ARBW Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Afterwards, Lin Mian lay down on the bed first. The bed in Mr. Pei’s bedroom was very large, big enough to comfortably sleep four or five people.

The bed was placed by the window, and by pulling back the curtains, one could directly see the river view outside.

After lying down, Lin Mian glanced at the color of the blanket and then at the curtains, feeling that the colors weren’t vibrant enough.

If the bedroom had more colors, the entire room would feel much cozier.

As Lin Mian was thinking this, Pei Yuhuai handed him his spare phone.

Pei Yuhuai was about to take a shower, and he gave the spare phone to Lin Mian, originally intending for him to see his world from his perspective.

Now that Lin Mian could travel between the two worlds, he could use Pei Yuhuai’s phone to bring some convenience to the people in the town.

For example, when Pei Yuhuai was busy, Lin Mian could control his game character to complete time-limited tasks or send gifts to everyone.

However, when Pei Yuhuai returned from his shower, he found that the game was in Lin Mian’s hands, and Lin Mian needed to register a new character.

Yes, Lin Mian couldn’t control Pei Yuhuai’s game character.

When he opened the game called “Scarlet Town” as Pei Yuhuai had instructed, the system prompted him to register a game character.

Registering a game character meant creating one that looked exactly like Lin Mian, just as Pei Yuhuai had done before.

Lin Mian found this incredibly fascinating. He knew his world was real.

Now, through a phone, observing his world again felt both magical and strange.

To Lin Mian, his world was a ruined, dark place filled with slaughter and the Virus, a cruel world.

But in Mr. Pei’s phone, because the game’s art style looked more like a fairy tale, his world suddenly seemed beautiful.

When Pei Yuhuai returned, Lin Mian was clumsily controlling his game character to talk to Cheng Xiaowan. He didn’t know he could use voice chat and was still typing like a fool.

Seeing this, Pei Yuhuai sat down beside him and taught him how to play the game step by step.

“You can use voice chat directly, just tap here.”

“Oh, like this?”

“This is an interaction, you can send her gifts.”

“Wow, so this is how Mr. Pei used to send me gifts?”

…

While one taught and the other learned, Cheng Xiaowan on the other side looked utterly confused.

She found Lin Mian acting strangely today. Earlier, she had returned to find Lin Mian missing and was worried about where he might have gone at night. Then, Lin Mian suddenly returned from outside and had been acting dazed, ignoring her.

At that moment, she heard Lin Mian calling out to her in a silly voice, “Hey, hey, can you hear me?”

Cheng Xiaowan looked puzzled, feeling like Lin Mian was on a phone call. Before she could continue wondering, Lin Mian sent her a small dress.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiaowan was momentarily stunned, then asked happily, “Are you imitating Mr. Pei?”

Cheng Xiaowan knew about Lin Mian’s dimensional ring, so when she saw him produce something out of thin air, she didn’t think much of it, assuming it was from his ring.

Lin Mian wanted to say he wasn’t imitating, but then he remembered that Mr. Pei’s secret couldn’t be known by too many people, so he hesitated and decided not to tell Cheng Xiaowan.

They say the more you know, the more dangerous it is. If he was destined to leave that world someday and couldn’t always protect Cheng Xiaowan, he hoped she would know as little as possible.

Lin Mian: “I might be away for a couple of days tomorrow and the day after.”

Cheng Xiaowan: “Where are you going?”

“To, to Mr. Pei’s place.”

“Ah, don’t you have a house here? Why are you suddenly going to Mr. Pei’s?”

Hearing this, Lin Mian instinctively glanced at Mr. Pei beside him.

“We, we’re going on a date. We’ve been in the town for a while, and it’s not very interesting.”

As Lin Mian said this, he didn’t dare to look at Mr. Pei, wondering if Mr. Pei would think he was being scheming.

“Does Mr. Pei live in the Inner City?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Can I visit sometime?”

“Well, you’d have to ask Mr. Pei about that.”

“Alright, I feel like we’ll have less and less time together. You won’t abandon this town, will you?”

“No, no. Even if I move away someday, I’ll come back often.”

After chatting a bit more, Pei Yuhuai stopped Lin Mian from playing the game. It was almost midnight, and if they continued, they wouldn’t get proper rest.

After leaving the villa, Lin Mian logged off.

He reluctantly returned the phone to Mr. Pei and then lay down to sleep.

Pei Yuhuai smiled at him and lay down beside Lin Mian.

Since the bed was large, the two could sleep without touching each other.

But Lin Mian felt uneasy. In this world, he was a stranger.

He was a bit scared and wanted to rely on Mr. Pei. So when Pei Yuhuai lay down, Lin Mian quietly moved closer to him.

Pei Yuhuai didn’t stop him, nor did he get too intimate.

Pei Yuhuai wasn’t used to holding someone while sleeping.

But seeing Lin Mian so uneasy, he reached out and held Lin Mian’s hand.

With Mr. Pei’s large hand holding his, Lin Mian gradually felt more at ease and soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, around 8 a.m.

Xiao Su arrived at Pei Yuhuai’s place with a lot of things, using her fingerprint to enter.

As a girl, her physical strength wasn’t great.

Today, she had brought a lot of items, so she used a small cart.

On the cart were not only flowers but also several new outfits.

The clothes were from a clothing company under the Pei family, which she had picked up at 6 a.m.

President Pei had called her yesterday, and she had arranged for a few outfits from the company.

The clothes had been prepared overnight, washed, and paired with shoes and socks.

When Xiao Su pulled the cart in, Pei Yuhuai was clumsily making breakfast in the kitchen. Seeing this, Xiao Su wanted to put down the items and help, but Pei Yuhuai stopped her.

Pei Yuhuai: “Take the clothes upstairs.”

Xiao Su nodded and carried the clothes and shoes up to the second floor.

She went upstairs, intending to look for someone in the other bedrooms.

She knew President Pei’s personality well; he disliked strangers entering his private spaces, especially his bedroom.

Even if that person was President Pei’s lover, based on Xiao Su’s judgment, they probably hadn’t been together long and wouldn’t be living together yet.

However, to Xiao Su’s surprise, she didn’t find anyone in the other rooms and had to go to President Pei’s bedroom.

When Xiao Su knocked on the door, Lin Mian was in Mr. Pei’s walk-in closet, secretly trying on Mr. Pei’s clothes.

He was wearing a large shirt, muttering to himself while looking in the mirror.

“Mr. Pei’s clothes are so big; it feels like I’m wearing a dress.”

Then he heard the knock. Seeing that he was still bare below the waist, he quickly took off the shirt and stuffed it into the closet. When Xiao Su came in, he wrapped himself in a robe with a sash.

Xiao Su saw the slightly open closet and politely said, “Mr. Lin, hello, I’m President Pei’s personal assistant. He asked me to bring you some clothes.”

Hearing this, Lin Mian peeked out from the closet door and then opened it, signaling Xiao Su to come in.

Xiao Su entered and placed the pile of clothes on the nearby sofa.

She was about to say that Lin Mian could choose an outfit he liked, and if he didn’t like any of them, she could prepare others.

But then she turned and saw that President Pei’s walk-in closet was a mess. Many clothes had been pulled down, and some were crumpled into balls.

President Pei was a neat freak and disliked clutter. The current state of the closet was clearly the work of Mr. Lin.

Seeing this, she began tidying the closet while discreetly observing Mr. Lin.

He looked quite young, probably in his early twenties.

This age is the most beautiful and vibrant.

Mr. Lin was indeed very handsome, no less than young celebrities.

If there was any flaw, it was that he was too thin, almost as if malnourished.

Lin Mian noticed her actions and felt a bit embarrassed.

He had been trying on Mr. Pei’s clothes earlier, looking a bit ridiculous, and was afraid Mr. Pei would see. When he changed clothes, he was in a hurry, which was why the closet ended up in such a mess.

Seeing Xiao Su tidying up, Lin Mian quickly helped.

But he was a bit clumsy; he couldn’t fold clothes as neatly as Xiao Su, and as he tried, he started feeling uncomfortable.

Yesterday, Mr. Pei had said he wanted Lin Mian to be his secretary.

But with him being so clumsy, could he really do it?

Would he end up messing things up and causing trouble for Mr. Pei?

With these thoughts weighing on him, when Lin Mian went downstairs after changing, he looked a bit down.

Xiao Su was still there; she had come in the company car and could go to the office with President Pei.

President Pei rarely drove himself, mainly because he was often tired from work, and driving would only add to his fatigue.

To avoid drowsy driving, Lao Liu usually drove him, and occasionally Xiao Su or Secretary Zhang would take the wheel.

Seeing Lin Mian in low spirits, Pei Yuhuai glanced at Xiao Su curiously.

Before coming down, Lin Mian had been in a good mood. Today, he had only interacted with Xiao Su, so it was likely related to her.

Xiao Su had been with President Pei for a while and could usually guess his thoughts with just a look.

Seeing Lin Mian in low spirits and President Pei’s questioning gaze, Xiao Su felt a bit helpless.

She… hadn’t offended Mr. Lin, had she?

Could it be because she had tidied President Pei’s closet too neatly?

But that was her job, wasn’t it?

Before Xiao Su could figure out what went wrong, President Pei spoke to her, “You can go to the office first.”

“Then, what about you, President Pei…”

“I’ll drive myself.”

“Alright.”

Pei Yuhuai wasn’t blaming Xiao Su; he knew her character and personality well as her boss.

He knew the issue was triggered by Xiao Su, but the main cause lay with Lin Mian himself.

Lin Mian was too sensitive and lacked confidence.

It was likely that Xiao Su had unintentionally made Lin Mian feel anxious again.

After Xiao Su left, Pei Yuhuai asked, “What’s wrong? You seem a bit down.”

Lin Mian wanted to lie, but when he looked up and met Mr. Pei’s eyes, he felt as if Mr. Pei could easily see through him.

Lin Mian didn’t dare to lie, so after hesitating, he confessed his little worry.

“I, I messed up your walk-in closet earlier.”

“Mm, it’s fine. What else?”

“Then, that lady tidied it up neatly, and I wanted to help, but… I realized I couldn’t do it well.”

“It’s not surprising you couldn’t do it well; she’s a professional at this. It’s her job, so of course she’d do it better.”

“But… didn’t you say you wanted me to be your secretary?”

“There are different types of secretaries—work-related and personal. You’ve never done this before, so it’s natural to have shortcomings. You need to understand that no one is born knowing everything. Take Xiao Su, for example; she made mistakes at first too. She would deliver the wrong documents or ruin my clothes with the iron. If you really want to be my secretary, you can learn gradually.”

“Then, can I learn from her?”

“Her? Sure, she has a good personality. If you spend more time with her, you’ll probably like her.”

After breakfast, Pei Yuhuai drove Lin Mian to the office.

Pei Yuhuai had a private entrance at the company, so he didn’t have to squeeze into the elevator with the employees.

His office was on the top floor, which was entirely his domain.

This floor usually didn’t have many people; only Xiao Su and Secretary Zhang frequented it.

To make it convenient for Lin Mian, Pei Yuhuai had Xiao Su register Lin Mian’s fingerprint and iris scan as soon as they arrived on the top floor.

Lin Mian could freely enter his office, restroom, and all other areas.

Xiao Su had initially thought that President Pei was upset with her because of Lin Mian. But seeing that his attitude towards her hadn’t changed, she felt a bit relieved.

After setting up Lin Mian’s access, Lin Mian returned to Pei Yuhuai’s office and started playing games on the spare phone.

While preparing tea for President Pei, Xiao Su made a cup of milk tea for Lin Mian.

Pei Yuhuai had said that Lin Mian’s food and drinks could be more varied.

Lin Mian hadn’t tried many things, and the beverages he had tasted were few.

Now that Lin Mian had crossed over, he could slowly try different things. The more he tried, the better he’d understand what suited him.

Lin Mian spent the entire day with Pei Yuhuai at the company.

In the morning, he played games on the spare phone, returning to the town through his game character.

In the afternoon, he followed Xiao Su, observing how she worked.

Xiao Su had a good personality, and Lin Mian was easygoing. After spending the afternoon together, they gradually became familiar.

Xiao Su was several years older than Lin Mian and treated him like a younger brother.

Even when she noticed that Lin Mian lacked common knowledge, she didn’t find it strange, assuming he simply hadn’t seen much of the world.

After work, in the evening, Mr. Pei planned to take Lin Mian back to the old house.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and Pei Yuhuai could rest.

Yesterday, Lin Mian had told Cheng Xiaowan that he was coming to date Pei Yuhuai.

Today, Pei Yuhuai had been working all day and hadn’t had time for a date.

Thinking that Lin Mian would be returning tomorrow night, he decided to take him out.

His whereabouts were easily known by the Pei family.

Pei Yuhuai knew he couldn’t hide it, so he didn’t plan to keep it a secret.

Rather than having his mother rush over to meet Lin Mian, it was better to take him back himself.

When they returned, Xiao Su drove.

Pei Yuhuai was tired after a long day and just wanted to rest his eyes.

Lin Mian didn’t realize at first that they were going to meet his family.

Only when he heard Mr. Pei say they were going back to the old house did he understand the significance.

Lin Mian asked nervously, “Am I going to meet your parents?”

He wasn’t mentally prepared; it felt like an ugly daughter-in-law meeting her in-laws.

Pei Yuhuai, with his eyes closed, said, “Don’t worry, my parents are nice; they won’t give you a hard time.”

Pei Yuhuai’s mother was indeed kind, but his father?

His father was a bit old-fashioned, but since Pei Yuhuai was now in charge of the family and his father really wanted him to find a partner, he probably wouldn’t oppose him bringing someone home.

“Then, should I bring something?”

Who goes to meet elders empty-handed?

Also, he didn’t have any money.

Pei Yuhuai smiled, “I’ve already had Xiao Su prepare something; you don’t need to worry about that.”

Hearing that the gifts were ready, Lin Mian felt a bit relieved. Then he frowned and said unhappily, “Then, if I’m going to visit often, I need to find a way to earn money myself. I can’t keep spending your money on gifts.”

Pei Yuhuai nodded, “Sure, but there’s no rush; you can take your time.”