ADTCP Ch50

The next morning, Tao Zhen woke up refreshed.

Sharing a home and a bed didn’t affect him much, after all, the moment he hit the pillow he was out cold, like a little pig, sleeping soundly until the next morning.

But Zhu Wensheng, lying beside him, clearly didn’t sleep as well. Though his handsome face looked normal, faint dark circles lingered under his eyes. His whole expression was shadowed, like he was bottling up frustration with nowhere to vent.

At breakfast, Tao Zhen noticed immediately and asked worriedly:
“Ah-Sheng, did I steal the blanket from you last night, or was I snoring and keeping you awake? You don’t look quite right…”

In truth, Tao Zhen was an obedient sleeper, soft blond hair on the pillow, face as sweet as a doll. His only flaw was that he treated Zhu Wensheng as a giant body pillow, snuggling up with fierce attachment.

Zhu Wensheng couldn’t push him away, only feel that soft body pressed against his, warm belly against him, and a long pale leg unconsciously hooking around his waist.

That should have been a reward, right? But even with someone so trusting, so pliant in his arms, Zhu Wensheng knew he couldn’t cross that line.

“No, you didn’t bother me.”

He denied it quickly. Even if the reward was a kind of torture, he was willing to endure it: “It’s my problem. I was still busy in Manchester the other day, I haven’t fully adjusted the jet lag yet.”

“Oh! So that’s it.”

Tao Zhen nodded, satisfied, and didn’t press further. He hurried off to class.
Only once he sat down beside Jia Jia in the classroom did it dawn on him, Manchester wasn’t Bangkok. There was no time difference.

But chasing him down now seemed pointless. Tao Zhen guessed Zhu Wensheng had only said it to ease his worries. Warmth filled his chest. After his classes ended, he decided to wait outside Zhu Wensheng’s lecture hall.

It was early March. Spring was budding, willows sprouting, birds singing. Forsythia flowers hung with dewdrops bloomed brightly by the walkways. Students streamed past, laughing and chatting. Tao Zhen took in a deep breath of fresh air, mood unusually light.

Just then, his phone buzzed. Thinking it was Zhu Wensheng, he opened it quickly, only to see the name glaring back: Qiqi.

【Tao Zhen! I finally finished with family stuff and I’m back!】

【Sorry I didn’t support you when you first started streaming, but… your clip yesterday, I gave it so many views~ [dog smirk.jpg]】

Tao Zhen froze, his face heating.

Yesterday’s trending topic had brought him a flood of traffic, but also pushed him right into the spotlight. Jia Jia had shaken him by the collar this morning, Gu Xingzhou howled for half the period, and his WeChat was full of friends and acquaintances, replying left his fingers cramping. Now even Qiqi, who’d been offline, was reaching out.

【Zhen-is-Best: Qiqi ge! My stream got suspended, I don’t know if it’s for three days or a week. And you’re still laughing at me!】

【Qiqi: Hahahahaha, sorry!!】

【Qiqi: But seriously, you and your boyfriend are so perfect together. A couple with your looks could wipe the floor with all those vloggers, you’d be fine starring in a drama. Trending was inevitable.】

Tao Zhen chuckled, guessing Qiqi was comforting him, and sent a dog-bowing emoji. He started typing out his feelings about trending, but before he could finish, Qiqi sent something strange.

【Qiqi: Still, I mean it. Someone like your boyfriend, his family’s so private, no way he’d do social media like us. Forget the rest of his family businesses, just his company, Z era, that’s enough for people like us to live off for ten lifetimes…】

Wait.

What “other family businesses”? What “Z era”?

Wasn’t the owner of Z era the Zhu family crown prince? What did that have to do with Zhu Wensheng?

Zhu Wensheng was just an MMA fighter who clawed his way up with his own hands and feet, worlds apart from a silver-spoon heir.

How could Qiqi confuse the two?

【Zhen-is-Best: No, Qiqi-Ge, you must be mistaken. My boyfriend is amazing, yes, but he’s just an ordinary guy who made it on his own, not that crown prince.】

This time, Qiqi was stunned: 【Huh? Really??】

【But that day at the gym, when I saw your boyfriend, his aura wasn’t ordinary at all. He looked just like the Z era boss we saw at the summit!】

【And yesterday, Sunflower, Xiang Yan, he told me he tried chasing you once. He only gave one Carnival gift, but then the crown prince swooped in with 150,000 RMB, requesting a song no one else knew, but you loved. That’s…】

150,000 RMB. Not pocket change. If it weren’t for Tao Zhen being special, why else would the crown prince single him out, ignoring the other streamers?

“This…” Tao Zhen faltered. His mind clouded, ears buzzing, unable to think of a rebuttal. He couldn’t very well say it was because he and Zhu Wensheng were in a kept relationship. Someone of the crown prince’s level, would he ever agree to being “kept” by a rich kid like him?

Seeing no reply, Qiqi quickly backtracked: 【Hey, of course, you know your boyfriend best. I’ve just read too many novels, overthinking nonsense. Don’t take it to heart!】

The bell rang, footsteps echoed in the stairwell as groups of students poured out. A cool breeze stirred the willows. Tao Zhen shook off his tangled feelings.

No way.

It couldn’t be, right?

If Zhu Wensheng really were the crown prince, why would he ever agree to a sponsor arrangement?

Tao Zhen pressed his lips together, planning to bring it up when Zhu Wensheng came out. But strangely, he never appeared with the other students.

When the last group had gone, the halls empty except for a few stragglers, Tao Zhen couldn’t wait any longer and went upstairs.

He had just reached the landing when he ran into Zhu Wensheng coming down. “Eh, Ah-Sheng, why- ”

The moment he saw Tao Zhen, Zhu Wensheng relaxed. He stepped aside, revealing the girl behind him, crying so hard her face was streaked with tears. His words were hurried:
“Zhenbao, I was just bringing her to you, ”

Tao Zhen blinked, recognizing her instantly. It was none other than Tong Xia.
“Xia Xia!” He rushed over in shock, fumbling in his pockets for tissues. “Why are you here? Did you come alone? What happened, who made you cry like this?”

He couldn’t find tissues, so he started taking off his jacket to wipe her face, when Zhu Wensheng silently pressed a packet into his hand. Tao Zhen quickly passed it to her, and Tong Xia shook her head, showing she had her own. She sniffled: “C-can we talk somewhere… private?”

Of course Tao Zhen agreed. Seeing her state, a public place wouldn’t do. He and Zhu Wensheng brought her home, found her clean slippers, and had Zhu Wensheng warm her milk in the kitchen.

She hadn’t stopped crying the entire way, but inside Tao Zhen’s apartment she calmed slightly. Slippers on, milk in hand, she sipped shakily until her breathing steadied.
But then, meeting Tao Zhen’s worried gaze, her nose stung, and she sobbed again: “Wuuu…”

Tao Zhen had always been weak to girls’ tears, he nearly fell to his knees, coaxing her for ages until she settled.

At last, Tong Xia drew a deep breath and spoke, voice rough: “I met Shanshan, no, Jiang Shan, at a club event…”

It was the same kind of messy student social Tao Zhen had attended before.

Tong Xia had spotted Jiang Shan immediately, dazzled, asking a senior who she was. The senior sighed and shared gossip about Jiang Shan dating a miserly “phoenix man.”

Drawn like a moth, Tong Xia approached. Even though she knew they weren’t the same orientation, she couldn’t resist. To her surprise, Jiang Shan didn’t turn her away, after a halting introduction, she even gave her contact. They grew close.

Knowing Jiang Shan wasn’t into women, Tong Xia contented herself with being the “bestie,” never expecting more. Yet somehow, persistence turned the tide. Jiang Shan ended up with her, faster than even Tao Zhen’s romance.

Tong Xia thought herself lucky. But at another gathering, the same senior pointed out that “poor unlucky girl” again, except this time, she was thriving, wearing a new Coach bag gifted by her boyfriend.

The rest blurred. Tong Xia only realized one thing, Jiang Shan had never actually dated a “phoenix man.”

Through all their time together, Jiang Shan had countless chances to clarify. Instead, she’d smiled, pitiful, claiming she’d been tricked by a man, which was why she shut her heart to them forever.

At best, that was manipulation. At worst, it was outright deception.

Even so, Tong Xia convinced herself to talk it out in person. Knowing Jiang Shan was in Nancheng celebrating a relative’s birthday, she booked her own flight. Jiang Shan had been truly happy to see her, which reassured her, so she put off confrontation, deciding to wait until after the banquet.

She waited for hours. Eventually, she went to the restroom, only to overhear Jiang Shan speaking with her younger brother.

She couldn’t see his face, but his voice was curious: “…That girl outside, is she your girlfriend?”

Jiang Shan snorted. Her voice was cold, a tone Tong Xia had never heard: “What’s it to you?”
“Just someone I’m messing around with.”

Just messing around.

After traveling a thousand kilometers, waiting for hours, dreaming of a future together, this was what she got.

Tong Xia reeled as if struck by lightning, the six words cutting like knives in her mouth, bleeding her dry.

“If she really didn’t like me and found lesbians disgusting, she could’ve just rejected me outright. Why lie to me, toy with me?”

“She never dated that kind of man, yet whenever the topic came up she put on a pitiful act, was she hoping I’d wag my tail like a dog to make her happy?”

“How can she say she likes me, likes me most, loves me most, but in front of others, it’s just ‘we’re casually seeing each other’?”

“…”

The emotions she’d barely suppressed surged back. This time, though, Tao Zhen didn’t try to tell Tong Xia not to cry. Instead he sat up and gently pressed her head to his chest.

She finally broke, sobbing hard. Her hot tears soaked through his collar, almost seeping into his heart.
Lowering his eyes, Tao Zhen patted her back, steady and soft. Only when she’d cried herself out did her hoarse voice come: “…What should I do, Tao Zhen?”

“I really do like her…”

The air seemed to freeze for a moment; all around went quiet.

She hadn’t slept all night. Exhausted, she let Tao Zhen, helped by Zhu Wensheng, carry her to the guest room. They carefully wiped her face, then Tao Zhen closed the door with care.

Outside, he shut his eyes, pushing aside his own concerns, exhaled deeply, told Zhu Wensheng a few words, then stepped out onto the balcony to call Gu Xingzhou.

The room was silent. Only Zhu Wensheng stood there, unmoving.

A tremor ran through the darkness of his pupils. He clenched and unclenched his fingers. His lips worked, as if to speak, but no words came.

Had he, too, been deceiving Tao Zhen?

He’d had countless chances to explain, yet dragged it out until now, hiding in a false identity while truly basking in Tao Zhen’s care and devotion.

Would Tao Zhen, like Tong Xia, be disappointed in him, leave him, stop loving him?

It felt like the blood in his body was congealing. Just imagining that possibility sent a searing pain surging through his heart.

Before long, dusk thickened outside.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, jolting him back. He took it out on reflex and glanced at the screen, then froze.

***

Soon after, Tao Zhen finished his call with Gu Xingzhou and, looking tired, shut the balcony door.

The room was dim. He reached for the light and saw Zhu Wensheng sitting on the sofa, as if he had something to say. Concerned, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhu Wensheng parted his lips, but before he could speak, someone knocked at the door.
He turned. Tao Zhen followed his gaze and blinked.

Gu Xingzhou had only just gotten the news, he wasn’t Doctor Strange; he couldn’t teleport here. So who could it be?

A thought struck Tao Zhen, almost unbelievable: “Could it be…?”

Zhu Wensheng stood, eyes dark. “Do we let her in?”

Tao Zhen pressed his lips together and glanced at the closed guest-room door. “No.”

He stubbornly kept the safe space inside for the sleeping Tong Xia, tugged Zhu Wensheng along, and stepped out into the hall.

It was indeed Jiang Shan. The woman’s elegant red dress had lost all its luster; the usually perfect waves of her hair hung in a limp mess, makeup mostly gone.

To put it bluntly, she looked like a drowned rat.

When Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng came out, she pressed her lips together, peeking past them into the apartment. Seeing no sign of Tong Xia, she dropped her gaze in disappointment. “…I’m sorry.”

Tao Zhen didn’t respond, whether out of anger or uncertainty about what to say. Zhu Wensheng was silent as well.

“Not being honest with Xia Xia, lying to her, hurting her, that’s on me. I have no excuse,” Jiang Shan said, voice trembling slightly. “I just want to apologize to her, and make up for it with actions.”

“And… that last thing I said, it truly wasn’t what I meant.”

“…”

The yellow light overhead was dim; the corridor was hushed.

She looked pitiful. Tao Zhen frowned, eyes closing briefly as he sifted through memories of how Jiang Shan had treated Tong Xia. He didn’t want to believe all that gentleness and care had been an act.

But he wasn’t Tong Xia. What he thought didn’t matter. Letting this stalemate drag on wasn’t a solution either.

Whether they broke up or stayed together, that was for Tong Xia to decide.

After a long, awkward standoff, Tao Zhen finally turned, opened the door, and said to Jiang Shan, “…Wait here. I’ll ask if she’s willing to come out.”
Jiang Shan seemed to glimpse hope and nodded quickly. “Thank you!”

Tao Zhen went inside.

Outside, only Jiang Shan and Zhu Wensheng remained.
After a moment, Zhu Wensheng lowered his eyes and handed her a packet of tissues. “Here.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, pressing the tissues hard to her eyes. The tendons stood out on her slim fingers. After a while, she said, “My family favors sons. When I was born, they almost named me ‘Zhao Di’ (Bring-a-Little-Brother).”

“Then my younger brother was born, and I didn’t get that name. Everyone thought I should be grateful to him, leave everything to him, be a proper sister who sacrifices for her brother… But I didn’t want that. I fought him for everything.”

“No matter how I fought, I could never beat him. I’ve tried my best, I’m first at everything, and they still don’t see me. If he catches me with Xia Xia, he’ll tell on me, use it to corner me in front of them,” she choked out. “I… I just panicked. That’s why I said those words.”

Silence.

Zhu Wensheng didn’t lecture her. Standing a few centimeters away, he patted her shoulder lightly.

Suddenly her tears flowed again, uncontrollable. “…But actually, she’s the best thing in this world to me.”

“…”

“I understand,” Zhu Wensheng said softly.

He didn’t need her to explain; he understood better than most.

Footsteps sounded inside, then paused at the threshold; Tao Zhen and Tong Xia’s voices were faint.

Jiang Shan hastily wiped her tears, stood straighter, and waited, trembling, for Tong Xia to appear.

Digging her nails into her palm, she drew a breath, felt the tissues there, and looked up at Zhu Wensheng with red-rimmed eyes, as if reminding him: “…Make sure you find the right time to tell him.”

“Don’t, don’t hide it from him.”

The door clicked open.

Pale-faced, Tong Xia stepped out and stood opposite Jiang Shan. For a moment, neither spoke.

Tao Zhen hesitated half a second, then tugged Zhu Wensheng back, leaving the door barely ajar. The two of them slipped away from the living room, giving the women the space.
Still, the matter weighed on him. He couldn’t help sighing. “Ugh… I really don’t know what to do.”

They stood shoulder to shoulder in the dark hall, neither leaving.

After a while, Zhu Wensheng said quietly:
“…If.”

Tao Zhen turned from nervously twisting his hem. “Mm?”

In the dim bedroom, Zhu Wensheng lowered his gaze. A faint light flickered in his deep eyes.

“If… I’m like her, too.”

“There are some things I’ve been keeping from you.”