Chapter Twenty.

Li Zekun woke up early, groggy and reached for his phone to check the time, only to find out that it was just a little after five o'clock. He then found Tao Ran's homeroom teacher on WeChat and sent a message requesting for a leave. As it was Saturday and they only had classes in the morning, Li Zekun thought of taking Tao Ran out for a walk and exploring the surroundings.

Tao Ran was still sleeping in Li Zekun's arms, sleeping peacefully without tossing and turning all night. Li Zekun didn't mind Tao Ran clinging to him tightly. Li Zekun gently pushed Tao Ran away and wanted to sleep for a little longer. However, he felt suffocated and hot, so he got out of bed and took a shower.

Tao Ran slept particularly soundly last night, without dreaming at all. When he woke up in the morning, he was still in a daze. He reached out his hand and searched around him, but he didn't feel anybody there. His eyes immediately opened wide.

Tao Ran almost immediately bounced up: "Oh no, oh no, I'm definitely going to be late..."

Tao Ran quickly put on his clothes and pushed open the bedroom door. At a glance, he saw Li Zekun sitting on the sofa listening to the news and working on a spreadsheet with his laptop.

"Waked up?" Li Zekun gave him a glance.

"Why didn't you call me?" Tao Ran was a bit annoyed.

Li Zekun looked at him with a slightly amused expression and said, "You're still in bed and yet you're getting mad at me?"

Tao Ran remained silent and crossed over him to put on her shoes.

"Okay, I'll stop teasing you now. I already helped you get time off class," said Li Zekun, as he turned his gaze back to the computer screen. "Just wait a bit, I'll finish this and take you out to eat."

"I'm fine now..." Tao Ran breathed a sigh of relief, but still grumbled softly under his breath.

"Go and clean yourself up properly, you want to run out without even washing your face?" Li Zekun typed on his keyboard quickly while his tone had a hint of ridicule.

Tao Ran blushed and said, "Why didn't you tell me in advance?" He walked past Li Zekun to the restroom, feeling that this man was doing it intentionally, which made him have some wicked thoughts. He tiptoed over to Li Zekun, who was concentrating on making the chart, and wanted to yell loudly in his ear to startle him. However, Li Zekun, who was highly perceptive, turned his head just as Tao Ran was approaching him. They looked at each other, and Li Zekun asked, "What do you want?"

Li Zekun was so scared by the ghost face Tao Ran was about to make that he held back. Tao Ran didn't know what had gotten into his head. Taking advantage of the close distance, he quickly leaned in and gave Li Zekun a quick peck on the side of his face.

This time, the person dumbfounded was Li Zekun. The little brat who took advantage of the situation ran to the restroom like a scared rabbit.

Li Zekun had originally planned to get some extra work done while the morning was still quiet. However, he found himself staring blankly at the computer screen instead and scolded himself for being so unproductive.

Taoran also knew that he had plucked hair from the tiger's head, so he hesitated to come out. After more than twenty minutes passed without anyone coming to settle the score with him, he finally ventured outside.

"Finished?" Li Zekun closed the computer. "Let's go, it's already past ten o'clock."

Tao Ran was still wearing his school uniform and didn't have any better clothes, so he went out with Li Zekun like that.

"In the afternoon, I'll pick out a few clothes for you after getting the medicine. When you go out like this, I feel like I'm on the brink of committing a crime.", Li Zekun said. Indeed, his ID card showed that he was already 19 years old, but wearing a school uniform made him look younger, truly resembling a student.

Tao Ran relaxed when he saw that he didn't care about the previous matter, and followed behind Li Zekun to get on the car.

"Why did you go to Tan Shijie's place in the first place?" Li Zekun started the car and asked abruptly. He had never cared before and had no desire to know. But now things were a little different. When Tao Ran told him he liked him last night, Li Zekun's heart couldn't help but be moved. He had grown a bit more fond of this boy and couldn't bear to hurt him.

Taoran fell silent, the cold air from the air conditioning causing small bumps to appear on his arms and making him feel the urge to shiver. He wanted to tell Li Zekun that he wasn't involved, that he wasn't the hostess man from the nightclub who charged 800 yuan for a night, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"It's okay, I'm just asking. I didn't blame you.", Li Zekun's gaze was not focused on Tao Ran, and his hand holding the steering wheel slowly tightened.

Tao Ran's gaze went blank, as if his nerves were numb: "For the money."

Li Zekun nodded softly and asked, "Do you still need money right now?"

Tao Ran shook his head.

"Okay, it's all good now." Li Zekun used his right hand to gently stroke Tao Ran's hair and assured her that he would never bring it up again in the future.

Tao Ran stretched his finger to touch the cheetah-shaped aromatherapy bottle in front of the windshield, and remained silent for a long time before saying, "Do you think I'm dirty?"

Li Zekun was surprised and said, "Huh?"

"It's been so long, and you haven't even hugged me. You'd rather have me use my mouth, but you don't want me."

Li Zekun frowned. "No," he said. After a while, he felt that his response was too cold and brief, so he added, "If I really dislike someone, even looking at them for a moment makes me feel disgusted." Li Zekun didn't actually dislike Tao Ran, he just couldn't get over his own mental barrier. He kept drawing a line in his mind, feeling that crossing it would truly let Cheng Xia down.

It has been four years and nobody has ever been on Li Zekun's bed except for Taoran. Li Zekun thinks, 'This kid is quite amusing. Despite being young, he dares to express his dissatisfaction to me.'

The two of them didn't speak again throughout the journey, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. The congee that Li Zekun brought Tao Ran to eat was from a small shop tucked away in an alley, but the taste was surprisingly good.

"Do you want to go take a stroll at Beihai Park?" Li Zekun asked Tao Ran as he handed her a chopstick full of seaweed.

Taoran is afraid of the heat. These days in the capital are like being in a steaming pot, so he was foolish to think about running around: "I don't want."

Li Zekun laughed and said, "You're truly hard to please." Everyone wishes to be taken out by a financial supporter, not because going out is fun, but because they're after a coveted position in their hearts.

By midday, Li Zekun dragged on and went straight to Liu Yan's place to pick up his medicine. There were ten small bags in total, enough for a five-day treatment course. After finishing the medication, he would have to go back to get more. Liu Yan wasn't there, so his apprentice earnestly explained the details to Taoran.

The afternoon was still long and they happened to be close to a large shopping mall. Li Zekun thought he would first choose some clothes for Tao Ran and then buy a watch. If there was anything else suitable later, he could let his assistant take care of it.

Li Zekun picked out a Cartier watch for Tao Ran, which cost around forty to fifty thousand, not too expensive, but the child didn't like it. Instead, their eyes kept drifting toward Casio. Li Zekun lightly pinched Tao Ran's waist, and asked, "Why don't you just kill me with anger?"

Tao Ran muttered under her breath, "It's both expensive and ugly."

Li Zekun was choked and unable to speak, "You little rascal..." Wait a few days until autumn arrives and then have someone custom make another one for Taoran. For now, let's just make do with the one we have to wear.

He took Tao Ran to pick out clothes, and unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance at the Louis Vuitton store.

"Young master Li?" The man sitting on the sofa meticulously combed his hair back, wearing a pair of thin gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose bridge, giving off an air of refined elegance.

"Oh, Mr. Qiao is here too, what a coincidence.", Li Zekun greeted him with a smile.

"Well, these few days happen to be free for me, so I'll accompany my assistant to pick out a belt.", said Qiao Mingyang, tilting his chin and nodding towards Li Zekun to indicate that he should follow him, as a male sales assistant suggested options to him.

Accompanying him to pick a belt? That's quite ambiguous. Li Zekun glanced at the man next to him without showing any emotion, feeling uncertain. Qiao Ming has always loved this style called Taoran, that man must be at least 1.8 meters tall with strong eyebrows and eyes, looking more dominant than Qiao Ming. But it had nothing to do with him, and Li Zekun wasn't too curious.

"I'll also take some time to pick out a few outfits with the people I've brought along.", Li Zekun said, pulling Tao Ran closer to his side.

Ever since Tao Ran saw Qiao Ming, he was completely dumbfounded. A chill rose up from the soles of his feet, followed by a kind of fear that could consume a person.

"What's wrong with you?" Li Zekun felt a slight tremble in his subordinate's hand and furrowed his brows as he softly asked from beside him.

Qiao Ming's gaze did not fall on Tao Ran, he simply smiled and looked at Li Zekun, meaningfully saying, "Should I congratulate you first or ask if you're still looking for that thing?"

Li Zekun suddenly trembled and pushed Tao Ran away abruptly. "Do you know what I am looking for?!"