If

Chen Zhi slumped on the living room sofa for a few minutes, rubbing his face vigorously.

He stood up and pushed the bedroom door open again.

Pei Ningxue was lying on her side in bed, wrapped completely in the blanket with only half of her face showing. Hearing the creak of the door hinges, she didn't even bat an eyelid; her breathing remained flawlessly steady.

Chen Zhi walked straight over, lifted a corner of the blanket, and slipped in. Stretching out a long arm, he scooped her soft body into his embrace.

"What are you doing?" Pei Ningxue struggled a couple of times but couldn't break free, so she simply pressed her hands against his chest. "I need to catch up on my sleep. Get out."

Chen Zhi wasn't buying it at all. He lowered his head and leaned right in.

Warm lips pressed against her forehead, then her nose, and finally captured those two rosy lips.

Caught off guard by Chen Zhi's intense offensive, Pei Ningxue's pushing hands gradually lost their strength, eventually shifting to cling to his shoulders.

A few minutes later, Chen Zhi let her go.

Pei Ningxue gasped for air, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glistening with a watery sheen. At this moment, she looked entirely like a shy, thoroughly bullied little woman.

"You're so annoying..." Pei Ningxue turned her face away, pressing the back of her hand against her burning cheeks.

"Even if I'm annoying, you'll just have to bear it." Chen Zhi rested his chin in the crook of her neck, greedily inhaling the scent of her hair. "We're not going anywhere today. We're just staying home."

Pei Ningxue scoffed, trying to regain some ground. "There's so much to do at Deep Space Tech. If I don't go, what will happen to the company?"

Chen Zhi directly pulled out his phone and, right in front of Pei Ningxue, tapped on Dai Damai's WeChat voice message button.

"Old Dai, I'm leaving the company to you today. If the sky falls, you hold it up first. Boss Pei and I are officially playing hooky today."

He released his finger, and the voice message was successfully sent.

Then, Chen Zhi pressed and held the power button without hesitation. The screen went black, and he casually tossed the phone onto the carpet.

"Satisfied?" Chen Zhi looked at the person in his arms.

Pei Ningxue couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth from rising, yet she still pretended to be calm and rolled her eyes at him. "You foolish tyrant."

"And you're the wicked concubine who brings ruin to the country and its people." Chen Zhi played along, his hands mischievously giving her waist a squeeze.

Ticklish, Pei Ningxue shrank back and hid in his arms. The two of them playfully wrestled on the bed again.

Approaching noon, Chen Zhi figured it was about time and got up to prepare lunch in the kitchen.

The apartment was filled with the rich aroma of pork rib soup.

Wearing an apron, Chen Zhi stood in the open kitchen, chopping tomatoes on the cutting board.

The bedroom door opened.

Having finished washing up, Pei Ningxue walked out. She had simply slipped on one of Chen Zhi's oversized white shirts.

The hem of the shirt just covered the top of her thighs, leaving her long, straight legs dazzlingly exposed.

She stepped barefoot on the hardwood floor without making a sound.

Just as Chen Zhi was about to put the tomatoes into the pan, he suddenly felt a soft body press against his back.

She rested her chin on Chen Zhi's shoulder, tilting her head to watch him chop vegetables, her hair still slightly damp.

"Why aren't you wearing shoes?" Chen Zhi tilted his head.

"I couldn't find my slippers."

She just quietly held Chen Zhi, watching the bubbling pork rib soup in the pot and watching him stir-fry the tomatoes and eggs.

Pei Ningxue closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Chen Zhi had a pleasant scent of laundry detergent on him, mixed with the homely smell of the kitchen, which made her feel incredibly secure.

"Chen Zhi."

"Hmm?"

"If you ever go bankrupt in the future, just stay home and be my full-time househusband," Pei Ningxue mumbled with her eyes closed.

Chen Zhi chuckled, stirring the eggs in the pan. "Is Boss Pei planning to be my sugar mommy?"

"Can't I?" Pei Ningxue opened her eyes, sounding perfectly justified. "I still have a few properties. Collecting rent will be enough to support you."

"Sure, that sounds great." Chen Zhi plated the food. "When that time comes, I'll cook for you at home every day. You'll be in charge of earning money to support the family, and I'll be in charge of looking pretty."

Pei Ningxue was amused by him and reached out to pinch his waist. "Shameless."

"Go sit at the dining table. Food's almost ready." Chen Zhi turned off the stove and lifted the pan.

Pei Ningxue obediently let go, walked to the dining table, and sat down. Resting her chin on her hands, she stared unblinkingly as Chen Zhi brought the dishes over.

Three dishes and one soup: sweet and sour pork ribs, tomato and egg stir-fry, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, plus a pot of corn and pork rib soup.

They looked excellent and smelled mouth-watering.

Chen Zhi untied his apron and sat across from Pei Ningxue. He first scooped a bowl of soup and placed it by her hand, then picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork rib, carefully removed the bone, and fed it directly to her mouth.

Pei Ningxue opened her mouth and took a bite. The meat juices burst in her mouth, and she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.

"Is it good?"

"Mhm." Pei Ningxue nodded. Copying Chen Zhi, she picked up some eggs with her chopsticks and fed them to him.

The two of them fed each other like this, bite for bite.

Halfway through the meal, Pei Ningxue put down her chopsticks. Looking at the bright sunlight outside the window, she sighed softly.

"What's wrong?" Chen Zhi pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.

"Nothing, I just feel like... it's been a long time since I've been this relaxed." Pei Ningxue took the tissue and wiped the corners of her mouth. "I really wish I could just stay at home like this every day."

Chen Zhi reached across the dining table and held her slightly cool fingers.

"From now on, I'll set aside one day every month." Chen Zhi looked into her eyes. "No talking about work, no looking at our phones. No one will be able to find us."

Pei Ningxue was slightly taken aback.

"This day will be our top-secret statutory holiday." Chen Zhi squeezed her fingertips. "I'll accompany you to do whatever you want. We can just stay at home, or we can go out for a stroll."

Pei Ningxue held Chen Zhi's hand in return, unable to stop the corners of her mouth from rising, yet she deliberately kept a straight face.

"You said it," Pei Ningxue snorted softly. "If you dare stand me up, I'll empty the company's public account and run away."

"Go ahead and take it." Chen Zhi laughed loudly. "If you take all the money, I'll go beg on the streets. And when I beg, I'll hang a sign around my neck that says, 'Innocent young man swindled out of his fortune by an unscrupulous CFO.'"

"Get lost, who's swindling your fortune?"

The meal was exceptionally heartwarming.

Although Chen Zhi's action of turning off his phone bought them peace for today, it also meant he had completely cut off contact with the outside world. Far away in the World Trade Center, Dai Damai, currently sporting two dark circles under his eyes, was cursing Chen Zhi eight hundred times over in his head.

But none of this was within Chen Zhi and Pei Ningxue's scope of consideration.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two moved to the sofa in the living room.

A random movie was playing on the TV, the volume turned down low to serve purely as background noise.

Sated and content, Pei Ningxue lay lazily on Chen Zhi's lap.

Chen Zhi watched the TV while playing with her hair.

The afternoon sunlight was just right, bathing the entire living room in a warm glow.

Enjoying Chen Zhi's massage, Pei Ningxue suddenly opened her half-closed eyes.

She was in an unusually good mood today, and even Chen Zhi looked much more pleasing to the eye.

All the annoying matters concerning Lin Wanwan and Li Zhiyi were forcibly locked away in the deepest recesses of her mind.

Today, she didn't want to dwell on any of that.

She just wanted to quietly enjoy the feeling of having him all to herself in this moment.

Halfway through the movie, the male and female leads were screaming at each other in the rain over some melodramatic misunderstanding.

Pei Ningxue suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze fixed intently on Chen Zhi's jaw.

Reaching out with her slender arms, she hooked them directly around his neck.

Chen Zhi naturally lowered his head, his gaze meeting her clear, bright eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Pei Ningxue didn't answer right away. Instead, she gently stroked the back of his neck with her fingers.

After a long moment, she finally spoke. Her tone sounded somewhat nonchalant, yet the emotion behind it was more serious than ever before.

"Chen Zhi."

"Yeah?"

"If my dad meets you tomorrow, decides you're a jerk, and tries to drag me back home by force..." Pei Ningxue paused, her fingers tightening slightly against his skin. "Would you dare to come and steal me back?"