Married To My Childhood Friend: An Alpha Business Contract - Chapter 7

Inside a forest-themed sunroom cafe.

The glass house, glowing with warm yellow lights, was the screenwriting studio that Wuying had booked.

Xiao Yanxiu was invited inside. His fingers brushed against the back of the chair Lu Siyan had just vacated before he composedly took a seat.

The computer screen was still frozen on the manuscript editing interface. The printer beside it was emitting steam, and about twenty empty plastic cups of iced Americano were stacked in a messy pile.

Lu Siyan was in a frantic rush, trying to pour him some water. In his haste, he ended up knocking over several cups with a “clatter,” and the hot water scalded the back of his hand red.

Miu Yi leaned in: “It’s actually really Xiao Yanxiu.”

The best friend gripped his hands tightly. Amidst the excitement, he sensed a subtle abnormality and began a “interrogation”: “What did you two just say? How do you know each other?”

To show his sincerity, Lu Siyan busied himself with grinding coffee by hand. However, he wasn’t familiar with the machine, making him appear clumsy and awkward.

His gaze drifted slightly toward the outside, watching the man draped in a black trench coat. His superior aura elevated the entire cafe to a higher level of class.

“It’s a very complicated story.”

Lu Siyan didn’t know where to start, but after some thought, he decided to tell the whole story from beginning to end. Miu Yi was upright, sincere, and bright; Lu Siyan was also counting on his best friend to give him some advice.

Suddenly, a sharp roar erupted: “What?!”

Xiao Yanxiu, who had been waiting quietly, was startled and slowly turned his head.

Lu Siyan hurriedly made a gesture for him to be quiet, then grabbed Miu Yi’s arm and hid under the bar counter.

“Keep your voice down.”

The two were in a frantic rush, thinking they were hiding perfectly. They didn’t realize that their “head-in-the-sand” antics caused the bottles and jars on the counter to tilt and tremble incessantly.

It mirrored Lu Siyan’s current uneasy state of mind.

The Omega was scared out of his wits, covering Miu Yi’s mouth. He pressed his ear against the counter, and only after confirming that Xiao Yanxiu hadn’t followed them did he breathe a sigh of relief.

“In short, right now it’s a relationship between a creditor and a debtor.”

The gift he owed him hadn’t been given yet. Their relationship would remain ambiguous as long as that was the case.

Miu Yi tried to process this and raised a question: “This formula doesn’t add up.”

“Logically speaking…”

“You bit him once, and then he bit you back.”

“That should have made you even. But he’s petty and held a grudge, deliberately sabotaging your family’s business.”

“You had no choice but to go to him to seek peace.”

“But now, hasn’t your family’s business already been solved by your brother? If so, you don’t need to ask for his help anymore.”

Lu Siyan froze: “Huh?”

Was that how the math worked? So, he didn’t owe Xiao Yanxiu anything anymore?

The Omega’s mind was in a whirlwind, trying to sort it out, when a light chuckle suddenly came from above: “Who solved your family’s business?”

These days, someone actually dared to claim credit for his work?

Xiao Yanxiu leaned his upper body forward, both hands propped on the bar. His gaze crossed the counter, locking firmly onto the two hiding Omegas who looked like hamsters.

His intensely handsome features—a “strong-faced” look—held up even from this “death angle.” His bone structure was exceptionally beautiful, and his nose bridge was high.

When questioning them, he habitually narrowed his deep peach-blossom eyes—the kind that looked affectionate even when looking at a dog—with the corners tilted upward.

His entire being radiated a dangerous aura.

Even if he were a ghost, he would be the most elegant and charming vampire prince. Yet, he unintentionally scared the two little Os out of their wits, making them squeal in terror.

Lu Siyan sprang up like a coil, but just as he did, the man reached out with sharp eyes and pressed down. His broad, warm palm shielded Lu Siyan’s head, preventing him from hitting the corner of the table.

Miu Yi, next to him, wasn’t so lucky.

“Ah!”

The unlucky little guy slammed his head into the cabinet door. Clutching his head, he rolled on the floor in pain, tears flying.

“Xiao Yi.”

Lu Siyan felt the warmth on top of his head and saw Xiao Yanxiu’s hand. Realizing he had jumped up with all his might, he feared he had hurt the other man’s hand.

His heart was in a state of chaotic panic. He forgot he should say thank you; the moment he saw the man’s half-smiling eyes, his entire sense of self became blurred and confused.

The Omega rushed over to hug his friend. He helped cover Miu Yi’s head, rubbing and massaging it to ease the pain, blowing on it with his breath.

As they hid, the two of them shrunk back into the corner again, staying as far away as possible, as if he were some kind of man-eating monster.

Xiao Yanxiu laughed: “Am I really that scary?”

Lu Siyan stammered: “Why… why are you following me?”

The man raised his hand and tapped the table seriously with his fingertip: “Who said I followed you here?”

Is there evidence? Is this cafe registered in your name?

Miu Yi was shocked: “Then you saw my private message?”

Xiao Yanxiu tilted his head: “What private message?”

“It’s just…” Before Miu Yi could finish, Lu Siyan covered his mouth: “Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Sending a private message to tattle and talk bad about someone’s partner was far too childish. Lu Siyan didn’t want to lose face in front of Xiao Yanxiu over and over again. Fortunately, Xiao Yanxiu didn’t press for details.

A thin layer of white snow had accumulated on the roof of the glass-house cafe, but the interior was filled with greenery, warm and fragrant. In the vase on every peach-wood table was a bouquet of fresh bubble roses, air-lifted from another city that very day.

The wind chimes at the door jingled, and a slender white figure flashed past. Jiang Shuyao, his eyes glowing with joy, ran in and tightly grabbed Xiao Yanxiu’s arm.

He pressed close to him.

“Brother Yanxiu, why are you here?”

So the financier really had come to visit the set; it seemed he had miscalculated. This guy actually had a huge backer. No wonder he was so arrogant and aggressive in the crew; it was truly infuriating.

Amidst his excitement, Jiang Shuyao noticed the two trembling people in the corner, and his smile instantly vanished.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Is the script revised? The floor manager has been looking for you for ages. The whole crew of thousands is waiting for you to start filming.”

Please, big brother, your financier is the one blocking us here.

Miu Yi had learned his lesson and didn’t dare to offend people randomly. Lu Siyan took his hand, preparing to slip away along the edge.

But they didn’t manage to escape. Before they could grab the script temporarily left on the table, they heard a sentence from behind.

“Stop.”

The Omega’s spine went stiff.

Xiao Yanxiu gave his assistant a look.

The two bodyguards, nearly two meters tall, who had entered with Jiang Shuyao, immediately took action, peeling Jiang Shuyao’s arms off Xiao Yanxiu’s.

Jiang Shuyao was pushed aside unhappily.

Xiao Yanxiu followed with his hands behind his back, reaching Lu Siyan’s rear. He leaned down slightly: “Deleting my WeChat?”

He knew he’d found out; he was here to settle the score.

The Omega scrunched up his face, his heart thumping “thud-thud.” Not knowing how to explain, he hurriedly began talking nonsense in the heat of the moment, thinking only of brushing him off first. Otherwise, he might not be able to leave at all today.

“It… it was an accidental deletion.”

Lu Siyan had a sudden flash of inspiration.

The Alpha behind him cooperated with an “Oh.”

“So you’re saying you accidentally clicked on my contact card, then accidentally clicked delete, and then accidentally clicked confirm?”

Lu Siyan: “…”

The Omega, lying through his teeth, was almost in tears.

Xiao Yanxiu didn’t intend to let him off that easily. The man had clearly come for an interrogation. Seeing Lu Siyan hesitating and unable to give a reason, he simply pulled out a chair behind him and sat down patiently.

The entire crew was waiting to start work. The script needed to be re-reviewed. Lu Siyan couldn’t afford to waste time, so he could only brace himself.

“I… I’ll add you back, okay?”

Deleting someone’s WeChat out of the blue was extremely impolite. Being caught after doing so, unable to provide an explanation, and then thick-skindedly wanting to add them back was even more unreasonable.

Even if the Alpha refused, showed no mercy, or gave him a harsh lecture, it would be within reason.

But unexpectedly, he didn’t make things difficult.

Xiao Yanxiu tossed his phone onto the table.

Lu Siyan took it with palms full of cold sweat: “Pass… password.”

The man didn’t say a word. He had no choice but to offensively hold the phone up to scan the other’s face. After unlocking it with facial recognition, he quickly added his own WeChat ID.

During the process, he selfishly took a peek at the top of the recent chat list—it was a sea of various work groups. Until, abruptly, a large cartoon cat avatar popped up, and it was instantly pinned to the very top of the homepage.

Quietly, Lu Siyan obtained a sliver of secret satisfaction from this.

He carefully placed the phone back in its original position until Xiao Yanxiu nodded: “Go on.”

Only then did he flee this… flee this soul-stealing fox’s den.

The moment he stepped out, he was able to breathe. Lu Siyan took two sharp breaths of cold air, making himself cough.

The script was submitted and passed smoothly. Jiang Shuyao didn’t delay either; he likely returned to the set to film shortly after.

Lu Siyan and Miu Yi, each holding a cup of iced Americano, squatted in a corner, standing by at all times.

Meanwhile, the news of Xiao Yanxiu visiting Jiang Shuyao on set was caught by passersby who took photos. It quickly shot to the top of the Weibo trending list.

The [Jiang Heart Towards Yan] CP super-topic exploded. Fans cried out: “Who can love me like Xiao Yanxiu loves Jiang Shuyao?”

Miu Yi kept scrolling through the phone information. After two “tsks,” he reached a final conclusion: “These two? Fake.”

Lu Siyan looked back at him, clutching the phone that now had Xiao Yanxiu’s WeChat again, his heart racing like thunder. Actually, when he saw those two just now, he felt the same way, but he didn’t dare to confirm it. He could only seek validation from others.

“How so?”

Miu Yi analyzed seriously: “First of all, the two of them aren’t familiar with each other at all, or rather, Jiang Shuyao is the only one acting familiar with him.”

“Secondly, when Xiao Yanxiu was talking to you, his bodyguard peeled Jiang Shuyao’s hand off his arm.”

“Did you see that?”

“It was peeled off.”

“What Alpha would treat their Omega like that?”

“And we had been gone for less than three minutes when Jiang Shuyao came back in a huff, throwing a huge temper tantrum at the floor manager and yelling at everyone he saw.”

“If they were really a couple, they’d be lovey-dovey for at least half an hour, right? How could he come back so fast?”

Lu Siyan was still denying the answer in his own heart: “Maybe he was just anxious to come back and film.”

Miu Yi rolled his eyes at him. A person like Jiang Shuyao, who threw tantrums, acted like a diva, and threatened to go on strike at any moment—making producers have headaches—how could he possibly be so dedicated as to stop dating to come back and film?

“And to be honest.”

“I feel like Xiao Yanxiu came here to find you.”

Specifically to find…

Lu Siyan’s ears turned a vivid, transparent red. This feeling was strong; he had an intuition himself, but he didn’t dare to confirm it for fear of being self-indulgent. Hearing the same words from Miu Yi was like Cupid’s arrow hitting the mark.

The Omega’s palms were sweating. He repeatedly squeezed the coffee cup with his fingertips. Even though the drink was empty, he still bit the straw, making a guilty “whoosh-whoosh” sucking sound.

So… Xiao Yanxiu is actually single?

Lu Siyan paid attention to details. Even though they had met suddenly, he had scrutinized him carefully. He noticed that Jiang Shuyao was wearing the same style of bracelet that fans had dug up as “solid evidence,” but Xiao Yanxiu wasn’t wearing it today.

After the Alpha took the time to specifically find him and add back his WeChat, and then returned to the group office, his assistant hurried over clutching documents.

“President Xiao, we have contacted several brands and confirmed that the clothing and accessories they sent are the latest of the season.”

“As for Young Master Jiang Shuyao, the high frequency of him wearing the same outfits as you is likely intentional hype. He is likely following your daily outfits to purchase the same items.”

“Furthermore, the leaked photo that hit the trending list today was released by their own studio, and there are big fans in the comments section deliberately guiding the narrative toward a romance.”

“Regarding this issue, we have immediately changed the supplier for your private items to exclusive customization. This won’t happen again in the future.”

“As for the rest…”

“You see…”

The Jiang family was also one of the four major families in the capital, and they were distantly related to Xiao Yanxiu’s mother. It wouldn’t be good to have an open fallout. Jiang Shuyao had loved being the center of attention since childhood, and his entry into the entertainment industry wasn’t sudden. It was just that for all these years, his family background had been kept very well hidden. Instead, his “fake romance” had been continuously unearthed, sounding very convincing.

Xiao Yanxiu hadn’t cared at first—until Lu Siyan gave him the “delete and block” treatment. The man then found out that the Omega happened to be working in the same crew as the Jiang family’s young master. He guessed that these two things might be inextricably linked, so he finally started to deal with it.

Who would have thought that just as the signs of his scandal were being nipped in the bud, a little Omega couldn’t hold back and sent a text message?

The man curled his lips, clicking on Lu Siyan’s jumping cute cat avatar.

“Are you free tonight? I want to treat you to dinner.”

After saying it, fearing there might be ambiguity or that he’d be misunderstood as intentionally trying to seduce him, he followed up with two more messages—making it even more obvious by trying to hide it.

“It’s to apologize.”

“Don’t… don’t overthink it.”