When he woke up with a hangover, not only was he dizzy and weak, but his throat was also very dry.

He Chuzhou briefly rubbed his temples. He quietly got out of bed, tucked in the person who was still asleep, and went to the bathroom in his slippers.

He washed his face with cold water to clear his mind. While squeezing the toothpaste, he glanced into the mirror and his eyes paused when they fell upon the wound on the side of his lower lip.

He subconsciously raised his hand to touch it, and the pain made him gasp.

It was still fresh.

Where had this injury come from?

Was it a mosquito bite? 

There shouldn’t be mosquitos in this weather, and even if there were, how fierce would it have to be to bite him like this?

Did he fall and hurt himself?

But he didn’t feel pain anywhere else, ah.

He didn’t hit anything but his mouth? Wasn’t that weird?

Could it be that he dreamed of eating something tasty and bit himself?

How bizarre.

But compared to the first two, this possibility was the most likely.

He brushed his teeth while avoiding the wound, wondering if he should find some medicine to apply to it.

When he returned to the room, he found that Pei Xi was awake but hadn’t gotten out of bed. He was still sitting there hugging the quilt, gazing at him in a daze with sleepy eyes.

“What are you thinking about so early in the morning?”

He walked over and scratched Pei Xi’s chin, as if teasing a kitten.

Pei Xi: “Chuzhou, where is this? Why aren’t we at home?”

Oh. He’d forgotten that Pei-calico hadn’t been here.

“This is home too.”

He patiently explained: “It’s my parents’ house. We came here for dinner last night, and it was too late afterward, so we didn’t go back.”

Pei Xi gave an “Oh,” then squinted his eyes and yawned. He soon discovered the wound on He Chuzhou’s lip and pointed a finger at it: “What happened here?”

He Chuzhou: “I don’t know. I saw it this morning and it still hurts. I guess I dreamed about gnawing meat and bones last night.”

Pei Xi observed it thoughtfully for a moment and came to a conclusion: “No, it looks more like I bit you when we were kissing.”

A man couldn’t withstand such direct and explicit teasing from his sweetheart so early in the morning, especially those old virgins who hadn’t had sex in over twenty years.

As soon as Pei Xi finished speaking, He Chuzhou’s blood boiled at the scene that appeared in his head, and all of the blood in his body rushed to……

Presumptuous. He needed to stop.

He mentally recited a Buddhist mantra three times to calm his mind, then turned to help Pei Xi find some clothes.

Being bitten while kissing…..

Hmm, he would like that.

Pei Xi had come here on a whim the day before, so there weren’t any clothes prepared for him. He Chuzhou could only find a set of his own in a smaller size and let him wear it temporarily.

After picking out the clothes, he looked back and found that the person who was sitting up just now had laid back down again, and had wrapped himself tightly in the quilt with only half his face showing.

He Chuzhou was amused by his slightly childish behavior. He walked over and set the clothes on the bedside table, then bent down and touched his cheek: “Sleeping again?”

Pei Xi didn’t open his eyes, just breathing out a nasal hum.

He hadn’t gotten enough sleep in the first place, and hadn’t slept well in the unfamiliar environment. Now that he knew he was at home, he felt at ease and the sleepiness came back.

“Okay.” He Chuzhou rubbed his head. “There’s nothing to do this morning anyway, so just sleep.”

Pei Xi’s breaths quickly lengthened.

He Chuzhou glanced at the time. It was still early. He planned to change his clothes and go out for a run, but before he could turn around and take two steps, he suddenly realized something—

Pei-calico was sleeping now. When he woke up later, would he be in his right mind?

It turned out that his guess was entirely correct.

An hour later, Pei Xi awoke from his nap and sat up in bed with a bewildered look on his face. It took him several minutes to figure out what his situation was.

Okay. He pinched the bridge of his nose. It would be good to deal with some things today and not put them off until tomorrow.

He Chuzhou had tried his best to find him clothes in a smaller size, though they were still too big on him and the shoulder line fell to his arms.

However, autumn and winter clothes didn’t need to be too fitted. The loose, thin sweater was very suitable for this lazy season, and also suited him.

After cleaning up and coming out of the bathroom, he could faintly hear the sound of He Chuzhou and He Aiyue arguing downstairs.

He couldn’t help but prick up his ears. But before he could figure out what the brother and sister were arguing about so early in the morning, his phone rang. Pei Yansong had sent him a message:

[He Chuzhou has promised to help your brother. Did you talk to him about it last night?]

[I won’t argue with you about what happened yesterday. You should think clearly about where you went wrong and why you were so impulsive. We will speak again after your brother’s problem is solved.]

There were only a few short lines, but the words gave off a disdainful tone.

Pei Xi deleted the messages after reading them, then turned off his phone and put it away with no emotional fluctuations from beginning to end.

He and Pei Yansong had absolutely nothing to talk about.

As for He Chuzhou’s solemn promise to him last night that Pei Yansong wouldn’t bother him again for a while, he had ultimately underestimated the extent to which Pei Yansong would break his promises.

This was true for his partners, his ex-wife, and the son his ex-wife gave birth to for him.

He was unworthy of anyone’s expectations of him.

He Chuzhou went upstairs to call him down to eat. When he came in and saw that he looked clear-headed, he wore an unsurprised expression and said to himself: “En, that’s fine too. At least I don’t have to figure out how to correct any changes of address.”

Pei Xi heard him clearly, but didn’t respond. He asked instead: “Did you fight with He Aiyue again?”

He Chuzhou was helpless: “It’s not fair. I was just being reasonable. She’s the one who started a one-sided argument with me.”

Pei Xi: “What was the argument about?”

He Chuzhou spoke convincingly: “She said she’s as fat as a rubber ball and needs to skip meals to lose weight.”

Pei Xi: “And then?”

He Chuzhou: “Then I said she’s not fat, at least not like a rubber ball. She’s a rugby ball at best, and it won’t be too late to lose weight when she’s actually as fat as a rubber ball.”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi said seriously: “Aiyue is not fat.”

He Chuzhou: “Yeah, I said that too, ah, but she wanted to fight me after hearing that.”

Pei Xi: “You said she looks like a rugby ball.”

He Chuzhou said: “She said herself that she’s a rubber ball. Isn’t a rugby ball slimmer than a rubber ball?”

Pei Xi: “She can say that, but you can’t say that about her.”

“Is that so?”

He Chuzhou didn’t understand at all, but he was obedient: “Fine, I won’t say that next time. At least, I won’t say she looks like a ball, a scallion, or a cowpea. Is that okay?”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi: “Never mind, stop talking.”

The two of them went downstairs one after the other. In the dining room, Mrs. Chu and Mr. He Jiangchuan were already sitting at the table. He Aiyue was sulking, and scoffed at He Chuzhou when she saw him coming.

“Good morning, Xinxin.”

He Jiangchuan was reading the newspaper, and looked up to give Pei Xi a wave and a smile: “It’s your first time visiting us, and I didn’t even get to greet you properly yesterday.”

Pei Xi shook his head and said it didn’t matter.

“Come on, sit down and have breakfast.”

Chu Yuelan patted the seat beside her and beckoned to Pei Xi: “Chuzhou said you like to eat light, sweet foods in the morning, so I prepared these. I hope you like them.”

“Oh, and the soy milk is still hot in the kitchen. Auntie will go fetch it.”

Chu Yuelan moved so fast that he didn’t even have time to finish saying “I’ll get it myself” before she stood up and disappeared through the kitchen door.

“It’s okay, my mom is happy.”

He Chuzhou pulled out the chair next to Pei Xi and started to sit down, but He Aiyue rushed over and pushed him away to claim the seat. She complained in a low voice: “Pei-ge, your boyfriend is so annoying, ah. He’s a grown man who bullies little girls and calls them fat. I’m telling you, be careful about men like these. Their moral character is generally not very good — ah!”

He Aiyue immediately covered her head and added to her evidence: “Look, look, he hits people and has violent tendencies. He might become a domestic abuser in the future.”

He Chuzhou was angered into laughter: “Second-child He, with your eloquence, it’s unfair to call you a high school student. You should apply for a position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We’ll send you out to negotiate in the morning, and the border artillery will be fired in the afternoon.”

He Aiyue gnashed her teeth, then turned her head and hugged Pei Xi’s arm: “Pei-ge, he gave me a back-handed compliment, wuwuwu.”

Pei Xi didn’t have a younger sister, and had never been hugged by one as she put on a show of being spoiled. He really wasn’t accustomed to it, and could only look at He Chuzhou as he tried to awkwardly urge them toward peace: “Aiyue is still young, don’t fight with her.”

He Aiyue stuck her tongue out at him proudly.

He Chuzhou accepted his fate and gave a thumbs up: “You have a strong backer, so I won’t fight with you.”

He Jiangchuan raised his eyes over the newspaper to take a peek, then pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose with a kind smile.

“Here, here.”

Chu Yuelan soon came out with two cups of steaming soy milk: “They’re freshly made, and I added sugar. Taste it and see if it’s sweet enough. If not, I’ll add more.”

As he watched Chu Yuelan place one of the cups in front of He Chuzhou, he suddenly recalled what He Chuzhou had said to him in the bedroom.

He’d brought up changes of address because he was afraid he would call Mrs. Chu “Mom” in his confusion, right?

This was indeed something Pei-calico would do.

If he really called her that, he would probably have to explain himself.

As he mused in distraction, he lifted his hand to take the other cup of soy milk from Mrs. Chu and said casually: “Thanks, Mom.”

Thanks, Mom.

Thanks.

Mom.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……!”

In a silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop, he heard himself suck in a deep breath. His entire body was numb.

When he saw Mrs. Chu’s expression turn from stunned, to astonished, to overjoyed, and then to blushing, his back stiffened. He didn’t dare turn his head to see the expressions of the others.

Following this, Mrs. Chu’s enthusiasm for him reached an unprecedented level.

She pampered him throughout the whole process. The corners of her mouth were perpetually raised, and her eyes were as bright as 200 watt searchlights, which rendered a person completely unable to resist. 

Even the reserved and taciturn Father He joined in.

Sometimes Mrs. Chu asked Pei Xi how the steamed buns tasted, and sometimes she asked if his soy milk was cold and needed to be reheated. The look in her eyes was eager anticipation.

Pei Xi could only turn his head away, but had forgotten the small searchlights beside him.

He Aiyue’s big, limpid eyes were full of excitement, and she regarded him with more closeness than she did her biological brother.

Pei Xi: “……”

He sweated profusely as he ate breakfast. Fortunately, He Chuzhou was very sympathetic to his situation, and ran off with him once he finished eating quickly.

“Leaving already?”

“Xinxin has work today, doesn’t he?”

“Oh, okay, drive safely on the road.”

“Xinxin, come play again next time, ah!”

“Bye-bye, Pei-ge! Bye-bye to Boss He too, I guess.”

He Chuzhou didn’t even turn his head back: “Let’s go, let’s go. See you next time, bye-bye, bye-bye!”

Pei Xi breathed a sigh of relief once he was in the car.

When he turned to face He Chuzhou, he saw him wearing a look like he was hesitant to say something, and went silent.

After staring at each other for an extended moment, they both realized that they couldn’t get over this without talking about it.

He Chuzhou considered his words carefully, trying not to hurt Pei Xi’s fragile self-esteem: “Did you remember what happened after you lost your memory? Or…..”

“No,” Pei Xi cut in swiftly. “I don’t remember.”

He Chuzhou had originally intended to ask if he and He Aiyue had led him astray. Seeing as Pei Xi had denied it so forcefully, he could only ask: “Then what happened?”

Pei Xi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His brain was a tangled ball of wool in his head, and he finally managed to utter: “I think Auntie is very nice, and I’ve always wanted to recognize her as my godmother.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

He Chuzhou: “………”

Pei Xi thought his nonsense had been seen through, and his heart constricted: “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

He Chuzhou resisted the urge to pinch himself to see if he was awake, and steadily drove the car into traffic: “Are you still going to the company today? Do you want me to take you home so you can change clothes first?”

It seemed he hadn’t been seen through.

Pei Xi was a little relieved: “Okay.”

The car drove steadily for a while until it stopped in front of a sidewalk at a red light.

He Chuzhou tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips in an irregular rhythm, and suddenly said without context: “I’m afraid not.”

Pei Xi didn’t get it: “What?”

“Our family doesn’t have a custom of recognizing godsons. I’m afraid it won’t work for you to recognize my mom as your godmother.”

Pei Xi nodded in acquiescence.

That was just an excuse he’d made up. He had never wanted a godmother.

He Chuzhou hummed calmly and looked ahead, his heart full of bitterness.

It was over.

He Chuzhou treated him as a wife, but he actually wanted to be his younger brother.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter 52 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 54