The news of the alliance between the Ren and Ji families was announced two days later at a charity dinner hosted by the Ji family.

As soon as news of the engagement broke, the media at the dinner party sprang into action, and by nightfall, the story had shot to the top of the city’s trending topics. The eldest son of the Ji family and the second son of the Ren family stood side by side in front of the cameras, both wearing identical, practiced smiles. Regardless of whether there was any genuine affection behind this union, the two certainly made a striking pair.

The buzz continued to grow well into the next morning.

It was then that a report about the Ren family’s eldest son’s past hit-and-run incident while drunk was pushed to the top of the feed amid a sea of trivial gossip, quickly sparking some discussion.

The incident had occurred nearly eight years ago, and the pedestrian who had been struck had not been fatally injured. Consequently, despite some sighs of regret and mocking comments, it hadn’t caused much of a stir.

However, this report acted like a fuse, igniting other voices.

Ren Shaokun had acted with complete impunity during his time at Beizhong High School. Before leaving the country, his record of misdeeds in Beicheng was, to put it mildly, extensive. Although Ren Hongyuan had subsequently smoothed things over for Ren Shaokun, the voices of the victims who had been bullied and victimized back then could not be silenced.

Two accounts posted lengthy accounts detailing incidents of bullying by Ren Shaokun during their high school days, sparking a wave of both supportive and condemnatory comments. This came as a surprise to Ning Zhu.

The focus of the Ren-Ji family alliance had shifted to Ren Shaokun. As public sentiment began to spiral out of control, Ren Hongyuan issued a statement that afternoon. The first part addressed the original report, with Ren Hongyuan speaking on Ren Shaokun’s behalf to admit fault, explaining that Ren Shaokun was still young at the time and had been frightened after realizing he had caused trouble, which prevented him from handling the situation calmly. However, they later offered compensation and reached a settlement with the injured parties.

As for the other allegations of bullying, Ren Hongyuan claimed they were slander and threatened to sue those spreading the rumors.

The video of Ren Shaokun’s bullying—which Ning Zhu had previously gone to great lengths to find—was released at this critical juncture, thoughtfully adding fuel to the fire.

After receiving a message from his subordinates, he shifted his focus back to work, letting the public outcry continue to ferment. Ning Zhu left the office in the evening and scrolled through her phone in the car for a while.

Ren Hongyuan hadn’t issued any new statements, but the tone under Ji Group’s official Weibo account had shifted subtly, with netizens flocking to remind the Ji family to choose their in-laws carefully.

As the car entered the residential area, Ning Zhu noticed that the parking spot in front of his building was already taken. Old Zhao let out a surprised “Huh?” Ning Zhu put down his phone and looked up. When he saw Dou Changxiao’s car, he was so numb he couldn’t say a word.

Without further explanation, he simply got out of the car.

After going upstairs, before he even had a chance to unlock the door, it swung open from the inside. Dou Changxiao looked him up and down.

They hadn’t seen each other in three days, and Dou Changxiao’s eyes held a sticky, intense longing. He took the initiative and asked, “You’re back?” 

Ning Zhu: “…”

Ning Zhu: “…How did you get in?” 

“Aunt Lin let me in.”

Ning Zhu walked into the room and said sarcastically, “You must have a lot of free time at your internship.” It had only been a few days, and here he was again.

Dou Changxiao said, “It’s not slow. I was on night shift the other day, so I couldn’t come.”

Otherwise, he’d be here every day.

Ning Zhu was momentarily speechless. He gave Dou Changxiao a meaningful look, but since he was still hungry and lacked the energy to retort, he simply walked past him toward the dining room.

Aunt Lin had prepared dinner for him; at a glance, it was enough for two. Ning Zhu turned back. “You…”

He started to say something, but stopped after one word. Dou Changxiao understood perfectly and replied, “I didn’t eat dinner.” 

Ning Zhu: “Who asked you?”

Dou Changxiao: “……”

When dining with others, Ning Zhu usually paid attention to table manners, but given that the person sitting next to him was Dou Changxiao—a very rebellious sugar baby—Ning Zhu simply did whatever felt comfortable.

Ning Zhu didn’t speak during the meal. After a few minutes, Dou Changxiao called out to him, “Ning Zhu.”

Aunt Lin happened to be coming over with a bowl of soup. Hearing Dou Changxiao call Ning Zhu by his full name, she looked a little surprised. Ning Zhu cleared his throat and said, “Call me Boss.”

Dou Changxiao: “Boss, you’re a picky eater.”

Ning Zhu: “…Mind your own business.”

The overhead lighting in the restaurant cast a warm glow. Dou Changxiao’s right hand was very close to Ning Zhu’s left; their sleeves brushed against each other, whether intentionally or not, and his eyes kept drifting toward Ning Zhu. It was as if his affection for him had reached a point where he simply had to release some of it in this way.

Ning Zhu gripped his chopsticks a little too tightly, feeling inexplicably as though the other man were weaving a cozy trap, attempting to lure him into it. He immediately drew a line of caution in his mind.

Because he remained so on guard, Ning Zhu felt a bit stiff throughout the entire meal. He glanced at the sky outside.

“You’ve already hitched a ride here for dinner, and there’s snow on the roads these days…” Ning Zhu advised, sounding rather insincere. “It’s not safe to go back too late.”

Dou Changxiao might as well have suddenly gone deaf. He asked, “Want to play chess?”

Ning Zhu’s brow twitched twice, cursing that this little bastard would be better off pretending to be deaf and mute for the rest of his life.

“…One game.”

It was all too easy for him to crush this rookie; as long as the other guy didn’t drag things out, a game wouldn’t take long. Ning Zhu had left the chess set from their last game in the study, never putting it away.

The two went to the study. Ning Zhu bent over, fiddling with the chess set, while Dou Changxiao glanced up at the bookshelf and noticed the jewelry box was still sitting there. Several days had passed, yet there was still no sign that it had been opened.

He stared at it for two seconds, just as he was about to ask Ning Zhu, he heard the person behind him say, “What are you standing there for? Let’s finish this and go home.”

Only then did Dou Changxiao reluctantly walk over.

As Ning Zhu pushed the chess jar toward the opposite side, Dou Changxiao’s index finger brushed against the hand holding the jar. To be precise, it brushed against the tip of Ning Zhu’s flushed finger.

Ning Zhu raised his head and glared at him, trying to pierce through Dou Changxiao’s thick skin with his gaze. But he failed.

Dou Changxiao still took the black pieces.

He sat down, his movements a bit more professional this time, and placed the first piece on the star point in the lower left corner.

Ning Zhu stared at the board for a moment, then pursed his lips in displeasure. The game naturally ended in a crushing victory for Ning Zhu.

Dou Changxiao closed the lid of the jar and turned his gaze back to the bookshelf.

Knowing Ning Zhu’s habits, he realized this man was always serious when it came to work. Having a mismatched jewelry box placed among those books made him feel there must be some other significance to it.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, what’s that?”

Ning Zhu followed his gaze to the small gift box on the bookshelf. He paused for a moment before saying, “What is what… Don’t be so curious about the boss’s personal belongings.”

Dou Changxiao: “Oh. Someone gave it to you.”

Ning Zhu replied, “…No, I bought too many things earlier and forgot to return them.”

Dou Changxiao furrowed his brow, still staring at the box. It was as if Ning Zhu had been unfaithful to him with that gift.

Ning Zhu was quite generous. “It’s something I don’t need anyway. If you want it, take it.” His tone sounded genuinely indifferent, so Dou Changxiao picked it up, opened it, and took a look.

Inside the jewelry box was indeed something that looked like a wrong purchase: a silver collar necklace.

At the bottom hung a dog-tooth-shaped pendant, set with a few small diamonds that sparkled under the light. But overall, it didn’t look gaudy.

After looking at it, Dou Changxiao put it back without interest.

Ning Zhu didn’t seem like the type to wear something like this; the chain was a bit too thick for him.

“Take it apart and take it with you.”

Dou Changxiao had no intention of taking it.

Even his clothing preferences leaned toward simplicity; in his view, accessories like this were all just a burden.

The only thing on Dou Changxiao that could barely be called an accessory was a bracelet.

However, it wouldn’t be right to take something someone else didn’t need and leave it here to be an eyesore.

He had no choice but to take the box down and was just about to stuff it into his jacket pocket when he heard a soft cough behind him, followed by a voice that, for some reason, had grown a little softer: “Put it on so I can see.”

Dou Changxiao turned his head and exchanged a puzzled glance with Ning Zhu for a few seconds. The latter’s feigned look of candor shifted slightly to the side.

“……”

A gift… he’d bought too many of them. It had just been his birthday a few days ago…

Dou Changxiao couldn’t help but consider a certain possibility, but this item wasn’t necessarily a gift Ning Zhu intended for him, and he didn’t want to read too much into it. Pondering this, he took out the necklace anyway.

The clasp was a bit complicated; he fumbled with it for a while, unable to figure out how to open it.

“Let me try.”

Ning Zhu unfastened the clasp, motioned for Dou Changxiao to come closer, then raised his hand to fasten it for him. It looked as if he had wrapped his arms around Dou Changxiao’s neck of his own accord.

At this thought, Dou Changxiao’s pupils fluttered. He lowered his gaze, intently studying Ning Zhu’s features, now mere inches away. This intimate proximity lasted only a few seconds; Ning Zhu’s movements were so swift they were almost irritating.

However, after fastening it, he lowered his arm but didn’t immediately step back. Instead, he stared at the ornament for a moment; the dog-tooth-shaped pendant rested precisely at Dou Changxiao’s collarbone.

Dou Changxiao quickly noticed this unusual behavior.

He looked at Ning Zhu’s face—the other man was actually staring at him, lost in thought.

“……” Dou Changxiao held his breath.

After a moment, Ning Zhu took a step back, looking at him from head to toe.

Dou Changxiao’s lips were relaxed and closed as he stared straight at him, his expression unusually docile.

Ning Zhu’s heart felt as though it were melting under the sight of this boy’s innocent face, and then a strange urge welled up inside him. He suddenly recalled the scene from when they’d taken his temperature during his heat cycle… A tingling sensation shot straight up his spine.

At the same moment, Ning Zhu caught the scent of Dou Changxiao’s pheromones. The itch gnawing inside him suddenly intensified, and the muscles in his calves twitched slightly.

“It’s getting late, Changxiao,” he said with a subtle smile.

Dou Changxiao reluctantly suppressed his pheromones, his gaze lingering on Ning Zhu’s face for a moment before he walked out of the study. Ning Zhu followed him out but did not see him downstairs.

While Dou Changxiao was in the entryway changing his shoes, Ning Zhu didn’t wait for him to leave; he went straight into the bedroom and let out a deep sigh.

Leaning against the wall, he tried to calm his body’s reaction, but the scent of that coconut lingered, refusing to subside even after several minutes. The heat was spreading to the back of his neck, showing no signs of abating.

His ears throbbed, and Ning Zhu felt his face growing hot as well. That kid… why does he have to go around releasing pheromones for no reason!