FOBTS CH79

Chapter 79: Meeting the Parents

[Updating monitoring data.]

[The protagonist gong from the original novel lost a bit of SAN value.]

Song Ruochen: “…”

Jian Feng glanced at the wall clock, then at his watch, then at the sun outside.

One hour ago, Jian Yuheng had been sitting in this exact spot, showing him the friend list on the app Awo~.

And now—

Jian Yuheng patted him again and opened the app Awo~: “Big Brother, look—this is me, and this is Secretary Song. Our pheromone compatibility is 100%.”

Jian Feng: “…”

“I want your secretary,” Jian Yuheng said.

[……]

[The protagonist gong’s social withdrawal stat just increased by 1 point.]

“Excuse me.” Song Ruochen knocked on the door and entered uninvited. “Sorry to interrupt, President Jian.”

He leaned down and whispered in Jian Yuheng’s ear, “What’s yours is yours—don’t disturb President Jian while he’s working.”

“It’s fine,” Jian Yuheng said. “We’re real brothers. I can disturb him however I want.”

“Okay, okay, we’re going,” Song Ruochen said firmly, pushing him.

Jian Yuheng stood up with a confused expression, getting pushed out of the office.

“Chenchen,” Jian Yuheng said, “I haven’t finished discussing things with my brother.”

“Oh right,” he added, “you go to your meeting—I need to pick up my health report.”

Song Ruochen: “Don’t—”

Whoosh—Jian Yuheng vanished.

Song Ruochen: “Uh…”

[Second Young Master is going to beat you to death when he snaps out of it.]

[Eating melon.jpg]

Whether he’d get beaten or not, Song Ruochen wasn’t sure, but twenty minutes later, he got a message from Dr. Liu Cheng.

Song Ruochen collapsed onto the desk in embarrassment, burying his face in his palms.

[(Applying cold compress to brain)]

[Didn’t expect you to get secondhand embarrassment too.]

An hour later, the tightly shut office door was gently pushed open. A completely shattered Jian Yuheng crumpled at the doorway.

Song Ruochen: “…”

[Updating monitoring data.]

[Your A-friend’s social withdrawal stat increased by 20 points and maxed out.]

“SONG. RUO. CHEN!” Jian Yuheng ground out as he stormed into the room.

Song Ruochen scratched nervously at the floor with his shoes: “I did try to hold you back… but you’re really hard to stop…”

[Ahahaha, don’t worry, we have a great rollback feature in the system.]

Jian Yuheng shoved Song Ruochen aside and collapsed at the exact spot where Song had just been, burying his face in his hands.

“Good thing I didn’t interact with too many people this past hour. The fallout should be limited,” Jian Yuheng mumbled. “I nearly lost everything.”

“You—you—you lost everything… I still like you anyway.” Song Ruochen frantically wiped Jian Yuheng’s desk. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Jian Yuheng pieced himself together slightly. “Let’s go, Chenchen. Time to clock out.”

Song Ruochen dropped the cloth. “Yay!”

Halfway down, the elevator stopped. Jian Feng walked in.

Jian Feng: “.”

Jian Yuheng: “..”

The elevator descended rapidly, filled with three people hiding their own secrets. At that moment, they were the most familiar strangers.

[Sometimes, I really understand why Second Young Master wants to hang you up and beat you.]

Song Ruochen: “Shut up.”

The elevator stopped at the basement level. Jian Feng glanced at a message on his phone and said, “Yuheng, Mom and Dad said there’s a family dinner tonight. You and Xiaochen should come.”

Xiaochen: “0.0?”

Family dinner?

The Jian family’s chef was amazing.

“I have to ask Xiaochen,” Jian Yuheng replied. “There might be roast whole lamb, roast duck, baked fish in parchment, candied sweet potatoes, that kind of thing.”

Song Ruochen: “Xiaochen thinks, not taking a rocket home would be extremely rude.”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

“Then you two go ahead,” Jian Feng said. “I’ll swing by the art museum to pick up Xiao Ci. He’s hanging out with Xiao Guai.”

“Bring Mianmian too,” Song Ruochen added.

Jian Feng: “Will do, Secretary Song.”

—

Once Song Ruochen was seated in Jian Yuheng’s car, he heard the system notification again—

[Your A-friend’s social withdrawal stat dropped back down.]

[Second Young Master’s mental fortitude is pretty solid.]

As Jian Yuheng drove, Song Ruochen started rambling to pass the time—probably out of boredom or trust. He talked about the customs of his hometown.

“Wait, your place only has two genders?” Jian Yuheng was surprised.

“Yeah,” Song Ruochen replied. “Everyone’s a beta. Poor Bs.”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

“I’ve only ever seen that kind of setting in novels.”

“No wonder you got confused talking with Yan Ci…” Jian Yuheng muttered. “But it was just a mistake—you’re not completely unfamiliar with ABO dynamics. Where’d you learn about them? TV shows? Or… novels?”

[6]

“…Novels,” Song Ruochen admitted, deeply embarrassed.

A dog-blood novel with over 500 angsty chapters—and it got dropped before the end.

“Interesting,” Jian Yuheng said. “My brother and Yan Ci are the protagonists of the book? And because of their clashing personalities, their relationship’s rocky? So the system dragged you here to play matchmaker?”

Song Ruochen: “That’s about right.”

“You’re doing a good job,” Jian Yuheng said. “Model employee.”

[(Sending a certificate to Little Grape)]

Song Ruochen chuckled. “Second Young Master praises me for everything—I almost don’t believe it.”

“Well, not everything,” Jian Yuheng said. “Your stamina and endurance are subpar—I didn’t sugarcoat that. I pointed it out immediately.”

And on that day, Song Ruochen covered his ears.

“Hmph. Not changing. You figure it out,” Song Ruochen huffed.

The car pulled up in front of the Jian family’s main house. The familiar setting stirred some unpleasant memories for Song Ruochen.

Not long ago, he and Jian Yuheng had been playing a chase game across this very property.

Rong Xin, wearing a pale blue dress, waited for them at the small estate gate.

“Secretary Song, long time no see,” Rong Xin said with a smile.

“It’s been a while,” Song Ruochen replied, instantly switching into Secretary Song mode, greeting her politely. “Work’s been busy lately—lots of overtime.”

“Overtime? Then Xiao Shou should really give you a raise,” Rong Xin said.

Jian Yuheng: “…”

Still a raise.

“You can’t just give him a raise because he’s good-looking.”

As they spoke, Jian Yuheng had already parked the car.

“Hey?” Rong Xin looked around. “Didn’t your brother say you were bringing home an omega with 100% compatibility?”

Rong Xin: “Did you fall in love with an invisible man?”

Song Ruocheng raised his hand. “Madam, over here. Omega.”

Song Ruocheng: “I’m not invisible. I have color.”

[I have color.]

Song Ruocheng, internally: Drop dead, dammit.

“Huh???” Rong Xin was greatly shocked.

Her gaze shifted back and forth between her son and Song Ruocheng several times. Noticing their lightly intertwined fingers, she beamed. “Secretary Song mentioned to me before that there was an alpha on the ‘Awo’ app with 100% compatibility with your pheromones?”

“That would be me,” Jian Yuheng said, then paused. “Wait, you two talked?”

“Yes, we talked once,” Rong Xin said. “Your grandma and I both liked Secretary Song, so I asked him about it once. But at the time, Secretary Song didn’t agree.”

She seemed to realize something and patted Jian Yuheng’s shoulder. “No wonder you’re my son. Same taste as me and so capable.”

Faced with his boyfriend’s mom, Song Ruocheng wasn’t as relaxed as usual. But Rong Xin was delighted, pulling him along and fussing over him—

“Did he pursue you properly? Omegas shouldn’t say yes so quickly. He tricked you into coming home, didn’t he?”

“Do you have his temporary mark on you? I can smell it! How could he do that and not even get you a little gift?”

“He can be a bit aggressive in his ways, but he’ll treat you very well,” Rong Xin said. “If he ever bullies you, just let me know. I’ll help you beat him up.”

Song Ruocheng’s cheeks turned bright red from all the questions, standing there awkwardly.

It had been a long time since any elder showed him this kind of affection.

“No, he hasn’t bullied me,” he said.

“Mom, stop asking,” Jian Yuheng said. “He’s shy. I finally got him to say yes—don’t scare him off.”

“Come on in,” Rong Xin called out enthusiastically. “Mom’s got a red envelope for you.”

Song Ruocheng: “0.0*”

[I want a little share~]

—

Every family banquet at the Jian family manor was packed with guests, and this time there were even some distant relatives, making it extra lively.

When Rong Xin dragged Song Ruocheng into the living room, the relatives were in the middle of discussing the latest quarterly results of Xiaoshi Corp.

“Our hit spring drama? Ours. Top-selling product? Also ours,” said one of Jian Yuheng’s distant uncles. “The revenue gap is massive. Nan Chi probably won’t recover this year, maybe not even next year.”

“Well, since we’re all here, I want to help too,” a distant aunt chimed in. “Send me that short drama ad. I’ll put it on my company’s social platform. Let everyone see it.”

“Xiaolu’s space for survival just shrank again,” Song Ruocheng whispered to Jian Yuheng.

“Yo, Yuheng’s here,” the uncle said, turning his head. His gaze landed on Song Ruocheng. “This one looks familiar…?”

“Let me formally introduce,” Jian Yuheng said. “This is Song Ruocheng, secretary to the CEO of Xiaoshi Group and newly appointed creative director of the advertising department.”

“Young and accomplished, Secretary Song,” the uncle praised.

Song Ruocheng glanced nervously at Jian Yuheng.

“I heard Secretary Song played a key role in uncovering an internal mole recently,” the aunt added. “You’re truly multi-talented.”

Hearing that, this salted fish almost believed he had done something great.

As Song Ruocheng was lost in thought, his hand—hanging at his side—was suddenly held tightly by Jian Yuheng.

“That was the first introduction,” Jian Yuheng said. “Let me do it again: this is my omega boyfriend, my 100% match, my soon-to-be spouse—Song Ruocheng.”

“Holy crap!” The uncle who had been silent on the couch suddenly shouted. “You’re kidding me!”

This was the same uncle who had regained all his confidence with Yan Ci but then lost it again because of Song Ruocheng—he practically leapt off the couch in shock.

“So loud,” Song Ruocheng asked calmly, “Uncle, do you have a problem with me?”

“N-no…” the uncle quickly shook his head. “Uncle’s just surprised. Secretary Song is great. Really great.”

How the hell did Jian Yuheng manage to win this little ancestor back?

“Great in what way?” Song Ruocheng asked pleasantly. “Respectful to elders?”

Uncle: “Very respectful.”

Jian Yuheng turned his head slightly and chuckled.

The Jian family was complicated, but he wasn’t worried anyone would dare mess with his grape.

“Uncle,” Jian Yuheng reminded, “He’s first Secretary Song of Xiaoshi, then my spouse.”

The Jian family were all sharp, so with just that, the uncle immediately understood—

It wasn’t that Jian Yuheng’s fiancé became Xiaoshi’s secretary, but that Xiaoshi’s CEO secretary became Jian Yuheng’s fiancé.

Jian Yuheng was addressing the previous “equal family background” nonsense—a warning that Song Ruocheng was not someone dependent on the Jian family.

The uncle had always been a little intimidated by Jian Yuheng, and now he nodded repeatedly. “Yes, I get it.”

—

Once the banquet was over, with his beautiful little boyfriend beside him, Jian Yuheng had no patience for more small talk with overly familiar relatives.

Still holding hands, he pulled Song Ruocheng all the way to his room.

“Take a rest,” Jian Yuheng said, closing the door. “The butler will bring some dessert later.”

They hadn’t noticed anything earlier, but now that the door was closed, the air had a faint grape scent.

Song Ruocheng: “0.o?”

Song Ruocheng: “Stop!”

Jian Yuheng chuckled helplessly. “Pheromones aren’t voice-activated.”

Sure enough, the grape scent didn’t vanish. Instead, it grew sweeter—like freshly squeezed grape juice, full of fresh, sweet fragrance.

“Let me see…” Jian Yuheng opened his friend circle.

“You have pheromone control tips in your Moments?” Song Ruocheng asked.

“No…” Jian Yuheng scrolled down and found an old post. “Every time I feel lucky, I post a happy emoji visible only to me.”

Jian Yuheng said, “You agreeing to let me give you a temporary mark—that’s the happiest thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”

[Then you can be even happier.]

[Heehee.]

“It’s been almost three months,” Jian Yuheng pointed out. “Without a full bond, the onset of genetic disease comes quicker. Grape Chen, your heat may be starting soon because of that.”

Song Ruocheng: “Ah…”

He was going to be roasted into a grape raisin again?

“Remember to carry the special meds the hospital gave you,” Jian Yuheng said. “And leave a few with me too.”

“Okay…” Song Ruocheng replied.

This master bedroom was clearly one Jian Yuheng used often. It was filled with his familiar scent—giving off a strong sense of home and security.

What to do? Another heat was on the way.

But it didn’t seem so bad now. He had his alpha.

[Just let Second Young Master help again—it’ll pass safely.]

Song Ruocheng: “Mm.”

But how would he help, exactly? Another temporary mark, or…

Forget it. Don’t think about it.

Blushing, Song Ruocheng snuggled into the blanket and started scrolling through his social feed.

Many media outlets had covered Xiaoshi’s new product launch, and quite a few had captured him and Jian Yuheng together. He saw several posts.

[Song Ruocheng and Jian Yuheng: My ideal workplace romance.]

[Wild CEO vs. Cool Secretary—I’m mentally writing a whole novel.]

After two posts, he tapped on another video—

Jian Yuheng lifted the blanket over his head. “Want me to stick on a hawthorn-scented pheromone blocker…?”

Without the blanket muffling it, the sound from Song Ruocheng’s phone was suddenly loud.

[Omg omg, if they’re a couple, then a suit-and-tie roleplay with Mr. Jian and Secretary Song would be sooo hot.]

Song Ruocheng: “……”

Jian Yuheng: “……”

Ding-dong.

“You… like that kind of thing?” Jian Yuheng asked at the dinner table.