TLLKTBD CH 14

Chapter 14: I’m Just a Bit Disappointed

Jin Lang stood in the lobby of Lu Qian’s workplace with a bitter expression. It had been three days since that night when Lu Qian stormed off in anger.

Lu Qian was ignoring him.

Every morning, Lu Qian either left before he woke up or completely ignored the breakfast Jin Lang prepared.

At lunchtime, whenever he brought a meal over, Lu Qian would brush him off with a simple “I’m in a meeting” or “I’m out.”

Dinner? That was even worse. Every night, Lu Qian came home late, immediately showered, and went to bed—completely ignoring the table full of late-night snacks or Jin Lang’s careful attempts to please him.

For the past three days, Jin Lang had been feeling miserable.

Logically, he understood that as someone being kept, he shouldn’t have too many emotions of his own. If his patron wanted to leave him hanging, then that was just how it was.

But emotionally… he really couldn’t help feeling bad.

It had already been more than two months since he moved into Lu Qian’s home. During this time, Lu Qian had always treated him gently and politely, never acting strangely. At first, Jin Lang had even been worried, unsure of how to begin his “actual duties.” But when he realized that Lu Qian had no special requests—only letting him be a little chef and housekeeper—he gradually relaxed. Over time, his impression of the “perverted patron” improved slightly.

But now? Who knew what was up with Lu Qian? He was suddenly throwing a tantrum for no reason.

And what could Jin Lang do? As a kept little wolfdog, he couldn’t exactly grab his patron by the collar and demand, “What the hell is your problem?”

All he could do was sigh in frustration, thinking to himself, What the f*ck did I do to deserve this?

He glanced at the time—1:40 PM. Lunchtime had already passed. Just like the past two days, Lu Qian definitely wouldn’t come downstairs. Jin Lang, feeling dejected, picked up the meal bag and prepared to leave the lobby.

At that moment, a group of four or five people entered the building through the side entrance, having just finished a meeting with a client.

From a distance, Lu Qian caught sight of Jin Lang’s retreating figure, carrying the meal bag as he walked out. He stopped in his tracks, frowning slightly.

Jin Lang had messaged him at 11:50 AM, saying he had arrived at the lobby. Lu Qian had told him to go back.

But now, seeing Jin Lang still standing there after nearly two hours, a thought suddenly occurred to him—had he been waiting like this for the past two days as well?

Behind him, Xu Yang also paused, following Lu Qian’s gaze. He caught a glimpse of a figure disappearing through the doors.

“Hey, isn’t that Jin Lang? Doesn’t he know you were in a meeting?” Xu Yang asked, surprised as he stepped closer. “Don’t tell me he’s been standing here waiting for you this whole time? Your little ‘brother’ sure serves you well.”

Hearing the word “serves,” Lu Qian’s expression darkened even further.

He turned away coldly and strode off toward his office with long, quick steps, leaving Xu Yang utterly confused.

“What’s with him?” Xu Yang muttered to himself, instinctively turning to ask Qi Shaobai, who was discussing a document with Li Jin as they walked ahead.

Qi Shaobai barely spared him a glance, his indifferent gaze lasting less than a second before he shrugged and continued his conversation with Li Jin, their voices fading as they walked away.

“Tch, acting all high and mighty,” Xu Yang grumbled. He almost missed the elevator and had to rely on Li Jin, who kindly held the doors open for him.

As the elevator doors slid shut, Xu Yang glanced at Qi Shaobai, only to find that the latter wasn’t even paying attention to him. Instead, Qi Shaobai was fully focused on his document, lips pursed as he jotted down calculations.

Xu Yang felt strangely unsettled.

He was used to Qi Shaobai looking at him with heated, longing eyes whenever they were in the same space.

Now, that gaze was gone.

Hah! So the kid finally learned to restrain himself.

The corners of Xu Yang’s lips lifted into a smirk, though it wasn’t entirely genuine.

---

Meanwhile, outside the office building, Jin Lang stepped into the sweltering July afternoon. The thick, hot air only amplified the frustration in his chest.

He plopped down on the edge of a shaded planter and stared blankly into space, racking his brain for a solution.

What was he supposed to do?

He really had no clue how he had pissed off his patron.

Just as he was deep in thought, his phone rang.

Jin Lang hurriedly pulled it out, heart pounding with hope.

Maybe it was Lu Qian?

But when he saw the caller ID—Sister Jin—his heart instantly sank.

Oh sh*t… does she already know?

It had only been a little over two months, and he had already managed to piss off his patron.

Would he end up in pieces?

Bracing himself for the inevitable scolding, Jin Lang reluctantly picked up the call.

“H-hello, Sister Jin…?” He cautiously tested the waters.

“What’s wrong with you? Your voice sounds weird.”

Sister Jin had been keeping tabs on him, frequently calling to check if Lu Qian was being difficult. Jin Lang had always reassured her with confidence, saying everything was fine.

But today, his voice carried a clear trace of guilt.

“Nothing’s wrong. Patron isn’t angry—”

A slip of the tongue.

Jin Lang internally cursed himself, smacking his own head twice.

“Idiot!” Jin Xiaomi rolled her eyes and shouted, “Hurry up and say it already!”

Jin Lang lowered his head and recounted what had happened that night. “…Mr. Lu also said that if I was only cooking to please my benefactor, then I might as well not cook at all in the future.” Jin Lang’s voice was filled with frustration. “Jie, what exactly is he angry about? He hasn’t spoken to me in three days. He doesn’t even look at the food I make. What should I do?”

After hearing Jin Lang’s explanation, Jin Xiaomi was completely dumbfounded. These two idiots.

“Alright, I get it now. This isn’t entirely your fault either.” She rolled her eyes again. “Anyway, stop thinking of him as just your benefactor. Just treat him like a regular friend. He’ll feel more at ease that way.”

“But… he is my benefactor! What’s wrong with me doing things for him?” Jin Lang felt a bit wronged. He had put in so much effort—how could that be wrong?

“…” Jin Xiaomi massaged her temples and sighed. She understood that the young Jin Lang was confused. To him, Lu Qian was his benefactor. He had simply been carrying out the tasks assigned to him. How could he possibly understand why his benefactor was suddenly upset?

“Let me put it this way,” she said patiently. “If Lu Qian wasn’t your benefactor, just a regular friend—say you two happened to be renting an apartment together—based on how you usually interact, what kind of person would you say he is?”

Jin Lang thought about it seriously. “He’s very gentle and polite, likes cleanliness. He treats me well and cares about me. Like a big brother,” he said honestly.

“Then just treat him the way you would treat an older brother.” Jin Xiaomi paused before adding, “Lu Qian and I grew up together in the orphanage. He’s a slow warmer, doesn’t have many friends, but the ones he does have—he treats them sincerely.”

Jin Lang listened quietly as Jin Xiaomi continued, “This time, he agreed to support you, partly because I told him about your difficulties and he wanted to help. But honestly… I had my own selfish reasons too. I’ve seen him alone for so long, and I wanted to find someone to keep him company.” She sighed. “He probably just doesn’t want you to see him as only a benefactor. He doesn’t want your relationship to be purely transactional—at the very least, not so obviously so.”

“Xiao Lang, do you remember the task I gave you?” she asked. “Lu Qian has always been lonely. He told me… he really wants to know what a home feels like. If you can, give him a little warmth. Make it feel real. Can you do that?” Jin Xiaomi’s voice was earnest, almost moving even herself. She rubbed her arms, suppressing a shiver from the goosebumps she’d given herself, and deliberately lowered her voice to sound profound.

Hearing the hint of sadness in her tone, Jin Lang felt a pang of discomfort in his heart. He had never imagined that someone as sunny as Lu Qian could be so fragile.

“Jie, I understand now. Starting today, I’ll take good care of him. You don’t have to worry.”

Jin Lang hung up the phone, lost in thought. The feeling of home…

I want that too.

Thinking back on the past two months he had spent with Lu Qian, there wasn’t anything particularly special about it. He cooked meals, cleaned the house, and waited for his benefactor to return. This was all just part of his job.

But… maybe it wasn’t just a job.

He realized that he actually enjoyed doing these things.

He waited for him to come home. He cooked for him.

They ate together, chatted together. Sometimes they took walks side by side, sometimes they watched movies together, sometimes they did their own things separately.

Looking back on it all… wasn’t that kind of like family?

---

After ending her call with Jin Lang, Jin Xiaomi immediately dialed another number.

“Lu Qian, what did you do to my Lion?”

Lu Qian frowned. Whose Lion? “What do you mean, ‘what did I do to him’? I haven’t touched him.”

“If you didn’t do anything, then why did he sound like he was about to cry when I called him just now?”

“He… cried?” Lu Qian was startled. Did I really make a 20-year-old man cry? He got up from his seat and walked to a quiet corner.

“He looked like he was about to cry,” Jin Xiaomi corrected, sounding exasperated. “He’s a grown man, what’s he crying for? He didn’t actually cry, but he was clearly upset. So I told him—if you’re being kept, you should have the self-awareness to endure a little grievance.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Lu Qian had just seen Jin Lang’s dejected figure earlier, and it had already made him uncomfortable. Now, Jin Xiaomi’s thoughtless words were making him even more irritated. He raked a hand through his hair. “You know I don’t see him that way. I never thought of myself as his benefactor, so why are you saying that?”

“Oh? You don’t see yourself as his benefactor?” Jin Xiaomi chuckled. “Then why are you acting exactly like one? Come on, it’s not like you did anything terrible. You just ignored him for a few days. It’s not like you hit him, yelled at him, or mistreated him. If it were someone else with a worse temper, they might’ve tied him up and starved him for a few days or tormented him until he couldn’t get out of bed. That wouldn’t be uncommon, would it?”

“I never wanted him to serve me,” Lu Qian growled under his breath, the frustration he had been holding in for days finally reaching its breaking point. “I was just… I was just a little disappointed.”

“Disappointed about what?” Jin Xiaomi asked calmly.

“…”

Yes—what was he disappointed about?

Lu Qian couldn’t say it out loud. He felt wronged too.

“You’re disappointed that he wasn’t genuinely cooking for you? That he wasn’t sincerely trying to be your friend?” Jin Xiaomi voiced what he hadn’t been able to. “Then let me ask you—are you sincerely treating him like a friend?”

“Of course I am!”

“Xiao Qian, we’ve known each other for so long. Have you ever gotten mad at anyone before? Sam pesters you every time he sees you—have you ever lost your temper at him? Xu Yang chased after you relentlessly and annoyed you to death—did you ever snap at him? Back in the orphanage, when we only got a tiny piece of apple once in a while, and that fat brat always stole yours—did you ever get mad at him? You’ve never lost your temper at anyone. But now, after knowing Jin Lang for just a couple of months, you’re suddenly willing to get mad at him? Are you really saying you don’t subconsciously see him as beneath you?”

“…” Lu Qian fell silent. He was the type to rarely get angry. But now, he had lost his temper at a kid.

“I don’t look down on him,” he muttered, sulking.

“Besides, what exactly did Jin Lang do wrong? This was always a benefactor arrangement. If you hadn’t taken him in, would he be living in your house and cooking for you? To him, this is his job. He just wanted to do his job well, and yet you got mad at him. Even I think that’s unfair.”

“I…”

“You think that just because you’re not sleeping with him, it’s not a benefactor arrangement?” Jin Xiaomi scoffed. “Fine, let’s say that’s true. Then think of it this way—imagine you hired a private chef, and they worked hard to improve their cooking, only for you to say, ‘You’re not doing this genuinely.’ Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?”

Lu Qian thought about it. That really does sound ridiculous…

“Stop overthinking this, okay?” Jin Xiaomi sighed. “He’s just a kid. He took a huge sum of money from you and feels guilty about it. Since he’s not repaying you with his body, he wants to make up for it in other ways. Does that mean he’s not sincere? When you complete a project for a client, does that mean you’re not sincere?”

“…” Lu Qian, caught in guilt, suddenly latched onto a different detail. “Wait… how do you know I haven’t slept with him?”

“Ahem.” Jin Xiaomi coughed. “Just a guess.”

“Keep prying into Jin Lang’s business, and I’ll throw him out,” Lu Qian threatened.

Jin Xiaomi ignored the warning. “Look, you just need to enjoy the year you have. Don’t expect ‘sincerity’ from him. He’s straight, Lu Qian. Once the year is up, he’ll walk away. Get that through your head.”

“…”

Jin Xiaomi’s words had struck a nerve. The frustration Lu Qian had been harboring for days finally melted away. He even found himself chuckling.

“I get it now. I was wrong.”

“Didn’t say you were wrong,” Jin Xiaomi sighed. “Jin Lang’s actually lucky to have you. He’s never encountered a real monster before. Just a few days of being ignored, and he’s already sulking? Too soft. Maybe I should call him back and scold him—”

“Enough already,” Lu Qian interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Stop making me feel worse.”

He hung up, feeling a strange mix of emotions.

Maybe he had been too harsh.

Maybe he really should apologize.

(To be continued…)