My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: “Can You… Help Me First?”

When Song Ai mentioned “men being with men,” Lu Tingyun was immediately affected. But the location was inappropriate, and he figured Song Ai wasn’t in that frame of mind, so he could only endure it.

“You mean Zhong Shaoxuan likes men?” he asked, his voice husky.

Song Ai nodded with a stony face.

“Is there any evidence?”

Song Ai thought for a moment. “No, but I saw him at a bar once, hugging and kissing a man. Even though they were wearing masks, I’m fairly certain I wasn’t mistaken. My friends also said he’s dated many boyfriends in the past.”

Now it was Lu Tingyun’s turn to be slightly confused. “If his orientation is towards men, why choose to marry Shen Yin?”

Recalling that this man’s sex education consisted of last-minute cramming in adulthood, Song Ai begrudgingly tolerated his denseness in this area. He explained impatiently, “That’s why I said he’s entering a sham marriage. He’s a fraud.”

“No wonder you said he felt strange last time.”

Song Ai frowned. “When did I say that?”

“During their engagement party.”

Song Ai was slightly stunned. “You have a good memory.”

Lu Tingyun didn’t deny it. He glanced at Song Ai’s waist, and a number quickly popped into his head: 65.

Yes, his memory was excellent. He remembered the feeling of gripping that exact spot vividly.

“If that’s the case, Shen Yin’s situation is likely dire.”

Although Lu Tingyun had never experienced it personally, he had heard plenty of stories about the treacherous power struggles within wealthy families. He could easily guess what lay behind this.

Shen Yin was already on the verge of a fallout with her family for the sake of Zhong Shaoxuan. Old Man Shen doted on his daughter and wouldn’t want to make things difficult for her; he would likely make endless concessions, perhaps even allowing Zhong Shaoxuan to take control of the Shen family.

If that day came and Zhong Shaoxuan dropped all pretenses and showed his true colors, Shen Yin’s life would be more painful than death.

Lu Tingyun looked into his spouse’s eyes. “Do you want to help her?”

The young man replied as if it were a given, “I’ll help if I can. If it’s truly impossible, then forget it.”

Even though he had only met Shen Yin twice, he wasn’t the type to stand by and watch someone die—if he were, he wouldn’t have helped Wang Ruijing when he first transferred schools in high school.

It was the answer Lu Tingyun expected. Hadn’t Song Ai saved Cheng Chao back then too?

But the moment he heard it, Lu Tingyun’s breath hitched. Regarding the question of helping Shen Yin, he didn’t share Song Ai’s lack of hesitation.

He fell into indecision. His mind suddenly flashed back to his sixth-grade classroom.

It was a gloomy afternoon. At the end of the school day, his seatmate had accidentally tripped while running out the door, scraping his palms so badly they were covered in blood. It was a gruesome sight.

Everyone else had already left; only a few students remained. The seatmate had begged him in tears to go tell the teacher. Lu Tingyun hadn’t thought twice; he ran to the upstairs office to find the homeroom teacher, explained the situation, and then followed them to the infirmary. The whole ordeal took quite some time.

By the time he finished and walked out the school gate, the driver was still waiting. As soon as Lu Tingyun climbed into the car, the driver received a call from his father. His father asked to speak to him and demanded to know why he was so late leaving school.

He told the truth. The next second, his father ordered the driver to kick him out of the car.

His father told him: If you want to help others, you must be prepared to sacrifice yourself. To delay your homework because of “pointless kindness” is an act of supreme stupidity.

At the time, Lu Tingyun didn’t understand why his father taught the exact opposite of what his teachers did. But that day, he had walked all the way home until his feet were blistered.

Since then, he had never meddled in other people’s affairs.

…

That long, seemingly endless road appeared before Lu Tingyun’s eyes again. He instinctively held his breath, his chest feeling as though it were being crushed by a thousand-pound stone.

Song Ai was confused by the man’s sudden silence. Curiosity drove him to lean closer, waving his hand in front of the man’s face.

“Crashed?” the youth asked.

Lu Tingyun snapped out of it, his dilated pupils instantly focusing.

“Song Ai,” he called out suddenly, asking seriously, “Do you want me to help her?”

Song Ai found the question bizarre. “Help her if you want to, don’t if you don’t. What does it have to do with me?”

With that, he withdrew his hand, finished with the conversation. However, just as he planned to move back to his original position, a pair of strong, powerful arms encircled his waist. Before he could react, he was lifted into the air for a split second, and when he landed, he was firmly pinned onto the man’s lap.

Song Ai’s eyes widened. They were still in the car!!!

He tried to pry Lu Tingyun’s arms off with all his might, but they didn’t budge. He could only glare at the culprit, his voice a muffled hiss: “What the hell are you doing?!”

Compared to his indignant embarrassment, the culprit seemed much calmer. Lu Tingyun didn’t speak immediately; he simply scrutinized the emotions in Song Ai’s eyes as if searching for something. After a moment, he said solemnly, “Fine. I’ll listen to you.”

He couldn’t convince himself to be warm-hearted, but he could convince himself to follow his spouse’s lead.

Song Ai: “???” What did I even say for him to ‘listen’ to me??

While they were at a stalemate, the light inside the car suddenly dimmed. Song Ai turned to the window and realized the driver had already turned into the villa’s underground garage.

He used to hate the Lu family driver’s mechanical, robotic way of doing things, but at this moment, he was grateful the man acted like an NPC.

Song Ai turned back, about to use some other threats to get Lu Tingyun to let go, when he felt a sudden wave of heat against his neck.

Then, he heard Lu Tingyun groan and whisper slowly, “Song Ai, I think I’m hard.”

“…”

“Before we help anyone else, can you… help me first?”

“…………”

…

In the end, it took a sharp elbow to Lu Tingyun’s abdomen for Song Ai to escape the “tiger’s den.” What kind of timing is that for getting hard!

He took the elevator and hid in his room, immediately sending a group message to his circle of friends. These guys hung out in all sorts of places; they might not be the most capable, but their connections in nightclubs, bars, and lounges were countless.

Since he had run into Zhong Shaoxuan at M&C last time, there was a chance they could find him at a similar venue.

Song Ai thought this needle-in-a-haystack approach would be a long shot, but after only two rounds of gaming, he received a reply from one of them.

Friend: I’m floored. Friend: I don’t know what kind of luck you have. You just tossed a name at me with no photo or description, and I actually ran into him. Friend: [Image.jpg] Friend: Is it the guy on the far left?

Song Ai clicked the photo. Although the outline was blurry, he had seen Zhong Shaoxuan today and had a vivid impression; he wouldn’t be mistaken.

He immediately typed back: [Yes.]

Friend: No way. Friend: Guess how I recognized him? Friend: It’s so damn coincidental, I’m afraid you won’t believe me. Song Ai: How? Friend: My “wife” (boyfriend/partner) actually dated this guy! Friend: My god, when you sent the message, my partner was playing games on my phone. He saw the name and froze, grabbing me and shaking me like crazy.

Song Ai raised an eyebrow at the message, thinking it was indeed an extreme coincidence. But what did they call that? Retribution.

The opportunity was too good to pass up. Regardless of the situation, he had to go check it out.

After receiving the specific location, Song Ai leaped from his bed and charged out with his phone. He opened his door just as the door to his left also opened, and a tall figure stepped out from the shadows.

Because it was so sudden, his brain didn’t have time to issue the “close eyes” command. Song Ai stared blankly as Lu Tingyun emerged wearing nothing but a towel.

The man’s abs seemed even more defined than before, glistening with water droplets that were even trickling down, making one wonder if he had just finished some strenuous activity. For some reason, Song Ai felt that the longer he stared, the more visible the veins deep within those muscles became…

Sensing trouble, he immediately looked away.

Lu Tingyun also seemed a bit awkward, though his awkwardness was different from Song Ai’s. He adjusted his towel and asked, “Where are you going?”

Song Ai cleared his throat and steadied his voice. “My friend saw Zhong Shaoxuan. I’m going over to see if I can find a lead.”

Since he had agreed to help two hours ago, Lu Tingyun wouldn’t break his word. He said without hesitation, “I’m going too.”

Song Ai hadn’t expected that. “Do you even know what kind of place it is?”

Lu Tingyun was puzzled. “What kind of place?”

…

When the two of them stood side-by-side under the neon signs, Lu Tingyun finally realized the “place” Song Ai meant was a nightclub.

“Is this… a place I can’t go to?” the man asked, confused.

“Not exactly.” Song Ai stepped up the stairs at the entrance, his voice drifting back. “I just figured you’d never been. If I lead you astray, wouldn’t your father roll his eyes to the ceiling at me?”

Lu Tingyun chuckled at his exaggerated speech and replied slowly, “It’s not like I’ve never been.”

The youth walking half a head shorter in front of him froze and turned around in shock. “You’ve been to a place like this?”

Lu Tingyun nodded. “Twice.” And both times I was mistaken for a male host.

Song Ai found it hard to believe. “You’ve actually been? Does your father know?”

Lu Tingyun: “…”

They entered one after the other. Just as they reached the front desk, they heard someone call out, “Song Ai!”

At the mention of Song Ai’s name, Lu Tingyun’s reaction was faster. He looked toward the source and saw a young man bartending. He was decent-looking, but his features and profile were far less striking than Lu Tingyun’s own.

Song Ai also looked over and raised an arm in greeting. The bartender offered him two drinks he’d just learned to make, but Song Ai politely declined, saying he was busy. The two of them chatted back and forth.

Lu Tingyun stood rigidly beside them like a wooden post, his face cold throughout.

After a while, the bartender finally noticed the handsome man standing nearby and winked. “Who is this?”

Song Ai answered instinctively, “A friend.” It was the simplest way to explain to someone who didn’t know Lu Tingyun.

The bartender nodded in understanding and smiled. “Why didn’t your other two ‘besties’ come today?”

Having no time for more small talk, the youth ran a hand through his hair and gave a perfunctory excuse. “They’re busy. I’m busy too, so keep doing your thing. We’re heading in.”

Song Ai started walking. The bartender said “Alright” and looked down to wash a glass. But then he noticed the tall man had stopped right in front of him.

“Not a friend,” the man said icily.

“I’m his husband.”