……Cute?

Pei Xi didn’t think this word could be used to describe him, and strictly speaking, it could even be considered mockery.

But He Chuzhou’s expression told him that it was far from mockery. He was one hundred percent sincere.

He felt uneasy. His upbringing had taught him to respond to compliments, but it hadn’t taught him how to respond to subjective ones.

Denying a compliment was even more unfamiliar.

The three words “I’m not cute” sounded like something a child would say, no matter what tone they were spoken in.

Pei Xi never thought that he would one day be stumped by an adjective. He was stuck in place for a long moment before ultimately deciding to ignore it and flee the scene. Running away was the best option.

However, in He Chuzhou’s eyes, he seemed to be running away from being called cute.

Even cuter!

He Chuzhou had moved in here because of his mental side effects. Nominally, he needed Pei Xi’s care, but in fact, he was the one taking care of Pei Xi whether he was brain-addled or in his right mind.

Before He Chuzhou moved in, Pei Xi seldom ate at home, either because he didn’t want to or didn’t have time. Therefore, his three meals were basically not fixed. He ate in a hurry, and skipped meals most of the time. On the other hand, He Chuzhou arranged everything properly for him as soon as he arrived, and his skills were pretty good.

En…..perhaps more than ‘pretty good.’ How about very good. So good that Pei Xi’s appetite had been spoiled and he found it hard to swallow that so-called high-end Western food he ate at the occasional social event.

He couldn’t help but worry about He Chuzhou leaving once he recovered. Could he go from luxury to simplicity? Perhaps he really needed to compromise and find a housekeeper.

The practically new and unused kitchen still had the slight smell of cooking, and the house when he came home was no longer dark and silent.

There was the aroma of hot food. There was He Chuzhou constantly showing him how much he cared. And there was a dog that liked to walk around the living room with a little ball in his mouth.

There was…..a little more inconspicuous dog fur on the edge of the shoe cabinet.

After careful thought, nothing much seemed to have changed, but his house had magically transformed from just a place to stay after leaving the company to an actual home.

He Chuzhou helped him not only in life, but in work.

Sometimes Pei Xi was so tired that he fell asleep in front of the computer. When he woke up, he would find that his urgent tasks had been completed, and the other party was holding him with one arm while playing solitaire with his other hand.

From this perspective, the brain-addled He Chuzhou was no different from the sober one, and just treated him as a lover.

He was extremely intimate and clingy, and loved to act like a spoiled brat. Every day, he tried to act cute and helpless, using his innate optimism and humor to lift his mood and make him laugh.

And he forced him to change his WeChat profile picture to a couple’s photo he had procured from who knows where. Pei Xi let him see the ID name he’d given him, and He Chuzhou shamelessly told him to change that as well.

Every message he sent would now have a red heart emoji at the end.

But this didn’t seem like a bad thing.

Over time, Pei Xi had gotten used to having an extra person at home, and to having a look-alike avatar sending him cheesy emojis all day long. He had even become comfortable with the title of “wife.”

But just because he was used to it didn’t mean he would accept being called that in front of other people…..just a little onlooker.

The incident began when Pei Xi was in a meeting one morning. He was projecting his computer screen to point out some planning issues, and when the chat software below lit up during an intermission, he clicked on it: 

Zhouzhou Sweetheart: [Honey, are you busy?]

Zhouzhou Sweetheart: [Look at the new succulent on my desk. It’s so cute.]

Pei Xi hastily closed the window. He was silent for a long time before he raised his head stiffly and met a group of shocked gazes: “…..”

*

*

It was a rare day that Pei Xi got off work on time. The first thing he did when he came through the door was to tell He Chuzhou sternly: “From now on, don’t send me messages when I’m at work.”

He Chuzhou saw that he was in a bad mood, and didn’t understand: “Why? Were you not able to finish your work?”

Pei Xi: “You disturbed me.”

He Chuzhou’s smile froze.

Pei Xi added: “I don’t need you to share those things with me. Can’t you focus on your own company’s business? There’s so much time after work – is there anything that can’t be talked about then?”

He Chuzhou’s smile completely faded. He immediately forced out another helpless, frustrated smile, but his tone was still relaxed: “Ai, I disturbed you at work? It’s my fault. I won’t send any more, Honey. Don’t be angry.”

“It’s so late, you must be hungry. Come wash your hands and eat. I made your favorite sweet and sour fish, come get it while it’s hot.”

The aroma of food wafted in, and the dog rubbed against his feet. Pei Xi looked at He Chuzhou’s back, and his originally cold expression went blank.

Appearing as if nothing had happened, He Chuzhou proceeded to serve him soup and pick out food for him, and told him that he had a headache today because an intern had made him angry.

Pei Xi picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. It tasted good, but he had no appetite.

How unreasonable. How could he blame He Chuzhou?

He Chuzhou had said to just block him if Pei Xi found him troublesome, but he didn’t do it.

He tacitly accepted He Chuzhou sticking to him and calling him his wife, but then turned around and blamed him for affecting him with his default behavior.

Was he taking his embarrassment out on He Chuzhou because of his own mistake?

The guiltier he felt, the less he knew how to apologize.

With the knowledge that He Chuzhou would absolutely forgive him, he felt that a simple “I’m sorry” was devoid of sincerity or value.

That night, Pei Xi retreated to the study under the pretext of handling work. After long consideration, for the first time in his life, he asked his assistant something that had nothing to do with work: [Do you have a girlfriend?]

From the length of typing, it could be seen that the other party was struggling hard, or was perhaps shocked. Then he replied: [I do. What do you need, President Pei?]

Pei Xi: [Have you ever received gifts from your girlfriend?]

Dong Han: [I have.]

Pei Xi: [What is your favorite gift?]

Dong Han: [I don’t have one, I like everything my girlfriend gives me. President Pei, are you…..giving someone a gift?]

Pei Xi was seen through, and didn’t deny it: [En.]

Dong Han: [Is it for a man?]

Pei Xi: [En, do you have any suggestions?]

Dong Han: [Generally speaking, gifts for men are ties, watches, or electronic products depending upon age.]

He Chuzhou had many of the latest electronic products. Pei Xi didn’t consider these. A tie felt too intimate, and after some thought, a watch was the most suitable.

Thus, he spent nearly a week selecting a watch that was suitable for He Chuzhou. On the day the watch arrived, he bought a big bouquet of flowers on the way back and gave both the flowers and the watch to He Chuzhou when he got home.

He Chuzhou was very surprised to receive them, and asked: “Honey, today isn’t my birthday. Why did you get me a gift and flowers?”

“It was wrong of me to get angry with you that day.”

After everything was prepared, Pei Xi gave his belated apology: “It was my fault that the message you sent me was seen by the staff. I was in a bad mood and took it out on you.”

He Chuzhou forgave him as a matter of course without a second’s hesitation, just as he had expected.

But this finally made him feel better. He didn’t want He Chuzhou to suffer losses because of his temper, at least not here.

The only thing he didn’t expect was for He Chuzhou to take advantage of the situation and sigh softly: “Honey, I was really sad when you were mean to me that day.”

Pei Xi was aware of this, so even though he knew that this person was deliberately acting pitiful, he still compromised: “Then what do you want for compensation?”

He Chuzhou: “Any compensation?”

Pei Xi willingly stepped into the trap: “Anything.”

He Chuzhou’s eyebrows curved as he said: “Then can we not sleep in separate rooms? The weather is getting colder. Have pity on me and let me sleep with my wife.”

*

*

Ever since Pei Xi could remember, he had never shared a bed with anyone. Now that he was sleeping in the same bed with another adult man, he was uncomfortable.

The presence of the person next to him was too strong, especially after turning off the lights. Even though his breathing was quiet, the warmth from the arm touching him made him tense up.

Just sleeping like this?

Was this the bed-sharing He Chuzhou had been dreaming of for so long?

Was it really just…..covering up with a blanket and sleeping?

He stared at the dark ceiling, lost in thought. The person next to him turned over, and he subconsciously held his breath.

He Chuzhou: “Honey, why do you keep your eyes wide open when you sleep?”

Pei Xi quickly closed his eyes and heard a low chuckle. His ears felt slightly hot, but fortunately, he couldn’t see them.

He Chuzhou asked: “Honey, can I hold you to sleep?”

Pei Xi pursed his lips and said nothing.

He Chuzhou took his silence as tacit agreement and moved closer to hold him. Adjusting them to the most comfortable position, he shared the warmth with satisfaction. 

Laying in his arms, Pei Xi was even more uncomfortable than before.

But his initially uneasy mood miraculously settled, and he felt that this was the only reasonable thing to do.

He had no trouble sleeping. The person who claimed to have flesh of ice and bones of jade was warmer than anyone else, which was very practical on a cool autumn night, and Pei Xi soon fell asleep in such an embrace.

The moment he woke up the next morning, he was greeted by a pair of deep, smiling eyes.

The two of them were still in an embrace. There was no telling who took the initiative in the middle of the night, but they were entwined even more intimately than when they fell asleep.

The scene was the same, but the atmosphere was completely different with a certain person’s memory restored.

After staring at each other for a long time, Pei Xi’s back stiffened and he slowly withdrew from He Chuzhou’s arms, putting some distance between them.

When he was about to silently get up, He Chuzhou abruptly grabbed his wrist.

He Chuzhou finally understood why Pei Xi had been so well-behaved these days.

Yes, well-behaved. 

Ridiculously well-behaved.

At work, he not only replied to his messages within seconds, but also took the initiative to ask him what he was doing, whether he was busy, and whether he had eaten.

After getting off work, he would actively ask to go with him to walk the dog. And since he still didn’t like to talk, he would just follow him in silence.

When He Chuzhou was cooking, Pei Xi would remain in the kitchen. Even when he walked around and found that there was no way for him to help, he wouldn’t leave. He would just stand to the side, holding the plates that would be needed a while later.

His apology was awkward and ceremonious. In fact, the problem was nothing. Even he felt that it was nothing, but Pei Xi was so torn up about it, as if he’d done something egregious.

He Chuzhou didn’t consider himself a saint. Money couldn’t change his base, worldly nature, nor could it help him withstand such powerful cuteness aggression.

It was fine when he was ignorant before. But now that he faced this person every day who could touch his heart with just a casual action, it was natural for He Chuzhou to fall in love with him.

It was a rare occasion where He Aiyue was right. Only a fool wouldn’t seize such a heaven-sent opportunity.

Therefore: “Good morning, President Pei.”

Sleeping in Pei Xi’s bed, wrapped in Pei Xi’s clothes, and resting on Pei Xi’s pillow, he asked: “Will you allow me to pursue you?”

---

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