Qiao Qiao seriously told Xiao Fang, “I have some insider information. Zhang Peng’s boyfriend is fair-skinned, handsome, slim, with long legs, highly educated, has a great personality, and is incredibly capable. Zhang Peng is head over heels in love with him, so much so that he’d never break up with him, not even in a million years.”
Xiao Fang chuckled, “Qiao Gong, you’re great at handling projects, but you’re pretty naive when it comes to relationships. Though, maybe that has something to do with your considerate boyfriend.” He then added more seriously, “You know how unreliable alphas can be—especially those who are successful, handsome, and wealthy.
If his boyfriend were an omega, there’d be no issue. The Omega Protection Law isn’t just for show, and a wife can’t be easily discarded. But if he’s a beta, how many AB pairs have truly grown old together after so many years? Too many alphas have fallen for an omega along the way. No matter how exceptional a beta is, they can’t compete with the pheromones of an omega.”
Qiao Qiao countered with statistics, quickly looking up various pairing divorce rates on Baidu. He found that the divorce rate for AB pairings was a staggering 67.3%, second only to the non-mainstream BO pairings at 89.5%, and surprisingly, OO pairings at 95.9%.
Xiao Fang spread his hands, “See? I wasn’t wrong.”
Qiao Qiao maintained an optimistic attitude, “But there’s still that remaining 32.7%, right? From the look of Zhang Peng’s face, he seems like a pretty decent guy.”
He wasn’t just making things up—he had actually studied the I Ching during his university days. After the whole incident with Luo Xuan, he started doubting his ability to judge people.
“This isn’t really about character.” Xiao Fang said, sensing that Qiao Qiao was still trapped in his ivory tower and feeling determined to dissuade him from holding onto unrealistic fantasies. “Qiao Gong, you might not fully understand alphas. Their desire and pursuit of an omega are ingrained in their genes.
It’s like a dog—usually, you feed it regular food, and it’s fine. But if you put a juicy bone in front of it, do you think it’s going to go back to eating that regular food? Our company’s business department pays high salaries to attract omega employees, precisely to dangle those bones in front of the dogs.”
Xiao Fang, feeling confident in his analogy, nodded to himself.
But Qiao Qiao shook his head, “How do you know there aren’t dogs out there that prefer regular food over bones?”
Xiao Fang replied, “The chances of that are too slim.”
Qiao Qiao glanced at the time and said, “It’s getting late; we’ll talk later.”
“Alright.” Seeing that it was almost time to clock in, Xiao Fang agreed happily and left, satisfied with the gossip they’d shared. After all, the drama between alphas and omegas didn’t really concern them betas.
Qiao Qiao hadn’t been in the office for long when the department manager called him over to discuss two big upcoming projects and asked him to lead one of them.
“You’re a PhD, and the boss trusts your capabilities. He wants you to choose the project yourself. I recommend that you take on Yi Qiao Technology’s drone aerial photography project. It’s a relatively new field—they’re just starting their research and want us to provide the core chips. I remember you worked on similar topics during your PhD, so you should be able to get up to speed quickly.”
Qiao Qiao gladly accepted the manager’s suggestion.
Even though he was relatively new to the company, his status as an N University PhD earned him an immediate appointment as the project leader, liaising directly with Yi Qiao Technology. Over the next couple of weeks, he would lead the project team to quickly finalize the needs analysis and feasibility study.
Qiao Qiao organized his relevant research from his PhD, reviewed the materials his project team had gathered, comparing the company’s existing technology with the industry average and peak levels. He got so engrossed that he worked overtime without noticing and finally checked the time—it was already 9 p.m.
He glanced at WeChat and saw that three hours ago, Zhang Peng had asked if he wanted to have dinner together.
Qiao Qiao quickly replied, “I forgot to check my phone. I’m just about to leave work now.”
“I’m waiting for you across the street from your office.” Zhang Peng replied instantly.
As Qiao Qiao packed up his things, he asked, “Did you eat dinner? You haven’t been waiting all this time, have you?”
“Not really, I had a bag of chips.”
Qiao Qiao immediately sped up, grabbing his bag and heading out of the office, “I’ll be right down!”
Zhang Peng sent a voice message.
Qiao Qiao reached the elevator and clicked to play it.
“No rush.” Zhang Peng’s gentle voice said, his deep tone incredibly alluring.
As Qiao Qiao hurried into the elevator, he heard someone shout, “Hold the door!” He reached out to stop the doors from closing and soon saw Xiao Fang running in, panting.
“Did you work late today too?” Qiao Qiao asked.
Xiao Fang replied, “It’s because of that Zhu Yu Electric project. The boss was rushing the feasibility analysis. Who would dare leave before him?” After complaining, he realized that Qiao Qiao’s project team had probably worked late as well. “You’re right; it’s more efficient this way. I mean, following the boss around, you really learn a lot.”
Qiao Qiao thought about it. His project team had finished their tasks and left, but he had stayed late because he’d gotten engrossed in reviewing materials.
Everyone had their own way of leading a team. Qiao Qiao smiled and nodded, saying, “Learning is good.”
Xiao Fang eagerly nodded back and changed the subject to the popular TV show everyone was talking about. The conversation lightened up, and they quickly reached the company’s entrance.
Across the street, a car with its hazard lights on was clearly waiting for someone.
Xiao Fang recognized the car; it was an Audi A8.
“Qiao Gong, is that your boyfriend?”
Qiao Qiao nodded and smiled, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Go ahead. Bye, see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.” Qiao Qiao waved and quickly walked towards the Audi A8.
Xiao Fang watched Qiao Qiao’s back with envy. As Qiao Qiao got within a few meters of the car, the man in the driver’s seat got out.
The man was dressed in a crisp suit, with a narrow waist and long legs. His silhouette was so handsome it could make anyone weak in the knees. But in front of Qiao Qiao, he acted like a shy young man experiencing his first love, attentively rushing to the passenger side to open the door for Qiao Qiao, ushering him into the car before getting back in.
What a gentleman, Xiao Fang thought enviously, watching the car drive off. Though exhausted, he decided to take the subway to save money, even if it meant his feet ached.
As he walked to the subway, he couldn’t help but replay the scene of Qiao Gong’s boyfriend opening the car door in his mind. Maybe that’s what it’s like to be in love and wealthy.
Then, a strange thought crossed his mind.
The silhouette of Qiao Gong’s boyfriend in the dark looked a lot like the profile of Zhang Zong from that finance magazine cover he’d seen last week.
Could it be that handsome, wealthy men all look similar?
Xiao Fang laughed to himself, telling himself not to overthink it, and swiped his card into the subway station.
Back at home, Qiao Qiao and Zhang Peng arrived just in time to meet the delivery guy at the door with their pre-ordered takeout. Qiao Qiao had been so hungry he’d lost his appetite, but the aroma of the food immediately brought it back. He devoured his meal so quickly that he ended up eating more than Zhang Peng for the first time.
Zhang Peng kept telling him to slow down, but nothing could stop him.
Qiao Qiao, with his mouth full of food, his cheeks puffed out, carefully mumbled his words, afraid of accidentally spraying food everywhere.
“I feel like I didn’t get anything done today, and in the blink of an eye, it’s 9:30. Where did all the time go? I didn’t even have time to enjoy my youth before it slipped away. Raising children all my life, my mind is filled with nothing but the sound of their laughter and cries.”
Qiao Qiao, a cold and emotionless song-lyric-reciting machine.
Zhang Peng raised an eyebrow, “Whose children are we talking about?”
Qiao Qiao replied with deep emotion, “My PCBs.” He was referring to the circuit boards used for testing chips.
Zhang Peng hesitated, “I remember you’ve blown up a few.”
Anyone who studied electrical engineering and hadn’t blown up a few circuit boards couldn’t really claim to be in the field.
Qiao Qiao felt a pang of heartache, “Don’t bring it up. When my baby blows up, it breaks my heart too.”
Zhang Peng patted his head, thinking, “How about we try making another baby later?”
Qiao Qiao touched his dio and butt, wondering how that would even be possible, and asked seriously, “Has some new black tech come out that allows alphas and betas to have kids now?”
Zhang Peng replied, “Not that I know of.”
“So, you’re saying you’re disappointed that I can’t have kids?” Qiao Qiao whimpered.
A good PhD knows how to whimper.
Zhang Peng sighed, “The point is in the process of making the baby!”
Qiao Qiao’s eyes lit up, “It’s been two or three months since we last tried—I was starting to think you couldn’t do it anymore!”
Zhang Peng cursed under his breath, “Tonight, I’ll show you whether I can or not.” With that, he tried to tackle Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao swallowed his food and quickly dodged, “Go take a shower first. I’ll finish my meal and then join you. We’ll both be all clean to make a baby together.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.” Zhang Peng, full of enthusiasm, stripped off his clothes and dashed into the shower, his dio flopping around.
Qiao Qiao shouted towards the bathroom, “Make sure you wash inside and out!”
Zhang Peng replied, “Do you want to wash inside too? I’ll help.”
The two of them exchanged some banter before quieting down. One focused on eating, the other on washing up.
From the bathroom, Zhang Peng started singing, “Are You Ready For Love
Are You Ready For Love
To spend your life waiting for this night?
Do you know how empty this heart has been?”
Qiao Qiao, out of habit, took out his phone and started browsing Weibo.
Time for a break and some gossip.
He clicked on the trending section and—wow—
“[Breaking News] Yi Qiao Technology Founder Spotted on a Secret Date with a Mysterious Omega”
He was literally eating his own melon now.
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