Chapter 19
Shen Maoyuan didn't say anything, just smiled with an ambiguous meaning.
After hearing his laughter a few times, Chenliuchi immediately understood.
"Who arranged this? Who agreed to it?" He was a little annoyed. "There's a traitor among us!"
"Where did this traitor come from?" Shen Maoyuan was in a good mood, playing tricks on his brother. "Ms. Zhang's order, this must be called the will of heaven."
Chen Liu was troubled and confused: "Why did Mom suddenly have such thoughts? Besides, there's still you who's still unaccounted for. Why would you bypass you and come straight to me?"
Shen Maoyuan paused slightly after hearing this. Although the half-second pause was very small, Chen Liuchi still noticed it keenly and screamed immediately: "Shen Maoyuan! There's something wrong with you! There's something wrong with you! You are a traitor!"
"What the hell are you yelling about?"
Shen Maoyuan's ears hurt from the noise, and he became impatient and said, "Anyway, I'm going home for dinner tonight. Bye."
The phone was hung up, and Chenliuchi opened and closed his mouth to the air, just like a cat head that smacked its lips and cursed in secret.
"What's wrong?"
Cen Zhao wasn't one to listen to him on the phone, so he went to the balcony. He could only vaguely hear Chen Liuchi's agitated tone. He leaned over to look and asked, "Is there something going on at the company?"
Chen Liuchi looked at Cen Zhao's face and was a little hesitant for a moment: given his current relationship with Cen Zhao, it would be best not to hide the fact that his parents had arranged a blind date for him. After all, according to Murphy's Law, Cen Zhao would know what he should know sooner or later. It would be better for him to tell the truth early and express his sincerity to each other openly.
But it was indeed a bit difficult to talk about it, especially before he had dealt with the family pressure. Talking about these things seemed to be no different from telling Cen Zhao about the uncertainty of this relationship.
The air suddenly became quiet for a short time. Cen Zhao suppressed his smile slightly and stared at the sinking pool without moving his eyes, but his body was unconsciously tense.
Originally he was not too worried and just regarded it as an ordinary conversation between brothers, but Chen Liuchi's embarrassed expression revealed more information, making it impossible for him not to care.
"What happened?"
Cen Zhao's brows knitted together slightly. He tried to relax, but it seemed to backfire. "Is there something going on at home? Or...does it have anything to do with me?"
Chen Liuchi was stunned for a moment, and then realized that silence at this moment was far more disturbing than being straightforward.
"No, it's not you, it's me."
Chen Liuchi explained, raised his hand to rub Cen Zhao's brow, and rubbed until the small piece of skin became smooth and red, then let Cen Zhao hold his wrist.
"Alright, if you keep rubbing it, the skin will fall off." Cen Zhao squeezed Chen Liuchi's hand and looked down at him. "What's your problem?"
Chen Liuchi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. After a moment, he looked up at Cen Zhao and said, "I may not be able to introduce you to my family for the time being."
"My dad doesn't know I like men, and my mom might have some suspicions, but she doesn't agree. So, she arranged a date with a girl for me tonight without my knowledge."
Chen Liuchi paid close attention to Cen Zhao's expression. He couldn't miss any slight change on his face. "But don't worry, I won't go. I will also explain it to my parents--"
"Don't worry, you can take your time."
Cen Zhao stopped Chen Liuchi from making an anxious promise. His expression visibly relaxed. With a red spot between his eyebrows, he lowered his head and touched his forehead with Shen Liuchi's. He said to him in a serious tone, "It's not easy to accept this. Just like when we first recognized our own sexual orientation, your parents will also need some time and a long psychological journey."
"So I'm not in a hurry, Chenliuchi. I understand your worries. I understand that you want to be like me and introduce me to your family openly. I understand everything."
I understand.
These four words fell into Shen Liuchi's ears, and they were more effective than any comfort.
Chen Liuchi took a deep breath, feeling Cen Zhao's voice and breathing enter his nose and lungs along with the air, turning into something tangible that hit his heart gently. The force was not strong, but the mark was obvious, so that he could see it no matter where and when he looked back.
"I'll be quick."
Chen Liuchi buried himself in Cen Zhao's arms, his voice a little muffled: "I won't let you suffer any injustice."
Cen Zhao nodded softly. Chen Liuchi couldn't see it, but he could feel that his tone was light and the corners of his mouth were raised in pleasure.
"You really like me, so I never feel wronged."
The two of them chatted back and forth, each of them making the other happy. Chen Liuchi pinched Cen Zhao's chin and narrowed his eyes slightly: "I feel like you are particularly good at talking."
Cen Zhao didn't move even when he pinched her, her tone sounding innocent: "I just want to make my boyfriend happy."
Chen Liuchi was quite satisfied with this answer. He curled his fingers and scratched Cen Zhao's chin twice: "My boyfriend is very happy now."
Upon hearing this, Cen Zhao turned his head and leaned closer, "Then I want a reward, okay?"
"Okay." Chen Liuchi said, and with a little force from his fingers, he turned his face back. He tilted his head back and kissed Cen Zhao on the lips. After the kiss, he teased him, "You only want to kiss the cheek. So innocent."
Cen Zhao did not refute but just did it for him to see. He lowered his head and chased after her, biting and kissing her until she begged for mercy in the sinking pool.
In the afternoon, Chen Liuchi had to go back to Yinhe to punch in for work. He also had to go back to the Shen family in the evening to turn down the blind date his parents had arranged. He thought it would be difficult for him to come back, so before leaving, he specifically told Cen Zhao, "I've ordered dinner and it will be delivered before six o'clock. You don't have to cook it yourself. Watch your arms."
"knew."
Cen Zhao leaned against the door and watched him change his shoes. Suddenly he smiled and said, "I feel like a wife who sends her husband to work."
Chen Liuchi glanced at him, taking advantage of the fact that he was weakened by the lack of a good arm, and pinched his chin: "I think you are an idiot who always hurts yourself."
Cen Zhao did not refute. He was injured this time because of his carelessness and failure to pay attention to the road conditions. It was not unfair for him to be called an idiot.
"I'm leaving."
After Shenliuchi finished rubbing the person, he pulled him over for a kiss: "If nothing unexpected happens, we'll see each other tomorrow."
Cen Zhao straightened up slightly, held Chen Liuchi's wrist, and advised him gently, "Talk to your parents properly. You don't have to talk about me for now."
Chen Liuchi knew what was going on, but he wasn't a calm and thoughtful person, and there were times when he'd blurt out his feelings in a moment of panic. Hearing Cen Zhao's words, he couldn't guarantee anything, so he could only vaguely say, "I understand."
Seeing him like this, Cen Zhao knew that this man himself was also confused. However, after all, this was Chen Liuchi's family affair, and he was not qualified to interfere. So he just smiled helplessly and raised his hand to rub Chen Liuchi's head: "Drive carefully. No matter what happens tonight, can you send me a message?"
Chen Liuchi hummed, and flirted with him for a few more seconds before leaving the house.
It was almost half past two when we arrived at Yinhe. The Sink Dog sneaked into the office. Fortunately, everyone was busy and no one noticed him for a while.
Chen Liuchi let out a breath, feeling a bit puzzled. He tilted his head and whimpered at the team leader, pointing around and saying, "What's going on? Are you so busy?"
The team leader shook his head and said, "We're not busy. We're just here to admire the master's work."
Chen Liuchi was puzzled: "Boss?"
The team leader asked him to look at the group file: "Didn't we get a new artist a while ago? The feedback on the plot cards written by the main writer recently has been very good. Mr. Shen is also very satisfied. He just came to share with us his portfolio of works from his university years."
The team leader spoke with deep emotion, muttering to himself that every generation has its own talented people, and that the waves behind push forward the waves ahead. However, Chen Liuchi's mind was not on that famous painter at all. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, "Boss Shen was here this afternoon?"
"Yeah." The team leader shook the coffee beside him, "He also ordered afternoon tea for us."
Chen Liuchi thought to himself that this was not good. Wouldn’t he be caught by Shen Maoyuan again for slacking off?
However, surprisingly, although Shen Maoyuan was caught for being absent-minded, he did not show any weirdness the whole afternoon. It was not until he was about to get off work that he sent a message to Chen Liuchi, asking them to go home for dinner together in the evening.
Chen Liuchi thought that maybe he was planning some trick or he would face a tough battle in the evening. Shen Maoyuan's friendly attitude this time was not like that of a skinning capitalist.
With doubts in his mind, Chen Liuchi lingered at his workstation for another hour or so. Finally, it was time to get off work. He clocked out early and went to the parking lot to wait for someone. He also sent a message to Cen Zhao to urge him to eat dinner.
He had just received the dinner picture sent by Cen Zhao when the elevator in front of him made a sound, and it was the special elevator coming down.
Chen Liuchi subconsciously raised his eyes, but the first figure he saw was not Shen Maoyuan.
"Why are you here?"
Chen Liuchi was startled, and his gaze fell on the person behind him - Shen Maoyuan came out with a flushed face and the buttons on his collar loose.
“I’ll go…”
Chen Liuchi now completely understood how Chen Du felt when he saw him and Cen Zhao hanging out together. He gasped in shock, "Shen Maoyuan, I told you there was something wrong with you! What's going on between you two?!"
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