“What are you doing?”
Shi Qi asked again.
After waiting a long time without receiving a response, he couldn’t help but want to take off the eye mask.
Just as he lifted his hand, a slightly muffled voice, tinged with satisfaction, spoke. “…Don’t take it off.”
Shi Qi’s ears felt like they’d been scalded, and his hand froze mid-air.
Those few words were like little hooks, making his toes curl involuntarily in the water. As Shang Sui had instructed, Shi Qi stayed still.
Something about Shang Sui felt a little strange…
Time passed again. Just when Shi Qi was about to lose his patience, he heard someone approach.
“All right, get up.”
The other man squatted down and gently removed the eye mask for him.
Shang Sui had changed into a sleep robe, which was probably his own. The dark blue silk fabric set off his pale, cool-toned skin. As he removed the eye mask, their faces were close. Shi Qi noticed a faint flush under Shang Sui’s eyes and a light brown beauty mark at the corner of his left eye.
He hadn’t realized Shang Sui had a mole there. For a moment, Shi Qi was so entranced he nearly reached out to touch it.
Realizing what he was doing, he clicked his tongue in his mind.
Was it the pheromones? Their high compatibility made it easy for him to become affected, making him want to get close to Shang Sui if he wasn’t careful.
“Are you cold?” Shang Sui asked as he pulled a bath towel from the side.
The bath was temperature-controlled; otherwise, soaking for so long would’ve left Shi Qi chilled.
He shook his head and stood up from the tub.
The wet hem of the shirt clung to his fair thighs. Shang Sui caught sight of that rosy mole again, and a flood of tempting images flashed through his mind.
Near the end, he’d seen Shi Qi part his lips, as if trying to swallow something.
Compared to him, Shi Qi was smaller in every way. Even his tongue looked tiny when he opened his mouth.
His throat must be small too, easy to fill up.
Shang Sui calmly cracked his knuckles, forcing himself to stop.
Faced with Shi Qi’s oblivious expression, he thought that if he kept going down this line of thought, he really might be a pervert.
He wrapped the towel around Shi Qi’s wet body. The latter stood there quietly, clearly accustomed to being served.
“There are clean clothes on the bed. Go change, and call me when you’re done.”
Shi Qi hummed in agreement, finding nothing unusual about Shang Sui’s attentiveness.
He had always been pampered at home, and being looked after felt natural to him.
Before leaving, Shi Qi noticed a towel by the shower entrance. It looked like it had been tossed down carelessly, almost as if trying to hide something.
Was Shang Sui worried about slipping, so he threw a towel there?
Still, that spot smelled really sweet…
Shi Qi shook his head and pushed the stray thought aside.
A casual tracksuit lay on the bed. The pant legs were wide and long and needed to be rolled up. The waist didn’t fit well either, but he could wear it by tightening the drawstrings.
However, the set was made of pink-washed denim with fluorescent spray-painted patterns.
Shi Qi went silent for three seconds. Then he decided to accept it.
Whatever.
He’d already used up all his luck finding that black shirt in Shang Sui’s suitcase earlier.
Shi Qi took off the nearly soaked shirt. After thinking for a moment, he picked up his dirty clothes along with the wet shirt, planning to wash them before returning them.
“I’m done,” he said in the direction of the balcony.
When Shang Sui came in, he saw Shi Qi holding a pile of clothes in his arms, like a squirrel clutching a pine cone.
“What are you laughing at?” Shi Qi asked.
“Nothing,” Shang Sui replied with a grin.
“…” I really want to punch him.
Shi Qi’s room was on the floor above. Shang Sui walked him back. Before leaving, he noticed the flush on Shi Qi’s face had faded, which meant the effects of the heat were gradually wearing off.
“If you feel unwell tonight, message me.”
“Okay. Thanks for your help.” Shi Qi hesitated for a moment, then looked into his eyes. “Good night.”
With a smile on his face, Shang Sui replied, “Good night, Xiao Qi.”
After the door closed, Shi Qi tossed the clothes onto the couch, kicked off his slippers, and flopped onto the bed.
He was slowly clearing up and no longer in a daze like before. Thinking about what had just happened with Shang Sui, his face burned. Unconsciously, he reached up and touched the spot behind his neck.
The pleasure from the pheromone injection had dulled the pain. The skin had been bitten hard enough to bleed, leaving two dark red marks. When he touched it, he could feel the shape of a symmetrical bite.
Shi Qi opened his phone and found Shang Sui in his contacts.
17: [Thank you for the clothes. I’ll wash them and return them to you.]
Shang Sui was probably still on his way downstairs and replied quickly.
Ss: [You’re washing my clothes? Really?]
It was just laundry. Why would he joke about that?
17: [The hotel has a laundry room.]
Shi Qi got out of bed and took a closer look. Shang Sui’s shirt had a dark pattern, and the sweatshirt he was wearing had distressed edges. Neither looked like it could be machine-washed.
17: [Are your clothes machine washable? If not, I’ll take them back for dry cleaning.]
Ss: [Just toss them in the washer, but make sure you do it yourself ^^]
17: [Oh, alright.]
After asking the question, Shi Qi remembered something and took out the necklace Shang Sui had lent him during the dance competition. He snapped a photo of it.
He poked Jiang Youning on WeChat. It was close to midnight, the time when she was usually full of energy. She returned the gesture quickly.
Shi Qi sent her the photo of the necklace.
17: [Jiejie, do you recognize this? How much is it worth?]
Jiang Youning: [I have a similar one, around 200,000.]
Jiang Youning: [Whose necklace is this? Your boyfriend’s?]
Shi Qi froze for a moment.
He had always assumed Shang Sui didn’t come from a wealthy family and had taken a job at Huijian for financial reasons. But after spending time with him, neither the return gift he gave nor his overall demeanor matched someone from a tough background.
He’d also seen Shang Sui get out of a Maybach once, apparently picked up by a chauffeur.
He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now the realization left him feeling a bit thrown off.
It was like realizing the stray cat he’d been feeding all this time could actually sprinkle gold dust on its own… quite a shock.
But on second thought, Shang Sui had never said he was poor. Regardless of his background, Shang Sui was still Shang Sui.
Once he settled on that thought, Shi Qi didn’t see any problem with Shang Sui working at Huijian. Maybe it was just a part-time job to look for inspiration? It’s perfectly normal for artists to have a few quirky habits.
Shi Qi convinced himself of this. When Jiang Youning saw he hadn’t replied, she followed up: [How are you two doing lately?]
Shi Qi thought for a bit, then went to the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror, and took a photo of the bite mark on his neck.
17: [We just did a temporary mark.]
Jiang Youning replied with a long string of question marks, then said: [Sorry baby, I have to go snitch.]
Before Shi Qi could protest, Jiang Youning texted in a frenzy: [Report! Papa Xiao An fainted after hearing it.]
Jiang Youning: [He’s awake now, trying to revive himself by pinching his philtrum.]
Jiang Youning: [He’s asking if you used a condom. I can’t take it, he’s yelling like crazy over here.]
Before Shi Qi could reply, a video call from Shi An came crashing in.
Jiang Youning and Shi An squeezed their faces into one screen. In the background stood Jiang Li in a suit, looking like he had just gotten home. He was muttering, “Xiao Qi is already grown up, don’t pry into everything, give him some privacy.”
Unfortunately, no one was listening.
Shi An: “Did you use protection?! You’ve only just met, how could he already trick you into bed—”
Shi Qi: “It was just a bite.”
Shi An seemed to misinterpret that completely, his voice suddenly jumping in pitch. “Bite?! He… he made you use your mouth…!”
Compared to the panicked Shi An, Jiang Youning was far calmer. “It’s not that big of a deal. What year do you think it is? Besides, weren’t you the one always saying you wanted Xiao Qi to find someone?”
Shi An: “How can that be the same? They’ve only known each other for a month, and they’re already making a mark. What’s next, secretly getting married next month?!”
At the critical moment, Shi Qi didn’t forget to stick to the script. “It’s a reunion; we already knew each other before.”
After saying that, he asked in confusion, “And what are you even talking about? It was just a bite on the neck. A temporary mark.”
Wasn’t a bite on the neck exactly how textbooks described temporary marking?
This time, it was Jiang Youning who was the one making a fuss. “You mean the two of you were in the same room, on the same bed, and in the end he only bit your neck?”
Shi Qi: “Mm.”
Jiang Youning and Shi An exchanged a glance. Shi An looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated, while Jiang Youning spoke bluntly, “Is your boyfriend impotent? What kind of adult only bites the neck for a temporary mark after getting together?”
“I would never be like that.” After saying that, she turned to Jiang Li behind her for confirmation. “Right, Dad? We Alphas would never do something like that!”
Jiang Li, unable to squeeze into the frame, could only speak from the back. His gentle and refined voice carried a hint of disapproval. “Xiao Qi, um… could your boyfriend have some kind of private issue?”
Shi Qi reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling. “No!”
Shi An sneered. “How would you know?”
“Because he… he was pressing against me.”
In order to defend Shang Sui’s reputation, Shi Qi emphasized, “He’s big! Really big! And perfectly healthy!”
“………………”
The room fell into dead silence.
Shi Qi’s face turned bright red, and he hurried to hang up the call. “Bye! I’m going to sleep! Good night!”
His heart pounded wildly. Even after a while, his face was still burning.
Shi Qi couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
Damn it, what kind of mess is this.
–
Maybe it was because the phone call before bed had been too shocking, but Shi Qi tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.
Even after getting up, eating breakfast, and heading toward the mountaintop for skiing, he was still drowsy.
On the way up, he sat in a cable car with Lin Yan, the snowy ground gleaming beneath them. Lin Yan glanced at the deep bite mark on the back of Shi Qi’s neck and couldn’t help but ask with concern, “How was it last night?”
Shi Qi had always had a messed-up sleep schedule, yet he never got dark circles or puffy eyes. Normally, you couldn’t tell if he’d stayed up.
But now he exuded a drained air—his gaze unfocused, yawning every now and then.
To exhaust Shi Qi to this extent, just how intense must it have been?
In his half-awake state, Shi Qi feared a repeat of last night’s situation, so he quickly emphasized, “Shang Sui’s fine. Very healthy.”
That only made Lin Yan more alarmed. “Then… did he stuff you full like a cream puff?”
“…” What the hell?
Shi Qi jolted fully awake, ears burning, and hurried to explain that Shang Sui had only given him a temporary mark.
He had expected Lin Yan to praise Shang Sui for being dependable, but surprisingly, Lin Yan fell silent.
Based on how intense Shang Sui had seemed last night, Lin Yan had half-expected Shi Qi to be absolutely wrecked in bed, but in the end, it was just a temporary mark.
Lin Yan couldn’t help muttering, “After all that, he still didn’t go all the way? Is he some kind of psycho?”
“What?” Shi Qi didn’t catch it clearly.
The cable car reached its destination, and the two of them quickly disembarked.
In the cable car behind them were Shang Sui and Qin Shuhe. Lin Yan saw the two talking as they walked over and thought maybe he’d been overthinking things.
What kind of psycho looked that good?
He knew that some Alpha volunteers helped out by giving temporary marks, and some Omegas didn’t like using suppressants and would pay Alphas to get through heat cycles. In any case, situations like that weren’t unusual.
Shang Sui was probably just a nice guy who was close to Shi Qi.
Thinking that, Lin Yan sighed, “His kindness to you is like giving you a new life.”
“I know,” Shi Qi replied with determination, “If it ever comes to it, I’d take a bullet for him.”
“…There probably won’t be such a time of raging war.”
Shi Qi noticed that Shang Sui had tied his hair up today, pulling it into a little tuft at the back of his head.
The new hairstyle made his facial features stand out more sharply. The wispy bangs accentuated his brow bone and jawline, and Shi Qi couldn’t help but steal a few more glances.
Wait a minute.
With his hair tied up like that, wouldn’t the bite mark on the back of Shang Sui’s neck be visible?
Shi Qi saw it clearly—nearly identical to the one on his own neck. It felt like undeniable evidence of their messy entanglement from the night before, and he was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt.
If anyone asked, Shang Sui would probably just say it was a bug bite.
After all, it’d be pretty humiliating for an Alpha to admit he’d been bitten on the glands by an Omega.
Qin Shuhe suddenly leaned in. “Ge, on your neck…”
Shang Sui replied smoothly, as if it were no big deal, “Xiao Qi bit me.”
Shi Qi, still zoning out a little, turned his head. “?”
Qin Shuhe finished his sentence, “—the necklace looks nice.”
Then, after a beat, he registered what he said. “Oh, it was Shi Qi who bit you… Huh???”
Shi Qi looked equally stunned, unable to believe Shang Sui had actually said that out loud.
Did Shang Sui not know what shame was??
Qin Shuhe looked from one of them to the other, eyes wide with admiration. “You guys… really went all out last night.”
Shi Qi tried to hold it in, but in the end, he couldn’t. While they were changing into snow gear, he finally asked, “Why did you tie your hair up today?”
“What’s wrong? Doesn’t it look good?” Shang Sui asked innocently. “It’s just inconvenient for skiing otherwise.”
“…Oh.”
The reason was too legit. Shi Qi immediately lost all momentum to question him and could only add, “It looks good.”
Just then, Chu Tao came running over. “Are you guys snowboarding or skiing?”
Shi Qi stuffed his hands in his pockets and answered coolly, “Snowboarding.”
Lin Yan knew him well. “Snowboards are cooler. That alone means our baby’s going to be a snowboarder for life.”
Shi Qi noticed Chu Tao looking conflicted. “If you’ve never skied before, you can start with skis.”
With someone helping her decide, Chu Tao was instantly saved. “I’ll listen to Your Majesty.”
Shi Qi: “Also, strap on a turtle shell[mfn] 
[/mfn] for protection.”
Chu Tao: “As you command.”
Then she suddenly caught sight of something and widened her eyes. “Whoa, Sui-ge, on your neck…”
Shang Sui smiled at her. “It was Xiao Qi who—”
Shi Qi couldn’t take his unrestrained behavior any longer. He turned and clamped a hand over Shang Sui’s mouth. “Shut up!”
Shang Sui’s shamelessness in letting the whole world know left Shi Qi at a loss for how to stop him. He could only lean in and whisper a warning, “Some things stay in the family, understand?”
Shang Sui was much taller, so Shi Qi had to stand on tiptoe just to reach him.
Something he said must’ve pleased the Alpha, because Shang Sui’s eyes curved, that beauty mark at the corner of his eye seeming to smile along with him.
Shi Qi could feel the stares from all around. When he turned to look, he saw that everyone was sneaking glances and even the staff was trying to hold back their laughter.
Shi Qi: “…”
Forget it. It is what it is.
The Xiaozhong Mountain ski resort was divided into green, blue, and black trails. To reach the black trail, you had to take another lift all the way to the top of the slope.
Shi Qi and Lin Yan went skiing every winter and brought their own snowboards and gear.
At first, Shi Qi was a little rusty, but he quickly found his rhythm. He dashed down from the top of the mountain, skillfully weaving through the crowd and dodging obstacles, soaring through the bends like a graceful bird.
About two-thirds of the way down, Shi Qi stopped to check how the others were doing.
While most people were still finding their footing, a few experienced skiers came flying down from the summit. Shang Sui was one of them. When he encountered an obstacle, instead of going around like most, he pressed down on the tail of his board with his back foot and pulled off a smooth ollie.
So cool.
Shi Qi couldn’t help but admire.
Shang Sui was also using his own snowboard. When he saw Shi Qi standing there, he skillfully slowed down with a series of tight turns until their boards gently bumped.
Shi Qi took off his goggles, remembering something. He pulled a golden double-cross necklace from his pocket. “Your necklace. Thanks for earlier.”
Shang Sui didn’t take it right away. “You can keep it if you want.”
Shi Qi shook his head and placed it in Shang Sui’s hand. Something that valuable didn’t feel right to keep.
Thinking back to that smooth run down the mountain, Shi Qi asked, “Do you ski often?”
“At university, I had a friend who was really into outdoor sports. I picked up a bit from him.”
Shi Qi was starting to realize just how little he actually knew about Shang Sui.
He had no idea what his family did, or what kind of experiences he’d had growing up.
“I heard from Qin Shuhe that you did both undergrad and grad school abroad?”
Shang Sui nodded.
Shi Qi was about to ask more when Qin Shuhe zipped past, tossing out a cheeky comment over his shoulder, “What’s the holdup, Your Majesty? Don’t tell me you’re already done before you even started—”
Qin Shuhe wasn’t much of a skier, but he was a pro at provoking people.
Shi Qi clicked his tongue, instantly distracted. He pulled down his goggles and took off after him.
Under normal circumstances, Shi Qi could snowboard all day without breaking a sweat. But still recovering from his recent heat, his body began to tire more quickly. His strength started to give out.
During a break, he took off his goggles, already sweating heavily.
“What’s going on, baby? You’re done already?” Lin Yan handed him a bottle of water and teased, “Aren’t you the prince of snowboarding?”
“Xiao Qi probably stayed with his boyfriend last night and didn’t even make it to the hot springs,” said the Omega beside Lin Yan, surnamed Su—the same one Lin Yan had once gifted a big pack of blockers to.
Su Zhou added, “I can still see bite marks on your neck. Must’ve been exhausting, huh?”
With only Omegas and Betas around, and no Alphas in sight, the group chatted freely.
Everyone perked up, eyes gleaming with curiosity as they stared at Shi Qi.
After last night’s brutal lesson, Shi Qi steeled himself, determined to protect Shang Sui’s reputation.
Pushing down his embarrassment, he racked his brain for the raunchiest phrases he could think of, then said mysteriously, “Yeah. My legs are still shaky now… but not from the skiing.”
Everyone immediately showed knowing expressions. Su Zhou’s Alpha boyfriend even chuckled. “I get it.”
Lin Yan thought Shi Qi was actually pretty good at making things up. Su Zhou added, “Xiao Qi’s boyfriend looks really strong. I watched them ski all morning, and he didn’t even seem tired.”
Shi Qi nodded, ready to go along with it. Just then, Lin Yan noticed someone approaching. “Shi Qi—”
Shi Qi shot him a look, signaling that, whatever the case, even fake couples had to protect each other’s image in public. “Yeah, Shang Sui’s super fierce! I couldn’t even get out of bed last night, and my voice went hoarse from all the shouting.”
Lin Yan: “…Uh, I was going to say, Shang Sui’s right behind you.”
Shi Qi froze like a robot that had just shut down. His brain instantly crashed.
He stood there in silence for a solid half-minute, then slowly turned around like a machine.
The Alpha he had just claimed was “super fierce” had taken off his goggles and was raising an eyebrow, his unreadable expression practically tangible. Clearly, he had heard every word of the indecent story Shi Qi had just made up behind his back.
Shi Qi: “…………”
At that moment, he wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.
Author’s note:
2s: I’ll definitely make sure Xiao Qi keeps his word ^^
17: …(passed out for various reasons
