Xu Chenghao stared at Li Nian speechlessly, his expression clearly saying, ‘Go on, say more! Why aren’t you talking now?’
Li Nian played dumb to the end. “President Xu, are you unhappy with the document?”
Xu Chenghao rolled his eyes, too lazy to respond.
Under Jing Yicheng’s watchful gaze, the two had no choice but to drop their conversation and get back to work. Fortunately, Jing Yicheng didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. After seeing them busy, he sat down at the other end of the room, opened his laptop, and started working as well.
Feeling guilty, Li Nian couldn’t last long and quickly found an excuse to flee the office. Once it was just Xu Chenghao and Jing Yicheng in the room, the sudden quiet made the focus of Jing Yicheng’s activities all the more obvious.
A voice came from Jing Yicheng’s computer: “I’m marrying ‘you’, not your entire family. Why do you care so much about their opinions?”
The volume wasn’t too loud, but just enough for Xu Chenghao to catch it. He perked up his ears, listened for a few seconds, and, confirming what he heard, stood up in confusion. Walking around behind Jing Yicheng, he found him watching an idol drama and was instantly dumbfounded. “Why are you watching this?”
Jing Yicheng remained focused. “I need to see how others handle family opposition when it comes to relationships.”
Xu Chenghao glanced at the screen and quickly summed it up: the typical idol drama trope—a rich heir and a common girl, deeply in love but facing family opposition.
Isn’t this just like An Rouyu? Xu Chenghao thought. Though she’s the daughter of the An family, her status is awkward, and her life is tough. Compared to the ordinary female leads in idol dramas, at least they have loving families. In the eyes of their in-laws, both are seen as “climbing the social ladder,” treated with disdain, subject to sarcastic remarks, and it’s not unusual for them to be insulted or driven away with money.
So what’s the point of watching this? Can you really learn anything from it? Besides, the Xu family elders would never act like that. Xu’s mother might even feel like she’s getting the short end of the deal!
Worried that Jing Yicheng might pick up the wrong lessons from this, Xu Chenghao closed the laptop without mercy. “No more watching!”
Jing Yicheng pouted, “Why not?”
Xu Chenghao replied seriously, “TV dramas are full of lies. It’s good that you’re eager to learn, but you can’t learn from the wrong places, got it?”
Jing Yicheng asked, “Then where should I learn from?”
Xu Chenghao said, “If you want to learn something, just ask me or your assistant. Sure, your emotional intelligence is a bit low, but you’re surrounded by people with high EQ.”
Jing Yicheng frowned slightly, “Why does that feel so uncomfortable to hear?”
Xu Chenghao comforted him, “Don’t feel bad! It just means we complement each other perfectly. We’re a match made in heaven.”
Instantly softened by Xu Chenghao’s sweet words, Jing Yicheng smiled. “Yes, a match made in heaven.”
Seizing the moment, Xu Chenghao added, “So, you should watch fewer of those useless dramas. If you’ve got the time, why not help me out? At least I can teach you what my parents like, right?”
Jing Yicheng immediately understood. “Tired? How much is left? I’ll handle it.”
Xu Chenghao replied happily, “Just what’s on the table.”
“Got it.” Jing Yicheng agreed, getting up on his own to give Xu Chenghao his seat, then walked around to the other side of the desk to continue working. Although he might seem unreliable in daily life, his work ability was definitely top-notch. Xu Chenghao fully trusted him. Leaning back in his chair, Xu Chenghao relaxed by gazing out the window, occasionally glancing back to admire how focused Jing Yicheng looked while working… Hmm, really handsome.
The two balanced work and love perfectly, spending a cozy afternoon together. However, when they got home, Xu Chenghao suddenly turned cold. He tossed a little yellow duck pillow at Jing Yicheng and said icily, “Go sleep in the guest room!”
Jing Yicheng was momentarily stunned. “Why?”
Xu Chenghao responded, “Are you playing dumb? You promised last night you wouldn’t get in bed for a week!”
Jing Yicheng protested, “I said I wouldn’t fool around. I don’t want to sleep in the guest room. Haohao, I want to sleep holding you.”
Xu Chenghao was ruthless. “You can keep dreaming, that’s not happening.”
Jing Yicheng felt wronged. “Why not?”
Xu Chenghao replied, “What do you think? Who told you to go back on your word once you got in bed?”
Jing Yicheng: “…”
He had no way to argue back.
But he couldn’t possibly spend an entire week in the guest room! Just the thought of it made Jing Yicheng feel aggrieved. Yet, Xu Chenghao was fully prepared for this; every time Jing Yicheng tried to act out, Xu Chenghao would threaten him with the excuse that “he knows how to pick locks” and would not only kick him out but even revoke his right to stay in the guest room. Left with no choice, Jing Yicheng had to promise not to pick the lock, not to climb through the window, and not to cause any trouble, reluctantly settling into the guest room.
After all, staying in the guest room was better than being kicked out altogether…
Comparing the two, Jing Yicheng realized that his worst fear wasn’t sleeping in the guest room or being kicked out; it was the thought of Xu Chenghao moving back to the Xu family home! Then, they’d be separated by a huge distance and might hardly see each other. If Xu Chenghao’s parents took the opportunity to say something to him… No, no, no! That definitely couldn’t happen. He had to endure this! He absolutely couldn’t give Xu Chenghao a reason to move back home.
Unable to sleep in the middle of the night, Jing Yicheng secretly made up his mind. By morning, though dark circles hung under his eyes, he didn’t complain a word. For the next few days, he obediently stayed in the guest room, didn’t pick any locks, didn’t sneak through windows, and didn’t complain or act up, which left Xu Chenghao a bit surprised at how well-behaved he was.
Despite the surprise, Xu Chenghao was very pleased with Jing Yicheng’s attitude in admitting his mistake, and even more satisfied with his current comfortable life. Enjoying a lazy and pain-free existence, Xu Chenghao couldn’t get enough of it. Truly, laziness brings brief joy, but staying lazy brings endless bliss.
One day, the alarm on his phone suddenly went off. Without Xu Chenghao needing to say anything, Jing Yicheng could guess: “Time to harvest the peppers?”
Xu Chenghao turned off the reminder. “Yes, I’m heading to the greenhouse now.”
Jing Yicheng stood up as well. “Then I’ll head to the research lab and see if we can get any results.”
“Alright.”
The two left the company and went their separate ways. Xu Chenghao drove himself to the greenhouse, arriving just in time to witness a sea of red peppers spread out before him. Although it was impossible to tell the deformed peppers from the intact ones just by looking, the sight of the vibrant red was enough to make him feel at ease.
Xu Chenghao waited hopefully for the final result, but the thing he had been worrying about still happened—191 peppers harvested, still falling short of the passing mark.
He was instantly disappointed, even beginning to fear that he would once again be stuck right at the final hurdle, unable to complete the task. If this happened again, it would undoubtedly feel like a cursed cycle!
The reality was that there were only six days left for the Little Pepper 4.0 mission, and if Jing Yicheng’s side didn’t yield much, Xu Chenghao would have only one last chance to harvest.
The bigger issue was that the difficulty had also increased. In the final harvest, he needed to collect 236 peppers to complete the task—more than 20 peppers above the previous passing line. It was hard to imagine how, with a yield that couldn’t even meet the passing mark, he would be able to reach that higher target.
Feeling the pressure, Xu Chenghao planted the last batch of peppers, watching as the little yellow duck popped out to water them. His fingers anxiously rubbed against the phone screen.
He had been so exhausted that he’d slept through the entire afternoon, completely unaware of how many peppers Jing Yicheng had planted, or how many would be harvested today… As long as they exceeded 23 peppers, he could finally reach the passing line!
Nervous and uneasy, Xu Chenghao gripped his phone tightly. When he felt it vibrate, he didn’t even wait for the ringtone before quickly answering the call. “Cheng-ge! How many peppers did you harvest over there?”
Jing Yicheng replied, “There are 72 intact peppers here.”
“72???” Xu Chenghao’s surprise and joy erupted simultaneously. He hadn’t expected Jing Yicheng’s harvest to be more than three times what he had hoped for! This was amazing! With Jing Yicheng’s 72 peppers added to the count, they had a total of 263 peppers for this harvest. That meant next time, they only needed 164 peppers to complete the mission!
Xu Chenghao immediately let out a long sigh of relief, feeling like he’d just found light at the end of a tunnel. Excitedly, he said, “Bring the peppers home safely, I’ll be waiting for you!”
Jing Yicheng responded, “Alright, be careful on your way back.”
“Got it.” Xu Chenghao hung up the phone, a smile that he couldn’t hold back still on his face.
In such a short time, his emotions had gone on a roller coaster ride. Even as he drove home, he still felt a sense of surreal disbelief—maybe because he hadn’t seen the peppers yet, so it felt a bit too good to be true.
Now, all that was left was for Jing Yicheng to bring the peppers back!
Feeling elated, Xu Chenghao locked up the peppers he had harvested and, with time to spare, began sending messages to pester Jing Yicheng: “Are you almost here?”
Jing Yicheng replied, “Just got in the car, I’ll be there soon.”
Xu Chenghao waited a while longer before asking again, “Are you here yet?”
Jing Yicheng replied, “Ten more minutes.”
Xu Chenghao sighed, feeling like even ten minutes was too long. But he couldn’t rush things, so he quietly responded with a “Got it” and continued sitting in the living room, waiting.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a sudden knock came at the door. His first reaction was to wonder if Jing Yicheng had arrived already. But then he realized something was off—Jing Yicheng had a key, so why would he knock?
Xu Chenghao got up and walked to the door. When he checked the video doorbell, he was shocked to see a familiar face. “It’s you?”
The man on the screen, calm and serious, was none other than the male caretaker from before! Xu Chenghao remembered Jing Yicheng had mentioned that this man had ulterior motives and wasn’t a simple character. He had assumed that after Jing Yicheng chased him off, they would never cross paths again. Yet, here he was, standing at his door.
Xu Chenghao immediately became cautious. While secretly dialing Jing Yicheng’s number, he frowned and asked, “You’re looking for me? What do you want?”
The caretaker, now smiling a perfectly professional smile, showing exactly eight teeth, said, “Mr. Xu, hello. I’d like to reintroduce myself. My name is Zuo He. My identity is sensitive, so I can’t disclose it, but I assure you, I mean you no harm. I’m here today due to certain unavoidable reasons… I must clarify that I’m here representing myself, not any organization.”
Xu Chenghao refused to open the door. “Then just say what you need to from there.”
Zuo He glanced at the hallway’s surveillance camera, looking slightly helpless. “Could you give me your phone number?”
Xu Chenghao replied bluntly, “No.”
Zuo He tried to assure him. “I promise I won’t share it with anyone.”
Xu Chenghao countered, “And why should I trust you?”
This wasn’t quite what Zuo He had expected. During the time he had cared for Xu Chenghao, the latter had always been easygoing, never making things difficult for them and even sharing fruit with him often. This had led Zuo He to believe that Xu Chenghao was a kind and gentle person. But now, after just a few days apart, Xu Chenghao seemed much sharper…
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Xu Chenghao: *I’ve got backup now.jpg
T/N: So anxious about the pepper mission right now.
