As the person paying, You Zhengping naturally wanted to let Yu Hua as the guest order the food. 

Yu Hua chose a few dishes that You Zhengping liked. He didn’t have a strong taste for good food. There weren’t any foods he particularly liked, nor any he disliked. What he liked was watching You Zhengping eating with gusto. 

In fact, You Zhengping wasn’t a picky eater, either. He ate everything. But he would eat with enjoyment when he encountered something he liked. 

“This is all what I like. What about you?” You Zhengping was a little dissatisfied when he saw the menu selections. 

“I like whatever you like.” Yu Hua wasn’t trotting out a cheesy pick-up line or going through the motions. Only when he saw You Zhengping eating happily would Yu Hua feel that the tasteless food had taken on flavor. 

Hearing him say this, You Zhengping felt even more guilty. He didn’t know how to question Yu Hua. 

Yu Hua, meanwhile, naturally poured a cup of green tea for You Zhengping and casually said, “I just found a job. I hadn’t had time to tell you yet. How did you know? News travels fast.” 

Yu Hua didn’t suspect You Zhengping. He had known his husband for so many years; he had the most fundamental faith in him. 

You Zhengping downed the green tea in the cup as though it were plain water. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I, I asked Cen Xiao to get his friend at the job center to look out for information about you. You’ve been looking for work lately and haven’t wanted to tell me about it, so I was kind of worried.” 

He lowered his head guiltily. “I’m sorry. I should have given you your space.” 

“What’s the problem?” Yu Hua naturally refilled You Zhengping’s teacup. “You didn’t ask me about my job-hunting every day. You considerately asked around in private. You left me enough space, and you were secretly looking out for me. I’m very happy.” 

How could Yu Hua be so nice?! Hearing his answer, You Zhengping nearly started to cry. Yu Hua was a sweet fool. No wonder he had been fired by his old company for offending an executive. It had certainly been the executive’s fault. 

“I feel very bad.” You Zhengping clutched the teacup with both hands, not daring to look up. 

Seeing You Zhengping with his head down, not moving, Yu Hua took his hand and held it, saying, “Everyone sometimes gets into a gloomy mood. When I’m sad, I just think that there’s someone secretly looking out for me, who will work hard to prop me up no matter how down and out I am. You don’t need to feel apologetic. I should be thanking you.” 

You Zhengping raised his head and looked into Yu Hua’s eyes, thinking, This must be my genuine Yu Hua. Lian Yufan is just stirring up trouble. And Zhen Li is just using Yu Hua’s kindness to trick him. 

Thinking of the Destroyer Zhen Li, You Zhengping felt a sense of crisis. If Zhen Li hadn’t tricked Yu Hua into working at his studio, Yu Hua wouldn’t have been suspected by the Protection Organization. No matter what the outcome of the investigation was, You Zhengping had to convince Yu Hua to resign! 

“Since you’re not annoyed about me worrying about you, then there are a few things I want to say to you.” You Zhengping rubbed Yu Hua’s palm with the pads of his fingers. 

The palm of Yu Hua’s hand was ticklish from being rubbed. With a quiet laugh, he said, “What do you command?” 

“You were a senior manager at one of the country’s top one-hundred enterprises. You have such high qualifications. Can’t you get any job you want? Why do you have to go work at that crappy studio?” You Zhengping asked unhappily. “I had Cen Xiao look into it. President Zhen’s studio was registered only three days ago, and he hadn’t even finished the paperwork to suspend his university studies before running off to start a business. He’s so unreliable!” 

You Zhengping couldn’t mention topics like “Destroyers,” “danger,” or “plot.” He had to rack his brains for reasons. 

Yu Hua had known all along that his husband would be unsatisfied with this job. No normal person would be satisfied. But he had already thought of an excuse. 

“Of course I know his studio is irregular.” Prepared to lie to his husband, Yu Hua didn’t want to face You Zhengping’s pure eyes with his own crafty face. He lowered his head and looked down at their clasped hands, reciting his lines according to plan. “But, Pingping, I’ve been working for five years since graduating university. In another three years, I’ll be thirty.” 

“So you’re youthful and promising. Your talents are wasted at Zhen Li’s studio,” You Zhengping said firmly. 

Yu Hua continued reciting his lines. “There’s a saying that goes, ‘A man should be able to stand on his own feet by the age of thirty.’ In fact, before leaving my last job, I was uneasy, but I never dared to tell you.” 

“Uneasy about what?” You Zhengping asked, not understanding. 

Yu Hua said, “I looked at my profession, the space for advancement, the peak of the industry, and saw that I might be only a human resources senior manager for the rest of my life. Of course, the title of ‘senior manager’ sounds very dignified, but what is there behind it? On call to work overtime at any hour, bosses ordering you around, more and more new people who want their freedom and are hard to manage, caught helplessly between the high and low ranks, and…yourself in a daily decline.

“Pingping, do you remember how many times I couldn’t make breakfast or dinner for you because I was working overtime? In three years, there were 176 breakfasts and 459 dinners. To this day, we’ve been married 1072 days, and for half that time, I’ve been unable to be by your side. Aren’t you sad when I’m not home?” 

“Yes, I get lonely, but that’s work, isn’t it?” You Zhengping’s face gradually flushed. He hadn’t expected Yu Hua to be hiding so many thoughts. “And you’ve been so anxious, but I didn’t notice it at all, only wanted you to make food every day. I’ve really been falling short.” 

Absolutely not! Yu Hua frowned. He loved that life. He enjoyed the feeling of real living that way. He liked working overtime and getting messages from You Zhengping that said, “Finish work soon and come home, I miss you.” It motivated him! 

He had originally planned to wait until the mortgage had been paid off, then stop working as a senior manager, leave the high-pressure human resources department, and transfer to a comparatively leisurely department to live out his later years. Those were his true wishes! 

But now, the System had recovered, his abilities were gradually being unsealed, and levelers were appearing in this world… All of this put together was forcing Yu Hua to do battle whether he wanted to or not. He had already cleared, but now he had to take up his old profession again, perhaps even endanger his family! 

Yu Hua untruthfully said, “So I’ve given myself three years. Before turning thirty, I’ll attempt to build a business from scratch. I want to know where the limit of my abilities is. I want to try challenging myself. I want to give you a steadier and more comfortable life.” 

You Zhengping couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears flowed freely down his face. Choked with emotion, he said, “I’m the one who’s been pressuring you too hard.” 

“No.” Yu Hua gently picked up a tissue and wiped away his years. “You’re my motivation for forging on ahead.” 

Yu Hua looked at You Zhengping’s tears, feeling desolate. He’d made his husband cry with his fake reasons. 

“But why does it have to be Zhen Li’s studio?” You Zhengping said, not giving up despite his sadness. 

Yu Hua had thought of a reason for this, too. He smiled faintly and said, “The first point is, his stringent requirements for candidates show that Zhen Li is ambitious. He suspended his university studies to start a business and began recruiting high grade employees from a weak position. I admire that bravery and self-confidence. I didn’t expect a modern young man to have such drive. He makes me feel that it’s worth the struggle!” 

You Zhengping: “…” 

He very much wanted to grab Yu Hua by the shoulder and give him a strong shake, shout, “Wake up!” Zhen Li doesn’t have drive, he has an overinflated sense of his own abilities! 

Yu Hua continued talking total nonsense. “Second, the time limit of the contract he gave me is very good. It’s precisely three years. I plan to start a business before thirty. If I don’t have any success before turning thirty, I’ll go look for another job. With my prior experience, it won’t be very hard to find work at thirty. It’s very suitable.” 

You Zhengping: “…” 

In fact, he had a support staff position that Yu Hua could use no matter how old he was. There was no need to think about the term of Zhen Li’s contract. 

Nearly finished reciting his lines, Yu Hua briskly said, “Third, Zhen Li is extremely young. He has the energy and potential of the young, and also the lack of experience and foolishness of the young. He and I arranged that I would participate in operating the studio and in human resources management, and hold 40% of the company’s stock. 

“Also, I have a mean idea that I’ll only tell you. Zhen Li is immature. I can easily persuade him, use my professional experience to brainwash him. I’ll have the greatest say in building the business and be able to make the studio develop in the direction of my ideas.” 

You Zhengping: “…” 

Yu Hua understood You Zhengping too well. The reasons he had prepared in advance put a stop to each of You Zhengping’s protests. 

You Zhengping had wanted to bring up the studio’s unreliability as a reason, and Yu Hua had said, Unreliability is for the best, I can undermine the boss; You Zhengping had wanted to say that a start-up could fail, and Yu Hua had said, I’m allowing for my own failure, it’s an opportunity I’m giving myself; You Zhengping had wanted to say that there were lots of companies that wanted to employ him, and Yu Hua had said, I’ve come to a professional bottleneck and can’t take the work anymore, I want go out and take a risk. 

Yu Hua had precisely predicted all the persuasion methods You Zhengping had prepared; they had all died in the womb before getting out of his mouth. 

The food was brought out. You Zhengping didn’t know what he could say. He covered up by eating. This was all food that he liked to eat, but You Zhengping didn’t taste it. With difficulty, he put the food in his mouth and chewed it mechanically, swallowing without any joy. 

Yu Hua felt guilty and grieved. He also couldn’t eat. The two of them ate this meal without paying attention to it, merely shoving food into their stomachs. 

You Zhengping snuck a look at Yu Hua, saw that Yu Hua was focused on picking out fishbones, and quickly sent Cen Xiao a message: How can I get him to quit?

Cen Xiao, a grand master of emotions when there was something to take care of and a meal-scrounging rascal when there wasn’t, had returned to the base to listen in after parting from You Zhengping. He had already heard Yu Hua’s reasons. 

Yu Hua’s explanations left them with nothing to say. Even the eavesdropping group suspected this was only a coincidence. 

As You Zhengping’s diehard follower, Cen Xiao was particularly worried for him. Receiving You Zhengping’s request for assistance, he wrestled over it for an age before responding: You only talk principles with outsiders. Family doesn’t need reasons. You can just flat out refuse to listen.

When You Zhengping read this message, his eyes lit up. He thought about his displeasure when Zhen Li had been dancing in front of Yu Hua and the fans had been saying “despotic director and cute president” on the barrage. He instantly had a new excuse. 

What was he doing reasoning with his partner? Talking reason wasn’t the way to get the upper hand in a marriage. Today, he would be completely unreasonable!

You Zhengping stabbed the bottom of his bowl with his chopsticks, making a very loud noise, indicating that he was unsatisfied. 

Yu Hua looked at his husband in surprise. He ought to have already persuaded Pingping. What else what his husband unsatisfied about? 

After succeeding in getting Yu Hua’s attention, You Zhengping loudly said, “I just don’t like you working with him. He’s younger and better-looking than me, the livestream fans ship you two, and he called me ‘uncle.’ He was deliberately calling me old. I don’t approve!” 

Yu Hua absolutely hadn’t expected this. He stared blankly, disbelief written all over his face. 

You Zhengping pounded the table. He wasn’t being the considerate family member today, he was being a troublesome little demon! 

“What’s that expression? Why aren’t you answering? Are you feeling guilty? Have you had a change of affections?” You Zhengping accused. 

“No, no.” Yu Hua quickly waved his hands. “I just never thought that… In the eyes of outsiders, can Zhen Li really match up to you? It’s like someone telling me the manmade lake in the park next door is wider than the East Sea. I was having trouble accepting such a viewpoint.” 

You Zhengping: “!!!” 

Yu Hua’s tone was sincere, his expression not faked at all. He was in earnest. This attitude instantly filled You Zhengping with joy. He couldn’t work up a temper. He couldn’t even resist smiling. 

“I didn’t think that you…saw me like that.” You Zhengping patted his thick hair, awkwardly saying, “I always thought I was a weirdo with rainbow hair to you.” 

When he mentioned the circumstances of their first meeting, Yu Hua also couldn’t restrain a smile. He simply got up and went to sit next to You Zhengping. Smiling, he said, “You also look good with a normal hairstyle.” 

They held hands tightly, their hearts growing another step closer together. 

After they ate, You Zhengping called Cen Xiao while he was settling the bill. “What do I do? I can’t work up a temper. I can’t stand to upset him.” 

Cen Xiao said, “…I’ll sew my mouth shut if I have to look after you two again!” 

At the same time, Yu Hua expressionlessly got out a makeup mirror and used his small remaining amount of unsealed power to send Zhen Li a message: My husband thinks there’s something worth looking at about your flat face. While I can’t see anything good about it, to relieve my husband’s worries, please go run into a pole tonight to disfigure your face. Otherwise, I’ll do it myself.

Zhen Li: “…” 

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Author's Note

Yu Hua: Tomorrow I’ll disfigure your face. 

Zhen Li, working hard to practice dance and planning to use his good looks to make money: …