Chapter 142 From Now On, I’ll Be the One Worrying

Chapter 142: From Now On, I'll Be the One to Worry and Be Afraid

Zhao Jinzong refused: "No."

"..."

"Chen Su, think about it from my perspective." Zhao Jinzong paused. "If a lie costs me the one I love forever, how can I accept that?"

"..."

"Chen Su, I only want the right to know—the right to know about your life."

"Mm." Chen Su nodded. "Got it."

"Don't just say 'got it' – actually do it."

"Oh..."

Zhao Jinzong let out an exasperated laugh, rubbing Chen Su's head. "Go ahead and lie."

Zhao Jinzong conceded. "I'll bear the cost of your lies. From now on, I'll be the one to worry and be afraid."

Zhao Jinzong promised he would no longer punish Chen Su for his lies or be angry with him over them.

Chen Su was at a loss for words for a long time.

Zhao Jinzong stroked the back of his hand. "Was this the same back then?"

Chen Su forced out a hoarse sound: "Mm."

Zhao Jinzong kissed the back of his hand. "Get a good night's sleep."

Chen Su slept soundly, a rare occurrence.

Zhao Jinzong reached for his phone, replied to a few messages, and then deleted them.

When Chen Su woke up, Zhao Jinzong picked him up with one arm and carried him to the study. His hand was cuffed to Zhao Jinzong's. Zhao Jinzong held his hand, slightly bending over to search for books in the bookshelf. For interrogations, people from the General Bureau read a lot of psychology books, BPD among them.

Zhao Jinzong picked out two books to read.

From time to time, he would ask Chen Su a few questions. It felt so much like an interrogation, but Zhao Jinzong held his hand, his gaze soft and tender, and Chen Su felt it was just concern.

When Zhao Jinzong asked, he answered everything.

In the following days, Zhao Jinzong was very compliant to him.

When Chen Su wanted Zhao Jinzong to rest, he would rest. He handed over his phone completely to Chen Su and never once asked for the password. Whenever Chen Su went out, Zhao Jinzong would return to the bedroom to rest and wait.

This feeling gave Chen Su a deep sense of security.

Until one time, after they had sex, Chen Su fell asleep from exhaustion. In the middle of the night, he woke up groggily to find Zhao Jinzong on the phone.

In the darkness, the screen light illuminated half of Zhao Jinzong's handsome face.

Chen Su's brow tightened. Intense emotions surged like a tide, choking his throat. He sat up and stared at Zhao Jinzong's back in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Zhao Jinzong said to the person on the phone, "Find a doctor."

Chen Su's heart ached. "Zhao Jinzong."

"Mm." Zhao Jinzong turned around, looked at Chen Su, and said, "It's Tan Zhou."

Zhao Jinzong handed the phone to Chen Su to say hello.

Without a second word, Chen Su smashed the phone.

The pent-up emotions erupted at that moment. During this entire time of coercing Zhao Jinzong, he had never lost his temper—this was the only time.

The sound of the phone shattering on the floor was especially loud. Chen Su was stunned himself.

After coming to his senses, in the darkness, he stared fixedly at Zhao Jinzong in front of the window, his heart aching in waves.

Chen Su stood up, opened the suitcase, grabbed the medicine from the suitcase and clenched it in his palm, grabbed a blanket and a pillow, and walked out. "I'll sleep outside. Watch your step. I'll clean up tomorrow."

"Chen Su." Zhao Jinzong called out to him.

Chen Su didn't stop and kept walking out.

Zhao Jinzong followed him out and saw a curled-up figure on the sofa, trembling slightly.

Zhao Jinzong stood in front of the sofa and reached out. "I'll hold you."

Chen Su: "..."

Zhao Jinzong took the blanket from Chen Su, lay down with him, covered them both with the blanket, and held Chen Su tightly. "I'm not angry."

"..."

"Chen Su, even if you lose your temper, I won't be angry or leave."

Zhao Jinzong was telling Chen Su that he wouldn't get angry or leave because of Chen Su's extreme emotions. Chen Su didn't need to suppress himself.

Chen Su leaned against Zhao Jinzong's chest and demanded, "Do you really want to go out?"

Zhao Jinzong asked back, "Do you want me to go out?"

"No."

"Then I don't want to go out."

Chen Su controlled Zhao Jinzong's will.

Zhao Jinzong pressed Chen Su's head against his chest, coaxing him to rest. Chen Su didn't sleep until dawn. The next morning, he tightened his hold on Zhao Jinzong even more.

Not only with handcuffs, but also with ankle shackles.

All because he had made a phone call to Tan Zhou.

Chen Su was afraid Zhao Jinzong would leave.

That call to Tan Zhou was equivalent to a cry for help.

Zhao Jinzong said nothing, only quietly extended his hands.

When Chen Su was looking for his medicine, Zhao Jinzong said, "You can take your medicine in front of me. No need to hide."

Chen Su always took his medicine secretly.

Chen Su hummed in acknowledgment and took the medicine.

Before Chen Su left the house in the morning, Zhao Jinzong called out to him, "Come here."

Chen Su glanced at Zhao Jinzong and walked over.

Zhao Jinzong smiled and said, "Kiss me."

Chen Su kissed Zhao Jinzong, who reminded him, "Be careful."

"Okay, I'll come back, and we can do it then."

"Come back and rest."

"Don't go out."

"Mm."

Chen Su left, and when he returned, he brought a disc, and they watched a movie together.

At noon, there was a frantic knocking at the door. Someone from the Federal Office arrived, and Zhao Jinzong's phone kept ringing.

Chen Su paused, put down his chopsticks, and opened the door.

The alpha subordinate asked, "Is the General Administration here? This batch of documents is missing procedures—it shouldn't have been approved..."

Chen Su frowned and said, "He's not here."

The alpha subordinate was puzzled: "Not here? I thought I heard a phone ringing a second ago..."

Chen Su said in a deep voice, "He's not here."

The alpha subordinate then asked, "Then when will the General Administration be back? This is urgent. The procedures aren't compliant, the documents are important, and other departments are waiting. I'm under a ton of pressure right now..."

Chen Su took the documents. They looked familiar—he approved them and signed them.

Even though Chen Su was reluctant to give up his current life together with Zhao Jinzong, this was too big of a deal. He couldn't let Zhao Jinzong take the fall for him.

He had long been prepared to face punishment at any time.

Chen Su confessed, "This is my..."

A warm hand settled on his waist from behind. Zhao Jinzong's handcuffed wrist was hidden. He glanced down at the documents in the alpha subordinate's hand and said, "This is my problem. I've been swamped with work and missed the missing stamps. I'll send a report up to the higher-ups. The data in the documents is fine; when subordinates submit documents, they need to check ahead of time if all department stamps are there."

"Uh..." cold sweat broke out on the alpha subordinate's brow.

Zhao Jinzong, buried in work, skipped over the missing procedures and only reviewed the data. In the end, the subordinate had failed in his duty by not catching the basic issues in the report before passing it up.

Zhao Jinzong could get away with just a work report, but the subordinate wouldn't be as lucky.

"It's my fault!" the alpha subordinate said. "I've drafted a new version. Please sign it, General Administration."

The alpha subordinate handed over the report with all the correct procedures.

Zhao Jinzong didn't take it—just gave it a look.

He couldn't use his hands to take it.

Chen Su reached out and took it. "Hang on a second."

Chen Su shut the door, set the documents on the table, grabbed a pen from the study, and held it out for Zhao Jinzong.

Zhao Jinzong flipped through the documents and signed them.

Chen Su passed them to the alpha subordinate.

The subordinate took the documents and left, closing the door behind him.

When the door clicked shut, Chen Su looked up at Zhao Jinzong.

All the worry from the past few days had been for nothing.

Zhao Jinzong could have left, but he didn't.