Formatting 53

Chapter 53: Only Each Other, Trapped

Sunday, the spring rain still washed over Beicheng, the sky covered in a layer of gray mist.

The temperature dropped, and the south wind blew a chill into the room. Chen Shuo shook out the damp clothes, put the hanger through the collar, and hung it firmly on the drying rod, then hung the next one.

There were only a few clothes in the basin, a chore he could have finished in half a minute, but he had been busy for three minutes and still hadn’t finished, his movements slow, occasionally glancing at the sleeping man on the bed.

Finally, after hanging up the two pairs of hand-washed underwear, Chen Shuo stood on the balcony, motionless. The room was dark, without any lights on. His gaze fell back on the bed, watching Li Ge sleeping naked, with only a blanket covering his stomach, completely exposed, without any privacy, revealing himself entirely to him.

Raindrops pattered against the windowpane.

Chen Shuo didn’t like rainy or snowy weather, because when it rained or snowed, it would delay Chen Meifang from delivering goods, and it was even more troublesome if the goods got wet. At that time, he was still young, not strong enough, and couldn’t even pedal the tricycle properly, unable to help his mother much.

This also caused Chen Shuo to feel a bit anxious on rainy or snowy days. Whether it was work or personal matters, he would try to leave extra time to ensure everything went smoothly.

But on such a damp and rainy day when the clothes wouldn’t dry, he felt a sense of contentment. He turned to look out the window, at the gray sky that looked like the end of the world, listening to the continuous sound of the rain, feeling as if he and Li Ge were trapped together.

They were trapped in this small world, with only each other.

Vaguely hearing the sound of a window opening, then a rustling sound, Li Ge, half-asleep, felt a cool breeze and subconsciously reached for the blanket, waking up.

He half-opened his eyes and saw a tall figure standing in front of the balcony window. He opened his eyes wider and saw that Chen Shuo was only wearing a pair of casual pants, shirtless, standing by the window, letting the wind blow on him.

Fuck, what kind of old man’s schedule was this? Instead of obediently sleeping with him in the morning, he was hiding there, letting the wind blow on him.

Li Ge sat up and shouted, “Wife, close the window, come and sleep with me.”

Chen Shuo closed the window, but didn’t go over to sleep with Li Ge, saying, “Get up, it’s almost eleven.”

“It’s already so late, as expected, sleeping with my wife is so nice.” Li Ge stretched, and when he got out of bed, he saw a set of neatly folded clothes on the pillow beside him, his own underwear and socks, as well as an ivory casual shirt and light-colored wide-leg trousers, and a belt.

He glanced at his things, then saw his neatly arranged suitcase behind the sofa on the balcony. It was obvious that all his clothes had been put away.

Chen Shuo neatly folded the blanket on the bed and said again, “I’m going to cook.”

Li Ge sneakily hugged Chen Shuo and asked knowingly, “Did you put all my clothes in the wardrobe?”

He hadn’t had time to pack last night. Chen Shuo woke up early this morning, went to the gym at seven, then went to the supermarket to buy all the ingredients for lunch and dinner.

The phone was quiet all the way. When he came back, he found that Li Ge hadn’t woken up, like a lazy pig, not even waking up when he was putting away his clothes. After washing the dirty clothes he had changed out of, Li Ge was still asleep. Only then did he deliberately make some noise to wake him up.

Chen Shuo: “Get dressed, go brush your teeth and wash your face.”

“My wife is so considerate, I can’t leave you.” Li Ge smiled smugly, “But don’t prepare clothes for me at home, I like being naked.”

“…” Chen Shuo pushed Li Ge away and urged, “Go get dressed.”

“You’re giving me that look again, I’ll go get dressed, okay?” Li Ge didn’t wear the outfit Chen Shuo had prepared, opened the wardrobe, and saw that his clothes had been sorted and put away by Chen Shuo, his casual wear folded and stacked, his work clothes neatly hung, his wife was really considerate.

He took out a pair of loose beach shorts and put them on without any underwear, then went into the bathroom to wash up.

“…” Chen Shuo suspected that Li Ge was doing it on purpose.

Worried that Li Ge was hungry, he slightly heated the egg he had boiled in the morning in a milk pot, peeled it, and put it in a bowl on the table, then started cooking.

The bathroom door was directly opposite the kitchen stove. When Li Ge finished washing up, he saw Chen Shuo’s busy figure, cooking shirtless. Wasn’t he obviously trying to seduce him?

He launched another sneak attack, hugging Chen Shuo and directly taking advantage of him, “Let’s see what my wife is cooking.”

“Don’t cling to me.” Chen Shuo was mixing the seasoned beef slices in a bowl with his hands. But the hands on his waist were too unruly, so he had to say, “I’m making stir-fried beef with green peppers, it needs to be marinated.”

Li Ge: “It sounds delicious.”

Chen Shuo: “…”

“Why are you so capable?” Li Ge kissed Chen Shuo’s soft earlobe, teasing him daily, “You can do housework, you can cook, and you can fuck me, so amazing.”

“…” Chen Shuo couldn’t stand it for a second longer and elbowed Li Ge away, “There’s an egg on the table, if you’re hungry, eat that first.”

Li Ge saw the broccoli and carrots soaking in the sink, and the shiitake mushrooms and tomatoes on the stove, and took the initiative, “I’ll help you wash the vegetables first.”

“No need.” Chen Shuo urged Li Ge to go and eat the egg.

“I don’t want to eat an egg.” Li Ge clung to Chen Shuo, “I want to eat something else.”

Chen Shuo had a gut feeling that Li Ge’s next words wouldn’t be good, and sure enough, he started acting like a hooligan and saying dirty things again, so clingy.

Worried that he wouldn’t be able to cook lunch properly, he had to urge Li Ge to go and turn on the TV and find a good TV series for him. Just as he was saying this, he turned around and found that the bathroom light was still on.

“Come back,” Chen Shuo called back to Li Ge, “turn off the bathroom light.”

“Ah, I forgot.” Li Ge went over and turned off the light.

Not liking Li Ge’s living habits, Chen Shuo reminded him, “Remember to turn off the lights when you leave in the future.”

After turning off the light, Li Ge casually glanced at the balcony to check the weather and immediately noticed his underwear. There was a basin underneath to catch the dripping water. He said in surprise, “Wife, did you wash my underwear by hand?”

“…” Chen Shuo said “hmm” and then reminded Li Ge, “After you take a shower in the future, wash your underwear by hand, make it a habit.”

He had a special washing machine for underwear at his place, and Li Ge had never washed his own underwear. He subconsciously said, “This bathroom is too small, and it’s so troublesome to wash by hand. The kitchen is also the same, there’s no dishwasher, isn’t it annoying to wash by hand every day?”

Continuing to argue would be like talking to a brick wall. Chen Shuo washed his hands, some words stuck in his throat, wanting to be said. Seeing Li Ge go to turn on the TV, he temporarily dismissed the thought.

Lunch was the same as last night. Chen Shuo made two dishes and a soup, stir-fried beef with green peppers, stir-fried shiitake mushrooms and carrots with broccoli, and tomato and egg soup.

“Delicious!” Li Ge ate the hot food with big mouthfuls, praising his wife’s cooking skills, and actively served Chen Shuo vegetables and meat.

Chen Shuo was very quiet when he ate, basically only answering when Li Ge asked a question, chatting about trivial things, such as what to eat for dinner, what to do in the afternoon, and also talking about Yuan Feng and He Yan, including the unborn Yuanbao.

He suddenly realized that Li Ge was guiding the conversation, the topics all revolving around him. He once again realized his own dullness and boredom and tried to find a topic.

“What do you like?” Chen Shuo asked Li Ge.

“Of course I like my wife.” Li Ge smiled.

“…” Chen Shuo wasn’t satisfied with this answer. After thinking for a moment, he asked again, “What are your hobbies?”

Li Ge was actually stumped and asked Chen Shuo back, “Does liking to fuck count?”

Chen Shuo: “…”

Seeing Chen Shuo’s expressionless face, Li Ge stopped teasing and became serious, saying that he had no hobbies, “I used to, but as I got older, I feel like everything is more or less the same. Now, it’s just making money. I plan to make Gewu Media bigger and stronger in three years and develop in the entertainment industry.”

“Hmm.” Chen Shuo didn’t know what to say. Li Ge had a direction for the future, but he didn’t.

“When you’re done teaching Yuan Feng, come and be my assistant?” Li Ge joked, but he was also serious. He recognized Chen Shuo’s work ability and was sure he was better than Yu Rui.

Chen Shuo didn’t like the work atmosphere at Gewu Media. He could have decisively refused Li Ge before, but now he couldn’t bear to, afraid that Li Ge would be upset.

“We’ll see after I’m done teaching Yuan Feng.” He changed the subject and asked Li Ge, “Didn’t you say we would watch a palace drama together yesterday? Let’s watch it together after dinner.”

Li Ge nodded, “Alright.”

Seeing Li Ge eat so heartily, Chen Shuo thought to himself that perhaps a couple didn’t need to consider so much, even if they didn’t grow up in the same environment, even if their living habits were completely different.

Just being able to sit together and eat, to chat together, meant they were suitable.

The one-and-a-half-meter-wide single bed was too crowded. Li Ge casually said, “Wife, why don’t you move in with me? If you don’t like it, don’t want to change places, then I’ll just buy a bigger apartment in this building.”

“Let’s wait a while,” Chen Shuo politely declined, “I just want to live here for now.”

Li Ge was helpless, who told him his wife was so stubborn?

Actually, Chen Shuo had his own little thoughts. That morning when he took Li Ge home, he only realized after entering the apartment that Li Ge lived alone in a large apartment of more than four hundred square meters. The bathroom where Li Ge took a bath was almost as big as the apartment he lived in, and it was obviously cleaned by a professional.

He knew that Li Ge would feel wronged and wouldn’t be used to living with him in this small apartment of a few dozen square meters, a young master who had been pampered since he was a child.

He wasn’t feeling inferior, he just wanted Li Ge to know that this was his life.

His true self was all in this small apartment.

After dinner, Li Ge actively washed the dishes, wiped the kitchen countertop clean, and then accompanied Chen Shuo to watch a TV series, being extremely considerate, all in preparation for tonight.

Remembering something important, he suddenly asked Chen Shuo, “By the way, wife, where did you put the lube and condoms from my luggage?”

Chen Shuo pointed to the bedside table, “In the first drawer.”

“Alright.” Li Ge sat on the sofa, patted the spot next to him, and called out to Chen Shuo, “Come and sit, I’ll watch a palace drama with you.”

Having just eaten, it was a good time to digest. Chen Shuo planned to take Li Ge to the gym in the afternoon, so he opened the family drama he had just found a few days ago.

He couldn’t get into it that night, but with Li Ge accompanying him, he was hooked on the first episode, discovering the fun of family dramas and watching with great interest.

At first, Li Ge could still take advantage of his wife, touching his chest, kissing his lips, and rubbing Chen Erdi, trying his best to please him, just waiting to dote on Chen Sanmei at night. But halfway through, his hand was slapped away by Chen Shuo.

“Don’t be noisy, let me watch the drama.”

“…” Li Ge withdrew his hand and continued to watch with Chen Shuo. He wasn’t very interested in TV series and sat there for half an hour without getting into the plot, only feeling bored. It would be more satisfying to go to bed and have a few more rounds.

After finally finishing one episode with him, he didn’t expect Chen Shuo to continue to the next one. Li Ge really couldn’t sit still anymore. He stood up, preparing to pounce like a hungry wolf, when his phone on the dining table rang. He went over and saw that it was Fei Fan calling.

“Wife, look, I have to take this call.”

Seeing Li Ge holding his phone and going straight to the bathroom, Chen Shuo was distracted, so he paused the TV series and sat there waiting for Li Ge to come out. When Li Ge came out, it was with the news that he had to go out.

“Fei Fan has something to do, I’m going out for a while, I’ll come back and watch with you.” Li Ge hurriedly changed into the clothes Chen Shuo had prepared for him.

“…” Chen Shuo looked at Li Ge, remembering the time he had accidentally met Li Ge in the parking lot of Jinling Xuan last year.

Li Ge was wearing this same ivory shirt and casual trousers at that time, handsome and tall, one hand casually tucked into his trouser pocket, roguish.