Lin Yishui’s last sentence was phrased euphemistically, but the intention was very obvious—it was turning forced detention into house arrest.
Chi Ye understood.
When He Lin originally ordered Chi Ye to be grounded, he had already prepared for him to pull some stunts again.
Or rather, even He Lin himself didn’t realize that in some hidden corner of his heart, he was faintly looking forward to those harmless little tricks of Chi Ye’s.
Unexpectedly, the latter had a very good acceptance level; neither crying nor making a fuss, he stayed there for half a month straight.
He Lin intended to make things difficult for Chi Ye, but in the end, he found that it wasn’t coming in handy at all. Feeling that it was quite pointless, he simply let him fend for himself.
Chi Ye, on the other hand, grew vigorously no matter what soil he was in.
He was broad-minded.
After all, the confinement room’s area expanded from a dozen square meters to several hundred square meters, food and drink were not lacking, the vibrant orange room was spacious enough, and there was Bubub as a fellow sufferer bouncing around to keep him company… if it weren’t for being at the mercy of others, living like a salted fish like this for the rest of his life wouldn’t actually be so bad.
Within the circle drawn by He Lin, Chi Ye did not step out of bounds, but he craftily tried every possible way to maximize his own interests.
For example, trying to get the kitchen to prepare his favorite dishes, having people buy lollipops he had long pined for, and wandering around the entire villa at will.
There was unexpectedly no resistance or rejection encountered.
Of course no one would stop him.
In fact, to maximize the preservation of He Lin’s dignity as a man—the original host’s infidelity had not been blown out of proportion for everyone to know—coupled with Steward housekeeper’s deliberate shielding both overtly and covertly, everyone up and down the mansion still treated Chi Ye as the other master of the villa.
The attitude was respectful, polite, and distant.
In his previous life, in order to be an actor, Chi Ye had no choice but to hustle for a living. Now he had finally achieved “sleep freedom,” doing nothing every day while having people wait on him; such a leisurely days was simply something prayed for and hard to get.
Chi Ye was content with what he had and happy.
Except for the memorization part which was rather headache-inducing, everything else was delightfully pleasant.
He Lin stood in front of the study’s floor-to-ceiling window, a slender cigarette pinched between his left fingers, his right hand resting loosely on the windowsill, pressing upon a piece of unshaped soft pottery beneath his palm.
In the outdoor swimming pool directly facing the window, Chi Ye wore only a pair of swimming trunks.
The young man’s well-defined muscle lines and arms stroked rapidly in the water, propping himself up on the tiles at the edge and leaping up with force. His entire upper body broke the water surface with a splash, the water droplets sent flying seemingly able to wet someone’s face across several floors.
This was already the fourth time He Lin had seen Chi Ye swim in just over ten days.
He Erye’s usual workplace was not fixed; with four or five assistants surrounding him, whether in the headquarters building, airport, commercial vehicle, or even the bedroom bathtub, he could hold video meetings and handle documents anytime, anywhere. Yet recently, he frequently stayed in the study.
He seemed particularly fond of the small area by the study window facing the villa’s swimming pool.
Lin Yishui pushed the door open, holding a few urgent documents that needed immediate signatures.
He Lin did not turn back, and his eyes glued to the swimming pool didn’t shift away by even half a fraction, “Did he know how to swim before?”
He was asking about Chi Ye.
“No.” Lin Yishui’s reply was crisp and affirmative.
“Two years ago, when Young Master Chi was vacationing by the sea, he accidentally fell into the water. The situation at the time was extremely critical once, and local emergency measures were even deployed. Ever since then, Young Master Chi has developed mild PTSD symptoms, mainly manifested by refusing to approach any body of water deeper than 0.8 meters, including the bathtub in the bathroom.”
He Lin’s brows twitched, “Cure rate?”
“Not very high.” Lin Yishui continued with his artificial-intelligence-like phrasing, “Moreover, Young Master Chi just completed a round trip in the 50-meter pool in less than 15 seconds. Even if the PTSD had fully recovered, it would be impossible to train to such a speed in a short period of time.”
After Lin Yishui finished speaking, he waited for two minutes. Seeing that He Lin had no intention of speaking, he continued reporting, “Young Master Chi swims in the outdoor pool around 7:00 every morning these days, then goes to the dining room for a simple breakfast. If time permits, he plays with Bubub in the courtyard for a while, and returns to his room for a nap before the sun gets too harsh at noon.”
He Lin let out a barely perceptible hum, “He’s living quite comfortably.”
Lin Yishui immediately explained, “Because you didn’t ban Young Master Chi from moving freely in public areas before, we didn’t dare to stop him either, and could only try to remind him of some precautions. But actually, he still stays in his room most of the time…”
Lin Yishui paused here, as if suddenly remembering something, and added, “Young Master Chi seems to be practicing the guzheng lately, and he has improved immensely. It seems he can already handle ‘Fishing Boat Singing at Dusk’.”
The “Chi Ye” of the past clearly did not know how to play any musical instruments.
Both He Lin and Lin Yishui were crystal clear about this matter.
So when Steward Zhu proposed a few days ago that “Madam wants to add a guzheng in the bedroom,” He Lin almost couldn’t control his decade-long cold expression, blurting out, “Are you sure it’s not a game console and a wireless network card?”
At this moment, Lin Yishui deliberately brought up this suspicious point, obviously not mentioning it casually.
He Lin pulled back his thoughts.
Looking at the leisurely figure in the pool outside the window, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and said flatly, “I never knew before that Assistant Lin is so well-versed regarding my wife.”
His tone bore no trace of emotion, neither happy nor angry.
Lin Yishui’s whole body stiffened abruptly, and his fingers holding out the documents turned white from sudden gripping.
Almost losing his composure.
The usually steady and proper assistant silently vented a few breaths in his heart before calming down and saying, “Working for you and understanding the preferences of your family members are all part of my duties.”
He Lin gave a noncommittal response.
Chi Ye, in his line of sight, wore no swimming cap; his usually slightly frizzy black hair was wetted and smoothly plastered against his head. Droplets of water hung on his fair and naked skin, rising and falling with his slightly rapid chest breathing. The morning sunlight shone through his long eyelashes onto his face, reflecting the vitality and vigor unique to a young man.
He Lin turned his head, withdrawing his gaze. The soft pottery clay in his palm had been pressed flat.
He Lin, “Do you think he swims well?”
Lin Yishui deliberated his wording, “Young Master Chi has standard movements and graceful postures, as if he has received professional training.”
“I think it’s very unsightly, however.”
“This look of being seen all over by outsiders is too much of an eyesore.”
Dropping these words, He Lin abruptly stood up and strode out of the study.
Lin Yishui, “…”
Could Er Ye be… jealous?
On the first floor of the villa, by the outdoor swimming pool.
Chi Ye had already come out of the pool and was resting on a lounger in the rest area, holding a cup of iced watermelon juice freshly delivered by the little maid.
In the sunlight, Chi Ye squinted comfortably, watching cleaning staff push large mops back and forth.
Suddenly, his vision was blocked by a piece of black knit fabric.
It was a bathrobe.
Tracing up the bathrobe, there was a pair of slender, bony fingers, and further up… was a chiseled, distinctly contoured face.
!
He Lin.
He Erye descended from the heavens and stood right in front of Chi Ye’s lounger.
The black bathrobe was held in his hand, his powerful imposing manner as formidable as Guan Yunchang holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
“Cough, cough, cough…” Chi Ye choked on the iced watermelon juice and broke into a violent fit of coughing.
He Lin stood tall and condescending, waiting for Chi Ye to finish coughing, “Put it on.”
“Huh?” Chi Ye looked up, somewhat bewildered.
The bathrobe had already been tossed onto him.
The tyrannical CEO’s train of thought was truly too hard to guess; why did he suddenly start doing chores like serving tea, pouring water, and delivering clothes?
However, since he was at the mercy of others at the moment.
Chi Ye curled his lips, obediently stood up, took the bathrobe, and slipped it on, his actions and expression extremely well-behaved.
He Lin stared as he put on the bathrobe, and even coldly reminded him to pull up the collar and fasten the belt tightly. Only when the whole person was wrapped up securely did his expression soften slightly.
“Wear this from now on when swimming,” He Lin instructed.
Chi Ye thought he had misheard, “Wear a bathrobe? How am I supposed to swim in this?”
“Inconvenient?” He Lin rarely seemed easy to talk to, “Then wear a suit? Or sportswear?”
Chi Ye: “…”
Am I going to act like a floating corpse in the swimming pool?!
He Lin seemed reluctant to see Chi Ye’s disappointed and helpless expression. After hesitating for a few seconds, he spoke, “Then go to my room. You can strip naked there.”
Chi Ye was startled so much that he shivered, waving his hands repeatedly and speaking righteously, “No, no, no, I haven’t reached the point of selling my bod—”
Before the words “sell my body” could come out, he was interrupted by He Lin.
Er Ye seemed to have made a huge sacrifice, “Use the private pool in my room; the people downstairs won’t disturb you.”
Chi Ye wanted to bite off his tongue.
Damn it, just how many green hats did the original host put on He Lin to make the man so paranoid about everything?
Chi Ye shook his head in frustration, droplets of water remaining in his hair splashing onto He Lin’s face, but the latter surprisingly didn’t flare up. Chi Ye muttered, “Whatever.”
He Lin’s gaze fell on Chi Ye’s exceptionally delicate face, dampened by water, his brows slightly relaxed, “Behave with propriety.”
Chi Ye stood at attention, “Yes.”
He Lin, “Mind your manners.”
Chi Ye pulled in his stomach, “Yes.”
He Lin, “Have you finished memorizing the books?”
Chi Ye lifted his hips, “Yes… no, not yet.”
“I’m only a short bit away, sigh, I’ve had a bad memory since I was a kid,” Chi Ye tilted his head, frantically trying to patch things up, “However, my attitude is exceptionally upright. I’ve been seriously memorizing every day, really.”
For a moment, He Lin actually felt that this look of his was quite cute.
He Lin was the kind of person standing at the pinnacle of the pyramid, having seen too many handsome men and beautiful women. Chi Ye’s looks were indeed very prominent, but not to the extent of making him dazzled at first glance and disturbing his heartstrings.
He Lin closed his eyes, “Go back and drink hot water.”
Chi Ye immediately thanked him for his grace, oiled the soles of his feet, and trotted away to retreat.
Disturbed by He Lin like this, Chi Ye lost the mood to leisurely enjoy his meal at the dining room, and directly asked someone to bring breakfast up to his room.
Unexpectedly, Steward housekeeper personally carried the tray and pushed open the door, holding a cup of cola ginger tea in his hand.
The old man’s face was beaming like spring breeze, holding the ginger tea in both hands and handing it to Chi Ye happily, “Er Ye was afraid you’d catch a cold and specifically instructed the kitchen to make this. Hurry, hurry and drink it while it’s hot.”
Chi Ye looked at the black gooey concoction with disgust, scooped two large spoons of white sugar into it, and gave it a thorough stir.
“Aiyo, put in less sugar, eating too much sugar gives you wrinkles.”
Steward housekeeper carried the premature-aging worry, completely too late to reach out and stop him, only to watch Chi Ye gulp down an entire cup of cola with added sugar.
Having no choice, he settled for second best by snatching away the lollipop and casually stuffing it into Bubub’s mouth.
Bubub expressed its gratitude through actual actions by scratching Chi Ye a few times.
Steward Zhu seized the opportunity to advise, “I think Er Ye still has feelings for you. I’ve never seen him care about anyone catching a cold before. You should try harder and try to get along well with him.”
Chi Ye gave a perfunctory “Mhm.”
Turning back to poke the cup on the table, he leaned forward, blinked his eyes, and asked, “Uncle Zhu, do you know where all my bank cards are kept?”
The swimming pool incident served as a wake-up call to Chi Ye, who had been living a bit too contentedly lately. The feeling of being at the mercy of others was too unpleasant; even his clothing and styling couldn’t be free.
He must find a way to get a divorce as soon as possible to start his happy life.
First of all, he needed money.
Steward housekeeper looked somewhat troubled, “What do you need bank cards for? Just tell me directly if you need to buy anything.”
Chi Ye’s face dropped, “I don’t have the right to manage my own savings?”
Seeing that Chi Ye was insistent on asking, Steward housekeeper had no choice but to sigh, “Where would you have any savings left? All your bank accounts have already been frozen.”
Chi Ye: “…”
Damn it.