Chapter 11: A Qualified Husband
“Tell me, doesn’t this contact name pair perfectly with what he sent? It’s practically seamless!”
Zhu Zhixi showed Liang Yi’en the chat history, and while he was at it, complained about the past few days of cohabitation with this fake husband.
The furry children were crying to be fed. Liang Yi’en was busy preparing their meals, only glancing at the screen once before lowering his head again and sprinkling freeze-dried treats into the large bowls one by one.
“Senior, why do I feel like Teacher Fu treats you pretty well?”
Zhu Zhixi looked utterly incredulous. “Where does he treat me well?!”
“At eleven-thirty at night, he urges you to sleep early, and he’s already arranged to drive over after work to pick you up from the museum. S University is at least ten kilometers from the museum, right? And during evening rush hour too. Isn’t that pretty competent?”
Zhu Zhixi immediately clarified, “That’s because we’re going to his house for dinner tonight. Of course he has to come pick me up and put on a show?”
Actually, saying it like that was a little unfair too, Zhu Zhixi thought.
He had said they could meet near Fu Rangyi’s house and pretend they had gone together, but Fu Rangyi said it would be hard to get a taxi at that time, asked for the address anyway, and insisted on picking him up.
At certain times, that person did indeed have a kind of old-fashioned gentlemanliness, as well as a baffling sense of responsibility.
“You’re already going to your father-in-law and mother-in-law’s house for dinner?”
Zhu Zhixi came back to himself and clicked his tongue. “What’s wrong with you? Why is your elbow always turning outward?”
“As your Alpha friend, I think I still have some authority on this point,” Liang Yi’en said. “Top-tier Alpha pheromones are complex and highly aggressive. Smell even a little, and you’ll have a headache all afternoon. When I heard you two were living together, I could already imagine how painful it would be the next time I saw you. But there isn’t even a tiny bit of his scent on you. Do you know how exaggerated that is?”
Zhu Zhixi blinked. “How exaggerated?”
Liang Yi’en added bluntly, “You’d even get a bit of my pheromones on you, but none of his.”
That was true.
“He wears that broken bracelet every day. A top-tier Alpha is living like a beta with no pheromones. Maybe there aren’t even many people at your school who know what his pheromones smell like.”
Liang Yi’en smiled. “There was a post on the forum discussing it before. To be precise, people were guessing. Later, that post was deleted. Everyone guessed Fu Rangyi applied to have it taken down himself.”
Zhu Zhixi was amused. That did sound exactly like something he would do.
But after laughing, a faint pleasure suddenly rose in his heart. Because last night, he had learned the pheromone scent that Fu Rangyi was unwilling to reveal to outsiders.
“Then… did those students ever reach a conclusion?” Zhu Zhixi’s voice even lowered a few degrees. For some inexplicable reason, he felt a little guilty and did not know what motive lay behind this kind of “probing.”
“Someone said they seemed to have smelled it during his susceptible period.”
Zhu Zhixi’s hand paused, and he turned his head to ask, “Really? What scent?”
“They said it was like cedar and amber?”
Wrong guess, classmates.
In the next second, Zhu Zhixi felt something was off and frowned.
What am I feeling smug about?
After Liang Yi’en finished, he also let out a small laugh. “Most likely made up. Nine out of ten Alphas are cedar. Shouldn’t a top-tier Alpha be a little more special?”
It was indeed very special.
There probably were not many people in this world who would believe that Fu Rangyi’s pheromones actually carried a faint floral scent. It did not match how he looked at all.
I know, but I can’t smell it.
Zhu Zhixi’s mood was somewhat complicated. His heart swelled with secret happiness, yet mixed into it were a few tiny grains of sand, rubbing it slightly sour.
Perhaps it was precisely because he could not smell it that Fu Rangyi did not care as much about him knowing.
Everyone liked being allowed to share a secret. It was a kind of privilege. But while enjoying being the “special” tree hollow, one also feared being nothing more than a tree hollow—unable to speak, and therefore safe.
A burst of crying suddenly came from inside the room, like the sound of a child. Zhu Zhixi’s ears twitched, and he instantly broke away from his thoughts, reacting swiftly as he looked toward the source of the sound.
“Liang Yi’en, picking up cats and dogs isn’t enough for you now? You’ve started picking up children too?”
“You misheard.”
Liang Yi’en’s expression did not change. He directly ignored the crying and stood up, carrying the prepared food trays to the yard. “Are you sick or something? You’re even hearing things.”
The moment he heard the word “sick,” Zhu Zhixi felt as if someone had suddenly stepped on his tail. He sank into self-doubt, and even his head began to ache faintly.
A moment later, he pricked up his ears and listened again. Sure enough, the crying had disappeared. Only the impatient, rising and falling meows in the yard remained.
He quickly went to the backyard too, helping place the prepared cat food in front of the cats one by one.
The little cats were eager to enjoy their meal, crowding together and making purring sounds. He found them truly adorable, so he recorded a short video, watched it twice himself, and developed the urge to share it. Fu Rangyi’s chat box happened to be at the very top, because not long ago, he had said he would drive over to pick him up.
So Zhu Zhixi sent the video over.
[Zhu Zhixi: Come watch the kittens having dinner!]
[Zhu Zhixi: It is recommended to turn the sound all the way up when watching this video. You’ll gain the happiest minute in the whole world!]
“Senior, help me get the dog food bag.”
“Coming!”
He put away his phone and explained a few things as he walked over. “Xiao En, I ran into something strange recently. If I tell you, you definitely won’t believe it either… So I’ve been suspicious of everything. Like that little white dog I picked up before. I kept worrying it was a hallucination, so afterward, I went back near that police station several times and even asked the police officers there. None of them had seen it. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
But Liang Yi’en also seemed a little distracted. His attention was not on what was in front of him, and he unexpectedly echoed, “Me too.”
“Mm?” Zhu Zhixi’s gossiping heart ignited. He tilted his head and leaned closer. “What strange thing did you encounter?”
“I…” Liang Yi’en came back to himself, opened his mouth, and hesitated for a long time.
But after glancing at the time on his phone, he still could not say it. “Let’s talk next time. Didn’t you make an appointment to go to the museum at two? If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”
When Zhu Zhixi checked the time, he was startled too and immediately stood up. “Really! Then I’m leaving first!”
Liang Yi’en went out to see him off. When he turned back, he saw the backpack on the chair. “Your bag!”
Not long after, Zhu Zhixi came rushing back in a flurry. He took the bag from Liang Yi’en, then took out a carefully wrapped gift from inside. It was wrapped in green paper with a red ribbon, and there was even a card clipped onto it.
“I bought ten boxes of canned food for the cats and dogs. They’ll be delivered tomorrow. I’m leaving first!” He hugged Liang Yi’en and stuffed the gift into his arms. “Xiao En, Merry Christmas in advance!”
“Thank you, senior.”
Just like that, he left in a rush and hailed a car to the museum. Fortunately, the road was not congested, and he arrived at exactly the right time.
Unlike the increasingly festive atmosphere on the streets, this place was extremely quiet. Friday was clearly not a closing day, yet the museum was almost empty.
The person receiving him was a young Alpha named Zhou Ming, the deputy director.
He was gentle and courteous. After shaking hands, he explained, “The director isn’t here today. He went out of town for a conference. It was something he actively attended earlier for the sake of getting funding approved. The meeting was delayed for some reason.”
After saying this, he smiled, his tone somewhat regretful. “But looking at it now, the funding doesn’t seem that important anymore.”
Zhu Zhixi also sighed.
Standing inside the museum and looking at these sealed-away exhibits, scattered memories surfaced in his mind. When he was in middle school, he had come here a few times for school-organized activities. At that time, this place had been packed with youthful faces. Everyone had listened carefully to the explanations, and many pairs of bright eyes had been reflected in the glass.
Back then, he had never imagined that when he returned here again, everything would be coming to an end.
Many endings in this world seemed to arrive so suddenly.
Out of professional habit, Zhu Zhixi did not like starting from blueprints and models. He preferred browsing immersively, repeatedly walking around the exhibition halls from the perspective of a visitor, looking for inspiration for future exhibition design.
This took a lot of time and was also tiring, so he explained clearly to Zhou Ming from the very beginning.
“You don’t need to accompany me. I can take my time looking around by myself, and I also need to take photos and videos. It’ll take a long time.”
“It’s all right.” Zhou Ming looked at him with a gentle smile. “I’d be happy to walk around with you. And if you have any questions, I can help you at any time.”
So gentle, unlike a certain someone.
Thinking this, Zhu Zhixi opened his phone and glanced at it, only to find that Fu Rangyi had actually replied ten minutes ago.
But he had not commented on the cute cat video. Instead, he had sent a photo.
The photo showed part of his hand, holding a pink “magic wand”—a long stick with a cream-yellow five-pointed star at the top.
[Pretty Widower: May I ask what this is? Why did it appear on the seasoning counter in the kitchen?]
Zhu Zhixi burst out laughing.
He could even imagine how utterly confused Fu Rangyi must have looked when he got up in the morning and was preparing breakfast, only to see this thing.
Also, the contrast of his hand holding this thing was way too strong.
[Zhu Zhixi: It’s for sprinkling seasoning. A magic-wand seasoning jar.]
[Pretty Widower: ?]
[Zhu Zhixi: Don’t you think using this to sprinkle seasoning makes the food taste a little better? I already filled it with salt for you. Hurry and say thank you.]
This time, Fu Rangyi did not reply instantly, but Zhu Zhixi was delighted and completely ignored the person accompanying him beside him.
[Zhu Zhixi: Husband, hurry and say thank you.]
[Pretty Widower: Thank you. But I’ll change it back when I get home.]
[Zhu Zhixi: Then the day after tomorrow, I’ll replace all the seasoning jars with magic wands and fill the kitchen counter with a whole row of them, so every time you cook, you’ll gain the joy of casting spells.]
[Pretty Widower: Looks like your work isn’t very interesting, since you actually have time to discuss kitchenware you don’t even use.]
[Zhu Zhixi: Same to you, Professor Slacking Off.]
Zhou Ming, who was beside him, could not help asking, “How about we start from the first floor?”
Zhu Zhixi put away his phone and smiled as he nodded. “Sure. Thank you for accompanying me. Sorry for the trouble.”
“No trouble at all. It’s my honor.”
Over the next few hours, the two of them almost walked through all four floors of the museum twice. They collected many photos and videos and also talked a lot about the museum’s history.
Zhou Ming was meticulous and responsible in his work. He had prepared a lot of printed materials in advance, from collection catalogs to museum introductions, everything they could need.
Before Zhu Zhixi left, when they were almost at the entrance, Zhou Ming handed the thick stack of materials to him.
“If you have any questions, contact me on WeChat anytime. You can also come find me anytime. I’m basically always at the museum.”
“Okay.” Holding the materials, Zhu Zhixi felt very reassured.
He said honestly, “Actually, this is my first time doing an exhibition related to cultural relics. The ones I did before were all art exhibitions. The difference is still quite big.”
It was already late. The blue-purple night soaked the entire street, and the light at the museum entrance was like a small patch of pale golden ripples, illuminating Zhu Zhixi’s face until it looked bright and captivating.
“Do you feel anxious?” Zhou Ming looked into his eyes and smiled.
After standing there for only a short while, Zhu Zhixi’s nose tip and cheeks were reddened by the wind.
“Of course. I haven’t curated an exhibition in a long time, so I’m still a little nervous, especially for such an important exhibition.”
“But you’re very impressive.” Zhou Ming paused, then confessed, “Actually… I’ve seen one of your exhibitions, in LA. I happened to be on a business trip at a museum there during that time, so I went. I especially liked it. And at the time, I also saw you. You were communicating with two staff members about the lighting.”
He fell into memory, trying to describe what Zhu Zhixi had looked like then. His voice was somewhat tight and hoarse.
“You were wearing a Bluetooth headset at the time, and a very loose, irregular satin white shirt, a dark gray trench coat, with tassels at the hem. It looked beautiful when you moved. I also remember you were wearing a strand of Tahitian black pearls.”
When he said this, Zhu Zhixi also sank into memory. After thinking for a moment, he immediately smiled brightly. That strand of pearls had been part of his mother’s collection, and he liked it very much. Because Zhou Ming remembered this detail, he gained even more goodwill toward him.
“Right, that was the second day after opening! Your memory is really good.”
Zhou Ming pursed his lips, his smile suddenly becoming a little shy. “I also remember that you were busy explaining things to people then. I listened from the side and felt that your viewpoints were very fresh, and your explanation style was very interesting too. At the time, there were a few pieces I wanted to ask you to explain, but there were really too many people waiting for you. I had to catch a flight afterward, so it was quite a pity.”
Zhu Zhixi smiled, his eyes bright. “Really? Then that really is a shame. Otherwise, we would have met much earlier. But in the upcoming period, there will still be many…”
Before he could finish speaking, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
“It’s really hard to park here.”
Zhu Zhixi froze for a second, then turned his head quickly.
Eh?
Fu Rangyi wore a black overcoat, walking up the marble steps one by one until he finally arrived in front of the two of them.
With some confusion and a little surprise, Zhu Zhixi asked, “Didn’t you say there was traffic? So fast?”
“I left school early.” After pausing for a moment, he casually added, “I was afraid you’d wait too long.”
Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi applauded Fu Rangyi’s superb acting skills in his heart. How did this look anything like the sharp-tongued ghost who bickered with him at home and never yielded a single sentence?
Of course, he also did not look like a married man forced by him to use a magic wand to sprinkle salt.
He suddenly really wanted to send Fu Rangyi a message mocking his affected acting in public, but after feeling around for a long time, he could not find his phone.
Unexpectedly, Fu Rangyi beside him actually stretched out his hand, seeming to hand something over. When Zhu Zhixi looked up, it turned out to be allergy medicine.
Ah? He blinked in confusion.
Fu Rangyi also frowned, seeming to realize something was wrong. But miraculously, he did not become embarrassed. His gaze shifted away, and he reached into the side pocket of Zhu Zhixi’s backpack, took out his phone, and handed it over.
How did he guess the exact exam question? Was this what top students were like??
“Ah, thank you.” Zhu Zhixi took the phone in disbelief and no longer felt embarrassed enough to send him a sharp review of his acting.
At this moment, Fu Rangyi leaned closer, almost pressing against his ear. “Who is this?”
Only then did Zhu Zhixi remember that he had forgotten to introduce them. He clapped his hands and smiled. “I almost forgot! This is Director Zhou. He showed me around the museum today. He’s super nice and especially careful and responsible.”
Zhou Ming smiled and reached out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Just call me Zhou Ming. Some time ago, I invited Zhixi to help us curate an exhibition, so I’ll also be the one coordinating this project.”
Zhu Zhixi’s eyes lit up. “Ah, so you were the one who invited…”
Before he could finish, Fu Rangyi reached out, shook Zhou Ming’s hand, and introduced himself.
“Hello. I’m Zhixi’s husband, Fu Rangyi. Nice to meet you.”
Author’s Note:
Liang Yi’en has his own CP. Not Li Qiao, and not Big Brother Zhu either. He and Xiao Xi are purely besties.
Big Brother Zhu also has his own CP. Don’t pair him with the From2 guys!
—Mini Theater—
Fu Rangyi, after returning to the office after class:
He opened his phone, played the video, played it three times, took four screenshots, and finally captured a shot of a certain someone’s hand petting the cat. He opened the chat window and edited text.
[Pretty Widower: Are you trying to get a big red face and go to the museum like last time?]
Delete, delete.
[Pretty Widower: Don’t you think you should learn to stay away from allergens?]
Delete, delete.
…
Cancel sending the screenshot. A little unwilling. Open the photo album again.
After hesitating for one minute, he selected the “magic wand” photo from that morning and tapped send.
