But forget about his sister-in-law, why didn’t Gu Jiqing stay in the same room with him?!
Especially after knowing that his sister-in-law had prepared that room for Gu Jiqing, Zhou Cibai became even more anxious.
The bedroom is indeed the largest and best guest bedroom in the family, with a separate large balcony. However, compared to Zhou Cibai’s room, one is located at the far end of the second-floor corridor, and the other is at the far end of the corridor. Unfortunately, his house’s living room is also made up of two levels of open space.
That is to say, as long as there is someone in the living room, he will be caught if he wants to sneak into Gu Jiqing’s room. The same applies to when he comes out of Gu Jiqing’s room in the morning. There is an old man in his family who has to read the newspaper in the living room at 5:30 in the morning.
Then can he still get through these few days before school starts?
Zhou Cibai became anxious as he thought about it and kept trying to hint to Gu Jiqing, but Gu Jiqing, who was always considerate, didn’t seem to receive any signal at all.
In the end, it was his sister-in-law who couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Xiao Ci, are your eyes uncomfortable?”
Zhou Cibai, who was trying to hint with his eyes again, quickly said, “…No.”
“Then why do you keep blinking? There are no girls here, why are you sending signals?” His sister-in-law asked in confusion.
Zhou Cibai, whose signals were not received: “……”
Because his wife is here.
However, his wife just curled up his lips slightly after hearing this.
He knew that Gu Jiqing, the bad guy, must have done it on purpose.
But they’re home now, he knew Gu Jiqing did it on purpose, but he also could do nothing. He could only look at his evil smile and feel his teeth itching.
The next second, his sister-in-law turned to Gu Jiqing and said, “Oh, by the way, dinner is about to start. Grandpa and the others are still in the sunroom on the top floor. Do you want to go and take a look?”
Gu Jiqing, who was originally gloating, was stunned.
He must go; otherwise, it would be too rude.
It’s just that he feels inexplicably nervous.
He couldn’t tell why he was nervous.
It was not his first time to come to Zhou’s house, nor was it his first time to come into contact with the Zhou family’s members. However, after his identity changed this time, the secret and shy feeling of nervousness made him feel uneasy.
He stood outside the terrace door, hooked the straps of his backpack, and tried to make himself look more well-behaved and proper. After all, the Zhou family was famous for their strict family traditions, and he didn’t want to leave a bad impression.
Thinking of the powerful aura of the Zhou family’s members at the last birthday party and the large set of formal and exquisite New Year decorations in the living room, he couldn’t help but turn around and ask Zhou Cibai, “Do we need to kowtow when greeting the New Year in your family?”
He looked up and asked so seriously that Zhou Cibai and his sister-in-law both smiled.
Then the sister-in-law suddenly pushed open the terrace door.
Gu Jiqing’s heart tightened instantly, and then he stood there in a daze.
In the sunroom of over 100 square meters, Zhou Xiaoyue and Su Yuebai were each wearing one-piece dinosaur pajamas that looked like they were bought on Taobao. They were holding toy guns and making childish ‘ddudduddu’ noises at each other among the carefully tended green plants. Zhou Zhou successfully blended in with them with just one slam dunk.
Beside the small stone table, Zhou Zhenbai, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, was helplessly looking for something behind the old man. “Grandpa, how many times have I told you not to hide my artillery?”
Grandpa Zhou was obviously not convinced, and he leaned on his cane and said, “Who hid your artillery? Your artillery was obviously eaten by my car!”
Zhou Zhenbai nodded. “Then tell me why you can create three rooks in one game of chess.”
Grandpa Zhou: “……”
He was not justified but still confident. “None of your business!”
Zhou Zhenbai turned around and said, “Then, Dad, you come and take care of him.”
However, Chairman Zhou was wearing floral sleeves and a floral apron, squatting in front of a potted iron tree, helping Mrs. Zhou, and was too lazy to even respond: “What are you talking about? You call me dad, and I call him dad. How can I take care of him? You might as well let your son take care of him.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his son spotted Gu Jiqing with his sharp eyes, immediately threw his toy gun, and flew towards Gu Jiqing with his two short legs stretched out: “Jiqing gege! Yueyue missed you so much! Can you explain the questions to Yueyue again this time? Yueyue got first place last time!”
When he shouted, Mrs. Zhou, who was trimming potted plants, looked up and saw Gu Jiqing. She immediately put down her tools, walked over, and said in a gentle voice, “Aiya, Xiao Gu, why do you look thinner than last time? Have you not been eating well recently? Look at your thin arms and legs… Wait, are you not wearing long johns?”
Gu Jiqing: “?”
Before he could react, Mrs. Zhou had already made a judgment based on her rich combat experience: “It’s this cold, how can you not wear long johns!”
After saying that, he turned around and shouted, “Auntie Liu! Go get some long johns that Zhou Cibai hasn’t worn yet over!”
“No, Auntie, there’s no need…”
“Also, Zhou Cibai, you’re not wearing any either, right?”
Before Gu Jiqing could panic and politely refuse, Mrs. Zhou had already stretched out her claws to Zhou Cibai’s jeans. After pinching them, she found that he was not wearing any. She slapped him hard on the leg and said, “It must be you who led Xiao Gu astray!”
Zhou Cibai, who acts as a human heater for Gu Jiqing every day: “???”
Mrs. Zhou, however, completely ignored his aggrieved expression and started a surprise inspection: “Zhou Heng!”
Chairman Zhou quickly lifted up his suit trouser legs and said, “Laopo, I’m already wearing it.”
Mrs. Zhou called out again: “Zhou Zhenbai!”
Director Zhou, dressed in formal attire, looking decent, and having a gentle and cool public image, stood in place, trying to maintain his composure and struggle: “Mom, I’m already 32 years old…”
However, Mrs. Zhou is ruthless and impartial: “You should wear it when you get older; otherwise, you will get cold legs next year!”
“……”
So before Gu Jiqing could say anything, he was stuffed with a pair of autumn long johns and pushed back into the room.
It was a chaotic mess, but it was exactly what Zhou Cibai wanted.
He took advantage of the chaos and sneaked into Gu Jiqing’s room. He saw Gu Jiqing standing there with his long johns in his hand, looking a little dazed. He thought he was cute, hugged him, and laughed softly. “Were you scared by my mom?”
Gu Jiqing came back to his senses and quickly said, “No, Auntie is very nice, it’s just…”
It’s just a little different from what he had imagined.
Not only Mrs. Zhou, but the atmosphere of the entire Zhou family, with four generations living under one roof, was somewhat different from what he had imagined.
It’s very noisy and bustling. There are no particular rules like the Gu family, and it is full of the breath of life. It is not at all the formal atmosphere of a wealthy family, as one might imagine.
It’s like a…
Home.
A real home.
When Zhou Cibai said that he wanted to become Gu Jiqing’s home, Gu Jiqing was not that touched, because for him, being with Zhou Cibai was just happiness, and as for whether it was a so-called home or not, it seemed to make no difference.
But at that moment, he suddenly seemed to have a glimpse of the taste of home.
Zhou Cibai looked at his drooping eyelashes and probably guessed what he was thinking. He lowered his voice even more: “Gu Zhizhi, do you like our family?”
Gu Jiqing pursed his lips and did not deny it.
Zhou Cibai smiled and took the opportunity to hug him tighter: “Then why don’t you marry me sooner? Then our home will be your home in the future.”
Gu Jiqing was a little bewitched by his bass: “What if your family doesn’t like me?”
“They won’t.”
“En?”
“At least my mom won’t as long as you wear long johns.”
“?”
“……”
“.”
“Zhou Cibai!”
Gu Jiqing, who finally realized Zhou Cibai’s true intention, didn’t even have time to struggle before Zhou Cibai pressed him down on the bed, unbuttoned the waistband of his jeans, and even bit his neck: “Who told you to not stay with me?”
Gu Jiqing was afraid that he would do something wrong, so he pushed him away and explained, “I did it to avoid suspicion…”
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Cibai whispered, “I know, so I’ll listen to you in everything these days, okay?”
Zhou Cibai looked down at him, his eyes serious and gentle.
Gu Jiqing’s heart moved, and Zhou Cibai took the opportunity to lower his head and slowly offer his lips to him. Gu Jiqing was somewhat bewitched by his bass voice and naturally put his arms around his neck.
The atmosphere was just right.
Then an innocent shout rang out from outside the door: “Jiqing gege! Have you put on your long johns? Mom said it’s time for dinner! Would you like to help her make cookies?”
The child’s voices resounded through the sky, as if all misconduct was a sin.
The warm and ambiguous atmosphere was gone.
Zhou Cibai stood there in a daze.
He looked like a big dog that was trying hard to get meat but was interrupted by a little mouse.
Gu Jiqing couldn’t help but smile, push Zhou Cibai away, leave a sentence, “This time it’s not me who didn’t give you food,” then slowly walk into the bathroom attached to the bedroom and lock the door.
Zhou Cibai, who was left with an empty heart in the room: “……”
Ten seconds later, a six-year-old child’s terrified scream was heard from the Zhou family’s mansion, which had a strict family tradition: “Ah! Little Uncle! Don’t put me on your shoulders! I’m afraid of heights! Ahhhh!”
But it was obvious that Zhou Xiaoyue, who was afraid of heights, was ultimately unable to escape the clutches of the 1.9-meter giant.
When Gu Jiqing came out of the room, Zhou Xiaoyue was crying and hugging his father’s thigh to complain, but his father just sat on the sofa, looking down at him, and leisurely took ugly photos of him crying and sent them to [A Loving Family]. It was completely without empathy.
So when he saw Gu Jiqing, Zhou Xiaoyue rushed over to hug him like a child seeing his mother and cried bitterly: “Wuwuwu, Jiqing gege, Little Uncle bullied me! He is so bad!”
Zhou Cibai, who just placed Zhou Xiaoyue on his shoulder and spun around: “?”
How come there are still cases of blackmail?
Then Zhou Xiaoyue started crying and said, “I feel more and more aggrieved. I want Brother Jiqing to hug me.”
Zhou Cibai: “??”
Why didn’t you want your dad to hug you just now?
Zhou Xiaoyue howled dryly without shedding tears: “Yueyue also wants Jiqing gege to kiss and comfort me before I can get better.”
Zhou Cibai: “???”
He ruined his kiss and still wants his own?!
Zhou Cibai finally couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed Zhou Xiaoyue’s neck from behind and lifted him up. “Zhou Xiaoyue!”
“Zhou Cibai!” Zhou Zhenbai couldn’t help but raise his eyes and directly ask, “Why are you bullying my son?”
Zhou Cibai didn’t even think twice: “It was obviously your son who bullied my boy…”
Zhou Cibai only had time to pronounce the “n” in the word “boyfriend” before he realized something and froze on the spot.
Gu Jiqing, who was just about to rescue Zhou Xiaoyue from Zhou Cibai, also stopped on the spot.
His sister-in-law at the western kitchen counter, Su Yuebai in the living room, Zhou Xiaoyue, who was being carried in his hands, Father Zhou, Mother Zhou, and Grandpa Zhou, who had just come down from the terrace, all cast puzzled glances at him.
Zhou Cibai: “……”
Gu Jiqing: “……”
After the dead silence.
Zhou Cibai quickly reacted, pretending to be calm and making a specious argument: “It was obviously your son who bullied my roommate first. Look at how thin Gu Jiqing is, how can he carry him?”
After putting Zhou Xiaoyue down, he said to Gu Jiqing, “Didn’t you say you wanted to help Saozi make cookies?”
Then he took him and quickly walked towards the western kitchen.
The people left in the living room: “……”
Something doesn’t seem right.
The only traitor, Su Yuebai, tried to save the situation: “Well, straight men nowadays seem to like holding hands…”
“Oh? How come I didn’t know?” Zhou Zhenbai glanced at the four little red ears, unfolded the newspaper, and curled his lips slightly.
When Zhou Cibai and Gu Jiqing walked quickly to the center island kitchen, the Zhou family’s eldest sister-in-law was stunned for a moment but quickly regained her attention and quickly handed over the basin in her hand. “I originally wanted to make a dessert after dinner, but this flour seems to be wrong no matter how I mix it. Is there something wrong?”
Gu Jiqing only took a glance and found the answer: “The flour and butter should be mixed by tumbling, not stirring in circles; otherwise, it will become glutenous.”
“En?”
The sister-in-law blinked, not quite understanding.
Gu Jiqing didn’t say much, but immediately took out a bowl and some eggs and sugar and quickly beat them into icing sugar, then added butter, and then patiently and carefully demonstrated what stirring meant while explaining it.
Then skillfully pipe the cake, decorate it, and put it in the oven.
The whole process was smooth and pleasing to the eye. The folded cuffs reveal a pair of thin arms, showing a kind of lean and powerful elegance.
A plate of delicious cookies was soon served.
Zhou Cibai’s sister-in-law picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. After taking a bite, it was filled with a sweet fragrance, and her eyes widened immediately: “Oh my God, Xiao Gu, this is too delicious!”
After saying that, she hurriedly took the cookies to the living room and couldn’t wait to share them with everyone. Soon, there was a burst of admiration in the living room.
Gu Jiqing breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and walked to the kitchen to turn on the faucet. With the sound of the water flowing, he finally couldn’t help laughing and said, “Zhou Cibai, why were you even jealous of a little kid just now?”
Zhou Cibai squeezed two pumps of hand sanitizer, mixed the foam, and washed the flour off Gu Jiqing’s hands while saying confidently, “Because you can only kiss me.”
He’s so childish that it’s kind of cute.
Gu Jiqing chuckled. “What if we are exposed?”
Zhou Cibai refused to repent: “Even if we are exposed, you can only kiss me.”
“What if your family kicks me out?”
“How could you be kicked out? Grandpa and my sister-in-law like you so much.”
“But I haven’t had much contact with your parents yet. What if they don’t like me?”
It’s not like Gu Jiqing hasn’t thought about this possibility.
After all, liking your son’s roommate and liking your son’s boyfriend are two completely different things.
Zhou Cibai was very confident: “Can’t be.”
“Why?”
“Because our family has a long history of being henpecked. My grandfather, my father, and my brother are all henpecked. My sister-in-law supports LGBT, so my sister-in-law must like you. My brother listens to her, so he must like you. My brother and I both like you. My mother loves us the most, so she must like you too. My father listens to her, so he must like you too. If you add in Zhou Xiaoyue and Su Yuebai, then my whole family likes you, and we must be together.”
How could there be such a reason?
The key logic was so flawless that Gu Jiqing was unable to refute it for a moment.
But reality is never logical.
Gu Jiqing asked, “What if we are really kicked out? Then will we be Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai or Romeo and Juliet?”
“Neither. I calculated that I can be a tutor in my sophomore year, I can take on blueprints in my junior year, and I can start my own business in my senior year. Besides, my brother taught me to save my own money, so I have a small treasury that my family doesn’t know about. Even if we are kicked out, I can also support you.”
If it was just a sentence like “I stole the electric bike to support you”, Gu Jiqing might just take it as a joke, but he gave such a serious answer with details, as if he had really thought about it seriously in the past few days.
Gu Jiqing tilted his head and looked at Zhou Cibai.
Zhou Cibai was holding his fingertips and washing them carefully under the faucet, his eyelashes drooping, and his voice was small and serious: “Anyway, you don’t have to be nervous when you eat later. I will try my best to behave well and make Grandpa and the others feel better. I won’t let you suffer any more grievances.”
Large dogs are always like this, they look silly at ordinary times, but they always make people feel safe.
Gu Jiqing felt a little soft and warm in his heart.
The Zhou family’s kitchen is L-shaped. The west kitchen faces the living room, while the middle kitchen for washing hands is at the corner facing the garden and cannot be seen from the living room.
So after looking at Zhou Cibai for a long time, Gu Jiqing looked away and nonchalantly said, “Then my boyfriend can actually kiss me before washing hands to replenish some energy.”
After saying that, Zhou Cibai was stunned for a moment, but when he saw Gu Jiqing’s smiling eyes, he instantly realized what was going on. He was delighted and was about to kiss Gu Jiqing on the face with a smile on his face.
However, once again, he froze in place a second before touching him.
Because he looked over Gu Jiqing’s shoulder and saw Zhou Xiaoyue outside the glass door of the Chinese-style kitchen.
Zhou Xiaoyue blinked.
He blinked back as well.
Through the door, Zhou Xiaoyue didn’t hear most of the words clearly or understand them at all. However, with the sensitivity of a child, he still caught the most unfamiliar and curious words.
So he raised his head and said crisply, “Little Uncle, what does henpecked mean?”
Zhou Cibai: “……”
After a brief silence, he chose to be a dirty adult: “It means a good man.”
“Oh!”
Zhou Xiaoyue’s eyes lit up instantly, and he nodded heavily. Then, before Zhou Cibai and Gu Jiqing realized that something might not be right, he immediately turned around and ran towards the living room.
And accompanied by an innocent praise that resounded through the sky: “Grandpa, Dad, Great Grandpa, you are the most henpecked people in the world!!! So Zhou Xiaoyue wants a lot of red envelopes!!!”
Gu Jiqing: “……”
Zhou Cibai: “……”
At that moment, it seemed as if the whole world was silent, leaving only their final discussion on life.
“Zhou Cibai, do you think we will be kicked out?”
“I wonder how many years of sentencing would be if a minor was asked to do thirty math papers a day?”
