FIO CH20

Chapter 20: I’ll Wait for You Tomorrow

By the time Lu Fangchi realized what he was doing, he had already driven to the underground garage.

He parked the car, got out, and picked up the packed meal from the passenger seat. He slowly walked into the elevator, holding the brown paper bag.

He rubbed the string of the bag in his hand, feeling a bit out of character. This behavior was not typical of him.

As he was thinking, the “ding-dong” sound rang out.

The electronic display showed that they had reached the eighth floor, and the elevator doors slowly opened.

As soon as he looked up, he saw Zhou Zheng standing by the elevator door, leaning against it. As soon as the doors opened, Zhou Zheng straightened up and greeted him with a smile.

“Here you are,” Zhou Zheng said, his lips curling into a smile, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Lu Fangchi’s previous thoughts were instantly forgotten. He raised the bag in his hand and shook it in front of Zhou Zheng, nodding in agreement: “Yeah, the takeout’s here.”

Zhou Zheng smiled again, his eyes almost twinkling with joy. He instinctively reached out to put his arm around Lu Fangchi but then thought better of it, scratching his head and grinning foolishly: “Even though I see you every day, it feels like it’s been days since I last saw you.”

Indeed, every day when Lu Fangchi went home, he was already asleep, and when he left, Zhou Zheng was still not awake.

He could only catch a glimpse of Lu Fangchi’s sleeping face and satisfy his longing with cold text messages on his phone. Zhou Zheng rarely sent voice messages, so he didn’t even get to hear Lu Fangchi’s voice once.

Hearing this, Lu Fangchi looked at Zhou Zheng and realized that it did feel like they hadn’t seen each other for days. In the past, they usually met at events or press conferences, where Zhou Zheng was mostly dressed in formal attire.

After losing his memory, the alpha preferred to wear loose and comfortable clothes. He was wearing a navy blue hoodie under a military green denim jacket, paired with dark jeans and a pair of black and gray sneakers.

His neatly combed hair made him look exceptionally well-behaved, a typical young man in his prime, full of youthful energy. Somehow, Lu Fangchi felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before. He furrowed his brows slightly in thought.

Zhou Zheng’s voice pulled Lu Fangchi back to reality. He muttered, “I’ve actually missed you.”

After saying this, Zhou Zheng seemed a bit embarrassed. His eyes wandered, unable to settle on one spot. His plump lips pursed, his hands were stuffed into his pockets and clenched into fists, and a blush spread across his earlobes.

Having seen all the embarrassment, Lu Fangchi no longer felt awkward. He smiled and said, “Alright, let’s eat.” They walked inside, and Zhou Zheng, lowering his head, scratched his burning earlobe, “What about you?”

Lu Fangchi was momentarily confused, “What?”

“Do you miss me?” Zhou Zheng asked shyly, his face turning red.

Lu Fangchi just smiled.

Zhou Zheng felt a bit annoyed, “Do you or don’t you?” As he spoke, he nudged Lu Fangchi with his elbow.

Lu Fangchi dodged backward, nodding in a perfunctory manner, “Yes, yes, yes.”

No matter his tone, the admission was enough. Zhou Zheng’s lips curled up high.

At this moment, everyone had gone to the cafeteria to pick up their takeout. Zhou Zheng led Lu Fangchi through the empty office area to his own office and sat down. He naturally took Lu Fangchi’s coat from him, hung it on the coat rack, and when he returned, Lu Fangchi had already taken out the meal boxes from the bag and removed the lids.

Steam rose from the food—red-braised pork ribs, scallion oil chicken, stir-fried shrimp, and Chinese sausage stewed with eggs. All of these were Zhou Zheng’s choices, and he had also included a personal favorite—a plate of green, oyster sauce lettuce.

Zhou Zheng frowned; he didn’t like vegetables.

Naturally, Lu Fangchi noticed the expression on Zhou Zheng’s face and said, “You need a balance of meat and vegetables. You can’t avoid all the green stuff.”

“Okay,” Zhou Zheng replied obediently.

The alpha snapped his chopsticks apart, picked up a piece of pork rib, and threw it into his mouth, eating a few mouthfuls of rice, then looked up, “Do you want to eat some more?”

Lu Fangchi: “No, I’m full. I ate before I came.”

Zhou Zheng nodded and didn’t insist. He was really hungry and started eating again with his head down.

Lu Fangchi sat beside him, watching him eat. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

Until the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a voice came before the person: “How can you eat instant noodles? I changed the order today, let’s see how it is…”

Xiao Liu looked at the two people sitting on the sofa and the food laid out on the coffee table, and swallowed the rest of his words, “I guess it’s not needed then?”

“Yep,” Zhou Zheng lifted his chin, “Give it to someone else. I’ve got food. Xiao Chi brought it for me.”

The last sentence was unnecessarily smug. Xiao Liu got goosebumps as he left the office with the takeout box.

Time was tight, and Zhou Zheng ate quickly, finishing in about ten minutes. He devoured the dishes, leaving only half of the oyster sauce lettuce untouched.

“Pretty good?” Lu Fangchi asked.

“Not bad, since you brought it,” Zhou Zheng casually replied, wiping his mouth with a couple of tissues. Yet, every word conveyed the special status Lu Fangchi held in his eyes.

The words were sweet, and they indeed pleased Lu Fangchi. After all, no one dislikes having their efforts acknowledged.

Watching Zhou Zheng pack the takeout boxes back into the paper bag, Lu Fangchi stood up, “You get back to work. I’m leaving.”

Zhou Zheng got up and took the coat from the rack to help Lu Fangchi put it on. Lu Fangchi wanted to do it himself, but the alpha didn’t let go, insisting on helping him.

Alright, it didn’t really matter. Lu Fangchi extended his arms and let Zhou Zheng put the coat on him.

Zhou Zheng saw Lu Fangchi out. The employees were still eating and not at their desks, which was good to avoid becoming the subject of gossip.

When they reached the elevator, Zhou Zheng hesitated to press the button.

“I want to go home with you,” Zhou Zheng sighed, his face drooping, “I don’t want to work overtime anymore.”

Lu Fangchi understood how exhausting it was to work overtime continuously to meet deadlines, “How much longer?”

“Almost done, just two or three more days,” Zhou Zheng replied.

Lu Fangchi: “Then hold on a bit longer.”

Zhou Zheng nodded but still looked gloomy, his plump lips pursed, and his eyelids drooping unhappily.

People are really strange. It was the same face, but while Zhou Zheng used to give Lu Fangchi a sense of arrogance and provocation, now he seemed to be pouting and acting wronged.

Maybe Jiang Mingyi was right. As long as Zhou Zheng had the right attitude, his face was indeed very appealing to Lu Fangchi. So much so that whenever Zhou Zheng made such an expression, Lu Fangchi couldn’t help but give him a little treat, “What do you want to eat tomorrow?” The young man pressed the downward elevator button, seemingly nonchalantly asking.

Zhou Zheng’s expression changed instantly. His gloominess was swept away, and his eyes lit up. Was it the meaning he was hoping for?

“Red-braised pork chops, braised chicken, and soy sauce eggs,” Zhou Zheng spoke quickly, then hastily added, “Any vegetables are fine, you can choose for me.”

“Got it,” Lu Fangchi nodded.

The elevator arrived at the eighth floor just in time, and with a “ding,” the doors opened. Lu Fangchi stepped in, turned around to face Zhou Zheng standing outside the elevator.

The implication was already clear, but Zhou Zheng still wanted a definite answer: “Are you going to bring it to me tomorrow?”

His eyes were filled with joy and anticipation. Lu Fangchi was willing to let him stay happy like this, “Yes, until your overtime ends.”

The elevator doors slowly closed, descending from “8” to “-1.”

Lu Fangchi walked out of the elevator, and his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the screen.

Xiao Zhou Zhou: Can I be your boyfriend?

Again, Lu Fangchi tapped “No” on the screen, but before he could finish, the other side retracted a message.

Xiao Zhou Zhou: Say something when you get home.

Xiao Zhou Zhou: I’ll wait for you tomorrow.