Ning Xiao didn"t return after he left. Qi Le felt very much at ease and stayed at home alone until evening. He thought for a while and felt that he should feed the cat. He dug out a bag and stuffed a paintbrush inside. In fact, he didn’t have to steal the painting, he just had to change the date. When he felt that he was ready, he called Gu Bai, “Where are you now?"
The corners of Gu Bai’s lips curved upwards, “My car is still parked at the bar. I’m going to pick it up. Why?"
“Just asking. I want to feed the cat."
“Mmm, come over then. You have the key anyway."
“Mmm, bye bye.”Qi Le hung up the call and rushed out at once. He had to change the date while Gu Bai was still out so that he could rest easy. He took a taxi out of the neighborhood, fled to their place, and froze as soon as he opened the door, “Are you just leaving…. or did you come back already?"
“I"m just preparing to leave,” Gu Bai looked at him. “You came so quickly."
“Mmm, I miss the cat,” Qi Le smiled and looked around. “Where is it?” His son should"ve come out to greet him long ago.
“I was just holding it,” Gu Bai said, walking towards his bedroom. “I closed the door behind me when I came out. It may have been locked inside."
Qi Le followed him in and subconsciously looked at the painting. Then, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, “Where"s the painting?"
“You really do care about the painting huh.” Gu Bai stared at him. “Xiao Le gave that to me. When I saw how much you liked it, I was afraid you might break it by accident, so I put it away."
f.u.c.k! That painting is drawn by Laozi, even if Laozi broke it, I could just paint you another one ah! Qi Le had a deadpan expression on his face but was cursing madly inside.
Gu Bai looked at him and said with a smile, “I just took it down."
Qi Le paused, suddenly seeing a glimmer of hope, eyes shining brightly. What he meant was that the painting was still here. He grinned cheerfully, “Since that"s the case, it"s better to put it away if you"re worried about that…"
Gu Bai nodded and as he walked off. “I’m leaving, you feed the cat."
Qi Le responded with an "Mmm" and happily held his son in his arms as he sent Gu Bai out. He stood still by the window, looking anxiously until the man had disappeared completely from his sight. He poured out some cat food, “Xiao Quan, be a good kitty and eat on your own. Daddy has something to do."
He ran to a certain someone’s bedroom, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, trying to search for the painting. Then. he carefully put everything back in place. During this whole time, he was worried that Gu Bai would come back. He ran to the window several times to look out but he still didn"t see that person"s car. He continued to look up and down. He was very patient and didn"t even miss out on searching the bathroom. The whole search required a lot of effort, so it was already late at night when he had finally finished searching the entire apartment and he finally resigned.
f.u.c.k! It was so frustrating! He stood in certain someone’s bedroom, staring at the locked drawer in the wardrobe amidst the mess.
Thee Scottish fold cat quietly stared at him the entire time, then walked up and rubbed against his leg. “Meow~”
Qi Le picked it up and snuggled up with his cat. “d.a.m.n it, he actually locked it up. The key is definitely on him. Laozi can’t break it or else he"ll find out…"
The Scottish fold cat rubbed against him, “Meow~”
Qi Le continued to stare at the drawer and began to think about whether he could pry it open or not. However, at this moment, he heard some noise coming from the door. He was shocked at once. He quickly closed the door, carried his son, walked out and saw a certain someone. “You"re back… What’s wrong with you?”
Gu Bai remained speechless, leaning against the wall with his eyes lowered slightly so Qi Le couldn"t see the slightest emotion.
Qi Le put the cat down to help him and immediately frowned. “f.u.c.k, why do you smell so strongly of alcohol?!"
Gu Bai didn’t answer, letting Qi Le hold him as his entire body rested on the latter. He thought to himself, I"ve poured two bottles of alcohol on me. How can I not smell of it?
Qi Le helped him back to his bedroom and got him to lie down on the bed. “Why did you drink again…” He suddenly stopped speaking then called out tentatively, “Gu Bai? Gu Bai? Erquan?"
Gu Bai heard that familiar form of address and his heart started pounding wildly but his eyes remained tightly shut, his brow furrowed deeply as he continued to ignore Qi Le.
This is an opportunity! Qi Le clenched his fist, tears filling up his eyes. He leaned over carefully and began to search Gu Bai"s pockets for the key. However, when he finally hooked the key chain with his finger, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist, almost scaring him enough to scream out.
Gu Bai opened his eyes and asked faintly, “…What are you doing?"
Qi Le laughed dryly. “I’m taking off your… your clothes. You can sleep after you"ve changed out of them."
Gu Bai grunted in agreement, took out all his keys and his cellphone, and put them beside his pillow in a confused state. Then, he smiled solemnly, “Take it off…”
Qi Le, “……”