“My brother is just a bit shy!” Fu Xiao Qing sighed deeply, knowing she could never casually reveal her brother’s unintended words back then. She could only force herself to find an excuse to explain.
But some people just would not listen.
“Then why isn’t he shy when he’s with me?” Huo Qi Jun coldly laughed, clearly unconvinced.
Fu Xiao Qing was initially at a loss for words but soon found the situation amusing. She pointedly remarked, “Huo Qi Jun! The question you should be asking is not why he only becomes shy and blushes around Lin Wei, but what gives you the right to get so worked up about it!”
“What’s going on here?” Lin Wei had finished handling his onboarding matters and turned to see the two of them completely ignoring each other. Amused, he asked, “You two managed to argue in such a short time?”
Huo Qi Jun refused to admit it was an argument; it was clearly just the other person being too ashamed to counter his points. Fu Xiao Qing shared this opinion.
Lin Wei, unable to intervene further, chose to separate them. Fu Xiao Qing followed the manager to complete her onboarding paperwork while Lin Wei accompanied Huo Qi Jun for a stroll in the park behind the sanatorium.
“The environment here isn’t bad!” Huo Qi Jun made small talk, although he somewhat knew he wasn’t in the right. Yet, he felt no guilt; after all, Lin Wei liked him now. Any romantic advances from others would be in vain. He could afford to dismiss one or two.
Moreover, that Fu Tianlan looked weak and shy, like the complete opposite of himself. Who could have such polarized preferences in aesthetics? Lin Wei surely wouldn’t like him; if he were inclined, they would have contacted each other privately long ago!
“Yeah, the greenery is indeed very nice here.” Lin Wei agreed, hesitating for a moment before asking, “What were you and Xiao Qing arguing about earlier?”
It wasn’t out of curiosity; ever since these two had returned to a friendly relationship, they weren’t exactly compatible. However, they hadn’t been at odds constantly either. This sudden tension was concerning to him.
After all, his task was to ensure Huo Qi Jun wouldn’t act recklessly before the storyline concluded, but in romantic tales, nine out of ten misbehaving male leads had to do with the female lead.
Even though Huo Qi Jun had been increasingly normal lately and hadn’t attempted to disregard others like that incident at the bar.
“We didn’t argue!” Huo Qi Jun instinctively adjusted his glasses. “It was just a divergence in perception!”
“For example?” Lin Wei could tell from Huo Qi Jun’s reaction that he was clearly not in the right. However, it was so typical he couldn’t be bothered to call him out on it.
“For example, you…” Huo Qi Jun’s mind stirred slightly, and he suddenly asked, “What’s your ideal type?”
“I honestly haven’t thought about it. Didn’t I tell you? I think being single is great.” Lin Wei replied naturally, although internally he had already concluded the reason behind Huo Qi Jun’s sulking—most likely due to Fu Tianlan’s earlier performance, which triggered this seemingly homophobic young master!
“And what disagreement could you and Xiao Qing possibly have regarding my ideal type?” Lin Wei countered bluntly. “Is it because of Fu Tianlan? Do you think I would have an interest in every handsome man I see?”
“That’s not what I meant!” Huo Qi Jun’s heart sank. He paused to turn back and look at him. “I don’t think you like him; I just don’t want you to unintentionally attract romantic trouble. And… wait, were you just praising his looks??!”
Realizing mid-explanation what he had just said, Huo Qi Jun’s righteous demeanor shattered instantly, disbelief painted on his face.
He asked about an ideal type, wanting to know Lin Wei’s perception of him, but not only did Lin Wei abstain from answering, he also praised Fu Tianlan’s looks in front of him?!
“…” Lin Wei genuinely didn’t know what to say anymore. Fu Tianlan wasn’t ugly; he just looked frail from being ill for so long. How could the female lead’s brother be unattractive? Plus, he wasn’t falling for looks; he simply stated a fact!
They exchanged gazes for a moment, and Lin Wei conceded, sighing, “Alright, I truly don’t have that kind of feeling for him. If you really feel uncomfortable, I can assure you that even if I do get a boyfriend in the future, I absolutely won’t bring him around you. How does that sound?”
Huo Qi Jun was taken aback by his words, finally realizing that he and Lin Wei had been talking past one another.
His possessiveness flared up at the thought of Lin Wei quickly diverting his affections to someone else. He initially found it difficult to voice these feelings, afraid of being discovered, only to realize that Lin Wei had thought all along he was just homophobic?!
“I’m not…!” Huo Qi Jun wanted to explain but found it impossible to articulate his real thoughts. In the end, he couldn’t deliver a single coherent explanation.
Lin Wei wasn’t concerned with whether he actually was or not. Whether there was an explanation or not didn’t matter. As long as Huo Qi Jun maintained his current decent behavior, when the predetermined time arrived, and the task was complete, he could leave.
However, he recalled another matter: “Since Xiao Qing has already left, I can move out of your home when we get back.”
Huo Qi Jun grew more vexed: “Oh!”
But Lin Wei found him quite obedient.
The system felt that its host’s perspective was a bit skewed: [Where exactly is he obedient? I can’t see that at all!] Huo Qi Jun’s face was handsome, but when expressionless, he gave off an unapproachable vibe within a ten-meter radius!
[He seems to have a bad temper but is actually quite easy to placate, much better than those domineering male leads from before who would explode at the slightest provocation and couldn’t be calmed down.] Lin Wei didn’t believe his aesthetics were flawed.
The system pondered: [That’s true!]
Compared to the male leads from those earlier worlds who would go into a rage whenever the female lead encountered a problem, Huo Qi Jun’s temperament, which could be soothed with some coaxing, was no different from comforting a cat.
This was one of the reasons Lin Wei had been particularly patient with Huo Qi Jun.
They lingered for a while until Fu Xiao Qing had finished all her procedures and settled in before leaving. Before departing, Lin Wei intended to bid farewell to Fu Tianlan, but Huo Qi Jun was reluctant. Fu Xiao Qing rolled her eyes, nearly unable to refrain from exposing his petty jealousy right then and there.