The pests showed up

Sheng Nian soon received the second photo.

The corner of Sheng Nian's mouth twitched. This one had an even sweeter atmosphere!

Wasn't this making things difficult for little old him?!

In the second photo, the Omega seemed to be choosing a flavor at the ice cream shop's transparent counter, while the Alpha wrapped his arms around him from behind. The atmosphere was intensely intimate.

Sheng Nian inwardly wailed that he was doomed.

Hearing his thoughts, Yan Feizhuo came over to look at the photo and smiled. What would the young master get up to this time?

The livestream viewers were just as curious.

[I've turned into a screaming chicken today. All I can do is aaaaaah.]

[How are they going to shoot this scene? Is Sheng Nian going to dodge President Yan again?!]

[This heart-fluttering surprise task is basically a treat for President Yan. Too bad Sheng Nian doesn't like President Yan.]

[I remember when Sheng Nian was filming before, he'd use his money to skip intimate scenes, or use camera angles or a double. He even had fierce clashes with directors and producers over it. I wonder how today will go.]

Sheng Nian walked to the second photo spot and approached the colorful glass counter. Yan Feizhuo followed, bracing one hand beside Sheng Nian and leaning his upper body over him.

This looked very much like the sample photo.

The next second, Sheng Nian grabbed the hand braced beside him and timidly looked back at him, looking as though he refused to let him wrap an arm around his waist.

Every time Yan Feizhuo saw him looking as though he wanted to keep him a thousand miles away, he felt deeply uncomfortable, even if it was only an act.

He abruptly tightened his arm. The Omega's feeble resistance accomplished nothing as he pulled him into his embrace and held him captive.

"Afraid of me?"

There was a rare touch of coldness in his voice.

[Oh no, I'm broken. I think this is really shippable too!]

[This is so intense! A domineering CEO who can't have the one he loves and takes him by force, paired with a delicate beauty whose heart belongs to someone else, is so good too!]

[I love this kind of melodrama! Is anyone writing this? Anyone?!]

[The Omega's hands pushed against the Alpha's burning chest, yet his heart couldn't help racing at the compatibility of their pheromones...]

[President Yan, what are you waiting for? Kiss him!]

Yan Feizhuo gripped Sheng Nian's chin with one hand, forcing him to lift his head and turn back toward him to meet his eyes.

At that moment, Sheng Nian truly resembled a coerced caged canary. His stubborn eyes reddened, and he raised one hand to cover the Alpha's hand gripping his chin, struggling to hold his ground and refusing to yield.

Click, click-the photographer's shutter finger hadn't stopped from beginning to end.

Although the mood differed from the dreamy intimacy they had initially envisioned, the scene was undeniably beautiful.

As soon as the call came that the shoot was over, Sheng Nian pulled Yan Feizhuo's hand away, covered his headset mic, and whispered, "Yan Feizhuo, you got way too into character. You pinched me so hard it hurt."

Looking at the vivid red fingerprints on the young master's fair, tender face, Yan Feizhuo frowned. "Sorry. It was my fault."

He reached out to rub the spot for Sheng Nian, but Sheng Nian dodged slightly and said in a breathy whisper, "Did you forget we're still acting...?"

Yan Feizhuo's mood soured again. He really wanted to ask how long this damned act was supposed to last.

He went aside, warmed a handkerchief with hot water, and handed it to Sheng Nian. "There's no ointment here. Hold this warm handkerchief against it for now, and apply some ointment when we get back."

Sheng Nian took the handkerchief and pressed it to his chin, thinking how considerate his tool of a man was. "It's fine. My skin's just delicate and marks easily. You weren't actually using much force. The redness will go away in a bit."

Yan Feizhuo said nothing. He got up and went to the manager to fetch the third sample photo.

When he turned back to find Sheng Nian, he saw Sheng Nian call out in delight, "Jiang Shu, you're here too!"

His inner voice, however, said: What terrible timing! Two pests!

Jiang Shu hadn't expected the people the staff said had triggered the heart-fluttering surprise task to be Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo.

He and He Gu had come to watch the fun and ask how the surprise task had been triggered while they were at it.

Now, at his first glimpse of Sheng Nian, the first thing he noticed was the slight redness at the corners of his eyes, as though he had just cried.

He frowned. Had Yan Feizhuo bullied him?

He Gu was a little unhappy to see that Sheng Nian had triggered the surprise task, but his expression remained gentle. "Nian, President Yan, so you two were the ones who triggered the surprise task. I'm really curious how you did it."

Sheng Nian told the truth. "We just bought an ice cream, and it triggered."

He Gu's expression stiffened. If he didn't want to tell him, he could just say so. What did he mean, they had triggered it by buying an ice cream? Who was he trying to fool?

"You're joking, Nian. A surprise task couldn't possibly be that easy to trigger."

Sheng Nian didn't care whether he believed him. He was telling the truth anyway.

Yan Feizhuo appeared at just the right moment, breaking the subtle tension among the three with the third sample photo in hand.

The third photo showed an Omega holding a container shaped like a balance scale, with an ice cream stuck into each side. The Omega and Alpha each ate one, their gazes lingering on each other as though what they were eating wasn't ice cream, but the person in their eyes.

After seeing the sample photo, He Gu stopped dwelling on whether Sheng Nian's words had been true and secretly rejoiced.

Sheng Nian would definitely throw a fit and refuse to do it, just as he always had.

In the past, whenever there were intimate scenes like this, Sheng Nian would make a huge fuss, then avoid them or get a double.

If Sheng Nian threw a tantrum this time, the backlash would surely be even greater than when the previous incident had been exposed.

He Gu curled his lips with malice, waiting to watch the show.

Ever since seeing the pose in the photo, Jiang Shu had worn a dark expression and hadn't said a word.

"It's all right, Shu. Nian is an actor, after all. He's been in the entertainment industry so long. He should know what he's doing."

He was not only reminding Jiang Shu, but also speaking to the livestream viewers.

Jiang Shu's expression remained dark, but he gave a slight nod.

Seeing that his deliberate reminder had worked, He Gu curled his lips in satisfaction and waited for Sheng Nian's reaction.

Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo headed toward the final setting. Yan Feizhuo stepped onto the platform first, while Sheng Nian was called back and took the balance-shaped ice cream holder a staff member handed him, distractedly thinking that he had to maintain his persona and not act out of character.

He moved slowly as he stepped onto the shooting platform, giving off an air of reluctance.

But Jiang Shu said nothing the entire time. Seemingly left with no choice, Sheng Nian could only steel himself and walk onto the platform.

Following the pose in the photo, Yan Feizhuo closed his large hand around the wrist of Sheng Nian's hand holding the ice cream.

The silky feel of the soft, pale skin of his wrist distracted him for a moment.

But Sheng Nian wouldn't stay still, struggling slightly in Yan Feizhuo's arms.

Yan Feizhuo instinctively restrained the prey in his arms and rebuked him softly, "Don't move!"

Holding the Omega's hand, he pulled him into his embrace, wrapped his other arm around Sheng Nian's waist, and lowered his head toward the ice cream to complete the pose.

Sheng Nian reluctantly moved his head closer too, biting his lower lip before licking the matcha ice cream nearest him with a deeply aggrieved air.

Then he stared fixedly at Jiang Shu, the corners of his eyes reddening as he held himself back, looking as though he was about to cry.

Yan Feizhuo's gaze darkened. Rather than eating his own ice cream as originally planned, he took another bite from the gap Sheng Nian had just left in his, likewise fixing Jiang Shu with a burning stare. This time, however, it was a look of provocation.

At the sight, the livestream viewers nearly went wild in the comments.

[Aaaaaaaaah, oh my god, a showdown! This is totally a romantic showdown!]

[If looks could kill, Jiang Shu would have died many times over already.]

[This is a disaster. The Omega may be in his arms, but his heart has already flown off to another Alpha. How can our President Yan have it so rough?!]

[Why is our Sheng-Yan ship so heartbreaking? Sob, sob...]