Chapter 32 Collars for Puppies
For several days in a row, Shang Qiyue did not contact him.
Mu Yan knew that he had probably upset him.
He couldn't figure out what Shang Qiyue was thinking, so he could only tell himself to be more obedient and well-behaved, and that he definitely couldn't fall asleep while President Shang was driving next time.
He rested at home for a few days, during which time the young family doctor surnamed Cen came once and carefully examined his injuries.
After much deliberation, Mu Yan asked him if Shang Qiyue had sent him.
Dr. Cen smiled and said, "Of course, are you joking? Without President Shang's instructions, how could I possibly disturb you?"
"You've recovered very well. After all, you're still young and your body functions well in all aspects. However, if this happens again, please try to protect your head... Mr. Mu, although as a doctor I am very grateful to you on behalf of my colleagues, you should also take care of your health and not worry Mr. Shang."
"Thank you for making the trip. I won't do it again next time... I won't do it again next time."
The doctor patiently gave Mu Yan advice on avoiding spicy food and being careful about wound infection, and then left quickly without lingering.
Shang Qiyue sent him, so regardless of why Shang Qiyue was unhappy before, he is now... less angry, isn't he?
Mu Yan mustered up her courage and sent a message to Shang Qiyue, thanking him for arranging for a doctor to examine her, saying that she was feeling much better.
Less than half an hour later, Shang Qiyue called.
Mu Yan repeated his thanks again. He didn't pay attention to it himself, but to the other end, it sounded almost 80% similar to the content of the message. Shang Qiyue seemed to chuckle.
"It's a small matter. I've already taken care of that congressman's son; he's been locked up for twenty years. That idiot is going to suffer in jail. His father couldn't withstand the investigation either; he's already been sent there. Is your headache gone? Are you sure you've recovered?"
Shang Qiyue's voice was already very pleasant, but because of the distortion from the phone call, it sounded strangely hazy and ambiguous.
Mu Yan knew this wasn't his imagination; Shang Qiyue's memory wasn't so bad that he would need to ask him the same question three times.
"Yes, it's fully recovered. Would you like to come over tonight, sir?"
“Okay, I’ll come over,” Shang Qiyue agreed. “No need to go out to buy groceries, I’ll have someone deliver some. That’s all for now, I have to hang up, I have a meeting in a bit, see you tonight.”
The call ended with a "ding" sound.
Mu Yan opened the memo app, thought about how many dishes to cook for Shang Qiyue, and wrote down a few suitable ones.
He was very grateful to Shang Qiyue.
After signing that agreement, Shang Qiyue didn't actually do anything to him. On the contrary, he kept helping him, taking care of him in various ways, and even gave him an extra million beyond the agreement.
Even though she didn't know what she had done to upset him that day and make him give her the cold shoulder, he didn't get angry with her because of it. Instead, a few days later, he had a doctor come to check on her injuries.
He knew that fate didn't give gifts without a reason, but this deal was still too good to pass up, so good that he found it unbelievable.
Therefore, when the day finally arrived when Shang Qiyue needed him to pay the reward, he actually felt somewhat... relieved.
I'm glad I still have value to him.
He usually cooks two or three dishes for two people. But wouldn't Shang Qiyue think that's a bit meager? It seems like four dishes would be more appropriate.
The kitchen was fully stocked with oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, some of which were labeled in English. Mu Yan deciphered them and concluded they were probably olive oil and spices. An air fryer and oven were also readily available; Shang Qiyue sometimes had people come over to cook, so this was likely for that purpose.
When Mu Yan first graduated, his wish was to save money for a down payment on a small apartment in City A. No matter how remote or cramped it was, he would at least have a home of his own in City A.
When he has free time, he would secretly fantasize about his future house: a small apartment of 60 or 70 square meters, with warm-colored curtains, air conditioning in every room, and an oven no matter how small the kitchen is.
Pots and pans are necessities for making a living, but ovens are not. Ovens are used to bake egg tarts and cookies, and they are used to make people feel happy. When Mu Yan was a freshman in college, she worked part-time at a cake shop. The sweet aroma of freshly baked egg tarts could be smelled from afar, giving her a fleeting sense of happiness.
He glanced at the oven in the corner of the kitchen. Could he use it whenever he wanted? If so, he wanted to bake some egg tarts to bring to his mother and brother on the weekend.
When Shang Qiyue pushed open the door, the aroma of stewed beef with tomatoes filled the air. He had been in three meetings in a row, and his stomach seemed to suddenly become aware of him, clamoring for something to eat as soon as possible, preferably the stewed beef with tomatoes that was currently simmering in the pot.
He walked into the kitchen, and Mu Yan turned around and smiled at him: "It's almost ready, we just need to make a braised pork and bamboo shoot soup. Would you like some beef soup first?"
Shang Qiyue nodded, and Mu Yan brought him a small white porcelain bowl and served him a bowl of tomato beef soup.
The tomatoes were stewed until they were soft and mushy, and the soup was full of the sweet and sour aroma of tomatoes. When eaten together with the meaty aroma of beef, it was comforting and warming.
He then noticed that something seemed to be baking inside the oven, probably some dessert made by Mu Yan.
"Are you hungry? The food is ready, you can eat first." Mu Yan was standing with her back to him, but turned around to look at him as she spoke, her gaze gentle.
"Mu Yan."
Mu Yan turned around, somewhat bewildered, after hearing him call her name in such an ambiguous way.
"What's wrong, sir?"
"Isn't that braised pork and bamboo shoot soup just simmered? Come on, eat first. There's no reason for someone who cooks to eat leftovers here."
"Okay," Mu Yan replied softly, served the rice, and sat down next to him.
"It's delicious, especially the tomato stewed beef. Did you learn how to make it online?"
"My mother taught me."
"Auntie is amazing! The tomatoes are stewed just right, not too mushy and very flavorful. If you're this good, she must be even better. Is she a professional chef?"
Mu Yan felt a little embarrassed by the praise: "She worked at a restaurant and learned a bit, but she's quite smart and learns very quickly. She had saved up some money to open a restaurant..."
The time for the pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup was almost up, so Mu Yan got up, went over, and served the dish.
Thankfully, he didn't continue. He had rambled on about his own affairs without caring whether Mr. Shang wanted to listen or not.
"And then what happened?" Shang Qiyue asked.
Mu Yan was taken aback, unsure whether Shang Qiyue was being polite to avoid embarrassing him or was genuinely interested.
"Later... she got sick."
Actually, it was an expected answer. Judging from Mu Yan's tone, the restaurant probably didn't succeed in opening.
However, when Shang Qiyue saw Mu Yan's expression, he still felt as if a tiny needle had pricked his heart.
What would Mu Yan be like without these misfortunes?
A cheerful and generous mother who runs a restaurant, a gentle older brother, a well-behaved and handsome appearance that no one would dislike, and good education and abilities.
Then he probably wouldn't know Mu Yan the way he does now. If they still met, Mu Yan would probably be a staff member in the technical department of some partner company. He would probably still be able to smell the bread on Mu Yan, and then they would get to know each other in an ordinary way, pursue each other, and then he would give Mu Yan a generous breakup fee after finding a way to cure his pheromone disorder.
He reached out and patted Mu Yan's head. Mu Yan obediently let him touch her, neither dodging nor snuggling closer. To be honest, as a lover, he was too dull. If it were any of the kids that Meng Simiao and Ren Chengzhou had previously kept, they would have already snuggled into his arms and acted like spoiled children by now.
But Mu Yan stared blankly, cautiously glancing up at him with eyes like a little rabbit.
"It's alright, sweetie. Anything that can be solved with money is a small matter. Once your mother gets better, I'll help her open a restaurant. You can have whichever shop you want in the Huai'an Road area, okay?"
Mu Yan didn't know which of Shang Qiyue's words were just to coax him and which were serious. He just gave a soft "hmm." Shang Qiyue put some food in his bowl and urged him to eat quickly.
Mu Yan lowered his head to eat his rice. Shang Qiyue looked at him and suddenly said, "By the way, the hospital is taking your injury quite seriously. They might invite your family to dinner. I'll ask them to book a local restaurant; it shouldn't be too bad for your taste."
Mu Yan was stunned. The hospital wanted to invite him to dinner, so why was it through Shang Qiyue? Director Zhang had his number, and the office should have already entered the patient's family's contact information.
Shang Qiyue didn't look at him, but simply put a piece of pork rib into his bowl.
"Don't you want to see them? I'll come with you. If you don't like socializing, we can just have dinner. I'll handle it for you. There's no harm in having dinner with hospital leaders. Kidney failure isn't a terminal illness; it's just a matter of insufficient medical resources."
Mu Yan wasn't stupid. After a moment of confusion, he quickly realized that this was just an excuse to save face for him. Shang Qiyue wanted to help him provide better medical care for his mother, so he said it indirectly.
He didn't want to trouble Shang Qiyue any further, as Shang Qiyue had already helped him so much that he was unable to repay her.
But humans are inherently greedy. When the hospital was about to stop his mother's dialysis, Mu Yan thought he would do anything to raise the money for it. Now that Shang Qiyue told him that kidney failure could be cured, how could he... not be tempted?
“Sir…” Mu Yan looked at him, “How can I thank you?”
Seeing that he immediately understood his meaning, Shang Qiyue smiled gently: "Don't you already know? There's no need to do anything extra."
He always spoke in a flippant manner, and Mu Yan's ears turned red again. He didn't know how to respond, so he could only diligently put food on Shang Qiyue's plate until the rice in Shang Qiyue's bowl was empty.
When Shang Qiyue saw him reach out to add more rice to his bowl, he gently grasped his wrist and shook his head: "If I'm not full, I'll serve myself."
An alpha's body temperature is always a little higher than a beta's, and Mu Yan felt that the place where Shang Qiyue was holding her wrist was burning hot.
"Sir, I also baked some egg tarts. Would you like some now?"
Shang Qiyue was somewhat helpless. Mu Yan was treating him like a pig, feeding him four dishes, a soup, and dessert. Even pigs weren't fed like this. How could he possibly eat that?
But Mu Yan had already grilled it, and he didn't eat a single bite; that would be incredibly insensitive.
"Have one."
Seeing that he agreed, Mu Yan opened the oven, took out an egg tart for him, and took one for herself as well.
Mu Yan's egg tarts were slightly burnt, but the texture was still crispy and acceptable. After taking a bite, he looked up at Shang Qiyue and said, "Sir, they seem a little burnt. I didn't control the heat well. Perhaps you shouldn't..."
However, Shang Qiyue had already finished the egg tart in just a few bites.
He looked at Mu Yan's hesitant expression and said, "It's not bad, it's still quite tasty even when it's burnt. What's wrong? Is there anything else you want to ask me?"
"I'm glad you like it..." Mu Yan smiled. He knew Shang Qiyue wasn't a stingy person, but it seemed a bit impolite to use it without asking. "Sir, may I use the oven when you're not here? I'd like to... bake some egg tarts for my mother."
Shang Qiyue glanced at him and gently pinched the back of his fair neck.
"Only puppies need their owner's permission to do anything."
“If you like reporting everything to me so much, then,” Shang Qiyue’s hand almost completely enveloped Mu Yan’s neck, “I’ll put a collar on you, the kind that only puppies wear.”
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