Blank Charge

It was still late at night, and Jin Zhou stayed at Yang Shi Yu’s house.

His clothes were soaked in strong alcohol smell. After taking a comfortable bath, Jin Zhou changed into Yang Shi Yu’s white short-sleeved shirt and loose shorts. He didn’t wear anything inside and casually walked out of the bathroom.

The weather in October nights was getting cool, and the sudden temperature difference made Jin Zhou shiver. He hurriedly walked to the bedroom, taking three steps in two, and climbed into Yang Shi Yu’s bed.

At that time, Yang Shi Yu was still awake, facing away from Jin Zhou. He said, “I brought a blanket for you. You can sleep on the sofa.”

“I don’t want to.” Jin Zhou hugged Yang Shi Yu like a koala. “You left such a wide space here, waiting for me to come over, right?”

The one and a half meters wide bed was comfortable enough for one person to sleep on. However, when Jin Zhou came over, he saw that Yang Shi Yu was leaning towards the window, leaving a wide space behind.

“If you really don’t want me to come over,” Jin Zhou squeezed closer to Yang Shi Yu, “then lock the door.”

Yang Shi Yu didn’t respond and allowed Jin Zhou to embrace him.

Although the current situation was far from the scene Jin Zhou had earlier imagined, he was already happy about climbing into Yang Shi Yu’s bed.

The two of them fell silent, their breathing gradually calming down. After a while, Yang Shi Yu suddenly whispered, “Jin Zhou.”

“Hmm?” Jin Zhou, feeling drowsy, was already on the verge of falling asleep.

“Don’t drink so much in the future,” Yang Shi Yu said. “It’s not good for your health.”

“You’re trying to control me again,” Jin Zhou leaned forward and rested his head against the back of Yang Shi Yu’s neck. “Seriously, Yang Shi Yu, if you want to control me, it’s simple. Just call me ‘husband,’ and I’ll listen to you one hundred percent. If you tell me to go east, I won’t go west.”

The room fell quiet again, and Jin Zhou knew that Yang Shi Yu would never call him husband. He adjusted his sleeping position and drifted off to sleep comfortably.

Little did he know that in the dark room, Yang Shi Yu hadn’t closed his eyes. He began to seriously think about Jin Zhou’s proposal.

The next day was the weekend, and Yang Shi Yu didn’t get up early.

When Jin Zhou woke up, he realized that he had squeezed Yang Shi Yu to the edge of the bed.

Taking advantage of Yang Shi Yu still being asleep, he rubbed against him playfully, thinking that Yang Shi Yu wouldn’t notice. However, he accidentally used too much force, and Yang Shi Yu suddenly turned to him expressionlessly  and asked, “What are you doing?”

Their gazes met directly, and there was no point of pretending to be asleep.

“Uh, we’re both men, so…….,” Jin Zhou said and reached forward with his hand. “I can help you—”

Although Jin Zhou’s movements seemed natural according to him, the sneak attack was not smooth.

However, what he didn’t expect was that Yang Shi Yu didn’t stop his hand, and he touched something strange.

“This doesn’t seem right,” Jin Zhou immediately retracted his hand, widened his eyes, and looked at Yang Shi Yu. “This is not normal, is it?”

“What’s abnormal about it?” Yang Shi Yu sat up, casually pulling back the sheets, completely disregarding the shock it caused Jin Zhou.

“I must still be dreaming.” Jin Zhou closed his eyes and lay back down, silently mumbling something.

Yang Shiyu picked up the gold-framed glasses beside the bed, put them on, and got out of bed with his strong and straight legs. While changing into casual clothes, he said to the pretending-to-sleep Jin Zhou, “last night, you asked me if I’m gay.”

Jin Zhou suddenly opened his eyes.

“I am.” Yang Shiyu tugged at his shirt hem, covering the still visible bulge.

“So, it’s true?” Jin Zhou sat up straight, “I knew it! You don’t look like a straight guy!”

Yang Shiyu immediately frowned.

“Ahem.” Jin Zhou cleared his throat, feeling inexplicably uneasy, “Um, why did you suddenly admit it?”

 Yang Shiyu said calmly, “You said you want to be in a relationship with me.”

Jin Zhou increasingly felt like he was in a dream. He even began to suspect that Yang Shiyu had some kind of ulterior motive.

A bit puzzled, he asked, “So are you accepting?”

“It’s not impossible.” Yang Shiyu sat down by the bed, with an expression as indifferent as discussing today’s menu.

Jin Zhou furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously, “Why are you suddenly…?”

“On one condition though.” Yang Shiyu interrupted Jin Zhou’s question in a flat tone.

“I knew it.” Hearing that, Jin Zhou felt relieved, “What’s the condition?”

“You said it yourself,” Yang Shiyu paused, “you said you would listen to me, I tell you to go east, you will do just that.”

Oh, so that’s the reason.

Jin Zhou probably understood Yang Shiyu’s intention. It must be because he gave Yang Shiyu too much headache, so Yang Shiyu decided to sacrifice himself so he could have his way.

Although the motive may not be pure, Jin Zhou thought it was acceptable. After all, a man should listen to his wife.

“Okay.” Jin Zhou placed his hands behind him and accepted Yang Shiyu’s proposal, “Then from now on, you should call me ‘husband’.”

“I have one more condition.” Yang Shiyu pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, and his eyes were hidden behind the lenses, making it hard to see clearly.

“Tell me, I promise to comply.” Jin Zhou eagerly waited for those two long-awaited words to escape from the red lips. However, what followed was indeed those two words, but it didn’t stop there.

“I’m on top.” Yang Shiyu said, “You, call me ‘husband’.”

The bedroom instantly fell silent. Jin Zhou tilted his head, looking at Yang Shiyu in confusion, “What did you say?”

“You,” Yang Shiyu deliberately slowed down his speech, “call me ‘husband’.”

Jin Zhou felt as if he had been struck by a lightning bolt, unable to believe what he heard. A sense of unease grew in his heart.

“Think about it,” Yang Shiyu said, getting up and leaving the bedroom.

Think about what?

Jin Zhou lay on the bed, wondering if Yang Shiyu was just playing tricks on him.

Strange images suddenly appeared in his mind, and he quickly snapped out of it. He covered his chest with the blanket and angrily shouted towards the bedroom door, “Yang Shiyu, what nonsense are you talking about!”

If Li Lawyer’s proposed settlement amount of two thousand seemed like a joke to Jin Zhou, then Yang Shiyu’s suggestion of being on top was an even bigger joke.

Breakfast was still a steaming bowl of egg noodles. They sat face to face at the dining table, and Yang Shiyu seemed calm and no different from usual.

But Jin Zhou felt uneasy.

“No,” Jin Zhou couldn’t hold it in any longer, he put down his chopsticks and looked at Yang Shiyu, “How can you think you are the top?”

“That’s a question you should be asking yourself,” Yang Shiyu half-lowered his eyes while eating his noodles.

“It’s obvious that I’m the one,” Jin Zhou started to reason, ” it’s obvious that I’m the one, right?”

Yang Shiyu glanced coldly at Jin Zhou.

“Don’t think that just because I’m  holding back, I can’t beat you,” Jin Zhou continued, “I’m restraining my strength whenever I fight you.”

“Do you think I’m not holding back when I fight you?” Yang Shiyu countered.

Jin Zhou felt a mixture of worry and joy hearing this. On one hand, he sensed that Yang Shiyu cared about him, but on the other hand, Yang Shiyu implied that he wasn’t using his full strength.

It had been years since Jin Zhou had seriously practiced fighting. He awkwardly asked, “Um, who did you learn to fight from? How can a judge be so violent?”

“Because being a judge is dangerous,” Yang Shiyu said, “A few years ago, a judge was killed, so the organization arranged joint training with the armed police. I found a master to teach me.”

“The… armed police?” Jin Zhou suddenly felt intimidated. Remembering the incident a few days ago when their car was vandalized, he thought it was good that Yang Shiyu could fight.

Since he couldn’t compete in terms of strength, Jin Zhou decided to change his approach.

“Just now, cough…” he coughed, “Did I touch the wrong thing?”

“No,” Yang Shiyu looked at Jin Zhou calmly, “I’m just naturally like this.”

“How is that possible!” Jin Zhou stubbornly refused to believe, “Are you a damn elephant?”

Yang Shiyu didn’t respond, but his silence confirmed it.

Jin Zhou felt like drinking soda, so he went downstairs, bought a bottle of melon seeds-flavored soda, and returned to the sofa in Yang Shiyu’s house to watch TV.

It was the weekend, and Yang Shiyu was still working in his study.

He came out of the study to get some water and looked at Jin Zhou, who was munching on melon seeds, and asked, “You’re still here?”

“I’m a lawyer, I can’t act impulsively,” Jin Zhou said, “I need to seriously consider your proposal.”

Yang Shiyu gave him a casual glance and went back to the study.

Jin Zhou thought to himself. Why did he pursue him for so many years? Why did he always go to the court and show off in front of Yang Shiyu?

It was all because he couldn’t let go of that damn first love.

And now, this first love gave him such a big “surprise.”

Jin Zhou put down the melon seeds, took out his phone, and sent a message to a group chat on WeChat.

[Jin Zhou: I have a question.]

[Tiger: What is it?]

[Xiao Wu: ?]

Jin Zhou typed on his phone: Suppose when you were young, you liked a girl who was like a princess, and when you grew up, you found out that she was taller than you, better at fighting, and even older than you—

No, no, Jin Zhou deleted the last sentence and re-edited the message before sending it.

[Jin Zhou: …even more manly than you, would you still like her?]

[Xiao Wu: That’s disappointing, respect and best wishes.]

[Tiger: That’s great.]

[Tiger: I like masculine girls.]

Hmm?

Jin Zhou brought the phone closer to his eyes, thinking that he must be seeing things.

But soon, Tiger added another message.

[Tiger: Girls like that are hot.]

One positive and one negative, Jin Zhou realized that asking those two people was completely pointless.

He was thinking of asking another group when he suddenly heard Yang Shiyu talking on the phone from the study.

The soundproofing of the house was poor, and even though Yang Shiyu closed the door tightly, Jin Zhou could still hear what he was saying.

“…When did it happen?… It can’t be an accident… I see… I’ll go there.”

The voice stopped there, and the next second, Yang Shiyu came out of the study, changing into clothes to go out.

“Are you going out?” Jin Zhou stretched his neck and asked.

Yang Shiyu seemed to be inattentive, leaving the bedroom door slightly open, with a gap about the width of a palm.

Jin Zhou found a tricky angle and secretly watched the judge change his clothes through the gap.

That ass is really perky.

Jin Zhou sighed with regret.

Why couldn’t the owner of that ass have more self-awareness?

At that moment, Yang Shiyu suddenly opened the bedroom door and walked out. Jin Zhou quickly sat properly on the sofa.

“Are you going out?” Jin Zhou asked again.

“Yeah, I’m going to the police station,” Yang Shiyu said, “Wang Darong is dead.”