Qiu Sui froze stiffly for a few seconds. Once he realized who it was, his eyes widened as if seeing a ghost. As danger warnings flashed wildly in his brain, he lowered his head in terror.
His body instinctively recoiled to dodge, even preparing to grab his backpack and leap straight off the bench.
However, a hand pressed down on Qiu Sui’s shoulder—quick and steady. The pad of the finger pressed against his skin through the thin fabric, forcing him to stay seated without budging an inch.
In that instant, his breathing nearly stopped. Panicked, he heard a light, gentle laugh from above his head.
The vibration from the other’s chest seemed to transmit through the hand on his shoulder, numbing Qiu Sui’s spine and making his grip on the strap tighten unconsciously.
“Sorry, did I scare you?”
Shen Zhixiao braced both hands on those warm shoulders, sensing the Beta’s body heat. He leaned slightly forward, looking at the tense boy before him, his apologetic tone laced with a faint chuckle.
Because of that brief two-second eye contact earlier, Qiu Sui’s racing heart mobilized all his senses, making it hard for him to process the voice at his ear. He could only manage a small nod first.
Shen Zhixiao looked down at him, his gaze sliding from the Beta’s curly, fine strands of hair, along the side of his neck and collar, down to the flesh of his thighs exposed beyond his shorts.
Under the dim streetlights, that patch of skin—which hadn’t seen much sun—was almost blindingly white.
His fingers gave Qiu Sui’s shoulder a meaningful pinch, light as if startling something: “I think I saw you and your friend outside campus earlier too. Did you just finish eating out and head back to school?”
So Shen Zhixiao had spotted me and Qiao Keren even while talking to Qiu Shun?
Qiu Sui hunched his back rigidly, every bit of his attention focused on the weight on his shoulder. Amid the chaos, that thought bubbled up.
Unable to sense the lingering gaze roaming over him, immersed in his own mind, it took him several dull seconds to react—as if reluctant to make a sound, he nodded again.
Even so, the Alpha behind him didn’t seem put off. He suddenly leaned in close to Qiu Sui’s ear and sniffed lightly, retreating to a safe distance before Qiu Sui could react. With curious curiosity, he asked: “Did you spray perfume? There’s a peach scent.”
Hearing the other’s voice, that fruity wine aroma seemed to surge back with his breath. As Qiu Sui tried to calm his mind, he slowly shook his head at the question. His dry lips twitched, but he still didn’t explain aloud.
Seeing this, Shen Zhixiao didn’t press. Instead, he suddenly said: “Actually, a few days ago, Wen Heng and I ran into you at the East Canteen too.”
The abrupt topic shift made Qiu Sui tense up instinctively. He sat frozen, waiting for the next words.
Shen Zhixiao stared reproachfully at the smooth nape beneath Qiu Sui’s messy bangs, full of dissatisfaction at how the Beta had been avoiding him lately.
His Pheromones stirred slightly within him, but his tone betrayed no change: “But you left before we could say hi. I kept thinking we’d get to eat together, but right up until military training ended, we never got the chance.”
The lingering alcohol agitated Qiu Sui’s nerves, while his body stayed sensitively taut—like sitting on pins and needles. He couldn’t guess what the other meant by those words.
Just a simple lament about bad timing?
In his current predicament, Qiu Sui puzzled and fretted in place, motionless. His slowly recovering brain now sought only a way to escape Shen Zhixiao—like a statue hopeless at socializing, he stayed silent.
Suddenly, the weight on his shoulder lifted. Qiu Sui sensed the person behind him step back a bit.
He thought his curt attitude had finally made the other give up on chatting. Just as he sighed in relief, the sound of fabric rustling came from beside him.
When his peripheral vision caught a figure sitting down next to him, Qiu Sui’s hairs stood on end. He grabbed his backpack to shift away, only for the other to press his right shoulder again.
Shen Zhixiao stared unblinkingly at the Beta’s handsome profile, maintaining a harmonious smile as he asked slowly, puzzled: “You seem kinda scared of me.”
Sensing the intense gaze, Qiu Sui’s adrenaline spiked, his limbs going a bit weak. Unable to control it, he didn’t dare turn his head. His eyes shifted over the dim stone bricks ahead, and after a long moment, he found his voice to deny: “No.”
Shen Zhixiao released him, mimicking his initial pose by bracing his hands on his knees. He leaned toward Qiu Sui’s lowered face. Seeing him dodge away, he quirked a brow in amusement and said bluntly: “No? But every time you see me, you keep your head down.”
Qiu Sui’s chest tightened at that. He couldn’t exactly tell him that eye contact triggers plot control, making his heart race uncontrollably—so he has to avoid him, right?
Dodging the probing gaze beside him, Qiu Sui dropped his eyes. At this point, no other choice. Better use it to clear things up and keep his distance from now on.
Fueled by hatred for the “perverted Alpha,” he forced his lips to move and bluffed: “Because I don’t like high-ranking Alphas.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the Alpha beside him froze mid-lean. The surrounding chatter seemed to hush instantly. Qiu Sui could only hear the shattering of his own conscience—like biting the hand that fed him.
Enduring the unclear mix of embarrassment and guilt, before the other could ask why, he added awkwardly: “I really appreciate you helping me before, but I don’t want to be friends with high-ranking Alphas. If it’s because you want to get to know my brother, you could try talking to him directly. I can’t help with that.”
He could feel the smile on the Alpha’s face faltering.
No Alpha could accept rejection from a Beta—let alone an S-Rank Alpha.
At least, not about making friends.
As expected, silence fell after his words. Qiu Sui was about to add another apology when he heard the other’s stiff voice: “You…”
But the approaching shuttle’s horn blared, drowning out the rest. He wanted to ask what was said, but feared making the atmosphere even more awkward—after all, Shen Zhixiao might end up with Qiu Shun, so their relationship couldn’t get too tense.
In the end, at the shuttle’s stop, he pretended not to hear and mumbled a quiet “Sorry” before standing and fleeing in panic.
Once aboard, Qiu Sui glanced uneasily back at the bench. Shen Zhixiao was still sitting there, head slightly bowed, face hidden in shadow, expression unreadable.
Truth be told, Qiu Sui had little resistance to friendly people. Without the plot, he might’ve actually become friends with Shen Zhixiao.
He silently withdrew his gaze, resting his forehead against the seat ahead. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, found Shen Zhixiao’s WeChat, rephrased his earlier words carefully, and sent them. Finally, he sincerely apologized to both him and Wen Heng—then deleted both contacts.
After all that, he muttered “sorry” to his phone like a heinous criminal.
Back at the dorm with guilt gnawing at him, Qiu Sui—reeking of grease and sweaty from the heat—took another shower.
Under the water, he felt a bit freed from the guilt. Eyes downcast, his mind cleared more. He reported safe in their little group chat.
Qiao Keren and Qiu Shun were teamed up playing Doudizhu. Seeing him pop up, they immediately sent an invite.
Normally, Qiu Sui either read novels or obsessed over that perverted Alpha, showing zero interest in cards. But tonight, curiosity struck—why did they play every night without getting bored, even voice-chatting strategies? His finger slipped, and he joined.
After losing two rounds and blowing all his Gold Beans, Qiu Sui shot up from bed in fury: “Qiao Keren! Why’d you play a bomb? Didn’t Qiu Shun say to hold it?”
“I checked the card reader—opponents had no big plays left,” Qiao Keren whined.
Qiu Sui opened his mouth, but Qiu Shun’s steady voice cut in: “Bro, watch the ad quick. Next round, follow my lead.”
He obediently agreed, watched the thirty-second clip, and after winning one with Qiu Shun, felt instantly refreshed and elated.
Sadly, with early classes tomorrow, they won one more then called it for sleep.
Exiting the mini-game, Qiu Sui still buzzed with that hazy thrill, finally getting their fun.
He wasn’t sleepy. Glancing at the time—nearly eleven, his usual bedtime—he planned to log off WeChat and force sleep.
Back on the home screen, unread messages popped up from the usually quiet texts—several new ones.
Qiu Sui’s grip on his phone paused. Even guessing who, seeing the notifications from that virtual number still made his eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
0: What does “don’t like high-ranking Alphas” mean?
0: Hm? Dear.
0: Why don’t you like high-ranking Alphas?
0: Is it me you don’t like?
0: That really hurts.
0: I like you so much.
0: How could you do this to me?
0: Qiu Sui.
The headless messages had come while he played cards with Qiao Keren and the others—over ten minutes ago.
Qiu Sui stared at the screen, palms sweating inevitably.
How would this Alpha know about my chat with Shen Zhixiao? Was he nearby?
Or does he know Shen Zhixiao and heard about tonight from him?
Or…
Qiu Sui quickly dismissed the last thought, almost laughing.
Impossible. Outside the original plot, I’ve never even met Shen Zhixiao before.
The other was local to Sea City, while he hailed from Stream City in the south—over a thousand kilometers away.
He didn’t know if Shen Zhixiao had visited Stream City, but Qiu Sui was sure he’d only come to Sea City for university. He hadn’t even left Stream City for travel in high school freshman year.
If it was that face, he’d never forget seeing it back then…
Lost in thought, Qiu Sui shook his head back to the point.
Starting from Shen Zhixiao’s acquaintances, he only knew Wen Heng so far.
An A-Rank Alpha, pretty tall too.
But like Shen Zhixiao, he was Sea City local—Qiu Sui had only met him in university.
And Qiu Sui figured Shen Zhixiao wouldn’t share tonight’s embarrassment with anyone else besides Wen Heng.
Just in case, he tabled the possibility for now, leaning toward the first guess as most likely.
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