Chapter 50 – Panic
Lin Yan’s body trembled as he shook—he didn’t dare look at the surveillance footage again.
The moment that thought forced its way into his mind, everything that had happened before suddenly made sense.
So Lu Heng’s special attention toward him—letting him win those competitions, the ambiguous closeness—was all because he had once taken care of him for a period of time.
But then why didn’t he leave? Why didn’t he just go back directly? Why did he stay by his side for so long?
Ding Yue taking him away was perfectly reasonable. After being out for so long, it was only right to return home when the time came.
It was Lin Yan who had forcibly kept him here.
Lin Yan curled forward, hugging his legs and burying his head into his arms.
The necklace on his chest slipped out from beneath his clothes. His gaze landed on the stone hanging from it.
If Lu Heng had only been trying to repay him, then why had he been so attentive?
Why did he know about his lucky stone?
Why did he rush over specially, knowing Lin Yan would be nervous during competitions?
Lost in his memories, Lin Yan seemed to regain a bit of clarity. Suddenly, he remembered—his ID card had been brought to him by Meiqiu that day.
He stood up. His body was still weak, but he managed to stagger over to the desk. He opened the small storage box placed there—he had always kept his ID inside it.
The moment he opened the box, the uncertainty in his heart finally became clear.
Beneath the ID card lay a notebook, and on it were written the words: his lucky stone.
He closed the box and lifted his eyes, seeing the photo on the screen in front of him.
Lu Heng’s face appeared clearly before his eyes.
Yet at this moment, Lin Yan was trembling violently.
Someone he had lived with day and night for so long—why did the image now seem so blurry?
Tears welled up, blurring his vision. He could no longer see what was in front of him. Covering his face with both hands, he suppressed his emotions as sobs escaped his throat.
Was this the usual behavior of the wealthy and powerful?
Lin Yan searched his heart for countless reasons to excuse Lu Heng, but he had reached the end of his strength. No matter how many explanations he came up with, none could justify the fact that Lu Heng had simply left without warning.
Were all those gentle moments, all those flirtatious closenesses, merely compensation for him?
Lu Heng could detach himself so easily, leaving Lin Yan alone, trapped so deeply that he couldn’t pull himself out.
Lin Yan felt like a fool. If he hadn’t discovered the truth, he might still be wondering—wondering why that person’s attitude toward him had changed.
His heart shattered across the ground. He could barely breathe. Tears streamed down his face, sliding from his neck into the hollow of his collarbone, the dampness reminding him again and again that everything about this had been wrong.
He clutched the stone hanging from his neck.
The joy he’d felt when he first received it now turned into unbearable humiliation. The stone in his palm felt like a burning piece of charcoal, the searing heat traveling from his hand straight into his heart.
Scorching and intense.
With a sudden pull, the clasp cracked under the force, as if reminding Lin Yan that everything had only ever been a shattered dream.
Now that the dream was over, everything should return to normal.
A red mark was dragged across his neck, the sting on his skin no match for the ache in his heart.
He placed the necklace back into the box and closed it.
He didn’t plan to open it again.
…
When Lin Yan arrived at the office, his eyes were still a little swollen. He rubbed them and continued staring at his computer screen.
“Brother Yan, what’s wrong with your eyes?” Chen Xin leaned over his desk. Taking a closer look, she realized his condition was much worse than it had been a few days ago.
It seemed… even worse now.
“Ah, I didn’t sleep well last night,” Lin Yan replied while typing on the keyboard.
“Oh.” Chen Xin didn’t ask the question she really wanted to ask. Seeing how off Lin Yan looked, she decided not to press further. “Pack up your things.”
“Huh?” Lin Yan frowned in confusion. As his brows drew together, the movement tugged at the corners of his eyes. Only then did he realize how badly swollen they were—it even stung a little.
He relaxed his brows, forcing his facial features back into place, trying not to pull at the painful area.
“Director Lin, you need to change offices,” Chen Xin said. Watching his expressions shift awkwardly was a little funny, but she didn’t laugh.
What she felt more was concern.
After working with him for so many years, she knew his personality well. He must be going through something terrible—otherwise he wouldn’t look so numb.
Using work to fill every gap, trying to soothe his heart through exhaustion.
There was no need to ask. In this kind of state, it was probably heartbreak.
Chen Xin sighed quietly to herself. When she’d gone through a breakup back then, she hadn’t been in much better shape either.
“Brother Yan, I get it. I really do,” she said gently. “But life still has to go on.”
Some things didn’t need to be said. At moments like this, comfort alone was enough.
Lin Yan looked confused. He didn’t understand what she “got,” but he soon snapped back to reality—it really was time to change workstations. He’d been sitting in this spot for too long.
“Mm.” He stood up, packed his things, and moved into the partitioned office.
Several colleagues came over to help. It didn’t take long before everything was set up. Lin Yan sat down at the new desk and didn’t step out the entire morning.
He tried to numb himself with work, forcing his mind to think of nothing else.
Maybe it worked.
This way, he could get through one long day after another. Nearly all the projects assigned to him were completed.
Even tasks that weren’t his responsibility—he took those on as well.
He returned to a life of constant overtime. Time seemed as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button, days passing one after another.
Before long, rumors began circulating in the company—people said the newly appointed director of Technical Department Four was a workaholic, practically living in the office and working himself to exhaustion every day.
Eventually, these whispers reached Lu Heng’s ears.
He grew anxious. Worried. Afraid that if Lin Yan kept going like this, he wouldn’t be able to hold on.
“Xiangyang Primary School replied,” He Lingchen continued reporting. “Zhao Ming’s daughter is preparing to enroll. They’d like to invite you to give a speech at the opening ceremony of the new campus.”
Seeing that President Lu’s gaze was unfocused and drifting, it seemed this engagement wouldn’t happen. He Lingchen made a mental note to cross it off later and find an excuse to decline.
Lu Heng snapped back to his senses and continued listening.
“The company Zhao Ming applied to is asking about the reason for his dismissal.”
Lu Heng looked up. The pen tapped against the desk again and again. After thinking for a moment, he said, “No need to reply. Whether they want to hire him is for them to decide.”
“Understood.” He Lingchen nodded and crossed out that item as well before continuing, “There’s a project in Technical Department Four that requires an on-site inspection. We’re planning to send—”
Normally, this kind of matter didn’t need to be reported to President Lu. But based on previous experience, He Lingchen had decided to inform him of anything related to Lin Yan.
As for what to do—that would be up to President Lu.
Before he could say the name, Lu Heng interrupted him.
“Things like this don’t need to be reported to me. Whoever it is, let them go.”
After saying that, Lu Heng felt a trace of regret. He paused, then turned the question around.
“…Is it Lin Yan?”
“Yes. He applied to go on his own initiative.”
Lu Heng’s eyes brightened slightly. “Where to? For how long?”
“Liaocheng. Three days.”
“Mm. I understand.”
Hearing this, He Lingchen was a little confused. In the past, it was always President Lu who insisted on bringing Lin Yan along on business trips—so why wasn’t he going this time?
As always, a boss’s thoughts were the hardest to guess.
Lin Yan rode his electric bike home to pack his things before heading out. This business trip came at just the right time—earlier, the pet hospital had called to say that the kitten he’d rescued had mostly recovered and could be picked up.
Thinking of the kitten made him recall the business trip he’d taken with President Lu before.
Perhaps it was from that time onward that his feelings toward him had begun to change.
Who would have thought that after returning, those emotions would spiral even further out of control?
He shook his head, repeatedly reminding himself not to think about it.
Don’t think.
As he folded his clothes, his peripheral vision drifted toward a box nearby—the one holding President Lu’s clothes.
The box sat quietly in the corner.
These things should be returned to their rightful owner. But then again, if the owner himself didn’t care, why should he?
Forcing his gaze away, he focused back on the clothes in his hands. Turning around, he looked at his wardrobe and suddenly realized—It seemed messier than before.
So… had his closet been neat in the past because someone else had been organizing it for him?
He took a deep breath.
Don’t think.
Don’t think.
Don’t think about it.
Unable to bear leaving the kitten alone at the pet hospital, Lin Yan decided to pick it up first and then look for someone to adopt it. Keeping the kitten by his side would put his mind at ease—he could take care of it up close.
If he couldn’t find a suitable adopter, then he would raise it himself. The things he had bought for cats before could be used by this kitten as well.
After packing his bag, Lin Yan headed out alone.
He had planned to go by himself, but when he reached downstairs, a familiar black car pulled up in front of him and stopped.
The window rolled down, revealing a familiar profile.
Lin Yan glanced over—it was Lu Heng.
“Get in. I’ll give you a ride,” Lu Heng said lightly, tossing out the words.
Lin Yan sighed softly, then bent slightly and spoke to the person inside the car. “No need to trouble you, President Lu. I’ll take a taxi. The company will reimburse it.”
With a single sentence, the distance between them was drawn far apart.
As if reminding Lu Heng that they were nothing more than an ordinary superior and subordinate.
From where he sat, Lu Heng could clearly see Lin Yan’s neck.
The necklace was gone.
When had he taken it off?
Did he not like it?
Or… did he not like the one who gave it to him?
His chest tightened instantly.
In his more than twenty years of life, Lu Heng had always made meticulous plans for himself—and ensured everything followed those plans exactly.
He never allowed even the slightest deviation.
Until the day he turned into a cat.
Until the day he was taken in by Lin Yan.
Everything had already drifted far from its original course.
Long beyond his control.
Lu Heng got out of the car, wanting to pull Lin Yan back inside.
But he was always one step too late.
In matters like this, he seemed perpetually out of sync—several beats slower than he should be. Where had his usual decisiveness gone?
Regret was useless now.
By the time he looked up, Lin Yan’s figure was already seated in another car.
Leaving Lu Heng standing there alone.
At the entrance of the residential complex, people passed by endlessly, cars coming and going. Every passerby glanced over at him.
As a car drove past, its horn blared—but Lu Heng heard nothing at all, as if he were trapped inside his own sorrow, frozen in place.
“Hey, you can’t park here. Move the car,” the security guard called out, seeing that Lu Heng hadn’t moved and the car was still blocking the entrance. If he didn’t intervene, it would clog the gate.
The guard thought the person who had just left looked a little familiar. After thinking for a moment, he remembered—Wasn’t that the man who’d come earlier to check the surveillance footage, saying someone had entered his home?
He wondered whether he’d ever found out who it was.
Since he hadn’t moved away yet, maybe he had already figured it out. Perhaps it had just been a misunderstanding.
Seeing Lu Heng still standing there, the guard couldn’t help shaking his head. Working the gate every day, he’d encountered all kinds of strange people—he could usually tell what was going on.
This scene…
It looked exactly like a couple in the middle of a lovers’ quarrel.
There were all kinds of issues between young couples. The security guard had seen plenty of situations like this every day. From the way things looked just now, this guy had definitely made the other person angry.
He really didn’t know what this man was thinking. He looked sharp enough, and he was handsome too—so how could he act like a block of wood?
No, he had to step in and remind him. Otherwise, the car blocking the entrance would become a real problem.
“I’m just saying—if the person’s already left, you should go after them,” the guard said to Lu Heng in Mandarin tinged with a local accent. “Standing here isn’t going to fix anything.”
Those words seemed to suddenly wake Lu Heng up.
Right. Go after him.
What was he doing, hesitating like this?
Was he afraid Lin Yan wouldn’t respond to him?
Or afraid that turning into a cat might somehow hurt Lin Yan?
But why had these become things he worried about?
Ever since the first time he transformed, he had never once lost control. With such a stable fact, why was he obsessing over that one percent of uncertainty?
Besides— That one percent might not even exist at all.
Lu Heng looked at the security guard and nodded. Then, moving quickly, he drove off, heading straight after Lin Yan.
“See? Good thing I spoke up—otherwise this car would’ve blocked the entrance all day,” the guard muttered.
Since when had Lu Heng become so hesitant?
He slapped the steering wheel lightly and chased all the way to Lin Yan’s doorstep.
After getting out of the car, Lin Yan pulled his suitcase toward the house. The place looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time—quiet, lacking warmth.
Still, it was the place he was most familiar with.
He went to his room and tidied up casually.
Just then, the wooden door was knocked on at an untimely moment. He followed the sound and saw a shadow cast by the porch light outside.
Who would come to his place at this hour?
He went downstairs to open the door. When he saw the familiar figure, his eyes shifted slightly in surprise.
“President Lu?”
Lu Heng was still catching his breath. When he saw Lin Yan, the corners of his lips lifted immediately.
“You live here alone?”
Lin Yan froze for a moment and blinked. By now, the swelling in his eyes had gone down and no longer hurt much. He nodded.
“Yes. Are you also here on a business trip, President Lu?”
“Mm.” Lu Heng nodded.
Huh?
Did this trip really require the company’s top boss to come personally? Wasn’t this something he could handle on his own?
Had President Lu chased after him all the way here?
Stop.
Don’t think.
Don’t think about anything.
After several days without being around Lin Yan, Lu Heng felt deeply unaccustomed to it. He had already admitted his feelings for him long ago.
Then why had he spent so long hesitating over this one thing?
That answer from earlier didn’t count.
He had chased after him because he still wanted an answer— the one Lin Yan had never given him.
“I’m not here just for a business trip,” Lu Heng said. “There’s something you’ve never answered for me.”
What is it?
Lin Yan frowned. He’d already done everything he should have—what else could it be?
The next second, Lu Heng spoke, clearing his confusion.
“Would I be your type?”
This time, Lu Heng asked seriously—not like last time, when it had carried a hint of teasing.
What did this mean now?
Lin Yan didn’t understand—he really didn’t understand at all. At night, his reactions always slowed down. He wasn’t sure whether it was because he hadn’t rested well before.
It felt as if his brain’s thinking speed had been forcibly lowered.
When you don’t know how to answer a question, sometimes the best way is to throw it back.
“President Lu, is this question very important?”
“Yes,” Lu Heng said as he stepped closer. “It’s very important to me.”
The distance between them kept shrinking.
Instinctively, Lin Yan wanted to step back—but his wrist was suddenly caught.
The gaze cast toward him was deep and intense.
Lin Yan didn’t dare look at such eyes. He turned his head away instead. “Even if you know the answer, what difference would it make?”
Lu Heng’s eyes widened—round and bright, just like Meiqiu’s eyes. Lively, full of spirit.
That look made Lin Yan recall every time he had looked at Meiqiu, as though each glance reached straight into his soul.
“I—”
Lin Yan shook free of his grip and stepped back, pulling the door halfway closed, physically separating the two of them.
“President Lu, it’s late. You should rest.”
“Alright.”
The very next second, Lu Heng stepped straight into the house. Turning his head, he asked unreasonably, “Then where am I sleeping?”
Author’s Note:
The wife is angry now 👀
Lu Heng’s Lu is the Lu of “chasing his wife.”