Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Su Xingze went to send a private message: [Fu Yao, is that you?]

As soon as the message was sent, Su Xingze realized he had long ago blocked the other person.

Fu Yao was released from the blacklist, and looking at the message Su Xingze had sent him, his eyes welled up.

One Little Yao: [You're willing to talk to me? You don't blame me anymore? Brother Xingze, I'm sorry, I really don't like Ying Ying! He's the one who's been pestering me. You have to believe me!]

Star: [It really is you!]

One Little Yao: [It's me, Brother Xingze, boo hoo hoo, I thought you'd never talk to me again, that you wouldn't recognize me as your little bro anymore!]

Su Xingze's mother passed away when he was six. His father said he would take good care of him, but in reality, he was extremely busy with work and almost never came home.

It wasn't until he was nine that his father brought home another woman and told him to call her "Mom."

That was when Su Xingze knew—he had no mother, no father, and no home to speak of.

In middle school, at the height of his rebellious phase, even with Lu Xingwen by his side, he was still a hot-blooded, edgy teen. He became the school's top dog, but only to fight for justice.

And Fu Yao was an Omega that Su Xingze had saved. Fu Yao grew up in an orphanage. His adoptive parents were good to him, but they were both Betas. He had presented early as an Omega, and not only was he shy by nature, but he was also an Omega, so he was often bullied by Alphas.

Later, he tagged along with Su Xingze to fight bullies, and only then did his personality brighten and he emerged from that dark period.

Star: [How are you doing now?]

One Little Yao: [Pretty good. I found my biological parents. They're a prominent family in Zecheng City and treat me very well. I even moved my adoptive parents in with us.]

One Little Yao: [Brother Xingze, are you free? Let's meet up. I really don't like Ying Ying. He's not even close to being as important as you.]

Star: [Some other day.]

He might not be in great shape these next few days.

One Little Yao: [Okay, I'll wait for your message. But whatever you do, don't meet Ying Ying alone. He's really weird, and he makes other people weird too.]

Star: [Thanks, I understand.]

One Little Yao: [Bro hug.jpg]

Fu Yao's bad mood disappeared in an instant. He started picking out gifts and checking the calendar.

Wait a minute—he and Brother Xingze were in the same class. In a few days, Brother Xingze would be coming to school too, and then they could meet!

Thinking about how those people in the group had been slandering Brother Xingze, he got angrier the more he thought about it. He went back to the group and sent messages.

Fu Yao: [I don't like Ying Ying. I don't know what you've heard, but none of it is true. Ying Ying and I are not together.]

Fu Yao: [I've already set the record straight many times! Just because I'm an Omega, none of you believe what I say, and you all believe everything that Alpha says!]

Fu Yao: [If any of you dare spread rumors again, the Fu family will send every single one of you a cease and desist!]

The group chat went dead silent. The ones who had been talking earlier directly left the group. Soon, screenshots of Fu Yao's messages were posted on the school forum. In the comments, almost everyone defending him was an Omega, while the Alphas were just watching the show, thinking there was no smoke without fire.

Of course, there were also those just here for the drama—it was too good. A new episode every week, never the same, but always a blast.

Su Xingze said a few words to comfort him. Then he started looking up Ying Ying.

[Ying Ying, 22 years old, male Alpha, Acting Department of Zecheng University. Up-and-coming actor, representative works include "I'm Fine," "If There's Tomorrow," etc. Won Best Supporting Actor award. Also serves as CEO of the Ying family company.]

Attached were a few photos.

Su Xingze studied them for a moment and found that this man had sharp, shifty eyes that made him look inherently shady. He obviously didn't look like a good guy.

And he wasn't even as handsome as Lu Xingwen—nowhere close. Had he really been that blind to fall for a guy like this?

"Enjoying the view?" The sudden voice right by his ear startled Su Xingze so much he jumped. He patted his chest to calm his breathing: "Xiaolu, you're gonna scare someone to death like that."

"Is he that good-looking?" This time, Xiaolu wasn't his usual self. His face was dark, his eyes sharp as knives, and the air around him was suffocating. All his usual warmth and cheer was gone—it was almost scary.

"Not as good-looking as you." Su Xingze exited the page: "I was just checking what the guy who owes me money looks like."

Lu Xingwen's expression softened, and the mood warmed back up. He took Su Xingze's phone and deleted all his browsing history and everything related: "Chen Chen, you're not gonna leave me again, right?"

Lu Xingwen had always been clingy like this. Su Xingze patted the Alpha on the back: "Xiaolu, don't be afraid. I'll always be here with you."

Lu Xingwen rested his head on Su Xingze's shoulder for a bit, then got up and sat down at the computer: "I need to continue the meeting. You figure out what you want for dinner."

Su Xingze: "..."

"So when you said all that just now, the video call wasn't on mute?"

Lu Xingwen nodded, seeing nothing wrong with it.

They were husbands—they could say anything in front of each other.

But Su Xingze had always been easily embarrassed. Thinking about how a bunch of people had heard their private talk, he grabbed the blanket and dove under it, leaving his lower half hanging out.

The employees on the video call didn't dare breathe too loud. They had to choke down the PDA and enjoy the show, but if the boss called on them, they were dead.

No one expected their boss, usually a cold-hearted bastard, to have such a soft side—and to be afraid of being abandoned by his lover.

Everyone was on edge the whole meeting. Near the end, Lu Xingwen said: "Tomorrow afternoon I'll come back to the company for a meeting. Assistant Xu, arrange it."

Assistant Xu said yes and started arranging the schedule.

Su Xingze had fallen asleep curled up under the covers. Dinner was brought by Aunt Zhang—all her best dishes: shrimp meatballs, braised pork ribs, pear soup, and his favorite spicy braised snacks from childhood.

Su Xingze had no resistance to food. The moment Aunt Zhang arrived with the meal, he woke up, immediately ran to brush his teeth and wash up, ready to eat.

Aunt Zhang went home to be with her husband and kids. The hospital room was once again left with just Su Xingze and Lu Xingwen.

Aunt Zhang had prepared too much food—there was no way they could finish it. Su Xingze tried his best, but the dishes only had a few bites taken out of them.

Lu Xingwen, on the other hand, barely ate anything. He only touched the pear soup; he didn't even pick up his chopsticks for the rest.

"You..." Su Xingze looked him up and down, testing: "Trying to lose weight?"

"I'm not hungry." Lu Xingwen put the leftovers in the fridge, leaving the braised snacks out for Su Xingze to snack on while he studied.

For real? Seriously? O.o

At lunch he'd barely eaten because of his hurt hand, and at night he'd only had a few bowls of pear soup. That wouldn't even feed a bird.

"Really not hungry?" Su Xingze leaned in, trying to read him.

Lu Xingwen nodded: "I'm not hungry."

Since he said he wasn't hungry, Su Xingze couldn't exactly force him to eat.

Su Xingze lay back on the hospital bed and downloaded several professional books. But studying was pointless anyway—and to make it worse, their majors were different now, so Lu Xingwen couldn't help either.

He could only read them over and over again, then flopped onto the bed in frustration: "Why did I choose the acting department in the first place? I'm really not cut out for this. Facial expressions, eye movements—I can read the words, but I have no idea how to apply them."

"Don't worry, have a grape." Lu Xingwen popped one into Su Xingze's mouth as he opened it.

It was better if he couldn't learn—acting required physical contact, and there were bound to be kissing scenes. Lu Xingwen couldn't stand the thought of Chen Chen touching anyone else's skin.

Especially that Ying Ying, who was said to be an actor too. If Chen Chen were to act alongside him, Lu Xingwen was afraid he might do something illegal.

Chen Chen could only belong to him alone. Forever.