Friday afternoon, LotusX District Four headquarters.

Nova sat at her workstation, nibbling on a half-baked cheese.

On her computer screen, the latest over-the-top dog-blood drama from District Six was playing, while the owl perched on her shoulder squinted its eyes in delight.

The elevator’s arrival chime sounded.

Her expression remained calm as she tossed the remaining cheese into the trash, swiftly switched her screen to the meeting agenda, and adjusted the badge on her chest.

The moment Nova stood up, the elevator door just opened.

“Mr. Xi, Mr. Zhu, good afternoon to you both.”

She bowed to the two men stepping out. “President Feng and President Tan have been waiting for you in the office. Please follow me.”

Xi Xianqing responded with a “thank you for your hard work,” while Zhu Ming replied with a smile.

Leading the two men to the top-floor office, Nova knocked on the door and heard a “come in.”

The voice belonged to Tan Yu. She pushed the door open.

Inside, Tan Yu stood serenely in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watering the plants with a spray bottle. He wore silver-framed glasses. The Maine cat tilted its face upwards contentedly, basking in the sunlight.

On the sofa, Feng Jiachi was equally composed, legs crossed as he flipped through design drafts at the desk. Beside him, an enormous Tibetan mastiff lay curled up, peacefully snoring.

Facing such a tranquil scene of lovers enjoying a serene afternoon together, Nova couldn’t help but reveal a heartfelt smile.

However, she had a fleeting sense—perhaps just an illusion—that Xi Xianqing and Zhu Ming’s expressions subtly shifted for a moment.

Nova didn’t dwell on it, simply reporting, “President Tan, President Feng, Mr. Xi and Mr. Zhu are here.”

Feng Jiachi acknowledged her with a brief “Mm,” placing the documents aside. “You may leave.”

Nova bowed once more and closed the door behind her.

The moment the door shut, Xi Xianqing and Zhu Ming had the honor to witness a flawless face-changing performance straight out of Sichuan opera.

Tan Yu’s expression turned indifferent as he put down the spray bottle, immediately creating distance between himself and Feng Jiachi. Feng Jiachi’s face darkened at once; he let out a cold snort, flung the manuscript in his hand to the side, and turned his head away.

“I truly apologize for my lack of composure during our last meeting.”

Tan Yu glanced at the people behind him and exhaling lightly. “Today, I’ll try my best to cooperate, but… the efficiency probably won’t be very high.”

Feng Jiachi almost jumped out of his office chair. “Tan Yu, what do you mean by that? Are you implying that I’m holding things back, huh?”

Here we go again. Xi Xianqing and Zhu Ming exchanged silent glances.

Fortunately, they had anticipated this in advance.

“There will be three meetings in total. The first one is mainly to discuss jewelry preferences and daily styling habits. These topics don’t actually require both of you to be present.”

Xi Xianqing faintly said, “How about this: today, I’ll discuss matters with President Feng first.”

“And then I’ll find a place to have a private conversation with President Tan.”

Zhu Ming raised his head with a smile, meeting Tan Yu’s eyes. “That way, it’ll be more efficient. Does that work?”

Both of them were stunned.

After a brief pause, Tan Yu said, “I have no objections.”

Feng Jiachi was silent for a while before muttering in a low voice, “Just what I wanted.”

Tan Yu picked up his suit jacket without hesitation. “Let’s go, Mr. Zhu. I know a quiet place that’s perfect for discussing serious matters.”

Feng Jiachi let out a scoff.

He strode forward, slinging an arm around Xi Xianqing’s shoulder and raising his voice deliberately. “Mr. Xiao Xi, I’ve got a secret spot too. Today, I’ll make sure to give you special treatment.”

Xi Xianqing: “…”

Ten minutes later, in a small alleyway in District Four.

Xi Xianqing worked to keep his tone calm. “President Feng, your secret spot is a stinky tofu shop?”

Feng Jiachi ordered several dishes in one go and patted him on the shoulder. “This place has two signature dishes that are absolutely divine. One is extra-spicy stinky tofu, and the other is—”

Xi Xianqing’s expression remained blank. “Braised intestines in brown sauce, right?”

Feng Jiachi: “Huh? How do you know?”

“Oh.” He realized and chuckled, lighting a cigarette. “You and your lover played <Choices>, didn’t you? Pretty good taste.”

Xi Xianqing observed the details of the shop. After a brief silence, he asked, “The options in the game—are they based on personal experiences between you and President Tan?”

Feng Jiachi exhaled a puff of smoke. “That obvious? To be precise, it’s a record of our early days—dating, fighting, growing, and finding balance.”

Xi Xianqing recalled something, “Durian jam?”

“En. It was during the company’s annual gala. I thought it’d be fun to set up a blind box game like that.”

Feng Jiachi sighed. “I didn’t expect to get so carried away and accidentally smeared the jam on Tan Yu’s suit. His face turned green on the spot, and it took me the entire night to coax a single word out of him.”

He glanced around the shop with a wistful look. “As for the first time I brought Tan Yu here, I ordered these two dishes: extra-spicy stinky tofu and braised intestines in brown sauce.”

“Then he scolded me.” He grunted and laughed, “That stinky temper ah.”

Though his words were filled with complaints, the rebellious arch of his brows softened into unmistakable warmth. As the smoke dissipated, his gaze lifted again, now tinged with melancholy and nostalgia.

“Young Master Xiao Xi, you and your partner are newly married. Still in the throes of passion, right?”

Feng Jiachi let out a sharp breath through his nose. “When Tan Yu and I were your age, every single day was—”

He abruptly paused, an unspoken thought hanging in the air. With a bitter smile, he tapped the table lightly with his chopsticks. “Look at us now.”

Xi Xianqing was silent for a moment. “So, what exactly happened before our last meeting… to create that situation?”

“Because he’s been inexplicably not giving me any face lately.”

Feng Jiachi irritably picked up a piece of stinky tofu. “Right after the meeting that day, I couldn’t help but ask him why. He wouldn’t answer, just kept that icy look on his face. I pressed him again and again, but he still wouldn’t speak. Eventually, I lost my temper… and we had a fight.”

“We’ve argued plenty of times before, and when things get heated, we’d always throw around the word divorce.”

Feng Jiachi murmured, “But this time, when he said divorce, I felt like he… might actually mean it.”

The frustration and dejection in Feng Jiachi’s tone were so evident that Xi Xianqing couldn’t help but glance up at him.

Through gritted teeth, Feng Jiachi muttered, “But I think I’ve already figured out… why he’s been acting like this toward me.”

“Oh, right. Your lover is from District Seven too, isn’t he?” He asked hesitantly.

Xi Xianqing said, “Yes.”

Feng Jiachi’s expression sharpened. As though finding a kindred spirit, he grabbed Xi Xianqing’s arm. “Have you two ever had a fight or a cold war? How did he react?”

Xi Xianqing pursed his lips slightly, remaining silent for a moment before saying, “We stop talking, and then… he goes straight back to his lab pod and starts working on experiments.”

“Exactly the same as Tan Yu!”

Feng Jiachi slammed the table angrily. “When he’s mad, he just put on a cold face, grabs his laptop, and starts coding. He uses stuff I don’t understand to completely cut off any chance of communication. He never gives me a way to make peace!”

As the two talked, their shared grievances deepened. Xi Xianqing’s gaze turned cold. “Precisely.”

“People from District Seven ah. They’re too smart, too rational. Sometimes it feels like they don’t even need love.”

Feng Jiachi sighed wistfully. “When I managed to win Tan Yu over, I always wondered—what did he even like about me? People from District Seven aren’t interested in art, and aside from gaming, we don’t seem to have any shared interests ah. Why didn’t he pick someone else from his team?”

“Later, I figured it out. Back then, the only thing that could attract someone like him—a District Seven person—to someone like me, a District Six person, was just one thing.”

Feng Jiachi’s expression turned obscure. “Something that, as time goes on, I feel… I’m slowly losing.”

Xi Xianqing’s eyebrows moved slightly.

He looked as if he didn’t care, but after a brief silence, he couldn’t resist asking, “What is it?”

Feng Jiachi let out a cold snort. Behind him, the Tibetan mastiff let out a low “wu” and wagged its massive tail.

“This.” He raised his hand and pointed to his face.

–

Tan Yu pushed open the door to the bar.

“This is a quiet bar I frequent,” he said, turning slightly to politely hold the doorframe, making it easier for Zhu Ming to maneuver his wheelchair inside.

Zhu Ming softly thanked him and entered the bar, scanning the somewhat familiar décor in front of him.

Noticing the change in Zhu Ming’s expression, Tan Yu asked, “You’ve been here before?”

Zhu Ming smiled faintly. “Not only have I been here, but the last time I came, I walked in on my own two legs.”

Tan Yu paused, understanding his meaning, and smiled as well. “It seems, Mr. Zhu, you’ve played the Seventeenth Stage of <Choices>.”

“At the time, I had a feeling that every stage in the game must have a real-life prototype.”

Zhu Ming glanced down at his own legs, sighing softly. “And the level of technology in the game… It’s truly unforgettable ah. Experiencing a creation like that even once is well worth it.”

“Our neuroscience experts from the Academy of Sciences in District Seven served as consultants for the development team to ensure an immersive experience.”

Tan Yu replied smoothly. “The company is also currently working on rehabilitation therapy projects. If Mr. Zhu would be willing to participate and give advice, it would be our honor.”

“After all, even someone like me, who isn’t in the medical field, has heard of your name in District Seven,” he said gently.

After this exchange of impeccably polite compliments, the atmosphere between them relaxed considerably.

Zhu Ming took out the light screen from his bag, displaying the list of questions Xi Xianqing had prepared in advance, such as the types of events Tan Yu frequently attended, his preferred color schemes, and gemstone choices.

Tan Yu’s expression remained calm as he thoughtfully and thoroughly answered each question.

The efficiency of communication between the two District Seven natives was extraordinary—there wasn’t a single wasted word, and they finished recording all the answers in under half an hour.

“I don’t think I have any more questions.”

Zhu Ming set the light screen aside and glanced around the bar. “I recall Nova mentioning that <Choices> was officially released ten years ago.”

“For a bar’s décor to remain unchanged for such a long time is quite rare,” he said.

“It is,” Tan Yu replied, his fingers lightly tracing the rim of his glass. He admitted openly, “That’s because I bought it and have kept it the same as it was back then.”

Zhu Ming could easily sense the deep emotions behind this. “So that stage…”

“We were in our early 20s. The team had just started, and he and I weren’t together yet.”

Tan Yu said with a faint smile, taking a sip of his tequila. “During a team gathering, I lost a game and was dared to choose between taking a drink or kissing the bartender. I chose to drink.”

“When I got up to order a drink, Feng Jiachi, that idiot, thought I was going to kiss the bartender…”

He sighed softly. “In his panic, he viciously kissed me in front of everyone.”

“At the time, I didn’t plan to include this story in the game, but he insisted on adding it. One reason was that he said our first kiss was worth remembering.”

Tan Yu said softly, “The second reason was that we later felt this part could help many couples in the haze of uncertainty understand their feelings. So, when we worked on it, we kept it.”

Zhu Ming froze briefly, then nodded after a long while, smiling. “So that’s how it is.”

Tan Yu seemed a bit drunk, propping his face on his hand with a faint smile. “No matter what, it did sound beautiful at the time, didn’t it?”

Behind his glasses, his lashes lowered slightly. “When we were young, we believed love could conquer all difficulties. Later, when our shared dream finally came true, we found everything had already changed beyond recognition.”

Zhu Ming quietly looked at the side of his face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Zhu. We’ve only met twice, yet I’m unloading such grievances on you.”

Tan Yu composed himself, forcing a smile. “I just… have been holding it in for too long. I’m really sorry.”

“No, I’m more than willing to listen, and I’m glad you chose to share this with me.”

Zhu Ming said softly, “But I want to say, though it’s difficult to speak up, communication can sometimes be the best remedy.”

“But our problem isn’t that simple.”

Tan Yu gave a bitter laugh. “If it were just ordinary misunderstandings, I’d be willing to give all my effort to fix them. But what he did has left no room for reconciliation in my eyes.”

“Could you keep this secret for now?” He looked into Zhu Ming’s eyes.

Zhu Ming seemed to realize something. “Could it be—”

Tan Yu’s lips moved slightly. He picked up his glass and gave a faint “mm.”

“He cheated,” he said.

–

Evening.

The door to the hotel suite opened, and Xi Xianqing entered, his gaze falling on the person in the center of the living room.

“You’re back?”

Zhu Ming sat on the sofa in the living room, his fingertips scrolling the light screen of Bang Bang. “Do you want fried rice or pan-fried dumplings, fried pork cutlet or teriyaki chicken?”

Xi Xianqing didn’t move and calmly hid the bag in his hand behind him. “Pan-fried dumplings and teriyaki chicken, less oil.”

Zhu Ming’s mouth twitched, “I’ll make a note then.”

After placing the order, Zhu Ming noticed Xi Xianqing walking out of the bedroom and casually asked, “How did the conversation go?”

Xi Xianqing seemed to stiffen slightly. “Nothing much, just asked a few basic questions.”

Zhu Ming let out an “oh” and said, “Not much talk on our end either.”

Xi Xianqing appeared to probe unintentionally, “Did Tan Yu mention to you why he wants a divorce?”

Zhu Ming remained composed. “No ah.”

“Did Feng Jiachi mention to you what he thinks might be Tan Yu’s reason for wanting a ..divorce?” Zhu Ming asked in a seemingly nonchalant tone.

Xi Xianqing’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. “Neither.”

If one thought about it carefully, both their answers carried a distinct “nothing to see here” undertone.

“Here, I’ve recorded all Tan Yu’s answers to your questions for you.”

Zhu Ming handed the light screen to Xi Xianqing, subconsciously moving toward the lab pod in the living room. “The food should be delivered by Bang Bang in about half an hour. I’ll just…”

When he lifted his head, he saw that Xi Xianqing’s face had turned extremely dark. “Why are you still going into that lab pod?”

Zhu Ming first froze, then “oh”-ed.

“I forgot,” he said. “Sorry.”

—Time went back to last night.

When Xi Xianqing had said, “I don’t want to take this medication from an outsider” even the former top candidate of District Seven struggled to process it for a moment.

“I need to clarify if there’s a problem with what I’m understanding.” Zhu Ming hesitantly pointed at himself, “You mean, you only want me to—”

Xi Xianqing’s eyes fell in the distance, and he promptly interrupted, “Yes.”

The redness at the tips of his ears had not faded entirely, but he maintained a seemingly composed demeanor. “Anyway, the last two times I’ve taken… taken your ‘medicine,’ I’ve gotten used to it. It’s not something I can’t accept.”

“If it’s just for the assessment.”

It was unclear whether he was speaking to Zhu Ming or to himself as he articulated each word: “Paying this price is something I don’t mind.”

Zhu Ming mulled over the word “price” repeatedly.

His gaze fell on the green peac0ck in the living room, delightfully displaying its feathers. He nodded and, after a moment, said softly, “From the perspective of helping Dish Soap display its plumage and contributing to scientific research, I don’t mind either.”

“But do you really not mind?”

Zhu Ming confirmed seriously, “If you back out halfway and don’t want to try this ‘medicine’ anymore, and then want me to continue researching something else—well, we researchers aren’t donkeys…”

Xi Xianqing interrupted him through gritted teeth. “I. Don’t. Mind.”

—Time back to the present.

“Then there’s indeed no need to enter the lab pod ha.”

Zhu Ming slowly lowered the hand controlling his wheelchair. After a moment of thought, he asked candidly, “If I may boldly ask, are you planning to take the medicine today?”

Xi Xianqing’s originally self-contained demeanor instantly became stunned, “You—”

His face changed color in an instant, and as if not wanting to appear too eager, he averted his gaze. “Not today. I’m a bit tired… and besides, I just took it yesterday.”

Zhu Ming nodded. “I see.”

“But,” Xi Xianqing’s lips moved as he added, “after finishing the draft tomorrow… I might be able to spare some time.”

Zhu Ming’s lips curled slightly. “Alright.”

After dinner, Xi Xianqing began sketching in his study, constructing drafts based on the morning’s collected information about clothing habits and personal style.

Zhu Ming, on the other hand, had a rare moment of leisure. After a video call with Zhu Yingying in the bedroom, he felt a wave of drowsiness.

In the afternoon, while chatting with Tan Yu, he had a bit of alcohol. Though it wasn’t to the level of that banquet fiasco with the wild antics, he was indeed finding it hard to keep his eyes open now.

He hadn’t been sleeping well the past few nights. After washing up, a person and and a fox went back to the bedroom and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but in his hazy drowsiness, he murmured something and turned over.

Groggily opening his eyes, he vaguely glimpsed a tall, dark shadow emerging from the bathroom. It stood by the bedside, its hands repeatedly moving across its face, adjusting something.

The scene was somewhat unsettling. Battling his sleepiness, Zhu Ming forced his eyes open a little wider.

Then the dark shadow turned its head.

Then Zhu Ming was confronted with a ghastly white, expressionless face.

If it weren’t for his firm belief in materialism, Zhu Ming might have shouted the first “There’s a ghost!” of his life at that moment.

But he trusted science. So, despite the flood of expletives piling up at the edge of his tongue, he forced himself to calm down, even as he stared in shock at that deathly pale face.

Immediately afterward, something suddenly dawned on him. Tentatively, he called out a name: “…Xi Xianqing?”

The dark shadow suddenly froze in place.

Zhu Ming squinted, examining him carefully. Convinced of his suspicion, he reached out and turned on the bedside lamp.

“On your face…”

As the light filled the room, Zhu Ming’s expression shifted to hesitation. “Is that a face mask?”

Author’s note:

The sneaky big peac0ck trying to secretly enhance his beauty got caught red-handed by the little fox!