Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The aircraft was swift. Without the need for descent registration, it truly returned in under two minutes.

As Lu Yunyan’s words faded, the aircraft landed with a resounding thud.

No extra pilot was needed; it was just the two of them inside the aircraft. For a moment, neither spoke, making the silence particularly profound.

Yet, neither suggested getting off.

Lu Yunyan seemed intent on clarifying something first.

Silence settled between them.

An Nuo had just finalized his dance arrangements with his friend on the phone, confidently assuring them that Lu Yunyan wouldn’t be an issue.

The messages were still fresh.

The very next second, Lu Yunyan became the biggest problem.

An Nuo had assumed Lu Yunyan wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters—it had nothing to do with his gland treatment, so he probably wouldn’t even ask.

But before An Nuo could utter a word, Lu Yunyan had already decided to accompany him.

Noticing An Nuo’s prolonged silence, Lu Yunyan asked with a smile, “What, do you actually have another husband?”

“...”

An Nuo knew Lu Yunyan was joking.

But could he jokingly reply, “Yeah, you’re absolutely right”?

Huh?

Could he?

Although Lu Yunyan was smiling, An Nuo felt that if he actually said that, Lu Yunyan would genuinely tear Luo Heng limb from limb.

Perhaps it was due to his gland issue, but Lu Yunyan was highly dependent on his pheromones. An Nuo suspected this also made Lu Yunyan’s attitude towards him a little…unhinged.

His possessiveness was off the charts.

Lu Yunyan didn’t even need to say it; An Nuo could see it in his eyes.

An Nuo fidgeted uneasily.

He wasn’t sure why he felt so guilty.

Guilty for secretly finding another alpha as a dance partner behind his husband’s back?

But his marriage to Lu Yunyan was merely a contract, and the other alpha was his childhood best friend…

An Nuo tried hard to suppress this unnecessary guilt.

He had valid reasons, so why was he feeling guilty?

An Nuo finally spoke, “Although… I don’t have another husband, but… we can’t go public, can we?”

“If you attend my graduation dance, then what kind of secret relationship… would we still have?”

It was a soul-searching question.

Lu Yunyan didn’t comment on that point for the moment, only asking, “So, you’re planning to ask someone else?”

An Nuo felt there was nothing wrong with asking Luo Heng and that he could be honest with Lu Yunyan. But meeting Lu Yunyan’s intense gaze, he again felt a pang of guilt, as if it were somehow indefensible.

“No, I’m not asking anyone else. At most, I’ll just dance with some friends.”

It was a small lie, but not entirely untrue; that’s how it would genuinely play out.

“While everyone loves bringing a lover or spouse, the graduation dance isn’t really about romance. It’s mainly about having fun with good friends.”

Lu Yunyan bypassed An Nuo’s explanation and began answering the previous question: “Actually, not many people know who I am, and not many will pay attention to me.”

An Nuo: ?

Bro, does he ever go online?

Maybe he should Google himself right now?

“Besides, on the day itself, you won’t be able to tell who’s an alumnus and who’s a spouse.”

That was true. With all the graduates gathered, there would be many unfamiliar faces, making it genuinely hard to distinguish actual ages and identities.

An Nuo understood Lu Yunyan’s hint—ultimately, he just wanted to attend An Nuo’s graduation dance.

If he hadn’t already boasted to his friends, An Nuo might have genuinely softened and agreed when faced with such a Lu Yunyan.

But thinking about the scenario his friend had arranged for him, he couldn’t imagine how Bai Wu and Luo Heng would laugh if he changed his mind now.

An Nuo could only feign ignorance: “…Thank you for being willing to accompany me, but I think it’s better not to trouble you. I can handle it myself.”

A gentle refusal.

Lu Yunyan, of course, understood An Nuo’s meaning. After a moment of silence, he turned away: “I’m not troubled. It’s just that you don’t need me.”

The slightly accusatory tone made An Nuo genuinely wonder if he had done something wrong.

But it wasn’t that he didn’t need Lu Yunyan; it was that he didn’t dare to.

Thinking of Bai Wu’s script, if Lu Yunyan attended as his dance partner, the spicy plot would likely escalate to include something as explosive as “one pregnancy with triplets.”

So An Nuo remained uncharacteristically firm: “You should focus on work that day.”

“...”

Usually, it was Lu Yunyan who left An Nuo speechless with his suggestive remarks. For once, An Nuo had rendered him speechless.

Lu Yunyan turned back to look at An Nuo.

Their eyes met.

An Nuo blinked his sapphire-blue eyes, like a confused kitten trying to look innocent after doing something naughty, making one’s teeth itch with irritation yet unable to truly be angry with him.

So Lu Yunyan said nothing. Instead, he reached out, pinched An Nuo’s chin, kissed his soft lips, and gave them a light bite.

An Nuo gasped, “…What, what are you doing?”

But his startled expression was so endearing that it further pleased Lu Yunyan.

“Kissing you,” Lu Yunyan said, “and biting you.”

“…Why bite me?”

“I don’t know, I just wanted to bite you.”

“...”

In a way, the derogatory term “dog alpha” was quite apt.

Lu Yunyan held An Nuo’s chin, looking as if he wanted to bite him again.

An Nuo pushed him away: “…No, we’re still out! You can’t, you can’t always do this in public!”

“Why?”

“...”

Why?

You ask why?

Even though today’s aircraft was driverless, was there ever a car ride where Lu Yunyan didn’t tease him?

An Nuo decided not to indulge his wild behavior anymore.

“…No reason, it’s just not okay in public!”

Lu Yunyan was silent for a moment: “I get it. I should have realized this earlier.”

An Nuo: ?

What do you get?

“Sorry, I actually needed you to hint at it.”

An Nuo: ??

What did he hint at again?

Unfortunately, before he could ask for clarification, An Nuo was soon carried by Lu Yunyan out of the aircraft, into the penthouse, and finally back to the room.

An Nuo realized with some dismay that whenever the two of them were alone, it seemed to trigger a never-ending adult scenario.

Everything they had done the previous night was replayed multiple times that evening.

…

The next morning, An Nuo was jolted awake by messages from Bai Wu.

The moment he woke up, he was dazed, his mind adrift, unable to fully open his eyes.

When he finally became a bit more alert, he picked up his phone to check the messages.

Grumbling inwardly, he hoped Bai Wu had something important to say.

Bai Wu: “Ahhhhhhhhhhh”

An Nuo: .

Not a single serious message—just a screen full of “ahhhs.” An Nuo was genuinely getting angry.

An Nuo: “Are you insane? [punching and kicking]”

An Nuo: “Your messages literally jolted me awake, just so I could see these ahhhs?”

Bai Wu was unapologetic: “Exactly to jolt you awake ahhhhhhh”

Bai Wu: “And what time is it, anyway? You’re not awake yet? What were you doing last night?”

An Nuo: …

Alright, guilty for a second.

Remembering what he did last night, An Nuo scratched his face and neck, feeling uncomfortable all over.

Luckily, Lu Yunyan was already gone.

Otherwise, An Nuo wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye.

An Nuo: “I rarely get such good sleep!”

An Nuo completely ignored Bai Wu’s question.

An Nuo: “How are you going to make it up to me!!”

Bai Wu: “I’ll make it up, I’ll make it up to you, whatever you want”

Bai Wu: “But before that, I have a very serious issue I need to bother you with ahhhhhhh”

This time, without waiting for An Nuo to ask, Bai Wu sent a long string of messages.

Bai Wu: “I heard some rumors that Starryism is going to acquire Star Trail Studio?? And both sides are pretty into each other???”

Bai Wu: “No way no way! I just upgraded my Qingli gaming pod and pre-ordered next year’s latest model! If Star Trail gets acquired, my gaming pod would be a waste! The key is I really can’t use Starryism’s gaming pods! I object to this marriage!!”

An Nuo: …

Starryism is a gaming company under the Lu Group and one of the largest gaming platforms currently, with gaming pods occupying nearly a third of the market share.

Qingli, on the other hand, is the industry leader in gaming, with gaming pods taking up almost half of the market share. Even Bai Wu is a loyal fan of their gaming pods.

As for Star Trail Studio, it’s the developer of several hit games, and Bai Wu is a die-hard fan among loyal fans.

Currently, all of Star Trail Studio’s games are playable on both companies’ gaming pods, but if Starryism acquires Star Trail, Qingli would inevitably have to delist these games.

An Nuo completely understood Bai Wu’s meltdown—it was like a couple he had shipped for over a decade suddenly breaking up and announcing they were marrying a third person immediately after.

Bai Wu: “Quick, help me find out if it’s true!!”

Bai Wu: “Fake fake fake, it must all be fake [pray][pray]”

An Nuo: “Alright, I can ask, but I can’t guarantee he’ll tell me”

After all, it might involve industry secrets.

Bai Wu: “If he won’t say, use your beauty to seduce it out of him”

An Nuo: “?”

Bai Wu: “Go quickly.”

An Nuo: …

No choice, An Nuo had to get out of bed. While making his way to the bathroom to wash up, he opened the monitoring app and found that Lu Yunyan was indeed at home, currently in the study.

What was scary though, was right after he confirmed Lu Yunyan’s location, he received a message from him.

Lu Yunyan: “Awake?”

An Nuo was startled.

Had Lu Yunyan noticed him watching?

No way, right?

How did he find out?

Was there a real-time camera in this room?

Wait??

Even if there were, it couldn't monitor his phone screen, right?

An Nuo: “How did you know I was awake?”

Lu Yunyan sent a screenshot.

Lu Yunyan: “Heat sensor movement alert—‘you produced distance movement’.”

An Nuo: …

Although this is a normal function of the monitoring app, the way Lu Yunyan used it felt creepy, like someone constantly lurking and watching from the shadows.

An Nuo: “Have you been watching to see if I’m awake the whole time?”

Man, if that’s the case, we need to have a serious talk.

Lu Yunyan: “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

To his surprise, Lu Yunyan admitted it outright.

An Nuo: “Is something wrong?”

You better have a good reason, man.

Lu Yunyan: “I don't feel well. I need to kiss you.”

An Nuo: .

Lu Yunyan: “Come to the study, baby. Let me kiss you.”

An Nuo: …