Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 171

The next day, Zhao Beichuan woke up late again, not opening his eyes until 5:30 AM. He hurriedly got dressed, washed his face, and rushed to the nearby agricultural market.

He first went around to a few familiar customers, unloaded half a truck of goods, and earned fifty yuan. Then, he went to the vegetable stall at the back and helped unload half a truckload of cabbage with others, earning one hundred seventy yuan.

Seeing that it was about time to head to the hospital, he passed by Wu’s Fruit Wholesale and noticed a box truck still parked in front of their store, so he went over to ask.

“Oh, I thought you weren’t coming today.” The boss’s wife pursed her lips and sized Zhao Beichuan up and down, feeling like this kid had tricked her with words yesterday.

“Are you unloading?” Zhao Beichuan didn’t feel like wasting words with her—he just wanted to make money.

“Yeah, unload it.”

Without another word, he opened the truck compartment and started unloading goods into the store just as usual.

The boss’s wife stood at the door watching for a while, then swayed her hips and went inside. Besides the warehouse storing fruits, the wholesale shop also had a small room for people to rest. She usually stayed there, fooling around with others.

An hour later, Zhao Beichuan finished unloading the truck and went inside to settle the payment. He looked around but couldn’t find her, so he asked one of the workers inside and then knocked on the door next to him.

“I’ve finished unloading. Time to settle the bill.”

“The money’s on the table. Come in and take it yourself.”

Zhao Beichuan pushed the door open and stepped in to grab the money, but as soon as he entered, the door behind him slammed shut. The boss’s wife, wearing a ridiculously revealing piece of lingerie, hugged him from behind.

“Let go!”

“Hmph, I don’t believe you like men. You’d even say something like that just to reject me?”

“Get lost!” Zhao Beichuan forcefully shoved her away, didn’t even bother grabbing the money, and turned to run out.

“Come back! I’ll give you a thousand, or two thousand per time—won’t that do?!”

Just as Zhao Beichuan twisted the doorknob and stepped out, a metal rod swung toward him from the front, nearly hitting him on the head.

“You son of a bitch! You don’t even try to hide it when sneaking around with my wife now, huh?!” It was the boss’s husband, Wu Lao’er, standing at the door.

“Take care of your damn wife yourself!”

Hearing this, Wu Lao’er became even more furious and started swinging the iron rod toward Zhao Beichuan.

“You shameless adulterers, I’ll beat you both to death!”

The boss’s wife screamed in fear and hid behind Zhao Beichuan, making it seem like something really had happened between them.

Zhao Beichuan didn’t want to escalate the situation, nor did he dare to fight back—afraid that if he seriously injured the man, he’d have to compensate for it.

The commotion attracted quite a crowd of onlookers, and someone called the police. Before long, the officers arrived and took all three of them to the station.

Since there were no surveillance cameras inside the store, Wu Lao’er insisted that Zhao Beichuan had seduced his wife. Meanwhile, his wife just lowered her head, covering her face and crying, saying nothing at all. Zhao Beichuan was so enraged he nearly spat blood.

After an entire morning of mediation, they finally decided that Zhao Beichuan had to pay Wu Lao’er three thousand yuan in emotional damages to settle the matter. Otherwise, he’d be detained for fifteen days.

He had just paid his father’s medical bills this month, and his salary hadn’t been issued yet. Even if he emptied his pockets, he still didn’t have enough for three thousand yuan.

He didn’t have many friends here, and he didn’t want to call his mother. After thinking it over, he could only turn to Lu Yao.

“Can you lend me a thousand yuan? I’ll pay you back in a few days.”

In less than two minutes, Lu Yao transferred the money.

“Did something happen?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright.”

Zhao Beichuan sent the money over, and as he left the police station, he pointed at Wu Lao’er and his wife and said, “You both know my dad is in the hospital waiting for money. I’ve got nothing to lose—if I go down, you won’t have it easy either!”

The boss’s wife shivered all over in fright. She was the cause of all this and had extorted three thousand yuan from him for no reason. She felt uneasy and quickly stepped forward to return the money.

Wu Lao’er, however, stiffened his face and said, “Try touching us, I dare you! We’re not even out of the police station yet!”

Zhao Beichuan couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. He just gave them a cold look and turned to leave—he still had to go to the hospital to see his father and continue delivering food to make money.

He stayed busy until around four or five in the afternoon before finally catching a break. He opened WeChat and sent Lu Yao a message: “Thanks for today.”

“No need to thank me. Did something happen?”

“Yeah. Can you take a call?”

“I can.”

Zhao Beichuan called him and explained everything that had happened that morning.

After hearing it, Lu Yao was furious. “That was outright extortion!”

“In that situation, there was no way to explain it clearly. I just wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble, so I gave them the money. I’ll never unload goods for them again—just take this as a lesson learned.”

“You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No.” If he hadn’t been afraid of escalating the matter, that scrawny guy wouldn’t have stood a chance against him. He had no choice but to take the loss silently.

After chatting for a bit, they hung up. Zhao Beichuan felt a little better.

Even though he had only known Lu Yao for a few days, it felt like they had been acquainted for a long time. Whenever something happened, he thought of him first and couldn’t help but want to confide in him…

Zhao Beichuan was certain he wasn’t gay—at least, before meeting Lu Yao, he had never felt any sexual attraction toward men. But ever since they met, every single one of his sexual fantasies had been about Lu Yao. Even though they were both men, he didn’t feel the least bit repulsed. This feeling was truly strange.

At around eleven at night, after delivering his last order, Zhao Beichuan headed to Lu Yao’s place as usual.

When he arrived, Lu Yao was cooking noodles. “Have you had dinner yet? If not, eat with me—I think I made a little too much.”

“Okay…” In fact, Zhao Beichuan hadn’t had dinner. Since he was running low on money, he had planned to cook some instant noodles at home later.

Lu Yao was a great cook. Even a simple bowl of noodles was rich in color, aroma, and flavor. The noodles were handmade, the broth was made with eggs and tomatoes, and he had even fried a separate bowl of meat sauce for those who liked stronger flavors.

Zhao Beichuan took off his coat, washed his hands, and stood by to help. Lu Yao rinsed the noodles in cold water, while he held a basin to catch them.

They stood close together, the atmosphere warm and harmonious—almost like a couple. Lu Yao’s mind wandered uncontrollably. These hands are so big… He could probably lift me onto the kitchen counter and…

“Go eat.” Lu Yao took off his apron and pulled out a chair. They sat side by side, with Zhao Beichuan picking up the noodles while Lu Yao scooped broth for him, as if he instinctively knew he liked stronger flavors, adding two large spoonfuls of meat sauce.

“Thanks.” Zhao Beichuan mixed the noodles and started eating heartily. Just watching him eat made Lu Yao feel hungry, and he unknowingly finished a whole bowl himself, ending up so full that he kept hiccuping.

After eating, they started filming for the day.

Today’s shoot was a transformation video on the sofa. The concept was simple: first, sit on the sofa in normal clothes, cross a leg, then transition into a new outfit, ending with some close-up shots. Overall, it was fairly easy.

Lu Yao didn’t have him wear his delivery uniform but instead dressed him in casual clothes—a black sports outfit with a black mask covering everything but his eyes.

“Is this how I should sit?” Zhao Beichuan asked, looking a bit stiff as he sat properly on the sofa.

“Lean back, don’t be so tense. Rest your hands on your abdomen or anywhere you feel comfortable.”

Following his instructions, Zhao Beichuan adjusted his posture. Lu Yao moved the coffee table back and positioned himself directly in front to film.

“Now lift your right leg and rest it on your left—raise it a little higher.”

The first take wasn’t great—it only worked well from a lower angle. So, Lu Yao had to kneel in front of him and repeat the movement a few times.

“Change your clothes. Today, wear a suit and leather shoes. Leave your upper body bare and tie this bowtie around your neck.”

Zhao Beichuan took off his shirt, changed into the trousers and shoes, then held the bowtie in his hand, his ears slightly burning. “Do I really have to wear this?”

“If you don’t want to, you can wear the suspenders from yesterday instead.”

Thinking about how tight the suspenders were yesterday, Zhao Beichuan opted for the bowtie and tied it around his neck.

Clothes make the man. Once he put on the trousers and leather shoes and sat back on the sofa, the entire atmosphere changed.

Lu Yao turned off the living room lights and switched on the newly purchased pink ambient lamp from an online store, instantly filling the room with a sultry vibe.

Both of them swallowed subconsciously. Lu Yao picked up the camera and positioned it at the same angle as before. “Repeat the previous movements again.”

The same sitting posture, then crossing one leg over the other. After capturing this shot, they needed to film a close-up of his upper body.

Lu Yao slowly moved closer with the camera, but he wasn’t watching his step and tripped over the shoes that had been left aside, stumbling directly toward Zhao Beichuan.

“Careful.” Zhao Beichuan instinctively held onto his waist, and Lu Yao ended up straddling his thigh in a kneeling position.

Both of them froze. The fabric of the suit trousers was thin, and Lu Yao’s sleepwear was even thinner. Their body heat instantly seeped through the fabric, penetrating each other’s skin.

“S-Sorry!” Lu Yao hurriedly tried to get up, but in his rush, he tripped again, this time face-planting directly onto Zhao Beichuan’s chest.

…

Ahhhhhh!!! This really feels like harassment! My dignity is completely ruined! Lu Yao’s face turned crimson as he sprang up like a startled rabbit.

Zhao Beichuan pressed a fist to his lips, letting out a low chuckle. He discreetly clenched his thighs together—thankfully, the dim lighting helped obscure the prominent bulge in his trousers.

It took a while before Lu Yao composed himself. “Sh-Should we continue filming?”

“Let’s keep going.”

“The final close-up shots are a bit tricky…” Since the camera needed to get closer, more physical contact was inevitable.

“It’s fine. Just shoot however you need to.”

Lu Yao took a deep breath, adjusted the camera, and moved in for the shot again. To capture a top-down angle, he wasn’t tall enough and had to stand on the sofa.

Carefully balancing on the couch, he aimed the camera downward. Afraid he might fall, Zhao Beichuan quickly reached out and steadied his calf.

The rough, warm palm instinctively rubbed against the exposed skin, sending Lu Yao’s mind into chaos. He barely managed to finish the remaining shots before scrambling down in a fluster.

“Okay, I-I’ll go edit the video now.” Clutching the camera, he practically fled into his bedroom.

Zhao Beichuan turned on the lights, changed back into his own clothes, and restored the coffee table to its original position. Then he headed into the kitchen, washing the dishes they had just used, along with the pot and stove, and took out the trash on his way out.

Hearing the noise, Lu Yao opened his door. “You don’t have to clean up for me next time. I can do it myself.”

“It’s nothing, just something to do while I’m here.”

“Thank you. Oh, right—here’s a keycard for the building. Next time you visit, you won’t need me to buzz you in.”

“Alright.” Zhao Beichuan accepted it.

“Do you want to register your fingerprint for the door, too?”

“No need. I’ll only come over when you’re home.”

“Alright then.” Lu Yao withdrew back into his room and continued editing the video.

Honestly, what he just did was quite reckless. They had only known each other for less than a week, and yet he was already giving him access to his building and home. If Zhao Beichuan had any ill intentions, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But for some reason, Lu Yao felt an almost unconditional trust in him. He couldn’t even explain where this feeling came from—it was truly strange.

*

The ten-day holiday quickly came to an end. Lu Yao resumed his daytime job while continuing to film videos, edit, manage his account, and respond to messages at night. His schedule was packed to the brim, leaving him almost no time for insomnia.

As they spent more time together, they gradually became close friends with nothing to hide from each other. Through their conversations, Lu Yao learned that Zhao Beichuan had a younger brother and sister who were still in school, which meant he carried a heavy burden.

However, there was also some good news—after more than half a month of content creation, Lu Yao’s video account finally surpassed ten thousand followers.

Along the way, he had even secured a few promotional deals, earning a total of around four to five thousand yuan.

In this fast-paced era, short videos provided fleeting entertainment and distraction. A wave of internet influencers had emerged, riding the trend in hopes of making it big—though, for most, the algorithm would simply bury them in obscurity.

To maintain engagement, Lu Yao decided it was time for Zhao Beichuan to start live streaming.

Short videos alone wouldn’t retain followers. There were too many handsome faces online—one swipe, and people would move on and forget. To build a loyal audience willing to spend money, deeper interaction was necessary.

“Live streaming? I wouldn’t even know what to say.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be beside you to help if needed.”

Zhao Beichuan still felt hesitant. He was naturally introverted, and even when delivering food, he barely spoke to customers—let alone hosting a live stream and chatting with strangers.

Lu Yao encouraged him. “There will definitely be people watching. Just read and respond to the comments in the chat.”

“Alright… I’ll give it a try.”

*

【Author’s Note】

Originally, I planned to finish in ten chapters, but now it feels like I can’t quite wrap things up… (scratches head)