CAADTB Chapter 27

As if unable to accept it all at once, Yu Zhiling’s expression turned odd, his gaze shifting back and forth between Shang Sui and Shi Qi.

After a pause, he asked with a hint of bitterness, “Is he really your boyfriend?”

Shi Qi responded, “Mm, he is.”

With Shi Qi’s confirmation, Shang Sui only became even more brazen.

“Sorry.” His seductive eyes sparkled brightly, flaunting like a peacock spreading its feathers. “But even if you get in line, it’s pointless. We’ll never break up.”

Silence fell around them. Yu Zhiling was intimidated by Shang Sui’s overbearing attitude and was at a loss for words.

Seeing that Shang Sui seemed like he might keep going, Shi Qi quickly stepped in. “Shang Sui, he’s my friend.”

Worried he’d say something outrageous again, Shi Qi used the hand that was being held to tap the back of the Alpha’s hand. The motion was a bit awkward and lacked strength, so it felt more like a light scratch.

The Alpha, so fierce a moment ago, immediately quieted down, like a wild beast subdued by a single touch to its weak spot.

“Oh, I see now. It was just a misunderstanding.”

Shang Sui made an impressively quick shift in tone. He smiled at Yu Zhiling, suddenly gentle as a spring breeze. “I saw you two hugging just now and thought something was going on.”

“Sorry about that. Hope you don’t mind?”

It was hard to argue with someone smiling like that, especially when they left no room for criticism.

Yu Zhiling suppressed the other thoughts swirling in his head and smiled back. “I wasn’t being very nice just now. Don’t take it personally.”

“You’re Xiao Qi’s friend—of course I won’t.”

“But I really didn’t expect Shi Qi to be in a relationship. I thought you were just joking,” Yu Zhiling said, ignoring the subtle change in Shang Sui’s expression, and turned to Shi Qi with a complaining tone.

“How long have you been together? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“A little over a month.” Shi Qi was relieved that the two were no longer clashing. “I just hadn’t gotten the chance to tell you.”

He knew Yu Zhiling didn’t like Alphas in general. His harsh words earlier hadn’t been aimed specifically at Shang Sui.

Because of his job, Yu Zhiling couldn’t openly express that dislike, but he always kept it buried beneath the surface.

“Alphas are just beasts driven by desire. Like dogs chasing after pretty Omegas. They only think with that part of their body.”

Yu Zhiling liked physical contact; he’d often link arms with Shi Qi or throw his arms around him mid-conversation.

“How about we just get together, Xiao Qi?”

They were both Omegas, so Shi Qi always took it as a joke. Back when he didn’t think highly of Alphas either, he’d even play along sometimes when Yu Zhiling got especially dramatic.

“Hey, Shi Qi—Ge!”

Qin Shuhe came bursting into the hotel lobby just then. At the sight of them, he wailed loudly and bounded over. “Ge, do you even know what I’ve been through the past couple of days? I’ve taken so many motion sickness meds I almost puked it up! If I’d known, I’d have flown here with you!”

Qin Shuhe had always avoided the art academy teachers like a mouse dodging a cat, practically sprinting the other way. But he had a soft spot for Shang Sui.

“You guys haven’t eaten yet, right? I haven’t either. Wanna go together?”

Shi Qi nodded slightly and looked at Shang Sui. “Then go ahead and put down your luggage first. Does your teacher need to check in?”

“A quick message on the phone will do.”

Just then, Qin Shuhe raised his hand. “Lin Yan, over here!”

After calling out, he explained to Shi Qi, “We were planning to have dinner together and were just about to look for you. Then we ran into you by chance.”

Lin Yan was walking with Fu Siyue. The two of them had happened to take the same elevator down.

Things weren’t great between Fu Siyue and Shi Qi, but since they had all grown up together, Lin Yan could still talk to him occasionally.

Qin Shuhe didn’t know Fu Siyue, but asked enthusiastically, “Wanna invite your friend too? The more, the merrier.”

Lin Yan hesitated and instinctively glanced at Shi Qi.

“…Forget it,” Fu Siyue spoke up. “Shi Qi doesn’t want to see me.”

Shi Qi: “?”

He responded bluntly, “No, you have no effect on me whatsoever.”

“……”

Since he had already clearly rejected Fu Siyue before, and this was just a casual dinner, it would’ve been awkward to ask him to leave in front of everyone.

In the end, Shi Qi made the decision, “Let’s all eat together.”

While Shang Sui went upstairs to drop off his luggage, the others stayed in the lobby to decide on dinner.

They’d picked a bad time to head out; several popular restaurants were already full.

Yu Zhiling suddenly thought of something. “I have a friend who runs a Cantonese restaurant nearby; it’s pretty good. If we want to go, I can ask him to reserve a table for us.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask—you look a little familiar.” Seeing only his eyes above the mask, Qin Shuhe joked, “Don’t tell me you’re some kind of big star?”

“Not really, just a model.”

Yu Zhiling replied while taking off his mask, revealing a face that drew attention.

“Whoa…!” Qin Shuhe hadn’t expected to recognize him. “You’re the spokesperson for Elowen? I just saw your new billboard today.”

Qin Shuhe was an avid perfume collector and was very familiar with the brand Yu Zhiling represented. “I heard Elowen plans to launch a new limited edition perfume based on your pheromones? I’ve collected their entire line. I’ll definitely get the new one too!”

“There are plans for it, but nothing has been announced publicly yet,” Yu Zhiling said with a smile. “You’re really well-informed. Thank you in advance.”

Qin Shuhe chuckled. Lin Yan chimed in, “It’s been a long time. The last time we met was back in high school.”

“It has been a while. I think it was Xiao Qi’s birthday,” Yu Zhiling said, looping his arm through Shi Qi’s as usual. “Should I make the call?”

No one objected. Sensing someone’s gaze on him, Yu Zhiling looked up in the direction of the stare.

Fu Siyue frowned, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he silently looked away.

When Shang Sui came back after putting away his luggage, the first thing he saw was Yu Zhiling holding onto Shi Qi’s arm while talking to him.

He found this friend of Shi Qi’s a bit irritating. But then again, anyone who got too close to Shi Qi rubbed him the wrong way. Especially someone who had introduced himself right off the bat as his “boyfriend.”

Shang Sui let his thoughts drift aimlessly, then finally told himself to let it go.

Forget it. Don’t overthink.

Maybe Yu Zhiling just didn’t like Alphas and happened to be a bit more physically affectionate.

“Let’s go.” Shi Qi took a step forward naturally as soon as he saw Shang Sui. “Lin Yan and the others already left. The three of us will take one car.”

Yu Zhiling had no choice but to let go and watch as he talked with Shang Sui.

After getting in the car, considering that Yu Zhiling had specifically come to see Shi Qi and it wouldn’t be right to leave him sitting alone, Shang Sui took the front passenger seat.

Shi Qi and Yu Zhiling sat in the back. From time to time, Yu Zhiling ruffled Shi Qi’s hair and leaned in to whisper to him.

Shi Qi seemed used to it and let him cling to him.

“This hair color looks great on you. I’ve seen lots of others try similar shades, but none of them suit it like you do.” After ruffling his hair, Yu Zhiling’s fingers slid down and unintentionally brushed past Shi Qi’s glands.

Compared to most Omegas, Shi Qi was more sensitive.

He shuddered involuntarily and tensed up. “Your hand…”

Touching an AO’s glands was nearly equivalent to sexual harassment. Even among Omegas, people usually avoided that area.

Yu Zhiling spread his fingers in front of him. “What about my hand?”

His nails were painted black, fingers slender and long. His expression was innocent, as if he truly didn’t understand what had happened.

“It’s nothing.” Shi Qi saw that he didn’t seem to have done it on purpose. He glanced down at the GPS and said, “We’re almost there.”

The Cantonese restaurant Yu Zhiling had chosen was an internet-famous spot in Qijiang. At 8 PM, there was still a long line outside.

The owner had saved a private room for them. After sitting down, Yu Zhiling looked at the menu and said, “Their salt-and-pepper mantis shrimp and roast pigeon are amazing. Xiao Qi, you don’t like spicy food, right?”

Shi Qi murmured in agreement.

“Let me see… Among the desserts, their caramel no-bake cheesecake is really good. You’ll probably like it.”

When the dishes arrived, Yu Zhiling offered, “Want me to peel the shrimp for you?”

“No,” Shi Qi said, “I’ll do it myself.”

“It’s fine. I used to do it for you all the time.”

“Really, no need.”

Yu Zhiling was overly enthusiastic by nature, and sometimes even Shi Qi couldn’t fend him off.

But he was also the type to do things his own way. Even after being turned down, he still peeled a shrimp and placed it in Shi Qi’s bowl.

Shi Qi was momentarily stunned. Yu Zhiling smiled and said, “Try it. It’s really good.”

Lin Yan instinctively glanced at Shang Sui, and sure enough, the latter quietly put down his chopsticks without a word.

Lin Yan had vaguely sensed it before—when Yu Zhiling was with Shi Qi, he often acted as if no one else existed, as if Shi Qi were the only person he could see.

Today, it was even more extreme than he remembered.

Shang Sui looked at the irritating scene in front of him, his simmering anger from the car ride growing stronger by the second.

He truly didn’t believe any friend would be this attentive.

Others might not see it clearly, but he knew better than anyone.

The way Yu Zhiling looked at Shi Qi was exactly the same as he did—not with friendliness, but with desire.

The thought of someone else examining Shi Qi’s eyes, lips, and skin right under his nose sent a wave of violent fury surging inside him like a black tide. He nearly wanted to gouge the man’s eyes out.

But if he were to go to Shi Qi and say, “Your Omega friend has feelings for you,” without any concrete evidence, with his only reason being a gut feeling, and then ask him to stay away, preferably block him, and never speak to him again for the rest of his life… it would sound completely ridiculous. He’d come off like a lunatic.

And sure, he wasn’t all that normal. But even he had to be somewhat reasonable.

Noticing Shang Sui had put down his chopsticks and seemed to have lost his appetite, Shi Qi looked at him several times.

After hesitating a bit, he asked quietly, “Are you tired from the long flight?”

Shang Sui lowered his eyes and met his gaze. Shi Qi looked at him, his gaze clear and full of unconcealed concern.

“Mm, really tired.”

Shang Sui replied lazily, then suddenly went limp, leaning against Shi Qi like he had no bones.

It’s not your fault you’re so popular, but I’m jealous and possessive.

If you were mine and mine alone, I’d want to hide you away like a doll in a jewelry box, somewhere no one else could see you. Only me.

Shang Sui often rested on his shoulder, but never in front of so many people. This was a first.

Shi Qi stiffened for a moment, staying completely still. He felt the slightly longer strands of the Alpha’s hair brush against his neck and inexplicably felt a little soft-hearted.

Shang Sui must really be tired…

The thought made Shi Qi feel the urge to reach out and touch his hair.

But then, unexpectedly, a muffled voice came from beside his neck, acting spoiled as if they shared a mutual understanding.

“I want to be petted.”

Shi Qi completely understood. When he was exhausted, he also wished someone would touch him and hold him.

But he felt a bit shy and replied in a soft voice, “There are too many people. Later, okay?”

Lin Yan immediately caught on and teased, “Oh wow, what are you two lovebirds up to—”

Qin Shuhe beamed with excitement. “We don’t mind! I love this kind of thing! You two interact, and I’ll record it for Xiao Tao-jie. She loves it too!”

Yu Zhiling didn’t say anything. He forced a smile, but his expression was visibly unpleasant.

All of a sudden, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if his body instinctively reacted before his mind could register danger.

The Alpha who had been sweetly clinging to Shi Qi lifted his eyelids. His upward-slanting eyes shimmered with cold malice as he glanced over at Yu Zhiling.

It was as if Yu Zhiling could hear a voice resounding in his mind, lofty and ruthless—

Get lost.

Yu Zhiling suddenly leaned back, dragging his chair across the floor with a sharp screech and accidentally knocking over the cup beside him in his panic.

The drink, mixed with ice, spilled and flowed from the table down to the floor. A passing waiter rushed over to clean it up. Lin Yan noticed Yu Zhiling was trembling all over, his lips pale, looking like he’d just suffered a serious shock. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“…No, I’m fine.” Yu Zhiling was still shaken and instinctively glanced toward Shang Sui.

What had just happened? Was it a pheromone suppression?

But no one else seemed affected. Shi Qi was sitting so close to Shang Sui, he would’ve sensed it for sure.

…

Could it be that he’d simply been scared?

“Be careful.” Shang Sui met his gaze without flinching, even smiling faintly. “It wouldn’t be good if you got hurt touching something you shouldn’t.”

Shi Qi didn’t notice the undercurrent between the two and patted Shang Sui. “I’m going to the restroom. Be back in a bit.”

“…”

The Alpha who had been all threatening a moment ago suddenly looked defeated. Shang Sui pouted slightly, unwilling to let him leave.

“What I mean is, if you still want to lean on me, you can do it when I come back.”

After saying that, Shang Sui obediently lifted his head off Shi Qi’s shoulder.

Why’s he acting like a child?

Was it possible that exhaustion made people act childish?

Shi Qi didn’t show it on his face, but inwardly, he enjoyed Shang Sui’s clinginess.

After using the restroom, Shi Qi stood at the sink washing his hands.

Someone entered behind him. It was Fu Siyue, who hadn’t said much the entire evening. He stood in front of him.

“Can we go outside for a bit? I want to talk to you.”

Shi Qi didn’t really feel like entertaining him. “I don’t think there’s anything for us to talk about.”

Fu Siyue was at a loss after being shut down, looking like he wanted to speak but couldn’t.

Shi Qi was used to their conversations going south the moment they began. In his memory, Fu Siyue never had anything decent to say. This pitiful expression on his face felt totally out of place.

After a short pause, Shi Qi stepped forward. “Fine. Make it quick.”

The two of them exited the restaurant one after the other. Even at this hour, there was still a line of people waiting. They avoided the crowd and walked a short distance to a laurel tree.

Fu Siyue was the first to speak. “I’ve always wanted to apologize, but I was afraid you’d find me annoying and couldn’t find the right time.”

“Though you probably already know, I still want to say it to you myself: it was me who kept telling the family I liked you. That’s why Uncle Xiao An kept pressuring you to get in touch with me.”

“I’ve been forcing you for years. I’m sorry.”

There was another important reason why Shi An had wanted Shi Qi and Fu Siyue to be together.

The year Shi Qi differentiated, the doctor said he had nearly failed to complete the process. It was only because he had come into contact with a highly compatible Alpha that, under the influence of that person’s pheromones, he had successfully become an Omega.

Had he failed, he likely would have grown up as a Beta. No one would have suspected anything, and the degeneration of his glands would have gone undetected, let alone treated.

But unlike an ordinary Beta, in reality, he was an Omega with a medical condition and an extremely low pheromone level.

As he grew older, his immune system would silently begin to fail until, one day, it collapsed completely. There would be no cure, and he might die without ever knowing the cause.

The only highly compatible Alpha around him had been Fu Siyue, so everyone naturally assumed it was thanks to Fu Siyue’s pheromones. According to the doctor, in a way, Fu Siyue had saved his life.

Because of this, Shi An and Jiang Li were especially grateful to Fu Siyue. Shi Qi remembered that not long after the illness was diagnosed, Jiang Youning had taken his hand, and the whole family had gone to the Fu household to express their thanks.

It was also because of this debt of gratitude that Shi Qi had treated Fu Siyue politely for a long time.

Later, there was an incident where Fu Siyue almost had a serious accident while mountain climbing. Shi Qi had held onto him with all his strength, not letting go even as his fingers bled profusely, and had pulled him back from the brink of death.

In Shi Qi’s mind, the two of them were even after that.

But from that day forward, Fu Siyue had started clinging to him, trying to draw his attention in all sorts of ways.

“I used to be mean to you and pick on you so that you’d notice me more. I even hid gifts other people gave you, threw away your love letters, threatened others behind your back not to like you… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done any of that.”

After he finished, seeing that Shi Qi remained silent, Fu Siyue nervously asked, “Do you really hate me?”

“To be honest,” Shi Qi finally spoke after listening to the long confession, “I don’t feel anything. I stopped caring a long time ago.”

Shi Qi believed that if something upset you, it was okay to hate it as much as you wanted in the moment. He lived by the rule: vent your anger as it comes. He never bottled things up or let himself suffer in silence. So every time Fu Siyue acted like a jerk, Shi Qi never held back.

He figured his brain had room only for memories that made him happy. The unhappy ones were better left in the past, with no reason to dwell.

Fu Siyue hadn’t expected that answer. He opened his mouth, but his heart sank.

Hatred would at least mean he still occupied a place in Shi Qi’s heart. But not caring meant he was irrelevant.

“Then can we be friends?” Fu Siyue asked softly. “Just regular friends, like with Lin Yan.”

Be friends? Who was he kidding?

Shang Sui, who had been waiting not far away, almost burst out laughing when he heard that.

Back when Shi Qi left the table, it wasn’t long before Fu Siyue stood up.

When Shi Qi didn’t return after a while, Shang Sui made up an excuse to leave. Not finding him in the restroom, he stepped outside the restaurant, and sure enough, saw the two of them standing in a corner talking.

Shang Sui thought, I’ve heard the ‘let’s be friends’ thing before, but that last line wasn’t necessary.

Kid, even if you think you’ve moved on, you’re just lying to yourself. You have ulterior motives, but you’re too cowardly to admit it. Can’t you live with a little more honesty?

Still, compared to the one at the dinner table playing dumb, you’re not the worst.

Never have I seen someone still pretending to be clueless, even after touching the glands. Spreading your fingers like that—what was that, showing off your manicure? You think your claws are that nice to look at?

It had been one aggravation after another all evening. Shang Sui was seething, but he couldn’t just lash out in front of Shi Qi, so all he could do was rant silently in his own head.

Shi Qi said honestly, “I can’t see you as a friend right now.”

“I understand.” Fu Siyue lowered his head, then seemed to remember something. “One more thing—”

About Yu Zhiling, he…

Shang Sui had heard enough. He stepped forward and cut in, “So this is where you were.”

His voice made them both turn around at the same time. Fu Siyue instinctively showed a guarded expression.

Shi Qi was just about to speak when Shang Sui said naturally, “Baby, Lin Yan was looking for you just now. Do you want to go back first?”

It was the first time Shi Qi felt that when Shang Sui called him that, it didn’t sound like a joke.

It was as if… Shang Sui wasn’t teasing him, but genuinely cherished him.

Shi Qi’s face warmed a little, and he nodded unconsciously.

Why was Shang Sui suddenly being so gentle? Was he here to help him out of the situation?

He didn’t want to hear another word from Fu Siyue. With a quick, “Then I’ll head back,” Shi Qi turned and walked off in a daze, not even stopping to think about whether it was a good idea to leave those two alone.

Once Shi Qi was gone, Shang Sui’s expression darkened visibly, and all the tenderness from earlier vanished without a trace.

“I find it strange. Why is everyone rushing to be a homewrecker today?”

Shang Sui gave an ambiguous laugh, then his voice dropped coldly. “Are you done causing trouble? Or did you think I was dead?”

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Author’s note:

What to do when your wife is too popular?
2s: Just go all out like this