Taking the opportunity, Bo Xiangzhou fed him another spoonful, “If it’s painful, talk less. Aren’t you worried about hurting your own ears?”

“You might dislike me, but that doesn’t mean I dislike myself,” An Xun smiled.

“I never said I disliked you…”

Mimicking his tone, An Xun retorted, “Don’t—make—assumptions—”

With a strange intonation, An Xun continued, “Ignoring questions, walking away, as cold as a snowy lotus on an iceberg, anyone else would misunderstand, but I know President Bo. It’s just his nature to be cool and detached, why would I make assumptions? President Bo, you are the flower on a high peak, and someone like me, earning only 6800 a month, doesn’t deserve to pick such a flower to bring home. Divorce!”

Bo Xiangzhou was left speechless.

Sitting upright, eye to eye with the alpha, An Xun huffed after half a minute, “See, you’re silent again, you obviously have a problem with me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Hmph.”

Bo Xiangzhou chose to remain silent, letting him say whatever he wished.

An Xun played a solo act for a while, but soon found it boring without any response and his face turned cold. He opened his left palm upwards, “Give it to me, I’ll pour it myself.”

“You should rest,” Bo Xiangzhou, exasperated to the extreme and understanding the root of his anger, started making conversation to lighten the mood. “A few days ago, Grandma asked about the birthday party arrangements; she said everything is almost set and wanted to know what kind of decor you like.”

Had it been half a month earlier, he would have unhesitatingly chosen a dreamy pink theme.

He glanced at him, doubting he would like pink now.

Defying expectations, An Xun said, “I like a funeral style, black veils and white wreaths. Celebrate my birthday and mourn our brief loveless love story at the same time.”

Bo Xiangzhou: “…I never realized you talked this much before.”

“Tears have made me grow,” An Xun said earnestly. “Thank you, President Bo, for nurturing me.”

Bo Xiangzhou was dumbfounded, almost sickened by the irritation.

He focused on feeding An Xun porridge, who thankfully did not refuse and enjoyed his care, yet his words remained sharp, “President Bo, do your subordinates know about this? Do they resent you for taking a leave from work? You’re pushing me into a pit of fire by doing this.”

Bo Xiangzhou, unaffected, remained calm while An Xun, frustrated, continued, “President Bo, you’re so skilled at feeding, haven’t you fed others often? I was thinking after our divorce I could use the gimmick of being fed by President Bo to become a somewhat famous internet celebrity. Now I think better of it, to avoid having your past omegas copy my path to success and live in big villas.”

“President Bo, when you remarry, you can’t treat your next omega like this. Alphas who are on their third marriage have a hard time finding a wife.”

“President Bo, considering how many times I’ve called you ‘husband,’ can I come to your second wedding without a gift, with my future family in tow to freeload a meal? You’re not giving money in the divorce, I could easily starve outside.”

“President Bo, you’re not young anymore. You should be more serious about your emotions in your second marriage. Try to make it last longer than a year, otherwise, it’s embarrassing to divorce twice within a year.”

“President Bo…”

…

An Xun’s face was tight, “President Bo, you’re too close to me. Are you planning to cover yourself with my pheromones and go meet other omegas?”

Before he could finish chewing, Bo Xiangzhou stuffed the last spoonful of porridge into his mouth with a hint of resentment. An Xun’s cheeks puffed up, and as he began to speak, a few drops of porridge spilled from his mouth, which Bo Xiangzhou wiped away with the spoon.

This gesture was something An Xun had only seen in TV dramas, where adults fed children.

An Xun glared at him, his face flushed either from rising desire or from embarrassment.

“I’ll call the doctor to give you inhibitors.”

Bo Xiangzhou did not want to force him, preferring more care over a repeat of today’s state.

An Xun scoffed, “Humph, I thought President Bo might force me. Keep it as a memento before our divorce as a trophy. If you can’t find someone else, you won’t feel lonely on the full moon nights.”

When the doctor arrived, Bo Xiangzhou decisively covered his mouth.

The hospital used different inhibitors from those available outside. The main medication remained the same, but the hospital would choose different doses based on the patient’s condition, and the long needle looked more intimidating.

An Xun’s heart raced with an innate awe of white coats.

Bo Xiangzhou shifted his palm to cover An Xun’s eyes. His long, dense eyelashes fluttered like little fans across his palm, tickling him. He selfishly used this position to draw An Xun closer into his embrace.

A sting less than half a second long not only injected inhibitors but also fear.

An Xun felt his soul drifting away. He pressed a cotton ball against the injection site, and after a few minutes, Bo Xiangzhou reminded him to take it off. An Xun, unable to read his intermittently kind or cruel mood, sat foolishly pondering until the IV was finished, then mumbled in a trance, “…Divorce.”

Bo Xiangzhou quickly responded, “I disagree.”

“Damn…” Are you playing with me?!

Fortunately, he remembered his role quickly, correcting himself, “Grass, grass, grass, there’s grass on your head, President Bo!”

He almost cried at his own stupidity, “President Bo, I misspoke. I meant to say, look at that pot of grass, it’s really green.”

Bo Xiangzhou played along, looking at the potted plant near the VIP room’s door, “That’s a Boston fern.”

“Oh, I thought so. How could an ordinary pot of grass be taller than me?”

Bo Xiangzhou glanced at him.

An Xun feigned nonchalance, “I see this pot of—no, this Boston fern is quite likable. I’ve nicknamed it Grass.”

“…Which normal hospital would place a pot of ‘grass’ outside a room costing 26,000 a day?” Bo Xiangzhou adjusted his hat, “If you like it, I can arrange for it to be moved to your house tonight.”

An Xun caught on the first part, “What did you say? 26,000? Just for an inhibitor shot?”

“The situation demands a private room. Otherwise, you might uncontrollably trigger other omegas into heat. The 26,000, after a discount, includes not just the room but also three meals a day and a professional caregiver.”

“Why didn’t you book a regular private room?”

“Only the best will do.”

You’re being ripped off! The rich really are easy targets!

An Xun was staggered, “Three meals and a caregiver can’t cost that much!”

“The meals are made from expensive ingredients flown in from abroad.”

“Does that even have nutritional value?”

“Prepared according to patient needs.”

“The nutritional value isn’t even comparable to an egg.”

“But it’s expensive.”

An Xun beat his chest in frustration, inwardly cursing, “Can I eat dinner before I leave?”

“No.”

An Xun headed towards the rear car door, but Bo Xiangzhou grabbed him and opened the passenger door instead, “You think I’m your driver? Sit in the front.”

With a huff, An Xun buckled his seatbelt and glanced at the hospital’s sign, his lips curling disdainfully. Truly a hospital only the wealthy could afford, outrageously expensive.

An Xun remarked, “Haven’t even gotten the divorce certificate today, and I’m not paying back that 26,000.”

He couldn’t afford it anyway; paying it back would mean using Bo Xiangzhou’s money.

With the heavy rain, many companies issued early leave notices, causing severe traffic jams. It took ten minutes to travel less than 500 meters. An Xun leisurely remembered someone, “Where’s your assistant?”

“I told him to take a taxi back.”

“Poor thing, being your assistant.”

“His salary is far more than 6800.”

An Xun ran out of arguments. His previous salary was 6800, and while his new job paid a base of 7000 plus 1000 for performance, he didn’t know how much would actually reach him, having said similar things to others as HR had said to him.

An Xun leaned back, covering his face with his hat, intending to feign sleep but soon drifted off to the sound of the rain.

He felt much lighter, Bo Xiangzhou couldn’t bear to wake him and wrapped him in a jacket, carrying him upstairs. An Xun felt the bumps and curled closer into his embrace.

The bedroom was still the same, except An Xun had meticulously divided it in half, including the floor. The carpet’s central pattern was calculated to align perfectly with the middle of the floor.

Bo Xiangzhou gently placed him on the bed, coaxing him with pheromones. He bent over, one hand braced beside him, the other touching his face, fingers lingering at the edges.

He couldn’t fathom how An Xun managed such a performance, having fooled even him.

If initially he was just angry, now, knowing everything about him, he felt both angry and pitied him.

He knew his character was a disaster in the upper circles; not toning down could cause many problems, and he really tried hard to secure his footing.

It must have been hard holding back for so long.

An Xun hadn’t eaten much that day; a bowl of porridge wasn’t filling. Bo Xiangzhou specially instructed the kitchen to delay dinner to let his stomach settle.

·

An Xun slept comfortably, almost feeling like he had returned to the warm days of calling him ‘husband,’ until he saw the medication on the bedside table and snapped back to reality.

He was in the midst of a divorce from Bo Xiangzhou.

That old man Bo didn’t agree, fine, but he was playing games with him.

He didn’t want to deal with him, but until the moment of divorce, he still had to pretend.

Uncle Lin, all smiles, made An Xun realize why he was so cheerful.

Bo Xiangzhou had carried him, but he mistook it as him going to the airport to pick up Bo Xiangzhou.

—Go to hell, he’s worth that. And carrying him, who had been indifferent half a month ago, saw him sad enough, then pretended to comfort him for a few days to win him back, once his smile was taken for granted, he was kicked further away. Repeat this, watching him fall into extremes of sadness and ecstasy over his actions, his self-esteem immensely satisfied.

Sick, alpha brains all sick, what a perverse pleasure.

Before the meal was served, An Xun cradled a bowl and sipped some black chicken soup. Uncle Lin’s intent gaze made An Xun immediately understand.

Cradling the bowl, he muttered at the stairwell, “Annoying! Can’t you come down for meals on your own?”

Like an ancient emperor, needing a special summon to dine.

Full of resentment, he boldly pushed open the door, his mouth faster than his brain, loudly proclaiming, “Your Majesty, dinner is served!”

The manner was akin to calling a pet.

Bo Xiangzhou: “?”

An Xun took a deep breath, “Your Majesty, ugh, President Bo, come down for dinner.”

He touched his nose, wondering what was wrong today that kept making him misspeak.

Bo Xiangzhou seemed unfazed, accustomed to his extravagant nature.

But Cheng Song on the phone couldn’t help laughing, mimicking perfectly, “Your Majesty, your servant shall take his leave now.”

An Xun, still holding the bowl at the doorway: “…”