WRA CH28

Chapter 28: “Then I’ll Help You Wash Your Underwear Next Time Too”

Returning from his shower, Zhou Sicheng caught sight of his leather belt—still carrying his lingering body heat—wrapped tightly around Xiang Zhen’s slender, delicate waist. That soft span, easily held in one hand, was cinched by pure black leather as though only he possessed the right to undo it. A vein throbbed on Zhou Sicheng’s forehead.

So this was… guarding against having his pants taken off.

Sitting at the head of the bed, Zhou Sicheng reached out and tugged at Xiang Zhen’s pant leg, only to find that the knot was cinched remarkably tight.

Xiang Zhen grabbed the fabric over his thighs, his sparkling pupils watching him with utter vigilance.

“Hubby, we already did it today.”

Carrying the fresh steam and the scent of supermarket promotional body wash, Zhou Sicheng approached. Kneeling on one knee on the floor with his elbow resting on the mattress, he leaned close to Xiang Zhen’s face and smiled faintly. “Baby, what are you trying to protect?”

Baby?

The golden hair across Xiang Zhen’s forehead trembled slightly, as if an electric current had shot through his entire body. For a Yao who usually called Zhou Sicheng “hubby” at every turn, having Zhou Sicheng call him “wifey” brought both happiness and a sense of natural expectation. But now Zhou Sicheng was calling him baby.

Sunflower Mama couldn’t speak. When he grew into an adult, his human form was already that of a young man. Auntie Guihua called him Xiao Zhen or Zhenzhen. This was the very first time someone had ever called him baby.

Blushing, Xiang Zhen rubbed his face. His husband was simply too handsome, blinding like the midday sun.

“I’m not protecting anything. I was just trying out your belt. Do the bespoke suits come with a free belt?”

“Probably not…?” Zhou Sicheng pondered for a second. “I’ll give you this one.”

Xiang Zhen never declined things from his husband three times, accepting it candidly: “Thank you, hubby.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Let me check if the fit is right, or if we need to punch new holes.”

Xiang Zhen lifted his pajama top, obediently letting his husband inspect it.

Zhou Sicheng was also an executive with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. For his belt holes, Xiang Zhen only needed to go two notches tighter, which happened to match the two extra notches remaining.

He slid his index finger into the gap between the belt and his waist. It was snug. Fortunately, the belt was genuine leather rather than rough synthetic material, so resting against bare skin wasn’t uncomfortable.

However, the metallic buckle sitting over his navel still pressed against his skin uncomfortably.

Zhou Sicheng: “First time fastening a belt? Do you know how to undo it? Want me to teach you?”

Xiang Zhen: “I know how.”

He watched his husband every day. Every morning his husband got out of bed, pulled up his pants, and fastened his belt—how could he not know?

As had been said, Yao possessed formidable learning abilities; they either didn’t understand something at all, or mastered it completely.

With a sweep of his long legs, Zhou Sicheng lay down on the bed, pulling his wife on top of him. With two crisp clicks, the belt slid off Xiang Zhen’s waist and fell to the floor, the metal buckle clattering against the tiles.

Xiang Zhen didn’t have time to react at all.

Zhou Sicheng patted his back. “Take a nap. I won’t touch you.”

The stone in Xiang Zhen’s heart finally dropped. Resting his cheek against his husband’s chest, he listened to his steady, powerful heartbeat. Truly a remarkably strong and healthy husband.

Lifting his gaze, he suddenly noticed two pairs of his own underwear hanging conspicuously on the drying rod.

“Hubby, did you wash my underwear for me?” Xiang Zhen asked. Previously, they had always washed their own underwear by hand right after showering.

Zhou Sicheng: “Mn.”

Xiang Zhen whispered softly, “Then I’ll help you wash your underwear next time too.”

Zhou Sicheng’s chest rose and fell slightly. “Thank you, wifey.”

That night, Zhou Sicheng let his wife rest properly. The medical knowledge he had studied reminded him not to drain the pond to catch the fish. Besides that, a wave of tenderness for Xiang Zhen held him back. The more Xiang Zhen displayed a delicate fragility that seemed so easily subdued and savored, the more Zhou Sicheng exercised his willpower almost masochistically, deriving a sense of accomplishment from pampering his wife through self-restraint.

The next day, after the account uproar caused by “Fan Hao,” Zhou Sicheng suggested that Xiang Zhen resign directly and make Fan Hao compensate him with a month’s salary.

Zhou Sicheng: “Joining the bank comes with comprehensive benefits. Once we’ve contributed to Haicheng’s social security for a full year, we can put both of our names on the deed when buying a house next year.”

Xiang Zhen was completely swayed. Who wouldn’t want to co-own a house and put down roots in Haicheng?

“Hubby, I’ll go resign today.”

Zhou Sicheng drove his wife to the company building, looking thoroughly elated. “Wifey, I’ll wait for you right here. Need a hand carrying your things?”

“No need, I didn’t buy anything.”

Unlike Yu Yueyue, Xiang Zhen’s desk only held a large water tumbler, which he even used to fetch water from the office every day to drink at home.

Watching his wife walk through the front entrance, Zhou Sicheng turned around and dialed Fan Hao: “Did you find that viral post about the full refunds online?”

Fan Hao smiled wryly: “I don’t quite get it.”

What kind of boss was this? Wanting him to take the blame without even explaining the cause and effect, just telling him to search online. If asked, the response was simply that he didn’t have time to explain.

Zhou Sicheng: “If you don’t get it, have Xiao Kui Bao summarize it for you.”

Fan Hao vaguely sensed that taking that rideshare that day had been a colossal mistake. Zhou Sicheng wasn’t afraid of being laughed at; rather, he had simply lacked a scapegoat to provide cover, and Fan Hao had run right into the crosshairs. “Understood, understood. It was just an exhibition of late-night PDA online, right?”

He could shoulder a small scapegoat duty like this. His only fear was that when Zhou Sicheng’s true identity was eventually exposed, that massive blame would be pinned on him as well.

Zhou Sicheng: “I’m taking Xiang Zhen to report to the bank this afternoon. Get ready.”

“Sure thing. As for Madam’s two colleagues, I’ll notify them to come in for an interview. Do you want them assigned to the same position?”

On one hand, Fan Hao felt that life was about to become extraordinarily entertaining. Compared to dealing with dry financial figures all day, the CEO’s wife was obviously far more fascinating.

What on earth made Zhou Sicheng find the mundane trivialities of daily domestic life so interesting?

Zhou Sicheng pondered for a moment. Being in the same position meant Xiang Zhen would face daily persuasion to break up with him. Still, compared to helping Xiang Zhen settle into the bank’s work and keeping his life firmly anchored within his territory, being misunderstood was a minor issue.

“Try to keep them in the same role, but you are to mentor Xiang Zhen personally.”

Fan Hao: “Understood, I’ll mentor him personally.”

At his executive tier, he had long ceased handling mundane administrative tasks. Mentoring Xiang Zhen personally meant he would have to assign himself some ground-level chores once more.

Hanging up the call, Zhou Sicheng dialed Secretary Gao to inquire about the progress of reeling in Feng Chujun.

Since Xiang Zhen had agreed to resign, there was actually no need to target Feng Chujun further.

Secretary Gao reported: “CEO Zhou, with Chu Ren stepping in, Feng Chujun is indeed exceptionally interested in AI film and television. He also bought into the empty promise of connecting with Zhoufu. Right now, he intends to sell his shares in the company to his cousin, pivoting toward AI investments. I’ve already negotiated the price with Miss Feng, preparing to purchase Feng Chujun’s entire equity stake under her name.”

Feng Chujun was neither an only child nor was his father an only son; the family business’s equity was dispersed. Once Feng Chujun sold off his shares, the successor to the nut company would change.

Blindly investing in AI amidst the crushing weight of mega-capital would only leave him penniless.

Zhou Sicheng: “Him selling his equity is a good thing for the other employees. Proceed as planned.”

As for how much money Feng Chujun would be left with after his AI venture, that depended on how well-behaved he was.

Meanwhile, Xiang Zhen arrived at the office and braved the sea of gossiping glances to find his supervisor, stating his intention to resign.

The company had been abuzz with rumors last night, everyone speculating whether Xiang Zhen had broken up with his 52-yuan boyfriend and snagged a wealthy new one.

The supervisor had heard the whispers as well. “You’re actually leaving before me. Sun Youzhi asked me to look out for you; did I look out for you or not?”

Xiang Zhen: “You did.”

Although the supervisor loved threatening pay deductions, Xiang Zhen had never actually had his wages docked despite ranking dead last in five-star reviews—though that might also be because payroll hadn’t been disbursed yet, so he would only know for sure once paid.

The supervisor: “Fine, go handle the paperwork with HR. We’ve been busy lately, and with you and Yueyue leaving one after another, I don’t have time to throw you two a farewell party.”

“Thank you, Supervisor.” Xiang Zhen warmly refilled the supervisor’s thermos with hot tea. “I’ll go see HR now.”

Xiang Zhen was well-liked in the company, and HR processed the paperwork smoothly. Just as they were wrapping up, however, the HR specialist suddenly remembered something: “I need to call Mr. Feng for approval.”

Xiang Zhen: “Okay.”

A moment later, HR put down the phone and told Xiang Zhen, “Mr. Feng wants to speak with you personally. He’s willing to give you a raise.”

Xiang Zhen: “I’m definitely leaving.”

HR: “Wait until Mr. Feng arrives anyway. Go wait in his office.”

Baffled, Xiang Zhen headed over to Feng Chujun’s office.

Ten minutes later, Feng Chujun arrived in his sports car, impatiently pushing open the office door: “I’ll raise your salary to ten thousand. You can work as my assistant from now on.”

Xiang Zhen felt it was a pity, but a person had to maintain integrity; he had already scheduled an interview with the bank: “You offered too late.”

Feng Chujun: “Did you find a new rich boyfriend?”

Xiang Zhen: “No, I love my husband very much.”

Feng Chujun: “I can give you fifty-two thousand too.”

Xiang Zhen: “Why?”

Feng Chujun: “Are you playing dumb? Because I like you, of course.”

Xiang Zhen: “I don’t like you. Please process my resignation quickly, my husband is still waiting for me downstairs.”

The sun was very harsh today, and his husband was terribly afraid of being exposed to it.

Seeing that he couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning that stingy husband, Feng Chujun sat down on the sofa with a scowl, lighting a cigarette. “I’ve been negotiating a massive project lately. If it succeeds, my wealth will jump an entire class. I can bring you along. I know I haven’t been in the office these past few days and neglected you, but do you still insist on leaving?”

Xiang Zhen: “Mn.”

Feng Chujun flicked his cigarette ash: “Resigning without cause? Your referrer was Sun Youzhi back then, wasn’t he? I’ll fire him right along with you.”

Xiang Zhen froze: “Youzhi-ge didn’t do anything wrong.”

Feng Chujun: “If you quit, he bears joint responsibility.”

Xiang Zhen clenched his fists. Zhou Sicheng had clearly stated that resigning was straightforward; letting a company like this off without dragging them to labor arbitration was already doing them a favor.

Why fire Youzhi-ge?

Sun Youzhi had brought him out of the countryside, found him an apartment, and arranged his very first job—he was his mentor.

Sun Youzhi worked diligently, staying up late to work overtime day after day, steadily rising to the position of supervisor. He was the son his parents spoke of with immense pride.

With jobs so difficult to find right now, if Sun Youzhi were fired on his account, Xiang Zhen would be consumed by guilt.

Xiang Zhen genuinely wanted to crack open Feng Chujun’s skull to see what was inside.

He clenched his fists, then slowly unclenched them.

Seeing him fuming, Feng Chujun smirked, offering a way out: “Go back and think it over some more. I can still offer you a ten-thousand-yuan salary.”

The moment he had walked through the door, he had noticed it: after just a few days apart, this little customer service rep had become even more breathtakingly stunning, prettier than celebrities in the entertainment industry. Grabbing him while he was still naive to the world wouldn’t just be an incredible stroke of romantic fortune, but would also prove immensely useful later on.

Xiang Zhen hung his head as he waited for the elevator. Unless he could find Sun Youzhi a better job, he would only drag Youzhi-ge down.

When the elevator doors slid open, the person who stepped out was Zhou Sicheng.

“Hubby!” Seeing his husband, a sudden wave of grievance washed over Xiang Zhen.

Zhou Sicheng pulled him into his arms, rubbing his head, his eyes turning frosty: “Did someone bully you?”

He had seen Feng Chujun’s Ferrari roar past while sitting in the car earlier, and had immediately followed him up.

Evidently, one couldn’t afford to be too merciful to people coveting his wife.

Seeing that Zhou Sicheng looked ready to beat Feng Chujun to a pulp, Xiang Zhen hurriedly pushed him back toward the elevator: “Don’t be angry, hitting people leads to jail time. Let’s talk in the car.”

Zhou Sicheng: “How did he bully you?”

Xiang Zhen: “He threatened me, saying that if I resign, he’ll fire Youzhi-ge too, and told me to become his assistant.”

Hearing this, Zhou Sicheng felt a blaze of fury—it had been a long time since he had lost his temper like this. Suppressing his anger, he said, “It’s fine, I have a way.”

Xiang Zhen: “Hubby, what way do you have?”

Zhou Sicheng: “He’s drowning in massive debt, and he’ll be selling the company very soon.”