MMLDU Chapter 21

Su Jia went out to get the car. Pei Lang hadn’t settled the bill yet. He went to the cashier, paid, then ran to the private room to grab his guitar, put on his mask, and walked over to stand obediently by Yan Han’s side.

“Mr. Yan, what brings you here?” The atmosphere between them was a bit awkward, so Pei Lang started a conversation to break the silence.

Yan Han’s eyes briefly lingered on the guitar on Pei Lang’s back before he nonchalantly turned away. “Work matters.”

When he found out that Pei Ziqing and Yan Xiuyuan were also in this city, Yan Han started paying attention to Pei Lang’s movements. After Pei Lang left the orphanage, he had been following him, even watching the conflict with Yan Xiuyuan unfold clearly.

He selfishly wanted to see how their encounter would go. Pei Lang’s attitude made the corners of his lips curl up slightly. It seemed like Pei Lang’s dislike was real. He didn’t expect the two of them to have such a deep conflict. Pei Lang used to be tangled up in things, but now he openly looked down on Yan Xiuyuan. The change in his attitude was stark, but it was clear that he genuinely didn’t like him.

As for Yan Xiuyuan, it went without saying. The way he acted, it seemed like he would have loved to kill him.

Today, Pei Lang had once again exceeded his expectations.

He had investigated before and found that Pei Lang was just an incredibly jealous and useless fool. Today, he had seen for himself how Pei Lang went to the orphanage to spend Children’s Day with the kids. The instrument on his back was a guitar; he had never thought Pei Lang could play music. He had also seen how Pei Lang handled the situation earlier—Yan Xiuyuan couldn’t even touch his clothes despite all the punches thrown at him. If it weren’t for Yan Han stopping him in time, Pei Lang might have kicked Yan Xiuyuan’s neck to the point of breaking.

Pei Lang was smart yet naive, recklessly fearless. He dared to deceive and threaten even himself. But facing Yan Xiuyuan, it wasn’t a good thing to offend him. They are already enemies. That kick would have turned things into a mortal feud.

It was clear Yan Han was angry, as the little chibi on his shoulder had a sulky expression, occasionally shooting him a glare with those big, innocent eyes. Pei Lang couldn’t help but laugh and feel frustrated at the same time. “Mr. Yan, did you just make a phone call to report me? Aren’t you afraid of exposing our relationship?”

Yan Xiuyuan didn’t understand why Yan Han was helping Pei Lang or why he had involved his grandfather. His anger had consumed his rationality. He hadn’t noticed anything odd yet. But when his rationality returned, he would definitely realize what had happened.

In the past, he could use this matter to threaten Yan Han, but now, Yan Han didn’t seem to be scared at all. He shrugged it off. “It’s only a matter of time.”

“What?” Pei Lang thought he misheard, blinking in confusion, waiting for Yan Han to repeat himself.

However, Yan Han didn’t like to repeat himself. He shot a cold glance at Pei Lang before turning and heading out. “Let’s go.”

Pei Lang followed. Su Jia had parked the car at the restaurant entrance. Yan Han entered first, leaving the door open as if waiting for Pei Lang to join him, seemingly planning to give him a ride. Pei Lang didn’t hesitate and climbed into the back seat, sitting next to Yan Han.

The back seat was spacious enough. Even with the wheelchair, Yan Han didn’t feel cramped. At that moment, the pre-arranged driver called, but since Pei Lang was already in Yan Han’s car, he couldn’t get out. He explained the situation to the driver and transferred the fare before settling down quietly.

Su Jia drove steadily. The city roads were smooth. Pei Lang had stayed up late the night before, woken early, and didn’t take a nap despite playing with the children at noon, which made him feel drowsy under the flickering streetlights. Half an hour later, he was dozing off, leaning against the back seat.

His breathing was soft. His clean and neat appearance made him look like a well-behaved little fox while he slept, completely unguarded around Yan Han.

Yan Han was not an ordinary person. His cold, ruthless nature had only deepened after his injury, exuding an air of chilling detachment. People who saw him either showed respect, disdain, sympathy, or fear. They spoke and acted cautiously around him. But Pei Lang was different.

Or rather, the recent Pei Lang was different.

Because of him, even Su Jia had become more lively, occasionally losing his composure and acting uncharacteristically foolish in front of him. Yan Han glanced at Su Jia, who immediately shivered, thinking it was because of a sharp turn earlier that had upset the boss. Su Jia quickly focused all his attention on driving.

Yan Han, on the other hand, remained silent, his gaze focused on Pei Lang, including the little chibi on his shoulder. Two pairs of large eyes intently observed Pei Lang. In the dim light, Pei Lang’s facial features became softer. It was as if even the streetlights favored him— the light from the window slanted just right, shining on his eyes. The dark, thick lashes and the red tear mole at the corner of his eye suddenly caught Yan Han’s cold, deep gaze, creating ripples in his otherwise still heart.

Pei Lang slept soundly, seemingly dreaming of something pleasant. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. His head shifted on the seat as he adjusted to a more comfortable position.

This movement made something soft in Yan Han’s heart stir.

It was already late when they arrived at the villa district. Su Jia parked the car at the entrance and got out to open the door. When he was about to wake Pei Lang up, Yan Han stopped him with a gesture.

“Give me the keys. You can go back.”

“Ah?” Su Jia, who always escorted the boss into the villa, looked confused, his big eyes wide. But he quickly handed over the keys and hurriedly left.

The boss’s thoughts had become increasingly difficult to decipher lately. To keep his job, it was better to leave quickly.

Yan Han’s vehicle was equipped with a conveyor belt to help him get in and out of the car, but it was currently blocked by Pei Lang. The other person was deeply asleep, and for some reason, Yan Han couldn’t bring himself to wake him. So… he sat in the wheelchair, bent down, and carefully lifted Pei Lang into his arms, settling him horizontally across his lap. Then, he used the conveyor belt to help them both get out of the car.

The wheelchair, despite bearing the weight of two grown men, wasn’t cumbersome at all. After getting out of the car, Yan Han pressed the lock button and slowly wheeled the chair into the villa. The villa was empty, but Aunt Lin had left the lights on. It wasn’t dark, just quiet.

Pei Lang was light, and since his legs had little sensation, Yan Han didn’t find it heavy to have a man in his twenties sitting in his lap. As he breathed in, he could faintly smell a slight bitterness mixed with the scent of willow leaves, perhaps from waiting for the car under a willow tree for too long and getting some of its fragrance.

Yan Han suddenly had an idea: what if he kept this clever, mischievous, and somewhat reckless little fox as his pet? The thought startled him. He was surprised that someone could capture him so thoroughly in such a short time. It must have been because Pei Lang’s massage skills were good, which helped him sleep. And because Pei Lang relied on and trusted him, along with his slight sweetness, that led to such a terrifying thought.

Although it was a frightening idea, Yan Han didn’t feel the need to suppress it.

After all, if he wanted something, he always got it. Now that he had found a cute little one he liked, why suppress such a thought?

Yan Han, who was in his thirties and still single, lowered his gaze to look at Pei Lang, who was still fast asleep. He thought that occasionally cuddling a little one and petting them might not be such a bad thing.

The next morning, Pei Lang woke up early, feeling confused. He glanced around and realized he was lying on the couch in Yan Han’s bedroom, while Yan Han was still asleep on the bed in the distance.

How did he end up here? Pei Lang had no recollection of it. He had fallen asleep as soon as he got into the car. However, to his surprise, Yan Han hadn’t woken him up to order a massage. Hmm, he thought, maybe there’s a bit of humanity there after all. Since he was already awake, Pei Lang didn’t want to stay on the couch. He got up, grabbed the blanket, and went back to his room, only to realize that the blanket wasn’t his.

When he came to “serve” every night, he always brought his own blanket. It seemed that since he had fallen asleep last night, Yan Han had given him one of the extra blankets from the closet.

“So he does have blankets. He actually let me hold my own blanket while going up and down the stairs,” Pei Lang muttered quietly. He folded the blanket neatly and went back to his room to wash up. After showering and changing into fresh clothes, he went downstairs. Aunt Lin was still cooking. Pei Lang greeted her with a “Good morning.”

Turning around, he noticed his guitar was in the living room, so he placed it back where it belonged.

By the time he went back downstairs, Aunt Lin had already prepared breakfast. The seafood porridge she had made smelled delicious. Pei Lang was eager to eat. However, Aunt Lin instructed him to wait for Yan Han to join them. She could spoil him, but she had to maintain proper decorum in front of Yan Han; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to help him.

Pei Lang nodded in acknowledgment. While Aunt Lin was in the kitchen, he quickly scooped a spoonful of porridge and tasted it. Just then, Yan Han came out of the elevator. The porridge was a bit too hot, so Pei Lang held it in his mouth, not sure whether to swallow or spit it out. But when he saw Yan Han, his eyes widened in surprise. He awkwardly choked, quickly turning his back to the dining table and coughing.

Flustered, he coughed harder and harder, eventually bringing tears to his eyes. Aunt Lin came over, patting his back gently and offering him some warm water.

“Thank you, Aunt Lin… cough, cough, cough… much better… cough…”

In contrast to Pei Lang’s discomfort, Yan Han calmly walked to the table, glancing at Pei Lang’s teary eyes from his coughing fit. He then leisurely began to eat his breakfast.

“Little fox?” Pei Lang mumbled under his breath. Yan Han, with his sharp hearing, caught the words and looked up at him coldly. Pei Lang immediately fell silent. After being choked so badly, all he could do was awkwardly eat his breakfast to cover up the situation.

Pei Lang had been startled earlier by the little, obedient red fox that had appeared beside the little chibi on Yan Han’s shoulder. The little fox was so cute that Pei Lang couldn’t help but want to pet it.

Unfortunately, this was Yan Han’s inner world. Pei Lang couldn’t touch it.

When had a little fox appeared? Damn it, Mr. Yan, could your inner world be any more complex?

The answer was yes.

Pei Lang tried to hide his curiosity, but he couldn’t resist sneaking glances. He saw the little chibi take out a book titled Fox Raising Guide. While gently petting the little fox’s head, it seemed to be reading the book intently.

This time, Pei Lang didn’t dare approach to see what was inside. After about three minutes, the little chibi seemed to understand something. It put the book down with a knowing expression, pulled out some food from nowhere, and offered it to the little fox.

Pei Lang couldn’t help but internally mock: I guess… step one in the care guide is feeding.

Such a simple thing. Yan Han actually needed a book for it. Mr. Yan was truly meticulous. Just as Pei Lang was lost in thought, Yan Han pushed a plate of food in front of him, his expression unchanged, and in a commanding tone said, “Eat this.”

“???” Pei Lang was startled again. Yan Han was feeding him? Shouldn’t he be feeding his little fox instead? Pei Lang looked at the plate in front of him, which was something Aunt Lin had prepared for Yan Han, but it wasn’t something he particularly liked. He smiled politely and declined, saying, “Thank you, but I’ll just have this.”

Pei Lang wasn’t picky about food, but there were foods he liked a lot and others he only liked a little. Since there was something he really liked, why would he eat something he only liked?

Yan Han was not affected by the refusal, continuing to eat his own food without a change in expression. However, the little chibi on his shoulder seemed disappointed, as the little fox rejected the food and shook its head, causing the little chibi to look forlorn. With a whimper, it pulled out its Fox Raising Guide again and started reading it seriously.

Pei Lang was completely confused. He thought Yan Han might be trying to keep a pet. He decided that when he made some money, he would buy a fox for Mr. Yan as a thank-you gift.

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