WMAW Chapter 7

The first step was already off to a bad start, as Zhuang Yi solemnly flipped open his notebook on chasing his wife. The second step of the ten-step method to win a wife’s heart read: develop common interests, discover common topics. Staring at these flamboyant characters, Zhuang Yi fell into deep thought.

This step seemed somewhat traceable—his wife’s job was composing music, so listening to more songs and memorizing music reviews should do. Additionally, he often saw his wife curled up on the sofa reading novels, so he decided to delve into that as well.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Zhong Lin had just lost his temper and now lay despondently on the bed, wondering when the bald patch on his head would ever regrow. He also had to deal with the embarrassment of having his arranged marriage partner uncover his scars, which really hurt his pride.

Having slept too much during the day, Zhong Lin wasn’t hungry at night and was too lazy to go out for food. He poked his head out, scouted for any danger, and finding none, quietly slipped into the kitchen to whip up something to eat.

He was clearly very familiar with the kitchen, knowing exactly where everything was stored, finding things easily and to his liking.

It was rather strange—Zhong Lin had initially planned to just fix himself a bag of instant noodles, but found himself unconsciously starting to chop bell peppers and fry eggs.

“Are you kidding me? How could I possibly cook? I hate the smell of cooking oil.”

“Eh? How come my knife skills are so good?”

Zhong Lin grumbled to himself in the kitchen, busy as could be, creating some disastrous dishes. In the study, Boss Zhuang was also busy. He sat upright, squinting his eyes as he searched the web for popular novels, with music playing in the background, his expression particularly solemn.

After finishing another novel, Zhuang Yi slowly lowered his head. He flipped open his notebook to find that there were no notes inside, just the words “kept woman literature, little mom literature, orthopedic literature” scribbled crookedly on each page. Unable to sleep anyway, Boss Zhuang read carefully until late into the night, finally deciphering that the repeated word in the notebook was “incest”!

Zhuang Yi, with his very traditional and rigid mindset, had no idea how to find any common topics from this notebook. He got up to grab a bag of nutritional fluid, reluctantly sipped a few mouthfuls, then lay down on the bed with his tablet, forcing himself to read another popular novel.

This one was also intense—it was sister-in-law literature. Before consciousness faded, Zhuang Yi’s mind was filled with one thought: he was doomed, his mind had been dirtied.

Early the next morning, the door was pounded on so loudly it echoed. The woken Zhuang Yi, looking haggard, rubbed his crooked neck, straightened his pajamas, and went to the front door, bending down to check the video phone to see who lacked the decency not to ring the doorbell.

On the small screen, Zhong Lin’s brother, Zhong Jue, held his chin up, hands behind his back, looking imperious and indeed not very polite.

Zhuang Yi’s expression stiffened as he respectfully opened the door. Outside, Zhong Jue, clearly well-groomed, dressed in elegant and rich attire, his hair combed without a strand out of place, and his handsome, chiseled face, had an imposing presence.

Zhuang Yi greeted him politely and invited him inside. Only then did he notice another person standing behind his big brother-in-law. This man looked fierce and impatient, obviously not fully awake, his left hand tightly held by Zhong Jue.

As soon as Zhuang Yi looked towards his beloved wife, Zhong Jue, as if facing a great enemy, stiffened up, shielding his wife thoroughly with his body, his demeanor proud yet slightly anxious.

Zhuang Yi hadn’t noticed Zhong Jue’s tense nerves; he was just trying to suppress a yawn and quietly smoothed down his tousled hair. Being outdone by another alpha, the face-conscious Zhuang Yi settled the two on the sofa with a greeting, then went back to change and tidy himself up.

Awoken by the noise, Zhong Lin was just rubbing his eyes and opening his bedroom door. He vaguely felt that there were two people sitting on the living room sofa. Focusing, he saw his brother looking like a model, stunningly handsome. Beside him sat a cool-looking guy with unfamiliar, high-arching eyebrows and a cut eyebrow, sharp eyes, and three black gemstone earrings on one ear.

Walking past a corridor pillar, Zhong Lin couldn’t take his eyes off the cool guy. Underneath his simple, oversized jacket, his work pants wrapped around his legs, which extended into shiny leather Doc Martens, fitting just right.

Before he reached the living room, he heard the cool guy talking.

“Don’t be a wimp, just do it.” The cool guy was instructing Zhong Jue with a subdued tone, while giving Zhong Jue’s arm a squeeze—a gesture skilled and confident, much like a boxing coach relaxing a fighter’s muscles before a match.

“Brother.” Zhong Lin was bewildered. Was this his brother’s new friend? This was why his brother was so sociable? Too cool, too impressive. He had every reason to suspect that the cool guy, with his shirt possibly revealing seven bullet holes arranged like the Big Dipper, might even ride a Harley, followed by a gang of underlings lighting his cigarettes.

Zhong Jue snorted, stood up, and carefully checked over his precious younger brother, finding him perfectly healthy, which relieved him a bit. He then started lecturing, “You little punk, why didn’t you respond to my WeChat message yesterday? You had me worried for nothing.”

“What could possibly happen to me?” Zhong Lin responded nonchalantly, his eyes still sneaking glances at the cool guy. Who would have thought the person bombarding him with messages was his brother, whose profile picture was an annoying panda face, his tone brash, making it hard to take him seriously. Annoyed beyond measure, and not knowing who the other party was, Zhong Lin had simply turned off message notifications.

He should have realized sooner—it had to be his brother with all that chatter.

Zhong Jue noticed Zhong Lin’s gaze and flicked his younger brother’s forehead, “What are you looking at? Why don’t you call your sister-in-law?”

Zhong Lin’s eyes widened. It seemed playing with fire ran in the family. He managed to keep his expression under control and called out politely, sitting down cautiously. The cool guy, She Hu, pulled a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to Zhong Lin.

“Lin kid, today your brother insisted on dragging me along to give him some courage. I came in a hurry and didn’t bring you any gift. I’ve been quitting smoking recently, so I have some candy in my pocket. This one’s pretty good; it’s fruity and quite strong.” She Hu’s tone was a bit teasing, which made Zhong Lin blush. He took the candy with both hands, envying the beautiful tattoo on his sister-in-law’s hand, feeling a stirring inside.

One look, then two, three, four, five, six—Zhong Lin’s fervently admiring gaze was caught by Zhuang Yi, who had just come out after getting ready. The literary piece he had struggled through the night to finish was now surfacing at the right time. Zhuang Yi walked over, somewhat dazed, and coughed deliberately.

Zhong Jue looked up to see the not-so-good-looking Zhuang Yi, the pheromones between alphas tensing up in this evenly matched confrontation, giving Zhong Jue an unearned sense of superiority. He had noticed upon entering that Zhuang Yi was probably in a susceptible period, fighting the rampant urges with suppressants, unable to attain what he desired, pitiful indeed.

Ah, unlike him, a life winner who could always strive harder, not to mention during susceptible periods. Zhong Jue then remembered how during special times, his wife would be particularly indulgent, even willingly offering his nape for a bite to satiate cravings.

With that thought, the famished Zhong Jue, feeling proud, hugged his wife. He adopted an elder’s demeanor in front of Zhuang Yi of the same age, his tone regaining its steadiness, “Boss Zhuang, there’s nothing much, just came to check on Lin Lin. Also, if you’re free this weekend, come over for a meal at our place.”

With his heart set on making a good impression, how could Zhuang Yi pass up such a great opportunity? By the weekend, his susceptible period would be over, and he could go out. Zhuang Yi obediently agreed, skillfully also hugging Zhong Lin, lowering his head to discuss with him, “Not sure if my wife is busy this weekend, I could pick his up.”

Being called “wife” in front of his brother made Zhong Lin blush. Like a quail covered by Zhuang Yi, his voice softened, “I’m free, not busy with work lately.” Leaning against a strong heartbeat, it was hard to ignore, Zhong Lin fought the urge to run, standing his ground, steaming. Seeing his brother about to leave after dropping a comment, he hurriedly scurried after to see them off.

Zhuang Yi, with a face full of unspoken words, watched the three leave, squatting down in defeat. What to do, the second step of the ten-step method to chase his wife, he couldn’t move forward.

Zhong Lin was completely unaware that his daily consumption of trashy material had been exposed by his arranged marriage partner. He seized the opportunity while the cool guy sister-in-law went to start the car, whispering to Zhong Jue.

“Brother, isn’t your ideal type that kind of wild model? Female omega, big chested and with a perky butt.” Zhong Lin said, gesturing with his hands, only to have his palm slapped by Zhong Jue.

“Keep it down, your sister-in-law has sharp ears. Why bring up such nonsense? What do young people know about how cool a guy can be?” Zhong Jue shoved his hands back into his pockets, disdainfully.

“Brother, does sister-in-law have bullet holes on his chest?” Zhong Lin couldn’t help his curiosity, looking expectantly at his brother, adding, “In the shape of the Big Dipper?”

Zhong Jue turned his head incredulously towards his unlucky younger brother, his ears turning red, “What do you know, kid? Hurry back, don’t meddle in adult matters.”