Xiao Sanhua ran out from under the sofa, cursing, and it was unknown where she went. For such a large house, to put it exaggeratedly, they might have to install a tracking device in the future.

Lu Qi pondered in a daze.

As if dissatisfied with his distraction, Mu Nanqiao moved his wrist, causing Lu Qi to gasp and rub his head against his shoulder like a kitten.

Compared to the narrow sofa in the 501 den, the current sofa allowed the two of them to lay on their sides facing each other, so some subtle expressions couldn’t be hidden. Mu Nanqiao even lifted Lu Qi’s chin with two fingers in an evil way, making him tilt his head back in his arms to reveal his frowning brow and wet crimson eyes, the red tip of his nose, and his slightly parted lips. All of this fell into his eyes.

Mu Nanqiao couldn’t help but kiss those slightly swollen lips, wantonly swallowing up Lu Qi’s small whimpers.

A slender calf hung down from the sofa, and the toes tensed for a moment.

Mu Nanqiao laughed hoarsely and raised his hand to Lu Qi’s eyes.

“Rent? En?” He licked and kissed Lu Qi’s Adam’s apple. “Baby’s rent is high.”

Lu Qi raised a hand to cover his eyes. There were two red marks on his cold white wrists, and his ears under his black hair were as red as if they were about to burn. “It’s dirty, please wipe it off quickly…..”

“It’s not dirty.” Mu Nanqiao kissed his forehead reassuringly and stood up to reach for the wet wipes under the coffee table. He didn’t mind Lu Qi being dirty, but if he continued to hold Lu Qi with such hands, Xiao Lu would definitely not do it.

As soon as he stood up, Lu Qi held up his pants and was about to run away, but was stopped by Mu Nanqiao and caught back.

“I’ve paid the rent…..” Lu Qi raised the tip of his nose pitifully.

“Why do you cry so much?” Mu Nanqiao kissed the side of his face and the wet marks at the corners of his eyes. “I didn’t do anything, and you just cried like this…..I really want to go to bed…..tsk, I don’t dare to think about it.”

Lu Qi didn’t mean to cry, but his tear incontinence was truly distressing. He murmured softly, “I haven’t looked at the other rooms yet…..”

Mu Nanqiao: “Mm…..I understand.”

He grabbed Lu Qi’s waist and turned him around, supported his waist and legs, and picked him up. 

Lu Qi was startled and reflexively grasped Mu Nanqiao’s waist.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Mu Nanqiao said. “We’ll look at your room.”

His clothes were disheveled, and Lu Qi had torn off several buttons from his shirt just now. His chest was half open, and there was a row of small teeth marks on his collarbone.

Lu Qi suspected that he must be secretly exercising, since he supported him steadily up the stairs in his arms.

“Mu Nanqiao…..” Lu Qi called his name in a low voice.

“En.” He opened the door, placed this person on the soft bed very gently, and lowered his head to kiss Lu Qi’s eyes. “Not doing anything, there is no way you can pay rent like this, ah, Детка…..”

He blinked his fox eyes pitifully. “I’m still feeling uncomfortable.”

“You deserve it.” Lu Qi snorted angrily. “You said kissing was the rent, and what did you just do…..”

Mu Nanqiao shamelessly continued to act coquettish, kissing Lu Qi’s lips repeatedly while drawling his voice, just like a large dog acting spoiled. “Lu baby…..baby…..”

Lu Qi snorted, but finally softened up.

. . . . . . .

There was still a residual smell in the room, and the window was opened for ventilation. Lu Qi held his wrists and huddled under the quilt, falling asleep. He didn’t have a habit of napping, but he was mentally exhausted this morning, and after relaxing, he wanted to sleep.

“I still haven’t looked at the house yet…..” He mumbled drowsily, “Mu Nanqiao, you are not a good person…..”

“Take a nap and look again when you get up.” Standing beside the bed, Mu Nanqiao leaned over and rubbed his wrists a couple of times. On the cuffs of his dark blue suit, two diamond cufflinks shone brightly. “I’m going to the company for an impromptu meeting. I’ll be back soon.”

“Oh…..” Lu Qi raised his eyes and looked at the big vixen in front of him with his suit and tie. He slowly grabbed his sleeve and asked, “Why aren’t you wearing the cufflinks I gave you?”

It was like he was drunk.

Mu Nanqiao laughed out loud. “Because I want to save your cufflinks for our wedding.”

Lu Qi: “Oh…..”

It was unknown if he heard him clearly, but Mu Nanqiao didn’t mind. He lowered his head to kiss Lu Qi’s forehead, then left with satisfaction.

There was a soft click from the door downstairs. Lu Qi turned over and stretched out his long legs under the soft quilt. After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes.

Mu Nanqiao just said……wedding!

His heart pounded, and his sleepiness was briefly driven away.

It was embarrassing to say that some of Lu Qi’s ideas were rather traditional. For him, this word not only represented a ceremony, but also represented a stable social relationship and the family they would form. 

If he formed a family with Mu Nanqiao…..

Lu Qi couldn’t help the curve of his lips. But then he thought that if there was a wedding, his mom wouldn’t be there, and he felt a bit melancholy.

Feeling that he couldn’t sleep anymore, he sat up, moved his wrists, and took a look at this bedroom that belonged to him.

The main colors were the warm shades he liked. There was a plush carpet beside the bed, and the floor-to-ceiling windows filled the room with light. Even though it seemed a little empty before his things were placed in it, he liked this room.

“Miwu~” The door was open a small crack, and Xiao Sanhua poked her head through it, followed by the little black pig.

Lu Qi patted the quilt, and Xiao Sanhua walked in proudly with her tail erect. She quickly jumped on the bed, put her head on Lu Qi’s chest, and began to purr softly and act coquettishly.

The little black pig also jumped up and lay next to Lu Qi.

Lu Qi lifted up Xiao Sanhua’s two front paws and checked her belly. After finding that there was no dust, he felt relieved and leaned over to kiss her little head. “From today on, our residence has changed. You have to be nice on another person’s territory, ah!”

Xiao Sanhua: “Meow~”

It was unknown if she understood or not.

After looking at his own room, Lu Qi went to take a look at Mu Nanqiao’s room opposite. He thought it would be a simple cold black, gray, and brown, but what he saw was light beige and yellow everywhere. The overall style was similar to his own bedroom.

Thinking of how Mu Nanqiao had soiled the sheets in his room, Lu Qi threw himself onto the bed in exaggerated revenge and rolled around a few times with Xiao Sanhua in his arms.

There were fresh ingredients in the refrigerator, and Lu Qi cooked noodles for himself for lunch.

After eating, he unpacked boxes and sorted out his things. During this period, Xiao Sanhua had already discovered the throne at the top of the cat climbing frame and occupied the high ground like a king.

When everything was sorted, Lu Qi was ready to go downstairs and throw away the garbage.

In fact, he could put it at the stairwell by the back door and property management would have someone come and collect it, but Lu Qi wanted to go downstairs for a walk. After all, this was where he would live permanently in the future, so he would go down and become familiar with the environment.

He swiped his card and took the elevator down to the first floor, then exited through the 5-meter-high entrance lobby. He found a clean, decorative-looking trash can, completed the task, and could then explore freely.

Behind Block A was a small garden. Lu Qi strolled over slowly and didn’t meet many people along the way. When he reached the bottom of the hillside, he couldn’t help but turn on his phone and take a couple of photos. He didn’t post on WeChat moments, but remembered that someone loved these sorts of flowers and plants. After hesitating for a while, he found that person on WeChat. The name read “Mom.”

He had been away like this for four years before, which was a kind of escape. Now, he could no longer let his dad fight alone. He must also try to ease the relationship with his mom.

He sent two pictures of the camellias and a few sentences.

[Mom, I moved. The environment of the new house is pretty good, and the camellias downstairs are blooming. I thought you would like them, so I took photos for you to see]

He didn’t expect to get a reply right away, so he put down the phone after sending it and prepared to walk up the steps on the hill to have a look.

“Is that you?” A female voice came from behind, clear and pleasant.

Lu Qi turned his head and saw a beautiful woman in light, delicate makeup and a loose blue dress. Looking closely, there was a slight bump on her stomach, indicating that she was an expecting mother.

Lu Qi saw that she looked familiar, and as he paused to figure out who she was, the woman had already taken two steps closer.

“I’m Lin Xiaoshuang.” She added, “Lin Yuan’s aunt.”

Lu Qi suddenly remembered that a few months ago, this Ms. Lin Xiaoshuang had been at Lin Yuan’s house. She tried to give him a sum of money to break up with Lin Yuan, and it was also from her mouth that Lu Qi heard Mu Nanqiao’s name for the first time.

She was wearing a red dress at that time, and was arrogant and domineering. Meeting her again now, her temperament and makeup had changed a lot, so Lu Qi didn’t recognize her at first.

He and Lin Yuan definitely couldn’t be said to have gotten together and parted ways easily, and could even be considered enemies. Therefore, Lu Qi was inevitably a little awkward upon seeing his ex-boyfriend’s aunt again.

Greeting her politely and cautiously, he said hello.

Sensing his discomfort, Lin Xiaoshuang stopped and raised her hand to smooth her scattered hair. She forced a smile and said, “I originally didn’t plan to contact you. It would be too intrusive. I didn’t expect to meet you here. Then I will just say something for Lin Yuan, so that he didn’t call me ‘auntie’ for more than twenty years in vain.”

Lu Qi: “…..Say it.”

What she said would go through his left ear and out his right ear, ending this awkward encounter.

Lin Xiaoshuang said: “He said that he regrets the way he treated you, and he supposes he will never see you again. He hopes that you and Mu Nanqiao will be happy together…..”

After saying that, she laughed at herself. “These words are disgusting. They’re all nonsense. Anyway, I brought the words to you, so that’s it.”

There were no ripples in Lu Qi’s heart, and he even wanted to say bah! Unlucky!

When Lin Xiaoshuang struggled to bend down, he noticed that there was a suitcase at her feet.

Regardless of whether he knew her or not, he was a young man who couldn’t just watch a pregnant woman lift heavy objects, so he helped her with it and asked where she was going. “I’ll help you carry your things, but it’s strange, doesn’t the property here provide 24-hour service? Why isn’t anyone helping you carry your luggage?”

“I’m no longer an owner. The tea cools down as soon as the person is gone. Do you think there are good people like you everywhere?” She smiled as she joked. Then she remembered something, and her expression became strange. “You can live here because of Mu Nanqiao, right? You’re living with him?”

Lu Qi was confidently in a relationship and had nothing to hide, so he nodded with an affirmative sound.

Lin Xiaoshuang: “Do you still pay rent?”

Lu Qi thought of something and coughed. His ears felt a little warm and he shook his head, saying: “I don’t…..”

When he said that, he himself was stunned for a moment.

It seemed that from the beginning, he never thought of paying rent to Mu Nanqiao. It wasn’t that he wanted to take advantage of him. He simply felt that it was unnecessary. He treated Mu Nanqiao without reservation, and Mu Nanqiao returned the same love, so there was no need to worry about calculating everything clearly.

Lin Xiaoshuang said: “It seems that my blessing to you last time came true. But you never liked Lin Yuan from the beginning, so you clearly paid rent with the attitude of being able to leave at any time, am I right?”

It seemed that this was indeed the case…..

With nothing to say on the rest of the journey, Lu Qi sent Lin Xiaoshuang to the parking lot, and a car hurriedly drove in. A young man got out of the car and took the luggage from Lu Qi’s hands. He looked young, younger than Lin Xiaoshuang. He didn’t wear any big brand-name clothes, and drove an ordinary car.

But the way he looked at Lin Xiaoshuang was full of tender admiration.

Lin Xiaoshuang smiled at Lu Qi before getting in the vehicle. “I didn’t mean anything else by what I said. Although you are an honest kid, sometimes your intuition is quite sharp. That bastard Lin Yuan probably shouldn’t even be counted as an ex-boyfriend, but a roommate at best. I find it ridiculous that he said those things.”

It was unknown what she had gone through to say something like this. Lu Qi returned home and thought it over again and again, but still felt strange. Turning on his phone, he prepared to talk to Mu Nanqiao about it.

He clicked on Mu Nanqiao’s profile picture twice.

[I pat my “boyfriend” on the shoulder to remind him that it is time to collect the rent]

Lu Qi: ……

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T/N: I’m going to work hard to rebuild my stock of chapters for this story, and then I plan to start translating a short horror novel! I’m excited to try out a different genre.

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Chapter Thirty-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-One