The next day.
Yu Huan had actually managed to wake up early, which was rare.
Zhu Heqing had already packed her luggage, so there was nothing for her to do.
Calling it luggage was a bit of an exaggeration. It was mostly just some things Yu Huan was used to using at his place. Her family had everything she needed, so in the end, she couldn’t even fill a small suitcase.
Zhu Heqing had just come back from the gym. Dressed in summer workout clothes, he looked no different from a college student.
As he wiped the sweat from his face, his loose sleeveless shirt shifted slightly, revealing a glimpse of his chest.
Yu Huan happened to look up and caught sight of his clearly defined but not overly bulky chest muscles.
Although they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend and had already been living together, they had never gone any further than kissing.
Yu Huan wasn’t particularly opposed to intimate contact between couples.
In fact, after officially getting together with Zhu Heqing, she had secretly looked forward to taking things further.
She was actually curious whether that kind of thing was really as addictive as novels made it sound.
Unfortunately, Zhu Heqing had never touched her.
Whenever things between them got a little heated, he would always hold himself back and calm her down first, then go take a cold shower himself.
At one point, Yu Huan even suspected that Zhu Heqing might have some kind of problem.
Because of that, she searched online.
They said that looking up illnesses on the internet always ended with cancer as the starting point.
Yu Huan searched, and one of the answers said:
“Once a man turns twenty-five, he loses his right to be a man.”
Yu Huan had never been a man herself, so she naturally had no idea whether that was true.
But since someone had been confident enough to post that answer online, she figured there must be some basis for it.
Having a boyfriend who looked good but apparently wasn’t useful left Yu Huan feeling rather dissatisfied.
The next time they finished kissing and Zhu Heqing once again went to the bathroom to cool himself down, Yu Huan touched her swollen, reddened lips and kindly suggested:
“Brother, if you really can’t do it, maybe you should see a doctor.”
Zhu Heqing didn’t understand what she meant at first.
But once he realized what she was implying, he was so angry that he laughed.
He didn’t even go to the bathroom.
Instead, he pulled her into his arms and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
“Baby, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. You’re still too young. I don’t want you to regret it later.”
Feeling the very obvious evidence behind her, Yu Huan immediately stopped teasing him.
Up until now, all she had done with Zhu Heqing was kiss him.
But she had seen his body countless times.
At first, Zhu Heqing had been the muscular, solidly built type from working out regularly.
Yu Huan didn’t like that.
She was young and preferred lean muscles, especially that pale, cool-toned, slender-muscle look.
So Zhu Heqing adjusted his diet and training methods according to her preferences and started cutting body fat.
Between final exams, their trip, and then her illness, Yu Huan hadn’t seen the results of his training for quite a while.
Today, seeing him again so suddenly, her little wandering eye was immediately awakened.
Thinking that she wouldn’t be able to see Zhu Heqing for nearly a month, Yu Huan became even more tempted to take a closer look.
She crooked her finger at him.
“Zhu Heqing, come here.”
Zhu Heqing draped the towel around his neck and obediently walked over.
His skin was naturally pale and cool-toned. Even a little exercise brought a noticeable flush to his skin, making him look especially tempting.
Yu Huan reached out and took his hand, which hung at his side, then gave it a gentle tug.
He immediately bent down obediently.
The distance between them narrowed.
Yu Huan sniffed him, wrinkled her nose, and said rudely,
“You stink.”
She had just drunk some water, leaving her lips full and moist.
Zhu Heqing’s eyes unconsciously lingered on her lips, and his Adam’s apple moved slightly.
“Okay. I’ll go shower now.”
“No. I want to inspect your workout results first.”
Yu Huan followed his arm upward with her hand until she slipped it beneath his shirt.
Her cool fingers touched his warm chest.
His body instinctively tensed, his breathing speeding up slightly and becoming uneven.
The lines of his abdominal muscles were clearly defined.
Zhu Heqing wasn’t someone who sweated heavily, so there was only a faint layer of perspiration on his skin. It didn’t affect the feel at all.
He simply let Yu Huan’s hand wander beneath his shirt.
Once she had finished inspecting him, his voice was slightly hoarse.
“Baby, satisfied?”
Yu Huan wiped her hand on his shirt and revealed her little canine tooth in a grin.
“Barely satisfied. While I’m away, you have to work out every day. Don’t get lazy. I’ll inspect you when I come back.”
She paused before adding,
“But don’t overdo it. Just maintain your body like this. Otherwise, it won’t look good at all.”
She walked over to the sofa and lazily sat down, completely ignoring the man she had just worked up.
“Go take a shower. After that, make me breakfast.”
“I’ll make your breakfast first, then shower.”
“No. You’re all sweaty. That’s not hygienic.”
“Then can I drink a bottle of yogurt first and take a little longer? I’ll make your breakfast as soon as I’m done.”
Yu Huan tilted her head and looked at Zhu Heqing.
“Fifteen minutes. If you’re not done in fifteen minutes, I’ll order takeout myself.”
Zhu Heqing had always disliked her ordering takeout.
He always felt that food from outside wasn’t clean enough. Whenever he was too busy to cook himself, he would simply call a private chef and have them deliver the food directly.
There was no way he would agree to let her order takeout.
Looking at Yu Huan’s smug little smile, Zhu Heqing’s face was filled with indulgence.
He endured the frustration she had stirred up in him, took a quick shower, and came back with his hair still half wet.
Then he went straight into the kitchen to make breakfast for his girlfriend.
Breakfast was relatively light.
Yu Huan picked at her food and ate only half, leaving the rest for Zhu Heqing to finish.
After eating, he put the dishes into the dishwasher, changed into his suit, and prepared to leave for work.
Before leaving, he asked Yu Huan again,
“Baby, are you really sure you don’t want me to take you home?”
“No need.”
Yu Huan was watching a video her roommate had sent her and didn’t even look up.
She casually waved her hand.
“Go to work. I’ll call you when I get there.”
Zhu Heqing lowered his eyes.
There were countless things he wanted to say, but in the end, they all became one simple sentence.
“I’m heading out.”
“Wait.”
Yu Huan called him back.
“You come here. I forgot to give you something.”
Zhu Heqing froze.
At her urging, he walked over.
Yu Huan motioned for him to bend down, then lightly kissed his cheek.
“Goodbye kiss. You can go now. Make sure you work hard. And when I come back, you have to have a present ready for me.”
The warm sensation seemed to linger on his cheek.
Zhu Heqing’s heart felt as sweet as honey.
He lowered his head, and his deep, magnetic laugh was particularly pleasant to the ears.
“Okay. I’ll be good and listen to you.”
No wonder he’s rich.
Yu Huan gave a little hum.
Even his laugh sounded like old money.
Not long after Zhu Heqing left for work, his childhood friend Zhou Muyang arrived outside the residential complex.
“Sorry, sir. Without authorization, I can’t let you into the community.”
As one of the most expensive residential complexes in the area, the security was extremely strict.
Zhou Muyang had barely parked outside and stuck his head out of the car window to explain why he was there when the guard politely shut him down.
He was given two choices.
Either the homeowner could come downstairs to receive him, or he could call the homeowner and have her confirm his identity.
At first glance, it looked like Zhou Muyang had two choices.
In reality, there was only one option for him.
With Yu Huan’s unbelievably lazy personality, waiting for her to come downstairs was about as realistic as waiting for aliens to land on Earth.
He sat in the driver’s seat and pulled out his phone.
First, he sent Yu Huan a barrage of deadly reaction stickers, bombarding her chat until the screen was practically filled with red exclamation marks.
Only then did he stop.
Less than three seconds later, Yu Huan called him.
“Zhou Muyang, are you sick?”
The Yu family and the Zhou family lived in the same building on the same floor.
They had grown up together and had been classmates for almost their entire school lives.
In other words, they were childhood sweethearts.
They were so familiar with each other that they never bothered hiding anything when they spoke.
They simply said whatever came to mind.
“Oh, my goodness, Miss Yu. Your humble servant has been waiting downstairs,” Zhou Muyang said dramatically.
Then he threatened her.
“Hurry up and explain who I am to the nice security guard. Otherwise, later you’ll have to carry your own luggage downstairs.”
Having grown up together, Zhou Muyang knew exactly how terrible Yu Huan’s temper could be.
She was lazy, blunt, petty, and sometimes completely lacking in common sense or emotional intelligence.
But with that face of hers, somehow, none of those flaws seemed too serious.
Zhou Muyang had thought that way when they were kids too.
Whenever the two of them got into trouble together, however, his parents always blamed him for leading Yu Huan astray.
Yu Huan didn’t want to spend her own New Year’s money, but she wanted to buy Barbie dolls.
Every time, she would look at him pitifully until Zhou Muyang gave in.
As a result, after all these years, he hadn’t managed to save a single cent of his New Year’s money.
After enough incidents like that, Zhou Muyang finally had an epiphany one day.
And once he did, he discovered an astonishing truth:
Yu Huan had never really considered him a friend.
She had been treating him like her servant!
He angrily went to confront her.
But Yu Huan simply put a finger against her lips and asked in confusion,
“Aren’t you always my servant?”
The expression on her face was so sincere that it was obvious she genuinely believed it.
Aaahhh!
That damn girl!
He should never have watched those princess-and-maid TV dramas with her when they were little.
He should have shown her stories about princes and maids instead, so she would think she was the maid.
After that, their relationship gradually evolved from a mutually agreeable master-and-servant arrangement into the familiar bickering of two childhood friends.
“Zhou Muyang, you’re such a cheapskate.”
Zhou Muyang dug a finger into his ear.
“Hurry up.”
“You give your phone to the security guard. If you don’t give it to him, how am I supposed to explain?”
Zhou Muyang turned on speakerphone and handed the phone to the guard.
“Go ahead. Talk.”
Yu Huan introduced herself and explained why Zhou Muyang was there.
After verifying everything, the guard opened the gate.
Zhou Muyang tossed his phone onto the passenger seat.
“I’ll park downstairs. If you’re not ready by the time I come back up, you can wait for the dog.”
The only response was the sound of the call ending.
Beep, beep.
Zhou Muyang clicked his tongue.
“That temper of yours gets worse as you grow older.”
He moved quickly.
From parking the car to getting into the elevator and coming back upstairs took less than five minutes.
The apartments in this complex were all spacious single-unit floors.
Yu Huan lived on the eighteenth floor.
The apartment had a wide-open view and excellent natural lighting, while still staying comfortable in both winter and summer.
The moment Zhou Muyang stepped out of the elevator, he walked to the door and began repeatedly pressing the doorbell.
This was a strategy he’d developed after decades of dealing with Yu Huan’s procrastination.
Either she would be annoyed to death by the noise or she’d immediately come open the door.
There was no third option.
Yu Huan had just changed clothes.
Zhu Heqing had prepared the outfit for her and laid it out on the sofa in the bedroom.
She wore a fitted red short-sleeved top with structured shoulders. The fabric was incredibly soft and clearly different from ordinary T-shirts.
She paired it with bright yellow, quick-drying hip-hop-style casual pants.
The vivid colors made her look especially youthful and energetic.
She was just about to do her hair when the doorbell suddenly started ringing like crazy.
Yu Huan:
“……”
Annoying Zhou Muyang!
She grabbed her comb and opened the door with a bang.
Zhou Muyang’s hand was still hovering over the doorbell.
Yu Huan’s ears hurt just looking at it, so she gave his hand a light smack with the comb.
“I came all the way here to pick you up, and you still hit me!” Zhou Muyang complained, clutching his hand. “Yu Huan, is this how you treat your big brother?”
Yu Huan made a face.
“If you keep asking for a beating, you deserve it.”
Zhou Muyang clicked his tongue.
“Why are you so slow? Your boyfriend probably prepared everything for you already. How can it still take you this long to get ready?”
“You think everyone is like you? You don’t even comb your hair. You just throw on a pair of shoes and leave.”
Zhou Muyang couldn’t be bothered arguing with her.
She always had a whole pile of ridiculous logic.
He took a shoe cover from the shoe rack and slipped it over his foot.
Then he reached out and poked Yu Huan on the shoulder.
“Then please hurry up and get yourself ready, Miss Yu. Otherwise, when we get home, you’ll only have leftovers for lunch.”
He was obviously making that up.
Considering how much Aunt Zhang and Uncle Yu spoiled Yu Huan, there was no way they would start eating before she came home.
Yu Huan turned around and went back into the bedroom.
Her hairstyle was a jellyfish-style mullet, with curled layers on top that required daily maintenance.
After styling her hair, Yu Huan picked out a lightweight top and matching shoes.
By the time she finished everything, nearly half an hour had passed.
Finally, Yu Huan slung a pink Hermès Mini Lindy over her shoulder and stood in front of Zhou Muyang.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Zhou Muyang looked at the impeccably dressed Yu Huan.
Then he looked down at himself—oversized shorts, a white T-shirt, and skin that had gotten at least three shades darker after his trip to the beach.
He suddenly felt like he had returned to the days when he served as Yu Huan’s personal servant.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Under Yu Huan’s expectant gaze, he resigned himself to picking up the small suitcase sitting in the living room.
And just like that, he accompanied the princess out the door.
When they arrived home, it was right around lunchtime.
Knowing the two children would be coming home together, Zhang Ya and Zhou Muyang’s mother, Rong Xia, had been busy since early morning.
First, they went to the market and bought all the dishes the two children liked.
Then they carefully picked out a huge watermelon from one of the vendors and put it in water to chill.
The two fathers weren’t idle either.
They brought the quilts outside to dry in the sun and then thoroughly cleaned the entire house from top to bottom.
When lunchtime approached, they started cooking.
Yu Hezhang used to be a chef and was an excellent cook.
For this meal, he brought out almost all of his specialties and prepared a table overflowing with food.
The moment Yu Huan stepped through the door, the rich aroma of the dishes hit her.
“Oh, look! Fufu is home.”
Rong Xia was carrying a dish when she spotted Yu Huan and immediately lit up.
She turned toward Zhang Ya, who was cutting the watermelon.
“Xiaoya, Fufu is back!”
Then she noticed Zhou Muyang carrying the suitcase behind Yu Huan and burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Son, why did you get so dark?”
Zhou Muyang had the kind of sunny, handsome appearance that still looked good even with a tan.
But Rong Xia was used to seeing her son’s fair complexion.
Suddenly seeing him come home looking like a completely different, much darker version of himself made her laugh uncontrollably.
Zhou Muyang put down the suitcase, looking completely speechless.
“You really are my biological mother.”
“We’re all back now, and the food is freshly made.”
Zhang Ya came out carrying the watermelon.
At the dining table, she pulled out two wet wipes. She handed one to Zhou Muyang, then carefully wiped Yu Huan’s hands with the other.
“Come on, wipe your hands and have some watermelon first. Your Auntie Rong and I picked this one especially for you. It’s really sweet and seedless.”
Yu Huan didn’t like eating watermelon by holding it in her hand.
She preferred having it cut into small bite-sized pieces and eating them with a fork from a bowl.
Every time Zhang Ya bought a watermelon, she would always cut the sweetest parts into appropriately sized pieces and put them in a bowl for Yu Huan.
The less-sweet parts were left for her and Yu Hezhang.
This time was no different.
The bright red watermelon sat in an adorable ceramic bowl, looking incredibly appetizing.
“Auntie Zhang, you’re so thoughtful. I love watermelon cut into little bite-sized pieces like this.”
Zhou Muyang quickly wiped his hands, grabbed a fork, and started eating several pieces of watermelon.
He kept complimenting Zhang Ya as he ate, making her smile nonstop.
Yu Huan had a small appetite.
After she ate a few pieces, Zhang Ya coaxed her into stopping.
“Fufu, eat your lunch first. You can have more watermelon after.”
Zhou Muyang had been eagerly waiting to dig into the meal.
Watching Yu Huan eat so slowly made him uncomfortable.
Then he noticed the tiny bowl in front of her, which contained barely enough rice to fill a small egg-sized portion.
He couldn’t help but start teasing her.
“You’re as skinny as a monkey. I’m afraid one strong gust of wind will blow you away.”
Yu Huan finished the large shrimp Zhang Ya had peeled for her.
Hearing that, she slowly glanced at him, amusement shining in her almond-shaped eyes.
“The rice is the poor thing when you eat it. You eat so much, yet you barely gain any weight. Those grains died for nothing.”
Zhou Muyang copied her tone mockingly.
“Those grains died for nothing.”
He looked so irritating that he practically begged to be beaten.
Yu Huan wasn’t about to indulge him.
She kicked Zhou Muyang in the shin.
“Ow!”
Zhou Muyang grimaced in pain.
“Damn, Yu Huan! You really went for it!”
Rong Xia smacked him lightly.
“Stop teasing your sister.”
Zhou Muyang:
“……”
Fine.
In this family, he was clearly the one with the least status.
Yu Huan finished the food in her bowl and put down her chopsticks.
“I’m full. I’ll go back to my room first.”
Zhang Ya couldn’t help saying,
“Fufu, that’s all you’re eating? If you don’t want rice, have some more dishes. You barely touched—”
“Mom, I’m full.”
Yu Huan interrupted her.
“You guys eat. If I’m hungry later, you can make something for me.”
She said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Zhang Ya thought about it and realized she was right, so she didn’t say anything else.
She only reminded Yu Huan not to lie down immediately after eating.
“I know, Mom.”
Yu Huan pushed open the bedroom door.
The air conditioner was already running, and a wave of cool air greeted her as soon as she entered.
Yu Huan’s bedroom was the largest in the house and had been decorated almost entirely according to her preferences.
Zhang Ya and Yu Hezhang always wanted to give their daughter the best.
While Yu Huan was away, they had even added more warm and cozy touches to the room.
Yu Huan walked over to the hanging basket swing beside the bay window and sat down cross-legged.
When she had arrived downstairs earlier, Zhu Heqing had already messaged her asking whether she had arrived safely.
At the time, Yu Huan had been tired from the ride.
She glanced at the message but was too lazy to type a reply.
Now that she checked her phone again, she saw that Zhu Heqing had sent several more messages.
He didn’t message too frequently because he was afraid of annoying her.
There had been at least ten minutes between each message.
Yu Huan held down the voice-message button and spoke in a crisp, sweet voice.
“I’ve arrived. Work hard, and don’t be too clingy.”
When Zhu Heqing received the message, he couldn’t help laughing.
He cleared his throat and replied with a voice message of his own.
“Yes, Your Highness, my little princess.”
Coincidentally, just as Zhu Heqing sent the message, his assistant walked into the office carrying some documents.
He happened to hear his boss’s unusually sweet voice.
Assistant:
“……”
I don’t even want to comment.
Zhu Heqing’s expression remained perfectly calm.
“What is it?”
The assistant placed the documents on his desk and answered in his usual stiff, businesslike tone.
“There is a document here that needs your confirmation.”
Zhu Heqing took it and began reading through it carefully.
He suddenly remembered hearing other employees gossiping that Assistant Qin had recently stopped hiding in the break room to make phone calls.
He looked up at his assistant and casually asked,
“I heard you haven’t been making as many phone calls lately?”
Assistant Qin:
“……”
His already-cold expression became even colder.
He gritted his teeth and answered,
“Yeah. I’ve been busy lately. My girlfriend got angry.”
As for why he’d been so busy?
Anyone who knew would understand.
Zhu Heqing froze.
He hadn’t expected the matter to involve him.
He touched the tip of his nose, quickly signed the document, and, for once, felt a little embarrassed toward his assistant and junior schoolmate.
“I’ll give you a week of paid leave. Go spend some time making it up to her.”
A look of surprise appeared on the assistant’s usually cold face.
The capitalist actually knows how to be humane?
But a free vacation was a free vacation.
He wasn’t about to turn it down.
“Thank you, President.”
“Mm. Go.”
That very day, a new piece of gossip appeared in the Zhu Group’s internal gossip chat:
What exactly did President Zhu give Assistant Qin that made even the cold-faced devil suddenly bloom like spring?
Yu Huan noticed that someone else had messaged her.
She exited her chat with Zhu Heqing and looked at the name.
Chen Jiahao.
Yu Huan’s family hadn’t always lived in this residential complex.
They had originally lived in an urban village.
Later, the area was demolished for redevelopment, and they received both compensation and a new apartment, which was how they moved into their current home.
Although they called it a residential complex, everyone living in this particular building had known each other before.
They lived upstairs and downstairs, were familiar with one another, and the children around the same age often played together.
Chen Jiahao was two years older than Yu Huan.
She had been one of the older children in their neighborhood and had often played with Yu Huan and Zhou Muyang when they were young.
Later, after entering middle school, Chen Jiahao gradually drifted away from them.
Although they had remained connected on social media, they rarely contacted each other.
Yu Huan had always been surrounded by people and had never lacked friends to play with.
As time passed, her memory of Chen Jiahao became increasingly vague.
Now that Chen Jiahao suddenly messaged her, Yu Huan had to think for quite a while before she could remember who she was.
And even though she remembered her name, if Chen Jiahao stood in front of her now, Yu Huan probably wouldn’t recognize her.
Now that she remembered who she was, Yu Huan still couldn’t figure out why Chen Jiahao had suddenly contacted her.
Fortunately, Chen Jiahao knew that there was no point beating around the bush when talking to Yu Huan.
After a brief greeting, she immediately stated her purpose.
[Xiaohuan, my mom said you came back. I’m free these days too, and it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. How about we go out and hang out sometime?]
Yu Huan rejected her without even thinking.
Chen Jiahao sent a crying emoji, hoping to change Yu Huan’s mind.
Yu Huan glanced at it and went straight back to scrolling through her Moments.
After that, Chen Jiahao called out to Yu Huan several more times, clearly determined not to give up until she agreed.
Yu Huan initially wanted to block her.
But she was incredibly bored at home with nothing to do.
Then Chen Jiahao changed tactics.
Instead of pestering her through WeChat, she started coming directly to Yu Huan’s house to invite her out.
Out of sheer boredom, Yu Huan eventually agreed to the invitation.