Chapter 66: Chengnan Bookstore 13
The twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month.
It doesn’t snow in Jincheng, but it does sleet. A fine, lingering chill wrapped around everything, and the temperature suddenly dropped by several degrees. The Qiaojiao Beef shop was already closed for the holidays. After waking up, Zhuang Ningyu stared out the window for a long time but couldn’t figure out what to have for lunch. He was originally going to settle for an apple but was afraid of being scolded by Yi Ke. In the end, he yawned and cooked himself a bowl of noodles with vegetables and meat, sending a photo as proof of his innocence.
Yi Ke: I’ll be right back [Kiss].
Zhuang Ningyu: Don’t you have a dinner party today?
Yi Ke: I cancelled it!
What business dinner? He couldn’t attend a single one. After finishing his training, Yi Ke first rushed back to his villa to get his wife some delicious fresh braised snacks and a sweet bird’s nest soup. Only then did he run out with bags big and small, clattering all the way. As it happened, he ran right into Yi Shen and Yi Yue getting out of their car. His older brother and sister watched as their younger brother disappeared like a gust of wind, a strange feeling once again creeping into their hearts—
“Is that little rascal dating someone?”
He was indeed dating.
And very sweetly at that.
Fuxing Court.
Zhuang Ningyu was leaning back on the sofa, flipping through a book, when he felt it was hard to breathe. He pushed at the person lying on top of him. “Sit up properly.”
“Just a little longer,” Yi Ke whined, his arms wrapped around his waist. His hair, just washed, wasn’t completely dry. It was cold, wet, and prickly, and he was rubbing it all over the place. Zhuang Ningyu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Go get the hairdryer. I’ll dry it for you.”
Yi Ke still refused to get up, his hand slowly sliding into his pajamas. His palm traced the hollow of his spine, and he buried his head to kiss his collarbone. Zhuang Ningyu was completely entangled by him. He tried to pull his half-open robe closed, but his wrist was caught and pinned against the cushion. Yi Ke propped himself up, his own loungewear equally disheveled, buttons all open. His firm chest rose and fell slightly with his breathing, his abs tight, two beautiful V-lines cutting down towards his hips. The moment Zhuang Ningyu’s cool palm touched his skin, he immediately felt the other man jolt.
“Wifey…” Yi Ke was aroused, hugging the person in his arms tightly, wanting to continue kissing, when the doorbell rang with a “ding-dong.”
Zhuang Ningyu looked at him quizzically. “Did you buy something again?”
Yi Ke took a deep breath. “Nine-layer basil. I’m making you Tom Yum Goong soup tonight.”
Zhuang Ningyu teased him, “Can you still go and open the door?”
Yi Ke cupped his face, lowered his head, and gave his slightly swollen lips another forceful “mwah” of a kiss. Only then did he straighten his messy clothes and go to open the door. “Coming… Excuse me, who are the two of you looking for?”
Standing at the door were an elderly couple. They probably hadn’t expected that the one opening the door wouldn’t be their precious grandson. They took a bewildered step back to look at the door number—that’s right, 201! They had lived in this building for decades; they could find the right door with their eyes closed.
“Is Ningyu home?” the old man asked warily.
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhuang Ningyu, on the sofa, sucked in a cold breath. He fumbled to button up his clothes, but in his haste, he misjudged and rolled right off onto the floor. Yi Ke hurried over to help him up, only to be slapped away. Zhuang Ningyu propped himself up on the coffee table and shot to his feet, nonchalantly greeting them at the door, “Grandpa, Grandma.”
Yi Ke was petrified on the spot.
“This… you two…” The grandparents were actually quite flustered too. “It’s fine, you’re busy, you’re busy.”
“I’m not busy!” Zhuang Ningyu kicked Yi Ke back into the bedroom to change clothes, then buttoned up his own pajamas in a few quick movements. “Why didn’t you say you were coming? Come in, have a seat.”
“We won’t sit. We’ll go downstairs for some hotpot first,” Grandpa put the suitcase in the entryway and quickly turned to leave. Grandma was already in the elevator, but after a thought, she still felt uneasy. She came back out, wringing her hands, and said as tactfully as possible, “It’s getting cold, Ningning, you two… should draw the curtains, to block the wind.”
Zhuang Ningyu propped his forehead with one hand, not wanting to face the world. The elevator doors closed with a “ding.” Yi Ke carried the petrified man into the room and rubbed his burning cheeks. “Are you okay?”
He was fine, just didn’t really want to live anymore. Zhuang Ningyu had developed PTSD from the sofa. Yi Ke had no choice but to place him on a dining chair. “Should I go find Grandpa and Grandma and bring them back?”
Don’t add to the chaos.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhuang Ningyu found the two elders in a private room at the Da Fugui Hotpot restaurant downstairs. The pot was boiling furiously. Grandpa’s hand, holding a piece of beef, was still trembling. Grandma glanced behind him and asked, “What about that… young man?”
“He’s at home,” Zhuang Ningyu sat down beside them and sniffled twice. “I want to eat too.”
Grandma tapped him on the head. “Why is it a man?”
Zhuang Ningyu ducked his head. “I just like him.”
“Do your parents know?”
“They know.”
If they knew, why didn’t they tell us beforehand!
The conflict was successfully diverted. Zhuang Yan and Zhong Yu, who were watching TV at home, felt a sudden chill down their spines.
Yi Ke eventually joined the hotpot meal. He was handsome, a sweet-talker, had a good job, and looked neat and proper when dressed. The grandparents’ mental state finally stabilized. They had originally planned to stay at Fuxing Court to cook for their grandson for a couple of days, but now it was obviously not very appropriate. So, against all objections, they insisted on staying at a hotel.
“You really don’t have to,” Zhuang Ningyu said. “Just stay here!”
“We didn’t just come to Jincheng to spend the New Year with you this time. Qin Yin personally came to our door a few days ago, saying the investigation team has a difficult case and wanted to ask your grandpa to come and help,” Grandma took the food she had brought for him out of the suitcase. “We’ll stay at the investigation team’s guest apartment. It’s more convenient for work. Be good.”
“The Zeus Grand Hotel bombing, right?” Zhuang Ningyu said. “The implications are too broad. The people associated with the bombing back then are almost all dead. The only one left, Bao Yuzhou, had a cerebral hemorrhage and can’t communicate normally. The newly appeared rule zone is a replica. No wonder Team Leader Qin is stressed.”
“Let your grandpa and the others worry about the case,” Grandma patted his hand. “You just spend a good New Year with Grandma.”
Whether it was Huo Ting, the research group, the action team, his parents, or Yi Ke, everyone’s only request for Zhuang Ningyu was—don’t worry about work, get a good rest. Ren Bing, on the other hand, was very eager for him to start work immediately but was sternly rejected by He Mo via a long-distance call. As a result, the great mascot didn’t even get the job of recording a blessing video before the New Year. He spent New Year’s Eve wandering around the house, bored.
Zhuang Yan and his wife had bought a two-story house in the suburbs. Because it was spacious enough, it had become the designated family gathering spot almost every year. Every corner of the house was filled with people. Zhuang Ningyu’s head was spinning from the noise. He hid back in his own bedroom on the second floor, leaning against the window to watch the children in the yard playing with firecrackers.
“Wow, Uncle!” his niece looked up and praised him sincerely. “You look like Rapunzel waiting for her prince. So beautiful.”
Zhuang Ningyu: “…Thank you.”
On the other side, Yi Ke was leaning back on a lounge chair in the back garden, engrossed in admiring his wife’s photos, when he suddenly felt the light dim beside him.
He took off his headphones and asked, puzzled, “What’s up?”
“Our aunt plans to introduce you to her friend’s daughter at the family dinner tonight,” Yi Yue reminded him, arms crossed, looking down at him.
Yi Ke put his headphones back on. “No, I have a wife.”
The next moment, he was hauled up by his brother and sister. Yi Ke raised his hands in surrender, and before they could interrogate him further, he offered up his phone with both hands.
The two domineering CEOs put their heads together, then both looked confused. “What’s the meaning of showing us Ningyu’s photo?”
Yi Ke kindly introduced, “My wife.”
Yi Yue leaned in to examine his pupils, trying to determine if her brother had gone mad.
Yi Ke: “It’s true.”
Yi Shen said earnestly, “Xiao Ke, it’s easy to get scammed in a relationship. How about this, you tell your brother and sister who it is. We’ll know, and we absolutely won’t interfere, nor will we tell Mom and Dad, okay?”
Yi Ke slung his arms around their shoulders. “Believe it or not.”
Then he stood up, patted his butt, and walked away coolly.
“Your allowance is gone!”
“Mom and Dad will give it to me.”
“…”
An hour later, Ms. Deng Zongyun was successfully informed that her precious youngest son was likely the victim of a high-end Southeast Asian pig-butchering scam. Her vision went dark. Just as she was preparing to go talk to him, Yi Ke rushed downstairs in a flurry. “I’m not eating.”
“You’re not even eating New Year’s Eve dinner?”
“I have a mission!”
A new rule zone had appeared in a university. Although it was vacation and there were no students, a dozen or so school staff were still trapped. Zhuang Ningyu also received the news and asked, “Do you need me to come over?”
“No need,” Yi Ke said from the car. “Be good. You stay home and rest properly.”
Zhuang Ningyu didn’t want to rest, but in the end, he held back from following. He really had to consider his frequently recurring old knee injury, and besides, Yi Ke wasn’t a child. He couldn’t always take him along to work. After New Year’s Eve dinner, Zhuang Ningyu leaned back on his bed, reading the materials for this latest incident. Zhong Yu knocked on the door with a plate of cherries. “Want some?”
“Yes,” Zhuang Ningyu sat up.
Zhong Yu sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you worried about Xiao Yi?”
“No,” Zhuang Ningyu denied. “It’s normal work. Nothing to worry about.”
“You were so distracted during dinner, yet you’re still being stubborn,” Zhong Yu watched him eat the fruit. “Are they sweet?”
Zhuang Ningyu nodded and spat out the pit. “Sweet.”
“Xiao Yi just had someone deliver them,” Zhong Yu pointed towards the door. “Besides this, there’s a whole pile of other food. The kitchen is almost overflowing. Go downstairs and see for yourself.”
Zhuang Ningyu chuckled, took the cherries downstairs, and gave Huo Ting a call on the way.
The first time, no one answered.
The second time, no one answered either.
Zhuang Ningyu had no choice but to send a message first: [I’m not going to follow.]
Only then did Huo Ting breathe a sigh of relief, warning him over the phone, “I’m warning you, this is the first and last time. I still haven’t settled the score with you for Qingquan Mountain.”
Zhuang Ningyu took out a tissue and wiped his hands. “I’m really not going. Can you at least give me viewing permission?”
“Don’t even think about permission,” Huo Ting refused outright. “You’re part of the research group now. Stay out of the action team’s business. Xiao Yi doesn’t need you as his human cheat code. You have to try to give him his freedom. That’s it, I’m busy.”
Zhuang Ningyu: Not very happy.
