Chapter 22 Part 1

Pei Zhen was a little surprised.

They had been elementary school classmates, and after knowing him for over twenty years, he understood Mai Zixi very well.

This person, though actually gentle, kind, and easy to get along with, always gave a first impression of being “quite serious” and “unapproachable.”

Of course… it also had to do with how principled he was.

As a not very successful painter, there was once a rich boss who wanted to buy his paintings at a high price to decorate a hotel lobby. But because that boss already had a wife yet still brought his flirtatious side piece along, Mai Zixi, even though he was really short on money, absolutely refused to sell him the painting.

Similarly, because of his decision to keep a sugar baby, Mai Zixi had given him the cold shoulder for nearly two months.

By rights, just showing up today was already giving enough face. He should have been aloof the whole time and definitely wouldn’t have taken the initiative to greet his sugar baby.

So what did he see?

Mai Zixi voluntarily walked over to Han Fu and extended his hand: “Hello.”

After shaking hands and exchanging a few pleasantries, he even acted as if they were old friends and asked Han Xiaohua for his WeChat!

What was going on? Was the sky about to rain red?

Or was it that his little wolfdog really looked so well-behaved and handsome, with such adorable eyes, that he could make people drop all prejudice and fall for him in an instant?

Just like his fat orange cat—Pei Zhen had never been interested in cats at all, but that rainy day, when a drenched little cat stared at him pitifully with big eyes and meowed, he fell headfirst into the trap of feeding cats in a second.

But then, how could a person compare to a cat?

…

Whether it was talking or exchanging WeChat, Han Fu was just responding mechanically, not knowing what he was doing the whole time.

His mind was completely blank, buzzing.

Fortunately, Pei Zhen always thought he was just overly nervous meeting a new friend and didn’t suspect anything, merely urging him to hurry off to class.

So Han Fu stiffly walked out like a robot, dazed. As he stepped onto the hospital escalator, he received a WeChat message from his new friend “Scarecrow in the Wheat Field.”

Bracing himself, he opened it to find just two words.

“Sugar baby?”

Han Fu: “…”

Sweating, he was hesitating over how to reply when a second message came, asking a very practical question—

“Keeping you? Can he afford it?”

Han Fu: “…”

So he had been completely recognized after all, ahhh! He just knew it! The moment the door opened, Mai Zixi’s complicated look had already said it all!

He’d been careless, originally thinking he was hard to identify and safe. But his cover fell off so abruptly, leaving him instantly exposed down to his underwear.

“Please, don’t tell him yet (pleading)(pleading).” A long row of especially sincere starry-eyed emojis.

Mai Zixi replied: “Reason?”

“…He said, he can only keep others, not the other way around.”

After a moment: “That indeed sounds like something Pei Zhen would say.”

…

In the hospital room, Lei Yao was on the phone.

The person on the other end was probably a female celebrity he was flirting with, calling each other sweetie and honey.

Pei Zhen quietly peeled an orange by the bedside for a while, and finally couldn’t help calling out to the distracted man.

They hadn’t seen each other in two months, and as soon as he sat down, he was glued to his phone! Who or what was so important?

“Oh,” Mai Zixi smiled, “A client wants to buy my painting. Don’t worry, just a few minutes, almost done.”

Pei Zhen immediately felt relieved. As an unsuccessful painter who supported his hobby by running a teahouse, selling a painting was no easy feat.

Then of course the client was important—go on, go on!

…

Han Fu walked out of the hospital, hailed a taxi, and only relaxed his tense body after leaning back in the seat.

Since he hadn’t exposed him in front of Pei Zhen, that person… should at least consider being merciful.

He closed his eyes.

The faint leather scent of the car seat reminded him of a rainy night a few years ago.

In the boundless darkness of wind and rain, he walked alone on a wet street with no people and no light, despondent, letting the cold raindrops hit his body.

He didn’t know how long he’d walked when he heard urgent honking behind him. The puddles on the road dazzled under the headlights.

【Kid!】The person in the car called out, 【Get in, I’ll take you back!】

He shook his head, but the car followed him all the way. In the end, he still got in. A man with dry yellow straw-like hair and pale skin frowned and tossed him a dry towel to wipe his hair.

He was freezing cold and extremely short of breath. He only remembered that the towel was really big, covering him completely and burying him in it, especially soft and gentle.

But being wrapped in such tenderness only made him sadder, and the excess water inside kept spilling out.

【Alright, stop crying,】After a while, the man freed a hand and patted his head through the towel, 【I know your feelings are very serious right now, but after all, you’re still young.】

【How about this: when you grow up in a few years, if you still like him… then come back and find him, okay?】

“…” In a few years, come back and find him?

For a teenager who had just been heartlessly rejected and felt his existence was meaningless, those words were undoubtedly a tiny glimmer of hope in the endless dark night.

Yes, that made sense.

Not now, but that doesn’t mean it’s never possible in the future, for the rest of his life.

In a few more years, he could come back to find him. Once he grew up, grew taller, became handsome, and wouldn’t be treated as a clueless little brat anymore…

…

And now, a full five years had passed.

He was very grateful that one summer when he was twenty, his dad had gone to a weird place called the Republic of Somaliland to collect desert roses and obtained an amazing herbal formula from a local witch doctor.

He drank it all summer, and as a result, he grew a full twenty centimeters taller.

Han Fu was now considering whether to sell this formula to Lister for a high price someday, which would also count as doing a good deed and accumulating virtue.

While he was lost in thought, his phone buzzed again with another message.

Mai Zixi: “That’s it for now about you and him. I won’t say anything for the time being.”

“but, i’m watching you.”

Followed by a whole row of knife emojis, clearly a deep threat.

But Han Fu instantly felt extremely happy.

Because with those words, Mai Zixi had essentially become a parental figure to Pei Zhen in his mind—a serious and earnest old father.

So this level of threat basically meant: “Our family reluctantly accepts you. I’m entrusting my son to you. If you dare treat him badly, I’ll kill you.”

He instantly replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely treat him well!”

He even felt like calling him “Uncle” and properly serving tea.

…

…

Pei Zhen was discharged the next day, and after that, he lived each day under the little wolfdog’s meticulous care.

Being meticulously cared for was nothing like the legends. All kinds of supposedly heart-healthy corn porridge, corn salad, boiled corn on the cob… Han Fu made him eat it every day.

If he didn’t want to eat, Han Fu would peel it onto a plate and force-feed him with a spoon.

Sticky and horrible-tasting, wanting to die.

Han Fu: “Be good, listen, just one more bite! Finish it!”

…

With the PA Competition’s recommendation selection imminent, and since he still had to set aside daily time to take care of Zhenzhen, in school, Han Fu naturally devoted 120% of himself to studying.

“Why!”

“Why is the library already locked at six o’clock? This is totally inhumane!”

Standing in front of the library door with a “Closed” sign, the studious young man was frantic.

The class he’d attended in Class 5 this morning was so hard. He didn’t understand some parts at all, and some things seemed contradictory to him. He’d wanted to come here after class to verify them with essential oils!

Yu Wenzhe: “Probably because the librarian also has a life and wants to go home on time?”

Embarrassed. Well… that made sense.

Then there was a jangling sound, and Yu Wenzhe gave a mysterious smile, pulling out the three-part key set for the library from his pocket.

Han Fu: “Eh?!”

“Actually, I’ve been doing a special part-time job at the academy recently. Every day after the library closes at six, I come in to do follow-up sorting and categorization. We happen to be short one position. Han Fu, do you want to join?”

“The part-time salary is decent, and you can gain experience while working. Because it involves sorting bottles with damaged or dirty labels, the fragrance recognition requirement is high, so not just anyone can do it. But with your scent level, you can definitely handle it right away.”

“And sometimes professors come by, so if you have any questions, you can ask them in person. It’s a part-time job with so many benefits!”

Han Fu was actually very tempted.

However…

“No, I have to go back and keep Zhenzhen company.”

Now, every day he had to finish cooking breakfast and rush out to school before Pei Zhen even woke up. Only the little time in the evening from when he got home until bedtime could he properly spend with him.

Career is important, competitions are important.

But his wife is obviously more important!

Yu Wenzhe sighed: “I’m envious. Your relationship is really good.”

Han Fu immediately nodded vigorously: Yeah, our relationship is super good.

Super good!

Really super super good…

Really… good?!

…

Just the very next early morning, Han Fu began to thoroughly doubt the extent of his favor.

The next day was Sunday, and the first month’s salary since the sugar arrangement began finally arrived.

A bank text notification: you have received a four-digit sum.

Yep, four digits.

Han Fu looked carefully twice; it was indeed four digits. The starting number was also extremely low. With this salary level, he might as well go work as a cashier at a supermarket for a month.

“Zhenzhen~” A resentful voice.

Sunday daylight was Pei Zhen’s time to relax and enjoy after a busy week.

He was currently lying in the garden with a sleep mask, lounging lazily, a hidden smile at the corner of his lips.

“Why?!”

Wasn’t it agreed that the sugar baby fee would be nearly thirty thousand a month?

“Because,” Pei Zhen pulled down his sleep mask halfway and said lazily, “We agreed, fifty per time. This month you called me ‘Zhenzhen’ a total of 484 times, so 24,200 was deducted from your salary. Just now added one more, roll it over to next month’s deductions. That’s it. I’m thirsty, get me a glass of lemonade.”

Han Fu: “…”

Han Fu: “You… really deduct it?”

Of course, it wasn’t a real deduction.

Pei Zhen was just seeing that the little wolfdog had been tense and stressed lately and wanted to tease him for fun.

However, the disappointment on Han Xiaohua’s face at that moment was very real.

One could even say it was especially, especially disappointed.

So disappointed that even his acting failed.

The person who normally took care of him fanatically from every angle 360° was now drooping his ears, even forgetting to bring him the lemonade.

“…” After being with the little wolfdog for over a month, Pei Zhen for the first time felt a bit of panic as if waking from a sweet dream.

He regretted it immensely. Sure enough, the books were right: you shouldn’t casually test human nature!

What on earth was he doing?

It was just a monetary relationship. Was he still hoping for something unrealistic? Had he been spoiled by a month of high-level, quality service and gotten too carried away, losing sight of his real position?

The reason someone treated you well, spoiled you, wasn’t it because you were the sugar daddy who promised a high reward?

If you deducted the money he rightfully earned, harmed the very substance that sustains your relationship, how could you expect him to keep smiling at you brilliantly?

…

Early the next morning, Han Fu rushed over to ask Yu Wenzhe: “That library job you mentioned last time, is it still open?”

Yu Wenzhe: “Yeah, there’s still a vacancy. What, do you want it? But didn’t you say you had to go home to accompany your boyfriend?”

Han Fu: “No no, things have changed, I need to earn extra money! Uh, Old Yu, can I just work for one month?”

…

Recently, as the recommendation selection competition drew closer, Han Fu not only spent all day at school but also began using evening time to “work extra shifts and study” at the academy.

This sounded reasonable enough, and Pei Zhen initially believed it.

Until one day, after finishing work and driving through the city, he passed that trendy steamed bun shop Han Fu had once praised, saying they were delicious and he wanted to eat there again.

That shop was really popular, often with a queue, and buns were hard to come by.

Normally by this time they’d be sold out and closed, but today it was still open, and the waiting line wasn’t as long as usual.

So he got out to try his luck, and actually managed to buy some!

The steaming hot pork buns with three kinds of diced meat and preserved vegetables, fluffy and soft, looked absolutely delicious.

Squinting his eyes, he turned the car at the next intersection and headed straight toward Grasse Academy in the suburbs.

…

Of course he knew this made him seem like a fool.

If he wanted the little wolfdog to feel grateful, he should just quickly make up the sugar baby allowance he owed!

Why buy buns? Who cares about such petty favors worth only a few dozen bucks?

Was he still fantasizing that the sight of buns would make him pounce over with a yelp, eyes sparkling like before, clinging to him and calling “Zhenzhen” “Zhenzhen” nonstop?

It’s not like he’s a real dog.