How... are we sleeping tonight?

Wen Zhiyan hadn't expected Jiang Lan to pick this one out of all the things they hadn't gotten around to doing.

He fell silent for a moment, then told Jiang Lan quietly,

"I bought two."

Jiang Lan was stunned and almost failed to keep his voice down. "You bought two?!"

Wen Zhiyan murmured an assent.

Suspecting that Wen Zhiyan was joking, Jiang Lan cleared his throat, lowered his voice, and checked, "Two hippos?"

Wen Zhiyan nodded calmly. "Yes."

Jiang Lan fell silent. Only after a long while did he ask, "Are you keeping them at home? Is that legal?"

Wen Zhiyan was amused. "Of course not. They're at Haicheng Zoo."

Haicheng's zoo was old and run-down, and the variety of animals on display was very limited.

Through the dense wire mesh, visitors couldn't even get a clear look at what the animals inside actually looked like.

Jiang Lan had gone there twice with Wen Zhiyan in the past. What he had wanted to see most were the giraffes and hippos.

Unfortunately, they hadn't seen either.

So he had added this entry near the end of that note.

He wanted to go see hippos with Wen Zhiyan.

Though it didn't sound particularly cool or romantic, he had still wanted to go with Wen Zhiyan.

Three years ago, the zoo in Haicheng's old district had been demolished, and a large stretch of wooded hills in the new district had been developed to rebuild it.

Not only had Wen Zhiyan invested in it, but he had also personally gone to Africa, selected two giraffes and two hippos, and had them shipped back thousands of miles to lend to Haicheng Zoo.

He called it a loan, but it was effectively a gift. After all, he couldn't actually take the hippos home to raise them.

The only differences between those two giraffes and two hippos and the other animals were that they had private ownership contracts and names Wen Zhiyan had personally given them.

Looking at Jiang Lan's stunned face, he asked, "There are giraffes too. Would you like to find some time to go see them?"

Jiang Lan hadn't returned to Haicheng in many years.

For one thing, he was too busy. He hadn't accepted any work in Haicheng and had no time to go.

For another, perhaps it wasn't really that he had no time. He simply didn't want to return.

The class reunions last year and the year before had both happened to coincide with him joining a production to film, giving him a perfectly natural excuse to turn them down.

Jiang Lan didn't even know when Haicheng Zoo had been demolished and rebuilt. Only now, hearing Wen Zhiyan mention it, did he suddenly recall that he seemed to have caught a glimpse of such a news report not long after his debut.

It simply hadn't had anything to do with him at the time, so naturally he hadn't paid attention.

Now, hearing this answer from Wen Zhiyan, Jiang Lan found himself unable to describe what he was feeling.

His Adam's apple bobbed. Watching the little stars dancing above the mangroves, he didn't agree outright.

He only said, "Let's see what my work schedule looks like this year."

But Wen Zhiyan knew that Jiang Lan saying this meant he had already agreed.

He looked at Jiang Lan's profile, his gaze gentle. "All right."

The fireflies had swept away the fear and unease the unknown had brought everyone on their way there. On the return journey, everyone was excited, chattering nonstop.

Only Wen Zhiyan and Jiang Lan were even quieter than they had been on the way there.

When everyone returned to the dock and got off the boat, the dock staff had thoughtfully prepared hot drinks and some low-sugar snacks for them.

When people were in a good mood, their appetites improved too.

Though Jiang Lan said nothing and his expression looked calm,

Wen Zhiyan could tell from the two cups of hot milk he drank and the entire plate of little pastries whose name he didn't know that Jiang Lan was in a pretty good mood tonight.

Before leaving, he had even tried to get a portion of cheese pudding to take away, but after seeing Wen Zhiyan's flat stomach beneath his thin T-shirt, he hesitated for a moment and ultimately abandoned the idea.

By the time the group returned to the villa that evening, it was nearly eleven. Everyone said good night and went back to their rooms.

Lin Ziyou followed Jiang Lan and Wen Zhiyan inside, closed the bedroom door, and looked at Jiang Lan. "How... are we sleeping tonight?"

Jiang Lan turned to look at Lin Ziyou. "Push the beds together, and we'll all sleep together. I'll sleep in the middle, and you two can take the sides."

Realizing Jiang Lan was joking, Lin Ziyou clicked his tongue. "Sure. Then if we're still sharing a room tomorrow, can I sleep in the middle?"

Jiang Lan shook his head. "No. You're such a good-looking omega. I'm afraid President Wen won't be able to control himself and might get carried away in the middle of the night and do something indecent to you."

Lin Ziyou was speechless. "But Lan-ge, aren't you an alpha too?"

Jiang Lan nodded. "Yes, so do you even need to ask? How else would we sleep? Obviously, you get a bed to yourself, and I'll reluctantly squeeze in with President Wen."

Lin Ziyou raised an eyebrow. "You said earlier today that President Wen should sleep on the floor."

Jiang Lan glanced at Wen Zhiyan. "I was only joking. Given President Wen's standing, I couldn't make him sleep on the floor even if I had to sleep there myself, could I?"

Lin Ziyou began stirring up trouble. "What if it were Teacher Pei?"

Jiang Lan answered without hesitation. "This room is too small. Three people would be a squeeze. Teacher Pei probably wouldn't mind making do in the hallway for a night."

Lin Ziyou tilted his head at Jiang Lan. "So why do you treat President Wen and Teacher Pei differently, Lan-ge?"

It was undeniably a tricky question.

But Jiang Lan wasn't stupid. He knew what it meant to protest too much.

With many things, the more you tried to hide them, the more suspicion you aroused.

So he tilted his head just as Lin Ziyou had and said with utterly natural matter-of-factness,

"Can't you see something so obvious? Of course it's because I like President Wen. I'm so desperately in love with him that I can't bear to let him suffer."

After saying this, he curved his eyes in a smile and continued, "It couldn't possibly be because I'm eyeing President Wen's power and influence, and flattering him would let me approach him for investments and business partnerships, could it?"

Jiang Lan said these obviously insincere-sounding words so frankly that anyone would have taken them as a joke.

Standing behind Jiang Lan, Wen Zhiyan looked at the rounded back of his head and played along. "Is that so, Teacher Jiang? Then why haven't you confessed to me if you love me?"

Jiang Lan turned to look at him. "Aren't I telling you tactfully right now through a conversation with someone else? What are you being so picky about?"

Wen Zhiyan raised a hand and rubbed his nose, not daring to respond to Jiang Lan again. He simply picked up the fresh sheets and duvet covers the production team had brought and quietly began changing the bedding by himself.

Lin Ziyou's gaze lingered between Jiang Lan and Wen Zhiyan for a moment before saying in a joking tone,

"President Wen seems to treat Teacher Jiang very differently. If you two keep this up, I'm afraid I'll start shipping you."

Some of the viewers watching shared Lin Ziyou's sentiments.

[Lan-ge sounds so fake. Those two things he said should be the other way around, right?]

[We see through it, but let's not say it. I think part of why Jiang Lan is so accommodating toward President Wen has to be his status. After all, they're both alphas. They can't be a couple, but they can still be bros. One word from President Wen could bring Jiang Lan some pretty substantial benefits.]

[They definitely used to be bros. President Wen might even owe Lan-ge a favor.]

[Okay, but Lan-ge admitted with his own mouth that he loves President Wen. Can I ship them?]

[I suggest you don't. Shipping everything will only hurt you.]

[No, shipping everything will only give me a balanced diet and make me happy in body and mind.]

[Frankly, their designations might not give them much couple chemistry, but their looks do. Besides, with Lan-ge spouting nonsense like this and force-feeding me artificial sweetener, it's hard not to swallow.]

[President Wen's reputation is taking a hit. It's obvious those two could never happen. With everything President Wen has going for him, wouldn't it be better to find a sweet, soft omega who obeys his every word and is attentive to his every need? Why would he want a hardheaded contrarian like Lan-ge?]

[A hardheaded contrarian, I'm dying. I really want to know what kind of omega will eventually tame an alpha like Lan-ge.]

[Lan-ge said he likes the delicate, soft, high-maintenance type who sulks and throws tantrums. President Wen is so considerate and gentle that he doesn't hit Lan-ge's kinks.]

[Wait, guys, Lan-ge is obviously spreading rumors about himself. Are you seriously analyzing this?]