Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 167

Zhao Beichuan packed up his tools and was about to leave.

Lu Yao hurriedly called out to him, “How much? I’ll transfer it to you.”

“No need, you overpaid me yesterday.”

“Fair is fair, I can’t let you come all this way for nothing.” Lu Yao took out his phone, ready to send him a red envelope.

“Fifty.”

Lu Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “Your fee is way too cheap. Last time my drain was clogged, and just a simple unclogging cost me two hundred.”

There was also a hint of a smile in Zhao Beichuan’s eyes. “My main job is food delivery. Electrical and plumbing repairs are just a side gig. I only take jobs in a few nearby neighborhoods to make some extra living expenses.”

Lu Yao handed him a bottle of mineral water and, at the same time, transferred a red envelope of 66 yuan to him on WeChat. When passing the water, his fingers brushed against Zhao Beichuan’s palm, and both of them froze for a moment. Zhao Beichuan thanked him and turned to leave.

After he left, Lu Yao covered his face, his heart pounding wildly again.

That guy is really handsome, with a great physique. Especially those muscles—they’re enough to get the blood boiling.

But liking someone was one thing. It was just his own little fantasy. He had no intention of turning a straight guy, and besides, straight guys wouldn’t turn.

As usual, he watched a movie at night. Maybe because of the guy earlier, he was feeling a certain way, so Lu Yao took out his laptop and looked for a private collection.

He remembered downloading a film before, where the top had a body that looked a lot like that guy. Hmm, this should work.

He turned off the lights, put on his headphones, and started playing the video.

The plot in these kinds of films was usually rough, but as luck would have it, this one also featured a repairman and a male homeowner… And even more coincidentally, the bottom’s body shape was somewhat similar to his own.

The size difference between the two was significant. The top could lift the bottom with just one arm. What followed was a scene too fast to describe.

Lu Yao took a deep breath, pulled his pants down slightly, and started touching himself.

Maybe last night’s dream had been too intense, because tonight, even after working at it for a while, he still couldn’t get into the right state. Instead, his body just felt even more uncomfortable.

Watching the colliding bodies in the video, Lu Yao twisted his waist in frustration, feeling unbearably empty. He hurried to his study and dug out a little toy he had bought before.

It took some effort to get it in, and just as he pressed the switch, his phone rang…

Lu Yao was startled. Who would be calling him at this hour? He quickly paused the video and reached for his phone to check.

It was an unfamiliar number. He hesitated for a moment before answering, “Hello, who’s this?”

“Uh, I’m the one who just fixed your pipes. I think I left my wrench at your place.”

The familiar voice entered his ears, and coupled with the vibrations from the toy, Lu Yao couldn’t hold back a light gasp.

The phone fell into an awkward silence for two seconds. Lu Yao cleared his throat to cover it up. “Oh, do you want to come get it now?”

“If it’s inconvenient, I can come tomorrow.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Lu Yao’s throat was dry, his body trembling uncontrollably, and he felt like he was about to lose it.

“I’ll head over now, then.”

“Okay… I’ll, um, press the button for the elevator.”

After hanging up, Lu Yao quickly finished, wiped his body clean with some tissues, and rushed to open the door and call the elevator.

A few minutes later, Zhao Beichuan stepped out of the elevator. He thought Lu Yao would just hand him the wrench at the door, but instead, he saw Lu Yao standing there, face flushed, eyes watery, seemingly lost in thought.

“I’ll go inside and look for it.”

“Okay, sure.” Lu Yao opened the door, and they entered one after the other.

That was when he suddenly realized—his laptop was still on, and the screen was frozen on a very explicit scene of the two characters going at it…

AAAAHHHHH!!!

Lu Yao dashed forward and slammed the screen shut, his face turning a deep purple-red. If there were a hole in the ground, he would’ve crawled in and buried himself alive.

Zhao Beichuan was also a bit embarrassed. Pretending not to see anything, he walked straight to the bathroom and found his wrench on top of the washing machine.

“I’m heading out. Call me if you need anything.”

“Oh, okay… sure…”

Only after the door closed did Lu Yao snap out of it. Lowering his head, he banged it against his laptop repeatedly.

Dear heavens, this was beyond humiliating. He might as well just end it all.

“Darling… darling…”

Zhao Beichuan woke up to a series of sticky, clinging calls. His eyes snapped open, and he realized that the first light of dawn was already seeping through the door crack.

Grabbing his phone, he checked the time—6:30 AM! He had overslept by two whole hours.

Hurriedly, he got up and changed clothes. When he pulled up his pants, he noticed a damp, sticky feeling down there. He quickly changed into a fresh pair of underwear, scratched his head in confusion, then grabbed a basin and went to the public restroom to clean himself up.

By the time he was done, it was already 6:30. Today, he broke his usual routine and rode his electric scooter to the market.

At this hour, most of the unloading at the market was nearly finished. After wandering around for a while, he saw that only the Wu family’s fruit stall still had two truckloads left to be unloaded.

Zhao Beichuan found the boss lady annoying, but he couldn’t say no to money. So, he braced himself and went over to ask if she still needed help unloading.

“Yes! I was waiting for you, little brother.” The woman immediately sidled up to him.

The Wu family’s boss lady was infamous in the market for being flirty. Rumor had it that she had ambiguous relationships with several other vendors. Her husband was a useless pushover who never dared to interfere.

Zhao Beichuan put on his gloves and turned away to start unloading. He was strong, so in no time, he had emptied one truck and moved on to the next.

The boss lady pulled up a small stool and sat nearby, watching him with a sultry gaze.

After finishing the job, Zhao Beichuan walked over to collect his payment. The boss lady handed him the money, deliberately brushing her fingers against his palm.

“I heard your dad’s hospital bills are pretty expensive. Think about it, little brother. I may not have a lot of money, but I could at least cover the medical costs.”

Zhao Beichuan pulled the money from her hand and replied indifferently, “Thanks, but no need.”

“Tsk, you’re a man. It’s not like you’d be losing out.”

Zhao Beichuan’s mind short-circuited for a moment, and before he knew it, he blurted out, “I don’t like women.”

“Huh?!”

“Mm.” He nodded, then hopped onto his electric scooter and rode off.

After buying some breakfast, he went to the hospital as usual. First, he helped his father clean his body, changed his clothes, and massaged his muscles to prevent severe atrophy.

Zhao’s mother drank a bowl of porridge and left the steamed buns for her son. “Did you go see Xiaonian and Xiaodou yesterday?”

“I did. I gave them three hundred for living expenses.”

“Give them less. They don’t need much at school.”

“It’s not much. Kids at this age like to have some snacks and buy notebooks. We can’t let them live too frugally.”

Zhao’s mother sighed. “I don’t know when these hard days will end.”

“Don’t worry, Dad will get better.”

Zhao Beichuan didn’t know where his confidence came from, but he firmly believed his father would recover. Right now, Zhao Guangsheng actually had some awareness—his eyes were open, but he couldn’t react.

Sometimes, Zhao Beichuan felt that his father could hear everything they said but just couldn’t respond.

“Dad, recover well. I’m counting on you to get better and earn money to help me find a wife.”

The man on the bed remained motionless. Zhao’s mother’s eyes turned red. “If this hadn’t happened, you might already be married with children by now.”

“Not necessarily.”

Zhao Beichuan suddenly recalled last night’s dream. In fact, what he said to the fruit stall owner this morning wasn’t entirely nonsense—last night, he dreamed about rolling in bed with the owner of 1602…

Even though they were both men, for some reason, he didn’t feel disgusted at all. Instead, he found it thrilling to the point that his scalp tingled. Just thinking about it excited him.

Maybe it had something to do with accidentally catching the guy watching porn yesterday. Even though he hadn’t looked carefully, the bodies on the screen were obvious—it was two men.

Lu Yao… he must be gay.

“I’m leaving. Mom, talk to Dad more.”

“Alright, I know.”

After leaving the hospital, Zhao Beichuan started taking orders. There weren’t many in the morning, mostly deliveries of milk tea and snacks in the surrounding area. Around eleven o’clock, orders started increasing. He efficiently picked up and delivered them, staying busy until three-thirty in the afternoon when things slowed down, allowing him to grab a quick meal.

In the afternoon, two property owners needed electrical and plumbing repairs. He brought his tools, fixed their issues, and even unclogged a drain.

By four-thirty, food delivery orders surged again. Zhao Beichuan moved tirelessly like a worker ant, weaving through the steel and concrete city, just to earn a bit of money to support his family.

After resting at home for three days, Lu Yao felt restless and regretted using all his annual leave at once. If something urgent came up, requesting more time off would be a hassle.

At noon, he called his second sister to check on their parents’ health. Lu Yao had three older sisters. Nowadays, this might be seen as something to be proud of, but in an era where sons were valued more, it was quite common.

“Mom and Dad are both in good health, don’t worry. How have you been lately?”

“I’m doing well.”

Lu Yao’s age gap with his sisters was significant. His parents had him in their forties, and now they were close to eighty, still living in their hometown.

He had thought about bringing them to live with him so he could take care of them, but they refused. They were used to their old home and didn’t like the fast-paced city life. His three sisters also disagreed, since they lived closer to their parents and could visit on weekends, saving Lu Yao from frequent trips.

“How can we not worry? Mom was just talking yesterday about when you’ll bring home a girlfriend.”

Lu Yao didn’t dare tell his family about his orientation, afraid it would upset his elderly parents.

“Auntie wanted to introduce you to someone recently—a divorced woman with a daughter. Mom seemed quite interested. I bet when you come home for the New Year, she’ll push you to meet her.”

Lu Yao’s face darkened. “I don’t want to. I have no plans to get married.”

“You’re not young anymore. Are you planning to just drift along alone?”

“I haven’t met the right person. I’ll think about it later…”

Lu Qi paused for a moment and suddenly asked, “Xiao Yao, do you… like men?”

“What?! No way!” Lu Yao was startled, his heart pounding. “Sis, why are you suddenly asking this?”

“Your niece watches a lot of dramas like this. She said it’s trendy nowadays.”

Lu Yao was speechless. “There’s nothing like that. Just tell Mom not to set me up with anyone. If I meet someone suitable, I’ll bring them home myself.”

“Alright, got it.”

After hanging up, Lu Yao’s mood sank to rock bottom. It felt like a mountain was pressing on his chest, impossible to shake off, making it hard to breathe.

That night, Lu Yao had insomnia again.

Ever since his dreams began, he hadn’t had trouble sleeping. But now that the dreams had stopped, his insomnia returned.

He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Checking his phone, he saw it was already twelve-thirty, yet he didn’t feel drowsy at all.

Getting up, he poured himself half a cup of liquor. This was leftover from a gathering with colleagues—53% alcohol, incredibly strong.

After downing it, his stomach burned. Lu Yao started feeling hungry. Checking his fridge, he only found vegetables and eggs. Too lazy to cook, he ordered some late-night snacks instead.

Maybe it was loneliness getting to him, but he found himself eagerly anticipating the delivery guy’s arrival.

Thinking about the embarrassing incident from a few days ago, Lu Yao poured himself another half glass of liquor and downed it in one go, the burn making him cough.

Ten minutes later, his phone rang. A familiar voice came through the speaker.

“Lu Yao, press the elevator button.”