Almost the instant Qiu Sui finished speaking, Qiao Keren ahead of him sensed that the friendly smile on Shen Zhixiao’s face had shifted somewhat, turning a bit stiff and forced.
A trace of puzzled confusion flickered across his expression, unclear what was happening. Seeing Shen Zhixiao still facing him, he awkwardly nodded in agreement with Qiu Sui’s words.
Shen Zhixiao didn’t speak. The brief silence stood out starkly amid the surrounding clamor of voices, and Qiu Sui didn’t dare turn to look at his expression.
He tensed his back rigidly, hypersensitive to the breath wafting over from behind. A dense itch prickled his nape. After two agonizing seconds, he finally heard the other man reply warmly, “Alright.”
Shen Zhixiao gazed at the fidgety Beta in front of him, his eyes sweeping over the ears flushed red beneath those strands of hair. In the end, he said regretfully, “Then next time, when there’s a chance, let’s eat together.”
The somewhat frozen atmosphere thawed a little with those words. Qiao Keren hadn’t expected he’d get another shot at turning down an S-Rank Alpha—the frustration from that pushy Alpha that morning evaporated. He casually pulled out his phone, opened WeChat to Qiu Sui’s chat, and fired off a barrage of over-the-top emojis, typing furiously.
Qiao Keren: Be honest, what’s the deal with you and Shen Zhixiao?!
The powerful presence behind him kept Qiu Sui steeped in a sense of crisis.
He stood stock-still, not daring to move a muscle. Meeting Qiao Keren’s meaningful glance, he just barely lifted his arm to fish the buzzing phone from his pocket.
Suddenly, Shen Zhixiao’s voice came from behind again, tone curious. “Do you two usually train nearby?”
Qiu Sui’s raised hand trembled, making the motion to grab his phone utterly unnatural. His nerves strung tight, he didn’t reply, merely giving a tiny nod.
But Shen Zhixiao seemed oblivious, shifting his gaze from Qiu Sui to Qiao Keren.
Being stared down at close range by a handsome Alpha pushing 1.9 meters tall made Qiao Keren’s legs go a bit weak.
The other’s aura was just too overwhelming. Even with that mild, amiable smile on his face, prolonged eye contact brought an involuntary sense of invisible pressure.
Even the socially adept Qiao Keren felt at a loss now, offering an awkward laugh. “We train on the little field across the way, haha.”
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered that Alphas of Shen Zhixiao’s level trained at the Special Training Camp to the south.
Didn’t they have an even closer South Cafeteria? If he recalled right, he and Qiu Sui were in line for the braised chicken rice at the East Canteen.
Had Shen Zhixiao come all the way from the South Cafeteria to the East Canteen just for a bite of braised chicken rice—something every cafeteria sold?!
Did pre-made dishes even have flavors worth chasing?
Qiao Keren’s mind raced through this chain of thoughts in an instant, only to hear the Alpha give a light “Oh.”
Shen Zhixiao’s gaze shifted back to Qiu Sui. Towering half a head taller, the angle let him glimpse the lit-up phone screen perfectly. His tone absentminded, he said, “That’s pretty close to here, then.”
Qiu Sui had Qiao Keren’s chat open, staring at the screen as he pondered how to explain things clearly. Caught off guard, the screen auto-dimmed, suddenly reflecting half of a sharp, handsome face looming overhead.
The image startled Qiu Sui so badly he nearly flung his phone away. Keeping his body statue-still, he quietly flipped the phone face-down until that upper half vanished from view, then exhaled in shaky relief.
Even knowing Shen Zhixiao probably wouldn’t stoop to peeking at his screen—that would be rude—Qiu Sui still didn’t dare lift the phone to check Qiao Keren’s messages. It just felt way too unsafe.
He could only clutch his phone and stand there miserably. When the line reached Qiao Keren at the window, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He and Qiao Keren had arrived late this time; by the time they got their food, many of the long lines around them had shortened.
As Qiu Sui hugged his tray and prepared to leave the window, his peripheral vision caught Shen Zhixiao waving and saying goodbye. His heart suddenly kicked up again.
They hadn’t even made eye contact—why was he still affected?
Burying his head, he scratched his head in frustration inwardly, mumbling a quiet “Bye” before hurrying to catch up with Qiao Keren.
By now, several waves of people had cleared out of the cafeteria, leaving plenty of empty tables around.
To interrogate Qiu Sui, Qiao Keren deliberately picked a spot deep in the corner, with no one nearby.
“What’s the deal with you and Shen Zhixiao?!” The moment he set down his tray, he jabbed his phone under Qiu Sui’s chin like a weapon, putting on a fierce scowl as he demanded answers.
Qiu Sui didn’t know how to phrase it, so he clarified first. “It’s not what you think.”
Qiao Keren pulled back his hand, immediately flashing a sly, ambiguous smile. His tone dripping with insinuation, “How do you know what I think? You’re feeling guilty.”
Qiu Sui’s heart wasn’t guilty at all. Straightening up to prove it, he explained, “We’ve only met three times total—we’re not close. The first time, he happened to help me out. The second was the day before yesterday; we ran into each other in the elevator. His friend thought it was fate and suggested we add each other on WeChat…”
At this point, Qiu Sui felt that might have been an unfortunate beginning. Speaking innocently, he added, “The third time is today. We’re really not that close.”
Seeing his earnestness, Qiao Keren believed him.
Believed him, my ass!
“He calls you ‘Xiao Sui’ after just three meetings?” Qiao Keren tried the last two words himself and found them too cheesy to say.
Hearing it from Qiao Keren’s mouth made Qiu Sui’s cheeks inexplicably heat up. His fingers unconsciously pressed against them.
Seeing Qiu Sui like this, Qiao Keren seriously suspected all that talk of not liking Shen Zhixiao had been mere posturing—and he’d actually bought it.
Spotting the misunderstanding written all over Qiao Keren’s face, Qiu Sui rushed to explain. “There’s a reason for that. I’m younger than him, so that’s just how he calls me.”
Qiao Keren gave an “Oh,” and while Qiu Sui buried himself in his food, declared confidently, “That means he’s into you.”
“Cough!!!”
Qiu Sui nearly choked on his rice, coughing nonstop as physiological tears welled up. Waving Qiao Keren off in denial, he thought, Suspecting that I like Shen Zhixiao would be way more plausible than him liking me!
Qiao Keren hurriedly passed him water. Qiu Sui chugged a long gulp, caught his breath, and heard Qiao Keren analyzing, “You’ve only met three times, and when he greeted you, he not only slung an arm around your shoulders but poked your cheek too. That’s not normal.”
Qiu Sui held his breath, thinking Qiao Keren didn’t know the original plot. I can’t exactly tell him Shen Zhixiao and Qiu Shun are the real pair, can I?
Besides, Shen Zhixiao was just the overly familiar type. Their first meeting, he’d eagerly grabbed Qiu Sui’s hand to check on him—that was normal physical contact for him.
But since he hadn’t mentioned to Qiao Keren or Qiu Shun about the dorm swap night involving Shen Zhixiao, he had no clue how to explain now. Clutching his head, he said, “It’s just normal friend stuff. I sling my arm around your shoulders, poke your face, and even hug you.”
“Plus, Shen Zhixiao’s an S-Rank Alpha—he’s definitely with an S-Rank Omega. What would a Beta like me, with no Pheromones, have that he’d want?”
At this, Qiu Sui felt a pang in his chest. He’d hinted pretty obviously, but Qiao Keren pointed at his face. “Don’t be so down on yourself. You’re handsome—maybe he just went for it on looks?”
Qiu Sui nearly choked again, thinking, Qiu Shun’s way more refined-looking than me, and he’s an S-Rank Omega with a horde of Alphas fishing for his WeChat. Shen Zhixiao should like him more!
No matter how Qiu Sui explained, Qiao Keren remained convinced in his own way—either Shen Zhixiao was into him, or he was into Shen Zhixiao. He even suggested Qiu Sui test the waters, saying they might hit it off perfectly.
His words twisted straight toward the original plot’s direction.
Qiu Sui found it terrifying.
Distressed, he propped his face in his hands, finished his last few bites, then clutched the table edge with both hands, pleading for one thing.
“Please, whatever you do, don’t tell Qiu Shun about me and Shen Zhixiao.”
Qiu Sui didn’t want Qiu Shun developing the original story’s misunderstandings, sparking a chain of love-hate drama because of him. But Qiao Keren, seeing his worried look, veered even further down Misunderstanding Road. Hesitating, he said, “I won’t say anything, but you can’t keep hiding it from Qiu Shun forever. Wait until you and Shen Zhixiao get together, then tell him—he’ll be pissed!”
Qiu Sui gave up explaining. Nodding, he thought, Once Qiu Shun and Shen Zhixiao get together, it won’t matter if he knows or not.
To avoid bumping into Shen Zhixiao again, Qiu Sui scoped out his position after eating. Seeing him still at the four-person booth by the window with Wen Heng, he quickly dragged Qiao Keren away.
Qiu Sui’s every move had been under observation from the booth. Wen Heng watched the Beta’s back as he fled in panic, then glanced at his dejected buddy, taking pity. “I think he really is super scared of you. You sure you didn’t do anything he saw?”
It sounded like Shen Zhixiao had secretly offed someone.
Aside from stalking Qiu Sui with his eyes since high school, sending those texts, and quietly seeking him out a few times recently, Shen Zhixiao hadn’t done anything to Qiu Sui. And he was certain Qiu Sui was oblivious to the first two, or he’d never react like this.
Setting those aside, every encounter with Qiu Sui had been meticulously planned: the casual eye-lock in the cafeteria on opening day, the perfectly timed help that night, the elevator “coincidence,” and today’s bump-in.
Shen Zhixiao had figured Qiu Sui would remember him from the cafeteria glance that night, leading to interaction as planned. Even without, it planted seeds for next time.
The elevator meetup had indeed created a prime opening for exchanging contacts.
By now, they should be sitting together, rapport building…
But almost every time, things veered off-script. This was no different.
Wen Heng pegged Qiu Sui as a timid Beta terrified of high-ranking Alphas.
Shen Zhixiao felt the faint ache from the wound on his waist and abdomen, chuckling lightly. Timid? That didn’t fit Qiu Sui at all.
So what was making Qiu Sui scared… or rather, resistant to him?
