Why did it hurt so much...

Xu Shi opened his eyes groggily.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the bedroom. They hadn't even drawn the curtains before going to sleep last night.

He climbed out of bed, his head splitting.

"Fuck..."

Why did it hurt so much?

His back hurt, his legs hurt, and even his ass hurt.

It felt as if he'd been in a fight.

Had Xie Yanci beaten him up last night?

Xu Shi had blacked out a little from drinking.

He only remembered kissing Xie Yanci for a very, very long time. Afterward, Xie Yanci had coaxed him into drinking hangover soup as if soothing a baby.

Then, somehow, he'd ended up lying on the couch with Xie Yanci, drinking again.

Xie Yanci really couldn't hold his liquor.

After two or three glasses, he'd leaned against him demanding kisses and kept getting handsy.

Where was even a trace of that refined, mature Overbearing CEO?

Xu Shi couldn't even be bothered to complain about him.

Rubbing his temples with his long fingers, Xu Shi spent ages trying to remember, but still couldn't work out what had happened afterward.

"It hurts..."

He seriously suspected that someone really had beaten him up.

Damn you, Xie Yanci!

You really didn't hold back. How dare you subject me to domestic violence!

I want a divor-

His fingertips suddenly touched something soft and warm, and Xu Shi instinctively squeezed it.

It felt pretty nice.

Wait, what is this?

Xu Shi stiffly turned to look beside him.

Fuck!

Why is Xie Yanci lying next to me?

No, no, it's perfectly normal for him to sleep with me.

He hasn't gone to work yet today?

Xu Shi sheepishly withdrew his wandering hand.

Luckily, he'd only touched a pec, not anything else strange.

His mind instantly cleared considerably. Xu Shi felt around for his phone and glanced at the time on the screen.

Ten o'clock in the morning, on the dot.

That counted as early for him, but for someone as consistently disciplined as Xie Yanci, it probably meant he was late for work.

It was rare to see Xie Yanci sleep in.

Xu Shi quietly glanced sideways to study him.

The Alpha seemed to be sleeping uncomfortably, a slight furrow between his brows.

There was no longer any trace of his usual refined, mature Overbearing CEO appearance. His hair was a tangled mess, as if it had suffered some inhuman torment.

Several buttons at his shirt collar were undone, exposing a large expanse of chest covered in red marks.

Xu Shi swallowed and lowered his eyes to his own nails.

They weren't even that long...

How much must it hurt to be scratched up like that?

He didn't dare imagine it.

It seemed last night's "battle" really had been fierce.

"Mm..."

Xie Yanci's brows knitted tightly as he reached up to rub his head, which hurt so badly it felt about to explode.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Xu Shi's face, wearing a fawning smile. "Hello, hubby. You're awake~"

Xie Yanci frowned slightly and didn't answer.

He sat up in bed unhurriedly and glanced down at the scratches on his body. "What time is it?"

Xu Shi presented his phone with both hands. "It's ten."

With a customer-service smile on his lips, he was exceptionally well-behaved.

Xie Yanci frowned.

Had the sun risen in the west today?

Even Xu Shi had started trying to please him.

Xie Yanci took the phone, glanced at the messages Secretary Zhou had sent, then looked at Xu Shi's fawning face.

He spoke unhurriedly. "Go on. What is it?"

"Hehe..."

Xu Shi hurriedly sidled up to him.

"Do you remember what happened between us last night?"

"When I woke up this morning, I hurt really, really badly all over."

"It felt just like the first time we had sex."

"Something definitely happened last night!"

Xie Yanci: "..."

He didn't dare answer.

He could only turn his head stiffly away, not daring to meet Xu Shi's eyes at all.

After all, their contract stipulated once a month, and this was already the third time...

"I... I blacked out too," Xie Yanci explained stiffly.

"Okay."

Xu Shi didn't think much of it.

He'd initially thought Xie Yanci had subjected him to domestic violence.

Looking at things now, though, there was no telling who had beaten whom. The scratches on Xie Yanci were far worse than his.

Xie Yanci must have bathed him before bed last night. His body felt clean and dry.

Xu Shi went downstairs after quickly washing up.

The living room had been tidied until it was spotless, and the table was laden with all kinds of breakfast dishes. The housekeeper and butler had just left.

Life really was good for the rich.

"Aren't you going to the office yet?" Xu Shi asked as he drank his congee.

"I'll go this afternoon."

All the meetings had been postponed. Xie Yanci ate his breakfast unhurriedly; he didn't like rushing.

He shouldn't have drunk last night.

He couldn't hold his liquor and had never drunk before.

Yesterday, he'd thought that perhaps getting drunk would give him a reason to do that sort of thing...

He was lying to himself.

Why were his desires growing increasingly uncontrollable?

Toward Xu Shi, he...

"Ring-"

A phone suddenly rang.

Xie Yanci abruptly looked up and stared at Xu Shi's phone screen for a long while before finally suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

He didn't love Xu Shi.

Their marriage alliance would be over in a few months.

The life he wanted should be orderly. A mistake like today's shouldn't happen.

"Hello? Xiao Chi?"

The Beta's sweet voice slipped into his ears.

Holding his glass, Xie Yanci tipped his head back and drained the hot milk in one gulp.

His mind was in turmoil.

"It's so noisy over there. I didn't catch that." Xu Shi instinctively turned the volume all the way up.

"Bro, he's still lying in the hospital. He says you beat him up, and he's going to find reporters to expose you." Xiao Chi found somewhere quieter.

"Let him." Xu Shi didn't feel guilty in the slightest. "I didn't even do anything. He just started accusing me of stealing his boyfriend out of nowhere."

Stop spreading sexual rumors about me.

Do you know who my husband is?

He's Xie Yanci!

Would I need to steal someone else's boyfriend?

Xie Yanci lowered his eyes, a hint of a smile touching his lips.

"But, bro, it seems you really did steal him..."

"Huh?"

Xu Shi froze and hurriedly turned the volume down.

"When you were working as an extra on your last production, that Alpha was the male lead. You thought he was pretty good-looking, so you went over and flirted with him a little."

"Then that Alpha fell for you."

"Even when you told him to leave, he insisted on clinging to you."

Xu Shi: "..."

The original owner had done that too? Their personalities really were alike!

No wonder he'd been written based on him.

But how on earth did that count as "stealing"?

Clearly, someone else had eagerly offered to be his dog.

Xu Shi rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and tell him to go find reporters. Just hearing this makes me sick."

"Bro!" Xiao Chi grew anxious. "He doesn't just want to find reporters. He's going to the police too."

"No!"

The police were out of the question.

Xu Shi was a good, law-abiding citizen. Nothing in his life scared him more than police officers.

"I'll think of something."

After hanging up, he instinctively looked toward Xie Yanci.

Xie Yanci understood. He'd waited all night for this moment.

His dark eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his lips rose by a single pixel as he prepared to quietly enjoy Xu Shi's performance.

"Hubby~"

Xu Shi put on a fawning smile.

"You definitely know all about what happened yesterday, right? Help me..."

He shook Xie Yanci's hand frantically.

"Please, hubby~"

"You're the most, most, most doting husband in the whole world. You'll definitely help me."

"Right?"

Xu Shi blinked his pure, innocent eyes, doing everything he could to act cute.

Hearing that drawn-out, lilting "hubby," Xie Yanci really couldn't withstand such sweet cajoling.

He turned his head and gave a helpless laugh.

"Just this once."