Things that can be solved with money are never truly difficult. Secretary Gao, shrewd and capable, paid the original tenants at the end of the same-floor corridor to move out, and by that same day, he had dispatched five contractors to the apartment.

The bed, cabinets, and sofa were removed, and the air conditioner, toilet, refrigerator, and water heater were replaced with brand-new ones. They also set up a water dispenser, stocked protein powder, and provided over a dozen sets of sportswear.

The ceiling height in this apartment building was impressively high, but the space itself was small. Once the massive squat rack was placed inside, it stood floor-to-ceiling, imposing and stark.

Unlike the sunny, energetic atmosphere it would have in a spacious, well-lit gym, the poor lighting here gave the black metal of the rack an eerie, ominous luster. Next to it, a storage rack was packed densely with various accessories—handles made of plastic, rope, and metal.

Zhou Sicheng had hired two bodyguards; the captain was named Shi Ting, and the one who had been chatting happily with Xiang Zhen at the bus stop that morning was named Ye Yun. Since their protectee had gone to work, the two of them went to the “gym” to help install the equipment.

Secretary Gao only arrived for the final inspection once the work was done. He looked around; the schedule had been too tight to repaint the walls or floors, but it was passable.

Ye Yun touched the brand-new equipment with curiosity: “If I’d known Boss Zhou was going to build a gym, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of hauling my dumbbells over here.”

Secretary Gao secretly speculated about his boss, “If he hadn’t seen your dumbbells, he wouldn’t have thought of this.”

He hadn’t realized before that Zhou Sicheng was this petty.

He was petty, yet magnanimous. You could call him small-minded, but Zhou Sicheng did allow the two bodyguards to use the gym during their off-hours.

The two bodyguards still slept in a one-bedroom apartment, which was much larger than the one Zhou Sicheng and Mr. Xiang lived in.

…

During the time Xiang Zhen had been in the city, he spent the first few days learning customer service skills, and then he met Zhou Sicheng. He had been revolving entirely around his “husband,” wanting to follow him to drive the ride-sharing car after work, and had no other social life.

While eating takeout at noon, Yu Yueyue and Liu Xiaofang pried into his dating life and discovered that Xiang Zhen was a severe “hopeless romantic” who had almost been swindled out of his down payment money. The two of them stopped eating, and at the risk of being docked pay by their supervisor, gave Xiang Zhen a serious and profound critique!

Xiang Zhen defended his husband: “He didn’t want my money; he’s not a swindler.”

Liu Xiaofang: “That’s only because he’s a ride-sharing driver right now, without social insurance or housing provident funds, so the bank won’t approve his mortgage. Just you wait—once he finds a job, he’ll immediately ask you for money to buy a house.”

Yu Yueyue didn’t hesitate to speculate with the deepest malice: “Right! Hasn’t he been very active in interviewing and job hunting lately?”

Xiang Zhen: “…” It seems so.

Liu Xiaofang couldn’t resist picking up some sunflower seeds from the company stash to snack on. Xiang Zhen’s life was truly a bottomless pit of drama, where every single detail was worth urging a breakup over. It was very bad for her health: “What’s his family situation? If you’re buying a house next year, you’re putting up 150,000 yuan, and he has no money—can’t his parents support him at all? Is he an only child?”

Xiang Zhen didn’t know if Zhou Sicheng was an only child. He himself had many “seed” brothers and sisters, it’s just that their descendants had all perished in a mountain fire. Xiang Zhen had painstakingly dug out a single sunflower seed, carried it with him for thousands of miles, and planted it in many places, but none of them ever sprouted.

Xiang Zhen hoped Zhou Sicheng wasn’t lonely.

Liu Xiaofang: “You don’t know?”

Xiang Zhen recalled the day of their blind date: “He said, ‘No comment.'”

Yu Yueyue: “How can you put up with that!”

Xiang Zhen: “Because my husband is very handsome.”

Yu Yueyue was also a major “face-control” freak. She had experienced several times where her best friend claimed her crush was handsome, only for the guy to turn out to be a total dud… Therefore, for anyone Xiang Zhen described as “very handsome,” she automatically filed them under “pretentious punk.”

Yu Yueyue: “How can your whole life revolve around a man? If he were rich and you provided emotional value while he showered you with money, that would be one thing. But he’s just an ordinary person. Once the novelty wears off, if you cling to him, he’ll most likely find you annoying. You need to keep your poise, be aloof, and act like an icy queen so he’ll desire you and toss and turn in longing.”

Xiang Zhen was stunned. He recalled how Zhou Sicheng always refused to let him join him in the ride-sharing car—was it actually because he was being too clingy?

Liu Xiaofang: “You’ve pinned the entire center of gravity of your life onto him. In the unlikely event—and I’m not cursing you, just ‘what if’—in the unlikely event that you break up, you’ll be finished. You’ll feel like the sky is falling and won’t be able to move on, and then he’ll gaslight you repeatedly.”

Yu Yueyue: “Normal people don’t date like this.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Xiang Zhen was confused. Yu Yueyue and Liu Xiaofang were analyzing things too fast; how did they leap straight to him being “abnormal”? He couldn’t keep track, so he quickly opened his “Little Sunflower Bag” to have it listen along, and with a guilty heart, asked for guidance: “Can you guys analyze that again?”

Yu Yueyue felt her previous attempt at urging a breakup wasn’t sharp enough, so she generously gave it another go.

“Xiang Zhen, you need to be smarter!”

Xiang Zhen: “I’m very smart.”

The input-thinking state of the Little Sunflower Bag was a little sunflower with its petals spinning around; its cloud-computing electronic brain was clearly much easier to use than his faerie brain.

Yu Yueyue: “Little Sunflower, Little Sunflower, remember that his boyfriend is not a good person. From now on, take a stance when answering Xiang Zhen’s questions.”

Little Sunflower Bag: “Understood. I fully grasp your meaning, and I will treat today’s conversation as an important reference document.”

Xiang Zhen: “Thank you guys. Once my husband finds a job, I’ll have him treat you to dinner.”

That was close—he almost became “abnormal.” From now on, he should ask the Little Sunflower Bag more questions if he has any.

Yu Yueyue scratched her head. Tsk tsk, Xiang Zhen was still affectionately calling him “husband” every other word, and even wanted his husband to treat them to dinner.

Yu Yueyue wouldn’t dare go to that dinner. If you talk smack about someone behind their back, you have to be prepared for it to be relayed word-for-word. “No need, no need. We don’t have anything to talk about with him anyway.”

Xiang Zhen had been working the day shift recently and got off work at 5:30 PM. As soon as he stepped off the bus, he saw Ye Yun at the bus stop. “What a coincidence.”

Ye Yun was responsible for staking out and picking up Xiang Zhen after work, so naturally, it was very coincidental. “I just arrived, too. Let’s walk together.”

Before meeting Xiang Zhen, he wondered if Boss Zhou was overreacting. After meeting Xiang Zhen, Ye Yun thought a security team was indeed necessary.

Xiang Zhen decided to expand his social circle; distant relatives aren’t as good as close neighbors. Ye Yun was tall, handsome, cheerful, and loved to smile—he could be a friend.

And so, just as his colleagues had grilled him, Xiang Zhen enthusiastically grilled Ye Yun: “What kind of work do you do?”

Ye Yun: “A trainer. The gym went bust, so the captain and I had to move into a cheaper place.”

Xiang Zhen thought of Zhou Sicheng, who had been unemployed for a long time, and comforted him: “It’s okay, you can drive a ride-sharing car.”

Ye Yun: “I’ll rest for a while first. No rush.”

Xiang Zhen bought some groceries: “Come to my place for dinner tonight.”

Ye Yun saw that Xiang Zhen had bought pork ribs, and his mouth moved faster than his brain: “Sure.”

“Sorry, not today.” The bodyguard captain, Shi Ting, appeared downstairs and interrupted forcefully.

Ye Yun loved gnawing on pork ribs and used his eyes to ask the captain why not—building a good relationship with Xiang Zhen would be beneficial for their mission.

Shi Ting looked at him as if he were a fresh recruit: “Who do you think is doing the cooking?”

Xiang Zhen: “Ah, then next time. My husband is a great cook.”

Ye Yun: “…” Boss Zhou is cooking? Then I guess I can’t eat that.

During rush hour, there were many people waiting for the elevator. Ye Yun and Shi Ting stood to the left and right, hands behind their backs, standing behind Xiang Zhen. Their posture was relaxed, but because they were big and tall, the pressure they projected was strong, and people around them automatically cleared a space.

Xiang Zhen felt, for no reason, that it was much emptier today. Usually, because he was good-looking, many people liked to walk close to him.

“Have you heard?” A middle-aged woman carrying groceries, appearing to chat casually with a friend, raised her voice so everyone around could hear clearly, “A ‘Loufeng’ has moved into this building. It’s so filthy! Different men coming and going every day. Everyone, keep an eye on your husbands—don’t let them get lured away.”

“Could she have a disease? I’m going to have to go home and wash my hands after touching the elevator buttons from now on.”

“Is it true? If there’s evidence, you can call the police.”

“It’s absolutely true. Haven’t you noticed? There have been a lot more strange men in our complex lately.”

The group of women buying groceries clearly knew each other; they discussed it intensely, one after another.

Ye Yun: “…”

Strange men? Him and the captain?

Ye Yun felt a bit awkward being misunderstood, but looking at the captain, he remained as calm as ever.

The composition of this building was truly complicated; no wonder Boss Zhou wanted to hire bodyguards.

Xiang Zhen asked Ye Yun in a low voice: “Brother Ye, what is a ‘Loufeng’?”

What did it have to do with keeping an eye on their husbands?

Ye Yun didn’t know how to explain it: “The ‘Lou’ of residential building, the ‘Feng’ of phoenix. You can search it online.”

“Oh.” Xiang Zhen lowered his head and opened the dialogue with the Little Sunflower Bag: “What is a ‘Loufeng’?”

[Little Sunflower: ‘Loufeng’ refers to women who engage in illegal sex work in residential buildings. Simply put, it means prostitution.]

The unexpected vocabulary appeared before his eyes. Xiang Zhen took a long while to understand. In his first lesson on socialization, he had received sex education and wasn’t ignorant, it’s just that he discovered that after entering society, humans rarely openly discussed this topic, and over time, Xiang Zhen had forgotten about it.

With someone nearby engaging in illegal activities, Xiang Zhen quickened his pace home, afraid of encountering criminals.

…

At noon, Xiang Zhen had mentioned in the chat box that he wanted to eat pork ribs, so Xiao Kui immediately sent Zhou Sicheng a tutorial for deep-fried pork ribs—so urgent that it didn’t allow Zhou Sicheng any room to hesitate.

The Xiao Kui Bag was even quite smart; when Xiang Zhen had taken a photo last time, he had accidentally included the seasonings in the frame. It deliberately reminded Zhou Sicheng to buy a jug of oil on his way home from work, as there wasn’t enough oil left at home for deep-frying pork ribs.

When the Xiao Kui Bag was instructing him, Zhou Sicheng happened to be sitting face-to-face with the Vice President in charge of the Xiao Kui Bag project in the corporate cafeteria.

Vice President Wang Jianfen was holding forth on how the dialogue intelligence had greatly improved since the Xiao Kui Bag was launched for use in intimate relationships. Next, they planned to launch a physical Xiao Kui Bag robot.

As he spoke, Wang Jianfen glanced at the CEO’s phone; he had just seen the CEO’s screen light up with the Xiao Kui Bag icon: “Would Boss Zhou like to take one home to experience it?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Don’t bring me half-finished products to annoy me.”

Having one infuriating thing at home is enough.

Wang Jianfen clutched his chest in pain. Boss Zhou’s attitude toward the Xiao Kui Bag had taken a sharp turn recently. How exactly had the Xiao Kui Bag offended him? “Actually, our Xiao Kui Bag has many functions. I dare say Boss Zhou, you don’t even understand 10% of its functions…”

Zhou Sicheng: “Was the positioning problem from last time fixed?”

Wang Jianfen: “Fixed, but we left a backdoor that can be opened on demand.”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

WeChat message.

[Xiang Zhen: I’ll buy the ribs and oil after work. Just come home early, husband.]

[Xiao Kui: Oil is heavy, make your husband carry it. @Xiang Zhen.]

[Xiang Zhen: No need to worry, I’m strong.]

[Xiao Kui: At least make him pay. You don’t know the cost of fuel and rice unless you manage a household; participating in marital life is the hard truth.]

Zhou Sicheng ended the conversation: “I’ll buy it.”

[Xiang Zhen: Husband, don’t buy sunflower seed oil. I don’t eat that.]

[Xiao Kui: Buy peanut oil; it’s suitable for deep-frying.]

[Xiang Zhen: Okay, just buy the cheap one.]

Zhou Sicheng called his household manager directly and told him to deliver a barrel of premium peanut oil.

At 5:30, Zhou Sicheng walked out of the Zhoufu Building right on time, carrying a barrel of oil.

In the underground garage, a Hummer had recently been parking next to his BYD. When Zhou Sicheng walked past it, he couldn’t help but lift his foot and give it a kick.

“Pfft—” Fan Hao in the driver’s seat wasn’t annoyed at all. Ever since he discovered that Zhou Sicheng was inexplicably driving a BYD to work every day, Fan Hao’s greatest joy was witnessing Zhou Sicheng parking or driving his car, followed by a hearty laugh.

Who could understand how satisfying this was, after being used like a beast of burden by Zhou Sicheng every day, and recently taking on a massive amount of night entertaining on his behalf?

If it weren’t for Zhou Sicheng strictly forbidding him from following, he would have loved to see where Zhou Sicheng was driving that car.

Fan Hao specifically got out of the car: “Yo, do you also get a share of the rice, flour, and oil for the Dragon Boat Festival? How come I didn’t get any?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Don’t force me to kick your leg.”

Fan Hao dodged, opened his door, and got in: “Who’s going to help you attend those dinners if my leg is crippled?”

Zhou Sicheng: “Wait a second.”

Fan Hao thought his conscience had struck, and he was going to attend in person tonight.

Zhou Sicheng: “Which dessert shop is the best?”

Fan Hao got angry whenever he mentioned this—the cakes he had cheekily packed for himself had been hijacked by Zhou Sicheng. “I have no obligation to answer.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Speak, fast.”

Fan Hao: “No. 16 Haihua Road.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Thanks.”

Fan Hao watched Zhou Sicheng disappear in a cloud of dust, more and more convinced that he must be hiding a mistress in a golden house.

…

No. 16 Haihua Road.

Zhou Sicheng was not skilled at selecting desserts. Deep-fried pork ribs needed to be marinated first, and Xiang Zhen didn’t understand how, so he had to wait for him to go back to do it, which would take some time.

He was afraid Xiang Zhen would be hungry, so he planned to buy him a dessert first to pad his stomach.

Every dessert in the shop looked like something Xiang Zhen would love.

But Zhou Sicheng was only going to buy one.

Hmph, if he eats too much, whose pork ribs is he going to eat?

Finally, Zhou Sicheng picked a cream-filled puppy the size of his palm. Xiang Zhen watched PAW Patrol every day, he should really like dogs, right.

He scanned the code to pay 398 yuan, and when the payment record popped up, Zhou Sicheng subconsciously clicked delete.

“…” Practice makes perfect.

The pork ribs that night were delicious, and the cake was also delicious.

Xiang Zhen didn’t eat alone; no matter how good the cake was, he would split half for Zhou Sicheng: “Husband, you’re amazing. You were able to buy such a delicious cake for six yuan.”

Zhou Sicheng pursed his lips and said nothing. He could also buy a whole house for six yuan—amazing, right?

Zhou Sicheng returned early, and after enough interaction with his husband, Xiang Zhen went to bed early.

At 10:00 PM, Xiang Zhen fell into a deep sleep.

Zhou Sicheng rubbed his hair and pinched his cheeks, but there was no response. He got out of bed, feeling at ease—it was time to go to the gym to burn off the excess cake he’d consumed.

Tap, the bedroom door closed softly.

Zhou Sicheng nodded toward Shi Ting—strengthen the surveillance while he was away.

Inside the room, Xiang Zhen, who was on the bed, frowned.

An hour and a half later, the scent belonging to his “Sun God” husband grew fainter and fainter. Xiang Zhen turned over, failed to embrace his husband, and sat up with sleepy eyes: “Husband?”

“Husband?”

Hmm, where did he go?

Xiang Zhen took a look in the bathroom—no one there. His heart fluttered with panic, and he hurriedly picked up his phone to call.

Right at this moment, Zhou Sicheng opened the door and returned, a gust of wind rushing in with him.

Xiang Zhen’s blonde hair, which had been ruffled from sleep, was blown against his face by the wind, making him look a bit dazed: “Husband, where did you go?”

Zhou Sicheng helped him smooth the hair on his forehead with effortless grace and said, “Went outside to make a phone call.”

Xiang Zhen: “What phone call?”

Zhou Sicheng: “To set the specific time for the interview on Saturday.”

Xiang Zhen wrapped his arms around his neck: “Husband, you will definitely get the job.”

Even if Zhou Sicheng was job-hunting actively just to buy a house, it was still to improve their living situation.

Zhou Sicheng casually hoisted him back onto the bed, suddenly realizing Xiang Zhen was truly very light—like a handful of grass. Having just finished a heavy-weight training session, he had an effortless, tangible sense of comparison.

The kitchen is just a display piece; no wonder he’s so thin. If it wasn’t for him cooking, what kind of junk would Xiang Zhen be eating every day?

“Keep sleeping, put on some weight.”

Smelling the warm scent of the sun, Xiang Zhen closed his eyes.

Wait.

The humidity isn’t right.

Zhou Sicheng showered again.

Xiang Zhen opened his eyes and quietly reached down, pretending to be nonchalant, to swipe at Zhou Sicheng’s abs. He hooked open the edge of his shorts—it wasn’t the same pair of underwear, either!

His hand, which had been touching his chest muscles, instinctively contracted, and he froze once more. The feel of the chest muscles was different, too—they were engorged, indicating Zhou Sicheng had just exercised!

Husband lied.

He didn’t go to make a phone call.

Zhou Sicheng’s cortisol levels were rising, and with Xiang Zhen still poking and prodding, he couldn’t help but frown and say: “Don’t want to sleep anymore?”