Qiu Sui froze the instant he clearly saw the class schedule.
His mind felt like it had been struck by a missile, exploding in a boom, and he nearly missed Shen Zhixiao’s voice rising at the end. Stunned and bewildered, he locked eyes with Shen Zhixiao’s gaze, which held a hidden spark of delight. For that moment, he had no idea how to react.
It wasn’t until two seconds had passed that Qiu Sui finally moved, rolling his throat knot as he realized the other had misunderstood. A flush of embarrassment crept across his face.
He had gotten Shen Zhixiao’s schedule specifically from the Campus Wall to avoid him. At first, for convenience in comparing, he’d saved screenshots of both schedules in the same photo album folder. When he’d sent the schedule to Shen Zhixiao just now, he hadn’t thought of it right away and had grabbed the most recent one in the list.
For Qiu Sui, this was nothing short of top-tier social death. Even more despairing was that Shen Zhixiao seemed to have completely misunderstood!
Under the Alpha’s gaze full of ambiguous expectation, Qiu Sui pressed his lips together in wordless embarrassment, letting out a mental howl of collapse.
No way could he tell Shen Zhixiao that he’d gone to the Campus Wall specifically to get this schedule to avoid him!
That would be way too awkward!
Qiu Sui was nearly going mad inside, but on the surface, he looked flustered and dazed, as if some secret had been uncovered—inviting even more misinterpretation.
The Alpha staring at him couldn’t suppress his wild joy, his usual steady expression cracking as his lips curved high.
Not getting a response from Qiu Sui, he couldn’t hold back and spoke again with delight, probing carefully: “Actually… you’ve been paying attention to me too, right?”
Qiu Sui, who had been racking his brain for an excuse, twitched his eyelid at the words and stared blankly at Shen Zhixiao’s faintly flushed face, nearly blurting out a confused “Huh?”
Shen Zhixiao watched the shock flickering in Qiu Sui’s eyes, unable to control his surging delight. A faint flush colored his sharp, handsome features, giving them an unusual softness.
Qiu Sui eyed the weird flush on Shen Zhixiao’s cheeks, gripping his phone tightly in suspicion. He wanted to hurry up and explain something to fix it, but Shen Zhixiao was lost in his emotions, joy radiating as he continued murmuring to himself.
“I’m really… a bit too surprised, Qiu Sui… I mean, happily surprised… I never imagined you’d pay attention to me… since you’ve been rejecting me all this time…”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help inching two steps closer to Qiu Sui. His tall, upright figure suddenly seemed awkward and fidgety, his voice shrinking unconsciously, like he was shy: “…When did you save my schedule…?”
Qiu Sui choked up for several seconds, staring in astonishment at Shen Zhixiao’s unnatural complexion. It dawned on him belatedly that the other was… blushing?
He blinked his eyes in novel helplessness under that burning gaze, his lips twitching uncomfortably. Finally, he forced out his first sound with difficulty.
“Uh… I… just recently…”
His gaze drifted as he spoke, shifting from Shen Zhixiao’s face to the Pheromone Suppression Ring on his neck. He cleared his throat unnaturally, adding by way of explanation: “I was thinking I still owe you a meal off-campus, so I saved your schedule to check when you’re free this week to eat…”
As he said it, he watched the Alpha’s joyful expectation gradually solidify. Qiu Sui’s heart grew uneasy too. He licked his lips and, on a strange impulse, added: “…and to keep tabs on you while I was at it.”
At that, Shen Zhixiao’s expression softened into a smile, though not as brightly thrilled as before—like he knew it was just Qiu Sui consoling him. It left Qiu Sui feeling a bit sour.
“I see…” Shen Zhixiao awkwardly exited the screen, dropping his gaze with a faint, lonely smile: “My bad for misunderstanding…”
Qiu Sui tightened his grip on his phone, lips pressing thin as he sent over his own schedule.
He walked slowly beside the Alpha, staring ahead at the road. The atmosphere no longer felt as cheerful as before, leaving him at a loss as he fiddled with his phone case. After a long moment, he tugged his lips and spoke up proactively: “You don’t have class Thursday night. Wanna go out for dinner with me?”
After saying it, Qiu Sui tensed rigidly, his gaze fixed stiffly ahead, peripheral vision sensing the Alpha’s figure. His heart churned with anxiety.
When Shen Zhixiao’s voice came, his heartbeat quickened involuntarily.
But the Alpha beside him only softly went, “Hm?” like he hadn’t heard.
Qiu Sui licked his lips casually and repeated in a small voice: “I remember you have no class Thursday night. Wanna go off-campus for dinner…?”
This time, Shen Zhixiao heard, letting out a soft low chuckle—like he’d shaken off the earlier disappointment. His voice warmed back to its pleasant mildness as he agreed.
Shen Zhixiao didn’t reconfirm accompanying him to and from classes, and Qiu Sui didn’t remind him that he still hadn’t agreed or not. But they tacitly set a time to head out together for the next morning’s 8 AM class.
Their schedules didn’t fully overlap, but when Qiu Sui had class and Shen Zhixiao didn’t, the Alpha still went with him anyway. Qiu Sui figured it wasn’t necessary, but since Shen Zhixiao wanted to, he let him.
As long as Shen Zhixiao didn’t follow him inside to audit the class. He was just too conspicuous—drawing eyes whenever he appeared nearby. If he sat in on a lecture, Qiu Sui probably wouldn’t dare lift his head the whole time.
This made Qiu Sui somewhat agree with Shen Zhixiao’s point: that creepy Alpha might back off just seeing him around. Even Qiu Sui got social anxiety kicking in and wanted to hide whenever they reached the academic buildings.
Especially when Shen Zhixiao came to wait for him after class, standing with the other Alphas and Betas picking up their dates at the door—super eye-catching.
Qiu Sui frantically spammed emojis at him on WeChat, trying to get him to wait in the lobby lounge instead. But the guy wasn’t checking his phone, just standing in the hallway gazing straight at him through the window.
Qiu Sui pointed at his phone to signal, but Shen Zhixiao only narrowed his eyes in confusion—a total communication fail.
Under those subtle stares, Qiu Sui’s face burned as he propped it up, suddenly recalling seeing Shen Zhixiao in glasses at the hotel last time. It hit him belatedly with annoyance.
Is he nearsighted or something?
Class finally ended. Qiu Sui grabbed his textbook and hustled toward the back door, but tons of people were pouring out, crowding the doorway.
He slowed a bit to let those ahead go first. Someone behind him, sensing the slowdown, tsked impatiently. Qiu Sui glanced coolly over his shoulder toward the sound.
It was a familiar face.
One of Xiao Mu’s Beta roommates from their escape room outing.
The guy used to greet him enthusiastically every time before, but now he stood with arms crossed, glaring irritably. He scoffed lightly, and before Qiu Sui could react, he dragged the head-down Xiao Mu toward the front door.
Ever since the clash with Xiao Mu last week, their two cooperating groups had swapped with teacher approval. Xiao Mu’s friends had done a total 180, faces sour whenever they ran into him. Qiu Sui had grown indifferent and repulsed by it all.
He’d just stepped out of the classroom when Shen Zhixiao approached, holding a fruit tea from South 2 Canteen. He asked, puzzled, what Qiu Sui had been gesturing at him from inside.
Qiu Sui wanted to punch him. If you’re wondering, why not open WeChat and ask? You could read my messages too!
But he chugged a big gulp of passionfruit tea, his irritation deflating by half. In the end, he only elbowed Shen Zhixiao’s arm and grumbled: “I was reminding you to check your messages the whole time.”
Shen Zhixiao finally pulled out his phone apologetically, looking all pitiful and tense.
Qiu Sui instantly had nothing to say, pausing awkwardly before softening his tone unpracticedly: “It’s not a big deal… Next time you come get me, wait in the lobby lounge.”
Shen Zhixiao finished reading the messages but didn’t agree, only saying warmly: “This is safer.”
Qiu Sui wanted to say it wasn’t necessary—it was already Wednesday, so that creepy Alpha’s Susceptible Period should be over by now. But no new texts had come, like the guy had gone completely quiet. It made him wonder if he’d really been scared off by the beating and had just messaged to spook him.
Qiu Sui still didn’t think that likely, but with the building’s floors between them and crowds after class, the guy couldn’t do much anyway.
He felt bad that Shen Zhixiao was standing tired at the classroom door, and the hallway was drafty too—the indoor lounge downstairs had seats and tables, way comfier.
But before he could speak, the Alpha beside him curved his eyes slightly, leaning down close. His breath brushed Qiu Sui’s ear lightly as he murmured: “Plus, this way you see me the second you come out…”
It wasn’t wrong, but it sounded weird to Qiu Sui. He bit down hard on the straw, the passionfruit seeds crunching crisply. After a long moment, he mumbled lowly and unclearly: “Whatever…”
They descended the crowded stairs shoulder-to-shoulder, bodies pressed tight.
Qiu Sui leaned against the handrail, a hand hovering loosely behind his back without touching. He scrolled Dianping, asking Shen Zhixiao what he wanted for dinner tomorrow night.
Shen Zhixiao said anything was fine, so Qiu Sui dithered—he really wasn’t familiar with Sea City.
Seeing that, Shen Zhixiao smiled and recommended a few spots.
It was his treat for Shen Zhixiao, but Qiu Sui felt like their roles had swapped. He turned back and made him pick one.
Shen Zhixiao lagged half a step behind on the stairs but stayed close to Qiu Sui’s body. Like he hadn’t heard, he leaned his head near Qiu Sui’s, humming questioningly in a low voice.
The deep hum tickled Qiu Sui’s left ear. His heart skipped, steps feeling unsteady. He raised his volume to repeat himself.
Shen Zhixiao chuckled lowly and said anything again.
Qiu Sui suspected he was doing it on purpose, annoyance flaring. He elbowed back lightly, glaring as he ordered: “Keep that up and I’ll hit you. Pick one.”
Feeling the light pressure on his abs, Shen Zhixiao’s muscles tensed subtly. He licked his lips imperceptibly and finally chose a Cantonese restaurant.
