Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Yu Chuang didn’t go to pick up Ji Mian that evening. The collaboration between Zhou Group and Mingsheng had wrapped up successfully, and to lift everyone’s spirits, Yu Chuang joined the evening celebration.

When Zhou Ji spotted him, he did his best to mask his curiosity and the faint sympathy in his eyes. Ji Mian had claimed he married Yu Chuang because it seemed convenient... Yeah, right!

Knowing Ji Mian, he was probably just using Yu Chuang as a stand-in for Pei Qing.

Maybe it was the celebration, but Yu Chuang seemed less serious than usual that evening, a faint smile playing on his lips. He’d had a drink or two, not much, but enough to make his eyes glisten under the lights.

Zhou Ji stared at the man, clearly head over heels, and was momentarily speechless. It dawned on him that when Yu Chuang had reached out earlier, it wasn’t to stir up trouble for Ji Mian.

Maybe even Yu Chuang hadn’t realized that catching up with Zhou Ji was his subconscious way of getting updates on Ji Mian. Even his return to Ningcheng might not have been accidental.

After the Ji Group fiasco, Ji Mian had cooled off toward Pei Qing, and with Pei Qing already engaged, Zhou Ji wasn’t worried about any future sparks. It’s just that Ji Mian’s usual carefree attitude made Zhou Ji worry for Yu Chuang.

The one who loves more is always the one who gets hurt.

By then, the celebration was well underway when Yu Chuang’s phone buzzed on the table.

He glanced at it, assuming it was work, but seeing the caller’s name, he froze for a second before answering.

“What’s up?”

Ji Mian’s voice was groggy, like he’d just woken up. “When will you finish?”

Yu Chuang replied, “Almost done.”

Ji Mian figured Yu Chuang might’ve had a drink and casually offered, “Need a ride?”

“…Is that okay?”

Yu Chuang’s tone was careful, tinged with surprise. There was a long pause on the other end, probably doubting his image in Yu Chuang’s eyes.

Well, it’s not exactly great.

Yu Chuang: “Can you drive?”

“Yeah.”

Yu Chuang: “Are you sleepy?”

“I’ve napped after coming back, and also slept at noon.”

Yu Chuang acknowledged and wanted to keep talking to Ji Mian. Hearing his voice, he couldn’t bear to hang up.

The chatter around Yu Chuang died down the second he picked up the phone. Not wanting to kill the vibe, Yu Chuang eventually hung up.

At ten o’clock in the evening, the celebration ended. Zhou Ji, as the boss of Zhou Group, accompanied Yu Chuang to see him off.

A blue car that Yu Chuang hadn’t seen before was parked by the roadside, with someone standing next to it, looking down at their phone.

Yu Chuang recognized who it was and quickly walked over. Zhou Ji followed behind, puzzled.

When they got closer and saw the person’s face clearly, it was indeed Ji Mian.

Yu Chuang took his hand: “Why didn’t you let me know you were here?”

Ji Mian turned off the screen: “Just got here.”

Zhou Ji glanced at Ji Mian, and they exchanged a look, too familiar to bother with greetings.

Zhou Ji, who was skilled at smoothing over social situations, remarked, "This is the first time I've seen 'Boss Ji' personally drive to pick someone up."

As expected, Yu Chuang's expression softened at the comment.

Ji Mian said, baffled, "How is it the first time? Didn’t I pick you and Zong Guang up just two months ago?"

Zhou Ji was speechless.

He watched helplessly as the corners of Yu Chuang's eyes and brows, which had lifted in joy, settled back into calm.

He gave Ji Mian a knowing look.

You had your shot, but you blew it!

In just two days, Zhou Ji had gone from being shocked to reluctantly accepting that Ji Mian was married.

He smiled and said, "The wedding gift is still in the works; I’ll get it to you in a couple of days."

Ji Mian's eyes lit up a bit, and he nodded seriously.

For some reason, Yu Chuang also chimed in earnestly, "Thank you."

Zhou Ji was taken aback by their earnest reactions, feeling puzzled.

He hesitated before asking, "Am I the first to give you a wedding gift?"

The two across from him nodded in unison. They looked like a perfectly in-sync couple.

With their wealth, they probably lacked nothing.

He didn’t know Yu Chuang’s tastes, only Ji Mian’s. He was bound to please just one.

His gaze dropped to Ji Mian’s wrist, noticing he was still wearing that deep blue watch.

He’d been shopping for a pair of watches the past two days, but he wasn’t sure Ji Mian would wear them. He rarely wore any other watch when going out these days.

"Switch it up sometimes; don’t always wear that one," Zhou Ji teased with a smile. "It’s not like you’re broke, Boss Ji."

Ji Mian mumbled a response and pulled Yu Chuang into the car.

Zhou Ji watched them walk away and smiled.

Seemed like he didn’t need to worry too much.

Yu Chuang stayed quiet the whole ride.

*

At a red light, Ji Mian glanced at the passenger seat; Yu Chuang’s face was blank, his lashes lowered in silence.

He was always one to hold back. He’d keep things to himself, thinking them through before speaking.

Ji Mian couldn’t read him and wished Yu Chuang would say something first.

The car drove back to Ji Mian’s residence.

Ji Mian’s place was much smaller than the Ji Family’s old properties, and usually, he lived there alone.

After stepping inside, Yu Chuang glanced around his home and stayed silent.

Ji Mian couldn’t resist any longer and walked over to hug him.

No matter when, Yu Chuang couldn’t resist his initiative, burying his face in Ji Mian’s warm neck, breathing him in for a moment.

The room was silent. Yu Chuang liked the space where only he and Ji Mian were present, fully immersed in each other’s time and lives.

When he finally looked up, he spoke: "...Zhou Ji said you always wear it."

"..."

"I want to know, how much you care for me?"

After waiting a few seconds, without receiving Ji Mian’s response, Yu Chuang wasn’t in a hurry for him to reply.

Only one thing was clear: his place in Ji Mian’s heart was more significant than he’d realized.

He had a lifetime to figure out exactly how much that weight was.

"Tomorrow is the weekend," Yu Chuang said.

It would be the weekend he’d been looking forward to the most.

*

Few people knew about Ji Mian’s marriage. Yu Chuang was mostly not in Ningcheng, and they hadn’t even had a wedding. Only a handful of his friends knew he was married.

It was precisely because of this that on the day of Pei Qing and Yu Yunkui’s wedding a few months later, Ji Mian received the biggest haul of Affection Points since he began his tasks.

After all, when the Pei Family and the Ji Family went bankrupt one after another, half of Ningcheng’s elite had caught wind of the rumors, half-truths and all.

Even names Ji Mian didn’t recognize chipped in a few points, adding up to nearly four thousand points.

Ji Mian guessed that someone at the wedding must’ve brought him up, the so-called crazy pursuer, saying something good about him.

Among them, there were five hundred points from Yu Chuang.

Yu Chuang originally had work that day, but upon hearing the date of Pei Qing’s wedding, he made sure to return to Ningcheng a day ahead. By the end of Pei Qing’s wedding the next day, the notifications had pinged over a dozen times.

Ji Mian had long been accustomed to Yu Chuang’s bouts of quiet jealousy, which he rarely brought up.

After a few months of marriage, especially after knowing Ji Mian’s feelings, Yu Chuang mostly appeared generous in front of Ji Mian. On the morning of Pei Qing’s wedding, he even asked Ji Mian, cool as ever, if he wanted to go.

"If you need closure, I won’t stop you..." Yu Chuang’s face was completely calm.

Immediately, two notifications buzzed in his head, and Ji Mian shook his head in refusal.

By the evening, after Pei Qing’s wedding ended, in the system, Ji Mian had racked up nearly 120,000 points. After the system took its 10% cut, there were still six thousand Affection Points left. When this world ended and the points were settled, there’d be even more to spare.

Ji Mian asked, "What should be done with the extra points?"

The system said, "It’s hard to say how much they’ll deduct. In the original plot, after Yu Chuang returned to Ningcheng, he got along well with the protagonists and even had a cooperative relationship with the Yunchi Group. Now..."

Yu Chuang didn’t seem to have any issues with Pei Qing, and even on the other’s wedding day, he specifically picked a wedding gift with Ji Mian to send over.

But the constant Affection Points notifications made Yu Chuang’s feelings crystal clear. How could he cooperate with the main characters?

Ji Mian did some calculations for himself and thought it shouldn’t deduct that many points. In the last world, Luo Ye never even crossed paths with the leads, and in the end, he was left with twenty-five percent of the points.

"Don’t worry, if after this settlement you really reach one hundred thousand Affection Points, your remaining points won’t be wasted. The leftover points can be exchanged for other things when you return to the real world. You can’t cash them out directly, but you can trade them for hard assets like gold."

"Wow..." Ji Mian had never thought about using Affection Points to convert into money, but hearing the system bring it up for the first time, he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

"The virtual world doesn't open exchange channels, it's not really necessary, and no Tasker would waste their Affection Points in the virtual world. What do you want to exchange?"

Ji Mian thought for a moment and said, "I can't think of anything I want, as long as I can see my brother."

"That's not very ambitious."

Ji Mian didn't respond. If there really could be leftover Affection Points in the end, he wondered if he could donate them to the system.

"Affection Points plus 50, contributor Yu Chuang."

Ji Mian was deep in thought when he suddenly heard this, turning to look at the person sitting beside him, locking eyes with Yu Chuang's inquisitive gaze.

But he couldn't read any emotion on the other's face.

"What's wrong?"

"...Nothing." Yu Chuang turned his face away.

He wondered what Ji Mian had been thinking about during his long reverie.

But they were married, and their relationship had already deepened with an emotional foundation. He didn't want to seem petty in front of Ji Mian, holding onto a past relationship.

Their marriage was unbreakable, and there should be no barriers or trust crises.

Yu Chuang wisely chose not to ask, unaware that his various thoughts had already been exposed in a short electronic beep.

Ji Mian stared at Yu Chuang for a few seconds, then leaned over to wrap his arms around his neck, his legs entwining around Yu Chuang's waist, wrapping around him like an octopus.

It was a very unkempt way of holding, but Yu Chuang loved it immensely, instantly overwhelmed, with no time to think of anything else.