“If it’s wrong, then it’s wrong, there’s no helping it.”

An Xun felt like a scumbag, having deceived an alpha who was none the wiser.

The Liu family villa was desolate at night. After the three of them went upstairs, An Xun thought about grabbing any servant to ask for Liu Tang’s room, planning to confront him there.

He wasn’t sure how much Liu Tang’s parents knew about the situation. Even if Liu Tang repeated everything he had said, without solid proof, he was still seen as the innocent one. But it might not be the same for Liu Tang; both he and An Xin definitely had evidence.

Verbal evidence could be fabricated, but video evidence was a different matter.

With irrefutable proof, after months of pretense, the An family hadn’t managed to bring them down and had slunk back, only to be ridiculed mercilessly.

Wandering around the ground floor for a while and nearly memorizing the layout of the villa, An Xun hadn’t seen a soul when suddenly, the Liu family butler appeared at the stairwell. An Xun was about to call out to him when hurried footsteps came from outside.

It was Liu Tang.

Liu Tang was still dressed in his outfit from the party, hurried and dusty from rushing.

The timing of his and Bo Xiangzhou’s arrival at the Liu’s, if Liu Tang knew Bo Xiangzhou was coming, he would have rushed home, which meant he either didn’t know or he had stayed at the An’s and was plotting something with An Xin.

The butler went off to prepare tea for the guests, and An Xun dropped all pretense, blocking Liu Tang’s path and grabbing his wrist.

Just as Liu Tang was about to shout, An Xun coldly said, “Shut up.”

“Are you crazy? I won’t shut up,” Liu Tang retorted angrily without shaking off his hand. “Not pretending anymore? You think I won’t tell Bo Xiangzhou everything about you?”

Fortunately, his voice was low enough not to alert the butler.

An Xun spoke in a lowered voice, “Go ahead, but let me remind you, you think you’re so well-regarded in Bo Xiangzhou’s eyes? I wouldn’t mind repeating what he just said. If you want to save your image, it’s best you don’t say anything and push all the blame onto An Xin.”

“You know what kind of person An Xin is, how good can you be by associating with him?” An Xun glanced back and continued, “Have you ever seen Bo Xiangzhou angry? I have, just now. He was angry for me. I didn’t even have to say anything to make him come here in the middle of the night looking for an explanation, which shows how highly he thinks of me. Also, Bo Xiangzhou said he might end the cooperation with your family.”

An Xun emphasized, “Might. You should understand the implication—if you expose me, Bo Xiangzhou won’t marry you. Instead, he keeps encouraging me to be more confident and bold. Maybe your good deeds could make him love me even more.”

“Get lost!” Liu Tang struggled fiercely. “I don’t want to hear your speech.”

An Xun said, “Then I might just cry. I wasn’t planning to go upstairs and chat with you guys. Weigh your options: do you want me to clear your name with Bo Xiangzhou, or do you stubbornly align with An Xin and end up with nothing, to the point where even Bo Xiangzhou despises you?”

“You always say I’m pretending, but aren’t you doing the same? Don’t forget your sharp tongue, no different from a villain in a drama.”

Rage filled his chest, and Liu Tang squeezed out three words through gritted teeth, “Understood.”

“Rein in your angry expression; it’s becoming unattractive,” An Xun said. “You haven’t told your parents, have you?”

“I only mentioned my plan with An Xin, not your act. Hah, I don’t know how you have the face to say those shameful words,” Liu Tang sidestepped him and headed upstairs.

An Xun was still uneasy; he wasn’t sure if Liu Tang would throw caution to the wind and drag him down too.

About half an hour later, Bo Xiangzhou came out, the frost in his eyes making An Xun even more nervous. He obediently clung to Bo Xiangzhou, not uttering a word.

Liu Tang, led by his defeated-looking parents, approached An Xun boldly, making him think Liu Tang was up to no good and he sidestepped closer to Bo Xiangzhou.

Bo Xiangzhou touched An Xun’s head, saying everything without saying anything.

Their harmony was so perfect that no one could intervene.

Liu Tang, thoroughly convinced of his loss, forced a ghastly smile, his face pale, his tone lacking his previous arrogance, and after a long pause, he said, “Sorry, my fault, I shouldn’t have been jealous of you. I’ll cut ties with An Xin from now on.”

The spoiled young master couldn’t swallow his pride; being pampered and flattered from a young age, admitting his mistakes was harder than scaling the heavens. To say this much was the most he could do to bow down and relinquish his dignity.

Liu Tang: “I want to speak with him for a moment.”

Bo Xiangzhou decisively responded, “No.”

Stunned, Liu Tang’s face flushed red.

Only then did he realize that Bo Xiangzhou’s indulgence towards him was different from his treatment of An Xun. Bo Xiangzhou felt that because Liu Tang was younger and an omega, he shouldn’t be harsh with him, but his pampering of An Xun was independent of gender or age. As long as it was his omega, he would grant liberties.

Hearing a hint of tears in the voice, An Xun’s heart softened slightly, “Husband, I’ll just listen to what he has to say, and I won’t go far, just within your sight, okay?”

Liu Tang kept his promise and didn’t backtrack; Bo Xiangzhou treated him the same as before.

For some reason, An Xun felt a pang in his heart, as if something had collapsed inside.

He and Liu Tang reached the vestibule, Liu Tang coming close, looking as if he had lost his soul, “You better watch yourself. I won’t bother you anymore, but don’t get too smug. You’re deceiving him and you’ll eventually pay the price. Someone like him has many tricks up his sleeve, smarter than you think.”

“Did he scold you?” An Xun asked.

“No, he didn’t say anything.”

An Xun was baffled; how could someone be so scared when nothing was said, even losing their filter towards their beloved Bo Xiangzhou.

·

The next morning, An Xun received an apology gift from the Liu family—a box of wild ginseng.

He snapped a photo and sent it to Tao Nian, then handed it off to the kitchen to see what they could make of it.

Liu Tang’s words left him uneasy; he hadn’t slept well for several days, nearly forgetting about it before it suddenly came back to him.

Waking up early, An Xun lay in bed watching Bo Xiangzhou get dressed, enjoying the sight until his calf cramped.

He hissed softly, but couldn’t evade Bo Xiangzhou’s sharp hearing.

Bo Xiangzhou looked at him with big, surprised eyes.

Completely wrapped up, his head buried in the blankets, it looked like he was deep in sleep—except for the pair of eyes peeking out, almost like he was on a spy mission.

Bo Xiangzhou quickly buttoned up his shirt, his forehead creased with frown lines.

Knowing he was at fault, An Xun gave him a sweet smile, lifting his stiff leg and acting coy, “Husband, believe me, I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s the first time, I absolutely won’t wake up so early again.”

“Do you think I would believe that?”

An Xun replied, “I haven’t lied, so of course, you’ll believe me.”

Bo Xiangzhou’s lips parted as if to say something but changed his mind, his expression darkening as he pinched An Xun’s cheek and massaged his leg.

He remembered something from long ago, asking, “That bottle of calcium tablets I bought you should be empty by now, right? How was it?”

Caught up in his busy life, he had forgotten to check; even a month ago when Liu Tang had enraged him, he hadn’t thought to check.

An Xun gave him a knowing look.

Bo Xiangzhou pinched his cheek, “You’re not being obedient again.”

“I am, I’m very obedient.”

Bo Xiangzhou, forgetting to check, guessed An Xun had thrown it away and spent ten minutes frantically searching, sweating profusely, finally finding the forgotten spicy strips in the guest bedroom.

He begrudgingly went downstairs and grabbed a new bottle, swallowing a tablet under Bo Xiangzhou’s coercive persuasion.

His resentment towards the An family was fading; he understood his feelings well. It was probably because the Bo family had compensated double for what the An family hadn’t provided him. The missing pieces in his memory were filled and perfectly patched, and he no longer held grudges against the An family but was reaching a state of letting go, though his hopes for the An family’s bankruptcy remained unchanged.

The An family didn’t deserve their current treatment. An Zhicheng indeed had the skills and strategies for business, but his character was flawed. There’s no walking without getting your shoes wet, and being An Zhicheng’s son was just his bad luck, just as An Zhicheng having such an ungrateful son was his misfortune.

Ultimately, they were of the same ilk, except he was doing better than him.

An Xun inhaled the alpha’s pheromones, contentedly squinting his eyes. The gland he had marked last night still throbbed with pain. Holding a bowl of seafood porridge, with a plate of neatly cut fruit beside him, he fed himself small chunks of cantaloupe with a fork.

Steam rose from the bowl as he fished out a shrimp and blew on it carefully, watching Bo Xiangzhou busy packing.

Bo Xiangzhou always packed his own bags, never liking others to do it for him.

An Xun burned his tongue and mumbled unclearly, “Husband, how many days will you be away on your business trip to Fan City?”

“About a week.”

A week… that was enough time for him and [Nian Nian] to enjoy lots of stuff.

He had waited so long, and finally, Bo Xiangzhou was going on a business trip!

An Xun feigned distress, “That’s quite long, a whole week. Husband, go with peace of mind; I’ll be home missing you.”

“I’ll try to come back early.”

An Xun shook his head, “Husband, your career is most important. I’m not working right now, no income, and our family’s finances all depend on you.”

After speaking, he felt his words weren’t quite obedient enough, so he added, “You wouldn’t find me bothersome and a burden, right? After all, I’m so useless.”

Out of Bo Xiangzhou’s sight, he tested how wide he could open his mouth, stabbing the fork into three pieces of cantaloupe, all making their way into his mouth.

When the alpha turned back, his cheeks were puffed like a squirrel’s, showing no sign of deprivation; if his snacks were taken away, he was sure to wail for days nonstop.

He wasn’t even as important as a bag of snacks.

This thought stunned Bo Xiangzhou himself; what was there to compare between him and snacks?

An Xun sat cross-legged, pulling his pillow over his legs to hold it down, and as Bo Xiangzhou finished packing his suitcase, he waved, “Goodbye, husband.”

He looked as if he couldn’t wait for him to leave.

Bo Xiangzhou scowled, “No staying up late, don’t overeat or snack too much, take your supplements on time, and I’ll have Uncle Lin watch over you. Also, sleep more towards the middle of the bed, tuck in the blanket so it doesn’t fall to the floor, there won’t be anyone to pick it up in the middle of the night. Set the air conditioner to sleep mode, don’t turn it down too low at night. If you get sick, contact the family doctor immediately, and take a bodyguard when you go out.”

“Okay, I got it,” An Xun stirred his seafood porridge with a spoon, “Thank you, husband, may your work go smoothly~”

As the door closed, An Xun sipped the hot porridge eagerly and contacted Tao Nian.

[Gulu Gulu]: Baby, my husband’s gone! Where shall we go today?

Tao Nian was slow to reply, An Xun checking his phone every half-minute, his heart racing.

[Nian Nian]: Let’s go shopping at the mall after work, and then hit a bar for drinks in the evening.

An Xun was thoughtful. There wasn’t a day at the Bo’s that didn’t require mental gymnastics; he often tripped himself up due to his carelessness, but after a few experiences, his mind had become sharper.

[Gulu Gulu]: Let’s go to the bar early for drinks; I can’t have any smell of alcohol on me. You don’t know this butler; his nose is so sharp, almost like a dog’s.

[Gulu Gulu]: Otherwise, how about this: go straight to the bar after work when there are fewer people, drink enough, and then go for a late-night snack. I’ll just say the smell rubbed off from you.

[Nian Nian]: When will this scapegoat life end?

An Xun scratched his neck, sending a generous red packet to the grumbling Tao Nian.

[Nian Nian]: I used to despise rich people, never thought my bro would turn out to be one.

[Nian Nian]: Dear, you can make me take the fall as much as you want in the future.

An Xun replied with a laugh: Better not, otherwise Bo Xiangzhou might suspect your character and forbid me from hanging out with you.

[Nian Nian]: You’re way worse than me.