HSS CH7

Chapter 7： No Losses Allowed

A cool breeze brushed against the curtains, carrying the morning light and settling on the edge of the bed. Lin Miao woke up groggily, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Seeing the curtains fluttering, he remembered that he had forgotten to close the window last night.

Huo Yuchuan was still asleep, half his face buried in Lin Miao’s neck, holding him tightly as he slept soundly. It was just like that morning two years ago when Lin Miao first woke up in Huo Yuchuan’s embrace. The same clear morning light, the same deeply sleeping Huo Yuchuan with his hair loose and unstyled, unlike his meticulous daytime appearance.

For a moment, Lin Miao felt disoriented, thinking he was still dreaming. Since that day, Huo Yuchuan’s sleep seemed to have improved significantly. He no longer woke up at four in the morning to count sheep and sometimes even slept in later than Lin Miao.

But today was Saturday, and Huo Yuchuan didn’t have to go to work. It was fine for him to sleep in a bit longer.

Lin Miao carefully removed the hand around his waist and slipped out of Huo Yuchuan’s embrace as quietly as a thief. He got out of bed to close the window, glancing back to see that Huo Yuchuan’s robe had come undone even more, revealing his lightly tanned chest rising and falling gently with his breath.

Lin Miao stared for a few seconds, then reached out to adjust the robe, pulling the blanket up to cover him snugly. He didn’t want Huo Yuchuan to catch a cold. Huo Yuchuan must have been the type to kick off the blanket when he was a child.

After freshening up, Lin Miao went downstairs. Aunt Chen had already prepared breakfast, including his favorite soft and sweet taro cakes. Over the past two years, Aunt Chen had been like a mother hen, constantly coming up with new dishes to feed Lin Miao, who she thought was too thin, as if she was afraid he would lose weight if he missed a meal.

Biting into the fragrant and sweet taro cake, Lin Miao thought about the contract that was about to expire and suddenly felt a pang of reluctance. Would he no longer be able to enjoy Aunt Chen’s cooking after that?

Huo Yuchuan seemed to be sleeping better these days. Sometimes he didn’t even mention having trouble sleeping when he went on business trips. Perhaps his strange insomnia was almost gone, and he might be able to sleep without needing to hold Lin Miao.

Lin Miao thought that if Huo Yuchuan had trouble sleeping again in the future, he could charge by the session. Considering they were old customers, he could give him a twenty percent discount.

After the contract ended, he would need to find a part-time job on weekends. The seventy thousand he owed Huo Yuchuan, with interest, hadn’t been paid off much. The income from serving drinks at “Muse” at night was still far from enough.

He had done part-time jobs on weekends before, handing out flyers, delivering food, and even dressing up as a frog puppet to sell little frog toys in an amusement park on a hot summer day. He never understood how Huo Yuchuan recognized him that day. There were so many frog sellers in the park, all dressed in the same green costumes. Yet Huo Yuchuan walked right up to him, took a little frog balloon from his hand, and asked how much it cost.

Afraid that speaking would give him away, Lin Miao held up three fingers.

“Huo Yuchuan: ‘Three yuan?'”

The frog shook its head, crossing two fingers to make a ten.

“Huo Yuchuan: ‘Ten yuan?'”

The frog shook its head again, clumsily holding up three fingers and then ten.

“Huo Yuchuan: ‘Thirteen?'”

“‘No,’ Lin Miao said irritably, ‘It’s thirty!'”

“Huo Yuchuan: ‘Oh.'”

Lin Miao took off the frog head and said, “Are you doing this on purpose?”

Huo Yuchuan looked at his messy hair, his face slightly flushed from the heat, and the pile of little frogs in his hand. “How much for the whole bunch?”

Lin Miao counted them, and with the one in Huo Yuchuan’s hand, there were ten in total. “Three hundred.”

Huo Yuchuan took out his phone and transferred three hundred yuan to him.

Lin Miao was pleasantly surprised. “You’re taking them all?” So you really like frogs.

Huo Yuchuan put away his phone and said, “I’m sleepy.”

Lin Miao: “Ah?”

Huo Yuchuan took his hand and said, “Let’s go back.”

And so, Lin Miao’s weekends were sold to Huo Yuchuan for three hundred yuan a day. He couldn’t even look for part-time jobs because Huo Yuchuan could fall asleep anytime, anywhere.

When Huo Yuchuan woke up, it was almost noon.

Lin Miao was sitting on the sofa, eating a plate of fruit while browsing job websites on his computer.

Huo Yuchuan walked over, sat beside him, and glanced at the computer screen.

“Looking for a job?”

“Mm-hmm,” Lin Miao nodded, hesitating, “Huo Yuchuan, I need to talk to you about something.”

He picked up a bright green grape with his fork, “Um, I……”

Huo Yuchuan leaned over and ate the grape he had just forked, then said, “It’s sour.”

“‘Ah?’ Lin Miao tasted one and said, ‘It’s not sour. Aunt Chen always picks the sweet ones.'”

“Huo Yuchuan: ‘Aunt Chen’s eyesight is getting bad.'”

After wrongfully accusing Aunt Chen, Huo Yuchuan got up and left.

Lin Miao wanted to follow him but saw that he had already started a video conference in the study and didn’t dare to disturb him.

He even had lunch in the study.

It wasn’t until evening that Lin Miao saw him finally finish and come out to eat.

The dinner table was quiet. Lin Miao poked at the rice in his bowl and, after hesitating for a long time, said, “Huo Yuchuan, the contract is about to expire.”

Huo Yuchuan calmly replied, “Mm.”

Lin Miao pursed his lips and said, “I’m moving back to the dormitory next week.”

Huo Yuchuan didn’t respond, just told him to eat first and then weigh himself afterward.

Lin Miao was puzzled but still obediently went to weigh himself.

After coming back, Huo Yuchuan asked him how much weight he had gained compared to two years ago.

Lin Miao thought for a moment and said, “Eight pounds, I guess.”

Huo Yuchuan said, “I can’t take a loss. You need to return those eight pounds to me.”

Lin Miao was stunned. “What? I can’t gain weight?!”

Huo Yuchuan: “It never said I would cover your meals and lodging.”

Lin Miao: “But you never said I couldn’t eat either?”

Huo Yuchuan: “You can eat, but you have to pay it back.”

Lin Miao blamed himself for being naive. “How am I supposed to pay it back?!”

Huo Yuchuan: “Extend the contract duration.”

Lin Miao: “……Will there be extra pay?”

Huo Yuchuan, like a miserly bully: “You haven’t even paid back the eight pounds of meat, and you’re thinking about extra pay?”

Lin Miao’s heart turned cold—this was clearly about not wanting to pay while keeping him here as a free pillow!

He felt this wasn’t right and needed to negotiate. “How long will the contract be extended?”

Huo Yuchuan: “Not long.”

Before Lin Miao could breathe a sigh of relief, he added: “You came in at a certain weight, and you’ll leave at the same weight.”

Lin Miao: “……”