TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 52

Zhuang Yanyu believed his body was in good condition. Normally, he didn’t think he’d catch a cold.

But it was probably because it was his first time coming to such a cold place and he hadn’t quite adapted yet, plus he’d been playing in the snow for a long time without gloves.

Zhuang Yanyu felt that his hands had been frozen to the point of numbness, and he’d sneezed several times in a row.

He thought to himself: if even his body, which was in such good condition, was like this, then wouldn’t his “brother,” who sat in an office all day, be even worse?

But A-Xi had a lot of muscle, and there was a gym at home. He worked out at least three times a week, so he probably wasn’t that bad off.

Just to be safe, Zhuang Yanyu shifted his position in the bathtub. He still thought it would be safer to let his brother come down and soak together.

His hands, which had been numb from the cold, were slowly regaining feeling in the hot water.

Warm currents gradually seeped into his skin and spread through his limbs and bones. His itchy nose felt much better too, and he was so comfortable that his eyes narrowed slightly.

Wen Chenxi didn’t even dare look too much. His gaze stayed fixed on Zhuang Yanyu’s face, worried that if he moved it even a little, it would drift to other places.

After helping him set his clothes aside, Wen Chenxi prepared to leave.

“You soak first,” Wen Chenxi said. He pinched his nose, feeling it itch a bit, and his Adam’s apple rolled unconsciously. “The bathtub is too small.”

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t think the bathtub was small at all. It was a double bathtub. With just him sitting there, judging by the capacity, it could probably fit three more of him.

“A bathtub this big takes a lot of water to fill. If you soak later, you’ll have to refill it again.”

Zhuang Yanyu looked disapproving. He hoped A-Xi could conserve water.

And he really didn’t understand—since they were both grown men, why A-Xi was being so shy about it.

Wen Chenxi felt very helpless.

If Zhuang Yanyu hadn’t agreed to be with him, he really would have suspected that this peerless, straight-as-an-arrow guy had no idea what couples actually did.

But thinking about it carefully, that really did seem to be the case.

In many aspects, Zhuang Yanyu was pure and ignorant, like a blank sheet of paper—while he himself was trying his best to fill that blank sheet with all kinds of things Zhuang Yanyu didn’t yet know, all sorts of blind spots.

“Xiao Yu.” Wen Chenxi squatted down so that his line of sight was level with Zhuang Yanyu, who was sitting in the bathtub.

Zhuang Yanyu scooted back from the other side of the tub. “?”

Wen Chenxi kissed his eyes, then moved down and placed a kiss on his lips.

Zhuang Yanyu looked completely confused, not knowing why A-Xi had suddenly kissed him again.

Fortunately, the other party only kissed him once—it wasn’t long, not even three seconds.

Wen Chenxi patiently said to him, “I’m not young anymore.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “I know.”

“No, you don’t.” Wen Chenxi wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead from soaking in the hot water. “Men my age… are very improper.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Improper?”

After wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wen Chenxi gently pinched his chin and said, “If you soak in the bath with me, you can’t wear pants. Not even underwear.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “……”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Oh.”

So this was what he meant by “improper”!

Although his straight-guy way of thinking hadn’t completely adjusted yet, once it came to not being allowed to wear underwear, that definitely had something to do with that sort of thing.

Zhuang Yanyu was still a bit embarrassed about it. Even though helping each other out seemed like a pretty normal thing.

Still, it couldn’t be done too often. Too frequently wasn’t good for the body, and it also depended on age.

Hmm—Zhuang Yanyu did some calculations.

At A-Xi’s age, three times a week would be best.

For the sake of his brother’s physical health, Zhuang Yanyu felt he should shoulder the responsibility of supervising this.

They had only helped each other last night—today, it would be better not to.

Before Zhuang Yanyu could refuse, Wen Chenxi kissed him once and then stood up. “I’ll wait for you outside. Yuyu shouldn’t soak for too long either.”

“Oh.”

The bathroom door closed, cutting off all sightlines.

With the steam rising, the entire bathroom grew warm.

Zhuang Yanyu lowered his head to look at his underwear and quietly tugged it up a bit.

If he said half an hour, then it was half an hour. Zhuang Yanyu was still that precise, clock-like calculator. As soon as the thirty minutes were up, he stood, wrapped himself in a bath towel, and went out.

Wen Chenxi was sitting on the balcony with his laptop, seemingly handling work.

As soon as the bathroom door opened, billowing steam rushed out, followed by a “fish” whose entire body had been soaked until it was pink all over.

Wen Chenxi closed his laptop and walked over, holding a cup of water. “Drink a little. Do you feel dizzy?”

Zhuang Yanyu obediently took a sip, then shook his head. “No.”

Wen Chenxi hummed. “I’ll help you dry your hair.”

“No.” Zhuang Yanyu refused. “You go wash.”

Wen Chenxi never argued with him over small things. Hearing that, he smiled. “Okay.”

Wen Chenxi went to shower. By the time he came out, Zhuang Yanyu had already dried his hair and was lying obediently on the bed, his whole body warm, rosy, and irresistibly tempting to look at.

Seeing how quickly he’d finished, Zhuang Yanyu knew he hadn’t soaked in the bath. “You didn’t soak?”

Wen Chenxi said, “I don’t need to. I won’t get sick—don’t worry.”

Zhuang Yanyu wore an expression that said there’s really nothing I can do about you. Luckily, the place was well heated, so it didn’t feel cold even indoors.

Wen Chenxi was amused by the little expression on his face. He pulled him—blanket and all—into his arms and asked softly, “Yuyu, tell me—were you really turned into a fish?”

Zhuang Yanyu: “……”

Zhuang Yanyu raised his voice. “I’m not!”

Wen Chenxi raised an eyebrow.

Zhuang Yanyu pressed his lips together and used his trump card. “How can you say I’m not human? If you say that, I’ll be very sad.”

Wen Chenxi hurried to placate him. “Just joking. Xiao Yu, don’t be mad.”

Zhuang Yanyu pushed against his chest and slowly turned over, showing him his back, no longer sleeping face-to-face with him.

Wen Chenxi both felt that his Yuyu was incredibly good at tugging at his heart and begged for mercy at the same time. “I was wrong, Xiao Yu. You have to understand—sometimes men my age are just like this…”

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t turn around. “Like what?”

Wen Chenxi said with a raised corner of his lips, “Ahem—just shameless, thinking about… improper things.”

Now Zhuang Yanyu was confused. “What does you thinking about improper things have to do with suspecting that I turned into a fish?”

Wen Chenxi rubbed his nose.

It had a lot to do with it.

His mind involuntarily conjured up the image of Zhuang Yanyu with a human upper body and a fish tail below.

Tsk—he couldn’t think about it anymore, or he was afraid his nose would start bleeding.

Wen Chenxi hurriedly changed the subject. “Do you want to go skiing tomorrow?”

Only then did Zhuang Yanyu turn back around to face him. “I’ve never skied before.”

Wen Chenxi kissed his nose. “I’ll teach you.”

“Okay.” Zhuang Yanyu felt eager and restless. He decided that when he woke up tomorrow, he’d collect even more videos related to skiing instruction. “But can you ski now?”

Wen Chenxi said, “Yes. The ski resorts here usually open around mid-October or the end of October and stay open until April next year. But didn’t I say earlier? This year’s weather has been pretty abnormal—snow came early. Plus, the ski resorts don’t rely entirely on natural snow; they have snow-making machines. And with the National Day Golden Week, they opened early.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Then there’ll be a lot of people, right?”

Wen Chenxi rubbed his head. “It’s fine. There are many different areas. I’ll take you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Thinking about skiing tomorrow, Zhuang Yanyu fell asleep with his brow relaxed, in a good mood even in his dreams.

The next day, after lunch and getting fully geared up, the two of them went to the ski resort.

The resort wasn’t far from where they were staying—only a ten-plus-minute drive—but by the time they arrived, there were already quite a lot of people.

The National Day Golden Week never failed to live up to its reputation for being packed with crowds. Even at the northernmost edge, there were people everywhere.

But money could smooth everything over. Wen Chenxi directly paid to reserve the VIP area. No matter how crowded the outer areas were, it didn’t affect them.

In the entire VIP zone, aside from Wen Chenxi and Zhuang Yanyu, there were only staff members, bodyguards, and a high-level ski instructor waiting on standby, ready to come over whenever needed.

After changing into their boots, Wen Chenxi went to put their things into a locker. Zhuang Yanyu, meanwhile, proactively went over to consult the instructor.

That morning, he had practically watched every video, post, and textbook about learning to ski. His theoretical knowledge was already at full marks, so he planned to go through things with the instructor to see if there were any details he might have overlooked.

The instructor’s surname was Yu. He looked very young, with a well-developed chest—clearly someone in great physical shape.

Coach Yu was also rich in professional knowledge. No matter what questions Zhuang Yanyu asked, he could answer them all. Zhuang Yanyu had already decided he would give him a good review.

“What are you chatting about?”

After storing their things, Wen Chenxi came back and saw this scene.

He pushed up his glasses. In his memory, this was the first time Yuyu had been so proactive in talking with someone.

Wen Chenxi’s gaze fell on Coach Yu.

Coach Yu smiled and greeted him. “Hello.”

When Zhuang Yanyu saw Wen Chenxi return, he said to Coach Yu, “This is my brother. He’s back now, so we’ll go ski first.”

Coach Yu replied, “Alright. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come find me anytime. If you need someone to teach you, you can also come find me whenever.”

Zhuang Yanyu shook his head. “My brother will teach me.”

The words “I’m his boyfriend” that Wen Chenxi was about to say were swallowed back down by Zhuang Yanyu’s words.

They didn’t start putting on their skis until they got outside.

During this whole process, Wen Chenxi barely spoke.

Zhuang Yanyu noticed right away. He carefully sized Wen Chenxi up several times but still couldn’t see anything obvious, so he asked directly, “A-Xi, are you in a bad mood?”

Wen Chenxi said, “No.”

Zhuang Yanyu frowned. “I think you are.”

Zhuang Yanyu carefully recalled everything from the morning until just now. Throughout that time, A-Xi had been in a good mood.

Although he didn’t have much experience in dealing with people, he could still tell whether a good brother was unhappy.

He’d clearly been fine just a moment ago—so why was he suddenly unhappy?

Zhuang Yanyu analyzed it. If A-Xi hadn’t run into something unpleasant while storing their things, then it had to be related to him.

Had he done something to make A-Xi unhappy?

Zhuang Yanyu could only come up with one thing: “Is it because I talked with Coach Yu for a long time?”

That was the only thing he could think of.

Some humans had very strong possessiveness.

Like the host he’d guided in his previous life—if that host’s wife talked to another man, the host would sometimes get unhappy.

Those who loved their wives especially deeply would even get jealous.

So was A-Xi jealous?

Zhuang Yanyu explained seriously, “I was just asking him some things related to skiing. We didn’t talk about anything else. You know I’ve never skied before—even the guides, I only started reading them this morning.”

Seeing the worried look in Zhuang Yanyu’s eyes, Wen Chenxi smiled and rubbed his head. “Don’t overthink it. I was just…”

He was probably just a bit dissatisfied.

Zhuang Yanyu himself was basically a steel-rebar straight guy. The fact that he’d been willing to agree to be with him was already hard-won luck.

Go look at other straight-as-steel guys—if you really let them know you liked them, they’d definitely stay far away from you.

It was just that, hearing Zhuang Yanyu instinctively introduce him as a “brother,” Wen Chenxi couldn’t help but think: was this little Yu only forced into being with him because he didn’t want to lose a “brother”?

Of course, Wen Chenxi quickly discarded that thought.

And felt ashamed for even having it.

Xiao Yu wasn’t that kind of person.

Besides, no straight guy would really make such a huge sacrifice—kissing and hugging you every day—just to avoid losing a “brother.” That was pretty much impossible.

Introducing him as “brother” instinctively was nothing more than him not yet being used to his other identity.

“What is it?”

Seeing Wen Chenxi trail off and then go silent for a long time, Zhuang Yanyu couldn’t help pressing him.

Wen Chenxi rubbed his head. “I was just jealous.”

Zhuang Yanyu thought, Just as I suspected.

He sighed gloomily. It seemed he really should pay more attention in the future.

Things weren’t like before anymore—after all, now he was someone with a partner.

Wen Chenxi took the initiative to apologize. “It’s my fault for overthinking. Xiao Yu, don’t worry—I won’t interfere with your freedom to make friends.”

Zhuang Yanyu looked at him a couple of times, his gaze conflicted.

Wen Chenxi squatted down to help him put on his ski boots, carefully reminding him of things to pay attention to while skiing later.

Zhuang Yanyu suddenly called out, “A-Xi.”

Wen Chenxi raised his head in confusion.

At the moment he lifted his head, Zhuang Yanyu bent down just in time, and a kiss landed on his lips.

Wen Chenxi froze.

This was the first time Zhuang Yanyu had ever taken the initiative to kiss him.

An initiative he’d never dared to imagine before.

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t know how to give a partner a sense of security and confidence. After thinking about it, he could only imitate his previous life’s host, Long Aotian, and make a promise: “Don’t worry. Even if I had a harem of three thousand, I’d only dote on you alone. You are my one and only—unique and unmatched.”

Wen Chenxi had just recovered from the shock and delight of being kissed proactively when he heard that sentence, and immediately laughed in exasperation.

He pinched Zhuang Yanyu’s cheek. “Yuyu wants a harem of three thousand?”

Zhuang Yanyu hurriedly said, “It’s just a metaphor.”

Wen Chenxi said, “Even as a metaphor, it’s not allowed.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Oh.”

Wen Chenxi didn’t have the heart to truly stay mad at him. In the end, he could only threaten half-heartedly, “Watch less of this kind of TV in the future.”

Zhuang Yanyu pressed his lips together. “…Oh.”

Wen Chenxi let him off and began teaching him how to ski.

Zhuang Yanyu was learning on double skis. After putting the boots on, he felt like his legs were so heavy he could barely lift them.

However, he adapted quickly. Based on the video tutorials and the data he’d collected, once he found the right points to apply force, he began moving steadily.

Wen Chenxi first guided him on flat ground. After teaching him how to slow down, brake, and change direction, he finally led him onto the beginner slope.

Zhuang Yanyu was very talented—and also very bold.

Anything he truly set his mind to learning, he picked up quickly.

At first, Wen Chenxi was worried he might fall. However, after Zhuang Yanyu slowly skied through once and completely figured out how to control his speed and angle, on the second run his speed was already faster than that of many experienced skiers.

By the fifth run, he had already learned how to use the jump ramp.

Wen Chenxi took on the role of photographer, filming and taking pictures of him while feeling immensely proud.

Afterward, he selected a few photos of Zhuang Yanyu grabbing his board and leaping into the air, and posted them on his Moments.

Wen Chenxi: How can someone be this outstanding. 【pictures】

Because the person in the photos was wearing a helmet and goggles, it was impossible to tell who it was.

Many people assumed it was Wen Chenxi himself and asked where he’d gone on vacation.

Wen Chenxi felt that none of them had grasped his intention of showing off his boyfriend.

He ignored the flood of likes and comments and wrote a comment himself: 【This is my partner.】

Instantly, Wen Chenxi’s Moments was like an earthquake—everyone was collectively shocked.

All kinds of people were in Wen Chenxi’s social circle. Every time he appeared at a banquet, he would outshine all the single men and attract the attention of young masters and socialites alike.

And yet this diamond-tier bachelor had dropped such a shocking bomb without a word, suddenly announcing that he had a partner!

When did this relationship start? How long had it been going on? Why hadn’t there been even a hint of it?!

Very quickly,

Wen Jingzhong’s phone and Song Yunyue’s phone were almost blown up with calls.

Quite a few people had contacted Wen Jingzhong before, wanting to discuss marriage alliances and the like, and Wen Jingzhong hadn’t refused any of them.

They were just waiting for the day Wen Chenxi had time so both sides could sit down and meet!

Now they hadn’t even met yet—and suddenly there was a public announcement!

The Wen family residence.

Wen Jingzhong angrily hung up another call and opened Moments. Sure enough, he saw the post Wen Chenxi had made.

He really hadn’t blocked anyone at all—just brazenly hung the news out there for everyone to see.

Wen Jingzhong called to tell Wen Chenxi to delete it, only to discover he had been blocked.

He could only go find his younger son and have him call Wen Chenxi to tell him to delete the post.

But Zhou Qingcheng didn’t want to deal with him either.

Furious, Wen Jingzhong had no choice but to take out his phone and personally contact Zhuang Yanyu.

Good grief!

He was going to teach this little male fox a lesson!

He’d originally wanted to make the other party back off yesterday.

He just hadn’t figured out how to do it yet and planned to come up with a strategy first.

But this Moments post from Wen Chenxi gave Wen Jingzhong some inspiration. He decided to take a look at Zhuang Yanyu’s Moments.

First, he’d see what kind of demon or monster the other party was, then find his flaws and use them as an entry point.

In Wen Jingzhong’s eyes, young people these days—especially young people like Zhuang Yanyu—had to be the type who loved showing off or loved money.

Otherwise, how could he have hooked his son?

Just like his friend Old Luo’s son—showing off a car today, a beautiful woman tomorrow, and some bar the day after. Completely obsessed with vanity!

Only by understanding the enemy could he find the enemy’s weaknesses.

As a result, at first glance, Zhuang Yanyu’s Moments was filled entirely with links shared from health and wellness public accounts.

“The most important meal of the day is breakfast. If you don’t eat breakfast, then you will…”

“Good night, young people! Don’t forget your health for the sake of temporary pleasure. Remember to sleep early and wake up early…”

“Tested and proven effective—prevent hair loss and baldness. Take this morning and night to restore thick, dark hair…”

Because Zhuang Yanyu’s Moments were set to one-month visibility, Wen Jingzhong searched for quite a while. Aside from a pile of health-article links, he saw nothing else.

Wen Jingzhong couldn’t help asking Song Yunyue, “This Zhuang Yanyu—you said he’s 23, right? Not 43? And not 53?”

Song Yunyue rolled her eyes at him. “Do you think your son would fall for a 43-year-old?”

With complicated feelings, Wen Jingzhong opened his own Moments.

Why did the other party’s Moments look so much like his own?

Wen Jingzhong switched back to his chat with Zhuang Yanyu. After thinking for a moment, he sent over a link he had just saved.

【Wen Jingzhong: ‘Tested and proven effective’? Can it really prevent hair loss and baldness?】

If it was rumor-mongering, he’d have a serious talk about spreading misinformation!

There was no helping it—this was the only entry point he could find.

By this time, Zhuang Yanyu and the others had already returned to the hotel.

After playing all afternoon, Zhuang Yanyu was exhausted.

After showering, he lay on the bed watching the skiing videos Wen Chenxi had taken of him. He had also sent all of these videos to Old Zhuang.

As a result, Zhuang Yanyu replied very quickly:

【Zhuang Yanyu: I asked my dad. The Chinese herbal medicines mentioned above do indeed have that effect, and my dad also grows this kind of medicinal herb.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: Do you need any? If you do, I can have my dad mail you some.】

Wen Jingzhong: “……”

【Wen Jingzhong: I don’t need it. I’m not bald.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: Oh, okay.】

Zhuang Yanyu knew this was A-Xi’s father. A-Xi had added him as a contact the day he joined the group chat, but only Wen’s mom ever sent him messages.

This was the first time Wen’s dad had contacted him.

With no attack angle left to use, Wen Jingzhong replied after quite a while:

【Wen Jingzhong: You’re quite young, yet you really focus on health.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: This isn’t about “health obsession.” It’s about being responsible for your own body.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: If you don’t pay attention when you’re young, you’ll regret it when you’re old—and by then, it’ll already be too late.】

Those two lines hit Wen Jingzhong right in the heart.

When he was young, he’d always thought he could push a little harder, work a little more. He hadn’t taken care of his wife, his son, or his family—ending up not only with his current standing in the family, but also leaving himself with a whole pile of health problems.

Now he truly wanted to focus on maintaining his health, but many ailments had already taken root. No matter how much he tried to recuperate, he could never return to how he used to be.

That was why he often told his two sons to rest properly when it was time to rest—it was for their own good.

But every time he said this, neither son ever listened, and they would always shut him down with the same sentence:

“When we were young, you didn’t take care of us. Now that we’re grown, you can’t control us.”

Just listen to that—was that something a child should say to a parent?!

Wen Jingzhong sighed inwardly and typed:

【Wen Jingzhong: You’re right. Young people really should be responsible for their own bodies.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: Yes. The human body is actually very fragile.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: The most basic things are regular meals and a regular schedule. If these two are in order, your body will have far fewer hidden risks than most people.】

【Wen Jingzhong: Exactly. And even eating three meals a day has its own principles.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: Eat smaller meals more frequently.】

【Wen Jingzhong: Don’t go heavy on oil and salt.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: Chew slowly and thoroughly.】

【Wen Jingzhong: Don’t wolf your food down.】

【Zhuang Yanyu: 🤝 JPG】

【Wen Jingzhong: 🤝 JPG】

The more they chatted, the more Wen Jingzhong got into it. He felt that no one had ever understood him this well, and very few people had ever talked with him for this long—his own sons wouldn’t even bother with him, okay?!

But as the conversation went on, he suddenly felt that something seemed off. Wasn’t he supposed to be evaluating this person, making him back off and leave his eldest son?

When Wen Chenxi came out after his shower, he saw Zhuang Yanyu furiously typing away, chatting with someone nonstop.

Wen Chenxi walked over casually. “Yuyu, are you chatting with someone?”

Zhuang Yanyu replied, “Mm, I’m chatting with A-Xi’s dad.”

Wen Chenxi frowned. “With my dad?”

Worried that his father might have said something unpleasant, Wen Chenxi leaned over to take a look.

Zhuang Yanyu even proactively handed him the phone, sighing as he said, “A-Xi, your dad knows a lot. He was just teaching me that when you sleep, you can stick a slice of ginger on the sole of your foot, or stick one on your belly button—it helps expel dampness, and dampness is the source of all illnesses in the human body…”

Wen Chenxi didn’t remember his dad being such a kind-hearted person.

But when he clearly saw their chat history, he couldn’t help laughing, and he seemed to understand why Wen Jingzhong had suddenly gotten so absorbed in chatting with Yuyu.

At the Wen household, who ever bothered to talk with Wen Jingzhong about these things?

Now that there was finally someone willing to chat with him about it, of course he couldn’t stop.

Wen Chenxi smiled and handed the phone back to Zhuang Yanyu. “I don’t know if it really works, but you could try it.”

If trying was the answer, then try it he would. Zhuang Yanyu called the hotel front desk and asked if they had ginger.

Of course the hotel kitchen did—and they even sliced it up and delivered it to them.

Zhuang Yanyu lay there, and Wen Chenxi helped him stick the ginger slices on.

“On the soles of your feet—and where else?”

Zhuang Yanyu lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing his fair, smooth waistline. “On the belly button.”

To expose his navel, Zhuang Yanyu tugged his pants down slightly, revealing a flat lower abdomen.

There wasn’t an ounce of excess fat there. Because he exercised regularly every week, there was even the faint outline of abs, shallow lines just barely visible.

His skin was pale. Since he had just finished showering, the heat from the water had flushed his body slightly red—and against such fair skin, that redness stood out all the more.

Wen Chenxi’s breathing stalled for a moment, his gaze seeming to lock in place, unable to move away.

After waiting a bit without feeling the ginger slice being stuck on, Zhuang Yanyu looked at Wen Chenxi in confusion.

He saw Wen Chenxi’s Adam’s apple bob once, and then suddenly he lowered his head and kissed Zhuang Yanyu’s lower abdomen.

Author’s Note:

PS—

President Wen: Men our age like to think about naughty things.

Yuyu: (PД`q。)·。\‘

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