An Yubei never brought up the little cake again. He never wanted to eat little cakes again.
Little cakes were now his shame. Every time he saw one, he would remember calling someone else hubby.
Even his brother knew. His lifelong reputation was ruined.
"Brother, if there's nothing else, I'll get going."
An Yubei only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible and put an end to his embarrassment, but Ji Shang refused to give him that chance.
Ji Shang looked up. "Where are you going?"
An Yubei paused, then explained, "To the tech department. The system upgrade is underway. A little overtime tonight, and it'll be finished."
"No need. Work on it here. I'll have Zhao Ze bring your computer over."
"...!"
Although An Yubei was doing most of the system upgrade, there were still miscellaneous tasks that others needed to handle. How was he supposed to communicate with them from Ji Shang's office?
Were they supposed to communicate by phone when they were in the same company?
Wasn't that an unnecessary hassle?
"That wouldn't be very convenient. The others in the tech department are involved too. If I'm in your office, brother, it won't be easy to communicate with them."
Ji Shang began packing up his computer. "Then I'll go with you."
An Yubei: "...!"
What do I do when my brother is a little clingy? I really want to ditch him and run off on my own.
As he was thinking this, Ji Shang swept a glance his way. An Yubei lowered his head guiltily, feeling as though Ji Shang had seen right through his thoughts.
He had no secrets!
The tech department was usually lively. There would occasionally be chatter, and no one held back when speaking. They dared to say anything, even dirty jokes. The office atmosphere was great, and everyone enjoyed their days.
Now, however, it was as oppressive as an exam room with a teacher invigilating. It was utterly silent; even the sound of typing had disappeared.
Everyone deliberately lowered their voices when discussing or assigning tasks, afraid of disturbing anyone else.
An Yubei surveyed the strange scene. Everyone wore a grave expression, as though facing a formidable enemy.
And the person responsible for this change was Ji Shang.
Ji Shang sat right between An Yubei and You Zhi, cutting off their communication.
Having to crane their necks just to talk felt awful.
An Yubei sighed with a terrible headache. "Brother, can't you go back to your own office? Everyone feels uncomfortable with you here."
In truth, he felt uncomfortable too.
Ji Shang raised an eyebrow, his deep voice devoid of emotion.
"Really?"
The tech director seized the opportunity to flatter him. "How could that be? With President Ji here, our tech department is full of motivation."
That was obvious bullshit. Who would enjoy being watched by the boss while working, without even a chance to slack off?
You Zhi scoffed and mercilessly exposed him. "Bootlicker. Who's comfortable? He's like a taskmaster. President Ji, when are you leaving?"
You Zhi didn't care about this job, so he spoke without fear.
The corners of Ji Shang's mouth lowered. He lifted his eyelids slightly and said, "You can resign if you're dissatisfied."
You Zhi, who had resigned and then rejoined: "...!"
Thanks. I feel very called out.
You Zhi shut his mouth and furiously typed code.
The atmosphere grew strange again. An Yubei found an excuse to go to the bathroom and take a paid shit.
He thought Ji Shang was acting very strangely today, as though he really didn't want him interacting much with You Zhi.
Was it because of that short video?
But how had his brother found out? Hadn't You Zhi deleted the video?
He scrolled through You Zhi's Moments. Sure enough, the video wasn't there.
After thinking it over, An Yubei contacted Zhao Ze. As someone who worked at Ji Shang's side, he would definitely know how Ji Shang had found out.
He sent Zhao Ze a message, but Zhao Ze refused to say a word no matter what, insisting that he didn't know, that he knew nothing.
An Yubei threatened him. [If you don't tell me, I'll tell my brother I don't like you and have you fired.]
Even Su Daji at King Zhou's side wasn't as good at bringing ruin to the country and its people as you are.
Zhao Ze, who hadn't offended anyone, felt terribly wronged. [Young Master An, I was wrong.]
[Someone found the video in You Zhi's Moments and shared it in the main company group chat. President Ji was furious when he saw it. He even snapped his fountain pen.]
An Yubei was no longer in the mood to read whatever Zhao Ze said afterward. All he remembered was "main company group chat." In other words, everyone in the company knew he had called You Zhi hubby.
An Yubei sat on the toilet lid, drawing up his legs and burying himself in them like an ostrich.
Now he finally knew why everyone had been looking at him so strangely. So they all thought he and You Zhi had that kind of relationship.
This was mortifying. He didn't want to face anyone anymore.
His lifelong reputation was completely and utterly ruined.
A disaster caused by one little cake. He would never be greedy for treats again.
An Yubei hid in the bathroom, unwilling to come out. Soon, someone knocked on the stall wall, and Ji Shang's voice rang out. "Why haven't you come out yet?"
An Yubei sniffled, his voice muffled. "Brother, I can't face anyone. I'm going to let the stink kill me."
The thought of everyone seeing his little video and even gossiping about it made An Yubei want to die.
Why did people have to suffer social death?
It was mortifying.
"You really aren't coming out?"
An Yubei gave a very quiet hum of agreement.
"Then open the door. I'll stay with you and let the stink kill me too."
"Maybe don't!"
"Xiao Bei, be good."
Better to share the stink than endure it alone, so An Yubei opened the stall door for Ji Shang.
When the stall opened, Ji Shang squeezed his tall frame inside.
There was enough room for one person, but two made it a little cramped.
An Yubei sat on the toilet with his legs curled up, while Ji Shang, unable to stand steadily, braced himself against the wall behind An Yubei.
Ji Shang looked down and asked, "What's wrong?"
An Yubei tilted his head up to look at Ji Shang, their eyes meeting. "Brother, everyone saw the video. I've suffered social death."
Social death, commonly known as dying socially, meant making a fool of yourself in front of everyone.
That was exactly what An Yubei was experiencing.
Ji Shang reached out and scratched the soft flesh beneath An Yubei's chin. "I've already had someone delete the video. No one dares mention it. What are you still afraid of?"
Tilting his head back to talk to Ji Shang was a little tiring, so An Yubei had Ji Shang sit on the toilet and sat down on his lap.
This position was much more comfortable, and he no longer had to crane his neck to talk.
"Everyone must think I like men." An Yubei nestled quietly in Ji Shang's arms and said, "Brother, I really don't like You Zhi. I don't like anyone."
"I...!"
An Yubei abruptly broke off. He heard voices outside the bathroom, and then two people walked in, chatting and laughing.
If anyone found two men in the same bathroom stall, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't clear their names.
An Yubei didn't want to cause trouble for Ji Shang either.
An Yubei straightened tensely and instinctively covered Ji Shang's mouth.
Ji Shang didn't move, lifting his eyes to look at An Yubei, who was mere inches away.
An Yubei was like a frightened fawn, flustered and somewhat at a loss.
"Did you see that video? Young Master An sounded so sweet calling him hubby. Who wouldn't lose their head hearing that?"
"I'm honestly jealous of You Zhi. I want a wife who can act as cute and needy as Young Master An too."
"Oh, give it a rest. Someone like Young Master An isn't for people like us to covet."
"I wouldn't dare covet him. I'm just fantasizing a little. What do you think Young Master An would sound like in bed?"
"Ugh, you're such a creep."
The two finished relieving themselves and left, and the bathroom fell quiet again.
An Yubei was in a terrible mood. Sure enough, everyone thought he liked men.
And even in bed, he was the one getting fucked.
An Yubei stood up. Just as his hand touched the handle, the man behind him pressed close, turned him around, and pinned him against the stall door.
An Yubei blinked and looked at Ji Shang in confusion. Ji Shang's eyes were dark and unreadable, and he shushed him softly.
Someone else had come in.
An Yubei stayed quiet, not daring to make a sound, and let Ji Shang hold him around the waist.
More people came in this time, and they stayed longer. There was no telling when they would leave.
Bored, An Yubei looked around, and his gaze was soon drawn to Ji Shang's bobbing Adam's apple.
Ji Shang's Adam's apple was round, like a mischievous piece of candy giving off an enticing flavor.
Everyone thinks I like men, but I really don't like You Zhi.
Even if I were going to like a man, it would have to be someone like my brother.
My brother's Adam's apple is so pretty. I really want to lick it.
An Yubei's thoughts wandered, his eyes filled with nothing but Ji Shang's beautiful Adam's apple.
One lick won't hurt. My brother won't get angry.
So An Yubei rose onto his tiptoes, leaned forward, and took Ji Shang's Adam's apple into his mouth.
The Adam's apple bobbed, and An Yubei heard Ji Shang give a muffled groan.
After one lick, An Yubei let go and looked up to see whether Ji Shang was angry.
He saw Ji Shang pressing toward him, his eyes filled with lust.
An Yubei couldn't help holding his breath.