Quan Quan initially thought he would see a surprised expression on Qiao Guangyu's face, but when Qiao Guangyu recovered, he just said, "Is the boss out of his mind?"

Quan Quan: "..."

Suddenly feeling a bit like Huo Zhou.

At this point, since Quan Quan had already mentioned it, Qiao Guangyu couldn't be so dull as to not guess the purpose of Huo Zhou rejecting the job and going back to his hometown— Huo Zhou wanted to accompany him to pay respects at his ancestral graves.

So, inevitably, he became nervous and uneasy. "Quan-ge, do you think he... he... he… he might actually like me?"

Although spending time together day and night could lead to developing feelings, Qiao Guangyu had once harbored feelings for Huo Zhou at the beginning. However, he had firmly cut off any inappropriate thoughts later on. In recent years, he had become increasingly adept at distinguishing between ‘work’ and personal life.

Moreover, with Quan Quan reminding him of many things to pay attention to, Qiao Guangyu's performance was not comparable to Wu Yuqiang's. It perfectly demonstrated what a " copycat goods" were. As long as one had eyes, they could see that Wu Yuqiang was a hundred times better than him. Only someone blind would forsake Wu Yuqiang for him.

Quan Quan remained quite composed. "Don't mess things up at this time; just let it be."

Qiao Guangyu wanted to ask what exactly constituted messing things up, but he had spent too long in the kitchen and was afraid of arousing Huo Zhou's suspicion. He had no choice but to suppress his doubts, leave, and start packing his suitcase.

He didn't often go on business trips with Huo Zhou, and there was a layer of dust on the suitcase cover. When he peeled back the cover, dust got all over him. Qiao Guangyu spat several times, went to the bathroom to wipe his face with a towel, and then came back to pack his clothes.

Upon returning, Qiao Guangyu saw Huo Zhou, who should have been sitting on the sofa watching TV, standing in front of his closet, taking out several sets of clothes and tossing them on the bed. He placed the ones he was satisfied with on the left and the ones he wasn't on the right. Huo Zhou even opened the bottom drawer intending to take out the underwear.

"I... I... I can do this myself." Clothes were one thing, but underwear... he couldn't quite accept it! Qiao Guangyu hurriedly squeezed to the closet and grabbed a few pairs of underwear to stuff into the suitcase, fearing they would go through Huo Zhou's hands.

Huo Zhou didn't contest him, just watched quietly, seeming to rarely see Qiao Guangyu in such an embarrassed state.

Then, Huo Zhou hugged him from behind. "Quan Quan told you, right? This weekend, I'll accompany you to visit your mother's grave."

Qiao Guangyu stiffened, almost dropping the clothes from his hands. "Uh... didn't expect Mr Huo to remember; that's rare." He deliberately spoke in a teasing tone.

Huo Zhou buried his head in Qiao Guangyu's neck, taking a deep breath. "There are some things... I need to think about carefully. It's a good opportunity to accompany you outside and relax. It also lets Auntie see that I've been taking care of you well, so she can rest assured in heaven, not worrying about you."

"..." Qiao Guangyu really wanted to say, if my mom knew that I've been a stand-in for years, she would probably break my legs.

Qiao's mother really detested third parties who intruded into others' relationships. Since Qiao Guangyu was very young, she liked to watch TV while holding him, commenting on the white lotus third parties in TV dramas. She also didn't like men who made excuses for infidelity. She once said, "If someone dares to do it openly, I'll respect him as a man. But those who sneakily keep mistresses not only disturb the peace of the family but also delay good girls. These men are even worse!"

Qiao Guangyu agreed with his mother's words. Even as Wu Yuqiang's stand-in, he was guided by the principle of "better to destroy ten temples than to break one marriage." He sincerely hoped that Huo Zhou could reconcile with Wu Yuqiang; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to this arrangement.

But now... something seemed off.

Qiao Guangyu patted the arm around his waist that wouldn't let go, trying to keep his tone as normal as possible. "Mr Huo, if you keep doing this, how can I finish packing?"

Huo Zhou planted a kiss on his cheek from behind. "Then, I'll wait for you outside."

"Just give me ten minutes." Qiao Guangyu smiled gently at him.

Only after Huo Zhou's figure disappeared from the room did he rub his stiffened cheeks and start packing.

*

Qiao Guangyu's hometown wasn't far away, located at the border between his province and the adjacent one. Technically, it wasn't his ancestral home; it was just where his mother settled when she was pregnant with him. Later, she lived there for a long time, and Qiao Guangyu was born there, and his household registration was also there.

Later on, Qiao's mother's health deteriorated, and she passed away before completing the first round of treatment. All the arrangements were made by Quan Quan while Qiao Guangyu was still in a daze. His mother moved into a cemetery rumored to have good Feng Shui. The words on the tombstone were written by Qiao Guangyu himself, and the craftsman engraved them according to his handwriting.

There were quite a few people traveling over the weekend, and it took seven hours instead of the usual three or four to reach the small city.

When they arrived at the small city, it was already dark, and they would have to wait until the next day to visit the graves.

Quan Quan was always very thorough. He had booked hotel rooms early on, and the three of them went to eat first, then headed to the hotel.

Previously, when Qiao Guangyu went out with Huo Zhou, they mostly shared a room, but the room had two beds, and they each slept separately. However, this time, after he unlocked the door, Qiao Guangyu saw a very large double bed.

Qiao Guangyu: "..."

The "double room" he wanted wasn't this kind of "double room"!

Qiao Guangyu subconsciously looked at Quan Quan, who hadn't reacted yet. Huo Zhou spoke first, "I asked him to change it to this. Your mood hasn't been good lately, and I want to hold you to sleep to make you feel more comfortable. Also, it won't be cold at night with two people sleeping together."

...I'm really not in a bad mood! I can swear to the heavens!

Qiao Guangyu felt like crying, but his face was embarrassed. "Is it really just sleeping together, nothing else?"

"Do you not trust me?" Huo Zhou asked softly.

"...How could that happen." Qiao Guangyu smiled and shook his head, looking at him affectionately, like a pure little snack.

Huo Zhou suddenly felt a fire rising from the soles of his feet, burning all the way to his heart.

"Ahem." Quan Quan cleared his throat at a very inappropriate time, "Mr. Qiao, you don't need to worry about being cold. I asked the waiter to bring an extra set of quilts."

He was reminding Qiao Guangyu.

An extra set of quilts meant there could be two quilts, and it hadn't reached the worst scenario yet.

Qiao Guangyu temporarily relaxed, but as soon as he relaxed, he couldn't help but yawn.

"Sorry..." Feeling that the other two men were still looking at him, Qiao Guangyu couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. "I'm a bit tired. I... I'll go take a shower first..."

"I won't disturb you anymore. Goodnight, gentlemen." Quan Quan took his luggage and went to the adjacent room.

Qiao Guangyu took out his pyjamas and underwear, quickly took a shower, didn't even dry his hair properly, and crawled into bed, feeling really tired as if he had been sitting in a car for several hours. He deliberately spread the quilt on the other half of the bed, wrapped himself up like a cocoon with his own quilt, and then tightly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

When Huo Zhou came out of the bathroom, he saw a big cocoon lying on one side of the bed, showing only a small piece of black hair, which was quite funny.

He went over and pulled back a bit of the quilt. "Guangyu, blow-dry your hair before sleeping, or you'll get a headache."

Qiao Guangyu wanted to pretend not to hear, but Huo Zhou didn't give up. After calling him a few times, he reluctantly sat up and planned to get off the bed to find a hairdryer.

But Huo Zhou held him down. "Let me blow-dry your hair for you."

He took the hairdryer from the bathroom, connected it, and sat on the edge of the bed, blowing Qiao Guangyu's hair. Huo Zhou's movements were a bit awkward, afraid of not controlling the speed and temperature well. He would occasionally ask, "Is it too hot?" or "Does it hurt?" Qiao Guangyu could only shake his head. The drowsiness he had painstakingly cultivated was also blown away.

After finally drying his hair, Qiao Guangyu was about to crawl back into his own quilt, but Huo Zhou followed his movements and brought another quilt, laying it on top of the one covering both of them.

After doing all this, Huo Zhou hugged Qiao Guangyu into his arms, whispering softly, "Go to sleep."

Qiao Guangyu: "..." This isn't what we agreed on!

Qiao Guangyu was extremely embarrassed. Huo Zhou had the refreshing scent of a shower on him, with a hint of masculine scent. His face was close to Huo Zhou's well-built chest, and if he tilted his head, he could even bite the point on his chest. The two were too close, and any slight movement could touch the inappropriate areas.

Moreover, he could hear Huo Zhou's breathing becoming heavier above his head.

...This is not a good sign.

Qiao Guangyu really wanted to force himself not to think about anything and just go to sleep quickly, as long as he fell asleep, Huo Zhou wouldn't be able to do anything inappropriate.

However, as soon as he closed his eyes, Huo Zhou's lips pressed down, his hot and muscular body pressing against Qiao Guangyu's, leaving no gap for air. Now, Qiao Guangyu could clearly feel that thing poking his thigh.

"Um..." Qiao Guangyu pushed Huo Zhou away without thinking, like a rabbit with its fur on fire, suddenly rolling off the bed, forgetting to even put on his shoes, and running out of the room in panic, banging on the door next to him.

"Open the door! Open the door!"

The moment Quan Quan opened the door, Qiao Guangyu almost threw himself in.

 

Translator : DarNan