Zhu Ran froze, realizing the vague pronoun referred to his boyfriend. Unsure of Wang Ruyun’s stance, he said stiffly, “He said he would.”
Wang Ruyun: “Bring him to me then.”
Zhu Ran looked up in disbelief. “Mom, you accept it…?”
Wang Ruyun felt a bit awkward. Long-held beliefs could not change overnight, and she was not sure if she could face her child’s same-sex partner calmly. But Zhu Ran was so smitten that she worried. As his mother, she had to vet him.
“If I don’t accept, will you stop?” Wang Ruyun said. “It’s just a meeting. Not at the parent-meeting stage yet.”
Zhu Ran: “I didn’t say anything about meeting parents!”
He would not agree to that either.
But this was just a casual meeting… So Zhu Ran dazedly agreed.
Only then did he realize that he himself needed the most preparation between the two parties!
That evening at home, Zhu Ran hemmed and hawed all night without saying it. It was not until Huo Boyan asked him to pick out an outfit for the wedding that he did.
Zhu Ran chose a black suit because he had a similar one.
Huo Boyan raised an eyebrow. “You’re not wearing a groomsman suit?”
Zhu Ran was baffled. “I’m not.”
Huo Boyan: “You’re not being Lin Zilang’s groomsman?”
“No,” Zhu Ran said. “I’m taking photos for them—mmph…”
Before he finished, Huo Boyan leaned down and kissed his lips.
Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Zhu Ran glared at him with watery eyes. “Huo Boyan, what are you doing?”
Huo Boyan kissed his eyelids too, happily saying, “I’m very glad. Thank you.”
Zhu Ran felt ticklish and blinked. “Why are you thanking me out of nowhere…”
Huo Boyan: “You chose not to be a groomsman because of me, right?”
Zhu Ran froze, not expecting Huo Boyan to see through it. Unwilling to admit it, he shook his head. “No, I said I’m taking photos—hiss—”
A slight sting came from his lips like punishment, and Huo Boyan asked again, “Is it for me?”
Zhu Ran fell silent for a few seconds, then sighed. “Huo Boyan, you’re really annoying. Why do you have to call me out?”
“Who told you not to say anything?” Huo Boyan couldn’t stand Zhu Ran’s habit of bottling everything up in his heart. He was determined to correct it, coaxing patiently, “You were good to me. There’s nothing to be shy about, right?”
Zhu Ran couldn’t handle being stared at like that. He buried his face into Huo Boyan’s chest like an ostrich and mumbled stuffily, “I’m just not used to it…”
Huo Boyan pinched Zhu Ran’s cheek and deliberately put on a stern face. “Others turn a 2 out of 10 into a 10, but you turn a 10 into not even a single word. No wonder people bully you.”
Zhu Ran clung shamelessly. “I don’t care. Anyway, you won’t bully me.”
Huo Boyan was helpless. Zhu Ran’s temper had grown bolder since they got together; he was getting harder and harder to manage.
He poked Zhu Ran’s forehead and said teasingly, “You’re lucky your husband is me. If it were someone else, you’d have it worse.”
“You want to switch?” Zhu Ran widened his eyes and turned the tables. “Huo Boyan, so that’s what you were thinking. I really misjudged you!”
Huo Boyan laughed out of annoyance. He grabbed the man, pulled him onto his lap, and gave his butt two sharp smacks. Then he turned Zhu Ran’s face toward him and asked, “Are you behaving now?”
Zhu Ran felt invigorated from the spanking, his cheeks flushed red. Suddenly, boldness surged within him, and he started making up a string of wild accusations. He claimed he was an innocent little lamb in the field, while Huo Boyan was the wicked bully who beat him, abused him, and tormented him every day.
Huo Boyan didn’t go easy this time. He delivered a smack with sixty percent of his strength. Zhu Ran yelped, clutched his tingling butt, and jumped up. He didn’t dare provoke him anymore.
But Huo Boyan wasn’t done yet. He undid the cuffs of his sleeves with elegant movements, rolled them up to reveal his lean, muscular forearms.
Catching Zhu Ran’s gaze, Huo Boyan raised an eyebrow with a half-smile. “Got any more trumped-up charges? Spit them all out at once. I’ll make sure you enjoy it.”
Terrified, Zhu Ran bolted around the room, but Huo Boyan caught him by the ankle and tossed him onto the big bed.
When his pants were yanked down and the bare-bottom spanking began, Zhu Ran finally got scared. He blurted out, “Huo Boyan, my mom wants to meet you!”
Huo Boyan had only intended to teach him a lesson, not really punish him. Hearing this, he let go. “Really?”
With his butt saved, Zhu Ran’s tone grew much bolder. “Why would I lie? She told me herself today.”
Out of nowhere, Huo Boyan said, “Then I can’t wear that suit.”
Zhu Ran: ?
Huo Boyan went to the walk-in closet and came out with a set of custom-made formal attire. He said to Zhu Ran, “I have to wear this.”
Zhu Ran was speechless. “…Huo Boyan, are you planning to crash the wedding in that?”
“Not crashing the wedding,” Huo Boyan said with a smile. “I’m stealing you.”
Zhu Ran: “…”
“Will you let me steal you?” Huo Boyan pestered relentlessly, forcing an answer.
“Fine, fine, steal me however you want,” Zhu Ran gave in under the bombardment, babbling nonsense. “Best if you lock me up so I can’t go out unless you fuck me. Happy with that arrangement?”
“Nonsense,” Huo Boyan pinched Zhu Ran’s nose, his expression suddenly turning serious. “Do you think I’m that unreasonable? I told you, I’m very traditional.”
