I'll Treat You to Dinner

"Alright."

After applying ointment to his chin, Yu Yaochen lowered his head and tidied up the cotton swabs on the table.

"Try not to get it wet," Yu Yaochen said. "Watch your diet too. The wound isn't shallow, so it might leave a scar."

Gu Yuechen watched him quietly, wondering how this young master Yu knew so much.

Shouldn't he have known nothing and left everything to the servants?

Yu Yaochen packed up the medicine box, closed it, and stood.

"I'll give the spot back to you." Yu Yaochen's expression was cool and indifferent, as though he had not been the one gently treating Gu Yuechen's wound just moments ago. "I should go in and see Pei Huanyi."

To make it easier for Yu Yaochen to tend to his wound, Gu Yuechen had remained crouched the entire time.

Seeing Yu Yaochen about to leave, he hurriedly stood up.

He had skipped breakfast that morning, and his low blood sugar hit him. His vision went black, and he nearly lost his balance, his body swaying noticeably twice.

A strong arm wrapped around his waist and held him firmly upright.

Only after Gu Yuechen had finally steadied himself did Yu Yaochen release his waist. Frowning slightly, he said in an even tone, "You seem too thin."

There was barely any flesh around his waist. Holding him had not felt very substantial.

Come to think of it, Yu Yaochen realized that this person's complexion seemed to have always been pale. He appeared somewhat malnourished.

As far as he knew, Pei Huanyi had always been generous. He would not go so far as to skimp on his employees' salaries.

Gu Yuechen clenched his fists, deeply displeased by Yu Yaochen saying he was thin.

Wasn't that a roundabout way of saying he was unattractive?

He was not as good-looking as Yu Yaochen, and his family could not afford a nutritionist. To save money, he usually only ate one meal a day—lunch.

If he had not been worried that his colleagues would become suspicious of his family circumstances, he probably would have made do without even lunch.

"I'm just naturally unable to gain weight." Gu Yuechen gave a faint smile.

Yu Yaochen wanted to say something more, but the door to Pei Huanyi's office suddenly opened. He glanced at Gu Yuechen, then finally headed toward the office.

Gu Yuechen craned his neck toward the direction he had gone, wanting to see what the two of them would do.

Unfortunately, Yu Yaochen casually shut the door behind him as soon as he entered. There was nothing to see at all.

Gu Yuechen clicked his tongue.

He was really protective, afraid someone might catch a glimpse of his fiancé.

Ever since Yu Yaochen went inside, Gu Yuechen could no longer focus on work. He kept glancing toward the door and did not even notice when customers arrived.

Xu Rui walked to the front desk with a stack of documents. Seeing Gu Yuechen distracted, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers in front of him.

"What's wrong with you?"

Gu Yuechen came back to himself, and the smile returned to his face.

"Nothing."

Gu Yuechen immediately stood and began tidying the things on the counter to hide his unease.

Xu Rui stared at Gu Yuechen for quite a while. When he noticed the wound on his chin, he exclaimed, "Did a kitty scratch your chin?"

"Yeah. It was the American Shorthair that was just brought in. It had quite a bad temper."

Xu Rui hurried around the front desk and went up to Gu Yuechen. He held his face and inspected the wound.

"Hiss, it looks pretty deep." Concern filled Xu Rui's eyes. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Gu Yuechen did not like being touched. He subtly avoided him and said flatly, "It's fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."

"You need to put scar-removal cream on that. It'll be a huge problem if it leaves a scar."

Gu Yuechen had once cared deeply about his face, but now that Pei Huanyi had a fiancée, this face no longer held any value he could use.

"Mm, I know," Gu Yuechen replied without much warmth.

Xu Rui paused. He did not know whether it was just his imagination, but Gu Yuechen seemed to have become a little difficult to get along with.

Was it because of what he had said that day?

"Yuechen, I didn't mean to say those things about you that day." Xu Rui moved closer, trying to use the gesture to close the distance between them.

"I know. I didn't take it to heart."

Xu Rui wanted to say more, but Pei Huanyi's door opened. Pei Huanyi and Yu Yaochen walked out one after the other.

Gu Yuechen suddenly shoved Xu Rui, making him nearly lose his footing as he staggered.

"Dr. Pei, are you going out?"

Pei Huanyi looked over and nodded. "Mm. I'll come by again tomorrow."

"Alright."

After taking two steps, Pei Huanyi suddenly turned to look at Gu Yuechen.

"Are you injured?"

The sudden concern made Gu Yuechen feel flattered. A smile rose in his eyes.

"Mm, a kitten scratched me, but it's nothing serious."

"Rest at home tomorrow. Your salary will still be paid."

"There's no need." Gu Yuechen quickly waved his hands. "It's just a small injury. I don't need to rest."

Pei Huanyi had only mentioned it casually. Seeing him say so, he did not insist any further.

Gu Yuechen watched the two leave. When he withdrew his gaze, he saw the complicated look in Xu Rui's eyes.

He frowned slightly and pretended to be apologetic. "Sorry. You were standing too close just now, and it made me a little uncomfortable."

Xu Rui said nothing and carried the documents inside.

Pei Huanyi's concern kept Gu Yuechen in a good mood for several days. Even when he saw Yu Yaochen's face again, he no longer found it so irritating.

When payday arrived, Gu Yuechen was surprised to find that his pay was one thousand yuan more than last month's.

He stared at it in surprise for a long while before taking his payslip to the finance office.

"There seems to be a problem with my payslip." Gu Yuechen pointed to the bonus section. "There's an extra thousand yuan here."

The finance staff were swamped, their hands constantly tapping at the keyboard. They did not even look at Gu Yuechen.

"There's no problem. Mr. Pei specifically instructed us to set your bonus at this amount from now on."

Gu Yuechen left the finance office, carefully pinching the payslip between his fingers.

As he passed Pei Huanyi's office, he could not help slowing down and turning his eyes toward the office door.

The affection in his eyes nearly overflowed. When he turned around, he unexpectedly met Yu Yaochen's gaze.

The smile vanished from his face without a trace. Expressionless, he dipped his head slightly toward Yu Yaochen.

"Why are you here?"

Damn it. He had messaged Yu Yaochen just an hour ago, lying that Pei Huanyi was not at the pet hospital.

Over the past few days, he had kept toying with Yu Yaochen. Whenever Pei Huanyi was there, he lied and said he was not. Whenever Pei Huanyi was truly away from the pet hospital, he said he was there, making Yu Yaochen come for nothing.

Like some petty, sinister person, he never tired of messing with Yu Yaochen.

Who would have thought Yu Yaochen would suddenly appear here?

Even with his lie exposed, Gu Yuechen did not look flustered.

He gave a faint smile and said unhurriedly, "Dr. Pei only came back not long ago. I was going to message you, but the hospital was too busy, so I forgot."

He did not know whether Yu Yaochen believed him. Yu Yaochen merely gave an "Mm" and walked past Gu Yuechen toward Pei Huanyi's office.

His hand had just settled on the doorknob when he hesitated for a moment, then suddenly let go.

"Are you free tonight?" Yu Yaochen smiled warmly. "I'll treat you to dinner."