Chapter 53: The Big Fiasco.

The silence in the room was so thick you could choke on it.

Everyone stared at Yu Mo like he’d just pulled the pin on a grenade, their faces twisted in shock. One of them finally found his voice and snapped, "Kid, are you trying to neuter the boss, or are you just that reckless?"

Yu Mo, looking annoyingly innocent, shrugged as if he was the one being wronged. "Come on, it's already diluted! I cleared it with the med team—at this concentration, it won’t cause any permanent damage. The only side effect is… well… he’s not gonna be standing at attention for the next month or two. That’s it!"

The room went dead again, save for the sound of heavy breathing. Yu Han and Lai Xueluan’s expressions darkened to the point of looking stormy. They both exchanged glances that practically screamed, Is this kid for real?

But reality was a cruel mistress.

What other options did they have?

Just stand around and let the boss lose control again like earlier?

That disaster was still fresh, and no one wanted a repeat performance of him grabbing some poor soul and… well, let’s just not go there.

Reluctantly, Yu Han let go of Yu Mo’s collar, his hands dropping like dead weight. Lai Xueluan, scowling like she’d just swallowed glass, pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. It’s not like we have a better plan anyway. He’ll be at the front lines for the next couple months, so... it should be fine. Probably."

Yu Mo, always quick to capitalize, nodded so fast he could’ve gotten whiplash. "Exactly! It’s the perfect solution. And he’s unconscious right now, so there’s no way he’ll agree to it when he wakes up. If we wait, we’re screwed. This is our best shot!"

With that, he grabbed the syringe and slid the needle into Lu Zhanxing’s vein with the kind of care that made it obvious he didn’t want to stick around for the fallout. The sickly green liquid flowed into the boss’s bloodstream, and for a second, the tension in the room seemed to ease.

Then came the banging—loud, urgent, like a battering ram against the door.

“Open up! Let us in!” Li Rui’s voice, frantic as hell, cut through the moment like a razor.

The word "us" hit the group like a slap to the face. In unison, their expressions turned pitch black, darker than the bottom of a burned pot.

Of course, they couldn’t count on Li Rui to handle anything properly. The idiot must’ve brought that person—the one from earlier—straight here.

And just like that, the disaster they’d been trying to avoid had officially come knocking.

The room fell silent, every last ounce of hope in Li Rui’s ability to handle business gone, obliterated.

Lai Xueluan let out a long, exasperated sigh, shaking her head like she was done with the whole damn circus. She headed for the door, her voice dripping with frustration as she muttered, "Weren't you supposed to clean up the mess? Why the hell did you bring someone to the boss’s dorm? What’s your—”

Her words died in her throat the second she opened the door. It was like someone had reached out and yanked the air right out of her lungs.

Because standing there, alongside that human disaster Li Rui, was Shao Ye.

Her eyes widened to saucers, her shock morphing into a single incredulous exclamation, “Shao Ye?! What the hell are you doing here?”

Shao Ye raised an eyebrow, smirking like he owned the place. “Can’t I come visit my lawful partner?” His voice dripped with an infuriating mix of challenge and amusement.

Lai Xueluan froze for half a second before forcing out a single, curt word: “Sure.”

And then—BANG!—she slammed the door shut with enough force to shake the damn frame.

Shao Ye stood there, stunned into silence, blinking at the closed door. “…What the hell?!”

Inside, Lai Xueluan was already sprinting like her life depended on it. She tore into the bedroom, panic etched into every line of her face. “STOP!” she shouted, aiming for Yu Mo, who was in the middle of injecting the drug into Lu Zhanxing.

But she was too late.

The syringe was empty.

Lai Xueluan froze, rooted to the spot like a lightning bolt had struck her straight through. Her hands trembled as she stood there, staring at the aftermath of her mistake.

Yu Mo and his brother, Yu Han, glanced at her pale, horrified face, confused. They asked in unison, “What’s going on? Who’s at the door?”

Her lips parted, and her voice came out in a shaky whisper. “Shao Ye.”

Those two words hit harder than a truck. The brothers stood there, stiff and dumbfounded, their faces twisting into disbelief.

But they both knew one thing—Lai Xueluan never joked about Shao Ye.

The timing couldn’t have been worse if the devil himself had planned it.

For once, thank god they’d moved the boss out of that room earlier. If Shao Ye had walked in on him here? That would’ve been the kind of disaster people write ballads about—except no one would live long enough to sing them.

Yu Mo’s eyes darted down to the syringe in his hand, and a cold sweat broke out across his forehead. His brain went haywire, spinning out into full-blown panic. His hands shook as he turned to Yu Han, his voice cracking, “Bro, we’re so screwed. What the hell do we do now?”

Yu Han’s brow furrowed, his mind racing as he tried to untangle this hellish knot. He wasn’t about to let their boss wake up and skin his little brother alive. Massaging his temples, he muttered through gritted teeth, “First, get rid of the damn syringe. Hide it. And nobody—nobody—says a word to the boss about this. As far as anyone’s concerned, this injection never happened.”

Lai Xueluan hesitated, clearly torn. She wasn’t one for playing dirty, especially not against her boss. “I don’t know…”

Yu Mo, practically climbing the walls with panic, turned to her, desperate. “Xueluan, I’m begging you. You cannot spill the beans. Don’t forget—it was your idea to go through with the injection in the first place!”

Her jaw tightened as frustration warred with guilt. She looked at the syringe, then at the two brothers, and let out a defeated sigh. There was no way out of this mess—not for any of them.

Finally, she nodded, her voice resigned. “Fine. I won’t say a word. But don’t think for a second I’m happy about it.”

The three of them exchanged grim looks, bound by a shared, sinking realization: they were all in way too deep, and there was no swimming back to shore now.

The door got another sharp knock.

“Open the damn door! Why’d you shut it?!” Shao Ye’s voice carried a bite of impatience, just shy of boiling over.

Yu Mo fumbled, hands moving like he was defusing a bomb, shoving the syringe out of sight before carefully tugging down Lu Zhanxing’s sleeve to cover the incriminating mark. Only then did he scramble for the door.

“Uh… Shao Ye? What… brings you here so suddenly?” he stammered, trying to sound chill but betraying himself with the tremor in his voice.

Shao Ye, taking in Yu Mo’s jittery demeanor, had the sense that they hadn’t clocked his presence earlier. His shoulders eased just a fraction. Clearing his throat to mask his own awkwardness, he asked, “Where’s Lu Zhanxing? Came to check on him.”

“Oh! Uh, boss just laid down for a nap—having his midday rest,” Yu Mo stammered, sweat already pricking his forehead.

Shao Ye didn’t even blink. “I’ll wait for him to wake up,” he said, stepping past Yu Mo like he owned the place. He pushed open the bedroom door and disappeared inside, shutting it with finality.

Outside, the tension snapped. The others exhaled in collective relief before pouncing on Li Rui like wolves scenting fresh prey.

“Spill it! Where the hell did you bump into Shao Ye?”

Li Rui, knees going weak under the assault, stammered, “In… in the boss’s office.”

“WHAT?!” The group reeled like they’d been punched.

“Shao Ye’s been to the boss’s office?”

“Did he see anything? Tell me he didn’t walk in on that poor sap the boss was ‘taking care of.’” Lai Xueluan looked ready to faint, her face the picture of impending doom.

“No! You’re all wrong!” Li Rui squeaked, scrambling to explain. “The one in the office with the boss wasn’t… some random guy. It was Shao Ye!”

Silence. The group collectively short-circuited, mouths hanging open as their brains stalled.

“Wait, what?!”

“How the hell is that even possible?!”

“We are so screwed!”

Yu Mo’s legs all but gave out as he grabbed Yu Han’s arm, shaking it with the desperation of a man clinging to his last lifeline. “Bro, we ruined the boss’s thing with Shao Ye! If he snaps and takes us out, our family’s done for!”

“Done. Finished. Dead in the water,” Lai Xueluan muttered, staring at nothing like she was already planning her funeral.

*

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Shao Ye settled on the edge of Lu Zhanxing’s bed, his sharp gaze sweeping over his unconscious lover. The swirl of emotions in his chest threatened to suffocate him.

Li Rui had told him Lu Zhanxing was knocked out and dragged here, but the others’ bumbling cover-up attempts—calling it a “nap”—reeked of something bigger.

Shao Ye leaned in, studying the face that once snapped awake at the slightest noise, now unnaturally still. This wasn’t rest; it was forced.

Anger simmered under his skin, but he swallowed it, unwilling to air his fury just yet. Instead, he sighed, long and heavy, then eased onto the bed beside Lu Zhanxing. Stretching out, he wrapped an arm around his lover and let the silence settle over them like a loaded gun, waiting for the next shot to go off.

Looking at Lu Zhanying’s haggard face, Shao Ye knew the guy hadn’t gotten a decent rest in ages. His mind was buzzing with the thought that maybe now was the time to let him sleep, to finally catch up on that lost rest.

Shao Ye slowly drifted off in Lu Zhanying’s arms, not sure how much time had passed when he felt the man stir beside him. He rubbed his eyes, sat up, and softly whispered, “Lu-ge, you awake?”

Lu Zhanying just stared at him, not blinking, like he was trying to figure out if this was real or some twisted dream. He froze, caught in the moment, unable to snap out of it for a while.

“What’s wrong? Still not fully awake?” Shao Ye asked again, quieter this time.

Suddenly, Lu Zhanying yanked him into a crushing hug, pulling him tightly against his chest. His voice was low and warm, but there was an edge to it, a hint of raw desire. “Don’t wanna wake up. I’m scared that if I do, you’ll be gone.”

A shiver ran through Shao Ye, and without thinking, he wrapped his arms around him, gently patting his back. “Lu-ge, this isn’t a dream. I really came to see you.”

Lu Zhanxing’s voice came out hoarse, laced with doubt. “Not a dream? Then why did my perfect dream suddenly get cut off mid-way?”

Shao Ye’s hand on his back stiffened, the words he’d been avoiding caught in his throat. He had no idea how to respond to that. Hell, just a minute ago, he’d felt like crawling into a hole and hiding. If Lu Zhanying found out their little session had been interrupted by some prying eyes, it’d be awkward as hell, and it could mess with the whole team dynamic.

He thought for a second, then figured—if Lu Zhanxing still thought it was a dream, why not let him? It’d save face for both of them.

So he just shrugged it off and said, “That was a dream, but now? Now it’s real. I’m right here in your arms, aren’t I?”

Lu Zhanxing loosened his grip slightly, his eyes soft with relief and tenderness, as if the fog had finally cleared. He smiled, that unmistakable gleam of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

“Ah Ye, I just had the craziest dream, though,” Lu Zhanying murmured, his lips curling in a devilish grin. “We were in the office...”

“Hold up, hold up! Lu-ge, don’t say another word,” Shao Ye interrupted, flushed with embarrassment and irritation, his cheeks burning. He quickly cut him off, flustered. “You’re still thinking about the dream when I’m right here in front of you? Seriously?”

Lu Zhanxing’s grin grew wicked as he suddenly shoved Shao Ye back down onto the bed, trapping him with his weight. He leaned in, his voice dangerously seductive, a low, coaxing murmur near his ear. “If you don’t wanna talk about dreams, how about we make this real? How about it?”