During the day, Wei Yuhuan dealt with some work, but in the afternoon he went to attend an exhibition and had dinner with his business partner at a French restaurant chosen by the latter.
As the exquisite escargot was served on the table, Wei Yuhuan inexplicably thought of the little crab who was nibbling on leftover food with a white bun last night... The leftovers were all eaten yesterday, and he didn't know what his meal would be like tonight.
He returned to the company late in the evening, and the little crab was already there!
Wei Yuhuan pulled up the footage and rewound it, and found that he had arrived almost an hour later than last night and had just arrived not long ago?
Luck was on his side, the little guy probably hadn't taken a shower yet!
At the moment, the other party was busy in the kitchen-making tomato and egg stir-fry! They used two tomatoes from the fridge? The way they were stir-frying was quite professional, and at this moment, Wei Yuhuan felt that the iced tea T-shirt worn by the other person on their body didn't seem so unsightly.
The other party only made one dish, and after putting the dish on a plate, he leaned in to smell it and even licked the taste with their tongue, then showed a satisfied expression.
Wei Yuhuan captured every movement and expression of the other person, as if he was possessed and couldn't bear to take his eyes off the screen.
Like yesterday, the little crab brought back two buns and ate them with the tomato and egg stir-fry.
Looking at the plate of tomato and egg stir-fry, the color was bright and vivid, with red and yellow mixed together, and it was emitting steam, which made one's mouth water.
Although Wei Yuhuan had eaten quite full at dinner, at this moment, he also wanted to taste it...
He touched his sturdy abdomen, suppressing the desire to order takeout. He didn't want to have a beer belly by the age of 35.
The child only ate half of the plate of tomato and egg stir-fry, leaving the other half on the table just like last time.
Two buns and half a plate of tomato and egg stir-fry, what a thrifty eater! Are they that poor?
Wei Yuhuan pondered, wondering if the little guy was secretly living in someone else's empty house because he couldn't afford to rent a place. This seemed plausible, but seeing how he came and went early and late, he didn't seem like an unemployed person.
These days, even working in a hair salon chain in S City would come with room and board, and many restaurants didn't require any educational qualifications for their servers. Even if they were down on their luck, they shouldn't be homeless, especially since this little guy had hands and feet and could afford a smartphone. He shouldn't have done something illegal like this!
Wei Yuhuan was thoroughly piqued by this little thing's curiosity.
That night, Wei Yuhuan watched the bathroom live stream again and was aroused by it.
He felt that it was not sustainable to continue like this and that he needed to find a lover as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would go crazy watching the same scenes every day.
On the third morning, the security guard couldn't wait and called Wei Yuhuan, saying that they had been closely monitoring the activity in Qiaoxi Ge 0301 and had determined that there was light between 8pm and 9pm for the past two nights. They had also identified the appearance of the thief and asked Wei Yuhuan if he wanted them to catch the thief that night.
Wei Yuhuan rolled his eyes and said that he already knew all of this information. He was curious why the security guards hadn't noticed the intruder, who had clearly climbed over the wall, and why the external surveillance cameras hadn't captured anything.
The security guard hastily tried to shift the blame, saying that it was just a blind spot in the surveillance and that the thief seemed to be aware of the camera's location, so they had successfully avoided detection.
Wei Yuhuan had his own ulterior motives and didn't want to investigate the security guard's responsibility any further. He just told them to keep an eye on things and emphasized that they shouldn't expose themselves.
The security guards were a bit confused, as they didn't know what else they were supposed to observe.
Wei Yuhuan himself didn't know either. He just felt that it wasn't the right time yet. If he had to describe it, it was like he had just gotten a new toy and hadn't played with it enough yet. How could he let go so soon?
Of course, he wouldn't admit that this behavior also satisfied his perverted voyeuristic desires to some extent.
A week later, Li Xiuya returned to work and was surprised to see Wei Yuhuan living in the company.
But he was a smart person and wouldn't actively poke at Wei Yuhuan's sore spot. Moreover, his job as a "secretary" was just to do his job, as long as he didn't make any mistakes in this regard, Wei Yuhuan wouldn't do anything to him.
The two of them tacitly acknowledged the unpleasantness that had happened before and maintained a peaceful working relationship.
Wei Yuhuan had watched silent films for ten and a half days and almost completely understood Little Crab's routine. If he wanted to catch him, the other party would definitely not be able to escape.
But in the past ten days, Wei Yuhuan had become more and more indecisive. Even though he watched the same surveillance video every day, he seemed to become addicted to it and enjoyed it more and more.
Moreover, the "meetings" that happened every night on time also made Wei Yuhuan feel like he had developed some sort of relationship with the child.
If a stranger makes a mistake, many people will criticize, condemn or even curse them without any sympathy, and won't consider the harm that these attacks may cause. They may even feel that the other person deserves it. However, if the person who made the mistake is someone we know well, it's a completely different story. We will instinctively feel empathy and look for excuses to exonerate them.
It's like Wei Yuhuan's current state, he's trying his best to analyze the reasons why the other person broke into his home, the possible bitterness and hardships behind it, as well as the consequences of being convicted and how it will affect his future.
Wei Yuhuan would be curious about what the kid eats every day, what color of underwear he wears, what time he goes to bed, and who he calls on the phone - yes, that kid often calls his friends, laughing heartily each time, showing his two small tiger teeth, and a faint dimple on his right cheek, making people want to pinch his little face!
Wei Yuhuan is so conflicted, little crab, little crab, you're so cute, how can I bear to hand you over to the police~
Sometimes, while working at his computer, Wei Yuhuan can look up and see the little crab studying (probably) on the monitor. This feeling is strange, it makes Wei Yuhuan feel like he has someone quietly accompanying him.
Of course, this kind of companionship was not absent before, the most common example being Li Xiuya. Even during busy work and overtime, the other person was almost always by his side, but Wei Yuhuan didn't necessarily have much feeling about it. Why is it that this little crab gives him a warm feeling?
He thinks it's probably the kind of distance of "you don't know me, but I know you" that makes him feel at ease.
One day, the kid came back a little slower than usual, carrying something round and bulging on his back.
When he entered the room and turned on the light, Wei Yuhuan could finally see what it was - the kid had brought back a watermelon!
That evening, after dinner and showering, the kid sat cross-legged on the bed wearing a little white coat, holding half a watermelon, eating and watching TV with a satisfied expression on his face...
These days were so rich and flavorful!
Wei Yuhuan was both envious of the kid's contented state and irritated, why could a tiny hermit crab live so freely while he, the homeowner, could only hide in his office and watch the recordings? He couldn't even have a watermelon.
"Xiao Wang! Go buy me a watermelon!" Wei Yuhuan dialed the security guard's extension.
"What? A watermelon?... Oh! Oh, I'll go right away!" The security guard endured Wei Yuhuan's inexplicable anger, tears streaming down his face as he rushed to the fruit store.
While waiting for the watermelon, Wei Yuhuan stared at the screen, wishing he could grab the kid and rub him in his arms, and then give him a good education, of course, it would be the kind of education where adults teach children, spanking and such (...).
Lost in thought, Wei Yuhuan felt that he might not be doing well if he continued like this.
Two more days passed, and the security guards didn't call Wei Yuhuan again to catch the thief. They probably assumed that the idiot's wealthy family was connected to someone he knew, otherwise how could he be so calm? It was just unfair to these working-class people who were scolded for no reason, and it was really annoying!
Meanwhile, Wei Yuhuan continued to have his daily fun.
This evening, he waited in front of his computer early on, but he waited until almost ten o'clock, and that kid still hadn't come back.
Wei Yuhuan suppressed his anxious feelings and glanced at the computer screen every few minutes.
Just so happened, there was a big project to discuss the contract tomorrow, and everyone was working overtime until this time. Li Xiuya brought the prepared materials for Wei Yuhuan to review for the last time, and when he saw that Wei Yuhuan was distracted, he became a little concerned.
He had already noticed that the other party had been off recently, not even finding any lovers for half a month, and staying at the company every day. This kind of celibacy didn't seem like the Wei Yuhuan he knew.
Li Xiuya faced Wei Yuhuan and couldn't see the other person's computer. He was very curious about what was distracting Wei Yuhuan so much.
He took a deep breath, slightly loosened his tense shoulders, and walked around behind Wei Yuhuan, intending to massage his shoulders.
—But in the end, he lowered his head first.
Even if he was unhappy, Li Xiuya had no choice. He needed Wei Yuhuan's "attention" to satisfy his own vanity. Since he couldn't capture the other person's heart, he could only flatter and lower himself.
He prepared himself mentally, but what surprised him was that as soon as his hand touched Wei Yuhuan's shoulder, Wei Yuhuan coldly stopped him.
"Xiuya," the man had already switched windows at the fastest speed and hid the surveillance interface. He rubbed his forehead and said in a deep voice, "It's better for us to maintain our work relationship."
Wei Yuhuan said it very tactfully, leaving a little room for emotions, but his rejection was quite clear.
"I understand," Li Xiuya stepped back, looking a little bleak, but he still responded without giving away any feelings, "Mr. Wei, you should rest early. I'll go back first."
Wei Yuhuan of course didn't reject Li Xiuya because of the little crab. Although he admitted that the other person's absence did make him feel annoyed and irritable, it was not enough to affect his decision on this matter.
However, Wei Yuhuan, who had been thinking with his lower body for over ten years, finally began to think with his brain about his lifelong matter at this moment.
Translator note: You can now choose to make a one-off donation through Kofi to access all chapters at once.
Comments