TAHDO Chapter 44

That night, Liang Yan had a dream.

The dream was long—so long it felt like it had no boundaries.

Its contents were bizarre and surreal, yet while immersed in it, he didn’t feel anything was out of place.

He dreamt of the first time he used an inhibitor. It wasn’t the KB brand back then. It had no effect at all—just endless waves of heat and agitation. He endured it alone in his room for an entire day, drenched in sweat by the time he finally stepped out, and even then, he didn’t tell anyone.

“A different brand will work better,” he had thought at the time.

Later, he convinced himself that he could endure the side effects of version 2.0.

That part of the dream abruptly ended, and a new scene began.

He dreamt of Ji Yang.

The face was something he had imagined—his features resembled Ji Qiu’s, but the temperament was completely different.

This was a gentle Omega who smiled warmly and sincerely at everyone.

But only looked at his Alpha with a completely different expression.

In the dream, Liang Yan saw many interactions: Ji Yang patting his younger brother’s head, encouraging him to pursue what he wanted; wearing a white coat and tirelessly moving through a hospital, enduring hardship to fulfill a dream; Ji Yang, exhausted, dozing off on Lai Qiutong’s shoulder—Lai was still a photographer then, tempted to capture Ji Yang’s sleeping face but afraid of waking him, ultimately just suppressing the urge and giving a soft kiss on the forehead instead.

He even saw Ji Yang experiencing nearly the same adverse symptoms as him when first using an inhibitor.

Liang Yan wasn’t sure if any of these fragments had actually happened, but they appeared in his dream as naturally as if they had.

At the end of all these dream scenes, it shifted again to that overly dramatic, brave-then-timid, always-whimpering Alpha, suddenly rushing up to hug him and kiss him on that quiet little path.

Saying, “I want to be your Alpha.”

That sentence lingered in Liang Yan’s dreams, looping through the entire night.

It wasn’t until Yin Tongguang woke him that he finally began to return to himself.

“Yan Yan?” Yin Tongguang looked puzzled. Ever since Liang Yan returned last night, he’d been… off.

Not in a bad way, just… like something had happened that Yin didn’t know about.

“Yan Yan, did you finish the lab report from last time? I think it’s due today for grading.”

Liang Yan: “…No.”

Yin Tongguang was now sure something was up with his roommate. Liang had never missed a lab assignment before.
“Then you’re gonna finish it during lecture?”

“That’s the only option.” Liang Yan nodded. After everything that happened yesterday, he’d been so out of it he completely forgot.

Yin Tongguang brightened:
“After two years of rooming together, I finally get to witness you cramming a report during class like me!”

Liang Yan got out of bed to wash up, but even after cleaning up, he felt vaguely uneasy. Like something was missing.

The last lab was done with Ji Qiu. Some of the data was still with him. Technically, Liang Yan could finish the report without it—but for some reason, an impulse rose up inside him.

He climbed back onto the bed and grabbed his phone.

As soon as he unlocked it, several messages popped up.

Most were from last night. Liang had gone to bed early, so he hadn’t seen them. Ji Qiu had sent quite a few messages.

Ji Qiu was just as dramatic online—his Moments were full of posed, theatrical check-in photos. The kind of aesthetic that screamed idle artsy green-tea Omega.

But the messages he sent were surprisingly mundane.
Things like:
“Yan Yan I’m done washing up.”
“Yan Yan I’m going to bed~!”
“Yan Yan good night.”

The last message from last night read:
“I hope Yan Yan dreams of me tonight QwQ.”

Just woken up, Liang Yan looked groggy and out of sorts—eyes low, lips pressed in a flat line, clearly not in the mood to be messed with.

But upon seeing that message, his eyes involuntarily softened.

He had dreamed of him.

The most recent message was from ten minutes ago—a simple:
“Good morning.”

This Alpha really was chatty.

Thinking that, Liang Yan quietly typed a reply:
“You coming to audit class today?”

The reply came almost instantly.

Honestly, Liang Yan wasn’t wrong when he said Ji Qiu was a handful. Last night when Liang Yan didn’t reply, Ji Qiu’s tone had been polite and restrained. But now that Liang Yan messaged first, the tone shifted immediately.

[Ji Qiu: Did Yan Yan want me to come???]

Liang Yan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

[Yan: Goodbye.]

[Ji Qiu: Don’t be like this, Yan Yan QAQ]

[Yan: Scram.]

[Ji Qiu: I’m coming I’m coming!! Want me to bring anything?]
[Ji Qiu: Yan Yan?]
[Ji Qiu: (crying cat meme.jpg) I was wrong!! I’ll come!! Definitely coming!!]

[Yan: Do you still have the data from the last experiment?]

[Ji Qiu: Holy crap, Yan Yan, you didn’t write it?! I’m guilty!! I must’ve messed up your study plan by being too impulsive last night—this is all my fault!!]

[Ji Qiu: I’m a sinner! How could I do this to you!!]

[Yan: 3.]

[Ji Qiu: I’ve completely ruined your progress! I even forgot about the report!!]

[Yan: 2.]

“Message retracted.”

“Message retracted.”

[Ji Qiu: I’m leaving now!!!]

Only then did Liang Yan put his phone down and head to the balcony to wash up.

Yin Tongguang had just come out of the bathroom and bumped into him, startled:
“Yan Yan, why are you smiling?!”

…?

Was he?

Yin pointed cautiously at the slight curve on Liang Yan’s lips:
“First time finishing a report during class… you’re that happy?”

Liang Yan immediately straightened his mouth: “No.”

Later in the classroom, Liang Yan spotted Ji Qiu from afar—smiling sweetly as he dealt with a classmate’s flirtation—and felt oddly dazed.

Ji Qiu’s smile really was hard to refuse. His eyes were bright, and when he smiled, the corners gently drooped, giving off a harmless, soft aura. Coupled with his clear black eyes and sweet grin, he was nearly impossible to look away from.

As long as Liang Yan wasn’t around, Ji Qiu maintained the image of a sunny, adorable little Omega. He skillfully sidestepped people trying to cozy up to him with phrases like:
“Oh my, you’re so amazing, Gege!”
“But I don’t have time to hang out.”
“I’ve got other stuff to do~”

Liang Yan silently scoffed.

Right then, Yin Tongguang suddenly felt the air pressure around Liang Yan drop.

“What’s wrong? Forget something?” he asked.

But Liang Yan didn’t answer. He just walked straight over to Ji Qiu and slammed his books on the desk with a loud bang.

Ji Qiu’s nape went cold.

The classmate who had been flirting with Ji Qiu saw Liang Yan approaching and thought:
Sure, the dean’s son is good-looking, but he’s clearly not as easy to approach as cute little Qiuqiu.

Sighing inwardly, he was about to keep chatting with Ji Qiu, but then noticed the smile on Ji Qiu’s face had completely frozen.

“Ah, Wu classmate, I have something to talk about with Yan Yan,” Ji Qiu said stiffly. “Come chat with me another time, okay…”

Liang Yan lifted his eyelids and gave Ji Qiu a sweeping glance.

Ji Qiu immediately straightened up:
“No, Wu classmate! Let’s not chat anymore, like, ever!!”

Wu, utterly confused about whether Ji Qiu wanted to talk or not: “…Oh.”

Only then did Liang Yan sit down.

Yin Tongguang also came over, noting that Liang Yan looked a bit calmer.
He greeted Ji Qiu: “Xiao Qiu, here again?”

Ji Qiu nodded obediently: “Mhm mhm mhm.”

After the greeting, the professional slacker Yin Tongguang went off to do his own thing, while Liang Yan pulled out his lab report and started writing.

Ji Qiu helpfully spread out the supplemental data in front of him:
“Yan Yan Yan Yan! I brought it!”

Liang Yan said nothing, just kept writing.

“Yanyan?”

…No response.

“Yanyan, want to eat together later?”

…Still no reply.

Qi Qiu didn’t mind. He laid on the desk watching Liang Yan write, resting his head on his arms, swaying a little like a bored kid.

Liang Yan glimpsed his childish behavior from the corner of his eye, face still expressionless.

Suddenly, he felt warmth on his hand.

Qi Qiu had extended his index and middle fingers like a pair of legs, “walking” them across the table toward Liang Yan. Before he could react, Qi Qiu cheekily clasped Liang Yan’s hand—the one that was holding down the paper.

He gently stroked his palm, saying nothing, still lying there, just staring at Liang Yan with wide, unblinking eyes.

The teacher on the podium continued chatting with the class. Yin Tongguang had just launched a new game. Liang Yan’s writing slowed. Though he didn’t look at Qi Qiu, he flipped his hand and seized the two fingers tickling his palm.

Qi Qiu froze slightly and whispered, “Yanyan…”

“Shut up.”

Liang Yan didn’t look at him, his right hand still writing the report, but his left tightened its grip.

Qi Qiu took the hint. He said nothing more, but gently squeezed the rest of his fingers between Liang Yan’s, intertwining them snugly.

After the lecture came a joint lab session with both classes. Lai Qiutong showed up last, and as expected, Yin Tongguang perked up.

The group had built a good rhythm by now. Yin might not be as diligent as the others, but he was fast and responsive. Their group always finished first, drawing admiration from the other students.

It was close to lunchtime—perfect timing to hit the cafeteria before lines formed. The four of them went together.

Yin and Lai walked in front. Qi Qiu and Liang Yan followed behind.

Qi Qiu noticed Liang Yan still had a cold expression. He knew Liang Yan wasn’t really mad, but he couldn’t resist teasing: “Yanyan?”

“…?”

“Can I hold your hand now?”

Liang Yan didn’t answer.

“Just for a little while, didn’t we already… back in the lecture?”

“Shut up.”

“Come on, just a bit.” Qi Qiu kept nudging playfully. “Or we can do something else.”

“What do you want to do?”

Qi Qiu pretended to think seriously. “Anything really. Like when you patted my head in the lab last time. That felt really nice.”

Liang Yan paused mid-step, clearly stiffening. “…In the lab?”

Completely unaware he was walking into danger, Qi Qiu kept going, “Yeah! Oh, and Yanyan, you were really so gent—”

Before he could say “gentle,” he abruptly shut up.

Because he remembered—
That day, he’d faked amnesia to steal a kiss from Liang Yan.

Liang Yan had clearly remembered too. He stopped walking.

Yin Tongguang was chatting with Lai Qiutong when he suddenly noticed something odd behind him.

He was just turning around when Qi Qiu bolted toward him. “SAVE ME!!!”

Then he ducked behind him for protection.

Liang Yan’s expression was icy enough to freeze someone in place. He said to Qi Qiu, coldly, “Come here.”

“What’s going on?” Yin asked.

Qi Qiu wailed, “Yanyan, I was wrong! Don’t come any closer!”

At that moment, Yin had a sudden revelation—Qi Qiu must’ve done something to piss Liang Yan off again.

And just as Liang Yan was about to take violent revenge on this Omega, Yin threw himself between them. “Yanyan! Calm down!”

Calm down, my ass.

Liang Yan rolled up his sleeves, glancing coldly at the Qi Qiu hiding behind Yin. “Move.”

Lai Qiutong stood nearby, arms crossed, munching on popcorn like he was watching a good show.

Yin hadn’t expected everyone else to just stand by. He sighed internally—this cold world really needed someone like him to bring warmth. So he grabbed Liang Yan’s arm with both hands. “He’s just an Omega, don’t bully him. It’s not that serious!”

Liang Yan didn’t budge.

Yin clung to him, trying to reason: “Let’s talk this out! Liang-ge, come on, let it go!”

Liang Yan snorted and said to Qi Qiu, “Too late.”

Yin, still trying to mediate, pleaded: “Just say what happened! It’s not that big of a deal!”

“Oh, fine.” Liang Yan gave a deadpan nod. Then he stepped closer and asked Qi Qiu, “So when you kissed me during your heat… you actually remembered it?”

“Exactly! Just talk about it and—wait.”
Yin’s words trailed off mid-sentence.

Hold on. What did he just hear?

…Heat period?

…Kiss?

Qi Qiu is an Omega, right??!!

Then why did he kiss Liang Yan??!!

Suddenly overwhelmed and unsure where to even begin processing this, Yin Tongguang was plunged into existential confusion.

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