T/N: Thank you so much to Cocole for the Kofi donation! Here’s a double update!

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After many years, He Xingxing once again experienced what it meant to be ignored.

He was forced to poop right away when he went out, and went home immediately after pooping. Not only was he not given time to have fun, but even the time to look around was very tight.

Focusing on speed, time seemed to slip by.

He Xingxing was very disappointed. From the moment he came back, he squeezed listlessly through the door, slumped down listlessly, and tapped his tail listlessly on the floor. 

And he watched listlessly as his father repeatedly confirmed with the “good friend” he brought back whether it was okay for him to bathe alone.

Sure enough, humans could not communicate their joys and sorrows to one another, let alone humans and dogs.

He Chuzhou was unaware of the harm his unintentional actions had caused to the dog’s fragile heart.

After giving Pei Xi his pajamas, he went to the kitchen and began to prepare hangover soup in an orderly manner.

He was just not very efficient. As he worked, his gaze and attention would automatically drift to his hand.

After such a long time and coming back from walking the dog, why did it seem like the remaining sensation on his palm had not gone away?

He made a fist with his right hand and opened it, measuring by eye the length from the base of his palm to the fingertips, and the width from his thumb to his pinky finger.

He couldn’t help but give a heartfelt sigh. Such a small face.

It was so pitifully small that if he spread his fingers, he could cover Pei Xi’s entire face.

And what was even more lamentable was that he could voluntarily praise an adult of the same sex as cute.

If He Aiyue found out about this, she would organize three days and three nights of messy things for him with the stroke of a pen.

But he really was cute.

Especially when those bright eyes were wide open and staring at him seriously and intently, easily reminding him of the cat his grandma kept at home.

That long-haired, blue-eyed, extremely picky eater. The cat loved to act like a spoiled child, and was bought at an extremely expensive price.

The phone suddenly rang. He shook his hands and cleared his brain, turned down the heat, and picked up the phone. There was no name on the series of numbers displayed above, but they looked familiar. It was the number that he had dialed three or four times in the car with no answer.

“Hello, this is Pei Yansong.”

The voice on the other end of the line sounded elderly, with a habitual tone of superiority, and could not be considered kind: “Who are you?”

He Chuzhou reported his name.

“President He.” Pei Yansong knew of him, but didn’t say much: “Why are you looking for me?”

He Chuzhou: “Your son had a minor accident recently and is…..not feeling well. He’s at my place now.”

“Pei Xi?” Pei Yansong: “He didn’t call me.”

“It’s not serious, maybe he didn’t want to worry you.”

He Chuzhou: “But the situation is a bit special, and I won’t be able to explain it clearly over the phone. If it is convenient for you, I will send him to you now.”

Pei Yansong: “Apologies, but it is not convenient.”

He Chuzhou: “……What?”

Pei Yansong’s overly frank refusal made him frown.

“It’s not convenient now.”

There were no great waves in Pei Yansong’s voice, and it sounded like he didn’t care very much about his son’s accident: “I’m abroad, and there is no way I can get back in such a short time.”

Pei Yansong: “If Pei Xi causes you trouble, I apologize to you on his behalf. President He’s kindness is appreciated, but if there is a matter he can’t solve, he will call me himself.”

He Chuzhou’s frown deepened, and just as he was about to speak, he heard a young female voice call for Pei Yansong.

And Pei Yansong hung up the phone quickly after answering.

He Chuzhou really couldn’t understand Pei Yansong’s reaction.

As a father, was this a normal reaction to hearing that his son was unwell after an accident?

Forget it, he didn’t have the right to interfere in other people’s family affairs. It was just that the current matter had become more troublesome.

Pei Xi’s parents were out of the country, and his friends could not be told. The road ahead and the road behind were blocked. Was it possible that he would really have to keep this person here forever…..

Bang.

A familiar crashing sound came from the living room, where the dog had stepped over his food bowl.

He Chuzhou shouted “He Xingxing!” in warning and put down his phone, intending to go out and train the dog first. When he turned around, he saw Pei Xi not far behind him.

It was unknown how long he had been standing there, wearing ill-fitting pajamas with a head of half-wet hair.

He Chuzhou paused, and the first thing he noticed was his hair: “Why did you not blow dry your hair again—”

His words stopped abruptly.

Pei Xi’s suddenly reddened eyes took his voice away.

“What’s wrong?”

What bowl of dog food? It was instantly forgotten. He strode up to Pei Xi and raised a hand to touch his face: “Let me see, are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere — hiss!”

A dull pain spread from the side of his palm, and he gasped.

Along with the dull pain, tears fell one after another.

Pei Xi’s eyelashes trembled, and those tears that he couldn’t hold back fell onto his palm. They were naturally a slightly cool temperature, but the heat made him quiver.

He endured the pain and bent down closer, using his other hand to wipe away Pei Xi’s tears: “Ancestor, what’s going on, ah? How can you take a shower and feel sad? Was the water too hot? Or do you not like this set of pajamas?”

The clenched teeth loosened.

There was no bite wound, but there were two rows of obvious teeth marks.

Pei Xi: “I heard it, liar.”

He Chuzhou: “What?”

“You called my dad. You want to send me away.” Pei Xi said word by word: “You clearly said you would always stay with me.”

“Don’t you want me anymore?”

It was rare that he vented his emotions with no reservations, and his sadness was so immense that the tears wouldn’t stop rolling down.

His eyelashes were wet, his breathing rapid, and there was still an uncontrollable sob in his voice as he tried to remain calm.

“He Chuzhou, do you not want me anymore?”

He Chuzhou was so panicked that he couldn’t care less about the pain in his hand, hurriedly wiping away tears: “No, it’s not that I don’t want you. Don’t think random thoughts.”

“It’s just that I’ve been…..well, I’ve been busy with work lately and I may not be able to take care of you all the time, so I was thinking about sending you home to stay for a while. Right, just for a while.”

Pei Xi was crying so much that there seemed to be a faucet installed in his eyes, and He Chuzhou’s coaxing was not enough to stem the flow. 

It was just that he cried so quietly, biting his lips tightly without making a sound aside from the occasional slight trembling and choking breath when he inhaled.

He Chuzhou was at a loss, and even contemplated calling Madam Chu for help. When he had exhausted his abilities, he happened to see the piece of paper Pei Xi was holding in his hand.

It was from the stack of sticky notes in his study drawer.

The originally flat paper surface was clenched into many wrinkles, but the content written in fair and beautiful regular script could still be clearly read.

It was a guarantee.

It was what Pei Xi had promised him in the car, that he would never blacklist him.

A sudden wave of emotion passed through his heart, a little sour and a little soft. It was as if a small newborn animal had nudged its head against him, and his heart faintly swelled.

He stared at the letter of guarantee for a few seconds, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. While taking the paper away, he placed his hand on Pei Xi’s back. 

With a light collision, he pulled this person into his arms.

“Okay, if you don’t want to go back, then don’t go back.”

If you want to stay, then stay.

He hugged Pei Xi and let him lay his head on his shoulder: “It’s my fault. I should have discussed this with you in advance.”

Another person in the house didn’t take up much space. Anyway, Pei Xi was so good now, just as if he had actually taken a cat home.

“Don’t cry, your eyes will be swollen before too long.”

Pei Xi was coaxed patiently for a long time before he slowly calmed down. He hugged He Chuzhou back, silently wiping all of his tears on his shoulder.

He Chuzhou breathed a sigh of relief and put a big palm on the back of his neck, rubbing it a couple of times: “You’re not sad anymore?”

It took Pei Xi a long while before he let out a muffled hum.

He Chuzhou: “Then go back to the room and blow dry your hair? Come out after and drink some hangover soup before going to sleep.”

There was once more no answer from Pei Xi.

After a while, he asked in a muffled voice: “Do you really want a cat?”

“No, ah.” He Chuzhou said helplessly: “Where could I raise a cat?”

Pei Xi: “Didn’t you tell your friend that you wanted to pick up a pretty calico?”

“Didn’t I already get one?”

He Chuzhou patted his back: “Okay, Pei-calico, go and blow dry your hair.”

“ ? ”

Pei Xi raised his head: “Pei-calico?”

His tears had dried, but not his eyelashes. The redness on his eye sockets and the tip of his nose had not faded, in sharp contrast to the surrounding skin.

He Chuzhou recalled hearing someone say that calicos were the great beauties of the cat world, and felt that this title was a perfect fit for Pei Xi.

“Yes, ah.” He deceived this person half-jokingly: “Old people say that you can’t have too many cats or dogs. It’s enough for me to raise you and He Xingxing.”

Pei Xi let out a stunned “Oh.”

After a moment, he thought of something and supplemented: “Don’t worry, I won’t beat the dog.”

*

*

Pei Xi dried his hair under He Chuzhou’s supervision, drank the sobering soup, and went back to the bedroom.

But when He Chuzhou came in after taking a shower, he found that he had not lain down, but was sitting on the bedside to wait. Seeing him enter, he motioned with his fingers for him to come over.

As soon as He Chuzhou approached, he was handed a letter of guarantee with a red pen.

“I already signed it.”

Pei Xi tapped on the one on the cabinet, which He Chuzhou had written the night before. There was an additional red signature on it – Pei Xi’s name.

“It’s rather ceremonial.”

He Chuzhou took Pei Xi’s letter and signed his own name next to Pei Xi’s.

Pei Xi put away the two letters of guarantee and pulled He Chuzhou to lay down next to him. He burrowed into his arms and silently placed his hands on his waist.

His posture was very insecure, with hope that He Chuzhou would sleep with him in his arms.

As for He Chuzhou, he was inexperienced the first time, but skillful the second time. He planned to repeat his old trick and wait for Pei Xi to fall asleep before leaving, like he had done the night before.

However, the plan couldn’t withstand the changes that happened. Pei Xi was not so easily fooled tonight. Whenever He Chuzhou felt that he was asleep and prepared to retreat, he would immediately open his eyes at the slightest movement.

He had the vigilance of a deer, or perhaps it was the aftermath of the phone call He Chuzhou had made to Pei Yansong.

In the end, after several attempts, He Chuzhou gave up. He embraced Pei Xi with his long arms and patted his back gently: “I won’t leave. Go to sleep.”

As the night progressed, their breaths gradually became long and steady as they embraced each other.

He Chuzhou dreamed that he really had a long-haired calico cat. It was troublesome and clingy, and always liked to burrow into someone’s arms while sleeping. If it wasn’t petted enough, it would meow at the top of its lungs.

He Chuzhou couldn’t get angry when he was rubbed against. He vaguely felt the brightly shining sun, so he subconsciously covered the “little cat’s” eyes and coaxed him in a low, faint voice.

As a result, he was kicked out of the bed in the next second.

He sat on the floor half-wrapped in the blanket, his mind blank. Raising his head in confusion, he unexpectedly met a pair of furious eyes.

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Chapter 9 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 11