Tao Nian’s words hit him right in the heart. An Xun pondered. When they first met, Bo Xiangzhou had already mentioned that he knew what kind of life he led in the An family. Thinking back on it, Tao Nian’s words weren’t without reason.

[Gulu Gulu]: I guess that does make sense.

[Nian Nian]: He’s 100% overflowing with fatherly love, treating you like his son.

[Nian Nian]: It’s nice though, lovers turning into father and son.

[Gulu Gulu]: Go to hell. I don’t want to be anyone’s son.

An Xun sent him a speechless emoji.

He had a carefree personality and never let things weigh on his mind. After sleeping, he had completely forgotten about everything.

Early in the morning, while having a nice dream, An Xun was woken up by knocking. His head was foggy as he groggily got up from bed, stumbling and storming to open the door. He hadn’t even finished half of a harsh sentence before swallowing it back down.

In front of him was Bo Xiangzhou’s blurred figure, with several betas dressed in identical uniforms behind him. Their smiles were so uniform, it looked like they’d been trained for it, the arcs of their mouths all the same.

He rubbed his eyes, “What’s… this?”

Uncle Lin chimed in, “Madam, these are the designers responsible for making the wedding attire.”

He nodded blankly. He had heard Bo Xiangzhou talk about the wedding arrangements before, every detail was something this poor guy could never even imagine. The custom-tailored clothes team was handpicked from among the best, not only highly renowned in the country but also known for their impeccable taste. The clothes they made were tailored exactly to their clients’ ideas and needs.

But he couldn’t understand, so in his groggy state, he asked, “President Bo, why today?”

Don’t they need to rest? Even if they didn’t, he did! He finally had a holiday and was looking forward to sleeping in.

“It’s the weekend, so there’s time,” Bo Xiangzhou said.

An Xun stood there for a while, becoming more awake. Awkwardly pinching the bear print on his pajama pants, he said, “I’ll go change my clothes first.”

He was going to die from embarrassment! He had never been this humiliated before!

Bo Xiangzhou, the workaholic, didn’t even bother giving him a heads-up. If he had, he definitely wouldn’t have come out dressed like this.

But Bo Xiangzhou didn’t understand his internal collapse, “No need, just measuring your size, it’ll only take a few minutes.”

An Xun glanced at the neat and wrinkle-free, impeccably dressed alpha and wanted to give him a good smack.

Doesn’t he know that omega feel embarrassed to meet people without tidying up first?!

An Xun, with his messy bed hair and lifeless expression, was a stark contrast to him.

With a deadpan expression, An Xun raised his arms whenever the designer’s assistant asked him to, fully cooperating throughout, just hoping it would be over quickly.

Bo Xiangzhou sat nearby, watching. Occasionally, he discussed the overall style with the lead designer, and when he heard the assistant calling out the measurements, he even looked over suspiciously for a few seconds. Seeing An Xun’s flushed ears, he realized his gaffe and quickly looked away.

An Xun was mortified. That assistant must have been a rookie, measuring his hips three or four times, each time getting the same result, but still looking disbelieving.

An Xun internally roared, what are you looking at?! Haven’t you ever seen an omega with a good figure before?! How ignorant! Just because I’m skinny doesn’t mean I can’t have a big butt!

After surviving this socially deadly scene, An Xun was filled with despair. He regretted it now. He should never have chased money and tried to join a wealthy family. Turns out, getting into high society wasn’t that easy.

An Xun’s expressions changed every few seconds. One moment he looked like he was about to cry, the next he was smiling, and his tone of speech was super dismissive, clearly trying to get rid of them.

Bo Xiangzhou didn’t want to make things harder for him either. He didn’t care much about the wedding himself. He was only putting effort into it to make sure An Xun looked good in front of others. Seeing that An Xun shared the same indifference, Bo Xiangzhou relaxed a little. He had been worried that An Xun wouldn’t be happy with the arrangements, but now it seemed he had been overthinking it.

He quickly wrapped up the conversation, though An Xun hadn’t heard a single word, already desperate to call Tao Nian and vent.

Bo Xiangzhou asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”

An Xun replied quickly, clearly without thinking, “Nope, whatever you say goes, President Bo.”

He just wanted to go back to bed and catch up on sleep.

“Alright, then it’s settled.” Before leaving, Bo Xiangzhou paused to show some concern, “I noticed last night your room’s lights were off by 9 PM. Why do you still look so tired? Trouble sleeping or are you feeling unwell? The Bo family isn’t some kind of monster, you know. If there’s a health problem, feel free to contact the family doctor anytime.”

An Xun replied with a straight face, “Thank you for your concern, President Bo, but I’m fine. I just had a nightmare that woke me up in the middle of the night.”

Remembering how An Xun had been cramping frequently the day before, Bo Xiangzhou followed up, “Do you often have nightmares?”

“No, not really.”

After Bo Xiangzhou left, An Xun threw off his slippers, jumped onto the bed, balled up the blanket, and kneeled on top of it. The awkward scene from half an hour ago played out vividly in his mind, stabbing his heart. He crazily banged his head against the pillow a few times before dialing Tao Nian’s number.

“Nian Nian! Arghhh! My reputation is ruined!” An Xun changed his posture and spoke rapidly, “Bo Xiangzhou, that jerk, suddenly had the wedding attire designers come over to take my measurements. I was completely caught off guard! Do you know how embarrassing it was? Me, a fierce omega, in cutesy pink pajamas, meeting all those people with my face unwashed and no makeup! Can you even imagine my collapse?!”

“I really wanted to grab a brick and knock each one of them out!”

Tao Nian lived a rough life and didn’t really get An Xun’s breakdown. After digesting his rant, he said, “At least you didn’t really lose face. Relax, even if you did, with your current status, no one would dare laugh at you.”

An Xun, uncomforted, replied, “I’d rather they laughed at me openly, at least then I’d have an excuse to curse them out.”

As they kept chatting, the topic drifted, and they ended up gossiping about their company. An Xun listened eagerly for a few minutes before getting bored, “Is there anything more shocking? Like cheating scandals or wives catching mistresses?”

“Nope, if there were, it’d already be all over the news.”

“Alright, whatever.”

With that topic over, the conversation took an emotional turn. Tao Nian lamented, “Babe, I miss you. Since you left, I’ve been so bored, no one to drink with.”

“I miss you too! I’m suffocating over here at the Bo family. I have to sneak snacks like I’m a thief, and don’t even mention alcohol, I’ve already forgotten what it tastes like.”

An Xun suddenly remembered something, “Babe, when I get married, make sure not to expose anything. Act civil, don’t act like a creep and hug me the moment you see me, spouting all that lewd nonsense.”

Tao Nian felt wronged, “Who are you calling a creepy, lewd talker? An Xun, that’s unfair!”

An Xun grabbed a pillow and hugged it, “Whatever. The scumbags from the An family will be there too. I’ve seated you far from them. If you run into them, keep your temper in check.”

“Got it. By the way, do you still have that one-week crash course in acting you got online?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I need to study it and help you with your performance, right?”

“Nian Nian, mwah mwah, you’re the best!”

Tao Nian shuddered, “Please stop grossing me out.”

That night, Tao Nian stayed up all night watching the hour-long lessons over and over, still puzzled as to how An Xun had managed to learn so much in just one week.

·

Bo Xiangzhou was on vacation these past few days and had a lot of free time.

Seeing him sitting across from him in silk pajamas, An Xun was a little dazed. This was the first time he’d ever seen Bo Xiangzhou come down to eat breakfast in loungewear.

He had seen Bo Xiangzhou so many times, and almost every time he was dressed in a suit, exuding an aristocratic air, like a distant star—elegant, yet out of reach. Every gesture carried an aloofness.

This was the first time he had seen such a down-to-earth side of Bo Xiangzhou.

He really wanted to know why. His curiosity was strong, and when something bothered him, he had to get to the bottom of it. He knew it was rude and would probably annoy Bo Xiangzhou, but he couldn’t help it.

During his time at the Bo family, he’d been imitating Bo Xiangzhou’s ways, changing his usual eating habits—eating slowly, speaking less, and trying to act obedient every day.

Neither of them said a word. It was like two strangers sharing a table, creating an awkward atmosphere that was suffocating.

An Xun couldn’t stand it. He quickly stuffed a few bites into his mouth, grabbed his bag, and prepared to head to work, “President Bo, take your time, I’m off.”

“Last night, there was a notice. A restaurant on Huaguang Road had a major gas explosion due to improper handling of the gas, causing severe damage to nearby buildings. The road is now closed for reconstruction, and all traffic is being rerouted. If you go that way, you’ll definitely be late. You should sit for a bit. When Old Zhang arrives, I’ll have him drive you.”

Huaguang Road was the quickest route to his company. He hadn’t anticipated the road closure. Detours were indeed a hassle, and by the time a rideshare arrived, he’d probably be sunburnt.

But how did this guy know? Why hadn’t he heard anything about it?

Seeing An Xun’s conflicted expression, Bo Xiangzhou added, “I know you don’t like making a scene. Don’t worry, there are several discreet cars in the parking lot. I’ll have Old Zhang pick an older, low-profile one to drive you.”

He didn’t even want to go to work, always looking for ways to delay. Now, it looked like he’d have to get to the office early and slack off.

A few minutes later, An Xun realized his mistake. He shouldn’t have trusted Bo Xiangzhou so blindly. He’d relaxed way too soon. Bo Xiangzhou’s idea of “low-profile” and his own were clearly on completely different levels.