Damn It! The Main Shou Turned Me Gay! (Showbiz) - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Husband

Something in Qi Wenyan’s mind suddenly tensed—an odd chord struck—but before he could figure out why, Chu Zhiyu spoke up first.

“Qi-ge, is the AC in the living room off?”

Qi Wenyan snapped back to reality and answered reflexively, “Yeah, it’s off. The remote’s in the drawer, I—”

Then he paused, realizing something. He looked at Chu Zhiyu with sudden clarity. “Why didn’t you say you were hot earlier, Xiao Chu? No wonder your ears are so red!”

Chu Zhiyu: “……”

He gave a well-behaved little smile. “I’ll let you know next time.”

Beep—

Qi Wenyan walked over and switched on the central air conditioning. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glass of room-temperature water on the table and downed it in one gulp.

The cool water helped ease the strange restlessness inside him.

It must be because he had been reading too much fanfiction lately—yeah, that had to be it.

Self-hypnosis complete, he turned to check on Chu Zhiyu, who was sorting through things in the kitchen.

Chu Zhiyu wiped his hands, leaned slightly back, and stepped out of the doorway. With a gentle smile, he asked, “Qi-ge, a couple bottles of condiments are expired. Is there a supermarket nearby?”

That question stumped Qi Wenyan.

To be fair, when he came back, he barely even recognized his own front door.

Smiling without a word, he pulled out his phone and quickly searched the map. Then he cleared his throat. “Yeah, there’s an H-Mart.”

To ease the awkwardness, he added, “It’s only 200 meters away. I’ll grab a shopping bag, let’s go together.”

Hearing that, Chu Zhiyu lit up with joy and replied cheerfully, “Sure, Qi-ge.”

Half an hour later, standing at the entrance of the supermarket, Qi Wenyan instantly regretted it.

It was the weekend—of course the place was packed. The walk from the gated community wasn’t bad; with how pricey that neighborhood was, there were hardly any people on the way. But inside the supermarket, it was a different story.

He and Chu Zhiyu both stood out—tall, lean, both wearing hats and masks. Among the families, couples, and girlfriends shopping in groups, they looked very conspicuous.

Qi Wenyan glanced around. Most people pushing carts were either families or couples.

Their combination…

Qi Wenyan forced out a dry laugh.

With how low-profile they were these days, they probably wouldn’t be unlucky enough to get photographed at a supermarket, right?

Chu Zhiyu stood close by his side, gently nudging the cart forward. He leaned in and asked softly, “Qi-ge, if you’re worried about being spotted, we could just head back and order delivery instead.”

His voice had a subtle hint of grievance and acted like he was seeking comfort.

Qi Wenyan: “……”

He took a deep breath, then strode forward. “What’s there to be afraid of? Come on! We’re just shopping. It’s not a big deal!”

Chu Zhiyu pushed the cart obediently behind him, like a giant puppy keychain attached to him.

H-Mart was well-stocked, but they were only staying in Jiangcheng for three days, so there was no need to stock up too much.

Despite his earlier big talk, Qi Wenyan’s cooking skills were barely enough to keep himself alive—don’t even mention shopping for groceries.

Thankfully, under Chu Zhiyu’s lead, they swept through the produce and fresh food sections. Just as they were about to check out, Chu Zhiyu suddenly stopped.

Qi Wenyan followed his gaze—and saw the crabs crawling in the water tank.

Chu Zhiyu chuckled. “Qi-ge, want to eat spicy stir-fried crab with rice cakes? First, coat the crabs in flour and fry them to set the shape. Then stir-fry with seasonings, and finally simmer with the rice cakes until the sauce thickens.”

As he described the dish in that slow, deep voice, Qi Wenyan could almost smell the aroma.

He swallowed hard, shamefully, and nodded without hesitation. “Yes!”

Trying not to seem totally useless, Qi Wenyan quickly offered some praise: “I didn’t expect you to be so good at cooking, Xiao Chu. You can even make something that complicated?!”

Walking side by side with him, Chu Zhiyu gave a soft “mm” and winked. “As long as Qi-ge likes it. You like crab, right?”

Qi Wenyan nodded dramatically and sighed, “Come to think of it, you always nail my taste. All those little meals we had on set—you never once served something I didn’t like!”

He nudged Chu Zhiyu playfully. “Be honest, did you secretly research me?”

But Chu Zhiyu just calmly said, “Qi-ge doesn’t eat ginger or raw garlic. Doesn’t like cilantro. Can only handle a small amount of green onion. Only eats boneless fish. Doesn’t eat offal. Prefers shrimp that doesn’t need peeling and crab you can eat straight.”

Qi Wenyan froze.

Chu Zhiyu said all that so casually, like it was just some ordinary fact.

Then he turned to Qi Wenyan and smiled. That sharp, cool face instantly softened and transformed back into the innocent, gentle Xiao Chu he knew.

“We’ve eaten together so many times—I’ve memorized your preferences.”

Qi Wenyan felt… something was a bit off. But he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

He hadn’t expected Chu Zhiyu to be so attentive about his tastes.

Qi-ge suddenly felt ashamed.

As a friend, he really couldn’t compare to Chu Zhiyu.

He slapped the cart handle with resolve and grabbed Chu Zhiyu’s wrist. Under the latter’s surprised gaze, he declared solemnly:

“From now on, Xiao Chu, you have to tell me all your food allergies and dislikes!”

Chu Zhiyu blinked, then smiled helplessly.

He raised his brows. “Sure.”

Watching Qi Wenyan excitedly rush to the seafood section, Chu Zhiyu couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head.

How could he not remember Qi-ge’s preferences?

After all, every dish he had ever learned to cook was one he liked.

“Xiao Chu!”

The familiar shout snapped Chu Zhiyu out of his thoughts. He looked over to see Qi Wenyan waving at him.

When Chu Zhiyu rolled the cart over, he heard Qi Wenyan asking the store clerk, “Excuse me, how many crabs should we buy for the stir-fried crab and rice cake dish?”

The clerk glanced at them, a knowing look in her eyes. “Just the two of you eating? Four crabs should be enough. If you really like crab, you can add two more.”

You and… who?

Qi Wenyan’s brain short-circuited. Before he could clarify, Chu Zhiyu politely replied:

“Then we’ll take four. Thanks.”

The clerk smiled brightly as she packed up the crabs and handed them over.

Now it’d just be awkward to explain, right?

Qi Wenyan rubbed his fingers nervously.

Just then, Chu Zhiyu placed the bag of crabs in the cart and looked over. “Qi-ge? Shall we go check out?”

“…Yeah.” Qi Wenyan gave up on explaining and followed behind.

As they walked away, the young clerk pulled out her phone during shift change and excitedly messaged her bestie about the drop-dead gorgeous gay couple she just saw buying crabs.

Who would’ve thought real life had such a stunning CP?!

Her bestie had been obsessed with some screenwriter x actor ship lately. But honestly? Real-life CPs were way sweeter than any publicity stunt.

They returned home to the villa carrying bags of groceries, barely having caught their breath when both of their phones—left on the dining table—started vibrating like crazy.

Qi Wenyan, arms full and hands busy unpacking, casually grabbed one phone and answered.

“Hello?”

There was a strange pause on the other end. Right when Qi Wenyan was starting to feel confused, a cautious voice finally spoke:

“…Qi-laoshi?”

The voice sounded familiar.

He’d just heard it recently, hadn’t he?

Something about the hesitant and confused tone made Qi Wenyan glance down at the phone in his hand.

And when he saw the case—he nearly blacked out.

It was Chu Zhiyu’s phone!

Just then, a hand reached over and tapped the screen to show the caller ID:

Qian Ning.

Qi Wenyan’s fingers twitched. His first instinct was to throw the phone back at Chu Zhiyu, his embarrassment rushing all the way from his neck to his face.

But the phone’s owner gave him no chance to retreat.

Chu Zhiyu smiled and casually turned on speaker mode while Qi Wenyan still held the phone. “Qian-ge, I’m here. What’s up?”

Qian Ning: !!!

The veteran manager actually choked, countless thoughts racing through his head.

No way, right?!

Could the rumors on the trending page… be real?! The young master moved this fast?!

Qi Wenyan threw Chu Zhiyu a glare and mouthed silently: “Ex—plain—your—self—”

Chu Zhiyu raised his hands in surrender and explained, “I’m with Qi-laoshi. He picked up the wrong phone. Qian-ge, did you need something urgent?”

That’s your idea of an explanation??

Qian Ning swallowed nervously and started mentally prepping a crisis PR plan.

But before he could get lost in future disasters, a more pressing matter came to light.

Qian Ning cleared his throat, going into work mode: “Xiao Chu, did you and Qi-laoshi… go to H-Mart just now?”

Qi Wenyan: !!!

Damn. That bad feeling really was right.

He took a deep breath, deadpan: “We got photographed again?”

Qian Ning’s voice carried a mix of helplessness and… resignation:

“Getting photographed isn’t the worst part. The issue is a small influencer just posted her chat with her friend online, and… well, it’s a bit hard to explain.”

Even someone as sharp as Qi Wenyan couldn’t immediately connect the dots.

Chu Zhiyu handed him his phone.

Qi Wenyan opened Weibo while Qian Ning continued, “First, this influencer is a CP fan of you and Xiao Chu. Second—her friend just so happens to be working part-time… at H-Mart.”

At the same time, Qi Wenyan opened the chat log.

OMG I just saw the hottest gay couple buying crabs!!! The “more uke” guy didn’t know how many to get so he called his HUSBAND over ahhhhhhhhh I’m losing it KSJLW!!!!

Qi Wenyan: “……”

Did he read that right?

Whose husband?!