PTBLSI chapter 6

 

Silence spread like a net along the walls, covering every sound in the space. Fu Yanchuan looked into Qi Xi’s eyes, examining his emotions. He thought Qi Xi would finally cry.

But Qi Xi froze for two seconds, then smiled, his eyes crinkling. Acting as if nothing had happened, he said, “I knew you were a good person! Can we sign the contract now? You don’t have to agree to the others. Can you just agree to take care of my cat until its old and see it through to the end?”

Fu Yanchuan’s temper instantly melted away. He let out a helpless breath and finally asked Qi Xi, “Is the cat more important than you?”

Qi Xi didn’t understand the question and explained, “After my mom passed away, Dasheng was the only one who was good to me. When I was sick, only Dasheng stayed with me. But he’s already eight years old. I checked, and cats might only live to ten years old before they die.”

Thinking about Dasheng possibly dying, Qi Xi suddenly became very sad. However, he forced himself to endure it and said to Fu Yanchuan, “So can you promise me? I don’t want Dasheng to die and become a lonely stray spirit. I want to buy a burial plot for it and hold a funeral, but it’s expensive. I’m afraid I won’t have that much money when he dies. Can you include this clause in the contract?”

Fu Yanchuan glanced at the orange cat in Qi Xi’s arms, which was snoring lazily. He thought the cat could live at least ten more years, yet Qi Xi was already grieving its early death. In the end, he relented. “Whatever kind of contract you want to sign, go write it yourself.”

“Really?”

Qi Xi’s eyes lit up instantly. He rushed over, hugged Fu Yanchuan, raised his face, and said, “President Fu, you’re such a good person!”

Fu Yanchuan stiffened, froze like a mannequin. He had forgotten how long it had been since he had last been hugged. Before he could react to Qi Xi’s abrupt action, whether out of anger or something else, Qi Xi had already happily run to his desk.

“President Fu, can I write on your desk?”

Fu Yanchuan looked over. Qi Xi placed the orange cat on the desk and asked again, “Can I use your paper and pen?”

Fu Yanchuan silently went to get Qi Xi a stack of paper and a pen. Seeing Qi Xi lying on his desk and writing earnestly, he turned and went into the office lounge to make a phone call.

On the other end of the line was the Fu family’s butler. “Sir, how may I help you?”

“Uncle Quan, send someone to the apartment on Fuxi Road to tidy up a room. The furnishings should be suitable for someone around twenty years old. Also, prepare some supplies for the cat. It’s eight years old.”

Uncle Quan almost thought he’d heard wrong. The apartment on Fuxi Road was very close to the group. Fu Yanchuan didn’t go home every day; when he was busy, he stayed there.

Apart from him and the housekeeping staff, not even Fu Zhenrong had been there for so many years. Did Fu Yanchuan want a twenty-year-old young man to live there? Who was that?

The reason he’d worked for the Fu family for so many years was that he never asked extra questions. He simply replied, “I’ll arrange it immediately.”

Fu Yanchuan paused for a moment. “Don’t tell my dad.”

“I know.”

Outside, Qi Xi was still writing the contract seriously. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. He looked up and glanced around. He didn’t see Fu Yanchuan and didn’t know what to do.

The person outside said, “President Fu, the meal you ordered has arrived.”

Upon hearing that it was food delivery, Qi Xi hesitated for a moment before running to open the door. Zhou Zhiwei was startled by such treatment.

Zhou Zhiwei was Fu Yanchuan’s administrative secretary. She was mainly responsible for his schedule and conveying his instructions. Occasionally, she would buy things for him or order takeout.

She thought that Fu Yanchuan, who had skipped work today for an unusual reason, wouldn’t come back. Yet, she suddenly received a message telling her to order food. She found this strange for a while, and then Fu Yanchuan returned with a handsome young man who looked very much like his white moonlight.

The group chat had already exploded with discussion. By the time she delivered the food, she had been assigned a series of missions, such as figuring out who the handsome little guy was and what his relationship with Fu Yanchuan was.

Qi Xi was still holding the doorknob. He looked at the exquisite meal boxes in Zhou Zhiwei’s hands, swallowed, smiled at her, and said, “President Fu suddenly disappeared. I don’t know where he is.”

Zhou Zhiwei fixed her gaze on Qi Xi. He was completely different from how she’d imagined him. He gave off an extremely comfortable vibe, like a smiling Samoyed, making it hard to imagine him having any bad intentions.

She had always believed that Fu Yanchuan was a principled person. But at that moment, she couldn’t help but wonder if this kid had been tricked. Fu Yanchuan couldn’t have brought someone who looked like his white moonlight back for no reason.

However, this wasn’t within her job scope. She withdrew her gaze and replied, “It’s fine. I’ll just put the meal on the table.”

Qi Xi hurriedly stepped aside. There was a table by the floor-to-ceiling windows. When Fu Yanchuan was too busy to go out to eat, he would order food and eat there.

Zhou Zhiwei put the meal boxes down. Fu Yanchuan happened to come out of the lounge. She knew he must be inside since he hadn’t gone out. However, Qi Xi was startled and turned his head 180 degrees to look at the door hidden within the interior design.

“President Fu, the meal is here.”

Zhou Zhiwei told Fu Yanchuan one last time, then left. As soon as she closed the door, she heard Qi Xi’s delighted voice. “President Fu, can I eat that meal?”

Zhou Zhiwei deliberately slowed the closing of the door and heard Fu Yanchuan answer, “Mm. It was ordered for you.”

The door finally closed, and no more sound came out.

She returned to her seat, and her phone immediately exploded with messages. A colleague beside her leaned over and sadly asked, “Weiwei, did you figure it out? Who is that? What’s his relationship with President Fu?”

Meanwhile, questions in the group chat kept popping up. She picked up her phone and replied to everyone in the group.

[Don’t guess randomly. That kid looks like he just came of age, not that kind of person.]

[Although he really does look a lot like the person in President Fu’s photo.]

[Isn’t it enough that he looks similar? Even if he’s not the same person, there’s still President Fu—Wanwan Lei Qing[mfn]莞莞類卿 (wǎn wǎn lèi qīng), a famous line from Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传). It means “You resemble them”, implying that someone is being loved or favored as a stand-in because they look like another person.[/mfn].]

[Impossible, right? Isn’t President Fu about to get engaged?]

[For rich people, marriage is a transaction. Once they step out the door, don’t they just play around freely?]

[President Fu couldn’t be that kind of person.]

[President Fu really isn’t that kind of person. He’s a robot. How could he have secular desires?]

[You don’t understand. The more reserved someone like him is, the crazier they go when they snap. I bet President Fu will go crazy for love.]

[You’re all overthinking it. There’s no love in President Fu’s eyes. All that white moonlight stuff is just your imagination. President Fu just put that photo there on purpose to piss off his father!]

Outside, in the unseen web of network signals, the argument had already started. Inside, Qi Xi was still circling the meal boxes on the table. He asked Fu Yanchuan, “Is this really takeout? The boxes are so delicate! They look really good. When did you order it? How come I didn’t know? President Fu, are we going to eat together?”

Fu Yanchuan ignored Qi Xi’s chatter. Besides, even if he didn’t speak, Qi Xi could talk for half a day by himself. He sat down, planning to work while he was there.

However, after circling the food boxes for a while, Qi Xi ran back to finish writing the contract.

“You’re not eating?”

“I’ll eat after I finish writing. Otherwise, you’ll regret it again.”

Driven by the power of food, Qi Xi lay on the desk and started writing furiously. He finished quickly, walked around to Fu Yanchuan’s side, and handed the contract to him. “President Fu, is there anything you want to add? This is your chance.”

Fu Yanchuan took the contract and immediately frowned.

Party A: Qi Xi. Party B: Fu Yanchuan.

Party B agrees to Party A:

Allow Party A to live at home.
Party B agrees not to dislike or scold Party A. Occasional anger is acceptable, but not more than three times a day.
If Party A is sick, Party B must take care of them and keep them happy. Party B must not get angry with Party A during their illness.

Most importantly, Party B must care for Party A’s cat, Qi Tian Dasheng, until the end of its life. This includes buying a burial plot and holding a funeral.

Party A also agrees to Party B:

Be Party B’s nanny.
Agree to all requirements proposed by Party B and try to fulfill them to the best of their ability.
If Party B is sick, Party A will take care of them and encourage them to be happy.
Party A will fulfill the responsibilities of a stand-in.

That’s all.

To Fu Yanchuan, this contract was like children playing house. He scanned it once and said, “No.”

“Then I’ll make another one.”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t want to discuss whether the contract was legally valid. However, he also didn’t want it to appear childish by being handwritten, even though Qi Xi’s handwriting was fairly nice.

He pressed the draft down on the desk and said, “Handwritten is too informal. Print it.”

After some thought, Qi Xi agreed. “Then can you lend me the computer?”

There was only one computer in Fu Yanchuan’s office containing the most important documents of the entire group. He paused for half a second, opened a new document, and stood up to offer Qi Xi his seat.

He wasn’t afraid Qi Xi would look; he was certain Qi Xi wouldn’t understand even if he did.

“Thank you, President Fu.”

Qi Xi hadn’t thought that far ahead. He thought that Fu Yanchuan’s chair looked very comfortable. When he was little, he had been to his father’s office, and there was a chair like this that looked very comfortable.

Once, he couldn’t resist and secretly sat on it. But as soon as he did, his father noticed and scolded him and sent him out of the room. However, when Qi Zhounan sat on it, nothing happened. In fact, he could spin around on it.

Fu Yanchuan only looked away from Qi Xi for a moment. When he looked again, he saw Qi Xi curled up in the chair, spinning around. When Qi Xi met his gaze, he hurriedly stopped, nearly sticking his face into the computer. He said, “Sorry, I’ll start typing right away.”

Fu Yanchuan said nothing and wasn’t interested in watching Qi Xi type. He walked from behind the desk to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The weather today was gloomy, covering the entire city in gray. Pressed against the clean, bright glass, he looked down. The road wedged between the high-rise buildings looked like an abyss—one step forward, and he would fall in.

He silently took a chocolate candy from his coat pocket, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth.

“President Fu, it’s done.”

Qi Xi’s voice suddenly rang out. Fu Yanchuan finally pulled his gaze back from the bottom of the building. He was surprised at how fast Qi Xi was; only a little over three minutes had passed.

Back at the desk, Qi Xi turned the screen toward him. There weren’t as many problems as he had imagined. At least, the layout was quite correct.

“President Fu, am I very capable?”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t answer. He propped one hand on the desk and bent down, operating the computer with the other hand. Instead of moving aside to make room for him, Qi Xi shrank down and lay in front of the computer, turning his face toward Fu Yanchuan. Their breaths nearly touched.

Fu Yanchuan realized the ambiguity of their position, but Qi Xi, unaware of this, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Without showing it, Fu Yanchuan clicked print, then printed another copy—a separate internship contract specifically for Qi Xi. He stood up and widened the distance between them.

Only then did Qi Xi notice Fu Yanchuan’s avoidance. His cheeks instantly turned red. He shrank his neck and sniffed his collar secretly, thinking that he hadn’t changed clothes today and that he smelled.

The printer was on the side of the desk. When it finished, Fu Yanchuan went to get the papers.

Qi Xi was still sniffing his clothes, trying to figure out if they smelled. After a long time with no result, he grabbed the orange cat and forced it to smell his collar. The cat resisted fiercely, which made Qi Xi even more certain that his clothes smelled.

Fu Yanchuan didn’t understand what Qi Xi was doing. He handed Qi Xi the contract he had written. “Sign it.”

Qi Xi reached out and took the contract but immediately moved far away from Fu Yanchuan. After signing it, he held it out at arm’s length and passed it back. “Your turn.”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t understand what Qi Xi thought he understood. He stared at the childish contract in front of him without moving.

Qi Xi urged him. “President Fu, are you regretting it again? You said you wouldn’t want me. As long as you sign, you can have someone as capable as me. Don’t hesitate.”

Fu Yanchuan glanced at the photo of Qiao Ye on his desk, then looked at Qi Xi. In the end, he signed a contract that had no real effect.

Qi Xi was delighted and immediately said, “And handprints.”

After finishing the handprints, Fu Yanchuan exhaled and handed Qi Xi the other contract he had just printed. “This is the internship contract.”

Qi Xi tilted his head to look at him.

Fu Yanchuan continued, “You won’t get paid until you sign this.”

At the mention of pay, Qi Xi didn’t hesitate. He signed it in ten seconds, pressed his handprint, and, while putting the ink pad back, suddenly noticed the photo on the desk.

At first glance, he thought it was him, but upon closer inspection, he saw that it was completely different.

The boy in the photo had a spirited face. He was riding a motorcycle, looking back at the camera and smiling flamboyantly and rebelliously. He was much more handsome than him.

Fu Yanchuan sent Zhou Zhiwei a message, asking her to take Qi Xi’s internship contract for filing. After sending the message, he turned around and saw Qi Xi holding Qiao Ye’s photo. He asked curiously, “Is this your white moonlight? He’s so handsome!”

Fu Yanchuan was silent. Qi Xi held the photo next to his face and smiled like Qiao Ye in the picture. “Do I look like him?”

Fu Yanchuan froze for half a second, took the photo, threw it in the drawer, and said in a low voice, “Go eat.”

With the contract signed, Qi Xi felt more confident, though not entirely. He said to Fu Yanchuan, “Fu Yanchuan, don’t dislike me. It’s written in the contract.”

As he spoke, he slapped the newly signed contract onto the desk.

Fu Yanchuan could see that Qi Xi wasn’t completely clueless when it came to fighting for his own interests—he was quite good at climbing the ladder when given a chance. The corner of his mouth lifted unconsciously. “Fu Yanchuan?”

Qi Xi had already forgotten whether his clothes smelled. Fu Yanchuan leaned against the desk and stared at him. Qi Xi stood straight in front of him, bracing his hands on the desk. He tried hard to raise his line of sight to meet Fu Yanchuan’s and said, “I’m your stand-in now. Calling you President Fu is too distant. Do you want me to call you like he did? What did he call you?”

Fu Yanchuan’s eyes darkened instantly. Qi Xi leaned closer and started guessing. “Yanchuan? That’s not intimate at all. Or dear?”

Fu Yanchuan took a step back and pressed a hand on Qi Xi’s shoulder as he leaned closer. Qi Xi grabbed his hand and moved it away. Leaning in again, he blurted out, “Could it be…husband?”

 

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