His Venomous Former Boss Chased Him And Beat Him Fiercely Chapter 22

The Little Chef and the Lucky Cat

“I told my mother that I like you, but I haven’t told other relatives because you haven’t agreed yet. She is the decision-maker in my family, so you don’t need to worry about that aspect…”

Qiu Zhijie was explaining very seriously, and while he was at it, he clearly introduced his family situation.

“My mother runs a listed company, and my father is by her side…”

He saw Kong Xunwen raise a hand in front of him and obediently shut his mouth, only his eyes remained calm as he looked at the other man, holding a flicker of almost imperceptible confusion.

Kong Xunwen pressed a hand to his forehead.

He was still thinking about how to explain things, but Qiu Zhijie had started rambling on his own.

His feelings were somewhat complicated.

When the hand was taken down, he couldn’t help but look up at the man again, noticing a slight frown.

“Did I say too much?”

Kong Xunwen didn’t answer the question: “Let me see how your packing is coming along.”

The topic shifted away from the area that had made him feel a little helpless, and Kong Xunwen returned to his usual demeanor.

Qiu Zhijie wasn’t so tactless, but being direct was clearly the right approach.

“It’s almost done.”

As dusk approached, the children came over carrying some vegetables.

The courtyard gate wasn’t closed. Qiu Zhijie volunteered to go to the kitchen. Kong Xunwen tried to go in and help halfway through—there was no way he could truly treat him like a servant—but he was shooed out.

Qiu Zhijie stated righteously, “You are an injured person; you need to rest properly.”

Kong Xunwen was given a chair and settled in the bare courtyard.

Qiu Zhijie, wearing an apron, looked around, frowned slightly, and said to Kong Xunwen, “It will look much better if you plant more flowers later.”

This was in line with Kong Xunwen’s own plans, though for him, it was perhaps more about learning from his mother.

He looked up at Qiu Zhijie and said, “What does it matter to you how good it looks?”

“If you’re happy, then it matters to me,” Qiu Zhijie said without joking. “Or do you prefer how it looks now?”

Kong Xunwen recalled the image in his memory and described it: “There should be roses by the wall, sunflowers by the window, facing east in the morning and west in the evening. There should be green grass along the flagstone path, like a green carpet. That’s the vegetable garden; it needs small tomatoes, greens, eggplants, and cucumber vines planted in it. I like wisteria; let’s build a trellis for it to climb.”

He added something he personally wanted.

Qiu Zhijie responded to each item: “Okay, I’ll get the seedlings and seeds and help you set everything up.”

Kong Xunwen leaned lazily on the chair, saying airily, “Who said I wanted you to do it? I want to do it myself.”

When he was little, Little Kong was very confused: what was the point of tending to all these things?

At that time, Little Kong seemed to have found the answer, but the current Kong Xunwen’s memory of those things was already blurred.

Qiu Zhijie paused for only a moment before following up: “Okay, I’ll do it with you.”

Kong Xunwen didn’t speak, seeming to tacitly agree.

But he was also wondering if Qiu Zhijie could truly stick around until then. Thinking about Qiu Zhijie’s personality as he once understood it, it seemed possible.

What about himself?

That was the biggest problem.

Kong Xunwen raised a hand to touch his forehead, his nose twitching.

What was that smell?

He quickly looked at Qiu Zhijie: “Your kitchen—”

Qiu Zhijie’s back quickly disappeared behind the kitchen door.

Kong Xunwen had the answer without needing to ask the question. Very well, it seemed that the burnt smell was indeed coming from the kitchen.

The clattering sounds from the kitchen subsided quickly, and Kong Xunwen turned his head back, staring blankly at the bare courtyard again.

Liu Tingfang and her little friends arrived at this moment.

Given their current relationship, Liu Tingfang was now able to step directly over the threshold into the courtyard.

She looked around openly and asked, “Brother Kong, what are you looking at?”

After a few days, the little girl had finally learned the correct pronunciation of “gege” (older brother).

Pangpang stretched his neck toward the kitchen: “It smells so good.”

“Just resting,” Kong Xunwen answered Liu Tingfang’s question first, then looked at Pangpang with some surprise: “You can smell that?”

Pangpang chuckled foolishly twice. Liu Tingfang, standing beside him, said proudly, “Pangpang has a very sensitive nose. Whenever we eat something and go look for him, he can always smell it out.”

Kong Xunwen nodded: “Impressive.”

Pangpang scratched his head, his cheeks turning red.

Ni’er pointed at his red face and laughed, then suddenly remembered something and called out to Kong Xunwen: “Brother Kong!”

This little one clearly hadn’t learned the correct usage yet.

Kong Xunwen looked at her.

Ni’er held up the small basket in her hand: “The bamboo shoots are super yummy. This is for you.”

The small basket contained some wild vegetables.

Kong Xunwen shook his head: “No need. I wouldn’t eat those things even if they were left there.”

His cold, heartless words were met with Ni’er’s pouting mouth and large, watery eyes. Little Bai, standing nearby, tried hard to imitate her, but only managed a slight curve of her lips.

Ni’er opened her mouth, speaking clearly: “We picked them!”

Her big eyes were filled with the words—”Can you bear to refuse?”

Kong Xunwen could bear it, but in the end, he nodded.

Fine, it was the thought that counted. Why should the person receiving the gift make the giver worry more?

Ni’er immediately returned to normal, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled.

Kong Xunwen watched, astonished.

It was truly a waste for this child not to go into acting.

Liu Tingfang led her little team, pattering along familiar paths, and ran toward the kitchen.

Kong Xunwen also got up and followed, leaning against the kitchen doorframe, watching the man inside who was clearly busy but looked completely relaxed.

He was working up a sweat, and the sizzling sound of stir-frying drowned out the children’s voices, making him oblivious to them.

The children ran in, taking the vegetables and wild fruits out of their small baskets and placing them in an empty basin Qiu Zhijie had set aside.

Qiu Zhijie needed that basin. He turned around and saw this scene.

Pangpang, still craning his neck, saw Qiu Zhijie turn back, slurped, and asked matter-of-factly, “What yummy things are you making?”

He sounded as natural as a customer arriving at a stall.

Qiu Zhijie completely disregarded their previous friendship playing on the swing outside the door and said mercilessly, “It’s not for you to eat, anyway.”

Pangpang put a finger to his mouth, completely stunned.

Then he fragilely welled up with tears.

Qiu Zhijie: “…”

He pointed to the other side: “This one is too spicy. You can eat that one.”

Pangpang still had tears in his eyes but was already curious: “What is that?”

He stretched his head out to look.

Liu Tingfang, Ni’er, and Little Bai looked at each other’s baskets, confirmed they were empty, and prepared to leave. All three had already reached the doorway.

Yezi quickly arranged the vegetables placed in the basin and hurried to catch up.

The four children looked at Pangpang together.

Liu Tingfang adopted her Little Boss demeanor, hands on her hips, the basket swinging on her arm: “Pangpang, we need to go. We didn’t come here to eat!”

Pangpang reluctantly glanced at the delicious food he hadn’t tasted, then quickly pattered along to follow his little friends.

Kong Xunwen made way for them, raising his hand to wave goodbye.

“Are you a lucky cat?” Qiu Zhijie’s voice, tinged with a smile, came from behind.

Kong Xunwen paused, turned his head, and saw the man wearing an apron. He suddenly smiled: “Yes, I am. A lucky cat specifically for Little Chef Qiu Zhijie.”

Qiu Zhijie: “The little chef can keep cooking.”

After a few seconds, he added, “What about the lucky cat?”

Kong Xunwen didn’t take the bait, only looking at the still-burning wok behind him and reminding him, “If you don’t turn back, this little chef might not be cooking for much longer.”

Watching Qiu Zhijie quickly turn back to his work, Kong Xunwen leisurely left.

Dinner was nutritionally balanced, and there was fruit afterward—the wild fruits the children brought, plus tomatoes and cucumbers.

There was no live stream today. Kong Xunwen explained the situation on his account, and everyone expressed understanding.

After washing up and chatting with his teacher for a few minutes, Kong Xunwen still felt a bit strange lying in bed.

Qiu Zhijie was not in his line of sight, but he knew clearly that Qiu Zhijie was currently on the third floor.

The third floor that had always belonged to him.

The entirety of the third floor belonged to him.

Kong Xunwen closed his eyes and could recall Qiu Zhijie’s eyes, sometimes meeting his gaze unintentionally, and when the other man spoke.

He wanted to get closer and closer.

But he couldn’t. No one could accept their lover suddenly dying.

That night, the light on the third floor stayed on very late.

*

In the middle of the night, Kong Xunwen suddenly woke up, his eyes wide open in the darkness, perfectly clear. But it was still dark outside the window, and his phone was silent.

He reached out, grabbed his phone, and checked the time.

The glaring screen light hit his eyes, making Kong Xunwen squint.

Three o’clock in the morning.

He tried to fall back asleep but struggled for a long time before finally drifting off.

Kong Xunwen slept very poorly that night.

But he still woke up very early the next day. Qiu Zhijie was up even earlier than him, and breakfast was already waiting.

Qiu Zhijie took charge of all three meals again that day. Noticing that Kong Xunwen looked a bit pale, he frowned and asked about it.

Kong Xunwen casually mentioned not sleeping well the previous night.

Qiu Zhijie didn’t ask further, but that evening, before Kong Xunwen returned to his room, he was handed a sachet.

He looked up at Qiu Zhijie, then carefully examined the sachet in his hand. It was very delicate, and he could feel the tight stitching on the surface.

“It’s for sleep. Just put it by your pillow before bed,” Qiu Zhijie watched the young man raise the sachet to his nose and sniff it, then smiled: “I’ve tried it; it works very well.”

Kong Xunwen nodded: “Thank you.”

His spirits were indeed low today, and he didn’t say much. He hadn’t managed to catch up on sleep during the day either. He had originally planned to buy flower seedlings himself and plant them over the next few days, but in the end, he had to ask Qiu Zhijie for help.

Kong Xunwen planned to resume his live stream tomorrow. He felt that the wound on his forehead was fine now.

Before going to sleep, he remembered that the children hadn’t come over today, but perhaps they had other plans. He didn’t think much of it.

Whether it was truly the sachet working or not, he slept very well that night. Unlike the previous night, he fell asleep quickly.

The next day, he was uncharacteristically woken up by his phone ringing. Kong Xunwen opened his eyes. He had slept well last night and felt completely refreshed.

He turned his head and saw the sachet still resting by his pillow, silently emitting a soothing fragrance.

It really was quite effective.

Getting out of bed, he habitually pulled open the sliding door, preparing to look at the bamboo forest outside the window.

A very familiar sound of a suona horn drifted from afar. Kong Xunwen froze.

Major life events were always linked to the suona: celebrations and funerals.

He was familiar with funerals.

His body unconsciously leaned to the side, resting against the doorframe.