Chapter 42

They had barely eaten when Song Chenglang suddenly stood up and left the dining table, causing the other three to stop and look at him in confusion.

Song Chenglang walked straight to the wine cabinet, selected a bottle of red wine, and when he returned to the table, he explained to Ren Suyi, “The kids haven’t been here in a while, let Xiao Mu have a drink with me.”

When he was young, Song Chenglang worked too hard and had constant social engagements, which led him to drink a lot and now suffer from high blood pressure. As a result, Ren Suyi kept him from drinking too much, but she couldn’t completely cut him off from social interactions, so she would let him drink a little when necessary.

He hadn’t had wine in a long time, but today he was in a good mood and wanted to have a drink with his family.

However, Song Wenzhou, due to his stomach issues, didn’t drink at all. In the past, Ren Suyi would occasionally drink with him to keep him company, but in recent years, she was so concerned about limiting his alcohol intake that she didn’t even have time to drink with him.

Now, the only person in the house who could have a drink with him was Mu Chi.

Actually, the fact that his son insisted on having a boyfriend wasn’t without its benefits.

“Drink, drink, just take it easy,” Ren Suyi said, unusually indulgent with her husband today.

Mu Chi stood up and took the dry white wine from Song Chenglang’s hand. After opening it, he poured two glasses and clinked glasses with his “father-in-law.”

Alcohol often helps open up a person, and after just one glass, Song Chenglang became more talkative.

In Song Wenzhou’s memories, his father was always decisive and direct. In their family, Ren Suyi played the role of the loving mother. While Song Chenglang wasn’t exactly strict, they rarely had heart-to-heart talks, with him usually doing more than speaking.

Perhaps it was because of age, or because his children had grown up and become independent, living away from him, but Song Chenglang had gradually become more sentimental.

At first, Song Wenzhou didn’t notice. When Ren Suyi would ask him on the phone to bring Mu Chi home for dinner, saying that Song Chenglang missed him, Song Wenzhou thought it was just Ren Suyi using his father as an excuse to get him to visit.

But over time, from various small details, he began to realize that what Ren Suyi said was probably true—Song Chenglang did miss him, but awkwardly didn’t know how to say it himself.

Song Wenzhou interpreted this awkwardness as “silent devotion being a man’s romance,” but it wasn’t entirely like that…

Song Chenglang cleared his throat. “Wenzhou, and Xiao Mu.”

Both Song Wenzhou and Mu Chi looked up at him. Seeing his father hesitate, Song Wenzhou asked in confusion, “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Song Chenglang gripped his glass and said somewhat awkwardly, “In the past, I tried to stop you two, said many unkind things… I hope you don’t hold it against me.”

“What are you talking about, Dad?” Song Wenzhou furrowed his brows.

“How could we…” Mu Chi added at the same time.

“Hold on, let me finish,” Song Chenglang interrupted them. “I don’t regret anything I did or said back then. My intentions have never changed. I just wanted Wenzhou to live well, to be happy. That’s why your mom and I, after holding on for so long, eventually compromised.”

He paused, then added with a smile, “Fortunately, luckily Xiao Mu is a good kid. After all these years, I can finally rest easy. As long as you two stay happy, there’s no need to worry about anything else. Your mom and I will never be against you.”

“Dad…” Song Wenzhou was so moved that he didn’t know what to say.

“Mom and Dad, don’t worry,” Mu Chi said seriously, gently holding Song Wenzhou’s hand under the table. “Even if my life were to be erased, Zhaozhao would forever be the software in my heart that can never be uninstalled.”

“…” Song Wenzhou forgot to be moved. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying I’ll always love you,” Mu Chi said without restraint, even in front of his parents.

Song Wenzhou, with his ears turning red, was about to speak when he was interrupted by Song Chenglang’s laughter.

“Hahaha, good!” Song Chenglang raised his glass to Mu Chi. “I hope I’ll have the honor of hearing you call me ‘Dad’ for the rest of my life. Come on, let’s have another drink.”

Ren Suyi immediately followed up, saying, “Last glass.”

The meal continued for almost an hour, with conversation mixed in with eating. During a break in the conversation between Mu Chi and his father, Song Wenzhou nudged Mu Chi’s arm and quietly reminded him, “Shouldn’t we let Dad cut the cake now? We should finish and head home.”

“Hmm?” Mu Chi pretended not to hear. “What did you say? You want to go home?”

“Go home?!” Ren Suyi overheard and chimed in, “You’re staying here tonight.”

“But we still have work tomorrow,” Song Wenzhou said weakly.

The real issue was their current unclear relationship. Asking Mu Chi to sleep in the guest room would be awkward, but if they slept together like before, it would feel… off.

“Can’t you go to work from here? If you need to change, there are clothes here. I’ve already washed and hung them in the wardrobe for you,” Ren Suyi asked, confused.

This wasn’t the first time such a situation had arisen.

“It’s not impossible,” Mu Chi answered quickly, but after glancing at Song Wenzhou, he reluctantly added, “…I guess?”

“Stop fussing,” Song Chenglang joined in, “Just sleep here. It’s a perfect chance for Xiao Mu to stay and talk with me some more.”

Three against one, Song Wenzhou had no say in the matter.

He secretly glared at Mu Chi. It was all his fault for not cooperating.

If Mu Chi had said he had something to do and needed to leave, his parents definitely wouldn’t have stopped him.

Mu Chi met his gaze without guilt. That’s right, he didn’t want to leave and break up with Song Wenzhou tonight. By staying here, he could sleep in the same room as Song Wenzhou under the watchful eyes of his parents, without any need to sneak around.

He might have been a little clever, but come on—Song Wenzhou was the one who said he wanted to chase after him. So, what was wrong with taking a little advantage?

Mu Chi smirked inwardly: What’s the point of glaring at me? No matter how you glare, I’ll still end up in your bed tonight.

Later that night, as Ren Suyi’s instructions echoed in the background, Mu Chi followed Song Wenzhou into the bedroom.

The room had changed a bit since six years ago.

After their relationship was accepted by Song Wenzhou’s parents, and Mu Chi had frequently visited to win their favor and stay over, the single bed that Song Wenzhou had originally slept on was replaced by a large bed, big enough for two adult men to sleep comfortably without crowding.

The desk had been moved, and there were now some books and electronic devices that Mu Chi had used, left behind from when he stayed there previously.

The single chair was replaced with a long, rectangular leather bench, where they could sit together to work or read.

As soon as they entered the room, Song Wenzhou closed the door behind them and lowered his voice, asking, “Didn’t you understand the hint I gave you earlier?”

“No,” Mu Chi replied, feigning confusion. “I might have been a bit drunk, so my brain didn’t process it fast enough.”

Song Wenzhou looked at him calmly. “You’re pretending again.”

He had seen it with his own eyes, the two of them had only drunk a little.

“Really,” Mu Chi pretended to rub his temples. “Dad’s collection of dry white wine is a bit stronger.”

“…Forget it.” Since they were staying anyway, Song Wenzhou couldn’t be bothered to argue further. He turned and walked over to the wardrobe to look for clothes to change into.

Song Wenzhou pulled out two sets of pajamas, holding one in each hand. “You want to go first, or should I?”

This scene hadn’t occurred in a long time, and Mu Chi felt a great sense of happiness. He licked his lips and said, “You go first. I suddenly feel a bit thirsty, I’ll go get some water.”

“Oh.” Song Wenzhou nodded and threw the slightly larger set of pajamas onto the bed, keeping the smaller one for himself.

Mu Chi drank a full glass of ice water in the kitchen. When he returned, Song Wenzhou had already entered the en suite bathroom. The faint sound of water splashing through the thin door stirred Mu Chi’s senses, and he suddenly felt a bit more drunk than he had realized.

More than ten minutes later, the bathroom door was pulled open from the inside, and the warm, steamy air rushed out. Song Wenzhou walked out, drying his hair with a towel.

“I’m done. You can go wash now,” he said to Mu Chi, who was sitting on the stool, looking at his phone.

Mu Chi put his phone down, turned to look at Song Wenzhou, and then furrowed his brow. “Your hair…”

“I know,” Song Wenzhou anticipated his words, raising his other hand to show him the hairdryer. “I’ll blow it outside.”

“That’s better.” Mu Chi muttered, got up, picked up the pajamas Song Wenzhou had thrown onto the bed, and was surprised to find a pair of underwear prepared for him underneath.

Mu Chi raised the corner of his mouth, grabbed the underwear casually, and hummed as he turned and walked to the bathroom.

As he passed by Song Wenzhou, Mu Chi caught a whiff of the shower gel’s fresh fragrance, mixed with the unique scent of Song Wenzhou. Before he could indulge and inhale a few more seconds, Song Wenzhou had already brushed past him.

Once inside the bathroom, Mu Chi undressed and stood under the shower, the first thing he did was switch the water temperature from what Song Wenzhou had set to cold water.

Because of certain reactions, Mu Chi took longer to shower than Song Wenzhou. When he came out of the bathroom, Song Wenzhou was already in bed, lying on his side under a light blanket, taking up very little space.

Mu Chi stared at the back of his head for a few seconds, then quietly turned off the main light. Using the faint light coming through the window, he climbed onto the other side of the bed.

The room was so quiet that every sound Mu Chi made while moving or turning on the bed seemed amplified.

“Zhouzhou,” he whispered, looking at the back of Song Wenzhou’s head. “Are you asleep?”

“…”

Song Wenzhou didn’t answer. His breathing was steady, but his eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Mu Chi silently grinned.

Having shared a bed for many years, he could tell if Song Wenzhou was awake just by the frequency of his breathing. He knew that Song Wenzhou was pretending to be asleep.

However, he didn’t intend to expose him. There was no benefit to doing so, and given the current situation, just sleeping together tonight was already a big step forward. Even if he woke Song Wenzhou, nothing would come of it, and it would probably just provoke an undesirable reaction.

“Good night,” Mu Chi said, finding a comfortable position and closing his eyes.

The night passed without a dream.

Song Wenzhou didn’t know when he had fallen asleep completely. He only felt that the place he was sleeping in was warm and comfortable all night. When he was woken up, he subconsciously nudged toward the warmth, reluctant to leave.

“Ha…” A man’s amused chuckle came from above.

Song Wenzhou struggled to open his eyes. His vision was blurry, and for a moment, he thought it was still dark outside. But when he lifted his head, he saw a clear jawline, followed by two rows of perfectly aligned white teeth.

“Stop acting cute. If you don’t get up now, you’ll be late for work.”

The two rows of teeth were intermittently revealed as his lips parted and closed.

Song Wenzhou suddenly woke up, realizing that at some point during the night, he had ended up in Mu Chi’s arms. The spot he had nudged toward earlier was Mu Chi’s neck.

Perhaps it was the muscle memory from years of sleeping together—his body automatically moved toward Mu Chi while he was asleep.

“Sorry,” Song Wenzhou quickly moved back, pulling his legs away from Mu Chi’s, which had been tightly tangled with his under the blanket. His face flushed with embarrassment as he asked, “What time is it?”

“Almost eight o’clock,” Mu Chi replied.

“Ah,” Song Wenzhou immediately sat up from the bed and rolled off, “It’s already eight o’clock!”

Mu Chi didn’t understand why he was in such a rush, but lazily got up and reassured him, “Don’t worry, we still have time.”

Although Mu Chi’s place was a bit further from Song Wenzhou’s office, it only took about half an hour to drive there without traffic.

“We don’t have time,” Song Wenzhou, not paying attention to anything else, quickly took off his pajamas and changed into a shirt in front of Mu Chi, urging, “Stop dragging it out, hurry up and get up.”

Mu Chi, satisfied with watching Song Wenzhou change, followed his lead and sped up his own preparations.

Under the watchful eyes of Mu Chi and Ren Suyi, Song Wenzhou tried his best to eat breakfast slowly. He grabbed the car keys and pulled Mu Chi out the door.

It was only 8:20 by the time they reached downstairs.

Mu Chi extended his hand toward Song Wenzhou, asking for the car keys again, and reassuring him, “It’s still early, no need to rush, give me the keys.”

Song Wenzhou avoided his hand and walked directly toward the driver’s seat. “I’ll drive.”

“Okay, okay,” Mu Chi didn’t argue and obediently sat in the passenger seat, thinking to himself, Could it be that Song Wenzhou has developed feelings for his car and doesn’t want to give the keys to me?

Well, when we get to Song Wenzhou’s company, will I still need to drive the car away?

Or should I just take a taxi to “Musong Media”? Leave the car for Song Wenzhou?

Mu Chi thought for a while, considering what color to get for a new car for himself and a matching one for Song Wenzhou. When he snapped back to reality, he realized that the car Song Wenzhou was driving had already gone far off, but it didn’t seem to be heading toward his company.

“Mm?” Mu Chi confirmed that this route wasn’t a shortcut and didn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be traffic. However, he didn’t want to directly ask the driver if he was taking the wrong route, so he asked delicately, “Baby, where are you taking me for a drive?”

Song Wenzhou glanced at him briefly and said, “To the human trafficking office.”

Mu Chi relaxed his body, leaning back against the chair, helplessly saying, “What’s the point of all this? Just tell me what price you want to sell me for, and I’ll pay you. From now on, both the person and the money will be yours.”

Song Wenzhou snorted softly but didn’t say anything.

Mu Chi began listing the benefits of buying him, of course, these benefits were so numerous that even three days and nights wouldn’t be enough to finish talking about them. The short drive only allowed for a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg.

“Anyway, you’ll know once you experience it yourself,” Mu Chi concluded.

Song Wenzhou turned the car left, casually replying, “I know.”

“Good to know…” Before he could finish, the car turned onto a more familiar road, and Mu Chi exclaimed in surprise, “Are you heading to ‘Musong Media’?”

“Mm,” Song Wenzhou’s calm demeanor clearly showed it wasn’t a last-minute decision, “I’m taking you to work.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Mu Chi was pleasantly surprised. He had originally planned to take a taxi later, and this sudden change of plans took him by surprise, “Aren’t you going to be late for work?”

“It’s fine.” Mu Chi’s astonishment amused Song Wenzhou, who smirked with a hint of pride. “When I was tutoring, you used to drive me to and from class. Now I’m taking you to and from work.”

Yesterday, they had agreed that from today on, Song Wenzhou would seriously pursue Mu Chi, and he wasn’t joking about it.

The Audi stopped in front of “Musong Media.” Mu Chi unbuckled his seatbelt, quickly leaned over, and kissed Song Wenzhou on the cheek before saying, “Thanks, boss. Goodbye, boss.”

Song Wenzhou was stunned for two seconds. In a rush to get to his company, he didn’t talk much, hurriedly leaving a “I’ll pick you up after work” before driving off without turning off the engine.

Mu Chi watched the Audi disappear from his sight before turning around and walking into the company building, happily pressing the elevator’s up button.

The elevator quickly reached the first floor, where two influencers who had come up from the basement floor were inside. Mu Chi smiled and greeted them first, “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Mr. Mu,” the two influencers immediately responded.

One of them then asked, “Mr. Mu, why are you here so early today?”

Their company didn’t have strict rules about working hours, and as the boss, Mu Chi was free to come and go as he pleased. It was actually the first time they had seen him arrive so early.

“Ah,” Mu Chi pretended to hesitate, “My partner insisted on taking me to work, so I got here a bit earlier.”

“Ahaha,” the two influencers laughed, “Your wife is really thoughtful.”

Mu Chi shrugged, “What can I say? He loves me too much, and of course, I love him too.”

Everyone at “Musong Media” knew that Mu Chi, the boss, had a male partner, and they had been in a deep, passionate relationship for many years. Mu Chi’s world revolved around him.

If anyone accidentally made a mistake, they would shift the conversation to Mu Chi’s partner before he could get angry, which would usually help avoid any scolding.

Not everyone at the company had met Mu Chi’s partner, but everyone respected him and was grateful to him.

“By the way,” before leaving the elevator, Mu Chi added, ignoring the two influencers’ wishes, “He’s coming to pick me up after work today too.”