ACBAM 75: Video Call

Gu Weiyang didn’t think Su Shijin would ever sell him out.

Even if he really did, he would just hope, before the disappointment hit, that he got a good price for him. That way, at least their time together wouldn’t have been for nothing.

Rather than dwell on the fact that there’s no future between him and Su Shijin, Gu Weiyang would rather cherish the remaining eleven months. Even if it was just fooling himself, he still hoped to make some good memories in that time.

After all, once they divorced a year later, Gu Weiyang would probably have to rely on those memories to get through the days ahead.

Just like how he had gotten through those difficult six years with nothing but the memory of a single encounter.

When Gu Weiyang got home, he didn’t immediately video call Su Shijin. Instead, he went straight to the bathroom for a quick shower, shaved and towel-dried his hair until it was half dry. Only then did he find a well-lit spot in the living room, place his phone on the coffee table, nervously rub his hands together and, after mentally preparing himself, press the video call button.

The cheerful chime of the ringtone came from the speaker and Gu Weiyang saw his own face already appearing on the screen. He quickly adjusted the angle, ran his fingers through his hair, and tidied up his hairstyle.

After a few seconds of anxious waiting, the phone gave a soft “ding” as the call connected.

The next second, Su Shijin’s face appeared on the screen, his long lashes slightly lowered, lips moving slightly as he spoke, “Mr. Gu? Can you see me?”

Gu Weiyang: !!

“I can see you.”

Struck by Dr. Su’s stunning looks, Mr. Gu felt like his heart had just taken a hit.

Dr. Su’s eyelashes were so long, and his lips looked so soft—makes you want to kiss them.

Gu Weiyang thought, his mind wandering.

Su Shijin adjusted the angle of his phone, leaned back slightly against the chair, revealing his upper body, and greeted Gu Weiyang with a faint smile. “Good evening, Mr. Gu.”

On the surface, Mr. Gu calmly replied, “Good evening, Dr. Su.”

Yet in reality, his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his throat.

First-ever video call with Dr. Su. It was definitely a moment worth remembering.

Gu Weiyang kept a straight face, but in reality, he was already snapping screenshot after screenshot on his phone.

Su Shijin had also just showered not long ago, his hair still damp and a little tousled. Strands fell over his forehead, giving him a much softer and gentler appearance.

He noticed the constant flicker of the screen reflected in Mr. Gu’s pupils and had a vague guess at what he was doing. Unable to hold back a soft laugh, he teasingly exposed him. “Mr. Gu, taking screenshots?”

Gu Weiyang’s hand froze mid-screenshot, and he quickly pulled it back out of the camera’s view, pretending to stay calm. “N-Not… not at all.”

The stutter gave him away immediately.

Watching him avoid eye contact, Su Shijin couldn’t help but feel that teasing Mr. Gu might actually be kind of fun.

Back when his own feelings were still unclear, things between him and Gu Weiyang had been harmonious, but always separated by a thin veil—close on the surface, yet both keeping a certain distance.

Gu Weiyang didn’t dare lift that veil, while Su Shijin hadn’t yet figured out his feelings and didn’t want to lift it.

But now that Su Shijin had come to understand his feelings for him, that thin “veil” was naturally lifted, and he even started teasing Mr. Gu on his own initiative.

Meanwhile, Gu Weiyang had no idea the veil was already gone. He was still drowning in the embarrassment of getting caught taking screenshots. It was his first time ever being exposed mid-screenshot during a video call; it was so awkward his toes were practically curling into the floor.

At this point, all Gu Weiyang could do was stubbornly deny he had taken any screenshots, secretly planning to treasure Su Shijin’s pictures in private.

You see, whenever Gu Weiyang was with Su Shijin, he couldn’t count how many times he had wanted to take a photo of him but he was always afraid of being caught so he never dared to act on it.

Now that he finally had a chance to take a screenshot of such a beautiful shot, he definitely didn’t want to miss it.

So, while subtly changing the topic, Gu Weiyang slowly placed his hand back on the table, inching it closer to the phone.

“Dr. Su, did you just shower?” Gu Weiyang asked. “Your hair still looks a little wet.”

Su Shijin brushed a strand of hair from his forehead and nodded, “I’ll dry it later.”

Gu Weiyang quickly took two screenshots, then pretended to fix a stray lock of his own hair to cover up what he had just done. “That’s good. You should dry it before bed, or else you might get a headache.”

Su Shijin nodded and said, “Alright.”

As for Gu Weiyang’s little actions, Su Shijin had, of course, noticed them.

The flickering light reflected in the screen was way too obvious after all. Gu Weiyang had probably been so focused on taking screenshots that he didn’t even realize how many times his own eyes had flashed in the small window.

However, Su Shijin was considerate and didn’t bring it up this time. He even leaned forward slightly, getting closer to the screen, allowing Gu Weiyang to secretly take as many screenshots as he wanted.

The omega’s beautiful face looked even more delicate under the soft lighting, with long lashes gently lowered, and the light from the phone reflecting in his subtly colored eyes.

Gu Weiyang was nearly mesmerized, his fingers instinctively pressing the shortcut keys, desperately saving this moment of Su Shijin into his phone.

In his haste, Gu Weiyang had clicked too quickly and accidentally locked the screen. He scrambled to unlock it, flustered.

Luckily, the lock screen didn’t affect the other person’s ability to see, so Gu Weiyang pretended nothing had happened and quickly adjusted his phone’s angle again. “Talking to you through the phone like this feels almost like a dream.”

“Like a dream? Do you dream about me?” Su Shijin teased.

Su Shijin propped his chin on his hand, a faint smile at the corner of his lips, and asked with a hint of curiosity.

Gu Weiyang was momentarily distracted by Su Shijin’s smile, subconsciously nodding. “I do.”

Then, he immediately realized what he had said and quickly added, “I mean, sometimes I dream about us going out together, like to an amusement park or something.”

As for those less-than-appropriate adult dreams, Gu Weiyang made sure to keep them to himself.

“An amusement park?” Su Shijin thought for a moment and said, “I haven’t really been to one. The last time was for a class outing but I thought the weather was too hot so I mostly stayed in the shade, watching everyone’s bags.”

Gu Weiyang’s eyes lit up and he quietly asked, testing the waters, “Would you want to go and have some fun there sometime?”

Su Shijin noticed the barely contained excitement in Gu Weiyang’s expression. He slid down the phone screen to check the date before nodding in agreement. “Sure, let me pick a time when I get back.”

Gu Weiyang hadn’t expected him to actually agree and now he truly felt like he was living in a dream.

Out of Su Shijin’s sight, Gu Weiyang pinched his own thigh hard—good, it wasn’t a dream. It was real.

There was still a sense of unreality.

Was it because he was in a good mood today?

He had a video call with him and even agreed to go to an amusement park together.

“What are you thinking about?” Su Shijin noticed him zoning out and lightly tapped the table with his fingers, pulling him back to the present.

“No, it’s just that tonight feels a bit unreal,” Gu Weiyang said, thinking about how Su Shijin was currently in F City, yet throughout their video call, he hadn’t mentioned anything about it.

He wondered if it was because there was something being hidden, which was why Su Shijin was being so sweet with him.

For now, Gu Weiyang didn’t want to think too much about it. He decided to change the subject. “Have you bought your return ticket? When are you coming back?”

“Not sure yet, I might come back a few days earlier,” Su Shijin replied.

Gu Weiyang instantly felt a bit happier then remembered the half-month delay in the agreement and asked, “Should the deadline on the agreement be adjusted?”

“What deadline?” Su Shijin paused, not quite catching on.

“The one where you had to go on a business trip for half a month, so the agreement deadline was pushed back by half a month…” Gu Weiyang explained.

Since he was coming back earlier, should the extended time also be adjusted?

Gu Weiyang didn’t say the rest of the words but Su Shijin understood.

“No need, just leave it for now,” Su Shijin replied.

Since they probably wouldn’t be getting a divorce anymore, Su Shijin naturally didn’t mind these details.

Gu Weiyang felt quite happy because it meant he would get to spend more time with Su Shijin.

“You look tired. Has work been busy lately? Seems like you’ve been staying up late,” Su Shijin observed, his gaze scanning Gu Weiyang’s face with concern.

Although Gu Weiyang had showered, shaved, and tidied up his handsome image, Su Shijin could still clearly see the faint bluish tint under his eyes through the screen—it was the result of lack of sleep.

This week, Su Shijin and Gu Weiyang would chat occasionally, and they would say goodnight to each other in the evenings.

However, when Su Shijin said goodnight, Gu Weiyang seemed to always be working late and Su Shijin never knew exactly what time he would get back.

“Do I have dark circles under my eyes? Are they that obvious?” Gu Weiyang leaned closer to the screen, staring at his own reflection in the small window.

Gu Weiyang took great pride in his appearance and physique, seeing them as the only things he truly had to offer. After all, they were part of the shared “assets” between him and Dr. Su so naturally, he took good care of them.

If Gu Weiyang were a short, unattractive, and overweight alpha, he probably wouldn’t even pass Grandpa Su’s approval, let alone have the chance to date Su Shijin. So he was quite thankful for the appearance he had.

“It seems like there’s a little,” Gu Weiyang muttered to himself as he looked at the small window.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too bad—if you didn’t look closely, you couldn’t really tell. Su Shijin probably had sharp eyes to notice even this.

“Make sure you get enough sleep. Staying up too late isn’t good for your health,” Su Shijin advised.

Gu Weiyang felt warmth in his heart from Su Shijin’s concern. “Mm, don’t worry, I’ll be less busy after a while.”

“A while?” Su Shijin looked at him thoughtfully. “Does that mean you’ll be less busy after I come back?”

Gu Weiyang’s heart skipped a beat. He had been caught.

Gu Weiyang had indeed planned it that way. Since Dr. Su wasn’t home for the time being, there was no point in getting off work too early. He figured it would be better to stay at the office and get as much work done as possible. That way, when Dr. Su returned, he would have more free time and could leave work on time to make dinner at home.

Of course, aside from this, there was an even more important reason behind his plan.

Gu Weiyang didn’t want to go back to an empty house without Su Shijin because he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop missing him.

If it weren’t for his rationality still being intact, he was afraid he might just rush into the master bedroom and bury his face in the sheets where Su Shijin had slept, inhaling the scent like a crazy person.

To prevent himself from doing something so obsessive, Gu Weiyang figured it was better to work until he was mentally exhausted, so that when he returned home, he could just collapse into bed and sleep.

However, Gu Weiyang wasn’t planning to say any of this aloud.

Constantly expressing how much he missed him through his phone was already pushing the boundaries. Being able to video call and maintain this current distance in their relationship was enough for Gu Weiyang; he was content with it.

If he were to say he didn’t want to go back to a home without Su Shijin, it might seem like he was forcing the other person to confront his feelings. That would likely put a lot of emotional pressure on Su Shijin and possibly make him uncomfortable.

So after thinking it over, Gu Weiyang decided to downplay the topic and casually moved on. “When you get back and the workload settles down, we can pick a day to go to the amusement park, according to your schedule.”

Su Shijin raised an eyebrow, not expecting Gu Weiyang to so easily brush past the topic, especially since it seemed like a perfect opportunity to play the sympathy card.

However, after spending so many days with Gu Weiyang, Su Shijin had a good understanding of his personality. He wasn’t the type to seek attention by bringing up things like that.

Because of this, Su Shijin, who knew just how much Gu Weiyang liked him, felt especially soft-hearted at this moment.

The crying child gets the candy.

But for Su Shijin, the well-behaved child who doesn’t cry still wouldn’t go without his share of candy.

The two of them had been video calling for quite a while, mostly talking about trivial things, but Gu Weiyang was enjoying himself, and Su Shijin responded to every sentence. Before they knew it, an hour had passed.

“It’s getting late, you should go to bed. You still have work tomorrow, right?” Su Shijin glanced at the time and said.

Gu Weiyang felt a little reluctant but he knew it was already pretty late.

“Alright, you should rest early too,” Gu Weiyang said.

Su Shijin nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

“Mm, see you tomorrow…?” A question mark appeared above Gu Weiyang’s head at once.

Su Shijin let out a soft smile. “If you want to video call, just message me. If I have time, I’ll call you.”

Gu Weiyang didn’t expect such a stroke of luck—it felt like a pie had fallen from the sky and landed straight into his mouth.

“It’s getting too late, let’s stop here for tonight. Get some rest,” Su Shijin said.

Gu Weiyang, still dazed from the unexpected sweetness, nodded lightly, his head feeling a little woozy. He muttered “Goodnight,” and on the other end, Su Shijin smiled and returned the “Goodnight” before ending the call.

It wasn’t until a long while after the call had ended that Gu Weiyang finally stood up from the floor, then pinched his thigh hard.

Holy crap.

It hurt so much!!

It’s real.

Not a dream!!

That night, Gu Weiyang couldn’t sleep again.

This time, it was because of excitement.