The warm morning sunlight streamed through the window, casting a glow on Lin Yu’s stiff face.
Lin Yu: “I… you…”
“You don’t have to worry. I won’t tell anyone.” Lu Ziqing turned his face slightly, speaking softly. “This is just between us… let’s just pretend it never happened.”
His voice was quiet, his expression dim—like a resigned, long-suffering wife.
Lin Yu: “…”
Lu Ziqing lowered his gaze, focusing on the fresh vegetable leaves in his hands. “Anything else?”
Lin Yu: “No…”
Lu Ziqing turned and walked out.
It took Lin Yu half an hour to finally convince himself to accept reality.
He had, last night, forced himself on Lu Ziqing.
…
Shame and embarrassment overwhelmed him, leaving him at a complete loss. But then, a subtle sense of something being off crept in.
Before coming to the countryside, he and Lu Ziqing had discussed the potential risks of staying together.
Lu Ziqing had confidently assured him that nothing would happen. He would take a suppressant and wouldn’t be affected by Lin Yu’s pheromones. As an Alpha, he was naturally stronger than an Omega—physically tougher, more resilient. As long as he stayed clear-headed, there wouldn’t be any accidents.
Lin Yu had found his reasoning convincing and agreed in the end.
And things had indeed gone as planned. Lu Ziqing had taken a suppressant yesterday morning and remained clear-headed the entire day.
But here was the problem—if Lu Ziqing had been fully conscious, why hadn’t he refused?
Lin Yu suddenly sat up straight.
…
Ten minutes later, fully dressed, Lin Yu found Lu Ziqing in the kitchen, washing fruit.
Lu Ziqing stood with his back to the doorway, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing his toned forearms.
Lin Yu cautiously sidled over. “Washing something?”
“Mm.” Lu Ziqing glanced at him. “The pumpkin congee will be ready in about ten minutes. I also steamed some eggs and corn. You can wait at the table.”
“No need, no need.” Lin Yu waved his hands. “I’m not doing anything anyway. I’ll help you.”
Seeing that Lin Yu was moving around normally, Lu Ziqing didn’t refuse. He stepped to the right, making space for him to stand beside him.
Lin Yu bent down, picked up an apple from the basket, and rinsed it under the tap. “Where did these apples come from?”
Lu Ziqing: “The neighbor granny brought them over. Your mom called and asked her to look after us. She dropped off a bunch of fruits and vegetables this morning and even got a pound of beef for us.”
Lin Yu: “Short-haired, a little chubby?”
Lu Ziqing: “Mm.”
Lin Yu: “I used to stay with her for a while when I was little. I called her Granny Qian. My mom was working in another city back then and didn’t have time to take care of me, so she sent me to the countryside. My grandma carried me around to visit neighbors all the time. If she had a mahjong game at noon, she’d just leave me at someone’s house to nap until it got dark and then pick me up.”
“Granny Qian used to make amazing osmanthus cakes and black rice cakes. When the sun set, her granddaughter and I would sit on stools at the doorstep, each holding a piece of rice cake, nibbling on it for ages until my grandma came to take me home.”
As he reminisced, Lin Yu’s expression softened.
“We should get her something nice in return,” Lu Ziqing said. “What does she like to eat?”
Lin Yu: “Hmm… she likes sweet things, but she’s old now, so her teeth aren’t great. She can’t eat hard foods anymore. Let’s go to town this afternoon and buy her some soft pastries—mung bean cakes, sesame cakes, things like that. She loves those.”
Under the sunlight, Lu Ziqing’s side profile looked gentle. “Okay.”
The atmosphere was so warm and comforting that Lin Yu almost forgot why he had come to find him.
He quickly retracted his gaze, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Uh…”
Lu Ziqing: “Hm?”
Lin Yu suddenly didn’t know how to begin.
People always seem to busy themselves when they don’t know what to do.
Lu Ziqing watched as Lin Yu scrubbed the apple in his hands so vigorously that he almost peeled off the skin. “You’re about to rub the skin right off.”
Lin Yu stopped, looking a little embarrassed. “Just making sure it’s clean, in case there are pesticide residues.”
Lu Ziqing quietly stared at him. “Is there something you want to ask me?”
Lin Yu hesitated for a moment, gripping the apple. “…Yeah.”
Seemingly unable to watch Lin Yu torment the apple any longer, Lu Ziqing took it from his hands and started peeling it with a paring knife.
The crisp sound of peeling filled the air before Lin Yu finally spoke.
“I wanted to ask… last night, why didn’t you push me away?”
Lu Ziqing’s hands paused briefly before continuing to peel.
Lin Yu said, “I lost control during my heat… that was my fault.”
“But before we came here, we agreed that you would stay conscious the whole time—to take care of me and to protect yourself.”
“I believed you, which is why I agreed to let you come to the countryside with me.”
“With your strength, if you had wanted to, you could have easily pushed me away and left.”
He wasn’t trying to shift the blame or make excuses.
He was just genuinely confused about why Lu Ziqing hadn’t pushed him away.
They weren’t even in a confirmed relationship.
What he had done last night, even if he could blame it on his heat, didn’t change the fact that he had forced himself on Lu Ziqing.
No one would enjoy being forced… right?
Lu Ziqing didn’t answer immediately.
As Lin Yu spoke, Lu Ziqing remained focused on peeling the apple—his movements elegant, slow, and steady.
His fingers, long and well-defined, handled the apple with the kind of grace one might use to admire an antique.
When he finished peeling, he rinsed the apple, placed it on a clean plate, and then washed his hands under the faucet.
Only then did he finally speak.
“I have two answers. Which one do you want to hear?”
Lin Yu was puzzled. “Why two answers? Is one true and one false? Just tell me the real one.”
“It’s not about truth or falsehood,” Lu Ziqing sighed softly. “A single event can have more than one reason. One of them is your fault; the other… is mine.”
Lin Yu’s face flushed. “I know I was wrong… I didn’t control myself.”
Lu Ziqing: “You were burning up. When I tried to pull away, you only got worse. I was afraid that if I didn’t hold you, something would happen to you…”
Lin Yu hurriedly interrupted, “You don’t need to say more about that. I get it.”
“There’s another reason,” Lu Ziqing paused before asking, “Do you really want to hear it?”
Lin Yu’s expression turned serious. “I have to learn from my mistakes. Otherwise, what if this happens again during my next heat? I need to prevent it from happening again.”
“…Alright,” Lu Ziqing gazed out the window and said softly, “At that moment… I couldn’t help myself either.”
Lin Yu: “?”
What kind of answer was that?
That was basically saying nothing.
Lin Yu: “Uh… could you explain that a little more?”
Lu Ziqing seemed exasperated. “Are you pretending not to understand, or do you really not get it?”
Lin Yu: “Uh…”
Lu Ziqing: “I’m saying that, at that moment, because you were holding onto me, I couldn’t refuse you.”
Lin Yu still felt confused, but he had a vague sense of what Lu Ziqing was implying. “You… you mean, at that time, you also…”
Lu Ziqing: “You were rubbing against me for so long. How could I possibly feel nothing?”
Lin Yu was speechless. “B-but… you took a suppressant…”
Lu Ziqing’s expression was cold. “Oh, so you do remember I took a suppressant? Not like I was castrated.”
Lin Yu: “…”
Suddenly, the sunlight in the kitchen felt too harsh, the air a little too thin, and the space uncomfortably small.
“I-I should go check if the congee is ready.”
He turned to flee but was immediately yanked back by the collar.
Cool fingertips brushed against his neck, sending a shiver down his spine.
“I said we should pretend it didn’t happen so you wouldn’t feel guilty,” Lu Ziqing’s voice was low, his teeth lightly gritting as he whispered near Lin Yu’s ear, “But you’re not seriously planning to just walk away, are you… Director Lin?”
A devil’s whisper—terrifying.
Lin Yu coughed and tried to stay calm. “O-of course not…”
“That’s good,” Lu Ziqing released him. “I’ll be watching how you behave in the coming days. Otherwise, when we get back, I’ll stand in front of the company with a banner saying you forced yourself on an innocent man and abandoned him.”
As he spoke, he picked up a kitchen knife.
Thud, thud, thud.
Each stroke of the knife chopped an apple into tiny pieces, the sound sharp and menacing.
A wise man adapts to the situation.
Lin Yu quickly nodded. “Got it.”
……
Lin Yu became exceptionally well-behaved.
Of course, he had always been a serious and upright person—not one for mischief, always conducting himself properly.
But since he had done something wrong to Lu Ziqing, he felt the need to make amends. So, even the usually strict and unyielding Director Lin started acting a little… ingratiating.
Breakfast was served in the courtyard.
A small square table sat in the center, with a steaming basket and tableware laid out.
Two small stools were placed on either side of the table, one for each of them.
Before eating, Lin Yu took the initiative to hand Lu Ziqing a pair of chopsticks.
When eating pumpkin congee, he even picked out the tough pumpkin fibers from Lu Ziqing’s bowl before handing it over.
After finishing the meal, Lin Yu eagerly got up to clean up and washed both their bowls and chopsticks.
When eating fruit, the sweetest part of the Hami melon was, of course, reserved for Lu Ziqing.
Lin Yu wasn’t used to doing such affectionate things, but to keep Young Master Lu in a good mood, he forced a smile, picked up a piece of melon with a toothpick, and held it up to Lu Ziqing’s mouth. “Ah—”
Lu Ziqing shuddered all over, scratching his arms. “You’re giving me goosebumps.”
Lin Yu blinked. “Aren’t you touched?”
“I’m definitely frozen stiff,” Lu Ziqing replied. “I’m starting to wonder if you’ve been possessed by a ghost.”
Lin Yu found his own behavior a bit ridiculous and couldn’t help but smile.
Just as he was about to pull his hand back, Lu Ziqing suddenly grabbed his wrist, tilted his head, and ate the piece of melon straight from his hand.
“It’s pretty sweet,” Lu Ziqing commented. “You should try some too.”
He picked up a piece and held it up to Lin Yu’s lips.
Lin Yu felt a bit awkward, but since it was already in front of him, he opened his mouth and took a bite.
Juice burst forth, sweet and refreshing.
“So sweet,” he couldn’t help but say.
Maybe it was because he had been sick the past few days and eating plain food, but he couldn’t recall Hami melon ever tasting this sweet before.
He picked up a piece of apple and fed it to Lu Ziqing.
Then a fourth piece, a fifth…
The early winter sunlight was warm, and the courtyard was peaceful and quiet.
The village breeze carried the earthy scent of soil, drifting through the branches of fruit trees, past drying laundry, and settling lazily in the corners of the yard.
When they got to the last piece, the toothpick wasn’t firmly stuck, and the melon slipped off.
“What a shame…”
Lin Yu bent down to pick it up, intending to throw it away, but just as he did, Lu Ziqing also leaned forward at the same time.
Their heads were about to collide.
Lin Yu immediately stopped.
He looked up, and their eyes met.
His instinct was to retreat, but Lu Ziqing suddenly reached out, grabbing his arm and holding him in place.
Lin Yu: “…”
They were so close that they could hear each other’s warm breaths.
He could clearly see Lu Ziqing’s long, curled eyelashes, his beautiful eyes, the dark pupils, the tiny gray mole under his eyelid, and the clear moisture on his lips.
…
He suddenly felt dazed.
At some point, the courtyard had fallen completely silent—no wind, no rustling leaves.
For a brief moment, it was as if they had stepped into another world, a world where only the two of them existed.
Everything around them faded into stillness.
Lu Ziqing didn’t say a word.
He simply looked at him quietly, his eyelashes trembling.
His gaze lingered on Lin Yu’s lips, and his Adam’s apple moved slightly.
Bathed in bright sunlight, Lin Yu felt lightheaded.
The sun was warm, the breeze smelled fresh.
He only felt Lu Ziqing’s lips drawing closer, closer…
Suddenly, an intense rock song blared, startling both of them.
The ambiguous, intimate atmosphere shattered instantly.
Lin Yu snapped back to reality and quickly backed away.
Lu Ziqing had no choice but to let him go.
He frowned, pulling his phone from his pocket.
He was about to hang up when he saw the caller ID. After a brief hesitation, he reluctantly answered, “Hello, Dad.”
A stern voice came through the phone. “Have you thought about what I asked you?”
Lu Ziqing was silent for a moment. “I haven’t decided yet.”
His father raised his voice. “How can you not have decided? You’re not a kid anymore—how much longer do you plan to waste your time?”
Lu Ziqing glanced at Lin Yu, then got up and walked toward the vegetable field to continue his call.
Lin Yu clutched his chest, his heart pounding wildly.
That was close.
Just now, they had almost… almost…
But why?
His skin hadn’t heated up, his glands weren’t swollen, and his mind wasn’t foggy.
Yet, for a split second, he had still…
He had wanted to kiss him.
He wanted to know what Lu Ziqing’s lips tasted like.
He wanted to know if those beautifully shaped lips were warm when kissed or if they were cool like mint jelly.
[mfn]
Author’s Note
You’re done for. You’ve fallen in love.
[/mfn]
