Qiu Sui had considered this possibility before, but with Shen Zhixiao’s face, if he’d ever seen or met him, it should have been unforgettable.
Yet on the first day of school, when he’d seen Shen Zhixiao’s photo on Qiao Keren’s phone, he truly had no impression of the guy’s face at all.
So forget knowing him—he might not have even laid eyes on Shen Zhixiao before.
Qiu Shun didn’t deny Qiu Sui’s idea but proposed a new possibility: “Or maybe you’ve heard or seen his name somewhere before, and it left an unconscious impression in your mind that eventually mapped onto your dream.”
Dreams were products of the unconscious, but their composition was incredibly complex—essentially freely spliced and imagined from everyday memory fragments and forgotten segments that the self had overlooked. No matter how real they felt, the building blocks relied on existing knowledge and memory shards.
People had to remember too much in daily life; many unimportant or long-past things inevitably faded. Without projecting into a dream or a specific trigger, it was nearly impossible to recall them directly.
And…
Qiu Shun suspected he might have heard or seen Shen Zhixiao’s name alongside Qiu Sui, because the first time he’d heard those three words, Qiu Shun had also felt a vague sense of familiarity.
But it had probably seemed insignificant at the time, so he hadn’t paid attention and no deep impression stuck. Qiu Shun still couldn’t recall the related memory for now.
Qiu Sui hadn’t thought of it that way. He followed Qiu Shun’s lead and sorted through it, his jumbled thoughts suddenly clicking into place. He nodded slowly, “Yeah, that’s possible…”
Qiao Keren let out an “Aiya!” upon hearing this, unable to hold back his laughter. “What do you mean ‘possible’? It’s definitely that, okay?”
As he spoke, he even wondered if Qiu Sui had read too many trashy melodramatic comics and novels from middle and high school. Shaking Qiu Sui’s shoulders with some seriousness, he advised, “You should cut back on those trashy comics from now on.”
Qiu Sui choked at that, propping his waist slightly as he defended himself, “I stopped reading that kind of comic ages ago.”
Seeing Qiao Keren still laughing, Qiu Sui’s mind heated up.
He thought about how he’d spent over a month tormenting himself over one dream since the start of school, feeling utterly mortified. He snatched back the hat Qiu Shun had removed earlier and yanked it over his face, tilting his head back to curl up in embarrassment.
Qiao Keren was delighted at the sight, reaching out to poke the hat off. The two immediately tussled back and forth in their seats.
Though Qiu Shun felt his speculation smoothed things out, he still probed for other possibilities.
He briefly pulled himself from the thought, leaning back relaxedly with his head tilting toward his brother, watching them fight over the hat. Suddenly remembering something, he straightened up and called out, “Bro.”
Qiu Sui had just wrested the hat back from Qiao Keren. His mood wasn’t as heavy as at the start anymore—actually quite relaxed now. He turned back with a puzzled, “Huh? What’s up?”
Qiu Shun met his eyes, asking with genuine concern, “You said earlier something serious happened with Shen Zhixiao. What was it?”
The question hit Qiu Sui out of nowhere. His eyelid twitched—he hadn’t expected the conversation to loop right back to square one. His whole body tensed instantly, and he stalled with an “Uh…”
Qiao Keren had forgotten about it too, but the reminder sparked his curiosity. He stared at Qiu Sui intently. “Yeah! What happened between you and Shen Zhixiao?”
Qiu Sui had spent all night building up the mental fortitude to confess, but after realizing Qiao Keren’s words didn’t match what he’d assumed, he’d instantly chickened out.
He sat there rigidly, caught between a rock and a hard place, desperate for a way to gloss over the awkward topic. But clearly, he didn’t have the thinking time from yesterday. Qiao Keren’s other hand kept poking his arm insistently, urging him to speak.
Qiu Sui struggled to choose his words, his fingers unconsciously tearing several holes in the bag he held. It took ages for the first sound to come out, lacking confidence: “It’s not really that serious…”
Qiu Shun’s gaze seemed to pierce right through him, staring straight at his face. Qiu Sui licked his lips embarrassedly, unable to lie with a straight face. He could only half-confess half-hide the truth: “A few days ago… he accidentally bit me. I was afraid you’d notice if we met, so I lied and didn’t dare go out…”
Qiao Keren slowly blinked as he processed the words. The next second, he shot upright like he’d heard earth-shattering news, staring at Qiu Sui’s nape and sucking in a sharp breath. “Bite bite bite where? The bite I think it is? A Marking bite?”
Qiu Sui tugged his hat down awkwardly, scrambling to explain, “But I’m a beta, so getting bitten doesn’t really affect me… And there was a reason…”
Compared to Qiao Keren’s theatrics, Qiu Shun’s reaction stayed relatively steady. His gaze shifted from Qiu Sui’s fidgety expression to his tightly buttoned shirt collar. He didn’t fully buy it. Before Qiu Sui could react, Qiu Shun reached out and hooked the collar.
The sudden move caught Qiu Sui off guard. Before he could block, Qiu Shun had already glimpsed the mark on his neck, withdrawing his hand quickly. His brows furrowed slightly, his tone stern: “What’s your relationship with him now?”
“F-Friends?” Qiu Sui said uncertainly. Noticing Qiu Shun’s expression cool further, he hurriedly added, “We’re… trying to get along.”
Qiao Keren, who’d been about to chew out Shen Zhixiao for being a sleaze, twitched his brows at this. Seeing Qiu Sui’s awkward look, he pieced it together with insight. “Ohhh, so it’s an ambiguous relationship.”
Qiu Sui nearly choked on his breath, instinctively wanting to deny it—but then again… it did seem kinda like that?
It just had a trial period, that’s all.
With that in mind, he nodded along with Qiao Keren’s words toward the stern-faced Qiu Shun. “Yeah.”
But Qiu Shun’s expression didn’t soften. He warned coldly, “Even so, you shouldn’t let just anyone bite your Gland. It has nothing to do with whether a beta is affected—it’s basic safety awareness.”
Qiu Sui nodded in agreement, thinking, This time was an accident. There definitely won’t be a next one.
Qiao Keren, hearing Qiu Sui admit the ambiguous thing with Shen Zhixiao, lit up like he’d caught him red-handed. Leaning in gleefully, he yanked the topic back with mischief: “Didn’t you say there were no mutual feelings? You can be ambiguous without liking each other?”
Qiu Sui had forgotten that bit and got caught off guard with a sneak attack. His relaxed shoulders tensed right up. The words inexplicably made him feel like a scumbag. He denied it softly, “I didn’t say I don’t like him…”
Under Qiao Keren’s teasing gaze, he licked his lips uncomfortably, mumbling with a twisted expression, “Can’t you have a good feeling and still try?”
Qiao Keren watched Qiu Sui blush furiously after speaking, his teasing goal achieved. He clapped and leaned back in his seat, laughing hysterically.
Qiu Sui belatedly realized it was on purpose. He yanked the hat over his face—this time truly shutting down and ignoring everyone.
Shen Zhixiao’s breakfast had been in Qiu Sui’s hand the whole way. Only at the airport did he belatedly remember it. The sandwiches had gone cold, but they still tasted great.
Qiao Keren chomped a big bite toward the tip, mumbling unclearly, “Doesn’t the cafeteria open at 6:30? Where’d Shen Zhixiao get this breakfast? Off-campus? Ran out early in the morning just to buy it?”
Qiu Sui belatedly froze, squeezing the paper box. The packaging indeed lacked the school cafeteria’s logo.
He walked slowly beside them, recalling Shen Zhixiao’s words before the elevator. He proactively messaged him that check-in was done.
Shen Zhixiao hadn’t gone back to sleep and replied almost immediately.
Shen Zhixiao: Glad everything went smoothly [happy]
Shen Zhixiao: Did you eat that breakfast?
Qiu Sui clutched the empty packaging, Qiao Keren’s words in mind slowing his typing: Ate it, but shared two with friends.
He was about to type an apology when the reply popped first.
Shen Zhixiao: Really? [happy]
Shen Zhixiao: Did it taste a bit bland?
Shen Zhixiao: Dorm ingredients aren’t complete, so it might not have turned out great.
Shen Zhixiao: [kitten-worried.jpg]
That simple doodle kitten again. Qiu Sui stared at the emoji, blinking in reaction. He incredulously reread the lines above, eyes widening in surprise.
The sandwiches were… handmade by Shen Zhixiao in the dorm?
He could hardly picture Shen Zhixiao frying bread in the dorm. Even harder: Shen Zhixiao hiding illicit appliances during student council dorm checks.
Shen Zhixiao’s dorm must have at least a fridge and breakfast maker stashed.
Qiu Sui inappropriately deduced, imagining an Alpha frantically hiding a fridge. He unconsciously curved his lips, suddenly understanding why Shen Zhixiao and Wen Heng racked up so much dorm electricity.
Snapping back from his wandering thoughts, he hugged his phone and replied earnestly: Tasted great, thanks.
He added: My friends liked it too.
The other seemed thrilled, saying if possible, he’d make different breakfasts next time.
Qiu Sui found Shen Zhixiao kinda funny and teased: What if student council finds your appliances?
The reply seemed stumped, silent for seconds before slowly coming.
Shen Zhixiao: Then I couldn’t make you breakfast anymore TT
Damn.
Seeing the new message, Qiu Sui couldn’t hold back a low curse in his mind. Staring at the suffix, he failed to suppress his upturned lips, actually finding this 1.9-meter-plus Alpha… kinda cute.
Even if the word clashed totally with Shen Zhixiao’s sharp, handsome face.
As Qiu Sui thought this, his shoulder got tugged. He startled, head snapping up in panic, nearly dropping his phone.
Qiu Shun had lightly tugged his brow without peeking at the screen. He just nodded toward security. “Throw out your trash first.”
Qiu Sui then noticed he’d clutched the sandwich box the whole way.
After tossing it, Qiao Keren finished hugging Qiu Shun and launched himself at Qiu Sui, hanging from his neck and wailing reluctantly, “Six days till we meet again. Remember to bring back a box of pastries.”
Qiu Sui’s suitcase had tons of empty space—per Qiao Keren’s morning tease, for “stocking up at home.” He gripped Qiao Keren’s skinny shoulders, promising, “Don’t worry, I’ll grab you two boxes of Five Kernel Mooncakes on the way.”
Qiao Keren instantly leaped off, face pulling into a mock glare with a fist raised. “Bring those and you’re dead.”
Qiu Sui and Qiu Shun cracked up, bantering a bit before waving goodbye with laughs.
The Sea City to Stream City flight was two hours. Qiu Sui, with poor sleep last night and an early morning, boarded with a headache, eyes closed trying to nap—but he barely slept and felt airsick too.
On landing, he felt utterly listless, grabbing his phone to report safe arrival one by one.
Mom Zhuang Ni—Lady Zhuang—had been waiting in the airport forever. Spotting her two boys, she hugged each, cradling their faces. “So skinny! And look at those dark circles on you,” she nagged Qiu Sui. “No one at school to watch you, staying up all night? You look like a national treasure panda.”
“No way, I sleep at 11 sharp every night,” Qiu Sui lied to his mom without batting an eye, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and puffing up toughly.
Lady Zhuang tiptoed and swatted her eldest’s head irritably, reaching for his collar. “So hot and you’re wearing such a high collar? Not afraid of overheating?”
Qiu Sui’s bravado deflated instantly. He hunched hurriedly, guarding his collar tensely. “I’m not hot.”
Zhuang Ni found his reaction off and eyed him more, but Qiu Shun’s chatter soon drew her away.
Qiu Sui exhaled in relief, fixing his collar and wheeling his suitcase behind them.
Home for dinner, then back to his room for a nap. Qiu Sui eyed the still-unfaded mark on his neck, applying ointment while mentally begging it to heal fast—or Mom would spot it eventually.
He flopped onto his familiar big bed, rolling around nostalgically, messing up the neatly folded quilt Mom had made. He burrowed into a comfy spot. Still drowsy at dinner, now in his room he felt wide awake. He pulled out his phone to check messages.
After landing and reporting in, Qiu Sui hadn’t chatted much. Then home for dinner with phone pocketed. Now opening WeChat, messages had piled up.
He replied down the list. The latest was from Shen Zhixiao—spot on timing.
Shen Zhixiao: Have you gotten home yet?
Shen Zhixiao: If you didn’t sleep well on the plane, remember to catch up on some good rest when you get home~
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