Chapter 14: Buying a TV and a Fridge Counts as Getting Married?
Yu Deng gathered his courage again, displaying the stubbornness of a headstrong child: “I want to watch TV!”
After speaking, he pursed his tender red lips and began to sulk.
Before Zhou Yuejun could even say no, he was already met with a resentful glare and a couple of huffs from Yu Deng.
“Today… I went downstairs to watch TV.”
Yu Deng’s voice deflated as he spoke. He decided to honestly confess about going out at night, then stole a glance at Zhou Yuejun’s expression.
As expected, it had darkened. His brows were knit tight, as if a storm were brewing.
“But you can’t blame me. It’s too boring at home. There’s a TV downstairs, so I went to watch it.”
“When I was down there, they kept bothering me. They kept asking me questions and even wanted to introduce me to a partner. Watching TV wasn’t peaceful at all; it was so noisy that I couldn’t even enjoy it.”
He felt incredibly wronged. As he mumbled softly, his voice took on a mushy, waxy quality. He was deeply unhappy, his eyes downcast and sluggish, his face looking bitter and pitiable.
Meanwhile, only one phrase echoed in Zhou Yuejun’s mind: “wanted to introduce me to a partner.”
It made sense. Yu Deng was like a sweet pastry; wherever he went, people were bound to covet him.
If Yu Deng went out, being so innocent and large-hearted, what if he was tricked away by some bad person?
While Zhou Yuejun was lost in thought and didn’t react immediately, Yu Deng’s tone became even more sorrowful and tragic.
“How can you be like this?”
“I heard them say that for marriage, one must buy things like a color TV and a refrigerator. Although we’re both men and can’t get married, you still can’t refuse to buy them for me, right?”
“Who does that?”
“If you don’t buy them for me but I still follow you, I’ll be so cheap.”
“Just like a rotten cabbage leaf at a street stall.”
His slow, melodic tone wasn’t exactly coquettish, but it constantly tugged at Zhou Yuejun’s lifeline.
It caused Zhou Yuejun’s blood to rush to his head, and he followed Yu Deng’s lead like a dog on a leash: “If I buy them all, will that count as us being married?”
Yu Deng’s brain was already filled with thoughts of the TV; he nodded his head like a chick pecking at grain, his innocent, starry eyes widening.
Looking exactly like a little kitten, his eyes flickered with the light of hope as he blinked.
“If you buy them, it counts as marriage. Are you going to buy them for me?”
Zhou Yuejun set the items down on the long table in front of the sofa, his mind filled only with the word “marriage.”
He was completely bewitched.
“I’ll buy them. I’ll buy them all. You aren’t a rotten cabbage leaf.”
“I have a day off in a couple of days. We’ll go to the city center to buy them.”
Upon hearing Zhou Yuejun’s answer, Yu Deng immediately cheered with a “woo-woo” sound. He lay on the sofa and couldn’t stop kicking his legs in the air, looking absolutely thrilled.
Because he was happy, Zhou Yuejun’s mood naturally improved as well.
“What did you buy?”
After his bout of joy, Yu Deng noticed the plastic bag Zhou Yuejun had brought back.
He opened it to find a bunch of grapes, as well as some sponge cakes and biscuits.
The grapes were clearly home-grown, each one small. Yu Deng plucked one to taste; it was quite sweet and juicy.
“In the future, if I’m going to be back late, eat something to tide you over.”
After saying this, Zhou Yuejun got up to go to the kitchen to wash the grapes.
The sound of breathing in the bedroom gradually became even. After ensuring Yu Deng was fast asleep, Zhou Yuejun tucked a blanket over the boy’s stomach and tiptoed into the living room.
He flipped through his bankbook, estimating the prices of a TV and a refrigerator in his head.
Black-and-white TVs were cheap, but he didn’t want to buy a cheap one for Yu Deng; a color TV would be more comfortable to watch.
He had to buy a fridge too. Meat that couldn’t be finished in one meal could be frozen, and he could keep ice pops and fruit inside for Yu Deng. That way, the boy wouldn’t always be running outside.
Feeling troubled, Zhou Yuejun pulled a cigarette from his pack, placed it in his mouth, and lit it. He exhaled a ring of smoke after taking a puff.
If he had known earlier that he would be with Yu Deng, he would have started working and saving money much sooner. He never would have let Yu Deng suffer even a bit of hardship with him.
If he worked himself to death at the construction site all day, he could earn at most three hundred yuan a month. For an average family, that was considered wealthy.
But Yu Deng needed to study; he had to save more for him and raise him better.
He had to find a way.
Stealing, robbing, or collecting protection money was definitely out of the question.
Suddenly, Zhou Yuejun thought of Wu Da’s suggestion about going to the coast.
If he earned the favor of President Zhou, his pay would likely be similar to Wu Da’s.
But to make him part from Yu Deng…
Just as the sky was beginning to turn gray, around five in the morning, Zhou Yuejun got up early to boil eggs with brown sugar for Yu Deng, leaving them to simmer in the pot as usual.
Of the four eggs, Yu Deng could only finish two and a half before he was full. He put the bowl away and stopped thinking about wandering outside.
This was because Zhou Yuejun had bought him a small bag of seeds and even dug up some soil, letting him plant them under the balcony railing while repeatedly warning him not to go to the rooftop.
In the evening, when Zhou Yuejun returned, his body was still slick with sweat.
The sun had been fierce lately, tanning his arms to a deeper shade. From his face to his physique, his entire being exuded male hormones.
Compared to Zhou Yuejun, Yu Deng was like a tender white jade—smooth, soft, and delicate, without a hint of coarseness.
It was enough to make a vicious dog salivate.
Because Zhou Yuejun had promised Yu Deng the TV and fridge last night, Yu Deng wanted to show off a bit today.
“Come quickly! I boiled mung bean soup for you!”
The moment Zhou Yuejun stepped through the door, Yu Deng’s words dispelled the day’s exhaustion.
A cool breeze swept over him, making him feel as though he were in a dream, his surroundings turning ethereal.
Yu Deng carried out a bowl and placed it on the table. Turning around, his bright almond eyes gazed at the man. When he smiled slightly, it was as radiant as the stars.
“Look, I made it!”
Inside the bowl was indeed mung bean soup.
The mung beans had been boiled until soft; the liquid was green with a hint of red. However, the beans in that bowl were so thick they formed a mound that surpassed the rim.
“I even added sugar for you. Just a little, so it won’t be too sweet.”
“Once you buy the fridge, I’ll make it in the afternoon and freeze it for you. You can have cold soup when you get back at night; it’ll definitely taste good.”
His sweet voice was youthful and buzzing with excitement.
Zhou Yuejun’s heart felt a dense itch, as if being tickled by a feather. He glanced at the boy’s soft-lined face, unable to stop the sprawling web of affection.
He picked up the bowl, tilted his head, and began to pour the mung bean soup into his mouth.
As his Adam’s apple bobbed, sweat trickled down his powerful, flushed neck, drawing out a sense of humid, sweltering heat.
By the end, Zhou Yuejun’s mouth was full of mung beans. He didn’t mind the thickness; he emptied them all into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.
“Dengdeng is so amazing. It’s delicious.”
“But don’t go into the kitchen next time. I don’t feel easy leaving you alone with the stove.”
Perhaps because he was a year or two older than Yu Deng, and because Yu Deng was so small, Zhou Yuejun always felt like Yu Deng hadn’t grown up and needed his meticulous care.
Besides, one naturally had to put their heart into caring for their own wife.
During dinner, Yu Deng kept placing meat into Zhou Yuejun’s bowl.
“Yuejun-ge, you’ve worked so hard these past two days. My heart aches for you. Eat more meat.”
The little antagonist was best at speaking honeyed words of affection. Effortlessly, he could make someone lose their sense of direction.
Combined with a sweet smile, one would likely hand over their very life and soul willingly.
Zhou Yuejun was completely susceptible to Yu Deng’s tactics.
Suddenly, the man’s expression darkened, and his sword-like brows knit slightly, revealing a sharp, piercing aura.
“From now on, I’ll be coming back late at night. You should go to sleep first.”
Recommended Reads
![Does A Broken Mirror Reunion Exist in Esports? [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/esports-225x300.png)