Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Ye Weian stared intently at Zhou Huaichen: "You go first."

He had thought it through carefully—*Dongpo Pork Knuckle* could be eaten anytime, but this was the first time he could see A Chen's ab muscles. He couldn’t miss such a great opportunity.

Later, when A Chen finished his bath, he could enjoy *Dongpo Pork Knuckle* while admiring A Chen’s ab muscles. Just thinking about it made him over the moon.

Zhou Huaichen didn’t miss the eagerness in his eyes and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

He had originally intended just to tease him, but since Ye Weian was so determined to see him just out of the bath, he couldn’t bear to disappoint him.

"Alright," he replied gently, then called the chef over. "Uncle Wang often prepares snacks and fried treats. Have some to hold you over."

The chef brought over two plates of snacks and said to Ye Weian with a smile, "I made crispy fried shiitake mushrooms. A Chen likes them a lot—give them a try."

The chef, surnamed Wang, had been with the Zhou family for decades. Zhou Huaichen respected him greatly and addressed him as Uncle Wang.

Ye Weian looked at the golden fried shiitake mushrooms, their aroma wafting toward him, and his eyes lit up brightly. "Great!"

Without hesitation, he took a piece and popped it into his mouth.

"Delicious!" He quickly ate several more pieces.

Uncle Wang watched him fondly. "I’m glad you like them."

Every time Ye Weian visited Zhou Huaichen, he got to enjoy Uncle Wang’s cooking. Each time, he couldn’t stop praising it and would eat until his stomach was round. Uncle Wang had grown quite fond of him.

Zhou Huaichen also loved to watch him eat and said warmly, "From now on, if you want any snacks, just ask Uncle Wang to make them for you."

"If there’s a particular dish you’d like, you can tell Uncle Wang too."

Ye Weian blinked. "Really?"

Having spent ten years in the apocalypse, where he could only consume crystal cores, he genuinely missed delicious food and dreamed of tasting all kinds of delicacies.

Zhou Huaichen smiled and nodded. "Mhm."

Uncle Wang chimed in, "Let’s swap contact info. You can message me directly with your requests, and when you get off work, you can come back with A Chen to eat."

Some time ago, A Chen had suddenly transferred him to the villa. At first, Uncle Wang thought A Chen missed his cooking, but it turned out it was to feed Young Master Ye.

After observing Ye Weian for a few days, Uncle Wang had grown increasingly fond of him and was more than happy to cook delicious meals for him every day.

Ye Weian was delighted and quickly added Uncle Wang on WeChat.

Uncle Wang then had his apprentice bring over a small jar of fried chili flakes. "Eat these together—they make the flavor even better."

Fried chili flakes were one of his specialties, with a seasoning blend he created himself—fragrant and spicy.

He reminded with a smile, "But these are fried foods, and the chili can be heating. Don’t eat too much."

Ye Weian couldn't handle spicy food well, but anything Uncle Wang made was bound to be delicious.

Without hesitation, he scooped a small spoonful of the fried chili into his mouth and was instantly won over. "So aromatic!"

Uncle Wang watched him eat with a smile, nodding.

This Young Master Ye’s personality really appealed to him. Though he appeared aloof on the surface, he was truly a foodie at heart.

As a chef, nothing made him happier than a real food enthusiast.

Seeing Ye Weian scoop another spoonful of chili, Uncle Wang added cheerfully, "Young Master Hong Ke and the others like it too. I send them a small jar every month."

Ye Weian tilted his head. "Zhu Hongke?"

Uncle Wang: "Yes, they’re good friends of A Chen and often come to the old residence for meals."

Ye Weian let out an "oh" and slowly put down his spoon, feeling inexplicably jealous.

—"So I’m not the only one A Chen brings home for meals?"

—"Player."

Zhou Huaichen, who was heading upstairs to take a bath, paused slightly upon hearing his thoughts.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Wei An’s tone seemed tinged with jealousy.

He couldn’t help but smile slightly.

This was a good sign.

After Zhou Huaichen went upstairs and Uncle Wang returned to the kitchen, only Ye Weian and the snacks were left in the living room.

Ye Weian lounged lazily on the sofa, happily munching on snacks while imagining how good Zhou Huaichen would smell after his bath. It was pure bliss.

The system couldn’t help feeling jealous. "Host, this won’t do. You’re acting like an ancient indulgent emperor."

Ye Weian popped another crispy mushroom into his mouth. "I’m the Zombie King."

Ignoring him, the system went on, "President Zhou is the favored consort, bathing and changing, waiting to serve you tonight."

Ye Weian: "System, you’ve got issues."

He just wanted to see A Chen’s ab muscles—how did it escalate to "serving for the night"?

The system must have spent too much time online lately, picking up all sorts of nonsense.

He spoke earnestly, "Don't pick up bad habits."

The system: "..."

The system felt a little guilty. It had indeed been surfing the web a lot recently and had picked up quite a few "good" things.

Hehehe (??﹃??)

Not wanting his host to catch on, the system quickly changed the subject. "Host, you and President Zhou are trending."

Ye Weian: "?"

He took a bite of the fried chili, took out his phone, and logged into Weibo to check out the gossip.

Today’s Weibo hot search topics were mostly dominated by Xie Siming and Yan Qing.

Netizens were actively discussing the matter, with Xie Siming’s fans and Yan Qing’s fans battling it out. Yan Qing’s water army was muddying the waters, creating chaos.

Ye Weian casually clicked on one of Xie Siming’s trending topics. The top comments seemed to imply something.

"One of my friends is a temp at 'Today’s EyeOpener.' She said the production team all knows the actor is just taking the fall for a certain celebrity."

"I've heard about it too. I can only say Xie Siming is deeply in love, but that someone isn't worthy of it."

"It's killing me! Why would Xie Siming be so hung up?"

Ye Weian stroked his chin.

So netizens had already guessed that Xie Siming was taking the fall? Or was someone deliberately leaking the info to let them know?

System: "The ones spreading the word are a few of Xie Siming's top fans. They've long disliked Yan Qing."

It had been keeping an eye on Yan Qing's movements online all day, along with Xie Siming's, and was well aware of the battle between their fan bases.

Ye Weian murmured "oh."

As fans of Xie Siming, it was only natural they wouldn't think much of Yan Qing.

His interest waned in the drama, and he searched for the hot search related to himself.

#Guess Who Boss Ye Is Being Carried By#

Ye Weian: "?"

Why was his hot search name so weird?

The top Weibo post was from a popular artist influencer. She had watched Yan Qing's live stream, was captivated by the atmosphere between Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen, and drew a picture of the two embracing.

The drawing recreated the scene: Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen showed half of their handsome faces, bodies pressed close, a flirtatious tension flowing between them, yet with an unspoken tension.

It was absolutely stunning.

Ye Weian hadn't realized that, in others' eyes, his brief contact with Zhou Huaichen earlier came off so... steamy.

System: "This is just the tip of the iceberg. Click into the comments and take a look."

Ye Weian did as told.

The top comments were almost all freaking out, except for one that stood out: "It's been hours. How has no one sleuthed out the info on the super handsome guy yet? I'm disappointed in you all."

Not long after, a netizen called 'Lemon Lover' replied, just throwing this out there: "Humbly speaking, the super handsome guy seems to be President Zhou."

Everyone was shocked.

This Lemon Lover netizen attached the photo from when Zhou Huaichen and Yan Qing were rumored to be involved.

Even though the photo was blurry and Zhou Huaichen was sitting in the car with only a side profile visible, when zoomed in, the facial features of that side profile were a perfect match for Zhou Huaichen's side profile in the live stream.

Netizens went wild.

"No way! You even managed to dig this up! Brother Lemon, I crown you the modern-day Sherlock."

"So the one hugging Boss Ye is President Zhou?! Two wealthy, handsome tycoons—so compatible and electric!"

"Thinking about it carefully, last time when President Zhou and Yan Qing had that rumor, he issued a denial overnight. Was he afraid Boss Ye would get jealous?"

"...I love this plot from the above comment. I've already imagined 100,000 words: Pretty Boy Boss Ye gets jealous, Handsome Boss Zhou holds and coaxes him, coaxing all the way to the bed... hehehe, hehehe."

"Sis, here's the pen, keep writing! If it's not 100,000 words, I'm locking you in the punishment corner!"

Ye Weian: "..."

"What is this 'holding and coaxing'?"

"What is this 'coaxing all the way to the bed'?"

"Is this something I can watch for free?"

But he imagined the scene of falling asleep holding Zhou Huaichen and felt a spark of anticipation.

A Chen was like his favorite Purple Crystal Core; he had long wanted to sleep holding it.

The ruby at home was always by his pillow. If A Chen were there, the ruby could be locked away in the collection room.

Holding A Chen, he would definitely sleep like a log.

As he was fantasizing, the system reminded him: "President Zhou is coming down."

Zhou Huaichen's hair was wet, his body seemed to have a layer of moisture, looking both handsome and captivating.

Ye Weian openly scrutinized his entire body.

Zhou Huaichen was wearing silk pajamas. The top two buttons of the pajama top were undone, revealing a defined Adam's apple and a small part of his chest.

This view was also incredibly tempting.

But... the buttons on the lower part of his top were fastened tightly, covering the abs beneath completely.

Ye Weian: "..."

—"Where are the abs? The abs I was so looking forward to?"

—"A Chen is so annoying, actually using clothes to block them!"

Zhou Huaichen felt like laughing.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to show his abs, but walking around with it open was really indecent.

He walked over slowly, bent down, reached out his hand to Ye Weian, and said, "Come, let's go eat."

Ye Weian looked up at him expressionlessly.

—"Didn't get to see the abs, not happy."

—"A piggy like this can't possibly win over a fresh, crisp cabbage like me!"

Zhou Huaichen smiled, still extending his hand, and said softly, "Don't you want to eat Dongpo Pork Knuckle?"

Ye Weian: "..."

—"...I do."

Zhou Huaichen curled his lips, looking at him gently: "Come."

Ye Weian: "..."

In the end, he still placed his hand in Zhou Huaichen's palm.

Zhou Huaichen pulled slightly.

Not only did he stand up, but he also lost his balance from the momentum and fell into Zhou Huaichen's arms.

Ye Weian: "!"

Zhou Huaichen had just stepped out of the bath, carrying the fresh scent of shower gel and a faint mist of water, like a glistening, freshly washed grape, utterly enticing.

Ye Weian leaned against his shoulder and took a deep breath.

— *So fragrant!*

Zhou Huaichen chuckled lowly by his ear and said, "Have I ever told you that I work out regularly and have well-defined abs?"

Ye Weian was still busy savoring his scent and didn’t pay close attention to his words.

Zhou Huaichen wasn’t in a hurry.

His hand rested lightly on Ye Weian’s waist, and after a moment, he said in a low voice, "Want to feel them?"

Ye Weian: "?"

— *Yes!*

Before he even realized it, his hand was already moving.

Zhou Huaichen’s pajamas were made of silk, sheer and lightweight. Even through the fabric, it felt almost like touching skin directly.

Ye Weian was thrilled.

— *He really has abs! They’re so firm!*

— *A-Chen is such a good piggy!*

— *I want to cuddle him while sleeping!*

Zhou Huaichen’s gaze paused.

...Sleep?

Last time, he had also mentioned wanting to sleep while holding him.

Actually... it wasn’t completely impossible.

Zhou Huaichen lowered his eyelids thoughtfully.

Ye Weian had no idea what he was thinking and continued happily feeling his abs.

So shameless!

Extremely bold and enthusiastic!

While touching, he kept breathing in his grape-like scent.

He was like a little kitten in a state of bliss.

Zhou Huaichen held him lightly around the waist, chuckling softly without interrupting him.

The System, however, saw through Zhou Huaichen’s cunning plan and couldn’t help but chime in with a warning to Ye Weian: "Host, Zhou Huaichen deliberately dragged you into his arms and intentionally let you touch his abs!"

The System: "He’s so cunning!"

The System: "This consort isn’t worth keeping, Host. You should demote him to the cold palace!"

Ye Weian disagreed: "Nonsense! A concubine who offers his abs so willingly and is both delicious and enticing—this Zombie King will make him my empress."

The System: "?"

How did it come to this?

Host, have you lost your head over his looks?

Ye Weian was frank: "Yes."

Grape-scented A-Chen, A-Chen with abs—both are the Zombie King’s favorites.

The System: "..."

The System: "You decadent ruler!"

Meanwhile, that scheming empress was still coaxing the Host: "It’s time to eat... How about you feel them again next time?"

Ye Weian still nuzzled against his shoulder: "I still want to."

After a moment, Zhou Huaichen sighed almost inaudibly: "...Alright."

The System: "..."

Oh my, this is so satisfying.

Author’s note: System: This is actually great.

Hey, lovelies~ I’m back~

No update on the evening of the 2nd. On the 3rd, I’ll be featured and will post a 10k update in the evening~

Happy National Day, everyone!~

Red envelopes for this chapter too!~

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