“Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi… Shi Qi!”
Someone was calling his name again and again by his ear. The concerned voice drew closer, abruptly pulling him from his dream and dragging him back to reality.
Shi Qi’s eyelids fluttered. In the early morning light, he met Shi An’s face.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Shi An gently grasped his arm. “You were frowning and kept saying it hurt.”
The pain in the dream had felt incredibly real. Even after waking, his glands still seemed to burn faintly.
Shi Qi closed his eyes briefly, then slowly opened them again. His foggy mind gradually cleared.
“Was it raining with thunder on our last day in Qijiang, six years ago?”
“You remember?” Shi An exclaimed in surprise. “Yes! You disappeared, and no one knew where you went, and when you came back, you passed out right away. I was scared to death!”
“That night was when you differentiated. That’s when we found out you had glandular degeneration… The illness is so rare, there were no warning signs, and the doctors in Qijiang couldn’t treat it. We had to rush back to the capital overnight.”
Glandular degeneration was a rare primary condition. The domestic incidence rate was less than one in 100,000, and very few cases ever recovered.
Patients showed no symptoms before secondary gender differentiation. But when it did begin, complications would arise, most commonly high fever and memory loss.
Shi An hadn’t expected him to recover any memories after six years and quickly asked, “What happened that day? Was it related to your differentiation?”
Most patients with the condition couldn’t complete differentiation successfully and mistakenly believe they are Betas who are insensitive to pheromones. It’s not until they grow older and their immune systems collapse without warning, and on the brink of death, that they would learn they were meant to be Alphas or Omegas.
The doctors had judged that Shi Qi’s pheromone levels were far below the norm. Like most others, he likely wouldn’t have differentiated at all.
But because he’d come into contact with a highly compatible Alpha, he had miraculously completed the process.
As far as Shi An knew, the only highly compatible Alpha Shi Qi had met at the time was Fu Siyue.
For that, Shi An felt immense gratitude toward Fu Siyue, but also some confusion.
Shi Qi and Fu Siyue had only met once in Qijiang. Though their compatibility exceeded average levels, it wasn’t high enough to trigger differentiation from a single encounter.
And yet, aside from Fu Siyue, there was no other identifiable factor that could explain how Shi Qi had differentiated so smoothly.
The whole thing was too complicated to explain in a few words, so Shi Qi said simply, “I only remembered part of it.”
Shi An looked at him, guilt flashing across his face. “It’s my fault. I was too busy having fun with your dad and didn’t take good care of you.”
“What are you talking about?” Shi Qi cut him off. “This illness is something I was born with and just happened to flare up during that time. It has nothing to do with you.”
When Shi An remained silent, Shi Qi deliberately said, “If you’d hovered over me all day, vacation would’ve felt more like prison.”
“…” Knowing Shi Qi was trying to comfort him, Shi An smiled at him. “If you really can’t remember, forget it. It’s been so long, you don’t need to force it.”
Shi An had expected Shi Qi to agree right away, but no answer came, no matter how long he waited.
Only after a long while did he finally hear Shi Qi speak in a low voice.
“But… I’ve already forgotten him for a long time.”
What?
Shi An wanted to ask more, but Shi Qi picked up his phone and went downstairs.
Scenes from the dream kept flashing through his mind. After a brief hesitation, Shi Qi sent a message to Shang Sui.
17: [Where are you? I want to see you.]
While waiting for a reply, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind. “Xiao Qi!”
Jiang Youning was wearing pajamas and slippers, her hair casually tied back. She looked like she had just woken up not long ago.
But her expression was unusually excited, as if she had made some huge discovery. She grabbed his arm. “I just remembered something!”
“Remember how I said before that seeing Shang Sui made me kind of annoyed? That inexplicable feeling that we couldn’t get along just by looking at a photo.”
Jiang Youning had brought this up several times before. Shi Qi nodded. “Because you’re in the same field?” They were both art students and Alphas.
“…No, no! I saw him in Qijiang six years ago!”
Noticing the slight change in Shi Qi’s expression, Jiang Youning continued, “You were there too! But maybe you don’t remember. There’s a lake on top of Yishan Mountain. That evening, we were walking back from the lake when we ran into an Alpha on the road.”
“That guy had this gloomy look in his eyes and kept staring at you,” Jiang Youning recalled. “I got annoyed and glared back. He happened to look at me too.”
That was the first time in her life she had ever been overpowered by another Alpha’s presence.
Even though they hadn’t exchanged a single word and had only stared at each other from a distance, Jiang Youning remembered the way her hair had stood on end. Even years later, unable to recall Shang Sui’s face clearly, she still felt a lingering fear the moment she saw his photo.
Jiang Youning joked, “Don’t tell me you knew him even back then? Otherwise, why would he look like I stole his wife?”
“If that’s really the case, then I can sort of understand—”
As she was speaking, she noticed Shi Qi hadn’t said a word. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The two siblings stared at each other in silence. Then Jiang Youning screamed, “SHI QI!!!”
Shi Qi jumped. “What!”
“No wonder you kept sneaking out—rain or shine! I thought you were going to see Fu Siyue, and I even covered for you with the dads. Why didn’t you ever mention this?!”
The more Jiang Youning spoke, the more agitated she became. She looked at him like he was some child bride. “You even stayed overnight at his house, didn’t you? You were so young! Were you already with him back then…?!”
“No,” Shi Qi denied it. “We were just friends at the time.”
In his memories, he and Shang Sui hadn’t had any particularly ambiguous contact. Given how young they were, their relationship had been more like that of close friends.
Before Jiang Youning could breathe a sigh of relief, she caught on to the key point. “Wait a minute, you’ve gotten your memory back?”
“Part of it came back.”
The whole thing was so unbelievable that Jiang Youning had to sort it out in her head.
So, Shi Qi had known an Alpha when he was young; they had been very close, but then Shi Qi had forgotten him?
Then how had Shang Sui gotten through all those years?
If Li Zhao forgot her, she would have lost her mind.
Jiang Youning couldn’t help but feel a moment of sympathy for Shang Sui, but her thoughts quickly turned to something else. “You and Shang Sui have a high compatibility rate. Before you differentiated, you were always around him. That means the one who actually helped you differentiate wasn’t Fu Siyue at all—it was Shang Sui! All these years, we’ve been thanking the wrong person!”
A first love in youth, drawn to each other, unintentionally soothing the congenital condition Shi Qi had…
It should’ve been a summer fairy tale. Why did it end so abruptly?
Jiang Youning couldn’t help but feel a little regret on their behalf. “You forgot him, but why didn’t he ever come looking for you?”
Just then, Shi Qi’s phone buzzed. Shang Sui had replied.
Ss: [You’re awake?]
Ss: [I’m going to Yishan this morning to see Shen Qianyu. Let’s meet in the afternoon?]
17: [Okay.]
“It wasn’t his fault,” Shi Qi said to Jiang Youning. “We may have had some misunderstandings before. I want to clear things up with him in person.”
–
“As I mentioned before, you’ll be entering two ruts in a short time.”
Shang Sui clearly remembered this. He had been idly admiring the blooming wisteria on the balcony but looked up when Shen Qianyu spoke.
“The last one was around the New Year. The next one’s uncertain, could be sometime this month.”
“Just in case, I brought the things you’ll need.”
Shen Qianyu gestured with his eyes toward the black square box on the table. Thinking of the anesthetic collar inside and a few deliberately added items, he couldn’t help but feel the latter part of the setup was a bit excessive. “Honestly, you only need the collar. The rest is just…”
“I know. The rest is just cat toys.”
Shen Qianyu paused for a moment before realizing who exactly the “cat” referred to.
Treating this kind of thing as a toy?
Shen Qianyu said sincerely, “Shi Qi’s going to think you’re a pervert.”
“Is that so?” Shang Sui propped up his chin and said lazily, “I think Xiao Qi will really like it.”
Shen Qianyu was quiet for a moment, then decided to let it go.
Using an anesthetic collar instead of a chain during rut would make things a lot easier for Shang Sui. Compared to that, a bit of indecent indulgence hardly mattered.
“I told you long ago that you didn’t need to use chains. But you didn’t agree back then.”
Shang Sui had always used a specially-made alloy chain to get through his ruts. The heavy material could confine him to a limited space, and by the time it ended, his ankles were usually covered in bruises, sometimes even torn and bleeding.
In recent years, Shang Sui’s rut had become very stable, essentially no different from that of an ordinary Alpha.
Shen Qianyu had advised him many times to stop, but Shang Sui always brushed it off. Later, Shen Qianyu realized that Shang Sui understood perfectly well that he could control himself. His insistence on using chains seemed more like a psychological issue.
Shen Qianyu asked, “Why the sudden change of heart?”
Shang Sui didn’t respond right away. Just as Shen Qianyu was beginning to think he wouldn’t answer at all, Shang Sui spoke softly. “I used to think I had done something wrong and had to lock myself up. Now I realize maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”
“Is it because of Shi Qi?”
“No.”
Shang Sui denied it without hesitation. Shen Qianyu was about to say he was obviously trying to cover it up, but Shang Sui continued, “Using the chain was my own choice. I can’t shift the blame onto someone else.”
Shen Qianyu praised, “Well, that’s rare—actually saying something reasonable for once.”
Shang Sui didn’t respond and lowered his head to check his phone.
After replying to a message, he seemed to fall into thought. “Come to think of it, Xiao Qi has been acting a little strange lately. He’s always clinging to me, and the way he looks at me is hard to describe…”
If he had to put it into words, it was like looking at himself from a few months ago.
When he and Shi Qi reunited and began to grow close again, the joy of getting back what was once lost, mixed with the fear of losing it all over again, made him want nothing more than to cling to Shi Qi every day.
“You think he might be remembering something?”
Shen Qianyu’s expression remained neutral, but inwardly, he was surprised.
Shi Qi had been on the medication for nearly a week, and it was very likely that he had begun to recall parts of the past. But for Shang Sui to accurately guess the truth without any prior knowledge…
This man’s intuition, when it came to Shi Qi, was terrifyingly sharp.
To protect patient confidentiality, Shen Qianyu answered naturally, “It’s possible. After all, you two met in Qijiang.”
“But when he came to Qijiang last time, he didn’t seem to react much. Could something have triggered it recently?” Shang Sui murmured, “How could there be something I don’t know?”
“You said before that you did something wrong.” Alphas were creatures of overwhelming control. Shen Qianyu suddenly asked, “What if Shi Qi remembers, and can’t accept it?”
Based on Shang Sui’s own account, everything seemed to have been his fault.
That was also why Shen Qianyu had briefly hesitated over whether to help Shi Qi recover his memories. In the end, he had chosen to be transparent and let Shi Qi decide for himself.
“He won’t.”
Shen Qianyu glanced at him, slightly surprised.
To get someone like Shang Sui, who lacks a sense of security, to give a definite answer, Shi Qi was truly impressive.
“But I’ve considered the situation you mentioned.” Shang Sui said half-truthfully, “If it really came to that, I’d probably go crazy.”
Shen Qianyu offered an objective assessment, “You’re not exactly sane as it is.”
“Gaining something only to lose it again can drive a person mad. I’ve already lost him once, and I don’t have it in me to go through that a second time.”
The topic was getting heavy and depressing. Shang Sui switched gears, “Xiao Qi was really clingy yesterday and even released his pheromones on me.”
At that, all traces of Shang Sui’s earlier sensitivity and suspicion vanished. He seemed to be bubbling with pink hearts. “Our baby’s pheromones smell amazing. I’m so happy.”
With great decorum, Shen Qianyu replied, “Congratulations.”
Thinking of his own romantic situation, Shang Sui had a rare moment of conscience and decided not to mention that Shi Qi had wanted to see him the moment he woke up, in order not to upset Shen Qianyu.
Shang Sui thought to himself: Where in the world would you find a more considerate friend than me? He asked, “Need me to do anything for you?”
“No.” Shen Qianyu paused for a moment, then said quietly, “Jiang Yan probably doesn’t want to see me ever again.”
To have pushed the usually mild-tempered Jiang Yan to such an extent…
Shang Sui raised his eyebrows slightly. He figured the two had likely had semi-forced sexual relations.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether to mourn for Jiang Yan or praise Shen Qianyu for having guts.
“I know I should’ve taken things step by step like you.” Shen Qianyu rubbed his temples. “But I just couldn’t.”
“It’s not entirely your fault. Jiang Yan is an idiot. If you hadn’t pushed him, he might’ve thought you were just joking around.”
Just then, Shang Sui’s phone screen lit up. He unlocked it, but his gaze gradually froze.
He placed the phone in front of Shen Qianyu. The idiot who had disappeared for days had finally sent a message.
Jiang Yan: [Are you in Qijiang? I’m thinking of visiting for a couple of days.]
“If I’m not mistaken, you posted that lake at the top of Yishan in your Moments a few days ago, right? Anyone can tell that’s Qijiang.”
Shang Sui smiled, mercilessly exposing Jiang Yan, “I never told him I was here. So, who do you think he really wants to see?”
–
It was a rare sunny afternoon, with the sun shining brightly overhead.
As if knowing Shi Qi was waiting to hear from him, Shang Sui casually asked to meet him just after two o’clock.
Ss: [Let’s meet at Yishan?]
Ss: [Take the sightseeing bus from your place. It’s the mid-stop on Line 2.]
Seeing Shi Qi rise from the sofa, Jiang Youning asked, “Going to see Shang Sui?”
Shi Qi nodded, so she teased, “Want me to cover for you with the dads this time too? Just like old times.”
Shi An’s voice came from the courtyard, asking whether everyone wanted to visit the old town later.
Shi Qi smiled and told her, “I probably won’t be back tonight.”
Following Shang Sui’s instructions, he made his way to the Line 2 bus stop.
The bus heading to Yishan was a bright terracotta red, operating four times a day. Compared to the lakeside area where they were staying, there were far fewer tourists going to Yishan, but the scenery along the way unfurled like a slowly opening scroll.
Most tourists entered the mountain for the colorful lake perched at its peak. Shi Qi got off alone at the middle stop.
As if predicting his timing, Shang Sui sent a message right on cue.
Ss: [Have you arrived?]
Ss: [There’s a small path on your right, lined with larkspur and hollyhocks. Follow it all the way in.]
Following his instructions, Shi Qi stepped onto the flower-lined trail and gradually began to realize something.
The scenery on either side of the path was both unfamiliar and familiar. The flowers of varying heights and vibrant colors were like fragments of long-lost memories. Shi Qi’s heartbeat quickened uncontrollably, as if he had traveled back in time to that summer years ago, when he had first wandered onto this path by accident.
Back then, he had simply thought it was beautiful. In the clear summer sunlight, it felt like a road leading to a fairyland.
Ss: [Go all the way to the end. At the fork, there’s an oak grove on the right and Endless Summer hydrangeas on the left.]
Shi Qi stopped at the fork in the path.
He didn’t need Shang Sui to tell him which way to go.
A vast expanse of hydrangeas came into view; brilliantly colored flowers bloomed in overlapping layers, and in the middle, a small Western-style house with wooden tiles and white walls looked like a miniature of a fairy tale world.
He saw three scarecrows among the flowers, each with a different posture—one holding a cigarette, one dozing off, and the last staring down at the ground.
Shi Qi quickly understood what they represented. He had once thought those three bodyguards were just flawed guards, but later learned it had all been part of Shang Sui’s intentional arrangement.
Shi Qi walked forward, the fragrant breeze brushing against him. Passing through the cloud-like path of flowers, it felt as though he was slowly transforming from the undifferentiated boy he once was into who he had become.
Unlike back then, the hydrangeas no longer blocked his view. Now, he could clearly see the second floor.
The second floor of the small villa opens onto an open balcony: folding doors on one side, lattice windows on the other. Beside a white windowsill stood an Alpha.
As if this scene had triggered a hidden switch in his memory, fragmented images flooded his mind. Shi Qi heard the voice of his younger self.
“I went home yesterday and thought about it all night.”
Another voice replied casually, “And what great insight did you come to?”
“When I grow up, I want to marry you.”
“…”
The other person seemed caught off guard and didn’t know what to say. After a long pause, he finally said, “Let’s talk about it when you’re older.”
“Today’s August 17th. It’s been exactly half a year since my birthday. I’m already fourteen and a half.” He said this, clearly displeased. Seeing the other person unmoved, he suddenly thought of something. “When’s your birthday?”
“March 3rd.”
Upon hearing the answer, he latched onto the detail. “You’re three years older than me, so you’re not an adult either!”
“You haven’t even differentiated yet,” the other said. “Let’s wait until you’ve differentiated.”
Realizing this was a legitimate point, he couldn’t help but feel troubled. “Alphas usually marry Omegas, right? So does that mean I have to differentiate into an Omega?”
“No one said that.” The other seemed to chuckle. Finally, he said, “It doesn’t matter what you differentiate into.”
……
The two voices faded gradually, as if moving from near to far.
Shi Qi emerged from the flashback, realizing that during that conversation, he had been lying beneath the windowsill, while the other person had been standing inside, looking down at him. Shi Qi lifted his head once more.
Shang Sui waved at him, a bright smile on his face.
In that moment, memory and reality overlapped, everything rewinding to that midsummer six years ago, like a long-delayed celebration.
Long time no see. Shi Qi said silently in his heart.
Author’s note:
Exactly half a year from August—Xiao Qi’s birthday is February 17.
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