Chapter 44: A Match Made in Heaven
Xu Huazhang took the wine glass from Mu Lantu’s hand. “Baby, with praise like that, maybe I should learn to cook?”
Mu Lantu placed the wine bottle on the dining table, giving him a sideways glance. “Brother Zhou’s about to make hot and sour shredded potatoes—though I think he won’t even need to add vinegar.”
Xu Huazhang followed up, “So, to avoid drowning in jealousy, does this mean I’ve passed my probation?”
Mu Lantu stared at him in disbelief. Just one day and he wanted to be off probation? He had to be dreaming.
Xu Huazhang was clearly teasing him. Every expression Mu Lantu made was amusing and adorable in his eyes—he wanted to see every side of him.
“Dinner’s ready!”
Ge Tao came out with the baked fish and spicy stir-fried clams. The rich, mouthwatering aroma instantly filled the room.
Mu Lantu uncorked the wine, and it was even more intense—the intoxicating fragrance barged into their noses without any regard for manners.
Ge Tao stared at the wine without blinking. His stomach growled on cue.
Zhou Ye jogged out with two more dishes, eyes wide with delight.
“My god, this wine smells amazing! Ge Tao, don’t just stand there—grab the rest!”
The four of them quickly placed all the dishes on the table and sat down.
It was a rectangular table. Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang sat side by side, while Ge Tao and Zhou Ye sat across from them, rubbing their hands eagerly as they eyed the wine.
The black-and-white little dumpling waddled over to them, but no one paid it any attention. Hugging the bamboo-shoot plushie Mu Lantu had bought it, it sulkily wandered away.
Mu Lantu picked up the wine bottle and poured for Xu Huazhang first, then for tonight’s head chef Zhou Ye, assistant Ge Tao, and finally for himself.
To be honest, Zhou Ye and Ge Tao had attended more than a few banquets with Xu Huazhang and had even been to the Xu family residence several times. They’d drunk plenty of fine wine. But none of it compared to the fragrance of tonight’s bottle. Their reactions were nearly identical—holding their glasses with both hands, lifting them cautiously as if afraid to spill a drop, sniffing for a long time before even tasting it. And even before drinking, they already felt a little tipsy from the aroma alone.
“Damn! Who’s drinking wine in there? Can I get in on that?!”
Someone with a big mouth shouted from outside. In the still night air, the voice came through loud and clear.
All four of them laughed.
Mu Lantu raised his glass. “Cheers!”
They each took a sip—just a small one.
Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang preferred to savor slowly. The more time they spent together, the more they discovered how in sync they were.
Zhou Ye and Ge Tao, meanwhile, were reluctant to finish even one mouthful. Each sip was precious, and they took ages to swallow. One word: smooth. Two words: fragrant and smooth.
Glasses clinked, laughter flowed, and the light buzz they felt was just right.
Since Zhou Ye and Ge Tao had done the heavy lifting in the kitchen, Mu Lantu let them rest while he and Xu Huazhang cleared the table and brought the dishes into the kitchen.
Watching Xu Huazhang try to wash greasy plates under cold water without even using dish soap, Mu Lantu shook his head. “You don’t need to wash—there’s a dishwasher. Go sit in the living room. I’ll clean up.”
Xu Huazhang wrapped his arms around him. Though not drunk, the wine made him feel relaxed and a little lazy. He rested his chin on Mu Lantu’s shoulder, his cheek brushing against his, making some of his hair tickle Mu Lantu’s skin—and heart.
“I want to help too.”
His voice was lazy and soft, like he was being clingy, whispering directly into Mu Lantu’s ear.
Mu Lantu’s breath hitched, his heart out of rhythm. Regaining some reason, he pushed Xu Huazhang away and handed him a cleaning cloth. “Then go wipe the table.”
Xu Huazhang took the cloth—then, suddenly, Mu Lantu felt warmth on his lips. It took a beat for him to realize what it was, and then his face flushed. When he looked again, Xu Huazhang was already diligently wiping the table.
Mu Lantu touched his lips, a bit frustrated. Why run off so fast? He didn’t even get to enjoy it.
Then, his gaze froze. The heat in his heart instantly cooled as he watched Xu Huazhang with disbelief.
The cloth… was dry!
There were food scraps and oil on the table, and Xu Huazhang was just smearing them around, making an even bigger mess.
After a moment, Xu Huazhang finally realized something was wrong. He held the cloth up, examining it from all angles.
Mu Lantu walked over and said diplomatically, “Sweetheart, do you think maybe the cloth needs to be dampened and wrung out before using it?”
Sweetheart?
Xu Huazhang liked that name very much. He gave Mu Lantu a charming smile and nodded. Then, frowning at the cloth, he said, “That’s so troublesome? I thought it automatically absorbed all the dirt.”
Mu Lantu couldn’t bear to look. “Maybe someday someone will invent one like that.”
Xu Huazhang pondered a moment. “That wouldn’t be hard. I have a friend in that field. I’ll ask him to make some for you.”
Mu Lantu cleared his throat. Awkward. He hadn’t meant it seriously.
Xu Huazhang read his expression perfectly. As punishment, he pinched Mu Lantu’s nose with his clean hand.
They joked and bickered for a while, eventually cleaning up the kitchen and table. Then Mu Lantu made four cups of warm milk.
It was already quite late. Xu Huazhang didn’t want to leave, but if he stayed, Ge Tao and Zhou Ye would have to stay too—which would be too much trouble for Mu Lantu. So after finishing their milk and sitting for a while, they finally said goodbye.
“Baby, go to bed early. Call me when you wake up tomorrow morning—I’ll buy you breakfast.”
“Okay.”
Mu Lantu went to the study and brought back a bottle of wine.
Ge Tao and Zhou Ye’s eyes sparkled. It was a gift for the boss, but maybe they could sneak a sip too.
Xu Huazhang didn’t take it. “You keep it. If I feel like drinking, I’ll come over and drink it with you.”
“Alright.”
Xu Huazhang looked around the apartment. It wasn’t small in size, but there were too few rooms. Mu Lantu kept his wine in the study, which wasn’t ideal—neither for the wine nor for the books.
“Baby, this place is too small. Why not move in with me? The top floor has plenty of rooms, and there’s one specifically for storing wine. If you don’t like high-rises, I have other properties—villas, courtyard homes, duplex apartments. All with lots of rooms. You can choose whatever you like.”
Mu Lantu responded coldly, “No need.”
Xu Huazhang didn’t realize he had unknowingly earned the resentment of a future real estate tycoon. Still, he tried persuading him, “We’ll live together, but not in the same room.”
“No.” Mu Lantu’s tone was firm.
Xu Huazhang said regretfully, “I’ll ask again in a few days.”
“Get lost.” Mu Lantu pushed him out the door.
After closing it, Mu Lantu stared at the door for a moment and inexplicably smiled, then went to the bathroom for a shower.
He showered for quite a while…
When he came out, his handsome face was glowing with a soft flush, eyes dewy, and he exuded a lazy, deadly kind of sex appeal.
Lying on the bed, he fiddled with his watch for a bit before turning off the lights…
The new day was May 15th.
Mu Lantu woke up after the sun was fully up. Fully rested, he felt refreshed.
Instead of rushing to wash up, he headed to the study, turned on the Dream Home holographic interface, and picked a suitable location.
He picked up the LEGO villa Xu Huazhang had put together. Feeling slightly nervous, he hit “Deploy.”
[Deployment Successful.]
Arms crossed, staring at the villa inside the Dream Home, Mu Lantu blinked mischievously.
After storing away all the items in the study that shouldn’t be left out, he sent Xu Huazhang a message.
[Mu Lantu: Morning. You up?]
[Gorgeous Beauty : Morning, baby. Been up since six—used to waking at this time. What do you want for breakfast?]
Mu Lantu was impressed. He was far more disciplined than him.
[Mu Lantu: Two orders of stir-fried rice noodles and two tea eggs.]
[Gorgeous Beauty : No porridge or soup?]
[Mu Lantu: No need. I’ll make some beef noodles at home too. You didn’t finish the beef you brought yesterday.]
[Gorgeous Beauty : Okay, wait for me, about ten minutes.]
Mu Lantu quickly washed up and changed, cooked two bowls of noodles, heated up the beef in the microwave, and layered it on top, finishing with a handful of chopped scallions.
Less than two minutes later, Xu Huazhang arrived with the other two.
Xu Huazhang was holding two lunchboxes—he’d brought his own containers to buy breakfast.
“Baby, try to avoid using disposable boxes and chopsticks when you can.”
“Got it.” Seeing how much food there was, Mu Lantu figured they’d already eaten, so he asked Ge Tao and Zhou Ye, “Want some more noodles?”
They both declined.
Mu Lantu brought out the noodles and asked Xu Huazhang, “What about you?”
There were two bowls and two sets of chopsticks. Xu Huazhang said, “I’ll have a bit with you.”
Mu Lantu got a small bowl and gave him some stir-fried noodles.
After breakfast, he took Xu Huazhang into the study.
Ge Tao and Zhou Ye stayed in the living room, where they could watch TV or play on their phones. Mu Lantu even prepared snacks and fruit plates for them.
Xu Huazhang casually looked around the study, smiling when he saw all the LEGO models.
“Baby, we’re a perfect match.”
Mu Lantu thought the same, but didn’t want Xu Huazhang to get too cocky, so he just smiled without replying.
He dragged a cardboard box over to the computer desk. “I’ll be streaming for two hours this morning. Want to entertain yourself? This box is full of LEGO.”
Xu Huazhang asked, “What are you building today?”
Mu Lantu replied that he was putting together some roads.
“I’ll help.”
Mu Lantu also wanted to test whether Xu Huazhang’s second LEGO build could be deployed, so he happily agreed.
He set Xu Huazhang up behind the computer, completely out of camera view.
Snacks, fruit, drinks—all prepared. He got more than Ge Tao and Zhou Ye. Mu Lantu had even bought a variety of lollipops yesterday, but only brought out two—it wouldn’t be good to eat too many.
Xu Huazhang liked that he was treated specially. He cradled the back of Mu Lantu’s head and kissed his forehead.
Just about to go live, Mu Lantu gave up on kissing him on the lips and watched him sit down.
“Time to go live. Don’t make any noise, okay?”
Xu Huazhang nodded, eyes wandering.
Mu Lantu still felt a bit unsure but started the stream anyway.
“Welcome to my livestream. Today we’re continuing to build roads. Too many roads can get boring though, so in the future I’ll rotate between buildings, transit vehicles, and roads.”
He glanced at Xu Huazhang, who was playing on his phone.
[HZ sent 520 lollipops!]
The viewers perked up, and the chat exploded.
[I knew it! I said HZ would make a move one day!]
[If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time HZ gifted something other than a treasure map—and 520? That number is special!]
[“WX is for real” sent a firework! This ship is now officially half-canon—throwing flowers!]
[“Spicy Strips” is legit too! “So” is HZ, and “Spicy Strips”.]
[So… HZ isn’t a bro, but… a sis?]
[WTF kind of sister? Are you trying to kill me so you can inherit my credit card?]
[Let me chime in—HZ’s profile says male.]
[Isn’t that even better for shipping them?]
Translator’s Note:
Sorry if my translation for the viewer’s comment section is a bit off, I always have trouble with translating Chinese slang.
