Xi Luo snorted. “Right, everyone else ordered, but you didn’t. You just watched from the sidelines. You are so holier-than-thou.”
Mo Er raised his volume. “Of course!”
Who was he trying to kid? Xi Luo didn’t believe him for a second.
Right now, he couldn’t be bothered to entangle himself with him and just wanted to chase the other person away. In the middle of their wrangling, his gaze accidentally drifted toward Gu Chengayan, who was standing not far away.
Following his gaze, Mo Er hurriedly called out for Gu Chengayan to come over and vouch for him.
Gu Chengayan walked over at a leisurely pace and politely addressed him as “Your Majesty the Empress.” Xi Luo looked at him and nodded politely. “General Gu.”
He seemed to be waiting for his answer as well.
Gu Chengayan held a deep grudge. Shrugging, he said, “After I finished kissing the waiter, I carried him off to a room. I wasn’t with His Majesty the whole time.”
Upon hearing this, Mo Er’s face twisted in horror. Damn it, you traitor!
Xi Luo’s expression turned as cold as ice, and he shot Mo Er a chilling glare. Mo Er stepped forward to explain, but Xi Luo had already beaten him to it by slamming the door shut.
“Bang!”
Mo Er almost bumped his nose.
He pointed at Gu Chengayan, but didn’t have time to settle scores with him right now.
He was getting a bit annoyed too. “Where is the trust between a husband and wife? I said I didn’t cheat! You don’t believe me at all!”
“Why are you locking me outside? This is my bedroom too, and my stuff is still in there!”
“Click.” The door opened again, and a mummified toothbrush holder flew out from inside, flying straight at Mo Er’s nose. Gu Chengayan stepped half a step to the side, barely missing the toothbrush as it grazed past him.
Covering his nose, Mo Er instantly flew into a rage upon seeing what had hit him.
“This is our matching couple set! You’re just throwing mine away like that? Why didn’t you throw your pyramid? This isn’t how you begged me to change our tooth-cups back then… Ow!”
Amidst a flurry of clattering and crashing, a pile of pots and pans were tossed out one after another, and Mo Er was nearly knocked out cold.
Looking at a washbasin with the pattern of a bloody maw printed on the bottom, Gu Chengayan clicked his tongue twice, unable to appreciate His Majesty the Emperor’s eccentric aesthetic.
Cursing and swearing, Mo Er picked up the washbasin and scurried back to the door, flashing a fawning smile. “Wife, you threw out the wrong one. This is your foot-washing basin.”
Gu Chengayan: “”
An arm reached out from inside the door, swiftly snatched the basin back, and tossed out a pink Hello Kitty washbasin instead.
Gu Chengayan: “”
So why on earth did the Imperial Palace still have such rustic daily necessities?
He truly couldn’t imagine the Emperor and Empress hiding in their bedroom every day washing each other’s feet.
Surveying the wreckage strewn all over the ground and failing to soften Xi Luo’s heart despite all his pleading and reasoning, Mo Er lost all face and couldn’t help dropping a harsh threat. “Xi Luo, do you not want to live with me anymore? Pushing me out like this, aren’t you afraid I’ll actually get seduced by some little vixen?”
Silence fell inside the chamber. Mo Er held his breath in anticipation; he also felt his words had been a bit too harsh, but he was gambling that Xi Luo’s heart would soften and he wouldn’t bear to let him go.
The door flew wide open. Breathing a sigh of relief, Mo Er was just about to step forward when a thick cotton quilt came flying out, plunging him into darkness and sending him stumbling back four or five steps.
“Clang!” The door slammed shut again.
Mo Er looked at the quilt, then looked at the tightly closed door. The shock on his face was impossible to conceal, and his mouth opened and closed several times without a sound coming out.
After a long moment, he let out a roar. “This is the double happiness quilt from our wedding—!”
“How could you throw this out?! Do you want to chase me away? Do you want to make a clean break with me?!” Mo Er’s chest heaved violently, his eye rims visibly reddening. “Fine! I’ll leave! See if I don’t actually go cheat on you to show you!”
Clutching the quilt, Mo Er turned back every three steps as he roared, “You and I aren’t done yet!”
When the Emperor and Empress quarreled, the palace servants had long since fled far away. Gu Chengayan let out a slight sigh, instructing Fran to clean up the mess while he himself lent a hand by carrying a basin out of humanitarian goodwill.
Mo Er carried the heavy quilt and trudged back to the vacant Kala Palace next door. Gu Chengayan was quite familiar with the place; every time Xi Luo kicked Mo Er out, this was where Mo Er stayed.
Or else he’d run over to General Gu’s mansion to find him for a drink.
Tucking the double happiness quilt carefully away into the wardrobe, Mo Er paced back and forth in a daze, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, only for the melancholy to grow even more intense.
Gu Chengayan dug at his ear, thinking to himself that it was about to start.
He doesn’t love me anymore.
“He doesn’t love me anymore!” Mo Er’s tone was on the verge of a breakdown.
He’s changed.
“He’s changed! He wasn’t like this before!”
Gu Chengayan thought to himself that ever since he’d known the two of them, the Empress had always had this temper.
Sitting dejectedly on the steps by the doorway, Mo Er wiped away a tear.
There had to be one more line coming:
Could he have fallen for someone else?
“Gu Chengayan, do you think he’s fallen for someone else? Could he still be holding a torch for his childhood sweetheart?”
“Aren’t you his childhood sweetheart?” Gu Chengayan asked.
Mo Er fell silent for a single second before instantly raising his volume. “I… of course I’m his childhood sweetheart!”
Though one could perhaps count the sudden arrival as well.
Childhood sweetheart versus sudden arrival—it all depended on whose weight was heavier in Xi Luo’s heart.
Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor was about to plunge once more into the panic of being abandoned by his wife, Gu Chengayan hurriedly changed the subject. “Right, I came to see you on official business. I’ve uncovered quite a few things at the Mad Shark Club these past few days.”
Mo Er turned his head to glare at him resentfully.
“Don’t look at me like that. I went deep into enemy territory to gather intelligence for you, you know.”
“Hmph, you looked like you were enjoying it quite a bit.”
“That was clearly a spirit of self-sacrifice.”
“I’ve never seen you have such a spirit of self-sacrifice before.” Mo Er curled his lip.
Gu Chengayan didn’t reply, and Mo Er stood up, the two of them preparing to head toward the Hall of State Affairs.
Geng Nuo sneaked back to his dorm to catch some sleep. The narrow little bed in the dormitory was truly far more comfortable than the massive bed in the luxury suite; Geng Nuo had never slept a single peaceful night in that big bed, feeling every night as though he were drifting on a boat.
He was practically getting motion sickness.
Gu Chengayan hadn’t returned by the next morning. It was a rare bit of leisure, and it happened to fall on Geng Nuo’s weekday rest day. Though unable to leave the premises, he could finally strip off that shameful outfit and put on a proper uniform.
The proper uniform was the swallow-tailed suit paired with a white shirt that he’d seen He Fei wearing when he first arrived. Though the jacket was tailored with a distinct cinched waist, it was still vastly superior to that garment that could barely cover half his body.
He had been working here for nearly half a month now, yet had virtually no acquaintances. Aside from He Fei, who was willing to speak to him, everyone else—especially the Omegas—was far from friendly.
Geng Nuo had tried every means to fish for information and had collected a stash of mechanical components, but still lacked absolute certainty about escaping from this place.
Not ten percent, not even five percent.
Geng Nuo gathered his money and brought it back to the dorm. Counting it over several times, he found it to be a very substantial sum.
The general seemed to have discovered the joy of giving tips, stuffing several bills into his pocket from time to time, or occasionally stripping his trousers off right then and there to stuff a whole wad inside without caring about the exact amount.
He took an extreme liking to watching Geng Nuo’s various reactions.
Escape was out of the question, and resistance was futile; for the sake of the money, Geng Nuo endured it.
He stuffed all the cash into the black cloth bag he’d brought with him when he first arrived—these were earned through bitter humiliation, and not a single bill could be lost.
It was enough to pay for several rounds of medical capsule treatments for his father.
Just as he finished tidying up, a knock sounded at the door. Geng Nuo hurriedly shoved the bag under the bed and went to open the door as if nothing were amiss.
It was He Fei.
Ever since he’d been assigned to stay by General Gu’s side, Geng Nuo could count the number of times he’d seen He Fei on one hand. He was rather surprised when the other suddenly came looking for him.
“What is it?” Geng Nuo stepped sideways to let him in.
He Fei was also wearing a swallow-tailed suit today, seemingly on his weekday rest as well. “Goodness, anyone who didn’t know better would think General Gu himself had descended upon your little dorm.”
The moment he stepped inside, the potent Alpha pheromone scent hit him, making his legs tremble.
This was like a deep brand left upon Geng Nuo, constantly flaunting General Gu’s omnipresent existence.
Oblivious to all of this, Geng Nuo asked with a bewildered expression, “Why do you say that?”
“Still playing dumb.” He Fei shot him an ambiguous, sidelong glance. “Oh, I forgot you’re a Beta and can’t smell it. Do you have any idea? You’re reeking of General Gu’s scent from head to toe right now.” Cupping his cheeks, he wore an expression of infatuated envy. “So mighty, so imposing.”
Geng Nuo’s eyelid twitched. Frowning, he raised an arm and cautiously sniffed himself. Not detecting any strange odor, he felt entirely ill at ease from He Fei’s description and hurried over to crack the window open.
“Are you on rest today too? Why aren’t you resting in your room?” Geng Nuo pulled the window open. Their dorms didn’t face the sun, and no light filtered through the glass; it served merely as a ventilation outlet.
He Fei shook his head. “A weekday rest just means you don’t have to serve guests that day, but there are other things to do.”
“Other things? Like what?” Geng Nuo had assumed it meant he couldn’t leave the place.
Pixiu truly was a black-hearted capitalist. He literally worked people to the bone like pack mules.
Geng Nuo stepped aside to let He Fei in. “Do you have any plans today? I don’t seem to have anything to do.”
He Fei said, “I’m actually here to arrange things for you.”
“?” Geng Nuo wore a blank look.
“Actually, the notice I received today is to give you specialized training.”
“Training?” Geng Nuo asked in confusion, “Didn’t we already go through that when we first arrived?”
He Fei’s expression also turned somewhat peculiar, hesitating as he spoke. “It’s because the club received a complaint from a guest about you…”
“?” Geng Nuo guarded defensively. “Who complained about me?”
Yuan Bingqing? Or some other Omega who had it in for him? No wait, a guest—could it be the one who groped my butt when delivering wine earlier?
Or was it simply fabricated out of thin air by Pixiu just to mess with me?
“Will they dock my pay?!” This was the most pressing issue at hand.
With a heartbroken expression on his face, Geng Nuo thought: I knew old thief Pixiu wouldn’t play it straight…
“Oh no, the boss just asked me to give you some training.”
“That’s a relief…” Geng Nuo let out a sigh.
“So, what is the complaint exactly?”
“It’s General Gu.” He Fei fished a pair of chopsticks out from somewhere. “General Gu told the boss… your smile isn’t good-looking, so the boss sent me to teach you how to smile.”
Geng Nuo: “”
…No, is he mental?!
Geng Nuo was so angry smoke was practically coming out of the top of his head.
I’ve never even smiled at him! What right does he have to complain about my smile?
Wasn’t it bad enough that he bullied him every which way day in and day out? Now, on top of selling his ass, he had to sell smiles too?
What a bad guy.
Sensing Geng Nuo’s displeasure, He Fei nonetheless had a duty to fulfill, so he divided a single chopstick and handed it over.
Geng Nuo fumed angrily, “I’m not doing it!”
He Fei looked troubled. “This is the boss’s order.”
Geng Nuo stamped his feet in rage, shouting defiantly, “You go tell Pixiu that and see what he can do to me!”
He was a Beta… he was a Beta!
Having to compromise and bend over backward to please an Alpha just to survive was already tragic enough; now he even had to practice how to smile? There was a limit to everything—he was a grown, upright Beta, what right did they have to bully him like this!
He Fei explained to him, “It’s not that the boss is deliberately making things difficult for you. It’s mainly because General Gu left instructions before he departed: if you don’t smile properly when he returns, then…”
Geng Nuo stiffened his neck. “Then what?”
He Fei said, “Then he won’t give you any more tips.”
Geng Nuo: “”
Well, talk about a death grip on his financial lifeline.
He desperately wanted to act tough and say, Don’t give them, then! Who cares!
The reality was that he couldn’t force a single word of it past his lips.
If it were a matter of docking his base salary, Geng Nuo wouldn’t be afraid at all; he had never expected to collect the monthly salary from Pixiu anyway, planning instead to milk as much as he could out of Gu Chengayan before making his escape.
Gu Chengayan happened to be quite generous with his tips, but if the tips stopped coming, wouldn’t he just be letting himself get bullied for nothing afterward?
Barely managing to swallow back the profanities crowding the tip of his tongue, Geng Nuo could only accept the chopsticks honestly despite his grievances.
Holding a chopstick horizontally and vertically to measure, he asked, “How do you practice this?”
He Fei explained patiently, talking about median smile lines and showing eight teeth for the most aesthetic and pleasing smile, leaving Geng Nuo completely lost in a fog. Seeing the utter confusion on his face, He Fei clamped the other chopstick horizontally between his own teeth to demonstrate.
Following his example by biting down on the chopstick, Geng Nuo vividly illustrated what it looked like when a puppy bared its teeth.