An Xun only took one day off from work, having been incredibly busy lately. He even had to threaten resignation just to get this day off, as it’s rare to find an employee who works diligently despite complaining about low pay.

Desperately needing a break, An Xun was so exhausted from the previous day’s activities that if Bo Xiangzhou’s workaholic internal clock wasn’t as reliable as the weather forecast, he’d probably still be in bed catching up on sleep.

Having gone to bed early last night, he forgot to ask if Tao Nian had gotten home safely.

Now recalling this, An Xun worriedly sent a probing emoticon to Tao Nian.

[Nian Nian]: How was last night?

An Xun kept his worries to himself.

[Gulu Gulu]: Not great, I’ve confirmed it, Bo Xiangzhou is really aloof.

Tao Nian’s brainwaves were on a completely different frequency.

[Nian Nian]: He’s no good? Did you guys try?

[Nian Nian]: I mean, it took ages just to kiss at the wedding, how did you get so bold at home?

An Xun patiently explained.

[Gulu Gulu]: You’re overthinking it, I tried to seduce him by showing some skin around my waist, and he had no reaction.

Tao Nian went, “Aiyo”.

[Nian Nian]: There’s a dime a dozen on the streets showing their waists, who could you possibly seduce with that? Also, why are you trying to seduce him?

[Gulu Gulu]: I was hoping to boost his affection for me.

Tao Nian, as an outsider, saw things more clearly.

[Nian Nian]: I think Bo Xiangzhou already likes you enough. You didn’t see yourselves last night, you were so close I couldn’t even get a word in.

[Nian Nian]: You’ve seen what kind of person Bo Xiangzhou is. Even if he had feelings for you, seduction wouldn’t work. To put it bluntly, even if he had feelings for you, seduction would mostly fail.

[Nian Nian]: I think he’s just not that into anyone, only has work on his mind.

[Nian Nian]: An Xun, darling, I’m worried about your upcoming rutting season, being married or not makes no difference.

An Xun sipped on an iced Americano through a straw, his mind clearing up a bit.

[Gulu Gulu]: Why is it that an alpha’s heat comes every half a year, but an omega’s is every month? I don’t want injections; I wish I were beta.

[Gulu Gulu]: Ahhh, we still share a bed, how am I supposed to get through my heat? Last time it was because of him that I got an extra shot!

Tao Nian couldn’t stand his whining.

[Nian Nian]: Let him bite you, a temporary mark isn’t a permanent one. In my opinion, Bo Xiangzhou would probably offer to mark you without you even asking after seeing you in that sorry state.

[Gulu Gulu]: We’ll see.

He always felt Tao Nian was just spouting nonsense.

Yesterday’s wedding had become today’s office gossip topic.

An Xun, feeling listless, sprawled over his desk pretending to nap.

Meng Xiao had really put effort into his makeup recently, looking unrecognizable in less than a month, his features weren’t particularly beautiful, just average, but since learning to cover his flaws with makeup, he had changed more day by day.

This change all started because of a certain dullard who came by their department with other excuses, gave him a few looks and some words, then left.

The wedding had stirred up the gossip spirit of all netizens, and even department leaders were munching on this gossip; their internet was slow, and details unknown to them needed explanations by the employees, after several rounds of discussions, the leaders even joined in the discussions with the employees.

An Xun clutched his head; what’s there to discuss? It was just a wedding.

A leader with a porcelain cup pondered, “Between Bo Xiangzhou and Jiang City, which An family did they ally with?”

“It’s An Zhicheng, the head of Sheng Zhou Group.”

“Doesn’t An Zhicheng have a son named An Xin? I have a friend who works as a receptionist at Sheng Zhou Group, he told me the alliance wasn’t with An Xin.”

“Ah? Then who did Bo Xiangzhou marry?”

An Xun, irritated by the noise, interjected, “He married a ghost.”

His comment, though soft, was completely drowned out by the boisterous discussion.

“With such wealthy people, their personal lives are a mess, do you guys think it’s possible that An Zhicheng has an illegitimate child?”

An Xun was speechless, you’re the illegitimate one! Your future kids will all be illegitimate!

“That’s impossible, right? If it’s an alliance marriage, how could Bo Xiangzhou marry an illegitimate child? Even if Bo Xiangzhou agreed, the Bo family wouldn’t.”

“The Bo family doesn’t care about these things, let me give you some fresh gossip. Do you know Grandma Bo? She was quite the character when she was young, cold-faced to anyone she disliked, and even when the Xie family went bankrupt, she didn’t change her temper. Back then, Bo Jinnan refused the pursuit of Miss Sang from the Sang family, insisting on being with her, endured a beating just to marry her, sadly, fate plays tricks, even the happiest couples part in their old age.”

Colleagues nodded, finding this reasoning sound.

“That’s right, the Bo family has accomplished enough, they aren’t so particular about marriage.”

“So, is the illegitimate child story true or false? I heard online it’s true.”

“That means, the romance between Liu Tang and Bo Xiangzhou is also fake?”

A colleague scoffed, “Of course it’s fake. Bo Xiangzhou has clearly indicated he’s single, Shen Qingyue distanced himself from the Liu family because of this, it’s written all over his face, only you guys believe it’s real.”

An Xun checked the trending news on his phone; the topic had surged again, surpassing the scandal of a famous actor in the entertainment industry.

Indeed, everyone was as idle as him when not wanting to work, endlessly gossiping. If the topic hadn’t started with him, he might have joined in the discussion for a bit.

An Xun had previously requested not to reveal his name to avoid affecting his regular work life, and Bo Xiangzhou readily agreed, officially announcing only an alliance with the An family.

This only fueled netizens’ curiosity, prompting them to dig into the identity of the person Bo Xiangzhou was allied with.

He wasn’t afraid of being exposed; he usually kept a low profile, even Tao Nian’s family didn’t know his identity, and even if netizens did find out, not many would believe it, especially since no photos from the scene had leaked, making it difficult for netizens to find a target.

So many people in Jiang City with the surname An? Could he possibly sift through them one by one? It was like finding a needle in a haystack, he’d exhaust himself eventually.

Tao Nian had also seen the online discussions and comforted him for half an hour.

An Xun expressed his indifference, telling him not to worry.

In the afternoon, the company returned to its usual quiet, focused mode, and facing a pile of work, everyone tacitly shut up and got to work.

An Xun stared at his computer screen, spacing out. He hadn’t slept well at noon and wanted to sleep.

Getting married was too draining; he didn’t want to get married ever again.

Twirling his pen, he noticed the calcium bottle seemed to have been moved since yesterday, but he was too busy to remember exactly how it looked before leaving.

Fingering the bottle, An Xun read the English letters on it, finding reading boring instructions more interesting than working.

Just a few minutes ago, Tao Nian, who had been talking about working hard, sent a message.

[Nian Nian]: An Xun! Check out Sheng Zhou’s official Weibo!!

An Xun, amusing himself, tossed a nut into his mouth and cleaned the grease from his fingers before responding.

[Gulu Gulu]: Can you be consistent with how you address me?

[Nian Nian]: They’re all terms of endearment.

[Gulu Gulu]: Well, you’ve got too many endearments for me to handle.

Tao Nian was urgent.

[Nian Nian]: Never mind that, check Weibo!

[Gulu Gulu]: Not looking, it annoys me to see that old Dean’s company even more.

Tao Nian sent a Weibo link.

[Sheng Zhou Group v: Online rumors are false, our eldest young master is legitimately born to Mr. An and his ex-wife, please do not spread rumors, or we will take legal action to protect our rights.]

The post included an official stamp on a clarification, briefly describing An Xun’s identity and ended with a seemingly heartfelt statement about the years of neglect.

An Xun clicked in, puzzled, and clicked out just as confused.

[Gulu Gulu]: Did you hack Sheng Zhou’s official account?

[Nian Nian]: Bullshit, even if I could hack the account, would I dare to fake the official seal? Do you think I want to live long?

An Xun paused for a few seconds.

[Gulu Gulu]: It’s possible.

[Nian Nian]: Go away, let’s be serious, did the An family change their tune?

An Xun didn’t believe it; if the An family could change, pigs could climb trees.

He long-pressed the screen to recognize text, copied the last part of the clarification, then opened Baidu and pasted the text into the search bar. As expected, this passage was copied from Baidu Wenku, even the punctuation was unchanged.

An Xun laughed in frustration and sent the search result screenshot to Tao Nian.

[Nian Nian]: Is the An family being threatened by someone?

Both thought of Bo Xiangzhou at the same time.

Tao Nian’s face broke into a mocking smile.

[Nian Nian]: Aiyo, I can’t take it anymore, they say no feelings, no feelings, but this seems more genuine than An family’s tears.

[Nian Nian]: Oh~ and~ the~ heat~ period~ how~ to~ survive~

An Xun puffed up his cheeks, speechless for a long moment.

·

As the summer solstice approached, night fell slowly.

Uncle Lin took his thin coat and reported, “President Bo has a dinner engagement tonight, so he won’t be home for dinner.”

“Ow.”

He had something to say to Bo Xiangzhou, afraid he’d forget by morning. It felt too perfunctory to say it over the phone, and then they’d have nothing to talk about at night, which would make the night even harder than staying in a dorm.

His roommate didn’t like to talk, and he couldn’t just ramble on, which made it difficult.

Bo Xiangzhou didn’t smell too strongly of alcohol, and it wasn’t unpleasant. An Xun first wrapped himself in the blanket, waiting until a damp Bo Xiangzhou emerged from the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed before he slowly crawled out and knelt, hands meekly on his knees.

“Bo…” An Xun quickly corrected himself, “Husband.”

“You don’t have to call me that if you’re not used to it.”

An Xun’s brain blanked out in nervousness, “I’ll get used to it if I call you more.”

“…As you wish.” Bo Xiangzhou asked, “You’re up this late to talk to me? Thought of a wish?”

“No.” An Xun twisted his hands together, “Husband, did you instruct today’s post on Sheng Zhou’s official Weibo?”

“Yes.” Bo Xiangzhou acknowledged, responding to both An Xun’s call and his query.

An Xun pursed his lips, his voice soft and low, “Thank you.”

“It’s what I should do, let’s go to sleep, it’s late.”

“Yeah, good night, husband.”

With a warm feeling inside, An Xun buried his face into the soft pillow, his ears flushed and hidden in the darkness.