My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: “Bring Me Along”

Having declared his identity, Lu Tingyun looked up, but in the blink of an eye, Song Ai had vanished.

A sudden panic gripped his heart.

He immediately began searching, his eyes scanning every corner like a radar. Finally, he spotted that familiar figure to the right of the crowd.

Lu Tingyun pushed through the throng and reclaimed his position behind Song Ai. His heart, which had just settled, hung in suspense again as the crowd surged.

This won’t do, he thought. It’s too easy to get separated here.

He needed a solution. Looking at the youth’s slender arm, an idea struck him.

He reached out and clasped the other’s palm.

Song Ai, thinking it was a groper, spun around ready to lash out, but stopped when he saw Lu Tingyun’s face. Oh, right. I brought someone today.

But that didn’t mean they could hold hands!

Song Ai tried to shake him off a couple of times to no avail. He hissed, “What are you grabbing my hand for?!”

Lu Tingyun replied, “I’m afraid you’ll get lost.”

Song Ai was speechless. “I’m a grown man. How could I get lost?”

Lu Tingyun thought for a second. “Then… I’m afraid I’ll lose you.”

Song Ai: “…”

Considering that Lu Tingyun didn’t frequent these places, Song Ai stopped trying to break free.

So, the two of them walked hand-in-hand to the booth where the friend who sent the message was sitting.

The friend was Wang Duoyu, another wealthy socialite who loved to party even harder and crazier than Song Ai.

“Holy crap, you got here fast!” Wang Duoyu was stunned.

Song Ai ignored him and looked around. “Where is he?”

Wang Duoyu pointed. “Over there. The guy in the shadows wearing the baseball cap, playing on his phone. He’s been sitting there for a long time; must be waiting for someone.”

Song Ai turned to look, squinting to identify him. Even though the man was hidden in the shadows, it was undoubtedly Zhong Shaoxuan.

Just to be safe, he squeezed Lu Tingyun’s hand and asked, “Do you think it’s him?”

Lu Tingyun looked down at their intertwined hands and pressed his lips together. “It’s not that it looks like him. It is him.”

If even the meticulous Lu Tingyun said so, there was no doubt.

Song Ai made a move to step forward.

Lu Tingyun pulled him back in time. “What do you plan to do?”

This man had been self-righteously roaring at Shen Yin during the day, yet here he was at night, living it up. It was detestable.

Song Ai gritted his teeth. “What else do you do with trash? Kick him a few times first.”

“Don’t be impulsive,” Lu Tingyun said cautiously. “He’s just here. We don’t have solid evidence yet to prove he’s gay. Wait a bit longer.”

Song Ai calmed down. That made sense. He hadn’t spoken up at the Shen house today precisely because he lacked proof.

So, the two of them sat down and waited patiently.

Unbeknownst to them, the friend’s gaze was fixed on their inseparable hands.

At first, Wang Duoyu was only focused on Song Ai and didn’t notice the person behind him. Now that they were sitting quietly, he had time to observe.

After a moment, he finally realized who the man holding hands with Song Ai was—Lu Tingyun!

Among these young heirs, there wasn’t a soul who didn’t know how formidable Lu Tingyun was.

Wang Duoyu was so startled he immediately pulled his “wife” into a hug. His partner was also male, but very slight and small. The movement was so abrupt it caught Lu Tingyun’s attention, though his focus was on the lack of space between their bodies.

“Do you two always interact like this?” Lu Tingyun asked.

Wang Duoyu was baffled. Always interact like what?

He and his partner exchanged a look, guessing he meant the physical closeness. He replied hesitantly, “Between couples… isn’t this how everyone interacts?”

A flicker of half-understanding passed over Lu Tingyun’s face.

Just then, Song Ai nudged him with his free elbow. “Someone’s here.”

Lu Tingyun looked back. “Who?”

Song Ai remained focused on the target. “A man just approached Zhong Shaoxuan.”

Lu Tingyun watched as well. A slender young man had appeared, standing between Zhong Shaoxuan’s legs, his knees occasionally and suggestively brushing against Zhong Shaoxuan’s thighs.

They were holding hands, chatting with intimate body language.

Lu Tingyun pulled out his phone and swiftly snapped a photo.

This time, Song Ai had learned to be cautious. “How is it? Did you get a clear shot?”

Lu Tingyun looked at the photo and nodded.

Song Ai made to stand up again, but Lu Tingyun held his hand down once more.

He looked back, confused. “Still can’t move?”

“No.” Lu Tingyun shook his head, his thin lips parting slightly: “Bring me along.”

Song Ai was stunned.

The sentence was short—just three words. It didn’t seem like much, but to Song Ai, who had been used to fighting his battles alone since childhood, it had a very special pull.

He instinctively clenched his palm and said, “Let’s go.”

Hand-in-hand, they squeezed back into the crowd.

Wang Duoyu watched them leave with a complex expression.

His partner asked curiously, “What is it? You seem really afraid of the tall one.”

Wang Duoyu clicked his tongue. “That guy is terrifying. My dad tried to snatch a deal from his family once. Not only did we lose the deal, we almost went bankrupt.”

His partner gasped. “Really? That overbearing?”

“Well, my dad was the one using dirty tactics.”

“…”

“But the most shocking thing is that Song Ai actually dares to hold hands with him in a place like this…”

“Are they a couple?”

“No, they’re married. An alliance, you know? I heard the Song family went through a lot of trouble and used some pretty ruthless methods to climb into that marriage.”

“But they look like they have a great relationship.”

“Tsk…”

…

On the other side, Song Ai was leading Lu Tingyun toward Zhong Shaoxuan. When they were less than two meters away, Zhong Shaoxuan suddenly stood up and left with the young man.

The two followed immediately.

As they reached the exit, Zhong Shaoxuan turned his head sharply as if he sensed something, nearly giving them both a heart attack.

Lu Tingyun reacted quickly, predicting the move. Dropping the “tag-along spouse” act, he pulled Song Ai forward and said, “He’s going to run!”

Seeing Zhong Shaoxuan pull the young man and vanish out the door, Song Ai accelerated.

The four of them raced out onto the streets, performing a tense pursuit in a corner of the city.

Initially, the distance between them was four or five meters, but it didn’t take long for that gap to shrink.

Song Ai had been a fast runner since he was a kid. In high school, people often provoked or played pranks on him; he had relied on his speed to avoid getting beaten. Chasing Zhong Shaoxuan was a breeze.

As for Lu Tingyun, his years of gym training meant his leg muscles were well-developed and his endurance was formidable. He could easily outlast someone like Zhong Shaoxuan.

After running nearly two kilometers, they cornered them at the mouth of an alley.

Zhong Shaoxuan was gasping for air, leaning against the wall and nearly collapsing. The young man with him looked slightly better, but not by much.

Song Ai stepped closer. “Buddy, why don’t you just confess? Let’s not waste each other’s time.”

Zhong Shaoxuan had recognized him long ago. He caught his breath and said, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Song Ai sneered. “Still acting? I’ve already got the photos.”

“…” Realizing he’d been caught, Zhong Shaoxuan gritted his teeth. “What the hell do you want? What good does filming me do for you!”

Song Ai shrugged. “No benefit. Just seeking justice.”

Zhong Shaoxuan was dumbfounded by the reason. He turned to Lu Tingyun. “And you? Surely the great President Lu isn’t so bored that he’s doing charity work by catching me?”

Lu Tingyun raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on his lips. “I’m just following my wife’s orders.”

Song Ai: “…”

“Interesting.” Zhong Shaoxuan suddenly laughed. “How about this: name a price. Anything. I’ll buy the photos, and we act like this never happened.”

“Keep dreaming,” Song Ai said coldly. He turned to the other young man. “He won’t tell the truth, but surely you can? Based on your look… a nightclub DJ?”

The slender youth, looking like a weak willow, flushed red. “Yes.”

Song Ai pressed, “What’s your relationship with him?”

The youth glanced at Zhong Shaoxuan, afraid to speak.

This was where Song Ai’s habit of frequenting such places paid off. He knew exactly how to handle him.

“I’ll tell you the truth: this guy is going to lose everything tomorrow. You won’t be getting any more money from him. If you don’t answer my questions, you won’t even be able to work as a DJ anymore. I hear this job pays well. Are you willing to lose that?”

The youth was indeed intimidated. His eyes darted around before he finally confessed: “He… he often hits me up for hookups…”

At those words, Zhong Shaoxuan felt his world go black.

…

“Is the recording pen in there?”

“It is.”

In the car, Lu Tingyun took an envelope and placed the freshly printed photos and the recording pen inside.

As the bag was carefully sealed, the curve of Song Ai’s lips rose higher.

Everything today had been unexpected. He hadn’t expected to find Zhong Shaoxuan immediately, hadn’t expected him to run, and certainly hadn’t expected to run two kilometers through the night to catch him.

But the moment he held the “evidence,” he felt incredibly satisfied.

Since returning from studying abroad, he had been trapped in this marriage alliance and had lost interest in most things; his youthful spirit had been ground down. He had almost forgotten that he used to be a “legendary figure” in the eyes of his classmates.

Lu Tingyun sat beside him, watching him unblinkingly. They were driving through the busiest part of the city. Outside, the skyscrapers were dense, and countless lights reflected in Song Ai’s pupils, as beautiful as a sky full of stars.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Lu Tingyun heard a long-lost heartbeat.

…

They delivered the envelope to the Shen house that very night.

To prevent Shen Yin from being too devastated, Lu Tingyun gave her a heads-up, dropping concise hints to lead her into deep thought before handing over the envelope.

“Whether you look or not, the decision is yours.”

With that, Lu Tingyun left with Song Ai.

A few days later…

The Shen family publicly announced the cancellation of the engagement.

At 7:00 AM, Song Ai was still awake when he saw the news. He had pulled an all-nighter gaming the night before and slept all day yesterday; now he wasn’t sleepy at all.

Too excited to wait, he rushed to Lu Tingyun’s bedroom door without a second thought.

Not long after he knocked, the door clicked open. The man appeared with sleepy eyes.

The youth’s clear voice rang out immediately—

“Holy crap! Did you see the news?”

Lu Tingyun’s eyes swept over his spouse’s loose collar. The irritation of being woken up was being replaced by a much stronger surge of desire.

He tried to suppress it, asking calmly, “What is it?”

“Shen Yin cancelled the engagement.”

Song Ai spoke very fast, perhaps because he was still hyped from his game or genuinely excited about the news.

“My friend said Shen Yin kicked Zhong Shaoxuan out of the house the day before yesterday, even threw all his luggage out. Someone passing by filmed a video; it was like a scene from a revenge drama.”

He tapped his phone. “Want to see?”

Lu Tingyun’s attention wasn’t on the video at all.

He kept his gaze on his spouse. Starting from the eyes, he moved slowly down to the nose, the lips, the collarbone, and the faintly visible narrow waist.

His burning gaze was like a tongue of fire sweeping over Song Ai’s body.

Song Ai felt his scalp tingle, sensing a bad omen. Just as he was about to pull his phone back, he heard Lu Tingyun speak in a low, haunting tone:

“Do you know that when a man first wakes up, he gets an erection very easily?”