Shell

Wen Rui couldn't believe his ears. His head darted towards the doorway just as Zhou Ye made his grand entrance, nodding politely at Wen Guoyan as he removed his cuff-links and adjusted his sleeves, his suit jacket draped casually over one hand like he was down-dressing himself on purpose, going from formal to a more casual vibe that would suit dinner at his in-laws.

Except, there was so much bad blood between his 'husband' and his 'husband's' family that he might as well have thrown on a full suit of armour and announced that he was here as knight in shining armour, ready to wage war on Wen Rui's behalf.

Which he clearly was, and Wen Rui couldn't remember the last time he'd been so touched by anyone's kind gesture.

Zhou Ye walked over to where Wen Rui was seated chose to draw up a seat by his right hand, a move that was out of place because of how rude it was coming from someone with his upbringing but really just warmed the cockles of Wen Rui's heart. Wen Rui's face brightened up proportionally to Wen Guoyan's growing scowl but Wen Guoyan was clearly still the shrewd old fox that Wen Rui had always remembered him to be and he held his temper with admirable tenacity in front of this formidable son-in-law, whom he couldn't afford to scold.

Wen Rui had never thought that there would come a time when he could hide behind Zhou Ye's back, of all people. He wondered how Zhou Ye found out that he was here. Probably through the chauffeur, actually. The man was hired by Zhou Ye and it stood to reason that he would update Zhou Ye on his location, just in case Zhou Ye required his services.

Whatever it was, Zhou Ye had preempted the awkwardness of Wen Rui's situation and was here with him. That was all that mattered.

Zhou Ye caught Wen Rui's eye and smiled. Before Wen Rui could return it, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Wen Rui's cheeks with a startling ease, as though it was natural for him to go around displaying affection for Wen Rui in public.

As though they truly were a happy couple.

Wen Rui had to bury his face in his plate to hide his astonishment from the other three people present at the table but he didn't have to look at himself to know that his ears were betraying his embarrassment.

No one knew what to do about Zhou Ye. If Wen Rui hadn't been too busy trying to get up close and personal with his entree, he would have seen how his convenient 'stepbrother's' eyes trailed over to linger on Zhou Ye, purposefully considering, before it resumed its previous impeccability.

At length, it was Wen Guoyan who recovered first, signalling quickly for Uncle Peng to set a place for Zhou Ye too.

Lu Xiamei's smile was apologetic as she tried to strike up conversation with Zhou Ye. "It's so good of you to drop by, we've been hoping that Ah Rui would bring you home for a meal for a while now but you must both have been very busy!"

Although this young man was her junior in years and she was the 'mistress' of the house, there was something uncanny about they way he carried himself that heightened his presence, gave him a suffocating aura that was impossible to ignore. Subconsciously, her tone took on a tentative lilt that wasn't lost on Wen Rui.

This was the woman his father chose over his mother. A woman who only bared her teeth against those who she deemed weaker than her but had so little mettle that she couldn't even hold her own ground in a social context against a university student.

Wen Rui's mother had been raised into high society. She'd been born for the role, could be both daring entrepreneur, elegant socialite, and gracious host all rolled into one without tiring because it had been as natural as breathing had been to her. But this Lu Xiamei, wherever his father had dug her out from, was a different story.

He wasn't against social mobility, not at all. But to do so at the expense of homewrecking was a whole other issue. As such, he continued to toy with his food, not showing any intention to intervene in the conversation, even though he suspected that Zhou Ye was about to really make her question her life choices, any minute now.

"We are busy," Zhou Ye agreed simply. A maid had set down the next course in from of them, a seafood platter with huge juicy prawns, and Zhou Ye was the very picture of elegance even as he deshelled them, placing the pieces of succulent meat on Wen Rui's plate instead of his own. "Ruirui is especially hardworking." His eyes crinkled. "I'm really fortunate to have married such a go-getting husband, it's so much better than one that just sits around all day long and spends money, wouldn't you say?"

Wen Rui's blush had spread throughout his body by now but it worsened as he choked. Zhou Ye was starting.

Across the table, Lu Xiamei's smile faltered as though she couldn't tell whether he was implying anything or not. But before she could smooth over the moment and save some of her face, Zhou Ye was already going in for the kill.

"Not to say that there's anything wrong with Auntie's lifestyle choices," he amended. "It's just that my late mother-in-law was a busy woman and it's nice to see Wen Rui living up to her expectations for him." He ruffled Wen Rui's hair with so much doting that Wen Rui felt a pang in his chest and a mild stinging in his eyes.

Someone in this world still cared for him. It didn't matter that they weren't blood-related; he understood now that that was overrated.

Lu Xiamei gritted her teeth. Her son shot her a mild warning look but it failed to register as her face, now apoplectic from the slight, turned ruddy.

Wen Guoyan must have noticed her lost of composure to because he interrupted her retort firmly. "How are things going for you, Ah Ye?" he asked, using a familiar term of address for Zhou Ye, possibly because he was trying to remind Zhou Ye that he came from a younger generation and should mind his manners but most probably because this was his true intention at having called Wen Rui back to the house all along; Wen Rui's marriage was nothing more than a business contract to this father of his and Wen Guoyan was here to see if he could claim on any of the terms of the deal.

"They're going well, Uncle, thank you for asking."

Wen Guoyan made a tsking noise. "Still addressing me as Uncle?" he asked with a halfhearted attempt at joviality. This had never been his strong suit and it was clear even now that he hadn't made much improvement in this domain. "You're both already legally married, you should call me—"

"Ah, no, Uncle," Zhou Ye said with a hint of steel in his unwavering smile. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be appropriate, I was made aware just recently that I have cause to hold back on switching my terms of address for now." He shot Wen Rui a loving look and it was so genuine that Wen Rui wondered whether Zhou Ye would have a viable career in acting too, if he chose not to inherit his empire. Sure, they had had a couple of ambiguous moments in recent times but nothing that had ever hinted at Zhou Ye being as enamoured with him as he was playing at being now. Wen Rui was impressed.

And, he had to admit, more than tempted. He wanted this to be real, he decided. Wanted Zhou Ye to stand up for him when he wasn't strong enough to do so himself, wanted the right to protect Zhou Ye in return should it ever become necessary.

Since Zhou Ye wasn't mincing his words, Wen Guoyan stopped beating around the bush too. "I don't know what has gotten into your head," he said to Wen Rui, with a menacing heat in his gaze. "But emancipation or whatever, I will not agree to it, have I made myself clear?"

"You don't need to agree to it," was Wen Rui's even reply. "That's not the way it works."

Wen Guoyan sucked in a deep breath before deciding to reason with Zhou Ye instead. To him, this made perfect sense because when Zhou Ye had approached him regarding Wen Rui's hand, he had done so in the context of a business partnership. Wen Guoyan, who had already been disappointed with how rebellious this son of his had become, had seized the opportunity to forge an alliance. He assumed that no matter how infatuated Zhou Ye appeared right now, it was just temporary, an indulgence in his newly obtained pretty husband that would fade away with time, replaced by other people—as was the case for Wen Guoyan—and nowhere near as important as forging ties in their community.

But Zhou Ye seemed determined to go out of his way to prove Wen Guoyan wrong.

"I'm not convinced, Uncle," Zhou Ye said, after hearing Wen Guoyan's entreaty for him to talk some sense into Wen Rui. "You say that at the end of the day, no matter how much you both fight, you're still family." He looked at the other two people across the table, who had fallen very quiet once Wen Guoyan had started talking.

"That's right," was Wen Guoyan's stiff reply. "Wen Rui is my son, of course I care for him. What happened in the past was a result of our bad tempers clashing but if I wasn't concerned about his well-being, why would I—"

"Uncle," Zhou Ye interrupted. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that hadn't been there mere seconds ago and even Wen Guoyan, who was used to dealing with rich, powerful men right at the top of the social ladder, felt a shiver run down his spine.

Beneath the table, Wen Rui felt a warm hand envelope his and squeeze reassuringly. He bit on the inside of his lower lip and tangled his fingers with Zhou Ye's.

"You claim to care for your son so much, so may I ask, then who it was who prepared the dinner menu to welcome him home?"

A funny look crossed Wen Guoyan's face followed quickly by realisation as he looked down at Wen Rui's plate, which had a small mountain of delectable prawns, then back at Zhou Ye's, where the shells lay.

He turned to look at Lu Xiamei, who glared at Zhou Ye before biting out, "What is the problem, is seafood no longer to Ah Rui's taste?"

Zhou Ye let out a quiet chuckle.

"No wonder he calls you Auntie," he said. "You don't even know that he's allergic to prawn heads, has to have them very carefully removed before he can eat them."