Shang Sui’s question came out of nowhere, and Shi Qi answered without thinking, “Yeah.”
…Wait.
Huh?
What???
“No! My friend just got the wrong impression. He’s never seen…” Shi Qi’s brain scrambled for the right word before finally landing on one, “never seen anyone dress this artistically!”
In fact, Lin Yan often hung out in bars and was no stranger to all sorts of people. So when he made those seemingly critical remarks, they were actually high praise for Shang Sui’s photo.
“And that whole thing about you trying to ‘seduce’—” The word burned in Shi Qi’s mouth. “He was just talking nonsense. I know you didn’t mean it like that.”
He spoke quickly, as if he truly was afraid Shang Sui might overthink it.
On the way to the police station, Shang Sui had noticed that Fu Siyue had been watching him closely. It was clear Fu Siyue was interested in Shi Qi and instinctively disliked any Alpha who got close to him. Given how strange his behavior had been, it wasn’t surprising that Fu Siyue was wary.
But Shi Qi hadn’t asked a single question. It was unclear whether he was just slow to react or simply trusted him completely.
Either way, paired with how Shi Qi looked right now, it made Shang Sui’s heart soften.
“I understand,” Shang Sui said.
Shi Qi let out a breath of relief.
This was all Lin Yan’s fault.
What did he mean by not having a decent job? Don’t make it sound so shady! He’s just working as a chat companion!
“But still…”
Even if he had softened, Shang Sui couldn’t help teasing him.
He added with implied meaning, “Your friend wasn’t entirely wrong.”
Shi Qi was stunned, feeling like he’d just been thrown onto a mental rollercoaster.
Just then, Shang Sui checked the time and naturally changed the subject.
“It’s getting late. I’ll take you back to school.”
“If we go now, you should still be able to get into the dorm, right?”
–
The return trip took longer than expected. By the time they reached the school, it was close to midnight. Shang Sui stood outside the dorm building, watching from a distance as Shi Qi spoke to the guard. Eventually, he was let in.
Before leaving, Shi Qi waved at him. Shang Sui raised a hand in return.
There were several well-known universities in the area, and the largest art academy in the country was located right next to Shi Qi’s campus.
Because of the holiday, students were still out in groups, chatting about where to go next. Music from nearby bars drifted faintly through the air, and some restaurants still had lines out front.
When Professor Xie had invited him to be a teaching assistant, he’d said this area might not have many other perks, but it was definitely lively. And he’d been spot on.
Shang Sui walked for a while, then decided to send Professor Xie a message.
His place wasn’t far from the university town. After getting home and showering, Shang Sui opened WeChat and tapped on Shi Qi’s chat.
Shi Qi replied quickly.
17: [1.]
Ss: [Are you free now? I wanted to ask how you enjoyed today.]
17: [I’m free.]
Ss: [Were you satisfied with the place we visited today?]
17: [I was. It was pretty.]
Almost as soon as Shi Qi replied, Shang Sui sent over a photo from the amusement park.
Shi Qi didn’t know when Shang Sui had taken it. The brightly lit castle, along with the ghosts and candy decorations, brought the Halloween atmosphere vividly back just by looking at it.
Before Shi Qi could respond, Shang Sui followed up.
Ss: [What about the food?]
17: [A little sweet, but not bad.]
A photo of the ice cream popped up.
Only then did Shi Qi remember that when he got the ice cream, Shang Sui had indeed snapped a photo with his phone.
The yuzu-flavored ice cream in the picture looked even better than it had in real life, with a sparkling pumpkin carriage in the background. Shi Qi had no idea how he’d managed to find the perfect angle in such a short time.
Shi Qi caught on to what was happening and found himself looking forward to the next question.
Just as he expected, with each answer he gave, Shang Sui sent a corresponding photo—one after another, like opening little presents from the day.
Another question popped up, and Shi Qi’s eyes paused.
Ss: [Were you satisfied with me?]
When no reply came for a while, Shang Sui’s fingers subconsciously tapped against the screen.
Had Shi Qi noticed the selfish motives behind the question?
17: [Yes.]
He smiled.
Looks like he hadn’t been found out.
It’s always nice to get the answer you want. Shang Sui typed out the final question.
Ss: [Anything you’d like to say to me at the end?]
This time, Shi Qi replied quickly.
17: [Next time, I’m booking you again.]
Shang Sui: “……”
Shi Qi seemed to have completely taken this as part of Shang Sui’s job, not thinking in any other direction at all. He even considerately asked:
17: [Was that good enough for your report? Want me to praise you a bit more?]
Ss: [Sure, praise more.]
17: [Hang on, let me do some research.]
Before Shang Sui could wonder what he was researching, a long message appeared.
17: [This employee demonstrated an outstanding level of professionalism throughout the event, consistently maintaining enthusiasm, courtesy, and a smile, which brought me great comfort. I am very pleased! Wishing Mr. Shang Sui even more success in his career!]
It was clearly copy-pasted from online.
Ss: […Thank you for the compliment.]
Ss: [Here’s the last photo. Good night ^^]
This time, it wasn’t a picture of scenery or food, but a portrait.
Shi Qi blinked in surprise, then remembered that Shang Sui had asked at the beginning if he could take a picture of him. He’d casually nodded at the time without thinking much of it and hadn’t even noticed when the shot was taken.
The photo only caught a slightly blurred profile. Shang Sui had captured the moment when the lights from a nearby amusement ride happened to shine over. Shi Qi’s platinum blonde hair was tinted by the overlapping rays of light. He looked as though he were glowing.
Rather than just a casual snapshot, it resembled a stunning, professional photograph.
Lin Yan’s voice drifted in from beside him. “What are you staring at so intently? I’ve called you twice already.”
Shi Qi: “Admiring myself.”
Lin Yan: “Let me admire too… Holy crap! This is insane! It looks like you’re some kind of little fairy.”
“Did you hire a photographer today? Send me their WeChat! This looks way better than the guy I hired for 2,000 a day last time.”
“It wasn’t a photographer. It was the person I went to the amusement park with.”
Lin Yan paused, then asked, “So who exactly did you go with?”
Fu Siyue knew it wasn’t right to take pictures secretly, so he hadn’t captured Shang Sui’s face. Even just seeing the figure from the neck down, Lin Yan could tell this person wasn’t ordinary.
Thinking of Shi Qi’s taste in aesthetics, Lin Yan became even more worried. “Don’t tell me you’re getting played by a scumbag?”
“Nine out of ten guys who take pictures of their dates are players. You’ve never been in a relationship, so you’re an easy target.”
Shi Qi argued back, “No way, I can tell the difference.”
From high school to university, Shi Qi had encountered more than a few Alphas with bad intentions. He’d always felt a natural aversion after the slightest interaction. But with Shang Sui, it felt very comfortable.
For some reason, this made Lin Yan laugh. He giggled and leaned over to ruffle Shi Qi’s hair. “True, you’re hard to fool. You’ve got the instincts of a small animal.”
“……”
Shi Qi held back his irritation and added, “Besides, it’s not that kind of relationship. It’s just… a service?”
Lin Yan gasped. “You’re talking about photography service, right?!”
It was too hard to explain in just a few words, so Shi Qi said, “You can think of it that way.”
Lin Yan’s expression grew more and more horrified, but in the end, he gave a relieved smile. “Xiao Qi, I misjudged you.”
“I thought your glandular deterioration meant you’d lost all worldly desires. But it turns out, once you get going, you’re the wildest of us all.”
Shi Qi couldn’t take it anymore. He stared at Lin Yan and said, “Right now, I want to try something even wilder.”
“Aiya, you’re such a dom!” Lin Yan cupped his face in both hands, eyes sparkling. “Ooh, what do you wanna do with me?”
“Sew your mouth shut with my own hands.”
“……”
–
The next morning.
When Shang Sui woke up, Professor Xie had already replied.
He told Shang Sui the teaching assistant position was still available and that he could take it whenever he wanted.
Professor Xie asked him to reply once he saw the message so they could arrange a time to complete the paperwork at the university.
Shang Sui got out of bed, quickly washed up, and was just about to call when Jiang Yan beat him to it.
“Bro, you made the local news,” Jiang Yan said in a teasing tone. “Along with your boss.”
As he spoke, he sent over a video link. The night before, at the amusement park, when he and Shi Qi had teamed up to subdue the rampaging Alpha, someone had caught the whole chaotic scene on video.
“You’re way up on the trending list. I just got to the restaurant, and people were already talking about it. Impressive stuff.”
The video had an overwhelming number of likes and comments. Most praised them for their bravery; some explained the nature of an Alpha’s special rut, and surprisingly, many were shipping the two of them together. The whole thing was buzzing.
Shang Sui watched for a while, then, thinking of how gossipy Jiang Yan usually was, said, “Don’t tell my family.”
Jiang Yan had been his classmate in high school and knew a bit about his situation. “Got it.”
Back in high school, Shang Sui had been even more aloof than he was now. As an art student with a privileged background and standout looks, he seemed nearly flawless, yet never really fit in with the crowd.
A lot of people liked him, while a lot disliked him too.
After all, when someone seems too perfect but keeps a wall between themselves and everyone else, it’s hard for onlookers not to feel a certain resentment.
Compared to back then, Shang Sui’s personality had already changed a lot.
Speaking of which, when exactly had he started to change…?
Jiang Yan thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with an answer. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, “Weren’t you two just getting dinner? How’d you end up at an amusement park? Oh right, how much did you spend to coax him? I’ll transfer it to you.”
“No need.”
“?” Jiang Yan couldn’t help but feel genuinely moved. “Thank you, Xiao Sui-gege. I get it now—you’re cold on the outside but warm on the inside.”
“What made you change? I understand. You’re finally interested in investing in Huijian, right? First step: filling in the gaps out of your own pocket—”
Jiang Yan had always believed that Shang Sui was incredibly lucky. During his undergraduate and master’s years, a few casual investments had all turned serious profits. When Jiang Yan started the restaurant, he had tried to get Shang Sui to invest—not for the money, but just to soak up some of that good fortune.
But after Jiang Yan had enthusiastically laid out what he thought was a brilliant plan, Shang Sui rejected it without hesitation.
Now Jiang Yan thought he’d finally seen the light and recognized Huijian’s business potential. He started fantasizing aloud, “If you invest now, I’ll put your name on the sign immediately.”
“I’m not into sketchy places. Hanging up.”
“?” Huh?
After being hung up on unilaterally by Shang Sui, Jiang Yan fumed, “…Excuse me! I run a legit restaurant! A restaurant!”
Just as Shang Sui was about to exit the video, a comment caught his eye:
[One of them looks like Baby 17.]
[It’s him, it’s him! Xiao Qi recently dyed his hair! That light color is really recognizable.]
Someone in the replies had tagged an account called “1717177.” Shang Sui realized something and clicked on it.
The account must have been created by Shi Qi back in high school and had been in use ever since.
The very first post was a photo of a physics workbook with a pen on top. After finishing the exercises, Shi Qi had written a self-assessment:
[Genius.]
Shang Sui checked the time it had been posted. It was past four in the morning.
Was he studying that hard?
In high school, Shi Qi had done some part-time modeling, and some posts were behind-the-scenes shots from photoshoots. He was also really good at dancing, and the most-viewed posts were all dance clips.
It looked like he danced styles such as hip-hop and popping. His body was extremely flexible, with long arms and legs. Those popping moves were especially beautiful, full of sharp and youthful energy.
It was clear he had infused his dancing with his own sense of aesthetics and creativity.
He had a lot of followers but rarely posted. And now, with winter approaching, he seemed even less inclined to log in. The last update had been two months ago.
Shang Sui clicked the follow button. Almost immediately, the homepage refreshed, and the account “1717177” posted something new.
The photo showed Shi Qi’s slightly blurred side profile, with the colorful amusement park in the background.
It was the photo Shang Sui had taken. Seemed like Shi Qi was pretty satisfied with it.
[Boss Cat finally remembered the password…]
[Xiao Qi!! Mom thought you went into hibernation!!!]
[Damn, this pic is both beautiful and cool. I want to kneel. Who took it? Baby, hubby, are you secretly dating someone?]
[17’s wearing black again.]
[Hahahahaha, of course. Our cool guy who only wears black and white his whole life.]
[Saw the amusement park news. Are you okay!]
…
[1717, is the person in the video with you a new friend?]
Upon seeing the last comment, Shang Sui’s gaze paused for a moment.
To Shi Qi, who had forgotten the past, they hadn’t even known each other for a full week. So it didn’t seem like he qualified as a “friend” just yet.
Besides, with so many comments, there was a good chance Shi Qi wouldn’t even notice that particular one.
Just then, a system notification popped up: the account owner had replied to a comment.
Huh…? No way.
Even as Shang Sui thought that, a part of him couldn’t help holding onto the tiny possibility.
When he refreshed the page again, Shi Qi had indeed replied to the comment asking about the new friend:
[Mm, he’s a very interesting person.]
Author’s note:
17 unintentionally charmed 2s with his cuteness[mfn]2s is referring to Shang Sui (as his username is Ss)[/mfn]
2s is something I saw y’all calling him, so I’m stealing it ^^
