Although Li Tingqin managed to clear over two days from his schedule and arrange his work accordingly, the flight between the two locations took 12 hours. With his expected arrival time being late at night, after deducting the travel time, he could only stay in the country for one day and one night.

Therefore, he called Grandpa Li in advance: “Grandpa, this trip was a last-minute decision. My plane will land in H City, and since it will be late at night when I arrive, I won’t be able to visit the old house this time.”

The Li family home and their roots were in A City, but Li Tingqin and Gu Chen mainly lived in H City, where the Songhe Villa was also located on a mountain in the vicinity.

Grandpa Li was very understanding and said, “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it, prioritize your schedule.”

Despite being strict with his juniors, Grandpa Li thoughtfully suggested, “However, you’ve been abroad for over half a month. Xiao Gu must miss you a lot. The other day, I saw him folding peach blossoms in the yard… Why don’t you have Xiao Gu return to H City to meet you? That way, you two can reunite for a couple of days.”

Li Tingqin realized that Grandpa Li’s idea matched his own. He said, “Grandpa, that’s what I was planning to do, but I was worried you might mind.”

Grandpa Li emphasized seriously, “Why would I mind? I’m an old man with my own life; I don’t need anyone to keep me company. But you two have been apart for so long. Wouldn’t Xiao Gu mind?”

Li Tingqin replied, “Grandpa, I understand. I’ll take good care of Xiao Gu.”

Xiao Gu had been staying at the old house for a few days, and even Grandpa was starting to feel sorry for him, highlighting how unfit Li Tingqin was as a husband.

Grandpa hung up the phone, then looked at Gu Chen, who was sipping tea across from him, and smiled warmly, “Xiao Gu, I have good news for you. Tingqin is on his way back to the country. You should pack up and head to H City to reunite with him.”

Gu Chen nodded, “Yes, he mentioned it to me.”

“You two have such a good relationship,” Grandpa added, pointing to the peach blossom branches in the blue and white porcelain vase. He remarked, “Xiao Gu, it looks like the peach blossoms you arranged worked. You just arranged them a couple of days ago, and now Tingqin is coming back today.”

Gu Chen: “…”

There was no other meaning behind it, just arranging flowers as a retirement hobby for relaxation.

Gu Chen had no objections to leaving the old house and returning to H City. Although staying with Grandpa Li was fine, since they were all retired, living alone was always more comfortable.

So today, he embarked on his journey back to H City.

Since he was only staying for one night before heading abroad again, and with Songhe Villa being in the mountains, far from the city, it wasn’t necessary to bother with their long-unused villa. Li Tingqin decided to stay in the presidential suite at one of his hotels.

….

At the same time, the young master of the Yun family, Yun Zhou, was also on his way to the hotel. He couldn’t help but urge, “Hurry up. I heard Tingqin is back in the country, probably on today’s flight. We need to get to the hotel early to wait for him.”

“It takes over ten hours to fly back from Country A. There’s still time,” his assistant said. “Young Master, your information network is impressive. You even guessed that President Li would return today.”

With a touch of pride, Yun Zhou replied, “A friend of mine working in Country A told me that Tingqin coordinated his schedule two days in advance and didn’t go to the office today. So, he’s likely coming back to the country. Besides, Tingqin usually finds it convenient to stay at this hotel.”

He then checked his reflection on his phone and said, “I heard Tingqin likes men. Do you think if I propose a marriage alliance, he’d be interested in me?”

Whether or not a marriage alliance was on the table, getting Tingqin’s attention would be enough to solve the Yun family’s crisis.

The assistant carefully encouraged, “Although our Yun family is not as prestigious as the Li family, you have the looks of a celebrity, Young Master. I’m sure you can do it.”

Meanwhile, Butler Li and Old Deng accompanied Gu Chen, arriving at the hotel ahead of Li Tingqin.

In the parking lot, Butler Li guided Gu Chen towards the private elevator. Nearby, behind a luxury car in a parking spot, two people were having a conversation.

A young voice said, “Here’s the plan: I’ll book a room and take a shower first. Then, you go to the front desk and figure out how to get a room key. Once you get the key, I’ll sneak into the room and surprise him. How’s that?”

The other person responded with a pained question, “…Me?”

As Gu Chen stepped into the elevator, he mused to himself: The world is truly dramatic; the old bed-climbing schemes never seem to fade. Even though he used to work in a no-relationship industry, whenever he stayed in a hotel’s presidential suite, a naked young man would somehow always appear in his bed.

Now that he was no longer the main character, just a passerby, such dramatic events finally had nothing to do with him.

Gu Chen felt an unprecedented sense of joy as he stepped out of the elevator, his steps noticeably lighter.

Meanwhile, Yun Zhou’s assistant, feeling the burden of his lowly job, couldn’t help but imagine throwing an exasperated emoji at Yun Zhou’s face.

Running to their boss’s hotel to get the key to the boss’s room was akin to asking him to eliminate Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

Forcing a smile, he replied, “Uh… Young Master, that seems unlikely, doesn’t it?”

Yun Zhou insisted, “Just give it a try first. Let’s get up there quickly.”

….

When Gu Chen arrived at the suite often used by President Li, he noticed that the decor was tailored to the owner’s preferences and found the environment quite pleasant. He felt that President Li’s taste was remarkably similar to his own.

Butler Li timely informed, “President Li’s plane has landed. He should arrive shortly. Please rest in the meantime; we won’t disturb you.”

Gu Chen glanced at his watch, noting it was almost 10 PM. Though he frowned slightly, he decided to sit in the living room with a magazine, patiently waiting for President Li.

Outside, Yun Zhou, shivering in the hallway in his bathrobe with bare legs, chattered through his teeth, “Did you get the room key?”

Just as the assistant was contemplating fleeing after punching his boss, he saw two people emerging from the suite. He quickly pulled Yun Zhou to the side, whispering, “Young Master, could that be President Li returning?”

Yun Zhou’s eyes lit up immediately. “Yes! I recognize them, Butler Li and Uncle Deng! They are always around Tingqin. Tingqin must be back already! Should I just… knock on the door directly? Would that be too straightforward, too unreserved?”

His assistant sighed in relief and encouraged him with a smile, “Not at all. Just be brave and pursue love.”

As long as he didn’t have to get their boss’s room key, Yun Zhou could do whatever he wanted.

….

Gu Chen, accustomed to going to bed at 10 PM, was starting to feel sleepy. When he heard a knock on the door, he assumed President Li had finally arrived.

He opened the door to see a young man with bare shoulders standing there: “…”

Alright, not only do they crawl out of bed naked, but now they also show up naked at the door, huh?

Help, he thought. I’ve retired and become President Li’s unassuming spouse, so why am I still facing such dramatic scenarios?

As Gu Chen raised his hand to close the door, Yun Zhou quickly blocked it, exclaiming, “Brother Tingqin, please wait, please wait…”

Stopping in his tracks, Gu Chen asked, “Excuse me, sir, what do you need?”

So, he’s here for President Li. Sorry, dear husband, President Li, I forgot you’re still in the business of being a dominant CEO.

When the door opened wider, Yun Zhou took a good look at Gu Chen’s face, momentarily stunned by his appearance. Then, he felt relieved. At least President Li hadn’t turned into an overweight, unattractive man. Facing such a dignified, elegant, and composed “President Li,” who was also so gentle, Yun Zhou thought to himself that even without the Yun family’s pressure, he could still shout out three times: I can do this!!!

With a look of admiration and shyness, Yun Zhou gazed up at Gu Chen and said, “Brother Tingqin, do you remember me? I’m Yun Zhou. We met when we were kids. I’ve had a crush on you since then. Recently, I heard you also like men, so I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings to you.”

His face reddened as he looked down at his toes. “Brother Tingqin, I’ve really liked you for a long time. Could we spend a wonderful night together?”

Gu Chen thought, “How is this kid calling me ‘Brother Tingqin’ so affectionately and mistaking me for President Li?”

He replied, “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not President Li. And, Mr. Yun, please put on your bathrobe properly.”

Yun Zhou froze for a moment, then looked up quickly and asked, “Really? Then who are you? Why are you in President Li’s room? Are you his business partner?”

Gu Chen simply said, “My last name is Gu.”

“Ah… so you’re Mr. Gu…” Yun Zhou was stunned for a while, his mind seemingly crashing. But after a brief pause, it seemed he restructured his thoughts.

He lowered his gaze again and shyly said, “Mr. Gu, actually, I just fell in love with you at first sight… I just didn’t know who you were…” As long as he could get close to a powerful figure, it didn’t matter who it was.

Besides, Mr. Gu was very handsome. President Li couldn’t possibly be more handsome than Mr. Gu, right? So he happily decided—he chose Mr. Gu!

With wide eyes, he looked at Gu Chen eagerly and asked, “If you’re not married, may I pursue you?”

Gu Chen thought, “Is this the toxic effect of the peach blossoms that Grandpa insisted I arrange this morning?”

Meanwhile, Li Tingqin, upon his return, was surprised to find a disheveled suitor at the door, pursuing Gu Chen. Although he had intended to respect Gu Chen’s privacy, he decided to intervene and said in a deep voice, “He is already married.”

Yun Zhou turned and saw another man, his tall figure and deep-set eyes exuding an even stronger presence than Mr. Gu. He stepped back in fear, realizing this must be the person he originally planned to confess to—President Li.

Yun Zhou was on the verge of tears. Both men were incredibly handsome, but here he was, standing in nothing but a bathrobe, shivering between them. He felt trapped between two powerful figures!

Li Tingqin’s stern presence was overwhelming, and Yun Zhou could barely contain his anxiety.

The comedic scenario of confronting a bedclimber had Gu Chen reeling internally. He thought, “Why do these dramatic events keep finding me, even now?”