Gu Qingze quickly withdrew his gaze and stood up, ready to head upstairs.
After working for an entire day, he was indeed quite tired.
However, just as he took a few steps, footsteps followed right behind him.
Gu Qingze stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing as he turned around and asked with a hint of impatience, “What do you want?”
Hearing this, A-Xing pressed his lips together and lowered his head. “Aunt Wang left some porridge in the warmer. Would you like to have some?”
He had heard the doctor mention previously that Gu Qingze had a poor stomach and needed to take good care of it, and tonight he had accidentally overheard Aunt Wang mentioning that Gu Qingze often got so busy he forgot to eat dinner.
Therefore, A-Xing had sat on the sofa waiting to remind him, though he hadn’t expected that he would end up falling asleep.
When speaking to Gu Qingze, A-Xing still habitually kept his voice low and his head bowed.
Gu Qingze kept one hand half-tucked in his pocket and quietly watched A-Xing for a moment. For some unknown reason, his heartstrings felt touched by a wave of warmth, and his expression gradually softened.
“Mhm.”
A-Xing blinked, not reacting for a brief moment. Once it registered, his eyes instantly lit up, and he turned around and hurried to the kitchen to fetch the food.
Gu Qingze watched A-Xing’s retreating figure. A head of soft blue hair bobbed up and down with his movements, and vaguely, he caught a glimpse of the owner’s quiet joy hidden within.
Gu Qingze lifted his foot and slowly walked over to the dining table.
No sooner had he sat down than A-Xing came out carrying a bowl of porridge, wisps of heat still rising from the surface.
“My… Mr. Gu, please enjoy.” A-Xing caught himself mid-sentence and changed his form of address, though it did little to hide the joy beaming across his face.
Gu Qingze didn’t speak and leisurely finished his meal.
During this time, A-Xing stood quietly by his side, his gaze flickering onto Gu Qingze’s face again and again, quickly dropping back down whenever Gu Qingze was about to look up.
For some reason, as Gu Qingze drank the porridge, his thoughts began to drift, leaving him feeling somewhat restless.
Once the bowl of porridge was finished and his empty stomach warmed up, Gu Qingze opened his lips: “Sit.”
A-Xing, who had still been keeping his head lowered, lifted his gaze at those words. Seeing that Gu Qingze’s expression wasn’t as cold as it had been at first, he relaxed and sat down beside him.
“How does work feel today?”
Gu Qingze’s deep, magnetic voice drifted over.
It was truly miraculous. Aside from his grandmother, he had never spoken to anyone else in such a gentle tone.
“It is quite good.” Starlight rippled within A-Xing’s eyes, but underneath the table, his fingertips quietly turned pale. He was a bit nervous, though he didn’t know why he felt so nervous.
“Mhm.” After a pause, Gu Qingze added, “You do not need to do these unnecessary things. You and I are ju—”
Before Gu Qingze could finish his sentence, A-Xing interrupted him, speaking in a tone that was both extremely calm and exceptionally earnest. “These are not unnecessary things; they are very important. I know that perhaps, as you said, there is no relation between us, but in my impressions and in my memories, you are my Lord. I am simply doing what I believe is important. Can you… stop constantly negating me?”
Clearly wearing a gentle smile, Gu Qingze could still perceive a hint of grievance hidden within those eyes.
Gu Qingze admitted that for that single instant, his heart softened.
Rubbing his fingertips together, he nodded in response. “As you like.”
Gu Qingze felt that after saying those words, not only was his heart in disarray, but his thoughts were also scrambled like a hopelessly tangled ball of yarn. The more he thought about it, the messier it got, so Gu Qingze simply stood up, tossed out a brief “Get some rest early,” and walked away.
If one looked closely, they could still notice that Gu Qingze’s pace was noticeably faster than usual.
A-Xing noticed this, for his hearing was exceptionally sharp.
Watching Gu Qingze’s figure disappear around the corner, for some reason, his mood lifted considerably, and ripples of smiles blossomed in the depths of his pale violet eyes.
A-Xing didn’t know whether he loved Gu Qingze or not—he didn’t understand love—but he liked Gu Qingze very much and wanted Gu Qingze to be his Lord, his true Lord.
Though he lacked his past memories, he knew one thing: none of the male bugs in the Empire could compare to the present Gu Qingze. In his vague memories, those male bugs were extremely terrifying and brutal existences.
A-Xing’s eyes flashed slightly as a few scenes he had seen that morning resurfaced in his mind—some from books, some from other places.
These images blended and connected, gradually forming an embryonic, rough guide to romance and pursuit in A-Xing’s mind.
Gu Qingze had no inkling at this moment that he had already been targeted. He was simply lying quietly in bed, looking as serene as if he were dead.
However, after only a moment, Gu Qingze began restlessly tossing and turning, before finally pulling the blanket over his face.
After a long while, his hand hanging by the bedside slammed heavily against the wall.
“What the hell!”
Gu Qingze flipped over viciously.
His mind refused to quiet down. The moment he closed his eyes, voices immediately echoed all around him, calling out “My Lord” over and over again, as if trying to hook his soul.
Gu Qingze simply got out of bed and walked straight into the bathroom.
Emerging enveloped in a cold aura, the distracting images in his head finally faded, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Before falling asleep, Gu Qingze still petulantly spent a few moments internally grumbling at A-Xing.
A-Xing didn’t sleep that night. Utilizing the smartphone he had figured out how to use today, he began researching dating guides—specifically guides on how to pursue someone—completely oblivious to the fact that he had strayed entirely into the wrong track…
However, before A-Xing’s grand pursuit plan could even be put into action, Gu Qingze went on a business trip.
For an entire week, A-Xing didn’t even catch a shadow of Gu Qingze.
He didn’t have Gu Qingze’s contact information, so every night, just like the very first time, he simply sat quietly on the sofa until the deep hours of the night, never waiting for him to return.
All the confidence that had just begun to build up suddenly leaked away, shrinking right back into his shell.
A-Xing blinked, feeling somewhat lost.
To be honest, he didn’t even know what he was feeling lost about.
Of all this, Gu Qingze, who had just stepped off a plane, knew nothing.
He boarded a black sedan, which gradually drove away from the bustling area.
“Mr. Gu, the old madam ate a little something this morning, but she cannot remember things clearly. She did not recognize anyone even after watching the video recordings, so please prepare yourself.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingze opened his eyes in the back seat, his brows heavy with fatigue.
“Mhm, I know.” His voice was choked with hoversness.
Assistant Su noticed his condition, opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again.
Mr. Gu wouldn’t listen to him anyway.
Su Shimu had followed Gu Qingze for twelve years. Seven years older than Gu Qingze, he had never once seen Gu Qingze experience an emotional breakdown or instability. He always wore an ice-mountain face, and the only time his expression ever flickered with emotion—even if just slightly—was when he went to see the old madam.
Sometimes, Su Shimu felt like Gu Qingze was nothing more than a ruthless machine, running in an endless cycle without ever giving himself a chance to breathe.
Yet, as a member of the Gu family, Gu Qingze had no choice but to do this…
After an unknown amount of time, the car slowly drove into an estate. Along the long avenue, both sides were lined with an endless sea of dreamy pink—miles of peach blossoms. As the wind swept past, it scattered a flurry of crimson petals.
The black sedan drove along the gray-blue road, crossed a bridge, and once again came into view of walls entirely covered in climbing red roses.