On How To Defeat Dr. Qing Leng Chapter 37

Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Taking him to meet friends

The New Year’s Eve is getting closer and closer.The emptiness in Wen Yelan’s heart caused by the long vacation was completely filled by Pei Yan, leaving almost no gap to ponder the feeling of loneliness.

He was used to waking up in Pei Yan’s apartment in the morning. He was used to having food on the table that suited his appetite. He was used to having someone beside him, either near or far, whom he could see as soon as he raised his eyes.

This habit brings peace of mind, but also a secret uneasiness.He was afraid that he would indulge too deeply, that the stolen warmth would eventually end.But whenever this kind of thought comes up, Pei Yan can always interrupt it appropriately, with a casual question, or a piece of fruit handed to him, or the lamp left for him in the living room at night.

Until that afternoon, his cell phone rang.It was a number he had saved but almost never dialed.

Caller ID: [Mother].

Wen Yelan was sitting on the carpet in the living room, sorting out some scattered literature on his laptop.Seeing the two words on the screen, he pressed the pause button, his fingers hovering above the touch pad, motionless.The bell rang stubbornly and was particularly harsh.

Pei Yan walked out of the study, holding a water glass in his hand. He paused when he saw Wen Yelan’s stiff back and the bright phone screen.He didn’t say anything, just walked over and gently placed the water glass on the coffee table in Wen Yelan’s hand, making a slight knocking sound.

Wen Yelan seemed to be awakened by the sound, his Adam’s apple moved, and his fingertips traced across the screen.

“Hello, Mom.” His voice was flat and there was no emotion.

There was a female voice speaking very fast on the other end of the phone, and the background sound was messy.”Xiaolan, where are you? Are you on vacation?”

“Well, let it go.”

“Just let it go. I’m telling you, something happened at home, and we need money urgently.” The mother’s voice was straight to the point, and even the pleasantries were omitted, “Your brother…well, he just needs some money anyway. How much money do you have in hand now? First come back with a hundred thousand to deal with the emergency.”

Wen Yelan’s knuckles holding the phone turned slightly white.He was silent for a few seconds and asked: “What’s wrong, brother? Do you need so much money?”

“Why are you asking so much? We need it urgently at home! You have worked for so long and are in such a good company. You can always get 100,000 yuan, right? Don’t tell me that you don’t have it. How much can you spend in Beijing alone?” The mother’s tone became impatient: “Hurry up, I will send you the card number, and it will arrive tomorrow at the latest. Do you hear me? Don’t come back before the Chinese New Year!”

Wen Yelan closed his eyes.He thought he had been numb for a long time, but every time he was asked directly like this, the old wound on his heart still felt a slight pain.

“I don’t have a hundred thousand.” He heard his dry voice say.

“What? No? Wen Yelan, your wings are stiff, right? The family has raised you so much, why do you want money? Do you think that now that you have the ability, you will no longer recognize this family?” The voice suddenly rose, mixed with anger and accusation, “I tell you, you must give this money! Otherwise, where will you put my and your father’s face? What will your brother do?”

“I really don’t.” Wen Yelan repeated, his voice lowered with fatigue.His salary is not low, but he has saved most of it. House prices in Beijing are expensive, and he also wants to buy the apartment he is renting now…

Why?Why is it like this every time?

“If you don’t have any, go ahead and borrow it! You can make an advance from your employer or borrow it from your colleagues! Anyway, I’m going to see the money tomorrow!” The mother gave an ultimatum and hung up the phone without waiting for him to say anything else.

When the busy signal came, Wen Yelan still held up the phone and maintained the posture of answering, motionless.The skylight outside the window was dim, making his profile look even more deserted.

Pei Yan had been standing not far behind him, listening quietly.Although he couldn’t hear the specific content, he could clearly feel the aggressive temperament on the other end of the phone and Wen Yelan’s somewhat curled up body.

He walked over and sat down on the carpet next to Wen Yelan. He didn’t touch him immediately, but just took the hot phone from his hand and put it aside.Then, he reached out and gently held Wen Yelan’s cold fingers.

“What’s wrong?” Pei Yan asked, his voice low, with a reassuring calmness.

Wen Yelan’s fingers shrank in his palm but did not pull away.He lowered his eyes and stared at the hands held by the two of them. After a long time, he breathed out softly and said in a hoarse voice: “My family… needs money.”

Pei Yan didn’t even move his brows, he just said “hmm” to show that he was listening.

“Say that my brother needs it.” Wen Yelan twitched the corner of his mouth, and the curve was a little stiff, “I have to pay it to the account tomorrow.”

“Do you want to give it?” Pei Yan asked directly.

Wen Yelan was silent.He doesn’t want to give it.The kind of request that was treated like a cash machine and showed no respect at all made him feel sick to his stomach.But… “She is my mother.” He whispered, like a weak defense, but also like a mockery of himself.

Pei Yan held his hand tightly.”It’s your mother, yes. But the money is yours.” His tone was calm, but with an unquestionable power. “It’s up to you to decide whether to give it, how to give it, and how much to give, not by their orders. Wen Yelan, you are no longer the child who needs to see their faces to survive.”

Wen Yelan raised his eyes and looked at Pei Yan.Pei Yan’s eyes were serious, without sympathy or encouragement, just stating the facts.

“I… don’t know.” Wen Yelan was a little confused.To reject the family’s demands, what he needs to overcome is not only the money problem, but also the deep-rooted fear of “unfilial piety” and “betrayal” deep in his heart, as well as…the instinctive desire for that little bit of family affection.Although the family affection has already deteriorated.

“If you don’t know, don’t think about it first.” Pei Yan let go of his hand, put his arm around his shoulders, and took him into his arms, “Don’t stay at home if you’re upset. Come on, let’s take you out to relax.”

“Where to go?” Wen Yelan leaned on his shoulder, having neither the strength nor the desire to struggle.

“Meet a few friends.” Pei Yan said, “Let’s soak in the hot springs and have a meal. Don’t worry, you’ve only met Lin Mo and the others. They are noisy, but they are okay.”

Wen Yelan instinctively wanted to refuse.His current state is not suitable for meeting people, especially Pei Yan’s friends who seem to be lively and have similar backgrounds.He was afraid that he would not fit in, and he was even more afraid of embarrassing Pei Yan.

“I don’t…”

“Just go with me.” Pei Yan interrupted him, with a hint of unreasonableness in his tone, but softened his voice again, “I need you to go with me, okay?”

The rest of Wen Yelan’s words were stuck in his throat.He looked into Pei Yan’s eyes, which were so close.Finally nodded.

The hot spring villa that Pei Yan was talking about is on the outskirts of Beijing, and it takes more than an hour to drive there.The environment is quiet and the privacy is very good.When they arrived, Lin Mo, Xiao Yu, and three other young men whom Wen Yelan was not familiar with were already soaking in the pool.

“Hey! Mr. Pei! You’re here! If you don’t come back, the water in this pool will be diluted by us!” Lin Mo was the first to shout, his eyes quickly fell on Wen Yelan, who was half a step behind Pei Yan, and gave Li Yu a look, but this time he was not as unobtrusive as before, and nodded with a smile, “Dr. Wen, long time no see.”

Li Yu also sat up straighter in the water and greeted with a smile: “Dr. Wen, this is the first time we meet. My name is Li Yu.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes brightened when he saw Wen Yelan, and he greeted him generously: “Long time no see, Dr. Wen. We said goodbye on Mount Everest and never had a chance to get to know each other properly.”

Wen Yelan remembered her, but he didn’t expect that she would come too. He curved his lips and smiled: “Long time no see, I didn’t expect that you would come too.”

“Pei Yan called me and asked you to come too, so I came to join in the fun. Otherwise, who would join them in the hot springs?” Xiao Yu stuck out her tongue.

The other two smiled friendly and introduced themselves.Wen Yelan nodded one by one in response, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed and natural than he expected.

Pei Yan took Wen Yelan to change clothes.

In the locker room, Wen Yelan lingered for a while before going out.He wasn’t used to wearing so little in front of strangers, even in a hot spring.When he came out wearing swimming trunks and a bathrobe, Pei Yan had already entered the water and was leaning on the edge of the pool talking to Lin Mo.Xiao Yu and Li Yu were also in the pool.

Seeing him coming out, several eyes were cast over him.Wen Yelan’s figure is slim but not thin. The muscle lines left by long-term field work are smooth and clear, but the skin is very white. Under the reflection of water vapor and courtyard lights, it looks like fine cold jade.He gathered up his bathrobe uncomfortably and walked to the edge of the pool.

“Come down, Dr. Wen, the water temperature is just right!” Lin Mo greeted.

Pei Yan didn’t say anything, but just stretched out his hand towards him.Wen Yelan took off her bathrobe and put it aside, then tentatively put her feet into the water. The temperature was indeed suitable.He slowly descended down the steps into the pool, and the warm spring water instantly enveloped him, making him sigh softly in comfort.Pei Yan held his wrist and brought him to his side.

“How’s it going? Is it okay?” Pei Yan asked.

“Yes.” Wen Yelan nodded, immersing his body in the hot water. The fatigue accumulated in the past few days and the annoyance caused by the phone call just now dissipated a lot.

“Ye Lan, what should you drink? Sake? Or juice?” Xiao Yu handed over a wooden tray with several small porcelain cups on it.

“Just juice, thank you.” Wen Yelan said.He has a bad drinking tolerance and remembers Pei Yan’s advice.

Xiao Yu poured him a glass of orange juice and Pei Yan a glass of sake.”Don’t be restrained, there are no outsiders here. It’s rare for this guy Pei Yan to bring people to see us, so it shows how much he cares about you.” She said with a smile, her eyes flickering between the two of them.

Lin Mo answered immediately: “That’s right! When has Mr. Pei ever been alone or surrounded by a bunch of birds? This time, Dr. Wen is the only one in his eyes! We have become the backdrop!”

Li Yu rarely spoke, and his voice was calm: “It is indeed rare.”

Wen Yelan’s ears were heated by what they said. He held the juice and sipped it in small sips without answering.

Pei Yan was calm. He took a sip of wine and glanced sideways at Lin Mo: “You are the only one who talks a lot. What, envy?”

“Envy! Why aren’t you envious!” Lin Mo patted the water exaggeratedly, “My girlfriends are very diligent, but none of them can make me so…so…” He was stuck and couldn’t find the right words for a moment.

“So determined.” Xiao Yu said for him, with a smile in her eyes, “Pei Yan is completely defeated this time. Dr. Wen, you are amazing.” She raised her glass to Wen Yelan.

Wen Yelan didn’t know how to respond to such straightforward ridicule, so he could only say vaguely: “No…”

“Why not?” Lin Mo got excited. He came closer and lowered his voice, but it was enough for everyone to hear, “Dr. Wen, you don’t know. Brother Pei called me in the middle of the night a while ago. He was very rude and said that you kissed him forcefully! On the snowy mountain! Is it true or false?”

Wen Yelan was sipping her juice and almost choked when she heard this. Her cheeks instantly turned red, and even her neck turned red.He suddenly looked at Pei Yan, his eyes full of surprise and embarrassment.

Why did Pei Yan even say this to others?!

Pei Yan didn’t expect Lin Mo to expose this fool in front of Wen Yelan. He choked for a rare moment and then glared at Lin Mo: “Shut up!”

“Oh, are you still shy?” Lin Mo continued to laugh without fear of death, “Dr. Wen, are you really lying? Did you really forcefully kiss him? Is Pei Yan bragging?”

Several other people in the pool also looked over curiously.

Wen Yelan was so embarrassed that she wanted to bury herself in the hot spring.He clenched the cup tightly, his fingertips turned white, and he didn’t know how to answer the question.recognize?Even if I beat him to death, he wouldn’t be able to speak out.Deny?It seems a little strange again.

Just when he was at a loss, Pei Yan reached out and gently shook his wrist under the water. Then he turned to Lin Mo and said in a lazy tone, but with an obvious warning and showoff: “Do I really need to report to you? Take care of yourself. This guy of mine is thin-skinned, don’t tease him.”

The words “This is my family” made Wen Yelan’s heart skip a beat, and also gave Lin Mo and others expressions of “Sure enough,” and “I can’t see it.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll protect you.” Lin Mo raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, but the smile on his face became even bigger, “But to be honest, Dr. Wen, I may have had a misunderstanding before, thinking that you… well, it’s not easy to get close to you. But after these few contacts, I feel that you are a really nice person. You don’t talk much, but you are real. Much better than some of the pretentious people in our circle.”

Li Yu also nodded and said seriously: “Yes, Pei Yan has a good vision. Dr. Wen is engaged in serious scientific research, unlike us who are fooling around. He is calm and calm, which is good.”

The other two people also echoed a few words, expressing recognition and acceptance both inside and outside their words.

Wen Yelan was stunned.He didn’t expect to hear such words from friends like Pei Yan.No inquiry, no contempt, just a simple recognition based on the impression of several meetings.

He pursed his lips. Although the heat on his face had not subsided, he still raised his head, looked at Lin Mo and the others, and said softly: “Thank you. You guys… are pretty good too.”

These words were blunt and simple, but they made Lin Mo laugh: “Did you hear that? Dr. Wen praised me.”

The atmosphere is more harmonious.Regarding subsequent topics, Xiao Yu and the others would occasionally ask Wen Yelan about work-related matters. Although they did not understand the professional terms, their attitude was very respectful.Wen Yelan slowly relaxed and could occasionally answer briefly.

Pei Yan was leaning next to him, his arms casually resting on the edge of the pool, very close to him.He did not participate much in Lin Mo’s and others’ eloquent talks, and only occasionally responded once or twice. Most of the time, his attention seemed to be on Wen Yelan.Seeing that there was less juice in his cup, I added more juice. Seeing that his cheeks were flushed by the heat, he whispered, “Is it hot? Do you want to go up and have a rest?”

After soaking in the hot springs, the group went to have a sumptuous dinner.Wen Yelan still talked little while talking and laughing during the dinner, but he was no longer as tense as before.He watched Pei Yan and Lin Mo make jokes and undermine each other, and felt that Pei Yan like this was a bit strange, but also very fresh.

On the way back, Wen Yelan sat in the passenger seat, looking at the rapidly regressing night scene outside the window, and suddenly said softly: “Those friends of yours… are quite nice.”

“Huh?” Pei Yan was concentrating on driving. Hearing this, he glanced sideways at him and said, “It’s just a bunch of idiots making a scene.”

“But they are very sincere to you.” Wen Yelan said.He could feel that the relationship between Lin Mo and Pei Yan was a sincere friendship that did not involve too many interests.This is actually quite rare in their circle.

Pei Yan’s mouth curved: “I grew up fooling around together, so I know the basics. He is a bit noisy, but not bad.” He paused, and then said, “I’m very happy that they like you.”

Wen Yelan’s heart moved slightly.He didn’t speak anymore, just leaned back in the seat and felt the warmth in the car.He hadn’t had this kind of experience in a long time… just because he was with a group of people, and he felt relaxed and happy.

After returning home and washing up, Wen Yelan felt extremely tired, but his spirit felt strangely relaxed.He fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as he touched the pillow.

It was a very deep, dreamless sleep.

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The author has something to say: While I was burning, I suddenly remembered that it was on the list this week. I quickly got up and wrote some, and posted it together with the manuscript. I feel so uncomfortable with a cold. I hope everyone is healthy![Lop-eared rabbit head][Prick-eared rabbit head][Hug]