Since Ouyang Pei had said he wouldn’t stand on ceremony, he really didn’t hold back with Li Zhao. He grabbed the menu and ordered with great relish, then asked Li Zhao, “What are you having? Ordered yet?”
“Oh, not yet. I was waiting for you to get here first,” Li Zhao answered honestly.
Ouyang Pei raised an eyebrow, his voice a little suggestive. “Want me to order for you?”
“Sure, sure. I’ll eat anything.”
“What if I order something you don’t like?”
Li Zhao thought about it and answered quite seriously, “That probably won’t happen. I like anything you pick.”
It wasn’t a lie Li Zhao had never been a picky eater, and he wasn’t fussy about food as long as it filled him up.
Besides, if it was Ouyang Pei ordering for him, Li Zhao figured he could eat until he was twelve-tenths full.
Ouyang Pei was amused by how earnest Li Zhao looked. He ordered Li Zhao’s meal, sent the waiter off, then leaned over softly and couldn’t help reaching out to tap Li Zhao’s warm lips. “Such a sweet mouth. Been eating honey?”
Li Zhao’s cheeks instantly flushed bright red even his neck and the tips of his ears went red along with them.
Ouyang Pei loved seeing Li Zhao like this, flustered and shy, so adorably foolish that he couldn’t resist teasing him further.
So Ouyang Pei deliberately pretended to be a bit displeased. “A smooth-talker like you must have tons of experience in romance. Who knows how many Omegas you’ve sweet-talked with lines like those.”
“I haven’t!” Li Zhao was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead, and he hurried to explain, “The relationships I had with Omegas before were all very short. I’m clumsy with words and bad at sweet-talking. Everything I say to you is sincere, I’m not trying to trick you!”
“I don’t believe you. Tell me, how many Omegas have you dated?”
“…Two.”
Looking at how honest Li Zhao was, Ouyang Pei knew he wasn’t lying. Besides, it was perfectly normal for an Alpha pushing thirty to have dated two Omegas. But for some strange, inexplicable reason, Ouyang Pei suddenly felt a bit sour about it.
“That many?” Ouyang Pei said snidely. “And you claim you don’t have much romantic history?”
“…” Li Zhao felt he was in the wrong. After all, he had indeed been with other Omegas before, and Ouyang Pei hadn’t said anything untrue about him.
Li Zhao had no idea what to say to keep Ouyang Pei from being angry. He sat there racking his brain for a long while before stammering out, “I’m sorry. I—I won’t anymore. From now on, you’ll be my only Omega, only you… okay?”
Having worked up all his courage to say those words, Li Zhao’s face was now as red as a fully ripened apple, his skin so hot he almost felt like he had a fever.
Ouyang Pei had only meant to tease Li Zhao a little, he never expected to get an answer like that, and for a moment he was stunned too.
The atmosphere sank into a silence that was both ambiguous and awkward. Li Zhao hung his head, shyly lifting his eyes to peek at Ouyang Pei’s reaction through the gaps in his bangs.
From where Ouyang Pei sat, he could see it perfectly: Li Zhao, face flushed, stealing glances at him with eyes full of hope and timidity.
Scenes from that night steamy, vivid flashed instantly through Ouyang Pei’s mind, and he felt a rush of heat to his face.
He opened his mouth, his prominent Adam’s apple sliding slowly down his throat, but just as he was about to say something, the waiter came over carrying a tray.
“Gentlemen, here is the red wine you ordered. Would you like me to open and decant it now?”
The waiter’s arrival broke the subtle atmosphere between the two. Li Zhao immediately looked away, and Ouyang Pei came back to his senses, replying, “Go ahead.”
The fragrant red wine was poured into the decanter, and soon the appetizer and steak Ouyang Pei had ordered were served.
Watching Ouyang Pei elegantly unfold his napkin and tuck it into his collar, Li Zhao stood up, picked up the decanter to pour him wine, and handed him his utensils.
Ouyang Pei leaned back in his chair with a smile, enjoying Li Zhao’s attentions.
He raised his glass, swirling the mellow red wine as he asked, “Why aren’t you pouring yourself one?”
“Oh, I have to go back to the office to work overtime later, so I can’t drink with you today,” Li Zhao explained.
Ouyang Pei frowned, looking somewhat displeased, but in the end he said nothing, just took a silent sip of his wine.
Fine food, fine wine, and a beautiful companion, the meal passed quickly. Seeing that both he and Ouyang Pei had nearly finished eating, Li Zhao picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. “Um, shall I take you home?”
Ouyang Pei happened to be wiping his mouth at that moment too. At the words, his hand paused, then he slowly and deliberately folded up the used napkin, picked up his phone to check the time, and said, “It’s still early. I don’t want to go home.”
Li Zhao completely missed the hint in Ouyang Pei’s words and asked foolishly, “Then where do you want to go? I can take you anywhere.”
Ouyang Pei’s lips curled. He leaned back leisurely in his chair, looking at Li Zhao with an intrigued yet slightly mischievous gaze.
“Junshang.”
“!”
Just two simple words, but Li Zhao’s whole body jolted, his eyes widening in alarm because what Ouyang Pei had named was the hotel where they’d first gotten a room together!
“What?” Ouyang Pei savored Li Zhao’s flustered expression with malicious delight, deliberately teasing him. “You dare to sleep with me but not to admit it?”
“…”
Li Zhao’s face flushed bright red, and he was so anxious he could hardly stand it. “It’s not that I won’t admit it! I admit it, I… after all, we’ve already… done that. I’ll take responsibility.”
“Responsibility? How exactly do you plan to take responsibility?”
“I—I’ll treat you well. If you have any requests, you can tell me. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll do my best,” Li Zhao answered very earnestly.
In truth, at this moment Li Zhao really wanted to say something sweet, but he was simply too clumsy with words. After all that, all he’d managed was this one bland, almost tedious sentence.
Yet Ouyang Pei seemed quite satisfied with it. He crooked his finger, and Li Zhao dutifully leaned toward him.
“Then I want you to skip the overtime,” Ouyang Pei said, reaching out to tap Li Zhao’s chest. “Keep me company watching a movie.”
Li Zhao blushed, his expression turning somewhat troubled. “I—I do want to keep you company, but there’s really something at the office I have to rush back for…”
Ouyang Pei gave a soft snort and said with displeasure, “What a lousy company, making you work overtime on the weekend. It might as well go under.”
“…”
Li Zhao thought Ouyang Pei was acting like a child, saying such petulant things, it was almost adorably childish. But since he was already going to displease Ouyang Pei by not staying later, he prudently chose to keep his mouth shut.
The atmosphere sank into an awkward silence.
In the end, it was Ouyang Pei who stood up first, saying lazily and in a bad mood, “I’m done eating. Let’s go.”
Li Zhao quickly stood up as well, attentively pulling out the chair for Ouyang Pei. “Okay, wait for me a moment, I’ll go pay the bill.”
Ouyang Pei raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Zhao, but didn’t stop him. “Mm.”
At the restaurant’s front desk, Li Zhao reported their table number, and the server smiled and said, “Your total comes to 25,896 yuan. How would you like to pay?”
!
Li Zhao’s heart lurched. He’d had no idea this meal would cost so much.
He glanced at the computer screen at the front desk displaying the itemized bill, and discovered that the bottle of red wine Ouyang Pei had ordered alone cost over twenty thousand yuan.
Li Zhao felt a pang of heartache. If he’d known the wine was that expensive, he should have asked the server to pack up the unfinished half bottle to take home.
“…I’ll scan the QR code with my phone.”
“Very well, sir. I’ll scan you, right here.”
Walking out of the restaurant, Li Zhao saw Ouyang Pei standing by the entrance, waiting for him while looking down at his phone.
An indescribable sense of satisfaction suddenly welled up in his heart, and even the sting of having just spent a month’s salary on the bill eased considerably.
Li Zhao walked over. “Let me give you a ride.”
“Don’t you still have to go work overtime?” Ouyang Pei’s tone still sounded a bit displeased. “I’ll walk myself.”
Li Zhao wanted to coax Ouyang Pei, to get him to stop being angry, but after opening his mouth several times without knowing what to say, he changed his approach. “You’ve been drinking. It’s not safe for you to go alone, let me take you.”
“Not safe?” Ouyang Pei finally looked up, shifting his gaze from his phone to Li Zhao. “Then tell me, how exactly is it not safe?”
“…” Li Zhao had no choice but to say, “You’re an Omega, and you’ve been drinking. What if…”
“What if some pervert kidnaps me to a hotel and has his way with me all night long, and then the second time we meet he doesn’t want to spend proper time with me, perfunctorily eats a meal with me and runs off wouldn’t I have gotten the short end of the stick?” Ouyang Pei cut Li Zhao off, delivering this whole string of words in one breath, then slightly curled his lips, watching Li Zhao’s embarrassment with great interest.
Li Zhao’s face flushed red once again at being teased, and he apologized good-naturedly, “I’m sorry. Today really was a special circumstance. It won’t happen again. Next time I’ll keep you company, you can do whatever you want, and I’ll listen to you in everything.”
Ouyang Pei raised an eyebrow. “Really, you’ll listen to me in everything?”
“Really.” Li Zhao nodded earnestly.
“Mm, all right. I’ll let you off this time, then.” Ouyang Pei put away his phone and reached out to tug at the ends of Li Zhao’s hair. “You’d better behave yourself next time. Understood?”
“Understood.” Li Zhao answered obediently.
Before going to the company to work overtime, Li Zhao still insisted on driving Ouyang Pei home.
Ouyang Pei lived in a townhouse community in the near suburbs, one known for its beautiful scenery and steep prices Li Zhao had heard of it.
So when Ouyang Pei named the community, Li Zhao was genuinely taken aback.
To this, Ouyang Pei offered only a simple explanation: “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not my house.”
Li Zhao was curious, but seeing that Ouyang Pei didn’t seem to want to say more, he didn’t ask further.
His thinking was quite simple: since they were going to be properly together anyway, they would have plenty and plenty of time to get to know each other. Whatever he was meant to know, he would learn sooner or later, there was no need to pry too much right off the bat.
After seeing Ouyang Pei off, Li Zhao rushed to the company without a moment’s pause, but the distance was too great despite hurrying as fast as he could, it was already past seven-thirty by the time he arrived.
Li Zhao had sensed something was off as soon as he was in the underground parking garage, and sure enough, when he took the elevator upstairs, he saw Director Ge sitting at his workstation with a dark expression on his face, while his team members all kept their heads down, busily working at their computers. The atmosphere was oppressive and tense.