Page 33

Chu Zeshen added, "That's what you often say to Mocha, but every time, you give him vegetables."

Gu Bai countered, "Those are treats. I give it meat for its main meals."

Chu Zeshen nodded without saying anything. After getting into the car, Gu Bai lay back and resigned himself to it. "Fine, I admit it. Sometimes I really am tricking it."

Chu Zeshen said, "It won't remember."

Gu Bai nodded. "That's true. A puppy that does nothing but eat, drink, and play has no worries at all. What a happy life."

Chu Zeshen looked at Gu Bai and asked, "What about you? What worries do you have?"

Hearing Chu Zeshen ask about him, Gu Bai met his eyes. "Me?"

He laughed. "I don't have any worries to speak of either. As the saying goes, pets resemble their owners. Mocha's happy every day, and so am I. I wish I could live like this for the rest of my life."

He was just an easily satisfied slacker who liked sleeping until he woke naturally, lounging in bed, lying in the living room playing games, and teasing Mocha.

"You're happy living with the Chu Family?" Chu Zeshen asked. "I thought you'd find it boring."

Gu Bai looked at him in disbelief, as though he couldn't understand how this man could even say the word "boring."

"Do you find going to work boring?"

Chu Zeshen paused without answering, and Gu Bai took that as agreement.

"Staying home is to me what going to work is to you. With so many side quests waiting for me to clear every day, how could I be bored?"

Chu Zeshen thought of coming home from work every day to a brightly lit house, with someone so full of life sitting on the sofa, intent on clearing a level. Though he had no time to pay anyone any attention, he would smile and talk to him after winning.

That nightly "good night" washed away a whole day's exhaustion.

"Are there any other game consoles you want to buy?"

Those words served the same purpose as telling Mocha, "I'll bring you something tasty when I come back."

Gu Bai appreciated the gesture, but he had already preordered a game console online himself. As the Gu Family's temporary heir, he wasn't going to skimp on himself.

"I don't need any game consoles, but I do have a question." Gu Bai was very curious.

Chu Zeshen said, "Go ahead."

Gu Bai voiced his puzzlement. "Is alcohol a forbidden word in this house? How come I haven't even seen a wine bottle?"

Chu Zeshen cleared up Gu Bai's confusion. "There's a wine cellar in the backyard. There's wine in there."

Oh, so there was still unexplored territory.

He hadn't left the villa all this time, apart from occasionally going out to the front yard to play with Mocha.

"Oh," Gu Bai said, without showing much emotion. This was the home of his partner in an arranged marriage. He couldn't ask for everything...

"I'll have Uncle Li give you the key when we get back."

"Sure."

The course of today's family dinner had been baffling, but the outcome left Gu Bai very satisfied.

Mocha, who hadn't attended, was also very satisfied with its snacks. As soon as the two of them got home, Mocha ran over and threw itself at them in a bear hug, refusing to leave them alone.

Only when Gu Bai gave it the snacks in his hand did Mocha happily follow behind them, carrying the snacks in its mouth.

Gu Bai kept following behind Chu Zeshen. Chu Zeshen lowered his eyes to the shadows on the ground. The person walked steadily, while the dog bounced along, its ears bobbing up and down.

Uncle Li lived in the rear section of the villa grounds, where a small villa served as staff accommodation.

No one spoke along the way. Chu Zeshen quietly watched the shadows for a long while.

Chu Zeshen knocked on Uncle Li's door. Hearing the knock, Uncle Li came to open it. When he saw Chu Zeshen, he exclaimed, "Young Master, what brings you here?"

Chu Zeshen sounded apologetic. "Sorry to disturb your rest, Uncle Li."

Uncle Li hurriedly waved his hands. "Not at all, not at all. I haven't gone to bed yet."

"It's like this. I'd like the key to the wine cellar," Chu Zeshen said.

The wine cellar had been under repair for a while, so Uncle Li had kept the key and overseen the work. Now that the work was finished, the key had remained with Uncle Li, since no one in the household drank and they didn't have many guests.

Uncle Li beamed. "All right. Wait a moment. I'll go get it now."

Before long, Uncle Li came out with the key and handed it to Chu Zeshen. A second later, the key passed into Gu Bai's hand.

Uncle Li didn't understand and thought they wanted the wine cellar key because something had happened. "Why the rush? Did the workers cut corners in the wine cellar? But that doesn't make sense. I was watching the whole time."

Chu Zeshen smiled. "With you here, Uncle Li, I've always felt at ease."

He glanced at Gu Bai, who was happily playing with Mocha.

"A little glutton just got a craving, that's all."

Chapter 18

Chu Zeshen, the head of the Chu Family, could hardly be said to have married young. He was nearly thirty, and only now had rumors of his marriage emerged. It wasn't that he had someone by his side; he had gone straight to marriage in one leap. The rumor was outrageous, yet it also seemed possible.

Chu Zeshen's sexual orientation was kept very quiet within their circle. Apart from his own family and close friends, who knew, everyone else could only guess and wonder. Quite a few people used banquets as opportunities to push young, attractive people toward him.

If women didn't work, then men would. Who would have thought Chu Zeshen would show no interest in either? And so his sexual orientation became a mystery people talked about.

Many guessed that the reason for such a quick marriage was a pregnancy out of wedlock. This often happened among wealthy families. Anything that could be settled with money wouldn't lead to marriage, so it seemed the other party must also be someone powerful.

The slightest stir in this circle would spread in every direction. Rumors generally had some basis, and no one questioned the credibility of this one.

Everyone was intensely curious about the future spouse of the head of the Chu Family. When Chu Zeshen attended business events, he drew considerably more scrutinizing looks, but his status kept people from approaching.

Lately, Chu Zeshen had been cramming two days into one. He declined every event he could, and when he couldn't, he showed his face and left. Meetings followed one after another, and the secretarial office had been suffering miserably these past few days.

Someone took advantage of the moment when President Chu went into a meeting room to come fishing for information.

"Assistant Feng, is there some urgent project lately? Why is President Chu spinning like a top? Everyone under him has been working overtime until eleven or midnight."