Everyone submitted to Heng Shi’s pressure, scattering like birds and beasts in an instant.
“Actually, it’s fine. They didn’t ask anything too outrageous,” Zou Beiqi began.
Heng Shi glanced at him. “I found it noisy.”
“Oh.” Zou Beiqi paused slightly. “Then should I also shut up?”
“Best.”
Fine. Considering that Heng Shi had to juggle work and monitor his physical condition, Zou Beiqi decided to endure it a bit, switching himself to mute mode while watching Heng Shi unhurriedly feed himself.
“Don’t want to eat?” Heng Shi stopped and asked.
Zou Beiqi shook his head, indicating he had no appetite.
“Have the housekeeper make you something when you feel like eating.” Heng Shi freed one hand to adjust the cuffs of his white shirt. “Don’t send food over next time.”
“Did I disturb your work? But Yan Ze said that whenever you get busy you forget to eat, and he was worried you’d get sick from hunger.” Zou Beiqi’s father had once contracted a stomach ailment this way, and he had witnessed all the suffering and hardship firsthand.
“I’ll remember to eat next time. Satisfied?” Heng Shi seemed to have finished his meal, placing his chopsticks back in their original spot. “If you’re doing this to thank me for what I did earlier, it’s unnecessary. And it looks quite foolish.”
“Right.” Come to think of it, having such a grown adult of a man require his spouse to deliver meals did sound a bit silly.
“Still, thank you.”
“You said earlier there was no need to thank you.”
“No need to thank me because taking care of you and the child is my responsibility.” The empty lunch box was neatly packed back into the bag by Heng Shi. “You have no obligation to bring me food.”
“You can’t really say that. Aren’t you sort of my husband?” Zou Beiqi instinctively took the bag into his own hands.
“Think whatever you want. Drop you off downstairs?”
When Zou Beiqi had arrived, he was brought in by someone from the company. Looking around now, that person was nowhere to be seen, so he accepted Heng Shi’s offer.
The driver’s car was parked downstairs. As soon as Zou Beiqi sat in the back seat, he noticed that Sheng Wanzhong had sent him messages, mostly concerning his marriage. Heng Shi didn’t seem like the type who loved to broadcast things, and he had no idea how the news leaked. Clearly, they hadn’t even worn wedding rings, yet quite a few employees at Yanxin had already heard that Heng Shi was married.
Since even those people knew, it was no wonder that the ever-well-informed Sheng Wanzhong knew as well.
Yan Ze seemed to read Zou Beiqi’s thoughts. “Mr. Zou doesn’t need to be surprised. When things happen, others always find a way to find out. Perhaps someone happened to see you and Mr. Heng leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau.”
Zou Beiqi felt that what Yan Ze said made a lot of sense and quickly accepted this explanation, returning his gaze to his phone screen.
Sheng Wanzhong: [How did you get married without even telling your brother? I only found out after receiving the news!]
Zou Beiqi: [Sorry, I’ve been busy with work lately.]
Sheng Wanzhong: [At least send a message to let me know! You didn’t even invite me to the wedding!]
Zou Beiqi: [We didn’t hold a banquet; it’s a travel wedding.] To avoid exposing any flaws, he began fabricating stories.
Sheng Wanzhong: [That’s fine too. You get to travel and don’t have to waste money. I was following the news a while ago, and I didn’t have time to send a gift. Are you free tonight?]
[[Congratulations and prosperity, wishing you the best] Oh right, this red envelope isn’t returning that money I borrowed from you, okay? That’s calculated separately; this is a wedding gift.]
Zou Beiqi told him that since he hadn’t attended the banquet, there was no need to give monetary gifts, but Sheng Wanzhong insisted he accept it, so he didn’t have the heart to refuse further. [I don’t have anything going on tonight. I can go out.]
Sheng Wanzhong gave him a location, and Zou Beiqi quickly asked Yan Ze to change the destination and recalculate the navigation.
This time, Sheng Wanzhong didn’t meet him at a bar, but rather at a dessert shop. Remembering Heng Shi’s instruction that his daily sugar intake shouldn’t exceed 50 grams, Zou Beiqi weighed his options and ended up ordering nothing, asking only for a glass of plain water.
“Really not eating anything?” Sheng Wanzhong poked the ice cubes in his lemon tea with a straw. “Didn’t you used to love this place the most?”
“Eating too many sweets is bad for the baby.”
“True, you really should be more careful now that you’re pregnant. I heard about this ages ago, but I just didn’t have time to chat with you properly. I racked my brain trying to figure out what wedding gift to buy, but baby supplies seemed a bit too early, so I just got a little trinket.”
Sheng Wanzhong pushed a gift box across to him. After confirming from the giver that it was okay to open it on the spot, Zou Beiqi took out the decorative ornament inside. It featured a pair of same-sex newlyweds embracing, and tapping the base slightly with a finger played a cheerful tune, causing the two clinging figures to spin to the rhythm.
“Thanks, it’s pretty cute.” It just didn’t really match him and Heng Shi; not a shred of the sweetness displayed by the figurines could be found between them, as their daily confrontations were sustained entirely by the child in his belly.
Sheng Wanzhong was quite satisfied upon receiving praise. “My taste is decent, right? Let me tell you, I also brought you something practical, especially suited for your current stage.” With that, he shoved another box into Zou Beiqi’s hands.
“Can I open it?” Zou Beiqi asked instinctively.
“Ah, this.” Sheng Wanzhong rubbed his chin. “Actually, if you don’t mind the awkwardness, it’s fine, but personally I’d suggest opening it when you get back.”
“What kind of thing is so mysterious?” This successfully piqued Zou Beiqi’s curiosity.
Sheng Wanzhong rubbed his nose. “You’ll know once you open it back home. Could a good brother ever harm you?”
Seeing that Sheng Wanzhong was deliberately withholding the details, Zou Beiqi didn’t press further and quietly put the gift away. Just as he pulled his hand out of the bag, he saw Sheng Wanzhong pointing at his ring finger. “Why aren’t you even wearing your wedding ring?”
“Well, he doesn’t really want people to know just yet.” Zou Beiqi racked his brains for a long time without coming up with a good excuse, so he simply brushed it off. Secret marriages among wealthy tycoons weren’t unheard of in novels, so it shouldn’t sound too far-fetched.
After all, Heng Shi hadn’t considered that layer, and he couldn’t very well buy one and wear it by himself.
“No wonder you didn’t mention it. Fine, I’ll help keep it a secret.”
By the time he parted ways with Sheng Wanzhong, night had fallen deeply. Zou Beiqi contacted the dedicated driver to pick him up and drive him back. Yan Ze wasn’t responsible for driving; helping out occasionally was only because it happened to be convenient and on the way.
The driver was someone Heng Shi had specifically hired for him, surnamed Li. He spoke little and did much, and Zou Beiqi was quite satisfied with him, usually calling him Little Li.
Little Li droves very smoothly, and the ornament in Zou Beiqi’s bag didn’t make a single sound from bumping. Finally, the car stopped at the villa entrance. Walking inside, he found Heng Shi sitting on the living room sofa.
Zou Beiqi instinctively glanced at the wall clock; it was only a little past eleven in the night.
“Yan Ze said you wouldn’t be back until past two in the morning.”
“Yeah, usually. But not always; sometimes when things are slow, I get back early.” Heng Shi pointed to the bag in Zou Beiqi’s hand, gesturing for the housekeeper to take it down. Little Glasses stopped the housekeeper from taking the items and pulled out two gift boxes from inside first.
“Sheng Wanzhong gave these?”
“How did you know?”
“Guessed. Your parents’ gifts have already arrived; he was the only one left.”
Zou Beiqi had nothing to hide. Right in front of Heng Shi, he first took the ornament out of the box and placed it on the table, then moved on to the second gift box. Curiosity drove him to tear open the ribbon quickly, after which he fished out an object with a somewhat subtle shape that also had a vibration function.
Not sure, ask.
Zou Beiqi opened the chat window with Sheng Wanzhong: [What is this that you sent?]
Sheng Wanzhong: [Aren’t I worried you have needs? After all, you and Heng Shi can’t do that kind of thing right now, right?]
Zou Beiqi: [Fine.]
Heng Shi’s gaze landed on Zou Beiqi’s side at some point. “Sexual activity is forbidden during the first three months of pregnancy, including self-relief. Is your friend an idiot?”
“He hasn’t been pregnant, and he doesn’t work in the pharmaceutical field like you. It’s normal that he doesn’t know.”
“At least he should know how to search the web.” Heng Shi snatched the object from Zou Beiqi’s hand into his own. “I’ll keep this for now.”
“I know I can’t use it, I won’t use it.” He wasn’t a kid addicted to mobile games who needed his parents to confiscate his phone to study peacefully.
Heng Shi remained unmoved. “Just in case.”
“There’s nothing that can trigger my impulses lately.” Zou Beiqi was speechless.
“Hard to say.”
“Really hard to say, especially since I don’t even know how the child in my belly came to be.” For no particular reason, Zou Beiqi wanted to throw that line at Heng Shi.
Heng Shi laughed in exasperation. “Wasn’t it you who couldn’t help crawling into my bed?”
Zou Beiqi: “”
Fine. Compared to Heng Shi, his skills were still a bit shallow.
“I’ll return it to you in a few months once the fetus is stable.” Heng Shi steered the conversation back on track.
“You don’t have to return it; I don’t have this need.”
“Neither do I.”
Talk about two monks sharing a single comb.
Zou Beiqi wasn’t an ascetic person, but he was still a straight man at heart, and the intended use of this object clearly wasn’t suited for him.
Of course, that didn’t mean suitable usage implied it had to be used.
On the other hand, looking at Heng Shi, he hadn’t felt much while reading the original book, but seeing the person in the flesh now, Zou Beiqi felt that the man truly possessed an air of detachment from worldly desires.
“Leaving it there won’t hurt.” Heng Shi calmly shoved the item back into the box and had the housekeeper take it away.
“Oh right, I told Sheng Wanzhong we had a travel wedding, and that you didn’t want others to know, so we’re keeping it a secret marriage.” Zou Beiqi felt it necessary to align their stories with Heng Shi.
“Mhm.”
He answered so perfunctorily that it was hard to tell if he had even paid attention.
“There’s a friend’s party this weekend,” Heng Shi said while operating his laptop. “They heard I got married and want me to bring you along.”
“You told them?”
“No. Who knows how word got out.”
Heng Shi continued. “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”
Zou Beiqi thought about it and decided that doing a bit of social networking was still necessary, so he didn’t turn down the invitation. “Aren’t you busy with work?”
“I still have a day to spare.”
The party mentioned by Heng Shi took place in a suburban villa. As soon as they stepped inside, Zou Beiqi and Heng Shi were swarmed by quite a few people, practically all of whom held a tremendous amount of curiosity toward his spouse.
Like Heng Shi, Zou Beiqi was dressed in a tailored high-end suit, radiating a refined aura and possessing an appearance striking enough to stand out in any crowd. Coupled with Heng Shi’s flawless image enhanced by protagonist-level halo effects, this couple was all the more impossible to ignore.
“Pardon me, my husband is feeling unwell, and too many people isn’t good for him.”
Heng Shi slid his left hand’s fingers into the gaps between Zou Beiqi’s, their ten fingers interlocking as their warm palms rubbed against each other.
Zou Beiqi couldn’t help feeling awkward inside. He never imagined that after being single for over twenty years, his first-time holding hands would be with a nominal husband he had hardly any feelings for.