A Bit of a Letdown

Yu Yaochen had been thinking the same thing.

For the time being, he could not let the Pei Household discover Gu Yuechen's existence. At the very least, he had to wait until he had more or less settled everything before making their relationship public.

"Okay, I promise you." Afraid that Gu Yuechen would feel insecure, Yu Yaochen gently squeezed his palm. "It won't take long. Wait for me to sort things out, then we'll go public..."

Gu Yuechen nodded with an indifferent expression.

There would never be such a day.

"Go on." Yu Yaochen said softly, "I'll pick you up tonight."

Gu Yuechen had not expected Yu Yaochen to come see him again that evening. Wasn't he being a little too clingy?

But right now, he needed Yu Yaochen to cling to him.

The more time Yu Yaochen spent with him, the less time he would spend seeing Pei Huanyi.

That would also help his plan.

"Okay, then I'll see you tonight."

Yu Yaochen really wanted to kiss Gu Yuechen's cheek, but the other man was unwilling, so he did not press the matter.

He could only hold Gu Yuechen's hand tightly and reluctantly, not letting go until a long while later as he watched Gu Yuechen enter the pet hospital.

There was still more than an hour before work started. Gu Yuechen truly did not want to see Yu Yaochen's face, so he would rather come here early and wait around.

The colleague from the night shift was not surprised to see him. Back when Pei Huanyi still worked here, Gu Yuechen had often arrived early for work.

"Go get some rest and breakfast first." Gu Yuechen smiled at him. "I'll keep watch here."

The colleague yawned and nodded gratefully.

Once the engagement was called off, Pei Huanyi would return here, so Gu Yuechen planned to continue maintaining his warm and kind persona.

When work began, Xu Rui arrived as well, immediately looking at Gu Yuechen.

"Is your headache any better?"

Gu Yuechen froze for a moment before finally remembering the lie he had told last night.

"It's better."

Xu Rui sighed in relief. "That's good. I was worried you'd force yourself through it without taking medicine, so I specifically brought some headache medicine from home."

Gu Yuechen lowered his eyes and glanced at the small bag Xu Rui was carrying.

"Thanks, but it doesn't hurt anymore."

Xu Rui set the bag on Gu Yuechen's desk. "Just leave it here in case you need it someday."

After saying that, he belatedly realized how inappropriate it sounded and hurriedly explained, "I'm not cursing you. I just thought it would be good to keep some medicine at your desk in case of emergencies."

Gu Yuechen understood Xu Rui's intentions. He had used Xu Rui a few days ago and had probably given him the wrong idea.

Now that he had achieved his goal, he should keep some distance from Xu Rui.

"No need." Gu Yuechen said, "You should take it home. Oh, and how much did the taxi cost last night? I'll split it with you."

"It wasn't much. No need to split it."

"That won't do. Nobody's money comes from the wind."

Gu Yuechen picked up his phone, hesitated for a moment, then transferred one hundred yuan to Xu Rui.

"This is for the taxi and umbrella."

Xu Rui sensed Gu Yuechen's distance, and a trace of gloom flashed through his eyes.

"It wasn't that much." Xu Rui accepted the payment, then transferred forty yuan back.

He stared at Gu Yuechen with a complicated look for a long time. Only when a colleague inside called for him did he carry the headache medicine in.

Gu Yuechen was used to using people and did not feel there was anything to be guilty about.

During this period, he had treated Xu Rui to meals and movies. When he had temporarily stayed at Xu Rui's home, he had also taken the initiative to handle all the housework. He believed he had already paid him back.

Gu Yuechen turned on his computer and quickly put the matter out of his mind.

In the evening, before it was even time to get off work, Yu Yaochen's luxury car appeared at the entrance.

Gu Yuechen did not want Yu Yaochen to come inside, lest his colleagues notice something. He sent him a text telling him to park farther away and wait in the car.

Yu Yaochen obediently did as he was told, parking beside the shops across from the pet hospital.

With a smile on his lips, he picked up his phone and replied to Gu Yuechen's message.

[We've only been apart for a few hours, and I already miss you.]

Gu Yuechen naturally saw the message too. With Yu Yaochen not beside him, he could freely show his disgust.

He muttered, "Disgusting," then shut off his phone screen without any intention of replying.

Gu Yuechen had long finished his work, but he simply did not want to see Yu Yaochen too soon, deliberately dragging things out until the very end before coming outside.

He looked around, and only after confirming there were no acquaintances nearby did he get into Yu Yaochen's car.

As soon as he opened the door, an apologetic expression appeared on his face. "Sorry, there was too much to do today, so I couldn't get off work on time. Have you been waiting long?"

"Not long." Yu Yaochen, who had waited nearly two hours, showed no temper at all. Wearing a gentle, considerate smile, he leaned over to buckle Gu Yuechen's seat belt. "Did you see my message?"

Gu Yuechen feigned confusion. "What message? After I sent you that one, I didn't look at my phone again."

Thinking of the mushy thing he had said, the tips of Yu Yaochen's ears turned red. He shook his head with slight embarrassment.

"It wasn't anything important." After fastening the seat belt, Yu Yaochen raised a hand to touch Gu Yuechen's face, brushing the loose hair from his forehead back so it would not poke his eyes. "Your hair seems to have grown out. Do you want to go get it cut?"

To save money, Gu Yuechen always cut his own hair.

Even the blond hair he had dyed before was done with discounted hair dye he had bought online.

"No need. It's already late. I'll cut it myself another day." Gu Yuechen did not want to waste the money, nor did he want Yu Yaochen to notice his financial straits.

"Then let's go eat." Yu Yaochen said, "There's a restaurant up ahead that looks pretty good. Do you want to try it?"

Gu Yuechen suddenly fell silent.

In Yu Yaochen's mind, they were together now. Maybe they were lovers, or maybe something less official.

He would probably insist on paying after dinner.

But did he really want Yu Yaochen to pay for every meal?

If Yu Yaochen spent too much money on him, would all of this automatically become the equivalent of keeping him? Then he might refuse to call off the engagement after all.

"Forget the restaurant." Gu Yuechen said, "I know a good place. I'll take you there."

"Sure."

Yu Yaochen immediately started the car. Following Gu Yuechen's directions, they drove to the entrance of a noodle shop.

Before getting out, Gu Yuechen said to Yu Yaochen, "It doesn't look like much, but the food is pretty good."

His explanation sounded somewhat like he was trying to cover something up, making him increasingly irritated. He did not look at Yu Yaochen's face and got out as soon as he finished speaking.

Yu Yaochen quickly followed and took Gu Yuechen's hand.

Gu Yuechen frowned, but he did not pull away.

They were far from the pet hospital anyway, so it should be difficult to run into anyone they knew.

"Boss, two bowls of braised beef noodles."

Right after Gu Yuechen spoke to the owner, he turned around and saw Yu Yaochen bending down and wiping the chair with a handkerchief.

It almost made him laugh. The handkerchief in Yu Yaochen's hand probably cost enough to replace every chair in the entire shop.

"Chenchen, you don't have to be so particular about hygiene." Gu Yuechen pressed a hand to Yu Yaochen's arm. "If you keep doing this, it'll be kind of a letdown."

Of course that wasn't the reason.

The main reason was that Gu Yuechen found him irritating, so no matter what Yu Yaochen did, he would not like it.

Upon hearing Gu Yuechen say that, Yu Yaochen immediately put away his handkerchief.

"Sorry. I'll try to change."