Wen Hua poked at the stir-fried lotus roots that Wen Jiaxuan had made with disdain, asking disapprovingly, “Why is it so sweet?”
Wen Jiaxuan didn’t react much, saying, “It’s sweet and sour.”
“We northerners don’t eat things this sweet,” Wen Hua said, looking for trouble as usual. “Going to the south and learning all sorts of random things.”
Wen Jiaxuan remained indifferent, saying, “Childish.”
Although Wen Hua complained about it, he still polished off the meal that Wen Jiaxuan had cooked. Wen Jiaxuan went to the sink to wash the dishes, while Wen Hua sat at the dining table, picking his teeth and asking, “So, did that guy surnamed Wu teach you how to cook?”
“Yeah,” Wen Jiaxuan casually replied.
“I don’t think his skills are that great, teaching you to this level,” Wen Hua continued to complain.
“Whether you eat it or not is up to you.”
Wen Hua cleared his throat and got down to business: “Anyway, I mean it. I absolutely won’t entrust this project to him.”
Wen Jiaxuan stopped his actions in frustration, forcefully turned off the tap, then threw the dishcloth into the sink with a loud splash. He turned to his dad and said, “Why are you so unreasonable?”
“This is what I call being reasonable,” Wen Hua threw a toothpick into the trash can, assuming a leader’s posture. “He actually wants to use you to take a shortcut. How could I entrust the project to such a person?”
“How many times do I have to say it? He doesn’t even know I’m your son.”
“Don’t tell me he won’t use your photo?” Wen Hua clenched his right fist, tapping the table with his knuckles. “He’s smart but ends up being too clever for his own good. I don’t think his brain works well.”
“Why can’t he use it?” Wen Jiaxuan refused to back down, adopting the confident attitude he had when he used to be a mischievous troublemaker at home. “I’m his boyfriend. If he doesn’t use my photo, whose will he use?”
“Talking about this makes me angry. How did you end up liking men? Learning from Bai Sijun?”
“What does Brother Bai have to do with anything? This is following my heart.”
“Your ‘following my heart’ my ass!”
The argument escalated with both of them exchanging heated words. In the end, Wen Jiaxuan didn’t bother washing the dishes, slammed the door, and returned to his bedroom.
He lay down on his single bed to calm his emotions. After a while, he regained his composure and started thinking about how to persuade his dad.
Being stubborn wouldn’t work. He couldn’t let his emotions control his brain as he did in the past. If he couldn’t smoothly resolve this matter, it would undoubtedly affect the development of Zeyou Travel.
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.
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…But it was so difficult.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had a proper conversation with Wen Hua. It seemed that whenever work was brought up, they only fought. Moreover, he always took advantage of being pampered at home and never took Wen Hua’s words seriously.
Accustomed to being arrogant, it was a bit uncomfortable for him to suddenly bow his head. But then again, for Wu Zehao, he had to learn to bow his head, or rather — learn to grow up.
Wen Jiaxuan took a deep breath, reluctantly exhaled it, then rolled off the bed and returned to the living room.
He had abruptly left the dishwashing halfway and went straight back to his room. When he returned, Wen Hua was busy cleaning up the mess he had left behind.
Wen Jiaxuan coughed awkwardly and took the dishcloth from Wen Hua, saying, “I’ll do it.”
Wen Hua seemed surprised that Wen Jiaxuan had come back. He looked at him with astonishment, then sighed softly, and sat back down at the dining table.
“Actually…”
“About that…”
They both spoke at the same time, then fell silent. Finally, it was Wen Jiaxuan who continued, “Actually, at first, I also wanted to take a shortcut. I went to Brother Bai, but he told me to trust Wu Zehao’s abilities, so I gave up. Wu Zehao has no idea about what I’m doing.”
“Oh, really?” Wen Hua replied somewhat awkwardly.
After a quarrel, as long as one party extended an olive branch, giving the other an out, things tended to become much more agreeable.
“If you must know, I’ve only taken the initiative to help him once, and that was to resolve the issue with RQ magazine,” Wen Jiaxuan said. As he spoke, he finished washing the bowl. He closed the tap and put the bowl away in the cupboard.
“RQ magazine?” Wen Hua paused. “The one in Japan that does makeup videos, you found them?”
“Yeah, I asked a classmate for help.” Wen Jiaxuan walked over, sat down in front of Wen Hua, and continued, “I’ve changed a lot in the past three months. Don’t keep treating me like a child. I’m also doing serious things.”
Whether Wen Jiaxuan had changed or not, Wen Hua couldn’t ignore. Even from the perspective of daily habits, Wen Jiaxuan had changed a lot.
“So, this… uh, boyfriend of yours, what kind of person is he?” Wen Hua asked.
His question indicated that, for the time being, he accepted Wen Jiaxuan’s relationship with Wu Zehao. In the beginning, Wen Jiaxuan wasn’t too worried about this because Wen Hua wasn’t a rigid traditionalist. When Bai Sijun publicly came out, Wen Hua even expressed support.
“He’s very principled and doesn’t like others disrupting his plans,” Wen Jiaxuan said, smiling. “When I first met him, he tried to send me away several times.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Hua frowned, seemingly disapproving of Wu Zehao’s attitude toward his son.
“But now, looking back, if it were me, I wouldn’t want an inexperienced kid getting in the way all the time,” Wen Jiaxuan continued.
Wen Hua raised an eyebrow and said, “You admit that you’re inexperienced?”
“Yeah, I am a bit inexperienced.” Wen Jiaxuan recalled some of the mischievous things he had done. Thinking about Wu Zehao’s kindness towards him, a sense of happiness involuntarily appeared in his eyes. However, he quickly regained his focus and continued, “He’s just like you, a workaholic. He strives for excellence in his work, and you can see that in the quality of his magazine.”
Wen Hua nodded somewhat awkwardly. “His magazine is indeed well done.”
“And he’s very thoughtful. If it weren’t for him, I might still not have come to terms with Mom’s situation,” Wen Jiaxuan sighed softly.
“You…” Wen Hua suddenly became nervous, cautiously asking, “What does that mean?”
“He said that sticking to one’s pursuit often comes with sacrifices. Now I understand that, after leaving the campus, life presents countless choices, and making decisions is not an easy task. You, back then… should also have had a tough time,” Wen Jiaxuan rarely spoke his mind to Wen Hua, and talking about it now made him feel a bit embarrassed. However, Wen Hua seemed to be taking it in, his expression visibly softening, and his eyes even showed a hint of redness.
“Did he teach you this?” Wen Hua asked.
“Yeah,” Wen Jiaxuan nodded.
Wen Hua’s adam’s apple moved a few times. It seemed like he had a lot to say, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
“I understand…” Wen Hua said, “I’ll think more about the magazine matter.”
Wen Jiaxuan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that, among adults, problems were indeed better resolved through dialogue. Being stubborn and relying solely on anger wouldn’t work at all.
After the conversation, Wen Jiaxuan returned to his bedroom to continue studying. When he got tired, he lay on his bed, messaging Wu Zehao for a kiss and a hug. However, Wu Zehao didn’t reply today, and Wen Jiaxuan was a bit itchy to video call him. Still, he hesitated, afraid that his boss would scold him for not focusing on his exam preparation, so he resisted the urge.
Unconsciously, Wen Jiaxuan’s awareness grew heavier. The comfortable little bed felt like a swamp, trapping him once he lay down. Without much struggle, he casually pulled the blanket over himself and drifted off to sleep.
Wen Jiaxuan slept soundly, dreaming of Wu Zehao roasting a small chicken, placing it neatly in a plate, and even kissing the chicken’s butt.
Such a strange preference.
After some time passed, Wen Jiaxuan was awakened by a series of calls.
“Jiajia?”
“Um…” Wen Jiaxuan lifted the blanket and rubbed his eyes with his hand.
“It’s time for dinner.”
“Okay…” Wen Jiaxuan replied drowsily.
The voice that woke him up sounded young and familiar. Wen Jiaxuan rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit confused.
Did his brother come over?
No, wait, his brother and sister-in-law were on a road trip.
It must be his dad; he probably misheard.
Without thinking too much, Wen Jiaxuan stretched lazily and headed towards the dining room.
“Dad, have you considered it? Does my wife meet your standards?”
As Wen Jiaxuan entered the dining room, he saw Wen Hua standing by the table serving food. Glancing at the table, he noticed that it was filled with his favorite dishes. For a moment, he felt a bit disoriented, almost thinking he had traveled back to H City.
“I didn’t know you could make oil-braised prawns?” Wen Jiaxuan pulled out a chair and sat down, looking eager to eat. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have bothered cooking lunch.”
“This wasn’t made by me,” Wen Hua served two bowls of rice and picked up an empty bowl for the third serving. “I can’t cook these dishes.”
“Then who came over?” Wen Jiaxuan asked, puzzled.
They did have quite a few relatives, and they would often visit each other during the Chinese New Year. However, he couldn’t recall any relatives visiting during the National Day holiday.
“It was made by your wife,” Wen Hua arranged the chopsticks and then sat down.
“My wife?” Wen Jiaxuan was momentarily stunned, thinking that his wife was in H City.
“When you asked me how I felt about him,” Wen Hua paused, “I think he’s quite good. He’s much better at cooking than you.”
Wen Jiaxuan remained frozen in place. Meanwhile, the sound of running water came from the bathroom, and the next second, someone who shouldn’t be there walked out.
“Chief Wen, I can’t be considered his wife,” Wu Zehao calmly took a seat as if he were in his own home, sitting directly across from Wen Jiaxuan. “To be precise, your son is my wife.”
Wu Zhehao is here and seeing the father-in-law!! 😆
Thanks for the chapter. Very sweet moment between father and son for them both adjust to their new dynamic (adult to adult).
Omg surprise surprise! 😍