Chapter 46 That Dog
The scariest thing in the world than sleeping alone is sleeping with 'yourself'.
Hua Cheng felt very unlucky, and Hua Yu was so frustrated that she wanted to vomit blood, but neither of them wanted to be the first to disobey Yun Jin. They could only hope that the other would break down first, and as a result, they all fell asleep while enduring it.
Yun Jin sat beside them for a while, making sure they weren't pretending to be asleep before leaving.
The next morning, Liu Zhuang was so shocked by the scene on the bed that he gasped and had to grab the cabinet next to him to keep his balance.
Hua Cheng and Hua Yu were awakened by his noise, and after opening their eyes, they had the same blank look on their faces.
Three seconds later, the two sat up with disgusted expressions. Hua Yu even jumped to the ground and walked straight out, ignoring everyone.
Liu Zhuang stared blankly as he left, only turning to Hua Cheng slowly after the door slammed shut: "You two..."
"What do you mean 'two'? There aren't two. I'm the only one in this room. You must be mistaken," Hua Cheng said quickly.
Liu Zhuang was speechless: "I saw it all, what's the point of making up this kind of lie to fool me?"
Hua Cheng kept a straight face and didn't say anything.
"So what's the situation now?" Liu Zhuang asked curiously.
Hua Cheng sneered, "This kid wants to take Yun Jin from me."
Liu Zhuang: "Oh."
"Oh?" Hua Cheng suddenly raised his voice, "Someone wants to steal your best brother's wife, and you just say 'oh'?"
“He’s also Hua Cheng. It’s normal for Hua Cheng to like Yun Jin, isn’t it?” Liu Zhuang didn’t understand why he was making such a fuss.
“Of course it’s not normal!” Hua Cheng retorted. “He’s 20-year-old Hua Cheng. At that age, he wouldn’t even know Yun Jin. What right does he have to compete with me for her!”
Liu Zhuang rolled his eyes at him: "Just because he was recruited by Yun Jin. If you hadn't been so useless and gotten such a serious illness, he wouldn't have shown up."
“If he hadn’t been getting injured all the time, I wouldn’t have gotten sick either,” Hua Cheng retorted.
Liu Zhuang laughed: "What's wrong? Aren't you the one who gets hurt repeatedly? Don't think that just because you single out 20-year-old Hua Cheng, you're completely blameless."
Hua Cheng turned his face away: "Anyway, Yun Jin is mine, and no one can take it from me, not even myself."
After learning that he could recover from his illness, this kid threw all his wholehearted support and sincere blessings to the back of his mind, and his possessiveness started to surge up again.
Liu Zhuang felt it was much better than when he was constantly studying wills with red eyes.
Thinking of the will, Liu Zhuang remembered the burial plot that Hua Cheng had his eye on.
He specifically asked someone to check the buyer's identity, thinking of bypassing the real estate company and communicating directly with the other party. Now that Huacheng's illness is about to be cured, is it no longer necessary to continue the investigation?
Hua Cheng was still indignant when he turned his head and saw Liu Zhuang lost in thought. He immediately showed his dissatisfaction: "Who are you thinking about?"
“You,” Liu Zhuang replied casually.
Hua Cheng: "Which 'me'? The 'me' now or the 20-year-old me?"
Liu Zhuang was speechless: "You now!"
Hua Cheng was finally satisfied: "What were you thinking about?"
"Regarding your burial plot, you probably don't need it anymore, right? I'm thinking of telling my friends to stop investigating the buyer's identity," Liu Zhuang said truthfully.
Hua Cheng had forgotten about this matter. After hearing this, he thought for a moment and said, "Investigate. Although my health is currently stable and improving, what if something unexpected happens? Besides, it's good to have a burial plot. If he really angers me one day, I'll kill him and bury him without anyone knowing."
“…He is your past self. If you kill him, you won’t live either.” Liu Zhuang was too lazy to pay attention to him, but he also felt that it was a bit unfair to stop someone halfway through a task, so he decided to continue the investigation.
The two brothers looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
Hua Yu walked in as if no one else was there and said to Liu Zhuang, "Brother Pang, I want to watch TV, but I don't know how to use the remote control."
“Come on, I’ll teach you.” Liu Zhuang stood up.
Hua Cheng immediately grabbed him, looking at Hua Yu with displeasure: "Why don't you ask the nurse?"
"The nurses are very busy," Hua Yu said casually.
“Nurse sister~” Hua Cheng said sarcastically, “How old are you? Why are you calling her sister?”
Hua Yu: "Twenty years old."
Hua Cheng: "..."
Oh, I almost forgot.
Hua Yu looked straight into his eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips: "It's the perfect age to call someone 'sister'."
After saying that, she turned and left without giving him a chance to refute.
Hua Cheng took a deep breath, turned to Liu Zhuang and complained, "Fatty, look at him!"
"Why are you arguing with a child?" Liu Zhuang patted him and was about to leave as well.
Hua Cheng said unhappily, "Are you really going?"
"The kids came to me, how could I refuse?" Liu Zhuang said, then quickly pulled his arm away and left.
Two doors down, Hua Yu, holding a remote control, soon waited for Liu Zhuang to arrive.
"What do you want to see?" Liu Zhuang asked.
Hua Yu: "Anything is fine."
Liu Zhuang laughed, took the remote control and started adjusting it: "Isn't it boring? The phone you brought from 2013 isn't working anymore, is it? I'll buy you a new one when I have time. You can use it to watch short videos. These days, short videos are really interesting."
"No need, thank you, Fatty," Hua Yu said politely.
Liu Zhuang glanced at him, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.
Hua Yu: "What's up?"
"It's nothing serious, it's just..." Liu Zhuang coughed lightly, "Can we stop pretending to be good kids?"
Hua Yu: "..."
"Do you think I don't know what you were like when you were 20?" Liu Zhuang laughed.
Hua Yu remained silent for a long time, then couldn't help but laugh.
Although he felt close to and familiar with Liu Zhuang from the first time they met, it wasn't until this moment that the barrier between them disappeared.
"It's been 12 years, do you still remember what I looked like when I was 20?" Hua Yu asked curiously.
“Of course, we’re best friends.” Liu Zhuang smiled and continued fiddling with the remote control.
After fiddling with it for a while, he put down the remote control and looked at Hua Yu in bewilderment.
After a long silence, Hua Yu said, "In these twelve years, have you only grown older...?"
Liu Zhuang pinched his little mouth.
Hua Yu: "..."
"I'll have to ask you for help," Liu Zhuang sighed. "I can't even figure out how to use a TV these days."
Hua Yu took a step back, breaking free from his grip: "He thinks he can pull this off?"
"Putting everything else aside, he's quite familiar with electronic products and various modern facilities," Liu Zhuang said, before making a phone call to Hua Cheng.
Hua Yu, however, held down his wrist.
Liu Zhuang looked up: "What's wrong?"
"He won't help me," Hua Yu said calmly.
Liu Zhuang raised an eyebrow: "Little Hua Cheng, you still don't understand yourself well enough."
A minute later, Hua Cheng appeared, quickly changed the channel, and glanced at Hua Yu with a rather arrogant look: "You can't even figure this out, and you still want to live in 2025?"
Hua Yu kept a blank face, pretending not to hear.
Hua Cheng wanted to provoke them further, but Liu Zhuang, fearing a fight would break out, quickly pulled him away.
Even after they reached the door, Hua Cheng was still complaining: "He's so rude! He didn't even say thank you. He and I are really..."
"Shh," Liu Zhuang stopped him, "this is outside."
Hua Cheng swallowed the rest of his words and went back into the house with a cold face.
Liu Zhuang followed behind, and only after closing the door did he ask, "Are you planning to just keep going against him like this?"
"Is that not allowed?" Hua Cheng asked back.
Liu Zhuang: "It's not that it's impossible, it's that it's unnecessary. He'll be going back sooner or later, so what's the point of arguing with him?"
"I already told you, he's not planning to leave, didn't you hear me?" Hua Cheng said, frustrated.
Liu Zhuang: "His opinion doesn't count. If he never goes back, the world will be in chaos."
He said he didn't care.
Liu Zhuang: "..."
“No,” Hua Cheng squinted, “I must get rid of him as soon as possible.”
Liu Zhuang's eyelids twitched: "What do you want to do?"
Hua Cheng looked at him with a half-smile, and Liu Zhuang sensed something was wrong.
That evening, Yun Jin had a multinational conference to attend and was expected to finish get off work late, so she sent a message to Hua Cheng in advance saying that she would be staying at the company that night and would not be going to the hospital.
Hua Cheng replied with a "Received," then turned off his phone and revealed an evil smile.
It's 6:30 PM, dinner time.
Hua Yu had just had his dressing changed and was sitting on the hospital bed wrapped in new gauze. The light reflected from the television made his eyes and brows appear to flicker.
Hua Cheng pushed open the door, leaned leisurely against the door frame, and casually invited, "Come on, let me treat you to dinner."
Hua Yu's gaze fell on his suit, and she seemed lost in thought.
"Don't dare?" Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow.
Hua Yu raised her eyes: "What's there to be afraid of? Let's go."
"I'll wait for you downstairs." Hua Cheng didn't waste any more words and turned to leave.
Hua Yu sat quietly for a few seconds, then took out a clean set of clothes from her backpack and changed.
The clothes didn't have much of a design and looked cheap, but they were thick and soft, and looked cool and good on him.
He stood in front of the mirror, recalling Hua Cheng's appearance just now.
A sharp suit, a wrinkle-free shirt, exquisite cufflinks, and meticulously styled hair—every inch of his body exudes an air of luxury.
It was a version of himself he had never imagined; it was unfamiliar, annoying, yet also novel.
Hua Yu stared at herself in the mirror, carefully examining herself to make sure she was no less than him, before lowering her eyes and walking downstairs.
In Pingcheng, the days are short and the nights are long in late autumn; it's already completely dark before 7 p.m.
Hua Yu walked out of the hospital lobby and appeared under the streetlights. Just as she was about to look for Hua Cheng, a sleek sports car appeared in front of her.
The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Hua Cheng's annoying face.
"You're going to wear this?" Hua Cheng asked with amusement.
Hua Yu glanced down at the clothes, then looked up and asked, "Yun Jin bought them, don't they look good?"
Hua Cheng: "..."
“It looks good.” Hua Yu provocatively.
“…She bought my suit too, what’s there to be proud of?” To maintain his composure, Hua Cheng didn’t roll his eyes. “Get up here right now.”
Hua Yu glanced at the car door but couldn't find the handlebars.
"Ah..." Hua Cheng suddenly realized, "I almost forgot, you've never ridden in this kind of car before."
After saying that, he pressed the switch, and the car door soared into the air like a bat's wings, inviting the guests to sit down from above.
Liu Zhuang bought this car for Hua Cheng on his thirtieth birthday.
When Hua Cheng received the gift, he complained about the unreasonable design, saying that a car without even door handles could trap someone inside and cause an accident. This angered Liu Zhuang so much that he beat him up on Hua Cheng's thirtieth birthday.
Although I don't really agree with Fatty's taste, on occasions like today where I need to make a good impression, the car Fatty gave me is undoubtedly more impressive than the ones he bought.
It's perfect for giving a naive 20-year-old boy a shock.
Hua Cheng curled his lips, trying to find a hint of shock on Hua Yu's face.
But it failed.
Hua Yu looked at him expressionlessly and asked, "If we get into a car accident, will we be trapped and die inside the car?"
Hua Cheng: "...Get up here right now."
Hua Yu gave him a disdainful look, then got into the car with a cold expression.
The car door closed automatically, and Hua Cheng stepped on the gas, the sports car roared to life and sped straight out of the hospital.
Hua Cheng thought to himself, "It's so noisy."
Hua Yu: "It's so noisy."
“You don’t know anything,” Hua Cheng retorted immediately. “It’s noisy, which means the engine is good.”
Hua Yu: "So you also think it's noisy."
Hua Cheng: "..."
For the rest of the journey, the car was quiet except for the incredibly loud roar of the engine.
Hua Cheng took Hua Yu to a private kitchen, which was actually more like a manor than a private kitchen.
The sports car stopped right at the gate, where two doormen in suits and white gloves immediately came to greet it.
Hua Cheng took a mask and slapped it on Hua Yu, who looked at it with displeasure.
"You don't want to cause trouble for Yun Jin, do you?" Hua Cheng asked.
Hua Yu: "..."
When Hua Yu got out of the car, she had already put on a mask with a cold expression.
After getting off the car, a butler came to pick her up in a shuttle bus. Seeing Hua Yu's casual clothes, he looked at Hua Cheng with some embarrassment.
"Kids are going through a rebellious phase and don't want to wear formal attire, so please be understanding," Hua Cheng said helplessly.
The butler smiled ingratiatingly: "Mr. Hua, you're too kind. Rules are for outsiders. Just do whatever makes you comfortable."
Hua Cheng raised the corner of his lips slightly, his expression indifferent.
The butler dared not delay and, as soon as the two sat down, quickly drove the shuttle bus forward.
The manor has been around for nearly twenty years, but its facilities and scenery show no signs of age; every blade of grass and every stone has been meticulously designed.
Hua Yu had passed by the high walls many times when she worked part-time before, but this was the first time she had gone inside.
Looking at the scenery around him that seemed so out of place, he remained calm, showing no sign of emotion.
The shuttle bus drove for nearly three minutes before stopping in front of a villa.
The waiters at the door had already received instructions, and as soon as the car stopped, they guided them into the private room and served them hot towels.
Hua Cheng wiped his hands, casually tossed the towel back into the plate, and turned his head to see Hua Yu sitting at the table with a cold expression, ignoring the towel brought by the waiter.
“This shop is still designed more than 20 years ago, and many things are not very reasonable,” Hua Cheng reminded. “The pool is far away. If you don’t like hot towels, ask them to bring you a basin of water.”
Hua Yu looked up at him, but didn't see any disdain in his eyes, so she took the towel.
Seeing that he was relatively obedient, Hua Cheng waved his hand, signaling the others to leave first.
The waiters turned and left, considerately closing the door from the outside, leaving only the two of them in the large private room.
"Aren't you going to order anything?" Hua Yu took off her mask.
Hua Cheng: "You can't order food here. The menu changes every day. Basically, you eat whatever the chef cooks."
Hua Yu frowned: "You rich people don't even have a choice when it comes to food?"
Hua Cheng chuckled and leaned back in his chair with a relaxed air: "There aren't any rich people, but there are certainly some who are extremely rich."
Hua Yu raised her eyelids and looked at him across the large round table.
Hua Cheng curled his lips into a smile, laughing freely: "I've invested in them, so they have to make the food I like."
Hua Yu found his smile annoying, but if she had money, she would probably invest here too.
The food was delivered quickly, and as Hua Cheng had said, it was all his favorite dishes.
Hua Yu sat opposite him and calmly finished her meal. When she put down her chopsticks, she looked at him indifferently and said, "You can begin now."
Hua Cheng paused: "Start what?"
“You’re humiliating me,” Hua Yu said flatly, tapping her fingers on the table. “You drive that kind of car and bring me to a place like this to eat, just to tell me how big the gap is between us and how unworthy I am of Yun Jin, right? Now that we’ve finished eating, you can start.”
Hua Cheng chuckled and looked at him leisurely: "Then you're being a bit petty. I brought you here to tell you that you need to go back to your own time and space and walk the same path I've walked before you can have the material conditions you have now and give Yun Jin a better life. It's not to humiliate you."
As a mature man in his thirties, it was incredibly easy for him to humiliate a boy so much younger than himself. He had a million ways to make Hua Yu feel the pain of being slapped in public.
But it's not necessary.
He was kind to others, let alone to himself 12 years ago.
He set up this table today simply to let Hua Yu know that there's no point in wasting time with him, and that if she wants to be with Yun Jin, she still has to work hard in her own time and space.
"Hua Yu, stop obsessing over things. Go back to your world, do what you're supposed to do, and then wait." Hua Cheng elegantly crossed his legs, clasped his hands on his knees, and looked at the boy opposite him with compassionate eyes.
Hua Yu's hands on the table gradually clenched, and her breathing became rapid.
After a long while, he suddenly let go of her hand: "Okay."
Hua Cheng's eyes lit up.
"You thought I'd say that?" Hua Yu sneered. "You wish."
Hua Cheng: "..."
"Stop giving me pep talks. I can still provide a better life for Yun Jin if I stay here."
Hua Cheng was speechless: "You don't even have any money, how can you give it to me?"
“You can make money, and so can I,” Hua Yu said firmly. “Maybe I can earn more than you.”
Hua Cheng chuckled and said, "You're overthinking it, young man. Making money depends on timing, location, and people. Just because we're the same person doesn't mean you can be as successful as me."
"How do you know that my timing, location, and connections are inferior to yours?" Hua Yu retorted.
Hua Cheng: "So you want to take a gamble? What if you lose?"
"Then I'll be a stay-at-home dad."
Hua Cheng: "..."
“I won’t buy a sports car, nor will I eat at such expensive places. I can continue to do part-time work and support myself without any problem,” Hua Yu said, clearly having already made up her mind. “Yun Jin is not short of money and does not need me to earn money to support the family. So I just need to take good care of her.”
Hua Cheng: "Naive! How could you possibly take good care of her?"
“Why not?” Hua Yu retorted. “I’m ten years younger than her. When she’s eighty, I’ll only be seventy. In the countryside, seventy-year-olds can still do farm work. As long as I exercise properly, I’ll definitely have the strength to take care of her, unlike some people who might be buried by then.”
some people:"……"
On the way back, the driver had a stern face, and the passenger looked out the window, refusing to communicate.
As they approached the hospital, Hua Yu, who had been silent the entire way, suddenly spoke up: "Stop the car."
"What are you doing?" Hua Cheng asked, but still pulled over to the side of the road.
Hua Yu stared at the mobile phone store outside the car window for a few seconds, then turned to look at Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng: "..."
One minute later.
Hua Yu had chosen her phone and was waiting for Hua Cheng to pay.
"...So why should I pay?" Hua Cheng was speechless.
Hua Yu: "We are the same person."
"Now you know we're the same person?" Hua Cheng laughed angrily. "Why didn't you say it was us when you were arguing with me over Yun Jin?"
Hua Yu: "One thing at a time, and I will pay you back."
Hua Cheng scoffed, put the phone he had chosen back, and picked out an even more expensive one.
“Buy this,” he said.
Hua Yu frowned: "Too expensive."
"This one is the best. It has more features, more memory, and a security system, so it's relatively safer," Hua Cheng said, gesturing for the clerk to fetch a new machine before starting a full inspection.
Hua Yu watched his skillful movements and remembered that Fatty had said he was very good at electronic products. For a moment, her mind was stirred.
"You want to ask me when I became interested in these things?" Hua Cheng didn't even look up, but he already knew what Hua Cheng was thinking.
Hua Yu did not deny it: "I don't know much about these things."
"You think it's unnecessary, right?" Hua Cheng confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his phone and gestured for the clerk to process the order and pay. "I used to think it was unnecessary too, but as I get older, if I don't keep up with my knowledge, I will be left behind by this society."
He glanced at Hua Yu and said, “Look at how many elderly people in the hospital don’t even know how to register online. They rely entirely on their children for help. Yun Jin and I don’t plan to have children, so we can only rely on ourselves in the future. She doesn’t care about these things, so I’ll have to do it myself.”
Hua Yu was stunned, clearly not expecting this layer to exist.
Hua Cheng scoffed and slapped the phone into his arms: "No need to pay me back, it's yours."
Hua Yu touched her phone and awkwardly opened her contacts; Hua Cheng's phone number was already there.
“Although you’ve been staying in the hospital and nothing will go wrong, remember to call me anytime if anything happens,” Hua Cheng reminded him.
Hua Yu remained silent for a moment, then looked at him.
"What are you looking at? Are you moved?" Hua Cheng asked.
Hua Yu: "What's Yun Jin's phone number?"
“Yun Jin doesn’t use a cell phone,” Hua Cheng said without changing his expression. “She prefers to correspond by letter.”
Hua Yu: "..."
The next morning, Hua Yu still managed to get Yun Jin's phone number through Liu Zhuang. So, just before noon when Yun Jin was about to leave work, she suddenly received a text message from an unknown number.
"Yun Jin, I am Hua Yu."
Yun Jin picked up her phone and looked at it for a few seconds before replying: Who bought you this phone?
Hua Yu: Hua Cheng.
Yun Jin was not surprised when she saw the message.
Hua Yu: Are you coming to the hospital at noon?
Yun Jin glanced at the schedule and replied: I only have half an hour to rest at noon, so I can't go.
Hua Yu: Can I come to see you?
As if afraid she would disagree, he kept showing "typing...".
Hua Yu: I will wear a mask.
Hua Yu: The doctor said I'm recovering very well, and it's okay for me to go out occasionally.
Hua Yu: I've learned how to order takeout, so I can bring food to you when I come to visit.
Hua Yu: I'll just bring you some food and I'll be right back.
It seems that if she disagrees, he might angrily bang his head against the wall with his phone.
Yun Jin chuckled and replied: Come on.
Hua Yu: Okay.
The conversation ended peacefully, if Hua Yu hadn't sent five or six happy emojis afterward.
Since it was Hua Yu's first time at the company, and everyone was too familiar with Hua Cheng's face, Yun Jin simply finished her work early and went directly to the park gate to wait in order to avoid being noticed.
Half an hour later, a car stopped in front of her.
The car door opened, and someone got out, saying sourly, "Why did you come all the way to the gate to pick me up?"
"Why is it you?" Yun Jin asked.
Hua Cheng calmly said, "Hua Yu suddenly felt dizzy, and the doctor told him to lie down and rest."
Yun Jin had a feeling something was wrong.
Hospital.
After failing to open the door for the eight hundredth time, Hua Yu pounded on the locked door and roared through gritted teeth, "You dog! You bastard!"
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