Chapter 022 (1/2)
The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal Assistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
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Chapter Twenty-two
The nectarine pit was very hard and Ling Miao had thrown it with all his strength, so he had reason to believe Su Yuyang was in so much pain that he couldn’t talk—if he could talk, he wouldn’t be so silent.
Sometimes silence was scarier than anything that could be said, especially when Ling Miao had angered the person in front of him.
Ling Miao placed both hands on the keyboard. He looked like he was writing, but in reality, his heart was roiling like a pot of congee.
Su Yuyang could get angry, scold him, hit him, and he’d be able to take it. He only hoped that Su Yuyang wouldn’t chase him away.
“Ah.” A sigh landed in his ear, and in a fit of overstimulation Ling Miao fell off the sofa.
Turning to see Su Yuyang next to him, Ling Miao didn’t even register the pain in his butt. He mustered up the strength to scramble away from Su Yuyang, who was considering the nectarine pit in his palm with thoughtful eyes. Ling Miao’s heart clenched. Out of fear that he would die from his rapidly rising blood pressure, he opened his mouth: “That… Su-ge, I… that … that nectarine pit has my spit on it, quickly, throw it in the bin.”
Su Yuyang lightly tilted his head; his eyes met Ling Miao’s, and his icy gaze almost froze Ling Miao solid. Ling Miao shuddered and his voice caught as he said: “Su-ge, I’m really in the wrong. I’ll wash your clothes properly…”
“Ah.” Su Yuyang’s sigh cut off Ling Miao’s apology. Su Yuyang threw the nectarine pit into the trash, then wiped his hand off with a tissue as he said: “It’s my fault for giving you a hard time, but it was a bit much to hit me with a nectarine pit. Since you apologized, I won’t pursue the matter, either.”
Ling Miao quickly promised that he wouldn’t do something that dangerous again, so penitent he might as well have been kneeling on the floor.
Ling Miao’s strung-up heart didn’t relax until the door to Su Yuyang’s bedroom closed, but he still didn’t know what would happen from now on.
Su Yuyang was also sitting uncertainly in front of his computer staring at his draft.
In the afternoon he’d fallen asleep while writing, and, just like that, his afternoon’s work had been ruined. He wanted to salvage what he could while he still had a little bit of inspiration.
After a few lines, however, Su Yuyang couldn’t continue writing. Every nook and crevice of his mind was occupied with a certain person’s silhouette. This person’s outline was blurry, and his profile looked a bit like Ling Miao’s. However, this person’s movements were incredibly languid; he was nothing like Ling Miao.
Su Yuyang’s mind was still caught on Ling Miao’s image from dinnertime. Comparing the scene in his mind to dinnertime’s, the character grew another fraction clearer.
“Forget it.” Su Yuyang deflated, then sat up straight. “If I can’t come up with it, then I can’t come up with it. This character isn’t essential. Ah, I tried to plant flowers with the best of intentions, but the flowers don’t bloom. Maybe one day I’ll plant a forest and actually be able to bask in the shade.”
As Su Yuyang went on thinking, his mental block gradually receded, and scene upon scene appeared in his mind. His fingers danced across the keyboard. Because the scenes were already fully formed in his mind, he didn’t have to spend much time thinking. In addition, his typing speed left Ling Miao’s in the dust. By the time Su Yuyang had finished ten thousand words, Ling Miao was still thinking about his plot.
“Goddamn it.” Ling Miao slammed the keyboard. “What happens next? Do I go to a different place? I can’t go to a different place, the main character still hasn’t gotten one very important thing!” When Ling Miao got frustrated, he would begin to pull at his hair. Maybe someday he wouldn’t stop until he was bald.
Su Yuyang felt thirsty and left his room to get water. Ling Miao’s frustrated image entered his eyes, and inexplicably, he wanted to laugh. And he actually did laugh out loud.
“Su Yuyang, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”
“Seeing you frustrated,” Su Yuyang joked as he took a sip of water.
Ling Miao glared at Su Yuyang so hard his eyeballs were about to fall out. Su Yuyang packed up his smile and walked to Ling Miao’s side. He looked at the screen and asked, “Writer’s block?”
“Yeah.” Ling Miao’s strength seemed to have all been spent pulling at his hair, so his reply now was weak.
Su Yuyang thought for a bit then turned the laptop to face him. “Let me see.”
Su Yuyang skimmed Ling Miao’s draft; Ling Miao sat to one side, his breathing gradually evening out. Ling Miao’s gaze occasionally landed on his laptop screen, and occasionally on Su Yuyang’s face.
Ling Miao didn’t know what Su Yuyang was looking at, but he noticed that Su Yuyang was frowning. It was just a simple frown, but Ling Miao couldn’t tear his eyes from Su Yuyang’s face.
Only because Su Yuyang’s attention was completely on Ling Miao’s draft did Ling Miao have the courage to let his eyes linger on Su Yuyang.
This was the first time Ling Miao had observed Su Yuyang so closely.
Su Yuyang’s features were ordinary, and on first glance one wouldn’t find him to be particularly eye-catching. But if one were to pay close attention to him like Ling Miao was doing now, one might find that Su Yuyang had an inexplicable draw about him.