Alpha’s compliance made him feel shy, as Bo Xiangzhou seemed to be losing boundaries with him, except for staying up late and drinking, of course.

Bo Xiangzhou said he had to go to a meeting, and An Xun, who wasn’t serious about his work, didn’t bother him anymore.

He didn’t want to work and had no idea how to slack off. Tao Nian was extremely busy rushing for year-end performance, only replying to messages every three hours. An Xun found no one to chat with and felt bored, resting his head on the desk, longing for the softness of his bed.

It was strange; he missed home at the office and longed for the office after lying at home too long. It seemed neither choice would ever satisfy him fully.

In the afternoon meeting, the leader assigned new tasks. An Xun was busy until the end of work, almost finishing his tasks. He looked at his colleague, who was still bent over drafting documents, planning to finish the remaining work before leaving.

An Xun quietly set down his packed bag, messaged the driver to wait a few more minutes outside, and sat at his desk waiting for his colleague to finish so they could wrap up together.

After staying half an hour overtime, it was completely dark when he got home.

Bo Xiangzhou was watching from the upstairs floor-to-ceiling window. As the car approached, An Xun with his black bag slung over his shoulder entered his view. Bo Xiangzhou closed the curtains, turned on the air conditioner in advance, and went downstairs to greet him.

An Xun showed a surprised expression and then threw himself into his arms. Once inside, Bo Xiangzhou loosened his beige scarf, draping it over his arm, and gently kissed him on the lips.

His lips tasted sweet, as if he had drunk a mango dessert.

Bo Xiangzhou took over the butler’s duties, took his bag, and asked, “Why so hardworking at work today?”

“Is it that strange? I used to work hard too.”

An Xun moved behind him, his smile cryptic.

No blushing, no teeth showing, eyes curved like crescents.

He was up to no good again.

Bo Xiangzhou had no idea what An Xun was planning next, so he had to stay on guard.

But he guarded the wrong aspect, expecting startling words from An Xun, but An Xun was scheming against him personally.

An Xun stretched out his mischievous claws and pinched his waist. He chuckled and dodged to the side, sprinting to the dining table and pulling out the chair at the head of the table, deciding it was his turn to sit there.

“Baby, you really don’t have to do this just for this reason,” Bo Xiangzhou sat down beside him.

Bo Xiangzhou’s gaze held a hint of danger. An Xun knew it wasn’t a threat, but as an omega, his alpha’s presence was strong, “Is this chair worth it? You sit, you sit.”

Bo Xiangzhou held him down, “Sit, that’s not what I meant.”

“You did mean that.”

Seeing An Xun starting to attack indiscriminately, Bo Xiangzhou shut his mouth. He stared at him for a long while, and when it got boring, he moved closer to start the dinner conversation, “Did you see the entertainment news today?”

“I had two meetings today, didn’t have time to watch.” Bo Xiangzhou took out a crab cracker from a black leather box and started preparing crab for An Xun.

Eating crab didn’t need so many tools, but he didn’t know where this man’s elegance and persistence came from, insisting on using a full set when two hands would suffice.

It was strangely formal.

An Xun didn’t dare say that; he felt like he would be done for if he did. “There wasn’t much news today, but as a netizen, I’m curious and want to ask on behalf of those five hundred onlookers, President Bo, are you really dating the popular male idol Ye Ran? According to insiders, the description of Ye Ran’s secret boyfriend matches your image, and moreover, Ye Ran is an artist under your Yi Hai Group’s Xingchuan Entertainment.”

He cut a crab meat lion’s head into two halves with a spoon and then held up half with the tip of the spoon, using it as a microphone, “President Bo, did you cheat on your arranged marriage wife?”

The lines were tinged with jealousy. Bo Xiangzhou continued cracking the crab, saying, “I’ve been really busy today and not aware of this. I’ll have my assistant handle it later.”

He prepared a crab leg, cutting open both sides of the shell to extract the meat and fed it to An Xun, “Just eat it like this, if you dip it in vinegar, you’ll just get more sour.”

“Blaming me now? It’s all because you show off outside, not keeping to your husbandly duties, that others misunderstand. From now on, change your ways. If I find out you’re not working properly and are surrounded by rumors again, I’ll discipline you to strengthen your husbandly duties. You say you’re a CEO, not focusing on work, just stirring up these messes. Before, I turned a blind eye, but now you daringly get involved with people in the entertainment industry, are you trying to be like Cheng Song and keep a small star?” An Xun swallowed the lion’s head, his teeth crunching loudly.

“Alright, alright, I’ll contact my assistant now,” Bo Xiangzhou placed the prepared crab on a clean small dish and pushed it toward him.

He didn’t eat the crab roe, scooping it out for Bo Xiangzhou, leaning over to feed him, while sneakily glancing at the screen.

Feng Sheng was unaware of the source of this news.

An Xun said, “Tell him to search ‘Charming Duck Feet’ on Weibo, the latest post is it.”

Feng Sheng searched, still to no avail.

An Xun said, “You need to follow her; her big news posts are only visible to followers.”

Feng Sheng followed and refreshed the page to find the latest post; it listed ten juicy stories, the last about Bo Xiangzhou.

Five hundred likes, eighty comments, such low engagement no wonder his assistants didn’t react.

An Xun, looking innocent, said, “See, there are still a few hundred netizens paying attention.”

“You’re just trying to annoy me,” Bo Xiangzhou picked out the boneless belly part of a steamed bass for him, putting it in his bowl, “Baby, you’ve worked hard at the office today, eat some of your kind to replenish yourself.”

An Xun was again implied, “You’re the fish! Your whole family are fish! Your future children will be fish! Your company employees will also become fish with you!”

While eating, An Xun gestured a middle finger at him.

Then he got a slap on the buttocks, his smug expression instantly turning into a grievance.

Bo Xiangzhou was indifferent, “Learning only the bad stuff, huh? Baby, if you keep flipping the bird, it’ll be more than just a slap.”

It was the first time he was spanked, even during intimate and affectionate moments in bed the other hadn’t mentioned spanking him.

If it were to happen, it should have been a bit of fun, not with a tone of education.

An Xun: “…”

His husband seemed to have a bit of a misunderstanding about him; when would he realize he was just a husband.

An Xun ate dinner with a dark face, took a bath, and then rode on top of Bo Xiangzhou, hugging his neck and biting him for a while. After admiring for a few seconds, he huffed and straightened his arm to use as a pillow, “I’ll see how you face people tomorrow.”

His words were threatening, but in the spot Bo Xiangzhou couldn’t see, he secretly covered his buttocks.

Bo Xiangzhou, ever cunning, knew he couldn’t face people with a neck full of kiss marks, notified he’d work from home, turning the study into an office.

Jiang City issued several days of cold wave warnings. The day after the cold wave receded and it cleared up, An Xun caught a severe cold, his voice hoarse, speaking with a runny nose, his nose rubbed red by tissues, looking utterly pitiful.

Bo Xiangzhou dressed him, “Baby, it’s so severe yet you still go to work, what if you catch a fever?”

“I can’t help it, I still have half a video left to edit, and the company’s task is to release it by eight tonight, do I just wait at home for the leader to scold me?” An Xun hugged his waist, his cheek rubbing against his soft shirt.

Bo Xiangzhou wore different shirts all year round; he’d never seen anything else in his wardrobe.

An Xun hooked his tie, poking at his chest, Bo Xiangzhou grabbed and spread his hand to interlock their fingers, “Baby, someone dares to scold you?”

“Of course, after all, I’m just a working man outside.” An Xun coughed deeply, bending down and holding his chest as if to cough out his lungs.

His voice grew hoarser, filled with resentment, “This damn weather is really freaking cold, gave grandpa a cold.”

“It’ll be better by spring.”

Bo Xiangzhou checked his temperature, which showed normal before he allowed him to go to work, “Baby, I’ll drop you off at the company on my way.”

“Mhm.”

The driver had received the information ten minutes earlier and turned on the car’s heater. Upon seeing the two approaching, the partition was raised automatically.

An Xun, like a wilted vegetable, leaned against his shoulder without speaking, wrapped in a warm knitted scarf and fuzzy hat. Even inside the warm car, Bo Xiangzhou wouldn’t let him take them off.

While handling affairs, Bo Xiangzhou kept an eye on him, noticing An Xun had a particular fondness for the ‘northeast squat’ posture. Omega, wrapped up like a little bun, looked particularly simple in that pose.

It was cold outside, and his scarf was loose, so Bo Xiangzhou untied it and tied a sturdier knot, then kissed his forehead, “If you don’t feel well, tell me right away.”

“Okay.” An Xun wanted to kiss him, but held back, afraid of infecting him.

Bo Xiangzhou touched his lips with his fingertip, then leaned over to kiss him just as the driver parked the car downstairs at the company.

An Xun turned his head, “Don’t kiss me, you’ll get infected.”

His lips landed on his cheek instead. Though not what he wanted, An Xun felt satisfied, “It won’t, my immunity isn’t that low.”

“It will,” An Xun whispered softly, “Husband, listen.”

He never thought he’d be coaxed like this, “Fine, I’ll wait until your cold is gone to kiss you again. Baby, don’t forget to take your medicine at noon. Don’t take off your coat, if it’s too hot just remove the scarf and hat. Don’t make me worry.”

An Xun felt sweet inside, “Got it, you’ve said it eight hundred times already, nagging ghost.”

He always arrived at work right on time. Today, because of Bo Xiangzhou, he didn’t waste time at the drink shop downstairs.

Last night, he’d gone mad after drinking even cooled boiled water, and if he drank anything else without his permission and it affected the cold recovery, he would drag him to the hospital for an IV, meeting or not.

This kind of love was heavy, and betraying it felt painful.

As soon as he reached his desk, his colleagues surrounded him, all saying different things. With so many voices buzzing around, his brain was too sluggish to catch up. After a confused half-minute, he finally realized they were asking about Bo Xiangzhou.

His scarf was tied so tightly that no wind got in. He loosened it a little on both sides and said, “Yes, that car is indeed my husband’s.”

“Wow—that car’s worth ten million, does your husband come from money or did he make that much working as an executive at Bo’s?”

He knew the car was expensive but didn’t expect it to be ten million. Thinking back to how he used to slam the door shut every day before his cold, he replied slowly, “…He has money, but he’s not a second-generation rich kid.”

The Bo family had been wealthy for many generations by the time it got to Bo Xiangzhou.

His colleagues nodded knowingly, “Well, anyway, he’s rich.”

They were about to ask about his relationship history when An Xun fended them off with a few harsh coughs.

His relationship history with Bo Xiangzhou was rather childish. The most dramatic parts were when Bo Xiangzhou found out he’d lied to him, they had a cold war, then made up and got together. After that, he discovered he was the only one being lied to, while being kept in the dark.

…What a twisted love story.

After taking medicine in the morning, he felt sleepy after finishing editing the video and dozed off for a bit.

He napped for about ten minutes before his colleagues woke him up, inviting everyone to a birthday dinner tonight.

An Xun politely declined. He had no appetite and wasn’t interested in anything. After work, he just wanted to go home and sleep.

But this reminded him that Bo Xiangzhou’s birthday was in two months.

What could he give him?

Something expensive? Bo Xiangzhou didn’t lack for that. Handcrafted? He was clumsy. After thinking it over, he decided that the thought was what mattered. No matter how ugly it turned out, Bo Xiangzhou would have to cherish it. He went online and picked out a knitting project that looked decent and easy to handle, ordering a dozen colors of yarn, shipping them to the office.