Chapter 93: A New Pursuit
At first, Zheng An was just laughing awkwardly, a loud “hahaha.” Then, as if a particular phrase had struck his funny bone, he burst into genuine, uproarious laughter.
As he laughed, he habitually glanced from side to side, looking to see if anyone else was laughing with him.
Mumu wasn’t laughing. He was holding his bottle and looking at Zheng An with a “Are you okay?” expression.
Yan Guixing, on the other hand, was smiling, but it was a half-smile, a smirk that played at the corners of his lips.
A flash of insight struck Zheng An’s mind. His laughter cut off with a sudden “Gak!” He slowly turned his head, looking in horror at Mumu’s calm face.
Good heavens, the “wife” Yan Guixing was talking about… it’s the little fool, isn’t it?!
Although running away and coming to D5 Star had been the little fool’s idea, Yan Guixing wouldn’t see it that way. In his eyes, it must look like Zheng An had kidnapped his wife.
So, Yan Guixing showing up now… was it to hold him accountable?
Zheng An’s face turned white as a sheet in an instant. His body went as limp as a noodle, and he could barely stay seated.
He scooted closer to Mumu, looking back and forth between Yan Guixing and Mumu, wanting to say something but not daring to, his lips trembling.
In the end, it was Mumu who, after finishing his chocolate milk, put the bottle down. His clear black-and-white eyes gazed placidly at Yan Guixing, who was sitting across from him.
“An An is right. Your wife isn’t here. Your wife is Miss Peacock. I saw the live broadcast of your engagement. Besides, our convenience store is too small. We don’t sell wives.”
Mumu’s gaze was so calm, so cold, that it made Yan Guixing’s heart pound with fear. He took a deep breath, forcing his agitated mind to calm down.
A great taboo in warfare: an agitated mind, an eagerness to win.
Ruminating is a part of human nature, and Yan Guixing was no exception. In the time he couldn’t find Mumu, he had constantly replayed the period from Mi Ya’s arrival on Liuli Star to Mumu’s abrupt disappearance.
He reviewed every detail of their time together, hoping to find something he had previously overlooked, some clue that might lead him to where Mumu was hiding.
The more he reviewed, the more alarmed Yan Guixing became. He couldn’t understand how he had ever thought Mumu was soft-hearted and mild-tempered, someone who could be placated with a few sweet words.
Mumu was clearly a person of strong principles in many matters. For example, he absolutely would not accept being a kept man; it had to be a relationship based on mutual love. For another example, his insistence on getting a job.
And another: he had promised to wait at the hospital to be picked up from the repair pod, and he had waited right there until he came.
Yan Guixing, who had spent his life playing with fire, had finally gotten burned.
The person he thought was a marshmallow was actually a liqueur-filled chocolate. Soft on the outside, but with a fiery kick on the inside. If you were allergic to alcohol, it could be fatal.
If regret medicine were for sale, Yan Guixing would have used every means at his disposal to buy two pounds of it and swallow it all raw.
But there was no regret medicine for sale. A time fissure, perhaps, could grant his wish to go back, but those things were unstable. You might end up in the Cretaceous period on ancient Earth, or a hundred years in the future with the Zerg. Who knew?
With no shortcuts available, Yan Guixing could only bet that Mumu still had lingering feelings for him, that his heart was still soft. The earlier test of their personal space had given him a bit of confidence.
He took out his terminal, found the video of him breaking off the engagement with Mi Ya, played it, and pushed it in front of Mumu.
Mumu had actually already seen this video. It couldn’t be helped. The customers of their convenience store were mainly students from the nearby university town, so their busy and slow periods were predictable.
What does one do with so much free time in the store? Surf the internet, of course.
And just like that, Mumu had transformed from an old-fashioned user who only checked for unread messages and video calls into a 5G surfing expert.
Yan Guixing had always acted in a high-profile manner, never caring what the outside world thought of him. A few days ago, the news had been flooded with announcements of his engagement. Not long after, it had changed to: “I already have a lover with whom I want to spend the rest of my life. My previous arrangement with Miss Mi Ya was purely a family matter. We are now ending our engagement and will not interfere in each other’s lives.”
For Yan Guixing, who was serving consecutive terms, the public’s opinion was mixed. Those who hated him cursed him for being ungrateful, for burning bridges, for being a user. They said his methods were ugly, just as you’d expect from a bastard from the No-Return Star.
Those who liked him praised him for daring to act and take responsibility. Yes, for daring to act and take responsibility.
The largest remaining group was simply curious: who was this lover Yan Guixing spoke of? What kind of person could make the wild and promiscuous Admiral Yan willing to give up a sea of flowers for them?
There were even underground betting rings taking wagers on when Yan Guixing would sign a marriage certificate.
However, Yan Guixing’s information was classified at the highest level. Only a very small number of people had the authority to view it, so no one knew where these people would get his personal information.
At the time, Mumu didn’t know what kind of mood he was in. It wasn’t enough to just watch the video; he had read every single comment below it as well.
After turning off the terminal, he would also imagine that the lover Yan Guixing wanted to marry was him. But then the image of the cold Yan Guixing from that day would reappear in his mind. It had been so long, yet it was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
So what if I like him? So what if it’s me? But I’m really afraid of pain!
The video ended. Mumu pushed the terminal back toward Yan Guixing. As Yan Guixing reached for it, Mumu snatched his hand back with a “swoosh,” as if the approaching hand was something that would bite.
Yan Guixing, who had been feeling uneasy because of Mumu’s calm expression, found himself both amused and exasperated by this cute little gesture.
“I’ve finished watching,” Mumu said, scratching his head. He frowned, looking troubled. “Saying congratulations… that doesn’t seem right, does it?”
Zheng An, sitting beside them, heard Mumu’s words, and his vision went black. He nearly fainted. He just didn’t understand. This was clearly a movie for two people, so why did he have to be the third wheel!
Yan Guixing smiled faintly. “There’s nothing wrong with it. It is indeed something worth congratulating.”
Mumu’s frown smoothed out, and a small curve appeared on his lips as he finished his sentence: “Congratulations on regaining your freedom.”
Yan Guixing’s eyes curved into a smile as well. “Thank you,” he said. “So, have you forgiven me?”
Mumu let out a small “ah,” blinking his eyes cutely with a look of sudden realization. “So, Admiral, you came to find Mumu to ask for my forgiveness?”
Yan Guixing’s mood, which had just started to brighten, was sent crashing back down by that “Admiral.” He gave a bitter smile. “That’s only one of the reasons I came to find Mumu.”
“You already said it. You want me to go home with you,” Mumu said earnestly. “I refused. But this, Mumu can agree to.”
Yan Guixing was stunned. “What?”
Mumu looked at Yan Guixing, his plump lips curling into a beautiful arc as he smiled. “Mumu said, I forgive you.”
“Just like that.” Yan Guixing looked down at the terminal on the table, his brow tightening. There was no joy of being forgiven on his face, only a deeper sense of sadness and pain.
“Just because of this one video, you forgive me so easily?”
Yan Guixing felt like a prisoner on the gallows, waiting to be hanged. Whether he lived or died depended on a single word from his executioner, Mumu.
Finally, Mumu nodded, sentencing him to death.
“I forgive you, but I can’t go home with you. That’s not Mumu’s home. Mmm~ Now that everything is resolved, you can go home, Admiral.”
Yan Guixing felt like he was going crazy. He wanted to grab Mumu’s shoulders and ask this brightly smiling little fool how he could be so cruel as to say such heartless words!
How could he just give up on their relationship like that?
He was human! It was his first time being human! And humans make mistakes. Why couldn’t he be forgiven just this once?
He would have preferred hatred! A slap across the face, a kick, even being hit with a stool—anything would have been fine. He deserved it all.
But why this magnanimous forgiveness?
Yan Guixing even wanted to confess all the little tricks he had used at the beginning, the ones that made Mumu think their meeting was a romantic “hero saving the beauty” moment, just to see if he could earn a resounding slap.
But he would probably just get a calm gaze, a sweet smile, and another “I forgive you.”
Yan Guixing closed his eyes, gritting his teeth internally. You think you can get rid of me with a simple ‘I forgive you’? Dream on!
Yan Guixing opened his eyes, his gaze shimmering with gentleness. “I can’t go home yet. I still have things I haven’t finished.”
Mumu’s curiosity was piqued. “What things?”
Yan Guixing said gently, “To pursue you again, of course.”
Mumu tilted his head. “???”
Zheng An: “?!”
Since Yan Guixing had declared he would pursue Mumu again, he naturally wouldn’t give Mumu any room to refuse. His first step was to offer to be a clerk in Mumu’s store.
Zheng An’s head throbbed when he heard this. He instinctively replied, “But this store is tiny. Two people are enough.”
Yan Guixing gifted Zheng An a smile. And so, the tiny convenience store was left with just him and Mumu.
As for Zheng An, didn’t the store have a new delivery service? He was sent out to make deliveries, with strict orders not to return until closing time.
Poor Zheng An, kicked out into the cold. Before he could even complain, he saw the two culprits who often haunted his nightmares—A’qi and Sha Xia.
Accompanied by these two, Zheng An began his delivery journey.
Only Mumu and Yan Guixing were left in the store. Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere in the small break room was strange and ambiguous.
Mumu was angry, but he thought to himself that free labor had just shown up at his door, and it would be a waste not to use it. Once Yan Guixing was tired out, he would stop bothering him.
He told Yan Guixing to restock the shelves with the case of nutrient drinks that Zheng An had brought back.
Yan Guixing wasn’t just paying lip service when he said he would be Mumu’s clerk. After hearing Mumu’s instructions, he took off his coat, leaving him in just a turtleneck and black trousers. The soft, form-fitting clothes outlined his well-built physique, yet the black color gave him an ascetic air, a stark contrast to his sexiness.
He took the green apron with the panting border collie on it from Mumu, hung it around his neck, and, with Mumu’s help, tied it properly before walking out of the break room.
Mumu, left behind, stared at Yan Guixing’s back, scanning him up and down twice. Finally, he buried his chin in his collar, his ears turning red as he looked away.
He remembered the dirty talk Yan Guixing had whispered in his ear when they were intimate and muttered in a small voice, mimicking him.
“What kind of decent man dresses so sexy? Such a flirt.”
Author’s Note: A’Ting: Sigh, this family would fall apart without Zheng An. Zheng An: &…%#… Who did I offend? Why am I always the one who gets hurt?
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