Even now, thinking he had hidden it well, An Xun slept soundly, clinging tightly to his arm. Bo Xiangzhou couldn’t pull his arm back, so he simply turned An Xun onto his back and turned off the light to sleep.

The omega’s scent had a hypnotic effect, and he slept deeply, vaguely feeling something fluffy pressing down on his arm, twisting and burrowing into his embrace.

He lifted his eyelids in the darkness; the omega’s enlarged face was faintly visible. He grabbed An Xun’s hand, which was reaching into his robe, repositioned him for sleep, and grasping his wrist, drifted off to sleep.

A good night’s sleep.

As the eastern sun devoured the darkness, dawn broke.

An Xun woke with a splitting headache, shaking his wrist, which was red from being gripped. After a moment of confusion, his mind cleared. Realizing his back was pressed against Bo Xiangzhou’s chest, he shuddered and scrambled out of bed, dragging the blanket with him.

Seeing no marks on his body and only his clothes changed, his sullen expression eased slightly.

He had almost thought he had been taken advantage of.

Bo Xiangzhou was awakened by his movements. Half-squinting, he reached for the blanket, finding it empty. He slowly woke up and saw An Xun standing at the foot of the bed like a vengeful ghost, draped in a blanket.

Bo Xiangzhou: “?”

His voice was hoarse, “What strange, superhuman ideas do you have this early in the morning?”

An Xun’s eyes seemed to bear immense sorrow as he slowly said, “…You stripped my clothes and saw everything.”

Bo Xiangzhou sat up, about to explain, but An Xun interrupted him, his eyes full of desolation, “The facts are right before us, no need for excuses. Excuses will only make things worse. I may be an omega, but I’m also a man. What President Bo has, I have too, and even what he doesn’t, I also have. Moreover, I’m not that conservative. It’s just seeing, but I can’t tolerate you stripping my clothes.”

“Here’s the deal.” An Xun choked out, “100,000 per piece, and the moment the money hits my account, I’ll forgive you. Nothing can’t be solved with money, and I believe President Bo won’t mind this 200,000.”

Unsure whether to laugh or cry, Bo Xiangzhou tended toward the former.

A scapegoat out of nowhere, “Not divorcing and now after my money again?”

“You owe me that,” An Xun reiterated, “You took advantage of my drunkenness to strip me.”

He didn’t lack the 200,000, but he also didn’t want to leave a shameless image in An Xun’s mind.

Bo Xiangzhou beckoned him, “It seems you don’t remember what happened last night. Do you need me to recount it chronologically? I should mention beforehand, you stripped your own clothes.”

“Impossible! I know my own character, I’m not that kind of person!” An Xun blustered, “I rarely even interact with alphas, how could I strip in front of you? I come from a decent family.”

An Xun said this without batting an eye, though his face was slightly shy. If it were anyone else, they might have been fooled.

Bo Xiangzhou didn’t indulge him, and narrated last night’s events in detail.

Given Bo Xiangzhou’s reputation and standing in the circle, his words carried strong credibility. He spoke truthfully and in detail, and An Xun, initially composed, became utterly ashamed.

He underestimated his own lustfulness; he thought he’d be more innocent when drunk.

He hoped Bo Xiangzhou wouldn’t bring up anything else.

An Xun sat on the edge of the bed, silently sharing his blanket, feeling like good brothers, “President Bo, I misunderstood you. Since you’re so wealthy, don’t squabble with a penniless person like me. I’m not really like this, my true nature is a bit more reserved, which you can feel in real life too. I didn’t know I’d act crazy drunk, though I did something wrong, you didn’t lose out, so let’s let bygones be bygones.”

An Xun no longer dared to scam his money, just hoping this dark history would quickly be forgotten.

Bo Xiangzhou said, “It seems you still don’t know yourself well enough.”

An Xun nodded fervently; he hadn’t expected to go wild last night, rolling into someone’s embrace and groping around.

“I’m not that conservative. I touched, so I touched, I won’t hold it against you, but it won’t happen again,” Bo Xiangzhou observed his expression, noting his earlobes slowly turning pink.

Bo Xiangzhou issued a final ultimatum, “Also, change your remark for me.”

An Xun shrank back, his gaze shifting uncertainly.

Seeing his expression, Bo Xiangzhou knew he was holding back a lot of grievances.

Well, that conversation was over.

The clothes were bought brand new; An Xun, too embarrassed to look Bo Xiangzhou in the eye, squeezed him off the bed like claiming territory and shrank back to play with his phone.

His boss had replied to his leave request, dissecting every word and phrase, highly satisfied, even claiming the entire company should learn from it.

An Xun touched his nose, unable to take the compliment.

With his limited vocabulary and elementary-level eloquence, he couldn’t have written such words.

He reflected, truly worthy of being a company executive, knowing what the leaders like to hear. But Bo Xiangzhou’s maneuver made his future difficult, as his boss would probably pay extra attention to him now.

The issue of the clothes was not mentioned again, but when the two lay in the same bed at night, they would inevitably think of it.

An Xun would put on headphones to distract himself and soon forget, but Bo Xiangzhou, like possessed, couldn’t get the omega’s body out of his mind, inappropriately popping up at night, as if cursed, the more he tried to forget, the more he couldn’t.

He had pondered this problem; perhaps it was a rebound after a long period of abstinence, so one suitable night, he indulged himself. After that, the imagery weakened, but whenever he faced An Xun, he always felt something different.

As the weather turned to autumn, the temperature fluctuated. Bo Xiangzhou picked a thick black coat and parked his car in a small alley, like a parent waiting for a child after school.

An Xun’s laziness was well-known at the company, but his adaptability, learning ability, and business skills were exceptional. Apart from despising the small overtime pay, he was impeccable in other aspects.

He always left work on time, and his timing home was almost consistent, though sometimes delayed by grabbing a bite if hungry.

An Xun was three minutes late, and Bo Xiangzhou could guess he was lured away by the aroma of food.

As expected, An Xun appeared holding a box of cheese air rice cakes, his black commuter bag slung over his shoulder.

He got into the car smoothly, closed the door, buckled up, and then reclined his seat slightly, not even bothering with a greeting.

Bo Xiangzhou’s dissatisfaction surged, “Not even a good afternoon?”

“Why so formal, we’re so familiar now.” An Xun placed the rice cakes on the dashboard and took out a tissue to clean his shark charm.

He noticed the charm was dusty, the only possibility being the company’s facial recognition security gate which looked clean but left his hand dusty upon touching.

Furry charms are hard to clean, only washable. An Xun had washed many charms, which either lost their fluffy softness or the colors faded and shriveled.

This shark was doomed to be discarded.

An Xun disdainfully pulled it down and browsed a shopping app for another.

Bo Xiangzhou drove smoothly; An Xun felt no bumps, lying enough before pulling out a bottle of yogurt from his bag, taking a few sips before eating.

The cheese aroma filled the car; Bo Xiangzhou, unaccustomed to the smell, opened the window a crack to ventilate.

This action provoked An Xun’s complaint, “You blew away my aroma, how can I eat now? Close the window, it won’t taste good if it cools.”

As the vehicle ahead slowed, Bo Xiangzhou took the chance to look at him, “In the time you’re talking, you could have eaten several.”

“You mind how many I eat, just close it!”

Bo Xiangzhou refused; An Xuan, holding a grudge, cleaned his hands and while Bo Xiangzhou was completely unguarded, poked his lips with a corner of the rice cake, forcing him to open his mouth and eat.

The rice cake, puffed up and sprinkled with cheese powder after frying, was less unacceptable to Bo Xiangzhou than An Xun’s usual greasy food, but still somewhat hard to swallow for someone accustomed to light flavors.

“Close it! Or I’ll stuff this half box into your mouth,” An Xun had completely mastered Bo Xiangzhou’s weakness.

This man didn’t eat greasy or heavy flavors, and An Xun was just the opposite, so each time he ate unhealthy food in front of him, it made him frown.

Each time Bo Xiangzhou resisted, he’d stuff a bite in his mouth.

This tactic always worked, but one thing he didn’t understand was why Bo Xiangzhou’s guard was so low, always falling for it but never learning, as if deliberately letting him succeed, making it seem like Bo Xiangzhou’s label as a shrewd businessman was just for show.

An Xun “forced” successfully but didn’t feel the usual joy, as if something was about to break through the soil, yet he could only feel a bit of it without being able to touch its essence.

His curiosity was heavy, the unresolved mystery uncomfortable in his heart. He feared a straightforward question might embarrass them both, so he temporarily set it aside, magically pulling out a pack of mock meat.

Bo Xiangzhou was impressed, “Are you going to work or just changing locations to eat snacks?”

“Nonsense, obviously I’m going to work. I’m nearly dead from the nine-to-five,” An Xun launched into his daily complaints, “Our company is crazy, they could just hire someone to replace a resigning host, or pay a celebrity, but no, to save budget they want me to fill in.”

“Do you need me to boost your popularity in the live stream?” By boosting, he meant spending money on gifts.

An Xun ate with his mouth full, “I didn’t agree. Hosting until one or two in the morning, it’s tiring, pays little, and you have to memorize scripts. If you mess up a product introduction, it’s goodbye to your job. I’m not a fool, how could I stay up late for them when I can’t even get enough sleep.”

“Always tired yet playful, what am I to say about you?” Bo Xiangzhou proposed a deal, “How about we set a requirement? Standard eight hours of sleep per day, and for each month you sleep less, deduct ten thousand.”

“No way! You haven’t given me a raise yet and still thinking about deductions! What, is the Bo family going bankrupt!” An Xun cherished money like life, touching his money hurt more than killing him.

“You’ve saved quite a bit in your little money jar, right? Any more raises and your jar will burst.”

Bo Xiangzhou knew his income sources and expenditures like the back of his hand, ninety-five percent of his income depended on him, inversely proportional to his expenses. His spending was pitifully low, merely on food and drink.

An Xun’s face showed pride, “I’m being frugal.”