Chapter 49: “He’s probably considered your brother-in-law.”

“Mm, it does sound kind of nice,” Yao Wenjing said, with no concept of modesty in front of Lin Zhi, smiling. “You only just realized this today?”

Lin Zhi just smiled and didn’t speak. He hadn’t paid much attention before, but after comparing, he realized it sounded much better than “Xiao Lu” or “Xiao Liu.”

Of course, he wouldn’t dare say this in front of Lu Liu, or Lu Liu would “threaten” him by saying he wouldn’t let him return to school that night. Lin Zhi wasn’t afraid of such “threats,” but since Lu Liu always just said it without following through, he didn’t want to be forced to lie and say, “Okay, I’ll go back,” when Lu Liu asked if he was going back or not.

“What should we do?” Yao Wenjing asked enthusiastically.

“I haven’t decided,” Lin Zhi replied. He had called Yao Wenjing out to tell him that he and Lu Liu were officially together. He could have just sent a message on WeChat, but Yao Wenjing would probably have a lot of questions. Cold, emotionless texts would be troublesome to explain, so Lin Zhi thought it would be easier to explain in person. After all, when they returned home for the holidays, Yao Wenjing would still need to support him in front of Lin Qingye.

In addition, it had been a while since he and Yao Wenjing had hung out properly. While he was busy with his relationship, Yao Wenjing had been working part-time every weekend, so compared to the two of them, Lin Zhi felt he had been a bit too indulgent.

“By the way,” Lin Zhi remembered something Lin Qingye had told him, “Let’s go to the mall, I’ll buy you some clothes.”

It was already past the halfway point of the first semester of university, and the weather was getting colder. Some of the girls who couldn’t tolerate the cold had already switched to thick coats.

During their previous meetings, Lin Zhi noticed Yao Wenjing was still wearing the clothes he had bought for him before the semester started, but he hadn’t thought much of it at the time. However, as the weather got colder, those summer clothes couldn’t keep him warm, so Yao Wenjing had to wear his old coat from high school. Lin Zhi noticed this and assumed Yao Wenjing didn’t want to spend money, so he immediately told Lin Qingye. As a result, Lin Qingye sent more money for Lin Zhi to buy clothes for Yao Wenjing.

In fact, the living expenses Lin Qingye gave them both were the same. Although it wasn’t extravagant, it was enough for a college student to live at a level above average.

For someone like Lin Zhi, who didn’t splurge while in a relationship, the money was sufficient. For someone like Yao Wenjing, who was frugal and always saving, it was more than enough. Furthermore, Yao Wenjing worked part-time whenever he had time, so it wasn’t that he couldn’t afford seasonal clothes.

“Ah?” Yao Wenjing hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no, I’ll buy it myself.”

Lin Zhi thought to himself, “You’ll buy it yourself?” Without listening to Yao Wenjing, he wrapped his arm around his shoulder and walked forward.

Lin Zhi knew that even though Yao Wenjing lived at his house, and although he and Lin Qingye treated Yao Wenjing as if he were part of their family, with Lin Qingye even seeing him as a second son, and Yao Wenjing and Lin Zhi being like brothers, Yao Wenjing still always felt indebted.

This wasn’t about how close they were, no matter how friendly Yao Wenjing was with Lin Zhi, he always felt like a guest, and he naturally acted more cautiously. He couldn’t just freely spend the money Lin Qingye gave him.

Yao Wenjing was frugal, hoping to earn money to support himself first, and then repay Lin Qingye and Lin Zhi for their kindness. He tried his best not to cause any more trouble, but he never expected Lin Zhi would still be worried about him.

“Xiao Zhi,” Yao Wenjing said, lowering his head, filled with guilt. “I’m sorry, I…”

“What are you apologizing for?” Lin Zhi interrupted him. “What’s there to apologize for, Xiao Jing? You can tell me anything, but there’s no need to say sorry.”

Lin Zhi had always known that Yao Wenjing was more sensitive than most people. Having never received much kindness, he could differentiate between good and bad people very clearly, and he was afraid of causing trouble for others. Lin Zhi could guess what was going through Yao Wenjing’s mind, but he had never brought it up or comforted him, because Yao Wenjing always kept his feelings hidden.

When they were kids… actually, before Yao Wenjing was completely abandoned by his parents, he would always talk to Lin Zhi about anything that bothered him, or at least show it clearly enough for Lin Zhi to notice. It wasn’t like now—he had grown up, and now he would hide things, leaving Lin Zhi to guess.

Lin Zhi and Yao Wenjing went to an underground shopping mall. There weren’t many big-name stores, and even if there were, they couldn’t afford them.

After looking around for a bit, they found most of the stores were women’s clothing shops. It wasn’t until they walked quite a distance that they found a men’s clothing store. Yao Wenjing wasn’t picky, and Lin Zhi told him to go in if he wanted to. When they checked the prices and found them too expensive, Yao Wenjing would immediately leave. No matter what Lin Zhi said, Yao Wenjing would only start bargaining if the prices seemed reasonable. If the price wasn’t lowered to his expectation, he would walk away.

…He really had a strong personality.

After a long time, Lin Zhi finally picked out two outfits for Yao Wenjing. At the end, Lin Zhi picked up a color-blocked sweater and asked Yao Wenjing if it looked good.

“I already bought two sweaters earlier,” Yao Wenjing glanced at it briefly and said, “I don’t need it.”

“Mm,” Lin Zhi smiled. “I’ll wear it.”

Only then did Yao Wenjing look at it seriously. He glanced at the sweater and then at Lin Zhi and said, “It looks good. You’ll look great wearing it.”

“Alright,” Lin Zhi looked at the price tag and whispered, “Help me bargain.”

Yao Wenjing asked about the price range Lin Zhi was comfortable with and confidently turned around to haggle with the shopkeeper. Not knowing exactly how much Lin Zhi liked the sweater, Yao Wenjing assumed he had to have it, so he kept raising his offer, almost pushing the price beyond the acceptable range.

At that moment, Lin Zhi spoke up from the side, “What if we buy two? Can you give us a discount?”

Both the shopkeeper and Yao Wenjing turned to look at him. The shopkeeper hesitated, “Two of different colors?”

“No, same color,” Lin Zhi stepped into the topic of why he had called Yao Wenjing out today, “The other one needs to be one size bigger.”

A few minutes later, Lin Zhi walked out of the store with two shopping bags in hand, feeling quite satisfied.

Yao Wenjing noticed his excitement and casually asked, “Why are you buying two?”

Lin Zhi blinked twice, hinting, “One for someone else.”

Who would give someone a piece of clothing exactly the same as their own? Yao Wenjing thought to himself, then realized a few seconds later and asked, surprised, “Who are you giving it to?”

“If I were your brother,” Lin Zhi thought for a moment, “He’d probably be considered your brother-in-law.”

“You’ve got together?” Yao Wenjing was happy for him. “Is it the one you told me about before?”

Lin Zhi made a noise in acknowledgment, “Sort of.”

When he had mentioned it to Yao Wenjing earlier, he had meant “Zhi,” but in the end, it was all about Lu Liu, so it was close enough. The thing was, he had told Yao Wenjing that Yao Wenjing didn’t know him and even mentioned introducing him if there was a chance…

Now, telling him that the person was Lu Liu felt a bit awkward.

Sigh, he had to think of an explanation again. Reborn life was really not easy.

“Do you want to meet him?” Lin Zhi asked. “I’ll call him out and we can have dinner together later?”

“Isn’t it a bit rushed?” Yao Wenjing, being a member of Lin Zhi’s family, took the matter seriously. “Shouldn’t we prepare for the first meeting? We’re carrying so many things, it feels too casual.”

“Ah,” Lin Zhi chuckled awkwardly, “It’s not casual, and it’s not the first time we’re meeting. You already know him.”