn’t want to make things public, the other party didn’t raise any objections—just nodded obediently. That easygoing attitude was something he hadn’t expected.

During the two weeks away, he had spent no small amount of time mentally preparing himself—trying to get used to the fact that he was “married”—specifically, “married to a man.” Progress? Not much, but maybe a little more than nothing. Plus, that bunch of friends all thought his marriage partner was Yuan Simiao, joking around in the group chat every day with “Congrats, CEO Lin, on your new marriage.” Annoying as hell.

Even more annoying were Yuan Che’s phone calls.

Every day, like clockwork, without fail, whenever Lin Yajun called him, Yuan Che would inevitably take the phone and talk endlessly, the content just a stream of trivial check-in reports. Clingy but manageable. What he really couldn't handle was that Yuan Che called him "hubby" incessantly on the phone.

Lin Zaishan had never been without company since college; being called "hubby" by women was routine—in one ear and out the other, it didn't faze him. But being called that by a man... Every time he heard those two syllables, he felt extremely uncomfortable, as if something disgusting had latched onto him.

And whether he was doing it on purpose or not, Yuan Che added it to every sentence—every single one.

"Hubby..."

A soft breathy sound crept into his ear, and the person beside him suddenly leaned onto his shoulder.

Lin Zaishan snapped back to reality instantly, practically springing up. The chair legs scraped the floor with a screech, and everyone at the table turned to look. Yuan Che, sitting nearby, looked up at him with an innocent expression.

"Excuse me," Lin Zaishan forced a decent smile. "Going to the restroom."

The door closed behind him, and he was practically fleeing in panic.

At the far corner of the hallway, he finally stopped, back against the wall, eyes closed, letting out a long breath. Hearing it ten thousand times on the phone couldn't compare to the horror of hearing it face to face. A grown man, over 180cm tall, leaning in to whisper "hubby" in his ear—

Who the hell could stand that?

He sure as hell wasn't willing when he agreed to this marriage, but with the Lin family's current situation, he couldn't afford to be picky. The capital chain was showing signs of breaking at any moment, several major projects were stuck in approval processes, and the banks were tightening up day by day. He needed the Yuan family, or rather, the Yuan family's invisible but unimpeded "special channel" in the sea area.

Under these circumstances, never mind a man—even if they sent his own father, he'd have to accept it.

Later he came to terms with it: marrying this younger brother might not be worse than marrying the sister. He'd sized up Yuan Simiao at a glance that day—she was wild enough to tear the roof off her own house. If he actually brought her home, with her constant scenes—crying, making a fuss, threatening to kill herself—how could he, Lin Zaishan, live with himself?

The younger brother was easier to manage than the sister. At least so far, he seemed honest, well-behaved, and not causing trouble—wouldn't bring him any problems.

The only problem—he lowered his eyes, silently repeating to himself—was that he was a man.

Just like himself, with that thing down there.

Damn it.

Lin Zaishan leaned against the wall, eyes closed, trying again to accept reality in utter despair. Forget it, just humor him for now. At least his face was top-tier beautiful, even if his build was a bit broader than a woman's. But in bed, that didn't matter—it was fine. Just think of him as a decorative vase to put on display.

Once the Lin family recovered, he would call off the marriage when the time came. Then the Yuan family couldn't find fault—he'd been well fed and housed, neither abused nor neglected. Who could say anything?

As for what that boy thought...

He gave a light snort—who cared what he thought? Once he got rid of this sacred cow, he, Lin Zaishan, would instantly turn back into a golden bachelor.

Even if those disreputable friends found out, he had a retort: "It was a marriage of convenience—each got what they needed. Now it's perfectly concluded."

Perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

"Hubby—"

Suddenly, a female voice whispered beside his ear.

Lin Zaishan didn't open his eyes. He'd been bombarded with "hubby" so frequently over the past half month that he'd developed a conditioned reflex—he automatically tuned out whenever he heard that word.

Until a hand gently landed on his shoulder.

He opened his eyes, saw who it was, and immediately frowned.

"What are you doing here?"