ASSHKHME Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Holding a Grudge

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Qingyou had to accompany his mother back to his maternal grandmother’s to pay New Year’s visits.

Witnessing other people’s family reunions was too cruel for a child with no relatives, so in previous years, Chen Zhuo would ask to stay alone at the Xu’s residence. Xu Keyuan and Zheng Fei also didn’t want to take him out in public, so it suited their wishes.

Before meeting Xie Yu, the New Year had no meaning for Chen Zhuo. The only memorable thing was probably that every year, Xu Qingyou would give his New Year’s money to Chen Zhuo.

Although these red envelopes were just for the sake of festivity and didn’t contain large sums, they were like a fortune to Chen Zhuo when he was a child. He would save them and use them to sign up for painting classes.

The winter mornings were especially cold. Chen Zhuo saw Xu Qingyou and his mother off. After Zheng Fei got into the car first, he took out a red envelope from his down jacket pocket and handed it to Xu Qingyou.

Xu Qingyou was stunned for a moment, looking down at the red envelope in his hand. “Huh? What’s this?”

Chen Zhuo smiled somewhat shyly. “This is money I earned myself. It’s not much, only a thousand. Qingyou-ge, Happy New Year!”

People, after all, still need to save some private money. If that “petty” wife of his found out, there would be a ruckus.

Xu Qingyou revealed a hint of surprise, a faint smile appearing between his eyebrows. “Xiao Zhuo has really grown up, able to earn so much money. Thank you for the red envelope, then I’ll accept it.”

Chen Zhuo smiled and joked, “Does a thousand yuan even count as money in CEO Xu’s eyes?”

Xu Qingyou put the red envelope away and reached out to ruffle Chen Zhuo’s curly hair. “I’m very pleased. Alright, it’s cold outside, go back inside quickly.”

Only then did Chen Zhuo get to the point, stammering, “Ge, um, I’m going home today, okay? I also have some accumulated manuscripts, and there’s nothing else going on, so I want to go back and finish them.”

After saying that, he lifted his eyelids and secretly glanced at Xu Qingyou’s expression, meeting Xu Qingyou’s gaze just right, and laughed guiltily.

Xu Qingyou knew that Chen Zhuo was definitely not just going back to work on his manuscripts. Although he had decided to be a good older brother, he couldn’t completely suppress his emotions with reason, and a feeling of bitterness inevitably arose in his heart.

He said, “At least there are chefs and nannies here. And Xie Yu will probably be spending time with his family these days. Are you sure you’ll be okay living alone?”

Chen Zhuo didn’t expect Xu Qingyou to so mercilessly expose his little scheme, and quickly waved his hands. “I’m not, I’m not living with him. I’m just, I’m just… I’m really going back to work on my manuscripts.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Xie Yu wouldn’t be able to spend time with him anyway, and he really would be working on his manuscripts alone when he went back.

Xu Qingyou didn’t continue to dwell on the topic. “Alright, then take good care of yourself. Call me if you need anything.”

Chen Zhuo nodded like a garlic pounder. At this moment, Zheng Fei opened the car window to urge them on. Xu Qingyou said, “I’m leaving, go inside quickly.”

Chen Zhuo waved his hand, took a few steps backward, and only completely breathed a sigh of relief after watching the red taillights of the van disappear around the corner.

Too embarrassing. It was so awkward that he could dig out an Arendelle castle with his toes.

The north wind blew the remaining snow into his neck, chilling Chen Zhuo to the point that he shivered. He quickly turned around and went back inside, planning to take a nap first, and then head back when the sun was shining after lunch.

At two o’clock in the afternoon, after replying to Xie Yu’s message, Chen Zhuo strolled leisurely towards the subway station.

He’d been eating too well these past two days, indulging in too much meat and rich food, and Chen Zhuo felt a body crisis. He decided that after returning to Xie Yu’s place, he would spend at least an hour every day exercising.

Xie Yu’s penthouse apartment had a small fitness room installed. Although it wasn’t as comprehensive as a real gym, it had basic fitness equipment that could meet his usual exercise needs.

During the time he’d been living with Xie Yu, Chen Zhuo’s favorite thing to do was to watch Xie Yu run.

In front of the wide French windows, the young boy would wear only athletic pants, his bare upper body muscles bulging with blood, covered in a layer of light sweat.

And outside the window, the setting sun was like blood, the afterglow of the sunset reflecting the constant rise and fall of his chest.

Such beautiful scenery.

Chen Zhuo exhaled a breath of cold white air, feeling a bit too warm from wearing too many clothes.

Suddenly, the sound of a car horn came from behind him. Chen Zhuo didn’t turn around, leaning towards the right side of the road.

But the car didn’t pass him. Instead, it drove at a snail’s pace, following his footsteps.

Chen Zhuo turned his head in confusion and saw the person he had just been thinking about appear in his field of vision.

He was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, “Xie Yu, why are you here?”

Xie Yu whistled at him and shouted, “Hubby’s picking you up to go home. Get in the car, you’re freezing.”

Chen Zhuo buried half of his face in his collar, not daring to look around to see if anyone was there. He grabbed the car door and hurriedly got in, complaining, “Don’t shout so loud in public, people will hear.”

Xie Yu scoffed. “You’ve been gay for so many years, how can you still be so cowardly? It’s not against the law.”

The car’s heater was on full blast. Chen Zhuo unzipped his down jacket and retorted, not willing to be outdone, “Oh really? Is this still the same young master Xie who wanted to stay eight hundred meters away from me after finding out I was gay and then shout to the sky, ‘I’m straight’?”

Xie Yu laughed. “What nonsense are you spouting? Pure slander. When did I ever stay eight hundred meters away from you?”

Chen Zhuo cleared his throat. “You’re farting! Who would like a man’s ass! How disgusting!”

Xie Yu was speechless, wanting to laugh. This guy really held a grudge! Not missing a single word.

Chen Zhuo looked at the rearview mirror. There were no cars or pedestrians.

He leaned closer to Xie Yu, acting like he was asking for a beating. “Who would like it? Who is it?”

Xie Yu smiled and used a hand to push Chen Zhuo’s head away. “Me! I like it, okay? I’m driving, don’t tease the driver.”

He glanced at Chen Zhuo, who was curled up lazily in the passenger seat, and realized that Chen Zhuo was no longer as tense when riding in a car.

It was a good sign.

Chen Zhuo squinted slightly in the sunlight, suddenly remembering something, and asked, “By the way, what happened to that idiot we met at the hotel the other day? Has he been bothering you?”

Xie Yu snorted and smiled. “That grandson doesn’t have time to bother me now. Qi Zi found evidence of his messing around and sent it to his uncle. It’s said that he’s now locked up at home and his cards have been cut off. He’s a fool, how could he have time to bother me?”

Hearing this, Chen Zhuo nodded. “That’s good, but I still feel uneasy. We should still be careful in the future. Although being gay isn’t against the law, it’s still a niche orientation. In the eyes of the public, it’s similar to being a freak…”

Xie Yu gripped the steering wheel. “Has someone bullied you because of this before? When we went to the bar at the beginning of the semester, I didn’t say anything, but you yelled at me.”

Chen Zhuo laughed. “You really hold a grudge. No one said anything about me, it’s just…”

His mood suddenly dropped. “There used to be a boy in the class next door who was very good at studying and had a cheerful personality. But when it was discovered that he liked the same sex, everyone’s faces changed immediately, as if he was a heinous criminal. In the end, it reached the teacher, and his parents found out…”

Xie Yu asked softly, “What happened then?”

Chen Zhuo shook his head. “I don’t know the specifics. I just heard someone say that he jumped off a building. He didn’t die, but he was paralyzed. Such a bright future, just because he was gay…”

Xie Yu interrupted him. “It wasn’t because he was gay. It’s because the people around him were too stupid and too bad, and it just so happened that he was young at the time and didn’t have the ability to protect himself.”

“I know, what’s wrong with sexual orientation? I’m just worried that if your parents find out, Xie Yu, we’re still too young and our wings aren’t strong enough to ignore our parents’ attitudes. I’m afraid…”

Chen Zhuo didn’t finish his sentence, looking out the car window.