After a few days of fermenting, the incident gradually settled down.

An Xun’s work life returned to normal, finally no longer having to endure colleagues gossiping about him and Bo Xiangzhou by his ear.

Because of this, his refusal to participate in the discussions made him seem antisocial, further tarnishing his reputation at the company.

Well, let him be ostracized. It’d be great if they formed a clique and reported him, eventually pressuring the boss to fire him.

…Just thinking about it felt wonderful.

After the wedding, there should have been a honeymoon, but Bo Xiangzhou felt it was inappropriate. They would only add to the awkwardness if they went on a trip, so An Xun had to secretly relish the idea while outwardly approving of it.

He wanted to go out and have fun, but Bo Xiangzhou’s life revolved around work, interacting more with his laptop than with him. Likely, he’d just be working on his laptop even there.

If Bo was busy, he wouldn’t have time to mind him, and he could be as wild as he wanted without Bo knowing.

An Xun sighed silently, realizing that Bo Xiangzhou was not only a workaholic and cold but also clueless about romance.

However, on the bright side, his plan to go bankrupt had progressed slightly.

As usual, he bought coffee at the shop downstairs from his office, but he caught sight of the deadbeat alpha leaning against the counter, eyes glued to the new employee, speaking ambiguously, “An Americano, thanks.”

What would be a normal phrase from anyone else sounded like flirting coming from him.

The deadbeat never changed.

The employee was a young female omega, her face clearly flustered by his remarks.

Moved by a sense of justice, An Xun couldn’t stand it and, stopping in his tracks, turned back and casually approached, saying, “Buddy, flirting with the young girl like that, are you asking for trouble?”

The deadbeat changed his expression instantly upon seeing him, defiantly retorting, “Why do you have to meddle in others’ business?”

“I like to meddle, got a problem with that?”

“Such a big mouth for an omega. In my opinion, omegas should be gentle and dignified, know how to behave in public. I’m considered patient, but if you met someone worse than me, you’d be dragged into an alley by now.” He paused, sizing up An Xun, “Someone like you, no one would take even if you were given away for free.”

The deadbeat’s words felt like punching cotton; An Xun, unfazed, responded, “And you, even if you were given to me for free, I wouldn’t want you. You’ve got Meng Xiao, yet here you are openly hitting on other omegas downstairs at work, did your conscience get eaten by a dog?”

“I’m not dating him; why can’t I pursue happiness?”

Caught off guard by the deadbeat’s harsh words, his face cooled, “Scum.”

Both he and Meng Xiao were cut from the same cloth.

Provoked by An Xun, the alpha’s eyes flashed red with anger, “Who are you calling scum?”

“You, didn’t you hear?” An Xun chuckled, “Why so agitated? Do you like being insulted that much?”

The atmosphere around them became tense, charged like a drawn bow.

“Say that again, I dare you.”

An Xun reassured the employee, then raised his voice, defiantly repeating, “Scum.”

The deadbeat stared at him, his eyes like a starving wolf. An Xun, thinking quickly, pointed to a distant building with a distinctive logo and warned, “That’s my husband’s company. Better not use your pheromones on me, or you’ll be sorry.”

He hated when alphas resorted to using pheromones to dominate, given that being an alpha was already an advantage. Yet, unsatisfied, they sought to become even more dominant, but often the reality was different—strength was relative, and there was always someone stronger.

Unable to do anything about a stronger alpha, they would often take it out on the socially weaker omegas, to see them in agony and begging was a way for them to satisfy their desire to dominate.

The employee trembled beside him as An Xun grabbed his pre-ordered coconut latte, kicked the deadbeat hard, and with a smirk, splashed a bit of it on him.

Just a splash, not too much, he didn’t want to waste it, but it was enough to stain the fabric and embarrass him.

After An Xun got out of his luxurious Range Rover, the alpha’s pretense fell away, and, furious, he shouted, “I knew you were for sale! Should’ve gotten my hands on you sooner!”

“Go to hell,” An Xun’s tone was light, “Bastard.”

Several colleagues, including Meng Xiao, watched the drama unfold.

With the deadbeat’s loud voice, his words were hard to miss, and they definitely heard them.

His good reputation was ruined in an instant.

The colleagues who had smiled politely at him just yesterday now wore undisguised mockery.

A careless remark had cost him dearly.

By midday, the whole company would know.

Furious, An Xun snapped, “Look again, and your job won’t be safe.”

The colleagues slinked away, and he turned to Meng Xiao, “Why are you standing there like an ice sculpture? Feel sorry for him? Better to pity yourself than that bastard.”

Meng Xiao brushed past him into the shop, where he returned to doting on the deadbeat, who feigned magnanimity.

Rubbing his sore shoulder, An Xun thought, so much for my good intentions.

Glancing at the building he had used as a shield, its facade crowned with a particularly conspicuous golden logo, his lips twitched—his life was crashing down, the building he pointed out belonged to Yi Hai Group.

His reputation was thoroughly wrecked; none of Yi Hai’s leaders were young.

News spread incredibly fast, almost at eightfold speed. As soon as he stepped into the office, An Xun felt the shift in his colleagues’ glances.

Stoically, he prepared for the worst; if his reputation was in tatters, the deadbeat’s wouldn’t be faring much better.

If he got fired, he’d go back to living comfortably, sleeping till noon, while the deadbeat’s fate would be just the opposite.

He was actually grateful for Old Madam’s decision; otherwise, his actions would have been self-destructive.

The impromptu wedding arrangements and the displeasure of living together suddenly felt worth it—he had gained so much, after all, a sacrifice was due.

·

His discord with Meng Xiao was well-known throughout the company; their atmosphere had always been disharmonious, but at least it hadn’t been ugly. Now, they had openly turned against each other.

Meng Xiao flung a folder at him, “These are the people coming for interviews this afternoon, familiarize yourself with them.”

The folder flew straight at his face, clearly, the throw was practiced.

An Xun dodged swiftly and caught it, his tone unkind, “The psychiatric ward welcomes you. If this is your attitude at work, are we still working here?”

“At least I behave decently, not like your crooked ways.”

“Jealous, huh? Too bad, you’re not qualified to take the crooked path. Too ugly, and blind too.”

The deadbeat’s attitude had already made things clear; he didn’t take Meng Xiao seriously, just enjoying the feeling of being pursued.

Unable to outtalk An Xun, Meng Xiao shut up after getting a word in.

Busy with morning tasks, the influx of job applicants had increased, and An Xun was nearly smoking the keyboard, still with a backlog of people unresponded to.

He took a sip of his now-cold tea and grabbed his notebook to head to a meeting.

Days had accustomed him to his colleagues’ changes; their distance was a relief, sparing him the need to pretend and agree with people he disliked. The two colleagues next to him almost simultaneously moved away.

An Xun watched indifferently, detaching himself.

The boss discussed the usual few points during the meeting; he could predict the boss’s next sentences within seconds.

He doodled aimlessly in his notebook, filling a page with circles.

“An Xun.” The boss, mid-speech, called his name.

An Xun: “?”

The boss, hands clasped, said, “Your recent work attitude is improper, and your efficiency has noticeably declined.”

An Xun objected, “Not at all, I feel quite motivated lately.”

It was just that he had worked overtime less.

The boss pressed, “Then why haven’t you completed the tasks I assigned mid-last month? What have you been doing all this time?”

Colleagues snickered, a slightly overweight beta male bluntly said, “He’s been chasing rich people.”

Laughter grew louder and more piercing; the boss pounded the table, “Quiet!”

An Xun’s liking for his colleagues plummeted, he retorted, “Boss, what task did you give me last mid-month? You must be mistaken.”

“Your memory is worse than mine, and I’m nearly retired,” the boss was slightly irritated, “I told you to hire a graphic designer! It’s been almost a month, and you haven’t taken it to heart at all.”

An Xun was clueless.

The boss explained, “On the 13th last month, the day you took leave, it was decided to hire another versatile graphic designer. Since you weren’t here, I told Meng Xiao to inform you. Don’t say Meng Xiao didn’t tell you; he’s an old employee of our company and knows to keep work and personal matters separate.”

An Xun regretted not hitting Meng Xiao harder; he should have beaten him again.

The 13th of last month was the day he took leave to register his marriage with Bo Xiangzhou.

The boss wouldn’t hear his defense, and Meng Xiao made up an excuse that he’d deleted the chat history and couldn’t retrieve it. An Xun had no evidence and had to swallow the bitter pill.

As the meeting ended and the room emptied, only the two of them remained. Meng Xiao, smug, said, “Seeing you suffer, it’s just a three-day performance deduction. I trust you won’t mind such a small amount of money. Just go whine in the arms of that old man, and you could get tens of thousands, right? Ah—wrong, their wives probably keep tight reins, but being more proactive might get you a few thousand. Either way, it’s faster than us working hard for our money.”