Naughty children must be punished

Secretary Zhou: "..."

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought President Xie wasn't the one who hadn't seen his wife in five days.

Secretary Zhou silently shook his head.

If Xu Shi hadn't specifically told him to stay and make sure Xie Yanci finished his meals on time, he would have left right then.

"..."

Song Zhixing gave a meaningful sigh. "I really can't see why Xu Shi likes you."

Tsk, tsk.

Just how bad was his taste?

Xie Yanci didn't argue and continued eating at an unhurried pace.

He knew he had a terrible personality and wasn't suited to marriage or romance. He hadn't expected his friends to think so too.

Xu Shi really had suffered by marrying him...

Xie Yanci pressed his thin lips together, his dark, unreadable gaze falling on the wedding ring on his ring finger. There was no telling what he was thinking.

"Let me talk to you about something serious," Song Zhixing suddenly said. "If Xu Shi plays Xia Cen, would you be willing to play his husband?"

Xie Yanci froze.

He looked at Song Zhixing coldly, his brows drawing together slightly. "Do I look like someone who would play along with your nonsense?"

"I'm serious!" Song Zhixing rose from the armchair, circled around, and sat beside Xie Yanci.

"Your wife plays Xia Cen, and you play his handsome, wealthy husband. It couldn't be more perfect."

Xia Cen's husband was named Gu Jinnan, a powerful, high-ranking man of few words.

He had fallen in love with Xia Cen at first sight at a dinner banquet. A year into their marriage, he had uncovered the truth about Xia Cen assuming someone else's identity, but he hadn't exposed him. He had even helped his wife patch every hole in his assumed identity.

He loved Xia Cen and accepted that his wife loved only his money and was merely using his standing in their circle.

Song Zhixing couldn't think of anyone in the entertainment industry who could portray someone so forbearing yet so powerful.

But Xie Yanci was different. He naturally possessed the oppressive presence of someone in authority. The character was practically tailor-made for him.

"I refuse," Xie Yanci said coldly.

He had no interest whatsoever in the entertainment industry.

"Don't be so quick to say no." Song Zhixing caught his arm. "There are sex scenes. You'd have sex scenes with Xu Shi!"

At that, Xie Yanci's brows knitted slightly. He looked at him as though he were an idiot. "Are sex scenes supposed to be something rare?"

His contemptuous gaze swept over Song Zhixing, and a scoff escaped his thin lips.

Then he stood, straightened his clothes unhurriedly, and walked out.

Song Zhixing: "..."

Apparently, someone had taken him for a virgin.

What was that mocking laugh supposed to mean?

Song Zhixing followed him toward the office, about to try persuading him again.

Xie Yanci suddenly looked back and asked thoughtfully, "Would my participation determine who gets cast as Xia Cen?"

"Of course not." Song Zhixing shook his head. "Xia Cen is the most important character."

Xie Yanci nodded slowly, finally reassured. "I refuse."

Song Zhixing: "..."

Fine. Another day of wasted effort.

At six that evening, both meetings had ended.

Song Zhixing was no longer in the office.

Xie Yanci sighed softly. He still hadn't worked up the courage to ask him about casting the second male lead.

He couldn't deliver on what he had promised Xu Shi.

Darkness fell quickly in late autumn. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, fierce winds raged. It seemed another downpour was coming.

Xie Yanci lowered his gaze to a document awaiting review. After some thought, he picked up his phone and sent the butler a message:

[Has Xu Shi come home?]

A second later, the other party replied with only two words: [Not yet.]

Xie Yanci: "..."

It was already the sixth day.

Six days without coming home, without a single word.

He had clearly lived like this before, but for some reason, he suddenly found it hard to endure now.

He counted away the hours, not even knowing when they would see each other.

His head felt a little dizzy. Xie Yanci leaned back against his chair and removed the pale gold, thin-framed glasses from his nose, gently pinching the aching bridge with his long fingers.

After a long, long time, he finally gave in and opened his WeChat chat with Xu Shi.

His long, well-defined fingers tapped the screen. He typed and deleted quite a bit, deliberating for over ten minutes, but still couldn't find a suitable greeting.

It was only a business marriage. Not seeing each other was the norm, and he truly had no reason to reach out to Xu Shi first.

"..."

He slowly let out a sigh.

Just as he was about to put down his phone and return to work, a call suddenly came in.

Xie Yanci glanced at the contact name on the screen, his brows drawing together slightly.

He answered.

"President Xie, Mr. Xu Shi has ordered eight male models at our nightclub again." The manager sounded somewhat uncomfortable bringing it up.

President Xie's wife kept coming to patronize the male models they trained. What kind of situation was this?

This time, he hadn't booked online and had simply taken a private room upon arrival. The manager hadn't even had time to stop him beforehand.

Xie Yanci frowned slightly and opened his payment notification messages, scrolling through them several times.

There was only one cash withdrawal notification.

Xie Yanci gave a cold laugh.

He had gotten smarter now. He even knew to pay in cash in person.

Anger churned in his dark eyes, his voice icy. "I'm coming over now. Don't let those filthy men lay a finger on my wife."

So while he was giving him the cold shoulder, he was ordering male escorts at a nightclub.

Meanwhile, he had been agonizing over how to contact him with a legitimate reason.

He had overestimated Xu Shi's standards, and Xu Shi had overestimated his patience.

Naughty children had to be punished.

Wanzhen Nightclub.

The VIP room was dimly lit. Several bottles of expensive red wine had been opened on the coffee table, but little had been drunk.

The Beta lounged lazily on the leather sofa in a loose white sweatshirt. As he reached out, a glimpse of his slender waist showed beneath it.

An attendant beside him held an iPad and respectfully presented it to him.

The screen displayed all sorts of well-trained male models.

Xu Shi's pale, slender fingers slid lightly across the screen as he made his selections with great care.

"This one's nice."

A rugged, muscular guy. He liked that.

He would get one to try.

"This one's not bad either."

A creepy guy who liked forcing things. His profile sounded a little fierce, and Xu Shi liked him even more.

He would get one to try.

"And this one, this one, this one..."

He selected every Alpha with even a little good looks.

He had finally worked up the courage to come enjoy himself, and had finally managed to keep it from that scheming Xie Yanci. This time, he was going to sample every man.

Xu Shi reluctantly pressed "Confirm," still feeling a little dissatisfied.

He whistled at the attendant beside him. "Do you have any of those damn posers who are secretly horny but won't admit it, all cold and aloof and barely willing to acknowledge anyone?"

"Uh..." The attendant shook his head. "All our male models are very enthusiastic about our patrons."

Xu Shi: "..."

How boring.

Pushing the iPad back, Xu Shi nodded at him. "Just these. Hurry and bring them over."

[Time to dig in!]