ACBAM 41: What a Coincidence

The next morning, after freshening up, Su Shijin came downstairs and happened to run into Gu Weiyang, who had just returned from his morning jog.

Gu Weiyang was carrying two bags of breakfast, looking as though he had stopped by the morning market on his way back.

When he saw Su Shijin coming down, Gu Weiyang set the breakfast on the table and greeted him with a smile. “Morning.”

Su Shijin gave a faint smile. “Morning.”

Gu Weiyang brought a few plates and pairs of chopsticks from the kitchen and set them on the table. As he took the breakfast out of the bags, he said to him, “You start eating first, I’ll go upstairs for a quick shower.”

Su Shijin glanced at the steaming food on the table and said, “Eat first, then shower. It’ll get cold soon.”

Gu Weiyang paused for a moment, looking a little hesitant.

The truth was, he actually wanted to have breakfast with Su Shijin, but after running five kilometers that morning, he was drenched in sweat…

Gu Weiyang instinctively tugged at his collar and took a sniff, catching the scent of sweat.

Su Shijin had just sat down at the table and was about to take a sip of water to moisten his throat when his gaze unintentionally swept over Gu Weiyang’s exposed abs peeking out from under his shirt hem, and he nearly choked on the water.

He quickly looked away, pretending he hadn’t seen anything, and said, “I don’t smell anything. Sit down and eat—otherwise, we’ll just have to reheat it later when it gets cold.”

Hearing that, Gu Weiyang didn’t insist on showering first. After washing his hands in the kitchen, he sat down across from Su Shijin.

This kind of married life, living together and having breakfast, made Gu Weiyang so happy that his legs couldn’t help but bounce twice under the table, and he even felt like humming a tune as he bit into his bun.

Fortunately, no matter how happy he was, Gu Weiyang didn’t lose his head and managed to hold back the urge to hum.

After breakfast, Su Shijin didn’t let Gu Weiyang clean the table and instead sent him upstairs to take a shower.

Su Shijin figured his own foot was more or less healed, and since breakfast had been bought by Gu Weiyang, there was no reason to make him tidy up as well.

Putting himself in the shoes of other married omegas, Su Shijin felt it was more reasonable for household chores to be split between omega and alpha.

If he left all the housework to Gu Weiyang, that would be far too unfair to him.

But clearly, Gu Weiyang hadn’t thought that much about it. Before being sent upstairs to shower, he still remembered to remind him that there was a dishwasher, as if afraid Su Shijin might overexert himself.

When Su Shijin was loading the dishes into the dishwasher, he recalled the worried look in Gu Weiyang’s eyes just moments ago and felt a little amused.

In all his life, it was the first time someone had treated him like a child who couldn’t do anything. It was rather novel.

—

After showering, Gu Weiyang changed into a black dress shirt and slacks. He was tall and well-built, and the tailored shirt showed off his broad shoulders and narrow waist to perfection.

When Su Shijin’s gaze fell on him, an unbidden image of those abs he had glimpsed earlier flashed through his mind, and he quickly looked away.

Gu Weiyang lowered his head to adjust his watch, glanced at the time, and asked, “Can I take you to work now? Or is it too early?”

Only then did Su Shijin realize it was already seven-thirty. It would indeed be a bit early to head to work now. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “If it’s convenient for you, could you take me home first?”

Gu Weiyang’s hand paused mid-adjustment of his watch, and he lifted his eyes to look at him. “Home?”

For some reason, Su Shijin felt as though there was a trace of reluctance in Gu Weiyang’s gaze, as if he didn’t want him to go back.

Su Shijin brushed aside that strange feeling in his chest and explained, “I’m going to bring my car over. If I have you drive me to work every day, it’s too much trouble for you.”

Gu Weiyang’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked, “Am I trouble to you?”

Su Shijin let out a quiet, helpless laugh. “No, how could you think that? I’m just worried about inconveniencing you. Besides, if I have to work overtime on short notice, it wouldn’t be convenient to make you wait around for me.”

Gu Weiyang wanted to say it was no trouble at all, he was more than happy to do it.

But then he thought, if he ever got off work late and couldn’t pick Su Shijin up in time, leaving him without a ride home, that really wouldn’t be very convenient.

So after a few seconds of hesitation, Young Master Gu ultimately chose to drive Su Shijin back home.

—

After getting his car, Su Shijin parted ways with Gu Weiyang. While parking, he happened to run into Dr. Liu, who was on his way to work. The doctor looked at him in surprise. “Your foot’s better? You can drive now? Why not have your husband drive you for a few more days?”

That “your husband” left Su Shijin momentarily speechless. It wasn’t until they had reached the hospital entrance that he finally managed to say, “It’s pretty much healed. It’s an automatic, so I don’t need my left foot.”

Dr. Liu let out two drawn-out “oh, oh” sounds, thinking that after a short vacation, Dr. Su’s reaction time seemed to have gotten a bit slow.

After all, she had  asked that question a whole minute ago.

Su Shijin didn’t say anything more. After clocking in, he headed to the locker room to change.

He was busier than usual today. One of the surgeries he had postponed last week due to his ankle injury had a patient who insisted he be the one to perform it, so it was scheduled for today.

A big golden retriever, all innocence and no guile, had no idea it was about to go under the knife. When its owner led it into the hospital, it was still grinning with its tongue lolling out, looking utterly happy.

Even during the pre-op check, when the owner handed its leash to the vet assistant, the golden retriever cheerfully stuck close to them, going wherever they were led.

It wasn’t until the assistant led it away from its owner that the dog suddenly seemed to realize something was wrong. Its tongue slid back into its mouth, and it lifted its head with a solemn expression, searching for its owner.

Su Shijin gently rubbed its flat head. “Don’t look for them, you’ll see them again in a little while.”

The golden retriever let out an anxious “wooo” and paced restlessly on its four big paws, until the assistant brought over a can of food. Instantly, the dog calmed down, staring fixedly at the can in her hand.

A moment later, a thin strand of drool slid from the corner of its mouth.

The surrounding assistants burst out laughing.

Even Su Shijin was amused by the golden retriever. After wiping the mouth of this especially drooly dog with a tissue, he rubbed its head again. “Alright, be good. You can have it after the surgery.”

With an unopened can of food as bait, they coaxed the golden retriever through the pre-op check, and after the owner signed the consent form, got it onto the operating table.

The surgery lasted about two hours. It wasn’t difficult, and everything went smoothly. When the golden retriever was carried into the inpatient ward for an IV drip, its tongue was lolling as it drifted in and out of consciousness.

Su Shijin called the golden retriever’s owner into the consultation room, pulled up the pre- and post-op DR images on the computer, and explained what things looked like before the surgery and how they looked after. He kept his language as simple as possible so she could understand.

In short, the surgery had gone smoothly, and the rest would depend on post-op recovery.

Although the owner still didn’t fully grasp all the details, knowing everything went well put her at ease, and she followed the assistant to the inpatient ward to see her dog.

Su Shijin returned to his consulting room to rest for a while. Standing for such a long time had made his left ankle ache a little, but after ten minutes of rest, it was more or less fine again.

He grabbed a quick lunch nearby as usual, and it wasn’t until eight in the evening that Su Shijin finally clocked out.

On his phone was a message from Gu Weiyang sent a little after seven: [What time do you get off work?]

Su Shijin glanced at the time and replied: [Just finished, heading back now.]

[Gu Weiyang: Have you had dinner yet?]

[Su Shijin: Not yet. What about you?]

[Gu Weiyang: What a coincidence, I just got home and was about to make something. We can eat together when you get back.]

He even attached a cartoon sticker: [Dog tossing flowers.jpg]

Su Shijin’s gaze lingered on that “eat together when you get back” for two seconds before he searched up a sticker on his keyboard and sent: [Cat nodding.jpg]