"It’s unavoidable." Chenxi shrugged, dropping into the chair across from him. "But you’re my younger cousin. I’ll protect you from him."
He glanced toward the hallway, nose twitching slightly.
"Now, where’s the alpha you’ve been hiding here? Judging by the pheromones, it must be Han Sicheng." He was already pulling out his phone. "Call him for me."
Nuocheng frowned. "Why?"
"Because I said so." Chenxi didn’t look up from his phone. "Go get him."
Nuocheng grumbled the entire walk down the hallway, knocking once on the guest room door before pushing it open without waiting for an answer.
Sicheng looked up from where he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Chenxi wants to talk to you."
"Why? And who is Chenxi?"
"How would I know?" Nuocheng shrugged. "He’s my assistant, but I don’t know what’s going on in his mind."
Sicheng followed him back out to the living room, arms crossed, wary in the way he’d been since the moment he arrived. Chenxi stood, offering a small, polite nod.
"Han Sicheng." Chenxi gestured toward the kitchen. "I would like to discuss with you in the kitchen, five minutes tops."
Nuocheng opened his mouth to object, but Chenxi was already steering Sicheng toward the kitchen, gesturing at Nuocheng to stay where he was.
Nuocheng sat back down, straining to catch even a fragment of what was being said. He caught nothing. Just low voices, Chenxi’s tone even, Sicheng’s clipped and short.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
By the time they emerged, neither of their faces gave anything away. Sicheng disappeared back down the hallway without a word. Chenxi picked up his briefcase like nothing had happened at all.
"What did you say to him?"
"Nothing important." Chenxi checked his watch. "I should head out. Sign the folders before you forget."
"Chenxi."
"Goodnight, Nuocheng." He was already at the door, shoes back on, not looking back once.
The door clicked shut.
Nuocheng sat alone in the living room, staring at the folders he had no intention of reading tonight.
He pushed himself up, swaying slightly, and made his way down the hall before his brain could talk him out of it.
He didn’t knock this time.
Sicheng looked up from the bed, startled, as the door swung open.
"What did Chenxi say to you?" Nuocheng leaned against the doorframe, words slurring slightly at the edges.
"Nothing that concerns you."
"It concerns me if it’s about me."
"It wasn’t about you." Sicheng’s jaw tightened. "Get out."
"Just tell me what he—"
"I said get out." Sicheng was on his feet now, crossing the room fast enough that Nuocheng stumbled back a step. "You’re drunk. Go to bed."
"I’m not that drunk."
"You reek of wine, and you can barely stand straight." Sicheng grabbed the door and started pushing it shut, Nuocheng still half inside the frame. "Whatever Mr. Gu said to me is mine to keep. Go sleep it off."
"Sicheng—"
The door shut in his face.
Nuocheng stood there a moment, blinking at the wood grain, something stubborn refusing to let it go even as his own legs argued otherwise.
"Fine," he muttered to the closed door. "Keep your damn secrets."
He made it back to his own room more by muscle memory than actual coordination, dropping onto his bed fully dressed, staring up at the ceiling while his mind turned over every possible thing Chenxi could have said.
He didn’t come up with an answer before sleep finally dragged him under.
The next morning, Nuocheng woke up groggily.
He pinched the top of his nose gently, feeling a light pang in his head.
"I was lucky to get away with a light hangover."
Sliding out of bed, he kicked on his slippers and walked to the closet.
He flipped through the rows of clothes, nothing catching his eye.
"There’s no need to look good for that ugly pedophile. So I’ll wear something simple."
Nuocheng chose a coffee brown button-up shirt, paired with black trousers and his custom Oxford shoes.
Which was a birthday gift from his father.
"This should do. I’m not keen on getting my good clothes dirty in that smelly farm."
Placing the clothes on the bed, he went inside the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, Nuocheng stepped out of the bathroom, heading to the vanity.
He didn’t want to do too much today, so a light skincare routine would do.
Grabbing the gel, he combed his hair back.
"I’m a fucking handsome man. Only someone like me can make good use of my parents’ good genes."
Strolling to the bed, he checked the time as he put on the watch.
7:45am.
The chef must have arrived to make breakfast.
It took him ten minutes to dress up and another five minutes putting on his shoes.
"No wonder they’re crazy about me, I would be too." After a spritz of perfume, Nuocheng stepped out of the room.
He still had fifteen minutes until Chenxi arrived.
Downstairs smelt of syrup and bacon.
He saw the chef happily chatting with Sicheng.
-_-
That was new; usually she would cook and leave.
"Good morning, Auntie Wu."
Wu Qiuxiao turned, spotting Nuocheng entering the kitchen.
"XiaoCheng, you’re awake. Good morning."
"Good morning."
Auntie Wu gestured to him to sit down.
Placing a wide plate in front of him.
She started plating his food.
"You didn’t tell me you had a new boyfriend..." She gave Nuocheng a knowing look. "He’s very handsome."
Nuocheng glanced at Sicheng, who quietly ate his food.
"He’s not my boyfriend. He’s a friend of mine; he crashed here for the night."
Auntie Wu raised a brow but said nothing more.
She added a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice beside Nuocheng, then refilled Sicheng’s glass.
"Thank you," Sicheng muttered into his food.
Checking the time, Nuocheng sighed. He had time for two pieces of bacon and two mouthfuls of eggs.
"Auntie Wu, can you make some mango pudding later?"
Auntie Wu’s lips curled up; Nuocheng only asked for mango pudding when he was meeting a certain someone.
"Certainly. I’ll make it extra and send it to the office, say noon?"
Nuocheng nodded and downed the glass of orange juice before standing up.
"Sorry for the waste, but I have to finish signing these documents before Chenxi gets here, or he’d kill me."
Nuocheng sighed; he was the boss here, yet he was afraid of his older cousin.