The Young Master's Stand-in Little White Rabbit Ran Away - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Who Is He

Shen Nian waited with hope, from the anticipation of each morning to the disappointment of nightfall. Only he knew this feeling.

After nearly half a month, the phone call finally came the day before Qi Jinnan’s return.

“Sir!” Shen Nian called out happily to Qi Jinnan, his rabbit ears twitching, as if the days of neglect hadn’t diminished his love for Qi Jinnan at all.

“Mm, I’ll be home early tonight. Remember to prepare dinner for me,” said the deep, magnetic voice on the other end, devoid of emotion. Yet Shen Nian was still overjoyed. For this silly rabbit, just seeing Qi Jinnan was the happiest thing.

After reluctantly hanging up, Shen Nian rushed to the refrigerator to prepare dinner. Realizing he needed soy sauce, green onions, ginger, and garlic for another dish, he put on his shoes and ran to the supermarket outside the villa area, thinking he still had time.

At the supermarket checkout, he discovered he had no money in either pocket.

“Do you have money or not?” complained an impatient middle-aged woman behind him. Looking at Shen Nian’s attire, she scoffed, “You’re wearing all brand names, yet you can’t afford soy sauce?”

“No, I… I…” Shen Nian’s face reddened with embarrassment, his speech becoming clumsy.

What should he do? Sir was coming back soon, and the supermarket was quite far from the villa. He clearly remembered putting money in his pocket before leaving. Where had it gone?

As he was about to return the soy sauce to the shelf, a pair of slender hands reached out from beside him, and a clear voice said, “I’ll pay for him.”

Shen Nian turned to see a young man in a white hoodie, wearing a black sports headband with letters on his forehead. His beautiful almond-shaped eyes shone brightly under the supermarket’s cold white lights. He was holding a basketball and some books, looking like a student from a nearby university.

“Thank you, I’ll pay you back later,” Shen Nian said as they walked out of the supermarket together.

Lu Huaizhi popped open a can of soda with one hand. Finding the soft, blushing rabbit-eared beastman’s explanations amusing, he replied after taking a sip, “No rush. The soy sauce and your groceries aren’t expensive. You don’t need to pay me back. Just give me your contact information.”

Shen Nian, surprised by this turn, looked at the young man blankly before lowering his head in serious thought. “I can’t do that. Debts must be repaid.”

He believed that one should always pay back what they owe and not take advantage of others.

“But you have no money now,” Lu Huaizhi raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze fixed on Shen Nian’s snow-white rabbit ears. “How about this? Let me touch your rabbit ears, and we’ll call it even.”

Just as Lu Huaizhi thought the rabbit beastman would agree, Shen Nian immediately stepped back three paces, covering his ears with his hands. “No… only Sir can touch my rabbit ears…”

“Who is ‘Sir’?” Lu Huaizhi asked, somewhat surprised. After all, the young man before him looked only eighteen or nineteen. His soft, bright dark eyes, partially hidden by white hair, seemed incredibly clear, like vast expanses of snow melting under the night sky.

“Sir… well, Sir is Sir,” Shen Nian nodded confidently.

At this point, even someone as slow as Lu Huaizhi could tell that Shen Nian wasn’t ordinary and had some mental deficiencies. He wondered what kind of person would let such a disabled beastman run out alone late at night. Frowning slightly, he asked, “Do you know the way home?”

“I do!” Shen Nian confidently patted his chest, his rabbit ears twitching adorably. “I never forget the way home. Nian Nian isn’t stupid…”

Lu Huaizhi smiled, his tone gentle, “Mm, not stupid.”

As night fell, it was the most beautiful blue hour. The street lamps suddenly lit up with a yellow glow. Shen Nian hopped along, with Lu Huaizhi following his footsteps. The air was filled with the sweet scent of chiffon cake when Shen Nian suddenly stopped in front of a cake shop window, staring intently at the cake models inside.

“Do you like cake?” Lu Huaizhi asked, looking towards the cake shop.

Before Shen Nian could answer, Lu Huaizhi had entered the shop. He came out with an exquisite strawberry cake and handed it to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian quickly shook his head, whispering, “No, I can’t take it. I can make cakes.”

“You can make cakes?!” Lu Huaizhi looked at him with pleasant surprise.

At the mention of cakes, Shen Nian’s eyes lit up. “Yes, I’ll treat you to a cake I make.”

“Sounds good,” Lu Huaizhi said, finishing the last of his soda. Just as he was about to say something more, a car horn sounded behind them.

The sudden noise rang out on the street. Lu Huaizhi gripped the empty can tightly and turned around to see a tall man getting out of a Maybach. The man then started walking in their direction.

Shen Nian was sensitive to sounds. Although Qi Jinnan was far away, he recognized his lover at once. He ran happily in that direction but stopped about two meters away. “Sir…”

He clutched at the hem of his shirt, his faint eyebrows revealing a hint of sadness in his eyes when he saw Wen Yu behind Qi Jinnan. He wanted to be held in Sir’s arms, but he was afraid… because Sir never allowed him to get so close in front of others.

Qi Jinnan’s gaze shifted between the two people in front of him, his tone neither warm nor cold, with no discernible emotion. “Craving cake?”

“Mm… if Sir wants to eat cake, I’ll make it when we get home,” Shen Nian said with a silly smile, his snow-white rabbit ears perking up happily.

Qi Jinnan gave a cold laugh, his face gloomy. “Did you forget I was coming home for dinner today? You didn’t understand what I told you on the phone, did you?”

“I…” Shen Nian bit his lip, lowering his head in shame. It seemed he had made a mistake again. Sir had told him he would be home in a while, but he had remembered it wrong.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I was wrong.”

Lu Huaizhi couldn’t bear to see Qi Jinnan bullying Shen Nian like this. He pulled Shen Nian behind him and tossed his empty soda can into the trash with a ‘bang’. “Aren’t you at fault too, letting him go out alone so late!”

Qi Jinnan coldly glanced at Lu Huaizhi, then fixed his gaze on Shen Nian in the distance. “Who is he?”