ADTCP Ch24part2

“…”

Zhu Wensheng was quiet for a moment, said something to the person on the other end of the line, then hung up. He walked straight over to the head coach, who was orating nonstop, and calmly cut in: “Coach Liu, give them a holiday.”

All eyes lit up at once; the looks they gave Zhu Wensheng were as if they’d just seen their savior reborn.

The head coach choked, surprised, and turned to him. “Why are you, ”

Zhu Wensheng didn’t hurry or slow, and said evenly: “Because I’m taking time off this holiday too.”

“…???”

***

Day one of the holiday, and the city, inside and out, was a sea of people.

High-speed rail, airports, subways, streets, everywhere was jammed solid. Since Jiangcheng isn’t far from Nancheng, flying actually takes longer; the high-speed rail was hottest and had been nearly sold out early in the morning.

It was hard enough for Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng to get two business-class seats, hoping it’d be a bit quieter, but they seriously underestimated the seven-day crush.

From the moment they boarded, the racket never stopped. Kids with dinosaur toys sprinted up and down the cars, drawing groans from everyone.

Even the usually cool, aloof Zhu Wensheng frowned, rubbing his brow with a dark expression and closing his eyes to rest.

Seeing this, Tao Zhen’s dark eyes blinked.
After a few seconds’ thought, he got up and headed toward the attendants’ area.

People noticed, of course. Someone whispered to a friend:
“Useless. I tried just now. Even if you tell the attendant and complain to the parents, nothing fixes those little terrors.”

The person next to them agreed so hard it hurt; even the way they looked at Tao Zhen carried regret and pity, as if watching another warrior return in vain.

But things didn’t go the way anyone expected.

No one knew what Tao Zhen did in the back, but within minutes the shrieking dwindled and the carriage returned to quiet. He came back light-footed to his seat and smiled at Zhu Wensheng.

Naturally, Zhu Wensheng noticed the change. He lifted his lashes and met Tao Zhen’s gaze.

“Want to ask how I did it?” Tao Zhen beat him to it, crooked a finger mysteriously. “I’ll whisper it to you.”

The blond boy’s breath was warm; his bright eyes looked dusted with starlight. Zhu Wensheng’s breathing hitched, and he leaned closer, only a fist’s distance between their noses, close enough to catch the faint scent of each other’s body wash.

“I asked the attendant to sell me the train’s model kits, took them all apart and scrambled the pieces, then told those kids if they could stay quiet the whole way and put them back together themselves, they could keep them.”
Grinning, he added, “Before trips, my parents would always buy me a toy to keep me in line. They handled me the same way.”

Zhu Wensheng’s heart gave a heavy thump. He turned to look at the sweaty little boys in the distance, and as if “saw” among them a delicate-featured, rosy-lipped little Tao Zhen,
Lively but not annoying, happily cradling a toy, not realizing how much he was like a kitten who, once its soft pink paws start batting at the teaser, forgets to mewl from boredom.

“Well?” Tao Zhen looked a bit smug, that invisible tail of his practically arched high; he lowered his voice. “Am I smart or what?”

Silence settled around them; the pain behind Zhu Wensheng’s brow eased a lot.
He let a faint smile tug at his lips. “Mm. Especially smart.”

Content, Tao Zhen sat back down, pale face aglow.

Before long, the PA announced: “The train is arriving at the next station; please gather your belongings…”

The speed slowed; the platform appeared. People queued at the doors to get off; the rest looked at the still-silent, toy-assembling kids and suddenly understood, shooting grateful looks at Tao Zhen.

He just flashed a brilliant smile and, with Zhu Wensheng, slipped through the surging crowd.

At the exit, they spotted Gu Xingzhou.
The flamboyant little gay’s outfit was on brand: a slanted off-shoulder knit top and slightly flared fitted pants. Like a little dark fairy, he ran at Tao Zhen and crushed him in a hug. “Zhenbao!!”

Long time no see, Tao Zhen was just as excited, loud with it: “Zihan!”

Gu Xingzhou burst out laughing, then glared at Tao Zhen in mock outrage. “You’ve picked up bad habits from Tong Xia!”

Tao Zhen chuckled, twisted to the side where Zhu Wensheng had smoothly taken his luggage, and introduced, “This is Gu Xingzhou. ‘Zihan’ is an old name; he doesn’t go by it anymore.”

Zhu Wensheng took one look at their tightly pressed shoulders and waists, then quickly withdrew his gaze and nodded to Gu Xingzhou. “Hello, I’m Zhu Wensheng.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, Zhenbao’s told us,” Gu Xingzhou said.

Facing his bro’s boyfriend, he instantly straightened up, almost like a straight guy. He gave Zhu Wensheng a quick once-over, found no faults, and smiled. “We’re all friends. Let’s have fun together these next few days.”

Zhu Wensheng returned a polite smile, though for some reason, his knuckles tightened on the luggage handle.

The station entrance was too crowded, so the three found a more open spot to wait. Tao Zhen checked the time, a bit puzzled. “Why isn’t Xiaxia here yet?”

Gu Xingzhou jolted. “Crap, I nearly forgot. She told me last-minute before leaving, she’s bringing a friend today, so she might be a bit late.”

Tao Zhen was curious. “Huh? Which friend?”

“The one…” Gu Xingzhou glanced at Zhu Wensheng, as if the story was a little embarrassing. “She treats the person like a wife. The person treats her like a bestie.
Then that person got a boyfriend, then broke up. Xiaxia was heartbroken the whole time and asked her out to cheer her up.”

Tao Zhen was impressed, a bit at a loss for words. “Xiaxia, she…”

“Let’s encourage her,” Gu Xingzhou sighed. “It’s not easy to be a devoted simp for this long. The friend says she’s seen through men, maybe Xiaxia’s got a real shot this time.”

“…”

“Right… then why did her friend break up with the boyfriend? We should help Xiaxia avoid making the same mistakes.”

“No worries there. The guy’s just brain-broken, Xiaxia would never be like him!” Gu Xingzhou clearly despised the man, rolling his eyes hard. “You ever seen the type who’s obviously got money, but plays poor and pitiful in front of his girlfriend to live off her?”

A certain someone who wasn’t interested in gossip and had been standing quietly to the side, Zhu Wensheng, suddenly lifted his eyes.

Tao Zhen looked amazed. “Haven’t. What’s he like?”

With an audience, Gu Xingzhou got even more animated and cleared his throat: “He can buy the newest phone, watches, AJs, but when it’s time to pay at dinner, he ‘goes to the bathroom’ so the girlfriend foots the bill.
He likes the girlfriend’s big brother’s jacket, won’t buy his own, and nags in her ear every day until one day, when her brother isn’t looking, he just takes it.”

Tao Zhen’s brows knit tight. “What kind of person is that…”

“Hah! And that’s not even the worst part. Do you know what the absolute worst thing is?” Gu Xingzhou pulled an exaggerated face. “That guy clearly has his own car at home, but when he went out to eat with his girlfriend, he claimed he took a taxi! And then made her split the gas money with him!”

“That’s way too scummy!” Tao Zhen was furious. “No wonder his girlfriend broke up with him. Who wouldn’t break up with someone like that?!”

“Right?!”

The two of them were indignant, but at their side, Zhu Wensheng fell silent. His long, rough fingers dug into the handle of the suitcase, veins standing out more and more.

After a moment, it was Tao Zhen who noticed his distraction. He stopped his own tirade, a little worried, and tugged gently at the hem of his shirt.

Zhu Wensheng snapped back to awareness, lowering his eyes to Tao Zhen. His throat was dry, his heartbeat a little fast.

Tao Zhen tugged again, his eyes crystal clear. “We were just talking about people who obviously have money but pretend to be poor and trick their girlfriends. That’s really awful behavior.

But that has nothing to do with you, so don’t go overthinking it, okay?”

“…”
Zhu Wensheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed; with some difficulty he let out a faint “Mm.”

Seeing this, Gu Xingzhou also realized his earlier rant about “kept men” might’ve cast too wide a net. He shot Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng an apologetic glance and quickly shut his mouth.

The three of them waited a bit longer near the high-speed rail station until Tong Xia finally arrived with her friend.

Tong Xia had a sweet, doll-like face, dressed in elaborate lolita. Her friend, however, was pure “big sister” style: a striking red dress that flattered her figure. She introduced herself as Jiang Shan.

Strangely enough, though she was supposedly there to “cheer up,” Jiang Shan’s face didn’t carry much sadness, on the contrary, she looked calm, even helping Tong Xia carry her suitcase.

Of course, the pile of suitcases eventually ended up in Zhu Wensheng’s hands. His strength was immense; what left others panting and sweating seemed weightless to him.

They caught a taxi to the vacation hotel they’d booked.
The closer they got, the prettier the scenery became, lush coconut groves, swaying trees, rolling blue waves.

After weaving through a row of private cars, they finally arrived at the resort entrance.

Everyone exclaimed with excitement

The words made Zhu Wensheng’s heart skip a beat. He instinctively lifted his gaze.

Not far away, Zhao Zhao’s cousin, Zhao Ye, emerged with a group of suited executives surrounding him, grinning broadly.

Across a distance of over ten meters, their eyes met midair.

“…about this project, hey!”

Zhao Ye’s eyes lit up instantly. He clapped the shoulder of the person next to him, then, abandoning all pretense of composure, strode quickly toward Zhu Wensheng.
“Young Master Zhu!”