Beautiful Wife: The Cold Boss is My Husband - Chapter 16

Yan Chengming was completely caught off guard by CEO Zhuo’s sudden question, leaving him bewildered and uneasy.

According to the information Gu Yu had gathered for him, CEO Zhuo was a man of few words, someone who kept his distance from others. He disliked people prying into his family’s privacy and never took the initiative to ask about others’ personal lives. In business, he prioritized interests over relationships, and even members of his own family who crossed him faced consequences.

Yan Chengming couldn’t figure out what CEO Zhuo meant by this.

If the project he’d proposed hadn’t been satisfactory, the conversation should have ended there, or perhaps after a polite rejection, they would have gone their separate ways. But instead of cutting ties, CEO Zhuo seemed to be showing interest in his personal life?

After hesitating for a long time, he finally replied: Yes.

Perhaps his silence had lasted too long, making the other side feel awkward, because almost immediately, a few messages popped up:

[Zhuo: I don’t mean anything by it.]

[Zhuo: It’s just that before working together, it’s good to get to know each other a bit, become friends. What do you think?]

For some reason, these messages reminded Yan Chengming of blind dates.

A few years ago, when he was still single, his family had been deeply concerned about his love life. Relatives often introduced him to women from similar backgrounds for arranged meetings. Whenever Yan Chengming showed reluctance to attend these dinners, his aunts would say, “No one’s asking you to get married right away—just have a meal and get to know each other.”

Marriage was like a partnership, and a partnership was like marriage.

Suddenly, it all made sense to Yan Chengming. He slapped his forehead, no longer finding CEO Zhuo’s attitude strange, and immediately began to reflect on how to present himself in the best light.

The top post on his social media was a photo of his marriage certificate, accompanied by a red heart. CEO Zhuo must have seen that and asked if he was married. It seemed that a happy family truly demonstrated a person’s sense of responsibility, which could help win a partner’s trust and increase the chances of collaboration!

Yan Chengming abruptly stood up, convinced he had found the key to success. He rushed from his study to the bedroom, flinging the door open with lightning speed.

At that moment, Zhuo Xiao was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at his phone. Since Yan Chengming hadn’t replied for a while, Zhuo Xiao felt a pang of regret, thinking he might have overstepped and scared him off. But it wasn’t entirely his fault. After living with Yan Chengming for over two years, he knew him inside out, and the question had slipped out unconsciously.

Just as he was hesitating over how to smooth things over, the door suddenly slammed against the wall with a loud bang. Startled, Zhuo Xiao guiltily hid his phone behind his back, a flicker of panic in his eyes. “What’s wrong, darling?”

For a moment, he thought Yan Chengming had suddenly figured out his true identity and had come to confront him. But after carefully observing Yan Chengming’s expression, he realized he was overthinking it.

Lost in his career-driven thoughts, Yan Chengming didn’t notice anything amiss. He strode over and began rummaging through the bedside drawer. “Honey, are the rings here? The wedding rings.”

“Why are you looking for those?” Zhuo Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ah, don’t worry about it, come here.” Yan Chengming indeed found the wedding ring—a dazzling custom-made diamond ring, one of a kind. He bent down, took Zhuo Xiao’s hand, and slipped the ring onto his finger.

As he lowered his head, strands of hair fell across his forehead, his profile sharp and defined. His long, thick lashes cast shadows, and his deep eyes held an intense seriousness.

The cool metal of the ring slid over his finger, yet it ignited a fire in his heart.

Zhuo Xiao’s breath hitched.

“Done.” After putting the ring on Zhuo Xiao, Yan Chengming slipped a diamond ring onto his own finger, then grabbed Zhuo Xiao’s hand, intertwining their fingers.

Zhuo Xiao snapped back to reality, his words stumbling inexplicably: “Wh-what are we doing?”

Yan Chengming didn’t answer. He opened his phone’s camera, snapped a few photos of their hands, then smiled with satisfaction and planted a kiss on the back of Zhuo Xiao’s hand. “All done, all done.”

With that, he dashed out like a gust of wind, leaving Zhuo Xiao standing there, clutching his chest in confusion.

A minute later, he saw the notification for Yan Chengming’s updated WeChat Moments.

[After work, coming home to spend time with my wife. A wonderful night]

The post featured two photos. The first was a professional shot of Yan Chengming inspecting the company, taken by a photographer with lighting and composition rivaling a portrait. In the picture, he was dressed in a sharp suit, his hair slicked back boldly, surrounded by a crowd, his expression serious and profound, appearing both focused and reliable. The second photo was the one he had just taken: a tanned, muscular hand with prominent veins, adorned with an eye-catching diamond ring, wrapped around a smaller, more delicate hand wearing a matching ring. The two hands were pressed tightly together, sweet and intimate, radiating happiness.

At first glance, the post seemed normal, if a bit middle-aged in tone, but it was completely out of character for Yan Chengming’s usual style.

Yan Chengming used to frequently post videos of himself racing cars, edited with black-and-white filters and intense heavy metal rock music, embodying a cool, edgy, and showy vibe. Alternatively, he would share clips of himself drunkenly singing sad love songs at KTV—though no one knew what heartbreak he could possibly be nursing—sobbing uncontrollably, with captions like, “Let the past be buried. May we each find peace.”

The first time Zhuo Xiao saw one of these posts, he was startled. At the time, he hadn’t successfully won Yan Chengming over yet, and the caption nearly made him think Yan Chengming was cutting ties with him. He spent the whole night anxious and unsettled, only to find Yan Chengming happily devouring the little cakes he made the next day.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhuo Xiao cautiously asked, “Brother Yan, I saw your WeChat Moments yesterday. Did something upsetting happen?”

Yan Chengming, with cream still smeared on his lips, looked confused. “No, that caption was something I found online. If you search for ‘sad captions,’ it pops right up.”

Zhuo Xiao: “…”

Yan Chengming’s middle-aged-style WeChat Moments quickly caught his friends’ attention. A row of question marks flooded the comments, and even more absurdly, Gu Yu sent over a few concerned messages.

[Gu Yu: Are you okay? Too much work pressure?]

[Gu Yu: How about this—I’ll handle tomorrow’s work for you. Go see a doctor.]

He actually wanted to suggest a psychiatric hospital but thought it sounded too much like an insult, so he phrased it more tactfully.

Yan Chengming was speechless, feeling as though no one in the world understood him. He sighed in resignation.

[Yan Chengming: You don’t get it. This is a strategy.]

[Yan Chengming: Just wait and see. I’ll win over CEO Zhuo in three days.]

Finally changing his social media profile picture to an image of interlocked hands, Yan Chengming, now thoroughly transformed, confidently opened the chat window with CEO Zhuo.

[Yan Chengming: I also think cooperation should start with friendship. May I ask what hobbies you have, CEO Zhuo?]

After a brief silence, the reply came:

[Zhuo: Painting.]

[Zhuo: And racing.]

Yan Chengming thought, what a coincidence! He immediately began typing back with delight.

[Yan Chengming: CEO Zhuo, we’re truly fated! I used to love racing and even had a racing club. If you ever visit City A, I’ll get you a lifetime membership!]

Zhuo Xiao thought sourly to himself that he didn’t even have a lifetime membership to Yan Chengming’s club, yet Yan Chengming was offering one to CEO Zhuo.

But the next second, his mood lifted again when he saw the cool pictures Yan Chengming sent over.

[Yan Chengming: Also, my wife is a painter. Let me show you some of his paintings—aren’t they great?]

[Zhuo: They are indeed great.]

Yan Chengming felt a bit disappointed seeing CEO Zhuo’s three-word reply, but then he remembered that CEO Zhuo had a reserved personality. It probably took immense courage for him to take the initiative to befriend Yan Chengming, so he shouldn’t be too demanding.

Zhuo Xiao, in fact, felt a bit embarrassed praising himself. Thinking he should reciprocate to build a good relationship with Yan Chengming, he decided to compliment Yan Chengming in return.

So, he found a video Yan Chengming had previously posted on his social media, downloaded it, and sent it in the chat.

[Zhuo: Your racing skills are also excellent.]

At first, Yan Chengming didn’t quite process what he was seeing. He instinctively clicked on the video and realized it was of himself.

A smiling version of himself gave a peace sign to the camera, then suddenly revved the engine, and the race car sped off in a flash, looking incredibly cool.

If not for the edgy black-and-white filter and the deafening, screaming rock music that could shake the dead.

Yan Chengming: “…”

For some reason, his toes suddenly started moving on their own—perhaps they had signed a contract with a construction foreman and were planning to build a castle.

Yan Chengming had never felt so embarrassed. Suppressing his shame, he began deleting his old social media posts, wondering why he had posted so many in the past. His fingers were practically smoking from the frantic tapping when another notification popped up at the top.

[Zhuo: [Video]]

[Zhuo: This one is also sung very well.]

With a sinking feeling, Yan Chengming clicked on it—only to find a video of himself crying while singing and dancing at a karaoke bar.

So, while he was busy deleting, CEO Zhuo was busy watching?

Yan Chengming truly felt like dying.

But ultimately, CEO Zhuo was complimenting and appreciating him. Yan Chengming decided to let it go. He gave up and stopped deleting, instead starting to discuss racing experiences with CEO Zhuo.

[Yan Chengming: My favorite is the Ferrari 488 GT3—full of horsepower, great aerodynamic design. What about you, CEO Zhuo?]

Zhuo Xiao: “…”

How would he know anything about racing models? He had only mentioned racing to get closer to Yan Chengming. Who knew Yan Chengming would actually start discussing it with him?

He immediately grabbed his laptop, searched for relevant web pages, and typed a few words based on the content on the screen.

[Zhuo: I like the Porsche 919 Hybrid.]

Yan Chengming on the other side seemed ignited by this response and immediately launched into an enthusiastic monologue.

[Yan Chengming: That one’s great too, I also like it! Let me tell you, CEO Zhuo, I have a lot of experience.]

Zhuo Xiao stared at the long, screen-filling messages flooding in and felt a bit dizzy from all the text.

He twitched the corner of his mouth, tossed his phone onto the bed, and simply opened the wardrobe. He picked out a thin white shirt to put on, deliberately leaving the top two buttons undone. After adjusting his expression in front of the mirror, he knocked on the study door.

Carrying a glass of water, he walked over to Yan Chengming’s desk. Hearing the noise, Yan Chengming didn’t look up, still typing away with a clatter. It wasn’t until the sound of the glass being set down echoed that he finally glanced up briefly at Zhuo Xiao.

Seeing his indifferent demeanor, Zhuo Xiao glanced at his phone with dissatisfaction, feeling a twinge of regret.

Gritting his teeth, he gently placed his hand on Yan Chengming’s arm, his fingers lightly stroking it. In the softest tone he could muster, he cooed, “Husband, I can’t fall asleep alone. Will you keep me company for a bit?”

Yan Chengming looked up again, and this time he saw clearly. His gaze lingered on the open collar of Zhuo Xiao’s shirt, unable to look away.

He swallowed hard, forgetting all about typing, work, or anything else in the world.

Yan Chengming murmured dazedly, “Ah… why can’t you sleep?”

Seizing the opportunity, Zhuo Xiao slipped into his arms and settled onto his lap. Yan Chengming was enveloped by a wave of fragrance, completely oblivious to the fact that his phone had been stealthily taken away and set aside. All he saw was Zhuo Xiao taking his hand and placing it over his own chest, frowning and shaking his head as he said, “I don’t know. My heart feels uneasy, husband. Listen and see if it’s beating too fast.”

Yan Chengming took a deep breath.