Abstinence Pei, don't be too sweet when chasing your wife

On the windowsill of the VIP ward of the municipal hospital, the daisies that Gu Fanxing had just planted were in full bloom.

She counted the petals while organizing the seventh draft of "Countdown to Departure". The tip of her pen paused at the column of "Kong Haoyu's Return Date" - according to the original plan, today was supposed to be the day she left.

"What are you writing?" Pei Luonan's voice came from the hospital bed. He was leaning against the headboard reading a document. The fingers of his right hand, which had been removed from the splint, were still wrapped in gauze, and he always felt a little slow when turning the pages.

Gu Fanxing hurriedly closed the notebook: "Nothing, just writing down some notes given by the nurse."

His gaze fell on the tips of her red ears, and the corners of his mouth curved up imperceptibly. "I just heard from Kong Haoyu that there were flaws in the due diligence of the European M&A case. The other party requested a re-audit, so he has to stay for another week."

The tip of the pen scratched a deep mark on the paper.

Gu Fanxing raised her head and suppressed the emotion in her tone: "Postponement again? This is the second time. Last time they said the contract terms needed to be redrafted, and this time there's an audit..."

"That's how cross-border mergers and acquisitions work," he said casually, tapping his fingertips lightly on the edge of the document. "A single detail missing could lead to failure. I guess I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on it for a few more days."

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone on the bedside table rang.

Pei Luonan glanced at the caller ID and handed it to her with a smile in his eyes: "My mother."

Gu Fanxing's hand trembled slightly as he answered the phone.

Mother Pei's gentle voice came from the receiver, mixed with the faint sound of dishes clattering: "Fanxing, I heard from Luo Nan that you have been taking care of him all the time? You have worked so hard..."

"Auntie, don't say that. It's my duty." She recalled last year at the Pei family's old house, when Pei's mother held her hand and taught her how to make rice dumplings. Her hands were covered with glutinous rice, and the old lady smiled so hard that wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes.

"Luochuan and his father are in South America discussing a project and haven't returned yet," Mother Pei's voice added a hint of helplessness. "I'm here, and I need to take care of your Grandma Pei. I really can't leave..."

Gu Fanxing held the receiver, and his fingertips gradually became cold.

"So, Fanxing," Mother Pei's tone softened, with sincerity, "could you please look after Luonan for a few more days? You know his temper. He's been holding on even when he was injured. Only with you by his side can I feel at ease. When your Uncle Pei and Luochuan come back, I'll fly over immediately to take over for you, okay?"

Grandma Pei's resonant voice suddenly interrupted the other end of the line: "Fanxing girl! Keep an eye on that brat for me! Make him read less documents and get more sleep! Otherwise, I won't let him off!"

Gu Fanxing's nose felt sore as she recalled the box of almond cookies Grandma Pei had given her, saying, "Girls all love sweet things." The kindness the Pei family had shown her was like warm water flowing through her heart, softening the words "I actually want to leave."

"Don't worry, Auntie," she took a deep breath, "I will take good care of him."

After hanging up the phone, she turned around and met Pei Luonan's smiling eyes. He clearly knew what his mother would say, but he didn't say a word, just waiting for her to take on this task herself.

"My mother just loves to worry." He spoke in a relaxed tone, but his fingers were tapping lightly on the documents, as if he was calculating something.

Gu Fanxing didn't respond and turned around to pour warm water.

The "leaving plan" in my heart was shattered by this phone call, and the courage that I had worked so hard to build up was also mostly gone.

She looked at her face in the mirror, and her mind was clearly filled with the thought, "It's time to go," but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

In the afternoon, the nurse came to change the dressing. She looked at the hideous scar on Pei Luonan's back and said in amazement: "You've recovered well, but you must avoid eating spicy food. You must not touch spicy food, otherwise it will easily cause inflammation."

Gu Fanxing nodded seriously and wrote down the nurse's words in a notebook.

She had just gotten some light vegetable porridge from the cafeteria and was stirring it gently with a spoon to cool it down. Upon hearing this, she blew on it again to confirm the temperature was right before handing it to the bedside. "The nurse said you can only eat this today. Tomorrow I'll buy you some yam and pork rib soup. It's warming and good for your wound."

Pei Luonan took the bowl of porridge and suddenly said, "What about you? I just heard you tell the nurse that you wanted to eat spicy food."

Gu Fanxing's face flushed: "Just a casual remark..."

He chuckled softly, his eyes brimming with warmth. "When I get better, I'll take you to that time-honored Sichuan restaurant in the south of the city. Their Sichuan peppercorn chicken is their signature dish. I used to go there often."

Gu Fanxing's heart skipped a beat.

He was always like this. Just a few words could confuse her mind and make her determination to leave become shaky.

Kong Haoyu's return date was postponed again, this time the reason was that "the partner suddenly requested to increase the pledge of technology patents, and the details of the agreement needed to be redrafted."

"Can't he let other members of the team handle it?" Gu Fanxing threw his phone on the sofa. The screen lit up with a long apology message from Kong Haoyu, with the words "I have no choice" written between the lines.

Pei Luonan was clumsily peeling an orange with his left hand. He raised his eyes when he heard this: "This project was jointly followed up by him and me. If I don't go, he is the only one who knows the core terms best. Europeans are rigid in their work, and it's easy for problems to arise if someone else takes charge."

"I think you did this on purpose!" She finally couldn't help but burst out, "You just don't want him to come back, you just want to trap me here!"

The orange peel in his hand suddenly fell to the ground, and the flesh rolled all over the floor. He looked at her red eyes, was silent for a moment, and suddenly whispered: "What if I say yes?"

Gu Fanxing was stunned. She didn't expect him to admit it so readily.

"I was afraid he would come back, so you left." His voice was very soft, with a hint of fragility she had never heard before. "I haven't explained those misunderstandings to you yet. I haven't told you..." He paused, his eyes falling on her trembling lips, "I haven't told you yet that I have liked you for a long time."

The last sentence was like a stone, creating ripples in her heart.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say "We are not suitable" or "We are just a cooperative partnership under agreement", but found that her throat seemed to be blocked and she couldn't utter a word.

"As for Kong Haoyu, I'll have him come back as soon as possible, but not now. At least... wait until I can get out of bed and walk by myself without your support, okay?"

His eyes were so serious, filled with cautious pleading, reminding her of his back as he rushed in front of her during the flash flood. Gu Fanxing's anger suddenly ebbed, leaving only helplessness in her heart and a trace of hesitation that she was unwilling to admit.

"...Okay." She heard herself say.

In the following days, Pei Luonan gradually recovered.

The nurse smiled and said, "Mr. Pei is inspired by Miss Gu's care."

Gu Fanxing didn't say anything, but her heart felt like it was soaked in warm water.

She began to calculate the time to remind him to take medicine, began to quietly turn off the ceiling light and turn on the desk lamp when he was reading documents, saying "this won't hurt your eyes", and began to sit by his bed and read archaeological reports to him when he couldn't sleep at night because of the pain of his wounds, until his breathing gradually stabilized.

That night, after she had wiped Pei Luonan's hands and was about to return to the sofa recliner, she was stopped by him.

"Help me get my phone," he said hesitantly, "I'll show you something."

"what?"

"I want you to see what I looked like when I was a child," he smiled, the light reflecting in his eyes, "even though I was quite ugly, but... I want you to get to know me better."

Gu Fanxing's heart skipped a beat. She watched him lift the quilt and try to sit up, and quickly reached out to help him. Her fingertips touched his warm back, and she suddenly felt that this "escape plan" might have been doomed from the beginning.

Far away in Europe, Kong Haoyu shook his head helplessly as he looked at the message from Pei Luonan on his phone: "If the merger and acquisition is delayed for another five days, you'll receive an extra quarterly bonus." His boss, desperate to keep his beloved, had actually used a multi-billion dollar merger and acquisition as a bargaining chip to delay the matter. He was truly reckless.

But he didn't know that what trapped Gu Fanxing was never the deliberate delay, but the reluctance that quietly grew in her heart. Like a vine wrapped around an old tree, unknowingly, they had already become inseparable.