Married To My Childhood Friend: An Alpha Business Contract - Chapter 12

Lu Siyan could no longer remember how he had been lost.

From his earliest memories, he had grown up in an orphanage, never having been cherished, and never daring to confidently fight for anything for himself. It felt as though everything he possessed was merely a gift of charity from others.

“Children in orphanages aren’t allowed to be held, did you know that?”

“I didn’t. Why aren’t they allowed to be held?”

The Omega’s voice was light and ethereal, like something that couldn’t find a place to land. “Because once they’ve been held, they become dependent on warmth.”

If handled improperly, it could cause secondary trauma.

Miu Yi, who had just become friends with Lu Siyan back then, listened to these words seriously. He then opened his arms wide and gave him a massive hug.

“It’s okay. From now on, I’ll hug you every day.”

Since the last farce, Lu Siyan had been placed under house arrest by his family, and his part-time job at the film set had been terminated. His phone was confiscated. The Lu family had initially wanted to force him to delete Xiao Yanxiu’s WeChat—which sat at the top of his recent contacts—but after some consideration, they didn’t dare to act too ruthlessly. Instead, they simply turned the phone off.

They still secured the Huayun project.

It didn’t turn out as they had previously claimed—that they would rather lose hundreds of millions in profit than let Lu Siyan do something that “lowered his status.” In reality… he was still sold out by them without a second thought.

According to Xiao Yanxiu’s conditions, the contract bore Lu Siyan’s name, and the company listed Lu Siyan’s position. Yet, beneath all the glamorous appearances, the family had privately drafted another agreement stating that the money was collective property. Lu Siyan had no right to keep it for himself.

The Omega originally had no great greed for money, and his material desires were terrifyingly low. After being forced to stay at home, he spent his days and nights in a daze, often waking up startled from nightmares.

On an unknown day, Miu Yi came to visit.

The best friend knocked on the door and shouted, “Yanyan, Yanyan, it’s me.”

Lu Siyan snapped his eyes open and jumped out of bed. He ran out barefoot and pulled the door open, only to see his gentle and kind Omega father standing behind Miu Yi, keeping a strict watch.

The heart that had leapt into his throat plummeted back down. Lu Siyan looked away, unwilling to meet his father’s eyes.

“Yanyan, I heard you weren’t feeling well and took a long leave. The counselor is very concerned about your situation and specifically asked me to come check on you.”

Lu Siyan didn’t know what he had been expecting. Hearing these inconsequential words, his body seemed to wither away like a rose branch.

Miu Yi took the tea and pastries brought by the elder. He said he wanted to accompany Lu Siyan alone to discuss some key points from their recent classes and requested thirty minutes of privacy. The Omega father found it difficult to refuse such a reasonable request. He walked away worriedly, looking back every few steps as if fearing something might happen.

Only after he was gone did Miu Yi rush over to ask.

“Yanyan, what happened to you? It’s like you suddenly evaporated off the face of the earth. I couldn’t reach you at all.”

Lu Siyan calmly withdrew his hand from Miu Yi’s tight grip and averted his gaze. “I’m fine.”

Miu Yi caught a glimpse of the side of his face and gasped in shock. “Heavens, your face… there’s a handprint on each side.”

He scrambled to pull out his phone. “No, I have to tell Xiao Yanxiu immediately.”

Suddenly hearing that name, Lu Siyan’s heart gave a violent thud. He instinctively pressed down on Miu Yi’s hand. “Who are you telling?”

Why mention Xiao Yanxiu out of the blue?

He had been locked up for four or five days now, and he hadn’t heard a single word about that man. If the other party had tried to contact him, they surely would have discovered he was missing. Before they parted, they had agreed to have dinner together. Yet, in all this time, the man hadn’t come looking for him once. He probably didn’t care much after all.

Lu Siyan’s mood darkened.

Miu Yi, oblivious, suddenly tilted his head. “But Xiao Yanxiu was the one who sent me here!”

Wha… What?

Who sent you?

Lu Siyan’s slumped spine straightened slightly.

Miu Yi continued, “On the first day I couldn’t reach you, he came to the film set to corner me. He forced me to call you—didn’t go through. We tried voice and video calls—no answer. Even four hours after sending a WeChat message, there wasn’t so much as a punctuation mark in response.”

“You have no idea. He was sitting right next to me, and his expression was terrifying. He looked scarier than death itself. I’m still scared just thinking about it.”

“Then I said I’d come to your house to find you, but he wouldn’t let me. He said chasing someone to their home on the very first day would make it too easy for people to notice something was up, and he told me to wait a few more days.”

Miu Yi was completely baffled by the man’s behavior.

“He said he didn’t know what you were thinking and didn’t dare to come over blindly for fear of causing you trouble. But he begged me to help pass a message.”

Miu Yi grabbed Lu Siyan’s hand again. “Yanyan, do you have anything you want to say to him?”

Anything to say…

Lu Siyan’s eyes blinked. He did indeed have so many things he wanted to say.

But the arguments and insults from the previous days—words like “lover,” “plaything,” and “concubine”—were cruel labels spat out by his own kin, like sharp knives stabbing into his heart.

An Omega who had proactively delivered himself to Xiao Yanxiu. The man was likely just enjoying the novelty. Ultimately, they had only known each other for a few days. Even if there was mutual attraction, it wasn’t earth-shattering. Furthermore, Lu Siyan couldn’t even confirm the other’s feelings; just having his name mentioned alongside Xiao Yanxiu’s was already elevating his status.

He couldn’t afford to play this game.

“Xiao Yi, have you heard of the Rong family in Yunjing?”

Miu Yi answered bluntly, “Of course I have. They’re one of the four great families of the capital. The Rong family is second only to the Xiao family, and the two families have been joined by marriage for four generations…”

The relationship was indestructible.

Miu Yi realized something was wrong and slowed his speech. “So, you suspect that Xiao Yanxiu and someone from the Rong family…”

For a scion of such a prestigious family, having an engagement wouldn’t be strange. Miu Yi didn’t dare interfere in their affairs.

Then he heard Lu Siyan speak softly. “Xiao Yi, do you have any spare pocket money? Can you lend me some?”

Miu Yi had a bit. Between the two of them, they scraped together eight thousand yuan.

Lu Siyan pleaded with him, “I owe Xiao Yanxiu a meal and an apology gift. I probably won’t have another chance to make it up to him. Please take this money as a cash equivalent and give it to him. And… don’t mention that I asked about the Rong family.”

“Just say… say that we’re even now. From now on, it’s as if we never knew each other.”

Miu Yi said hesitantly, “Ah… do I really have to say that? But Xiao Yanxiu seemed really worried about you. If you’re afraid of his engagement and don’t want to be entangled with him, why don’t you just ask him seriously? Hear what he has to say. What if it’s just something forced on him by his family that he doesn’t want? Or maybe it’s just a misunderstanding…”

Lu Siyan shook his head. “Some things look even uglier when you ask too clearly. Besides, he and I never reached that level anyway.”

They weren’t at the stage where the other would break an engagement for him, or where the other would be so unwilling to let go that he would insist on a messy entanglement despite having a fiancé.

Miu Yi had no choice but to follow Lu Siyan’s wishes. He returned later to report back after the task was done. He said he had relayed Lu Siyan’s words exactly, but Xiao Yanxiu hadn’t taken the money. Instead, he had mocked them for “tipping like beggars.”

The exhaust from the McLaren smelled of money as it was blown into Miu Yi’s face.

Miu Yi felt deeply wronged. “We’ve known each other for a bit, and it’s not like we have some deep grudge. Did he really need to talk to us like that?”

They did not belong to the same social stratum. Even their farewell seemed like a joke; Xiao Yanxiu had treated it with utter disdain. At this point, the bridge between them was considered thoroughly burned.

Lu Siyan had assumed the man would take back the Huayun project, as there was no longer any reason for him to show mercy. But strangely, the project continued as normal. In the subsequent work progress, the Lu family faced no difficulties; in fact, things went exceptionally smoothly.

It was as if Xiao Yanxiu had completely forgotten him. Or perhaps, such a trivial matter wasn’t worth the man’s attention, let alone the effort of seeking revenge.

Lu Siyan’s house arrest ended after half a month. During that time, his father checked his phone several times to ensure there was no further contact with Xiao Yanxiu. Their only interaction remained the one from the day they met at the cafe, where Lu Siyan had invited him to dinner and the man had replied with a single, cold “Okay.”

His father rolled his eyes and threw the phone back at him. “Look at his attitude toward you. Stop throwing yourself at him every day.” Showing such a “worthless” side of himself.

Lu Siyan took the phone back. He saw that Xiao Yanxiu’s WeChat was still there, and his Moments were still visible. He hadn’t even received the “special treatment” of being blocked or deleted. From start to finish, he hadn’t caused even a ripple in the man’s heart.

He was just an ungrateful Omega who didn’t even know how to climb the social ladder.

Having lost his part-time job at the film set and his source of income, Lu Siyan found a job as a lifeguard at a swimming pool near the university. He was an excellent swimmer, moving through the deep water as gracefully as a small fish.

News soon spread that a fragrant, soft little Omega had appeared at the training ground for sports students. The swimming pool, which usually had little business in the winter, was suddenly packed with college students—all of them tall, muscular Alphas.

Lu Siyan was stunned and kept busy.

“My leg has a bit of a cramp.”

“Teacher Lu, help me put on my swim cap.”

“I’m not skilled enough in the water. Can Teacher Lu lead me for a lap?”

Those muscled arms were nearly as thick as Lu Siyan’s thighs; they clearly belonged to people who swam and worked out constantly. To think they would make up such nonsense just to talk to him.

Lu Siyan, puffed with annoyance, splashed water onto the face of the guy talking, while the Alphas watching from behind erupted in laughter. It made his ears turn red.

Although people were constantly finding ways to get in front of him, the college students were polite and kept their distance, so he didn’t feel uncomfortable. The flowers, cakes, yogurt, and politely worded confession cards that mysteriously appeared in his locker were things he could accept without much psychological burden.

Even though Lu Siyan still kept the habit of checking Xiao Yanxiu’s Moments every day, much of his sadness and grief had gradually stabilized.

The man continued to show off a rotating collection of luxury cars and mansions, as well as various extreme sports—skiing, skydiving, wingsuit flying. He was draped in luxury; even a set of sports equipment shown “incidentally” cost five or six figures. Every gesture exuded nobility.

Lu Siyan’s heart felt heavy, but he thought he should move on and start a new life.

So, when a junior from the neighboring sports university—who had been pursuing him for a long time—asked him out for the n-th time, Lu Siyan thought about it for a long while and finally nodded in agreement.

After work, he hurried toward the meeting point. Passing a black Lamborghini supercar in the underground garage, the Omega stopped and involuntarily circled the car. He always managed to associate everything with Xiao Yanxiu. Even without evidence that the car belonged to him, he felt it was exactly the type of model the man would like. He could even visualize the Alpha sitting inside, smoking, looking cold and elegant.

After taking a photo from a distance, Lu Siyan tapped his own wandering head and ran upstairs.

They had a reservation at a popular, affordable tea restaurant in an expensive commercial building. Business was booming, and they had to wait in line for a number. If it were Xiao Yanxiu, he would surely have found it too troublesome.

Lu Siyan ran quickly. The junior, who had arrived two hours early to wait for a table, kept calling to say there was only one table left before them. The energetic young boy leaned over the second-floor railing, waving his hand and shouting.

“Teacher Lu! Teacher Lu, over here!”

Just as Lu Siyan looked up, he passed a member’s-only high-end billiard hall. Someone pushed the door open from the inside. Not noticing, he was struck squarely by the glass door, causing him to stumble.

The enthusiastic shouting from upstairs suddenly changed its tone. “Teacher Lu, be careful!”

Lu Siyan nearly fell down the stairs. But with quick reflexes, a hand with distinct knuckles reached out from the gap in the door and firmly grabbed his wrist.

Just like the day they first met, when he had pushed open the emergency exit door and crashed into Xiao Yanxiu’s arms.

The overwhelming scent of camellia and cedar, combined with a firm, warm chest, made his nose sting with sudden emotion.

The moment their eyes met, Lu Siyan’s heart trembled.

The junior ran down from upstairs and supported his arm. “Teacher Lu, are you okay?”

Xiao Yanxiu remained expressionless. He released his grip on the wrist, coldly averted his gaze, and walked past him down the stairs. A group of friends from his social circle and black-clad bodyguards followed behind him. They cast curious glances at Lu Siyan but remained silent, sensing the atmosphere.

The man kept his promise and did exactly what he had been asked.

He acted as though… as though they had never even known each other.