His Venomous Former Boss Chased Him And Beat Him Fiercely Chapter 44

Not cute… Well, he’s still very cute.

The morning dew was heavy. Last night’s rain had washed the world clean, and the air carried a chill. In this quiet morning, a rumbling sound echoed on the road.

The tall, long-legged young man strode out of the living room and into the courtyard, pulling a suitcase behind him. He held his phone in one hand, gazing down at the screen, his fingers moving slightly.

Kong Xunwen posted his leave notice for the day on the streaming platform.

Only then did he turn back to close the living room door. As he locked it, he tried to recall if he had forgotten anything, but his gaze swept over something, and his movements paused.

After a brief hesitation, he reopened the door and went back inside. The tools he had used to pierce Qiu Zhijie’s ears were still on the table. He hadn’t put them away—first because they contained aftercare supplies, and later, after Qiu Zhijie left, he simply hadn’t bothered.

He stood in front of the table for a moment, recalling the situation. A slight smile suddenly appeared on Kong Xunwen’s lips. Then, he casually put the items into the backpack he was wearing.

The bag also contained things like a charger and tissues.

He locked the door again, then locked the courtyard gate, and finally set off on his journey.

On the road, he encountered a villager he didn’t know. Although he didn’t recognize the person, the villager seemed to recognize him and greeted him. Seeing him with a suitcase, the villager didn’t ask about his travel plans, only whether he had eaten breakfast.

Kong Xunwen immediately took a small, nervous step back. He politely smiled and declined, “No need, I’ve already eaten.”

The villager seemed to sense his discomfort and nodded without saying anything further.

Kong Xunwen breathed a sigh of relief. After the previous incidents, the villagers had started greeting him, but he still wasn’t very good at responding. Fortunately, he usually stayed cooped up in his house and didn’t go out much.

He continued pulling his suitcase until he reached the boundary between the village and the main road.

It wasn’t long before the bus arrived. Few people were taking the bus at this time; there were only a handful of passengers, all older people who seemed very familiar with each other and were chatting away.

Kong Xunwen held his suitcase and sat down with his backpack, watching the scenery outside the window. Continuous stretches of green flashed past the window, and his ears were filled with lively chatter.

Suddenly, the inexplicable tension in his heart dissipated.

What followed was a clear, vivid sense of being alive.

Leaning his head back, Kong Xunwen stared out the window, lost in thought, his mind once again filling with random things.

“Bang!”

Don’t misunderstand; this wasn’t the sound of fireworks or anything coming from outside. It was the sound of Kong Xunwen’s head hitting the window hard.

The young man covered his forehead, his face scrunched up. He had almost forgotten the power of this bus. He had experienced it clearly on the way back before, but because the two buses looked slightly different, he had let his guard down.

At the same time, his stomach began to churn. At this moment, Kong Xunwen’s mind was finally completely blank.

His arm was suddenly patted.

He looked up, his face pale and strained.

It was the elderly woman who had been chatting earlier. Her hair was gray, but she looked very energetic. The shaking of the bus didn’t affect her at all. One hand held the railing above, a golden bracelet jingling on her slender wrist, and the other hand held a cucumber.

Seeing him look over, she offered the cucumber forward. Her Mandarin carried a hint of her local dialect, “This bus is uncomfortable, eh. Eat this, you’ll feel better.”

The other elderly people who had been chatting in front also looked over. They all looked better than Kong Xunwen, their eyes bright, as if they had something to look forward to every day.

Kong Xunwen was slightly stunned. After a few seconds, he quickly forced a smile and thanked her.

The grandmother reached out and directly placed the cucumber wrapped in a plastic bag into Kong Xunwen’s arms. Her free hand then gently touched his cheek, a slightly rough, warm sensation. “Look how pale your face is. The ride is still long, eh. Hurry and eat it to feel better.”

After speaking, she returned to her seat, pointed at Kong Xunwen, said a few words in the local dialect, and resumed her conversation.

Kong Xunwen actually understood a little. They were generally talking about how the bus was always like this, making people uncomfortable to ride.

He lowered his head, still feeling a bit dizzy. He peeled back the plastic bag and took a bite of the crisp cucumber. It was delicious and refreshing. He felt much better, eating bite after bite, his mind completely empty now.

The grandmother in front glanced back. Seeing the young man eating the cucumber she gave him, she smiled.

The young man was handsome, and when his face was pale, it made people feel sorry for him. Now his cheeks were puffed up, and he took small, refined bites.

He was a child who inspired affection.

*

Kong Xunwen got off the bus halfway. Since he didn’t have anything to give in return, he blushed as he exited the vehicle. Just before stepping off, he managed to say the “thank you” he had forgotten earlier, only to receive a few casual “you’re welcome” replies.

And still, those bright smiles.

The rest of the journey was much more comfortable, but there was one thing that was still a bit troublesome.

Kong Xunwen looked down at his phone, which displayed the words “Boyfriend.” He was currently in a taxi, so he could handle a phone call, but he was afraid of a sudden video call request.

He didn’t want to tell Qiu Zhijie that he was coming over. The other man was very busy, and he had chosen to hide his emotions so as not to disturb his work, yet now he had impulsively rushed over…

Ah, honestly, he didn’t know what he was thinking. He just wanted to see him, but he was afraid of Qiu Zhijie finding out.

Yes, he admitted, he was a little afraid of Qiu Zhijie knowing he had inexplicably run over.

However, he desperately wanted to meet him. Even though everything on the road just now had lifted his spirits considerably, none of it could make him abandon his desire to see Qiu Zhijie.

He desperately, madly, wanted to see him.

He scratched his head, making his soft hair a little messy. Kong Xunwen answered the call just before it timed out, slowly drawing out the time, “Hello—?”

Qiu Zhijie was already in his car. He had called a little later today, thinking the young man might want to sleep in.

Therefore, he waited patiently even though the call took a long time to connect. When the other side finally picked up, he heard the young man’s drawn-out voice followed by some noisy background chatter. He frowned slightly, pausing his action of flipping through a magazine. He didn’t answer immediately, listening carefully before asking, “You’re outside.”

“Mmm—” Kong Xunwen still drew out the sound, trying to gloss over the matter.

But it clearly didn’t work.

Qiu Zhijie’s voice dropped slightly, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kong Xunwen felt guilty, nervously tugging at his bag strap. “I just… wanted you to get a good night’s sleep… maybe.”

“That’s so uncertain. The excuse is too weak… maybe?” Qiu Zhijie mimicked him.

“I woke up a bit early today, couldn’t sleep, so I just went out for a walk. It was too early then,” Kong Xunwen managed to find a more plausible explanation.

“I won’t do it next time, I’ll tell you.”

Qiu Zhijie gave a soft hum, letting him off the hook. “Mhm, got it.”

After chatting for a while, Kong Xunwen finally waited until Qiu Zhijie arrived at the company before hanging up.

Soon after hanging up, a message arrived: Send me a message when you get back.

Kong Xunwen stared at it for a moment and replied: I’m eating out for lunch today.

Boyfriend: Then send me a video of what you’re eating.

Kong Xunwen: No, that’s too awkward.

Boyfriend: Then a photo.

Kong Xunwen: …

Boyfriend: Are you going to keep refusing me?

Boyfriend: You won’t video call me when you’re out, and you won’t send me photos when we talk on the phone.

Kong Xunwen: …Didn’t we just talk on the phone?

Boyfriend: But I miss you so much, I want to see you.

Boyfriend: How about I come back tomorrow?

Kong Xunwen was stunned. He was coming back tomorrow? He hadn’t mentioned that before. But wasn’t he very busy?

Thinking this, he sent the question.

He quickly received a reply: But I miss you so much, I want to see you, I want to hold you. We haven’t seen each other for one hundred and seventy-three hours. [Image.jpg]

The image attached was a running timer, which, based on Qiu Zhijie’s words, had started counting the moment they separated.

Kong Xunwen couldn’t help but smile, but he had to admit that Qiu Zhijie’s words helped calm his previously uneasy heart.

However, he still didn’t plan on letting Qiu Zhijie know he was currently on his way there.

He thought of the videos he had seen before—reunion videos filmed by long-distance couples, which meant—a surprise.

He was going to give Qiu Zhijie a big surprise.

Ten seconds passed while he was thinking this. Since he didn’t reply immediately, the other side quickly sent several messages, filling the chat box and pushing aside Kong Xunwen’s green message bubbles.

He quickly replied: I just went to buy some peaches to eat.

He then quoted Qiu Zhijie’s previous aggrieved question: [Is it because you don’t want me to come back to see you?] Of course not, I’m really looking forward to it.

Boyfriend: Good, then I will try to arrive as early as possible.

Kong Xunwen replied: Mhm, be careful on the way too.

Boyfriend: Okay, I’m going to work now. I’ll call you at noon.

Kong Xunwen breathed a sigh of relief, finally free from having to deal with the other side’s various questions: Okay.

Remembering that he had been accused of sending messages that were too cold, he added a particle and sent: Okay, then.

Boyfriend: [Pat on the head.jpg]

Putting down his phone, Kong Xunwen got out of the taxi and boarded the high-speed train.

He let out a soft sigh after settling into his seat. He had slept a little on the bus earlier, so he wasn’t tired now.

He lowered his eyes and opened his phone, pulling down the notification bar. There were still many messages about Wan Yongle, some offering blessings to the little girl, others providing information about this rare disease, and some listing rare diseases. These were generally friendly.

But some marketing accounts, only seeking clicks, had created extremely unpleasant headlines.

His gaze fell upon one: “Shock! Suspected points in the death of internet celebrity little girl Wan Yongle…”

His lips unconsciously tightened. He clicked on it, and as the headline reappeared before his eyes, the curve of his lips instantly dropped. Then, his long, pale fingers rapidly scrolled across the screen until he reached the bottom, found the report button, and quietly clicked it, reporting it for illegal and non-compliant content and malicious marketing.

However, he still needed to wait for the report to be verified.

Kong Xunwen frowned, exiting the interface. When he returned to the main page, the page automatically refreshed. Probably because he had just clicked on that article, all the articles on the main page were now of the same type.

Frowning, he clicked into each one, scrolled directly to the bottom, and clicked “Report,” filling in the same reason as before.

As article after article was reported, this part of the journey reached its end.

Kong Xunwen hurried off the high-speed train, checked the time, and quickly found a small shop to sit down in.

Sure enough, Qiu Zhijie’s call came through shortly after. The call didn’t last long. He quickly sent a photo, and only then did he have the courage to look at the small thumbnail of the picture he had sent.

So silly…

*

Since the young man said he was taking a nap, Qiu Zhijie’s subsequent messages went unanswered. However, he was fine for now, as he was still busy on his end, but when he had a moment of downtime, he always thought of the young man.

He could only unlock his screen to look at the young man. His lock screen was still the photo he had openly taken of Kong Xunwen eating in the courtyard. In the picture, the young man, surprised by the sudden photo, looked up, like a startled kitten.

Very cute.

But there was still no reply.

Not cute…

Well, he was still very cute.

Qiu Zhijie sighed helplessly and continued working. Time passed little by little. Around 3:30 to 4:00 PM, the special ringtone he had set sounded.

He found a gap in his work and quickly opened his phone.

[Heart][Heart]Boyfriend[Cat]: What are you doing right now?

A smile unconsciously appeared on his face. This was rare… Was he checking up on him?