Fu Teng arrived at the pavilion just as the evening business was beginning to grow lively.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes immediately swept across the hall, and he quickly noticed that the place looked completely different from before. The broken windows that had once made the pavilion look rough and neglected had already been repaired properly, and fresh lanterns now hung from nearly every corner of the building, casting a warm golden glow across the wooden floors and crowded tables.

The grand opening was quite close.

Fu Teng paused briefly near the entrance, his gaze moving calmly across the surroundings.

Then one of the workers noticed him immediately and hurried over.

"Young Master Fu," the man greeted respectfully before lowering his voice slightly. "Master An is upstairs."

Fu Teng gave a small nod without saying much.

Then he turned and began making his way toward the staircase.

His footsteps remained steady at first, but as he climbed higher, his expression slowly became darker without him realizing it.

Because suddenly—

Last night’s memories resurfaced in his mind again. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The rooftop.

And An Yu suddenly grabbing him before kissing him without the slightest warning.

Fu Teng’s steps slowed immediately.

Then he stopped halfway up the staircase completely.

For a moment, he simply stood there silently while his jaw tightened faintly.

Even now, thinking about it still felt ridiculous.

No—

Worse than ridiculous.

The thing that bothered him most was not even the kiss itself.

It was the fact that he had frozen at that moment instead of pushing An Yu away immediately.

That realization alone made his mood worsen.

Fu Teng exhaled quietly through his nose before continuing upstairs again, his expression colder than before.

The second floor was much quieter compared to the noisy hall below. Most of the private rooms remained closed, and only the faint sounds of conversation drifted through the corridor together with the smell of wine lingering in the air.

Fu Teng walked toward the last room near the end of the hallway.

But before he could even raise his hand to knock—

"Standing outside like that makes you look suspicious."

An Yu’s lazy voice drifted from inside the room immediately.

Fu Teng’s brows furrowed slightly.

For one brief moment, he genuinely considered turning around and leaving.

But in the end, he pushed the door open anyway.

The room inside was dimly lit by lantern light.

An Yu sat near the open window wearing dark green robes, one arm resting lazily against the chair while a cup of wine remained loosely held in his hand. The evening breeze moved lightly through the room, stirring the loose strands of his hair as he looked toward the doorway calmly.

The moment their eyes met—

A slow smile appeared on An Yu’s lips.

"You finally came."

Fu Teng walked inside expressionlessly before stopping near the table.

"I came to work," he replied coldly. "Not to see you."

An Yu did not look offended in the slightest.

If anything, he looked even more amused now.

"Is that so?"

Fu Teng ignored the look on his face completely and reached for some of the account books lying on the table.

But before he could open them—

An Yu suddenly spoke again.

"You have not looked at me properly since entering this room."

Fu Teng’s fingers paused slightly.

An Yu leaned back lazily against the chair while studying him carefully.

Then slowly—

"Why?" he asked in a calm voice. "Are you still thinking about last night?"

Fu Teng’s expression darkened immediately after those words.

He finally lifted his head and looked directly at An Yu, his eyes carrying clear warning.

"You should watch your mouth."

An Yu only raised a brow lazily at the cold tone.

"Why?" he asked calmly. "Did I say something wrong?"

Fu Teng stared at him for a moment before looking away again and opening one of the account books on the table with more force than necessary.

The sound echoed softly inside the quiet room.

An Yu noticed it immediately.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"So you really have been thinking about it."

Fu Teng’s patience instantly thinned.

"I was thinking about whether I should throw you out of the pavilion myself... then I remembered that you’re the owner."

An Yu let out a low laugh at that.

"Haha.."

Fu Teng’s fingers tightened slightly around the book.

The atmosphere inside the room shifted quietly.

An Yu rested his chin lightly against one hand while continuing to watch him without the slightest intention of looking away.

"You know," he said slowly, "most people would have slapped me already after something like that."

Fu Teng finally snapped the account book shut and looked at him coldly.

"Do you want me to do it now?"

Instead of becoming angry, An Yu looked even more entertained.

"That depends," he replied lazily. "Would you actually do it?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Fu Teng suddenly realized something frustrating.

An Yu was provoking him on purpose.

He was doing it deliberately just to see a reaction.

That realization only irritated him more.

Fu Teng exhaled quietly before forcing himself to calm down again.

"I did not come here to talk nonsense with you," he said coldly. "There is still work to do."

An Yu hummed softly.

"Fine."

For once, he did not continue teasing him immediately.

Instead, he leaned back properly in his chair and finally pushed a stack of papers toward Fu Teng across the table.

"The repaired windows cost more than expected," he said. "And the workers raised the price after hearing the pavilion business recovered."

Fu Teng lowered his gaze toward the papers automatically.

His expression slowly became more serious as he began checking the numbers carefully.

For several moments, the room became quiet again except for the faint sounds drifting upward from downstairs.

An Yu watched him silently the entire time.

The more he looked at Fu Teng, the more amused he became.

Even now, the man still looked tense.

As though simply sitting in the same room after last night’s kiss already made him uncomfortable.

An Yu’s eyes softened slightly with hidden amusement.

Then suddenly—

"Your ears are red."

Fu Teng froze.

A dangerous silence immediately filled the room.

Slowly—

Very slowly—

Fu Teng lifted his head again.

An Yu was smiling openly now, completely unashamed.

Fu Teng stared at him for several seconds before speaking in a flat voice.

"An Yu."

"Yes?"

"If you say one more useless thing, I will personally throw you downstairs."

An Yu blinked once.

Then unexpectedly—

He laughed.

The sound caught Fu Teng slightly off guard.

Because for the first time since meeting him—

An Yu’s laughter sounded real instead of teasing.

And strangely enough—

That only made Fu Teng even more restless inside.

Fu Teng ignored him after that and gathered the papers from the table before walking toward the desk near the opposite side of the room.

The desk clearly belonged to him.

Several account books were already stacked neatly at the corner, together with an abacus and loose sheets filled with calculations from previous days. Fu Teng sat down heavily on the chair before opening the papers An Yu had handed him earlier.

The distance between them was not far.

But sitting across from An Yu somehow made the room feel strangely smaller than before.

Fu Teng forced himself to focus on the numbers in front of him instead.

Meanwhile, An Yu remained where he was near the window, lazily watching him while slowly turning the wine cup between his fingers.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then suddenly—

"How did the wedding go yesterday?"

Fu Teng’s brows furrowed immediately.

Without even looking up, he answered flatly.

"It was not a wedding."

An Yu tilted his head slightly.

"Oh?"

Fu Teng continued flipping through the papers calmly.

"I am not married," he said coldly. "So stop speaking as if I am."

An Yu watched him quietly for a moment before a faint smile slowly appeared on his lips again.

"But you are already engaged now."

Fu Teng’s expression remained indifferent.

"That changes nothing."

An Yu let out a soft hum before leaning back more comfortably against the chair.

"So serious."

Fu Teng ignored him.

But unfortunately—

An Yu clearly had no intention of ending the conversation there.

"Then..." he said slowly, his gaze fixed directly on Fu Teng, "do you not like your future wife?"

Fu Teng’s fingers paused faintly against the papers.

Only for a second.

But An Yu still noticed it immediately.

The smile in his eyes deepened slightly.

Fu Teng lowered the paper in his hands and finally looked at him again.

"What does that have to do with you?"

An Yu shrugged lazily.

"Nothing."

His answer came too quickly to sound believable.

Fu Teng stared at him suspiciously.

An Yu remained completely relaxed under the gaze.

"You know Fu Teng last night I thought you weren’t going to come... but you did and now I can’t stop wondering why."