Clenching his teeth, Ethan shot Garrett a murderous glare. "You want me to pretend to be gay?” Garrett burst into unhinged laughter that lasted a long time. When he finally was out of breath, he leaned back against the sofa and looked at his friend innocently. "What else can you do? You want to help your wife using Brandon’s identity, but your wife refuses to accept Brandon’s. kindness. And, as her husband, you can’t remain indifferent while knowing that Brandon's hitting on your wife. When he finished his words, he looked at Ethan, who was sitting against the light. Garrett could only make out Ethan’s outline in the dazzling afternoon light. His friend seemed unfathomable. Ethan put down the pen and leaned against his chair, gnashing his teeth angrily. After a long time, he finally said with great reluctance, "I guess it is my only choice. Garrett's smile grew even wider, as though his trick had succeeded. He happily took a sip of the tea then set the cup on the table. and smacked his lips. "Dude, I told you I’m so smart. Who else could've come up with such a good idea? Now, you won't have to go through all that. trouble anymore. " Ethan curved his mouth into a sneer. "Of course only you could think of an idea so ridiculous, it might actually work, but it is also a double-edged sword. Garrett sighed and said in a whining tone, "It took me a long time to solve this problem for you. How could you say that to me?”. Truth be told, Ethan thought Garrett's idea was feasible. Even if Janet was under the impression that Brandon was gay, it. wouldn't change anything anyway. When he revealed his identity in the future, the misunderstanding would naturally. disappear. But despite knowing this, he couldn't help but feel awkward

ltd have been much better if someone else could tell Janet that Brandon was gay. But now he had to tell her himself that he liked men. It was hard for any straight man to say it. How much more the domineering and po werful CEO of the Larson Group? Garre tt kept on smiling and winked at him. "I have another idea. You could tell Janet that Brandon has erectile dysfunction. So e ven if Brandon had a crush on her, there’s . nothing he could do about it. Garrett was such a misc hievous man with countle ss tricks up his sleeve. Even though he was born into a business- inclined family and even though the thre e generations before him were all wealthy . businessmen, he didn’t take af ter them at all. Ever since he was a child, he t hought differently-deviously, i f Ethan were to put it lightly. "I think you'll soon be the one with erectil e dysfunction," Ethan said in a voice so low that it sent a shiver down Garrett's spine. But Garrett waved his hand dismiss ively and laughed. "Okay, okay, no more joking around. I think the first solution was better anyway. We’r e at the end of our rope. This is our only . ch oic e. Ethan didn’t say anyt hing, but his dark exp ression spoke volumes. It was early autumn in the Seacisco city. The originally green leaves starte d to turn yellow and orange. The day s were getting shorter and shorter. By the time people got o ff duty, the sun had alr eady sunk in the horizon. Today, when Ethan came back home, J anet wasn’t there. He opened the refrigerator , took out a can of ice co ld beer and gulped it down. Then he crushed the can and lean ed against the refrigerator, his hooded eyes riddled with anxiety

Ethan didn’t have the slightest idea how to initiate the uncomf ortable conversation with Janet. Just as he wa s fretting, th e door opened. Janet walked in and stopped wh en she saw him. Her eyes curved in a smile like crescent moons. "You're home early today!" she said wit h pleasant surprise. As she spoke, she walked to the f ridge and put in all the fruits a nd vegetables she had just bought. Noticing that there was something w rong with Ethan's expression, Janet turned to look at him questioningly. "What’s with the long face? Is ther e anything wrong?" . Ethan took a deep breath to calm himself down. His jaw tightened an d his eyes grew even more serious. "So, I reached out to Brandon. Alth ough I didn’t meet him face-to-fac e, I talked to him over the phone. Janet’s eyes went wide wi th disbelief. Then, she asked him curio usly, "How'd you manage t o get in touch with him?" . She was already satisfied with the fact tha t Ethan said he’d talk to Brandon, but she didn’t expect that he'd actually be able to . reach the Pre sident of the Larson Group. Even she, an employee of hi s, couldn’t just waltz into his office and talk to him. Ethan's slippers squeake d as he walked across th e apartment to the sofa. Lowering his ey es, he said, "I have my ways. "Okay then. So what did he say? Was he mean?" J anet asked tentatively. She followed Ethan to the sofa, but she did n’t sit down. She could feel that Ethan was u pset, so she couldn’t help but feel a little . an xio us. Ethan rubbed the back of his neck and pursed his l ips into a straight line. After a long time, he said with great di fficulty, "You don’t have to worry about Brandon anymore. He doesn't like women