DLWAV CH22

Ao Ruize felt that he might have been bewitched by a ghost (or rather, a Dao Lord).

It went back to that same sentence: he had descended to the lower realm simply to enjoy a nice vacation.

But what on earth was happening now?

Back home, Ao Ruize sat on the sofa for nearly half an hour, unable to figure out how things had turned out this way.

Just then, the butler returned from walking Xiao Yangxi.

Seeing Ao Ruize, he first put the sleeping Xiao Yangxi back in the room, then came out and said, “Young Master, I’ve left your favorite pork stomach and barley soup in the kitchen. Would you like some now?”

Ao Ruize replied unconsciously, “Sure.”

In no time, the butler brought out a bowl of the soup for Ao Ruize.

At that exact moment, Ao Ruize’s phone rang.

The message was, of course, from Zhong Chi.

He said: [I’m home.]

Ao Ruize immediately sat up straight.

Just as he was pondering how to reply, another message from Zhong Chi arrived.

[I had a lot of fun today.]

Ao Ruize: “…”

Zhong Chi certainly seemed happy.

Meanwhile, he hadn’t even calmed down yet.

Zhong Chi added: [But I’m a little sleepy, so I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.]

Ao Ruize thought about it and prepared to reply with an ‘Okay’.

But the next second, he received yet another message from Zhong Chi.

He said: [Goodnight in advance then, boyfriend!]

Ao Ruize: “…”

B-Boyfriend…

Ao Ruize instantly gripped the phone in his hand tight.

W-Was he already calling him boyfriend?

Ao Ruize couldn’t help but savor those three words (nan-peng-you) on the tip of his tongue four or five times.

That strange sensation… he couldn’t describe it.

But that didn’t stop his heart from instantly beating faster.

Yet, for some reason, he still felt like something was missing.

So, he couldn’t help but fantasize about the scene of Zhong Chi standing in front of him, calling him boyfriend.

The next second, Ao Ruize’s breathing stopped completely.

Seeing that Ao Ruize hadn’t moved for a while, the butler, passing by again, asked, “What is it, Young Master? Is it too salty?”

“No.”

Ao Ruize instinctively picked up the spoon next to the bowl and scooped some pork stomach and barley soup into his mouth.

“Mmm, it’s very good…”

There was just one thing: was this pork stomach and barley soup in a relationship too?

Otherwise, why did it taste so sweet?

Thinking this, Ao Ruize looked at the soup in front of him, then at the chat interface on his phone. As if realizing something, he fell into complete silence.

Subsequently, the events that had occurred since he met Zhong Chi in this small world began to replay in his mind scene by scene.

To be precise, the events at the Ruifeng Hotel that day, and what happened this afternoon and evening, replayed in his mind.

Zhong Chi looking drugged.

Zhong Chi looking serious on the surface but secretly scratching his palm.

Zhong Chi’s neck turning red even though he wasn’t drugged.

Zhong Chi soaked through.

Zhong Chi remembering the wine he liked…

Ao Ruize finally realized that the vast majority of his impressions of Zhong Chi came from today.

Thinking of this, Ao Ruize also suddenly realized what it meant when he had teased Zhong Chi earlier, saying he was dressed too formally for surfing and looked more like he was there to fish, and Zhong Chi had replied, ‘You could say that.’

It turned out Zhong Chi really was there to fish.

And the catch was him, this dragon.

A few minutes later, Ao Ruize resigned himself to his fate. He took another mouthful of soup while picking up his phone to reply: “Goodnight, boyfriend!”

On the other side, seeing this sentence, the corners of Zhong Chi’s lips could no longer be suppressed as he stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window waiting for a reply. They curled upwards.

He thought, his fishing skills were indeed as good as ever.

Thinking this, his gaze returned to his phone.

He ultimately couldn’t resist sending a message to a close friend: [I hooked a super amazing hubby.]

Watching the words ‘The other party is typing…’ instantly appear under his friend’s name, he immediately turned off his phone.

Show off and run—how thrilling.

However, Ao Ruize seemed even easier to hook than he had imagined.

In that case, could he speed up the process?

Thinking this, Zhong Chi paused in his handling of the phone.

So, early the next morning, Ao Ruize, who hadn’t slept all night and had only managed to close his eyes at dawn, was suddenly woken up by a string of ringtones.

He fished out his phone to check. The message was, predictably, from Zhong Chi.

Ao Ruize instinctively wanted to shove the phone back.

Then he remembered.

Wait, Zhong Chi seemed to be his boyfriend now.

He had a boyfriend—

Thinking of this, Ao Ruize woke up instantly.

Even though the sky outside was gray, the corners of his lips couldn’t help but lift.

Then he focused his eyes on the phone in his hand.

[Good morning, boyfriend!]

[Are you free this afternoon? How about we grab dinner and watch a movie?]

Ao Ruize’s mood improved even more.

He replied: “Okay, see you this afternoon.”

It would have been better if he hadn’t run into the neighbor, old Mrs. Chen, coming over to play matchmaker just as he was heading out that afternoon.

But he reacted quickly.

He already had a boyfriend now, so there was no need to worry about being dragged into blind dates anymore, right?

So he directly dropped a line: “Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Chen, but I already have a partner, so I won’t trouble you.”

With that, he walked briskly out of the house.

Hearing this, old Mrs. Chen was stunned.

She turned to look at Grandpa Xiao. “Your second grandson got a partner in just these few days?”

Grandpa Xiao: “…”

Thinking about it, he knew it was impossible.

So he was so angry he nearly flipped backward. “That bastard thing. To avoid getting married, he’d even make up such an obviously fake excuse.”

“Wait until he gets back tonight, see how I deal with him…”

Ao Ruize had no idea that Grandpa Xiao was already prepared to let him taste some long-lost “fatherly love.”

He soon saw Zhong Chi again.

Perhaps because their relationship was different now, Ao Ruize felt a bit awkward when he saw Zhong Chi.

He didn’t even dare to make eye contact.

Zhong Chi felt the same.

But seeing the buttons on Ao Ruize’s shirt collar fastened all the way to the top, he couldn’t help but chuckle. The shyness in his heart was instantly suppressed by an impulse.

He reached out directly and held Ao Ruize’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Ao Ruize’s hand stiffened for a second.

But the next second, he saw the tips of Zhong Chi’s ears turning red.

So Zhong Chi wasn’t as open as he imagined, was he?

Yet he still took this step.

Then shouldn’t he be a bit proactive too?

Thinking this, Ao Ruize held Zhong Chi’s hand back. “Okay.”

Zhong Chi’s hand also stiffened for a moment.

Only then did he realize he was holding hands with Ao Ruize just like that.

In an instant, an electric feeling struck his heart from where his hand touched Ao Ruize’s—tingling, numbing, and unspeakably sweet.

So this was what it felt like to hold hands with a partner.

Zhong Chi couldn’t help but purse his lips tightly, though the joy surrounding him had almost materialized into substance.

After dinner, the two went directly to a nearby movie theater.

Since there were many movies showing recently, they took a while to choose before settling on a war movie from Country M.

Unexpectedly, their careful selection didn’t help in the slightest.

Because every few minutes, Zhong Chi’s attention couldn’t help but drift to Ao Ruize beside him.

He finally realized why, when Lin Gaolang had invited him to a piano recital before, he felt something was missing despite the performance being excellent.

It was probably because he didn’t feel that spark for Lin Gaolang.

After all, with the person you like right beside you, who has the mood to watch a performance?

Ao Ruize wasn’t faring much better than Zhong Chi.

Since Zhong Chi was sitting right next to him, how could he not notice Zhong Chi stealing glances at him?

This resulted in him not even remembering the names of the main characters by the time the movie ended.

It was already ten o’clock at night when they finished the movie.

Plus, the weather wasn’t great, so Ao Ruize drove Zhong Chi straight to his door.

Unexpectedly, after getting out of the car, Zhong Chi suddenly said, “You come down too.”

Ao Ruize didn’t think much of it and got out of the car.

It wasn’t until he walked up to Zhong Chi that he realized how ambiguous the atmosphere between them was at this moment.

It was quiet all around, with no one else in sight, and he could faintly hear Zhong Chi’s slightly rapid breathing.

The streetlights were bright, but Zhong Chi’s eyes were brighter.

He didn’t need to guess to know what Zhong Chi wanted to do.

After all, back in college, whenever he went out at night, he would always bump into couples hugging in various corners.

It would be a lie to say Ao Ruize wasn’t tempted.

He thought, they were already a couple. Although there was no rush to reach first or second base, a hug seemed harmless.

But the next second, he saw Zhong Chi look up at him, pursing his lips, trying his best to remain calm, and saying with a solemn face:

“Other guys get to touch their boyfriend’s abs. I should get that privilege too, right?”

Ao Ruize: “…”

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