Chapter 164: Grievance

Chapter 164: Resentment

Liang Xu chose a Western restaurant.

It was some distance from New Leaf, so they wouldn’t be spotted by his father’s informants. The restaurant offered excellent privacy, with discreet, professional staff.

The lighting in the restaurant was a warm, dim yellow, complemented by dark walnut tables and chairs. On the circular stage in the center, a cellist played a melancholic, somber piece—exuding an air of unattainable luxury that Shi Lv didn’t recognize.

When Shi Lv pushed open the door to the private room, Liang Xu was already waiting. He pushed a leather-bound menu toward Shi Lv. "See if there’s anything you’d like to eat. Let’s order first."

Like a doting partner.

Shi Lv snuck a glance at him. Liang Xu’s expression was gentle, calm as ever, unreadable as always. After studying him for a while, Shi Lv couldn’t discern what he wanted to say.

So, Shi Lv quietly hid the bear-shaped lunchbox under the table, mumbled an "Oh," lowered his gaze, and began flipping through the menu.

For some reason, Liang Xu seemed slightly distant and cold today. Shi Lv didn’t dare offer him the braised duck in beer he’d prepared.

Feeling out of place—and the bear lunchbox even more so—he shoved it further under the table, randomly picked a couple of dishes, and waited for Liang Xu to speak.

Seeing him like this, Liang Xu felt a pang of discomfort. But the matter had to be addressed. So, he got straight to the point. "Shi Lv, from my perspective, we’re in a flirting stage, aren’t we?"

From Liang Xu’s standpoint, Shi Lv—an adult alpha—had slept on his shoulder without hesitation, never pushed away his hand when he held it, brought him homemade food, let him give him rides home, and even allowed him to pet his cat… And Liang Xu himself was an adult omega. Of course, this was a flirting stage.

Between an alpha and an omega, if it wasn’t flirtation, there wouldn’t be so much interaction and closeness.

But Liang Xu was nearly ten years older than Shi Lv. He wasn’t sure what such gestures meant to younger people nowadays—or if they meant anything at all.

Under his calm façade, Liang Xu interlaced his fingers and tightened his grip silently.

His question was so direct that Shi Lv froze.

He, too, thought they were in a flirting stage. But wasn’t the essence of flirtation that neither party acknowledged it outright? Moreover, in this relationship with such a disparity in status, the initiative lay entirely with Liang Xu. If he said Shi Lv was his flirtatious interest, then he was. If he said it was just teasing, then it was just teasing. With Liang Xu asking like this, how could Shi Lv answer?

After a long pause, the Junior Intern tentatively replied, "...Maybe?"

Liang Xu sighed.

He looked at Shi Lv steadily. "Regardless of how you see it, to me, yes."

They were in a flirting stage.

Liang Xu continued, "I take relationships seriously. I know there are rumors outside—that the CEO of New Leaf loves to play around, that he appears to have a clean personal life but actually has countless flings. But I assure you, I don’t."

Shi Lv was still lost.

The Junior Intern was actually quite clever—at least when it came to learning, he grasped things quickly. But now, he sat quietly across the table, gazing at Liang Xu, baffled, as if unsure what he wanted.

Shi Lv: "Mm, I believe you."

Liang Xu: "So, I hope that even during this flirting stage, my partner is like me—with no one else in the picture."

Shi Lv: "...?"

He was even more lost.

Who else?

Liang Xu: "Shi Lv, you’re seeing someone else, aren’t you?"

As he spoke, Liang Xu lowered his gaze; his glasses chain dangled limply onto the table. He didn’t look at Shi Lv; those eyes, sharp as blades in negotiations, were fixed on the complimentary green tea by his hand, as if mesmerized by something in the cup.

Shi Lv: "Huh?"

Since when? How did he not know?

Shi Lv was completely lost.

God knows, up until now, the last time Shi Lv had held a girl’s hand was during a first-grade school performance. Back then, his cheeks were smeared with two bright circles of rouge, a red dot painted on his forehead, and he wore a garish costume while holding hands with a female classmate to recite a thousand-character essay. Parents and school officials sat in the audience, cameras flashing wildly. His family still had that cringe-worthy photo to this day.

Under such circumstances, where would he have gotten a girlfriend?

Liang Xu shut his eyes, the weariness behind his silver-framed glasses evident as he smiled self-deprecatingly. "My assistant, Zhang Ping, snapped this photo."

He slid his phone over.

Shi Lv looked down—it was a candid shot taken through glass. He was seated at a table with his senior, with gentlemanly grace serving her food while she covered her mouth in playful reproach, her smile blooming like a flower.

The handsome guy and pretty girl, close in age and alumni of the same university, looked far more compatible than Liang Xu, who was a decade older.

Two middle-aged individuals sat across from them, likewise beaming with approval, seemingly quite satisfied with Shi Lv.

Seeing the photo, Shi Lv pieced together the misunderstanding. He had assumed Liang Xu was just toying with him, at most treating him as some casual fling. But now, it seemed Liang Xu actually cared—actually cared, which made him a little happy. Mulling over how to phrase his response, he stayed silent.

To Liang Xu, this silence was confirmation.

He let out a barely audible sigh.

Youthful emotions were as fleeting and unpredictable as the wind. He’d heard rumors about the wild reputations at C University. Shi Lv was attractive, and Liang Xu had looked into him—there were plenty of stories. But he’d trusted his own judgment over gossip. Now, it seemed the rumors might have held some truth.

Liang Xu had always been self-assured. In his years leading New Leaf Group, he’d promoted countless subordinates and never misjudged anyone—until Shi Lv.

The first mistake, and it was so utterly wrong.

Liang Xu closed his eyes, his usually warm smile turned frosty as he regarded Shi Lv calmly. "...My apologies. I failed to investigate properly and overstepped my bounds. I won’t mix personal and professional matters. Starting today, your position and salary at New Leaf remain unchanged, but you’ll be reassigned from the Strategic Investments Division. Your new assignment is yours to choose—Zhang Ping will send you detailed information on other departments. Submit your transfer request to him by Friday. Of course, future evaluations won’t be influenced by me. Your career will depend solely on your own merits."

His tone was measured, strictly business.

Shi Lv rubbed his chin, thinking, *This doesn’t feel right.*

He knew his place—a fling or temporary boyfriend at best. He’d never considered himself special enough for Liang Xu’s genuine interest. But Liang Xu’s reaction now...

His hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled slightly.

With that, Liang Xu didn’t spare him another glance. He simply picked up his suit jacket from the chair and said politely, "I have a meeting tonight, so I’ll take my leave. The bill is on me—please enjoy the rest of your meal."

This restaurant was one of Zhenhai's most prestigious Western restaurants, with dishes costing thousands. The chef's credentials were longer than Shi Lv's resume, and reservations had to be made a week in advance.

Yet Liang Xu hadn’t touched a single bite.

Shi Lv thought, *He was hurting.*

Because he might have a girlfriend, Liang Xu was hurting.

So upset he couldn't even eat.

At this point, Shi Lv understood everything.

He wasn’t just a fling or a temporary boyfriend. Liang Xu really, truly liked him.

So when Liang Xu lowered his gaze and said, "Pardon me," rising to leave, Shi Lv suddenly reached across the table and grabbed his arm.

"Hold on," Shi Lv said earnestly.

For the first time, he didn’t call him "boss" or "Mr. X," but addressed him directly by name, holding onto him with a completely equal—even slightly assertive—stance.

Liang Xu frowned.

He liked physical contact with Shi Lv, liked having the junior intern lean against his shoulder, but that was under the assumption that Shi Lv didn’t have a girlfriend. Now, being pulled like this, his expression instantly cooled. "Shi Lv, watch your behavior."

Liang Xu tried to pull his hand away but couldn’t. For the first time, he felt the Alpha’s physical advantage over an Omega. Shi Lv, young and strong, had a grip that was surprisingly strong. The moment he held on, the Alpha’s aggression became unmistakable, and Liang Xu found himself unable to break free.

Shi Lv dropped the act. His words spilled out rapidly, laying everything bare: "You got it wrong—I don’t have a girlfriend! That’s my senior from university. She posted a part-time job looking for a fake boyfriend to fool her parents for a day, paying a thousand bucks. I’m strapped for cash right now—I’ve got credit card debt—so I took the job. I’m not cheating on anyone, and I’d never flirt with you while having a girlfriend. Please believe me!"

He blurted it all out in one breath, without a single pause.

Liang Xu stopped struggling, furrowing his brows as he stared at Shi Lv, momentarily stunned.

Shi Lv had spoken so fast it was like listening to a speed-run lecture. Anyone would need a moment to process it.

Still gripping Liang Xu’s arm, Shi Lv pulled out his phone with his other hand, opened his chat with Song Yi, and thrust it at Liang Xu. "Here, look."

Liang Xu glanced down. The first message in the chat read: "Hey, you still down for that fake boyfriend job? A grand a day!"

Below it was Shi Lv’s resolute reply: "Count me in!"

"..."

Liang Xu rubbed his temples and sat back down.

Having been out of university for ten years and long subjected to Elder Ye’s high-pressure expectations, Liang Xu’s demeanor was more conservative than a Victorian schoolmaster. He genuinely had no idea about trends like fake boyfriends among young people nowadays.

Shi Lv explained, "You know how a lot of Omegas these days don’t want to get married or date? Or some confident, self-reliant Omegas prefer gentle, delicate Omegas over Alphas or Betas? But their parents are still old-fashioned and can’t accept their kids being unconventional. So this kind of service exists—my senior paid me to pretend to be her boyfriend and fool her parents."

He leaned closer. "Really, it was just fooling her parents. We didn’t have any physical contact. We both wore scent patches properly, and I don’t have her scent on me at all."

He moved even nearer. "Go ahead, take a whiff."

Shi Lv was from the 21st century. He didn’t fully grasp this world’s obsession with scents, nor could he detect pheromones well. But he knew scent was crucial for people here—a key way to prove innocence. If Liang Xu didn’t believe him, he’d let him verify it himself.

The crisp scent of post-rain mountains enveloped Liang Xu completely. The glands on the back of his neck burned. His heat was just around the corner, and this sudden stimulation made his legs weaken instantly, tangling together weakly.

After their two previous markings, Liang Xu had grown accustomed to it. If Shi Lv got any closer, he wasn’t sure what might happen.

Struggling to maintain composure, he turned his head and pushed Shi Lv back. "...Don’t come closer. I’ll check myself."

Shi Lv froze.

Liang Xu’s push was forceful—though it didn’t actually move him, it hurt, clearly done with real strength. After shoving him back, Liang Xu focused intently on examining the phone. Shi Lv was torn between irritation and amusement, but couldn’t express either, so he just sat back at the table, letting Liang Xu scroll through the chat in silence.

At the same time, he felt something was off.

That photo—it had been sent by Zhang Ping.

Shi Lv had always thought his relationship with Zhang Ping was special. With his connection to Zhang Ping’s cousin, they should have been in this together—rising and falling as one. So why would Zhang Ping secretly take that photo and report it to Liang Xu? Wasn’t he afraid that if Shi Lv decided to go down fighting, he’d drag Zhang Ping into legal trouble too?

Before he could figure it out, Liang Xu had already skimmed through the chat logs at lightning speed.

The whole story was clear. Shi Lv, burdened by credit card debt, had listed himself on a campus part-time job board. Someone needing a fake boyfriend had contacted him through his roommate, taken him to meet the parents, and paid him for the service—a straightforward business deal.

Liang Xu: "..."

He had no energy left to be angry.

Sighing, he asked Shi Lv, "How much did she pay you?"

Shi Lv mumbled, "1,000 yuan."

Liang Xu rubbed his temples and took a deep breath. "A thousand yuan?"

He was completely dumbfounded. "...Shi Lv, do you have any idea how much money passes through my accounts every second? If you had just asked me, I—"

Liang Xu seemed at a loss for words. "You pretended to be someone's boyfriend for a thousand yuan?"

Shi Lv muttered under his breath, "I’m not like President Liang, made of money. A thousand yuan is a huge sum for me."

When he first arrived, Shi Lv had owed eighteen credit cards and had only thirty-two cents in his pocket. To him, a thousand yuan really was a fortune.

"..."

Liang Xu took a deep breath, rendered silent.

Shi Lv put on a wounded look. "You wronged me. Don’t I deserve compensation?"

He was skilled at playing up his suffering, now hanging his head low, avoiding eye contact, looking genuinely miserable and pitiful.

Liang Xu felt a pang of guilt. "I’m sorry. I didn’t ask clearly and misunderstood you. I—"

Liang Xu had never been in a relationship before and didn’t know how to console an upset boyfriend. Hesitantly, he pushed the menu toward Shi Lv, the corner lightly bumping against his wrist. "What would you like to order? Coffee? Steak? The seafood pasta here is also good."

But Shi Lv just looked at him, purposefully avoiding eye contact and muttering gloomily, "No, I brought my own food. This place is too expensive. You go ahead."

He looked like he'd been terribly wronged.

With that, he dug out his lunchbox from under the table, served himself, and began eating.

It was almost eight o’clock. The restaurant Liang Xu had booked wasn’t nearby, and Shi Lv had skipped dinner just to make it to this date.

Liang Xu hesitated, at a loss for words.

The intern's lunchbox contained a new dish—sauce-glazed duck, glistening in the light, the faint aroma of alcohol wafting from the container, heady and tempting.

Liang Xu put down his silverware. "...What’s this?"

Shi Lv: "Beer-braised duck."

Knowing Liang Xu was accustomed to gourmet delicacies but had a soft spot for home-cooked meals, Shi Lv deliberately ate slowly, taking his time with the saucy rice.

Liang Xu scrambled for something to say. "...You just learned how to make beer-braised duck?"

Shi Lv avoided his gaze. "Yeah, I just learned how to make it."

Liang Xu had nothing to say.

A newly learned dish, packed in a thermos and brought here—it was clearly beer-braised duck originally meant for him.

But he hadn’t noticed. Instead, he had jumped down Shi Lv's throat first, leaving him hurt.

Now, hurt, Shi Lv wasn't about to share the beer-braised duck originally meant for him.

Liang Xu gripped his knife and fork, watching in dismay as Shi Lv picked up the last piece of duck meat and swallowed it, the rich aroma hanging in the air before fading away.

He wanted to say something but didn’t know how to begin. Yet the next second, a new piece of duck meat landed in his bowl.

The largest one.

Satisfied with his teasing, Shi Lv decided to stop while he was ahead. He extended his fork toward Liang Xu. “Want a taste?”

Liang Xu lowered his eyes and accepted it.

It tasted exactly as he had imagined.

Once he’d fed the CEO, Shi Lv stood up and grabbed his backpack. “Mr. Liang, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take off. I have to wake up early tomorrow.”

—Shi Lv hadn’t called Liang Xu “Mr. Liang” in a long time.

As he spoke, he stuffed the lunchbox into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, making it clear he was serious about leaving.

Clearly still upset.

Liang Xu stared at him steadily, his eyes behind the silver-framed glasses rarely showing unease. He instinctively grabbed Shi Lv’s wrist. “I…”

Too used to being the one in control, Liang Xu wasn’t good at apologies. He sighed softly and conceded. “It’s my fault. I was wrong. Is there anything you want?”

At this point, even if Shi Lv demanded a high-rise in Haicheng, Liang Xu would get it for him.

Shi Lv had already stepped past the booth, while Liang Xu remained seated, putting Shi Lv in a position to loom over him. Tall to begin with, the height difference made his stare even more commanding.

Shi Lv then asked, “You coming?”

Liang Xu smiled.

“I’ll be there. I’ll get you Haicheng’s finest cake.”