He Qingye’s eyes immediately lit up. His listless mood vanished, and Pei Yumian could practically see an imaginary dog tail wagging frantically behind him.
He Qingye looked at Pei Yumian with anticipation.
“Then after your heat is over, I want you to feed me.”
Pei Yumian stared at him in disbelief.
“What did you just say?”
He Qingye’s expression had already turned resolute.
“I said I want you to feed me.”
The corner of Pei Yumian’s mouth twitched twice. He could not understand how that counted as a reward. As expected, the amnesiac He Qingye’s thought process was impossible for a normal person to understand.
Still, it was only feeding him. Pei Yumian had fed Xiaopang countless times. He Qingye was already an adult, so it should not be a problem at all.
Thinking that, Pei Yumian nodded.
“You chose it yourself.”
The smile on He Qingye’s face lasted while he cleaned up the dishes and did not disappear even when he left Pei Yumian’s room.
Over the next two days, Pei Yumian could clearly sense an additional trace of impatience in He Qingye.
Especially every time He Qingye came to deliver food, the longing in his eyes practically overflowed.
Pei Yumian still could not understand it. It was only being fed. The food would be the same. Was it really worth He Qingye wanting it this badly?
Finally, on the morning of the third day, the readings on Pei Yumian’s monitoring bracelet returned to normal. His heat was over.
Pei Yumian felt light all over. After taking a proper shower, he stood before the mirror and reapplied a strong pheromone-blocking patch, then walked out of the bedroom.
After spending four full days inside, Pei Yumian actually felt as though he had emerged into another lifetime.
His previous heats had passed the same way. Nothing had really been different.
That was strange, but Pei Yumian could not understand what the difference was, so he simply threw all those chaotic thoughts aside.
On the way downstairs to the dining room, Pei Yumian paused at the kitchen doorway and saw He Qingye’s back as he cooked.
The pale gray cotton house clothes did not fully show He Qingye’s figure. They only made it obvious that he was an unusually tall alpha.
But He Qingye happened to be wearing a pullover apron that cinched neatly around his narrow waist, making his excellent proportions especially obvious.
Pei Yumian had never observed He Qingye from this angle before. Before the accident, he had barely had any opportunities to see him. After the accident, all Pei Yumian ever saw was the long shape of an alpha lying in a hospital bed.
Perhaps Pei Yumian stared too long, because He Qingye turned around.
His face had been stern when he looked back, but the instant he saw Pei Yumian, his eyes curved into a smile.
“Wife, is your heat over? You can come downstairs now?”
Still very much like an obedient big dog, Pei Yumian thought as he nodded.
He Qingye laughed softly and waved the spoon in his hand.
“Give me a few more minutes. The preserved-egg and lean-pork congee will be ready soon. Go sit at the table and wait for me.”
Pei Yumian obediently sat at the dining table. Only a few minutes later, He Qingye came over carrying breakfast.
Breakfast was steamed soup dumplings and preserved-egg and lean-pork congee. He Qingye attentively placed a dish of dumplings and a bowl of congee in front of Pei Yumian.
Halfway through breakfast, Pei Yumian noticed He Qingye was only watching him eat instead of eating himself.
Pei Yumian swallowed the congee in his mouth and looked at him in confusion.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
He Qingye propped his cheeks in both hands on the table and stared intently at Pei Yumian.
“Wife, did you forget? You promised to feed me. I can’t make you feed me on an empty stomach.”
Pei Yumian really had forgotten. His entire attention that morning had been on his heat finally ending.
But Pei Yumian was not going to tell He Qingye the truth. He said with deliberate calm:
“Of course I didn’t forget. I’ll feed you in a moment.”
Under He Qingye’s gaze, Pei Yumian slowly finished breakfast and wiped his mouth clean.
Then Pei Yumian walked over to He Qingye, picked up the bowl of congee in front of him, now already slightly cool, and asked:
“Are you sure you want me to feed you?”
He Qingye quickly nodded. By now, he could no longer hear the threat in Pei Yumian’s tone. His mind contained nothing but: “My wife is going to feed me~”
After getting He Qingye’s agreement, Pei Yumian began feeding him spoonful after spoonful.
When Xiaopang had been very small, he had never behaved while eating. Xiaopang also loved bullying anyone softhearted. If a nanny fed him, he made trouble. Only Pei Yumian refused to indulge him and countered every trick, which had trained him into a true “expert” at feeding children.
Pei Yumian’s movements were efficient, timed just right so He Qingye could chew and swallow fully. In no time, the congee bowl was empty, and He Qingye had eaten every last small steamed bun in the bamboo basket one bite at a time.
As for He Qingye repeatedly opening his mouth as if he wanted to speak, Pei Yumian simply treated it as cooperation with the feeding process.
Once he finished, Pei Yumian put down the bowl, casually pulled over a tissue, and wiped He Qingye’s mouth.
“All right. Go play now.”
The words came out from pure habit. Pei Yumian immediately realized it and corrected himself.
“Go do your work.”
He Qingye looked at Pei Yumian resentfully until Pei Yumian felt goosebumps rise, then slowly collected the dishes and left.
Watching his back, Pei Yumian wanted to laugh but did not dare.
Of course he knew what kind of feeding He Qingye had wanted: one bite for you, one bite for me, with pauses to wipe mouths and hold hands in between.
But that sort of scene did not suit the two of them. One day He Qingye would regain his memories, and Pei Yumian needed to preserve at least a little of his own dignity and principles.
Otherwise, if future He Qingye pointed at him and accused him of being frivolous and shameless, how would Pei Yumian ever face himself?
Pei Yumian did not wait for He Qingye and went directly to his small study.
There was still half a month before the semester began, and Pei Yumian had not actually finished the final portion of his internship report.
For once, Pei Yumian sat properly at the desk. He solemnly put on a pair of nonprescription glasses and tapped at the keyboard now and then.
The internship report was really only something to satisfy the university, but even so, the instructor had strict requirements regarding the percentage detected as AI-generated.
That was why Pei Yumian had dragged it out until now. The report only needed two thousand characters, but over the past month he had written only five hundred.
As for what he had been doing while hiding in here all this time, the daily rise in his Happy Bean balance represented the fruits of his labor.
“Knock, knock~”
“Wife~ Can I come in?”
He Qingye sounded as though he were politely asking, but the doorknob was already turning.
He Qingye poked his head through the doorway and looked at Pei Yumian with anticipation.
Pei Yumian adjusted his glasses. Knowing there was no way to drive He Qingye away, he could only look at him expressionlessly and say:
“Come in. But I still have something to finish, so I can’t keep you company.”
The instant He Qingye heard he could enter, he rushed inside with excitement, bent over beside Pei Yumian, and looked at him with open infatuation.
“Wife, you look so beautiful like this.”
Pei Yumian was already irritated and did not want to entertain He Qingye’s nonsense. He spread his fingers and pushed He Qingye farther away.
“I’m busy. Stop bothering me.”
He Qingye had finally found a chance to get close to Pei Yumian. How could he possibly let himself be chased away so easily?
He followed the movement, laced their fingers together, then pretended to glance casually at the computer screen.
“Internship report…”
The assignment Pei Yumian had failed to finish after more than a month was read aloud, making him feel rather embarrassed. Fortunately, He Qingye had amnesia. Otherwise, he would surely mock him.
Yet the amnesiac He Qingye not only did not mock him, he even offered to help.
“Wife, if I help you finish it, can I have another reward?”
Pei Yumian stopped struggling and looked at He Qingye through his lenses.
He Qingye’s eyes were so clear that they reflected only Pei Yumian.
The moment Pei Yumian realized that, he abruptly turned his head toward the computer and used his breathing to hide the sudden pounding of his heart.
Of course it would be good to have someone help him write it. Shamefully, Pei Yumian was tempted.
“Of course. The report only needs to be two thousand characters. But your reward can’t be excessive.”
He Qingye cheered. He released Pei Yumian’s hand, bent down, and hugged him once.
Before Pei Yumian could react, He Qingye simply carried away the laptop, sat on the sofa, and started typing.
With He Qingye helping him with his assignment, Pei Yumian felt awkward sitting at the desk. He got up and walked behind He Qingye to watch him type.
He Qingye had only read the first few hundred characters, yet he continued the report with almost no difficulty at all.
Pei Yumian had always found essay-like assignments painful. It was not that he could not write them; he simply needed a long time to persuade himself to finish.
He Qingye was clearly not that sort of person. In just over ten minutes, the word count had already climbed into four digits. As for the content, Pei Yumian glanced at it and decided it was at least much smoother than what he had written himself.
Half an hour later, He Qingye checked the entire document, saved it to the desktop, then turned to look at Pei Yumian, who was playing Fight the Landlord beside him.
“Wife, I’m finished. When do I get my reward?”
Pei Yumian was at the most intense point of the game and could not spare any attention. Hearing He Qingye’s question, he nodded carelessly.
“Right away, right away.”
A warm embrace surrounded Pei Yumian. He did not notice anything wrong and instead shifted into a comfortable position in He Qingye’s arms while continuing to play.
Only after he played his final card and the screen filled with victory symbols did Pei Yumian realize that his entire body was curled up in He Qingye’s embrace.
They were too close. Pei Yumian instinctively tried to stand and leave.
“Don’t do this. Let go…”
But He Qingye had finally found a chance to hold his wife. Naturally he refused.
“Wife, let me hold you a little longer. I really like you.”
Strong arms wrapped across Pei Yumian’s abdomen and trapped his entire body.
Warm breath brushed ambiguously beside his ear. Pei Yumian clenched his fists and struggled to steady his breathing and heartbeat.
Too intimate. They should not have contact like this.
Pei Yumian tried to keep his voice level as he explained:
“He Qingye, didn’t the doctor say you still can’t come into contact with too many pheromones? Do you want all your recovery so far to go to waste?”
The moment he said that, Pei Yumian felt He Qingye’s arms tighten. Except for the layers of clothing, their bodies were now pressed firmly together.
Pei Yumian could no longer ignore the sensation coming from behind him, especially when He Qingye was already clearly aroused.
Pei Yumian finally lost his temper and snapped, “He Qingye, let me go!”
This time, He Qingye released him.
Pei Yumian rushed out of the study and ran all the way back to his bedroom, locking the door behind him.
Only after regaining that sense of safety did Pei Yumian collapse to the floor. His thin house clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
Pei Yumian knew he should not react this way. They had legally married and even had a child. When a husband reacted like that, he ought to serve him wholeheartedly, just as the Pei family had taught him.
But Pei Yumian truly could not control himself. The moment he thought about what that reaction represented, his whole body began to tremble.
He buried his face against his knees and comforted himself again and again, trying to erase the scene from his mind.
Yet at that exact moment, He Qingye’s muffled voice came through the door.
“Wife, I’m sorry. My body still hasn’t fully recovered. It doesn’t listen to me very well.”
“If it misbehaves again next time, will you punish me yourself?
