An Xun played with his phone for over an hour before he finally got tired of it, took a shower, changed clothes, and went to bed. He didn’t sleep well, his eyes still red with tiny blood vessels visible.

Bo Xiangzhou didn’t say it, he was too embarrassed to mention it, but tried his best to show how tired he was. Shaking his head and yawning, his gaze directly locked on An Xun each time he responded, his eyes misty with a hint of flirtation.

“If you’re tired, sleep a bit longer. I’ve got things to do,” Bo Xiangzhou said, seemingly understanding.

He had noticed it when he first got up but hadn’t said anything. An Xun had been hinting at him for a long time with his expressions; if Bo Xiangzhou hadn’t noticed, it would have been too much.

An Xun peeled off his quilt, lay down obediently and covered himself, his tone quite serious, “Remember to call me for meals.”

Bo Xiangzhou found himself wanting to laugh more and more as he listened. Reluctantly making peace, after reconciling he felt a twinge of unjustified grievance and made up an excuse to come back, also buying some snacks on the way to satisfy his cravings. Even when annoyed, he couldn’t forget to eat, his cleverness wrapped in a bit of slyness.

However, that bit of slyness wasn’t used in the right place; it all went to dealing with food.

An Xun was usually promptly responsive; this time, his silence lasted too long. An Xun called out, “Husband?”

“Hmm, sleep peacefully, I won’t forget to call you.”

For Bo Xiangzhou, work was a thousand times more important than a wife, and with that statement, An Xun felt reassured.

A sparkle flashed in An Xun’s eyes, his pupils seemed to contain crushed starlight, mesmerizing if one looked too closely. Bo Xiangzhou stroked his head with great affection.

What young master would care so much about satisfying his cravings like him?

A gentle look appeared on Bo Xiangzhou’s face.

He was slowly trying to accept this forcefully inserted relationship in his life. If he really couldn’t develop feelings, they were of suitable age, their personalities… there was time to slowly change. He decided to treat An Xun’s call of “husband” as if he was a younger brother. It was better than the days at An’s home.

He didn’t understand the look in alpha’s eyes, but he could confirm, it wasn’t love; he couldn’t feel the pink bubbles of romance that should be around.

An Xun wasn’t sleepy anymore. After a long thought, he was suddenly reminded of the Old Madam. For a moment, the gaze of the Old Madam and Bo Xiangzhou overlapped in his mind.

An Xun was startled. What did this mean from Bo Xiangzhou?

He had played nice for so long, only to be told now that there was a mistake in Bo Xiangzhou’s feelings?

No way! The age difference between them wasn’t significant. What’s wrong with being partners? It’s not illegal!

He needed to turn things around.

He had already called him husband, what else was he supposed to do?

An Xun racked his brain, inspiration blocked as if by a massive boulder, unable to think of any solution.

His phone rang, and An Xun glanced at the caller ID—it was his stepmother. She had stayed in the Bo family for over a month without asking if he was accustomed to it, took the Bo family’s money, and when the company had a turnaround, she discarded him. He had thought that the Bo family had autonomously signed a no-contact agreement with her on his behalf.

…It seemed he had thought too much; the An family simply didn’t want to deal with him.

An Xun dragged out the time, anticipating the other party’s impatient irritation when he hung up the call.

There’s never good news when she calls; whoever answers is a fool.

He straightened his messy collar and sent a commonly used emoji to probe whether Tao Nian was busy.

Tao Nian had PTSD from that “seductive to all” panda head emoji. He pushed aside the important tasks at hand, leaned to avoid his manager’s gaze, and responded to the message.

The keyboard was etched in his mind, his typing fluent, eyes closed, he could still type out a few proper sentences.

[Nian Nian]: I guess it’s Bo Xiangzhou.

[Gulu Gulu]: You guessed right.

[Nian Nian]: Do I even need to guess?

An Xun recounted every word Bo Xiangzhou said when he returned to Tao Nian.

The workload was too much, Tao Nian couldn’t keep up momentarily, so he asked him to wait until he was off work.

Tao Nian’s words seemed to tantalize An Xun. He took a short nap, just half an hour. Chen’s mother persistently called, all of which he hung up on, now more convinced that the An family needed something from him.

He buried his head in his phone, the volume of his headphones slightly loud. He didn’t hear the sounds of the door opening, the lights turning on, nor the sounds of moving furniture. It was probably Bo Xiangzhou being careful not to wake him. He lifted the quilt to check on his sleep, coincidentally meeting An Xun’s gaze.

An Xun was extremely agitated, his pupils dilated in a split second during their eye contact, his smile freezing, a flicker of panic crossing his eyes. The headphones played a rhythmically compelling bgm. He sat up and pressed down on his phone, daring not to look again at the alpha dancing and showing off his physique on the screen.

Bo Xiangzhou’s gaze remained steady, but An Xun felt as if he had been caught in an affair. He couldn’t ask what Bo Xiangzhou had seen; that would be like betraying himself.

His heart panicked, “Husband, have you eaten?”

“Not yet.” Bo Xiangzhou looked suspicious. “What are you nervous about?”

An Xun went blank. How was he supposed to explain his perverse smile?

He said, “…I just… uh, saw a really funny joke…”

He couldn’t continue; his mind was filled with the video from before, desperately needing a topic to save him.

The bedroom’s layout had changed; a brand new white transparent flip-door storage rack had replaced the useless open shelving.

An Xun asked, “Is my memory playing tricks on me? I don’t remember it being like this before.”

“You’re not mistaken, it was just changed a few minutes ago.”

An Xun: “?”

Bo Xiangzhou picked up a large scallion plushie from the floor. “Bought it to store snacks for you. I had Uncle Lin draft a list; check after dinner if there’s anything else you want.”

An Xun’s eyes sparkled, “Okay, does that mean I can stay up late tonight?”

“Absolutely not,” Bo Xiangzhou said coldly, “One thing at a time.”

An Xun’s face fell, but soon compromised under the temptation of the five-tiered snack cabinet.

Uncle Lin had made a long shopping list, the variety so extensive that An Xun’s eyes blurred. Some items he had never even heard of were included, along with popular items from stores. He glanced through them, added a foreign brand of gummy candy, and continued to eat his bowl of rice diligently.

He loved Bo Xiangzhou, he swore, from now on, he would abstain from lust and only look at Bo Xiangzhou, the only alpha.

He wouldn’t complain even if the Old Madam forced him to share a bed with Bo Xiangzhou or kiss him a hundred times.

Tao Nian laughed when he heard his pledge, and without another word, sent over a short video.

Soon after, An Xun replied.

[Gulu Gulu]: Holy crap, he’s so handsome, I love him, send me the hottie’s ID.

As expected.

[Nian Nian]: I knew it.

[Nian Nian]: Okay, let’s talk business.

An Xun sat up straight.

[Gulu Gulu]: Advisor, please speak.

After a minute, Tao Nian sent over a page of text.

[Nian Nian]: I’m sure, Bo Xiangzhou didn’t mean to provoke you into hitting someone. With his status, even the best in the field have to give him face, not daring to offend lightly. And here you are, his wife, being bullied and not fighting back. It’s not just cowardice but also shaming their family. He’s telling you, when you’re bullied, fight back beautifully in a positive way!

An Xun sort of understood.

[Gulu Gulu]: What are the positive ways?

[Nian Nian]: The advisor isn’t all-powerful, I don’t know this question.

[Gulu Gulu]: Neither do I, he might as well have said nothing, doesn’t he consider how complex my brain can think?

An Xun’s face was full of misery, pondering his strategy, still unsure how far he had progressed. In this relationship, where he should be a protagonist, he felt like an outsider.

Tao Nian made a suggestion.

[Nian Nian]: You might as well let him bite you once, that will definitely speed up the emotional change. After the bite, I don’t believe he’ll remain indifferent and treat you like a cheap son.

[Gulu Gulu]: Won’t he think I’m too frivolous?

[Nian Nian]: …I don’t know, probably not.

Tao Nian was so troubled he barely ate, clearly, it was their business, but he, an outsider, had gotten deeply involved.

In the chat, Bo Xiangzhou walked out of the bathroom, draped in water mist. Water droplets from his slightly wet hair ends slid down his face contour to his chin, his robe half-open, his wiping actions careless, adding a touch of wildness to his abstinent aura.

Beauty leads astray.

An Xun muttered a few lines of a cleansing mantra,

[Gulu Gulu]: He’s back, let’s stop chatting for now. I’m free tomorrow, we’ll talk details over lunch.

Tao Nian raised an eyebrow.

[Nian Nian]: You’re treating me to lunch?

[Gulu Gulu]: Wasn’t I clear enough?

[Nian Nian]: Then I’ll be clean and wait for you tomorrow. If you break your word, I’ll hit you.

An Xun sent two “OK” gestures, the corner of his eye catching Bo Xiangzhou straightening his collar and getting into bed. He suppressed those bad thoughts, clutching his new favorite, the large scallion, close, about to speak when a ringtone interrupted.

It was still Chen Xiang.

He shouldn’t have removed her from the blacklist because of that slight thrill in his heart, watching her seethe with rage yet having to lower her proud head to him, calling the same number over and over for six hours non-stop.

But he hadn’t answered once, treating her like an insignificant character, something she was painfully aware of but could do nothing about.

It felt great, but now it was a car crash in front of Bo Xiangzhou.

To answer or not?

Answering brought no good; getting upset without being able to retort was not an option. Not answering wouldn’t fit his persona as a good child, always holding a shattered, hopeful heart through endless disappointments, yet anticipating the next hope after each letdown.

Turning down the volume, An Xun turned his back to Bo Xiangzhou, took a deep breath, his expression as grave as if facing a life-or-death decision.

“Is there something wrong?”

An Xun’s voice was soft and sweet, like sticky rice cake, no matter how much it was beaten, it remained just as soft.

Chen’s mother, patience exhausted, hearing An Xun’s voice, her anger surged. She was delusional to think An Xun was as easy to bully as sticky rice cake, her tone becoming even more haughty, “You even know to answer the phone? Married to Bo Xiangzhou and suddenly you’re something? If not for Bo Xiangzhou not liking Liu Tang, and you just happened to match his pheromone compatibility the best, do you think you could have your current life? Afraid you’d be influenced by online opinions, it’s us who had to step in to clarify, indirectly cursing our family as heartless and cruel…”

Hidden under the blanket, An Xun’s hand clenched into a fist, nearly crushing his molars together, not daring to utter a word.

“Every single trait of Liu Tang is streets ahead of you! Bo Xiangzhou might not even like you, you don’t think about getting along well with your own family, later if Bo Xiangzhou wants a divorce we could still persuade him a bit, instead you act all high and mighty because of whatever happened at Bo Xiangzhou’s wedding.”

With every word she said, An Xun cursed inwardly, his rage like a volcano about to erupt, no longer containable. He exhaled softly, magnifying the details that caused his anger, his emotions brewing to a climax. He lowered his head, rapidly blinking, a clear, sparkling tear rolling down.

His slender body trembled slightly, An Xun propped himself up, enduring and restraining, fragile and easily shattered, he whispered sobbingly, “What are you talking about…”

As he spoke, he bit his lower lip, tears brimming in his eyes, timidly turning his head to look at Bo Xiangzhou, the large teardrop perfectly timed falling on his perky nose tip. He seemed afraid Bo Xiangzhou would notice something off, but his acting was truly clumsy, lowering his gaze, turning his head, and wiping his tears with the back of his hand, his thin back arching forward, then forcibly relaxing, each frame revealing obvious flaws.

The other side finally noticed something amiss, from An Xun’s unusual demeanor, she exclaimed, “Bo Xiangzhou is right beside you!”