ASSHKHME Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Courage

The sky was clear after the rain, as if washed clean, and the distant mountains were lush and green.

After breakfast, Chen Zhuo strolled leisurely down the winding stone path, his lungs feeling cleansed with each cool, refreshing breath.

A timid mountain sparrow, startled by the sound of footsteps, fluttered away, shaking the branches and showering Chen Zhuo with droplets of water.

Chen Zhuo didn’t seem annoyed. The corners of his eyes curved into a soft arc as he looked up in the direction the little sparrow had flown, raising his arm to wave goodbye.

The morning sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, landing on his fingertips, golden and warm, seemingly able to dispel the long-standing nightmare that weighed on his heart.

Chen Zhuo retracted his hand and stood still, rubbing his fingertips together.

For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether the morning sunlight or Xie Yu’s embrace in the dead of night was warmer.

Chen Zhuo scratched his head and muttered to himself softly, with a blank expression, “This is insane.”

It must be the suspension bridge effect! Terrible.

No longer in the mood to admire the scenery after the rain, Chen Zhuo hurried towards the place he had arranged to meet the online car-hailing driver, as if avoiding a terrifying monster.

Instead of returning to school, the online car-hailing service stopped at the east gate of an old residential area in Jiangbei city.

After paying, the online car-hailing service drove away.

He hadn’t been back in ten years, but today he suddenly had the courage.

Chen Zhuo stood at the entrance of the residential area, gazing at the sign that had weathered twenty years of wind and rain and was now mottled. His nose felt sour, and his eyes gradually moistened.

This was Chen Zhuo’s home, the place that held the happiest nine years of his life.

The red property certificate initially had his parents’ names on it, but later it changed to his, and the household register was only a thin page left.

The pedestrian passage at the entrance adopted facial recognition technology.

Chen Zhuo originally wanted to sneak in behind other residents, but unexpectedly, the moment he came into contact with the camera, it displayed a successful recognition.

Chen Zhuo was stunned for a moment, but didn’t think too much about it. He just marveled in his heart at how powerful big data networking was nowadays, probably capturing his ID photo through the information on the property certificate.

The small supermarket that sold snacks had been replaced by a fruit store, the green area that used to be a lawn had been trampled into a path by residents, and the door of the unit building was rusty, paint peeling, and could no longer be closed tightly…

In the shade of the locust trees, several old men and women were playing mahjong. Seeing the handsome young man standing at the entrance of the unit building, hesitating to go in, they asked enthusiastically, “Which family are you from? We haven’t seen you before? Are you here to find someone?”

Chen Zhuo smiled lightly at them: “I’m coming home.”

After saying that, he went straight through the door and walked upstairs.

The building was cool and echoed with footsteps, stopping on the third floor at room 302.

The liver-red anti-theft door was covered with small lock-opening advertisements. Chen Zhuo took off the rather stylish necklace hidden in his clothes. The pendant was a modified key that looked like a decoration.

The key was inserted into the lock, and a “click” sound was made when it was turned. Chen Zhuo’s heart “thumped” in his chest.

The expected dust did not rush towards him. The room could even be described as bright and clean.

The arrangement of the items was exactly the same as it was ten years ago. The shoe cabinet contained the slippers of his family of three, which were already very old. There was even a toy gun that Chen Zhuo had left lying around back then and hadn’t had time to clean up in the sofa.

Chen Zhuo clenched the key, and it took a long time for him to realize that the facial recognition at the entrance of the residential area was not some big data networking, but that Xu Qingyou had been taking care of this home for him, and he had never known.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t touched.

Chen Zhuo was about to call Xu Qingyou to express his gratitude when he received a video call from “Brutish Wild Boar”.

What was with the habit of sending video calls to people without warning?

Chen Zhuo hesitated for more than ten seconds before clicking to answer, revealing Xie Yu’s handsome and unruly face on the screen.

Xie Yu was eating, holding a half-eaten corn in his hand.

Obviously, he had already persuaded himself and adjusted his emotions, and said in a cocky manner, “Where did you go? Don’t tell me you’re staging some runaway bride scene? It was just sleeping in the same bed, are you shy?”

Chen Zhuo sat on the sofa, playing with the toy gun, and said leisurely, “What do I have to be shy about? On the contrary, you, it’s only been two hours since we last saw each other and you’re already giving me a video call. What’s up? Do you miss your husband?”

Xie Yu almost spat out a mouthful of soup, “Cough cough cough what, what the hell? Hu, husband…”

His tongue seemed to be tied up and he couldn’t repeat the term at all. Xie Yu choked and his face turned red, “Are you crazy? Who gave you the courage!”

Chen Zhuo said, “Fish Leong.”

“…” Xie Yu laughed, and suddenly, through the one-way glass of the restaurant, he saw a familiar figure.

He sneered, “You brothers have a pretty good relationship. Xu Qingyou isn’t here to pick you up, is he? Are you a child without the ability to take care of yourself?”

“Did Qingyou-ge go to the villa?”

Chen Zhuo looked at the wall clock, which showed 10:00 AM. “Why did he return to Jiangbei so quickly?”

“How would I know, hehe.” Xie Yu couldn’t help asking, “Does he like you?”

Chen Zhuo retorted, “Your heart sees everything as dirty. Are you homophobic and think everyone is gay? Qingyou-ge is an only child, don’t talk nonsense.”

Xie Yu “hehe” said: “Aren’t you also an only child?”

Chen Zhuo smiled: “My parents are dead, I’m an orphan and nobody cares about me.”

What a sincere reply.

The smile on Xie Yu’s face froze. Before he could say anything more, Chen Zhuo had already hung up the phone.

The phone showed two missed calls. Chen Zhuo called back, and the other side quickly answered, “Xiao Zhuo, I just called you, but it kept showing that the user was busy. Aren’t you at the villa?”

Chen Zhuo scratched his head, “Um, Qingyou-ge, I’ve already returned to the city. You finished work so early, I didn’t have time to tell you.”

“I see…” Xu Qingyou didn’t say anything accusatory, and said calmly, “As long as you’re safe.”

Chen Zhuo gave an “um” sound, “I, I’m at my house. Thank you for always taking care of it for me, really thank you.”

A hint of subtle smile appeared in Xu Qingyou’s eyes, “You’ve finally taken this step, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you.” Chen Zhuo repeated sincerely again, “Really thank you, Qingyou-ge, if it weren’t for your care and guidance…”

Xu Qingyou interrupted him, chuckled softly, “Alright, let’s not say such polite words between us. I’ll go back to the city in a while, do you want to be alone, or do you want to have dinner with me?”

“Um… I want to be alone for a while, can I?”

Chen Zhuo stroked the photo of his family of three hanging on the wall. The happiness in their eyes was still clearly discernible across ten years.

Xu Qingyou: “Okay, I’ll come over when you invite me.”

After hanging up the phone, Chen Zhuo put the phone aside.

Pushing open the door to the master bedroom, the sunlight filtered through the white yarn curtains, like the warm palms of his parents, gently stroking his cheeks.

Chen Zhuo said softly to the empty room, “Mom and Dad, I’m back.”