Chapter 40 — Forcing a Man Into a Lock

Not long after Yan Dun walked out, he was stopped by Hua Daimao, which made him uneasy. Fortunately, when he turned around, he saw both An Zao and An Chi following behind him, and immediately felt reassured.

After a moment, he sneered. “President Hua, please stop following me.”

This was the first time Yan Dun had openly shown Hua Daimao such a cold attitude. Although he had never particularly liked Hua Daimao before, he had at least remained polite. Now that he knew Hua Daimao was the mastermind behind everything that had happened to him—and they had already confronted each other about it—there was no need to keep up appearances.

Besides, with An Zao and An Chi standing nearby, Yan Dun had people backing him up and felt much bolder.

Hua Daimao merely smiled.

“I’m not following you. I’m heading back to the private room. We just happen to be taking the same route.”

“...”

Yan Dun’s newly inflated confidence immediately deflated.

“R-Really?”

“Of course.”

Yan Dun twitched at the corner of his mouth.

“So... you're going back to the private room?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m not. We’re not going the same way.” Yan Dun pointed in another direction. “I’m heading over there. I don't know anything about wine anyway. Going to a wine tasting would be a waste. I'll just leave now.”

After saying that, Yan Dun excused himself and walked away.

An Zao then said, “I’m leaving too.”

Both An Chi and Hua Daimao looked surprised.

“You’re leaving too?”

An Zao nodded.

“I wasn’t here for wine tasting in the first place.”

“Oh right,” An Chi suddenly remembered. “You never said you were coming. Why did you suddenly show up?”

“I was passing by.”

An Chi might be a bit dense, but not that easy to fool.

“Seriously? You just happened to pass by an underground wine cellar?”

An Zao replied calmly:

“I passed by the club and came in to use the restroom.”

“Oh, I see.”

An Chi immediately accepted the explanation.

Hua Daimao, however, wasn't nearly so gullible.

He smiled and said:

“What a coincidence. Same here. Let’s go together. If we hurry, maybe we can still catch up to Little Yan.”

One of An Zao’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

He gestured to An Chi.

“Hold onto President Hua. Don’t let him leave for the next half hour.”

“Yes, Brother.”

Without questioning it, An Chi immediately grabbed Hua Daimao.

Seeing An Zao leave in pursuit of Yan Dun, Hua Daimao grew anxious and tried to follow, only to find himself firmly restrained.

Amused despite himself, Hua Daimao laughed.

“Why are you grabbing me?”

“Because my brother told me to.”

Hua Daimao was used to An Chi being arrogant and combative. This obedient and reliable version of him felt strangely unfamiliar.

“You do whatever your brother says? What are you, a dog?”

An Chi replied:

“What’s wrong with being a dog? Dogs are great. Way better than a flirtatious fox like you.”

“...”

For once, Hua Daimao had no comeback.

He tried forcefully shaking An Chi off.

An Chi, possessing the loyalty of a giant dog, had received a clear command and absolutely refused to let go.

Hua Daimao was a domineering CEO with superhuman strength.

Unfortunately, so was An Chi.

Two superhuman CEOs struggled against each other in the hallway, neither able to gain the upper hand.

The spectacle naturally attracted attention.

“Why are they pulling on each other?”

“Relationship problems?”

“Wait, isn’t that Hua Daimao and An Chi?”

“Aren’t they enemies? Maybe they’re fighting?”

“That’s not fighting. That’s definitely pulling and tugging.”

Blocked from moving forward, Hua Daimao grew increasingly irritated.

“Stop grabbing me!”

An Chi was getting tired too. After all, according to the novel’s setting, Hua Daimao’s combat ability was absurdly high.

Though his strength was beginning to fail, An Chi remembered his brother’s instructions.

So he gave it everything he had.

Wrapping his arms tightly around Hua Daimao from behind, he used all his strength to perform a move that could only be described as:

Forcing a Man Into a Lock.

No matter how wild his imagination was, Hua Daimao had never expected to be bear-hugged by An Chi.

He froze.

“What are you doing?!”

An Chi declared domineeringly:

“You’re not getting away from me!”

Hearing such a CEO-style line, the bystanders collectively gasped.

“They’re not fighting—they’re entangled!”

“What exactly are we witnessing? The supposedly straight, homophobic An Chi and the openly gay Hua Daimao...?”

“...Maybe we should leave before we get silenced.”

Xu Shao had just come out of the restroom and was completely stunned by the scene.

“What the hell is happening?!”

At that moment, Bai Lisu arrived after hearing the news.

Not knowing what to say, she quietly took out a bag of sunflower seeds and handed some to Xu Shao.

──── ୨୧ ────

With Hua Daimao occupied by An Chi, An Zao was able to catch up to Yan Dun without trouble.

Yan Dun had barely left the club when An Zao appeared behind him.

Surprised, Yan Dun asked:

“Boss Zao? Why...? Weren’t you here for wine tasting?”

“No.”

“I’m not interested in wine.”

Yan Dun nodded.

“That’s true...”

He knew that much already.

An Zao wasn’t the type to care about wine. In ordinary life, he was pretty simple about food and often just ordered takeout.

Of course, that was the real-world An Zao. The version living in a CEO romance novel would probably insist on gourmet cuisine.

Yan Dun looked up slightly.

“Then what did you come here for?”

An Zao had no intention of using the “I was passing by to use the restroom” excuse on Yan Dun.

So he answered honestly.

“I came specifically to see you.”

Yan Dun’s heart stirred.

“To see... me?”

The sentence was delivered flatly, without emotion.

Yet it shocked him.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Check the internet.”

Yan Dun suddenly felt a headache coming on.

“Don’t tell me I’m trending again?”

An Zao nodded.

Yan Dun was speechless.

I’m not even a celebrity. Why do I trend every time I fart?

The system helpfully answered:

Because trending topics are a popular narrative element.

As the protagonist, you have a built-in trending-topic physique.

Even farting can get you into the trending searches, Dear Customer.

Yan Dun opened his phone.

Sure enough.

#AnChiHuaDaimaoYanDun

All three names were grouped together.

That alone was enough to inspire endless speculation.

When he clicked in, he found a video from the wine event.

The clip showed the confrontation from earlier:

『 An Chi stood protectively in front of Yan Dun like a mother hen guarding her chicks and shouted:

“You damn gay! Don’t think I don’t know what you're thinking! If you want to fool around, go find those male escorts. Stay away from my Little Yan!”

Hua Daimao stood straight and replied:

“Since when is Little Yan yours? You call me gay, but you’re not much different! You're guarding him this fiercely—maybe you've got ulterior motives?” 』

The video was short.

The implications were enormous.

The comments had exploded:

⤷ Can someone explain what happened? I'm completely lost!

⤷ Simple. Hua Daimao wants to date Yan Dun. An Chi won't let him. Hua Daimao says An Chi only objects because An Chi wants Yan Dun himself.

⤷ I thought I understood until I read that explanation. Now I'm even more confused.

⤷ What kind of irresistible beauty is Yan Dun? Two billionaire CEOs publicly fighting over him?

⤷ Wasn't Yan Dun supposed to be a corporate spy?

⤷ Yan Dun is amazing.

⤷ Please write a book teaching us how to attract rich men.

⤷ Am I the only one who noticed Bai Lisu standing there too?

⤷ Was Bai Lisu eating sunflower seeds?

⤷ Wait, Bai Lisu and Xu Shao were eating sunflower seeds together?

⤷ Weren't people saying Bai Lisu cheated on An Chi with Xu Shao? So now An Chi is coming out of the closet while Bai Lisu and her alleged lover watch and snack?

Thanks to that video, another trending topic appeared:

#BaiLisuEatingSunflowerSeeds

Unexpectedly, it even improved Bai Lisu’s public image:

⤷ So the cheating rumors were fake, right? Otherwise how could she calmly eat sunflower seeds with Xu Shao right in front of An Chi?

⤷ Maybe the whole relationship between Bai Lisu and An Chi was fake.

⤷ Bai Lisu was probably just a smokescreen An Chi used to hide his sexuality.

⤷ Totally. Remember when photos surfaced of Yan Dun and An Chi on a date? Bai Lisu got dragged out as a cover. Yan Dun escaped unscathed while Bai Lisu got all the hate.

⤷ Poor Bai Lisu. She's just a tool.

⤷ Honestly, Bai Lisu seems pretty classy. She even made sure not to drop the sunflower-seed shells on the floor and put them into her Chanel purse afterward.

⤷ That’s not class—that’s money. I wish I were rich enough to casually store sunflower-seed shells in a Chanel bag.

⤷ Anyone feeling sorry for her should first ask themselves whether they even own a Chanel bag.

Bai Lisu ended up benefiting from the scandal.

The labels of “gold digger” and “cheater” were largely washed away.

Although she had lost an endorsement deal earlier, she now gained a new endorsement—from a sunflower-seed company.

After reading all of that, Yan Dun was completely dumbfounded.

Looking up at An Zao, he asked in confusion:

“So... you saw this trending topic and came here?”

That didn’t sound very realistic.

What kind of executive running a major corporation had time to monitor trending topics?

But the system had already prepared an explanation:

In a CEO romance world, CEOs are incredibly idle, Dear Customer.

Watching trending topics all day is perfectly normal.

An Zao said:

“When I saw it, I thought you might be in trouble, so I came to check.”

Warmth immediately spread through Yan Dun’s chest.

“Thank you, Boss Zao. You came at just the right time. I really was in trouble. Without you, it would’ve been difficult to get out of it safely.”

An Zao nodded.

“Then remember to contact me next time something happens.”

“Okay.”

Yan Dun nodded.

He was genuinely touched.

Everyone else had looked at the trending topic and focused on the gossip.

An Zao had immediately worried that Yan Dun might need help and had come personally to bail him out.

──── ୨୧ ────

A cold autumn wind blew past.

Yan Dun shivered slightly, looking as fragile as a baby swallow in the chill.

Watching him, An Zao felt conflicted.

Yan Dun wasn’t simple.

Hua Daimao, An Chi, even his cousin Chen Jiangchen—all seemed to revolve around him.

One disaster after another seemed drawn to him.

And yet...

The Yan Dun who constantly spilled coffee somehow still seemed innocent and harmless.

An Zao had always been perceptive.

He had noticed long ago that some of Yan Dun’s actions were strange, as though he were pursuing some hidden objective.

Yet another part of him stubbornly believed:

Yan Dun was genuinely pure and lovable.

And he needed protection.

Sometimes An Zao wondered whether helping Yan Dun so many times had really been necessary.

He could tell himself:

Yan Dun keeps getting into trouble. He needs someone to protect him.

But another voice would answer:

Even if you don’t protect him, someone else will.

Someone would gladly shower Yan Dun with treasures just to make him smile.

Someone would spare no effort to keep him safe.

Someone would stop at nothing to avenge any wrong done to him.

In the end, An Zao simply wanted that person to be himself.

That was why he was always so eager to stand beside Yan Dun as his protector.

He didn’t want others to hurt Yan Dun.

But he also didn’t want others to get close to Yan Dun.

He didn’t want anyone except himself protecting him.

The thought surprised even him.

He barely knew Yan Dun.

Yet his attachment had sunk so deeply into his bones.

It was perhaps the most frightening thing in the world.

And also the sweetest.

There was nothing he could do about it.

An Zao let out a soft sigh.

For once, the usually confident and composed man looked almost defeated.

The expression startled Yan Dun.

An Zao was always gentle, but pride ran deep in his bones.

Seeing him look so resigned was unusual.

After another nearly inaudible sigh, An Zao looked at Yan Dun helplessly.

“You really are something.”

There was annoyance in his voice.

A little resentment.

But even more affection.

Yan Dun couldn’t quite understand what he meant and could only smile awkwardly.

An Zao said:

“Get in the car.”

Yan Dun followed him into the vehicle.

Inside the cramped space, An Zao’s presence felt even stronger, like a dark cloud suddenly surrounding him.

A strange sense of danger rose in Yan Dun’s heart.

He turned toward An Zao nervously.

“B-Boss Zao...?”

Seeing Yan Dun so tense, like a frightened bird with nowhere left to escape, An Zao realized he must have looked too stern.

Instinctively, he smiled.

Unfortunately, the smile somehow made things worse.

Yan Dun nearly felt like jumping out of the moving car.

An Zao said:

“I have something I want to ask you.”