EHEWASS CHAPTER 94

Chapter 94: Ye Zeqian

As a young entrepreneur freshly returned from overseas, Li Dong’s schedule was packed. Still, his habit of keeping an eye on his partner, whether innate or well-trained, was impeccable.

When the meeting finally ended and the conference room emptied out, he immediately took out his phone to message Ye Zeqian.

Xu Chaoyan: Baby?

Downstairs, Ye Zeqian was hesitating over lunch plans when that sweet message arrived out of nowhere. It was like rain after a long drought, instant relief.

Ye Zeqian: Meeting finished?

He glanced at the time. It was basically noon, okay? So he sent a second message: When are you coming down?

Xu Chaoyan: Still handling a few things. I’ll hurry.

Ye Zeqian: Don’t rush. I was just asking, not trying to hurry you.

Xu Chaoyan: I know. I just want to see you sooner.

Ye Zeqian: Really? His heart melted at once. Alright, get back to work. I’ve got a bit to do too.

He didn’t.

The moment he exited the chat window, General Manager Ye switched targets and began pestering his best friend, Zhang Buzhuo.

Ye Zeqian: Hey, Buzhuo. After a year or so of marriage, does the passion really disappear?

His friend’s family owned a hospital. Zhang hadn’t studied medicine himself, instead opening a wellness club after graduation. Business was slow so he was often bored.

Zhang Buzhuo: [Eye roll][Eye roll] I’ve never been married, how should I know?

Ye Zeqian: But you know a lot of married women, don’t you?

After all, 80% of Zhang’s club members were middle-aged socialites.

Zhang Buzhuo: YOU’RE the one who knows a lot of married women. And for the record, I rarely go there myself! He was the owner, okay? What kind of boss personally flirts with the clients?

Ye Zeqian: Tsk tsk. Completely useless as a source of intel.

Zhang Buzhuo: What’s wrong, your sex life not going well? Then he realized what he’d just said. Oh wait. That’s right, you two don’t even have a sex life.

Ye Zeqian: YOU have no sex life.

The implication was clear: they did. That alone was enough to shock his friend senseless.

In Zhang’s mind, there was no way Ye Zeqian had ever truly liked Gao Zhen. Gao had just been a stepping stone, collateral before real love showed up.

Zhang Buzhuo: Then I can only say, Xu Chaoyan must be your true love.

Ye Zeqian: Not talking to you anymore, he’s coming down to eat with me.

He’d just gotten Li Dong’s message and, in a heartbeat, ditched his friend.

Li Dong’s “few tasks” were not few at all. But so what? It was their first day of marriage. No way he was backing down.

The moment he stepped inside, he wrapped an arm around Ye Zeqian’s waist, pressed him against the wall, and kissed him breathless before letting go.

“I thought this was a marriage without feelings, all Zen and detached,” Ye Zeqian muttered under his breath.

“YOU’RE the one who’s detached.” Li Dong swaggered over to the general manager’s chair and sank into it lazily. “Worked all morning, didn’t even have time for tea.” He crooked a finger. “Come pour your husband a cup.”

“...” Ye Zeqian nearly slammed his head into the wall. His fingers trembled as he reached for the tea tin.

Husband? What husband?

Li Dong never understood why every little shou reacted to the word husband with either giddy excitement or utter embarrassment. What was so magical about it? Wasn’t it just the most ordinary term between spouses?

They had lunch together in Ye Zeqian’s office. Li Dong was still busy afterward, but before heading home, he dropped by again. Taking advantage of the lull before rush hour, he pulled Ye Zeqian into the elevator with him.

This was their first trip to Ye Zeqian’s home to meet the parents. Li Dong had asked his assistant to prepare some gifts, and when they came down, the man was waiting by the car.

“Boss,” the assistant greeted.

“Put them here,” Li Dong said, opening the trunk to help move the items himself.

“What is all this?” Ye Zeqian asked, noticing the elegant packaging. His eyes flickered with surprise.

“First visit to your family, I can’t show up empty-handed,” Li Dong said, closing the trunk. “Just some thoughtful gifts, daily essentials.”

As someone who’d dealt with countless parents over the centuries, metaphorically speaking, he knew all the right moves. Nothing that could possibly offend the in-laws.

“Oh,” Ye Zeqian said, getting into the car.

“Engagement rings and wedding rings aren’t the same,” Li Dong said as he drove. “We’re not in a rush to head home. Let’s stop by XX Jewelers and pick a pair.”

After all, they already had their marriage certificate. It wouldn’t do for him, a grown man, not to have given his spouse a ring yet.

“Oh.” Ye Zeqian responded.

Engagement rings… engagement rings… the phrase echoed in Ye Zeqian’s head.

“This time, we’ll go with something simple,” Li Dong continued. “We can have a diamond pair designed for the ceremony later.”

“You think of everything. You sound like someone who’s been married a few times,” Ye Zeqian teased, though he knew that wasn’t true. “I’d never think of all this.”

“That’s because your brain has limited storage.” Li Dong caught his hand and kissed it.

So this was what bittersweet happiness felt like.

---

XX Jewelers.

A place dripping with money and sparkle.

The moment Ye Zeqian stepped in, the salesgirls greeted him with bright smiles.

“Welcome, sir,” one said. “Would you like to see rings or necklaces?”

“Engagement rings,” Ye Zeqian replied.

“Right this way, please.” She led him to a display case. “These are all engagement rings. Have a look. Oh, and most women prefer something delicate. These two are very popular.”

Ye Zeqian glanced through the options without much interest, eyes flicking often to the door.

Finally, Li Dong appeared. He’d had trouble finding parking and jogged in, earning his own chorus of greetings.

There must have been something in the air today; handsome men were appearing one after another, and the staff were openly jealous of whoever was dating them.

“Welcome, sir. Would you like to see rings, necklaces, or—?”

“Sorry, we’re together,” Li Dong said, pointing toward the man inside before walking over to him. “How’s it going? Found anything?” He pulled out a chair beside Ye Zeqian and casually slipped an arm around his shoulders.

“Not yet.” Ye Zeqian caught the awkward smile on the clerk’s face and suddenly felt more at ease. “Which one do you think looks good?”

The display case stretched the length of the counter. Hundreds of ring pairs glittering under the lights.

If you didn’t want to check each piece in person, you could flip through the catalogue first.

“How about this one?” Li Dong asked.

“Too flashy. Not my style.”

“This one, then?”

“A bit plain.”

And so it went, page after page.

Before this, Li Dong hadn’t truly understood what “picky” meant. He’d thought Ye Zeqian just had high standards, nothing he couldn’t handle.

“Do you think I’m too picky?” Ye Zeqian said. “You only buy an engagement ring once in a lifetime. Isn’t it normal to be careful?”

The just-wilted Li Dong immediately perked up with full spirits. “Of course. Take your time.”

Another dozen pages later, Ye Zeqian finally said, “Alright, this pair will do. It’s getting late, otherwise I’d keep looking.”

“No problem. If you change your mind, we can come back anytime,” Li Dong said.

Ye Zeqian hesitated, then nodded. “No, I like these.”

Li Dong let out an invisible sigh of relief and turned to the clerk. “Could you measure our ring sizes, please?”

He paid for them and, right there, slid the ring onto Ye Zeqian’s finger. “Huh. Didn’t realize it looked this good. The moment it’s on your hand, it’s a hundred times prettier.”

That wasn’t what he’d meant to say. What he wanted to say was, your hands make anything look good.

Ask how a person aloof for twenty-some years, just encountering true love, how could this older single man withstand such flattery?

“My mom just texted,” Ye Zeqian said. “She wants to know when we’ll get there.”

“Let’s go,” Li Dong said.

They’d spent a full hour in the jewelry store.

By six-thirty, they were finally on the road.

At an ordinary household, dinner prep would already be underway.

---

The Ye Residence.

In the kitchen, Ye Zeqian’s mother, Bai Xuan, wore an apron, busy at the stove with the housekeeper.

“Zeqian’s still not back?” Ye’s father asked. “Didn’t he say they were coming for dinner? It’s already this late.”

“I just texted him,” Bai Xuan said. “He said they’re on their way.”

Her husband muttered, “These young people… Getting married on a whim, didn’t even tell us first, just showed up with a spouse.”

He’d heard the groom was the Xu family’s son, the same Xu heir Bai Xuan used to work with.

They hadn’t pursued the match back then because they didn’t want to overreach.

And now their son had gone and married him directly.

They weren’t angry, just… shocked.

Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Father Ye opened it and saw his son standing beside a tall, striking young man with refined features.

“Dad,” Ye Zeqian said, then turned. “Chaoyan, this is my father.”

Li Dong immediately bowed slightly. “Good evening, sir. I’m Xu Chaoyan, Zeqian’s partner. I hope it’s alright if I call you Dad too.”

Father Ye nodded. “You’ve already got your certificate, haven’t you? It’s only right.” Then he smiled. “Come in, let’s sit and talk.”

Li Dong was still holding the gift boxes, but since the elder pretended not to notice, they quietly brought them inside and set them down.

“I’ll take care of it,” Ye Zeqian said, feeling uncharacteristically stiff.

Maybe it was because his identity had changed, coming home now felt like visiting his in-laws’ house instead.

After setting down the gifts, he went to the kitchen. “Mom.”

“You’re back,” Bai Xuan said, glancing over her shoulder and instantly caught sight of the platinum ring on his finger.

For some reason, her eyes burned. The cabbage she’d spent decades tending had not only been snatched up, it had run off on its own.

And whether her “pig” would live well or not from now on, she suddenly wasn’t sure she had any say.

“He’s outside, talking to Dad,” Ye Zeqian said.

“Then go out too. Be polite,” Bai Xuan said.

“No need,” he muttered. “This isn’t some political marriage.”

Bai Xuan opened her mouth but didn’t reply.

She didn’t want to rain on his happiness but how long had they even known each other before marrying? If that wasn’t about conditions, what was?

Marriages built on conditions were political marriages, whether you called them that or not.

“You keep working, Mom. I’ll go back out,” he said quickly, unable to sit still. His thoughts were all on the man waiting outside.

---

Author’s Note:
Good morning~

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