You Zhengping gripped one of the arms and felt that the skin was ice cold, like a corpse with no body heat.

How long had the air-conditioning been on?

You Zhengping had just come in from outside. His body temperature was high, and he had always been of an ardent disposition, the sort that could give off heat at any time. 

He gripped Yu Hua’s right and left arms with both hands, transmitting warmth. At the same time, he asked, “Aren’t you cold? What temperature is the air-conditioning on?” 

“Sixteen degrees,” Yu Hua answered. “It’s all right. I’m not very cold.” 

So he was a little cold. You Zhengping grasped Yu Hua’s hands and brought them together. He slipped out of Yu Hua’s embrace, turned, and held Yu Hua’s icy cold hands in his, gently blowing warm air on them and rubbing them with his palms. 

“Even the average person wouldn’t necessarily get cold at this temperature, never mind me,” Yu Hua said tentatively. 

You Zhengping’s movements stopped. He couldn’t see Yu Hua’s expression in the dark. He could only hear the sound of his even breathing. 

He was a Protector. If he had wanted to see, he could have released a part of his power externally and used the perceptivity of his power to substitute for sight. He could have clearly “seen” Yu Hua’s expression. But You Zhengping didn’t do that. 

You Zhengping remembered Yu Hua’s diary. On the surface, his husband was a calm person who seemed not to mind anything, gentle and generous, extremely tolerant. But the Yu Hua in the diary was extremely subtle, excessively deliberative, susceptible to jealousy and anger, a person with a powerful desire for control. 

When they had just gotten married, You Zhengping had liked to stay up late. There had been dark circles around his eyes every day from playing games. In the morning, his pillow would be covered with dropped hair. This had seriously impacted Yu Hua’s sleep. 

Yu Hua had tried to persuade You Zhengping from the standpoint of staying up late being bad for your health and expressed a wish that You Zhengping would go to bed a little earlier. You Zhengping, meanwhile, had thought that he was troubling Yu Hua’s sleep, so he had chosen to go to the guest room to keep staying up late playing games. 

You Zhengping’s idea had been very simple. His thoughts hadn’t changed from dating to marriage yet. He had thought that since playing games would disturb his husband’s sleep, he would play in a different room, and that way Yu Hua could sleep well. 

What You Zhengping hadn’t known at the time was that in a different bed from himself, Yu Hua still couldn’t sleep. Every day, Yu Hua had only been able to truly go to sleep when You Zhengping had returned to the master bedroom and gotten ready to sleep. 

Ordinary newly married couples might have had a big argument over schedule problems until one side compromised with the other. 

But Yu Hua was different. He quietly stayed awake for a few nights, each day going to sleep around three or four in the morning and getting up at 5:59 to cook. 

At the very beginning, the breakfasts Yu Hua made weren’t very tasty. But after getting married, his cooking skills improved dramatically. After less than a month, it had reached the point of being so delicious it would make you bite your tongue, perfectly tailored to You Zhengping’s tastes. 

Every day, Yu Hua put breakfast on the table and went to work. By the time You Zhengping got up to eat, it would already be cold. Yu Hua would eat this cold and no longer tasty food for lunch, and if he didn’t finish it, he would eat it for dinner. If he still didn’t finish it at dinner, he would take it to work the next day. But what he made for You Zhengping was always fresh out of the pot. 

After a few days, Yu Hua had quietly let You Zhengping notice that he was eating leftover cold food, staying up, only sleeping a few hours a night. He started taking stomach medicine and flashed it around obviously in front of You Zhengping, walking around in front of You Zhengping holding his stomach. 

You Zhengping quickly discovered what Yu Hua was doing. He was concerned about Yu Hua, but there were many things he didn’t notice. You Zhengping had taken Yu Hua to the hospital to get put on an IV. In front of the doctor, Yu Hua had explained the reason for his stomach problems. When Yu Hua was better, the guilty You Zhengping had struggled to get up early in the morning to eat breakfast. After getting up early for a few days in a row, he naturally started getting sleepy earlier at night. Added to the fact that Yu Hua had increased the intensity of their exercise, You Zhengping started going to sleep earlier and earlier. 

Then Yu Hua had instilled in him the idea of going to bed early and getting up early. He had also pointed out the lost hair. His tone had contained the implication that “if you don’t sleep, I’ll also lose sleep.” You Zhengping hadn’t resisted his daily routine anymore. He had gradually developed a healthy biological clock. 

Yu Hua wouldn’t argue with him and certainly wouldn’t force him to do anything. When Yu Hua had any request, he would torment himself, then make it clear in front of You Zhengping, quietly waiting for You Zhengping to take notice.  

If You Zhengping had been careless or hadn’t paid enough attention to Yu Hua, then he would never have found out about Yu Hua’s requests. 

Then by now…they may already have been divorced, You Zhengping thought inwardly. 

Lian Yufan said that Yu Hua was a control freak, a despot, not allowing others to be disobedient towards him. He had even wondered how You Zhengping could bear it. But You Zhengping thought that wasn’t right. 

Yu Hua was only too powerful, so powerful he didn’t even realize himself that he needed someone to look after him. Yu Hua used many scheming methods to accomplish his own goals, but he would never openly say to You Zhengping, “Don’t do this, do that.” He always waited quietly for the careless You Zhengping to notice for himself. 

This time was the same. How long had that black cloak been in the suitcase? Yu Hua had hinted to him many times that he should look in the suitcase, but You Zhengping had taken little notice of it. 

He hoped that his husband would pay attention to him, longed for his husband to make changes for him but even more that he would understand everything about him. But he wouldn’t express it. Secretly holding onto his little plots, he would go around the issue, doing some things to attract notice. 

“What a difficult person…” You Zhengping sighed lengthily. 

“Are you talking about me?” There was a thread of danger in Yu Hua’s voice. “Hm?” 

But You Zhengping wasn’t afraid of him in the slightest. He said firmly, “Yes, I’m talking about you. You’re so difficult.” 

Yu Hua pulled his hands out from between You Zhengping’s palms. He put his hands, which still hadn’t warmed up after all that rubbing, on the back of You Zhengping’s neck. Holding that slender and easily broken neck, he quietly said, “Do you want to say that again?” 

You Zhengping leaned back, pressing his neck more firmly to Yu Hua’s hands. “Though it’s lucky that you have such a difficult nature. I’m glad for it.” 

Yu Hua didn’t respond. His fingertips pressed against You Zhengping’s carotid arteries. 

“I’m your partner. We promised that we wouldn’t part until death. No matter the difficulties, I’m always willing to face them with you,” You Zhengping said. “But at the same time, my background is military, and my profession is…the work of national defense. I have duties and obligations that I must fulfill. I won’t give up any of that. I know that in worldly affairs it’s hard to have everything, so instinct has made me ignore you again and again, but there would always have to be a time when I would have to face you. Are you…going to force me to choose?” 

You Zhengping’s voice shook as he asked this question. He wasn’t only asking whether Yu Hua would come clean about his identity. More than that, he was inquiring about Yu Hua’s position. 

“We’ve never been at odds,” Yu Hua said earnestly. “We’re partners. But you and your people may not trust in that.” 

“I trust you,” You Zhengping said firmly. “Do you want us to know about you?” 

The cold around Yu Hua gradually dispersed. He rubbed You Zhengping’s neck up and down and sighed quietly. “I only care about your opinions, your safety. I only want to live a peaceful life with you.” 

He didn’t want what had happened on the roof of the Xincheng Mall to happen again. He didn’t want to let his husband be seriously injured because he was hiding himself. He didn’t want his husband to lose his life in some place that he couldn’t see. For this, Yu Hua was only too glad to tell You Zhengping everything, but he also didn’t want to be controlled by the Protection Organization.

“I understand.” You Zhengping put his arms around Yu Hua’s waist. “Don’t tell me anything more. If there’s something you think I need to know, you can tell me next time we meet.” 

Tell him next time the Protector captain met the black-cloaked man. 

Yu Hua slowly let go of You Zhengping’s neck and pulled him into his arms. His lips gently touched the artery in You Zhengping’s neck, where his pulse beat. He quietly said, “All right, next time. For now we’ll live in peace.” 

Only for now? You Zhengping leaned his head against Yu Hua’s shoulder, wishing that time could stop. 

He said gloomily, “I came back without eating this morning. I want to eat your breakfast.” 

“Okay, I’ll go make some,” Yu Hua said quickly. 

You Zhengping said, “And turn off the air-conditioning. It’s cold.” 

Yu Hua agreed. “Fine, I’ll turn it off.” 

You Zhengping said, “Then there’s the curtains. It’s too dark in here. I can’t even see your face.” 

Yu Hua said, “I’ll open them right now.” 

The curtains were opened, the air-conditioning was turned off, and the warm sunlight bathed the two of them. It truly was a sweet and peaceful morning. 

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Author's Note

You Zhengping: Yu Hua isn’t a control freak, he’s only a poor baby who needs love!

Yu Hua: The half-cooked rice Xiao You made is delicious, I nearly ate the whole pot! 

Lian Yufan: Your eyesight put together isn’t as good as Yuan Luori’s!