The heavy rain that had fallen throughout the night finally gave way to sunlight today and after being baked by the sun, the once soaked streets had dried considerably.
Zhou You’s car had been sitting under the sun for a while and was thoroughly heated. It was a little stuffy inside when he got in but he didn’t turn on the air conditioning. He only rolled down the window and let the natural wind blow through.
This car was something he’d bought in his second year of working, paid for entirely with his own money. Car and license plate together had cost him a hundred thousand.
Xing Hui had despised it to no end. The two of them had even had a huge fight over it. In a fit of anger, Xing Hui had smashed the Phantom he’d previously bought for Zhou You, cursing him for not driving a ten million car and instead choosing a hundred thousand one, asking if he was deliberately trying to piss him off.
At the time, Zhou You had simply looked at him and thought: If only smashing you to death, you damn fag, were that easy.
That year, he had just married Xing Hui. It was the period when hatred ran so deep it made his teeth itch, when he wished the other person would die as soon as possible.
There was no rush to go to the Xing family’s old residence. Zhou You was in a good mood and suddenly felt hungry as well. He parked the car by a grilled fish restaurant, planning to eat the boiled fish at the place next door.
He hadn’t come here in a long time. When he had first transmigrated to this world, he had come almost every day, because the boiled fish here carried the taste of the world he’d come from.
Only after eating and drinking his fill did Zhou You leisurely head toward the Xing family’s old residence.
When he arrived, he was led by Deputy Lin up to the study on the second floor.
Xing Mingyuan was practicing calligraphy at his desk. Beside him, a cat was curled up into a tight little ball, fast asleep. Hearing the movement, it opened its eyes and ran toward Zhou You, meowing as it went.
Zhou You called out, “Dad,” bent down, picked up the cat that was rubbing against his pant leg and held it in his arms as he walked over to the desk.
Xing Mingyuan responded with a simple “Mm,” without looking up, still fully focused on his writing.
Zhou You didn’t care about his attitude. He stood there, attentively stroking the cat.
When Xing Mingyuan finished writing and set down his brush, he asked, “Why did you come alone?”
“Xing Hui has something to do at the military,” Zhou You said directly. “Dad, I came to talk to you about something. It’s about Xing Hui wanting a child.”
Xing Mingyuan looked at him and gestured for him to sit. “Go on.”
Zhou You spoke plainly. “I want to divorce him and leave this place.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xing Mingyuan laughed. It was hard to tell whether he was laughing at Zhou You’s naivety or his reckless disregard for consequences.
He sat there, took a few sips of tea and then said, “If you could divorce that brat, wouldn’t you have done it long ago? You know his temper better than I do.”
“So I need your help,” Zhou You said, looking straight at him. “This marriage itself was something he forced on me. I’ve always planned to leave him but relying on myself alone is too difficult. Other than you, I honestly don’t know who else I can turn to.”
“Forced?” Xing Mingyuan’s eyes darkened as he looked at him.
Zhou You’s gaze was firm. “Didn’t you already know?”
Xing Mingyuan didn’t respond. He smiled faintly, his gaze falling on the cat in Zhou You’s arms. “How strange. Even the cat at home likes you.”
“I don’t need his affection,” Zhou You said, meeting Xing Mingyuan’s eyes, calm in both honor and humiliation. Then he put the cat down on the floor.
The cat meowed, rubbed against Zhou You’s leg, then climbed back up, burrowing into his arms.
Xing Mingyuan watched him quietly, his expression calm, saying nothing.
“So, Commander Xing,” Zhou You changed the way he addressed him, “are you willing to help me? If I divorce him, there will be no harm to you or to the Xing family as a whole. He can find an Omega to marry afterward and naturally have children. That wouldn’t harm him either. Isn’t that what you’ve been hoping for?”
“Is that so?” Xing Mingyuan’s expression changed. He stared at Zhou You coldly and the pressure in the entire study dropped instantly.
Although Xing Hui had indeed been outrageous in forcing Zhou You to marry him back then, as his father, Xing Mingyuan knew very well that his son had fallen in love for real and that these past five years he had genuinely wanted to live a life with Zhou You.
Yet here Zhou You was, talking about divorce and leaving again and again, as if Xing Hui had no redeeming qualities whatsoever in his heart.
Although Xing Mingyuan had never been happy about Zhou You marrying into the family from the beginning, hearing these words still made him feel a chill for his good for nothing son.
Five years and he still couldn’t win over a single person.
“Useless thing,” Xing Mingyuan said aloud, his face still dark.
Zhou You didn’t understand why Xing Mingyuan would say that. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and admitted it. “Commander Xing, you’re right. I am useless. Five years and I still couldn’t leave his side.”
Then he added, “If I weren’t useless, I wouldn’t have been forced by your son into getting married and registering in the first place.”
Xing Mingyuan’s expression was unreadable as he spoke flatly. “If I step in to help you, wouldn’t that mean turning my son and me against each other?”
“He’s a filial son. He wouldn’t blame you,” Zhou You said. Over these five years, he could tell that Xing Hui was very filial, a qualified son.
That answer pleased Xing Mingyuan. “Then I have even less reason to do something that would make my filial son unhappy.”
If he really could control Xing Hui, he wouldn’t have had to negotiate conditions back then when it came to Xing Hui marrying Zhou You.
Zhou You seemed both angry and restrained. He looked at Xing Mingyuan, his eyes filled with heavy disappointment.
“Let me say something unpleasant. As Xing Hui’s father, your upbringing has been a complete failure. In the way he treats me, he terrifies me and makes me panic. He tied me to his side for five years, using all kinds of threats and intimidation, tracking and monitoring me. To put it bluntly, this is illegal!” Zhou You stood up, his emotions running high. Sensing his agitation, the cat immediately began meowing anxiously.
“I’ve really had enough! I want nothing more than to leave him right now!” Zhou You spoke recklessly, as if he no longer cared about anything. “Haven’t you always looked down on me? Haven’t you always opposed him marrying me? Then why won’t you help me leave? You clearly have the ability to help me, to give me my freedom. Why do you stand by and watch him do those disgusting things to me? I don’t like men! Every day he has to… has to…”
Xing Mingyuan sat there watching Zhou You, letting him lose control, letting him break down, letting him accuse him again and again, unmoved as he watched this young man beg him time after time.
At that moment, Zhou You deeply regretted coming to see Xing Mingyuan.
He cursed himself for having such a short memory. Five years ago, he had begged Xing Mingyuan once before. Back then, Xing Mingyuan had chosen to ignore him. Why would he ever change his mind now?
In the end, the Xing father and son were cut from the same cloth. People who had sat in positions of power for years simply didn’t tolerate anyone going against them.
Zhou You also cursed himself for being cheap, for coming to talk to an elder about what happened in bed, truly living without any shame or dignity.
This conversation no longer needed to continue. Zhou You planned to leave. Just as he turned around to go, Xing Mingyuan spoke.
“Giving up already?” His voice was unhurried, betraying no emotion. “If you don’t fight for your own matters, how can you expect others to help you?”
Zhou You stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at him.
Although Xing Mingyuan hadn’t explicitly agreed, Zhou You could hear a hint of looseness in his words.
So he hurriedly said, “Thank you.”
Xing Mingyuan’s expression remained calm, his tone even. “Don’t thank me. My son has grown wings and flown on his own. As his father, I can’t control him anymore.”
“Then…” Zhou You frowned slightly. “You still don’t plan to help me?”
Xing Mingyuan said that they should first get Xing Hui to agree to find an Omega to have a child.
When Zhou You came out of the Xing family’s old residence, he didn’t know when it had started raining again. The wind blew rainwater straight into his face, instantly sobering him up. He regretted it.
He should have endured a little longer.
Thinking of Xing Mingyuan’s words about having Xing Hui find an Omega to have a child, Zhou You didn’t know why but he subconsciously pictured that scene, then pictured Xing Hui with a child in the future.
At that point, Xing Hui would have a harmonious family of three and Xing Mingyuan would finally get to hold a grandchild.
And he himself would also get the outcome he wanted.
Strangely, Zhou You’s mood wasn’t good at all.
It was a very inexplicable feeling.
Perhaps it was because he wasn’t confident that Xing Hui would actually let him leave when the time came. If Xing Hui had a child with an Omega, then even if Xing Hui refused to let him go, Zhou You would still leave. He absolutely despised any form of infidelity within love and marriage.
But hadn’t he agreed to Xing Mingyuan that he would persuade Xing Hui to find an Omega and have a child? Zhou You asked himself in his heart.
Idiot.
A complete idiot.
And so, Zhou You regretted coming to see Xing Mingyuan even more.
“Mr. Zhou.”
Deputy Lin’s voice sounded from behind him. Zhou You turned at the sound and politely called out, “Uncle Lin.”
“It’s raining. Take this umbrella,” Deputy Lin said, handing one to him.
“Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Lin,” Zhou You said. “I drove here.”
“Take it,” Deputy Lin said. “It’s the one you brought last time when you came here with the young master.”
Zhou You took the umbrella and thanked him.
Deputy Lin looked at him. Even after five years in the Xing family, Zhou You was still the same as he’d been in the beginning, polite, reserved and distant. It was obvious that he still hadn’t truly grown close to the Xing family.
“You and the young master are both too young,” Deputy Lin said, speaking like an elder. “When you talk and act, it’s easy to be impulsive. Don’t always focus on the other person’s shortcomings. Think more about their good points. Only then can a marriage go farther.”
Zhou You gripped the handle of the umbrella and said nothing.
Deputy Lin continued, “When I was twenty, I went to the battlefield with the commander and injured this leg. After that, I came to the Xing family. Back then, the young master was only this tall,” he said, gesturing with his hand to show Xing Hui’s height.
“A three year old little kid. So cute. Whenever he saw me, he’d ask if I’d seen his mother. That pitiful little look, his eyes all swollen from crying, looking for his dad and his mom. At first, coming here, I did feel some resentment. Even though the commander gave me this path, when I saw the young master for the first time, the resentment was gone. Watching him grow up, I know his character. Sometimes he can be a bit stubborn but I can tell that he truly, genuinely likes you.”
The umbrella covered most of Zhou You’s face, making his expression hard to see. He only said, “Uncle Lin, in your eyes, there’s nothing bad about Xing Hui.”
That made Deputy Lin laugh. “In my eyes, you’re a good child too.”
Zhou You fell silent.
Seeing his silence, Deputy Lin also stopped speaking. After a long while, he sighed. “The rain is getting heavier. Go back. Otherwise, the young master will worry.”
Zhou You had originally wanted to say that he didn’t want Xing Hui to know he’d been here but when the words reached his lips, he felt it was unnecessary. After all, those people watching him would report it to Xing Hui anyway.
Zhou You drove home. Just as he stepped through the door, the rain outside turned torrential.
Seeing that Zhou You was holding an umbrella yet still drenched, the butler hurriedly instructed the servants to prepare bathwater, then told someone to make ginger tea. At the same time, he cast a puzzled look back and forth between the umbrella and Zhou You.
Zhou You told him not to trouble himself but the butler insisted, saying that Zhou You’s health couldn’t be treated carelessly.
Zhou You sighed.
From the butler to the servants, everyone in the house listened to Xing Hui. Over these five years, Zhou You had been very well taken care of yet he still wasn’t used to it.
Compared to living in a large villa surrounded by people serving him, he preferred building a courtyard house in the countryside, with a big yard, planting all kinds of vegetables and a few fruit trees as well. He could hire a part time cleaner but there would be no need for a butler or live in servants, just him and Xing Hui living there together.
The moment that thought surfaced, Zhou You’s expression visibly panicked.
To actually have such a thought, Zhou You immediately suspected there was something wrong with his brain.
This wasn’t just being stupid. This was being sick.
Truly sick.
“Sir, the bathwater is ready.” Seeing that Zhou You didn’t look well, the butler couldn’t help asking, “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No.” Zhou You went into the bathroom, closed the door and leaned against it, spacing out.
He felt his heart beating uncontrollably fast, chaotic and disordered.
He also felt a sense of suffocation. He tugged at his tie, no good. He tugged again. In the end, he simply ripped it off and tossed it onto the sink.
That night, Xing Hui wasn’t home. Logically, Zhou You should have slept soundly yet strangely enough, he didn’t sleep well at all, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. In the end, he had to clamp Xing Hui’s pillow between his legs before he gradually drifted off.
In his hazy half sleep, there was a click.
The sound of a door opening.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(づ｡•́‿•̀｡)づ ☕ — coffee for the hardworking translator
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · You can’t tag meChapter 2 · Give it to me, I want itChapter 3 · Yes, but only my wife can give birth to it.Chapter 4 · Find me a little Omega dadChapter 5 · We are legalChapter 6 · I want to divorce him and leave this placeChapter 7 · 3 million compensationChapter 8 · Enemies from a past lifeChapter 9 · My wife’s leftovers, so fragrant.Chapter 10 · Did you ever like me?Chapter 11 · Is he pregnant?Chapter 12 · Still two linesChapter 13 · Ultrasound resultsChapter 14 · False pregnancy reactionChapter 15 · A person changes after just one night’s sleep?Chapter 16 · I have to take responsibilityChapter 17 · Of course we’re arresting youChapter 18 · Lie on the bedChapter 19 · It felt like a fire was burning inside my bodyChapter 20 · Disgusting pervertChapter 21 · Did you force him?Chapter 22 · Do you expect me to feed you with my mouth?Chapter 23 · Let’s add each other. It’ll be easier to stay in touchChapter 24 · What are you looking at so intently?Chapter 25 · You lawless monster!Chapter 26 · What a coincidenceChapter 27 · So happy?Chapter 28 · You really don’t want to be with me?Chapter 29 · You’re living inside?Chapter 30 · I don’t want to be a bed partnerChapter 31 · Divorce after marriageChapter 32 · Welcome HomeChapter 33 · You’re hurt?Chapter 34 · Don’t disgust me!Chapter 35 · The first year after marriageChapter 36 · Xiaoyou ran away again?Chapter 37 · If killing me will calm you down, then do whatever you wantChapter 38 · If only he were an omegaChapter 39 · Xiaoyou: It’s not a kiss, it’s artificial respirationChapter 40 · Xiaoyou called him “husband” for the first timeChapter 41 · Choose one: call me ‘husband’ or…..Chapter 42 · They didn’t argue on their second wedding anniversaryChapter 43 · In the third year of their marriage, everything seemed perfectChapter 44 · Xiaoyou was actually on the verge of collapse.Chapter 45 · Would Xing Hui even listen?Chapter 46 · You’re nothing but a hooligan and a scoundrelChapter 47 · I’M A MANChapter 48 · Why is it that every single time I see you, you’re fighting?Chapter 49 · You’re the heavens. You’re the lawChapter 50 · Have You ever love me?Chapter 51 · What makes them any different from the couples on the street?Chapter 52 · You Actually Dare to Hit Him?!Chapter 53 · I don’t want you anymoreChapter 54 · Taking advantage of Xing Hui’s love?Chapter 55 · Who is Zhou You?Chapter 56 · It’s not good for you to be pregnant without your partner by your sideChapter 57 · Haven’t we met somewhere before?Chapter 58 · Zhou You?…. Yu Miao?Chapter 59 · He’s called Miao You nowChapter 60 · Are you about to give birth?Chapter 61 · Xing Hui: Wife, you are my attending physicianChapter 62 · Am I treating you better than before?Chapter 63 · You Miao, can I pursue you?Chapter 64 Part 1 · Memory recovery countdown…Chapter 64 Part 2 · Memory recovery countdown…Chapter 65 Part 1 · After five years of marriage, what is Xing Hui’s greatest advantage?Chapter 65 Part 2 · After five years of marriage, what is Xing Hui’s greatest advantage?Chapter 66 · You Miao suddenly found himself unable to resistChapter 67 · Yes, the incredibly soft-hearted You Miao loves him.Chapter 68 Part 1 · Is he about to give Birth?Chapter 68 Part 2 · Is he about to give birth?Chapter 69 · The baby has been born safely!Chapter 70 · Baby’s name revealedChapter 71 · Can you promise me that?Chapter 72 · AphrodisiacChapter 73 · Are you willing to marry me again?Chapter 74 · If I push my luck, I’ll force you into marriageChapter 75 Part 1 · Has this person traveled back in time?Chapter 75 Part 2 · Has this person traveled back in time?Chapter 76 Part 1 · Wishing the young couple a long and happy lifeChapter 76 Part 2 · Wishing the young couple a long and happy lifeChapter 77 · Finding the Diamond RingChapter 78 Part 1 · Put It on MeChapter 78 Part 2 · Put It on MeChapter 79 · My Future HusbandChapter 80 · IF route side story (1)Chapter 81 · If Route Side Story (2)Chapter 82 Part 1 · If route Side Story (3)Chapter 82 Part 2 · If route Side Story (3)Chapter 83 · If route Side Story (4)Chapter 84 Part 1 · IF route side story (5)Chapter 84 Part 2 · IF route side story (5)Chapter 85 Part 1 · IF route side story (6)Chapter 85 Part 2 · IF route side story (6)Chapter 86 · If route side story (7)Chapter 87 Part 1 · I’ve been thinking about itChapter 87 Part 2 · I’ve been thinking about itChapter 88 Part 1 · Happy Qixi FestivalChapter 88 Part 2 · Happy Qixi FestivalChapter 89 · You Miao’s Pregnancy SicknessChapter 90 Part 1 · Xinghui’s Pregnancy NauseaChapter 90 Part 2 · Xinghui’s Pregnancy NauseaChapter 91 Part 1 · The wedding is setChapter 91 Part 2 · The wedding is set