A Nice Breakfast

Jiang Jifu did not stay long before leaving. Lately, he had been rushing between countries on a grueling schedule, practically dragging himself here to visit Ye Qingpu.

The person at the end of the corridor silently snuffed out his cigarette. Watching the redhead emerge from the hospital room, his gaze darkened—he had seen this man before, at some overseas cocktail party years ago... Heh, an old acquaintance.

Pei Jiaqian leaned against the entrance to the emergency stairwell, several cigarette butts and scattered ash strewn around his feet.

He picked up his crutch to steady himself, then walked to Ye Qingpu's hospital room and stood silently outside. In the end, the hand resting on the doorknob did not exert any force.

But the hospital room door suddenly opened from within. The assistant froze instinctively when his eyes met Pei Jiaqian's. Ever since learning that his boss had been forcibly transformed by this young man, the assistant had become even more wary of him.

When he had first begun staying by his boss's side as a bodyguard, the assistant had vaguely sensed that something was wrong—an alpha's innate perception of danger.

"Young Master Pei."

The assistant silently opened the door wider and stepped aside.

"Where is my brother?"

Pei Jiaqian looked inside and found no one on the bed. Instead, the room was filled with an overpowering scent of pheromones.

The smell made him psychologically uncomfortable, and Pei Jiaqian's expression turned cold.

"The boss... just had a pheromone rejection reaction. After receiving an injection, he's in the bathroom vomiting from the physical reaction."

The assistant's heart trembled as he felt the man's aura change instantly.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing the bloodstained clothes in the assistant's hands, Pei Jiaqian's gaze darkened.

"The boss coughed up blood earlier and dirtied his clothes. I'm going to get him a fresh set of hospital clothes."

"Mm. Go."

Pei Jiaqian nodded and shifted slightly aside to make way.

Listening to the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, he stood there quietly for a moment before returning to his room upstairs on his crutch.

It was better not to push too hard. He had understood the principle of slowly boiling a frog since he was young. When it came to Ye Qingpu, Pei Jiaqian knew that what emerged from the warm water would surely be a delicious treat.

He reclined against the bed and carefully examined the pendant he had carried for a long time.

Encased in transparent resin was a remarkably well-shaped tooth.

Knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the door. Pei Jiaqian clenched the pendant in his hand and glanced toward the open doorway.

"Young Master."

His father's secretary entered properly and delivered a file.

Pei Jiaqian merely accepted it, skimmed it once, and casually tossed it aside.

"Young Master, this is the chairman's decision."

"Then go back and tell Father that I disagree." Pei Jiaqian shifted his gaze out the window.

"The chairman said he hopes you have not forgotten why you returned. If you insist on disobeying, he will send you abroad again."

The secretary stood straight, his attitude respectful.

Pei Jiaqian ground his teeth in displeasure, then waved a hand to say he understood.

Just as the secretary was about to leave, Pei Jiaqian suddenly called out to him. His dark, silent eyes stared calmly at the man before him.

The secretary felt a chill. As an alpha, he sensed pressure from someone of a higher rank, like a venomous snake lurking in the rainforest...

"Young Master, please speak." The secretary had received professional training, and merely nodded slightly without changing expression.

"You know what should and should not be said to Father, right?"

Pei Jiaqian watched him, then revealed a gentle smile. Yet beneath those downturned eyes was nothing but coldness.

The secretary swallowed instinctively, becoming even more respectful.

"I am merely paid to do my job, Young Master. I will truthfully report your recent movements at the hospital to the chairman."

"...Ha. Not bad. Keep up the good work."

Pei Jiaqian's tone sounded like praise. He smiled as harmlessly as ever and bid the secretary goodbye.

When the room fell silent again, he fished out a fruit candy from the bedside cabinet, unwrapped it, and put it into his mouth.

As if suddenly thinking of something, a sly smile appeared on his lips, and he unconsciously bit down, crushing the round candy.

.

Early the next morning, Pei Jiaqian limped down the elevator.

When he arrived at Ye Qingpu's room, he found a nurse changing the bedding.

"Excuse me, where is the patient here?"

Pei Jiaqian frowned instinctively.

Everything had been taken away.

Had he been discharged?

"Do you mean Mr. Ye? He just finished the discharge procedures." The nurse turned and answered.

"Thank you."

Sure enough, he had left without saying a word again.

Pei Jiaqian turned around somewhat dejectedly, but then a pleasant scent suddenly filled his nose. He looked up, only to meet an even calmer pair of eyes.

His eyes immediately brightened. Looking at the man dressed in a well-tailored suit, Pei Jiaqian gave him a gentle smile.

"Brother."

He instinctively took two steps forward.

"If your leg is inconvenient, don't wander around."

Ye Qingpu handed him a bottle of soda. Last time, on the helicopter, he had noticed Pei Jiaqian only take one sip of coffee before setting it aside and refusing to touch it again. Thinking that perhaps young people rarely liked coffee, he had bought a soda from the vending machine.

"Thank you."

Pei Jiaqian thanked him and accepted the soda. The bottle was slightly cold, covered with a faint layer of condensation.

Honeydew melon flavored.

"Would you like to have breakfast together?"

Ye Qingpu suggested it as he glanced at the sky outside the corridor window. It was bright and clear, perfect weather for being discharged.

"Okay." Pei Jiaqian nodded.

Considering that the other man was still using a crutch, Ye Qingpu chose a nearby French breakfast restaurant.

The two selected seats by the window. After ordering, they began waiting leisurely.

Pei Jiaqian quietly watched the person across from him. Morning sunlight streamed through the window and fell like a kiss on Ye Qingpu's luminous pale profile, outlining his features in a layer of brilliant white light. He looked sacred, yet somehow innocent of worldly affairs.

Like an immortal fallen into the human world. Perhaps the description was clichéd, but it was how Pei Jiaqian felt. He instinctively reached out to smooth the loose strands of hair by Ye Qingpu's ear, startling the man reading a magazine into freezing.

"Your hair was messy, Brother."

Pei Jiaqian explained.

"...Thank you."

Ye Qingpu lowered his gaze back to the magazine, but the reddened tips of his ears gave him away.

"Are you all right now, Brother? You were in such a hurry to complete your discharge procedures."

Pei Jiaqian lay sprawled across the table, looking somewhat languid. He was glad that he had shaved today, and even happier to be having such a romantically atmospheric breakfast with Ye Qingpu.

He took out his phone and secretly snapped a picture.

Ye Qingpu noticed the small movement but said nothing, only answering, "There's nothing seriously wrong. There are still many matters at the company that need handling."

"Oh."

"I was thinking that I had not formally apologized to you yet. After finishing the discharge procedures, I was about to go find you when I ran into you in the corridor."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"For causing you to fall down the cliff and get hurt. And thank you for acting as a human cushion for me at the time."

Ye Qingpu set down the magazine, crossed his legs, and leaned back in his chair.

"Brother, compared to myself, I was more worried about you getting hurt."

Pei Jiaqian's eyes were sincere, but no one besides himself likely knew that he had followed Ye Qingpu and jumped down of his own accord.

When he saw Ye Qingpu's figure fall before his eyes, his breathing stopped. Almost reflexively, he had jumped after him, wanting to catch that slender figure.

"...Anyway, thank you."

Ye Qingpu deliberately avoided meeting his eyes. He did not understand why this young man cared so much about him.

Lost in thought, and with his body not fully recovered and his appetite poor, Ye Qingpu wiped his mouth after only a few bites.

Since a mountain of work was waiting for him at the company, after taking Pei Jiaqian back to the hospital, he drove straight to the office. Yet his face remained flushed the entire way.

For no other reason than that, just before they parted, Pei Jiaqian had suddenly leaned close to his neck and caught him off guard with a kiss behind his ear. He had even said, "Brother, your pheromones smell so good."

Ye Qingpu was still not very sensitive to pheromones. He had only smelled his own perfume and Pei Jiaqian's unique scent. But since Pei Jiaqian said it smelled good, then it must have.

Entering the company with a spring in his step, Ye Qingpu rarely smiled at the employees who greeted him.

The employees were dazzled. They planned to find a fortune teller after work and see whether their luck was finally about to turn.

Everyone in the company noticed that their hot-tempered yet proud boss seemed to be in a good mood today. He had even changed his perfume??

Even Ye Qingpu himself seemed to think so, though he was not quite sure why. Perhaps it was because he had slept soundly, perhaps the weather was nice today, or perhaps he had eaten a decent breakfast.

Who knew? Maybe it was because he had stepped into the company with his left foot first today.

Hard to say. There was no need to dig into it.

The moment Ye Qingpu entered his office and saw the mountain of documents piled there, his usual low-pressure aura immediately returned.

Damn it, I don't want to work.

Can I skip work?

Oh, no. I'm the boss.

Get to it. Work without a peep.

Get to it. At least working earned him a little grievance money. If he did not work, he could only live in a mansion, drive luxury cars, and spend money he could not use up in several lifetimes while doing nothing all day.

After giving himself a simple pep talk, Ye Qingpu sat in his leather chair, put on his half-rim glasses, and began reviewing the documents seriously. Suddenly, his phone vibrated and caught his attention. He checked it instinctively and saw:

"You have received a new message—"

"'Puppy' has requested to add you as a friend."