Even though He Zhiheng had long developed a thick skin from being in their social circle, when Yu Huan—who had just been teased as a “Little Ancestor”—softly called him “Brother Zhiheng,” he still felt a rare hint of embarrassment.
The girl had just turned twenty. It was obvious she had grown up surrounded by love. Being a little spoiled and fond of acting coquettish was nothing out of the ordinary.
Why had he taken it so seriously?
He Zhiheng nodded, a bit awkward, and quickly found an excuse to log off.
“Hello. A He, I’ve got something to take care of here. I’ll hang up first—we’ll talk next time.”
Yu Huan tilted her head up to look at Zhu Heqing, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. “Does your friend not like me?”
In the past, whenever others saw her, they would always try to find topics just to talk to her a little longer.
But Zhu Heqing’s friend had seemed eager to hang up immediately.
This was the first time Yu Huan had ever encountered something like this.
She reached up and touched her face, forcing her brain—rarely used except during finals week since entering university—to start working.
Could it be that she had been eating too much these past few days and had become less pretty?
Zhu Heqing found her so adorable that he couldn’t help but kiss her cheeks several times.
“No. Everyone will like you.”
Yu Huan suddenly smacked Zhu Heqing’s chest and blurted out, “I want to lose weight!”
Zhu Heqing: “?”
He caught her slender wrist—his one hand easily able to wrap around both of hers.
Zhu Heqing gently shook her soft, boneless wrist and frowned. “Baby, are you saying you want to lose weight even when you’re already this thin?”
Yu Huan was unreasonable. “That’s because your hand is too big. I still want to lose weight. I must have gained weight.”
At twenty, Yu Huan liked to try everything, especially dressing up.
She had joined an anime club at university and occasionally did cosplay.
To look good on camera, she cared a lot about her weight, afraid that even a slight gain would make her look bad in her costumes.
Even though Zhu Heqing took meticulous care of her, her weight barely changed year-round, sometimes even dropping a few pounds when she got sick.
On top of that, Yu Huan was a picky eater—there were many things she refused to eat.
Because of this, Zhu Heqing had even personally learned how to cook, just to get her to eat a bit more.
He coaxed her patiently, “Baby looks the best like this. Everything looks good on you. CY has designed a few new summer outfits—they’ll be delivered tomorrow. After you try them on, we’ll decide whether you still want to lose weight, okay?”
CY was an independent brand whose designers were all former chief designers of top luxury brands, now exclusively serving the Zhu family.
Yu Huan thought for a few seconds, then nodded. “Alright.”
Zhu Heqing hugged her tighter. “So good.”
Before, Zhu Heqing hadn’t understood why people became clingy after entering a relationship.
Even his assistant—normally a serious and unsmiling person—couldn’t help slacking off at work after getting into a relationship.
Zhu Heqing had caught him several times calling his girlfriend during work hours.
At the time, Zhu Heqing had asked, “You don’t like talking on the phone. Why are you willing to talk with your girlfriend?”
The assistant had replied with happiness, “Because I want to share my life with her.”
“Doesn’t it get boring?”
“Not at all,” the assistant said. “Sharing life with the person you love is a very happy thing.”
Zhu Heqing hadn’t asked further. He had simply glanced at him and said, “Slacking off during work—deduct fifty.”
As the Executive Assistant of Zhu Corporation’s headquarters, the assistant earned an annual salary in the millions. Fifty yuan meant nothing to him.
However, Zhu Heqing was a humane boss. Since the assistant performed excellently, he later chose to turn a blind eye to his occasional slacking.
Now, Zhu Heqing understood what his assistant had meant.
Being in a relationship meant being a little clingy.
In the end, Zhu Heqing still hadn’t been able to go traveling with Yu Huan.
The Zhu Corporation was expanding into new fields, and many decisions required Zhu Heqing—the one truly in charge—to personally finalize them.
For several consecutive days, he worked until midnight before returning home.
Yu Huan, who had grown up surrounded by love, was a thoughtful girl.
Even though she complained, “Zhu Heqing, you’re so bad. I can’t even sleep early anymore,”
she still kept the living room and bedroom lights on every night, wrapped herself in a pure cashmere blanket, and sat on the sofa waiting for Zhu Heqing to come home.
When Zhu Heqing drove downstairs and saw the lights on, he knew someone was waiting for him.
When he quietly opened the door, the first thing he saw was his girlfriend curled up on the sofa, propping her head up, drowsy and half-asleep.
The sound of the door woke Yu Huan from her sleepiness.
She gave a small yawn, tears of reflex hanging at the corners of her eyes.
She opened her arms, her voice soft and slightly sticky with sleepiness. “Zhu Heqing, hug.”
Zhu Heqing thought—how could his girlfriend be so thoughtful and so adorable?
He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, breathing in the faint fragrance from her body.
Yu Huan nuzzled against him, adjusting into a comfortable position. Her eyes could barely stay open, yet she was still giving instructions.
“Older Brother, there’s porridge warming in the clay pot. You have to finish it before you shower. I’ll check tomorrow.”
Zhu Heqing agreed seriously. He placed her on the bed, carefully tucked her in, dimmed the lights to make sure her rest wouldn’t be disturbed.
Then, following her instructions, he finished the porridge, took a shower, returned to bed, and held her as he softly said, “Good night.”
It was said that forming habits was a frightening thing.
When Zhu Heqing once again worked late into the night and didn’t see the lights that should have been on, and found the house empty when he returned, he was momentarily stunned.
Only then did he realize—
Yu Huan had gone to Moscow with her family three days ago.
Zhu Heqing took off his suit, unbuttoned his shirt, and sat in the spot Yu Huan liked most, thinking about the time difference between them.
As he thought, he opened his phone, carefully looked through the photos Yu Huan had sent him, and played her voice messages.
This had become something he did often over the past few days.
Zhu Heqing even knew exactly at which second Yu Huan would exclaim in surprise, “Zhu Heqing, there are so many handsome guys in Moscow!”
Zhu Heqing was proficient in several foreign languages—Russian being one of them.
So he could also understand the comments from passersby that had accidentally been recorded in her voice messages.
“She’s breathtakingly beautiful!”
Late at night, melancholy easily took over.
Leaning back against the sofa, Zhu Heqing couldn’t help but think again about the age gap between him and Yu Huan.
Seven years.
There was a full seven-year difference between them.
Yu Huan had just stepped into her twenties, while he was already approaching thirty.
For the composed and strategic President Zhu, this was yet another moment where his age made him feel inferior.
His phone rang.
It was He Zhiheng.
Zhu Heqing answered.
“A He, we’ve got a gathering. Want to come hang out?”
Zhu Heqing let out a cold laugh, his tone almost harsh. “It’s almost dawn and you’re still playing around. At nearly thirty, you should stop pushing yourself like this. Your body isn’t that young anymore.”
Caught off guard, He Zhiheng and the others exchanged confused looks.
What kind of mood swing had Young Master Zhu gotten into this time?