“Hello?”
At this moment, Yan Xun’s eyes were covered with foam, and he hadn’t realized that it was a video call from the other side. So, after casually answering the call, he fumbled to place the phone on the bathroom shelf, intending to rinse his eyes with water.
The front camera happened to be angled upward, capturing Yan Xun’s upper body, with the screen cutting off just below his slightly protruding abdominal muscles.
President Chu glanced casually and noticed that the hospital’s health regimen and recovery training had been very effective.
Amid the sound of running water, Yan Xun, eyes still closed, heard a familiar male voice—
“I’m at the airport. I’ll be home for dinner tonight.”
Chu Tingyun said this slower than usual.
The steam fogged up the phone’s front camera, and under the dim bathroom lighting, it seemed to have a hazy, slightly tinted filter. Although seven years had passed in memory, the person on the screen was the 25-year-old Yan Xun—a young, mature, powerful, and hormonal male body.
For a moment, Chu Tingyun even had the illusion that the splashing water droplets might break through the screen and land on his face.
“Tonight?”
Yan Xun moved quickly, turning off the water and wiping his face with a towel, intending to answer the call. But as soon as he opened his eyes, his gaze met Chu Tingyun’s in the video.
“…”
Their eyes locked, and it felt like the air had frozen for a second.
Chu Tingyun saw a droplet fall from the youth’s trembling eyelashes.
Beep…
Sure enough, the video was hung up the next second.
Quick hands.
He thought.
Chu Tingyun wasn’t in a hurry. Five minutes later, he received a message from Yan Xun.
“…I didn’t realize it was a video call.”
Xueshan: “Oh, really? I thought you did it on purpose.”
…
The chat went silent for a few minutes, and Yan Xun skipped the topic entirely.
“What time will you be home tonight?”
Xueshan: “Around eight. I want beef stew with potatoes.”
The reply, filled with the warmth of everyday life, left Yan Xun momentarily dazed, softening the embarrassment of being seen in the shower. He instinctively agreed:
“Okay, anything else?”
This time Xueshan replied quickly: “Steamed ribs, steamed bass.”
—All dishes Yan Xun excelled at.
Due to his family environment, Yan Xun had learned to cook from a young age. While not a professional chef, his home-cooked meals were excellent.
But hearing these words from Chu Tingyun’s mouth felt a bit disjointed. Then again, they had been married for three years, so such a conversation was normal.
It even felt a bit warm.
If he forgot about the divorce, this was almost exactly what Yan Xun had imagined a happy family to be like.
Something inside him softened. He replied to his spouse:
“I’ll cook and wait for you to come home.”
Chu Tingyun looked at the message for a few seconds before replying: “Mhm~”
After the conversation ended, Yan Xun turned off his phone and placed it facedown on the sink.
The mirror in front of him reflected the young man at that moment, water droplets falling from his soaked hair, and the thin white t-shirt clinging to his body, faintly outlining his firm chest and abdomen.
In fact, a month’s time had been enough for him to get used to his current body. Compared to before, there were some subtle changes, but all could be described as “mature.”
Except for one thing.
He stared at the mirror for a moment before lifting his shirt to touch the skin on his lower abdomen.
Earlier that morning, before leaving the hospital, Yan Xun had specifically sought out Nurse Zhao. After much hesitation, he finally couldn’t help but ask the question that had been bothering him—
“Do you shave the entire body when rescuing a car accident victim?”
Nurse Zhao answered the question very professionally.
“Generally, we only prepare the areas that need surgery.”
Yan Xun: “…”
He understood the implication, so in the end, he had to assume that his future self had developed a habit of hair removal for some reason.
…Well, it’s a good habit to stay clean, after all.
Yan Xun stopped thinking about it and forced himself to forget the video call.
It was no big deal, really. The top-right corner of a WeChat video shows your own image, so Yan Xun knew the camera only caught his upper body. Besides… he and Chu Tingyun were already married.
—They were married.
Yan Xun convinced himself.
He dried his hair and changed into a new set of clothes.
Suddenly, something came to mind, and Yan Xun sent another message to Chu Tingyun.
“When are we getting the cat back?”
Before, one was in the hospital and the other on a business trip, so naturally, the cat had to be put into temporary care. Now that Yan Xun had recovered, he thought about bringing the cat back to take care of it himself.
“Not for now.”
The reply came quickly.
“?”
Yan Xun sent a question mark.
Xueshan: “It’s the changing season, and I’m a bit allergic. Let’s wait a few more days.”
That was a reason he couldn’t argue with.
At six in the evening, Chu Tingyun’s plane landed at the capital airport.
At 7:50 p.m., a black Maybach pulled into the old suburban neighborhood, which looked entirely out of place.
At 8 p.m. sharp, Chu Tingyun stood at the door and sent Yan Xun a message—
“Open the door.”
The old security door didn’t look very clean, and President Chu, with his mild OCD, didn’t want to touch it.
Click—
The door was quickly opened from the inside.
The hallway was dim, making the light from inside the house seem especially warm. Even the person who opened the door seemed warm.
Yan Xun smiled at him:
“You’re back?”
“…”
Chu Tingyun was momentarily stunned. His gaze lingered on the youth’s face for a few seconds before he softly responded.
“Yeah.”
Then he came in, changed shoes, and sanitized.
Yan Xun had prepared everything Chu Tingyun said he wanted, all laid out on the table, steaming and filling the room with an enticing aroma.
The man took a bottle of wine from the fridge, decanted it, and poured two glasses. Yan Xun didn’t recognize the brand, but he figured it must be something expensive.
Just like any ordinary, happy family, they sat together for a meal, looking warm and content.
Until Yan Xun casually said:
“I thought when you said ‘home,’ you didn’t mean here.”
This wasn’t their marital home, but the place Yan Xun had rented after quitting his job two months ago.
If they had started discussing divorce at that time, Chu Tingyun wouldn’t be living here. If they had reconciled, they would have moved back to the big house in the city.
Yan Xun had only planned to visit the rental and ask Chu Tingyun where he was staying. But when he came back, it was as though Chu had assumed this was where he’d be.
Chu Tingyun’s eyes darkened. He put down his chopsticks and took a sip of wine.
“I called you on video. The background was pretty recognizable.”
Then, he smiled at Yan Xun. “Since you were here, I just came straight over.”
Without giving Yan Xun much time to react, Chu Tingyun changed the subject.
“Are you free on the 10th?”
“The 10th… the day after tomorrow?”
Since Yan Xun had quit his job, he didn’t have anything going on.
“Yeah, why?”
Chu Tingyun placed a piece of fish in Yan Xun’s bowl, his tone calm and unhurried:
“We’re attending a wedding.”
“A wedding?”
The topic shift was a bit abrupt. Yan Xun instinctively poked at the fish with his chopsticks and asked,
“Whose wedding?”
Chu Tingyun smiled at him: “You’ll find out when we get there. It might be a pleasant surprise.”
“You don’t plan to tell him again, do you?”
Yan Xun thought for a moment and then asked, “So, what’s our relationship with the newlyweds? How much should we prepare for the wedding gift?”
“You don’t need to worry about the wedding gift.”
Chu Tingyun looked at him and said, “We’re considered relatives on the bride’s side, but you’re quite close to her. If it’s not too much trouble, you could prepare an extra gift.”
Relatives on the bride’s side?
Yan Xun thought that the bride must be Chu Tingyun’s relative. As for being close, maybe it just meant they got along well?
“Alright.”
Yan Xun agreed.
In fact, he didn’t really care much about the wedding Chu Tingyun was talking about. Comparatively, Yan Xun was more concerned about matters between him and Chu Tingyun.
“…Chu Tingyun.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you hiding something from me?”
The question came unexpectedly, but Chu Tingyun didn’t seem surprised.
“Like what?”
Yan Xun looked into his eyes. “Ever since we first met, you’ve been avoiding topics about the past. Why?”
“Well…”
Chu Tingyun put down his chopsticks, turned his head, and looked at him.
“Do you want to know?”
“Yes.”
Yan Xun had actually wanted to ask this question for a long time, but at that time he had been in the hospital, and Chu Tingyun had been on a business trip in City A.
For matters like this, it’s better to ask face-to-face.
Upon hearing this, the man smiled, pushing his wine glass toward Yan Xun.
“Finish this, and I’ll tell you.”
“…”
Yan Xun frowned. He wasn’t really good at drinking.
Back in middle school, Zhou Ze had stolen two bottles of his dad’s good liquor and coaxed Yan Xun into drinking with him. After just two cups, Yan Xun had passed out, scaring his best friend half to death. Since then, Yan Xun had realized that he probably had fewer alcohol-degrading enzymes in his body.
But it was only half a glass of red wine, not much at all.
So Yan Xun silently took it and downed it in one go.
However, in the next second, Chu Tingyun suddenly stood up and grabbed Yan Xun’s jaw.
“Mm…”
The neck of the wine bottle pressed against his mouth, and the crimson liquid poured in.
Caught off guard, Yan Xun was forced to gulp down several mouthfuls, the spilled wine trickling down his throat, soaking a large area around his collarbone.
But he reacted quickly, grabbing Chu Tingyun’s wrist in return.
Bang!
Chu Tingyun’s glasses and the wine bottle both crashed to the floor, the latter shattering into pieces, scattering the crimson wine everywhere.
In just two seconds, the situation had reversed.
Yan Xun had pinned him down, pressing him against the sideboard. Anger and the spilled wine made his voice sound a bit husky.
“Chu Tingyun, what are you doing?”
“Helping you.”
Chu Tingyun showed no sign of being flustered despite being pinned down. Instead, he smiled.
“Does it remind you of something, Yan Xun?”
“What…”
Without warning, Chu Tingyun kissed him on the lips.
“The first time you kissed me was just like this.”
