Su Yi immediately recognized it.
Back then, the little furball curled up in a cardboard box, whimpering—she never expected it would grow so big.
She still remembered when she saved it. It was only three or four months old, abandoned on the roadside.
It had been raining heavily. The puppy was soaked and trembling all over. It didn’t even bark—just curled up alone under a streetlight, licking its own fur.
Such a small puppy—without anyone to take care of it, it likely wouldn’t have survived long.
“Pei Yanli, can we keep it?”
The man had mysophobia and didn’t like dogs.
In the end, it was only after her persistent pleading that he agreed.
Later, she was driven away by Old Master Pei and had no time to take it with her.
She thought that a stray dog like that, without anyone caring for it, would probably have died long ago. Yet unexpectedly, Pei Yanli brought it back.
Seeing its glossy fur and those eyes no longer filled with tearful helplessness like when it was first picked up, it was clear that during this time, Pei Yanli had taken very good care of it.
Su Yi didn’t know why he had brought it back.
Clearly, he didn’t like pets.
“Awwooo… awwooo…” The big dog’s tail wagged like a propeller. A faint scent of bath gel drifted from its fluffy fur, carrying Pei Yanli’s scent.
It stubbornly nudged her hanging hand with its nose, wanting her to play with it.
Just like three years ago.
She couldn’t help but reach out and pat its head. “Good boy…”
“What are you doing?”
A low voice came from above her head.
Su Yi froze and looked up. The man was wearing a black casual outfit, his short hair still dripping with water. When her gaze met his deep black eyes, she felt a little guilty.
Just now… she shouldn’t have done anything inappropriate, right?
She stood up awkwardly and explained, “President Pei… it licked me.”
“I’m asking it.”
When the golden retriever was stared at like that, it immediately let go of her—but it didn’t leave. Instead, it stood still and kept staring at her.
As if afraid she would run away.
It had probably recognized her.
After all, Su Yi had taken care of it for quite a while back then.
Fortunately, it couldn’t speak.
But as soon as Su Yi took a step away, the golden retriever moved forward and blocked her path, not letting her leave even half a step.
“President Pei, can you make it move… I’m a bit afraid of dogs.”
At times like this, she could only say something against her will.
But what she said casually carried unintended weight.
As soon as it heard “afraid of dogs,” the golden retriever’s gaze changed. It seemed to understand her words. It quickly stepped back, then lay down far away on the balcony, staring at her pitifully.
At that moment, Su Yi… suddenly felt like stealing the dog.
She suddenly understood why so many people, after breaking up, wanted to steal the pet back.
Because… it was really hard to let go.
Sensing the man’s burning gaze, Su Yi looked away and said awkwardly, “Is it… hungry? It doesn’t look very happy.”
“I don’t know if it’s hungry, but I am.”
Su Yi’s smile froze. “…President Pei, then I… I’ll go cook for you.”
Su Yi opened the fridge. She had assumed that someone like Pei Yanli would live on takeout and convenience, and the fridge would be mostly empty—but to her surprise, it was fully stocked.
Over the past three years, Su Yi had grown a lot. To take care of her child, she had learned many skills, and even her cooking had improved.
Soon, she finished preparing the meal.
When she came out with the dishes, she found Pei Yanli leaning on the sofa, eyes closed, as if asleep.
His brow bone was high, his eye sockets deep. Those eyes of his usually carried sharpness and distance.
But now, with his eyes closed, he looked like any ordinary man.
Su Yi originally wanted to wake him up—after all, the food would get cold.
He was very picky and would not take a second bite of cold food.
But just as she stepped forward, she accidentally stepped on something and lost her balance, falling forward.
When people fall, their mind goes blank, and the body reacts too slowly.
By the time Su Yi reacted, she had already crashed into Pei Yanli’s arms.
She looked straight into his deep, vortex-like eyes.
Before she could react, his face suddenly leaned in, and his lips pressed against hers.
The kiss was heavy, skilled, and dominant. Su Yi was like prey, completely under his control.
Heat enveloped her whole body. Her heartbeat went out of rhythm, and she even forgot to push him away.
She was kissed until she was breathless, unable to tell whether he was conscious or not.
Until she was pressed onto the sofa, she finally snapped back to her senses.
With all her strength, she pushed him away.
Her cheeks were flushed from lack of oxygen, and she gasped for breath.
Her collarbone hurt slightly—she wasn’t sure if he had left a mark.
She turned back to look at the culprit, but the man was now leaning on the sofa with his eyes closed again, face flushed, no reaction at all—as if everything that had just happened was a dream.
Su Yi wiped her numb lips. “Pei Yanli—!”
No response.
Thinking he was unconscious, she grew bolder. She kicked his slippers—still no response.
In the end, she poked his chest with a pillow, but there was still no reaction.
“You really like pretending to be dead.”
The moment the words fell, his palm suddenly heated up—he grabbed her hand.
The temperature was burning.
She touched his forehead.
It was scalding.
Perhaps because she had been around children too long, she instinctively lifted his wrinkled shirt. The skin beneath her palm was also burning hot—it was clearly a high fever.
Her fingers accidentally brushed his abs, and her face heated up.
She patted her head. He was like this already—what was she thinking?
She stood up and went to the bathroom.
On the floor were several pieces of clothing scattered around.
How many times did this man shower in a day?
The bathroom tiles were still damp, and steam mixed with the scent of mint body wash filled the air.
When Su Yi bent down to pick up the clothes, her fingers suddenly touched something different from the rest.
She looked down instinctively.
It was a bullet-shaped pair of underwear.
Her ears turned red. She stuffed everything into the washing machine, then came out with a wet towel and a medical kit.
“39 degrees.” She murmured while holding the thermometer.
In her line of sight, the man lay back on the sofa, his Adam’s apple rising and falling with heavy breaths, looking extremely uncomfortable.
She wiped his face with the wet towel, but after several attempts, the fever still didn’t go down.
When her daughter had a fever before, she usually wiped her whole body with saline to bring the temperature down.
After thinking for a moment, she still unbuttoned his shirt.
As the wet towel brushed his collarbone, Pei Yanli suddenly grabbed her wrist, his burning palm pressing against her pulse.
“Let go.”
She struggled, but it felt like she was instead brushing against his chest.
“Pei Yanli.” She was slightly annoyed. “If you keep this up, I won’t care about you.”
The man held her wrist tightly and said in a pleading voice, “Don’t leave me…”
“Zhizhi…”