FIO CH56

Chapter 56: After All, Someone Doesn’t Care

Lu Fangchi pressed the answer button, “Hello, Zhuoyang.”

“Hey, are you busy today?” came the energetic voice of Sui Zhuoyang through the phone.

Lu Fangchi tilted his chin slightly in thought and replied, “Not too bad.” He had some work, but overall, it was manageable.

“Then are you free tonight?” Sui Zhuoyang chuckled lightly, getting to the point, “Would you do me the honor of having dinner together?”

Lu Fangchi’s eyebrows raised slightly, “You’re in City A?”

“Yes, I landed an hour ago,” Sui Zhuoyang replied.

“Sure,” Lu Fangchi agreed without hesitation, asking, “Lunch or dinner?”

“Dinner,” Sui Zhuoyang seemed to be in an enclosed space, with some background noise making his voice fluctuate in volume, “I’m here to discuss investments. I have a client meeting at noon.”

“Alright,” Lu Fangchi nodded, “You go ahead with your meeting. We’ll talk tonight.”

“OK,” the call ended there.

The interruption cut short the emotions that had been building up. For a moment, Lu Fangchi couldn’t recall what had just been on his mind, as his attention was diverted to another matter.

He had an evening appointment with Sui Zhuoyang, which meant he wouldn’t be able to eat the bento made by Zhou Zheng. Should he let him know to save him the trouble of coming over?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Lu Fangchi’s brows furrowed. He felt uncomfortable with this habitual way of thinking. Had he really become so accustomed to it in just a few days? This was definitely not a good sign. Before Lu Fangchi could seriously ponder the implications, his assistant hurried to the entrance of the reception hall and knocked on the door, “Mr. Lu, there’s a bug in ‘Mystery Path.’ We need an emergency meeting.”

“Got it,” Lu Fangchi responded, quickly making his way back to the office.

Work took over all his attention, and he had to set aside the tangled mess of thoughts for now.

Work often brings all sorts of unexpected situations that catch one off guard. Some tasks snowball into bigger and more complicated issues. Lu Fangchi spent the entire day dealing with just one matter, so busy that he didn’t have a moment to slack off or daydream. Even the time for meals and bathroom breaks had to be squeezed out.

It wasn’t until the evening, when the sun set and the afterglow shone through the glass onto the keyboard on his office desk, that Lu Fangchi pressed the Enter key and finally wrapped up the work for the day.

He glanced down at the time in the bottom right corner, 6:32 PM. Not too late. Lu Fangchi let out a sigh of relief, picked up his coffee cup and took a couple of sips, then reached for his phone to send a message.

Just as he tapped into WeChat, there was a knock on the office door, “Knock knock.”

“Come in,” Lu Fangchi responded, preparing to send a message to Sui Zhuoyang to ask where they would meet.

The office desk was knocked on, and a cheerful teasing voice rang out, “Is the busy bee done yet?”

Lu Fangchi looked up and met the smiling eyes of Sui Zhuoyang. He was dressed casually with his hands in his pockets, his hair neatly combed, shedding his usual elite business look. For a moment, Lu Fangchi was reminded of their school days.

Lu Fangchi blinked, “Why are you here?” He immediately stood up and invited Sui Zhuoyang to sit on the sofa.

Sui Zhuoyang lazily sank into the sofa, “I called you twice this afternoon, but there was no answer. I figured you were busy, so I just came over.”

Lu Fangchi nodded, walked back to his desk, and picked up the intercom phone, asking, “Coffee or tea?”

Sui Zhuoyang casually unwrapped a small cookie from the coffee table and popped it into his mouth, answering irrelevantly, “What time do you get off work?”

“Now,” Lu Fangchi explained, “I just finished.”

Sui Zhuoyang chewed the cookie a few times, swallowed it, wiped his hands with a tissue, and patted them off. Then he stood up, made a fist with his hand, leaving only his thumb extended, and pointed towards the door, “So let’s go, straight to dinner?”

Sure. Lu Fangchi put down the intercom phone and agreed, “Alright.”

Dinner was secondary; the main thing was to catch up. The two of them didn’t spend any time deciding on a restaurant, simply choosing a nearby Western restaurant on the next street that was quiet and had a pleasant atmosphere.

After they were seated and had ordered their meals, returning the menus to the waiter, they began to chat.

Sui Zhuoyang brought up Zhou Zheng, asking, “How’s things with your alpha partner?”

After all, the last time they had planned to meet, Zhou Zheng had stood Sui Zhuoyang up, and they hadn’t had the chance to dine together since. It was only natural for him to bring it up now.

Lu Fangchi curled the corners of his lips slightly, looked down, and replied, “We broke up.”

Sui Zhuoyang’s expression froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that answer. He licked his lips and quickly changed the subject, “Ah… if it’s over, then so be it. After all, being in a relationship with an omega is the ultimate goal. Speaking of which, you look great lately?”

Lu Fangchi raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“Your complexion is rosy, and you seem to have gained a bit of weight,” Sui Zhuoyang replied.

Lu Fangchi reached up and touched his cheek. It did seem like he had put on a bit of weight. He had been eating well and sleeping well lately, so it could be…

No, wait, something suddenly occurred to him. Lu Fangchi quickly took out his phone, preparing to send a message to Zhou Zheng, having completely forgotten about it in the busy day.

He opened WeChat, scrolled to Zhou Zheng’s name, tapped in, and began to type: No need to bring food today.

Deleted. I’m eating out today.

Deleted. I’m eating out today, no need to bring food.

Deleted. I have a dinner appointment with a client today, no need to bring food.

This should be fine, right? Lu Fangchi scrutinized each word on the screen as Sui Zhuoyang’s question rang out from across: “You really broke up?”

This question affected Lu Fangchi, causing his hand to tremble slightly. He felt a bit guilty and raised his phone to shield the screen.

Yeah, they had broken up. Why was he sending this kind of message that seemed like a report?

“Really,” Lu Fangchi agreed, pressing the delete button to erase the words.

Don’t reply, don’t send. He clicked send.

Lu Fangchi put away his phone, straightened his posture, and reiterated, “We really did break up.”

However, Sui Zhuoyang’s expression was strange. His brow furrowed, his eyes darted around aimlessly, as if hinting at something.

What, doesn’t he believe me? Lu Fangchi pursed his lips, about to say something, when the glass beside him “knocked” twice.

Lu Fangchi was a bit startled, frowned slightly, and looked out the window, then froze.

Standing outside the glass window was Zhou Zheng, who was 1.9 meters tall. He looked embarrassed, with his lips tightly pursed and downturned, his face full of grievances, like a jilted lover.

Lu Fangchi’s lips parted, then closed again.

Zhou Zheng, receiving no response, bit his lower lip and turned to leave.

Lu Fangchi’s lips pursed into a straight line, his fingers curled slightly into a fist, but he ultimately did not get up to chase after him.

There was nothing more to say; let him think whatever he wanted.

Lu Fangchi withdrew his gaze and offered Sui Zhuoyang an apologetic smile.

Sui Zhuoyang, however, had no time to look at Lu Fangchi. His eyes were wide, staring in disbelief at something behind Lu Fangchi.

Zhou Zheng was striding towards them with a fierce expression. Sui Zhuoyang, thinking he was about to start a fight, became instantly on guard. But when he saw the alpha heavily lift the bag in his hand and then gently place it down, he forcefully squeezed in beside Lu Fangchi and sat down. With a very displeased look but an expression of particular grievance, he said, “I haven’t eaten yet either.”

The atmosphere immediately deflated, and Sui Zhuoyang’s hand, which had been clenched into a fist, instantly relaxed.

Seeing Zhou Zheng’s action, Lu Fangchi’s brows furrowed. Just as he was about to tell him to leave, Sui Zhuoyang spoke up first, “Then let’s just eat together and order more.” He raised his hand to call the waiter for another menu.

Zhou Zheng stopped him, saying, “No need.”

The alpha seemed particularly averse to Sui Zhuoyang, but because of Lu Fangchi, he glared at the other man with his eyes, though he had to explain, “I brought my own. You two go ahead and eat, don’t worry about me.” With that, he reached for the bag he had just put down and pulled out an enormous three-layer thermal container.

He deliberately made some noise as he handled it, snapping the latches of the thermal container with a “click-click” sound, and then spread it out on the table, especially in front of Lu Fangchi, leaving only enough space for a small bowl.

The moment the lunch box was opened, the aroma of the food wafted out, immediately attracting Sui Zhuoyang, who exclaimed in amazement, “Wow.”

Sui Zhuoyang’s reaction did not escape Zhou Zheng’s notice. Reluctantly, he looked up and asked, “Do you want to eat?”

This was an olive branch. Sui Zhuoyang, perceptive as he was, sensed the unusual and subtle atmosphere between the two. Considering that this was his friend’s partner and that the food indeed looked delicious, he nodded, “May I?”

“Mm,” Zhou Zheng reluctantly nodded and added, “After all, someone doesn’t care.”

Oh, that was a veiled reference. Sui Zhuoyang raised an eyebrow and stealthily observed Lu Fangchi’s reaction.

Lu Fangchi showed no reaction. His molars were clenched, but his expression remained unchanged as he pushed the lunch box aside.

Zhou Zheng noticed Lu Fangchi’s action and silently pushed the lunch box back. Seemingly afraid that Lu Fangchi would be upset, he quietly pulled it back a little.

Sui Zhuoyang couldn’t help but shake his head, finding it amusing. These two… Then he was won over by the tenderness of the fish in his mouth, his eyes brightening as he said, “Whose chef is this? The flavor is really good. The fish is fragrant, fresh, and tender, just the way I like it.”

“I made it myself,” Zhou Zheng replied.

Sui Zhuoyang blinked, his eyes showing a bit of surprise. He hadn’t expected that.

The meal was both awkward and harmonious, with Chinese food paired with Western dishes. It was unclear how the other two were enjoying their meal, but Sui Zhuoyang was certainly satisfied, having feasted both his taste buds and his eyes. Watching others be in love was more interesting than being in love himself.

The final interlude occurred after the meal when Sui Zhuoyang and Lu Fangchi mentioned work and casually exchanged a few words. Then a faint, refreshing aroma wafted into their nostrils.

As an alpha, Sui Zhuoyang couldn’t tell if the scent was pleasant or unpleasant, but it was clearly provocative.

Sui Zhuoyang’s face soured as he looked towards the source of the smell, his brows furrowed. He was actually releasing pheromones in public and had fallen asleep!

This clearly displeased expression prompted Lu Fangchi to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Following Sui Zhuoyang’s gaze, he looked at Zhou Zheng beside him. The alpha’s head was leaning against the back of the sofa, his face flushed, eyes tightly closed, and occasionally emitting a faint scent.

Lu Fangchi sniffed the air. It was a very peculiar aroma, somewhat like a blend of tea fragrance and the scent of the lotus?