As soon as the words left his mouth, Shang Sui suddenly realized.
Wait, he shouldn’t have called her that too.
Sure enough, Jiang Youning sneered. “Who are you calling jiejie?”
Shi Qi tried to smooth things over. “Jiejie—”
The moment she looked at him, Jiang Youning’s tone softened. “Xiao Qi, don’t worry about it. This is between me and your boyfriend.”
She then turned back around and looked Shang Sui up and down.
Unlike the photo Shi Qi posted last time, he looked a bit less flashy today. But combined with his earlier behavior, the first impression he gave was still one of frivolity.
The more Jiang Youning looked, the less pleased she became. “How old are you?”
Shang Sui hesitated, unsure whether to give his age according to the traditional Chinese system or his actual age by Western standards. In the end, he went with the younger option. “Twenty-three.”
“What month?”
“…March.”
“So you’re basically twenty-four already?” Jiang Youning showed no mercy. “You’re older than me.”
Shang Sui thought to himself that if he called her “meimei” now, he probably wouldn’t be able to set foot into the Shi Qi family’s home for the rest of his life.
He could only brush past it politely. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking earlier.”
“You’re three years older than our Xiao Qi,” Jiang Youning pressed on, “and you’re pestering him to call you gege. Don’t you have any shame?”
“…”
Shi Qi saw that Shang Sui was at a loss for words and stepped forward, shielding him behind himself. “We were just messing around.”
Then, thinking fast, he took all the blame himself. “Actually, I was the one who forced him. It’s my kink.”
Shang Sui was moved. “Xiao Qi…”
Shi Qi immediately got into character. “No respect at all. What should you be calling me?”
Even Shang Sui was momentarily speechless. “…Gege.”
Jiang Youning: “?”
Shi Qi nodded with effort, though he couldn’t help the smile spreading in his eyes.
After all, chances to take advantage of Shang Sui openly like this didn’t come often.
Even though Shi Qi returned to his usual blank expression a second later, Jiang Youning still keenly caught the subtle shift.
She knew him too well. She could tell this kid was secretly thrilled, and guessed that whole explanation just now was probably just to fool her.
“You picked out Xiao Qi’s outfit?” Jiang Youning looked at Shang Sui, her tone unreadable. “Dressed my brother up like this…”
Shang Sui was worried he’d somehow done something wrong again, so he only nodded cautiously.
But Jiang Youning’s tone suddenly changed, “You’ve got good taste.”
Her eyes lit up as she turned to Shi Qi, sincerely praising him. “Baby, you look gorgeous today, like a little figurine!”
Sure, this Alpha might be a bit frivolous, but the fact that Shi Qi liked him was what really mattered.
It had been years since she’d seen Shi Qi so dressed up. His wardrobe full of black and white, clean-cut styles suited him, but she’d always hoped he might switch things up sometimes. It’d be even better if he could wear something colorful and pretty.
She and Shi An had never been able to persuade Shi Qi, but Shang Sui managed to do it.
Plus, the guy had a great fashion sense. That alone made her look at Shang Sui a lot more favorably.
The more she looked, the happier she got. She couldn’t help ruffling Shi Qi’s hair, thinking back to the good old days when she tricked him into wearing dresses as a kid. “Later, let your sister-in-law take a couple of photos of you. Papa Xiao An will definitely be happy to see them.”
Li Zhao, who hadn’t spoken until now, smiled and said, “I think so too. Xiao Qi looks especially good like this.”
As she spoke, she glanced at them. “Did you come to see S’s works too?”
“Something like that,” Shang Sui replied. “Xiao Qi wanted to see my paintings.”
Shi Qi had already guessed as much earlier, so hearing him say it outright didn’t really surprise him.
But Jiang Youning was stunned. “Huh? You’re who??”
Wait a second.
She’d just marched in here and asked if they even understood what the artist meant, basically giving a reading comprehension lecture right to the artist’s face?
For once, Jiang Youning was embarrassed. She secretly nudged Shi Qi. “Hey, how could you keep something this big from your jiejie?”
Shi Qi nudged her back. “I just found out too.”
Jiang Youning: “…”
Jiang Youning: “Is your boyfriend an onion? How many layers of secrets does he have?”
It was the perfect analogy—it really felt like every so often, Shang Sui would peel back another layer and reveal something new.
But Shi Qi was very accepting and didn’t seem bothered at all. “It’s not a big deal.”
Jiang Youning was disappointed. “His family background’s not a big deal, his career’s not a big deal, then tell me, what is a big deal?”
Shi Qi: “His face.”
Jiang Youning: “…”
She had no comeback for that.
While the siblings were whispering, Li Zhao spoke to Shang Sui directly. “This might sound a bit forward, but I’ve been deeply moved by your work ever since I first saw “Night Rain” three years ago.”
Out of professional habit, she carried note-taking materials with her. Li Zhao pulled out a pen and carefully took out her custom-made journal. “Would you mind signing it for me?”
She flipped to a page where she’d pasted a 4-inch photo, surrounded by stamps and commemorative seals.
“When I was reporting in Europe, I heard that a few museums there had collected your work. I made a special trip to take some photos.”
As she spoke, she and Shang Sui locked eyes.
His senses were sharper than most people’s. Earlier, he’d vaguely felt someone watching him. Back then, Li Zhao hadn’t known who he was, so technically, she had no reason to keep staring at him.
Now, talking face to face, the sense of something being off only grew stronger.
Beyond the admiration in Li Zhao’s eyes, there seemed to be… a flicker of barely concealed shock?
Shang Sui found it a bit odd but smiled politely anyway. “You’re too kind. No need for honorifics.”
Seeing him pick the perfect spot to sign, Li Zhao carefully put her journal away. “Okay, thank you.”
Once they were done talking, Jiang Youning stepped forward.
Shi Qi had been hiding Shang Sui from them this whole time, but now that Jiang Youning finally had the chance, she wanted to test him out a bit more and see what kind of person he really was.
Seizing the moment, Jiang Youning said, “Since we’ve run into each other, how about we all grab a meal together?”
–
Before leaving the gallery, Shi Qi’s gaze swept over the painting of the angel and the monster one last time, feeling unexpectedly reluctant to part with it.
Noticing where he was looking, Shang Sui asked, “You really like that painting?”
Shi Qi replied, “Will it stay here forever?”
That way, he could come back and see it again in the future.
“After the exhibition ends, the organizers will send it back.”
Shang Sui withdrew his gaze from the painting and looked at him quietly. After a moment, he said, “If you like it, I can give it to you.”
“Really?” Shi Qi’s eyes lit up with surprise. “You’ll give it to me?”
“Don’t lose it.”
“I won’t, I’ll keep it safe.” Shi Qi added, “And I can leave it at your place, so it won’t get lost.”
After a brief pause, Shang Sui softly agreed.
Since Shi Qi didn’t like spicy food, they finally chose a Huaiyang restaurant nearby.
Qin Shuhe was volunteering at the exhibition today, and he happened to be getting off work, so Shi Qi invited him to join them for dinner.
As soon as he saw him, Qin Shuhe covered his eyes. “Oh my god! Did one of the art pieces from our exhibit escape and walk out on its own?”
Shi Qi: “?”
Shi Qi: “You sound like you copied that from a translation app.”
Qin Shuhe was thrown for a second, then laughed and said, “I heard from my coworkers that there was an Omega at the daytime gallery who’s as beautiful as a fairy, with platinum blonde, and I guessed it might be you.”
“So what’s with this outfit today, Your Majesty? Going undercover?” Qin Shuhe was clearly intrigued. “I thought being cool was your entire brand.”
Shi Qi lifted his chin slightly, gesturing to the person next to him. “Shang Sui picked it.”
Qin Shuhe gave a thumbs up. “The empress has great taste.”
Saying that, he turned to look at Shang Sui and half-jokingly complained, “Ge, you’re way too low-key!”
“I always thought your WeChat name was because you liked S’s work too, but it turns out you’re actually him! I don’t work in the art section, and only found out today from my coworkers. My jaw almost hit the floor. Seriously, ge, that’s cold! It’s one thing to hide it from strangers, but we’ve known each other for so long…”
With Qin Shuhe around, there was no worry about awkward silences.
He rattled on non-stop, making everyone laugh. Jiang Youning took the chance to add, “Exactly! Why keep it so low-key!”
She still remembered what had happened earlier and cleared her throat. “Anyway, sorry about before. I really didn’t expect you to be so successful at such a young age.”
Shang Sui played the part of taking all the blame today. “No worries, I spoke out of turn.”
Seeing this, Jiang Youning nodded to herself and mentally bumped up her opinion of him.
After everyone ordered food, Shi Qi went to the restroom. On his way out, he happened to run into Li Zhao by the sinks.
Li Zhao had been dating Jiang Youning for three years. Though their work often kept them apart, their relationship was very stable.
Li Zhao had traveled to many places, visited war-torn countries, and interviewed tribes deep in jungles. During Carnival in Brazil, a shooting had happened just a few hundred meters from where she was. Jiang Youning had been so scared she couldn’t sleep for a whole day and night. When she finally got through to Li Zhao, the first thing she said was, “Thank god you’re okay.”
In Shi Qi’s impression, she was a gentle yet very resolute person.
Li Zhao smiled at him and suddenly said, “By the way, Xiao Qi, I’m working on a feature recently. Can I ask you a few questions? Just to gather some material.”
Shi Qi responded with a hum. “What’s the topic?”
“Special ruts.”
A flicker of surprise passed through Shi Qi’s eyes. Li Zhao continued, “I want to ask your opinion on people with special ruts. Most people avoid them like the plague, seeing them as a threat to stability. But a smaller group believes that those with special ruts are superior, in a way transcending the ABO dynamic. They themselves aren’t affected by pheromones but can in turn influence others.”
Because of Shang Sui, Shi Qi knew much more than the average person about special ruts.
“I don’t have any particular opinion,” Shi Qi said truthfully. “I see the person first, and only afterward see the special rut.”
“People are individuals. I don’t like labeling others or making generalizations.”
Shi Qi thought about how to describe it most appropriately and finally chose to give an example: “If it’s my friend, even after learning they have a special rut, they’re still my friend. It’s the same with any other kind of relationship.”
“I see…” Li Zhao seemed thoughtful. “In my experience, very few people think that way.”
Shi Qi’s heart skipped a beat, his thoughts scattering for a moment.
He wasn’t sure if he’d acted naturally enough. For now, he had no intention of letting his family know about Shang Sui’s situation. Even if they might be open about it in the future, it would have to be on Shang Sui’s terms.
Li Zhao was sharp. Worried she might pick up on something, Shi Qi took the initiative and asked, “What about you, Xiao Li-jiejie?”
She paused, thinking carefully for a long moment.
“My view is similar to yours. I also think you can’t define an entire group based on some individuals’ behavior. Even by the numbers, 70% of those in special ruts are innocent victims.”
“But if I actually met someone like that, I don’t know if I could truly treat them with complete normalcy.” Knowing Shi Qi always spoke from the heart, Li Zhao looked at him with a hint of admiration. “Xiao Qi, the fact that you can say this without hesitation is very brave in my eyes.”
Hearing this, Shi Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
Had his performance just now been okay?
After a brief pause, Li Zhao added, “Do you know about the serial killings that happened in Haicheng ten years ago? The Alpha with a special rut who disguised himself as a Beta? The killer had a sadistic tendency and would cut off all ten fingers of the victims.”
“That case went on for two years, with a total of seven victims, and wasn’t officially closed until eight years ago.”
Shi Qi nodded. “I’ve heard of the case.”
Most of what he knew came from a horror game Qin Shuhe had recommended. The game had changed the setting to a school and made sure that all characters and plotlines were unrelated to real events. Only one element had been inspired by the rumors around the Haicheng serial murder case.
Back then, there had been hazy whispers that the killer could mentally control the victims, which was how he’d managed to torture and kill so many people with such ease.
Because it sounded so far-fetched and no evidence ever surfaced, few people believed it.
The game developers had borrowed that idea, but clearly stated that everything was fictional and unrelated to reality.
“This case caused a huge stir at the time, and even now, people still bring it up from time to time. You could say that because of that serial killer, Alphas with special ruts ended up in an even tougher situation.”
After saying this, Li Zhao explained, “The feature I’m working on is directly related to that case.”
Shi Qi understood. “So that’s what it was.”
When they returned to the private room, the scene inside was lively and bustling.
Jiang Youning and Shang Sui sat across from each other on opposite sides of the round table, with Qin Shuhe in the middle. There were two bottles of red wine on the table, and a dozen beers placed on the floor.
When Li Zhao sat down beside her, Jiang Youning leaned over and rubbed against her affectionately. “Why were you gone so long? Touching up your makeup?”
“I ran into Xiao Qi and chatted with him for a bit.”
Jiang Youning let out an “Oh,” her cheeks slightly flushed and her eyes shining.
Shi Qi was very familiar with that expression; whenever she had too much to drink, she would show this kind of excited look.
“I just asked him…” Jiang Youning gestured toward Shang Sui. “You two supposedly knew each other from before, but all these years, I never heard a word about it. It’s like you never kept in touch.”
“He said it doesn’t matter if you didn’t keep in touch, and it’s fine if you forgot. As long as he remembers, that’s enough.”
Shi Qi was stunned for a moment.
At the beginning of their fake dating act, in order to convince his family, he and Shang Sui had made up a story.
He had almost forgotten about it himself, but luckily Shang Sui hadn’t slipped up.
From the moment Shi Qi walked in, Shang Sui’s gaze had been fixed only on him. His eyes shimmered as he smiled at him. “Come here.”
“Dude, you’re seriously a love expert.”
Jiang Youning said as she twisted her long silver hair up, then raised her wine glass again. “I actually admire you a bit—cheers!”
Shang Sui clinked glasses with her across the table.
After watching him drink and then prop his head up with one hand, looking slightly out of it, Shi Qi couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you guys drink so much?”
Not only had they drunk a lot, but they had also mixed different kinds of alcohol. It was like they were aiming to get drunk.
“…Hmm?”
Shang Sui responded a beat late. “It’s fine. Not that much.”
Qin Shuhe leaned in close to Shi Qi and whispered, “Youning-jie said she wants to get my ge drunk tonight. Says a man’s drinking habits reveal their character. She’s planning to get him so wasted he blurts out his bank card password.”
“With her saying that, my ge had no choice but to go along.”
Shi Qi: “…”
He had to admit that this was exactly Jiang Youning’s style.
Unlike Shi Qi, Jiang Youning could drink endlessly without getting drunk.
The more she drank, the clearer her head felt. Suddenly, she remembered something. “About that thing with Yu Zhiling, I never got a chance to thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” Shang Sui replied. “Not a big deal.”
They were both Alphas, and hearing that, Jiang Youning gave a short laugh.
The fact that he answered so naturally just proved even more that he already considered Shi Qi part of his territory. So, anything he did for him was just a small matter.
Even though his biological sister was sitting right there…
She suddenly thought of something. “You know, I used to tell Xiao Qi that he had to find an Alpha from a poorer family than ours. That way, he could bully him at will. If the guy ever annoyed him, he could just lock him up at home.”
“I know—Shi Qi wants someone he can boss around.” Qin Shuhe joked, “So how about it, ge? Think you’re up for the role?”
Shi Qi had been picking out tofu when he heard the words. His hand trembled, and the tofu fell back into the container with a plop.
Bringing this up in front of Shang Sui made him embarrassed, so he could only signal Jiang Youning and Qin Shuhe in turn, motioning for them to shut up.
But Jiang Youning exposed him directly, “What’s wrong, baby? Weren’t you totally on board with this before? Now you can’t bear to go through with it?”
As she spoke, she cast a provoking glance at Shang Sui. She deliberately brought this up just to let him know that Shi Qi has a bad temper, and he’d better be ready to put up with it for life.
Unexpectedly, the Alpha across from them blinked slightly, then actually laughed.
“Really?” Shang Sui said sincerely. “Something that good could actually happen?”
“…?”
Jiang Youning rubbed her temples, starting to suspect she was drunk.
Shang Sui asked in a consultative tone, “After I get locked up, can Xiao Qi come see me once a day?”
Qin Shuhe burst out laughing. “Damn, ge, you’re even okay with this! I’ve gotta call you a master of love.”
Shang Sui didn’t show the effects of alcohol on his face and still seemed to be barely hanging on to reason.
But his voice was thicker than usual, with an almost bewitching quality. Shi Qi, distracted for a moment, found himself pulled in, imagining the scene in his head without even realizing it.
When Shi Qi didn’t respond, Shang Sui leaned in closer.
The tip of his nose picked up a faint trace of Alpha pheromones that had accidentally slipped out, sweet enough that Shi Qi instinctively licked his lips.
Shang Sui said in a voice only the two of them could hear, half-joking and half-serious, “If that’s the case, even if I have to serve you with my body, I’ll do it willingly.”
Shi Qi went quiet for a moment, his ears suddenly burning. “What nonsense are you spouting? You’re such a perv.”
Despite his words, Shi Qi snatched the glass from his hand and said to Jiang Youning, “No more drinks for him. He’s already rambling like a drunk.”
“I don’t believe it.” Jiang Youning tilted her chin toward Shang Sui. “Tell me, who’s sitting next to you?”
Shang Sui was seated farthest away, and there was only one person next to him.
He exchanged a look with Shi Qi, his eyes glossy from the alcohol, still glinting with a smile, like moonlight shimmering over the sea.
“Someone I like.”
He said gently and with deep affection, “I like Xiao Qi more than anyone in the world.”
Seeing that Shang Sui had started giving irrelevant answers, Jiang Youning finally believed he wasn’t sober anymore.
She muttered, “What the hell, if this keeps up, I might actually start shipping you two.”
Shi Qi had been caught off guard by the confession, thinking drunkards would really dare say anything, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he couldn’t help but secretly hold Shang Sui’s hand under the table.
But that alone wasn’t enough. To show how he felt, Shi Qi gave his hand a little shake up and down.
“I’ve been feeling so happy lately.” Shang Sui gripped Shi Qi’s hand in return.
He indeed was quite drunk, speaking incoherently, “Every day feels like a dream. Am I really allowed to be like this? I’m so scared you’ll disappear… Don’t disappear… Can we stay like this forever?”
After they had confirmed their relationship, this was the first time Shi Qi realized Shang Sui had such a fragile, sensitive side.
Though he didn’t know whether it was the alcohol talking, Shi Qi found it interesting. He was just about to nod when something suddenly came to mind.
He still felt a little embarrassed about it, but that feeling was quickly overtaken by curiosity.
Thinking of how Jiang Yan usually addressed him, Shi Qi deliberately drew out his words, watching for his reaction.
“Of course, Xiao Sui-gege.”
Shang Sui’s eyes flickered, and the faint sweetness in the air changed abruptly, like warm syrup turning into sticky spider silk.
After a long pause, Shang Sui said, “Were you calling me? I didn’t catch that. Say it again.”
The scent that clung to him made his Alpha desire for dominance unmistakably clear. Even if he pretended otherwise on the surface, his pheromones betrayed him completely.
Shi Qi burst out laughing.
Drunk like this, and still obsessing over a form of address? Did he really like it that much?
“No,” Shi Qi added slowly, “I was talking to a drunk idiot.”
Author’s note:
In the spirit of fairness, everyone takes turns being drunk.
