Chapter 22 Should I Carry You Back to Bed to Rest?

Chapter 22: Shall I Carry You Back to Bed for a Rest?

After serving the "Empress" his meal, Zhou Yu entered the study alone.

Lin Yunshu's study was predominantly light-toned. A wall of books was meticulously organized by category, and the desk, crafted from milky-white metal, stood near the window, adorned with a potted plant.

How adorable.

So, all those times Secretary Lin called him after work, claiming to be working overtime, was he actually sitting behind this milky-white desk?

Adopting a serious and earnest tone, yet sitting there so charmingly in his pajamas.

The mere thought made Zhou Yu's heart ache.

He yearned to rush back to the bedroom and shower Lin Yunshu with more kisses.

He pulled out Lin Yunshu’s chair and settled into it—a white ergonomic chair, custom-fitted to Lin Yunshu’s height and build.

Zhou Yu found it a bit ill-fitting, but the lumbar support was remarkably prominent.

He touched it, discovering it even boasted heating and massage functions.

So, Lin Yunshu frequently suffered from back discomfort too?

No wonder at night he seemed disoriented, unable to lift his legs high, crying out in pain at the slightest tug, even shedding tears.

So young, yet plagued by so many ailments. Zhou Yu sighed, pondering how to restore Lin Yunshu to full health.

After much deliberation, he realized Lin Yunshu’s conditions demanded long-term care—the two years of their contract would be woefully insufficient.

“Such a delicate thing,” he murmured to himself. “You’re forcing me to extend our time.”

He crossed his legs, swiveled the chair, leaned back comfortably, and opened his phone to search for ways to care for the lower back.

After a brief scroll, he stumbled upon news of his own marriage.

Zhou Yu immediately straightened up, zooming in on each of the eighteen photos in the grid.

Hmm, not bad. The big boss was moderately satisfied.

The sunlight was perfect, the breeze delightful, and Secretary Lin looked utterly stunning.

These were unedited news photos, taken at such close range, yet Secretary Lin’s face was flawless.

His skin was smooth and even, his neck fair, and even his slightly pale lips only enhanced his gentle, endearing allure.

As Zhou Yu gazed, a sudden sense of crisis washed over him.

Why had he, in a moment of madness, allowed these news photos to be published? With a wife this beautiful, wasn’t he practically inviting unwanted attention?!

Alarm bells rang for Zhou Yu. He swiftly swiped the photos aside and meticulously scrutinized himself standing beside Lin Yunshu.

Thank goodness, he looked quite handsome that day too.

The two of them standing together? One word: perfect!

No one suited standing beside Lin Yunshu better than he did. Zhou Yu perused hundreds of photos from dozens of media outlets, arriving at this conclusion.

He selected the one with the highest netizen approval and set it as his wallpaper, closing his phone with a contented sigh.

What a perfect couple.

The wedding photos and news images were so flawless that Zhou Yu felt merely announcing it to the public was far from enough.

He had to personally escort Lin Yunshu back to his family, parading him past every neighbor’s house to ensure everyone knew Lin Yunshu was taken.

No sooner said than done. Zhou Yu swiftly devised a plan, from the red carpet to flowers and even flower bearers, creating an animated video presentation of the entire process, from departure to the celebratory parade.

Confidently, he sent it to Chen Shuyang.

Five minutes later.

[Shuyang: Moron]

[Shuyang: Are you insane?!]

[Shuyang: Delete this now, or my brother will definitely strangle you!]

Zhou Yu’s eyes lit up: [Really? He’s never taken the initiative to strangle me before.]

[Shuyang: ???]

[Shuyang: Do you have a problem?]

…

[Shuyang: Also, why am I a flower bearer?!]

Zhou Yu found the boy utterly devoid of romance.

He turned off his phone, having had his fun, and offered no further reply.

Soon, footsteps echoed outside the door, and Lin Yunshu appeared at the study entrance, phone in hand, looking bleary-eyed.

“What did you say to Shuyang?” he asked.

Zhou Yu quickly rose, took Lin Yunshu’s hand, and led him inside. “Nothing much, just discussing our visit to your aunt’s place the day after tomorrow.”

“Then why was he wailing like that?”

Lin Yunshu walked slowly, his steps noticeably unsteady.

“Still hurting?” Zhou Yu wrapped an arm around his shoulder, offering support.

Lin Yunshu’s ears flushed slightly as he turned his head and coughed. “No, I just need to get used to it…”

The sensation between his legs felt strange—perhaps chafed or raw—and the foreign feeling was even more intense than that first night at the hotel.

Lin Yunshu tried to adjust, doing his best to avoid walking awkwardly.

“He was wailing?” Zhou Yu feigned surprise. “We were just having a friendly chat.”

“He said you don’t treat him like a man, undermining his alpha pride.”

Lin Yunshu found it puzzling too, wondering what they’d discussed to elicit such a reaction.

“Why would I treat him like a man?” Zhou Yu hurriedly defended his innocence. “You’re the only one for me.”

Lin Yunshu couldn’t help but laugh. “Stop talking nonsense.”

"I'm not talking nonsense, it's the truth," Zhou Yu stated frankly. "And if it's an alpha demeanor, how could it be so easily shaken?"

His brother-in-law, he's still too young and too thin-skinned.

It's just being a flower boy—if he doesn't want to do it, plenty of people are eager to take his place. Is it really worth crying about it to his brother over such a small matter?

"Tsk," Zhou Yu put on a serious act, "He just wants to compete for your attention. Don’t believe him."

Lin Yunshu laughed dismissively, "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

Most of the time, he was often baffled by Zhou Yu’s thought process.

This person never seemed to be embarrassed about anything.

In some ways, Lin Yunshu found him quite remarkable.

He shook his head and fell silent, fearing he might give Zhou Yu more room to elaborate.

Zhou Yu pulled a chair over in front of him. "Sit for a while."

Lin Yunshu instinctively started to sit, but as soon as he moved, his face changed. He leaned on the table and slowly stood back up.

"I," he touched the tip of his nose, "I’d rather stand."

"What’s wrong?" Zhou Yu supported his arm.

"Nothing," Lin Yunshu politely declined his assistance. "I’ve been lying down too long. Standing for a bit is good."

Zhou Yu raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Lin Yunshu looked away, his entire face flushing.

Zhou Yu stared at him for a moment before suddenly understanding and bursting into laughter.

"My fault, my fault," he said, feeling extremely pleased, and wrapped an arm around Lin Yunshu’s back. "I was inconsiderate. I’ll stand with you."

"Or should I carry you back to bed to lie down for a bit?"

Lin Yunshu, already thin-skinned, felt even more embarrassed hearing this. His eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably.

"I already said it’s fine," he insisted stubbornly. "I want to stand."

Zhou Yu was grinning, absolutely thrilled. He leaned in close to Lin Yunshu’s face and stared intently.

His body temperature was high, and his arm around Lin Yunshu felt like it was scorching his skin.

Lin Yunshu couldn’t handle the tension, feeling like he’d forgotten how to breathe. He quickly broke free and made a show of watering the potted plant on the table.

Secretary Lin was usually genuinely busy, so he wasn't one to pretend he had something to do.

Zhou Yu watched with great amusement, biting back a laugh and not calling him out.

Sitting was uncomfortable for Lin Yunshu, and standing for too long made his back hurt.

After watering the plant, he didn’t put the watering can back in its place. Instead, he set it down casually, held his breath, and pressed a hand to his lower back.

Zhou Yu’s smile faded. He moved behind him and braced his lower back. "Can’t stand anymore?"

"It’s fine."

Lin Yunshu closed his eyes, his forehead slightly wrinkled. "I need a minute to recover."

Zhou Yu placed his palm on the base of his back, feeling the tight, stiff muscles even through the fabric of his clothes.

He gently rubbed the area, and Lin Yunshu trembled, gasped, his face turning pale.

Zhou Yu's earlier delight vanished completely, replaced by tension. He dropped any idea of teasing Lin Yunshu further.

"Let's get you to bed," he said seriously.

Without waiting for Lin Yunshu to respond, he picked him up and carried him straight to the bedroom.

Once in bed, Li Xun sent Lin Yunshu a few messages—photos of the kitten.

They'd originally planned to pick up the kitten from Li Xun's place as soon as they returned from their business trip, but they'd been delayed by three or four days.

The kitten had no idea that behind the cold lens of the camera were her future fathers.

Lin Yunshu's heart softened as he looked at the screen, virtually petting the kitten through his phone. "Let's go pick her up now."

"Sure," Zhou Yu agreed immediately. "You stay in bed. I'll go get her, or we can ask Li Xun to bring her over."

Lin Yunshu insisted, "But I want to go myself."

Zhou Yu said helplessly. "How are you going to manage in your current state?"

He glanced over at Lin Yunshu, who was lying stiffly in bed.

Lin Yunshu fell silent.

Feeling humiliated, he buried his face in the pillow.

After a moment, he mumbled, "Then tomorrow."

"Okay," Zhou Yu said, patting the back of his head.

·

The next day, Lin Yunshu was up unusually early.

By the time Zhou Yu returned from his workout, Lin Yunshu was already dressed and moving busily around the house.

He went back and forth between the guest room and the kitchen, eventually coming out with a sandwich.

"Let's keep it simple today," Lin Yunshu said quickly. "No time to make you noodles today."

He acted as rushed as if he were about to be late for work.

But isn't it the weekend today? Zhou Yu almost thought he had misremembered the day.

He took Lin Yunshu's arm, stopping him mid-motion. "What are you so busy with? I told you, you don’t need to cook. What if you cut your hand? I can whip something up when I’m back, or we can hire someone."

Lin Yunshu found this funny. "When have you ever seen me cut myself while cooking? Besides, it’s just a sandwich. How complicated could it be?"

Zhou Yu frowned. "If I say stay out of the kitchen, then stay out. Did I marry you just to keep you chained to the stove?"

Lin Yunshu’s brow twitched slightly.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yu noticed.

"Nothing." Lin Yunshu smiled.

It was the first time he had heard someone say something like that to him.

He'd known how to cook since he was a child.

His aunt and uncle were busy with work and could barely provide dinner for the family.

Since elementary school, Lin Yunshu taught himself how to cook, making lunch for himself and Chen Shuyang.

Later, he became more and more skilled, his cooking improving to the point where making dinner also became his job.

The first thing he did after coming home from school wasn't homework—it was heading straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the whole family.

At the time, he didn’t know that most of the family's expenses were covered by his father’s pension. He just felt that his aunt suddenly had another mouth to feed, and the burden must be heavy.

If it weren’t for his aunt, he would have been sent to an orphanage at birth.

His aunt and uncle always got home late from work, so he did whatever household chores he could. Whenever his uncle saw him working, he would always look pleased.

Only during those moments did Lin Yunshu feel a little better, feeling like he wasn’t a burden.

As a child, he didn't think too much about it—he just felt that the adults were truly busy, had to work to support the family.

Until one day, around the summer of third grade.

Lin Yunshu finished school early, bought a lot of food from the market, and wanted to cook something delicious to help his aunt feel better.

As he passed by the mahjong place across the street, he saw his aunt, who had said she was working overtime, sitting inside, laughing and chatting with other adults.

She had won money and was laughing her head off.

It was an extremely hot day. Lin Yunshu’s uniform was soaked with sweat, the groceries were heavy, and the straps of his backpack and the plastic bags left deep red marks into his shoulders, which later turned into bruises that ached for days before fading.

Strangely, at the time, he didn't feel the pain or tiredness.

He just stared at the mahjong place’s old plastic door curtain for a long time, experiencing for the first time an emotion called sadness.

"Yun Shu?" Zhou Yu waved a hand in front of his eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

Lin Yunshu’s gaze refocused.

"Nothing," he said, managing a slight smile as he pushed the plate toward Zhou Yu. "You should eat. I’m going to take another look at the guest room."

To welcome the kitten, Lin Yunshu had converted the spare bedroom into a playroom for the cat, stuffing it with all kinds of toys and cat trees.

Zhou Yu had originally planned to buy a treadmill and some fitness equipment for the room, but after moving in, he realized that even in this 200-square-meter apartment, there was no room for his things.

This morning, he had to go to the gym outside the complex for his workout.

He sighed heavily, picked up the sandwich, and followed Lin Yunshu, munching on the sandwich.

Lin Yunshu sat on the floor, doing a final check of the toys and setup in the guest room, while Zhou Yu leaned against the doorframe watching his back.

For some reason, Zhou Yu felt his heart ache looking at him today.

Lin Yunshu was tall, had good proportions, and though thin, was tall and slender. But at this moment, he seemed somehow small.

The room full of toys far exceeded the scope of a pet room—it felt more like the childhood dreams he never got to have.

Zhou Yu walked over and sat down shoulder-to-shoulder with Lin Yunshu, playing with a feather toy in front of them. "That cat is smaller than my hand. Do you really think she’ll be able to play with all this?"

"She’ll grow up," Lin Yunshu said. "Slowly but surely, she’ll grow, and then she'll be able to enjoy it all."

Zhou Yu gave a helpless smile.

"Thank you," Lin Yunshu suddenly said. "I’ve always wanted a pet. You just made it happen sooner."

"Oh?" Zhou Yu perked up. "Then how are you going to thank me? Just with words?"

Lin Yunshu hadn’t expected that response and thought it over seriously for a moment.

"How about... I cook you a full banquet feast?"

Zhou Yu couldn't help laughing. "Do you really love cooking that much?"

"Not exactly," Lin Yunshu joked. "I only cook for certain people."

In truth, after becoming independent and leaving his aunt’s house, Lin Yunshu only cooked for himself.

Later, when he met Zhou Yu, they were both busy at first, blurring the lines between work and life. They were together almost every waking moment.

When he cooked for himself, Zhou Yu would occasionally stop by, each time praising him to the skies and showing an unprecedented look of happiness.

It was then that Lin Yunshu realized that normal people don’t take it for granted when someone cooks for them.

They feel gratitude. They feel happiness.

After that, whenever Lin Yunshu cooked, he occasionally made a portion for Zhou Yu too.

"Enough, I said no more kitchen duty for you," Zhou Yu vetoed. "That won’t work. Think of something else."

Lin Yunshu continued thinking.

He cupped his chin, his lips pressed slightly together in a troubled expression that made Zhou Yu chuckle.

"Don’t frown," Zhou Yu gently tapped his forehead. "I’ll give you a few more days to think about it."

He patted his pants and stood up, held out his hand to Lin Yunshu.

"Let’s go pick up the cat first."

-----------------------

Author's Note: There will be another chapter later! It’s an extra update for 1,000 nutrient fluids, to be posted after midnight~

Thank you, babies, for feeding me with your nutrient fluids [kiss][kiss]

PS: Regular updates will usually be at 9 PM. Extra updates aren’t guaranteed. If something comes up, I’ll let you know [ingot].