After the Corporate Slave Beta and the Top Alpha Married - Chapter 34

It was barely 10:00 AM by the time they returned from Ji Bohan’s company.

Ji Yu had originally taken the whole day off. Since the morning was nearly over, he sent a message to Sister Ji at the studio saying he could come in for the afternoon shift.

After staring blankly at his room in the villa for a few minutes, he picked up his small spray bottle to water his plants specifically, his Monstera.

Now that he was officially severed from Ji Bohan and Ji Hexuan, he refused to waste another thought on them. Instead, he returned to meticulously tending to his greenery. Ji Yu cared for this Monstera deeply; the fact that it didn’t have a single yellowing leaf was proof of his dedication.

However, the pot it was in looked rather haphazard. It was a tall, dusty-grey pot that managed to look “cool and industrial” in his previous simple rental, but in this exquisitely decorated villa, it looked completely out of place especially since it was sitting in the grand, high-ceilinged living room right where everyone could see it.

A Monstera in a pot that looked like it was cast directly from raw concrete, sitting in the most prominent spot… it was as discordant as the pairing of himself and Shang Yuanzhou.

The petioles of the Monstera were long, and the leaves were slender yet wider than typical greenery. Watering required fine, careful misting over the foliage. As he worked the spray bottle, the household staff occasionally bustled past.

At some point, Ji Yu’s hands stopped. He found himself staring at the housekeeper as she cleaned.

The housekeeper’s movements, usually brisk, grew slower and more sluggish. She felt as if there were needles at her back. Finally, she stopped, walked into the kitchen with a heavy heart, and grabbed Uncle Yu, the butler.

“Old Yu, tell me why does Mr. Ji keep staring at me?” She slapped her thigh in distress. “My heart is thumping wildly being watched like that. Do you think… he’s going to fire me?”

The work at the villa was light, the pay was high, and there were plenty of holidays; she didn’t want to lose this job.

Uncle Yu fell into a strange silence before patting her shoulder. “Don’t worry, he won’t. He probably just thinks you look familiar since you used to work at the other place too. Mr. Ji has his own things to do; why would he keep staring at you?”

The housekeeper exhaled, patting her chest. “He just makes my skin crawl. I used to be able to chat with him, but now I don’t even dare to speak.”

The butler thought for a moment. “How about this: I’ll go ask for you.”

He walked into the living room and found Ji Yu standing before the Monstera with the spray bottle in one hand and his phone in the other, staring intently at the screen. Uncle Yu usually walked with light steps, and Ji Yu was too focused, so the butler caught a glimpse of the most prominent word on the screen:

“CRIMINAL LAW”

The butler’s brow twitched. “What are you reading, Mr. Ji?”

Ji Yu didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Uncle Yu, what did you do before you became A-Zhou’s butler?”

“I ran an unlicensed night stall selling fried noodles in a small town,” the butler replied.

Ah?

Ji Yu’s mouth hung open slightly. That was a far cry from the stiff, archaic butler standing before him.

“President Shang didn’t have anything to eat back then…” The butler paused. “I’ve misspoken. President Shang was young then; please don’t overthink it, Mr. Ji.”

Shang Yuanzhou… had nothing to eat?

The combination of those words was hard for Ji Yu to imagine. He didn’t press for details; judging others by himself, he knew he wouldn’t want people prying into his own dark past. Shang Yuanzhou witnessing his family drama had been an accident.

But it seemed Uncle Yu was very trustworthy. Ji Yu pulled the butler aside. “Uncle Yu, I need to tell you something. When you hear it, you must not give anything away.”

He didn’t mention the contract, only that he suspected the housekeeper was an industrial spy sent by a rival company. Lacking evidence, he was planning a “sting operation” to catch the housekeeper and her handler in the act so they could be sent to a “collective dormitory” (prison).

He wasn’t looking at her because she was familiar; he was looking at her because she was “criminal.”

Thanks to his habit of maintaining a poker face while studying butler tropes, Uncle Yu didn’t break character. He didn’t fully know all of Shang Yuanzhou’s schemes, but he knew that whatever the plan was, something had gone hilariously off-track.

If he had to summarize it based on the dramas he’d watched: a “CEO loves a White Flower” plot had suddenly turned into a corporate thriller.

Uncle Yu remained stoic. “I believe you shouldn’t alert the enemy. President Shang likely has his own plans.”

Ji Yu pondered this and agreed. His logic was simple: Shang Yuanzhou had helped him, so he wanted to do what he could to help Shang Yuanzhou.

The butler paused, then added, “Perhaps you could deliberately have a fight with President Shang in front of her.” Uncle Yu didn’t quite understand Shang Yuanzhou’s obsession with Ji Yu, but he truly wanted him to succeed. If two people wear masks, how can they fall in love? A fight might force some real emotion to leak out. “A disagreement about something real would look more authentic. Complain about life, or say you want to start a business but think the investment he gave you is too small. That might entice someone to approach you.”

“I don’t do business,” Ji Yu noted, then caught the drift. “I see.”

Maybe he could discuss it with Shang Yuanzhou tonight. He felt something was slightly off, but the logic seemed airtight.

After lunch, Ji Yu prepared to change and head to the studio. Passing by the forbidden room, he stopped. He hadn’t seen anyone enter or exit it for days.

He stared at the door for a moment and, possessed by a strange impulse, reached for the handle.

Click.

The door opened a crack. Ji Yu’s eyes filled with shock. The place holding Shang Yuanzhou’s most important secrets wasn’t even locked. Perhaps someone had forgotten to turn the bolt? He didn’t push it further. He pulled the door shut and let go, as if he had never touched it.

At the studio that afternoon, the atmosphere was lazy. An Nian was slumped over his desk and waved at Ji Yu. “Brother, I invite you to slack off with me.”

“Slacking off so loudly? Aren’t you afraid Sister Ji will hear?”

“She’s out on a location shoot with a few others. Big project; she had to oversee it personally.” An Nian stuck out his tongue. “I stayed back because I still had work to finish.”

He leaned in mysteriously. “I thought your boyfriend looked familiar the other day. I realized later—isn’t he that super powerful young CEO? Sister Ji says President Shang is a natural-born model, so handsome he makes people’s legs go weak. Finance magazines usually sell poorly, but he carved a path with just that face.”

Ji Yu was surprised but found it logical. “He is indeed very impressive.”

“What weakness did God even give him?!” An Nian wailed, then stood up to pull a magazine from a shelf. “Here, want to see? Since we’re slacking, you might as well learn more about your husband.”

Ji Yu took it, but as he flipped the page, he caught on. “Learn… more?”

An Nian winked. “The first time we met, I noticed you didn’t even know what your own pheromones smelled like. If you’re a loving couple, even a Beta should know their Alpha’s scent, right?”

“An Nian!” Ji Yu’s heart tightened. “It’s not what you think.”

“We’re just… we’re just…” He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “We’re just sexually incompatible!”

By the time he got home, Ji Yu was still in a daze.

“Why aren’t you eating? Sitting here…”

Shang Yuanzhou pushed open the door to find Ji Yu fiddling with something in his hands. He stopped mid-sentence. “You…”

“IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!!”

Ji Yu whipped his hands behind his back, hiding an egg-shaped object. “My colleague gave me this.”

“Your colleague?” Shang Yuanzhou closed the door behind him and walked toward the person on the bed. Underneath his anger, he smiled. “Gave you this?”

“No, no! He ran out to buy it for us to use!” Ji Yu explained frantically. An Nian had pulled him aside before he left, mysteriously handing him the object before he could even refuse.

Then, Ji Yu blurted out, “What does your pheromone smell like?”

His wife, holding a sex toy, was sitting on the bed asking what his pheromones smelled like. Shang Yuanzhou stopped in front of him, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His eyes clouded with surging desire. Before he answered, his pheromones boiled over.

They broke through his control, rushing toward the person on the bed, wanting to claim every inch of skin.

“What do you mean?” his voice was husky, restrained. “Do you want to try using that with me?”

Ji Yu’s face burned. He explained everything from the first meeting with An Nian to the office talk. Shang Yuanzhou gave him a deep look. “He already told you the scent; why ask me?”

Ji Yu bit his lip. “I was curious. You’d know your own scent best.”

“It’s the smell of bitter wine.” Shang Yuanzhou walked to the wine cabinet and pulled out a bottle. “It’s very close to this. You can taste it.”

As he handed the wine to Ji Yu, he chuckled low.

“Next time, don’t use the excuse of being ‘sexually incompatible.'”

“Your husband is very capable.”