In the backstage lounge, the air conditioning was set low, completely sealing off the heat and clamor of the beach outside.
Shen Qingzhou had just shed his heavy, high-fashion groom's suit, changing into a slightly loose, smoky-gray silk shirt. Because of the accident on the red carpet and the reverse mental soothing on the oath platform, his slender spine was veiled in a layer of profound exhaustion. His fair fingertips rested on the marble vanity, rubbing his temples with a hint of weakness.
"Professor, drink some water. I added honey just for you."
Huo Xingran, like a massive, high-end piece of taffy that could not be shaken off, had changed into a sharp, black evening suit. Carrying a cup of warm honey water, he followed Shen Qingzhou's every step.
Those beastly eyes, which had been frighteningly crimson on the oath platform, had now returned to being clear, wet "puppy eyes." He hovered stickily around Shen Qingzhou, his gaze filled with fawning and lingering fear after his outburst.
"Professor, you were truly so cool out there just now... I don't care, you hugged me in front of the world's media, and you called me 'Student Huo.' Rounded up, that means you proactively stamped your seal on me being your only—"
"Shut up, Huo Xingran."
Shen Qingzhou turned around and took a sip of the honey water from his hand. The slightly sweet liquid slid down his throat, which was hoarse to an excessive degree, alleviating the fiery dryness. He lifted his eyelids, settling his gold-rimmed glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. Behind the cold, shimmering lenses, his phoenix eyes held a dangerous sense of pressure:
"Because of your mental power runaway, the joint clarification report from the Life Sciences Institute and the Huo Corporation's PR department will be at least thirty pages long. Also, the imprint you left on the inside of my clothes last night—if you don't use your mental power to comb it out fiber by fiber before tonight is over..."
"I'll do it! I'll definitely kneel by the bedside tonight and comb it out fiber by fiber!" Huo Xingran hurriedly raised his hands in a gesture of oath, his handsome face filled with the fawning sycophancy of a loyal dog.
"I'm afraid Student Huo won't have the chance to kneel by the bedside tonight."
The inner door of the lounge was suddenly tapped by two long, fair fingers.
Lu Yu, wearing an impeccably tailored deep-gray suit, leaned against the doorframe, his long legs crossed, looking quite at ease. The cowhide file titled Ultimate Restrictive Clauses—which had only been a few pages thick—now bizarrely featured an extra page at the end, still smelling faintly of fresh ink.
A smile, almost cruel, played in Dr. Lu's amber eyes. His gaze swept over Huo Xingran's stiff shoulders:
"Just received an emergency directive from CEO Huo. In light of the fact that the applicant, Huo Xingran, suffered a serious 'secondary overload' and 'tyrannical overflow' of mental power when faced with external stimuli at the wedding venue, in accordance with Article 3 of the Higher-Level Alpha Marital Psychological and Physiological Safety Management Regulations—"
Lu Yu leisurely flipped to the new page and read the bold text, cold and merciless:
"To prevent secondary mental trauma or forced marking of the Omega due to emotional overload during the new marriage period, the originally scheduled one-month 'separate sleeping and celibacy period' is hereby officially changed to—three months. During this period, the applicant will undergo mandatory physiological data monitoring by Dr. Lu Yu twice a week. Professor Shen, this is the supplementary report. Your secondary signature is required."
Boom.
Huo Xingran felt the "happy home" he had just built in his brain explode into gray ash in this instant due to the piece of paper in Lu Yu's hand.
"Three months?!"
The large golden retriever let out an audible whine on the spot. He tossed the empty honey water cup aside and scrambled on all fours to the side of the marble vanity, his puppy eyes filled with incredulous despair as he stared at the thin sheet of paper in Lu Yu's hand:
"Dr. Lu! Brother Lu! My dear brother! I was protecting the Professor on stage! That was legitimate self-defense! How can my self-defense be sentenced to three months of imprisonment?! Three months of separate sleeping—I won't even be able to touch the corner of the Professor's clothes! This isn't married life; this is being sent to a monastery to live like a widower!"
Lu Yu remained unmoved, his lips curling as he handed the red pen to Shen Qingzhou.
Shen Qingzhou watched the large canine, who was currently spinning in circles and seemed ready to tear the document to shreds, with a slight movement of his eyes behind his glasses.
He recalled the boy's boorishness and heat on the balcony chair last night, as if he meant to crumble his very soul, and then remembered the tyrannical mental power displayed on the oath platform—power that could have destroyed the world but was reined in the very second it touched him.
"Three months... is indeed a bit long." Shen Qingzhou lowered his lashes, his cool voice carrying a textured hoarseness. His well-defined fingers held the red pen, hovering over the document for a moment.
Huo Xingran's eyes lit up instantly, thinking his Professor was finally feeling bad for him and siding with his husband.
However, the next second.
Professor Shen's slender fingers landed with absolute certainty. Accompanied by a smooth, scratching sound, those two beautiful characters—[Approved]—were once again inscribed with eye-catching brilliance directly beneath the three-month deadline.
Shen Qingzhou set the red pen down, turned to look at Huo Xingran—who had frozen dead in his tracks—and tilted his lips upward. His phoenix eyes were filled with the cold amusement of a successful prank: "However, given your overload performance last night and today, a three-month observation period conforms to scientific rigor. Student Huo, marriage privileges are canceled. Cooperate well with Dr. Lu's 'clinical treatment'."
Lu Yu emitted a pleased, light chuckle, tucked away the file, and shot Shen Qingzhou a "pleasant cooperation" look before turning on his heel and walking out of the lounge with an elegant gait.
The moment the door closed, Huo Xingran seemed to have his spine removed; he slumped down beside Shen Qingzhou's chair. He rested his head heavily on Shen Qingzhou's lap, radiating an orange-candy scent so sour it screamed, "The whole world has abandoned me."
"Professor... you're too heartless." Huo Xingran's muffled voice came from below, carrying a vulnerability and grievance rarely shown by a top-tier Alpha. "Separate sleeping on our wedding night; I have to sleep in the guest room on the first floor all by myself tonight. Touch it—my lower back is still aching. Who was it last night who kept pestering me, saying 'don't hold back'..."
Hearing him bring up the lewd words of the night before, Shen Qingzhou's ears turned beet-red. He reached out in a fit of bashful anger and gave Huo Xingran's brilliant golden hair a sharp, stinging pull:
"Shut up. Say one more word, and it's extended to half a year."
Huo Xingran immediately made a zipper motion over his lips. Yet, in the shadows, his puppy eyes—unseen by Shen Qingzhou—curved in a weird, upward arc, flashing with the cunning of a wolf cub.
He suddenly remembered the black hard-covered notebook he had left on the coffee table yesterday afternoon.
Everyone had read the twenty pages of Wedding Flow Design and Risk Emergency Plan. Shen Qingzhou had spotted the decimal errors, Huo Xingchen had seen the helicopter application, and Lu Yu had seen through his possessiveness.
But none of them knew that on the back of the cowhide page bound by the legal department at the very end, there was a page camouflaged by Huo Xingran's high-level Alpha mental power, visible only with a special biochemical fluorescent agent—the [Ultimate Hidden Clause].
The first line read:
[If force majeure is encountered after marriage (e.g., my brother联合陆医生 conducting restrictive interventions), the applicant Huo Xingran will officially launch the 'Midnight Capture Plan'—specific execution methods: climbing through windows, picking locks, or directly utilizing pheromone resonance at 2:00 AM to bind Professor Shen, duvet and all, back to the first-floor guest room. Approver: Huo Xingran (Self-authorized).]
Restrictions? Clauses? Three months of separate sleeping?
Huo Xingran felt the palm gently stroking his golden hair and let out a manic, wolfish howl in his heart.
The rules set by the elders, in the eyes of a wild house dog, were always just decorations meant to be broken. The moon tonight was huge, and the "midnight hunt" of their wedding night was only just about to begin at 2:00 AM...