ADTCP Ch74

Night had fallen. The beautiful blue-tinted sky outside vanished, replaced by a thick, lonely darkness speckled with scattered pinpricks of light.

The surroundings were eerily silent, devoid of any laughter or conversation—so quiet it was terrifying. Tao Zhen was alone at home, having skipped dinner. He sat on the bed, hugging his knees, staring blankly into the distance. He felt forgotten by everyone, as if the darkness would swallow him whole in the next moment.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when the phone on the bedside table suddenly rang.

Tao Zhen jolted, thinking it was Zhu Wensheng calling. He answered instinctively, only to hear the sound of Zhu Wensheng talking to someone and a few employees in the background.

He paused, lifting the phone to glance at the caller ID. Zhao Zhao’s voice came through, “Hello? Tao Zhen, has your Gege come back yet?”

Tao Zhen’s heart sank instantly. It was past midnight, and Zhu Wensheng still hadn’t shown up. Zhao Zhao’s question felt like rubbing salt in the wound.

His chest tightened with sorrow. “No. I don’t even know if he’ll come see me tonight…”

“Relax, he’ll definitely come find you later. No need to thank me.”

For some reason, Zhao Zhao’s tone carried a hint of sighing, even a touch of excited laughter. “Before he gets here, let me give you a heads-up. No matter what happens later, don’t be too shocked, got it?”

Tao Zhen was confused. “Huh?”

But Zhao Zhao was already lost in his own world. “Think about it carefully. Who could your Gege possibly like or fall in love with after all these years of keeping everyone at arm’s length? Hey, you two should seize this opportunity…”

Wait, what was he even talking about?

Tao Zhen was bewildered. Before he could ask Zhao Zhao what he meant, the call ended abruptly.

Silence returned. Footsteps echoed outside the door. Tao Zhen immediately recognized them as Zhu Wensheng’s. Instinctively, he wanted to jump off the bed to greet him as he always had, but remembering how Zhu Wensheng had stood at the door for a moment last night before leaving, he stopped abruptly, a hint of defiance in his hesitation.

After a few seconds, Tao Zhen quickly buried himself under the blanket, pretending to be asleep, leaving only a small gap to observe outside.

Soon, the footsteps drew nearer. The bedroom door creaked open.

A tall figure stood in the doorway, his shadow stretched long by the moonlight.

Tao Zhen’s heart pounded wildly. The few minutes felt like an eternity. Beads of sweat formed on his nose, his breathing quickened, and his mind raced with wild thoughts.

—Where had Zhu Wensheng been before coming home so late? Had he gone to see that girl again?

—Would Zhu Wensheng stay in the room tonight, or was he planning to completely cut ties and distance himself?

Whether it was the suffocating blanket or his own anxiety, Tao Zhen felt like he couldn’t breathe. Just as he was about to sit up, the figure at the door finally moved.

The young man stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked step by step to the bedside and sat down silently.

Tao Zhen’s vision darkened. Even though he couldn’t see Zhu Wensheng’s expression clearly, he inexplicably felt an oppressive presence.

Especially when he saw Zhu Wensheng’s tense fingertips, he keenly sensed that Zhu Wensheng seemed different from usual.

If he had to describe it, in the past, Zhu Wensheng had always stood by his side like a protector, shielding him from any harm.

But now, Zhu Wensheng had become the predatory beast, eyeing him covetously, as if contemplating how to devour him whole.

Tao Zhen was startled by his own thought. His body trembled slightly. In the next moment, the blanket over his head was lifted.

Zhu Wensheng’s rough, calloused hands gently caressed his flushed, tender skin, wiping away the fine sweat on his nose. His voice was warm and husky:

“Still pretending to sleep, baby?”

The last barrier between them vanished. The gaze on his face was scorching, as if it could burn through his skin.

Tao Zhen’s eyelashes trembled uncontrollably. His fingers tensed. Before he could decide how to react, he heard Zhu Wensheng beside him say again:

“Nothing to say? Nothing you want to tell me,your  Gege?”

“…”

The embarrassment of being caught pretending to sleep, the grievances and irritations accumulated since last night, and an indescribable emotion surged in his heart all at once.

Tao Zhen’s eyes reddened in an instant. He sat up abruptly, looking at Zhu Wensheng with a mix of grievance and accusation. “What do you want me to say to you?”

From the girl at the school gate to the confession of a one-sided crush at the dinner table, and then standing at the door for a moment last night before leaving—each incident seemed to foreshadow Zhu Wensheng’s imminent departure, the withdrawal of all his affection. What else could he say?

Tao Zhen’s nose stung with sorrow, and tears rolled down his cheeks. Like a fierce but timid kitten, he kicked Zhu Wensheng’s thigh:

“Since you already have someone you like, go be good to her! After all, I’m just your brother, not your wife. I don’t need you to take care of me anymore…”

Tao Zhen put a lot of force into that kick, but Zhu Wensheng effortlessly caught his cold little foot in his large palm. The rough palm slowly slid from the boy’s delicate instep to his pale pink toes, gripping tightly. The scorching heat was almost unbearable.

“Don’t need me to take care of you?”

“Don’t need me to take care of you? Then who do you want to take care of you?” The young man repeated each word slowly. His eyes brewed a restrained storm, and an oppressive aura surrounded him, like the calm before a violent storm. “Every pair of socks, every piece of underwear, every item of clothing you’ve worn since you were little—I picked them out for you, I dressed you in them… Will the person you’re keeping outside do these things for you?”

“Will they do it as well as I do?”

“…? ? ?”

Tao Zhen couldn’t believe his ears and instinctively defended himself. “When did I ever—”

Before he could finish, he felt Zhu Wensheng’s large hand gently pull his ankle, and he tumbled into a broad, scorching embrace.

“Zhao Zhao told me, but I don’t believe him,” Zhu Wensheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice low and hoarse. “She’s just your classmate, working here part-time. You stood up for her…”

“You never thought about keeping her, did you?”

The room was pitch black, with only the faint glow of moonlight. The usually strong and aloof Zhu Wensheng seemed to lower himself, his voice carrying a hint of humble pleading, his eyes moist.

Tao Zhen froze, as if seeing himself from last night. Zhao Zhao’s words flashed through his mind, his heart pounding violently, as if something deeply buried within him was stirring, about to break free.

If—just if.

If Zhu Wensheng’s reaction was so intense because the person he liked, the person he had a one-sided crush on, the person he loved most—was him?

Tao Zhen knew he should nod in agreement, but inexplicably, he slowly said, “…Who said I haven’t thought about it?”

“I don’t have to keep her. I can be with her normally,” the boy’s heart raced as he looked up at Zhu Wensheng. “You’re being a hypocrite—you already have someone you like, so why don’t you go after them? Why are you stopping me?”

“…”

The air fell into a deathly silence. Zhu Wensheng was stunned, frozen like a statue. The hand gripping the boy’s ankle turned ashen.

His lips moved, struggling to speak. “I…”

Tao Zhen’s heart nearly leaped out of his throat. His fingers clenched the bedsheet beneath him, pulling his ankle from Zhu Wensheng’s grasp as he retreated, adding the final spark to the tinder:

“I’m your Brother, not your wife. There’s no reason in the world for a little brother to control whether his Gege dates or not—”

“Boom!” The scorching flames instantly reached their peak.

Zhu Wensheng seemed unable to restrain his emotions any longer. His eyes turned crimson as he reached out, gripping Tao Zhen’s waist and pulling him fiercely back into his embrace, sealing his constantly moving lips with a deep, desperate kiss.

Their bodies pressed tightly together, their chaotic, heated breaths intertwining, their lips and tongues entangled inseparably.

Unlike the fleeting goodnight kisses of their childhood, Tao Zhen felt as if he were suffocating. Zhu Wensheng’s kiss was deep and fierce, as if he wanted to devour him whole, crushing his lips and sucking on his tongue. Oxygen and saliva seemed to be drained away entirely.

After what felt like an eternity, the kiss finally ended. Tao Zhen’s entire body trembled, his spine softened, and he could only cling to Zhu Wensheng’s neck with both hands, barely managing to stay upright.

“Gege has never liked anyone else. The person I love most is you, and it has always been you,” Zhu Wensheng’s voice was hoarse. “I don’t want to be your Gege anymore. I want to be your husband.”

Tao Zhen’s eyes were misty, tears clinging to his damp lashes. Instinctively, he accused, “Then why did you—”

“I know I shouldn’t have such improper thoughts about my little treasure, whom I’ve watched grow up. It’s wrong, so I didn’t dare say it, didn’t dare think it, didn’t dare stay by your side with impure thoughts like before,” Zhu Wensheng choked up. “Baby, don’t like anyone else, okay?”

“Please, look at me… Don’t hate me…”

Before Tao Zhen could fully process this, he couldn’t bear to listen anymore.

He struggled to sit up and leaned closer to Zhu Wensheng, gently pressing a kiss to his lips. “I would never hate you.”

“The person I love most is you, Gege. I want to be with you.”

The boy still had tears clinging to his lashes from being wronged, but the corners of his lips curled slightly, like a little angel, effortlessly dispelling the panic in Zhu Wensheng’s heart and sowing the seeds of romance.

A tremendous wave of joy crashed over Zhu Wensheng, so good it felt like a dream that would shatter at the slightest touch. He froze, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Really?”

He hastily averted his gaze. “But…” Tao Zhen had just said he didn’t need him anymore.

“What I said earlier was all in anger, all lies. I’ve never thought about being with anyone else, let alone keeping someone,” the boy said softly, as if he had guessed what Zhu Wensheng was worried about. “I just went to the bar with Zhao Zhao today and stood up for a staff member who accidentally got into trouble with a few big guys. That person happened to be a classmate from the same major as me, so I added her on WeChat. Zhao Zhao knows about this.”

Zhu Wensheng had been listening seriously, but his gaze suddenly paused, sharply catching the keyword: “Zhao Zhao knows?”

If Zhao Zhao knew, why did he lie to him and say Tao Zhen was keeping someone?

Tao Zhen stiffened, realizing he had let something slip. He quickly covered his mouth and shook his head in denial. “No, no, Zhao Zhao probably doesn’t know. Yeah, he doesn’t know…”

Zhu Wensheng turned around, his momentum suddenly taking over. He narrowed his eyes and said word by word, “Tao… Zhen.”

“…”

Tao Zhen silently mourned for Zhao Zhao in his heart for two seconds before ruthlessly selling him out. “Okay, Zhao Zhao knows… But I think he meant well! It was because I complained to him that you might not love me anymore that he said those things.”

“Who told you to suddenly say you had someone you liked yesterday? I didn’t know that person was me, so of course I’d be upset. And how was I supposed to know you weren’t coming to see me because of your improper thoughts? I waited for you in the room for half the night and didn’t hear you come to explain. I cried all night!”

Tao Zhen’s tone was a bit exaggerated. After speaking, he fixed his big, blinking eyes firmly on Zhu Wensheng, not expecting the young man to fall for it. Zhu Wensheng, with a stern face, flipped him over and pulled down his sleep pants in one swift motion.

The humiliating memory of being spanked two years ago instantly flooded his mind. Tao Zhen’s face flushed red, and he scrambled forward, pleading pitifully, “Gege… Mmm!”

“Slap!”

A crisp sound rang out.

The light spank still landed, not painful, but extremely embarrassing. Being spanked by the Gege who raised him and his new lover was a double humiliation.

Tao Zhen was so ashamed and angry he wanted to die. Like a little ostrich, he buried his head in the blanket, his voice full of resentment, yet it came out like a coquettish complaint: “You’re bullying me…”

“Didn’t your dad say he would pass the washboard to his daughter-in-law?” Zhu Wensheng was ruthlessly affectionate, lightly spanking the boy’s plump, snowy buttocks again. “Now it should be passed to me.”

Tao Zhen widened his eyes, suddenly unable to refute. Just as he was angrily racking his brain for a retort, he saw the young man above him lower his eyes.

He paused slightly, almost instantly reading the guilt and self-reproach in the young man’s expression. The slight anger he had just felt vanished without a trace. He turned over and snuggled up to Zhu Wensheng, deliberately asking, “What? One washboard isn’t enough?”

Amused by him, the icy expression on Zhu Wensheng’s face seemed to melt. He lowered his gaze, looking tenderly at Tao Zhen, and whispered, “No. I just feel…”

He felt guilty.

Tao Dajun and Lin Manyao had entrusted Tao Zhen to him, but he had betrayed their trust and led Tao Zhen astray.

Tao Zhen might not be fully grown yet, might not have experienced true love, and might be clinging to his Gege out of fear of separation, mistaking it for love…

“Zhu Wensheng.”

Tao Zhen suddenly spoke. Zhu Wensheng paused, his tightly clenched palm loosening as he saw the boy’s clear and determined eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m a bit slow, but I’ve realized it much later than you—I love you.”

“Not the love between family, but the love between lovers.”

Indeed.

Tao Zhen had grown up under Zhu Wensheng’s care, like a child who had never matured. But now he was eighteen, and even though he hadn’t really engaged with the world, he had a sincere and ardent heart that wouldn’t melt for many years to come.

He guessed that from the moment he wrote “Zhu Wensheng” in his palm, the wheels of fate had begun to turn, leading him to the love of his life.

“…Baby,” Zhu Wensheng sighed softly after a long while, pulling Tao Zhen tightly into his arms and repeating the wish he had once made. “I just want to always be by your side.”

Tao Zhen curved his eyes into a smile. “Yeah, I’ll always be by your side.”

The two embraced tightly in the hazy night, just like two years ago, yet somehow different.

The air around them unknowingly grew warmer, and their posture was slightly ambiguous. Tao Zhen was acutely aware that his belt was still loose, his pants hanging around his thighs. He couldn’t imagine having just confessed his love in such a state and wanted to bury himself in a crack.

But just as Tao Zhen, blushing, was desperately pulling up his pants, he suddenly felt a slightly rough, calloused, long hand cover the back of his hand.

He paused and looked up to see the cold young man’s eyebrows slightly raised, his eyes seemingly moist with desire.

Even someone as slow as Tao Zhen suddenly had a sharp, instinctive intuition.

The movie scene he had accidentally glimpsed two years ago, though blurred in his memory, suddenly resurfaced, replacing the two protagonists.

“…Gege,” Tao Zhen’s face flushed red, his heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed with difficulty. “You… you said you hadn’t seen it, right?”

Zhu Wensheng lifted Tao Zhen’s ankle back onto his shoulder.

“Mm, I really haven’t seen it.”

“But I’ve dreamed about it.”

“…”

***

Zhao Zhao seriously dismissed the few employees who had been gossiping behind his back and compensated both the manager and the wronged Qin Yue. After a whole day of busy work, he finally managed to settle the matter without closing his eyes.

He sighed in relief and quickly called Zhu Wensheng to see how things had turned out, only to find himself already on the blacklist.

Zhao Zhao’s vision darkened, and he nearly coughed up blood, but he had expected this. In the next moment, he dialed Tao Zhen.

As soon as the call connected, he immediately complained to Tao Zhen about Zhu Wensheng’s despicable behavior, only to hear the young man on the other end chuckle lightly: “I almost forgot. Baby hasn’t blacklisted you yet.”

Zhao Zhao: “…”

The furious matchmaker directly stormed into the Tao family home and shamelessly refused to leave. In the end, he was happily sent off by Zhu Wensheng with a sports car as a “witnessing gift.”

However, another pair, Tao Dajun and Lin Manyao, were not as easy to placate as Zhao Zhao.

Before formally confessing to them, Tao Zhen was nervous to death, and Zhu Wensheng rarely suffered from insomnia.

During this period, the two searched online for a lot of information, including film, television, and literary works. Among them, the part where the protagonists confessed to their parents often ended tragically—usually with separated lovers and runaway brides.

Tao Zhen’s legs went weak from watching, and Zhu Wensheng pressed his lips tightly together.

But no matter what, they wanted to be honest with their parents and wanted their blessings.

So, on the day of the formal confession, the two rarely dressed formally, walking respectfully and seriously to Tao Dajun and Lin Manyao, confessing their feelings for each other word by word.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Neither Tao Zhen nor Zhu Wensheng dared to look at their expressions. After what felt like an eternity, they finally heard Tao Dajun cautiously ask, “So, you two… have only been together recently?”

“…”

Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng exchanged a glance, seeing identical confusion in each other’s eyes. “Yeah.”

“No wonder you’re making such a big deal out of it,” Lin Manyao sighed, adding, “Your dad and I thought you two had been together since high school and had just been hiding it from us.”

Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng froze, then couldn’t help but laugh.

Tao Dajun and Lin Manyao couldn’t help but smile.

That day, when Zhu Wensheng said he had a crush on Tao Zhen, they thought the young couple was playing some romantic game and tacitly went along without exposing them. They never expected these two kids to think they would disapprove.

How could they disapprove?

Fate is predestined. From the moment Tao Zhen saw the photo of Nancheng, everything had already been written.

Perhaps in another world, they would have received different scripts, but in the end, they walked the same path.

At seven years old, Zhu Wensheng held the hand of six-year-old Tao Zhen and brought him home on a cold winter day.

From then on, through every spring, summer, autumn, and winter, they would always be together, never apart.