Jun was absolutely sure that he could see blood forming at the corner of Zhou Yichen's lips.
He hugged her. "Ai-chaaan, as always, you don't mince your words at all. You are so much like your mother. Your father doesn't know if he should feel happy or sad about it."
He really wants to cry, Jun thought. He really does. But he doesn't want to break down in front of her boyfriend.
Zhou Yichen said, "Make yourselves at home. I will bring some coffee. Jun-cute, you are more than welcome to look around."
He dashed away, and Jun finally got the chance to properly look like a dead fish. He covered his face. "I was so close to punching your father. I am screwed."
Ai kissed his cheek. "That's not it. He won't judge you over this. Plus, it was his fault."
His head collapsed on her shoulder. "Both of your parents like giving heart attacks…"
He then looked around and at a distance found some oil paintings. He curiously checked out the paintings hung at the wall. Some were abstract, some had human figures drawn in them and some were sceneries. At the desk, there were notes which seemed to look like a song composition. There were pieces of handmade art like flowers and small cute sculptures made out of paper and clay.
There was a guitar case resting against the wall and some other notes, seemingly of music composition.
Jun slowly commented with praise. "I can see why you became a writer. You got the creativity from him. These are not bad at all."
"Dad likes to try out different things, so it's filled with all kinds of stuff," Ai looked displeased. "But he doesn't organize it."
She bent down and collected all the fliers lying on the table and stacked them neatly.
"Ai-chan!" Zhou Yichen popped in. "Perfect timing. Do you feel like cleaning up a bit? That's good. You get busy here, and I will take Jun-cute with me for a shopping trip."
"I didn't offer to clean-"
"Let's go Jun-cute," he grabbed Jun's arm and rushed out, "we won't get a discount at the supermarket if the pretty receptionist left."
The door shut in front of her, and Ai remained standing, expressionless.
"I thought we were supposed to have coffee together…" she mumbled. Though he shamelessly dumped the work on Ai, she still went ahead and started to clean around.
While outside, Jun finally realized that he was dragged away. "Um…"
"It's okay. I won't eat you up," Zhou Yichen laughed. "I just wanted to talk to you alone."
He took him to a casino where he frequently visited. It was a bright day outside but inside, it felt as if it was the middle of the night. The casino owner greeted him. "Hey, Yichen. Ready for another win?"
He winked. "As always. Make the special drinks two. I got a guest with me."
"Sit here," Zhou Yichen patted the seat beside him furiously.
Jun raised his brow and looked around. People were dancing to music, and some couples were openly making out. Women were waving at Zhou Yichen but were not necessarily pushy. Some were seductively eyeing Jun too, but he didn't even bother.
Why did he bring me here?
"Yichen! Today, I will definitely win!" His long time rival took a seat opposite him and smirked. A crowd gathered around them, whistling and cheering. "I will make you cough out all the losses that I had to bear!"
Zhou Yichen laughed. "Well, let's see."
A few games later, Jun was genuinely amazed to see him win it all while his rival was throwing curses at him.
He is really good at these games. He has an art of manipulating and throwing people off guard, he narrowed his eyes.
The curiosity in his gaze was suddenly replaced with a dangerous chill as he grabbed a hand approaching him from the back and ruthlessly shook it off. He simply glanced at the waitress who brought the drinks for them and coldly spoke with an agonizingly slow pace, "Try to touch me again, and I will cut off your hands. Go find another man to feel up, not me otherwise…"
The waitress got such a huge scare that tears escaped her eyes. "S-sorry! I was just…"
Zhou Yichen's rival clicked his tongue. "Why so edgy? It's normal here-"
Jun cut him off. "It's not normal for me. I have a girlfriend. I won't tolerate any other man touching her or any other woman touching me or trust me, there will be a bloodbath."
The rival was just joking, but he gulped in fear and quietly backed out. "S-Sure. My bad…"
Zhou Yichen whistled and grabbed all the money he won proudly. "Jun-cute, let's go! I have won a good chunk, so I will give you a treat."
From the casino, they went to the supermarket, and Zhou Yichen dumped whatever he saw edible on the shelves into his shopping cart. Jun could see how he was popular even in the supermarket. Almost all the workers knew him.
Then he saw his other side when he openly but softly flirted with the counter woman for a discount.
"Hello, dear. Can this beautiful lady give a beautiful discount to this good customer? I am quite in a pinch now," he grinned.
Didn't you just win a chunk of cash from gambling? How are you in a pinch?
The counter woman blushed. "Of course. Did I ever say no to you, Mr. Zhou?"
"You are the best," he winked. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Exiting the supermarket, Zhou Yichen smirked. "Got such a good deal! Perfect time to make a hotpot with these ingredients~ Let's go back. Ai-chan must be waiting for us."
As they walked back, Jun finally asked the question bothering him, "I thought you wanted to talk to me."
He stopped in his steps just beside the park and faced him. "You know, Jun-cute. I have changed many jobs. I have worked in many fields. I have been in the casino for like ever. I have met many rich and spoiled brats who change women like they are changing bed sheets.
Honestly, I don't want a rich guy for my Ai-chan. Wealthy people's lives are too messy. I don't want my Ai-chan to become someone's spare blanket," he narrowed his eyes.
"I asked that waitress to feel you up and those women to give you seducing looks. I have only one child, Jun-cute, and she is very precious to me. And I say you pass! You have beautiful eyes. They showed pure indifference to those women. Even disgust.
Just what I want for my Ai-chan. You are a good man, Jun-cute! I approve of you!"