Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Lu Yunyan and Lu Xu, true father and son, wore identical expressions of shock and complex emotions as they looked at An Nuo.

It wasn't a big deal.

It was just An Nuo, occasionally childish and mischievous, wanting to pull a playful prank.

But they never imagined anyone would actually try this on them.

The creepiest part wasn't An Nuo suddenly jumping out and shouting to scare them, but rather An Nuo quietly hiding there, silent and crouched, waiting to be discovered.

Two birds with one stone.

He’d gotten both father and son in one go.

Though An Nuo had mentally prepared himself, it didn't help much. Buried under the desk and refusing to come out, he felt like he’d never show his face again.

The scene fell into an eerie silence.

A dozen seconds later, Lu Xu pressed a hand to his chest: “Oh man, oh man, ahahaha…”

He couldn't exactly say he was getting old and had almost had a heart attack, could he?

Nor could he cuss An Nuo out, right?

All he could do was laugh heartily a few times, though it sounded more like world-weary laughter.

Lu Yunyan’s reaction was calmer than Lu Xu’s. He didn’t make any strange noises; after exhaling, he said with a helpless smile, “…Come on out.”

An Nuo: .

Haha, not coming out ever again.

He had already decided to become one with the carpet here.

An Nuo hadn't completely shut down; at the very least, he apologized to Lu Xu: “…Sorry, Uncle Lu, I didn't mean to frighten you. I didn't know you’d both come together. I’m really, really sorry.”

Lu Yunyan arched an eyebrow.

Huh. Interesting.

So that meant the apology was only for Lu Xu, while the scare was intentionally reserved for him?

What was there to say?

Although he really was a bit startled, if Lu Xu hadn’t been there, the situation would’ve been quite amusing.

He could almost picture An Nuo crawling out from under the desk and jumping into his arms.

And he actually missed that.

Wish he hadn't brought Lu Xu—what a shame.

When he spoke again, Lu Yunyan’s tone carried a faint hint of regret.

“Alright, alright, come on out. Don’t keep talking from under there.”

An Nuo rejected Lu Yunyan’s suggestion and offered a truly dramatic reply.

“No, I’m too embarrassed to come out. I’ve decided to die here.”

“…”

“…”

Lu Yunyan laughed. “Is it really that bad?”

They were the ones who got scared, so why was An Nuo the one deciding to die?

Lu Xu had also recovered.

Of course, when it happened, he’d felt a surge of emotion, but it passed quickly.

Besides, this prank clearly wasn’t aimed at him—it was obviously some flirty game between these two.

“No, no, don't say that,” Lu Xu said hurriedly. “It’s not that serious, not that serious.”

Once he'd recovered, what Lu Xu felt most relieved about was that he hadn’t slipped up earlier. Otherwise, if he’d revealed any suspicions, Lu Yunyan’s plan that was going so well might have been ruined or at least stalled.

Secondly, it was time for him to take off.

These lovebirds were playing office antics—he should leave the space and time to them.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Every time he saw them, Lu Xu felt like he wondered, “Are they really not dating?”

It seemed that three kids in two years was no longer a distant fantasy; he believed Lu Yunyan would achieve it very soon.

As for himself, he'd be a grandpa soon enough. He could wait for it with peace of mind.

“Well, alright then, I’ll head out first.”

Lu Xu stood up and was almost at the door when he deliberately threw in one last remark.

“But I should remind you two—when you’re doing this kind of thing in the office, keep it appropriate.”

Lu Yunyan called out, “Dad—”

Just go already.

An Nuo: “………………”

His already burning cheeks now felt even more impossible to lift.

Why not just let him combust right there?

After saying this, Lu Xu left cheerfully: “I’ll be off then. Contact me anytime if you need anything.”

Only Lu Yunyan and An Nuo remained in the office.

Finally free to stop being proper, Lu Yunyan crouched down and reached under the desk to fish An Nuo out himself.

“Alright, alright, come out. My dad’s already gone.”

An Nuo was still resisting vigorously, but since it was just Lu Yunyan now, he could be childish and dramatic.

“…Not coming out. Don’t bother with me. Just let me die here. Anyway, I’m pretty much dead anyway.”

Lu Yunyan really couldn't coax him out.

An Nuo resisted with all his might, and since Lu Yunyan was crouching, his balance was unsteady. In an instant, he ended up kneeling on one knee.

There was nothing romantic about it.

His knee slammed heavily against the floor with a loud thud, hitting something just right, sending a numbing shock through his entire body and making his soul shudder.

The proud, image-conscious alpha refused to show even the slightest sign of discomfort.

Only his soul was grimacing in pain, never expecting such an ordeal.

"Would you really die over something so trivial? If you die, you won’t get to eat cream fruit sandwiches anymore."

"......"

"Alright, since you’ve already lost all dignity, hiding won’t do any good now."

"......"

He knew Lu Yunyan was a smooth talker, but he never expected him to be so good at delivering things that made one want to die.

Too smooth with words.

It made your blood run cold.

"The space under there is so small—isn’t it uncomfortable hiding? Come out quickly."

With a mix of coaxing and tugging, Lu Yunyan finally managed to coax An Nuo out from under the desk.

But he couldn’t see An Nuo’s face right away.

Because An Nuo was too mortified to show his face.

Originally, he had intended to leap at Lu Yunyan playfully, giving him a huge scare.

Now, he was throwing himself at Lu Yunyan in shame, just wanting to hide himself away.

Holding An Nuo, Lu Yunyan sat down in a chair, patting his back soothingly. "It’s alright, it’s alright. It's not like he's a stranger—that’s my dad. It’s fine."

But An Nuo was fuming and humiliated. How could it be fine? Precisely because it was Lu Xu, it was anything but fine.

He had no idea what Lu Xu must think of him now.

He must think he’s utterly unreliable, pulling a stunt like this at the office—a little brat full of naughty ideas.

An Nuo buried his face in Lu Yunyan’s shoulder. "...I—I thought it was just you, that’s why I hid."

"I didn’t know your dad would come, too."

"Why didn’t you have Assistant Tao tell me such an important thing..."

"......"

Lu Yunyan had purposely kept this from him, afraid that An Nuo would get nervous if he knew.

Though he hadn’t been around these past few days, he’d been keeping an eye on An Nuo’s work performance and felt he was doing much better than expected. That’s why he wanted Lu Xu to see it for himself.

If he’d told An Nuo in advance, would An Nuo have been able to act naturally?

He just never expected An Nuo to pull something like this.

Usually, at the office, An Nuo was so strict about distance and boundaries, pretending not to know Lu Yunyan as if his life depended on it, hoping Lu Yunyan wouldn’t even speak a word to him for fear others would discover their relationship—who could’ve guessed An Nuo would hide under the desk and initiate such a cheeky move with him?

It was a bit absurd and ridiculous, but upon closer thought, also a little cute, very much in line with An Nuo’s personality. It was exactly the kind of thing he would do.

"...And you’re laughing! What’s so funny about this? How can you even laugh!"

Hearing Lu Yunyan’s quiet laugh, An Nuo’s face grew even hotter, and in his frustration, he wanted to bite Lu Yunyan’s shoulder.

Too bad Lu Yunyan was wearing clothes—his teeth couldn’t bite through.

Lu Yunyan chose not to explain further. He'd already said enough, and An Nuo wasn’t listening anyway. So, taking advantage of the moment An Nuo lifted his head to glare at him angrily, he leaned in and kissed him.

Of course, An Nuo resisted.

He was still reeling from the shame of his social disaster—how could he be in the mood to kiss Lu Yunyan?

But Lu Yunyan’s kiss was overpowering and intense from the start, giving An Nuo no chance to resist, leaving him utterly stunned.

Once stunned, it was fine.

When An Nuo’s tense, angry body finally went limp, Lu Yunyan finally released him, then kissed his cheeks and the edge of his lips.

"Let’s set everything else aside for now. I’ve missed you so much these past few days."

"......"

An Nuo’s mind went blank from the kiss; the embarrassment was forgotten. By the time his consciousness returned and settled back in, he was much calmer than before.

He gave Lu Yunyan a light punch. "...Who said you could kiss me!"

Making him forget what he originally wanted to say.

Now, it was gone—he couldn't recall.

Lu Yunyan said shamelessly, "You had your lips puckered up so much—weren’t you waiting for me to kiss you?"

"...You! Stop! Talking! Nonsense!"

But Lu Yunyan’s teasing was effective at diverting An Nuo’s attention.

Then, Lu Yunyan stood up while holding him, carrying An Nuo in a face-to-face embrace, walking around the office with him, soothing him like a child, calming his emotions.

"You feeling better now?"

An Nuo’s head rested on Lu Yunyan’s shoulder. After his emotions cooled down from their peak, he naturally started to feel a bit better.

It really wasn’t that big of a deal.

It was only because it involved Lu Xu that An Nuo was so upset about it.

Lu Yunyan’s way of comforting was rather unique: "Really, don't worry about it so much. Who cares about this dad—it’s not like my other dad saw."

"......"

"Besides, thank goodness it was just my dad. If this had happened during some online meeting with a dozen people watching, I wouldn’t dare show my face either."

"......"

Really?

You'd better mean that.

An Nuo was deeply doubtful of Lu Yunyan's claim, but weighing the seriousness actually helped him cool down.

Lu Yunyan's words also reminded him that An Nuo quickly said, "...Alright, I should go. I've been in your office too long. Any longer and it'll look suspicious."

He had only come to drop something off and do some cleaning, but Lu Yunyan had been in the office for so long that it was already suspicious.

"No hurry. It’s been days since we last saw each other. Stay awhile longer."

An Nuo struggled, "...No, people will suspect something."

"Suspect what?" Lu Yunyan said provocatively. "Suspect that a married alpha has fallen for an intern omega and is having a steamy affair in the office?"

"..."

Sometimes, An Nuo genuinely felt that Lu Yunyan and Bai Wu could become best friends—their talent for making up stories was practically on par.

"In such a hurry to leave? Afraid my wife might drop by unexpectedly?"

Lu Yunyan was really leaning into the roleplay.

"It’s fine, really. Even if she does show up, we've got nothing to worry about. After all, she didn’t catch us in bed... We’ll just say you slipped and accidentally fell into my arms."

"..."

What kind of way of slipping would result in a face-to-face embrace like this?

An Nuo found himself asking, "Is your wife an idiot?"

"Of course not." Lu Yunyan changed the story again. "My wife is the kindest, most adorable omega in the world. I fell in love with him at first sight."

A pink tint rose to An Nuo’s fair cheeks.

He almost retorted, Then why are you cheating on your wife with an intern at the office?

Luckily, he stopped himself just in time. No, he couldn’t play along with Lu Yunyan’s script—he had to firmly resist his nonsense.

He reached out and pushed Lu Yunyan’s face as he leaned in firmly. "...Alright, I really need to go. Let me go now."

While still indulging in the roleplay, Lu Yunyan loosened his grip and let An Nuo get down.

"Fine, I’ll let you off for now. I’ll take care of you properly tonight."

"..."