Yu Zhi hadn’t expected that Yin Xu’s return would bring him such a surprise, leaving him astonished and delighted.
Though there wasn’t much shock, and the joy carried a trace of worry, a surprise was still a surprise. He couldn’t deny it.
The night was too quiet, as if time itself had paused in this very moment, sealing in the warmth filling the room.
Only when Yu Zhi came back to his senses did he try to get a certain someone, who was about to make his leg go numb, to get up. But he discovered that at some point, the other had already fallen asleep, his breathing steady, a faint smile on his face.
Left with no choice, Yu Zhi let out a helpless laugh, then lifted the man in his arms and carried him all the way to a room that had long been unoccupied.
Although its owner hadn’t returned, Yu Zhi had always had it cleaned regularly, with supplies replaced on schedule. Now was the perfect time to make use of that convenience.
He placed the young man on the bed. After a brief hesitation, he didn’t change his clothes, only pulled the blanket over him before leaving.
On the bed, the young man unconsciously turned over, facing the direction Yu Zhi had left, as if lingering on that faint scent of jasmine.
Tonight, one person slept until dawn in a single dream, while another lay awake for a long while.
The next day, it was naturally Yin Xu, who had slept better, who woke up first. The housekeeper who came to cook breakfast wasn’t the one he was familiar with; she had likely resigned.
In this lifetime, people come and go. To Yin Xu, as long as he and Yu Zhi remained unchanged, that was already enough.
He made breakfast himself. Over the years outside, he had continued practicing his cooking and hadn’t let it lapse just because he didn’t have anyone to cook for.
Only by persisting in something can you reap the rewards at the right time.
Just like now.
He finished preparing breakfast, and when Yu Zhi came downstairs, he called him over to eat.
“This time, it shouldn’t torture your taste buds anymore,” Yin Xu said with a smile.
He still remembered cooking for the man a few times before; the taste had been average at best, barely edible.
As Yu Zhi ate, he gained a new understanding of Yin Xu’s cooking skills. “It’s really good. How long have you been practicing?”
Yin Xu thought for a moment. “I didn’t really keep track. Whenever I had time, I’d cook a bit. Before I knew it, I just got better.”
He folded his hands, resting his chin on them, and asked leisurely, “Then, Mr. Yu, may I have the honor of being responsible for your three meals a day from now on?”
Yu Zhi, worried he might become too obsessed with it, smiled and advised, “That would take too much time. It’s not like you have nothing else to do. Just cook occasionally.”
Yin Xu thought that good things are best appreciated when they come occasionally. If they happen too often, they become ordinary. So he let it go, taking Yu Zhi’s words as agreement.
Yu Zhi was heading out to work, and Yin Xu followed him along, his reason perfectly justified.
“I don’t need to go to school, and staying home alone is boring. I might as well go with you to Yu Group and take a look. Maybe I’ll even get a chance to work there.”
Yu Zhi chuckled. “Don’t you know? The company doesn’t allow office romances.”
Yin Xu immediately frowned, displeased. “Yu Group has such an inhumane rule?”
Yu Zhi turned his wrist slightly. “No.”
Then he looked at him again. “But shouldn’t your first reaction be that we’re not in a relationship?”
Yin Xu: “…”
Yu Zhi couldn’t hold back and laughed. “So someone claims he can wait, but in his heart, he’s already decided.” With that, he turned and walked out without waiting for a response.
Embarrassed and annoyed, Yin Xu chased after him. “You’re deliberately misunderstanding me…”
This man, no matter how long it had been since they last met, was still the same, always digging a hole and waiting for him to jump in!
So infuriating!
Yu Zhi led him into the company building, relaxed and at ease the whole way, occasionally replying to Yin Xu’s remarks.
Yin Xu looked around. “It doesn’t seem like much has changed here.”
Yu Zhi replied casually, “I’m sentimental.”
In reality, even if the building, décor, and layout hadn’t changed, there had been quite a lot of personnel turnover.
At the very least, almost no one who saw Yin Xu today knew that their boss had once had a mysterious little lover a few years ago.
Even less did they know that that little lover looked exactly like the handsome man they were seeing now.
Hearing that Yu Zhi had brought a young man to work, many people guessed he might be a relative or even an illegitimate son. After all, they had seen the young master of the Yu family before, quite often too, and he didn’t look like this.
Some even speculated that maybe the young master wasn’t capable enough, so the boss had brought back another illegitimate son to inherit the family business. For a moment, thoughts like “wealthy families are such a mess” and “that poor young master” spread through everyone’s minds.
If the pitiful young master heard this, he’d probably celebrate by playing games with his deskmate for three straight days.
Yu Zhi led Yin Xu into his office and had someone set him up on the sofa with a computer.
“Do you want some snacks?” he asked.
Yin Xu looked surprised. “You buy snacks?” He immediately became curious and sat up.
Yu Zhi smiled helplessly, turned, and took out a bag full of assorted snacks from the cabinet, placing them on the coffee table.
“They’re Xiao Pang’s. Supposedly his treasured collection.”
Ever since Yu Zhi had started bringing Xiao Pang to the company to gradually familiarize him with the affairs of Yu Group, the boy had begun hiding snacks in his office. And he had his reasons:
“Dad, you’ve already taken away my personal freedom. Are you going to take away my freedom to eat too? I don’t care, if you don’t buy them, I won’t have the energy to watch you work!”
Yin Xu thought to himself that this really does sound like something that kid would do.
He picked a bag, tore it open, and ate while chatting casually.
“I’m eating his stash. What if he gets upset and comes after me for it?”
Between me and your son, whose side will you take?
Hearing the implication behind those words, Yu Zhi couldn’t help but find it amusing. Now he was even competing with Xiao Pang and still claiming he hadn’t made up his mind.
Knowing the young man was just joking, Yu Zhi didn’t respond and began handling the day’s work.
Fortunately, his schedule today was simple, with no need to go out. Even so, it made Yin Xu feel a bit distressed watching him.
“Do you work this hard every day?”
Yu Zhi didn’t think it was particularly hard, just routine work.
“Have you thought about retiring?” Yin Xu was already starting to worry about his health.
In truth, this worry hadn’t arisen on a whim. Ever since he realized he liked this man, it had always been there.
He wasn’t afraid of the age gap itself, what he feared were the consequences that such a large gap might bring.
He didn’t want to think about it, yet he couldn’t avoid it.
One day, someone would leave first.
Yu Zhi saw the concern in his eyes and let out a faint sigh inwardly, knowing there wasn’t much he could say.
So he changed the subject.
“If I want to retire, someone has to take over. Xiao Pang is too foolish. I can’t retire until I find a successor.”
Then he added with a smile, “Besides, you’re just starting your career, and I’m already talking about retirement. What kind of situation would that be?”
Yin Xu: “…”
Just hearing it made the gap between them feel even larger.
So Yin Xu had no choice but to accept that the man would continue working.
He absentmindedly fed himself snacks one bite after another, feeling as though he had forgotten something, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t recall it.
He pulled out his phone and checked his notes. Nothing important. Then he glanced through WeChat and his other accounts, aside from a few greeting messages from teachers and classmates, there was nothing of note.
The matter of his early graduation had been rather sudden, and he hadn’t informed anyone in advance. So once people found out, they all started asking him what had happened.
Yin Xu replied to each of them one by one, saying it was nothing, he had just wanted to go home, then put his phone away.
So what exactly had he overlooked?
Yu Zhi glanced at him several times. Seeing him lost in thought, he couldn’t help but smile, but didn’t remind him.
In the afternoon, Yu Zhi still had work to do. Yin Xu volunteered to pick up Xiao Pang, there was no school today.
Yu Zhi knew he wanted to give Xiao Pang a surprise, so he had the driver who usually picked Xiao Pang up take Yin Xu along.
Xiao Pang had just finished school and had arranged with his desk mate to hang out the next day. But when he turned his head, he saw a man both familiar and unfamiliar smiling at him.
“Holy sh*t! Don’t tell me this young master’s been targeted?!”
Yin Xu: “……”
His smile disappeared as he said flatly, “It’s been a few years. Didn’t expect your body to slim down but your face to get even rounder.”
After hitting a growth spurt, Xiao Pang was no longer actually fat, and his height had shot up quickly. He was only in his third year of middle school, but if you ignored the liveliness and youthful innocence on his face, people might even believe he was an adult.
Hearing the voice, Xiao Pang finally snapped back to his senses. “Damn, Brother Xu, you didn’t run away?!”
Yin Xu looked confused. “Why would I run?”
Xiao Pang answered righteously, “Couldn’t take my dad’s brutal oppression anymore and ran off, of course!”
Over the past few years, Yin Xu hadn’t kept in touch with Xiao Pang, so the boy had assumed that, like himself, Yin Xu had been tormented by his dad, that old man, and finally couldn’t take it anymore and ran away.
He had even felt a bit envious. After all, he was his dad’s biological son and couldn’t escape. But Yin Xu was different; living on his own, free from that old man’s forcing growth style of parenting, he must be living happily.
Yin Xu: “……”
This kid hadn’t been kicked out of the house after all these years, definitely his biological son.
The two of them rode home together. Along the way, Xiao Pang’s mouth never stopped moving, while Yin Xu listened patiently, responding now and then to show he was paying attention.
Though he felt that even if he didn’t respond, the kid could happily carry on talking all by himself.
When they got home, Yin Xu saw Yu Zhi busy in the kitchen.
Yu Zhi glanced at them and said first, “I let the housekeeper go. I’ll cook tonight.”
Yin Xu wandered into the kitchen as well, lingering nearby and watching.
Xiao Pang scratched his head as he looked at the two of them, his face full of confusion.
What had Brother Xu said in the car again…? That he was pursuing his dad?
Was there really still any need to pursue him?
Isn’t this basically an old married couple already?
Yu Zhi scooped up a spoonful of soup and let Yin Xu taste it.
Officially, it was checking the flavor, but in reality, it was just letting him sneak a bite.
Seeing that he didn’t ask anything, Yin Xu couldn’t help but walk over to him. “Sir, you’re not even going to ask?”
Yu Zhi replied, “Then how does it taste?”
Yin Xu’s gaze lingered on his face as he said meaningfully, “There’s actually a more direct way for you to find out…”
Yu Zhi pressed his lips together in a faint smile, deliberately not looking at him. “I’ll taste it myself.”
Yin Xu’s chest rose and fell unevenly. Looking at this man who was clearly pretending not to understand romance, a mischievous impulse suddenly rose in him.
He leaned in quickly, brushing a light kiss against the man’s lips. His tongue flicked past for just an instant, the rich flavor of the simmered soup blending with the faint scent of the man himself.
“Try again, what does it taste like now?”
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