Chapter Two

The alcohol that had just entered Xiao Zhou’s mouth was immediately sprayed out in a choking burst. Wiping his lips with his hand, he swallowed hard and slowly turned his head, praying over and over that it was just a hallucination. But when he saw clearly the man behind him, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, a faintly sinister smile on his face, all he could think was: Damn it. This is bad.

Xiao Zhou hurriedly stood up, followed by everyone else on the sofa, all of whom put on identical, insincere smiles and greeted with enthusiasm, “Brother Xiao.”

Xiao Zhou reacted the fastest, quickly making his way around the sofa to the man’s side, grinning as if he were a blooming flower. “Long time no see, Brother Xiao. The boss said you were on a business trip out of town and wouldn’t be back for at least a week. Haha, Brother Xiao, if only you’d let us know in advance, we could have picked you up at the airport.”

The man was tall and long-legged, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and hair as dark as ink, immaculately styled. His demeanor was calm and refined, gentle yet meticulous. Without the gold-rimmed glasses on his face, his handsome features drew lingering looks from the women present, while the faint, elusive smile at the corner of his lips could charm an entire room.

As the president of a publicly listed company, Yi Xiaoyu excelled in both appearance and erudition—he was the rarest of men in the business world of V City, an exemplar among distinguished gentlemen.

Outside, the temperature was below freezing, and the moment he entered the warm, bustling room, his glasses fogged over.

Yi Xiaoyu lowered his head, unhurriedly wiping the lenses, and asked languidly, “Who’s the show-off you were talking about?”

“Uh... Hahaha... Brother Xiao, you must have misheard. What show-off? Haha...” Xiao Zhou played dumb, scratching his head and laughing foolishly.

Yi Xiaoyu couldn’t be bothered to press the issue. He put on his glasses and said, “Enough with the nonsense. Let me ask you—where’s You?”

By “You,” he naturally meant Boss You.

Boss You’s name was as casual as his personality—utterly forgettable and somewhat vulgar, but once heard, never forgotten. Years ago, when his illiterate foster father was still making his way in the underworld, he’d thought an unremarkable name would bring an easier life, and so gave Boss You such a simple name.

“The boss, he...” Xiao Zhou’s mind raced. “He went home. Yep, went home early. Brother Xiao, you should go home too...”

“He has tracking software I installed on his phone,” Yi Xiaoyu cut him off with a cold laugh. “Otherwise, what do you think I used to find this place?”

Xiao Zhou was left speechless, his only response a forced, silly smile. One of the men, sensing that the truth couldn’t be hidden much longer, quickly chimed in, “Brother Xiao, the boss is drunk and already asleep upstairs. You don’t like it when he drinks, so Brother Zhou lied to you because he was afraid you’d be upset.”

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly it,” Xiao Zhou added hastily. “Please don’t be angry, Brother Xiao. It’s our fault too. We got carried away and urged the boss to drink more, and then...”

“It’s the same suite we always used to rest in, right?” Yi Xiaoyu turned and walked toward the elevator, adding, “I’ll go find him. You all stay here.”

Watching Yi Xiaoyu’s retreating figure, the group panicked. Xiao Zhou hurriedly had someone call Boss You to warn him, then rushed forward himself to try and intercept Yi Xiaoyu.

“Brother Xiao, the boss must be sound asleep by now. How about waiting until he wakes up tomorrow...?”

Yi Xiaoyu walked straight to the elevator, ignoring Xiao Zhou’s attempt to dissuade him.

———

Boss You had just stripped off his clothes to take a shower when his phone rang.

“Boss, it’s bad. Brother Xiao—he’s back.”

On hearing this, Boss You was overjoyed. “Damn, he’s finally back! Has he gotten home yet?” He said, turning to get dressed and head back.

“Boss, Brother Xiao’s gone upstairs.”

“What?”

“He’s on his way to your room right now. Xiao Zhou is trying to stall him, but Boss, you’d better...”

“Shit!” Boss You felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, his face turning pale. That’s when the doorbell rang and Yi Xiaoyu’s cool voice sounded from outside, “Fatty, open up. I know you’re in there.”

“This is it, I’m done for...” Boss You muttered under his breath. He’d faced all manner of crises in his life—blades, axes, disasters—never so much as blinking an eye, but when it came to Yi Xiaoyu’s mercurial moods, he was always on edge.

It was a question that had troubled Boss You for two years—he couldn’t figure out why Yi Xiaoyu exerted such an inexplicable hold over him. It was like a dog’s fear of a cat—utterly inexplicable.

“What’s wrong, big brother?” a boy’s timid voice asked. “Should I go open the door?”

Without a word, Boss You dragged the boy behind the curtains.

“If I tell you not to come out, don’t even poke your head out, understand? Be good, you hear me?”

The boy nodded.

Boss You made sure the curtains hid the boy’s silhouette completely, then hurriedly slipped into a bathrobe and tousled his hair, taking several deep breaths before opening the door.

“Xiaoyu!” Boss You called out excitedly, reaching out to hug Yi Xiaoyu. “I missed you so much, darling!”

Yi Xiaoyu raised his hand to brush off Boss You’s embrace, frowning. “You reek of alcohol. Don’t touch me.”

He brushed past Boss You and stepped inside.

The moment he entered, Yi Xiaoyu’s gaze fixed on the two glasses of water on the table by the bed.

Boss You felt his heart hammer in his chest as Yi Xiaoyu’s expression grew darker and darker.

“Xiaoyu, let’s go home,” Boss You said, sidling up and lightly placing his hand around Yi Xiaoyu’s waist, his tone gentle. “We haven’t seen each other in two weeks. I missed you like crazy.”

Yi Xiaoyu turned, his eyes narrowed, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips. Boss You felt guilty under that gaze, swallowing hard and looking away.

Yi Xiaoyu swept his eyes over the room, then strode toward the floor-to-ceiling window. Boss You’s heart leapt into his throat. When Yi Xiaoyu yanked the curtains open and turned around, all Boss You could think was—

It’s over.

Behind the curtains, a boy in a bathrobe stood shivering. Yi Xiaoyu’s face betrayed no emotion. At last, he let the curtain fall and turned to leave.

Boss You knew there was no escaping now. Just as he was about to confess when Yi Xiaoyu walked past him, Yi Xiaoyu tossed him a curt, emotionless command: “Go home.”

On the way back, Yi Xiaoyu’s assistant Joseph was driving.

As a man secretly married, Yi Xiaoyu was seen by outsiders—even by his own parents—as an eligible bachelor. Joseph was the only one in his life who knew he was already married.

Joseph parked in front of the apartment building. Yi Xiaoyu got out first, and once he was out of earshot, Boss You nervously asked Joseph, “How did your boss’s business trip go?”

Joseph smiled. “With President Yi handling it himself, how could any negotiation not go his way?”

Boss You ran a hand over his closely-cropped hair, mumbling to himself, “That’s true. So Xiaoyu must’ve been in a good mood to start with.”

No avoiding what must come.

With a long sigh, Boss You got out and hurried after Yi Xiaoyu.

Once inside the elevator, Boss You took the laptop from Yi Xiaoyu’s hand, plastering a smile on his face. “Let me carry that. It’s heavy.”

Out of the elevator, Boss You walked ahead, opening the apartment door for Yi Xiaoyu and standing aside to welcome him in with a grin.

This spacious, high-end apartment of over a hundred square meters had been left to Yi Xiaoyu by his mother. He had lived here ever since reaching adulthood and had a deep emotional attachment to the place. Even after achieving great success, he refused to buy a more luxurious home. When he married Boss You, his first request was that they live here together, making this their home, rather than moving into the villa Boss You had spent so much time renovating for their marriage.

As soon as they entered, the huge husky Boss You kept came bounding over, tail wagging, howling as he pounced, two paws landing squarely on Yi Xiaoyu’s thigh.

This husky was particularly energetic. Whenever he saw someone familiar, he would spin around in place twice, then start bouncing on his forepaws.

When Boss You adopted him, he had given the dog a fiercely imposing name—Brother Scallion.

Brother Scallion was massive, the biggest adult husky among his peers. His reliance on Yi Xiaoyu was no less intense than Boss You’s—he loved to rub his sturdy body against him whenever he saw him.

Yi Xiaoyu ruffled Brother Scallion’s head and then headed to the bathroom to shower.

“Xiaoyu, are you hungry? Should I go downstairs and get you something to eat?” Boss You, unable to bear the oppressive silence, offered in a placating tone.

Without even turning his head, Yi Xiaoyu replied as he walked into the bathroom, “I already ate on the plane. Go feed Brother Scallion his dog food.”

“...Okay.”

After tending to Brother Scallion, Boss You found Yi Xiaoyu had finished his shower and was already in bed. Boss You took a quick shower himself, then nervously rubbed his hands together and tiptoed into the bedroom.

Yi Xiaoyu reclined against the bed, a slim laptop balanced between his bent thighs and stomach, his face expressionless, eyes fixed intently on the stock market.

The loosely tied robe revealed glimpses of Yi Xiaoyu’s long, slender legs—a deadly temptation for Boss You, who hadn’t tasted flesh in two weeks.

Boss You’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he sheepishly sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I... just drank too much tonight.”

“I brought someone back to the room, but you arrived within three minutes, so I didn’t do anything.”

“If you want... go ahead and slap me a couple times to vent your anger?”

“Xiaoyu, please don’t ignore me.” Boss You did his best to plaster on a smile, reaching out to hold Yi Xiaoyu’s hand, his voice tender. “We’ve been married for two years. You know what kind of man I am, don’t you? It was that brat Xiao Zhou who set me up with that rabbit. I only fell for it because I was tipsy. I’ll teach him a lesson tomorrow... Darling, look at me. It’s been two weeks—didn’t you miss me at all?”

“Go sleep on the sofa,” Yi Xiaoyu said, still staring at his computer. “Until you convince me of your story, you’re not allowed in this bed.”

“...Okay.”

Boss You felt tears threatening to spill. Seeing the unyielding look in Yi Xiaoyu’s eyes, he whispered, “Can I make up a pallet in this room?”

“Suit yourself.” Yi Xiaoyu snapped his laptop shut. “Get your ass off my bed.”

With a miserable expression, Boss You rose and began making a bed on the floor right beside Yi Xiaoyu’s. Several times he sat up to look at Yi Xiaoyu, but each time, all he saw was Yi Xiaoyu’s back.

Despite his frustration, seeing this man so close after two weeks apart, Boss You still felt content.

After tossing and turning for nearly two hours, Boss You finally drifted off. When Yi Xiaoyu heard him snoring softly, he switched on the bedside lamp and leaned over to look at him.

He really did want to beat this man up, but the past two weeks, he’d missed him terribly.

Boss You slept wildly, clutching half the blanket in his arms, the rest twisted between his legs—leaving barely any of it covering him. There was a certain childishness to his unruly posture.

Half exasperated, half amused, Yi Xiaoyu finally tossed a blanket down onto him, then turned off the light and went back to sleep.

In the middle of the night, a sudden, earth-shattering howl erupted from Boss You, startling even Brother Scallion in his kennel.

For, when Yi Xiaoyu had gotten up, half-asleep, to go to the bathroom, he’d accidentally stepped squarely on Boss You’s stomach.

The weight of a grown man was not to be underestimated, and the unprepared Boss You coughed up blood on the spot.

A trip to the hospital later revealed he’d broken a rib.