29: surprise

Wen Hengtang only shut his mouth after Yan Zhuohua fruitfully explained that he was absolutely not some substitute, but rather likely the original 'White Moonlight' himself. Furthermore, he clarified that his family was harmonious without 'mother-in-law issues,' there were no property disputes, he possessed all the rights of a legitimate spouse, and he could work at the company without being imprisoned, among other things.

However, his flickering, suspicious gaze still indicated that his head was filled with who-knows-what kind of nonsense.

Yan Zhuohua was already numb to it.

Why are there drama queens everywhere in this world?

Fortunately, the food at this place was indeed good; it seemed Wen Hengtang's sense of taste was still normal. Truly worth celebrating!

Under Yan Zhuohua's forceful suppression, Wen Hengtang finished the meal peacefully.

It was getting late, and Yan Zhuohua felt that Wen Hengtang's mental state really required rest, so he settled the bill and urged him to hurry back and sleep.

Seeing Wen Hengtang's expression that screamed 'I still have something to say,' Yan Zhuohua heartlessly sent him into a taxi.

He didn't want to see him for a while.

Only when the taxi had driven far away did Yan Zhuohua breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps because the shock was too great, Yan Zhuohua had forgotten to tell Yan Qinghe in advance that he was preparing to return. If he said it now, he feared he would have to wait a while for the driver. So, he took out his phone to send a message, telling Yan Qinghe that he had finished eating and that maybe he should just take a taxi back himself, as it would be faster.

Yan Qinghe replied almost instantly.

“The car has already arrived. I'll have the driver call you.”

“?” Good heavens, so he had someone waiting outside the whole time! Yan Zhuohua was impressed—just how worried was he?

The car was parked in a nearby temporary parking lot.

Yan Zhuohua got in the car and tentatively asked the driver, “How long have you been waiting?”

“CEO Yan told me to arrive at six o'clock and then wait for word.”

“...That must have been hard.”

“It's fine. I'm paid by the hour; I have a salary!”

“...”

Six o'clock. The time he had arranged with Wen Hengtang was also only six o'clock.

Yan Zhuohua felt that today's life was filled with an aura of absurdity.

Forget it, for the sake of Yan Qinghe staying in an empty room and going to work every day.

Back at the hotel, Yan Zhuohua made his usual video call to Yan Qinghe.

As soon as it connected, Yan Zhuohua wore an expression that said 'I've caught you red-handed,' looking at Yan Qinghe with pride and coldness.

Yan Qinghe thought about it and seemed to understand why.

“Zhuohua, what's wrong?” Yan Zhuohua hadn't asked, so he couldn't just go ahead and explain why the driver had arrived early.

Perhaps it was Yan Qinghe's cautious expression that pleased Yan Zhuohua, or perhaps it was for some other reason, but Yan Zhuohua didn't dwell on these small matters anymore.

“It's nothing. I'm just checking to see if you've been eating properly.”

Seeing that Yan Zhuohua seemed to have let him off the hook, Yan Qinghe relaxed.

“I've been eating well. What about you? How was your meal out?”

...

It was another long chat of over forty minutes. This time Yan Zhuohua had learned his lesson; although he really wanted to complain about Wen Hengtang's behavior today, he held it in.

He didn't want another 'Brother Tragedy' to occur.

After the video call ended, the large room fell into silence again.

In the past, Yan Zhuohua had never felt there was any problem with living alone, sleeping alone, or existing alone. But now, lying on the soft, large bed, he felt it was too quiet.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

He missed Yan Qinghe a little.

The campus on Friday was filled with the happy atmosphere of the upcoming weekend.

Yan Zhuohua went to the teacher's office on time to pick up the relevant materials; it was only nine in the morning when he left the school gates.

He returned to the hotel to pack his things and headed straight for the airport with his suitcase. Before leaving, he also instructed the manager not to tell Yan Qinghe about his return.

At five in the afternoon, Yan Zhuohua returned to the villa at Mirror Lake Bright Forest.

Yan Qinghe wouldn't be back for over an hour. Yan Zhuohua briefly unpacked his luggage and then went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

At 6:20 PM, Yan Qinghe returned home. As soon as he opened the door, he noticed the light on in the kitchen. Looking down, he saw Yan Zhuohua's shoes sitting in the shoe cabinet.

He dropped what he was holding and headed straight for the kitchen. Under the bright lights was Yan Zhuohua's busy figure. The aroma of food rose from the bubbling pot and drifted into Yan Qinghe's nose. Everything was warm and blissful, and only then did he truly realize that Yan Zhuohua had actually come back early.

Yan Zhuohua was about to find a plate to serve the food when his gaze caught someone standing at the kitchen doorway. He almost instinctively threw the plate in his hand, but fortunately, he saw in time that it was Yan Qinghe standing there.

Yan Zhuohua breathed a sigh of relief: “Why are you standing there quietly without saying a word?” After saying that, he noticed Yan Qinghe hadn't even changed his shoes. “Why haven't you changed your shoes? Go quickly, dinner will be ready in a moment.”

Yan Qinghe obediently turned back to change his shoes and then returned to the kitchen, entering directly.

He reached out and hugged Yan Zhuohua from behind, his body pressed tightly against Yan Zhuohua's back, his hands tightening, and his head resting on Yan Zhuohua's shoulder.

“Why did you come back so suddenly?”

Yan Zhuohua was carrying a person slightly taller than himself on his back, making it a bit difficult to move. He patted Yan Qinghe's hand to signal him to let go first.

“Are you not happy that I'm back? Let go first, it's inconvenient for me to cook.”

Yan Qinghe refused to let go, instead tightening his arms further: “Of course I'm happy. I just didn't expect you to come back early. You missed me too, didn't you?”

Yan Zhuohua's ears turned slightly red. He seemed to forget to keep telling Yan Qinghe to let go and didn't reply. It wasn't until Yan Qinghe tightened his hands again that he whispered a small “Mhm.”

Yan Qinghe was instantly filled with immense satisfaction. He nuzzled against the person in his arms, burying his head in the crook of Yan Zhuohua's neck and inhaling deeply, as if wanting to pull Yan Zhuohua's scent into his own body.

Yan Zhuohua could hardly bear the stimulation of these actions. He struggled urgently: “Don't mess around, Qinghe... stop it. Let me finish cooking first, okay? Wait until tonight... we can continue tonight...”

The pot on the stove was still bubbling. Yan Qinghe finally let go of the person in his arms reluctantly, stealing a kiss from Yan Zhuohua's cheek before withdrawing his arms.

Yan Zhuohua was helpless but only gave him a glare, then allowed him to stand to the side, staring at him intently.

Yan Qinghe's gaze was burning, making it hard for Yan Zhuohua to ignore. Fortunately, the food was ready. Yan Zhuohua directed Yan Qinghe to carry the soup out, and then he brought out the rest of the dishes himself.

This dinner was eaten somewhat quickly; even delicious food couldn't keep two people in a hurry.

Yan Zhuohua also wanted to be close to Yan Qinghe, so he didn't dally. After arranging for Yan Qinghe to wash the dishes, he went straight upstairs to the bathroom to wash up.

Yan Zhuohua didn't like bathing outside. During these few days at the hotel, he had only taken quick showers every night, so today he spent a bit longer in the bathroom.

By the time he had cleaned up and dried his hair, Yan Qinghe had already finished washing up in the guest bedroom downstairs and was sitting by the bed waiting for him.

There's no need to be in such a hurry. Yan Zhuohua felt quite helpless.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. A few days apart made both of them miss each other exceptionally, longing to embrace and be close. The light in the master bedroom stayed on until late at night once again.

...

The next day was Saturday, and Yan Qinghe and Yan Zhuohua stayed in bed together. The feelings of longing were finally soothed through a night of rest. The morning sunlight passed through the sheer curtains and fell upon their faces.

His biological clock woke Yan Qinghe up early. Although he had slept for a short time, the quality was high. At this moment, his bright gaze lingered continuously on Yan Zhuohua's face.

The person who had been away from his embrace for a few days was finally back in his place. Yan Qinghe reached out, gently brushing past Yan Zhuohua's eyes and stroking the redness at the corner of his eye. Then, he gradually approached Yan Zhuohua's peaceful, sleeping face and pressed a kiss onto his forehead.

Yan Zhuohua moved impatiently a few times before being pulled back into dreamland by exhaustion.

By the time the two got out of bed, it was nearly noon.

After lunch, Yan Qinghe pulled Yan Zhuohua into a room on the second floor. It was originally an empty room, but during the days Yan Zhuohua was away, Yan Qinghe had converted it into a calligraphy and painting studio.

“Last time you promised to teach me calligraphy hand-in-hand. Now that we're free, you can't refuse.”

Yan Zhuohua was naturally not someone who would break his word.

He had Yan Qinghe bring over a chair and then adjusted the height of the table before starting to teach Yan Qinghe how to write.

After all, his waist hurt.

He held Yan Qinghe's hand from behind, his breath hitting Yan Qinghe's ear.

“What should we write?”

Yan Qinghe was immersed in Yan Zhuohua's embrace and took a long time to decide.

“Let's write a Marriage Certificate.”

Marriage Certificates had a lot of content, and some people wrote their own, but it couldn't be composed in a short time. Yan Zhuohua thought for a moment, searched for a Marriage Certificate on his phone, and seriously wrote it down while holding Yan Qinghe's hand.

The certificate wasn't long, but they wrote it solemnly and devoutly.

When the final stroke fell, Yan Zhuohua let go of Yan Qinghe's hand, signed his name at the end of the Marriage Certificate, and then handed the brush to Yan Qinghe, letting him drop his signature right next to his own.

Once finished, the two carefully looked at the Marriage Certificate before them for a long time.

“I'll go get it framed and hang it in our bedroom.” Yan Qinghe carefully lifted the certificate and set it on the side table to dry.

“It's just a pity we couldn't write our own content and could only transcribe an old one,” Yan Zhuohua said with some regret.

This spur-of-the-moment Marriage Certificate was personally framed by Yan Qinghe and hung in the bedroom, in a place where it could be seen as soon as one opened their eyes.

Yan Zhuohua casually took a photo of the hung certificate, posted it to his Moments, and then changed it to his Moments cover photo.

The replies below quickly reached over a dozen. Aside from Wen Hengtang's question mark comment, everyone else offered blessings, romance, and envy. Yan Zhuohua put away his phone with satisfaction.

According to the plan, Yan Zhuohua would enter the company on Monday.

He had been away from the company for too long. Although he was a former heir meticulously groomed for fifteen years, some things still needed re-familiarization. Fortunately, the original Director of the Business Department, Yan Muxuan, would not be leaving the company for the time being. Yan Zhuohua would follow him as a Deputy Director first, learning and reviewing properly. When this 'early retiree' Uncle left the company at the end of the year, he would then become permanent.

Even with someone guiding him, he still had to familiarize himself with what was necessary. Yan Qinghe brought back relevant materials, and the rest of the weekend was spent with them reading documents together.

Monday morning, Yan Zhuohua put on the formal suit prepared in advance and headed out with Yan Qinghe.