Chapter 107
The pressure to marry and have children seems to be a common ailment among all elders, and even Huo Yan, who had just reached the legal marriage age, couldn’t avoid it. When the younger uncle suggested that Huo Youqiao keep an eye out for suitable men for his sister, Huo Youqiao hadn’t spoken yet when Huo Youcheng interjected, “Uncle, you should come to me for this kind of thing. I have many good friends.”
The younger uncle chuckled awkwardly, “Let’s forget about your friends. They may be wealthy, but they’re too promiscuous and love to mess around. I can’t trust them. It’s better to be in politics. Although there are many rotten apples in the government, they’re still more responsible than businessmen.”
Huo Youcheng frowned, “Uncle, I feel like you’re criticizing me.”
The younger uncle smiled, “Of course, I’m criticizing you. Look at all the things you’ve done in the past. It’s a miracle Ye Zhi can put up with you. If it weren’t for her, your aunt might have divorced you long ago.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve changed now.” Huo Youcheng grabbed Ye Zhi’s hand and naturally kissed it, smiling, “And Zhi Zhi doesn’t want to divorce me, right?”
All eyes fell on them. Even though Ye Zhi didn’t look up, he still felt the invisible pressure. He wasn’t good with words to begin with, and in such situations, he couldn’t even interject. Being mentioned like this by Huo Youcheng suddenly made him feel awkward, so he just nodded gently.
After the family banquet ended and the younger uncle’s family left, the maids quickly began cleaning up. Ye Zhi, after speaking with Huo Youcheng, went upstairs and entered Huo Youqiao’s bedroom.
To avoid suspicion, the bedroom door wasn’t closed. Ye Zhi began to unpack and organize the luggage Huo Youqiao had brought back.
The accommodations at the city government weren’t as good. Although Huo Youqiao should have been provided with a personal assistant for daily life, he hadn’t applied for one. Some personal matters were either handled by the chief secretary, Lin Xiuming, or by himself. The clothes he had changed out of had only been washed once in a regular washing machine, but they hadn’t been ironed, and some of the shirts were a bit wrinkled.
Ye Zhi used a small iron to take care of them.
When Huo Youqiao finished his shower and came out, he saw Ye Zhi’s back.
He paused for a moment before walking over. “You don’t need to do these things for me again. Your wound hasn’t fully healed, right?”
Upon hearing his voice, Ye Zhi turned his head, his gaze first falling on the open collar of Huo Youqiao’s shirt. Huo Youcheng had come out wearing a robe, and the belt wasn’t tied tightly, revealing a patch of chest skin. He was fair-skinned, and although his muscles weren’t very prominent, they had a nice shape, exuding a subtle sexiness from the deep V-neck. Ye Zhi glanced at it and quickly averted his gaze, softly saying, “It’s almost healed. It’s part of my job to help you organize your wardrobe.”
“Didn’t Mother say to cancel it?”
Ye Zhi gathered his courage and said, “Can’t we keep it? We signed a one-year employment contract, and you don’t have to pay that much. I just want to…” His mind was a bit jumbled, but fortunately, he quickly found the best reason, “Ranran also hopes that I can continue to take care of her.”
Huo Youqiao fell silent for a moment before saying, “I didn’t expect Ranran to be so stubborn. I’m sorry.”
Ye Zhi hadn’t gone home until late on the day he was discharged, and not long after, the security incident occurred. He only found out about what had happened that day today.
“It’s okay.” Ye Zhi smiled faintly. “She needs me, and I’m happy to do it.” He continued to iron the clothes for the man, meticulously smoothing out every wrinkle until there wasn’t a single one left on the clothes he had ironed.
The door to the room was open, and any potential special atmosphere that could have formed was diffused by that open door. After Ye Zhi finished organizing the clothes, he bid him farewell. “Everything’s done. I’ll go back now. Good night.”
“Good night.”
His heart was beating fast, as if it wanted to jump out of his chest, and his blood was boiling. Ye Zhi tried his best to appear calm and composed, only letting out a sigh of relief when he returned to his room.
Leaning against the door, he couldn’t help but cover his face with both hands, breathing in deeply, trying to catch the lingering scent in the air.
Even though it was mixed with the scent of laundry detergent, Ye Zhi could still discern a hint of Huo Youqiao’s scent. It had become very faint on the clothes, even fainter on his hands, as if it were just his imagination.
But even just imagining it was enough.
He missed him so much. Every day, he worried about him, afraid of retaliation from the ‘rebels’, afraid that he might be in danger. So every day, he would wander in front of the television, straining to listen to the news when Madam Huo watched it.
The chat interface on the communicator was opened every day, and countless times he wanted to ask the other person, “Are you okay?” But in the end, he didn’t type a single word.