Chapter 106

A luxury car painted entirely black shuttled through the dusk, blending into the torrent of flowing lights.

Inside the luxury car, the dimly lit interior lights fell softly, filtering through Shen Yu’s lowered black lashes to cast distinct shadows on the fair skin beneath his eyes.

The passing scenery outside the window reflected in his eyes like flowing paintings, both clear and hazy.

It was rare for him to view Central City at dusk from this angle. From the Generals’ Graves District where his school was located, heading outward, even the familiar streets took on a strange air.

Shen Yu pursed his lips, lost in thought.

Pei Ji gripped the steering wheel with one hand. He hadn’t driven himself in a long time and felt no rustiness, but he was still surprised by his repeated exceptions.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Shen Yu’s entranced profile. Pei Ji raised a brow and asked in confusion, “What are you looking at?”

Shen Yu withdrew his gaze and leaned lazily against the seatback, answering his question. “The scenery outside the window. It reminded me of some things from before.”

Pei Ji raised a brow. He rarely heard Shen Yu volunteer stories from his past—those parts Pei Ji hadn’t been part of—and it made him feel a twinge of regret that he hadn’t met Shen Yu sooner.

His childhood. His past.

Pei Ji was curious about it all.

His voice carried a hint of laughter as he followed Shen Yu’s lead. “Something worth remembering for so long? Now you’ve got me curious.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Shen Yu spoke slowly. “I just remembered the first day of school. It was raining, and a car just like yours—painted all black—sped past me and splashed water all over my pants.”

The smile on Pei Ji’s face stiffened for an instant. He suddenly recalled their first encounter in the rain mist.

Back then, Pei Ji had only caught a fleeting glimpse, feeling his heart pound irregularly. He hadn’t paid attention to anything else.

But with that downpour and Shen Yu’s words—

Pei Ji pursed his lips and probed impassively, “…Do you know whose car it was?”

Shen Yu said, “Yours.”

Pei Ji: “…”

By the time they arrived at Pei Ji’s private residence, night had deepened slightly.

Pei Ji went to the wine cellar to fetch some wine.

Shen Yu watched his retreating back, then lifted a hand to touch the gland inhibitor patch on his neck with his index finger.

The inhibitor patch’s function was to suppress pheromones completely, but clearly, when around a perfect match with a 100% matching degree, the pheromones went wild trying to leak out.

Under these opposing forces, the side effect was a faint heat in the gland.

If he had alpha pheromones and released them, would Pei Ji be disgusted enough to vomit?

Shen Yu dismissed the impractical thought and looked around. This should be Pei Ji’s private residence; there were clear signs of daily life. He tilted his head and gazed outside.

Night had fallen, and the courtyard’s ground lights had come on. The outdoor pool shimmered with rippling blue water, clear to the bottom and glowing softly.

The residence was surrounded by extensive vegetation. Looking up, he could see the stark outline of Deer Mountain in the distance. In Central City—or anywhere in human territory—ever since the heavenly disaster, plants and anything natural had become scarce resources.

Shen Yu withdrew his gaze and activated the holographic light.

Golden fish in the holographic projection glowed as they swam along waves spilling toward the floor, their golden tails brushing his fingertips.

Shen Yu simply leaned against the doorframe, eyes lowered, idly extending his long fingers to poke at the little golden fish now and then.

When Pei Ji emerged with the red wine, this was the scene he saw.

Shen Yu had taken off his jacket upon entering, wearing only a thin black sweater. Leaning against the doorframe like that accentuated his perfect figure, with long, straight legs.

His flat collarbones stretched the loose sweater neckline, exposing a beautiful arc along his shoulder and neck.

Pei Ji’s gaze traveled from the exposed collarbones to the long fingers poking at the hovering little golden fish.

His nails were neatly trimmed, fair and delicate skin covering even bones, perfectly proportioned. As he poked the fish, faint veins shifted on the back of his hand.

Pei Ji’s throat bobbed involuntarily. He realized he didn’t just want to lick Shen Yu’s fingers—he wanted to use those hands for something even crazier and more depraved.

Feeling himself heat up, Pei Ji slowly undid two shirt buttons. He set the ice bucket holding the wine on the table and pressed his palm against its cold surface to barely quell the restlessness.

Pei Ji closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the emotions in his mind. When he opened them, he hooked his lips. “I specially picked a good vintage from my private collection. Come drink with me as my apology.”

The red wine chilled in the ice bucket. As it shifted, ice cubes clinked crisply in the water, the sound echoing in the quiet, slowly flowing room thick with ambiguity.

Shen Yu leaned against the door, raising a brow slightly. “Not because you wanted to drink?”

Pei Ji uncorked the bottle and sat on the black sofa. His long fingers lifted the bottle from the ice bucket. He leaned forward slightly over the table, his waist and back forming taut, fluid lines as he slowly poured the red wine into the tall glass.

The only light came from the shifting holographic glow—not bright at all—which only heightened the seductive, ambiguous atmosphere.

At Shen Yu’s retort, Pei Ji looked up with a smile, his gaze piercing unwaveringly through the dim light to land on Shen Yu. “To be precise, Shen Yu, I only want to drink with you.”

“Want to try it?”

The deep red wine gleamed temptingly under the light, and a faint wine aroma wafted through the air.

Shen Yu walked to the sofa and leaned in slightly. His slender fingers touched the cool glass, wiping away much of the thin layer of condensation.

On the glossy black tabletop, his fair fingers cradling the glass combined with the gently swaying red liquid for a striking visual impact.

Pei Ji’s tongue pressed against his teeth.

Shen Yu lifted the glass and took a slow sip. The cool wine slid down his throat—rich-bodied with a lingering aftertaste.

Shen Yu couldn’t tell good from bad; he just felt slightly tipsy. His lips were stained a wet, deeper shade, the color pressing into the narrow seam.

Pei Ji stared at his lips and smiled as he asked, “How is it?”

The sofa dipped as Shen Yu sat beside him and answered straightforwardly, “Feels like sleeping in a cellar full of grapes.”

Pei Ji couldn’t help laughing. “Does that mean you’re sleepy?”

Shen Yu rested his head on the sofa back. He could clearly sense Pei Ji’s presence all around him, constantly reminding him that this was Pei Ji’s private domain.

Wrapped in the aura unique to a top alpha, Shen Yu felt like he’d fallen into a bear trap named “Pei Ji.”

The fact that Pei Ji had brought him back to his private residence meant the plan was going very smoothly. Shen Yu thought with some emotion that Pei Ji was the one about to fall into his quagmire and trap.

Shen Yu took another sip of wine, his voice veiled in a light chill like wine mist as he asked lowly, “If I’m sleepy, is there a bed?”

Pei Ji’s lips curved as he shook his head solemnly. “Sorry, no spare beds.”

Coming from Pei Ji, that had zero credibility. Shen Yu swirled his glass, his tone rising slightly at the end. “Mm, so are you going to sleep with me?”

Pei Ji took a light sip of red wine, his aggressively intense gaze fixed on Shen Yu, voice husky. “If my confession succeeds right now.”

Shen Yu’s fingers lightly caressed the glass, asking with some confusion, “So, you’re planning to confess to me now?”

Pei Ji’s chest vibrated slightly as he nodded. “Yeah, confess.”

That afternoon at school, Flora had interrupted their conversation. Shen Yu thought Pei Ji had forgotten, but here it was brought up again.

But no matter what Pei Ji said, Shen Yu would agree—and by sleeping, he meant just sleeping.

Yet for some reason, after Pei Ji formally brought it up, Shen Yu still felt a slight unease.

From childhood to now, due to his malformed gland organs, Shen Yu had rarely been confessed to, let alone approached casually. Perhaps facing a completely new experience, his heart rate quickened involuntarily.

In contrast, Pei Ji looked utterly at ease, which stirred up Shen Yu’s competitive frustration again.

The drifting lights flickered in the dim room, casting intermittent glows on the two of them.

Shen Yu pursed his lips, his jade-like cool eyes silently and quietly fixed on Pei Ji.

After declaring his intent to confess, Pei Ji’s heart was far less composed than Shen Yu imagined—especially as he was about to speak and met Shen Yu’s direct stare.

Their eyes locked.

An ambiguous air quietly spread through the atmosphere, intoxicating.

Pei Ji’s emotions rose and fell with his chest until he couldn’t hold back. He tilted his head back, covering his eyes with the back of his hand, throat dry. “Baby, don’t look at me like that.”

Shen Yu frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

Pei Ji’s dry throat bobbed, his ears filled with his pounding heartbeat. He gritted his teeth and said bluntly, “When you look at me like that, I just want to kiss you hard.”

Shen Yu: “…”

Should I leave?

Silence spread through the space. The hovering lights shifted, and in the faint, dim glow, the wine swayed like flowing amber in the glasses. Strands of rich, alluring red wine scent filled their nostrils, blending into their breaths.

After a long moment, Pei Ji lowered his arm and opened his eyes to stare fixedly at the ceiling.

A low voice sounded in the room.

“To be honest, Shen Yu, the first time we met, I just wanted to toy with you a bit.”

“I was attracted to you then. I couldn’t figure out why—maybe the pheromones, maybe an alpha’s desire to conquer. After all, your aloofness was pretty frustrating.”

At the last sentence, Pei Ji let out a low chuckle.

Countless times, as crowds surrounded him atop skyscrapers, looking down at the distant city, he smiled and chatted outwardly while his heart was calm as dead water.

Boring.

When someone approached to talk, Pei Ji curved his lips in a polite, gentle smile, clinking glasses with warmth in his eyes that was actually cold and empty.

Boring.

Boring.

…

Until one day, amid rain falling like streams of electronic data, in the flow of vehicles thick with damp mist, in the steel city shrouded in fog, Pei Ji glanced out the window as on any ordinary day—

And he caught a hazy silhouette.

Shen Yu.

The noisy, repetitive voices in his mind suddenly receded like a surging tide. His world seemed to freeze, quieter than ever before.

A voice echoed in Pei Ji’s long-silent mind.

Interesting.

Thus, his stagnant time, the tides of his life, surged back with even greater force.

Truly magical.

Truly mad.

Pei Ji licked his lips. “…But later I realized it wasn’t that. Shen Yu, being with you makes me happy—happier than feels like me. And—”

Pei Ji paused, then suddenly turned his head to look at Shen Yu.

Everything in the room was shrouded in hazy darkness. Meeting those eyes—so pure, so sincere yet so complex—Shen Yu instinctively wanted to look away.

Shen Yu subtly restrained his reaction, his wine-stained lips pursing slightly as he asked, “And?”

Pei Ji gazed at him steadily, a gentle smile laced with certainty. “And I know you’re happy too.”

Shen Yu’s heart jolted. Like a hidden secret exposed, his fingers tightened fiercely on the glass, nearly shattering it.

That was the truth.

Shen Yu clenched his teeth, feeling a wave of unrelievable embarrassment and irritation.

Even if he deeply loathed Pei Ji, even if dark thoughts twisted like roots in his heart, even if he envied Pei Ji’s outstanding talent, perfect family—like a sun orbited by stars, radiating brilliance—

He was still inevitably drawn to this man he so deeply hated.

In this back-and-forth struggle, Shen Yu’s inner darkness was laid bare. But just as getting close to Pei Ji meant approaching pain—

As he drew close to Pei Ji, he felt happy too.

Tsk, was this what a 100% matching degree felt like?

After hearing Pei Ji’s words, his ears heated up unexpectedly. His heartbeat accelerated, and a strange pleasure washed over him.

Shen Yu closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

He had said even more outrageous and forward things before, yet now he didn’t know how to respond. He leaned forward and set the empty highball glass on the table.

The glass foot clinked crisply against the tabletop, the sound especially stark in the room filled only with breathing.

Shen Yu sat back on the sofa, his sharp teeth grinding back and forth.

Neither of them spoke.

Pei Ji felt a bit hot. He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt at the wrists, revealing a sexy, muscular forearm. He retrieved the red wine from the ice bucket and poured some into the empty glass.

The wine rippled slightly in the glass. The aroma thickened in the air, drifting like tangible deep red silk—soft, elastic, and nearly intoxicating.

Pei Ji returned the red wine to the ice bucket. The unmelted ice cubes clinked against one another, the crisp sound echoing in his ears.

Shen Yu watched his movements and asked, “So?”

Pei Ji looked up, meeting his gaze.

Countless more polished, perfect, effective, and heartfelt words tumbled in Pei Ji’s throat. But as they reached his lips, they simplified into the most direct sentence.

“So, Shen Yu, shall we try dating?”

Shen Yu fell silent.

Pei Ji watched him too.

Shen Yu couldn’t help a soft chuckle. “What if I say no?”

Hearing the retort, Pei Ji smiled. “Would you?”

Shen Yu tilted his head, his starry eyes fixed on Pei Ji. “Then how do we try?”

The black-haired youth lounged on the sofa, stretching his muscles and propping up his long legs in a lazy recline.

The soft black sweater clung to his upper body muscles as a result, the fabric bulging over his full pecs before plunging sharply at his slim waist.

The sweater’s black hem pooled at his toned waist and abdomen. Above the belt printed with white letters, a strip of pale waistline was exposed, covered in flexible, elastic thin muscle with a fine, clean sheen.

Pei Ji’s gaze darkened at the sight, heat surging through his limbs.

Pei Ji leaned closer to Shen Yu, his voice laced with amusement as he suggested, “How about a kiss to start?”

Shen Yu raised a brow. Slightly tipsy, he propped his head on his hand. The gloom on his face had faded considerably, and his low voice carried a hint of drunkenness. “Haven’t we already kissed?”

Pei Ji drew nearer, inhaling the rich fragrance that was more intoxicating than the strongest liquor. He arched a brow and smiled. “That was before we confirmed anything.”

Breathing sounds. Ice clinking. Heartbeats.

In the dark room, the Swimming Fish Lamps seemed to sense the atmosphere between them. They shyly dimmed their lights and bowed their heads.

It was as if they floated in a deep, black, silent ocean.

Pei Ji reached for the wine glass, took a sip of the ice-cold liquid, then leaned toward Shen Yu. He braced one hand on the sofa and slowly pressed down on him.

The Alpha’s aggressively scorching aura instantly enveloped Shen Yu. In the narrow, wine-scented space, their bodies drew infinitely close, the floating lamps swaying unsteadily.

Pei Ji extended one hand, captured Shen Yu’s wrists together, and pinned them against the wall behind.

Warmth radiated from his wrists. Shen Yu’s waist tensed involuntarily, his sharp brows furrowing as he tilted his head up and asked, “Why grab my hands?”

He hadn’t refused, after all.

Pei Ji chuckled softly. His waist pressed down, his hand movements gentle yet commanding, irrefutably claiming Shen Yu’s lips.

Their wine-slick lips pressed together.

The chill of the wine mingled with body heat, the cool liquid sliding into their mouths. Pei Ji’s tongue stirred his, gradually deepening the alcohol-laced kiss.

Shen Yu let out a muffled grunt, his lashes trembling. Refusing to yield, he counterattacked, vying for dominance in the kiss.

Ambiguous sounds rose in the quiet corner. The red wine swapped between their mouths, warming gradually.

Some slipped down their throats, while some trailed from the corner of Shen Yu’s lips to his jaw. The deep red, wet liquid clung there, on the verge of dripping.

Their breaths grew rapid and erratic.

Shen Yu quickly understood why the man held his hands so firmly.

Even as they kissed inseparably, a scorching hand suddenly slipped under the sweater’s hem to his waist. The palm pressed against his skin, every texture vividly felt.

Heat and itch surged upward, triggering shivers.

Pei Ji lowered his gaze, dark red surging in his eyes as he seized the hot breath from Shen Yu’s lips. His strong palm slid up from the waist, pressing against Shen Yu’s flexible chest muscles—

Shen Yu’s exposed waist trembled instantly.