Chapter 35 – The First Night of Living Together

Zhou Ziyi poured water for Chu Ling and Yan Xiuzhi, then, seeing that both of them looked quite serious, he made an excuse to go upstairs to take a shower.

Originally, he had planned to give a gift to Chu Ling, but given the current situation, it would be more tactful to quietly leave.

After going upstairs to pack for a while, he suddenly remembered something and sent a message to Yan Xiuzhi: “Bro, I’m really taking a shower at your place, okay?”

Yan Xiu6 replied: “Sure.”
Seeing him using his phone as soon as he returned, Chu Ling asked, “Back already and so busy with work?”

Yan Xiuzhi, hearing this, felt a sense of déjà vu: “No, it’s Zhou Ziyi.”

Chu Ling said, “Sending messages upstairs and downstairs? So polite?”

“He said he wanted to take a shower… He’s afraid that he would have to go downstairs later, and it would be impolite to wear pajamas,” Yan Xiuzhi’s mind was really quick, “He asked if I still needed him to come downstairs.”

“Let him shower, why come downstairs? Rest early,” Chu Ling said, “You too, rest first. Aren’t you going to the hospital tomorrow morning?”

Yan Xiuzhi nodded, “Then you should rest early too. The guest room’s four-piece set was changed a few days ago, but Zhou Ziyi’s things are still in there. Deal with it tonight, and have the housekeeping service tidy up another guest room for you tomorrow. Don’t dwell on what my dad said; he won’t succeed. Take this time to relax and calm down.”

“Okay,” Chu Ling said, “You don’t need to worry about me. Focus on your own matters. Your eye, have you applied the medicine? Or do you need to remember to apply it.”

Yan Xiuzhi, who had been troubled by applying the medicine for two days, said, “I’ll apply it after I finish showering.”

Yan Xiuzhi made sure that everything his birth mother needed downstairs was not lacking before he went upstairs.

At this moment, Zhou Ziyi had just finished showering, and Yan Xiuzhi happened to see him coming out of the bathroom. To be honest, seeing someone showered and in pajamas, drying their hair in his own bedroom, made President Yan, feel quite complicated.

Originally, he had thought of a contract marriage, just for show without actually living together. But now, things had changed. Yan Xiuzhi was about to start a life where coming home was like stepping onto a stage.

“Ge, why are you standing there?” Zhou Ziyi, seeing him enter the room and not move, asked in confusion, “Did you forget something?”

“…No,” Yan Xiuzhi said, watching him make a mess of his hair while drying it, “Isn’t there a hairdryer in the bathroom?”

“Huh?” Zhou Ziyi looked puzzled, “Where?”

Yan Xiuzhi took him to the bathroom. Once inside, Yan Xiuzhi realized that Zhou Ziyi had even mopped the floor of the bathroom after showering.

“…The hairdryer is here,” Yan Xiuzhi opened the mirror cabinet, “This is the power button.”

“Oh! I didn’t even know there was a space here.” Zhou Ziyi put away his electric toothbrush and shaver, and placed them next to Yan Xiuzhi’s. Yan Xiuzhi was taken aback for a moment, and Zhou Ziyi noticed his reaction: “Can’t I put them here?”

In fact, this was already a very private space, but after a moment’s thought, Yan Xiuzhi didn’t seem to find it unacceptable: “You can.”

“Thanks, Ge!” Zhou Ziyi smiled at him, then picked up the hairdryer and examined it, “Wow, this is the popular water ion model from a couple of years ago. It’s said to make hair very smooth when blown with it, right?”

Yan Xiuzhi, with his short hair, replied, “I don’t feel it.”

“The more expensive the electronic products, the more inconspicuously convenient they are,” Zhou Ziyi blinked, “Are you in a hurry to take a shower? Can I blow-dry my hair now?”

“You go ahead.” Yan Xiuzhi paused, then added, “After the shower, don’t need to mop the floor, just turn on the dryer, and in about twenty minutes, there won’t be any water.”

“Technology changes life, got it.” Zhou Ziyi smiled, “Is everything ready for Auntie? Should we prepare another guest room for her?”

Yan Xiuzhi glanced at his hair, “Let’s talk after drying.”

“Okay!”

*
As a result, not only did Zhou Ziyi finish blow-drying his hair, but Yan Xiuzhi also finished showering, and then the two discussed Chu Ling’s situation.

They didn’t sit face to face, but were lying down in the usual position, with knees as a pillow, chatting while washing Yan Xiuzhi’s eyes.

If someone had told Yan Xiuzhi just seven days ago that he would be lying in his pajamas with his head on Zhou Ziyi’s lap, both of them on the big bed in the master bedroom, Yan Xiuzhi would have found it utterly absurd.

But now, this was the surreal reality.

While Yan Xiuzhi hesitated, Zhou Ziyi sat naturally at the end of the bed, holding eye drops and a towel as if they were still on the island. Even after Yan Xiuzhi hesitated for a couple of seconds, Zhou Ziyi still looked at him with a puzzled expression: “President Yan, what’s wrong?”

President Yan had only one feeling: one wrong step leads to a series of wrong steps.

But in the end, President Yan still lay down.

Lying on his own bed, touching the red quilt, with someone in pajamas looking down at him from above and asking, “What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.” Even though he had washed his eyes several times, Yan Xiuzhi felt even stranger than the first time.

Perhaps because, previously they were outside, and now they were in his most private territory.

Zhou Ziyi sat on his bed, like an animal intruding into a wild beast’s lair. Clearly an outsider, yet the young man was in pajamas, relaxed, and even taking charge of some things. He seemed to consider this lair as his own home, with a natural and casual attitude.

Yan Xiuzhi instinctively tensed up due to the outsider “invading his territory,” but he had to accept him and live with him.

In nature, some wild animals can only tolerate their mates entering their private territory.

Now, Yan Xiuzhi also has to live in the same room with his legal partner.
He thought about these things and involuntarily looked at the young man’s face above. Zhou Ziyi had just wiped away the eye drops that had flowed down both sides of his cheeks, suddenly realizing that he was staring at him absentmindedly. He laughed and said, “Ge, am I especially good-looking today or especially strange? Why do you keep staring at me in a daze?”

“…Nothing.” Yan Xiuzhi came to his senses and said, “You wanted to ask me something earlier, right? Go ahead.”

“Oh. I just wanted to ask, how should I entertain Auntie?” Zhou Ziyi said, “Does she have any special habits that I need to pay attention to?”

“Nothing.” Yan Xiuzhi understood his concerns, “My mom said not to worry about her, just do whatever needs to be done.”

“How is that possible, Ge! … Don’t blink.” Zhou Ziyi pressed the man’s eyes and slowly rinsed them again. “Have you watched TV dramas? When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law say ‘whatever’, that’s the scariest moment!”

“Hmm?” Yan Xiuzhi tried to keep his eyes open, but his attention was drawn to Zhou Ziyi’s description, “Daughter-in-law?”

“Hey, it’s just a metaphor,” Zhou Ziyi said, “At the very least, you should tell me what Auntie likes to eat, right? So I can tell Auntie Wang in advance. Oh, and I need to coordinate with Auntie Wang, otherwise, she might slip up in front of your mom.”

As he spoke, he gently wiped away the eye drops from Yan Xiuzhi again. Yan Xiuzhi closed his eyes and said, “You just need to tell Auntie Wang that my mom is coming, so we need to tidy up another guest room for her to sleep in… I’ll be at home tomorrow too, so I’ll handle it.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “But the fact that we sleep in different rooms…”

“Ignore that for now,” Yan Xiuzhi said, “If my mom finds out, we’ll just say we value our personal space and don’t always sleep together.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “Oh? I thought you were going to say that before it was because we hadn’t held the wedding yet, so we slept separately; now that the wedding is over, we would live in the same room.”

Yan Xiuzhi opened his eyes and looked at him, “If you say that, how are you going to go back to sleeping separately after my mom leaves?”

“Uh, that’s true,” Zhou Ziyi started to administer the eye drops, “But, is Auntie the kind of open-minded person who agrees to cohabit but sleep in separate beds? I thought she might feel that this represents emotional discord…”

Yan Xiuzhi chuckled, “She came to my house, and you think she cares whether we live together or not?”

“Um…” Zhou Ziyi finished the eye drops and applied the ointment, “I don’t know if it’s appropriate to ask, but…”

“Ask what?”

“I mean, when Auntie comes this time, I should try not to mention your dad in front of her, right?” Zhou Ziyi said, “Is there anything else I shouldn’t mention?”

“It’s not that strict, just treat it normally,” Yan Xiuzhi said, “But this time, it’s indeed better not to mention my dad.”

“…Feels like getting close to the secrets of a wealthy family,” Zhou Ziyi sighed as he finished applying the ointment, “I won’t ask anymore. Knowing too much isn’t a good thing, I know that.”

Yan Xiuzhi opened his eyes and looked at him, “Stop looking at those irrelevant things.”

“Hahaha, shouldn’t I learn how to live in a wealthy family?” Zhou Ziyi said, “After all, I can’t embarrass President Yan.”

“Just be a normal person, that’s not embarrassing,” Yan Xiuzhi stood up, and sat at the end of the bed with Zhou Ziyi, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He ran his hand through his hair and said, “Anyway, just be natural, no need to be too nervous.”

“Luckily you’ll still be at home tomorrow, Ge, I still have a day’s buffer time,” Zhou Ziyi said, and as he spoke, he leaned on Yan Xiuzhi, “What would I do without you?”

President Yan, was firmly pressed on the shoulder by the young man, startled, but didn’t move away immediately, just frowned and said, “Sit properly!”

“I’m so tired, let me lean on you for a while, you’ve already pushed me twice,” Zhou Ziyi said, “It’s already exhausting enough to come back on a long flight, and I have to continue acting tomorrow, it’s too challenging…”

His head rested on Yan Xiuzhi’s shoulder, and the vibrations from his speech reached Yan Xiuzhi’s body, and the scent of his shampoo also lingered around the man’s nose. Clearly, both of them used the same shampoo, but for some reason, Yan Xiuzhi felt that it had a subtle difference from the familiar scent.

President Yan pinched his fingers, and the balance in his mind fluctuated between “push away” and “not push away.”

But Zhou Ziyi seemed very natural, “Ge, should I lay a mat on your floor?”

Yan Xiuzhi was taken aback, “Why?”

“Ah?” Zhou Ziyi’s head turned and looked at Yan Xiuzhi, “Can I get on your bed?”

“Watch your words,” Yan Xiuzhi paused, then added, “My bed is two meters wide, can’t fit two people?”

“Really? I thought you wouldn’t let me sleep on it,” Zhou Ziyi gently rested his chin on Yan Xiuzhi’s left shoulder and smiled at him, “Thank you, Ge!”

Yan Xiuzhi looked at his smiling eyes up close and felt the area of contact warming up, this warmth even seemed to be spreading.
Even a hint of warmth spread to his heart, causing his heart to beat heavily twice.

President Yan couldn’t take it anymore, he raised his right hand and pressed Zhou Ziyi’s forehead, pushing him away.

“Stop it, go to sleep!”