Love Delusion: Chapter 38

Today was the day Lin Anran was scheduled to meet Teacher Zhou again.

After a routine conversation of about an hour and a half, Teacher Zhou told him, “Xiao Ran, do you know that human expression consists of more than just talking?”

“I know that when you have something to say in your heart, sometimes your paintings will ‘speak’ for you. Whenever you have a hard time communicating, you can try using your pictures to show others.”

She smiled and suggested, “If you are free recently, you can also consider going out with Mr. Shang. This is commonly known as a date. What do you think?”

Lin Anran blinked.

He thought so too.

Because Shang Hao had collected a large sum of money from Pengpeng for him, Lin Anran wanted to thank him. This time, Boss Shang also helped him a lot and gave him gifts. Although Lin Anran didn’t know much about social customs, he knew enough to know that he really needed to thank the other person.

Just because Shang Hao was his boyfriend didn’t mean that he doesn’t have to say “Thank you.” Even for family members who get along day and night, the words “thank you” were also very important. It was important to respect the contributions of others and be grateful.

As he was leaving, Teacher Zhou walked ahead and opened the door for him. At this time, a new message alert came from Lin Anran’s mobile phone. He took a look at it and slipped it back in his pocket.

Teacher Zhou asked, “Not important?”

Lin Anran shook his head. “It’s just promotional spam.”

He had received this kind of advertisement more than once, which insisted on telling him that he had bought a villa overseas.

This must be a new type of scam.

It was a pity that they found the wrong person. They couldn’t fool Lin Anran into fear. He was already proficient at having social anxiety, so even when he received this kind of notification, he would never call to ask about the situation.

On the way back, Lin Anran tried to imagine what ordinary people would do when they owe someone a favor. He chose to ask his only friend, Pengpeng.

Pengpeng said on the phone, “When you owe someone? Usually, you would treat them to a meal.”

Lin Anran noted it in his heart and then asked Pengpeng for the specific operational details and procedures.

Pengpeng asked, “Huh? There is still a process? It’s probably to ask that person if he is free and then ask him out for dinner. Would you like to invite me to dinner?”

Lin Anran was in the middle of using the phone hands-free while taking notes. He asked, “Where to eat?”

Pengpeng said, “Where to eat? To show your good intentions, you can have the other person decide. Would you like to invite me to dinner?”

Lin Anran asked, “Is it more appropriate to ask in person or send a text message?”

Pengpeng said, “Uh, there’s no particular difference. You can do whichever is more convenient. Lin Anran, would you like to invite me to dinner?”

On the other side, the honest Lin Anran seemed to have a filter in his ear today. No matter what, he didn’t seem to hear Pengpeng’s last sentence. Lin Anran skimmed his notes and asked, “Oh…Is there anything else I should pay attention to?”

“That’s it. So who do you want to invite for dinner? Me?”

Lin Anran smiled awkwardly, “Maybe next time.”

Pengpeng: ?

His morals seemed to be degenerating each day, because Lin Anran actually learned to be perfunctory with others.

Lin Anran hung up with a guilty conscience. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to ask Pengpeng for dinner. It was just that his situation was special at this time, and the identity of the person he wanted to invite out to dinner was also very special. It was so special that from the moment he made this decision, Lin Anran was determined to go all out.

The price of Boss Shang’s watch was several times that of the apartment he was living in. In order to invite him to eat a meal outside, Lin Anran took out the small amount of money he’d spent his entire life saving.

After all, money could be earned again, but this was the only boyfriend he could abduct back home in this life.

If he was lucky enough to have at least 10 yuan left over, he would invite Pengpeng out for a cup of milk tea. He hoped Pengpeng would understand.

Clasped fists.

…………

After putting up the suggestion box at home, Shang Hao would check it every day before going out and after returning home.

But this morning, he actually touched something from the box. He took it out to take a look and saw that it was a hand written…invitation letter?

No wonder he felt that Lin Anran had been suggesting something last night.

Lin Anran was inexperienced in going out and drew a blank when it came to dating. Because of this, he had to carefully prepare everything. Even the one-piece pajamas last night had a deep meaning, full of hints of eating.

He meticulously put the two ingredients together. On Lin Anran’s body was a small, yellow chicken pajamas, and on his head was a hat that looked like Chinese cabbage.

Shang Hao saw him for the first time and commented, “Ranran is a chicken dish today.”

…Whenever Lin Anran thought about it, he couldn’t help but become angry. But because he considered himself a younger brother, he dared to become angry but didn’t dare to say anything.

But Shang Hao genuinely thought that he did a thoughtful job figuring it out.

Could he be wrong? He even thought that Lin Anran wanted to get his opinion on whether his chicken dish outfit was beautiful or not.

Shang Hao had an epiphany. Thinking about what Lin Anran wore yesterday, he realized that Lin Anran was hinting to ingredients that he would be eating.

The wording on the invitation letter was very formal, and it could be seen that he put his whole heart and soul into designing it. With words like “To the Honorable Mr. Shang Hao,” in Lin Anran’s mind, he was probably very honorable.

There were also these sentences: “I know that I cannot do without your company and support on the road of development” and “I want to share with you my vision and expectation for the future” and so on. The last line was “I hereby invite you to join me for dinner tomorrow.”

For Lin Anran’s first invitation, he did a lot of preparations, having regarded tonight’s appointment in a very formal and solemn manner.

Shang Hao thought it was so cute and solemnly put the invitation letter in his pocket.

Because of this lovely invitation, his mood was great all day long, like a clear and boundless sky.

Shang Hao thought that the dinner would be held at home. But just before he got off work, Lin Anran suddenly sent him a message, saying that he was on the way to pick him up.

Shang Hao thought he had heard it wrong and had to re-read it.

Lin Anran was on the way to pick him up.

This was new. He suddenly had a mental picture of Lin Anran riding on a small, creaking bicycle to pick him up.

It was cute to death.

He finished his work early, did not notify the driver, and cleaned himself up in front of the mirror.

Even if it was a date at home, he had to be diligent with his appearance.

Boss Shang was in a very good mood today–every colleagues who met Boss Shang today agreed.

Shang Hao went downstairs and waited. Soon, a white Mercedes-Benz drove over slowly and stopped in front of him.

Shang Hao was surprised. He didn’t know that Lin Anran could drive.

Then, he saw the rear window slowly lowered, revealing Lin Anran’s face, smiling happily and shyly at Shang Hao.

Truth be told, this was the most advanced car he could get using the DaDa taxi app. Only such a car was worthy of the status of a company’s president.

Shang Hao knew that this was a car Lin Anran had rented. So he pulled the car door open and sat in the back seat with Ranran.

The company employees thus saw their boss directly enter a cheap Mercedes-Benz after getting off work.

As soon as the door closed, Shang Hao heard the driver in the front seat asking without looking back, “Buddy, did you get your boyfriend?”

Lin Anran, also known as “Buddy,” quickly replied in the back seat, “Mmn mmn.”

As soon as Shang Hao got in the car, Lin Anran took the initiative to hold his hand for the first time.

Ranran’s hand was hot, and his grip was tight. After holding hands, two people immediately became connected.

This action pointed to Lin Anran’s low sense of security, which he often had when outside. The people and the things in the outside world were strange and dangerous to him.

Driven by animal instincts, he thought that he and Shang Hao were in the same group, and they must stay together to resist external dangers and help each other in a team. So he leaned in automatically, instinctively pairing with Shang Hao in his heart.

Their tightly held hands gave him an increased sense of security and added to his courage.

Lin Anran, who was afraid of the outside world, made an appointment for a car by himself today. He told the driver that he was going to Tianneng to pick up his boyfriend.

This was how Lin Anran arrived in a small Mercedes-Benz to pick him up.

The driver started the car and asked, “Where do you two want to go?”

Lin Anran asked Shang Hao in a low, nervous voice, “Where shall we go?” Then he added, “You can choose anywhere.”

Shang Hao finally realized that he had planned to eat outside.

Lin Anran had carefully thought about it when he was planning everything. Although the host should be more sincere in choosing a place, Lin Anran had only eaten out a handful of times. But if you asked him which place had more delicious takeaways, he’ll name many for you.

What’s more, what was good for ordinary people wouldn’t be good enough for Shang Hao. Therefore, the level of the restaurant must be different. Today, Lin Anran carried the bank card where he deposited all his money in, just to win a smile from Beauty Shang.

The driver’s car drove out, and now it was too late to book a good restaurant, Shang Hao reported the name of a place. The driver gave a “Wow” and said, “Young man, I can only drive to the gate. I can’t get in there.”

Shang Hao said it didn’t matter.

Lin Anran followed along and also said it was okay.

The most important thing was that Boss Shang was happy.

They went to a restaurant with a business model similar to a private club. When the car drove outside the gate, they were stopped, and they walked into a place that resembled a high-end community.

This restaurant had no name and only accepted regular customers. There was no button next to the elevator entrance, only a circular interactive area, and only guests with a code could go upstairs.

Someone greeted them the moment they entered the door and took them all the way in. The waiters here spoke softly and gently. The chefs in charge of their meal were knowledgeable about various local cuisines and came from a family of Red Miao. There was also a sommelier to help them order wine.

Their box was comparable to a living room, with an incredible river view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Although there were only two people eating, it still had a grand round table.

There was no general menu. After the waiter asked about the guests’ allergies and dislikes, he presented an exquisite menu, which listed the 16 dishes to be served today.

Lin Anran’s face looked as uneasy as he felt, but Shang Hao held his hand the whole time, and the continuous heat from his hand made him feel a little more relaxed. The round table was huge, and Lin Anran didn’t know how rich people ate, so he sat down closely next to Shang Hao.

Shang Hao discovered that he was peeking at himself. After thinking about it for a moment, he said to Lin Anran, “Thank you for taking me out for dinner today.”

This sentence proved to be very useful. Lin Anran’s expression looked very happy, a mix of ill at ease with a mix of happiness. When the sommelier came over to present the wine list, he told Shang Hao not to be polite and to order casually.

The smile on his face was very similar to a muddle-headed king of ancient time, making a show to win over the beautiful Baosi¹.

—————–
Translation Notes:
(1) Baosi – the concubine of King You of Zhou and one of the famous Chinese beauties.

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