It’s Not Easy To Be A Stand-In

The distance of a perfect stand-in is the distance of a secretary.

Secretary vs. stand-in (if there’s something, the secretary will do it, if there’s nothing, do the secretary……cough,...

Chapter 5

Quan Quan thought he would see a look of surprise on Qiao Guangyu's face, but he didn't expect that when Qiao Guangyu came to his senses, he said, "Is the boss stupid?"

Quan Quan: “…”

Suddenly I felt a little sympathy for Huo Zhou.

Quan Quan had said this to this point, and Qiao Guangyu couldn't be so stupid as to not guess the reason why Huo Zhou turned down his work and went back to his hometown with him - Huo Zhou wanted to accompany him back to visit the graves.

So he couldn't help but become nervous and uneasy: "Brother Quan, do you think he, he, he, he really likes me?"

Although feelings will always arise when people spend time together day and night, Qiao Guangyu was also attracted to Huo Zhou in the beginning, but he later cut off the inappropriate thoughts and has been increasingly able to distinguish between "work" and life in recent years. In addition, Quan Quan also reminded him of many things to pay attention to. Nothing that Qiao Guangyu showed was better than Wu Yu, which perfectly explained what "copycat" meant. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Wu Yu was a hundred times better than him. Huo Zhou must be blind to choose him over Wu Yu.

Quan Quan was quite calm: "Don't make things worse at this time, and everything will be fine."

Qiao Guangyu wanted to ask what would be considered as a complete failure, but he had spent too much time in the kitchen and was afraid of arousing Huo Zhou's suspicion, so he had to put aside his questions and go pack his suitcase first.

He didn't go on business trips with Huo Zhou often, and a layer of dust had accumulated on the outer cover of the suitcase. When he opened the cover, the dust got all over his head and face. Qiao Guangyu said "Pooh" several times, and went to the bathroom to wipe his head and face with a towel before coming back to pack his clothes.

As soon as he came back, Qiao Guangyu saw Huo Zhou, who was supposed to be sitting on the sofa watching TV, standing in front of his closet, taking out a few sets of clothes and throwing them on the bed. He put the ones he was satisfied with on the left hand side, and the ones he was dissatisfied with on the right hand side. Huo Zhou also opened the bottom drawer, intending to take out his underwear as well.

"I...I...I can do it." The clothes are okay, but the underwear is really...unacceptable! Qiao Guangyu quickly squeezed to the wardrobe and grabbed a few pairs of underwear and stuffed them into the suitcase, for fear that they would pass through Huo Zhou's hands.

Huo Zhou did not compete with him, but just looked at him quietly. It seemed that he rarely saw Qiao Guangyu in such an embarrassing state.

Then, Huo Zhou hugged him from behind: "Quan Quan told you, I will accompany you on the weekend to visit your mother's grave."

Qiao Guangyu's whole body froze and his hands almost couldn't hold his clothes: "Well... I didn't expect that Mr. Huo still remembered it. It's really rare." He deliberately used a teasing tone.

Huo Zhou buried his head in his neck and took a deep breath: "There are some things... I need to think about them carefully. It's a good opportunity for me to go out with you so that I can relax. It also allows my aunt to see that I take good care of you, so that she can rest assured in heaven and don't have to worry about you."

"..."Qiao Guangyu really wanted to say, if my mother knew that I had been a stand-in for someone else in the past few years, she would break my legs.

Qiao's mother hates third parties who interfere in other people's relationships. Since Qiao Guangyu was very young, she liked to hold him in her arms while watching TV and complaining about the white lotus mistresses in romantic dramas. She also doesn't like men who make excuses for cheating. She once said, "If he dares to do it and take responsibility, I respect him as a man. Men who secretly keep mistresses not only make the family restless, but also delay the good girl. Such men are even worse!"

Qiao Guangyu quite agreed with what his mother said, so even if he was Wu Yu's substitute, he had the mentality of "rather destroy ten temples than ruin a marriage". He sincerely hoped that Huo Zhou could reconcile with Wu Yu, otherwise he would never agree to do such a thing.

But now...something seems to be wrong.

Qiao Guangyu patted the arm that was around his waist and tried to speak in a normal tone: "Boss Huo, how can I pack my luggage if you are like this?"

Huo Zhou kissed his cheek: "Then I'll wait for you outside."

"Just give me ten minutes." Qiao Guangyu smiled at him gently.

It was not until Huo Zhou's figure disappeared from the room that he rubbed his stiff smile and buried his head in cleaning up.

Qiao Guangyu’s hometown is not far away, at the border between his province and the neighboring province. In fact, it can't be considered his hometown. It's just that his mother settled there when she was pregnant and later lived there for a long time. Qiao Guangyu was born there and his household registration was also in that city.

Later, Mother Qiao's health gradually deteriorated, and she passed away before she could survive the first round of treatment. Quan Quan arranged all her funeral affairs. Before Qiao Guangyu came out of his confusion, she moved into a cemetery that was said to have good feng shui. The words on the tombstone were written by Quan Quan, who took a piece of paper written by Qiao Guangyu and asked a craftsman to carve it according to Qiao Guangyu's handwriting.

There are many people traveling on weekends, and a small town that used to take three or four hours to reach now takes a full seven hours to drive to.

When we arrived at the small city, it was already dark, so we could only visit the grave the next day.

Quan Quan is always very thorough in his work. He booked a hotel room early in the morning. The three of them first found a place to eat and then went to the hotel.

In the past, when Qiao Guangyu went out with Huo Zhou, he usually stayed in the same room with Huo Zhou, but there were two beds in the room, and he and Huo Zhou slept separately. But this time, after he got the key and opened the door, Qiao Guangyu saw a large double bed.

Qiao Guangyu: “…”

The “double room” he wanted was not this kind of “double room”!

Qiao Guangyu subconsciously looked at Quan Quan, but before the latter could respond, Huo Zhou spoke first: "I asked him to change into this. You haven't been in a good mood recently, and I want to hold you while sleeping. It will make you feel more comforted, and it won't be cold if we sleep together at night."

...I'm not in a bad mood, really! I swear to God!

Qiao Guangyu almost wanted to cry, but he said with embarrassment, "Is it true that I just hold you while sleeping? I can't do anything else?"

"Don't you believe me?" Huo Zhou asked softly.

"...How could that be." Qiao Guangyu smiled and shook his head, looking at him tenderly and lovingly, like a clean little snack.

Huo Zhou suddenly felt a fire rising from the soles of his feet and burning all the way to his heart.

"Ahem." Quan Quan cleared his throat at an inopportune moment. "Mr. Qiao, don't worry about catching a cold. I asked the waiter to bring an extra set of blankets."

He was reminding Qiao Guangyu.

Having one more set of quilts means having two beds, which is not the worst situation yet.

Qiao Guangyu felt relieved for the time being, but as soon as he relaxed, he couldn't help but yawn.

"Sorry..." Qiao Guangyu felt a little embarrassed when he found that the other two men were looking at him. "I'm a little tired. I'll... go take a shower first..."

"Then I won't bother you anymore. Good night, both of you." Quan Quan pulled his own suitcase to the next room.

Qiao Guangyu took out his pajamas and underwear, quickly went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He didn't even dry his hair before crawling into the quilt, as if he was really tired after sitting in the car for several hours. He also deliberately made the quilt for the other half of the bed, wrapped his own quilt into the shape of a cicada pupa, then closed his eyes tightly and pretended to be asleep.

When Huo Zhou came out of the bathroom, he saw a large cicada pupa curled up on the inside of the bed, with only a small piece of black hair sticking out. He couldn't help but find it a little funny.

He stepped forward and pulled back the quilt a little: "Guangyu, blow dry your hair before going to bed, otherwise you will have a headache."

Qiao Guangyu wanted to pretend that he couldn't hear anything, but Huo Zhou still didn't give up and called him twice, so he had to sit up reluctantly and try to get out of bed to find the hair dryer.

Huo Zhou held him down and said, "Let me help you blow your hair."

He took the hair dryer from the bathroom, connected it to the socket, and sat beside the bed to blow Qiao Guangyu's hair. Huo Zhou's movements were a little unfamiliar. He was afraid that he couldn't control the wind speed and temperature well, so he would ask him from time to time "Is it hot?" or "Does it hurt?" Qiao Guangyu could only shake his head, and the sleepiness he had cultivated with great difficulty was blown away.

After finally drying his hair, Qiao Guangyu was about to get back into his bed, but Huo Zhou followed him in and draped another quilt over the one they were covering themselves with.

After doing all this, Huo Zhou hugged Qiao Guangyu into his arms and whispered, "Go to sleep."

Qiao Guangyu: “…” This is different from what we agreed!

Qiao Guangyu was extremely embarrassed. Huo Zhou smelled fresh after a bath, and also had a bit of masculine scent. His face was right next to Huo Zhou's well-developed pectoral muscles, and if he tilted his head he could even bite that spot on the man's chest. The two of them were too close to each other, and if they moved even a little they would touch places that they shouldn't touch.

Moreover, he heard that Huo Zhou's breathing above his head became heavy.

...This is not a good sign.

Qiao Guangyu really wanted to force himself not to think about anything and fall asleep quickly. As long as he fell asleep, Huo Zhou would not force him to do anything.

However, as soon as he closed his eyes, Huo Zhou's lips pressed down, and his hot and muscular body pressed against Qiao Guangyu's, leaving no gap. This time, Qiao Guangyu could clearly feel that thing poking his thigh.

"Hmm..." Qiao Guangyu pushed Huo Zhou away without thinking, and jumped out of bed like a rabbit with its fur burnt by fire. He even forgot to put on his shoes, and ran out of the room in a panic, knocking on the door next to him.

"Open the door! Open the door!"

The moment Quanquan opened the door, Qiao Guangyu almost rushed in.