53
When Qi Zhao got off work, he packed his things and headed to their usual spot.
Qi Wei, with his more flexible schedule, could always pick him up.
As Qi Zhao opened the car door, he smelled a faint, sweet aroma. After getting in, he saw Qi Wei handing him something, as expected.
Qi Wei always brought him snacks when picking him up, as it was already 5 pm, the traditional dinner time.
Qi Zhao opened the paper bag. “Wheel cakes.”
He commented, “How rare.”
Even rarer, they were cream-flavored.
Qi Zhao didn’t have a particularly strong sweet tooth, but when it came to desserts, he preferred sweet ones, not those with bitter, astringent, or sour notes—with the exception of turtle jelly.
“You mentioned wanting to eat wheel cakes before.”
Qi Wei never missed an opportunity to score points. “I had Qiu Ji search for them. There’s an old woman from the south who sells them from a small cart in front of her house. She makes the kind you like.”
There were different kinds of wheel cakes, deep-fried ones and those made with a special machine.
The fillings were also diverse now: cheese and corn, Oreo, taro paste, pork floss with salted egg yolk… When Qi Zhao was in the south, the street vendors only sold two kinds of fillings: cream and red bean. He liked both.
He had tried other flavors later, but still found these two the best. However, finding wheel cakes with just these two pure fillings, without any other additions, was surprisingly difficult.
The ones Qi Wei bought had only these two fillings.
Two cream-filled and two red bean-filled.
And they were in an insulated bag, so they were still slightly warm when Qi Zhao ate them, the melted cream filling warming his heart along with Qi Wei’s words.
Qi Zhao’s eyes curved into an unconscious smile, his thoughts drifting for a moment.
He felt that he was quite selfish.
He knew very well that the lawsuit against Qi Mao, publicizing their debt, was most likely orchestrated by Qi Wei, to completely crush Qi Mao, leaving them with no chance to recover.
Yet at this moment, because Qi Wei remembered his casual remark, because he knew his preferences, he felt that Qi Wei was truly a good person.
Well…
But he was human, and as a human, being selfish wasn’t a crime, right?
Qi Zhao took a bite of the perfectly sweet wheel cake and asked Qi Wei, “Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.” Qi Wei paused, not mentioning that he didn’t particularly like this snack, a sense of anticipation rising within him.
And when they stopped at a red light, his anticipation was rewarded.
Qi Zhao naturally offered the wheel cake he had taken a bite of to Qi Wei. “Here, have some.”
He said, “I don’t need this much; I won’t be able to eat dinner if I finish it all.”
This was true, and Qi Wei knew that Qi Zhao wasn’t being coy or making excuses; he genuinely meant it.
But it didn’t matter. Ever since he fell for Qi Zhao, Qi Wei had become adept at finding sweetness in the smallest gestures.
This simple act from Qi Zhao was enough to make his heart sweeten even before he took a bite of the wheel cake.
Qi Wei lowered his head and took a bite from the spot where Qi Zhao had bitten.
Because he was a beta, Qi Zhao didn’t know how sensitive an alpha’s senses were, especially an alpha of Qi Wei’s rank. To him, even Qi Zhao’s saliva had a unique quality, different from the usual “taste of saliva,” just like Qi Zhao’s scent, it was one of a kind.
Generally, an alpha and omega’s bodily fluids carried the scent of their pheromones, and the higher their rank, the stronger the scent. But betas also had their own unique scent, or rather, everyone did, it just couldn’t be categorized like pheromones.
In any case, for an alpha who liked a beta, Qi Zhao’s scent was irreplaceable, more unique than any alpha or omega.
Qi Wei, discerning Qi Zhao’s scent amidst the eggy and creamy aroma of the wheel cake, smiled.
“Is it good?”
Qi Zhao truly didn’t know that Qi Wei didn’t particularly like this snack. “It tastes just like the ones I used to eat from the street vendors in the south.”
He smiled. “Back then, every time I passed by the supermarket, I would buy two, one cream-filled and one red bean-filled. I was greedy and wanted to eat more, but my mother wouldn’t let me, afraid I wouldn’t eat dinner, that I wouldn’t get enough nutrients.”
Qi Wei could imagine the scene. “Would you argue with your mother, Ah Zhao?”
Qi Zhao recalled, “I would sometimes get upset because she was strict about my diet, but I wouldn’t throw a tantrum in public… I was quite concerned about my image even when I was young.”
Speaking of which, it was precisely because he valued his image that he had never cried or made a fuss in front of Qi Mu.
Qi Wei didn’t say, “Your mother raised you well,” but rather, “Ah Zhao, you’re a good person.”
His nature was good.
Qi Zhao paused slightly, his fingertips pressing against the paper bag, leaving a small dent.
He turned to look at Qi Wei, who seemed completely oblivious to the profound impact of his words, or perhaps he genuinely didn’t think it was a big deal.
But Qi Zhao’s heart was deeply touched, his throat tightening, unable to speak for a moment.
He actually despised himself, even thinking that his concern for his image was just an excuse for his cowardice. He had envied those friends who dared to defy their families. Even now, hearing Hua Tang and the others talk about arguing with their families, even over trivial matters, he still felt envious, not thinking it was unnecessary.
Because it was a form of courage.
The courage to express their unwillingness, their displeasure, their dislike.
So Qi Zhao had always despised himself for lacking such courage.
But Qi Wei said he was good.
Qi Zhao’s lips moved, wanting to ask why, but he stopped himself before the words came out.
The answer didn’t matter anymore.
Qi Zhao smiled and continued eating the wheel cake from where Qi Wei had bitten.
With Qi Wei, he didn’t have to suppress his dislikes. After all, if he did, the alpha would only push his boundaries further, his possessiveness and desire for control running rampant, which wouldn’t be good for either of them.
After sharing the four wheel cakes with Qi Wei, Qi Zhao took out a bottle of water from the glove compartment. “Want some?”
Qi Wei looked at the traffic ahead. “You drink first.”
So Qi Zhao took a sip and held the bottle, waiting for the red light before handing it to Qi Wei.
Qi Wei took the bottle and drank, feeling a deep sense of contentment.
He liked these seemingly ordinary yet intimate gestures from Qi Zhao, and he liked Qi Zhao’s calm and natural closeness, as if they were meant to be together.
“We’re having crab tonight.”
Qi Wei returned the water bottle to Qi Zhao. “How do you want it cooked?”
“Spicy,” Qi Zhao gestured with his hands, “split open.”
Qi Wei happened to be looking at him when he made this gesture and was once again struck by his unconscious cuteness, his heart itching unbearably.
He shouldn’t be driving; he should be holding Qi Zhao and kissing him senseless.
But if he wasn’t driving, even with the partition, there would still be a third wheel, making it difficult to speak freely.
Qi Wei clicked his tongue softly.
He had to urge his R&D team to develop driverless technology sooner.
Because he was preoccupied with thoughts of his family, Qi Wei hugged Qi Zhao from behind the moment they entered the house, before Qi Zhao even had time to take off his shoes.
He could feel the alpha’s arousal, so Qi Zhao paused, then turned his head to look at Qi Wei, and as expected, was kissed the moment he turned around.
His body naturally turned to face Qi Wei, their chests pressed together. The moment Qi Wei’s hand tightened around his back, the gentle kiss turned into a forceful, possessive one.
Qi Zhao tilted his head back slightly, Qi Wei’s hand cupping the back of his head, his palm pressing against his neck, not just supporting his head, but his fingers spread wide, gripping him tightly like a basketball.
This wasn’t the first time Qi Wei had shown this possessive side, and Qi Zhao knew it, but that didn’t mean he was used to it.
His nerves tensed, a flicker of fear and the urge to escape arising within him.
After all, he wasn’t a puppet; how could he like being controlled like this?
But Qi Wei’s assault was too intense. The person who had promised to be gentler next time hadn’t held back at all, his kiss even more forceful than before.
From the very beginning, he held Qi Zhao captive, capturing his lips, his tongue sweeping across the roof of his mouth, plundering his breath and heartbeat like a bandit, stealing away all his thoughts, leaving him with no room to think.
So his instinctive urge to escape was like a stone dropped into a deep pool, disappearing without a trace.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Qi Zhao felt Qi Wei’s hand on his waist, kneading his side, the pressure firm even through his clothes, sending shivers down his spine. He tensed up, instinctively struggling slightly.
It was a weak struggle, but the alpha still caught it.
Qi Wei paused, suppressing his violent impulses, and finally nipped Qi Zhao lightly before forcing himself to pull back.
He looked at Qi Zhao, whose eyes were red-rimmed and slightly watery from the intense kiss, a hazy, seductive look in them.
Like a beautiful glass of wine, tempting one to drink and become completely intoxicated.
Qi Wei’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He lowered his head, nuzzling and licking away the moisture on Qi Zhao’s lips, his hoarse voice and physical reaction betraying his desire. “Ah Zhao.”
He loved calling his name.
Qi Zhao had noticed long ago.
And it was always at times like these, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t, just repeating his name over and over.
Before, Qi Zhao had felt at a loss when he heard it, but now, he felt as if each call was an invisible hand, stripping him bare.
It was a strange feeling, making him even more tense.
“…Stop calling me that.”
So he said, “Stop calling me that.”
But he couldn’t explain why.
It was he who had first revealed that he liked Qi Wei calling him that, yet he was also the one who trembled when he heard it.
How contradictory.
Fortunately, Qi Wei didn’t question him, perhaps because… he knew why.
The alpha smiled and obediently lowered his head, kissing Qi Zhao’s eyelids. “Okay.”
But after agreeing, Qi Wei didn’t immediately let go of Qi Zhao, but traced the edge of the bandage on his neck with his pinky finger. “Should I take this off for you?”
Qi Zhao had no objections. “Okay.”
The adhesive on the bandage wasn’t very strong; after all, both alpha and omega glands were vulnerable, so it was easy to remove.
But Qi Wei, taking advantage of this, didn’t use his hand, but lowered his head and bit the edge of the bandage.
As his breath and lips touched his skin, Qi Zhao’s nerves tensed involuntarily, his entire being like a drawn bow, the arrow poised to fly—
And the wicked alpha, tormenting him, slowly peeled off the bandage with his teeth, revealing the bite mark underneath.
Qi Wei even sniffed the bandage with a hint of regret.
Even a bandage couldn’t hold his pheromones.
So…
“Ah Zhao.”
Qi Wei asked, his voice muffled, “Can I bite you again?”
