Professor Xie, isn't this a case of forcing customers to buy products that don't match the

When Xu Zhao arrived, it was already past 9 p.m.

As soon as he entered the room, he pulled Shen Yan into the master bedroom, slammed the door shut, and left Shang Song all alone in the living room.

Shortly after, a hushed argument could be heard coming from the master bedroom.

Shang Song, who was sitting obediently on the sofa, couldn't resist the commotion. He tiptoed to the master bedroom door and eavesdropped.

One door, two spaces.

Inside the door, Shen Yan lowered his voice and said that he had already planned to go to H City to take a look. He thanked Xu Zhao for his help these past few days and apologized for the shop being vandalized.

Even though Xu Zhao lowered his voice, you could still tell he was very excited.

"You're leaving? What am I supposed to do then?"

Shen Yan: "What? What should we do?"

Xu Zhao: "So you're not going to take responsibility for me?"

Shang Song stared wide-eyed from outside the door. Responsible for? Responsible for what?

Shen Yan, who was inside the door, seemed to be silent for a while, then lowered his voice even further: "We're all grown men, it was a one-night stand that was consensual, what's there to be responsible for?"

Shang Song nearly smashed the phone in his hand onto his foot.

What? What? What? They've only known each other for a few days? And they've already hit a home run?! Holy crap!!!

Shang Song was still processing this shocking revelation when Xu Zhao's voice finally came from inside the quiet room after a long silence.

"Yan Yan, you know perfectly well that's not what I meant."

"I wanted to date you the first time I saw you, you knew that perfectly well."

Shen Yan didn't respond, and Xu Zhao continued, "Besides, I'm not the kind of person who messes around with relationships. That night was my first time, so you have to take responsibility."

His voice rose a little: "Anyway, you have to date me."

Shen Yan's voice was unusually cold.

He said, "I don't like you, Xu Zhao."

"You don't like me? That night I just wanted to hug you. You were the one who kissed me first, and you were the one who pulled at my waistband first."

Xu Zhao's voice was firm: "You like me."

Shen Yan: "I drank too much that night, I wasn't sober. After drinking..."

"Don't fucking say that to me!" Xu Zhao interrupted Shen Yan sharply, her voice both urgent and angry: "You're saying all this just because you're afraid that Zhou will keep causing trouble, right? You just like me, and I won't believe anything else you say."

As soon as Xu Zhao finished speaking, Shang Song felt the door panel against his ear vibrate, as if someone had pressed someone against the door.

Then the door trembled slightly again, accompanied by Shen Yan's hushed protest: "Xu Zhao...! Let me go! What are you doing!"

The door trembled slightly, then silence fell inside.

Shang Song pressed his ear close and heard an extremely faint, ambiguous sound of water. He thought to himself, "Holy crap!"

After a long while, the sound of water inside the door stopped, and Xu Zhao spoke, his voice low and hoarse: "Yan Yan... if you want to go to H City, then go. At worst, I'll go with you."

Almost the instant Xu Zhao finished speaking, Shen Yan spoke up, his voice trembling with emotion, asking, "Then what about your shop?"

The room was quiet for a while. Xu Zhao said, "The shop was smashed up like that, and it will take a long time to renovate. Besides, my grandfather and parents have been doing this for so many years and they've been saying they're tired. Let them rest for a few months first."

This answer was clearly not convincing enough for Shen Yan. His voice trembled: "Xu Zhao... we've only known each other for a few days! Are you going to ruin the hard work of generations of your family for me? To disappoint your parents?"

"What's wrong with the past few days?!"

"You probably don't know, I used to be straight! The first time I saw you, you turned me gay. Now I'm indifferent to pretty girls, but I feel like throwing up when I see other men. You caused this situation, so you have to take responsibility, or I'll be a bachelor for the rest of my life."

Xu Zhao spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable.

Shen Yan seemed to take a deep breath, but didn't speak. Shang Song guessed that he was so angry at Xu Zhao's shamelessness that he was speechless.

Shen Yan remained silent, and silence fell again inside the door. Shang Song stayed pressed against the door, eavesdropping, his legs twisting until they were a little numb.

After a while, he heard Xu Zhao's voice, both urgent and soft, coaxing him: "Don't cry... People in H City also need to eat. I can start from a small stall. You do your game, and I'll set up my stall."

"Once we've established ourselves, I'll find a good shop, hang up our Xu's brand, and then my family's culinary tradition won't be lost, right?"

"Anyway, don't think it's not worth it for me. Whether it is or not is up to me to decide."

The silence inside the door was prolonged, broken only by Shen Yan's suppressed gasps.

After a long while, Shen Yan's voice rang out again, hoarse and weak:

"Xu Zhao... I'm scared."

"I'm really afraid that even when we get to H City, he'll still be haunting us..."

"I have nightmares every night..."

Shen Yan's voice was laced with suppressed sobs as he spoke intermittently about what was more than just a nightmare.

That was six months after he and Zhou Xu'an got together.

At that time, one of Zhou Xu'an's games became a huge hit for a period of time, which could be said to be the most triumphant period for Zhou Xu'an.

At that time, a rich young man in Zhou Xu'an's circle organized a gathering, and Zhou Xu'an, for reasons unknown, brought Shen Yan along.

Zhou Xu'an introduced Shen Yan, saying only that he was an employee of the company and that he was bringing him out to broaden his horizons.

Several other young masters sat around the young man, and when they saw the unfamiliar face Shen Yan, they urged him to offer a toast.

Shen Yan was just a kid from a commoner background who had only recently graduated. In that situation, he didn't understand the rules of the world for these rich kids. Seeing Zhou Xu'an smiling and silent, he didn't dare to refuse and just did it instinctively.

He went around toasting everyone, calling out the names of all the different surnames.

After he finished toasting, he realized that Zhou Xu'an had left sometime earlier, and a group of young men were looking at him like he was a fool.

The young master who organized the gathering asked him with a smile, "Do you know why your CEO Zhou is leaving?"

Shen Yan didn't know.

The young master laughed for a while, then gestured for the young starlet sitting in his lap to speak.

Shen Yan often played TV dramas for his paralyzed mother to keep her entertained, so he recognized the young star who was the second female lead in a popular drama at the time.

She was very pretty, and had a sweet smile. Only after receiving the young man's permission did she say in a coquettish voice:

"Oh dear, don't you understand?"

"Your boss, Mr. Zhou, is angry."

"He brought you here so you could sit there and be a pretty vase, just for show. Who told you to actually stand up and toast?"

"When you stand up to offer a toast, you're essentially telling all the bosses here that your boss, Mr. Zhou, has to bring you along to offer toasts in order to even speak with them. Aren't you just slapping Mr. Zhou in the face?"

"The rule in this industry is that only those in a lower position who need to curry favor with others are required to stand up and offer a toast. But your boss, Mr. Zhou... all these years, he's been the one being toasted by others."

"Mr. Zhou is easily embarrassed and couldn't bear the embarrassment, so of course he left."

Shen Yan was so embarrassed that he ran out the door. As he grabbed the doorknob, the little star's words were still chasing after him.

"From now on, be more mindful. Sit down when you should, and don't move when you shouldn't."

The young star finished speaking, followed by snickers from the playboys.

He overheard some rich kid saying that Zhou Xu'an was just a nouveau riche who thought he was someone after becoming famous for one game.

When Shen Yan chased after him outside, Zhou Xu'an was sitting in the car. He gave him a cold look but didn't say anything.

He kept apologizing to Zhou Xu'an, but Zhou Xu'an felt that he had embarrassed him greatly.

Later, there was a long period of cold violence, and Zhou Xu'an returned to their apartment less and less.

Shen Yan was helpless; the burdens of life were already overwhelming him.

His salary at the time wasn't very high, and he also had to support his mother's expensive nursing home expenses, so he naturally lived frugally.

When Zhou Xu'an occasionally returned, he would get even angrier when he saw his shabby appearance.

Zhou Xu'an gave him the card, telling him to tidy himself up and stop embarrassing him.

Shen Yan didn't use the card. Instead, he took some money from the medical expenses he had saved for his mother and bought a few decent outfits.

Zhou Yun said he was a despicable person who only knew how to spend her son's money.

However, whether it was because of those few pieces of clothing or something else, Zhou Xu'an's attitude inexplicably softened a lot.

Shen Yan thought that the incident of toasting was finally over.

Zhou Xu'an finally stopped being angry with him.

Just when he thought the storm had passed, word got out somewhere in the company that he and Zhou Xu'an were together.

Office romances are prohibited in the Xushi Interaction forum.

Zhou Xu'an told Shen Yan to resign and stay home from now on, find something he enjoys to do to pass the time, and not to worry about money.

Shen Yan was unwilling; he preferred to break up.

He said he didn't really love Zhou Xu'an that much, but Zhou Xu'an took care of him when he joined Xushi right after graduation; when his mother suddenly had an accident, it was Zhou Xu'an who helped him deal with some things.

The former is a feeling of being a fledgling, the latter is gratitude.

His mixed feelings were worn away by reality, and breaking up became his only thought at that time.

But Zhou Xu'an was unwilling.

What followed was endless arguing, passive-aggressive behavior, and physical altercations.

Later, on one occasion, Zhou Xu'an got very drunk and tried to force himself on him, but was pushed away and ended up in the hospital.

Zhou Yun slapped him and told him, "Of all Xu'an's lovers, you have the worst background and the most vicious heart!"

"Your mother has a wretched life of being paralyzed in bed, and you, having been born, are destined to be a lowly person selling your ass!"

It was then that Shen Yan found out.

Zhou Xu'an was never the only one.