Seven in the evening.
Xu Shi had showered early and wore nothing but the Alpha's oversized white shirt.
He stood before the mirror, admiring his peerless beauty.
The living room was brightly lit. The loose shirt slipped down, revealing a stretch of fair, delicate shoulder.
Xu Shi gave it a casual tug.
Xie Yanci's shirt carried a faint, fresh woody scent. It smelled lovely.
The shirt was a little short, leaving a stretch of fleshy thigh exposed to the air. A small silver bell was tied around his ankle, and the slightest movement sent a pleasant chime through the spacious, silent living room.
His beautiful, alluring eyes curved slightly. Xu Shi was very pleased with the effect.
He refused to believe Xie Yanci could resist such temptation.
Xu Shi had specially picked two bottles of fine red wine from the underground wine cellar. He knew Xie Yanci was too stubborn and embarrassed to initiate that sort of thing, so he had deliberately found a good excuse for a certain someone.
Taking a sip of red wine, Xu Shi lounged lazily on the sofa.
Striking a "drunken beauty" pose, he raised his phone high and took a photo.
He sent it to Xie Yanci.
Meanwhile.
In the conference room, several department managers were heatedly discussing whether Xie Corporation should venture into the entertainment industry.
Most were opposed.
Xie Yanci had not said a word throughout. Propping his forehead on his long fingers, he stared somewhat absently at the wedding ring on his right hand.
"Ding-"
The priority notification sounded especially piercing in the noisy conference room.
Everyone who had been arguing heatedly moments before immediately stopped, their eyes turning to the man at the head of the table.
President Xie had once been a notorious workaholic. In his five years of marriage, they had never seen him reply to anyone's messages during a meeting.
And now this was already the second time.
Could the rumors in the employee group chat about President Xie keeping a young lover be true?
Everyone exchanged glances, none daring to speak.
Xie Yanci picked up his phone and glanced impassively at Xu Shi's message.
His pupils instantly dilated.
In the photo, the Beta lay lazily on the sofa, wearing nothing but his loose shirt. Whether deliberately or not, the top three buttons were undone.
They revealed just enough of the Beta's exquisite collarbones and fair, enticing shoulders.
Xu Shi's eyes, dipping at the inner corners and tilting up at the outer corners, were slightly narrowed. His lips were faintly pursed as he deliberately put on a seductive, alluring expression.
"..."
His long fingers paused over the screen for several seconds. Xie Yanci narrowed his dark eyes, a cryptic curve lifting the corners of his lips.
He opened the chat and was just about to send something when the photo was suddenly unsent.
[Xu Shi]: Sorry, wrong person~
Wrong person?
"?"
Who else could he send such a private photo to besides his husband?
Xie Yanci's brows drew tightly together. His long, well-defined fingers unconsciously curled into a fist, and his thin lips pressed into a straight line.
He had known Xu Shi had been misbehaving all along.
Xie Yanci's eyes darkened. Suppressing his emotions, he called Xu Shi directly. "Where are you?"
His voice was exceptionally cold, without the slightest fluctuation of emotion. Only an invisible pressure surged through the conference room.
A soft laugh came from the other end. Xu Shi was completely unfazed by the pressure. "At home."
Once he had his answer, Xie Yanci hung up.
He rose, his gloomy, cold eyes sweeping over everyone in the conference room. "Invest in Song Zhixing's new film. Prepare a proposal."
He had never needed the board's approval to make decisions.
The people who had opposed it earlier now dared not say a word, only nodding silently.
Whatever President Xie said went. This was no time to put themselves in the line of fire.
As they watched the Alpha leave, discussion instantly broke out in the conference room:
"What did President Xie see to make him so angry?"
"Judging by that special notification sound, it was probably either his wife or that rumored young lover."
"Huh? Could President Xie have been cheated on?"
"..."
Listening to the discussion, Secretary Zhou felt distinctly unnerved and silently lit a candle for himself.
Rest in peace.
A long while later, there was still no sound from beside him.
Secretary Zhou cautiously looked up.
President Xie's face was frighteningly gloomy, anger churning in his pitch-black eyes, as though he were considering some sort of "punishment."
Had he really been cheated on?
At the seaside villa in South City.
Moonlight flowed like water. A piercing screech of brakes shattered the silent night.
A jet-black Maybach stopped on the road across from the villa, and an Alpha in a dark suit slowly stepped out.
Holding his suit jacket in one hand, Xie Yanci strode toward the villa.
"Beep-"
The sound of the passcode being entered was especially distinct in the silent living room.
He was home?
Xu Shi startled.
He hurriedly drained the red wine in his glass in one gulp, then lay on the sofa pretending to be drunk. His long fingers tugged the shirt farther down, revealing a broad expanse of exquisite collarbone.
His long, fair, firm legs were slightly bent, with nothing covering them.
[I'm going to win Xie Yanci over today, no matter what!]
"?"
His long fingers rested on the door handle. Hearing those words, Xie Yanci froze for half a second.
A curve instantly lifted the corners of his lips.
So those messages had been deliberate? To trick him into coming home?
Xie Yanci raised an eyebrow, opened the door unhurriedly, and changed his shoes in the entryway.
He slowly looked up.
The living room was brightly lit, and the first thing he saw was the Beta lying quietly on the sofa.
Xie Yanci's unreadable gaze lingered on Xu Shi's long, fair thighs for several seconds, and a soft laugh escaped his thin lips.
His wife certainly had his tricks.
The thought of those seductive tricks being used on other Alphas after their divorce stirred jealousy in Xie Yanci.
Low footsteps sounded through the living room.
[He's coming, he's coming.]
[What do I do? What do I do?]
[It's my first time seducing a man. I'm so nervous...]
"?"
Had he seduced women before?
Xie Yanci stopped beside the sofa, glanced at the opened red wine on the table, then let his gaze settle on Xu Shi's expanses of exposed skin.
He did not wake Xu Shi, who was pretending to sleep.
Bending down, his long fingers unconsciously came to rest on the Beta's body, caressing him gently.
*[!]*
Xu Shi startled.
His eyes flew open, instantly meeting Xie Yanci's playful gaze, brimming with desire.
"Y-you did that on purpose?"
[How did he know I wasn't asleep?]
[Uh...]
Before you continue