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Xie Wen said nothing else that would reveal Gu Bai's identity. "A friend."

Young Master Xie called everyone around him his friends in public, which only made the man more certain that Gu Bai was someone hired to keep him company.

"Have you had too much to drink, Young Master Xie? I came over hoping you'd do us the honor of joining us for a drink." The man started getting handsy with Gu Bai. "Why not let your friend come have some fun with us instead?"

A bark answered in Gu Bai's place.

Mocha glared fiercely at the man standing beside the table, a low warning growl coming from his throat.

Startled, the man hastily withdrew the hand he had placed on Gu Bai's shoulder and raised his foot to kick Mocha.

Gu Bai lowered his eyes and intercepted him with a kick of his own.

Already unsteady on one foot, the man lost his balance when Gu Bai kicked him and toppled onto a chair beside him, bringing it down with him.

With a dark expression, Chu Zeshen stepped forward and handed the man on the floor a business card. "I'll cover your medical bills."

The man was on the fringes of their social circle, so of course he recognized Chu Zeshen. Enduring the pain, he hurriedly got up and accepted the card. "Hello, Young Master Chu. I'm from the Chen Family..."

Gu Bai had lost interest. He took Mocha's leash from Chu Zeshen. "I want to go home."

Without sparing the man a glance, Chu Zeshen told Lu Shengfan, who had just returned from the restroom, "We're heading back first. You're responsible for that drunk at the table."

Although Lu Shengfan didn't know what had just happened, the mess before him let him guess most of it.

"Sure, go ahead. We'll handle things here."

Chapter 15

Chu Zeshen hadn't touched any alcohol and served as their driver for the day, taking Gu Bai and Mocha home.

Instead of taking the front passenger seat, Gu Bai sat in the back with Mocha.

It had been dim back there, and Gu Bai's vision had been a little dazzled, so he hadn't seen clearly whether the man had actually made contact with Mocha.

Sensing his owner's low spirits, Mocha lay quietly across his lap and let him examine him.

Gu Bai rubbed Mocha's belly and head. Animals generally resisted being touched where they hurt. After Gu Bai had rubbed him all over, Mocha's snores dispelled his worries.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Gu Bai gave the carefree dog a push, sighed, and leaned back against the seat.

Seeing the weariness on Gu Bai's face in the rearview mirror, Chu Zeshen asked, "Everything okay?"

At that, Gu Bai smiled with his eyes closed. "This ungrateful son is just fine. He's snoring away."

The light ahead was red. Chu Zeshen stopped the car. "What about you?"

Gu Bai pressed his lips together. "I'm just fine too, apart from being a little sleepy. I want to go back and get some sleep."

Gu Bai never opened his eyes throughout their exchange. Chu Zeshen stopped glancing so frequently at the rearview mirror, and the drive home was quiet.

Once they were home, Gu Bai wiped Mocha's paws and body in the entryway before letting him go.

Gu Bai yawned and turned to Chu Zeshen. "Good night. Get to bed early."

With that, he went upstairs.

Once again, only a man and a dog remained in the living room.

After drinking some water, Mocha looked up and found his owner gone. He glanced at Chu Zeshen, seemingly saying, "Follow me upstairs."

Chu Zeshen turned off the living room lights and followed Mocha upstairs.

As practiced as ever, Mocha walked to Gu Bai's bedroom door, jumped up, and pawed at the handle. But unlike the previous times, the handle didn't move down.

Clearly, Gu Bai had locked the door, but Mocha didn't know that and kept repeating the action tirelessly. The rattling of the lock sounded particularly loud on the quiet second floor.

Inside the room, Gu Bai showed no intention of opening the door.

Chu Zeshen opened his own bedroom door and asked Mocha, "Do you want to come in?"

Unable to open his owner's door, Mocha had even stopped wagging his tail. Looking thoroughly aggrieved, he trotted into Chu Zeshen's room, reluctantly sharing a room with this lonely man.

It had been a long time since Gu Bai had enjoyed drinking so much. In all the days since he had moved into the Chu Family home, he still hadn't brought over the alcohol from his rented place. He had assumed the Chu Family would have some alcohol, at least. Who could have known that in such a large home, he wouldn't even catch sight of a bottle?

He didn't feel right troubling Uncle Li to run that errand for him, so he could only suppress his craving.

Drinking had worn him out tonight. He had accidentally pressed the lock when closing his door, then dragged his tired body off to shower.

After his shower, he felt relaxed all over, and sleepiness hit him squarely. Gu Bai lay down on the bed and soon fell asleep.

The night passed without dreams.

For once, Gu Bai slept until he woke naturally. These past few days, Mocha had always woken him with his antics, but today he was unusually well-behaved.

His instincts as a dog owner told Gu Bai for a moment that something was wrong. When a fur baby went quiet, he had to be up to mischief.

Gu Bai hurried out of bed to look for Mocha. Finding him absent from the room, he was about to open the door and look outside when he realized that he seemed to have locked it last night.

Mocha had been outside all night.

No longer in a hurry, Gu Bai went into the bathroom to wash up before heading downstairs.

Downstairs was peaceful and quiet too. As soon as Uncle Li saw Gu Bai, he greeted him with a smile. "Good morning, Young Master Gu."

Gu Bai greeted him. "Good morning, Uncle Li."

Gu Bai saw Mocha lying in his little bed, snoring. Usually, the moment he came downstairs, Mocha would run over and pester him to go out. He really was behaving strangely today.

Gu Bai wondered whether the man really had kicked Mocha last night and was just about to crouch down to examine him again.

Coming out with breakfast, Uncle Li saw this and hurriedly said, "Young Master Gu, the young master took Mocha for several laps around the lawn early this morning. He looks tired, so just let him rest."

So he was too sleepy to open his eyes because someone had taken him out for an early-morning workout. Gu Bai gently tapped Mocha's head with a finger. At last, someone can keep you in line.

Gu Bai returned to the dining room and sat down. He asked Uncle Li, "Did Mocha come downstairs by himself?"

Uncle Li thought back. "No, Mocha came down with the young master. After running several laps, the young master fed Mocha breakfast and went to work."

It was now nine thirty, and Chu Zeshen started work at around eight thirty. Mocha had already been asleep for an hour. It looked as though he had burned off all his energy.

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