Chapter 59: The Family Secret Manual
Zhao Ningzhuo froze on the spot, his finger trembling as he pointed at him. “You…”
Huo Beixing looked utterly bored, turning a blind eye to Zhao Ningzhuo’s expression and giving an innocent little “Huh?”
Zhao Ningzhuo slapped the table and shot to his feet. “Was that supposed to be human language?!”
Huo Beixing answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Wasn’t it?”
Zhao Ningzhuo roared, “No!”
Huo Beixing gave a casual “Oh.”
Zhao Ningzhuo opened his mouth, all ready to stand on the moral high ground and continue punishing him.
The very next second, Huo Beixing asked, “Then why could you understand it?”
Zhao Ningzhuo: ……
Great. Just great.
This idiot gets bullied over at his wife’s side, then comes here to vent on him!
Were friends meant to be emotional garbage cans?!
Bastard!
And you get to have a wife?
Serves you right your wife looks at other people!!!
Zhao Ningzhuo drew in a deep breath, stared hard at him, and prepared to let him know in the cruelest way possible just how much spiritual damage he had caused.
What Huo Beixing had destroyed was not just his mental defenses, but also the budding first stirrings of a five-year-old boy’s heart.
“Huo Beixing!”
Huo Beixing lifted his eyes to look at him, those peach-blossom eyes full of careless ease.
Zhao Ningzhuo said in a resolute tone, “I’ve decided. I’m cutting ties with you!”
To an eight-year-old little brat, what kind of psychological blow was that?
Besides, Huo Beixing had been the one to say first that Zhao Ningzhuo was his best friend.
The best friendship shattered—that was the BE ending Zhao Ningzhuo had chosen for him.
Zhao Ningzhuo’s face was full of confidence as he waited to see Huo Beixing regret it and try to keep him.
After all, a bastard wasn’t born a bastard from the very start. An eight-year-old life had only just begun.
“Cutting ties?”
Zhao Ningzhuo nodded.
Heh. So? Scared now, aren’t you!
Huo Beixing understood. “I see. In that case, that really is…”
Zhao Ningzhuo lifted his head proudly.
“…something I should thank you for.”
Zhao Ningzhuo: ……
He was wrong.
He had been utterly, completely wrong.
Looking at Huo Beixing’s completely indifferent handsome face, Zhao Ningzhuo finally understood a truth of this world.
Some things really were destined by heaven from the start. A bastard was a bastard from the beginning. It had nothing to do with age.
Zhao Ningzhuo was utterly baffled. “No, wait—why aren’t you trying to make me stay?”
Huo Beixing answered, “I respect your choice.”
Zhao Ningzhuo: ……
This damned, badly timed politeness.
Huo Beixing had no mood to continue fighting a primary-school-level quarrel with Zhao Ningzhuo. He cast a resentful look toward An Yi on the high platform in the distance.
The two muscle men who had just been posing and showing off in front of him were now about to perform high diving.
Little Frog politely clapped for them.
Zhao Ningzhuo sat down in the empty seat beside him. “You know, you really can’t deny it—An Yi’s romantic luck is actually pretty good.”
Then he turned to look at Huo Beixing and smiled without saying a word.
This is your karmic punishment.
You’re a flirt, but he’s even more of one than you—except passively. Charming without even realizing it, with not a trace of guilt.
Huo Beixing’s expression darkened. A faint sense of crisis rose in his heart.
He could tell An Yi had feelings for him—but those feelings were almost like the kind two little kids shared while riding the kiddie rocking car together. At best, An Yi only had a favorable impression of him.
An Yi’s emotions were very pure. Even if he found out later that Huo Beixing wasn’t actually stupid, he might not even be that angry. It was just that the way he addressed him would probably change from one “good husband” after another to “good ex-husband” one after another.
“Hey.”
Zhao Ningzhuo looked left and right. “Who? Who are you calling?”
“You.”
Hey! What’s with this kid? Why can’t he call people by their names properly? Watching all those cheesy, over-the-top melodramas—he never learned the good things, only the bad.
“First, my name isn’t ‘hey.’ Second—”
“Do you think my wife likes me?”
Zhao Ningzhuo froze for a moment. “Of course he likes you. If your wife didn’t like you, he wouldn’t be living with you.”
Although the guy had just pissed him off, he was still his number one best friend. Joking was one thing, but when it came to a serious question, Zhao Ningzhuo still intended to speak like a normal human being.
After all, if he lied right now, it would be like shattering a little kid’s belief in Santa Claus.
Huo Beixing might be a bastard, but he wasn’t.
“Then why did my wife marry me?”
“Maybe he’s just into this sort of thing. Maybe he just likes you in this state.”
Huo Beixing fell silent for a long while, then changed the way he phrased it. “Then if I got a little smarter, would my wife still like me?”
Zhao Ningzhuo turned to look at him with a complicated expression. “That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because who do you think you’re receiving love from?”
Huo Beixing: ……
From a fool’s love!!!
After An Yi finished watching the muscle men dive, he craned his neck and looked around, planning to go back and find his broad-minded good husband.
Zhao Ningzhuo comforted the deep-resentment house-husband beside him. “Be satisfied. Compared to those dog men out there, An Yi is already way better, isn’t he?”
Huo Beixing turned to look at him.
Zhao Ningzhuo said, “Other men abandon their wives and kids and go fool around outside. But An Yi’s different. He knows to come home.”
As long as a man comes home, that’s enough.
Huo Beixing: ……
Little Frog wandered around nearby searching for his husband. Huo Beixing stood up, intending to go get him.
Looking at how worthless Huo Beixing seemed—
Zhao Ningzhuo said, “How come you have no reserve at all?”
Huo Beixing ignored him.
The moment An Yi spotted Huo Beixing, he happily waved. “Huo Beixing!”
Seeing his delighted face, it looked like he had really enjoyed looking at all those bodies just now.
“Huo Beixing, let’s go home.”
Since Huo Beixing had just been discharged, An Yi had secretly asked the family doctor whether he was allowed to exercise. The doctor had said yes, but not for too long. They had already been at the swimming center for over two hours. Huo Beixing had moved around enough and couldn’t keep going. Otherwise Little Frog was going to end up croaking.
Huo Beixing said sourly, “We’re leaving now? Aren’t you going to keep looking?”
An Yi shook his head. “No.”
“Isn’t that a pity?”
“What’s there to regret?”
That answer finally made Huo Beixing happy.
An Yi added, “I can just come again next time.”
Huo Beixing: ……
I am absolutely never bringing you here again.
Thinking the other man simply didn’t want to leave, An Yi reached out and took hold of him. “Come on. After we get out, let’s go eat ice cream.”
Huo Beixing didn’t resist. He let himself be led along, his gaze falling on the round top of An Yi’s head, and suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Angry, but unable to bear saying anything.
As An Yi walked ahead, he chattered on, “I watched you swimming just now. You looked super handsome.”
The Huo Beixing who had watched him the entire time just now: ……
An Yi had been enjoying the muscle men with great enthusiasm and hadn’t spared him even a single glance.
But seeing An Yi’s cheerful little face, no matter how unhappy Huo Beixing felt, he still didn’t bring up again that he disliked him looking at other people.
The two of them came out of the swimming center, and true to his word, An Yi led Huo Beixing to a little roadside ice cream shop. The shop itself was tiny, but it had quite a lot of different flavors.
An Yi tilted his head up to look at him. “What flavor do you want?”
“Same as you is fine.”
A few minutes later, An Yi came back out holding two chocolate cones.
He handed one over to him, then stood right there on the street eating in the most open, unconcerned way.
Huo Beixing had never eaten on the street like this before.
After taking a bite, An Yi asked him, “Is it good?”
Huo Beixing lowered his head and took a bite. “Yeah.”
An Yi said, “Then next time I’ll buy you one again.”
Looking at the lush green trees along the street, An Yi found himself thinking about the upcoming international competition.
The summer heat was intense, and the ice cream in their hands was melting quickly.
The cone in Huo Beixing’s hand tilted to one side—
and dropped straight to the ground.
Plop.
An Yi looked down for a few seconds. Seeing that all Huo Beixing had left was the cone itself, he handed over his own, the one he had only taken two bites from.
“Eat this one.”
As he spoke, he shoved it into the other man’s hand, then pulled tissues from his pocket, wrapped up the fallen ice cream on the ground, and threw it in the trash.
Looking at the ice cream in his hand, Huo Beixing went still, genuinely not expecting that An Yi would hand over his own without hesitation.
“What about you?”
“I’m fine.”
Huo Beixing’s heart bloomed happily. Sure enough, the other person really did have him in his heart.
The next second, An Yi gave a goofy smile. “I can just go buy another new one.”
Hehe?
With that, he happily trotted back into the ice cream shop.
Huo Beixing: ……
After eating the ice cream, the two went home. An Yi changed into home clothes and planned to go to the study to work. After all, seeing so many muscle men today, if he didn’t design something afterward, it would really be letting all that free diving go to waste.
But he also hadn’t forgotten to take care of Huo Dabao.
He settled Huo Beixing onto the sofa. “I’m going to work now, but first I’ll find you something you like to watch.”
Huo Beixing didn’t say anything, just glanced at the title on the screen.
Where Does the Runaway Bride Escape To.
Huo Beixing: ……
His scalp went numb. “I’m not watching that.”
An Yi raised a hand and changed it to another one.
The music from the TV immediately turned bright and lively.
Dora the Explorer.
Huo Beixing closed his eyes.
Forget it. His current persona was what it was.
After setting up a cartoon for him, An Yi went upstairs.
Huo Beixing watched the TV with utter boredom. No one in the world except little kids liked this sort of thing.
Dora asked, “Can you see where the rabbit is?”
Huo Beixing answered numbly, “Behind the tree.”
Just as one episode ended and the next was about to begin, the doorbell at the entryway rang sharply.
Uncle Zhong went to answer it.
Zhao Ningzhuo stood outside the door, holding a backpack and wearing a mysterious look.
“Young Master Zhao, are you here to see the young master?”
Zhao Ningzhuo nodded, changed his shoes, and walked in. At a glance he saw Huo Beixing on the sofa, expressionless, watching a children’s cartoon.
He had originally planned to make some snide remark about why Huo Beixing was watching something so childish, but then remembered the man was eight years old now, so liking this kind of thing was perfectly normal.
Still, he had something serious to give him.
He paused the cartoon and lowered his voice. “Hey. Hey!!”
Huo Beixing turned to look at him in this sneaky, thief-like manner. “Did you come to my house to steal something?”
Zhao Ningzhuo: ……
He took a deep breath. “I came to give you something good.”
Huo Beixing looked at him and said nothing.
Zhao Ningzhuo patted his backpack. “It’ll help with harmony between you and your spouse. Good for building your feelings.”
At the swimming center that morning, Huo Beixing had obviously been at a disadvantage. Zhao Ningzhuo felt that as a brother, he needed to do something.
So he pulled a book out of the backpack and placed it into Huo Beixing’s hands.
“I bought it specially. It’ll help you.”
Huo Beixing lowered his eyes.
Eighteen Steps to Make My Husband Unable to Leave Me Alone
Huo Beixing: ……
