WRA CH75

Shen Ku was heading into a figurative “banquet at Hongmen,” and his older brother was even more nervous than he was. He almost wished he could poison his brother mute—fearing that all the words Shen Ku usually bottled up would come spilling out right in front of Zhou Sicheng.

He was worrying for nothing.

Shen Ku was exceptionally calm. Provoking Zhou Sicheng served no purpose at all. It would only bring trouble to Manning.

At most, he and Dou Manning had merely shared a bunk bed as temporary roommates. He didn’t want this simple customer-merchant dynamic to one day sour into a bad memory in Dou Manning’s heart.

Shen Ku completely lacked the momentum he had carried to the Zhoufu headquarters the day before, crushed by his brother’s remark that Manning called the man “hubby” with every breath.

They are deeply in love.

Drained of all strength, Engineer Shen showed up for the meeting dressed in an ordinary black short-sleeved shirt and cargo pants. He had already made up his mind: many people on site had seen him carrying Manning out of the tin cabin, so if Zhou Sicheng brought it up, he would simply claim he had slept in his assistant’s room that night.

They had agreed to meet at a teahouse the following day.

The night before, Shen Ku had stared at Zhou Sicheng’s Moments feed. With a quick refresh, he saw a new post pop up:

[Manning Coffee is officially open for business… Place your order now! Our new specialty coffee is just 9.9 yuan a cup, delivered straight to your workstation at Zhoufu HQ!]

[Zhou Sicheng replied: Starting today, if my hubby delivers it in person, there’s an extra 3-yuan delivery fee; deliveries made by me are free.]

Shen Ku blinked. That reply was clearly written by the shop owner using Zhou Sicheng’s phone. So he really did call him “hubby.”

Zhou Sicheng hadn’t personally delivered anything at all; he had merely left the orders in the conference room for people to pick up themselves.

[Fan Hao replied to Zhou Sicheng: Why is your delivery free?]

[Zhou Sicheng replied to Fan Hao: Because my hubby has a master’s degree and I don’t. His time is more valuable.]

Shen Ku choked on his own breath, stuck in an awkward limbo. What’s so special about a master’s degree? They’re everywhere—I have one too.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhou Sicheng’s partner felt entirely different in style from the Dou Manning he knew. Then again, he had barely exchanged a few full sentences with Dou Manning; perhaps this was simply how the man acted when in love.

When he refreshed the page once more, all of those replies had been deleted.

The next day, Dou Manning prepared 66 cups of coffee—even more than yesterday.

Zhou Sicheng was allocated a quota of 55 cups. He took them all without hesitation. Once he arrived at the company, he simply left them in the pantry alongside Xiang Zhen’s payment QR code, and they would sell out within five minutes.

The ingredients alone cost more than 9.9 yuan, making it practically a company-sponsored perk courtesy of CEO Zhou—it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.

Remembering he had to meet Shen Ku for tea today, Zhou Sicheng specifically set aside one cup.

Doesn’t Shen Ku love coffee?

He would first use this cup of coffee as a gesture of thoughtful consideration to soften him up. Once moved, Shen Ku would naturally open up and lay out all the latent structural hazards in the Zhoufu Corporate Park.

Back in the conference room, the look in Shen Ku’s eyes had definitely gone far beyond merely tasting coffee. But with so many eyes watching—including Executive Li, who had overseen the park’s construction and kept craning his neck to read Shen Ku’s long essay—could it be that Li was terrified Shen Ku was exposing his corruption in that critique?

If that were the case, Executive Li was truly unworthy of his trust.

Zhou Sicheng stepped into the teahouse with an authoritative stride. Seeing Shen Ku already waiting half an hour early, he raised an eyebrow. Engineer Shen’s conduct was as unpretentious as ever.

“Engineer Shen, sensible men don’t mince words. You know why I asked you here today.”

Shen Ku drew a deep breath, his fists clenching slightly.

Catching sight of Shen Ku’s grim face, Zhou Sicheng thought, Damn it, there’s a serious flaw in the corporate park. Don’t tell me the ground is caving in?

He dismissed the tea server with a wave of his hand, managed a slight smile, and casually brought out a cup of coffee. “Engineer Shen, I remembered you’re fond of coffee.”

Shen Ku stared at the handwritten label on the cup. It was Dou Manning’s handwriting; he recognized it instantly.

He had originally intended to feign ignorance, but Zhou Sicheng was actively picking a fight.

What was the point? Manning already loved him so much.

Shen Ku was familiar with Zhou Sicheng’s background. Perhaps his difficult upbringing had warped his personality, leaving him deeply insecure and paranoid about losing what he had.

He was worrying over nothing. Dou Manning was pure-hearted and would make a thoroughly devoted partner.

Shen Ku accepted the cup. “Thank you. And congratulations on finding a partner… He is a very simple person, capable of enduring immense hardship. He never complains of exhaustion on the construction site, and feels content just earning a few dozen yuan a day from selling coffee.”

Zhou Sicheng’s expression turned frostily cold in an instant. “You didn’t come here to talk about the corporate park?”

Shen Ku was baffled. “No.”

Zhou Sicheng laughed out of pure exasperation. So he had actually called a romantic rival out for a heart-to-heart! Talk about what? He had zero interest in discussing his wife with another man.

Do I need you to tell me my wife can endure hardship? When Zhenzhen was delivering takeout, who knows which ditch you were hauling bricks in.

And working on the construction site without a single complaint? Could it be that when Xiang Zhen accompanied Fan Hao for the post-loan site inspection, his work ethic caught this chief engineer’s eye? That bastard Fan Hao, daring to bring my wife into a den crawling with bachelors!

Zhenzhen partnered with Manning to sell coffee, earning a few dozen yuan a day—of course he’s content! That’s the blissful joy of working toward buying their marital home together!

Did this Shen Ku seriously think that just because Zhenzhen doesn’t care about wealth, a man poorer than Zhou Sicheng would actually stand a chance?

Dead wrong. Zhou Sicheng would never give anyone an opening.

Even so, Shen Ku’s presence set off alarm bells for Zhou Sicheng. Shen Ku was no useless lightweight like Feng Chujun; his wife truly drew too much unwanted attention out in the wild.

Just a single fleeting glimpse on a construction site, and Shen Ku had the nerve to provoke him in person.

Zhou Sicheng fixed Shen Ku with an imposing, suffocating glare, utterly silent.

An ordinary person would have excused themselves under such scrutiny.

Yet Engineer Shen held his ground against the pressure, steadily drinking down the entire cup of coffee.

Dou Manning had added more milk and sugar than before, yet Shen Ku couldn’t taste a single trace of sweetness.

After laying everything out today, he would likely never taste this unique flavor again.

He had to maintain appropriate boundaries, and Zhou Sicheng would never allow it anyway.

Zhou Sicheng’s patience completely ran out. “Take your time. I have other matters to attend to.”

Shen Ku stood up, speaking with solemn earnestness: “Take good care of Manning.”

Zhou Sicheng froze in his tracks, turning back. “Who did you say?”

Shen Ku adjusted his phrasing: “Dou Manning.”

It took Zhou Sicheng a second to process, his tone turning bizarre: “Look after him yourself. I’m a married man.”

It felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck straight through Shen Ku’s skull. Wait… with that tone from Zhou Sicheng, could he have mistaken the person all along? Was it purely a coincidence of two people sharing the same name and sourcing beans from the exact same batch?!

“Your wife isn’t Dou Manning?!”

“He’s a friend of my wife’s,” Zhou Sicheng clarified helpfully. Without a romantic rival in the picture, he felt considerably more relaxed. “They opened a coffee business together.”

Fireworks exploded in Shen Ku’s mind, his words tumbling out in a breathless scramble: “Where is he right now? Please, tell me.”

Zhou Sicheng began to put on airs. Ahem, telling Shen Ku would mean giving away the address where he and his wife lived.

Not even Fan Hao knew where it was.

A quiet life of domestic bliss was meant to be lived behind closed doors; having an acquaintance drop in would ruin the entire dynamic.

“No comment.”

Shen Ku pressed, “His WeChat contact, at least? I’ll ask him myself.”

Zhou Sicheng sat back down and picked up his teacup. Keeping it a secret wouldn’t solve the problem either; judging by the look of him, Shen Ku seemed ready to tail him twenty-four hours a day after finishing that cup.

If things went sideways, it might end up blowing his cover in front of Xiang Zhen.

Zhou Sicheng said, “I can tell you, but you must pretend not to know me.”

Without a second thought, Shen Ku agreed: “Deal.”

Zhou Sicheng had plenty of stipulations: “Until I come clean with my wife, you cannot act wealthier than me.”

Living in the same residential building, they were bound to run into each other. If Dou Manning landed a tall, wealthy, handsome partner, even if Xiang Zhen was too pure-hearted to feel inadequate, Zhou Sicheng’s pride would never allow him to lose face.

Shen Ku agreed without hesitation: “Deal.”

Right now, Shen Ku would have willingly parted with a kidney if Zhou Sicheng asked. He only wanted to see Dou Manning immediately. He had already tasted the bitter sting of arriving too late; he couldn’t afford to waste another second.

Dou Manning was so endearing; if a neighbor took advantage of proximity to make a move, Shen Ku might truly end up having to become a home-wrecker.

At the very least, Shen Ku was certain of one thing: Dou Manning didn’t mind men. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have moved alongside Zhou Sicheng and Xiang Zhen.

Armed with the address from Zhou Sicheng, Shen Ku drove straight toward the residential compound.

He was more thrilled than he had been on the completion day of his very first engineering project. Reaching the front gate, he asked the security guard if parking was available.

The guard looked him over. “Visitor parking is 10 yuan an hour. A monthly garage pass is eight hundred.”

A monthly pass was obviously more cost-effective!

Shen Ku paid for three months up front without blinking, securing direct elevator access from the underground garage.

Only after parking did he realize he had arrived empty-handed, and his trunk held nothing worthwhile either. He retraced his steps back toward the compound entrance, intending to pick up some fruit from a shop.

Scanning the area, he found only a small convenience store selling basic snacks and drinks.

Shen Ku bought a bottle of water, gulping down half of it to cool the restless heat in his veins. He then opened his phone, ordering a fruit basket and a lavish lunch spread.

Scratching his temple with flushing cheeks, he placed an order for a bouquet of ninety-nine pink roses.

Would sending this right now be inappropriate?

Whatever. He had overthought things far too much before.

Shen Ku jogged back into the compound. Four or five middle-aged women were already in the elevator. Just as the doors were closing, he squeezed inside with two hurried strides. His towering, broad-shouldered frame instantly made the elevator cab feel cramped. “Pardon me, I’m in a rush.”

One of the aunties pushed up her spectacles. “Young man, you look unfamiliar.”

Shen Ku: “Oh, I’m visiting a friend for the first time.”

Auntie: “What kind of work do you do?”

Recalling his agreement with Zhou Sicheng, Shen Ku answered vaguely, “Construction.”

The moment he said it, the auntie scrutinized him from head to toe once more.

Construction workers—those guys visit prostitutes the most. Could he be here looking for an escort in the residential building?

Shen Ku wondered if this enthusiastic auntie was planning to set him up on a blind date. When the elevator reached the 16th floor, he dashed out impatiently and tracked down the door plaque for Unit 1620.

Standing outside, Shen Ku raised his hand and knocked gently. “Manning, are you there? It’s Shen Ku.”

Shuffling sounds came from within. A moment later, the door swung open. Dou Manning stood there in an apron, his hair neatly tucked into a hairnet, one hand still clad in a glove.

“Shen Ku? How did you get here?” Dou Manning looked pleasantly surprised. He was in the middle of testing a new recipe and lacked someone to taste it.

Having Shen Ku here was better than anyone else. After all, Shen Ku had been the very first person to drink his coffee, carrying an unspoken, special significance.

“Come on in.” Dou Manning stepped aside and casually shut the door behind them.

Shen Ku stepped into Dou Manning’s private space. His coffee workshop and bedroom were laid bare before him.

The air was dense with the rich aroma of coffee—so concentrated it set his pulse racing, anticipating the words he was about to speak.

Dou Manning brought over a cup of coffee. “Give this a try. It’s a new recipe I’ve been working on.”

Flustered, Shen Ku reached out to take it. The moment his fingers brushed Dou Manning’s fingertips, his hand trembled, spilling the brew straight down his chest. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh no, is it hot? Hurry, take your shirt off.”

Shen Ku stripped off his top. Just then, the doorbell suddenly chimed.