Zuo Chi didn’t think highly of Zhang Xiaoyun, but he still made some polite remarks, “Zhang Xiaoyun, you’re indeed well-informed. Had a good time today? Want to sit down and have a few more drinks?”
“Sure,” Zhang Xiaoyun didn’t hesitate to call his friends to sit down, but his gaze kept flicking towards Cheng Xiangwan, “You used to date boys. I didn’t expect you to be interested in girls too. But this one looks familiar…”
Zuo Chi was worried that Zhang Xiaoyun would recognize Cheng Xiangwan, so he subtly leaned his shoulder to the right, blocking half of Cheng Xiangwan’s body.
Zhang Xiaoyun thought he was protecting Cheng Xiangwan and shrugged, “I won’t do anything to her.”
Zuo Chi didn’t say anything, picked up his glass, swirled it lightly, and gestured for a toast.
Zhang Xiaoyun’s attention shifted, and he lifted his glass to drink it all, then introduced, “The cocktails here are very unique; you should try them.”
Zuo Chi casually ordered a few glasses, each with a different shape and taste. The performances on stage had changed from hot to soothing, with a male Beta sitting on a chair, holding a guitar and singing folk songs.
Zuo Chi thought that listening to music and having a few drinks was quite enjoyable, but unfortunately, he was sitting with the wrong person.
After wasting a night at the bar, Zuo Chi returned home in the early hours of the morning. He was still sober, but his steps were a bit unsteady. When he opened the door, he did so cautiously, so as not to disturb Shu Qingyu or Zuo Yi.
He took a shower, felt the drowsiness creeping in, and crawled into bed with his hair still wet.
The next day was Saturday, a non-working day, and Zuo Chi was woken up by Shu Qingyu.
Shu Qingyu unlocked his bedroom door directly with a key, stood at the head of the bed, her expression somewhat cold, “Did you drink again last night? The whole room smells like alcohol.”
Zuo Chi opened his eyes, his nostrils flaring, but he didn’t smell anything. He sat up, “Do you need something from me?”
Seeing Shu Qingyu as soon as he opened his eyes, coupled with her boldly barging into his room, Zuo Chi’s mood soured a bit.
He had thought about moving out, but just suggesting it got him a hard slap from Shu Qingyu. Shu Qingyu said, “Zuo Lie finally made it through that door, and here you are, wanting to leave on your own accord. Don’t you understand your position in your father’s heart? If you dare move out, you’ll have no mother like me.”
Protesting was futile, so Zuo Chi suppressed the anger rising within him and listened to Shu Qingyu’s next instructions.
Shu Qingyu handed him two bound documents, “The wedding planning company sent over the engagement banquet proposal. Discuss it with Sheng Li and provide feedback if you have any. Also, the engagement banquet outfits have arrived, they’re all sent here. Take them to Sheng Li and see if they fit.”
Zuo Chi had just woken up, his brain not fully functioning yet. He took the proposal and finally felt the reality of his engagement and marriage to Sheng Li.
It was a comprehensive and perfect proposal, detailed and well-organized, but for him and Sheng Li, completing it was somewhat challenging.
For example, according to the proposal’s second item, they needed to take two sets of couple photos; according to the eighth item, they needed to ask their respective friends to record blessing videos; and according to the twelfth item, they also had to publicly speak about their first impressions of each other and recall the process of getting to know each other.
Even if they were getting married, they didn’t need to go through such cumbersome procedures. Everyone knew that he and Sheng Li weren’t truly in love. It was too ridiculous for them to pretend dutifully.
Zuo Chi put the proposal aside and went downstairs for breakfast. He had no appetite after drinking the night before and only had a bowl of congee.
The housekeeper auntie laid out a table full of food, trying to persuade him to eat more, “Young Master Chi, you’ve been working hard and have lost weight. You have a photo shoot in two weeks, gaining some weight will look better in photos.”
Even Auntie Chen knew he had a photo shoot coming up. Zuo Chi only found out about the time and location of the engagement banquet through the proposal. He pursed his lips, “Thank you, I’m not hungry.”
Auntie Chen pointed to the living room sofa, “The outfits are over there, still unopened.”
Zuo Chi nodded, “I know.”
There were only two sets of engagement banquet outfits. One set was suits meticulously crafted with fine materials. His was white, while Sheng Li’s was black. The other set was a traditional Chinese wedding attire, both in festive red with gold embroidery, with slight style differences.
Zuo Chi went back to his room to try on his two sets. They fit him basically well, except for the sleeves of the suit needing some adjustments.
He sent a WeChat message to Sheng Li, asking when he was free to try on the outfits.
Sheng Li didn’t reply.
Zuo Chi was worried but then saw Sheng Li’s photo on Xiang Yiqun’s Moments. It was obvious that Xiang Yiqun had taken the photo secretly: Sheng Li was sitting in a karaoke room, holding a microphone, looking somewhat despondent, but his profile was still distinct and handsome.
Zuo Chi’s thumb and index finger swiped on the screen, enlarging the picture, greedily looking at it over and over again.
Besides him, Sheng Li had other childhood friends—Xiang Yiqun, Tai Xingyu, and Xu Hui. The four of them were an inseparable group during their school days.
So even if he and Sheng Li continued to be friends, he couldn’t be Sheng Li’s most important friend. What was the point of him insisting on maintaining their friendship?
…..
On Monday, Zuo Chi attended a meeting at the company in the morning, which ended at ten-thirty. He then headed to Sheng Group’s branch office.
Entering the company’s gate, the receptionist recognized him and asked a colleague to help swipe the card and take him to the elevator.
The elevator rose all the way to the top floor. When the door opened, Zuo Chi saw Sheng Li’s assistant.
Assistant Liu was a female Beta, brought in by Sheng Changyu to assist Sheng Li’s work. She was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, neat and concise, holding a pile of documents in her hand, “Mr. Zuo, are you looking for Mr. Sheng?”
Zuo Chi, “Yes, is he here?”
“He’s in the office.” Assistant Liu said, “Do you need me to take you there?”
“No, thanks.”
The top floor was very quiet. Zuo Chi followed the route in his memory to Sheng Li’s office door. The door was slightly open, he raised his hand and knocked lightly, but there was no response.
So, he pushed the door open.
Sheng Li was lazily lying on the sofa chair, wearing headphones and playing games. He subconsciously straightened up when he saw the door open, but when he saw it was Zuo Chi, his whole demeanor visibly relaxed, “Why are you here?”
He perked up his ears, thinking Zuo Chi would question why he hadn’t replied to his messages, but Zuo Chi just closed the door, threw Sheng Li’s two outfits onto the guest sofa, “Your clothes.”
Sheng Li, “Huh?”
“The ones for the engagement banquet.” Zuo Chi explained, “Try them on to see if they fit.”
Sheng Li grabbed the package, roughly pulled out the outfits, and frowned, “Did you choose these or did they? So tacky.”
Zuo Chi remained silent. He had always had low requirements when it came to clothing.
“Does it matter if it fits?” Sheng Li spoke with sarcasm. “The engagement partner isn’t the right person anyway.”
There was a partition in the office, equivalent to a bedroom, where Sheng Li usually rested during lunch break. Sheng Li didn’t enter the partition, nor did he avoid Zuo Chi. Instead, he casually lifted the hem of his T-shirt, revealing his sturdy and fit physique.
Walking up to Zuo Chi shirtless, Sheng Li’s face carried a hint of mockery. “Do you like what you see?”
Zuo Chi’s breath almost stopped. The proximity allowed him to catch the pheromones emanating from Sheng Li—subtle, fragrant, with a hint of earthiness, the scent of amber.
“Can you have a reaction to my body? Since you don’t feel anything for Alphas…” Sheng Li’s upper lip was thin and curved, while his lower lip was slightly thicker. His lips moved, suitable for kissing.
Panicked, Zuo Chi pushed him away and went to the French window to catch his breath. The twenty-ninth floor was high, looking down, he felt a sense of superiority, his legs trembling.
Sheng Li snorted, quickly put on a black suit. With his long limbs, the suit fit him well, toning down his rogue aura and adding a hint of nobility. He fiddled with the matching tie in his hand. “When did you start dating a female Omega?”
He was troubled by Zuo Chi’s agreement to the engagement, yet Zuo Chi was cozying up with a female Omega at a bar. Zhang Xiaoyun had sent him a voice message with a gossipy tone, which had infuriated him at the time.
Zuo Chi didn’t need to think to know that Zhang Xiaoyun had informed Sheng Li. He casually replied, “She’s just a friend.”
Sheng Li applied some force to the tie, wrinkling it into a mess. “Your friend… shouldn’t I know all of them?”
“There are always ones you don’t know,” Zuo Chi said indifferently.
Sheng Li’s pressure lowered further. He glanced at another set of traditional wedding attire, finding the red particularly garish. He took off the suit with a few swift movements. “I won’t try it on. Do whatever you want with the arrangements.”
“Then what about the engagement banquet planning…”
“Not my concern.” Sheng Li’s face darkened. He put his headphones back on. “I’m going to continue gaming. I was on a roll today. If you hadn’t interrupted, I might have ranked up by now.”
“Then I’ll leave,” Zuo Chi said, picking up the fallen tie.
Exiting Sheng Group and returning to his car, Zuo Chi opened the gaming app on his phone. He felt that investing too much effort into games was a waste of time, but as long as it could connect him with Sheng Li, it wasn’t a waste.
He entered the friends page, clicked on Sheng Li’s avatar, and saw his recent gaming records.
Sheng Li had played three games that day, all losses. And now, the avatar was gray, indicating he wasn’t in the game.
