Chapter 42 – The Best Person in the World

Zhou Ziyi struggled to open his eyes.

Then he saw Yan Xiuzhi’s face, somewhat blurry. He wasn’t sure if it was because the hallway was not bright enough or if he was too drunk.

Zhou Ziyi closed his eyes again.

“Get up,” Yan Xiuzhi looked down at him and said, “Go back to your room and sleep.”

Zhou Ziyi didn’t even move, not showing any reaction. He felt really weak, although there was a moment when he had the thought of struggling, it was just a fleeting thought.

President Yan frowned.

The temperature wasn’t too hot yet, and the morning temperature was even cooler. Zhou Ziyi lying on the floor like this, it was uncertain whether he was trying to sober up or catch a cold first.

Yan Xiuzhi couldn’t bear to see this “mess” lying at the door, so he squatted down. As he got closer, the strong smell of alcohol from the young man became even more intense, making President Yan’s frown deepen. He looked at the young man’s reddened face, and his closed eyes, his gaze involuntarily falling on his eyelashes.

Last night, some girls posted photos of Zhou Ziyi playing snooker, saying he was “the spirit of the eyelashes.”

President Yan had found it absurd at the time. Could someone really be called the spirit of the eyelashes? Were the words used to describe good looks so strange now? But now, looking at the real person and carefully examining his eyelashes, Yan Xiuzhi suddenly had a thought.

— Well… that’s not entirely wrong.

President Yan secretly labelled the young man as “the spirit of the eyelashes,” then, enduring the smell of alcohol on him, he pulled up his arm and said, “Wake up, at least go to the sofa.”

Zhou Ziyi subconsciously pulled his hand away: “Don’t… bother with me…”

As he spoke, he also made an effort to move – he turned over and pressed against the wall, facing the wall.

Yan Xiuzhi heard him muttering, but couldn’t make it out, only managing to catch a few words: “Not blocking… the way…”

Well, at least he still knew that lying carelessly at the entrance was blocking the way, so he had shrunk to the side to reduce the obstruction area.

But was that what Yan Xiuzhi was talking about?

The President frowned for a few seconds, then made up his mind and pulled the person back. Zhou Ziyi’s body swayed, and subconsciously he opened his eyes, then before he could react, Yan Xiuzhi grabbed his wrist and pulled him up.

“…?” Zhou Ziyi stared dazedly, trying hard to grasp the situation with his muddled brain. Then he watched as Yan Xiuzhi suddenly hugged him.

Zhou Ziyi: !!!

To be precise, President Yan was passed his hands through Zhou Ziyi’s armpits, wrapped around his back, and locked them. The man’s head was on Zhou Ziyi’s shoulder, and his voice sounded in his ear: “Hold onto my neck if you can.”

Zhou Ziyi felt that the voice was hot, making him feel numb all over. His hands subconsciously followed the instructions and wrapped around Yan Xiuzhi’s neck.

Yan Xiuzhi realized that Zhou Ziyi was just resting his hands, not embracing tightly, and he was too lazy to give further instructions. He held onto Zhou Ziyi, lifted him up in one go, thinking he had succeeded, but in an instant, he felt the heavy Zhou Ziyi about to fall again and so he shook him in his arms!

Yan Xiuzhi subconsciously propped up the nearby wall and pushed Zhou Ziyi, who was about to fall backward, up.

“Oops!”

Zhou Ziyi didn’t fall down this time, but his head hit the wall, and his whole face wrinkled the moment he pressed against the wall

Yan Xiuzhi was taken aback: “Sorry.”

“It’s okay…” Zhou Ziyi, drunk and with a throbbing head, managed to regain his ability to speak, “Why did you press me against the wall…”

Even when he was drunk, his thoughts about the posture were quite clear. Now, President Yan was supporting the wall with one hand and holding his waist with the other, and he was leaning against the wall—wasn’t that pressing against the wall?

“Why are you talking nonsense?” Yan Xiuzhi narrowed his eyes, “I just wanted to take you to the sofa.”

Zhou Ziyi didn’t know whether he understood or not: “Oh…”

Yan Xiuzhi said again, “If you wake up, then go by yourself… Huh?!”

Suddenly, Zhou Ziyi threw himself into Yan Xiuzhi’s arms.

It wasn’t a weak collision, but a deliberate approach, hugging him tightly around the waist with both hands.

Yan Xiuzhi was about to explode, “What are you doing!”

Zhou Ziyi rubbed his head against him, “Brother… you’re so kind.”

“I think you’re really drunk!”
Yan Xiuzhi was firmly held by the young man and could hardly move. The force of his hold, the warmth of his body, and the strong smell of alcohol all caused agitation in Yan Xiuzhi’s heart. It was as if his breathing had tightened, and his heartbeat had grown heavier.

He grabbed Zhou Ziyi’s shoulder, wanting to push him away, but then he heard Zhou Ziyi say, “You are the only one who’s good to me… You’re the best.”

Yan Xiuzhi was stunned.

He thought Zhou Ziyi would be very happy after winning the game, so why did his voice sound like he was about to cry now?

And when Zhou Ziyi said “you’re the best” to him, Yan Xiuzhi couldn’t believe that he was saying this to himself.

From childhood to adulthood, Yan Xiuzhi has received many comments, both positive and negative, but he has never heard such a comment before. Yan Xiuzhi’s relatives and friends generally believe that he is reliable, steady, and has his own ideas when it comes to getting along with others, but no one has ever been as straightforward as Zhou Ziyi in saying “you are the best to me.”

Yan Xiuzhi can’t even think of what he has done to deserve such praise from Zhou Ziyi.

“Are you sure you know who I am?” Yan Xiuzhi guessed that Zhou Ziyi must have had too much to drink and mistaken him for someone else. “Stop talking nonsense.”

“I’m sure I know,” Zhou Ziyi replied, still clinging to him. But she raised her head and looked at him, saying, “Aren’t you my Ge?”

“Which Ge?” Yan Xiuzhi asked.

“Yan Ge! Who else?” Zhou Ziyi, feeling a bit dizzy from looking at him for too long, and leaned back on his shoulder. “Yan Xiuzhi, how can you not even recognize yourself?”

Yan Xiuzhi: “…Listen to what you’re saying, it’s all a mess.”

The CEO thought that Zhou Ziyi must be talking nonsense because he drunk too much. Even if he was talking about him, he couldn’t fully believe it. He wanted to lift Zhou Ziyi and put him on the sofa, but Zhou Ziyi held tightly onto him, hanging onto him like a weight.

“How can there be someone as good as you in this world, Ge? What am I going to do without you…” Zhou Ziyi continued to mutter in his arms, “I’m lost without you!”

Zhou Ziyi was actually still drunk, but what he said wasn’t entirely nonsense.

It can even be said that he is speaking the truth after drinking.

The behavior of those so-called playmates in the past, Sheffield’s words and actions, all represent how others view his situation, and how they view this marriage. Even if he wins a few games against Sheffield, it is only adding to the gossip of those people. For Zhou Ziyi himself, apart from venting in the moment, and the gambling money is just a drop in the bucket compared to the debt, it will not have a greater impact on his future life.

Only Yan Xiuzhi, in contrast to others, appears even more rare.

He gave Zhou Ziyi so much money, yet he doesn’t ask for much in return. Respect and equality, these are intangible but most important. Zhou Ziyi used to complain about Yan Xiuzhi being troublesome, cold, and difficult to get along with, but deep down, Zhou Ziyi knew how precious this was and was genuinely grateful. It’s just that in the past, Zhou Ziyi always wanted to “save face.” He deliberately treated Yan Xiuzhi as an equal, not revealing any of his pretense to others, and he wouldn’t honestly express his thoughts about Yan Xiuzhi.

But today, after being directly provoked by Sheffield, he suddenly felt that Yan Xiuzhi is so much better than a scum like Sheffield, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times better. Even Yan Xiuzhi’s so-called small flaws are just some lovely embellishments, in short… everything about him is great!

If he had to choose a man to spend the rest of his life with, it would be Yan Xiuzhi, and Sheffield can go to hell!

The bravery and inner thoughts of Zhou Ziyi were completely flushed out by alcohol.

He clung to Yan Xiuzhi and wailed, “Ge, if you kick me out, I won’t be able to go on living! I might as well jump off a bridge…”

“What are you going crazy for?” Yan Xiuzhi frowned. “Don’t say such things.”

“Um, um!” Zhou Ziyi haphazardly agreed, “I have nothing left. I’ll listen to you. Whatever you say goes. Gr, you’re the best to me, there’s really no one else. I know. Thank you, thank you…”

As Yan Xiuzhi listened to his continuous expressions of gratitude, he suddenly realized something.

Had he remembered something after encountering his classmates… had he recalled the previous events?

Had he remembered his destitute times when he sought help from those people, only to be shut out?

Yan Xiuzhi suddenly felt that Zhou Ziyi’s so-called friends in the past had shown no concern when Zhou Ziyi was in trouble, and after Zhou Ziyi married him, they invited him to gatherings. Some even seemed to intimately share photos and updates of Zhou Ziyi playing snooker… it was truly ironic.

He wondered if those people last night had said some sarcastic words to Zhou Ziyi, which caused him to become like this now.

Thinking this, Yan Xiuzhi decided to ask the person nestled in his arms, “Did anyone say anything to you yesterday?”

Zhou Ziyi’s flattery was interrupted, and he looked puzzled, “…Huh?”

“I’m asking you, did you hear someone making insinuations about you last night?” Yan Xiuzhi asked again, worried that he might not understand due to being drunk, so he explained, “What made you unhappy?”

Zhou Ziyi actually understood, and chuckled, “Ge… Do you want me to make a small report to you?”

“Okay.” Yan Xiuzhi was really annoyed by him, so he hugged him back to prevent him from falling, “If you marry me, and others target you, it’s like they’re not giving me face.”

“Wow… that’s so romantic!” Zhou Ziyi wanted to blink at Yan Xiuzhi, but he was in such a bad state, his expression was a mess.

Seems like a bit of a blah.

Yan Xiuzhi was not in the mood to dwell on this, he just said, “So, is there any?”

“…No,” Zhou Ziyi smiled, “Hey, even if there is, they wouldn’t dare to be so blatant. The only one who’s audacious… I beat him with a score of 147! By the way, I scored 147 today! Snooker! Ge, am I awesome?”

“I saw it, it’s amazing,” Yan Xiuzhi saw him suddenly becoming happier again, so he let him be even happier, to prevent him from falling back into that strange state of depression, “I’ll give you a bonus.”

“Huh…?!” Zhou Ziyi is very sensitive to money, his eyes widened, “Really?”

“Really,” Yan Xiuzhi felt he was a bit more awake, and took the opportunity to say, “But for now, let go of me, go back to bed, and I’ll give it to you when you wake up.”

“Really?” Zhou Ziyi kept asking repeatedly, “Really really really?”

“If you ask again, it’ll be false,” Yan Xiuzhi said, “Let go, go back to your room.”

Zhou Ziyi didn’t immediately let go when he heard this, but instead hugged him, raised his head again, and looked at him.

Yan Xiuzhi looked at his bright eyes, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

“Ge, you’re really, really, really… the best!”

After Zhou Ziyi finished speaking, he leaned in and loudly kissed the man’s face, “MUA” then let go and ran off!

President Yan was instantly infuriated, “Zhou Ziyi!!!”

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MUA(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)