TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 43

Wen Chenxi had always considered his self-restraint and rationality things to be proud of.

Look—no matter how much Zhuang Yanyu had tested his nerves before, he had been able to restrain himself, keep calm, and never recklessly rush forward to confess.

He believed he had absolute patience and control when it came to Zhuang Yanyu, willing to wait—like slowly boiling a frog in warm water—until the other got used to him, became unable to leave him, and then confess.

But even the strongest self-control can’t withstand repeated provocation.

Tell me—if the person you like kept inviting you to “study” things about what happens in bed together… could you hold back?

Isn’t that, in a roundabout way, an invitation to actually do something?

Especially after he kissed the other’s lips—waiting for his “sentence,” whether it would be life, death, or a slap in the face and a final goodbye—

Zhuang Yanyu reached up and touched his lips.

It was as if he was confirming something, or perhaps telling him something.

No death sentence—he’d even been teased back.

Wen Chenxi thought he’d made himself perfectly clear, yet the other’s reaction still caught him off guard.

In the end, he couldn’t hold back—his body overpowered his reason, and he kissed him again.

It was like finally tasting a long-awaited dessert after queuing for hours—sweet in every bite. You could never get sick of it, and especially in that first mouthful, you feel that every minute of the wait was worth it.

Sweet but not cloying, fragrant but not overpowering.

He was afraid of devouring it too quickly—before he could even savor it, it might melt away.

Still, Wen Chenxi kept a thread of reason.

He thought: as long as Zhuang Yanyu showed the slightest dislike or resistance, he would stop.

But there was none.

The other just stood there blankly, like a wall covered in blooming flowers, holding out his brilliant petals for the admirer to pluck—so obedient, so soft.

Wasn’t this, in its own way, silent permission?

Permission for him to do anything.

But in truth, Zhuang Yanyu was simply stunned.

His muddled brain kept thinking that his life experience really wasn’t enough, and even his previous life’s experience as a system didn’t offer any program or solution for this kind of situation.

Why did his buddy suddenly kiss him on the mouth—and so hard, too?

Zhuang Yanyu suddenly felt a little resentful toward the previous life’s mainframe.

If only there hadn’t been a filter program to block intimate scenes between hosts and their spouses, he might have learned more about this stuff.

At least then he could judge whether his buddy was mistaking him for a girl.

When the chill hit him, his foggy brain began to clear just a little, confusion written all over his face.

Kissing he could barely understand—

After all, it wasn’t the first time. His buddy had kissed his forehead before.

This was just moving from forehead to lips.

But why take off his pants?

Still puzzled, he asked in a daze.

The man propped one arm beside him, gazing down at his face. Without his glasses, Wen Chenxi’s eyes held the dangerous gleam of a hunting predator.

But perhaps to avoid startling the person beneath him, his voice carried a thread of gentleness:

“Yuyu, haven’t you noticed?”

Zhuang Yanyu blinked blankly: “Noticed what?”

The man’s hand lowered.

“You…”

He paused, then used a term Zhuang Yanyu was more familiar with:

“…are a little engorged.”

Zhuang Yanyu’s body trembled.

His mind grew even more baffled.

He hadn’t even been dreaming today—no, he hadn’t even gone to sleep yet—so why this symptom?

According to scientific research, most men experience this when asleep…

Before the thought could finish forming, the man’s lips came down again.

This kiss wasn’t as forceful or aggressive as before—rather, it carried a careful, tentative touch.

“When you kiss me, you react,” his buddy said.

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t understand what that meant—so he certainly didn’t understand what it meant to Wen Chenxi.

If someone isn’t repelled or resistant to your closeness, and even responds to it—what does that mean?

It means they accept your closeness.

It means they might even like you back.

He wasn’t going to be “sentenced.”

Maybe it was Zhuang Yanyu’s reaction that really set him off—Wen Chenxi felt he had never been so impatient for something in his life.

Kissing as he spoke, he coaxed:

“Stop watching videos. Whatever you want to learn, whatever you want to know, I’ll teach you—okay?”

Zhuang Yanyu’s mind instantly flashed to those actions and scenes from the “learning resources,” and he shuddered.

What?

His bro wanted to do that kind of thing with him?

But he had no experience—he could only follow the guide step by step. What if he didn’t do it well?

Whether it was being on top or bottom, he had no experience at all.

Zhuang Yanyu struggled a bit and whispered, “Ah Xi, no, I haven’t learned enough theory yet.”

Wen Chenxi: “Don’t be afraid. Then I’ll just teach the theory. Today we’ll only learn the theory.”

Zhuang Yanyu froze. “You’ve studied it before?”

Wen Chenxi: “I’ve read quite a lot of materials—real academic materials.”

Not the kind of “learning resources” Zhuang Yanyu had.

Zhuang Yanyu: “Oh.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “No wonder you don’t want to watch them—you’ve already learned it all.”

…Wait, no, no, that wasn’t the kind of answer or reaction he should be having right now.

Seeing his thoughts drift back to that topic again, Wen Chenxi felt both helpless and a little amused.

He simply stopped talking and leaned down to kiss him.

The next morning.

Zhuang Yanyu, thanks to his regular biological clock, woke up early.

He instinctively glanced at Wen Chenxi sleeping beside him, and the memory of last night instantly came rushing back, making his face flush red.

Why was his bro still… kissing there?

Whether or not he learned any theory, Zhuang Yanyu didn’t know. All he knew now was that his bro either mistook him for a girl, or was just making some mistake.

He cautiously scooted to the edge of the bed and slipped off.

The moment his foot touched the ground, his legs felt a little weak.

In his mind, the reason for that was instantly tallied.

Too many times.

Once or twice would be fine, but three times—who wouldn’t feel weak?

What puzzled him even more was that when his bro kissed him, having a reaction was one thing…

But later, when his bro coaxed him into letting him use his hand… why did he still have symptoms?

After some quick mental calculations, he reached a conclusion—

Men are visual creatures, easily stimulated, and once stimulated, well, this happens.

There were even countless highly upvoted comments online: “Believe it or not, after you’re turned on, once the lights are off, it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman.”

Zhuang Yanyu suddenly understood. “So that’s how it is.”

So his body was actually normal—it was just… stimulated.

He recalled again—

Thankfully, his bro didn’t actually go all the way… otherwise he might have started wondering if his body was actually female and whether he could have children.

Otherwise, why would his bro act like this?!

Keeping a straight face, Zhuang Yanyu quickly washed up and slipped out of the room.

He didn’t notice that right after he left, Wen Chenxi also opened his eyes.

He stared at the closed door with no sign of sleepiness.

He’d actually been awake for a while—or rather, barely slept at all last night, feeling as if the moment he closed his eyes, the person in his arms would disappear.

When he noticed Zhuang Yanyu waking up in the morning, he had planned to greet him, but quickly realized this little Yu was trying to sneak away.

Wen Chenxi immediately didn’t dare to move.

Once Zhuang Yanyu left the room, he took out his phone and turned on the indoor surveillance.

He saw Zhuang Yanyu go into the kitchen, grab a piece of bread and a sausage, then glance upstairs as if thinking of something.

Was he looking at me?

Then, Zhuang Yanyu took out another bread and sausage from the fridge, unwrapped them, and heated them together in the microwave.

But Zhuang Yanyu didn’t stay to eat breakfast.

It was the first time Wen Chenxi had seen him not sit obediently at the dining table, waiting to eat together—instead, he just took his breakfast and left, without waiting for him.

Wen Chenxi pressed his lips together, his expression a little unreadable.

Once he left the house, the cameras couldn’t follow him.

Wen Chenxi opened his contacts, about to call him, but his finger paused over the dial button… then moved away.

He was a little worried—worried that after last night, this little Yu regretted doing those intimate things with him.

Even if they hadn’t gone all the way, they’d gone far enough, and he thought Zhuang Yanyu should understand what it meant.

Especially since he’d told him directly that he liked him.

Just as Wen Chenxi was about to toss his phone aside with a blank expression, a WeChat message popped up.

【Zhuang Yanyu: Ah Xi, I had something to do, so I left first】

The tightly pressed lips of Wen Chenxi suddenly curved into a faintly helpless smile.

This guy… even when avoiding him, he still remembered to send a message.

Wen Chenxi thought for a moment and replied: 【Xiao Yu, are you mad at me?】

The chat showed “The other party is typing…” then stopped, then started again, then stopped again.

This went on for several minutes, but no message was sent.

Wen Chenxi could practically picture the other person looking all conflicted and downcast.

Too bad he couldn’t see in person how cute and hesitant he looked right now.

Nearly ten minutes later, Zhuang Yanyu finally sent a message: 【Do you… think I’m a girl?】

This was a question Zhuang Yanyu had wanted to ask last night.

But every time he tried, his brain would be overridden by his body’s instincts, instantly making him lose the mood to think about anything else.

All he could say was—sometimes the human body is terrifying.

Especially when it’s out of rational control.

Zhuang Yanyu suddenly missed his body from his past life.

If only his brain was still a chip but his body human—that would be perfect.

As he was thinking this, Wen Chenxi’s reply came.

【Wen Chenxi: Yuyu, I like you.】

【Wen Chenxi: I already told you last night. Maybe you didn’t fully understand what it meant, but I can repeat it for you.】

【Wen Chenxi: I don’t see you as a girl. I’m exactly what Qin Yiyuan described—one of the men who wants to marry another man.】

【Wen Chenxi: I want to marry you.】

Zhuang Yanyu stared carefully at these four messages. The shuttle buses in the upscale neighborhood went back and forth in front of him, but he didn’t board a single one.

He wondered if his own cognitive system was malfunctioning. Otherwise, how could he recognize all these words, yet put together like this, they felt… completely wrong?

【Zhuang Yanyu: But we’re brothers.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: Can best brothers even get married?】

His previous host hadn’t married his own best brother!

They always married someone else, not their brother.

Zhuang Yanyu was nearly tearing his hair out.

Why did what his bro said feel so completely different from what he understood?

【Wen Chenxi: I’ve always liked you. I never saw you as a brother.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: ???】

Zhuang Yanyu’s mind went completely blank, like a bolt of lightning exploded in his brain, leaving everything around him flashing.

It was like… a bolt from the blue.

Ah, so that’s what a bolt from the blue feels like.

He could even describe it accurately. His emotional system had just learned a new data point.

But Zhuang Yanyu didn’t feel happy about learning a new data point at all.

Because his goal in getting close to Wen Chenxi from the beginning had been to treat him as a best brother.

And now, reading this sentence, he was stunned.

His best, best brother had never treated him as a brother!!

He also liked Ah Xi a lot, but that didn’t stop him from seeing him as his closest brother!

Zhuang Yanyu was completely dumbfounded, even a little helpless.

He had fought against Ji Zhiyuan and Li Xi before and thought he had become Ah Xi’s best brother.

Everyone even said they were closer than blood brothers.

And now, not even brothers?

They both liked each other, yet somehow, his feelings for Ah Xi couldn’t just be “best brothers” over there?

Had all his efforts over the past six months been for nothing?

【Wen Chenxi: Xiao Yu?】

Zhuang Yanyu visibly drooped, not even wanting to look at the messages anymore.

【Wen Chenxi: Yuyu?】

Zhuang Yanyu’s eyes reddened. It seemed he was about to learn a new emotional data point.

So, when a normal person feels very sad, their body wants to cry.

And before the tears come, the nose turns sour.

Really sour…

Worried after not getting a reply, Wen Chenxi called Zhuang Yanyu directly.

The phone rang for a long time.

Wen Chenxi didn’t even bother washing his face or brushing his teeth, quickly got dressed, and headed downstairs, trying to catch up with him.

The neighborhood was quite large, and the buildings were spaced widely. Without a private car, the shuttle bus could be used.

He guessed Zhuang Yanyu would take the shuttle.

Just as he thought Zhuang Yanyu wouldn’t pick up, the call was answered.

In the end, Zhuang Yanyu couldn’t bring himself to hang up on his best brother’s call. He answered with a muffled, “Hello.”

Wen Chenxi quietly exhaled and asked softly, “Yuyu, where are you?”

Zhuang Yanyu: “But I don’t want to see you right now.”

Wen Chenxi stopped in his tracks.

Zhuang Yanyu seriously said, “I feel like that sentence hurt my heart a little.”

Wen Chenxi froze, recalling his previous words, and after carefully thinking, hesitantly said, “…Which part?”

Zhuang Yanyu sulked, “You never treated me as a brother.”

Wen Chenxi quickly explained, “But that’s because I like you. That’s why I never treated you as a brother. It’s different. Would you like your best brother?”

Zhuang Yanyu: “I like you.”

Wen Chenxi helplessly: “Maybe our definition of ‘like’ is different?”

Zhuang Yanyu sniffled: “According to the Chinese Dictionary, like, xǐ huan, also written as xǐ ài: 1) joy, happiness; 2) to like, to have affection for, or interest in someone or something. From the Three Kingdoms · Wei · Ying Qu’s Letter to Cousins Jun Miao and Jun Zhou: ‘When idle, travel north; liking is boundless.’”

The point being—how is it different? You tell me.

Wen Chenxi: “….”

Zhuang Yanyu: “I’ve always treated you as my best, best brother. After my dad, you’re the most important. And now you say this—don’t you think it hurts my heart?”

Wen Chenxi: “I’m sorry.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “I’m not a robot. Robots don’t get hurt. I’m a human.”

Huh?

Saying that actually feels… kinda good.

So at a moment like this, he could say something that not only refutes that he’s a robot but also clearly asserts that he’s human.

Zhuang Yanyu stopped sulking, quietly opened the notebook in his mind, and wrote this sentence down to later tell his dad.

If in the future someone doubted his dad, he could say the same thing: “How could you doubt me? Do you think I don’t get hurt? I’m not a robot.”

After recording it, Zhuang Yanyu continued his muffled scolding: “Robots don’t have hearts.”

Wen Chenxi: “Yes, yes, I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

For the first time, Wen Chenxi experienced what it’s like… to be speechless.

Zhuang Yanyu: “Oh.”

As soon as his brother apologized, Zhuang Yanyu felt like he should probably forgive him.

Best brothers are supposed to understand and empathize with each other, after all.

Wen Chenxi lowered his voice: “Yuyu, where are you? I’ll come over and apologize in person. I’ll explain everything again, okay?”

Zhuang Yanyu said: “I need to analyze this seriously.”

Wen Chenxi: “Analyze what?”

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t answer, clearly not planning to explain it to him.

Wen Chenxi sighed helplessly: “Then I…”

Zhuang Yanyu: “I’m taking the day off.”

After saying this, he checked his phone battery and decided to hang up.

His brother had made him sad; hanging up once was fully justified.

Wen Chenxi stared at the disconnected call and silently sighed.

So proud of himself last night, huh?

Just because he reacted when you kissed him, you thought that meant he accepted you?

Yuyu is like steel.

If you don’t make him understand that there are different kinds of “liking,” how can steel bend?

Wen Chenxi stared at the darkened screen for a while, then reopened WeChat:

【Then at least tell me where you’re going, or I’ll worry.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: Oh.】

Seeing that he was still willing to reply, Wen Chenxi thought at least things weren’t that bad.

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t go anywhere strange—he simply returned to his hometown.

First, he told Old Zhuang the universal line he had used during his argument with his brother, insisting that Old Zhuang memorize it and learn to apply it flexibly in other situations.

Old Zhuang agreed, praising him: “Not bad! Dad thinks this line is impressive. If anyone says I’m not human, I can use this too.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Mm.”

Today, Old Zhuang had to plant fruit trees, so he didn’t have much time at home. Zhuang Yanyu helped by carrying seedlings to the planting spots.

While Old Zhuang dug holes, Zhuang Yanyu placed the saplings into them.

As they worked, Old Zhuang suddenly realized: “Xiao Shiyi, isn’t today a weekday? It’s only Friday. Why aren’t you at work?”

Old Zhuang never really thought about the days of the week.

He only knew that if Xiao Shiyi was home, it must be the weekend.

But if it were the weekend, not so many researchers would be in the experimental field, since many take weekends off.

Passing by earlier, he saw researchers recording notes, and only then realized—it wasn’t the weekend.

Zhuang Yanyu said: “I took the day off. I don’t really feel like going to work today.”

Old Zhuang quickly asked: “Are you sick? Or unhappy at work?”

Zhuang Yanyu shook his head: “Neither.”

Seeing that he didn’t want to talk about it, Old Zhuang didn’t press. He simply gave instructions about planting seedlings: “Look at these newly planted seedlings. They look wilted now, and in a few days they’ll look even worse, but that doesn’t mean they’re dying…”

Zhuang Yanyu listened carefully, but soon his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

He thought about what happened last night with Wen Chenxi, and his face flushed, feeling almost feverish.

Then he remembered Wen Chenxi saying he didn’t see him as a brother, and he felt a little despondent.

His brother was contradictory—on one hand saying he liked him, on the other hand not giving him the status of a brother.

Old Zhuang noticed Xiao Shiyi’s mind had drifted and sighed slightly:

“Xiao Shiyi, if something’s bothering you, you have to tell Dad. Isn’t being human about doing what you want? Don’t be unhappy.”

Zhuang Yanyu pulled his thoughts back and said to Old Zhuang: “Dad, do you think our boss in our last life… miscalculated?”

Old Zhuang asked: “Miscalculated what?”

Zhuang Yanyu said: “Maybe Ah Xi and I weren’t really the most compatible best brothers after all.”

Old Zhuang was a little surprised: “Why would you suddenly think that? Weren’t you and Xiao Wen close?”

Zhuang Yanyu said flatly: “He said he liked me.”

Old Zhuang immediately said: “It’s normal to like you, Xiao Shiyi. You’re so good, everyone would like you. Dad likes you too.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “But he also said he didn’t see me as a brother.”

Old Zhuang: “Ah?”

This was a blind spot for Old Zhuang.

That sentence alone sounded somewhat cold.

Old Zhuang muttered: “He really said that? How did I not see he was that kind of person? That’s like… ‘I want to date you, but I don’t plan to marry you.’”

“No,” Zhuang Yanyu said. “He said he wants to marry me.”

Old Zhuang was shocked: “…He wants to marry you?”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Yes.”

Old Zhuang had lived as a human for decades. He hadn’t married or had children, focusing on farming, but in his previous life, his host did marry and have children.

Even after decades, he instantly understood Zhuang Yanyu’s meaning.

Old Zhuang was puzzled: “But you’re not a girl?”

Zhuang Yanyu: “In this world, men can marry men too.”

Old Zhuang, truly confused, mumbled: “Oh…”

Father and son looked at each other, gaining a little more respect for human emotions, something machines can hardly comprehend.

Old Zhuang sighed: “Then you probably misunderstood him. If he says he wants to marry you, it’s because he likes you in a romantic way, not as a brother. That’s different from your kind of liking. Just like your host wanted to marry his wife—there’s no way to be ‘just brothers’ in that situation.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “The host’s wife is always female.”

So they couldn’t have been “just brothers” anyway.

Old Zhuang: “Uh…”

Xiao Shiyi made a very valid point.

Old Zhuang could only ask: “Then… do you want to marry him?”

Zhuang Yanyu honestly said: “I haven’t thought about it.”

Old Zhuang frowned, seeming like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t.

He actually wasn’t too keen on the two of them getting married.

If they married, living together long-term, he worried Xiao Shiyi might accidentally reveal something.

Even though they were ordinary humans now, their habits were hard to change.

They still carried too many habits from their system life.

Sometimes, from an outsider’s perspective, it could seem bizarre—would normal humans accept that?

Moreover, Xiao Shiyi had only been here a short time and was still unfamiliar with this world. Old Zhuang was genuinely concerned.

City side.

Wen Chenxi sat in his office, unable to focus on a single document.

He knew Zhuang Yanyu had gone back to his hometown and exactly where he was, yet his mind was unsettled.

Just then, Ji Zhiyuan called him.

The moment Wen Chenxi answered, Ji Zhiyuan started berating him:

“Old Wen, what the hell! You and Xiao Yuyu sneakily went to Uncle Zhuang’s without taking me or Li Xi! If Uncle Liu hadn’t called to ask if I wanted him to kill a goose to bring back, I wouldn’t even know you went!”

A few days ago, Ji Zhiyuan had messaged Uncle Liu, saying he missed his geese.

Seeing that Zhuang Yanyu returned home today, Uncle Liu called Ji Zhiyuan to ask if he wanted a goose killed today and suggested Xiao Yuyu could bring it back.

Ji Zhiyuan assumed Zhuang Yanyu and Wen Chenxi went together and immediately called to confront him.

Already feeling gloomy, Wen Chenxi felt Ji Zhiyuan’s words hit his heart. He said coldly: “I didn’t go.”

Ji Zhiyuan: “Huh? You didn’t go? Then why did Xiao Yuyu go alone?”

Wen Chenxi: “It’s fine.”

Decades-long friendship aside, Ji Zhiyuan immediately sensed something off in that tone. He clicked his tongue: “You and Xiao Yuyu didn’t fight, did you?”

Wen Chenxi: “You’re annoying, hang up.”

Ji Zhiyuan now knew for sure—they did fight!

So before leaving work that day, Ji Zhiyuan and Li Xi rushed to BlueTech to mock him.

“He’s so old and still dares to fight with Xiao Yuyu!”

“And he made Xiao Yuyu go back home! Tsk tsk, shameless!”

Wen Chenxi nearly wanted to throw them out.

Li Xi, however, asked worriedly: “What’s going on between you two?”

Wen Chenxi couldn’t easily explain.

Li Xi tentatively asked: “Don’t tell me… your confession got rejected?”

Wen Chenxi: “I don’t know if it counts as rejection.”

He added: “Probably not, but I might have said something wrong afterward—that part’s more serious.”

According to Zhuang Yanyu’s steel-like reasoning, this matter with his brother could be far more important than a confession.

Ji Zhiyuan: “What confession?”

Ji Zhiyuan: “Wait, what? Confession? Old Wen, you and Xiao Yuyu… you two…”

Wen Chenxi, having confessed, didn’t bother hiding it: “Yes, just as you think. I like Xiao Yuyu—a lot.”

Ji Zhiyuan was stunned: “Old Wen, you… you like Xiao Yuyu? Damn, no wonder you never mentioned liking anyone before. So you like men too…”

Wen Chenxi: “Yes.”

Ji Zhiyuan: “So all that attention you gave Xiao Yuyu before, was it premeditated? No wonder you weren’t interested in my company’s artists later—Xiao Yuyu was your target?”

Wen Chenxi reminded him: “Before I knew Xiao Yuyu, I wasn’t interested in your artists either. Also, don’t say ‘target.’ He is…”

He paused, as if thinking of a fitting word, then said: “…my flower.”

Ji Zhiyuan was dumbfounded: “Huh?”

Li Xi shivered and exclaimed: “Gross! So cheesy, I got goosebumps.”

Ji Zhiyuan: “Why cheesy?”

“Idiot,” Li Xi tapped him on the head: “He means it’s the flower that grew on his old iron tree.”

Ji Zhiyuan: “…Damn.”

Author’s note:

Originally, this was supposed to be a home-run scene per the synopsis, but considering Wen Chenxi’s character—well-mannered and composed—he could only be pushed to this point because Xiao Yuyu kept teasing him. Anything more would break his character and Xiao Yuyu’s. So he only taught theory and used his hands, mainly to make Yuyu realize that Wen Chenxi likes him, not just as a brother. After this, he can officially and passionately pursue him!