Chapter 73: Falling in Love at First Sight with a Man

Chapter 73: Falling for a Guy at First Sight

By the time the two separated, the flush on Chu Lanting's face had already cooled down.

Lowering his head slightly, he picked at his fingernails and spoke softly, "How are you? Feeling better?"

A moment ago, when he'd noticed the arms around his waist tightening, he'd heard a pained grunt right by his ear.

Finding out Pei Du had a headache, he'd started to get up to take him to see Uncle Tian first.

To his surprise, Pei Du didn't want to go see a doctor.

Instead of going to Uncle Tian's, when he suggested taking him out, the arms already wrapped around his waist squeezed even tighter.

What he dared not even recall was that Pei Du, just by holding him, had already...

Blinking hard, Chu Lanting tried to push that lingering feeling out of his mind.

Finally, once Pei Du had recovered, he managed to suppress his own restless thoughts, asked him to let go, and slowly rose from his embrace.

"Yeah, my head doesn't hurt much anymore."

The voice from above sounded a bit muffled. Chu Lanting didn't keep the conversation going, instead turning toward the kitchen.

"Good to hear. If it still hurts, we've gotta go see Uncle Tian."

"Have a seat for now. I'll go make lunch."

Ever since he'd learned during his lunch break that Pei Du had collapsed in the warehouse out of nowhere, Chu Lanting's nerves had been wound tight the whole time.

Now that Pei Du was awake, his tension eased—but in the process of easing, that taut string suddenly snapped.

Pei Du had regained his memories.

And with that, he'd taken away A Du, the one who had once lived alongside him.

With that thought in mind, he'd sat staring into space in the living room for a long while. Despite having so much work on his plate, he couldn't bring himself to focus on any of it.

Holding a mystery bird egg that A Du had bought at the market two days ago, Chu Lanting suddenly felt a suffocating tightness in his chest, his breathing slowing down with it.

He should've been used to saying goodbye by now. Back when A Du had clung to him, begging to stay together, he'd already told himself the same thing.

But he'd overestimated his own resilience—in the end, he was left torn up by a flood of memories.

His throat tightened, and he felt like he needed to let something out.

Chu Lanting closed his eyes and rubbed them, waiting until the sore, stinging feeling had eased somewhat before he began preparing lunch.

His cooking skills were honestly not great. Back when he'd been with A Du, he'd only cooked during the very beginning.

Later, A Du's cooking had far surpassed his, and the kitchen became A Du's territory.

Now, standing at the stove, staring at the cookware before him, he had no idea whether to start with lighting the fire or cracking the egg.

Then, an arm appeared from behind him, casually taking the egg from his hand, and he heard that low voice by his ear again.

"Let me handle it. Go take a break."

Instinctively looking up at the person who had appeared out of nowhere behind him, Chu Lanting furrowed his brow. When he spoke, he realized his voice came out hoarse, barely sounding like himself.

"It's fine, I've got it—"

"You're in no shape to cook. This egg is a bit pricey—you don't want it to turn out badly, do you?"

A Du had bought the egg. When he'd pulled it out from his clothes back then, he'd been grinning from ear to ear, saying he wanted to hatch the little bird inside.

Once the bird grew up, it could lay them lots of eggs.

At the time, Chu Lanting hadn't popped his bubble by telling him birds don't lay many eggs in a year. Instead, he'd just gone along with it, even digging out a tattered piece of clothing from the cabinet for him to use to keep it warm.

But now, before the little bird inside the egg had even come out, A Du had become Pei Du.

With no more hope for a "new life," Chu Lanting had taken the egg out.

After all, no one knew whether the little bird would even hatch at all—and even if it did, whether it would be male or female.

Better to just eat it, and hold onto the memory.

After hearing Pei Du's words, not wanting to ruin that memory, Chu Lanting nodded and handed the egg over.

Worried whether Pei Du, with his memories restored, actually knew his way around a kitchen, he didn't wander far—just stood at the kitchen doorway watching him work.

Seeming to sense the gaze fixed on his back, Pei Du turned around and caught his eye.

"I'm actually a decent cook. Don't worry, I've got this."

His little secret exposed, Chu Lanting's face flushed with embarrassment. "Then I won't disturb you. Sorry for the trouble."

With that, he turned and left, returning to the living room.

The lesson plans on the dining table had already been put in order.

Unlike A Du, who only knew how to make a mess and cling to him, refusing to let him work, Pei Du's personality seemed no different from the protagonists in other novels.

The scattered lesson plans had been neatly stacked, pens lined up neatly beside the paper.

In just a short time, even the materials he'd casually tossed aside had been neatly organized.

His throat, already tight, got even tighter. Chu Lanting's fingers, resting on the tabletop, twitched.

Then, like a kid throwing a tantrum, he took everything Pei Du had just organized and messed it all up again.

In the kitchen.

Pei Du hadn't expected the boomerang he'd thrown earlier to come flying right back at him.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Such a simple phrase, but it hit him like a punch to the chest.

If the Pei Du who lived on the main planet was Major General Pei—decisive, ruthless, downright brutal in his methods—

then when he'd regained his memories, opened his eyes, and seen the worry in Chu Lanting's eyes, he had to admit that in that moment, his heart was pounding.

If at that time his body still carried the emotions from when he'd lost his memory, then when he'd fallen in the living room a moment ago, accidentally pulling Chu Lanting down with him—

Pei Du was completely sure of one thing.

He'd fallen for a man at first sight.

It wasn't just his heart—his body reacted too...

Major General Pei, who had never lost his composure like this before, felt his thoughts spiral into chaos.

He should have shoved the man in his arms away, but the moment his hand touched his waist, his grip tightened involuntarily.

Chu Lanting belonged to A Du, not to him, Pei Du.

That realization had already settled in his mind the moment he saw the look of dejection on the other's face after they both stood up.

Bracing one hand on the sink counter, Pei Du's eyes were half-closed. When he heard a faint noise from outside the kitchen, he turned his head to look. Upon seeing Chu Lanting messing up the lesson plans he had just neatly arranged, his eyes narrowed sharply.

At the same time, the bird egg tightly clutched in his hand cracked with a sharp sound.