Chapter 057 Return to Yaoxing 15

Chapter 057 Returning to Yaoxing 15

Zhou Younan clung stubbornly to the doorframe.

Wei Qing conceded, "What do you want to say?"

"Going at it all night leaves me sleep-deprived. Let’s agree on a number first, then go to bed." As he spoke, Zhou Younan straightened up.

His demeanor made Wei Qing want to laugh.

Suppressing his amusement, Wei Qing countered, "Zhou Younan, I’m on my wedding leave. We’re newlyweds—isn’t it normal to be at it all night? Besides, you did sleep last night."

"How many hours did I even get? Look closely—I have dark circles now." Zhou Younan tilted his face up for Wei Qing to see.

"Really?" Wei Qing leaned in for a closer look. "Huh, maybe a bit."

"Exactly!" Zhou Younan nodded exaggeratedly. "So I need sleep."

"How long do you want to sleep?"

"Twelve hours." Zhou Younan immediately asked for half a day.

"No way. You sleep at most six hours at night—Pork Belly told me as much." Wei Qing spoke with logic and evidence.

That traitor Pork Belly! Traitor!

Zhou Younan seethed.

He needed to negotiate for more time. "Fine, eleven hours then."

"Six hours." Wei Qing held firm.

"No! Ten hours—ten hours, okay?"

"Six hours."

"Nine hours? Still no?"

"Six hours."

"Eight hours?"

"Done." Wei Qing agreed instantly.

Zhou Younan was caught off guard. "Huh?"

Wei Qing began peeling his hands off the door. "I’ve heard eight hours is the recommended sleep time. Too much or too little isn’t good."

Dammit! He’d been tricked—Wei Qing had planned his sleep schedule from the start!

Had their whole negotiation just been to tease him?

Reluctantly, Zhou Younan let go. Wei Qing happily carried him to bed. "I only get to be with you during leave. Once I return to the army, we might not see each other for weeks. Don’t you think I’m pitiful?"

Wei Qing suddenly pulled the pity card. Zhou Younan eyed him warily. "Where are you going with this?"

"Tomorrow’s Friday. Luo Luo will be at school, and we’ll have nothing to do. I was thinking—"

"You’re not thinking!" Zhou Younan cut in.

Wei Qing’s grin widened. "You can guess what I want to say?"

Zhou Younan glared warily. Wei Qing probably wanted to spend the whole day in the hotel, at it nonstop! This lunatic!

Didn’t he ever get tired?

At this point, Zhou Younan almost wished Wei Qing lived up to the rumors—that he was cold in bed. Then he wouldn’t be so conflicted. He liked Wei Qing and naturally wanted intimacy too, but Wei Qing’s boundless energy was terrifying.

They stared at each other in silence.

Wei Qing rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Since you’re thinking the same thing, I’ll take that as a yes."

"A yes to what? I didn’t say anything!" Zhou Younan protested.

"Our honeymoon?" Wei Qing’s face lit up with anticipation.

"Huh?" Zhou Younan froze.

"Isn’t wedding leave for newlyweds to go on a trip? I’ll make arrangements tomorrow. Once Luo Luo’s matter is settled, just the two of us can go, okay? To the Apollo System I mentioned—their dried fish is delicious. You like that too, right?"

"Oh… you meant a honeymoon." Zhou Younan’s face flushed, realizing his own mind went straight to the gutter.

"Yep."

Zhou Younan studied Wei Qing’s face, deep in thought.

He already knew his own feelings—he genuinely loved Wei Qing. But he’d given Wei Qing that capsule. Wei Qing only liked his pheromones, only liked him because of it.

That thought always made Zhou Younan’s chest tighten.

If after a month, the capsule’s effects wore off and Wei Qing no longer loved him—if he wanted to kill him…

Zhou Younan considered: a private honeymoon, just the two of them in an unfamiliar place. If he revealed the truth there, Wei Qing’s anger wouldn’t reach Luo Luo.

Would Wei Qing be angry? Would he kill him?

"Zhou Younan, what’s on your mind?" Wei Qing lifted Zhou Younan’s chin with one hand, playfully tweaking his cheek.

Zhou Younan’s lips were puckered into a pout. Of course, he couldn’t confess the capsule now, so he let slip his earlier assumption.

"I thought you were gonna say we’d spend tomorrow doing it all day in the hotel."

Wei Qing broke into laughter. "You actually had that idea?"

Only then did Zhou Younan realize what he’d said! His eyes widened in horror as he wrenched free from Wei Qing’s hold, his face flaming red.

He waved his hands frantically. "No, that’s not what I meant! I meant, I—I—"

"Hahahaha!" Wei Qing was highly amused.

Mortified, Zhou Younan collapsed facedown onto the bed, burying himself deep in the blankets. Only his ears were visible, bright red.

"Got it. Lights out, time for bed." Wei Qing turned off the lights and pulled Zhou Younan into his arms.

"Sleep?" Zhou Younan’s voice was muffled by the blankets.

"Mm. You’ll definitely want to take Luo Luo to school tomorrow. According to our eight-hour deal, it’s bedtime now."

"I'm going back to sleep." Zhou Younan tried to get up but Wei Qing pulled him back.

"Sleep now, or I'll misbehave. I'll carry you back once you're asleep."

"Mm, okay." Zhou Younan leaned in to kiss Wei Qing on the cheek. "Goodnight, Wei Qing."

Wei Qing also kissed Zhou Younan on the forehead. "Goodnight, Zhou Younan."

On Friday morning, Wei Qing and Zhou Younan sent Luo Luo to school.

Afterward, the two returned to the hotel, and Wei Qing handled their honeymoon arrangements on his personal terminal.

Then, he pulled Zhou Younan into spending the entire day in bed, insisting this was Zhou Younan's idea.

"You liar!" Zhou Younan was equal parts furious and embarrassed, his entire body flushed red.

"I didn’t lie to you," Wei Qing kept going. "It's daytime now, not nighttime."

He'd walked right into that one! They had only agreed to restrain themselves at night, not during the day!

Zhou Younan gritted his teeth, suppressing the moans threatening to escape.

"You slept a full eight hours last night—I kept my promise. Tonight, I’ll make sure you sleep another eight hours." Wei Qing gave a villainous chuckle.

Beast!

Zhou Younan opened his mouth to curse.

What came out instead was: "Slow down..."

Wei Qing lifted Zhou Younan’s chin and kissed him.

Something was slipped into his mouth—small, sweet pieces of strawberry-flavored candy.

The strawberry-flavored kiss sent waves of sweetness surging through Zhou Younan’s heart.

By evening, Zhou Younan lay boneless across the bed, eyes closed as he recovered his strength.

Bored, Wei Qing propped his head on one hand and flicked Zhou Younan’s earlobe. "Want to try wearing earrings?"

Wei Qing himself had three piercings. Zhou Younan didn’t open his eyes, lazily asking, "Why earrings?"

"If you wore long ones, dangling to your shoulders, they’d sway every time you moved. Just thinking about it gets me all worked up."

Zhou Younan scowled. He grabbed a pillow and threw it at Wei Qing. "You creep!"

On Saturday, Zhou Younan took Luo Luo to the amusement park, where they met Fan Ke.

The two confirmed they were family, and Fan Ke beamed with happiness, though Luo Luo was still hesitant to call Teacher Fan "brother."

Whenever Luo Luo called Zhou Younan "brother," Fan Ke would jump in first.

After a few times, Zhou Younan and Fan Ke compared birth years—Fan Ke was slightly older.

Thus, Fan Ke became Luo Luo’s "big brother," and Zhou Younan his "second brother."

Oddly, Luo Luo had never been shy around Fan Ke as his teacher, but after their reunion, he clammed up and spoke little.

The three spent the whole day together, with Zhou Younan talking himself hoarse, sharing countless stories about Luo Luo—from his baby days when he spit up to learning to crawl, walk, and talk, even his laziness with reading and math.

Visibly touched, Fan Ke looked at Zhou Younan earnestly. "Thank you, Young Master Zhou. Thank you for raising Luo Luo."

Zhou Younan’s expression soured. "What do you mean by that? 'Young Master Zhou'? Am I an outsider now? And 'thank you'—are you trying to distance yourself?"

"No, no, no!" Fan Ke backpedaled wildly.

"Good."

That night, Luo Luo still slept with Zhou Younan, but Fan Ke also stayed at the hotel in a room downstairs to bond with him.

Zhou Younan ran through every detail, listing all the little things Fan Ke needed to know about Luo Luo’s daily life.

Fan Ke nodded repeatedly, even taking notes, swearing he'd commit it all to memory.

After Luo Luo fell asleep, Zhou Younan filled him in on the situation at the research institute.

"The conditions there were terrible. I hope it didn’t leave any psychological scars on Luo Luo." Zhou Younan still felt guilty, feeling he'd fallen short.

Fan Ke took off his glasses to wipe his eyes. "It won’t. You gave him a happy childhood. Despite the environment, you always protected him. Luo Luo knows you did your best."

Zhou Younan studied the sleeping child curled under the blankets and said nothing more to Fan Ke.

On Sunday, Wei Qing also tagged along. Holding Zhou Younan’s hand, he gradually stole him away from Luo Luo and Fan Ke’s group.

After five days, Luo Luo finally let Fan Ke put him to bed.

Overjoyed, Fan Ke was too excited to sleep that night. The next day, Wei Qing gave him endless grief about his dark circles.

Later, Luo Luo visited Fan Ke’s apartment and met his friends—all of which he couldn't wait to tell Zhou Younan.

"So, squirt, are you happy now?" Wei Qing asked Luo Luo.

"Happy," Luo Luo nodded.

"Do you know that newly married couples take honeymoons?"

"No," Luo Luo shook his head.

"How do you not know this? Listen up—a honeymoon is when a newly married couple goes on a trip together. Got it?"

"Oh."

"Your brother and I just got married. Now that you’re happy, it’s our turn to have fun. We’re going on a honeymoon!"

Luo Luo looked at Wei Qing, then at Zhou Younan, before his lower lip quivered and he started wailing.

Seeing Luo Luo cry, Zhou Younan’s chest tightened. But because of the capsule, he had no choice but to leave him behind.

Wei Qing and Zhou Younan needed two full days to calm him down before he finally gave them permission to leave.

Right before they left, Zhou Younan received a message from Zhou Mo: "If you’re leaving Yaoxing, come say goodbye."