Pei Qingjian had never expected the two of them to chase after him again.
Fine. He pulled out his phone. “Words don’t work, huh? Then I’ll let my husband talk to you.”
He was about to call when Xu Ya stepped forward and pressed down on his phone. “Go back. I just came to remind you to be careful.”
Pei Qingjian: …
He lowered his gaze to see Xu Ya’s hand on his phone.
Xu Ya quickly removed it and added, “Don’t worry, I won’t let him pester you.”
That “him” was obvious.
Tang Wenzhen: …
Tang Wenzhen didn’t understand. Wasn’t he supposed to be Xu Jiannian’s guardian? Why is he suddenly here protecting Pei Qingjian instead?
He scoffed, unwilling to fall behind. “Qingjian, don’t worry. I won’t let him pester you either.”
Pei Qingjian: …
He smiled. “Alright, then. You both better keep your word—no bothering me, understood?”
Let them balance each other out.
Pei Qingjian opened the car door, got in, and drove out of the parking lot without a second thought.
Not far away, He Haochu: ??? Wait, he’s leaving?
Sun Hui, equally puzzled: So they’re not going on a public date with him?
Could it be a misunderstanding? Maybe Pei Qingjian doesn’t actually have that kind of relationship with them? Makes sense—what chance would he have to win over these two? He Haochu pondered.
As he thought this, a disdainful and annoyed voice rang out nearby:
“Tang Wenzhen, what are you doing?”
“That’s a question I should ask you,” Tang Wenzhen shot back. “What are you doing?”
“Why are you inviting Little Pei for coffee?”
“Why, you can invite him for afternoon tea, so can’t I invite him for coffee?”
Xu Ya frowned. “I don’t care what you think—stay away from Little Pei.”
Tang Wenzhen chuckled. “Same goes for you.”
He Haochu: !!! Damn! This isn’t jealousy over romance—it’s war!
He was inwardly twisted with frustration: Why?! What kind of magic does Pei Qingjian have?! How did so many people suddenly like him? Infuriating!
Lin Xingchen stood by the window, watching Pei Qingjian drive away. Finally, he could relax.
He had only wanted to see Pei Qingjian get in the car. He didn’t expect Xu Ya to linger or Tang Wenzhen to pop up.
If Pei Qingjian hadn’t handled it so quickly, Lin Xingchen might have had to step down to deal with the two of them himself.
He was a little surprised Xu Ya hadn’t left—he thought he would have gone by now.
Whatever. It doesn’t concern him. He turned back to his office chair and resumed work.
Pei Qingjian returned home, edited a few images, and then started a new round of crying practice.
He practiced seriously until Lin Xingchen got off work. Only then did he pause and prepare dinner.
When Lin Xingchen returned, changed, and went to the kitchen, he was met with Pei Qingjian’s red-rimmed eyes.
“What happened?” Lin Xingchen asked, concerned.
“Nothing,” Pei Qingjian replied as he carried the dishes out.
“Then why are your eyes so red?” Lin Xingchen helped him carry dishes, staring closely.
“Oh, just practicing crying scenes.”
Lin Xingchen: …Dedicated, really dedicated.
“Looks like your practice is paying off.”
“A bit better than before, but I still need to work on it.”
“That’s still impressive.” Lin Xingchen said sincerely.
Pei Qingjian smiled. “See? I made some progress this afternoon.”
“Let’s eat.” He said happily.
As they ate, Pei Qingjian recounted the parking lot incident to Lin Xingchen.
Lin Xingchen was puzzled. “Xu Ya inviting you for afternoon tea made sense as he wanted to check on me—but Tang Wenzhen? Why?”
Pei Qingjian didn’t know either.
“Could it be he actually likes you?”
“Impossible,” Pei Qingjian said firmly. “I’m not the protagonist.”
“Forget it,” Lin Xingchen said, giving up. “Just avoid him in the future. If anything happens, call me.”
“Okay,” Pei Qingjian nodded.
The next day, Pei Qingjian packed lunch in a box again and brought it to Lin Xingchen’s office.
Still wary after yesterday’s awkward encounter with Lv Jing, he peeked out carefully after exiting the elevator. Thankfully, it wasn’t Lv Jing at the reception desk today.
Great!
Pei Qingjian hurried to Lin Xingchen’s office with the lunch box, fearful that Lv Jing might appear any second.
“Where’s that short-haired secretary from yesterday?” Pei Qingjian asked while warming up the food.
Lin Xingchen: “…She went to eat.”
Pei Qingjian nodded, relieved. That made sense.
“Yeah, mealtime’s here—it’s time to eat,” Pei Qingjian said with a smile.
Lin Xingchen looked at the unabashed grin on his face and chuckled.
If he hadn’t wanted to avoid embarrassment, would he have really sent Lv Jing downstairs to eat first?
He teased Pei Qingjian, “If you want to see her, I can have her come up now.”
Pei Qingjian shook his head quickly. “No way! You can’t take up an employee’s break time like that!”
Lin Xingchen nodded slightly. “Then when you wake up later, I’ll have her come see you.”
Pei Qingjian: …
He felt like he couldn’t even take a nap now—he just wanted to bolt!
“You’re doing this on purpose,” he said, turning to Lin Xingchen. There was no way Lin Xingchen couldn’t see he was trying to avoid Lv Jing.
Lin Xingchen smiled lightly. “Mm, I’m doing it on purpose.”
Pei Qingjian: …
He hadn’t expected him to admit it outright. Hmpf. He turned his head, refusing to look at him.
Lin Xingchen laughed as he watched him, thinking how genuinely cute he was.
He raised a hand to ruffle Pei Qingjian’s hair and coaxed, “Don’t worry—she’s busy this afternoon, she won’t see you.”
That was more like it. Pei Qingjian smiled back, feeling magnanimous, and pulled out the heated dishes.
For three consecutive days, Pei Qingjian came to Lin Xingchen’s office every noon without fail.
The secretaries couldn’t help but speculate. “So thoughtful—he’s probably Lin’s boyfriend.”
“I think so too. Yesterday, Lin even came out to walk him to the parking lot.”
“Yeah, and I heard Lin said he’d be back late tonight, so he doesn’t need to wait for him.”
“Wow! Late tonight? Doesn’t need to wait? Does that mean they live together?”
Lv Jing pushed the door open and overheard their chatter.
Lv Jing: …
She cleared her throat to remind them, “Work’s starting soon.”
The young secretaries nodded obediently, but curiosity got the better of them. “So, Jing, this guy who’s been here the past two days—is he Lin’s boyfriend?”
Lv Jing: …
She thought: How would I know?!
Although, yes, she suspected so!
But what if not?
After all, Lin wouldn’t share his personal life with her.
“This isn’t your concern. Have you finished the files I asked you to organize these past two days?” Lv Jing changed the topic.
As soon as they heard “work,” the secretaries returned to their desks and busied themselves.
Lv Jing sighed silently. Even if he isn’t officially a boyfriend, their closeness is obvious.
Otherwise, how could Lin let him leave 20 minutes early at noon for two straight days?
He’s just trying to prevent his little boyfriend from feeling awkward.
Lv Jing smiled to herself. Lin really does know how to care for someone.
The question was—had his little boyfriend noticed this thoughtful effort?
Pei Qingjian had a vague sense he had.
After all, one day without a coincidence could happen. But two consecutive days with no overlap and no excuses? That meant Lin was deliberately sending people away to avoid awkwardness.
As expected of his benefactor—so considerate!
Pei Qingjian drove home in high spirits, traffic smooth all the way.
Once home, he prepared to assess the progress of his crying practice over the past few days when his phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up and saw a string of numbers with no label.
Pei Qingjian hesitated for a moment, then answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, Little Pei,” a gentle male voice came from the other end. “Why haven’t you been contacting me recently?”
Pei Qingjian: ???
Contacting him? And he knows his surname—do they know each other?
“Been busy,” he answered carefully.
“I figured. Are you okay now? Nothing happened, right?”
“Mm, I’m fine. Nothing happened,” Pei Qingjian replied warmly.
“That’s good, I won’t worry then. By the way, how’s Lin Xingchen?”
Pei Qingjian: ???
Instantly alert, he said, “About the same as before.”
“Is that so? Did you give him the medicine?”
At the mention of the medicine, Pei Qingjian’s internal radar went beep—he knew, in that instant, who was calling.
It was him—Lin Xingchen’s cousin, Lin Rui.
Wait—they both have the surname Lin, but how is he a cousin, not a paternal cousin?
Pei Qingjian was a bit confused.
But in the original owner’s memory, Lin Rui had said, “Little Pei, you’re not going to fall for my cousin just because he’s handsome, are you?”
Of course, the original owner felt a bit swayed, but he was still more infatuated with Lin Rui at the time, so he replied affectionately, “How could I? You know I like you.”
Lin Rui could see the lingering affection for himself. Still, Lin Xingchen’s conditions were apparent. Even if he disliked Lin Xingchen, he had to admit his cousin was indeed charming.
Thus, Lin Rui suggested giving Lin Xingchen a sedative.
Once Pei Qingjian administered the medicine, Lin Rui would have leverage over him. Even if he wanted to switch sides later, he’d have to consider whether he could let Lin Xingchen know he had ever done this.
Lin Rui coaxed him over the phone, “Then I’ll prepare the medicine for you to give him. That way, even after you two are together, nothing real will happen.”
He held Pei Qingjian’s hand over the line, feigning deep affection. “You’re mine—I’d never let anything really happen between you and him.”
Listening to this possessive declaration, Pei Qingjian thought he was genuinely developing feelings. He responded, “Mm.”
Of course, he had his own little scheme.
By agreeing to Lin Rui’s plan, he could stabilize Lin Rui’s feelings toward him.
On the other side, he could take advantage of the successful dosing to stay by Lin Xingchen’s incapacitated side, comfort him, accompany him, and win his favor.
Two birds with one stone—why wouldn’t he want that?
Seeing Pei Qingjian agree so readily, Lin Rui was in a good mood and continued to shower him with sweet talk, coaxing him for a while.
During the first three days of “Pei Qingjian” being on duty, they had exchanged that powdered medicine.
Holding the capsule in his hand, Pei Qingjian belatedly worried, “He won’t… be impotent forever after taking this, right?”
“Of course not,” Lin Rui said.
Temporarily incapacitating Lin Xingchen and permanently rendering him impotent were entirely different matters.
The former allowed Pei Qingjian to take the fall, while the latter would be something no “Pei Qingjian” could fix.
Lin Rui only wanted to stir trouble in the Anglai situation to gain more advantage for himself—not set himself up as a target.
The dosing was just a way to control Pei Qingjian while simultaneously undermining Lin Xingchen.
Hearing this, Pei Qingjian was somewhat reassured.
Yet when it came time to actually add the medicine to the wine, he became nervous and only poured a quarter before putting the rest away.
Pei Qingjian breathed a sigh of relief—thank heavens the original owner only dosed a quarter, or who knew when this youthful “bird” would recover!
Knowing it was Lin Rui on the phone, Pei Qingjian felt no panic.
“I’ve added it,” he said.
That was true—the original owner had indeed added the medicine, just not to Lin Xingchen.
“But I don’t know if it worked,” he whispered.
Lin Rui was puzzled. “How could you not know?”
“Because he never really comes near me.”
Pei Qingjian put on a pitiful expression. “I thought he wanted me to move in and live with him to… do something, but he just wanted me to cook for him! Be a housekeeper!”
Lin Rui: ???
Lin Rui was surprised. “He didn’t touch you?”
“Of course not—he only touched the food I made.”
“You can cook?” Lin Rui asked, astonished.
Pei Qingjian immediately put on an even more pitiful expression. “How could I not? I stayed up all night learning to cook so I could keep staying by his side. That’s why I haven’t contacted you all this time—been busy with that!”
Lin Rui: …
He thought Pei Qingjian was really foolish—time to learn cooking, but no time to make progress with Lin Xingchen?
“You can’t let him lead you by the nose. If he doesn’t touch you, you should be the one to stick to him, seduce him, make him have no choice but to touch you. Understand?”
“What did you just say?” Pei Qingjian gathered his emotions, putting his days of crying practice into effect. “Lin Rui, didn’t you say I’m yours? How could I seduce him, tempt him, and force him to touch me?”
He grew increasingly aggrieved. “How could you say that? You said before you didn’t want me to have anything with him, and now you’re okay with it? Do you have someone else?!”
Lin Rui: …
Lin Rui could only soothe him. “No, of course not. I just wanted to see if the medicine worked.”
Pei Qingjian’s tears fell “plink plink.”
Wow—he was really crying!
Inside, Pei Qingjian was thrilled. He knew that with enough effort, there was no difficulty he couldn’t overcome. Sure enough, he could now make himself whimper and cry without even pinching himself.
He was amazing!
Truly, it was him!
Extra practice really paid off!
Pei Qingjian silently held the phone near his tear-streaked face, so Lin Rui could hear even if he couldn’t see.
“You didn’t want me to do anything with him by giving him the medicine. Now that he’s not touching me, I still won’t do anything with him. Isn’t that the same? Or are you not satisfied? You tricked me—you actually just want to hand me over to him!”
Lin Rui: … Maybe love-brained people aren’t right for this! Why is he crying?!
“I didn’t,” Lin Rui coaxed gently. “Okay, okay, don’t be upset. I’m just concerned for you. Only if the medicine works can I guarantee he won’t touch you.”
Pei Qingjian said nothing, focusing entirely on practicing his crying scene.
He picked up a mirror, observing his reflection, trying to replicate the actors in TV dramas: one eye brimming with tears, the other still dry, looking like a delicate little flower under duress—a pure picture of vulnerability.
Seeing him quiet, Lin Rui assumed he was still sad. “Alright, I’ll transfer 100,000 yuan to you in a bit. You can buy whatever you like, okay?”