Chapter 1: Is My Next Career Being a Trophy Wife?

December. The weather in the San Francisco Bay Area was clear and sunny.

Warm light streamed into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Chu Fuxuan pushed open his room door holding a cardboard box in one hand. His half-silhouette, illuminated by the light, was tall and beautiful.

The small box was filled with miscellaneous items packed up from the office. He casually set it on the table, then raised a hand to push open the window. His long hair swayed, blown by the sea breeze.

Chu Fuxuan tied it loosely with a hair tie, then leaned against the windowsill, his fingertips tapping briskly on his phone’s keyboard.

[Dad, I’m only twenty-five years old this year. Even if I were fifty-two, you should respect my personal wishes. Forcing marriage on me right after I resigned—could it be that my next career is being a trophy wife?]

He deliberately spoke in an unserious tone, but the person on the other end didn’t choke on his words.

His dad asked back: [You’re at the stage where you should settle down. At least have some sense of propriety. Some kids are interning, studying for civil service exams, and fighting for grad school recommendations all at the same time. You have a gap period in your work, how come you don’t have time?]

Chu Fuxuan chattered away: [I have to pack up and return to the country to see you and Mom, and I have to hurry up and find where my next meal ticket (job) is. My schedule is very full, okay? There are still a lot of things keeping me busy before my flight takes off.]

The other side selectively replied: [Looking forward to the transoceanic specialty products.]

Chu Fuxuan, with a pair of clear and bright eyes, slightly tilted his head at the chat box, not understanding what specialty products there could possibly be here.

He said: [It is hard to fulfill both loyalty and filial piety. Please allow me to seriously remind you that firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited from entering the country as souvenirs.]

His dad replied, half-testing, half-teasing: [I heard your situation allows you to get a marriage certificate in California. No customs officer is going to search you to see if you like men.]

Sensing the underlying urging between the lines, Chu Fuxuan became very vigilant and tactically maintained silence.

Fortunately, his father didn’t pursue it relentlessly, temporarily giving him some breathing room.

Their family atmosphere had always been harmonious, and the elders all had exceedingly good tempers. Chu Fuxuan had come out of the closet very early on, and it hadn’t caused any turbulent waves.

The only awkwardness between the two generations was probably when Chu Fuxuan went overseas to work. His parents put on a broad-minded posture to support him venturing out into the world, but behind his back, it was inevitable that they worried about him.

They worried that Chu Fuxuan wouldn’t be able to take care of himself in daily life, and they also feared he would face cold shoulders because of his sexual orientation. These troubles could be guessed without even being spoken.

Unwilling to make them worry, Chu Fuxuan had previously spun a lie, claiming he was already in a relationship.

On top of that, he bragged that his boyfriend was handsome, wealthy, and loved him dearly, bragging to the point that his parents nodded successively in gratification. A couple relying on each other was always much better than fighting battles alone.

Because they were separated by such a vast distance, even clumsy rhetoric could fob them off—until Chu Fuxuan’s work contract recently expired.

He didn’t renew his contract and planned to look at opportunities back in his home country. Who knew that before he had even fallen back into his parents’ hands, his lifelong major event had already been remotely planned out…

However, standing from his parents’ perspective, it was normal. Previously, they thought young people frequently broke up and got back together, so it was best to just let relationships run their natural course and the elders had no need to interfere. Therefore, they hadn’t paid much attention to their son’s “wild” boyfriend.

Now that Chu Fuxuan was experiencing a transition, they inevitably calculated more. Then, realizing this relationship was actually extremely stable, it was only right to openly and honorably plan the future together.

To show acceptance and encouragement, his dad took the initiative today, bringing up that Chu Fuxuan should consider settling down and starting a family.

On the other hand, Chu Fuxuan had recently been exhausted by the handover of his official duties and completely lacked the free time to ponder personal matters.

Caught off guard by being urged to marry, his brain jammed for a second, and he was almost confused: When did I get a boyfriend?

Luckily, he remembered right after typing the question mark. Chu Fuxuan had a competitive personality and barely survived this first round of sparring.

At this very moment, exhausted, he nestled into the sofa, feeling it was utterly unbelievable.

“What will happen if I go back alone?” He suspected the scenario had too many flaws, and he’d be labeled a first-class unfilial son in a matter of minutes.

The throw pillow in his hands felt soft to the touch. Chu Fuxuan kneaded it aimlessly for a long time, allowing his taut body to gradually relax.

In the empty living room, he fretted to himself: “Where do you say I can hire someone to accompany me and pretend to be a couple? Proper people probably wouldn’t be willing to take this kind of business, right?”

Even if he asked a friend to come to the rescue, Chu Fuxuan couldn’t think of a suitable choice.

For no other reason than that handsome guys were too rare. The corporate slaves around him had already been ground down by the vicissitudes of life and didn’t fit the grand illusion he had painted for his parents.

Chu Fuxuan scrolled through his contact list in despair. He originally wanted to repent for the karmic debt he had casually buried with his lie, but unfortunately, the sofa was just too comfortable.

Having just finished working overtime, he had absolutely no resistance. Hugging the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep, not even bothering to cover himself with a blanket.

When he woke up freezing in the middle of the night, he dazedly felt his way into the bedroom and spread out the quilt, wrapping himself tightly. His movements were practiced, quiet, and as flexible as a cat; even if one wanted to catch him, they would only see a slender shadow.

After that, Chu Fuxuan silently shouldered his fate, looking for a part-time actor, preparing to “pay to win” (krypton gold) to create a miracle.

The big data algorithms noticed he was searching for good-looking actors and probably identified him as a pervert. In just two short days, his homepage was overrun by a grand exhibition of borderline NSFW content.

Chu Fuxuan scrolled until his head spun and his vision blurred, almost ready to join the homophobe community. Fortunately, a friend came over to his place to chat, and he was finally able to be free for a while.

“Why is your expression so grave? What kind of demon has entangled you?”

After making a fuss, the friend added, “Isn’t it just looking for a job? Your background is so good, you’re a highly sought-after commodity in the talent market! Have you looked at those projects I sent you?”

He was a headhunter in the gaming circle, in the same industry as Chu Fuxuan, and had helped recommend quite a few positions over the past few days.

Chu Fuxuan hadn’t had the time to consider them yet, so he first listened to the other party explain the general situation.

“Don’t worry, small workshops don’t have the confidence to poach you. The ones that can reach out are all pretty good,” his friend summarized.

Chu Fuxuan was unsure: “I’m a little more familiar with Hongni. Are they strict when hiring?”

Hongni was an internet conglomerate. In recent years, its gaming business had been in the limelight. As a game planner, Chu Fuxuan knew they had won quite a few awards.

“They contacted me very quickly after receiving the news. Their attitude is very proactive. As long as you don’t do something unforgivable to the interviewer, I don’t think the chances of you being rejected are high,” his friend replied.

After saying this, he suddenly recalled something and took a sharp breath, feeling it was a thorny issue.

“They just changed upper management over there a while ago. It’s really unclear what the situation is now. A terrifying leader is more fatal than falling in love with a scumbag. You absolutely must keep your eyes peeled.”

Chu Fuxuan pondered, “Their new executive has a bad reputation?”

His friend gestured: “Qi Yingzhu is quite fierce, and he’s Gay!”

Chu Fuxuan silently repeated Qi Yingzhu’s name, admiring that his friend’s insight was actually so sharp: “You even know this?”

“Someone asked to add him as a friend, and he said it himself! Opening his mouth to draw a clear line with heterosexuality,” his friend said candidly.

Chu Fuxuan: “…”

This kind of rhetoric sounded exactly like a perfunctory excuse made on the spot. He twitched the corners of his mouth, completely not taking it seriously.

His friend elaborated: “Since he loves to be gay, if you go to Hongni, you must take care of yourself. What if they eat people without spitting out the bones over there? You’d essentially be soaking in a giant dye vat!”

Chu Fuxuan didn’t think he would be eaten or soaked, and said with pity: “Even if the guy surnamed Qi is truly capable of doing it, he won’t just make a move on every man he sees. Promise me, let’s not be narcissistic.”

Seemingly finding it novel, he couldn’t help but curl up the corners of his mouth while discussing it.

Chu Fuxuan possessed a bright and beautiful face that was almost ostentatious. The curve of his eyes was on the rounder side, outlined just right, with the lines delicately turning up at the ends.

His slightly lighter pupils were bright and clear; even when not smiling, they were extremely lively and expressive. When others inadvertently caught sight of him, all they took into their field of vision were vibrant colors.

Looking at him, his friend instructed, “If you’re willing, I’ll go give feedback right away. This is a two-way selection process, so there’s no need to feel any burden.”

Chu Fuxuan nodded: “He’s riding high on success, whether he’ll even take a liking to me is another matter. Thanks for your hard work communicating with them.”

He had other invitations on hand, which he also asked his friend to arrange, so there would be more room for screening and salary negotiation when the time came.

Objectively speaking, however, Hongni was definitely the best destination. Their industry status, compensation, and reputation were all impeccable.

Chu Fuxuan understood this in his heart, so he asked his friend to keep an eye out for relevant news. If there were any rumors recently, he could send them over for his reference.

The two had known each other for four or five years and didn’t need to be overly polite. As soon as his friend turned back around, he sent over a picture.

Chu Fuxuan clicked to load it. This seemed to be a casually taken photo, blurring out a certain sense of atmosphere in a dim venue.

A man had accidentally entered the frame, his face turned silently to the side. Although the pixels couldn’t clearly show his specific facial features, it was enough to distinguish that he was very handsome. That cold aura of “strangers keep away” seemed to seep right through the screen.

Chu Fuxuan didn’t understand, so he asked: [Did you send this to the wrong contact for your side gig as a matchmaker?]

Friend: [Please let me explain with reverence. This is Qi Yingzhu. I took a picture last time and posted it in the headhunter group, and so many people asked me how to get to the male model exhibition.]

Chu Fuxuan choked, then joked along: [If he ever makes his debut (in the adult industry), please bother to inform me.]

He didn’t cook much here. He made a bowl of shrimp and fish cake instant noodles. At the moment, he didn’t chat much more with his friend. After finishing his meal, he wiped the table and went to wash the dishes.

A while later, his mother called him via voice chat right on time, caring about his diet and daily routine.

Seeing the call from home, Chu Fuxuan felt a bit guilty deep down and bit his lip uneasily.

“Mm, I made seafood noodles,” he responded. “I already agreed with the landlord to move out at the end of the month, and the car has already changed hands. I’ll courier my luggage over when the time comes.”

After finishing the updates, they paused subtly. Then, Mother Chu didn’t mince words: “Your dad said he talked to you. We’re calling to ask what you think?”

Chu Fuxuan braced himself and said, “I haven’t considered things that far ahead yet…”

Immediately after, Mother Chu easily changed the subject.

“It’s okay, dating a bit longer is good too. Let’s talk about the near future. Where is he from? What kind of work does he do?”

Not giving Chu Fuxuan a chance to spout nonsense, Father Chu interjected: “Fuxuan handles things steadily, we can definitely rest assured about this. By the way, what does your partner look like? Let’s do a video call another day?”

Chu Fuxuan jolted: “He hasn’t been living here recently, it’s not particularly convenient!”

“Video calls are too much trouble, I just need to take a glance,” Mother Chu said. “Do you have a photo we can look at?”

The questions were trickier one after another. Chu Fuxuan was so bombarded he was dazed, yet he was misunderstood as being embarrassed.

The Chu parents cheered and teased him a few times, joking that it turned out he also knew how to be shy.

“Slow down, slow down, I’ll send one over in a bit.” Chu Fuxuan was about to surrender, preparing to pull a desperate move to save the situation.

Mother Chu sensed his stiffness: “You said he’s very handsome, could it be that he grew crooked? But that doesn’t matter, what’s important is that you like him.”

Father Chu sounded like he was ordering dishes at a restaurant: “It’s best if the photo is relatively new, otherwise we won’t even recognize him if we bump into him.”

It was too outrageous for a couple to not be able to produce a photo. Frantic, Chu Fuxuan tried to pick a picture from the internet to fob them off.

Unfortunately, the entire page either looked too much like a generic internet celebrity or the alternative filters were too thick. He bit his lip anxiously, while the other side of the receiver already let out a confused “hiss”.

Sorry about this. Chu Fuxuan closed his eyes in pain and opened his chat history with his friend.

He acted decisively, tapping open that blurry side profile and forwarding it with one click to the family group chat.

Lacking the courage to look straight at Qi Yingzhu in the chat box, Chu Fuxuan’s gaze darted around as he grandly introduced him to his parents: [He’s super affectionate/hot.]

·

Qi Yingzhu kept feeling that something was off today.

After finishing reading the data sheets, he glanced out the window. It rained frequently in Shanghai’s winter. Even through the glass, one could feel that cold dampness as if it were about to seep through.

Qi Yingzhu picked up the long-handled umbrella by his desk, then pushed open the soundproof door. The office area before his eyes was submerged in darkness, leaving only the elevator lobby with faint lights remaining.

He often worked overtime like this until the early hours of the morning. Colleagues described him as someone whose single status could be determined just by looking at his trajectory, practicing the orthodox path of ruthlessness.

Evidently, Qi Yingzhu completely didn’t take this to heart. And when others enthusiastically tried to play matchmaker, he casually found excuses to decline.

This behavior seemed a bit domineering, but he had already monopolized the power, possessed the qualifications to act wantonly, and couldn’t be bothered to put on an act of being a gentleman.

When the elevator descended smoothly to the garage, Qi Yingzhu languidly scrolled through his phone, poking into the internal network forum to see if there was any entertainment.

[Why is the Lead Planner position for that certain core R&D group still vacant? Is the positioning of our planning roles just to be mascots?]

[Everyone, don’t look forward to the Lead Planner. The fat water doesn’t flow into outsiders’ fields (the good stuff stays within the family). Do outsiders even get a turn to eat the sweet pastry? Eighty percent it’s another massive brawl among the higher-ups’ connections, they can bite each other until next year.]

[Unless Boss Qi personally keeps an eye on it. Be reasonable, whoever he likes has the strongest backing, the others wouldn’t dare make a peep.]

[Qi Yingzhu probably hasn’t paid attention to this matter. Regardless, anyone who falls into his hands becomes docile and obedient. I haven’t seen anyone who can make a move and cure him of it.]

[How old is he, is he married? I ran into him, he looks very young, doesn’t anyone have gossip?!]

[28 years old. He is indeed the youngest one at the top of the group.]

[An unquestionable bachelor, ha! If a ruthless workaholic like him really had a wife, she could remarry for three years and he probably still wouldn’t have noticed.]

The elevator doors opened with a “ding”. Qi Yingzhu’s brows and eyes were indifferent as he dully closed the forum page. He then drove home, showered, and planned to sleep.

Unfortunately, his sleep quality was extremely terrible. Even though he had deliberately changed his pillow, mattress, and duvet cover, he tossed and turned for a long time, yet his brain remained wide awake.

After about half an hour, Qi Yingzhu resigned to his fate, sat up, and began searching for ways to quickly knock himself out.

Take melatonin? If he took it now, it probably wouldn’t be completely metabolized by the meeting tomorrow.

Listen to white noise? He had already looped it until his phone got hot.

There was one piece of advice he hadn’t tried yet, which seemed like it could continue his struggle: savoring boring electronic garbage.

Qi Yingzhu selected for a moment and, between supervisor weekly reports, director monthly reports, and recruitment resumes, he chose the last category.

During this period, he indeed hadn’t noticed the Lead Planner vacancy. His schedule was heavily loaded year-round, and he had recently taken over new duties, so everyone hadn’t brought this matter up to trouble him.

Presently, high-quality resumes and portfolios were uploaded by HR into the group chat, making it convenient for relevant departments to review and exchange views. Qi Yingzhu had muted the notifications when he was pulled into the group. Only now did he see that they had already gone through a round of chats with quite a few candidates.

It was just that the results of the contacts weren’t very good. Everyone’s attitude was conservative, and could even be described as picky and harsh.

Qi Yingzhu leaned against the headboard scrolling through the group chat, forcibly germinating a bit of drowsiness. He didn’t know how far back he had scrolled when someone rarely spat out a positive evaluation.

[Chu Fuxuan is quite good-looking. I interacted with him a long time ago. He’s exceptionally outstanding, both his personality and abilities can hold their ground.]

Qi Yingzhu didn’t understand what this “good-looking” referred to, and immediately searched for the corresponding file. If what that person described was physical appearance, they wouldn’t escape being berated by him for being a visual animal lacking professional literacy.

However, a red pop-up window reminded him: [Not downloaded for over 7 days, expired! (If needed, please consult the operations staff)]

To specifically request the file would inevitably make it seem like he cared too much about this kind of trivial matter. Qi Yingzhu indifferently turned off his phone, walked to the kitchen to twist open a bottle of mineral water, and then dug out the sleep-aid medication prescribed by his doctor.

Turning back, he tossed the discussion group right back onto the mute list, until the lunch break later when the HR Director asked him if he was going on a business trip to California.

“My flight is next week, why?” Qi Yingzhu asked absentmindedly.

The Director said: “From top to bottom, everyone is keeping an eye on the Lead Planner position. You also understand that this figure is too important to the R&D group. I have horizontally compared many experts, and there is only one left who we haven’t been able to meet face-to-face due to geographical issues.”

Although it was very convenient for both sides to do a video call, it was easier to figure out the other party’s true weight offline.

The annual salary they offered was at least several million, and the position and rank were crucial enough that it was worth it for the HR Director to make a special flight for it.

However, since Qi Yingzhu was passing through anyway, the Director proposed arranging communication on their end first. If satisfied, they would entrust him to do a face-to-face check. After all, the final appointment decision was his to make, and this way would save a lot of tossing about.

Although Qi Yingzhu had a cold and distant temper, he didn’t put on airs much, expressing his cooperation with the HR department’s arrangements.

The Director asked: “Are you in the discussion group?”

Qi Yingzhu said hastily: “Mm, I just scrolled through the group chat yesterday.”

The Director was moved: “Then I will entrust him into your hands.”

Qi Yingzhu frowned and asked: “Who exactly is it? I finished reading those resumes but didn’t memorize them much.”

Immediately after, he took the tablet from the Director. A document was opened on it.

Thus, Qi Yingzhu’s gaze fell onto the screen. Because the photo was too unfamiliar and too eye-catching, he couldn’t help but pause for two seconds.

Before he even saw the name clearly, he subconsciously pondered: Our company still has too many visual animals lacking literacy.

Subsequently, his sight moved to the side, and sure enough, the name column was marked with a not-unfamiliar name.

“Chu Fuxuan.”