Friends

"Li, what did you see?"

"Was that guy good-looking?"

"Come on, tell us, Li."

The woman walked back to her desk and sat down. Seeing this, everyone crowded around her, their eyes full of curiosity and eagerness as they peppered her with questions.

The woman leisurely took a sip of water. Only when their stares threatened to swallow her whole did she slowly say, "He looked so sweet! You have no idea how fair and pretty that boy was. And CEO Fu was eating in there—it smelled so good it made me hungry."

One girl suddenly asked, "What do you think his relationship with CEO Fu is?"

"CEO Fu said they were friends."

Everyone exchanged glances, disbelief in their eyes.

"Do you believe that?"

"I don't."

How could a mere friend get that iceberg CEO Fu to personally bring him upstairs and even drape a jacket over him?

Whose friends brought them meals, anyway? Tsk, tsk, tsk. They certainly weren't buying it.

Half an hour later.

Fu Xiuyuan glanced at the boy dozing on the sofa and asked in a low voice, "Would you like to sleep here for a while?"

Gu Nian'an paused at his words, then quickly waved his hands to decline. "No, it's fine. I won't disturb you. I'll head back in a bit."

Seeing his sleepy eyes, Fu Xiuyuan couldn't help lowering his voice. "I have a meeting shortly. Sleep here for a while, and we'll go home together tonight."

Gu Nian'an considered it for a moment, then gave a small nod.

Perhaps because the room was so warm, the boy soon fell asleep curled up on the sofa. Fu Xiuyuan looked up, his gaze settling on the red lips through which the boy breathed in and out in his sleep.

His eyes darkened slightly, and he suddenly felt a surge of heat rise within him.

Before he could examine it further, he remembered the meeting he still had to attend. He got up and left, gently pulling the door shut behind him.

After an unknown stretch of time, the door opened again. This time, a man in off-white casual clothes walked in, looking around the moment he entered.

At the sight of the person lying on the sofa, the man froze. Puzzled, he approached and bent slightly to look at the sleeping boy.

Li Jiyuan rubbed his chin, his gaze roaming over the sleeping figure on the sofa as he silently wondered, Damn, did that guy Fu secretly get himself a partner behind our backs? Who is this? He's pretty good-looking.

Just then, Fu Xiuyuan returned from his meeting. Seeing the door open, he paused briefly, then walked closer and saw Li Jiyuan bending over, inching closer and closer to the boy lying on the sofa.

His expression abruptly darkened. He strode forward and pulled away the man who was still studying the person before him.

Yanked away so suddenly, Li Jiyuan stumbled. He was just about to curse when he turned and saw Fu Xiuyuan staring at him with a dark expression.

Remembering what he had just been doing, he rubbed his nose with a guilty air and said sheepishly, "Hey, Fu, who's this kid? Your partner?"

Before Fu Xiuyuan could speak, the commotion woke the person on the sofa. With bleary eyes, he looked at the two people standing before him and found the familiar figure.

Gu Nian'an instinctively took his hand and rubbed his eyes groggily. "Sir, who's he?"

Fu Xiuyuan lowered his eyes and gently smoothed his tousled hair. "A business associate."

Li Jiyuan's mouth twitched, and he protested, "Hey, hey, Fu, we've known each other for so many years. Don't I even get a name? What do you mean, a business associate?"

He turned toward the boy, who had obediently sat up, and silently marveled. He had always been a sucker for looks and had little resistance to attractive people, so he offered his hand and introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Li Jiyuan, a friend of Fu Xiuyuan's. I sincerely suggest you stay away from this black-hearted fellow."

Even while introducing himself, he didn't forget to undermine his good friend.

Gu Nian'an's gaze moved between the two of them. He slowly shook the offered hand and said softly, "My name is Gu Nian'an. I'm sir's frien-"

Before he could finish, the man interrupted him and supplied the rest.

"Partner. He's my partner. We've been married for a few months." With that, he cast a glance at Li Jiyuan.

He knew Li Jiyuan had never cared about gender-as long as someone was attractive, he was open to them. And Gu Nian'an happened to be exactly his type.

The thought that this man might set his sights on him sent a wave of irritation through Fu Xiuyuan.

Li Jiyuan's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Fu Xiuyuan in disbelief. "Damn, seriously? Fu, you actually got married without even telling us? How come you never had a wedding?"

Then he suddenly remembered that Gu Nian'an seemed to be a minor celebrity.

Although Gu Nian'an was indeed his type, he wasn't in the habit of stealing someone else's "wife," and he swiftly extinguished the hint of romantic interest that had arisen within him.

Still, he wondered why Fu Xiuyuan hadn't made such a major matter public. But then, thinking of the boy's looks and Fu Xiuyuan's status, he silently clicked his tongue. Fu Xiuyuan really was possessive and protective.

When neither of them answered, he stopped pressing the matter.

Fu Xiuyuan slowly asked, "What did you come to see me about?"

Li Jiyuan rubbed his head and said hesitantly, "Mo Chen and Lao Wan wanted to get together. It's been ages since we all met up, so I came to ask if you wanted to come."

Fu Xiuyuan was usually too busy to attend gatherings like these, but after recently learning that he had gained actual control of the Fu Group, they couldn't help wanting to get together with him.

A faint flicker crossed Fu Xiuyuan's eyes. Thinking of the help the three had given him over the past few years, he nodded and agreed.

Seeing him agree, Li Jiyuan beamed, patted him on the back, and said heartily, "Then it's settled. Make sure you come. Let's all have a proper get-together."

Then he looked at Gu Nian'an and said quietly, "Bring your partner along so those two can meet him too."

Imagining how startled those two would be when Fu Xiuyuan showed up with his partner, he couldn't help smiling a little wickedly.

With that, he waved and turned to leave.

He didn't forget to call back, "Make sure you come!"

Once he was finally gone, Fu Xiuyuan rubbed his brow helplessly, then turned to Gu Nian'an. "Would you like to come along?"

Gu Nian'an nodded and smiled. "Yes."

Then, as though suddenly remembering something, he asked hesitantly, "Sir, who else knows about our contract?"

When he had read the novel, he had never noticed that the male lead had friends.

He didn't know how close they were or whether they knew their relationship was merely contractual.

Fu Xiuyuan paused, an unreadable gleam flashing through his eyes, then slowly said, "No one knows about this. In front of other people, you just need to play the role of my partner."

Remembering that there were only two years left before the contract ended, he somehow felt an inexplicable surge of irritation. He fiddled with the thumb ring on his hand, trying to dispel those strange emotions in his mind.

Gu Nian'an nodded.

Night fell.

Gu Nian'an lay in bed. The kitten had climbed down from the third floor and onto his bed, curling up beside his pillow and falling fast asleep.

After playing with the kitten for a while, he saw that it had fallen asleep. Not sleepy himself, he idly opened his phone.

He instinctively tapped his phone and saw a recommendation on the home page.

"Yu Songqing's farewell concert is set to begin."