Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Who would want to see photos like that of Lu Yunyan!

Seriously?!

Who on earth said they wanted to see it?!

An Nuo squeezed his eyes shut in frustration; on this topic, he could never compete with Lu Yunyan.

Of course, he didn't want to be Lu Yunyan's opponent either.

An Nuo typed rapidly: "If you dare, take one with everything off—" but didn't have the courage to hit send, deleting it character by character.

Whatever, forget it.

Lu Yunyan would probably actually do it.

If he really took one, he'd definitely send it to him.

And if he actually saw it, it might just become a daily routine.

Lu Yunyan would get a kick out of that.

But An Nuo really didn't have the courage to handle that kind of attention; just imagining it made him feel like he was going to die.

Lu Yunyan was perfect in every way, except he was way too forward in this regard.

In the end, An Nuo sent over a dozen "punching" emojis, pushing those messages up.

Then, out of nowhere, he started thinking: the past couple of days, when he wasn't feeling well and had to sleep together in the same bed with Lu Yunyan every night, Lu Yunyan couldn't do anything... For most people, that wouldn't be a big deal, but for Lu Yunyan, he must have been really struggling to control himself, right?

...No, no, why did he care if Lu Yunyan was suffering or not?

Hadn't he managed to control himself all those years? Was it really such a hardship for him now?

Besides, if that situation came up, he had it coming.

An Nuo thought for a moment, then typed: "Don't just send things like that randomly, what if someone else sees it?"

He wanted to bring up what happened with Sean earlier, but he figured Lu Yunyan wouldn't care—he'd probably just be more curious about his reaction and get a rise out of it.

That was just Lu Yunyan.

Lu Yunyan: "Doesn't matter, my face isn't in it."

See?

Typical him, right?

An Nuo: "No, I don't want anyone else to see it!"

An Nuo: "Only I can see it!"

As he hit send, An Nuo's fingertips were shaking. Who would have thought that one day he'd be the one saying something like this to Lu Yunyan.

An Nuo: "You're not allowed to act slutty with anyone else!"

But after sending it, he felt an unexpected wave of satisfaction.

Finally, it was his turn to tease Lu Yunyan!

After sending it, he felt like his entire state of being had gone up a level!

Though this could be seen as picking up bad habits, it was more like giving him a taste of his own medicine. From now on, whenever Lu Yunyan said something flirtatious, he'd respond like this.

Since they were at the company, An Nuo had to keep his excitement in check, or else he'd be rolling around giddily on the sofa or bed.

Seeing that Lu Yunyan was silent, An Nuo felt even better.

Lu Yunyan definitely never expected him to say something like that!

He must be stunned and shocked now, totally speechless!

Well, what goes around comes around.

Two minutes later, he finally got a reply from Lu Yunyan, and this time An Nuo eagerly opened it.

Lu Yunyan: "Wanna fuck you."

An Nuo: .

An Nuo: ......

An Nuo: ...................

Lu Yunyan: "One of these days, I'm going to pin you down on my office desk and fuck you stupid."

An Nuo: ...................

Alright, he lost.

He admitted he was no match for Lu Yunyan.

An Nuo: "Go die ahhhhh"

He swore he wouldn't say another word to Lu Yunyan.

But just as he was about to set his phone aside.

Lu Yunyan: "By the way, I've got something serious to tell you."

An Nuo: ?

Did he really think he was that gullible?

He absolutely wouldn't fall for it again.

An Nuo didn't reply, but he didn't put his phone away either, ready to see what so-called "serious" thing Lu Yunyan would come up with.

Lu Yunyan: "Either this afternoon or tomorrow, someone from the Omega Protection Union will probably come to see you."

An Nuo: .

Turned out it actually was something serious.

An Nuo had already heard about this from Lenny and had some idea.

Lu Yunyan: "They'll probably ask if you're being workplace bullied by me. It's nothing major, no need to stress."

He didn't even tell me what I should say?

Is he really that confident in me?

An Nuo: "Then what should I say when the time comes?"

Lu Yunyan: "Just tell the truth."

Lu Yunyan: "? Did I really subject you to workplace bullying?"

An Nuo thought for a moment but couldn't resist arguing back.

All talk but no game.

An Nuo: "You sending me private photos definitely counts."

An Nuo: "What intern would dare oppose their boss?"

An Nuo: "When the time comes, I'll show them the chat records and have you charged with workplace sexual harassment, ruining your reputation and making you infamous!"

Lu Yunyan: "It's only harassment if two people have no relationship."

Lu Yunyan: "What we have is called 'legal flirting'."

An Nuo: …

Why couldn’t he hold himself back!

He knew he couldn’t argue with Lu Yunyan, so why did he have to engage!

An Nuo: "Who’s flirting with you!"

Lu Yunyan: "Baby, when you ask me that kind of question, it's actually a form of flirting too."

An Nuo didn’t reply.

Not because he conceded, but because he really had no comeback.

Lu Yunyan had skin as thick as a city wall—ordinary people couldn't get through to him.

That's enough.

He wouldn’t reply to any more messages.

Lu Yunyan: "Just to let you know—I’m going to Mare tonight to discuss the acquisition deal, so I won’t be home."

Lu Yunyan: "I’ll be back by noon tomorrow. Let’s go out for dinner in the evening—I made reservations at a restaurant."

An Nuo: "Not tomorrow night. Shi Yu is taking me to pick out a tuxedo for the graduation ball."

Lu Yunyan: "That’s fine, I’ll join you."

Seeing this reply, An Nuo instantly became agitated.

What does this have to do with Lu Yunyan exactly?

He finally had a chance to spend time alone with Shi Yu—what's Lu Yunyan doing butting in?

Didn't he already gently reject him?

Could he really not tell that?

An Nuo: "No."

He refused very directly.

Lu Yunyan: "Why?"

An Nuo tried to think of various reasonable excuses to reject Lu Yunyan, but in the end, he went with his gut.

An Nuo: "I want it to be just me and Shi Yu. I don’t want anyone else to interrupt us."

Lu Yunyan: "So you're saying that I would disturb you?"

If this were early in their marriage, An Nuo wouldn’t have dared to speak to Lu Yunyan like this. Seeing Lu Yunyan ask this, he probably would've backed down and felt compelled to give in.

But Lu Yunyan had been too permissive with him. Without even noticing it, An Nuo had changed—he was now confident enough to speak his truth.

An Nuo: "Yeah, do you even need to ask?"

An Nuo: "I'm politely declining, okay?"

Lu Yunyan: "Then what should I do about the restaurant I booked?"

An Nuo thought for a moment and offered a perfectly reasonable solution.

An Nuo: "You can go by yourself."

Although An Nuo didn’t realize it himself, he had successfully scored a major victory over Lu Yunyan, rendering him speechless.

…

The next evening, An Nuo ruthlessly blew off Lu Yunyan, even changed into new clothes, and happily headed to their meeting.

He was really looking forward to spending time alone with Shi Yu, but when the moment actually arrived, he felt a bit unexplainably nervous—mostly afraid that he might not make a good impression and somehow make Shi Yu dislike him. If that happened, his heart would absolutely break.

They had agreed to meet directly in front of the store. As soon as they saw each other, Shi Yu playfully ruffled his hair, very much like a caring older relative.

"Sorry, An Nuo. I should’ve picked you up from home, but my day was packed. Thanks for coming on your own."

It was like being hit in the face with sweet cotton candy.

It didn’t hurt An Nuo at all—instead, he got to enjoy a sweet treat.

"…Please don’t say that. I should apologize for troubling you, making you take time from your busy schedule to take me to look at tuxedos."

Shi Yu smiled: "Alright, then let's drop the formalities? No need to be so polite—just relax, okay?"

An Nuo nodded obediently: "…Mm, okay."

Breathing in the scent of Shi Yu’s rose and lychee fragrance, An Nuo felt his heart grow warm.

If circumstances allowed, he really wanted to throw himself into Shi Yu’s arms and take a deep, satisfying breath.

But Shi Yu proactively reached out and pulled him close by the shoulder, allowing him to experience it up close. Just smelling it like this was satisfying enough.

"How’s the internship at the company? Are you adjusting well?"

In front of someone he liked, An Nuo only wanted to show his best side, even if he wasn’t entirely confident.

“...Yeah, it's going alright so far. I think I should be able to handle the work, and I’m doing pretty well.”

“It’s good that you can adapt. It’s always tough at the beginning when you’re still learning, but it’ll help you run the company better in the future.”

Manage the company?

Who? Him?

Manage what company? Whose company?

But An Nuo didn't press for details because he believed Shi Yu must have his reasons for saying that. Whatever Shi Yu said was right.

“But I heard the Omega Protection Union came to investigate Lu Yunyan’s workplace harassment of you? What’s going on? Can you tell me more about it?”

“...”

This was an awkward subject.

Right before leaving work today, someone from the Omega Protection Union did come to see him and asked for details of what happened.

An Nuo couldn't exactly tell the truth.

He couldn’t say it to the union representatives.

He could say a bit more to Shi Yu, but still not everything.

An Nuo could only vaguely share the PG-rated version, being careful with his words and even sneaking in some complaints about Lu Yunyan.

After listening, Shi Yu shook his head, looking somewhat helpless: “So that’s how it was. Lu Yunyan didn’t give me the full details earlier. It turns out most of it was his fault.”

An Nuo felt it might be inappropriate. After all, Shi Yu was Lu Yunyan’s biological father. No matter what, he would naturally side with Lu Yunyan. It wouldn’t be good to only speak ill of him.

After a moment’s thought, he added softly but with a hint of subtle manipulation: “But he didn’t mean it… No one could’ve expected something like this… And these past couple of days, he’s been taking care of me…”

Being subtly sarcastic once in a while worked wonders.

Since it was pretty much the same as An Nuo’s usual demeanor, the sarcasm was just right—natural and without seeming fake.

Shi Yu thought he was being mature about it and comforted him: “Taking care of you is the least he should do. Don't feel obligated to him.”

Then the two of them entered the store.

Immediately, countless staff surrounded them, all smiles as they waited on Shi Yu.

They first introduced various high-end fabrics, then brought out lookbooks for reference, and finally, based on An Nuo’s preferences, led him to the ready-to-wear section.

The space was at least three or four hundred square meters, filled with all kinds of clothing.

Shi Yu was gentle and patient, like a parent taking a child out, caring but giving him space.

“An Nuo, go pick out what you like. I’ll wait here. If you need my opinion, just call me.”

“...Okay.”

An Nuo walked forward, looking through a few pieces of clothing, putting some distance between himself and Shi Yu.

After browsing a few more items, he completely moved out of Shi Yu’s line of sight.

He thought it would be a wonderful evening.

Until an unfamiliar voice came from behind: “...Well, look who it is - An Nuo?”

An Nuo got chills instantly and turned around to see two unexpected people standing behind him.

One was actually an old crush of his, who got bitter after being turned down and became his enemy.

The other was the admirer’s current partner, who, for that very reason, inexplicably saw An Nuo as a person they can't stand.

He never thought he'd run into these two here.

Talk about bad luck.