Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 180

When Lu Yao woke up, it was already past ten in the morning, and Zhao Beichuan was gone.

Lifting the blanket, the sticky sensation made his face flush red. He quickly went to the bathroom to change his pants.

The dream from last night had been too real… The lingering pleasure still echoed in his mind, especially in that indescribable place—there was even an illusion of being stretched open…

Lu Yao had never experienced anything sexual before, so he didn’t know if reality felt the same as it did in the dream.

But one thing was certain: Zhao Beichuan was the same person who had always appeared in his dreams.

Lu Yao suspected something was definitely wrong with him. Especially yesterday, when he heard Zhao Beichuan singing, a flood of unfamiliar images rushed into his mind, and the pain in his chest had nearly made it impossible to breathe.

Those images spanned from youth to old age—almost an entire lifetime. Lu Yao didn’t dare think too much about it. If he kept going, he feared he would develop a split personality.

After washing up, he picked up his phone and glanced at it. Zhao Beichuan had sent him several messages.

The first one was sent at seven o’clock: “Are you awake? Are you still feeling unwell today?”

The second one was sent at eight-thirty: “Still not up? Let me know when you wake up.”

…

The most recent one was sent ten minutes ago: “Lu-ge, are you okay?”

—

Today was payment day. Early in the morning, after finishing his work at the farmers’ market, Zhao Beichuan went to the hospital to pay for his father’s medical expenses for the month and took the opportunity to discuss his father’s condition with the doctor.

The doctor advised that the surgery should be done as soon as possible. Since his father wasn’t young anymore, the longer he remained bedridden, the worse his bodily functions would deteriorate. But the surgery fees still weren’t fully saved up. At the current rate, it would take at least three more months to gather the necessary funds.

As he was struggling with the situation, his phone suddenly dinged with a message—a deposit of 6,400 yuan had been transferred into his account.

On WeChat, Lu Yao had sent a message: “This is from the ads and live streams we did recently.”

“That much?”

“Yeah.”

Lu Yao also found it unbelievable. Just from last night’s live stream alone, they had made more than 3,000 yuan. Since the account was linked to Zhao Beichuan’s bank card, Lu Yao had withdrawn the money for him.

In just one month, the account had already earned over 10,000 yuan. And that was without them fully dedicating themselves to it. If they put in their full effort, Lu Yao couldn’t even imagine how much they could make.

Since his work situation was uncertain at the moment, he planned to focus on this. If they could really make something out of it, it would be much better than working a regular job.

After leaving the hospital, Zhao Beichuan called Lu Yao.

Lu Yao was eating. “Beichuan, what’s up?”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Much better, don’t worry about me. Are you busy today?”

“I went to the hospital this morning. I’ll be heading out for deliveries soon.”

“How’s your father’s condition?” Lu Yao was planning to visit the hospital to check on the old man. Even as a friend, it was the right thing to do.

“Same as always, no real response to the outside world. We’ll see after the surgery.”

“How much more do you need for the surgery? If you’re short, I can—”

“No need!” Zhao Beichuan refused immediately. “I mean… You’ve already helped me enough. I’ll save up the rest myself.”

Lu Yao understood his pride. “If you need help, just tell me. Don’t hesitate.”

“Mm. I’m off to work now.”

“Be careful on the road.”

After hanging up, Zhao Beichuan smiled and rode off on his little electric scooter, rushing off to deliver food.

—

After finishing his meal, Lu Yao decided to go to the hospital again to check if there was really something wrong with his body.

Halfway there, Bai Chi called. “What the hell happened last night? Why did you guys suddenly cut the live stream?”

“Don’t even mention it. I don’t know what happened, but I suddenly felt unwell. I nearly passed out.”

“That serious? Did you go to the hospital?”

“I’m on my way now. I’m starting to think I might have a mental issue.”

Bai Chi sat up straight. “What do you mean?”

Lu Yao told him about the dreams he had been having. “I went to the hospital a while ago, and the doctor said it might be stress from work. But I’ve already quit my job, so why is this still happening?”

“Now that you put it that way, it does sound strange. Maybe you should find a real expert to take a look. I don’t think this is schizophrenia—it seems more like… you didn’t drink all of Meng Po’s soup.”

Lu Yao laughed. “Nonsense. Where would I even find something like that?”

“Better safe than sorry. You know we business people take metaphysics seriously. I’ll send you a WeChat contact later. This guy is pretty famous in our circles—he does both psychological counseling and metaphysical consultations. Maybe he can help you.”

“Whoa, that impressive?”

“I’m serious! The guy has a master’s in psychology from Stanford, and he’s also a descendant of the Qingyun Temple lineage.”

“Damn… Alright, I’ll add him and ask.”

—

At the hospital, Lu Yao went through a full-body check-up again, but just like before, they found nothing wrong. The doctor even had him take a psychological assessment, and his scores were high—completely normal. In the end, they just prescribed some medication to relieve stress and help him sleep.

Back home, Lu Yao remembered the person Bai Chi had mentioned. When he opened his phone, he saw that the guy had already accepted his friend request. His name was Yi Mingde, and his WeChat username was just his real name.

Holding a let’s just try attitude, Lu Yao sent a message: “Hello, Mr. Yi. Bai Chi recommended you to me.”

The screen showed that the other person was typing. After a while, a message came through: “What’s the issue?”

“Bai Chi said you’re very skilled. I’d like to ask for your help—do you think my issue is psychological, or is it something beyond science?”

“Just say it straight.”

“Can I send you a voice message? It’s a bit complicated, and text might not explain it clearly.”

The guy seemed easygoing. He called directly instead. Judging by his voice, he didn’t sound very old, making Lu Yao wonder if Bai Chi had been messing with him.

“So, here’s the situation. About two months ago, I started having a recurring dream. I can’t remember the exact details anymore, but basically, it felt like I had traveled to another dynasty and lived an entire lifetime there.”

“How long did the dreams last?”

“A little over a month. They stopped for a while but started again last night… And this time, they were different. The dream was incredibly vivid, like something I had actually lived through.”

“Can you describe the dream?”

Lu Yao cleared his throat, his face slightly red. “I dreamed about sleeping with someone.”

“A spring dream?”

“…Something like that.”

The other end of the call was silent for a moment before saying, “Send me your birth date and time.”

“Wait a moment.” Lu Yao sent over his date and time of birth.

“Tut, this isn’t the fate of a living person.”

“Huh?!” Lu Yao was startled. If he wasn’t a living person, was he a ghost?

“You weren’t in good health as a child, were you?”

“Yes!” From as far back as he could remember, he was always in and out of the hospital, spending most of his time in a daze. He could hardly recall anything before the age of eight.

“You weren’t originally meant to be here. Your parents forcibly tied you to this world from the mountains. Already at such an advanced age, they insisted on having a son. Is there a throne to inherit in your family?”

Lu Yao choked at the remark. “Hold on a second—what do you mean by ‘tied’?”

“It’s a folk method of seeking a child. You’d have to ask your parents for the specifics, but it’s not exactly a legitimate practice. Children brought into the world this way are often born with deficiencies. Normally, you wouldn’t have lived past thirty-five.”

Lu Yao’s heart skipped a beat. He had just turned thirty-five this year…

He had vaguely heard family members mention his parents’ struggle to have a child before, but he had never given it much thought. Now, hearing this man say it outright, he had to admit the guy had some real skill!

Yi Mingde continued, “But judging from your current fortune, everything seems stable. There’s no need to dwell on those dreams. All things in this world are but manifestations—if your heart remains still, all things remain still; if your heart does not change, all things do not change.① The dream is you, and reality is also you.”

“Then, the person I dream of overlapping with someone in reality—does that mean they’re actually the same person?”

“I cannot say.”

Lu Yao already had his answer in mind. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. Just tell Bai Chi to take me off his blocklist, or I’ll start sticking voodoo dolls with his name on them.”

???

After hanging up, Lu Yao immediately sent Bai Chi a message. “The guy you introduced is kind of amazing!”

“Right? That guy rarely does fortune-telling. He says it burdens him with karmic consequences. Most of the time, he just does psychological counseling.”

“Why did you block him?”

Bai Chi clicked his tongue. “Did he tell you that?”

“Yeah, he said if you don’t unblock him soon, he’ll start cursing you with voodoo dolls.”

Bai Chi swore. “I met him at a friend’s gathering. First thing he said when he saw me was that I was his destined partner.”

At the time, Bai Chi was still in a relationship with his ex-boyfriend. With so many people around, he didn’t want to embarrass the guy, so he just smiled and declined, “Sorry, little brother, I already have a boyfriend.”

Yi Mingde had responded firmly, “You two aren’t compatible. You’ll break up within a month. His heart belongs to someone else. You should just end it now and be with me.”

Bai Chi had dismissed him as a lunatic. After the gathering, Yi Mingde added him on WeChat and kept pestering him. Annoyed, Bai Chi had blocked him—only to end up breaking up with his ex exactly a month later, just as Yi Mingde had predicted.

“Then hurry up and unblock him! Maybe he really is your destined match.”

Bai Chi scoffed. “He’s way too tacky. You don’t know what he was wearing when we first met—a checkered shirt with ripped jeans. I could never date someone that unfashionable in my lifetime.”

“Hahahahahaha.” Lu Yao was cracking up. “What’s wrong with a checkered shirt? My delivery guy wears a bright yellow uniform, and I never minded.”

“That’s because you have the eye to recognize hidden gems. Who knew he had such a great body under that uniform?”

“You should go check out Yi Mingde too. Maybe the master has a nice figure as well.”

Bai Chi was actually a little tempted. He unblocked Yi Mingde with a casual tap. “I’m done talking to you—I’m getting my hair done. I need to head out later.”

After hanging up, Lu Yao turned on his computer to check private messages in his inbox. Tonight, he planned to shoot an ad for an electric razor and shaving gel. Given the lesson from last time, he was being extra cautious this round.

The brand’s offer wasn’t particularly high—a base price of 3,000 yuan per video, with an additional 1,000 yuan for every 10,000 likes. The shaving gel ad had an extra 800 yuan bonus, with a max payout capped at 10,000 yuan. Lu Yao directly drafted a contract and sent it over to avoid any future disputes.

The two brands were easy to work with and signed the contract right away. Normally, combining two soft ads like this could bring in over 20,000 yuan—not bad at all.

After saving the signed contracts, Lu Yao’s phone suddenly rang. Checking the screen, he saw it was Zhao Beichuan calling.

“Hello, Beichuan?”

“Lu-ge, can you come over? I got hit by a car…”

【Author’s Note】

Footnote ①: From Buddhist scriptures.