Flowers in a Greenhouse

After the dinner, Pei Huanyi handed out red envelopes.

One of the colleagues had guessed right—they would receive two red envelopes this year.

Every colleague holding two red envelopes wore an excited expression. Their mouths were sweeter than ever, and some even wished them a hundred years of harmony.

A simple employee dinner had been turned into a wedding banquet.

Gu Yuechen stared darkly at Yu Yaochen. Even when the two of them came over and handed him a red envelope, he showed no reaction.

"Yuechen, hurry up and take it," Xu Rui, standing beside him, reminded him.

Gu Yuechen came back to himself and accepted the red envelope with a bitter heart.

He could not bring himself to offer any blessings. After a long while, he managed to force out a "Thank you."

The moment the words left his mouth, he heard Xie Wangchi's derisive snort. Shame wrapped around his entire body, his ears burning as he lowered his head further and further.

After leaving the hotel, Gu Yuechen watched Yu Yaochen get into Pei Huanyi's car under Xie Wangchi's escort.

As the car sped away, he clenched his fists so tightly that his fingertips nearly sank into his flesh.

"Did you see that?" Xie Wangchi suddenly appeared beside him, smiling mockingly. "That's the kind of person worthy of A-Yi."

Gu Yuechen tucked away his hurt and gave Xie Wangchi a faint glance.

"You're pitiful too."

Xie Wangchi froze. "What?"

Gu Yuechen did not explain and continued, "Change what you call him. You say A-Yi, A-Yi every day. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were calling someone auntie."

Xie Wangchi laughed in anger. Just as he was about to step forward and teach Gu Yuechen a lesson, he noticed the redness around his eyes.

"I'd like to see how long you can keep talking tough." Xie Wangchi looked Gu Yuechen up and down provocatively. "If you treat me a little better, maybe in a year, I'll take you to their wedding. You can broaden your horizons and say goodbye to this unrequited love of yours."

"It's none of your business."

After tossing out those words, Gu Yuechen hurried toward the bus stop.

He hoped he could catch the last bus.

Xie Wangchi drove up beside the bus stop, rolled down the window, and revealed his strikingly handsome face.

"Beg me, and I'll give you a ride."

Gu Yuechen would never get into Xie Wangchi's car. If that guy discovered where he really lived, he might use it as leverage to force him out of the pet hospital.

He knew Xie Wangchi had wanted to drive him away for a long time. He just had not found the right opportunity.

Now that Yu Yaochen had returned, would Xie Wangchi not have to pave the way for the beloved white moonlight in his heart and get rid of every cheap seductress trying to tempt Pei Huanyi?

Xie Wangchi did not have much patience to begin with, and he urged, "Hurry up."

Gu Yuechen turned his head away, deliberately refusing to look at Xie Wangchi and treating him like air.

Xie Wangchi sneered. "Suit yourself."

He stomped on the accelerator, and the exhaust fumes made Gu Yuechen cough nonstop.

Childish.

No wonder the person who would ultimately marry Yu Yaochen was Pei Huanyi.

After that night, Gu Yuechen's life returned to peace once more.

He had thought he would have no further dealings with Yu Yaochen, but half a month later, Yu Yaochen actually came to their pet hospital.

Gu Yuechen had been serving a customer at the time, helping carry a cat carrier into the doctor's office. The instant he turned around and saw Yu Yaochen, the smile on his face vanished.

Yu Yaochen was dressed all in white, cool and noble, a sharp contrast to Gu Yuechen, whose hair was a mess from being so busy.

Gu Yuechen returned expressionlessly to his workstation and pretended not to see Yu Yaochen.

But Yu Yaochen took the initiative to walk over, his voice exceptionally pleasant.

"Is Huanyi here?"

Gu Yuechen envied Yu Yaochen's looks, and he envied his voice as well.

He frowned in disgust and replied coldly, "No."

"Did he say when he would be back?"

Gu Yuechen gathered the messy documents on his desk, his movements a little rough. The files hit the tabletop with a loud smack.

"I'm sorry, but I can't pry too deeply into Doctor Pei's schedule, so I don't know when he'll be back." Gu Yuechen pulled out his chair and sat down, still unwilling to look at Yu Yaochen even once. "You can wait in his office for a while."

Gu Yuechen raised a hand and pointed somewhere. "It's at the end of this hallway."

He thought this would provoke Yu Yaochen and expose the ugliness beneath that beautiful exterior.

Yet his terrible attitude did not upset Yu Yaochen at all. Instead, Yu Yaochen politely thanked him.

Yu Yaochen looked toward Pei Huanyi's office. After taking two steps, his nose wrinkled, and he walked back to Gu Yuechen's workstation.

Observing him from the corner of his eye, Gu Yuechen could not help curling his lips.

Looks like he's allergic to pet fur.

"If he comes back, please tell him I came to see him."

Yu Yaochen was about to leave when Gu Yuechen suddenly stood and called out to him.

"My lunch break is starting. Want to get something to drink together?"

Yu Yaochen looked slightly startled and instinctively shook his head in refusal.

"No..."

Gu Yuechen interrupted him, stood up, took the coat hanging over his chair, and walked toward him.

"Come on. Doctor Pei might be having lunch with Xie Wangchi. Maybe he'll be back soon." When Gu Yuechen reached the door, he called inside, "Xu Rui, I'm on my lunch break. If any customers come in, help receive them."

Because of the nature of the work at the pet hospital, their lunch breaks were staggered.

Whenever it was Gu Yuechen's turn to take lunch, he would ask his coworkers to help receive customers.

"Got it, go ahead," Xu Rui's voice came from inside.

"Let's go." Gu Yuechen opened the glass door for Yu Yaochen.

Yu Yaochen pressed his lips together and walked out of the pet hospital.

Gu Yuechen did not take Yu Yaochen anywhere upscale. They passed through several narrow alleys and arrived at a coffee shop where each cup cost ten yuan.

"What would you like to drink?" Gu Yuechen took out his phone and scanned the QR code.

When Yu Yaochen did not answer, Gu Yuechen looked up and found him lowering his head, troubled by the somewhat dirty chair.

Gu Yuechen sneered inwardly.

As expected, flowers raised in a greenhouse were hard to please.

He took a pack of tissues from his pocket and held it out to Yu Yaochen.

"Sorry, I didn't know you had a cleanliness obsession. Wipe it with these."

He would not be like Xie Wangchi, a dog with no dignity, wagging his tail as he tried to win Yu Yaochen's favor.

"Thank you."

Yu Yaochen took the tissues from Gu Yuechen's hand, and his fingertips accidentally brushed the web between Gu Yuechen's thumb and forefinger.

Gu Yuechen's expression shifted slightly. While Yu Yaochen lowered his head to wipe the chair, he quietly rubbed the spot Yu Yaochen had touched against his clothes.

"Do you want something to drink?" Gu Yuechen asked again. "They have cappuccino, latte..."

Yu Yaochen interrupted him. "A regular Americano will do."

Gu Yuechen nodded and ordered him an iced Americano with no milk and no sugar.

As for himself, he did not like bitter things. After looking through the menu, he ordered a fruit tea.

He set down his phone and looked up at Yu Yaochen.

"I heard from my coworkers that you're the young master of Cloud Gate Group. Should I call you Young Master Yu?"

Yu Yaochen frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with the form of address.

"My name is Yu Yaochen. Just call me by my full name."

"No." Gu Yuechen revealed a cold smile, jealousy flickering imperceptibly in his eyes. "That would be too disrespectful. Doctor Pei would be unhappy."

He paused, then smiled. "How about this? I'll call you Chenchen."