Chapter 42: The Wedding Date Draws Near
That night, Shen Shuyi decided to give Zhao Yuheng the cold shoulder for a few days.
What kind of hopeless straight man tells his fiancé that kind of story before bed?
And Zhao Yuheng looked dead serious—he had even started downloading the TXT file.
Glancing at his phone screen, Shen Shuyi immediately shut his eyes. “Zzzzzz.”
When Zhao Yuheng turned around, he was met with the sight of Shen Shuyi’s “sleeping” face.
Those long, curly lashes fluttered slightly—what kind of fake sleeping was that?
“Asleep?”
Heh. You think I’m stupid?
Would someone asleep answer back like that? If he was fishing for attention, this was way too obvious.
“Then I’m going to kiss you.”
Shen Shuyi’s eyes flew open instantly, a blush spreading across his face.
Zhao Yuheng smirked. “Awake now? Looks perfectly alert to me.”
Shen Shuyi glared. “Are you a grade-schooler?”
“Sleep,” Zhao Yuheng said, not teasing him anymore. “No more bedtime stories.”
Shen Shuyi just stared wordlessly at him.
“Really,” Zhao Yuheng added. “Not teasing. Go to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep with someone sitting next to me like this,” Shen Shuyi said flatly. “You’ll keep me up.”
Zhao Yuheng blinked. “Really?”
“Really Zzzzz…”
Apparently, he was actually tired—he didn’t even finish the last word before drifting off.
Zhao Yuheng looked at him. The moonlight outside the window fell across Shen Shuyi’s face, and his gaze softened into something he didn’t even notice—stubborn, quietly captivated.
After a while, Zhao Yuheng took the little designer bag Shen Shuyi had set aside.
He never understood why Shen Shuyi always carried such tiny bags—ones that could barely fit anything—and most of the time, he ended up holding them anyway.
He set the bag on the table and, unexpectedly, noticed a bamboo fortune stick inside.
He pulled it out. Under the moonlight, the carved words read: “Worst Fortune.”
The next morning, Shen Shuyi stopped by Shuiwan One first.
Realizing he’d be late anyway, he decided to take a long, comfortable shower before heading to work.
When he arrived at the office, he fully expected Jessica to pounce on him for being late—and was already mentally prepared for a full-blown shouting match.
He’d even prepared a scathing comeback last time but hadn’t managed to say it—he’d regretted it for days!
This time, he was ready.
He’d risk all of Zhao Yuheng’s dignity (since he never bet with his own interests—only with swearing on Shen Lu’s name). This time, he had to win!
Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
“Shuyi! Haven’t you heard? Jessica’s girlfriend showed off too much on Xiaohongshu and exposed a bunch of private info—now Jessica’s in trouble at work!”
The moment Xiao A saw him, she came running.
“What?” Shen Shuyi was stunned.
Xiao B pushed him into a seat, Xiao C brought over a cup of coffee, and Xiao D placed down a pile of sunflower seeds. The four of them sat in a neat formation, ready for gossip.
“Wait—Jessica’s married! How does he suddenly have a girlfriend?” Shen Shuyi sipped his coffee, multitasking by complimenting Xiao C. “Chloe, your coffee’s gotten way better.”
“Oh my god, thank you, baby! You’re an angel.”
“…”
“So?” Shen Shuyi pressed, eager. “How did he get caught?”
“Turns out that ‘girlfriend’ was actually a mistress! She works in the office building next to ours—a small-time influencer with over a hundred thousand followers on Xiaohongshu!”
“She’s been showing off her mansion and luxury bags lately—totally ditched her ‘poor student’ persona. She keeps bragging about how her boyfriend buys her everything. That’s not the juicy part though—look, she even posted this with our company’s initials!”
The four fluffy heads crowded over the screen.
“My boyfriend works at YH~ He got a 300k quarterly bonus but only bought me a 100k bag ? Should I ask for the rest so I can get a dress too?” Xiao A read aloud in the influencer’s tone.
“Damn, a 100k bag! Jessica’s been making bank, huh.”
“That’s it?” Shen Shuyi commented dryly. “Only 100k? A bag under 100k doesn’t even count as a bag.”
Xiao B: “Okay, baby, mine was 10 yuan.”
Xiao C: “Shuyi, bragging is a bad habit, you know.”
Who’s bragging!?
Shen Shuyi huffed. “Please, I could hand those out like party favors. I’ll bring one for each of you tomorrow.”
They laughed it off—what could a secretary afford? Two months’ salary, tops.
“So what happened to Jessica?”
Xiao A pondered. “Leaking salary info at Yinghua is a major offense. He’s gonna lose his bonus and year-end review for sure.”
Just as she said that, Jessica appeared from his office looking furious.
Xiao B clicked her tongue. “Then again, his brother-in-law’s the branch’s acting CEO. Bet he’ll sweep this under the rug.”
Sweep it under the rug?
No way! His workplace nemesis finally screwed up—how could he not add fuel to the fire?
“Leave this to me. I’ll make sure Jessica regrets being born.”
They didn’t take him seriously, assuming he’d just file a petty HR report.
Instead, Shen Shuyi directly forwarded the post to Shen Lu.
Shen Lu: “?”
Shen Shuyi: “Caught a corporate corrupt official. Thoughts?”
Shen Lu opened Xiaohongshu. The situation hadn’t blown up yet; otherwise, he would’ve known.
One look at Shen Shuyi’s gleeful tone and he already knew—his brother was feuding with someone at work again and wanted big-brother backup.
Fine. If it earned him a few minutes of hero worship, he’d help.
[Boss: Issue resolved.] [Good work ?] replied Shen Shuyi, satisfied with the efficiency.
But Shen Lu wasn’t done—he had his own favor to ask.
He called. “Little Shu, Zhao’s family reached out. They want to set the wedding before New Year. You got any objections?”
“So soon?”
Shen Shuyi glanced at the calendar—only five months until Lunar New Year.
And the message had come from Zhao Yuheng’s side.
As far as he knew, there were only two people in the Zhao family: Zhao Yuheng and his grandfather, who’d just had surgery and couldn’t really talk.
So the one who’d told Shen Lu about setting the date was… Zhao Yuheng?
That was sudden. Why?
Because he’d ignored his “good morning” text that morning and just replied with a single “mm”?
Really, Zhao Yuheng? That sensitive and insecure?
Couldn’t deal with me, so you tattled to my brother instead?
“What’s wrong?” Shen Lu asked. “You think it’s too soon? I agree it’s a bit rushed—weddings take time to plan.”
Shen Shuyi snapped out of it and said softly, “…It’s fine.”
“?” Shen Lu narrowed his eyes. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother? Where’s the Shen Shuyi who’d rather jump off a building than get married?”
“…”
“I’m blocking you,” Shen Shuyi said flatly.
Shen Lu chuckled. “Glad you’ve come around. Guess things are going well with Zhao Yuheng.”
“…I guess.”
This time, at the mention of marriage, Shen Shuyi didn’t throw a tantrum.
It wasn’t acceptance exactly—more like quiet resignation. As if he’d finally realized he couldn’t escape it.
He sat at his desk, still a bit dazed.
So… they’d be married by the end of the year.
He messaged Zhao Yuheng:
[Did you tattle to my brother?]
[? No.]
[Are you at work? I’m downstairs.]
Shen Shuyi immediately stood up.
He called, pulling open the blinds. “Where are you? I don’t see you.”
“Shen Shuyi,” Zhao Yuheng said after a pause, “your office is on the 32nd floor. You’re looking for me from up there—what, you using a telescope?”
“…”
“What are you doing here anyway?” Shen Shuyi muttered. “If you’re here to see me, I don’t want to talk to someone who tells his fiancé bedtime stories about machine learning.”
“I brought you cake.”
“Still not enough reason.”
Zhao Yuheng smiled faintly.
After fiddling with the visitor system, Shen Shuyi sent him a passcode.
Zhao Yuheng scanned in at the 33rd floor and looked around—realizing the difference between their worlds.
If he wasn’t careful, Shen Lu would probably break his legs for dating his brother.
The only card he held was that Shen Shuyi… liked him.
But that heart was fickle—what if one day, Shen Shuyi stopped liking him? Then what would he have left?
That thought made his chest tighten—an unfamiliar feeling called insecurity.
As the glass elevator rose higher, he gazed down at the city, and greed crept in.
He didn’t just want Shen Shuyi to like him. He wanted him to always like him.
When the elevator doors opened, Shen Shuyi was already waiting eagerly. “My cake!”
Zhao Yuheng handed over the beautifully wrapped box. “And the delivery guy?”
“Just a courier,” Shen Shuyi waved dismissively, remembering he was supposed to still be giving him the cold shoulder.
During lunch break, the floor was quiet but not empty—and a guy like Zhao Yuheng drew plenty of glances.
“Come to my office,” Shen Shuyi said quickly.
Zhao Yuheng stepped inside and instantly saw Shen Shuyi’s touch everywhere.
The dull industrial decor had been softened—papers and pens neatly arranged, soft cushions on the sofa, a carpet under the desk. It looked like a cozy cat’s den.
Shen Shuyi curled up on the couch, savoring his cake.
“I quit my job,” Zhao Yuheng said suddenly.
Shen Shuyi almost spat out his bite. “You—you quit? Why!?”
It couldn’t be because of their little cold war, could it!?
Zhao Yuheng, seriously—never mix romance with career!
More importantly, Zhao Yuheng handed all his salary to him. If Zhao Yuheng quit, that meant he’d lose part of his monthly income too!
Seeing his face, Zhao Yuheng sighed. “Relax. I’ll still give you money every month.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Shen Shuyi said quickly. “Why did you quit?”
“Low income,” Zhao Yuheng replied simply. “It’s fine when I’m alone, but if we’re starting a family, I don’t want to struggle.”
“I’m starting a company with a friend. Plan to hit 200 million in revenue by next year.” He exaggerated slightly—it sounded better if he looked like a promising investment.
So he was the one who suggested the wedding date!
Shen Shuyi’s thoughts veered in the opposite direction from Zhao Yuheng’s expectation.
He silently ate his cake, lost in thought. Some frosting stuck to his lip; Zhao Yuheng wiped it off with his thumb and licked it away.
“You’re not gonna ask about the company’s business model, growth plan, or IPO potential?” Zhao Yuheng teased.
“Why would I? You’re not asking me to invest, are you?” Shen Shuyi looked horrified.
God forbid—he’d rather die than work another job!
“No,” Zhao Yuheng chuckled. “I just wanted you to know—I’ll be rich soon.”
Zhao Yuheng’s little performance fell flat, and he sighed inwardly.
“Oh,” Shen Shuyi said mildly. “I don’t care if you have money or not. We’re an arranged marriage—if you go broke, I’m still stuck with you.”
(Just kidding.)
“Don’t feel insecure, Little Zhao. You already have the most precious thing in the world.”
Zhao Yuheng raised a brow. “Which is?”
“The approval of Shen Shuyi.”
Zhao Yuheng chuckled softly. “You done with that cake?”
Shen Shuyi glanced at the last two bites and shook his head.
Zhao Yuheng took it and finished it in one bite.
Outside, Jessica stormed out of the executive office, face thunderous.
“Didn’t you say this was taken care of? Why does HQ know? They even issued an official penalty! The whole company’s laughing at me!”
His assistant trembled, desperate to deflect blame. “I—I overheard Chloe and Shuyi gossiping this morning. Shuyi sounded upset… said he was going to report it…”
“Shuyi? Him again?” Jessica slammed a fist into the wall. “That guy’s got issues—always against me!”
Just then, he looked up and saw into Shen Shuyi’s office.
The door was ajar. Shen Shuyi sat beside Zhao Yuheng, not touching but undeniably intimate.
Jessica had long suspected Shen Shuyi’s orientation, so this didn’t surprise him much.
The assistant sneered, “Shuyi’s just a parachuted secretary—no way he has the power to report you that high up. Maybe he’s sleeping with someone. Look at that face—totally the type.”
Jessica’s eyes darkened. “I don’t care who he is. If he made me lose face, I’ll make sure he pays.”
Now that the wedding date was set, Shen Shuyi had completely given up resisting.
Judging by Zhao Yuheng’s actions, he clearly wanted to get married too—he’d even quit his job to “build a future.”
All signs suggested Zhao Yuheng wasn’t bluffing before.
“So… when are we going to pick out rings?” Shen Shuyi asked suddenly.
“Rings?” Zhao Yuheng blinked, then remembered his earlier promises about buying bags and cars. Well, what was one more thing?
“I’m free whenever you are.”
Shen Shuyi looked down, tapping something on his phone. After a moment, he said, “Give me your hand.”
Zhao Yuheng obeyed, puzzled.
Then Shen Shuyi took his hand and pressed their palms together—his skin cool, Zhao Yuheng’s warm; his hand smaller, paler, perfectly fitting inside Zhao Yuheng’s broad palm.
He ran a finger along Zhao Yuheng’s ring finger, estimating the size, then tried to pull back.
But Zhao Yuheng suddenly tightened his grip, their fingers lacing together, locking firmly.
“Hey—what are you doing?” Shen Shuyi’s heart jumped.
Zhao Yuheng said softly, “Didn’t you say you wanted to hold hands?”
