I Woke Up and Got Married Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The surroundings went silent.

The interior of the riding arena suddenly became quiet. Chi Suinian didn’t dare look up at the faces around him. Flustered, he tugged at Lu Zhiyue’s arm. “…Lu Zhiyue, put me down.”

“Don’t move.” Lu Zhiyue ignored the pain in his arm and said in a deep, hoarse voice, “Didn’t you notice your ankle is swollen?”

Swollen?

Chi Suinian looked down. His pants were loose-fitting, and in this position, the cuff had pulled up, exposing the injured spot on his right ankle.

It really was swollen.

Chi Suinian thought back and figured he must’ve twisted it when he dismounted and didn’t land steadily.

Luckily, the injury wasn’t serious—just a bit swollen.

While he was lost in thought, Lu Zhiyue had already walked out of the arena.

The mountain path was quiet and empty. Just as Chi Suinian was about to struggle, Lu Zhiyue gently placed him down on a bench by the path.

Then, Chi Suinian felt a sudden coolness on his foot—Lu Zhiyue had squatted down and taken off his shoe.

“You—”

“Don’t move.” Lu Zhiyue’s tone was unusually stern.

Chi Suinian froze, his long legs folding as he passively placed his foot on Lu Zhiyue’s knee.

Lu Zhiyue’s fingers were long and clean. When he applied pressure, faint blue veins stood out. Those elegant hands slid down from the calf, finally stopping at the swollen ankle.

Examining an injury was normal. Removing a shoe and resting a foot on a knee—also normal.

If it were someone else, Chi Suinian might not overthink it.

But at this moment, in front of Lu Zhiyue, the whole situation just felt… a little off.

Lu Zhiyue stared at the red swelling around the ankle for a moment, then said in a cool tone, “Mild sprain. Not serious. You’ll need to ice it later.”

After speaking, he bent down again—

Chi Suinian hurriedly pressed a hand to Lu Zhiyue’s chest. “…I can walk on my own.”

“And fall again?” Lu Zhiyue looked at him flatly.

What kind of tone was that? Chi Suinian frowned. “Do you even understand what it means to be brave and righteous? I didn’t twist my ankle on purpose.”

“The kid had a coach right next to him,” Lu Zhiyue said coolly. “You took over someone else’s job, got yourself injured, and still think you were heroic?”

The coach had been standing right beside the child and could’ve easily pulled him away. But Chi Suinian had bumped into the coach, messing things up and almost causing another accident.

Chi Suinian went silent, then muttered, “…I didn’t see.”

Silence followed.

Lu Zhiyue’s brow was furrowed, his expression grim.

Chi Suinian had calmed down and was starting to feel the aftershock. But he didn’t regret what he’d done.

Thinking back to earlier—how he’d grabbed and clawed at Lu Zhiyue’s arm—he figured the other must’ve taken quite a bit of damage because of him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Chi Suinian spoke awkwardly: “But you didn’t have to carry me out like that. It was really embarrassing.”

Silence.

Chi Suinian waited a few seconds for a response. Just as he was about to speak again, Lu Zhiyue reached out as if to pick him up once more.

Chi Suinian quickly slid to the side, frowning. “I said I don’t need help.”

“Don’t be stubborn,” Lu Zhiyue said as he boxed him in with both hands. “You can’t even walk in a straight line right now.”

What was this, a sobriety test? Chi Suinian rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I don’t need you.”

He could crawl back if he had to.

Lu Zhiyue’s frown deepened, his lips pressed into a flat line, clearly angry.

Chi Suinian puffed out his cheeks, stubbornly meeting his gaze.

A few seconds later, a ringtone suddenly broke the silence. Lu Zhiyue paused, pulled out his phone, and stepped to the side to take the call.

“Mm, I know.”

“Send it to my email.”

“Deliver it tomorrow.”

…

A concise one-minute call. Lu Zhiyue hung up and walked back.

The phone screen flashed past Chi Suinian’s eyes.

“What’s on your phone?” Chi Suinian squinted. That flash looked awfully familiar, like he’d seen it before.

“What?”

Chi Suinian snatched the phone and lit up the screen. A familiar photo unfolded before his eyes—

It was taken at a bar, colorful lights flashing. Lu Zhiyue stood tall and lean… with someone slung over his shoulder.

“…”

Chi Suinian hadn’t expected to see this picture again.

Especially not like this.

What the hell… Was Lu Zhiyue insane?

He’d made that photo his wallpaper?

Chi Suinian stared at the image of himself kicking and flailing in disbelief, resisting the urge to punch Lu Zhiyue. He gritted his teeth. “Are you fucking crazy?”

Lu Zhiyue, confused: “What?”

Chi Suinian clutched the phone tightly. “Who told you to use this as your wallpaper!”

There are so many pictures online. He could’ve picked anything. But no, he had to pick the most infuriating one.

“It’s a photo of the two of us,” Lu Zhiyue replied.

Chi Suinian: “…I’m not blind, so?”

“I have a lot of social engagements for work,” Lu Zhiyue said as he retrieved the phone, “and sometimes people get a little too forward. Having a picture of you saves me a lot of trouble.”

Chi Suinian looked stunned. “…”

So… how many people had seen this photo already?

Chi Suinian was seething. “You fucking… change it right now!”

“I don’t have another photo to replace it,” Lu Zhiyue said. “Unless we take a new one?”

Chi Suinian gritted his teeth. “…Get lost.”

Take a photo, my ass.

“Um…” At that moment, a voice sounded from behind them.

Three girls stood there, each one bright and youthful. The one in front looked familiar—Chi Suinian remembered seeing her glancing his way several times at the riding arena.

Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt like the girls were looking at them with a certain… gleeful curiosity.

Lu Zhiyue turned around. “What is it?”

“Well, um, we wanted to ask… are you two a couple?” one of the girls asked.

“No!”

“Yes.”

“…”

The three girls grew even more excited, giggling and nudging each other. Blushing, one of them spoke up: “Well, earlier at the riding arena, we saw you two together, and you looked so sweet, so we took a few pictures… We didn’t mean to intrude, but you two are just too good-looking together.”

“So, would it be okay if we posted them?”

Chi Suinian: “Post where?”

“We’re travel bloggers, and we have a sharing account where we post travel pictures.”

Their account had been lukewarm at best, but the girls had a feeling that today’s photos could make them go viral.

Chi Suinian: “No—”

But Lu Zhiyue interrupted, “What kind of photos did you take? Can I see them?”

“Yes, of course!” the girls eagerly pulled out their camera and began showing him the pictures.

Chi Suinian: “…”

What the hell.

Did he offend the photo gods today or something?

The girls were clearly professionals—the photos were beautifully composed, artfully using the scenery. Even though the two of them had been bickering with black faces, the photos somehow captured a romantic couple’s playful quarrel vibe.

The atmosphere in those pictures practically radiated with ambiguous tension.

Seeing that the two didn’t speak, the girls didn’t give up and persisted, “We won’t use your photos for free. Is fifty per photo okay?”

“We really love these pictures. We’ve had models appear in our previous posts too, but none looked as good as you two.”

“Can you send me a copy of the photos?” Lu Zhiyue asked after looking through them.

“Of course!” the girl was genuinely excited. “But I might need your contact info—WeChat, maybe? I can send them to you right now.”

“Sure.”

Once they added each other on WeChat, Lu Zhiyue’s phone started going off non-stop.

Chi Suinian sat on the side, glaring, his expression completely blank.

After sending the photos, the girl asked, “So, the pictures…”

“You can post them,” Lu Zhiyue looked up.

“Really? That’s amazing! Thank you, thank you! I’ll make sure to use them well. Before posting, I’ll retouch the details and make them look their best—like wedding photos. I’ll send you the final versions too. Wishing you two a long, happy life together!”

Lu Zhiyue nodded seriously. “Thank you.”

Chi Suinian: “…”

Thank your dad.

Everything happened too fast. Before he could stop it, the girls were already cheering and walking away.

Chi Suinian glared at Lu Zhiyue, clearly annoyed: “Did I say yes? And you just let them post?”

“I checked their video account,” Lu Zhiyue said. “Not even a thousand followers. Not much influence. It won’t spread far.”

He lowered his eyes and kept tapping on his phone. “Besides, their photos are really good.”

Chi Suinian: “…”

Just how good? Say it out loud.

The air turned quiet. Lu Zhiyue continued tapping on his phone. Even though he couldn’t see the screen, Chi Suinian had a bad feeling.

“What are you doing?”

“Changing the background.”

Chi Suinian’s brow twitched.

Come again?

“All done,” Lu Zhiyue said. “Wanna see?”

Chi Suinian sneered, “Sure, if you want your phone destroyed.”

“…”

Lu Zhiyue paused for a second, then put his phone back in his pocket.

Chi Suinian got even angrier. “Change it!”

He couldn’t even imagine what kind of photo Lu Zhiyue had used, but knowing his weird taste, it couldn’t be anything good.

Lu Zhiyue frowned. “Can I not change it?”

Chi Suinian: “What do you think?”

Lu Zhiyue frowned harder. Chi Suinian stood his ground, unyielding.

Eventually, Lu Zhiyue gave in. “Fine. I’ll change it when we’re back.”

“Change it now!”

Lu Zhiyue said, “Let me check your injury first. If we wait too long, it’ll swell up more. Do you still want to walk tomorrow?”

Chi Suinian instinctively looked down.

Maybe it was just in his head, but after Lu Zhiyue pointed it out, he really did feel like the swelling on his ankle had gotten worse—and more painful.

He clicked his tongue with a frown.

Lu Zhiyue suddenly crouched down in front of him and said gently, “Get on. I’ll carry you.”

Chi Suinian hesitated for a moment. Weighing his options between not walking tomorrow or exhausting Lu Zhiyue today, he decisively chose the latter.

He leaned on heavily, trying to put all his weight on him.

Crush him.

Lu Zhiyue staggered under the weight and let out a helpless smile.

When the two of them returned to the hotel entrance, they happened to run into Tang Jin and Lu Heng.

The two were stunned to see Chi Suinian leave upright but return being carried. For a moment, they thought he’d lost a fight.

In the hotel room—

Chi Suinian sat at the edge of the bed, his shoe already removed, exposing the red, swollen injury on his ankle.

Tang Jin came over and looked at it, clicking his tongue. “Tsk tsk, a sprain. Looking at you two earlier, I thought you’d broken your leg or something.”

Do all couples act this clingy when dating?

Chi Suinian threw a pillow at him. “Disappointed?”

“Not at all…” Tang Jin laughed and caught the pillow. “I’m happy for you, okay? That wheelchair is hell. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

On the side, Lu Heng squatted down to examine the injury and let out a breath. “Doesn’t look like the bone is hurt, but if a sprain doesn’t heal properly, it can leave lasting issues. You’ll need to rest for a few days.”

At that moment, the door beeped open, and Lu Zhiyue came back holding a few bags of cold ice cream.

Just as he was about to crouch at the bedside, Chi Suinian snatched one and pressed it to his ankle.

Lu Zhiyue froze for a moment, but said nothing.

Since Chi Suinian couldn’t go out, Tang Jin and Lu Heng stayed behind to keep him company. The three of them piled on the couch, chatting and playing cards.

Lu Zhiyue sat at the head of the bed working, not bothered by the noise.

“Shit! I forgot!” Tang Jin suddenly slapped his head. “I ordered takeout from a Chinese place. Told them to deliver at 2 PM—what time is it now?”

Lu Heng checked his watch. “2:30.”

“Damn it, where’s my phone?” Tang Jin started frantically looking around. “I didn’t even hear it ring.”

Chi Suinian: “Did you put it on silent?”

“I never use silent mode,” Tang Jin said. “I’m a deep sleeper. Thunder wouldn’t wake me, so I don’t need it.”

“…You say that like it’s something to be proud of.”

They practically turned the room upside down and still couldn’t find the phone.

Chi Suinian said, “Did you forget to bring it?”

Tang Jin paused. “No way. My phone is like my second life. Did I lose my life?”

“…”

“Lu Heng, where’s your phone?” Tang Jin asked. “Good thing I stuffed the restaurant’s business card in my pocket. I’ll just call them.”

Lu Heng shrugged. “Didn’t bring it.”

Tang Jin: “…”

His eyes flicked around and spotted a phone on the desk behind them.

“Suinian, is this yours?”

Lu Zhiyue suddenly looked up from his laptop. “Mine.”

“Oh…” Tang Jin blinked. “Mind if I make a call?”

Lu Zhiyue: “Go ahead.”

Tang Jin reached out to grab it.

Suddenly, as if possessed, Chi Suinian leapt up on one foot, snatched the phone out of midair before Tang Jin could touch it.

Tang Jin: “?”

“What the hell are you doing?”

Lu Heng also looked up, confused.

Holding the phone tightly, Chi Suinian’s cheeks flushed. “…Go get yours from your room.”

Tang Jin stared at him, then at himself. “I’m more injured than you! My room’s on the first floor!”

Chi Suinian pressed his lips together. “There’s an elevator.”

Tang Jin’s eyes widened. “…What made you this cruel to me, my brother?”

Chi Suinian stiffly changed the subject. “Go now, or your food will be cold.”

Tang Jin was easily distracted. “Oh, true. I’ll go get it myself—save time.”

Lu Heng stood. “I’ll go with you. You can’t handle the wheelchair alone—you’ll fall into a ditch.”

Tang Jin: “…Did you two plan to mess with me today?”

Once the two left, Chi Suinian finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Lu Zhiyue’s phone was still clutched in his hand. At that moment, the screen lit up.

On the bright background, Lu Zhiyue was caught mid-motion fastening a chin strap on a helmet for him. In the shot, Chi Suinian’s head was tilted back, and Lu Zhiyue’s fingertips rested right on his Adam’s apple.

The gesture was suggestive.

The camera quality was excellent—it even caught his ears flushing red at that moment.

Chi Suinian’s eyes slowly widened.

…Did they really get that close?

And what’s with this overwhelming ambiguous vibe?

Can that really be a normal travel blog?