“Mr. Pei, can you really not remember the password at all? For example, yours or your parents’ birthday? A special anniversary or something?”

“Is the fingerprint lock function definitely malfunctioning, or was it turned off accidentally? Have you tried all ten fingers?”

“We’ve contacted this smart lock brand’s customer service. He said that they should all be equipped with emergency keys that can open it from the inside.”

“Can you not find your key either?”

The property manager wracked his brains and found that there was no harmless path to take.

In the end, he had no choice but to take the quickest and most convenient way, but also the most costly method—finding a locksmith to break the lock.

Money makes the world go round. It was fairly early in the morning, but the locksmith still came as quickly as he could with a box of tools.

While he waited, the property manager was not idle. Once he learned that the owner had lost his cell phone, he offered to help contact his family.

But after dialing the number three or four times, there was still a mechanical female voice at the end repeating: 

The number you have dialed cannot be reached.

The property manager could only give up. He asked Pei Xi: “Mr. Pei, is there anyone else you can contact?”

Pei Xi stared blankly for a long moment, then shook his head and whispered: “No need to contact anyone else. Just leave it at that. It’s too much trouble.”

Breaking a lock was simple and rough physical work, and hadn’t taken long. The question was what sort of lock should replace it after it was smashed: “These locks are the same as the one in your house—”

“This one.”

Pei Xi didn’t wait for the locksmith to finish speaking. He pointed at one randomly and asked under the surprised gaze of the locksmith: “Can you give me the key first?”

The locksmith handed him a set of keys that matched the lock. Scratching his head, he could only affirm again: “Sir, do you really want—”

“Yes, thank you.”

Pei Xi interrupted the other party again, paid with cash, and then took the elevator downstairs to leave.

The locksmith and several property management staff who were left standing there exchanged glances.

“……”

“……”

“…..This?”

“…..Change it, change it. Once you’ve changed it, we’ll go down with you.”

*

*

The temperature at night was lower than in the day, and the wind blowing across the road howled fiercely.

Pei Xi was wearing loose pajamas, and the wind through the cuffs and hems of his clothing, swirling around and then slipping away, and making the figure outlined by the fabric appear thinner and thinner.

At this time and place, without a rideshare app, it would be hard to get a taxi.

He stood there at a loss, his eyes wandering aimlessly, sweeping past the tall street lamps and swaying tree branches over the street. Finally, he lowered his head and focused on the cash in his hand.

His lowered eyelids concealed his expression, and there was no telling what was on his mind.

Then a dark red sports car passed by him at a high speed, braked suddenly, and then slowly backed up until it stopped firmly in front of him.

He looked up in confusion to see the car window roll down and a familiar head pop out of it.

“Aiyo, President Pei!”

With an arm on the edge of the window, Wu Qing grinned at him as if they were good friends: “What a coincidence, why are you up late at night blowing in the wind?”

Pei Xi looked at him for two seconds more and said calmly: “I’m not blowing in the wind, I’m waiting for a ride.”

“Waiting for……a ride?”

At this time?

In this place?

Dressed like this?

Wu Qing raised a question mark: “Where are you going? To the company? I happen to be on my way, how about I give you a ride?”

“That is possible.”

Unexpectedly, Pei Xi was not polite to him: “But I’m not going to the company.”

Wu Qing almost couldn’t react to his bluntness: “Where are you going if not to the company?”

Pei Xi: “Home.”

Wu Qing looked at him, then at the community gate not far behind him, and back at him: “?”

Pei Xi added: “Mine and Chuzhou’s home.”

Wu Qing: “…..?”

Wu Qing: “ ! ! ! ? ?”

*

*

“Apologies, the phone you have dialed has been turned off.”

Wu Qing hung up again and tossed the phone aside: “This is bad, I still can’t get through. He probably fell asleep.”

It was quiet in the back seat, with absolutely no sound. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Pei Xi looking sideways out the window in the dim light, his expression unclear.

He looked away with a shrug.

……Then took another look.

He couldn’t be blamed for making a fuss about nothing. This sensation was really magical and mysterious, ah, too wonderful for words.

He asked this politely, not expecting that this great Buddha would deign to sit in his vehicle.

Would it be too much of an exaggeration to say that he was flattered?

Or was it purely because of inexplicable personal relationships?

The flames of gossip burned in silence.

He didn’t know if the intense flames of gossip had burned his brains or if it was because he knew that the relationship between that person and his brother was not simple, but he felt that Pei Xi’s entire temperament had changed. He was so “easy-going” that he could even exchange a few words with him.

Was this the so-called power of love?

At this thought, he coughed twice and said with seeming casualness: “Um, President Pei, when did this happen between you and our, no, your Lao He, ah?”

In the rearview mirror, Pei Xi finally looked away from the window: “When did what happen?”

Wu Qing: “When you two started talking.”

“Talking…..”

Pei Xi repeated the word and frowned slowly: “You don’t know? Didn’t Chuzhou tell you?”

“No, ah, I don’t know anything about it.”

Wu Qing exaggerated his tone: “It’s not just me. I asked the other brothers around me, and none of them knew. Lao He did a great job of keeping it secret.”

Pei Xi’s eyes darkened, and the corners of his mouth straightened without a word.

Wu Qing thought he didn’t want to talk about it, but it didn’t matter. It was normal for young lovers to keep secrets, so he changed the question: “The two of you…..who pursued whom?”

Before Pei Xi could reply, he suddenly came to a realization: “Oh! It must be Lao He who took the initiative, right?”

“Snatching projects and engaging in business wars. Everyone was aware of the great fanfare, and it was all to attract your attention.”

“He must have annoyed you so much before, and now you’re playing hard-to-get, right? Such a strategy of killing a thousand enemy soldiers by losing eight hundred actually succeeded in the end. Lao He is still awesome.”

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He became increasingly enthusiastic, completely forgetting his original plan of digging for gossip.

“Damn, a few days ago I was laughing at him for not being like a normal man, almost thirty years old without eating meat. Now it’s my turn to be the joke.”

“But President Pei, you have a discerning eye. Although Lao He is a bit of a dog, there is absolutely nothing wrong with his character. You won’t suffer a loss, he’ll definitely hold you in the palm of his hand.”

“He has good looks, a good personality, a good temperament, and makes money. Apart from a naughty younger sister, there are no problems with his family. He’s your professional counterpart and can help you a lot in your career. Having a partner like this will save you a lot of trouble!”

“By the way, don’t believe those bullshit rumors outside. Yes, I may be a relatively come-one-come-all person, but my brother has nothing to do with that sort of thing.”

“When it comes to keeping oneself clean, if Lao He takes second place, no one would dare to take first place. He’s guarding himself like a family heirloom. If he never had interest in someone, I’d have to wonder if there was something wrong with him.”

“I’ve known him for how many years now. When he was in school, he got love letters but never engaged in puppy love. After graduation, his father wanted to be a hands-off employer, so he started to work for the company and was busy from morning till night.”

“There have been no few people who’ve tried to flatter him and climb into his bed. But I guarantee you, he accepted none of them. It’s rare to get him out to drink and relax, and the whole time, he just wants to go back and walk his dog…..”

He spoke enthusiastically, regardless of whether the silent person in the back seat was listening or not. 

Then he was interrupted by a phone call.

He chuckled when he read the name, and first raised it to show the person in the back seat. “Look, isn’t he on his way?”

He pressed answer and turned on the speakerphone: “Why are you awake, youngster? Your sleep quality is no good.”

He Chuzhou’s voice came from the other side of the phone, low and hoarse, with a listless exhaustion. “What do you mean, awake? I didn’t sleep at all.”

As soon as he got off work in the afternoon, he was called back home by Ms. Chu to deal with a group of relatives who had come to visit that weekend on a whim.

He bought snacks with his cousins, played mahjong with his uncles, took some time out of his busy schedule to hide in the study, and, under Ms. Chu’s instructions, was urged to get married by several overbearing aunts 

He was exhausted. The body was exhausted, and the mind even moreso.

When he left after somehow surviving to the end, he got to the car and found that his phone had already run out of battery. After charging it for around ten minutes and turning it on, there were many missed calls.

He selectively ignored an unfamiliar number and dialed Wu Qing: “If you’re drinking, find someone else, I won’t accompany you. I’m exhausted, so I’m going home to sleep.”

Wu Qing sneered: “Come on, don’t think so highly of yourself. Who wants to waste precious time drinking with you at night?”

He Chuzhou yawned. “Fine, what do you want?”

Wu Qi donned an air of mysteriousness: “I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep alone in the empty boudoir, so I’m sending you some warmth. How about it?”

He Chuzhou was silent for a couple of seconds: “You’re sending me a hot water bottle in the middle of the night?”

Ten minutes later, at the door of the villa.

“I’m just an ordinary philanthropist, don’t thank me too much. See ya~”

The red sports car roared away, leaving Pei Xi and He Chuzhou standing there wide-eyed.

A gust of wind blew by, and Pei Xi, who was wearing thin clothes, couldn’t help a slight shiver.

He Chuzhou regained his senses and immediately took off his jacket, striding forward to wrap him up tightly.

“Tsk, why are your times of confusion getting more and more tricky…..”

Seeing Pei Xi looking at him as he muttered, he coughed a couple of times, then made a preemptive strike: “I just finished work and was about to pick you up. Why did you come here first?”

Pei Xi: “I couldn’t find my cell phone.”

He Chuzhou: “Again?”

Pei Xi: “The door to the house was also locked.”

He Chuzhou: “Was it locked from the other side? How could—”

Pei Xi: “I called property management, and they called a locksmith to break the lock.”

He Chuzhou: “? ? ?”

Pei Xi: “Then I met Mu Qing downstairs when I went to take a taxi, so I asked him to send me here.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

What was going on tonight? Why did they all have such exciting and colorful lives?

He pressed his aching head. “Why not ask someone to give me…..never mind, it’s my fault. I’ll pay attention next time. What about the lock? Did you leave before it was changed?”

Pei Xi nodded, then took out a bunch of keys under He Chuzhou’s disbelieving eyes. “Don’t worry, I asked the locksmith to give me the keys first.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

Never mind.

What was wrong with this child?

Children had too much trust in society.

After taking this person home, he changed He Xingxing’s food and water first, then took one of the keys from the bunch. He left his cell phone next to Pei Xi before leaving: “I’ll go over and take a look. I’ll be back soon. Go to bed first if you’re sleepy, you don’t have to wait for me.”

The latter nodded. He didn’t know if it was from running around late at night, but he was in a low mood.

He Chuzhou touched his head and quickly went out. Pei Xi didn’t rush back to the bedroom, but remained in place for a while, turning over to nestle into the sofa under He Xingxing curious gaze.

The house was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. It was extremely empty, and he felt uncomfortable being alone, so he put a random movie on to generate some sound.

When he turned on the phone, a WeChat message suddenly popped up on the screen.

He clicked in and saw that there was only a single line on the app:

[Gege, will you approve the friend request?]

Gege?

Pei Xi recalled that He Chuzhou didn’t like people calling him gege.

The only one who could legitimately call him gege was…..He Aiyue?

Did the brother and sister quarrel and stop being WeChat friends?

He wasn’t sure, so he hesitated for a moment before helping He Chuzhou click accept.

Then, very soon, he discovered that the person calling him ‘gege’ was not Aiyue at all.

As soon as the application was approved, the other party didn’t hesitate to send him a sexy, scantily-clad selfie in front of a mirror with his waist practically twisted into a pretzel.

It came with additional messages:

[Does Gege like Didi like this?]

[Didi can be even naughtier~]

[Gege’s boyfriend looks so serious, he must not be fun to play with, right?]

[Gege’s friend just left. While the bed is still warm, do you want to come over and continue playing with me?]

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Chapter 21 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 23