“That is not it.” Zou Beiqi directly untied the robe sash that Heng Shi had just tied for him. Shifting out of the bathrobe, he slipped into a clean, gray plaid pajama set.
Right under Heng Shi’s gaze, he completed the entire process while overcoming a hard-to-describe sense of awkwardness. The other man quietly pulled the blanket up over him, adjusting the air conditioner to a comfortable temperature. “Tomorrow, I will have the housekeeper prepare more protein-rich food for you. If your appetite is poor, eat smaller meals more often. You look too thin.”
“Is that what you were thinking when you looked at me just now?” Zou Beiqi asked offhandedly.
“Otherwise? Did you want me to praise your great figure?”
“?” Zou Beiqi grew inexplicably earnest. “That is not really something to brag about.”
Heng Shi laughed in spite of himself. “You certainly have self-awareness.”
“It is not that bad, either.” A sense of misplaced pride welled up in Zou Beiqi. In any case, he was the peerless beauty standard in the book world right below the main characters, an exceptional vase-type villain. How had Heng Shi managed to belittle him into something utterly worthless?
“Still feeling unconvinced?”
“I am merely evaluating based on objective facts.”
“The fact is that your little frame is practically down to a pile of bones.” Heng Shi almost laughed out loud again before reaching out to remove the square-rimmed glasses still perched on the bridge of the other man’s nose. “Go to sleep early. I am sleeping in your room.”
Zou Beiqi did not object. His room had nothing unseemly hidden away anyway.
He and Heng Shi left for work around the same time. Awakening from bed and intending to return to his own room’s wardrobe to pick out a smart-casual outfit to change into, he ran straight into Heng Shi, who was already fully suited up in the hallway.
“Your camera is broken. Are you not going to fix it?” Heng Shi was holding a camera in his hand. Zou Beiqi recognized it as the one he had brought from home. It was not a high-end item, and he had no idea how the original owner had managed to smash it. Having some expertise in photography, he had inspected it carefully and found the damage too severe, concluding that the hefty repair cost made it not worth saving.
Coincidentally, Zou Beiqi shared the original owner’s background; during college, he had joined the photography club. He had spent a wonderfully happy period going on short trips with club members, snapping pictures of people and landscapes everywhere. Only later, as academic workloads grew heavy, did he gradually let the hobby lapse.
“It is not worth fixing, and it is not a particularly good camera anyway.”
Heng Shi abruptly shifted the topic. “You like taking photos?”
“It is called photography,” Zou Beiqi corrected. “I am quite interested in it.”
“Oh.” Heng Shi uttered the single flat syllable, simultaneously placing the broken camera into Zou Beiqi’s palm before heading straight downstairs.
Zou Beiqi carried the camera back inside. Although he actually had to return to his room anyway, directly shoving the item at him like that was far too discourteous.
Ever since he began taking the medication formulated by Heng Shi, Zou Beiqi’s early pregnancy symptoms had noticeably eased. The frequency of flare-ups had decreased, though sudden and intense episodes still occurred.
Zou Beiqi had zero appetite for breakfast. Noticing his reaction, Heng Shi said, “You haven’t touched a single bite. At least eat a little.”
“Yeah.” Knowing that skipping breakfast was a bad habit, Zou Beiqi forced himself to pick up the spoon and scoop some porridge from the bowl. Before he could even bring it to his mouth, a massive wave of nausea welled up. He immediately dropped his utensils and bolted for the bathroom, grabbing the edge of the sink and beginning to dry heave.
Heng Shi followed him inside, standing close to steady him. “How are you? If it is too severe, I will call a doctor over.”
“I don’t want to vomit anymore, my stomach hurts.” Just saying those few words seemed to drain all of Zou Beiqi’s strength. Heng Shi quickly wrapped an arm around his waist, guiding him to sit down on the sofa. Gently rubbing his abdomen over his clothes, he asked, “Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah.” Zou Beiqi slumped limply, his back leaning back weakly for support. Carefully adjusting Zou Beiqi’s posture so he lay completely flat on the sofa, Heng Shi continued to massage his abdomen with one hand while pulling a tissue from the coffee table with the other to wipe the sweat from the face before him. “Can you still bear it?”
“It is okay.”
“You do not look like you are okay.” Tossing the sweat-soaked tissue aside temporarily, Heng Shi extended a hand toward Zou Beiqi. “Grip hard if it hurts.”
With no time to overthink, Zou Beiqi immediately seized that warm palm. The abdominal pain drove him to grip tightly, leaving several deep nail marks in the skin.
Neither of Heng Shi’s hands sat idle; for as long as Zou Beiqi’s pain flared, the massaging motion continued. Only when Zou Beiqi’s expression finally relaxed did Heng Shi pull his hand back. Glancing briefly at the nail marks across the back of his hand without giving them much thought, he asked, “Does it not hurt anymore?”
“It doesn’t hurt.” Zou Beiqi felt a subconscious surge of embarrassment. “Thank you. I am causing you so much trouble.”
“I am the father of the child, and your husband. There is nothing to thank me for. Next time I am not around, remember to call a doctor.” With an imperceptible sigh, Heng Shi scooped Zou Beiqi up by the waist. “Go upstairs and rest. At least take a sick day from the company this morning.”
Placing Zou Beiqi gently back onto the bed, Heng Shi asked a few more questions about his recent symptom flare-ups before heading back downstairs to grab his briefcase for work.
Lately, Heng Shi had been returning home very late. Sometimes, when Zou Beiqi fell asleep early, he could still faintly hear the front door opening downstairs in the middle of the night. By chance, running into Yan Ze in the mansion, he gave in to curiosity and asked a few probing questions, prompting the assistant to explain that Heng Shi was swamped with work regarding the new drug.
The major scoop that Sheng Wanzhong had mentioned back at the bar suddenly jumped back into his memory: rumor had it that Heng Shi’s project team had a mole, which was why troubles plagued the new drug.
“Mr. Heng has already resolved the issues, and project progress is proceeding smoothly. Please rest assured.” Sitting near the coffee table, Yan Ze casually topped off the teacup in front of Zou Beiqi. “He said you do not need to overthink things and should just focus on resting and nurturing the pregnancy.”
“I know. Then, once adjustments are made on the new drug side, can my dad still try it?” Zou Beiqi visited the hospital whenever he had free time. His father’s condition was worsening, and maintaining the current treatment plan offered little help; he might as well gamble on the new drug instead.
“It all depends on Mr. Zou’s wishes.”
Zou Beiqi breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was still a glimmer of hope for his father’s illness.
“Mr. Heng takes his work very seriously. There will be no more problems with the new drug. He asked me to pass along that you must take good care of yourself.”
Heng Shi’s work ethic was evident from his frequent visits during the clinical trials and his current round-the-clock overtime. “What time did he get back last night?”
“Around two in the morning.”
“Won’t he be sleep-deprived?”
“Mr. Heng is quite used to this. When he gets busy, he sometimes forgets to eat.” Yan Ze paused. “But it is not a regular occurrence. His physical constitution can still handle it.”
Working without eating even while running experiments? What a terrifying workaholic.
Zou Beiqi recalled this conversation unbidden while enjoying his dinner.
He wondered if Heng Shi remembered to eat. Although being in his late twenties was still youthful, it did not mean he could endure this kind of daily exhaustion forever.
Just like his dad, who always busied himself until he fell asleep on the sofa, forgetting to get up and eat.
After eating just a few bites of rice and pork, Zou Beiqi lost his appetite. Staring at the table full of dishes, the sudden urge to deliver a meal to Heng Shi came over him.
Lately, Heng Shi had practically been dedicating himself heart and soul to taking care of him, managing his daily necessities, specially buying candied fruit and herbal seasonings, and staying by his side when his abdomen hurt. In terms of caretaking, Zou Beiqi figured a bit of reciprocity was only reasonable.
Asking the housekeeper to help pack food into a thermal container and stir-fry a few additional fresh dishes, Zou Beiqi hopped into the car when Yan Ze happened to pass by the mansion and offered a ride, giving the assistant their destination.
“Are you in a rush to see Mr. Heng?” Yan Ze did not rush to start the engine, catching sight of the thermal container in Zou Beiqi’s hands via the rearview mirror. “If you have items that need delivering, I can help.”
Yan Ze’s proposal sounded quite convenient, sparing Zou Beiqi a trip. Yet, driven by a strange impulse, Zou Beiqi declined. “No, I will deliver it myself.”
With no further persuasion, Yan Ze simply acknowledged the instruction and drove straight to the company entrance. Thanks to a quick call to internal staff beforehand, Zou Beiqi was able to breeze right into the building unobstructed.
Standing in an unfamiliar environment amidst the sea of curious glances from company employees, Zou Beiqi felt a deep sense of awkwardness.
With the laboratory being a restricted area where unauthorized personnel were barred, Zou Beiqi could only hug the thermal container and wait outside the door. For a fleeting second, he felt precisely like a parent delivering a lunchbox to a child preparing for college entrance exams.
Yan Ze had mentioned that to avoid missing notifications and arrangements, Heng Shi routinely checked his phone even inside the lab, meaning he should see Zou Beiqi’s message sooner or later.
Remembering to check work messages while forgetting to eat truly showed a high level of dedication.
After waiting for over twenty minutes, Heng Shi finally peeled off his lab coat, stepped out of the laboratory, and sat down beside him. “Why did you come?”
“Yan Ze said you would forget to eat.” Zou Beiqi shoved the thermal container into Heng Shi’s arms. “Eat first.”
“You could have had Yan Ze deliver it.”
“I had nothing better to do anyway. I checked online, and getting out for a walk is good for me.”
Heng Shi paused mid-gesture. “I have never met someone who enjoys creating trouble for themselves like you do.”
Watching Heng Shi open the food container, Zou Beiqi saw the man skip using his chopsticks immediately, picking up a piece of cabbage instead and holding it right to Zou Beiqi’s lips. “You didn’t eat much for dinner, have a couple of bites.”
“Yeah.” Not denying it, Zou Beiqi was already accustomed to Heng Shi’s monitoring of his poor appetite. He docilely accepted the chopsticks and brought the food to his mouth.
Heng Shi rummaged through the bag. “You only brought one set of utensils?”
Zou Beiqi nodded. He hadn’t planned on dining right outside the laboratory door himself, and assumed Heng Shi probably disliked using anything touched by someone else.
“Forget it.” Heng Shi took back the utensils handed over by Zou Beiqi. He had just popped a spoonful of rice into his mouth when a group of colleagues suddenly swarmed over, forcing him to temporarily set down his spoon.
“Team Leader Heng, is this your newly wedded spouse?” Colleague Number One looked Zou Beiqi up and down. “I have to say, you two really look matched.”
Colleague Number Two chimed in as well, his gaze involuntarily landing on Zou Beiqi. “Right, our team leader is so handsome, he ought to have a little beauty like this as a sister-in-law.”
The colleagues could not resist buzzing around Zou Beiqi with a flurry of questions, practically wearing the word gossip stamped across their foreheads. Heng Shi deliberately struck his spoon heavily against the lunchbox lid, creating a loud clatter:
“All of you, back to work.” His pronunciation was heavily emphasized.