Chu Lai was clearly joking, and Cen Wei knew it too, but he still couldn’t help feeling a little flustered and said, “That’s not what I meant.”

The young man sitting in the passenger seat playing games casually responded with a “Hmm”.

“I know, you were just asking casually.”

Chu Lai’s headphones ran out of battery, so he asked, “Can I play the sound out loud?”

Cen Wei responded with a “Hmm.”

The rhythm of the game sounded crisp, but Chu Lai still hadn’t cleared the level. He played several times on the way back and got out of the car looking rather frustrated.

Standing in the elevator, Cen Wei couldn’t help but ask, “Is it hard?”

Chu Lai looked at him, “Are you talking about the game I’m playing?”

After seeing him nod, he gave a little sigh, his voice sounding much more discouraged, dragging a defeated tone: “So hard. I played during lunch break, but still couldn’t pass.”

His spare time wasn’t much different from most people—just games, comics, and TV shows. Short videos were probably last on his list. Sometimes, while taking a bath, he’d bring a Bluetooth speaker with him, and Cen Wei could hear some rock music that was very unlike Chu Lai’s usual style. This was enough to show that he had a fiery side, much like his hidden ear piercings.

Cen Wei: “Can I try?”

Chu Lai glanced at him, remembering glimpses of information about him outside of work and the conversation they had the first time they met at a barbecue stall.

Some people were just outwardly elite, but deep down, they had the same interests as Chu Lai.

Chu Lai handed his phone over directly: “Can you do it?”

Cen Wei glanced at the screen, “I can.”

Perhaps he sounded too confident, and Chu Lai couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you can?”

The man nodded, “You go walk the dog. I’ll have it cleared by the time you’re back.”

In Chu Lai’s impression, Cen Wei only seemed intimidating at first glance. So hearing him sound so certain for the first time, Chu Lai couldn’t help but take another look at him.

When the dog, Dai Cai, circled around them both a couple of times after his owner got off work, Cen Wei patted its head and sat down on the sofa.

Chu Lai, about to take the dog out for a walk, looked back again. The deep sofa was so cozy that it was easy to sink into. At least, Chu Lai was always curled up in it. But sitting on a single armchair, Cen Wei looked relaxed, holding his phone and gazing down. The room was only lit by a floor lamp next to the sofa, and this scene looked like it could’ve come straight out of a magazine.

Chu Lai thought, ‘He’s just too handsome.’

Out of the corner of his eye, Cen Wei noticed he hadn’t left yet and asked, “What’s up?”

Chu Lai: “Nothing.”

He closed the door. Looking at the screen, Cen Wei could easily guess what Chu Lai was thinking.

He must think I can’t do it.

The first time he tried, Cen Wei didn’t pass. But on his second attempt, he got the hang of it. He even had time to reminisce about Chu Lai’s amused reaction the first time he brought him home, thinking he couldn’t do it.

What’s so fun about that?

The man’s irritation grew as the pace of the game’s rhythm sped up. His long fingers slid effortlessly across the screen.

When Chu Lai came back from walking the dog, he saw the man leaning back on the sofa, his hand dangling as the game’s cutscene music played. Cen Wei had already cleared the level that had frustrated Chu Lai for two days and had even downloaded a new game, starting from the first level.

The dog ran into the house faster than Chu Lai, jumping onto the sofa and snuggling into the man’s arms.

By now, holding a person and hugging a dog were things that came naturally to Cen Wei. He turned his head slightly, “You’re back?”

He couldn’t help but ask, “Why so fast? Weren’t you supposed to walk the dog with Mr. Ding?”

Although he hadn’t chatted much with Ding Xiulin, Cen Wei was well aware of the other man’s intentions. It was too easy to drag out the time by making small talk while walking the dog, especially since Chu Lai really liked that big dog of his, which, due to Ding just having returned from abroad, hadn’t yet been sent to his grandfather’s house in the countryside.

There was a ban on large dogs in the city, but some people were still keeping them temporarily. It was one of those “don’t ask, don’t tell” situations.

Chu Lai had mentioned before that Ding Xiulin intended to send the dog to his grandfather’s place.

Chu Lai, changing out of his clothes, said, “He just started at his new job. There’s an event going on with his team.”

He spoke with the tone of a senior colleague, and Cen Wei asked, “Have you always worked at this company?”

Chu Lai walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, looking at the food inside—everything Cen Wei had ordered for him after asking what he wanted to eat while they were at work earlier in the day. With one hand on the fridge door, he asked, “Is Boss Cen trying to poach me?”

Cen Wei played along, “I’ll call HR right now.”

Chu Lai shook his head and first opened a bottle of soda, “Family members can’t work together, right?”

Having just finished walking the dog, Chu Lai was hot and drank in a carefree manner, leaning against the fridge. When he tilted his head back, his neck looked slender and graceful. Cen Wei averted his gaze, laughing as he asked, “Does this count as an office romance?”

As if something occurred to him, Cen Wei added, “Technically, I should be giving you 30% of my company’s shares.”

Chu Lai was startled, “No need.”

When it came to such topics, his attitude was completely different from when he named the dog Dai Cai, as if he was in a hurry to draw a clear line with Cen Wei.

That subtle feeling of irritation in Cen Wei’s heart surged even more. He changed the subject and asked, “When do I get to fulfill my duty today?”

Chu Lai thought for a moment, “Are you working overtime?”

Shaking his head as he walked into the kitchen, Cen Wei responded. They had already discussed dinner via WeChat.

Chu Lai’s cooking was fine when it came to basic dishes, but for anything more complicated, he had to consult a recipe. Normally, when he was too lazy to cook, he’d just make instant noodles. But now that there were two of them, they started listing dishes and soon ended up wanting everything.

“Let’s talk about it after dinner. I want to try that spicy soup you ordered this morning.”

Chu Lai made a sound of surprise, “Wasn’t it supposed to be stir-fried pork with beans?”

Cen Wei laughed, “Can’t we multitask?”

The man had taken off his jacket and changed into his casual home clothes, looking even more laid-back. The kitchen lights were a warm yellow, illuminating his arms, which now looked like pieces of art after he rolled up his sleeves.

Chu Lai took a few more glances, thinking that his physique looked like it was straight out of a model.

His staring was quickly caught. Cen Wei looked at his own clothes and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chu Lai didn’t hide his thoughts and openly complimented him, “Your body lines look really good.”

Cen Wei accepted the compliment with a smile and asked, “How about we go to the gym together?”

Whether in school or at work, Cen Wei had always maintained a gym routine. He was tall and gave off a sense of security, looking better than some celebrities even.

Chu Lai, on the other hand, was the typical lazy guy. His classmates used to call him “Lazy Chu” when he was younger. If it weren’t for his natural ability to stay thin no matter what he ate, he would’ve worried about gaining weight after starting work.

Chu Lai shook his head, “Too much trouble.”

Ever since he met Chu Lai, this was the phrase he heard most often, almost like a catchphrase.

Curious, he asked, “Then why don’t you think walking the dog is troublesome?”

Chu Lai glanced at the dog chewing on a large bone nearby, “Dai Cai is family.”

While peeling tomatoes, Cen Wei occasionally glanced over at the young man standing beside him. Chu Lai was slow even when picking beans. It really seemed like, aside from walking the dog and being forced to jog, you’d never see him rushing.

Cen Wei: “Do you like playing those arcade games in the mall?”

He thought of the rhythm game Chu Lai hadn’t passed and added, “You know, the kind like that…”

Chu Lai: “I play sometimes, depends on my mood.”

Cen Wei: “When was the last time you played?”

The stove had two spots, just enough for the two of them to each cook a dish. After slicing the vegetables and putting them in the pan, Cen Wei didn’t seem very skilled, but neither did Chu Lai. He said, “Before the breakup.”

Cen Wei almost never heard Chu Lai mention his ex.

Compared to the three-month relationship between Cen Wei and Shen Ke, Chu Lai’s three-year relationship spanned his youth. Even though Chu Lai didn’t bring it up much, Cen Wei still remembered the soju Chu Lai had mentally charged to his ex’s tab that one night.

Seeing that Chu Lai had been quiet for a while, Chu Lai said, “Not going to ask anymore?”

He glanced at the flattened stir-fried beans, the air filled with the pungent smell of too much chili paste.

His eyes were red, making him look like he was about to cry.

Cen Wei: “Do you need a tissue?”

Cen Wei’s apartment was big, unlike Chu Lai’s cramped one. He got flustered, thinking Chu Lai was upset because of his rude question, and quickly turned to grab some tissues.

The next second, Chu Lai hooked a finger under his sweater hem and said, “What are you thinking? I’m not crying, it’s just spicy.”

He winced, “Did you buy this yellow chili paste?”

Chu Lai picked up the jar and took a look, mumbling, “Next time, use less.”

Cen Wei said, “Do you still want to play? If you’re not too tired after taking photos this weekend, we can stop by the mall.”

They had known each other for almost two months, and aside from the routine daily hugs, they hadn’t gone out together.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they were in a contractual marriage, it was more like they were distant roommates—or maybe meal companions.

Chu Lai made a sound of agreement. He thought about the team-building event at Cen Wei’s studio and was about to mention something about Shen Quanzhang. But just as he was about to speak, the person in front of him handed him a wet wipe and said, “I’ll do it. You go wait for dinner.”

So, he swallowed his words, thinking there wasn’t much to say anyway.

Shen Quanzhang was the one who cheated, and the one looking for someone better was also him. Why should I feel nervous?

Besides, it’s not like Cen Wei is really my fiancé. He and I are just…in a contractual marriage.

For the next few days, Chu Lai didn’t contact Ding Xiulin.

These days, the company’s assessments had loosened up, and seasoned pros like Chu Lai were starting to show up late again, taking full advantage of the flexible work hours.

Cen Wei was somewhat envious of him, but also thought that coming back to sleep after walking the dog sounded like too much of a hassle, so he just started waking up early to walk the dog himself.

Occasionally, he’d run into Ding Xiulin, and the two of them would exchange polite greetings before respectfully turning their eyes away.

Cen Wei worried that he might delay Chu Lai’s potential new romance, but he couldn’t bring himself to push Chu Lai and his first love together either. So, even his greetings were polite but cold.

Ding Xiulin sized up Cen Wei but didn’t pry any further. After all, Chu Lai’s marriage was real, and the man seemed more interested in his dog.

With the year coming to an end, many departments were holding team-building activities. Chu Lai, out of habit, declined the invitations. After work, Ding Xiulin approached him and asked if he wanted to head home together.

Ding Xiulin was already quite the handsome type, but he was also the elegant and refined kind. An overseas returnee, from a well-educated family, and still single—after just a week of being back, he’d already received invitations to weekend mixers.

Chu Lai’s team was still discussing which escape room to go to when the super handsome guy from the department downstairs, who had recently been the talk of the company, suddenly showed up. They all turned their eyes toward Chu Lai.

He casually gathered up his phone charger and asked, “Weren’t you going to the mixer?”

Ding Xiulin: “I declined. I saw you post on Weibo about wanting to eat the soup dumplings from our high school, so I thought we could go together.”

They were standing quite close. A colleague asked from nearby: “Is Chu Lai’s fiancé him?”

Even though the high-profile lunch delivery incident had sparked a lot of discussion, Chu Lai had remained tight-lipped, and no one knew who he was marrying.

He didn’t seem to have the demeanor of someone about to get married, either. He texted just as much as before, with no changes.

“No way, I feel like the person he’s marrying is older than him.”

“Isn’t that his high school classmate?”

“With our group leader’s personality, I don’t think he’d lie about it…”

“If he’s having trouble adjusting to the new job and is sticking to people he knows, that makes sense.”

“Couldn’t they just be good friends?”

“Our group leader seems like the type who wouldn’t even bother making friends.”

…

Chu Lai didn’t post much on his Moments and didn’t like showing his interests in front of people he knew. Even though his online persona as an “up” creator wasn’t all that active, he occasionally posted one or two original Weibo posts for fans only.

It was no surprise that Ding Xiulin recognized Chu Lai’s Weibo account just from a mole.

Chu Lai agreed to go with him.

When they arrived, it was just after the school’s evening classes let out, and the soup dumpling shop was packed. They stood at the door for a while, waiting.

Ding Xiulin asked, “Have you been back before?”

“For example, when you were in college.”

Chu Lai nodded.

Ding Xiulin: “Did you come with your ex?”

Why were there so many questions about exes lately? Chu Lai frowned slightly and shook his head.

He asked Ding Xiulin: “Are you really that interested in my ex?”

Ding Xiulin apologized, but Chu Lai didn’t mind. To him, his ex might as well have been dead.

Maybe he had just heard too many people lately praising both Ding Xiulin’s resume and looks, so Chu Lai casually asked, “Class President, how about you? Have you dated anyone all these years?”

Their shared memories only went as far back as high school. After thinking for a moment, Ding Xiulin said, “In your third year of university, I came to your school for an exchange program.”

Chu Lai looked at him in surprise.

Ding Xiulin: “I happened to see you and your boyfriend walking around the track, so I didn’t disturb you.”

/

That evening, Cen Wei was working overtime. With the boss leading the way, very few employees left early.

The studio was a new venture, and in its early stages, the workload was huge. Shen Quanzhang was also constantly busy. A colleague at the next desk complained, “Isn’t the boss getting married? And he’s still working overtime. His partner won’t be mad?”

If it were anyone else, Shen Quanzhang might’ve thought this was a fair point, but since it was about Chu Lai, it didn’t seem like that kind of issue at all.

Shen Quanzhang had never seen Chu Lai get angry.

He was still curious how Chu Lai and Cen Wei got together and whether it was a seamless transition.

But Chu Lai had blocked him on all platforms and didn’t reply to messages sent from different numbers.

The more distant Chu Lai was, the more interested Shen Quanzhang became. At that moment, a notification popped up from the account he followed closely on Weibo—

@laci: [Picture] Finally had it.

The photo was of soup dumplings, steaming and looking delicious.

The picture also captured part of the background, making it obvious that Chu Lai wasn’t there alone.

The soup bowl showed half of a man’s hand—pale, slender, and attractive.

Chu Lai was a minor internet personality, but that didn’t stop him from leaving a lasting impression. Plus, having been a content creator for many years, he had fans who, like regular internet users, would occasionally joke around in the comments—

[Did you go with your husband?]

[When’s the next video coming out? Do you check your DMs? I recommended a good horror game for you!]

[I bet your fiancé is really handsome… Even with the pixelated wedding photo, I feel like you two look perfect together!!]

[Is it good? Where’s this place?]

Chu Lai hadn’t replied yet, but Shen Quanzhang clicked on it and glanced at the conference room that was still lit up ahead.

His boss was still working overtime in a meeting, while Chu Lai was revisiting old haunts with someone else.

The soup dumpling bowl had the restaurant’s name printed on it. When Chu Lai mentioned this place while they were dating, it sounded just like his most recent Weibo post—saying he wanted to go back and eat there.

At the time, Shen Quanzhang had been busy with exams and couldn’t go with him, so Chu Lai went alone.

Chu Lai had always been an easy partner—never clingy or overly demanding. At first, Shen Quanzhang had been quite satisfied.

Later, he realized something was wrong.

Who dates like that?!

Shen Quanzhang felt a mix of emotions. Chu Lai had shown so little passion while they were together, sometimes even sneering during intimate moments, leaving him feeling defeated.

Now, about to marry his boss but still sneaking around outside. Maybe the boss couldn’t keep up either.

At that moment, a colleague at the next desk said, “I wonder if any of the senior management will come to tomorrow’s team-building event. The restaurant at Xunxi Tea Mountain is so expensive, I’m definitely going!”

Remembering the previous dinner conversation where someone had mentioned Cen Wei’s Weibo, Shen Quanzhang asked, “Do you have President Cen’s Weibo?”

The new product brainstorming session didn’t end until after 8 PM. The operations team had put together an online questionnaire, and they were also considering user surveys.

When he clicked on the link, a Weibo notification popped up. He opened it, expecting the usual system message, but was surprised to find someone had tagged him.

A zombie account with no avatar had tagged him under a regular blogger’s post.

Curious, Cen Wei clicked on it, only to find a simple daily life post by a married blogger, sharing moments with his husband.

At first, he wondered why someone would tag him in such a post—was it a mistake? But then, he noticed the blogger’s ID.

It looked very familiar, almost identical to Chu Lai’s WeChat handle.

When he clicked into the account, he found their blurred-out wedding photo.

Suddenly, he wasn’t tired anymore.

He clicked on the most recent post.

Didn’t Chu Lai say he was going home? Why was he outside?

He repeatedly examined the soup dumpling post, and for some reason, he felt certain that the hand in the photo belonged to Chu Lai’s high school class president, Mr. Ding.

As soon as Chu Lai and Ding Xiulin left the soup dumpling shop, they received a call from Cen Wei.

The man’s voice, laced with the sound of wind, asked, “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”

Chu Lai: “Weren’t you working overtime?”

Cen Wei: “I’m done. I’ll come get you.”

His tone was a little sharp, and Chu Lai could sense that the man was in a bad mood.

Chu Lai thought it was because of some work issue and figured it didn’t quite make sense. After all, Cen Wei was always very calm.

Just as he was about to call him “Mr. Cen” he remembered that Ding Xiulin was beside him and changed it to, “Hubby, what’s wrong?”

As soon as Cen Wei stepped out of the elevator, the motion sensor light in the underground parking garage came on. The sound of Chu Lai’s voice, with its usual clear and smooth tone, mixed with the bustling background noise from his side. It was the same voice that had left such a deep, unconscious impression on Cen Wei the first time they met.

Although Chu Lai had called him this before, for some reason, the intimacy carried in that tone this time triggered a strange feeling in him.

It was as if they weren’t in a contractual marriage anymore, and the person he was picking up after work was really his boyfriend.

In the quiet and empty surroundings, the sound of his heartbeat grew louder, as if it were about to burst out of his chest.

It seemed to be reminding him that this contractual marriage had completely changed.