Chapter 27

That evening, Zheng Jie got off work early and returned home in high spirits as if celebrating a holiday, bringing live shrimp with him. Lin Ze really didn’t know what to do with him. Fortunately, Zheng Jie didn’t show anything unusual. As soon as he entered, he whispered, “Where’s sister?”

Lin Ze pointed expressionlessly at the dining table. Zheng Jie immediately went over to chat with Li Yanru.

Li Yanru had returned to her usual demeanor. Situ Ye came over to cook with Lin Ze while Zheng Jie knelt by the sofa, applying oil to her swollen ankle. Their conversation drifted over. Lin Ze murmured, “You’re really not being considerate. She’s not even divorced yet—how could you set Zheng Jie up with her?”

Situ Ye chopped peppers with one hand to make spicy shrimp and replied, “Her husband doesn’t love her.”

Lin Ze frowned. “How do you know her husband doesn’t love her? Maybe he loves her very much.”

Situ Ye countered, “If he loved her, why would he have an affair?”

Lin Ze asked, “Didn’t you also say you loved me? If you loved me, why did you leave me?”

Situ Ye fell silent. Lin Ze smiled self-deprecatingly, took out a cigarette, and went to find a lighter. Situ Ye plucked the cigarette from his lips and warned, “No smoking.”

Lin Ze looked at Situ Ye with a bored expression. Situ Ye then handed the cigarette back to him and relented, “Only one. No more tonight.”

Damn it, Lin Ze thought. You’re not my wife—why are you controlling my smoking? Situ Ye had only moved in a few days ago, yet he was acting like he owned the place.

After dinner, Lin Ze wanted to book a hotel room downstairs for Li Yanru, but Zheng Jie interjected, “No need, I’ll sleep on the sofa. Sister can take my room.”

Lin Ze was immediately torn between laughter and tears. There were three men in the house—how could this arrangement work? He insisted, “I’ll book the room first. The house is too messy, and she’s not used to the environment. You two keep chatting. If she gets tired, she can go down anytime.”

Li Yanru smiled. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll book a room myself later.”

Zheng Jie waved her off. “Go on, don’t worry about it. You go do your thing.”

Lin Ze was completely speechless. He could only sigh bitterly as he cleared the table and washed the dishes, lamenting the plight of men—everyone prioritized romance over friendship. Even Situ Ye didn’t lift a finger after eating, leaving Lin Ze to handle all the chores alone.

When he finally finished and stepped out, Situ Ye dragged him into the bedroom. Zheng Jie opened a bottle of red wine, but Li Yanru declined, so Zheng Jie poured himself a glass and sat chatting with her.

Lin Ze knew Li Yanru must have plenty of close friends, but she probably didn’t want to talk to them about this. Maybe confiding in Zheng Jie, who was practically a stranger and had no connection to her social circle, helped relieve some of her stress. At least he wouldn’t gossip about it.

But Lin Ze had little faith in Zheng Jie’s motives. What was this all about? Even if she did take a liking to him, divorce and remarriage were far from certain. Zheng Jie always misread situations.

Lin Ze lay on the bed and soon fell asleep. In his dreams, he felt Situ Ye getting close, so he instinctively pulled him into his arms. Situ Ye quickly exclaimed, “Hey.”

Startled, Lin Ze reflexively moved away to avoid Situ Ye’s casted arm. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up, and peeked outside. Zheng Jie and Li Yanru were still chatting. He lay back down and continued sleeping.

The next morning, when Lin Ze woke up, Zheng Jie was sound asleep on the sofa. Li Yanru had actually stayed the night, sleeping in Zheng Jie’s bed in her clothes. Lin Ze pushed the door open and saw her lying there awake, scrolling through her phone. She glanced at him and asked, “Aren’t you going to work?”

“I’m heading out now,” Lin Ze replied. “There’s food in the fridge—heat it up yourself.”

Li Yanru yawned and nodded. She looked relaxed, her mood seemingly improved. Lin Ze thought Zheng Jie’s idiotic conversation must have helped. He closed the door, went out, and shook Zheng Jie awake. “Hey!”

Zheng Jie, drooling in his sleep, jolted up, thinking he was late for work. He scrambled for his jacket before realizing it was Lin Ze and flopped back down.

Lin Ze whispered, “Zheng Jie, you need to understand—she might not fall for you…”

They were from completely different worlds. Lin Ze wasn’t trying to discourage Zheng Jie, but he wanted to lay out the possibilities so Zheng Jie could prepare himself. After all, Zheng Jie had never gotten this close to a girl before. Deep down, Lin Ze really hoped Li Yanru and Zheng Jie could be together, but the truth was, they weren’t a good match. Li Yanru had never explicitly said it, but her family background was likely well-off…

Zheng Jie understood Lin Ze’s concern and chuckled softly. “It’s fine. I like her, so I’m doing this. It’s not about marrying her—she probably won’t divorce anyway. I just like her. That’s all.”

“Alright,” Lin Ze nodded. “As long as you know what you’re doing.”

Running late, Lin Ze brushed his teeth, washed his face, and left. Zheng Jie made breakfast for Li Yanru before heading out.

At the office, after finishing his work, Lin Ze called Zhao Yuhang first to tell him about the situation. Zhao Yuhang exclaimed, “No… no way! A’Ze, don’t joke with me!”

Lin Ze could tell he was shocked. He hadn’t expected such a coincidence either and pressed, “What do we do now?”

Zhao Yuhang stammered, “This is bad… no, it’s fine…”

Lin Ze snapped impatiently, “Is it bad or fine?”

Zhao Yuhang muttered, “I’ll call my classmate. Don’t worry about this…”

Lin Ze retorted, “You’ve got your priorities backward, Xiao Zhao Zhao! Tell your classmate to be careful—if he gets taken down over an affair, it won’t be good…”

Only then did Zhao Yuhang remember that Lin Ze was also a journalist. He quickly begged, “Don’t act rashly! A’Ze! I promise I can handle this.”

Lin Ze was annoyed. He growled, “Fine. Tell your classmate to show some sincerity—cut ties with that woman, never do it again, and kowtow from Nanping to Jiangbei Guanyinqiao. No sending interns to do it for him. Then I won’t make trouble for him. What kind of mess is this…”

Zhao Yuhang pleaded, “A’Ze, I thought you’d understand. You’ve been around officials long enough—haven’t you seen plenty of mistresses?”

Lin Ze barked, “But those were news stories! They had nothing to do with me! Now someone’s come to my home—my sworn sister! How am I supposed to take that? I have to pick a side, don’t I? Just because I’m a man, I should side with her husband?”

Zhao Yuhang replied, “I’ll talk to him… He’s already apologized and promised to end it. You don’t understand their marriage—it’s practically a political alliance. Their parents arranged it. And my classmate hasn’t even done anything serious—he hasn’t slept with the other woman…”

Lin Ze scoffed, “That’s why I’m only making him kowtow a few times. I could’ve made him kneel in the middle of Bei Cheng Tian Street with a spittoon on his head.”

Zhao Yuhang groaned, “A’Ze, you don’t get it. If you expose this and bring him down, I guarantee his department will be in chaos. At the very least, half of Bayu’s cultural heritage in Nanping will be demolished.”

“Right now, he’s the only one holding back pressure from above to protect the people’s interests during demolitions and construction. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself—your newspaper has better sources. See if he’s a corrupt official or a clean one. He’s a good official who’s done a lot of good. A talented young man in his position—others would’ve embezzled and fled abroad by now. His wife doesn’t even have a driver—she takes taxis and the light rail. He drives an Audi, but only because he needs it for business meetings. Otherwise, real estate developers wouldn’t take him seriously. His family savings are less than 500,000. If you go after him, the public will protest at the government’s doorstep. Even your sister’s family respects him—her father might come after you. Why do you think she hasn’t gone back to her parents? You’ve never been married—you don’t understand. In these situations, families always say, ‘Let it go. What grudge can’t be resolved between husband and wife? Make up and move on.’ If they’ve slept together, they can always reconcile. And he hasn’t even acted on it!”

This wasn’t Lin Ze’s first time dealing with such matters. Threatening to expose it was just to scare Zhao Yuhang. After all, Li Yanru’s husband wasn’t famous enough for a secret affair to ruin him—especially since nothing physical had happened. If the man claimed they were just friends and accused the newspaper of slander, Lin Ze would be in trouble. So he urged, “Then hurry up and find a way to resolve this.”

Zhao Yuhang quickly agreed and hung up.

At lunch, Situ Ye called as usual.

“A’Ze, sister is at the hospital for a checkup,” Situ Ye said over the phone.

Lin Ze asked, “Is her foot hurting? If it’s serious, admit her. I’ll come see her after lunch.”

“It’s not her foot. She might be pregnant.”

Lin Ze froze. When he regained his senses, he remembered Li Yanru had fallen at the subway station yesterday and panicked. This was serious—no joking matter. He asked urgently, “How is she?”

“She’s fine. The fall didn’t hurt her—just sprained her ankle… Hold on.”

A stranger’s voice came on the line. “Hello, Lin Ze.”

Lin Ze assumed it was Li Yanru’s husband and greeted, “Hello, brother-in-law.”

“No,” the man corrected. “I’m Yang Zhiyuan, a good friend of Yanru’s. Zhao Yuhang asked me to accompany her.”

Lin Ze hummed in acknowledgment. Yang Zhiyuan continued, “The checkup shows no issues. Yanru doesn’t want to go home. Thanks for your help yesterday. What time do you get off work tonight? Can we meet for dinner?”

Situ Ye’s voice chimed in, “He’ll be back soon.”

“Let’s meet at the hospital. Which one?”

After a brief exchange assuring him not to worry, Lin Ze went to the hospital after lunch. Fortunately, everything was fine. Li Yanru hadn’t had her period in two months and had fallen yesterday. She hadn’t connected the dots until today when she went to the bathroom and realized, so she rushed to get checked. Only Situ Ye was home, so he accompanied her.

“How could you be so careless about something like this?” Lin Ze couldn’t help scolding her as soon as he entered the hospital.

“Alright, alright,” Li Yanru responded, sipping milk nonchalantly. “It’s fine, isn’t it?”

Lin Ze saw a man in his thirties sitting next to Situ Ye—likely Yang Zhiyuan—and shook his hand. Li Yanru blinked playfully and introduced, “My bestie.”

Lin Ze immediately understood—another gay man. At first, he thought Yang Zhiyuan was just a close male friend, but it turned out he was a “bestie.” Then again, given Li Yanru’s personality, this made perfect sense.

Yang Zhiyuan stood and offered, “Why don’t you stay at my place tonight? Don’t trouble your little brother. In a few days, I’ll have Chen Bingchao come apologize.”

Lin Ze quickly insisted it was no trouble, but realistically, he and Li Yanru had only met a few times. Though they clicked, he wasn’t close enough to meddle in her personal affairs. Yang Zhiyuan seemed to have a deeper friendship with her, so it was better for him to handle it.

Li Yanru agreed and wanted to treat Zheng Jie to dinner. Lin Ze called, but Zheng Jie was working overtime and declined, suggesting they do it another time. Li Yanru seemed disappointed.

The three of them left the hospital. Yang Zhiyuan was half a head shorter than Situ Ye but looked like a businessman. He drove a Wrangler. As they stepped out, Situ Ye smiled and remarked, “Nice car. Must be great for road trips.”

Yang Zhiyuan nodded. “I love road trips. If you’re free someday, let’s go together.”

“A’Ze is my boss. It depends on whether he gives me time off.”

Lin Ze smirked slightly. “As if I could stop you if you didn’t want to work.”

Everyone laughed. Li Yanru got into the car and said goodbye. Lin Ze and Situ Ye walked home.

“How much does that car cost?”

Lin Ze estimated, “Around 400,000 to 500,000, I think. Not sure. Is that guy single?”

“Seems like it. He’s in business, lives in Nanping, and likes photography too. He invited me to go street shooting with him after my hand heals. Can I go?”

“Of course. Go wherever you want. Just be careful with your hand—” Suddenly, a thought struck him. He glanced at Situ Ye, who also looked a bit odd.

Lin Ze said with a smile, “You don’t think I’ve fallen for you, do you?”

Situ Ye teased, “Shouldn’t I be the one saying that, A’Ze? Why are you so full of yourself?”

Lin Ze: “…”

At 10 p.m., Zheng Jie returned with dark circles under his eyes, looking like a zombie. Lin Ze specially warmed a glass of milk to comfort him. “My sister left.”

Zheng Jie slumped on the table, his hair sticking up. “Oh. I wasn’t expecting much anyway. You’ve all abandoned me—go on, go be lovey-dovey!”

Lin Ze nearly choked on his milk. Shaking his head, he thought of Situ Ye and almost said, “I haven’t even gotten a taste yet.” He turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Over the next few days, Lin Ze didn’t dare make a move on Situ Ye. On the third day, Li Yanru called to say she had forgiven her husband on the condition he didn’t repeat his mistake.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t forgive so easily,” Lin Ze commented after hanging up. “He hid it for too long. But it’s her life—outsiders shouldn’t interfere.”

Situ Ye, eyes glued to his iPad scrolling through Weibo, replied, “She’s angry too, but she’s pregnant. And she said her husband has been good in every other way.”

“But he lied to her for years—Zhao Yuhang said at least two. That’s a serious betrayal.”

Situ Ye glanced at him and smiled. “Xie Lei lied to you too, and you forgave him. Why keep bringing him up?”

Lin Ze frowned. “His situation was different. Can you stop mentioning him?”

Situ Ye chuckled. “Don’t be mad, A’Ze. Why so fierce?”

“Call me ‘boss,'” Lin Ze grumbled. “Wait—who are you chatting with? What’s this?”

He noticed Situ Ye’s iPad, which showed a half-written Weibo private message. The profile picture was Yang Zhiyuan’s.

Lin Ze caught a line: [You can still come out if he doesn’t.] He scrolled up and saw Yang Zhiyuan inviting them out for the weekend. Situ Ye snatched the iPad back. “Don’t look!”

“Are you hitting on him, or is he hitting on you?”

Situ Ye: “No! Why don’t you respect my privacy?”

“Hand it over. None of that nonsense—I’m your boss.”

Situ Ye tossed the iPad to him. The messages showed an invitation for both of them to hang out. Situ Ye had said he’d ask Lin Ze, to which Yang Zhiyuan replied that he could still come alone.

Situ Ye stayed silent. Lin Ze finished reading—nothing particularly suspicious. It didn’t seem like Yang Zhiyuan was trying to hook up with Situ Ye, especially since Li Yanru and Zheng Jie were also invited. His suspicions eased, and he returned the iPad. “I didn’t mean anything. Just didn’t want you to get scammed.”

Situ Ye didn’t respond, putting the iPad away and lying down to sleep.

After turning off the lights, Lin Ze wondered if he was angry. What was there to be angry about? He nudged Situ Ye. “Hey.”

Situ Ye: “What?”

Lin Ze poked his shoulder. “Mad?”

“You don’t respect me.”

“Fine, fine,” Lin Ze conceded. “I surrender. I won’t snoop through your messages again. But the scene can be messy—just be careful. If you’re chasing after a bottom, I won’t say anything because you’re in control. If it doesn’t work out, you can walk away. But that guy seems successful. If he just wants to play around, you’re at his mercy.”

“You think too poorly of people. Can’t you have a little confidence in yourself? You don’t want me, so what if someone else does?”

Lin Ze: “You—enough! Stop joking like that. That’s not the point. What does this have to do with confidence? I—” Suddenly, Lin Ze realized something. He laughed at himself. Was he really this insecure?

Was it because Yang Zhiyuan was wealthy? Or because Situ Ye was too handsome? Lin Ze admitted Situ Ye had better qualities—he was sunny, young, clean-cut, and exuded warmth. In contrast, Lin Ze felt like a jaded, worldly man. If Yang Zhiyuan was interested in Situ Ye, it wasn’t surprising.

“Can I go?”

“You… go ahead.”

Situ Ye stayed quiet for a moment, then added, “I have my own social circle and friends. I had them before, didn’t I?”

Lin Ze knew that, of course. Situ Ye needed friends—whether romantic or platonic. As long as he had boundaries, it was fine. After all, no one lived for someone else. Their relationship was just… boss and subordinate.

“Do what you want,” Lin Ze muttered, feeling inexplicably gloomy. He should be happy for Situ Ye’s popularity. What was wrong with him? After a pause, he added, “You’re leaving anyway. Why mess with someone else?”

“I’ll just hang out with him—not like that. Just shopping, eating, casual stuff. I won’t date him. Besides, he might be willing to wander with me.”

“Hmm, he’s got a Wrangler and money. He can ‘play’ with you anywhere…”

Situ Ye: “…”

Lin Ze: “…”

Lin Ze hadn’t meant to say that. He didn’t even know why he did. Was he jealous? A little, but not necessarily in a romantic way.

After nearly a minute of silence, Lin Ze and Situ Ye exchanged glances. Lin Ze wordlessly turned off the lights and burrowed under the covers.

“You’re jealous, A’Ze,” Situ Ye said smugly.

Lin Ze: “…”

Chongqing in February required an electric blanket. Rainy nights were always cold, but the heated covers were cozy. Lin Ze ignored Situ Ye until he couldn’t take it anymore. “You… don’t overthink it.”

A few days later, on the weekend, Lin Ze was swamped with work. The editor-in-chief dragged him to a business dinner, so he had to skip the meal hosted by Li Yanru’s husband. After drinking heavily, he stepped out to call Situ Ye, assuming he was probably getting drunk on Nanbin Road.

Situ Ye answered cheerfully, “A’Ze?”

Lin Ze, having just vomited, spat out mouthwash. “What are you up to?”

“By the river. Wanna come?”

Lin Ze: “No. How’s my sister?”

Situ Ye: “They just left.”

Lin Ze: “Zheng Jie?”

Situ Ye laughed. “Brother Yang introduced him to a girl. They’re chatting not far from us.”

Lin Ze hummed. “Head back early. I’ve got a second round of drinks—probably won’t end until the third.”

Situ Ye: “Third?”

Lin Ze: “Third!”

He hung up, washed his face, and strode out of the bathroom, whistling. The tune morphed into Ah Niu’s “The Old Uncle Selling Vegetables on a Tricycle,” then he sang:

“He emerges from the alley—

Every day, riding his little cart to sell greens…

Seventeen years old—

Pedaling till now—

Why hasn’t life gotten better—

Pedal, pedal, pedal…

Just like that, an era passes by…”

At 11 p.m., Lin Ze staggered out of a taxi, panting by a lamppost before singing his way home. Mid-song, he stopped.

Yang Zhiyuan’s Wrangler was parked on the roadside. Situ Ye got out.

“Goodnight,” Situ Ye said. “Let’s hang out again sometime.”

Yang Zhiyuan smiled. “Get some rest.”

Situ Ye went upstairs. Lin Ze stood in a convenience store, poking a straw into a yogurt bottle and drinking it while watching the car. Yang Zhiyuan didn’t leave. He sat in the driver’s seat, texting.

At 11:20 p.m., Lin Ze finished the yogurt slowly, tossed the bottle, and watched the car drive off. After a moment, he hurried upstairs.