Chapter 54 Part 1

It was deep into the night.

Under the dim light, Lu Quan slipped silently from the bed like a shadow, lowering his head to gaze at the one beside it.

The hotel’s service was thorough to a fault. By the time they had returned that evening, the soaked mattress had already been replaced, leaving him no excuse to crowd into Zhizhi’s bed.

Zhizhi slept with perfect discipline, scarcely stirring through the night. He was so well-behaved that even his breathing carried a sweet fragrance.

Kneeling on one knee at the bedside, Lu Quan watched him for a long moment before leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his forehead.

“Baby’s so good.”

The door opened and closed with barely a sound.

Lu Quan flicked on the light in the outer living room and made his way to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of ice-cold water.

His phone lay casually on the bar counter. He twisted off the cap and dialed a number without a second thought.

Beep, beep, beep—

The call connected just before it could cut off.

“Young Master, do you have any idea what time it is?”

Lu Quan, who was dropping ice cubes into a glass, spared a glance at the clock and drawled, “Three-thirty.”

A pained groan came from the other end, laced with world-weary exhaustion. “This is sleep time. Why are you calling me?”

Settling onto a high stool with one foot braced against the floor, Lu Quan replied leisurely, “You’re getting on in years. You don’t need quite so much shut-eye.”

There was a pause, the gritted teeth audible even over the line. “I’m thirty-six.”

Lu Quan took a sip of the ice water, his brows easing slightly. “Rounds to forty.”

“Fuck!” Xia Nian couldn’t quite hold back his irritation in front of his employer, but he yanked the conversation back on track. “What do you need?”

Lu Quan said, “I’ll do the check-up next month.”

Silence stretched for a full half minute on the other end before the voice returned.

“You’ve finally come around? That’s twenty-three refusals before this. What changed?”

Lu Quan lifted his gaze to the firmly shut bedroom door. “What’s that got to do with you?”

“Everything. I’ve been your psychologist for over a decade—I figured we were past formalities.” Xia Nian dropped his voice conspiratorially. “Word from your parents is you’ve taken a shine to a… boy lately. Does it have something to do with him?”

Lu Quan’s lazy demeanor sharpened in an instant, coldness crystallizing in his eyes. His voice turned to ice. “You’ve been in touch behind my back again?”

Caught off-guard, Xia Nian chuckled awkwardly. “What? Must’ve been my alter ego taking over. He didn’t let anything weird slip, did he?”

Lu Quan snorted, swirling the ice in his glass. “You just said your secret stash is hidden in your underwear—”

“Stop! My bad, Young Master. Your parents are just worried, you know? And they’re my bosses.”

Poor working stiff that Xia Nian was, he pleaded pitifully.

“This is the last time, Xia Nian.” Lu Quan had no patience for the excuses, his tone flat. “Don’t let me catch you digging into him on the sly. I don’t want him knowing I’m sick.”

Xia Nian scratched at his hair on the other end and sighed. “Understood. Just… try to rein it in a little lately…”

Or your boyfriend might bolt…

He didn’t get to finish his placating words before the line went dead.

Xia Nian gulped down some water in frustration. If the Lu Family didn’t pay so damn well, he’d have walked long ago.

Slipping on his glasses, he fired up his computer.

In a secure folder, he pulled up the old treatment reports, created a new file, and began typing.

【Condition appears to be worsening, but the patient is now proactively engaging with treatment. Further observation required.】

It smelled so good.

Liang Zhixia’s nose twitched as he slowly blinked his eyes open. The room was thick with a savory aroma—like xiaolongbao.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he unlocked his phone. Prominently displayed on the screen was a bold reminder.

【Memo: Go see the giant pandas!!!】

Sleepiness fled in an instant. He sat up and stretched lazily, baring a sliver of skin at his midriff.

After washing up, he stood before the mirror, appraising his fresh outfit.

Crisp and neat, with just the right touch of college-boy freshness.

He pushed open the bedroom door and spotted Lu Quan sitting with his back to him on the sofa. His gaze drifted to the white T-shirt stretched across those broad shoulders, then down to his own—they matched.

Lu Quan heard the movement and turned.

Their eyes met. Liang Zhixia blinked his wide, innocent eyes and lifted a hand. “Hey.”

So dumb.

He squeezed his eyes shut. How embarrassing.

Amusement flickered in Lu Quan’s gaze as he patted the cushion beside him.

“Come have breakfast.”

Heat crept into Liang Zhixia’s ear tips. He shuffled over and eyed the spread on the table.

It matched the scent perfectly.

Xiaolongbao.

Lu Quan passed him a pair of gloves. “These are from a top spot—great reviews. Give one a try.”

With a smell like that, they had to be amazing.

Liang Zhixia slipped on the gloves and plucked one up. Small and thin-skinned, it burst with savory juice and tender filling at the first bite. He squinted in delight.

Inwardly, Lu Quan gave the xiaolongbao a mental check mark.

Worth the early-morning queue.

After breakfast, Liang Zhixia stifled a tiny burp. He lingered in the hallway outside their door, bag slung over one shoulder, peeking back inside. Lu Quan still hadn’t emerged.

Nearby, Si Si and Lin Shen stepped out of their room and noticed him.

Lin Shen halted in place as Si Si approached. “You two not heading out?”

Liang Zhixia glanced at the suitcase by Lin Shen’s feet and shook his head at Si Si. “Not till tonight.”

All of a sudden, Si Si leaned in and sniffed at him. “Fan Brand xiaolongbao?”

Liang Zhixia recalled the packaging—yes, it had borne the Fan name.

Curious, he asked, “How’d you know?”

Si Si tapped his shirt. “You reek of xiaolongbao. Fan’s are the best—totally unique. I’ve hit S City plenty of times and only tried them once.”

“Why just once?”

Si Si shrugged helplessly. “Too damn good. Insane lines. That time, Lin Shen and I got there at five in the morning, and the queue was already massive. Totally worth it, though.”

Liang Zhixia rubbed his fingertips together, lips pressing into a line.

Had Lu Quan queued up at five too?

They hadn’t gotten back all that early last night.

Which meant Lu Quan had barely slept.

Si Si didn’t pick up on his train of thought and chatted a bit more before departing with Lin Shen.

Guests trickled into the hallway now and then, heading out in pairs or groups.

Leaning against the doorframe, Liang Zhixia stared at the floor, lost in his thoughts.

A large, warm palm suddenly settled on his head. He looked up to find Lu Quan there. Before he could speak, something settled over his crown—a baseball cap.

Lu Quan’s voice rumbled low. “Bit warm out today.”

And so Liang Zhixia stood still as Lu Quan gently applied sunscreen.

Xiao Ji might not be able to play host in person, but he’d laid on an on-call driver.

Once in the car, Liang Zhixia turned to Lu Quan, whose eyes were half-lidded. “Brother Lu, you wanna catch some sleep?”

Lu Quan arched a brow. “What makes you say that?”

Liang Zhixia bit his lip. “Did you go buy the xiaolongbao this morning?”

Understanding dawned, and Lu Quan’s lips curved faintly. “Who spilled?”

Zhizhi wasn’t a S City regular; he wouldn’t know about the place otherwise.

“Si Si.”

Lu Quan pinched his cheek, his tone light and pleased. “If Zhizhi insists I rest, who am I to argue?”

Liang Zhixia glanced around the interior. This wasn’t a daily driver—nothing much to hand.

He patted his own shoulder. “Brother Lu, use mine.”

Lu Quan lifted a brow. “Perfect. Thanks, Zhizhi.”

As the man leaned in, a subtle woody cologne drifted over—subtly appealing.

Liang Zhixia tilted his head, covertly counting those thick lashes, his own breath growing shallow. He noted the faint shadows beneath Lu Quan’s eyes, lips pursing even as his own eyes crinkled in a secret smile.

Lu Quan was the third person to treat him this well.

He had always known.

The hotel lay a good distance from the Panda Base. The driver handled the roads smoothly, but today the traffic lights seemed endless—wrong timing, perhaps.

Lulled by the motion, Liang Zhixia drifted off without realizing.

When he stirred awake, his own head rested on Lu Quan’s shoulder.

Confusion clouded his freshly opened eyes. Hadn’t it been the other way around?

As they stepped out, he noticed Lu Quan’s awkward posture. “Did I squish you?”

Lu Quan flexed his arm. “Nah.”

He wouldn’t have said as much if he’d known Liang Zhixia planned to knead it for him.

The Panda Base buzzed with weekend crowds. Liang Zhixia eyed the balloon tied to his wrist and glanced up at Lu Quan. “Brother Lu, this feels kinda off, doesn’t it?”

Lu Quan cocked a brow, lashes lowering as he drawled indifferently, “Last time, didn’t Lu Xingzhu tie one for you? If he can, why not me?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Liang Zhixia pressed his lips together and sneaked a look around.

None of the kids had balloons—only he, the adult, sported one on his wrist. Every passing child shot him a glance; the stares were relentless.

With no choice, he ducked behind Lu Quan, his pale fingertip shyly hooking the other’s pinky for cover.

Lu Quan wore a smile on his face as he leisurely led the “little friend” behind him toward the Giant Panda Pavilion up ahead.

That was until they ran into Sang Ruite.

And Sang Ruite spotted them too.

There was no way Lu Quan could drag Liang Zhixia off somewhere else now.

Liang Zhixia was watching with keen interest and didn’t notice that Lu Quan had stopped. He walked right into him with a thud.

He lifted the hand tied to the balloon and rubbed his forehead, peeking out from behind Lu Quan. “What’s up?”

Lu Quan turned and saw the red mark on his forehead. His voice filled with regret. “Does it hurt?”

“Nah, it doesn’t.”

Lu Quan was leaning in too close. Liang Zhixia instinctively stepped back, and the fingers hooked together slipped apart.

…

Lu Quan pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Running into a rival really made everything go wrong.

He desperately wanted to whisk Zhizhi away, but Xia Nian’s words from the night before echoed in his mind.

He couldn’t let Zhizhi find out.

Otherwise, he’d surely get dumped.

He pointed at Sang Ruite, who was hurrying toward them, his voice flat. “Looks like we ran into someone you know.”

Liang Zhixia lowered his hand and saw Sang Ruite beaming at him.

The other guy was wearing a blue T-shirt today, which made him look especially youthful.

He walked over with a grin. “Hey, fancy meeting you again, Little Pretty.”

Lu Quan’s fingers twitched. He suppressed the fierce glint in his eyes, and a vein throbbed at his temple. He turned his head and exhaled sharply.

Hold it in.

It was just a nickname.