My Elite Boss Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 4

Qi Jiezhi pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart beating at an abnormal pace.

He was gay, so being in the same room as a top-tier handsome man naturally caused some emotional shifts. He thought back to Qu Mingluo’s demeanor just now, that cold, sharp man hadn’t even minded letting him see that childish bandage on his face.

Qi Jiezhi broke into a smile before shoving his phone back into his pocket. On his way back to his workstation, his steps were so light he felt like he was floating.

That evening, Qi Jiezhi dragged his suitcase to Seaview Bay. He didn’t arrive on his own this time, instead, Qu Mingluo’s driver had dropped him off.

Xi Xingyu poked his head out of a second-floor window. “Brother Qi, you’re coming to live with me!”

“That’s right,” Qi Jiezhi answered with a smile.

“Awesome!” Xingyu’s voice spiked in volume before he disappeared from the window. The thumping of footsteps echoed as he ran downstairs. “My big brother is so cool for this.”

“Why can’t it be that I’m the cool one?”

“Brother Qi is cool too!” Xingyu said. “I’m so happy.”

Qi Jiezhi dragged his suitcase into the foyer just as Qu Mingluo was coming down the stairs. He had changed into a dark grey sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, revealing pale, cold wrists.

“Is that all your luggage?” he asked.

“Just a few clothes,” Qi Jiezhi said. “I’ll move out as soon as Xingyu’s parents get back.”

“No rush,” Qu Mingluo said. “They won’t kick you out.”

Qi Jiezhi felt a bit awkward and wasn’t sure how to respond to that. To be honest, living here was bound to be much more comfortable than the small bedroom he was renting.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Qu Mingluo told him.

Qi Jiezhi followed Qu Mingluo toward the elevator with his suitcase in tow.

“You’ll stay in the guest room on the second floor,” Qu Mingluo informed him. “Right next to Xiao Xing.”

“Sure,” Qi Jiezhi agreed readily. He didn’t have any objections. “Thank you, President Qu.”

Qu Mingluo’s pace faltered for a moment. “We aren’t at the office.”

Qi Jiezhi blinked, then realized what he meant. “Thank you, Mr. Qu?”

Qu Mingluo turned his head, his gaze lingering on Qi Jiezhi’s face for a second. It was an expression that hovered somewhere between satisfaction and helplessness. He didn’t say a word and simply kept walking.

The guest room was larger than Qi Jiezhi had imagined. It featured a two-meter wide bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a wardrobe. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the scenery outside.

“If you need anything,” Qu Mingluo said, standing at the doorway without entering, “just tell the housekeeper.”

“Thank you.”

Qi Jiezhi pushed his suitcase inside and turned to find Qu Mingluo still standing there. The hallway light hit him from behind, casting a glow over his dark grey sweater and making the cartoon bandage on his temple faintly visible.

“Qu…” Qi Jiezhi hesitated for a beat. “Do you need something else?”

“Xiao Xing wants to have dinner with you.”

“I’ll tidy up and head down immediately.”

“Alright,” Qu Mingluo said. “We’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Qu Mingluo turned to leave but stopped again. “You don’t need to use formal titles with me.”

Qi Jiezhi stood still, watching his silhouette disappear toward the stairs. He closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress was significantly softer than the one in his rented room, and as he sank into it, he felt a sudden sense of unreality.

The sea outside the window was a deep blue, with the lights of distant ships moving slowly. The location of this villa district truly lived up to its name.

After watching for a while, Qi Jiezhi opened his suitcase and hung his clothes in the wardrobe. He didn’t have many items, so they only occupied a small corner of the closet. The vast empty space remaining felt like a reminder that this was only temporary.

In the bathroom, there were fresh toiletries and neatly folded towels. They had likely done a deep clean specifically because he was moving in today.

Qi Jiezhi splashed his face with water and looked at himself in the mirror. The damp strands of hair on his forehead made his skin look even paler. Being a gay man sharing a home with a top-tier hottie was definitely going to be awkward.

Fortunately, Qu Mingluo hadn’t come inside.

Qi Jiezhi shook his head, dried his hair, and finally went downstairs.

In the dining room, Xi Xingyu was sitting at the table with his own set of utensils in front of him, with a spot reserved for Qi Jiezhi right next to him. Qu Mingluo sat opposite them, looking at his phone. He looked up when he heard footsteps.

“Teacher Qi, sit next to me!” Xingyu waved him over.

Qi Jiezhi walked over and noticed the table was spread with home-cooked dishes: shrimp with eggs, tomato and egg stir-fry, and seaweed egg drop soup.

“Did the housekeeper make this?” Qi Jiezhi asked Xingyu.

“Big brother made it!” Xingyu said. “He’s so good at cooking, even the hens have to cover their butts when they see him coming.”

Qi Jiezhi looked at Qu Mingluo, who was looking down at his phone, while Xingyu and Qi Jiezhi both burst out laughing.

“Your brother knows how to cook?” Qi Jiezhi asked Xingyu, but Qu Mingluo was the one who answered.

“Xiao Xing wanted to eat.”

“I knew Teacher Qi wouldn’t be satisfied, so the housekeeper cooked some dishes too,” Xingyu said. “I’ll have her bring them out now.”

“I’m not unsatisfied,” Qi Jiezhi said. “I’m just surprised.”

Hearing this, Xingyu immediately asked, “Brother Qi, when you saw my big brother, were you totally blown away by his looks?”

“I was,” Qi Jiezhi said with a laugh. “He’s a real hottie!”

Qu Mingluo let out a cough. “Let’s eat.”

“That’s just him being embarrassed, don’t mind him,” Xingyu said. “I don’t know why he’s being shy, he usually loves it when I praise him.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m also a hottie,” Qi Jiezhi joked intentionally.

“That’s true!” Xingyu said. “Brother Qi is really handsome!”

“Thanks, Xiao Xing.”

As soon as he said that, Xingyu followed up with a comment that left both of them speechless.

“If big brother and Brother Qi were together, would the baby they have be especially beautiful?”

“Xiao Xing, two men can’t have children together,” Qi Jiezhi said awkwardly.

“Why not?” Xingyu asked. “But two boys can be together, so won’t they have kids?”

“There are gay people in the family, Xiao Xing has seen them before,” Qu Mingluo explained to Qi Jiezhi. “He doesn’t quite understand.”

“They won’t,” Qu Mingluo added. “Xiao Xing, eat your food.”

“Okay then.”

For a moment, the air felt a bit stiff, but Xingyu soon asked another question. “So, you guys really can’t give me a pretty little nephew?”

Qi Jiezhi choked on a mouthful of soup and ducked his head, coughing violently. Qu Mingluo put down his phone, his gaze lingering on Qi Jiezhi’s back for a second before turning to Xingyu. “Eat. Don’t talk.”

“But I really want…”

“Even if you want it, it’s not happening,” Qu Mingluo said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an undeniable sense of authority.

Xingyu pouted and lowered his head to eat, but his eyes kept darting back and forth between the two men. Qi Jiezhi’s ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed. He didn’t dare look at Qu Mingluo and could only stare at the food in his bowl as if it were a world-class delicacy.

“Brother Qi,” Xingyu muttered under his breath, still not giving up. “Can you guys at least adopt a pretty child?”

“Xi Xingyu!” Qu Mingluo called out his full name, his voice carrying a clear warning.

Xingyu immediately buried his face in his bowl, as if that would make him invisible to Qu Mingluo. The dining room fell silent, save for the soft clinking of utensils.

Qi Jiezhi stole a glance and found Qu Mingluo looking at him. Their eyes met, dark and unreadable, before they both looked away at the same time.

“Xiao Xing,” Qi Jiezhi tried to break the awkwardness, “this shrimp is actually really good.”

“Big brother made that!” Xingyu looked up instantly, finding a new topic. “Brother Qi, my brother is a great cook. If you want, I’ll beg him to cook for us again next time.”

“Xiao Xing,” Qu Mingluo said. “No talking while eating.”

“But you just spoke too, big brother, and you said a lot.”

“I’m an adult.”

“Do adults get to talk while eating?”

“Yes!”

Qi Jiezhi laughed, instinctively whispering, “Tyrant.”

“Exactly!” Xingyu agreed. “A total tyrant. Brother Qi is the only nice one.”

Qu Mingluo looked up, his gaze pausing on Qi Jiezhi’s face for a second. The look was neither cold nor warm, but it made Qi Jiezhi feel a bit nervous, like being watched by a large predator that was currently too lazy to pounce.

“Eat your food,” Qu Mingluo said.

Qi Jiezhi lowered his head, and Xingyu did the same.

After dinner, Xingyu ran off to the living room to play with building blocks, leaving Qi Jiezhi and Qu Mingluo sitting across from each other. The housekeeper came over to clear the dishes. Qu Mingluo stood up, and Qi Jiezhi followed suit. As they both tried to step aside in the narrow walkway, they brushed past each other, creating a small spark of static electricity.

Qi Jiezhi said awkwardly, “Sorry, I’m wearing polyester.”

Qu Mingluo stopped in his tracks and looked back at him. Qi Jiezhi was looking down at his own shoulder, where a strand of dark grey wool had stuck to his polyester shirt, looking quite prominent.

“Go to my room and take a new one,” Qu Mingluo said. “We’re about the same size.”

“Really?” Qi Jiezhi said. “I’d rather just have the salary.”

Qu Mingluo replied, “I don’t need to pay off debts with clothes.”

Qi Jiezhi felt even more awkward. For some reason, looking at Qu Mingluo, he felt the man should have a sense of humor, yet every time he spoke to him like this, he still felt a sense of trepidation.

“Compensation for your shirt,” Qu Mingluo said flatly. “Pick a new one. I don’t stay here often, so if you don’t find anything you like, you can come to my main place and pick something out.”

Qi Jiezhi was stunned. He looked down at his shirt. There was indeed wool on his shoulder, but even if there was a problem, it was definitely Qu Mingluo’s sweater that was the issue! His shirt only cost 15 yuan!

He looked up to refuse, but Qu Mingluo had already turned to head upstairs. “Follow me.”

Qi Jiezhi hesitated for two seconds before following him. Qu Mingluo’s silhouette looked very elegant under the dim wall lights, the grey sweater rippling slightly with his stride.

The third floor was quieter than the second. At the end of the hallway was a door. Qu Mingluo pushed it open but didn’t close it, leaving a crack.

Qi Jiezhi stopped at the entrance. Through the gap, he could see a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. This clearly wasn’t a bedroom, but a walk-in closet.

“Come in.”

Qi Jiezhi pushed the door open. Qu Mingluo was standing by a wardrobe, rummaging through it. He pulled out a few hoodies and shirts. He continued searching. Qi Jiezhi wasn’t sure what to do, so he just stood to the side and watched.

“You can look around and see if there’s anything you like,” Qu Mingluo said. “These were all just delivered. If you like something, just take it.”

Hearing this, Qi Jiezhi realized these were definitely sent directly by various brands. Any single item was likely worth two months of his salary. He truly didn’t dare take anything.

“President Qu, maybe we should just forget it?” Qi Jiezhi asked cautiously.

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