This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu\nTheyâre already a long time couple now, but today, MoZhaHim suddenly remembers a suspicious point, âKO, how did you find out about my new home address at first?â
\nHe even brought vegetables and other food ingredients up to his door early morning.
\nKO answers calmly, âI looked it up from the housing registration database.â
\nMoZhaHim, ââŚâŚCan you not say it like, âI just went to search it up on Baidu,â that kind of tone?âŚ..â (Baidu: popular Chinese search engine)
\nIn the middle of the night, MoZhaHim suddenly wakes up from his sleep and sits up on the bed. He pants heavily, and KO is also woken up by the disturbance. He sits up as well and embraces MoZhaHim while patting his back gently, âWhatâs wrong?â
\nâI had a nightmare,â MoZhaHim says wiping his sweat, âI dreamt that you hacked into the housing management bureau and changed the registration name to yours. This is too scary.â
\nThis is definitely a nightmare! If KO is the one who owns the apartment, wouldnât that mean he is living off of him?! As a real man, would he have any dignity left?!
\nâGood thing that it was just a dream.â
\nMoZhaHim lets out a breath of relief. He falls back down onto the bed with a thump and goes back to sleep. He doesnât notice that KO continues sitting up on the bed in the dark for a very long time after.
\nEver since that day, something seems to be up with KO. Then again, when heâs normal, heâs expressionless, and when heâs abnormal, heâs still expressionless. And for someone whoâs rather careless like MoZhaHim, itâs just impossible to notice any differences between the two.
\nThe first thing that MoZhaHim notices isâŚâŚ
\nKOâs eggs are bigger than his.
\nMoZhaHimâs meals have been very healthy ever since KO moved in. Breakfast is full of nutrition; an egg is a must. Boiled eggs, fried eggs, syrup eggs, stir fried diced onions with eggs, and many more different kinds of eggsâŚâŚ
\nMoZhaHim has never been very into eating eggs, but KO says that eggs are a form of nourishment for his own âeggs.â MoZhaHim feels that it makes perfect sense, so he eats them happily every day.
\nHowever, MoZhaHim has noticed that recently, his breakfast eggs have clearly been smaller than KOâs. Itâs fine if itâs only a day or two since it could be just a coincidence, but after a good few days, his eggs are always smaller!
\nMoZhaHim is furious!
\nIt doesnât matter whether the eggs are small or big, but the underlying message clearly indicates that he is being discriminated. MoZhaHim canât take it any longer! Damn it! Isnât he hinting that hisâŚâŚis smaller?! Therefore, he doesnât need as much nourishment?!
\nBut MoZhaHim cools down his temper in the end and holds the rage to himself. After all, itâs unmanly to fight over the size of their eggs; it wonât hurt to let KO take the bigger ones. Later when he goes to work, YuGong asks him secretively in the washroom, âPrince Mei, Prince Mei, could it be that youâre planning to buy another home?â
\nMoZhaHim is baffled, âWhat home?â
\nYuGong despises those who try to hide their wealth, âIf weâre buddies, stop pretending. I saw KO looking up resale homes on the internet yesterday. Furthermore, when we were talking about the current market prices, KO was listening on the side. Is that normal? So stop pretending, okay? Itâs not like Iâm asking you to treat me to a meal.â
\nMoZhaHim canât help but feel suspicion. He picks a time when KO is not around and hacks into his computer to see his browsing history. There are indeed housing sites, and he has been on them for quite a long time.
\nWhat is the meaning of this? Is he planning to move out?
\nMoZhaHim loses his concentration on work for the rest of the day due to these unanswered questions in his heart. Xiao Nai asks to see him after work.
\nâKO wants to sign a five-year contract with me, did you know about this?â
\nMoZhaHim is stunned.
\nâAre you guys short on money these days? His condition for signing the contract is to be paid three yearsâ worth of salary in advance.â
\nSeeing how MoZhaHim is struck dumb, even though Xiao Nai is such aâŚâŚscheming person (?!), he canât help but let out a sigh for his brother whoâs getting âmarried off.â Xiao Nai really wants to sign the contract with KO, but compared to his role as the companyâs decision maker, he has always been someone who mixes work with personal matters, so he feels his role as Third Brother is more important.
\nAs brothers, he must let his brothers feel secured in working at the company!
\nMoZhaHim leaves Xiao Naiâs office in a daze, but the feeling of rage spawns as he walks.
\nDamn it!
\nEverything is becoming clear.
\nTorturing him (as in giving him smaller eggs to eat)âŚâŚ
\nSecretly studying housing pricesâŚâŚ
\nSecretly signing a big salary contractâŚâŚ
\nAll these evidences show that KO is cheating, cooking dinner for someone else!
\nMoZhaHim suddenly feels like chopping off someoneâs âlittle brotherâ (a manâs lower body part) at the moment.
\nHeâs not someone who can keep things to himself, so he decides to confront KO right away. KO cooks a table full of dishes for dinner as usual; MoZhaHim takes it as âhis last mealâ and eats everything while feeling depressed. He wipes his mouth after he finishes eating. When he sees KO getting out of his seat to go wash the dishes, he immediately stops him.
\nâSit down.â
\nKO pauses, looks at him, then puts the plates back down and sits.
\nMoZhaHim asks him straight out, âYouâre planning to buy a new place?â
\nKO doesnât seem to be surprised that he knows, so he nods.
\nMoZhaHim feels his blood pressure going up, âWhy?â
\nKO keeps his silence for a while and then says, âI want to have a jointly owned property.â
\nMoZhaHim is speechless, but after a long while, he asks doubtfully, âWhat property did you say?â
\nKO repeats himself, âA jointly owned property.â
\nMoZhaHim stares at him, blinks, and then he quickly realizes what he was saying, âYouâŚâŚwant to buy my property?â
\nKO, âHalf of it.â
\nKO gazes downwards, âBut I still canât afford it.â
\nMoZhaHim canât find any words to describe his feelings. Heâs a bit confused, a little delighted, a little dumbstruck, andâŚâŚa little touched? The two of them sit across from each other like two silly men. After a long moment of silence, MoZhaHim asks, âYou wanted to sign a contract with Third Brother because of this?â
\nKO nods.
\nâOh, how much is this property worth now? Have you found out from looking at the market prices online?â
\nKO says, âItâs around four hundred thousand.â
\nMoZhaHim says in shock, âThe property value rose again? Holy! Real estate business sure is shady.â
\nKO nods, âIt has risen 97%.â
\nâCrazy!â MoZhaHim feels lucky that he bought the place in time. He glances at KO and says, âHave you thought about what to do if I refuse to sell it to you? Since the pricing has raised so much, wouldnât I be losing money if I sell it to you?â
\nKO, âYou will sell it to me.â
\nMoZhaHim feels angry for having his thoughts exposed. He immediately turns his head sideways, âPsh! Like you would sell it, your whole familyâŚâŚuh,â MoZhaHim shuts his mouth before he continues farther, but then orders, feeling irritated, âGo wash the dishes!â
\nKO goes to wash the dishes.
\nMoZhaHim feels pleased and happy with his life again. Heâs even willing to accept the fact that his breakfast eggs are smaller than KOâs. He generously believes: let KO have them. Heâs a man after all, so he must not be so stingy. Furthermore, KO does work harder than him regardless of whether itâs day or night, so KO indeed needs more nutrition.
\nTheyâve finished all of their eggs today, so the two of them head to the supermarket. When they arrive at the entrance, MoZhaHim receives a phone call from the office regarding a work related issue. Since itâs noisy inside, MoZhaHim tells KO to go on ahead first while he finishes the call. Itâs almost half an hour later when the call finally ends.
\nMoZhaHim goes inside to look for KO. He looks left and right, but canât seem to find him. Just when he is about to call KO on the cell phone, he turns his head and sees KO among a crowd of old women; heâs lining up to buyâŚâŚdiscountedâŚeggs.
\nMoZhaHim hesitates for a bit, but he goes over and pulls KO by the sleeves, âHey, what are you doing?â
\nâEggs.â
\nâI know youâre buying eggs, but havenât you already gotten them?â MoZhaHim looks over to the two cartons of eggs that are already inside the cart.
\nâThose are for you.â
\nGreen shelled eggs are small and expensive. The ones theyâre lining up for are discounted. Although theyâre cheap, theyâre much bigger. It suddenly hits MoZhaHim why his breakfast eggs are always smaller than KOâs.
\nHe lets out a light sigh deep inside his heart.
\nThat bastard.
\nHeâs done for.
\nHe says, âWhy are you being like Felix Grandet and are minding so much on the price of the eggs? Is it just for the sake of buying my place?â
\nKO nods and emphasizes, âHalf of it.â
\nMoZhaHim tries to hold his cool, âHow much can you save from this?â
\nKO doesnât respond. As someone who has always been poor, itâs out of instinct for him to save up his money by buying discounted food or clothes. Of course, no matter how tight his wallet is, he canât let his wife suffer; that is also out of instinct.
\nMoZhaHim is lost without words.
\nThey return home, eat their dinner quietly, brush their teeth, wash their face, and go to bed. The next day on MSN.
\nMoZhaHim: âThere are new regulations on the housing market. According to the news, the prices of resale homes in Beijing have dropped 50%.â
\nMoZhaHim: âIâve decided to sell you half of my property! However, the price will be based on its highest value.â
\nKO: âI havenât saved enough money.â
\nâMortgage.â
\nâThe bank wonât give me a mortgage on half of a property.â
\nâPsh! Whoâs telling you to get a mortgage from the bank?â You want to work for the bank? No way. MoZhaHim taps swiftly on the keyboard: âIâll give you a mortgage. As for the termâŚâ
\nMoZhaHim smiles in front of his MSN window: âHow about sixty years?â
\nBoth MoZhaHim and KO take half of a vacation in the morning of Friday before going to work in the afternoon.
\nYuGong asks casually, âWhere did you guys go?â
\nMoZhaHim answers nonchalantly, âWe went to get a certificate.â
\nYuGong, âCer-Cer-Cer-Cer-Cer-CerâŚâŚCertificate?!!!!!â
\nMoZhaHim glances at his expression of shock and realizes what he was thinking. He despises, âWe went to get a property ownership certificate. What did you think it was? Youâre so full of dirty thoughts.â
\nYuGong feels wronged. How is getting a marriage certificate dirty? You guys are dirtier for doing things without it!!!
\nAt night, after theyâve XXX, MoZhaHim sighs, âItâs not a bad idea to get a marriage certificate.â
\nKO, âImmigration?â
\nMoZhaHim scorns, âPsh! I was born a Chinese and will die as a Chinese. Immigrating to another country is too uncreative.â He then kicks KO, âSee if you can hack into the governmentâs database and get us a certificate?â