Qiu Sui took it stiffly under the intense gaze, clumsily picking up a steaming piece to shove in his mouth—only for Shen Zhixiao to swiftly grab his wrist.
The scalding wagyu slipped from the chopsticks onto the table.
Qiu Sui froze, eyes following the roll.
All his focus locked on the touched skin of his wrist, a scorching heat surging through his limbs like an electric shock, heart numbing into chaos.
His breath hitched, then a soft exhale came from above—like laughter.
Releasing the wrist, Shen Zhixiao couldn’t resist lightly tapping Qiu Sui’s forehead—a casual tease. Qiu Sui didn’t recoil at first, hearing the gentle reminder by his ear: “No need to rush. Fresh meat’s hot.”
As Shen Zhixiao returned to grilling, Qiu Sui snapped out of his daze, staring at the discarded wagyu in the dirty dish. A surge of embarrassed fury exploded slowly in his brain.
He wailed awkwardly inside, hunching over, too mortified to look up.
After calming a bit, amid the sizzle of grilling, he pressed his hand to his abnormally warm cheek. For a moment, he wanted to settle the bill and flee, but in reality, Qiu Sui could only pretend nonchalance, grab chopsticks, pick another piece, and eat.
Lettuce and spring roll wrappers sat nearby, but he was too ashamed to reach for them, lost in self-imposed isolation.
Suddenly, another small plate appeared in front of him, holding a few pieces of grilled meat wrapped in spring rolls.
He stared stiffly at it for a few seconds and had no choice but to lift his head to refuse, but the Alpha across from him was already focused back on grilling. Qiu Sui simply didn’t have the courage to speak up to him and tried to stealthily push it back.
But the moment his fingers nudged it, he heard a concerned question from across the table.
“How’s the taste?”
Qiu Sui was still immersed in his earlier blunder. Hearing Shen Zhixiao’s voice, his fingers twitched reflexively, and he murmured softly, “It’s good.”
Qiu Sui had never grilled such tender wagyu himself—not even Qiao Keren, the self-proclaimed king of grilling, could achieve that level of perfection on every single piece. But every slice of grilled meat Shen Zhixiao had just handed over was cooked to absolute perfection, without a single burnt spot.
The taste really is delicious, he thought, feeling a push against his hand.
Shen Zhixiao’s fingers pressed against the edge of the plate, unyieldingly sliding the spring roll-wrapped grilled meat back in front of Qiu Sui. In a gentle voice, he said, “Then try this one too.”
His voice carried a faint laugh as he added, “It’s gone a bit cold this time.”
“…”
Shen Zhixiao’s subtly teasing tone made Qiu Sui’s vanished embarrassment threaten to resurface. He itched to claw at his ears and cover the other’s mouth, but in the end, he could only pretend to be very busy burying his head in his food. If he teases me again next time, I’ll just pay the bill and leave first—that way, I’ve still treated him.
Shen Zhixiao was clearly a master at pacing. He didn’t press the Beta too hard, stopping just short with his teasing, and afterward didn’t keep piling food in front of Qiu Sui. He even picked up his own chopsticks now and then to avoid seeming too obvious and backfiring.
He gave Qiu Sui plenty of time to relax, so the other wouldn’t reject him like at the start. The effect was indeed obvious.
Qiu Sui really wasn’t as awkward as before. Once he relaxed a bit, little unconscious habits emerged: occasionally shrugging his shoulders to check his phone, or tentatively trying to grill his own meat. When it burnt, he’d quickly pick it up, and while the other wasn’t looking, toss it into a dirty plate and cover it with lettuce before continuing to eat the tender meat from the plate across from him.
He’d ordered quite a lot of food. By the time he was full, there was still plenty of grilled meat left, but Shen Zhixiao polished it all off in the end.
The two of them ate over four thousand yuan worth. Qiu Sui thought that if the other could still eat, ordering two more portions of meat would bring it right up to five thousand.
But seeing Shen Zhixiao calmly down half a glass of iced drink to cut the richness, Qiu Sui’s conscience and sense kicked in, reminding him not to do that.
So he could only reluctantly pull out his phone to pay. When he did, he discovered the server had only charged half. Stunned, Qiu Sui clutched his phone and said, “Your machine charged too little.”
The server glanced at the amount and smiled politely at him. “No, it’s correct. This is the couples’ discount.”
The word “couples” nearly scared Qiu Sui’s soul right out of his body. He shot to his feet in full-faced horror, waving his hands at the server while glancing nervously at Shen Zhixiao, stammering incoherently, “No, no, no, no, no—we’re not a couple!”
Hearing this, the server looked toward the Alpha on the other side.
Shen Zhixiao’s face showed an apologetic expression. With a faint smile, he admitted to the server, “We’re just friends.”
Qiu Sui nodded vigorously along with Shen Zhixiao’s words, saying seriously to the server that yes, they were, and shoved his payment code at them, urging them to take the full amount. He was desperate to escape this bizarre barbecue restaurant.
Once outside, Qiu Sui was still reeling from the server’s words, heart pounding with lingering fear. Shen Zhixiao walked beside him and considerately asked if he wanted to take a stroll nearby—sitting in a car right after eating one’s fill could easily make one feel unwell on the way back to school.
Qiu Sui checked the time and saw it was nearly nine o’clock. If they digested first before heading back, he’d probably get to the dorm around eleven, leaving no time to team up with Xiao Mu for cards.
But going back now really would make him prone to carsickness from being so stuffed.
After hesitating for a minute, Qiu Sui finally agreed to the suggestion.
If he went back feeling unwell, he wouldn’t have the mood for games anyway.
The Haishi Commercial District was lively at night. They avoided the bustling areas, just strolling along the nearby sidewalk, with delivery riders occasionally whizzing past.
Shen Zhixiao kept Qiu Sui on the inner side of the path. Walking in sync with him made Qiu Sui feel a bit awkward inside.
Usually, when he went out walking with Qiu Shun and Qiao Keren, he was the one on the outermost edge, protecting the two of them.
This “being protected” feeling was too strange for him.
But compared to an S-Rank Alpha, he really wasn’t qualified to be the “protector.” Qiu Sui uncomfortably stole a glance to the side and had to admit it to himself.
He thought of that server at checkout, guessing they were probably a Beta. Not knowing he was a Pheromone-less Beta too, they’d mistaken him for an Omega based on their size difference and assumed his relationship with Shen Zhixiao.
Heaven knew how huge the impact of “couple” was on Qiu Sui’s brain. Even if Shen Zhixiao wouldn’t take it seriously, Qiu Sui couldn’t help it—his mind held that original plot, making him reflexively flinch at such sensitive terms.
Lost in his thoughts, the Alpha beside him suddenly called his name.
After sharing a meal with Shen Zhixiao, Qiu Sui wasn’t as tense around him anymore. He could sense the other’s friendliness and thoughtfulness, so he couldn’t bring himself to reject someone like that. He responded softly with his head down.
Shen Zhixiao spoke slowly: “Earlier…”
He suddenly trailed off.
Qiu Sui’s heart lifted with the pause in his voice, his brain involuntarily trying to guess the rest.
Earlier what?
The server’s misunderstanding earlier?
Was the barbecue place earlier tasty?
None of Qiu Sui’s wild guesses were right. He heard Shen Zhixiao carefully add the second half: “When I told the server we’re friends, you didn’t get mad, right?”
Qiu Sui’s heart settled back. Not understanding why Shen Zhixiao thought that would make him mad, he stared at their two shadows—one big, one small—ahead and smiled. “No.”
Shen Zhixiao let out a long “oh,” fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke again with an apology. “Can I ask you something offensive?”
Qiu Sui’s steps faltered briefly as the words landed, and tension flooded him. He managed a dry “um,” “Maybe not.”
“…”
The Alpha beside him shut his mouth. The atmosphere turned instantly quiet, save for the hum of traffic on the road.
Qiu Sui was terrible at handling awkwardness. In the end, his soft heart won out. “Or… go ahead and ask. I can refuse to answer.”
Shen Zhixiao stared at the Beta’s fluffy head, suppressing the urge to ruffle it, and said softly, “Thanks.”
He seemed to ponder for a long time before suddenly asking Qiu Sui the question, his tone serious: “Do you really hate high-level Alphas that much? Hate me, hate Wen Heng, and all the high-level Alphas at school?”
Qiu Sui stared at the ground, his slightly lowered lashes trembling. His hands unconsciously tugged lightly at his backpack straps.
It was just something he’d made up on the spot back then to distance himself from Shen Zhixiao—he hadn’t expected the other to remember. He’d probably said it pretty harshly.
Inopportune thought, Qiu Sui mused.
He sneaked a sideways glance and found this S-Rank Alpha watching him intently. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked away, neck stiff with tension for a few seconds.
But soon, Qiu Sui belatedly wondered why he was even tensing up. Haven’t I gotten over the eye-contact effect already?
A bit annoyed at himself, he turned back to the Alpha under the streetlight, whose expression was hard to read in the dimness. In the silence, he tugged his lips and answered honestly: “I do hate Alphas.”
Feeling the other’s body stiffen slightly, Qiu Sui added, “But I hate the rude ones who treat others like imaginary enemies, the ones with no self-control, bad tempers, who bully people at will. I know you and Wen Heng are both good people.”
“…”
Qiu Sui hadn’t given a direct yes-or-no, but Shen Zhixiao found the slant he wanted in it. Slowly, he said, “So… can I take that to mean you don’t actually hate me or Wen Heng?”
Qiu Sui pressed his lips together without responding. He really didn’t hate Shen Zhixiao or Wen Heng. If it weren’t for the eye-contact effect before, he wouldn’t have avoided them like the plague.
At most, I’d just keep a little distance, Qiu Sui silently added in his mind.
