Lu Qi seemed to have vomited because he caught a bug. He felt better after vomiting, but his mental state was visibly depressed, and he brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth with a drooping head.

His eyelashes were wet and pitiful, like a kitten caught in the rain.

Mu Nanqiao stood at the door, wondering if he had given Lu Qi something he shouldn’t have eaten. He called Mu Chuanbai’s personal doctor, and after confirming that the food was fine, he went to the pharmacy downstairs to buy medicine.

Lu Qi lay on the small sofa and gave a melancholy sigh, feeling deeply that he had let down the fruits of Mu Nanqiao’s labor.

Beep—

Mu Nanqiao held a thermometer gun to his forehead. It was 38.7℃.

”You have a small fever.” Mu Nanqiao frowned. “Did you catch a cold in the rain that day?”

Lu Qi did get caught in the rain that day he went to pick up the kitten family, but he felt that he was always in good health. It may be that when he was suffering from insomnia some time ago, the lack of sleep affected his immunity.

In short, it was all the fault of that wicked Lin Yuan.

Mu Nanqiao brought him warm water and watched him take the anti-fever medicine.

The kittens meowed, and Lu Qi looked in the direction of the box. Mu Nanqiao reached out and lightly touched his cheek, moving his head back.

“You rest, I’ll make milk powder for them.” He turned and switched off the projector, then went to the kitchen to boil wate.r

When he came out, Lu Qi was lying on the sofa and drowsily hugging a pillow. The anti-fever medicine had not yet taken effect, and his cheeks were smushed a little under the pillow. There was pink on his cool white skin. From the corner of his eye, he saw Mu Nanqiao’s long legs coming toward him, and he raised his heavy head to say in a hoarse and pitiful voice: “Thank you…..”

“Go to sleep.” Mu Nanqiao reached out to test the temperature of his forehead.

He knew that nothing could be accomplished by this, and only rubbed his soft hair. But perhaps because Lu Qi had a fever and his own body temperature was low, the head under his hand actually moved into his palm twice, like a friendly and docile deer. 

His heart beat faster, as well as the pulse in his wrist. Although he knew that Lu Qi couldn’t detect it, Mu Nanqiao still retracted his hand with a guilty conscience. He crouched down and asked Lu Qi: “How can you get up to take care of the kittens at night when you’re like this?”

Lu Qi stared at Mu Nanqiao’s opening and closing lips with hazy eyes. It took him a moment to realize what he was asking, and he said with a nod: “I can do it. Otherwise, who will feed them…..”

“I’ll watch them for you.” Mu Nanqiao coaxed him: “Sleep peacefully. I’ll come and see them every……two hours, right?”

Lu Qi stared at Mu Nanqiao for a long moment and then smiled softly. “Mu Nanqiao, you’re so nice.”

Mu Nanqiao felt soft and warm from the bottom of his heart. He lowered his eyes with a gentle gaze. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Lu Qi murmur to himself: “No wonder……Lin Yuan can’t let you go……”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

Damn, what a wretched thing.

Lu Qi was dazed, but not entirely because of the fever. He hadn’t slept well during this period, and slept particularly deeply due to being sick. He didn’t hear the kittens meowing that night. He was clearly thinking about the little kittens, but couldn’t open his eyes, and vaguely heard the sound of the thermometer gun.

Beep—beep—

It went off twice, inexplicably reassuring.

When the morning light came and his body temperature went down, Lu Qi woke up for the first time and stared at the warm night light at the bedside, feeling that he had forgotten something.

“Ah…..” He belatedly recalled that Mu Nanqiao had said he would help him take care of the kittens last night, but he hadn’t given Mu Nanqiao a key. If Mu Nanqiao went back to rest next door, didn’t that mean he would be unable to get back in?

But the kittens didn’t meow that night.

Lu Qi blinked and woke up completely. He put on his slippers and opened the bedroom door. The floor lamp in the living room was still on, and there was a tiny syringe and wet wipes on the coffee table. A tall, slender person was lying on the small sofa, and couldn’t fit onto it at all. His long legs hung out pitifully, and his arms were wrapped around his chest.

A soft white mass moved up and down on his chest. Mu Nanqiao frowned, and when he was about to wake up, Lu Qi quickly leaned over and grasped the kitten by the back of its neck, lifting it up.

It seemed that Mu Nanqiao hadn’t gone back to stay at his place, and just stayed on the small sofa all night. The sound of the thermometer gun before…..

His neighbor not only took care of the kittens, but also took care of him.

This white moonlight was really as gentle and kind as the rumors said, but that bastard Lin Yuan wasn’t worthy of having fantasies about him.

When Lu Qi thought of that rotten man, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mu Nanqiao. Encountering such a thing in his youth was really unlucky to the extreme. The more he saw, the more he felt like his neighbor was a poor little guy. He put the little white kitten back into the crate and went back to the bedroom to grab a thick blanket.

He managed to cover those long legs and tuck the blanket under his chin. Only when there was no kitten around did he realize that Mu Nanqiao was not sleeping peacefully. His slender eyebrows were constantly furrowed, laden with anxiety.

His long, thick eyelashes drooped, and the contours of his sharp facial features softened a lot with his eyes closed. Curly black hair half-covered his eyebrows, and his strong, indolent aura dissipated. Lu Qi discovered that this handsome face still had a youthful air.

It wasn’t that Mu Nanqiao usually looked older, but there was always so much hidden in his fox-like eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and it was hard to see what he was thinking through the haze.

Lu Qi couldn’t see through it, but he had an intuition much like a small animal. Cautiously sticking to him and sniffing, he felt like he could get close.

“Good night,” he murmured softly. “It seems I need to consider changing to a larger sofa…..”

. . . . . . .

Early the next morning, Mu Nanqiao got up and made breakfast, which consisted of a light porridge and two side dishes. When Lu Qi smelled the aroma of food, he felt like a chef had come to his house. 

He didn’t know when Mu Nanqiao went back to change clothes. The shirt he had worn the night before was replaced by a white short-sleeved shirt. His slender forearms had smooth muscle contours as he held a pan and fried perfect eggs. He was also wearing Lu Qi’s small plaid apron, and looking at him from behind, he had broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

Lu Qi covered his nose, fearing that he would have a nosebleed.

He was indeed bent. It was really unbearable to face such beauty so early in the morning.

All in all, the innocent little deer didn’t realize that this shining man had clearly tidied himself up. His hair looked casual but was fluffy and fresh, and he had even shaved and sprayed cologne.

In any case, Boss Mu, who was worth hundreds of millions, spread his tail feathers perfectly in the small kitchen.

After confirming that there was no nosebleed, Lu Qi walked over. His nose was blocked due to the cold, and he spoke in a low, muffled voice, “Getting up in the morning, I see a male bodhisattva in the kitchen. I’m so happy.”

Mu Nanqiao had been surfing the internet intensively for the past two days, focusing on watching Wife Xiao Lu’s videos. After understanding the essence of the comments in the comment section where pants were flying all over the place, he could already understand the deeper meaning behind ‘male bodhisattva.’

“I like the sound of that.” Mu Nanqiao plated the fried eggs. “It makes me happier than a polite thank you.” 

Unexpectedly, Mu Nanqiao knew what ‘male bodhisattva’ meant. Lu Qi was drinking water, and coughed and choked, his eyes turning red.

He really didn’t mean to tease Mu Nanqiao, and had just said it smoothly after waking up. Under Mu Nanqiao’s half-smiling gaze, Lu Qi ducked into the bathroom to wash up.

While brushing his teeth, Lu Qi couldn’t help but think that he and Mu Nanqiao were like roommates, ah. He wondered if Mu Nanqiao had any intention of moving. If they rented a two-bedroom apartment, the rent would be much cheaper, and Mu Nanqiao was a really nice roommate.

He had no temper, was warm-hearted, and could also cook.

Of course, if they became roommates, Lu Qi would also cook with him!

At this time, the warm-hearted Boss Mu was answering his phone on the balcony.

“The person placed next to Mu Rui got the job done.” The person on the other end of the phone said, “Now that Mu Rui has listened to her words and left the hiding place Mu Chuansong arranged for him, he’s preparing to stow away into Myanmar.”

“Very good.” Mu Nanqiao chuckled and reached behind him with one hand to untie the knot of the apron. “Doesn’t he have many friends in that area? He will definitely be taken care of when he gets there.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, as if the other party didn’t know what to say.

The Mu family had been in turmoil during this period, with all kinds of conspiracies and plots taking place in turn. No one had expected that the fourth child of the Mu family, who had long been ruled out, would ultimately hold the power.

Mu Chuanbai was scheming and clever, and had given birth to a son who was courageous and capable. This father and son went into battle together. On the other hand, Mu Chuansong’s eldest son died in a car accident while racing, and his younger son was proficient in prostitutes, gambling, and drugs.

If Mu Rui hadn’t found some kind of drug addict to conduct an “assassination,” Mu Chuansong wouldn’t have been ousted so quickly and would have just wiped his son’s butt.

Mu Chuansong had to pull away from Mu Rui before going in, but what was the point? Mu Nanqiao found a woman somewhere and with a few words, she convinced Mu Rui that she had a “friendship” with some people in Myanmar, so just like that, he sent himself out.

When all the money left to him by his father was completely gone, he probably wouldn’t even be able to keep his ass.

The other party became increasingly careful when speaking. After a few polite words, he was about to hang up the phone when he suddenly heard Mu Nanqiao say, “Do you want a little sugar added to the porridge?”

That voice was low and gentle. En, more or less sweet.

The other party was so frightened that he hung up the phone at once.

After breakfast, Mu-shifu went to work. Lu Qi’s condition was vastly improved, and he chose a more inspiring custom drawing from the platform. After communicating about the requirements, he began the line drawings.

After drawing a few poses and finally settling on one, Lu Qi thought about it and then started a live broadcast.

He hadn’t made an appearance for a long time. As soon as he opened the live broadcast room, people came in. Fans asked him with concern how he was doing recently and if he was affected by this incident. 

Lu Qi answered while drawing a line draft: “I was definitely affected. I couldn’t sleep for a while and was very anxious.”

The barrage expressed their distress, but Lu Qi thought of something and suddenly gave a soft laugh.

This laugh was indescribably light, with a rising tone at the end.

“But because of this incident, I also met a good friend. They are a very, very good person.”

The pen in Lu Qi’s hand paused for a moment as he recalled the misunderstanding between the two of them at the bar. That was their first meeting, and they weren’t on the same wavelength at all. As a result, he basically regarded Mu Nanqiao as a little duck.

The corners of his lips curled up, and the small pear dimple on his left cheek emerged. He added, “En…..they’re very good-looking.”

The barrage asked if they were a boy or a girl.

Lu Qi replied: “A boy.”

As soon as he spoke, Bilibilli’s unique reward effect suddenly appeared, and someone became Lu Qi’s “Captain.”

Lu Qi rarely received tips from fans. During his live broadcast, he always asked his fans not to tip him, but some fans thought this could be regarded as a “tuition fee,” and occasionally one or two people would “come on board.”

After receiving the reward, Lu Qi subconsciously thanked the person. After a moment, a colorful barrage emerged.

That was a privilege after boarding the ship, but Lu Qi didn’t expect that the other party was a level 2 side account, and behind the pitiful level 2 account was a level 21 fan account.

Lvl 2 Leonid: [Deer antlers 21] (finger heart) (finger heart) (finger heart)

Lu Qi glanced at the side account, and after the live broadcast, he silently gave them a major membership.

On the other side, Mu Nanqiao frowned and asked his assistant: “Why did my name turn pink?”

The assistant: “…..Because you are now a distinguished member. Look at the message, someone sent it to you.”

Then he saw that proud smile on the boss’s face again, as if what the other party had given was not a fifteen-yuan per month website membership, but a fifteen thousand yuan per month membership card.

Just now, his boss was depressed because he had to go on a week-long business trip, but after being successfully coaxed by the fifteen yuan, his mood had turned from gloomy to sunny.

. . . . . . .

The next week, Mu Nanqiao suddenly became busy. He said he was on a business trip with his boss, and sent Lu Qi a WeChat message to inform him of his departure so that he could feel at ease as a neighbor.

Drawings were delivered and a small profit was made. The kittens were now able to crawl all over the floor, and escaping from their crate had become their latest hobby. Lu Qi simply let the cat bugs crawl on the floor and was just careful not to stop on them. 

On a fair-weathered Sunday, Lu Qi went to pick up the mother cat from the pet hospital.

During this period, the mother cat, Xiao Sanhua, gained some weight and her shed hair grew back, but she also needed one or two medicinal baths. The doctor brought some medicine to Lu Qi and asked him to give Xiao Sanhua a bath when he went home.

When Lu Qi took the cat carrier up to the fifth floor, he first saw a pair of long crossed legs.

Mu Nanqiao was sitting on his suitcase, playing on his mobile phone with his head down. When he heard him coming up, he immediately raised his head and his fox eyes lit up. He asked confidently: “I lost my house key and the locksmith hasn’t arrived yet. Asking a kind soul to take me in.”

The person he hadn’t seen for a week had appeared in front of him. Lu Qi blinked, surprise filling his face little by little. The pear dimple appeared faintly, and he subconsciously quickened his pace. 

“Okay, ah, you can be taken in.” Lu Qi pursed his lips in a smile and lifted the carrier with sly eyes to show Mu Nanqiao. “But you have to work for me!”

Mu Nanqiao and Xiao Sanhua in the carrier looked at each other.

Xiao Sanhua licked her paw, slanted her green eyes, and said proudly: “Meow~”

. . . . . . .

It was difficult to bathe a cat, but it was even more difficult to bathe a stray cat!

Mama Sanhua’s nails had been clipped, but a meow meow fist greeted Mu Nanqiao’s hand mercilessly, and it seemed that the omnipotent Mu-shifu had hit a wall with this little cat. He was splashed by the little cat, and water droplets slid down the straight bridge of his nose. His eyelashes also stuck wetly together. Holding the cat, he looked at Lu Qi helplessly.

The white short-sleeved shirt he had just changed into was wet and clung to his body, revealing the faint outlines of his chest and abdominal muscles. Lu Qi watched the entertainment with mischievous intentions, snickering all the while. He coughed and pretended to be serious, “Thank you for your hard work. I ordered milk tea from the shop near Hengjin Secondary School, so I’ll treat you to a drink later.”

Mu Nanqiao raised his eyebrows and suddenly laughed. He put the cat down and grabbed the hem of his shirt with one hand, raising it to remove the nearly-soaked shirt. He shrugged his shoulders and said: “Too wet, it’s uncomfortable.”

Lu Qi: ……

Fearing that the cat would be cold, they had turned on the heating lamp in the bathroom, so when a water droplet rolled down, it had a halo of light. It went all the way down his collarbone and finally along the mermaid line, wetting the waistband of his home clothes and leaving a wet mark.

The little neighbor’s smile froze. His eyes widened and his cold white ears and cheeks turned pink little by little. Finally, he turned around and closed the bathroom door with a bang.

Also locking in Mu Nanqiao’s wanton laughter.

“Not abiding by masculine virtue…..” Lu Qi muttered softly. When he heard the doorbell ring, he rubbed his hot cheeks with the back of his hands, straightened out his expression, and walked over to open the door.

He thought it was the milk tea delivery, but there was a scumbag standing outside the door.

The moment he saw Lin Yuan, Lu Qi’s smiling eyes immediately lost their warmth. He automatically tried to close the door, but Lin Yuan was crazy for some reason and slipped through the crack.

The stylish Mr. Lin, who liked to put on airs, was squeezed awkwardly and his black windbreaker was covered in white wall plaster. He stood at the entrance, and before he could have time to rejoice at entering Lu Qi’s house again, Lu Qi smacked him in the face with a pillow.

“Scram!” Lu Qi pushed him out like a little creature whose territory had been invaded. “I’m going to call the police, you’re breaking into a private residence!”

Lin Yuan clasped his wrist with one hand and, for the first time, begged him in a low voice: “Xiao Qi, listen to me. I have no other intentions, just…..”

Lu Qi felt sick when he touched his wrist, but the more he pulled, the harder Lin Yuan squeezed. Just when he was about to punch Lin Yuan in the face, a hand reached between them and touched Lin Yuan’s wrist with apparent lightness, but his hand lost all strength. Lu Qi managed to break free, and was pulled behind and shielded securely.

There shouldn’t have been anyone else in the room, unless Xiao Sanhua had become particularly proficient.

Lu Qi stared at Mu Nanqiao’s bare back, his head reeling.

It’s over, it’s over.

The mad dog had seen the white moonlight. 

Lin Yuan also didn’t expect a man to jump out of Lu Qi’s room unclothed. Feeling a kind of jealous rage, he cursed fiercely: “Fuck! Who the hell is poaching from laozi?!”

He raised his eyes and met a familiar yet unfamiliar face.

---

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Chapter Sixteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighteen