Chapter 4: Green Eyes (4)

It was Monday, and Shen Qiuxun was on the day shift.

The shopkeeper came by to inspect once during the day. He had deep-set features, narrow eyes, and wore a pair of scholarly glasses, giving him an elite air. His attitude toward Shen Qiuxun was very gentle, even asking after his well-being—whether the day shift was tiring or if he was satisfied with his pay.

After brushing off his boss, Shen Qiuxun finally sensed a flicker of familiarity. Could this shopkeeper be the same suit-wearing man who had asked him out on the first day?

Combined with the way the shopkeeper looked at him every time—a warmth that went beyond an owner’s regard for an ordinary employee… had he been involved in some kind of transaction before?

Shen Qiuxun finished packaging two tubes of hemostatic agent and handed them to a customer, still feeling the shopkeeper’s gaze from behind. He whipped his head around and glared fiercely.

Sanpaku eyes with black pupils, a single glance so sinister it was like a wailing, lonely ghost from the night lunging at him with claws bared. It startled Shopkeeper Jace.

When Jace looked again, the employee was back to his usual expressionless face. Jace’s gaze slid over his fair cheeks. He smiled kindly and said goodbye, dismissing that glance as his imagination. Still… beautiful. Jace’s eyes darkened.

On the other side.

【You could choose other ways to resist.】

Once the customers were gone, Shen Qiuxun stood behind the counter, zoning out again.

【Provoking him will invite retaliation. Big data recommends a strategy of hiding your capabilities.】

‘Who cares? Nobody cares.’

【…】 (System used periods to express speechlessness.)

Shen Qiuxun yawned again, eyelids drooping as if he hadn’t slept in two days.

And so reality hit him that very night: he was given a hard time and thrown into the dark room. Karma was swift.

As usual that night, he went to the basement warehouse to move and restock medicine. When he entered the basement and tried to leave, the small door had been sealed from the outside by someone, and it was an automatic rolling shutter door. There wasn’t even a keyhole for him to try picking with a wire.

Looking back, the warehouse was vast. The light was dim, and orderly rows of metal shelving stretched as far as the eye could see. Shen Qiuxun’s usual territory was only this small area near the door; he had no idea what medicine lay further in.

The warehouse temperature was very low—a dry, simple cold. It was pitch black, with only a green indicator light above the door providing any illumination. The ghostly green glow made the darkness in the distance seem even more eerie, making one suspect a monster might jump out at any second.

Seems like he wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon.

Well, now that things had come to this, might as well sleep first.

Shen Qiuxun yawned again, pulled his clothes tighter, and sat down on the steps by the door, finding a spot against the wall. He yawned once more, tears moistening his lashes until they gleamed, lying soft and obedient. Curled up in the corner, he looked like a sleepy black cat.

The System suspected that somewhere in the black shadows, a tail was likely swishing leisurely.

It was entranced by the sight when a sudden movement in the distance caught its attention. Far off, it saw a figure emerge from the darkness. The shallow light only outlined his tall silhouette, like a monster from a movie.

It was alert, considering whether to wake its Host, until it saw the man’s face exposed in the green light. It recognized him—the Host’s target of pursuit. It looked back at the Host, sleeping soundly in the corner, and silently faded away.

Shen Qiuxun opened his eyes and looked up. In the dark of night, he saw a pair of grass-green eyes. Those eyes blinked slowly.

Xu Zhiyuan approached, hands in his pockets, and noticed the moisture on his lashes. He felt his heartstrings being plucked at random, and his originally cold, mocking expression turned a little strange. He licked his lips and softened his voice. “No way, you scared yourself to tears?”

“?” Shen Qiuxun touched his own eyes and spoke softly: “Are your eyes just for breathing?”

Xu Zhiyuan’s gaze swept past the corner of his eye. His heart itched at that bit of crystalline shimmer. He could only divert his attention by looking up. Reaching out his hand, he flicked a finger up and turned on the electrical switch on the wall. Finally finding a topic to change to, he raised an eyebrow. “Tsk, got targeted, huh?”

The Beta was a small, pale little thing, curled up in the corner of a dark warehouse. His black hair was slightly mussed, his chin pointed, and residual watery light clung to his lashes.

Xu Zhiyuan’s heart went through that unusual softening again, as if soaked in sour plum juice for days.

Shen Qiuxun crossed his arms over his chest and lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at the switch before lowering his lashes again.

“Just resisting the mighty powers that be and getting oppressed, is all.”

【Host…】

‘Don’t speak.’

【Please be polite to me.】

‘If I don’t die one day, you have to follow me one day. Behave. If we’re going down, we’ll go down together.’

【…】 (System sighed.)

Xu Zhiyuan looked around. The warehouse was dark and empty. A Beta’s courage should be quite small. Considering the favor of that initial hemostatic agent, he felt he could barely bring himself to help him:

“Come with me. I’ll get you out.”

No answer.

Xu Zhiyuan felt his temper had improved qualitatively. He reached out to grab the man, but the wary Beta slapped his arm away.

“Tch.” Xu Zhiyuan felt a numbing sensation drill from his skin into his bones. His whole body felt off. He tugged at his clothes to hide it, his face a little red. He shrugged his shoulders as if to threaten: “Why would I lie to you? No one knows when this door will open again. You’re better off counting on me than on anyone else.”

“None of your damn business.” Shen Qiuxun shot back. He couldn’t help yawning again, but yawning in this confrontational scene felt inappropriate. He held it back with a strange expression, and a teardrop rolled from his eye, down his cheek, and dropped from his chin, leaving a clear, glistening trail.

His clear eyes remained fixed on the man’s every move.

Xu Zhiyuan felt a chill run through him from that single tear. A part of his heart seemed to cave in, unbearably soft. All the nonsense words in his mouth were instantly forgotten. He could only stare at that bit of shimmer, dazed. He blinked and shifted his gaze. After staring at the dark steps for a long time, he finally came back to his senses, feeling strange all over.

“Aren’t we… tch.” Xu Zhiyuan sighed. He only felt that from the day he met this Beta, he’d become stranger and stranger. He pointed a finger behind him: “It’s warmer over there. Go sleep there.”

Seeing the distrust in the other’s eyes, Xu Zhiyuan reached out and touched his wrist, transmitting the warmth of his palm. Not daring to look into his eyes, he could only stare at the man’s mouth. “Believe me, look.”

He was instantly distracted by that secretive mole beneath his lip. His face flushed red, his head spinning.

Shen Qiuxun patted his own wrist and finally stood up.

‘Fault-finder.’ Xu Zhiyuan had wanted to say that, but after the words rolled around in his mouth, he swallowed them down. What if he stops following me then?

“Wait a second.”

Shen Qiuxun took out the flashlight in his pocket, switched it on, and looked for the medicine that needed to be brought out. After wandering around, he spotted it: the medicine was on the top shelf of the metal rack. He reached for it, slowly nudging the wooden box out, then supported it with both hands to bring it down. Suddenly, the space above him darkened.

The wooden box was intercepted midway by a man. Xu Zhiyuan easily held the wooden box in one hand. Without looking at him, he asked coldly: “Which others? …Skinny arms and legs.”

When someone offers an advantage, only a fool refuses. Shen Qiuxun very righteously pointed out a few boxes. Three in total. Xu Zhiyuan handled them all by himself.

【I get it now. This is playing hard to get.】

Shen Qiuxun raised an eyebrow. He didn’t speak.

“After I finish moving the cargo, the main gate will open. You come with me.” Xu Zhiyuan lifted the wooden box on his shoulder, adding.

He felt a bit awkward. Driven by this awkwardness, Xu Zhiyuan didn’t speak to Shen Qiuxun for a long time, even avoiding eye contact. He just silently carried the boxes and walked forward, mindful of his pace, afraid of losing him by accident and then having to search everywhere himself.

Arriving at the destination, the metal shelving here was sparse, leaving a large open space for stacking cargo. A large truck was parked in front, and before the truck was another iron gate, tightly sealed, separating the warehouse completely from the outside world. The temperature here was indeed a bit higher.

Shen Qiuxun found a dry spot and was about to sit down when Xu Zhiyuan grabbed his wrist. Under the other’s wary gaze, Xu Zhiyuan untied the jacket wrapped around his waist and spread it on the ground. Without a word, he turned and went back to his own work.

Shen Qiuxun looked at the jacket on the ground: ?

He watched Xu Zhiyuan silently lift two large wooden crates from the truck. The man’s sturdy muscles bulged, his brow not even furrowing, as he effortlessly stacked three wooden crates in their designated place.

‘Is this part of that Alpha superiority or something?’ Shen Qiuxun pinched his own arm, rather puzzled.

One punch from this guy could flatten three of him with strength to spare.

【Part of it.】

He yawned again. Actually, after that bit of a ruckus just now, he’d woken up some. This alone time was indeed quite crucial. He decided to probe for some information:

“Hey… you…”

“Xu Zhiyuan.” Xu Zhiyuan had his back to him, setting down the cargo from his hands and shoulders. The heavy load stirred a cloud of fine dust.

Alphas were born with heightened senses. He naturally knew that Beta was sizing him up. That annoying gaze roamed from his arms to his back, making his whole body feel off. There was no restraint at all.

‘Like I don’t already know your name is Xu Zhiyuan?’

Shen Qiuxun pouted and cleared his throat lightly: “Xu Zhiyuan, aren’t you an Alpha? Why’d you come back to this rundown little shop to work?”

Slogging away in the bottom rungs like this every day— when would he ever escape the lower class?

Xu Zhiyuan looked back. Standing in place, he re-wrapped the bandage on his wrist. The white bandage against his wheat-colored skin created a strong visual contrast. The corners of his narrow eyes lifted, looking a bit wicked. “Worried about me?”

Shen Qiuxun hummed noncommittally.

He leaned against the wall, head tilted slightly up, hands wrapped around his knees. His bangs parted on either side from his forehead, makeup-free face showing his gorgeous features still tinged with weariness, making the swallow-like tails of his eyes seem languid, too. His perfectly shaped lips were pressed together, holding only the faintest, almost non-existent trace of pink.

Even on the Capital Planet, famous for its beauties, this was a one-in-a-million kind of beauty, unmatched by any.

There was an inexplicable pull to it, like a subtle, invisible hook ensnaring Xu Zhiyuan’s mind.

That feeling of having one’s mind pulled by another person was unpleasant. He felt as if his heart were no longer his own.

“Something’s wrong with my gland.” Xu Zhiyuan averted his gaze and lifted two wooden crates again.

Gland? It took Shen Qiuxun a moment to remember where their glands were located. He narrowed his eyes to examine the patch of skin at the back of the man’s neck. It was perfectly intact, looking like nothing was wrong, no special markings—completely ordinary.

He didn’t realize that staring intently at someone’s gland was an extremely rude and overstepping act.

Xu Zhiyuan felt the back of his neck burn. That heat surged as if doused with oil, instantly spreading through his entire body. His face was already burning hot. He added coldly: “Pheromone Imbalance Syndrome. It doesn’t show on the surface.”

Shen Qiuxun nodded thoughtfully. ‘What’s a pheromone? Pheromone Imbalance isn’t contagious, is it?’

【It isn’t.】 The System suspected its Host hadn’t properly reviewed the materials it had sent.

The long silence caused the man to misunderstand. He sneered, dropping the wooden crate back onto the ground with a heavy thud. His grass-green eyes glanced over haughtily: “Don’t worry, even if my pheromones really go haywire, they won’t act up on you.”

Just a mere Beta— wasn’t he being a bit too self-important?

Shen Qiuxun rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and turned the other way to take a nap.