Lin Xingchen suddenly burst into laughter.
Lowering his eyes to look at Pei Qingjian, he only felt that the more he looked at him, the more adorable he seemed.
Pei Qingjian sensed that the stormy hostility Lin Xingchen had just been giving off had disappeared, and he could not help smiling too.
“As expected of my husband. You’re already handsome normally, but when you smile like this, you’re even better looking.”
This time Lin Xingchen truly could not hold back. He reached out, pulled him into his arms, and laughed softly beside his ear.
He was laughing so happily that when he tilted his head slightly, his lips brushed against Pei Qingjian’s ear.
Like a spark falling.
Soft, yet scorching.
Pei Qingjian leaned against him in a daze, feeling that obvious yet faint touch.
Did he… just kiss him?
Subconsciously, Pei Qingjian raised his hand, wanting to rub his ear and wipe away that strange burning sensation. But the moment he lifted his hand, he realized Lin Xingchen was still holding him, their heads pressed together.
So he silently lowered his hand again and continued to feel the obvious warmth spreading across his ear.
After quite a while, Lin Xingchen finally let him go.
Tang Wenzhen looked at them with a smile. “President Lin really likes Xiao Pei.”
Pei Qingjian immediately wrapped his arm around Lin Xingchen’s and leaned against him, smiling. “But I like him even more. I like him very, very much.”
He spoke openly and smiled so sweetly and beautifully that Xu Ya almost got lost in his smile for a moment, feeling that the two of them together actually looked quite good.
However, that thought had only just appeared when he noticed Xu Jianian sitting there with his head lowered, looking lonely and dejected.
Xu Ya wavered again.
No matter how much Pei Qingjian liked Lin Xingchen, he surely could not compare to Xu Jianian, who had secretly loved Lin Xingchen for so many years.
They had lived in the same dormitory for four years. Xu Ya knew Xu Jianian’s feelings for Lin Xingchen too well.
No one could possibly love Lin Xingchen more than Xu Jianian.
Even Pei Qingjian—absolutely not.
“Let’s eat,” Xu Ya said when he saw the waiter bringing the dishes over.
Pei Qingjian had skipped breakfast because of his physical exam, so the moment the food arrived and Xu Ya spoke, he immediately picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
As he ate, he also kept remembering that Lin Xingchen had a weak stomach. He continuously picked dishes that would not irritate the stomach and placed them onto the plate beside Lin Xingchen.
After eating together for a week, he had a rough idea of Lin Xingchen’s tastes, so everything he chose was something Lin Xingchen liked.
Watching him eat while constantly serving him food, Lin Xingchen assumed he was simply staying in character and acting out the role of a devoted boyfriend, so he cooperatively ate whatever Pei Qingjian placed on his plate.
Seeing this, Xu Jianian looked even more dejected.
Xu Ya could not bear to see him like this. Quietly, he rotated the spicy chicken dish Xu Jianian had ordered earlier toward Lin Xingchen.
“Xingchen, try their spicy chicken too. I had it once before—it’s pretty spicy but really good. I told Jianian you’d definitely like it. I didn’t expect him to remember. The first dish he ordered just now was this.”
Hearing this, Xu Jianian immediately lifted the head he had lowered in disappointment and looked at Lin Xingchen with anticipation.
But Lin Xingchen acted as if he had not heard anything, focusing only on eating the food Pei Qingjian had just put on his plate.
Instead, when Pei Qingjian heard the words pretty spicy, he reacted instinctively.
“No.”
Xu Ya had not expected him to interrupt and felt somewhat displeased. “What do you mean no?”
“Yeah,” Chen Cheng added. “Jia-jia ordered this specially for Brother Lin. What does it have to do with you?”
Pei Qingjian blinked innocently. “Then what my husband eats or doesn’t eat—what does that have to do with you?”
Chen Cheng: …
Chen Cheng snapped, “You two aren’t even married!”
Pei Qingjian looked completely naive. “But in our hearts we already are~”
He deliberately added, “If we could have children, I would have already picked their names by now.”
Lin Xingchen: …
Lin Xingchen nearly laughed again.
Curious, he asked, “What would they be called?”
Pei Qingjian immediately started brainstorming. “If we had one child, the name would be Pei Ai, meaning ‘I love you.’ If we had two, one would be Pei Ai and the other Lin Xi—meaning I love you, and you also like me.”
Lin Xingchen thought about it and found that both names were actually pretty good.
“Alright. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, those two names would work.”
“Right?” Pei Qingjian was also quite pleased with himself for coming up with such fitting names so quickly. “They’re gender-neutral and they express my deep love for you. The children will know they were born from their father’s love, entering the world already carrying their father’s affection.”
Lin Xingchen was very satisfied. “Good. When we adopt children in the future, we’ll use those names.”
Pei Qingjian nodded cooperatively, perfectly playing the role of a supportive partner.
He did not forget to praise him as well. “As expected of my husband—so kindhearted. I’ll thank you in advance on behalf of the children we adopt in the future.”
“You’re welcome,” Lin Xingchen said with a smile.
Then he took the initiative to place a piece of spare rib onto Pei Qingjian’s plate.
“You skipped breakfast this morning. Eat more.”
Pei Qingjian nodded obediently, cupping his face as he pretended to be shy.
“As expected of my husband—so thoughtful~”
Lin Xingchen: …
Lin Xingchen felt like he was about to laugh again!
This was just too adorable!
As expected of his little canary—so cute!
Lin Xingchen decided that when they got back, he would give his little canary a red envelope.
He acted so well! Of course he deserved a red envelope!
Thinking this, Lin Xingchen suddenly remembered that he had promised Pei Qingjian earlier that he would delete Xu Jianian from WeChat. He immediately picked up his phone and started searching through his contacts again.
“What’s wrong, Xingchen? Something come up?” Xu Ya asked when he saw him suddenly looking at his phone.
“No,” Lin Xingchen replied perfunctorily, not even lifting his head as he scrolled through his friend list.
He had never set a remark name for Xu Jianian before, and over the years he had barely interacted with him. As a result, he could not even remember Xu Jianian’s WeChat name for a moment. He had to open the chat history, and when he saw the familiar message he himself had sent—“Or you could just delete me as well”—he finally confirmed it.
Lin Xingchen tapped on Xu Jianian’s profile picture, then nudged Pei Qingjian’s arm. Right in front of him, he decisively selected Delete Contact.
“OK,” he said.
Pei Qingjian nodded. Great! Now he could relax!
As long as his sugar-daddy patron kept his distance from Xu Jianian and Tang Wenzhen, his survival rate would go up again!
“Do you have Tang Wenzhen on WeChat?” he leaned close to Lin Xingchen’s ear and asked softly.
Lin Xingchen shook his head and leaned close to his ear as well. “We’re not close.”
“But he looks like he knows you.”
Lin Xingchen explained, “Not close doesn’t mean we don’t know each other. We’re in the same circle. It’s hard not to at least know of each other.”
Pei Qingjian understood and whispered near his ear again, “Then don’t get too close to him in the future either, okay~”
Lin Xingchen thought, Of course. They had been in the same social circle since childhood. If they were going to become close, it would have happened long ago. After all these years of not being close, they certainly would not suddenly become close now.
But why did Pei Qingjian want him to stay distant from Tang Wenzhen?
“You don’t like him?” Lin Xingchen asked.
Pei Qingjian had originally wanted to shake his head. He truly did not know Tang Wenzhen. If not for hearing his client’s younger sister complain about this novel before, he would not even know such a character existed. So liking or disliking him did not really apply.
But then he thought about Lin Xingchen’s personality. If he said he disliked Tang Wenzhen, Lin Xingchen definitely would not interact with him much in the future.
So Pei Qingjian nodded. “Mm.”
“Why?” Lin Xingchen asked, puzzled. “You knew each other before?”
“No.”
“Then why don’t you like him?”
Pei Qingjian: …
“So you want me to like him?” he countered.
Lin Xingchen: ???!!!
“I didn’t say that!”
He was leaning too close, and the breath he exhaled fell directly on Pei Qingjian’s ear again, heating it once more.
Pei Qingjian instinctively tried to dodge away, but Lin Xingchen grabbed him and pulled him back.
“You’re still trying to hide?”
His voice was slightly louder this time.
Combined with Pei Qingjian’s pure and innocent appearance, it almost looked like Lin Xingchen was about to do something improper to him.
Xu Jianian could not bear the scene any longer. He stood up abruptly. “I’m going to the restroom.”
Then he hurried out.
Chen Cheng immediately chased after him.
Xu Ya looked at Pei Qingjian with faint displeasure. “Is there something you two can’t say in front of everyone?”
Pei Qingjian tilted his head, looking completely innocent. “Do you also want to participate in our parenting lessons?”
“That wouldn’t be very appropriate. Our children should be taught by us. If you taught them badly, then what would we do? If we said something, that wouldn’t seem right. But if we didn’t say anything, that would be even worse.”
Xu Ya: …
Xu Ya stood up and walked out as well.
Tang Wenzhen chuckled softly. He had not expected that after not seeing him for so long, Pei Qingjian had become much more interesting.
Hearing his laugh, Pei Qingjian asked in confusion, “They all went to the restroom. Aren’t you going?”
Especially since your dear wife went too. Aren’t you going with him?
“Do you want me to go?” Tang Wenzhen asked instead.
Pei Qingjian: ???
Pei Qingjian found the question strange. They did not even know each other. Why would his opinion matter?
Whatever. He was not his wife. Whether he went or not had nothing to do with him.
Pei Qingjian lowered his head and continued eating.
While he was eating, Lin Xingchen whispered in his ear, “Who was it just now who said I shouldn’t get too close to him? Yet here you are talking to him yourself.”
Pei Qingjian: ???
Pei Qingjian felt extremely wronged!
He had only asked casually!
Truly casually!
There was zero thought behind it!
“I was just thinking that if he left too, then it would be just the two of us~” he said, lifting his head and leaning toward Lin Xingchen, coaxing him softly.
Lin Xingchen liked the sound of that.
So he turned to Tang Wenzhen. “You’re really not going to the restroom?”
Tang Wenzhen: ???
“Why would I go to the restroom?”
“Because I want you to.”
Tang Wenzhen: ???
“Why?”
“It’s obvious. I want to do something with Qingqing that can only be done in private. With you still sitting here… it’s not very appropriate, is it?”
Tang Wenzhen: …
Tang Wenzhen looked at Pei Qingjian.
Pei Qingjian cooperatively nodded. “You feel like going to the restroom now, right?”
High emotional intelligence: You probably feel like going to the restroom now, right?
Low emotional intelligence: You’re not seriously this oblivious, are you?
Tang Wenzhen: …
Tang Wenzhen stood up and reluctantly walked out.
Only after he left did Lin Xingchen ask curiously, “So why don’t you like him?”
Tang Wenzhen, standing at the doorway of the private room and wondering whether he should actually go to the restroom: ???
Who? Who were they talking about? Who didn’t like whom?
They couldn’t be talking about him… right?
Pei Qingjian did not expect Lin Xingchen to still be thinking about that question, so he quickly improvised.
“There’s no special reason. I just think his voice doesn’t sound very nice.”
“Ah?” Lin Xingchen was clearly puzzled by that answer.
Pei Qingjian nodded with a serious expression. “Don’t you think so? His voice is kind of hoarse and low. Especially compared to yours—it’s practically unbearable.”
“Every time I hear him talk, it sounds like a bunch of croaks and cackles, painful to listen to. But the moment I hear you speak, it’s like hearing heavenly music and suddenly my ears clear up!”
Lin Xingchen laughed. This was the first time he had met someone who disliked another person simply because of their voice.
But then again, if people could fall for someone because of their voice, it was only natural that someone else might dislike them for the same reason.
It was a little childish, but Pei Qingjian could be childish sometimes.
“Got it,” Lin Xingchen said.
Pei Qingjian quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he had managed to bluff his way through.
Outside the door, Tang Wenzhen: ???
Who was he talking about?
Whose voice sounded like croaking and cackling?
Surely not him?!
His voice was deep and magnetic—practically the classic “low-voice heartthrob”!
It definitely could not be him!
Xu Ya and Chen Cheng spent quite a while comforting Xu Jianian in the restroom before his mood improved a little.
“Let’s go,” Xu Ya said. “We haven’t finished eating yet. Especially you—you barely ate anything.”
How could Xu Jianian still have an appetite? But since Xu Ya had organized the meal, he had to give him face, so he nodded and walked back toward the private room.
Before they even reached it, Xu Jianian spotted Tang Wenzhen standing outside the door.
Chen Cheng saw him too.
He had just felt defeated by Lin Xingchen, and now seeing Tang Wenzhen was like spotting a savior. After all, Xu Jianian did not only have Lin Xingchen as an option. Since Lin Xingchen did not know how to appreciate him, then Xu Jianian could always choose Tang Wenzhen instead.
Chen Cheng smiled at Tang Wenzhen and said warmly, “Brother Tang, are you waiting here for Jia-jia? I knew you cared about him the most.”
Hearing that, Xu Jianian could not help glancing toward him.
Xu Ya shot Chen Cheng an annoyed look, grabbed Xu Jianian, pushed open the door to the private room, and walked in.
Chen Cheng followed in. Before he even sat down, he said proudly, “Wow! As expected of Brother Tang—so considerate. You even waited by the door just for Jia-jia~”
Pei Qingjian, who was eating: ???
Was that not his sentence pattern?
How dare he plagiarize it!
And not even to praise his husband!
But to praise the male lead!
Was that appropriate?!
Pei Qingjian felt a little dissatisfied.
So he lifted his head and looked at Chen Cheng with an innocent expression. “Ah?”
A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. As if confused, he turned to Lin Xingchen, his voice lowering slightly.
“But wasn’t he just asked to leave by us?”
“Because we wanted some time alone together.”
Lin Xingchen nodded. “Yes.”
Only then did Pei Qingjian nod lightly. “That’s what I thought. You scared me for a second—I almost thought I had lost my memory at such a young age. If that happened, I wouldn’t deserve you anymore.”
“It wouldn’t matter,” Lin Xingchen said indulgently. “Even if you lost your memory, I would still love you.”
Pei Qingjian exclaimed, “Wow!” happily. “As expected of my husband—so deeply devoted!”
Hmph. He had reclaimed his sentence pattern!
After emphasizing his copyright, Pei Qingjian ignored the several pairs of intense eyes staring at him and lowered his head to continue eating.
Leaving Xu Jianian and Chen Cheng awkwardly stuck between embarrassment and pretending not to be embarrassed.
Xu Jianian instinctively looked toward Tang Wenzhen, hoping he would deny what Pei Qingjian had just said.
But in front of Lin Xingchen, Tang Wenzhen did not want to lose face. If he admitted that he had indeed gone out to wait for Xu Jianian, and Lin Xingchen and Pei Qingjian later repeated what had just happened and exposed him, it would only make things awkward for him too.
So Tang Wenzhen forced a smile and said helplessly, “I was just about to say something earlier, but Xu Ya pulled Jianian inside before I had the chance.”
Chen Cheng: …
Xu Jianian could hardly lift his head anymore. He felt like he never should have come back.
He should have stayed in the restroom!
“I have something to do. I’m leaving first,” Xu Jianian said, turning toward the door.
Chen Cheng, realizing he had caused trouble, hurried after him.
Xu Ya was about to follow when Lin Xingchen suddenly spoke.
“Wait.”
Everyone froze instantly.
Even Xu Jianian, who had already stepped halfway out of the room, could not help turning back to look at him.
But Lin Xingchen was not looking at him at all. Instead, he looked at Xu Ya and said calmly:
“Pay the bill.”
Xu Ya: …
Pei Qingjian, who had already finished eating: Wow. As expected of his husband—never forgetting the original goal!