“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

At dusk, the setting sun fell through the Xiao family villa’s gray windows, lending the dark, gloomy house a strange red light.

In the deepest part of the villa, in what seemed to be the most ordinary housekeeping room, there was now an odd-looking copper brazier on the floor. Talisman paper continued to burn in the basin with a crackling sound, and the flames engulfing the paper had a strange green hue, entirely unlike normal fire.

Slender tongues of fire swayed continuously in the brazier, like aquatic plants drifting in the waves deep underwater.

But whenever flames were about to cross the edge of the copper basin, they seemed to be blocked by something invisible and could only crawl along the sides, engulfing more talisman paper.

The men guarding the brazier wore imposing expressions, each of them staring intently at the flames as if facing a formidable foe. Once the talisman paper burned down more and the green flames became stronger, they would fill the basin with stacks of talisman paper tied like green bricks.

There was clearly no breeze in the room, but everyone could feel a slight airflow around them, bringing with it a deep chill.

Teacher Xu had his back to everyone as he stood before the locked storage room that Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an had found strange before.

His eyes were closed, his hands clasped together as he continuously murmured low, faint scriptures in a soft voice.

Shasha—

Shashasha—

But as Teacher Xu chanted, an extremely distinct and restless scratching sound came from the storage room that had not been opened in over a decade.

It seemed as if some kind of whimpering sound similar to a wail could be faintly heard.

Suddenly, the flames surged inside the copper basin, and the talismans drawn with cinnabar were thrown in wildly as if they were free money. When they entered the copper basin, it was like snow meeting fire, and they instantly turned into snow white paper ash.

Watching the scene in front of them, everyone in the room had beads of sweat as big as soybeans on their foreheads.

The stalemate lasted over ten seconds before the flames in the basin gradually faded away.

Click.

The heavy old iron lock suddenly made a crisp sound as the door was shaken.

Immediately after, the entire room fell into a dead silence.

The scratching sound vanished.

The chill also went away.

It was only at this moment that Teach Xu took a sharp breath and stopped chanting. His whole body shook, and he staggered back from the door.

He clutched his chest and said to the others: “Okay, it’s good.”

If Li Xiu were here, he would be shocked to see the current Teacher Xu. The gentle, affable man of just a few hours ago now looked as if he had lost too much blood. He had become weak and haggard, with an ashen face.

The disciples jumped up and rushed forward to support the shaky Teacher Xu.

“Teacher!”

“Master Xu, is it done?”

“Are you okay…..”

Teacher Xu raised his hand and gestured weakly for his disciples to quiet down.

He leaned against the wall and paused for a while to stare at it before he gradually recovered. When he spoke, his voice was as calm and gentle as ever: “There is nothing else. It’s been taken care of.”

Someone looked at Teacher Xu’s current miserable appearance and couldn’t help but curse angrily.

“Those pig-brained people at Qiming Secondary School were fine before, but in the end, they didn’t care about their good students and made it like this. I’m not even talking about the dead person, but that they exhausted Master Xu, making you waste your practice like this—”

“I told you I’m fine. And this accident can’t be entirely blamed on the school.” Teacher Xu sighed helplessly, catching his breath. He paused for a moment before adding, “The Xiao family has been raising it since the late Qing Dynasty. How many of their own children’s lives have been lost in the last hundreds of years…..with such an evil spirit, how can it be said that the seal will never loosen and it will always be safe?”

As Teacher Xu finished speaking, everyone present suddenly remembered the origins of the “thing” in the Xiao family villa, and their faces were all filled with a gloom that was difficult to rid themselves of.

At this time, it was Teacher Xu who first spoke to comfort them: “Don’t be too nervous. After all, it’s only in this form now. After all these years, hasn’t so much money, manpower, and material resources been spent just to neutralize its ferocity? We must still believe in the government and the people. In terms of actions, we must always be ready to confront it, and in terms of mentality, we must relax our minds and deal with it calmly…..”

Upon hearing Teacher Xu’s words, the group of people gradually relaxed.

However, just as they were packing their things and were about to leave the Xiao Family Haunted House, someone happened to bring up the past.

“…..But the people of the Xiao family were really cruel. They had a good little boy, their own child, who they raised by their side for several years, right? Even dogs can develop feelings, and they actually had the heart to offer a person as a living sacrifice…..”

The others could only let out a sigh after hearing this.

“In the end, he wasn’t born in this house, but was brought here from a mistress outside.”

“Ai, what could that mistress have been after? The Xiao family are no good…..”

“Stop talking.” Teacher Xu interrupted the disciples’ chatter with a frown.

Standing in the front garden of the Xiao family villa, the man suddenly turned his head and looked at the villa’s second floor.

A gust of wind blew by. In front of the broken window, a woman’s swollen, gray-white face was pressed against the glass, staring straight at the people downstairs. Her clouded eyes overflowed with pain and despair.

Teacher Xu gave her a mild glance and then turned back, walking toward the outside world.

Just like the noble lady back then could casually abuse the illegitimate child brought back by her husband, the seemingly kind and gentle man also responded to the ghost’s plea with unusual indifference.

For more than ten years, she had been trapped in that house, repeating the scene of her demise over and over again, from death to final decay.

*

At the same moment, in the shantytown on the other side of the city, Li Xiu was frowning as he tried his utmost to decipher his grandmother’s mumbling.

“Grandmother, what are you talking about? What did you do wrong?”

When Li Xiu was a child, he once heard his grandmother say she had given a name to his “gege” under the bed.

If “gege” was still alive…..

His name would have been Li Yu. 

But since some unknown time, his grandmother rarely called his “gege” by name.

It was not until tonight that Li Xiu heard the name “Xiao Yu” ^[1] from his grandmother again. Different from when he was young, when his grandmother would hold Li Xiu in her arms and gently speak to him about the origin of the name “Li Yu,” there was now only endless fear when the name fell from his grandmother’s mouth.

Li Xiu looked at his grandmother in front of him, who was obviously incognizant, and the expression on his face gradually became grave.

To be honest, if not for what happened in the Xiao Family Haunted House, Li Xiu might have regarded his grandmother’s babbling as the gibberish of an old person suffering from dementia.

After all, a significant feature of Alzheimer’s disease was that the elderly would have various persecutory delusions. But after experiencing so many things that were difficult to explain scientifically, Li Xiu couldn’t help but feel somewhat frightened.

Li Xiu suppressed his uneasiness and coaxed his grandmother softly: “Grandmother, please tell me carefully. What went wrong?”

His grandmother stared at Li Xiu vacantly, her dry lips pressed together.

As if because of sheer terror, her voice was reduced to a few mumbles as she replied.

Li Xiu couldn’t hear it clearly, so he could only lean forward slightly to get closer.

And at this moment, a crisp sound came from the kitchen.

Crash.

Li Xiu was startled.

When he rushed to the kitchen, what he saw froze Li Xiu in place.

The kitchen could only be described as a disaster.

Pots and pans were scattered everywhere, the faucet was on with water spilling all over the floor, and all the fresh and old food had been taken out of the refrigerator and spread everywhere.

Every ingredient was topped with rice.

What shocked Li Xiu the most was that the jar that had been used to store incense ash was now completely broken.

The slop on the ground had completely soaked the scattered incense ash, making it impossible to collect again.

As for the crisp sound Li Xiu heard before, it had come from a broken bowl.

The bowl that was used for “gege’s” food.

It was unknown where his grandmother had put it before, but now it had been smashed to pieces.

Li Xiu stood there and took more than ten deep breaths before he was able to just barely calm down.

“Grandmother, what were you trying to do before? The kitchen…..is such a mess.”

His grandmother had calmed down by now.

Hearing Li Xiu’s question, she raised her head listlessly.

“Li Xiu, you’re back, ah?” said the old woman, her eyes filled with confusion.

“Why did school end so early today?” After a pause, she smiled. “Have you made any friends there?”

A drop of saliva flowed down from his grandmother’s mouth as she spoke.

And Li Xiu stood stiffly in the kitchen, his heart sinking little by little.

Li Xiu didn’t continue to ask his grandmother what she had or hadn’t done.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around and began to skillfully clean up the kitchen.

By the time he finished cleaning everything up, it was very late. Fortunately, not too many things were wasted. The only things that couldn’t be returned to their original places were the small jar containing incense ash that his grandmother cherished, and the bowl for bringing rice to his gege…..

Wait, bringing rice?

Standing in the kitchen, Li Xiu abruptly realized where the feeling of wrongness in his mind was coming from.

Today, his grandmother…..hadn’t urged him to bring food to his gege.

Li Xiu stood still for a moment. His throat was dry and his stomach felt a little tight.

He felt a sort of strange uneasiness.

Standing at the door to the kitchen, he looked toward the living room.

After experiencing such inexplicable panic in the afternoon, his grandmother seemed to have forgotten her gaffe. At this time, she had already rolled up her sleeves and was seated on the sofa, watching TV intently.

“……”

Li Xiu looked at his grandmother’s tranquil profile, and after a long while, slowly exhaled a deep breath from his chest.

He said nothing more, and only turned back to the kitchen, filled the rice bucket with rice, and placed some in an ordinary bowl.

There was no incense ash to use, so Li Xiu didn’t bother mixing the ash with the uncooked rice this time.

Gege won’t mind, right? Li Xiu said to himself.

Of course, the premise was that “gege” actually existed.

After setting the bowl under the bed as usual, Li Xiu sat tiredly in the dusty, dilapidated room for a while.

He thought again about what Teacher Xu had said that afternoon. However, his mood at this time was very complicated.

Looking unconsciously at the jagged shadows of the junk in the room that had fallen to the floor, Li Xiu said to himself, “If Grandmother really has Alzheimer’s, she’ll probably have to be sent to a nursing home, right?”

“Grandmother’s other relatives don’t seem too reliable. She can only rely on me to support her. Without a university degree, with my body, it will be impossible to support her for the rest of her life…..”

“But if I go to university, I won’t be able to take care of her. It’s too dangerous to leave Grandmother home alone.”

“I don’t know how much it would cost to send her to a nursing home…..I don’t think I’ll have that much money…..”

As he received no response, Li Xiu’s voice continued to grow softer.

It seemed that even he himself realized how ridiculous and weak he was at this moment.

“Besides, Grandmother will forget me soon, won’t she?”

In the silent, deserted room, the thin boy bent his knees and buried his face in his arms.

A faintly choked whisper sounded. “If that’s the case, I…..I’ll be alone.”

The room remained silent.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Li Xiu found that he had been listening carefully for movement under the bed.

He waited for a long time, but it seemed that even the mice were unwilling to visit this shabby room tonight.

This kind of silence caused Li Xiu to return to his senses.

He was dumbfounded by his thoughts at that moment.

It turned out that his modern worldview had been shaken by what had happened in that haunted house.

Li Xiu let out a sigh, returning to his bedroom with a wry smile.

Just as Teacher Xu said, the only thing he should do now, and the only thing he could do now, was to study.

Li Xiu gritted his teeth as he told this to himself.

Then, all in one go, he made up for all of the homework he had missed due to the uneasiness of the past few days.

When Li Xiu pulled himself out of his happy studying, he found that early morning had come without him realizing it.

Li Xiu stretched with a yawn.

Just as he was about to get in bed, his cell phone rang at this inopportune time.

The caller ID was Fang Qian’an.

Li Xiu stared blankly at the name on the screen for a few seconds before pressing the button to connect.

“Fang Qian’an?”

“What are you doing?”

The youth narrowed his eyes at Fang Qian’an’s inane and lackadaisical question.

He was really not in the mood to deal with Fang Qian’an, and his answer was perfunctory.

“I’m sleeping.”

But Fang Qian’an’s response was completely beyond Li Xiu’s expectations: “Isn’t the light still on in your window? Are you just going to bed?”

Li Xiu sobered up at once when he heard these words.

He jumped up and rushed to the window, then opened the curtains and looked down.

With the faint light of the table lamp in the window, Li Xiu lowered his head to see the tall boy standing downstairs at his home.

Noticing Li Xiu when he leaned forward, he held up his cell phone with a smile and waved in Li Xiu’s direction.

“Hey, you’re still up so late?”

At first glance, Fang Qian’an still looked a bit handsome now.

Of course, only on the premise that you ignored the fresh blood on the former school bully’s head and face, as well as the layers of horrible bruises covering it.

---

[1] This is the 小 xiao, different from the character used for the Xiao family. ⮐

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Chapter 34 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 36

Dai Tingyu was so furious that he jumped down and grabbed the fellow who threw it, just an ordinary young man.

“How dare you throw rocks at someone! Do you know who you just threw that at?”

“What are you doing! Soldiers are beating people at will!” the young man shouted as he struggled. He likely didn’t know the identity of the person who caught him, so he thought the person in front of him wouldn’t casually kill someone. “Are you stifling the voices of us common people? We have the right to know the truth.”

The young person jeering in such a way immediately aroused public outrage.

The people who originally asked the question also turned into ill-toned inquisitors, throwing blame and putting on a ludicrous performance with their eye sockets about to burst from anger. It was just like the rumors. They had been deceived.

Dai Tingyu’s eyes were red with anger, but Tang Rou called him back.

Tang Rou bowed deeply to everyone, saying: “I know you are all uneasy right now because of the news, but think about it. Didn’t we win a battle not long ago? Our Tang family has been in Nanfeng City for generations. This is my home, ah. As the City Lord, I will always cleave to Nanfeng City and protect everyone. Please, everyone, calm down and trust me.”

Tang Rou’s words were truly sincere.

The people below were quiet for a moment at first. Then a voice said abruptly: “Who knows if you’ve been bribed like your father was? It’s not like your Tang family hasn’t abandoned us before, ah.”

When these words sounded, the atmosphere just now was disrupted once more.

Tang Rou stared blankly at the crowd around her, while Dai Tingyu’s face grew livid with fury. These people clearly didn’t know the truth at all. How could they embarrass the City Lord like this based on hearsay?!

Just when things were on the verge of going out of control, a figure suddenly flew forward to stand in front of Tang Rou and Dai Tingyu.

Due to his ice-cold aura and lofty form, everyone was instantly in shock and awe.

Many of them had witnessed Huo Fenglie’s heroic and triumphant return, and naturally recognized him.

Making a public appearance at this time was very useful. When everyone was certain that the new arrival was General Hou, someone actually asked Huo Fenglie to help find out the truth. It seemed they were more willing to believe Huo Fenglie than to believe Tang Rou and Dai Tingyu, who had been protecting them.

How ridiculous this scene was. But this was reality. Because he knew this would happen, Liu Zhenqing had asked Huo Fenglie to salvage the situation in time.

Huo Fenglie spoke coldly to them all: “Those who dare to listen to hearsay and spread rumors to cause trouble will be punished as spies!”

The order was powerful and resounding, and immediately frightened everyone present. Many people were so stifled that their faces were ashen as they mumbled, “How can we be spies! We mean well. Please don’t accuse us wrongly, my lord.”

Huo Fenglie’s frigid gaze seemed to sweep across everyone present. No one dared to look up at him, and the scene gradually quieted down.

“I trust Tang-chengzhu, and I am willing to guard Nanfeng City alongside him. If you lack faith, you can leave.” Huo Fenglie completely ignored these people’s entreaties. Like a cold-faced Shura, he put the common people in a state of awe and fear, uncertain if this powerful official would actually punish them.

When Huo Fenglie was done speaking, he shot a glance at Dai Tingyu.

Dai Tingyu immediately led troops to clear the way and escort Tang Mu out.

It wasn’t until they returned to the City Lord’s manor that Dai Tingyu stomped in anger. 

Liu Zhenqing watched them return and asked Tang Rou: “Is everything okay?”

Tang Rou shook her head.

Dai Tingyu said angrily: “Okay? He was nearly hit with a rock just now. Tang-chengzhu has been in charge of Nanfeng City for so many years, and when has he ever been treated like this before? These people are cruel and unscrupulous. You didn’t see…..”

Dai Tingyu spoke in a fluster for a while, but found that not only did Huo Fenglie not respond after coming back with them, but Liu Zhenqing’s expression also lacked emotion. 

“Doesn’t it make you furious?” Dai Tingyu said heatedly.

Liu Zhenqing smiled at Dai Tingyu’s reaction: “It seems that you’ve always had smooth sailing when leading troops to war.”

Dai Tingyu was taken aback: “What do you mean?”

Liu Zhenqing said mildly: “This is a normal reaction for ordinary people, ah. Repeated lies become fact. If a lie is told too often, people will naturally believe it, especially during such unstable times when people are the most suspicious. When someone takes the lead, even if there is no evidence, a hero will turn into a villain in their eyes if there are too many rumors.”

Dai Tingyu was shocked for a long moment, then said abruptly: “Just like Liu Zhenqing?”

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly, then shook his head. His situation wasn’t like that. He had actually done bad things. Even if those things were for the sake of the Great Zhou Dynasty on a national level, on a personal level, the common people had indeed lost out. Therefore, he never thought about clearing his name, because even if he did, some people would still criticize them from their own perspectives. This was human nature.

“It’s very easy for the common people to change their evaluation of a person from praise to disparagement. A few words of hearsay are enough, but the reverse is very difficult. Not only must there be enough ironclad evidence to change their minds, they also need to shamelessly admit they were wrong. And when they belittle someone, they are often sincere, but when admitting their mistakes, they will downplay them. They are magnanimous and tolerant of their own mistakes, but critical and severe regarding the mistakes of others.” Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “So settle down, ah. It’s not worth getting angry over this sort of thing.”

Dai Tingyu stood in amazement when he heard this.

He suddenly remembered that the Old City Lord’s betrayal and Liu Zhenqing’s infamy were clearly opposites. There were many people who suspected and belittled the City Lord just now, but nobody spoke a word about the injustice done to Prime Minister Liu. What they cared about was being deceived by the City Lord. They felt that their gratitude had been extended toward the wrong person, but not that Prime Minister Liu’s benevolence had been attributed to the wrong person.

“But…..but even if the Old City Lord was wrong, what does that have to do with Tang-chengzhu? Tang-chengzhu has toiled hard for Nanfeng City for so long and contributed a lot. Are they all blind? Do they not remember?” Dai Tingyu felt aggrieved on behalf of Tang Rou. Others didn’t know, but he knew very well. How many nights had he seen Tang Rou’s exhausted figure? Such conscientiousness had enabled a small border town like Nanfeng City to develop so well. What could they be dissatisfied with?

“The common people like to elevate themselves in hypothetical situations and accuse those involved in those problems as imperfect. This is entirely normal. If conflicts happen more frequently, you’ll probably get used to it.” Liu Zhenqing patted Tang Rou on the shoulder to offer comfort.

Huo Fenglie grabbed his hand and held it away.

Liu Zhenqing: ……

Tang Rou smiled at everyone: “I’m fine. Don’t worry, everyone. The common people were also deceived, and…..it’s true that I deserve this. What’s more, this is a lot better than I expected.”

Both Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie knew Tang Rou meant that at least her identity as a woman wasn’t exposed.

“I just feel that we’ve had such strict control, so why are there still such large-scale rumors? There has to be a mole. It must be investigated thoroughly.” When Tang Rou said this, Dai Tingyu naturally raised his hand at once to take over the matter, and left in a hurry.

The three people hadn’t been talking for long in the Office of Government Affairs when they saw Tang-furen rushing toward them on the warpath.

Tang Rou really didn’t have the energy to spare to face Tang-furen at the moment. Before the woman could speak, she got up to drive her away.

Unexpectedly, Tang-furen directly passed her by and headed toward Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing was momentarily a bit confused. Before he could react, he was picked up by Huo Fenglie, who kicked Tang-furen away the moment she rushed over.

It happened so suddenly. It wasn’t until Tang-furen fell into a pillar and the dagger in her hand flew out that everyone realized what was going on. 

“Mother, are you insane?” Tang Rou hurried forward in absolute shock to grab Tang-furen, who was reaching for the dagger. 

Tang-furen seemed to have lost her mind. She shoved Tang Rou away and shouted: “You’re the one who’s crazy, you’re all crazy! Who is he! I’m asking you, who is he! It turns out you can still live in harmony with him! Have you forgotten how your father died? Have you forgotten that your father was even decapitated after death? How can you spend time with someone who is kin to such an evil person! A relative of that person still dares to come to our Nanfeng City. He’s simply looking down on us and came here to humiliate us. There are rumors outside slandering us now, so how do we know it wasn’t him? I’ll make him bleed today to pay homage to my late husband’s spirit in the afterlife.”

When Tang-furen roared out in such a way, everyone immediately understood what was going on with her. Because Tang-furen wanted to snatch Huo Fenglie as her son-in-law, she had secretly investigated Liu Zhenqing, and soon learned his identity. After all, Liu Zhenqing hadn’t concealed his identity as Liu Xiaozhu from the outside world.

And as for Tang-furen, she didn’t care about the rest of it. She only knew one thing – that the fellow who stole her daughter’s man was kin to the treacherous minister who brought harm to Nanfeng City. It felt like they were enemies meeting on a narrow road, and with overwhelming hatred, she had rushed over regardless of anything else.

Tang-furen roared in grievance, face stained with tears that ruined her makeup and made her appearance fierce and terrifying.

This kind of sorrow made Tang Rou the most helpless. Because her mother didn’t know. Because…..she couldn’t bear to let her know about her father’s betrayal. That was the agreement she had made with her brother. It was enough that the two of them knew about such a cruel thing. 

And now, the ignorant Tang-furen couldn’t believe her eyes as she witnessed Huo Fenglie still protecting Liu Zhenqing. “General Huo! Why are you still protecting him! You’ve actually lost your wits to lust! Have you forgotten your Huo family’s grudge? This man is that person’s kin, ah!”

Huo Fenglie looked at Tang-furen and killing intent flashed across his face.

Liu Zhenqing frowned slightly, a bit embarrassed.

Tang-furen still tried to get up and vent her anger on the person in front of her. It was as if since brothers paid each other’s debts, so should even such a distant relative.

And at this moment, Tang Rou truly couldn’t endure any longer and shouted: “The rumors outside are all true!”

Although she couldn’t bear to hurt her mother, it was even more unreasonable to let harm come to her benefactor’s relative. 

With tears hanging in her eyes, Tang Rou grabbed Tang-furen and said: “Mother, it’s all true!”

Tang-furen was dumbfounded. Suddenly, her eyes widened in anger and she slapped Tang Rou directly in the face. “You unfilial daughter! What nonsense are you talking about!”

It could be seen that these words had such an impact on Tang-furen that she no longer cared about concealing her daughter’s identity. Luckily, there was no one else around but the four of them.

Tang-furen had used a lot of force, and Tang Rou’s face immediately became swollen and red. Slowly, she turned her head toward her mother with eyes full of sorrow.

Trembling all over, Tang-furen said: “If you say such a thing again, I’ll smash your mouth! Is it because your brother is gone? Your wings have grown and hardened after being City Lord for a few years, and you even slander your own father for fear of offending others. How could I have given birth to a daughter like you!”

“Mother!” Tang Rou roared: “Back then, Father was obsessed with the concubine. Didn’t you know that best? He also said he wanted to divorce you and marry her. Have you forgotten about the quarrels and fights you two had over it? Later, why did Father suddenly give up on divorcing his wife? You thought Father had changed his mind, but the next day when we fell asleep, there was a fire. Father did that, ah! It was Father! If my brother hadn’t escaped and run into Prime Minister Liu, we would have all died in that fire. Your face was burned in order to save your daughter, but did Father ever show concern for you? Did you not find that strange?”

Tang Rou had finally aired all her secrets and grievances. In fact, she hadn’t fully known the truth back then. It was her brother who knew, and he only told her when they had to deal with their father later on. She didn’t want her family to collapse back then, but now she wasn’t capable of remaining silent.

Tang-furen was frozen on the spot. Her entire being seemed to have been drained of energy, and he face was ashen. Tang Rou couldn’t help but step forward and hug her, saying: “You shouldn’t disrespect Prime Minister Liu, ah. It was he who bore the infamy and saved our lives. He not only saved our family’s lives, but also saved us from being criminals implicated by Father. He was a benefactor for our entire family. This is the truth, Mother, the truth, ah.”

“No…..impossible, I don’t believe it…..I don’t believe it. It’s not possible, he would never be so cruel to me!” Tang-furen seemed to have been stimulated, and ran out almost crazily.

“Mother!” Tang Rou shouted, quickly chasing after her.

Watching this scene, all Liu Zhenqing could do was sigh. It was nothing to Huo Fenglie. He pulled Liu Zhenqing away and looked him up and down. Clearly he had taken action in advance and Liu Zhenqing hadn’t been injured at all, but he still checked him over uneasily for a moment, as if the other person’s hatred could have left an invisible wound on Liu Zhenqing.

When Liu Zhenqing saw his lowered head, he stealthily pinched Huo Fenglie’s nose. That nose was perfectly straight, and very easy to pinch. Liu Zhenqing played with it for a while, and Huo Fenglie let him. Then he looked up innocently over Liu Zhenqing’s hand. Those clear black and white eyes were so cute. Liu Zhenqing released his grip and inquired: “When you led troops into battle in the past, did you ever encounter unreasonable people who wronged you for your good intentions?”

Huo Fenglie seemed to search his memory for a moment, then said: “I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?” Liu Zhenqing asked curiously.

“It’s because I didn’t care.” It didn’t matter to Huo Fenglie. His heart was no longer with him at that time, and the good or bad intentions of others never entered his eyes. It was fine as long as he could fulfill his responsibilities as a member of the Huo family and protect Great Zhou on behalf of Qing-ge and his older brother.

Although Liu Zhenqing didn’t know the reason, he smiled at Huo Fenglie’s words and said: “It’s good that you didn’t care.”

In the evening, Dai Tingyu obtained some information and came to report it. However, instead of going to the City Lord, he went straight to Liu Zhenqing’s courtyard.

Because Huo Fenglie had gone to the military camp, Liu Zhenqing was alone in the courtyard. When he saw Dai Tingyu coming, he advised after hearing his purpose that Tang Rou might be with Tang-furen.

In fact, Liu Zhenqing was also very curious about the situation over there, but because of his awkward identity, he didn’t go see it. As it happened, Dai Tingyu asked him to go over and take a look. 

“Tang-furen knows?” Dai Tingyu said in surprise. “That haughty old woman must have received a great blow when she found out, and might take her anger out on the City Lord. That’s not good, we should go over and have a look.”

When Dai Tingyu rushed over, the servants were standing around outside, not daring to approach. When he inquired, they all said that the City Lord gave the order to be ready to go in.

Dai Tingyu didn’t care about the facts of the matter, and rushed in directly. Upon entering, the expected scene of the City Lord being bullied was absent. There was only Tang Rou sitting in the courtyard and drinking alone with a bitter expression. There were still traces of dried tears on her face. When Dai Tingyu drew closer, he could hear Tang-furen sobbing, fussing, and cursing in the distance, her voice hoarse and dry. Although she couldn’t be heard clearly, she was probably unable to accept it after hearing the truth.

“Chengzhu,” Dai Tingyu said as he stepped forward.

Tang Rou raised her head and looked at Dai Tingyu in a daze, saying: “You’re here. What’s wrong?”

Dai Tingyu had rarely seen Tang Rou drink. After all, she had to exercise self-discipline as the City Lord. Not knowing if Tang Rou was drunk or not, he said: “I’ve identified some sources that may be related to your uncle. I went to arrest him, but wasn’t able to catch him. Strictly-speaking, he’s guilty of collusion with the enemy and needs a city-wide arrest warrant from you in order to avoid further escalation of the situation.”

Tang Rou listened with a frown. Seeing that she was silent, Dai Tingyu said: “Chengzhu, I know this is awkward for you.”

Tang Rou took a token from her waist and said, “Go. Do it.”

Dai Tingyu knew she was upset, so he didn’t say much. He was preparing to take the order and leave, but saw Tang Rou collapse onto the table.

“Heavens, you’re drunk?” Dai Tingyu instantly felt helpless. He stepped forward to nudge Tang Rou, but she had already passed out. He couldn’t leave the City Lord here.

He called for the servants over to help this person back to the main residence to rest, but nobody responded. Then he remembered that those servants were hiding far away. After some thought, he didn’t trouble them, and just picked the City Lord up and flew with him to his residence.

He went to put Tang Rou down, but when he had just taken her down from his shoulder, his neck was hooked abruptly and he fell down along with the other person.

In an instant, Dai Tingyu’s iron-like muscles seemed to come into contact with something soft.

Dai Tingyu stared blankly, thinking that scholars were different and their muscles were all soft. He had better tell the City Lord to exercise more in the future, or else he really wouldn’t even be able to truss a chicken.

Just as he was getting up, a voice suddenly reached his ears.

Its tone was gentle and melodious, very pleasant to the ears. It was superior to the girls he had heard singing songs from Jiangnan. 

But this voice contained an endearing tearful tone.

“Brother…..I’m sorry…..Brother…..”

Where was the female voice coming from? Where was…..

Dai Tingyu froze in disbelief, watching as the petite red lips of the person beneath him opened and closed. Only then did the scent of a woman’s body reach his nose. And there was still the soft…..Dai Tingyu stood abruptly, feeling as if his entire being had been electrocuted. He took a dozen successive steps back, his eyes as wide as a bull’s. 

The City Lord…..was a woman?!

Weren’t all women supposed to be soft and delicate, tearful and useless, long of hair and short of knowledge, knowing only the trivial matters of the boudoir? How…..could this be the City Lord?!

The City Lord must be a man, ah…..Tang-furen hadn’t wanted to play matchmaker before……wasn’t it more reasonable for a man and woman to marry?

He must be a man, ah…..when they were together…..it seemed they had never bathed or swam together, and his invitations were to no avail……

So…..

Curious about the situation, Liu Zhenqing wandered around the gardens nearby. As he was waiting for Dai Tingyu to return, he heard a long scream of Ahhhhh soar high into the sky, startling him. Liu Zhenqing thought something had happened, but when he looked up, he saw Dai Tingyu in the middle of a breakdown, roaring as he flew over the courtyard wall and left the City Lord’s manor.

Liu Zhenqing: ???

---

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Chapter One Hundred Thirteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Fifteen

Fang Qian’an abruptly grabbed the cup of milk tea and took several sips. His Adam’s apple rolled each time he swallowed.

Li Xiu glanced at him in astonishment.

“…..Be careful not to burn yourself.”

Fang Qian’an gave an “mm,” trying to keep his faces expressionless, and then put down his cup.

The boy’s neck was still red. After a glance at Li Xiu, he lowered his head and took out his cell phone, seeming to concentrate on reading it.

Li Xiu said nothing more. He just sat with Fang Qian’an for a long while in the milk tea shop, their knees touching awkwardly.

After finishing the cup of hot chocolate, Li Xiu was in a daze and began to speak in a low voice about what they had previously encountered in the haunted house.

“…..I saw Ouyang in a group photo.” The boy’s fingertips unconsciously tapped the milk tea cup. “I don’t know if it was a hallucination or not. But the reason for him appearing in our nightmares likely has something to do with the Xiao family villa.”

As Li Xiu spoke, Fang Qian’an could no longer concentrate on his cell phone.

When he heard what happened to Li Xiu, his brow knitted together tightly, and there was a trace of anger in his eyes that even he didn’t recognize.

“Don’t think about that guy anymore. That scumbag is dead, anyway,” Fang Qian’an said. “And that Teacher Xu also doesn’t want you to think about this stuff anymore.”

Li Xiu was taken aback for a moment, and met Fang Qian’an’s eyes.

“I know.” His voice weakened incrementally. “I don’t know why, but I just worry about it a little. You know? I never actually believed in this stuff, but what happened there was really…..”

Even when being held down and bullied by a group of people, the feeble boy never showed any signs of weakness. And right now next to Fang Qian’an, he revealed an ice-thin fragility.

“Fang Qian’an, what…..did you see in the villa?”

“……”

Fang Qian’an was silent for a few seconds.

“I sprinkled salt and glutinous rice in the room, and in the blink of an eye, you were gone.” Recalling that scene in the haunted house, Fang Qian’an clenched his fists unconsciously. “It took me by surprise. Right then, I caught a glimpse of a white form floating outside the door and thought it was you, so I chased it out…..”

In Fang Qian’an’s memory, the sound of rushing footsteps could be heard from time to time in the huge abandoned villa.

Normally, Fang Qian’an would find those footsteps creepy and terrifying, but that time, he no longer cared so much. He was thoroughly panicked that a living person like Li Xiu could vanish out of thin air.

He followed the shadow similar to Li Xiu up and down the haunted house several times, but was never actually able to find him.

Until he heard Li Xiu’s voice coming from far away at the end of the upstairs corridor.

“…..When I ran up to the second floor, I saw you standing in that room, mumbling to an, uh, shadow-like thing. I was almost scared out of my mind, so I shouted to you.”

Fang Qian’an’s expression turned ugly when he said this.

“As soon as you turned around, I saw something wrapped around you, and the door was also moving like it was about to close. It seemed like that thing was going to drag you away. I was almost scared to death at that time, but I couldn’t care less. I rushed over and blocked the door, then dragged you out of the room. What kind of monster was that thing? It was really powerful.”

Fang Qian’an hunched his shoulders when he spoke.

Due to the movement, the injury on his shoulder flared up and he couldn’t help but gasp.

“I hit the door with my shoulder, and it still hurts now. Hiss—”

Li Xiu looked at Fang Qian’an in pain and felt a little restless: “I’m sorry.”

Because of his body and background, Li Xiu had always been proficient at processing all kinds of difficulties and discrimination brought on him by others. However, when all kinds of mocking and exclusion turned into care and kindness, Li Xiu’s reaction was particularly stiff.

He had never been good at dealing with such unfamiliar emotions.

Fang Qian’an paused, glancing sideways at the confusion on the face of the young man beside him. A certain school bully raised his eyebrows.

“Say, ah, didn’t you seem to be number one in the grade in Chinese Language last time? Why do you only say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ when you’re with me now?”

The boy’s seemingly arrogant complaint instantly broke the unnatural atmosphere lingering between the two.

Li Xiu said to him subconsciously: “What else do you want to hear? Could it be that you want me to say, ‘I can’t repay you with my life, so it’s better to repay you with my body?’”

In fact, this was just an enigmatic saying that Li Xiu blurted out, but when Fang Qian’an heard it, he was stuck in place with his mouth open silently.

Li Xiu stared at the blushing Fang Qian’an and felt that something wasn’t right.

The hot chocolate continued to radiate heat in his stomach, and Li Xiu’s face also felt a little hot.

After a long while, Fang Qian’an finally came to his senses and responded dryly: “I-It’s a difficult job, but not impossible.”

Li Xiu: “…..Ha, in your dreams.”

The conversation between the two finally returned to normal, but when they inadvertently met eyes, Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu would still look away and feign casualness as they played on their phones.

After a lengthy stalemate, Fang Qian’an’s phone buzzed. He turned the phone to take a look, and a chill streaked across his originally rosy cheeks.

When Fang Qian’an pressed the call button in the next second, that call reminded Li Xiu that they had been unknowingly sitting in the milk tea shop for a long time.

“It’s so late, I need to get back.”

Li Xiu glanced at the time, then grabbed his school bag and stood up.

Just as he was about to leave, he felt a tug on his clothes.

A wide-eyed Fang Qian’an asked anxiously: “You’re just leaving? Do you plan to go home alone?”

Li Xiu stared blankly for a moment: “What else? I have some papers to do in the evening.”

Because of the so-called ghost incident, he was unable to concentrate on his studies for several days.

Now that he had made up his mind to have nothing to do with these strange things, what he should do now was go home quickly and study hard.

…..It was impossible to hide in a crowded milk tea shop for the rest of his life, right?

Hearing Li Xiu’s response, Fang Qian’an seemed to come back to himself.

“Oh.”

The tall boy released his grip.

“Then, aren’t you afraid to go back alone?”

Li Xiu lowered his eyes.

“Didn’t Teacher Xu say? The more afraid you are, the more unstable you will become. It’ll be fine if I don’t think about it.” As he spoke, Li Xiu looked at Fang Qian’an thoughtfully. “Are you afraid? I still have several comprehensive essay collections in my bag. I can give you a few.”

Fang Qian’an sat up right and raised his voice: “Ha? If you’re not afraid, what can I be afraid of? I’m just worried about you.”

Li Xiu stared at the boy who was strong in appearance but weak in reality, a bit of inexplicable worry in his heart.

However, Li Xiu thought that with Fang Qian’an’s identity, if he really didn’t want to be alone, there should be many people fighting to spend time with him, right?

“Don’t worry about me. Um, I’m leaving,” Li Xiu whispered, turning to leave the milk tea shop.

But as he was waiting for the bus at the roadside, Li Xiu still felt Fang Qian’an’s eyes glued on him from behind.

That person was still watching him?

Li Xiu turned his head to look through the clean, bright floor-to-ceiling windows of the shopping mall toward where he and Fang Qian’an had been sitting before, only to find that Fang Qian’an had disappeared.

*

Because he had skipped class in the afternoon, Li Xiu got home much earlier this time.

When Li Xiu opened the door, he set aside the ladies’ high heels as usual. As he was looking for the key, he heard a loud bang from inside the house.

Li Xiu was startled. He opened the door quickly and rushed in.

His grandmother was standing in the living room, her entire body trembling. She had her hands up in front of her as she looked around in a panic, as if afraid of something.

“Grandmother?!”

Li Xiu staggered to his grandmother and found that the old woman’s eyes were empty, her wandering gaze not focused at all.

“What’s wrong? Grandmother?”

Li Xiu called to her for a long time until she seemed to finally notice his arrival. A hand like a dead branch instantly grabbed Li Xiu’s arm with force. The old woman stared at him, two lines of tears falling from her cloudy eyes.

“A-Xiu…..grandmother was wrong…..grandmother did something wrong…..wuwuwu…..”

His grandmother continued to mutter incoherently. No matter how Li Xiu asked her what had happened, the old woman just kept repeating the same sentences.

Li Xiu glanced at the shrine where his grandmother always entertained guests.

The table was empty. No one was there.

The whole house was still as dark as ever, and his grandmother’s fearful sobs echoed in the shadows that were filled with the scent of inferior sandalwood. Li Xiu frowned, faintly aware that something was wrong. But his grandmother’s abnormality took up all of his attention at the moment, and he didn’t have time to think much about it.

Li Xiu hurried to comfort his agitated grandmother, and it was with great difficulty that he got her to sit on the sofa to calm down.

He half knelt on the floor and asked cautiously: “Grandmother, what’s going on? What happened?”

One of his hands pressed comfortingly to his grandmother’s back, and he distinctly felt how she trembled upon hearing these words.

The next second, his grandmother suddenly turned her head, her gray eyes quivering slightly.

She stared straight at Li Xiu.

“Shh…..”

The old woman raised a finger and kept her voice very low.

“Don’t let him find out,” his grandmother said.

“Who? Don’t let who find out?” Li Xiu didn’t understand.

“Xiao Yu…..” The old woman breathed heavily, and then a look of horror appeared on her face again. “N-no, not Xiao Yu. I made a mistake…..I really made a mistake…..”

“The one I brought back is not that child at all.”

---

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Chapter 33 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 35

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.

---

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

---

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34

Teacher Xu looked at Li Xiu with a smile that contained a hint of understanding.

“Were you scared?” he asked.

“Teacher Xu…..”

Li Xiu didn’t know how it happened, but after exchanging a couple of words with Teacher Xu, his mind suddenly cleared up and became orderly. It was only now that Li Xiu realized that he had been somewhat confused before.

Also, if he hadn’t been so dizzy, it would have been impossible for him to follow Fang Qian’an and make a fool of himself. He’d clearly felt that something was wrong in the villa, but when he heard strange footsteps, he had still chased after them as if he’d lost his mind.

Teacher Xu spoke softly, and as he spoke, he reached out to touch Li Xiu’s forehead and heart.

“Those things want just such an effect. Otherwise, why would we call such terror being ‘frightened out of one’s wits’? The more frightened you are, the easier it is to harm you. Therefore, ah, students should study hard. Only when the mind is calm can the soul be stable. If the soul is stable, such things will not stick to it. As young people, it is best to believe in science and study hard. Books have their own vital energy. I see you are also a child who can study, so don’t be afraid, it will be alright.”

Li Xiu abruptly shivered and felt that his back and shoulders were much lighter — it was as if some invisible, heavy burden had been lifted from him. 

Li Xiu looked at Teacher Xu in bewilderment. After staring blankly, he could only say: “Thank you, Teacher Xu.”

Teacher Xu smiled and said nothing.

The man was still attentively observing Li Xiu’s eyes. Seeing that the other’s eyes had become lively again, he turned his head slightly to face Fang Qian’an.

He waved to Fang Qian’an: “Come.”

“What for?” Fang Qian’an asked warily.

Seeing that Fang Qian’an was unwilling to cooperate, a young man behind Teacher Xu couldn’t help but speak up.

“Hey, kid, don’t you know the difference between good and bad, ah—”

But Teacher Xu opened his mouth before he could finish speaking, and explained attentively to Fang Qian’an:

“It’s nothing. I’m just checking on your situation. Think of me as a Chinese medicine doctor taking your pulse.

“But—”

When he saw that Fang Qian’an was still unwilling to step forward, Li Xiu couldn’t endure, and stretched out a finger to covertly poke Fang Qian’an in the back.

Don’t cause trouble.

He also threw eye knives at Fang Qian’an.

The tall boy staggered when he was poked by Li Xiu like this. Then, with a glance at Li Xiu, he reluctantly stepped forward, allowing Teacher Xu to gently press his head.

Seeing the wretched look on Fang Qian’an’s face gradually disappear at this touch, the imperceptible solemnity in Teacher Xu’s eyes faded as well.

“Good.” Teacher Xu clapped his hands with a laugh.

“Don’t focus on these strange things from now on. Study hard and get into a good university. That’s better than anything else.”

Clearly, this man had been acting like a spiritual master a few minutes ago, but when he spoke now, he was almost like a mundane relative from someone’s family, spewing uninformed platitudes when he opened his mouth.

“Yes, Teacher Xu is right!” the vice principal quickly echoed. “You two are about to take the university entrance exams. Study hard from now on and don’t engage with such dangerous…..feudal superstitions again. This time, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you two here. But the next time I catch a student skipping school to enter the villa, don’t blame me for giving them a demerit.”

It was very clear that the vice principal was terrified of what happened in the Xiao family villa, and didn’t even dare to pursue the matter further.

Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an were light-headed after just escaping disaster. Before the two of them could ask further questions, they were hastily ushered away from the Xiao Family Haunted House by this group of people.

In fact, Li Xiu would rather not know at all — just as Teacher Xu said, what he should really do was study to get into university instead of being inexplicably scared to death by ghosts in a haunted house.

Before they left, Teacher Shu suddenly addressed them again.

“Wait, this is for you two…..just in case.”

Teacher Xu dug into the inner pocket of his suit for a while and pulled out two warm red strings, handing one each to Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu.

“When you get back, don’t take these off even when bathing. Wear them for at least, hm, forty-nine days,” Teacher Xu said with a smile.

When he finished speaking, his eyes lingered on Li Xiu’s face for a moment.

“Li Xiu, right…..” Teacher Xu’s voice sounded a little more serious than before.

Li Xiu couldn’t help but tense up when he looked at the man. But after a brief silence, all he heard was Teacher Xu’s solemn instruction.

“You must study seriously, ah.”

Li Xiu nodded, not knowing the reason why.

“I will,” he promised.

*

A short while after, the backs of the two teenagers gradually disappeared into the lush shade of the wild forest.

Teacher Xu’s apprentice stood beside him, staring in the direction Li Xiu had left. He couldn’t hold back and murmured: “That kid, don’t you still need to warn his parents…..”

“Shh…..”

Teacher Xu made a gesture to stop his apprentice from continuing.

Different from his mild mannerisms in front of Li Xiu, the man now look grave, with an extraordinarily imposing appearance.

“That kid has prodigious academic talent. Even with that kind of physique, he doesn’t have to walk down that road.” Teacher Xu said solemnly, word by word, “Concerning the child’s future, the more undecided it is, the less should be spoken of it, lest it determine a person’s path.”

The young apprentice shivered under Teacher Xu’s stern gaze and couldn’t help but shrink his neck, not daring to say anything more.

And the others fell silent as well upon hearing Teacher Xu’s words. But it could also be seen from their expressions that even though they were learning together with Teacher Xu, the thoughts of this group of people differed.

Only the vice principal stood among them, looking at this and that with a face full of confusion. He had no idea what these people were talking about.

He had been at Qiming for so long, and only vaguely knew that there were indeed some things in the Xiao family villa that couldn’t be explained by common sense or science — and that every few years, the school would invite some particular people to deal with it.

This year had actually not yet ended. However, in just a few days, various incidents had emerged, including the English teacher hanging himself and a student mysteriously dying inside the villa. The one above the vice principal seemed to be very frightened. During this period, he made a lot of phone calls begging for help, and the person named “Teacher Xu” had finally come today.

The vice principal could vaguely feel that Teacher Xu’s status seemed to be different from the ones who usually came to the school.

It was precisely because of this that the vice principal’s curiosity was aroused after hearing their confounding words.

Once extraneous people like Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an were gone, Teacher Xu didn’t pay much attention to the vice principal and told him to wait outside the door, taking a few close disciples to walk warily into the villa.

The vice principal wiped his hands as he waited outside. He was a little impatient with the wait, so he handed a cigarette to the “master” next to him.

The master remaining outside with him now had been here a few years previously. The vice principal had some respect for him, so he was able to strike up a conversation with him now. 

The vice principal asked softly while puffing away: “Master, let me just ask, ah…..is there something wrong with the student who was mentioned before, Li Xiu?”

The master with a cigarette in his mouth skewed his eyes upon hearing the vice principal’s inquiry.

“That’s not really the case,” the man murmured.

After a pause, he leaned close to the vice principal’s ear and lowered his voice, saying: “Just take it as a story and don’t tell anyone else…..the student just now named Li Xiu is more likely than not a ‘human coffin.’”

In a world that couldn’t be explained by science for the time being, there was a saying that some special things were very suitable for nourishing yin energy and raising ghosts.

They usually called such things “soul-nurturing coffins.”

“…..It’s said to be a ‘coffin,’ but it’s actually a title. In some places, naturally-formed underground yin caves are also called soul-raising coffins.”

The master took another puff from the cigarette, unconsciously glancing in the direction of the school as he spoke.

“There is also a type of soul-raising coffin that is the most powerful ghost-raising place, because the coffin is not dead, but alive.”

“Ah?”

A cluster of cigarette ash fell onto the back of the vice principal’s hand, burning him.

“Some people born with particular horoscopes have weak yang energy and strong yin energy, which is very suitable for nourishing ghosts. You saw that the student is handicapped. In fact, this is due to fate. Just like fortune tellers, they are prone to five disadvantages and three deficiencies. Before the liberation, many powerful masters would specifically adopt such people, because they are generally disabled and have no father or mother. They would just casually feed them and have them raise ghosts for themselves. This was especially useful. But now…..” The man took another puff and glanced fearfully at the villa. “That sort of illegal thing definitely can’t be done now. This kind of human coffin is already very rare. I didn’t expect to bump into one at your school.”

“Oh, but, what can a human coffin do?” The vice principal couldn’t help but question him further.

“Didn’t I say it? They raise ghosts, and raise evil spirits. We are no longer allowed to do these things. But it’s no wonder those two students ran into ghosts like this. They were probably attracted by the yin qi of the human coffin. But Teacher Xu also said that although the student is a human coffin, he is fated with prodigious acaemic talent…..as long as he studies hard, these things will naturally have nothing to do with him…..”

. . . . . . .

“Achoo—”

Inside a crowded shopping mall, Li Xiu sneezed.

Fang Qian’an approached with two cups of milk tea and happened to hear Li Xiu sneeze. He couldn’t help but ask: “What’s wrong? Are you cold?”

Li Xiu said nothing. He just reached out and took the milk tea. The scalding milk tea reddened Li Xiu’s hands through the cup, but he had no intention of taking them away. In fact, his body was no longer cold at all, but deep in his bone marrow, there seemed to be a lingering chill.

After getting out of the villa, Li Xiu took the initiative to skip class with Fang Qian’an for the first time.

The two of them left school at the same time and came to the most popular shopping mall in City A. They went straight to an internet-famous milk tea shop known for its long, overcrowded queues.

Li Xiu had always hated such boisterous crowds, but right now, it felt really good to be around so many people.

“I don’t know if that Teacher Xu was useful at all. Why do I see that your face still doesn’t look very good?”

Fang Qian’an leaned forward slightly to peer at Li Xiu with a frown.

The tables in the internet-famous milk tea shop were very small. Fang Qian’an only moved by a fraction, but Li Xiu could feel the other party’s knee pressing against him.

The strong, tall, 1.9 meter high school boy’s frame was stuck in one of a variety of white and pink girly seats, which even looked a little comical.

Li Xiu blinked, and couldn’t help but smile.

“I really am fine. I was born this way.”

His grandmother was getting older, and she had always been somewhat unable to care for Li Xiu.

The consequence of long-term malnutrition and using his brain too much was that Li Xiu’s face was always a shade paler than those of his peers.

“Fine.”

After confirming that Li Xiu was okay, Fang Qian’an seemed to let out a long sigh of relief.

“That’s great. I was…..scared to death before.”

Li Xiu stared blankly when he heard Fang Qian’an’s extremely worried voice.

His chest palpitated slightly. It was a very unfamiliar feeling.

Li Xiu quickly lowered his eyes and took a sip of milk tea to suppress the unexplainable discomfort.

“Hm?”

The youth’s eyes widened in shock at the sweet flavor that poured into his mouth.

What Fang Qian’an brought to Li Xiu was not the most famous milk tea in this store. Instead, it was a pudding hot chocolate with red beans, cream, and a lot of taro.

Li Xiu was stunned.

“Go on and drink it,” the other boy said softly.

Unable to help himself, Li Xiu gave Fang Qian’an a quick glance.

By the time he realized it, Li Xiu had already asked: “How do you know I like this?”

……Unlike ordinary young men, Li Xiu was very fond of sweets. Moreover, his favorite was the super sweet hot chocolate with lots of ingredients.

Fang Qian’an was given a start. He looked at Li Xiu’s red-tinted cheeks and lips stained by the hot chocolate’s heat and was lost for a moment.

“I-I just bought it randomly,” the boy replied gruffly. For some reason, his voice sounded a little flustered. “Who knew, uh, that you really like this kind of sweet stuff, ah?”

Li Xiu blinked. In fact, as soon as the question left his mouth, he also came to his senses. It was indeed impossible for Fang Qian’an to know what he liked to drink. Li Xiu didn’t have much contact with his classmates, and hot chocolate was too expensive. No matter how much Li Xiu craved it, he could only think about it inwardly and never tell anyone how much he liked it.

But in any case, the hot chocolate made Li Xiu’s entire body and mind feel warm.

The corners of the youths eyes unknowingly filled with a soft warmth.

It was probably because the seats in this bullshit internet-famous store were too crowded, Fang Qian’an thought in a fluster. Otherwise, why would he be able to smell the sweet chocolate fragrance escaping from Li Xiu’s lips the moment he opened his mouth?

“Thank you, Fang Qian’an,” said Li Xiu.

Fang Qian’an’s face instantly turned red.

……He suddenly wanted to drink hot chocolate.

---

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34

Tang Rou breathed a long sigh of relief after speaking. It seemed she had finally found closure after telling the truth.

But then her expression changed.

“I just didn’t expect to have such a mother. She never thought that I could continue pretending and never agreed with my approach. She wanted me to step down and make way for my uncle, and she always thought I would marry. She felt that if I could marry General Huo, then my crime of impersonating the city lord would be lifted.”

Tang Rou wasn’t shy at all as she spoke of this matter. She was completely cold. She obviously had no designs upon Huo Fenglie, and scoffed at her mother’s crazy ideas.

“She wanted me to obediently marry, and then use General Huo’s name to boost my uncle’s name for city lord. She also felt that Nanfeng City would naturally be protected as long as I became the general’s wife, which was better than me working hard as the city lord.” Tang Rou smiled bitterly and shook her head as she said this: “I ignored her at first, but when she saw the general return victorious, she still had wicked thoughts that led to the farce last night.”

Liu Zhenqing could only shake his head and say: “I thought I’d made it obvious enough. Am I so lacking in your mother’s eyes?” After some thought, his current face seemed to be no match for Tang Rou’s. Moreover, Tang Rou was a woman. In the eyes of a female elder, a woman must be considered better than a man.

Tang Rou smiled softly. “It’s just that my mother is obsessed. General Huo must have encountered many such things over the years. If it was so easy to succeed, it would have succeeded already, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s right, just like Qiao An last night. Not only did he fail to throw himself into his arms, he almost lost his life.” Liu Zhenqing looked at Er-gou with a smile, satisfied.

Huo Fenglie drank his tea calmly as he was discussed by the two.

Tang Rou looked at the two of them and said: “Don’t worry, I really do have someone else in my heart. I have no plans to marry in this life, so no matter what my mother does or says, there is no need for you to pay attention to it. I apologize to you in advance.”

Tang Rou said this to reassure the two of them. After all, they were a couple. But Tang Rou, who was so honest about her feelings, still embarrassed them.

“As for my identity…..” Tang Rou’s eyes flickered.

Liu Zhenqing intended to say that he would hide it for her, if that was what she wanted.

But Tang Rou immediately looked at Huo Fenglie, saying firmly: “General Huo, I have little ability and cannot accomplish it. If you are willing to clear Prime Minister Liu’s name, I will voluntarily go to the capital with you to testify. Now that Commander Dai is in Nanfeng City, I can be at ease. No matter what happens to me and the Tang family, this is what should be done. I want to inform His Holy Majesty and the civil and military officials of what really happened back then. I want to let all of them know what kind of person Prime Minister Liu was!”

Stunned, Liu Zhenqing looked at Tang Rou with some…..complexity.

There seemed to be tears in Tang Rou’s eyes: “I heard that his name is still on the column of sinners on the Twining Dragon Jade Pillar. It shouldn’t be there.”

Liu Zhenqing was dumbfounded. He never expected that in a city far to the south, after many years, there was still someone who…..would do this for him. He was truly moved.

Huo Fenglie glanced at Liu Zhenqing, then looked at Tang Rou and said: “Of course. I hope you will do this.”

Startled, Liu Zhenqing was about to kick Huo Fenglie. But then Huo Fenglie said: “But I know he wouldn’t want to see something like this happen. Your brother sacrificed himself, and you have both repaid his kindness.”

Tang Rou at once said anxiously: “How can this be? We…..”

“Didn’t he tell you at the end? He would rather bear the infamy in exchange for one request: that you would safeguard the honor of the Tang family and Nanfeng City. You did it, and that’s enough.” Huo Fenglie said steadily: “Don’t worry about your identity. You will be fine.”

Tang Rou was stumped for words.

Liu Zhenqing coughed and said: “Do you think that a person who risked such infamy would care about their posthumous reputation?”

Tang Rou was slightly taken aback, and stared at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “I’m his relative. He has no descendants, so I will make the decision for him. You don’t need to do anything. Just carry on with what you’re doing now. If you want to unburden yourself, then do so. Just do what you want to do.”

Liu Zhenqing was originally a person from a different time, and deep down, cared less than the ancients about his posthumous name. What he said was naturally true, not to mention that Tang Rou’s risky approach was even more inappropriate. Fortunately, Huo Fenglie understood and helped to dissuade her.

Speaking of this, Liu Zhenqing glanced at the jade pendant in Tang Rou’s hand and said awkwardly: “A man dies the way a lamp goes out. Don’t be too attached to the past.”

Tang Rou looked at Liu Zhenqing for a long moment, and at last heaved a sigh: “Thank you both very much for the clarification. I understand.”

Just as she spoke, there was a burst of noise outside.

Tang Rou’s expression changed slightly, and she said: “Perhaps…..”

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: “Perhaps a good show is about to happen.”

Dai Tingyu came in with urgent news. He had faith in Tang-chengzhu, so he came straight to Tang Rou, but didn’t expect that she wasn’t in her courtyard. He had no choice but to go to Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing first. This matter could not be concealed.

As a result, as soon as he arrived at the courtyard, he found many people who seemed to be planning to go inside. The leader among them was Tang-furen.

Dai Tingyu naturally drew attention as soon as he appeared. Stepping forward to greet her, he was about to speak when Tang-furen slew her eyes and pulled at Dai Tingyu, crying: “What should be done? Tang Mu went into General Huo’s residence last night and hasn’t come out.”

Dai Tingyu was a straight man, so he had no other thoughts and said directly: “Could it be that they stayed up all night discussing the war? Tang-furen, do you have something to speak to the City Lord about?”

Tang-furen’s face stiffened, and she said: “No…..it’s my child’s…..innocence…..”

Dai Tingyu’s head was filled with questions.

Tang-furen only looked anxious, and took people with her to break in.

Dai Tingyu sensed that something wasn’t right and wanted to stop them, but he couldn’t figure it out and really couldn’t stop the turbulent crowd.

As a result, these people ran halfway there before coming to a sudden stop. Under the pergola in the courtyard, they saw Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing sitting there having breakfast.

Seeing this situation, the two people turned to look at everyone in confusion.

Tang-furen was also a bit muddle-headed, feeling that the situation before her was different from what she expected.

“What are you all doing?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

“My son…..” Tang-furen was about to put on a performance.

Dai Tingyu said: “They came to see the City Lord. They said he was here last night.”

Huo Fenglie said coldly: “He’s not here.”

Tang-furen erupted at once: “How is that possible? General Huo, a real man has the courage to take responsibility. You must…..”

Huo Fenglie’s disgusted eyes swept over her coldly. Tang-furen instantly felt as if her neck were being strangled by invisible hands, and couldn’t speak a word.

Liu Zhenqing donned a puzzled look and said to Dai Tingyu: “Didn’t we separate after our discussion at the Office of Government Affairs last night? Fenglie returned after finishing up matters with you, and we went to bed without ever seeing the City Lord.”

Dai Tingyu nodded. That seemed to have been the case.

But Tang-furen was endlessly agitated. Just as she was about to open her mouth to argue, movement was heard outside the courtyard.

“Mother, what are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you not to come here at will?” Tang Rou’s voice sounded outside, causing everyone to immediately turn around.

Dai Tingyu said hurriedly: “Chengzhu, you’re here. I happened to come to you with something urgent.”

Tang-furen stared at Tang Rou and said: “You…..where were you last night? What did you do? Think well and make it clear. No matter what, Mother calls the shots for you! Otherwise…..”

Tang-furen’s eyes seemed to hold a warning. Many things were hard to say without making a scene. 

“Could it be that Mother is dreaming? It’s better to go back and rest to avoid being confused all the time. The person in front of you is the general who guards the country. If you get in trouble…..” Tang Rou’s tone became a bit dark. “I recall that General Huo has the power to kill anyone who plots against him at will. Would Mother like to give it a try?”

Tang-furen’s face instantly paled. She stared at Tang Rou in disbelief.

Tang Rou stopped looking at her, and announced to the servants in a cold voice: “All of you withdraw. Anyone who dares to disobey orders and come near this place will be killed without mercy!”

Although Tang Rou was considered a civil servant, such a dire warning still made everyone weak with fear. Disregarding Tang-furen, they retreated one after another.

Tang-furen was unable to vent her rage, and was so frightened that she could only give Tang Rou a fierce look, as if scolding her daughter for not living up to expectations. In the end, she could only leave in a fury. She said before departing: “Later, you will come to the ancestral hall and kneel for me!”

It was until they left that Tang Rou breathed out an exhausted sigh of relief.

Dai Tingyu looked right and left: “What’s going on, ah? I feel like…..” Dai Tingyu wasn’t stupid. At this moment, he finally understood Tang-furen’s meaning.

It was quite a shock. Did Tang-furen want to bring Tang-chengzhu and Brother Huo together? But Brother Huo was with Young Master Liu now, ah. Was Tang-furen unconvinced? Tang-chengzhu was indeed…..rather good-looking.

Wait. Could it be that Tang-chengzhu also liked men? So that was why Tang-furen hatched this plan? 

Dai Tingyu’s thick eyebrows practically danced as he stared at Tang Rou in shock.

But no one cared what he thought. Tang Rou rubbed her brow and said to Dai Tingyu: “You just said you came to us for something?”

Dai Tingyu removed his gaze from Tang Rou’s handsome features and said quickly: “Right, it’s something very serious!”

Dai Tingyu was also quite embarrassed. After all, it was a Tang family secret, but this matter had been instigated by the King of Western Shu and it was impossible not to report it.

Thus, when Dai Tingyu finished telling them, the three people present became quiet.

Dai Tingyu laughed awkwardly and said: “That person actually has no evidence, so…..”

“Everything he said is true,” Tang Rou said.

Dai Tingyu saw the bad expression on Tang Rou’s face and said at once: “Don’t worry, Chengzhu, I’ve blocked the news. The mistakes your father made have nothing to do with you. You’ve done so much for Nanfeng City over the years. I’ve witnessed it all. Who could be a better City Lord? I believe in you and will follow you.”

Tang Rou was taken aback, and smiled at Dai Tingyu: “Many thanks, Commander Dai.”

Dai Tingyu didn’t know if he had been disturbed by the situation just now, but his heart was a bit confused by that smile and he swiftly lowered his head to avoid seeing it.

At this time, Liu Zhenqing touched his chin and said: “This isn’t good, ah. It seems we must find a way to prevent news from Western Shu from infiltrating.”

“They want to tell people what happened back then to shake the credibility of our Tang family and disturb the stability of Nanfeng City. But I think it’s a bit childish. Even if I am defeated, now that General Huo and Commander Dai are here, it doesn’t make much sense for them to do this. Is this just to get revenge on me?” Tang Rou really couldn’t figure it out.

“Upsetting the relationship between the Tang Family and Nanfeng City is part of it, but upsetting the relationship between you and Huo Fenglie is the key point,” Liu Zhenqing analyzed. “According to the rumors, Fenglie hates Prime Minister Liu…..”

Huo Fenglie glanced at Liu Zhenqing, who smiled at him and continued: “That the Tang family was favored by Prime Minister Liu to secure the position of City Lord would definitely make Fenglei fearful. In Western Shu’s eyes, their willingness to cooperate with him would create a rift, and it would be easy to take advantage of this instigation.”

“Is that so?” Tang Rou frowned.

Okay, it was actually a bit far-fetched, but it was the only thing Liu Zhenqing could think of. Perhaps when it came to war, people’s hearts were the most difficult thing to control. It turned out they actually had this handle on them. If they could make use of it, they would.

In any case, they would take precautions first.

But many matters were all-pervasive. In less than three days, the news gradually leaked out into the city. Even with rigorous arrests and regulations, the news could not be controlled. Gradually, the people of Nanfeng City became restless.

Even Tang-furen, who had been residing in the City Lord’s manor, heard of this. She became furious and rushed to Tang Rou.

“Cut out the tongues of those who are talking nonsense! Our Tang family has done so much for Nanfeng City. How can they just listen to rumors, slander their master, and defend that traitor!” Tang-furen was unaware of the truth, so she only felt that this was a huge injustice.

Tang Rou was already very hard-pressed by these matters. After all, the story was indeed true. Although everything she was doing now had been jointly decided upon by everyone, she still felt somewhat that she was betraying her conscience. Tang-furen was still yelling at her, and she really wanted to tell the truth. But in the end, she could only endure and send Tang-furen away.

In the face of this, Tang-furen could only say: “If you had known earlier, you would have listened to me, isn’t that right? If you were the general’s wife, who would dare do such things, ah! Would they dare slander the Tang family along with the general who guards the country?”

This instant this matter was brought up, Tang Rou stood up and sent Tang-furen a fierce look.

Tang-furen also knew that her daughter was repulsed by this idea, but how could she watch her daughter fail to take the brighter path in order to take the single-plank bridge? She said: “I won’t talk your ear off, but let me ask you, are General Huo and that young master just having fun or are they to be engaged? Who is he, and how did he seduce General Huo?”

Tang Rou couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to her. She sent someone to drive Tang-furen away, but Tang-furen refused to give up and planned to investigate privately.

On the other side, the rumors within the city finally grew out of control. When Tang Rou was conducting routine inspections and giving public speeches to appease the common people, she was surrounded by people urging her to give an explanation.

They seemed to think that if the person they had been grateful to for so many years was a wicked person, that would be the ultimate insult against them, so they could not tolerate deception.

“The City Lord should explain clearly. Are the Tang family loyal or traitors? What actually happened back then?”

“I remember that the woman at the Old City Lord’s side was indeed very seductive. She didn’t look like a good person.”

“City Lord, please explain. My father died in that war. He shouldn’t have died without knowing who his enemy was.”

This statement carried a lot of weight, and in an instant, many people began to speak similarly.

Tang Rou’s expression was already somewhat unsightly.

“Everyone, don’t listen to those baseless things. The enemy is maliciously trying to divide us!”

But before Tang Rou could finish her words, something suddenly flew at her from below.

Dai Tingyu immediately stepped forward to grab it, and when he looked, it turned out to be a rock. Someone had thrown a rock at Tang-chengzhu?!

---

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Chapter One Hundred Twelve << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Fourteen

He Chuzhou responded to all requests. Dinner was too plentiful for just the two of them, and included spicy broiled beef and sweet and sour fish.

So could this also be considered a tradition?

Pei Xi wasn’t clear on this issue, and He Chuzhou immediately threw him another one.

In the study after dinner, Pei Xi logged into his WeChat account on the computer and received a message. The content was two strings of numbers mixed with letters. The upper string was an email address, and the lower one looked like garbled characters.

Pei Xi: “ ? ”

He raised his head to look in confusion at the person sitting behind the computer across from him: “What is this?”

He Chuzhou: “My email account password.”

After speaking, he felt that his description wasn’t thorough enough and added another sentence: “My work email.”

Pei Xi was even more confused after hearing this: “What are you giving me this for?”

He Chuzhou beamed: “It’s an exchange. I’ll definitely need your email address to help you with your work later. Now you know mine too, so you won’t suffer a loss.”

A fair exchange of information did not result in losses.

But was suffering a loss or not the key point?

Pei Xi: “Haven’t I already moved in?”

Now that Plan B had been adopted, why should Plan A continue to be implemented?

He Chuzhou seemed to see through his thoughts, and said seriously: “Plans don’t necessarily have to be separate. They can occasionally be used to progressively increase implementation. For details, please refer to the pig-killing scam.”^[1]

Pei Xi: “……”

When He Chuzhou was done playing at being a scoundrel, he continued on to move his heart with emotion again: “Actually, I’m too idle and can’t find other legitimate things to do. I have to waste a lot of time doing university entrance exam problems that are long outdated for me.”

Pei Xi: “ ? ”

Pei Xi: “Why do you need to do actual university entrance exam questions? Do you want…..to take the adult entrance exam? Did your school overseas not issue you a diploma?”

He Chuzhou sent him a screenshot of his chat.

Pei Xi clicked on it. The ID above the chat box screenshot was He Chuzhou’s sister, and the content was a compressed file with five years’ worth of test questions.

He Chuzhou: “It’s not me taking the exam, but my sister. But their school focuses too hard on learning and assigns too much of a workload, so students’ free time is severely compressed.”

He Chuzhou: “Aiyue’s grades are average, and it’s normal for her not to finish her homework. And every time she finishes her homework, she scans it into an electronic file and throws it at me.”

The screenshot was taken live as He Aiyue was bombarding him with messages.

[Brother, Brother, help Qiuqiu!]

[I won’t make you do it for me this time, you won’t agree to it anyway. Just help me figure out which ones are more difficult and worth doing. Mark them for me and I’ll ask someone in the head office?]

[Mom found me a tutor again. I know you’re the one secretly stirring up trouble in the background.]

[But I’m past worrying about it, it doesn’t matter to me. You have to make up for it and help point out the key points.]

[Don’t tell me to ask my tutor. That teacher has a terrible accent.]

[123 is always pronounced as ya e san instead of yi er san. My Mandarin is almost going astray!]

[Reply, reply]

[Don’t hide silently behind the computer. I know you’re home.]

[If you don’t help me, I’ll tell Mom that you’ll never get married or have children in your life! It’s up to you, Boss He!]

He Chuzhou replied with a “scared to tears” emoticon. He manually deleted He Aiyue’s messages until only the first and last three sentences were left, then took another screenshot and forwarded it to Pei Xi.

“Look.” He spread his hands helplessly. “She threatened me.”

Pei Xi scanned the screenshot full of unreasonable bullying and was silent for a long while. He sent his work email and the password.

“Generally, what needs to be processed are some reports and plan revisions. You can take a look if you have time.”

The words of a scoundrel could not be believed.

He Chuzhou happily right-clicked to collect it, then replied to He Aiyue with the extremely ruthless sentence, “I don’t have time, go to your teacher.” He fiddled with the computer for a while and sent a pop-up request to the person opposite.

Pei Xi looked at the words ‘Apply for Online Connection’ and stared blankly: “What is this?”

He Chuzhou was leisurely and carefree: “With the configuration of new computers, you can apply online connections to up to ten computers and share content to improve work efficiency.”

Pei Xi didn’t understand at all, but nodded in agreement.

A small new window instantly appeared on the screen, also looking like a computer desktop.

An unfinished transaction contract was displayed on it. It wasn’t locked, which meant that he could zoom in or out and make comments.

He understood that his current screen could be shared with He Chuzhou in the same way.

Pei Xi’s assistant, Dong Han, had a girlfriend. He had been together with her since high school, and they had a deep relationship, but it still couldn’t be avoided that she asked to exchange phones and check each other’s social media accounts now and then. 

Don Han was loyal to his girlfriend, but this unreservedly frank approach still made him feel uncomfortable, so he couldn’t help complaining in front of Pei Xi.

He didn’t understand, and couldn’t offer him any comfort. He just felt that since Dong Han felt bad about it, it should be a bad thing.

But now, his perception had changed.

The distance between cold electronic machines could also create a sense of closeness and change a person’s mood.

He couldn’t specifically describe how he felt, but he was sure that there was no sense of rejection. This feeling of sharing was more like a silent, comforting companionship that he had never felt before.

Especially when he saw the words “Look to the right” typed at the bottom of a file that was set aside. A secret method of communication between them was silently born at this moment.

It was a very fresh and novel feeling, as if a small flower could bloom in the gap of the keyboard.

Pursing his lips, Pei Xi looked to the right.

In just the blink of an eye, his wallpaper was changed from the default to a group of stick figure ducks walking around a pool.

Right away, one of the ducks spotted him in front of the computer and turned around to walk over, wagging its tail. It took out its wings, pulled a bouquet of roses out of nowhere, and handed it to him.

He Chuzhou: “It’s so cute. You can drag this one with the mouse and place it wherever you want.”

Pei Xi: “…..”

He Chuzhou lamented: “You can click out of it if you don’t like it.”

Pei Xi: “He Chuzhou, you’re so childish.”

He said this with an expressionless face as he dragged the little duck with a bouquet to the most conspicuous place above the window, letting it twist about and take out limitless flowers.

They didn’t stay in the study for very long. Pei Xi’s physical strength and energy had not yet recovered. He needed to avoid overexertion and get adequate rest.

Pei Xi left the study first. He went straight to the master bedroom, opened the closet, and took out a set of large pajamas that didn’t fit his body shape, then put them on.

When he turned around, he looked directly into a pair of eyes.

He Chuzhou stood at the door, not coming in. He seemed stunned. His expression was one of shock, but also contained a secret surge of pleasant surprise and amazement.

“You want to sleep with me?” He asked with raised lips.

Pei Xi: “…..”

He’d forgotten again that he wasn’t brain-addled.

“No.”

The hands hanging by his side clenched helplessly, but his expression didn’t change: “I forgot my pajamas, so I’m borrowing yours.”

Having said this, he didn’t stay any longer, quickly bypassing He Chuzhou to return to the guest room.

It turned out he was just borrowing clothes, ah.

He Chuzhou shrugged, somewhat disappointed. It was fine.

But when he looked back, he saw that the closet door was still open. Thinking of the just-woken-up Pei Xi standing there and changing his clothes with his long legs and slender waist stretched out, he felt happy again.

Pei Xi had no muscles, but could he have muscle memory?

It was possible. He liked this kind of muscle memory, and it would be okay if it happened again.

Pei Xi returned to his room. As soon as the door closed, he couldn’t help but cover his face with his hands, filled with annoyance.

Was it so difficult to distinguish? Why was he always forgetting nowadays?

Rubbing his temples in vexation, he walked to the closet to change his pajamas again.

But when the clothes were in his hands, he paused again and lowered his head to look at the pajamas he was wearing.

The garments with a low collar and long sleeves hung loosely on him.

The dark fabric was soft, carrying the scent of sunshine and laundry detergent. The fragrance wasn’t strong, but fresh and clean. Very comfortable-smelling.

This outfit was not unfamiliar to him. He had worn it many times already and was already very familiar with the length of the cuffs and trouser legs. He even knew how many times the fabric had to be folded when rolling it up to fit him.

And every time he put it on, he slept well.

The closet door closed again, and Pei Xi turned off the lights before lying down in bed. The pajamas that fit him had been left intact and put neatly back in their place.

*

*

He Chuzhou answered the phone before going to bed, rejecting Wu Qing’s request to have a small party at his house that weekend.

Wu Qing: “The hell? Your feelings have faded after not seeing each other for a few days, right? Didn’t you used to agree right away?”

He Chuzhou: “It was fine for an empty-nester to join in the fun occasionally back then. That’s not possible now. Your brother isn’t living alone anymore.”

The pornographic waste in Wu Qing’s head was selectively ineffective when it came to the innocent old boy He Chuzhou: “What not living alone? Can you say you don’t live alone just because you got a cat? You have no shame.”

He Chuzhou: “En, I don’t. My cat is afraid of other animals, so don’t come over. Shoo.”

Wu Qing simply refused to face reality and still wanted to wear him down.

He Chuzhou didn’t give him a chance. He hung up the phone, wrapped up in the quilt, and rolled over to the space where Pei Xi often slept. He buried his face in the pillow and took a deep breath, feeling sleepy and refreshed.

The exhaustion caused by lack of sleep the previous night arrived at his door today.

Before falling into dreamland, he was still thinking about changing the color of the white curtains in the guest room.

The curtains in Pei Xinxin’s room were blue, so he would just change these to blue. People slept better in a familiar environment and were less likely to feel homesick.

His sleep was heavy and deep, and his dreams were profound. So much so that when he was awoken in the morning by someone who crawled into his bed and pinched his nose, he thought his respiratory tract had been blocked by a jellyfish while exploring the deep sea.

When he dizzily opened his eyes, Pei Xi was lying next to him, bored and playing with the stray hair across his forehead. Seeing that he was awake, he pinched He Chuzhou’s face in displeasure: “Why did you drive me away to sleep in the guest room?”

“When did I drive you away?”

He Chuzhou wore a look of confusion. When he came to his senses, he grabbed the other’s hand helplessly: “I didn’t drive you away. It was you yourself who said you had a cold and were afraid of passing it to me, so you went to sleep in the guest room. I couldn’t hold you back.”

Oh. So that was it.

Very reasonable. Pei Xi accepted this explanation, but then he had another problem: “Why did I bring my toothbrush and bath towel over?”

He Chuzhou was very drowsy. He took this person into his arms and rubbed him gently, then buried his head and slowly thought up an excuse: “Since we haven’t been apart in a long time, you were afraid that I would miss you and be too sad after seeing your things, so you moved them all away.”

Pei Xi obediently let himself be held. He wondered: “Not sleeping together for just one night would make you miss me and be sad?”

He Chuzhou: “Ah, those of us who are deeply romantic are like this.”

Pei Xi thought he was talking nonsense.

At least, that last sentence was nonsense.

Compared to this, he was more willing to believe that it was his own deep concern that caused the situation.

Thus, the person who had just halfway warmed up He Chuzhou ran away again.

Uncomprehending, he cracked open his eyes and sat up in bed, watching Pei Xi run in and out as he moved everything back into the master bedroom. Then he returned to the bed and threw himself onto He Chuzhou, arching into his arms.

“I’m all better now, you don’t have to act out deep romantic scenes.”

Pei Xi yawned and pressed his forehead against He Chuzhou’s neck: “I’m sleepy. Let’s sleep a little longer.”

“But not too long. Remember to wake me up when you get back from dreamland.”

---

[1] The “pig-killing scam” is a kind of fraud where the fraudster creates a virtual image on social media to gain the victim’s (pig’s) trust and establish a romantic relationship with them before defrauding them of property. ⮐

---

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Chapter 31 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 33

Bang bang bang—

There was a continuous knocking on the door.

“Let me out, I know it was wrong…..I’ll never do it again…..wuwu…..mama…..I know it was wrong…..”

Indistinct sounds came from behind the door, a child’s pleas for mercy mixed with terrified sobs.

This villa was different from what Li Xiu remembered.

The floors were clean and bright, all of the furniture had been wiped spotless, and the walls were covered in pale pink rose vine wallpaper in a nostalgic classic style. There were also antique vases filled with imported roses and jasmine that were delivered every morning.

An elegant fragrance lingered in the air.

Uniformed servants walked to and fro on the second floor, silently maintaining the luxury and elegance of the house.

Yet that crying still remained in the villa.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…..I won’t do it again…..”

The cries grew gradually weaker.

Li Xiu’s brow furrowed. He didn’t understand how he had appeared in this inexplicable place. Even moreso, he didn’t understand why nobody was paying attention to the crying coming from the door.

The child’s voice was completely hoarse, his breathing even weaker…..wasn’t he about to collapse?

As an ordinary high school student, Li Xiu had never liked children. But as a human being, his body would feel an instinctive alarm when he heard such wailing. No one other than a sadist could endure a child suffering such abuse so close at hand.

Li Xiu automatically began to move. However, his body was surprisingly heavy at this time, and his feet seemed to be stuck in a wintery swamp. Every step he took required a lifetime of energy. But the desperate cries echoing in Li Xiu’s ears were like whips continuously lashing him, urging him to open the door quickly and rescue the poor little thing.

Finally, with great difficulty, Li Xiu came to the door.

He placed his hand on the doorknob.

But for some reason, when Li Xiu went to open the door, he felt his hair stand on end.

Some kind of unexplainable instinct streaked down his spine and caused the dazed young man to freeze in place, unable to move.

[“What are you doing? Do you intend to release that bastard before his time is up?]

At this moment, an unfamiliar sharp voice sounded. Li Xiu turned around and his eyes widened in horror. 

He saw a woman whose entire body was bloated.

The woman had walked out of the master bedroom and was currently standing at the door, staring at Li Xiu with her completely clouded eyes.

She was already long dead.

The rot blurred her facial features. A few strands of hair remained on her scalp, and a piece of scalp easily fell from the bone with her movements, hanging loosely at the back of her neck.

But the woman was completely unaware of this. As she spoke, densely packed pale yellow maggots crawled around her exposed chest and distended abdominal cavity.

Li Xiu shrieked.

He backed away in a panic, but there was only the closed door behind him.

And at this moment, he suddenly heard a very strange voice whispering cautiously beside him.

[“But, Madam, this is already the third day. If the confinement continues like this, the child may not be able to endure…..”]

Li Xiu turned his head with a gasp, trying to see who was speaking, but there was nothing to see.

[“Before he was imprisoned, did he not steal food from the kitchens? A bastard brought back from outside is just like this. He has the same temperament as that lowly person, only knowing how to steal other people’s things.”]

The woman who already had the lofty viewpoint of a giant didn’t seem to notice Li Xiu at all. She was talking to herself, every word squeezed out of her rotten throat with incomparable malice.

[“Truly, if they aren’t disciplined well, things born of such a lowly person will only bring shame to the family.”]

As she spoke, the woman staggered toward Li Xiu…..no, it should be that she was heading toward the door.

Li Xiu gasped for breath, frightened to the extreme as he tried to escape from the door.

He couldn’t, however, because there was a pair of hands stuck firmly to his shoulders.

[“Shh…..”]

A dark, creeping voice spoke in Li Xiu’s ear.

Li Xiu began to tremble all over.

The scene in front of him seemed to have happened in the past, Li Xiu thought.

He froze on the spot, transfixed. His heartbeat grew rapid, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up one by one.

Don’t look.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look…..

Don’t look back.

The voice in his head got louder and faster.

However, no matter how he tried to avoid it, Li Xiu still caught a glimpse of that “thing” that was right next to his face from the corner of his eye.

The eyes on the inhuman thing’s blue-gray face were bloodshot. The corners of his mouth grinned from one side to the other in a terrifying, satisfied smile.

Scarlet lips formed a stark contrast against the corpse’s bloodless face.

It smiled as it stared at Li Xiu, its neck stretched out so that it could put its face right in front of him. Now, Li Xiu could no longer escape its gaze.

That morbid gaze was as real as ever, licking Li Xiu’s skin.

Cold arms wrapped around Li Xiu’s body like a python constricting its prey, and the youth fell backward uncontrollably. At this time, Li Xiu discovered that the originally closed door had been opened. 

Countless pale, emaciated figures poked their heads out of the room. Their nailless fingers were as soft as the tentacles of a sea anemone, but each touch imbued the aura of death deep into his bones.

All of Li Xiu’s screaming and struggling was trapped in the sticky, cold, foul darkness behind the door.

[“A-Xiu…..so good…..”]

A familiar murmur dripped from the monster’s wet tongue.

Li Xiu only felt like there was a rope tugging fiercely at his body.

You shouldn’t have opened this locked door—

In the darkness, a shrill, hoarse voice screamed to Li Xiu deep in his heart.

*

“…..You little students, ah, your brains are really mixed up, aren’t they? We usually have to pay people to come here, but no one is willing. Yet look at you guys, still trying to kill yourselves by running over here.”

“I know I was wrong, Teacher. I’ll accept the punishment alone when the time comes. My classmate fainted and I need to take him to the infirmary now.”

“Now that your classmate is unconscious, you understand how dangerous this place is? What’s the use of such urgency now? This house has been in disrepair for so many years, and there’s no telling what could go wrong. You two ran in and bumped into something. Who is responsible for this? The school has given you instructions and countless warnings more than once, right? You were told not to come to this place, and you turned a deaf ear, didn’t you?”

“Apologies, I—”

“Wait a minute, don’t go anywhere. Teacher Xu has already checked on your classmate, and there’s nothing wrong with him. Don’t always use him to get out of things. Right now the most important thing is, why are you two here?! Do you think this is an ordinary violation of school rules and discipline? Let me tell you, strictly speaking, you are trespassing on private property, which is simply illegal!”

When Li Xiu awoke from his nightmare with a splitting headache, the first thing he heard was the continuous scolding from several people.

And Fang Qian’an’s voice would respond to those people from time to time, sounding extremely strange.

In his impression, Li Xiu had never heard Fang Qian’an spoken to in such a forbearing and almost condescending voice.

Of course, after spending the last few days with Fang Qian’an, even though he was feeling dizzy, Li Xiu could sense that beneath Fang Qian’an’s calm voice, there was a gradually uncontrollable anger.

“If there’s nothing wrong, then why is he still unconscious?”

“Don’t worry, if Teacher Xu says he’s fine, then he must be. Besides…..how could it be possible for him to wake up so soon…..”

The spirited voices of middle aged men made Li Xiu even dizzier.

He still vaguely recalled the terrifying scene from before he fainted.

“Fang Qian’an……”

Before his reasoning was in place, Li Xiu had already instinctively stretched out his hand in an attempt to find the tall boy.

At this time, Li Xiu didn’t notice the other people looking at him in surprise the moment he made a sound.

“A-Xiu! Thank god, you woke up!”

An elated cry exploded in his ears. Immediately after, Li Xiu felt like he had been hit by something — before he could recover, he was being hugged into someone’s arms.

Just now, some memories from the nightmare suddenly came to his mind. Li Xiu shuddered, his body tensing uncontrollably.

It was fortunate that in the next second, the youth’s hot body temperature and the near-deadly stranglehold woke Li Xiu up completely.

“Cough, l-let go of me.”

Li Xiu smacked Fang Qian’an on the back several times before the other let him go.

After taking a deep breath with difficulty, Li Xiu realized that he was lying on the lawn in front of the Xiao family villa. Fang Qian’an was hugging him with Li Xiu’s head resting on his knees. Seeing Li Xiu wake up, Fang Qian’an was just short of being moved to tears.

And not far from them were several middle-aged men.

Li Xiu stared at them nervously and found that all of these people looked unfamiliar. Oh, they weren’t all complete strangers. Li Xiu knew the chubby man standing in the back. He seemed to be the vice principal of Qiming Secondary School.

Li Xiu had only met the vice principal once before. The way the other party appeared as if he was an emperor on tour had made a deep impression on him. Only then did he remember that round, rosy face.

However, the vice principal who appeared before them now didn’t look as majestic as before. His back was hunched as he cautiously took up a position behind the others that could almost be called groveling.

And those few people who could humble the vice principal like that didn’t seem to be anything special.

At least, they didn’t possess the style of “leadership” that Li Xiu was familiar with. In fact, they looked like ordinary men who could be found on the street. Some of them were very young and appeared to be only in their twenties, while others were in their late fifties and full of vigor. And among this group of people was a man in his thirties, who vaguely appeared to be the leader.

The man was very thin, his appearance a very delicate and ordinary sort that could disappear instantly among a crowd. There was a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, a slightly antiquated dark blue suit on his body, and a pair of nondescript sneakers on his feet. 

This person had a temperament similar to a Chinese language teacher or politics teacher. Moreover, as Li Xiu was half awake, he seemed to hear the others call this man “Teacher Xu.”

…..Was this a teacher from Qiming? 

Li Xiu was a bit uncertain.

After experiencing the previous fright, Li Xiu’s mind still felt a little dull. And as he was in a daze, Fang Qian’an had already grabbed his hand and pushed him toward Teacher Xu.

“Teacher Xu, w-will you take another look at him?”

“Hiss, Fang Qian’an, be more gentle.” Li Xiu couldn’t help but kick Fang Qian’an with a frown.

Once Fang Qian’an calmed down a bit, Li Xiu subconsciously pulled the other party behind him. Then he raised his head as he stood in front of the man and revealed a skillfully obedient smile. 

“Hello, teachers. Hello, Vice Principal.”

Unlike other students, Li Xiu had never been timid when going through the motions in front of teachers.

Sure enough, when Li Xiu spoke, the incredibly tense atmosphere between the teachers and Fang Qian’an relaxed at once.

“You are…..Li Xiu, correct?”

The vice principal was originally just listening to these “teachers” as they unceremoniously scolded Fang Qian’an, his whole person as restless as an ant in a hot pot. He knew how powerful they were and didn’t dare to refute them, but the student being scolded…..that student wasn’t ordinary either, ah!

When he heard Li Xiu speak, he felt instantly relieved. While taking out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, he quickly changed the topic.

“How are you now, ah? Does anything hurt?” Having said this, the vice principal said condemningly, “Why are you here instead of attending class obediently, ah? You were warned before, a demerit will be given if you come to the Xiao family villa—”

Before the vice principal could finish speaking, Fang Qian’an interrupted him: “It had nothing to do with him.”

Ignoring Li Xiu’s gaze, Fang Qian’an stepped forward to shield the boy with a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

“I dragged him here by force. If you want to write a demerit, you’ll remember me too, right? Anyway, I don’t want to go to this shitty school anymore.”

“Fang…..”

The vice principal’s face turned colors when he was criticized by Fang Qian’an, and he was momentarily speechless.

“Oh. What did you plan to do when you dragged him here?”

Teacher Xu fortunately spoke up at this time and questioned Fang Qian’an mildly. 

“……”

This time, the person who fell into silence with a complicated expression was Fang Qian’an.

Li Xiu reflexively turned his head to look at the boy beside him. His mind was in a state of disorder, and he was a little unsure whether to speak up about what they had encountered.

Before Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an could communicate with their eyes, Teacher Xu spoke again with a sigh.

“You young students, ah, you really don’t know what’s going on. Clearly, as long as you study hard and well, you will be immune from all evils. But no, you came to a place like this and scared yourselves silly. When your heart and soul are unstable, it’s easy to be bewitched and possessed by evil spirits…..”

Li Xiu raised his head in astonishment to meet Teacher Xu’s clear, gentle eyes behind his lenses.

---

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Chapter 31 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 33

It was a rare occasion that He Chuzhou woke up earlier than Pei Xi.

When he opened his eyes, he was very relieved to find that the person beside him was sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed.

The cell phone placed on the bedside table lit up with notifications one after another, and there were several missed calls.

He turned it to the lowest vibration mode. It wasn’t very loud, but he was still afraid of waking Pei Xi. Gently lifting the quilt, he got out of bed and picked up the phone, walking out barefoot to answer a call.

The tall figure walked away toward the balcony outside the open door, and didn’t see the eyelashes of the person who was supposed to be sleeping soundly in bed flutter as if they were about to take off.

After confirming that He Chuzhou had left the room, Pei Xi slowly shrank back into the bed, trying to hide his overheated earlobes.

His eyes rolled around twice under his eyelids, which were so thin that the capillaries were clearly visible. When he opened his eyes, they were clear and bright, not at all like he had just now woken up.

He had tossed from side to side most of last night, and it was currently close to 12 o’clock. The curtains were only half-open. There was no sunshine today, and the sky outside was foggy. It seemed windy, and the light wasn’t very harsh.

Great for sleeping.

Very suitable for sleeping under the quilt where the heat had not yet dissipated.

Very suitable for a weak patient who had just recovered from illness to continue sleeping.

He turned his gaze away from the window to look at the empty side of the bed.

His focused eyes gradually became distracted. He didn’t know what to think.

When he heard subtle footsteps heading toward the room, he subconsciously gripped the quilt and closed his eyes again.

The steps halted at the bedside, and he felt the dim light envelop him. He slowed his breathing and felt an unknown sense of tension sweep through him.

Very soon, a warm touch covered his forehead.

He Chuzhou bent down to feel the temperature of his forehead with his palm, but didn’t linger long.

After confirming that his temperature was normal, he swiftly retracted it and helped tuck in the corners of the quilt. He turned and left for a while, and there was the sound of running water in the bathroom.

Almost half of Pi Xi’s face was buried in the quilt, leaving a pair of closed eyes exposed. The hot breaths he exhaled steamed his face.

He didn’t adjust his slightly childish sleeping position. Smelling the warm scent of laundry detergent, he finally gave up struggling and allowed himself to fall asleep again.

An hour later, he was woken up.

However, when he was woken up due to external influences, the side effects didn’t come into play. He wasn’t confused. His mind was clear.

He Chuzhou didn’t understand the confusion that flashed through his eyes, and just asked him: “What, did you not sleep well?”

Pei Xi closed his eyes and calmed himself. Suppressing his slight disappointment, he shook his head and prepared to get up.

He Chuzhou called for him when lunch was ready. The dishes were still on the cooking counter, as there wasn’t time to bring them out.

Pei Xi came in to help, and their eyes inadvertently met. He Chuzhou asked casually: “Is President Pei going to the company this afternoon? You could just take a day off and rest.”

Pei Xi was the first to look away. He spoke a light “No need,” then picked up the two plates of food and left the kitchen.

He Chuzhou sprinkled chopped green onions over the soup and seemed to catch a glimpse of red on Pei Xi’s ears. Just when he was about to confirm it, that person was already gone.

He didn’t take it to heart. Filling up two bowls, he took the soup out.

Pei Xi was already sitting at the table.

He raised his eyes when he saw him approaching, lowering them again when their eyes met.

But this time, he was sure he had seen correctly. After a brief exchange of glances, Pei Xi’s face remained expressionless, but the roots of his ears were a solid red, and seemed to be even redder than before.

“Why are your ears so red?”

He wasn’t narcissistic enough to think that Pei Xi would blush every time he saw him. All he could think of was the high fever that had been so hard to get rid of the night before. “Did the fever come back?”

He frowned and put a hand to Pei Xi’s forehead to test it. His movements were very natural and familiar.

But Pei Xi couldn’t act as natural as him. Under the mask of feigned calm was a stiff body. He was very ill at ease, but remained seated obediently in his position and didn’t move away.

“No more fever, ah.”

He Chuzhou was puzzled, and touched his own forehead to compare them: “Your body temperature is lower than mine. Or is it that the virus has evolved to make you cold now?”

Pei Xi: “…..”

Pei Xi gave a light cough: “I’m fine.”

Just as a drunk person would never admit they were drunk, such words didn’t sound credible to He Chuzhou. Didn’t he just cough?

He recalled the doctor’s instructions from the previous night and quickly found the cause. He tapped his fingers twice on the table: “President Pei, let’s discuss this.”

Pei Xi silently raised his eyes.

He Chuzhou: “Dealing with work one day and taking one day off isn’t working for you, so how about giving me some of it?”

Pei Xi stared blankly. He spent more than ten seconds attempting to digest his words, but still couldn’t understand: “…..What?”

He Chuzhou switched to a more straightforward statement: “Just leave the work you can’t finish and I’ll help you handle it.”

“If you’re worried about me stealing your family secrets, just don’t give me any important information. Aren’t there a lot of superficial tasks that are cumbersome and time-consuming to deal with? Just leave those to me.”

“Of course, if you’re still worried, I can sign a confidentiality agreement. If there’s any problem later, I’ll give you half of my shares. How about it?”

Pei Xi: “…..?”

Of course he wasn’t worried that He Chuzhou would steal any secrets. Firstly because a person with intent to steal wouldn’t be so brazen, and secondly because he knew very well that He Chuzhou would never bother to do such a thing.

But could half the shares of President He’s company be used as a guarantee at will?

Wasn’t he afraid that he would be deliberately wronged for half his shares?

Half-stunned, he could only ask one simple question: “Why?”

He Chuzhou asked back: “Do you know why I’m here?”

Pei Xi nodded subconsciously, but then shook his head in denial: “I don’t.”

He Chuzhou: “Because you had a high fever in the middle of the night last night. Thirty-nine degrees. You just barely left the hospital after taking an IV.”

“The doctor said that the main cause of your illness was excessive fatigue. If you keep squeezing yourself like this, you might be able to burn yourself to forty degrees next time.”

“Don’t worry, I’m actually rather kind and honest, and won’t take advantage of you.”

Kind and honest?

Won’t take advantage of him?

Pei Xi was speechless. Who was the person who kept coaxing him to call him gege last night?

Because he wouldn’t remember when he woke up, he kept making him call him that again, saying that he liked hearing it and that he wished he could shrink him down and put him on his shoulder to call him gege every day.

He also said…..

He also said that he had done his best and was good enough.

That the other people were the ones who should reflect on themselves.

That no one stipulated that an elder brother must love his younger brother.

That anyone who didn’t love him didn’t know his true value.

His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he looked into He Chuzhou’s eyes. They were broad and level, with hidden depths. It was like the sun was always shining in them, hot and clear, without a trace of haze.

His thoughts were even more confused by his leaping heartbeat, and he couldn’t say anything for a moment.

But in the next second, He Chuzhou’s words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly waking him up.

“Do you know how clingy you are when you’re sick? Whether your eyes were open or closed, I didn’t dare take a step away…..” 

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

Pei Xi suddenly interrupted him.

It was like he had made a mistake and was eager to make amends, using this to stop the other person from saying what he didn’t want to hear: “If you find it troublesome, you can ignore me when that happens. As long as you make your attitude clear, I shouldn’t disturb you too much.”

He Chuzhou’s expression froze slightly.

There was a faint fear of abandonment in Pei Xi’s words, not very obvious under the thin ice. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the other person sounded very uneasy.

“Pei Xi, have you misunderstood me?”

He deliberated over his words: “I didn’t say that because I think you’re troublesome. It’s really nothing. I just feel that it’s easy for accidents to happen in such a situation.”

“You urgently need my care in emergencies, but I’m not always by your side. What would I do if you get sick again and my phone happens to be out of battery, or I sleep too hard and don’t answer your call?”

“Maybe it’s like you said, and you can handle yourself if I treat you coldly and don’t care for you. But if that’s the case, what do you expect me to do? Do you think I could rest assured?”

Having said this, he couldn’t help but sigh: “I’m not helping you just to solve problems for myself. I just want to minimize the possibility of such emergencies. You’re already working so hard during your recovery from the side effects of your injury, so don’t suffer any more hardships.”

His tone was very soft, with helplessness and obvious coaxing at the end.

Pei Xi looked at him and curled up the hand holding his chopsticks, suddenly feeling at a loss.

To him, their deal itself was unfair. He couldn’t keep enjoying He Chuzhou’s efforts with peace of mind, and couldn’t give anything in return.

But if he didn’t agree and the current situation continued, it would cause trouble for He Chuzhou.

He was in a dilemma, unable to shake his head, let alone nod.

Little did he know that at the same time, the person sitting opposite him suddenly came up with a more ambitious plan B.

“Actually, it’s rather difficult for me to get up earlier every other day to walk the dog and then rush to your house.”

A certain person changed the subject, catching him off-guard.

The topic jumped so much that Pei Xi didn’t even have time to feel guiltier before He Chuzhou continued: “How about you move in with me?”

“If we’re under the same roof, I won’t need to worry about you not finding me in the middle of the night, or having to get up early to pick you up the next day.”

“Of course, I can move in here if you don’t mind, but I still have a dog who likes to tear up the house when he eats too much. As long as that doesn’t bother you.”

*

*

Neither of them went to the company. One afternoon was enough to move all the things Pei Xi needed for daily life and work to the villa.

The reason Pei Xi decided to move here was of course not only because it was difficult for a high-ranking person to raise a dog, but also because Pei Xi was more accustomed to living in He Chuzhou’s home when he was in a brain-addled state of mind.

Likewise, Pei Xi agreed to move here not just because it would save He Chuzhou a lot of trouble. There were other reasons.

Other reasons…..

They were somewhat difficult to describe. He couldn’t think about or explain them clearly, so he put them out of mind.

His room was on the second floor of the villa, a guest room opposite He Chuzhou’s room.

It was said to be a guest room, but it actually wasn’t much different than the master bedroom. It was also spacious and bright, with a comfortable style, and included a small balcony and separate bathroom.

Just after putting everything away, he stood in the middle of the room and took in everything around him. It felt unreal.

— He was living with He Chuzhou.

This knowledge caused some unfamiliar emotions to crawl across his heart like dense vines.

He felt it cautiously for a while in silence, then turned and left the room.

“What do you want for dinner?”

He Chuzhou was leaning against the cooking table, selecting ingredients in a leisurely manner. When he saw him coming down from upstairs, he took a small handful of celery and waved it at him: “How about spicy broiled beef?”

The man’s eyebrows were raised, the corners of his lips curved in a loose and handsome arc. His entire being seemed to be in a relaxed and happy mood, but Pei Xi didn’t know why.

Obviously, his arrival meant that he had to work harder to cook for one more person every meal.

…..Perhaps he needed to find an opportunity to talk to He Chuzhou about not putting too much thought into food.

Otherwise, when he left in the future, it might take him a long time to eat his own cooking again.

With this thought, he moved his gaze from the handful of celery to He Chuzhou’s dazzling, brilliant face and said in a cool voice: “Can you add a serving of sweet and sour fish? Thank you.”

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Chapter 30 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 32