Qin Han’s pupils contracted sharply.
That seductive tone in his ear made him feel like he was dreaming. Yet the heat of Xie Ling’s embrace was so palpably real.
Real enough to shatter every ounce of despair in that instant.
A wildfire ignited in his heart. Qin Han gripped the back of Xie Ling’s head and kissed him fiercely.
This kiss, born from three years of unspoken longing, carried too much weight for Qin Han to remain calm. He locked his arms around Xie Ling’s waist, his tongue and teeth working in tandem to lick and nibble at those soft lips, inch by inch.
As if he meant to kiss the man in his arms right into oblivion.
Xie Ling kept his eyes closed. Qin Han’s aggressive kisses were intense, leaving him a little breathless, but the profound connection of heart and soul with the one he loved was pure bliss. He savored the wet heat mingling between their lips and teeth, his heartbeat thundering out of control.
Thousands of classmates and teachers sat in the audience below, the lights liable to snap on at any second. And yet, in this charged atmosphere, here they were…
It was exhilarating.
The sheer novelty of it all pushed Xie Ling to the brink of recklessness.
He hugged Qin Han tightly in return, pressing himself as close as possible. But that was as far as he could go—clueless as he was in matters of intimacy, Xie Ling had no idea what came next.
The little fool in his arms was proving far more restless than expected. Qin Han’s gaze darkened. He pulled back just enough to run his tongue over Xie Ling’s lips, his voice a husky rasp as he coaxed, “Open your mouth. Let me in.”
Xie Ling’s eardrums felt ready to burst, but he obeyed, parting his lips without hesitation.
In that exact moment, the stage lights blazed to life.
Xie Ling’s heart stuttered to a near halt in sheer panic. Fortunately, Qin Han had already created distance between them in a lightning-quick move.
The two of them fought down their arousal and powered through the final scene amid a mix of disappointed sighs and enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
Once the curtain fell, Qin Han wasted no time. He yanked Xie Ling backstage and pinned him against the wall, diving back into a frenzied kiss.
For days, this man had been right there beside him, and yet Qin Han had held back, too afraid to reach out—convinced he’d lost him forever. Now, with fortune turning on its head, those mere two minutes on stage could never be enough.
Caught up in Qin Han’s fervent passion and recalling his earlier urging, Xie Ling slowly parted his lips.
That small gesture set Qin Han’s nerves ablaze once more. He cradled Xie Ling’s face and let his tongue plunder without mercy, sweeping through every corner of that warm mouth. Only when glistening strands of saliva trailed from the corner of Xie Ling’s lips did Qin Han finally ease back.
From his earlobes to his cheeks and down his neck, every bit of exposed skin on Xie Ling burned a deep crimson. His eyes were glazed, his breaths coming in greedy gasps. Qin Han, however, was far from sated. He licked away the lingering wetness at Xie Ling’s mouth and leaned in close to his ear, chuckling softly. “Little Fool, kissing means you have to come up for air.”
That familiar, tender, teasing lilt told Xie Ling the real Qin Han was back. Joy surged through him, tinged with a spark of defiance.
When Qin Han had been all mopey and defeated, Xie Ling had taken charge. Now that he was back to normal, the reins seemed to have slipped right back into his hands. Neither of them had any dating experience, and yet it made Xie Ling look like the total amateur.
The thought chafed more and more. Xie Ling grabbed Qin Han’s collar. “Do it again.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sharp slap echoed from nearby.
They whipped their heads around to see a script roll thudding to the floor. Looking up, they found Mu Yin and a bunch of other performers who had just finished their parts—including Zhang Chengrui, Xia Yu, and even Xiao Yanfei.
The group stood there, jaws dropped, staring at the two big shots locked in an embrace. An awkward silence descended.
Xie Ling’s ears and cheeks, already tinged pink, flushed even deeper. But he offered no explanations. Instead, he smoothly released Qin Han and flashed a genuine smile. “Sorry, everyone. We didn’t stick to the script for that last scene. It’s probably gonna tank our class’s score. Let me make it up to you—dinner’s on me.”
The others blinked rapidly, snapping out of it, and erupted in chatter. “No worries at all, Ling Bro! Didn’t you hear the applause for you and Qin God? Who cares about the plot anymore!”
“Exactly! That final kiss? Holy crap, we’re dominating the student votes alone!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Mu Yin chimed in, though her mind was nowhere near scores. Her eyes darted wildly between Xie Ling and Qin Han. “Ling Bro, Qin God, you two…”
She didn’t get to finish. An Alpha burst in from outside, breathless. “Ling Bro!”
He clutched a massive bouquet of roses and dropped to one knee right in front of Xie Ling. “I like you! Will you go out with me?!”
Zhang Chengrui let out a low whistle. “Damn, this guy’s got balls. I’ve known Ling Bro forever, and this is the first time anyone’s confessed to him so straight-up!”
Xia Yu nodded vigorously. “Now that’s a real Alpha. Take notes, everyone!”
Xiao Yanfei shrugged. “I think I’d be even bolder.”
Xia Yu: “…”
Cheers and whoops filled the air. But then something felt off, and all eyes turned to Qin Han.
Qin Han’s eyes narrowed, words on the tip of his tongue—but Xie Ling beat him to it with a smile. “Sorry, but while Ling Bro thinks you’re great, I’ve already got a boyfriend.”
With that, he took Qin Han’s hand right there in front of everyone.
Qin Han hadn’t expected such a bold public claim. Jealousy evaporated, replaced by a rush of pure fulfillment.
He squeezed back hard, even tugging Xie Ling’s hand forward a bit for all to see.
The confessor stood there, utterly dumbfounded. The room exchanged stunned glances before exploding into screams that could have raised the roof—
Mu Yin looked ready to swoon with bliss. “Aaaah! My ship is canon! Aaaah!!!”
Xia Yu bounded over to Xie Ling, tears streaming. “Wahhh, Little Lingling, you’re the best! Mama’s finally married you off, wahhh!”
Xie Ling laughed. “Get it straight, Xia Xiaoyu. When did I become your son?”
Out of habit, he reached to ruffle Xia Yu’s hair—only for Qin Han to yank his hand back.
At the same moment, Xiao Yanfei hoisted Xia Yu away from behind and grinned at the pair. “Congrats, bros. You’re gonna make me green with envy.”
“Hey, chin up, man. Opponent’s too OP, no contest…” After consoling the freshly rejected confessor, Zhang Chengrui bounced over to Xie Ling. “Ling Bro, Qin God—huge congrats! How about we throw two big banquet tables tonight to celebrate?”
Xie Ling’s ears turned red at the teasing. He chuckled. “All you want is a fancy spread.”
“You got it—tonight, dinner’s on me.” Qin Han’s smile outshone any before, his mood soaring. “Order whatever you want.”
“Qin God’s the man!”
“Hotpot for me!”
“BBQ!”
“Ah! Seafood!”
The group dissolved into joyful chaos. No one noticed Ye Shuanghua and Qin Huai standing just outside.
Ye Shuanghua had returned to the country that day. Hearing about Qin Han’s stage play, she’d impulsively dragged Qin Huai along—and gotten the shock of her life from her grandson right on stage.
Qin Huai eyed her inscrutable expression and hesitated. “Grandma, Little Han lost Mom and Dad young. He’s always been top of the heap, but I’ve never seen him truly happy—not until today, anyway. He’s laughing like any other guy his age. Maybe tonight we could just…”
She’d come backstage specifically to hustle Qin Han off to the company for some business.
Gazing at his face alight with unbridled joy, she paused, then turned and shot Qin Huai a glance. “Come on. We’re heading to the company.”
Qin Huai blinked in confusion. “Huh? But I’m off duty today?”
“Your brother’s workload. You’re covering it.”
Qin Huai: “???”
~~~
After hashing out opinions, they settled on a seafood barbecue joint near campus. Qin Han footed the bill without a care for cost, booking nearly the entire place.
The group was buzzing. A few Alphas even ordered a rainbow of drinks. Xie Ling matched them for a bit, his face flushing as he glanced at Qin Han.
Qin Han was peeling shrimp shells for him.
Xie Ling suddenly recalled the time he’d invited Qin Han to lunch here—only for Lin Mo to hold him up. He’d cut his hand on a shrimp shell that day.
He’d thought he’d never taste shrimp peeled by Qin Han again.
Xie Ling leaned in, hooking an arm around Qin Han’s neck amid the chorus of hoots, and whispered in his ear, “When you ate with Lin Mo, did he make you peel shrimp for him too?”
Qin Han eyed him. Xie Ling’s gaze was narrowed, his smile sharp and wild. Faint threads of rose floral scent wafted from him—Omega pheromones packing an Alpha-level punch, broadcasting their owner’s displeasure and jealousy.
Qin Han’s lips curved. He felt like he could float to the heavens. “Not just that.”
Savoring Xie Ling’s reaction, he drawled, “I fed it to him, too.”
“Fed?” Xie Ling swore under his breath, his smile turning downright perilous. “You fed hi—mmph!”
A tender, succulent morsel of shrimp landed in his mouth, cutting off his words.
Xie Ling gazed at Qin Han with wide eyes, instinctively sweeping his tongue to pull the shrimp in and chew.
A sheen of saliva glistened on his lips. Qin Han’s gaze instantly deepened.
“I was just teasing you. I didn’t feed him, and I’ve never peeled shrimp shells for him.” As he spoke, Qin Han slowly caressed Xie Ling’s lower lip with his thumb. “These hands of mine serve only you.”
He deliberately lingered on the word “serve,” letting his voice drop into a husky timbre. Even someone as dense as Xie Ling could sense the undercurrent of desire threading through those words—far more than just peeling shrimp and feeding it to someone.
A tingling numbness spread from Xie Ling’s lips all the way down his spine. Heat flooded his body, and he realized Qin Han had turned the tables on him once again.
No, he couldn’t keep being so passive.
Catching sight of the scattered bottles littering the table from the corner of his eye, Xie Ling suddenly recalled how Qin Han had acted the last time he got drunk at the villa. A lightbulb went off in his head.
He snatched up a half-finished glass of baijiu from nearby and shoved it into Qin Han’s hand with a cheeky grin. “That was a solid answer, bro. Here’s a little reward from your big brother.”
Qin Han couldn’t help but smile indulgently at the sight of Xie Ling’s face, flushed red as a lobster, while he pretended to play it cool. He lifted the glass to his lips right where Xie Ling had drunk from and drained it in one go.
Everyone around them turned a blind eye to the pair’s antics, carrying on with their own games as if nothing was happening—collectively playing oblivious.
Delight bubbled sweetly in Xie Ling’s chest. He swiped another glass of red wine from the table.
A few rounds later, a misty sheen had glazed Qin Han’s eyes. He let out a soft chuckle. “Little guy, are you trying to get me drunk?”
Xie Ling owned it without hesitation. “Yeah, so what?”
Qin Han’s smile turned even more indulgent. “Why?”
“Because…”
Xie Ling paused on purpose. A moment later, a mischievous grin spread across his face. He leaned in close to Qin Han’s ear and breathed softly against it. “Because I want to have my way with you, big brother.”
