Chapter 23 So many people!
After a long silence, Liu Zhuang finally managed to utter, "What nonsense are you spouting..."
“For a while, she only went to the company for two or three hours a day, and she would only reply to my messages during those two or three hours. Nobody knew where she was the rest of the time.” Hua Cheng rubbed the mud off his hands, his emotions calmer than he had expected.
Liu Zhuang's lips twitched: "Can't people have some privacy? Chengzi, even if you're a long-married couple, or even a young couple in the throes of new love, you shouldn't..."
Hua Cheng looked at him: "That broken watch on her wrist was a gift from someone else. She's never taken it off since she put it on. I've bought her so many limited edition watches, but she's never worn them even once."
Liu Zhuang had also seen Yun Jin's broken watch. Not only was it ugly, but it was also broken and of very cheap quality, completely out of line with Yun Jin's aesthetic.
But she has been wearing this watch, which doesn't suit her taste, for several months now, and she hasn't taken it off even when attending important occasions. As a result, there are rumors online that the watch was blessed by a master.
Thinking about it that way, it's not quite normal.
Liu Zhuang's heart began to pound, but when he met Hua Cheng's gaze, he couldn't help but retort, "I think that watch... is alright. It's quite unique after looking at it for a while. Yun Jin is so individualistic, isn't it normal for her to like unique things? Besides, stop overthinking. Who told you that watch was a gift from someone else..."
“She told me herself last night.”
"oh."
The two brothers looked at each other in silence.
After a long pause, Liu Zhuang said, "She dared to tell you that it was a gift from someone else, which means she has a clear conscience."
Hua Cheng: "She only said it was a gift from someone else, but didn't say who that person was."
Liu Zhuang: "Ah..."
Hua Cheng: "And have you ever seen her look guilty?"
Liu Zhuang: "This..."
I've never seen it before.
Yun Jin is a girl with an extremely stable core. No matter what she does, she exudes a sense of self-righteousness. Whether she does something right or wrong, she is right. She doesn't argue or accept rebuttals. Her main principle is to accept herself and never engage in internal conflict.
The two brothers exchanged a glance and saw admiration for his sister and wife in each other's eyes, and fell silent again.
After a while, Liu Zhuang said, "Judging from these facts alone, I think it's a stretch."
“She secretly went out with her phone in the middle of the night yesterday,” Hua Cheng said, pursing his lips.
Liu Zhuang was speechless: "Dude, can't people even go out to use the restroom in the middle of the night?"
“The toilet isn’t over there,” Hua Cheng glanced at him. “Besides, when I found her, she seemed to be chatting, and when she saw me, she instinctively hid her phone behind her back.”
Liu Zhuang: "...She's probably handling overseas affairs. You know how foreigners are; they only communicate about work during working hours and never consider time differences. She probably hid her phone because she didn't want you to worry about it... Yes, that must be it."
Hua Cheng: "After she fell asleep, I checked her phone and there were no chat records."
Liu Zhuang: "Ah..."
Hua Cheng: "Don't you also think there's a problem?"
Liu Zhuang: "This..."
If they are chatting, there will definitely be chat history. If they are chatting but there is no chat history, it means she deleted the chat history.
As a veteran who has been married for nearly ten years, Liu Zhuang knows all too well that in this situation, the absence of chat history is far more serious than the presence of it.
For a moment, he didn't know how to explain himself, and could only stare at Hua Cheng blankly.
After an unknown amount of time, the rain grew heavier. Liu Zhuang wiped his face and said expressionlessly, "I'm so disappointed in you."
Hua Cheng: "?"
Liu Zhuang: "How could you peek at Yun Jin's phone?"
Hua Cheng: "..."
Liu Zhuang: "No matter what, you should respect her privacy."
Hua Cheng stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly let out a "ha."
People can actually laugh when they're speechless.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and Hua Cheng sneezed and shivered. Liu Zhuang finally remembered that he was a terminally ill patient and quickly pulled him to the shed next door to take shelter from the rain.
Once they were standing in the shed, Liu Zhuang had a new idea: "Is it possible that she's deliberately trying to annoy you?"
Hua Cheng: "?"
Liu Zhuang: "You secretly came to the same county without telling any of us, and we're not even allowed to retaliate? Maybe she's just getting angrier and angrier, which is why she deliberately made you misunderstand."
“I only recently came to Tongxian, but she started going out late at night without telling me much earlier,” Hua Cheng said, lost in thought. “The timing doesn’t add up.”
"ah……"
Is there a problem so early?
Liu Zhuang's mouth was slightly open, feeling as if his brain cells were dying off in large numbers, but he couldn't think of any angle to refute it.
“And compared to this roundabout way of revenge, she prefers to deal with me directly,” Hua Cheng tore open his shirt, revealing the teeth marks on his shoulder, “like this.”
Liu Zhuang gasped, "That bite was way too vicious."
Hua Cheng looked down at the teeth marks. After a night of settling, the broken skin had scabbed over, and the bruises had darkened in color, creating a colorful, beautiful, and brutal work of art.
A smile flickered in his eyes as he said, "Due to limited resources, this is the only way. If we were at home..."
"Nobody wants to hear about your marital romance," Liu Zhuang interrupted expressionlessly.
Hua Cheng shrugged: "In short, based on my understanding of her and the information I have so far, there is no misunderstanding. She should have someone else."
Liu Zhuang remained silent.
Hua Cheng: "Why aren't you saying anything?"
“Actually…” Liu Zhuang hesitated for a long time before slowly speaking, “it is also a good thing.”
Hua Cheng: "?"
Liu Zhuang explained to him, "Weren't you always worried that Yun Jin would be lonely after you died? Now it's all right, you're not even dead yet, and she's already starting a new life. You can rest assured now."
Hua Cheng: "..."
Liu Zhuang continued his analysis: "Just like you said, the process of waiting for the leaves to fall is too agonizing. She wants someone to wait with her, so the two of them can pass the time together and not have to focus all their attention on this wretched leaf of yours. Isn't that exactly what you want?"
Hua Cheng: "..."
Liu Zhuang patted him on the shoulder solemnly: "What's that saying again? Full support, sincere blessings, I hope you don't forget your original intention and do what you say."
Hua Cheng stared at him silently for a long, long time, until the rain was almost over, before finally speaking softly, "Fatty."
Liu Zhuang: "Hmm?"
“I remember when I ‘cheated’ before, you almost beat me to death.” Hua Cheng’s tone was calm and composed.
Liu Zhuang paused for a moment: "Ah, your situation is different from Yun Jin's."
"What's different?" Hua Cheng asked back.
Liu Zhuang: "Uh..."
Hua Cheng sneered and lunged at him menacingly.
Liu Zhuang grabbed his wrist and burst into laughter, playfully teasing him.
After the commotion, the two sat side by side on the stone benches under the shed, waiting for the rain to stop.
“Jokes aside, I don’t think Yun Jin is that kind of person,” Liu Zhuang murmured, looking at the raindrops falling like broken beads.
Hua Cheng glanced at him and said, "I also think she's not that kind of person."
After a two-second silence, the two spoke almost simultaneously—
"If she falls in love with someone else, she will definitely divorce you first."
"If she really changes her mind, she'll definitely divorce me first before dating the other person."
It was another useless unspoken understanding; the two chuckled softly.
Liu Zhuang changed the subject: "But now it's a special case."
Hua Cheng nodded: "In my current state, even if she falls for someone else, she won't abandon me and leave."
After saying that, he lowered his head, looking utterly dejected.
Realizing he had said the wrong thing again, Liu Zhuang tried to correct himself: "I think we shouldn't jump to conclusions too soon. What if it's a misunderstanding? Even if it's not a misunderstanding, it doesn't necessarily mean it's gone to the point of cheating. Maybe it's just that they've just developed feelings for each other... If all else fails, I can help you find out?"
"Later," Hua Cheng said, perking up. "She's still angry with me."
Liu Zhuang nodded: "That's true. You secretly carried out poverty alleviation work in the same county without her knowledge. Although she didn't say anything on the surface, she must be angry inside."
“Who says it isn’t… How did you know I was involved in poverty alleviation?” Hua Cheng suddenly realized, “It’s a classified project.”
Liu Zhuang sneered: "Secret my ass! Do you know that the news is flying around, saying that you've gotten too big for your britches and don't want to be associated with Yun Jin anymore, so you're deliberately causing this mess to disgust people."
Hua Cheng's expression gradually turned serious: "No wonder she suddenly came to find me..."
“Chengzi, I know you have your reasons for everything you do. Normally, if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you. But this time it concerns Yun Jin, so I have to ask you,” Liu Zhuang frowned. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Hua Cheng remained silent for a long time before sighing.
Liu Zhuang: "..."
Damn it, I hate people who show off the most.
After spending half a day in the shed, the rain finally stopped. The two of them trudged back to the village, and as soon as they entered the village, they saw the village chief and Yun Jin walking out together, surrounded by a group of people.
"If Mr. Yun is willing, that would be wonderful." The village chief smiled and extended his hand.
Yun Jin smiled and shook hands with him: "Not at all, it's my honor."
Feng Che, who had been following behind Yun Jin, frowned, but his eyes lit up when he saw Hua Cheng and Liu Zhuang: "Brother Hua, Brother Liu!"
His shout immediately drew everyone's attention.
The two brothers, who had just been fighting in the mud, both smiled warmly and walked toward the crowd.
"What are you talking about?" Hua Cheng asked with a smile.
The village chief quickly shook hands with him: "I'd like to ask Mr. Yun to come to the school and teach the children a couple of classes after the rain stops. Mr. Yun has already agreed."
A hint of surprise flashed in Hua Cheng's eyes as he smiled at Yun Jin: "Don't you have work scheduled later? Won't there be any scheduling conflicts?"
It's one thing for him to stay here to work on the project, but it's quite another to leave Yun Jin behind. If he could, he would much rather she return to Pingcheng immediately and not stay in a place she doesn't like.
The village chief understood the implication in his words and quickly said, "If Mr. Yun can't find the time, please don't force yourself. Let's focus on important matters."
“Teaching the children is the important thing,” Yun Jin smiled. “I will be staying in the same county for the time being.”
“This…” The village chief looked at Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng smiled and said, "That's great, the children will definitely be very happy."
Feng Che had originally hoped that he could stop this, but he didn't expect him to be so unprincipled, so he couldn't help but give him a contemptuous look.
Hua Cheng pretended not to see it and stood side by side with Yun Jin with a smile.
The sky cleared briefly, but rain could come at any moment. After a few simple pleasantries, Yun Jin got into the car first, followed closely by Hua Cheng.
Feng Che wanted to follow, but Liu Zhuang grabbed him and pulled him to the car behind.
Hua Cheng closed the car door, signaling the driver to start while waving goodbye to the people seeing him off. Only after the car turned the corner and everyone else was out of sight did Hua Cheng close the door, turning back pitifully: "Wife..."
Li Yu, who was in charge of driving, skillfully raised the partition, refusing to listen to his boss's family matters.
From the back seat, Yun Jin could tell from Hua Cheng's expression that he already knew about the leaked news.
"Do you know you were wrong?" she said calmly.
Hua Cheng nodded.
"Will you hide anything from me like you did this time if you want to do something in the future?" Yun Jin asked again.
Hua Cheng shook his head.
Yun Jin glanced at him: "Don't let this happen again."
“Okay… um?” Hua Cheng looked at her in surprise.
Yun Jin pinched her brow and closed her eyes: "I'm too lazy to get angry with you."
I'm too lazy to get angry with him.
It should have been a good thing, and Hua Cheng felt he should breathe a sigh of relief, but for some reason, he sensed a hint of perfunctoriness in her tone.
She is now...
I'm too lazy to even get angry with him anymore...
Hua Cheng's pupils trembled slightly, and after a long while, he silently looked out the window.
Yun Jin promised the village chief that she would teach the children and had no plans to return to Pingcheng anytime soon.
If she didn't go back, Hua Cheng certainly wouldn't either, and Liu Zhuang and Feng Che were also going to stay, so everyone simply stayed at the town's guesthouse.
The guesthouse had limited space, so Hua Cheng drove an hour to a bedding store in the next town to buy a new four-piece bedding set. He also paid extra to have it washed and dried at a dry cleaner next door before taking it back. He also bought Yun Jin a change of clothes and a bunch of other miscellaneous daily necessities, trying his best to make her more comfortable.
Yun Jin didn't have high requirements for the living environment, but she let him run around doing things while she sat in a corner of the room to hold online meetings.
Hua Cheng tidied up the room from the inside out, and it finally felt a bit like home.
Yun Jin's meeting wasn't over yet; he was drinking instant coffee to stay awake while listening to his employees' reports.
Seeing her tired eyes, Hua Cheng subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to turn the computer towards himself as he always did, and then tell her to go and rest.
But after taking a step forward, he suddenly stopped.
Yun Jin is currently the CEO of Yuncheng Technology and will become the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yuncheng Technology in the near future.
In the long life ahead, she will have countless tiring and exhausting moments that she will need to overcome alone.
Yun Jin, who was in a meeting, noticed that he had been standing there without moving and asked him with her eyes what was wrong.
Hua Cheng smiled silently, shook his head, and turned to walk out.
Yun Jin suddenly yawned softly.
Hua Cheng stopped in his tracks.
Yun Jin rubbed her eyes and was about to make another cup of instant coffee when the computer in front of her suddenly turned around.
She drowsily looked up, and an employee on the computer exclaimed, "President Hua?"
“The AI robot’s qualifications are the issue, right?” Hua Cheng pulled up a chair and sat down, gesturing for Yun Jin to go to sleep. “Didn’t I tell you to contact the boss of Dreamers? What’s the result of that communication now…”
Yun Jin stretched and lazily climbed into bed to sleep.
Hua Cheng glanced at her during a break in the meeting, a faint, helpless smile appearing in his eyes.
She is currently the CEO of Yuncheng Technology, and will become the CEO and Chairman of the Board in the future. There will be countless tiring and exhausting moments that she will have to overcome alone... but at least not now.
As long as he lives, he will protect her every day. As for the future... before she met him, she had crossed so many mountains in the county on her own, and he believed that nothing could defeat her in the future.
Yun Jin's trip to Tong County was a last-minute decision. She had two days' worth of backlogged work that needed to be resolved. As soon as Hua Cheng took over, he started one online meeting after another.
The attendees were used to his presence, and no one asked why it wasn't General Manager Yun, just as no one was surprised when Yun Jin attended the meeting in his place before.
In fact, their chairman and CEO do not have a strong sense of boundaries in their work.
"Okay, then you can directly contact Assistant Zhou for the next steps. Try to make the documents that require signatures available online..."
After finishing the last meeting, Hua Cheng shut down his computer, took two targeted drugs, and looked at the bed opposite him.
Yun Jin slept soundly all afternoon listening to his voice during the meeting, but now that the room was quiet, she woke up quickly.
After dozing off in bed for a while, she asked in a low voice, "What time is it?"
"It's past six o'clock, let's go eat." Hua Cheng walked to the bedside and leaned down to kiss her lips.
Yun Jin opened her eyes: "Is everything taken care of?"
"Yes, it's all taken care of," Hua Cheng replied.
Yun Jin stared at him for a few seconds, then reached out and hooked her finger around his collar.
Hua Cheng smiled and took the initiative to lower his head to kiss her.
The feeling of lips touching lips is wonderful; there's not enough passion, but plenty of intimacy, and every breath is filled with the scent of the other person's shower gel.
It's the same shower gel.
After a few kisses, Hua Cheng suddenly spoke: "Yun Jin."
"Um."
"What was the secret you mentioned before..."
He only got halfway through his question when his gaze inadvertently swept over her wristwatch, and he suddenly fell silent.
Yun Jin raised her eyes, waiting for him to finish speaking.
"You said you're not angry with me anymore, is that true?" Hua Cheng asked with a smile.
I still don't have the courage to ask.
I'm afraid she'll tell the truth, yet I'm also afraid she won't. I'm afraid her truth won't be what I want to hear, and I'm even more afraid that she'll say what I want to hear, but what she says and what she does are completely different.
Looking into his smiling eyes, Yun Jin vaguely sensed that his tone was a little strange, but she didn't delve into it.
Having slept too much, Yun Jin felt sluggish both physically and emotionally. She reached out her hand to Hua Cheng, who immediately pulled her out of bed.
The moment Yun Jin stood up, she kissed him on the forehead.
"Yes, it's true," she answered his question.
Hua Cheng smiled and hugged her: "Thank you, my wife."
It was still raining outside, and neither of them wanted to go out, so they went to the restaurant on the fifth floor of the guesthouse instead. As soon as they entered, they found that everyone had the same idea, and almost everyone was there.
The restaurant wasn't big, with only a few tables and a small stage. On the stage was a set of KTV equipment, and Liu Zhuang was wailing into the microphone. As soon as he saw them arrive, he immediately changed the song.
As the retro prelude began, Liu Zhuang gazed sadly at the ceiling, silently raising the microphone to his lips: "I once loved a woman who said I was the most beautiful man in the world..."
Hua Cheng's eyelids twitched, and he pulled Yun Jin to a corner to sit down.
Feng Che quickly came after smelling the aroma and handed a small cake to Yun Jin: "Sister, I specially went to the cake shop this afternoon to buy this for you!"
"Thank you," Hua Cheng took it from Yun Jin, ate half of it in one bite, and commented innocently, "It's vegetable cream. Your sister can't eat it, brother-in-law can have it."
Feng Che was so shocked by his shamelessness that his face went blank for a few seconds before he looked at Yun Jin pitifully.
Yun Jin: "Hmm, I can't eat that."
Hua Cheng shook his head regretfully and finished the rest in a few bites.
Feng Che was furious, but he still pretended to be innocent: "It's okay, I'll go to two more stores next time. I don't believe that such a big place as Tong County doesn't have a single cake shop that sells animal cream."
Hua Cheng: "Keep it up!"
Feng Che silently repeated to himself that he was dying, that he was dying, that he was dying... and finally calmed down.
He roused himself and was about to continue talking to Yun Jin when Liu Zhuang on stage suddenly became emotional: "You smell of his perfume..."
Hua Cheng took a deep breath and smiled, "Excuse me, I'll be there for a moment."
After saying that, he strode confidently toward Liu Zhuang.
Taking advantage of the situation, Feng Che took his seat: "Sister, what do you want to eat? I'll order for you."
"Let's have noodles, and a side dish too," Yun Jin said.
Feng Che: "Okay~~~"
Hua Cheng rushed onto the stage, turned off the music, and dragged Liu Zhuang, who was in the middle of a great time, into a corner.
"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to remain calm.
Liu Zhuang: "I'll give Yun Jin a little nudge."
Hua Cheng laughed in exasperation: "Is this how you discipline someone?"
Liu Zhuang: "Yes, don't you think this song is very suitable? It fully expresses your sad feelings, evokes her memories of your beautiful past, makes her feel sorry for you, and also implies that you already know about her affair, warning her to be more discreet."
"...Who was it this morning who said it was a misunderstanding and told me not to overthink it?" Hua Cheng sneered.
Liu Zhuang said confidently, "I still think it's a misunderstanding, but we'll take it one step at a time. If it's a misunderstanding, she'll simply think I'm belting out a song. If it's not a misunderstanding, then what I just said has been conveyed effectively."
He thought this move was excellent, absolutely brilliant.
Hua Cheng gritted his teeth and maintained his smile: "The problem is, I don't want her to know that I already know!"
This was a bit convoluted, but Liu Zhuang understood it. Seeing the man's chest heaving violently, Liu Zhuang was afraid he might upset the terminally ill patient and quickly reassured him, "You should have said so earlier, otherwise I wouldn't have done it this way."
Hua Cheng glanced at him sideways and snorted coldly.
Liu Zhuang pushed him to sit down at the dining table, and through the cover of the potted plants, looked at Yun Jin's table.
The waiter brought over a bowl of noodles, which Feng Che eagerly took and placed in front of Yun Jin. He then quickly brought her chopsticks and a spoon.
Liu Zhuang hesitated for a moment: "You say..."
Hua Cheng: "No."
Liu Zhuang: "I haven't said anything yet."
Hua Cheng frowned: "Anyway, it wasn't him."
Liu Zhuang was puzzled by his certainty: "Feng Che is quite handsome and young, why can't it be him?"
Hua Cheng, still angry, was a bit listless: "Is being young and handsome enough? Yun Jin isn't that superficial."
"Back then, it seems like all you had were youth and good looks," Liu Zhuang said matter-of-factly.
Hua Cheng paused for a moment, then said unhappily, "Anyway, it wasn't him."
"No, no, if you say it's not him, then it's not him," Liu Zhuang quickly helped him up. "It's fine if it's not him, otherwise Yun Jin's future relationship with her mother-in-law and father-in-law will be a bit difficult..."
Hua Cheng gave him a cold glance.
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more!" Liu Zhuang immediately shut up.
Since Feng Che had already taken his seat, Hua Cheng decided to have dinner with Liu Zhuang.
After finishing their meal, Hua Cheng waited until Yun Jin declined Feng Che's suggestion to go for a walk before slowly approaching her.
"Would you like some fruit?" he asked. "There's a supermarket nearby; we can go buy some."
Speaking of fruit...
Yun Jin slowed her pace, suddenly remembering the gifts Hua Yu had given her.
She brought the fruit inside and went straight back to 2025. When she went back last night, she was only focused on buying medicine for Huacheng and didn't bring any back.
If we don't eat it soon, it'll probably spoil.
Although those fruits are common, buying so many still costs a lot of money. It's not easy for kids to earn money; they almost got into trouble before over a six-hundred-yuan wage...
Yun Jin fell into deep thought.
"What's wrong?" Hua Cheng asked with a smile.
Yun Jin paused for a moment, then said, "I suddenly remembered something. You should go back to your room first. I have to go out for a bit."
Hua Cheng stared at her, wondering what she could possibly need to do alone in this completely unfamiliar town.
Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, Yun Jin looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"
Hua Cheng habitually put on a smile: "Where are you going? I'll go with you."
"No need, you can go back to your room first." Yun Jin said, then took the umbrella provided free of charge by the guesthouse and left.
She left in such a hurry that she never looked back. Hua Cheng stood quietly in place until her figure disappeared without moving.
After Liu Zhuang finished paying the bill, he came out and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "What are you standing here for?"
"She's gone," Hua Cheng said in a low voice.
Liu Zhuang didn't hear clearly: "What?"
Hua Cheng stared at him intently: "She's gone."
"Where did you go?" Liu Zhuang was still clueless.
Hua Cheng didn't speak, but his face was a little pale.
Liu Zhuang suddenly realized: "What are you standing there for? Chase after them!"
"But……"
“But what do you mean by ‘but’?” Liu Zhuang pushed him forward. “I’ll say it again, all of your previous statements were just guesses. We’ll have to see for ourselves to know the truth.”
Hua Cheng didn't know what he was worried about; he just didn't really want to go, but Liu Zhuang dragged him away anyway.
In the room at the far end of the third floor, Feng Che, who had just been rejected by Yun Jin, was sitting on the bay window, preparing to play a game. Just as TiMi's voice rang out, he caught a glimpse of two sneaky figures downstairs.
Liu Zhuang and Hua Cheng?
Where are you going?
He frowned, sensing something was amiss, grabbed his umbrella, and ran outside.
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Author's Note: Today's playlist is "Poisonous Perfume".
Draw 50 red envelopes~
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