DILLYH Chapter 16

TL: Hua

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Chapter 16: After Marriage

The Xu Yi whom Wu Yichen was muttering about was currently on his way to Jing City.

He had originally thought he could safely bring the rebellious, runaway Wu Yichen back to their hometown. However, when he arrived at the Xie family’s gate, he was turned away before even stepping inside.

Calls and messages to Wu Yichen had never received a reply.

After wasting five days in Jing City without a single piece of news, Xu Yi sat dejectedly on the bed in a small guesthouse. He helplessly pulled at his hair, the veins in his neck bulging, feeling as if his heart was being torn apart.

One scorching hot tear after another hit the floor. He finally couldn’t hold back and broke down, cursing, “Wu Yichen, you’re a goddamn idiot!”

In the small, sunless room, even the air carried a faint, unpleasant smell of mold. Xu Yi didn’t know how the man in black, who was now knocking on the door, had found him. He only knew that upon hearing the man say he had news of Wu Yichen, he agreed to all his conditions without hesitation. In return, he had only one request: “I want to see Wu Yichen.”

The man in black impassively relayed, “You will naturally be allowed to see him when the time is right. If you don’t cooperate, you will never see him.”

With his lifeline in someone else’s grip, Xu Yi dared not make a single mistake and could only submit.

*

Since officially taking up the post of Group Director, Zhou Zizheng’s life had essentially become a commute between the group and home.

Yu Haozhou woke up late in the morning and could never see Zhou Zizheng. Only at night, when Zhou Zizheng needed something, would he wake him up from his sleep, and the two of them would chat intimately for a few minutes.

They had tacitly agreed not to bring up the things that had happened before. It truly seemed like they intended to live the life of a couple returning home together.

This weekend, Zhou Zizheng wasn’t working overtime at the company, which was quite rare. Yu Haozhou also didn’t arrange to go out with his rowdy friends; he was playing games while lying in bed.

In the middle of an intense battle, Yu Haozhou suddenly wondered what Zhou Zizheng was doing at home since he hadn’t gone to work and why there was no sound at all. They usually saw each other infrequently, so generally, Zhou Zizheng was inseparable from him, to the point that he even followed him to the bathroom.

It had been over an hour now. Even if he was busy with work, he would usually be working at the desk in the master bedroom.

“Oh no, he probably fainted.” Yu Haozhou abruptly sprang up from the bed, tossing his phone onto the mattress. He didn’t even have time to put on pants, rushing out with bare legs, completely disregarding his friend’s heartbreaking cries for help on the other end. He ran nonstop to the hallway to look for Zhou Zizheng.

“Zhou Zizheng! Answer me!”

He called out several times, but no one responded. Yu Haozhou’s anxiety grew. Could he really have collapsed somewhere due to low blood sugar? How long had he been down? Damn it, how could he have lost track of time while playing games?

Yu Haozhou ran all over the house, upstairs and downstairs, but couldn’t find him. When heading to the top-floor terrace, his legs even went weak from nervousness. He practically dragged himself up, holding onto the railing.

As he reached the terrace entrance and saw a pile of wood and some flowerpots on the steps, Yu Haozhou knew he was there, and his heart settled a little.

Taking another step outside, Zhou Zizheng, not far away, was wearing safety goggles.

He was holding a pneumatic nail gun and was seriously nailing wooden frames. All around were the noisy sounds of the air-conditioning unit motors.

No wonder he couldn’t hear him. Yu Haozhou gasped for air. The uncomfortable, heart-stopping feeling was finally relieved. Then, stomping his slippers, he rushed over angrily. He kicked the confused Zhou Zizheng on the shin so hard that Zhou Zizheng didn’t even react, just staring blankly at his retreating back and calling out, “Zhouzhou?”

Yu Haozhou was furious. He didn’t explain after the kick; he just dashed straight back inside. Zhou Zizheng watched those two slender, pale, long legs sway under the sun, swaying enough to make him want to go back to the room and discuss life again. He took a long stride, scooped the person up, and brought him into the glass room on the terrace.

Yu Haozhou vigorously kicked his two legs in the air, losing his slippers, and gritted his teeth, “Zhou Zizheng, you bastard, let go of me!”

“What’s with the sudden craziness?” Zhou Zizheng still didn’t understand his series of actions. Holding him, he forcibly pressed him onto the sofa, touching his inner thigh with a deep frown: “Running out without even wearing pants, are you trying to seduce me?” Yu Haozhou glared at him fiercely: “Mind your own business.”

The temperature in the air-conditioned room was quite low. Zhou Zizheng pulled a blanket over and covered him: “Tell me, did someone piss you off again?”

Yu Haozhou’s chest rose and fell violently, but he didn’t speak, too embarrassed to admit it.

The other person was here busy minding his own business while he had thrown a fit. This caused his heart to feel a little overloaded. After calming his breathing, he glanced sideways at the man, subtly changing the subject: “What are you clattering about here again?”

“Gardening,” Zhou Zizheng said, his eyes particularly bright, “It’s a skill my grandmother taught me. I’m great at growing vegetables.”

“…Oh.” Yu Haozhou didn’t quite understand his excitement, just as Zhou Zizheng didn’t understand his own abnormal excitement when playing games. Knowing the man was fine, he stopped hovering around him and struggled: “Let go, I haven’t finished my game yet.”

Zhou Zizheng didn’t want him to leave. When the person was lying in bed refusing to get up, he couldn’t bear to pull him out of the covers.

Now that he was out of bed and still wouldn’t keep him company, Zhou Zizheng would feel no energy to work and would only get more depressed.

He affectionately rubbed against Yu Haozhou’s neck: “Don’t play anymore. Stay here with me.”

Yu Haozhou was startled inside, but outwardly he avoided him disdainfully: “Tsk, don’t rub against me. You’re covered in sweat; you stink.”

Zhou Zizheng retorted without a flush, “You didn’t seem to mind when you were eating that thing of mine.”

“……” Yu Haozhou silently gave him an elbow jab. Zhou Zizheng exaggeratedly cried out, then smiled placatingly and grabbed his hand: “Zhouzhou, come keep me company. Growing vegetables is really fun.”

Seeing no reaction from Yu Haozhou, Zhou Zizheng tried various persuasions: “You don’t have to stand in the sun. Just stay in the air-conditioned room. Play games, watch a show, anything, as long as I can see you.”

Yu Haozhou was just teasing him; playing games alone was indeed boring anyway. He was just about to reluctantly agree when he saw a very complicated expression on Zhou Zizheng’s face, who then squeezed out a strained voice: “Tonight, I’ll let you be on top!”

At this, Yu Haozhou’s eyes lit up. His eyes brightened: “Really?”

He had wanted to do this for a long time but lacked the strength. When Zhou Zizheng reluctantly agreed with a dark face, Yu Haozhou pushed him unhappily: “What, is it shameful to be topped by me?”

“You’ve taken advantage of me so many times, and I haven’t said a word.”

Zhou Zizheng grumbled internally: Of course not, making him happy is more vital than satisfying myself.

He rubbed Yu Haozhou’s exposed buttock to vent his emotion: “Go change quickly, and wash some fruit to eat.”

“I know, I know,” Yu Haozhou complained while escaping his clutches. “Would it kill you to be gentler?”

Zhou Zizheng smiled, watching Yu Haozhou clomping away in his slippers. He was very satisfied with his current life status; it was as sweet as honey. His grandmother was right after all. Bittersweetness first, then sweetness. After so many years of hardship, it was time to taste some sweetness.

Yu Haozhou ran back to the room and changed into a set of casual clothes suitable for work.

Although he wasn’t good at manual labor, he could still help out. When he picked up his phone, the game had ended, and the friends he played with were extremely resentful of his sudden disappearance. The group chat was flooded with over 99 messages directed at him, all summarized by one sentence: “Yu Haozhou, you traitor who forgets friends for lust!”

Yu Haozhou sent a voice message: “What the heck, can’t I have a sudden emergency?”

“Then tell us, what emergency?”

Yu Haozhou quoted their original accusation: “You’re right.”

“Holy cow, I can’t take it. Yu Haozhou, you’re so shameless after getting married.”

“What kind of love potion did Zhou Zizheng give you to make you so utterly obsessed?”

“What happened to being sworn enemies? Now you’re deeply in love?”

Yu Haozhou ignored all their questions: “Gotta go, I’m busy.”

In the downstairs refrigerator, there were fresh fruits and vegetables delivered daily by the Xie family’s helper. Although Yu Haozhou had failed to successfully protest their presence, it was good that a helper still came every day to clean the house. Otherwise, he genuinely thought Zhou Zizheng would drag him into cleaning their several-hundred-square-meter house together, which would be crazy.

He sliced half a fresh, iced watermelon, put two spoons on it, and thump-thump-thump ran toward the terrace in his slippers.

The temperature was quite high today; you could melt after being in the sun for a while, but Zhou Zizheng had already been baking for over an hour. Yu Haozhou truly couldn’t understand why Zhou Zizheng insisted on doing everything himself.

Clearly, for these kinds of manual tasks, he could just spend money to hire workers, which would save both time and effort.

“Zhou Zizheng, come here!”

Yu Haozhou called him from the air-conditioned room. Zhou Zizheng heard him this time, looked up at him, and shouted back, “What’s wrong?”

“Come and eat watermelon.”

“Wait a minute,” Zhou Zizheng said, “I’ll finish what I’m working on first.”

Yu Haozhou was truly annoyed. He put one hand on his hip and pushed open the window, letting the heat wave rush in: “Hurry up! Can’t you work after eating?”

His lips were dry and peeling. If he got heatstroke, he would be the one who had to take care of him. Yu Haozhou convinced himself internally: I definitely don’t feel bad for him; I just can’t stand him abusing himself like this.

Zhou Zizheng took off his gloves. As he came in, he expertly clapped the dust off his gloves by the door and tossed them onto a nearby shelf.

He walked over to Yu Haozhou, squeezed in next to him all hot and sweaty, and immediately opened his mouth: “Feed me.”

Yu Haozhou rolled his eyes: “I’d only feed you poison.”

“Feed me then,” Zhou Zizheng said without hesitation, “I’ll eat the poison too.”

“……”

Yu Haozhou gritted his teeth, dug out a huge chunk, and shoved it into his mouth: “You’re truly disgusting.”

Zhou Zizheng watched his face gradually turn red, his eyes full of a triumphant smile, as he slowly chewed on the sweet watermelon.

He couldn’t help but knead his soft earlobe: “Zhouzhou, you have such a soft heart.”