Shen Yi answered as though nothing were wrong.
"It was probably a mosquito."
"Do mosquitoes come out in winter too?" Secretary Chi gave him a meaningful look.
It was obviously an excuse, and he clearly hoped their department head would come clean.
"Are you really dating someone? You're so busy. Where do you find the time?"
"They meet on weekends, obviously. Look, he's got 'exhausted but happy' written all over his face."
"Oh my!"
"You're all far too interested in other people's business." Shen Yi let out a long sigh. He had hoped to laugh it off, but apparently escaping would not be that easy.
"They're an Alpha, right? Who is it? Is he handsome?"
"Photos! Show us photos!"
"What photos..." Shen Yi shook his head with a smile.
Honestly, even if they snatched his phone and searched it right then, he had nothing to worry about. There was not a single photo of him with Yuan Chen in his gallery.
He was indeed in a relationship, and he did not mind if he could no longer hide that fact, but they absolutely could not discover who his partner was.
"When are you treating us to dinner?"
"Don't even think about it. I'm not." The answer came out without a moment's thought.
The secretaries refused to let it go after that unequivocal reply, but Shen Yi took a sip of coffee as though nothing had happened.
Yuan Chen remained firmly opposed to marriage, and Shen Yi had no particular objection to that.
Since they were both certain they would always be together, the formalities did not seem so important. Carrying on like this seemed quite nice, too.
Of course, an Alpha and an Omega who stayed together long-term without marrying would inevitably attract gossip.
But since neither of them cared