Chapter 163: The Snail Guy (Transition Chapter)

Chapter 163: The Snail Houseboy (Transition Chapter)

But the person beside him seemed not to have heard, breathing steadily and naturally, as if asleep.

"What a quick sleeper—out like a light the moment his head hits the pillow." He had originally thought that Qin Zhizhou, accustomed to sleeping on spring mattresses, would have trouble falling asleep on his modest bed, but unexpectedly, he wasn't picky in the slightest.

Not fussy at all.

Lin Huaiqing turned over, turning his back to Qin Zhizhou, and before long, he too drifted off to sleep.

In the darkness, Qin Zhizhou, whose breathing had been steady, suddenly opened his eyes. Through the faint light filtering in from the curtains, he gazed at Lin Huaiqing's sleeping form.

Sensing that the person beside him had fallen asleep, Qin Zhizhou stretched out his long arm and pulled Lin Huaiqing into his embrace, as if holding a giant stuffed animal.

Carefully burying his head into the crook of Lin Huaiqing's neck, he took a deep breath. He caught a whiff of that faint osmanthus fragrance, and Qin Zhizhou seemed to experience immense satisfaction.

He had noticed in the bathroom earlier that Lin Huaiqing's body wash in the modern world also had the fragrance of Golden Osmanthus, exactly like the handmade soap balls from the other world.

Breathing in Lin Huaiqing's distinctive, fresh, and fragrant scent, Qin Zhizhou, who usually suffered from insomnia, actually slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky.

When Qin Zhizhou woke up and looked at his phone, it was already nine in the morning. At one in the afternoon, he had a high-level meeting at the Time-Space Bureau to attend.

The wind and rain outside had already died down considerably. Since there was still time before departure, Qin Zhizhou decided to get up and prepare breakfast for Lin Huaiqing.

At this moment, Lin Huaiqing's mental energy seemed not yet fully recovered—he still hadn't woken up, lying softly and obediently in his arms, hair tousled, looking very squeezable!

Qin Zhizhou's hand reached out to Lin Huaiqing's face, wanting to pinch it,

But after a moment's thought, he withdrew it. Maybe he'd been a monk in a past life—he could even resist this.

After all, after this night, he and Lin Huaiqing were still just ordinary friends. What if he did something like that and Lin Huaiqing thought he was a weirdo?

Qin Zhizhou carefully eased his arm out from under Lin Huaiqing's head, but just as he was about to succeed, Lin Huaiqing, half-asleep, grabbed his arm with both hands, refusing to let him leave.

His voice carried a hint of playful whining: "Stop it! Qin Li, let me sleep a little longer!"

Qin Zhizhou's heart slammed against his chest, pounding wildly. His arm was held tightly by Lin Huaiqing's hands, and he couldn't bear to pull it away.

So he remembered everything—even after returning to the modern world, when his mind was hazy, he would mistake the person beside him for Qin Li.

Could it be that everything Lin Huaiqing had said before were lies?

Qin Zhizhou, despite being called by the wrong name, inexplicably felt a surge of joy.

He propped Lin Huaiqing's pillow underneath his arm, freed his hand, and hummed a tune as he headed to the kitchen to make Lin Huaiqing a special breakfast.

But when he opened the refrigerator, Qin Zhizhou was stunned by the emptiness inside.

Aside from rows of chilled mineral water and a few bottles of drinks, there wasn't a single vegetable in the fridge.

Though it made sense—given Lin Huaiqing's job, he was away for anywhere from ten days to over a month at a stretch. Even if he had fruits or vegetables, they would have rotted long ago.

But did Lin Huaiqing really live on takeout and the boxes of instant noodles piled by the door even on his days off?

That was way too unhealthy a lifestyle.

Qin Zhizhou made a phone call, gave a few instructions, and about twenty minutes later, his assistant arrived loaded down with bags of groceries.

After spending an hour alone in the kitchen, once the meal was finally prepared, Qin Zhizhou went into the bedroom to wake Lin Huaiqing for breakfast.

"Hmm? You..." Lin Huaiqing's mind was foggy for a moment before he remembered who this incredibly charming man who'd appeared in his home was.

"Get dressed first, then come out and eat."

Lin Huaiqing looked down and realized that three buttons on his pajama collar had somehow come undone, revealing a large expanse of bare chest.

Hastily buttoning them up, Lin Huaiqing then noticed a delicious aroma wafting through his living room.

He had never imagined that he could wake up and have a hot meal ready for him! And without having to scramble for it.

Lin Huaiqing was momentarily stunned. If Qin Zhizhou were a woman, he would have already come up with names for their future children.

"Zhizhou, you made all this?"

"Yeah! Go on, try it—how is it?"

Lin Huaiqing hurried to the table, his eyes fixed on the several dishes that looked and smelled delicious, gleaming with excitement.

"But... I don't even have this many ingredients at home? Are you some kind of magical snail houseboy?"

Lin Huaiqing couldn't hold back any longer and dug in—they looked amazing, and tasted even better!

"Try this one, slow down." Qin Zhizhou barely ate anything himself, spending most of his time piling food onto Lin Huaiqing's plate.

After they finished eating, Lin Huaiqing felt a bit awkward.

After all, the guy was his boss—how could he let his boss keep piling food on his plate?

"Zhizhou, aren't you eating?"

"It's fine, I'm already full. I need to head back to the bureau this afternoon. You coming?"

Lin Huaiqing thought it over—he'd been resting at home for several days, and the review department hadn't called him, so there probably wasn't any problem, right?

"Sure! I was just thinking I'd go too."

After the meal, Lin Huaiqing caught a ride with Qin Zhizhou, and the two headed back to the Time-Space Bureau together.

It happened to be Monday, and Sister Li was on shift. After they walked through the main gate, Lin Huaiqing said goodbye to Qin Zhizhou and headed straight to Sister Li's office.

"Xiao Lin? Why are you back again? Haven't you only been off for four days?" Sister Li was a bit surprised to see Lin Huaiqing at work.

"Sister Li, I've rested enough. I just came to ask—when's the next mission assignment?"

Sister Li checked the records on her computer; right now, every hibernation pod was occupied.

"No can do, Xiao Lin. You'll have to wait a bit longer—we're fully booked, and even on the waiting list, you're more than ten places back. Take a few more days off."

Though Lin Huaiqing was a bit disappointed at having come all the way for nothing, he quickly perked up. "Alright then, Sister Li. Please put me on the list, and I'll come back when my turn comes up."

Lin Huaiqing took a cab home, but early that afternoon, he got a message from Sister Li telling him to come back to the office and get ready for work.

With no other choice, Lin Huaiqing rushed back in a hurry.

"Sister Li, didn't you say it would take a few days? Why so fast?" He hadn't even warmed his seat yet.

"Who knows what kind of luck you've got? I submitted the application this morning, and by two in the afternoon, the higher-ups approved it. Others who applied before you haven't gotten theirs yet!"

"Really? Huh, go figure..."

The first person that came to Lin Huaiqing's mind was Qin Zhizhou. So treating your boss to a meal really did pay off—you could even get special treatment.

But on second thought, Qin Zhizhou was from the Medical Department—that kind of assignment work didn't seem to be under his purview, did it?

"Alright, go get ready. Your turn's coming up soon."

"Sure thing! Thanks, Sister Li!"