Chapter 64 “He Doesn’t Love Me!”

Chapter 64 "He Doesn't Love Me!"

Click.

The door closed, plunging the air into an unnerving silence.

Lin Yunshu stood frozen at the threshold between the living room and the entryway, his face a canvas of bewilderment and confusion, gradually tinged with a hint of hurt.

It wasn't until Yu Shu began pawing at his ankle, its fluffy little body rubbing against his pant leg, that Lin Yunshu snapped back to reality, realizing Zhou Yu had been gone for a long time.

The inhibitor had left his entire arm feeling numb.

He bent down mechanically to pick up Yu Shu. His hand felt weak and useless, so after a dazed pause, he switched to his other hand, cradled the kitten, and slowly made his way back to the bedroom.

The next day, Zhou Yu still hadn't returned.

Lin Yunshu had slept fitfully. He sat up, his head heavy and muddled, and received a call from Guo Shengyao.

Zhou Yu was on a business trip, abroad.

Lin Yunshu's head throbbed. He pressed hard on his temples and checked Zhou Yu's schedule.

It was true.

He had originally been the one scheduled to accompany Zhou Yu abroad, but now it was Li Xun.

Lin Yunshu: "..."

A long silence stretched across the phone line. Guo Shengyao couldn't help but prompt, "Master?"

"Ahem!" Lin Yunshu cleared his throat. "Yeah, I see."

"Are you okay?" Guo Shengyao sounded worried. "Are you sick?"

Lin Yunshu rubbed his brow tiredly. "I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Really? Don't lie to me," Guo Shengyao pressed, unconvinced. "Should I come check on you and bring some food?"

"No need, I'm really fine," Lin Yunshu mustered some energy. "Looks like you have a lot on your plate today. Focus on work—no slacking off."

Guo Shengyao mumbled, "I wasn't... I'm genuinely concerned about you."

"I know," Lin Yunshu chuckled softly. "Just joking. Don't worry, I'm really okay."

"Well... alright then." Guo Shengyao sighed. "If you need anything, be sure to call me."

Unable to refuse, Lin Yunshu agreed, "Yeah, go do your work."

With that, he hung up.

Lin Yunshu sat in a daze for a while.

He felt stifled, and no amount of deep breathing helped. In the end, he simply collapsed back onto the bed, pulling the covers over his head to continue sleeping.

But even sleep offered no relief. His consciousness drifted in and out, never settling, and the more he slept, the worse he felt.

He didn’t know how long he had been lying there when the doorbell rang in the living room, the sound abrupt and echoing through the empty house.

Lin Yunshu shuddered awake, his heart racing from the sudden noise.

Pressing a hand to his chest, he gritted his teeth, rolled out of bed, and flung the door open with impatient force.

"Damn!"

Chen Shuyang clutched his nose, stumbling unsteadily. "My God, you almost broke my proud aquiline nose!"

Lin Yunshu leaned against the doorframe, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as he suppressed his irritation. "What are you doing here?"

"Delivering warmth, what else?"

Chen Shuyang held up a takeout bag.

Lin Yunshu’s expression softened slightly. "Who asked you to come?"

"Who else?"

Chen Shuyang casually squeezed past him and swaggered into the living room.

Lin Yunshu closed the door helplessly and followed behind Chen Shuyang, unsure what he was even hoping for.

"Who was it, really?" he asked.

Chen Shuyang turned his head and gave him a strange look. "Why are you so persistent today?"

Lin Yunshu pressed his lips together. "Forget it. Doesn’t matter."

Chen Shuyang set the takeout bag on the dining table, picked up Yu Shu, and kissed it several times. "Aww, little Yu Shu, did you miss your uncle? Uncle came to see you!"

Yu Shu: "Meow~"

"Aww, sweetie!"

Chen Shuyang beamed and planted a few more enthusiastic kisses.

Lin Yunshu massaged his temples.

"What’s up with your face?" Chen Shuyang asked him.

"What do you mean?"

Annoyed, Lin Yunshu grabbed a cushion and collapsed onto the sofa.

"Something’s off with you," Chen Shuyang said, crossing his arms as he walked over. "Still grumpy after waking up in the afternoon? Don’t you always get up at six, come hell or high water?"

Lin Yunshu closed his eyes. "Hell and high water came."

Chen Shuyang laughed. "Alright, enough joking. Guo Shengyao asked me to come."

Lin Yunshu’s brow twitched slightly.

"Not to complain, but your little apprentice is such a busybody," Chen Shuyang rambled. "First she says you seem unwell, then she says she’s too busy to come herself."

"Isn’t that ridiculous? So I’m the one who looks like I have nothing better to do?" Chen Shuyang folded his arms. "I’m a celebrity, you know! I’m busy too, okay?"

"Mm," Lin Yunshu responded half-heartedly. "Busy, everyone’s busy. Being busy is good... Well then, you can go back."

Chen Shuyang fell silent.

Lin Yunshu lifted his eyelids and saw the grown man standing awkwardly by the coffee table.

Lin Yunshu murmured weakly, "No need, thanks."

Chen Shuyang frowned, "What's going on with you?"

Lin Yunshu remained silent.

Chen Shuyang then pulled him up forcefully from the sofa, marched him over to the dining table, opened the takeout container, and placed it in front of him.

"Eat," he said, "I'm leaving once I see you finish eating."

Lin Yunshu was indeed unwell and had no energy to argue with the tall, strong alpha. He picked up the spoon and began eating his porridge.

Chen Shuyang then picked up his own chopsticks.

He looked around, "Where's your cheap husband?"

"Why ask about him?" Lin Yunshu didn't even look up.

"He's usually so eager to wait on you hand and foot," Chen Shuyang said curiously, "He's not here today?"

Lin Yunshu: "Mm-hmm."

This listless state was quite unlike Lin Yunshu's usual style. Chen Shuyang raised an eyebrow.

"From the looks of you, it doesn't seem like you're sick," he observed, "What, did you have a fight?"

Lin Yunshu's hand hesitated briefly.

Chen Shuyang immediately sat up straight, "Really had a fight?"

Lin Yunshu looked up, "Can you shut up?"

Chen Shuyang's heart sank. Seeing the dark circles under Lin Yunshu's eyes and his pale, almost ghostly complexion, he realized he had said the wrong thing.

Lin Yunshu rarely got angry, but when he was truly serious, it always made Chen Shuyang instinctively wary.

Clatter!

Lin Yunshu put down the spoon.

Chen Shuyang's heart jumped, and he didn't dare eat anymore.

Watching Lin Yunshu's expression, he carefully set down his chopsticks.

·

Tan Cong rubbed his temples hard.

He felt life was tough—traveling halfway across the globe for a business trip, having a quick meal after landing, and then immediately having to play the therapist.

In the hotel suite, he watched despairingly as Zhou Yu poured himself a drink.

Zhou Yu hadn't even taken off his suit. He looked dignified during the meeting but deflated like a balloon afterward.

"Still drinking?" Tan Cong sighed, "Didn't you have enough during dinner?"

Zhou Yu didn't speak, just kept refilling his glass, drinking it down, and refilling again, his shoulders hunched low.

"Just tell me what's going on," Tan Cong yawned. "If not, I'm going back to beat my jet lag."

Zhou Yu remained tight-lipped.

Tan Cong clicked his tongue in annoyance—like squeezing water from a stone, truly irritating.

Without another word, he stood up and grabbed his coat. "I'm leaving," he said.

Just as he reached the door, a muffled voice came from behind:

"He doesn't want me anymore."

Tan Cong froze abruptly, the drowsiness in his eyes vanishing instantly, replaced by sudden alertness.

Five seconds later, he was back in his seat, pouring Zhou Yu a full glass. "Bro, whatever's troubling you, just let it out."

He patted Zhou Yu’s shoulder. "I’ve got your back, man! We're in this together!"

Zhou Yu picked up his glass.

Tan Cong clinked his own against it. "Bottoms up!"

After several rounds, the floor was littered with empty bottles. Tan Cong had only drunk about a tenth; the rest had all gone down Zhou Yu’s throat.

Zhou Yu was completely drunk, face down on the table, sighing repeatedly.

"He doesn’t love me," Zhou Yu mumbled.

Tan Cong had known Zhou Yu since childhood. Now in their thirties, he had never seen Zhou Yu truly drunk.

This was a first.

But he understood—Zhou Yu had never been one to suppress his emotions.

He had high demands when it came to emotional intensity, making his love and hatred starkly evident, sometimes even to an extreme degree.

Tan Cong stared at Zhou Yu with curiosity for a long moment before poking his shoulder. "You still with me? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"He doesn’t love me..." Zhou Yu groaned miserably.

"I'm not asking about that—answer me," Tan Cong poked again. "How many?"

Zhou Yu covered his face. "He doesn’t love me..."

Tan Cong poked.

"He doesn’t love me..."

Poke.

"He doesn’t love me..."

Tan Cong started laughing.

It was as if Zhou Yu had a button—every poke got the same response, and only that one.

Tan Cong laughed for a while, but seeing Zhou Yu so crushed and defeated by love, his conscience finally kicked in, and he got serious.

"Maybe you’re too close to see things clearly?" he said, pouring himself a drink and downing it with Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu shook his head: "He doesn't love me."

Tan Cong: "..."

This guy seems really out of it.

He said patiently, "I'm serious, I'm not just comforting you. From an outsider's perspective, your junior treats you quite well—it's not like there are no feelings there."

"It's different," Zhou Yu mumbled, his eyes red and unfocused. "It's different. We have a contract. In public, he'd never embarrass me; he's extremely professional... He's ridiculously emotionally stable!"

Tan Cong: "What the fuck! Are you two the only ones in the world taking that contract seriously?"

Zhou Yu looked up: "What do you mean?"

"We all thought it was just a game you two were playing."

"No, no," Zhou Yu said, as if reminded of something painful again, covering his face and sobbing. "You don't get it. How would an old bachelor like you understand!"

Tan Cong: "???"

"Do you have any conscience at all?" Tan Cong snapped. "I came here with good intentions to comfort you, and you resort to personal attacks?! Do you think I chose to be single on purpose?"

Zhou Yu couldn't hear anything anymore. He felt his heart shatter into pieces, clutching his chest and wailing loudly.

"He doesn't love me!"

"He just wants to partner up for practical reasons!"

"Who the hell wants a practical partnership!"

Tan Cong roared: "Then what exactly do you want!"

"I want love!" Zhou Yu cried bitterly. "I want lots and lots of love!"

Tan Cong: "…………"

Finally fed up, Tan Cong pulled out his phone and aimed it at Zhou Yu's face, capturing this epically pathetic moment.

The flash illuminated the tear streaks all over Zhou Yu's face.

Zhou Yu stopped his howling, froze for two seconds, then snatched the phone away.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tan Cong stumbled from the force.

Zhou Yu stood up, clutching the phone, swaying drunkenly and muttering to himself.

Tan Cong immediately tried to grab it back.

"What are you doing? Give me back my phone. Stealing someone's phone isn't a skill... Hey, don't delete it!"

"Don't delete it, don't! I promise I won't send it to anyone—"

Tan Cong suddenly fell silent.

Then his eyes widened.

Instead of deleting his embarrassing moment as expected, Zhou Yu clicked "forward."

Alarmed, Tan Cong grabbed at him: "What the hell are you trying to do?! If you send this out, your reputation for the rest of your life is ruined. Everyone in the circle will laugh at you till you die. Have you even seen how pathetic you look!"

"I'm sending it!" Drunk Zhou Yu was shockingly strong. "I'm going to—I'm going to send it to my wifey!"

Tan Cong: "?"

Zhou Yu hugged the phone, tears and snot streaming down his face: "You think if wifey sees how miserable I am, he might soften toward me? Might, might feel sorry for me and want to hug me?"

Tan Cong: "??"

"You're fucking insane!" He fumed. "Have you even seen what you look like in that photo? Yun Shu cares about appearance, you know!"

"Feel sorry for you and hug you? If he sees a drunk mess crying his eyes out like this, he'd be doing well just not to slap you!"

"Then let him slap me!"

Tan Cong: "???"

Zhou Yu wailed: "Let him slap me! I beg him to slap me and he won't. He just doesn't love me!"

Tan Cong: "...Bro, maybe listen to your own logic?"

·

Tan Cong, handsome, golden bachelor.

At thirty years old, he finally found the reason why someone as excellent as him could stay single for thirty years.

People in relationships are crazy.

And he lost because his head was too right.

He watched as Zhou Yu, hugging the phone, collapsed onto the sofa, tears and snot everywhere, staring into the void as if Lin Yunshu's face were there.

"You don't care about me..." he murmured. "You won't even hit me..."

Tan Cong: "...6."