WRA CH7

Chapter 7: Zhou Sicheng: “Last Four Digits of Your Phone Number.”

Back when Zhou Sicheng had told him two men couldn’t register for marriage, Xiang Zhen had supplemented his knowledge and learned what “coming out” meant.

Zhou Sicheng was so intelligent; if he took the civil service exam, he would undoubtedly pass the written test. Handsome and poised, he would easily breeze through the interview as well. Capable as he was, he could even be promoted to bureau chief in the future!

His husband had given up a future as a bureau chief all for his sake.

Xiang Zhen resolved to love his husband even more. Returning the phone to Zhou Sicheng, he bowed his head and tapped away on his own device, calculating something.

“You’re not allowed to drive night shifts anymore.”

Zhou Sicheng prompted, “Aren’t you going to check anything else?”

The carefully prepared WeChat billing statement—he wasn’t going to inspect it?

Xiang Zhen shook his head. He was currently planning to buy a home. Humans pursued “living in peace and working happily”; his husband had sacrificed a stable career for him, so he wanted to give his husband a secure home in return.

“Hubby, can you get a loan from the bank?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Of course.” The banks practically begged him to take loans.

Xiang Zhen’s eyes lit up: “Then that makes things easy!”

Zhou Sicheng’s gaze suddenly darkened. A loan? A lingering shred of suspicion remained in his heart that Xiang Zhen might be acting. After all, he presented himself with his real name and real face. Xiang Zhen went online constantly; after Xiao Kui Bao nearly blew his cover last time, was he genuinely not the least bit curious about what kind of titan the Zhou Sicheng of the exact same name was?

Unconsciously, he felt deeply averse to the possibility that Xiang Zhen was only in it for the money.

“How much of a loan?” A few hundred million? A few hundred billion?

Xiang Zhen poked Zhou Sicheng’s shoulder with his index finger, motioning for him to look at the screen.

“I just asked Xiao Kui Bao if the two of us could buy an apartment in Haicheng. It said yes! Property prices in Haicheng have dropped, so one million can buy a thirty-square-meter old, dilapidated unit.”

“You have a Haicheng hukou, so the apartment will be under your name. I’ll borrow fifteen percent for the down payment from the foundation—I mean, from my maternal family. You’ll repay around 3,000 yuan a month.”

Zhou Sicheng’s expression became indescribable. Not three hundred billion, but three thousand yuan.

He had been projecting dark, cynical assumptions onto an innocent, radiant being who practically glowed with purity.

Xiang Zhen: “I’ll help you pay it off together!”

Zhou Sicheng sat up, looking at Xiang Zhen: “Your mother won’t agree to you providing the down payment while putting the deed solely under my name.”

Xiang Zhen was a fool, but his family couldn’t possibly be fools as well.

Xiang Zhen: “She will agree! I’ll work hard to earn money and pay her back!”

Zhou Sicheng: “A thirty-year mortgage is too long. Besides, property prices are dropping; it’ll be more cost-effective to buy next year.”

“Oh…” Xiang Zhen fell into thought. Right, a thirty-year mortgage was indeed too long. Was Zhou Sicheng worried that he wouldn’t be able to drive for ride-hailing once he grew old? But he was a Yao; he could secretly ensure his husband remained vigorous and full of energy to work thirty years from now.

“Alright then.” He trusted his husband’s judgment on property prices. He would save up for the down payment first and buy next year.

Zhou Sicheng tousled Xiang Zhen’s hair, making a promise Xiang Zhen didn’t yet understand: “Next year, you will have a large house.”

Xiang Zhen crinkled his eyes with a smile. “We’ll buy next year.”

Without the air conditioning on at night, it was rather stifling. Zhou Sicheng began to sweat lightly, an inexplicable restlessness stirring in his chest: “Where is the AC remote?”

Xiang Zhen shook his head: “Turning on the AC will make the sunflower babies uncomfortable. If you’re hot, you can take off your clothes.”

Zhou Sicheng: “…” So the bedroom is actually a greenhouse nursery for raising plants.

Sunflowers ought to be tossed into rocky crevices or onto roadside curbs to display their vigorous, blazing vitality. What kind of sunflower was babied in a greenhouse?

Taking the opportunity, Zhou Sicheng suggested, “Buying an old, run-down place isn’t worth it. We could rent a two-bedroom apartment instead, so there’d be a dedicated sunroom just for the sunflowers.”

Xiang Zhen: “Sunflowers have tremendous vitality; they don’t need a sunroom. You can take off your clothes.”

Zhou Sicheng nodded in defeat. Any further refusal to undress would just be rude.

Thirty seconds later, Zhou Sicheng—who normally only slept shirtless—had stripped down to just his boxers: “Go to sleep.”

Heaven only knew that normally at this hour, he would still be working overtime handling overseas affairs.

Xiang Zhen stared wide-eyed as Zhou Sicheng shed his pajama bottoms, coming face-to-face with his husband’s impossibly long legs for the first time. They bore distinct traces of athletic training: the muscles were taut and defined, packed with lean, explosive power that looked capable of kicking a leopard flying with a single sweeping strike.

Xiang Zhen experienced the blissful sensation of revolving around the sun only to reach its other side and discover that the far side was even hotter and more dazzling.

“Hubby, your muscles are incredible.”

Zhou Sicheng was well aware that this marriage involved an element of superficial attraction to looks. Xiang Zhen might not truly love him right now; the passionate, selfless love he displayed merely stemmed from him being a silly little visual enthusiast.

They had only known each other for two days. There was no need to overthink it; maintaining the status quo was just fine.

Seeing that Zhou Sicheng seemed ready to sleep, Xiang Zhen asked, “Hubby, can I play on my phone for a little bit longer?”

This world was far too complex and rich, with new sights to see every single day. Only after clocking out did Xiang Zhen have time to view the world through short videos.

“Watch for half an hour,” Zhou Sicheng replied casually. Deciding to keep him company, he picked up his own phone as well, arranging for his secretary to set up a meeting with Feichi Hailing’s upper management. The platform needed a top-to-bottom overhaul; they couldn’t wait for an accident to happen before slapping on patches.

Approaching it with an eager desire to learn, Xiang Zhen scrolled through short videos. Perhaps their conversation had been picked up by eavesdropping algorithms, because a video of a muscular man suddenly popped up on his feed.

Xiang Zhen scrolled past it with utmost propriety. He wouldn’t look at any naked body other than his husband’s.

Besides, this muscular guy didn’t even show his face; he definitely wasn’t as handsome as his husband.

A moment later, Xiang Zhen reversed back five videos, returning to that very clip of the muscular guy.

The title was: “Is this your husband?”

Xiang Zhen left a comment: “No, my hubby is way more handsome than him.”

Because he had lingered on it, big data immediately served him another video of the exact same kind.

Zhou Sicheng looked up from his dry work documents and discovered Xiang Zhen was checking out other men.

Playing on his phone before bed was just to look at this?

Zhou Sicheng was so annoyed he couldn’t focus on work.

“Stop looking. Go to sleep.”

“None of them look as good as you.”

“You’re still not allowed to look.”

“Okay~” Xiang Zhen put his phone down cheerfully. His husband was as overbearing as a President, hehe.

The next morning, Zhou Sicheng planned to drive Xiang Zhen to the company as usual.

Aching for his husband having to spend so many hours behind the wheel, Xiang Zhen refused to get in: “I’m not going to the company today. I have to do ground promotions at Huayun Supermarket. It’s really far, and there will be traffic jams. I’ll take the bus.”

“It’s 7:30 AM right now. At 11:30, turn off the order reception and go home for a lunch nap.”

He commanded Xiao Kui: “Remind him for me at 11:30.”

Zhou Sicheng simply scooped the endlessly chattering Xiang Zhen straight into the passenger seat.

The sudden sensation of dangling in midair gave the little sunflower quite a fright, his heart pounding rapidly. Watching his husband climb into the driver’s side, he swallowed nervously. With quick hands, he whipped out Zhou Sicheng’s phone, punched in the passcode, tapped open the Feichi Hailing driver app, and clicked ‘Start Receiving Orders.’

Zhou Sicheng patted his empty pocket: “…” How did he know my passcode?

Feichi Hailing Tech Department.

Having received an overnight notification about a mandatory meeting today, the tech director knew he had messed up last night.

The president’s thoughts were like a needle at the bottom of the sea. How could they have known that President Zhou’s request for simulated turnover was actually an undercover probe to expose their lax monitoring of driver fatigue?

Early in the morning, the tech director was already seated in the department—he remembered that President Zhou had claimed a real account for unknown purposes, and it had to be monitored closely the moment it went online.

“Boss, President Zhou logged on! He’s taking orders!” a technician howled.

The tech director clenched his fist, having anticipated the President’s move: “Quick, dispatch the best possible order to him!”

An excellent order came down to two factors: the closest pickup point and a long-distance destination.

Thirty seconds later, Zhou Sicheng received an order where the pickup point was right at the residential community’s gate and the drop-off was near Huayun Supermarket—almost identical to Xiang Zhen’s route.

Total distance: 26 kilometers. Estimated duration: 62 minutes. Estimated fare: 73 yuan.

Xiang Zhen handed the phone back to Zhou Sicheng. Look at that! For the exact same route, it only cost two yuan by bus, whereas Zhou Sicheng driving him meant missing out on 73 yuan!

“I’ll get off now.”

Click. All four doors locked simultaneously.

Xiang Zhen looked at Zhou Sicheng in confusion. Why wasn’t he letting him out?

“Sit tight.”

Zhou Sicheng’s face was completely dark. What kind of person would toss their wife onto the curb just to take a passenger for a measly 73 yuan?!

Besides, no one ever sat in his back seat.

“Aren’t you my mentally challenged wife?” Zhou Sicheng backed out of the space. “Ask the passenger if they mind.”

Xiang Zhen’s eyes snapped up, pointing out, “Hubby, that’s the first time you’ve called me ‘wife.'”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

He wasn’t as silly as Xiang Zhen; he couldn’t bring himself to say it so casually.

Arriving at the community gate, Xiang Zhen immediately spotted an athletic man carrying a backpack. He reminded Zhou Sicheng to unlock the doors.

With a sour face, Zhou Sicheng unlocked them.

Even if… even if this was a BYD, it was still his current prized car. He had never intended to use it to ferry anyone other than Xiang Zhen.

Xiang Zhen stepped out with a smile and said, “I’m the driver’s family member. We happen to be heading the same way, so we can drop you off first. Is that alright?”

Faced with a smiling, golden-haired great beauty, the backpack-wearing man was momentarily dazed. He raised an eyebrow: “Then I should pay the carpooling price.”

Xiang Zhen: “No problem, I’ll refund you twenty yuan.”

Backpack: “Then let’s add each other on WeChat for the refund.”

“The platform can process refunds directly,” Zhou Sicheng cut in coldly. What was the point of letting Xiang Zhen chat and laugh with an unfamiliar man just for fifty yuan?

Xiang Zhen hopped back into the car. Huh? When did Zhou Sicheng put on a face mask?

Wearing a black mask, Zhou Sicheng looked abstinent, austere, and unapproachably imposing. His tall nose bridge and sharp jawline remained exceptionally striking even covered by the fabric.

He understood now! This was why Zhou Sicheng had said, “No one dares harass me.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Last four digits of your phone number.”

The man took off his backpack, seemingly not hearing him.

Xiang Zhen repeated, “What are the last four digits of your phone number?”

Man: “1743. Are you celebrities filming a variety show? Are there cameras in the car?”

Xiang Zhen answered, “No, he’s my husband. We’re just ordinary people living in the same complex as you.”

Xiang Zhen tried to build some rapport, hoping the passenger would leave a positive review for his husband.

Hearing this, the man reassessed the two in front: “You’re gay? Well, I don’t actually live here. I own two luxury penthouses downtown and an Audi A8.”

Xiang Zhen: “Uh-huh, please give my hubby a good review! My hubby’s car is clean and comfortable; you’re really lucky to have hailed this ride!”

Man: “…” Didn’t you hear me? I own an Audi A8.

Suddenly, Zhou Sicheng slammed on the brakes as an electric tricycle cut through a red light up ahead. Xiang Zhen immediately stopped paying attention to the passenger, devoting his full concentration to helping his husband watch the road.

Zhou Sicheng retrieved a face mask from the console and handed it to Xiang Zhen: “The sun is out. Put this on for sun protection.”

Xiang Zhen wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but noticing his husband’s fierce expression, he obediently put it on.

The man in the back still tried to strike up a conversation: “Do you work as a streamer—”

“Wife, I’m thirsty,” Zhou Sicheng interrupted abruptly.

This time, Xiang Zhen heard an authentic “wife” without the “mentally challenged” attached! Beaming from ear to ear, he unscrewed the water bottle and fed his husband a sip while waiting at a red light.

On his first day accompanying his husband on the road, their relationship had progressed even further! Feelings really did develop through shared time together. They were so deeply in love right now.

Having been called “wife,” Xiang Zhen’s heart bloomed with pure joy. His entire world was filled only with his husband, completely tuning out the man in the back seat who tried to make conversation several more times before trailing off.

Zhou Sicheng endured someone ogling his wife from the back seat for fifty whole minutes, forcibly shaving ten minutes off a morning rush-hour trip.

The moment the man got out, Zhou Sicheng tapped ‘End Trip.’ Then, a red packet popped up in the trip details—a twenty-yuan tip from the backpack man with an attached message: Your wife is too cute. Which apartment do you live in?

Without even claiming it, Zhou Sicheng deleted the order.

After dropping Xiang Zhen off at the supermarket entrance, the first thing Zhou Sicheng did upon returning to the company was instruct his assistant to take the car for a comprehensive detailing, ensuring not a trace of any other male creature’s scent remained.

All morning, under the President’s piercing gaze, the Feichi Hailing team hashed out a new system to prevent driver fatigue. They integrated several monitoring features from Xiao Kui Bao into the ride-hailing system, slated for rollout by June at the latest.

Trembling with apprehension, the tech director looked at Zhou Sicheng, who seemed on the verge of exploding like a powder keg: “President Zhou personally simulated the driver experience this morning. Do you have any guidance for us?”

Narrowing his eyes, Zhou Sicheng smiled coldly: “You were the one who dispatched that long-distance order to me?”

The one that caused his wife to be stared at for an entire hour.

Tech Director: “…” Did it backfire again?!

Zhou Sicheng hadn’t lost his mind, but he issued a thoroughly irrational directive: “Passengers are prohibited from chatting with drivers or their accompanying family members. Violators will have their service suspended.”

The tech director looked troubled: “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

He had discovered the greatest downside of pretending to have no money: it made it far too easy for other people to covet his wife.