The luxury van

Wei Zisu couldn't hold back any longer. Clutching his stomach, he burst out laughing. How had he never noticed how good Yin Zhengchuan was at putting people in their place and getting under their skin? His opinion of him rose another notch.

Yuan Zizhen's vision went black, and he nearly passed out from anger. His assistant hurriedly helped him away.

The chef hadn't just roasted eight whole lambs; he had also set up a grill and cooked plenty of meat skewers and vegetables.

Everyone in the crew had a great time eating, treating the barbecue feast like a party.

Except Wu Hao.

He stayed in his trailer by himself and refused to come out even when the director sent someone to invite him.

Wei Zisu thought he was being antisocial. But that was just as well. With how hostile Wu Hao was toward him all day, Wei Zisu really didn't want him eating a meal Yin Zhengchuan had paid for. He didn't deserve it.

Wei Zisu took the meat skewer Yin Zhengchuan handed him and asked as he ate, "You told the director and the others you were my friend?"

Yin Zhengchuan paused, then said, "Yeah. I don't know much about the entertainment industry, so I was worried telling the truth might affect you."

Wei Zisu felt more and more that Yin Zhengchuan was different.

He remembered how Sun Liang had been eager to go public as soon as they got together, without even getting his permission first. An entertainer dating or getting engaged directly affected their work. Sister Qian had scolded him several times over it.

Yin Zhengchuan seemed to consider him first in everything he did, and that made Wei Zisu feel respected.

But in reality, even announcing that he was married wouldn't cause a stir, let alone affect his work. His popularity had already hit rock bottom, after all. How much lower could it go?

Wei Zisu shook his head and said, "It won't really affect anything."

Then, when a few colleagues came over to thank him, he stood up with a bottle of soda and said to everyone in a clear voice, "I'm the one who should thank you all for coming. Zhengchuan and I registered our marriage not long ago, so consider this our wedding feast!"

The crew froze as if turned to stone. A few seconds later, led by the director, they raised the sodas or juices beside them and scrambled to offer their congratulations.

Wei Zisu smiled and raised his bottle to everyone, then tipped his head back and finished the whole bottle of soda.

They still had night scenes to shoot, so no one dared drink alcohol. They could only substitute soft drinks.

Yin Zhengchuan sat there looking up at Wei Zisu, his brain seemingly frozen, with only a few sentences flashing through it over and over.

Did he just announce it? Does this mean he's acknowledged our relationship? He just called me Zhengchuan! Can I call him my wife now? He called me Zhengchuan this time, so next time he might call me his husband. From now on, I'll be an alpha with an acknowledged place!!

Before long, the news that Wei Zisu was married shot onto the trending searches.

In the past, a little news like this about him wouldn't have been worth wasting media resources on. But just a few days ago, he'd drawn attention for cursing out Sun Liang and Yuan Zizhen. Now that news of his marriage had come out, of course there was even more to talk about.

For a while, the internet buzzed again.

Some said Wei Zisu had reached the age when he had no choice but to marry and might have accepted a state-arranged match.

Others speculated that Wei Zisu might have cheated too, marrying his lover immediately after breaking off his engagement to Sun Liang.

Some particularly curious people searched everywhere for information about Wei Zisu's husband, but found nothing.

The more mysterious he was, the more interested people became. Netizens discussed who Wei Zisu's husband might be. Some said he was in the industry, others said he was wealthy, and one person claimed to have inside information: Wei Zisu's husband was a farmer!

No matter how Wei Zisu asked, Yin Zhengchuan refused to say exactly how much that barbecue feast had cost.

Helpless, Wei Zisu could only put the matter aside for now.

The main problem was that he was completely broke. He couldn't grandly wave a hand and reimburse him. That would have to wait until he'd earned some money.

He had meant to send Yin Zhengchuan back to the hotel to rest, but Yin Zhengchuan refused to leave. Once Wei Zisu got busy, he couldn't spare the attention to deal with him. He only told him he could go to the hotel whenever he felt tired.

By the time he finished filming the scene where he accompanied his father and elder brother to an audience with the emperor, it was well past midnight. Wei Zisu discovered that Yin Zhengchuan still hadn't left and was chatting animatedly with the director.

Wei Zisu was puzzled. Hadn't they only met today? Besides, the director was usually a rather serious person. He rarely saw him smiling so happily.

As he drew closer, he heard the two chatting in a dialect he couldn't understand at all.

Director Zhang said, "Back then, even squattin' in the courtyard to eat, food tasted better than it does now!"

Yin Zhengchuan said, "Ain't that the truth? Mainly 'cause there wasn't much to eat back then. We'd even go catch cicada nymphs to eat come evenin'."

Director Zhang said, "Right, right, right! I loved eatin' cicada nymphs back then too!"

Wei Zisu: ?????

"Director." His head full of question marks, Wei Zisu walked over and greeted him.

Seeing him approach, Director Zhang immediately switched to standard Mandarin and praised Yin Zhengchuan. "Zisu, this partner of yours is a great guy. Down-to-earth, sincere, and from the same hometown as me!"

Wei Zisu asked in surprise, "Director, you're from Shandong too?"

"That's right," Director Zhang said. "I rarely went back after leaving for university."

Wei Zisu acknowledged this politely, then said, "I'll let you get back to work, Director. I need to talk to Zhengchuan about something."

"All right, all right. Off you go."

Yin Zhengchuan thought, Hehe, he called me Zhengchuan again. Hehe...

Wei Zisu pulled Yin Zhengchuan aside and said, "It's so late. Why haven't you gone back yet? Aren't you tired?"

Yin Zhengchuan said, "Not at all. I'm still full of energy."

Back when he was in the military, staying awake for over forty hours straight had been as easy as drinking water.

Looking at his bright eyes, he really didn't seem tired, but Wei Zisu still felt bad.

When he had been with Sun Liang, Sun Liang had occasionally visited him on set, but never stayed long. The Sun family's pampered second son had been spoiled since childhood. How could he stand such a chaotic place?

Later, probably on his mother's advice, he had rented Wei Zisu a luxury van so he would have somewhere to rest on set.

But Wei Zisu had only gone inside once and never used it again.

He remembered Sun Liang coming over as if seeking praise and taking him to rest in the van. At the time, he hadn't thought much of it and had followed him over.

But once Sun Liang got inside, he started getting handsy, constantly finding chances to touch his hands and waist.

Wei Zisu had felt some resistance, but thinking that some physical contact should be normal since they were already engaged, he had endured it without saying anything.

Yet Sun Liang took his forbearance as permission.

Breathing in the orange scent, Sun Liang grew increasingly restless. Suddenly, he pushed Wei Zisu down onto the sofa bed, seeking his lips as his hands roamed all over him.

Wei Zisu reflexively kicked him away. He had held back his strength, or that kick could have broken Sun Liang's ribs.

Kicked to the floor, Sun Liang was angry and frustrated, demanding to know what he was doing.

Wei Zisu said, "I should be asking what you think you're doing."

Sun Liang said self-righteously, "We're already engaged. Isn't this kind of thing normal? Or are you embarrassed about doing it here? Don't worry, the van's soundproofing is great. Nobody outside can hear."

As he spoke, he got up and tried to approach again.

Wei Zisu held out a hand in rejection and said, "We're only engaged, not married yet. Maybe you alphas don't care, but as an omega, I've never thought doing this before marriage was normal."

Society placed extremely strict demands on omegas. He couldn't change that environment, so he could only learn to protect himself.

Humiliated and angry, Sun Liang said resentfully, "Fine, it doesn't matter if you don't want to. I've never forced anyone to do that sort of thing! Just remember, don't come begging me when you're in heat!"

With that, he stormed off.

Wei Zisu got out of the van afterward and told the person Sun Liang had left behind that he wouldn't need it anymore and to drive it away.

After that, the two gave each other the silent treatment for over a month. Only through Sun Liang's mother's mediation did they reconcile on the surface.

Neither he nor Sun Liang was willing to back down. Whenever they had a disagreement, they would give each other the silent treatment for a month or so at least, and nearly half a year at most. In any case, during their three-year engagement, they had spent very few days getting along together.

His mother said Wei Zisu had a personality flaw and told him to give in to Sun Liang more. Her words had once made Wei Zisu doubt himself and wonder whether something really was wrong with him.

But Cui Xiangxiang had set him straight with a single remark: "Something wrong with you? Wei Zisu, your biggest fucking problem is that you always look for the fault in yourself! What personality flaw? Your personalities just aren't compatible! When you two have a disagreement, if Sun Liang backed down and said something nice, would you keep giving him the silent treatment?"

Wei Zisu answered, "No."

Only then had he belatedly realized that he didn't have the personality flaw his mother spoke of. He simply hadn't found the right person.

But it was all too late. His engagement to Sun Liang was already a fact. At the time, he had thought resignedly, Maybe this is how I'll have to live for the rest of my life.

So when he discovered that Sun Liang was cheating on him with Yuan Zizhen, he hadn't felt sad at all. Instead, he had felt rather relieved. He finally had a legitimate reason to break off his engagement to Sun Liang!

To end this warped relationship dominated by the silent treatment.

As he circled through his memories, he heard Yin Zhengchuan call him.

Wei Zisu came back to himself. "Hmm? What did you just say?"

Yin Zhengchuan smiled, finding even the way he zoned out utterly adorable. He repeated, "I said, I've prepared a luxury van for you. Go get some rest."