What If I Ended Up Marrying My Enemy? - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Roses

 

It was a completely unexpected response. Just when everyone thought their relationship was a case of love blossoming after marriage, Yu Wenxuan said, “I’ve liked him for seven years.”

 

Yu Zhixue froze in front of the screen.

 

Online, this single sentence stirred up a huge wave of speculation, but Yu Zhixue no longer had the energy to pay attention. At that moment, all he could do was stare into Yu Wenxuan’s eyes from afar.

 

After answering that question, Yu Wenxuan waved at the camera and turned to leave, the camera capturing his retreating back as he exited.

 

…

 

Yu Wenxuan checked the time, exited through the back of the venue, and went directly to the basement garage.

 

It wasn’t as warm outside as it was inside the venue. He took off his original jacket in the car and changed into a gray overcoat.

 

Then he started the car and made a video call to Yu Zhixue.

 

His phone vibrated lightly and was quickly picked up.

 

The speed was a bit too fast. Yu Wenxuan narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. “Are you actually working?”

 

Yu Zhixue, clearly guilty, didn’t dare answer. He just silently reached out his hand.

 

Yu Wenxuan took off his glasses. Without the barrier, his eyes looked especially clear—completely different from the gentle appearance on camera earlier.

 

Yu Zhixue touched his phone screen with his fingers, trying to reach his eyes.

 

Yu Wenxuan, unaware of what he was doing, just saw Yu Zhixue seemingly zoning out. So he curled his finger and tapped the camera twice.

 

It was as if he had tapped Yu Zhixue’s forehead. Instinctively, Zhixue leaned back a little. Realizing what he had just done, he puffed his cheeks in frustration.

 

“What was that for?” Yu Zhixue asked while tapping the camera in retaliation.

 

Seeing this, Yu Wenxuan curved his lips into a smile. “You were just staring and not moving. I thought my phone had frozen.”

 

“Oh.” Yu Zhixue put down his hand again and leaned closer to the camera. “Are you on your way over?”

 

He leaned in too close—the angle was unflattering—but still ridiculously good-looking, with the soft shadows under his lashes faintly visible.

 

Yu Wenxuan replied, “Yes. I’m already on the road. If there’s no traffic, about fifteen minutes.”

 

Yu Zhixue blinked. “Which road are you taking?”

 

Yu Wenxuan tapped the navigation, and the electronic voice reported a street name.

 

Yu Zhixue placed his phone beside the pile of documents, freeing his hands. His pupils were wide as he said, “Then can you help me bring something along the way?”

 

Yu Wenxuan had a bad feeling. “What is it?”

 

“There’s a new flavor of ice cream at the commercial street.” Yu Zhixue said, “I heard about it just now while stepping out for some fresh air.”

 

Yu Wenxuan stared at him in silence. After a moment, he silently considered changing routes. But the next second, the person on the other side of the screen moved.

 

Yu Zhixue clasped his hands together and pressed them against his lips, softly pleading, “Please… gege.”

 

“……”

 

Seeing that gesture, Yu Wenxuan suddenly remembered something—Zhixue had once said he secretly made a wish in the hospital.

 

Yu Wenxuan had zero resistance to this version of Yu Zhixue, so shamefully, he gave in.

 

When he got out of the car, he slipped on a face mask and went to the address Zhixue sent him.

 

Maybe it was lunchtime, but the place wasn’t crowded.

 

Yu Wenxuan walked in, glanced at the dessert menu, and asked, “Which one’s the sweetest?”

 

The staff pointed to a pink ice cream. “This peach flavor is probably our sweetest one.”

 

Yu Wenxuan said, “I’ll take that one.”

 

He paid immediately.

 

The shop’s prices were a bit steep, but the presentation was great. Since Wenxuan was taking it to-go, they even added two ice packs.

 

Although Yu Zhixue wouldn’t admit it, he clearly had no resistance to sweet and aesthetically pleasing desserts.

 

Yu Wenxuan looked at the ice cream in his hand. This time, he figured Zhixue wouldn’t just eat one bite and obediently hand the rest over. But the portion wasn’t too big anyway.

 

Holding the dessert bag, he walked out of the shop. After just a few steps toward his car, something else caught his eye.

 

A few young people were selling roses nearby. They looked fresh—probably just picked—and came in many colors.

 

After hesitating for a few seconds, he walked over to take a look.

 

He stood tall, dressed in understated luxury. One glance, and he screamed “rich guy.”

 

One of the young sellers asked, “Sir, what color flowers would you like? Ours are really affordable. One bouquet for this price, and we’ll even wrap it for you.”

 

He held up a hand to show the price.

 

Yu Wenxuan scanned the flowers and said, “Pink and white.”

 

“Got it!” The vendor quickly picked out a dozen pink-and-white roses. Just as he was about to wrap them, Yu Wenxuan interrupted.

 

“Can I do it myself?”

 

The vendor was stunned for a moment, then quickly recovered. “Of course, of course.”

 

Yu Wenxuan put down his other things, took the roses, selected a few complementary flowers and foliage, and pulled out some wrapping paper.

 

The group of young people had assumed he was just impulsively buying flowers, but they were soon dumbfounded.

 

Yu Wenxuan’s wrapping technique was skilled, with an excellent sense of aesthetic. He finished quickly, hugged the bouquet to his chest, and picked up the rest of his items.

 

“Looks like you buy flowers often,” one of the vendors said after watching him work.

 

Yu Wenxuan didn’t respond, just handed over the money.

 

This skill, truthfully, he’d picked up back when he was chasing Yu Zhixue.

 

He wanted to send Zhixue bouquets, but didn’t trust others to handle them, so he learned to do it himself.

 

Though in the beginning, the results were… not pretty.

 

Back then, Zhixue stared at the bouquet for a long time and asked, “Didn’t you ask for a refund after watching that florist wrap this?”

 

Yu Wenxuan chuckled helplessly. “I wrapped it myself. Is it really that bad?”

 

When he looked up, he saw the faintest smile tugging at Zhixue’s lips—and realized Zhixue had known all along.

 

“If I say it is kind of ugly,” Zhixue asked, “would you still give me flowers next time?”

 

Yu Wenxuan said, “Then I’ll wait until I can wrap them beautifully before giving them to you again.”

 

…

 

Yu Wenxuan put everything in the passenger seat, buckled up, and resumed driving.

 

When he walked into the front lobby of the Yu Group holding the bouquet and dessert, it was just past noon. Most employees were at lunch, so the lobby was almost empty.

 

He made it to the elevator without drawing too much attention.

 

When he opened the door to Yu Zhixue’s office, he found it empty. So he set down the flowers and ice cream, then turned to look for him.

 

He could have just messaged or called—but he didn’t want to.

 

He opened several empty meeting room doors before finally spotting a familiar figure at the pantry.

 

Yu Zhixue was standing there, supposedly getting water.

 

But his office had its own private water dispenser.

 

Yu Wenxuan walked a bit closer and discovered that Zhixue was sneakily watching something on his phone.

 

His expressions changed constantly—smiling one second, puffing his cheeks in frustration the next, muttering something under his breath.

 

Wenxuan suddenly felt his heart melt.

 

He silently approached and stood behind Yu Zhixue, waiting to see when he’d notice.

 

Perhaps Zhixue got tired of standing still and shifted back a bit—only to bump right into Wenxuan.

 

The moment he did, Zhixue quickly hid his phone and tried to step away. But a laugh sounded behind him.

 

Zhixue stopped moving, then slowly leaned back into Wenxuan, resting the back of his head on his shoulder and looking up.

 

“What are you looking at, so focused, little darling?” Wenxuan asked.

 

Zhixue blushed. “Just something random.”

 

“Oh? Just something random?” Wenxuan repeated. “Then can I take a look?”

 

Zhixue hesitated. It wasn’t anything secretive, so he unlocked his phone and handed it over.

 

Wenxuan glanced at it. It was filled with netizens’ speculations about his earlier answer.

 

“If we do the math, seven years ago was college. So does that mean he married a college classmate? Anyone from his class here to confirm?”
“I was in his year. He was super popular back then, but I never saw anyone close to him, except one guy who was clearly just a friend.”
“Okay, so no clues from there either?”
“Anyone around him that stood out back then?”
“Actually, now that you mention it, there was someone unforgettable. All these years later, I still remember that guy when talking about Yu Wenxuan.”
“So we’ve basically solved it?”
“But wait, wasn’t that the guy Yu Wenxuan hated?”

 

…

 

Wenxuan skimmed through the comments and immediately understood why Zhixue had seemed upset.

 

“Don’t be sad,” Wenxuan said gently. “One day, everyone will know the truth. They’ll all know I love you.”

 

Zhixue looked up. “I’m not upset.”

 

Maybe a little defensive, but not truly upset.

 

Because he knew Yu Wenxuan was seriously trying to make their relationship public. He truly wanted the world to know.

 

He hadn’t said much directly, but Wenxuan still picked up on the unspoken feelings.

 

He reached out and flicked Zhixue’s eyelashes. The unexpected shadow and ticklish sensation made Zhixue instinctively close his eyes.

 

In the darkness, he felt a kiss fall softly on his nose.

 

Wenxuan lifted his head. Zhixue turned to face him.

 

Their gazes met briefly—then they kissed, unable to hold back.

 

It was restrained, gentle but deeply entangled. Just a few seconds, but more than enough.

 

“…Back to the office,” Zhixue gasped, tugging Wenxuan’s collar.

 

…

 

On the other side of the pantry, an employee nearly dropped his water cup.

 

There were too many people downstairs, so he came up to the shared pantry. Just as he was filling his cup and looked up—he saw them.

 

One was the now-famous Yu Wenxuan. The other…

 

He squinted hard, trying to confirm—until the other man tilted his head up, and he recognized him instantly.

 

No way. Was that… President Yu?!

 

Before he could recover from that shock, he watched Yu Wenxuan kiss Yu Zhixue’s nose.

 

That alone might’ve been excused as a mistake—but then they started kissing.

 

Even from a distance, the overflowing affection was unmistakable.

 

He stumbled out of the pantry and went downstairs.

 

Back at his desk, his colleagues noticed how pale he looked. “What happened? You look like your soul was drained just getting water.”

 

“More than that,” he said with a dry smile.

 

“What did you see?”

 

“Nothing much.” He smiled faintly. “Just happened to see someone kissing.”

 

“WHAT?!” One colleague almost spat out their water. “But the only one upstairs right now is… President Yu.”

 

“Exactly.” He wiped his face and added, “So I just saw President Yu and Yu Wenxuan kissing.”

 

Nearby colleagues eavesdropping: “!!”

 

The news spread fast. The previously quiet company group chat exploded.

 

“@Assistant Ji Hua, when you said their relationship suddenly improved, did you mean kissing-level improved? I see now.”
“We all underestimated Ji Hua’s wording skills. No wonder he’s the assistant—how long have you been hiding this?!”
“I just saw the news about Yu Wenxuan’s interview. Liked him for seven years? Why were our companies fighting then? They’re practically in-laws!”
“I’ve always called him ‘that Yu guy’ or ‘the dude from the rival company.’ What do I call him now?!”

 

Finally free from the weight of secrecy, Ji Hua let out a long breath and joined in the chaos:

 

“Actually, I’ve thought about this for a while.”
“Maybe… you could start calling him ‘Madam’?”