DCHHLT Chapter 3

Twenty minutes later, a black car pulled up below Chu Junshan’s apartment building.

Through the rolled-down window, one could catch a glimpse of Liang Xingyuan’s clean-cut, sharp profile. When he remained silent and still, he exuded a natural air of cold detachment.

Even though Chu Junshan had already told Liang Xingyuan which floor he lived on, Liang Xingyuan remained in the car out of politeness, waiting for Chu Junshan’s message.

Before he arrived, Chu Junshan had lit a cigarette. The slender white tube was held between his long, fair fingers, quietly burning away on its own.

The air hung thick with the distinct smell of nicotine mixed with tar, forcibly suppressing the restless desire that had just flared up inside Chu Junshan.

He leaned against the windowsill, his gaze fixed from afar on the man waiting quietly inside the car for his message.

Without him realizing it, moisture had dampened his cuffs. Finally, Chu Junshan rolled his sleeves halfway up, stubbed out the cigarette that had burned down to the butt, and replied to the message.

【chu: I’m all packed.】

It was as if Liang Xingyuan had been staying on the chat interface the entire time. A reply came back almost instantly: 【Do you need any help?】

Chu Junshan replied succinctly: 【No.】

He picked up his small packed suitcase and slowly walked downstairs.

Twenty minutes earlier, Chu Junshan had packed up his work equipment, including his computer, graphics tablet, and the like. He sent them off via express courier. They would likely arrive at Liang Xingyuan’s home ahead of him.

When Chu Junshan reached the landing on the second floor, a figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

Seeing him come down, Liang Xingyuan reached out proactively to take the luggage from Chu Junshan’s hand. “Let me take that.”

Chu Junshan didn’t decline. “Thank you.”

His gaze remained fixed on Liang Xingyuan’s face. After observing him for a moment, Chu Junshan realized that his marriage partner was even more handsome than he had imagined.

He was undoubtedly a hot commodity on the blind date market. He was flawless in both looks and build, the kind of strikingly handsome man who stood out effortlessly in a crowd.

Yet to Chu Junshan, this held little allure—

At least, no more than the ink-black tentacles spreading out from under Liang Xingyuan’s feet.

“Is this all the luggage?” Unaware that Chu Junshan was studying him, Liang Xingyuan was surprised by how light his bags were. Turning his head, he raised his thick, prominent brows slightly. His deep, dark eyes clearly reflected Chu Junshan’s figure as their gazes suddenly met. “Did you think it would be inconvenient? It really wouldn’t be. There’s plenty of space in the back seat, so it can fit anything you want to bring…”

“No, this is everything I want to bring,” Chu Junshan answered calmly. “I moved into this place three years ago and have lived alone ever since. I didn’t own much to begin with.”

As they talked, Liang Xingyuan led him to the car, popped the trunk, and stowed the small suitcase inside. “Did you not live with your parents, Mr. Chu?”

Walking around to the driver’s side, he saw Chu Junshan sitting in the front passenger seat. Chu Junshan offered a polite smile and replied candidly, “My parents were constantly pressuring me to get married. I don’t particularly like being rushed, so I moved out quite early and haven’t lived with them since.”

Liang Xingyuan pressed his lips together, a question crossing his mind that he had wanted to ask all along—

“Mr. Chu, why did you choose to marry me?”

It was a question he had wanted to ask from the very beginning.

Judging by how things had gone during their blind date, Mr. Chu hadn’t seemed pleased with his performance. At the time, Liang Xingyuan had already braced himself for rejection. Yet no one could have anticipated that Chu Junshan would ultimately suggest marrying him…

Even now, several hours later, Liang Xingyuan still felt as though he were in a dream.

What does it feel like to be proposed to by a blind date partner you fell in love with at first sight?

Liang Xingyuan’s answer: Thanks for asking. It feels so dreamlike… almost surreal.

“Because, just as Mr. Liang said,” Chu Junshan’s clear, cool voice drifted over, “we are a good fit.”

Liang Xingyuan froze, feeling as though those words were a spell, echoing across the countless brains of his true form.

A good fit.

It should have been a wonderful phrase.

Yet for some reason, Liang Xingyuan felt a cold chill in his heart.

Mr. Chu didn’t seem to actually like him. Liang Xingyuan genuinely had no idea what part of him could have won Mr. Chu over.

Besides, based on what Mr. Chu had just said, his relationship with his parents was likely quite strained.

Perhaps marrying him was merely a way to fulfill his parents’ expectations.

Liang Xingyuan lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling with the rise and fall of his breath as he tried his best to suppress the disappointment deep within them.

That must really be why.

Liang Xingyuan felt his heartbeat, which had gone wild at Chu Junshan’s arrival, gradually returning to normal. His heart felt as though it were slowly swelling, like an artificially ripened peach: bright and appealing on the outside, but needing only a gentle squeeze to release its sour juice.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Liang Xingyuan slowly started the car.

Neither he nor Chu Junshan were talkative types. The air between them felt almost tangible, slowly drifting within the cabin.

At a red light, he brought the car to a stop. His gaze crossed the reflection in the mirror, landing on Chu Junshan sitting beside him.

With his eyes cast down, Chu Junshan was scrolling through a page full of text and graphics, likely a work-related document.

Liang Xingyuan remained silent for a moment before a sudden idea struck him. He took the initiative to speak up: “Mr. Chu, what line of work are you in currently?”

He was clearly tense, sitting up straight while feigning casualness as his peripheral vision swept over Chu Junshan’s fair, clean profile, anxiously waiting for a reply.

“…A lot of things.” Chu Junshan looked up, his eyes meeting Liang Xingyuan’s for a brief second before shifting back to his phone screen. “Illustration, self-media, copywriting… Are you interested, Mr. Liang?”

“…”

If Liang Xingyuan could manifest his tentacles in physical form right now, the ones that had been excitedly thrashing around a moment ago during his attempt at small talk would have already wilted, drooping dispiritedly. “No.”

He hadn’t been living as a “human” for very long, so he wasn’t quite familiar with how the industries Chu Junshan mentioned operated—

If Chu Junshan were willing to hear him talk about things that happened at the kindergarten, Liang Xingyuan felt he would have plenty to share about how to comfort a sad child.

Unfortunately, Chu Junshan didn’t seem like that kind of person, nor could Liang Xingyuan pick up on the conversational thread Chu Junshan had thrown out.

Liang Xingyuan thought with a touch of sadness—

Trying to win the favor of the person you like is surprisingly hard.

Soon, the black car arrived at the other side of the city.

The house Liang Xingyuan currently lived in had been bought three months ago. His workplace offered great benefits and generous housing provident fund contributions. He genuinely liked the warm atmosphere of human communities. After spending a few months in the human realm, he had naturally embraced the concept of settling down and putting down roots.

He had bought a ground-floor unit with three bedrooms and two living rooms. It boasted excellent natural light and came with a small yard outside.

Although he was quite confident in the way he had set up the house, he still felt inexplicably nervous when he actually led Chu Junshan into the yard.

He didn’t know if Chu Junshan could handle the humid climate of spring and summer, whether he would like the little flowers and wild grass blooming in the yard, and—

Could he get used to living together with him?

Ever since stepping out of the car, Liang Xingyuan’s gaze had been glued to Chu Junshan, like a reticle whose target remained fixed entirely on him.

The thin veil of night fell across Chu Junshan’s profile, casting a soft shadow over his jade-white skin. Having waited for a long time without Liang Xingyuan moving to open the door, he looked over at him with slight confusion: “Is something wrong? You seem to keep staring at me.”

“!” Liang Xingyuan immediately pulled his gaze back, setting aside all his tangled thoughts and instantly reverting to his usual gentle, proper persona as Teacher Liang. “No. I was just… wondering if you’d be able to get used to living here.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Chu Junshan raised an eyebrow and let out a light chuckle. This time, the smile was no longer the purely polite gesture that even Liang Xingyuan could see through, but a genuine one.

Dazed by that smile, Liang Xingyuan felt his heart inexplicably speed up, thumping wildly.

Reacting a beat late, Liang Xingyuan pulled out his keys to unlock the door, making excuses as he explained, “I was worried you wouldn’t be comfortable with…”

Before he could finish, a flurry of brisk, nimble footsteps echoed from the dark doorway. In the next moment, a sleek, well-groomed Border Collie leaped out from inside, lunging straight at Liang Xingyuan with swift, precise enthusiasm and a loud thud—

“Woof!!! Woof woof!!”

Knocked back two steps by the impact, Liang Xingyuan barely managed to catch the overly eager Border Collie. Turning his head, he added with some difficulty: “…My pet.”

The outer corners of Chu Junshan’s slender eyes crinkled as his smile deepened.

Perhaps owing to a naturally aloof temperament, even when a smile appeared on Chu Junshan’s face, it was astonishingly faint.

As he lifted his eyes slightly, the sharp contour of his upper eyelids became distinct, curving softly with his subtle shift in mood. It was utterly captivating in the night air.

Liang Xingyuan’s breath hitched, his heart once again pounding wildly in a chaotic frenzy.

He quietly buried his face in the Border Collie’s thick fur, trying to hide the sound of his racing heart.

Yet Chu Junshan’s smile lasted for only a second, or perhaps even less.

“I don’t mind at all, Mr. Liang,” his clear, cool voice echoed in the night air. “This is your home. I don’t have any particular likes or dislikes, so everything should be done according to your preferences.”

Those words were like a bucket of cold water poured straight over Liang Xingyuan’s head.

His heart, which had been throbbing so exuberantly moments ago, skipped two whole beats, and the heat on his face slowly receded.

Chu Junshan was… so polite.

Sure enough, he still doesn’t view this place as his home, which is why he doesn’t care about any of it.

Lost in thought, that sour, swelling ache welled up inside Liang Xingyuan’s chest once more, threatening to drown him completely.

He lowered his head, set the dog on the ground, and murmured softly to it, “Yaoyaoling, don’t jump on other people.”

The fluffy dog gave a sad whimper and quietly trailed behind Liang Xingyuan, peeking out to sniff at the new guest’s scent.

“I’ll show you inside.” Liang Xingyuan picked up the suitcase and pushed open the door. The smart lights activated as they sensed movement.

Chu Junshan followed Liang Xingyuan inside, standing by the entrance as he looked around.

The apartment was neither too big nor too small. It was a suitable size for two people and a dog to live comfortably. A massive floor-to-ceiling sliding door connected the terrace to the living room. Looking out from here, one could see the flowers and grass swaying in the night breeze.

Without a doubt, they were all tended to by Liang Xingyuan.

The owner of this home… was someone who truly loved life.

This was the conclusion Chu Junshan reached after looking around.

Not only was the garden full of vitality, but every nook, cranny, and detail of the house was filled with thoughtful design and care.

Was this “Liang Xingyuan” standing before him really the one who had handled all of this single-handedly?

Chu Junshan raised an eyebrow in surprise. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Liang Xingyuan had already walked over to the corner where the courier packages were stacked, moving his computer and equipment one by one into the vacant study.

Chu Junshan stood in place without moving. After making two trips, Liang Xingyuan came back over, saw Chu Junshan waiting where he was, and smiled gently and politely: “There’s wolfberry and lemon water on the table, brewed just this noon. You must be thirsty, right?”

Before Chu Junshan could answer, Liang Xingyuan retrieved a brand-new wide-rimmed cup from the tea cabinet, poured Chu Junshan a cup of the warmed drink, and then went back to his unfinished task: “I’ll help you unpack. You go rest.”

Chu Junshan neither agreed nor refused. Holding the rim of the cup in one hand, he watched at his leisure as Liang Xingyuan carried out his belongings one piece at a time.

First the electronic devices, then the clothes, and finally the bedding Chu Junshan had packed up.

Holding the blankets, Liang Xingyuan hesitated for a moment, torn over where to put Chu Junshan’s bedding.

Of course, he desperately wanted to get closer to Chu Junshan—closer, and even closer.

Yet the reality was that he found Chu Junshan likely felt nothing for him. Moving in with him was probably just an obligation stemming from the role of a “prospective spouse”.

Chu Junshan didn’t like him.

Liang Xingyuan possessed good self-awareness. Holding Chu Junshan’s bedding, he headed toward the guest bedroom.

Just as he reached the doorway, Chu Junshan’s voice suddenly came from behind him: “Teacher Liang.”

Liang Xingyuan froze, turning his head to look back in Chu Junshan’s direction.

Holding the cup Liang Xingyuan had given him, steam curled upward, blurring Chu Junshan’s fine features. He smiled, the outer corners of his eyes curving into subtle creases. “Aren’t you planning to share a room with me?”

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