“I asked for too much, and you couldn’t handle it.”
This statement sounds quite casual, but it is the truth.
He indeed asked for too much.
Chu Tingyun not only wanted Yan Xun’s body but also his heart.
But Yan Xun was unwilling.
Even though they had married due to various reasons, Yan Xun never stopped trying to find ways to leave him.
On the day they got their marriage certificate, Chu Tingyun’s first action was to announce it to the world and eagerly plan their upcoming honeymoon and future life.
Meanwhile, Yan Xun was urgently looking for a job.
In the three years of their marriage, he worked hard to earn money. As soon as he saved enough to repay the debt Chu Tingyun had helped him with, he couldn’t wait to propose a divorce.
Chu Tingyun disagreed, so Yan Xun took the cat and left, quitting his job as well. He only sent back a signed divorce agreement and two cold bank cards.
One card was given by Chu Tingyun at the time of their marriage. He deposited one million each month into it. After three years, Yan Xun hadn’t touched a single cent.
The other card contained all of Yan Xun’s savings—six million.
Three million was earned through hard work and various side jobs over the three years, and the remaining three million was from the demolition of the old Lin family house.
At the moment he received the cards, Chu Tingyun found it quite ridiculous.
He found himself to be very laughable.
Look, someone like Yan Xun, who was almost willing to fully dedicate himself to the family, now preferred to take the family money and get a divorce.
He really wanted a divorce.
At that moment, Chu Tingyun finally understood that this forced marriage was a complete self-deception joke.
But unfortunately, he just couldn’t accept it.
Even if it was a joke, it had to be one he would tell until his death.
But they weren’t in that secluded snowy villa anymore, and Yan Xun was no longer the male college student who didn’t understand anything and relied entirely on Chu Tingyun.
Chu Tingyun couldn’t lock Yan Xun up anymore, nor could he coerce him with money.
So in the end, Chu Tingyun could only use Yan Xun’s favorite cat as a bargaining chip, struggling to maintain the already completely broken marriage.
At that time, he had prepared himself for a mutual tearing and tormenting, ending with both of them hurt and miserable.
However, at this time, Yan Xun lost his memory.
This was truly a…
—Enormous piece of good news!
So Chu Tingyun quickly fabricated a lie.
As for how to explain the reason for the divorce to his amnesiac little husband… Mr. Chu had racked his brains over this.
Because he had to come up with a reason that wouldn’t touch this obedient student’s moral boundaries, wouldn’t hurt their relationship, and would also make Yan Xun willingly come closer to him.
For example—
A man’s dignity.
“You’re still young, and you can’t handle that aspect.”
“I asked for too much, and you couldn’t handle it.”
These two sentences are similar in meaning but differ in context.
The former suggests Chu Tingyun disdains Yan Xun’s capabilities and decides to divorce, while the latter implies Yan Xun finds himself unable to cope with Chu Tingyun’s excessive desires and wants a divorce.
It sounds absurd, but logically, it’s reasonable for the one proposing the divorce.
Of course, this reasoning only holds if Yan Xun is indeed “incapable.”
Without self-evidence, it can’t be disproved. If self-evidence is provided… it would be just what Chu Tingyun hoped for.
When Yan Xun walked over holding the bouquet earlier, Chu Tingyun had already been thinking about how to drag him back and have him immediately.
At this moment, Chu Tingyun had Yan Xun cornered on the edge of the sofa and was leisurely observing his reaction.
“……”
The young man pressed his lips together. After a brief shock and nervousness, he quickly forced himself to calm down, no longer blushing and flustered at the mention of “that aspect” as he had been before.
Chu Tingyun thought it was pity.
The pure-hearted male college student seemed to have grown up too quickly.
Yan Xun’s expression was calm. He coldly pulled Chu Tingyun’s hand off his chest.
“Chu Tingyun, I’ve shown you the hospital check-up results before.”
“Hmm, I saw.”
Chu Tingyun was not satisfied with this answer.
He leaned forward a bit more, looked up at Yan Xun, and whispered:
“There’s quite a difference between being healthy and being vigorous, isn’t there?”
Yan Xun: “……”
Vigorous…
The deleted video scenes suddenly flashed through his mind frame by frame.
The reserved, pure-hearted male college student suddenly found it hard to hold himself together. His eyelashes trembled, and he awkwardly turned his head away to avoid eye contact.
From this angle, Chu Tingyun could see Yan Xun’s clean, handsome profile, with his lowered eyes and slightly furrowed brows showing an expression of restrained embarrassment, making even the subtle movements of his Adam’s apple appear exceptionally attractive.
He seemed to be suppressing something and whispered irritably, “Chu Tingyun, be serious.”
Initially, Yan Xun had many doubts about Zhou Ze’s claims. But after he had just woken from a coma and with various people and evidence corroborating it, he had done the check-up to temporarily stabilize the marriage.
But now, the doubts and contradictions had increased, and Chu Tingyun was always evasive about past matters, so Yan Xun couldn’t completely believe what he said.
“Serious?”
Chu Tingyun used his other hand to pinch Yan Xun’s chin, forcing him to look at him, and asked with a smile,
“What do you mean by serious?”
His thumb lightly caressed the dimple on Yan Xun’s face, adding a touch of ambiguity to this forced action.
“……”
Yan Xun had to grab his wrist again, pulling it down. Probably due to some irritation, he even twisted both of Chu Tingyun’s hands behind his back, thus trapping him entirely in his embrace.
“Chu Tingyun, stop changing the subject.”
“Alright.”
The previously relentless Mr. Chu immediately softened. He casually leaned against Yan Xun in this position, almost putting two-thirds of his weight on him.
“But I am indeed speaking the truth.”
Chu Tingyun quickly retracted the previously frivolous, teasing demeanor.
With his beautiful face, he blinked innocently and said:
“Xunxun, if you don’t believe it, I can’t help it.”
Yan Xun: “……”
He had never encountered someone like Chu Tingyun before. His actions and words were always unpredictable, like a piece of candy—both hard and soft, sticky and sly.
Yan Xun stared at Chu Tingyun for a few seconds, then suddenly released his grip and pushed him away.
“Stand properly.”
“What, did you lose your strength after hugging for a while?”
Chu Tingyun reached out and pulled Yan Xun’s tie to bring him closer, saying,
“Wasn’t it quite strong when you knocked people over with the flowers?”
Yan Xun: “……”
At this moment, he suddenly confirmed one thing…
The elegant, distinguished, gentle, and composed man he met for the first time was definitely all an act.
And at the same time, Chu Tingyun seemed to suddenly realize this.
Tsk!
Today was so enjoyable that he even forgot to keep up the pretense.
After all, according to the setting, he was still the weak CEO, reluctantly submitting to a male college student’s forceful advances.
“Ahem…”
President Chu loosened Yan Xun’s tie, stood up straight, and slowly tidied up his wrinkled shirt, his tone finally returning to normal.
“Anyway, if this thing turns out to be a lie, I’ll be impotent and never able to get it up again. Is that okay?”
“…”
The content of this oath seemed oddly familiar; Chu Tingyun had said the same thing last time.
Yan Xun didn’t reply. Suddenly, he thought of something and began to scrutinize Chu Tingyun with a probing gaze, eventually casting a suspicious look at a certain part of him.
“Chu Tingyun, you wouldn’t have already…”
“Hm?”
Chu Tingyun could tell from Yan Xun’s expression what he was thinking.
In fact, he originally wanted to say, “Why don’t I just show you right now?”
But such a vulgar remark would be too out of character, so he swallowed it and opted for a more elegant response.
“Otherwise, I could also go get a check-up and show you.”
As he spoke, Chu Tingyun had already walked over to the table and started tending to his bouquet again. Although now it shouldn’t be called a bouquet since the wrapping had been removed after the photoshoot.
On the way back, Chu Tingyun had specifically checked; these flowers were lilies of the valley, very delicate and rarely found domestically, mostly imported from the Netherlands by air.
So to keep them alive, they needed to be cared for with utmost caution.
Yan Xun watched as Chu Tingyun rolled up his sleeves, casually tossed aside his expensive watch, and carefully moved the flowers into a vase.
His demeanor was focused, serious, and carried a hint of genuine joy and affection.
The breeze lifted the nearby white sheer curtain, brushing past the lilies in the man’s hands, bringing a hint of sweet fragrance.
Yan Xun was stunned for a moment and let out a gentle breath.
“…No need.”
For some reason, he suddenly didn’t want to pursue the question further.
Yan Xun walked over, rolled up his sleeves, and helped him.
“Where’s Baobao? When should we go pick it up?”
The young man’s tone softened, sounding even a bit gentle.
“…?”
Chu Tingyun paused in his actions. He didn’t immediately respond but looked up at Yan Xun with a bit of surprise.
He had thought he would have to rack his brains for an excuse, but the other person didn’t question him any further.
It was baffling and seemed illogical.
But at this moment, something else caught Yan Xun’s attention.
Picking up the cat… that could be managed.
Although Chu Tingyun’s original plan was to spend a few days enjoying himself with his little husband before picking up that big “light bulb.”
Moreover, he was afraid that Yan Xun might suddenly regain his memory and run away with the cat, which was why he had been delaying the matter.
But after today, Chu Tingyun was thoroughly convinced that Yan Xun’s memory would not return in the short term, not even a fragment of it.
After all, today he had attended Jiang Jingshu’s wedding without any reaction. He even specifically went to grab the bouquet.
Tsk.
Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but savor the moment in his mind.
Anyway, Chu Tingyun was in a great mood now and said cheerfully:
“If you’re in a hurry, we can go tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Yan Xun was indeed happy, but then he thought of something and asked,
“But weren’t you allergic before? Even if you’re better, you should still be careful. Waiting another couple of days would be fine.”
“…”
Oops, almost forgot about that.
Chu Tingyun pursed his lips and said generously:
“It’s okay. I took medication and I’m fine now.”
“Okay then.”
At this, Yan Xun finally smiled.
The two dimples made his originally cold and handsome face suddenly look very sweet, as if the surrounding world had brightened up.
Chu Tingyun looked at him and suddenly had a thought—
What if Yan Xun never regained his memory?
Let all the bad memories of the past be forgotten, buried, and eventually disappear with time.
That would make both him and Yan Xun very happy.
The “he” here refers to both Yan Xun and Chu Tingyun himself.
After arranging the flowers, they had dinner, which was Chinese takeout.
Afterward, Chu Tingyun didn’t continue to follow Yan Xun around, as he still had work to do as the company president.
He dealt with important emails, documents, and project progress, and there were two cross-national meetings in the evening.
Yan Xun didn’t stay in the study with him but finished organizing the things moved from the rental house.
This included the trench coat Chu Tingyun had lent him the first time they met. Yan Xun searched and took out the two lychee candies from the pocket.
The pink packaging with cute lychee doodles.
Yan Xun didn’t remember liking lychees; in fact, he rarely ate them because such expensive and heat-producing fruit was not something his family would usually buy.
Back then, they had little money, and his father’s martial arts school was struggling, so it was eventually closed down and his father went into woodworking. With the limited living expenses each month, his mother would prioritize buying nourishing things for Lin Ran.
But Lin Ran was picky with food, disliking this and that, so half of those things ended up in the stomach of little Yan Xun, making him tall and looking more like Lin Ran’s older brother.
But lychees were not among them.
Yet yesterday, Chu Tingyun said he liked lychees very much. He even bought a lot in the middle of the night and sent them wrapped like a bouquet.
At that moment, without warning, Yan Xun suddenly had a thought that maybe these lychee candies in the trench coat were also specially brought for him by Chu Tingyun.
Perhaps so.
But it was also possible that Yan Xun was being overly sentimental.
However, he didn’t plan to directly ask. He just secretly took out the two candies, put them in his pocket, and then hung the trench coat back in place.
After everything was organized, Yan Xun familiarized himself with the house and Chu Tingyun’s former home.
A 300-square-meter house, keeping only the master bedroom and completely eliminating the possibility of any friends or relatives staying over, or of arguing and sleeping apart.
The rest included the kitchen, living and dining rooms, study, cloakroom, gym, and a cat room converted from a spare bedroom.
It was evidently meticulously arranged, with full-wall cat climbing frames, handmade wooden cat beds, a small cat dining area, a full cabinet of cat food, cans, and snacks, and an air purifier specifically for cat hair.
There was no litter box; the cat had its own private bathroom.
Everything was clean, meeting cleanliness standards, and was consistent with what Chu Tingyun had told Yan Xun about their home having a little cat.
Yan Xun now realized they had indeed taken very good care of the cat, as if they were raising a child together, to the point of fighting for custody during the divorce.
Although that wasn’t the case, at this moment, Yan Xun felt his heart soften for his own imaginings.
He suddenly started looking forward to tomorrow.
At this time, President Chu, who was engrossed in work, was unaware that Yan Xun had already gone through a round of happy marital and family self-imagining.
By the time Chu Tingyun finished all his tasks, it was already 11 PM.
He sent a message to Gu Shanqing.
Chu Tingyun: “Come pick up the cat tomorrow.”
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “!!!”
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “Thank heavens, thank heavens! Hurry up and get your ancestor out of my house!”
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “He’s making my dog so depressed!”
Shanqing Shui Xiu: Dog crying.jpg
Just after sending the emoji, Gu Shanqing suddenly realized.
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “So Yan Xun grabbed the bouquet today just to get the cat back?”
The Jiang and He families’ marriage alliance invited many guests, and Gu Shanqing was among those invited. But since Chu Tingyun and Yan Xun arrived late and left early, there was no chance to speak.
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “I was wondering why he looked like he had been possessed by someone today; it really shocked me.”
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “But you need to hurry and sort out things at home. Xinghen is preparing for its IPO in a couple of months. It can’t afford any issues.”
Xinghen was a technology company specializing in artificial intelligence, founded by Gu Shanqing seven years ago, and Chu Tingyun was brought in after three years of rapid development.
No special reason, mainly because President Chu had plenty of money and was easy to deal with.
Chu Tingyun, on the other hand, had always wanted to break away from the Jiang family, so he had invested in several companies privately, with Xinghen being one of the most promising and successful.
When Yan Xun said he wanted to find a job, Chu Tingyun wanted him to join Xinghen, as it was a good match for his expertise and also their own company. But Yan Xun refused thoroughly because he didn’t want to be under Chu Tingyun’s constant surveillance.
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “What time exactly tomorrow? I’ll be at home waiting for you.”
Through the screen, Gu Shanqing couldn’t see the expressionless face of the other person. Then he received a message—
Chu Tingyun: “Just wait.”
Shanqing Shui Xiu: “…?”
President Chu stared at his phone with a blank face.
Did grabbing the bouquet have something to do with the cat?
Heh—
Just wait for tomorrow.
Turning off his computer, Chu Tingyun left the study and returned to the bedroom. Before he entered, he suddenly heard a sound from inside.
It was an electronic female voice translating:
“The three fat kings and their ministers have already surrendered…”
Then, the female voice repeated it in Russian.
Chu Tingyun was taken aback.
He gently pushed open the door and saw Yan Xun sitting on the bed, holding a Russian storybook and reading.
The hair wax the young man had applied in the morning had already been washed out, and his black, messy hair fell down, scattered across his forehead. The warm light at the head of the bed kissed his handsome face, giving his originally indifferent brows and eyes an indescribable softness and calm.
Yan Xun was reading intently, listening to each sentence and taking it in like a diligent student learning a foreign language, not noticing someone standing at the door.
“…”
Chu Tingyun seemed to be rooted to the spot at the door. After a while, he gently approached Yan Xun.
“Человек не должен быть лишен своего сердца…”
This sentence was no longer narrated by the electronic female voice but was spoken by a mature, deep, slightly magnetic male voice, like the first breath of wind at sunrise in a snowy country.
Yan Xun was startled and looked up, just in time to meet a pair of beautiful blue eyes. He heard Chu Tingyun slowly recite:
“A person should not be deprived of his heart.”
“No iron, ice, or golden heart can replace a simple, real human heart.” (Excerpt from The Three Fat Kings)
“…”
Yan Xun stared blankly for a few seconds, then awkwardly rubbed his ear and asked:
“Did you finish working?”
Pausing, he added,
“You said I could read these books.”
“Mm.”
At this moment, President Chu’s mood was so ecstatic that he wanted to rush to Gu Shanqing’s house immediately, drag the person back, and make him see how adorable his little husband was.
But on the surface, Chu Tingyun only nodded with composure, appearing very generous:
“Feel free to read.”
Then, he glanced at the translation app on Yan Xun’s phone and said with a bit of disdain:
“But don’t use machine translation; it’s too rigid.”
When he said this, the man’s entire demeanor almost clearly displayed the words—
Let! Me! Do it!
“…Okay.”
Yan Xun nodded, then placed the book on the bedside table, seemingly intending to end his evening reading session.
“Since you’re done with work, you should go to bed early.”
Chu Tingyun: “…”
He stood in place for a minute, seeing that Yan Xun indeed had no intention of continuing reading.
Chu Tingyun did not leave but instead sat next to Yan Xun, pretending to be casual, and asked:
“What do you think of this book?”
Yan Xun said: “I haven’t finished it yet.”
Chu Tingyun: “…”
But then the young man thought for a moment and said:
“However, the sentence you just recited was quite well-written.”
“Really?”
Chu Tingyun paused and asked,
“Do you want to try reciting it?”
Try reciting?
Yan Xun did not refuse: “Mm.”
But Chu Tingyun did not immediately speak. Instead, he took Yan Xun’s hand and placed it on his own throat, then began to teach him how to pronounce the words.
As he spoke, his fingertips clearly felt the vibrations of the man’s vocal cords and the movement of his Adam’s apple. It was as if countless electrical currents surged from his palm, spreading to his entire forearm.
Yan Xun stumbled through a few words with him but always had trouble pronouncing the rolled “r” sound.
The young man shook his head: “Maybe it’s a genetic issue. I’m not good at this.”
Chu Tingyun thought for a moment and said: “It’s not much related to genetics. It might be that your tongue isn’t very agile.”
Yan Xun: “…?”
Not very agile?
Before he could react, he suddenly felt warmth on his lips.
“Mmm…”
Chu Tingyun suddenly kissed him.
___
Author’s note:
And showed off a nimble tongue.
Note: The quoted sentences in the text are from The Three Fat Kings.
