IROAWTMTFL Chapter 26

To be honest, Yan Yan’s head was still clouded by his previous victory when Zhuang Xian proposed to look around. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that there was a separate bedroom situation. When it was suddenly pointed out, he was momentarily dazed, but he quickly regained his composure.

Having experienced bigger scenes, Yan Yan wasn’t one to give up easily. He hid behind Zhuang Yiyun with a shy expression, whispering, “Auntie Zhuang, why ask such embarrassing questions? It’s really awkward.”

“What’s so embarrassing about it? If you have any emotional or lifestyle conflicts, Auntie has experience and can offer some advice.”

Emotional problems and lifestyle conflicts? More like she’s hoping for it.

“Alright, I’ll tell Auntie Zhuang the truth.”

Zhuang Xian was practically leaning in, eagerly awaiting this “truth.”

“It’s just that gege is rough and too unrestrained. Even after sleeping in separate rooms, I still ended up in the hospital. How could I bear sleeping together?” Yan Yan finished, burying his head on Zhuang Yiyun’s shoulder like a little “wife”— My husband is in front and I’m in the back, I’ll step in if necessary. Perfect!

Zhuang Yiyun, who had been forcibly placed in the rear-guard position, looked at his mother’s expression and realized that Yan Yan’s medicine was a bit too strong. Zhuang Xian’s face turned completely black, and for the first time today, she revealed a disgusted expression. The mother and son stared at each other, and the atmosphere instantly became tense. That look was like a sword stabbing into Zhuang Yiyun, making him subconsciously shield Yan Yan even more securely.

It was an expression of disgust and even nausea towards gays. He didn’t feel particularly offended since he didn’t consider himself gay, but Yan Yan was open about his sexual orientation. He shouldn’t have to deal with this, it might genuinely anger him.

“Zhuang Yiyun, are you serious?”

Zhuang Xian’s words were cold, and Yan Yan tried to peek out from behind Zhuang Yiyun, but his head was pushed back down by a large hand.

“Yes,” Zhuang Yiyun replied firmly.

There was a gust of and then there was a crisp “smack,” the sound of a resounding slap rang out in Yan Yan’s ear. He raised his head in alarm, and saw Zhuang Xian’s hand that hadn’t yet been pulled back. On Zhuang Yiyun’s face was a clear palm print, and there was even a bloodstain where the nails had scraped.

In the blink of an eye, he remembered the band-aid on Zhuang Yiyun’s neck when they met the second time. It was probably covering a wound? If so, who had struck him?

Yan Yan’s gaze shifted to Zhuang Xian. Her twenty-seven-year-old son was already an industry leader, reaching the pinnacle of “the other people’s child”. Yet he had to endure such treatment? His mother hadn’t laid a hand on him since he was ten, and he had been a little mischief-maker who was picky about everything.

Zhuang Xian was so angry her hand shook. She had been on the verge of an outburst, but restrained herself due to Yan Yan’s presence. Her son being gay was already embarrassing enough, and now he had chosen such a vixen for a partner. She couldn’t let them spread any more rumors.

She gave the two of them a cold look and stormed out.

After a long silence, Zhuang Yiyun finally spoke again. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Rest for a while.”

He said this and walked towards his own room. Yan Yan sensed something was off from his tone and caught up to stop him. He was really shocked this time.

Zhuang Yiyun had always been calm and collected, exuding an air of an erudite scholar. He had an air of refined elegance, and an aura of intellectualism that couldn’t be hidden. In short, he was the type of scholar who excelled in his class, a top student. However, now, his expression resembled that of a school bully.

Unruly, rebellious, all sharpness was etched on his face. He looked fierce and ruthless, yet also lonely and desolate, like a rebellious teenager who had been hurt but didn’t know how to face it.

“She used to hit you?” Yan Yan asked cautiously, knowing that maybe he shouldn’t inquire so deeply into their relationship, but the incident had just unfolded before his eyes, and he couldn’t help it.

The same-sex marriage law had already been passed. Even if she didn’t approve, there was no need to resort to violence like that. They say you should hit someone without hitting their face. The key thing was the way Zhuang Yiyun had reacted. He didn’t seem surprised at all. At that moment, he felt like Zhuang Yiyun was a two-dimensional character who had stepped out of the story. Although he had tried to cater to this person’s preferences in every possible way in the past, he had only focused on gathering the information he needed. He had never truly delved into what kind of person he was or what kind of past he had.

Now, some of his past had seeped through this gap, unfolding before him.

Zhuang Yiyun didn’t look at him; he simply walked past. Yan Yan had a kind of stubbornness about him, even in critical situations, he relied entirely on instinct. Without time to think, he reached out and grabbed Zhuang Yiyun. Originally, he meant to grab his hand, but due to a miscalculation of distance, he accidentally caught the hem of Zhuang Yiyun’s clothes. It was similar to a pitiful little wife, tugging at her husband’s clothes and acting aggrieved. It was actually not just vaguely similar, but exactly the same.

Yan Yan was in an awkward situation, stammering as he tried to find another entry point. “Uh… we should treat that wound. It’s not small. It seems you got scratched by something on your mother’s manicured nails or a metal accessory.”

“No need,” Zhuang Yiyun replied.

“It’s necessary. You should get it treated quickly, otherwise, people might think I did it. I care about this, you know.” Yan Yan gently tugged at his clothes again. “Come on, come over here.”

Zhuang Yiyun was getting annoyed. He didn’t want to talk to anyone at this moment, and his brows were furrowed tightly.

He didn’t move, so Yan Yan tugged again, this time adding a little shake. “Hurry up.”

“If you don’t come, I’ll call you ‘husband.’”

Zhuang Yiyun sighed. “You…can’t I just be left alone?”

“You’re in pain, my dear melodramatic teenager, you can’t be left alone. You were just slapped by your mother. Back in the day, everyone in my family used to say my mom was good at scolding. I used to compete with her, and eventually, she stopped scolding me and started reasoning with me. So, my fellow comrade, no, big comrade, don’t take it too much to heart.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you married me to stand up to her, right?”

Zhuang Yiyun didn’t reply immediately, but eventually, he softened his stance and was led away by Yan Yan. They sat down on the sofa, and Yan Yan went to get the first aid kit to clean and dress Zhuang Yiyun’s wound meticulously, showing an entirely different side of his usually fiery personality.

It was as it they had forgotten their past grievances and were sitting together like friends. Yan Yan appeared a bit hesitant to open up, but he didn’t care how Zhuang Yiyun saw him so he spoke freely.

“Let me tell you, you don’t need to worry about it. You’ve achieved the feat of ‘killing a thousand enemies and injuring yourself by eight hundred.’ Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Zhuang Yiyun: “…” Thanks for being brutally honest.

“You’re mother is quite old-fashioned, and she seems a bit too headstrong, cold and unapproachable. Can you accept that? If you can, I’ll be even more straightforward… if you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as agreement. Your mother might not know that the Qing Dynasty is over, and she might not know that sixteen is the age of full legal capacity in civil matters. She believes in ‘spare the rod and spoil the child,’ but you don’t live with her anyway, so there’s no need…”

“Wait a minute, did you tell your mom about buying the house?” Yan Yan suddenly realized that something was off. Zhuang Yiyun’s attitude toward his mother didn’t seem like he would proactively report this.

“No.”

“Then how did she know?”

Zhuang Yiyun looked at him, somewhat surprised by his keenness and boldness. He seemed to dare to think and say anything, which wasn’t something most people would consider. Knowing a son’s address is something that should be obvious between a mother and son, and it’s not something that needs to be considered.

Zhuang Yun: “She’s a frequent customer of private detectives.”

“What the fuck! Isn’t it usually when a husband is suspected of cheating that they hire a detective to follow them? There are people who hire detectives to follow their own sons?” At this point, Yan Yan finally glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.

After hearing this, Zhuang Yiyun seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if a invisible mountain that had been weighing on him had finally been seen and touched by someone for the first time.

It was strange, their relationship had clearly soured, but now he was discussing the most unspeakable secrets with Yan Yan.

“You can’t blame me for being sharp tongued. My fans all say I’m their ‘internet mouthpiece.’ Someone like your mother, if she wasn’t your mother, I’d have scolded until she regretted knowing me. But don’t worry. In the future, when your mother comes again, leave it to me, Brother Yan has your back.”

“Brother Yan?”

“Ahem, well… sometimes seniority can be evaluated by professional standards. As a seasoned internet troll, you should definitely call me ‘Brother Yan.’ In other aspects, I should be calling you ‘gege’.”

“Say it again.” Zhuang Yiyun finally showed a hint of a smile on his face, it was subtle but present.

“Say what?” Yan Yan didn’t know why, but being looked at like this by him made him want to dodge, well, it was rather enticing.

“Say what you should be calling me in other aspects.”