Chapter 20

Throw a tantrum?

Song Wenzhou suddenly remembered that when he and Mu Chi had just gotten together, Mu Chi often came over to his house during the holidays to hang out. He didn’t dare tell his parents directly that he was in a relationship with Mu Chi, so he just went along with the idea that Mu Chi was his friend.

Ren Suyi and Song Chenglang had a good impression of Mu Chi because of the time when Song Wenzhou had stomach pains in high school. Every time Mu Chi came over, Ren Suyi was very welcoming.

Seeing that Mu Chi got along fairly well with his parents, Song Wenzhou took the opportunity to confess to Ren Suyi that he and Mu Chi were in a relationship. To his surprise, Ren Suyi strongly opposed them being together, and her attitude was particularly firm. The next time she saw Mu Chi, her expression was very sour.

Song Wenzhou had always been obedient as a child, and although he was occasionally mischievous, he had never argued with his parents. The only time he had disagreed with them was over Mu Chi, and they had been in a standoff for quite a long time.

In the end, it was his parents who compromised.

He remembered that New Year’s Eve when Ren Suyi told him, “Your father and I aren’t stubborn, and it’s not that we can’t accept homosexuality, it’s that we can’t accept our son having a boyfriend.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t understand what she meant.

“Two men being together, without legal constraints, and without a child to tie you down, how long do you think your love can last based on just what you call love? We’re afraid that in the future…” Ren Suyi sighed deeply at the end of her sentence.

At that time, Song Wenzhou had argued strongly, telling Ren Suyi that he and Mu Chi would be together for a long, long time.

Who would have thought that just a few years later, Mu Chi would be tired of him.

Thinking about it, Song Wenzhou and Mu Chi had been together for over six years. The seven-year itch, as they say, seemed to be true.

Song Wenzhou’s emotions flared, feeling that Mu Chi had lost interest in him. Suddenly, he pushed Mu Chi away, angrily asking, “What did I do to cause a fuss?”

“Huh?” Mu Chi didn’t know what Song Wenzhou had been thinking, still focused on getting him to rest, and he comforted him repeatedly, “You didn’t cause a fuss. I’m the one making a fuss. It’s late, Zhouzhou, let’s sleep, okay?”

Song Wenzhou glared at Mu Chi in the darkness, thinking to himself that the reason he hadn’t slept yet was because he had been waiting for Mu Chi. Yet Mu Chi still claimed he was the one making a fuss.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He turned over, switched on the bedside lamp, and threw the covers off, getting out of bed.

Mu Chi quickly grabbed his wrist and asked, “Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom.” Song Wenzhou muttered sulkily.

Mu Chi thought he was just annoyed after being woken up in the middle of the night and cheerfully said, “Hurry back, I’ll be waiting for you~”

In the bathroom, Song Wenzhou stood stiffly in front of the mirror, his lips tightly pressed together, and his brows slightly furrowed, giving him a somewhat fierce expression.

He blinked and scanned his face in the mirror before slowly reaching up to touch his cheek.

The skin was still relatively smooth, but it looked a bit dull.

He usually approached life and work with seriousness, but he put very little effort into personal upkeep. Most of the time, it was Mu Chi, who was always ahead of the fashion curve, taking care of that for him.

But recently, Mu Chi seemed to have been so busy with something that he had forgotten about these things. Meanwhile, Song Wenzhou waited for Mu Chi until late into the night every day, only to have to wake up early for work the next morning. With insufficient sleep, dark circles had appeared under his eyes, and he looked drained.

He had gotten uglier, Song Wenzhou thought.

Mu Chi’s so-called influencer incubator company, where he saw handsome men and beautiful women every day, all of whom were younger and more energetic than him. Compared to them, he looked like an old bureaucrat.

He couldn’t drink, so Mu Chi had only taken him to the company’s annual party once. At the gathering, many people tried to toast him, but Mu Chi blocked all of them, and he hadn’t been allowed to attend such events since then.

His job and Mu Chi’s job were completely different. He dealt with dense data, while Mu Chi interacted with all sorts of people. Sometimes, he couldn’t even understand the trends in Mu Chi’s circle.

—

It turned out that there were so many things between him and Mu Chi that didn’t blend. When they were together, Mu Chi always talked about things he was interested in, so he never felt that there were so many topics they couldn’t share, nor had he ever thought about actively integrating into Mu Chi’s world.

Mu Chi had always been accommodating toward him—did he ever feel tired?

Or… had he already grown tired?

Song Wenzhou came out of the bathroom, walked to the bedside, and seriously called out Mu Chi’s name.

“What’s wrong, wife?” Mu Chi sat up on the bed.

“What have you been so busy with lately?” Song Wenzhou asked seriously.

“Just… work,” Mu Chi replied vaguely. “It’s all stuff you’re not interested in.”

Song Wenzhou thought, as expected, Mu Chi couldn’t be bothered to explain it to him. Frowning, he asked, “How do you know I’m not interested if you don’t tell me?”

Mu Chi looked troubled. He didn’t want to lie to Song Wenzhou, but the things he was busy with were things he couldn’t share with him. He moved to the bedside, took Song Wenzhou’s hand, and avoided the topic, saying, “It’s too late, can we talk about it another day? Let’s sleep first.”

However, Song Wenzhou got angry at his repeated avoidance and pulled his hand away, asking again, “Fine, even if you’re busy with work, then why do you always refuse when I offer to pick you up?”

Mu Chi still didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation and, grinning, said, “Because I don’t want my Zhouzhou to be too tired.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t believe him and said, “I’ll ask you one last time—are you hiding something from me?”

“What are you talking about, dear?” Mu Chi said innocently. “I’ve always been completely honest with you, oh no, I mean, sincerely honest.”

Mu Chi wasn’t really trying to have a proper conversation with him. Song Wenzhou pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m tired.”

“If you’re tired, then hurry up and get into bed,” Mu Chi said, pulling his hand again.

Song Wenzhou pulled his hand away once more and said, “You’re unwilling to tell me anything, so don’t talk to me anymore.”

Mu Chi panicked and quickly interrupted, “What do you mean by that?”

Song Wenzhou turned his head away, saying, “I suddenly feel like this isn’t worth it anymore.”

Mu Chi pressed on, “What do you mean, ‘not worth it’?”

“…” Song Wenzhou couldn’t be bothered to play his word games anymore. He directly said, “If you don’t want to have a real conversation, then there’s no need for us to talk anymore.”

Mu Chi felt a little uncomfortable upon hearing this. He had always felt that Song Wenzhou was so rational. Over the years, no matter what kind of relationship they had, Song Wenzhou never left him much room in his words.

Once he didn’t cooperate properly, Song Wenzhou immediately showed a displeased expression and even “threatened” him.

“I didn’t, I’m communicating with you properly, aren’t I?” Mu Chi said aggrievedly. “I’ve always spoken like this, you know that.”

Song Wenzhou frowned.

The more Mu Chi spoke, the more wronged he felt. “It’s always me accommodating you, I occasionally want to be pampered by you too.”

Indeed, Mu Chi had always been accommodating toward him, but now he was already tired.

Song Wenzhou opened his mouth. “I…”

“When there are others around, fine, but why are you still so cold to me when we’re alone? I treat you like my wife, but it feels like you don’t love me the way I love you.”

Song Wenzhou’s gaze flickered. He believed that he had already treated Mu Chi in a very special way, but his own character prevented him from constantly saying things like “I miss you” or “I love you” the way Mu Chi did. He thought Mu Chi could understand the things he didn’t say…

So this was how Mu Chi felt? Had he really seemed that cold? Why had Mu Chi never brought it up before?

Mu Chi, caught up in his emotions, blurted out, “Why after all these years, can’t I warm your heart? Sometimes I wonder, what difference does it make whether we’re together or not? Do you really like me?”

Song Wenzhou’s heart tightened, and he clenched his fist, his voice trembling as he said, “If that’s the case… then let’s break up.”

Mu Chi snapped out of his daze and immediately realized what he had said. He panicked and quickly hugged Song Wenzhou, who was about to turn away, and incoherently said, “I was just talking nonsense, Zhouzhou, I’m wrong, don’t go!”

Song Wenzhou wordlessly shoved him away.

“Zhouzhou, wife,” Mu Chi kept calling him, “Baby, I’m wrong, I’m an idiot, I didn’t think before I spoke.”

Song Wenzhou blinked quickly. It wasn’t that he didn’t think before speaking—those words without careful consideration were exactly what Mu Chi truly felt.

He struggled forcefully, but Mu Chi didn’t dare use too much strength for fear of hurting him, quickly letting him break free.

Song Wenzhou turned and began packing his clothes. Mu Chi hurriedly followed, not even bothering to put on his shoes, running barefoot to his side, grabbing the clothes from his hands and throwing them aside. He then wrapped his arms around him from behind.

Mu Chi kissed his hair and ear randomly, repeatedly admitting his mistake: “I won’t say nonsense again, please don’t scare me, okay?”

Song Wenzhou struggled in vain, dropping his hands and closing his eyes tightly, saying, “Since you say I’m heartless, then why make things harder for yourself?”

“I didn’t mean that,” Mu Chi couldn’t defend his careless words, so he just repeated, “I didn’t mean that.”

Song Wenzhou’s voice was hoarse. “If my heart can’t be warmed, then don’t bother. I’m sure there are people around you who wholeheartedly want to fall for you.”

“I don’t care about others, I don’t care about anyone else, I only want you,” Mu Chi tightened his arms. “I only want you, Zhouzhou.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t really believe that Mu Chi had feelings for someone else. He believed that Mu Chi wasn’t the type to covet someone else while having someone at hand. If that were the case, it would be easier to deal with, and he wouldn’t be so conflicted.

What he feared most was what Ren Suyi had once said to him: two men together, with no legal constraints, no children, only that invisible, intangible thing called love, and he could only watch as that love slowly faded away.

He feared that Mu Chi would feel bored with him, that Mu Chi would regret his choice of being with him despite everything.

Now, his worst fear had come true, and he didn’t know how to fix it. He only knew that he needed to stop the damage as soon as possible.

He couldn’t bear to watch their relationship with Mu Chi slowly deteriorate, ending up with them growing tired of each other.