Shi Qi’s gaze skimmed over his butterfly-like lashes and defined brow bones… The more he looked, the more the other resembled the Alpha from his dream. His eyes finally landed on Shang Sui’s lips.
In an instant, the memory of being thoroughly licked and kissed in the dream surged up again. Shi Qi’s tongue tip tingled as if it had been scalded, waves of heat rushing over him.
Realizing he was having inappropriate thoughts about Shang Sui, Shi Qi quickly turned his head away.
He instinctively squeezed his legs together—then his eyes widened, and his face flushed red.
Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the dream, the part of an Omega’s body that responded to pleasure had already become wet and sticky. Shi Qi shut his eyes in despair and, for a brief moment, wished he could disappear on the spot.
He didn’t dare wake Shang Sui and could only move as carefully as possible.
Just as he neared the edge of the bed, the Alpha, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly let out a soft sound. Shang Sui shifted, his arm stretching out, almost touching him.
Panicking, Shi Qi remembered Shang Sui had said he liked hugging something in his sleep. He must have reacted because Shi Qi had moved out of his arms.
Thinking fast, Shi Qi stuffed a pillow into his embrace. The Alpha curled his arm around the soft pillow and quickly fell back asleep.
Thank goodness he didn’t wake up.
Shi Qi let out a breath of relief, got out of bed as quietly as he could, and shuffled out of the bedroom in his slippers.
After he left, the person lying on the bed opened his eyes with interest. His gaze was clear—no trace of sleepiness in sight.
Just now, he had caught the scent of Shi Qi’s pheromones. Unlike usual, it was rich, like a flower in full bloom.
And aside from that, there was something else…
Like a snake lurking in a flowerbed, catching the scent of prey, the Alpha’s eyes curved with delight.
“So sensitive, baby.”
Shi Qi was thin-skinned. If Shang Sui had exposed him just now, even with his insomnia, Shi Qi would probably have been too embarrassed to come find him again, let alone sleep in the same bed.
Better to wait a while before going over.
Unaware that all his little actions had been completely seen, Shi Qi headed to the bathroom first. It took some effort to clean the sticky mess from his body. With his limbs still a little weak, he made his way to the laundry room.
His clothes were hanging on the rack, and even his underwear had already dried, carrying a faint scent of laundry detergent.
Shi Qi changed into a fresh set of clothes, rolled up his sweater sleeves, and began washing the soiled underwear in the sink.
After a moment’s thought, he decided to wet his pajamas too and wash them together.
Shi Qi rarely did housework, so his movements were clumsy. His mind drifted again to how he’d reacted earlier.
Even if Shang Sui’s temporary mark had suppressed his heat, it wasn’t unusual for Omegas to experience this sort of thing during a cycle.
After taking suppressants in the past, he’d occasionally had similar reactions. It wasn’t the first time.
This time, he’d simply had a slightly explicit dream, and the Alpha in it just happened to resemble Shang Sui. That was the only reason he was now awake and doing laundry.
Shi Qi kept trying to convince himself.
Right, that’s all it was.
Totally no big deal.
…Like hell it wasn’t!
Shi Qi scrubbed the underwear with his fingers, his face flushed bright red.
He didn’t notice someone quietly approaching from behind.
“You’re up early,” a voice said without warning. “Why are you doing laundry?”
Shi Qi jumped in surprise—he thought the guy was like a ghost, walking without making a sound.
Snapping out of it, he immediately covered the underwear with his pajamas and pretended to be calm. “I sweated a bit while sleeping last night, so I’m washing them.”
“You could’ve just thrown it in the washing machine. No need to go through all that trouble.”
Shi Qi gave an “Oh,” but didn’t move.
Fortunately, Shang Sui didn’t press further. While scrolling on his phone, he asked, “What do you want for breakfast?”
Shi Qi just hoped he would leave quickly. “You can cook?”
“No. I’ll have it delivered,” Shang Sui said naturally. “Do you have class this morning? I’ll have the driver take you to campus after you eat.”
Shi Qi agreed. He recalled that Shang Sui had spent three years overseas, yet still couldn’t cook. Did that mean someone had taken care of him during that time?
Suddenly, Shang Sui put his phone down. “Xiao Qi, if you’re into the domestic type, I can learn.”
“What?” Shi Qi froze.
“Well, even a fake boyfriend is half a boyfriend, right?” Shang Sui said as he walked over, pretending to reach toward the pajamas. “Want me to help you with the laundry?”
“No need—” The underwear was right underneath, and Shi Qi nearly exploded. “I’ll do it myself! Just go!”
Shang Sui withdrew his hand and left with a smile under Shi Qi’s nervous gaze.
So cute.
He was especially fun to tease.
Shi Qi quickly finished washing the underwear, tossed it into the dedicated dryer, then threw the pajamas into the washing machine, finally relaxing a little.
Despite the little mishap that morning, Shi Qi had slept soundly the night before. The accumulated exhaustion in his body was completely gone, and the dizziness and fogginess from earlier had vanished.
For several days in a row, he stayed at Shang Sui’s place.
After not seeing Shi Qi around for so long, Lin Yan finally couldn’t resist asking what was going on.
“Our baby’s face is practically glowing. Looks like you’re living just fine without me,” Lin Yan said during their general class, looking bitter. “Who’ve you been fooling around with? You left me all alone in the dorm.”
“Drop the act.” Shi Qi exposed him without mercy. “Your Moments showed you were playing mahjong at 2 AM last night.”
“Exactly. I won with seven pairs in one suit and took down three players. My skills speak for themselves.” Lin Yan smoothly changed the subject. “But that’s only because you weren’t there. Couldn’t sleep, so you went home to see Uncle Xiao An?”
Maybe it was a kind of emotional reliance on elders, but Shi Qi always slept better near Shi An.
But that method had stopped working as he got older. There was even a time when Shi Qi slept in the same bed as Shi An for a whole month, until Jiang Li picked him up and carried him out of the room. The bedroom door closed in his face without mercy.
Back then, when Shi Qi was still trying to process what was happening, Jiang Youning cackled. “Come on, Dad needs a little release, you know? Cut him some slack.”
When Shi Qi finally figured it out, his ears turned a little red.
“Papa Xiao An can’t sleep with you tonight, but you can sleep with me instead,” Jiang Youning coaxed. “I can keep you company, but only if you wear a skirt for me.”
Shi Qi gave her a look like she was insane. “Absolutely not.”
“Then forget it.” Jiang Youning hadn’t held out much hope to begin with. The older Shi Qi got, the prettier he became, and the harder he was to trick. Her little brother wearing a skirt was probably something that could only ever exist in her memories or old photos.
She shrugged, then grabbed his hand with a mischievous look. “Come on, let’s go eavesdrop. He hasn’t paid his marital dues in a month. It’s bound to be a battlefield.”
“……”
Snapping back to the present, Shi Qi turned to Lin Yan and said, “No, I stayed with Shang Sui. His pheromones are really useful, and I fall asleep quickly.”
“He’s really been taking care of you,” Lin Yan said, tone full of implications. “Took such good care of you, you ended up at his place.”
At this rate, the next step might be taking care of you in bed.
Actually, scratch that.
Judging by Shi Qi’s appearance, they’d probably already been in his bed, but just not in that way.
In this day and age, an Alpha and an Omega who actually just slept under the same blanket? These two were basically rare species.
“Oh, right.” Lin Yan suddenly remembered something important and temporarily dropped the gossip. “We’ve got that social practice trip to Qijiang this weekend. Do you want to head back and pack?”
Shi Qi nodded. “My heat’s over. I’ll stay in the dorm tonight.”
–
The trip from the capital to Qijiang was long and took two days by bus.
A lot of students got carsick on the way. Qin Shuhe had it the worst and could only alternate between motion sickness pills and melatonin, essentially knocking himself out as a coping mechanism.
At the rest stop, Shi Qi saw him floating off the bus like a wilted weed and asked in a rare moment of concern, “If you sleep that much during the day, how will you manage at night?”
“Pull an all-nighter gaming.” Qin Shuhe was already prepared. “I downloaded Stardew Valley on my tablet. Wanna play together? It’s multiplayer, I think.”
Stardew Valley was a game about managing a farm. For Qin Shuhe to be farming felt like he was nurturing his own kind.
Shi Qi shook his head and encouraged him, “Good luck with the vegetables, wilted weed.”
“?” Wilted weed?
Not far away, Lin Yan was chatting with Fu Siyue.
Fu Siyue was a bioengineering major who happened to be joining their group for the social practice project. It had been a while since Shi Qi last saw him, and the last bit of news he heard was that Fu Siyue cried so hard it triggered an early rut. He couldn’t help but glance over.
To his surprise, Fu Siyue seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He sensed Shi Qi’s gaze, looked over in an instant, then abruptly turned away.
“Why do I feel like that guy keeps glaring at me?”
Qin Shuhe discreetly pointed toward Fu Siyue, clearly displeased.
“Probably thinks you’re handsome.”
Shi Qi said it offhandedly. Qin Shuhe, who rarely received compliments from him, immediately broke into a wide grin.
Shi Qi scanned the area but didn’t spot a familiar figure from the art academy. “Where’s Shang Sui?”
“Ge had something come up last minute and didn’t leave with us. He’s flying over in a couple of days.” Qin Shuhe deeply regretted it. “If I’d known I’d get this carsick, I would’ve flown too.”
Unlike the snowy capital, Qijiang was lush and full of blooming flowers, bathed in the kind of warm sunshine that felt like the border between spring and summer.
After spending two days and nights on the bus, Shi Qi had felt lethargic at first, but as soon as he stepped off and caught the scent of flowers in the air, he twitched his nose and was drawn to the sight of vast clusters of blooming magnolia flowers in the distance.
Shi Qi took a photo and uploaded it to his social media account.
@1717177: [Shared an image] [The cat has sent you a springtime postcard.]
[Is Xiao Qi out having fun? What beautiful flowers!]
[Heard from a friend that A University’s biochem students are doing social practice recently. Should be in Qijiang?]
[Welcome to Qijiang, Boss Cat! Babe, tell me secretly where you’re staying so I can “bump into” you!]
…
Amid all the enthusiastic comments, someone Shi Qi mutually followed also left him a message.
@YuZhiling: [You’re in Qijiang too?]
Yu Zhiling was a friend Shi Qi had met during his modeling days. Back in high school, Jiang Youning had set him up with quite a few jobs. Shi Qi had gained some recognition in the industry, but he was never very interested and eventually stopped working in that field.
Unlike Shi Qi, Yu Zhiling had remained active in the modeling world. Thanks to his outstanding appearance and strong skills, he was currently one of the most sought-after Omega models.
After commenting publicly, Yu Zhiling also sent him a private message: [What a coincidence! I’m in Qijiang too. I’ve got a shoot today. Once I wrap up, I’ll come find you.]
The two hadn’t seen each other in a while, so Shi Qi agreed right away.
By the time he finished checking in with the supervising teacher, it was nearly evening. He remembered that Qin Shuhe had said Shang Sui was arriving today, but there was still no sign of him. Shi Qi guessed he might still be on the plane.
It had already been several days since he last saw Shang Sui. Despite having shared a bed previously, they hadn’t spoken once in between.
It was like an unspoken game: he didn’t reach out, and Shang Sui didn’t come looking either.
After a moment of hesitation, Shi Qi took the initiative and sent him a message.
17: [How much longer till you get here?]
To his surprise, Shang Sui replied quickly.
Ss: [Just landed. On the way by taxi.]
Ss: [Xiao Qi, did you miss me ><]
…A few days apart, and he was still acting up.
And since when did his emojis evolve?
Shi Qi was silent for a moment, then replied with a single period.
There were no scheduled activities tonight, but the group was set to visit a factory early the next morning. The teacher had reminded everyone not to stay out too late and to be mindful of safety.
Shi Qi changed into clothes more suited to the local weather and was about to head out to find something to eat when a message from Yu Zhiling came in:
[I’m here, outside your hotel.]
Shi Qi looked up and saw a tall figure in the distance waving at him.
Yu Zhiling was wearing a black face mask. He had just finished his shoot, and the glittery makeup was still on his eyelids.
Unlike most Omegas, Yu Zhiling stood at 1.83 meters tall—taller than many Alphas. His features leaned toward sharp, yet he still carried the natural brightness typical of an Omega. His fanbase was evenly split across all three genders, and he was truly an all-ABO heartthrob.
“Long time no see,” Yu Zhiling greeted first. “Still love wearing black, huh?”
Shi Qi was dressed in a fitted black turtleneck sweater paired with loose cargo pants, making him look slender.
The last time Yu Zhiling had seen Shi Qi in person was nearly half a year ago. Although he’d seen pictures online since then, this was the first time he was seeing Shi Qi’s new hair color in person.
The striking contrast of platinum blonde and black didn’t look out of place on him at all. On the contrary, it perfectly matched Shi Qi’s slightly aloof temperament.
Suddenly, Yu Zhiling spread his arms and lifted Shi Qi up, even giving him a little bounce.
“…”
After being set down, Shi Qi resisted the urge to kick him right then and there. “Can you stop doing that already?”
Back when they first met in high school, Shi Qi had been even shorter than he was now. Every time they saw each other, Yu Zhiling would lift him and weigh him in his arms, as if checking his height and weight.
“Your height hasn’t changed,” Yu Zhiling said cheerfully. “But why do you feel even lighter—”
Before he could finish, a hand as cold as iron clamped onto Shi Qi. Yu Zhiling only had time to catch a glimpse of a lace-patterned jeweled ring on the hand.
Shi Qi was firmly grabbed by the wrist and pulled back.
An unfamiliar Alpha stood there with one hand pulling a suitcase and the other gripping Shi Qi, expressionless as he looked over.
Yu Zhiling was momentarily stunned by his striking looks, but quickly snapped out of it. “What are you doing!”
Shang Sui was even more furious and asked coldly, “Who are you?”
“Are all Alphas this unreasonable?” A trace of disdain flashed in Yu Zhiling’s eyes. “I’m his boyfriend, got it? Let go!”
He and Shi Qi had done this plenty of times before. Because they were both attractive and rare Omegas, they were frequently asked for contact information in public and occasionally faced harassment. Yu Zhiling would usually fend people off with similar excuses.
But this time, not only did the man not let go, he even laughed.
Shi Qi jumped in, “Wait—”
“Is that so,” Shang Sui said, voice void of warmth. “What a coincidence. I’m his boyfriend too.”
Watching Yu Zhiling’s expression shift in an instant, Shang Sui said with a half-smile, “Why don’t you get in line? You can take your shot after we break up.”
Author’s note: 2s: Even if you get in line, it’s pointless.
