Chapter 100: Warmth Has Returned to My Side

Chapter 100: Warmth Returns to Me

When he came out of the military headquarters, Chu Lanting's eyes and ears were both red.

He rarely lost his composure in public; most of the time, he was used to finding a quiet corner to lick his wounds in private.

He didn't dare think about what had just happened outside the interrogation room.

He dared even less to meet the eyes of those around him.

He kept his head down, walking out of the military headquarters, only stopping when his head bumped into a solid wall of a man.

Before he could raise his hand to rub his forehead, a familiar, dry palm pressed against it.

"So careless?"

His ears, already red, turned even redder.

Chu Lanting looked at the face in front of him and murmured, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Mm, it was me who stopped suddenly. I still have a meeting later..."

"I understand. I can go back on my own."

Pei Du had only spoken halfway when another voice, still slightly nasal, interrupted him.

He lowered his gaze to look at the other man, seeing that his handsome face no longer bore a pained expression but had returned to its usual gentleness.

Pei Du's lips curved slightly upward as he released his hand from rubbing the other's forehead. "Mm, I should be home around nine in the evening."

This was the first time Pei Du had shared his schedule.

Chu Lanting had been on the main planet for ten days. During those ten days, he had lived alone in the villa, spending most of his time either reading or waiting for Pei Du to come home.

He knew clearly that what he was waiting for wasn't the lie detector in the interrogation room, but Pei Du himself.

But he was equally afraid of seeing Pei Du, afraid of facing his cold ruthlessness.

This feeling only grew stronger over time.

If Pei Du hadn't come back today, and if it had been delayed another day or two, he thought he might have briefly lost his mind and rushed to the military headquarters to demand some answers from Pei Du.

Now everything had an answer, and he should have been happy.

But when he suddenly heard Pei Du say he had a meeting tonight, he felt a pang of disappointment again.

In that instant, he even wondered if Pei Du had only said those words and acted that way just to comfort him.

This insecurity made his heart clench.

When he heard Pei Du's expected arrival time, a look of stunned surprise crossed Chu Lanting's face.

He blinked, and in his tear-moistened eyes, a hint of starlight in his smile finally emerged.

Then the smile widened.

Until that warm, dry palm covered his face again.

His vision was blocked, and what was also hidden was the intense desire that suddenly surged in the owner's eyes.

Especially when he felt the long, curled lashes brush against his palm, his heart felt like a feather had lightly brushed against it.

Pei Du's breath suddenly grew heavier.

"Is something wrong?"

With his vision suddenly blocked, Chu Lanting felt a little uneasy.

But when he caught the steady woody scent mixed with Pei Du's unique aura at the tip of his nose, the tension in his chest eased.

"It's nothing. I'll have Shen Yu take you back first. Xiaoqiang has made fresh dishes—eat a bit more when you get home. I'll be back soon."

Speaking quickly to get the words out, Pei Du stared intently at the lips before him.

Soon, he looked away.

As he lowered his hand, Shen Yu pulled up beside them.

The window rolled down, and Shen Yu's head poked out from inside the car: "Hey hey hey, get a room, alright? This isn't your love nest."

Though he said that, he might as well have had "More, I want to watch" written all over his face.

Chu Lanting immediately stepped back at that, his expression somewhat unnatural. "I'll go back and wait for you."

With that, he hurried to the rear door, opened it, and slipped inside.

Throughout it all, he didn't even glance at Pei Du.

Their tender moment ruined, Pei Du's softened features hardened again.

Shen Yu, who had been leaning on the window watching the show, thought, "Oh no," and the next second, a smile that looked worse than a cry appeared on his face.

Clasping his hands together as if in prayer, Shen Yu silently begged for mercy.

The response, naturally, was a cold stare from his superior.

His heart skipped a beat, and Shen Yu guiltily rubbed his nose.

Indeed, one shouldn't be so fond of watching the drama.

Now, after dropping him off and coming back, he'd definitely get an earful.

Though he was older than Pei Du, he always caved to the other's imposing presence.

Sometimes Shen Yu would even laugh at himself for being such a pushover.

"Let's go! Brother-in-law, hold tight—we'll be home soon!"

The car handled beautifully, and the windows had been specially tinted—those inside could see out clearly, but those outside couldn't see in.

Chu Lanting sat in the back seat. When Shen Yu spoke up to remind him, he was still staring at Pei Du outside the window.

The light spilled over him, lengthening his silhouette and making his features look even more sculpted.

His cold, stern expression was even more striking.

Perhaps sensing the gaze, Pei Du's attention suddenly shifted from Shen Yu to the rear window.

Caught peeking, Chu Lanting's heart thumped heavily, and he quickly buckled his seatbelt before Shen Yu could remind him again. "I'm buckled in."

The car shot out of the military compound's gates like an arrow released from a bow.

Only after the tall figure had vanished from sight did Chu Lanting reluctantly look away.

Shen Yu was unusually quiet for the entire ride. It wasn't until they were almost there that Chu Lanting noticed Shen Yu looked like he was about to burst with something he wanted to say.

Remembering that Pei Du had a meeting coming up and that Shen Yu, as his subordinate, definitely couldn't miss it, Chu Lanting swallowed the question on the tip of his tongue.

If Shen Yu really had something important to say, he probably wouldn't have held it in for this long.

After getting out of the car and thanking him, Chu Lanting watched him drive away before turning and heading toward the villa.

He still remembered what it had been like when he first arrived at the villa—ten days spent in a daze, seemingly lucid but truly lost.

Finally, he had welcomed back the dawn of his old days.

Smiling, he walked into the villa and greeted Xiaoqiang, then spotted the fresh dinner Xiaoqiang had already set out on the dining table.

"Madam seems very happy—why is that?"

Xiaoqiang followed behind him and handed him the utensils.

Chu Lanting took them with a smile, bending down to stroke the robot's smooth metal head. "Because warmth has come back to me."

"Oh~~~, Xiaoqiang understands! This is what they call being nourished by love!"

The robot butler's blunt words made his cheeks burn.

Without bothering to argue, Chu Lanting finished dinner, washed up, and then sat on the sofa to continue reading the book he hadn't finished the day before.

The clock on the wall ticked away, minute by minute.

Two hours passed without him turning a single page. When he saw it was almost nine o'clock, a look of anticipation—one distinctly different from his usual expression—appeared on his handsome face.

His gaze kept drifting toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.

When a blinding beam of light cut through the darkness and grew closer, the familiar car pulled into the villa's outdoor garage. He sprang up from the sofa impatiently and rushed toward the entrance without even bothering to put on his slippers.

When a glaring light approached from the distance, growing closer, the familiar car pulled into the parking garage outside the villa.

He shot up from the sofa impatiently, not even bothering to put on his slippers as he rushed toward the entrance.

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Chapter 100 celebration! \\٩( 'ω' )و// Thanks for sticking with me, my dear wives. Love you all!!!