Qie Xieling, "..."

"Cute is for puppies," he boldly declared just as he had heard his dad say.

"You look like a hamster when you are eating. I am curious how much food can you fit in your mouth," said Luo Muchen as his amusement grew. It wasn’t just the way he ate, but the unabashed joy he found in something as simple as a bowl of soup. It was as if Qie Xieling had discovered a hidden treasure, and the world around him had faded into insignificance.

"Seriously?... You are the hamster, your whole family are hamsters," said Qie Xieling before continuing to eat.

"Give me a bite...," he said only to be ignored. He had his less spicy version in front of him but he eagerly wanted Qie Xieling to feed him.

"Baby give me one bite, please. Sharing is caring," he said but Qie Xieling refused.

"Mine is very spicy. You won’t like it," he said his lips glossy from the broth.

Luo Muchen was insistent but Qie Xieling was so stubborn. It took a lot of convincing to get him to give him a taste.

Luo Muchen gladly sat next to him and waited eagerly. Qie Xieling tried to shake off the excess soup like that would help make it more bearable for Luo Muchen. The level of hotness in that bowl was ten times more than that of what he made for him last night.

Qie Xieling fed him from across the table and Luo Muchen chewed happily but he was smiling through the pain.

Qie Xieling arched his brow watching him trying to play it cool. "Good?" he asked and Luo Muchen nodded his head but his ears were dripping blood.

Qie Xieling stabbed the straw into his milk tea and passed it to him. Luo Muchen took a sip and felt instant relief but his heart was still burning inside. He loved that Qie Xieling cared for him.

Suddenly a voice rang in Qie Xieling’s head. It was none other than Jolie. ’You left training and snuck away to go see him, didn’t you? You idiot, you shouldn’t give him what he wants all the time. Men are like that. Believe me, I know.’

Qie Xieling, "..."

His eye twitched hearing her scolding him. What believe me I know? The only experience Jolie had with anything remotely close to a man was Mittens and he was an AI.

’That’s it. You aren’t moving in with him for another week!’

Qie Xieling, "..."

***

While Qie Xieling was wondering how Jolie would stop him from moving in with Luo Muchen, Bager was fuming in his home worried not only for his safety but the hurt in his heart.

He did nice things for Luo Muchen and even learnt to cook though as Qie Xieling described it, it tasted like dog food. He burnt his hands each time he made something for him and brought it over to his office as a sign of his affection but he went behind his back and chose someone who had betrayed him countless times to be his boyfriend. For the first time in his life, he felt like his feelings had been cheated.

Bager had always appeared docile on the surface but just like every cat he hit his claws very well. He dialled Bi Yu’s number. For him to be able to steal that diamond he needed to use someone and Bi Yu was that someone.

Because she was an apprentice of Luo Muchen’s doctor she had access to the house. Since they were accomplices in crime it was only natural that he would use her again.

In three rings the call was finally picked up and Bager kept it brief. "Meet me at the seaside same time," he said and Bi Yu who hid in a corner to pick up the call without Doctor Kang knowing glanced around looking like a thief before answering,

"Sure." She cut the call and turned to leave only to find her boss standing behind her looking like a ghost.

"AH! Doctor Kang. You scared me," she said with her hand on her chest.

"Boyfriend?" he asked with a hint of curiosity etched on his face.

She shyly lowered her head and said, "No... ju-just a friend."

"Okay... I was just curious. As you were," he finally said before turning to leave. She heaved a sigh and walked back to the medical supplies cabinet where she was cross-checking the supplies.

After work, she clutched her bag rushing towards her car parked next to Doctor Kang’s. As she drove off, a shadow was watching her through the partially closed curtain.

As soon as her car drove off he dialled a number and said a few words before hanging up. Half a minute later an SUV followed after her and the men inside looked as terrifying as the Secret Service.

One was holding a tablet checking Bi Yu’s car tracker on the screen.

Bi Yu did as Bager instructed her last time driving to several locations first in random directions before reaching the hotel on the seaside.

She didn’t even walk over to the desk but went straight to the elevator. When she reached the fifth floor she got out and walked up the stairs. It was tiring but Bager had told her they needed to be careful.

When she reached the hotel room she rhythmically knocked on the door and twenty seconds later the door opened.

She slipped in through the door and closed it before asking, "What’s so urgent? I thought we weren’t supposed to meet again?"

Bager who was sitting with his chair facing the ceiling-to-floor window watching the waves crashing at the shore said, "Sit."

Bi Yu could hear from his voice that he was not in a good mood so she sat down quietly her bag resting on her lap.

"The other time you said you found Qie Xieling good-looking," he said and Bi Yu who would stare at Qie Xieling while he was passed out bit her lower lip.

She did find him good-looking and fascinating but she didn’t seem to enter his eyes. He was polite and nice when he woke up but it almost felt like she was distancing himself from her, keeping her at arm’s length.

Bi Yu even tried to get his contact number from Butler Zhang but he refused to give it. She could only message him across several of his social media platforms but he never replied. That’s because he probably received tons of similar requests every day and hers would be lost in a sea of messages. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

A big blow came when she found out that he was dating a guy. It was really hard for her to accept. She was however a little surprised that Bager would ask about this even though she mentioned it casually while drunk.