An Xun crossed his legs, focusing intently on the lit-up screen of his smartphone, curious to see how he’d explain himself.

He scrolled through his social media updates post-breakup, piecing together a complete picture from the scattered bits of information revealed.

It started with liking someone, then discovering they were climbing the social ladder by getting close to wealthy individuals, followed by a falling out. From his narcissistic point of view, quitting was because he couldn’t bear the shame of staying at the company.

He was sure it was about him.

An Xun couldn’t contain his anger. What kind of people were these, blaming him for having the ability when they had none.

“To hell with losing face, I’ve got plenty of it.”

Believe it or not, he was ready to storm back to his former employer at any moment.

As the tardy idiot didn’t respond, An Xun’s anger fumed. He couldn’t focus on the meeting content, his mind filled with filthy language. It was only when the manager suddenly criticized some staff for not being diligent that An Xun snapped back to reality.

By the time the meeting ended at noon, a colleague he got along with invited him warmly, “Wanna join me for lunch in the cafeteria?”

An Xun wasn’t hungry. “You go ahead. I ate too much this morning and still feel full.”

His colleague didn’t insist and went with others instead.

An Xun bought yogurt downstairs at the company, gulped it down along with some hot water to feed his nutrition supplements, and stuffed the empty bottle in his bag to take home for Bo Xiangzhou to check.

As if he was managing a child.

An Xun thought how pitiful Bo Xiangzhou’s future son would be, to have such a dad and likely be depressed from a young age.

Unable to wait for a reply, An Xun impulsively sent a tiny red envelope.

Just one cent—not worthy of more.

Instantly, the laggard, probably without even seeing the note, snatched it up.

An Xun cracked a wicked smile.

[I am your dad]: Busy grabbing red packets but no time to respond, you coward. Don’t go around saying you’re an alpha.

[I am your dad]: Two choices, one is to apologize publicly on social media and send me a screenshot with likes from two hundred people, or I’ll assume it never happened. The other, you come here and let me slap you a few times while I post your misdeeds.

[I am your dad]: I suggest you pick the first one.

If Bo Xiangzhou smelled alpha on him, it could get messy. Despite how satisfying the second choice seemed, he had to think big picture.

The [Deadbeat] didn’t reply, forcing An Xun to leverage his identity to elicit a response.

[I am your dad]: You better respond before I get really angry, or I’ll make a scene at your company. You said I have people outside, dare to try me?

As he typed, his own courage wavered.

What if he actually caused a scene?

Both remained silent.

[Deadbeat]: I wasn’t talking about you. Get over yourself.

An Xun, enraged, checked his social media and saw this scum had locked his account; he could only capture a few, incomplete images.

[Deadbeat]: If I caused any misunderstanding, I apologize, but I wasn’t talking about you. I meant an omega I used to have a crush on.

An Xun was furious.

[I am your dad]: Who would believe your nonsense? If it wasn’t me, explain why you didn’t respond all morning? You don’t need me to tell you what you’re guilty of.

[Deadbeat]: Sorry, if my words caused any misunderstanding, here, I sincerely apologize and hope we can settle this amicably.

[I am your dad]: Amicable my ass. Mr. Zhang, all polite now, aren’t you just showing how guilty you are?

An Xun’s anger was at its peak, and in a spur of the moment, he didn’t want a peaceful resolution. Remembering past grievances, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to get the deadbeat fired for workplace harassment.

He was quick to act; feeling the method feasible, he immediately requested half a day off from his superior.

He couldn’t sit still any longer, needing to rush back to find Bo Xiangzhou for a detailed plan that would look like him yet not like him pulling the strings.

The manor’s staff was halved; An Xun had pressing matters, barely acknowledging Uncle Lin with a nod before striding two steps at a time into the bedroom.

Uncle Lin, aged and slow, couldn’t keep up. By the time he reached the third floor, An Xun was already in the master bedroom.

Inside, An Xun was hit with the strong scent of agarwood, dizzying him with its oppressive force as it rushed at him. It dissipated instantly upon detecting a familiar pheromone.

Alpha pheromones restrained uncontrollably. An Xun felt lighter, the crushing sensation on his chest gone.

“Are you in your sensitive period?” An Xun asked.

The bedroom was dark. An Xun couldn’t see him, only roughly guessing his location by his voice.

“Yeah.” Bo Xiangzhou’s voice floated over from the bed, “Why are you back now?”

“I’ve got something important, very very important to discuss. Can you hold it in?” An Xun was urgent, “I’ll speak a few words and then leave.”

“Let’s talk over the phone.”

“I can’t express my real thoughts in a text or two on the phone, you might misunderstand.” An Xun leaned against the door.

Alpha in a sensitive period is unstable and repels the pheromones of its kind, also possessing a strong territorial instinct. Bo Xiangzhou’s released pheromones contained an omega’s natural aphrodisiac, though An Xun showed no reaction to it, suggesting Bo Xiangzhou wasn’t severely affected.

Still, the possibility of Bo Xiangzhou enduring it crossed An Xun’s mind. Maybe he was just holding back, and it wasn’t apparent from the surface.

Alpha was silent for too long. An Xun backed off, “Can’t hold it? Then I’ll leave. Rest well. Oh, and where should I sleep tonight?”

“Stay in the secondary bedroom. Let’s get to the matter. Keep your distance,” Bo Xiangzhou instructed.

An Xun meticulously, “Walls have ears. Can I move over and speak? I don’t carry pheromones.”

Bo Xiangzhou got up from the bed, a few strands of hair sticking to his forehead, “You broke the law?”

“I’m a law-abiding good citizen. Why would I do something illegal?”

The more he said, the less sure Bo Xiangzhou felt, “Then why are you so nervous? Afraid of being overheard?”

“It’s a bit shady.” An Xun approached slowly, seeing no resistance, he moved closer.

The tea had cooled since morning, and Bo Xiangzhou drank a few sips to stay alert.

An Xun, stopping just a centimeter from the sofa, feeling not too close to Bo Xiangzhou, pushed forward a few more millimeters.

Bo Xiangzhou couldn’t help but chuckle, “What is it? Get any closer, and neither of us are leaving this room today.”

“You weren’t planning to leave anyway.”

A strong-willed alpha might endure the sensitive period, provided no external factors intervened.

His presence increased the likelihood of alpha losing control.

The round stool was heavy; Bo Xiangzhou consciously scooted to the edge of the sofa, “Save your energy.”

Alpha’s voice was slightly hoarse, more magnetically appealing.

An Xun suppressed his inappropriate thoughts, sat on the round stool, leaned on the sofa arm, and whispered, “I have an annoying colleague. How do I discreetly get him fired? I looked up many methods online, but none seem right for me.”

Bo Xiangzhou exhaled, “Just this? Send me his name, I’ll make a call later and solve it for you.”

“I didn’t come to pull strings; I came for advice.” An Xun’s face was serious.

“Tell me the situation.”

“Promise you won’t get mad first.” An Xun hesitated, “Let’s talk another day. You’re too unpredictable now. What if we argue?”

“He harassed you?” Bo Xiangzhou was sharp. His last worry about arguments and cold wars was due to his closeness with Tao Nian, fearing his excessive suspicions.

An Xun froze, “How did you guess?”

“Was it hard? It’s obvious.” Bo Xiangzhou asked, “Can you drop your unnecessary worries now?”

An Xun’s voice was low, embarrassed to say it out loud, fidgeting, and preferring to communicate through text.

An Xun reassured, “I work diligently at the company, absolutely no hints from me, it’s all his own delusions. He’s so ugly I wouldn’t spare him a glance.”

He omitted the part about physical assault, embellished other details, and cleverly replaced crucial twists with a verbal altercation.

Unsaid, Bo Xiangzhou knew things weren’t that simple. A temper that could be easily triggered was likely more than a minor conflict.

As An Xun spoke, he grew more agitated, clouded by emotions, and loudly read out what he typed, “He even slandered me on social media. Lucky I’m not stupid, or I’d believe his lies and be fooled!”

Bo Xiangzhou’s eyebrows raised in amusement, “That bad, huh?”

An Xun nearly crushed his screen, “Yes! Extremely! His apology was utterly insincere! I’ll send you the screenshots!”

Meanwhile, Bo Xiangzhou started investigating.

He couldn’t fully trust this little trickster, wondering what grand surprise might lurk behind his lame excuses.

Bo Xiangzhou had a rough understanding of the situation, the man named Zhang from the finance department.

He joked, “Learned to fight back, didn’t run back crying.”

“When have I ever cried!” A joke, an alpha crying was impossible.

“When have you not?”

An Xun remembered crying like a dog in front of Bo Xiangzhou, eyes round with the words, “Where do you get off saying that?”

Bo Xiangzhou conceded, “Enough, pull back your expressions, let’s talk business. Based on your description, without public relations intervention or media pressure, it’s hard to achieve your goal. You said your former company discriminates heavily against omegas, without significant pressure threatening their interests, this case is practically over.”

“You don’t want to use connections and want to stealthily topple the other party like a spy game, then law enforcement is out of the question. Moreover, you lack sufficient evidence to harm him,” Bo Xiangzhou calmly said, “Now the most important thing is to find a suitable entry point. This issue is his fault, and he should be the focus, but considering current online trends, once it gets out, you’ll be the most damaged, so I don’t recommend using workplace harassment.”

Bo Xiangzhou wanted to flick his forehead, extended his hand, then unnoticeably retracted it, “You still claim you’re not stupid? So many details will point right back at you once revealed.”

The hint of an idea uncontrollably stirred within him, a slight chill making it resistant instead.

A bit of pheromone leaked, An Xun detected it, but no significant change occurred; he didn’t realize alpha’s gaze had completely shifted, the soothing pheromones were his utmost restraint.

Restraining too much caused delusions; he felt surrounded by lychee scents, every breath of the other was a silent seduction.

Bo Xiangzhou decided swiftly, “I learned that your former employer is downsizing. I suggest starting with his professional capabilities, anonymously send a detailed email, companies first cut staff with low utility value. Make it detailed, so they see he’s not worth keeping. Typically, to avoid offending and maintain a good reputation, they’ll shift blame to someone else, but they won’t suspect you, only potential rivals.”

An Xun, like a curious child, “Why won’t they suspect me?”

Because your cleverness is well-known.

Bo Xiangzhou diplomatically, “He’s dumb, can’t see through your tough exterior to your clever core.”

An Xun scratched his head, “Something’s off about that, are you mocking me?”

“No, I’m praising you.”

What was there to praise?

An Xun, “You better not let me find out you’re mocking me, or you’re done.”

After An Xun left, Bo Xiangzhou lay on the sofa, drained like he was dehydrated, waiting for the tide to overtake him.

An Xun had no friends at his former company, Bo Xiangzhou’s advice wasn’t detailed, he was clueless on how to assess his professional capabilities, only aware the guy had miscalculated wages several times.

Just the wages weren’t enough; An Xun thought of a sinister move, professional capability combined with dissatisfaction towards company leadership.

He remembered not deleting chat records, a few curses were easily found.

It seemed his opponent wasn’t smart, casually cursing leadership among colleagues.

Though exposing chat records was unethical, let it be unethical then, the opponent provoked him first.

An Xun frenziedly took screenshots, inspired, his writing flowed like an unstoppable river.

He was busy non-stop, glued to his bed all afternoon crafting the email, even having Tao Nian revise it.

[Nian Nian]: You’re really bold, daring to enter an alpha in the heat’s bedroom.

[Nian Nian]: Weren’t you afraid he’d sleep with you?

An Xun replied: Bo Xiangzhou is very proper.