The Ceo Of The Company Next Door Seems To Have A Crush On Me Chapter 22

Sitting on Succulents and Special Paper

Because Yan Xucheng went to room C-211 again after work, he arrived home a little later than usual. As he went upstairs, he happened to see Lu Zhijian preparing to go down with a bag of cat food and a can of wet food. Yan Xucheng’s eyes lit up: “You’re… going to feed the cat!”

He immediately remembered the little white cat he had seen when he first moved into the community.

Lu Zhijian nodded and asked thoughtfully, “Do you want to come along?”

“I do!” Yan Xucheng said while opening his door, “Wait for me to put my things inside.”

Lu Zhijian looked at the wide-open door and smiled, “It’s okay, I’ll wait for you.”

Yan Xucheng put his bag in the entryway and quickly ran out. One reason was that he wanted to see the little cat quickly, and the other was that he didn’t want Lu Zhijian to wait too long.

“I’m ready.” The weather was a bit cold in the evening, and Yan Xucheng tucked his hands into the pockets of his overcoat. Lu Zhijian looked at him, seeming to want to say something but hesitating.

Yan Xucheng raised an eyebrow: “What is it?”

“Nothing—”

“Don’t you dare say nothing!” Yan Xucheng held his index finger to his lips, interrupting the spell before it was cast.

“Alright.” Lu Zhijian looked a little helpless, but more delighted. “I was just wondering if your overcoat might be inconvenient. It’s easy to get the hem dirty when you squat down later.”

Following his words, Yan Xucheng looked down at the hem of his coat, which covered his knees. His smoky-blue eyes were exceptionally sincere as he praised, “You are so thoughtful, I didn’t even notice. Can you wait for me again?”

Lu Zhijian was very easygoing, as if he wouldn’t complain even if Yan Xucheng made him wait for an hour.

Of course, Yan Xucheng wouldn’t make him wait that long. When he came out again, Yan Xucheng had changed into a light green short jacket. The pale green paired with white trousers gave off a distinct spring atmosphere.

Lu Zhijian quietly praised, “It looks very nice.”

A faint scent of grass and wood wafted through the enclosed space. There were only two people in the elevator. He was going to the hospital and hadn’t sprayed perfume, so the source of the scent was obvious. Perhaps because the fragrance carried the warmth of its owner, Yan Xucheng felt a little embarrassed for the first time: “Really? I was actually thinking my hair didn’t quite match this outfit.”

If he had time, he would have braided a loose scorpion tail braid.

Lu Zhijian’s eyes curved slightly: “It’s already beautiful as it is.”

“Thank you.” Yan Xucheng felt this wasn’t his problem. When others praised his looks, like Jiang Mingyi and his ilk, they were always boisterous, and Yan Xucheng could join in the fun. Otherwise, it was the kind of casual flattery used to build rapport, which could be said to anyone and lacked much genuine emotion.

But Lu Zhijian was different. He usually didn’t talk much when they were together, and now he suddenly opened his mouth to praise him, and in such a gentle manner. Wasn’t it natural to feel unaccustomed to it?

Thinking of this, Yan Xucheng finally managed to reassure himself.

It seemed Lu Zhijian fed the cat often. He skillfully led Yan Xucheng to the cat’s usual spot.

The location, at least, was well-chosen—hidden and sheltered from the wind and rain. Yan Xucheng glanced inside and saw at least three cat beds and several cat toys. A small orange fish-shaped bowl held clean water, and another white cat-face-shaped bowl still had a few pieces of cat food remaining.

Those few pieces of cat food didn’t look very good. Lu Zhijian took the bowl and dumped the leftovers into the trash can, then filled it with a fresh, heaping pile of new food.

The little cat looked at the food bowl, then indifferently licked its paws on the side.

Although Yan Xucheng liked cats, he rarely got close to them because of Lan Lan and didn’t know much about them. He looked at the cat grooming itself and then at Lu Zhijian: “What if it doesn’t eat?”

Lu Zhijian was very familiar with the cat’s habits. He reassured him, “It’s okay, it’s not hungry yet. It will eat by itself when it gets hungry. Let’s open a can for it first.”

Lu Zhijian pushed the can toward Yan Xucheng: “Do you want to try?”

“I can open it? Yay!” Opening a cat food can was a novel experience for Yan Xucheng.

As soon as the can was opened a crack, the little cat smelled the delicious scent. It stopped grooming, tiptoed over to Yan Xucheng, purring and rubbing against his leg. Its long white tail curled up, hooking around Yan Xucheng’s wrist.

“Oh dear,” Yan Xucheng awkwardly smoothed down the tail that was interfering with his work, but the flexible tail immediately wrapped around him again. “Stop messing around.”

Lu Zhijian chuckled softly.

Yan Xucheng poured the can into the empty bowl nearby, then glared at Lu Zhijian: “What are you laughing at?”

Lu Zhijian showed no sign of guilt, his temper good as he said, “It likes you very much.”

There was that “ya” again.

Yan Xucheng mumbled a response.

Lu Zhijian picked up the empty can and stood up first: “Shall we go?”

“Let’s go.” The temperature had dropped today, and a gust of wind made Yan Xucheng shiver.

Lu Zhijian didn’t say anything, quietly falling back a step behind Yan Xucheng, just enough to block most of the wind for him.

Yan Xucheng chatted casually with Lu Zhijian: “Speaking of which, do you feed the cat often?”

“Yes, I usually come to feed it after work. Actually, quite a few people in the community feed the cat. Everyone likes it, but for various reasons, no one has adopted it.”

“Huh?” Yan Xucheng tilted his head to look at him. “Why?”

Lu Zhijian searched through fragmented memories: “Some people work overtime often and don’t have time to take care of it, others have children at home… many reasons.”

“What about you?” Yan Xucheng asked. Lu Zhijian didn’t have children, and he seemed to have plenty of time.

Lu Zhijian shook his head, a look of helplessness on his face as if recalling something: “I brought it home before, but it always wanted to sit on my succulents.”

He didn’t know why, but this cat was particularly fond of his succulents. After sitting on and killing five pots of succulents, Lu Zhijian reluctantly returned its freedom.

Speaking of succulents, Yan Xucheng also remembered the rows of cute plants he had seen through the glass. Each one was plump and round, and Yan Xucheng was very envious. Unfortunately, he had a three-minute attention span, and plants that didn’t constantly demand his attention were often forgotten in a corner, turning dry by the time Yan Xucheng remembered them.

“By the way, have you had dinner?” Lu Zhijian suddenly asked.

Yan Xucheng shook his head: “No, I plan to go home and make something myself later.”

Yan Xucheng, who was originally not good at cooking, was forced by foreign food to become capable both in the living room and the kitchen. Of course, he didn’t make anything complicated; some home-style dishes were still well within his grasp.

Unexpectedly, Lu Zhijian’s eyes lit up when he heard the answer. He asked, “It’s quite troublesome to cook for yourself. My soup should be almost ready. How about you come and try some?”

Yan Xucheng didn’t answer immediately. He looked up at Lu Zhijian and realized Lu Zhijian was half a head taller than him. Lu Zhijian was looking straight ahead, appearing serious, but Yan Xucheng could feel his discomfort as soon as he got close.

He was shy.

Lu Zhijian never looked at him when he was shy, which was a dead giveaway. Yan Xucheng couldn’t help but worry about Lu Zhijian’s performance in the workplace. His parents worried about his professional relationships every day, but Yan Xucheng felt Lu Zhijian was clearly the one who needed more worrying about.

It was a pity his parents didn’t know Lu Zhijian.

Seeing Lu Zhijian getting more and more nervous, Yan Xucheng suddenly burst out laughing: “Okay, ya.”

He deliberately imitated Lu Zhijian’s way of speaking, adding a cheerful “ya” at the end of the sentence.

Lu Zhijian felt it too. His ears turned even redder. He instinctively wanted to walk ahead, but a sudden gust of wind made him silently fall back to walk beside Yan Xucheng.

Where Lu Zhijian couldn’t see, Yan Xucheng was also quietly smiling.

The elevator reached the 16th floor. Yan Xucheng jumped out first and turned to Lu Zhijian, saying, “I’ll change my clothes and be right over!”

“Alright.”

Thinking that Yan Xucheng would be coming over soon, Lu Zhijian simply left his door open so he could come in anytime.

“I’m here! Do you need me to help out?”

Before Yan Xucheng’s figure appeared, his voice first cut through the sizzling sound of cooking and entered Lu Zhijian’s ears.

Lu Zhijian’s kitchen was enclosed. While stirring the vegetables shrinking in the high-temperature pan, he said, “No need, I can manage myself.”

After a moment, he added, “You just need to look forward to tonight’s dinner.”

Lu Zhijian was very confident in his cooking skills. He loved to cook and had been doing so since high school, which was ten years ago now.

Afraid that Yan Xucheng would be bored waiting alone, Lu Zhijian recommended another one of his hobbies: “Do you want to look at the succulents I’m growing?”

“Can I?” Yan Xucheng immediately perked up. He had wanted to touch these plump little darlings up close for a long time, but he was too embarrassed the first time he visited someone’s home.

Lu Zhijian’s voice was cheerful: “Of course you can. If you like any, you can take them back.”

Yan Xucheng was pleasantly surprised: “Really?”

But he quickly recalled the plants he had killed and shook his head reluctantly: “Never mind, I’m sure I’ll kill them.”

When Lu Zhijian came out with two plates of food, Yan Xucheng was squatting on the balcony, curiously touching the water-filled leaves of the succulents.

He had changed into loungewear. The sharp edges usually supported by his structured clothes had completely faded, leaving only a relaxed interior. His long red hair was braided into a soft, loose plait, making his whole person incredibly gentle.

Lu Zhijian looked at the braid and suddenly felt a sense of regret. Snapping back to reality, he quickly tossed this inappropriate emotion to the back of his mind again.

Lu Zhijian’s face held a smile he hadn’t even noticed: “Do you want to water it?”

As everyone knows, one of the joys of growing plants is watering them. Yan Xucheng naturally said, “Yes, yes.”

“The nutrient solution is in the drawer in the living room. You can mix a little into the watering can.”

“Okay.” Yan Xucheng squatted down to look for the nutrient solution. He pulled open a drawer, and a stack of familiar paper appeared before his eyes—the specialized paper from Qishan Private Hospital, complete with Qishan’s unique logo. Yan Xucheng used this kind of paper to issue several diagnostic reports every day.

Yan Xucheng suddenly remembered encountering Lu Zhijian at the hospital before. At that time, Lu Zhijian seemed to be in… Psychology?