After careful consideration once he’d read the schedule, He Chuzhou chose not to go to the company in the end. Instead, he stayed and worked from home.

He needed to become familiar with the content of Pei Xi’s work, and it was more convenient to take care of him at home. Although he could take him to the company, there were always hidden dangers, not to mention that the office was far less spacious and comfortable than staying at home.

Fortunately, Pei Xi had just passed his busiest period, which could be seen from the significant reduction in emails that needed to be processed each day.

He read the new meeting minutes and three new quarterly plans, and marked the feasible parts of the plans so that Pei Xi could look over them later. When they didn’t get to the key points for a long time, He Chuzhou just backspaced and rewrote it.

Of course, in order to not expose himself, he also read through previous emails and learned Pei Xi’s communication habits. His preparations were very thorough.

After finishing Pei Xi’s work, he began to read through his own mailbox.

The sound of running paws came from the living room, along with a puppy’s panting breaths. Pei Xi was playing with He Xingxing, and the sounds came in through the crack in the open door.

Very soon, the door was pushed open.

He Xingxing ran inside first.

He Xingxing normally wouldn’t enter the study. He would sleep obediently on his dog bed while He Chuzhou was working, or lie on the balcony, watching the clouds in the sky outside in a daze.

But today he was having fun, and also felt that he had a supporter. If he squeezed inside with the person playing with him, he could join in without being scolded.

Indeed, he was not scolded.

His father was holding a video conference and wearing a Bluetooth headset. With a glance at the two uninvited guests, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

He Xingxing jumped up and down. Wagging his tail, he lay down on the carpet in the center of the study, panting with his tongue stuck out, his puppy eyes shining brightly.

Pei Xi kept the door ajar and turned his head to determine what He Chuzhou was doing. He walked closer as lightly as a cat, tilted his chin up slightly, and didn’t make a sound.

He Chuzhou listened to the report, but his eyes automatically fell on Pei Xi.

He still hadn’t changed out of his loose pajamas. Likely due to the excitement, the top two buttons were undone and the next one was loose, revealing the contours of delicate collarbones and a small swath of pale chest.

He Chuzhou’s Adam’s apple moved slightly and he followed him with his eyes, watching as he walked to the side of the desk and stopped.

Pei Xi knew he was busy and didn’t disturb him. But he wanted to stay with him, so he put one hand on the table and sat down lightly.

He took his slippers off, shook out his legs, and set one of them on the soft seat next to him.

“The last project initiated has already produced financial statements, which look much better than expected. We’ve compared it against several similar projects and determined that it has great development potential…..”

Pressing the Bluetooth headset with his fingertips, He Chuzhou leaned back leisurely in his chair and lowered his eyes slightly.

From the perspective of the employee in the video, he was keeping quiet as he listened intently, thinking along the way.

But in fact, his gaze continued to fall on his left hand, which was casually placed to the side of the computer.

Out of camera view, Pei Xi was fiddling with his fingers in boredom, head tilted.

He pinched from the index finger to the little finger, from the fingertip to the root. Finally, he lifted them up gently and inserted his fingers, playfully tickling his palm.

Although his actions were childish and clingy, there still wasn’t much emotion revealed on his face. That cold expression made it look as if he was studying something seriously.

Very much like a cat.

He didn’t make a sound, but liked to hang around people when they were working, fiddling with the mouse or stepping on the keyboard to draw attention, or simply lying down beside them with paws folded and eyes narrowed, waiting.

When he was distracted, He Chuzhou suddenly closed his hand and caught those mischievous fingers. He was startled, and escaped easily.

Then he raised his eyelids and sent him a light glance, rubbing those fingertips on the table in a subtle way. Very soon, he repeated his old tricks and began to hook his fingers teasingly.

He Chuzhou chuckled.

The employee giving his report on screen stared blankly for a moment, then said uncertainly: “President He, is there a problem?”

He Chuzhou: “Hm? No, the Powerpoint is well done. Let’s continue.”

The employee didn’t dare ask him which part of the Powerpoint was funny. With doubts in his heart, he scratched his head and continued his report.

It was just that his originally confident tone became less assured, and he glanced at He Chuzhou from time to time to observe his face.

He Chuzhou seemed to be in a really good mood.

It seemed he wasn’t laughing at him.

The employee gradually relaxed and concentrated on his work.

When it was almost over, he saw from the corner of his eye this big boss raise his left hand and stretch it lazily over the computer, seemingly to adjust the camera.

Of course, he didn’t know that the camera was on the left, and that on the right, there was a certain bored kitten pressing his cheek on top of the monitor.

He Chuzhou pinched Pei Xi’s other cheek neither lightly nor heavily. It was warm and soft, and felt good in his hand.

Pei Xi didn’t speak, looking directly at him. Placing one hand on his wrist, he used his index and middle finger to squeeze the flesh of his cheek next to the monitor, which made him look more than a little bit cute.

If the puddle He Chuzhou’s heart had turned into had a physical form, the study would have already been flooded.

“Are you hungry?” he asked in a whisper.

The group of people on video subconsciously shook their heads.

Then they found that the big boss wasn’t looking at them at all, and naturally wasn’t asking them if they were hungry.

They exchanged glances across the computer screens, and suddenly felt that their uniform movements made them look like a bunch of idiots.

Hidden above the camera, Pei Xi bobbed his head lightly and put a hand under his cheek to cushion it, tapping his mouth to express that he wanted to eat.

This gluttonous kitten was adorable.

He Chuzhou’s lips rose, and he rubbed the other’s chin with his fingertips: “Okay, I’ll take you to the supermarket in a bit. Go change clothes first.”

Very satisfied with this answer, Pei Xi happily got off the desk, put on his slippers, and left.

He Chuzhou curled his still warm fingertips and looked at the screen again, a lingering smile in his eyes: “That’s it for today’s meeting. If there are any changes that need to be made, I will send them to you via email.”

The meeting ended, and this group of people left very slowly while poking their heads out, curious as to who he was talking to just now. Who was it who could make this big guy’s voice so gentle that water could be squeezed from it?

Yun Ji also wanted to know. After waiting for a long time, he lost his patience and simply kicked out everyone who was joining in the fun. In an instant, he was left alone in the conference room with He Chuzhou, who was looking through the synchronized meeting record.

Yun Ji: “Cousin, you have a guest at home?”

He Chuzhou: “What’s it to you?”

Yun Ji: “We’re family, shouldn’t we care about each other? Who is it, who is it? It couldn’t be…..”

He Chuzhou: “Go about your business and stop asking.”

Yun Ji: “Okay. Can I visit you at home another day?”

“No.” He Chuzhou decisively refused. “Also, send me the visitor records. I’ll go to the company tomorrow to make follow-up arrangements, but I’ll probably be working from home for a while.”

Yun Ji: “What’s wrong with you?”

He Chuzhou ignored him.

Yun Ji: “I really can’t come over? I’ll just have a cup of tea and leave.”

He Chuzhou: “There’s no water.”

Yun Ji: “Should I bring some myself?”

“No, you’re not allowed to bring your own drinks.”

When He Chuzhou finished speaking, he moved the mouse to the upper right corner and neatly clicked the X.

*

*

There was a chain supermarket not far from the community. It was very big inside, with a comprehensive range of items. Almost anything one could want could be bought here.

Because by default it mainly supplied goods to the wealthy in these neighborhoods, most everything was imported. The prices were very expensive, and there was minimal traffic.

Pei Xi didn’t seem to have been to the supermarket very often, and was unfamiliar with the entrances and exits. He even got confused when going up and down the elevator.

But he had an eager sense of novelty about everything, and his calm eyes had contained a slight gleam since he entered the door.

“You like it that much?” He Chuzhou pushed the shopping card and followed him leisurely.

Pei Xi fell back a little to line up with him, then nodded.

He Chuzhou: “Why is that?”

Pei Xi: “It feels really lively.”

He Chuzhou looked around and didn’t see many people in the store. There was even more staff than customers.

He Chuzhou gave a hiss and lowered his voice: “…..Xinxin, did you see something unclean?”^[1]

“Unclean?” Pei Xi looked down at the floor. “It’s not unclean, Chuzhou. It’s very tidy here.”

He Chuzhou: “But you say it’s lively?”

Pei Xi: “There are lots of shelves here, crowded with colorful packaging bags. Is that not lively?”

He Chuzhou: “…..”

He Chuzhou lost his composure and turned around: “Let’s go. Gege will take you to see something a bit more lively.”

There were even fewer people in the aquatic product area.

But the aquatic products were plentiful, and unlike the bottles, cans, and bags on the shelves, they could swim and move.

Except, of course, the frozen squid and shrimp arranged neatly on a sheet of ice as if in a military parade.

Pei Xi was very pleased. He walked around the entire seafood floor with gusto, occasionally stopping for a better look. He stopped the longest in front of a tank of bullfrogs.

He Chuzhou was mentally planning out when he should take him to an aquarium. From the look of him, he had probably never been to one before. Seeing that he’d been staring at the bullfrogs for a long time, he asked: “Do you want to eat frogs?”

Pei Xi shook his head and said with a frown: “No way, they look as ugly as Pei Zhen.”

When they left the aquatic area half an hour later, they took away two huge but shy-looking bread crabs.

There was a slight problem with the QR code during checkout, and it wouldn’t scan. It just so happened that Pei Xi found the bread crab that was endlessly blowing bubbles very unpleasant to look at, so He Chuzhou went with the staff to choose another one.

While he waited, Pei Xi pushed the cart to the nearby snack area and shrew all the snacks he liked into the cart.

When he turned to the potato chip section, there was a little boy sitting on the floor in a very conspicuous place in the aisle, sobbing. His father sighed where he was crouched at his side, looking like his patience was in jeopardy.

“Mama said you can’t eat snacks.”

“Children can develop tooth decay if they eat too many snacks.”

“You won’t be able to eat them even if we buy them.”

“Be obedient.”

The little boy paid no attention to this coaxing and cried even harder, harsh and unpleasant, screaming: “Wanna eat, wanna eat!”

“Little Fatty eats them and even showed them off to me!”

He rolled on the floor, feet rapidly kicking the bottom of the shelves: “I wanna eat this one, wahhhhhhh!”

The light suddenly dimmed. He temporarily stopped crying, and peered at the good-looking gege who appeared in front of his teary face.

“Which one do you want to eat?”

The good-looking gege’s voice was very nice when he asked this, like spring water running over pebbles, clear and gentle.

The little boy pointed blankly at the tube of pink-packaged potato chips.

Pei Xi took a tube and asked: “This one?”

The little boy nodded.

Pei Xi asked again: “Is it tasty?”

As if he’d guessed what he was about to do, the little boy nodded harder, sobbing, but with hope in his eyes.

The child’s father was very helpless. He sighed, wanting the soft-hearted young gentlemen to ignore the kid.

As a result, before he could even open his mouth, the other person said “Oh,” turned his wrist, and very obviously put the potato chips into his shopping cart.

Perhaps he felt that one tube wasn’t enough, because after thinking briefly, Pei Xi simply took five tubes off the shelf and tossed them into the cart. Ignoring the astonished looks of the father and son behind him, he leisurely pushed the cart away.

He Chuzhou returned from exchanging the crab to find Pei Xi pushing a cart of snacks. He let him take a few looks at the new crab first, then noticed the heartbroken wailing nearby.

“What’s going on?”

He looked upward and dug in his ear: “Is that an air raid siren?”

“Children who always think they’ll get what they want and be coaxed by everyone as long as they cry are very annoying, “ Pei Xi said expressionlessly. “The noise is so irritating.”

“Very true, it’s irritating.”

He Chuzhou lifted his hands in agreement.

Pei Xi: “So I took away all the potato chips he wanted to eat.”

He Chuzhou: “…..Ah?”

He looked again toward where the “air raid siren” was going off. Then he quickly took the shopping cart and tossed the crab in, as if he feared that someone would catch up and grab the potato chips: “Let’s go, let’s go, my ears are ringing.”

No matter, the child could be coaxed by his own family.

His Pei-calico just wanted to eat some potato chips. What was wrong with that?

There were many checkout aisles, so they chose one at random. The person at the cash register was a kindly-faced auntie with great skill at scanning products.

When the bags were finally packed, the auntie set down the scanning machine and asked Pei Xi with a smile: “Do you have a membership card?”

Pei Xi couldn’t remember whether he did or not. After some thought, he took a step back and gently pushed He Chuzhou forward: “My husband has it.”

In an instant, He Chuzhou’s pupils quivered, the sole of his foot slipped, and he nearly hit his chin on the cashier counter under the auntie’s surprised gaze.

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[1] “Unclean” here is referring to things like ghosts and the supernatural. ⮐

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34