Those with a hard mouth but a soft heart were not to be trusted.

For example: Pei Xi refused cleanly and neatly, but still accompanied him to walk the dog at night.

Of course, he explained this behavior to himself as an equal exchange.

He Chuzhou had cooked dinner and washed the dishes afterwards. There was nothing wrong with walking the dog with the other party so that He Chuzhou could familiarize himself with the environment.

They met a few kids at the lake who were very interested in He Xingxing. He Chuzhou wasn’t stingy, and happily crouched down to play with them for a while, including but not limited to making He Xingxing stand at attention and then lie down.

Pei Xi had seen these children before. They lived in the building next door, but he had never had contact with them.

He was good-looking, but had a cold face, and the occasional children he met would just stare at him, but not dare approach or talk to him. 

Unexpectedly, He Chuzhou was popular with children.

But after some thought, this was natural. After all, He Chuzhou was different from him – he always had a smile on his face and was easy to get along with.

After going for a walk, He Xingxing climbed into the balcony nest and rested with his chin down. He was very good, and didn’t make any noise or trouble. As expected of the most intelligent dog in the world, he was very aware of being a guest.

Not only did the dog’s owner shamelessly move into his house, he also bombarded him with messages during work hours. Pei Xi was so vexed that in order to get some peace and quiet, he had to threaten to block him if he messaged again.

Pei Xi spent most of the day dealing with that dog owner. He was particularly tired tonight and had no energy to work, so he went straight back to his room to rest.

But after taking a shower and lying down in bed, he didn’t feel so sleepy anymore.

When he drew the curtains, he happened to see the bright neon lights outside and suddenly felt that some things in the world were truly mysterious. 

The person he’d argued with until he was red in the face at the auction a few days ago was now sleeping in the room next to his, and there was even a dog sleeping on the balcony.

He should be able to face any outrageous things in work or life for a long time to come, since the most outrageous thing had already happened to him.

As he was thinking about this and that, he fell asleep at some point.

He awoke at seven o’clock the next day, just in time to hear someone scratch softly at the door a few times. Then came the sound of footsteps pattering away.

Pei Xi’s brain wasn’t functioning well after waking up, and he sat on the bed in confusion until he remembered that there was a dog at home. Those few scratches just now must have been He Xingxing scratching the door and then walking away.

He covered his eyes and waited until his mind was clearer, then got up, got ready, and exited the room. He Chuzhou came out of the kitchen with breakfast just then, and their eyes met. Pei Xi’s words stuck in his throat.

He Chuzhou’s eyes were clear, and he was as calm and relaxed as usual. This was clearly different than when he was brain-addled.

Pei Xi came to a realization: “You’re well again?”

He Chuzhou was indeed well, but there was a ninety-nine percent chance that this was only temporary. He had suffered intermittent amnesia twice, and felt that he had discovered something, so he honestly reported it to Pei Xi.

Pei Xi sat down and listened intently: “So what you’re saying is that sleeping is the switch that turns your memory loss off and on?”

He Chuzhou nodded: “En, judging by the current situation, that seems to be the case. I guessed right.”

Pei Xi breathed a secret sigh of relief.

Alternating between states was better than continuous amnesia. At least he would get a day off in between.

“Ai, I’m really sorry about all this.”

He Chuzhou’s apology was particularly sincere, especially in front of his table of homemade breakfast: “I didn’t expect such a ridiculous thing to happen, and that I would cause you so much trouble.”

A person would be polite and courteous when receiving benefits from others. What could Pei Xi say? He could only lower his head to drink the porridge with a cold expression and spit out an indifferent sentence: “It doesn’t matter.”

He Chuzhou remembered something: “Oh, by the way, if some of my abnormal behavior disturbs you at work, you can just block me. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Pei Xi stopped drinking porridge. He raised his head and said uncertainly: “You…..remember?”

He Chuzhou: “What does President Pei mean?”

Pei Xi: “The things that happened while you were out of your mind.”

He Chuzhou: “Ah, I remember everything.”

The temperature of his face quickly rose.

Holding the spoon, Pei Xi didn’t know whether to keep eating porridge or change to chopsticks and select some food. Similarly, he didn’t know whether to look at He Chuzhou or look down at the table.

But on second thought, it didn’t feel right.

He wasn’t the one who did those things. He was just an innocent victim. Why should he be embarrassed?

Thinking about it this way, he immediately became sure of himself. He didn’t prevaricate or evade, but looked directly at the person who should be embarrassed.

But there was absolutely no hint of embarrassment in He Chuzhou’s expression. Not even any polite discomfort.

He seemed to have no such thing as face. Calm and composed, he felt no shame at all for the things he had done. Or, perhaps he didn’t feel there was anything to be ashamed of.

When he saw Pei Xi staring at him in silence, he asked innocently: “What’s wrong? I thought remembering would be a good thing. It at least proves that my brain still works.”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi: “It’s nothing.”

He once again looked away and lowered his head, frowning slightly. 

How could this person be so shameless?

The meal was very quiet. But just as Pei Xi set down his spoon, He Chuzhou spoke up again as if he had been counting the time until he finished eating: “President Pei, can you spare two minutes to discuss something?”

Pei Xi took a tissue and wiped his mouth: “What is it?”

He Chuzhou tapped his temple: “I think I’ll have to trouble you for a while due to my illness. It’s quite time-consuming to run back and forth, so until I recover, will you please take me in, President Pei?”

Pei Xi subconsciously wanted to ask, Haven’t you already brought all your luggage in? But he quickly responded: “You mean you have to stay with me until you’re well? Including when you’re in your right mind?”

He Chuzhou smiled: “Right, President Pei’s comprehension is very good!”

Pei Xi was choked to speechlessness by his bluntness.

How could someone be so thick-skinned and unreserved?

He was half a patient while brain-addled, so it was fine to be a little more tolerant. But when he was in his right mind, the two people who still didn’t get along well would run into each other at all times. Wasn’t it a little—

He Chuzhou: “Of course, in return, I’ll be in charge of three homemade meals per day and washing the dishes.”

Pei Xi: “Okay.”

Pei Xi: “Cough…..whatever you want.”

“Then from today on, I’ll trouble President Pei to take care of me.”

He Chuzhou immediately fulfilled his promise and collected the plates and chopsticks. As he did so, he asked Pei Xi with a smile: “I’ll throw in a driving service for free. Shall we go to work together later, President Pei?”

Excessive.

Both of their companies were located in the city center. He Chuzhou’s was farther away in terms of straight-line distance, so it wasn’t exactly on the way. The two of them didn’t talk much in the vehicle other than He Chuzhou asking Pei Xi what he wanted to eat that evening. The whole process was quiet, with only upbeat music playing in the car.

They were competitors who had little in common. Apart from work, their only common link was the events of the past two days, but it was difficult to bring up either one as a topic of conversation.

As soon as they arrived at their destination, Pei Xi got out of the car and left. His actions were so decisive that He Chuzhou didn’t even have time to ask if he wanted to be picked up after work.

He…..shouldn’t want to, right?

After all, the busy President Pei was different from him, a lazy fellow who got off work on time every day.

The tall figure with a slim waist and long legs quickly vanished from sight. He Chuzhou withdrew his gaze and called Wu Qing.

It was natural for someone with a disordered schedule to be asleep at this time. After a long while, he answered the phone and asked He Chuzhou vaguely: “Why are you disturbing my sweet dreams so early in the morning?”

He Chuzhou: “Brother, next time you want to dig up my past, can you be more tactful and save me some face?”

Wu Qing’s brain short-circuited: “When did I dig up your past?”

He Chuzhou: “Didn’t you call me a virgin? And you were audacious enough to mention teaching me to use a condom. Have you no shame?”

Wu Qing turned over and said: “Aiyo, I was just telling the truth, but here you are wanting to settle accounts with me, ah. Didn’t you call me first? Besides, what need is there to save face in front of me?”

He Chuzhou: “Someone else was there.”

Wu Qing: “Really? Who was it?”

He Chuzhou: “My first kiss partner.”

He paused after speaking, then suddenly turned his head and glanced in the rearview mirror: “Tsk, I was just chatting, why did you embarrass me…..”

His next mutterings were too soft for Wu Qing to hear clearly.

Of course, it could also be that his previous sentence was so shocking that Wu Qing was dazed: “F-f-first kiss partner? What the hell?”

“Who was your first kiss?”

“Where did you have your first kiss?”

He Chuzhou: “You said that in an interesting way, ah. Where else would my first kiss be other than on the mouth?”

He Chuzhou: “You go back to sleep. I’m hanging up.”

Wu Qing: “ ? ? ? ? ? ”

Wu Qing: “Come back! I can’t sleep now!”

Wu Qing: “Hey! You old virgin!”

Wu Qing: “You just called to show off!”

*

*

Pei Xi got home very late. He Chuzhou had already eaten dinner, and had specially prepared a new meal for him to accommodate his schedule.

One bag of luggage was definitely not enough, so when He Chuzhou got off work, he’d packed up and moved some more.

He Chuzhou happened to be walking the dog when Pei Xi got home, and came back after Pei Xi finished eating and went to his room.

It was different than Pei Xi had imagined, that they would bump into each other at all times. The two didn’t even see each other while living under the same roof.

If not for the hot and extremely delicious dinner, he would have hardly sensed the other’s presence.

Was this a good thing? Of course it is, Pei Xi thought.

And he had to take back what he said before. He Chuzhou, the dog owner, was actually as conscientious as his dog.

But very soon, he was slapped in the face by reality.

Slapping time was before seven o’clock the next morning. Location: his bedroom. He was woken up before his biological clock, and opened his eyes to find He Chuzhou gingerly lifting the blanket and trying to sneak into bed.

Pei Xi stared at him expressionlessly: “What are you doing?”

Seeing that he’d been caught, He Chuzhou immediately stopped trying to climb into bed and covered him with the blanket. Then he crouched at the bedside and pitifully hooked a corner of the blanket with his fingertips: “Wife~”

Pei Xi reached out and ruthlessly pulled the blanket away from him: “Go back to your room.”

He Chuzhou: “The guest room is so cold.”

Pei Xi: “What month is it now?”

He Chuzhou: “I was born with a cold body, with flesh of ice and bones of jade.”

Pei Xi: “Turn up the heat.”

He Chuzhou: “The heater is too dry, it’s not good for the skin.”

Pei Xi: “Just bear with it.”

He Chuzhou: “But I’ll become ugly, and you’ll lose face when you take me out.”

Pei Xi: “When did I say I’d take you out?”

He Chuzhou: “Then at least we shouldn’t sleep in separate rooms, ah. What kind of couple sleeps separately?”

Pei Xi: “This one.”

He Chuzhou was stumped for a moment. Feeling even more wronged, he rested his chin on the bed exactly like his son, He Xingxing: “Xixi, after being bitten by a snake once, you can’t be afraid of ropes for ten years.”

Damn, this person was indeed handsome.

But he was also really annoying.

“Don’t pretend to be well-behaved, it’s useless.” Pei Xi said angrily, “I’m perfectly fine, you’re the one who was bitten by a snake.”

He Chuzhou interpreted his rebuttal as him stubbornly refusing to admit it, and tried to negotiate with him: “Xixi, please let me sleep with you. Just sleeping under the blanket, I promise I won’t do anything. I absolutely won’t bully you.”

“How could you bully me?”

Pei Xi realized something and his face darkened, all sleepiness vanishing: “What did you mean about being bitten by a snake?”

“When we slept together for the first time, I hurt you. Your skin was broken and swollen, and you cried for half a night.”

He Chuzhou couldn’t help but complain in a low voice, not noticing Pei Xi’s expression getting uglier and uglier: “I know you’re angry, but isn’t it too hasty to separate and divorce me just because of this?”

“It’s not that I can’t do it, it’s just that I don’t know how. People with no experience are like this. Wu Qing failed in seconds during his first time.”

“I’ve been looking for information and studying hard, but the instructors in the videos say that learning must be combined with practice, and you won’t let me into bed.”

“And you’re too sensitive, Honey. You tremble wherever I touch you and cry out whenever I kiss you. Your whole body is a minefield. I’ve been so careful. I never had such difficulties when playing Minesweeper before.”

“Everyone needs to grow. We’re a couple, so we should be more patient with each other. You see, you squeezed me so hard that night, but I endured it and didn’t say anything, ah.”

The sound of his murmuring got quieter and quieter. Seeing that Pei Xi remained silent, He Chuzhou was overjoyed and thought he had persuaded him, and was about to climb into bed while the iron was hot.

As a result, as soon as his knee pressed down on the soft surface of the bed, a foot impacted his lower abdomen and kicked him off.

Pei Xi sat up. His hair was a little messy, and his face was flushed. Gnashing his teeth, he gritted out words one by one: 

“Get out and make breakfast. If you dare step into my room again, I’ll break your legs.”

---

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