Once they got in the car and he turned on the air, He Chuzhou placed his palm in front of the air vent to check the temperature, and his gaze fell naturally onto the passenger seat.

Sitting there was Pei Xi, holding a cup of milk tea and drinking it intently.

He Chuzhou: “Do you like the flavor?”

Pei Xi nodded, and said after a two-second pause: “I don’t know what the other flavors taste like either. Chuzhou, have I never drank milk tea before?”

He Chuzhou couldn’t answer this question, since he had never drank it before: “Why do you ask?”

Pei Xi thought deeply: “It feels like this is the first time I’ve tasted milk tea. It’s different from what I had imagined…..”

Imagined?

A person who was usually so busy with work that he forgot to eat still had time to imagine what milk tea tasted like.

He Chuzhou was inexplicably poked by the cuteness: “Then what did you think milk tea should be like?”

Pei Xi said concisely: “Milk made out of tea.”

“Milk made out of tea?”

He Chuzhou repeated this, rather in agreement: “That’s very reasonable, but if it really lived up to its name, the milk tea shop wouldn’t have so many strange flavors.”

“There could be,” Pei Xi said.

He Chuzhou raised an eyebrow: “For example?”

Pei Xi: “For example, milk made with green tea, white tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, red tea, and black tea.”

He Chuzhou: “……?”

Pei Xi: “It can also be further subdivided. White tea and yellow tea can be made with Yin Zhen tea, black tea with Pu’er tea, oolong with Tieguanyin and Dahongpao, and green tea can be made with Longjing Biluochun.”

“When you have finished subdividing it downwards, you must move up to a larger category and change the source and type of milk, developing a hybrid blend…..”

He Chuzhou: “……”

Pei Xi gave a clear and concise explanation. When he looked up, he found that He Chuzhou had a strange look on his face and hadn’t responded for some time. He could only wonder: “What is it?”

“Nothing, ah, it’s nothing,” He Chuzhou said.

Only a breath after he finished speaking, he suddenly couldn’t help but laugh. He lowered his head and covered his face, shoulders shaking with laughter.

“?”

Pei Xi didn’t understand: “Chuzhou, is what I said funny?”

He Chuzhou waved his other hand: “It’s not funny. It’s very serious, not funny at all.”

Pei Xi frowned: “Then what are you laughing at?”

“It’s just that I was suddenly and indiscriminately shot with knowledge points, and I was caught a little off guard.”

That was about enough. He Chuzhou suppressed his laughter, wanting to affirm Pei Xi’s whimsical idea.

As soon as he raised his head and met the other’s innocent and confused eyes, the corners of his mouth curved again uncontrollably.

God.

“Why are you so cute, ah!”

He couldn’t pretend. He wouldn’t pretend anymore. It was like an outbreak of cuteness aggression, and he wanted to take this person and bite him on the spot.

Unfortunately, the reality was that he could only rub this person’s head carelessly from a seat away.

“There are so many milk tea shops, but none of them have had an idea like yours. I can register a trademark for you later, and you will be the first one in the country.”

“Chuzhou, this is just a personal, one-sided perception that arose from incomplete exposure to general knowledge. It isn’t creative or cute.”

Pei Xi solemnly corrected He Chuzhou’s description of him. Withdrawing his gaze, he picked up the milk tea and took a sip: “And I don’t intend to open a milk tea shop. You were just laughing at me.”

There was still a smile on He Chuzhou’s lips, but he gave no further explanation, simply leaning back in the seat with a relaxed expression. With one hand on the steering wheel, he looked sideways at Pei Xi under the nighttime lights.

Pei Xi had a small temper and was very forgetful regarding trivial matters such as chatting to relieve boredom. There was no need to go out of his way to coax him. If he just kept silent, he would recover on his own.

Just like now. In just two sips of milk tea, he had already completely vented the anger of the previous second as he carefully tasted the coconut beads he sucked up through the straw.

Lowering his head while he chewed, he thought to himself: “My imagination is really no good. I couldn’t imagine putting such crispy coconut beads in milk tea to heighten the taste.”

He Chuzhou stared at the eyelashes that unconsciously fluttered as he thought, along with his slightly puffed-out cheeks, and silently took a deep breath.

Then he rubbed his face vigorously.

He wanted to bite this person again.

Who on earth taught him to be so unscrupulous and cute every day?

Who could let him go when he was this cute?

It was just a pity.

A pity that he had long legs. It was likely that one day he would run away and never come back.

It would be nice if he didn’t run away, and just stayed obedient like this…..

Realizing what strange thoughts were occurring in his head, he smiled widely for a moment, then restrained himself.

After a long while, he clicked his tongue and patted his forehead. Withdrawing his gaze from the passenger seat, he simply started the vehicle and set off for home.

*

*

Wu Qing: [You went back?]

Wu Qing: [You really went back?]

Wu Qing: [You haven’t played with the 4D glasses yet. How about I get one and send it to you?]

Wu Qing: [Hey! Say something, Lao He!]

Wu Qing: [Are you still there?]

Wu Qing: [Tell me honestly, are you in a relationship with Pei Xi? I won’t object.]

Wu Qing: [How long has it been since you snatched the bracelet from that person at the auction, ah?]

Wu Qing: [No way, were you two just pretending to be sworn enemies, and were actually secret boyfriends?]

Wu Qing: [Good brother, don’t tell me that I’m also a part of your games]

Wu Qing: [……]

Wu Qing: [God damnit, I will buy a pair of red high heels and hang myself in front of your house for you to see! ! !]

He Chuzhou came out of the shower and saw the messages on his phone popping up. He opened it and looked at Pei Xi, who was sitting on the bed: “Xinxin, do you want to play with 4D glasses?”

Pei Xi didn’t understand: “Are they like the ones in the cinema?”

He Chuzhou described them to him: “When you put them on, you see a bunch of people dancing around you.”

Pei Xi shook his head decisively: “No.”

He Chuzhou had thought he would at least think about it: “Why not?”

“I don’t like too much noise and excitement.”

Pei Xi lifted the quilt and lay down, leaving a space beside him as he looked at He Chuzhou obediently: “Having you is enough.”

He Chuzhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he suddenly couldn’t respond.

Great, he was about to say that they would stay in separate rooms tonight, but now he couldn’t say it.

He finally gave in after a long moment, scratching behind his ears.

Fine, fine, one more time was okay.

If he really got kicked again, he would just wait until Pei Xi was clear-headed and have a good talk with him.

On the other side, Wu Qing continued to type and send messages wildly. But in the end, after a long time, he only received this underwhelming reply:

[Forget it, those glasses are too ugly. Pei Xi doesn’t like them. You can keep them for yourself.]

Wu Qing: “…..”

Wu Qing: “…..?”

Wu Qing: “????”

Wu Qing: [He Chuzhou, you treacherous @#&..! @#*（@——￥@……&! !]

*

*

At first light, the phone on the carpet was awakened by the first notification of the morning and buzzed.

Wrapped in the quilt, He Chuzhou was disturbed by the noise, and when he opened his eyes in a daze, he met another pair of beautiful eyes very close to him.

“……”

“……”

After a long and silent period of staring at each other, He Chuzhou’s rusty brain unconsciously began to spin.

It was dawn.

Pei-calico had woken up.

Ah, Pei-calico seemed to be awake.

It was time to run again.

Should he start dodging in advance right now?

Otherwise, he would be kicked again soon—

His mechanical thinking was interrupted when the person beside him sat up.

He tried his best to keep his eyelids open as he watched Pei Xi step over him without a word, get out of bed, change out of his pajamas, and put on his shoes…..

So sleepy. So confused.

Why hadn’t he kicked him today?

When they looked at each other for the last time, Pei Xi had a complicated expression on his face. His eyes showed his hesitancy to speak, but he said nothing in the end, and turned toward the door with pursed lips.

“There are sandwiches packed up in the refrigerator.” 

He Chuzhou’s voice was low and hoarse, with the sleepiness of someone who was not completely awake: “No matter how busy you are at work, you must remember to eat. You’ve gotten so thin…..”

Half a minute later, the door opened and closed.

He Chuzhou slowly turned over with his arms around the quilt, buried his face into the pillow beside him, and fell halfway asleep again.

It was very strange.

He obviously used the same shampoo and shower gel, so why did it smell so different when it was on Pei-calico?

*

*

In the Pei Group building, the president’s office.

Pei Xi sat behind the computer and stared at the text-heavy screen, his thoughts already drifting away.

He couldn’t be entirely blamed for thinking badly of someone to this degree.

Who would have thought that “duck heads,” from the mouth of Wu Qing, a reputable playboy, would be actual duck heads.

It was his fault for misunderstanding He Chuzhou this time.

It was him who unilaterally convicted that person without understanding the whole story.

But taking a step back, was his belief entirely unreasonable?

A few days was simply not enough time to see everything about a person.

Besides, when they were at the club the night before, He Chuzhou seemed to be accustomed to everything about the nightclub scene, and was obviously a frequent visitor…..

Right.

He suddenly remembered. This morning was obviously a good opportunity, but he forgot to take the two letters of guarantee with him before leaving.

The sudden regret made him frown subconsciously, but he frowned for only a moment before letting it go.

Never mind.

If they stayed, they stayed.

He Chuzhou was not the type of person who would mock or threaten him with those guarantees.

Knock knock.

There were two light knocks on the door, and Xiao Gu outside asked whether to take a visitor to the office first or directly to the conference room.

Pei Xi: “The conference room. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Xiao Gu gave his regards and left quickly.

Pei Xi let out a low exhale and temporarily set aside his chaotic thoughts, continuing to focus on his work.

The afternoon work came to an end, but an hour later, he needed to conduct an online meeting with several management personnel from the overseas branches.

There was not much time to waste on dinner. After he got home, he had originally planned to go directly back to the study to prepare for the meeting, but when he passed by the kitchen, he happened to think of something and stopped in his tracks.

Three minutes later, a package of pasta was lowered into boiling water.

It didn’t take long to make a pasta dish, and including the time to eat, there was definitely enough time.

When he finally took out the cooked shrimp, his movements halted as the image of He Chuzhou single-mindedly peeling shrimp for him appeared uncontrollably in his mind.

He obviously had no obligation to take care of him like that, but he still worked hard to arouse his appetite.

It was such a troublesome and thankless thing, but he still enjoyed doing it…..

A shrimp rolled back into the water with a small splash.

He belatedly realized that his mind had wandered again and closed his eyes forcefully, making himself stop his thoughts there.

Indeed, he couldn’t go to him again.

Their relationship was far from the point where he could continue to cause trouble for the other without any psychological burden.

When it came to moving forward, the highly self-disciplined President Pei had never been bound by procrastination.

He could not stay in his right mind all the time, so he could only limit his actions through external terms.

After the meeting, he left the study, then turned off his cell phone and hid it in a cabinet in the guest room. Then he went to the door and turned off the fingerprint lock function, locked the door from the inside, and hid the key in the bottom of the shoe cabinet.

Everything was ready, and if nothing unexpected happened, he wouldn’t step a foot out of this house until he was sober again.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned off the entrance hall light and dragged his tired body back to the bedroom.

Three hours later.

Having awoken from a nightmare, Pei Xi stood in the entrance hall with a pale face, dazed and covered in cold sweat.

In the corridor next to the door was the property manager, whom he had called up in the middle of the night using his home environment and monitoring system, and was struggling over how to open the completely locked door.

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Chapter 20 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 22