ACBAM 72: Deceive

Su Shijin never expected that, in F City, which was at least a thousand kilometers away from Jiang City, he would run into a friend who knew both Tan Zhao and Gu Weiyang.

And this friend just so happened to be one of Gu Weiyang’s WeChat contacts and had seen their marriage certificate in Gu Weiyang’s friend circle.

An omega as beautiful as Su Shijin was the kind of face you couldn’t forget after just one glance.

So when Li Wu happened to spot Su Shijin just now, he immediately remembered who he was.

But why was President Gu’s wife here alone?

Driven by curiosity, Li Wu sent a message to Tan Zhao just to confirm whether he had recognized the person correctly.

When Tan Zhao received the message, he was just in Gu Weiyang’s office.

Ever since that omega named Su Shijin went on the work trip, Gu Weiyang had been working overtime at the company for an entire week, returning home only around one or two in the morning every time, and today was no exception.

“How about grabbing a drink after work later?” Tan Zhao, lounging with his legs crossed on the sofa while looking through some documents, heard his phone ring and casually opened the chat with Li Wu.

“No, the bar’s too crowded. I don’t feel comfortable staying there for long,” Gu Weiyang replied, reaching up to rub the gland near his neck where the suppression patch was.

Ever since Su Shijin went on the work trip, Gu Weiyang hadn’t been getting much rest this week.

Especially the gland area, after experiencing the benefits of the desensitization treatment that Su Shijin had done for him, in the past week without smelling Su Shijin’s pheromones, the gland subtly protested.

Gu Weiyang knew well that this was just a temporary side effect of the desensitization treatment. As time went on and the longer Su Shijin was away, his gland would gradually adjust to the absence of Su Shijin’s pheromones—it was just a matter of time.

Ah, he really missed Dr. Su.

As soon as his mind wandered, Gu Weiyang couldn’t help but miss Su Shijin intensely. He had to keep himself busier to avoid thinking about it.

“I’m going to make a cup of coffee, do you want one?” Gu Weiyang put down his pen and stood up, heading toward the coffee machine.

However, Tan Zhao didn’t say anything for a while. Gu Weiyang had no choice but to look at him again and ask, “Coffee, or not?”

“Ah? Oh, yes,” Tan Zhao snapped out of his phone trance and answered somewhat flustered.

Gu Weiyang looked at his nervous expression, his brow furrowing in confusion. “What’s wrong? Why are you acting so flustered?”

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Tan Zhao forced a smile, unsure whether he should tell Gu Weiyang that Li Wu had run into Su Shijin in F City.

He clearly remembered Gu Weiyang saying his wife was going to K City.

K City and F City were not exactly close—flying between them would take at least three hours.

Seeing that Tan Zhao was obviously hiding something but not speaking up, Gu Weiyang raised an eyebrow slightly.

However, Gu Weiyang wasn’t the type to press for answers. Since Tan Zhao didn’t want to talk about it now, he decided not to ask further.

Anyway, with Tan Zhao’s personality, if there was something that couldn’t be resolved, he would naturally tell him later.

Gu Weiyang took two packets of instant coffee from the cabinet next to the coffee machine, quickly made two cups, and handed one to Tan Zhao.

Tan Zhao, surprised, put down his phone and took the coffee. “Eh? You made it so quickly?” He then took a sip, paused, and looked down. “This is instant coffee, right?”

Gu Weiyang sat back at his desk with his coffee cup in hand, not even lifting his eyelids when he heard the question. “It’s instant coffee.”

Tan Zhao was momentarily speechless. “You have such a high-end coffee machine and yet you’re drinking instant coffee?”

“It’s convenient,” Gu Weiyang replied.

Tan Zhao had no words to counter that.

However, Tan Zhao had something on his mindso he didn’t get hung up on whether the instant coffee tasted good or not.

He took a sip of coffee to wet his throat and casually asked, “By the way, when is your wife coming back?”

Gu Weiyang paused for a moment before lifting his eyelids to look at him. “Why are you suddenly asking about him?”

Tan Zhao chuckled, “Just thought that with you working overtime every day, it’s not good for your health. When your wife comes back, maybe he can take better care of you.”

Gu Weiyang didn’t suspect anything and replied, “Another week. And even when he comes back, he won’t control me.”

“Why not? You’ve been working overtime and not going home. Won’t he think something’s up?” Tan Zhao asked, genuinely curious.

Gu Weiyang propped his chin up and let out a deep sigh. “If he were at home, there’s no way I’d be working overtime.”

If Su Shijin were at home, Gu Weiyang would definitely punch out right on time, not wanting to stay a minute longer than necessary.

Tan Zhao: …

Once again, he was left speechless by Gu Weiyang.

How could someone speak so confidently about being clingy to their wife.

Gu Weiyang lightly tapped his fingers on the desk, wearing an expression of melancholy.

He hadn’t finished his sentence earlier. In addition to the fact that he wouldn’t work overtime if Su Shijin were at home, Gu Weiyang felt that even if he worked late for several nights and didn’t go home, Su Shijin probably wouldn’t care.

After all, it was just a marriage of convenience and Dr. Su didn’t like him…

Gu Weiyang slumped over the desk, his eyes losing their usual brightness, looking like a salted fish without dreams—listless and deflated.

Tan Zhao watched Gu Weiyang’s reaction, feeling completely confused. It didn’t seem like he had asked anything too special, so why did he suddenly look so down?

“By the way, your wife went to K City for a work trip, right?” Tan Zhao thought for a moment about how to naturally steer the conversation toward Gu Weiyang’s wife, while subtly reminding him that his wife might be deceiving him.

“Before, you mentioned he was going to some seminar, right? What kind of seminar could it be that lasts for half a month? That’s way too long.”

Gu Weiyang was also confused. “It should be something academic, I guess? I’m not too sure.”

Tan Zhao asked, “Huh? He’s going to be away for so long and you didn’t ask for more details in advance?”

Gu Weiyang looked somewhat puzzled. “Ask what?”

Tan Zhao replied, “Well, like, what kind of seminar lasts for so long, something like that.”

Gu Weiyang said, “I didn’t ask.”

He noticed that Tan Zhao seemed uneasy, as if he wanted to say something but was holding back and a faint sense of unease started to form.

“Something’s off. Didn’t you used to be the one who didn’t want me to bring up Dr. Su? Why are you mentioning him so much tonight?”

Gu Weiyang’s gaze swept over Tan Zhao from head to toe, eventually settling on the phone Tan Zhao was tightly gripping.

Tan Zhao’s hand instinctively tightened around the phone, perhaps out of guilt. Even though holding a phone was a perfectly normal action, he subconsciously shoved it behind him.

“…Hmm?” Gu Weiyang raised an eyebrow, recalling Tan Zhao’s odd behavior throughout the evening, and made a guess. “Did you receive some news about Dr. Su?”

Given Tan Zhao’s personality, it was really unusual for him to keep bringing up Su Shijin.

“Ah… well, how should I put this…” Tan Zhao hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Gu Weiyang wasn’t in a hurry. “Just say it directly.”

“Say it directly…”

Tan Zhao genuinely found it hard to get the words out.

Tan Zhao could clearly see how much Gu Weiyang liked that omega.

If he told him now that the omega’s work trip was a lie and that in reality, he was still in a bar in F City, Tan Zhao was afraid that Gu Weiyang might lose control of his pheromones.

“How about we find a safer place to talk?” Tan Zhao suggested.

Gu Weiyang: ?

“What safe place?”

Tan Zhao: “The isolation area at the hospital.”

Gu Weiyang: “…”

“What’s with that expression? I’m serious! You know your pheromone level, right? If you lose control now, it’s going to be me who suffers.” Tan Zhao, meeting Gu Weiyang’s speechless gaze, instantly got worked up. “You know how much alpha and alpha pheromones repel each other! Last time you lost control, when I took you to the hospital, your pheromones stung me so badly that my whole body ached. It’s a miracle I didn’t just punch you right then!”

“The last time I lost control, there was a reason for it. Now my glands are mostly stable, and I won’t lose control because of emotional instability. Don’t worry.” Gu Weiyang took a suppression collar from the drawer and put it on, reassuring Tan Zhao completely. “Now, can we talk?”

Seeing that Gu Weiyang was determined, Tan Zhao hesitated for a moment before finally pulling out his phone.

“Just making sure, your emotions need to stay stable,” Tan Zhao opened the chat window, clicked on the picture Li Wu had sent, and handed the phone over to Gu Weiyang. “You can take a look yourself.”

Gu Weiyang took the phone and saw Su Shijin in the picture.

“Where is this?” Gu Weiyang glanced at the setting in the photo, then zoomed in on the picture, focusing on the drink in front of Su Shijin.

“F City, a beachfront bar,” Tan Zhao said.

“F City…”

“Now you get it, right? He wasn’t on a work trip in K City at all, he secretly went to F City behind your back,” Tan Zhao continued. “Li Wu just happened to be traveling in F City and saw him there last night.”

“I see.” Gu Weiyang lowered his gaze, skillfully forwarding the picture to himself, planning to take a closer look later in the evening. “Did Li Wu say anything?”

“Not much, he just sent the picture and asked if that was your wife,” Tan Zhao replied.

After confirming that the picture had been successfully received on his phone, Gu Weiyang nodded and handed the phone back to Tan Zhao. “You can tell him it’s fine. Just have him pay a bit of attention to Dr. Su’s safety in the bar. If anyone tries to approach or cause trouble, he should stop them. I’ll make sure to reward him later.”

Tan Zhao: “Huh? You’re still going to manage his safety?”

Gu Weiyang replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Of course. After all, that’s my wife. He’s so good-looking; he’s bound to be approached by others.”

Tan Zhao was a bit confused. “No, the key issue isn’t that! Your wife lied to you! He said he was going on a work trip to K City, but he actually went to F City! He lied to you!”

“I know, you don’t have to repeat it so many times,” Gu Weiyang said.

Tan Zhao asked, “Aren’t you upset? Don’t you feel angry? How can you be so calm?”

Given Gu Weiyang’s usual mindset when it comes to relationships, he should be anxious and losing control of his emotions by now!

“Ah! You even have the time to send the photo to yourself?!” Tan Zhao couldn’t understand Gu Weiyang’s thought process at all when he saw the photo being forwarded from his phone.

“If we’re talking about being upset, I’ll admit there is a little,” Gu Weiyang said.

After all, he had indeed been deceived by Su Shijin.

Gu Weiyang gently rubbed his thumb over the side profile of Su Shijin in the photo, his gaze soft and tender. “If it’s a deception, there must be a reason for it. When he comes back, I’ll ask him.”

“…Even if he lied, do you still need a reason?”

Tan Zhao felt like he had underestimated just how deep Gu Weiyang’s love-stricken mindset went.