Pity Had an Expiration Date

To disgust Yu Yaochen, Gu Yuechen deliberately ordered a set meal for four.

Now he had succeeded in driving Yu Yaochen away, leaving himself to foot the bill.

Gu Yuechen hurriedly asked the server for the menu back. When he saw the price of 398 yuan listed for the set meal, he nearly coughed up blood.

An embarrassed look crossed his face as he looked up at the server.

"My friend left. Can this be refunded?"

The server shook her head. "Sorry, once the food has been prepared, we can't issue a refund."

Gu Yuechen said nothing more and could only pick up his chopsticks and start eating.

It was fine. There was a little refrigerator at home. He could pack up whatever he could not finish and freeze it, making it dinner for the next few days.

As Gu Yuechen ate, he regretted what he had just done.

He should not have deliberately brought Yu Yaochen here just to bully him. In the end, he was still the one suffering the heavy loss.

Gu Yuechen ate as much as he could, then called over the server to pack up the rest when he truly could not eat another bite.

There were three boxes in total. Gu Yuechen thought they would make exactly three dinners.

Grandma was getting old and probably could not eat overnight food, so he would deal with it himself.

"How much is it altogether? Three hundred ninety-eight, right?" Gu Yuechen rarely ate at restaurants in malls, so he called over the server to confirm the amount.

"Your table has already been paid for."

"Paid for?" Gu Yuechen froze. "When was it paid?"

"Half an hour ago." The server pointed toward the entrance. "After your friend paid, he asked me to tell you that he was waiting outside."

Yu Yaochen had actually already paid the bill?

Then why had he not come back inside?

Gu Yuechen looked at the food he had packed up, the corners of his mouth twitching twice.

Was there really any need to be this dramatic?

It was only bullfrog.

It had already been cooked into food. It could not exactly jump out of the pot and bite him.

Gu Yuechen carried the bag outside. After looking around, he spotted Yu Yaochen by the elevators.

He walked up to Yu Yaochen and noticed that the other man looked somewhat pale. There were water stains around his collar, as though he had accidentally splashed himself while washing his face.

Could it be that Yu Yaochen had gone to the restroom to throw up?

Yu Yaochen spoke first, his voice weak. "Finished eating?"

Gu Yuechen nodded. "Why didn't you go in and eat? I thought you'd left."

Yu Yaochen naturally could not do something so rude. He had said he would treat Gu Yuechen to a meal, so how could he leave halfway through?

"I can't eat bullfrog."

"Why?"

Yu Yaochen did not answer his question. Instead, he lowered his gaze and saw what Gu Yuechen was carrying.

Gu Yuechen's expression changed slightly, and he quickly explained, "I don't like wasting food, so I had them pack it up."

The last time they were at the Western restaurant, Gu Yuechen had not touched his food at all before leaving, making that explanation sound rather unconvincing.

Fortunately, Yu Yaochen did not ask further. "Let's go. I'll take you home."

How could Gu Yuechen dare let Yu Yaochen take him back again? What if Yu Yaochen wanted to go upstairs to see the teacher? He could not keep pretending that he had forgotten his access card.

They had been out for so long, yet Yu Yaochen had not mentioned what happened that night. Clearly, Yu Yaochen had not discovered his lie, so why put himself at a disadvantage again?

"No need to trouble yourself. You seem pretty unwell, so I'll go back on my own."

"It's fine. It's on the way."

"I still need to visit a friend, so it's not on the way."

Yu Yaochen saw his reluctance and did not force the matter.

"Be careful on your way back. You can message me on WeChat when you get home."

Gu Yuechen knew he was only being polite and did not take it seriously. "Okay."

After parting with Yu Yaochen, Gu Yuechen opened his map app, found a direct bus stop, and followed the directions there.

On the bus, he looked at the food in his arms, a malicious smile curling his lips.

Although it had wasted some time, seeing Yu Yaochen's disheveled side still made him feel rather satisfied.

Now, he could be certain of two things. First, Yu Yaochen had not discovered his lie. Second, they would never meet again.

That was fine too. Even if Pei Huanyi and Yu Yaochen were destined to become husband and wife, at least the time Pei Huanyi spent working at the pet hospital belonged to him.

The gap between him and Pei Huanyi was too great. They had never had a chance to be together. Before this, he had merely been indulging in wishful thinking.

Now, he had only one wish. As long as he could see Pei Huanyi every day and talk to him, he would be content.

In less than a month, even Gu Yuechen's only wish was shattered.

That morning, Pei Huanyi arrived at the pet hospital and immediately gathered everyone for a meeting.

Gu Yuechen naturally squeezed himself into the very front, solely so Pei Huanyi might notice him.

"Starting tomorrow, I won't be coming in to work anymore."

The moment those words fell, an uproar broke out around them.

The smile on Gu Yuechen's lips froze, and his eyes stared at Pei Huanyi in disbelief.

Pei Huanyi did not notice his gaze and continued, "However, I'm still your boss. The benefits you're entitled to won't change because I'm leaving. If you encounter any difficulties at work, you can message me on WeChat anytime."

At that moment, a colleague joked, "Leaving so soon, Boss? Are you going to become a househusband?"

Everyone laughed along, but Gu Yuechen found even curling his lips difficult.

Pei Huanyi did not mind their teasing. With a gentle expression, he said, "I won't get the chance to be a househusband. I need to help manage my fiancée's company."

"Boss and the boss lady are so loving! I'm so jealous!"

"Doctor Pei, don't forget to treat us coworkers to wedding drinks just because you've left the pet hospital."

"Don't worry. I won't forget," Pei Huanyi said with a smile.

Gu Yuechen could not take in anything that was said afterward. His mind buzzed nonstop, filled only with the fact that he would never see Pei Huanyi again.

After the meeting ended, Gu Yuechen returned to his workstation like a walking corpse.

Xu Rui came over to see him immediately, concern appearing in his eyes.

"Yuechen, you look a little pale. Do you want something to drink? My treat."

Gu Yuechen shook his head, listlessly saying, "No, thank you."

Xu Rui did not know how to bring up Pei Huanyi. That day, he had seen Gu Yuechen get into a luxury car and thought Gu Yuechen was dating someone. He had wanted to be happy for him, but now it seemed they really were just ordinary friends.

"Yuechen, if you feel unwell anywhere, you can come find me anytime." Xu Rui smiled at him. "Anyway, when everyone gets busy, supervision isn't so strict. You can go out for a walk, and I'll watch the front desk for you."

Gu Yuechen softly hummed in acknowledgment, then turned on his computer and got busy, unilaterally ending the conversation.

Xu Rui moved his lips, then turned and left after silently sighing.

Gu Yuechen looked at the spreadsheet on his computer, but his mind was completely blank. No matter what, he could not continue working.

He got up and went to the restroom, repeatedly splashing cold water over his face.

Looking at his hopeless, haggard reflection in the mirror, he let out a self-mocking laugh.

He was an orphan abandoned by his parents. How could he possibly hold on to the sun that had warmed him?

Heaven's pity for him had reached its expiration date. Now, it was time to take everything back. What was there for him to complain about?

From beginning to end, it had all been a lie. It was already fortunate enough that Pei Huanyi had never seen his wretched side.

But Gu Yuechen was unwilling to accept it.

He took out his phone, opened WeChat, found Yu Yaochen's profile picture, and opened his Moments.

Since parting at the mall, he had not contacted Yu Yaochen or looked at Yu Yaochen's Moments.

He saw a photo Yu Yaochen had posted two days ago, tapped it, and enlarged it.

It was an art exhibition, and Pei Huanyi was in the photo.

Gu Yuechen nearly bit through his lip. A moment later, his fingers trembled as he typed.

Gu Yuechen: [Are you free this weekend? I'll treat you to a movie.]