Lu Sili was too aroused to think at all. He froze for a moment and did not answer.
But Su Yuan was already slowly kneeling down.
Su Yuan had removed the shirt from his upper body, while everything below his waist was still perfectly neat: light-colored jeans, a black belt, a lean waist, and broad shoulders.
He took off his glasses and tossed them aside, looking up at Lu Sili with an almost reverent gaze.
“Can I?”
He was pleading.
As though bewitched, Lu Sili gave a soft “mm.”
But when Su Yuan’s hands climbed onto his thighs, Lu Sili instinctively drew back again.
Su Yuan had already received permission, however. He gripped Lu Sili’s thighs tightly and did not let him escape.
Being looked up at by Su Yuan made him tremble. Lu Sili clenched the bedsheet, and the instant he was touched, he involuntarily tipped his head back and let out a soft moan.
At the wet, soft caress of Su Yuan’s tongue, Lu Sili’s eyes grew damp. Frightened, he tried to retreat, but Su Yuan caught him by the slim waist.
Su Yuan looked up at him, the corners of his eyes red.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Lu Sili was still afraid.
This was not the first time, but it felt completely different from the last.
Last time, his suppressant had failed and he had been attacked by highly aggressive musk pheromones. Lu Sili’s pheromones had gone violently out of control, leaving him in terrible pain, and he had been restless even while Su Yuan soothed him.
This was the first time Lu Sili could clearly feel his pheromones being soothed gently.
“Don’t…” In his panic, Lu Sili caught Su Yuan’s hair. He lowered his head to look at him and quietly asked him not to touch there anymore.
Lu Sili had spent a long time learning to accept his identity as an Omega, but he had always had complicated feelings toward the organs that had changed after differentiation.
He had never truly been able to accept them.
Lu Sili’s base-layer T-shirt had been pushed up to his chest. He braced one hand on the bed while trying to cover himself with the other.
Tender concern filled Su Yuan’s eyes. He lowered his head and gently kissed him there. “It’s beautiful. I like it very much. Let me kiss it.”
…
How could it be beautiful? Lu Sili did not believe him at first, but he could see Su Yuan’s reaction. The way Su Yuan was captivated by it was not fake. His gentle praise and encouragement were real.
The damp oakmoss scent helped Lu Sili relax, and the pleasure produced by his body was impossible to resist.
In the dim light, he watched Su Yuan’s gentle, entranced expression.
Maybe it really could be something beautiful.
When Lu Sili woke the next morning, it was already after nine. Su Yuan was sleeping half on his stomach, with half his head pillowed on Lu Sili’s shoulder.
He was probably exhausted.
After checking the time, Lu Sili put his phone down and shifted slightly.
An Omega’s body was naturally suited to sex. After an entire night of madness, Lu Sili actually felt refreshed. He moved carefully and rolled onto his side.
Su Yuan stirred at the movement, and the blanket slipped down slightly.
“…” Lu Sili pressed his lips together, unable to believe how wild he had been at the time.
—Su Yuan’s back was covered in scratch marks. Several were fairly deep and looked as though they would take four or five days to fade, and there were bite marks on his neck and shoulders too.
By contrast, there were hardly any marks on Lu Sili. Su Yuan was always considerate.
Lu Sili was so speechless he did not dare look any longer.
“Am I a dog?”
On the leisurely weekend morning, Lu Sili stayed in bed with Su Yuan for a while. Seeing how tired Su Yuan was made him feel a little guilty, and he wondered whether he should make breakfast for him.
Lu Sili gently lifted the arm Su Yuan had draped over his waist and prepared to get out of bed.
“Mm…” Su Yuan murmured. One warm hand closed around Lu Sili’s waist and pulled him back. He opened his eyes. “You’re awake?”
Lu Sili gave a soft hum and asked with concern, “Are you okay?”
Su Yuan looked at him and smiled, his voice hoarse. “Never better.”
Lu Sili laughed.
“Sleep a little longer. Then I’ll make you breakfast.” Su Yuan pulled Lu Sili into his arms and buried his head against Lu Sili’s neck and shoulder like a big dog.
Lu Sili raised a hand and stroked his hair. “I’ll make breakfast.”
Su Yuan’s voice came muffled from against him. “Do you know what we have at home? How do you toast the bread? Which cheese do you use?”
“I…” Lu Sili fell silent.
Su Yuan said, “You don’t need to do these things. You didn’t before, you don’t need to now, and I won’t make you do them in the future either.”
Lu Sili said nothing, but he thought about the advanced training.
Even if this was not a forced sacrifice, Lu Sili still hoped Su Yuan would go and see the wider world that belonged to him. And Lu Sili himself needed to learn how to coordinate his work and live in a healthier way.
Everything was better than he had imagined. During the rare weekend break, the two went back to Grandma’s home, ate with her, and went shopping. On Sunday afternoon, they also took Zhan Kaijun out to buy some clothes.
Zhan Kaijun’s academic grades were average, but she had a great personality and strong physique. She had always been an enthusiastic school athlete, had played soccer for many years, and had competed in quite a few youth matches.
Lu Sili could no longer remember the last time he had sat inside a McDonald’s. There were many students there on the weekend, and the three of them found a table in a corner.
“Then have you considered taking the student-athlete route?” Lu Sili took a sip of cola. “I remember when I was in high school, a few classmates were already on the provincial team.”
Zhan Kaijun gnawed on a chicken wing as she said, “For that kind of thing, you have to train from childhood. I had structured training in elementary school, but stopped once I got to middle school. I’m way behind people who kept training, and it costs a lot too. At most, I could use sports for a specialized university-admissions route.”
Su Yuan explained from the side, “Back then I wasn’t working yet, and the family didn’t have much money.”
“I see.” Lu Sili thought for a moment. “If you had a chance to train properly, would you want to?”
Zhan Kaijun looked up. “Sure. I like playing soccer.”
Lu Sili smiled. “All right. I’ll see what I can do. The provincial team might be difficult, but there are still plenty of clubs to choose from.”
Anything that could be solved with money counted as a small problem.
The weather grew warmer and warmer. Spring arrived in Licheng, bringing new buds to the trees and little wildflowers among the grass. This time, Lu Sili did not use suppressants and got through his heat smoothly with Su Yuan’s soothing.
Having relied on suppressants for so long, Lu Sili only now discovered that healthy soothing not only kept him comfortable during his heat, it also left him in excellent spirits afterward.
That Friday, he needed to make a short business trip to the neighboring city for an industry conference. At F&A, this kind of networking and professional engagement was basically all handled by Lu Sili.
Although his official title was Director of Distribution, everyone in the industry more or less treated him as the person in charge of F&A China.
At the industry conference, he ran into Auntie Long, a former colleague of Grandma’s. She was about twenty years younger than Grandma, and the two had a good relationship. She visited Grandma’s home from time to time, so Lu Sili had met her several times.
Auntie Long’s main job was as a university lecturer, with screenwriting as a side career. She had several fairly successful works in the industry, but she focused mainly on television dramas, so she had little overlap with F&A.
“I heard you got married while I was abroad for an exchange program, so I couldn’t even come back to congratulate you.” Auntie Long looked Lu Sili up and down.
Seeing that his health was much better now and that he looked energetic, she smiled with relief. “Our Lili is getting more and more handsome. Being healthy matters more than anything.”
Remembering how little he had valued his health before, using suppressants excessively and making everyone worry, Lu Sili felt a little embarrassed.
“You said you went abroad for further training? You’re already so accomplished. You still need training?”
Auntie Long laughed. “There’s no end to learning. Screenwriting wasn’t my original field. I barged into it halfway through like a reckless amateur. Going for further study and polishing my skills was very useful.”
Lu Sili nodded in agreement. While chatting, they got onto the subject of his investment in Jiang Que’s filmmaker-development program, and she praised him for having foresight.
Lu Sili felt a little guilty.
He had known Auntie Long since he was very young. In his memory, she had always been gentle and elegant and never interfered in the affairs of younger people. Sometimes, when Grandma scolded him, Auntie Long would even speak up for him.
So Lu Sili was candid with her. “Actually, the investment wasn’t my idea first. My husband suggested it, then our Production Director evaluated it. I’m also someone who entered the film world halfway through. I understand investment a little, but when it comes to artistic literacy, I’m far behind everyone else.”
Auntie Long laughed. “You’re being modest. Everyone can see what F&A has achieved over the past two years.”
They left it there. When the conference ended, they said goodbye, and Lu Sili and Fiona drove back to Licheng.
For the past several days, Lu Sili had kept thinking about Su Yuan’s advanced training.
Last time, Su Yuan had said he would weigh everything again before deciding. But both of them had been extremely busy with work this week. They could only eat breakfast together in the mornings, and by the time they got home at night it was at least nine. They would hug and kiss, then fall asleep, without ever sitting down to properly talk about it.
“What are you thinking about?” Fiona was driving. Seeing Lu Sili’s grave expression, she could not help asking.
Fiona had more or less watched the two of them get to this point, so Lu Sili told her about Su Yuan’s advanced training.
Fiona had been single since birth and had never dated. Coming at it from another angle, she asked, “You could just ask him yourself. Take the initiative and move this conversation forward.”
Lu Sili said, “But it’s his business. Even as his partner, I can’t interfere like that, can I?”
Fiona laughed. “Isn’t it just that you personally hate people interfering in your business?”
“…” Lu Sili could hardly deny it, but he stubbornly said, “Respect goes both ways.”
Fiona said, “Then what are you agonizing over? Yesterday I even saw you zoning out during a meeting, searching for Stanford Hospital. You obviously care a lot.”
“I do care. Of course I care,” Lu Sili said.
“So twisted.” At that moment Fiona was not treating him as Director Lu. She asked bluntly, “Then tell me this. Do you want your husband to go for advanced training or not?”
Lu Sili lowered his eyes and said nothing.
He even forgot to snap back at Fiona for constantly saying “your husband” this and “your husband” that.
After a moment of silence, Fiona answered for him. “You want him to go, don’t you?”
“Mm.” Lu Sili looked out the window. “Su Yuan is an excellent person. He deserves a wider world, doesn’t he?”
Fiona said, “But maybe he doesn’t like the wider world. Maybe he only likes you. Would that make you think he’s narrow-minded and shortsighted and lose your attraction to him?”
The question stopped Lu Sili. After a moment, he looked at Fiona with a gentle smile. “No.”
Was a man with intense career ambitions but no regard for family attractive? Not really. But was a man who cared only about family and had no self of his own attractive? Not really either.
It was simply because he was Su Yuan.
Fiona looked increasingly confused. “I don’t really understand you. Then why not let him stay by your side? He worries about you and wants to be with you, and he’s afraid long-distance will cause problems in your relationship. Why does he absolutely have to go for training? Becoming an orthopedic doctor at Municipal Hospital is already very good.”
“Ah…” Lu Sili suddenly understood something.
Just as Su Yuan was always thinking for his sake, Lu Sili liked Su Yuan, so naturally he thought about what was best for him too.
“I get it.” Lu Sili turned toward Fiona.
Fiona looked completely baffled.
Lu Sili smiled and explained, “Yes, being an orthopedic doctor at Municipal Hospital is already excellent. But… but do you know how hard it must have been to become an orthopedic doctor there? He had to work incredibly hard to get this far. He must genuinely love this profession.”
“Right.” Fiona seemed to half understand and slowly summed it up. “He worries about you, and you worry about him, so you want him to go for advanced training and become an even better doctor?”
“Mm!!”
————
By the time the car returned to Licheng, it was already after seven in the evening. Lu Sili called Su Yuan and asked when he would finish work so that Lu Sili could pick him up.
Su Yuan said he still had one surgery left and would finish very late, and told Lu Sili to go home first.
It was nearly eleven by the time Su Yuan came out of surgery. He was so tired he did not want to speak. The only thing that gave him enough energy to take a shower was the thought that he would see Lu Sili when he got home.
Before leaving work, he needed to go to the office and fill out several forms. When Su Yuan reached the office door, he heard the department director laughing loudly inside and thought, They really aren’t tired at all.
But when he stepped through the doorway, he found his wife sitting at his workstation, chatting and eating with several of his coworkers.
“You’re back.” Lu Sili stood up.
He had attended a conference that day and was dressed formally underneath his coat, which was hanging from Su Yuan’s office chair. His loose white shirt was tucked into his trousers, outlining a narrow waist and pert backside.
There was something effortlessly sexy about the sight of him standing up gently and saying, “You’re back.” More than half of Su Yuan’s exhaustion vanished on the spot.
It was obvious Lu Sili had brought everyone quite a lot of food. His coworkers all wore expressions that said, You lucky bastard.
“You didn’t go home.” Su Yuan walked over and lightly touched Lu Sili’s arm. “You came to wait for me this late?”
“I wouldn’t have had anything to do at home anyway,” Lu Sili said.
After saying it, Lu Sili noticed the department director beside them smiling like a teenage girl.
“I also missed you,” Lu Sili added softly.
“Ooh~” The coworkers were overwhelmed by the sweetness.
“Give me a minute. I’ll be done soon,” Su Yuan said.
Pink bubbles practically filled the office. Su Yuan quickly finished the forms, and the two left amid the enthusiastic send-off of his coworkers.
“You must be exhausted.” Lu Sili took the initiative to loop his arm around Su Yuan’s.
“I’m okay. But you’re a little strange today,” Su Yuan said.
“How am I strange?”
Su Yuan pushed his glasses up. “Too cute. Suspiciously cute.”
Lu Sili, who had in fact been deliberately acting extra cute, burst out laughing. Then he said very seriously, “I have something I want to discuss with you. How about I buy you a couple of drinks?”
Su Yuan looked slightly uneasy, but nodded anyway.
They went to the club Lu Sili and Li Ya often visited and got a private room. Once the food and drinks arrived, Lu Sili took his laptop from his computer bag, opened it, and pulled up a PowerPoint.
Su Yuan leaned over to look and immediately burst out laughing.
Suggestions and Arrangements for Su Yuan’s Advanced Training 1.0
“What are you laughing at? I’m serious,” Lu Sili said.
Making presentations was one of Lu Sili’s strengths. Even though he had rushed this one while waiting for Su Yuan, the slides and content still looked impressively proper.
Su Yuan propped his chin on one hand and looked up at Lu Sili. The pale-blue lake in his eyes rippled as though stirred by a spring breeze.
He had already guessed what Lu Sili wanted to say.
The person he had loved for so many years was even better than he had imagined. Ten thousand times better.
“I’m starting, okay?”
Lu Sili took a sip of red wine. His elegant neck was slender and pale. Su Yuan could not resist leaning over and kissing it.
Lu Sili flushed. “What are you doing? I’m talking about something serious.”
“All right. Go ahead,” Su Yuan said.
Lu Sili said, “I already asked around. This Stanford advanced-training program through your hospital lasts nine months. People will leave one after another in September or October this year, which means you’d be back around June next year. I talked to Luke. My body still needs at least another year of recovery, so I can use this next year or so to really work on my health. Then I can have surgery after you come back.”
Su Yuan said nothing. He only kept smiling at Lu Sili.
Lu Sili continued, “And our company headquarters is in LA. This is how often I traveled to LA last year. It works out to about once a month. I’ll still need to travel there often in the future, so we can see each other regularly.”
“There are still six months until September or October. During those six months, I’ll learn how to take care of myself. Eating, exercising, working. I’ll build healthy habits.”
As he spoke, Lu Sili clicked to the next slide. “Look. These are Luke’s recommendations. Very scientific.”
Su Yuan smiled.
When Su Yuan still did not say anything, Lu Sili hesitated, then scooted a little closer. He had never spoken this gently in his life. It was like coaxing a puppy.
“Teach me how to cook, okay?”