Luckily, Cheng Huanzhen was a man skilled at endurance and at resolving his own doubts. Otherwise, if he’d had to carry that question in his mind all night, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all.

However, the next day, just as dawn was breaking, Cheng Huanzhen was slowly regaining consciousness, following his internal clock. Before he was fully awake, a series of crisp knocks suddenly sounded at his door.

…Such a familiar knock.

Cheng Huanzhen thought, his mind still fuzzy.

It sounded ominous.

Sure enough, the next moment, the morning lark began to sing cheerfully outside his door: “Big Nephew, it’s six o’clock! I know you’re already awake, hurry and get up. Shall we go tour the capital together today?”

The young uncle’s voice was far too energetic.

If humans had energy bars displayed above their heads, Little Uncle’s would surely be overflowing and exploding at all times.

Cheng Huanzhen lay in bed as his Little Uncle’s voice, like a series of hammer blows, knocked him out of his slumber. His brain was quickly forced into wakefulness.

He instantly recalled the frustration and annoyance of the previous night.

Emotions left overnight tend to spoil. Now, being so forcefully dragged from his sleep, Cheng Huanzhen’s mood soured even further.

His plans in the car were disrupted.

His evening plans were disrupted.

And now his sleep schedule was being broken too?

Was Little Uncle some kind of rhythm-disrupting machine?

Little Uncle’s voice continued, needing no response from him, creating a lively scene all by himself outside the door.

“Just now I heard from Brother Yang that you like to eat quinoa salad for breakfast? That’s way too healthy. Today I had the kitchen make some truffle scrambled eggs and avocado toast. Do you want some?”

“He also said you wake up at six every morning on the dot, so you must be awake by now, why are you still lazing in bed? Before we tour the capital, I’ll take you for a drive first. I heard there’s a road near the house…”

Cheng Huanzhen lay wearily under the covers.

He still remembered the resolution he had made last night.

If Little Uncle disturbed him just one more time, he would fight back fiercely, protest, and make his dissatisfaction clear.

He would even complain to his grandfather and have his grandfather take Little Uncle back to the old residence!

The knocking grew louder and louder.

Cheng Huanzhen finally took a deep breath, got out of bed, and opened the door.

Little Uncle had probably just woken up.

He was still in his pajamas, a red sleep cap sitting crookedly on his head. If you just sewed a white pom-pom on the tip, he’d look exactly like Santa Claus.

His eyes were bright and brilliant.

The moment the door opened, the early morning light, tinted by his Little Uncle’s eyes, dispelled the lingering sleepiness in the bedroom.

Seeing his Little Uncle, Cheng Huanzhen suddenly remembered that his uncle was two years younger than him and probably hadn’t even started university.

His anger subsided a little.

…Little Uncle is still young.

It wouldn’t be right to complain.

Cheng Huanzhen painstakingly convinced himself and pushed his emotions back down.

He greeted Cheng Yiming, “Good morning, Little Uncle. I have seventeen scheduled tasks today, estimated to keep me busy until seven in the evening. After seven, I can accompany you on a tour of the capital.”

But upon hearing this, Cheng Yiming’s eyes widened in shock. “Seven in the evening? Even an eight-hour workday doesn’t go that late. Who arranged this work for you? This is winter break, for crying out loud!”

“Was it my dad? Did he give you this work? How about I go talk to him for you? Delegate what can be delegated to others. How can he exploit you like this? …You’re still in school.”

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t see any issue with it.

He had long been accustomed to this kind of life. A sudden change of pace would be difficult for him to accept.

So he said, “Thank you, Little Uncle, but there’s no need. I can complete this work.”

But Cheng Yiming was not pleased.

He rolled up his sleeves and slipped through the gap beside Cheng Huanzhen in one large stride.

Cheng Yiming: “What do you have to do today? Where’s your to-do list? Let me see. It’s on the tablet, right? Unlock it for me.”

Cheng Huanzhen knew that if he didn’t unlock it now, his Little Uncle would probably pester him in his room for who knows how long.

So he unlocked the tablet for Cheng Yiming and opened the to-do list.

He pointed to the packed schedule to prove he wasn’t lying. “You see, Little Uncle, today I…”

Before he could finish, his Little Uncle’s red, pom-pom-less Santa hat inserted itself horizontally in front of his eyes.

His shoulder-length hair completely blocked his vision. Cheng Huanzhen could only see his Little Uncle’s finger swiping across the tablet. “Let me see… Hmm, it looks like you don’t need to do these tasks personally at all. Look, this one, and this one, should be given to a secretary. This one, this one, and this one, can’t they be directly handled by the responsible subordinates? And…”

Little Uncle spoke very quickly.

As he talked, his hand kept swiping through the to-do list.

In no time at all, before Cheng Huanzhen could even react, every single item on the day’s to-do list had been cleared by his Little Uncle!

Cheng Huanzhen: …?

Cheng Huanzhen: ??!

Wait.

This… this was his schedule, the road map for his entire day.

How could Little Uncle… how could he change it without asking?!

Cheng Huanzhen’s eyes widened. He felt as if his entire schedule had been shattered and scrambled by a club that had fallen from the sky.

The club was wild and sudden, giving him no mental preparation whatsoever!

But Little Uncle didn’t notice his emotional state at all.

He looked at the tablet with great satisfaction, looking extremely proud. He even lifted his head and gave him a wink, as if asking for credit. “See, Big Nephew? Now there’s only this one thing left for today, right? Ten minutes to solve, easy peasy. We can go out and play for the rest of the day.”

Little Uncle patted his shoulder with a grin and turned to leave with light steps. “Ten minutes, okay! Hurry up and finish, then go eat. We’ll leave right after. I’ll wait for you in the dining room.”

Cheng Huanzhen’s head was still buzzing.

His entire day had collapsed, the roof tiles crashing down and making his brain roar.

He watched blankly as his Little Uncle trotted out of the room. A ball of fire in his chest grew more intense, stuck in his airway, unable to go up or down or dissipate, making him extremely uncomfortable.

A strange and intense emotion exploded in his chest, expanding and rising at an extremely fast rate, then igniting into a raging fire that scorched his entire heart with a burning intensity he had never experienced before.

He seemed to be a little angry.

He was sure he was angry.

He was very angry!

He was going to make Little Uncle go back, back to the old residence, and not allow him to keep destroying his life!

Little Uncle had already left the room.

His energetic voice chattered away with the butler downstairs, discussing rescheduling the appointments with the fashion brand consulting teams to tomorrow or the day after.

Cheng Huanzhen took a deep breath, trying to think calmly amidst his anger.

Now. Immediately. At once.

He had to go downstairs and tell his Little Uncle that he was unhappy.

Then he would call his grandfather and have him find a new place for his Little Uncle to live.

Absolutely, he must not give his Little Uncle any more opportunities to disrupt his work and life!

With this thought, Cheng Huanzhen went downstairs.

But whether it was because his own actions were too slow, or his Little Uncle’s were too fast, by the time he had thought, hesitated, decided, and left his room, his Little Uncle had already finished his conversation with the butler, returned to his room, changed into an outfit for going out, and even put on perfume. It seemed that as soon as breakfast was over, he could slip on a jacket and leave.

Little Uncle was wearing red again today.

Unlike yesterday’s red trench coat, today he wore a thin, red knit sweater.

They were indoors with the heating on, but Little Uncle seemed impervious to the heat, having already changed into the sweater.

Cheng Yiming was very surprised by his appearance. “You’re done already?”

Cheng Yiming broke into a smile, grabbed his wrist, pulled him to the dining table, and pressed him into the seat next to him.

Cheng Yiming pushed a plate of avocado toast in front of Cheng Huanzhen.

He proactively and enthusiastically picked up a knife and fork, cut a small piece, and held it up to his mouth with a grin. “This is my favorite avocado toast. Want to try?”

Little Uncle had changed his perfume today.

As he got closer, the spicy sweetness of saffron faintly wafted to his nose. Upon closer inspection, one could also distinguish the fresh, deep notes of ambergris and cedarwood.

Little Uncle chattered on, “See, you can save a lot of time by delegating things, right? You can’t wear one of those suits from your wardrobe when we go out later. Do you have any other casual clothes? If not, you can borrow mine, or we can find a brand you like now and have them deliver some finished clothes. How about it?”

Words of protest were on the tip of Cheng Huanzhen’s tongue several times.

Cheng Huanzhen: “Little Uncle, I didn’t come down to…”

Cheng Huanzhen: “I wanted to say…”

Cheng Huanzhen: “Little Uncle, you…”

However, each time, he was cut off by Cheng Yiming’s incessant chatter.

No.

This wouldn’t do.

He needed to be firm, loud, and interrupt his Little Uncle without hesitation, and then unleash his anger.

Just like how he treated subordinates who had made foolish, monumental mistakes!

Cheng Huanzhen made up his mind angrily, finally raising his voice and loudly interrupting Cheng Yiming, “Little… Uncle!”

Cheng Yiming stopped talking.

He turned halfway, his bright eyes filled with overflowing friendliness and affection, and looked seriously into his eyes.

Cheng Yiming waited for his words with confusion. “What is it, Big Nephew?”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…”

Cheng Huanzhen’s direct and angry words were once again stuck in his throat.

…If he bluntly told his Little Uncle that he was noisy and that he didn’t like it, would his Little Uncle be very sad?

If he really complained to his grandfather, could his Little Uncle withstand their grandfather’s scolding back at the old residence?

However, his sudden silence prompted his Little Uncle to get even more proactive and closer.

Little Uncle smiled, his eyes crinkling, and guessed what he wanted to say on his own (though he was completely wrong!), constantly piling breakfast onto his plate, “forcing” him to finish it quickly. After dragging him to change his clothes (Little Uncle even wanted him to wear his clothes? Those red, yellow, and green outfits?!), he pushed him into the passenger seat of the red Latimasha.

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t even know how any of this had happened.

He had only hesitated with a soft heart for half a minute. How did he end up being pushed into the car by his Little Uncle?

…Did he agree to go out?

This was not in his schedule at all!

Cheng Yiming got into the driver’s seat, fastened his seatbelt, and said, “Back when I was abroad, I mostly drove a Slaus-Lais, but I don’t really like its interior as much as the Latimasha’s… Ugh, it’s still a bit strange having the driver’s seat on the left…”

Cheng Yiming muttered to himself in a low voice, “Huh? Wait, don’t you have to retake the driver’s test when you return to the country? Did I take it? I don’t think I’ve taken it…”

Cheng Huanzhen finally came to his senses.

He hadn’t even figured out how to politely refuse and send his Little Uncle away, and his Little Uncle had just handed him an excuse.

He immediately went along with it. “Then let’s forget about it today. It just so happens that I need to handle some work. It won’t be too late for us to go out whenever you get your license, Little Uncle.”

His Little Uncle said in surprise, “How can we do that?”

He slapped his forehead and immediately got out of the car.

Before Cheng Huanzhen could process what was happening, he saw his Little Uncle pull him out of the passenger seat and stuff him into the driver’s seat.

Little Uncle got into the passenger seat himself, patted his shoulder lightly and cheerfully, and said with a grin, “It’s just that I don’t have a license, what’s the big deal? You must have one, right? Let’s go, Big Nephew, take me for a drive and a tour of the capital!”