An Xun reluctantly accepted the gift, half unwilling but ultimately complying. Maybe it was because he felt uneasy in his heart, but when he later turned back to watch the video, all he could think about was Bo Xiangzhou.

He could accept a closet full of clothes without a second thought because he knew that to Bo Xiangzhou, that kind of money was nothing. It probably didn’t even compare to what Bo spent in a single day.

But the watches were different. Just one of them was worth millions, and receiving five of them all because of a misunderstanding? Bo Xiangzhou always had his reasons for doing things, but this one was truly hard for An Xun to accept.

It was as if a massive delicious pie had suddenly fallen from the sky and hit him, leaving An Xun feeling flustered and uneasy. He wanted to keep a low profile in the Bo family, and securing Bo Xiangzhou was his top priority. That didn’t mean he could just accept random gifts, though.

He and Bo Xiangzhou weren’t at that level of intimacy yet. Besides, such an expensive gift only made him feel more guilty.

He didn’t want to take advantage of anyone. The one million yuan a month he received as part of marrying into the Bo family was a benefit he could accept, but these gifts were purely Bo Xiangzhou’s personal generosity.

As he worried about this, Tao Nian’s appearance was like a lifesaver.

[Nian Nian]: Well, how does it feel? Exciting, right?

[Nian Nian]: Blushing JPG.

An Xun’s eyes lit up. He was already treating Tao Nian as his strategist.

Talking to him about this was definitely the right move!

[Gulu Gulu]: Let’s talk about that later. First, I have something important to tell you.

An Xun hesitated for a long time, editing his sentence multiple times. What he wanted to express in his head amounted to over a hundred words, but in reality, his fingers hovered over the keyboard, unable to type a single letter.

Frustrated, he deleted all the text in the chatbox and made a video call instead.

Tao Nian was lying in bed just like him, though Tao looked in better spirits, with a slight flush at the corners of his eyes and a hint of sensuality between his brows, suggesting what he had been up to not long ago.

Though An Xun was perverted on the surface, he loved looking at handsome guys and still considered himself relatively pure. Tao Nian, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

Avoiding Tao Nian’s gaze, An Xun suddenly burst out, pouring his words out like water from a broken dam.

Tao Nian listened, pretending to think for a moment. Then, under An Xun’s expectant gaze, he suddenly laughed. “I think Bo Xiangzhou is pretty good to you. Since he gave you the gift, just accept it. Later, you can find an opportunity to let him sleep with you. That’ll balance things out.”

An Xun shot him a look. “Be serious. Get the dirty jokes out of your head before talking to me.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll calm down.” Tao Nian said. “All day long, you think about nothing but Bo Xiangzhou. There’s no room left for me in your heart anymore.”

An Xun buried his head in the blankets, thinking that if he kept up this pitiful act, Bo Xiangzhou might end up giving him another five million. If things continued like this, just how much could he collect?

He thought himself into a sleepy daze but was still waiting for his strategist’s analysis. Propping his eyelids open, he stared at the ceiling and started thinking about work. In less than half a minute, he was wide awake, furious, and even tempted to go slap his boss a few times.

When he first joined the company, they squeezed him dry, forcing him to work overtime without even giving him proper pay. And when he once had to work with a high fever, his boss had yelled at him for being irresponsible.

An Xun clenched his fists. He was so angry! He wanted to beat that dog of a boss to death!

He went downstairs to grab a glass of cold water, gulping it down to douse the flames of rage burning in his chest.

Tao Nian didn’t respond for a while, and just as An Xun thought he had gone off to find pleasure somewhere and wouldn’t respond until the afternoon, his phone, lying by the pillow, started vibrating nonstop.

[Nian Nian]: I’ve thought of a few points, and I still suggest you keep the gift.

[Nian Nian]: First, the Bo family doesn’t care about this kind of money. Every time Bo Xiangzhou shows up, isn’t he wearing a different luxury watch?

[Nian Nian]: Second, even though the wedding wasn’t public, your marriage is. He’s already told you that when necessary, he’ll take you to major events. If you’re attending, you can’t dress poorly and embarrass the Bo family. He probably thought of that when he gave you the watch.

[Nian Nian]: Third, you yourself are worried about divorce. Think about it: if you two get divorced, he’ll be fine, but you? As an omega, your reputation would take a hit. The public not judging you harshly would be them doing you a favor.

[Nian Nian]: Who ever complains about having too much money? If you do get divorced, you can sell the watches, and even after the compensation runs out, you’ll still live comfortably for half your life.

An Xun thought about it and realized it made sense. These could be his last safety net.

[Nian Nian]: My dear An Xun, could you please be a little more sensitive when it comes to relationships? Being sensitive about temper is useless. Bo Xiangzhou can give you a look, and you won’t even understand what it means.

[Gulu Gulu]: So what if I don’t understand? If it’s something that can’t be said, it’s probably not a good thing anyway. I’d rather it didn’t involve me.

Tao Nian shifted the conversation.

[Nian Nian]: So, did you check out what I sent you? How do you feel about it?

[Gulu Gulu]: The idea is pretty interesting, but I still prefer the one you sent me on Monday. I like gentle ones. This one’s too rough.

[Nian Nian]: Don’t you have any reaction? I remember you weren’t like this before. Have you gone frigid?

[Gulu Gulu]: Frigid, my ass. I just took a suppressant shot this morning, and I’m still feeling terrible.

An Xun suddenly felt a sharp pain in the injection site on his left arm.

[Nian Nian]: Did you get a fever again?

[Nian Nian]: Why not ask Bo Xiangzhou for help?

An Xun rolled his eyes.

[Gulu Gulu]: I don’t have a fever. I just switched to a new suppressant, and the needle was a bit thicker than usual. I didn’t control my strength properly, and after the injection, a line of blood beads came out of the site.

[Gulu Gulu]: You have no idea how cold and distant Bo Xiangzhou is. A few days ago, he kicked out Liu Tang when she came to find him and even told me to stay away from her. If I go to him for help, I bet he’ll tell me again to be more reserved as an omega.

An Xun imagined that scene and burst out laughing.

[Nian Nian]: This just shows how important you are to Bo Xiangzhou. You cause so much trouble, and he still hasn’t kicked you out.

[Gulu Gulu]: I’m so dedicated to my job. Why would he kick me out?

With Tao Nian’s advice, An Xun faced Bo Xiangzhou with newfound confidence, grinning ear to ear.

But with his current persona, he couldn’t freely enjoy eating meat. So, he cried inside as he gnawed on tasteless greens, and when Bo Xiangzhou asked, he lied through his teeth, saying he loved vegetables.

The old housekeeper had gone back to her hometown for personal reasons, and the new one’s cooking suited An Xun’s tastes perfectly. If it were anywhere else, he could easily eat three bowls of rice in one go.

A plate of sweet and sour ribs almost sent him into a food-induced trance. They were perfectly sweet, not greasy at all, and the meat was tender and delicious. An Xun couldn’t resist taking a small piece, but he had to pretend to be indifferent, as if it was just okay.

That evening, Tao Nian listened to him recount this story and pulled out pictures from the drinking session the night before.

An Xun, feeling envious, jumped up and down in his room. He wanted to drink too! He wanted to eat meat!

Sitting on his messy bed, An Xun counted the days on his fingers. It had been almost three weeks since he had any alcohol. Right now, his tolerance was so low that a single bottle of beer could probably knock him out.

The pictures Tao Nian sent were too tempting, so An Xun made a great decision on the spot.

[Gulu Gulu]: Nian Nian, the next time Bo Xiangzhou isn’t home, I’ll come find you for drinks.

[Nian Nian]: Fine by me. Just make sure Bo Xiangzhou really isn’t home before you sneak out.

[Gulu Gulu]: Don’t worry, I won’t mess up when it comes to drinking.

After not having enough at dinner, An Xun went to sleep, only to be woken up in the middle of the night by hunger. It was 3 AM, and the estate was dark and eerily silent.

He was starving, curled up in bed like a wilted cabbage. Peeking out, he saw Bo Xiangzhou’s door was tightly shut. He was probably sound asleep.

The rooms were soundproofed well, and even when An Xun yelled loudly, nothing could be heard next door. It was just a trip downstairs; it shouldn’t be a big deal.

With a determined heart, An Xun turned on his flashlight, sneaking down the stairs, constantly glancing back over his shoulder. The beam of his flashlight was limited, and the empty estate at night felt especially eerie, like something out of a vampire story.

Wasn’t this what a vampire’s lair would look like?

The more he thought about it, the colder his back became, as if someone was watching his every move.

Fresh food was delivered every morning, so there were no instant meals in the Bo household. Even the “fast food” they had for breakfast was made fresh by the maids who woke up early.

He rummaged through the cupboards, but aside from kitchen appliances and utensils, there was nothing edible.

Tired, An Xun put his hands on his hips, then turned towards the two large refrigerators. Just as he was about to move, he stopped, perking up his ears, hearing faint footsteps.

Was he so hungry he was hallucinating?

Turning around, he only saw the cold red light of the surveillance camera following his every move.

An Xun smacked his forehead. Damn, he forgot about the cameras! Surely no one in the Bo family was crazy enough to check the surveillance footage every day, right? If they were, his little sneaky act wouldn’t go unnoticed, especially with the way he walked.

An Xun immediately straightened his posture, tucking his legs together, adopting a serious look as if he were on a nightly inspection rather than sneaking around for food.

Trusting his instincts, he picked one of the fridges. In the first second, he was brimming with confidence, imagining all the delicious food he would have to choose from. But the next second, he was embarrassed beyond belief. This fridge was empty.

With a scowl, he opened the other one, but it wasn’t much better—just eggs, toast, and cheese.

Was the Bo family that poor?!

An Xun was about to explode. He came downstairs in the middle of the night only to find nothing to eat. Didn’t Bo Xiangzhou ever indulge in some late-night snacks?

Fuming, he bit into a piece of toast. It was dry and hard, tasteless like chewing on wax. An Xun grew even angrier, stuffing the rest of the toast into his mouth just to vent his frustration.

Still fuming, An Xun was so focused on the hard toast that he didn’t hear the approaching footsteps behind him, so soft they were barely audible.

“An Xun?”

The upper cabinet door was open, and An Xun was crouched on the floor, with two slices of cheese next to him. His cheeks were aching from chewing the toast. As he was looking up on his phone whether cheese could be eaten raw, he suddenly heard his name, freezing for a moment.

The light from behind him crept closer, illuminating his back. Staring at the shadow in front of him, An Xun felt nothing but despair.

The lights switched on, and the silence was broken by a loud hiccup. The room was quiet and spacious, and if you listened carefully, you could even hear a faint echo.

An Xun covered his face. He knew he always hiccuped after eating too much, but he never imagined he’d hiccup from being hungry too.