“You really do forget things easily, huh? You said it yourself last night. Don’t tell me you don’t remember.” Xia Zimu shoved him away, looking fierce. If he dared to say yes, the only thing blooming tonight would be his head. Xia Zimu clicked his tongue against his upper palate, looking all smug.

Zhou He suddenly realized what was going on—it was all because of that.

“Mu Mu, I was just talking nonsense in the heat of the moment. I wasn’t annoyed by you! I’m more than happy to have you staying here.” He quickly explained.

Xia Zimu gave a nonchalant “Oh” and stayed silent.

Seeing his silence, Zhou He knew he still didn’t believe him.

“Mu Mu, I was wrong, okay? Don’t be mad. I acted like that because…” Zhou He paused, his gaze careful and hesitant.

Xia Zimu grew more irritated seeing him apologize so submissively. He cut straight to the point, “Then why didn’t you come back to the room last night? And why did you ignore me this morning? Isn’t it because you’re sick of me and trying to kick me out without saying it directly? Newsflash—I don’t even care about staying here!”

Zhou He was dumbfounded, caught between frustration and amusement. Since when was Xia Zimu this good at making up stories in his head?

“And now you’re laughing?!” Xia Zimu kicked him again.

Zhou He quickly wiped off his smile and explained everything—he had stayed up late finishing a project and slept in the study to avoid waking him. The reason he ignored him in the morning was because his assistant called with an emergency about a project issue, and he had rushed to the office without thinking.

After hearing the explanation, Xia Zimu’s face turned awkward, and he forced a laugh. “Oh… so that’s what happened, haha! I knew you wouldn’t just ignore me for no reason!”

This time, it was Zhou He who looked hurt. His face fell slightly.

“Mu Mu… So that’s how little you think of me? You really don’t trust me at all, huh?”

Xia Zimu cleared his throat. “No, no! You’re super generous! I like you just the way you are!”

Hearing that, Zhou He’s eyes lit up, as if he saw a ray of hope. “Really?”

Xia Zimu slung an arm around his shoulder and grinned, “Of course! You’re my best buddy!”

Zhou He nodded along, but his heart sank.

‘Buddy?‘ Who the hell wants to be your buddy…

In the end, despite all the fuss, Xia Zimu stayed at Zhou He’s place.

That night, Zhou He worked late again. Quietly, he opened the bedroom door.

Xia Zimu was already asleep, but his phone screen was still glowing faintly. No need to guess—he had clearly dozed off while playing games.

Zhou He sighed helplessly, took the phone from his hand, closed the game, and placed it on the nightstand.

Lifting the corner of the blanket gently, he got into bed.

He gazed at Xia Zimu’s sleeping face, unable to resist brushing his fingers across his cheek, gently tucking back the stray strands of hair. His fingertips lingered over a faint scar on Xia Zimu’s forehead, his eyes softening with pain.

Maybe Xia Zimu himself had long forgotten how he got that scar, but Zhou He remembered every detail.

Leaning down, he pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

“Goodnight, my Mu Mu.”

On this weekend, Shen Nanxing was dragged out early in the morning by Lin Qingyan to help with a shoot.

Shen Nanxing sat in the passenger seat, yawning nonstop. “Qingyan Jie, didn’t we agree that the shoot would be in the afternoon? Why are you picking me up so early?” He had hoped to sleep in and ended up staying up an extra hour reading a novel the night before.

Lin Qingyan was driving, pointing toward a bag in the backseat. “Nanxing, eat something to settle your stomach first.” She didn’t want to wake him up so early either, but seeing his sleepy face made her feel guilty. Who knew that the damn magazine office had changed the shoot time to the morning? Let’s face it—nobody, not even a ghost, likes being woken up at the crack of dawn.

Shen Nanxing wasn’t hungry yet, so he shook his head. “Qingyan Jie, I’ll nap for a bit. Call me when we get there.”

“Okay.” Lin Qingyan had just parked the car when her phone rang. She couldn’t help but curse at the person on the other end, “Push, push, push—are you trying to rush me into having a baby?!”

The assistant on the other end shuddered in fright. “Lin Jie, it’s Xiao Li. Where are you? We’re waiting for you.”

Upon realizing it was her assistant, Lin Qingyan tried to control her temper and replied, “I’ll be there in a second.” She had thought it was someone from the magazine office calling again, and she was prepared to give them a good scolding, but she had gotten the wrong person.

“Okay, Lin Jie^[1]Jie means sister,” the assistant said, relieved, before quickly hanging up.

Shen Nanxing looked at Lin Qingyan, who was about to explode, and couldn’t help but comment, “Looks like the resentment of working people is real!”

He then looked up at the tall buildings ahead and asked, “Qingyan Jie, are we heading straight up?”

Lin Qingyan pointed to the right. “Nanxing, let’s go this way. We’ll take the elevator.”

“Got it.” Shen Nanxing quickly walked ahead to catch up with her.

Once they entered the elevator, Lin Qingyan pressed the button for the 17th floor. As the numbers climbed, they quickly reached the 17th floor. Shen Nanxing followed Lin Qingyan into the studio. The staff was busy setting up the scene and props.

As soon as they entered, the staff looked up, and a flash of admiration passed through their eyes when they saw Shen Nanxing.

The photographer in charge of this magazine shoot, who had grown up abroad, exaggeratedly screamed, “OMG, Lin, where did you find such a beautiful little beauty like her?”

The photographer had a distinct British accent. He excitedly looked at Shen Nanxing and introduced himself, “Hello, what should I call you? You can call me Jamie.”

Shen Nanxing shook his hand. “Hello, I’m Shen Nanxing.”

“Oh my God, even your name sounds so beautiful! You are my muse!” Jamie complimented his name, his gaze becoming even more intense, as if he wanted to give him a hug.

Shen Nanxing instinctively stepped back a few steps. At this moment, Lin Qingyan walked over and gave Jamie a warning look. “This is my little brother, you’d better not think about anything weird!”

Jamie awkwardly smiled and explained, “Lin, I just got a bit too excited.”

Lin Qingyan glared at him. “You better not!” After that, Lin Qingyan called over the assistant, instructing her to take Shen Nanxing to get his makeup done and change clothes.

The assistant, upon receiving the call, immediately walked over from the makeup room. When she saw Shen Nanxing, her expression was full of excitement. “Aren’t you the little brother who interacted with Brother Xu last time?”

Shen Nanxing politely smiled. “Yes, that’s me.”

The assistant beamed with a “auntie smile.” “You can just call me Xiao Li. I’ll take you to get your makeup done.”

Shen Nanxing replied, “Thanks, and you can call me Nanxing.”

Following Xiao Li into the makeup room, Shen Nanxing saw someone he didn’t expect.