Lin Kang jumped, turning around to curse, "Son of a..."

Luo Qingshan's lips were pursed, his hand still tightly clutching Lin Kang's jacket as his eyes darted between Lin Kang and Pei Ran.

Seeing who it was, Lin Kang was even more bewildered. He slapped his hand away. "Are you sick? Is this how you say hello?"

Luo Qingshan's gaze finally settled on Pei Ran.

Pei Ran's gaze was calm, meeting his without a ripple for a few seconds before looking away.

"Are you hurt?" Pei Ran asked.

"No, just bumped it," Lin Kang said, looking nervously at the car body. "I didn't scratch your car, did I?"

"It's fine even if you did," Pei Ran said. "Get in, we can't park here for long."

The words had barely left his mouth when Lin Kang's clothes were grabbed again.

Lin Kang asked, baffled, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why do you keep grabbing me?"

Luo Qingshan gritted his teeth, finally forcing out a sentence after a long pause, "What are you two going to do?"

Lin Kang said, "Going home."

"Going home together?"

Just as Lin Kang was about to reply, he suddenly sensed something was off.

"Hey, wait a minute..." Lin Kang's face scrunched up. "Luo Qingshan, what are you trying to say?"

Luo Qingshan said, "Then what were you two doing walking together this morning? Why did you have your hand on his shoulder? Oh, having a meal together, right?"

Lin Kang was so angry he laughed. He lowered his voice and said, "Luo Qingshan, are you sick? I have a girlfriend!"

"You have a girlfriend and you're still this close with him?"

"Fuck, you're really something else. You think the whole world is gay? Besides, what's wrong with me and Pei Ran? We just walked together for a bit and are heading home together," Lin Kang, completely oblivious, blurted out, "It's not even as intimate as you and Su Nian. What are you freaking out about?"

Luo Qingshan's face instantly turned ashen, and his earlier imposing manner deflated by half.

He had seen it all from upstairs at noon. Pei Ran didn't reply to his messages, didn't answer his calls, but walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Lin Kang, talking and laughing the whole way. At the end, Lin Kang even put an arm around Pei Ran's shoulders.

"Luo Qingshan," Pei Ran finally spoke, "Let go."

It was already dark when Pei Ran got home. All the small villas in the row were lit up, except for his, which was pitch-black.

After bidding the driver farewell, he turned and entered the house. The interior was spotless, clearly cleaned by someone daily, but unfortunately, it was rarely occupied.

He took a shower and changed into a pair of silk pajamas. The light shining on him made him look very gentle.

But right now, Pei Ran was anything but gentle.

He was even a little angry.

He picked up his phone. It was almost filled with messages from Luo Qingshan.

【Luo Qingshan: I'm sorry.】

【Luo Qingshan: Babe, I'm sorry, don't be mad at me】

【Luo Qingshan: I had a brain fart, I didn't really suspect you】

...

Pei Ran didn't want to look anymore and cleared the screen.

After drying his hair, he walked straight to the walk-in closet and began to take inventory of the things Luo Qingshan had given him.

He had used most of the shoes and backpacks, so it wouldn't be right to return them. Instead, he looked up their prices online and converted them all into a cash equivalent. Some of the sneakers, due to their age, had become limited editions, and their prices had increased significantly, so it took him some effort to look them up.

By the time he had tallied up a number, it was already past midnight.

He transferred the money to Luo Qingshan's Alipay, then opened WeChat and sent a message: "Money has been transferred."

As he was exiting the chat window, he inadvertently glanced at a certain profile picture.

The reason this profile picture caught his attention was because it was of a rabbit.

The rabbit from the White Rabbit logo.

Next to the rabbit lay two large characters—Yan Zhun.

Pei Ran's brain seemed to short-circuit as he stared at the picture for a few seconds before suddenly snapping back to his senses.

【Pei Ran: I'm so sorry!】

【Pei Ran: Something came up, I forgot...】

【Pei Ran: Sorry】

【Yan Zhun: It's fine.】

【Pei Ran: You should sleep, I won't bother you】

【Yan Zhun: Not asleep】

【Yan Zhun: Still waiting for you】

Pei Ran logged into the game, and an invitation from Yan Zhun immediately popped up.

Pei Ran quickly joined the team and turned on his mic, "I was just tidying up some things and I got busy and forgot, I'm sorry."

Yan Zhun said, "It's fine, no need to apologize."

Pei Ran had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the small speaker icon next to the "111GOD" ID light up again.

The other end was silent for two seconds. Yan Zhun's voice was very soft as he said in a low tone, "I thought you weren't coming."