TL: Hua
Chapter 5: Moving
After the elders finished their tour, they were very satisfied with the decorations and property management, nodding and smiling frequently.
Mrs. Xie and Kang Lanxiang walked arm in arm, and when she turned around to ask Zhou Zizheng if he was moving in today or in a few days, she saw her two sons fooling around.
One of them acted like a jerk with a doting look on his face, while the other fought back with a look of disgust. She smiled, and her heart felt like a swollen sponge, filled with hope. The scene she had been looking forward to for more than a decade had finally come to pass in her lifetime.
Blinking her slightly sore eyes, she waved to them: “Zizheng, Haozhou, come here, come to me.”
Yu Haozhou heard the movement first and, seeing that the group was looking at him, quickly struggled out of Zhou Zizheng’s grasp and ran forward on his own: “Auntie, Mom.”
Zhou Zizheng followed close behind.
Mrs. Xie then asked the question.
They both answered at the same time.
“Today!”
“In a few days.”
Yu Haozhou glared at Zhou Zizheng, but the latter acted like he didn’t see it. He didn’t care what was on Yu Haozhou’s mind; he was just eager to get his beauty home, so he decided they would start the move after lunch.
This was only because the elders were there.
Otherwise, Yu Haozhou would have mercilessly ridiculed him in every way.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, he gave Zhou Zizheng’s arm a hard pinch. Zhou Zizheng was in so much pain that he jumped but didn’t make a sound. He grimaced and stared at Yu Haozhou: “Are you trying to murder your husband?!”
Yu Haozhou wondered how his skin had gotten so thick in just a few days. He gnashed his teeth and hissed in a low voice: “I don’t care what tricks you’re trying to pull, but you’d better stop. I’m married to you, I didn’t sell myself to you. I want to stay at my own house today.”
Actually, he didn’t have any strong feelings about being homesick or not being able to sleep in a different bed. He just purely didn’t want to do what Zhou Zizheng wanted. Why should he go and live wherever Zhou Zizheng said? It was just a marriage; didn’t he have any say in it?!
Instead of getting angry, Zhou Zizheng smiled: “I’ll sleep wherever my wife sleeps. Then I’ll go tell our parents that we’ll be staying at your parents’ house tonight.”
Yu Haozhou: “…”
Yu Haozhou kicked him and threw a small tantrum.
Zhou Zizheng was not afraid to patiently coax him in front of everyone, which disgusted Yu Haozhou.
Ever since that night, Zhou Zizheng had been acting like a different person, becoming more and more perverted.
Yu Haozhou sometimes wondered if it was necessary to go to this extent just because he used to humiliate him and make him lose face.
—
After lunch, Yu Haozhou was forced to start the massive moving project. He had originally planned to just take two sets of his most-worn clothes to wash and change.
But Zhou Zizheng insisted on squeezing in and helping him pack.
There was a whole wall of figurines against the wall, big and small, in glass cases. There were probably a few hundred of them, but Zhou Zizheng didn’t mind the trouble and insisted on wrapping each one and putting it in a box to be moved.
“Are you crazy?!”
Yu Haozhou immediately went to stop him. “I’m still coming back to live here; what are you moving all this for?”
Zhou Zizheng said, “We’re married. We have our own home now, so of course everything has to be moved.”
Yu Haozhou was so angry he gnashed his teeth and grabbed his collar: “Is it fun to do this over and over again? That’s enough. You might not be tired, but I am.”
Zhou Zizheng smiled and easily pried his fingers off: “I’m not tired. You just sit and rest; I’ll pack.”
A man can be killed, but he cannot be humiliated.
He might as well just punch him to death.
Midway through his punch, Zhou Zizheng suddenly stood up, easily pushed him aside, and walked toward the door: “Mom.”
Yu Haozhou, who had been pushed onto the bed: “…”
Kang Lanxiang, perhaps with the mindset of a mother-in-law, looked at Zhou Zizheng and grew more and more satisfied. In any case, he was much more reliable than her own son. She picked up a piece of watermelon from the fruit platter and put it in his mouth, saying as she walked, “You kids, you can just hire people to pack all this stuff. Why do you have to do it yourself?”
Zhou Zizheng bit into it. The juice was as sweet as honey. He took the fruit platter and smiled: “Mom, I have my own selfish reasons. I want to learn more about Zhouzhou’s past. I’m enjoying myself and don’t feel tired at all.”
“Oh, you’re so good at making people happy.”
Kang Lanxiang was so pleased she beamed.
Who would have thought that the son who was given to her for free would be from a good family and would be so good to her own son? Her Zhouzhou was just born to be lucky.
He was spoiled by his parents when he was little, and now he will be spoiled by his husband after getting married.
However, when she walked in and saw Yu Haozhou lying lazily on the bed without moving, she got so angry she smacked his butt: “Still sleeping? You’re just going to let Zizheng pack by himself, aren’t you? Get up now. Look how lazy you’ve become.”
“He wanted to do it himself; it’s none of my business,” Yu Haozhou retorted stubbornly.
Kang Lanxiang was about to say more, but Zhou Zizheng interrupted: “That’s right, Mom, I wanted to pack myself. Zhouzhou is tired; let him rest a little longer.”
Kang Lanxiang was overjoyed, but she still said, “That’s not right. Don’t spoil him. He’s a young man in his twenties. Packing a few things is—”
Yu Haozhou shot up from the bed, glaring at Zhou Zizheng: “Who are you calling Mom? It’s just a formality. Are you really getting addicted to it?”
“Ouch! Mom, you hit me again!”
Yu Haozhou clutched his arm and hopped around.
The more she compared, the more Kang Lanxiang felt her own son was not as good. Why hadn’t he learned a little of Zhou Zizheng’s maturity? He was still acting like a child, always yelling and screaming. What a childish brat.
“Stop messing around and get to packing. Don’t wait until it’s dark and you’re not even done.”
After saying that, Kang Lanxiang went out, leaving the space to the young couple.
In the silent room, a soft chuckle suddenly sounded.
As if afraid of making someone angry, Zhou Zizheng covered his mouth with his fist and held back a little, then turned to continue packing.
Yu Haozhou immediately jumped on his back, his hands tightly wrapped around his neck, pulling him down: “Damn, is this funny, Zhou Zizheng? Today it’s either you die or I live.”
Zhou Zizheng’s back arched slightly, his face so strained he couldn’t speak.
Just as Yu Haozhou thought he was going to succeed in fighting back, he suddenly lost his balance. The world spun, and he found himself back on the bed. Only this time, Zhou Zizheng was on top of him, and their eyes met unexpectedly.
Thump, thump, thump…
Yu Haozhou didn’t know whose heartbeat he was hearing. It was so loud, so fast, as if something was about to burst out of his body.
Zhou Zizheng’s deep black eyes carefully traced every feature on his face. This was a face that he had been looking at for so many years and still wasn’t tired of it.
Even the small red mole under his right eyelid was particularly endearing.
This kind of direct, aggressive gaze made Yu Haozhou very uncomfortable. He tried to ignore the heat on his face and the strange moment when his heart was inexplicably seized. He gritted his teeth and tried to continue acting fierce: “Zhou Zizheng, get off me!”
The words came out sounding more like a whine.
Yu Haozhou choked up.
Zhou Zizheng curled his lips and gently kissed him on the lips. It was a brief touch, with no trace of lust, so fast that Yu Haozhou didn’t even have time to bite his mouth.
“Zhouzhou, I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
—
The sun set in the west.
After packing for a whole afternoon, they had a small truck’s worth of stuff, and the two of them were finally done.
After having dinner at the Yu family’s house, Yu Haozhou and Zhou Zizheng were ready to leave.
At this moment, the fact that her son was getting married finally felt real. Kang Lanxiang saw them to the door, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes. She turned her back to them and wiped her tears away.
Yu Xiang rubbed her shoulder to comfort her: “This brat is usually gone for days. Just pretend he’s gone out to play, and he’ll be back in a few days.”
Kang Lanxiang pouted, her voice still wavering: “How is that the same? His room is completely empty now, with only a bed left. I can’t stand looking at it.”
“Alright, alright,” Yu Xiang also missed his son, but he was a man. “The two of them will laugh at you if they see this. Wipe your tears. Don’t let Zhouzhou worry.”
Kang Lanxiang turned her back, and the more she wiped, the more tears flowed.
When she first found out she had a son, she thought she would never have to experience the pain of a mother-son separation. But in the end, her son went and became someone else’s wife, and she became the mother-in-law.
Yu Haozhou, whenever he got a chance, would bicker with Zhou Zizheng. He didn’t feel comfortable until he had roasted him. The two were still arguing over who would drive. He was about to punch Zhou Zizheng’s abs.
Zhou Zizheng suddenly turned serious. He grabbed his fist, felt it, and then gestured toward Kang Lanxiang.
Yu Haozhou: “What?”
Although he was suspicious, he still turned around and saw his mother’s red eyes. Yu Haozhou was stunned.
He ran over, put his arm around his mother’s shoulder, looked down, and deliberately teased her: “Aiya, Mom, what’s wrong? You miss me already?”
Kang Lanxiang lightly patted his chest: “Brat, don’t go wild after you move out. Remember to come back and see us when you have time.”
He thought Kang Lanxiang would just go on and on, saying things he didn’t want to hear. But she only said to remember to come home. Yu Haozhou, who hadn’t felt anything about moving out, suddenly felt a little sad. His throat tightened. “Look at you. You were the ones who told me to get married, and now you’re the ones who miss me.”
Kang Lanxiang couldn’t hold it in any longer and hugged her son, sobbing, “Zhouzhou, come back and see us often. You’re my only precious child.”
Yu Xiang wrapped his arms around both his wife and son, patting his wife’s back and his son’s shoulder.
Zhou Zizheng stood quietly at a distance, not interrupting.
When it was time to really part ways, Yu Haozhou didn’t fight him for the right to drive. He quietly opened the passenger door and got in.
Zhou Zizheng went over and hugged Yu Xiang and Kang Lanxiang goodbye. He formally promised them that he would take good care of Yu Haozhou and that they would come back to visit often.
“Go on, you’re a good boy.”
Zhou Zizheng got into the car and found that Yu Haozhou was still immersed in the sadness of parting and hadn’t buckled his seatbelt. He leaned over and pulled the seatbelt for him.
Yu Haozhou gave him a cold look: “What are you doing?”
Zhou Zizheng buckled his seatbelt, wiped the tear stains from his face, connected the Bluetooth speaker, played some music, and started the engine. Then he looked straight ahead: “Go ahead and cry. I won’t laugh at you.”
Yu Haozhou: “…”
