MBBBA Chapter 12

As he thought about Zhang Peng finishing his shower and probably playing with his phone afterward, which would likely lead him to see the trending news, Qiao Qiao made a quick decision and started undressing.

When Zhang Peng stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel, he was greeted by the sight of Qiao Qiao, who was now down to just a pair of pink and white briefs. Zhang Peng’s Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.

With a casual flick, Qiao Qiao tossed aside his briefs and walked over to Zhang Peng, yanking off the towel around his waist. The two were now standing before each other, completely bare.

Unable to resist, Zhang Peng ran his hand over Qiao Qiao’s smooth, jade-like shoulder.

Qiao Qiao playfully flicked Zhang Peng’s firm chest, “Weren’t you saying you’d help me wash?”

In response, Zhang Peng scooped Qiao Qiao up and carried him back to the bathroom, answering him with actions rather than words.

After a long and very physically demanding shower, Zhang Peng carried Qiao Qiao back to the bed. Qiao Qiao snuggled into Zhang Peng’s arms, sipping on an ice-cold Coke while watching Zhang Peng play with his phone.

The room was filled with the sweet scent of pheromones, like a slow, soothing love song. Qiao Qiao, feeling like a boneless puddle, lazily played with Zhang Peng’s chest muscles.

Zhang Peng was distractedly swiping through his phone, starting with the financial news: the central bank had cut reserve requirements, Xingguang Entertainment was being sold off cheaply, and Zhu Yu Investment and Zhu Yu Electric’s stocks were hitting their limits… After catching up on the finance world, he moved on to entertainment, opening Weibo and starting with the top trending gossip.

“Yi Qiao Technology Founder Spotted on a Secret Date with a Mysterious Omega [Breaking News]”

Zhang Peng: “???” The founder of Yi Qiao Technology had no idea about this.

As Zhang Peng’s pheromones started shifting, with a hint of cherry creeping into the sweet scent, Qiao Qiao glanced up to see that the news had climbed to the top spot. The public sure loves Zhang Zong’s scandals.

The pressure around Zhang Peng was steadily rising.

Qiao Qiao felt pretty smug, thinking he had foreseen this. Luckily, he had insisted on finishing the shower early—otherwise, Zhang Peng would have seen this news, and how could they have focused on their intimate time together? Even if they managed to do it, it would have been half-hearted, lacking energy.

Qiao Qiao mentally patted himself on the back for his quick thinking and poked Zhang Peng’s chest muscles, widening his eyes in feigned innocence, “Zhang Zong, why the sudden bad mood?”

Zhang Peng realized that Qiao Qiao had known all along and grew even angrier. Ignoring Qiao Qiao, he clicked on the trending topic to read the details. It was just a few seconds of blurry surveillance footage, but these paparazzi sure had wild imaginations!

“The two couldn’t resist getting intimate in the parking garage.”

“The intense passion between an alpha and omega is sure to make anyone blush.”

“Rumor has it that this mysterious omega is none other than the popular actor Jiang Pi from Yan Guang Si She!”

Zhang Peng’s chest heaved violently, “This is blatant slander! They’re ruining my reputation!”

Qiao Qiao soothingly stroked Zhang Peng’s chest, “Don’t let it get to you. As a big A, you should be magnanimous.” The chest feels amazing, so smooth—I’m practically drooling.

Zhang Peng remained silent for a long while.

After feeling his fill of Zhang Peng’s chest, Qiao Qiao noticed, belatedly, that Zhang Peng’s eyes were red around the edges—he was almost in tears from the anger!

Caught off guard, Qiao Qiao quickly stopped joking around. He turned to face Zhang Peng, cupping his face and planting a kiss on the tip of his nose, “It’s okay, it’s okay. The heat will die down soon. People are just gossiping for fun.” Seeing Zhang Peng’s teary eyes and sensing his drooping pheromones, Qiao Qiao’s heart ached.

Zhang Peng mumbled, “I’m not a celebrity. These paparazzi invaded my privacy by spying on me.”

Qiao Qiao gave him a quick peck on the left cheek, “Invasion of privacy? Let’s sue them!”

Zhang Peng continued, “And that actor—I don’t even know him! He came over and started talking to me on purpose, trying to stir up gossip. He said hello, so I just said hello back, and then I got in the car!”

Qiao Qiao kissed his right cheek, “Sue him too.”

Zhang Peng, still upset, looked at Qiao Qiao, “You knew about this and didn’t tell me. You were just enjoying the drama.”

Qiao Qiao puffed out his chest, “Heaven and earth bear witness, I wasn’t just enjoying the drama.” I was just worried it would ruin our fun time! Though, admittedly, that reason doesn’t sound much better.

After a moment of contemplation, he quickly came up with an excuse, “I was so mad I was shaking, but I knew you weren’t like that.”

Zhang Peng was skeptical, “You were mad?”

Of course not. Qiao Qiao had been laughing at it for a while.

But he replied earnestly, “I was really mad.”

Zhang Peng patted Qiao Qiao’s back to comfort him, “It’s all my fault, letting that omega get too close.”

Qiao Qiao waved it off grandly, “You’re running a big business now; it’s only natural that you’d attract some clingers.”

Zhang Peng pondered for a moment, “But Wei Ning never has any scandals.” He frowned, “How does Wei Ning do it?” In terms of wealth, Wei Ning was at least ten times richer than he was, so there must be plenty of admirers trying to get close to him.

Zhang Peng said, “I’ll give Wei Ning a call.” He needed to get some advice.

Qiao Qiao hesitated, “Won’t you be bothering him?”

Zhang Peng’s face fell, “I’ll ask him tomorrow, then.”

Qiao Qiao nodded, snuggling against Zhang Peng again and continuing to stroke his chest. No, no, this was about comforting Zhang Peng’s fragile heart. “Who knows? By tomorrow, people might have forgotten all about this. These days, people have a seven-second memory span.”

Zhang Peng sighed, “I hope so.” His eyes darkened, turning cold.

Maybe he should take drastic action, eliminate the threat once and for all.

Right now, Qiao Qiao trusted him because it was only the first incident, and they had just reaffirmed their feelings for each other.

But what if there were a second incident? A third?

Rumors, when repeated often enough, can become truth.

Zhang Peng understood this well.

The next day, it turned out that the public’s memory lasted a bit longer than seven seconds. By lunchtime, another piece of news involving Zhang Peng had hit the trending topics.

“Jiang Pi Denies Relationship with Zhang Peng [Buzzing]”

When this hit the charts, it was right around lunchtime.

Xiao Fang turned to Qiao Qiao and said, “See, what did I tell you? Zhang Zong is already searching for his true omega. Jiang Pi is the dream omega for many alphas—they’d make a great couple.”

Qiao Qiao muttered a curse under his breath, “Perfect match, my ass.”

Xiao Fang didn’t quite catch that, “What did you say?”

“I said.” Qiao Qiao replied, “Jiang Pi just denied having a relationship with Zhang Peng, didn’t he?”

“That’s just a cover-up.” Xiao Fang said with an all-knowing look. “The entertainment industry loves playing these games. They deny the relationship today, and tomorrow, they’ll be flaunting marriage certificates and babies. It’s happened plenty of times.”

Qiao Qiao tried to defend Zhang Peng, “But Zhang Peng isn’t part of the entertainment industry. He studied civil engineering, then switched to IT—he’s just an engineer.”

Xiao Fang countered, “His status has changed. Now he’s a big CEO, and tons of little celebrities are eyeing him like he’s a piece of meat. He’s practically half a part of that world now.”

Qiao Qiao was about to argue further when Xiao Fang, who was scrolling through Weibo, suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, check this out!”

Qiao Qiao asked, “Now what?”

Xiao Fang showed him his phone, where two new trending topics had bumped the Jiang Pi denial down the list. They were—

“Yi Qiao: The Most Beautiful Love Letter [Buzzing]”

“Zhang Peng Says He Regrets Going Public [Hot]”

Qiao Qiao clicked on the trending topic and watched a clip from an interview. In the video, Zhang Peng appeared dashing, his expression serious, dressed meticulously in a tailored suit with crisp, perfectly pressed collars and pant legs, and his shoes polished to a mirror shine.

He lounged on the couch, his hand casually draped over a pillow, long legs crossed, his impressive physique on full display.

The aura of a disciplined and restrained elite radiated from him, a stark contrast to the carefree singing and showering he did at home.

Interviewer: “We’ve talked a lot about the AI industry, but we’re also curious about the secret to your success. Could you share that with us?”

Zhang Peng: “Am I considered successful now?”

The interviewer laughed, “Absolutely. I’ve heard that before the national AI development strategy was announced, there was a period when you were struggling and unnoticed.”

Zhang Peng: “That time was indeed tough.”

Interviewer: “How did you overcome it?”

Zhang Peng: “My lover always encouraged me. Do you know why it’s called Yi Qiao Technology? Because my lover’s name has the character ‘Qiao’ in it.”

Interviewer: “It’s clear you love him very much.”

Zhang Peng nodded, “Yi Qiao Technology’s largest shareholder will always be ‘Qiao.’”

Interviewer: “It’s literally ‘Yi Qiao Technology’—aren’t you or your other shareholders worried?”

Zhang Peng: “Worried that ‘Qiao’ might run off with the money?” He chuckled, “There’s no need because Yi Qiao Technology is a love letter to him.”

The interviewer smiled, “I want a love letter worth billions too. After this airs, everyone will be envious of ‘Qiao.’”

Zhang Peng: “In fact, I regret going public. Since the IPO, I’ve spent much less time with my lover.”

The interviewer’s expression momentarily said, “We’re professionals, we don’t laugh—unless we can’t help it.” After a pause, the interviewer smiled and asked, “No wonder you kept checking the time backstage—are you planning to go home right after this?”

Zhang Peng: “Yes, to cook dinner for my lover.”

The video ended.

Xiao Fang, looking like he had just swallowed a whole lemon, said, “I was wrong about Zhang Zong. ‘Qiao’ must be his long-term boyfriend from before he made it big. It’s a fairy-tale love story. I want a billion-dollar love letter too. I’m crying my heart out.”

Qiao Qiao said honestly, “My name has ‘Qiao’ in it. He’s talking about me.”

Xiao Fang burst into laughter, “You’re hilarious.”

Qiao Qiao: “???”

Xiao Fang, now more serious, said, “Qiao Gong, it’s fine to dream, but don’t fool yourself. You’re a Ph.D., your logic should be better. Does this theory even hold up? You’re really funny.”

Qiao Qiao could only reply, “Funny, right?”

Xiao Fang: “Hahaha.”

Alright, it did seem pretty funny.

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