The moment the door to the room opened, Gu Xuanzhe let go of Lu Youze.

In the end, self-control triumphed over instinct.

The current Lu Youze, who could smile at him, take the initiative to get close to him, and show all kinds of rich expressions in front of him, was too precious; he wasn’t willing to lose him.

Once the strength holding him back disappeared, Lu Youze let out a sigh of relief. He stood up immediately, quickly fixed his clothes, and just as he was about to open the door, Lu Youxi had already taken the initiative to open it.

“Youxi, you’re back!” Lu Youze smiled at Lu Youxi, looking natural, without any sign of the awkwardness or panic from the “forced” kiss moments ago.

Gu Xuanzhe sat calmly on the sofa. Other than the lingering scent of his pheromones in the air, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

However, the “rascal” look on Lu Youze still shocked Gu Xuanzhe. He remembered Lu Youze as a serious, cold, and stern man. He never expected Lu Youze to have this side of him. After Lu Youze lost his memory, it felt like he had become a different person, but since this person was still Lu Youze, Gu Xuanzhe didn’t find his behavior unpleasant, and he even looked forward to seeing what other sides of him might appear.

Lu Youxi still had his cold, indifferent demeanor. He observed the two in the room quietly before coldly mocking, “It seems I came at the wrong time?”

The presence of another Alpha’s pheromones in the air made him frown in displeasure. Even a fool could guess what had been happening in the room. His gaze inadvertently landed on Lu Youze’s stomach before his eyes turned colder.

Of course, Lu Youze noticed the change in his brother’s expression. He quickly realized that his brother had misunderstood, but it wasn’t the right time to explain. Furthermore, it was rare for Youxi to actively seek him out, and there were some things he wanted to ask him anyway.

“Youxi,” Lu Youze completely ignored the distaste on Lu Youxi’s face. He grabbed his brother’s hand and pulled him to the sofa across from Gu Xuanzhe. He sat beside him, then smiled and said, “I just saw your name on the actor list sent by Director Wu. When did you audition? By the way… Did Director Wu do anything strange to you?”

When Lu Youze saw Lu Youxi’s name on the final actor list sent by Wu Liyi for The Days Walking Together in the Jianghu, he wasn’t surprised at all.

He trusted his brother’s abilities, but Lu Youxi looked too much like Wan Renmi. He was worried that Wu Liyi might harass his brother. Although the unspoken rules were impossible—Wu Liyi wasn’t that kind of person, and Lu Youxi wouldn’t give him the chance—he did worry that the strange director might make unreasonable requests to satisfy his odd tastes.

But as soon as the question came out, Lu Youze wanted to take it back. His phrasing was ambiguous—it could be a caring inquiry between brothers, but it could also be interpreted as looking down on his brother’s abilities. Typically, normal brothers would see it as the former, but Lu Youze temporarily forgot how sensitive his brother was to the words he had said in the past. The relationship between them was delicate due to those remarks.

“Youxi, listen to me, I didn’t mean it like that…”

But by the time Lu Youze realized his mistake, it was too late. The increasingly unpleasant expression on Lu Youxi’s face said it all.

“Lu Youze, don’t underestimate people. Do you think everyone is like you?” Lu Youxi’s face grew even colder, as though he wanted to freeze the air around them. His gaze lingered on Gu Xuanzhe for a moment before he sneered twice.

Lu Youxi didn’t say everything outright, but the implication was clear.

Gu Xuanzhe remained expressionless as he sat on the sofa. In fact, he was quietly observing the two brothers. Rumor had it that their relationship wasn’t good, and it seemed those rumors weren’t baseless.

But from Lu Youze’s expression, it seemed he truly cared about his brother.

After Lu Youze lost his memory, he could still get along with his brother and try to mend their bond. It made sense.

Gu Xuanzhe decided to stay silent. He also had a troublesome younger brother, so he understood that when it came to family matters, outsiders should keep quiet, though the cold glare from the “ice beauty” brother had been mocking.

But since he was Lu Youze’s brother, Gu Xuanzhe decided not to hold it against him.

Lu Youze felt a headache coming on. He couldn’t help but rub his temples. It seemed that Youxi had many misunderstandings about him, so he decided to clear everything up all at once.

“Youxi, I’ve always believed you’d have no problem with the audition because this role really suits you. I even think it’s tailor-made for you. If I were the director, I’d definitely choose you for this role. The reason I asked is because you look too much like ‘mother,’ and Director Wu is deeply attached to her. Of course, I believe Director Wu wouldn’t make excessive demands, but I still worry he might ask you for something strange. And as for me and Mr. Gu… we really have nothing going on, don’t misunderstand.”

Lu Youze was afraid of being interrupted, so he rushed to say everything in one breath without pausing. After finishing, his face turned red from holding it in, and he breathed heavily. His lung capacity startled the two Alphas in the room.

Gu Xuanzhe stared at Lu Youze’s flushed face for a while, unconsciously licking his dry lips.

“Lu Youze.” Lu Youxi, still in his cold demeanor, glanced at him and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “I don’t think you’ve lost your memory, I think you’ve lost your brain. You should hurry up and get it checked.”

With that, he turned and left Lu Youze’s room.

When Lu Youxi went for the audition, Director Wu’s gaze had indeed been a bit strange, and he had wondered why. Now he realized it was because of this. But he wasn’t stupid—how could he let himself be taken advantage of? After returning to his room, Lu Youxi remembered that he had gone to see Lu Youze to boast about receiving the final actor list from Wu Liyi, but now Lu Youze’s words made it seem like he was the one overthinking, making him look childish.

Back in the room, Lu Youze let out a sigh of relief. Though Youxi’s attitude towards him was still unfriendly, at least the misunderstanding was cleared up. As for their relationship, the crew would start filming tomorrow, and they’d spend a long time together. With Lu Youze’s charm and complete sincerity, he didn’t believe there was no way to win over his brother.

“Youze.” Gu Xuanzhe looked at him with concern. “Are you okay? You held your breath for so long. Do you feel any discomfort?”

If the person sitting opposite wasn’t his benefactor, Lu Youze would’ve rolled his eyes. He was a pregnant man, not a fragile beauty—he wasn’t that delicate.

“Mr. Gu, thank you for your concern.” Lu Youze gave him a genuine smile. It felt good to have someone care about him. “Don’t worry, I’m in great health.”

Gu Xuanzhe’s concern wasn’t just out of politeness. After seeing that Lu Youze looked fine, he finally relaxed.

“Yu Ze, did you need something when you came to find me just now?” After a moment of silence, Gu Xuanze asked Lu Youze with a blank expression, though he could already guess.

In fact, as soon as Lu Youxi left, Lu Youze had been worried that Gu Xuanze would bring up the awkward kiss from earlier, but seeing Gu Xuanze casually ignore it, Lu Youze couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Since Gu Xuanze didn’t ask, Lu Youze almost forgot about his real purpose of going to the restaurant to find him.

Lu Youze stood up, picked up his tablet from the table, and opened the actor list he had just received. He circled the name of the actor next to the male second role with a pen. Still in disbelief but trying to stay composed, he said, “Gu Zong, is this a mistake, or…?”

“There’s no mistake,” Gu Xuanze shook his head. Lu Youze’s too calm reaction disappointed him a bit. He had expected to see more emotion from him.

Lu Youze forced a smile. Although it’s common for production teams or sponsors to push people into the cast, Gu’s company had put a lot of effort into this show, and he didn’t believe it was something Gu Xuanze was playing around with.

“Gu Zong, are you sure you want to act?”

“Is there a problem?” Gu Xuanze replied expressionlessly.

Well, there’s a big problem! Setting aside Gu Xuanze’s acting skills for now, his domineering CEO image doesn’t match the description of the male second role in the script at all. It’s hard to imagine how a stoic Gu Zong could always wear a gentle smile as described for the character.

But after all, he’s the investor—the “golden sponsor”—so how could the lead actor politely suggest that Gu Xuanze isn’t suited for the role?

“Gu Zong, you manage a company and are so busy. Do you really have the time? If you’re just trying to experience it, I think other roles would suit you better.”

“You used to balance acting and running a company, didn’t you? I can do it too,” Gu Xuanze said, his expression still unchanged.

Although Gu Xuanze appeared calm, he found Lu Youze’s reaction quite amusing. Of course, trying to “chase” his wife to this extent was enough effort. Thankfully, he had a reliable vice president, which allowed him to be more carefree.

“Are you serious?” Lu Youze continued to persuade him. “Acting is very tough. Gu Zong, have you mentally prepared yourself?”

“You don’t have to be so tactful, Youze. I know you’re worried I’ll ruin this show,” Gu Xuanze said directly, addressing Lu Youze’s concern.

“I haven’t said that… I’m not—” Lu Youze tried to deny it, but Gu Xuanze’s knowing look made him give up, silently acknowledging it.

“You’ve met Director Wu too,” Gu Xuanze said seriously, his gaze sharper than before. “Do you think he would give me special treatment? I got this role through an audition.”

Since he said it like this, what else could Lu Youze say? He trusted Wu Liyi’s judgment in selecting actors. At that thought, Lu Youze suddenly became curious—what would Gu Xuanze be like in this role? He could already imagine the storm that would stir once the actor list was released tomorrow. The hype would definitely be enough to keep things lively for a while.

Lu Youze glanced at Gu Xuanze again. Was this also part of his plan? He realized this person was becoming harder to understand. Why did he suddenly want to play this role? Did he really like it that much, or was it for the drama’s popularity, or was there another reason?

If it was just for the popularity, it was quite a sacrifice. Moreover, with the current hype around the show, Gu Xuanze didn’t need to do this at all.

Lu Youze looked away, deciding that it was pointless to guess the mind of a big CEO. Focusing on playing his own role well was the most important thing.