Qin Mingyuan woke up naturally, thanks to his internal clock. For a moment, his gaze was dazed, but it quickly cleared. He instinctively wanted to lift his hand to rub the bridge of his nose, only to find something wrapped around his arm.

Looking down, he saw a fluffy head nestled in his chest, the soft sound of breathing barely audible. The person was clearly fast asleep.

Smiling, he reached up to gently ruffle the hair of the person next to him. Qin Mingyuan rarely allowed himself to feel lazy, but today, he thought that no one would dare say anything if he skipped work.

The idea amused him—love really does make a person slack off.

He opened his eyes again and brushed Yun Pei’s messy hair. The small disturbance caused Yun Pei to stir, his head shifting from its position on Qin Mingyuan’s chest. His sleeping face was now fully exposed.

Unable to resist, Qin Mingyuan bent down and lightly kissed Yun Pei’s slightly parted lips, then caressed his cheek before carefully pulling his arm from under Yun Pei’s head.

As much as he wanted to stay lazy, as a responsible president, he couldn’t miss today’s important meetings. Now that he had a family, he had to work harder to support them.

Tucking the blanket around Yun Pei, he dropped a soft kiss on his forehead before heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

When he came out, he glanced at the bed, where Yun Pei was still sound asleep. Smiling softly, he walked out of the bedroom and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Opening the fridge, Qin Mingyuan decided to keep it simple with sandwiches. The eggs and some fresh vegetables had just been delivered from the villa yesterday and were still fresh.

He took out the bread and popped it into the toaster, while washing and slicing tomatoes and lettuce to set aside.

Switching on the vent hood, he heated a pan and added some oil to fry the eggs and bacon.

His movements were skilled and efficient. In the meantime, he swapped the toasted bread for another two slices without delaying the eggs.

However, his cooking skills were limited to these simple breakfasts. He hadn’t had much time to practice other dishes, given his busy work schedule.

Maybe he should find some time to learn in the future.

Qin Mingyuan glanced toward the bedroom, thinking that if he made more delicious food, maybe he could fatten up the little “mimosa” of his.

He layered the prepared ingredients between the bread, cutting the sandwiches into neat triangles. They looked quite appetizing on the plate.

Setting the food on the dining table, he poured some milk and placed it in the microwave to warm up. Then, he headed back to the bedroom to see if Yun Pei had woken up yet.

As he reached the bedroom door, he saw Yun Pei scooting toward the edge of the bed, reaching for his wheelchair. Qin Mingyuan quickly walked over, lifting Yun Pei into his arms and setting him down securely, “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I can do it myself.” Yun Pei smiled softly at him as he stepped back. 

“Did you make breakfast?”

As Qin Mingyuan approached, Yun Pei caught a faint whiff of oil mixed with his familiar scent, which made him feel oddly at ease.

“Yeah, I made sandwiches. You woke up just in time,” Qin Mingyuan said, patting Yun Pei’s head and motioning toward the bathroom. 

“Go freshen up. I’ll change.”

Yun Pei nodded obediently, wheeling himself into the bathroom.

Qin Mingyuan undid the buttons on his pajamas as he headed to the wardrobe. He picked out a shirt and a pair of slacks for the day, and chose a watch to complete his look.

When he was ready, he peeked into the bathroom. The door was open, and Yun Pei had already left. Qin Mingyuan quickly ran his fingers through his hair, washed his hands, and went out.

Yun Pei was sitting at the dining table, pouring the warmed milk into a cup. From Qin Mingyuan’s angle, he could see Yun Pei’s long eyelashes fluttering as he blinked, the soft movements tugging at his heart.

Walking over, Qin Mingyuan placed his hand on the back of Yun Pei’s neck. As Yun Pei looked up at him, Qin Mingyuan bent down and kissed him on the lips.

“You didn’t give me my morning kiss yet.” Completely unashamed of the fact that he had already stolen a kiss earlier, Qin Mingyuan lied with a straight face.

Unaware, Yun Pei didn’t question him and leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek, “Good morning.”

Qin Mingyuan smiled, rubbing the back of Yun Pei’s neck before sitting in the chair beside him. He slid one of the sandwiches toward Yun Pei, “I have to head to the office later. Are you staying here, or do you want to come with me?”

Yun Pei sipped his milk and replied, “I’ll be going back to the Yun family villa later. I’ve already called the driver to pick me up.”

Qin Mingyuan’s hand paused midway to grab his sandwich, a frown forming, “Why go back there? If you need anything, I can send someone to get it.”

“If I don’t go home, Huo Lijuan might get suspicious,” Yun Pei said, taking a bite of his sandwich. After swallowing, he continued, “Don’t worry, I’ve lived with them for so many years—I know how to handle myself. You forgot? Last time, I even hit Yun Yuexian and made him bleed.”

Qin Mingyuan wasn’t worried about that. He just knew how ruthless Huo Lijuan could be, even to the point of killing, and didn’t feel comfortable letting Yun Pei face her again.

Seeing Qin Mingyuan’s still stern expression, Yun Pei offered his half-eaten sandwich to him. 

“Eat your breakfast. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself. If anything happens, I’ll call you right away, okay?”

Qin Mingyuan sighed, unable to argue when Yun Pei was being so understanding. He took a bite from the spot Yun Pei had already eaten, then handed the sandwich back to him.

With Qin Mingyuan’s mood softened, Yun Pei felt more at ease. After a moment of thought, he put his sandwich down and pulled his phone from the side pocket of his wheelchair.

After fiddling with it for a bit, he handed it to Qin Mingyuan, “Look, I’ve set you as my emergency contact now.”

Qin Mingyuan glanced at the phone screen but fixated on something else, “President Qin?”

Yun Pei looked at the contact name and explained, “That was when I first saved your number. We weren’t that familiar back then.”

Qin Mingyuan narrowed his eyes at him, pulling out his own phone and fiddling with it before showing it to Yun Pei.

“Mimosa?” Yun Pei blinked in confusion, seeing the nickname for the first time. He opened his mouth to ask but was interrupted.

“It’s my special nickname for you.” Qin Mingyuan shamelessly embellished the origin of the name, tapping his finger on the screen. 

“From the start, it’s always been this—unique and one-of-a-kind. What about you?”

Looking between their screens, Yun Pei suddenly felt embarrassed by how distant “President Qin” sounded. He awkwardly scratched his ear, “I’ll change it. What do you want?”

“Something unique,” Qin Mingyuan emphasized. 

“Something no one else will call me.”

Yun Pei had originally planned to just put in Qin Mingyuan’s name, but now he was stuck. What could he call Qin Mingyuan that no one else would?

He blushed as he thought about it, eventually deciding to go with something based on their relationship.

After changing the contact name, he handed his phone back to Qin Mingyuan for approval, “How about this?”

Qin Mingyuan glanced at the screen, which now displayed “Boyfriend,” and he gave a satisfied nod. He reached over to pinch Yun Pei’s ear, smirking, “I’ll make sure to change that from three characters to just two soon.”

Two characters?

Yun Pei was confused for a moment before realizing what he meant. His face turned bright red, and he glared at Qin Mingyuan, quickly taking a huge bite of his sandwich as if venting his frustration on it.

Qin Mingyuan chuckled, the coldness in his expression melting away. He leaned over and kissed Yun Pei’s ear.

After finishing breakfast, Qin Mingyuan took Yun Pei to the wardrobe and asked him to pick a tie for him.

“You want me to pick?” Yun Pei looked at the neatly arranged row of ties, feeling a bit lost.

“Yeah.” Qin Mingyuan nodded, standing behind him and holding the wheelchair’s handles. 

“Isn’t it your job to pick a tie for your boyfriend? Just choose whichever one you like.”

Though Qin Mingyuan said that, Yun Pei didn’t pick one randomly. After thinking for a moment, he selected a solid-colored tie in navy blue.

Qin Mingyuan was wearing a dark pinstriped suit today, and Yun Pei thought a simple tie would look better, as anything too flashy might clash.

Satisfied with his choice, Qin Mingyuan turned the wheelchair around, squatting down in front of him so their eyes were level, “Will you tie it for me?”

“I don’t know how,” Yun Pei admitted with a troubled expression.

Yun Haowei had never taken him to any formal events, and Yun Pei had no need to socialize in such circles, so he rarely wore suits.

The last time he wore a suit was for the charity gala, and even then, he hadn’t tied his own tie.

Qin Mingyuan didn’t mind. He grabbed Yun Pei’s hands and brought them up to his neck, guiding the tie around it, “No problem, I’ll teach you.”

Their fingers intertwined as the tie wrapped around them, occasionally flipping over.

Yun Pei’s gaze drifted to Qin Mingyuan’s hands, noticing how much larger and stronger they were compared to his own. The warmth of Qin Mingyuan’s palms and the security they provided were unmistakable.

As an artist, Yun Pei had drawn many hands before, often using reference photos from the internet. He had seen plenty of beautiful hands, but even among them, Qin Mingyuan’s stood out.

“Did you get it?”

Qin Mingyuan’s deep voice snapped Yun Pei out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the tie neatly knotted into a perfect Windsor knot around Qin Mingyuan’s neck.

He blinked in confusion.

The blank look on Yun Pei’s face made it obvious that he hadn’t remembered anything. Qin Mingyuan flicked his nose playfully, “You were supposed to be paying attention. What were you daydreaming about?”

Too embarrassed to admit that he had been admiring Qin Mingyuan’s hands, Yun Pei tugged at the tie. 

“Teach me again.”

In his eagerness, he pulled too hard and accidentally popped one of the buttons on Qin Mingyuan’s shirt. Qin Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, “Pulling my shirt open like this—you’re going to give me the wrong idea.”

Yun Pei hadn’t meant to do that and quickly blushed as he buttoned Qin Mingyuan’s shirt back up, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Seeing Yun Pei flustered like that, Qin Mingyuan was tempted to tease him more, but considering that he had to go to work, he restrained himself. He let Yun Pei help him fix his shirt, then guided him through tying the tie again.

“Did you remember this time?”

This time, Yun Pei nodded earnestly. He had focused entirely on the process.

“Good, next time you can do it yourself.” Qin Mingyuan kissed Yun Pei’s fingertips before standing up and walking over to the drawer where he kept his cufflinks and tie clips.

Instead of taking any of those, he reached into a corner of the drawer and pulled out a small velvet box. Returning to Yun Pei’s side, he knelt down again and opened the box, revealing the pigeon-blood gemstone ring inside.

He took the ring out and slipped it onto Yun Pei’s right index finger, just as he had done before. Looking up at him, Qin Mingyuan said, “This time, I believe my status allows me to officially give this to you.”

The way he placed the ring on Yun Pei’s finger reminded Yun Pei of that night, though their relationship had since transformed in ways he had never anticipated. Yun Pei pressed his lips together and smiled softly, “Yes.”

The value of the ring itself wasn’t the most precious thing—it was the sincerity and love that came with it.