Pei Bu Xian hung up the phone with a confused expression, and just then, a message popped up on his phone:

Pei Yuan: "Everyone, come home immediately. Something major has happened."

Pei Che: "Busy."

Pei Feng Nong: "I’m in a meeting. What’s so urgent? Did Pei Bu Xian fall for Xia Xuechun?"

Pei You Chuan: "If it’s about that, I don’t have time to go back. Didn’t we say that if Pei Bu Xian falls for Xia Xuechun, we’ll send him to a mental institution? Let’s just send him there then."

Pei Ci: "Which mental institution? I can ask my assistant to send flowers as condolences."

Pei Mu: "Same here."

Pei Bu Xian: "…How much do you all want me to like Xia Xuechun?!"

Pei You Chuan: "Oh, Pei Bu Xian, you’re still in the group? Since you’ve fallen for Xia Xuechun now, you should’ve been kicked out. Sorry, haha."

System Prompt: [Pei You Chuan has kicked you out of the group chat.]
Pei Bu Xian: “?????”
System Prompt: [Pei Yuan has added you back to the group chat.]
Pei Bu Xian: "…This has nothing to do with me. Stop making things up!"
Pei You Chuan: "Then what else is so urgent that we need to come back? We’re busy, don’t waste our time here."
Pei Yuan: "Qiao Chuchu almost got hit by a car. She’s in the hospital, unconscious."

The group fell silent for a minute.

The other five replied in unison: "We’ll finish up what we’re doing and head home in an hour."
Pei Bu Xian: "Aren’t you all busy?"
The five replied: "We’re just busy with you."
Pei Bu Xian: "????"

For some reason, he felt an inexplicable surge of anger rising inside him. He turned irritably to see if Qiao Chuchu was following him.

Qiao Chuchu, lost in thought, accidentally bumped into his chest and looked up in confusion.

Her reddish-brown curly hair was slightly disheveled, making her resemble a carefree magical witch from a fairy tale.
Pei Bu Xian: "…"
Qiao Chuchu looked at him in bewilderment: "What’s wrong?"
Pei Bu Xian didn’t say anything, just stared at her for a while before turning away.

Qiao Chuchu, perplexed, followed him for a couple of steps when suddenly Pei Bu Xian snapped back, tore the scarf from his neck, and roughly wrapped it around her.

It was like wrapping a dumpling, covering her head and ears, and then putting on the hat before walking off without looking back.

Qiao Chuchu, stunned by the warmth of the scarf, felt unexpectedly cherished.
[Is this the sun coming out from the west today? Pei Bu Xian actually knows how to keep me warm? The last time I fainted in front of him, he didn’t even care.]

Pei Bu Xian halted, his footsteps slowing. "Hurry up and catch up!"
Qiao Chuchu snapped out of her reverie and quickly ran to his side: "Coming!"
Pei Bu Xian frowned, looking at Qiao Chuchu running toward him with the scarf, and she even smiled cheerfully at him.

His eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth subtly curved up as he continued walking towards the parking lot.

A nearby girl, waiting for test results, was watching with her phone in hand. Her voice was soft, almost melting: "Every time I read Pei Bu Xian’s books, I feel like he has such deep affection for his female protagonists."

Another boy nodded in agreement: "He definitely has a girl named Qiao Chuchu by his side. Every main female character in his books is named Qiao Chuchu."

The girl was astonished: "Every single book?"
The boy nodded: "Yes, the male protagonist is always changing, but Qiao Chuchu is constant, she’s a goddess in many readers' eyes!"

The girl continued reading her phone, where the description of the female protagonist read:

[Zhang Shuo hadn’t seen Qiao Chuchu for a while and noticed she hadn’t aged at all. She had a fluffy head of curly hair, reddish-brown, long to her waist, always messy. She wore a pencil on her ear that was sharp like a needle, but her outfit never looked sloppy. On the contrary, Zhang Shuo had a strange thought.]
[If the little mermaid had legs, she would definitely look like Qiao Chuchu.]
[But this little mermaid didn’t sing, she painted and fought.]

Pei Bu Xian arrived home and silently watched Qiao Chuchu go upstairs to rest.

He placed the West Highland Terrier on the ground, hesitated, and then went to the kitchen.
The kitchen assistant, Xiao Xie, was surprised to see him: "Mr. Pei Qi?"
Pei Bu Xian said nothing, washing his hands and starting to bake a cake.

Qiao Chuchu, from the second floor, smelled an indescribable sweet aroma and quickly ran downstairs: "Is someone making dessert in the kitchen?"

Xiao Xie was about to answer when Pei Bu Xian, with lightning speed, slammed the kitchen door shut and even locked it!
"Don’t tell her what I’m doing!" Pei Bu Xian threatened Xiao Xie fiercely. "Got it?"

Xiao Xie, startled, nodded quickly, feeling confused but still agreeing.

Qiao Chuchu arrived at the kitchen door and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge. The sweet scent of cake was obvious inside.
Curious, she asked, "Is someone cooking in there?"

Pei Bu Xian’s expression stiffened.

Xiao Xie, ever perceptive, took out her phone and texted: [Don’t worry, sir! Leave it to me!]
She then spoke to Qiao Chuchu: "Sorry, Miss Qiao, I’m baking cookies right now. Would it be okay to bring them to your room with tea later?"

Qiao Chuchu, disappointed, walked away: "No need, I don’t like cookies. Next time, when you make desserts, consider making strawberry cake. I’d really like to have some."

Pei Bu Xian froze for a moment, looking at the green grapes he was about to serve.
He immediately threw the grapes into the trash!
Xiao Xie: "?!"
The grapes were innocent!
She muttered to herself: "Sir, if you don’t need the fruit, you could just leave it in the kitchen instead of throwing it away."

Pei Bu Xian paused, then picked them up: "I forgot."

Xiao Xie: "…"
He tossed them back into the basket: "Give them to Pei You Chuan. He has a screw loose and won’t even notice."
Xiao Xie: "????"

Why was the young master, who couldn't even get something as simple as fruit right, in the kitchen?
Did he want to make a bomb?

She nervously approached him as he took out the strawberries: "Let me wash them."
She was afraid he would throw them away too.

Pei Bu Xian coldly replied: "I’ll do it myself."

Xiao Xie: "?"
Pei Bu Xian carefully washed the strawberries, cut them up, and skillfully started making the cake.
Xiao Xie stood by, stunned, watching him.

As he squeezed the cream, he paused and coldly glared at her: "Stop staring at me."

Xiao Xie: "…"
She awkwardly turned away, pulled out her phone, and started typing for her next post.

She was a small influencer with a popular blog. Her bio read: [Kitchen maid working for the seven handsome masters of the Pei family.]

She occasionally posted about the quirky happenings in the Pei family, anonymously sharing their stories. Though many doubted the truth of her posts, the content was fresh and amusing, which kept her traffic high, with many waiting for her next update.
She typed furiously, her title being:
[The seemingly aloof Seventh Master Pei is making strawberry cake for his long-lost eighth sister!]
[For those who don’t know, the Seventh Master is usually too lazy to talk. But today, he rushed into the kitchen without a word and started baking a cake. When his eighth sister asked, he quickly locked the door and didn’t want her to know.]

[After she left, I lied to her, saying I was baking cookies. The eighth sister was disappointed and walked away, asking me to make strawberry cake next time. Originally, the master was making a green grape cake, but after hearing what she said, he threw the grapes in the trash! (I secretly reminded him, and he picked them up and said they were for the third master.)]

A photo was attached: The lonely green grapes in a basket, large and plump.