39th Meow

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Of course, far away in the luxurious office of the Huo Group, where Huo Zheng was filled with love and sweetness, he had no idea that on the other side of the city, He Yunzhou involuntarily shivered after hearing his voice message.

In the beginning, He Yunzhou even suspected something was wrong with Huo Zheng’s phone. Otherwise, why would Huo Zheng’s tone sound so different from his usual self? Admittedly, Huo Zheng’s deliberately lowered, magnetic voice was still pleasant to listen to, but that peculiar way of speaking made He Yunzhou feel vaguely uncomfortable.

In fact, when He Yunzhou sent that wedding invitation to Huo Zheng, he was in a state of extreme confusion and despair. The dark emotions and memories that he had been forcibly suppressing deep within himself surged up at that moment, pulling him into a deep emotional quagmire. It was precisely in this state that He Yunzhou, with trembling hands, sent the message to Huo Zheng. He invited Huo Zheng to accompany him to Shu Ran’s wedding not just to continue putting on an act in front of that person, but also because he feared that if he went alone, he might completely lose control at the wedding.

Amidst the chaos in his mind, Huo Zheng’s name stood out with such clarity.

Was it because that person resembled Gua Ji too much? Perhaps that was why, even though they hadn’t met and known each other for a long time, the man with beautiful silver-gray hair and green eyes had gradually become He Yunzhou’s solace in his suffering.

When He Yunzhou saw Huo Zheng’s affirmative response, he was at his most painful and torturous moment—he was on the verge of losing control over his tears and sanity.

However, just when he thought he was about to break down, he heard Huo Zheng’s voice message in reply.

“…”

A brief, indistinct feeling of embarrassment flashed by, and He Yunzhou’s pain was quickly replaced by confusion and bewilderment.

Of course, He Yunzhou soon realized Huo Zheng had probably noticed his loss of composure, right? After all, his response had sounded rather unseemly. That must have been why Huo Zheng chose to comfort him in such an awkward manner—despite the awkwardness, He Yunzhou could still sense the reassurance in Huo Zheng’s reply.

“Seriously…”

Even in this way, he was so much like Gua Ji.

When Gua Ji was still alive, the cat would also keenly notice He Yunzhou’s emotions. When everything was normal, Gua Ji always appeared difficult to deal with and aloof. However, whenever He Yunzhou encountered a problem, that cat would clumsily comfort its downcast human in its own way. Even though, from a cat’s perspective, it could never truly understand the dilemmas He Yunzhou faced, it could always sense when its two-legged beast needed a little bit of comfort.

“Meow…”

Just as He Yunzhou was thinking this, a warm, furry sensation suddenly came from beside his hand.

When he looked down, he saw Nan Gua’s round, plump face. The cat was staring intently at He Yunzhou with wide eyes.

Then, Nan Gua leaned over and began to gently rub its forehead and cheeks against He Yunzhou’s arm.

“Even you’re worried about me?”

He Yunzhou allowed Nan Gua to nuzzle against him a few more times, finally unable to hold back a bitter smile.

He picked up Nan Gua and buried his face deeply in the cat’s fur.

Nan Gua carried the scent of the laundry detergent He Yunzhou often used, and its thick layers of fat and dense fur felt exceptionally warm and soft.

When He Yunzhou came back to his senses, he realized that petting the cat had gradually calmed him down.

Of course, he also had to thank Huo Zheng’s strange and awkward attempt at comfort.

Once he had calmed down, He Yunzhou thought again about his earlier decision to specifically invite Huo Zheng to Shu Ran’s wedding and felt a vague sense of unease.

After all, he had initially lied to Shu Ran without telling Huo Zheng about it.

And now, because of that small lie, He Yunzhou found himself needing to tell even more lies—

Such a scene, surprisingly, was a bit of déjà vu.

As he thought this, another man’s face emerged from the depths of He Yunzhou’s buried memories.

He Yunzhou shuddered, instinctively unwilling to dwell on it.

It would be better to come clean with Huo Zheng and retract that absurd invitation he had made earlier…

He Yunzhou couldn’t help but think.

However, just as this thought crossed his mind, He Yunzhou received a new message from Huo Zheng.

He picked up his phone and opened the message window, only to see dozens of messages pop up on the screen.

[Huo Zheng: What do you think would be better for me to wear over there?]

Then, He Yunzhou saw a photo of Huo Zheng wearing a suit.

Moreover, there were photos of the front, side, and back.

It seemed like Huo Zheng had taken those photos specifically after receiving the invitation.

He Yunzhou: “Uh…”

He looked at the photos popping up one after another, feeling perplexed.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed that Huo Zheng had tried on several different suits.

[Huo Zheng: Which one do you think looks better?]

Holding his phone, He Yunzhou found himself at a loss for how to respond.

However, Huo Zheng didn’t seem to mind. He continued to cheerfully send more of his photos to He Yunzhou.

[Huo Zheng: Sorry, I’m not too familiar with the wedding customs of your friend. Maybe these suits are too formal?]

[Casual Suit 1.jpg]

[Casual Suit 2.jpg]

[Casual Suit 3.jpg]

^……

He Yunzhou had to admit one thing: Perhaps because he was human, Huo Zheng’s way of sending messages, taking photos, and bombarding him on WeChat was indeed more comforting than Gua Ji.

For example, right now, the huge impact of Shu Ran’s wedding has been replaced by extreme confusion and unease.

He Yunzhou couldn’t quite understand Huo Zheng’s enthusiasm and eagerness about attending the wedding. To be honest, with Huo Zheng’s attitude, his previous plans seemed unlikely to work out.

After much hesitation, He Yunzhou carefully composed a reply to Huo Zheng.

[A Little Boat Swaying: You don’t need to go through so much trouble. It was just a casual invitation, so if you’re busy, you don’t have to come. I feel quite embarrassed seeing you put so much effort into dealing with my personal matters.]

Huo Zheng replied faster than lightning.

[Huo Zheng: You never need to say you’re sorry with me.]

[Huo Zheng: I’m actually very happy to be invited to a friend’s wedding.]

[Huo Zheng: At least it means I’m indeed special to you.]

Seeing the last message, He Yunzhou’s eyelid twitched, and he nearly thought Huo Zheng had figured out his little hidden thoughts.

But then he realized that it was probably because he had comforted Huo Zheng that night. Huo Zheng had come to see him as quite a good friend.

It wasn’t surprising, considering that since that day, their interactions had seemed increasingly casual and relaxed.

His phone buzzed again, and He Yunzhou saw Huo Zheng’s new message.

[Huo Zheng: I’m looking forward to it.]

Huo Zheng’s happiness was openly displayed in front of He Yunzhou.

To him, it seemed like just an ordinary, pleasant wedding of a “friend.”

Considering that Huo Zheng had been so enthusiastic about visiting a completely ordinary and unremarkable park, attending an ordinary person’s wedding must also be quite an interesting experience for a rich person like him.

He Yunzhou paused for a moment, and Huo Zheng’s enthusiasm was instantly explained.

In this light, looking at the enthusiastic photos Huo Zheng had sent, He Yunzhou couldn’t help but show a faint, bitter smile.

Actually, it was for the best, he thought to himself. Since he couldn’t fully bless Shu Ran and Liang Mengmeng, at least Huo Zheng, who knew nothing about the situation, could bring joy and extend his blessings to those two girls on his behalf.

Thinking this way, He Yunzhou felt a gradual sense of relief, despite his lingering bitterness.

Perhaps he should thank Huo Zheng.

He Yunzhou thought that since meeting that person, he had received so much from the man who resembled Gua Ji so closely.

[A Little Boat Swaying: Are you busy? I’m making stewed durian chicken tonight. Would you like to come over?]

…

“Eat chicken… heh…”

Huo Zheng looked at the invitation from He Yunzhou on his phone, covering his face with his hand and smiling sweetly.

The feeling was truly too profound to describe with any language—although He Yunzhou was just asking if he wanted to come over for soup, Huo Zheng could sense that He Yunzhou actually had more he wanted to say but couldn’t express due to his shy nature. All the unspoken words eventually coalesced into a simple invitation: would you like to come over for soup?

This was an experience that Huo Zheng had never felt before.

Would you like to come to my place for some soup?

Would you like to have a meal?

Would you like some dessert…

…

Although these were just ordinary dishes, anything made by He Yunzhou seemed to carry some indescribable, profound meaning. Every bite he took was filled with the man’s deep affection.

It made him feel warm and deeply satisfied.

Thinking of this, all the trouble he had gone through—inviting his familiar designer, sending dozens of suits to the office, posing diligently, and pretending to be relaxed while taking and sending photos to He Yunzhou—seemed worthwhile.

Ah, speaking of those photos…

There was actually a bit of Huo Zheng’s own subtle scheming involved.

Most of the suits he chose were tailored and form-fitting, and the shirts were even a size smaller than usual—just enough to showcase his toned chest.

This was the first time he had so boldly and directly given such hints to another man.

Before this, he had never felt that seducing someone would be such an agonizing and difficult thing, but now, he had experienced it for the first time.

When he sent those photos, his heart raced wildly, and he was so nervous that his hands even shook a little.

But why hadn’t He Yunzhou given any additional comments on the photos?

Huo Zheng suddenly realized this and his entire being immediately became afflicted.

He began to frantically look back at the messages He Yunzhou had sent him, but the only comments he could find were a few brief, “Pretty good.”

At that moment, Huo Zheng’s gaze suddenly stopped on a few photos in the message log.

They were likely some less-than-ideal photos he had accidentally sent due to a slip of his hand.

It must be the angle ba, Huo Zheng thought. In those photos, his stomach appeared slightly protruding.

“…”

Huo Zheng stared at those photos in disbelief. After a few seconds of daze, he sprinted to the dressing room in the lounge and tore open his shirt.

Having been busy with work and his relationship recently, Huo Zheng hadn’t taken a close look at himself in a long time.

So it was only now that he realized a terrifying thing.

Where had his abs… gone?

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The author has something to say:

Huo Zheng, in shock: My abs… why are my abs gone…

…

…

…^[1]There were this much ellipsis in the raw lmao

He Yunzhou: …Oh no.

———–

Haha, it’s okay la. Mr. Huo’s abs lines are just less defined now. He used to work out seriously before, so his eight-pack abs were perfect.

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Jie Jie: Sorry for posting just now, I got too busy and things happened irl. Also, I went on a trip with my friends.

Schedule for this will be sporadic. Thank you!