“Chuzhou, have I never gone to a supermarket before?” Pei Xi carried a small plastic bag on the way back.

All of the heavy things were in He Chuzhou’s hands, and there was only a handful of green onions in his own bag.

He Chuzhou said absently: “En.”

Pei-calico, why did you call him husband? This, this, this was too out of line…..

Pei Xi: “No wonder. I’ll accompany you more in the future.”

He Chuzhou: “En.”

And he’d called it so nicely that half of his face was numb…..

Pei Xi: “How will we eat the crabs? Should they be steamed directly?”

He Chuzhou: “En.”

He was going to die. Was this what it felt like to be called husband?

Who knew? His soul was ascending to heaven.

Pei Xi: “I want to eat sweet and sour fish.”

He Chuzhou: “En.”

It was all he could think about! He wanted to hear it again.

But did this count as taking advantage of the other’s situation to bully Pei-calico?

No, wasn’t it a bit perverted…..

Pei Xi finally noticed the other’s perfunctory tone and stopped, turning around: “Chuzhou?”

He Chuzhou stopped too and nodded distractedly. Chuzhou, he thought to himself. Chuzhou sounded nice, but it was still rather inferior to “My husband.”

Husband.

Hiss — husband.

Pei Xi: “ ? ”

Pei Xi could only poke him in the face. “What’s up with you? What are you so happy about?”

He Chuzhou returned to his senses at last and bumped his face against those fingertips: “Huh? What’s up?”

Pei Xi was helpless: “I’m the one asking you! You’ve been smiling the whole way.”

“Smiling? I have?”

He touched the corner of his mouth. It was true.

He coughed to cover it up. Naturally, he wouldn’t admit that he’d lost his normal brain functions after being called “Husband.”

“I wonder how long that kid will throw a fit over not getting potato chips. When Aiyue couldn’t get a piece of limited edition merch before, a dark cloud hung over her head for almost a week.”

Pei Xi’s face fell: “Do you blame me?”

He Chuzhou couldn’t catch his train of thought: “Ah?”

Pei Xi: “Blame me for bullying a child. Blame me for stealing his potato chips. But I just don’t like children. He doesn’t have money to buy potato chips, but I have money and can buy as much as I want.”

“I’m not, ah.”

He Chuzhou was wronged: “I’m clearly gloating over another’s misfortune.”

What he hated to see the most was the disappointment and grievance on Pei Xi’s face. Unfortunately, both of his hands were occupied, so he could only bump him with his forehead to comfort him: “Don’t feel wronged. How could I blame you over someone else’s kid? Don’t you know how biased I am?”

Pei Xi’s expression improved somewhat, but he was still in a low mood: “You weren’t even listening to me just now.”

He Chuzhou: “I was listening, ah. Why wouldn’t I listen?”

Pei Xi: “Then what did I say?”

He Chuzhou: “You said…..said…..uh, give me a hint?”

Pei Xi gave him a brief glance, then turned around and walked off.

“Ai, I was wrong.”

Helpless, He Chuzhou quickly followed after him: “Don’t be angry, ah. I can steam the crabs for you to eat when we get back. I can also stir-fry them with rice or marinate them raw.”

“I could make your favorite sweet and sour fish again?”

“Xinxin…..”

They spent the day at home.

He Chuzhou prepared snacks and a fruit plate for Pei Xi, put on a TV series, sent the puppy to him, and arranged other entertainment. Even when he was working in the study, he would come out from time to time to visit and talk to him.

Of course, when Pei Xi was willing, he was happy to welcome him into the study and work alongside him.

Pei Xi’s potato chips made crunching sounds when he bit into them, particularly pleasant to his ears. One hand slid the mouse as he read over a document while the other hand absent-mindedly passed water to Pei Xi.

In the evening, he went to the kitchen to make dinner right on time, Pei Xi following him step by step like a little tail.

Pei Xi’s obsession with cooking had not diminished, and he was always trying to find an opportunity to try it again.

He Chuzhou didn’t want to dampen the child’s enthusiasm, and also thought that his kind of craft work must be handled step by step. Thus, he blanched two tomatoes and handed them to him, asking him to slowly learn how to peel them.

Pei Xi’s OCD manifested when he was peeling the tomatoes. They must be peeled smoothly, so when he accidentally dug a small pit into the pulp, he would try to fill it in to keep it smooth.

His expression was as serious as if he was doing cell transplant research. He Chuzhou glanced over from time to time, and the corners of his mouth never lowered.

He Xingxing got tired of playing ball in the living room and ran into the kitchen with the ball in his mouth, going too fast to stop. The dog used his head as a brake and ran into He Chuzhou’s calf, then lay on the floor with the ball, panting.

Bright, warm yellow light poured down on the kitchen, making the domesticity of this moment especially complete.

He Chuzhou glanced from He Xingxing to Pei Xi, and his cucumber-chopping gradually slowed. He wished this could go on forever.

“Forget it.”

Pei Xi put the tomato down abruptly and admitted: “I seem to have really forgotten how to cook.”

He Chuzhou couldn’t bear to tell him that he might have never learned how to cook in the first place. He comforted him intimately: “It’s okay, there’s plenty of time if you want to learn.”

Pei Xi lowered his head to look at the tomato, which was so pitted that it couldn’t be repaired no matter how hard he tried. He pondered for a couple of seconds: “I don’t want to learn. Can you keep cooking for me? I’ll wash the dishes.”

He Chuzhou stared blankly for a moment.

Pei Xi mistook this as unwillingness, and was a little disappointed: “Okay. It’s really tiring to cook all the time. It’s normal if you don’t want to—”

“Who doesn’t want to?”

He Chuzhou fed a small piece of cucumber to his mouth: “Isn’t it right for me to do this for you? Besides, washing dishes is a big job. Just throw them into the dishwasher, you don’t need to do anything but eat.”

After speaking, he paused before saying: “I’d prefer to do this for you all the time. It just depends on if you’re willing to eat it in the future.”

His tone was relaxed, and seemed to contain some inexplicable self-deprecation. His eyes were lowered, making it difficult to see his expression.

Pei Xi was unable to examine it. Just when he was about to ask, he was kicked out of the kitchen together with the dog.

“I’m stir-frying, oil might splash on you.”

“It’s fine for you to go out and wait.”

Pei Xi had always been sensitive to the emotions of the people around him, and thought something he’d said had made He Chuzhou take offense. He went to the living room and sat on the sofa, thinking all the while. 

But he couldn’t figure it out.

So when He Chuzhou brought the dishes out and told him to come and eat, he observed him carefully once more, only to find that He Chuzhou’s slight moodiness had vanished without a trace.

“What, does it not taste good?” He Chuzhou asked.

Pei Xi shook his head. Pursing his lips, he temporarily put aside the things he couldn’t figure out and concentrated on eating.

A person running a company always had lots of last minute work to deal with.

After dinner, He Chuzhou took a phone call and then told Pei Xi to go and rest first while he worked in the study for a while.

Pei Xi walked halfway to the room, then turned around. When he found He Chuzhou still gazing after him, his heart moved and he couldn’t help but hurry over to hug him.

“Chuzhou.” He leaned into He Chuzhou’s arms and whispered: “You have to tell me if I do something that upsets you. I’ll apologize and make you happy again.”

Knowing that He Chuzhou was in a hurry, he didn’t take up too much of his time, and left once he was done speaking.

But as soon as his hands released their grip, the other’s palm smacked down on his back and pulled him into an embrace again.

Unlike his coquettish hug, He Chuzhou hugged him very tightly and firmly in his arms.

His huddled shoulders and neck felt hot as He Chuzhou buried his head and took a deep breath.

The imprisoning hug didn’t last long. Very soon, the arms around his waist loosened, and he was free again.

He raised his head first, but still couldn’t catch the slightest hint of abnormality on the other’s face.

He Chuzhou still had that relaxed appearance, and the smile in his eyes was even more prominent than before.

“How could you possibly upset me.”

He gently pressed the backs of his fingers against Pei Xi’s face: “I’ll be happy even if you ride on my head and use my nose as a pedal. Go to sleep. I’ll come back when I’m finished.”

Pei Xi obediently turned around and went to the bedroom. 

He Chuzhou watched his slender back disappear, and his smile faded. After a while, he let out a tsk and smacked his forehead hard with the heel of his palm, his thoughts in turmoil.

*

*

It was late at night. Pei Xi had fallen into a deep sleep, but he still felt the suble movement of the pillow. Someone gentle hooked his waist with their hands, and he fell into a warm embrace.

He fell into an even deeper and more peaceful sleep, and was unable to tell when the embrace disappeared.

When he opened his eyes, it was already bright outside.

The curtains were drawn to block out the bright and dazzling sunlight, which could only emerge pitifully from the crack below.

He subconsciously stretched out a hand to feel around, but the place next to him was already empty and cool.

He looked up, listened to the silence in the living room, and looked at the space beside him. As he curled his fingers with a blank expression, his eyelashes lowered to cover his pupils.

So he would only stay home all day with him when he was Pei-calico?

Silently, he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Toiletries for two people were neatly placed together, creating the illusion of intimacy.

He looked at them for a moment, then packed them up and moved them back to the guest bathroom.

When he received a message from Xiao Gu, he was sitting in front of the computer in the study and logging into his mailbox.

He Chuzhou had done nearly everything for him, and the few important things remaining were not too much trouble. The workload had been reduced. It seemed that he no longer needed to rush to the company every day.

Perhaps he could actually have a good rest this time.

He replied to Xiao Gao and processed the few remaining emails. Then he had some free time and didn’t know what to do for a while. The house felt too quiet, so he went to the living room and turned on the TV.

He hadn’t had such leisure time in a long while, and didn’t know how to spend his time being idle.

Should he go to the supermarket?

…..Forget it, the elevators going up and down were too confusing. Without He Chuzhou around, he would easily get lost.

The snacks on the coffee table had been neatly arranged by He Chuzhou in a grid of boxes, making it convenient for him to pick and choose.

Or perhaps, for the convenience of Pei-calico.

In the spirit of Pei-calico, he took a pink package of potato chips and tore it open in a low mood.

So this is what they taste like, he thought.

Then he quickly finished the entire pack.

The imported jello looked similar to the domestic ones, but he had never tasted domestic jello. He wanted to try one, but found that there was no spoon to go with it.

Had it been lost?

Or had he forgotten to grab one last night?

He was rummaging around in the small box when suddenly, He Chuzhou called. He was surprised when he saw the caller ID, and answered it while crouching beside the coffee table.

“Hey, are you up?”

He Chuzhou’s voice sounded over the phone, and Pei Xi subconsciously replied: “I’m up.”

He Chuzhou: “Have you eaten breakfast?”

“I ate.”

He Chuzhou: “Are you still at home?”

“I am.”

When Pei Xi finished answering, he heard a low chuckle from the other end. Belatedly, he realized he had been acting too obedient. Frowning, he took the initiative to ask: “Is there something you need?”

He Chuzhou: “Ah, I forgot a document at home. I’ll be back to pick it up later. If there’s anything you want to eat, I’ll buy it for you on the way.”

Pei Xi’s frown deepened. He wanted to say that he wasn’t a child who needed an adult to bring him a small cake when he came home. 

But what came out of his mouth was: “I’ll bring it to you.”

After speaking, he froze.

The person on the other end of the phone was silent for a long moment, then asked uncertainly: “You want to bring it to me?”

Pei Xi: “…..”

Pei Xi put down the jello and stood up: “Where is the document, and what is the title?”

He Chuzhou told him over the phone. He finally couldn’t help but ask, feeling flattered: “You’re really willing to bring it to the company?”

He’d said it out loud. Pei Xi couldn’t possibly say he was only joking this time, and could only bite the bullet: “I was just going out. I’ll drop it off on the way.”

He Chuzhou said all of a sudden: “You’re going to your company, right?”

“No,” Pei Xi said coolly. “The jello I bought yesterday didn’t come with a spoon. I’m going to the supermarket to have a salesperson find one.”

---

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Chapter 33 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 35