Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Ji Ruisi’s heart clenched, and he blurted out, “Oh, your SO asked me something.”

He regretted it the moment he said it—just as he had promised Fu Xie to keep it a secret.

In the past, Ji Ruisi might have called Fu Xie a “casual fling,” but ever since Xi Wenlun officially recognized Fu Xie’s position in the Xi family, he realized his friend was serious.

When Xi Wenlun first mentioned this to him, Ji Ruisi thought he was joking—until he received a stern warning.

Xi Wenlun held out his hand. The meaning was clear: *Hand it over.*

Afraid that Fu Xie might whisper complaints to Xi Wenlun later, Ji Ruisi slipped his phone back into his pocket and made up an excuse. “Come on, your better half probably wants to keep it secret. Maybe they’re planning a surprise for you. Don’t spoil the surprise.”

At that, Xi Wenlun withdrew his hand and narrowed his eyes at him.

“We’ve known each other for years—why would I lie to you?” Ji Ruisi was breaking out in a sweat.

Luckily, Xi Wenlun didn’t press further. With work piling up, his secretary soon reminded him the meeting was about to start.

“You’re off the hook… for now,” Xi Wenlun said before walking away.

Meanwhile, Fu Xie was sprawled on the sofa, snacking on treats sent by Patriarch Xi, when suddenly Ji Ruisi stopped replying.

He tossed his phone aside and leafed through his notebooks. After flipping through a few pages, he checked again—still no message from Ji Ruisi.

Why leave me hanging like that?

Fu Xie wasn’t going to sit around waiting. He decided to look around the mansion for clues.

He often went into Xi Wenlun’s room, which aside from that godforsaken drawer, didn’t hold much else.

Fu Xie genuinely couldn’t comprehend why Xi Wenlun bought those things. Did he just have them for show since he never used them?

Was he imagining using them on the Main Bottom one day? But if the Main Bottom refused, wouldn’t they just collect dust?

Wait—he *had* found someone to use them on. Himself.

Suddenly, Fu Xie felt a wave of regret. Why had he given in so easily when Xi Wenlun brought them out?

Could it be…

No, he couldn’t dwell on it.

He decided to pretend it never happened, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of the study.

This was where Xi Wenlun spent most of his time working—maybe there was something interesting here.

The door wasn’t locked, which made sense; there probably weren’t any classified documents inside.

After looking around, Fu Xie noticed the room was minimally decorated, filled mostly with technical manuals.

On the desk were files on both domestic and foreign tariff policies, along with various economic and stock market reports. So far, nothing related to the Xi family.

Not even a photo album?

He kept looking, making sure to put everything back exactly as he found it.

All this movement was exhausting for a homebody like him—Fu Xie even found himself working up a sweat.

He was wearing long-sleeved pajamas today and couldn’t be bothered to go back and change, so he turned the air conditioning to the lowest setting.

He had no idea how long he’d been searching.

Suddenly, the study door emitted a *click*, and Fu Xie frantically tried to hide what he was doing.

He looked up abruptly, realizing someone had entered, and saw Xi Wenlun walking in.

“Mr. Xi, welcome back,” Fu Xie said, placing his hands behind his back with a smile.

He forced himself to appear casual, secretly relieved that he’d been tidying up as he went.

Otherwise, explaining would’ve been tough.

Xi Wenlun nodded calmly. The entire ride home, he’d been thinking about Fu Xie’s surprise, so he came looking for him as soon as he got back.

After a servant mentioned Fu Xie was in the study, he headed straight upstairs.

Fu Xie’s gaze shifted uneasily as he tried to come up with an explanation. “Uh, well, I was just… cleaning up a bit.”

What a lame excuse—Fu Xie inwardly groaned.

Xi Wenlun saw through his pretense, but found Fu Xie’s flustered state endearing and decided to play along. “Cleaning? The maids already did a thorough cleaning today.”

“I—uh—” Fu Xie stuttered, tongue-tied and almost tearful.

God, he sucked at this kind of high-stakes small talk!

Not wanting to push too far, Xi Wenlun backed off. “Maybe the maid misremembered.”

Ji Ruisi had told Xi Wenlun that Fu Xie was preparing a surprise. Since it seemed like Fu Xie wasn’t ready yet, better not to pressure him too much.

Fu Xie gaped at Xi Wenlun—had he been body-snatched?

Had he lost his mind?

He almost reached out to feel Xi Wenlun’s forehead for a fever, but instead bumped into a small cabinet.

The contents spilled out, and Fu Xie recoiled, shoulders tensing.

“Sorry!”

Xi Wenlun frowned and walked over, lifting the hem of Fu Xie’s pajama pants to inspect where he’d hit himself. “Are you hurt?”

A faint red mark bloomed on his pale skin, and Xi Wenlun’s fingers slightly pressed into the soft flesh of his thigh.

He remembered how those legs felt around him—slender and straight, the softness of his calves pressing against him.

Fu Xie moved his leg. “It had hurt at first, but now it’s fine.”

With Fu Xie unharmed, the two finally had a chance to look at the scattered items.

Mostly junk—but one thing stuck out.

It was a fluffy cat tail in a gift box—long and sleek, its black fur silky, with a purple ribbon tied in a bow around the metal attachment.

Fu Xie’s eyes widened in alarm as he stared at Xi Wenlun.

Dude, really?! Your room’s one thing, but here too?!

Mr. Xi cast an amused glance at the creature’s tail before turning to Fu Xie, a faint smile curling his lips. “So this is your surprise?”

“Surprise?” Fu Xie was completely confused. “What surprise?”

“Ji Ruisi mentioned…”

At the sound of that surname, Fu Xie froze. His mind raced as he connected the dots between Mr. Xi’s words.

He had thought his secret was exposed, but it seemed Mr. Xi mistakenly believed Ji Ruisi had conspired with him to plan a surprise?

Fu Xie hadn’t intended this at all. Though he didn’t understand why Ji Ruisi had given him such an excuse, he had no choice but to play along—pretending he’d come to the study to set up a surprise.

Wait—had he agreed too fast?

Fu Xie snuck another glance at the tail and instantly felt his scalp prickle.

It was as if a black hole had suddenly opened beneath him, pulling him spiraling down into its depths.

Mr. Xi mistook his dazed look for disappointment over the early discovery and reassured him, *ahem*, "It's alright. I'll pretend I don't know. ...I'm still looking forward to it."

If not for his carefully maintained persona, Fu Xie really would have rolled his eyes.

Happy now, you old pervert!

After an awkward chuckle, Fu Xie decided to change the subject and walked over to the tea table in the study. “Mr. Xi, you’ve been standing so long—don’t you feel tired? Sit down, and I’ll pour you some water.”

Mr. Xi calmly settled onto the sofa while Fu Xie grabbed a cup and placed it on the table.

The porcelain teapot was heavy, filled with tea brewed earlier by the servants. Left under the blasting AC for too long, the whole pot had turned icy cold.

His hand slipped slightly, and the tea overflowed the cup, spilling onto the table.

Whenever he made a mistake, Fu Xie couldn’t help tensing up, his hands trembling uncontrollably—this time, he ended up spilling nearly all the tea.

Mr. Xi, sitting close by, was caught off guard and splashed head to toe.

Drenched, his damp hair clung to his forehead, and his white shirt soaked through, sticking to his body and outlining his well-defined muscles—and something even more suggestive.

Tea droplets slid from his hair, down his high nose bridge, along his sculpted jawline, and finally trickled into the valley between his fair, firm pectorals, disappearing into the depths.

Fu Xie swallowed thickly.

He knew he should apologize first, but instead, he found himself staring blankly at Mr. Xi, speechless.

The old pervert was *really* good-looking.

Mr. Xi looked back at him with damp, elegantly arched phoenix eyes. Catching Fu Xie’s gaze, he smirked teasingly.

“Like what you see?”

Fu Xie nodded like an idiot.

Only after did he realize what he’d done, his cheeks flushing crimson all the way to his ears.

He stammered, trying to recover. “I—I’ll go get something to dry you off!”

He turned to flee but was abruptly caught by the arm.

“No need for the trouble,” Mr. Xi stopped him, pressing him down onto the sofa. “Isn’t there something convenient on you right now?”

Fu Xie's peach blossom eyes went wide. He could feel the dampness from Xi Wenlun’s tea as he leaned in, his pajamas getting slightly damp too.

The dampness soon turned cold, then warmed again as Xi Wenlun pressed closer.

He didn’t want to push him away.

Xi Wenlun’s fingers were long, with distinct knuckles and prominent veins, yet they were remarkably fair and delicate—clearly the hands of a young master who’d never known hardship.

But it was these hands, these fingers…

The moment Fu Xie caught sight of those fingers, his knees inexplicably went weak.

Only he knew just how powerful they could be at certain times.

Fu Xie obediently relaxed his limbs, like a docile house pet, letting his owner do as he pleased.

A sudden cold draft rushed in, interrupting Xi Wenlun’s movements.

He grabbed the air conditioner remote, frowned at the displayed temperature, and adjusted it higher. “Who set it so low?” Then flung it aside.

Neither of them gave it another thought.

Inside the room, no one cared where the remote landed anymore.

*

Exhausted from overexertion, Fu Xie was drifting toward sleep.

Battling his drooping eyelids, he recalled how Xi Wenlun often teased him about having such weak stamina for someone his age. This time, he was determined to stay awake longer than Xi Wenlun for once.

Until he heard—

A sneeze.

Fu Xie jolted fully awake, instantly reaching out to feel Xi Wenlun’s forehead.

The next morning, doctors gathered in the Xi family villa, treating Xi Wenlun, now sporting a cooling patch on his forehead.

Fu Xie could only stand to the side, watching anxiously as they worked.

It seemed his supposed "surprise" would have to become real after all.

With a pang of regret, Fu Xie wondered—was it too late to get rid of that tail now?