Chapter 77 - I've Thought Things Through

It was only six in the morning when Qiu Yanzhi returned home.

He started entering the passcode for the door, but it was opened from the inside before he could finish.

He Zhou stood inside, fully dressed as if he had been waiting all this time for Qiu Yanzhi to come back.

The moment Qiu Yanzhi saw He Zhou, he let go of his suitcase and threw himself into He Zhou’s embrace with both arms outstretched.

He Zhou also wrapped his arms around him. The man looked down and softly asked, “Are you tired?”

Qiu Yanzhi subconsciously shook his head, but then he hesitated and nodded.

He Zhou: "Do you want to take a nap?"

"Yeah." Qiu Yanzhi buried his face against He Zhou's chest and nuzzled him. He hoarsely said, “I didn’t sleep at all during the flight.”

He Zhou kept one arm around Qiu Yanzhi and brought in the suitcase and closed the door with the other.

Then he led Qiu Yanzhi to the bedroom. The sight of the soft bedding immediately made Qiu Yanzhi feel drowsy, so he took off his outerwear and got into bed.

He Zhou noticed how the room was a bit too bright, so he went to the window and closed the thick curtains.

He was just about to leave when Qiu Yanzhi grabbed his hand. "He Zhou, could you sleep with me?"

He Zhou softly said yes after looking at Qiu Yanzhi's pale, tired visage. He laid under Qiu Yanzhi’s blanket as well.

Qiu Yanzhi was finally able to somewhat peacefully close his eyes. Burying his face against He Zhou’s chest, he drifted off to sleep.

He Zhou felt that he was deliberately avoiding the subject of Qin He.

He Zhou knew that Qiu Yanzhi and Qin He had a fight, but he didn't ask why.

Actually, it wasn’t hard to guess why based on what he overheard during that video call with Qiu Yanzhi. He was definitely related to why the two fought.

He Zhou quietly thought:

Perhaps Qin He was bothered by the existence of a counterfeit like him.

He Zhou quietly looked down at Qiu Yanzhi. He slowly reached over and brushed away the bangs scattered across the other’s forehead.

He Zhou's fingertips trailed down from Qiu Yanzhi's forehead to his cheek.

Then he pinched the area as if to vent his anger.

But the force he used was still very light.

It was already afternoon when Qiu Yanzhi woke up.

He felt his stomach, which was rumbling with hunger.

Qiu Yanzhi walked out of the bedroom to see that He Zhou was cooking.

"I have to learn eventually.”He Zhou said with a spatula in hand.

Qiu Yanzhi silently looked at the obviously burnt black stuff in the pan. "...So how are your studies going?"

He Zhou silently turned off the stove and dumped the pan’s contents into the trashcan. "Qiu Yanzhi, let's go out to eat."

Qiu Yanzhi leaned against the door frame with crossed arms. “Do you have  money?"

He Zhou: "Check your bank account balance."

Qiu Yanzhi gave him a suspicious look before taking out his phone.

He was taken aback by the numbers he saw. “He Zhou, how did this happen?”

"Did you forget? I've been buying and selling stocks.” He Zhou smiled. "Is this enough money to treat you to a meal?"

"Yeah." Qiu Yanzhi blinked.

Qiu Yanzhi had given He Zhou access to his online banking since he took the man to his home. However, Qiu Yanzhi really didn’t expect that He Zhou could earn money for him sitting around at home.

So his character setting as an experienced CEO carried over from the game...

Qiu Yanzhi quickly cleaned up and led He Zhou by the hand out the door.

"What do you want to eat?" He Zhou asked.

Qiu Yanzhi seriously considered the question for a moment. “I want to go eat giant prawns. The kind of luxury meals that cost $598.”

He Zhou’s eyes curved as he smiled. “Okay.”

Qiu Yanzhi felt a little bloated after the meal, so he went for a walk. He leisurely strolled through the streets while holding He Zhou’s hand.

Eventually, a police station came into sight.

Qiu Yanzhi suddenly remembered how he had once said he would go to a police station to get He Zhou an ID when his leg was better.

Qiu Yanzhi stopped walking.

He Zhou also stopped. He turned back to look at Qiu Yanzhi. "What's wrong?"

Qiu Yanzhi pursed his lips and said somewhat sullenly, "He Zhou, I don't think I can help you get an ID card."

He Zhou's face looked exactly the same as Qin He's.

Moreover, Qin He already knew about He Zhou's existence.

He Zhou also seemed to realize those points. He held Qiu Yanzhi's hand a little tighter. "It's okay."

Qiu Yanzhi hung his head, a little sullen.

At this moment, a faint cry suddenly came from the grass.

Qiu Yanzhi subconsciously turned in the direction it had come from. He noticed scattered traces of blood on the pavement.

Qiu Yanzhi and He Zhou went to the grass to take a look. There, they found a kitten with an injured hind leg.

The mixed-breed kitten seemed very docile. It was curled up in the grass due to its injured leg, and its faint cries grew weaker by the second.

He Zhou hurried over and picked it up.

Frowning, Qiu Yanzhi called Lin Kangning.

There was an animal rescue nearby that Lin Kangning often volunteered at when he was between jobs. It was able to provide above average medical treatment.

Lin Kangning quickly picked up and told them the full address of the rescue.

The rescue did turn out to be nearby, only 500 meters from where they were now.

He Zhou followed Qiu Yanzhi with the cat carefully cradled in his arms.

The animal rescue was smaller than they had imagined, but the vet there was very attentive and dedicated.

Especially since Qiu Yanzhi had called Lin Kangning ahead of time.

The kitten was whisked away to the operating room as soon as they arrived.

Watching the vet skillfully treat the cat's wound, Qiu Yanzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then his phone suddenly rang.

Qiu Yanzhi took one last look at the kitten on the operating table before walking out and taking the call in the hallway.

It was from Qin He's secretary: "Mr. Qiu, I tried calling you yesterday. Why was your phone always off?”

Qiu Yanzhi: "I was on a plane."

The secretary was a little shocked. "You've returned to China?"

Qiu Yanzhi: "Yes."

The secretary: "Mr. Qiu, how could you leave without permission before your job was done? Do you know how irresponsible your actions were?”

The secretary took a deep breath like he was trying to remain calm and civil. “May I ask if you had to go back due to any extenuating circumstances?”

"I'm sorry but it’s personal." Qiu Yanzhi answered, "I don’t feel comfortable disclosing the reason. I’ll reimburse the payment you gave, including the cost of the plane ticket and the hotel.”

"Fine." The secretary said, "Whatever the reason was that caused you to leave so impulsively, I hope you will be more responsible and steadfast in your future assignments.”

Qiu Yanzhi was silent for a moment. "May I ask if your company was able to successfully acquire the project?”

Secretary: "You don’t need to worry about that, Mr. Qiu. We were able to find a suitable local editor and smoothly finish negotiations. Furthermore, the other company has also agreed to the request made by President He. The employees involved in the core project will be returning with us today. President He intends to have them clean up the necessary game data within the week. If Mr. Qiu has the time to show interest in our company's business endeavours, perhaps you should spend it improving your own professionalism instead.”

With that, the secretary hung up.

Qin He going to have them clean up the game data within a week.

Qiu Yanzhi held the phone tightly.

...He had to do something about it.

His teeth subconsciously gnawed at the tender flesh just past his lips with such force that it looked like he wanted to rip it off.

When Qiu Yanzhi returned to the operating room, the kitten's surgery had successfully concluded.

It was nestled on top of the operating table with the wound on its leg securely bandaged. It had already fallen asleep, its eyes tightly shut.

Lin Kangning explained, "We gave it a tiny amount of anesthetic, so it’ll probably take a while to wake up."

Qiu Yanzhi nodded.

Lin Kangning and the doctor went out to wash their hands.

He Zhou stood to the side and very gently stroked the kitten's head.

"Do you like it?" Qiu Yanzhi asked, "It’s probably a stray cat with no owner, so this animal rescue will probably take it. We could also bring it home with us.”

He Zhou was silent for a moment. Then he reached over and rubbed the kitten's ears again. "Let's leave it here."

After Qiu Yanzhi and He Zhou left, Lin Kangning tidied up the operating room with another doctor.

"Kangning, did you see the anesthetic I left here?"

"No, what's wrong?"

"Strange, I clearly remember I put it here… Sigh. My memory’s not what it used to be…”

Qiu Yanzhi and He Zhou went back to see the kitten at the animal rescue together the next day.

The kitten had recovered a little, but it still seemed very docile.

It seemed to remember He Zhou too. When the man reached over to pet it, the kitten licked his finger.

"It doesn't have a name yet." Lin Kangning smiled as he came over with some cat food. “There’s too many animals here for us to name by ourselves. Why don’t you two name it?”

He Zhou took the cat food from Lin Kangning and scooped up a handful to feed the kitten.

The kitten leaned down obediently and licked the cat food from He Zhou’s hand.

Qiu Yanzhi noticed how much He Zhou liked the kitten, so he asked, "He Zhou, do you have a name in mind?"

He Zhou stroked the fur on the kitten’s body with his other hand. "Let's call him Jiujiu."

"Forever and ever?" Qiu Yanzhi thought about it for a moment. "That's pretty good."

Qiu Yanzhi asked He Zhou if he wanted to bring Jiujiu home again before they left.

He Zhou again refused.

"Why?" Qiu Yanzhi didn't quite understand. "Don't you like it a lot?"

He Zhou looked down as he washed and then dried his hands. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to look after it for much longer.”

He Zhou's voice was so quiet that Qiu Yanzhi didn’t hear him clearly. The most he could make out was something about not being able to look after it well. He Zhou cut him off before he could even respond, “Where do you want to go eat today?”

Qiu Yanzhi and He Zhou went to the study after they got home.

"He Zhou, you should rest first. I'll rgo to bed after I finish my work."

"Don't stay up too late." He Zhou said.

Qiu Yanzhi smiled. "En, I know. I’ll finish up as quickly as I can.”

After Qiu Yanzhi walked into the study and closed the door, the smile on his face slowly faded away.

He took out his phone and sent a text message to someone.

"Qin He, can we meet?"

As if deliberately trying to exhaust his patience, the other party took more than five minutes to loftily reply.

"You’ve thought things through?”

Qiu Yanzhi: "Yes."

After deciding on the time and place, an ambiguous voice message was sent over.

Qiu Yanzhi lowered the volume before listening to it. His eyes drifted to the floor as he hit the record button.

His face remained expressionless, but his tone was warm and coy.

"I will."

After ending the conversation with Qin He, Qiu Yanzhi opened the desk drawer and took out something from the safe within.

It was the anesthetic.

Qiu Yanzhi had no way of buying such a thing through normal means.

So when he saw this anesthetic in the rescue’s operating room yesterday, he couldn’t help but quietly take it with him.

According to his research online, this type of anesthetic was effective for human even though it was used primarily on animals.

It could be injected or ingested.

Ingestion would result in loss of consciousness within three minutes.

A full dose was enough to render an adult man unconscious for half an hour.

Qiu Yanzhi took the anesthetic and looked at it for half a beat. He carefully put it back in the safe.

Then he opened his tablet and reviewed the surveillance he had installed in the newly rented house.

Good. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The surveillance cameras installed had infrared capabilities, so they could see everything even at night.

Qiu Yanzhi patted down his pockets and took out a very small key.

Then he opened another compartment and tried the key on the handcuffs inside.

They unlocked very smoothly and felt sturdy too.

After checking everything over, Qiu Yanzhi locked it all up securely in the safe again.

Then he turned off the lights, turned around and walked out.