The original character was indeed the type with a gentle and aloof personality. With the identity of the second male lead, it was predetermined that the author wouldn’t elaborate on his social circle. Therefore, he could only shrug and say, “I’ve never met anyone I liked.”
Huo Qijun was half-convinced, “Then how do you know you like men?”
“Before pursuing Fu Xiaoqing, you never had a girlfriend either. Did you not know whether you liked men or women before this?” Lin Wei let out a light laugh to change the subject. “Why do you care about this anyway? Do you think I have ulterior motives toward you?”
“I don’t!! Ugh…” Huo Qijun almost jumped up in agitation but immediately clutched his stomach in pain, lying back down.
“Calm down! Just sleep for a bit, and you should feel better when you wake up.” Lin Wei picked up the blanket that had fallen to the ground due to Huo Qijun’s movements and threw it back over him.
“…Hmm.” This time, Huo Qijun didn’t need any more urging, and he settled down.
When he closed his eyes, he thought it would be hard to fall asleep, but in reality, it didn’t take long for his breathing to stabilize and drift into dreamland. This was due to the fact that he hadn’t been eating or sleeping well these past few days.
After confirming that Huo Qijun’s stomach pain was slowly easing, Lin Wei returned to the neighboring house. At this time, Fu Xiaoqing was still reviewing the content from the classes she attended during the day. Lin Wei didn’t disturb her and instead went into the kitchen, using what was available in the fridge to make a pumpkin millet porridge for the young master, who had been indulging in cookies for three days.
The system suddenly voiced its disapproval: [Master! Why not let the female lead do it? It wouldn’t take much time, and once you cook this porridge, Huo Qijun will start daydreaming again!]
Lin Wei explained: [We agreed that her job is to handle the meals. She has already completed today’s tasks as requested. Huo Qijun’s indulgence is his own business; I can’t use that as an excuse to take away her free time.]
Moral coercion is unacceptable; getting used to it could lead to more instances, so it’s best not to start.
As someone constantly traversing various worlds, it’s easy to develop an arrogant mentality over time. Thus, it’s vital to constrain oneself in the small details; otherwise, one might look back one day and realize they have long since lost their original intention and become someone others abhor.
[Alright!] The system understood its master’s principles, knowing that when it comes to matters of principle, big or small, it would be futile to persuade him. It only had to think of other solutions: [Then you could just order takeout!]
Lin Wei shook his head: [With his stomach, it’s better if I cook myself. Don’t worry, I’ll just say it’s takeout later.]
The system was convinced.
Meanwhile, Huo Qijun was still asleep. During Lin Wei’s short span of making porridge, he managed to dream. In the dream, he found himself inexplicably gravely injured, turning into a cat, on the verge of death in a corner of the street. Just when he thought he was about to die, Lin Wei suddenly appeared and picked him up.
Even though Huo Qijun could clearly realize he was dreaming, he felt an exceptionally strong shame. Yet dreams do not alter according to his will, and he could only watch helplessly as Lin Wei took him home, carefully cradling him, tending to his wounds, and casually giving him a whimsically cute name. He was utterly repulsed but had no way to resist…
“Ice Cream! Come here!”
“Meow!!!” Damn you!
…
“Ah Qi, wake up!”
Huo Qijun couldn’t distinguish between the dream and reality momentarily. When he opened his eyes groggily, he saw the protagonist from his dream waking him. The warm-colored light in the room cast over Lin Wei, whose expression was excessively gentle.
“Get up and drink some porridge before going back to sleep; otherwise, you’ll still be in pain tomorrow,” Lin Wei said upon seeing him wake up.
“…Mm.” Huo Qijun finally regained his bearings from the dream, feeling embarrassed to meet anyone’s gaze. He immediately averted his eyes, quietly sitting up to drink the porridge. The concerns that the system had earlier completely did not materialize.
Feeling conflicted, he didn’t even think to question how the porridge had come about; he simply assumed Fu Xiaoqing had made it.
Under normal circumstances, he would easily tell that Lin Wei had experienced many worlds and identities, one of which included being an exceptional cook. He should at least be able to recognize that this porridge wasn’t of Fu Xiaoqing’s caliber.
But who could blame him? The mere memory of that dreadful dream made him feel ashamed and furious, leaving him unable to focus on the taste!
He never wanted to hear the words “ice cream” again in his life.
Huo Qijun calmly went insane in his mind.
“Finish and rest early.”
Lin Wei couldn’t see through Huo Qijun’s calm façade of collapse. After Huo Qijun had a few spoonfuls of porridge and his complexion improved slightly, Lin Wei warned him again before going upstairs.
“Okay.” Huo Qijun responded softly.
The next day, on a weekend when General Manager Huo didn’t have to go to work, he didn’t find an excuse to sneak away. After getting up and washing up, he headed next door for breakfast, only to find Fu Xiaoqing was the only one at the table. He walked over and asked as he sat down, “Where’s Lin Wei?”
Fu Xiaoqing quickly chewed and swallowed the bun in her mouth before answering, “Lin Wei has already eaten and just left to pick someone up.”
Huo Qijun paused with the chopsticks in his hand. “Pick someone up? Who?”
“I heard Lin Wei say it was a junior from his old school. Recently, Lin Wei has been helping me study for my nutritionist exam. He said he found a junior who has passed the exam to guide me.”
“Oh,” Huo Qijun nodded in understanding at first but then stopped, thinking of something and pouting. “Why didn’t he find you a female junior? Isn’t it more inconvenient with males and females together?”
Fu Xiaoqing gave him a polite smile in response.
Because of this so-called junior’s arrival, after finishing his meal, Huo Qijun didn’t go back to his place but awkwardly waited in the living room with Fu Xiaoqing.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, Fu Xiaoqing had to rack her brain to engage in small talk with him. However, Huo Qijun had a natural talent for killing conversations, and it wasn’t long before Fu Xiaoqing felt like she had aged two years.
Fortunately, Lin Wei didn’t take too long to return after picking someone up.
Though referred to as a junior, he was actually an employee of the medical industry under Qianhe. Lin Wei had arranged for him to work extra hours today as usual.