Chapter 105

Pei Ji slowly blinked his eyes, feeling his emotions on the verge of collapse. His chest heaved as his breathing grew heavier. He couldn’t believe his ears.

Pei Ji rarely lost his composure and revealed his true feelings. He subconsciously grabbed Shen Yu’s wrist, his voice tight as he stared intently at Shen Yu and urgently demanded, “What did you say?”

Warm skin pressed against his wrist. Shen Yu let Pei Ji hold him and took in his entire reaction.

Hearing Pei Ji’s urgent question, Shen Yu’s lips curved slightly. He didn’t mind repeating himself. “I said, let’s be together.”

Pei Ji’s gaze lingered on his lips for a moment before he slowly broke into a smile. “That’s not right.”

Shen Yu narrowed his eyes, thinking Pei Ji had noticed something off. The smile on his lips faded gradually. After a moment of silence, he pursed his lips and said flatly, “What’s not right?”

Pei Ji clearly felt a terrifying emotion strike him. Under its influence, his body, feelings, and reason all spiraled out of control in a frightening way.

For the young leader of the Central District’s next generation, this loss of control—completely detached from his command—was undoubtedly fatal.

Yet, whether it was enough confidence that he could rein it in before total collapse, or if excessive joy had clouded his mind—

Pei Ji had no intention of stopping now.

He was watching himself lose control right before his eyes.

He’d gone mad.

After a brief moment of thought, Pei Ji snapped back and looked at Shen Yu.

When Shen Yu wasn’t smiling, his starry eyes turned utterly cold, like two black grapes soaked in ice water, brimming with damp chilliness. Just one glance made one’s heart freeze over.

But when he smiled, it was exceptionally captivating.

Pei Ji liked watching him smile. Only then did this person feel close rather than distant, full of vibrant life—like a wildflower bursting with vitality in muddy soil starved of sunlight and rife with hardship.

Perhaps not a flower.

A voice echoed in Pei Ji’s mind.

Not a flower, but a little tree growing upward on its own. Pei Ji’s mind automatically filled in the image of Shen Yu dressed as a small tree, with only his little face peeking out.

A chibi figure with furrowed brows and gloomy dissatisfaction in his eyes.

What the hell kind of association was that? Too ridiculous.

But—

So cute.

Pei Ji and Shen Yu locked eyes. His voice carried a pleasure he himself didn’t realize, laced with a smile in a magnetic, low timbre tinged with disapproval. “I haven’t confessed to you yet. How can we be together?”

Shen Yu raised a brow, about to speak, when he heard someone call his name.

“Shen Yu?”

The voice was soft and melodious, the ending note rising in pleasant surprise—an omega’s voice, clearly.

Both turned to look.

The newcomer was a female omega with red lips and fair skin, cascading wavy black hair, a tall and slender figure, and a bright, glamorous aura.

Shen Yu frowned slightly. She seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her.

As she drew closer, without the visual obstruction, Flora finally saw who the person tussling with Shen Yu was.

A few minutes earlier, Flora had finished class and come downstairs. Lifting her head, she spotted a very familiar figure from afar.

Though there was no blaring music, crowds, or flashing multicolored lights, that silhouette inexplicably reminded her of a tall, long-legged, sexy, and alluring man.

Ever since Sonata Harbor had been acquired, Shen Yu appeared less and less. Flora had privately messaged him asking when he’d come to the bar, but his replies were usually that he wouldn’t for the time being.

She’d grown so itchy with anticipation that she’d even considered keeping him as a sugar baby.

Spotting this familiar figure, Flora couldn’t resist approaching. The closer she got, the more convinced she was it was Shen Yu. Her heart surged with delight as she called out, but the next second, as Shen Yu turned, she saw Pei Ji standing with him.

Flora: “…”

The impulse to claim and keep him that had welled up inside her instantly faltered.

But then Flora thought again—alphas and alphas never ended well. She still had her advantages. One should seize joy while it lasted.

Flora straightened her posture, first calling out “Brother Pei” to Pei Ji, then casually brushing back the hair by her face as she sidled closer to Shen Yu without a word.

Shen Yu was quite a bit taller than her, his presence cool and detached. Flora looked up at him and found him looking back.

Shen Yu’s eyelids were thin. When he lowered them to gaze at someone, his jet-black lashes cast shadows, dimming half his eyes and giving off an intensely cold, seductive vibe.

It made Flora’s heart flutter wildly, instantly forgetting all those alpha guys.

Flora smiled. “I messaged you yesterday asking if you’d go to the bar today. If you did, I’d book it out for you. Did you forget to reply?”

She had a unique cadence and rhythm when speaking, with occasional elisions and tongue flicks that made her voice ornate and enchanting, utterly captivating.

That jogged Shen Yu’s memory. The day before school started, an omega had a birthday party. The boss had called him to liven up the atmosphere, and he’d added Flora’s contact afterward.

They’d kept in occasional touch since, and Shen Yu usually replied to her messages.

If he hadn’t—

Well, he’d probably just replied in his head.

Shen Yu pursed his lips. “Not sure if I’ll go tonight. I wait for the boss’s last-minute notice.”

Flora looked a bit disappointed. “I see.”

Pei Ji stood by, watching their chat with a half-smile. He kept a firm grip on Shen Yu’s wrist the whole time, gently yet dominantly pulling him away bit by bit.

Flora asked again, “Do you two have plans later?”

The warm pad of a thumb rubbed idly against the skin of his wrist.

Shen Yu lowered his gaze, glanced at Pei Ji, and answered, “Psychological activity class.”

Flora’s expression shifted as unpleasant memories resurfaced. She frowned. “I just finished that this morning. This session was super boring. They make you do a super long psych questionnaire at the start. I nearly puked from it.”

“Shen Yu, good luck.”

The little interlude ended quickly. As Flora had said, the psychological counseling session was incredibly dull.

It started with everyone sitting in a circle on the lawn for plant sound therapy. A specialized prosthetic musician, equipped with a core sound therapy system, sat cross-legged on the grass with eyes half-closed in serenity, slowly moving a rain stick in hand.

Pleasant rain sounds emerged from the instrument—drizzling patters, like streams flowing.

Dead cactus stems were hollowed out, thorns pushed into the cavity, filled with fine sand, seeds, pebbles, and other small particles, then sealed at both ends with more cactus.

Slowly tilting the rain stick back and forth made the particles roll, mimicking natural rainfall. Even the little stones inside produced raindrop sounds.

Shen Yu had zero appreciation for it and found it utterly boring.

Pei Ji sat leaning against him, listening intently.

Shen Yu sat cross-legged on the grass, his soft black hair falling over his brows, dark lashes drooping thickly. His profile looked cool and focused, as if he were seriously engaged.

But Pei Ji, right beside him, naturally noticed his fidgety impatience.

Pei Ji pursed his lips, unable to suppress a smile. His gaze stayed fixed on Shen Yu the whole time, not catching a single note of the music.

After the sound therapy came aromatherapy. Plant essential oils diffused through an expander filled the air with rich lavender scent. Closing one’s eyes felt like lying in a lavender barn.

Pei Ji wrinkled his brow.

Shen Yu glanced at him. “What’s wrong?”

Pei Ji: “Smells bad.”

Shen Yu previously couldn’t release pheromones, so he’d never smelled anyone else’s. After differentiating into an omega, in the university environment where everyone wore gland patches, he wasn’t sensitive to scents.

But this was used for aromatherapy—it couldn’t really be called bad-smelling.

Shen Yu asked, “What scent do you like then?”

Your pheromones smell great.

The thought popped into Pei Ji’s mind instinctively. A moment later, he realized he’d said it aloud.

After the aromatherapy ended, the group was quickly ushered into a lecture hall for a specialized psychology seminar. Shen Yu sat in the back row, legs stretched out, dozing off.

Once the lecture finished, it was time for the freshmen psych test. The study companions could leave first.

Test papers were handed out promptly. Shen Yu stared at the dense numbers and instantly got a massive headache. Now he understood why Flora had wished him luck.

Shen Yu lowered his eyelids, picked up his pen, and looked at the questions.

He twirled the black pen between his long, distinct fingers once, then filled everything with A’s.

Shen Yu stood, threaded through the lecture hall, handed in his paper, and left.

Pei Ji waited outside in the corridor.

Seeing Shen Yu emerge, Pei Ji raised a brow slightly. “That fast?”

Shen Yu replied listlessly, “All A’s.”

Ink stained his hands, so Shen Yu went to the sink nearby to wash. Cool water poured out.

His long, defined fingers instantly took on a clean sheen of water, fingertips flushed faintly pink from the rush, like flower buds on branches soaking in ice water.

Pei Ji’s narrow eyes narrowed further. He licked his dry lips, throat itching.

He wanted to lick.

Grab his wrist by force, then lick from fingertip to base.

A humming sound rang out as Shen Yu dried his hands.

He pulled back his hand, then suddenly remembered something. He brought his fingers to his nose and caught a faint scent.

Without actively releasing pheromones, only getting very close to the skin could one detect the subtle pheromone aroma.

Pei Ji stood behind Shen Yu, staring unblinkingly.

At that moment, Shen Yu turned around, extended his hand toward him, and asked lazily, “Pei Ji, want a sniff?”

Shen Yu’s voice was flat, but every word landed like water droplets sizzling in hot oil, teasing the nerves.

Pei Ji’s throat bobbed. He said, “Do you have plans tonight?”

Shen Yu thought for a moment before answering, “I can make none because of you.”

Pei Ji felt like he was truly going insane from the teasing. He sensed himself being swallowed by an emotional vortex—an unprecedented experience.

Pei Ji closed his eyes, then opened them again. His gaze shifted from Shen Yu’s fingers to his face, eyes dark and voice husky. “I have some private stash good liquor at home.”

Shen Yu: “So?”

Pei Ji’s lips curved, his eyes darkening further.

“You. My place. Drinking.”