Zhuang Yan heard the voice coming from above his head. He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, then in a clumsy attempt to cover his tracks wiped the damp spot he’d left on Yue Lu’s body. Finally, he decided to go on the offensive, pre-emptively questioning Yue Lu: “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be at work by now?”
If Yue Lu hadn’t skipped work, how could he have faced such an embarrassing situation first thing in the morning!
“There isn’t much work today, so I’m staying at the hotel to keep you company.” Yue Lu’s gaze lingered tenderly on Zhuang Yan.
“What are you reading?” Zhuang Yan scrambled over Yue Lu’s body with hands and feet.
Yue Lu closed the book to show him the cover: “Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.”
Aba aba… never heard of it.
Zhuang Yan hated these masterpieces written by foreigners; he could never remember those long, messy names.
“Want to read it together?” Yue Lu asked.
Zhuang Yan shook his head: “No.”
Then, feeling that the image of someone who hated reading wasn’t “positive energy” enough, he tried to salvage his reputation: “I’m going to the library by myself in a bit.”
“Shall I go with you?” Yue Lu tested the waters.
Libraries were prime breeding grounds for unwanted romantic encounters. Yue Lu couldn’t help but imagine: what if Zhuang Yan sat across from a handsome, sunny Alpha? What if Zhuang Yan and a gentle, dashing Alpha reached for the same book at the exact same time…
Oh, good God! That would be terrible.
“No need, right? I can go by myself.” Why did he need an escort just to go to the library?
But in Yue Lu’s eyes, Zhuang Yan’s refusal meant: As expected, he’s going to meet another Alpha!
“I’ll drive you,” Yue Lu insisted. “You aren’t familiar with the traffic here; it’s more convenient if I take the car.”
“Fine.” Zhuang Yan had no hobby of seeking out hardship.
The library was in the city center. It looked quite large and required a mobile app reservation to enter. Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many people, so making a reservation was easy.
“What was that book you were reading called again?”
Yue Lu replied: “The Brothers Karamazov. You don’t necessarily have to read that one.”
…though he would be incredibly pleased if Zhuang Yan specifically sought out that book.
Zhuang Yan, however, intended to follow Yue Lu’s lead. Whatever Yue Lu read, he would read. He even planned to learn more about Yue Lu’s professional field; even if he remained a layman, they would at least have more common topics to discuss.
He rummaged through the Foreign Classics section for a long time before finally finding The Brothers Karamazov, only to realize it was the pure English version.
Turns out he had wandered into the English Language section; Literature was upstairs. The book he found wasn’t just in English; it had practice questions after every paragraph. This definitely wasn’t the “original flavor” he was looking for. He decided to go upstairs for the translated version.
When Zhuang Yan found the book and came back down, Yue Lu was already seated in the reading area.
“Why are you reading a children’s book?” Zhuang Yan leaned in.
Was this a hint for Zhuang Yan to have a child soon? But he couldn’t reproduce asexually; you have to put in some effort too, dear Alpha husband! Or maybe he should show Yue Lu some “educational materials” to let him know that two people sleeping purely under the covers won’t produce a baby.
“This was written by the partner of a senior of mine. I need a favor from him recently, so I need to know the person well,” Yue Lu explained. “The senior I mentioned to you last time.”
Zhuang Yan nodded. Fine, he had overthought it. It wasn’t about wanting a baby.
Zhuang Yan shook the “trash” out of his brain and began to focus on his book. Truly speaking, this book was quite interesting; parts of it even felt similar to Yue Lu’s family environment.
Would Yue Lu be an Alyosha? Whether he was or wasn’t didn’t matter, as long as he wasn’t the old Karamazov.
Lunch was a simple affair at a small restaurant near the library. They spent the afternoon reading. Yue Lu finished the children’s book quickly and switched to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
“Do you like this author a lot?” Zhuang Yan asked curiously.
“Not necessarily ‘like,'” Yue Lu stroked the author’s name on the title page. “It’s just that if I find an author whose style suits my taste, I subconsciously look for their other works.”
“Like how the Queen of England liked Alice in Wonderland and asked her guards to find the author’s other books, only for them to bring back An Elementary Treatise on Determinants,” Zhuang Yan held the book up to hide his face as he snickered.
The afternoon sun was just right, and they were sitting by the window. Zhuang Yan felt that Yue Lu would never become the old Karamazov. He would be a good man, a good boss, a good husband, and a good father. He would pick up his spouse and child on rainy days, provide companionship during holidays, work responsibly, and offer plenty of emotional value.
“What are you thinking about?” Yue Lu spoke softly.
Thank goodness I came today. If I hadn’t, would my Beibei have caught someone else’s eye? There’s always someone trying to seduce my Beibei. Absolutely detestable!
“I was wondering if our child would look more like you or me,” Zhuang Yan teased him on purpose.
“Actually, it’s okay if we don’t have children.” Yue Lu knew his own situation; he didn’t want Zhuang Yan to be too obsessed with the idea of a child.
Zhuang Yan was shocked. Did Yue Lu not like kids? Well, it didn’t matter if he liked them or not; after all, the person he was “collaborating” with wasn’t Yue Lu anyway.
“Alright then.” Zhuang Yan lowered his head to continue reading.
Perhaps it had been too long since he’d read seriously, but the words just wouldn’t enter his brain. He had to read a single page several times. Thinking back to the old days, Zhuang Yan used to love the reading comprehension sections on Chinese exams. He had even ranked first in the whole school for Chinese. But that was a long time ago.
At dinner time, they left the library and drove to a villa in the suburbs.
Yue Lu couldn’t remember what the banquet was for, and Zhuang Yan didn’t know either. In any case, they had an invitation and could snag a free dinner. Zhuang Yan had been very satisfied with the food yesterday. Yue Lu had planned to feed him until he was half-full before coming, but Zhuang Yan wanted to save room for the catering.
“We meet again!” Cheng Qian was dressed much more formally than yesterday. However, clothing is one thing; temperament and personality are another. Despite the formal attire, he still felt incredibly immature.
Zhuang Yan nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t speak. Yesterday, he had only exchanged a few polite words and Yue Lu had swatted his behind. Today, he wouldn’t say a single word Yue Lu should be satisfied now, right?
“Talk to me!” Cheng Qian pestered Zhuang Yan, acting as if he wouldn’t give up until he got a response. “I really, really like you.”
Bro, don’t just say things like that!
“Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to follow me?” Yue Lu found Zhuang Yan with precision in the crowd.
“I’m hungry.” If he had known, he would have listened to Yue Lu and eaten something beforehand. Why did he have to be in such a pathetic state?
“What a coincidence, I’m hungry too! I know what’s tasty, follow me!” Cheng Qian made a move to grab Zhuang Yan’s hand, but Yue Lu intercepted him.
“I’ll eat with you. We’ll try everything one by one and see which is the best.”
“Huh? Why are you like this?” Cheng Qian complained.
Cheng Zuo finally found his troublesome younger brother in the crowd: “Didn’t I tell you not to provoke that Omega? What are you doing now?”
“But I really, really like him. Love at first sight, you know?” Cheng Qian’s eyes sparkled.
“He is indeed a very beautiful Omega, but love at first sight? Heh… once you’ve met a few more Omegas, you won’t like him anymore.” Cheng Zuo felt that this Omega wasn’t as simple as he appeared; his foolish brother was no match for him.
“But…”
“No ‘buts,'” Cheng Zuo interrupted. “That is someone else’s Omega. Do you want to be a homewrecker?”
Cheng Qian pouted: “I see plenty of people keeping lovers. Why can’t I…”
“You want to be that Omega’s lover!” Cheng Zuo was incredulous.
“Why not?” Cheng Qian didn’t understand the problem.
“Starting tomorrow, you are grounded for reflection. You are not allowed out without my order.”
“Brother! You can’t do that! It wasn’t okay when I liked Alphas, so why isn’t it okay when I like an Omega!” Cheng Qian stamped his feet in anger but was helpless, casting a resentful glance at Cheng Zuo.
On the other side, Yue Lu gripped Zhuang Yan’s wrist tightly, as if Zhuang Yan might vanish the next second.
“What are you doing?” Zhuang Yan rubbed his wrist and glared at Yue Lu in dissatisfaction.
“Why were you trying to keep your distance from him just now?”
Zhuang Yan was almost laughed into a fit of anger. So, talking was a mistake, and keeping distance was also a mistake? Basically, everything he did was wrong.
“You immature brat,” Zhuang Yan muttered under his breath.
“What did you say?”
“I said, Yue! Lu! Is! An! Immature! Brat!” Zhuang Yan acted as if he were deliberately trying to provoke him. “Can you stop acting like a bitter husband all the time? Yesterday I barely said anything to him and you got angry. Today I didn’t say a word and you’re still angry. What exactly do you want from me?”
Yue Lu looked as if he had been dealt a heavy blow. Zhuang Yan realized too late what he had said. That was the Gold Sponsor’s son! How could he speak to the Gold Sponsor’s son like that!
“A-Cong, I didn’t mean it like that, I…”
“I understand. I overstepped.” Yue Lu fell silent and left the corner, returning to the crowd to chat and laugh with the business tycoons as if the confrontation had never happened.
On the way back to the hotel that night, the “Secret Crush Guy” posted again. For now, let’s call him “Secret Crush Guy”; calling him Yue Lu felt a bit awkward.
“He called me a bitter husband. He said I’m an immature brat.” Profile picture: Pouring rain. Naturally, the username was the same.
Thomas Rotating Sow: “Hahahahahahahaha…” Loves Reading R-Rated Books: “I told you that you were pushing him too hard! Serves you right! This is what happens when you don’t listen to us.”
Seeing these two comments, Zhuang Yan immediately clicked on the profile to check previous posts. Sure enough, there was an unread post: “Someone actually hit on him today. Hmph! ╯^╰ Good thing he didn’t agree, or else I’d give him a piece of my mind.”
So that was it. Zhuang Yan looked at the man beside him who was resting with his eyes closed and silently raised the car partition.
“Still angry?” Zhuang Yan took the initiative to break the ice.
“I’m not. I’m not that kind of person. It was my fault; I shouldn’t have been like that.”
Looking at Yue Lu’s “saying one thing but meaning another” expression, Zhuang Yan leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
“I should have spoken to you properly… but that Cheng Qian, I feel like there’s something weird about him.” It didn’t feel like AO attraction, but more like a predator finally finding its prey.
“Don’t worry about him. Cheng Qian is just an adopted child of the Cheng family; the family business won’t be handed to him. Besides, the Cheng family’s business has very little connection to the Yue family. You basically won’t see him again.” His Beibei Prince was actually still thinking about that Cheng Qian… truly…
Don’t get angry, don’t get angry…
“Alright then.” Zhuang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that they wouldn’t have much contact.
The car fell back into silence.
“A-Cong, were you jealous?”
“I wasn’t.” Heh, as if he would be jealous of some brat. It would lower his status.
“Okay then, you aren’t allowed to hit me when we get back,” Zhuang Yan muttered.
Yue Lu opened his eyes and squeezed Zhuang Yan’s chin. Before Zhuang Yan could react, a kiss tinged with the scent of alcohol fell upon his lips. Zhuang Yan could feel a change in a certain part of Yue Lu’s body, but just as he was about to reach out to undress him, Yue Lu stopped abruptly.
What did that mean? He just stopped like that? Or perhaps Yue Lu didn’t like doing it in the car.
“A-Cong, why did you stop? Or are you staying chaste for someone else?”