TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 49

It was true — Wen Chenxi really wanted to marry Xiaoyu.

It was currently his biggest goal.

So he had been waiting for Xiaoyu to “get it,” hoping he would realize that his feelings for him were different from Xiaoyu’s feelings for him.

And yet… he hadn’t expected that Xiaoyu would agree to marry him for… the very reason he had casually mentioned before.

Wen Chenxi was at once both amused and exasperated.

Looking at the person so eager to marry him, he smiled and asked, “Xiaoyu, do you want to marry me just because of this?”

Zhuang Yanyu pressed his lips together and, slightly embarrassed, asked, “Isn’t that allowed?”

After all, it had been Wen Chenxi who suggested it could be done that way.

He now also thought Wen Chenxi’s suggestion wasn’t bad.

“Of course it’s allowed,” Wen Chenxi said softly, his voice gentling. “But I’d prefer that Xiaoyu marry me because you like me.”

Zhuang Yanyu frowned. Instinctively, he wanted to say that he did like him.

But he thought, If I say that, Ah Xi will say my liking is different from his liking for me.

Wen Chenxi led him to the balcony and had him sit on the lounge chair. He glanced upstairs, saw that Zhou Qingcheng hadn’t come down, and then half-squatted in front of him:

“Yu Yu, have you thought that there are many ways to deal with Zhou Qingcheng? You don’t need to risk your whole life over this, right? We can figure out another way. If you agreed to marry me just because of him, what if you end up regretting it later? I don’t want you to be unhappy after marrying me.”

He poked the dimple on Zhuang Yanyu’s face, speaking softly: “Just thinking that you might be unhappy with me makes me feel bad.”

“Bad?”

“Yes, the kind of bad where your whole body feels uncomfortable.”

Zhuang Yanyu’s expression was serious: “I won’t be unhappy.”

Wen Chenxi smiled. “Okay, got it. But we can still think of ways to handle Zhou Qingcheng, right?”

Zhuang Yanyu asked curiously, “How do you plan to handle him?”

Wen Chenxi: “Well, first I need to know why you’re afraid of him.”

This was something he didn’t understand.

This fear and nervousness weren’t fake; it was a bodily instinct.

He could clearly feel that Zhuang Yanyu’s tension around his brother came from instinct.

If he didn’t know Zhou Qingcheng’s character, he might even suspect that his brother had bullied Zhuang Yanyu in the past, causing this instinctive fear.

But knowing that his brother wouldn’t do that made Wen Chenxi puzzled.

He had some confidence in Zhou Qingcheng, so why this reaction?

Zhuang Yanyu visibly deflated, sinking into the lounge chair, eyes avoiding Wen Chenxi, voice hesitant: “It’s… it’s nothing…”

Seeing this, Wen Chenxi knew pressing him wouldn’t work.

He knew Zhuang Yanyu well enough — whenever his speech was vague, it meant he either couldn’t or didn’t want to say something.

At this moment, there was no point forcing him, though Wen Chenxi never would and didn’t want to.

He sighed. “Since it’s nothing, I’ll have to think of a way myself.”

Zhuang Yanyu glanced at Wen Chenxi.

Wen Chenxi: “But it’s okay. I’ll handle this.”

Zhuang Yanyu looked at him again.

Wen Chenxi: “Yu Yu?”

He realized he might have spoken too soon. He had claimed to understand Zhuang Yanyu, but now he couldn’t quite figure out what this Yu was thinking.

After a while, Zhuang Yanyu said, “He’s your real brother.”

Wen Chenxi smiled. “Of course. I understand this better than anyone.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Then you’re going to be this mean to him?”

Even though Zhuang Yanyu wasn’t Wen Chenxi’s best brother, nor his real younger brother, he felt as if he still held first place in Wen Chenxi’s heart.

Wen Chenxi said sincerely: “I won’t. The worst I can do is… make him kowtow to you for a red envelope during New Year. I can’t be meaner than that.”

Zhuang Yanyu liked hearing that.

Just thinking of this guy, who had spent his life researching their chip ancestors, kowtowing to him and getting a red envelope, made him press his lips together and smile.

“Do you want to know about him?” Wen Chenxi suddenly asked.

He didn’t know where Zhuang Yanyu’s fear of Zhou Qingcheng came from, but he could at least let him understand who Zhou Qingcheng really was.

Sometimes, fear comes from not understanding the unknown.

Zhuang Yanyu thought of the saying know yourself and your enemy, and you will never lose a battle, and nodded. “I want to know.”

Wen Chenxi said, “He takes the Zhou surname, as you know. But many people don’t know why he took that surname — it’s related to him being kidnapped as a child.”

“Kidnapped as a child?”

“Yes. He was very clever even in first grade. He noticed that his deskmate was going to be sold — by his own father. His deskmate didn’t suspect a thing, but he picked up on hints and secretly followed. He was smart enough to send a message home, but he was discovered… My dad was busy with work at the time and couldn’t intervene. The whole situation was complicated and involved several people, but that part isn’t important now. His father was a gambling addict. Unable to borrow money, he wanted to sell the children to repay debts. He didn’t anticipate an extra child appearing. Originally, he intended to sell Acheng as well, but later realized the whole town was searching for Acheng. He suspected Acheng’s identity was special and dared not sell him. If he sold Acheng, his own son might not sell. Maybe he considered kidnapping our family for ransom, but he didn’t, possibly knowing he didn’t have time to deal with it. So he…”

When he said this, Wen Chenxi paused. His voice was calm, with a faint chill in it.

“—He tried to strangle him.”

Zhuang Yanyu was stunned.

“After that, he thought that if he threw the ‘body’ into the sea or into the water, it would float up and be discovered faster. So instead, he threw Acheng into the wilderness in the mountains. It was said there were wild animals around there, and he figured the ‘corpse’ would be eaten and leave no trace. But Acheng’s fate was strong — he had only lost his breath for a moment and wasn’t actually dead. He happened to be found by Uncle Zhou, who was gathering medicinal herbs in that forest, and Uncle Zhou saved his life.

But even though Acheng survived, Uncle Zhou said he found signs of abuse on Acheng’s body. When he woke up, he didn’t remember anyone, and both his body and mind were severely damaged. From then on, he only recognized Uncle Zhou.”

Zhuang Yanyu suddenly understood.

“So he was raised by Uncle Zhou after that?”

Wen Chenxi shook his head.

“Not completely. Acheng had been weak since he was little. After that incident, his health got even worse. And my aunt— that’s Ji Zhiyuan’s mother — she was my mom’s best friend. She went to a master to have his fate read. The master said Acheng and Uncle Zhou had a father-and-son bond and that he could only survive if he stayed in the Zhou family.

My mom was terrified by then. After Acheng was found, his condition worsened — he was always rushing to the ER, hanging onto life by a thread, and he would only acknowledge Uncle Zhou. My mom figured it was better to try anything than just wait for him to die, so she let Uncle Zhou take Acheng as his son.”

“Did your dad agree?”

Zhuang Yanyu remembered that humans care a lot about these things.

Especially when both parents are still alive and healthy — how could they bear to give their child to someone else to raise?

Not to mention, the Wen family was a powerful, prestigious family. They should’ve cared even more.

“At first he didn’t agree. But when Acheng was taken away, Dad had actually been messaged — and because he didn’t see the message in time, Acheng went missing. Ever since then, he hasn’t had much say in our household.

Besides, letting Acheng become Uncle Zhou’s son was actually our family taking advantage. The Zhou family has been a family of traditional Chinese doctors for generations — they even produced imperial physicians in the past. Other people wouldn’t even get the chance to meet them. After Acheng went to the Zhou family, with their careful treatment, he finally recovered to how he is now. Otherwise…”

Zhuang Yanyu understood the part Wen Chenxi didn’t finish.

If not for the Zhou family’s careful nursing, even if Zhou Qingcheng had survived that day, he might never have grown up — or lived to be healthy like he was now.

Just hearing it made Zhuang Yanyu feel that Zhou Qingcheng was pitiful.

In his previous mindset, if the brothers hadn’t gotten along, Zhou Qingcheng would practically be a classic tragic hero in the making.

Already nearly a full “chosen one” figure — his childhood really must have been miserable…

Wen Chenxi rubbed his head as he continued:

“Later on, after a long time, he gradually began to accept our family again. But you know how it is — our family business does pretty well, and because he didn’t grow up in the Wen family, and even took the Zhou surname, lots of people said unpleasant things to him.”

“I get it,” said Zhuang Yanyu.

He understood very well.

Things like:

“In the future you won’t inherit anything from the Wen family, since you belong to the Zhou family now. Everything will go to Wen Chenxi — it has nothing to do with you.”

Some people might’ve even twisted that kidnapping incident, saying it was all Wen Chenxi’s scheme.

Even though Wen Chenxi was only five years older than Zhou Qingcheng — in some people’s eyes, five years was enough to mastermind anything.

Thinking of that possibility, Zhuang Yanyu frowned, annoyed.

“So when people slandered you, did Zhou Qingcheng believe them?”

Wen Chenxi shook his head.

“No. Acheng isn’t that stupid. But… maybe to avoid suspicion, or maybe because he really didn’t want to come back to the Wen family — after he grew up, my dad asked him to change his surname back to Wen, and he refused.”

Wen Chenxi felt there had been some influence, at least a little.

Zhuang Yanyu thought, Fortunately there was no misunderstanding — otherwise Ah Xi would’ve been heartbroken.

For that alone, he decided he’d be nicer to Zhou Qingcheng from now on…

Wait — why did hearing Zhou Qingcheng’s story suddenly make him feel the guy was pitiful and not so scary anymore?

Weren’t they supposed to be figuring out how to deal with him?

Zhuang Yanyu glanced at Wen Chenxi. If he still didn’t understand Wen Chenxi’s real intention now, he really didn’t deserve his reputation.

Wen Chenxi acted as if he hadn’t noticed, and went on:

“Even now, he stays in the lab most of the year and never asks about the family business. He probably doesn’t even know how many shares he owns. Whatever money he gets, he pours it back into research as funding.

Partly to avoid suspicion and keep people from using our relationship to stir trouble — and partly… maybe he just genuinely loves research. I don’t pry. Asking too much isn’t good. I just keep sending funds.”

And because of that, each brother shone in his own field, and their relationship was actually better than most wealthy families’.

“Oh,” said Zhuang Yanyu.

Wen Chenxi said seriously,

“Alright. Now that Yuyu knows what kind of person he is, let’s think about how to deal with him — hit him right where it hurts so he’ll never forget it, and never dare bully you again.”

“…”

“Otherwise,” Wen Chenxi added lightly, “how about kidnapping him again?”

Zhuang Yanyu grabbed a small pillow and threw it at him.

Wen Chenxi caught it with a laugh and leaned closer, coaxing softly,

“Don’t be mad. I’m serious.”

Zhuang Yanyu pressed his lips together.

“You made him sound so pitiful… I don’t even feel right going after him anymore.”

Wen Chenxi said,

“Really? What’s pitiful about him? He doesn’t even need to work at the company and still gets a huge dividend. It’s outrageous.”

Zhuang Yanyu glared at him.

Wen Chenxi laughed.

He realized that the usually expressionless little Yu in front of outsiders now had more and more expressions in front of him.

He would get angry. He would glare.

Unlike before — back then, he would only say, “As long as Ah Xi thinks it’s good, then I think it’s good too.”

Wen Chenxi had always felt that this kind of self-sacrificing “brotherly love” from Zhuang Yanyu wasn’t normal.

This was much better.

At least now, he could tell what Zhuang Yanyu liked hearing, and what he didn’t.

When Wen Chenxi smiled, Zhuang Yanyu became even more helpless. In the end, he slumped weakly into the bean-bag chair with no energy, and asked,

“You’re not afraid that after I get to know him, I’ll still dislike him and want to team up with you to go after him?”

“I never considered that,” Wen Chenxi replied.

Zhuang Yanyu gave him a puzzled look.

Wen Chenxi’s hand gently brushed over the top of his head, smoothing the hair he had ruffled earlier.

“Because I know Little Yu is kind and soft-hearted.”

“…”

Feeling guilty, Zhuang Yanyu turned his gaze away.

He really wanted to say — Then you’re wrong.

In his previous life, he had a “chosen one” system.

How could he possibly be soft or kind?

He was only good to people on his side.

And Zhou Qingcheng… wasn’t really one of his people.

Well — maybe barely.

He didn’t know whether it was Wen Chenxi’s words working on him or not, but when it was dinnertime and he looked at Zhou Qingcheng sitting nearby, he really did calm down a lot.

A future “protagonist” in training, one who hadn’t fully grown yet — nothing to be scared of.

Ji Zhiyuan and Zhou Qingcheng hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and the Wen family had lots of good alcohol, so the group drank together.

As always, Zhuang Yanyu didn’t drink and didn’t talk much, and this time, after eating, he went to the study instead of staying in the dining room.

At first, Wen Chenxi worried he’d be bored. But when he went upstairs and saw Zhuang Yanyu typing code at the computer, he quietly left.

By the time they finished, it was past nine at night, and Zhuang Yanyu had already showered.

Ji Zhiyuan and Li Xi were driven home by the driver. After things were tidied up, Zhou Qingcheng still didn’t leave — he’d had quite a bit to drink, and Wen Chenxi couldn’t bring himself to send his younger brother home like that, so Zhou Qingcheng stayed in the guest bedroom.

Zhou Qingcheng drank some honey water, stood on the balcony for a while to clear his head, then got ready to wash up.

As soon as he walked into the room, he froze.

On the nightstand beside the bed sat a small robot.

The robot looked familiar — it was the one he had given to Zhuang Yanyu, created using the new chip developed by their research lab.

At first, he thought someone had placed it there by mistake, so he said to Wen Chenxi,

“Bro, Little Yu’s robot is on my nightstand.”

“I saw him put it there himself,” Wen Chenxi replied. “Maybe he wants you to take a look?”

“Huh?”

Puzzled, Zhou Qingcheng went inside and picked up the little robot to inspect it.

Five minutes later—

He rushed out of the room in surprise, straight into the master bedroom, practically wanting to scoop Zhuang Yanyu right off the bed.

“Little Yu! Oh my god! Did you rewrite the system?! Did you upgrade it?!”

Zhuang Yanyu silently pulled the blanket over himself, pressed his lips together and muttered,

“…The system spirit you designed before was too dumb.”

So dumb he could hardly stand it.

Overjoyed, Zhou Qingcheng didn’t notice the disdain toward his earlier program at all. He eagerly started discussing it with him.

Although Zhuang Yanyu wasn’t as wary of Zhou Qingcheng anymore, he was still somewhat cautious, wrapped tightly in his blanket as if it gave him a sense of security.

The thing about Zhou Qingcheng was — once he got into these topics, he could go on forever. And after discovering that the program Zhuang Yanyu designed was even better than his, he became excited.

“Where did you get your inspiration?”

“I don’t know,” Zhuang Yanyu replied vaguely. “It just came to me.”

“Wait here.”

He went back to the guest room, grabbed his backpack, and dumped out a pile of things.

Zhuang Yanyu stared blankly at the various components scattered everywhere.

“I don’t know where your inspiration comes from,” said Zhou Qingcheng, “but sometimes when I’m stuck, I play with these.”

He picked up a chip.

“This is a C3 chip — it was on sale for 9.9 yuan with free shipping, so I stocked up on a bunch. And this sensor — I stocked up on those too. During breaks, I use them to write all kinds of programs and build different front-end setups…”

Zhuang Yanyu’s gaze froze on the C3 chip in his hand.

His voice trembled.

“Ni… nine point nine?”

“Yeah,” Zhou Qingcheng said. “They’re cheap — tons of them online. When I don’t have ideas, I just mess around with these simple chips, build all sorts of little things, and see what their limits are.”

Zhuang Yanyu felt dazed.

So the price difference on chips could be this big?

You could actually get them for 9.9 — with free shipping…

With anticipation in his eyes, Zhou Qingcheng asked,

“Little Yu, are you sleepy yet? Want to make a few little gadgets together? My brother still has the 3D printer I bought before! Look, I also designed these expansion boards. This one can solder two C3s, this one can hold three, and the ribbon connectors are ready too. If you need a GPS module or anything else, I’ve got those in the box. Let’s make something for fun, yeah?”

Zhuang Yanyu silently pulled the blanket up over himself.

“I go to sleep early. I can fall asleep.”

Zhou Qingcheng looked regretful.

“Really? You can actually sleep? You don’t want to play a bit? Then maybe tomorrow? We’ve got seven days off for National Day — so boring during holidays.”

“Mm,” Zhuang Yanyu replied.

He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no either.

When Wen Chenxi finished showering and came out, he saw Zhuang Yanyu curled up under the blanket like a little quail.

And his younger brother sitting on the floor beside the master bed, surrounded by parts and components.

Wen Chenxi’s face darkened.

“Zhou Qingcheng.”

Zhou Qingcheng looked at his freshly-showered big brother, then at the future sister-in-law lying on the bed — and suddenly understood.

“Oh, oh — I’m going, I’m going!” He stuffed everything back into his backpack in a rush and darted out of the room.

Sigh — he kept forgetting about his big brother and Little Yu’s relationship.

Such a good Little Yu… why was he already thinking about being in a relationship?

What’s so fun about men? Aren’t chips fun? Aren’t programs fun?

Terrible — now even his eyes were practically turning yellow with jealousy.

Once Zhou Qingcheng left, Zhuang Yanyu finally poked his head out from under the blanket.

Wen Chenxi couldn’t help laughing.

“So afraid of him — and you still gave him the program?”

Zhuang Yanyu pressed his lips together.

“He gave me the robot first.”

So he wanted to return the favor — and since he didn’t know what to give, he simply upgraded the robot’s system.

Thinking about it, Wen Chenxi suddenly felt that this really was Zhuang Yanyu’s usual style.

When he wants to treat you well, he gives you programs — helps you make money.

Hadn’t Little Yu treated him the same way before?

Wen Chenxi sighed helplessly. If it were anyone else with this level of skill, they’d only be thinking of how to make money off him.

Zhuang Yanyu lifted the blanket and motioned for Wen Chenxi to get on the bed.

His body pillow hadn’t arrived yet — because he had too many things, he’d shipped the pillow and some clothes home separately.

No body pillow tonight — but that was fine. The “body-pillow person” was here.

As soon as Wen Chenxi lay down, Zhuang Yanyu leaned in close, narrowing his eyes in comfort. Then, a little melancholy, he said:

“Ah Xi, I’m so cheap.”

“How could you be?” Wen Chenxi replied.

Zhuang Yanyu looked like, You wouldn’t understand, and sighed sadly.

Nine-yuan-ninety, and with free shipping — the ancestors were truly too miserable.

He didn’t even know if he himself was worth more than that.

Wen Chenxi chuckled.

“Don’t overthink. Sleep first.”

“Okay.”

As usual, when Wen Chenxi reached to turn off the light, he gently kissed Zhuang Yanyu’s forehead and whispered:

“Good night, Yuyu.”

His hand hovered over the switch, waiting for Zhuang Yanyu to say good night back — then he’d turn the lamp off.

But Zhuang Yanyu said nothing.

Wen Chenxi paused and looked down.

“Little Yu, you’re not sleepy?”

Zhuang Yanyu touched his forehead, then glanced at Wen Chenxi’s lips.

That thought came back again.

He still believed that after kissing his forehead, Ah Xi would want to kiss his lips — but again, he didn’t.

He couldn’t quite tell if what he felt was disappointment.

After a long moment, Zhuang Yanyu finally said,

“I’m sleeping. Turn off the light.”

Wen Chenxi sensed something was off, and asked softly,

“What’s wrong?”

Zhuang Yanyu shook his head.

Wen Chenxi looked at him quietly for a moment, thought for two seconds, and then turned off the light.

The room instantly fell into darkness. The blackout curtains were drawn tight; there wasn’t a trace of light.

Only after their eyes adjusted could they barely make out faint shadows where moonlight leaked through a tiny gap.

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t close his eyes. He felt that Wen Chenxi hadn’t either.

Their breathing sounded especially clear in the dark.

Neither of them spoke again. It was as if, after saying good night, the day’s social interactions had officially ended — no need to keep maintaining this delicate relationship.

But Zhuang Yanyu still had a stomach full of thoughts.

In the past, he would have told everything to his “brother.”

But now, the person who used to be his brother… wasn’t a brother anymore.

He pressed his lips together, feeling an inexplicable sense of grievance.

He shifted slightly, wanting to turn over with his back facing Wen Chenxi.

Just as he moved, Wen Chenxi pulled him into a tight embrace.

“Little Yu? Can’t sleep?”

Zhuang Yanyu stopped — and suddenly asked:

“Who are you?”

Wen Chenxi paused, ready to say, Don’t you know who I am?

Then he realized what Zhuang Yanyu meant.

Quietly, he asked,

“Who do you want me to be?”

After a silence, Zhuang Yanyu said,

“I’m looking for my brother. Some things I only want to ask my brother.”

“I’m here,” Wen Chenxi replied.

Zhuang Yanyu knew he had switched into “good brother mode,” and slowly clasped Wen Chenxi’s hand.

“Is there some kind of procedure you have to follow before kissing?”

Wen Chenxi froze.

“What?”

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