Chapter 012 Zhai Zhi: “Divorce, I can’t live this life anymore.”
Zhai Zhi thought that when they arrived home, Xie Chenyang would impatiently drag him back to their room. Who knew that he went into the kitchen instead. “You…?”
“You rest.” Xie Chenyang steered him away from the kitchen. “I’ll make a meal, and when you’re full…you’ll have enough energy.”
Zhai Zhi lost his smile. “Alright.”
Xie Chenyang buried his head in chopping vegetables while simultaneously saying, [System, play an educational movie for me. I’m inexperienced, so play a good one.]
The system couldn’t help but ask, “How do you know I can show that?”
Xie Chenyang grinned. [My system is so capable; isn’t it a trivial matter to play an educational movie?]
“Haha,” the system laughed, “I really am capable.”
For the next few minutes, Xie Chenyang studied in his head while cooking.
—–
Seeing that forty minutes had passed and he still hadn’t come out, Zhai Zhi walked into the kitchen. “You’re just cooking a meal…” Why is it taking you so long? He looked at the nearly ten dishes laid out on the countertop and was dumbfounded. “You’ve made so many dishes?”
Xie Chenyang plated the last dish and turned back to look at him. “Mn, eat plenty.”
“Why are your eyes a little red…” Zhai Zhi’s line of sight lowered and saw the bulge in his pants. The corner of his lips started twitching. “You’re…”
Xie Chenyang calmly picked up another plate of dishes. “Help take the dishes out. It’s time to eat.”
Zhai Zhi looked at the rows of dishes on the countertop and had a bad feeling. This premonition deepened a little more after the meal. He pondered for a moment and said, “The company has just been acquired and there are still quite a few things to take care of. Why don’t we go to the company to take care of things first and then do it later this evening?”
Xie Chenyang pondered for a moment. “That’s fine. Let’s go to the company first and then we can come back, as a way to digest our food.”
Zhai Zhi: “…” He agreed so easily?
They went to the company and wandered around, but everything was being handled by Zou Hao in an organized manner.
— Chairman’s Office. —
“Feiyang went to Cen He. Are you okay?”
When Zhai Zhi had read Li Xuyang’s information, it had said that his brother’s name was Li Xufei, and Feiyang was apparently named after both of them.
“Only giving him an asset, nice and tidy.” Xie Chenyang closed the file in his hand. “My dad and my brother left behind a lot of cars and savings, as well as a number of dividend-rich shares they had invested in. While Cen He now only has Feiyang shares, no properties, no savings, and if he wants to run the company and continue his lifestyle next, he’ll surely have to borrow money.”
“The value of Feiyang shares may have fallen a lot recently, but according to the market price, they still account for 40% of the property. I already made a concession, otherwise he might’ve filed a petition, which would be of little use, other than being a waste of time.”
“I see.”
—-
Cen He released an apology on Weibo. This time he didn’t try to whitewash himself, but acted as a prodigal returning son. He expressed that it was true that he loved Li Xuyang in the past, and that it was also true that he made mistakes. Now that the two of them were divorced, he hoped that Li Xuyang would be well in the future, and so on.
At the end, he also said that his personal relationships have nothing to do with the company, he will run Feiyang well, that Feiyang’s artists are doing very well, and so on. The artists under the banner of Feiyang have also forwarded the post.
Xie Chenyang simply glanced at it and didn’t pay much mind to it. He caught Zhai Zhi’s hand. “Look, the company doesn’t actually have anything that we must personally deal with. It’s getting late. Why don’t we go home?”
The food digestion process should be almost finished, right?
Seeing him return to his normal self, Zhai Zhi nodded. “Let’s go.”
Going back, Xie Chenyang drove. His driving was calm and steady, not at all as eager as when they had come out of the Civil Affairs Bureau earlier.
Zhai Zhi breathed a sigh of relief along with a faint wave of loss. But as soon as they arrived home, he realized that he was mistaken.
Just as he got out of the car, Xie Chenyang scooped him up in his arms with a sweeping stride and strode towards the house. Zhai Zhi grasped his shoulder and said breathlessly, “I can walk by myself.”
“I know.” Xie Chenyang lowered his head. “Do you want me to put you down?”
Zhai Zhi: “Put me down.”
“Not putting you down.” Xie Chenyang kicked open the bathroom door before lowering him. While unfastening his buttons, he asked, “Zhai Zhi, our acquaintance has been short, but are you prepared to commit your love to me?”
Zhai Zhi’s eyebrows jumped as he lowered his eyes, “Why are you talking like you’re in an old-fashioned romance movie?” Moreover, shouldn’t he have stopped his actions prior to asking this?
Xie Chenyang laughed. “Maybe it’s because I’ve watched too many old-fashioned dramas a while ago, and my thoughts are a bit misguided.”
“And if I’m not prepared?”
“Then don’t bother. You’ll definitely fall in love with me anyway.”
“Why?”
Xie Chenyang turned on the shower and nuzzled Zhai Zhi’s lips. “Because you provoked me.”
With its view blurring over, the system fell into a deep concentration and sent a question to its section leader: [Leader, may I be permitted to know–what’s my host’s age?]
Team Leader: [Is something wrong? ]
System: [I’m just curious.]
Team Leader: [Eighteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-one years old.]
System: [Okay] A true ten-thousand year old single.
The system pondered that this battle would not stop anytime soon, or else the host wouldn’t have specially bought a few other things on credit after watching the educational movie for use. So, it returned to its own space and gazed at the endless sea beyond.
—- Later that night. —-
Zhai Zhi was helped to lean on a soft pillow, and in his blurred lucidity, he heard Xie Chenyang’s voice: “Open your mouth.”
He opened his mouth as instructed, and a spoonful of warm porridge entered his mouth. Zhai Zhi came back to himself, and his voice was hoarse with a slight tremor. “Let’s get divorced.”
Xie Chenyang frowned, puzzled. “We’ve only been married for a day. When have I treated you badly?”
Zhai Zhi’s lips were slightly swollen, his face was still flushed, and a circle of red rimmed his eyes. The aloofness in his eyebrows turned into aggression. “What time did we come back?”
“Three o’clock this afternoon.”
“What time is it now?”
“One in the morning.”
“Divorce.”
Xie Chenyang grabbed his hand, his eyes a little fierce: “You don’t want me anymore after you’ve gotten your hands on me?”
Zhai Zhi closed his eyes and exhaustedly sighed. “If we don’t get a divorce, I’m afraid I’ll die in your hands.”
Xie Chenyang burst out laughing. “How could I possibly kill you? Don’t joke, so naughty.”
Zhai Zhi’s eyelids jumped. Who the hell is joking? “I’m getting older. My energy’s not as good as yours. With a few more times like tonight, I’ll be gone.”
Several times he came close to passing out and was dragged back again forcefully.
Xie Chengyang looked at him helplessly. “This–wasn’t it you who had said you didn’t want it?”
Zhai Zhi opened his eyes and looked at him critically. “I said no. Why didn’t you listen?”
“This…” The educational movie had said it ah: no means yes.1So from my understanding (as a Westerner) in Eastern cultures there is a sense of ‘It’s ok to be gay as long as you are on top.’ Being known as a bottom makes you seem weaker, so to counter, they really pushed this ‘no means yes’ thing. You see it a lot in manhwas/mangas/dojinshis. I think it’s starting to fade now with more modern generations.
Zhai Zhi shifted and laid down on his side, closing his eyes and no longer paying attention to him. Xie Chenyang wanted to apologize but stopped and took the bowl out. He called out several times before the system responded, “Hmm? Is it over?”
[Well, Zhai Zhi, he…] Xie Chenyang told it what had just happened, and said sadly, [Is he angry?]
The system was shocked. “From the afternoon when you came back until now?? Straight??”
[No, ah, I did stop to cook dinner for him and he rested for an hour or two afterward]
System: “Even so, who can endure that? Host, you have to pay attention to moderation, ah! Even if you’ve been single for 10,000 years. Even if it’s your first time and you’re excited, you still have to grasp the situation–you’re both ordinary human beings, ah.”
It had miscalculated.
It thought at most six or seven times, but it didn’t realize… wasn’t his host possessing a mere mortal body? How could it withstand such a thing?
Xie Chenyang was annoyed: [Didn’t the educational movie you showed me also go from day to night? Besides, I was under the impression that one full day wasn’t a big deal, ah]
System: “…If the host goes to a cultivation world, double cultivation can last for ten days to half a month. In the ABO world, it’s also possible, but in this kind of world, if you don’t slow down, you’re both going to die.”
[Got it. Tsk, fake educational movies harm people.]
Xie Chenyang returned to their room. When he gathered Zhai Zhi into his arms, he felt his slightly trembling body, and with his heart, he said, “Ah-Zhi, I was wrong. Please don’t divorce. In the future, we’ll just do it once, okay?”
Zhai Zhi ignored him.
The system sighed. “If you hadn’t bought that medicine from me, I’m afraid he’d be… sigh.”
So tragic, Mr. Zhai.
System: “Host, doesn’t your waist hurt?”
Xie Chenyang: [It’s bearable still.]
System: “Impressive.”
The system saw him embrace Zhai Zhi to go to sleep and poked the team leader: [My host’s physical strength and the original bodies do not match, ah, very powerful]
Team Leader: [It’s not the first time we’ve led somebody, old system. We can completely seal the spiritual power of a cultivator with excessive power, but his spiritual body is too strong, which in turn affects his physical body. What’s so strange about that?]
System: [Maybe the ones I’ve led in the past were of lower cultivation, but what’s the point of coming to us when they have such a high level of cultivation?]
Team Leader: [Don’t pry blindly. Do your tasks. Don’t bother me with nothing.]
System: [Oh.]
“Ah-Zhi…”
Zhai Zhi finally opened his mouth and said hoarsely, “Next time when I say no, I really mean no.”
“Yes!”
“I’m tired.”
“Go to sleep.”
After that night, Xie Chenyang was really obedient and did whatever Zhai Zhi said, and their married life was harmonious as a result.
——
With the original plot and system on hand, Xie Chenyang knew who’d be popular and who was truly talented and hired them into Zhiyang. Then he found a way to send any artists with flaws, character problems, and such into Feiyang, lest they wreak havoc on other companies.
Cen He borrowed a lot of money in order to keep the company running and to live. However, there were many troubles, as artists were exposed one after another, and the dramas that the company invested in or self-produced were all cold one after another, causing him to be overwhelmed by the situation.
Some shareholders recognized the situation and decided to sell their shares, and Xie Chenyang, who was keeping a close eye on the situation, bought them under Zhai Zhi’s name. In contrast, Zhiyang had smooth sailing; its artists one after another became red.
Cen He had not repaid his debts, and the company was losing money, so he had to sell off his personal shares. When Xie Chenyang and Zhai Zhi convened the shareholders’ meeting while holding the majority of shares in their hands, Cen He knew he had lost. He tried to evoke the past and the love Li Xuyang used to feel for him.
Xie Chenyang strolled up to him; his face was still the same, but the past love was nonexistent, to the point of indifference. “Are you worthy? Look at the person standing beside me now, and then look at yourself. Answer me–are you worthy?”
Cen He’s heart sank. “Ah-Yang, we…”
“Who’s we?” Xie Chenyang mocked. “You still owe a lot of debt, right? Now you can’t even pay it back, can you? What’s the point of holding on to a few shares? If you sell them all to me now, then you can still get something back. Otherwise, you’ll have no return on your bloody earnings.”
“This is the Li family’s company…”
“So what? I have Zhiyang now. You wouldn’t be unaware of Zhiyang’s development, would you? With Feiyang rotten like this, even if it goes bankrupt, I don’t care.”
Only three people were at the shareholders’ meeting. Cen He’s face had grown older with more of life’s woes.
Xie Chenyang had one hand in his pocket. “Do you regret it? My parents and my elder brother… you didn’t directly kill them, but you were aware of it and allowed it to progress, and even facilitated it without leaving a trace… Do you regret it?”
Cen He didn’t expect that he already knew everything. He lifted his head. “I didn’t do anything.” Perhaps he had said something thoughtlessly, but on the surface, those things would not constitute a fault and were justified.
Xie Chenyang didn’t bother to argue with him. “Will you sell the shares or not? If you don’t want to sell them, just wait for Feiyang to go bankrupt.”
Cen He’s face became ugly. He believed his words were true. Zhiyang’s development was skyrocketing right now, and many of Feiyang’s artists were muddied with black materials. “Ah-Yang, you’ve changed.”
“And you haven’t?” Xie Chenyang sat next to Zhai Zhi and smiled at him. “Look at you now. Where’s your warm and resolute self? You look like a stray dog… so irritating to the eyes.”
Cen He: “…”
Cen He didn’t dwell on it for long. Since things had come to this, he could only sell off all the shares in his hands. Even so, he wasn’t able to repay his debts.
Cen He was convinced that with his skills, he’d be able to find a good job, and then find a second chance to make a comeback. However, his resume sank into the ocean with no response. Although he’d been bouncing around, someone told him that Elder Yu and Zhiyang had put the word out in the circle and that he wouldn’t be able to find a job that would be of any use to him. There was no way anyone would make an exception for Cen He. So Cen He had no choice but to leave the entertainment industry, and find an unremarkable job, and from then on, he struggled to make a living.
Xie Chenyang and Zhai Zhi’s romance also came to light after Feiyang merged into Zhiyang. After having met Zhai Zhi, Elder Yu was relieved, and with his skill in reading people, believed Zhai Zhi was a good one.
And indeed he was.
In the days that followed, although Xie Chenyang sometimes caused a lot of trouble and irritated him, Zhai Zhi grew accustomed to it.
Zhai Zhi’s health was not as good as Xie Chenyang’s, and he passed away earlier than him. They had no children and only recognized Elder Yu’s grandson as their godson.
Xie Chenyang gave Ziyang to his godson and donated the rest of their properties, which he made clear of before he followed.
When he returned to the system space, Xie Chenyang was unable to hide the anguish in his heart even as he gazed at the expansive sea.
Xie Chenyang sat on the beach, his figure lonely: “Will I ever see him again?”
System: “He is a person from this world and will reincarnate in this world, while we, on the other hand, will proceed to yet another one .”
In other words, it meant that they wouldn’t be able to see each other again. Xie Chenyang gazed blankly at the sea with a sudden twinge in his heart. “We’ve been together for decades, so why do I feel like it was just a split second?”
The system mentally sighed, Forget about decades–a few hundred years would be a blink of an eye for you.
System: “Host, shall we go to the next world now, or do you want to rest here first?”
Xie Chenyang was silent.
System: “If the host can’t adjust, I can temporarily help you seal your memories or emotions from the last world, oh.”
Xie Chenyang: “No need. Let’s go to the next world.”
System: “Okay.”
——–
Author’s Note:
Next world’s preview: ‘This tragic and decent hero’; scumbag spy, upright hero top, swordsman bottom
This is the end of arc one! Next is Wuxia and I’m struggling 😅.
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
