Qiu Sui slept straight through until morning. When he woke, the Alpha half-holding him was still fast asleep. He wanted to grab his phone to check the time, but the moment he moved, the person beside him stirred awake.
The other man groggily caught his hand reaching for the phone, intertwining their fingers and pressing it back down. He buried his head in Qiu Sui’s neck, nuzzling against it, his breaths brushing hot and ticklish over his earlobe.
Qiu Sui instinctively shrank back his neck. Then he heard Shen Zhixiao’s muffled voice calling him “baby,” the tone lazy and hoarse from just waking up. “…Awake?”
Qiu Sui was held tightly against Shen Zhixiao without a single gap between them, his body warming up. He tilted his head back slightly to catch his breath and let out a soft hum, shaking their tightly clasped hands. His voice came out nasal and stuffy. “I want to get my phone to check the time.”
The Alpha took several seconds to process before loosening his grip. He propped himself up, grabbed the phone for him, glanced at the screen, then buried his head back into Qiu Sui’s neck nest. He murmured lowly, “Just past nine. Still early.”
At first listen, it sounded like just after nine. Qiu Sui snatched the phone and saw it was 9:57—three minutes shy of ten.
“…”
Whenever they’d slept together before, Shen Zhixiao had always risen earlier than him. Seeing the man laze in bed now felt novel to Qiu Sui.
He gazed at the Alpha half-draped over him, hugging tight as he drifted back to sleep. Qiu Sui reached out to poke Shen Zhixiao’s cheek, testing if he was faking it.
But after a full minute of prodding, Shen Zhixiao’s eyes stayed shut, his breathing steady. Qiu Sui confirmed he was truly asleep again and let him hold on, lounging in bed to scroll his phone.
Shen Zhixiao didn’t sleep long. By half-past ten, he woke again—like a large pendant clinging to Qiu Sui’s back. His arms locked around Qiu Sui’s waist, shadowing his every step to the bathroom for washing up. Then he pinned Qiu Sui against the wall for a kiss.
The apartment fridge had been restocked with ingredients, so they skipped delivery and made lunch together in the kitchen, shoulders brushing.
After tasting Shen Zhixiao’s cooking, Qiu Sui felt too embarrassed to show off his own skills and just helped prep the veggies.
They ate a lazy lunch, bellies full. Qiu Sui went for a walk with Shen Zhixiao, heading to the nearby supermarket to replenish the fridge after their midday splurge.
Back with bags in tow, they tumbled onto the sofa for some playful tussling before huddling shoulder-to-shoulder to tackle homework. The overlapping keyboard clacks wove into an oddly harmonious rhythm.
Qiu Sui had more work than Shen Zhixiao. By the time the Alpha finished, he was still biting his lip, revising data with his groupmates.
Shen Zhixiao leaned over his shoulder, watching him type. He spoke warmly, offering to do one of Qiu Sui’s assignments, but got turned down.
A bit displeased, he furrowed his brow. Watching Qiu Sui juggle tablet and laptop to communicate revisions with two groups, Shen Zhixiao sulkily smooshed his cheek against Qiu Sui’s and planted a hard kiss.
Qiu Sui was hyper-focused on work, scrutinizing the data models from his groupmates. He had no attention to spare.
The Alpha stewed on his shoulder for ages, radiating resentment, before slinking off dejectedly to the gym area to lift weights.
By the time Qiu Sui wrapped up, it was already four in the afternoon.
He’d held the same position all afternoon—his waist and shoulders ached faintly. He stood to stretch.
Only then did he belatedly remember his boyfriend. Puzzled, he glanced around but saw no sign of the Alpha.
This wasn’t like Shen Zhixiao’s clingy style. Had he gone for a nap?
Qiu Sui closed his laptop and headed toward the master bedroom. Passing the small tea lounge, his sharp ears caught movement from the opposite door—the gym.
His steps halted. He blinked slowly, edged to the door, gripped the handle, and cracked it open cautiously. The Alpha’s breathing soon filtered through.
Qiu Sui’s hand froze on the door. He peeked through the gap. Shen Zhixiao was inside doing bench presses.
A black tank top clung tightly to the Alpha’s muscled upper body. The fabric stretched and contracted with each rep, outlining the solid contours of his pecs.
Seeing the sweat on Shen Zhixiao’s lateral neck, Qiu Sui’s palms heated up. He yanked his head back hastily.
Catching the Alpha working out for the first time made his heart race. He heard the equipment clank as it was racked. His heart skipped—before he could close the door, another force seized the handle.
The door that had been just a sliver swung wide. Qiu Sui collided face-to-chest with the very pecs he’d glimpsed. He froze for half a second, then heard Shen Zhixiao’s low, muffled chuckle.
Qiu Sui met the Alpha’s teasing gaze, shame flooding from his neck to the back of his skull in a wave of crimson. He forced composure, lips twitching. “I was just about to knock…”
Shen Zhixiao just smiled down at him. Qiu Sui’s lips pressed together awkwardly. His eyes darted down to those pecs, flinched like they’d been pricked by needles, and veered away.
Before his gaze could settle, Shen Zhixiao’s hot palm scooped under his nape. In the next instant, the Alpha’s post-workout heat crashed over him.
Qiu Sui went limp like a kitten gripped by the scruff, yielding to the deep kiss. His hands clutched instinctively at Shen Zhixiao’s shoulders but slipped, sliding down the tank straps to the heaving chest. His fingertips trembled against the firm, powerful muscle.
As Shen Zhixiao pressed closer, that muscle ground deeper into his palm. Qiu Sui’s spine tingled numbly. When released, his hand still lingered on the pec, unwithdrawn.
Only when Shen Zhixiao reluctantly peeled his hand away, palm to palm, and stalked off steaming to shower did Qiu Sui swallow hard and clench his fist. He had to admit—the Alpha’s pecs were damn impressive.
…
They spent most of the weekend holed up in the apartment. Qiu Sui had a heavy homework load that week, and their nightly antics always led to late nights and sleeping in past noon.
On Sunday evening, back at school, Shen Zhixiao tried to crash in Qiu Sui’s dorm. Naturally, Qiu Sui refused.
Even on the big apartment bed, they couldn’t keep things from escalating. The dorm beds were tiny—with two vigorous guys crammed in, bodies pinned tight, the slightest shift could spark fire. Holding back to sleep would suck for both, and they had an early class Monday!
“Weekends only. Weekends for sleeping together.” Qiu Sui kissed the Alpha’s cheek, then shoved him across during his daze. He saw no issue with the rule.
Shen Zhixiao rubbed Qiu Sui’s hand lingeringly for minutes before letting go reluctantly.
The short distance across felt like a long-distance farewell. Wen Heng, stepping out to toss trash, jumped at the sight.
Qiu Sui flushed mortified, stuffing his boyfriend inside before bolting like a cat with singed tail, tossing a hasty greeting.
Wen Heng met his bro’s resentful glare innocently. “Couldn’t stay over again?”
Shen Zhixiao’s reply was slamming the door. Wen Heng chuckled, leaning on it. “No worries—my guy’s agreed to off-campus cohabitation. Try keeping yours here next time. I won’t be around much anyway…”
Click.
The door yanked open, revealing Shen Zhixiao’s icy face. “If you’re moving out, go beg the counselor yourself. Don’t tell me.”
“It’s not allowed first semester…” Wen Heng shrugged helplessly, about to add encouragement, when the frosty retort came: “Yeah? Then watch your guy get reported and punished too.”
“…”
Wen Heng groaned. “Dude, chill. Just convince Qiu Sui to shack up off-campus with you—you’ve got that place nearby.”
The Alpha’s expression eased, like he’d uncovered a blind spot. Slam—door shut.
“Qiu Sui hasn’t clocked his issues yet. True love, huh…” Wen Heng muttered, heading off with his bag.
Though Wen Heng suggested it, Shen Zhixiao didn’t bring it up with Qiu Sui right away.
The riverside apartment was too far. For off-campus, the Old Western House was ideal.
But it was outdated—furniture and setup needed overhaul, cleaning, and the ground-floor gym remodel.
The whole process would take a month. Shen Zhixiao bided his time. When ready, Qiu Sui would move in without persuasion.
He eyed the Beta eating across from him, scheming.
Qiu Sui had no clue what the Alpha plotted. He shoveled curry rice while scrolling his phone.
Though they hadn’t posted publicly, their hand-holding, shared classes, and interactions screamed couple. Campus Wall buzzed at first with novelty, but once it was a done deal, chatter shifted to other gossip.
Qiu Sui browsed posts about Qiu Shun. Someone spotted him with the Computer Association vice president haunting the library lately—snuck photos, speculating on their relationship.
He zoomed the group shot: his brother hunched over a laptop, fiddling with his trench coat; the S-Rank Alpha VP adjusting his slipped backpack strap, half-profile visible.
Qiu Sui recognized the Alpha—from the association interview.
Probably association work got candid-ed.
He backed out, scrolled to a post about him and Shen Zhixiao—initials only.
The content was hostile: their AB Romance unstable, doomed to fizzle before semester’s end. Betting they wouldn’t last the year.
Qiu Sui’s fingers tightened on the phone. His chewing stalled unconsciously.
Shen Zhixiao across the table noticed, lightly hooking his loosely gripped chopsticks. “What’s up?”
Qiu Sui quickly exited the mood-ruiner and shook his head. “Nothing.”
Back at the dorm after dinner, Qiu Sui itched to revisit the post—but it was deleted.
Gone, yet the hollow feeling lingered.
