Chapter 1198: Millennium Love Story 03

Jin Chen felt a bit dazed.

He raised his eyes to carefully observe Chen Zhu's expression; this dejected look didn't seem feigned.

Perhaps the silence had dragged on; Chen Zhu tugged his mouth into a smile, "I didn't consider everything—Xiao Chen just arrived and is still a bit reserved, right?"

"No."

Jin Chen couldn't tell what was going on for the moment; this move of retreating to advance left him a bit unable to cope, and he immediately said, "What I mean is, you cook well, so you can do anything."

"Really…"

Chen Zhu's eyes and brows bore a faint smile, somewhat moved, "All right, then I'll make a bit more tonight."

He wiped the table clean, and as he stood up he suddenly said something.

"Thank you, Xiao Chen."

Jin Chen slowly raised his skeptical eyebrows.

What the hell, thanks for the Dao?

Chen Zhu didn't wait for an answer, heading straight to the kitchen to wash dishes; the joy leaking from the corners of his eyes grew even richer.

Only he knew how satisfied he was.

From now on there would be someone relying on him for support, allowing him to make lots of tasty food to feed them, and they would live together.

Right after happily washing the dishes, someone ahead shouted about wanting to buy cake; Chen Zhu made a sound, wiped his hands, and went over.

Jin Chen spent three seconds thinking between helping out and lying down to rest, then in the fourth second he lay down without any burden, pulling out his latest model phone and fiddling with it.

A young man in his early twenties has the most vigor; the electric fan isn't big, and even lying down Jin Chen broke out in a sweat all over his face.

He tossed aside his phone, ran into the kitchen and splashed cold water on his face, then suddenly saw a black plastic bag that clashed with the neat kitchenware on the counter; before he could look at it, he heard Chen Zhu calling from outside.

"What's wrong?"

Jin Chen came out to ask, his face still dripping water; it was so cool he didn't bother to wipe it.

And the next second Chen Zhu pressed a piece of paper onto his face.

Jin Chen stayed silent for half a second, relaxed his shoulders without refusing, and lazily let him wipe with drooping eyelids.

"What do you want me for?" Jin Chen asked again.

Chen Zhu's breathing was steady; he casually crumpled the soaked tissue into a ball, his tone growing ever gentler.

"It's hot in the back; I thought you must be uncomfortable, so I borrowed a standing fan from next door—I'll pick up a new one when I go grocery shopping tonight."

"From now on I can't let you suffer."

Jin Chen tilted his head slightly, "All right."

After saying that, perhaps feeling the response was a bit cold, he sat back on the sofa on the cool mahjong mat and added another sentence.

"Thank you."

Chen Zhu slightly furrowed his brows, raised a hand to stroke Jin Chen's damp forehead hair, "Xiao Chen, you don't need to thank me; family doesn't say thank you."

Jin Chen retorted, "You just said that."

He remembered! How strange.

Who would have thought it would backfire; Chen Zhu's smile grew warm, "So Xiao Chen also considers me family now? That's great."

"Then from now on neither of us will say thank you."

Jin Chen: "……"

Watching Chen Zhu's back as he fiddled with the standing fan, Jin Chen scratched his head.

How come I can't keep up with my wife's train of thought.

The breeze from the standing fan was much cooler; Jin Chen lazily leaned on the mahjong mat, quickly grew drowsy, and drifted off to sleep in a hazy state.

It was just restless sleep; perhaps because he hadn't adjusted after sitting long on the bus, he constantly felt eyes on him, like a ghost pressing down on the bed.

In midsummer, darkness fell late; at half past six Chen Zhu finally closed the shop door, drove the minivan to take Jin Chen first to the vegetable market, then went to the market to buy daily necessities, returning home only near eight o'clock.

The house Jinlaoxiu left to Chen Zhu is one unit in a tube building; downstairs the electrical wires are tangled and hanging, and by evening elders already come out shaking palm-leaf fans for a stroll; the blue glass on the curved-tile exterior wall can reflect people's silhouettes.

In the tube building, most households are familiar to each other, but only Jin Chen is a new face, dressing in a strikingly unconventional way, drawing many gazes.

Jin Chen wore earphones, looking straight ahead, and followed Chen Zhu upstairs.

Upon entering the tube building's main gate, a cool, shaded feeling hit him; the deep-blue glass blocked sunlight, so it stayed shady all day without needing a fan.

It was just dark; a few of the voice-activated lights in the stairwell were broken, and as he climbed the stairs Jin Chen thought, "This place would be perfect for murder and robbery—if only someone with poor vision came by, they wouldn't see anything."

"What are you thinking about, Xiao Chen?" Chen Zhu saw his contemplative gaze and asked with a smile.

Jin Chen blurted out, "Murder and robbery."

Chen Zhu: "……Ah?"

The two of them, after reacting, simultaneously halted their steps.

Jin Chen tried to cover up, turning his head to look at Chen Zhu, "I was…… drafting a story."

Chen Zhu nodded and said okay, still smiling broadly, though this smile looked teasing no matter how you viewed it.

Then Jin Chen continued the awkward silence, remaining quiet all the way up to the seventh floor, when Chen Zhu grabbed his arm and said, "We're here."

Chen Zhu opened the door, carrying a large bag of luggage, and went in first to turn on the light.

The long tubular light flickered a few times before blazing on.

Jin Chen glanced around the living room; his first impression was that it was clean.

Although the furniture was a bit cramped, it was tidy and orderly; the wooden furniture's TV stand held a big-box color TV covered with a plain cloth, and beside it lay an almanac with many days marked by checkmarks and doodles.

Even the large porcelain tea jar on the coffee table was white, without any accumulated tea stain.

"I live alone, so it's a bit shabby." Seeing Jin Chen looking around, Chen Zhu felt a little embarrassed, switched on the oscillating fan, and said, "If you feel something is missing in the house, Xiao Chen, remember to tell me."

"Not shabby."

Jin Chen tossed his backpack aside, changed his shoes, and muttered, "It's much better than that empty house."

"As long as you can adapt to living, it's fine."

Chen Zhu put the luggage bag into the already tidied new room, went to take a shower, took out all the dishes he planned to cook for tonight, put the rest into the fridge, then went into Jin Chen's new room, intending to help him unpack his luggage.

Jin Chen sat on the Living Room Sofa, watching Chen Zhu walk around the house, inexplicably having the illusion that the sofa was scorching his buttocks.

The wife is bustling back and forth there, although she doesn't know what she's busy with, but who could sit still!

He touched the tip of his nose, then followed into the room.

Chen Zhu was tidying up clothes, neatly folded them aside, and thoughtfully did not move the intimate garments.

Jin Chen's attention, however, was not on that.

After showering, Chen Zhu changed into the simplest plain white sweat shirt vest, a thin layer of sheer white, his good figure almost fully visible.

Almost fully visible, meaning realistic, without exaggeration.

Chen Zhu's skin is a healthy fair tone, with just-right back and arm muscles, making the term "broad shoulders and narrow waist" more concrete; when folding clothes, the veins on his forearms are prominent.

Moreover… moreover, the soft chest muscles and pink hue barely covered by the front vest.

Jin Chen silently stepped back half a step, began to doubt whether, in the days ahead without catching up, he could restrain himself.

0731: 【As everyone knows, the self-control to be proud of is utterly worthless!】

【……】