ADTCP Ch78

[Shocking News! #ZhenBaoZhu# CP Suspected Breakup!]

[As we all know, the #ZhenBaoZhu# couple has been extremely popular online in recent years. One is a champion MMA fighter, and the other is a blogger with millions of followers who has also participated in a well-known musical tour. Since they got together years ago, their relationship has been going well, and they even officially announced their relationship on stage during a free musical performance for fans.]

[Recently, our editor discovered that this model couple seems to be having problems. A passerby and a fan took photos of ZhenZhiBang (Tao Zhen) holding hands with a young man in Silver Amusement City, laughing and entering and exiting together, even visiting a wedding planning center! During this time, the young man repeatedly put his arm around ZhenZhiBang’s shoulders, with an ambiguous demeanor, making one suspect there might be a special relationship between them…]

[It is reported that the latest UFC digital match has just ended, and our champion has once again successfully defended his title, maintaining this hard-won honor. But what will he think when he sees these photos?]

[Can #ZhenBaoZhu# walk into the hall of marriage together? Welcome to leave your thoughts in the comments and discuss it with our editor. Follow our editor to learn more…]

A Honda Elfa drove from Madison Square Garden in New York to the airport. The driver and assistant in the front seat were silent, and Li Min in the right rear seat looked awkward. Only Zhu Wensheng on the left leaned back in his seat, his expression indifferent, with his eyes closed.

The car continuously played the explosive video from an unscrupulous marketing account. The funny background music and synthesized electronic mechanical sounds echoed repeatedly, as if a blunt knife was slowly torturing everyone.

After a while, as the video was about to play again, Li Min beside him finally couldn’t take it anymore. She turned off the video with a “snap” and gritted her teeth, looking at Zhu Wensheng beside her:

“Damn it, these marketing accounts must have nothing better to do, talking nonsense and daring to release such fabricated stuff. Do they not want to live?”

Five years had passed, and the once slightly youthful young man had completely transformed into a mature man. His worth had multiplied, and his body bore many scars. Every inch of muscle had been repeatedly honed in competitions, containing infinite explosive power. His sharp eyebrows slowly furrowed, hiding his deep eyes in the shadows, making him look like a predator lurking in the jungle, exuding an extremely dangerous aura.

In the arena, he was praised by opponents and the media as a “hexagonal warrior” and a “natural S-level control king,” as if he had no weaknesses. But outside the arena, his biggest weakness was Tao Zhen.

Li Min couldn’t imagine what Zhu Wensheng would become if Tao Zhen really had an affair with someone and decided to break up with him.

“Ah-Sheng, you… don’t listen to these rumors,” she licked her lips and cautiously looked at the young man beside her. “When you get back later, talk it out properly with Xiao Zhen, don’t argue, okay?”

The air fell silent.

Zhu Wensheng slowly opened his eyes as if just waking up, his tone calm: “Do you know who that person is?”

Li Min’s heart skipped a beat, inwardly groaning in distress.

“No, I don’t know… Calm down first! Don’t go around asking who that is! In this day and age of the rule of law, you can’t just go and fight, can you? First, ask Tao Zhen, and then…”

Zhu Wensheng listened for a while and gradually understood Li Min’s meaning. He rarely showed a helpless expression: “Stop.”

“Who said I was going to look for trouble with him?”

Li Min was a bit speechless: “You… aren’t you angry?” Could it be that Tao Zhen was so powerful that he easily tamed Zhu Wensheng into this state?

“As expected of the legitimate partner, this demeanor is indeed different from others. Tolerant and magnanimous…”

“…”

Zhu Wensheng felt like uninstalling the novel app on Li Min’s phone. “That person is Aunt Lin Manyao’s cousin, much younger than her. He recently decided to get married, so she came to Nancheng to look at wedding venues.”

“I originally wanted to receive him with Zhenbao, but he didn’t agree, only letting me focus on the competition. So I thought of having him take his cousin to Silver Amusement City to buy some things as an apology.”

Cousin.

Li Min was petrified and took a full half-minute to react, angrily punching Zhu Wensheng: “Why didn’t you say so earlier? The video has been playing for so long, I thought you were angry out of your mind.”

Zhu Wensheng calmly looked at her: “I didn’t know. I thought you were tired of my comfortable life and deliberately played the video to stimulate me.”

The driver and assistant in the front couldn’t help but chuckle, and the atmosphere in the car finally livened up. Although Li Min was angry, the big rock in her heart finally fell, and she punched him again before leaning back in her seat to sleep.

Zhu Wensheng’s drowsiness was dispelled by this little episode. He casually took the blanket beside him to cover Li Min and opened his phone. He originally wanted to chat with Tao Zhen, but a series of message notifications popped up one after another.

After seeing the content, his gentle expression gradually disappeared.

[Unknown Number: Ah-Sheng, Dad was wrong. Dad knows he made a huge mistake in the past, wronging you and your mom. I really regret it now and hope you can give me a chance to correct my mistakes…]

[Unknown Number: Dad is in pain every day now, and there’s no one to take care of him. I know all those people outside are fake, only we are truly a family. Can you come to see Dad?…]

[Unknown Number: …]

A year ago, due to long-term dissipation, chaotic days and nights, and an unchecked private life, Zhu Guanqing successively developed diabetes and uremia. Although he had money and could hire the best doctors to treat him, and could easily get a kidney transplant… the damage these two diseases caused to his body was enormous and irreversible. His body had been hollowed out by alcohol and lust, and he was destined to never live like a normal, ordinary person again. All his former “secretaries” had scattered because of this. Every day was extremely painful for him, and most of the time he had to stay in bed. After cutting ties with all his debauchery, he suddenly realized he was all alone, so he began desperately begging for Zhu Wensheng’s care. But he should have known that the last bit of father-son affection between them had already vanished five years ago. Zhu Wensheng didn’t want to, wouldn’t, and couldn’t pay attention to him.

As usual, he added this unknown number to the blacklist again and coldly closed his phone.

Soon, the Elfa arrived at the airport. Everyone got out of the car, went through security, checked in their luggage, and boarded the plane.

When they landed in Nancheng, it was already 8 PM. The first thing Zhu Wensheng saw when he got off the plane was Tao Zhen, smiling as he waited for him not far away.

The knot in his heart seemed to disappear instantly. He took three steps at once and went forward, reaching out with some force to firmly hug Tao Zhen into his arms.

Tao Zhen stood on his tiptoes and happily kissed him, keenly sensing his unhappiness: “What’s wrong? Who bullied my husband?! I’ll go fight them!”

The touch on his face was like a dragonfly skimming the water, a gentle breeze.

Zhu Wensheng slightly curved his lips: “What do you think? ‘Suspected breakup of ZhenBaoZhu, ZhenZhiBang and a mysterious handsome man seen together’?”

Tao Zhen widened his eyes, looking wronged as he accused: “You… can’t do this!”

“I already had my mom help me post a clarification, and finally made those bad guys apologize to us. How can you still tease me? I won’t be nice to you!”

Zhu Wensheng finally smiled: “I was wrong, baby… How have these past two days been?”

Tao Zhen wasn’t really angry with Zhu Wensheng. He pulled him into the car and immediately snuggled into his arms like a little bird returning to its nest, chattering about how troublesome it was to organize a wedding:

First, the customs in each place were different, so they had to organize one for the cousin and another for the cousin’s husband. They had to choose their own wedding dresses and suits, look at the matching, research the venue, drinks, banquet, and host…

The wedding ceremony was so complicated that just assisting the cousin made Tao Zhen’s head spin, and he couldn’t help but develop a resistance to traditional weddings held in hotels:

“Actually, I don’t think it needs to be this complicated. Inviting a bunch of relatives you don’t even know, who will only care about eating and won’t genuinely bless you. It’s better to invite the closest family and friends to enjoy the beautiful scenery together, witness the ceremony, eat, and play games… That would be the best.”

“After all, marriage is just two people coming together to build a family…”

Tao Zhen’s voice weakened, and he unknowingly fell asleep.

Zhu Wensheng gently pulled him into his arms and carefully covered him with a blanket. After a moment, he thoughtfully lowered his eyes.

***

In the following days, Tao Zhen was still busy running around.

His cousin followed the advice of the elders in the family and chose a traditional wedding style. Just deciding on the hotel for the banquet took several trips. After finally deciding, they had to schedule the date and look at the venue’s layout… At the same time, the completion time of the cousin’s custom-made wedding dress also conflicted with the wedding date.

After busily handling these matters, Tao Zhen felt as if he had been drained, more exhausting than running ten marathons in a row. He swore he would never touch weddings again.

On the day he sent his cousin off to the airport to leave Nancheng, he was so tired that he crawled into bed as soon as he got home and slept for ten hours straight.

When he regained consciousness, it was already daylight. The warm-toned sunlight streamed in from the window, making their little nest extremely cozy.

They had lived here for five years, and unknowingly, they had integrated into each other’s lives. All their belongings were intimately placed together, inseparable.

Tao Zhen groggily opened his eyes and reached for the identical phone on the bedside table to check the time. Unexpectedly, as soon as he unlocked it, a message popped up, boldly appearing before his eyes.

Tao Zhen paused slightly, knowing he shouldn’t pry into Zhu Wensheng’s privacy, but he couldn’t help the worry in his heart. He cautiously clicked and glanced through the messages.

After a moment, he closed his phone, sat up, and the last bit of sleepiness had completely vanished.

The person who sent the messages to Zhu Wensheng was his mother, Si Shi.

Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, she, like Zhu Guanqing, who regretted his actions a year ago due to uremia and constantly sent messages to Zhu Wensheng asking for forgiveness, would occasionally come to “bother” Zhu Wensheng.

The only difference was that Zhu Guanqing did so because he had no one to rely on and saw Zhu Wensheng as his only support for the rest of his life. Si Shi, on the other hand, had a husband and son and perhaps genuinely realized her mistakes, which was why she would buy things for Zhu Wensheng every now and then, and even secretly send gifts to Tao Zhen.

However, Zhu Wensheng had never responded to her, and Tao Zhen had never accepted her gifts.

She was rejected every time, often crying uncontrollably, even causing conflicts with her husband and son over this matter. To outsiders, it seemed like a deep and affectionate relationship, but those who truly understood the situation could only sigh.

When Zhu Wensheng was a child, crying and clinging to her legs for love, she walked away. Now, it was too late to try to make amends with the grown-up Zhu Wensheng.

With such parents, Zhu Wensheng had been homeless since he was six years old.

With this matter on his mind, Tao Zhen’s expression was somewhat gloomy.

When Zhu Wensheng came in from outside with breakfast and lunch, Tao Zhen came to his senses and casually put on a smile.

Zhu Wensheng noticed the change in his expression and, after putting down the bowls and chopsticks, began massaging his stiff shoulders and neck, asking if he was a bit tired.

Tao Zhen shook his head and first picked up a piece of thick egg roll with his chopsticks, feeding it to Zhu Wensheng. Seeing him eat it, he happily curved his eyes and kissed his cheek.

After the two finished their brunch, Zhu Wensheng cleaned up the kitchen, while Tao Zhen, who had been busy for days and should have been resting, changed his clothes and prepared to go out.

Zhu Wensheng was slightly taken aback and asked what he was going to do. Tao Zhen straightforwardly replied, “I just received a call from my aunt. She left and remembered there were some things she hadn’t taken care of, so she needs me to go out and help for the next two days.”

This reason was quite plausible, and Zhu Wensheng indeed didn’t suspect anything.

Tao Zhen tensely left the house and sighed in relief, quickly calling the various wedding-related contacts on his phone.

In their wedding, the groom’s attire was the easiest to resolve. Since they often measured sizes and made clothes before, the designers already had records of their body measurements. They only needed to choose the style of the clothes. With his experience in musicals over the past two years, Tao Zhen also knew many excellent makeup artists.

The theme and style of the wedding were also quickly decided. When Tao Zhen helped his aunt arrange the hotel venue, he had already learned about it and chose a theme of fresh flowers and nature, without messy lights and flashy decorations.

However, Tao Zhen was genuinely troubled by the wedding location.

It was unrealistic to take so many relatives and friends out of town in a short time, so he could only focus on places near Nancheng. But the lawn wedding bases in Nancheng and the open-air venues available for weddings that Tao Zhen had seen one by one were all unsatisfactory.

Either the scene setup was like an assembly line, or the location was in the remote suburbs with undeveloped yellow sand piles nearby.

Finally, an experienced wedding planner noticed his dilemma and recommended a newly developed city park.

The location was excellent, and the environment was beautiful, but due to recent policy issues, only one wedding slot remained.

Tao Zhen didn’t dare to delay and quickly thanked the wedding planner before rushing to the scene.

Sure enough, after bypassing a rippling lake, what came into view was a very fresh natural landscape. Two rows of tall trees bent into a narrow path, and the rustling leaves, illuminated by the sunlight, cast dappled light on the ground.

Tao Zhen was momentarily lost in thought, but when he came to his senses, he immediately decided to hold the wedding here.

He turned around and told the planner his thoughts. The planner then smilingly took him to handle the formalities. However, just as they were about to sign the contract, the planner suddenly received a call and couldn’t help but show a troubled expression: “This… I was just about to sign the contract. How can you say this now?!”

“We had called earlier to say we were coming to see it. The client is here now…”

Tao Zhen’s heart skipped a beat, knowing that there was probably a problem with the park’s management.

Indeed, the two planners had simultaneously received him and another client. Both wanted this venue, but there was only one wedding slot left. Who should it go to?

If it were before, Tao Zhen would definitely have generously given up the venue.

But not today. This was for his wedding with Zhu Wensheng.

Tao Zhen was unusually assertive this time and decided to pay extra money to secure the venue. He asked the planner to take him to meet the other client.

The other client seemed to have the same idea, so they agreed to meet in the park in half an hour.

With the upcoming negotiation on his mind, Tao Zhen was a bit nervous when he arrived at his destination.

Stepping onto the small bridge, crossing the flowing water, and entering the rustling shade from one side, he saw a figure walking from the other end.

Tall, slender, wearing a simple shirt, bathed in sunlight.

Just like six years ago when they first met, yet somehow different.

“This should be our other client. I’m really sorry for giving you both a bad experience. How about this, we’ll try to secure another wedding slot—”

Tao Zhen raised his hand to stop the planner beside him and suddenly couldn’t help but laugh, his eyes a bit sore: “No need, thank you.”

The planner was slightly taken aback and, in the next moment, was dumbfounded as he saw Tao Zhen running towards the other end.

Tao Zhen ran straight into Zhu Wensheng’s arms, and Zhu Wensheng also lowered his head to hold him.

Just like when they first met, it was now another summer.

But unlike when they first met, they had already become the most important and indispensable parts of each other’s lives.

Tao Zhen looked up, both wanting to cry and laugh, almost producing a snot bubble: “Sir, would you agree to give me the venue?”

Zhu Wensheng lowered his head and gently kissed Tao Zhen’s forehead, smiling: “If it’s for your wedding with your love… then it would be my honor.”

***

On the day of the official wedding, the weather was perfect.

The carefully arranged park venue was surrounded by blooming flowers.

Tao Dajun, Lin Manyao, Gu Xingzhou, Tong Xia…

Li Min, Zhao Zhao, Aunt Si, Jiang Long…

All relatives and friends had arrived at the scene.

Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng walked down the flower-petaled red carpet, exchanged rings under the sunlight, and kissed each other.

After the simple ceremony, laughter and noise filled the air, all joyous.

Zhu Wensheng also mingled with Tao Zhen in the crowd.

He lowered his head and gently gazed at the soft and beautiful young man in front of him, his voice especially cherishing: “Tao Zhen.”

Tao Zhen hummed and looked up with a smile: “What’s the matter?”

Zhu Wensheng fixed his eyes on him and also smiled: “I love you.”

Without a father’s love or a mother’s care, the nightmare that had haunted him since childhood had completely vanished.

From the moment he held Tao Zhen’s hand, he had a home of his own.

***

On the day of the wedding, some well-informed media also came uninvited.

Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng didn’t ask them to leave. Instead, they prepared some wedding candies and favors for them, with the only request being that they help post an announcement after the wedding.

The media eagerly agreed, happily attending the wedding feast, and after leaving, they began typing:

[Shocking News! Latest Progress in #ZhenBaoZhu# CP’s Love Story!]

[Over the years, the #ZhenBaoZhu# couple has been extremely popular online. One is the MMA comprehensive martial arts champion Zhu Wensheng, and the other is the music blogger Tao Zhen, who has participated in well-known musical tours. They have been together for years and even officially announced their relationship on stage during a free musical performance for fans.]

[Now, our editor has discovered that the two held their wedding yesterday. The atmosphere at the scene was lively, and relatives and friends all raised their glasses in celebration…]

[Congratulations to #ZhenBaoZhu# for finally becoming a married couple. Congratulations to Zhu Wensheng and Tao Zhen for entering the hall of marriage!]

—The End—