FIO CH60

Chapter 60: Aren’t You Chasing Me?

The alpha lying in bed shifted to the side, closed his eyes, and reached out to touch the space beside him. His fingers rubbed against the sheet for a long while, only feeling the lingering warmth. He suddenly opened his eyes to find the spot beside him empty. Where was he?

These past few days, Lu Fangchi had been responsive to every request, making life feel too good to be true. It was so wonderful that it seemed surreal, like a beautiful dream that would vanish upon waking.

A sense of panic rose in Zhou Zheng’s heart. He quickly sat up, slipped his feet into his slippers, and hurried outside. Upon seeing the slender figure busily working in the kitchen, the alpha slowed his pace, and the heart that had leaped into his throat settled back down, beating steadily and reassuringly.

Zhou Zheng tiptoed into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Lu Fangchi’s waist. The sudden action made Lu Fangchi jolt, and he said helplessly, “Don’t interrupt, I’m cooking.”

Zhou Zheng’s chin rested on Lu Fangchi’s shoulder, and he looked down at the breakfast he was making—two pitiful fried eggs with broken yolks that had spread all over the pan, sticking together and impossible to flip.

Lu Fangchi furrowed his attractive brows and skillfully used the spatula to try to flip them. Then, they shattered into pieces, turning from fried eggs to scrambled eggs, with some parts even burning black.

After a moment of silence, Lu Fangchi dumped the burnt eggs into the trash bin, placed five eggs in the egg cooker, and started boiling them, saying, “Let’s just have boiled eggs; they’re healthier.” He tried to save face.

Zhou Zheng couldn’t help but smile. They had been eating boiled eggs for a week straight, and it seemed like this was always the outcome.

Lu Fangchi pressed the switch on the egg cooker and couldn’t help but complain, “This pan isn’t good; I should buy a new one.”

Had he never considered that it might be his own fault? Zhou Zheng chuckled and turned off the egg cooker, took the eggs out, and placed them on the counter, saying, “Let me teach you.”

Zhou Zheng released Lu Fangchi, quickly washed the pan under the faucet, dried it with two kitchen towels, and turned on the stove.

He pulled Lu Fangchi back in front of him, wrapped his arms around him, and poured oil into the pan with an oil bottle, explaining, “Heat the pan, then add cold oil.”

So that’s how it is, Lu Fangchi silently noted. No wonder he always failed; he had the order reversed.

As the oil in the pan began to steam, Zhou Zheng cracked an eggshell and dropped the egg into the pan. With a “sizzle,” one side was almost done. Zhou Zheng handed Lu Fangchi the spatula and held his hand, guiding him to flip the egg.

Zhou Zheng’s hands seemed magical. The side that Lu Fangchi had struggled with for so long was easily flipped, and in no time, a perfectly cooked fried egg was ready, not sticking to the pan at all.

Zhou Zheng let go and said to Lu Fangchi, “You continue; I’ll keep an eye on it.”

To avoid distracting him, Zhou Zheng didn’t cling to Lu Fangchi’s back this time. He stood beside him and only spoke up when the eggs in the pan were almost done, reminding him to flip them.

Lu Fangchi cooked five perfectly fried eggs, along with a few small sausages and some asparagus, and paired them with toasted whole wheat bread slices. Perfect.

Lu Fangchi’s lips curled up slightly, looking a bit pleased. He swiftly opened the refrigerator door, preparing to wash some fruit, and said to Zhou Zheng, “Go brush your teeth and wash your face.”

“Okay,” Zhou Zheng replied and headed towards the bathroom.

By the time the alpha finished washing up and returned to the living room, Lu Fangchi had already set the prepared breakfast on the dining table, along with a large plate of blueberries and strawberries, plus two cups of hot milk.

The two walked over to the dining table and sat down to eat breakfast.

After the meal, Lu Fangchi sat on the sofa, and Zhou Zheng naturally followed, lying down beside him and resting his head on Lu Fangchi’s lap, turning his head to expose the gland on the back of his neck.

Lu Fangchi reached up and tore off the gauze. The bite marks on the gland had healed significantly and were starting to scab over. To be on the safe side, Lu Fangchi still disinfected it and replaced the gauze.

After checking the wound, Lu Fangchi gently patted Zhou Zheng’s hair and said, “All done.”

Zhou Zheng didn’t want to get up. Lu Fangchi deliberately jiggled his leg, almost knocking the alpha off. He barely managed to grab the carpet to avoid falling face-first.

Zhou Zheng sat up, pouting, and gave Lu Fangchi a reproachful look.

Lu Fangchi said, “You’re heavy.”

“Humph,” Zhou Zheng grunted, reaching for the game controller on the coffee table in front of him.

Lu Fangchi loved playing video games. Zhou Zheng hadn’t been much into online gaming before, but once he got into it, he became addicted, especially since these games increased interaction.

Zhou Zheng pressed the selection button and started browsing through the games. Before he could ask Lu Fangchi what he wanted to play, he heard him say, “Pick a single-player game; I’m not playing.”

Zhou Zheng turned his head and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Fangchi glanced at the time on his phone, half past eight. “Work,” he replied.

He had been working from home for a week straight, but today he definitely needed to show up at the office.

“Okay.” Zhou Zheng felt a little bit down, but it didn’t matter, “I’ll wait for you at home.”

“Aren’t you going to work yet?” Lu Fangchi asked. As far as he knew, Zhou Zheng hadn’t been to the company for nearly a month.

Zhou Zheng blinked, his mind racing, but before he could think of the right words, Lu Fangchi mercilessly shattered his thoughts, “I’ve seen you sitting on the toilet in the bathroom at one in the morning working these past few days. Leave Liu Zhu alone.” He had a strong sense of guilt, often coming out to check, for fear that others wouldn’t notice his sneaking around.

Caught red-handed, Zhou Zheng felt a bit annoyed and muttered, “Then why didn’t you tell me.” If he had known, he would have just worked openly in bed, where he could be close to Lu Fangchi.

“Stop playing around.” Lu Fangchi reached out and took the game controller from Zhou Zheng’s hand, saying, “Come with me to work.”

Zhou Zheng blinked, his eyes rolling mischievously as he tested the waters, “Then can we go home together?”

Receiving a cool glance from Lu Fangchi, Zhou Zheng realized the answer was a no. Suddenly feeling weak, he leaned back, raised his hand to his forehead, and put on a show, “My head still feels a bit dizzy.”

In fact, the symptoms of Zhou Zheng’s pseudo-marking reaction had started to ease two days ago and completely ended by yesterday morning. Lu Fangchi had been very tolerant of him.

“Stop pretending.” Lu Fangchi mercilessly saw through him, gave him a light tap on the head, and urged, “Get up and change your clothes.”

Zhou Zheng didn’t respond, lying on the sofa and playing dead. Lu Fangchi ignored him and went to the dressing room to change his clothes.

It wasn’t a special day, so his outfit was still simple and convenient. Lu Fangchi changed into a pair of tracksuit pants, matched with a navy blue polo shirt, and selected a modest wristwatch. He stood in front of the dressing mirror to check his appearance, making sure everything was in order before preparing to leave.

At that moment, Zhou Zheng came in, huffing and puffing as he carried three boxes in at once and placed them on the ground with a bit of noise.

Lu Fangchi looked at him in confusion, “What are you doing?”

Zhou Zheng bent down to take clothes out of the cardboard box, quickly hanging his clothes into the wardrobe without daring to look up, “I just, they were all piled up in the gym, it’s messy.”

Lu Fangchi frowned and said, “No.”

Zhou Zheng’s hand froze instantly. He licked his lips, his expression changing repeatedly, and then he nodded and agreed, “Okay.” He then took down the clothes he had just hung up, neatly folded them, and put them back into the cardboard box, moving slowly.

During this time, Zhou Zheng didn’t look up much, so they didn’t make eye contact. Just then, the phone alarm went off. Lu Fangchi took it out and glanced at the time, 8:45. If he didn’t leave now, he would be late.

“I’m leaving first, I won’t wait for you.” Lu Fangchi turned off the alarm and walked towards the door. As he passed by Zhou Zheng, the alpha reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Huh?” Lu Fangchi stopped in his tracks, not knowing what he was up to again.

Zhou Zheng immediately let go, spread his hands, and smiled at Lu Fangchi, “Then give me a hug.”

Even though the pseudo-marking reaction had ended, he was still so clingy. Lu Fangchi inwardly complained, but he still reached out and hugged the alpha back, patted him on the back, and quickly let go before walking towards the door.

Then, as if he had just thought of something, he threw out a sentence, “When you leave today, take all your things with you. It really doesn’t look good piled up in the gym.” Without turning his head, he walked away hurriedly.

Lu Fangchi took the elevator downstairs. He didn’t have time to savor the long-awaited fresh air and warm sunshine. He quickly got into the car, closed the door, fastened his seatbelt, and stepped on the gas, heading towards the company.

It was rush hour, with heavy traffic. Almost every traffic light required a wait. During the brief pauses, Lu Fangchi rolled down the window to enjoy the morning sun on his face and the gentle breeze on his cheeks. His usually gloomy mood finally cleared up, and his heavy heart suddenly felt light.

He recalled how Zhou Zheng had just lain on his lap, looking very content. He suddenly spread his legs, causing Zhou Zheng to miss and almost fall flat on his face, which made him want to laugh. Lu Fangchi smirked with a bit of mischief. Alright, he admitted that being alone was good, but being together was indeed more fun.

Lost in thought, the green light came on, and the vehicles started moving forward. Lu Fangchi stepped on the gas.

The car in front seemed to be driven by a novice. It stalled once at the start, causing the green light to flicker yellow and then turn red before it could pass.

Lu Fangchi was stuck in the second position. During the wait for the green light, he started to daydream again, but somehow, Lu Fangchi frowned slightly, feeling like he had overlooked something. What was it?

“Beep beep beep!” The car behind honked its horn. Lu Fangchi looked up to see that it was already a green light. He quickly stepped on the gas, changed his original plan to go straight, and made a left turn, heading back home.

He knew what was wrong now.

Lu Fangchi drove recklessly, frequently changing lanes, and sped back to the community at seventy miles per hour. He reversed into the garage in one go, quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car, slammed the door, and strode towards the building, his face showing obvious urgency as his fingers tapped restlessly on the seam of his pants.

“Ding——” Lu Fangchi almost rushed out of the elevator, stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath to steady his slightly rapid breathing, and then lifted his hand to scan his fingerprint.

Lu Fangchi stepped into the entrance hall, not even taking the time to change his shoes, and walked straight inside. He found Zhou Zheng in the gym.

Zhou Zheng was packing the cardboard boxes, re-taping the ones he had opened over the past few days. Hearing the footsteps, he looked up towards the door.

Lu Fangchi clearly saw a hint of red at the corner of the alpha’s eyes. He looked down in a panic, rubbed the corners of his eyes with his hand, and when he looked up again, his face had returned to its normal color, with a smile playing on his lips, “Why did you come back? Did you forget something?”

Lu Fangchi walked up to Zhou Zheng, looked at his forced smile, and sighed, not knowing whether it was for Zhou Zheng’s sensitivity or his own lack of attention to detail.

Thinking about it, his words just now did seem ambiguous, but Zhou Zheng was usually quite articulate. Why did he start to falter when it came to important matters?

Lu Fangchi lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the box under Zhou Zheng’s hand. It wasn’t sealed properly yet, and through the gaps, the handle of a pan was visible, probably the frying pan from this morning.

Lu Fangchi pressed his hand on this cardboard box and said, “Leave this one. I still need to use it.”

“I’m a bit confused. Didn’t you say you were going to chase me? Why does it feel like we’re already in a relationship?”