Chapter 30

The two doctors had known Li Sipei for quite some time and were well aware of his bad temper. As a result, they fell silent the moment they entered, huddling together in hesitation.

The assistants, carrying equipment, stood in the back like a row of little chicks.

When Mi Zhao walked into the living room and saw the group shrinking back timidly, he couldn’t help but laugh. He waved them in. “Come on in. What are you all doing crowding in the entryway?”

The lead doctor didn’t move. Behind his glasses, his eyes darted around. “Where is Mr. Li?”

“In his room,” Mi Zhao replied. “He’s been waiting for you.”

The two doctors were visibly shocked. They had conducted Li Sipei’s rehabilitation training many times, but never once had he been this proactive.

Not daring to delay, they quickly led their assistants into the room.

Originally, Mi Zhao had been working in the study, but seeing this, he followed them in as well.

As always, the rehabilitation training was grueling and painful. After two hours, Li Sipei’s face was pale, and his back was completely soaked with sweat.

Several times, Mi Zhao wanted to step forward and support him, but he forced himself to hold back.

Finally, when the session was about to end, the bespectacled doctor called him over. “Do you know how to give a massage?”

Mi Zhao shook his head honestly. “No.”

“Come, I’ll teach you a few simple techniques,” the doctor said while rolling up his sleeves. “If you have time, you should practice. It’ll help Mr. Li recover faster.”

“Alright.” Mi Zhao wasn’t one to hesitate. He followed suit, rolling up his sleeves as well.

Unexpectedly, the doctor only demonstrated a fake movement without actually touching Li Sipei, instructing Mi Zhao from a distance.

Not being familiar with the techniques, Mi Zhao kept making mistakes and was soon sweating from the effort.

In the end, unable to bear watching any longer, Li Sipei grabbed Mi Zhao’s hand. “Forget it.”

Mi Zhao looked up at him.

“Stop learning,” Li Sipei said flatly.

Sunlight streamed in, outlining his skin with a golden glow. His long eyelashes cast delicate shadows, and in his amber eyes, Mi Zhao’s face—now very close—was faintly reflected.

Mi Zhao’s gaze traveled downward, stopping on those thin lips.

His pupils darkened slightly.

For some reason, he instinctively swallowed.

At that moment, Li Sipei pressed his lips together.

Mi Zhao: “……”

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that under the sunlight, the tips of Li Sipei’s ears had turned red.

“You…” Mi Zhao was about to say something when the doctor beside him interrupted.

“The movements are quite simple. They’re not hard to learn.” The doctor was getting anxious. If not for Mr. Li’s aversion to being touched, he would have demonstrated properly a long time ago.

His hands gestured in the air for a while before he sighed. “I’ll explain it again.”

Mi Zhao snapped out of his thoughts and pushed away the inappropriate ideas in his head. “Alright. Thanks.”

—

Originally, Mi Zhao had planned to leave after dinner, but things didn’t go as expected. Since the doctor had given him a task, he had no choice but to stay and complete it.

Fortunately, most things he needed were already available, so he didn’t have to go out and buy anything.

After taking a shower, he changed into a set of dark gray silk pajamas. Sitting by the bed, he pulled open a drawer and immediately brightened. “Oh, even the supplies are ready.”

Li Sipei: “……”

Mi Zhao reached in and pulled out a box—one that had been left there from last time. He turned to Li Sipei and shook it slightly.

The individually wrapped items inside clattered noisily.

“Do you want to do it first and then get a massage, or have the massage first and then do it?” Mi Zhao asked considerately, giving the choice to Li Sipei.

Li Sipei took a deep breath.

Before he could respond, Mi Zhao suddenly got excited, his expression suggestive. “Or… we could do both at the same time?”

“……” Li Sipei finally exhaled. “Mi Zhao.”

“Hm?”

“I haven’t showered yet.”

Only then did Mi Zhao realize. His excitement cooled instantly. Tossing the box back into the drawer, he got up. “I’ll help you shower.”

His tone was solemn, and his gaze serious.

But even with his eyes closed, Li Sipei could see the indecent thoughts running rampant in Mi Zhao’s head.

“……No need.” After a pause, he added, “Just prepare the bathwater for me.”

Truthfully, Mi Zhao had intended to do something while Li Sipei was in the bath, but the latter’s attitude was firm—he refused any help.

Reluctantly, Mi Zhao conceded and went to the bathroom to prepare the water.

Later, estimating that enough time had passed, he tiptoed to the bathroom door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

He gave it a gentle turn—

The door was locked from the inside.

Mi Zhao: “……”

He scoffed internally. Acting like I haven’t helped him bathe before. The first time they had been together at Rizhao Villa, he had taken care of everything.

Feeling bored, he sat back down and took out everything they would need later.

Just as he was debating whether to grab his tablet and do some work, his phone suddenly lit up beside him.

After disappearing for an entire day, his parents had finally reached out.

As soon as the video call connected, they both appeared on screen, looking cheerful and grinning widely. “Son, have you eaten yet?”

“I have.” Mi Zhao hastily shoved the condoms and lube to the side and adjusted the camera to face himself. “What about you two?”

“We ate a while ago,” Mi Dad replied. Then, looking quite excited, he launched into a discussion about what they had been up to these past few days.

It turned out that Li Song—the one who had suggested they move to A City—had arrived as well.

Li Song’s wife’s sister-in-law had a relative in A City. Their family background was average, but the relative was socially adept, leveraging business dealings to curry favor with influential people. Ever since arriving, Li Song had been pouring all his energy into networking with that person.

Mi Zhao’s parents had originally wanted to distance themselves from Li Song, but they couldn’t resist his smooth talking. He constantly talked their ears off.

After being promised big opportunities, they started getting restless. These past few days, they had been running around with Li Song, trying to curry favor with that contact of his.

Hearing all this, Mi Zhao didn’t even have the energy to lecture them. He just said, “As long as you’re happy.”

Feeling guilty, his parents exchanged glances and nudged each other. Finally, Mother Mi awkwardly changed the topic. “We’ll come find you once we’re done with all this.”

Mi Zhao nodded.

“The auction is the night after tomorrow, so we should be free the day after that,” Mother Mi said. After a brief pause, she tentatively asked, “Son, I heard there’ll be all sorts of people at the auction, even female celebrities. Do you want to go and see if any young ladies catch your eye…?”

Without thinking, Mi Zhao frowned and refused. “Not interested.”

“Alright, alright…” She had only been testing the waters. Seeing his strong reaction, she quickly dropped the subject. “Then we’ll meet at your place. Speaking of which, your dad and I haven’t even seen where you live yet—”

At this point, she suddenly noticed something and let out a puzzled “Huh?”

Father Mi immediately asked, “What is it?”

“Son, are you not in your rental apartment?” Mother Mi leaned in, squinting at the screen. “The background looks different from usual.”

Mi Zhao’s heart sank. He quickly brought his face closer to the phone until it nearly filled the entire screen. Forcing a casual tone, he said, “I’m outside.”

“Outside?” Mother Mi wasn’t so easy to fool at a critical moment. Her voice rose. “This doesn’t look like ‘outside’ at all! You’re at someone’s place, aren’t you?”

Fathet Mi added, “Looks like a bedroom.”

Mi Zhao: “……”

Mother Mi, no longer guilty or hesitant, pointed at the screen aggressively. “Mi Zhao, be honest! Are you at his place?”

This time, Mi Zhao was speechless.

“No, I went out for some sketching practice and booked a homestay…” He had just started making excuses when he suddenly heard the sound of a doorknob turning.

He turned his head and saw Li Sipei, now dressed in pajamas, wheeling himself out of the bathroom.

Unaware of the situation, Li Sipei glanced at the phone in Mi Zhao’s hand and asked, “Are you on a video call?”

The room was already quiet, so despite his soft voice, every word was crystal clear in Mi Zhao’s parents’ ears.

His mother instantly exploded. “MI ZHAO!”

Startled, Mi Zhao almost dropped his phone. He quickly turned his face away from the camera and started winking at Li Sipei frantically.

“Mi Zhao!” His mother’s voice roared through the speaker. “Since when did you learn to lie to us? A homestay? You’re obviously at his place!”

His ears were practically ringing. Face darkening, he returned to the camera. “Mom…”

“Where is he? Call him over!” Mother Mi demanded. “What does he want from you? Dragging you to his place in the middle of the night—does he think we don’t exist just because we’re not in A City?”

“Mom…” Mi Zhao sneaked a glance at Li Sipei.

Though his expression remained unchanged, he had already maneuvered his wheelchair closer—right behind the phone.

Mi Zhao’s face nearly scrunched into a ball as he frantically waved his free hand, signaling for Li Sipei not to come any closer.

“Where is he?” She continued her tirade. “He dares to be your boyfriend but doesn’t dare to face us? We’ve been around for decades—does he really think he can hide his tricks from us?”

Seeing that Li Sipei was about to reach for the phone, Mi Zhao panicked and jabbed at the screen.

Call ended.

The loud noise stopped abruptly, leaving the bedroom in a sudden, theater-like silence. The only thing left was Mi Zhao and Li Sipei staring at each other.

Without hesitation, Mi Zhao powered off his phone. His heart was still racing.

Meanwhile, Li Sipei remained calm. “You told them about us?”

“No, I…” Halfway through, Mi Zhao suddenly remembered what a jealous person Li Sipei was. The name Li Yan hovered on the tip of his tongue before he swallowed it back down. In the end, he feebly nodded. “I accidentally let it slip.”

“Mm.”

“…Sorry.” Mi Zhao lowered his eyes and fiddled with his fingers. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this.”

Li Sipei said nothing. He simply watched Mi Zhao in silence. When Mi Zhao finally looked up at him, he spoke. “You could have just handed me the phone.”

The mere thought sent shivers down Mi Zhao’s spine.

Introduce Li Sipei to his parents?

He must be insane!

They weren’t even officially a couple. How could he let his parents meet Li Sipei?

At this point, there was no point in explaining further. With a sigh, Mi Zhao reached for the condoms and lube beside him.

“Let’s just get down to business.”

“……”