My Boyfriend Watches Me Like I'm a Thief - Chapter 1

Utterly baffled, I opened the door for Fu Ming.

Once inside, he checked behind the door, the shoe cabinet, the bathroom, the sofa, under the bed, the wardrobe, the trash can—every place someone could possibly hide.

Then he started checking me.

He examined me thoroughly, inside and out.

By the time I lay limp against his sweat-soaked chest, he was finally satisfied. He stroked the hollow of my lower back.

“Now I believe my baby hasn’t been hiding anyone.”

I had nothing to say to that.

I hadn’t hidden anyone in the first place, all right?

I honestly had no idea why he went through this routine every day.

***

I first met Fu Ming at a research conference.

My ex-boyfriend Lu Shang and I were still madly in love then, although he had never made our relationship public.

Love alone was enough to live on, or so I thought. I didn’t care about those outward trappings.

As the youngest researcher at the institute and one of the principal leads on that semiconductor project, I collected plenty of business cards at the conference.

Fu Ming’s was one of them.

When I reached for his card, the hand holding it didn’t move. I looked up in confusion and found him standing perfectly still, as though he’d frozen.

He smiled. “Are you single?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“You probably know my boyfriend,” I added pointedly. “Lu Shang.”

His smile stiffened. “Oh. Lu Shang. Yes, I know him.”

After that, I was busy helping the professor greet guests and didn’t pay much more attention to him.

That evening, the professor was invited to a gathering for the people involved in the project and insisted on bringing me along.

“Qi Wen, this investor is putting up serious money—a billion yuan for our project. You and I both have to show our appreciation.”

The moment I entered the private dining room, I saw Lu Shang and Fu Ming treating each other like brothers.

Fu Ming looked at me and deliberately asked Lu Shang, “And who is this?”

Lu Shang smiled. “Researcher Qi.”

There was a knowing glint in Fu Ming’s eyes. “No. I mean, what’s your relationship with him?”

Even with me staring straight at him, Lu Shang’s smile remained perfectly composed.

“Researcher Qi and I are just friends.”

“Oh. Just friends…” Fu Ming drawled.

I lowered my head.

For some reason, that lingering emphasis made me feel embarrassed.

My phone vibrated.

It was a message from Lu Shang.

“Baby, I know you love me, and I love you too. But suddenly revealing our relationship would definitely affect the partnership. Put up with it for my sake, okay?”

I knew homosexuality wasn’t accepted by mainstream society, and Lu Shang came from a deeply traditional family.

So I swallowed the hurt on my own.

After several rounds of drinks, quite a few people were drunk.

Lu Shang went to the restroom, leaving his briefcase behind.

I went over and picked it up. I planned to wait for him outside the restroom, then leave without coming back.

While I was packing his things, something heavy settled against my right shoulder. I turned and found Fu Ming leaning on me, apparently so drunk that he wasn’t aware of what he was doing.

“Mr. Fu, have you had too much to drink?”

He made a couple of indistinct noises but didn’t lift his head.

Lu Shang came back for his briefcase. I asked him to help get Fu Ming off me, but he could barely stand straight himself.

“Call a driver to take Mr. Fu home in his car,” I told him.

Fu Ming seemed to regain a little awareness at that. “Mr. Lu,” he mumbled, “let’s go to your place. Keep drinking.”

Lu Shang immediately beamed. “Of course, of course, Mr. Fu. Let’s keep drinking.”

“Lu Shang,” I said, trying to stop him.

He brushed me aside. “Mr. Fu and I have really become brothers tonight. This is Mr. Fu we’re talking about. Do you know who he is? With him as a brother, I’ll have more projects than I know what to do with.”

As Lu Shang went on and on, I fell silent.

I didn’t tell him that Fu Ming’s long arm was wrapped around my waist and showed no sign of letting go.