Chapter 43

"No, I don't dare say. I'm just an intern. Please don't make things difficult for me. I'm afraid I'll lose my job and won't get the internship credits."

"That does sound rather pitiful. Fine, then I won't ask you."

Then he asked on WeChat.

"What's your boss's surname? Surely you can tell me that?"

The young man still shook his head. Seeing that he could get nothing out of him, Su Yu stopped making things difficult for him and continued messaging their boss instead.

[Su Yu: Uncle, why are you being so mysterious? You can at least tell me your surname, right?]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: Are you signing the contract or not? If not, I'll have my person leave.]

Su Yu glanced around, wondering how the man knew he had not signed yet. Could he be nearby?

The young man handed the menu to Su Yu and asked what he wanted to order. After Su Yu finished ticking off his choices and returned the menu, he noticed the young man had not ordered anything and simply handed it to the waiter. He could not help asking, "You're not eating?"

The young man smiled. "My boss told me to go back once you sign the contract, so I won't affect your meal."

Su Yu: "?"

Affect his meal?

What did that mean?

"My boss meant that having one more person around would more or less affect your performance."

What was going on? Why did this uncle know him so well?

Could he be someone Su Yu knew?

Su Yu carefully thought over whether he had any close acquaintances who were stupid and loaded. The answer was no. He could not think of anyone who would hand him a contract that offered them absolutely no benefit, like some huge sucker.

Su Yu looked over the contract again. The other party had no other requirements. Just as they had said on WeChat, he was not to livestream after nine thirty.

This was ridiculous.

Even more ridiculous was the fact that he had signed it as if possessed.

"Thank you for your cooperation. I'll be leaving now. Don't worry, someone will pay the bill."

After the man left, Su Yu kept feeling as though something was missing from that contract, though he could not remember what it was for the moment.

Whatever. He would eat first.

"Why did I run into you here again? What bad luck."

Hearing that familiar voice, Su Yu looked up and immediately saw Su Wang. Su Hui stood beside him with an arm hooked through his, and the two seemed to have come here to eat as well, only to spot him by chance. Seeing that no one sat across from Su Yu, Su Wang said, "What? Your Alpha wasn't willing to eat with you?"

"I knew he only defended you last time to save face. How could anyone really like you?"

[I can run into this idiot even while eating. I'm never coming here again. Dogs have been spotted here—avoid this place.]

In other people's eyes, he had always been unlikeable. He was disliked everywhere he went; even his own mother disliked him. So Gu Lin probably did not like him much either.

Su Hui's gaze also fell on him. Because he was silent, his scrutiny went unnoticed.

Su Yu said nothing and lowered his eyes as usual. Seeing him like that, Su Wang said, "Don't put on an act. I saw everything that happened at this restaurant last time. Oh, right, Big Brother saw it too."

At that, Su Yu raised his head and pressed his lips together, seeming as though he wanted to say something, but he did not speak.

[I know, I know. So what if you saw it?]

[Finish talking and leave already. Stop affecting my meal.]

[You think I want to pretend? I've wanted to hit you for a long time.]

"Are you two interested in joining us for a meal?"

The Alpha's somewhat cold voice sounded from behind him. Su Yu turned around and saw Gu Lin walking over at an unhurried pace. His sharply defined face carried its usual indifferent expression, and his eyes remained as piercing as ever.

When Su Wang saw Gu Lin, he inexplicably felt guilty. He wondered whether Gu Lin had heard what he had just said to Su Yu.

It was not that he feared Gu Lin would do anything to him. He was afraid the other man would discover Su Yu's true identity. After all, that would be extremely disadvantageous for Su Hui.

Su Hui, standing beside him, shifted his withdrawn gaze to Gu Lin. Yet Gu Lin did not even spare him a glance.

Now, even Su Wang's voice lacked the confidence it had moments ago. "We already reserved a table, so we'll be going."

After saying that, Su Wang was about to leave with Su Hui when Gu Lin suddenly said, "My Omega has been away from home for too long. He may be homesick. Another day, I'd like to accompany him home."

Su Wang looked at Su Yu. Homesick? What home did he miss? Was he doing this on purpose?

Su Yu watched the show like an outsider, inwardly wishing Gu Lin would hurry up and go back to the Su family with him. Gu Lin was so smart. If he went back to the Su family, he should be able to notice something, right?

Maybe once Gu Lin discovered his true identity, he would be able to speak freely.

He was looking forward to it immensely.

Su Wang could not help saying, "He hasn't even spoken. How do you know he misses home...?"

"Do you miss home? Do you want to see your eldest brother?"

If it were about missing home, the original owner did not miss it at all, because that was never really his home. But Gu Lin's latter question struck right at his weak spot. If he truly wanted to go home, it would definitely be because of Su Tinghuai.

The Omega nodded.

Su Wang: "..."

He actually dared to nod.

Su Wang was deeply unwilling, but he still replied, "...Understood. I'll tell Big Brother after I go back."

Gu Lin gave a faint "Mm," signaling that they could leave. As for Su Yu, he had somehow picked up his chopsticks again. But the moment Gu Lin looked at him, he stopped and put them back down.

[Wait, why is Gu Lin here? Was it really such a coincidence?]

In fact, Gu Lin had arrived long ago, even earlier than Su Yu. From then until now, he had watched Su Yu's every move and heard his conversation with the intern perfectly clearly.

Yet the Alpha pretended that they had run into each other by chance. Knowing Su Yu could not speak, he struck first and asked, "Why are you here?"

Su Yu: "..." If he could talk, he would have asked first. That was clearly his line.

Su Yu was about to tell him in sign language, but as expected, Gu Lin interrupted him. It was still the same sentence: "I can't understand. Don't gesture. I'm not interested in your affairs."

His tone and manner of speaking made Su Yu completely lose any curiosity about why he had appeared here. Instead, he began cursing Gu Lin inwardly and no longer felt that Gu Lin had helped him out just now.

[If you're not interested, why are you asking? Sick, sick, sick.]

[Go away, go away. I don't want to see you again today. I don't want to see you tomorrow either. You'd better go on a business trip—one for five, six, seven, or eight days, like before.]

Gu Lin had originally planned to say a few words and leave, but after hearing that, he abandoned the thought of leaving. He sat down across from Su Yu, raised his chin slightly, and gestured for him to keep eating.

A five-, six-, seven-, or eight-day business trip?

He had no intention of indulging this Omega. He would not go on a business trip for even one day.

As if bestowing a favor, the Alpha said, "I'll wait here until you finish eating, then go back with you."

Su Yu immediately felt uncomfortable all over. Whenever Gu Lin was around, he felt ill at ease no matter what he did. It was the original owner's body reacting.

Of course, if it had been Su Yu himself, he could ignore anyone sitting across from him and watching him eat. He had never cared much about other people's gazes.

At the end, Gu Lin added, "You don't have work this afternoon. You can eat slowly. I have plenty of time."

It sounded considerate, but to Su Yu, it was a bolt from the blue. No work meant Gu Lin would be staying at home with him that afternoon. From this moment until he went to sleep that night, his freedom would be restricted.

After lunch, Su Yu left the restaurant with Gu Lin. The mall downtown had several floors and plenty of passersby. The third floor had a children's amusement park, with lots of kids around. When Su Yu saw a child walking toward them with an ice cream cone in hand, he could not help looking at it a few more times. Gu Lin seemed to notice his gaze, glanced at him, and asked, "Want one?"

[Of course I do!]

[Is he going to act like a human for once?]

[Is he going to buy me one?]

[I want one so badly. If you buy me one, I'll forget everything unpleasant that happened between us today.]

The Alpha knew what he was hoping for, but he lightly said two words: "Not buying."

Of course, he wanted Su Yu to remember the unpleasant things clearly.

Su Yu: "..." What had he been expecting?

Perhaps the Omega did not realize how resentful his gaze was at that moment.

That night, Su Yu received a message from Su Tinghuai. The other man's meaning was that Su Yu should try not to bring Gu Lin home.

Su Yu unconsciously bit his finger. The chat window showed "The other party is typing..." and another message soon popped up: Don't cause trouble for us. Whatever you want, I can try my best to satisfy you.

In Su Tinghuai's eyes, "us" referred only to their family. It had never included Su Yu.

Su Yu typed into the chat box: I'm bringing him back to cause trouble.

But words that did not fit the original owner's character could not be sent, so he could only type them for himself to see. Otherwise, he would have argued with Su Wang on WeChat long ago. Now, he could only put on an alias to curse people. It was truly suffocating.

[Su Tinghuai: Or have you been short on money lately?]

It seemed that in his eyes, Su Yu had always been extravagant. If he caused trouble, it had to be because he lacked money.

Before Su Yu had transmigrated, the original owner's money had indeed been spent quickly, but none of it was spent by him. His biological mother had taken it all.

Of course, if Su Tinghuai wanted to give him more money, he would not refuse.

The words in the chat box remained unsent. After hesitating again and again, deleting and revising, the Omega finally sent: Sorry, Big Brother. I never meant to cause trouble for everyone. I'll try not to bring him home.

[Su Yu: I have enough money to spend. You don't need to worry.]

Su Yu looked at his disappointing hand and felt rather heartbroken.

It would not even let him admit he was short on money. This was becoming painful.

[Su Tinghuai: Mm, that's all.]

With just a few words, the conversation ended.

There were very few chat records between Su Yu and Su Tinghuai—fewer even than those between him and Gu Lin.