WRA CH76

Shen Ku went down on one knee, holding out the bouquet of roses. Proposing right now would be taking unfair advantage of Dou Manning, forcing him to hastily agree without time to think. So, he simply said, “Manning, thank you for giving me the chance to pursue you. I will treasure it.”

The police officers: “…”

If the roses hadn’t arrived in the nick of time, the police would have seriously suspected these two were putting on an act.

Still, since they were already here, the officers ran a check on Dou Manning’s temporary residence permit. They discovered that neither the landlord nor the registered tenant was Dou Manning; the lease was under a man named “Gao Ou.”

According to the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, a discrepancy between the registered tenant and the actual occupant carried a fine of 200 to 500 yuan.

The fine was technically levied against the landlord, but in practice, it was usually passed on to the tenant.

A look of confusion flashed across Dou Manning’s eyes. Who is Gao Ou?

Didn’t he rent it from Zhenzhen’s husband? Zhenzhen’s husband is Zhou Sicheng.

Shen Ku tensed up. Gao Ou had to be the secretary running errands for Zhou Sicheng. On his very first day aboard Zhou Sicheng’s sinking ship of lies, he already had to patch up his holes!

He spoke up loudly to cut off Manning’s doubts: “Gao Ou is a friend of Manning’s. We were originally staying in those tin shacks at the construction site, but this friend started dating someone and left this place empty, so he let Manning stay here temporarily.”

Shen Ku quickly called Zhou Sicheng to tell him to brief his secretary, then whispered to Manning, “Gao Ou is probably a subletter. Zhou Sicheng rented it from him because it’s cheaper.”

Dou Manning nodded, only half-understanding.

Next, the police contacted Gao Ou: “If the apartment is being sublet to a friend for an extended period, you must register the co-occupant. This first time is an oral warning; next time there will be a fine.”

Secretary Gao responded with utmost humility: “Understood, officers. I’ll register him right away.”

Secretary Gao forwarded the registration link sent by the landlord to Zhou Sicheng, who then forwarded it to Dou Manning.

Dou Manning opened the link and began entering his national ID number.

Watching him fill it out, Shen Ku suddenly chimed in, “Why don’t you add my ID number too? Otherwise, if I sleep over, the police will have to check me as well. Besides, my tin shack has been leaking rain.”

“Oh.” Dou Manning nodded and handed the phone over. “You fill it in.”

After a quick flurry of taps, Shen Ku officially became Manning’s co-habitant.

Living together?

It was downright unbelievable. Before stepping through the door, he couldn’t have dreamed things would progress this far.

A wave of lingering fear struck Shen Ku. What if the person knocking on the door hadn’t been him? Would Manning have been just as willing to share the apartment with someone else?

Once the police were escorted out, Dou Manning looked at Shen Ku with sheer admiration. “Thank goodness you were here. I had no idea you could get fined for not registering.”

Having a human husband was really wonderful—he could handle the tricky social affairs of human society.

Shen Ku feigned righteous indignation: “Zhou Sicheng handles things way too sloppily. You’ve lived here for several days, and he didn’t even bother to register you.”

Dou Manning hadn’t even graduated elementary school; this was his first time coming to the city to make a living. How on earth was he supposed to deal with the police! They’d nearly scared him to tears!

Shen Ku fired off a furious message to Zhou Sicheng on WeChat: You two poached my wife, and you couldn’t even bother to settle him properly!

Zhou Sicheng fired back: Who was the one who drew the police there in the first place?

To think he had the nerve to talk, with his professional reputation dragged through the mud like that.

Shen Ku: “…”

Dou Manning asked, “By the way, Shen Ku, how did you know I lived here?”

Shen Ku replied, “I crossed paths with Zhou Sicheng on business before and added him on WeChat. I saw him advertising coffee on his Moments and asked him about it. Why did you leave without saying goodbye?”

“Um… business wasn’t good over there.” Unwilling to give a direct answer, Dou Manning changed the subject. “Why did the police come today?”

Shen Ku: “…” Because I casually mentioned in the elevator that I worked in construction, and someone reported me.

“Because… the police are maintaining public order. They do random spot-checks to catch harboring criminals.”

Dou Manning: “Oh, then I’m not worried. I don’t commit crimes.”

Shen Ku wet his lips, emotions swirling inside him. “Manning, do you know what ‘getting a husband’ actually means?”

Did Dou Manning even understand what being gay meant? He didn’t think they were just bunkmates in a dorm, did he? Gay couples kissed.

Dou Manning took off his hairnet, letting his long hair cascade down. He ruffled it a bit, then untied his apron. “I know.”

Watching this sequence of moves, Shen Ku felt a burning heat flare in his chest. What kind of signal was Manning sending? Was he overthinking things? “How much do you know?”

Dou Manning echoed Xiang Zhen’s words: “A husband is someone who helps you share the chores, does the dishes, and cooks. Oh, and you can date and sleep together.”

Dou Manning added, “That’s how Zhenzhen and his husband do it.”

Shen Ku didn’t dare let his imagination leap straight to that last part. He eagerly volunteered, “I’ll take care of all the chores. Washing dishes, cooking—leave it all to me.”

Dou Manning glanced over at the towering piles of cups in the coffee workshop.

Shen Ku: “I’ll wash them.”

“Thank you! I’ll send you a cleaning tutorial video.” Dou Manning pointed to the surveillance camera inside the workshop. “That camera is very noisy. If you don’t do it by the book, it will alert you to re-wash them.”

Zhenzhen’s husband had bought far too many coffee machines.

Back at the construction site, he only made plain Americanos—straight shots of coffee concentrate, requiring virtually no labor.

Now, things were different.

Measuring cups, ingredient canisters, milk pitchers, cocktail shakers, stirring spoons, drip trays, steam wands… Only now did Dou Manning realize that after closing up shop, a regular café required two whole hours just to wash cups.

A coffee spirit was willing to put in hard labor, but washing dishes was an exception.

He’d rather go haul bricks on a construction site.

Thank goodness his coworker had arrived.

Dou Manning sent a message to Xiang Zhen: Zhenzhen, I found a husband.

[Xiang Zhen: Congratulations!]

Xiang Zhen had mentioned that he was going to tell Aunt Guihua about his marriage during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Dou Manning thought about it. Then I’ll tell her too.

Half an hour later, Dou Manning watched Shen Ku, who had stripped down to his bare chest, scrubbing the dishes with all his might. He couldn’t resist messaging Xiang Zhen again.

[Zhenzhen, having a husband is truly amazing.]

[Xiang Zhen: Told you so!]

That evening, Room 1609.

Zhou Sicheng returned home right on schedule as usual to cook dinner.

After watching television for a while, Xiang Zhen padded up behind his husband to watch him stir-fry. Zhou Sicheng was remarkably strong, tossing the wok so fast that the induction stove could barely keep up; he really belonged in front of a wood-fired stove.

Xiang Zhen pressed his cheek against Zhou Sicheng’s shoulder and said with a touch of longing, “Hubby, Manning’s husband proposed to him today right in front of a police officer.”

The police officer had been there on a prostitution bust, and Manning had nearly gotten roped into a fine, yet Xiang Zhen was actually envious of it.

Zhou Sicheng set down the spatula and untied his apron. “I’m going to jump off the roof.”

Xiang Zhen jumped in fright. “What’s wrong, Hubby?”

Zhou Sicheng: “I’ll go sit on the rooftop edge. You call 110 and tell the police your husband is going to jump. Then, when the officers get here, I’ll drop to my knees and propose to you on the spot.”

Xiang Zhen frantically shook his head. “No, no, I’m not calling 110. That’s wasting police resources.”

Besides, why would he need the police? Zhou Sicheng wouldn’t get the chance to jump anyway—whether it meant catching him from above or catching him from the ground, neither was difficult to pull off.

Seeing that his wife’s wits were still intact, Zhou Sicheng tied the apron back on and resumed cooking. “Don’t ever say your husband can’t deliver.”

Xiang Zhen: “My husband is the best!”

Zhou Sicheng dished out a plate of stir-fried beef with broccoli. “Dinner is served.”

After eating, Xiang Zhen was responsible for washing the dishes.

As he was washing, he received a message from Dou Manning.

[Manning: Is it bad to always make my husband wash the dishes?]

Washing dishes with one hand, Xiang Zhen texted back with the other: Not at all, my husband has always done the washing.

While cooking, Zhou Sicheng would clean the cutting board, the sink, and the pots as he went. By the end of the meal, all Xiang Zhen had to wash were two bowls.

Technically, the husband still did the vast majority of the washing; Xiang Zhen was merely concealing a tiny detail from the coffee spirit.

…

The coffee shop had been Zhou Sicheng’s wife’s idea; the coffee was consumed by Zhou Sicheng’s corporate executives; and the coffee machines were being scrubbed clean by Shen Ku.

Shen Ku: “…”

Didn’t I apply to be a husband? How did I end up becoming a hired laborer?

Shen Ku figured this way of living had to change. Although he had successfully moved in with Dou Manning, what greeted him every day after work was two full hours of scrubbing and sanitizing.

It wasn’t that he minded doing chores for Manning.

It was just that by the time he finished scrubbing once, disinfecting once, and mopping the floor, Dou Manning had already fallen sound asleep.

The only reward he could sneak for himself was a stolen kiss on the corner of his lips.

Shen Ku was desperate to reclaim his status as Second Young Master Shen and tell Dou Manning that they could easily afford to hire a couple of servers.

Getting off work early, Shen Ku scrubbed the coffee workshop until it was spotless, passed the inspection of the “Little Sunflower Pack” surveillance camera, and braced himself to lay his cards on the table with Dou Manning.

Dou Manning had gone out somewhere, and when he returned, his expression looked rather sour.

“What’s the matter, Manning?”

With a grave little face, Dou Manning said, “Shen Ku, it turns out Zhenzhen’s husband is a capitalist.”

Shen Ku raised an eyebrow. The day has finally arrived; Zhou Sicheng has finally dropped the act.

In that case, I won’t need to—

Dou Manning: “Zhenzhen and I are proletarians. Capitalists are utterly disgusting. Zhenzhen vomits the moment he sees his husband now.”

Shen Ku’s brain momentarily stalled.

Dou Manning looked at him with sheer relief. “Thank goodness you’re an exploited laborer under capitalism. We’re on the same side of the fight.”

Shen Ku: “…”

He declared with unwavering conviction, “Yes. Zhou Sicheng has been exploiting me all along.”