Chapter 38: House Hunting
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Because they had to play fans, Shi Wenze and Lin Su sat beside Linghu Tangtang and listened through the entire concert.
When Xia Jiayang’s group came on stage, Shi Wenze made a point to pay close attention, trying to figure out which one was Xia Jiayang and which was Mu Fengrui, but he couldn’t tell. A bunch of fresh-faced young men wore similar clothes and rapped in almost the same style. The stage looked like a giant game of Happy Eliminate, and fans shouted “Excellent!” while fake fans could only muster “Unbelievable.”
Still, the dancing was really tight, so at least it wasn’t a half-hearted group. It was definitely worth the sisters’ attention. Lin Su watched their performance from the audience. Although he still hadn’t figured out exactly how Shi Wenze had come to the conclusion that he liked Xia Jiayang, he thought Shi Wenze’s act of pretending to be a fan was definitely worthy of being written down, bound into a book, and treasured for years to come. So, feeling good, he sent a little red envelope reward to the “tool girl.”
By the time the concert ended, it was already past ten at night. Lin Lu found Lin Su and, with full confidence, announced that she needed to use the car and was “packing” her brother’s hands to give to Shi Wenze. On the surface, Lin Su stayed calm, but inwardly he was quite pleased with this arrangement—though at the same time, he wondered if his sister had misunderstood the red envelope’s meaning. He really just wanted to support the fan-following cause and had no intention of coaxing her into some sort of cohabitation scheme.
Shi Wenze started the motorcycle and said, “Want to go back to Hefeng Lane together?”
Lin Su stood by the roadside and asked casually, “Why?”
Shi Wenze didn’t mention extending his phone plan this time; instead, he switched tactics. “I want to go back and explain some problems to Xu You.” Lin Su didn’t refuse, since it made sense that the struggling student needed tutoring.
The night streets were no longer clogged with traffic, nor as hot as in the daytime. A summer breeze brushed past his ears. Lin Su wrapped his arms around Shi Wenze’s waist, watching the skyscrapers flash by on both sides. Inside, a strange peace and calm rose up, as if… among the millions of lights in the city, one was lit just for him. And as long as that light burned, it meant there was a fortress — warm and unbreakable.
Inside the tattoo parlor, Xu You was studying hard, mostly because everyone at the office already knew he had signed up for the exam. If he failed again, it would be hard to save face. The familiar sound of a motorcycle engine echoed from the alley. He stretched and walked to the window, about to ask for a bottle of water, when he saw the happiest people in the world riding by — two on the motorcycle.
“…” Sorry to interrupt. Shi Wenze looked up at him. “Were you waiting for us to come back?”
Xu You was startled. “Why would I wait for you? I just wanted to get some fresh air, but I picked the worst time. It’s even more suffocating now. Do as you like. I’ll keep studying.”
Lin Su had wanted to ask if there was anything Xu You didn’t understand, but Shi Wenze stopped him, saying this kind of extreme challenge was better done in the daytime or it might affect his sleep. A top student couldn’t understand a struggler’s deep fear of the exam Q&A portion — it was a physiological barrier impossible to overcome.
“Oh,” Lin Su said. He went to take a shower. When he came out, he found a small mat by the door. Shi Wenze sat on the edge of the bed, holding a hairdryer and called him over, adding, “Last time I noticed you didn’t like wearing slippers after your shower, so I just grabbed one at the supermarket.”
Caring, thoughtful, and gentle—Lin Su felt this person had many points in his favor, though there were some drawbacks. Like how much he loved green dinosaurs. Why did he always find a new dinosaur pattern on his boxers every night? What kind of prehistoric romance was that? Could the government please pass a law that shorts used as pajamas can’t go past the knees?
Shi Wenze asked, “Are you looking at the dinosaurs on my shorts again?”
Lin Su squeezed out a “Mmm” from his nose. Shi Wenze explained, “That’s the Broken Chinese Virtual Bone Dragon.”
Lin Su was incredulous. “So your Jurassic-themed shorts even break down into that level of detail?”
Luckily, Shi Wenze didn’t plan to show off the entire animal kingdom collection. He made the bed, set the air conditioner to sleep mode, and said, “I have to go to work early tomorrow. You should sleep more.”
“For Linghu Tangtang’s matter?” Lin Su asked. “What time will it finish? If there’s time, I want to go with you to look at houses.”
Shi Wenze loved the way Lin Su sounded when he said that, like a piece of candy wrapped in sticky rice paper. He leaned against the headboard and pulled Lin Su into his arms, showing him the dozen or so house listings saved on his phone. Shi Wenze held the phone while Lin Su swiped through the screen. After looking at several, Lin Su casually opened the chat with the realtor, but Shi Wenze quickly covered the screen and said awkwardly, “Don’t.”
“What?” Lin Su looked at him. “Is there a secret?”
“No,” Shi Wenze denied.
“If not, why won’t you let me see?” Lin Su twisted his fingers hard. “Haggling isn’t embarrassing. After we decide on a house, I’m going to bargain too. You don’t need to be shy.”
But Shi Wenze still gripped the phone tightly.
Lin Su tried a moral tactic. “You’re having inappropriate chats with the sales agent.”
Shi Wenze remained expressionless. “Yeah, I am.”
Lin Su… “…”
He couldn’t believe Shi Wenze admitted that. He thought Shi Wenze’s shy, almost elementary-school style embarrassment was suspicious—not in a romantic way, but the cute kind of suspicion you get when a kid secretly does something harmlessly bad and gets caught by their parents. So he stubbornly slid the screen a couple times between his fingers. Shi Wenze was caught between laughing and crying, his ears reddening awkwardly. “Don’t look.”
But Lin Su had already seen it—the chat history from two years ago, where Shi Wenze shamelessly told the sales agent, My wife is a painter. He needs a house with a big terrace. Having his secret exposed, Shi Wenze gave up and sulked, shutting up and pretending nothing had happened. Lin Su said nothing, either.
They sat in silence for a while until Shi Wenze couldn’t take the pressure and surrendered first. “Laugh all you want. I was just that cowardly before.” He was both timid and dramatic—not very cool.
Lin Su rested a hand on his shoulder and frowned. “What kind of house is that? It hasn’t sold in two years. We don’t want it either.”
Shi Wenze grabbed handfuls of his hair, then suddenly pulled Lin Su into his arms, throwing a little irrational embarrassed anger into the mix as he bent down to kiss him wildly. Lin Su laughed and dodged to the side. Their commotion was loud enough that Xu You next door pulled out two 3M earplugs and went back to his miserable law memorization, wondering if such late-night noise counted as a public disturbance harmful to social order, and if he could have them arrested.
The next morning, Shi Wenze went to the Monster Administration Committee. He added Du Siyue on WeChat, since he also knew about the monster world’s existence, which streamlined the entire process. The game data for Yu Feizheng was quickly sent over, showing his last login was three days ago in Qiong City, and the IP pointed to a regular civilian residence.
“You and Xiao Xu go together. You’ll leave tomorrow,” Zhou Yuansong said. “I’ll coordinate with local authorities to cooperate and capture him as soon as possible.”
Shi Wenze reminded him, “Xu You has an exam next month.”
“Criminals need to be caught; exams still have to be taken.” Zhou Yuansong waved his hand dismissively. “Besides, he only signed up for the procedural exam, which is like a driving test’s written portion—easy, no need to cram behind closed doors.”
Shi Wenze tried to negotiate. “For ordinary people, it’s like Subject One, but Xu You’s more like Subject Two. He can’t memorize everything in time. Otherwise, Yang Rui and I would go together.”
But director Zhou coldly rejected the idea, claiming manpower was tight. The only concession he made was that if Xu You really worried about the exam, he could hire a tutor to follow him along, and the agency would reimburse the cost.
Shi Wenze had no choice. He went back to tell Xu You, only to be met with shocked accusations from his circle of friends: You’re sacrificing my precious study time just so you can officially take your wife on a business trip! Shi Wenze was impressed by the creativity of this idea. If you hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have thought of it. Xu You hugged his notebook tightly. “I’m not going.”
“Suit yourself.” Shi Wenze said, “Call director Zhou yourself and ask for leave. I’m going to look at houses this afternoon.”
Xu You’s misery deepened. Not only was he forbidden to study, forced to use pink plates, now they wanted to buy a house and move out. Fine. You enjoy yourselves; I’ll just sing sad love songs alone.
Lin Su, after hearing this, said he’d give up his salary and treat it like volunteering. Shi Wenze handed him a helmet. “Are you really coming with me to Qiong City? If there’s action, you’ll probably have to stay in the hotel all day.”
Lin Su replied, “Perfect. I can help Xu You grade papers.”
“Alright then. Wait for him to call director Zhou first.” Shi Wenze got on his motorcycle. “Let’s go. We gotta make time to look at houses.” Balancing work and family without missing a beat—model behavior fit for a textbook.
They split the down payment, which greatly expanded their options. Shi Wenze chose the area near Qinghu Garden, where a newly opened residential complex had top-floor townhouses with terraces and convenient transportation. The saleswoman was sharp; she immediately noticed the two handsome guys’ unusual relationship and sweetly said, “The developer will build a rose garden on the terrace for free. When the flowers bloom, it’s very romantic and can solidify your love.”
Not saying it would attract romance, but solidify it—quite the sales pitch. They were fairly satisfied with the house but thought the price was a bit high. They were about to move on when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind:
“You’re planning to buy here, too?”
Shi Wenze and Lin Su fell silent. Only Boss Jijiao spoke enthusiastically, “What a coincidence! I just bought one myself.”
Considering the troublesome neighbors, their rating dropped from eighty to sixty. Boss Jijiao continued, “I know the developer. If you buy, I can get you an insider discount.”
Sixty became seventy.
“Five percent off.”
Back up to eighty.
“Xiaowei, don’t you have a ‘bring a friend’ deal? Can you knock off one more percent? Just make sure the money doesn’t go to me, but directly reduces the price for my little bros.”
Ninety points, ninety points. Shi Wenze gave a fake polite smile. “How can we accept that?”
Boss Jijiao waved his hand. “No need to be shy. I have one more favor to ask.”
As expected, there was a catch. Lin Su calmly grabbed Shi Wenze’s arm and reminded him not to be tempted by money traps. Boss Jijiao went on, “I just want to invite you to stay at my new hotel for an experience.”
Lin Su didn’t hesitate. “Sure.”
Shi Wenze said, “Huh?”
But artists were just like that—double standards. You can’t be tempted by money. But I can be tempted by abs. A handsome guy showing up at an adult hotel? That’s really hard to say no to.
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