Green Tea Enters The Story Of Abuse [Book] Chapter 18
byChapter 18 I Want to Pat His Head.
The change in his body was too obvious, impossible to cover up with an excuse.
Xing Zhan’s mind went blank with a buzzing sound.
A strange, hot sense of awkwardness exploded within him. He quickly flipped over and away, pulling the corner of the quilt to cover his waist.
An Yu subconsciously looked up.
Xing Zhan lowered his eyes, maintaining the calm of someone who had weathered great storms: “Normal physiological reaction, don’t overthink it.”
An Yu: “……Oh.”
Men were relatively fragile and sensitive in this regard; there was nothing to overthink.
However, this was where the disadvantage of being an employee came in.
If it were a colleague or friend, he would definitely tease them maliciously: “But your ears are red, aren’t they?”
If he said that to Xing Zhan, he would definitely have his pay docked.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, and just then, the Little Orange Cat meowed.
An Yu got out of bed, picked up the cat, and muttered to himself, “You want canned food? Gege will open it for you,” as he left the bedroom.
Silence returned to the bedroom.
Xing Zhan let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at the messy quilt, reached out, and failed to smooth it out, so he had to shake it.
The physical urge had not yet subsided.
He didn’t know when the change had occurred.
During the brief “try,” Xing Zhan only felt that An Yu was very light, with slender bones and lively features, vaguely similar in size to the Little Orange Cat, but more vivid.
An Yu did have some foundation in fighting, but for Xing Zhan, the difficulty wasn’t subduing An Yu; it was ensuring his strength wasn’t too great, lest he injure him.
Before going to sleep, Xing Zhan said, “I will handle the matter of the betrothal gifts.”
An Yu: “Mm… huh?”
He scrambled up: “Don’t bother. I’ve already smoothed things over; there won’t be any problems for a year. If you handle it, and they realize you care about me, what if they demand an exorbitant price? Besides, I told them we aren’t getting along well, which makes them feel better, and they treat me much better too. I haven’t enjoyed this enough yet…”
An Yu was currently at a point of balance with the An Family.
He used the grievance of being a substitute bride to suppress An Shi, and used his identity as Xing Zhan’s partner to “struggle” to provide help to Father An, living quite comfortably.
Once this balance was broken, he would need to find a new one, which was troublesome.
Seeing Xing Zhan remain silent, An Yu tugged at his sleeve: “Ge, please. Please, please…”
He knelt on the bed, holding the Little Orange Cat’s two front paws together in a bow. His skin was fair and tender, and his large eyes were watery, making him look utterly harmless.
As if knowing An Yu was pleading, the Little Orange Cat also let out soft meows.
Xing Zhan couldn’t understand how the An Family could be so cruel to someone like this.
He said, “True respect is earned through strength, and true care requires finding the right person. Constantly compromising will only make your situation worse.”
An Yu: “I know. But I only want their affection for now. Maybe one day I suddenly won’t want it anymore, but that’s not now.”
Xing Zhan: “……Foolish.”
It was truly strange. For such a foolish person, he actually wanted to pat his head.
An Yu curved his eyes: “You agreed, right? Thank you, Ge, you’re so kind~”
That night, Xing Zhan couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.
On a psychological level, he disliked An Yu’s cautiousness and constant compromise. Physiologically, he got out of bed and took two cold showers.
Because he hadn’t slept much, Xing Zhan noticed that An Yu seemed to be having a nightmare.
He didn’t know what he was dreaming about, perhaps winter, because he seemed to be afraid of the cold, pulling the quilt tightly to pile it up on his back and waist, muttering something about “no good.”
Xing Zhan happened to feel too hot, so he simply gave him all the quilt.
An Yu had nightmares all night.
He dreamed of being chased and bitten by a fierce black leopard. It seemed to be on a grassland, extremely hot. He ran, drenched in sweat, his legs aching…
He heard that having nightmares meant insufficient Yang energy.
An Yu quickly sunbathed by the window for an entire day.
He wasn’t being lazy and skipping the Old Manor.
Old Master Xing didn’t want him to visit too frequently, saying he should go at most once every three days, and if he was bored, he should go play with Xing Zhan.
An Yu knew the Old Master was afraid of disturbing his and Xing Zhan’s newlywed life. Since he couldn’t explain the situation, he had to stick to visiting every three days.
However, on weekends, he and Xing Zhan would go to the Old Manor together.
This weekend, while An Yu was away, Old Master Xing complained to Xing Zhan, asking why he hadn’t brought An Yu to Old Master Liu’s birthday banquet a few days ago: “You are married now; you can’t be as arbitrary as before. Official business is one thing, but it’s improper to leave your partner out of social events like this!”
If An Yu hadn’t happened to be with him that day, he wouldn’t have known anything.
To be honest, An Yu actually knew about the banquet, having heard Wu Yuan instructing the servants to prepare a gift.
Xing Zhan hadn’t mentioned it to him, and An Yu didn’t ask. Instead, on the day of the banquet, he went to keep Old Master Xing company, saying he had learned a new dish he wanted the elderly man to try.
Now, the Old Master was defending his rights.
Later, to appease the Old Master, even if Xing Zhan didn’t take him to large banquets, he would definitely have to take him to friend gatherings, and meeting Zong Lanfeng would naturally follow.
An Yu had calculated against Xing Zhan, so he felt bad letting him be scolded again. He quickly rushed over with the cat: “Grandpa, I found the cat. It was catching butterflies in the garden.”
He handed the cat to the Old Master, then hugged Xing Zhan’s arm and said, “Don’t blame Brother Xing. He told me, but I didn’t want to go. You said before that I’m too thin right now and don’t look good. There are so many people at a banquet… I’ll wait until I gain some weight, at least five pounds, before going.”
The Old Master immediately regretted his words: “You don’t look bad now! I just wanted you to eat more…”
An Yu said, “Then for lunch, I want to eat spareribs with preserved plums, shrimp, and fish soup. I’ll eat more and strive to look better sooner.”
Xing Zhan silently watched An Yu talk to the Old Master.
Unknowingly, An Yu had become like the Old Master’s own grandson. The moment he appeared, the entire Old Manor became lively.
Wu Yuan was right.
It was fortunate that An Yu was the one who married in.
Someone like An Shi, the Old Master would definitely dislike.
At lunch that day, An Yu deliberately ate a lot, stuffing himself until he was full.
He secretly asked Xing Zhan if he had any medicine for indigestion.
Xing Zhan found the medicine, and seeing An Yu still uncomfortable, he asked, “Should I rub it for you?”
An Yu shook his head: “No need, I feel much better.”
He didn’t want to accidentally rub up any more heat; he was truly afraid of him.
Xing Zhan’s hand still settled on An Yu’s stomach, moving as he spoke: “Are you upset?”
The pressure was quite moderate, and An Yu sighed comfortably: “About what?”
Xing Zhan: “Not taking you to the banquet.”
It was something both parties had tacitly agreed upon, but An Yu’s excellent and obedient performance in front of the Old Master made it seem like he was being bullied.
An Yu: “No, I was the one who did something wrong; you’ve been very tolerant. Besides, I have plans too. A friend invited me out for dinner tomorrow. I’m not taking you either, so we’re even!”
As he spoke, he lifted his chin, looking very proud.
A flicker of amusement crossed Xing Zhan’s eyes.
For a moment, he even wanted to say they could go together, but in the end, he said nothing. They weren’t real partners after all, and some boundaries had to be respected.
When An Yu woke up from his nap, he found twenty thousand yuan added to his phone.
Xing Zhan: [A reward for making Grandpa happy].
An Yu replied with a rolling cat emoji, thinking that making money was too easy. If there was more work like this, he would take it.
He hadn’t lied to Xing Zhan; he did have plans for tomorrow afternoon.
His university classmate, Zeng Lang, had invited him for a meal.
Zeng Lang seemed to be in some trouble.
He had a good relationship with the Original Host. For the Original Host’s sake, An Yu thought he should meet him, and help if he could.
He had money now, and most things in the world could be solved with money.
Zeng Lang was also thinking about An Yu.
After hesitating for a long time, he still didn’t tell An Yu not to come tomorrow. He opened his bank card and looked at the newly credited twenty thousand yuan for the umpteenth time.
That person asked him to arrange a meeting with An Yu, and there would be another thirty thousand after the deed was done.
It was just a meeting. The person looked like a young master, and he was handsome too. Maybe he was An Yu’s suitor. It shouldn’t be a big deal.