Chapter 96

The flirtatious and teasing music gradually faded into a low hum. Shen Yu blinked, beads of sweat seeping from the hair on his forehead. He retreated a few steps and vanished amid the screams and darkness, leaping cleanly off the stage.

In the darkness, Shen Yu leaned against the wall. With a “zip,” he swiftly pulled up the zipper on his leather jacket, then adjusted his pants and buckled his belt.

The buckle wasn’t stuck as he had claimed; it closed smoothly.

Shen Yu lowered his eyelashes.

It wasn’t broken.

That line on stage had just been a lie.

“Little Shen, you danced so well. See, I told you I didn’t misjudge you back then.”

The boss spotted him and strode over. Shen Yu heard the voice and pushed away from the wall, straightening up slightly.

The boss’s eyes were full of amusement as he reached out to drape an arm over Shen Yu’s shoulder.

Shen Yu had just come down from the stage, his body still slick with sweat. He subtly dodged the boss’s touch, threading his fingers through his hair and slicking it all back from his forehead to reveal his handsome brows and eyes.

He curved his lips and asked, “So, can I apply for a raise?”

The boss was surprisingly generous this time, laughing as he agreed, “Sure, of course. But if you can perform more often in the future, that would be even better.”

Shen Yu raised a brow. He knew the boss didn’t have much money—a burly man who was notoriously stingy. Plus, with the recent crackdowns from above and the frequent alcohol bans, the bar had been in the red for a long time. It was only after the bans lifted recently that business started picking up.

Last time, negotiating double pay had taken forever. Looked like the acquisition had brought in a flood of cash.

But that had nothing to do with him. As for performing more, Shen Yu gave no firm answer on the surface, keeping his response vague. In reality, he had no intention of agreeing.

His major might be a joke, but it wasn’t entirely unrelated to what he’d studied before. Getting decent grades and graduating smoothly still required real effort.

That was his real springboard. After that, he could leverage this unique educational background for a proper job.

As for his relatives’ idea of him hooking a rich husband at school, Shen Yu didn’t even consider it. Relying on others was useless.

The boss glanced at him, about to say more, when someone called him over.

The boss shouted back loudly, patted Shen Yu’s arm, and strode off.

With no other plans for the night, Shen Yu returned to the backstage area. He wiped his face casually and tossed the hoodie draped over the chair into the DuPont Bag that had held his leather jacket.

Suddenly, something caught the moving light and flashed. Shen Yu blinked and glanced toward the gleam, his packing pausing.

The business card Pei Weixi had given him was still there.

Items like this, clearly meant for networking, weren’t something the staff would touch or toss casually. Even though the desk had been obviously cleared, the black business card remained in place.

The thin black card had embossed gold numbers sunk into the inky black surface, giving it a premium feel. The tail of the letters was pinned under a perfume bottle.

Shen Yu pressed his lips together, staring silently at the card.

Leaving it there wasn’t ideal. He frowned slightly, then reached out expressionlessly, sliding the black business card from under the perfume bottle and slipping it into his pocket.

Once packed, Shen Yu said goodbye to the backstage staff and headed out the bar’s back door. Someone was carrying a water tank of clams toward the kitchen.

The boss had recently launched clam-themed signature cocktails, blending the freshness of clams with alcohol into unique drinks that sold pretty well.

Water sloshed out of the blue glass tank of clams as it swayed, spilling onto the wet ground and shattering the neon reflections in the puddles.

Shen Yu looked up. Skyscrapers loomed to the edge of the dark sky—

The rain had stopped.

A damp breeze blew in, carrying dim colors and faint lights. The back alley was quiet—worlds away from the bar inside.

After the clamor, a touch of loneliness was inevitable, but Shen Yu had endured far greater drops, so he adapted quickly. He yawned, stretched, withdrew his gaze, grabbed his bag, and headed back to school. He hadn’t taken the subway on the way here, so he walked back too.

Lu Yuguang would probably leave a light on for him.

Shen Yu walked toward the alley’s exit and quickly sensed something off.

Someone was following him.

Robbery?

Sorry to disappoint.

He had nothing—no money either.

Maybe he could turn the tables and rob them instead?

Shen Yu narrowed his eyes, considering the feasibility.

He glanced down at the shadow that flickered behind him for an instant before vanishing, his fingers tightening slightly on the handle of his bag.

Shen Yu straightened his back, slipped his other hand into his pocket, and continued walking casually.

At a corner, Shen Yu suddenly darted left—

Then, as the person advanced, he spun back, slung his arm over their neck, and pinned them against the wall.

Their back hit the wall with a dull thud—sounded painful. Shen Yu looked up, and in the dim night, a very familiar face emerged.

Shen Yu froze. “Pei Ji?”

Pei Ji let him pin him to the wall and asked politely, “Can you say it again?”

Shen Yu frowned, pressing his long leg clad in black pants against Pei Ji’s to prevent any sudden resistance. He didn’t catch the implication and asked, “Say what?”

They had both just escaped the bar’s wildly chaotic vibe, the scents of alcohol and perfume mingling and drifting into the cool air between them.

Pei Ji stared at him unblinkingly. “My name.”

“…”

Nuts.

The Pei Ji before him didn’t quite match Shen Yu’s usual impression, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different.

It just felt off.

Shen Yu pressed harder, his arm pinning the man’s chest firmly as he demanded in a low voice, “Why are you following me?”

This sudden appearance was baffling. He was really starting to not understand Pei Ji at all. Even if it was some conquest urge kicking in, wasn’t this going too far?

Pei Ji sighed. Suddenly, he pushed back with his leg, forcing apart the one Shen Yu had pressed on him. Shen Yu’s long leg retreated unexpectedly, landing in a slick puddle—

Pei Ji’s strong hand instantly gripped his waist, feeling the leather texture, while his other hand clamped Shen Yu’s shoulder, flipping the pin in an instant.

Shen Yu reacted half a second late. The next moment, his back hit the cold wall, warm fragrance hitting his nose along with a hint of alcohol.

Shen Yu frowned. As Pei Ji drew closer, the back of his neck heated up like it was about to explode. He wrinkled his nose and quickly identified it—not the occasional booze on clothes, not the lingering breath alcohol—

It was the scent of pheromones unique to an alpha.

They definitely had a high matching degree.

Shen Yu frowned, about to shove him away, when Pei Ji’s voice sounded.

“Can’t you tell?”

Pei Ji looked at him, assertively wedging a sturdy long leg between Shen Yu’s. He gazed at the man trapped between his body and the wall.

Shen Yu met his eyes, cold gloom spilling from his dark gaze.

In the narrow space, Pei Ji could clearly smell Shen Yu’s scent.

Was it from the patch of snowy collarbone exposed at the leather jacket’s neckline? From the faintly pulsing blue vein on the left side of his neck? Or from the black hair dampened by post-dance sweat?

It was a scent Pei Ji had never smelled before.

The scent unique to Shen Yu’s soul.

No adjective Pei Ji had ever learned could describe it precisely.

What about other places?

Pei Ji’s eyes darkened as he stared at Shen Yu. He slowly reined in the smile at his lips, his tone turning utterly serious:

“Shen Yu, I’m pursuing you.”

Shen Yu’s movements stilled. The higher quality the alpha, the stronger their conquest desire—and someone like Pei Ji, the golden boy, even more so. So was that really the reason for this line?

Shen Yu knew his own worth. He was just an ordinary person, not even as good as most. He wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could make someone like Pei Ji fall for him.

If it was just distant admiration, Shen Yu wouldn’t dwell on Pei Ji—annoyance at most.

They were too far apart.

Talent, family background, personality… Everything Pei Ji had was beyond Shen Yu’s reach. Once the gap grew that wide, he didn’t even dare feel jealousy.

No sunlight, no growth.

But that balance had shattered.

Crushed to pieces.

As the alpha approached without restraint, recklessly showering him with light and heat, the buried jealousy, disgust, and resentment sprouted like tangled roots in his heart, growing into a dark towering tree.

Shen Yu wanted to shove him away, but he was rational too. He knew even if Pei Ji felt fondness, it wouldn’t turn to true affection. And he knew exactly what kind of behemoth stood behind Pei Ji.

He had no way in. He couldn’t afford to lose.

So Shen Yu let his inner darkness fill with those ugly, intense emotions, hoping this man would stay far away—don’t approach, don’t talk, don’t smile, don’t be kind—

Vanish from his world, leave him in peace.

But now this man said he was pursuing him?

Shen Yu pressed his tongue hard against his molars, impassively studying Pei Ji’s expression.

It was undoubtedly a face blessed by God—striking features, deeply sculpted, devastatingly handsome when he smiled. The faint refracted light in the alley sharpened his jawline.

They were pressed close, Pei Ji’s thigh wedged between his legs, radiating scorching heat and solid muscle.

Before his secondary differentiation, Shen Yu had been obsessed with building muscle too. He knew better than most the explosive power there—a stamina monster that made countless omegas blush.

Tch.

His own stamina wasn’t bad either.

Shen Yu lowered his thin eyelids, his gaze icy cold as he searched Pei Ji’s face for any telltale signs of sincerity or deceit.

But he failed quickly.

Pei Ji looked dead serious—no hint of joking.

Shen Yu pressed his lips together, his expression shrouded in shadow, inscrutable to Pei Ji.

The alley was deep and silent here, rainwater glowing under the lights pooling at their intertwined feet, reflecting their figures in a bizarre, tense atmosphere.

A standoff?

Not quite.

Their breaths mingled, gazes clashed in the dark, bodies growing hotter through the fabric.

A smile tugged at Pei Ji’s lips again. His throat bobbed as he spoke once more: “Shen Yu, may I apply to pursue you?”