He recalled that his only objective was to earn money from this novel but he hadn't achieved that despite the overwhelming reception towards his novel, and the ma.s.sive amount of chapters he prepared.

"...Do I enjoy making this?"

Zhou Lei already knew the answer in his heart.

A resounding yes!

"Okay, fine... I'll continue." He rea.s.sured himself.

Even though a majority of the fans were unsupportive p.r.i.c.ks, he still had the supportive and concerned ones that waited for his novel to upload. After all, a few bad eggs were inevitable, but it didn't mean that the whole basket was.

"...Okay, let's do this!"

Zhou Lei cracked his knuckles, donned a pair of gla.s.ses, and opened the typing program...

Go!

.....

The street was already dark. Only the lamp posts could provide some sort of light, as they s.h.i.+ned on the small puddles of water on the road. Cars pa.s.sed by with headlights on, making the pedestrians block their eyes whenever they encountered one.

In a desolate street, a lone man walked along on the pavement, panting every step of the way. His footsteps echoed through the silence.

Zhou Jiahao walked home, tiredness radiating from his entire body. Not to mention the messy attire he wore, just his hair was enough to determine that he had a sorrowful experience.

'For how long do I have to go through this...?'

For now, he could go home early since the photographer had a good mood today. He was allowed to rest for a while before continuing with the dreaded overtime...

'That Qing Huo... just because I took an absence for a day, he sends me to model for an international magazine?!'

In the end, he couldn't do anything about it, especially since his boss was one that had a bad temper and would easily fire a worker if they didn't comply.

'Anyway, being sent to model means that my appearance has been acknowledged by him... Is this what they call the burden of being handsome?'

He opened the door to his home and glanced at the shoes on the floor. There were two pairs present, presumably for both his children.

'Now that I think about it, I haven't really spoken to them since Sunday morning.'

His children pa.s.sed through his mind like the fleeting wind.

Removing his work clothes, he crashed on the big couch and placed his palm over his head. As of now, he wore only some boxers, and that was it. His finely chiseled body was exposed to the heat around the house.

The noise coming from the television disturbed him, so he grabbed the remote on his back and shut the television off.

'Little Ya didn't even turn the TV off...'

After a few minutes, sweat started dripping on his skin, and snores gushed out of his mouth. Zhou Jiahao's extreme tiredness finally took effect.

A bag of chips fell onto the floor, some of its contents spilling. "D- Darth Invader?"

[A/N: Darth Invader is intentional. This is to show that the world of this novel is based on but isn't the Earth we all live on. Of course, unless some of you are aliens.]

Zhou Zhenya swore she heard Darth Invader's heavy breathing on the couch. She approached it from behind. Seeing that the television was turned off, she immediately knew who it was.

"Dad..." She pursed her lips in annoyance. She was still watching the Powerfluff Girls marathon and yet this stupid dad of hers slept on the couch!

'Hmm, I can't disturb him since he looks tired. I guess I'll just sleep.'

She grabbed the bag of chips off the floor and picked up the spillage, cramming them into her mouth. After sealing the bag of chips with a rubber band, she headed for her room.

When Zhou Zhenya closed the door, the slight sound it made startled Zhou Jiahao awake.

"I don't want to marry you, Boss Qing!!! Huh, where am I...?" Zhou Jiahao scratched his head, looking around the room he was in.

'Uh... That's right. I fell asleep on the couch.'

As he contemplated whether or not he should go to the bedroom, the sound of a door opening startled him. His gaze promptly went to the door and he saw a disgruntled expression on an otherwise beautiful woman.

"Xiangxiang?" Of course, Zhou Jiahao recognized his wife immediately.

Zhou Xiang had huge bags under her eyes, and her posture emitted the essence of exhaustion. Her mouth was moving subtly, and her eyes were barely open.

As she heard her husband's voice, she raised her head to see a half-naked man lying on the couch looking at her. "Oh, Jiahao. You're here before me."

For the past few days, Zhou Xiang had been coming home without seeing her husband. She felt the bed moving briefly in the middle of the night, thinking it was her husband lying down beside her. However, when she woke up in the morning, he was already gone.

In that sense, it was quite peculiar for her to see him at home, as she got used to his absence.

"I got permission to go home a little earlier today." Zhou Jiahao sat up straight, not noticing his naked state.

Before, Zhou Xiang paid no heed to his lack of clothes as she had already gotten used to his dad-bod. However, now that the body became extremely chiseled and muscular, she got a little red on her face.

"Jiahao, wear some clothes..." She removed her shoes and walked in the house, averting her gaze from her husband at all costs.

Zhou Jiahao felt a little dejected by her avoidance, but he knew what the reason was, so it didn't affect him that much. Instead, he thought it funny how his wife of two decades got embarra.s.sed by seeing his body.

He stood up and walked towards Zhou Xiang who had her back turned against him.

"Xiangxiang, you don't have to be fl.u.s.tered..." He brushed his hand against her face from behind.

Zhou Xiang shuddered, not daring to look behind her. Her entire face was flushed as she felt a hand cover her cheek. "S- Stop... I'm kinda tired..."

"Hmm? Okay."

The sound of footsteps gradually got farther from her ear. Zhou Xiang didn't expect her husband to suddenly agree with her request. She felt disappointed but relieved at the same time. If he continued his flirting, who knew when they would fall asleep!