Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Zhou Huaichen had initially only wanted to uncover whether Ye Weian harbored secrets.

From sensing the driver's abnormality in advance to stopping the car with his foot, Ye Weian exuded an air of mystery.

But upon hearing Ye Weian's inner thoughts, Zhou Huaichen's gaze involuntarily swept over Ye Weian's entire body before quickly averting his eyes.

With just that one glance, he recognized Ye Weian's captivating allure.

Recalling Ye Weian's fair skin and subtly exposed collarbone, Zhou Huaichen's throat bobbed, and he let out an awkward, light cough.

Ye Weian asked curiously, "A Chen, do you have a cold?"

Autumn was a common season for colds, and he wondered if he should ask the old butler to fetch some cold medicine.

Zhou Huaichen composed himself and shook his head. "No."

He beckoned to Ye Weian, "Come here."

"Your hair is wet. I'll dry it for you."

Ye Weian didn't overthink it. He retrieved the hairdryer from the TV cabinet drawer, walked over, and handed it to him, saying, "Alright."

Zhou Huaichen gestured for him to sit on the sofa, then stood to blow-dry his hair.

Ye Weian leaned languidly against the sofa, as if boneless.

Zhou Huaichen chuckled, "Sit up straight."

Only then did Ye Weian obediently straighten his posture.

Zhou Huaichen was initially focused solely on drying his hair, but as he lowered his head, his gaze inevitably fell upon Ye Weian's slightly open collar and the view beneath it.

Zhou Huaichen: "…"

His breath hitched, and he forced himself to look away, quickly finishing drying Ye Weian's hair.

Ye Weian politely said, "Thank you."

He curved his lips, intending to smile at Zhou Huaichen, but being accustomed to an expressionless face, it came out looking rather comical.

Zhou Huaichen: "…"

Even when making a funny face, this person was still astonishingly handsome.

He put the hairdryer away for Ye Weian, then walked back and sat beside him, saying, "There's something I want to ask you."

Seeing his serious tone, Ye Weian nodded, "Go ahead."

Zhou Huaichen took out his phone, pulled up the previous Weibo post, and played the video, asking, "Did you really make the car stop?"

Rather than guessing, it was better to ask directly.

After watching the video and reading the netizens' comments, Ye Weian muttered, "They're all Sherlock Holmes."

He didn't wish to conceal it from Zhou Huaichen, so he handed the phone back and admitted directly, "Yes, it was me."

However, he had no intention of explaining the source of his ability.

Zhou Huaichen gazed deeply at him.

Ye Weian: "…Just assume I was born with great strength."

Zhou Huaichen continued to watch him, silent.

Ye Weian, uncharacteristically feeling a little guilty, stood up and said, "I'll go check if dinner is ready in the kitchen."

—【I have too many secrets; there's no way I can tell A Chen.】

—【For example, the few small mirrors in the bathroom—I'll never tell him!】

Zhou Huaichen: "…"

He couldn't help but smile.

Since they were secrets, he shouldn't press.

Perhaps one day, when he had successfully wooed… when he had won the person over, they would voluntarily share their secrets with him.

Ye Weian had only taken two steps when he suddenly remembered something and sat back down, saying, "Oh, I forgot to tell you—the emojis are ready."

Sister Long had sent the emojis over that morning.

He opened his phone and showed them to Zhou Huaichen first: "Look, aren't they cute?"

There were two sets of emojis: one featured plump, purple cartoon grapes that looked soft and adorable.

The other set, however, was a personified pig, with only the tips of its ears resembling a pig; the rest looked like a comic character, exceptionally handsome.

Ye Weian pointed at the pig emojis and said, "I originally asked for a cartoon design, but they ended up drawing a comic character."

He turned his head to observe Zhou Huaichen, "But you're good-looking and somewhat resemble this comic character, so I won't ask them to redraw it."

By now, he was almost leaning against Zhou Huaichen's shoulder, the scent of his shower gel constantly wafting into Zhou Huaichen's nostrils.

Zhou Huaichen subtly shifted aside and said calmly, "Really? Like me?"

"Yes," Ye Weian praised him again, "You're very handsome."

Zhou Huaichen couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

He was glad he was good-looking enough to catch this person's eye.

Ye Weian sent him the website link and said, "Just click on it and download them."

Zhou Huaichen acknowledged.

He glanced at Ye Weian and changed the subject, "You're trending on Weibo."

"Oh," Ye Weian exclaimed in surprise.

He logged into Weibo using his WeChat alt account, searched his name, and found that netizens were calling him a "great beauty."

A Zombie King who cared about his appearance naturally enjoyed being praised.

But he was slightly dissatisfied: "It would be much better if they called me a 'great handsome guy'."

He didn't realize how adorable he looked when he praised himself as a "great handsome guy" with a poker face.

Zhou Huaichen smiled wryly and called out to him, "Hey, handsome."

Ye Weian: "!"

—【Call me that again, call me that again.】

Zhou Huaichen: "…"

Fortunately, the old butler arrived just in time to call them for dinner.

Seeing that food was ready, Ye Weian happily led Zhou Huaichen to the dining room, momentarily forgetting all about "great beauty" or "handsome guy," his mind completely focused on eating.

Zhou Huaichen shook his head in amusement and walked into the dining room with him.

The old butler was very fond of Zhou Huaichen. He had long heard from the late Elder Ye that the youngest son of the Zhou family was an outstanding talent among his generation. Now that Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen were getting along well, he couldn't have been happier.

He had specifically asked the kitchen to prepare several extra dishes, all of them substantial and hearty—having previously inquired about Zhou Huaichen's preferences, he knew Zhou Huaichen favored lighter flavors, so he had the kitchen make chestnut braised chicken, lion's head meatballs, and pigeon in Western-style sauce, among others.

It was autumn, the perfect season for hairy crab.

That morning, the old butler had arranged for a crate of hairy crabs to be flown in fresh, which were now steamed and ready to serve Zhou Huaichen.

"I hope you find the taste agreeable," the old butler said with a smile as he invited Zhou Huaichen to take a seat.

Zhou Huaichen sat down beside Ye Weian and politely replied, "Everything looks delicious."

Ye Weian stared at the hairy crabs, practically drooling.

After ten years in the apocalypse, he hadn't eaten hairy crab even once!

Today, he was determined to eat his fill!

Zhou Huaichen, seeing him staring intently at the crabs, chuckled softly and picked up the tools to shell the crab for him.

He dug out the golden crab roe and placed it all into Ye Weian's bowl.

Ye Weian's eyes sparkled: "You have some too."

Zhou Huaichen's lips curved: "You eat."

The old butler stood nearby, smiling as he watched Zhou Huaichen feed Ye Weian, nodding inwardly.

The Zhou family's youngest son was far better than that celebrity Yan Qing!

In the end, Ye Weian ate until he was stuffed, leaning back in his chair and not wanting to move.

The old butler, hoping they'd spend more time together, suggested they take a walk in the yard.

Ye Weian waved his hand in refusal: "I'm not going anywhere."

Zhou Huaichen took a napkin and wiped Ye Weian's hands for him.

Ye Weian thought nothing of it.

He even naturally extended his right hand after Zhou Huaichen finished wiping his left.

Zhou Huaichen's smile deepened. After wiping Ye Weian's hands, he said softly, "You've eaten too much; you need to walk it off."

Ye Weian still didn't want to move.

Zhou Huaichen smiled at him: "Will you keep me company on a walk?"

When he smiled, he looked just like a sparkling grape crystal, radiating an extremely enticing aura.

Ye Weian: "!"

—【What's going on with A Chen? He's become so delicious!】

—【I simply can't refuse!】

Zhou Huaichen smiled faintly.

He just wanted to test things out and found that his face still had some use.

Ye Weian ultimately yielded to Zhou Huaichen's delicious temptation and went out with him.

The old butler stood at the entryway, watching the two walk off together, his face full of contentment.

Suddenly remembering something, he called out, "Young master, why don't you and President Zhou take the dogs for a walk while you're at it!"

The family kept a Husky and a Golden Retriever, both very lively.

Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen each took a dog and strolled slowly through the yard.

The Ye family's old residence was halfway up the mountain, occupying half the hillside, so the yard was astonishingly large.

They walked halfway along the stream before Zhou Huaichen received a call from Qi Changbai, saying that Bai Yuan had been arrested but was refusing to admit guilt.

Ye Weian was displeased: "No, he must face legal punishment!"

Zhou Huaichen hummed in agreement and said, "The police have already found the transfer records he made to the driver. He'll admit guilt sooner or later."

Only then was Ye Weian satisfied.

He stroked his chin and said, "Lin Chang suffered unjustly this time. I'll have Sister Long give him more resources and assign two bodyguards to him."

Zhou Huaichen stopped walking, looked directly at him, and asked, "Do you like Lin Chang a lot?"

He hadn't forgotten that Lin Chang smelled like watermelon.

And Ye Weian loved eating watermelon.

Ye Weian shook his head: "No, but he can make money for me."

—【Make money, buy gemstones, rubies, sapphires, amethysts.】

Zhou Huaichen pondered thoughtfully.

Gemstones?

He had collected a one-of-a-kind blue diamond a few years ago—perhaps Ye Weian would like it.

Ye Weian had no idea what he was thinking and continued talking about Lin Chang: "Tomorrow I'll discuss with President Wang to assign Lin Chang a capable agent and get him a well-received variety show, so he can find time to record every week."

"Today's EyeOpener is also about to start recording. I plan to have him as a regular."

They had stopped to chat by the stream, but the two dogs grew impatient and tugged hard on their leashes.

Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen had no choice but to continue walking.

Zhou Huaichen said, "Alright, I'll have Ruan Min be a regular too."

Ye Weian asked, "Ruan Min? Who?"

—【Another Zhu Ziyan? A secret admirer?】

Zhou Huaichen glanced at him with a smile. "She's the female lead in Lin Chang's movie. You just saw her today." You were even trying to poach her earlier.

Ye Weian replied, "...Oh."

He only knew the actress was talented but hadn't bothered to learn her name.

Zhou Huaichen explained, "She's an artist under Zhou's Entertainment Company, and coincidentally, she's starring in a film with Lin Chang. Having them both on the variety show, they'll have good chemistry."

Ye Weian had no objections and said, "Your call."

*

Ye Weian was pretty happy over the next few days because Zhou Huaichen sent him voice messages daily, came to have meals with him after work, and he got to enjoy the grape fragrance every day, which melted away all his fatigue.

Yan Qing, however, was not so happy.

After Ye Weian trended on Weibo last time, people made sarcastic comments about him, and some internet users even went to his Weibo to tell him to write a book.

He was so angry his chest hurt.

Then he learned that Bai Yuan had been arrested, and it wasn’t long before Bai Yuan pleaded guilty.

When he got the news, he sat silently in his home office for a long time before finally spitting out two words: "Useless!"

With Bai Yuan out of the picture, he had to seek help elsewhere.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yongnan was away on business abroad and couldn’t even comfort him right away.

In the end, he dialed Xie Siming's number.

After hanging up, he toyed with his phone and suddenly let out a sinister smile. "Yong Nan is on a business trip... This is the perfect chance to get closer to Mr. Zhou."

*

The next day, the weather wasn’t great. A steady autumn drizzle had been falling since morning.

Zhou Huaichen had made plans with Ye Weian.

While their previous meals had been at the Ye residence, this time he brought the chef from the family estate to prepare an imperial-style meal for Ye Weian.

After work, he picked up Ye Weian first before heading home.

The villa he bought was close to work. In a city where real estate costs a fortune, the price of a downtown villa was unimaginable.

Ye Weian calculated Zhou Huaichen’s net worth and nodded to himself.

—【A-Chen is a very, very, very rich pig.】

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He gave Ye Weian an amused look and was about to say something when he noticed someone rushing straight toward the car.

They had already reached the entrance of the villa.

The residents of this community were all wealthy, and the security was carefully selected, making it unlikely for anyone to recklessly block the road.

Zhou Huaichen stopped the car and realized it was Yan Qing standing in the middle of the road.

Yan Qing, holding an umbrella, kept tapping on the window.

Zhou Huaichen frowned and opened the window.

Yan Qing looked at him with a pitiful expression. "President Zhou, it’s been so long since I’ve seen Yong Nan. Could you let me see him?"

He was only wearing a thin white sweater. The autumn wind blew against his pale, chilled face, and the light rain sprinkled over his shoulders, adding to his delicate vulnerability.

Ye Weian, curious, studied him from the passenger seat. "You’re looking for Zhou Yongnan? Why not just call him directly? Why come to A-Chen?"

Yan Qing hadn’t expected him to be in the car and immediately went pale.

Ye Weian ignored him and turned his gaze to Zhou Huaichen.

—【Let me see A-Chen’s judgment.】

—【If he can’t see through Yan Qing’s intentions, I’ll give him a zero.】

Zhou Huaichen: "?"

The System: "..."

Host, you’re such a clueless guy—where do you get the confidence to score President Zhou?!

Ye Weian gestured for Zhou Huaichen to look outside. "Yan Qing looks really cold."

—【Quick, be concerned and let him into the car to get warm.】

—【If Yan Qing gets in the car, I’ll give you a zero!】

Zhou Huaichen gave him a deep look and directly rolled up the window.

Ye Weian: "???"

Author’s Note: Ye Weian: Why are you going off-script?

Dear readers, just a note: the system is a good one, and it’ll be explained later~ 🙂

I’ve started a new pre-release. If you’re interested, feel free to add it to your reading list~

"After Marrying the Underworld Boss, I Got Carried"

Wen Shu has been able to see supernatural beings since childhood. His health has always been poor, so he was raised by his grandparents in the countryside. A village fortune-teller predicted he wouldn’t live past eighteen and must marry into a Yin marriage.

So, on his eighteenth birthday, he gained a husband.

That night, his husband appeared in his dreams and consummated their marriage, but the next day, he was nowhere to be seen.

When summer break ended, he carried his husband’s spirit tablet to university.

He discovered the university was full of supernatural beings, but luckily, his husband protected him. T_T

Underworld Big Boss Gong x Soft, Well-Behaved Shou (a submissive role in a male-male relationship)

"Not scary, still sweet and cute"

Thank you all for your support. I’ll keep doing my best!