Without Wen Qi’s involvement, the group chat was still buzzing with discussions, and before long, the topic shifted to what they would have for dinner. Friends studying abroad on the other side of the ocean were not at mealtime and could only drool in front of their screens, lamenting: “I can’t eat anything! You guys are just torturing me!” The chat was filled with laughter, while Wen Qi sat in the backseat of the car and sent a sticker. As soon as he appeared, he immediately caught everyone’s attention.

“Xiao Qi, you’re here!! Did you see the chat history?”
“The chat history has probably reached 99+ messages, haha.”
Wen Qi: “I saw it, and I even went to the hospital to visit Pei Dog.”

The message caused a huge stir in the group chat, and people were bombarding him with questions.

“You went to the hospital? So is Pei Yanchu really suffering from amnesia or is he faking it?”
“I was wondering why you didn’t show up this afternoon. You weren’t fighting, were you?”
“Fighting in the hospital is convenient; they can treat you on the spot.”

Wen Qi didn’t care about the consequences of his words and replied casually.

“No fighting.”
“When I paid his hospital bill, I asked for the diagnosis report, and the hospital said it’s amnesia.”
“By the way, I brought Pei Yanchu home with me.”

There was a brief pause in the messages before the group erupted with comments.

“You brought Pei Yanchu home?!”
Wen Qi: “He’s in the recovery phase, so he could be discharged. But his property is frozen due to a business dispute, and he has nowhere to go. So, he came to work as my servant.”

As soon as his message was sent, the music in the ride-hailing car ended with the last beat of the song, automatically switching to the next one. The familiar soft melody played, followed by the gentle singing of a female voice. Wen Qi’s pupils shrank slightly, and his fingers froze in mid-air, hovering over the screen. The driver, focusing on the red light counting down in front of the intersection, hummed along with the melody and then chuckled as he commented:

“When I proposed to my wife, I used this song, and this one was the background music. Time flies, our kid is already five years old!”

Wen Qi suddenly spoke up: “Driver, the light is green.”

The driver looked up just in time to see the traffic light change from red to green, quickly nodded, and drove forward. The white car stopped in front of an apartment in the city center. The two of them got out of the car, and Wen Qi, without saying a word, led Pei Yanchu upstairs. The apartment was a one-unit-per-floor building, and the elevator stopped at the 22nd floor.

As soon as they entered, a small white fluffy dog wagged its tail and ran over, spinning in circles and whining, almost as if asking why they were so late returning. The moment Wen Qi saw the enthusiastic dog, the tension in his body relaxed, and a small smile appeared on his face. He took off his mask, bent down, and picked up the dog, gently soothing it.

“I know, we’re back.”

Pei Yanchu followed them into the entrance, still wearing the hospital gown with just a black coat over it, no luggage, and had come here just like that. He asked, “What’s the dog’s name?”

Wen Qi, in a good mood while holding the little dog, happily replied, “It’s called Yuanbao.”

Pei Yanchu hesitated and looked at him. “You… don’t have a crush on me, do you?”

Wen Qi, taken aback by this sudden question, couldn’t hide his surprised expression. He turned to look at him, his voice rising an octave, “Who has a crush on whom?”

Pei Yanchu said, “My cousin told me that my family used to spoil me a lot, and they gave me the nickname ‘Yanbao.’ Yanbao, Yuanbao—these names are so similar…” A hint of shyness appeared on his handsome face. “You wouldn’t be seeing the dog and thinking of me, would you?”

Pei Yanchu quickly found an excuse and sighed. “I understand. After all, I’m handsome and my family is wealthy. You think the gap between us is too big, so after graduating from high school, you didn’t dare disturb me. You could only secretly express your admiration for me through Yuanbao’s name…”

“Woo?” The dog, who had been singled out, shook its pointed ears and tilted its head in confusion.

“Stop!” Wen Qi’s temples throbbed as he didn’t know whether to ask how Pei Yanchu had the nerve to compare himself to a cute dog or whether to punch that annoyingly smug face.

“I do not have a crush on you! We’re just ordinary classmates who haven’t even spoken much!” Wen Qi’s blood pressure spiked. It felt like he had used up his yearly quota of frustration from talking to Pei Yanchu today. His tone was furious as he emphasized, “Listen carefully! Yuanbao has nothing to do with you, so stop adding drama to it.”

Pei Yanchu seemed somewhat disappointed. “Alright.”

The little white dog in Wen Qi’s arms curiously stared at the unfamiliar person entering the door, whining twice.

“Hello, Yuanbao,” Pei Yanchu greeted the dog with an easy expression, then turned to Wen Qi and asked, “Master, where will I be staying?”

Wen Qi, who had just prepared himself mentally, now found himself completely thrown off guard. He stared at him in disbelief and asked, “You… what did you just call me?”

“Master,” Pei Yanchu replied with a puzzled tone, clearly not understanding the expression on Wen Qi’s face. “Didn’t you say you were bringing me back to be your servant?”

He recited the words Wen Qi had said in the hospital room, imitating the exact tone with great precision: “Come with me? I just happen to need a servant to do laundry, cook, and clean. You’ll be on call 24/7. If I point east, you can’t go west. No salary, no benefits, but food and housing are provided. Do you want to come?”

The harsh and picky tone, including the pauses in the sentences, was replicated so perfectly it seemed like a reenactment.

Pei Yanchu acted like a new servant eager to show his loyalty, speaking with enthusiasm, “Since I promised to be your personal servant, of course, I should call you master.”

Wen Qi was stunned by his logic, feeling like something was off. Why did everything sound so strange when it came from Pei Yanchu’s mouth? And since when did he agree to be his personal servant? He looked lost, his pale cheeks flushed with a thin layer of pink. He opened his mouth, hesitated for a while, and finally managed to say, “Shameless!”

Pei Yanchu’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, and he instinctively responded, “Say it a few more times.”

Wen Qi widened his eyes in disbelief.

“I mean…” Pei Yanchu cleared his throat. “You look like you’re in a bad mood. If calling me names helps you feel better, then feel free to do so.”

Within two minutes of bringing Pei Yanchu inside, Wen Qi was already regretting his decision.

Is it still too late to kick him out?

“Alright, since you don’t want me to call you master,” Pei Yanchu said with a slight smile, feigning compromise, “Can you at least tell me your name?”

Was it his fault for not giving his name earlier?

Wen Qi took a deep breath, his tone stiff as he said, “My name is Wen Qi, Qi as in blessing. Just call me by my name.” He glanced at Pei Yanchu, still wearing the hospital gown, standing there, looking out of place. “You just came from the hospital, go take a shower. The clothes you’re wearing are disposable, I’ll find you a new set.”

He found the sight of Pei Yanchu standing there in the hospital gown annoying, or rather, just being around him in general was frustrating. He just wanted a moment of peace. How could he have been so impulsive in the hospital and agreed to bring this “dog” home?

Pei Yanchu nodded, then turned toward the bathroom as Wen Qi indicated. The sound of water started flowing. Wen Qi played with the little dog for a while, then went to the bedroom to find clothes. Pei Yanchu was half a head taller than him, so he had to find clothes in a bigger size…

While mumbling to himself about how it was pointless for someone to be so tall, he picked out a loose outfit and also retrieved a new pair of underwear from the drawer.

When he left the bedroom, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped. Wen Qi knocked on the door, briefly saying, “Here are your clothes.”

Footsteps approached, then paused behind the frosted glass of the bathroom door. The door opened, and the humid mist from the shower poured out through the gap. Wen Qi handed the clothes over, saying, “Just wear these for now, we can go buy new ones tomorrow. The underwear is new, never worn…”

The hot fingers of Pei Yanchu brushed against Wen Qi’s fingertips, and it felt like a spark had ignited, searing with intense heat. Wen Qi’s hand trembled slightly, and his words faltered. He instinctively looked up.

Pei Yanchu’s upper body was bare, with tanned, firm chest muscles rising and falling with his breath. A series of clear water droplets ran down his body, tracing the tight curve of his narrow waist and the distinct muscles of his eight-pack abs. Two deep, sensual lines of his “mermaid curve” extended downward, disappearing beneath the white towel wrapped around his lower body. The towel hung loosely, as though it might fall off at any moment.

His sharp, chiseled features looked even more defined after the shower, giving him a more imposing, almost predatory air. The faint, sweet fragrance of grapefruit from the body wash lingered around him.

“Thank you,” Pei Yanchu said.

Wen Qi quickly pulled his hand back, averting his gaze. “No need.”

The bathroom door was shut once again. Wen Qi unconsciously pinched his fingers, feeling as though a brand had been left on his fingertips from the brief contact. It still tingled faintly, subtly reminding him of its presence.

Before long, Pei Yanchu reappeared before Wen Qi.

For Wen Qi, the oversized sweatshirt fit Pei Yanchu perfectly. He wore a pair of dark gray athletic pants that hung loosely, but the pant legs were too short, exposing a pair of slender ankles. Wen Qi glanced at him briefly and nodded. “It’s okay.”

“I have a small problem,” Pei Yanchu said in a calm voice.

Wen Qi asked, “What?”

A trace of mischievousness flashed in Pei Yanchu’s eyes before it quickly vanished, and he handed Wen Qi a piece of cloth, stating seriously, “The underwear is too small, it’s tight… I can’t wear it.”

Wen Qi was taken aback. So, Pei Yanchu was currently in a bit of a predicament…

In the next moment, Pei Yanchu’s gaze scanned Wen Qi’s lower half, and he kindly added, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Wen Qi hadn’t given it much thought at first, but upon Pei Yanchu’s comment, he quickly understood the underlying implication, and the anger that had finally subsided flared up again. Who does he think he’s looking down on? His size is perfectly normal, thank you very much!

Wen Qi almost wanted to pull down his pants and show him, his expression deadpan as he slowly clenched his fists, his gaze drifting to the gauze on Pei Yanchu’s forehead. He reminded himself that the person in front of him was a patient and that he needed to be patient. He’d already spent 25,000 yuan; he couldn’t waste another 25,000 on this shameless fool!

Through gritted teeth, Wen Qi said, “You can keep it, don’t bother returning it.”

Pei Yanchu replied, “Okay,” and casually stuffed it into his sweatshirt pocket.

With sincerity, Pei Yanchu said, “This is the first gift you’ve ever given me after we reconnected. I’ll treasure it.”

Wen Qi: ?