The business trip had gone smoothly, especially after they learned there was a real possibility that an Asia regional office would be established next year. Parker had also hinted in conversation that his work focus might be shifting, so it seemed almost certain.
Lu Sili’s mind was full of what had happened in Hokkaido. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Next year, he was really going to go all out.
After landing in Licheng, Lu Sili parted ways with Su Yuan and headed straight to the company with Fiona.
On a Monday afternoon, there was more than enough work to keep them busy.
There were eight days left until the year-end gala, and every department was running itself ragged. As F&A’s first gala held in China, it had already drawn heavy media attention before it even began, with leaked schedules and celebrity publicity campaigns everywhere.
There were more than a dozen different versions of the rumored guest list online alone.
On the way to the office, Lu Sili saw Fiona looking at the instant photo Jake had taken for her that morning.
Lu Sili glanced over twice, and Fiona noticed.
“Where’s yours?”
Lu Sili said, “I think Su Yuan has it.”
Fiona said, “All right.”
It was only a contract marriage and there were no feelings involved, so naturally neither of them would care much about a photo together.
As the car moved along, Fiona began choosing pictures to post to Moments and came across a photo of the cheesecake Su Yuan had brought back two nights earlier.
“That cheesecake really was delicious.”
Lu Sili glanced at it. “It was pretty good.”
Fiona said, “The other desserts Su Yuan posts on Moments look really good too.”
“Moments?” Lu Sili turned his head.
Fiona nodded. “Mm. You haven’t looked?”
Work had its own internal office software, and Lu Sili used WeChat only for communication. Since he worked in entertainment and dealt with too many people, he had thousands of contacts. If he checked Moments every day, it would be more exhausting than processing OA requests.
He almost never posted anything himself either. Only when the company had major events such as an acquisition or anniversary celebration would he occasionally repost official content.
He had always thought Su Yuan did not look like the type who enjoyed posting to Moments either.
Lu Sili gave a soft hum, then took out his phone and opened Su Yuan’s Moments.
For someone who looked dull and boring on the surface, his Moments feed was unexpectedly lively.
Even… kind of interesting?
[When snowflakes fall onto ice cream, they become sweet too.]
The post had three dessert photos Su Yuan had taken while visiting Otaru by himself: one of a snowball resting in his palm, one of a street scene, and one of the boxed cheesecake.
Lu Sili swiped through them one by one.
There were even two comments from his grandmother.
Grandma: [So beautiful. That rascal Lili didn’t send me a single photo.]
Grandma: [The ring looks perfect.]
Ring? Where was there a ring?
Lu Sili went back to look and realized the wedding ring was visible in the photo of Su Yuan holding the snowball.
Su Yuan had replied to every comment.
Su Yuan: [He doesn’t like taking photos. The cake in the last picture is the one we bought together. I’ll send photos to Grandma from now on.]
Su Yuan: [Thank you, Grandma. We both really like the rings.]
Lu Sili did not even notice when the corners of his mouth had started lifting. He could not help grumbling inwardly that harmless Betas really knew how to charm old people.
There was another Hokkaido post from just after they landed, a photo of the snow with no caption.
His grandmother had commented under that one too, wishing them a happy honeymoon.
Lu Sili pressed his lips together, feeling inexplicably guilty.
Su Yuan had come on this trip only to cooperate with him, and yet he was still the one soothing Lu Sili’s family.
There were quite a few older posts too, roughly one a week.
[Emergency surgery until dawn. Roads are slippery in the snow, drive carefully.]
[Wedding ring.]
[Winter is the season for cooking at home.]
[A little cat that refused to come home with me. Fine, I’ll build you a shelter.]
[Ran into Director Jiang while queueing at a milk-tea shop. Turns out his “diet” was a lie. We agreed to meet at the gym after work.]
[Winter is here. I’ve loved winter ever since I was sixteen.]
Lu Sili scrolled through a lot of them and could not help thinking: cooking, fitness, pets, homemaking… why did Su Yuan seem more suited to being the wife than he did?
Maybe they should just go with an OB romance.
Elio’s Notes: “OB” is ABO shorthand for an Omega/Beta pairing.
Lu Sili indulged in a rare bit of wickedness.
As he was about to exit, he saw that Su Yuan had just posted another update.
[sad. Carried them all this way and two broke.]
The attached photo showed the tableware he had brought back from Japan. One cup and one plate were broken.
Judging from the picture, the tableware had all been bought in pairs. At least there was still one of each left to use. Lu Sili finished looking and exited Moments.
Eighteen minutes wasted.
Social media really was a time killer.
After returning to the office and dealing with work, Lu Sili was tired from having just come back from Japan and did not stay especially late. He went home at around eight.
Having another person in the house felt strange. Lu Sili had never had much sense of belonging in that place to begin with, and now it felt even more as though he had stepped into someone else’s home.
A dining table decorated with flowers.
A fruit bowl filled to overflowing.
The curtains pulled open.
And a man in an apron.
“You’re back. Have you had dinner?” Su Yuan came out of the kitchen with flour on his hands, though Lu Sili had no idea what he was making.
Then he added, “I messaged you. You didn’t reply.”
Lu Sili checked his phone. Su Yuan had asked whether he would be home for dinner. When there was no reply, he had later sent a photo of the food he had made.
Lu Sili quickly said, “Sorry. I was busy with work.”
Su Yuan did not look displeased. He simply asked again, “Have you eaten?”
Lu Sili said, “No. I had a cup of coffee.”
“I’ll heat the food up for you.”
“I’ll do it myself.” Lu Sili could never accept Su Yuan’s care as though he were simply entitled to it.
Su Yuan immediately objected. “No need. I’ll do it. You aren’t familiar with the kitchen and don’t know where anything is. Change your shoes and wash your hands first.”
Lu Sili was still standing in the entryway with his laptop bag in hand. Blankly, he said, “Oh.”
Fine. Then he would eat and accept Su Yuan’s care.
“From now on, I’ll give you forty thousand a month for household expenses,” Lu Sili said after eating a bite of beef.
The beef had been marinated before stir-frying and was extremely tender.
Su Yuan sat across from him, still wearing the apron, accompanying Lu Sili with a bowl of soup.
He froze at first. After meeting Lu Sili’s eyes, he slowly lowered his gaze, and Lu Sili had no idea what he was thinking.
Was forty thousand too little? Lu Sili suddenly felt nervous.
“Sure. We couldn’t possibly use forty thousand just for household expenses.” Su Yuan smiled and even joked, “I could save some private money on the side.”
Lu Sili forced a smile too, though he still did not completely relax. “If you have any other requests, you can ask me.”
Su Yuan said, “I saw you have four cars. Could I use one? It’s far from here to the hospital, so commuting is inconvenient.”
At last Lu Sili smiled without any burden at all. “Of course. Pick whichever one you want.”
“Mm. Also, could you give me the property-management contact information and the account passwords for the utilities? It would make it easier for me to pay the bills,” Su Yuan asked.
Lu Sili said, “Sure. I’ll have Fiona send them to you.”
Su Yuan said, “There’s one more thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“For getting your health back on track, you’ll need tests first and then medication. After that, we need to meet with your private physician and find a nutritionist to make a meal plan. I’ll handle the cooking. We’ll start by changing your diet.”
That sounded like so much trouble.
Lu Sili said, “All right, but I’m very busy lately.”
Su Yuan said, “You just need to contact everyone and let them know. I’ll coordinate with them.”
Lu Sili agreed.
After dinner, he went straight into the study. The year-end gala was next week. There was an endless amount of work, and new problems appeared every day that Lu Sili had to solve.
By the time he and Fiona finished checking work together, it was already midnight. At the end, Fiona asked, “Director Lu, do you need a dance partner for the gala?”
Lu Sili said, “No.”
There was silence on the other end.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Sili asked.
Fiona told him honestly, “Director Lu, after the program was sent to the participating celebrities, quite a few people asked whether you already had a dance partner. They’re all… trying for the spot. Situ He included.”
Lu Sili leaned back in his chair. The hand holding his fountain pen unconsciously tapped the page, leaving one ink dot after another.
“I understand. Tell them I’ll be attending with my husband.”
Fiona said, “Are you sure?”
Lu Sili said, “Mm. This is one of the reasons I got married.”
After hanging up, Lu Sili developed a headache.
F&A Film Times had enormous influence, backed by one of the best film production companies in the world. Actors practically fought for the chance to attend this gala.
And Lu Sili, an Omega executive who drew a great deal of attention within the industry, was naturally someone many people wanted to court or flatter at an event like this.
Especially Alphas with knight-in-shining-armor fantasies who wanted to pursue Lu Sili.
Situ He, whom Fiona had just mentioned, was one of them. He had also studied in the United States and returned to China two years before Lu Sili. When Lu Sili came back, the company happened to be releasing a film starring Situ He. Lu Sili personally handled the distribution and publicity. The film succeeded both commercially and critically and won Situ He his first Best Actor award.
The young Alpha Best Actor and the Omega talent scout behind his success had become a favorite story within the industry, but to Lu Sili it was nothing but trouble.
He had no interest in Situ He whatsoever, and Situ He’s inexplicable “let me protect you” knight complex only made Lu Sili feel burdened.
Unfortunately, they worked in the same industry and ran into each other from time to time.
But how was he supposed to explain this to Su Yuan?
This was yet another way he needed to trouble him. Legally, Su Yuan was his husband, but the two of them had none of the reality of a married couple, and Su Yuan had no obligation to do many of these things.
Su Yuan had his own job and his own busy schedule. Even when he had free time, he had his own private life.
Lu Sili had obtained the married status he wanted, but a husband was not like the word “married,” something he could simply produce whenever he needed it.
After getting into bed, Lu Sili thought about it for a long time. In the end, he could only ask Su Yuan for the favor and compensate him somehow.
As for Fiona waking up early the next morning to find a message from her boss sent after one in the morning that was not about work but instead asked whether she could locate tableware identical to the pieces in a photo, she found the whole thing slightly surprising.
But she carried it out immediately anyway. Chinese people loved buying things, and after searching around, she really did find the exact same set in an imported-goods store.
“You’re sure they’re exactly the same?” Lu Sili looked them over.
Fiona said, “I’m sure.”
Lu Sili nodded. “Thank you. Oh, and Su Yuan wants the property-management contact information and the utility accounts. Send those to him too.”
Standing in front of his desk, Fiona tapped a finger against the edge. “You really did marry yourself a wife.”
Lu Sili looked up. “That’s very rude.”
Fiona said, “A little. Oh, right. Su Yuan messaged me and asked me to remind you to make an appointment with Luke.”
In front of Fiona, Lu Sili stopped pretending.
“I don’t have time. I’ll deal with it after the gala.”
“Your health is still important.”
“A few more days won’t matter.”
“Actually, half a day would be enough to handle this…”
“Fiona.” Lu Sili looked straight at her. He had his own principles and knew exactly what he was doing. Right now, nothing was more important than the gala.
“I’m grateful that all of you care, but I know what matters most.”
“Sorry, Director Lu.” Fiona had not been working with him for only a day or two. After saying that, she left the room.
After the afternoon meeting ended, Lu Sili was forced to meet with the uninvited owner of some talent agency. By the time that finished, it was already after six.
He noticed a message from Su Yuan asking whether he was coming home for dinner.
A thread of irritation suddenly surfaced in Lu Sili, but remembering that he still needed to ask Su Yuan to attend the gala, he swallowed his displeasure and decided he might as well go home for dinner and bring it up then.
He replied: [Coming home. Half an hour.]
Lu Sili took the cup and plate Fiona had bought and drove home.
While waiting at a red light, he saw a notification from his health app reminding him that his heat was approaching.
Lu Sili swiped the reminder away and continued home.
Just as planned, he arrived within half an hour. Su Yuan had already cooked. Lu Sili placed the gift he had brought back on the table and prepared to ask for the favor.
“Did you speak to your private physician?” Su Yuan asked first.
Lu Sili’s expression cooled, but he still pulled his mouth into a smile. “Not yet. I’ve really been busy these past few days.”
Su Yuan said, “I know, but… that’s exactly why your body is in even more danger.”
“This is my body,” Lu Sili said.
Su Yuan stopped speaking, but disappointment inevitably showed in his eyes.
Lu Sili had only come home for dinner because he needed something. He did not want to drag the conversation out now. He pushed the gift toward Su Yuan. “I need to ask you for a favor. Would you come to the year-end gala with me as my husband?”
When Su Yuan did not respond immediately, Lu Sili added, “This is a small gift. If there’s anything else you want, you can ask. Money, or I could buy you a new car.”
The atmosphere at the table froze. Lu Sili never showed weakness.
And he could not tell that there was anything wrong with what he had said.
Yet the usually gentle and steady Su Yuan actually met Lu Sili’s forcefulness head-on. After holding his gaze for a moment, Su Yuan straightened his back.
Tentatively, he said, “Make the appointment with your private physician, and then I’ll go with you. All right?”