Chapter 58: The Incompetent Husband Part 1

Ye Mingxu next door had spent a restless night without a wink of sleep.

Yu Sui had pondered all evening as well. He tried to recall what had happened in the previous world, but not a single memory surfaced.

In the morning, he sluggishly washed up and then sat at the dining table. Propping his chin on his hand, he stared at Ye Mingxu sitting across from him.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Mingxu sat rigidly before him, his body tense.

His husband’s gaze left him flustered—so cold and detached, as if gazing right at him, yet seeing nothing at all.

Yu Sui withdrew his gaze and lowered his head. “You started out wanting revenge on me. Why did you suddenly fall for me?”

“Do you remember that day?” Seeing his husband inquiring, Ye Mingxu recounted the past. “I was in a foul mood after running into some trouble, and your words cut deep.”

“You reminded me of those people.” He clenched his fists on the table. “Later, by some stroke of fate, we crossed paths again. I learned about your condition, and with the pressure from my family…”

Yu Sui listened quietly.

“Even after we married, you were always cold to me,” Ye Mingxu continued. “I pretended to adore you as a way to torment you psychologically, but that day…”

His face flushed as he spoke of it. “That day, I realized I’d misunderstood you.”

“Which day?” Yu Sui raised an eyebrow.

“The day you… got tested…” Ye Mingxu’s ears burned crimson. “I love you so much yet never touch you—it’s natural to suspect infidelity.”

Yu Sui stiffened. That was the day he had arrived in this world. What a coincidence.

“So that’s when you started pursuing me?”

“It’s what I should do.” Ye Mingxu gazed at him with deep affection. “I just never expected you and your superior…”

“What do you think of my behavior with him?” Yu Sui asked next.

“I know you might be disappointed in me, or maybe trying to make me jealous…” Ye Mingxu’s voice soured with the words. “And yes, I was jealous.”

“How do you see him?”

“I never want to see him again.” Disgust flickered in his eyes.

Suspicion piled upon suspicion.

Yu Sui nodded. “We can put off the divorce for now, but…”

“Go ahead.” Ye Mingxu breathed a sigh of relief, looking at him expectantly.

“You’ll need to cooperate with me on a few things from here on out,” Yu Sui said.

Ye Mingxu watched him, finding his husband strangely unfamiliar—yet somehow utterly himself.

He couldn’t quite pin down the feeling. It was subtle, elusive.

[Host…] Even the System sensed something off about him.

Yu Sui sent a message to Meng Chenxiao.

Ye Mingxu spotted the action and clenched his hands, but said nothing.

Meng Chenxiao’s eyes lit up when he saw the message.

Was Yu Sui fed up with the deception and ready for divorce, paving the way for him to step in?

Overjoyed, he hopped in his car and sped over.

Hearing the knock, Ye Mingxu pursed his lips and went to answer the door.

Meng Chenxiao smirked triumphantly at him, shouldered him aside, and strode inside. “Sui Sui.”

Yu Sui turned at the voice. “I have a few questions for you.”

Meng Chenxiao sensed something amiss and reined in his smile. “What is it?”

“Did you see me or Ye Mingxu before squeezing onto the subway that day?” Yu Sui asked.

“No, why?” Meng Chenxiao blinked in confusion. “I fell for you at first sight…”

He seized the chance to profess his feelings.

It was confirmed: his arrival had made this world’s protagonist act strangely, derailing the plot entirely.

Yet the System insisted everything was normal. So what was the point of his missions? They’d been botched beyond recognition.

He couldn’t figure it out. As a dying man, what did he have to gain? Was it amusing to watch a straight guy get toyed with like this?

Was he really that twisted?

Yu Sui kept these thoughts from the System. Instead, he looked between the two men. “Let’s go out and have some fun today.”

“Uh?”

Both stared at him, utterly baffled.

“Sui Sui, you…” This was so weird.

Yu Sui said nothing.

He rose, and they followed.

According to the System’s summaries, they ended up at a coffee shop.

The three took their seats, both men watching Yu Sui intently.

An inexplicable unease stirred in their hearts.

Yu Sui stirred his coffee. “Why are you staring at me?”

“Sui Sui, is something wrong…?” Ye Mingxu asked, deeply worried.

That detached demeanor, as if nothing mattered, frightened him.

“There’s something,” Yu Sui said with a smile. “I’ll explain later.”

A chill ran down Meng Chenxiao’s spine. “Sui Sui…”

It was an innocent smile, yet it felt dangerous. Yes, dangerous.

[Host…] The System sensed the anomaly too.

“Has the mission been completed?” it asked.

[The under-the-table interaction at the two-person café table is done, but there’s still the bathroom one.]

Yu Sui stood. “Let’s head to the bathroom.”

Bewildered, the two trailed after him.

Yu Sui pulled Ye Mingxu into a stall.

Meng Chenxiao froze. “Sui Sui?”

He tried the door—it wasn’t locked.

Flinging it open, he saw Yu Sui embracing the man, leaning up as if to kiss.

But up close, it was just a simulated pose—no real contact.

What did it mean?

Ye Mingxu stiffened at his husband’s initiative, a flush of shy embarrassment washing over him.

“Is it done?” Yu Sui asked.

[Yes,] the System replied.

Yu Sui arched a brow and released the man.

Next, he dragged them to various spots—simulated kisses or embraces everywhere.

“Sui Sui, what’s going on?” Ye Mingxu eyed the man beside him.

They were in a restaurant now, and his husband seemed worn out, lounging lazily.

Ye Mingxu’s heart soared, though. His husband was being intimate with him—and right in front of Meng Chenxiao, no less. It felt deliberate.

Meng Chenxiao’s face twisted in agony, his heart bleeding. Was Yu Sui retaliating for his threats against Ye Mingxu?

Yet he stayed, watching their intimacy like a masochist. After all, he’d seen the real thing live.

Yu Sui ate leisurely.

“You two go ahead without me later. I have something to handle.”

He announced it after finishing his meal.

“What is it?” Ye Mingxu asked.

Yu Sui shook his head, unwilling to say.

After eating, he walked off in the opposite direction from them.

The two watched his retreating back, unease gnawing at them—as if Yu Sui were leaving forever.

“What’s wrong with him?” Meng Chenxiao demanded.

“I don’t know either.” Ye Mingxu clenched his fists. “He’s been like this since I came clean.”

“Maybe he can’t accept…” Meng Chenxiao narrowed his eyes.

Ye Mingxu shot him a glare. “But he still chose to get intimate with me in front of you.”

Meng Chenxiao choked on his words.

Yu Sui walked with mechanical precision—each step the same length, his arms swinging identically.

After a hundred paces, he broke into a run.

[Host, what are you doing?]

“Nothing.” That was all Yu Sui said.

The body wasn’t up to it. Soon he was panting, doubled over with hands on his knees. He tilted his head back to gaze at the sky. “The sky’s so blue. So real.”

[It is,] the System agreed wistfully.

After a brief rest, Yu Sui ambled toward home.

Along the way, he studied his surroundings, a smile gradually curving his lips.

“Look into the distance.”

[What?] The System was puzzled.

“If this were a game, it’d be an invisible wall,” Yu Sui said.

[Uh?] The System short-circuited.

“How much do you know about your company?” Yu Sui asked. “Did you settle scores with that deceptive senior of yours?”

[Our company? I can’t say.] The System’s tone held regret. [Can’t reach the senior.]

“Oh.” Yu Sui nodded. “Why trust that senior’s experience? Was he from your department too?”

[Something like that,] the System said. [And his Host really did revive.]

“I see.” Yu Sui dropped it.

Back home, Ye Mingxu wasn’t there, but he paid it no mind. After a shower, he sat on the bed lost in thought.

He wondered if writing anything down would get noticed. Or perhaps even his thoughts were being monitored.

If so, his memories would likely be blocked in the next world too.

He bit the tip of his tongue, tasting blood before swallowing hard.

Ye Mingxu and Meng Chenxiao parted ways, each tending to their business.

That evening, he returned home to silence. Flicking on the light, he headed to the master bedroom.

Seeing the man asleep eased his tension. He sat on the bed’s edge.

Cupping Yu Sui’s face, he leaned down and brushed a kiss over his lips.

Though they’d flaunted affection in front of Meng Chenxiao that day, Yu Sui hadn’t truly kissed him—not once.

Yu Sui frowned faintly, displeased at being disturbed.

Ye Mingxu pulled back, letting him breathe. “Sui Sui, what on earth happened?”

The next day.

Yu Sui woke and stared at the ceiling, checking his missions first. “System, will I get erased if a mission fails?”

[We’re collecting revival energy. No failure—just varying amounts,] it explained.

“So humane,” Yu Sui remarked.

[Yeah! So you can definitely do it, Host.]

“I can.” Yu Sui smiled.

He washed up and went to eat.

Ye Mingxu watched him. “Sui Sui, if it’s too much, I’m willing to divorce. You can have everything.”

Yu Sui looked up at the words. “No such thought. Just some things I haven’t pieced together yet.”

“What things? I can help shoulder them,” Ye Mingxu offered.

“Under what circumstances does someone feel both familiar and strange to you?” Yu Sui asked.

“That’s a tough one…” Ye Mingxu pondered. “Split personality? Or some mental issue…”

“You make a good point,” Yu Sui nodded. “But I think there’s a slight deviation.”

“What?” Ye Mingxu looked puzzled.

Yu Sui shook his head and stood up. “I’m off to work.”

Ye Mingxu stared at his retreating back, completely baffled.

[Host, what are you talking about?]

“I hate men, but this world accepts men. Besides the reason you mentioned, are there any other possibilities?” Yu Sui asked curiously.

[Assimilation with the character setting,] the System replied.

“Oh.” Yu Sui nodded. “Maybe it’s not just…”

He trailed off without finishing the thought.

Not just assimilation with the character setting so simply.

The longer he stayed in this world, the more he felt as if his mind had suddenly sharpened. He began to doubt the System, doubt the tasks, doubt the world itself.

It felt like his inherent flaw had been repaired—or like the blindfold over his eyes had been ripped away.

Which was it?

The former would be for his own good. The latter would mean someone was using him for their own ends.

Either way, it left him feeling annoyed.

Annoyed at being treated like a lab rat, especially since he had no memory of consenting to any of it.

Wait—maybe even that memory had been blocked…

If that were the case, then refusing to cooperate rashly could end up hurting him more than helping.

This world posed no immediate threat to his life so far. The only real casualty was his dignity.

So the question circled right back to where it started.

Yu Sui shut down those thoughts and began repeating suggestions to himself in his mind, over and over.

His intuition told him they would work.

Meng Chenxiao noticed his subordinate zoning out. He cleared his throat. “Sui Sui, were you deliberately flaunting your relationship in front of me yesterday to make me back off?”

At those words, Yu Sui turned to him. “Is that the only thing on your mind?”

“What else would it be?” Meng Chenxiao replied.

“What about you, then?”

“Out of the question.” Meng Chenxiao met his gaze steadily. “Don’t even think about shaking me off.”

Yu Sui felt no disappointment.

During lunch, the man kept staring at him.

“What are you looking at?”

“You’re really not going to divorce him? After the way he treats you…” Meng Chenxiao tried to sow discord.

“I was the one at fault first,” Yu Sui said, keeping his head lowered.

“But using marriage as revenge—doesn’t that…” Meng Chenxiao wouldn’t let it go.

“We’re getting along pretty harmoniously now.” Yu Sui looked up at him. “What is it you like about me anyway?”