Chapter 24: I Heard You Two Are Getting Divorced

On a certain day in a certain month of a certain year, someone who was only a casual acquaintance of Meng Weiyu, named Liang Qiu, driven by a gossipy heart, sent a few messages to the influential figure in their circle who had disappeared for several days:

Because you’re not around, I heard a lot of progress at your company has stalled.

Please help me deal with some business matters from your company first.

You’ve been missing for days.

What exactly do you want to do?

Liang Qiu did not expect Meng Weiyu to reply. Or rather, even if he did reply, he did not expect to get any useful information. Meng Weiyu looked friendly and easy to get along with, but in reality, he was as cunning as a fox. You could joke with him, but you could not bare your heart to him. If someone opened their heart to him, he would tear them apart and eat them whole. If you tried to conquer him using the same method, all you would get was endless perfunctory replies.

He was genuinely afraid of dealing with Meng Weiyu, but no one could resist the temptation of gossip.

While Liang Qiu was messaging Meng Weiyu, he received a teasing message from another friend: You and Ning Wu seem to have the same profile picture.

Seeing the message, he exited the page, wanting to confirm this matter, only to discover that Meng Weiyu had suddenly replied. Liang Qiu instantly forgot about the profile picture and excitedly opened their chat page.

A line of words leapt into Liang Qiu’s eyes.

Meng Weiyu: I want a divorce.

Liang Qiu: !!!!!

Holy shit! Earth-shattering news!

Meng Weiyu wanted to divorce Shen Zhoudu!

He knew this day would come. How could Meng Weiyu obediently stay married to a man? As for Shen Zhoudu… Of all the things you could have done, you chose to marry a playboy. This was karma.

After receiving this shocking piece of information, Liang Qiu conveniently tapped Ning Wu’s profile picture during this gap and discovered that they really had happened to use the same avatar. He hated matching with others, so he silently changed his profile picture. Then, inside someone else’s room, he coughed once and tried to use a calm tone to message Meng Weiyu again.

Liang Qiu: Why so sudden?

After the message was sent, this time, Meng Weiyu did not reply.

“Ah! What exactly happened?” Liang Qiu curiously hugged his head with both hands and rolled back and forth on the sofa, unbearably impatient.

He really wanted to message Meng Weiyu again, but Meng Weiyu had always had a strong personality. Offending him would never end well.

But knowing such shocking news alone was too lonely.

After thinking it over and over, Liang Qiu finally sneakily opened another friend’s chat page and probed: Is Meng Weiyu divorcing Shen Zhoudu?

Friend: Lunatic. I just ran into them on a restaurant date last month. I happened to be sitting nearby and almost got sick from how sweet they were. If heaven let me smash a shameless PDA couple to death, my first choice would be Meng Weiyu and Shen Zhoudu.

Liang Qiu silently took a screenshot of Meng Weiyu saying he wanted a divorce and sent it to this friend.

Friend: You’re so low. Why are you making fake images like this?

Liang Qiu was so wronged he could die. In the end, he had no choice but to screen-record before his friend believed that this chat record was real.

Friend: Meng Weiyu wants a divorce? I can’t understand it.

Liang Qiu: I can’t understand it either.

Friend: I’ll go ask someone closer to them. Wait for me.

Liang Qiu: Brother, I trust you. I’ll wait.

That friend took the screenshot and went around gossiping. Then, the people who received the screenshot continued going to other people to gossip. In half a day, almost everyone in their large circle had a screenshot bearing Meng Weiyu’s profile picture and the sentence in the chat box: I want a divorce.

Meng Weiyu and Shen Zhoudu were finally getting divorced!!!

“I told you! I told you!” Someone pointed excitedly at their phone. “I never understood it. Their two families are so powerful, so what was the point of using marriage to swallow everything up? They should have married other people! No time to waste. I’m going to seduce Meng Weiyu immediately.”

“Meng Weiyu isn’t purely gay,” the person beside him reminded him.

“Then I’ll seduce Shen Zhoudu. I’ll leave Meng Weiyu to my wife.”

“You already look insane. Hurry up and calm down.”

At night, the news was still slowly spreading. By daytime, someone finally could not resist directly asking Shen Zhoudu.

Are you divorcing Meng Weiyu?

Shen Zhoudu, who basically rarely replied to messages except for work matters, directly sent the person a voice message.

The bold person opened it.

“Who said this?” His voice was icy and thorned, suppressing overwhelming killing intent.

The person on the other side did not dare reply.

For a time, throughout the entire circle, some people rejoiced while others worried.

Beyond the surging storm, Meng Weiyu was using his still-not-very-flexible right hand to laboriously play a game. He was curled up on the sofa, while a tiny ragdoll cat stepped across his thighs. The table was covered with snacks.

“Meow, meow, meow.” Xueci was calling him.

“What are you meowing for? Didn’t Shen Zhoudu fill your bowl with cat food before going to work?” After Meng Weiyu woke up, he discovered that Shen Zhoudu had already done everything that could take care of both him and the cat.

“Meow, meow, meow.” Xueci stood beneath a cabinet, jumping back and forth.

Meng Weiyu casually tossed aside the game controller, stepped down in properly sized slippers, and walked to the place where Xueci kept meowing.

Seeing him come over, Xueci immediately climbed up bit by bit along the neighboring cabinet, then accurately stepped onto a certain spot and scratched at the cabinet below.

“This one?” Meng Weiyu tentatively reached his hand over.

Seeing his movement, Xueci excitedly jumped around.

Meng Weiyu smiled proudly at it and pulled open the cabinet at once.

“Whoa~”

Inside, it was filled with cat treats and canned cat food.

Xueci sat on the cabinet and obediently looked at Meng Weiyu, then raised its head and cried, “Meow~”

“Hehe.” Meng Weiyu understood what it meant. He took out a cat treat, closed the cabinet, and turned to leave.

Xueci immediately followed.

Meng Weiyu fed the cat the treat and cheerfully watched as the cat clung to his hand, hungrily sucking it up. Feeling inspired, he opened his mouth and spoke to it. “Don’t tell me after I lost my memories, Shen Zhoudu has been abusing you? He really is a bad person.”

“Meow-ow.” After finishing one cat treat, Xueci lay on the sofa in satisfaction, not caring at all that one of its owners was slandering the other.

Meng Weiyu lay down with it, watching the cat lazily sweep its tail while he himself poked the sofa with his fingers.

“Actually, I’m a little bored,” Meng Weiyu said to the kitten.

“Meow.” Xueci opened its mouth and cried. A cat that had eaten and drunk its fill was not bored at all.

Meng Weiyu spread out his hands and feet, staring blankly at the ceiling and sinking into the wasteland of having nothing to do. Compared with not knowing what he should do, even going to school and studying in the past seemed much more interesting.

After lying down for a few minutes, he climbed up from the sofa.

Xueci thought he wanted to play with it and jumped up excitedly.

“Go play by yourself.” Meng Weiyu twisted its head, moving its line of sight away from himself.

“Meow, meow, meow~” Xueci lay back down again.

Meng Weiyu walked into a storage room. He remembered that last night, Shen Zhoudu had found that game disc here, which proved that there should be other old game discs here too.

“Hmph.” Meng Weiyu smiled proudly. The benefit of his memories suddenly jumping ten years into the future was that he could immediately play the sequels to the games he had been waiting for back then.

Meng Weiyu immediately began rummaging through boxes and cabinets.

Just as Shen Zhoudu had worried, leaving him alone at home did not necessarily mean everything in the house would survive unscathed.

“It should be this box.” Meng Weiyu discovered that everything here had been sorted by year. According to the pre-sale period of the game in his memory, he pulled out the box from his third year of high school.

That game should have been released after his high school graduation.

Meng Weiyu opened the box, then stuck his head inside and rummaged hard.

Game disc, where are you?

“Found it!” Meng Weiyu pulled out the familiar game disc, and along the way, he also messed up the notebook on the side.

Meng Weiyu’s black eyes shifted. He discovered that the handwriting in the notebook was very familiar.

It was the notebook he had used for notes in high school.

Meng Weiyu picked it up and casually flipped through it. At the front, it was still only his own handwriting, but later on, another person’s handwriting appeared. Meng Weiyu frowned. Although he treated studying rather casually, he actually did not like others touching his notebooks.

The other person’s handwriting was neater and more graceful than his. That person had patiently used a pen to circle some knowledge points, then written all kinds of notes: basic question that will definitely be tested, question type you get wrong the most, advanced practice question.

If this could be considered something one could help with casually, then on another page, this handwriting had copied half a page of knowledge points without the slightest perfunctoriness.

Meng Weiyu propped up his head and continued flipping pages.

In the corner of one page, Meng Weiyu had written: Little Zhoudu, do you want me to take you out to play this weekend?

The other handwriting in the notebook replied: Okay.

Meng Weiyu had drawn a heart beside it.

Flipping further back, the notebook was filled with two interlaced handwritings. Occasionally, there were even conversations written across the corners of the notebook.

Meng Weiyu silently covered his face.

Just from looking at the conversation here, his attitude had been much more proactive than Shen Zhoudu’s.

Meng Weiyu looked at that crooked black heart and could guess that he was probably not really flirting with Shen Zhoudu back then. It was likely just his casual style. Just like how, when he discovered someone looking at him, he always could not help smiling at the other person.

“Ah, how could you fall for it!” Meng Weiyu was angry at Shen Zhoudu for not living up to expectations. “Why did you have to take such a crude bait!”

Shen Zhoudu had bitten onto the fishing hook he had casually thrown everywhere.

Meng Weiyu wished he could stick a label reading flirts with everyone onto himself and display it to Shen Zhoudu at all times, loudly issuing a warning.

Do not fall for it! Do not fall for it! Do not fall for it!

Unfortunately, people could not travel through time.

At the end of the notebook, Shen Zhoudu had used his own handwriting to draw a heart beside Meng Weiyu’s words too, announcing that his psychological defenses had completely collapsed and that he had become another innocent victim of Meng Weiyu, this ruthless love hunter.

Meng Weiyu fiddled with his hair and looked at the heart drawn in blue ballpoint pen. He truly could not guess Shen Zhoudu’s thoughts at the time.

According to the temperament of the young Shen Zhoudu in his memory, to draw such a heart for someone who could not possibly like him must have required an unknown amount of psychological struggle.

Meng Weiyu closed the notebook and tidied the box again, putting everything back in its original place. Watching the items fill the box one by one, he finally placed that proof of Shen Zhoudu’s feelings before they had been exposed carefully back where it originally belonged.

The things had always been there, waiting for the person who wanted to understand them to dig them out and read them.

Just like the memories Meng Weiyu had forgotten.

After the rain, there was not a cloud in the sky. The sunlight shone even more brightly than before. Fresh air flowed into corners that had once been stuffy. Many workers, during their lunch break, walked out of the free prison made of reinforced concrete, temporarily becoming part of this clean, bright, moving painting.

In strong contrast to the brightness beneath the sky, somewhere in the city, a room overflowed with a dark atmosphere. Shen Zhoudu frowned while holding his phone, his entire body exuding murderous intent.

The person chatting with him sent several voice messages in a row to apologize.

“I know, I understand, I’m clear on it. You and Meng Weiyu are not getting divorced. Please let me go.”

“The screenshot I saw is the one I sent you. There’s nothing else.”

“I also found the first person who sent the screenshot.”

“Stop sending periods. You’re really too scary.”

Shen Zhoudu could not be persuaded. Just as he was preparing to go find trouble with the instigator, someone called his phone.

The caller ID showed: Mother-in-law-sama.

Shen Zhoudu’s cold expression immediately softened. Just as he planned to answer, the other side hung up.

His finger, which had originally been about to swipe the answer button, paused. Once again, he was being played in circles by the person he loved.

Immediately afterward, Meng Weiyu sent a message: Is it convenient for you to answer the phone right now?

“Really rare.” In the past, unless Shen Zhoudu had reported in advance that he could not answer calls during a certain time, Meng Weiyu contacted him whenever he wanted, no matter what Shen Zhoudu was doing.

Without another word, Shen Zhoudu directly called back.

“Hello, hello, hello, Shen Zhoudu.” Meng Weiyu’s lazy, casual voice came through.

“Meng Weiyu.” After Shen Zhoudu called his name, the foot wearing a leather shoe tapped once against the floor.

This way of addressing each other seemed to return them to their youth. Although Meng Weiyu definitely was not in the mood to play out some scenario, Shen Zhoudu really did feel his heart itch.

Seventeen-year-old Meng Weiyu was the thing he had wanted most when he was also seventeen, yet could not obtain.

“I’m eating lunch.” Meng Weiyu had called just to tell him this.

“Mm. Can you find the chopsticks? Do you know how to use the microwave? Do you need me to call Uncle Wang over?” Although the person on the other side had only returned to seventeen in memory, not seven, Shen Zhoudu still took care of him like a child.

But his attitude was like this for another reason too. Meng Weiyu’s lifestyle was truly rough. If no one had taken care of him from childhood to adulthood, Shen Zhoudu truly could not imagine what kind of life he would have lived.

“No need. I’m already about to eat.” Meng Weiyu disliked that Shen Zhoudu treated him like someone without self-care ability.

Shen Zhoudu laughed once, then reminded him again, “Be careful not to hurt your hand again.”

“Mm, yeah.” Meng Weiyu’s voice sounded a little guilty.

“So then, did you call because something happened?” Shen Zhoudu brought the topic back.

“Nothing.” Meng Weiyu’s tone was casual. “You told me to contact you every now and then. I guessed you’d probably be free during lunch, so I’m telling you I’m about to eat.”

“If you want to contact me, any time is fine.” Shen Zhoudu said this with ulterior motives.

Meng Weiyu stated, “Don’t flirt with me.”

Shen Zhoudu laughed. Why was it only in this kind of matter that he reacted so quickly?

Meng Weiyu was silent for a moment, then made an awkward sound. “What about you? Are you eating?”

Hearing this, Shen Zhoudu originally wanted to continue treating him gently, but thinking of what had happened not long ago, he instantly smiled without warmth and told Meng Weiyu, “It doesn’t matter if I don’t eat. I’m truly full from anger today.”

“Hm?”

“I’m not angry at you.” Shen Zhoudu immediately added.

“Did a lot of things happen at work?” Meng Weiyu did not understand.

Shen Zhoudu narrowed his eyes, his mood complicated.

“In any case, I’m going to eat,” Meng Weiyu felt they had chatted long enough.

“Okay.” Shen Zhoudu felt a little apologetic. “There’s more work than I expected. I may only be able to go back tonight.”

“Ah?!” Meng Weiyu said arrogantly, “I’m having a great time alone. Who cares when you come back?”

I don’t need you.

“Should I bring you cake when I come back tonight?” Shen Zhoudu discussed with him.

“If we eat it together.” He got tired of eating things very easily.

“Then we’ll eat it together.” The corner of Shen Zhoudu’s mouth lifted.

“You go eat something. I’m going to seriously eat now.” Meng Weiyu felt a little embarrassed and wanted to hang up.

Shen Zhoudu teased, “Xiao Yu, eat more and grow up quickly.”

“You’re sick.” Meng Weiyu cursed him, but did not immediately hang up.

“Then that’s it?” Shen Zhoudu felt that if he did not eat soon, his food would get cold.

“Actually, I’m a little bored.” Meng Weiyu honestly expressed his thoughts at the end, then hung up.

Shen Zhoudu looked at the phone fondly and smiled for an instant. Then he immediately changed faces and gloomily continued settling accounts with the person he had been chatting with earlier.

Shen Zhoudu: Where is he?

The person opposite: …

One hour later, the screenshot of Meng Weiyu saying I want a divorce rapidly stopped spreading.

Although among them, everyone who should know about this matter had already found out.

By evening, it began raining again.

Meng Weiyu lay upside down on the sofa, his feet propped vertically against the backrest and his head hanging down.

“So bored.”

Seeing this, Xueci directly walked two steps from the side and leaned against him.

Meng Weiyu laughed and stroked the kitten’s head.

From the entrance came the sound of the door opening.

“Hm?” Meng Weiyu and Xueci sat up together.

“It’s raining outside. You didn’t leave any windows or doors open, did you?” Shen Zhoudu came in carrying a cake. Ever since he had seen that it was raining, he had been very worried about the seventeen-year-old child at home.

“Meow!” Xueci jumped onto the sofa armrest and stretched its head out to look at Shen Zhoudu.

The little cat at home was still easier to worry about. At least it knew to welcome him.

Just as Shen Zhoudu was about to sigh that the big cat was not as obedient as the little cat, from the other end of the sofa, a head with messy hair popped out and looked at him with a bright smile.

For the sake of how cute you are, I’ll continue forgiving you today.

Shen Zhoudu turned around and closed the door, covering up his shy expression.

“Uncle Wang came to make dinner for you, right?” Shen Zhoudu walked toward Meng Weiyu and asked about the evening. He was worried Meng Weiyu would be bored alone, and even more afraid that something would happen without anyone watching him. So he had specially asked Uncle Wang to come make dinner for him and keep him company.

“Uncle Wang came, but I saw it was about to rain, so I told him to go home after making dinner.” Meng Weiyu lay on the sofa and groaned dramatically. “Shen Zhoudu, your house is so boring.”

“It’s our house.” Shen Zhoudu corrected this point, then placed the cake on the table beside him. “How is it? If you’re bored, do you want to go to the company?”

“What kind of cruel farm owner are you? I just got discharged not long ago, and you already want me to work. You’re not human anymore.” Meng Weiyu was shocked. “Besides, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do at the company!”

“That’s true.” Shen Zhoudu found it troubling. “You usually have quite a lot of work too. You probably can’t handle it right now.”

“Let’s not talk about that.” Meng Weiyu planned to understand his work after some time. “Didn’t you say this morning that you’d only go for one morning?”

“Something happened in the morning and wasted some time.” Shen Zhoudu’s gaze drifted. “So my work was delayed until the afternoon. You had some work on your side too. Your grandparents were using a computer to remotely help you deal with it, and I needed to go to your company to assist a bit, so I was busy until night.”

Meng Weiyu discovered that he really had worked hard.

“You missed me?” Shen Zhoudu pointed at himself expressionlessly.

“Compared to missing you, it was probably more that I was bored.” Meng Weiyu told the truth.

“Thin-hearted and ungrateful man.” Shen Zhoudu complained like this, but his actions were honest. He lifted the cake to please him. “Eat?”

Meng Weiyu cautiously nodded and said, “If there aren’t any aphrodisiacs inside.”

“You’ve reminded me of what I should do next time.” Shen Zhoudu continued his words, then turned around to untie the ribbon wrapped around the cake box.

Meng Weiyu’s personality had always been wild and unruly, opening his mouth only to talk nonsense. He would not care what kind of joke he had made. But times were different now. He looked at Shen Zhoudu’s side profile as he opened the cake bag, slightly savored the conversation from earlier, then connected it to their current impure relationship. He narrowed his eyes and warned him, “You absolutely must not do something like that.”

Shen Zhoudu nodded and did not speak.

“Answer me.” Meng Weiyu was dissatisfied.

Shen Zhoudu remained silent.

Meng Weiyu: “…”

Although Meng Weiyu still was not used to getting along with Shen Zhoudu, he had to admit that Shen Zhoudu understood him too well. If he burped, Shen Zhoudu knew he wanted water. If he lay down on the sofa, Shen Zhoudu would bring a pillow for him to lean on and ask whether he wanted to watch a movie. Even if they chatted, apart from talking back, what Shen Zhoudu said was interesting to Meng Weiyu.

“I think you should almost go shower and sleep.” Shen Zhoudu glanced at the time.

“You’re the one who’s tired, aren’t you?” Meng Weiyu had already understood his routine.

“Heh.” Shen Zhoudu laughed, propped up his head, closed his eyes, nodded once, then told him, “I really do think your body hasn’t recovered, and you shouldn’t sleep too late.”

Meng Weiyu propped up his face and looked at him.

“Or do you want to keep staying with me late into the night?” Shen Zhoudu belonged to the type who, once he grasped someone else’s weakness, would tirelessly use the same trick over and over.

Hearing this, Meng Weiyu smiled, leaned closer, and provoked him. “What do I have to be afraid of?”

If he really did not want to, what could Shen Zhoudu do to him?

“Hehe. Sleep.” Shen Zhoudu smiled gently.

Meng Weiyu was not the type to pester endlessly. He could sense that Shen Zhoudu was a little out of strength today, so he kindly followed his words and went upstairs to shower. After Meng Weiyu came out of the bathroom, Shen Zhoudu applied medicine to him again, then helped him put on his clothes and was about to leave.

“You’re very proper today.” Meng Weiyu sighed as he looked at the person tidying his collar.

Shen Zhoudu looked at him once, his joy and anger hidden, and said, “Do you like it this way?”

“Hmph.” Meng Weiyu only smiled and did not speak.

Shen Zhoudu could not guess his thoughts, so he could only helplessly use his index finger to push his forehead.

“Alright, I’m going to shower. If you need anything, call me.” Shen Zhoudu did not linger by Meng Weiyu’s side today and very decisively walked away.

Meng Weiyu propped up his head and watched Shen Zhoudu leave, feeling that he seemed weighed down by worries today.

But then again, Shen Zhoudu had always looked like he was overloaded with thoughts, like a computer that had never been powered off.

Meng Weiyu thought he was overthinking it, until because he had entered the room too early, he got thirsty in the middle of the night and had no choice but to go out for water. That was when he discovered someone sitting on the chair outside on the balcony.

The night was deep, and a crescent moon hung in the sky.

Shen Zhoudu wore pajamas and sat on the spacious balcony. On the table beside him was a bottle of wine and a transparent glass half-filled with alcohol.

A cigarette was held between his fingers. His body leaned casually against the chair, and smoke drifted upward, making his face appear hazy and indistinct.

Shen Zhoudu brought the cigarette to his mouth and sighed.

Seeing this, Meng Weiyu had only one thought:

How did he marry someone who touched both cigarettes and alcohol?