Chapter 36

Chapter 36

In the end, Lu Yunyan did let An Nuo go.

But not entirely.

Though he didn't go all the way, he savored every part he wanted, pushing boundaries further than ever before.

From the sofa to the floor, all the way back to the bedroom, from the bathroom to the bed, every step of the process continuously redefined An Nuo’s perception of Lu Yunyan.

His mouth was too occupied to curse, but in his heart, he unleashed a torrent of expletives.

Alphas are dogs!

Stinky dogs! Horny dogs!

A dog through and through!

Once a dog, always a dog!

An Nuo could barely resist and was forced to stay up late. When he woke up the next morning, he was completely out of it, as if his soul had drifted to another dimension.

His knees no longer ached.

But he almost wished the pain had killed him. Just because he asked Lu Yunyan to help apply a medicated patch, look at all the trouble it caused!

Now his back hurt instead.

Not only that, but his legs were weak, his waist ached, his whole body felt limp, and his inner thighs were on fire, as if someone had used them as a grater and shredded carrots all night long.

He was utterly drained.

Not a single drop left.

The worst part was that, despite being exhausted, he couldn’t sleep well and woke up even earlier than Lu Yunyan.

Struggling, he turned over and found Lu Yunyan still sleeping soundly with his eyes closed, looking as peaceful as if he were dead.

How was that fair?

Who could possibly be okay with this?

An Nuo certainly wasn’t.

Last night, he was no match for Lu Yunyan, who treated him like an action figure, twisting and turning him as he pleased. An Nuo couldn’t resist and could only endure.

Now that Lu Yunyan was still asleep, he saw his chance, and he absolutely couldn’t miss it.

Without much thought, An Nuo reached out and pinched Lu Yunyan’s nose—the most malicious method he could think of was to cut off Lu Yunyan’s air supply.

After about half a minute, Lu Yunyan began to stir, his brows slightly furrowed, his body twisting, as if he was about to wake up.

An Nuo quickly let go and withdrew his hand, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

He was sure Lu Yunyan was awake.

Because his breathing pattern had changed; An Nuo heard him take a deep breath.

But he didn’t stay awake for long. After moving just a couple of times, he stopped, and his breathing gradually steadied.

An Nuo cracked one eye open, peeking to confirm that Lu Yunyan had closed his eyes again. After waiting five or six minutes, he reached out and pinched Lu Yunyan’s nose once more.

He marveled at his own patience while also admitting how truly wicked he was being.

But his mood lifted considerably.

Ready to pull his hand back the moment Lu Yunyan showed any reaction, An Nuo focused intently on him.

The next second, Lu Yunyan suddenly opened his eyes, locking eyes directly with him.

An Nuo was scared out of his mind, feeling as if his soul was about to leave his body, his heart pounding wildly.

Before he could pull his hand back, Lu Yunyan grabbed his wrist.

The Alpha’s voice was hoarse from just waking up, and he asked in a low tone, “Having fun?”

An Nuo just wanted to pull his hand back, almost crying from fear. “...You, you scared me to death.”

Playing the victim card: “...How could you be like this?”

“You scared me on purpose.”

“I was almost scared to death by you. You’re too cruel.”

At this point, who started it didn’t matter; whoever suffered more called the shots.

An Nuo let out a pathetic fake sob: “Waaah—are you happy now? Do you feel a sense of accomplishment for scaring me like this?”

He couldn’t actually cry, but he had to make some noise to alleviate the shock he’d just experienced.

Lu Yunyan asked, “Were you really scared?”

An Nuo said irritably, “No. Because the real me already died from rage. The one talking to you now is just a spirit.”

Lu Yunyan laughed, never expecting An Nuo to be such a terrible schemer but so determined, daring to pull this move despite being such a scaredy-cat.

“Alright, alright, don’t be mad. How about a hug?”

Lu Yunyan drew An Nuo into his arms.

An Nuo wanted to resist and struggle.

But his already weak body felt even weaker after such a scare, so he had no choice but to be pulled in.

“Let me go, don’t hug me... you disgusting pig, you big perverted pig! It’s just that I can’t beat you right now, but just you wait until I can... you’ll see!”

This just made it funnier.

Lu Yunyan stroked An Nuo’s hair with one hand while comforting him: “Okay, okay, I’ll wait.”

Then he added: “Actually, if you want to hit me now, you can. I promise not to retaliate.”

“You might not fight back, but you might retaliate verbally,” An Nuo said bluntly. “You might even steal a kiss on my hand. How scary.”

“...”

An Nuo had hit the nail on the head.

“Hmmph, you’re just a big perverted pig.”

"Babe, so early in the morning, are you really trying to flirt with me?"

"…………"

An Nuo almost shouted: Who wants to flirt with you? Don’t make false accusations first thing in the damn morning, okay?

But Lu Yunyan’s phone rang first—there was an incoming call.

Lu Yunyan used one hand to answer the phone.

He spoke briefly for a few minutes about some work stuff. An Nuo half-listened without understanding what was being discussed.

However, when Lu Yunyan hung up, An Nuo caught a glimpse of the phone screen—it was actually his own photo!

An Nuo widened his eyes: "...Let me see your phone!"

Lu Yunyan chuckled: "What are you checking for? Whether I’ve been chatting with other omegas?"

His laughter carried a subtle hint of pride.

But who cared about that?

An Nuo asked: "Why is your screen my photo? When was it taken?"

He turned on the screen—sure enough, it was a photo of him sleeping.

Eyes closed, half his face covered—someone else might not recognize who it was, but An Nuo knew at a glance it was himself.

Lu Yunyan showed no guilt about the unauthorized photo and calmly replied: "After you fell asleep last night, you were so adorable I couldn’t resist taking a picture."

"...You can't just take photos of me without permission!"

"This barely counts as unauthorized."

"...Did you take others? Let me see your photo album!"

Knowing how horny Lu Yunyan was, it was hard to say.

An Nuo really didn't want to accidentally see himself on some adult website.

He wouldn't have known without checking, but upon checking, he found many photos of himself—almost all taken without his knowledge, though none were explicit.

Some were even taken at the company, likely from surveillance camera angles.

He’d only been at work for a few days, yet there were already more than a hundred photos of him in Lu Yunyan’s album.

A strange, odd, fluttery feeling stirred in his heart.

Had Lu Yunyan secretly saved so many photos of him?

What was that about?

It was supposed to be just a marriage of convenience, so why did it sometimes feel like they were actually dating?

Could Lu Yunyan be putting on a show for his benefit?

But what would he get out of that?

Besides, if he hadn’t spotted it accidentally, he would never have discovered these photos...

After some thought, An Nuo decided to ask directly: "Why did you take so many photos of me?"

It better be a good explanation.

Lu Yunyan retorted: "You really want to know?"

"..."

A sudden, bad feeling surged in An Nuo’s heart.

"You know, sometimes I’m very busy and can't even make it home to see you."

"On those long nights, I inevitably need to—"

"Ahhhh shut up! Ahhhh don’t say another word ahhhh!!"

An Nuo was completely fed up.

How did he keep getting tricked by Lu Yunyan, every time something different?

"...I’m not talking to you anymore!"

Not a single word from him was something a proper person would say, nor anything An Nuo wanted to hear.

"I need to get up for work!"

But his legs were still weak and shaky. An Nuo tried to push himself up with his hands but couldn’t stand and fell back onto the bed.

Lu Yunyan held him: "You okay? Can you stand?"

An Nuo wanted to bite him: "Guess whose fault this is?"

But Lu Yunyan showed no remorse whatsoever. Deadpan, he said: "If you’re not feeling well, you can rest at home today."

"No, interns can't keep taking days off."

An Nuo refused. He’d only been working a few days and had already taken two days off. If he rested again, people would get suspicious.

"Then you don’t have to be an intern."

An Nuo was puzzled: "Then what would I be?"

"The boss’s spouse."

"..."

How did he get tricked again!

An Nuo smacked Lu Yunyan’s face with the pillow, wishing it would shut him up for good.

...

Two days later, the bruises on An Nuo’s knees had finally faded completely, and the soreness in his waist and legs from Lu Yunyan’s hassling had also disappeared.

Because Lu Yunyan had become very busy again.

He had no time to come home, no one to bother An Nuo, so An Nuo considered it a lucky break.

On the third day of Lu Yunyan not returning home, Shi Yu took An Nuo to choose another formal gown.

Everything went smoothly this time, without a hitch.

Because Shi Yu directly booked the entire store, the whole place was just for them. Custom orders that usually take two to three months were ready in just ten days this time.

An Nuo was getting used to his work routine.

He didn’t know what others thought, but he was feeling pretty good about himself and had even learned to slack off when things got busy, occasionally chatting with friends.

Bai Wu: "OMG OMG OMG @An Nuo"

Bai Wu: "Come out quick, there's tea to spill"

An Nuo knew he was on camera every second in the office, and Lu Yunyan even reviewed the footage.

But so what.

With his phone on the desk, An Nuo typed with one hand.

An Nuo: "What's the tea?"

Bai Wu: "Remember that creepy guy who used to hit on you?"

That's Andrew.

An Nuo: "How could I forget?"

An Nuo: "Did he kick the bucket finally?"

Bai Wu: "Not dead, but pretty much done for"

Now An Nuo was all ears.

An Nuo: "Spill the tea?"

Bai Wu: "It happened last night. His parents were taken away by the federal prosecutors for investigation for bribery."

An Nuo: "No way!"

Even An Nuo couldn’t hold back.

Bai Wu: "You know how it is, the feds don't move without solid evidence. His parents must've pissed off some big shot."

Although An Nuo’s father looked down on Andrew’s family background, strictly speaking, their family was still a step up from the An family—but not by much.

Bai Wu: "I heard Andrew was traveling with his boyfriend and came back immediately because of this."

Bai Wu: "And guess what happened!"

Bai Wu: "He flew back himself. Apparently, he was in such a hurry that he screwed up the landing coordinates and collided with another aircraft! He’s still in the hospital, no word on his condition."

An Nuo's jaw dropped.

Bai Wu: "You think that’s the end of it? Nope, there’s more!"

Bai Wu shared an enormous PDF file.

Bai Wu: "Tea about his boyfriend Arlo’s cheating! Not only is he a serial cheater, but he’s also a repeat homewrecker!"

Bai Wu: "I knew he was a piece of work, but I never thought he was this bad. So many people are coming forward about him—it’s over a hundred pages long!"

A hundred pages worth.

An Nuo’s eyes went wider.

Just reading through it would take ages, let alone it being a compiled version. He couldn’t even imagine how massive the original material must be.

...Could Lu Yunyan be involved in this?

Remembering what Lu Yunyan had said about making them pay a thousand times over, An Nuo couldn’t help but suspect it.

And it all happened so quickly and suddenly—the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

An Nuo immediately messaged Lu Yunyan.

An Nuo: "That guy who bullied me got into trouble. Did you know?"

But he didn’t expect Lu Yunyan to reply right away.

He'd been genuinely busy lately, replying to messages like once in a blue moon.

Truth be told, it kinda bugged him. Whenever Lu Yunyan took too long to reply, he couldn’t help feeling brushed off.

Unexpectedly, this time was pretty quick.

Five minutes later, Lu Yunyan replied.

But instead of answering An Nuo’s question, he sent a video with the message: "Do you like it?"

An Nuo clicked on it without thinking.

It turned out to be a promotional video for a one-strap nightgown.

The ad was straight-up suggestive, with atmospheric music and filters, making even the limbless, headless plastic mannequin look seductive.

An Nuo: .

He was done.

Sometimes he admired Lu Yunyan—spending all day either working or being indecent could be considered a unique form of self-discipline.

An Nuo: "Don’t like it"

Lu Yunyan: "I like it"

He felt a surge of annoyance.

An Nuo: "Then you wear it yourself"