By the time Ke Mingxuan finished his work, it was already completely dark. Only a few people were left in the office, while downstairs, the fool who had delivered flowers to him earlier was still waiting.

Bian Yiqiu had driven himself here. Zuo Cheng, originally worried, insisted on following him but was stopped by He Xu, who grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away. Ye Zhen looked at him with a mix of admiration and disbelief, saying, “You’re the first one rushing to eat dog food.”

Zuo Cheng replied, “I’m just concerned about the boss’s safety,” but the boss didn’t appreciate it. Boss Bian simply patted his shoulder, pulled the car keys from his pocket, and walked out after tossing over, “Ke Mingxuan’s skills are better than yours.”

Zuo Cheng, the abandoned bodyguard, tearfully asked He Xu, “Did the boss just reject me?”

He Xu gently ruffled Zuo Cheng’s head, as if comforting his own golden retriever, and said with sincere expression, “Yes.”

Ye Zhen laughed so hard her body shook, while Zuo Cheng burst into tears with a loud “Wa!”

Bian Yiqiu drove to the flower shop first, picked out roses, wrote a card, and asked the florist to deliver the flowers to the reception at He Sheng Media. Then, he patiently found a parking spot outside and waited.

Ke Mingxuan, the boss, was different from his hands-off approach. He needed to personally make many decisions, and it was certain that he was busier than Bian Yiqiu. Bian Yiqiu wasn’t very familiar with the media company’s operations, so he went online to look up information about He Sheng Media. The first thing that caught his eye was the striking company valuation, which left him greatly shocked. After the initial shock, he quickly exited the page and instead began admiring the towering He Sheng building in front of him.

It was said that the twisted, pretzel-like design came from a very impressive architecture firm in Belgium, but Bian Yiqiu couldn’t see the beauty in the massive pretzel shape. What caught his attention more was the large LED screen, where He Sheng’s president, confidently smiling under the spotlight, once again struck him with how incredibly handsome he was. Those eyebrows, those eyes, that nose, those features, that face… it was just one of those looks you couldn’t stop liking no matter how many times you saw it.

He liked him. How did he end up liking Ke Mingxuan?

Bian Yiqiu found this situation a bit surreal. If someone had told him six months ago that one day he would fall for a man named Ke Mingxuan, he would have replied with two words: “Ha ha.”

Life really was unpredictable. Not only had he fallen for him, but it seemed to be even deeper than just liking him. What was deeper than liking? Bian Yiqiu didn’t even dare to think about it. For now, he’d just keep liking him, because after all, the feeling of liking someone wasn’t bad. For example, here he was, tilting his head, staring at the big screen, watching the rolling He Sheng news. He waited for over an hour and didn’t even feel bored.

As Ke Mingxuan walked out of the building, he spotted Bian Yiqiu from a distance, with such a foolish expression, it almost looked like he was drooling. Once again, Ke Mingxuan couldn’t help but think how his taste was… getting harder and harder to understand.

He walked over, knocked on the car window, and called Bian Yiqiu’s soul, which seemed to have wandered off somewhere, back into his body. He opened the passenger door and sat down.

Just moments ago, Bian Yiqiu had been watching him on the screen, and now, here he was, sitting right next to him. It felt surreal, like a dream. Bian Yiqiu looked at his side profile, dazed for a moment, and then muttered, “Am I still drunk from last night?”

Ke Mingxuan sighed, holding back the urge to call him an “idiot.” He raised his hand, pulled him close by the neck, and pressed his lips against his in a sudden, domineering French kiss. After pulling away, he asked, “Feeling awake now?”

Bian Yiqiu licked his lips, looking as though he hadn’t had enough: “I think I’m feeling even dizzier.”

“That might be because you’re low on blood sugar from hunger,” Ke Mingxuan said, releasing him and turning to fasten his seatbelt. “Boss Bian, where are we eating?”

Bian Yiqiu pressed the gas pedal and sped off. “Somewhere with good food.”

Half an hour later, Ke Mingxuan, looking at the crowded and noisy claypot porridge shop, asked uncertainly, “Is this the place you said has good food?”

“It’s really good, trust me,” Bian Yiqiu replied, parking the car on the side of the road. He went inside and immediately had the boss cut the line for them, arranging a private room upstairs.

Ke Mingxuan glanced at the leftover food on the table in front of him, still untouched and messy, and his lips twitched. “I thought this was supposed to be a romantic candlelit dinner.”

“A candlelit dinner? That’s easy. I’ll have the boss bring up two candles, and we just turn off the lights,” Bian Yiqiu said as he picked up the menu and stood next to him. He waited for the waiter to clear the table, taking away the glasses, plates, and bowls, and wiping it all clean before sitting down. He asked Ke Mingxuan if there was anything special he wanted to eat.

Ke Mingxuan replied, “What I want to eat is probably not on the menu here.”

Bian Yiqiu grinned, “Don’t underestimate this place. They’ve got everything—lobster, fish maw, sea cucumber, abalone, and even Alaskan king crab.”

Ke Mingxuan then said, “Alright, then let’s go with the Alaskan king crab.

He had only said it casually, but to his surprise, they actually had it. This made him sigh, thinking that this small shop was full of hidden talent. What a true gem.

Bian Yiqiu ordered a crab porridge and a bunch of random barbecued items before sending the waiter away.

The claypot porridge had a classic Cantonese flavor, with a wooden tea tray on every table, featuring fine tea sets and leaves for guests to help themselves and brew their own tea.

Bian Yiqiu enjoyed the porridge but wasn’t particularly fond of Southern tea culture, it felt like too much of a hassle. Ke Mingxuan took the tea set, rinsed it with hot water, and made the tea, pouring a cup for Bian Yiqiu and setting it in front of him.

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Mm?” Bian Yiqiu looked up at him, his gaze unusually evasive. “We’re eating, do we really need to give a reason?”

Ke Mingxuan leisurely sipped his tea. “Don’t lie to me, or be careful with your legs.”

Bian Yiqiu truly couldn’t understand this man’s peculiar preferences. “Wait, why do you always have something against my legs?”

Ke Mingxuan glanced down at them. “Your legs are nice.”

“Nice, but you’re always trying to break them?” Bian Yiqiu was completely baffled by this logic.

Ke Mingxuan slowly set his cup down and flashed an extremely sinister smile at him. “If I broke them, I’d carry it home and keep it as a collection.”

Bian Yiqiu looked at his smile and, for some reason, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his legs. “…You might as well carry me home, the whole package would be more useful.”

Ke Mingxuan thought for a moment, then nodded. “True. Especially when I’m fucking you, your legs around my waist…”

“Fine, I’ll tell you,” Bian Yiqiu said, realizing that he thought he was shameless, but clearly, there was someone even more shameless. It seemed like Young Master Ke’s morals had probably been left in Ethiopia, grazing sheep. “Lu Xiao really likes claypot porridge. I brought him here once before.”

“Oh? So, there are lingering feelings?” Ke Mingxuan said with a knowing smile.

Bian Yiqiu ignored him and continued, “That day I ran into him here. When he saw me, it was like he saw a flood or a wild beast. He grabbed Chu Yi and ran, right through the door we just came in. When I chased after them, all I saw was that white SUV.”

“Then you wrote down the license plate number, had someone look up the owner’s name, and then kidnapped them,” Ke Mingxuan picked up the conversation.

“Wait, I need to clarify this. I only had someone look up the owner, I didn’t tell them to kidnap anyone.”

Ke Mingxuan shrugged. “The details don’t matter. What matters is that you kidnapped the wrong person.”

Bian Yiqiu feigned innocence. “Who knew that car was registered under your name?”

Indeed, who could have known that the car was registered under Ke Mingxuan’s name? Who could have known that the subordinates would take matters into their own hands and kidnap someone? Who could have known they would kidnap the wrong person? Who could have known it would set off a chain of uncontrollable events? Who could have known they would end up together? Who could have known… that they would end up liking each other?

It felt as if fate had arranged for him to meet Lu Xiao many years ago, just so that, in the future, Lu Xiao would lead him to Ke Mingxuan. Looking at it this way, all those years of thinking about the charming Lu Xiao weren’t entirely in vain.

Ke Mingxuan set down his teacup. “So, this is where our paths first crossed. Did you bring me here to commemorate that, or what?”

Bian Yiqiu raised an eyebrow. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No,” Ke Mingxuan said, looking at him with unusual seriousness. “I just wanted to say, it’s a good thing that car was registered under my name.”

His voice suddenly softened, in a tone so gentle it could make one’s heart flutter. The dim light from above cast a shadow over his eyelashes, making his already intense gaze look almost enchanting. Bian Yiqiu felt like his soul was being drawn away by this captivating man in front of him.

In his fluster, he accidentally knocked the cup in his hand onto the table with a loud clink, spilling tea all over himself. He hurriedly grabbed a napkin to clean it up. However, the napkin at this porridge shop was of poor quality and disintegrated in water, leaving him with an even bigger mess. White paper shreds clung to his dark clothes, making him look awkward and out of place.

A suppressed chuckle reached Bian Yiqiu’s ears, and two frustrated veins popped up on his forehead. Instead of calming down, the laughter only grew louder, turning into an unabashed, joyful laugh. The veins on his forehead bulged even more, and Bian Yiqiu glared at Ke Mingxuan, who couldn’t stop laughing, nearly embarrassed to the point of fury. “That’s enough.”

Ke Mingxuan, clearly still enjoying himself, grinned mischievously. “Baby, are you falling for me?”

Bian Yiqiu shuddered at the nickname. “Where did you come up with that conclusion?”

Ke Mingxuan stared at him intently. “I can tell, just by looking at you, that you’re struggling to keep it together.”

“Yeah, you’re not wrong,” Bian Yiqiu muttered through gritted teeth, seriously struggling to hold back the urge to punch him. But before he could act on his thoughts, the door to the private room was knocked on by the waiter.

Both of them hadn’t eaten much all day aside from that bizarre vegetable and beef porridge at lunch. Now, seeing the golden, fragrant roasted chicken legs, oysters, and lamb skewers, they didn’t waste any time talking and just rolled up their sleeves to dig in.

As they were enjoying their meal, Ke Mingxuan’s phone on the table suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, a bit surprised, then set the half-eaten lamb skewers down, wiped his hands with a napkin, and answered the call.

Bian Yiqiu didn’t pay much attention to who was calling. After finishing off the grilled oysters in his hand, he began battling with the chicken cartilage. But in the next moment, he heard Ke Mingxuan say, “I’m with him.”

He looked up, and Ke Mingxuan didn’t shy away, casually telling him, “It’s Fang Rui—continue.”

Bian Yiqiu didn’t react much since he wasn’t familiar with Fang Rui. However, Fang Rui, upon hearing the casual introduction, fell silent for a moment before asking, “You and him… is it what I think it is?”

Ke Mingxuan replied, “Yes.”

Fang Rui then said, “In that case, you have even less reason to refuse what I mentioned earlier.”

Fang Rui responded, “Because I don’t think you’re ready to have Bian Yiqiu face the pressures from both the Ke and Feng families.”

The sound of a knock echoed, and the steaming hot clay pot porridge was finally brought in.

Bian Yiqiu moved the plate of skewers aside, picked up a bowl of porridge, and casually asked, “Do you want the crab legs?”

Ke Mingxuan answered, “You can help me peel them.”

Bian Yiqiu, mindful of the fact that Fang Rui could likely hear their conversation, said nothing further. After dishing out the porridge, he obediently started peeling the crab legs, though all the meat he extracted went straight into his own mouth. He even gave Ke Mingxuan a provocative look, silently daring him to say something. After all, why should this Boss Bian serve him?

Ke Mingxuan thought to himself, what an ungrateful bastard. He then spoke to Fang Rui, “If Ruan Chengjie is willing, of course, I have no objections.”

This smug remark from Ke Mingxuan caused Bian Yiqiu to choke on the crab meat, nearly choking to death in the process.

Ke Mingxuan hung up the phone and, with a composed expression, watched the man in front of him cough so hard his face turned red, as if smoke were about to come out of his ears. He gently handed him a glass of water and spoke in the softest, most tender tone, “You’re all grown up, yet you still can’t be careful while eating?”

Bian Yiqiu snatched the cup, tipped his head back, and gulped down most of it in one go, finally managing to calm down. He slammed the glass down on the table with a loud clink and said, “Ke Mingxuan, what did you mean by that? What kind of deal are you making with Ryan Chengjie?”