Xingchen Fitness Center was near Shen Yuhuai’s apartment. It was a ten minute walk.
It was close and easy to go to when he didn’t have class. He wouldn’t need to waste too much time.
Shen Yuhuai didn’t get off work on time every day compared to Chen Qizhao, who left class on time. Shen Yuhuai had to see the progress of the experiment after work. In addition, if the work wasn’t completed on Friday then he was likely to be temporarily called to the laboratory to check the data on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the two of them could stay in the apartment and sleep until they woke up naturally. On Sunday afternoon, Shen Yuhuai might be called away by a phone call from his mentor.
On Sunday night, Shen Yuhuai was still busy in the laboratory and asked him not to wait. He should order takeout first.
Chen Qizhao wasn’t very hungry and wanted to find something to eat casually. The moment he opened the refrigerator in the apartment, it was full of raw ingredients. Chen Qizhao wasn’t very good at cooking and wanted to find some instant noodles to deal with his anger. It just occurred to him that this place wasn’t his dormitory, and there were no snacks or instant noodles prepared at all times. If he wanted to eat them, he had to go downstairs to the supermarket to buy them.
For the group, it was rare to have drinking time. It was only Sunday, but the group was very lively. Messages were sent one after another, and were all discussing where to go drinking the day after tomorrow.
[Yan Kailin: Go directly to Kaizi’s friend’s place on Tuesday. It isn’t far away. I will leave with Brother after class.]
[Liu Kai: Okay, no problem. How long can you play?]
[Yan Kailin: I don’t have class on Wednesday morning and can play until later. Brother Zhao seems to have class at 10 o’clock.]
[Cheng Rong: @Chen Qizhao, can I invite more people?]
After a while, they saw Chen Qizhao slowly reply.
[Chen Qizhao: Yes.]
[Yan Kailin: Why did you reply so late? Is Shen Yuhuai next to you?]
[Chen Qizhao: He is working overtime. [Photo] I’m in the supermarket.]
The photo contained a shopping cart. Chen Qizhao had gone to the supermarket to buy snacks.
Once he quit smoking, he had a tooth addiction and always wanted to chew something.
The supermarket wasn’t far from Shen Yuhuai’s house. Chen Qizhao pushed the shopping cart to the snack area after going downstairs and put the snacks he often ate directly into the shopping cart. As he passed by, he also found the blue mints that Shen Yuhuai had bought before. He stood in front of the candy section for a while before grabbing some mints and lemon drops.
His shopping cart was full, and pulled it to the counter to check out. Then Chen Qizhao’s gaze swept over the shelf next to the checkout counter.
He paused for a while and took a few boxes from the family planning supplies in a certain row of shelves. He thought there might not be enough at home so he took two more boxes.
After returning home, he put the snacks in the cabinet next to the kitchen at random. He took a bag of snacks and sat on the sofa to read the information. He first read the progress documents about the business projects in the east district sent by Xiao Zhou today. He finished reading it when he received a call from Chen Shiming.
Chen Shiming seemed to have just returned home. When he called, there was the noise of a TV series in the background. “Gu Shen and Gu Zhengsong’s verdict has been received.”
The moment Chen Qizhao heard this, he opened a webpage and searched for it. He saw that the verdict of the second trial had come down. During this time, he had maintained his habit of going to a psychologist and forced himself to stop caring about these established results. Once he saw that the verdict came, he wasn’t very happy or excited. He was much calmer than imagined.
It seemed that this matter was far, far away from him. His life was on track and would no longer be affected by the news.
“Is that so?” Chen Qizhao scrolled down the webpage and saw the words ‘death penalty’. Then he said calmly, “Such a result is normal. The Gu father and son have so many lives on their hands over the years just because they wanted to smuggle drugs and illegally circulate dangerous compounds. They deserve such a result.”
In comparison, Lin Shizong’s verdict wasn’t much different from his previous life. He could only stay in prison for the rest of his life.
Chen Qizhao read the verdict announcement over and over again. He noticed that Chen Shiming on the other side hadn’t hung up, and his mind returned. “Are you so free tonight?”
“I’m watching a movie.” Chen Shiming asked again, “Mom asked if you will come back this Saturday.”
Today was just Sunday. Chen Qizhao thought for a moment before replying, “Go back. I will go back at noon on Saturday.”
The two of them hung up the phone, and Chen Shiming’s gaze returned to the movie playing on the big TV in the living room. The plot direction made Zhang Yazhi next to him frown frequently. She was even bored enough to take time to post on her Moments.
Her oldest son was rarely free tonight. Zhang Yazhi knew that Chen Shiming didn’t like to watch those dog-blooded TV series. She saw the child watching TV with her in the living room and asked Chen Shiming what movie she wanted to watch. As a result, Chen Shiming finally chose the romance movie ‘Dawn at the Sea’ that had a score of 5.0
Seeing that Chen Shiming was watching so seriously, Zhang Yazhi had to insist on watching it. “Shiming, I have a friend whose daughter just graduated this year…”
—
Shen Yuhuai arrived at the apartment after 10 o’clock. He saw that Chen Qizhao was sitting on the sofa with a laptop on his lap, but his attention was on his phone.
Chen Qizhao heard the sound and looked up. “Have you eaten?”
“I’ve eaten.” Shen Yuhuai noticed the shopping bag in the distance. “Did you go to the supermarket?”
Chen Qizhao was looking at his Moments when he suddenly saw the one posted by Zhang Yazhi an hour ago. There was Chen Shiming in the photo, and she was watching TV with her son. He clicked to enlarge the photo and suddenly felt that the image of the movie they were watching was familiar. It seemed to be the bad movie Dawn at the Sea that he and Shen Yuhuai watched during the summer vacation.
He didn’t comment on anything and just liked Zhang Yazhi’s Moments.
Shen Yuhuai went to the balcony after returning and noticed that the green plants on the balcony had been watered. He put down the things in his hand, went to the kitchen, and saw the snacks stuffed in the cabinet. He couldn’t help looking up at his boyfriend, who was still playing with his phone in the distance.
He was about to go over when he caught a glimpse of a few boxes of things on the counter next to him that hadn’t been brought into the room.
“Take a shower?” Shen Yuhuai stood behind the sofa and pinched the back of Chen Qizhao’s neck.
The person playing with the phone leaned back and looked up at the man. “My clothes haven’t been grabbed yet.”
“Go and wash your feet first.” Shen Yuhuai finished speaking and walked to the balcony where the clothes were drying.
Chen Qizhao put the laptop aside. He put on slippers and walked toward the bathroom in the master bedroom.
A layer of heat gradually rose in the bathroom. Chen Qizhao took a warm shower and saw that Shen Yuhuai hadn’t brought his clothes over yet. He was about to call out when the bathroom door suddenly opened.
Shen Yuhuai came in with the clothes of the two of them and placed it on the hanger on the other side where water wouldn’t reach.
Chen Qizhao stood under the shower, and the running water fell over his hair and face. Since the person in the bathroom hadn’t left after putting down the clothes. Chen Qizhao pushed back his wet forehead hair, and his eyes stopped on Shen Yuhuai. His heart was beating quickly. “The things in the bathroom are used up. The newly bought ones are placed…”
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Shen Yuhuai take out a few boxes from his pocket and place them in a drawer of the bathroom.”
“I just saw it in the cabinet outside the kitchen,” Shen Yuhuai said. “I brought it in.”
Chen Qizhao blinked, and Shen Yuhuai went directly into the shower.
……
The one who slept first was Chen Qizhao.
After it was over, Shen Yuhuai could only take a cold shower by himself and then clean up the messy bathroom. He went to the living room and noticed that Chen Qizhao’s laptop and mobile phone were still on the sofa. He picked it up, and when he opened it, he found that Chen Qizhao’s laptop was still on.
The laptop interface displayed the input password box. He knew Chen Qizhao’s password.
On Saturday, Chen Qizhao was going to do his homework for a computer class and planned to use two computers for the test. He said his computer password in passing, saying Shen Yuhuai could use it when needed.
Shen Yuhuai didn’t move. He hesitated before finally entering the password that Chen Qizhao told him.
The page opened quickly. Shen Yuhuai was about to shut it down for him when he noticed there was a webpage that wasn’t closed. Once he clicked on it, he saw an interface for the verdict.
Shen Yuhuai’s eyes stayed on the web page for a long time. Finally, he turned off the laptop and took it back to the bedroom along with Chen Qizhao’s phone.
There was a long table in the bedroom where he usually worked. Chen Qizhao’s professional books had been placed in a corner next to it. Shen Yuhuai put his laptop back in its original position and looked at the bookcase behind the desk. There was a free space for Chen Qizhao to put things, and there were documents on it.
He returned to the bed, and took the already sleeping young man in his arms. He smelled the scent of the mint shower gel on the young man’s body.
A hand pressed against the pulse of the young man’s neck. He could feel the other person’s steady breathing. He rubbed his fingers together a bit and noticed that Chen Qizhao’s Adam’s apple moved a bit.
“Qizhao?” Shen Yuhuai looked at him.
Chen Qizhao didn’t respond. He was really asleep.
Shen Yuhuai’s hand stopped at his boyfriend’s Adam’s apple before moving away. He held this person even tighter.
—
The two of them weren’t shy at all after falling in love. Chen Qizhao wasn’t an awkward young man, and he didn’t think there was any problem with sleeping together. Everything was based on the principle of how to be comfortable. However, this type of thinking failed to last too long.
The two of them only kissed in the morning. Even if they kissed each other a few times, they took into consideration the fact that they were a bit too ruthless last night. Finally, Shen Yuhuai took a cold shower early in the morning.
In the blink of an eye, it was Tuesday. Tuesday was full of classes, and Chen Qizhao couldn’t raise his spirits for a long time. Once class finally ended, Chen Qizhao was no longer in the mood to drive. He simply found a driver to pick him up and directly sent him and Yan Kailin to the bar belonging to Liu Kai’s friend.
After not getting together for nearly half a month, Cheng Rong called many friends over. The private room of the club was almost full.
The alcohol wasn’t bad. Chen Qizhao found a comfortable position to drink and didn’t mix in with the group of people playing games.
Yan Kailin asked, “Brother, do you want to come play for a few rounds?”
“No.” Chen Qizhao was too lazy to raise his eyes. The result of following Shen Yuhuai’s routine meant that as long as he was tired enough during the day, he would sleep at 9 or 10 o’clock at night.
Chen Qizhao came to relieve his addiction to alcohol, but he didn’t want to drink too much. Alcohol wasn’t a good thing.
When others came to persuade him to drink, he just joined in for a while. It was much easier to drink with these young people. They didn’t have many tricks or fancy ways to persuade people. Chen Qizhao swiped on his phone while thinking about when to go back.
He couldn’t make it in time for the door control at night and couldn’t live in the school dormitory. He could only take Yan Kailin to a hotel outside the school to make do.
Shen Yuhuai worked overtime on Tuesday. Chen Qizhao planned to go back to the dormitory early tomorrow morning to change clothes. This way, he wouldn’t smell of alcohol.
Chen Qizhao looked at his phone and replied to Shen Yuhuai’s message. Suddenly, he noticed a gaze from the side.
Qin Yunxuan had also come today, and he sat in a position that was previously Yan Kailin’s. At this time, their eyes met, and Qin Yunxuan came over with alcohol.
Qin Yunxuan said, “Qizhao, last time I asked Cheng Rong to make an appointment with you, and he said you didn’t have time. Fortunately, I saw you today. Drink two cups?”
This child of the Qin family… Chen Qizhao had previously used him. Then after finishing using him, Chen Qizhao no longer paid attention to him and refused. Before coming, he listened to Yan Kailin gossiping for over ten minutes and heard that Qin Yunxuan had changed to another boyfriend. The person he brought to meet them last month was different from the month before.
“You didn’t bring your boyfriend over today?” Chen Qizhao raised an eyebrow slightly and clinked cups with him.
Qin Yunxuan paused and said with a smile, “We broke up.”
He said again, “It isn’t interesting to come to drink and only play with your phone. Play a few rounds of cards?”
“What card game? Xiao Zhao, come here. We’re missing one.”
“Liu Kai is too drunk. Let someone else replace him.”
Yan Kailin was drunk. “Kaizi can’t do it?”
Liu Kai shouted, “Who says I can’t?”
Chen Qizhao wasn’t playing with his phone. He didn’t even put it in his pocket. He saw Yan Kailin drinking fiercely in the distance and was about to walk over to rescue him.
He was only a few steps away when the phone in his hand vibrated. He saw a message from Shen Yuhuai.
The moment he swiped on it, his expression changed slightly.
20 minutes ago—
[Shen Yuhuai: [Photo] I brought you a late-night meal. Are you not in the dormitory?]
[Shen Yuhuai: Are you in the library?]
[Shen Yuhuai: I’m calling.]
Now—
{Shen Yuhuai: ?]
Chen Qizhao: “……”
Why were there no notifications from this broken phone?
He didn’t reply to Shen Yuhuai’s messages for 20 minutes. Shen Yuhuai called him a few times and didn’t call him back.
How could it not vibrate?
Qin Yunxuan noticed Chen Qizhao’s expression. “What’s wrong? A friend messaged you?”
Chen Qizhao’s sleepiness was swept away, and he became sober.
He deleted and deleted before finally sending a message.
[Zhao: I didn’t look at my phone just now and didn’t notice your message.]
After sending it, he felt that it wasn’t quite right and made another excuse.
[Zhao: I’m not in my bedroom. I went out at night.]
[Zhao: It isn’t too far away. I can get back before curfew.]
Yan Kailin saw that Qin Yunxuan had changed places with someone to come next to Chen Qizhao. He thought about how this stinky scumbag still wanted to come here to catch his brother and took advantage of when Yan Kailin was playing games to do so. He took his wine glass and wanted to come over to squeeze this person out. “Brother, let’s go over there to play games.”
Chen Qizhao said, “I won’t play. I’m going.”
“Why are you going? How long has it been since you’ve drank?” Yan Kailin had just hooked an arm around Chen Qizhao’s shoulders when he saw a voice call pop up on the interface of the other person’s phone.
A familiar profile picture and name appeared in front of him.
[VX Voice: Shen Yuhuai requests a call with you.]
Chen Qizhao: “……”
Yan Kailin: “!!!”
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Busted.
I love it how their new life is so calm. Chen Qizhao really needed this.
FFS he promised he would stop lying to Yuhuai. It’s getting annoying how he still wants to pretend to be well behaved. Even if he’s not really as wild anymore and isn’t interested in partying as much as before, he’s still going out so he should be honest and say he’s going out drinking with his friends. It’s not like he’s partying super wildly and going out all the time, so I don’t see the problem 🙄 at this point he’s just being fake
It’s not ideal, but honestly, they’re at the beginning of their relationship and were never that communicative to begin with. They’re already trying to figure out the dynamics of living together, which comes with a loss of privacy and independence, and I think the Mc is trying to figure out a bit how to navigate that.
Especially how to navigate that considering his past life trauma and how it’s made him want to appear in the best light and satisfy the expectations of people he cares about.
I don’t think he’s acting perfectly, but he’s acting so realistically. Most people want to show only their best self to others, especially others they’re interested in starting a relationship with. How the couple navigates the slow reveal as they get to know each other better is a difficulty lots of people face.
I mean that’s a realistic behavior imo. No matter what, someone would normally want to always look good in front of someone they like. And Chen Qizhao is someone with a very high defense, even towards his closest person. And let’s not forget that he had a self-deprecation complex and other mental problems. He thinks he’s a really bad person and doesn’t have any real good quality. And Shen Yuhuai of this timeline hadn’t seen him at his worst yet. He’d had these psychological problems for decades. It’s etched too deep inside him. So of course he wanted to look good and obedient in front of Shen Yuhuai.
Mental problems aren’t something that would be cured just by telling them that it’s okay. Like how he wanted to quit smoking and drinking but it wouldn’t be just gone just because he wanted it to. Or like how he’s still anxious over his parents’ latest health checkups despite the harm already gone. I like that this novel’s characters had a pretty realistic behavior. It’s not a fantasy world where everything would suddenly be right because they fall in love.