DILLYH Chapter 22

TL: Hua

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Chapter 22: Public Embarrassment

Zhou Zizheng’s movements grew increasingly fiery. Yu Haozhou was clearly having trouble resisting his teasing, but he was still mindful of his hand. Clutching his trousers, he refused to let him pull them down any further: “No. Wait until your hand heals.”

“I don’t think it will affect it,” Zhou Zizheng said very seriously.

“No, no, no.” Yu Haozhou pushed him away, intending to calm his breathing, but was instead grabbed by the chin. He was forced to open his mouth for a kiss. The teasing of the tongue made Yu Haozhou’s scalp tingle.

Usually, when they met at home, they couldn’t maintain their composure for long before Zhou Zizheng would press him for a kiss.

Yu Haozhou was long used to Zhou Zizheng’s kissing style, but now he realized what he thought he knew was just the tip of the iceberg. Yu Haozhou felt like the oxygen in his brain was being completely stolen by Zhou Zizheng.

He tilted his head back, desperately trying to breathe through his mouth.

Zhou Zizheng curved his lips. At some point, he had unbuckled his belt.

Yu Haozhou instantly snapped back to attention, glaring at him, clutching his waistband tightly: “Damn it, this is the company!”

The boss might be shameless, but he still had a reputation to uphold. Zhou Zizheng said, “No one dares to come in without my command.”

…

Yu Haozhou felt that he was becoming increasingly hard to satisfy. But he still wouldn’t actively ask Zhou Zizheng for it. That was too embarrassing.

…

Zhou Zizheng still had a lot of work. They only briefly resolved things once. Yu Haozhou quickly put on his pants and refused Zhou Zizheng’s plea for him to stay. Before leaving, he even flipped him off.

Outside, he glanced at Xu Yi’s workstation, walked straight over, and handed him his phone.

Xu Yi jumped in surprise: “What does this mean?”

Yu Haozhou lifted his chin: “Save my contact information. Think it over and contact me.”

Xu Yi immediately understood his meaning, quietly lowered his head to enter the number, and said a sincere thank you.

After Yu Haozhou left, the girl who was an intern next to Xu Yi and was interested in him immediately leaned over and gossiped, “What did Mr. Yu want with you?”

Xu Yi shrugged, the lie flowing effortlessly: “He saw that I was somewhat attractive and said he’d introduce me to a boyfriend.”

“……”

*

It was the rainy season. The world outside was constantly being washed by heavy rain. Yu Haozhou hadn’t gone out in a long time because of the miserable weather, finding the overcast days annoying.

He stayed home every day, either playing games or going to the terrace to enjoy the view and tend to the vegetables Zhou Zizheng had planted.

After the green sprouts broke through the soil, they grew incredibly fast. What looked like a bare stalk in the morning would have a few more leaves by the evening.

Yu Haozhou, who had never watched vegetables grow, found it all novel.

He went upstairs to check every day when he had nothing else to do. It was like inspecting his territory. Watching them slowly flower, bear fruit, and ripen gave him a huge sense of accomplishment.

He didn’t like cucumbers, nor did he like tomatoes; he was a very picky eater. But the first cucumber and the first tomato that ripened on the terrace were both devoured solely by Yu Haozhou. In his words, they were simply the most delicious things on earth.

No, he didn’t tell Zhou Zhizheng; he ate it secretly, afraid that Zhou Zhizheng would become too proud.

Today was another day of pouring rain. Yu Haozhou sat on the sofa, legs crossed, lazily playing a game, when suddenly, a thank you message popped up from Xu Yi: [Brother Yu, thank you. If you get a chance to visit our hometown, we’ll definitely treat you warmly.]

Two months ago, perhaps unable to overcome that hurdle in his heart or perhaps distrustful of the person he was originally connected with, Xu Yi ultimately chose to ask Yu Haozhou for help. Yu Haozhou’s family was purely a business family. Money wasn’t an issue. But to find people, he could only ask Zhou Zizheng for help.

The Xie family had deep roots and influence, with connections everywhere.

When Zhou Zizheng heard that Yu Haozhou wanted to help his assistant find someone, his attitude wasn’t exactly enthusiastic: “Why do you want to help him?”

Yu Haozhou shamelessly said, “Because I’m kind.”

Zhou Zizheng scoffed: “Then you find him yourself. I’m petty.”

Yu Haozhou was speechless, but he knew Zhou Zizheng’s strange temper. If he didn’t explain clearly, he truly wouldn’t lift a finger.

So he told him his private reason, a mix of truth and falsehood. He thought that if Zhou Zizheng hadn’t returned to the Xie family, he would probably be earning tuition money to support himself, just like Xu Yi. Perhaps Xu Yi bore a slight resemblance to Zhou Zizheng, or perhaps it was because he couldn’t bear to see the young couple separated.

So even though they didn’t interact much, he wanted to lend a hand.

The version Zhou Zizheng heard was that he couldn’t bear to see the young couple separated, so he wanted to help.

After all, although same-sex marriage was now legal, the population base was large, and discrimination was unavoidable. Since they were new adults and dared to face it together, Yu Haozhou felt they were very brave.

Especially when he learned that the two were childhood sweethearts and had recognized each other since they were little.

He applauded their courage. If he hadn’t been constantly pushed forward, he wouldn’t even dare to admit his own feelings now.

Zhou Zizheng felt the reason was too far-fetched and wasn’t keen on making a big fuss over it.

He already knew Xu Yi’s purpose for approaching him, and even if Yu Haozhou didn’t mention it, he intended to find the mastermind behind it.

His current pretense was only to secure some benefit for himself.

Yu Haozhou had already spoken his mind, and to save face, he had to resort to a ‘honey trap.’ After two days of effort, he finally got Zhou Zizheng to agree.

Zhou Zizheng’s people followed the trail and located the room where Wu Yichen was being held. The guards in charge, having received news earlier, had already evacuated, and Zhou Zizheng found the place empty.

He genuinely wanted to know who hated them so much. They had gone to the trouble of capturing his father’s illegitimate son and using these two newly adult college students to sow discord in his relationship with Yu Haozhou. Fortunately, Xu Yi was sensible enough to realize that seeking their help was more reliable than helping the other party.

Otherwise, he might fall into their trap without realizing it.

By then, it’s too late to regret.

Yu Haozhou: [Got it, I’ll definitely visit when I have time.]

…

It was nearing Zhou Zhizheng’s time to leave work.

 

Yu Haozhou was tired from playing games on the sofa, his head tilted, dozing off.

Suddenly, a clap of thunder woke Yu Haozhou up. He looked at the time not far away—it wasn’t worth going back to sleep.

He yawned, about to head to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water.

He saw movement at the entrance; Zhou Zhizheng was back. Yu Haozhou casually mentioned the dishes he wanted for dinner.

Zhou Zhizheng’s tone in response wasn’t as relaxed as usual. Yu Haozhou immediately felt strange, so he walked toward the entrance.

He saw Zhou Zhizheng’s suit was completely soaked from the rain; even his hair was dripping wet. The main thing was that he was holding a cardboard box in his hands, and he looked very careful.

Yu Haozhou grabbed a clean towel from the bathroom and tossed it onto Zhou Zhizheng’s head: “Why are you drenched?”

He then looked at the box on the floor: “What’s in here?”

Yu Haozhou squatted down. Before he could open it, he faintly heard an animal cry, very soft and kitten-like. He looked up in shock.

Zhou Zhizheng wiped his hair with the towel and explained with a hint of nervousness in his eyes, “On the way back, I saw a litter of kittens by the roadside that their mother had abandoned. They must have been born only a few days ago. I couldn’t leave them, so I brought them back.”

Yu Haozhou knew Zhou Zhizheng well. His hobbies were very simple and unpretentious; besides growing some vegetables, he liked to tease cats and dogs and enjoyed country life.

But Yu Haozhou himself had never been interested in small animals like cats or dogs. Mainly, he disliked the shedding of fur that would stick to clothes or get into one’s mouth—the thought was enough to make him feel overwhelmed.

Zhou Zhizheng knew this, which was why he was so nervous now, afraid Yu Haozhou would forbid him from bringing them into the house.

“They’ll just stay here for a few days. Once their vital signs are stable, I’ll find a pet hospital to take them in.”

Yu Haozhou hadn’t even said anything, and Zhou Zhizheng had already presented a solution. Yu Haozhou raised an eyebrow: “Fine.”

He stopped looking at the kittens, knowing Zhou Zhizheng would likely be busy taking care of them: “Then I’ll order takeout.”

“No need.” Zhou Zhizheng took off his suit jacket. “I’ll make dinner after I’m done. It’ll be quick.”

“You should hurry up and take a shower first,” Yu Haozhou said, feigning reluctance. “Don’t catch a cold and pass it to me.”

Zhou Zhizheng smiled and said, “Okay.”

…

That evening, Yu Haozhou was unhappily left to sleep alone, a rare occurrence. Zhou Zhizheng had transformed into “Cat Dad” and was busy looking after the kittens. He seemed to genuinely love the little cats.

Even during dinner, he was distracted, constantly muttering. He worried the cat nest wasn’t warm enough or that he hadn’t fed them enough milk, terrified they wouldn’t survive.

He looked it up online and found that unweaned kittens need to be fed milk every two hours. He also had to burp them and stimulate them to pee and poop. How was this any different from looking after a baby?

Yu Haozhou felt exhausted just listening, but Zhou Zhizheng was energetic, even setting up a makeshift bed on the floor in the room he’d cleared for the kittens.

“Tsk.” Yu Haozhou couldn’t sleep, and a sudden thought struck him. “Men really don’t cherish what they have once they’ve got it.”

He remembered right after they got married, Zhou Zhizheng was afraid he wouldn’t feel loved enough. He seized every opportunity to confess his love, calling him “Baby.”

But now that a few cats had arrived, he immediately pushed Yu Haozhou to the back of his mind, not even sparing him a glance. Yet, Yu Haozhou couldn’t pick a fight with him.

He couldn’t exactly tell him he was jealous of a few cats, could he? They weren’t some wild fling that had stolen his heart; people would just laugh if he said it out loud.

“Damn it…”

He was used to sleeping in the same bed as Zhou Zhizheng. Suddenly sleeping alone, Yu Haozhou felt uncomfortable all over, like he had fleas, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Reluctantly, he slipped his hand under the blanket and slowly began to move, covering his face with the other hand, unable to stop himself from moaning Zhou Zhizheng’s name.

He was so engrossed that he didn’t even notice when someone else had entered the room. In the darkness, a pair of bright, piercing eyes silently watched the entire process.

Afterward, Yu Haozhou reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. He pulled a few tissues, just about to wipe the liquid from his fingers, when a shadow suddenly fell over him.

He looked up and cursed, his whole body going limp with shock. His raised wrist was grabbed, and Zhou Zhizheng smiled, saying, “Don’t wipe it off. It’s still useful.”

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