So the little capybara carefully moved towards the middle of the bed, his movements very small. But the sheets still made a slight rustling sound.

After moving a few centimeters, just enough space to turn over, the young man stopped. The man lying beside him, originally quiet and still, suddenly turned over, facing the young man. The already close distance was suddenly shortened even further.

The little capybara instinctively tightened his grip on the soft blanket in his hand.

“Move closer,” the man said softly.

The little capybara stared intently at the ceiling: “Then don’t kiss me.”

The man: “…”

Actually, Pei Qi didn’t think Guan Yue shouldn’t kiss him; he didn’t mind these intimate contacts. He’d wanted to date and get married before because he’d realized he had intimate needs, so he wouldn’t resist. It was just… his mouth still hurt a little.

Seeing that the person beside him wasn’t speaking, the little capybara thought he should explain. He opened his mouth, about to say, “Can we kiss tomorrow instead?”, when…

“Don’t worry,” the man finally spoke, dropping two firm words.

“Oh…” Pei Qi swallowed the words on his lips and slowly moved closer to the middle of the bed. The distance between them grew closer. Pei Qi felt the cedar scent intensify. It wasn’t overpowering; it was a soft fragrance, lingering in the air.

Guan Yue was lying on his side, facing the young man. He suddenly thought it would be nice to have the lights on. He could see the little capybara’s expression clearly at such a close and intimate distance. Luckily, his eyesight wasn’t too bad; even without his glasses, he could see clearly.

Pei Qi still looked seriously at the ceiling, feeling his face getting hot as he faced Guan Yue’s side profile. It was like being warmed by one of those small sun lamps used in winter.

“When did you start liking to sleep with the lights on?” the man’s tone was calm.

Pei Qi seriously considered it. When? It was a long time ago; he could only give a rough estimate.

“Um, maybe when I was in kindergarten.”

Guan Yue: “Were you sleeping alone then?”

“Mm, I was afraid of the dark when I was little. Later, I wasn’t afraid anymore, but I’d gotten used to sleeping with the lights on, so I’ve kept doing it until now,” the little capybara nodded.

“Was that when your parents went away?”

He remembered Pei Qi mentioning his family situation.

“Mm, they left then.” Pei Qi suddenly recalled the image of his parents leaving when he was a child. For some reason, he clearly remembered the image of his parents turning their backs to him, carrying two snakeskin bags and walking out. The memory was vivid, not fading with age.

“Then, I lived with my third aunt. She’d just had my younger sister, so I slept in a small room by myself.” His third aunt’s family wasn’t wealthy then; their house wasn’t big, and they could only hastily clean out a small room used for storing miscellaneous items for the suddenly-arrived Pei Qi. The small room was limited in size, but that wasn’t the biggest problem. The biggest problem was that it was dark and cold; in winter, his ears would ache from the cold. So later, when he bought his own house, his biggest requirement was good lighting—ideally, to be surrounded by sunlight whenever it was sunny.

His thoughts wandered, and when they returned, he hadn’t heard the man reply. He wondered if Guan Yue had fallen asleep, so he gently turned his head.

Um…

Okay. The man’s eyes were fixed on his face. Without his glasses, his near-perfect eye shape was presented before Pei Qi. Doctor Guan didn’t just have beautiful eyes; his pupils were also beautiful. When looked at closely, they resembled amber.

The sudden eye contact made him feel a little dry. So Pei Qi started a new topic: “What about Doctor Guan’s parents? I don’t think you’ve mentioned them.” He’d only seen a brief description of the man’s family situation in Guan Yue’s resume. It wasn’t detailed; he only knew his parents were alive and healthy.

“They’re university professors; they’re usually quite busy, but they’re retired now,” Guan Yue answered, his gaze still fixed on the young man. “Do you want to meet them?”

“Ah?” Pei Qi was startled by the sudden change of topic. “Has Doctor Guan told them already?”

Guan Yue: “Told them what?”

Pei Qi: “…About us getting married.”

Guan Yue: “Do you not want to meet them, or don’t you want them to know we’re married?”

Actually, Pei Qi didn’t know what he thought. Meeting the parents after getting married should be normal. But if Guan Yue had told his parents, he wouldn’t have an excuse to delay telling his own parents. But he wasn’t ready to tell his parents that he’d suddenly gotten married.

“I…”

“Let’s sleep,” the man suddenly interrupted, then turned over, facing away from the young man.

The little capybara pursed his lips. Fine; he hadn’t figured out how to answer anyway. Sleep. He needed a good night’s sleep.

The little capybara also turned over, placing his hand under his pillow, adjusting into a comfortable sleeping position, and slowly closing his eyes.

The next day, they didn’t stay long. Guan Yue received a sudden notice of an afternoon meeting and had to rush back.

Back home, Pei Qi started practicing his lecture using the PPT on his computer. He was supposed to give a lecture at He University last week, but it had been postponed to next week.

Halfway through, his phone on the desk rang. Seeing the incoming call, the young man paused for two seconds. The caller ID showed “Mom.” He slowly swiped to answer.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

A long-lost female voice came from the phone: “Are you off today?”

Pei Qi: “Yes.”

He wondered if she was going to ask him to tutor his brother again.

“I heard from your third aunt that you’ve been on blind dates recently?” the woman asked. It was rare that she was concerned about his personal life.

Pei Qi’s eyes brightened: “Mm, but recently…” I’m not going to do it anymore…

“I’ve set you up with a young man for dinner. His family owns a machinery factory; his conditions are very good, and he works in He City,” the woman on the phone said. “We’ve been doing a lot of business with his father lately; you need to be polite to him.”

Pei Qi hesitated for a moment before deciding to be direct: “I don’t plan on going on blind dates anymore.”

Jiang Shulin: “What?”

“I’ve told my third aunt; didn’t she tell you?” Pei Qi tightened his grip on the phone, repeating, “I’m not going on blind dates anymore.”

“I’ve already made the arrangements; you can’t just say you’re not going,” the woman’s tone cooled. “Just meet him once. Mom will send you the address later. You might hit it off.”

Without giving Pei Qi a chance to refuse, the call ended. A busy tone came from the receiver.

Pei Qi held his phone. Soon, Jiang Shulin sent the location and private room information to his phone.

“…”

Pei Qi originally wanted to call the other person to tell him he wouldn’t be going. But Pei’s mother seemed to know he would do that, so she didn’t give him the other person’s contact information.

The dinner was at six o’clock. He decided to finish the PPT first…

At four in the afternoon, Pei Qi finally closed his computer; Guan Yue hadn’t come back from the meeting yet. He wondered if he should secretly go and secretly return, just meeting the person and explaining. But… he’d still feel guilty.

Or he could just not go. But standing up a stranger felt wrong. And he’d probably get scolded by his mother.

After much deliberation, he decided to ask Guan Yue when he’d be back.

Seven: [Doctor Guan, are you almost finished with the meeting?]

At that time, Guan Yue was still in the meeting. He hated these kinds of meetings; they were incredibly long and full of nonsense.

His phone “dinged.”

A mischievous little capybara: [Doctor Guan, are you almost finished with the meeting?]

The man looked at the message and opened his keyboard.

G: [A little while longer.]

G: [Are you having dinner?]

Usually, when the little capybara texted him, it was to ask if he was coming home for dinner.

A mischievous little capybara: [I might have to go out.]

A mischievous little capybara: [I might not be home.]

G: [Where are you going?]

Pei Qi struggled. Should he tell him directly, or…? If he told him directly, Guan Yue would probably be angry. If he didn’t tell him directly and got caught, he’d probably be even angrier. Okay, he decided not to get caught!

Seven: [I haven’t seen some classmates in a long time; they’re back and asked to meet up today.]

He was glad they were communicating through text and not on the phone; otherwise, he would have stuttered.

G: [Okay.]

G: [Don’t come back too late.]

G: [I want to sleep early.]

Seven: [Okay. /[OK hand gesture]]

After texting Guan Yue, he changed into his going-out clothes and headed to the subway station. The restaurant his mother had booked wasn’t far from here, probably because Guan Yue’s apartment was in a good location, making anywhere in the city easily accessible.

He arrived at the restaurant at exactly six o’clock. The other person was late. But Pei Qi didn’t mind; he just wanted to explain in person.