Chang Yu quickly finished his shower and went out. Otherwise, he feared the living room would be destroyed under a certain dog's paws today.
Xiaotu was still in the kitchen when he came out. He walked over and, seeing nothing unusual in the kitchen, asked coldly, "What are you doing?"
Yan Junye didn't dare move. The half-eaten ham sausage was still hidden beneath him.
He made ingratiating whimpers in his throat, wagging his tail to act cute.
[I'm still hungry.]
Inside, Yan Junye thought:
-How did this bastard shower so fast?
Chang Yu was already used to this dog with a split personality. He could easily lift the big golden retriever with one hand.
The pathetically gnawed sausage came into view.
Chang Yu sighed deeply, peeled the casing off the remaining sausage, and put it in the bowl before handing it back to Xiaotu. "From now on, just eat the same meals as me."
"Awoo~"
[You're actually pretty nice~]
The unprincipled dog had already forgotten how he'd been calling the man a bastard at every turn.
Dinner was still delivered by the chef from the five-star hotel. That afternoon, Chang Yu had already told the chef to send portions for two from now on.
Yan Junye maintained that a stray dog couldn't stomach fine bran. This abalone and seafood congee weren't as good as his hotpot, malatang, skewers, and ribs.
That evening, he needed no prompting. After dinner, Yan Junye went into his own room of his own accord, lay down on the bed, and went straight to sleep.
Chang Yu took out the trash and still had to wash the cup that the dog's paws might have dirtied. The more he looked at the lounging golden retriever, the more dissatisfied he became.
He thought this performance was far too unprofessional.
He leaned against the doorframe of Xiaotu's room. Rather than closing the door and leaving immediately, he asked:
"Don't you want to come sleep in my room tonight? Most dogs beg their owners to let them into their rooms to sleep."
Yan Junye, his doggy eyes closed: "..." Could he just pretend he was asleep and hadn't heard?
"Ah, so despite acting like he likes me so much every day, Xiaotu actually doesn't." Chang Yu upped the ante.
Yan Junye's entire canine body sprang off the bed.
His big, round eyes blinked, and he frantically rubbed his head against that large, well-defined hand. His every movement seemed to say:
"How could I not like my owner? Of course I want to snuggle up and sleep with you!"
Yan Junye, whose inner irritation had reached its limit:
-Fuck, why does Chang Yu always sound like such a green tea? Did getting cheated on by his fiancée make him fall in love with green?
-I don't want to sleep with this man tonight. I want to sleep straight through until tomorrow evening. Men only disturb my sleep.
Disturb his sleep?
Then why bother looking for a cute guy? A cute guy would definitely pester him in the middle of the night and keep him awake.
Pretending he hadn't heard those thoughts, Chang Yu spread his large hand over the dog's head and stroked it, his tone indulgent:
"Since Xiaotu is being so good, I suppose I'll reluctantly let him sleep with me."
He'd happened to have a bath tonight, so he wasn't dirty.
From what Chang Yu had observed, Xiaotu slept even more soundly than he did at night and had no spare energy to complain about him.
Yan Junye's vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
He lowered his doggy head and reluctantly followed Chang Yu.
-This bastard won't wake me up at seven tomorrow morning again, will he? Why is sleeping in so difficult even as a dog?
Yan Junye tipped his head back and wailed. Before his paws could touch the bed, he was stopped.
"Go sleep on that blanket over there."
Yan Junye's displeasure deepened. His doggy eyes glared resentfully at the man searching the wardrobe for clothes, and he clenched his teeth in anger.
-Why call me in here if you won't let me on the bed? Once you're asleep, I'm definitely getting on your bed and doing my worst!
The next instant, his eyes regained their clear, foolish look, and he obediently curled into a ball to sleep.
Only then did Chang Yu withdraw his gaze in satisfaction.
He still had to go out to meet Zhang Yao, but fearing it would spoil his appetite, he'd left work early to eat dinner at home before going.
He took out a white shirt and glanced at Xiaotu on the blanket again. Hearing no more thoughts, he figured the dog had fallen asleep.
He knew full well that Xiaotu could fall asleep the moment he lay down.
Given how lazy he was, Chang Yu didn't believe Xiaotu would get up in the middle of the night to climb onto his bed.
With his back to the dog, he unbuttoned his shirt and briskly changed into the fresh one.
Just as Chang Yu softened his footsteps and prepared to leave, he heard a voice.
-Chang Yu is so stingy. Why couldn't he turn around and let me get a good look?
-His back muscles are so sharply defined, practically overflowing with testosterone. The view from the front definitely couldn't be bad!
Chang Yu: "..." Why were these thoughts coming with a delay?
Yan Junye maintained that he'd been too absorbed in the muscles earlier to spare any attention for commentary.
-But after tonight, who knows whether things will change in the Chang family.
In a rare bout of sleeplessness, Yan Junye worried about his life as a dog.
Chang Yu shut the door and went to the appointment with calm, confident strides.
Liao Mei had arranged the candlelit dinner at an upscale hotel.
The private dining room was essentially a hotel room, with carefully selected decor. Plenty of people chose this hotel just to take photos.
Only a few dim, intimate lights were left on inside.
The candles on the long table had already been lit. Outside, the floor-to-ceiling windows faced a large shopping mall, whose enormous LED screen lit up the room. Shifting light and shadows gave it a thoroughly romantic atmosphere.
Zhang Yao stood up excitedly. Since leaving Evergreen Company that morning, she had stayed at the hotel the whole time, precisely to ensure nobody could enter the room to install cameras.
She had also leaked the news to the media early on. Plenty of outlets wanted to dig up secrets about the influential Chang family.
As long as Chang Yu came, he would definitely be photographed, and her plan would be more than halfway to success.
A smug smile tugged at her lips. At the same time, she regretted that such a handsome man happened to like men.
"Chang-ge, sit down."
Chang Yu was much calmer. He pulled out Zhang Yao's chair like a gentleman before sitting down himself.
The conversation went well. Red wine rippled, and each watched the other drink it, suppressing a smile.
As the candles gradually burned down, Chang Yu used the last flame to light a cigarette. The faint glow gave the left side of his face a sharply sculpted, elegant look.
Zhang Yao couldn't help stealing several more looks.
Noticing her gaze, Chang Yu smiled and stubbed out the glowing red cigarette.
Zhang Yao had still been basking in the joy of success when she turned her head. The LED screen on the right was still flashing, but its content had changed to footage of her kissing a man whose image had been pixelated.
There was no need for the media. By tomorrow, anyone who knew Zhang Yao would start spreading word of what she'd done.
Zhang Yao shot to her feet in panic, her wide eyes filled with the kissing footage.
At the same time, furious pounding came at the door.
The video caught her completely off guard. Before she could react, Chang Yu had already walked over and opened the door.
His slender fingers fastened his suit jacket. Facing the cameras and microphones thrust into his face, Chang Yu smiled openly, his eyes even holding a hint of anticipation.
"Miss Zhang and I have severed all ties. To save anyone the trouble of introducing prospective partners to me, and to prevent anyone from deliberately setting me up, I'll make things clear today."
Chang Yu seemed to be speaking through the cameras to everyone who would see the footage. "I like men."
Those utterly calm yet forceful words set off a rapid burst of shutter clicks, accompanied by the reporters' noisy, excited questions.
Chang Yu answered none of them. His assistant and bodyguards quickly arrived and escorted him safely away.
As for how the media surrounded and interrogated Zhang Yao, that had nothing to do with him.
He disdained using marriage to prove he wasn't gay. Being gay had never been a weakness others could use against him.
Yan Junye had been dreaming of Chang Yu showering, water droplets sliding over his sexy Adam's apple and muscular chest, about to reach that unmentionable place.
Before he could see it, the sudden sound of the door opening jolted him out of his lovely dream.
Yan Junye shook his doggy head. It was all Chang Yu's fault for insisting on undressing in front of him today. Now even his dreams were full of male beauty.
But hadn't Chang Yu spent tonight with Zhang Yao?
Only an hour had passed since Chang Yu left home.
Subtracting the time spent traveling and eating, either Chang Yu couldn't perform, or he'd been alert enough to find a way to leave early.
"Go to sleep." Chang Yu stroked the head of the dog who deserved the most credit. "There's more to do tomorrow."
Yan Junye didn't know how Chang Yu had handled things.
But it seemed he hadn't stepped into the trap. He was even smarter than Yan Junye had imagined.
Having been disturbed the night before, Yan Junye was still nowhere near fully awake the next morning when a phone began ringing, disrupting his sleep.
His memories as a corporate slave were deeply ingrained. He instinctively crawled out of his warm bedding and turned off the alarm without hesitation.
He even muttered, "Five more minutes. Just five..."
Bonelessly, he collapsed back into his bed to keep sleeping. His brain still hadn't cleared when he heard someone say, "When did I turn off the alarm?"
Hurried footsteps followed.
Seeing the man leave, Yan Junye struggled mightily to climb out of his bed.
Of course, he wasn't doing it to go to the office with Chang Yu, but to find somewhere Chang Yu couldn't find him so he could keep sleeping.
That way, Chang Yu would be busy going to the office and definitely wouldn't come looking for him.
Genius!
He crouched low and crawled under the table, then shifted a stool a little to conceal his body.
Sleeping soundly, Yan Junye paid no more attention to the noises outside until his doggy ear was tugged.
"Awoo-!"
Chang Yu had searched for ages before finding the hidden dog. "It's already eleven. Time to go."
"Also, were you the one who turned off my alarm this morning?"
Yan Junye had been on the verge of going mad, but at the mention of turning off the alarm, he guiltily lowered his head.
-I'm just a pure, harmless big doggy. How could I possibly turn off an alarm?
Chang Yu thought, This dog definitely did it. No question.
Still, even if he went to the office today, he'd have to come back.
Liao Mei must have seen yesterday's video and his response. She had just called, making a life-or-death fuss and demanding that he come home.
It happened to be Saturday, and there was nothing urgent at work. He might as well go see how his supposedly dying mother planned to pressure him.
Already ready to leave, he handed a toothbrush to the dog, who was still nodding off. "Can you brush them yourself?"
Yan Junye instinctively shook his head.
Helplessly, Chang Yu crouched down to brush the dog's teeth. Of course they needed a good brushing, given how foul-mouthed he was every day.
Yan Junye narrowed his eyes to slits and studied Chang Yu. Why did this man seem to treat him pretty well?
Apart from insisting on disturbing his sleep.
The car drove all the way to a scenic mountain estate. As people grew older, they liked quiet places where they could grow things.
Yan Junye followed behind the man, passing the fountain and padding across the lawn. Before entering the house, he spotted a black-and-white husky on the left, watching him eagerly.
It wasn't just the husky. Many other dog heads poked around the corner.
Yan Junye immediately changed direction to go talk to the dogs.
He couldn't communicate with people now. To find a new owner, he had to start with the dogs.
As far as he could tell, dogs knew quite a lot.
Not daring to wag his tail at all, he did his utmost to restrain himself as he asked the pack, "Does anyone's owner want to adopt another dog?"
"Preferably someone gentle and rich. As dogs, we have to look out for ourselves, after all."
At this, a husky rushed out, barking.
"My owner wants to adopt a dog! And my owner is super rich, super gentle, and super good to me!"
Huskies were well-known experts at wrecking homes. To some extent, the fact that such a destructive dog was still alive already demonstrated its owner's gentleness and love for dogs.
Yan Junye felt the husky's owner was an excellent choice.
For the sake of his perfect future dog life of lying flat, he continued asking more questions.
Chang Yu didn't interfere when he saw Xiaotu run off. He had heard what Xiaotu had just asked the dogs.
It seemed Xiaotu still hadn't changed his mind about leaving.
Without stopping, he headed straight for the bustling house.
His father's name was Chang Liao. His company's main business was entertainment-related, but it also covered various other large and small ventures, making it a diversified company.
Chang Liao had invited many people to the estate to chat today. Because his business interests were so broad, people from all walks of life were there.
At a glance, Chang Yu recognized very few of them.
But the way everyone looked at him made it clear they were eating melon-the gossip about his fiancée cheating and about him being gay.
He went in and greeted Chang Liao first. He knew his father wasn't the sort to tolerate any wrongdoing.
Sure enough, Chang Liao still sounded angry. "I've cut off all business dealings with Zhang Yao's family. She'll pay for cheating."
"As for you being gay, have a proper talk with your mother." He had no particular opinion about Chang Yu's orientation.
Whether Chang Yu had children to inherit the family business had no impact on him. Liao Mei was terrified that, without descendants, Chang Yu wouldn't get the company.
Liao Mei wasn't downstairs talking with everyone. She sat quietly on the second-floor balcony, basking in the sun.
Chang Yu went upstairs and sat opposite her. Looking down, he could see a group of dogs playing on the lawn.
A German shepherd wagged its tail and tried to sniff Xiaotu's rear. Xiaotu ran at top speed, refusing to let it.
Now that he knew Xiaotu was a person, and a shou at that, none of these actions seemed so strange to him anymore.
"I heard you ordered two dinners last night. Is someone staying at your place?"
Liao Mei's attention was entirely on her son. The dogs in the yard couldn't attract any of it.
Chang Yu knew Liao Mei's urge to pry was getting worse. He tugged at his tie in mild irritation. "Just me and the dog."
"The other portion was for Xiaotu."
Liao Mei began sighing at the thought of Zhang Yao and Chang Yu's declaration that he liked men.
But it didn't matter. With her family's wealth, even if Chang Yu said he liked men, he would still attract plenty of outstanding women.
She would also make sure Chang Yu got married.
Yesterday, she had stayed up late looking over a few more candidates. She took out their photos and introduced them to Chang Yu one by one, and he offered a few perfunctory responses.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
[Is everything you said true?]
Chang Yu looked toward the dogs running across the lawn. What gossip had they heard this time?
Barks rose one after another, and the dogs huddled with their heads in a circle. One look was enough to tell they had some earth-shattering gossip.