Chapter 18: A Date?

Chapter 18: A Date?

Huo Qing looked around the room and asked, "Erbai... do you know my brother?"

Before Caisen could speak, Chen Bai said, "We're acquaintances."

Parties A and B can also be called business partners, and 'partner' in another context is 'friend.'

Huochuan neither confirmed nor denied this description, choosing not to say more.

He didn't elaborate, but he didn't leave either, instead sitting down on a chair by the side of the music room.

Though it seemed odd, these two were indeed candid, their relationship truly that of friends.

With an extra person now acting as a messenger, Huo Qing's video captured everything, finding nothing sensational was happening, she took the initiative to go downstairs to accompany her mother.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway faded away, leaving only the two of them in the room. Huochuan spoke up, saying, "You've changed quite a bit."

Knowing what he was referring to, Chen Bai ruffled Pink-haired's hair, taking the offensive, he asked, "Is it not good-looking?"

Indeed, the man on the sofa did not answer immediately. After a moment of silence, when he spoke again, he had already moved past the previous topic, asking, "How did you end up here?"

Chen Bai kept his explanation brief: "I was...just around to help out."

In short, it was purely coincidental.

Having asked what he wanted to know, Huochuan didn't say more. He undid two buttons on his shirt and leaned back on the sofa in silence.

The soothing piano music started up again, and he closed his eyes amidst the continuous notes of the piano that had resumed.

There was no better accompaniment for sleep than the sound of rain and piano music on a day like this.

When the last piece of music ended and the piano fell silent, Chen Bai moved his hand slightly and turned to look at the man who hadn't stirred on the adjacent sofa.

Those eyes, which had been half-open, were now closed, unbeknownst to when exactly they shut.

It was then that he finally recalled, according to the plot, the God of Fortune had been busy these past few days and hadn't gotten much rest.

Earlier, this person probably didn't show any signs of fatigue because Huo Qing was around. Now that she had left, his exhaustion became apparent.

It took Chen Bai less than a second to decide. He got up and walked over to the couch, opting for a polite nudge over the more forceful option of slapping someone's face to wake them up.

Fortunately, Caishen wasn't in deep slumber; a gentle tap on the shoulder did the trick, prompting his eyes to stir.

"..."

Before the seated man's eyes fully reopened, Chen Bai silently withdrew his hand that was poised to slap his face, saying, "If you're tired, go rest."

Those black pupils met his gaze.

Chen Bai said, "I'll just let Auntie know later."

---

The last piece of music concluded, and after a brief silence, a figure appeared by the staircase on the second floor.

Zhang Ling put down the flower she had been fiddling with in her hands and looked over together with the butler.

To their surprise, the person descending was quite young, with light, shattered hair that swept through the air with his movement, and skin pale to an excessive degree.

As if sensing the gaze directed at him, he turned his head, his unusually pale gray eyes meeting hers, then curved into a noticeable smile.

Descending to the living room, even without having met her before, Chen Bai greeted Huo's mother and then smiled, saying, "President Huo has gone back to rest in his room."

His smile was genuine and heartfelt.

With one less god of wealth to entertain, he felt considerably lighter.

Primarily because he wasn't being paid, he didn't feel particularly motivated to put on a performance.

—If he were being paid, that would be a different story.

"Huo President?" Huo Qing echoed.

If she remembered correctly, the person before her had mentioned not long ago that he was friends with her brother.

She recalled that none of her brother's friends called him President Huo.

Lowering his voice dramatically, Chen Bai said, "According to President Huo, it's more fitting to say that he's my boss than a friend."

The term "boss" was one he could never dare to utter when Cais Shen was around, but now that the other party wasn't present, it rolled off his tongue with ease.

Huo Qing nodded, saying that it made sense.

No wonder her brother's presence had dulled Erbai's smile significantly; it was due to this very reason.

Although she hadn't yet entered society, she could roughly guess that no one would likely grin brightly and sincerely at their own boss.

With the mission accomplished and no intention of lingering for the family gathering, Chen Bai had initially greeted everyone in preparation to leave. However, the woman in the wheelchair had called out to him, asking, "Do you play the piano at the Heluo Restaurant on weekends?"

Swallowing back what he was about to say, Chen Bai confirmed that he did.

Zhang Ling's eyes curved into crescents as she laughed. "I thought so."

Now, it was Huo Qing who found herself out of the loop. She looked from side to side, trying to piece together what these two were talking about.

Heluo Restaurant was where Chen Bai worked part-time, and also a restaurant that Zhang Ling's friend occasionally visited.

Her friend didn't frequent the place often, but since the restaurant hired a new pianist, she made sure to go every weekend, raving about how much she liked the new pianist and insisting that if Zhang Ling went, she'd like him too.

Regarding his appearance, Chen Bai's friend didn't elaborate much, merely commenting that he was good-looking and had recently dyed his hair pink.

And today, she finally saw him for herself.

Chen Bai didn't leave right away. Instead, he stayed behind to chat with Huo Qing's mother.

Being naturally sociable, he could strike up a conversation with anyone. With ample experience chatting with various shop owners on the street, he found it easy to engage with the older generation as well.

Zhang Ling sat in her wheelchair, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

The addition of this person to the household instantly brought more liveliness. It was lively but not noisy, with no need for formal pleasantries or idle chitchat about trivial matters. His presence even seemed to improve everyone's mood, making her increasingly fond of the pink-haired young man by her side.

Dyeing one's hair pink often gave off an impression of frivolity, but not so with him. He seemed born to suit that color, and after a bit of conversation, it was easy to see that he was actually quite grounded and sincere.

He was indeed very endearing.

During their chat, the pastry chef in the kitchen prepared a few small cakes. The pink-haired youth went over to observe and learn, and when the chef became particularly animated in his storytelling, he shared the secret techniques of baking these little cakes with him.

Now, Huo Qing could see it clearly.

Erbai's chattiness in the live stream isn't just for show; it's his nature to talk a lot and connect with anyone.

In the afternoon, Chen Bai suggested leaving, as he still needed to prepare for the upcoming live stream. They exchanged WeChat contacts to keep in touch.

Zhang Ling arranged for her driver to take him back, inviting him to visit again sometime.

Given the mountain location, a good distance from the city, making a cab hard to come by, Chen Bai agreed.

Just like when they first met, Huo Qing stood by the gate, umbrella in hand, waving goodbye to him.

The vehicle faded into the rain, leaving only the relentless patter of raindrops behind.

Walking back through the manor's gates and across the courtyard, Huo Qing returned indoors just as a figure descended from the second floor.

It was her brother, refreshed and rejuvenated. His gaze swept over the living room before he inquired, "Where is he?"

The identity of 'he' was abundantly clear. Huo Qing replied, "He had to... attend to work; he just left."

Streaming—a secret shared solely between her and Erbai—nearly slipped out as she spoke, but she managed to catch herself in time, averting a slip of the tongue.

Huochuan said, "He's really gone?"

Huo Qing glanced at him. "He's not like those people you used to look for."

Only the people her scoundrel brother used to seek out would come knocking no matter what, wanting to stay. Erbai was just here for work, and it was clear he didn't fancy her brother in that way.

Huochuan gave a brief acknowledgment.

---

Chen Bai didn't have the driver take him all the way home, instead having the car stop at the subway station closest to the manor, choosing to take the subway back.

Work was work, and after considering various factors, he had no intention of letting anyone related to Caisen know where he lived, at least for now.

Though it was Saturday, few people were out due to the heavy rain. After transferring twice on the subway, he managed to find seats both times, making him somewhat drowsy.

Drowsy as he was, stepping out from the subway station into the cold wind laced with raindrops instantly woke him up.

Good news: He was almost home.

Bad news—the umbrella is still at the God of Fortune's manor.

The umbrella had been held for him by someone from the manor when he left and got into his car; it hadn't crossed his mind then, and he guessed that everyone else had forgotten about it as well.

While hesitating whether to dash home through the rain or simply saunter back without hurry, his phone in his pocket vibrated momentarily.

He pulled out his phone and glanced down at it.

It was a message from his good neighbor. With one hand still in his pocket, Chen Bai typed a reply.

Two seconds after sending the message, the other party tersely replied, "Wait for me."

Pink-haired, who had just stepped out with the intention of braving the heavy rain, slowly drew his leg back.

On the adjacent road, traffic crawled past slowly, headlights illuminating and then vanishing, streetlights dimmed by the incessant curtain of rain, leaving only faint glimmers.

Amidst the cacophony of rainfall, a figure under an umbrella approached from the end of the street, dressed in gray casual wear that nearly blended into the darkened street.

Reinforcements had arrived.

When they were still quite far away, the lively Pink-haired had already started waving.

The rescuer only had one umbrella and there was no convenience store on the way, so he could only come with one umbrella and they would have to share it on their way back.

Ducking under the umbrella, Chen Bai first expressed his gratitude to his enthusiastic good neighbor before lifting his head to ask, "Why did you suddenly think of sending a message today?"

This neighbor of his, unlike him, was not one for idle chatter; he only sent messages when there was something important. When he received the message earlier, he was slightly startled, thinking that perhaps his good neighbor's account had been hacked.

The neighbor said, "I didn't receive any messages today."

Not receiving any messages, he decided to send one himself.

It seemed logical enough, but something seemed off. Chen Bai chuckled and said, "I thought you'd be resting after your night shift, so I didn't send any messages."

Unable to disturb this person, all those useless messages ended up being sent to his new companion, Qingzhou.

"When I'm resting, messages don't bother me," the good neighbor said, "you can send them whenever you want."

Chen Bai laughed in response and agreed, then asked, "How did you know I went out?"

"This morning, I saw you buying flowers," Xu Sinian said, "Were you going on a date?"

As the sound of rain mingled with the voice that reached his ears, Chen Bai raised his head, taking an extra glance at the person beside him.

His good neighbor today wore only a hat, no mask, and from this distance, he could directly see those dark eyes that looked no different than usual.

It was hard to imagine that his neighbor, who never mentioned this topic in daily life, could say the word 'date' without batting an eyelid.

A peculiar sense of humor was triggered, and Pink-haired couldn't hold back his laughter, tilting backward in amusement.

Currently climbing the stairs, his composed neighbor reached out to steady him, preventing any accidents from happening due to his backward tilt.

"They were flowers for a friend's mother."

Pink-haired laughed until he caught his breath, only able to pat his chest, coughing a couple of times before waving his hand and saying, "Romantic relationships have nothing to do with me."

As long as the four-hundred-million debt remained, no one would be willing to engage in a relationship with him.

Chen Bai had a clear self-awareness and had already made peace with the prospect of being single for the rest of his life.