The mulberry-silk tie felt smooth against Lu Sili’s skin, carrying a faint coolness. Su Yuan’s murmur beside his ear made him tremble slightly.
Lu Sili tipped his head back a little, feeling Su Yuan’s gentle kisses.
How could Su Yuan possibly not be in the mood? For a long time now, a single glance from Lu Sili had been enough for him to savor all night.
In the few times they had sex, they had used artificial pheromones ninety percent of the time. An Omega drawn in by pheromones was usually passionate, proactive, and emotionally heightened.
Lu Sili was no exception, but Su Yuan was different because he was a Beta. Betas were not attracted by pheromones, and at first Lu Sili had worried that without that pull, Su Yuan might not be able to get into the mood.
Now Lu Sili finally understood that love was the most effective pheromone of all.
Lu Sili, who was not in heat, and Su Yuan, who had used no artificial pheromones, needed only love.
Outside, the wind picked up and the sound of leaves beating against one another grew louder and louder. A gust from the valley swept through the window, carrying Lu Sili’s voice far into the distance.
The room was warm, but Lu Sili could not stop trembling. Unable to see, he felt uneasy and kept calling Su Yuan’s name softly until Su Yuan took his hand.
With the tie covering his eyes, Lu Sili could not see Su Yuan’s expression, but he could feel him at every moment.
Unable to see, Lu Sili never knew where Su Yuan would kiss him next while touching him. His body remained alert, trembling slightly whenever the next touch arrived.
The kisses scattered over his body diverted some of his attention. Lu Sili felt himself gradually settling into the rhythm and reached up to pull away the tie, only for Su Yuan to stop him.
“I want to see you…” Lu Sili whispered.
“Su Yuan!” Lu Sili clutched the bedsheet tightly.
A great deal of literature about Omegas said they had very little need for stimulation in front, but Su Yuan discovered that Lu Sili was different.
He liked it very much.
When Su Yuan first fell for Lu Sili, Lu Sili had not yet differentiated. He was neither an Omega nor an Alpha, just a boy.
A Beta’s love came with fewer conditions. Su Yuan simply loved Lu Sili for the man he was, and he was willing to do anything that would make him happy.
With his eyes covered, Lu Sili could not see Su Yuan’s expression.
Anyway, I can’t see. I can do or say whatever I want.
He did not have to think about anything. He only had to let everything go and enjoy what his body was feeling.
Su Yuan sensed the change in Lu Sili, and it filled him with satisfaction. Being able to soothe the person he loved without pheromones meant more to him, as a Beta partnered with an Omega, than any artificial pheromone with a one-hundred-percent compatibility rating ever could.
“Su Yuan…” Overcome, Lu Sili clung tightly to Su Yuan’s thigh, his short nails digging into the flesh and leaving marks. “…Su Yuan, husband…”
Su Yuan nearly lost control. He bent down and gathered Lu Sili into his arms so Lu Sili could hold him too.
Lu Sili wrapped his arms around Su Yuan’s neck and lightly rubbed his chin against him.
“Not enough.”
Su Yuan froze, looking like a wounded puppy.
But the next second, Lu Sili, whose scheme had succeeded, pulled the tie away from his eyes. After an hour in darkness, his eyes needed a moment to adjust to the light. He saw Su Yuan’s sweat-dampened hair and reached up to wipe the sweat from his face.
Su Yuan was breathing heavily. The look in Lu Sili’s eyes threatened to drown him.
As Lu Sili moved away, Su Yuan instinctively tried to follow, only for Lu Sili to press a hand against his shoulder.
Lu Sili stood, looking down at him like a lofty deity. Holding both ends of the tie in his hands, he gazed coldly down at Su Yuan.
“Kneel.”
* * *
Su Yuan found it difficult to explain why his feelings for Lu Sili took this particular shape.
He liked Lu Sili. He wanted to be with him and wanted emotional and physical intimacy with him. Whether Lu Sili was the Alpha everyone had once expected him to differentiate into or the Omega he was now, Su Yuan had always preferred the leading role in their adult intimacy.
Yet from another, difficult-to-name emotional perspective, Su Yuan felt something close to submission toward Lu Sili. That submission did not come from Lu Sili being forceful, but from the many times Su Yuan had felt vulnerable, looked up at Lu Sili, and found strength there.
In fact, it had little to do with anything Lu Sili deliberately did.
Su Yuan was certain he had no masochistic inclination and did not crave physical pain during intimacy.
Yet why the scratch marks Lu Sili left on him could make his heart race so violently was harder to explain.
Maybe because marks on the body were the clearest proof of that emotional surrender.
The alarm woke them early the next morning. Lu Sili felt guilty all over again. They had agreed to visit the old town and eat local snacks that day, but because he needed to return to Licheng for work, they could only have breakfast at the hotel restaurant.
The tax authorities wanted to meet with the person in charge. Lu Sili had to hurry back, and he also needed to speak with Wen Xiao’s studio.
“It really is okay.” Su Yuan rested an arm across Lu Sili’s shoulder. When he shifted slightly, the kiss marks on his neck were conspicuous. He lowered his voice. “I already got what I wanted. You were amazing last night.”
Lu Sili immediately looked around to make sure no one had heard. “You’re not allowed to say that!”
Su Yuan laughed and pulled out Lu Sili’s chair. “All right, all right. I won’t.”
The hotel breakfast leaned Western. Lu Sili and Su Yuan ordered simple set meals and planned to drive back to Licheng as soon as they finished.
After the previous night, Lu Sili’s appetite was fairly good. But his last heat had occurred while he was away on business, and the suppressant he had used had side effects. With work weighing on his mind too, his stomach still began feeling uncomfortable halfway through the meal.
Su Yuan ordered him a glass of warm milk. “It’s fine. Don’t force yourself to eat more. I’ll pack something for later, and you can have it on the road if you get hungry.”
Lu Sili nodded. “But it’s a shame we didn’t get to try the local snacks.”
“There’ll be another chance. Or I could make them for you? It’d be a good way to level up my cooking skills,” Su Yuan said with a smile.
Lu Sili smiled too, but a faint melancholy soon settled over him. Half joking, he said, “Everyone’s leveling up. I’m the only one standing still.”
The smile on Su Yuan’s face stiffened. He did not know how to comfort him.
“I need to level up my cooking too. Otherwise, once you leave, I’ll be living on takeout every day again,” Lu Sili said with a laugh.
They reached Licheng around noon. After finding somewhere in the city for lunch, one went home while the other headed to the office.
Su Yuan had timed the return trip perfectly. Lu Sili reached the office with more than forty minutes to spare, enough time to go over the situation with Finance.
The artist management company was a wholly owned subsidiary of F&A, so F&A could not distance itself from its tax problems. Although Finance reported directly to headquarters, Lu Sili managed it on their behalf within the organizational structure. And tax was not the only issue involved. This mess would keep him busy for at least half a month.
The accounts of many artist management companies were chaotic. A few years earlier, nearly every company had tax issues of some sort. F&A was foreign-funded and had not previously had an artist management department, so its corporate structure was relatively simple, yet even then no one could claim its books were perfectly transparent.
After going over the basics with Finance, Lu Sili had a good grasp of the situation. He and the finance director went to the agreed location to meet with officials from the relevant authorities.
The overall position was simple: cooperate fully with the investigation, and if they had done anything wrong, admit it and correct it.
Lu Sili had built a decent reputation in the industry over the past two years. He was not especially seasoned, but he was straightforward and disliked playing games.
Of course, that was F&A’s style, not something unique to Lu Sili.
After the meeting, Finance continued investigating the accounts and contracts of Wen Xiao’s studio.
Lu Sili met with Wen Xiao. The previous day’s scandal had taken a toll on him too. He looked exhausted when he saw Lu Sili, but there was no obvious panic in his eyes.
Wen Xiao came from a difficult background, something many fans knew and Lu Sili knew as well. But he was exceptionally talented. Without any professional training, he had won a highly prestigious Best Actor award for his first starring film four years earlier, when he was only nineteen.
He rarely courted publicity, had tremendous range, and carried an elusive, melancholy quality. His future was bright, and he was currently the youngest actor signed to F&A.
“I’m sorry, Director Lu.” Wen Xiao had recently shaved his hair very short for a production he was joining next month.
Lu Sili sat on the sofa opposite him. “Tell me what the overseas gambling is about.”
Wen Xiao looked up at Lu Sili without fear. “I was young and stupid. I was just messing around.”
The evidence had already surfaced, and a basic investigation could establish the facts. Wen Xiao did not deny it.
“It was four years ago. You were still a little-known actor then. Thirty-one million. Where did you get that kind of money?” Lu Sili’s tone remained even.
“I’m sorry, Director Lu. That was before I joined F&A. I don’t remember it clearly anymore. Just tell the media you didn’t know. Brother Cheng will handle everything else.”
Wen Xiao spoke lazily, tearing a tissue apart in his hands as though none of it mattered. But Lu Sili had made too many calls since the previous night for them to be wasted. He knew Wen Xiao’s relationship with his manager was unusual.
“Your acting career began because of Jiang Mingcheng. Are you going to let it end because of Jiang Mingcheng too?” Lu Sili relaxed back against the sofa.
The office abruptly fell silent. The tissue in Wen Xiao’s hand was crushed into a small ball.
“What do you mean, Director Lu?” Wariness finally entered Wen Xiao’s expression.
He was still only in his early twenties. Lu Sili smiled faintly and crossed one leg over the other. “Jiang Mingcheng has managed you since your debut. Wherever you go, you take him with you. No amount of money will make you replace him. A manager with a prison record is that precious to you? No one is stupid.”
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“I can’t be bothered investigating you. How about I investigate Jiang Mingcheng?”
Wen Xiao did not answer. Lu Sili stood. “You can go. The company will deal with the tax issues properly. But we will not cover anything up.”
Before Lu Sili could catch his breath, something even worse happened. A photograph surfaced showing Wen Xiao in Southeast Asia, and the person beside him was actually a vice president of a publicly listed domestic film and television company.
F&A had no choice but to launch emergency PR. Lu Sili called people everywhere looking for help. Even Wei Yuan mobilized to contact leadership at the television station.
They worked until nearly ten. Lu Sili had just finished a call with Su Yuan, who said he had gotten off work early and gone to visit Grandma.
“Grandma stewed the bird’s nest you like. I’m bringing a bowl home for you,” Su Yuan said while driving back.
Lu Sili smiled. “Okay. Don’t secretly eat it.”
“If I get hungry, I will. Just don’t leave me hungry,” Su Yuan said.
Lu Sili’s next heat was only a few days away. He scolded Su Yuan fondly, then probed, “Did Grandma complain about me?”
Su Yuan laughed. “No. In front of me, Grandma only says good things about you. But she did ask about something else.”
“What?” Lu Sili spoke while messaging Fiona.
“She said her memory hasn’t seemed very good lately. There’s a blue-white porcelain cup missing, and she can’t remember where she put it.”
Lu Sili burst out laughing, his tightly wound mood finally easing.
“I’ll pack up and head home too.”
After hanging up, Lu Sili told Fiona to go home as well. The two went downstairs together. They had just reached the underground garage when PR messaged to say Jiang Mingcheng could no longer be reached.
Something felt wrong to Lu Sili, but the police had already taken over matters involving Jiang Mingcheng. All they could do was cooperate with the investigation and wait.
“Director Lu.”
“Mm?” Lu Sili looked up and saw two exhausted faces reflected in the elevator doors.
He smiled apologetically. “It really has been exhausting lately. If you want some time off, coordinate it with Xiaxia.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Fiona said.
“Then what?”
The elevator doors opened. They stepped into the underground garage, where every sound echoed in the late-night emptiness. “Yesterday I went to visit Teacher. She was asking whether you and Su Yuan plan to have children. Ever since you married him, she’s been looking forward to it.”
“I’ll find a chance to talk to Grandma,” Lu Sili said.
“Teacher won’t agree. Gland removal is too risky. You should talk to her sooner rather than later.”
Lu Sili resisted thinking about it and instinctively avoided the issue. “We’ll talk about it later. I can’t have the surgery right now anyway.”
“Lili, if you keep working like this, forget one or two years. You won’t be able to have the surgery even in three,” Fiona continued. “Once the Asia regional office is established, you’ll only get busier. Maybe you could consider a more conservative treatment? Now that Su Yuan is here, he can help soothe you…”
“That’s enough. Go home.” Lu Sili did not respond and walked toward his car.
Neither work nor his health was going smoothly. His mind packed with worries, Lu Sili went home.
When he opened the door, Xiaozao was sitting on one corner of the dining table, chest proudly raised. When she saw Lu Sili come in, she turned around and gracefully padded toward the sofa to sleep.
“She heard you parking and came over specially to welcome you,” Su Yuan said.
Lu Sili looked toward him. Su Yuan was standing by the coffee table with an iron, pressing clothes. He was tall, and the ironing board came only a little above his thighs, forcing him to bend quite far to work.
“You must be hungry. The bird’s nest is being kept warm for you in the kitchen.”
“What are you ironing?” Lu Sili changed his shoes and walked over, only to see that Su Yuan was pressing the tie from the previous night.
—The two of them had already made quite a mess of it.
Lu Sili coughed, suddenly embarrassed at the memory. “I’m going to get the bird’s nest.”
“By the way, Luke called me today. He said it’s time for your first-quarter follow-up.”
Lu Sili carried the bird’s nest to the dining table. “Okay. Are we doing it at Luke’s place or the Municipal Hospital?”
“Same as last time. We’ll finish the tests at Luke’s. If your medication needs changing, we’ll go to the Municipal Hospital to register and get the prescription.”
“Okay. Should we invite Dr. Jiang to dinner?” Lu Sili asked.
Su Yuan hummed. “Perfect timing. Senior Brother is dieting again. We can treat him to something good.”
“Huh?” Lu Sili laughed at Su Yuan’s wickedness. “Why does it feel like Dr. Jiang is dieting all year round?”
“Because dieting is his lie.”
“Wife.”
“Mm?”
Lu Sili answered before realizing what Su Yuan had called him, but before he could scold him, Su Yuan continued.
“The date for my advanced training has been set. September twenty-seventh.”
The bird’s nest suddenly tasted like nothing.
Still, Lu Sili forced a smile. “That’s good.”
Su Yuan put away the clothes, set down the iron, and sat opposite him.
“Actually, I’m pretty scared of living somewhere unfamiliar by myself.”
Lu Sili finished the bird’s nest and deliberately pitched his voice high to tease him. “What are you going to do, then? Need Mommy to go with you?”
On one of the rare occasions Su Yuan admitted a vulnerability, Lu Sili had laughed at him mercilessly. A wicked impulse seized Su Yuan; as he stood to take the bowl away, he suddenly leaned down close to Lu Sili.
Lu Sili jumped.
The corner of Su Yuan’s mouth lifted. Backlit, his face was shadowed except for the glint reflected on his glasses, making his expression hard to read.
Lu Sili swallowed nervously but refused to back down. “What!”
“Mommy? They really are getting bigger, Mommy.”
Su Yuan whispered it into Lu Sili’s ear, then laughed, straightened, and carried the bowl into the kitchen.
Lu Sili’s entire face turned red.
“Pervert!!”