Shi Qi’s dark gray eyes glistened with moisture as he stared unwaveringly at Shang Sui.
He was fairly certain the other wouldn’t refuse, but after what had just happened, a tangle of emotions stirred within him. Shi Qi chose to remain silent and wait for an answer.
Little did he know that, in Shang Sui’s eyes, he looked more like an angel who had suddenly appeared with a surprise.
The kind of angel who had just descended to earth for the first time, still a little clumsy at the job.
Shang Sui replayed his words in his mind before asking, “A gift for me?”
Shi Qi didn’t directly confirm. “Is there a second Teacher Shang around here?”
“I’m just so happy, I had to double-check.” Shang Sui smiled and took the bag from his hands. “I didn’t expect to receive a gift from you. Thank you.”
Shang Sui’s reaction was exactly what Shi Qi had hoped for, and his nervousness faded. He responded coolly, “Mm,” then added, “No need to thank me.”
“Can I take a look?”
“It’s your gift. Of course you can do whatever you want.”
Shang Sui unwrapped the layers of packaging and found a satin baseball jacket in black and orange—completely different from Shi Qi’s usual style. He immediately realized Shi Qi had chosen it especially for him.
“This jacket looks great. I’ve actually been into this color combo lately. I was even thinking of getting something similar.”
That was the truth. In his good mood, even his voice brimmed with warmth and charm. “Thank you, Xiao Qi. We’re perfectly in sync.”
“…Mm.”
Shang Sui was naturally familiar, and Shi Qi was already getting used to being called by his nickname. “As long as you like it.”
“But why did you want to give me clothes?” Shang Sui asked curiously.
“You did the compatibility test with me and even took photos.”
Shi Qi watched him put the jacket back into the bag and thought he might still feel awkward about accepting it, so he hastened to explain, “Even between friends, you should show appreciation when someone helps you. And you’ve helped me a lot.”
So just accept it with peace of mind.
Otherwise, if I bring this thing back, Lin Yan will definitely start asking a bunch of questions.
“I see,” Shang Sui said after he finished. “I’ll prepare a return gift for you.”
Huh…?
Shi Qi was momentarily stunned, puzzled as to why Shang Sui would offer a return gift when he was the one being thanked. But then he thought that this kind of back-and-forth exchange didn’t feel like they were treating each other as strangers.
Shi Qi couldn’t help but feel curious.
Would he really receive a gift from Shang Sui in return? And what would it be?
–
Inside the grand theater, the lights dimmed. The scarlet curtain slowly descended with the final note, signaling the end of the performance.
Thunderous applause erupted as the lights came back on for the curtain call, and the host and actors took the stage one by one to bow and give thanks.
Jiang Yan stirred awake from the noise, blinking groggily. He asked the person next to him, “Is it over?”
“Just ended,” Shang Sui replied.
“…Next time, can we not meet at such a classy place?”
Jiang Yan rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep ten minutes into the show and couldn’t fathom how Shang Sui had watched it so intently.
Before coming, Jiang Yan had read the synopsis of the musical. It was a story about vengeance and entanglement.
In a distant ancient kingdom, a kind-hearted boy happened upon a dying prisoner who had escaped from a lawless zone.
The prisoner thought he was doomed, but the boy took pity on him. He hid the man from the city patrols, secretly brought him food and water, then precious medicine and warm clothes…
The prisoner came from a secluded place, and the boy was deeply curious. They often talked.
On the day the prisoner left, the boy said farewell and wished him well.
But when he woke up again, the boy didn’t see the ceiling of his own home. Outside the window was the lawless, dangerous land the prisoner had described.
The boy had saved someone, only to be dragged into hell himself.
Jiang Yan hadn’t bothered reading the rest in detail, but it seemed like the boy went all out for revenge, and the two ended up locked in endless battles.
What a farcical twist on “The Farmer and the Viper,”[mfn]A similar story, but with a farmer and a snake, where the snake ends up biting the farmer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farmer_and_the_Viper[/mfn] he thought.
Shang Sui didn’t even bother to comment. “You were the one who insisted on coming with me.”
“Because I wanted to talk to you about investing in Huijian.” As soon as he brought it up, Jiang Yan perked up. “Even if you only invest one yuan, that’s fine! I’m begging you, Xiao Sui-gege!”
Huijian’s operations were going decently, but it had never taken off the way Jiang Yan had envisioned. Recently, he’d consulted a fortune-teller, who said he was just one benefactor away from achieving great things.
Shang Sui made money on anything he invested in, and his luck was uncanny. Jiang Yan had thought it over and decided Shang Sui was that benefactor.
But Shang Sui was someone with strong opinions and usually not easily swayed. Jiang Yan had prepared himself for a long-term persuasion campaign, but Shang Sui said thoughtfully, “Alright.”
“Huh??” Jiang Yan sat up straight. “You agreed just like that?!”
“It’s your return gift.”
“What?”
“It just occurred to me that you actually did me a huge favor.”
If Jiang Yan hadn’t asked him to check out Huijian’s courtyard layout that day, he wouldn’t have reunited with Shi Qi, and certainly not in such a perfect way.
“I don’t even know what I did.” Jiang Yan thought back to the look on Shang Sui’s face just now and immediately got goosebumps. “Why do you sound so scary? Don’t scheme against me, alright? I’m not that smart.”
Shang Sui had just opened his mouth to reply when Jiang Yan spotted a figure in the distance, and his expression changed.
“Damn, why is that pervert Shen Qianyu here too?” Jiang Yan stood up abruptly. “You two chat—I’m out of here. Last time during my rut, I wasn’t feeling well and went to Shen Qianyu for treatment. He suggested I get my glands removed. I suggested he study ethics before practicing medicine. That guy’s clearly messed up in the head—”
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to remind Shang Sui, “Don’t forget what you promised me! I’ll send you the contract later!”
By the time Shen Qianyu walked over, Jiang Yan had already vanished. He adjusted his thin-rimmed glasses. “Jiang Yan left?”
“He didn’t want to see you.”
Shen Qianyu withdrew his gaze and studied Shang Sui for a moment before speaking with a half-smile, “Good evening, young master. Does seeing me jog your memory about something?”
Shang Sui paused suspiciously for a moment. “I forgot.”
Shen Qianyu was his private doctor and had also been a longtime friend. Despite his young age, he was already the deputy director of a private hospital. He only treated Shang Sui due to their personal connection.
“Why don’t you check your phone? It’s been a month since I messaged you, and now you’re acting like it’s nothing—just saying you forgot?”
“I asked you to come last month for a psychological evaluation. If we hadn’t run into each other today, I wouldn’t even know how to reach you.”
“…” Shang Sui finally spoke his mind. “I just don’t want to do it. Even thinking about it annoys me.”
Shen Qianyu frowned slightly. On some level, he understood why Shang Sui had been procrastinating.
In the public eye, Alphas with special ruts were considered dangerous. Shang Sui had been avoiding the psychological evaluation as long as he could. No one wanted to be reminded that they were an outlier.
Still, there were less than two months left in the year. Once the evaluation was complete, it would take additional time to upload and review it in the database.
Shen Qianyu advised, “For Madam Yu’s sake, you really should get it done as soon as possible.”
Alphas with special ruts were required to have a guarantor—an Omega partner, a family member, or a close friend.
If the Alpha was bonded to an Omega, that partner would automatically take precedence as guarantor. Currently, Shang Sui’s guarantor was Yu Wan.
If anything happened to Shang Sui, Yu Wan would be held responsible.
“Relax. I’ll show up right at the deadline.”
“…That habit of yours is hopeless.”
To Shen Qianyu, who was used to meticulously planning everything in advance, Shang Sui’s nonchalance was unbearable.
He looked at him, already feeling a headache coming on.
“Forgive me for asking, but is there anyone in the world you actually text back right away?”
–
Shi Qi hadn’t expected Shang Sui’s return gift to arrive even sooner than anticipated.
Less than five days after they’d seen each other at the art academy, a delivery arrived. Shi Qi had originally planned to tell the courier to drop it off at the campus pickup station, but the courier insisted the package was a valuable item and had to be handed over in person.
Shi Qi was puzzled—he hadn’t ordered anything recently. When he opened the package and saw the clothes inside, he immediately realized who had sent it.
He took a photo and sent it.
17: [Did you send this?]
Shang Sui replied quickly.
Ss: [You got the gift?]
Ss: [Hope you like it ^^]
Shi Qi stared at the light-colored fuzzy sweater in the box and fell into thought.
How to put it…
Objectively speaking, the sweater was good-looking. But it couldn’t have been more different from his usual style.
After some deliberation, Shi Qi decided to set aside his usual fashion preferences and judge it purely on aesthetics.
17: [It’s really nice. Thank you.]
Ss: [You’re welcome.]
Ss: [Are you free today? I’m subbing for a class this afternoon. Let’s have dinner together tonight?]
17: [Sure.]
17: [I’m done with classes after 4:30.]
Before heading out for class, Shi Qi hesitated.
If he had just complimented the sweater but then showed up without wearing it, it would seem like he’d only said it to be polite.
After much internal debate, Shi Qi reached for the baby blue sweater.
It hadn’t looked like much in the box, but once he put it on, he realized the neckline was wider than most of his clothes, subtly revealing his slender collarbone.
No matter how he looked at it, Shi Qi felt uncomfortable. In the end, he threw a black jacket over it, finally feeling like himself again.
He had planned to take a nap after class before meeting up with Shang Sui, but just before the class ended, the dance club president sent a rushed message to the group chat.
President: [@17, Xiao Qi, are you free in a bit? Can you come to the dance studio? I have something urgent to discuss!]
17: [I’m free, I’ll head over after class.]
President: [Awesome!! I’ll be waiting!!]
The “urgent” matter turned out to be even more troublesome than Shi Qi had expected, and he ended up having to stay longer.
Shang Sui hadn’t heard from him, so after class, he took the initiative to send a sticker.
It was a round-eyed cat with its head tilted, as if asking, “What are you doing?”
Shi Qi looked at the cat sticker, then at Shang Sui’s blue-and-gold gradient profile picture, and couldn’t help but feel as if he were made up of two completely different people.
Where did Shang Sui even find so many cute cat images?
17: [I’m at the dance club. Something came up.]
17: [Dinner might be a bit later.]
Ss: [Want me to come find you?]
17: [Sure.]
Thinking Shang Sui might not be familiar with the campus, Shi Qi sent another message.
17: [Where are you? I’ll come get you.]
A moment later, Shang Sui replied: [I ran into your friend. He’s bringing me over.]
“Hey, handsome. We meet again.” Lin Yan greeted Shang Sui cheerfully, holding a stack of milk teas in his arms. “I thought I recognized you from a distance—can’t believe it’s really you.”
Shang Sui noticed Lin Yan struggling to carry all the drinks by himself. “Let me help you.”
Lin Yan didn’t stand on ceremony and handed him half. “These are for the dance club. Shi Qi’s there too. I’ll take you over.”
“The dance club?”
“You haven’t seen it yet? Shi Qi’s really good at dancing.” Lin Yan recalled something from the group chat. “I think the president wants him to join a competition. I’m not too sure on the details, but we can ask once we’re there.”
“Oh, right. I haven’t had a chance to say this yet.” Lin Yan paused slightly, then smiled and thanked Shang Sui. “Thanks for helping Shi Qi.”
“His family pampers him a lot, so he might come off as a little spoiled. But honestly, he’s really soft-hearted. I hope you can be patient with him.”
Shang Sui responded naturally, “I think he has a great personality. He doesn’t have a bad temper at all.”
Lin Yan went quiet for a moment, confirming that Shang Sui wasn’t just being polite, then laughed and said, “You’re the first person to ever say that. Even I wouldn’t dare describe him like that.”
“Let me tell you something funny. Have you noticed that Shi Qi only wears black and white?”
Shang Sui hummed in acknowledgment.
That was exactly why he had hesitated so long when picking out the gift. But in the end, he thought the soft, light blue of the sweater complemented Shi Qi’s hair color too well, so he went with it anyway.
“Uncle Xiao An… that’s Shi Qi’s dad, and also Youning-jie, the two of them were kind of evil.”
“When Shi Qi was little and didn’t know any better, Uncle Xiao An tricked him into wearing dresses, and Youning-jie played along too.”
Shi Qi had been so beautiful as a child that it was hard to tell if he was a boy or a girl. With his tiny face and big, watery eyes, Shi An just couldn’t help himself.
He picked out brightly colored dresses in pink, yellow, and blue for Shi Qi. Meanwhile, Jiang Youning treated Shi Qi like a life-sized doll, telling him that everyone wore dresses and even putting all kinds of hair clips on him.
“Later, as Shi Qi grew up and slowly realized that wasn’t normal, the whole thing kind of faded away. But then in high school, he accidentally saw one of Uncle Xiao An’s old photo albums.”
Lin Yan had been there that day and clearly remembered the way Shi Qi’s face darkened as he flipped through the album.
At first, Shi An thought it wasn’t a big deal. But when he saw that Shi Qi was genuinely angry, he realized he was in the wrong and started apologizing.
Shi An couldn’t manage to coax him and finally said in despair, “Baby, don’t be mad. We’ll get rid of all the photos. Not a single one will be left…!”
Shi Qi didn’t actually make him throw them away, but ever since then, he had only worn black and white.
Shi An believed the brightly colored dresses had traumatized Shi Qi and was pretty alarmed for a while. But later, Shi Qi explained that although he’d been upset at first, he eventually just came to prefer black and white. It felt clean and simple—that was all.
Jiang Youning was a fashion designer, and during that time, she had introduced Shi Qi to quite a few part-time modeling gigs, hoping he would start wearing more colorful clothes. But even after completing those photo shoots, Shi Qi still refused to touch anything with color.
“…That’s pretty much it.” Lin Yan concluded after finishing the story, “He just looks well-behaved, but he actually has a strong personality.”
After hearing the story, an image formed automatically in Shang Sui’s mind: a little Shi Qi wearing a dress, looking doubtful but going along with whatever the adults told him.
Just the thought of it made him feel it was incredibly cute.
When he met Shi Qi, the latter had already been a teenager. Shang Sui hadn’t gotten the chance to see the younger version Lin Yan described, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret.
As they chatted, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the dance club without even realizing it.
Inside the studio, it was warm, starkly different from the biting cold outside. Shi Qi had only been there a short while before he took off his jacket.
The loose neckline of the sweater made his neck look long and slender, and the exposed skin was so pale it was almost dazzling.
Lin Yan immediately noticed something different about his appearance and raised his voice as soon as he walked in.
“Wow, Shi Qi! Are you wearing a fluffy sweater? And it’s light blue! I haven’t seen you look this pure in years.”
“Hell must be freezing over!”
“…Shut up.”
Feeling Shang Sui’s gaze drifting over, Shi Qi tugged awkwardly at the low neckline.
Why was the heating in the studio turned up so high?
It was so hot.
Author’s note: Shang Sui, what did you put in that sweater that’s making Xiao Qi so hot?
