ACBAM 3: Digging a Hole

Su Shijin couldn’t tell for a moment whether Gu Weiyang was joking or being serious.

But judging by his expression, he seemed serious…

Gu Weiyang genuinely seemed very pleased with his looks.

Logically speaking, Su Shijin should have felt offended.

After all, being openly scrutinized and having your looks commented on by a blind date you’re meeting for the first time is hardly a pleasant thing.

But when the alpha said it, his tone wasn’t flirtatious at all—it was as casual as making an offhand comment about the weather.

When Su Shijin met Gu Weiyang’s gaze, he didn’t even see a hint of lust or desire.

It wasn’t as if other alphas hadn’t stared at him before, complimenting his good looks.

But most of those alphas, who thought with their lower halves, had impure intentions in their eyes. They might as well have had “You’re hot, I want to sleep with you” written on their faces.

Someone like Gu Weiyang was honestly pretty rare.

Such a straightforward and sincere compliment actually made Su Shijin feel a little uncomfortable.

After Gu Weiyang finished that sentence, he saw the omega across from him press his lips together, curl his fingertips slightly on the table, and lean back in his chair, instinctively pulling away to widen the distance between them.

His expression didn’t change much, but his small gestures said a lot.

Gu Weiyang held back a smile and didn’t tease him any further. He slid the agreement back over.

“Dr. Su, why don’t you think it over?”

Su Shijin kept a blank face, doing his best to ignore the other man’s gaze, and lowered his head to look at the document.

Think about what?

Think about marrying him by contract, then divorcing a year later and walking away with half his assets?

No marking required and no need to deal with his heat cycles?

Su Shijin felt like this pie was way too big to be real—he didn’t dare take it.

“Mr. Gu, I think you could definitely find someone more suitable,” Su Shijin said earnestly as he pushed the agreement back.

“Mr. Gu, to be honest, the reason I came today was to make it clear that I don’t have any plans to get married right now,” Su Shijin said after a pause, deciding it was best to be direct.

“I’m just an ordinary veterinarian. I only want to stay an ordinary vet. With the Gu family’s status and power, someone like you could easily find a much better omega to be your partner.”

Thinking about this strange agreement, Su Shijin hesitated, then added, “Of course, even without the agreement, it would be the same.”

With a background like the Gu family’s, there was no kind of partner Gu Weiyang couldn’t find.

Which only made Su Shijin even more confused about why this agreement existed in the first place. Gu Weiyang actually seemed to be enjoying it, like he thought this agreement, which could cost him half his fortune, was somehow to his advantage.

Su Shijin couldn’t make sense of it, so he simply gave up trying.

After all, the reason he came today was to make things clear with the young master of the Gu family. He wasn’t going to agree to any kind of marriage agreement, much less marry into the Gu family.

He didn’t want his peaceful life stirred up by unnecessary drama.

“Mr. Gu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave,” Su Shijin said, glancing at the melted ice cream in front of him with appetite gone. He stood up, ready to leave.

Gu Weiyang’s gaze followed him as he rose, and just before Su Shijin’s hand touched the doorknob, Gu Weiyang spoke.

“What if the Gu family wasn’t part of the picture?”

?

Su Shijin paused and turned back, puzzled.

Gu Weiyang leaned casually against the back of his chair with eyes dark and tilted his chin slightly to look at him. “What if I’d never been found by the Gu family? If I was still that nobody scraping by in some remote mountain hollow, working myself to the bone just to survive—no education, no money, no status, damaged glands, nothing to my name.”

“Dr. Su, do you think someone like that could ever be liked by an omega?”

Su Shijin could hear a faint trace of self-mockery in his tone, though he didn’t know why.

Stunned for a moment, Su Shijin let go of the doorknob, turned around, and said, “Mr. Gu, there’s no need to make assumptions like that. A person’s worth isn’t defined by their background or education.”

Gu Weiyang gave a low laugh, as if something had just occurred to him. “But Dr. Su, let’s be real—whether it’s an omega, alpha, or beta, when normal people look for a partner, isn’t material stability usually the first thing they consider?”

“Especially in situations like ours—a blind date—where there’s no time to really get to know each other’s character or personality. All we can do is quickly judge whether someone is worth getting to know further based on their material circumstances. I don’t think I’m wrong about that.”

…

Su Shijin fell silent.

He honestly couldn’t refute that.

At least in his own case, when going on a blind date with a stranger, he did tend to look first into the person’s job and family background.

“Mr. Gu, there’s one thing I disagree with,” Su Shijin said after some thought, deciding to add, “If it were me, I’d care more about whether the person is driven than about their family background.”

Family background isn’t something you can choose, but whether or not someone strives to improve—that’s their own decision.

If the other person didn’t come from a good family but was hardworking and genuinely liked him, then Su Shijin would be open to getting to know them.

“Not everyone cares about family background, Mr. Gu. You don’t have to see the world in such a negative light.”

Su Shijin was speaking more than usual today, probably because he had been stirred by the self-deprecating tone Gu Weiyang had used earlier.

He couldn’t help but feel that someone like Gu Weiyang—the Eldest Young Master of the Gu family, the bold alpha who once knocked out a reporter in front of the media—shouldn’t be the kind of person who gets stuck in the past.

But he didn’t want to go off preaching either. After all, everyone knows the right thing to say. It’s just that when it comes to themselves, they tend to get stuck in a dead end and can’t move past them.

That was all he had to say. Su Shijin gave Gu Weiyang a nod, turned around, and opened the door to leave.

The moment he turned the handle, he heard the sharp scrape of a chair against the floor, followed by the sound of footsteps landing on the carpet.

Just as the door opened a crack, the tall, long-legged alpha was already standing behind him with one broad palm pressing lightly against the doorframe, stopping him from moving further.

Being stopped from leaving again and again—even someone as calm as Su Shijin was starting to lose his patience.

“Mr. Gu?” Su Shijin frowned and turned back. “I think I’ve made myself very clear.”

As he finished speaking, Su Shijin suddenly realized they were standing only half a step apart. It was definitely too close for polite conversation.

The alpha was very tall, and at this distance, that height felt even more imposing.

The light behind them cast a shadow over Gu Weiyang’s body, and that shadow fell completely over Su Shijin, as if he had been enclosed by it.

Su Shijin’s throat bobbed slightly as he instinctively took a step back in caution, his back hitting the door with a dull “thud.”

Just like when he had first entered.

Gu Weiyang was almost amused by the retreat, nearly laughing out of sheer frustration. “Su Shijin, do I really look that scary to you?”

That was the first time he had ever called Su Shijin by his full name.

Gu Weiyang pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, ignoring the way those three syllables lingered on his tongue. Then he took his hand off the doorframe and stepped back slightly, putting a bit of space between them.

Seeing the wariness in Su Shijin’s eyes, Gu Weiyang finally ran out of patience.

He lowered his head slightly and spoke gently, trying to explain, “You said your piece and were ready to leave but why not ask what I think?”

Su Shijin frowned in confusion. “Ask you what?”

He had no intention of having anything to do with him so why would he need to ask for his opinion?

But through the puzzled look on Su Shijin’s face, Gu Weiyang somehow understood the unspoken meaning behind his words.

…

Fine then.

Gu Weiyang let out a helpless sigh, as if he really didn’t know what to do with Su Shijin.

He was clearly a tall and strong alpha, someone who could easily overpower an omega with a single show of force—yet here he was, lowering his head, seriously trying to figure out how to speak without making the other person uncomfortable.

Su Shijin let go of the doorknob again, leaning loosely against the door with arms crossed and head tilted up to look at him.

He genuinely felt that Gu Weiyang’s reactions were strange but it didn’t seem like he was faking it.

Su Shijin had never met him before, and couldn’t understand where this attitude of his was coming from.

“Mr. Gu, what exactly are you trying to say?” Su Shijin asked.

Gu Weiyang’s throat bobbed slightly, feeling a dry tightness there.

He turned his head a little, using the tip of his tongue to wet his dry lips. The fingers at his side curl slightly.

After a few seconds, Gu Weiyang turned back and met Su Shijin’s gaze.

The alpha’s dark pupils were deep and intense, and when he looked at someone, it felt as if he could pull them in.

He stared straight at Su Shijin, and in a tone more serious than anything he had used before, said, “I want you to think it over again. It’s not about marrying into the Gu family, but about being with me.”

Su Shijin found it completely baffling. “What’s the difference between being with the Gu family and being with you?”

Wasn’t the Gu family your family?

Aren’t you the Gu family’s eldest son?

Being with you is the same as marrying into the Gu family, isn’t it?

So what’s the difference?

“You just said that when deciding whether to get involved with someone, what you care more about is whether they’re driven,” Gu Weiyang repeated his words earlier.

Su Shijin had a bad feeling—he felt like he had just dug himself a hole.

But since he had said it himself, he still nodded. “Yes.”

“You also said you don’t care about the other person’s family background,” Gu Weiyang added.

Su Shijin nodded again. “Mm.”

But no matter how you looked at it, neither of those points had anything to do with the eldest son of the Gu family, did they?

Everyone knew that the Eldest Young Master of the Gu family held no real power. The companies under his name only gave him dividends and he doesn’t participate in any decision-making. He was the type who just lay back and collected money.

He had absolutely nothing to do with the word “Driven.”

Besides, Su Shijin felt he had made himself very clear from the start—he wanted a quiet life.

He had already made things very clear—he was just short of saying outright that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the Gu family.

What, was this Eldest Young Master of the Gu family really trying to claim he had nothing to do with the Gu family?

And in the very next second, Gu Weiyang told him—yes, he really was.

“Last week, I went to the Gu family’s main house,” Gu Weiyang said.

Su Shijin slowly straightened up, that feeling of having fallen right into a trap growing stronger by the second.

Gu Weiyang said with a hint of amusement in his eyes, “I’ve separated from the Gu family. The assets listed in the agreement are compensation from them for the past twenty-something years.”

Su Shijin: …

Su Shijin’s eyes widened slowly: ?

Seeing his reaction, Gu Weiyang’s mood seemed to improve even more. “So, that quiet life you want—I can give it to you.”

Su Shijin opened his mouth, but the sudden turn of events left him speechless.

Gu Weiyang went on, “As for whether I’m driven, that’s not for me to say but you can take some time to observe before deciding.”

“The Gu family won’t interfere with your peaceful life, and I won’t interfere with your work. You can keep being a vet or do anything else you like. All I’m asking is that during this time, you sign a marriage agreement with me for one year.”

“Within that year, just as the agreement states, you can refuse any marital obligations. If you’re worried, I can wear a suppressant ring 24/7. During the heat, I’ll rely on inhibitors.”

“A year later, if you want a divorce, you can have it. And you’ll get half of the listed assets.”

“Su Shijin, even after all this—are you still going to say no?”

…

Su Shijin was completely speechless.