I had two salaries. One was the yearly million-dollar paycheck I earned busting my ass as Julian Gu's executive assistant by day. The other was the priceless hourly rate I earned warming his bed as his canary by night. He was hot, great in the sack, and loaded. I was satisfied. But lately, Boss Gu was acting weird. Leaving messages on read. Ignoring calls. Disappearing for days at a time. Then one day, he came back early. He was intense, almost manic, like he wanted to break the bed. Just as I was enjoying it, he dropped a bomb: "This shady relationship of ours needs to end!" 1 He didn't stop moving when he said it. In fact, he went harder. Boom! It felt like a sledgehammer to my brain. End? What end? How could it end? Who said it could end?! The pleasure on my face froze instantly. My blood went from boiling to ice-cold in a second. The expensive custom bed finally gave up under the violent "breakup announcement," letting out a final, mournful creak. Crack! Crash! The bed... actually collapsed. We fell into the wreckage in an intimate, humiliating heap. The world went silent for a second. I lay on the cold floor, debris digging into my back. His burning body was on top of me. The air smelled of sex and broken wood. Absurd. Laughable. Julian seemed stunned too. He probably didn't expect the "breakup" to bring the house down. He propped himself up, frowning, shaking his arm where it hit the wood. Without looking at me, he tried to climb out of the ruins. As he reached for his pants— A stiff card slid out of his back pocket. It floated down. Spinning. And landed right on my chest, right on top of a fresh hickey. The cold touch made me shiver. Instinctively, I looked down. It was a photo. Background: sunny beach, blue sky, white sand. One of the men in the photo was Julian, who currently looked annoyed and was trying to put his pants on. But in the photo... I'd never seen him smile like that. Not the lustful, condescending, or dismissive smirk he gave me. It was a smile without shadows, eyes shining, like he owned the world. Pure, blazing happiness. His strong arm was wrapped tightly around the person next to him. That person wore a clean white shirt, smiling gently like jade, eyes curved like crescents. Untainted moonlight. Liam Lin. The "White Moonlight" Julian had hidden in his heart for ten years, the one he couldn't have. On the back of the photo, in sharp, painful handwriting: "Reunion. My Liam, my light." The date... was three days ago. 2 So that's where he was. Picking up his "light." What is he, a moth? So the real deal is back. And I, the counterfeit, the bed-warmer, have been crushed into dust by this "light." The coldness on my chest turned into a branding iron, searing my insides. It hurt more than the bed collapsing on me. Ten years. From freshman orientation, I followed him like a shadow. Watching him play ball, win awards, charm everyone. Fetching his water, washing his socks, building his company, drinking for him... That humble, unspoken crush was my deepest secret. So three years ago, when he handed me that harsh "Secretary Contract" with the implied night shift, I knew it was a trap, but I jumped anyway. With a pathetic, zombie-like joy—at least I could be close to him, even in the most shameful way. For three years, I played the perfect secretary and the obedient canary. He paid, I smiled. Fair trade. I even hypnotized myself into thinking that in those twisted moments of tenderness, maybe a tiny bit belonged to "Noah Shen." Until now. Until this photo slapped me across the face, shattering my delusions. I wasn't even a counterfeit anymore. I was trash that needed to be taken out. Love? That hidden, shameful desire belonging to "Noah Shen" was burned to ash by that smile and those words. My heart felt empty. Not painful, just cold. So cold my fingers trembled. Julian finally stood up and pulled on his pants. He noticed the photo on my chest, my pale face, and my dead eyes. He frowned deeper, a flicker of... annoyance? Or embarrassment at being caught? He bent down and snatched the photo roughly. "You always liked money. I'll give you ten million. Liam is innocent. Stay away from him. If he's not around, you can still stay here. Don't let him know about us, or he'll be disgusted." His voice was cold, hoarse from the activity, impatient. He shoved the photo back in his pocket. He pulled a checkbook from his suit jacket, scribbled, and tore a page out. The flimsy piece of paper fluttered down like charity to a beggar, landing on my naked, dusty stomach. The number was pretty. Ten million. Buyout for three years. Buyout for my ten years of wasted love. "Cleanup fee" for this piece of trash. So generous, Boss Gu. Disgusted? Damn it. Who was just sweating and moaning a minute ago? I looked at the check, then at him. He stood by the wreckage, dressed impeccably, back to the cold, noble CEO Gu. The intensity and the cold "end" felt like a bizarre dream. Only the broken bed and the check on my naked body proved it happened. I twitched my lips. Not a smile. Just the calm of a dead heart. Slowly, I pushed myself up from the cold floor, body aching. Ignoring my wretched state, ignoring the check. Right in front of him, I slowly picked up my clothes and put them on. Movements steady, fingers not shaking. Buttoned the last button of my shirt. Covering all the marks. Only then did I bend down and pick up the check from the dust with two fingers. I flicked non-existent dust off it and looked up at Julian, who was frowning, surprised by my calmness. "Boss Gu, I served you day and night for three years. I earned this money. I won't say thanks!" My voice was flat as a frozen lake. His brow relaxed, probably thinking I was being sensible. I looked at him and articulated the second half clearly: "But the end isn't up to you. It's me, Noah Shen, who doesn't want you anymore." Julian, your game is over. Now, I'm the dealer. 3 "Don't want me? Noah, stop making a scene. I said, when Liam isn't here, you can still stay. If he comes, I'll call you, just hide." I didn't speak. Disgusted. Damn it. Truly disgusting. So disgusting I almost thought I was pregnant, and I'm a man. The morning after he slammed the door and left, I took that heavy, flimsy paper to the bank. Transferred the ten million to my personal account. When the notification pinged, looking at the string of zeros, the hollow space in my heart felt filled with something hard and cold. Money really is good. As for men? Plenty of fish in the sea! By day, I was still the million-dollar Chief Secretary of the Gu Group, Noah Shen. Scumbags can't stop me from making money. Nobody messes with my bag. But boundaries had to be drawn. His schedule? Emailed. His mood? Not my problem. Work report? Done in three sentences. Julian's face grew darker by the day. Several times, he looked like he wanted to say something, eyeing me with complexity, scrutiny, and... unexplained irritation. He was used to my submission, my fawning. The business-like attitude threw him off. Without me picking his outfits, his ties clashed with his suits more than once. People in the office started whispering that Boss Gu broke up with his girlfriend. I played deaf and blind. That afternoon, Julian had an important international video conference. I went to deliver the final materials. Pushing the door open, I smelled tea. Liam Lin was there. He was lounging on the sofa in the guest area, holding a teacup. Julian sat opposite him, close, whispering. The atmosphere was dripping with honey. The relaxed, almost smiling expression on Julian's face was something I hadn't seen in three years. The hard spot in my heart pricked. Not painful, just a little cold. The person I couldn't warm up in ten years, Liam warmed up effortlessly just by existing. "Boss Gu, meeting materials." I put the folder on his desk, voice flat, eyes averting the guest area. "Mm." Julian responded without looking up, still watching Liam gently. "Liam, I'll have my secretary book that restaurant you mentioned." Liam smiled gently: "Okay." His gaze swept over me, carrying a hint of condescension. I turned to leave, feeling the air was dirty. But just as I reached the door. "Ah!" A short scream from Liam, followed by the crash of porcelain! I looked back instinctively. Liam had "accidentally" knocked over the hot tea! Tea soaked his expensive shirt, steaming! The cup lay shattered. "Liam! Are you burned?! Let me see!" Julian's face changed instantly. He rushed over, voice cracking. Liam feigned paleness, eyes red, voice trembling with accusation: "Julian! It burns! But don't blame Secretary Shen. He didn't mean to hit my arm with the door!" Damn it. Green tea bitch. This is what Julian likes? I hit him? I was ten steps away from him. Am I Mr. Fantastic? Can I hit him from across the room? I turned to leave, but Julian looked up sharply! 4 The eyes that were filled with concern for Liam turned into poisonous ice when they looked at me! Fury, disgust, and... "I knew it" contempt! He didn't hesitate for a second! Didn't ask "is it true?" Didn't check the debris trajectory! To him, Liam's word was law! And I was the jealous, malicious "lowlife"! "Noah. Shen! You cheap thing who climbed into my bed! How dare you hurt Liam?" Julian squeezed my name through his teeth, every word a storm. I wanted to laugh, but held it in. I didn't explain. Just looked at him, silent. Liam sobbed louder, adding fuel to the fire. Julian looked at me like I was rotting garbage. The next second, right in front of me, in front of the sobbing Liam, he whipped out his phone and called HR! "Director Li! Draft a termination letter! Fire Noah Shen! Immediately! Notify the whole company! Reason?" He sneered, eyes cutting me like knives. "Noah Shen has bad conduct, intentionally hurting an important guest! Tell him to pack his shit and get out!" "Fine. I'll go. Julian, I really don't want you anymore!" 5 Ten years of unrequited love, fed to dogs. Three years as a canary, pure degradation. My million-dollar career ended with a public shaming for "bad conduct" and being "malicious and cheap." The whole company watched the show. And I was the clown. Who told me to be blind and love Julian? I had very few things. A mug, some books, a personal USB drive. I packed them into a simple cardboard box. Holding the light box, I turned around. Julian, we are truly done! We're all adults with brains. I don't believe a business prodigy like Julian couldn't see through Liam's clumsy act. But even knowing Liam did it on purpose, Julian still fired me. Walking out of the building, I got a text. I thought it would be a taunt from Liam. Like in those soap operas. But it was from Julian. [Liam isn't coming over tonight. You can come back. I want grilled fish, seafood porridge, and cucumber salad for dinner.] [Also, tonight, I can go harder. Don't be mad at Liam, you'll scare him.] Heh... When did Julian lose his mind? How desperate was I before? To eat up this garbage?
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