HR Chapter 26

Furthermore, Zhu Yan is nominally under Lu Qinyuan’s command, but in reality, he is responsible for Bai Ze’s safety. In other words, Zhu Yan is a bodyguard that Lu Qinyuan keeps for Bai Ze. Bai Ze has the final say on Zhu Yan’s work.

Lu Qinyuan knew that explaining now was useless, so he rattled off a series of numbers and said, “That’s Zhu Yan’s number, call him yourself and ask.”

Qi Yue bandaged Xiao Qi’s foot and left with Min Jia without looking back. Xiao Qi wanted to return to his room, but Lu Qinyuan carried him upstairs. Sha Tang figured the two would be lovey-dovey for a while, but unexpectedly, Lu Qinyuan stormed out of the room and into the study less than five minutes later. One bedroom, one study, and they never came out again.

Sha Tang was also worried about the two, making up and getting angry in minutes, even worse than enemies.

Shu Xiu couldn’t stand seeing the two of them happy, and immediately rejoiced: “Fight! Fighting is affection, scolding is love. Where does the emotion come from if they don’t fight? You can’t see any emotion just by looking at that face.”

“You little devil is just gloating, have you cleaned yourself up?” Sha Tang took the bowls back to the kitchen, it was time to start preparing lunch.

Coming back to such good news, Shu Xiu’s footsteps were much lighter. The world was so beautiful, and so lovely. He went back to his room and fell asleep.

The so-called husband and wife quarrel, they make up at the head of the bed.

These two did the opposite, fighting under the bed, fighting even more fiercely on the bed. By the foot of the bed, they’d probably be drawing knives.

Several days passed, and there was no sign of reconciliation.

Bai Ze often went out to avoid them because of work, or stayed in the study working, only coming down for meals. Shu Xiu ate his fill and went back to sleep, slept his fill and came down to eat, nothing much else. Sha Tang couldn’t avoid them, with three meals a day essential, which gave Lu Qinyuan countless excuses to find fault.

This dish was too salty, that dish was too spicy, that dish wasn’t flavorful enough, this soup was too thick, that porridge wasn’t fragrant, this bowl of porridge was missing an ingredient. Sha Tang was going crazy! So much trouble! He wasn’t going to serve them anymore!

Seeing Bai Ze about to leave, he jumped into the car, giving himself a day off. When Shu Xiu saw that everyone was leaving, he followed suit, wondering if the guy who plotted against him had been found, and planned to ask. Anyway, staying here was just courting death.

To say the two were arguing, it seemed not. To say they weren’t, they seemed to be angry. It was hard to say who was angry at whom, or maybe they were just sulking, sulking for their feelings?

That day, Lu Qinyuan sent Xiao Qi back to the bedroom. As soon as he put him on the bed, Xiao Qi couldn’t wait to get up and grab the landline phone on the bedside table to dial Zhu Yan’s number. The phone connected quickly, and because it was Lu Qinyuan’s private line, Zhu Yan’s voice sounded respectful and puzzled: “Master Lu?”

“Uncle, why did you leave? What about the promised gift?” Xiao Qi opened his mouth and acted spoiled. He didn’t know what Zhu Yan said, but Xiao Qi replied aggrievedly, and then asked Zhu Yan about everything from life to work, from clothing to the weather, big and small. The expressions on Xiao Qi’s face kept changing, sometimes surprised, sometimes happy, sometimes just listening silently, looking very lonely.

Lu Qinyuan went to the closet to pick out a set of pajamas, pushed Xiao Qi’s shoulder, and Xiao Qi understood, lying on the bed. With one hand holding the phone, he let Lu Qinyuan unbutton his clothes and strip him. Lu Qinyuan felt like an old nanny, even worse than an old nanny, his face dark and unhappy.

But Xiao Qi suddenly covered the microphone, turned over, and faced away from Lu Qinyuan, shrinking his neck and whispering, while stealing glances at him. Lu Qinyuan slapped his butt, stretched out his long arm, took the phone, pressed the speakerphone, and placed it on the bedside table. Zhu Yan’s voice was played out loud: “The raspberry bushes you wanted were planted long ago, remember to go see them when you have time. I was in too much of a hurry this time and forgot to leave the gift, I’ll make it up to you next time. Xiao Qi, are you listening?”

“Yes. I went to see them, they’re growing very strong.” Xiao Qi said, “Have you been very tired and worked hard recently? Is Lu deliberately making things difficult for you?” He was pinched hard on the waist, and Xiao Qi cried out, Zhu Yan hurriedly asked, “Hey, what’s wrong, Xiao Qi?”

“Nothing, Uncle hasn’t told me if Lu made things difficult for you or not.” The fingers pressed on his waist moved backward, sliding towards the tailbone in a threatening manner. Xiao Qi clenched his fist and punched Lu Qinyuan’s chest, softly saying, “Hand!”

“Uh, what are you talking about, aren’t we about to close the net? It’s normal to be busy.” Zhu Yan was stunned by the question, laughed twice and said, “It’s good to talk like this without meeting. I have work to do, hang up.”

“Okay.” Zhu Yan’s breathing came from the earpiece, as if waiting for him to hang up. Xiao Qi couldn’t help but ask again, “I heard that there’s a kind of seashell by the sea that can hear the sound of the ocean when you put it to your ear, Uncle, when you come back next time, can you bring me one?”

“Okay, I’ll pick the biggest and prettiest one for you. You hang up, I’ll listen to you hang up.” After Zhu Yan finished speaking, he waited. Xiao Qi hummed, quickly said, “I love you, Uncle! Waiting for you to come back!” and kissed the microphone with a smack.

“Who do you love?” Lu Qinyuan reached out and hung up the phone, also pressing down on Xiao Qi, kissing his lips hard a few times, his voice a little cold: “Say it again.”

Xiao Qi’s upper body was naked, his skin as white as jade, his beautiful collarbones deeply sunken, like two delicate wine glasses, his hands were held and pressed above his head, a hand dangerously roaming on the edge of his forbidden area, his pants were pulled down below his knees, revealing his slender legs, and the two feet wrapped in gauze were gently swaying, like naughty children shaking their feet and singing.

In Lu Qinyuan’s eyes, this posture was like a sacrifice, but Xiao Qi’s face did not have the expression of sacrifice it should have. He squinted slightly, looking very enjoyable, and smiled, “Sure, if it’s like with Uncle, I can say it as many times as you want.” He raised his head and kissed Lu Qinyuan’s lips, regretting, “But Lu, your request is too deep, I can’t promise.”

“Shut up!” Lu Qinyuan was really angry this time, he knew he was asking for the impossible, and he didn’t need Xiao Qi, the person involved, to remind him so bluntly. He roughly pulled off Xiao Qi’s pants in a few strokes, changed him into pajamas, and slammed the door and left.

Lu Qinyuan’s movements seemed rough, but he was careful to avoid hurting Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi discovered that love was truly a wonderful thing. Just like that person, clearly he wouldn’t smile, but because he asked, no matter how ugly, he would honestly show it to him, letting him know that he was special in his heart.

Xiao Qi rolled over, burying his face in the bedding, only his shoulders could be seen trembling slightly, his feet swaying left and right in the air as if keeping time.

But no matter what, there were two things that couldn’t be changed: Xiao Qi’s promise and Lu Qinyuan’s love. Every night, it was like a dagger mixed with poison, one proceeding with obligation, the other proceeding with the intention to warm a stone. In fact, both of them knew clearly in their hearts that no matter how many times they did it, neither of them would give in.

Lu Qinyuan understood even more that in Xiao Qi’s heart, only doing existed between them, not love.

And in Lu Qinyuan’s mind, there was nothing that love couldn’t do.

So at some point during a passionate night, Lu Qinyuan’s beastly factor, hidden deep in his blood, was inadvertently developed by Xiao Qi, and he didn’t control himself and hurt Xiao Qi. That extremely tragic cry made Lu Qinyuan’s hair stand on end, and he couldn’t care less about love and affection. The two of them hugged each other naked, Xiao Qi nestled in Lu Qinyuan’s arms, closing his eyes and silently shedding tears. Lu Qinyuan felt like he was holding a thousand-pound burden, and he couldn’t feel worse. He coaxed him for most of the night and couldn’t coax him right.

The next day, Xiao Qi developed a fever and refused to call for someone to come and see him. Lu Qinyuan also got angry, feeling a lump in his chest, and looking at everyone with displeasure. Everyone else hid, but he grabbed Sha Tang and vented his anger.

To this day, Xiao Qi’s foot injury had greatly improved, the fever had subsided, and the hidden pain had also been eliminated under the careful care of the past few days. His mood was rarely sunny, and Lu Qinyuan, seeing him finally show a smile, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, comparing it in his heart, even harder to deal with than he had been back then.

His feet, which hadn’t been able to touch the ground for several days, touched down, and Xiao Qi felt an unspeakable excitement in his heart. Under his feet was an expensive hand-woven silk carpet, but it was extravagantly laid throughout the entire bedroom. He tentatively took one step, two steps, walking around the bed circle after circle.

“Stop circling, change into this.” Lu Qinyuan found a set of black loungewear and threw it to Xiao Qi, seeing him still walking around the bed, he touched his head and threatened in a low voice: “I’ll give you three minutes, otherwise I’ll make you live on the bed today.” He pinched his soft earlobe, let go, and walked out of the bedroom.

Upstairs and downstairs were quiet, the servants guarding outside saw him come downstairs and opened the door to come in, standing at the door and saying, “The gentlemen have all gone out, Mr. Sha said he’s taking a day off today, please don’t disturb Mr. Lu.”

Clearly it was a strike, everyone had been corrupted by Bai Ze. He waved his hand to tell the servants to leave, walked into the kitchen and looked around. The refrigerator was filled with all kinds of ingredients, and the countertop was cluttered with various kitchen utensils and knives. He could cook a few simple home-style stir-fries, for example, he was best at stir-fried potato shreds, and even Sha Tang had praised his knife skills for shredding. However, he hadn’t cooked for many years, and he didn’t want to now.

Coming out of the kitchen, he saw Xiao Qi coming downstairs, Lu Qinyuan asked, “Can you cook?”

Xiao Qi jumped down one step at a time, and when he reached the last step, he stood firm and nodded: “Yes.”

Lu Qinyuan leaned against the edge of the kitchen and watched Xiao Qi cook.

Xiao Qi put on an apron, and used a little bit of every ingredient in the refrigerator, either cutting them into pieces or sections, some he tore directly by hand. There were no less than ten kinds of vegetables in total. He put half a pot of water on the stove, turned on the heat, and then threw all the chopped vegetables into the pot in one go, sprinkled some salt, and put the lid on the pot. Xiao Qi also found some hot pot ingredients in the refrigerator, and successively threw two tempura, a few slices of thousand-layer tofu, a few crab sticks, a few slices of bacon, shiitake mushrooms, and mushrooms into the pot. He also found ginseng abalone, Xiao Qi thought about it again and again and didn’t throw it into the pot.

“A mixed stew of meat and vegetables?” The more Lu Qinyuan watched, the tighter his eyebrows furrowed. The whole pot was full of colorful greens, simply boiled in plain water with salt, could it be edible?

“Hmm, that’s a good name.” Xiao Qi lifted the lid of the pot and flipped through it, reached out and pinched a piece of green vegetable to taste it, put the lid back on and continued to simmer it. Seeing this, Lu Qinyuan couldn’t help but say, “There are chopsticks, can’t you use chopsticks?”

Xiao Qi glanced at him and hummed softly, lifted the lid of the pot again, deliberately sucking his fingers before reaching out to pinch the vegetables. After tasting it, it seemed almost done, still putting the lid back on, changing to a low heat. Turning around, he beckoned to Lu Qinyuan: “Bring a bowl.”

Lu Qinyuan opened the top cupboard, took out two bowls, handed one to Xiao Qi, and said in his mouth, still very resistant: “I’m not eating.”

He filled a bowl and put it on the countertop, Xiao Qi stretched out his hand to him: “Bowl.”

Lu Qinyuan gave him the bowl in his hand, Xiao Qi then ordered: “Get chopsticks, do you eat with your hands?”