I'm a very well-behaved husband

"What are you doing?" Yang Bin frowned.

The female executive assistant was named Cui Xue. Usually a cool, composed career woman, she had lately been acting like an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old girl meeting the idol she adored. The contrast was startling.

Cui Xue hurriedly hid her phone behind her back and restored her usual expression. "Sorry, Mr. Chu. That was my fault."

Chu Yilan said nothing and motioned for Yang Bin to open the door.

"Snake Flower, I love you!"

The phone's speaker was still on. Cui Xue frantically pressed the volume button without letting it show on her face.

But before she could mute it, Chu Yilan still heard the line: "Love? What even is love?"

The flippant, seductive delivery sounded like the work of a professional voice actor, but the moment that voice rang out, Chu Yilan stopped in his tracks.

Chu Yilan looked at Cui Xue.

Cui Xue went rigid all over. "M-Mr. Chu..."

Chu Yilan held out his hand. "May I take a look at your phone?"

Cui Xue had no idea why, but she handed it over anyway.

In the livestream, the tall, slender "Snake Flower" happened to turn around. Though his face was heavily made up, Chu Yilan would have recognized him even if he had been reduced to ashes.

Accepting a small gift from one of the Snake Flower Fans, "Snake Flower" faced the camera, blew a gentle kiss, then smiled and winked.

Chu Yilan: "..."

He had let his guard down for one moment, and now the man had gone off to play here?

Chu Yilan memorized the streaming platform and channel name in the upper-right corner. As he pushed the door open, he instructed Yang Bin and Cui Xue to attend to other matters, returned Cui Xue's phone, and went back into his office as though nothing had happened.

Alone, Chu Yilan crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knee, remaining motionless for several minutes.

He seemed to be wrestling with himself. Then his brows drew together slightly, as though reason had lost to something else, and he impatiently pulled out his phone.

Honestly, Shen Lian had never tried this even in his previous life. He had endorsed a historical fantasy game, but that had been just like filming a period drama, nothing like cosplay.

"Snake Flower! Can we take a picture?" A cute girl approached with a flushed face, her big, watery eyes full of pleading.

Shen Lian glanced at the eager Snake Flower Fans around him and swept back his white hair with an easy gesture. "Come on."

In front of a screen, someone narrowed his eyes dangerously.

[Aaaah! I couldn't go because something came up, and now I want to break my own legs! Why didn't I go?!]

[Three seconds. I want this cosplayer's name!]

[Um, this cosplayer seems to be... probably... maybe... Shen Lian.]

What?!

The buzz on the variety-show discussion board had yet to die down when a moderator dropped a link. Bored, people clicked through, chattering and murmuring as the discussion grew louder and louder.

It really was Shen Lian!

Some rushed into the livestream, refusing to believe it, only to find Shen Lian posing for pictures with the Snake Flower Fans. His poses were alluring without losing their masculinity, and his impressive height made all the girls look petite. Every so often, he lifted his gaze, and the affection in his eyes seemed to spill across the entire screen.

Nothing else needed saying. A beauty attack like this was absolutely lethal!

Some haters had already been ready to start trashing him, but their brains stalled, and their next instinct was to take screenshots.

Soon, #Shen Lian cosplay# began climbing the trending list.

People who hadn't caught up with the news cursed and wondered what nonsense this bastard was pulling now. Meanwhile, the livestream's viewer count kept rising...

Feng Susu was grinning so hard her mouth nearly split.

He really was the chosen one!

When Shen Lian finally finished and returned to the dressing room, some Snake Flower Fans even escorted him to the door.

After taking off the cumbersome costume and headdress, Shen Lian let out a deep breath. He rolled his neck and checked the time. It was about time to go.

Four hours. He had actually stood there for four whole hours!

Before he had left that morning, Aunt Fen had said Chu Yilan would be home early today, so he couldn't linger either.

He quickly removed his makeup, changed back into his own clothes, and put on his mask. Without even having time to say goodbye to Feng Susu and Zhu Yingyu in person, he slipped out through the back door.

Feng Susu: [Dad! I'm definitely treating you to dinner!]

Shen Lian smiled, put away his phone, and took a taxi to a flower shop.

After spending quite a while choosing, he bought a bouquet of dyed baby's breath arranged in complementary colors, with two pink roses tucked inside. It looked rather pretty.

By the time he got home after all that, it was almost six.

There was still hairspray in his hair, and he was covered in sweat. Shen Lian greeted Aunt Fen, then went upstairs to shower.

After a lovely, comfortable shower, he came out to find Chu Yilan sitting on the sofa drinking tea.

"Master Chu!"

Chu Yilan ignored him.

Sensing something was wrong, Shen Lian came down from the second floor.

Circling around to face Chu Yilan, Shen Lian confirmed it: the man really was in a bad mood.

"What's wrong?" Putting on his best understanding-big-brother manner, Shen Lian sat right beside Chu Yilan, paying no mind to the cold, dark look the man turned on him. "Who upset you?"

"Get lost," Chu Yilan said in a low voice.

The more he acted like this, the closer Shen Lian pressed, until his upper body was practically draped over Chu Yilan's arm. "Come on, tell me."

That was just how Chu Yilan was. He bottled everything up inside, and unless you pried hard, you could never see what he truly thought or reach the tenderness beneath that icy shell. He had clearly achieved fame and success and lacked for nothing, yet when he got temperamental, he was as unreasonable as a child.

Shen Lian wondered how much hurt he must have endured in the past.

Looking at Shen Lian's innocent eyes and lashes like little palm-leaf fans, Chu Yilan suddenly gave a cold laugh. "You tell me. What were you doing this afternoon?"

Shen Lian froze. "Oh, I didn't let you know, but it was a last-minute decision. I went with Zhu Yingyu to a cosplay gathering Feng Susu invited us to, and helped out by cosplaying a character."

"And then?"

Shen Lian's expression gradually changed. "Master Chu, don't tell me you saw it?"

"You were putting your arms around those girls, and now you're afraid I saw?"

After saying that, Chu Yilan wanted even more to slap Shen Lian to death. He had pried the truth out of him now. Was he pleased with himself?

He wasn't.

Shen Lian blinked, then seemed to realize something and got up to go to the downstairs bathroom.

Chu Yilan's breath immediately caught in his chest.

But Shen Lian soon returned, carrying something in his hand-

Aunt Fen's treasured washboard.

Clatter! Shen Lian set the washboard down in front of Chu Yilan.

For once, Chu Yilan couldn't make sense of it. "What are you doing?"

"Kneeling," Shen Lian said. "I'm a very well-behaved husband. If the person I like is unhappy, I have to do everything I can to cheer him up. Once I've knelt, I'll explain."

With that, he bent his knees and started dropping straight onto it, without slowing himself at all. Chu Yilan's brows twitched wildly. He didn't dare imagine whether Shen Lian might shatter a meniscus by kneeling like that.

The instant Shen Lian's body sank, a strong arm caught him around the waist. He followed the momentum forward and crashed into Chu Yilan's embrace.

Now there was no need to kneel. He was sitting right on Master Chu's lap.

Only then did Shen Lian laugh, wrapping his arms around Chu Yilan's neck like a little thief whose scheme had succeeded.

Chu Yilan swayed with him.

The next moment, Shen Lian leaned close to Chu Yilan's ear and pressed his lips to the scar. It wasn't forced, nor was it an attempt to curry favor. Chu Yilan could feel it: that was genuine tenderness and affection.

"They were being so supportive. Taking pictures with them was perfectly normal. Once I become a big star, I'll have to interact with fans all the time. But trust me, I know where to draw the line. Things like this, this kind of intimacy..." Shen Lian murmured, "are only for you. I promise."

It was no exaggeration: that seamless combo left Chu Yilan seeing stars.