Chapter 21 I Want to Buy a Phone!

Chapter 21: I Want to Buy a Phone!

Lin Zaishan stood under the showerhead, letting the hot water pour over him from head to toe, his mind still replaying the scene from earlier.

Seriously though, was it really such a big deal?

He was just teasing the little brat, wasn't he? Shaking hands with that pretty boy a little too long, smiling a bit too warmly—wasn't that all just to test if they had something going on? So why did it end up feeling like he was the one who did something wrong?

He soaped himself up while cursing inwardly: *Little brat, getting mouthy, huh?*

But the more he thought about it, the more something felt off.

If they really were a thing, why was it that the little fag had only met him for the first time today since coming to the mainland? If they were old flames, wouldn't he have run straight into his arms as soon as he got off the boat? Besides, judging by the little fag's reaction—stepping in between to stop them from shaking hands, then storming off with a sour face—that didn't look like someone having a thing with him.

It looked more like...

Lin Zaishan paused mid-motion.

It looked like jealousy.

Not jealousy over Yu Yizhou, but jealousy over *him*.

The moment that thought popped into his head, Lin Zaishan froze for a second, then let out an inexplicable chuckle standing right there.

But then he caught himself—*Why am I laughing?*

---

Yuan Che lay on the bed, his face buried in the pillow, a bellyful of grievances with no way to vent them, almost driving him crazy with frustration.

The way Lin Zaishan had looked at Yu Yizhou, that expression on his face—everything about it was off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely off. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling, mulling it over for a long time before finally finding a word for it—

*Seduction.*

The moment that word entered his mind, Yuan Che felt a deep sense of loss he had never experienced before.

Because he remembered that the first time they met, Lin Zaishan had treated him exactly the same way—polite, gentle, attentive. Back then, he thought it was love. Now he realized: so this was just how Lin Zaishan treated everyone?

The moment Lin Zaishan came home, his eyes hadn't left Yu Yizhou. He had smiled so ambiguously, so... so vulgarly! He had never smiled at him like that before. And the handshake—wasn't once enough? Why did he keep shaking? He had stood up to block them, and Lin Zaishan had still lunged forward to shake again. Had he forgotten that he was his legal husband?

The more Yuan Che thought, the more wronged he felt.

Lately, their time together had given him a sense of security. They went out together every day, came home together. At night, even though Lin Zaishan always put on a look of disgust, he still let him wrap his arms around him while they slept. He thought that was a sign of things slowly improving.

But now, that sense of security was nothing but a thin layer of mist—one gust of wind would scatter it.

He obeyed Lin Zaishan in everything—went where he said, did what he said. It wasn't that he had no temper—it was that he genuinely liked Lin Zaishan, and everything he did was just to make him happy.

But Yu Yizhou's appearance suddenly made him realize a problem—

In his life, there was only Lin Zaishan.

When Lin Zaishan was kind to him, he thought it was favoritism. But now he saw Lin Zaishan treating someone else the same way, and he finally understood he had been overthinking it. He only saw Yu Yizhou. So what about the ones he didn't see?

"Asleep?"

The culprit's voice suddenly sounded from above him.

Yuan Che didn't move, his head still buried in the pillow.

"Get up." The voice continued, with a hint of teasing. "If you don't, I'm gonna have to get handsy."

That joke totally pissed Yuan Che off.

He shot up abruptly, glaring at the person beside the bed, his eyes wide with fury.

Lin Zaishan was clearly startled, leaning back. "Why are you so jumpy?"

Yuan Che ignored him, shouting in a rare outburst, "What did you just say?"

Lin Zaishan blinked, then grinned.

He looked Yuan Che up and down with that "look who's getting bold" expression, and said provocatively, "I said if you don't get up, I'm gonna get handsy. Got a problem?"

With that, he turned and headed toward the bathroom to blow-dry his hair.

But his wrist was grabbed.

Lin Zaishan turned back, frowning.

"Do you have to touch everyone?" Yuan Che's voice dropped, the fire in his eyes dying down, replaced by obvious hurt and grievance.

Lin Zaishan's heart tightened.

*Damn, the little fag really did see.*

"You... you saw that?" he stammered, which was rare for him.

"Of course I saw!" Yuan Che flung his hand away in a sulk, moving to the other side of the bed, turning his back to Lin Zaishan.

Lin Zaishan looked at that tall figure curled up in misery and felt a headache coming on.

*Maybe I should just come out and tell him? It's just an ex-girlfriend anyway, I didn't do anything wrong. Shouldn't be hard to explain.*

"Hey—"

"I want to buy a phone." Yuan Che suddenly turned around to interrupt him.

Lin Zaishan stopped short. "A phone? What do you need a phone for?"

Yuan Che went silent.

He had actually sensed for a while now that Lin Zaishan didn't really want him to contact his sister. At the time, he didn't know why, but he still followed along, because he always did whatever Lin Zaishan said.

But now, he suddenly felt completely lost about his married life.

He had zero relationship experience. In all his life, Lin Zaishan was the first person he had ever liked. He didn't know what a normal couple was supposed to be like, let alone how to act after getting married. He could only fumble his way through, but the more he fumbled, the more confused he became.

He wanted to ask his sister: Is it normal to keep your spouse a secret from outsiders after marriage? Is it normal for your husband not to kiss you or hug you? And most importantly—can men on the mainland, like his father, have multiple partners?

If that's the case, once Yu Yizhou enters this household, will there be any room left for him?

He sighed to himself, dropped his gaze, and reluctantly lied: "I need a phone... to contact Xiaozhou."

"What did you say?!" Lin Zaishan exploded.

Yuan Che looked up, slightly surprised, staring at him blankly, and repeated without guile, "I said I need to find Xiaozhou."

"I heard you!" Lin Zaishan shot him a glare. "You told me to repeat it," Yuan Che shot back sullenly.

Lin Zaishan squinted at him, then let out a sneer.

Fine. Really, just fine!

He’d thought just now that the little fag was jealous of him, but it turned out all along that pretty boy was really his lover, and here he was reading too much into things. That realization left him embarrassed after his outburst.

He stared at Yuan Che’s face, momentarily at a loss for words.

His original plan had been to use the pretty boy to send him away, but now seeing the little fag not even bothering to pretend, he felt a bizarre sense of being the one “returned” instead.

Is there no goddamn justice in this world?

Was the little fag blind? In terms of family background and looks, how did he not measure up to that pretty boy? Back when he was studying abroad, the line of people chasing him stretched from the school gate to the teaching building—men, women, gender-bending types—as they used to say back then, they called him the “heartthrob”!

And now? This little country bumpkin didn’t know a good thing when he saw it, always eyeing what was in someone else’s bowl.

When had he ever been humiliated like this?

“Not buying it!” he refused flatly.

Then he shot Yuan Che a vicious glare, turned, and walked toward the bedroom door. Tonight, let the little fag sleep alone. He wasn’t going to put up with this anymore!

But as he took a few steps, that plaintive voice came chasing after him again.

“Is it that you don’t have the money to buy a phone, or are you just stingy?”

Lin Zaishan stopped in his tracks.

He spun around and saw the little fag sitting primly on the edge of the bed, wearing that unflappable calm—and in that instant, everything clicked.

This guy was picking a fight again!

“Say that again?” He stepped forward and grabbed Yuan Che by the ear.

“Ah—” Yuan Che cried out in pain.

But surprisingly, he didn’t struggle. Instead, he tentatively reached up with one hand, trying to move Lin Zaishan’s hand aside with surprising gentleness.

“You... do you really want me to say it again, or was that just out of anger?” Yuan Che’s voice came out in broken gasps from the pain as he tilted his head along with the force.

“What did you say??” Lin Zaishan was so furious his temples throbbed with rage, and he unconsciously tightened his grip.

“Why are you always like this!” Yuan Che forgot about his ear and shouted back, “I can’t tell if you really didn’t hear me or you’re pretending! I repeat it and you get angry! Can’t we just talk things out properly?”

Holy shit.

Lin Zaishan was stunned.

The little fag had the nerve to lecture him here?

Seeing how utterly unmoved the guy was, he was so angry he was grinding his teeth. Finally, he simply let go.

Fine. This guy was beyond hope. Go run off to your little boyfriend!

Without another word, he turned and walked away.

This time, Yuan Che went after him.

“Say it clearly!” He firmly grasped Lin Zaishan’s hand, looking at him stubbornly. “Why are you angry again?”

Lin Zaishan took a deep breath, looked down at the hand being clutched, and for a moment felt completely lost.

Yuan Che wasn’t holding his wrist—he was holding his hand.

Though the two of them had cuddled plenty in bed, holding hands like this... it was the first time. His face heated up, he avoided Yuan Che’s gaze, and instinctively shook his hand off.

But that motion set the other man off completely.

“He can touch you, but I can’t?” Yuan Che pressed on relentlessly, his tone unusually aggressive.

Lin Zaishan snapped his head up, staring at him in shock.

Wasn’t the logic... reversed?

The little fag was the one with a lover first, and now he had the gall to boss him around? Fine. If he wanted to play double standards, then he’d drop all pretense and really play the game.

“Right. She can touch me, and you can’t!” he shot back defiantly.

He’d meant to say that Yuan Che should get his own mess sorted out before coming after him, but his reason held him back—if he said that, wouldn’t it look like he was jealous? It was already embarrassing enough being “returned” by this clueless little fag, and making himself look like a jilted lover would only make things worse.

So after shouting, he turned and left, slamming the door hard without another word.

Yuan Che stood there, dazed, staring at the door that had been slammed shut. He looked down at his own hand—the one that had just been holding Lin Zaishan’s.

His palm still held a trace of warmth, but that hand had been shaken off.

Shaken off.

He slowly sat back down on the edge of the bed, and suddenly felt as if a thousand needles were piercing his heart.

Lin Yajun’s words came back to him at just the right moment: “You like him, and other people like him too.” At the time, he thought that was fine—wasn’t it a good thing that someone you liked was liked by more people?

But now he realized how awful that feeling really was.

When Lin Zaishan smiled at Yu Yizhou, he sat nearby, feeling as if he were nailed to the sofa. He didn’t know what expression he wore, but he remembered nearly squeezing the juice out of the apple.

He remembered as a child, always seeing his father surrounded by all sorts of people—pretty ladies, young uncles, and others whose names he couldn’t recall. Everyone crowded around his father, smiling at him, and his father smiled back, so happily.

Every time his sister saw it, she would scold their father, calling him shameless and those people vixens, but Yuan Che would stand in a corner and secretly watch, feeling a tiny bit... envious.

On the island, he never made friends. In the manor, the servants feared him. And his sister? Maybe she loved him, but she certainly didn’t like him—otherwise, why would she always hit and scold him?

So he thought that being liked by so many people must be the happiest thing in the world. His father didn’t have to do anything, and people loved him, accompanied him, smiled at him. Happiness must have been so easy for him, right?

So after falling in love with Lin Zaishan, it was only natural for him to want the same for Lin Zaishan.

In his heart, Lin Zaishan was his husband, and he was Lin Zaishan’s husband. If he could, he wanted Lin Zaishan to have all the love in the world without lifting a finger.

But now?

He was jealous of anyone who got to see Lin Zaishan smile.

He even secretly thought, not just Yu Yizhou, but everyone else—better if they never saw each other again, forever. Lin Zaishan only needed to look at him.

The moment this thought popped into his head, Yuan Che froze completely.

How could he have such a thought?

It was too dark, too small-minded. Was he still the person who wanted Lin Zaishan to be loved by the whole world? Was he still the one who thought himself generous and big-hearted?

He wasn’t.

Not at all.

Yuan Che sighed in the empty room, buried his face in his hands, and suddenly began to ache as he realized what kind of person he really was.