The icy water trickled slowly through Qiu Sui’s fingers, washing away the last traces of grogginess from his mind. He blinked, his attention involuntarily drawn to the tall figure in his peripheral vision.
When he sensed a faint touch on his shoulder, Qiu Sui’s heart twitched sensitively. He froze for a few seconds before turning his face slightly to look beside him.
Shen Zhixiao’s fingers brushed lightly over his shoulder, a few strands of dark hair falling across his brow as he lowered his head. With a natural expression, he looked at Qiu Sui and explained warmly, “There’s a bit of dirt here.”
Qiu Sui’s hand-washing motions grew awkward involuntarily. He let out a subconscious “oh” without checking his shoulder and twisted his head back to the front, saying dryly, “Thanks.”
Amid the sound of running water and the subtle touches from the person beside him, he regretted agreeing that morning to have breakfast together. The atmosphere whenever they were alone was always too strange.
Hurry up and show up, Xiao Mu and Wen Heng, Qiu Sui thought uncomfortably to himself, silently urging them to break this unnatural quiet.
But after waiting for what felt like forever—his hands nearly turning cool from the water—they still hadn’t appeared. He could only withdraw his hands and shake off the droplets lightly.
The person beside him thoughtfully handed over a tissue, smiling faintly as he remarked, “Seems like you washed for a bit long.” Baby.
Shen Zhixiao swallowed the last word in his throat. His gaze traced the soft, pale curve of the other’s cheek, his sharp fangs itching faintly in his mouth.
Hearing this, Qiu Sui felt an illusion that his inner thoughts had been exposed. Unsure how to respond, his motions as he wiped his hands grew clumsy.
Fortunately, Xiao Mu returned in time, sparing him from sinking further into the awkwardness of being alone with Shen Zhixiao.
Xiao Mu leaned against Qiu Sui’s other shoulder. Seeing that the other Alpha hadn’t returned yet, he held up his phone and checked the time worriedly, speaking softly to him, “It’s getting a bit late now. I wonder if the teacher will take roll call early. Should we head out first?”
Qiu Sui tilted his head to glance at Xiao Mu’s phone screen. It was about the same as their usual timing after breakfast to reach the Science Building—only a few minutes later. But if the teacher called roll early, there really was a risk of arriving just on time… Plus, he kind of wanted to separate from Shen Zhixiao and Wen Heng quickly.
But just as the thought surfaced, it was quashed by Wen Heng’s belated arrival, carrying a bottle of purified water.
Xiao Mu pursed his lips in annoyance. Even though they couldn’t chat or get close while biking to the Science Building, he still felt irritated by these two Alphas hanging around.
Finally, they parted ways in the lobby. Xiao Mu followed Qiu Sui to the other elevator, his mood gradually improving.
He carefully observed Qiu Sui, wanting to voice the invitation he’d been holding back all morning. His fingers tentatively hooked in the air until, as Qiu Sui stopped at the elevator entrance, he grabbed the hem of the other’s shirt.
Qiu Sui felt a tug at his waist and reflexively turned back, intending to push the hand away. But seeing Xiao Mu clutching his clothes and smiling shyly at him, he halted his motion and endured the discomfort to ask, “What’s up?”
Xiao Mu seemed hesitant, still clutching the fabric without letting go. His round eyes gazed at Qiu Sui expectantly, a bit shyly asking, “Are you free next Tuesday evening?”
Qiu Sui’s usual free time was spent either seeking out Qiu Shun and Qiao Keren or holing up alone in the dorm. Visits to Qiu Shun and Qiao Keren were mostly spontaneous, so next Tuesday evening was free. But out of caution, he didn’t answer directly and instead asked caringly, “What’s the matter?”
Xiao Mu didn’t get the response he wanted, and his grip on Qiu Sui’s clothes tightened for an instant. But he didn’t lose heart and pressed on with the invitation. “Next Tuesday is my birthday. I want you to spend it with me.”
Without giving Qiu Sui time to hesitate, he gazed at him, tugging lightly on the fabric with a pleading tone as he added, “You’re my best friend at this school…”
Xiao Mu actually had a somewhat cute look—round eyes, round face, not particularly high nose bridge. Sometimes his tone even resembled Qiao Keren’s.
Qiu Sui clearly wasn’t great at handling this. Moreover, Xiao Mu was the classmate he was closest to in this class. They often went to the cafeteria together after class, and even if invitations were turned down, Xiao Mu wouldn’t mind, cheerfully walking and chatting beside him the next day.
A birthday was different from a casual meal, though. Qiu Sui couldn’t outright refuse and hesitated as he asked who else had been invited.
Xiao Mu knew this meant there was hope. He instantly brightened, finally releasing the wrinkled fabric, and said cheerfully, “I only invited you.”
Unable to hold back, he hugged Qiu Sui’s arm, his tone thrilled. “After class at six, we’ll go off-campus for a meal and cake, then stay at a hotel overnight. There’s no early class the next day anyway, so we can head back to school later…”
Qiu Sui’s right arm was held, half his body stiffening. He slowly withdrew his hand and said awkwardly, “Staying out overnight?”
Xiao Mu’s happy expression faltered at that, turning a bit anxious. “No good? I just thought it’d be too late after eating, and I didn’t want you rushing back to school late at night like with your friends.”
It took Qiu Sui a moment to realize who Xiao Mu meant by “friends”—Shen Zhixiao.
He subconsciously pursed his lips, unsure how to correct Xiao Mu’s misconception about his relationship with Shen Zhixiao.
Excluding Qiu Shun and Qiao Keren, Shen Zhixiao and Xiao Mu were the people he interacted with most at school. But while Xiao Mu fell into the “ordinary friend” category, Shen Zhixiao did not.
Defining his relationship with the other was tricky, but Qiu Sui barely managed to find a fitting word.
Probably just familiar fellow students.
But telling Xiao Mu that outright, he definitely wouldn’t believe it. Qiu Sui himself felt their relationship couldn’t be summed up so simply.
Yet beyond that, he couldn’t find another suitable term.
Qiu Sui’s thoughts wandered inappropriately.
In the end, he agreed to Xiao Mu’s plan. After all, the guy was the birthday star, and trekking back from downtown late at night really was a hassle.
After Qiu Sui agreed to spend his birthday with him, Xiao Mu’s mood soared. After class, he instinctively reached for Qiu Sui’s arm but was keenly noticed and pulled away.
Seeing him turn back, Xiao Mu withdrew his hand and smiled sheepishly. “Going for food? Let’s go together.”
Qiu Sui shook his phone at him. “Next time. I need to go find my brother and them.”
Thinking of how those two Alphas had suddenly joined his pre-arranged breakfast with Qiu Sui that morning, Xiao Mu felt a twitch of desire to join Qiu Sui’s gathering too.
He’d known Qiu Sui for so long but hadn’t formally interacted with Qiu Sui’s two closer companions.
He’d at least bumped into Qiao Keren at the Science Building occasionally, exchanged greetings, even pulled him into a WeChat group voice chat during cards and added him as a friend. But Qiu Sui’s brother? Xiao Mu hadn’t even spoken to him.
When he asked Qiu Sui if he could join, though, he was politely turned down.
“We can eat together next time when there’s a chance,” Qiu Sui said courteously.
Xiao Mu knew this meant he still wasn’t in the inner circle. He felt a bit downcast, but thinking of that S-Rank Alpha whose relationship with Qiu Sui was even more distant than his own, he felt a sense of superiority.
After spending the birthday together, maybe his bond with Qiu Sui wouldn’t stay at this level.
Xiao Mu stood under the sunshade, smiling as he bid Qiu Sui farewell.
By the time Qiu Sui reached the cafeteria, Qiao Keren and Qiu Shun had already ordered his lunch for him. It wasn’t peak mealtime, so the place wasn’t crowded.
He’d just sat down in the booth when Qiao Keren beside him suddenly burst out excitedly.
One hand yanked Qiu Sui’s shoulder while the other shoved his phone screen at them, his tone thrilled. “I knew our Shun-er would nail it!”
Qiu Sui followed his motion to look at the screen. It was the interview results announcement in the Computer Association recruitment group.
There weren’t many names on the list, but he spotted Qiu Shun’s right away and happily pointed it out to the calm guy across from them.
Qiu Shun ate with unflappable composure, as if everything was expected.
Qiao Keren had already pocketed his phone. Qiu Sui realized he hadn’t seen Shen Zhixiao’s name on the list and pulled out his own phone to check the recruitment group again.
It really wasn’t there.
Rejected?
Qiu Sui found it hard to believe. Setting aside Shen Zhixiao’s skills, shouldn’t there be some protagonist’s halo at play?
He was stunned for several seconds before pondering that maybe this was part of the plot too. After all, he couldn’t recall the exact details—just the general arc.
Beside him, Qiao Keren ate while sharing recent gossip, his tone vibrant. “A month and a half into the semester, three new couples have popped up in my class. Three whole pairs.”
Qiao Keren held up three fingers, baffled. “I have no idea when they even got together. They didn’t know each other at the start, and now boom, they’re dating?”
The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded, propping his face as he said, “Last week my Heat Period was killing me. I wanna date someone too.”
Qiao Keren’s words snapped Qiu Sui back to attention. Thinking of his own plan to find a partner, he nodded along. Under Qiao Keren’s puzzled gaze, he dropped a bombshell.
“I want to find a partner too.”
Qiu Shun’s chopsticks paused mid-bite as he ate calmly. He looked over at his brother.
Facing his brother’s gaze, Qiu Sui grew a bit tense, his words stumbling as he confessed, “J-just… just find a Beta like me.”
“A Beta?”
Qiao Keren and Qiu Shun said in unison.
Qiao Keren was purely exclamatory, while Qiu Shun frowned in surprise.
Qiu Sui didn’t catch his brother’s expression but explained earnestly anyway. “I’m a Beta, so it’d be more suitable to date another Beta.”
Qiao Keren got what he meant but reminded him, “That’s true in theory, but you don’t even know if you like Omegas or Betas…”
“Or Alphas,” Qiu Shun added rigorously.
Qiao Keren nodded quickly in agreement. “Yeah, though I say every day I wanna date an Alpha, I don’t actually know what secondary gender the person I end up liking will be. Unless you already like someone now, how can you be sure…”
He trailed off, nearly raising a finger in sudden realization, staring at Qiu Sui in shock. “Xiao Mu? You like him?”
Qiu Sui was caught off guard by Qiao Keren’s leap in logic. Before he could respond, the other rattled on at machine-gun speed. “No wonder you brought him to team up with me for cards! You guys are always going to class and meals together!”
Mentioning cards jogged Qiu Shun’s memory of the Beta Qiao Keren mentioned. Observing Qiu Sui’s expression, he confirmed, “Is that so?”
Bringing Xiao Mu for cards was because he wanted to play; sharing classes was just convenient; meals were usually on the way when free. He hadn’t expected it to connect like that. Of course, the misdirection stemmed from his own words about wanting a Beta partner.
Truth was, just as Qiao Keren said, Qiu Sui didn’t know if he liked Betas or Omegas. Ideal types were just words—changeable on a whim.
He didn’t know what liking someone felt like, didn’t understand how couples naturally fell for each other, didn’t grasp when that heart-flutter moment hit and led to reasonable closeness.
Qiu Sui had once seen online that an unbidden racing heartbeat was the subconscious, most direct and intense physiological reaction when encountering someone who sparked feelings. But aside from Shen Zhixiao, he hadn’t had that with anyone—and even with Shen Zhixiao, there was a reason for it…
Some people might never find someone they like their whole lives, Qiu Sui thought. But they can develop feelings over time with a suitable person, build a family, and live happily ever after.
That’s probably me.
After all, that’s the most normal fate for ordinary Betas like us.
