Wu Jiangyuan never made it to the company. He had only just gone down to the garage when a call from his older brother, Wu Chengnan, summoned him elsewhere.
Wu Chengnan was thirty-one that year, six years older than Wu Jiangyuan, and a Beta.
Although he was a Beta, neither his looks nor his abilities fell short of an Alpha's.
He had secured his place at the helm of a business empire at a young age-a business genius who acted decisively and showed no favoritism.
In this family, Wu Jiangyuan feared his brother more than Jia Xin'an.
Their parents had spent very little time at home with them when they were young. Most of the time, he had been with Wu Chengnan.
As a result, Wu Jiangyuan saw his brother as a parental authority deep down.
When Wu Jiangyuan received Wu Chengnan's call, he almost thought the sun had risen in the west.
His busy older brother hadn't contacted him in nearly a year.
This time, the call he initiated consisted of just one brief sentence from start to finish.
"Wu Jiangyuan, come to my office."
He hung up without giving Wu Jiangyuan a chance to reply.
Wu Jiangyuan already had a very bad feeling.
His brother never came calling without a reason.
For him to reach out this time, something major was definitely about to happen.
He opened Wu Chengnan's WeChat chat and sent a message to test the waters.
[Chengnan, I'm not finished with things at my company yet. I'll come see you when I'm done.]
He waited a while, but Wu Chengnan didn't reply.
Still, Wu Jiangyuan was certain he had seen it.
Because the top of the chat showed: Typing...
Yet no message came through.
The silent pressure was the most intense.
The next second, Wu Chengnan called again.
When Wu Jiangyuan answered, the voice on the other end was cold and hard. "Come to my office first. I don't want to repeat myself a third time."
Wu Jiangyuan had no choice but to answer, "Okay."
After hanging up, Wu Jiangyuan first gave He Qu a heads-up.
Then he drove to Wu Chengnan's company.
He wanted to see what was so important that they were acting as if the sky were falling.
When he arrived at the company, the secretary had already been waiting for some time and took him up to the president's office.
The man in a bespoke suit stood by the window on the phone, his posture straight, exuding the charm and bearing of a mature man. At the sound of their arrival, he merely glanced over.
Wu Jiangyuan didn't disturb him either. He plopped onto the sofa and waited for the storm.
"All right, I understand. I'll arrange it."
Wu Chengnan replied calmly, then hung up.
He turned, walked over, and sat opposite Wu Jiangyuan before speaking evenly.
"That was Father."
Wu Jiangyuan had a hunch. "You two weren't just talking about me, were you?"
"Yes."
Wu Chengnan crossed his long, straight legs beneath his suit trousers and looked at him sternly.
"You're getting married soon. Father wants you to stop playing house."
"Playing house?" Wu Jiangyuan's lips twitched. "Are you talking about my work?"
From the very beginning, not a single person in his family had approved of him being a celebrity.
Wu Chengnan said, "Father is doing this for your own good, too. Everyone outside wants to know who the Pei family's marriage partner is. If they find out it's a third-rate celebrity mired in bad press..."
"Both families will lose face."
"So I'm an embarrassment." Wu Jiangyuan sounded a little mocking. "Then why don't they have you marry into their family?"
"You meet all their requirements. Taking you out would make them look far better than taking me."
Wu Chengnan's brow creased slightly, then relaxed. "I'm a Beta, and I'm six years older than both of you."
Wu Jiangyuan shrugged. "You're only six years older than Pei Jinghe. People aren't that prejudiced against Betas these days."
So his old man couldn't talk him around and had sent his brother instead?
The thought made Wu Jiangyuan angry. He sneered. "I just don't get it. I'm making my own way in show business. What does that have to do with any of you?"
"Making your own way?" Wu Chengnan said icily. "And all you've gotten out of it is the abuse flooding the internet?"
"I said from the start that your personality wasn't suited to show business."
"Now I have to clean up your mess."
Wu Jiangyuan froze at that and looked at him in surprise. "You were the one who got the trending topics taken down?"
Wu Chengnan's face remained stern. "Who else did you think it was?"
Wu Jiangyuan's anger abruptly fizzled out. He muttered, "Don't you usually stay out of this stuff?"
Wu Chengnan said, "Until Father spoke up, I did."
Wu Jiangyuan pressed his lips together and lowered his head, his voice carrying a hint of grievance.
"Even you won't support me, Chengnan."
Wu Chengnan felt a headache coming on. "How am I supposed to support you? Search your name online now, and all that comes up is dirt."
Wu Jiangyuan said, "Then if I can prove myself, will you take my side?"
Wu Chengnan asked, "How will you prove yourself?"
Wu Jiangyuan suddenly made up his mind, his expression turning resolute. "Just give me time, and I'll turn around every opinion people have of me online."
Wu Chengnan watched him for a long time with a grave expression.
"Six months."
"I'll give you six months. If things are still like this after six months, don't blame me, Wu Jiangyuan."
Wu Jiangyuan had been given his final ultimatum. If he couldn't change how everyone saw him in six months, his ruthless older brother would personally have him blacklisted.
Then he really would have to leave show business.
Six months felt a little uncertain to Wu Jiangyuan, but he gritted his teeth and agreed.
"No problem. Give me six months, and I'll pull off this stunning reversal for you."
"Also," Wu Chengnan said evenly, "spend more time with that boy from the Pei family."
Wu Jiangyuan froze. "Why?"
"Our company is competing for resources for a project involving Tangsheng." Wu Chengnan paused. "If I remember correctly, your fiancé is the one calling the shots at Tangsheng."
Wu Jiangyuan said, "..."
His mouth twitched hard. "Don't drag me into your business affairs."
"I gave you six months." Wu Chengnan's tone suddenly grew forceful. "You should give me something in return."
Wu Jiangyuan drew a sharp breath inwardly. How had he forgotten that his brother was a workaholic?
He insisted on mutually beneficial gains in everything, not even sparing his own younger brother.
He knew this bastard couldn't possibly be that kind. Giving him six months-he had been digging a pit for him to jump into all along.
Wu Jiangyuan got up to leave and only spoke once he reached the door.
"But I barely know Pei Jinghe."
"Barely know him?" Wu Chengnan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Didn't you grow up together? Father told me you've already shared a bed."
Wu Jiangyuan looked back and rolled his eyes irritably. "That was just an accident. Pei Jinghe hates my guts."
"That boy hates you?" Wu Chengnan gave a meaningful smile. "Are you sure?"
Wu Jiangyuan thought he was being strange. "Have you forgotten that he and I fought all through our childhood?"
Wu Chengnan walked over and leaned against the doorway, folding his arms as he asked in puzzlement, "Weren't you the one who threw the first punch?"
"That was because he was asking for a beating."
Wu Jiangyuan said, "Enough, I'm not talking about this. I've still got things to do at the company."
As he left, Wu Chengnan stressed one last time, "Wu Jiangyuan, don't forget our agreement."
Wu Jiangyuan didn't answer, only waving a hand to show he understood.
Have him go to Pei Jinghe and pull strings for a project?
Absolutely not.
After leaving, Wu Jiangyuan drove straight to his company.
He stopped outside the entrance without rushing in, staring at the building in thought instead.
He wondered what would be the fastest way to change his image in everyone's eyes.
Wu Jiangyuan had never cared about this sort of thing before.
Now it was different. This concerned his future career as a celebrity, and he enjoyed being in the spotlight.
Compared with the dull, tedious battlefield of business, he preferred wasting his life on a glamorous stage.
Unable to come up with anything workable, Wu Jiangyuan slowly drove into the underground garage.
He Qu had just come out of a meeting. When he entered his office, he found Wu Jiangyuan sitting in his seat with his feet up.
He teased, "Well, well. Has our busy man finished his business?"
The first thing Wu Jiangyuan said was, "What's the fastest way to clean up my image?"
He Qu reacted as if he'd heard a joke. "Hasn't the PR department been working on that all along?"
It was just that they couldn't clean up his image nearly as fast as the dirt appeared.
The PR department had already resigned itself to it.
"I'm serious this time." Wu Jiangyuan looked solemn. "Starting today, I'll do as you say and stop acting however I please."
He Qu walked over with a strange look, felt his forehead, then touched his own, puzzled. "You don't have a fever."
"Young Master Wu, have you been possessed?"
Wu Jiangyuan clicked his tongue. "I'm serious. My brother gave me a final ultimatum. I have six months to turn my reputation around, or he'll have me blacklisted."
"Your brother?" He Qu was surprised. "Doesn't he always stay out of your celebrity career?"
Wu Jiangyuan let out a long, irritated sigh. "When Dad gives the order, even my brother doesn't dare disobey."
He Qu laughed. "If you ask me, you should just listen to your dad and go back."
Wu Jiangyuan swept an icy gaze toward him. "Are you trying to take away my only happiness?"
"Without that happiness, I'll have to face the same unchanging, expressionless face every day. How cruel is that? Could you really bear it?"
He Qu was rather lost. "What exactly are you talking about? What unchanging, expressionless face?"
"I don't think I told you." Wu Jiangyuan curved his brows in a smile, looking utterly ill-fated. "I'm engaged."
He Qu's eyes slowly widened. "Who are you engaged to?"
"Pei Jinghe."
"Pei Jinghe? That really annoying kid from a prominent family you told me about in college, right?"
"Yes."
"That's insane. Aren't you two enemies? How did you end up together?"
Something else suddenly occurred to He Qu. "Is that Pei Jinghe an Omega?"
Wu Jiangyuan looked a little displeased. "He's an Enigma."
He Qu said, "?!"
He abruptly caught on. "Holy shit, Master Wu, don't tell me the Pei Jinghe you're talking about belongs to that famous Pei family?"
"The news has been full of their heir's engagement lately. You're the mystery fiancé?!"
Wu Jiangyuan looked puzzled. "Have I really never told you any of this?"
"You haven't told me shit!" He Qu was so exasperated he almost laughed, but he soon figured it out.
Given the Wu family's standing, there was nothing strange about them having ties to the Pei family.
What was strange was that Wu Jiangyuan, an Alpha, was going to be an Enigma's partner.
That was downright terrifying.
He Qu wouldn't have thought much of it if it were any other Alpha. The point was that this Alpha was Wu Jiangyuan.
With Wu Jiangyuan's rotten temper, would he willingly become someone's partner?
Before you continue