No Ghosting Allowed

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Sunshine, on a weekend, with a loved one – such moments were naturally meant for leisure. Zhou Qingbo cuddled up to Pei You on the bed for a while. During this time, he managed to take quite a few advantages, but his empty stomach began to protest with a sharp growl. Reluctantly, he released Pei You and both of them got up from the bed.

The traces of their indulgence from the night before were still present in various corners of their new apartment. Zhou Qingbo tiptoed as he searched through a pile of clothes to find his slippers and then started wandering around aimlessly, trying to locate his robe that he had thrown on the floor last night.

Pei You stood up, smoothed out the wrinkled sheets, and then walked over wearing his slippers. He reached out and grabbed Zhou Qingbo’s arm, then opened the closet to get him a new yukata.

“You left your clothes in the bathroom last night,” Pei You said. “Since I didn’t know what style you liked, I didn’t prepare your sleepwear beforehand. Just make do with this one for now. After we finish eating, we can go to the mall in the evening.”

The soft fabric fell lightly onto Zhou Qingbo’s arm, carrying a hint of the unique dry scent from the dryer. The label on the yukata had already been cut off, and the edge of the collar had been carefully processed, even the cut marks had been smoothed out beforehand. It felt smooth and soft to the touch, without any scratchy feeling.

Zhou Qingbo lowered his head to look at his own hand and suddenly felt that the feeling of living together was slowly beginning to emerge from this moment.

Starting that day, he really felt the joy of being a couple with Pei You. Zhou Qingbo thought.

That apartment didn’t have the familiar presence of his family, yet it didn’t make him feel uneasy. Because in that unfamiliar room, in that unfamiliar environment, there was a familiar person with him. They were adapting to this new situation together.

The days he had fantasized about in his youth seemed to be gradually turning into reality, and he had indeed found that “dream lover” he had longed for in the vast sea of people. And now, they were moving into an apartment together, eating together, working together, strolling in the park hand in hand, and spending time at home together.

They would gradually adjust to each other here, invade each other’s most intimate spaces, and then change together, embracing new ways of life.

They might argue at times, but they would quickly make up, leaving their deepest impressions on each other during these times of understanding and adjustment. They would intertwine their lives more closely.

From now on, he didn’t have to worry about being absent-minded, because someone would care about the things he overlooked and make up for his other half in life.

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“Pei You.” Zhou Qingbo suddenly sighed deeply and said, “Why are you so good?”

His voice trailed off, sounding clingy. Pei You thought he was just being cute again, so he closed the closet door with his hand and said with a smile, “Because you’re good too.”

Because you’re good enough, that’s why I’m willing to invest more time and energy in caring for you.

Zhou Qingbo naturally understood the implied meaning behind Pei You’s words. He pursed his lips and smiled, unable to resist turning around and wrapping his arm around Pei You’s shoulder, leaning in to give him a peck on the cheek.

 Zhou Qingbo chuckled. “ I’ll tidy up a bit and we can go out for lunch later.”

Saying this, he released Pei You and draped a yukata casually over himself before briskly walking into the bathroom.

The previous night, they had rushed back into the room in quite a hurry, and the bathroom hadn’t been tidied up yet. Although Zhou Qingbo had been prepared for it, he still stared blankly for a moment when he saw the mess. After a moment of hesitation, he glanced behind him as if checking to make sure no one was watching, then closed the door, kicked off his slippers, and stood barefoot on the tiled floor. He began cleaning up diligently.

Shower gel had dried on the tiles, and as he wiped it with a damp cloth, large patches of foam appeared. Zhou Qingbo knelt on the floor, scrubbing the tile, but as he continued, his mind began to wander. He couldn’t help but look up at the sink counter.

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In his impression, Pei You had always been reserved and gentle. Zhou Qingbo had thought that Pei You might be passive in bed as well, but to his surprise, when things got intense last night, Pei You was unexpectedly unreserved. He would even lightly hold Zhou Qingbo’s hand and softly plead and beg him to continue.

Pei You’s breathless and strained murmurs seemed to echo in his ears, and Zhou Qingbo’s held his breath. He absentmindedly wrinkled the damp cloth in his hand. It felt like he had been scalded. He quickly averted his gaze from the counter, but then, drawn by some inexplicable attraction, he couldn’t help but look back.

He had been rubbing the same tile over and over until the foam had saturated the cloth. Zhou Qingbo hurriedly returned to reality, blushing slightly as he dipped the cloth into the basin, and then cinched his yukata’s belt as if to hide his bulge.

He was distracted and the quality of his work suffered. It took him over half an hour to clean up the mess in the bathroom. Finally, he tossed the empty shower gel bottle into the trash.

The heavy scent in the air had finally dissipated somewhat. Zhou Qingbo stretched lazily and let out a yawn, his nose twitching as he caught a hint of another scent.

In the kitchen, water was boiling in a pot. Pei You had thrown in a couple of tomatoes and also opened the lid of a nearby electric pressure cooker. The simmered beef needed another half hour with added spices, but the aroma was already wafting through the air. Pei You tasted it and added half a spoon of salt.

The rich and fragrant beef aroma attracted a hungry cat. Zhou Qingbo, barefoot, walked from the bedroom to the kitchen. Seeing Pei You busy at the cutting board, he quietly approached him from behind and hugged him.

“Weren’t we planning to eat out?” Zhou Qingbo, like a large cat, rested his chin on Pei You’s shoulder and mumbled, “Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s the first meal after moving in, let’s not go out.” Pei You wasn’t taken aback, as if he had already expected this. He grabbed a knife and began slicing the peeled tomatoes. “There’s still cake in the fridge. I bought it to celebrate with you last night, but—”

“But,” the story behind it was well understood between them. Pei You paused for a moment, omitting the rest of the sentence, then continued, “I’m not sure if the cake is still fresh. Maybe you could check it?”

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“You bought cake for a celebration?” Zhou Qingbo’s eyes lit up, and he laughed. “When did you learn to arrange surprises?”

“My sister taught me,” Pei You answered honestly. “She said on the first day of moving in together, it’s good to celebrate with a cake.”

Zhou Qingbo had known that Pei You wasn’t very romantic, and he burst into a soft laugh upon hearing this. “What if I hadn’t managed to escape yesterday at my grandpa’s? I said wait for my text, not that I’d come home.”

“I wasn’t sure either, but just to be safe, I prepared it.” Pei You said, “But I didn’t prepare too much, didn’t want to waste it.”

“It’s fine, I’m easy to take care of. Eating a bit less is okay.” Zhou Qingbo leaned his head against Pei You’s neck and sniffed the lingering fragrance, unable to resist humming, “But I am a bit hungry—”

At first, Pei You didn’t realize what Zhou Qingbo meant by “hungry.” Subconsciously, he cut a small piece of tomato and fed it to him. Zhou Qingbo squinted his eyes, accepted the tomato and ate it, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he tightened his arms, pressing even closer to Pei You.

Only at this point did Pei You realize the context of Zhou Qingbo’s “hunger.” He couldn’t help but smile helplessly, turning his head to give Zhou Qingbo a questioning look. “Are you still planning to have lunch?”

“Mm… yes.” Zhou Qingbo hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, “The desires of the body must be satisfied.”

However, Zhou Qingbo, despite his words, still had a sense of restraint. Instead of indulging in activities like last night, they had a lovey-dovey lunch together, followed by sharing half a piece of cake.

After lunch, Zhou Qingbo and Pei You relaxed at home for a while before heading out as the sky darkened. The residential area Pei You chose had a good location, with a large shopping mall nearby. It only took them a ten-minute walk to get there.

Zhou Qingbo had moved in a hurry, so apart from his sleepwear, he still needed to buy some daily necessities. They chatted absentmindedly as they moved from the personal care section to the food section. Despite saying they wouldn’t buy too much, they ended up with quite a few items in their cart.

The fresh shrimps in the raw food section were on sale, and the salesperson was loudly promoting them. Pei You turned his head and glanced over, about to push his cart over, when he heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind.

“…Brother?”

Pei You turned back in the direction of the voice, only to find Pei Zi standing not far away. He was momentarily surprised, and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to buy the discounted sushi rolls and roasted chicken.” Pei Zi wiggled the items in her hand, bouncing over enthusiastically. She glanced around at Zhou Qingbo, seemingly curious, and said with excitement, “Brother, this is the sister—”

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Pei Zi wanted to say “sister-in-law,” but she felt something was off, so she stumbled over her words, hesitated, and urgently looked at Pei You’s expression.

Zhou Qingbo wasn’t too concerned about this. He had a thick skin and no reservations about such matters. So, he gladly helped to maintain Pei You’s “dignified image” in front of Pei Zi and took over the conversation.

“You can call me sister-in-law if you like. After all, we’re all family.” Zhou Qingbo said, playfully nudging Pei You’s arm, winking at him, and teasing, “Right, husband?”

Pei You: “…”