Since he had to leave for a business trip tomorrow, Qin Yuan waved his hand, allowing Qin Suihi to go home early to pack his luggage.
Refusing a ride from his driver, he got into the driver’s seat. As soon as the door closed, he ripped off his tie and tossed it aside, sighing in relief.
Just as he started the car, a lyrical song began to play.
It was his ringtone.
He pulled out his phone and saw the contact name: Ren Xing.
Ren Xing lived up to his name—truly “willful” (Renxing). If he had been even a second later, he would have been on the road and unable to answer the phone, as traffic police don’t recommend it.
Even a CEO has to follow traffic rules. Qin Suihi turned on the car’s heater and answered the call leisurely. The crackle of the connection brought a cheeky greeting: “Haha, why haven’t you been coming to the bar lately? Oh, wait, I forgot, you’re ‘Young Master Qin’ now. You can’t come, hahaha…”
“Ren Xing,” Qin Suihi said in a low, ominous tone. “If you ‘haha’ again, I’ll turn you into the joke.”
The background on the other end was noisy, and the whistling of wind could be heard; he was likely sitting in the passenger seat of someone else’s car, going for a joyride.
Hearing this, Ren Xing immediately changed his tune: “Okay, Hee-hee.”
He was a little scared, but not much.
Qin Suihi: … Can’t even scold him. His nickname really is ‘Hee-hee’.
Ren Xing might seem unreliable, but he was actually a year older than Qin Suihi—his cousin. It was normal for an older cousin to call a younger one by his nickname, but coming from Ren Xing, Qin Suihi felt it didn’t suit his carefully cultivated image of a cold, aloof CEO.
But the seniority was there. However, how could a CEO be held back by others?
CEO Qin said coldly: “I heard that the small company my aunt just acquired is missing a manager. Are you interested?”
CEOs know how to threaten people.
Ren Xing immediately cried out: “Suihi, Brother Qin, Master!”
Qin Sui: “I can’t afford the last two. I’m afraid it’ll shorten my lifespan.”
Since no one was around, he casually unbuttoned one of his shirt buttons and connected the phone via Bluetooth. Ren Xing’s voice filled the car, and Qin Suihi restarted the engine, the car vibrating slightly as it pulled away.
“What do you want? I need to drive.”
He wanted to eat dinner early; the housekeeper he hired had already messaged him that dinner would be ready in twenty minutes.
The threat from Ren Xing was still fresh, and its effect was lingering, so he spoke extremely fast: “How about coming to ‘Drunken Moon’ tonight? We haven’t gathered in a month. Your gang of ‘fox friends and dog buddies’ [idiom for bad company] really misses you.”
That group of friends surely included Ren Xing, but he clearly lacked self-awareness and always liked to exclude himself.
At the mention of it, Qin Suihi thought of those three or four people. Although they weren’t the brightest bunch, they were good people.
Since he was free tonight, he decided to indulge himself before the long business trip—as a reward for working himself to the bone for the past month.
“Beep—Fingerprint verification successful. Welcome home.”
After the familiar electronic female voice, as soon as he opened the door, Qin Suihi smelled the faint scent of food, followed by a fox bumping into his foot.
Assuming the fox was trying to sneak out to play, Qin Suihi habitually picked it up while he changed his shoes and entered, only putting it back on the floor once he was inside.
“If you dare to go out, you’re getting neutered.”
CEO Qin threatened.
Ning Qi’an was dumbfounded: Who wants to go out? I was just welcoming you home! And could you stop mentioning the word ‘neutered’?!
Ning Qi’an felt that his and Qin Suihi’s brainwaves were never on the same frequency.
The heater was on, so a jacket wasn’t really necessary. Qin Suihi took off his clothes just as Aunt Liu finished cooking. She smiled and called him over: “Hello, Mr. Qin, dinner is ready. Come eat while it’s hot.”
Qin Suihi gave a hum, his gaze falling on the fox that was drooling at the food. “Add another set of utensils… actually, just use a saucer. Put some in it for him.”
Ning Qi’an couldn’t believe his ears. He hurriedly shook his furry fox ears and trotted over to Qin Suihi’s feet.
What? What did you say? Did I hear that right? Did you finally take the right medicine?
Qin Suihi’s brainwaves were finally on the same wavelength this time. He actually responded perfectly to the fox’s squeaks: “You heard right. From now on, you eat what I eat.”
Thank the heavens!
Ning Qi’an was almost in tears. Qin Suihi was finally being sensible; his hard times were over!
As soon as Aunt Liu put down the saucer, Ning Qi’an rushed over and buried his face in the food.
This! This is truly a delicacy! I’ve never eaten such a sumptuous meal. My fox life is complete!
Ning Qi’an decided that after he finished this “mission,” he definitely had to go to Aunt Liu’s house to mooch a meal. With skills like this, no wonder Aunt Liu was so confident in inviting him over.
Aunt Liu kindly stroked his head: “I don’t know why a fox eats human food, but seeing you like it so much makes me happy.”
Teary-eyed, Ning Qi’an took a moment to nuzzle Aunt Liu’s hand, letting out a chirping sound that was clearly him acting cute.
This was acting cute; everything before that was just complaining.
Qin Suihi’s hand, holding his chopsticks, paused.
How strange. Why does it sound like someone is talking? But there’s no one else here besides Aunt Liu.
It seemed like he had heard someone talking before, but when he tried to listen carefully to what was being said, he couldn’t hear it anymore.
Must be the toll of work. You go crazy when you work this hard.
Qin Suihi settled his mind and stopped thinking about it.
After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, Aunt Liu left. Qin Suihi looked at the fox, which was busy licking its fur, and muttered to himself: “If I’m raising you like a human, shouldn’t you stop sleeping outside?”
Ning Qi’an stopped licking his fur, then suddenly looked up, his eyes shining: What?! What kind of auspicious day is this? He finally has some humanity!
Could it be that a wise sage gave him some advice?
Apart from that, Ning Qi’an couldn’t think of any other possibility.
Wise sage! Please accept this fox’s bow!
Far away at the Tianqin Group, Qin Yuan paused his mouse.
Why do I feel like someone is calling me in the netherworld?
Qin Yuan called in his most reliable Secretary Chen and ordered: “Buy a… doghouse, and have it sent to ‘Hee-hee’.”
Qin Yuan paused and added, “Make it a big one.”
Secretary Chen didn’t understand, but he smiled and nodded: “Understood, Chairman Qin.”
The reliable Secretary Chen bought an extra-large doghouse with rocket-like speed and arranged for it to be delivered to Qin Suihi’s house.
It was an extra-large doghouse, big enough even for a Tibetan Mastiff; it was definitely big enough.
As soon as Qin Suihi finished showering, he heard a knock at the door. Roughly grabbing a towel to wipe his wet hair, he opened the door in his house robe.
Outside was Secretary Chen’s smiling face. He stepped aside to reveal a large, mysterious package wrapped in a woven plastic bag.
“Good afternoon, Young Master Qin,” Secretary Chen greeted, then explained: “This is the doghouse Chairman Qin ordered me to send you. Would you like me to move it inside?”
Qin Suihi had a blank expression: “Doghouse? What doghouse? I don’t keep a dog.”
Secretary Chen’s gaze shifted to Ning Qi’an, who was standing below, equally dumbfounded. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled: “It should be for this one.”
He was always polite, regardless of whether the recipient was human or not.
Ning Qi’an and Qin Suihi, one looking up and one looking down, exchanged a look of utter disbelief before turning their eyes back to Secretary Chen.
Soon, Ning Qi’an was the first to react. He darted out the door and circled the bag, pleasantly surprised to find that this doghouse was five times his size!
The happy life had come so suddenly that he couldn’t control his tail; he wagged it frantically, slapping the bag with his paws, his excitement visible to the naked eye.
Move it! Get Qin Suihi to move it inside! Benefactor, come in and sit for a while, I’ll pour you some water!
In the end, Secretary Chen moved the super-sized doghouse inside, Qin Suihi poured the water, and the fox—who had just been making wild claims—was rolling around inside the doghouse.
Qin Suihi looked speechlessly at the yellow-and-white doghouse occupying a large corner of the living room. Inside, a reddish-brown creature was rolling around wildly; its short, sharp yips sounded exactly like human laughter.
What’s there to be so excited about?
He didn’t understand, but he respected it.
Secretary Chen finished his task, adjusted his glasses, and made a grand exit under the grateful gaze of Ning Qi’an.
Ning Qi’an waved his paw: Come back often, benefactor.
With the extra-large doghouse, Ning Qi’an completely refused to leave his den.
The spot Secretary Chen had chosen was excellent; half of it was bathed in sunlight. Ning Qi’an lounged there, basking in the sun, with the added benefit of the floor heating underneath—it couldn’t be more comfortable.
The fox lay on the very warm bed and yawned. Its reddish-brown fur turned into golden threads under the sun, reflecting tiny light spots. The scene was so warm and cozy that even Qin Suihi, who came out dressed, was stunned for a moment.
He walked over and reached out to stroke the fur on the fox’s back. Warmed by the sunlight and the fox’s own body temperature, the warmth he felt was just right.
The fox raised its eyelids to glance at him, then closed them again, not knowing if it was truly sleeping or just too lazy to pay attention.
Qin Suihi’s gaze fell on those fox ears that were twitching softly. Finding it funny, he gave the fox’s head a fierce rub. Sure enough, he got a look of disdain from the fox.
Perhaps because the fox usually behaved with so much human intelligence, Qin Suihi didn’t care if it understood him or not and explained the reason he would be away for a few days.
“I’m going on a business trip for two days tomorrow. Secretary Chen—the one who brought the stuff today—will come to take care of you.”
The fox remained indifferent, as if it hadn’t heard. Qin Suihi didn’t indulge him; he poked the feigning-asleep fox hard, pressing its chin into the cushion. Before the fox could resist or scratch him, he sat on the sofa.
There were still three or four hours until his scheduled meeting with Ren Xing. Qin Suihi was a bit bored, so he turned on the TV and picked a movie with a high rating.
Even though he knew the fox was faking sleep, he still turned the volume down a few notches, tossed the remote aside carelessly, and leaned back on the sofa in a relaxed posture.
By the end, Qin Suihi didn’t even understand what the movie was about. He ended up playing a small game on his phone to kill time, the childish background music of the game playing from the middle of the movie until the end. Conversely, the little thing that had been pretending to sleep was full of energy; it jumped onto the sofa, occupied one side, and watched the entire movie with great interest.
Seeing how intent it was, Qin Suihi was tempted to make the fox write a review, just so his effort of finally turning on the TV wouldn’t be in vain.
When the time was about right, Qin Suihi picked up the car keys from the entryway, slid his finger into the silver ring, and spun it twice. He looked down at the fox that had followed him to the entryway, leaned over, and his thumb and pinky just happened to press against the two ears, the soft fur resting under his large palm.
“Wait for me to come back at home.”
Bang—
The heavy door closed, cutting off their eye contact.