TLSMLMMM Chapter 27

Enjoying the warmth on the top of his head, Chu Junlie lifted his gaze. His dark eyes met Dr. Ren’s directly, and he raised an eyebrow in a provocative challenge.

Dr. Ren quickly said, “I’ll be going,” afraid that a slower reply might provoke more absurdity. After watching the doctor leave in an awkward rush, Chu Junlie lifted a hand to press lightly on his wound.

That eyebrow raise just now… had pulled at it.

Si Yunyi lowered his eyes, watching Chu Junlie’s expression. He tilted his head slightly, a flicker of amusement gliding across his gaze.

After settling Old Master Si to rest, Si Yunyi led everyone to the courtyard of the old residence, asking the butler to set out fresh fruit, mooncakes, drinks, and snacks so they could enjoy the moon together.

Qi Zai was being held by his mother. He didn’t go play with his older cousins; his eyes were still red, his little nose twitching clearly still shaken by what had happened earlier.

His sister-in-law sent Si Yunyi a pleading look. Si Yunyi took Qi Zai into his arms, patting the child’s back gently while waiting for him to calm down.

Chu Junlie sat beside Si Yunyi. Seeing Qi Zai holding tightly around Si Yunyi’s neck, he secretly edged closer as well.

There was something about Mr. Si that made people feel at peace. Just being near him felt like returning home, back to the safest place in the world.

Work stress faded away, today’s awful events blurred out, all conflicts vanished, and the heart slowly quieted.

“Little uncle…” Qi Zai murmured, his voice sad as he lay in Si Yunyi’s arms. “What’s wrong with Grandpa? Why has Grandpa become so scary?”

Si Yunyi held him and pointed toward the moon.

“Beibei, look at the moon. Think of Grandpa. What does it make you think of?”

A bright full moon hung in the sky, cold and luminous. Fruit fragrance lingered on the table, mixed with the laughter of cousins playing nearby.

Qi Zai stared at the round moon, blinking, poking his cheek with a finger.

“Grandpa used to hold me and play with me. He fed me yummy things and said I looked good when I ate, and that I was strong.”

“Back then, Grandpa was like this full moon,” Si Yunyi said softly. “But the moon doesn’t stay the same forever.”

“I know.” Qi Zai held up his little hands, shaping curves in the air. “Big brother told me. The moon starts as a crescent, then gets rounder and rounder, becomes a full moon, then starts getting smaller, and turns back into a crescent.”

“That’s right.” Si Yunyi looked at the child’s large, round eyes. “Grandpa was once a crescent moon too. As he grew older, he slowly became a full moon like the way you remember him. And now, according to nature’s rules… he is slowly becoming a crescent again.”

Qi Zai’s eyes flickered with dawning understanding. “So Grandpa is like a little kid again? Like me easily scared, easily angry?”

“That’s right.” Si Yunyi gently tapped his nephew’s nose. “Beibei is very smart.”

“Then little uncle… when will Grandpa become round again?” Qi Zai tilted his head.

“Grandpa…” Si Yunyi paused, looking into the child’s eyes. “Grandpa will leave us. But in another place, he’ll become a new crescent moon… and grow round again.”

Qi Zai blinked, half understanding, half confused.

“So you don’t have to be scared. Grandpa is just becoming a child again just like you.” Si Yunyi took a tissue and wiped his little nose.

Si Beiqi pursed his lips and thought for a while. “No wonder Mom keeps telling me I have to take care of her when she gets old. It’s because she’ll turn into a child too. And little kids are the hardest to take care of… but I guess I still have to. She took care of me first.”

Si Yunyi gave a faint smile.

“Little uncle, when you get old, I’ll take care of you too.” Si Beiqi looked up seriously. “When I grow up, I’ll definitely be very amazing! Like my teacher who can handle more than ten kids at once!”

In Si Yunyi’s mind flickered the memory of the tragic car accident described in the book. He nodded lightly.

“Okay.”

Beiqi beamed, grabbed a handful of candies from the table, slipped out of Si Yunyi’s arms, and ran to his mother to get his toys before joining the other children again.

Seeing Qi Zai recover, Chu Junlie pretended to reach for an orange on the table, leaning closer toward Si Yunyi’s side once more.

Si Yunyi turned slightly, looking at him—a man who, in the original storyline, had destroyed the Si family entirely. He wondered what Chu Junlie thought of the Si family now.

Caught off guard by Si Yunyi’s gaze, Chu Junlie quickly bowed his head, peeled the orange at lightning speed, removing every fiber, and held the neat orange segments in front of him.

“Mr. Si, would you like an orange?”

Si Yunyi raised a hand. Under Chu Junlie’s glowing, eager stare, he took one piece and calmly put it into his mouth.

Mr. Si ate an orange I peeled for him!

Chu Junlie nearly vibrated with joy, encouraged beyond reason. His eyes lit up.

“Mr. Si… what else would you like to eat?”

Si Yunyi’s gaze swept across the fruits on the table and landed on the largest pomelo.

Chu Junlie immediately understood, picked up the big pomelo, and lowered his head to carefully peel it.

Seeing the pomelo segments presented to him by Chu Junlie, along with the man’s hands stained with juice, Si Yunyi picked a small piece and tasted it.

“Mr. Si, do you want to eat anything else?” Chu Junlie’s eyes lit up, like a big dog ready to leap out and bite down on its prey the moment its owner gave the order.

Si Yunyi studied the man for a moment, then led Chu Junlie into the old house to let him wash the sticky sweetness off his hands.

“Has there been any trouble at work lately?” Si Yunyi stood beside him and washed his hands as well.

“No…” Chu Junlie stole a cautious glance at Si Yunyi, remembering the promise he made before they got their marriage certificate. His mood dropped a little, and he nodded.

He didn’t want to hide anything from Mr. Si.

But the idea of being fired was too embarrassing to say out loud.

“I’m going to be fired from the clothing store,” Chu Junlie lowered his head in front of Si Yunyi. “I sold too few clothes. The boss said I don’t have any sales skills.”

Si Yunyi wiped his hands and looked at the deeply bowed head just as he had expected.

“Come with me.”

The scene felt just like their first meeting. Chu Junlie hurried after him, watching as Mr. Si led him into an unfamiliar room and turned on the lights, illuminating everything inside.

It was a walk-in closet. All around were different types of clothing. As Chu Junlie followed Si Yunyi inside, he noticed some pieces meant for boys around fifteen or sixteen, even a few sets of school uniforms!

The deeper they went, the more mature the clothes became. Suddenly realizing something, Chu Junlie took two steps back and stole another glance at the school uniforms.

Back when Mr. Si was in school, he must have been the top student type. With his elegant, extraordinary looks, who knew how many people had secretly admired him?

And now, this kind of person was his legal partner!

A strong sense of pride surged in Chu Junlie’s chest, so strong he almost wagged his tail from happiness.

“Little Chu,” Si Yunyi called from his destination. Chu Junlie immediately jogged over.

Si Yunyi opened a wardrobe, revealing suits of various styles and cuts.

“When we got engaged, I wanted to take you to have a few custom suits made. But time was too tight—handmade suits take at least half a month, and we only had a week. So we just bought a few ready-made ones.”

Chu Junlie blinked, recalling the suits in his closet, each costing far more than his monthly salary.

“These suits are about the same level as the ones in your store,” Si Yunyi said. “If I were going to a job interview right now, what would you recommend for me?”

Understanding that Mr. Si was evaluating his basics, Chu Junlie stood in front of the wardrobe and thought seriously. After some careful selecting, he took out a black suit and presented it.

“Sell it to me,” Si Yunyi said, watching him closely.

Chu Junlie pressed his lips together nervously. Catching sight of a chair, he immediately moved it over so that Mr. Si could sit first.

Si Yunyi sat down, long legs casually crossed, elegant fingers interlaced over his abdomen as he watched the presentation.

Chu Junlie tried hard to meet Si Yunyi’s eyes. Those clear, cool eyes with their slightly upturned corners made his heart flutter uncontrollably, his ears turned red after only a few seconds.

“T-This suit’s color is more mature and steady. If you wear white or patterned suits for an interview, it’ll look frivolous and lacking seriousness.”

Trying to steady his heartbeat, he pointed out the collar.

“The collar on this suit is standard not flashy like a peak lapel. You can pair it with a white or pinstripe shirt, either works. And black suits are easy to match with ties. Wearing this to an interview there won’t be any mistakes.”

“Pick me a tie,” Si Yunyi said, glancing toward the tie cabinet.

Holding the suit carefully, Chu Junlie compared tie after tie, eventually choosing a navy one with white diagonal stripes and showing it to Si Yunyi.

Si Yunyi tapped his finger lightly against his lower lip, then after observing the pairing for a moment, stood up and took out a dark-blue suit, handing it to him.

“Black isn’t wrong. But once you’re at the interview site, you’ll find that 80% of the applicants are wearing black.” He placed the tie on the dark-blue suit. “This color is also steady. Anything that matches black will match this as well.”

Seeing how much less dull the combination looked, Chu Junlie’s eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.

As he watched the now thoughtful Chu Junlie, Si Yunyi basically reached a conclusion.

There was nothing wrong with Chu Junlie’s sense of pairing, he already had the level expected of a salesperson. So the problem wasn’t sales skill, but that he simply sold too little.

Or rather, the store owner had hired him for his purchasing power, not his sales ability. After waiting so long without receiving the expected benefits, the owner dismissed him immediately.

After putting the suits back, Chu Junlie couldn’t hide his disappointment. “I’m sorry, Mr. Si. I can’t even do this kind of job well.”

“You did well,” Si Yunyi replied honestly. Chu Junlie was canonically gifted if even he wasn’t good at this, then no one would be.

“I just… feel so useless.” Chu Junlie leaned slightly toward him, his eyes carrying a pleading sorrow. “Only Mr. Si thinks I’m good.”

Si Yunyi was quiet for a few seconds, seeing through the surface and asking the essential question:

“What do you need?”

“…I need Mr. Si to manage me more,” Chu Junlie said, eyes full of longing. “I don’t need that much freedom.”