Outside the door, Uncle Lin was anxiously knocking, each knock louder than the last. However, it still wasn’t enough to wake the soundly sleeping An Xun.

Half-asleep, An Xun heard the loud knocking but merely covered his ears, frowning slightly and turning over.

It was unclear how much time had passed when the door was finally opened. Uncle Lin stood at the door with a set of keys in hand, politely staying outside as he closed the door. Bo Xiangzhou, with a face as dark as thunder, strode over to the bed.

Seeing the small lump under the blanket, his expression softened for a moment. His footsteps became lighter as he gently lifted a corner of the blanket.

The omega was sleeping soundly, breathing evenly, though his brows were furrowed as if trapped in a nightmare. His body was enveloped by the scent of lychee pheromones, the fragrance so rich it continuously tempted the alpha standing before him.

Even though Bo Xiangzhou suppressed his instincts, the pheromones stirred some reaction in him, though it was faint. He had never been particularly interested in such things.

He softly called, “An Xun?”

An Xun murmured a drowsy response but showed no signs of waking. In fact, the pleasant sound of Bo Xiangzhou’s voice seemed to lull him into an even deeper sleep, as if it were a lullaby.

Bo Xiangzhou repeated himself, raising his voice slightly, “An Xun?”

This time, An Xun didn’t respond. Instead, he burrowed deeper into the blanket, silently expressing his irritation at being disturbed.

With no other choice, Bo Xiangzhou lightly patted An Xun’s back through the blanket. At first, An Xun resisted and rolled himself into a cocoon, trying to escape. However, Bo Xiangzhou persisted, causing An Xun, half-awake and irritated, to grab his hand and tuck it under his own head like a pillow before trying to fall back asleep.

An Xun’s body was light and lacked much weight, except for two soft spots. His plump cheek pressed against Bo Xiangzhou’s wrist, and the uncomfortable feeling caused him to groggily open his eyes. Displeased, he flung the hand away, only to realize something was off.

There was someone next to him!

Instinctively, he grabbed the blanket and covered himself, leaving only his eyes exposed to look around. Bo Xiangzhou stood over him, looking down with his usual indifferent expression. He bent down slightly, “You’re awake? Since you’re up, hurry and get ready. Grandma is coming to see you soon.”

An Xun blinked, “Huh?”

When did that happen? Why didn’t he know about it?

Bo Xiangzhou’s expression remained unchanged, “I just found out too.”

“Oh… how did you get in here?” An Xun rubbed his eyes, still groggy from sleep.

“Spare key.”

An Xun fell silent, gripping the blanket tightly, silently urging him to leave. Bo Xiangzhou gave him a brief reminder to hurry before walking out the door.

An Xun breathed a sigh of relief, getting out of bed with bare legs. He bent down to grab a pair of light blue jeans from the wardrobe and quickly put them on.

That was close. Last night, he’d been too hot with the air conditioning on and too cold without it, so he chose to sleep without pajama pants. If Bo Xiangzhou had been a bit more reckless and pulled the blanket off, his underwear would have been exposed.

You can’t even sleep peacefully with a locked door these days.

An Xun splashed his face with water, forcing himself awake. Then, in a hurry, he rushed downstairs, his slippers making loud “clap-clap” sounds on the wooden stairs.

The Old Madam arrived faster than he expected. When their eyes met, she smiled lovingly, and An Xun, feeling a bit shy, quickened his pace and went to her side.

The Old Madam patted the spot next to her, signaling for him to sit. An Xun hesitated. Bo Xiangzhou was sitting very close to the Old Madam, and if he sat down, his thigh would definitely touch Bo Xiangzhou’s.

Holding hands or linking arms was one thing, but sitting this intimately? He wasn’t used to it. And if the affection he pretended would slip, he didn’t want to imagine how angry the Old Madam would get.

Before he could decline, Bo Xiangzhou thoughtfully sat down across from him instead.

The Old Madam, who had been an impatient person in her youth, couldn’t wait much longer. She directly pulled An Xun to her side and asked with concern, “Uncle Lin said he knocked on your door for over ten minutes, and you didn’t hear a thing. With all that noise, could it be you’re not feeling well?”

“Are you running a fever?” The Old Madam placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

An Xun felt guilty, “I’m not sick.”

He had just slept too deeply.

“If you’re not sick, does that mean you stayed up too late last night?” The Old Madam’s tone was filled with concern, but only toward An Xun. When she turned to Bo Xiangzhou, her tone became more stern, “Why didn’t you keep an eye on him? You know staying up late is bad for his health, yet you let him indulge. If he collapses while he’s still young, what will happen when he’s older? Will he be stuck in a wheelchair every day?”

What does staying up late have to do with Bo Xiangzhou?

An Xun mulled over her words and realized that Uncle Lin had kept quiet about using the key to open the door. She thought he and Bo Xiangzhou were sleeping in the same room!

It dawned on him, and suddenly he felt much smarter. He quickly tried to smooth things over, “Grandma, it wasn’t his fault. It was my decision to stay up late.”

The Old Madam didn’t believe him, her slightly clouded eyes fixated on him.

Even though she was old, her imposing aura hadn’t faded. Without a smile, the atmosphere around her turned icy.

An Xun nervously fidgeted with his hands, feeling like he was being judged in court. His voice lowered as he repeated, “It really was my decision.”

The Old Madam’s expression darkened further.

“Grandma, he’s timid. You’re scaring him,” Bo Xiangzhou took full responsibility, saying, “It’s my fault. I didn’t watch over him properly. I’ll be more careful next time.”

The Old Madam’s face softened slightly, “You let him do as he pleases just because he insists? Even if you’re afraid of your wife, you can’t take it this far. People would laugh at you.”

“Mhm, I’ll definitely take charge next time.”

Bo Xiangzhou’s sincere attitude left the Old Madam with little to criticize. She spoke more gently in front of An Xun, sparing him from embarrassment.

After a moment of silence, the Old Madam’s anger dissipated. She spoke earnestly, “Xiao Xun is young and doesn’t know better. You need to take care of him in all aspects. Don’t just listen to him; you have to stick to your principles. If you let him stay up late once, next time he’ll stay up all night. Young people collapsing from exhaustion isn’t uncommon nowadays. You need to pay more attention.”

“Staying up late damages the brain and the heart, weakens the body’s immunity, and messes with metabolism,” the Old Madam fretted, “He’s only in his twenties. What if he develops heart disease, high blood pressure, a stroke, or diabetes…”

An Xun felt immense pressure, “Grandma, please stop. I was wrong. I won’t stay up late anymore.”

“You’re not at fault. He is,” the Old Madam quickly shifted her expression, “He’s the one who hasn’t done his duty as a husband. You’re young and easily tempted, so I don’t blame you.”

The more the Old Madam spoke, the guiltier An Xun felt. He wanted to fade into the background, thinking he didn’t belong here and should go find a hole to crawl into.

Bo Xiangzhou, despite his age, was getting scolded too. It didn’t seem like things were going any easier for him.

As the Old Madam listed the numerous dangers of staying up late, An Xun found himself genuinely scared.

After silently enduring for a while, Bo Xiangzhou finally spoke up, “Grandma, I have something to take care of, so I’ll be leaving now.”

The Old Madam asked, “You’re working on the weekend?”

After hearing this, An Xun silently pitied Bo Xiangzhou for a few seconds. Poor guy—he didn’t even get weekends off.

“No,” Bo Xiangzhou explained, “Sang Qi is moving to a new house, and I’m going to congratulate him.”

The Old Madam smiled, “Drive safely, and learn from Sang Qi how to take care of your wife and kids.”

An Xun mentally searched for any information on Sang Qi. He knew of him—a second-generation wealthy doctor who kept a low profile. He wasn’t as high-profile as Cheng Song, who occasionally made the headlines due to gossip, but Sang Qi was also part of Bo Xiangzhou’s circle of friends.

An Xun was relieved his company had gone under. Otherwise, if the boss had any ties with Bo Xiangzhou, things could have been awkward.

·

At the Jiangyue Villa.

As soon as Bo Xiangzhou entered, a small, chubby-cheeked child ran over and hugged his leg, calling out in a soft voice, “Hello, Uncle Bo! Why are you so late?”

“Something came up last minute. Did I keep you waiting, Qiao Qiao?” Bo Xiangzhou handed his gift to the Sang family’s butler and picked up the little boy.

Dressed in a cute little bear outfit, Qiao Qiao looked particularly adorable. Bo Xiangzhou smiled warmly, poking the boy’s chubby cheeks.

Qiao Qiao giggled and snuggled into Bo Xiangzhou’s arms, finding a comfortable position, “Not long.”

Qiao Qiao’s speech was still a bit unclear, but Bo Xiangzhou could roughly understand. He chuckled and lifted him slightly, “You’ve grown a lot in just a month. I heard your Uncle Cheng is here too. Why haven’t I seen him?”

Cheng Song appeared from around the corner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, sounding a bit jealous, “His Uncle Cheng has been abandoned. Qiao Qiao, have you forgotten about your Uncle Cheng now that Uncle Bo is here?”

“That’s not true! Uncle Bo doesn’t steal my snacks like you do!” At the mention of snacks, Qiao Qiao’s eyes welled up with tears, and he whimpered, “Uncle Cheng is a meanie. I don’t want to play with you anymore.”

As he spoke, his tears started to fall.

This sudden turn of events left both alphas at a loss. Cheng Song tried to take Qiao Qiao to comfort him, but Qiao Qiao, still holding a grudge, clung tightly to Bo Xiangzhou, refusing to let Cheng Song touch him.

For the first time in his life, Cheng Song panicked, standing behind Bo Xiangzhou and locking eyes with the tearful Qiao Qiao, “It was Uncle’s fault. I shouldn’t have taken your snacks. Uncle was wrong. Will you forgive Uncle?”

Qiao Qiao stopped crying, seriously contemplating, before burying his face into Bo Xiangzhou’s chest and firmly saying, “No.”

Cheng Song awkwardly offered, “Then what should I do? How about I buy you a truckload of snacks?”

Bo Xiangzhou chuckled, “A kid can’t eat that many snacks. A truckload? Are you planning to feed him snacks instead of meals? If Sang Qi finds out, he’ll scold you again.”

“He hasn’t scolded me enough already?” Cheng Song didn’t seem to care, completely focused on cheering up Qiao Qiao.

Sang Qi, having just finished some alone time with his wife, came downstairs and stumbled upon the scene. His satisfied expression immediately changed as he grumbled, “You should know better by now! I asked you to come early to help, not to bully my son. Look, now you’ve made him cry again.”

Cheng Song defended himself, “Again? This is the first time!”

“And you’re proud of that? Last time, you hid Qiao Qiao’s toy in his hat, and he spent the entire night looking for it. He didn’t cry, thanks to my excellent parenting.” Sang Qi scooped Qiao Qiao up, blocking Cheng Song’s attempt to grab him back. He laughed and scolded, “You’re such a jerk. Keep this up, and when you’re old, Qiao Qiao will come to settle the score with you.”

Cheng Song gave up, “Fine, but give him back to me after you calm him down.”

“So you can make him cry again?” Sang Qi said, “Get lost. Why would I let you have another go at it?”