Chapter 59

That single word sent Qin Han’s heart racing.

He gazed at Xie Ling’s radiant, striking smile, his own eyes darkening. Curling a finger, he gently scratched the center of Xie Ling’s palm.

“Yes,” Qin Han murmured into his ear, his voice low enough for only the two of them to hear. “Brother’s so scared. You have to protect Brother.”

An intimate tension rippled through the air. The boy who’d been chattering nonstop just moments ago gradually flushed at the ears.

Lin Mo stared at them in shock. “Brother Qin Han…”

Before he could finish, Xie Ling dragged Qin Han away.

Seeing them go, the others hurried after.

Lin Mo watched the two figures walking hand in hand at the front, his eyes shadowed as he pressed his lips together.

The evening breeze whistled through the Small Woods as the group clustered in twos and threes, inching forward with phone flashlights cutting through the gloom. Every so often, the snap of a branch underfoot echoed in the air.

Nothing had even happened yet, but most of them were already terrified.

Someone spoke in a creepy tone. “Classmates, look to the north. Legend has it…”

“…What, you filming a movie? Do you normally talk like that? Just speak normally.”

“Scared, huh? Hahaha!” The guy switched back to his regular voice. “Right where we’re standing—a little farther north—last year, some seniors passed by here. For two nights in a row, they heard screams from inside, like a female ghost murdering her husband. Super bloody scene. And someone saw a red object get tossed out—supposedly a head covered in blood…”

“Aaah! Stop talking, please!”

Several Omegas huddled together, trembling. Up ahead, Qin Han sidled a bit closer to Xie Ling and whispered, “This is really scary.”

“…” Xie Ling glanced back and muttered under his breath, “Come on, your School Flower’s trailing behind. Cut the act.”

“He’s got nothing to do with me.” Qin Han met Xie Ling’s eyes. “You’re my School Flower.”

The gaze was deep and intent. Xie Ling couldn’t help but look away.

Damn, this heat.

Qin Han loved stoking the fire at moments like these. Sensing Xie Ling was about to pull away, he gripped his hand tighter and chuckled softly. “Were you jealous back there outside?”

“No!” Xie Ling shot back instantly. Meeting Qin Han’s amused gaze, he added reluctantly, “I just didn’t like him threatening you with your grandma.”

In a way, their situations were eerily similar. He knew exactly how messed up it was to be forcibly tied to someone you felt nothing for.

“You’re so good to me.” The group behind them was deep in ghost story chatter, their flashlights sweeping wildly but never quite reaching the pair. Qin Han swung their joined hands lightly. “Though I’d love to see you jealous over me even more.”

Xie Ling: “…”

Among the group, Qin Han was the only top-tier alpha. Xiao Yanfei had the next-best physical conditioning and could just make out the two hand-linked figures ahead in the darkness.

Tch. Lucky bastards.

Xiao Yanfei felt a restless itch. He glanced at Xia Yu beside him, who was calmly tapping away at his phone the whole time. A mix of regret and reluctance bubbled up as he leaned closer. “Hey, drop the cool act. Scared? Tell your bro—I’ll let you cling to my arm.”

Xia Yu, showing a spark of uncharacteristic fire, scoffed. “What’s there to be scared of?”

Hearing the cluster still yammering about the female ghost murdering her husband, Xia Yu raised his voice. “Hey, is the ‘male-female ghost’ noise from the Small Woods last year like this?”

With that, he hit play on his phone. A voice immediately blared out—a woman trying to hold back but still sounding piercingly shrill: “Ah—you’re killing me—good brother, go easy, don’t be so rough.”

Everyone: “…………”

The eerie vibe shattered, overtaken by something far more awkward and suggestive.

Qin Han glanced at Xie Ling and caught the other’s eyelashes fluttering in the dark.

It was one of the little guy’s tells for embarrassment.

Qin Han’s heart suddenly burned with an itchy heat.

Xia Yu grinned. “A senior I know recorded this last year while they were doing farm labor here. Does that sound like murdering a husband to you guys?”

“Fuck, that’s not murder—that’s them screwing each other to death in bliss.”

“Aaah! Oh my god! That was our seniors? They were way too bold!”

The storyteller snickered off to the side, clearly in on the truth all along.

One of the guys who’d been spooked earlier lunged and put the storyteller in a headlock, growling through gritted teeth. “Explain yourself! Huh? Why’d female ghost murdering husband turn into outdoor sex? You trying to screw with us on purpose?”

The guy struggled not to burst out laughing but stayed in character. “No, no, you got it wrong, bro. I really didn’t know. And that blood-smeared head? Eyewitnesses saw it. What do you make of that…”

Xia Yu cut in. “Heh, the senior said they checked it out later. That red thing was probably the senior girl’s underwear.”

Everyone: “…………”

Xiao Yanfei ruffled Xia Yu’s hair with complicated feelings, gritting his teeth. “Alright, alright, you know-it-all.”

“I do know a lot.”

The storyteller sensed the waves of killing intent and blurted out in self-preservation, “Guys… don’t glare at me like that. I was just hyping up the mood. And there really is something haunted around here…”

“You’re still spinning yarns! Nobody’s buying your crap!”

“Not necessarily crap.” Xie Ling spoke up from the front.

His voice was pleasant, instantly silencing the group as they all turned toward him.

Lin Mo lingered at the back, his gaze on Xie Ling unreadable.

Xie Ling, facing away, didn’t notice. Hearing the hush, he paused for effect, then drawled, “That ghost the seniors saw before—is this what it looked like—”

He turned around with exaggerated wobbliness, shining his phone’s flashlight up from under his chin. In the darkness, the light cast his face in an unnaturally ghostly pallor.

He was handsome to begin with, and even done up like this, he still looked good. But Xie Ling had deliberately twisted his features into a grotesque, terrifying grimace.

The wind whistled around them. The air hung silent for two beats.

Then—

“Aaah! Help!”

“Ghost! There’s a ghost!”

Panic erupted. Alphas, Betas, Omegas—everyone bolted in blind terror, screaming and scrambling every which way.

Even the unflappable Xia Yu reflexively grabbed onto Xiao Yanfei.

Xiao Yanfei, who’d been sulking moments before, lit up inside. He was about to shoot Xie Ling an approving look when Qin Han suddenly flung himself into Xie Ling’s arms—or more precisely, made a show of leaping in while clinging tight.

Xie Ling had been reveling in the chaos, ready to crack up and calm everyone down, but Qin Han’s move left him dumbfounded.

“…Bro?”

Qin Han’s voice came out soft and frail. “That was so scary. There’s a ghost!”

“…” Xie Ling thought, You’re literally in the ghost’s arms, you know that?

He’d pulled this stunt on a whim to redirect the group’s attention away from the wild sex talk. For one thing, it was embarrassing to listen to. For another…

Bathed in that kind of atmosphere, Qin Han’s behavior was getting bolder by the minute.

But Xie Ling never imagined that even after steering things toward outright horror, Qin Han would still…

Xie Ling glanced down at the head buried in the crook of his neck. Qin Han’s warm breaths ghosted over his skin, making his own head swim with heat. He was still figuring out how to disentangle himself when he spotted Lin Mo dashing toward them—straight for Qin Han.

Xie Ling had caught a glimpse earlier and known Lin Mo wasn’t scared at all, hadn’t bought the act. But now—

“Brother Qin Han!” Lin Mo called out in a pitiful whine, reaching out as if to wrap his arms around Qin Han’s waist from behind.

Xie Ling’s mind went blank with a hot surge, a sudden urge to smack that hand away flashing through him. Lost in the moment, he felt the person nestled against his neck suddenly seize his hand tight.

Before Xie Ling could process it, Qin Han yanked him into the deeper northern stretch of the woods.

Lin Mo’s grasp closed on empty air.

Qin Han hauled Xie Ling along at a sprint, the chill wind whipping past their ears. He ran so fast that Xie Ling almost believed he was genuinely freaked out and losing it.

Until he realized Qin Han seemed to be leading him somewhere specific.

“What are you doing?”

Qin Han slowed, then stopped abruptly. He shoved Xie Ling’s shoulders back against a nearby tree.

Xie Ling: “???”

Qin Han fixed him with a stare, his chuckle softening to the barest breath. “I’ve been wondering how to live up to our seniors’ legacy.”

In the push, Qin Han’s phone had slipped from his pocket onto the ground. Its flashlight beamed upward, letting Xie Ling clearly see the affection smoldering in his eyes.

Tender, scorching—leaving nowhere to hide…

Live up to the seniors’ legacy. Xie Ling’s mind flashed to Xia Yu’s earlier story, and heat flooded his face, not knowing where to look.

“You’re so…” Xie the straight-A student racked his brain for a bit before blurting dryly, “so bad at picking role models.”

Qin Han had braced for some angry outburst after Xie Ling stewed that long. He hadn’t expected those words.

How is he this adorable?

Qin Han’s heart burned even hotter. Emboldened, he kept teasing. “I can’t help it. I overheard all that earlier outside, and now you’re right here beside me…”

As he spoke, he leaned in closer to Xie Ling without pause. “It just… got to me.”

Xie Ling: “…”

Qin Han lowered his eyelids slightly, as if pondering something seriously. “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t hurt you. As for how intense it might get… that’s harder to say. My stamina’s pretty good, after all. But if you’re willing to call me Brother Qin Han a few more times…”

Xie Ling couldn’t listen to another word. He slapped a hand over Qin Han’s mouth, his ears burning red as he glared. “Shut it! No more!”

Qin Han paused for a moment, then nodded with a smile playing on his lips.

Xie Ling steadied his breathing. Seeing that Qin Han actually seemed to have calmed down, he started to pull his hand away—only for Qin Han to suddenly dart out his tongue and lick the center of his palm.

Xie Ling: !!!

Was this guy ever going to stop?!

Xie Ling yanked his hand back and shoved Qin Han away. He wanted to spit some harsh words, but they stuck in his throat. Instead, he blurted out in a rush, “No more of that next time! Let’s head back…”

Before he could finish, Qin Han caught his hand again. Afraid he’d pushed too far, Qin Han softened immediately and apologized. “Sorry, I was just messing with you earlier. Don’t be mad, okay?”

In truth, besides savoring those sweet words on his tongue, Qin Han had been testing the waters—probing just how far Xie Ling’s boundaries extended these days.

Xie Ling hadn’t truly been angry anyway. Hearing this, he scratched his head. “Fine, I’m not mad. You think I’m that easy to rile up?”

That certain someone had absolutely no clue that if it had been anyone else today, he would’ve swung a fist the moment they pinned him against that tree trunk.

Qin Han smiled with pure delight, his heart soaring, though his words said otherwise. “No, I was definitely in the wrong earlier. I need to apologize properly.”

With that, he bent down to scoop up his phone, then tugged Xie Ling along as he broke into a run again.

Xie Ling finally realized something was off. He asked Qin Han, “Where the hell are you taking me?”

Qin Han didn’t answer right away. They ran a little farther, and faint glimmers of light began to pierce the once pitch-black Small Woods.

The light filtered down from the treetops and the edges of the grove.

As Xie Ling puzzled over it, Qin Han slowed ahead of him until they burst fully out of the woods—

The narrow, shadowy view exploded into openness. Only then did Xie Ling realize they had unknowingly climbed a small hillside. Above them sprawled a vast sea of stars, countless jewels embedded in the deep blue night sky—each one shining brighter than the most radiant diamond.

Indescribably beautiful.

A sight beyond the mortal world.

Xie Ling’s eyes widened, the surprise in them melting into pure wonder.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” The gentle voice drifted into Xie Ling’s ear on the cool evening breeze.

“Beautiful.” Xie Ling tilted his head back, grinning with the unspoiled joy of a child seeing the world’s wonders for the first time.

The night sky, the host of stars, the whispering wind… Xie Ling lost himself in it all until a searing gaze shattered his trance.

He turned and found Qin Han watching him.

“…With a starry sky this gorgeous, why aren’t you looking at it?”

Qin Han’s lips curved upward. Gazing into Xie Ling’s eyes, he smiled softly. “I am looking.”

Xie Ling: “?”

Qin Han chuckled. Amid the young man’s bewildered stare, he dropped to one knee, took Xie Ling’s hand in his, and pressed a kiss to it with exquisite restraint. “Forever beautiful. Forever dazzling. Xie Ling—you are my starry sky.”