Merry Christmas!
Pei Yan leaned back lazily on the sofa, one earbud in as he listened to something. Pei Junhai stood by the window, his face dark. “Aren’t you always wanting to take over Donghai Group from me? What are you thinking now! Skipping important morning meetings for no good reason!”
Pei Yan didn’t even lift his head. “Dad, the fact that I’m still alive is my greatest filial piety to you.”
“I’d be happier if you were dead!” Pei Junhai snorted coldly. Seeing his son again, he softened his tone and said, “Your test results came back. Your brain and body metrics are all normal. That chest pain condition, though we can’t find the cause, won’t take your life either. As for you saying you’ve lost your memory…”
“It’s fine,” Pei Yan murmured, tapping his phone screen over and over as he listened to an audio file, answering Pei Junhai distractedly, “It’s fine. I remember everything now. That chest pain won’t happen again.”
Pei Junhai said, “Then get back to work properly. And don’t go chasing stars and causing trouble for others again. Ruining the child’s reputation. Stirring up gossip about being a couple – how will he ever find a wife in the future?”
“Find a wife?” Pei Yan finally looked up at his father, grinning roguishly. “Do you want to be his father?”
Pei Junhai: ?
Pei Yan scoffed. “Worrying like you’re someone’s father-in-law.”
Pei Junhai: ??
“Speaking nonsense! Staying in the hospital must have really messed with your head. And what are you listening to anyway? Take off your headphones and talk properly!”
Pei Junhai reached to grab Pei Yan’s earbuds but Pei Yan swiftly dodged, clutching them and laughing. “You can’t listen, it’s my wife calling for me.”
???
Pei Junhai looked at his grinning lunatic of a son like he was insane. Shocked, he thought: This unfilial son’s brain must really be damaged.
Pei Yan got up and headed for the door. “Oh right, Dad. I bought an apartment outside. I’m moving in today. I’ll be very busy, so I’ll leave the company matters for you to handle for now.”
With that, he walked out the door.
Pei Junhai was so angry he chased after him shouting, “Get back here!! When did you secretly buy an apartment? What will you be busy with?!”
“Chasing after my wife!” Pei Yan strode into the elevator, and the closing doors cut off Pei Junhai’s yelling.
Alone in the elevator, he dropped the grin and solemnly put the earbuds back in. It was a recording from his car’s dashcam, from the first night he’d taken Qi Feng away. It contained everything that had happened between them in the car.
It wasn’t that he was twisted enough to want to relive that night. It was that in the recording, he heard the boy call out “General.”
He had thought all along that the boy was calling out another man’s name that night. Now he realized that Qi Feng had been calling for him from the start.
Qi Feng had known who he was all along, with all their shared memories from before. The young master of the Qi Mansion carried everything on his back to find him, and then used his thin shoulders to bear everything and left him.
Their past lives were only coming back to him now. It really was too late.
—
Over a week had passed since the Pei Yan and Qi Feng CP craze died down when baseless rumors suddenly arose again.
On various entertainment forums, discussion groups, and fan groups, some people spread the idea that:
—The Pei Yan Qi Feng CP was intentionally marketed by Qi Feng’s studio, such ugly self-promotion.
—A certain celebrity is the archetype of clout chasing, feasting on any bit of hype till not even bones are left.
And other insinuations targeting Qi Feng.
After Pei Yan had stated he was Qi Feng’s fan on a show, entertainment platforms pushed their CP to trending topics for days. The CP-loving fans had reveled in it. And after the frenzy came the so-called sober questioning.
Perhaps Pei Yan really was Qi Feng’s fan, but it wouldn’t have trended for days, right? They suspected Qi Feng’s team intentionally promoted it, shamelessly riding Pei Yan’s wealthy heir fame.
As a result, labels like ‘ugly self-promotion’ were slapped onto Qi Feng, and his formerly peaceful comment sections sunk into vicious fanwars between fans and antis again.
Tang Jun’s head felt ready to explode. He called Qi Feng to complain: “Why are there always people slandering you from the shadows? Who did you offend this time? Pei Yan was all over you. How did we take advantage of his popularity?”
When Qi Feng first arrived, he was met with endless rumors and abuse. Compared to that time, this was nothing.
He laughed softly. “They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Let them slander, I’ll just play my music.”
“You’re on the rise now, you can’t afford this!” Tang Jun worried. “No, we have to turn this around. Hey, you can contact Pei Yan, right?”
“I…” Qi Feng hesitated. “It’s probably not…appropriate.”
After that night’s show, Pei Yan hadn’t contacted him again. Even when their CP was trending for days, Pei Yan hadn’t said a word.
It was as if that ‘I’m sorry’ had really been their farewell. How could he contact Pei Yan now when he had no face left to meet him?
“You two really broke it off neatly.” Tang Jun tsked. “Actually, you don’t need him to do anything. If he could just like your posts, that would shut up all the antis.”
Qi Feng shook his head. “I can’t. We won’t be in contact again.”
Tang Jun was silent for a while, then sighed. “Alright, I’ll get PR to think of something.”
After hanging up, Qi Feng scrolled through his Weibo feed. He didn’t have many mutuals, but Pei Yan was one.
Even though he followed Pei Yan, Pei Yan had never interacted with his posts at all, just quietly sitting in his followers list like a stranger. In all his recent posts, Pei Yan, as his fan, had left no trace.
It was he who had asked to separate. Pei Yan had respected his wishes, bidding farewell with an ‘I’m sorry.’ So why did he keep thinking of him?
A crisp, bright doorbell chime rang out, jolting Qi Feng awake.
Qi Feng looked at the door in surprise. That wasn’t the downstairs doorbell, but someone ringing the bell right outside his door.
The only person besides him who could ride the elevator up with the room card was Fang Cheng. If it was Fang Cheng, he would have called ahead and just come in.
Could it be the new neighbor next door moving in?
Qi Feng cautiously went to the intercom screen to see who was knocking. There stood a man openly facing the camera as if looking right at Qi Feng through the screen with their gazes meeting.
“Pei Yan.” Qi Feng’s heart thudded heavily, as if Pei Yan was standing right before him. His body unconsciously took a step back. “Pei Yan, why is he? How is he here?”
Qi Feng’s heart, which had been calm for days now, was uncontrollably racing as if a key had started it up.
So, Pei Yan was the new neighbor next door? Why did he move here? Wasn’t he not contacting Qi Feng anymore? Weren’t they over?
Qi Feng clutched his chest, his leaping heart rising with worries and undeserved anticipation.
Ding dong, the doorbell rang again.
The man outside waited patiently, even smiling at the camera as if he could see Qi Feng and was deliberately smiling at him.
Qi Feng let out a deep breath and pressed the intercom button. Calmly and distantly, he said, “Hello, Mr. Pei.”
“Qi Feng.” Pei Yan looked handsomely into the camera, smiling brightly. “We’re going to be seeing each other all the time as neighbors now. Won’t you come out and accept a meeting gift from your new neighbor?”
His casual, indulgent attitude was no longer that persistent president.
Qi Feng’s brows furrowed slightly. “Thank you, you can leave it by the door.”
“We may have broken up, but there’s no need to be so cold.” Pei Yan lingered by the door. “I’m your fan, and you’re still my company’s spokesperson. We’ll be seeing each other often. No need to be so unfamiliar.”
This wasn’t Pei Yan’s usual dominant, aloof attitude at all.
Qi Feng was surprised by Pei Yan’s change but knew he had to stick to his principles.
He closed his eyes and steeled himself. “Mr. Pei, we only have an investor-spokesperson relationship.”
Pei Yan tilted his head and smiled, sounding utterly deflated. “Ah, alright then. I’ll just leave your meeting gift by the door. It’ll melt if left too long so remember to take it in.”
Only after Pei Yan had turned and left on the monitor did Qi Feng realize how tense he had been, heart thudding heavily.
Pei Yan wasn’t giving up at all, even moving in next door to pester him. What should he do?
Soon after, manager Tang Jun called again. The thirty-something man laughed on the phone like a schoolboy. “Qi Feng, Pei Yan is too awesome! Hahaha, he’s too bold, hahaha…”
At the name again Qi Feng asked, “What did he do now?”
“Go look at Weibo!” Tang Jun said excitedly, “No one will dare slander you again for taking advantage of Pei Yan and rubbing off on his popularity. Though you’d better tell him to tone it down, some things he said could be misleading.”
What had Pei Yan done now? Qi Feng hurriedly hung up and opened his account. One glance and he understood Tang Jun’s delight.
Some people had deliberately maligned him for taking advantage of Pei Yan with ugly self-promotion.
Just as Tang Jun said, if Pei Yan simply liked his posts, it would clarify his stance and shut up the antis. But just 10 minutes prior, Pei Yan had used his verified account with his own profile pic to go off in the comments:
—I was in the damn hospital for a few days, and you dare slander my idol like this? What’s wrong with shipping CPs? I wish I could ship a CP with Qi Feng. I want to be tied to him for life!
—Shippers, I’m giving you sugar. No, I’m sending you red packets! Antis, say another word against my idol, and I’ll smack you down.
His tone was almost gangster-like, completely lacking the composure and manners a corporate president should have. Instead, it was like that unruly young general running amok in Chang’an.
Qi Feng: ……
But Qi Feng noticed one thing. Pei Yan had been hospitalized.
So that was why he hadn’t bothered Qi Feng these past days.
What illness? Was it serious? Qi Feng looked to the door worriedly again. Ding dong, the doorbell suddenly rang once more.
Qi Feng was startled instinctively, heart racing faster again. There’s no need to think about it, it was Pei Yan again.
He took a deep breath, pressed the intercom button, and took the initiative to say, “Pei Yan, I saw what you posted online. Please don’t say things like that. It doesn’t look good for either of our images or your company’s…”
“I know, I know,” Pei Yan didn’t care about any of that. “Hey, neighbors should help each other right? Can you teach me how to turn on the gas, water pipes, and electrical panel?”
“I just moved here, and my house is so dark that I can’t even turn on the heater. I’m freezing.”
Qi Feng said, “You can ask the property management office. They’ll set everything up for you.”
Pei Yan pleaded pitifully, “I did ask, but the property manager for our floor isn’t around. They said to wait, but who knows how long? I’m about to catch a cold from the cold.”
Unconsciously, Qi Feng thought of how Pei Yan had been hospitalized for days. The man had just recovered. His body probably couldn’t withstand the winter chill in a new home.
“The electrical panel switch should be right by your door. You just pull down the black…” Qi Feng trailed off with a sigh. “Never mind, I’ll come out and help you find it.”
“Great,” Pei Yan smiled radiantly outside the door.
—
Qi Feng was actually very nervous inside.
When he opened the door, he only glanced at Pei Yan once before averting his gaze and saying coolly, “Let’s go. After I help you turn everything on, please don’t disturb me again.”
The tall man lingered at the edge of his vision, not approaching too close, keeping a certain distance as he smiled down at him. “Don’t be so cold, we’re neighbors now.”
Qi Feng didn’t respond. Across the bright hallway was Pei Yan’s wide-open door.
Qi Feng walked straight over, went inside, and found the electrical panel. He flipped it open with a clack, the lights came on, and the dark room was instantly bright. Lighting up their line of sight to each other as well.
Their apartments had similar layouts. Qi Feng pretended not to notice Pei Yan’s constant smiling behind him. He kept his face cold as he went to Pei Yan’s kitchen to turn on the gas valve and water taps, making sure the stove lit up and water flowed. Then he turned to leave without looking back.
As he walked, in his peripheral vision he saw how empty and cold Pei Yan’s new home was, without even a sofa or dining table, far from livable comfort.
Pei Yan strolled along behind Qi Feng with his hands casually pocketed, grinning, “Thanks, without you I’d have frozen all night. How can I repay you? Let me treat you to a meal. Want to go eat dinner together? What do you want to eat?”
Qi Feng’s coldness was in sharp contrast to him: “Mr. Pei, don’t forget what I said. Don’t expect anything more between us.”
Pei Yan justified, “We have a neighborly relationship now. Regular greetings and helping each other is only natural.”
Qi Feng had no intention of engaging with him. He walked into his own home in a few steps and shut the door.
Pei Yan reacted swiftly, grabbing the bag on the floor and sticking half his arm through Qi Feng’s door. “You can at least accept a meeting gift, right? It’s nothing valuable, just ice cream. All your favorite flavors are inside.”
Qi Feng pressed his lips together and took the bag Pei Yan handed over. Only after Pei Yan had slowly withdrawn, smiling, did Qi Feng shut the door. Shutting Pei Yan outside.
Pei Yan was openly pestering him but hadn’t shut the door and forcibly kept him when Qi Feng entered his home. He also didn’t barge into Qi Feng’s home. It wasn’t the overbearing Pei Yan who took what he wanted anymore.
In fact, when opening the door earlier, Qi Feng had mentally prepared himself to be overpowered by Pei Yan. But Pei Yan hadn’t done so.
It was obvious he wanted to pursue Qi Feng again in a gentle way.
What should he do? Qi Feng’s heart was a mess as he put the large tub of ice cream in the fridge.
But Pei Yan didn’t even give him time to think through this problem. Half an hour later, he was knocking on Qi Feng’s door again.
This time Qi Feng wasn’t nervous. He opened the door impatiently, “What is it now?”
Pei Yan stood at the door looking pitiful. “I just realized there’s no bed or bedding at my place. How can I sleep at night in this cold?”
Qi Feng gave a cold laugh. “Mr. Pei can go home. You have everything in your big house.”
Pei Yan grinned. “You may not know, but I told him I want to be tied to you for life. He kicked me out over it. If I go back now, he’d probably beat me to death.”
Qi Feng: ?!! “What nonsense did you tell Uncle Pei?!”
Pei Yan: “Neighbor, can you take me in for one night, please? I promise to behave.”
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