Chapter 71

Before Mi Zhao even reached the south gate with his suitcases, he caught sight of a tall figure waiting by the entrance.

The sky was overcast today, but that person seemed to emit a glow of his own, making the passing pedestrians appear dull in comparison.

Li Sipei was, after all, already in his thirties. No matter how youthful his attire, he didn’t look like a student—more like a teacher. But his demeanor was nothing like a teacher’s; he carried himself more like a CEO.

Students passing by couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

Li Sipei paid no attention to their gazes. When he spotted Mi Zhao approaching at a quick pace, dragging two suitcases behind him, the tight line of his lips finally softened into a slight smile.

He strode toward Mi Zhao with long, confident steps.

Mi Zhao had walked so fast that the strands of hair on his forehead were blown aside, revealing his smooth, fair brow. Beneath it, his dark, gleaming eyes curved into a squinting smile.

“I ran into someone downstairs at the dorm and chatted for a bit, so I made you wait,” Mi Zhao glanced around. “Did you walk here?”

“Mm.” Li Sipei reached out and took one of the suitcases. “It’s not far. Just a bit of exercise.”

Mi Zhao glanced at Li Sipei’s legs. His long legs were mostly hidden under his coat, leaving only his straight calves visible.

He wanted to reach out and touch them, but considering the number of people around, he held back.

“How are your legs? Does standing for so long hurt?”

“No,” Li Sipei replied, taking Mi Zhao’s hand with his now-free hand. “As long as I don’t stand for seven or eight hours at a stretch, I’m fine. Walking and standing normally aren’t a problem.”

“That’s good.” Mi Zhao was so pleased that he shook Li Sipei’s hand slightly.

Li Sipei looked ahead, but he let his hand move along with the shaking.

Li Sipei alone was already eye-catching enough. Now, with Mi Zhao next to him, the two holding hands, they practically drew in the gaze of everyone in the area.

Instinctively, Mi Zhao tightened his grip on Li Sipei’s hand.

The cold wind brushed against his face, making him shrink his neck into his collar. But the warmth of Li Sipei’s hand in his own was comforting—their palms pressed together, sharing their body heat.

The new home had all the essentials, but it still lacked everyday items and decorations, which they would gradually add over time.

Li Sipei told Mi Zhao the door code and helped him register his fingerprint. When they stepped inside, the heating was still on, quickly dispelling the cold from their bodies.

Mi Zhao had brought quite a few belongings, but unpacking everything at once felt like a hassle. He left the two suitcases and two travel bags in the living room for now.

“Are there any ingredients at home?” Mi Zhao took off his coat and casually tossed it onto the sofa. As he spoke, he headed toward the kitchen.

Standing by the sofa, Li Sipei calmly picked up the crumpled coat and neatly folded it. “There should be. The housekeeper restocks them daily.”

Mi Zhao poked his head into the fridge and found it fully stocked—vegetables, fruits, fresh meats, all neatly organized.

After a quick scan, he leaned out of the kitchen.

In the living room, Li Sipei had opened one of his suitcases and was methodically pulling out the clothes Mi Zhao had hastily stuffed inside.

“What do you want for dinner?”

Li Sipei looked up briefly and said warmly, “Anything is fine.”

Mi Zhao raised a brow. “Then I’ll just make two dishes and a soup?”

“Sounds good.” Li Sipei lowered his head and continued organizing.

After searching in vain for an apron, Mi Zhao grabbed an old shirt from his suitcase. He only knew how to cook simple home-style dishes, so before starting, he downloaded a cooking tutorial app on his phone.

He propped his phone on the counter, took out the ingredients, and started washing them.

Keeping in mind that Li Sipei didn’t like overly greasy or salty food, Mi Zhao made pickled cabbage beef, pan-fried tofu, and a large bowl of seaweed egg drop soup.

By the time he brought the dishes to the table, Li Sipei had just about finished unpacking. Shoes were placed in the shoe cabinet, clothes in the bedroom wardrobe, and most of the remaining items—mainly art supplies—were packed neatly into an empty room.

When Mi Zhao entered the room, he noticed that one wall had been turned into a floor-to-ceiling window, offering an excellent view. The space was mostly empty, save for a simple table, chairs, and glass display cabinets. It was clearly meant to be an art studio.

Against the white wall opposite the window, something that looked like a framed artwork leaned against the wall, covered with a thin floral cloth.

Mi Zhao’s gaze landed on it immediately. “What’s that?”

“A New Year’s gift.” Li Sipei, seemingly a little tired from standing, pulled up a chair and sat down. He raised an eyebrow at Mi Zhao before tilting his chin slightly. “Want to see?”

A flicker of pleasant surprise rose in Mi Zhao’s heart. His expression was somewhat stiff, but the corners of his lips betrayed his delight. “New Year’s isn’t even here yet, and you’ve already got me a gift?”

Before he finished speaking, he reached out and pulled off the floral cloth.

A beautifully framed painting came into view.

For a moment, Mi Zhao was stunned. “This is… an “Earl” painting.”

Right!

He remembered his parents mentioning that “Mr. San” had spent eight million on an Earl artwork at an auction. Back then, he thought “Mr. San” had ulterior motives.

Later, when he found out “Mr. San” was actually Li Sipei, he had completely forgotten about the painting.

Mi Zhao loved Earl’s work, but he had never imagined that one day he would own an Earl painting. He crouched down, reaching out his hands only to retract them again, reluctant to even touch it.

His eyes sparkled as he examined the painting for a long time. Finally, he pointed to himself and turned to ask Li Sipei, “This painting… is for me?”

Li Sipei smiled and nodded.

“Eight million!” Mi Zhao gestured between his thumb and index finger in disbelief. “And you’re just giving it to me?”

Li Sipei replied, “I bought it for you in the first place. I just never found the right moment to give it to you. There was a time I thought I’d never get the chance.”

He was referring to their breakup.

Mi Zhao pressed his lips together.

Li Sipei chuckled. “Luckily, I managed to seize the opportunity today.”

Mi Zhao took out his phone and snapped several photos of his eight-million-dollar gift before carefully draping the floral cloth back over the painting. He had originally been quite satisfied with this studio, but now, all of a sudden, he felt like both the room and his art supplies inside it looked painfully shabby in comparison.

For now, though, he had no idea where else to place the painting, so he left it as it was.

Bracing his hands on his knees, he stood up and walked over to Li Sipei. Without fully sitting down, he hovered over Li Sipei’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“Thank you.” He lowered his head and pressed a kiss against Li Sipei’s lips. “I really like this New Year’s gift.”

Li Sipei lightly patted his backside, reminding him, “Alright, it’s time to eat.”

Mi Zhao lowered his lashes and looked down at Li Sipei from above. From this angle, he could see the thick fringe of Li Sipei’s eyelashes and the sharp bridge of his nose.

That was when he noticed a small hair whorl slightly to the right of his hairline. No wonder, even without styling, his bangs never lay completely flat against his forehead.

Reaching out, Mi Zhao brushed Li Sipei’s bangs back, his gaze piercing as if trying to see right through him. With a sigh, he muttered, “Honestly, I’d rather eat you than eat dinner. What should I do?”

Li Sipei tilted his head back to meet his gaze, his expression serious, eyes clear. “You can eat me first, then eat dinner.”

For a split second, Mi Zhao forgot to breathe.

His heart pounded wildly.

Damn.

For someone with such a devastatingly handsome face to say something so seductive… it was almost too much to handle.

Fortunately, he still had some self-control left. Gritting his teeth, he shot up from Li Sipei’s lap and patted his shoulder with forced composure. “Forget it, let’s just eat dinner first. Food, food!”

After dinner, the two of them cleaned up together, putting the dishes and utensils into the dishwasher.

Seeing that it was still early, they decided to visit a nearby supermarket to pick up some daily necessities and small furniture items.

Not all of Li Sipei’s belongings had been moved in yet, so they planned to go back to Longwan Community over the weekend and bring everything over in one trip.

Familiar with the area, Mi Zhao led Li Sipei to a nearby supermarket.

They wandered around for nearly an hour, filling their shopping cart to the brim.

After checking that they hadn’t missed anything, they slowly made their way toward the checkout counter.

Before they could reach it, a voice suddenly called out to Mi Zhao.

He turned in the direction of the voice and, to his surprise, saw a familiar face.

“Qi Luo.” Mi Zhao greeted him politely.

Judging by Qi Luo’s look of surprise and delight, he had just remembered that Mi Zhao worked part-time as a cashier at this supermarket. They had run into each other once before when Mi Zhao came to buy cigarettes.

Qi Luo was still in his work uniform, but he had just finished his shift. After glancing around, he took quick steps toward Mi Zhao.

“I heard you switched to off-campus housing?” Qi Luo asked right away.

“You’re well-informed.” Mi Zhao smiled. “I’m already in my third year. Living off-campus is more convenient than staying in the dorms, so I made the switch.”

The excitement faded from Qi Luo’s face, replaced by a visible frown. His disappointment was obvious. “That means we’ll run into each other even less now.”

“We still have classes together,” Mi Zhao reassured him. Both of them were usually too busy—either with school or making money. Even if they did see each other in class, they barely had time to talk. He didn’t quite understand why Qi Luo seemed so upset about it.

Qi Luo nodded, as if convincing himself with that reasoning. He chatted with Mi Zhao about random things for a while before suddenly saying, “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while, but Yan Qinting was always around…”

“Hm?” Mi Zhao asked, “Tell me what?”

Something that had to be said out of Yan Qinting’s earshot?

Qi Luo’s expression tensed slightly. Instead of answering right away, he first glanced up at Li Sipei, who stood beside Mi Zhao, his face unreadable.

His look was obvious—he wanted Li Sipei to step aside.

Normally, Li Sipei was easygoing and never one to stick around where he wasn’t wanted. In situations like this, he usually walked away on his own before anyone even needed to drop hints.

But today, it seemed he was determined to make things difficult for Qi Luo. No matter how many glances Qi Luo threw his way, he stood firm like an immovable pine tree, his posture straight and unwavering. He didn’t even bother making eye contact with Qi Luo.

Qi Luo was speechless—and a little anxious.

Sensing the tension, Mi Zhao instinctively reached out and tugged on Li Sipei’s sleeve. “Just say it directly.”

“There’s an art exhibition this weekend,” Qi Luo began hesitantly. “I heard from Yan Qinting that you really wanted to go, but the tickets were hard to get…”

Since there was someone else present, Qi Luo spoke awkwardly, and by the time he finished his first sentence, his face was already flushed. “I managed to get two tickets. It’d be a waste to go alone, so…”

Mi Zhao’s brows furrowed sharply. He already had a good idea of where this was going.

Sure enough, the next moment, Qi Luo looked at him expectantly and asked, “Do you want to go with me?”