Chapter 95 – ChuLai

Six years ago, when Wei Lai woke up from surgery, he found himself transferred to a private hospital invested in by Wei Gangzheng.

His phone was confiscated, and three nurses were constantly by his side—more like surveillance than care.

At that time, Wei Lai was too weak. He ate and drank as needed, endured for a month, and once he recovered enough to be discharged, he was locked up at home.

Wei Gangzheng wanted him to return home and inherit the family business.

Wei Lai, however, insisted on going back to Chengdu to be Chu Yin’s manager.

The two were at a stalemate until one night, when Wei Lai saw news about Chu Yin on TV. To this day, Wei Lai still remembers the headline vividly: Openly Comes Out—Superstar Chu Yin Faces Massive Breach Penalty, Currently Missing.

Wei Lai had always thought Chu Yin was doing fine—maybe missing him, maybe angry that his calls weren’t going through—but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Chu Yin’s situation would be like this.

Wei Lai put down the remote, picked up a golf club, and said to Wei Gangzheng, “I’m going back.”

Wei Gangzheng: “Oh, you’ve grown a spine? Daring to hit someone now?”

“When I was in elementary school and got extorted by older bullies, I came home and told you, and you called me a sissy. Later, you taught me self-defense by beating me half to death, but I still learned a thing or two.” Wei Lai swung the club. “Today, if I can’t fight my way out, I’d rather die at home.”

Wei Gangzheng, furious, laughed coldly. “What the hell are you after?! You’ve been away from home for years, living like a stray dog, and now you refuse to come back and work with me! On New Year’s Eve, no less—you’d rather go back and be some celebrity’s lapdog! How much is your monthly salary?! I’ll pay you a hundred times that!”

“It’s not about the money.”

Wei Lai smiled, took a deep breath, and with the most solemn tone he could muster, slowly said, “It’s because, in my heart, there’s a male celebrity. He’s wonderful—he shines. I want to go back and spend the rest of my life with him.”

“I hope you can understand me.”

Wei Gangzheng: “…You… disappoint me so much. How could you be like this… What’s the difference between you and those disgusting, perverted sissies?”

“I’m sorry.” Wei Lai stood straight, his voice trembling. “I’ve never been the perfect son you wanted. But this is who I am. I’ve always hoped you’d understand me, even just a little, but all you do is call me a sissy.”

Wei Gangzheng, completely disappointed, opened the front door. “If you walk out today, don’t ever step foot in this house again!”

Wei Lai: “…I never had a home to begin with. No—this house never had me in it.”

Chu Yin slept until nightfall.

Nuzzling against Wei Lai’s leg, he whined and burrowed his head into Wei Lai’s clothes, poking out from the collar to peck his chin. “What time is it?”

Wei Lai snapped out of his daze, hugged Chu Yin tightly, and buried his face in Chu Yin’s neck, biting it lightly. The contact steadied him. “No idea. Hungry?”

Chu Yin shrank his neck and looked out the window. “It’s dark?”

Wei Lai: “Probably dinnertime already.”

Yan Xueni had prepared a lavish spread and insisted Wei Lai and Chu Yin stay for dinner.

Wei Lai, cursed with “holidays always turning into chaos,” tried to decline repeatedly and was already at the door when Wei Gangzheng walked in carrying a bucket of fish.

Wei Gangzheng had gone fishing early in the morning, and Yan Xueni had deliberately not told him Wei Lai was coming. His eye twitched, and the blood pressure monitor on his wrist beeped incessantly.

Wei Gangzheng: “Why are you back? Didn’t you swear you’d never set foot in this house again?”

Wei Lai chuckled and was about to leave with Chu Yin when Yan Xueni suddenly roared, “WEI GANGZHENG!!!”

Chu Yin startled and clung to Wei Lai’s arm.

Wei Gangzheng’s eyebrow twitched. “You’re yelling at me?”

Yan Xueni gave him an out. “Take the fish to the kitchen.”

Wei Gangzheng snorted heavily and stomped into the kitchen, with Yan Xueni following close behind.

The kitchen should’ve had decent soundproofing, but it couldn’t withstand the sheer volume of Yan Xueni and Wei Gangzheng’s voices.

Wei Gangzheng: “I invited Old Zhao for dinner tonight.”

Yan Xueni: “So? Are we short a pair of chopsticks?”

Wei Gangzheng: “You’re keeping them for dinner? Fine, Old Zhao and I will eat out.”

“WEI GANGZHENG!!!”

Wei Gangzheng: “Yelling again? Yan Xueni, what happened to the gentle woman you used to be?!”

Yan Xueni fired back like a machine gun: “Your stubbornness wore it all away! Wei Gangzheng, I went through all this trouble to trick Wei Lai into coming back—and it’s all because of you! Don’t think I don’t know—last New Year’s Eve, you sat at the table waiting until midnight. When Wei Lai didn’t come home, I saw you sneak into his room to look at his photos! And you even made a fake ‘macho man’ account to add him on WeChat! When you couldn’t see his posts before bed, you’d stalk his Weibo!”

Wei Lai: “…”

Chu Yin tilted his head in shock. “Which macho man?”

Wei Lai: “…No idea.”

Chu Yin: “Your dad… is something else.”

Wei Lai: “…”

Wei Gangzheng was about to lose it. “Nonsense! Pure fabrication! Yan Xueni, just because you’re my wife doesn’t mean you can spout lies! Shut up! Wait—you went through my phone?!”

Yan Xueni retorted shamelessly, “So what if I did? I thought you were cheating on me! Why can’t you and your son just talk properly?”

Wei Gangzheng: “Wei Lai is an unfilial son. I’d rather never have had him!”

Yan Xueni: “Don’t flatter yourself—Wei Lai probably never wanted you as a father either!”

Wei Gangzheng was livid, and his watch beeped furiously in protest: Beep beep beep beep beep!!!

Yan Xueni softened her tone. “Old Wei, think about it—what’s between you and Wei Lai that can’t be talked out? If we’re talking about apologies, locking him up at home—was that fair?”

Wei Gangzheng grumbled, “I did it for his own good! What’s wrong with coming home and living comfortably? And then he goes and becomes a damn homosexual—no kids in old age, just a lifetime of STDs! Look, he even got hemorrhoids! People will point fingers at him forever!”

Yan Xueni fell silent for a moment. “Homosexual, homosexual—are Wei Lai and Chu Yin not happy now? You and I got together late in life—do you know how many people point fingers at me?”

Wei Gangzheng: “Bullshit! Plenty of people envy me!”

Yan Xueni suddenly exploded, her voice cracking with tears. “That’s because you’re a man! Rich, and old! Wei Gangzheng, everywhere I go, people whisper behind my back—calling me a mistress, a gold-digger, shameless. No one dares say it to your face, but those little bitches laugh at me right in front of me!!! I understand Wei Lai perfectly. What did we do wrong to deserve this? And you—you never try to understand, just go fishing all day. I want a divorce!!! Waaah…”

Wei Gangzheng panicked and immediately softened, awkwardly trying to comfort her. “No divorce… Where would I find another wife as beautiful and kind as you… Xueni, calm down…”

The rest of their conversation was too muffled to make out—presumably Wei Gangzheng placating his wife.

Ten minutes later, they came out of the kitchen. Yan Xueni’s eyes were slightly red, but she was smiling and radiant as ever. Wei Gangzheng, meanwhile, looked like a defeated goat with its mouth sewn shut. He slumped onto a chair and drank in silence.

Soon, Old Zhao arrived, blissfully unaware of the Wei family’s drama. He asked which of the two—Chu Yin or Wei Lai—was Wei Gangzheng’s son.

Wei Gangzheng didn’t answer, taking another swig of liquor.

Wei Lai stayed silent too—after all, whether Wei Gangzheng acknowledged him was up in the air, and saying anything would just make him look foolish.

Chu Yin thought for a moment and said, “I’m the godson.”

The term “godson” sounded suspiciously like “fuck son.” Wei Gangzheng’s watch started beeping again until Yan Xueni kicked him, forcing him to grunt in reluctant acknowledgment.

Old Zhao laughed heartily, congratulating Wei Gangzheng on his good fortune.

The New Year’s Eve dinner, overall, wasn’t as chaotic as it could’ve been. Wei Gangzheng drank silently the whole time. Wei Gui received many red envelopes and happily wolfed down three bowls of rice before dragging Chu Yin off to build Legos. Old Zhao and Wei Lai drank each other under the table, passing out on the couch. Yan Xueni, finally having achieved her dream of a full family reunion dinner, contentedly went to wash the dishes.

At the table, only Wei Lai and Wei Gangzheng remained, both extremely drunk but still glaring at each other—as if whoever passed out first would lose.

Wei Gangzheng muttered, “This is the first time I’ve had a drink with you. I always imagined we’d share a drink when you came of age… but then your mom and I divorced. Kid, your drinking’s pretty manly.”

Wei Lai: “I am a man… Whoever passes out first isn’t.”

Chu Yin and Wei Gui had been building Legos together until Yan Xueni insisted on giving Chu Yin a red envelope, scaring him so much he dashed out to find Wei Lai.

Just in time to see Wei Gangzheng raise his glass to Wei Lai. Their cups clinked crisply.

Wei Lai took a sip and suddenly laughed. “Which ‘macho man’ on my WeChat is your alt account?”

Wei Gangzheng downed his drink and slammed the cup on the table with gusto. “Qingdao Old Gang!”

Wei Lai: “…”

Wei Lai found the ID and instantly blocked it.

Wei Gangzheng: “…”

Wei Lai: “Add me with your real, old-man account.”

Wei Gangzheng fumbled for his phone but, before he could unlock it, finally succumbed to the alcohol. He face-planted onto the table, snoring thunderously. Wei Lai laughed, swayed to his feet, and stumbled—only to be caught firmly by Chu Yin.

Chu Yin carried Wei Lai back to his room. Wei Lai was too drunk and limp for any New Year’s Eve “fireworks.”

Chu Yin poked Wei Lai’s cheek. “Madam Wei, is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”

Wei Lai, still dazed from drinking, blinked blankly. “Huh?”

Chu Yin: “A while back, you kept going out. That time I thought you were cheating—what were you really doing?”

Wei Lai hugged Chu Yin, expertly stroked 18 Centimeters-kun, and peacefully passed out.

The next day, on their way back to Chengdu, Chu Yin asked again.

Wei Lai: “Just handling some work stuff.”

Chu Yin bristled. “Every time you say that, you’re definitely lying! Just like how you hid the fact that your dad locked you up!”

Chu Yin remembered the year Wei Lai returned—wearing a hat like he’d just come back from a trip.

Chu Yin felt like a stray cat Wei Lai had picked up. He’d been fine on his own, but Wei Lai gave him a warm home and delicious treats until he could no longer fend for himself. Then, capriciously, Wei Lai abandoned him, leaving him alone, waiting hopelessly for someone who might never return.

When Chu Yin first saw Wei Lai again, he swung a punch at him. Wei Lai didn’t dodge, taking the hit squarely.

But it was Chu Yin who cried.

After Wei Lai left, Chu Yin hadn’t shed a single tear—no matter how scared, anxious, or heartbroken he was. But all his defenses crumbled the moment he saw Wei Lai again.

Huddled by a space heater, tears streaming down his face, Chu Yin hurled anything within reach at Wei Lai. After getting kicked several times, Wei Lai finally managed to hold him.

“It’s okay… it’s okay… I’m back… I’ll never leave again…”

Chu Yin trembled as he cried. “You lied… Waaah… I don’t want you anymore… Go away…”

During the struggle, Chu Yin knocked off Wei Lai’s hat. The moment his hand touched Wei Lai’s head, he jerked back as if electrocuted.

Wei Lai’s head was wrapped in bandages, his hair shaved almost completely off.

Chu Yin stared blankly. “…Where’s your purple hair?”

Wei Lai lied, saying he’d been injured while helping someone and lost his phone, which was why he’d been unreachable for so long.

Chu Yin believed him—he always believed everything Wei Lai told him, no matter how absurd. He even spared some tears for Wei Lai. “You… how could you be so unlucky… Does it hurt?”

Wei Lai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The only way he could express his love was by holding Chu Yin tighter.

Chu Yin refused to let Wei Lai hug him and pulled out a bank card from somewhere. “Wei Lai… I’m done for. This time, I’ve hit rock bottom. The PIN is your birthday. Go, just go!”

Wei Lai’s heart ached so much he even proved his devotion by topping for love that very night.

In the years that followed, through ups and downs, the two stayed together.

But that didn’t mean they never fought.

Convinced Wei Lai was hiding something, Chu Yin angrily made himself a bottle of milk, lay in bed, and noisily sucked on it.

Wei Lai came out of the shower and was about to lie down when Chu Yin yanked his pillow away.

Wei Lai flopped onto empty air. “What’s wrong?”

Chu Yin: “You’re definitely hiding something. If you won’t tell me, you’re not sleeping here.”

Wei Lai smiled. “You really want to know?”

Chu Yin thought he’d have to throw a tantrum for a while before Madam Wei would cave. He hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Suspicious, he asked, “You’ll tell me?”

“I was going to wait for an auspicious day, but today works too.”

Wei Lai got up, pulled a small brown booklet from his bag, and handed it to Chu Yin with his signature slutty smirk. “Big Crybaby, call me Daddy.”

After pulling many strings, Wei Lai had finally managed to transfer Chu Yin’s household registration to his own. From today onward, Chu Yin could legally call him Daddy.

Chu Yin flipped through the booklet repeatedly, wiped away his tears, and tucked it under his pillow, pressing it firmly against the ring Wei Lai had given him.

Wei Lai pestered him. “Call me Daddy. Crybaby Yin, look at your daddy.”

Chu Yin squirmed. “No. I’m going to sleep!”

Wei Lai’s inner slut emerged instantly. He wrapped his arms around Chu Yin’s waist and kissed him. “You’ll call me Daddy eventually. Tonight, how about being my three-year-old crybaby? You drink your milk while I…”

Chu Yin: “…”

By noon the next day…

Wei Lai was changing the sheets while Chu Yin, eyes swollen, sulked angrily.

Chu Yin’s voice was hoarse and pitiful: “Burn those sheets. Madam Wei, I hate you!”

Wei Lai laughed. “How am I supposed to burn them? Just wash them.”

Chu Yin: “You… you damn neat freak… Where’s your OCD when it actually matters?!”

Realizing he’d gone too far the night before, Wei Lai moved closer to coax him gently. “Three-year-old crybaby, bedwetting is totally normal~ Why aren’t you praising me for going seven rounds in one night?”

“Go away, it’s not the same.” Chu Yin turned his head away, pouting. “I even called you Daddy, and you still didn’t stop… You’re the worst…”

Wei Lai shamelessly groveled. “Daddy, I’ll make it up to you. Crybaby Daddy, I was wrong, forgive me! Crybaby Daddy! You can get back at me~”

Chu Yin: “Hmph! You’re never getting near my 18 Centimeters again!”

Wei Lai: “…”

Later, Wei Lai baked Chu Yin a mountain of little fish snacks before barely managing to appease the crybaby. Thus, they returned to their joyous life of chickens clucking and sisters grinding.