Once Shi Qi had decided to confess to Shang Sui, he checked the gift’s shipping status every day.
The tracking showed that the jewelry set had been shipped from abroad that morning and was expected to arrive within seven business days. As Shi Qi was roughly calculating what day that would be, a new notification popped up.
Ss: [I’m heading out now. Do you want me to come pick you up?]
It was Shen Qianyu’s birthday today, and they had agreed to meet at Huijian at six.
17: [Okay.]
Shi Qi replied, sending his home address.
Jiang Youning saw him coming downstairs and casually asked, “Where are you going? Want me to drop you off?”
Shi Qi shook his head. “Shang Sui’s coming to pick me up.”
Jiang Youning caught the keywords and jumped up from the couch. “I want to go too! Let me meet your boyfriend!”
“No way. You’d definitely bombard him with questions.”
“So what if I ask questions? I’m just concerned about you. Sooner or later it’s going to happen. Better to meet me than meet Papa Xiao An—”
Shi Qi stared at her for a moment, then suddenly said, “Jiejie, your hair’s a bit messy.”
Jiang Youning, wearing a T-shirt and oversized shorts with flip-flops, didn’t care at all. “I’m meeting your boyfriend, not my girlfriend.”
“But I want you to dress up a bit to meet my boyfriend.” It was rare for Shi Qi to speak sweetly, calling her “jiejie” over and over. “After all, you’re so pretty.”
“Agh, seriously! Why are you overthinking this!” Jiang Youning pretended to be annoyed, but the corners of her mouth lifted. “Alright, fine. Wait here while I go freshen up.”
As soon as Jiang Youning got into the elevator, Shi Qi headed straight out without looking back.
Jiang Youning had been planning to get geared up from head to toe to give that kid some face. But when she glanced out the window and saw Shi Qi’s retreating figure, she froze in disbelief for a moment, then flung the window open and shouted angrily.
“Shi Qi—! What’s the big deal about meeting him? It’s not like he’ll lose a limb!”
Shi Qi simply started running.
When he reached the agreed pickup spot, before Shang Sui could even greet him, Shi Qi yanked open the car door and said immediately, “Let’s go!”
“Drive,” Shang Sui told the driver, then turned to ask, “What happened?”
“My sister might follow us. She wants to meet you.”
Shi Qi thought Shang Sui wouldn’t want to meet his family, but to his surprise, after hearing this, the other’s lashes lowered and his tone carried a hint of disappointment. “Am I that unpresentable?”
Maybe it was because his feelings were now completely clear, but being in such close quarters with Shang Sui made Shi Qi’s heartbeat speed up without him realizing.
He shook his head and said, “I’m worried you’ll find her annoying.”
“I won’t. We can meet next time.” Shang Sui smiled at him, then reached out, his fingertips brushing Shi Qi’s hair by his ear. “Your hair’s messy.”
His gaze slid over Shi Qi’s fair, delicate earlobe, and he suddenly asked, “Do you want to get an ear piercing?”
“I’m scared of the pain.”
Shang Sui’s fingers trailed down naturally, gently pinching his earlobe. “Your earlobes are thin; it probably wouldn’t hurt that much.”
Shi Qi only felt a tingling itch spread from the place where he had been touched. Forcing himself to focus on the chain piercing Shang Sui’s ear, he responded as naturally as he could, “Did it hurt when you got it pierced?”
“The ear was fine, but I want to get another one somewhere else.”
“Hm?”
“Here.” As Shang Sui spoke, he parted his lips slightly, revealing the tip of a bright red tongue.
Shi Qi’s eyes widened, staring at him in a daze.
The memory of their kiss flashed involuntarily through his mind. He still remembered how Shang Sui had clung to him like he wanted to devour him, slowly sucking on the tip of his tongue.
As if he hadn’t been suggestive enough, Shang Sui asked directly, “I want to get one on my tongue. What do you think, Xiao Qi?”
He added, whether deliberately or not, “I heard the other person can feel it clearly when kissing.”
“…Oh. Okay.”
Shi Qi kept a calm face, but the tips of his ears were burning.
When they arrived at Huijian, fine snow was falling steadily outside.
Jiang Yan had reserved a private room facing the courtyard. Walking down the corridor, Shi Qi heard some arguing coming from the end.
He didn’t think much of it and was about to push open the door—
“Wait a bit before going in.” Shang Sui pulled him back.
Shi Qi caught on and stayed still. The commotion inside only grew louder, and he couldn’t help asking, “Are they going to fight?”
“No,” Shang Sui said with zero empathy. “But if they do, even better. Liven things up.”
“…”
After a while, the room settled down. Shang Sui pushed the door open and walked in.
Shen Qianyu’s face was flushed, his usually neat clothes slightly disheveled. Jiang Yan was straightening the tie that had clearly been yanked and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The distance between them felt as vast as the Pacific Ocean.
Whether on purpose or not, Shang Sui brought up the elephant in the room. “Why are you sitting so far apart? Are you strangers now?”
Shen Qianyu shot him a look.
Shang Sui took off his coat after entering, revealing only a silver-blue gradient sweater full of holes underneath.
Shen Qianyu said coolly, “It’s -3°C today. Even a peacock wouldn’t show off like that.”
Jiang Yan followed up, “Why don’t you come work for me? You wouldn’t even need training. You were born for this line of work.”
“No can do,” Shang Sui replied lazily. “I’ve already sold myself to Xiao Qi. I can only serve him now.”
“?” Shi Qi was totally blindsided and froze on the spot.
Noticing everyone looking at him, Shi Qi felt a little embarrassed.
He instinctively tugged at Shang Sui and patted the back of his hand, signaling him to shut up.
What he didn’t expect was that a smile appeared at the corners of Shang Sui’s mouth. Not only did he show no sign of remorse, he was actually delighted by the small gesture.
Jiang Yan, annoyed by Shang Sui’s smug expression, quickly asked, “Shi Qi, what do you want to eat?”
“I’m good with anything.” After answering, Shi Qi handed over the gift Shang Sui had prepared. “Shen Qianyu, happy birthday.”
“Thank you.”
Shi Qi was a bit younger than the rest of them, and compared to Shang Sui, he was like some kind of pure, unblemished little flower.
Just thinking about how his friend had been acting like life and death mattered just a couple of days ago, Shen Qianyu had originally wanted to give Shi Qi a gentle warning. It’d be fine if Shang Sui’s confession worked out, but if it didn’t…
He couldn’t even imagine how crazy that guy might get.
On second thought, his own situation was still a tangled mess, so it wasn’t really his place to meddle in someone else’s business for now.
After everyone sat down, they chatted casually here and there.
It was obvious that, since it was Shen Qianyu’s birthday, Jiang Yan was trying hard to keep it together. But every time Shen Qianyu spoke, Jiang Yan couldn’t help but fire back. Even Shi Qi could feel the subtle tension in the air.
When the food was served, a few colorful drinks came with it. Shi Qi casually picked one up. Jiang Yan was distracted and didn’t think to stop him.
It wasn’t until the glass was nearly empty that Jiang Yan realized something was wrong. “Have you been drinking this the whole time?”
Shi Qi was a little out of it. “Hm?”
He had picked the drink because it looked nice, with pink on top and orange-yellow at the bottom. He figured it was some kind of fruity soda, and it did taste sweet and pleasant.
“There’s alcohol in that.”
And not a small amount.
He’d been afraid of facing Shen Qianyu, so he had ordered it for himself, thinking that getting a little tipsy might make things less awkward.
Shang Sui had been talking to Shen Qianyu, but turned his head when he heard this. “Are you feeling okay?”
He’d heard from Lin Yan and the others that Shi Qi had gotten drunk after graduating high school and made quite a spectacle of himself. When he sobered up, he was so embarrassed he barely touched alcohol afterward.
Jiang Yan saw the growing flush on Shi Qi’s cheeks and felt a pang of guilt. He’d invited him over and then failed to look out for him. “Sorry, I didn’t notice.”
“It’s okay, I can handle a little.”
Seeing Jiang Yan still so anxious, Shi Qi tried to reassure him. “Worst case, I just embarrass myself.”
“…?”
Jiang Yan was distraught. “It’s over, it’s over, I think he’s already drunk.”
The next second, Shi Qi suddenly said, “I have a question.”
Shang Sui played along. “Go ahead.”
“Jiang Yan and Shen Qianyu,” the alcohol had dulled Shi Qi’s sense of restraint, leaving only pure curiosity, “were you two secretly kissing just now?”
Pffft—cough cough cough—!
Jiang Yan choked instantly, his face turning bright red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Seeing how pitiful Jiang Yan looked, Shang Sui added at just the right moment, “Our kid was just joking. Don’t take it seriously.”
But just as Jiang Yan caught his breath, he suddenly raised his voice, “How did you know?!”
Shang Sui: “…”
Sometimes, he really thought Jiang Yan had only himself to blame for ending up like this.
Shi Qi looked at them with innocent curiosity. Shen Qianyu was struck with sudden inspiration and felt like he was looking at an angel. “Shi Qi is so smart.”
Shi Qi nodded and then asked, “So, are you two together now?”
“No!” Jiang Yan protested. “He forced me—”
He had wanted to say that even his tie had almost been yanked off, but then thought it was too humiliating to admit to being forcibly kissed as an Alpha, so he swallowed the rest of the sentence.
While Shen Qianyu secretly hoped for more, Shi Qi continued with his usual straightforwardness. “Are you just shy? Actually, Alpha-Alpha pairs aren’t that rare. There were some at our school too.”
Jiang Yan gave in to despair. “True. Didn’t Shang Sui get confessed to as well?”
“What?” Shi Qi was stunned.
Shang Sui, who had been enjoying the drama, also froze when he heard that.
Jiang Yan blurted it out without thinking, “It was a celebrity who came to buy a painting and then asked him if he wanted to—”
Shen Qianyu coughed loudly.
Only then did Jiang Yan realize Shang Sui had been watching him with that half-smiling look for a while now.
Nothing good ever came from that look.
Goosebumps rose on Jiang Yan’s back as he tried to brush it off. “Anyway, uh, that’s all there is to it!”
“What celebrity?” Shi Qi wasn’t so easily distracted. His voice carried a faint chill. “What did they want from him?”
Before Shang Sui could signal him to drop it, Shi Qi sharply turned to him. “You’re not allowed to interfere.”
Then he turned back to Jiang Yan. “Speak.”
Under his gaze, Jiang Yan instinctively straightened his back, thinking to himself how someone like Shi Qi could look so sweet yet give orders with such authority. Left with no choice, he muttered weakly, “Just wanted to see where it could go. Whether it was official or not…”
“It was a long time ago. I swear, he wasn’t interested at all!”
Shi Qi didn’t respond immediately. After a brief pause, he asked thoughtfully, “You guys were high school classmates? Did a lot of people like him back then?”
Jiang Yan answered honestly, “Yeah, a lot.”
Shen Qianyu: “Not that many.”
Jiang Yan scrambled to backpedal: “…Oh, right. Not that many!”
Shen Qianyu sighed inwardly. Jiang Yan really is an idiot.
Shi Qi didn’t reply. He seemed a little upset.
He looked down gloomily, lips lightly pursed, like he’d been wronged.
Shang Sui swapped out his alcoholic drink for lemon water and asked, in a tone used to coax children, “Is Xiao Qi unhappy?”
Shi Qi suddenly looked up and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “You’re the one who said it—you’ve already sold yourself to me.”
After he said that, he raised his chin in what he thought was an intimidating gesture. “When we get home, I’m locking you up. No running off to flirt with anyone else.”
Shang Sui held back, barely refraining from exposing him, and just reached out to scratch under his chin.
But Shi Qi wasn’t done. “Did you hear me?”
Shang Sui couldn’t hold back anymore and let out a laugh. “So domineering.”
“Don’t you grin at me. You’ll be the one crying.” Shi Qi said impatiently. “Where’s the deed of sale? Write one for me.”
Shang Sui didn’t agree. “How about we switch?”
He looked at Shi Qi tenderly and coaxed, “Xiao Qi, why don’t you sell yourself to me instead? I’ll treat you really well.”
“No.”
Shi Qi was already annoyed by the unrestrained attitude. Now that Shang Sui dared to suggest flipping the roles, he was even less willing. “I want to be the boss.”
Just then, Shi Qi’s phone suddenly rang.
Lin Yan’s voice came through the phone. “Baby, our concert just ended! We’re getting ready to head back, but there are too many people. Xiao Tao-jie said the car can’t move at all, so we’ll be stuck for a while.”
In the background, the voices of Chu Tao and Qin Shuhe could be faintly heard. “Is Xiao Qi with Sui-ge?”
“They’re dating; of course they’re together.”
Lin Yan: “Oh right, we brought someone else back too—”
Shi Qi’s fuzzy brain couldn’t keep up with all the chatter. Qin Shuhe and the others were constantly switching between asking what he wanted to eat and discussing other things, like a hundred parrots chirping in his ears.
Shang Sui took the phone from him and answered on his behalf, “He’s a bit drunk.”
“Huh? I haven’t seen him drunk in years.” Lin Yan sounded thrilled. “You have to bring him over. I wanna play with the drunk kitty!”
After hanging up, Shi Qi stood up. “I want to go to the bathroom.”
Worried it’d be hard for him to handle alone, Shang Sui followed along.
Before Shi Qi entered the stall, Shang Sui confirmed, “Can you manage by yourself?”
“Yes.”
Shi Qi didn’t run into any trouble. After using the toilet, he came out and didn’t forget to wash his hands carefully.
The sink area was built separately outside the stalls. While washing, he looked up at the mirror.
Shang Sui stood a short distance away, waiting for him.
Just like Shen Qianyu had said, this man dressed flamboyantly even in snowy weather. His open neckline revealed part of his collarbone, and a delicate butterfly tattoo fluttered as if about to take flight with every breath he took.
Shi Qi looked away and thought to himself.
Why hasn’t the confession gift arrived yet?
He was running out of patience.
As he walked up to Shang Sui, Shi Qi paused.
Something suddenly occurred to him, and he hinted, “Jiang Yan and Shen Qianyu aren’t even officially together, and they’re already hugging and kissing.”
Shang Sui took it as drunken nonsense and patiently agreed.
Seeing that Shang Sui wasn’t fazed, Shi Qi pouted.
A moment later, he couldn’t help asking again, “If you got the tongue piercing, where would it go?”
After hearing Shi Qi bring up this kind of thing a few times, Shang Sui finally caught on.
He parted his lips and pointed at his tongue with a long finger.
“Right here.”
Shi Qi met his gaze.
Those fox-like eyes were like a whirlpool drawing him in, silently encouraging him to follow his desire.
As if possessed, Shi Qi reached out and pressed the pad of his finger against the Alpha’s vivid red tongue.
It was soft and hot.
Shi Qi had just washed his hands. His slender fingers still held the cool dampness of water droplets and a faint jasmine scent from the hand soap.
Shang Sui’s eyes flickered slightly as he looked at him with an unreadable expression.
Only then did Shi Qi realize his action was a bit inappropriate.
Just as he was about to pull his hand back, the Alpha lowered his head and, like a tamed beast, gently bit his finger.
Shang Sui grazed his pale pink fingertip with his teeth, his voice low and muffled. “Or… do you want it deeper?”
He didn’t use much force, but it still made Shi Qi recoil like he’d been electrocuted. “Whatever you want.”
But Shang Sui leaned in closer, smiling as he asked, “Xiao Qi, are you just going to toss me aside after you’re done playing?”
Shi Qi didn’t answer, his mind drifting.
If I can’t kiss him directly, an indirect kiss will do.
The alcohol had clouded Shi Qi’s judgment, and he didn’t have time to consider whether what he was doing was appropriate.
When he stuck out his tongue, the smile on Shang Sui’s face froze. “You…”
The familiar voice made Shi Qi lift his eyes.
He looked at Shang Sui in a daze, his face as pure and beautiful as an angel flushed all over. And as he stared at him, he licked the tip of his own damp finger.
Author’s note: He just wanted a kiss. How could a little kitten have any naughty thoughts?
![[Rebirth Rise] The Male God is Explosively Handsome](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1751665213563.jpg "[Rebirth Rise] The Male God is Explosively Handsome")
