Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Fu Yanhuai clearly hadn’t investigated that deeply; Lu Yao’s words caught him by surprise.

Fu Yanhuai was certain Lu Yao wouldn’t do such things. He frowned and asked, “When did this happen? What kind of pictures were they?”

It seemed Fu Yanhuai truly didn’t remember.

For some reason, Lu Yao still found it difficult to speak about. “It was at a banquet. I was working part-time as a server, but I swear I didn’t do any of those things. Those photos were just unfortunate angles.”

“What about now?” Fu Yanhuai asked patiently. “You dropped out. Was this matter ever clarified?”

Lu Yao couldn’t answer. Defending his rights was a time-consuming and exhausting endeavor, and he lacked the resources to clear his name.

If anyone else had asked, Lu Yao wouldn’t have felt much. But facing Fu Yanhuai now, he felt a pang of shame. He lowered his head and mumbled, “No.”

The silence between them stretched a little too long. Lu Yao nervously glanced up, and only then did Fu Yanhuai speak thoughtfully, “Don’t worry. This won’t be difficult to resolve.”

To prevent Shen Tai from making any unnecessary moves, this matter provided an excellent public excuse.

Besides, not finishing university was indeed a great pity.

Lu Yao should have had a brighter, more promising future.

Fu Yanhuai didn’t realize this feeling was called heartache. He just felt a slight, sour discomfort in his chest. He reiterated firmly, “I’ll take care of it.”

Lu Yao didn’t appear flattered or excited. Instead, he looked a little confused. “Resolve what?”

In this situation, the only thing that seemed to need “resolving” was Lu Yao himself.

Fu Yanhuai absently ruffled Lu Yao’s hair. “Don’t worry about it. Get some rest first.”

While Fu Yanhuai wasn’t looking, Lu Yao secretly checked if his hair was sticking up. He obediently scooted further into the bed. “Okay.”

The housekeeper brought a new blanket. Lu Yao curled up inside, occupying only a small corner of the bed, looking soft and fluffy.

“I don’t kick off the covers when I sleep; I won’t disturb you.”

Fu Yanhuai’s decision to have Lu Yao move into the bedroom had been a spur-of-the-moment one, but now he had to admit it was a good choice.

He braced one knee on the bed and slowly pulled Lu Yao closer. “Let’s share mine.”

Lu Yao’s hair fanned out messily over the pillow. Fu Yanhuai smiled. “This way, I can just lean down and bite your scent gland.”

(Fade to black)

The next morning, Fu Yanhuai had already left by the time Lu Yao woke up. He sat up abruptly, annoyed with himself for sleeping in so late recently.

He still had to meet Xia Shiyue at the shop today. Lu Yao threw off the covers and got out of bed, hissing as his sore waist muscles protested.

His face flushed slightly as he looked up and caught sight of his reflection in the mirror—his body covered in red marks.

Sleeping with Fu Yanhuai had been far more intense than he’d anticipated.

As he dressed, Lu Yao couldn’t help but think: *He’d assumed Fu Yanhuai would only act like this during his rut.*

This was unlike Fu Yanhuai’s usual cold and reserved demeanor. Recently, the Alpha had been quite aggressive in bed. This gradually revealed possessiveness was something Lu Yao found hard to handle.

But it should still be a good thing.

Lu Yao had planned to go straight to Xia Shiyue, but as he descended the stairs, he spotted a bouquet of red roses on the dining table. The housekeeper was nearby, misting them with water.

Lu Yao froze for a moment. The housekeeper greeted him, “Good morning, Mr. Lu.”

It was almost noon. Lu Yao replied sheepishly before asking, “Did you order these?”

The housekeeper explained, “Mr. Fu used to have flowers delivered to the house occasionally. Since you like red roses, I’ve switched to these.”

Lu Yao blurted out, “Then… what kind of flowers does Mr. Fu like?”

In front of the housekeeper, he couldn’t bring himself to call Fu Yanhuai by name—it felt too awkward.

The housekeeper considered it. “Mr. Fu doesn’t have any particular favorites. When the flowers arrived this morning, he saw them and said that since you liked them, we should just order these from now on.”

The housekeeper had deliberately arranged the flowers when Fu Yanhuai came down for breakfast. Fu Yanhuai had casually asked why such brightly colored flowers were being displayed.

That was when the housekeeper finally got to say, “Mr. Lu likes red roses.”

Fu Yanhuai paused. “Then let’s always have these from now on.”

With the morning rush, the housekeeper hadn’t had time to elaborate, but those two brief sentences were enough to show how much Fu Yanhuai and Lu Yao’s relationship had progressed.

The housekeeper was deeply pleased.

Lu Yao’s face warmed. “Oh, I see.”

So Fu Yanhuai must like him… at least a little.

The housekeeper continued, “The kitchen has kept breakfast for you. Are you heading out? I’ll arrange a car.”

Lu Yao felt a little dazed, as if he and Fu Yanhuai had truly built a home together.

“Yes, thank you for your trouble.”

While Lu Yao was eating breakfast, Shen Tai had already arrived at Fu Group.

Fu Yanhuai wasn’t surprised by his visit. Shen Tai pushed past the assistant and stopped at the office door.

Fu Yanhuai glanced up and said to the assistant, “Bring some water. Chairman Shen, please have a seat.”

The assistant nodded quickly. Shen Tai’s expression was stiff, barely holding back his anger as he sat on the sofa.

“Mr. Fu, for your father’s sake, I’ll address you as such. But you’ve gone too far in disrespecting our Shenglang Group.”

“Are you here about the canceled partnership, or about your son?”

Shen Tai’s tone was sharp, but Fu Yanhuai remained impassive.

Calmly, he said, “I don’t believe you’re truly unaware.”

Shen Tai snapped, “If you have a problem with Jinyan, just say so directly. Why make up such an excuse? What else could Jinyan have done? He’s only visited Fu Group a few times these past two days—”

A hint of mockery flashed in Fu Yanhuai’s eyes. Shen Tai’s expression shifted slightly as something else occurred to him.

An uneasy silence fell. Shen Tai leaned back in his chair. “I don’t understand what you’re implying.”

“It’s fine.” Fu Yanhuai wasn’t angry. “Whether you understand or not, our collaboration cannot continue.”

“I initially thought Shen Jinyan merely attended the same university as Lu Yao. But I never expected they’d both appeared at the same banquet four years ago. Chairman Shen, wouldn’t you call that a coincidence?”

Shen Tai glared at Fu Yanhuai without saying a word.

Fu Yanhuai stood up, polite yet carrying the innate arrogance of someone in a superior position.

“Chairman Shen, please.”

Shen Tai’s face remained stormy even after getting into the car. The moment he closed the door, Shen Jinyan’s call came through immediately.

“Dad, how did it go? What did Fu Yanhuai say?”

Shen Jinyan’s voice lost its usual composure and gentleness. He sounded anxious. “Why did Fu Group suddenly change their stance? Did Fu Yanhuai…?”

*Did he find out something?*

“This deal was mainly about introducing you to Fu Yanhuai in the first first place.”

Shen Tai snorted coldly. “Since he’s being difficult, there’s no need for us to push it.”

Shen Jinyan protested, “But after all these years, nothing has happened. How could it be so sudden…? Did Lu Yao say something to Fu Yanhuai?”

Shen Tai sighed deeply. “Jinyan, I know you’ve always liked Fu Yanhuai, but as he said himself, while pheromone resistance won’t affect him, it could actually harm you. Even though the medication will be released next month, Lu Yao just presented as an alpha now. Child, let it go. The capital has other alphas than just Fu Yanhuai.”

Shen Jinyan didn’t know how to let it go. Children from families like theirs had grown up in the same circles, yet Fu Yanhuai had always ignored him. Shen Jinyan had assumed that was just Fu Yanhuai’s nature.

But at that banquet, Fu Yanhuai had actively stepped in to help some poor beta out of trouble.

Shen Jinyan couldn’t accept losing out to someone like that. Fortunately, just then, Lu Qianxing and Guan Qinglu appeared.

Shen Jinyan didn’t want to dwell too much on this unflattering history. He had only wanted to completely eliminate any possibility for Lu Yao and Fu Yanhuai to meet. Yet in the end, Fu Yanhuai’s partner turned out to be Lu Yao.

Shen Jinyan bit his lip. “Is there really no way to continue the collaboration?”

Shen Tai gestured to the driver to go. “Fu Yanhuai’s stance is firm. But since we’ll still cross paths, he won’t burn bridges—just a warning not to overstep.”

Shen Jinyan exhaled. “Alright, Dad. I understand.”

Shen Tai gave a resigned look at the already-ended call on his phone screen. Fu Yanhuai certainly commanded enough power to attract everyone’s attention, but as an alpha, Shen Tai felt there was still much he needed to improve.

Only after Shen Tai left did the assistant enter with the tea. Bending slightly, he whispered into Fu Yanhuai’s ear, “All the posts on Beijing University’s internal forum have been deleted, and the clarification has been shared with key parties. Is there anything else you’d like us to do?”

Fu Yanhuai didn’t take his eyes off the computer. “That’ll do for now. Wait a couple of days, then set up dinner with Dean Wang.”

Since it was a false accusation, the school records shouldn’t show an expulsion.

Getting into this university and saving up two years’ worth of tuition alone—Lu Yao must have worked incredibly hard.

“Understood.”

In truth, deleting the posts would have been enough to settle the matter, but Fu Yanhuai went ahead with the more troublesome steps.

This way, even if Lu Yao left him in the future, he wouldn’t be totally unprepared.

By the time Lu Yao returned to the shop, he had already memorized the route. The moment he arrived outside, he was surprised by the staff size.

“Lu Yao, come here!”

Xia Shiyue spotted Lu Yao at the entrance immediately. Lu Yao smiled and walked over. “Isn’t the opening in two days?”

Xia Shiyue excitedly pulled Lu Yao closer. “Including you, there are five bakers now. What do you think? I plan to start with a basic menu and slowly develop more items later.”

Lu Yao didn’t know much about running a shop, so he nodded. “Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”

“Don’t be like that.” Xia Shiyue grinned and threw an arm around Lu Yao. “If you help me with everything, you’ll learn the ropes of the process. Then if you ever want to open your own shop, you’ll be able to do it in no time.”

The business wisdom Xia Shiyue was imparting wasn’t common knowledge. But Lu Yao truly wanted to own his own dessert shop someday.

“Sure. When the time comes, you’ll have to come. With your help, that shop’s business will definitely thrive.”

Lu Yao’s sincerity made Xia Shiyue’s business ambitions grew again. “Deal! You’ve got great instincts.”

Of course, he’d go if Lu Yao opened a shop—not just visit, but invest in it too.

Lu Yao was his good friend. No matter what, he would always support him.