23
Qi Wei hadn’t expected that he would reach the finish line just by taking the first step.
So after a moment of silence, he closed his eyes contentedly and hummed softly in agreement.
However, Qi Zhao’s method of feeding him was a little different from what he had imagined.
Qi Zhao tore open the package, held the cake, tilted his head slightly, and offered it to Qi Wei.
Qi Wei’s eyelashes fluttered. He decided not to cause any more trouble and obediently took a bite of the cake.
This was fine.
Qi Zhao feeding him was already good enough.
Qi Wei slowly finished the sweet honey cake from Qi Zhao’s hand, then said, “Ah Zhao, you eat first.”
Qi Zhao didn’t refuse, opened another cake, and then rummaged through his snack box, pulling out a carton of milk.
It wasn’t that he had foreseen this, but he sometimes got hungry while working or reading, so his snack box was mostly filled with things that could satiate his hunger.
Qi Zhao poked the straw into the milk carton. “Do you want some?”
Besides clinging to him like a koala, Qi Wei seemed normal. “There’s only one?”
Qi Zhao knew what he was thinking and couldn’t help but soften a little. “I’m not thirsty. You just had an episode; you need the energy more than I do.”
“Let’s share it.”
“There’s no cup.”
Qi Wei was silent for half a second, then said softly, “I understand.”
He didn’t say anything else, but Qi Zhao tensed up for some reason. “…I’m not looking down on you.”
Qi Zhao realized that his words could easily be misinterpreted by an alpha. “But… although I lived abroad for seven years, I haven’t been completely assimilated.”
Qi Wei’s tone was still gentle, like the wind, but if one were paranoid, it would sound like a snake’s hiss, pondering how to devour the prey entangled in its coils. “But we’re both men.”
Qi Zhao instinctively replied, “But you like me.”
After saying that, he felt it wasn’t quite right, but after careful consideration, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
It was the truth, after all. If he and Qi Wei were just friends, and both were attracted to women, sharing a carton of milk with a straw wouldn’t be a big deal. It would be strange for two men to care about such things.
But the problem was that Qi Wei liked him; that made it different.
Because of this, Qi Wei lowered his eyelids, humming ambiguously, and said softly, “So, Ah Zhao, in your eyes, liking you is a mortal sin?”
Qi Zhao: “…?”
Qi Zhao: “???”
Wait, how did the conversation jump to this?
Qi Zhao paused, deciding to retract his previous statement.
Qi Wei wasn’t acting normal at all right now.
“That’s not what I meant, it’s just…”
“It’s just that you don’t like me.”
Qi Wei rarely interrupted him, his tone slightly indifferent. “So this level of physical contact is already your limit.”
Qi Zhao: “…”
He fell completely silent.
Then he heard Qi Wei murmur softly, “It’s okay.”
What?
Before Qi Zhao could ask, Qi Wei asked him softly, “Then do you hate me?”
Qi Zhao answered honestly, “No, I don’t.”
“Good.” Qi Wei lowered his head, his eyes buried in the crook of Qi Zhao’s neck, murmuring, “That’s enough.”
He was truly afraid that Qi Zhao would hate him, so he never dared to push too hard.
Every time he did something, he had to pave the way, making sure Qi Zhao felt sympathy and compassion before daring to take the next step.
Qi Zhao didn’t know what to say, so he decided to eat first.
He finished the carton of milk. After he was full, he asked Qi Wei if he wanted to eat anything.
“No.”
Qi Wei said, “I just want to hold you.”
So Qi Zhao sighed softly and finally moved. “Then let me turn around.”
Qi Wei loosened his grip slightly, allowing Qi Zhao to turn around in his arms and face him.
“Does it make you feel better when I hold you?”
Even though Qi Zhao had studied alpha behavior, he hadn’t learned how to soothe an alpha in rut as a beta. He studied it because he wanted to know the difference between alphas and betas, thinking… that one day, he could better disguise himself as an alpha.
Qi Wei seemed to pause for a moment, then buried his face in Qi Zhao’s embrace. “Yes.”
He murmured, as if to himself, “I like it when you hold me.”
Qi Zhao coughed slightly. Before he could put his hand on Qi Wei’s back, Qi Wei suddenly slid down.
Before Qi Zhao could react, Qi Wei lifted him and sat him on the table, then squeezed in between his legs, standing before him, hugging him tightly, his face buried in his chest.
Qi Zhao froze completely.
Because the tabletop was relatively high, this position put him at eye level with Qi Wei, so Qi Wei had to lower his head and hunch his back to bury his face in his chest.
But for Qi Zhao, the problem wasn’t Qi Wei’s face pressed against his chest, inhaling deeply, but… Qi Zhao moved his legs slightly, brushing against Qi Wei’s casual pants.
The arousal was too…
Qi Zhao’s hand, resting on Qi Wei’s back, curled slightly. Feeling the heat and the powerful muscles beneath his fingertips and palm through the fabric, he wanted to twist and escape even more.
But he also knew rationally that he couldn’t escape Qi Wei.
Unless he abandoned Qi Wei, he could only endure it.
…Forget it, just endure it.
Qi Wei had done so much for him. Even if it was because he liked him, even if he attributed it all to Qi Wei pursuing him, Qi Zhao couldn’t just enjoy it without feeling guilty.
Because to Qi Zhao, what Qi Wei had done for him truly deserved more than just a simple “thank you.”
So Qi Zhao didn’t move, his legs lightly brushing against Qi Wei’s hips. After a long silence, Qi Zhao said softly, “Qi Wei, if you’re not going to eat anything, let’s wash up and go to bed, okay?”
He hesitated slightly. “I want to take a shower. Can you wait for me outside?”
As soon as he said this, the arms around him tightened abruptly.
Qi Zhao hissed softly, and Qi Wei loosened his grip.
He didn’t speak, but his unmoving posture spoke volumes.
Qi Zhao felt a headache coming on. “It’s hot. I’ve been sweating. I’ll smell bad if I don’t shower.”
“…You don’t smell bad.” Qi Wei lifted his chin slightly and sniffed Qi Zhao’s neck, making his nerves tense. “Ah Zhao smells good.”
Qi Zhao: “…”
It felt strange for a man to be told this by another man.
“I’ll smell bad tomorrow.”
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“…Qi Wei.”
Qi Zhao sighed. “Let me take a shower, and you should take one too. Tonight… you can sleep in the same bed as me, okay?”
Honestly, in Qi Wei’s current state, Qi Zhao wasn’t comfortable leaving him to sleep alone.
Hearing this, Qi Wei straightened up immediately.
He was now the same height as Qi Zhao, but Qi Zhao still felt the pressure from his movement, his heart skipping a beat. Then he saw the light in the man’s eyes as he looked directly at him. “Ah Zhao, did you just say… we can sleep together tonight?”
Qi Zhao always felt that some words sounded strange coming from Qi Wei’s mouth.
So he had to emphasize, “Just hugging, still.”
“…That’s enough.”
Qi Wei smiled genuinely, his usually aggressive face softening. “I’m very happy.”
When facing Qi Zhao, he always seemed inarticulate, his vocabulary limited, only able to express his thoughts with the simplest words.
Qi Wei leaned closer to Qi Zhao, pulling him into a tighter embrace, their bodies pressed against each other through their clothes.
This made Qi Zhao feel even more like a cat in a new environment, his body stiff, his breathing shallow.
Because… they were too close.
Even though there were two layers of fabric between them, Qi Zhao could clearly feel Qi Wei’s heart as if it had been pressed into his chest, beating against his own, trying to make his heart beat as strongly as his.
And the alpha’s unusually firm muscles, even when relaxed, his body temperature even hotter than usual due to his rut, and below his waist…
Qi Zhao’s mind was in disarray. And Qi Wei, as if trying to express his happiness, held him and said the purest words, “Ah Zhao, thank you.”
Don’t thank me.
If you’re truly grateful, please let go first.
Qi Zhao couldn’t say this, so he could only remain silent.
He knew that his silence still didn’t address the issue of avoidance, but this was a long-standing psychological issue. Even though he was aware of it, it was difficult for him to take that step.
And he truly didn’t know how to respond to these words.
It was better to remain silent than to rack his brains and say something that would upset the alpha.
Fortunately, Qi Wei just held him for a little while longer before loosening his grip and helping him down from the table.
Qi Zhao felt a little helpless as his feet touched the ground.
He wasn’t that fragile. But Qi Wei was in a special situation right now, and it was probably pointless to explain, so Qi Zhao didn’t say anything more.
Qi Zhao went to shower first. He was afraid Qi Wei would become uncomfortable and restless if he took too long, so he showered quickly, just rinsing his hair without using shampoo.
When he came out, he wasn’t surprised to see Qi Wei sitting properly by the bathroom door, waiting for him.
The moment Qi Wei saw him come out, he reached out, pulled him close, and inhaled deeply.
Qi Zhao paused, then couldn’t help but ask, “Can you still smell it like this?”
Were alphas… this amazing?
“The scent of water…”
Qi Wei said softly, “…brings out your scent even more.”
Qi Zhao didn’t understand; his nose wasn’t that sensitive.
However… he didn’t know how much the man buried in his embrace wanted to lift his shirt and lick the remaining water droplets on his abdomen.
Qi Zhao originally planned to wait for Qi Wei to calm down a bit before urging him to shower, but Qi Wei let go of him on his own accord and looked up at him. “Ah Zhao, then I’ll go shower now.”
Qi Zhao nodded. “Okay.”
Although the master bathroom was large, for an alpha with heightened senses, the lingering scent of Qi Zhao was still strong.
Especially…
Qi Wei’s gaze fell on the laundry basket. His dark eyes stared at it for two seconds before he casually squatted down and rummaged through it.
Just as he expected.
The unsuspecting beta hadn’t realized what kind of deviant he was. His undergarments were simply placed at the bottom of the basket, not immediately washed and hung on the small balcony, or hidden away.
Qi Wei lowered his head, burying his face in the dark fabric. His barely stable pheromones surged again, his hand uncontrollably reaching down amidst his muddled thoughts and roaring blood.
He turned on the water. The bathroom was large enough to conceal many things.
Meanwhile, Qi Zhao was outside, calling the company to take a day off and explaining to Tang Huaiyuan that Qi Wei’s rut had started.
After waiting for twenty minutes and still not seeing him come out, he couldn’t help but feel worried.
So Qi Zhao went over and knocked on the door. “Qi Wei?”
Qi Wei leaned against the cold water, his large hand gripping something, the corners of his eyes slightly red, his dark eyes unreadable, a hint of coldness in their depths.
He paused for two seconds before replying hoarsely, “What’s wrong?”
Hearing his voice, Qi Zhao felt slightly relieved. “You’ve been in there for a long time… are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Qi Wei’s other hand clutched Qi Zhao’s changed clothes, including the black ones, his voice slightly muffled. “Ah Zhao, I want to hear you talk.”
Qi Zhao: “?”
He didn’t understand. “Come out after you’re done…”
Before he could finish, he suddenly realized something.
As someone who had read many novels for his alpha research, he instantly understood his mistake.
He shouldn’t have left his clothes inside.
“…Qi Wei.”
Qi Zhao gritted his teeth slightly. “Did you touch my clothes?”
Qi Wei in his rational state might not do such a perverted thing, but Qi Wei in rut was different. He would lose much of his composure, becoming more “primal,” so he would uncontrollably do things to satisfy himself… Qi Wei at this time was definitely not the usual gentleman.
