ACBAM 24: Hot and Restless

Gu Weiyang was so excited he felt like he could run ten kilometers in one breath. His emotions were so intense that even with the suppressant ring on, his pheromones started leaking uncontrollably.

He caught the scent of his own pheromones and reached back to touch the gland at the nape of his neck.

The gland throbbed against his palm, radiating a kind of heat, stirred up along with his excitement.

Gu Weiyang leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

Although just thinking about Su Shijin’s “see you tonight” still made him excited, Gu Weiyang pinched his thigh hard, using the pain to suppress the rush of excitement and gradually calm himself down.

The doctor had said that Gu Weiyang shouldn’t let his emotions fluctuate too much. Because his gland was damaged, his heat cycle was very unstable and too much emotional turbulence could easily throw it into chaos.

Due to his past overuse of suppressants, Gu Weiyang’s body had developed a resistance to them. During every heat cycle, even after getting a suppressant shot, it was still an excruciating ordeal.

So whenever Gu Weiyang noticed his emotions getting out of control, he would force himself to calm down.

Fortunately, he had good control. In about a minute, his heart rate settled, and the restless heat in his gland gradually subsided.

He planned to sit for a few more minutes before driving off, so he rolled down the window and lazily lit a cigarette.

Gu Weiyang didn’t really have a smoking habit, but he liked to light one when trying to get his emotions under control. As the smoke drifted out from between his lips along with his suppressed feelings, it always felt like he could quickly snap out of the chaotic pressure of forced restraint.

Even though he wasn’t feeling overly excited anymore, Gu Weiyang was still very happy.

Happy that he and Su Shijin had registered their marriage, and happy about those words Su Shijin had said—“see you tonight.”

After spending so many days with Su Shijin, Gu Weiyang finally felt that the distance between them had genuinely lessened, even if just a little. That made him feel very content.

Right after finishing his cigarette, Gu Weiyang got a call. It was from Tan Zhao.

The first thing he heard after picking up was a sharp question, “Are you ever coming back to the office or not?!”

“I’m on my way,” Gu Weiyang glanced at the time. “Don’t worry, I won’t be late for the afternoon meeting.”

“Yo~ You still remember there’s a meeting this afternoon.”

Tan Zhao said sarcastically, “I thought you were so wrapped up in your newlywed bliss that you couldn’t bear to leave.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to leave, but he told me we would see each other tonight, so I figured I could survive a few hours apart.” Gu Weiyang smiled, the corners of his mouth gently curved. “You have no idea how soft his voice was when he said ‘see you tonight.’”

Tan Zhao: “…”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know, thanks.”

Tan Zhao felt he must’ve been a murderer and an arsonist in his past life because only that could explain why he was being force-fed so much lovey-dovey nonsense in this one.

“If I’d known you were such a lovesick fool, I would’ve seriously reconsidered when you first asked to partner with me,” Tan Zhao said wearily.

In the first year after Gu Weiyang was brought back by the Gu family, he quickly realized his place in the household and he understood that if he stayed there passively, those business-hardened elders would eat him alive, not leaving even his skin behind.

So that first year, after meeting Tan Zhao, Gu Weiyang proposed a partnership.

At the time, Tan Zhao only knew that Gu Weiyang was a young master the family had brought back from the rural area. He figured there was no way someone who didn’t know anything could be worth partnering with, so he turned him down without a second thought.

Back then, Tan Zhao was just another idle rich second-gen with too much free time and money. His life goal was to enjoy the pleasures of this flashy world and coast along until he died of natural causes. He had zero interest in things like running a company.

His family was rich anyway, and he had no plans to get married. He already had more than enough money to last a lifetime, so he didn’t see the point in making more

But Gu Weiyang was just like one of those top-tier pyramid scheme salespeople straight out of a scam!!

Tan Zhao didn’t even want to remember how he got roped onto Gu Weiyang’s pirate ship. Somehow, in a moment of impulse, he just agreed to the partnership and handed over every cent he had to invest in Gu Weiyang.

It was like he had been brainwashed!!!

Thankfully, over the next year, Gu Weiyang proved with real results that Tan Zhao hadn’t made the wrong choice. From investing to the point of nearly going broke, to now having spare money to throw around again. Gu Weiyang made it all happen in just one year.

And Gu Weiyang wasn’t even satisfied with Tan Zhao just putting up the money. With the same silver tongue you did expect from a pyramid scheme pro, he convinced Tan Zhao to go from a total slacker to a corporate drone working for his own company.

And now!

At this moment!

You’re telling Tan Zhao that Gu Weiyang is a lovesick fool!

He went and got his marriage certificate this morning. It’s nearly three in the afternoon and he still hasn’t shown up to work!!

When Tan Zhao went to Gu Weiyang’s office just now and realized he hadn’t even shown up, it honestly felt like the sky was falling.

Workaholic Gu Weiyang, taking a full day off after getting married.

Tan Zhao seriously thought the company was doomed.

“It won’t affect work, don’t worry,” Gu Weiyang said, knowing exactly what Tan Zhao was concerned about. “I’ll balance marriage and work just fine.”

Besides, even if he did want to give up work and stick to Su Shijin like chewing gum 24/7—

Su Shijin would never allow it.

His spouse cared more about work than about him. Gu Weiyang was honestly starting to wish he were a dog that could hang around the animal hospital all day, clinging to Su Shijin.

Tan Zhao had no idea Gu Weiyang was out here flip-flopping between wanting to be chewing gum and wanting to be a dog, but when he heard that Gu Weiyang wouldn’t let him being lovestruck get in the way of work, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, just get back soon. Don’t miss the meeting.”

“I’ll make it,” Gu Weiyang said, flicking the cigarette butt into a nearly empty water bottle to put it out. He hung up and started the car.

—

When Gu Weiyang arrived at the company, there were still fifteen minutes before the meeting. The moment he showed up, it stirred quite a reaction.

Some bold employees even offered him congratulations on his marriage.

It must’ve been that post he shared on his Moments that got around, letting everyone at the company know he was married now.

Gu Weiyang had been planning to show off his relationship anyway. He wanted everyone to know he was married. So when the employees offered their well-wishes, he nodded happily and said, “Thanks.”

Seeing this, the others also began offering their congratulations on his marriage.

In a great mood, Gu Weiyang stopped to thank them one by one.

A young omega, gathering up the courage, asked, “President Gu, how did you and your partner meet?”

The others immediately started furiously glaring at him, their eyes saying loud and clear that he must have a death wish to be asking something like that

But the omega wasn’t fazed at all. He stared directly at Gu Weiyang, clearly determined to get an answer.

Gu Weiyang looked at the omega’s face and didn’t really recognize him.

But noticing the curious glances others kept sneaking his way, he decided to answer the question, “It was love at first sight.”

The employees who had gathered around to eavesdrop immediately erupted with excitement.

“Ohhh~~~”

“President Gu, we want wedding candy!”

“Yeah, yeah, we want candy!”

Gu Weiyang also felt that such a big celebration definitely called for wedding candy, so he called over his assistant, handed him a card, and told him to grab a few people to go buy some sweets and snacks to pass out to everyone.

The office instantly broke into another round of cheers.

No one noticed that the omega who had asked the question in the first place was now biting his lip in frustration and his face pale with disappointment.

As Gu Weiyang turned to leave, he glanced at him one more time, his eyes briefly sweeping over the name badge on his chest before heading upstairs to the conference room, arriving just in time.

When he got there, Tan Zhao was already seated, and both sides of the conference table were filled.

“What was going on downstairs just now? The cheering was loud enough to reach up here,” Tan Zhao raised an eyebrow as soon as he saw him.

“Told them I would hand out wedding candy and they got excited,” Gu Weiyang said with a smile as he took the main seat at the head of the table.

Everyone around the table was sharp as a tack. The moment they heard that, they immediately started offering well-wishes. Congratulating him on his marriage, wishing him a lifetime of happiness and a long, harmonious union. They picked all the best-sounding phrases they could think of. Gu Weiyang smiled and thanked them one by one. “I’ll have some of the wedding candy sent to your offices later.”

Everyone burst into laughter, saying that was great and they would love to share the joy.

Some people even felt that President Gu seemed to be in a good mood today, and they relaxed a little themselves. Maybe they wouldn’t get scolded today after all…

An hour later, Gu Weiyang walked out of the meeting room with a cold expression, followed by a few people with their heads down, looking dejected.

They were wrong. Even if President Gu was in a good mood, his principles wouldn’t change.

If the job wasn’t well done, then scolding was still going to happen.

Gu Weiyang brought the project leads back to his office, and Tan Zhao sincerely wished those people would make it out alive. He had been there before, getting ruthlessly roasted by Gu Weiyang’s sarcastic jabs until he felt like a complete failure.

But Gu Weiyang usually followed up a slap with a sweet date.

Tan Zhao leaned against the assistant’s desk outside, sipping coffee while he waited. After about half an hour, the people inside finally came out.

You could tell they had been chewed out pretty badly. Their foreheads were covered in sweat but each of them looked oddly energized, probably filled to the brim with Gu Weiyang’s motivational speech.

Sometimes, Tan Zhao truly admired Gu Weiyang’s way with words. He could spin black into white.

Clicking his tongue twice, Tan Zhao shook his head and knocked on the office door. When he heard the words “Come in,” he walked in with his freshly refilled coffee. “All sorted?”

“Mhm, it wasn’t anything serious to begin with. I just needed to give them a little warning,” Gu Weiyang said, putting down the document in his hand and looking up at him. “Right, there’s someone I need you to look into.”

“Who?” Tan Zhao had originally come over to gossip about his newlywed situation, but when he heard that, he walked over and glanced at the note Gu Weiyang had written. He read it aloud, pausing between each word, “Intern from the International Business Department… Rong Yan? The name sounds kind of familiar.”

He took the note, puzzled. “Why do you want to look into him?”

“Unfamiliar face. I don’t recall the company hiring anyone new recently. Check who pulled strings to sneak him in,” Gu Weiyang said.

Tan Zhao rubbed his chin, starting to have a hunch. “The name sounds familiar. It’s probably some young master from a minor family.”

Gu Weiyang raised an eyebrow. “Coming after me?”

“Not impossible,” Tan Zhao said with a grin. “You know what they say, proximity breeds opportunity. Get into the company first, then find a way to get close to you. Who knows, maybe he’ll catch your eye.”

Gu Weiyang shrugged, clearly unconcerned. “Once we find out who slipped him in, make an example out of him. Fire him on the spot.”

“Got it.” Tan Zhao pocketed the note. He happened to have nothing better to do anyway, and he was more than happy to play the bad guy.

After Tan Zhao left the office, Gu Weiyang glanced at the clock, feeling that time was crawling by.

At lunch, Su Shijin had mentioned he would be on duty until nine tonight, so there was no need to wait for him for dinner.

Gu Weiyang felt genuinely disappointed. It was yet another missed chance to have dinner with Su Shijin.

Especially since it wasn’t even six yet. There were still over three hours until Su Shijin got off work.

All Gu Weiyang could do was bury himself in work, hoping that the intensity would make time pass faster.

Otherwise, he was really going to turn into a stone waiting for his husband…

—

Su Shijin had a quick and simple dinner near the hospital.

Since last night’s meal had been the carefully prepared dinner by Gu Weiyang, tonight, while chewing on plain bread, Su Shijin uncharacteristically felt that even the bread tasted like nothing.

After finishing the bread and milk with a blank expression, he maneuvered his wheelchair back to the hospital to continue his shift.

Fortunately, the hospital wasn’t too busy today. Plus, since everyone knew the reason for Su Shijin’s ankle injury, large dogs were mostly assigned to other doctors’ consultation rooms for their checkups.

Aside from a German Shepherd named Xiangxiang, the cases Su Shijin handled were mostly tiny poodles and little Bichons.

There were also a few small cats.

All minor issues like a cat bumping its eye during a parkour session, causing some redness, or cases of diarrhea from digestive problems that just needed a bit of medication.

Busy for a while, then idle for a bit. Before long, it was time to get off work.

Gu Weiyang had mentioned at lunch that he would pick him up, and had even asked for his shift end time.

But since Su Shijin hadn’t received any message from him, he wasn’t sure if Gu Weiyang had actually come. He thought about sending a message to ask, but then worried that Gu Weiyang might be driving or caught up with something else.

So he decided to head to the locker room first, change back into his regular clothes, and hand over the shift to the night-duty doctor.

There were fewer visitors at night, and sometimes the night-shift doctor could get through the whole shift without a single pet being brought in. So, except for weekends, the front desk staff didn’t have to work night shifts on weekdays.

As Su Shijin was getting off work, he happened to run into Ran Tian, who was also on her way to the locker room to change into her regular clothes.

Ran Tian’s eyes lit up the moment she saw him. “Dr. Su, I just saw your husband outside. He’s probably here to pick you up.”

She wasn’t sure how to address Su Shijin’s partner, so after some thought, she settled on calling him “husband.”

Su Shijin paused for a moment as he maneuvered his wheelchair. “He’s here?”

“Yes, outside. I told him he could come in and wait, but he said he didn’t want to disturb your work.”

“Alright, got it.” Su Shijin smiled and gave her a nod.

Watching his back as he left, Ran Tian couldn’t help but feel that Dr. Su had smiled more today than he usually did.

Love really was something magical.

She clicked her tongue in amazement as she watched Dr. Su reached the entrance, where that tall and well-built man immediately walked up to greet him. She started fangirling over the CP on the spot.

Gu Weiyang had arrived about ten minutes earlier. He knew Su Shijin’s shift end time and understood that even if he showed up too early, he would still have to wait outside. So he simply buckled down and finished the pile of work that had been pushed to tomorrow before driving over.

When he heard the sound of the wheelchair, Gu Weiyang didn’t even need to look. He knew it was Su Shijin. He quickly turned around and walked up to him.

Su Shijin greeted him with a faint smile. “Mr. Gu.”

Gu Weiyang tried to keep calm as he nodded. “You’re off work?”

“Yeah. When did you get here? Why didn’t you send me a message?” Su Shijin asked as he steered his wheelchair, heading outside.

“Just got here not long ago. I figured you might still be busy, and since it was almost time anyway, I thought I’d just wait at the door,” Gu Weiyang said.

“If you get here early next time, come in and wait. There’s a lounge inside,” Su Shijin replied. He already felt bad enough having Gu Weiyang pick him up and he didn’t want to make him wait outside too.

But Gu Weiyang latched onto the key part of that sentence: next time.

Gu Weiyang immediately zeroed in on the key word in that sentence: next time.

Hehe, how great.

There’s a next time.

He still gets to pick him up and drop him off.

The corners of Gu Weiyang’s mouth lifted slightly as he rubbed the gland at the back of his neck to calm the surge of excitement.

This was just the beginning, there’s no need to get so worked up. There was still a whole year ahead. There’s plenty of time to be excited later.

While mentally talking himself down, he led Su Shijin toward the parking area. “Have you eaten yet?”

Su Shijin thought of the bland bread and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve eaten.”

It hadn’t tasted great, but at least it filled him up.

“Anywhere else you need to go?” Gu Weiyang asked.

“No, do you have somewhere in mind?”

“Nope.”

Su Shijin said, “Then shall we head home?”

Gu Weiyang’s eyelid twitched slightly as he replied, “Alright.”

Doing his best to stay calm, he walked over to where the car was parked, opened the front passenger door, and reached out to help Su Shijin into the seat.

Once Su Shijin was seated properly, Gu Weiyang closed the car door with slightly stiff movements, then carried the folded wheelchair over to the trunk.

After stowing the wheelchair, Gu Weiyang could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest. He rubbed at his gland again, which was starting to feel hot and restless.

He thought to himself, This is bad.

This time, he really couldn’t hold it back.