What Are Your Tastes? chapter 79

 Finale: Provided He’s Willing

Initially, Lu Yunchu struggled to call the dog “Scallion,” using “Sabrina”. But in less than two days, he succumbed to Zhou Yanchuan’s brainwashing summons and started calling it “Scallion” too.

The dog seemed to accept the name, especially since it received many treats whenever Zhou Yanchuan called it.

The Yijing community was large, with an artificial lake, playgrounds, and several green spaces. There were many dog owners. When they took the dog out for walks, “Scallion” no longer fussed about running outside; the yard was enough for it to romp around.

They lived in the same neighborhood as Mo Ziyang’s family and occasionally ran into them in the yard.

One evening in early September, Zhou Yanchuan and Lu Yunchu were walking “Scallion” when Mo Ziyang and his son returned from outside, probably having bought snacks. Tao Tao was holding two large tubes of potato chips.

It was Tao Tao’s first time seeing “Scallion” and he was thrilled, handing the potato chips to Mo Ziyang and squatting down to greet the dog.

“Uncle Lu,” he looked up at Lu Yunchu, who was holding the leash, “Can I pet it?”

“Sure, it loves being petted on the head and back.”

Following Lu Yunchu’s instructions, Tao Tao gently placed his hand on the dog’s head and slowly stroked downwards. The dog indeed appeared to be enjoying it.

“What are you going to do about that issue?” Mo Ziyang asked Zhou Yanchuan on the side, “Several reporters are waiting for an interview.”

The incident involving Zheng Xun’s attempt to kidnap and set fire to a man and a woman had garnered widespread public attention and subsided quickly due to the perpetrator’s swift death.

However, shortly afterward, photos of Zhou Yanchuan holding Lu Yunchu at the hospital door spread online, taken by an unknown person.

Discussions such as “The boss of Hongchuan is gay” and “The kidnapped man is suspected to be his partner” started to circulate. Previously, rumors of his homosexuality were just jokes, but now there were photos as evidence.

Zhou Yanchuan wasn’t a celebrity, so his private life didn’t attract extreme negative speculation. However, people are naturally curious, and since Hongchuan was planning to go public, the chairman’s personal issues became a focal point of public discussion.

Most people were just watching for fun, without any aversion, since he and Lu Yunchu were both single and their relationship didn’t affect others. There were also some keyboard warriors with a dislike for homosexuality who took the opportunity to mock them, but it was just talk and didn’t amount to much.

“Then find someone reliable,” he said, “and have a proper interview.”

“Are you going to go public?”

“What else?” Zhou Yanchuan didn’t mind, “If I keep hiding, people will think I’ve done something wrong.”

He never thought this was negative news for the company. Recently, due to the plans for going public, Hongchuan had been scheduled for a special interview, and the reporters were already watching closely, so he decided to use this opportunity to come out.

“Mm, as long as you’ve made up your mind.” Mo Ziyang glanced at his son, who was reluctant to leave, and called out, “Tao Tao, it’s time to go.”

“Oh.” The little boy stood up reluctantly, looking back as he walked away.

Zhou Yanchuan hadn’t told Lu Yunchu about coming out yet, only instructing his subordinates to contact suitable media.

They had been living in their new home for more than half a month, having almost finished furnishing it, turning the two-story house into a cozy home.

The terrace here was large. Zhou Yanchuan had someone build a few small independent areas with bricks, filled them with soil, and turned them into “vegetable gardens.” Gu Wenxi, upon hearing they planned to grow vegetables, sent over some quality seedlings and seeds. The balcony, thus transformed, had become more homely.

Lu Yunchu had never grown vegetables himself but found it fun and checked on the balcony every day.

The incident with Zheng Xun had been over for a while. While Lu Yunchu seemed to have moved past it and rarely thought about it, Zhou Yanchuan was still occasionally haunted by nightmares, waking up drenched in sweat.

Whenever this happened, with Lu Yunchu lying beside him, he would quickly notice the abnormality and soothe him back to sleep by stroking his back.

But this early Saturday morning, when Zhou Yanchuan woke up in a fright, the spot beside him was empty, and he couldn’t feel much warmth.

He immediately got up, walked out of the bedroom, and through the glass door of the terrace, he caught a glimpse of that familiar figure.

Lu Yunchu was focused on examining the tomatoes in the soil and didn’t notice the other person approaching.

“It’s not ready yet,” Zhou Yanchuan said as he walked up behind him.

Lu Yunchu turned around, “You’re not sleeping?”

Although it wasn’t too early, Zhou Yanchuan usually slept in on rest days.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he didn’t mention the nightmare.

“Then let’s eat,” Lu Yunchu, who had gotten up early, had already prepared breakfast.

The smell of bacon and sausage was rich. Scallion had been circling around the table early on. Seeing them come down, it obediently squatted in place.

Lu Yunchu had basically given up on feeding Scallion only dog food. After all, Zhou Yanchuan often secretly fed it other things, and it probably hadn’t developed the habit at Tao Jin’s house before, so he just turned a blind eye to avoid making the puppy distant from him.

There were various dishes on the pristine table: meat, fried eggs, side dishes, and white porridge.

“You made so much?”

“Yeah,” Lu Yunchu glanced at him, “there’s also Scallion.”

Zhou Yanchuan knew that his secret feeding of Scallion had been completely seen through, and he lowered his head in embarrassment, “Just a little bit…”

“It’s alright,” Lu Yunchu was speechless, “as if I’m that scary.”

“You’re not scary at all, Scallion really likes you,” he smiled and gave the puppy a look, “right?”

“Woof!”

While eating, Zhou Yanchuan told Lu Yunchu, “I have an interview this afternoon.”

This interview was about Hongchuan and himself. Part of the interview had been done at the company a few days ago, and today they would conduct another one at home, covering more private topics.

“Mm.” Zhou Yanchuan often had interviews, so Lu Yunchu wasn’t too surprised, just curious why he specifically mentioned it today.

“Yunchu,” he pondered, “if I publicly disclose our relationship, not just to a small group… would you be angry?”

“Publicly disclose?” Lu Yunchu was slightly surprised, then quickly responded, “Why would I be angry… but are you sure?”

“Yeah,” as long as he didn’t mind, Zhou Yanchuan had no worries, “since we’ve already been outed, instead of letting everyone guess, it’s better to admit it straightforwardly. I’m not a big star, this kind of gossip will pass quickly.”

“Are you going to tell the reporter?”

“Yes, and I’ll also post on Weibo.”

Zhou Yanchuan still wore the ring on his left ring finger. Lu Yunchu initially thought they would only wear it on special occasions, since Zhou Yanchuan didn’t like jewelry. But ever since they got the ring, he hardly ever took it off.

Lu Yunchu stared at the shiny silver ring on his finger and nodded, “Alright.”

In the afternoon, Lu Yunchu had classes. When he came back, he remembered Zhou Yanchuan said there would be an interview at home, so he moved quietly and carefully closed the security door.

Scallion didn’t like staying upstairs when no one was around. Now it was napping on the sofa. After Lu Yunchu entered, the puppy immediately dashed over to his feet upon hearing the noise. He bent down and made a shushing gesture.

Zhou Yanchuan was being interviewed in the study, and he could vaguely hear their conversation.

“Actually, I’m not sharing my personal affairs to gain attention, nor because I was photographed and felt guilty. I just believe that my partner and I are together openly and honorably. We’re not someone’s third party, and we haven’t wronged anyone. There’s no need to make it seem like a secret affair.”

Holding his breath, Lu Yunchu walked to the study door.

“Everyone’s choices are different. I’m not innately gay. It’s not that I must be with a man. I just want to be with the person I love. The fact that we can’t get married doesn’t mean we can shirk responsibility.”

The reporter asked, “So, it’s the same as with any other married couple?”

“Yes,” he continued, “there’s not much more to say. Stripped of the halo of my career, I’m just an ordinary person, a mere mortal, seeking the simplest happiness.”

“Thank you, Mr. Zhou. I think we’ve covered this topic well enough today,” through the slightly open door, Lu Yunchu saw the reporter stand up, “Finally, I’d like to ask you a personal question, though you may choose not to answer.”

“Go ahead.”

“Since you could be considered a celebrity in Sen City, you will appear on various public occasions. In the future, at such times, would you be willing to introduce your partner and face the public together, or would you prefer to keep your partner away from such attention?”

“This is not for me alone to decide,” Zhou Yanchuan replied with a smile, “my partner is not my accessory. He has his own career, social life, and personal space. It’s not up to me to decide the environment he should be in.

“I’m not afraid of being with my partner in any situation, as long as he is willing.”

The clarity of his final words resonated. Lu Yunchu suppressed his wildly beating heart and slowly pushed open the door…