Chapter 97

The wall was soaked by rainwater, emitting a faint glow.

The gray bricks had darkened. The chill seeped through the fabric against his back and into his skin, forming a stark contrast with the scorching breath of the alpha falling on his neck.

Applying? Pursuing him?

This time, he had even used a more polite phrasing.

Shen Yu sneered coldly in his heart. What ploy was this guy playing now? Could it be some clichéd drama where he’d made a bet with someone to pursue him?

The touch of the hand on his waist was all too obvious. An alpha’s body temperature was naturally higher than average, and in this slightly cool air, it pressed against him like a red-hot branding iron.

Shen Yu lowered his gaze. He bent his knee and drove it hard between Pei Ji’s legs, then shoved the man away with one hand.

He subconsciously reached to touch his burning gland but suddenly remembered someone was in front of him. His movement paused, and he rubbed his wrist instead.

“Whatever.”

That knee strike from Shen Yu had been merciless. Pei Ji didn’t dodge it either. He followed the force and released his grip on Shen Yu’s waist, taking a step back. Then he heard Shen Yu’s response.

Whatever meant anything goes.

Shen Yu rubbed his wrist. Without waiting for Pei Ji to speak, he turned and walked outward. Soon, he heard footsteps behind him.

Rather than keep asking why this guy was following him, Shen Yu found he was even less willing to talk to Pei Ji. He ignored the man and walked silently ahead. Fortunately, Pei Ji didn’t try to strike up a conversation either.

The two quickly exited the alley. A lingering fishy smell of clams hung at the alley mouth, mixed with all sorts of messy odors.

Shen Yu lowered his gaze. The back alley wasn’t a clean place. It was hard to imagine Pei Ji, of all people, showing up here, no matter the reason.

The wet streets glowed softly under the illumination of lights from all directions. Towering skyscrapers pierced the clouds, their colorful light screens flickering.

Pei Ji rubbed his fingertip. The warmth and scent of Shen Yu still lingered in his palm, once again reminding him of the feel of that waist.

It was narrow and slim, but the muscles were tight and full of explosive power. The touch was supple yet elastic, like a magnet drawing in his fingers.

When Shen Yu was on stage, the hot, raucous atmosphere of the dance floor spread like a virus. Countless people reached out, crazed with the desire to touch him, to stroke him.

But now—

Pei Ji’s lips curved.

Clearly, only he had managed to touch.

Pei Ji was in a rare good mood, but he soon realized this pleasure was abnormally intense.

He pressed his tongue against his teeth, his gaze falling on the tall, slender figure ahead. Those already long legs looked even longer in the black pants, his back straight, all in black, with only a sliver of pale neck exposed.

Cold. Somber.

He kept people at arm’s length, yet he somehow seemed like he’d shatter at a single touch.

Pei Ji sighed inwardly. He kept a proper distance between them and patiently followed behind Shen Yu, walking slowly forward.

Their figures wove one after the other through the neon darkness where rivers of light flowed. Though neither spoke, the atmosphere wasn’t awkward at all.

Time seemed to slow down, then speed up again.

They soon returned to the school. The grand, serene gates were shrouded in night mist. Pei Ji stopped and suddenly spoke. “Shen Yu.”

Shen Yu’s expression changed. Hearing the man who’d been silent behind him suddenly speak filled him with an ominous premonition. He immediately ducked his head and quickened his pace toward the entrance.

Pei Ji watched as Shen Yu’s steps clearly sped up after he spoke, dodging him like the plague. He felt both exasperated and amused.

Exasperated at his evasion, amused at how cute it was.

Pei Ji had planned to take it slow, but at this rate of avoidance, how long would it take to catch him?

Pei Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly. He strode forward in a few steps and grabbed Shen Yu’s wrist.

The tightening grip on his wrist made Shen Yu halt. He tried to shake off Pei Ji’s hand but couldn’t.

Shen Yu turned back and looked coldly at Pei Ji, only to crash into a pair of murky, gloomy eyes.

Shen Yu froze.

But that murkiness vanished from Pei Ji’s eyes in an instant, so fast it was like an illusion.

Pei Ji stared fixedly at him and curved his lips slightly. Scorching heat flowed from his smile as he gently tapped Shen Yu’s pulse point with his burning fingertip. He tilted his head and smiled. “Shen Yu, no goodbye?”

It was a perfectly normal tone—if one ignored the undercurrent surging between them. The words sounded utterly innocuous.

Ever since their contact in the alley, both their bodies had been heating up to varying degrees.

Was it because of the matching degree?

Pei Ji’s palm engulfed Shen Yu’s wrist like a whale swallowing its prey. The burning heat mingled and devoured each other at the spot where their pulses beat.

Though they hadn’t done an actual matching test, that explosive impulse and desire felt like a taut string on their nerves, stirring at any moment. A single lapse in attention, and those strings would snap one by one.

Every signal told them one thing: the matching degree between them was undoubtedly extremely high.

Even just walking together, appearing in each other’s sight, stirred some primal undercurrent.

Shen Yu was scorched by the smile in Pei Ji’s eyes. His fingers curled slightly as he lowered his gaze to their point of contact, mockery in his tone. “So, how do you want to say goodbye?”

Pei Ji released his hand and took a step closer, drawing nearer. His low voice carried a laugh. “Good question. How about we bid each other good night?”

His voice carried the aggressively potent alpha pheromones, pressing in and landing on Shen Yu’s eardrums.

Bid each other good night?

Shen Yu raised his gaze to meet Pei Ji’s.

Pei Ji stared straight back at him.

Like a standoff.

Shen Yu suddenly reached out. His five fingers seized the end of Pei Ji’s black tie and gripped it in his palm.

Pei Ji was dressed formally today. The black vest outlined his solid waistline, and the matching black tie draped from his neck. The touch was warm and supple, carrying the alpha’s body heat.

Pei Ji raised a brow.

Shen Yu’s long, knuckled fingers suddenly tightened. Before Pei Ji could react, he yanked hard on the tie, pulling the man toward him.

A forceful tug jerked at Pei Ji’s neck. He stumbled forward a step.

He barely steadied himself, his breathing quickening. As he drew closer, Shen Yu’s cool fragrance hit him full force, winding into every breath he took.

Their bodies intertwined in an instant. The shadows cast on the ground merged inseparably, neither yielding, invading each other’s territory.

Shen Yu leaned in close. His lowered lashes cast an ambiguous shadow. Their breaths mingled instantly.

Fragrance, heat, the scent of alcohol—

All the scents blended in that moment, in the cool, damp air after the rain.

Pei Ji’s muscles tensed all over. In his dimmed vision, he saw the beautiful line of Shen Yu’s shoulder and neck beneath the black leather jacket, glistening faintly with sweat, shining like glaze.

Pei Ji’s throat went dry. He stared for several seconds before forcing his gaze away. His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably, desperately wanting to swallow something.

Shen Yu stood steady, his side profile forming a sexy, pleasing curve. His palm yanked the tie again, pulling Pei Ji closer.

He brought his lips to Pei Ji’s ear.

Pei Ji kept his composure, watching Shen Yu’s movements impassively. Even in this disadvantaged position, he didn’t look disheveled. His laughing tone rose slightly. “Hmm? What are you—”

Hearing Pei Ji’s calm voice, Shen Yu sneered inwardly.

It annoyed him to see him like this.

Shen Yu leaned in a bit more, his thin eyelids drooping as he blew a puff of hot breath gently into Pei Ji’s ear. His pale lips parted, almost brushing the ear.

“Good night.”

The cool yet ambiguous breath sprayed across Pei Ji’s ear, sending dense, prickling itches deep inside.

Pei Ji’s eyes darkened slightly.

At that moment, Shen Yu lowered his lashes mischievously and repeated—

“Good night, Baby.”

That voice was sexy and teasing, husky and raspy, stroking him directly. It was like fine electric currents threading through his limbs and into his veins, nearly stopping his heart.

Baby.

Pei Ji’s composed demeanor froze. The color in his eyes deepened instantly. He reached out with his palm, unthinkingly going to grab Shen Yu’s waist.

Shen Yu was prepared. After saying it, he swiftly released the tie and retreated several steps, dodging the hand and rapidly widening the distance between them.

The pulse-pounding touch and tease vanished in an instant.

Pei Ji’s movement paused. His gaze locked on Shen Yu’s slightly upturned lips.

Prank succeeded. Shen Yu curved his lips, his gaze sliding over Pei Ji’s momentarily stunned expression.

Not bad—this guy’s change of expression was actually pretty entertaining.

Shen Yu instantly felt refreshed, the pent-up frustration from being cornered by Pei Ji dissipating. He didn’t linger, turning and striding toward the gates with his long legs.

Night fog enveloped everything. Shen Yu’s figure soon vanished through the gates.

Pei Ji stood in place, his narrow eyes narrowing as he watched Shen Yu’s departing back, waiting for his heartbeat to calm in his chest.

A long while later, Pei Ji elegantly raised a hand to adjust his cuff. He loosened his tie, and his mild voice rang out in the cold, silent night.

“Come out.”

With his words, a pitch-black luxury car emerged from the darkness. Li En, in a lead-gray suit, had been waiting a while. He opened the door and stepped out.

Tomorrow morning was the Pei Family’s routine weekly parliament session, so Pei Ji would return to the ancestral home as usual. It was on his schedule.

But Li En never imagined he’d witness Pei Ji tugging back and forth with another man. His mind roiled like stormy seas.

Li En lowered his gaze and opened the rear door, saying softly, “Young Master.”

Pei Ji smiled and nodded, quickly withdrawing his gaze. He bent down and entered the car.

The door closed promptly.

Pei Ji crossed his legs, leaning back against the black leather sofa. He lowered his gaze, opened the light screen, and flipped through the freshman profiles Li En had gathered last time.

Since he’d already met the person of interest ahead of the files last time, Pei Ji hadn’t reviewed them closely. Freshman info was hard to obtain but contained little detail—just basic identity information.

Pei Ji’s finger slid over the light screen as he murmured lowly, “A7211 Star?”

Different letters denoted different jurisdictions, with the numbers ranking the planet’s economic production index within that zone. The name alone revealed it was a remote star system.

Pei Ji’s finger scrolled down to the study companion section. His gaze lingered for a moment on the unfamiliar name listed as Shen Yu’s study companion, thoughtful.

Shen Yu walked along the corridor back to the dorm. Reason quickly returned.

Realizing what he’d done in a moment of reckless satisfaction, he felt nothing but regret—pure regret.

Annoying.

There were so many ways to make Pei Ji uncomfortable, so why pick the absolute worst one?

Truly harming the enemy at a cost of eight hundred to one’s own thousand.

When he returned to the dorm, the night light was dimly lit. Lu Yuguang was probably asleep. Shen Yu turned off the light, washed up by the moonlight outside the window, and returned to the room.

Shen Yu had just slipped under the covers, his skin touching the soft fabric, when the dorm’s suspended light turned on.

Lu Yuguang rubbed his eyes and sat up from the bed. He’d been waiting for Shen Yu to discuss going to Deer Mountain for the hot springs but had fallen asleep while waiting.

The light was set low. Lu Yuguang propped himself on the bed’s edge, sleepily peering through the light at the faint outline rising on the opposite bed. His voice was very soft. “Shen Yu, you’re back?”

Shen Yu closed his eyes and lay on the bed, responding lazily.

Hearing the flat tone in Shen Yu’s voice, Lu Yuguang silently turned off the light. He lay back down and probed softly, “Shen Yu, do you know what you’re doing tomorrow?”

Shen Yu lowered his eyelids, his long lashes shadowing his eyes. His breathing gradually evened out as he followed Lu Yuguang’s words. “What?”

…As expected, he’d forgotten.

Lu Yuguang lay on his side, staring fixedly at Shen Yu with wide eyes. The dim moonlight fell on his serene, cool profile, casting deeper shadows on the wall.

His lashes trembled, like butterfly wings fluttering.

Actually, if not for their rivalry as love rivals, Lu Yuguang and Shen Yu might have become good friends. Shen Yu was unlike any omega Lu Yuguang had known before.

He had a super rude personality and completely ignored basic social etiquette. In the past, with his nose in the air, Lu Yuguang wouldn’t have bothered with someone like that.

But now, facing Shen Yu, Lu Yuguang didn’t know why he simply couldn’t bring himself to dislike him. Instead, he felt particularly at ease around Shen Yu.

…Perhaps because no matter what he did, Shen Yu just stood by coldly watching.

Shen Yu didn’t care about anyone and never offered opinions on others. This allowed Lu Yuguang to breathe freely within the confines of his long-regulated barriers.

Lu Yuguang pursed his lips. “We’re going to the hot springs the day after tomorrow, departing tomorrow evening. Have you packed your things?”

Shen Yu sensed Lu Yuguang’s gaze on him. With his eyes closed, he slightly parted his lips. “No, I don’t have much to bring.”

Listen to that—was that something an omega would say?

Not refined at all.

Lu Yuguang grumbled inwardly, but then he thought that even though he had packed extras, Shen Yu hadn’t. He could bring a few nice yukatas and give one to Shen Yu… As he thought about it, Lu Yuguang suddenly blushed.

The room soon fell quiet. Unaware of Lu Yuguang’s little thoughts, Shen Yu flipped over on the bed in irritation, feeling exhaustion and frustration surging through his limbs.

Perhaps at a time like this, going to soak in the hot springs wasn’t such a bad idea.

As long as he didn’t run into Pei Ji.