Facing Shi Qi’s dazed expression, Shang Sui cupped his face with one hand.
His long fingers slowly caressed him, although it wasn’t exactly a threatening gesture, it made Shi Qi shudder involuntarily.
“You look especially cute when you cry,” Shang Sui said as he looked at Shi Qi’s guilty expression, “especially when you’re crying and saying you’re about to die.”
Shi Qi: “…”
Shi Qi: “Enough. Let what happened last night end with last night.”
“But I just can’t forget it. The way you looked when your legs gave out and you had to sit down—”
“Shang Sui!”
Shi Qi’s face flushed red. He tried to push him away, but the other leaned in like a dog pressing close to him.
With a slap, Shi Qi’s palm happened to hit the side of Shang Sui’s neck, even accidentally brushing part of his glands.
Hitting an Alpha’s glands was like slapping them in the face.
Shi Qi froze for a full three seconds, then panicked. “That really wasn’t on purpose! I was messing with you earlier, but this time I definitely wasn’t!”
Shang Sui’s expression was unreadable. Half-serious, half-joking, he asked, “Xiao Qi, why are you committing domestic violence now?”
As he spoke, he touched the side of his neck, as if recalling what had just happened, and actually started to smile.
Shi Qi had never seen anything like this before. Staring at the increasingly amused face in front of him, he found it genuinely unnerving.
He thought Shang Sui must have laughed out of anger and braced himself. “Go ahead and hit me back. Don’t hold it in.”
It was only their first day together, and Shi Qi already felt like he was the one being a bully and couldn’t help but feel sorry. “You can hit my glands too… or just slap my face.”
“Then turn around.”
So he was going to hit the glands.
Shi Qi, who had been sitting barefoot on the sink counter, was about to turn around when Shang Sui said, “Get down. Step on my foot.”
Shi Qi hesitated briefly, then lightly jumped down.
Afraid of making Shang Sui uncomfortable, he only touched the edge of the slipper with his toes, bracing himself on the sink with both hands and shifting most of his weight onto it.
Seeing Shi Qi obediently lean against the counter, exposing the back of his neck to him and even slightly bending over to make it easier, Shang Sui recalled Lin Yan saying Shi Qi had a bad temper. He reached out to touch the Omega’s slender neck.
This wasn’t someone with a bad temper.
More like someone too obedient.
Holding the position took effort. Shi Qi got goosebumps from his touch, feeling as if a sword was dangling above his head, ready to fall at any moment. “Stop touching and just get on with it.”
Shang Sui’s fingers paused.
Shi Qi instinctively tensed up. He accidentally caught sight of the scene in the mirror and couldn’t help gripping the cold marble counter.
It’s fine.
It’s just a hit to the glands. It won’t hurt that much.
But Shang Sui seems really strong…
Caught in an unbearable in-between, he suddenly heard Shang Sui say, “Xiao Qi, aren’t you curious what happened after you passed out?”
Shi Qi looked confused. “You gave me a bath?”
“Yeah,” he said, “but there was more. Want to take a guess?”
Slap—
Along with those words, Shang Sui smacked him on the butt.
Shi Qi trembled all over, his toes twitching.
He had been hit in a completely unprepared spot. His face flushed with embarrassment as he turned his head in disbelief.
“What are you doing!” Shi Qi was completely thrown off. “Weren’t we just talking? Why did you suddenly hit me, and on my…”
Hadn’t they agreed on hitting the glands? Why the butt!
But thinking carefully, it seemed Shang Sui had never actually said where he would hit.
Shi Qi felt like he was being toyed with, but everything had been his own suggestion, and he had no way to prove otherwise.
Shang Sui deliberately twisted his words. “What’s wrong? Did it hurt? Want me to rub it for you?”
Shi Qi bit his lower lip, eyes watery, looking both awkward and aggrieved.
Shang Sui thought he was upset, so he picked him up from behind. “Alright, no more fuss. Let’s go eat breakfast.”
This time he held him gently, carefully avoiding any sensitive spots, soothing him softly, “You’re not wearing slippers yet. I’ll carry you to the bed, and then you can walk on your own.”
Shi Qi gave a muffled “Mm.”
Only he knew that he wasn’t actually angry, but rather…
After Shang Sui made that joke, he had actually wanted him to rub or pat it for real.
It was one thing to enjoy being touched, but now he seemed to like any kind of physical contact.
He shook his head to chase away the blush-inducing thought and brought the conversation back. “So after I passed out, what did you really do?”
But Shang Sui didn’t answer directly. “You’re that curious? Why don’t we do it again tonight?”
Shi Qi instantly sensed trouble. “No.”
“Really?”
Seeing Shang Sui smiling at him, Shi Qi replied warily, “I’m not that curious.”
He expected a bit more back-and-forth, but Shang Sui simply said, “Then forget it.”
“……”
Shi Qi hadn’t been that concerned at first, but now that Shang Sui ended the tug-of-war so unusually easily, his curiosity was fully piqued.
He vaguely remembered, just before passing out, Shang Sui had asked him something. At the time, he had no energy left, and since he didn’t mind whatever the other person did, he just nodded and passed out without resistance.
But what had Shang Sui done?
Even after getting to school, Shi Qi found himself thinking about it from time to time.
Shang Sui had dropped him off at A University’s gate and headed off to the art academy for his own classes.
As the end of the term approached, attendance in general courses had shot up. Many students were quietly reviewing their major classes, and the teachers turned a blind eye.
Shi Qi was usually attentive in class, which now gave him an advantage. Unlike Lin Yan, he didn’t need to cram last-minute with a pained expression over his textbooks.
Since that incident in Qijiang, he hadn’t logged into his social media accounts in a long while.
With some time to kill, Shi Qi logged in, only to see that many people had tagged him. After taking a closer look, he realized someone had recorded a video of him and Shang Sui singing together during the Flower Festival in Qijang.
But since it had been getting dark, and the person filming was a fair distance away, neither his nor Shang Sui’s faces were clearly visible. Instead, the dim lighting lent the video an intimate atmosphere.
[So sweet wuwuwu! It would’ve been perfect if they kissed at the end! Why didn’t you kiss? You were looking into each other’s eyes, now kiss like your life depends on it!]
[Even though I can’t see their faces clearly, the vibe is totally like an idol drama. Is the one next to 17 a friend or a boyfriend?]
[Boyfriend! Some girls there asked him that day!]
[Too bad the video’s a bit blurry. Xiao Qi, when will you show us your keeper’s full face?]
Shi Qi’s gaze paused slightly, lingering on that last term.
Keeper?
Was that Shang Sui?
[Spilling the tea: Mr. Long-Haired Wolf Cut is actually a TA at our school. You can ship them with no worries! Their looks are totally on equal footing.]
[Hugging the commenter above! I’m from the school across the street! I saw the two of them getting out of the car together at the gate this morning. The guy even helped 17 straighten his coat. So attentive.]
[Coming to school together? Last night must’ve been intense 💛💛💛]
[Our kitty has trained in dance, so he’s super flexible and can handle anything.]
“…”
Seeing the comments becoming more and more outrageous, Shi Qi gave the original video a like and once again felt grateful that Shang Sui didn’t know his account.
He scrolled down and saw more comments.
[Hmph! If you two won’t kiss, Teacher Matcha Bibimbap will make sure you do.]
[Thanks to Teacher Matcha for the god-tier content. I binged the whole thing last night. Absolute perfection.]
Shi Qi didn’t quite understand what they were talking about. Feeling curious, he followed the discussion and clicked into the page for “Matcha Bibimbap.”
The top post had an 18+ emoji and a car emoji, with a link attached.
@MatchaBibimbap: [17 woke up in the morning with sore legs, but didn’t know why.]
Shi Qi: “?”
Why did that sound exactly like what happened to him that morning?
He clicked the link and read for a bit, but as the story started taking an increasingly strange turn, realization suddenly hit him hard.
It was a fanfiction about him and Shang Sui.
And it had explicit content.
Since the writer didn’t know Shang Sui’s name, the whole story referred to him simply as “the boyfriend.” As Shi Qi kept reading, his eyes slowly widened, and he finally understood why “17” had sore legs after a night with “the boyfriend.”
So it could be like this too…
No, wait.
Shang Sui couldn’t have actually done that to him, right??
Combined with Shang Sui’s ambiguous words that morning, Shi Qi increasingly felt like this fanfic might’ve accidentally stumbled onto the truth.
Just picturing that scene made his face heat up bit by bit, until he was lying flat on his desk, motionless.
The moment the bell rang, Lin Yan acted like it was the sound of heaven and eagerly declared, “That’s all for today. The torture’s over!”
It was the last class of the afternoon, and students around them began standing up one after another.
Lin Yan noticed Shi Qi still lying on his desk and urged him, “What are you doing? You look like a hamster. Class is over, come on.”
Shi Qi gave an “Oh” and slowly got up.
On the way out, Lin Yan glanced at his phone and suddenly burst into laughter.
“Aiyo, baby, you really know how to spice things up! I was wondering why you were so quiet the whole class. It turns out you were finding your own study material.”
“You really like Shang Sui that much, huh? Why not just pick an auspicious date and confess already? I think he’s into you too. Then you’ll have the study materials in one hand and hands-on practice in the other. That would be a truly blessed day.”
“Huh?” Shi Qi looked confused after hearing Lin Yan ramble on for a while. “What are you talking about?”
“Hm?” Lin Yan looked equally puzzled. “Didn’t you like it? That smut by Teacher Matcha Bibimbap got recommended to my homepage.”
Shi Qi froze.
Only then did he realize he had accidentally liked a post by Matcha Bibimbap.
Shi Qi: “…”
He tried to unlike it, but the system refreshed automatically, and a new post from Matcha Bibimbap popped up.
[Oh my god, Baby liked my post!]
[Waaahhh eeehhhhh ahhhh Xiao Qi mama loves you!! Mama will work extra hard to crank out more fics for you!!]
Shi Qi’s finger paused midair.
Now what?
Unliking it now would probably break her heart.
Left with no choice, Shi Qi bit the bullet and left the like in place, trying to console himself with the thought that Shang Sui wouldn’t see it anyway.
Lin Yan laughed and added, “But seriously, Teacher Matcha’s writing is super smooth and really well done. Top tier. I’m gonna study it thoroughly tonight.”
Just as Shi Qi was about to tell him that he and Shang Sui were officially dating now, someone called out their names from not far away.
Shi Qi turned and saw Qin Shuhe waving at them, with Shang Sui next to him, looking down at his phone.
Shang Sui was especially focused, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth, as if in a great mood. Shi Qi couldn’t help looking over, trying to see what he was doing.
However, the distance was too far, and he couldn’t make anything out.
At that moment, Shang Sui suddenly looked up, their eyes meeting.
Shi Qi instinctively averted his gaze, feeling a sudden guilty jolt like he’d been caught red-handed.
A moment later, realizing his reaction had been too obvious, he took the initiative to ask, “What are you guys doing here?”
No way.
He’d kept his account well hidden, and there was no way Shang Sui knew.
More importantly, he still wanted to know whether Shang Sui had really done that.
Qin Shuhe didn’t notice Shi Qi’s odd behavior and said casually, “Lin Yan and I were heading to the internet café, and I just happened to run into ge, so we came over together.”
Lin Yan: “Work-life balance. If I have to study thermodynamics for even one more minute, I’m gonna set the whole Earth on fire.”
Then he turned to Shi Qi. “You coming?”
Still thinking about Matcha Bibimbap’s masterpiece and the soreness in his legs, Shi Qi was fully focused on figuring out how to interrogate Shang Sui. “I’m not going.”
Qin Shuhe sighed. “It’s been ages since I felt the joy of you carrying me to victory.”
Shi Qi didn’t even raise his head. “What a coincidence, it’s also been ages since I felt the pain of you dragging me down.”
Qin Shuhe: “…”
Shang Sui chuckled and interrupted, “Xiao Qi, check your phone.”
Qin Shuhe immediately yelled, “What’s going on! You two have secrets you’re not telling us?”
Shi Qi suddenly said, “Shang Sui and I are dating.”
Lin Yan suddenly turned his head. He looked at Shang Sui, then at Shi Qi. With years of tacit understanding between them, he gave Shi Qi a look: You’re really together? Not just pretending?
Shi Qi nodded.
Lin Yan’s face cycled through a whole range of expressions before settling into a genuinely pleased smile. He gave Shi Qi a thumbs-up.
Qin Shuhe didn’t notice anything strange at all. “Weren’t you already dating?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t hurt to remind you again today.”
“?” Qin Shuhe was puzzled for a moment, then chose to comply, “Yes, your Majesty.”
Suddenly struck by inspiration, he seemed to understand why Shi Qi brought it up. “I get it now. You and the Queen are using your phones to discuss private matters. It’s not for a humble servant like me to interrupt.”
Everyone laughed. Shi Qi took the opportunity to unlock his phone and glanced down. His smile froze instantly.
He didn’t even need to interrogate; the other person had already confessed on their own.
Ss: [Screenshot]
Ss: [Xiao Qi is so smart—figured out the truth, huh ^^]
Ss: [Let’s try it again next time when you’re sober.]
Shi Qi: “…………”
He was so shocked he almost threw his phone.
In the screenshot Shang Sui had sent, the account “1717177” had liked Matcha Bibimbap’s post.
A flood of thoughts hit him all at once. Shi Qi mechanically typed out one line.
17: [When did you find out?]
Even through the screen, the sense of his inner breakdown was palpable.
Qin Shuhe didn’t pick up on the tension between them. “By the way, ge, I heard there’s an exhibition around New Year’s. Lao Xie wants you to participate?”
Large-scale art events held in the capital were usually tied to the arts academy in some way. This exhibition was no exception—jointly curated by a renowned international art festival and the academy, featuring installation art, sculpture, photography, painting, and more.
Technically, Shang Sui was only a teaching assistant and too young to be qualified to represent the department in such a major event. But none of the other teachers raised any objections.
Qin Shuhe figured it was just because his ge’s professional skills were solid, and everyone admired him wholeheartedly.
Shang Sui nodded. Qin Shuhe asked, “Do you have any finished works ready?”
Shang Sui glanced at Shi Qi. “Yes.”
Shi Qi looked like he could barely hold on to his phone. Shang Sui’s expression didn’t change as he typed another message.
Ss: [I discovered your account by chance after our amusement park date.]
Ss: [Didn’t want to bother you, so I never brought it up. Xiao Qi, you won’t blame me, right ^^]
Shi Qi stared at the message, for the first time thinking Shang Sui might’ve been too considerate, so much so that this social death had hit completely out of nowhere.
If he’d known Shang Sui would actually see it, he would’ve told everyone to mind their words and especially not make any dirty jokes.
Shi Qi’s heart was in ruins. He made one last desperate attempt.
17: [Then did you read the comments?]
Shang Sui landed a critical blow.
Ss: [The one about it being intense? Or the one about flexibility?]
Qin Shuhe finally sensed something was off. “Shi Qi, what’s wrong with you? Your expression’s so weird.”
Lin Yan picked up on it too. “Wanna get some ice cream?”
“Huh? In the middle of winter…”
Lin Yan dragged Qin Shuhe away. “Eating ice cream in winter is the highest form of respect for it.”
Once the two of them were gone, Shi Qi felt even more awkward. Shang Sui, on the other hand, acted like nothing had happened as he unlocked his phone. “Actually, I prefer this one.”
His phone was clearly open to the Matcha Bibimbap’s profile, but it wasn’t the same post Shi Qi had seen earlier.
This one was a newer fanfic, still true to Matcha Bibimbap’s signature style: short, direct, and explicit.
@MatchaBibimbap: [Cat ears, white thigh-highs, maid outfit.]
Shi Qi’s face burned. “In your dreams! You should be the one wearing it for me!”
Shang Sui grinned at him. “That wouldn’t be very appropriate, Master.”
Shi Qi: “…”
You seem to be enjoying this way too much.
After a short silence, Shi Qi couldn’t help but ask, “So did you really use my legs…?”
Shang Sui seemed to think things weren’t spicy enough. “Mm. Twice.”
Shi Qi was quiet for a few seconds, making sure he hadn’t misheard.
He finally understood why his legs were so sore and asked in disbelief, “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping in the middle of the night??”
“I didn’t plan on it,” Shang Sui answered, sidestepping the question. “But later, when we were in the bathroom, you kicked me.”
Shi Qi: “?”
I kicked you, and that turned you on?
Shang Sui leaned in close and whispered something in his ear.
Shi Qi froze for half a minute, his face quickly turning bright red.
Out of everything, I had to step on that…
“Did it hurt?”
Shang Sui paused, then smiled. “No. You were very gentle.”
Shi Qi bit his lower lip in silence.
“You don’t mind, do you, baby?” Shang Sui said softly, “You’re just too cute, I couldn’t help myself.”
He looked at Shi Qi, his gaze tender and filled with affection.
Shang Sui wasn’t lying.
Even now, his fox-like eyes held nothing but infatuation.
Shi Qi’s heart began to race. His fingers clenched and loosened again.
“…I want ice cream,” Shi Qi said flatly. “To cool off.”
Shang Sui chuckled and patted his head.
When they arrived at the gelato shop, Shi Qi glanced over the bright array of flavors and chose without hesitation. “I want honey vanilla.”
Catching on to his vengeful intent, Shang Sui let out another laugh.
While the shop clerk scooped the ice cream, Shang Sui leaned in and whispered, “Planning to eat me?”
Shi Qi shot back, “Why? I’m not allowed to eat you?”
Even if he didn’t really mind all the strange stuff that happened while he was unconscious, he was still a little ashamed.
Lin Yan held his chocolate ice cream, looking like he couldn’t bear to hear another word. “This is a public place. Keep it decent.”
Shi Qi: “?”
Shi Qi stuck out his tongue and took a small lick of the ice cream.
The honey flavor melted between his lips and teeth, mixed with vanilla bean, which was a flavor he liked.
Even with the cold ice cream in his mouth, the moment he thought of the previous night, his face felt like it was on fire, and his mouth somehow felt hot too.
He still remembered what it was like to kiss Shang Sui; the sweetness of honey seemed to linger faintly on his tongue.
Compared to that rich, sweet flavor, the ice cream in his hand suddenly felt bland.
Shi Qi couldn’t help but lick the tip of his teeth.
He ate the ice cream slowly, then suddenly thought of something and called out to Shang Sui, “Come here.”
The Alpha obediently leaned in. Shi Qi raised his phone and snapped a photo.
He had meant to only capture Shang Sui, but because they were so close, he accidentally included himself in the frame.
In the photo, both of them were shown from the side, facing each other across a creamy yellow scoop of ice cream decorated like a bear with cookies and chocolate.
Shang Sui was looking down at him, the corners of his eyes slightly crinkled in a smile. From this angle, the mole at the corner of his eye was visible, making his already striking face even more captivating.
Shi Qi took a bite of the ice cream and looked up at Shang Sui.
Unexpectedly, this candid shot turned out more vivid than he had imagined.
Shi Qi had originally intended to crop himself out, but in the end, he decided to keep the full image.
Shang Sui seemed to sense something and joked, “Do I get an official title now?”
Shi Qi lifted his chin proudly and first typed “My,” intending to follow it with “boyfriend”, but at the last second, he changed his mind.
Compared to “boyfriend,” the new term felt more like a promise to stay together forever.
He retyped the last word and posted the photo.
@1717177: [My keeper.]
Author’s note: Please eat more.
