Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Fu Yunzhen took out his phone, showing Yu He a sped-up surveillance video, “There are cameras along the estate’s road. The mother cat won’t take the kittens too far away. Starting from inside the estate and moving outwards, combining the surveillance footage, we can conduct a thorough search. It's only a matter of time before we find those five cats.”

Yu He: “......”

For some reason, Yu He suddenly felt a chill down his spine, involuntarily wondering if one day he were to run away from home or something, would Fu Yunzhen also send people to catch him back in this manner.

This is just too thrilling.

Retrieving his phone, Fu Yunzhen dialed a number.

Yu He watched with his own eyes as Fu Yunzhen, with an unchanged expression, gave out orders to search the mountain for the cats.

"I'll send the photos to your email later," Fu Yunzhen instructed, his voice deep and his eyes icy cold, “I want to see those five cats before 6 PM on Sunday.”

Yu He: “......”

After hanging up the phone, Fu Yunzhen used his thumb to wipe away the tear stains at the corner of Yu He’s eyes, reassuring, “We will find them.”

Yu He, his voice somewhat hoarse, asked, “Isn’t this making too much of a fuss?”

Fu Yunzhen replied, “It's alright.”

Yu He said, “But, they were originally stray cats, right? Maybe they prefer living in the wild?”

Fu Yunzhen’s expression was unfeeling, displaying a kind of ruthless coldness, “What the cats think doesn't matter; I only care about what you think.”

Yu He was completely frightened by Fu Yunzhen’s mob boss demeanor, repeating in a daze, “But didn’t you just say ‘everything in this world has its own destiny, and some relationships are meant to be brief,’ suggesting that I shouldn’t cling to them?”

Fu Yunzhen fell silent for a moment, before finally speaking slowly, “If it can be fought for, then the relationship is not yet over.”

He didn’t know if he was answering Yu He or speaking to himself.

Sitting on the ground, Yu He looked up at Fu Yunzhen, “Could the relationship between us... also come to an end?”

Fu Yunzhen lowered his gaze, looking at Yu He, “That depends on you.”

Yu He gave a soft tsk, "How could you just watch me leave? If I've really said all there is to say, is that truly everything? Won’t you insist even a little, and bring me back like catching a little kitten?"

Fu Yunzheng fell into a prolonged silence, as if he didn’t know how to respond, or as if he was considering the feasibility of the suggestion.

Finally, under Yu He's expectant gaze, Fu Yunzheng said, “Xiao He, from the beginning to the end, I have never thought of forcing you. I just want you to be comfortable.”

Yu He curved his eyes into a smile, “Fu Yunzheng, if you dare to leave my side, no matter where you go, I will catch you back just like you caught that little kitten today. As long as you are by my side, I am content.”

Fu Yunzheng nodded slightly, “Don’t worry, I have no legs to run with.”

Yu He stood up, “That’s best.”

In the afternoon, Yu He and Fu Yunzheng were napping together when the constant vibration of a cellphone woke Yu He up.

Yu He reached for the cellphone by the pillow, realized it wasn’t his that was vibrating, and nudged Fu Yunzheng’s shoulder, “Your phone is vibrating. It’s so noisy.”

Fu Yunzheng intended to decline the call, but upon seeing an unread message on the home screen, he suddenly sat up in bed, trying to move to his wheelchair to answer the call outside.

Yu He wrapped his arms around Fu Yunzheng’s waist, “Just answer it here. I’m already awake; don’t bother moving.”

Fu Yunzheng, unable to move because of the embrace, could only answer the phone, “What is it?”

On the other end of the line was Fu Yunzheng’s assistant, speaking in a hurried tone, “There are rumors online harmful to Fu’s Corporation, involving you and Young Master Yu He!”

Fu Yunzheng’s breath hitched, “What happened?”

The assistant started explaining from the rumors spread by a livestreamer the night before: “At three o'clock this afternoon, our internal network monitoring system detected a massive appearance of your name on various platforms like Weibo, Douya Livestream, and Exclusive Headlines. Some news are wildly speculating, exaggerating your relationship with Young Master Yu, throwing around keywords like ‘fake young master’, ‘wealthy family’, ‘Fu’s Corporation’, and ‘sugar daddy’. Each of these keywords is extremely eye-catching. The public opinion has exploded instantly. We are currently coordinating with the relevant departments to try and block these keywords. However, the heat is still rising, and it’s simply uncontrollable.”

If we say that before Fu Yunzheng’s name appeared, the post about the anchor Yu He being kept by a rich man was just a minor piece of gossip, only garnering a bit of attention during people’s leisure time with some nonchalant comments, then after Fu Yunzheng’s name appeared, several websites even crashed due to the overwhelming traffic.

The thing Fu Yunzheng feared the most had finally happened.

He couldn’t be considered a particularly superstitious person, but at this moment, he couldn’t help but suspect that losing the cat was merely a premonition.

Was it a message from the heavens, telling him: The secret of you providing for Yu He can no longer be concealed, a surge of public opinion is on its way, and no one can emerge unscathed under the barrage of rumors and gossip.

How would Yu He face this?

After Fu Yunzheng hung up the phone, Yu He had roughly guessed what was going on from the content of the conversation.

When Fu Yunzheng looked at Yu He, he found Yu He also looking back at him.

Yu He asked, “What’s wrong, is it because of the incident in my livestream room?”

Fu Yunzheng’s gaze wavered, “Your livestream room?”

Yu He briefly explained the situation to Fu Yunzheng, “Before the New Year, I had a PK (player-killer) event with a female streamer. After she lost, she kept biting back, not only saying in her livestream room multiple times that I was kept by a rich woman, but also claiming that I was the rich woman’s mistress. Last night, her livestream somehow got on the trending searches, and now the whole internet is trying to dig up who’s keeping me.”

Fu Yunzheng lowered his eyes in thought, picked up his phone, and dialed a number, “Chi Shao, help me check someone, a female streamer on Douya Live, her name is Ao Tong.”

Yu He was stunned, wondering how Fu Yunzheng knew the streamer’s name was Ao Tong. Could it be that Fu Yunzheng saw the trending searches last night too?

That couldn’t be possible. Fu Yunzheng wouldn’t have time to watch such gossip news. Maybe he had mentioned this female streamer’s name to Fu Yunzheng before.

While Yu He was lost in his thoughts, Fu Yunzheng had already taken his clothes from the back of the chair and started to get dressed.

Fu Yunzheng was quick and decisive, putting on his coat and moving to his wheelchair, “This doesn’t look like a coincidence. Everything is interconnected. Don’t go looking at the online comments. I’ll handle this.”

Yu He was stunned, thoroughly impressed by Fu Yunzheng’s sudden display of boyfriend power, and nodded dumbly.

Fu Yunzheng couldn’t help but reach out to press down a tuft of hair sticking up on top of Yu He’s head, “It’s a small matter. I’ve got this.”

Yu He clasped Fu Yunzheng's hand in return, asking, “Will this affect the stock of your company?”

Fu Yunzheng dismissed the concern lightly, “It’s not a big deal.”

Yu He: “......”

As Fu Yunzheng wheeled towards the bedroom, he paused midway, turned his head, and said to Yu He, “Xiao He.”

Yu He turned around, “Hmm?”

Fu Yunzheng looked at him and shook his head, “It’s nothing.”

Nonchalantly, Fu Yunzheng entered the elevator, but instead of going to the first floor, he headed to the rarely visited attic at the top, scanning his iris to open an armored door. Fu Yunzheng wheeled himself in, his facial expression serious as he activated a jammer, blocking all wireless communication signals within a two-kilometer radius and unplugging the internet cables in both Yu He’s room and his livestreaming studio.

In this way, Yu He would be unable to go online and see those comments.

It has to be said, Fu Yunzheng knew Yu He very well. He had left for less than a minute when Yu He picked up his phone and logged onto Weibo to check the current state of online public opinion.

Perhaps due to too many users logging in at the same time, the page took a long time to load. Just as Yu He opened the trending searches and caught a glimpse of the red keywords, the page crashed.

Yu He tried refreshing the page a few times, only to see a "No internet connection" message each time.

What’s going on?

He tried other apps, but none could connect. Checking the phone's network connection, he found that not only was there no WiFi, but the 5G network was gone too.

Yu He: “......”

He shuffled down to the first floor in his slippers, pushed open the door to the study, and said, “Fu Yunzheng, there’s no internet in the house.”

Fu Yunzheng looked up from behind his desk, asking calmly, “How can there be no internet?”

Yu He: "Look at my phone... There’s no WiFi, and no 5G either. Did you turn on a jammer?”

“Why would I?” Fu Yunzheng lied earnestly, “Why would we have such a thing in our house?”

Yu He studied Fu Yunzheng’s expression closely, trying to discern whether he was lying. Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell: “So, what do we do about the internet? I wanted to play games.”

Fu Yunzheng asked, “What game?”

Yu He replied, “League of Legends, the PC version.”

Fu Yunzheng pondered for a moment, “Is it fun?”

Yu He said, “Yeah, it’s fun. Do you want to play? I can bring down the computer.”

Fu Yunzheng nodded, “Okay.”

Yu He paused for a moment, moving closer to Fu Yunzheng, “So, the study has internet. Why is that?”

Fu Yunzheng maintained his composure, “This room has a wired connection. Why are you acting so suspicious? What are you trying to do?”

What was Yu He trying to do?

He suspected that the lack of signal at home was Fu Yunzheng’s doing!!! But he had no proof, and Fu Yunzheng was meticulous and responded fluently to his inquiries.

Fu Yunzheng caught on quickly while playing the game, grasping the rules in just two hours. His phone rang, and he slid to answer, putting it on speakerphone while he continued to lane against enemy champions in the game.

Fu Yunzheng spoke, “Chi Shao, how’s the investigation going?”

A clear and bright male voice responded, sounding very familiar with Fu Yunzheng, “Old Fu, I found something. The female streamer named Dang Tong and Douya Company’s business manager, Feng Bin, have an improper relationship. Feng Bin’s hometown is in Fengcheng, and he knows your Yu He. He heard through the grapevine that Yu He was picked up from Jinshe Studio, but neither he nor Dang Tong realized the person who picked up Yu He was a man; they thought it was a wealthy woman.”

Fu Yunzhen responded with a hum, moving his mouse to shield Yu He in the game: "What else?"

Chi Shao continued, "An IP from the third dormitory building of Fengcheng University submitted a post to a marketing account last night, claiming that Yu He is their classmate, and even stating that he's gay. He usually acts very wealthy, and has a boyfriend, leading to suspicions that the person supporting Yu He is most likely male. This IP then shared the post to the Feng University forum. Let me check... the student ID used to log in belongs to someone named Liu Ruitong."

Fu Yunzhen asked Yu He, "Is this your classmate?"

In the game, Yu He was hit by an enemy hero's ultimate move. He took cover behind Fu Yunzhen and quickly responded, "Yes."

Fu Yunzhen made no comment and continued to ask, "How do a female live streamer, a junior manager, and a male college student know about the relationship between Yu He and the Yu family, and how do they know about Yu He and me?"

Chi Shao smirked, "Troubles start from within; it's hard to guard against a thief within the family. Who do you think knows so much?"

Fu Yunzhen chuckled, "Alright, I got it."

Yu He turned his head in confusion, his face full of: What did you get?

Fu Yunzhen also looked at Yu He, "It's someone from the Fu family. Who do you think it is?"

There are quite a few people with the surname Fu in the Fu family. Apart from Fu Yao, who gets along well with Yu He, the only other person Yu He remembers is Fu Conglin, who threw a teapot at him on the day of the Chinese New Year. By process of elimination, it can't be Fu Yao. The last time Yu He went to Fu Yao's house for a meal, Fu Yao's family treated him like an honored guest. Yao Yueyun held his hand, calling him a lucky star, saying that it was because of him that Fu Yunzhen placed trust in Fu Yao.

So... that leaves only...

Yu He: "Is it Fu Conglin?"

Fu Yunzhen nodded.

The computer screen went black, and their game entered the death cooldown period. The enemy heroes had started to dismantle their main crystal; the game was over. Fu Yunzhen gave Yu He a thumbs up. They had played four or five rounds together, but only won one.

Yu He is not a person who takes winning or losing in games too seriously, but constantly losing was indeed not fun. He shut down the computer and lay down on the desk, "What is Fu Conglin plotting?"

Fu Yunzhen leaned back in his wheelchair. Playing computer games required him to sit up straight, and maintaining the same posture for an extended period left his back a bit stiff and sore.

Fu Yunzhen massaged the back of his neck with one hand, “He’s not really after anything in particular; he just finds joy in making things difficult for us.”

Yu He clicked his tongue, "I'm speechless. What have I done to offend him? He had issues with me from our very first meeting."

Fu Yunzhen spoke earnestly, "Xiao He, you'll understand when you're older that some people don’t need a reason to be against you."

Yu He was somewhat at a loss for words, resting his head sideways on his arm, "This is just my bad luck, running into three mad dogs all at once."

Fu Yunzhen’s gaze was deep as he spoke slowly, "No rush, we’ll deal with them one by one."

Yu He’s live streaming account was in complete chaos. With the encouragement of marketing accounts, onlookers flooded into Yu He’s account, leaving comments under his live stream replays and short videos.

[Comment: Is this the fake rich second generation kept by a man?]

[Comment: You can tell that’s a face job, so low class.]

[Comment: Showing off as a rich second generation with things given by his sugar daddy, even flaunting a pen worth millions? Who is he trying to fool?]

Many netizens who once frolicked and fawned in Yu He’s live stream, calling themselves his humble servants, were extremely angry upon learning that Yu He was a fake rich second generation. They vented all their anger of having fawned over the wrong person on Yu He.

[Comment: I knew there was something off about him, he wasn’t sincerely live streaming. Was he just showing off his wealth? What’s there to show off about money earned through selling himself, isn't that shameful?]

[Comment: This guy is a habitual offender of being kept by men, coming from a nightclub background. Who knows how many men he’s been with.]

[Comment: I used to watch his live streams all the time, but now that I think about it, it’s just disgusting. It’s like being fed shit, who could understand?]

This comment received numerous likes and the approval of many netizens.

Yu He burst into laughter while holding his phone, and nudged Fu Yunzhen, "Look at this person, he's talking as if he's eaten shit!"

Fu Yunzhen half turned his body and pressed down on Yu He's phone with one hand: "What time is it now, and you're still not asleep? I give you access to the internet, and you stay up all night looking at these comments cursing you. You find this amusing, huh?"

"Who asked you to turn on the ad-blocker and not admit it..." Yu He snatched his phone back, "It's really fun though, I've learned quite a few new words. Look, there are really people who stay up all night just to curse at me."

Fu Yunzhen said helplessly: "What's so strange about them chasing you with curses? I find it odd that you’re staying up late chasing after these comments to read."

Yu He responded, "But they are going crazy."

Fu Yunzhen closed his eyes, "If you like watching people go crazy, accompany me to the headquarters for the shareholders meeting at the end of March. You’ll find even more people losing their minds there."

Yu He stuffed his phone back under the pillow, unafraid of the challenge: "I'm going to start a live stream tomorrow."

Hearing Yu He's audacious statement, Fu Yunzhen’s heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly opened his eyes: "What are you planning to do?"

Yu He was completely oblivious to how shocking his statement was: "The trending searches about you and me have crashed three platforms. There will definitely be a lot of people watching my live stream tomorrow."

Fu Yunzhen took a deep breath, feeling his composure on the brink of collapse: "And then what?"

Yu He’s lips curled up, revealing a wicked smile in the dark: "Then I'll flaunt our wealth and piss them off."

Fu Yunzhen was already feeling sleepy. He had never really been able to handle Yu He, and he responded with a drowsy voice: "Mmm, there are some jewelry and watches in the safe on the third floor, you can take them to play."

Yu He was somewhat surprised: "Where is there a safe on the third floor?"

Fu Yunzhen answered: "At the end of the hallway, in that room, behind the wall where the painting of cranes and auspicious snow is hanging. The password is 030216."

"030216?" Yu He repeated, "Isn’t that my birthday?"

Fu Yunzhen was almost asleep, and he responded faintly: "Mmm, those are your dowry savings."

Yu He: "???"

*

The next morning, Fu Yunzhen woke up to find the spot beside him empty. Opening his eyes, he discovered that Yu He had somehow ended up sleeping at the foot of the bed.

Yu He usually sleeps soundly, always clinging to him, maintaining the same position from the moment he falls asleep until he wakes up. He never shifts in his sleep, so why is he upside down today?

Fu Yunzhen sat up, grabbing onto the bed’s ring-pull, and shuffled closer to gently nudge Yu He: “Xiao He.”

Yu He opened his eyes, his peach blossom eyes foggy and watery: "Mr. Fu."

“How did you end up sleeping here?” Fu Yunzhen raised his hand to gently brush away the stray hair from Yu He’s forehead: “Did I squash you in my sleep last night?”

Yu He shook his head, sat up, his body feeling weak from just waking up, and he nearly toppled into Fu Yunzhen’s embrace, almost knocking him over.

Fu Yunzhen quickly propped himself up with his arm, while his other hand encircled Yu He’s shoulder: “Xiao He, there’s no railing at the edge of the bed. It’s dangerous for you to lie like this; I might not be able to catch you.”

Yu He leaned back into Fu Yunzhen’s arms: “You’ll catch me. Even if I fell from the sky, you would catch me.”

Fu Yunzhen, looking down at Yu He nestling in his arms, found him utterly endearing and couldn’t help but lower his head to nuzzle his face against his Xiao He, speaking in a soft voice: “Alright, if you say I can catch you, then I can catch you.”

Yu He yawned, pulling out a massage therapy textbook that was rolled up inside the blanket: “I woke up early and started massaging your legs, but I ended up falling asleep.”

Fu Yunzhen took the wrinkled textbook, laid it on his leg, and smoothed it out with his palm, casually asking: “What have you learned in school so far? Has anyone bullied you?”

Yu He stared at the textbook under Fu Yunzhen’s palm, and for some reason, he felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and fullness in his heart, as if it was filled with clouds. It was a kind of satisfaction he had never experienced before.

From childhood to adulthood, it seemed like no one had ever asked him how he was doing in school or if he had ever been bullied. Not when his money was taken by older students in primary school, not when he came home with injuries from a fight in junior high, not even in high school…

In high school, he became the school tyrant because he was good at fighting, and from then on, no one dared to bully him.

Now that he's in college, being a less stellar student at a prestigious institution like Fengcheng University, he naturally has a restraining effect on those good students who have been studying diligently since childhood. Just dropping a book can quell the discussions filling the classroom.

No one will bully him anymore; he has grown up. He is no longer the Yu He who, after having his tuition fees stolen, could only smash his own piggy bank, nor is he the Yu He who was scolded to his face by a classmate’s parent after a fight.

In the words of many, it's already quite good if he doesn't bully others.

Yet all of this does nothing to alleviate Fu Yunzhen’s worries about Yu He. By the time Fu Yunzhen voices his concern, this worry has surely already turned over in his mind countless times.

So, on an ordinary morning, Fu Yunzhen asked Yu He nonchalantly yet seriously, "Has anyone bullied you?"

Yu He felt a lump in his throat, swelling with a thousand words he wanted to say to Fu Yunzhen, but he felt that whatever he said at this moment wouldn't be so important.

He rested his head on Fu Yunzhen's shoulder and smiled, saying, "How could anyone bully me? It’s already quite good that I don’t bully others."

Fu Yunzhen was just like all the overly partial parents in the world, his brow slightly furrowed as he said, "The matter of us being together has been posted by a classmate to the school forum. There’s no shortage of gossip and malicious talk in the school. You are impulsive and prone to fights; what if you end up at a disadvantage?"

Yu He replied with pride, "I have never been at a disadvantage in a fight."

Fu Yunzhen could only sigh, his heart full of worry. He was afraid that Yu He would impulsively get into fights and get hurt, and also afraid that Yu He would internalize the gossip and feel upset. Whether he responded to the rumors or not, it was all wrong. People who wanted to target him would always find countless reasons to do so.

Ignoring them would make one seem guilty; responding would make one seem angry and irrational. Yu He was not the type to stand still and let people scold him. This return to school would probably result in daily fights.

But what could Fu Yunzhen say? Could he really ask Yu He not to fight?

The logic remained the same: no matter what, he would be aggrieved. It might be better to let Yu He vent his anger through fighting. The most severe consequence would be injuring someone, but Yu He was precise with his blows and would not go too far. As long as he paid enough compensation, everything could be settled.

Fu Yunzhen only said, "Even if you win the fight, I would only feel heartache for the wounds on your body. Can you consider taking fewer hits for my sake, at least?"

Yu He nuzzled against Fu Yunzhen again, his straight hair brushing against the side of Fu Yunzhen’s neck.

Yu He nodded, "I’m not angry with them. Your husband has a really good mindset."

Fu Yunzhen pressed a single hand onto Yu He’s head, his grip very strong, immobilizing Yu He to the point where he couldn’t move.

Yu He was like a cat caught by the scruff of its neck, completely under control in an instant.

Fu Yunzhen asked indifferently, "Who’s the husband here?"

Unintimidated, Yu He insisted, "I am!"

Fu Yunzhen raised an eyebrow, “Quite bold of you.”

Yu He grumbled, “Of course. Our school motto is 'Be Brave and Fearless, Dare to Be a Pioneer.'”

Fu Yunzhen couldn’t help but laugh softly, releasing Yu He from his grip, “So you apply your bravery here? Is this what you learned in school?”

Straightening up, Yu He gently pushed on Fu Yunzhen’s shoulders, signaling him to lie down, “I also learned massage. Lie down, and I’ll massage your legs for you.”