When Shang Sui woke up, Shi Qi was still asleep.
A thin beam of light slipped through the gap in the curtains and landed on Shi Qi’s face. As if sensing the brightness in his dreams, Shi Qi instinctively curled into his embrace to avoid it.
The Omega gave off a faint scent of lily of the valley, clean and soft like their sleeping owner. His fluffy platinum hair shimmered with a halo, and even his long, curled lashes looked as though they were dusted with gold powder.
Waking up to Shi Qi nuzzling against his neck in such a dependent way, Shang Sui couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile.
He remained still, watching Shi Qi for a long time. His heart softened with each small, even breath the other took, until it melted completely, overflowing with an indescribable sense of happiness.
This kind of closeness was something he had never dared to hope for, not even in his dreams.
If it weren’t for a scheduled appointment, he could have quietly watched Shi Qi wake.
When he first took the teaching assistant job at the art academy, he hadn’t known how long he’d stay in the capital, so he only signed a temporary contract. Recently, Professor Xie asked if he planned to stay on long-term for the upcoming academic year.
Having Shang Sui as a teaching assistant was a waste of his talent. Professor Xie tentatively asked if he’d consider a formal faculty position, though he already suspected they wouldn’t be able to keep him. Most likely, Shang Sui would leave.
As expected, Shang Sui declined.
But thinking about how Shi Qi still had two years left before graduating from A University, Shang Sui turned down the offer but asked if he could continue as a teaching assistant for another two years. Professor Xie was overjoyed and told him to come in this morning to complete the paperwork.
Afraid Shang Sui would change his mind, Professor Xie started texting him well before the agreed time.
[Xiao Sui, have you left yet? Where are you now?]
Professor Xie had been friends with Yu Wan for many years and was always warm and familiar with him in private.
Shang Sui replied, “I’ll be there soon,” then gently cupped Shi Qi’s face and slowly began to slip away.
In his sleep, Shi Qi murmured unhappily, “Don’t go…”
Shang Sui froze for a moment before he understood what he was saying. He was nearly out of bed, but those words rooted him back in place.
He seriously started to consider how viable it would be to bail at the last minute. Maybe he could say his cat was too clingy and he couldn’t bear to leave for work…?
That thought made him laugh to himself.
He slipped out of bed quietly, slipped a pillow into Shi Qi’s arms, and even though he knew the other wouldn’t hear, he still softened his voice to coax him, “Be good, sleep a little longer.”
Once in the bathroom, his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to what had happened there the night before.
By the end of it, Shi Qi had seemed a little scared, crying out “no,” but still staring at him with those bright, misty eyes.
Being looked at like that made him feel as if electricity was running through Shang Sui’s entire body, almost like he was entering a rut.
He wasn’t sure whether Shi Qi truly wanted to go all the way, so in the end, he chose to hold back and do about the same things as before.
It was said that when a highly compatible Alpha and Omega got intimate, their bodies would naturally remember that feeling. Even if it was just borderline behavior, over time it could become addictive.
Logically, the special rut kept him from being affected by pheromones, and things with Shi Qi hadn’t gone too far.
But his body seemed to crave more once it had tasted it; as soon as Shi Qi gave even a slight reaction, he got so excited he was completely overwhelmed.
Shang Sui absentmindedly thought about it, and couldn’t help but picture Shi Qi lying in his arms, legs tensed and trembling.
The Omega’s pheromones had spilled out like a tidal wave, and his voice had been broken and fragmented.
If it really was addictive…
He would wait until Shi Qi started liking this feeling and fully adapted.
–
By midmorning, Shi Qi finally opened his eyes slowly.
He was utterly exhausted and had slept especially well. Half-awake, he reached out instinctively, but the space next to him was empty, and he only touched a pillow.
He remembered a beat late that Shang Sui had said earlier he had something to do.
Once fully awake, Shi Qi got up and went into the bathroom to wash up.
The water flowed onto the sink, and as he washed his face, his cheeks gradually started to heat up.
Last night, he had been so overstimulated he couldn’t think straight, crying out “yes” and “no” in a mess. Shang Sui seemed to have misunderstood and didn’t go any further.
By the time Shi Qi came to his senses, he was too embarrassed to bring it up again himself.
But if they did go all the way…
He didn’t think it would be a problem.
He liked kissing and touching, and had thought that was already the most pleasurable thing. But deeper intimacy brought a completely different experience, equally addictive experience.
After washing up, Shi Qi saw a message from Jiang Youning.
Jiang Youning: [Hello hello, your package has been at home for ages.]
Jiang Youning: [Do you want me to mail it to you?]
Only then did Shi Qi remember the jewellery set he had bought earlier. He had planned to give it to Shang Sui as a confession gift, but everything that happened later had made him completely forget about it.
Just as he was about to send the address, Jiang Youning messaged again: [Oh right, I saw something Qin Shuhe reposted. He’s volunteering for next week’s art exhibition?]
Shi Qi thought for a moment, and it did sound familiar.
[Your sister-in-law is going too. A few of the pieces in the exhibition are by her favorite artist, that S something.]
Jiang Youning kept rambling: [She was super surprised when she saw it, said the artist usually only holds solo shows and has never joined this kind of comprehensive art festival before. She’s been feeling down since her mentor passed away, so it’s rare for her to get excited about something. I’ll go with her.]
[Are you coming? If you do, I’ll just bring your package over directly.]
Shi Qi remembered that Shang Sui was also participating. He’d even seen him remotely confirm the lighting setup on his phone before.
He wanted to see Shang Sui’s paintings, so he quickly agreed.
17: [Okay, thanks jiejie.]
–
The exhibition was held at the art center by Ningshan Lake. The two galleries represented “Polar Day” and “Polar Night” respectively, connected by an underwater corridor that symbolized the transition between day and night.
The event was initiated by a well-known international art festival in collaboration with the art academy. On the first day, crowds of visitors flocked to the venue nonstop.
Inside the exhibition hall, the heating was sufficient. Shi Qi tugged at the pearl necklace hidden under his shirt, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
He wore a ruffled shirt with a tie at the back of his neck, revealing a small patch of porcelain-like skin on his back. The back necklace draped down from his neck, and a string of pearls of varying sizes was just visible through the open-back design.
With his light-colored hair, he looked like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.
Along the way, several photographers had mistaken Shi Qi for a model or influencer and asked if they could take pictures of him. Shi Qi declined them all.
Ironically, the person who had dressed him up like this was unusually low-key today, wearing only a simple white shirt and wide-leg trousers.
Before they left, Shang Sui had suddenly said he wanted to change his clothes. Shi Qi hadn’t thought much of it, assuming he would at most pick out a colorful hoodie. It wasn’t until Shang Sui pulled out the pearl back necklace from the jewelry drawer that he started to sense something was off.
Shang Sui had carefully put the intricate, butterfly-wing-like necklace on him, slowly adjusting it to the perfect position.
During the whole process, Shang Sui kept praising how good he looked, calling him “beautiful” and “baby” until Shi Qi was completely dazed and ended up going along with it.
When he saw that the shirt Shang Sui picked was also white, Shi Qi didn’t think twice. He only realized after putting it on that the back had a cleverly placed cutout, perfectly revealing the back necklace.
When he’d worked part-time as a model, Shi Qi had worn even more dramatic outfits before, but in private, he rarely dressed like this—it felt like he could be shooting a magazine cover at any moment.
Luckily, many people at the art show were also dressed up, so he didn’t stand out too much.
After declining another photographer, Shi Qi finally couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t you dressed like usual today? You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Mm, on purpose,” Shang Sui answered with a smile, holding his hand. “Aren’t we meeting your sister today? I figured I should look proper to make a good impression.”
Shi Qi thought to himself: With that face of yours, you’ll never have anything to do with being honest and decent in this lifetime. You might as well just be yourself.
Then again, Shi Qi realized Shang Sui abandoning his usual flashy rags was already the biggest gesture of sincerity. Mulling it over, Shi Qi also thought of one point to remind him.
“Just so you know, you two are the same age. Calling her ‘jiejie’ makes you seem unserious.”
Unexpectedly, Shang Sui looked at him for a moment, his attention completely elsewhere.
“Speaking of which,” Shang Sui said with great interest, “Xiao Qi, call me ‘gege.’”
“……”
Shi Qi pretended not to hear and pulled him forward. “Where’s your painting?”
But Shang Sui had no intention of letting it go. He deliberately stood still, not moving an inch.
Seeing Shang Sui pretend to be deaf and mute, Shi Qi rolled up his sleeves, ready to drag him along by force, when a voice suddenly interrupted, “Xiao Sui?”
Shi Qi looked up and saw a gentleman with a kind face and well-groomed appearance.
Professor Xie noticed the closeness between Shang Sui and Shi Qi and asked, “And the person next to you is…?”
Shang Sui put away his playful expression and introduced, “This is my boyfriend. I mentioned him to you before.”
Shi Qi quickly stood properly, thinking to himself that it was lucky he hadn’t taken action yet.
He smiled politely. “Hello, I’m Shi Qi.”
“Hello, hello, Xiao Shi, right? He’s mentioned you so many times.” Professor Xie, seeing how especially well-behaved he looked, smiled and added, “And you’re good friends with Shuhe too.”
Professor Xie looked friendly and immediately complimented Shi Qi’s outfit, saying it really suited his temperament. He praised him so much that Shi Qi felt a bit embarrassed.
In the end, Professor Xie said to Shang Sui, “Since you’re here, I’ll introduce you to a few people.”
He cheerfully asked Shi Qi’s permission, “I’ll borrow him for a little while, do you mind?”
Shi Qi shook his head. “Not at all, go ahead.”
Before leaving, Shang Sui whispered to Shi Qi, “Look around on your own first. I’ll come find you when I’m done.”
After they walked off, Shi Qi continued forward along the corridor.
The Polar Day exhibit he was in mainly featured installation art and paintings. As he walked, there were tourists and photographers there to snap pictures, as well as professionals from the art industry.
Outside of necessary social occasions, Shi Qi rarely visited art museums or galleries.
Lin Yan’s family owned an art museum, and Qin Shuhe majored in oil painting, so many of his friends were more or less connected to the art world. But Shi Qi himself had never shown any interest.
It wasn’t until Shang Sui appeared that, for the first time, he felt painting was dazzling and colorful, as if he could glimpse another world through the artist’s brushstrokes.
He wasn’t sure if Shang Sui was just that talented, or if he was simply biased.
He strolled along, and it wasn’t until he was near the end of the gallery that he finally stopped walking.
At the end of the corridor, three paintings were displayed, clearly by the same artist. The works had their own dedicated space within the gallery. The spotlight on the pure white domed ceiling connected cleverly into a curtain of light, blending with hidden strip lights within the deep blue walls, making it feel as if daylight were pouring down from the depths of the ocean.
Most artists used their real names, but this signature was unique: a simple “Ss,” with the two side-by-side letters resembling the wing of a butterfly.
Why did it look exactly like Shang Sui’s WeChat name?
For the work to have its own exhibition space at such a prestigious event, the artist had to be quite well-known.
It wasn’t that he thought Shang Sui wasn’t worthy of such fame, but if it really was Shang Sui, why would he choose to work as an ordinary teaching assistant at the art academy? Plus, he’d never heard him mention it before.
Then again, he realized he’d never actually asked.
Shi Qi was full of questions as his gaze swept across the paintings on the wall. The first two depicted a figure staggering in the rain and a sunrise in a mountain valley. The scenes were desolate, almost apocalyptic, yet pulsed with strong vitality, like a sudden burst of flame.
This style…
The more he looked, the more it reminded him of Shang Sui.
Without realizing it, Shi Qi’s gaze settled on the last painting.
Compared to the other two, this painting didn’t use colors as boldly, and the lines were slightly raw, like an earlier work. Yet it was still filled with distinctive contrasts of light and shadow and carried a dramatic atmosphere.
An angel perched on the windowsill, while a monster hid in a corner of the room, peeking out.
The angel was bathed in a sacred halo of light, while the “monster” was an irregular mass of geometric shapes, with fluorescent, dirty blood oozing from its body. Even through the canvas, it seemed you could hear its shrill screams.
Beauty and ugliness were presented in the same scene, forming two extremes.
“Most people think the monster is waiting for a chance to devour the angel,” a familiar voice came from behind. “What do you think, Xiao Qi? How’s this painting?”
Shi Qi turned his head and saw Shang Sui standing behind him.
He often walked without making a sound, and Shi Qi had been startled by him at home more than once, and he was almost used to his sudden appearances by now.
Shi Qi looked at the painting again.
Even though he knew very little about art, a strange, bittersweet emotion gradually welled up inside him.
His thoughts were completely different from what others had said. After a moment of hesitation, Shi Qi still voiced his truest feeling.
“I think… he’s cautiously looking up at the angel, like he’s seeing someone he cherishes deeply.”
Shang Sui was silent for a long time, then said softly, “I rarely hear that kind of interpretation.”
Before Shi Qi could figure out what he meant by that, Shang Sui asked again, “Then do you hate this painting?”
“No,” Shi Qi said, “I really like it.”
So strange.
For a brief moment, he had the inexplicable feeling that this painting somehow belonged to him.
Hearing his answer, Shang Sui’s eyes flickered, and he couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart.
He had confidently told Shen Qianyu before that just being together was enough, and that holding onto the past was pointless. But when the right moment came, he couldn’t help quietly testing the waters.
He had prepared himself mentally, and seeing that Shi Qi had no memory of the painting didn’t leave him too disappointed.
What’s more, even after forgetting the past, Shi Qi could still accurately guess his thoughts, stirring a strange feeling inside Shang Sui, as if they shared a mutual understanding. But that fleeting happiness was quickly replaced by other emotions.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind, and when he realized he had zoned out for too long, Shi Qi was already staring at him. Shang Sui suddenly changed the subject. “You really won’t say it? Even Jiang Yan calls me that a lot.”
“What?”
“Gege.”
Shi Qi was momentarily stunned, unsure if he was the one taking advantage of Shang Sui or the other way around.
Seeing Shi Qi’s unnatural expression, Shang Sui couldn’t help but be intrigued. Considering they had done far more intimate things, yet Shi Qi still felt embarrassed over a form of address.
He pressed further, “I dream about hearing you call me ‘gege.’ How about I say it once and you say it once? Pretty fair, right?”
Before Shi Qi could react, Shang Sui leaned in and sweetly called out to him first, “Gege—”
Just then, another couple entered.
Jiang Youning and Li Zhao were walking together, and hearing someone acting all cutesy out of nowhere, especially when it looked like an Alpha, they couldn’t help but frown.
People always said art galleries were great places for dating. Along the way, they had already seen several clingy couples, even some randomly making out and touching each other, not even knowing to restrain themselves a little.
Knowing this was where the artist Li Zhao adored had work on display, Jiang Youning, without even getting a clear look at who it was, couldn’t hold back her sarcasm. “Do you people even know what it means to be an artist? Can you stop obsessing over your ‘geges’ and ‘didis’ for once?”
The confrontational voice made Shi Qi freeze for a second, and then he turned his head.
Shang Sui looked a bit puzzled, thinking: Isn’t this literally my painting? But he still kept his smile.
Jiang Youning hadn’t even considered that Shi Qi might be dressed like this. Even though she thought the person’s back looked awfully familiar, when he turned around, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
Shi Qi greeted her first, “Jiejie.”
“…”
Realizing he had been openly flirting with Shi Qi right in front of her, Shang Sui stayed silent for a moment and thought that today’s effort of dressing properly in a white shirt was probably for nothing.
He put on a smile and pretended nothing had happened. “Hello, jiejie.”
Author’s note:
Because 2s teased 17, his reputation fell apart. But thanks to dressing up 17 nicely, he won over Youning-jie, so it all more or less balanced out.
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