What kind of “friend”?!

After confirming that his hearing was working perfectly fine, Fu Yan felt a wave of helplessness. Gu Zhan had obviously misunderstood him.

Then again, on second thought, it wasn’t hard to see why. His suggestion today had been far too abrupt. The relationship between them was nowhere near the point where something like that would come naturally.

He realized he might have been rushing things.

Still, if Gu Zhan was willing to be friends with benefits, that was better than being flatly rejected.

Composing himself, Fu Yan shamelessly replied:

“Why not?”

Gu Zhan’s gaze drifted, calculations already clicking away in his head.

“It’s not impossible.”

Honestly speaking, judging from their two previous experiences, whether he was on top or on the bottom, it had been pretty enjoyable. They were both adults with needs. There was no reason to reject a bed partner whose body matched his so well.

More importantly, if he had this extra layer of connection with the Fu family’s crown prince, he’d inevitably benefit from Fu Corporation in the future.

A highly profitable deal with virtually no downside.

Meanwhile, Fu Yan’s eyes had already wandered to the loosened opening of Gu Zhan’s tie.

A small patch of pale skin peeked out from beneath it—like a woman holding a pipa half-hidden behind her sleeve: outwardly reserved and aloof, yet irresistibly inviting curiosity.

Unable to resist, he leaned closer.

“Then tonight…”

“Not tonight. I’ve got plans.”

Gu Zhan turned his head away.

But Fu Yan had no intention of giving up so easily.

Grabbing his shoulders, he spun him around and pinned him into the corner of the stairwell.

A predatory gleam flashed in his eyes.

His thumb brushed over lips stained faintly red from alcohol.

Once.

Twice.

He had desired them for so long, yet now that they were finally within reach, he found himself reluctant to claim them too quickly.

The warm touch made Gu Zhan’s lips itch.

His eyes darkened.

He leaned in slightly.

Fu Yan pressed a hand to the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

Then he kissed him.

The collision was immediate and fierce.

Lips became blades.

Tongues became swords.

Teeth became shields.

The air inside their mouths became contested territory.

They battled for dominance, conquering and counterattacking, neither willing to yield.

The world around them was silent.

The deep blue night isolated everything beyond the stairwell.

Under the dim yellow glow of an old lamp, only the two of them remained.

In the haze clouding his thoughts, Gu Zhan vaguely heard noises from an upper floor.

Footsteps.

Voices.

Getting closer.

“Why is the elevator broken?”

“Guess we have to take the stairs.”

Someone was coming.

Gu Zhan pushed at Fu Yan.

But Fu Yan was still immersed in the kiss, lingering over the lips he’d reddened himself.

The voices drew nearer.

“Sorry about that, Chairman Fu.”

“This way, please.”

Bang—

The heavy fire door swung open.

At almost the exact same moment, Gu Zhan shoved Fu Yan away with all his strength.

Standing above them was Fu Hongping, who had just finished entertaining business partners and was being escorted out by a waiter.

Fu Hongping stared.

At the stunned Gu Zhan.

At the stunned Fu Yan.

And both of them stared right back.

For a moment, time seemed frozen.

Fu Hongping’s expression turned indescribably complicated.

He glanced at the door behind him, seeming to consider stepping back through it and entering again.

Surely he had opened it incorrectly.

About half a minute passed.

It felt like a century.

“Hmph!”

With a snort, Fu Hongping turned and stormed off.

The waiter, equally mortified, hurriedly retreated.

Gu Zhan looked at Fu Yan in alarm.

“Have you come out to your family?”

Fu Yan nodded.

“I have.”

“Then your father…”

Panic suddenly rose in Gu Zhan’s chest.

Everything had happened too quickly.

He had been so focused on befriending the Fu family’s heir that he’d forgotten the true head of the Fu empire was Fu Hongping.

If Fu Hongping looked down on his son’s sexuality, would he look down on Gu Zhan as well?

Even worse—

What if Fu Hongping decided that Gu Zhan had somehow “turned” his son gay and chose to target him?

Then Slungshot would be in serious trouble.

Seeing the worry on his face, Fu Yan reassured him.

He had heard the approaching voices earlier as well.

At the time, he simply hadn’t cared.

What was there to hide about two consenting adults kissing?

He just hadn’t expected the witness to be his father.

That was admittedly a social death.

And seeing Gu Zhan looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole made him feel even guiltier.

“Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything to my father. I guarantee it won’t affect you in any way.”

“It better not.”

At that moment, Gu Zhan’s phone rang.

After glancing at the caller ID, he hurried to answer.

Before leaving, he warned:

“You caused this. Make sure you explain it clearly to your father.”

“Mm.”

Fu Yan nodded.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Back home, Gu Zhan returned the missed call.

“Mom? I was having dinner outside just now. Are you asleep yet?”

He tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear while wearily unbuttoning his jacket.

“Not yet. I was waiting for your call.”

“Oh. I’ve been pretty busy lately. Next month, when things calm down, I’ll definitely make time to come visit—”

“A-Zhan, it’s fine. I know you’re busy. Sometimes you probably don’t even get a full night’s sleep. No need to keep making trips back and forth. I’m used to being by myself. What, are you worried some old ghost will carry me off?”

Gu Zhan laughed.

“How’s your health been lately?”

“Very good. A while ago our school sports meet was held. I even joined the teachers’ four-by-two-hundred-meter relay race.”

“That’s impressive!”

“Of course it is. But what about you? A few days ago I saw another news report about some young man under thirty dying from overwork. A-Zhan, you have to take care of yourself. No amount of money is more important than your health.”

“I know, Mom.”

“By the way, how did those girls Aunt Zhang introduce you to work out? Have you gone to dinner with any of them? See anyone you liked?”

“I…”

Gu Zhan flopped onto the sofa and rolled over.

“Mom isn’t trying to pressure you into getting married. I’m worried you’re all alone out there. All you do is work. You don’t have a life of your own. What if you get sick one day and there’s nobody beside you to take care of you…”

Gu Zhan listened quietly.

His chest felt a little tight.

Partly because, despite being thirty and apparently successful, he rarely had time to care for his mother.

And partly because her words had struck directly at something buried deep inside him.

After all these years, he was still alone.

During the day, work kept him occupied.

But when he returned home?

He could only face an empty house by himself.

Sometimes he sought casual company, but those people could satisfy physical needs at best.

They never filled the loneliness inside.

He owned several properties in Beijing, yet he still lived in this old apartment.

Perhaps because this place alone carried a trace of warmth and human presence.

Lying on the sofa, his mind gradually emptied.

After an entire day of work and social obligations, overwhelming exhaustion washed over him.

At some point, his mother ended the call.

The next thing he registered was his phone vibrating twice.

Two messages from Fu Yan:

𓉘 My dad wants to meet you. 𓉝

𓉘 Tomorrow morning at ten. I’ll pick you up downstairs. 𓉝

Gu Zhan rubbed his temples and let out a long breath.

Tomorrow was Saturday.

He had originally planned to spend it working overtime at the office.

Not because there was anything urgent.

He simply didn’t know what else to do with his time.

Well.

Now he didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

He headed for the bathroom.

A hot shower first.

Then he’d face whatever storm tomorrow might bring.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

The next morning.

Gu Zhan dressed carefully.

A dark navy suit.

A subtly patterned tie.

His hair was neatly styled with gel.

No matter how Fu Hongping viewed him, he wanted to appear composed and respectable.

This polished appearance was his armor.

The weapon he used against life’s storms.

Maintaining a calm, steady demeanor, he opened the passenger door and got into Fu Yan’s car.

The moment he saw Fu Yan, however, all that tension vanished.

“How are you dressed like that?”

Fu Yan was wearing a brown hoodie and gray sweatpants, lounging casually with one arm resting against the window.

No wonder Gu Zhan was surprised.

Strictly speaking, this was their first private meeting outside of work.

The Fu Yan he knew seemed to have his suits welded permanently onto his body.

This was the first time he’d ever seen him dressed casually.

Lowering his reflective sunglasses, Fu Yan smiled.

“I forgot to tell you. We’re going to visit my grandmother in the countryside today.”

“I thought I was meeting your father?”

Fu Yan’s gaze swept over him.

“So you dressed this handsome because you thought you were meeting the parents?”

“Quit joking.”

Gu Zhan glared at him.

“What exactly did you tell your father yesterday?”

Fu Yan’s expression tightened.

He deliberately paused for suspense.

“Actually, I haven’t said anything yet.”

“Then my father said he already likes you as his daughter-in-law.”

“What?!”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

The previous night.

Father and son had arrived home one after the other.

As soon as Fu Yan parked, the butler informed him that Fu Hongping wanted to have a talk.

Feeling uneasy, he entered his father’s study.

His family had never been particularly happy about him being gay.

When he came out in middle school, his father had even hit him.

Back then, before becoming the composed and reliable man he was today, Fu Yan had gone on hunger strikes, run away from home, and done all sorts of rebellious things.

Fortunately, his father wasn’t unreasonable.

And his mother respected her children’s choices.

Eventually, the family accepted his sexuality.

Still, they rarely discussed his romantic life.

Over the years, Fu Yan had dated many people.

Normally, parents would start worrying about their child’s love life by this age.

Yet his parents simply watched boyfriends come and go without saying a word.

As far as Fu Yan could tell, they were disappointed by his sexuality.

After all, he was an only child.

The empire his father had spent a lifetime building might have no one to inherit it.

Even so, Fu Yan had never considered changing himself for some absurd notion of carrying on the family line.

He had accepted who he was at fifteen.

And that conviction had never changed.

Taking a breath, he called out:

“Dad…”

Fu Hongping stared at him.

“When did it start?”

“Not long ago.”

Truthfully, Fu Yan didn’t know how to define when things had begun between him and Gu Zhan.

From Gu Zhan’s perspective, perhaps they had never really begun at all.

They were merely bed partners.

“You’re still trying to fool me!”

Fu Hongping’s eyes narrowed.

“I knew it! Last time you skipped the quarterly meeting just to go shopping with him.”

“We weren’t shopping.”

Fu Yan had only meant that they hadn’t intentionally gone shopping together.

But his father interpreted it entirely differently.

“Then when did it happen?”

Fu Hongping’s eyes lit up.

“Don’t tell me you started having ideas the very first time I introduced you! That explains why you talked to him for so long at the banquet!”

“Dad, it’s not like that.”

“Wait a minute.”

His father suddenly frowned.

“You didn’t force him, did you? Last time you even broke his arm. Gu Zhan... is he gay too? You’re not going around forcing yourself on people, are you?”

“No!”

Fu Yan almost laughed.

He couldn’t exactly tell his father that the first time around, his own attempt at taking the initiative had failed—and he’d ended up being the one taken instead.

“Who would’ve thought? Gu Zhan is like you.”

Fu Hongping paced the room.

“If I hadn’t caught you today, how long were you planning to hide it?”

“Tomorrow. The whole family is visiting Grandma. Bring him along.”

“What?”

Fu Yan stared blankly.

“Dad, weren’t you angry?”

“I am angry!”

His father planted his hands on his hips.

“Angry that you’ve been sneaking around behind my back and only telling me now!”

Fu Yan had fully expected a thunderstorm when they got home.

Instead...

What exactly was this development?

It was impossible to keep up.

“Dad, I thought you never cared about my boyfriends.”

“Why would I care?”

Fu Hongping snorted.

“Those immature art students? Those models and celebrities covered in makeup? Were any of them worth caring about?”

“Then what about Gu Zhan?”

Fu Hongping sighed and patted his son’s shoulder.

“I’m getting old. One day I’ll step down. The future belongs to your generation.”

For his entire life, he had fought his way forward.

No matter how difficult things became, he never gave up.

To Fu Yan, his father had always been a hero.

But even heroes grow old.

No one defeats time.

“Dad... what are you saying?”

Fu Hongping looked at him.

“Just because you’re gay, does that mean our family can’t have a daughter-in-law?”

Over the years, he had come to accept reality.

Rather than watching his son drift endlessly from one relationship to another, he would rather see him settle into something stable and lasting.

That way his wife could stop worrying.

And if the partner happened to be someone as capable and dependable as Gu Zhan?

Even better.

Maybe he could even help manage the family business someday.

Fu Hongping had always considered himself an excellent judge of character.

He knew his son.

Those pretty flowers and expensive gifts could never truly capture him.

Only someone like Gu Zhan could.

Seeing his father so excited and optimistic left Fu Yan looking awkward.

“Uh…”

“What?”

His father glared.

“Don’t tell me you still haven’t won him over?”

Then he shook his head dramatically.

“Useless. You didn’t inherit any of your father’s talents.”

“When I pursued your mother back then, it was effortless—”

“Hongping—”

A gentle voice drifted up from downstairs.

“Coming!”

Fu Hongping instantly transformed from a boastful patriarch into a thoroughly obedient husband.

“Sea cucumber millet porridge. Are you coming to eat?”

“Yes, yes! Right away!”

He grabbed Fu Yan’s arm.

“Your mother made late-night snacks. Hurry up. Don’t keep her waiting.”