My Ex-Boyfriend is Obsessed with Getting Back Together - Chapter 3

“Go to sleep.”

Pei Ran was drunk and his body felt like jelly, but he was a well-behaved drunk. He lay quietly in the back seat, even as his stomach churned with discomfort, letting out only small, muffled whimpers.

Gu Linchuan spoke up coldly, “Don’t throw up in the car.”

Pei Ran immediately covered his mouth and shook his head, indicating that he wouldn’t.

A faint, imperceptible smile brushed Gu Linchuan’s lips, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

Gu Linchuan took him to a hotel. After booking a room, he led him inside under the gossipy gaze of the receptionist.

“Raise your arms,” Gu Linchuan commanded in a low voice.

Pei Ran obeyed sleepily, letting Gu Linchuan fuss over him as he lifted his hands.

Gu Linchuan helped him out of his clothes and wiped his face clean. During the process, Pei Ran insisted on taking a shower. Gu Linchuan held him down, his eyes filled with an unreadable complexity. “You want me to give you a bath too?”

Perhaps because Gu Linchuan’s voice was so deep, Pei Ran felt like he was being scolded. He stopped making a fuss and looked down, his eyelashes fluttering like the wings of two butterflies.

Once everything was settled, Gu Linchuan tossed him onto the bed and prepared to leave.

Pei Ran sprawled out on the mattress. His breathing was steady, but he wasn’t asleep yet, staring blankly ahead with vacant eyes.

Gu Linchuan draped his coat over his arm and leaned against the doorframe, watching him with a lingering look.

Suddenly, Pei Ran grabbed his own jacket and began fumbling through it. He pulled out a wallet and gently stroked it, his expression turning sorrowful.

Gu Linchuan’s face darkened instantly. A vein throbbed in his temple as he let out a cold snort and turned to leave.

As the sky brightened, morning light filtered through the sheer curtains, falling across Pei Ran’s eyes.

Pei Ran woke up with a hangover. His head felt heavy and dull, and he reeked of alcohol. He rubbed his forehead and sat up. His body felt as if he had been beaten, aching from head to toe, there wasn’t a single spot that felt comfortable.

Annoyed at himself, he realized how much drinking had messed things up. He looked around and realized he wasn’t at home. Remembering that Yang Jin had helped him out the night before, he assumed Yang Jin had been thoughtful enough to bring him here.

Seeing that time was running short, Pei Ran hurried to the bathroom to wash away the lingering scent of alcohol.

He rushed to the studio, arriving just on time and slightly out of breath. He felt the morning chill on his skin and took a moment to tidy his messy hair while waiting for the elevator.

The studio had started as a small project during Pei Ran’s university days. He and a few like-minded friends had founded this clothing brand. They hadn’t relied on the Gu family’s influence, the growth of the business was entirely due to their own hard work. Surprisingly, it had developed into something quite successful.

Pei Ran walked through the busy workspace, greeting everyone before heading into his office.

The office was decorated according to his personal taste. On his desk sat a small Money Tree. Pei Ran hadn’t been a believer in the supernatural before, but after seeing devout believers in cathedrals while abroad, he started keeping the plant as a symbol of prosperity. He had once tried placing a statue of the God of Wealth there, but it didn’t fit the office aesthetic, so he tucked it away.

The heater was on, and as the warmth seeped into his bones, he finally felt alive. He took off his overcoat, sat at his computer, and began to work.

Ting Ting knocked lightly on the open door. After receiving permission, she walked in on her high heels and handed over a stack of documents, familiarizing herself with the small sofa as she sat down.

“Ran Ge, the design proposals for this quarter are finished. I’ve looked through them and picked out a few for you to review. Also, the prototype for Miss Yan’s custom dress is done, but she isn’t satisfied with the fabric. Yu Ge asked me to get your thoughts on it.”

Pei Ran opened the files and examined each one carefully. “The designs lack innovation, and the colors are too rigid. They followed the theme too literally without adding their own interpretation. It makes the designs look stiff. Tell them to research the background of the theme more, they don’t need to change everything…”

Ting Ting smiled, idly playing with her long, red wavy hair. “Ran Ge, do you know that the interns are all terrified of you?”

“What?”

“They say your standards are so high that even a god couldn’t satisfy you,” Ting Ting teased, then added comfortingly, “But hey, we have high standards because we want quality. You’re just being strict.”

Pei Ran didn’t comment. He simply sorted the unsatisfactory designs and handed them back. “The forest theme should focus on eco-friendly materials. Try looking into natural fiber blends…”

Ting Ting listened intently, taking mental notes while maintaining a relaxed posture. She grabbed a dried plum candy from the snack tray, unwrapped it, and popped it in her mouth. She then tossed a lemon candy toward Pei Ran in a perfect arc.

When discussing work, Pei Ran was eloquent and serious. His shirt buttons were done up perfectly, and the warm light from the office lamp cast a soft glow over him, making him look almost divine.

In truth, Ting Ting’s comment wasn’t entirely accurate. While many interns feared Pei Ran, many more were desperate to join this relatively unknown studio. Ultimately, it was because he was an authority in his field.

Even in foreign countries with different beauty standards, no one was immune to his face. During his first year in the UK, when he was alone, he had lost count of how many men and women he had turned down. He rejected them decisively, yet with a gentle politeness that made it impossible to hold a grudge.

After staring at him for a while, Ting Ting looked away and sighed quietly, inwardly cursing the unfairness of the universe.

Hearing the sigh, Pei Ran thought she was tired, so he summarized the rest of the tasks and kindly extended their deadlines.

The extra few hours didn’t matter much to Ting Ting. She crunched down on the sour plum candy, wincing at the tartness, and stood up to leave with the documents.

“Oh, right,” Ting Ting paused at the door, leaning back so only her shoulder and half her head were visible. “Gu Chen booked a resort at Yuewan. He asked when you’re giving everyone a break so we can all go there for a vacation.”

Pei Ran thought about it. They had all been exhausted lately with the studio relocation. It was a good time for everyone to relax. After considering the workload, he set a date.

“Got it!” Ting Ting jumped with joy, flashed an ‘OK’ sign, and ran off to share the news.

Soon, cheers erupted from outside the office as everyone began chatting excitedly. Pei Ran watched them through the blinds and chuckled softly. The atmosphere was infectious, and his own fatigue seemed to lift for a moment before he returned to his work.

Outside, when the staff heard that Gu Chen had arranged the trip, they exchanged knowing glances and began to gossip.

“Do you think Young Master Gu has a chance with the boss?” Zhang Tanyi, Pei Ran’s university classmate who had watched the two of them for years, asked curiously.

Gu Chen had always been attentive and warm, but in all these years, Pei Ran had never shown anything beyond brotherly affection.

Rachel covered her mouth and laughed. “Of course he has a chance! Think about it, who else is the boss this close to? He’s always working or studying, only Young Master Gu can get close to his heart.”

Rachel was half-Chinese and half-British. She had pursued Pei Ran passionately during their student days, but after seeing how Gu Chen and Pei Ran interacted, she had given up and become their biggest supporter instead.

As the group gossiped, Ting Ting stood among them, playing along with an exaggerated expression. But she was the only one who truly understood that Pei Ran wasn’t a boring workaholic, and Gu Chen hadn’t actually made it into his heart.

The person who had once lived in Pei Ran’s heart had been painstakingly carved out by Pei Ran himself, inch by inch.

Looking past the crowd toward the closed office door, Ting Ting felt a sudden, uncontrollable pang of sadness. She quickly shook it off, forced a smile, and joined back in with the laughter.

With the vacation confirmed, no one was in the mood to work overtime. Pei Ran told everyone to head home early and rest.

Another round of cheers broke out. A few of the bolder employees started dancing on desks, sending stacks of papers flying, but no one cared. It was pure chaos.

Feeling they might feel restricted if he stayed, Pei Ran quietly retreated back into his office.

The office was well-insulated, and the noise was cut off the moment the door closed. As the employees left one by one, the large studio became silent, leaving him alone.

A long time passed. When Pei Ran finally looked up from his computer, the digital clock showed it was past midnight. His stomach cramped with hunger, and he realized he had forgotten to eat dinner.

At this hour, he didn’t have much of an appetite, so he decided to head to the pantry for some hot water to soothe his stomach.

As he pushed open his office door, he felt a slight resistance. Looking down, he saw a delicate kraft paper bag on the floor with a pink sticky note attached.

“Eat.”

The word was printed, so he couldn’t identify the handwriting, though the pink note was the kind Ting Ting usually used. Inside the bag was a cup of warm milk and a container of seafood porridge that was still steaming.

Pei Ran smiled at Ting Ting’s thoughtfulness, kept the note, and took the food back into his office.

The warm milk immediately made his stomach feel better. He was surprised to find that it wasn’t plain milk, it was sweetened. It lacked the slightly gamey taste of plain milk and was fragrant and sweet.

A hint of doubt rose in his mind. His dislike for the taste of plain milk was something he considered childish and had never really shown to anyone, at least, Ting Ting shouldn’t have known.

His thoughts drifted, but he couldn’t figure it out, eventually dismissing it as a coincidence.

His office had a small lounge area with a single bed and a floor lamp. The minimalist black, white, and gray decor felt particularly lonely tonight. For no reason at all, memories flooded back. He pulled out his wallet and stared at it, his drowsiness vanishing completely.

He gazed out the window, his thin silhouette swallowed by the dim yellow light. The city’s neon lights reflected in his clear eyes.

His phone lit up suddenly. It was a text from an unknown number, an image.

In the photo, Pei Ran was standing in the wind and snow, his hair and scarf slightly disheveled. The background was the street where he had been waiting for a car, he recognized the cafe in the shot.

Pei Ran frowned, his heart sinking. He didn’t understand the sender’s intention. A second later, another message arrived, just two words.

“Sleep now.”

A string in Pei Ran’s heart seemed to snap. He stood up abruptly, not even pausing to put on shoes as he rushed to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, the city was bustling, the office buildings were glowing with lights, and pedestrians were hurrying below. From this height, people looked like tiny ants. The traffic flowed continuously, and no one among the walking crowds looked suspicious.

Pei Ran pressed his hand to his forehead and laughed at himself. He must be under too much pressure lately to let a harrassing text message get to him like this.

He went back to bed, forwarded the number and information to Leo across the ocean, asking him to investigate. Then, he turned off his phone and tried to fall asleep.

Perhaps the text had a strange effect, because as soon as he lay down, he actually felt sleepy and drifted off within moments.

Down below, where he couldn’t see, a black Cayenne was parked in a blind spot. In the back seat, a man was idly fiddling with his phone, his fingers long and well-defined.

The neon lights from outside cast shifting shadows across his face, highlighting his sharp nose and thin, pressed lips. He kept his eyes lowered, his gaze fixed on the upper floors of the building. His eyes were deep and calm.

After a while, seeing the 32nd floor go dark, his lips curled into a barely visible smile of satisfaction. Then, his expression tightened again as he let out a light cough.

“Let’s go.”

The Cayenne, which had been lurking in the darkness, pulled smoothly into the flow of traffic and vanished as if it had never been there.

Support My Ex-Boyfriend is Obsessed with Getting Back Together