Little Uncle’s eyes were bright and full of spirit.

Little Uncle’s words were full of vitality and energy.

Little Uncle was just like the fiery red potted plant he held in his hands, full of fiery passion and life force.

Cheng Huanzhen’s tense and somewhat annoyed mood faltered slightly upon seeing Little Uncle and hearing his voice.

A single “You’ve worked hard” made him swallow back all the displeasure he had been about to voice.

“…Thank you, Little Uncle, but I don’t have a habit of keeping potted plants,” he said with a blank expression.

Nor do I have a habit of having my meetings almost interrupted.

Of course, he couldn’t blame Little Uncle for that.

He hadn’t told Little Uncle that a meeting was the first item on his schedule today.

…But if it weren’t for Little Uncle always making such a commotion whenever he came looking for him, would he have been so nervous just now?

I have to tell Little Uncle that he can’t just barge into my room like that next time!

Today’s meeting was spared, but what about next time? And the time after that?

But Little Uncle was unaware of his current mood.

Little Uncle raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, “Aren’t habits meant to be formed? Hurry up and take it. I just picked out two more pots over there and was about to bring them over to you.”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…”

Before he could even formulate a draft of his refusal, Little Uncle had already stuffed the potted plant into his hands.

He found it hard to refuse, so he could only say, “Thank you, Little Uncle,” and turned to move it to the windowsill behind his computer as Little Uncle had instructed.

He spent half a minute finding a good spot on the windowsill and placed the flowerpot there.

Just as he finished, the sound of Little Uncle’s footsteps echoed in the hallway once again.

…I need to tell Little Uncle that next time, before he comes in, he must confirm my schedule with me on GreenChat first.

Cheng Huanzhen made up his mind and turned around.

He saw Little Uncle with a yellow pot in his left hand and a green one in his right, his head peeking out from between the two plants, his high ponytail swaying between the yellow and green.

Little Uncle’s eyes curved, “Big nephew, take them!”

Little Uncle’s vitality was too exuberant, recklessly illuminating everything.

Cheng Huanzhen…

Cheng Huanzhen: “Thank you, Little Uncle. Let me take them.”

He took the potted plants and placed them on the windowsill.

One red, one green, one yellow.

…Was Little Uncle trying to make a traffic light for him?

He stared at the three potted plants with a blank expression for a while.

He placed the green one on the far left, the yellow one in the middle, and the red one on the far right.

It was meaningless, but it felt right to arrange them this way.

I need to tell Little Uncle… before the next meeting, I’ll inform him first, so that he doesn’t happen to run into me while I’m in a meeting…

Just then, a curious “Huh?” came from behind him.

Immediately after, an energetic greeting rang out, “Hi, hello there!”

Cheng Huanzhen: “???”

A faint sound of mixed laughter echoed in the air.

Cheng Huanzhen: “!!!”

Cheng Huanzhen whipped his head around.

He saw Little Uncle bent over his computer, greeting the camera with great interest.

The computer screen, which had just been off, was now glowing.

The mixed laughter was undoubtedly coming from the headphones he had just taken off.

…What was going on?

Had he not hung up the video conference just now?!

Cheng Huanzhen’s mind went “boom” and went blank. Panic turned into annoyance and rushed to his head!

He strode forward and, with a “snap,” slammed the laptop shut.

The sound from the headphones stopped abruptly.

The bedroom was silent.

A soft chuckle came from in front of him.

Cheng Huanzhen glared angrily, only to see Little Uncle tilting his head, looking at him with a smile.

Cheng Huanzhen shouted angrily, “Little… Uncle!”

Little Uncle asked curiously, “Why are you angry? Do you have a persona to maintain?”

Cheng Huanzhen’s anger subsided a bit, “What?”

Little Uncle put his hands behind his back and took a curious and probing step forward, “It’s not like you’re hiding a lover in a golden house. What’s there that they can’t see? Do you feel awkward? Or just embarrassed? Or do you have some kind of persona in front of your subordinates that can’t be broken? For example, a persona where a second person will absolutely not appear in your room?”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…”

Little Uncle pressed on, “If my being seen by your subordinates would cause them to have any wavering or misunderstanding of your image, would it affect your authority in their eyes?”

Cheng Huanzhen would never delve into such meaningless questions.

But Little Uncle would.

When Little Uncle got curious, he would block his path just like this. Unless he could give an answer that satisfied Little Uncle, Little Uncle would keep pestering him.

Little Uncle would also smile and get closer, teasing him, asking, “Why is my big nephew always so stern-faced? Are you really angry?”

…This was a very annoying thing.

But when the fragrant scent of tuberose entered his nose, the stuffiness that had been weighing on Cheng Huanzhen’s chest was like being melted by fire, gradually turning into water.

Cheng Huanzhen yielded once again.

He replied, “…No.”

He was silent for a long moment, then said, “It’s probably because a situation like this has never happened before… They would be surprised. They would also laugh.”

When Cheng Huanzhen thought of the faint laughter he had heard in his headphones just now, he felt as if ten thousand ants were crawling on his back.

But this answer satisfied Little Uncle.

Little Uncle laughed out loud, “Alright, I know you have an image to uphold!”

Little Uncle’s tone changed, and he immediately tossed the question to the back of his mind. He said excitedly, “Big nephew, no more meetings for a bit, right? Today I found two very interesting shops…”

Cheng Huanzhen was not surprised by this at all.

He sighed.

Little Uncle was always like this, impulsive, enthusiastic, completely unplanned, and never losing his passion.

He listened tiredly and patiently to Little Uncle’s chattering in his ear. After Little Uncle finished explaining his ideas, he once again took out his schedule and showed it to Little Uncle, wanting to use it as a reason to decline his invitation to go out and play.

But just like what had happened every day before.

Little Uncle once again scribbled all over his plan, changed it, threw it to his subordinates, and forcibly dragged him out the door.

Little Uncle’s enthusiasm was so high.

So high that it could wash away his fatigue. Only in the evening, when the sun set, would he suddenly remember:

Oh, another day with a ruined plan.

Another day where all the work was thrown out.

Another day where life was irregular and the rhythm was broken.

Another day where Little Uncle stuffed many “preferences” onto him.

Just then, Little Uncle’s phone suddenly rang.

Little Uncle answered the phone with confusion, “Hello? Dad?”

…Grandfather?

Cheng Huanzhen looked up from his coffee.

Little Uncle: “…Ah? …Okay… No problem, I’ll be right there…”

Little Uncle quickly hung up the phone.

Cheng Huanzhen asked, “A call from Grandfather?”

Little Uncle said with some frustration, “Yes, Dad wants me to go back to the old residence today… What a pity. I was planning to wander around South Street with you tonight. Looks like we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Cheng Huanzhen: “Oh.”

Cheng Huanzhen paused, “Is there anything important at the old residence? Do you need me to go with you?”

Little Uncle shook his head, “No need. Dad wants me to go back alone. Big nephew, you go home with the driver first. I’ll take a taxi myself. It’s probably just to have a meal with Dad. I should be home by nine or ten.”

Little Uncle glanced at the table full of coffee and said with renewed interest, “Quick, quick, before my car arrives, you should take note. Your favorite is the traditionally brewed Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, drunk black. You don’t really like the white truffle cappuccino…”

Summarizing his preferences seemed to have become some kind of hobby for Little Uncle. He enjoyed it, and seemed to be more invested in it than the person himself.

Cheng Huanzhen took note and said goodbye to Little Uncle.

Little Uncle: “You must remind me to go to South Street tomorrow, you must!”

Cheng Huanzhen: “Okay, I’ll remind you, Little Uncle.”

It was rare for Cheng Huanzhen to be sent home at this hour.

He returned home, finished dinner, and calmly sorted through his scattered schedule for the day, piecing together a detailed plan for the evening.

He worked on his core plan until ten o’clock. The time after ten was arranged to be much more relaxed.

Having a rare period of uninterrupted planning time made him feel incredibly nostalgic. He peacefully cleared his mind and executed the plan item by item. Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Only after all the core plans were completed did he finally stop his work rhythm and, according to the plan, get up to relax his shoulders and neck.

As he raised his head, he suddenly saw the traffic light potted plants on the windowsill.

The red potted plant was the most dazzling. It sat there quietly, its leaves and branches seeming to sway, flowing and burning with that vibrant, fiery red color.

Cheng Huanzhen couldn’t help but think of Little Uncle.

Strange, it’s already ten o’clock, why isn’t Little Uncle back yet?

Cheng Huanzhen opened the door in confusion, intending to go downstairs and ask the housekeeper if there was any news from the old residence.

The housekeeper was on the phone at that moment.

The housekeeper was a little surprised to see him, pointed to the phone, and then pointed in a direction.

That was the direction of the old residence. Cheng Huanzhen understood that the housekeeper was on a call from the old residence.

Housekeeper: “…No problem, what time tomorrow? …Okay, I’ll have Young Master Yiming’s things packed before then…”

Cheng Huanzhen looked up and stared at the housekeeper.

Finally, when the housekeeper hung up the phone, Cheng Huanzhen frowned and asked, “Packing Little Uncle’s things?”

The housekeeper put away the phone and said with regret, “Yes, Young Master. The old residence said that Young Master Yiming is moving back.”

Cheng Huanzhen was stunned.

Cheng Huanzhen’s brow furrowed even deeper, “…Moving back to the old residence to live? Why? Did they give a reason?”

The housekeeper thought to himself, Young Master Huanzhen has really become friends with Young Master Yiming these past few days.

Normally, would Young Master Huanzhen ever ask so many questions about one thing?

It was a pity—

The housekeeper sighed, “The specific situation is not clear. The old residence didn’t go into detail, they just said they would send someone over tomorrow to pick up Young Master Yiming’s things from the house.”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…Okay.”

He returned to his room calmly and stared at his desk with a blank expression for a long while.

The old residence hadn’t taken Little Uncle back.

Little Uncle had gone back to the old residence on his own.

Starting tomorrow, he could resume his perfect, planned life.

…That’s not bad either.

He thought.

A strange sense of relief enveloped his body. Cheng Huanzhen took out his schedule, intending to plan a perfect late night and tomorrow for himself.

The plan was quickly completed.

With Little Uncle not coming home, he could work until 11 o’clock before sleeping.

But when he finished his additional plans and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, he found it unusually difficult to fall asleep.

…He had drunk too much coffee this afternoon.

Little Uncle had found another thing he liked for him.

Perhaps he did like it.

At least he thought it was the best-tasting of all the coffees, and the one that made him feel the most comfortable and want to keep drinking.

…Is this what ‘like’ is?

Then what was his current mood?

A feeling that wasn’t so comfortable, a feeling he didn’t want to continue.

Is this ‘dislike’?

…Was he unhappy?

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t know.

He lay in bed with his brow tightly furrowed, feeling that he had encountered a very difficult problem to explain.

He clearly didn’t like his plans being disrupted every day, living a life without any order.

Now that he could finally return to his accustomed, planned life, why did he not feel happy about it?

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t know.

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t know when he fell asleep. His biological clock woke him up at six in the morning on the dot.

When he first woke up, his mind was still a little dazed.

He was very sleepy, but his spirit subconsciously tensed up upon waking, afraid that the noisy “bang, bang” sound would come from outside his door at any moment.

He lay in bed for five minutes. As his drowsy mind gradually cleared, he suddenly remembered: Oh, Little Uncle went back to the old residence last night.

He wouldn’t be knocking on his door this morning.

In fact, for the whole day today, and for every morning in the future, Little Uncle would not suddenly barge into his room, disrupt his plans, and drag him out the door.

The plan he made last night for today could be perfectly executed.

But, why was he still not happy?

Cheng Huanzhen got up in a daze, using the facial cleanser, toothpaste, and face towel that Little Uncle had picked out for him to wash up.

Then he went to the dining room, drank warm water from the cup Little Uncle had picked out for him, and ate breakfast.

Today’s breakfast was a French croissant with handmade jam, something Little Uncle had put on his “want to eat list” a few days ago. Little Uncle wanted to eat too many things, so the kitchen had arranged them one by one into the daily menu.

After the meal, Cheng Huanzhen, like a wind-up robot, executed the items on his schedule one by one with a blank expression, fully automatically.

Usually at this time, he could easily immerse himself in his work. But for some reason today, he kept getting distracted while working, finding it hard to concentrate.

While working, he would always look up at the potted plants on the windowsill, and look down at the clothes he was wearing.

Even when writing documents, he would inexplicably stare at the new fountain pen he had bought two days ago for a long time.

It was a very strange feeling. Stuffy, stifled, as if an emotion was festering and rotting in his heart.

Is this a sense of loss?

He didn’t know.

But he felt that his ears were a little empty, the tip of his nose was a little empty, and his heart was a little empty too.

Just then, a noisy sound suddenly came from outside the door, as if someone had returned.

Cheng Huanzhen was in a daze at that moment. Hearing the sound, he couldn’t help but stride out of the door to see.

…Oh.

It was his father who had returned.

Cheng Zhaorui took off his shoes and looked up to see his good son coming out of his room to greet him.

This made him feel gratified for a moment.

He greeted his son, then noticed the dark blue mandarin collar, flat-cuffed long-sleeved shirt his son was wearing.

His son wasn’t wearing a suit at home today!

Cheng Zhaorui was a little surprised. He took a couple more looks at the dark blue shirt. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like the kind of clothes his son would usually wear.

He entered the house and asked, “You didn’t pick these clothes yourself, did you?”

Cheng Huanzhen answered calmly, “Good morning, Father. Yes, Little Uncle picked these clothes for me.”

Cheng Zhaorui was surprised, “Oh? That’s rare. I’ve picked out clothes for you too, how come I’ve never seen you wear them at home? Do you like this shirt he picked out a lot? Do you like the style, or the color?”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…”

Cheng Huanzhen was silent for a moment and said, “I like both.”

Hearing this, Cheng Zhaorui nodded, “It seems Yiming has very good taste.”

…It’s not that Little Uncle has good taste, Cheng Huanzhen thought.

It was that Little Uncle had spent a whole morning making him try on countless clothes, constantly probing, “forcing” him to make choices, observing his reactions, finding his preferences, and finally picking out these clothes.

Thinking of this, Cheng Huanzhen’s mood soured a little again.

Cheng Zhaorui glanced at him and asked casually, “It looks like you and Yiming didn’t have any conflicts? How come I heard from the people at the old residence that you found Yiming too loud and annoying and sent him back?”