It was a rare occasion that He Chuzhou woke up earlier than Pei Xi.

When he opened his eyes, he was very relieved to find that the person beside him was sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed.

The cell phone placed on the bedside table lit up with notifications one after another, and there were several missed calls.

He turned it to the lowest vibration mode. It wasn’t very loud, but he was still afraid of waking Pei Xi. Gently lifting the quilt, he got out of bed and picked up the phone, walking out barefoot to answer a call.

The tall figure walked away toward the balcony outside the open door, and didn’t see the eyelashes of the person who was supposed to be sleeping soundly in bed flutter as if they were about to take off.

After confirming that He Chuzhou had left the room, Pei Xi slowly shrank back into the bed, trying to hide his overheated earlobes.

His eyes rolled around twice under his eyelids, which were so thin that the capillaries were clearly visible. When he opened his eyes, they were clear and bright, not at all like he had just now woken up.

He had tossed from side to side most of last night, and it was currently close to 12 o’clock. The curtains were only half-open. There was no sunshine today, and the sky outside was foggy. It seemed windy, and the light wasn’t very harsh.

Great for sleeping.

Very suitable for sleeping under the quilt where the heat had not yet dissipated.

Very suitable for a weak patient who had just recovered from illness to continue sleeping.

He turned his gaze away from the window to look at the empty side of the bed.

His focused eyes gradually became distracted. He didn’t know what to think.

When he heard subtle footsteps heading toward the room, he subconsciously gripped the quilt and closed his eyes again.

The steps halted at the bedside, and he felt the dim light envelop him. He slowed his breathing and felt an unknown sense of tension sweep through him.

Very soon, a warm touch covered his forehead.

He Chuzhou bent down to feel the temperature of his forehead with his palm, but didn’t linger long.

After confirming that his temperature was normal, he swiftly retracted it and helped tuck in the corners of the quilt. He turned and left for a while, and there was the sound of running water in the bathroom.

Almost half of Pi Xi’s face was buried in the quilt, leaving a pair of closed eyes exposed. The hot breaths he exhaled steamed his face.

He didn’t adjust his slightly childish sleeping position. Smelling the warm scent of laundry detergent, he finally gave up struggling and allowed himself to fall asleep again.

An hour later, he was woken up.

However, when he was woken up due to external influences, the side effects didn’t come into play. He wasn’t confused. His mind was clear.

He Chuzhou didn’t understand the confusion that flashed through his eyes, and just asked him: “What, did you not sleep well?”

Pei Xi closed his eyes and calmed himself. Suppressing his slight disappointment, he shook his head and prepared to get up.

He Chuzhou called for him when lunch was ready. The dishes were still on the cooking counter, as there wasn’t time to bring them out.

Pei Xi came in to help, and their eyes inadvertently met. He Chuzhou asked casually: “Is President Pei going to the company this afternoon? You could just take a day off and rest.”

Pei Xi was the first to look away. He spoke a light “No need,” then picked up the two plates of food and left the kitchen.

He Chuzhou sprinkled chopped green onions over the soup and seemed to catch a glimpse of red on Pei Xi’s ears. Just when he was about to confirm it, that person was already gone.

He didn’t take it to heart. Filling up two bowls, he took the soup out.

Pei Xi was already sitting at the table.

He raised his eyes when he saw him approaching, lowering them again when their eyes met.

But this time, he was sure he had seen correctly. After a brief exchange of glances, Pei Xi’s face remained expressionless, but the roots of his ears were a solid red, and seemed to be even redder than before.

“Why are your ears so red?”

He wasn’t narcissistic enough to think that Pei Xi would blush every time he saw him. All he could think of was the high fever that had been so hard to get rid of the night before. “Did the fever come back?”

He frowned and put a hand to Pei Xi’s forehead to test it. His movements were very natural and familiar.

But Pei Xi couldn’t act as natural as him. Under the mask of feigned calm was a stiff body. He was very ill at ease, but remained seated obediently in his position and didn’t move away.

“No more fever, ah.”

He Chuzhou was puzzled, and touched his own forehead to compare them: “Your body temperature is lower than mine. Or is it that the virus has evolved to make you cold now?”

Pei Xi: “…..”

Pei Xi gave a light cough: “I’m fine.”

Just as a drunk person would never admit they were drunk, such words didn’t sound credible to He Chuzhou. Didn’t he just cough?

He recalled the doctor’s instructions from the previous night and quickly found the cause. He tapped his fingers twice on the table: “President Pei, let’s discuss this.”

Pei Xi silently raised his eyes.

He Chuzhou: “Dealing with work one day and taking one day off isn’t working for you, so how about giving me some of it?”

Pei Xi stared blankly. He spent more than ten seconds attempting to digest his words, but still couldn’t understand: “…..What?”

He Chuzhou switched to a more straightforward statement: “Just leave the work you can’t finish and I’ll help you handle it.”

“If you’re worried about me stealing your family secrets, just don’t give me any important information. Aren’t there a lot of superficial tasks that are cumbersome and time-consuming to deal with? Just leave those to me.”

“Of course, if you’re still worried, I can sign a confidentiality agreement. If there’s any problem later, I’ll give you half of my shares. How about it?”

Pei Xi: “…..?”

Of course he wasn’t worried that He Chuzhou would steal any secrets. Firstly because a person with intent to steal wouldn’t be so brazen, and secondly because he knew very well that He Chuzhou would never bother to do such a thing.

But could half the shares of President He’s company be used as a guarantee at will?

Wasn’t he afraid that he would be deliberately wronged for half his shares?

Half-stunned, he could only ask one simple question: “Why?”

He Chuzhou asked back: “Do you know why I’m here?”

Pei Xi nodded subconsciously, but then shook his head in denial: “I don’t.”

He Chuzhou: “Because you had a high fever in the middle of the night last night. Thirty-nine degrees. You just barely left the hospital after taking an IV.”

“The doctor said that the main cause of your illness was excessive fatigue. If you keep squeezing yourself like this, you might be able to burn yourself to forty degrees next time.”

“Don’t worry, I’m actually rather kind and honest, and won’t take advantage of you.”

Kind and honest?

Won’t take advantage of him?

Pei Xi was speechless. Who was the person who kept coaxing him to call him gege last night?

Because he wouldn’t remember when he woke up, he kept making him call him that again, saying that he liked hearing it and that he wished he could shrink him down and put him on his shoulder to call him gege every day.

He also said…..

He also said that he had done his best and was good enough.

That the other people were the ones who should reflect on themselves.

That no one stipulated that an elder brother must love his younger brother.

That anyone who didn’t love him didn’t know his true value.

His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he looked into He Chuzhou’s eyes. They were broad and level, with hidden depths. It was like the sun was always shining in them, hot and clear, without a trace of haze.

His thoughts were even more confused by his leaping heartbeat, and he couldn’t say anything for a moment.

But in the next second, He Chuzhou’s words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly waking him up.

“Do you know how clingy you are when you’re sick? Whether your eyes were open or closed, I didn’t dare take a step away…..” 

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

Pei Xi suddenly interrupted him.

It was like he had made a mistake and was eager to make amends, using this to stop the other person from saying what he didn’t want to hear: “If you find it troublesome, you can ignore me when that happens. As long as you make your attitude clear, I shouldn’t disturb you too much.”

He Chuzhou’s expression froze slightly.

There was a faint fear of abandonment in Pei Xi’s words, not very obvious under the thin ice. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the other person sounded very uneasy.

“Pei Xi, have you misunderstood me?”

He deliberated over his words: “I didn’t say that because I think you’re troublesome. It’s really nothing. I just feel that it’s easy for accidents to happen in such a situation.”

“You urgently need my care in emergencies, but I’m not always by your side. What would I do if you get sick again and my phone happens to be out of battery, or I sleep too hard and don’t answer your call?”

“Maybe it’s like you said, and you can handle yourself if I treat you coldly and don’t care for you. But if that’s the case, what do you expect me to do? Do you think I could rest assured?”

Having said this, he couldn’t help but sigh: “I’m not helping you just to solve problems for myself. I just want to minimize the possibility of such emergencies. You’re already working so hard during your recovery from the side effects of your injury, so don’t suffer any more hardships.”

His tone was very soft, with helplessness and obvious coaxing at the end.

Pei Xi looked at him and curled up the hand holding his chopsticks, suddenly feeling at a loss.

To him, their deal itself was unfair. He couldn’t keep enjoying He Chuzhou’s efforts with peace of mind, and couldn’t give anything in return.

But if he didn’t agree and the current situation continued, it would cause trouble for He Chuzhou.

He was in a dilemma, unable to shake his head, let alone nod.

Little did he know that at the same time, the person sitting opposite him suddenly came up with a more ambitious plan B.

“Actually, it’s rather difficult for me to get up earlier every other day to walk the dog and then rush to your house.”

A certain person changed the subject, catching him off-guard.

The topic jumped so much that Pei Xi didn’t even have time to feel guiltier before He Chuzhou continued: “How about you move in with me?”

“If we’re under the same roof, I won’t need to worry about you not finding me in the middle of the night, or having to get up early to pick you up the next day.”

“Of course, I can move in here if you don’t mind, but I still have a dog who likes to tear up the house when he eats too much. As long as that doesn’t bother you.”

*

*

Neither of them went to the company. One afternoon was enough to move all the things Pei Xi needed for daily life and work to the villa.

The reason Pei Xi decided to move here was of course not only because it was difficult for a high-ranking person to raise a dog, but also because Pei Xi was more accustomed to living in He Chuzhou’s home when he was in a brain-addled state of mind.

Likewise, Pei Xi agreed to move here not just because it would save He Chuzhou a lot of trouble. There were other reasons.

Other reasons…..

They were somewhat difficult to describe. He couldn’t think about or explain them clearly, so he put them out of mind.

His room was on the second floor of the villa, a guest room opposite He Chuzhou’s room.

It was said to be a guest room, but it actually wasn’t much different than the master bedroom. It was also spacious and bright, with a comfortable style, and included a small balcony and separate bathroom.

Just after putting everything away, he stood in the middle of the room and took in everything around him. It felt unreal.

— He was living with He Chuzhou.

This knowledge caused some unfamiliar emotions to crawl across his heart like dense vines.

He felt it cautiously for a while in silence, then turned and left the room.

“What do you want for dinner?”

He Chuzhou was leaning against the cooking table, selecting ingredients in a leisurely manner. When he saw him coming down from upstairs, he took a small handful of celery and waved it at him: “How about spicy broiled beef?”

The man’s eyebrows were raised, the corners of his lips curved in a loose and handsome arc. His entire being seemed to be in a relaxed and happy mood, but Pei Xi didn’t know why.

Obviously, his arrival meant that he had to work harder to cook for one more person every meal.

…..Perhaps he needed to find an opportunity to talk to He Chuzhou about not putting too much thought into food.

Otherwise, when he left in the future, it might take him a long time to eat his own cooking again.

With this thought, he moved his gaze from the handful of celery to He Chuzhou’s dazzling, brilliant face and said in a cool voice: “Can you add a serving of sweet and sour fish? Thank you.”

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Chapter 30 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 32