After Fu Hao left, Li Miao slowly enjoyed the view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. He finished his coffee before preparing to leave.
The door to the private room opened, and when Li Miao looked up, he met the eyes of the person stepping out of the private room across from him.
Oh, a familiar face.
“What a coincidence, A-Yu.” Li Miao waved with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the suited man behind Shen Yu.
The look was highly aggressive, brazen, and unrestrained. Bai Xin lowered his head slightly, hiding the frown between his brows.
Seeing Li Miao, Shen Yu clearly paused for a moment, then nodded a little stiffly.
“I already bought the bedding. I’ll bring it over next time I go to your place.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Shen Yu could clearly feel Bai Xin’s shocked gaze on him, and the tips of his ears turned red.
“What nonsense did I say? You clearly agreed… mmph…”
Shen Yu’s hand covered Li Miao’s mouth.
“Stop talking!” Shen Yu said through gritted teeth.
But the next second, Shen Yu jerked his hand back as if he had been shocked by electricity, looked at Li Miao in disbelief, and fled in panic.
Bai Xin didn’t understand why Shen Yu had such a huge reaction and, feeling confused, hurried after him.
Li Miao stood there, licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, and the smile on his mouth grew wider and wider.
“President Shen.”
Once he got into the car, Bai Xin turned to look at Shen Yu. The boy was spacing out.
Shen Yu’s right-hand fingers were slightly curled, and the warmth and moisture in his palm still lingered.
This guy! How could he…!
“President Shen?” Bai Xin raised his voice a little.
Shen Yu finally came back to himself. “Let’s go home.”
“Okay.” Bai Xin started the car.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Yu asked Bai Xin, “Did you smell it? The scent on Li Miao.”
“Huh? What scent?”
“A citrus scent,” Shen Yu frowned. “Didn’t you smell it?”
Bai Xin thought about it carefully. “No.”
“Is that so…” Shen Yu looked out the window. Maybe it was because he and Li Miao had been too far apart.
But the scent on Li Miao was clearly so strong… maybe Bai Xin just had a bad nose.
The next day was Monday. Early in the morning, in President Li’s office at Li Corporation.
“…There’s one more thing, President Li…” The person reporting hesitated, seeming reluctant to continue.
“Speak.” Li Tinghan was looking down at the documents. She wore a neat princess-cut hairstyle, her features delicate and striking, and she looked about seventy percent like Li Miao.
“The investment department side… one employee you were very optimistic about before… has submitted a resignation letter.”
“Who?” Li Tinghan didn’t even lift her head.
“Fu Hao.”
“Him?” Li Tinghan’s movements paused slightly.
Fu Hao was one of the few employees she remembered. Mainly because his investment style was bold without being reckless, with a very distinctive edge. Even her father had said he had tremendous potential.
If he were to leave…
Li Tinghan frowned. “Why?”
“Mr. Fu said it was due to his own career arrangements, but…” The reporter hesitated before continuing, “We found that Mr. Fu met with the second young master yesterday afternoon.”
“Li Miao?” Li Tinghan’s brow furrowed even more.
“Yes.”
The reporter swallowed. Please don’t let him get dragged into some rich-family battlefield of carnage.
Li Tinghan twirled her pen and smiled. “The resignation letter.”
The reporter carefully placed the application on Li Tinghan’s desk, and Li Tinghan signed her name in three flamboyant strokes without the slightest hesitation.
Nan’en Academy.
“You have no idea how angry Uncle was when he heard that Li Miao never does homework!”
“Then wouldn’t Li Miao be in big trouble?”
“Of course,” Li Cheng said with a proud look. “Given Uncle’s temper… it’s still uncertain whether he’ll even be able to come to class today!”
“Wow, so that means… does Li Miao still have to be afraid of you now?”
“Cough…” Li Cheng didn’t say anything, but his face clearly said, Of course.
“From now on, I’ll have your backs. If Li Miao does anything you don’t like, just tell me!” Li Cheng thumped his chest, completely failing to notice that the looks around him were gradually changing.
“Is that so? Anything at all?” a voice that was smiling and yet not smiling rang out.
“Of course! Leave it to me!”
The moment those words left his mouth, sensing the freezing atmosphere around him, Li Cheng finally realized something was wrong.
He swallowed and slowly turned around.
That blond-haired guy was propping himself up on the desk with one hand, head slightly tilted, those peach-blossom eyes looking at him with a teasing smile.
“Li… Li Miao…”
“Mm, I’m here.” Li Miao looked lazy. He took off his coat, tossed it to Ji Zhou, and rolled his wrists.
“I… no, I didn’t mean it… Uncle said… I couldn’t do anything about it…”
“Sounds like you were pretty helpless too?” Li Miao pulled the tie off his school uniform shirt and slowly wrapped it around his hand.
“Y-yes! I couldn’t do anything about it either. I was forced into it… I’m your cousin. How could I ever harm you?”
“Sigh.” Li Miao sighed, then very gently grabbed Li Cheng by the collar of his school uniform shirt. “Looks like I’ve restrained myself for too long, and that’s made you forget what kind of person I really am.”
“No, I didn’t… ah!!!”
A merciless punch landed on Li Cheng’s face.
“Li Miao, have you gone crazy?! Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Uncle?” Li Cheng looked up in disbelief, clutching his face.
“Heh.” Li Miao gave a soft laugh. His smile was gentle, but his fists were hitting hard. “Go on, then. Let’s see whether you can tell him faster or whether I can beat you faster!”
Li Cheng was just a chubby kid who didn’t exercise, and he had no power to fight back at all. He was beaten until he screamed in agony. For a moment, the entire classroom was filled only with the dull thuds of fists landing and Li Cheng’s miserable cries.
“What are you doing! What are you doing!” The homeroom teacher arrived late, led by Jiang Luo.
Li Miao expressionlessly let go of Li Cheng and walked back to his seat on his own.
Tears and nosebleed had mixed all over Li Cheng’s face, making him look utterly miserable.
“Li Miao, are you trying to rebel?!” The homeroom teacher looked at Li Miao, full of defiance, and Li Cheng’s bloodied face. After hesitating for a moment, he chose to take Li Cheng to the infirmary first.
A class was, for the first time, this quiet without a teacher.
“Tie it for me.” Li Miao slightly turned his eyes sideways, the tie pinched between his fingers.
Shen Yu said nothing. He took the tie, carefully unfolded it, smoothed it out, and looked at Li Miao.
Li Miao turned toward him, lowering his head slightly to reveal a section of his fair, white neck.
Shen Yu pressed his lips together, reached out, and looped the tie around Li Miao’s neck.
Too close. That posture looked just like an unfinished hug.
And there it was again, that citrus scent. Maybe because he had just moved around and worked up a sweat, the citrus smell was even stronger than usual.
Shen Yu lowered his eyes and very seriously tied the tie for Li Miao.
“What perfume are you using?” Shen Yu asked as if it were nothing.
Bai Xin had bought a whole pile of citrus-scented perfumes. Shen Yu smelled them one by one until his nose was nearly useless, but he still hadn’t smelled that familiar scent.
Those perfumes were like shells that looked the part, their scents similar yet missing the soul.
“Hm?” Li Miao was still thinking about how to wrap this up and didn’t react right away.
“You… what perfume are you using?” Shen Yu repeated patiently.
“Perfume?” Li Miao frowned. “Who uses that stuff?”
Shen Yu’s gaze shifted slightly, and he pressed the question. “Then what about laundry detergent? What laundry detergent do you use?”
The look Li Miao gave Shen Yu turned ambiguous. Propping his chin in his hand, he said, “What? A-Yu, you… want to smell like me?”
Shen Yu fell silent again.
Li Miao glanced at Shen Yu’s reddening ears, and the amusement in his eyes deepened. “My laundry detergent is all custom-made.”
After successfully seeing disappointment flash across Shen Yu’s eyes, Li Miao slowly went on, “But… if you want it, I can give you a bottle.”
At the same time, in his mind, 『System, what does he want laundry detergent for?』
『I don’t know either…』 The system was also completely baffled, searching through the novel’s content over and over. 『The novel doesn’t say.』
Li Miao had assumed he would refuse, but Shen Yu looked serious. “Really? Thank you.”
Li Miao raised an eyebrow in surprise, then returned to his usual lazy demeanor. In an ambiguous tone, he crooked a finger. “Then… come to my place tonight to get it.”