In the morning, He Chuzhou went to the project site where construction had already started to inspect its progress, and at noon, he was dragged into a long lunch by a partner he met by chance.

A valuable lunch break was wasted for no profit.

In the afternoon, he rushed directly to the company. Yun Ji hurried to the data room, holding a stack of portfolios in his arms and saw him when he was passing by. He said quickly, “I signed for your express delivery yesterday and put it in your office for you.”

His steps didn’t pause until his figure disappeared.

He Chuzhou had long been accustomed to Yun Ji’s vigorous temperament. After asking the front desk for yesterday’s and today’s visitor list, he turned and went to his office.

The express delivery was placed in an obvious location on his desk. It was a small cardboard box, with the courier note on it torn in half and signed with Yun Ji’s name.

He Chuzhou was confident that he hadn’t bought something online, and even if he did, he wouldn’t have put the company’s address on it.

This was probably a new product sent by a technology company he had cooperated with.

He walked to his chair and sat down, then took a small utility knife from a drawer and cut through the layers of tape to open the box.

There was a cardboard box inside.

He Chuzhou took out the smaller box and proceeded to open it, putting the larger one to the side.

Inside was another cardboard box.

He Chuzhou: “……”

What was this? Who had sent him nesting doll boxes?

He picked up the outermost box and looked at the message. The sender was a stranger with the surname Gu, and his phone number was not familiar. In addition, there was a row of bold characters:

[Valuable goods! Please handle with care]

It was probably not a nesting doll.

He Chuzhou sighed and continued dismantling it.

One box after another until there was finally a white one, and upon opening it, the box was filled with foam balls.

He reached in and took a handful, and a white jadeite bracelet came out on his index finger.

He came to a sudden realization.

If a person who had recovered his memories wanted to draw a clear line, he must take steps to return this property to its original owner.

But sending a courier to give it to him? 

He was really a cheapskate.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he folded the boxes down and tossed them next to his desk. He put the bracelet in a drawer for now, then opened his computer and prepared to deal with the emails he had not had time to check that day.

There were three rapid knocks on the door, and Yun Ji hurriedly pushed it open and came in: “Cousin, there’s an urgent matter.”

He Chuzhou typed a reply to an email without looking up: “What urgent matter?”

Yun Ji: “Didn’t Mr. Zhang go abroad? Several emerging companies in the industry know that the land hasn’t been purchased yet, so they contacted Mr. Zhang’s assistant privately. It seems they want to have a secret liaison and seize the land while we and President Pei aren’t paying attention.”

He Chuzhou adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and raised his head: “Emerging companies?”

Yun Ji nodded.

He Chuzhou: “The conditions proposed by Mr. Zhang are harsh. Can they all fulfill them?”

“That is not the case.” Yun Ji said: “But I’m afraid that sincerity will lead to success. If one of them somehow meets Mr. Zhang’s appetite, in principle—”

“If they are so easily shaken, principles can no longer be called principles.”

He Chuzhou lowered his head and continued to reply to emails: “Mr. Zhang is not the type of brainless rich man in TV dramas who is moved to tears when helped across the street and wants to give away his family property.”

Yun Ji: “You mean their efforts now are useless?”

He Chuzhou: “If you want to gain the secrets of martial arts, you must first ensure that you don’t die when you fall off a cliff. Do you think they’ll do well in their current condition?”

Yun Ji understood. His worries were relieved, and he was inspired again: “Since they did it, can we also contact Mr. Zhang remotely? Even if we can’t negotiate, we can more or less take the initiative.”

He Chuzhou paused his movements.

Yun Ji: “When Mr. Zhang returns from abroad, we can sincerely offer to sign the contract, and it will be too late for President Pei to intervene.”

Yun Ji: “How about it?”

Yun Ji: “?”

Yun Ji: “Why aren’t you speaking?”

He Chuzhou was stared at by doubtful eyes for a long moment, and finally looked away: “Forget it.”

Yun Ji didn’t understand: “Why?”

With a crisp click of the enter key, He Chuzhou sent the edited email: “A certain person has a bad temper and is difficult to control. If they find out, they may be so angry that they cry to death at home.”

Yun Ji: “?”

Yun Ji: “? ? ?”

Yun Ji: “Who? Aiyue?”

Yun Ji: “Why would she cry? Is she also a fan of Pei Xi? Does she want to give birth to his child?”

He Chuzhou: “…….”

He Chuzhou: “You’re ridiculous, go and do your work.”

He kicked the boxes to Yun Ji’s feet: “Throw these away on your way out.”

*

*

Because He Chuzhou would be present at the 2 o’clock meeting, management proactively filled the conference room five minutes early.

He Chuzhou had no choice but to forgo making a cup of coffee, and went in.

The writer of the summary and planning report was a new employee, and was still a little nervous when explaining the Powerpoint. He glanced at He Chuzhou from time to time where he was sitting in the front seat on the right, and occasionally stumbled over a word or two.

When he saw the cellphone in front of He Chuzhou light up, he subconsciously stopped talking.

However, he found that the other person had no intention of answering. He just glanced at it briefly and continued to look at the Powerpoint projection.

The new employee could only resume talking.

In the following period, the phone lit up repeatedly four or five times, automatically hanging up when no one answered.

Finally, when he was switching to the next presentation file, he saw He Chuzhou press the answer key.

For fear of disturbing his boss’s call, he immediately slowed down and lowered the volume, ready to wait.

From a short distance, he heard He Chuzhou say, when he connected “President Pei, do you have some other advice?” And then he said nothing more.

It was just that after a brief moment of shock, there were subtle and fleeting micro-expressions on his face.

President Pei……?

He held his breath, thinking, it couldn’t be the President Pei he knew of, right?

The call didn’t last long, and He Chuzhou finally hung up after saying, “I’m in a meeting.”

He put down his cellphone and tapped on the desktop to bring the new employee back to his senses: “Continue.”

“O-Okay.”

The new employee immediately clicked play. The full conference room was silent aside from his slightly jerky but clear and logical explanation.

Half a minute later, the person in the forefront suddenly stood up.

Under the gazes of many people, He Chuzhou picked up the phone without a change of expression: “I have another urgent matter. You all continue. Yun Ji, send the meeting notes to my email later.”

*

*

The address for Pei Xi’s home was sent by Yun Ji previously, along with the address and contact information for Pei Xi’s parents.

He Chuzhou hurried to follow the address there. It wasn’t too far. It was a high-rise community, and it was only when he arrived that He Chuzhou realized that Pei Xi was located on the top floor.

He lived alone at such a high place?

Viewing everything from on high was indeed in line with this person’s lofty character.

There was one elevator for each individual household, but the elevator did not lead directly to the living room. After exiting the elevator, He Chuzhou turned into the hallway and knocked on the door.

There was no response.

Had he fallen asleep?

He returned the call that he had just received in the conference room. When the call connected, the person on the other end didn’t speak, but shallow breathing could be heard.

He Chuzhou: “Come and open the door.”

This time, there was no sound of breathing from the other end.

The home’s soundproofing was so good that He Chuzhou couldn’t hear any footsteps inside, but he soon heard the sound of the door lock being opened.

The door was opened from the inside right after, and a figure jumped straight into his arms, wrapping his arms around his waist to hug him tightly.

He Chuzhou was pushed back half a step by this reckless charge and caught him steadily.

“What’s the rush? I’m not going anywhere.”

He Chuzhou grasped the back of his neck angrily: “Stop burying your head, look up.”

Pei Xi didn’t move, and even held him tighter. From He Chuzhou’s perspective, only a section of fair skin on his neck and the dark back of his head could be seen.

He Chuzhou simply picked him up, walked two steps inside, and placed him on the cabinet at the side of the entranceway.

The height was just right. He Chuzhou leaned down slightly and put his hands on both sides of the cabinet, trapping Pei Xi in front of him.

It was also at this moment that he discovered that Pei Xi’s eyelids were a little swollen and his eyes were shining as if he had just cried.

“You cried like this after I didn’t answer your calls a few times. Why didn’t you have mercy when you kicked me?”

Pei Xi said nothing, and looked straight at him with the corners of his mouth pursed, grievance and stubbornness written all over his face.

He Chuzhou clicked his tongue and casually brushed away the small strands of hair stuck to Pei Xi’s forehead: “Weren’t you fine this morning? How did something go wrong again?”

Pei Xi still didn’t speak, but his eyes reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the mist in his eyes quickly condensed into tears that didn’t fall.

He Chuzhou: “…….”

He Chuzhou: “I can’t believe you!”

He practically squeezed the words between his teeth, and pinched one of Pei Xi’s cheeks without daring to exert any force: “White-eyed wolf, you’re just determined to take advantage of me, aren’t you?”

When he finished speaking, the tears in Pei Xi’ eyes fell uncontrollably.

“……”

He Chuzhou took a long breath and resigned himself to his fate, then bent down and hugged this person: “Fine. I was wrong, okay? I left behind a room full of employees to come here, so don’t feel wronged.”

Pei Xi buried his face in his shoulder, and his voice was unsteady: “Why did you leave me here alone?”

The fraudulently blamed He Chuzhou was speechless for a long moment, and finally came up with a reasonable explanation: “You ran away from home.”

The person on his shoulder fell silent.

After a while, a small, confused voice said: “I…..I ran away from home? Why?”

He Chuzhou: “Because you said that none of the dishes I cooked were to your taste. You were very angry, and kicked me before leaving.”

“……?”

After a long moment, Pei Xi raised his head. The crimson at the corners of his eyes had not faded, but at least there were no further signs of tears: “I…..kicked you?”

Knowing that this person didn’t remember anything when he was in his right mind, He Chuzhou deceived him without any guilt: “Yes, ah, you kicked me. You kicked me hard. My ribs still hurt.”

Pei Xi was dubious: “Chuzhou, I wouldn’t be so unreasonable.”

He Chuzhou: “Would you like to see where you kicked me?”

Pei Xi nodded earnestly: “Okay.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

“Forget it, I’m afraid you’ll feel guilty when you see it.”

He Chuzhou touched the tip of his nose and stood up straight: “Go change clothes and pack your things. I’ll…..take you home first.”

Pei Xi nodded and took He Chuzhou to his bedroom. Taking out a set of clothes from the wardrobe, he began to change.

His body without fabric covering it had little to do with the concept of strength. It was slender, well-proportioned, and extraordinarily beautiful.

He Chuzhou didn’t expect his lack of shyness, and was caught off guard. It was too late to leave, so he could only cover his lips with a light cough and turn away uneasily.

It was quite strange. They were both men, so why did it feel like something was wrong when Pei Xi took his clothes off in front of him?

There was a small suitcase in the corner of the room. He Chuzhou walked over and picked it up to take a look. It was empty.

He thought for a while as he waited for Pei Xi to finish changing, then took the suitcase to the wardrobe and took a few sets of Pei Xi’s clothes to put inside it.

Pei Xi asked no questions when he saw this. Judging from his expression, he probably felt that there was a reason he was doing this.

While He Chuzhou was folding pajamas into the suitcase, he crouched beside him with his arms folded. His expression was indifferent, but his eyes were very focused.

He Chuzhou was once again reminded of his grandma’s cat. It would squat to the side and watch curiously for a long time whenever somebody did something.

If there was any difference between them, perhaps it was that Pei Xi could only stare but not dig into him.

When He Chuzhou was about to close the box, Pei Xi suddenly said: “Chuzhou.”

He Chuzhou: “En?”

Pei Xi: “You said I ran away from home, but why don’t I remember at all?”

He Chuzhou: “Because you drank too much.”

Pei Xi: “Drank too much?”

He Chuzhou: “Yes, ah. You were so drunk that you couldn’t walk steadily. I had to carry you to the car and carry you while walking.”

Pei Xi was silent for a moment: “I was so drunk that I had no strength, so how could I still kick your ribs black and blue?”

He Chuzhou: “……”

He Chuzhou turned to him with a hiss: “You—”

“I’m sorry.” Pi Xi suddenly apologized.

He Chuzhou was taken aback: “What?”

Pei Xi reflected on himself with single-hearted devotion: “I vaguely remember being drunk, but I have no memories after that. It’s possible I don’t remember because of the alcohol.”

“I shouldn’t have disrespected the fruits of your labor, kicked you, or run away from home unreasonably, and shouldn’t have delayed your business at work. I will make amends and never do it again. Can you forgive me?”

This apology was so sincere that He Chuzhou couldn’t answer for a while.

This was too good.

He bit his cheek in thought.

What was the difference between seducing him and bullying him?

But…..

Anyway, he wouldn’t remember when he was in his right mind. Pei Xi had upset him, so it was reasonable for him to bully Pei-calico.

Thinking of this, his lips curved and he reached out to scratch Pei Xi’s chin: “It’s no use calling me Chuzhou. Call me gege.”

Pei Xi blinked his eyes cutely. Under He Chuzhou’s gaze, he changed his words obediently and said in his uniquely soft, clear voice: 

“Gege.”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here.

Chapter 11 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 13