[Dou Manning: Let me tell you something, I have a husband now. You’ve met him, he’s the worker who buys coffee at the construction site.]

[Xiangzhen: Congratulations! Now that you have a husband, you won’t be afraid of thunder anymore.]

Xiangzhen was genuinely happy for Dou Manning. They both had husbands now, decent jobs, and growing small businesses; life was getting better day by day.

[Xiangzhen: I’ll tell Aunt Guihua during the Dragon Boat Festival.]

[Dou Manning: Me too.]

This would be double the joy for Aunt Guihua.

However, there was a minor issue: although he and Dou Manning were not of the same species, they were both registered under Aunt Guihua’s household register, making them nominal brothers.

This was probably why spirits rarely returned to the Spirit Village after entering human society—if they happened to bump into each other, it would be impossible to explain.

They had to stagger their trips back home to avoid overlapping.

“Capitalists are truly wasteful! The money used to grow sunflowers for a year could save so many people!” An old uncle grew impatient while waiting in line with his wife and grumbled offhandedly.

The old aunt rolled her eyes at him: “Listen to you. Why don’t you go curse the entire city’s green belts too?”

The old uncle: “I curse the green belts too!”

Xiangzhen quietly shifted a few steps away from the old uncle, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Seeing Xiangzhen, the old aunt asked in a pleasant and gentle tone, “Young man, how do you take care of your suit? My son comes back from running business errands every day with his suit all wrinkled, and I don’t know how to wash it either.”

Even on such a scorching hot day, Xiangzhen’s suit still gave off a clean, crisp, and refreshing impression.

Xiangzhen: “I don’t know, my husband washes all of them.”

Aside from that one time when Zhou Sicheng intentionally teased him, Xiangzhen hadn’t washed clothes in a very long time. His underwear was hand-washed by Zhou Sicheng, and as for other clothes, Zhou Sicheng brought them to his company in the morning to wash for free—saving water and electricity, effectively fleeceing the capitalist’s sheep.

The word “husband” was quite a shock to the elderly couple; the two of them stared at Xiangzhen, completely speechless.

The hair on the nape of Xiangzhen’s neck brushed against his collar; it was a bit long, feeling hot and stuffy. Every morning before leaving the house, Zhou Sicheng would tie a little topknot for him, but his hair was too smooth and fine to hold securely, so it automatically fell loose by afternoon.

It’s so hot. I should cut my hair a bit shorter tonight.

He turned his head to look at the Zhoufu Headquarters building—it was even grander than a bank. Which floor inside was Zhou Sicheng working on? Could he go inside to catch his breath and cool off?

Xiangzhen directly asked the security guard, “May I go into the building to look around?”

Security guard: “No, it’s not open to the public.”

So strict.

Xiangzhen didn’t dare say his husband worked inside. If a wife suddenly came to visit in the middle of a workday, Zhou Sicheng’s superior would think his wife was very odd, while Zhou Sicheng’s colleagues might mistakenly think he had come to catch him cheating.

In short, it would affect his husband’s promotion.

Xiangzhen continued to wait in line under the scorching sun. He guessed Zhou Sicheng should be eating in the cafeteria right now and would have time to chat, so he opened their conversation thread.

[Xiangzhen: Manning found a husband too!]

[Zhou Sicheng: Good thing.]

[Xiao Kui: @Zhou Sicheng, your reaction is way too plain! You don’t seem very happy at all!]

Zhou Sicheng was speechless. Why should he be so overjoyed about someone else’s business?

He was currently on an international call with overseas executives. Was he supposed to hang up the phone just to call Dou Manning and say congratulations?

Besides, he had long anticipated this matter.

Yesterday, he had met with Shen Ku.

Shen Ku had opened with a line: “Your wife is a very pure person. He can endure hardship and is very satisfied earning a few dozen yuan a day.”

Zhou Sicheng’s face had turned cold. Turns out he hadn’t come to report on the engineering project, but to flaunt in front of him.

Xiangzhen could endure hardship, so what? Was he trying to say his wealth was of no use here? Trying to warn him to treat Xiangzhen better? Heh.

Zhou Sicheng was slightly curious about how Xiangzhen had met him, but he would absolutely never ask Shen Ku.

Rather than hearing a self-aggrandizing, beautified version from Shen Ku, it was better to go home and ask his wife.

The two had immediately fallen into a cold silence, proving that when opinions diverged, even half a word was too much.

After finishing his coffee, Zhou Sicheng prepared to see his guest off.

Before leaving, Shen Ku threw out another line: “Take good care of Manning.”

Turns out he thought Dou Manning was intercepted by me.

Well, that moment in the moments feed indeed had some ambiguity.

After Zhou Sicheng cleared things up, Shen Ku was clearly ready to take action—if that interception was a misunderstanding, what about next time? Coffee with added milk was too bitter; he didn’t want to taste it ever again.

Zhou Sicheng’s call with overseas went on for two whole hours, lasting until one in the afternoon. Since he was too lazy to go on a business trip, this was the only way.

He turned off his screen and looked out the window. His office faced the sea view, not the Sunflower Plaza in front.

The sky was so blue today—another fine day that Xiangzhen loved.

Zhou Sicheng retracted his gaze, which fell onto the calendar on his desk.

June 15th, the first day of the fifth lunar month.

The fifth lunar month was also known as the “Poisonous Month,” the beginning of humid heat and the breeding season for mosquitoes and bugs. Not counting the days he was away on business trips, as of today, he and Xiangzhen had spent a full month living in the rented apartment.

Living a mundane life of daily necessities wasn’t bad, not to mention they spent their days in sweet intimacy.

However, he could no longer let Xiangzhen live in a room without window screens that offered no protection against mosquitoes.

Zhou Sicheng planned to lay his cards on the table.

First,

Zhou Sicheng got up and walked toward the cafeteria, calling the housekeeper along the way: “Redecorate my bedroom.”

“What style?” Zhou Sicheng thought for a moment, “Paste Double Happiness cutouts on all the doors and windows. I’ll send you some photos; print them out to put in display frames. I want a dual portrait hanging at the head of the bed.”

The housekeeper was slightly shocked. Young Master Zhou…

The more Zhou Sicheng thought about it, the sweeter he felt. He pulled out his wallet and glanced at it. On the day after he received his wife’s gift, he had dragged Xiangzhen to a photo studio to take a joint photo against a red background. Both of them wore white collared shirts buttoned up to the top—a standard format that could be used on a marriage certificate.

Zhou Sicheng admired it for a moment before putting it back into his pocket. Prior to this, he hadn’t used a wallet in a very long time.

Now, he took out the wallet just to casually display it.

Housekeeper: “Is there anything else?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Madam likes desserts; hire a pastry chef.”

Housekeeper: “Understood.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Have Uncle Zhang tidy up the sunflowers in the garden. Over thirty more pots of sunflowers will be moved over later.”

Housekeeper: “Understood.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Clear out the smallest guest room on the third floor and drill an exhaust outlet for a range hood.”

The range hood his wife bought for him had to be uninstalled and brought over.

Not just the range hood—Zhou Sicheng planned to recreate the exact setup of their rented apartment, so they could still experience it occasionally.

Zhou Sicheng sent the 360-degree full-room imagery of the rented apartment to the housekeeper: “Recreate it according to this.”

The design had to be identical, but the materials couldn’t be cheap.

This was the first time the housekeeper learned that Zhou Sicheng had been living in such a house outside, leaving him speechless for a long time.

Zhou Sicheng had many requirements and even began doubting the housekeeper’s capabilities. Bringing his wife home for the first time, he was deeply afraid that Xiangzhen might be dissatisfied with something. “Carry out these tasks first; I’ll make time to go back and arrange things myself.”

Housekeeper: “I’ll handle it immediately.”

Suppressing an unprovoked sense of nervous anticipation, Zhou Sicheng walked into the cafeteria and picked a seat by the window.

This spot was perfect for admiring the sunflowers on the plaza.

Right now, the sunflowers raised their golden flower heads, turning in unison to chase the midday sun.

Zhou Sicheng recalled that the patch of sunflowers at home had also bloomed with vibrant petals.

Sunflowers were a type of flower that demonstrated a passionate, beautiful vitality and forever chased after hope.

Never since the age of twelve had Zhou Sicheng’s life been so vivid, stirring, and brimming with radiant light.

When the sunflowers bloomed at their most passionate, he would welcome his wife home.

……

As Zhou Sicheng watched, his brows suddenly furrowed.

Xiangzhen was right downstairs.

He couldn’t possibly mistake that golden hair.

While he was here enjoying the air conditioning, his wife was outside under the blazing sun, standing in a long line.

The temperature outside was as high as 35°C. Xiangzhen was queuing up to take pictures with the sunflowers.

He seemed a bit dazed from the sun, rubbing his forehead constantly and occasionally raising a hand to shade his eyes.

Xiangzhen wasn’t usually afraid of heat, but right now he looked as if he was about to get heatstroke. Sitting at such a height, Zhou Sicheng couldn’t see his face clearly, but he estimated his lips were probably pale as well.

An instant surge of anxious, painful regret welled up in Zhou Sicheng’s heart. His wife’s body was not suited for waiting in line… Well, he wasn’t entirely clear on his wife’s exact physical condition either, but in any case, it wasn’t suited for this.

If only he had laid his cards on the table earlier, he could have cleared the field today, allowing the entire field of sunflowers to bloom solely for his wife.

Zhou Sicheng immediately called Xiangzhen to tell him to come inside to escape the heat, then called the security office to permit the golden-haired youth entry. He sprinted toward the elevator himself, happening to bump into Secretary Gao, who was delivering materials.

He forced himself to calm down and said, “Gao Ou, you go pick up Xiangzhen. I’ll wait here.”

Gao Ou: “Alright.”

Speaking like a tyrant, Zhou Sicheng ordered, “The weather is too hot; clear the field downstairs immediately.”

He used a grand, high-sounding excuse, when in truth he simply wanted no one else around so Xiangzhen could take a photo later.

Gao Ou advised tactfully: “The PR department originally planned to issue a statement tonight, stating that large crowds affect the group’s office work, and that the heat radiation from the glass curtain wall during extreme summer heat is severe. To prevent tourists from feeling unwell, the plaza will no longer be open to the public starting tomorrow.”

The plaza was a private landscape design; no major corporate headquarters would allow the space in front of their main entrance to be as chaotic as a bustling food market. If an accident happened due to overcrowding, they would have to bear liability.

However, suddenly driving people away right now wouldn’t look very nice.

“After all, it concerns the image of Little Sunflower Bag.”

Zhou Sicheng’s stubborn mind remained locked: “Go ask Little Sunflower Bag whether its image is more important, or its mother is more important?”

Secretary Gao: “…Naturally the latter.” Even an AI had its own death-trap questions.

Zhou Sicheng: “Didn’t the warehouse move a batch of Dragon Boat Festival gift boxes over? Take them out and distribute them—turn away as many as you can.”

If there were lavish gifts provided alongside a polite turn-away for weather reasons, then Zhoufu would appear to be a humane and caring group.

Secretary Gao jogged a few steps and met up with Xiangzhen at the main entrance: “Mr. Xiang, what a coincidence.”

“Mr. Gao, so you work here!”

“Yes, I’m colleagues with Mr. Zhou. Are you looking for him?”

Xiangzhen followed Gao Ou into the elevator. Looking up, he saw Zhou Sicheng standing inside.

“Husband.”

Zhou Sicheng pulled him into an embrace, letting him lean against his chest: “Tired?”

Xiangzhen’s throat felt a bit dry, “Husband, I want to drink water.”

Zhou Sicheng was heartbroken for him and pressed the button for the cafeteria floor, “I’ll take you to the cafeteria to eat.”

When the elevator reached the floor, Secretary Gao went ahead first.

Zhou Sicheng squatted down and picked up his listless wife onto his back.

With Secretary Gao leading the way ahead, they didn’t run into a single person on their way to the private dining room in the cafeteria.

After lying on his husband’s back for a while, Xiangzhen recovered and became lively and bouncing again, “Husband, your company is even grander than my company.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Mm, they’re all our companies.”

Reaching the private room, Zhou Sicheng unscrewed several bottles of room-temperature drinks: “Drink slowly.”

President Zhou’s lunch had just been prepared, and Secretary Gao personally brought it inside, “Just helping to bring it over for you.”

Xiangzhen curved his eyes in a smile: “Thank you on behalf of my husband.”

“Husband, haven’t you eaten yet?” Xiangzhen looked down sympathetically, only to see that Zhou Sicheng’s lunch actually featured baked lobster. He swallowed his saliva, “Husband, do you eat so well for lunch?”

Zhou Sicheng: “…” He deserved to die; he was eating luxuriously all by himself.

Zhou Sicheng: “Because I registered that my wife was coming to visit for the first time. This is a family welfare perk gifted by the company cafeteria.”

Xiangzhen was stunned: “Is it like this for any employee?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Yes.”

Xiangzhen let his imagination run wild: “Your company’s perks are so good. After working here for a long time, do they even assign housing to employees?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Yes.”

Secretary Gao: ?

Yes to what?! Real estate prices in Haishi are so sky-high; employee housing allocation perks were canceled twenty years ago! Otherwise he would have owned a house long ago!

President Zhou must mean ‘yes’ as in ‘whatever Madam says, I’ll make it happen.’

Xiangzhen: “Mr. Gao, have you had lunch yet? Come sit down and eat together.”

Secretary Gao said, “I just finished eating. I’ll go back to work now.”

Zhou Sicheng shelled the lobster, dipped a piece in some vinegar sauce, and fed it to Xiangzhen.

Xiangzhen opened his mouth and took a big bite, his cheeks puffing up.

Looking at how his wife ate, Zhou Sicheng felt this was truly the life he dreamed of. He had to lay his cards on the table and bring his wife to work here.

“When I get promoted, I’ll give you an internal recommendation so you can come work here too.”

Xiangzhen nodded his head slightly: “Sure.”

Zhou Sicheng clenched his palms tightly. Xiangzhen was always too easy to talk to, far too gentle and temperless. Without realizing it, Zhou Sicheng had been indulged into developing infinite possessiveness and desire for control.

Xiangzhen: “Husband, can I take a look at your office?”

Zhou Sicheng fell silent for a few seconds, hesitating between laying his cards on the table right here or choosing another opportunity.

Just at this moment, Fan Hao called, “Xiangzhen, where did you wander off to again?”

Xiangzhen: “I’m eating at my husband’s company.”

“Zhoufu Building?” Fan Hao carefully repeated, “He’s not pretending anymore?”

Xiangzhen: “Pretending what?”

Fan Hao stopped himself right at the edge of the cliff: “Nothing, he just likes to act cool.”

Xiangzhen twitched his mouth. Where did his husband like to act cool? He was clearly very low-key. “Do you know what university my husband went to?”

Fan Hao played dumb: “Haven’t heard.”

Xiangzhen: “A top 2 university, and he never brags about it.”

Fan Hao smiled. With a wife who won’t allow anyone to say a single bad word about him, Zhou Sicheng, you better not crash your ship.

Fan Hao: “Did you go tour his office? Who knows, there might be a surprise.”

Xiangzhen could totally hear the sarcasm in Fan Hao’s tone. How did Fan Hao become bad like Yueyue? Had Fan Hao come across clips of office affair TV dramas and wanted to imply there was a mistress in the office?

Xiangzhen: “Husband, no matter what others say, I only believe in you.”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

He suddenly found himself caught in a dilemma, utterly unable to tell Xiangzhen, at the exact moment he trusted him most, that everything was a woven lie.

Zhou Sicheng had no choice but to bring Xiangzhen to Secretary Gao’s office.

Sitting behind the office desk, he didn’t know the computer password. Seeing a pair of anti-blue light glasses on the desk, he put them on to try them out, pretending to be very busy.

Secretary Gao’s office was right next to the President’s, and the view outside the window was also very nice.

This was the first time Xiangzhen saw Zhou Sicheng backed by such a high-end office and the vast blue sea.

In his memory, Zhou Sicheng was mostly the Zhou Sicheng wrapped in the cozy warmth of daily life in their rented apartment, the Zhou Sicheng driving a BYD, the Zhou Sicheng sleeping on thirty-yuan pure cotton bedsheets.

A Zhou Sicheng placed in an executive office setting felt very unfamiliar.

Zhou Sicheng wearing gold-rimmed glasses exuded an aura of quiet authority without even trying, looking grand and unreachable.

Of course, suits required the right setting. Appearing in a rented apartment versus appearing in an office building created completely different vibes.

So handsome!

Xiangzhen shouted in his heart.

So handsome that it carried a sense of pressure, deterrence, and a burning intensity.

So handsome that he almost didn’t dare look directly at him, as if looking would scorch his flower disk.

Xiangzhen shifted his gaze away: “Husband, I need to go back to work.”

Zhou Sicheng: “There’s no one downstairs now, you can go take photos. Gao Ou happens to be going to the bank to handle some business, so he can send you back.”

Xiangzhen felt that the way Zhou Sicheng spoke these words sounded somewhat different from before as well.

It had a bit more of a tone of giving orders.

That night, when Xiangzhen and Zhou Sicheng were engaged in their nighttime activities, he also felt a faint burning sensation in his lower abdomen.

Not knowing what he was thinking, while sitting on Zhou Sicheng, he lifted the hem of his nightgown and covered Zhou Sicheng’s face with it.

Without seeing Zhou Sicheng’s face faintly dripping with sensual sweat, it felt much better.

Zhou Sicheng was stunned. Was he inviting him to taste something?

……

This action left Xiangzhen waking up the next morning with sore legs and a bloated lower abdomen.

The next day.

Xiangzhen was still accustomed to wandering around during his lunch break. As he was walking down the street, he suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette inside a wholesale shop.

Uncle Zhang?!

Xiangzhen’s eyes lit up. He wanted to ask Uncle Zhang how on earth he managed to sell sunflowers at such a high price.

Uncle Zhang had come to buy large blue-and-white porcelain tubs for sunflowers—forty of them, which were loaded onto a vehicle that had just driven off.

Xiangzhen ran forward a few steps to pat Uncle Zhang’s shoulder, but just at that moment, a truck sounded a long, loud horn. Uncle Zhang didn’t notice him and directly started his electric moped.

Xiangzhen felt a bit disappointed. Clenching his fingers slightly, he sensed something. Opening his hand, he saw a tiny, extremely minute particle of yellow sunflower pollen.

He would never forget this—the pollen scent of sunflowers from the Hazelnut Forest.

Xiangzhen was stunned. He looked around, completely and utterly certain that this single grain of pollen was something he had just rubbed off Uncle Zhang’s clothes.

This was the descendant of his brothers and sisters.

Someone had once taken a sunflower seed away from the Hazelnut Forest and continued to pass it down through generations to this day, without crossbreeding with other paternal lines, preserving the original, most authentic sunflower traits—just like him!

His biological sunflower family was planted right at the home of Uncle Zhang, who sold sunflowers!

Xiangzhen’s eyes welled up with warmth. Following the discovery of a husband, through an accidental guidance from his husband, he had found his family!

They were right here waiting to reunite with him! From now on, he would be a spirit who had both a loved one and a family!

Xiangzhen sprinted off to chase after Uncle Zhang’s vehicle.

He ran exceedingly fast, like a gust of wind. The hot air steamed his cheeks, and excited tears evaporated directly along the corners of his eyes, but he paid no mind at all, chasing the vehicle street corner after street corner.

In the end, following that vehicle, he arrived at a villa complex named Jiangge.

He leaped onto the perimeter wall, flipped over it, and disappeared into the woods.

Behind him, Ye Yun and Shi Ting, who were gasping for breath: “…”

Madam has amazing agility!

Wait… President Zhou seems to be inside?