It was as if an experience bearing the weight of another person’s life had unfolded with a light and transparent grace.
They had only known each other for one summer, each becoming the other’s special friend. That first stirring of youthful affection had brought with it a vague yet pure fondness, unconsciously healing everything.
Like a perfectly idealized fairy tale.
At first, Shi Qi couldn’t believe it. He even doubted himself: could he really have changed someone, helped the other walk out of the shadows?
Knowing Shang Sui’s personality, it was possible he was only trying to comfort him.
Seeing Shi Qi’s complicated expression, Shang Sui was about to say more—
“Xiao Qi?”
Shi An stepped into the room and, seeing the familiar yet somehow unfamiliar figure of Shi Qi, raised his voice in surprise.
From behind, the fluffy platinum-blond head was unmistakably their child, but…
Shi An’s gaze swept over the flashy outer shirt Shi Qi was wearing, then down to the rose-gold decorative chain hanging at his waist.
Such elaborate colors appearing on Shi Qi were an even greater shock than the mark was to Shi An—his entire appearance practically spelled out someone else’s name from head to toe.
He asked instinctively, “Why are you dressed like that?”
Shi Qi turned at the sound. “Does it look bad?”
“It looks great! But…”
He and Jiang Youning had tried every possible way to get Shi Qi to wear colorful clothes in the past. Shi Qi had grown so tired of it that he’d eventually stopped responding altogether.
Shi An’s heart was in turmoil. He nearly wanted to roar: “You ignored everything your dad and sister said, but the moment your boyfriend speaks, you listen?”
Jiang Li hadn’t picked up on the nuance at all and cheerfully said, “Xiao Qi looks so dazzling today, he’s dressed really nicely.”
Then he looked at Shang Sui and suddenly realized, “Xiao Shang too—this must be a couple’s outfit.”
Shi Qi responded coolly, “Shang Sui picked the clothes.”
For some inexplicable reason, Shi An detected a trace of smugness in his tone.
The shirt on Shi Qi was full of holes and left one shoulder exposed. Anyone with sense could tell an outfit like that was bound to reveal hickeys.
Shi An glanced at the deep mark on the back of Shi Qi’s neck and finally accepted it with resignation. “You two are so sweet together.”
Shi Qi replied modestly, “It’s not too bad.”
Shi An: “…”
Seeing that Shi Qi was in a better mood, Shang Sui smiled and ruffled his hair.
Shi Qi looked at him again, his gaze flickering slightly.
“I finished the medicine Shen Qianyu gave me a long time ago.”
“Hm?” Shang Sui hadn’t followed his sudden shift in topic.
“I’ve remembered most things. I’ll remember the story you talked about soon too, so when that time comes…”
Shi Qi’s fingers unconsciously tugged at the hem of his shirt, giving it a gentle pull. “Tell me everything about you.”
Shang Sui’s heart felt as if it had been scratched by a cat’s paw, and his expression softened involuntarily.
He casually hooked an arm around Shi Qi’s shoulders, his fingers brushing the back of the Omega’s neck where he had been marked; Shi Qi tensed for a moment, then quickly relaxed under his touch.
While Shi An and the others weren’t paying attention, Shang Sui swiftly pecked Shi Qi on the cheek. “Of course, baby.”
–
Considering that since arriving in Qijiang, most of Shi Qi’s time had been occupied by him, leaving little opportunity to spend time with family, Shang Sui voluntarily said goodbye to the others after dinner and returned alone to the rented villa.
Strictly speaking, he and Shi Qi were only separated by a wall.
Through the mark, he could roughly sense the direction of his own pheromones and knew that Shi Qi was in the neighboring house, bathing and getting ready for bed. The awareness gave him a strange sense of peace.
Before going to sleep, Shang Sui sent a message.
Ss: [Remember to apply the medicine.]
The reply came quickly.
17: [1.]
Seeing Shi Qi’s cool response, Shang Sui couldn’t help but laugh.
They had gone at it too hard earlier, and Shi Qi was still a bit swollen.
Just thinking about Shi Qi carrying his scent all over and carefully applying medicine to himself in bed, maybe sitting on a soft pillow, or kneeling down on all fours…
His breathing faltered for a beat.
Any further and even he would admit he was being a bit perverted, so Shang Sui stopped himself in time.
He idly scrolled through his phone and suddenly remembered that a few days ago he had sent a package to Shi Qi’s current address. The delivery had arrived while they were busy in bed, and he had nearly forgotten.
Shang Sui checked it, and tracking showed it had been signed for by a family member.
Jiang Youning would probably give the package to Shi Qi, so Shang Sui felt relieved and was about to go to sleep.
17: [Forgot to say just now.]
17: [Good night, sweet dreams.]
Shang Sui sent a voice message to Shi Qi: “Sweet dreams, Xiao Qi.”
After that, he closed his eyes.
A long time later, as his consciousness gradually blurred, the body felt like it was falling from a height, then suddenly became light.
A soft, hazy light appeared before his eyes, as if guiding him through a dream.
The scene before him became clearer and clearer. He blinked a few times and finally saw that the misty glow came from a uniquely designed glass-and-brass lamp on the bedside table.
Next to the lamp sat a black-haired, gray-eyed boy with his arms wrapped around his knees, wearing oversized pajamas that didn’t fit. Compared to now, his delicate features were more youthful.
Fourteen or fifteen-year-old Shi Qi sat across from him on the bed. Perhaps feeling the mood was right for a heart-to-heart, he asked a question that had long stirred his curiosity, “Why do you hate thunderstorms?”
Shi Qi hadn’t fully differentiated yet and didn’t have much awareness of gender, but he could smell pheromones and was unconsciously drawn to him.
Not only did he like physical contact, but sometimes he would even lean over and sneakily nuzzle the back of Shang Sui’s neck, thinking himself discreet.
When Shang Sui didn’t respond, Shi Qi simply stretched out his foot and gave him a nudge.
His movement was gentle, and the moment their skin touched, it felt like being brushed by a soft, fluffy tail.
Shang Sui heard himself say, “On rainy days with thunder, he would follow me.”
“He?” Shi Qi asked in confusion. “Who is he?”
“Let me tell you a story.”
Shi Qi was intrigued. “A fairy tale?”
“No, it’s not a good story.” Shang Sui added hesitantly, “It might be a bit scary for a bedtime story. Do you still want to hear it?”
Shi Qi stayed silent for three seconds, curiosity ultimately overpowering fear.
Without a word, he moved a little closer to Shang Sui. “Go ahead. I’m not scared.”
Other than to his therapist, this was the first time Shang Sui had ever taken the initiative to talk to someone else about the past.
After a long silence, he tried to begin. “When I was fifteen, a new butler came to our home to take care of me.”
“His name was Zeng Yu, a Beta. He was good at cooking, tending the garden, and keeping everything perfectly in order.”
“No matter who he faced, he could leave a good impression. He had a strange kind of affability about him, and he could gain others’ trust with ease.”
Shang Sui paused briefly, his eyes gradually showing signs of revulsion. “I don’t know why, but the first time I saw him, I had a kind of instinctive rejection.”
He had told Yu Wan before that he didn’t like Zeng Yu.
But he couldn’t articulate why exactly. At the time, both Yu Wan and Shang Yao were busy with work and rarely home. Worried he couldn’t take care of himself, Yu Wan had told him to try getting along with the man for a while and consider switching later.
That decision became something Yu Wan regretted for the rest of her life. But Shang Sui understood that it hadn’t been Yu Wan’s fault.
Zeng Yu had targeted him from the beginning. He had probed around to get information, eventually guessing that Shang Sui had a special rut.
Yu Wan’s friend had spoken highly of Zeng Yu and recommended him. Looking back, that person had probably also been under Zeng Yu’s mental influence.
“Until one day, I found a mother and child trapped in our basement,” Shang Sui said. “That was when I realized he was actually an Alpha, and had been faking his gender to appear harmless.”
This eerie story sent chills down Shi Qi’s spine. He subconsciously asked, “And then?”
“He made me…”
Shang Sui looked into Shi Qi’s clear eyes, worried that what came next would be too gruesome for him.
Shi Qi was always sensitive at times like this.
He slipped his legs between Shang Sui’s, their bodies overlapping. The warm yellow light created a small shield around them, and they leaned into each other for warmth.
Shi Qi grabbed his hand. “Tell me.”
Shang Sui couldn’t help but clasp Shi Qi’s hand in return.
“He gave me a choice—cut off one of their fingers. Ten fingers would buy them ten more days. If I didn’t do it, he would kill them on the spot.”
Even though he had braced himself, Shi Qi was still horrified. “Is he insane!”
At first, when Shang Sui sensed something was wrong and tried to call the police, Zeng Yu discovered his movement before he could act. He was forcibly dragged to the dark and damp basement, where Zeng Yu kicked him against the wall.
An adult Alpha had terrifying strength, let alone one who was a serial killer. Shang Sui felt a sweetness in his throat before realizing he had coughed up blood, and his whole body felt like his bones had been dislocated.
He had loved drawing since childhood, and Yu Wan had told him to protect his hands.
But when Zeng Yu forced him to make a choice, Shang Sui broke down and cried, “Don’t touch them! You can cut off my hands!”
Zeng Yu turned a deaf ear and instead shifted the choice to Shen Qianyu, who forced down his fear and said, “Then cut mine.”
Hearing Shen Qianyu’s answer, Zeng Yu sneered.
He turned back to Shang Sui. “You have great potential—outstanding even among those with special ruts. Once you try it, you’ll never forget that feeling.”
Zeng Yu persuaded, “You’ll find it all comes especially easy to you. The moment skin is split open, it’s like slicing through butter. There’s a pleasing sound when bone is severed, and the thrill of deciding whether someone lives or dies. All of that becomes addictive.”
No matter what he said, Shang Sui kept shaking his head and refused.
At last, Zeng Yu lost patience and grabbed the dagger nearby.
Seeing Zeng Yu close in step by step, Shen Qianyu’s face grew paler. “Hey! Just do it! It’s just one finger!! Think of it as doing me a favor!!”
“Didn’t I tell you already,” Zeng Yu laughed heartily, “they’ll be grateful to you.”
“I won’t blame you. Hurry up!!”
“…No, no, I can’t do it!” Shang Sui knelt on the ground, trembling all over. “Cut my hand, cut off all of my fingers! Let them go, I’m begging you! Please, I’m begging you!!”
At that moment, Shen Qianyu’s mother regained consciousness. When she caught sight of the cold glint of the knife in Zeng Yu’s hand, she let out a shrill scream.
Shang Sui raised his voice to stop him. “Okay, I’ll do it! Don’t kill anyone!”
But Zeng Yu only sighed. “Too late.”
As his words fell, he raised the dagger high.
The woman’s hoarse pleas for mercy, the teenager’s terrified cries, everything compressed to its limit and exploded before Shang Sui’s eyes.
Something buried deep in his brain let out a dull rumble, and in the next instant, it broke through like a valve bursting open.
Shang Sui’s head felt like it would split apart as his out-of-control pheromones surged wildly. Without thinking, he shouted, “Stop… Stop!!”
Only a centimeter away from plunging the blade into Shen Qianyu’s heart, Zeng Yu’s motion suddenly halted without warning.
An invisible force, like hundreds or thousands of steel nails, pinned into every joint. Zeng Yu was nailed in place, completely unable to move.
Shang Sui had been injured earlier; when he slammed into the wall, he scraped against a sharp metal rack, leaving his arm and back covered in wounds, his whole body drenched in blood.
He seemed unable to feel any pain, his eyes fixed on the immobilized Zeng Yu as he slowly rose from the ground.
Once he became aware of that power buried within him, he instinctively knew how to control it.
Shang Sui issued a second command, “Drop the knife.”
Zeng Yu, unable to resist, opened his hand, and the dagger clattered to the ground with a sharp screech.
“So you can do it too…”
After a brief moment of shock, Zeng Yu’s eyes lit up with joy. “As expected, I was right. I’ve always felt you were better than the others. You’re just like me! All the other special-rut types are incomplete trash; only you and I can be considered superior!!”
Seeing him ecstatic, the boy who had knelt before him, pleading, now seemed like a completely different person, his voice unusually cold.
“Shut up.”
Blood kept trickling from the corners of Shang Sui’s mouth as he felt Zeng Yu trying to break free of the control.
He used all his strength to restrain him, barely managing to support himself as he used the last of his energy to cut Shen Qianyu’s ropes.
While his back was turned to Zeng Yu, the force restraining him gradually weakened, and before Shen Qianyu could warn him to be careful, someone burst through the basement door!
Accompanied by the incessant wail of sirens, harsh beams of light flooded in through the entrance. The police had traced the anomaly and surrounded the entire house from outside.
Everything that happened after that became a blur. Shang Sui was completely spent, barely able to stand. All he remembered was the rumble of thunder and snow-bright lightning slashing across the sky.
He was covered in blood. His parents rushed to the scene. Yu Wan held him in her arms, sobbing, while Shang Yao stood beside her, anxiously contacting doctors and questioning the police about the situation.
In the midst of the chaos, Zeng Yu suddenly dropped to his knees before him.
“You’ve surpassed me.”
Under the stunned gaze of everyone present, Zeng Yu stared straight at Shang Sui. “You should be my child, you just happened to come out of someone else’s womb.”
Yu Wan screamed curses at him, wishing she could tear him limb from limb. It was the first time Shang Sui had ever seen her lose control like that.
Even though she immediately covered his ears, Shang Sui still heard the words.
“You’re different from everyone else! Aside from me, no one is your kind. They say they’re not afraid, but they’ll still treat you like a monster, they’ll spill your secrets to others.”
“One day, you’ll realize,” the killer’s gaze locked on him through the pouring rain like a lingering curse, “no one will ever truly accept you. Until the day you die, you’ll always be an outcast.”
…
Hearing this, Shi Qi felt as though the blood in his veins was flowing in reverse.
It took him half a minute to pull himself out of the overwhelming surge of emotion, only then belatedly realizing that his tears had dripped onto the bedsheet.
Shang Sui hadn’t expected the story to upset him so much and tried to comfort him helplessly, “Don’t cry.”
It would’ve been better if he hadn’t said anything. Once he did, Shi Qi instantly lost control of his emotions, tears falling in large drops.
Because he couldn’t stop crying, his eyes turned red, and the tip of his nose flushed as well, making him look especially pitiful.
Shang Sui did not know what to do. He wanted to help him wipe his tears, but he was afraid it would make Shi Qi even sadder. In his panic, he even felt a trace of an untimely sense of satisfaction.
Was Shi Qi crying for him proof that he was very important to Shi Qi?
His fingers moved slightly, and for a moment, he wanted to reach out and pull Shi Qi into his arms.
Shi Qi cried and cried, then raised his arm and wiped his eyes hard, wiping away the excess tears.
After the overwhelming sadness, an uncontrollable anger surged inside him. Shi Qi said hatefully, “Who is he? Why does he think you’re the same as him?!”
“Because…” Shang Sui hesitated for a moment. “He and I can both control others mentally.”
It was the first time Shi Qi had heard this term, and he couldn’t help but repeat, “Mental control?”
It sounded like something that only appeared in games or movies, and saying it out loud felt unbelievable.
When recounting the past, Shang Sui had blurred the process of subduing Zeng Yu. Shi Qi realized, “You used this ability to restrain him?”
In the end, when Zeng Yu knelt to Shang Sui, besides trying to disgust him, it actually contained recognition of him.
Shang Sui nodded.
After a long while, he said in a low voice, “Zeng Yu committed suicide that night, but…”
Shi Qi understood the words he had not finished.
The restless soul of the dead lingered by his side, and whenever there was a thunderstorm, Shang Sui would see Zeng Yu’s shadow.
The bloodstained murderer would grin and lean in close, like maggots crawling on bones, constantly telling him how different he was from others.
He was destined never to be accepted, to remain an outcast until death.
Shi Qi gripped his hand tightly. “On the last thunderstorm day, did you see him too?”
That night he and Shang Sui had slept together, yet he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
Shi Qi felt annoyed with himself, thinking he was too slow-witted, only caring about smelling Shang Sui’s pheromones and not about his condition.
“No.” Shang Sui was also incredulous. “That was the first time in two years that I didn’t see him on a rainy day.”
“!”
Shi Qi’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
“I want to try,” Shi Qi suddenly said, “control me mentally.”
Shang Sui was stunned.
Shi Qi stared straight into his eyes. “I want to see just how different you really are, and why he thinks no one would dare to accept you.”
Shang Sui instinctively refused. “You might find it disgusting.”
Mental control was too rare, and in the country, the only known examples were him and Zeng Yu.
When his ability first awakened, his condition was very unstable, and from time to time, he couldn’t control himself. After he accidentally controlled Shang Yao, Shang Sui saw the unconcealable shock in both Shang Yao’s and Yu Wan’s eyes.
During the month waiting for the results, he and his parents lived under immense pressure. The regulatory agency for special rut directly treated him as a criminal. Whenever he went out, there would be someone monitoring him twenty-four hours a day.
Yu Wan and Shang Yao had tried every means to suppress the news from the media. If people knew that a serial killer had knelt to a teenager upon arrest, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Coming back to his senses, Yu Wan and Shang Yao kept apologizing to him, saying they shouldn’t have overreacted.
He understood that his parents did not distrust him; it was just that everyone happened to be too exhausted at that time, like an overstretched string.
But he still couldn’t stop thinking, again and again, why did he have to be different from others.
Special ruts were already anomalies among Alphas, and within those, he was an even rarer kind of monster.
He couldn’t accept it. His self-loathing expanded like a sponge soaking up water, and on those dark and damp thunderstorm days, he felt like an uncorrectable mistake.
The first change happened on the previous stormy night.
That night he slept with Shi Qi, he didn’t see Zeng Yu. Beside his pillow came the faint, steady sound of breathing, and Shi Qi unconsciously snuggled up to him, slender arm wrapping around his shoulder.
It was the first time he felt that if the world stopped at this moment, it wouldn’t be so bad.
“We have to try to know. Maybe I’ll think it’s amazing.”
The clear and pure voice pulled Shang Sui out of his memories. He saw the warm light reflected in Shi Qi’s dark gray eyes, like a small lake shimmering with fluorescence.
“If it was him, I would find it disgusting, but on you, this ability is like magic.”
In truth, those words themselves were like magic.
It was as if he had returned to that rainy night. Shang Sui could no longer suppress his long-held desire and cautiously leaned closer to Shi Qi.
“I want…”
His voice trembled. Following Shi Qi’s request, he used his ability. “I want a hug.”
Rather than giving a command through mental control, it sounded more like a plea.
“Hug me, Shi Qi.”
