Chen Ju knew that Li Qing always felt like he would be deceived. Is he really that stupid?
Li Qing, seeing no one was talking on the other end of the phone, knew that Chen Ju was unhappy. Chen Ju would become silent when he was upset. He wasn’t good at arguing and preferred to sulk.
“Okay, it’s my fault. I apologize. You focus on your work, haha,” Li Qing laughed dryly and changed the subject. “By the way, the manager is planning something for the employees’ birthdays this month. I saw your name. Are you free tomorrow? I’ll buy you a drink.”
Click, the sound of the door opening sounded. Chen Ju glanced at the door. It was Jiang Zhou who had returned. Because he didn’t want Li Qing to know about his relationship with Jiang Zhou, he quickly said: “Sure, I’ve got something here, so I’ll hang up.”
After saying that, he hung up the phone. When he raised his head, Jiang Zhou was already looking in his direction.
“Who?” Jiang Zhou hung his coat on the rack and walked over.
Chen Ju answered truthfully: “It’s Qing Ge. He, he asked me something.”
Jiang Zhou sat on the sofa, gesturing with his finger: “Come here.”
“Oh.” Chen Ju walked over, and as soon as he stood firm, his wrist was grabbed. He found himself sitting on Jiang Zhou’s lap, with Jiang Zhou embracing him from behind. Jiang Zhou’s chin rested on Chen Ju’s head, like he was hugging a pillow.
Although he had been making pillows for several days, Chen Ju was still not used to it. He tensed up every time, not daring to move.
Ever since he was hospitalized, Jiang Zhou had developed the habit of holding him while sleeping and resting. Chen Ju thought that it might be due to inconveniences in the hospital. Now that they were back, it was time for him to fulfill his responsibilities. He should not just accept Jiang Zhou’s money and care without giving anything in return.
“What did he call to say?” Jiang Zhou’s low voice sounded from above his head. He grabbed Chen Ju’s hand and kneaded it into his palm. The man’s palm was a whole size smaller than his, resembling that of a child.
Chen Ju’s hand felt itchy from being pinched, but he dared not pull it back. Enduring the itching, he whispered: “No, it’s nothing. It’s just that tomorrow is my birthday, and Qing Ge invited me for a drink.”
Jiang Zhou paused in his movements, remained silent for a few seconds, and said, “Is your birthday tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Chen Ju replied nonchalantly. “I would have forgotten even if Brother Qing hadn’t mentioned it.”
In the past two years, he deliberately avoided thinking about the arrival of this day. For him, birthdays were a time for the family to get together. Over time, he really couldn’t remember it. Sometimes it would take several days for him to recall them, and those beautiful moments were sealed in the depths of his memory.
“Can I go out for a bit tomorrow?” Chen Ju raised his head and looked at Jiang Zhou with sincere eyes. “Just for a while. I’ll be back soon.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Jiang Zhou remained silent and did not answer. There was no sign of anger or anything on his face. Chen Ju pursed his lips, lowered his head, and said no more.
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Jiang Zhou watched the man who was arranging the sofa cushions after he came back, frowned and said, “What are you doing? If you’re bored, just watch TV.”
“TV?” After hearing these two words, Chen Ju stopped and raised his head, with undisguised joy in his eyes. “Can I really watch it?”
“I told you earlier, you can watch it if you want,” Jiang Zhou said. During this period, he always returned home very late and thought that the man would watch television by himself. He didn’t expect that he hadn’t even turned it on.
“Really?” Chen Ju’s lips curled up, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t, um, notice. Can I watch now?”
“Yeah.” Just a TV, and he could be so happy about it. If it were something else… Jiang Zhou glanced to the side, seeing the man staring at the remote control seriously.
Chen Ju was fiddling with the remote control, which had many buttons. He was utterly confused, not knowing which button to press to return to the television interface. Suddenly, a slender finger pressed a button, and immediately, a lively scene appeared on the blue screen.
“Strawberry or chocolate?” Jiang Zhou leaned sideways, very close, and uttered a strangely ambiguous statement with an expressionless face.
“Strawberry,” Chen Ju replied subconsciously, “Chocolate is fine too.”
He liked both, but what did Jiang Zhou mean?
“I’ll take a shower after a while. I’m going to bed after dinner.” Jiang Zhou stood up and walked towards the dining table where Auntie had prepared the meal.
Showering, sleeping… these two words were linked together, and Chen Ju felt a throbbing pain in his stomach again. Memories of those painful and shameful moments resurfaced. Chen Ju tightened his grip on the remote control in his hand. The programs on TV became less attractive.
Jiang Zhou has helped him so much, paid his medical expenses, found him a new job, and even hired a nutritionist to formulate a diet for him. Now, they ate separately, and all Chen Ju could do was accept it.
Thinking of this, Chen Ju took out his mobile phone, squatted between the coffee table and the sofa, and secretly entered in the search box: What should I do if it hurts too much when having sex with a man?
Upon pressing the search button, a large pile of stuff popped up, filling the page, which made Chen Ju’s face turn red and his neck thicken. It turned out that one had to do something first—make that kind of preparation. That’s why those few times it hurt; it was because there wasn’t adequate preparation.
Chen Ju cautiously poked his head out and glanced in Jiang Zhou’s direction. The man was still eating, so he had some time. If he went to take a shower and prepared now, it should be fine.
Jiang Zhou chewed the food in his mouth, his eyes discreetly glancing over at Chen Ju on the sofa. The man sneakily peeked his head out two or three times, looking in this direction, thinking that he hadn’t noticed. He really was a fool.
After a while, the sound of the TV disappeared, and the room became quiet. Jiang Zhou looked over, only to see Chen Ju holding his pajamas, running towards the bathroom with a red face. Jiang Zhou frowned, and a hint of puzzlement appeared in his eyes.
Chen Ju spent forty minutes in the bathroom before he came out. His whole body was steaming from the inside out, and his skin was flushed like boiled shrimp.
As soon as he came out, he saw Jiang Zhou standing at the door of the bedroom with his arms folded. A look of displeasure flashed on his face, and he frowned: “What are you doing, taking so long to shower?”
Chen Ju’s face turned even reder, feeling uncomfortable in that particular area. He lowered his head and said awkwardly: “N- nothing, I didn’t do anything. Harry up and go wash yourself.”
After saying that, he ran past Jiang Zhou and entered the bedroom.
Sitting on the soft bed, Chen Ju clenched the hem of his clothes tightly, feeling very nervous. According to the instructions on the Internet, with proper preparation, it shouldn’t be painful, right?
After a short while, Jiang Zhou came out. He had changed into his pajamas and walked in while drying his hair. Upon seeing Chen Ju still wearing his bathrobe, sitting upright and proper, he paused for a moment and said, “Aren’t you going to change your clothes? Do you want to catch a cold?”
“Ah?” Chen Ju looked at Jiang Zhou blankly, with a stupid look on his face.
Jiang Zhou walked to the wardrobe, took a set of pajamas and threw it into Chen Ju’s arms, saying, “Change your clothes, I don’t want to take you to the hospital again.”
“Yes, I’m sorry.” Chen Ju quickly put on his pajamas, climbed onto the bed, got under the quilt, and waited for Jiang Zhou to dry his hair.
Jiang Zhou turned off the light, leaving only a small desk lamp. He lifted up the quilt, lay next to Chen Ju, and pulled him into his arms, just like in the hospital.
Chen Ju’s heart was pounding. He was nervously waiting for Jiang Zhou’s next move. This time he must try his best to please Jiang Zhou, but after a while, Jiang Zhou did not continue.
He raised his head in confusion, and unexpectedly met Jiang Zhou’s eyes, which were looking at him.
Tick-tock, the alarm clock in the living room chimed the hour, signaling midnight.
“Birthday……”
“Not doing it?”
The two spoke at the same time, and the room fell into brief silence. After a moment, Jiang Zhou’s expression turned cold, and he narrowed his eyes: “Chen Ju, what do you mean?”
Chen Ju clenched the sheets tightly, his cheeks burning. He endured the shame, and whispered: “Aren’t you going to do that, that thing? I’ve already done it, prepared…”
The next moment, Jiang Zhou flipped over, pinning Chen Ju beneath him. His eyes looked as if they could devour him, and he said in a deep voice, “Prepared? Chen Ju, how many men have you been with to even know about this?”
“No, I haven’t been with anyone else; I’ve only been with you,” Chen Ju looked timidly at Jiang Zhou, his fingers nervously clutching Jiang Zhou’s sleeve. “The preparation, I learned it from the internet.”
Jiang Zhou paused, and the surging emotions in his eyes dissipated in an instant. He stared at Chen Ju for a while, and then said, “Is this your first time?”
Chen Ju’s cheeks turned red and he looked away, not daring to meet Jiang Zhou’s eyes. The man’s gaze made him feel extremely embarrassed.
“Yeah.” The voice was low and inaudible. So Jiang Zhou wouldn’t look down on him, right? So grown up yet with no experience at all, Chen Ju became anxious at this thought. He lifted his eyes and looked at Jiang Zhou. “But I will learn.”
Jiang Zhou looked at Chen Ju without saying anything. Suddenly, he lay back, pulling Chen Ju back into his embrace.
Chen Ju blinked, uncertain of Jiang Zhou’s intentions. He waited for a while and said weakly: “Are we not… doing it anymore?”
“Sleep.” Jiang Zhou replied, his voice carrying a subtle undertone of anger. The strength in his hands tightened, and Chen Ju pressed his entire body against Jiang Zhou’s chest, turning once again into a living pillow.
Once Chen Ju was certain that Jiang Zhou wouldn’t proceed, he finally relaxed. Although he had mentally prepared himself, the prospect of actually doing it still scared him. His previous experiences had cast a shadow over this matter, leading him always to perceive it as something very painful.
Thinking that he didn’t have to do anything anymore, Chen Ju’s energy that had been tense all night finally relaxed. Fatigue and sleepiness swept over him, and as his eyelids became heavier, he eventually fell asleep.
Chen Ju had a rare sweet dream that night. In the dream, he opened the door to his home, finding his father and mother sitting at the dining table, waiting for him. The table was filled with prepared dishes, all of which he liked to eat. He was happy when Jiang Zhou came out of the kitchen, holding a chocolate cake decorated with strawberries in his hand.
“Happy birthday to you~Happy birthday to you~”
Everyone sang the birthday song with blessings, and Chen Ju’s eyes became warm. When he woke up, the corners of his eyes were still moist.
Thank you for reading 🙇
Regretting it now hmm?
Thank you for the chapter ☺️
Welcome back, lol i thought it was dropped so i went mtl-ed it 💀
Where did you read it?
Poor baby 😭 i wanna see him live happily so bad
Thank you for the update!
Omg my babyyy ahhh😭😭 Jiang Zhou you motherfxxker you traumatized him and now you pretend to care?????? Bastard
Thank you so much for the update I wish you the best health 🩷🩷🩷
Yay… Great to see this back
Ahhh…! So excited to have another chapter!
Thanks for your hard work. (人 •͈ᴗ•͈)
i’m not crying, not me. TxT also, welcome back! Thank you for your hard work!
I wish I could stab the ml
Ohh that feeling of having a sweet dream, then waking up and reality hits you hard in the face🙂👍
IT’S OK BABY CHEN JU, I’LL MAKE YOUR DRAMA COME TRUE 😤🫴✨✨✨