I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

"I didn't want to kiss your eyes, I wanted to kiss you, but you had half your face covered by a scarf, so I could only kiss your eyes."

Bai Xiaoqi didn't speak, but simply pulled her scarf down to reveal her entire face. Then, she stood on tiptoe and whispered, "Would you like to kiss me again?"

Just as Chen Shuo was about to lower his head, he saw a taxi approaching from a distance and had no choice but to give up in frustration.

"Wait until we get home to kiss, the taxi is here."

The taxi's roof light approached from afar and stopped in front of the two. They opened the car door and got into the back seat. Bai Xiaoqi looked at the driver in the front seat and, seeing that he wasn't looking back, she felt relieved and rested her head on Chen Shuo's shoulder. After thinking for a moment, she pulled her scarf up to cover her face.

Chen Shuo glanced at her a few times, his gaze softening unconsciously. Although this girl said she had a thick skin, she actually had a very thin skin.

When making such slightly intimate gestures in public, you have to cover your face.

Back home, Chen Shuo turned on the living room light and helped her take off her coat, hat, and scarf and hang them on the hanger before taking off his own coat. As soon as he took it off, he felt a restless little hand poking at his lower back.

Without even asking, Chen Shuo knew who it was. He casually hung his coat up, put his arm behind his back, grabbed her small hand, turned his head and asked, "Are you in such a hurry for me to kiss you?"

"I didn't."

"Really not?"

Chen Shuo turned around and hugged her. Although she was wearing a sweater, it was much more comfortable to hug her than to hug her while she was wearing a down jacket.

"No, no." Bai Xiaoqi continued to refute, but she stood on tiptoe and raised her little face.

"You don't need to stand on tiptoe, I'll bend over."

Chen Shuo pressed her shoulders down to make her stand on the ground, then bent down and gently covered her slightly pursed soft lips with his mouth.

Warm, sweet, tender, and soft, many words flashed through his mind. He originally wanted to just stamp the seal and part ways as usual, but now he didn't want to stop there.

Sensing something, Bai Xiaoqi opened her eyes instantly, her gaze filled with bewilderment. Her breathing stopped involuntarily, and she was speechless for a moment, her breath ragged.

Before long, she felt she couldn't hold on any longer. Instinctively, she wanted to breathe and instinctively clenched her teeth. Then came Chen Shuo's cry of pain.

Gasping for breath, Bai Xiaoqi saw him covering his mouth and hissing, and knew she had made a mistake. She looked at Chen Shuo weakly, but asked first, "What are you doing? I can't breathe."

Chen Shuo covered his mouth and hissed a few times, then reached out and gently pinched her nose, saying indistinctly, "What's this thing for? Can't you use it to breathe?"

"No."

Bai Xiaoqi lowered her head and muttered softly, "I don't know why, my nose suddenly stopped working just now."

"If that doesn't work, then bite like a puppy." Chen Shuo stuck out his tongue for her to see, and said indistinctly, "Look, this is what you bit."

"You're the puppy."

Bai Xiaoqi muttered to herself, but when she heard the second half of his sentence, she subconsciously looked up and saw that his tongue was oozing blood. Her heart tightened, and she was about to apologize when she realized that she was the victim.

Suppressing her deep sense of guilt, she made a face at him, wrinkled her nose, and snorted, "Serves you right, who told you to tease me?"

Chen Shuo found a cup, filled it with water, took a few sips, and then spit out the reddish mouthwash.

After rinsing his mouth several times, he saw that the water he spat out became clear and that the fishy-sweet taste in his mouth had gone away. Then he explained, "I'm not teasing you. I'm kissing you. That's how those blond-haired, big-nosed foreigners in movies kiss."

As he spoke, Chen Shuo walked over and hugged her, asking with a smile, "How did you feel just now?"

"Not very good."

Bai Xiaoqi pouted, pinched his nose with one hand, and covered his mouth with the other. "How are you feeling now?"

"It's good." Chen Shuo answered vaguely, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and gently squeezing it a couple of times. Seeing that she released her mouth and nose, he asked softly, "Would you like to experience it again?"

Recalling the kiss from earlier, Bai Xiaoqi's cheeks flushed slightly, but she retorted, "Aren't you afraid I'll bite you again?"

"Don't worry, I know you definitely won't want to part with it."

"I won't hold back, I'll bite you to death in a minute." As she spoke, she took a deep breath, her cheeks puffing out, intending to fill her mouth with as much air as possible so she wouldn't bite him anymore.

Looking at her puffed-out cheeks, Chen Shuo smiled, lowered his head and covered her soft little lips again, but this time it was just a fleeting touch, a brief kiss before they parted.

After their lips parted, seeing Bai Xiaoqi's somewhat bewildered expression, Chen Shuo smiled even more happily. He pinched her chubby little face to let all the air out of her mouth before saying, "I've thought about it and decided against it. Although you're willing to bite me to death, I'm not willing to let you become a little widow."

Well, actually, her tongue started bleeding again, and I couldn't let it get into her mouth.

Chapter Sixty-Three: A Special Person

Having a sore tongue is a real problem; it greatly affects how I eat.

The wound was quite deep, and when I woke up the next morning, it had ulcerated. After I went to the hospital, bought some medicine, and applied it, a pseudomembrane finally covered the wound.

It took four or five days of enduring the pain before I fully recovered.

Snowflakes were falling outside again, but Chen Shuo unfortunately had to go out again. He put on his coat and was about to give her some instructions when he saw her lying on the sofa reading a book. Suddenly, a strange feeling rose in his heart.

Sometimes her temperament is truly mysterious; she stays in bed all day, giving off the vibe of a lazy cat in postpartum confinement.

She was lounging on the sofa, looking quite lazy, and her cat-themed pajamas accentuated her cuteness, yet also gave off a literary vibe.

After observing for a while, Chen Shuo felt that it must be related to the book in her hand.

The textbooks I ordered a while ago have arrived, and they also include reading materials such as natural science journals, which she is clearly more interested in.

"Don't work so hard when your period comes. Quickly grab a hand warmer and snuggle up in bed. Turn on the electric blanket and make sure your tummy is warm."

Are you leaving already?

"Okay, I'll try to come back early tonight. There's still some brown sugar water in the pot; you can heat it up and drink it later."

As Chen Shuo changed his shoes, he instructed, "It's cold outside, so don't come with me. Just stay home and behave yourself."

He straightened his clothes, wrapped the scarf around his neck, and was about to leave when he turned back, cupped her little face in his hands, and gave her a quick kiss before turning away contentedly. "I'm leaving now. Stay home and behave yourself. Don't open the door for strangers."

......

......

New Year's Day has just passed, and according to the lunar calendar, it is already the twelfth lunar month. The community has long been filled with the atmosphere of the New Year, with colorful flags and red lanterns hanging at the main gate.

Chen Shuo smacked his lips, thankfully his tongue had healed, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand today's hot pot.

The main reason for this trip was to welcome a friend named Nie Xi. He doesn't have many friends, and the only two or three he has are people he has known for more than ten years. This friend is someone he has known for even longer; they have known each other since kindergarten and are absolute childhood friends.

However, Nie Xi was much better than him, a liberal arts student. She was specially recruited into the National Defense University before finishing high school. After graduation, she was transferred to work in another city. It is unclear what she did, but it is said that she was assigned to some kind of classified department.

And now...

In the style of a wish-fulfillment novel, it means the three-year term is over, and the God of War has returned.

Whether he was a war god or not, Chen Shuo felt that since he came from the National Defense University, he must have some connection with the military.

I took a taxi to the hot pot restaurant where we were supposed to meet. As soon as I entered, I saw a man sitting in the corner who looked very melancholy.

They hadn't seen each other for several years and hadn't had any contact during that time, but Chen Shuo recognized him at a glance. He was still as serious as ever.

Oh, I'm not pretending, this guy is just born that way.

Someone once said that deep people are often secretly passionate. Chen Shuo used to think that this was not quite right, because he was just a little secretly passionate. But now he thinks it is very true. This guy has obviously evolved from being single-minded to being able to see both sides.

In the dead of winter, everyone else was wearing thick cotton-padded coats and trousers, down jackets and thermal underwear, but this guy was dressed in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and even had a plaid blue bow tie on his shirt collar.

They act like real estate agents.

"Your outfit screams top salesman. How many houses have you sold recently?"

Chen Shuo sat down and asked the question. Since childhood friends who have known each other for many years do not feel distant even after not seeing each other for a long time, he asked the question very naturally.

"Sell the house?"

Nie Xi was slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered her composure and pushed the menu forward. "I've only ordered vegetarian dishes. See what meat dishes you want. We haven't ordered the hot pot base yet."

As he spoke, he subtly shifted his body away, revealing a black top hat and long trench coat hanging behind him.

Seeing his actions, Chen Shuo naturally understood what he meant. He was trying to tell him that he was not a real estate agent, but a member of the mafia.

After all, no real estate agent would wear a top hat and a suit coat like that.

With a smirk, Chen Shuo took the menu. It had been years since he'd seen this guy, and he was even more of a brooding scoundrel than before. At least his clothes used to be more normal, but now he looked like a refined scoundrel.

He casually sketched out a few meat dishes, and when it came time to choose the hot pot base, he looked up and asked, "A half-and-half pot or a spicy pot?"

"It will be all right."

"Okay, then let's have a hot pot with two broths."

Seeing the waiter pass by, Chen Shuo handed him the menu before continuing, "Let's not drink alcohol, I've given it up. I ordered two lemonades, you can have one and I can have one, they'll be sweet and sour and good for stimulating the appetite, isn't that great?"

Nie Xi nodded, then looked at Chen Shuo for a while, her brows furrowing slightly before relaxing. She asked, "Have you run into anyone recently?"

Chen Shuo took off his thick down jacket and hung it on the back of the chair when he heard the question. He stared at him for a moment with the look he would give a village idiot before slowly saying, "I meet people every day."

"Hmm...are there any rather special people?"

"Of course you are. Don't you think you're special?"

As he spoke, Chen Shuo glanced around at the other customers in the shop, then turned his gaze back to him.

"From what I've observed, everyone else in this store seems perfectly normal, except you, who's dressed like a Mafia godfather, complete with a top hat, suit, and bow tie. If I'm not mistaken, are you also wearing one of those retro vests under that suit?"

"You guessed right."

Nie Xi nodded and continued, "So, where have you been recently? Or have you met anyone unusual?"

"..."

Chen Shuo was silent for a moment after hearing this, "Now I really wonder what you've been doing all these years. Did you join the FBI?"

Just then, the waiter brought over the hot pot base, followed by a trolley filled with hot pot ingredients.

After the waiter left, Chen Shuo didn't continue the previous topic, but instead asked, "Are you leaving again this time you're back?"

“I’m not leaving. I’ve been transferred to our city, and I’ll be working here from now on.”

Which department?

"A department under the jurisdiction of the provincial government."

"Provincial Department..."

The highest command of a province, very prestigious. No wonder he was a high-achieving student who was admitted to university before finishing high school, and upon returning, he immediately secured a stable job in the country.

Chen Shuo was naturally envious, but he was mostly happy for his friend. A civil servant's job with a secure livelihood is so much better than his own.

Seeing the water boil, he put the tripe and beef slices into the pot. The tripe cooked quickly. Chen Shuo picked up a piece with his chopsticks and looked up to see Nie Xi just eating vegetables. He couldn't help but ask, "The tripe is cooked, why aren't you eating it?"

"I don't eat meat now."