It was close to Lunar New Year, and Qijiang was decorated with lights and flowers all over the city.
After days of continuous rain, the sun shone brightly. Outside the window, wisteria flowers poured down like a waterfall, layers upon layers of petals casting shadows that fell on an equally eye-catching face.
“I had a premonition.”
Shang Sui propped his face up with one hand, completely immersed in his fantasy and unable to pull himself out. “Xiao Qi will propose to me soon.”
Jiang Yan widened his eyes. “Really?”
Shen Qianyu’s annual leave only lasted until before the New Year. Thinking that everyone hadn’t met since coming to Qijiang, Jiang Yan had created a group chat last night. He asked Shang Sui and Shi Qi to confirm they were both free and arranged for a dinner gathering today.
It was said to be a dinner gathering, but the only one who could cook was Shen Qianyu. The other two present were young masters who had never lifted a finger.
Out of courtesy, Shang Sui had asked if he should bring his family’s chef, but after being refused, he shamelessly came over to freeload.
Shen Qianyu went to the kitchen alone, leaving Shang Sui and Jiang Yan chatting in the living room.
Jiang Yan: “Isn’t it possible that you’re acting all sneaky yourself, so you feel like Shi Qi is preparing something too?”
Not long after entering, Shang Sui had casually said, “Are you free this weekend? I’m going to propose to Shi Qi.”
After confirming the general details with them, Shang Sui had stared out the window alone in a daze.
Jiang Yan was very familiar with this look of his, guessing he was playing out a scenario in his head. Sure enough, Shang Sui had already convinced himself that it was a mutual love story in the making.
“What’s that word again?” Jiang Yan racked his brains. “Oh oh, right! Overthinking affection!”
“Hm?” Shang Sui smiled. “For two Alphas to marry, they have to go through a special application, right?”
Jiang Yan hadn’t realised something was off yet. “What’s wrong?”
“I heard it requires a large fee. Will you pay it, or will Shen Qianyu?” Shang Sui said. “I can pay it for you two as well. No need to thank me.”
“…No! What are you doing! We’re not there yet!”
Jiang Yan’s face turned red, and he stammered as he spoke.
“When the time comes, make sure to find a spot to hide.” After teasing Jiang Yan, Shang Sui pulled the topic back. “In case Xiao Qi is moved to tears, remember to record it for me.”
“I also have a premonition that the one crying their eyes out on the day of the proposal will be you.” Jiang Yan, having forgotten his past troubles, said enthusiastically, “I’ll make sure to record every second for you!”
The smile on Shang Sui’s face became even brighter. “You’re really good with words today.”
A chill ran down Jiang Yan’s back. Someone rang the doorbell outside.
He immediately jumped up and said, “Coming, coming!”
When the door opened, Jiang Yan saw Shi Qi standing outside.
Compared to Shang Sui, who came to freeload, Shi Qi was much more polite. Considering he was visiting someone else’s home, he had brought a bouquet of gorgeous double-petaled tulips.
The Omega’s face also looked like a flower in full bloom. Holding the bouquet, he resembled a spring fairy.
No wonder Shang Sui was utterly bewitched by him.
Jiang Yan greeted him happily. “You didn’t have to be so polite just for coming over.”
“Shi Qi is here?” Shen Qianyu happened to pass by, took off his apron, and said, “Food is ready.”
This scene, full of everyday warmth, made Shi Qi raise his eyebrows slightly as his gaze swept over their faces.
The lunch Shen Qianyu had prepared was very sumptuous, a fusion of Chinese and Western styles. Noticing Shen Qianyu picking out food for Jiang Yan, Shi Qi asked at the right moment, “Are you two together?”
Jiang Yan hesitated. “I guess so.”
Shen Qianyu put down his chopsticks and looked over coldly.
Jiang Yan immediately corrected himself. “Yes yes yes! Before… we went through this and that, anyway, we’re together now!”
Compared to Jiang Yan who was speaking nonsense, Shen Qianyu looked at Shang Sui. “I told him about what happened eight years ago.”
Jiang Yan said nervously, “Um, I’ll definitely keep it secret! It wasn’t because Shen Qianyu wanted to tell me, it was because I kept asking.”
Afraid that Shang Sui would be angry, Jiang Yan hurriedly added, “Do you also have something special about you? He didn’t say a single word about that.”
Mental manipulation was an even more obscure secret than the special rut. Shen Qianyu had left out that part, telling Jiang Yan to ask Shang Sui privately later.
Jiang Yan felt that it didn’t matter whether he knew or not. No matter how many secrets Shang Sui had, he was a friend Jiang Yan recognised.
“It’s fine.” Shang Sui looked calm. “Shi Qi has known for a long time.”
Seeing everyone looking at him, Shi Qi simply put down his chopsticks and briefly talked about the recent events, finally mentioning that Shang Sui had agreed to let Li Zhao interview him.
“If they want to overturn what happened back then and report it again, they need the police’s approval. Xiao Li-jiejie went to Haicheng yesterday.” Thinking of how Jiang Youning had gone as far as eighteen miles to see Li Zhao off, Shi Qi silently mourned for Jiang Youning for three seconds in his heart. “She has handled many similar cases; it should be fine.”
Li Zhao had also taken that photo back. She would crop out Shang Sui’s face and conceal his personal information to complete the report.
Shen Qianyu was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn’t thought of this outcome. “Is that so? That’s great.”
After a long while, he whispered to Shang Sui, “I always felt that I stole your honour.”
Back then, someone had to come forward to bear that praise. Shang Sui didn’t seem to care, but he had always felt guilty.
“Come on, Dr. Shen.” Shang Sui interrupted him. “If it weren’t for you speaking up for me, I don’t even know how much trouble I would have been in back then.”
“It’s not the same.” Shen Qianyu shook his head. “If it weren’t for you, my mother and I would have died eight years ago.”
Jiang Yan sniffled, feeling his eyes grow hot. “…What are you guys doing, getting so sentimental all of a sudden?”
Seeing Jiang Yan wipe his eyes with the back of his hand, Shi Qi took the tissue box from beside him.
“Thank you—” Jiang Yan was about to reach out to take it.
Shi Qi could no longer hold back his curiosity and suddenly asked, “So, between you two, who tops whom?”
Jiang Yan was completely unprepared, and the tissue box fell to the ground with a thud.
Shi Qi’s appearance was too pure, so when the topic suddenly shifted to something so explicit, Jiang Yan’s first reaction was that he had misheard.
When he came back to his senses, Jiang Yan shouted loudly, “Of course I top him!”
Shen Qianyu was very cooperative. “Mm, that’s right.”
Shi Qi’s clear eyes flickered with light as he obviously observed both his and Shen Qianyu’s reactions.
Being looked at like that by him, Jiang Yan’s face grew hot. “Y-you don’t believe it?”
Shi Qi spoke slowly. “It’s as credible as me topping Shang Sui.”
“……….”
The first one who couldn’t hold it in was Shen Qianyu, and Shang Sui also laughed from the side.
Jiang Yan’s face flushed red, then turned pale, and in the end, he couldn’t help but laugh too. “You’re really ruthless, Shi Qi.”
After lunch, Shang Sui had something to discuss with Shen Qianyu, so Shi Qi left first.
Shang Sui saw him to the car, and before leaving, he suddenly wrapped his arm around Shi Qi tenderly. “Isn’t it you who tops me, hubby?”
“?” What kind of act was this again?
“I serve you with my body every night.” As Shang Sui spoke, he leaned in close, as if unaware of how heavy he was.
The Alpha was a whole size bigger than him, and Shi Qi felt he was about to be crushed.
He held back and didn’t push Shang Sui away. “Can you have some shame?”
“Don’t you like me being shameless? Last night when I was calling out, you were clearly very excited—”
Shi Qi flushed with anger and quickly covered his mouth with his hand. “Mind your own business! Weren’t you excited too when we were having sex? Shut up!”
When he withdrew his hand, Shang Sui couldn’t stop laughing.
Shi Qi was confused, having no idea what he found so funny.
Shang Sui poked the Omega’s fair and full cheek, noticing that the tips of Shi Qi’s ears were slightly red, and said with a smile, “You’re so cute.”
After saying goodbye to Shang Sui, Shi Qi returned home.
As he passed by the bed, Shi Qi paused for a moment, and a few images unintentionally flashed through his mind.
Realising what he was thinking about, he cursed inwardly.
Had he been infected by Shang Sui, with his mind full of such dirty thoughts?
After calming down, Shi Qi checked the balance of his little savings account on his phone.
He had done part-time modelling in high school and saved up quite a lot of money. After entering university, his social media account gained a lot of views, so the platform shared some of the ad revenue with him, plus the scholarships he received at the end of each semester.
He kept this money on a separate card, apart from the pocket money his family gave him, and over time, it had accumulated to a considerable amount.
After confirming that he should be able to afford any proposal plan, Shi Qi began searching keywords like “proposal planning” and “proposal ideas” on his phone.
Lin Yan’s message suddenly popped up.
Yanyan: [What is our sweetheart doing?]
Yanyan: [Why haven’t you contacted me lately? It’s almost New Year’s. I really miss you here in the snowy capital.]
These past few days, Shi Qi’s life had been full of ups and downs, and indeed he hadn’t contacted anyone else much.
But he had taken time to read the group chat messages. Since the holidays started, Lin Yan hadn’t been able to find anyone to play mahjong with, so he kept dragging Qin Shuhe and Chu Tao into the group every day, pulling in random friends to form a cyber mahjong game, fighting fiercely every night.
Shi Qi replied casually: [You only think of me when you’re losing money?]
Yanyan: […]
Yanyan: [You’re really so cold.]
Yanyan: [But your cold and heartless look is also so attractive.]
17: [I’m preparing a proposal.]
Lin Yan thought he was joking: [Proposing to me?]
17: [Guess.]
Yanyan: […Wait, are you serious?]
The next second, Lin Yan’s call came through directly. Shi Qi pressed the answer button and immediately held the phone away.
Even so, he still heard Lin Yan’s deafening scream. “Shi Qi, what are you doing—!!”
“Proposal?! You’re taking the initiative??!! You’ve only known him for less than four months! What kind of witchcraft did Shang Sui feed you! Do you still remember how you used to be so indifferent to Alphas?!”
“Actually, it’s been six years.”
“Six years?”
Since childhood, there had been very few secrets between him and Lin Yan.
Shi Qi left out the parts about the special rut and mental manipulation, and told him everything else one by one.
Lin Yan kept exclaiming, “Damn” and “Oh my god.” Even after all that, he wasn’t done and said, “After hearing such an amazing story, I approve of your proposal to Shang Sui.”
He said excitedly, “Then I want to come!”
Shi Qi did want to see him, but it was close to New Year’s, and Lin Yan had a lot going on at home. “It’s almost New Year’s. Can you get away?”
“Normally, I couldn’t, but this is your proposal! I definitely have to come!” As Lin Yan spoke, he thought of something else. “Should I ask Qin Shuhe and Xiao Tao-jie? They’d want to come too.”
Shi Qi agreed.
He chatted idly with Lin Yan for a while, from daily life to the still unformed proposal plan. Midway, Shi Qi casually flipped open the diary that Jiang Youning had given him.
As he read, Shi Qi’s gaze suddenly froze.
“I checked online, most people set up a decorated scene with flowers and balloons, and the location can be a garden villa or a yacht?” Lin Yan changed the topic. “But even if you just woke up in the morning and said you wanted to get married, Shang Sui would agree, right?”
Shi Qi stared fixedly at the slightly childish handwriting in the diary.
After a moment, Shi Qi gripped his phone tightly. “I know what to do.”
–
It was rare to have such a big event to watch, and Lin Yan’s efficiency was astonishing. That same day, he contacted Qin Shuhe and Chu Tao, and by evening, they landed directly in Qijiang.
When he saw the location Lin Yan sent, Shi Qi thought he was joking.
After confirming it, he called Shang Sui to go to the airport together to pick them up.
The airport was about half an hour’s drive from the villa they had rented. Chu Tao’s long pink hair was very eye-catching, and as soon as Shi Qi entered the arrival floor of the terminal, he saw her.
Chu Tao also noticed Shi Qi’s platinum hair and waved enthusiastically. “Xiao Qi, Sui-ge! Over here, over here!”
When they got closer, Lin Yan hooked an arm around Shi Qi’s shoulders. “Did you miss me, bestie?”
Shi Qi: “Not really.”
Lin Yan said dotingly, “You’re so stubborn.”
Shi Qi: “…”
Shi Qi was struck speechless for a moment, considering whether to shake Lin Yan off.
Seeing the two of them bickering, Chu Tao took out her phone to record.
Lin Yan whispered, “We’re planning to film a vlog for you guys, recording everything from the proposal preparations to the day itself. After editing, you can post it on your social media, and you could even consider playing it at your wedding.”
Shi Qi hadn’t expected them to think so thoroughly. He guessed this suggestion came from Chu Tao. While Shang Sui was talking to Qin Shuhe, Shi Qi looked toward the camera and whispered, “Thank you.”
Chu Tao laughed behind the camera. “No need to thank me, baby! Just being able to see you two… Anyway, I’m really happy, and super excited!”
On the other side, Qin Shuhe greeted warmly. “Ge, long time no see!”
Shang Sui smiled and asked casually, “Why did you suddenly want to come here?”
“Oh, because we’re here to attend—” Qin Shuhe’s mouth moved faster than his brain. Just before committing a crime, he suddenly felt an extremely oppressive gaze and realized that Shi Qi was staring at him from behind.
At this critical moment, he remembered Lin Yan had mentioned on the plane that Qijiang had a festival lately, and with the fastest reaction speed of his life, he said, “—to attend Qijiang’s Fireworks Festival!”
“Yes, yes!” Lin Yan immediately added, “Doesn’t Qijiang set off fireworks early every year? The most famous is the water fireworks at Jinghu Lake. We’re just here to have fun for a few days and will go back before New Year’s Eve.”
Shang Sui nodded, as if he believed their reason.
After getting in the car, Qin Shuhe sent a flurry of messages in their four-person group chat.
Qin Shuhe: [What do I do! I just can’t control my mouth when I see my ge.]
Qin Shuhe: [Damn, you don’t know how thrilling it was just now. My recovery speed was practically the peak of my entire career.]
17: [Your peak is as low as a depression.]
Qin Shuhe: [……]
17: [Watch your mouth. That’s the divine decree of God Qi.]
Lin Yan and Chu Tao sent a string of hahahahahahahahaha, and Qin Shuhe couldn’t help asking: [Your Majesty, when did you ascend to godhood?]
17: [Not long ago.]
The villa that Shang Sui rented had three floors in total, and since Lin Yan and the others were only staying until the end of the week, they simply stayed at Shang Sui’s place.
Chu Tao lived alone on the third floor, and the others stayed downstairs.
As it neared midnight, everyone was somewhat tired and returned to their rooms to rest.
Chu Tao found that she had forgotten to bring one of her makeup bags, so she came downstairs and happened to see Lin Yan on the second floor. “Yanyan, let me use your facial cleanser.”
“You forgot to bring it?” Lin Yan said, “I also have face masks, do you want one?”
Chu Tao nodded, then suddenly widened her eyes. Before she screamed, she covered her mouth with both hands and stared unblinkingly downstairs.
Seeing her eyes shining, Lin Yan quickly leaned over, and only then did he notice two figures in the corner on the first floor.
It was Shi Qi and Shang Sui.
They were so close that they seemed to be glued together. Shang Sui stood with his back to them, his tall Alpha figure almost completely covering the other person.
Shi Qi was sitting on a small wooden cabinet, his slender, fair legs swinging back and forth as he looked up and spoke to him.
The lights downstairs were off, and only the light from the second floor spilled down the stairs, making the already romantic scene even more hazy and ambiguous.
“Oh my god, getting ready to propose really is different.” Lin Yan whispered excitedly, “It would be inappropriate if they didn’t do something, right?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Sui lowered his head, his long fingers hooking Shi Qi’s chin.
He kissed along Shi Qi’s profile, slowly moving downwards. The fingers that were originally hooking his chin unknowingly moved to the back of his neck.
Unlike the gentle kisses, Shang Sui’s single hand gripped Shi Qi’s slender neck, occasionally squeezing lightly, a gesture full of possessiveness.
Seemingly kissed so comfortably, Shi Qi slightly raised his head. Lin Yan finally saw part of his face.
Shi Qi’s eyes were half closed, his long eyelashes trembling slightly under the dim light, reminiscent of flowers trembling on branches.
“Oh my god, this is too intense! How can a simple cheek kiss between them feel so R-rated!”
Chu Tao spoke excitedly, then remembered something. “Kids shouldn’t watch this!”
As she spoke, she reached out to cover Lin Yan’s eyes. He protested, “What are you doing, Xiao Tao-jie, you’re covering the wrong person!”
Shi Qi hadn’t realized that there were two people upstairs watching with great interest.
Shang Sui wasn’t using much force, his grip fixed at just the right spot, but Shi Qi gradually found himself breathless, his body going weak as it instinctively craved more.
In the end, he reached out and hooked his arms around Shang Sui’s neck.
Shi Qi lowered his voice. “Let’s go to the room.”
By the time Lin Yan finally pried Chu Tao’s hand away, he saw Shi Qi being picked up.
Shang Sui supported his leg with one hand, carrying him like he was holding a kitten.
Shi Qi was buried in the Alpha’s arms, his face blurry, only his fair arms could be seen gradually tightening, as if his whole body was wrapped around Shang Sui.
Chu Tao and Lin Yan stretched their necks at the same time.
Shang Sui glanced upstairs.
He raised his leg and kicked open the bedroom door, carried Shi Qi in, and locked the door decisively.
Author’s note:
Adults are kissing; kids, avert your eyes.
The story isn’t over yet. The main story will be written up to the wedding.
I like writing preparation scenes. Last time, it was getting ready for the confession; this time, it’s preparing for the proposal. 
