Chapter 49: Forgetting Part 2

“It’s really just the three of us?” Tao Zhi, harassed and already leaning toward compromise, confirmed with Fu Zheng.

Fu Zheng paused slightly, then declared loudly, “Of course!”

His voice was so loud it drew attention from passersby nearby. Several gazes turned their way. Tao Zhi felt embarrassed and quickly pulled him aside.

Fu Zheng watched Tao Zhi’s fingers on his arm, his heart pounding like a startled deer.

Tao Zhi really knew how to handle him.

Would he really turn into a henpecked husband in the future?

It felt embarrassing.

His performance on the 178k test was already embarrassing. They all laughed at him privately.

But if it was with Tao Zhi…

“You’re sure your brother won’t come, right?” Tao Zhi, still uneasy, confirmed again.

Fu Zheng snapped back. “Huh? No, he won’t.”

Tao Zhi: “…Really?”

“Really.” Fu Zheng found it a bit baffling.

He frowned, unhappy that Tao Zhi kept mentioning Fu Si Heng. This was between him and his mom—what did Fu Si Heng have to do with it?

But since Tao Zhi asked, Fu Zheng said, “Fu Si Heng has a business trip on Saturday; he won’t come.”

“Mom asked me to invite you to that new resort in the suburbs on Saturday. Just you, me, and her—the three of us.”

“It’s pretending to be your crush.” Tao Zhi corrected him. “You don’t have a crush; you’re hiring me to get rid of your mom.”

The way Fu Zheng said it was so weird, like it was real.

It wasn’t real.

He wasn’t gay.

On this point, Tao Zhi was inexplicably stubborn.

Fu Zheng: “…”

Tao Zhi drew such a clear line, and Fu Zheng felt displeased. He insisted on blurring it. “Same thing.”

“Not the same at all.” Tao Zhi muttered softly, refusing to admit he was gay.

Before Fu Zheng could speak again, he quickly asked, “So where’s your brother going for his trip?”

“?”

His brother again.

“Tell me.” Tao Zhi urged.

“H City, I think.” Fu Zheng racked his brain, suppressing his jealousy as he answered. “Pretty far.”

Tao Zhi: “Oh.”

Yeah, that was far—eight cities away.

“Okay…” Tao Zhi hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing. “Fine, I’ll help you this once.”

“You have to swear your brother won’t show up.”

Fine.

Fu Zheng raised three fingers in a swear. “I swear my bro—damn.”

He almost got led astray by Tao Zhi. Gritting his teeth, Fu Zheng corrected himself. “I swear Fu Si Heng won’t be there.”

“No.” After swearing, Fu Zheng couldn’t get past it. His mood was incredibly complicated. “Why do you care so much about my brother? Does this have anything to do with him?”

“Of course it does.” Tao Zhi was relatively calm now. He pursed his lips and half-truthfully told him, “You forgot you told me to seduce him before? Back at the club, I touched his hand. And on New Year’s, he taught me to ski—there was bound to be some physical contact.”

“We had that flirty thing going… running into him now would be super awkward.”

“Plus, I’m pretending to be your crush.”

“Don’t you think the relationships are too tangled?”

Tao Zhi’s words came one after another, and they actually made sense.

Fu Zheng: “…”

Yeah, it was pretty tangled.

Damn.

“I get it. Don’t mention this again.” Tao Zhi’s mood was complicated, but Fu Zheng’s was even more so. Having his past stupid coercion of Tao Zhi brought up again felt like a slap in the face. “I guarantee he won’t show.”

“Good.” Tao Zhi nodded.

With agreement reached, Fu Zheng’s mood lifted again.

It was lunchtime, so he planned to treat Tao Zhi to a meal—

He’d just taken a step forward when Tao Zhi tugged at his shirt hem.

Fu Zheng froze.

“Transfer the money.” Tao Zhi was a bit awkward and shy. “No need for thirty thousand—ten thousand is fine. Per our old rate.”

Tao Zhi felt he was being fair, not taking advantage of Fu Zheng’s desperation, but handling it professionally.

Fu Zheng, who had been delighted moments ago: “…”

What a rip.

Fu Zheng’s obsession with getting Tao Zhi’s help—rather than telling his mom to back off—stemmed mainly from believing her claim of “Mommy will help you.”

Of course, Fu Zheng didn’t think she meant he was stupid—Fu Si Heng was smart, sure—but what if she actually helped and became his wingman?

Plus, two days at the resort would let him cultivate feelings with Tao Zhi beyond just roommates.

That was Fu Zheng’s plan.

But Tao Zhi’s attitude… it made his teeth itch.

The second young master was pissed.

Tao Zhi was oblivious.

–

On Saturday morning, Fu Zheng took Tao Zhi to Rong Huai’s for makeup.

They arrived a bit early, skipping breakfast. While Tao Zhi got his makeup done, Fu Zheng went downstairs to buy him some. Boss Rong helped with the look.

“Still haven’t sealed the deal with Fu Si Heng?” Rong Huai chatted with Tao Zhi while doing his makeup. “It’s taking a while. I thought you’d be together by last year.”

“?!’

Oof.

The sudden truth startled Tao Zhi.

“N-No, not yet.” Tao Zhi stammered a denial before spilling the truth. “Not going after Fu Si Heng anymore. Switching to Fu Zheng.”

“Huh???” Rong Huai was shocked.

“No, no, misspoke.” Tao Zhi quickly corrected himself and briefly explained the deal with Fu Zheng.

“Oh—”

Rong Huai got it.

He thought Tao Zhi was bold.

“Getting entangled with both brothers at once—you’re not afraid of it blowing up?”

“It shouldn’t count as entangled.” The word made Tao Zhi’s heart tremble.

Actually, it really was.

But he’d just told Rong Huai that things with Fu Si Heng had stopped, right?

How did Rong Huai always hit the nail on the head?

Tao Zhi pursed his lips and repeated, “Just pretending to be Fu Zheng’s crush.”

“Uh-huh.” Rong Huai nodded along, applying blush. “Not worried about Fu Si Heng finding out? You did seduce him, after all.”