The cold moon hung in the sky as flying moths charged recklessly toward the streetlamp, its light stretching the teenager’s shadow obliquely long.
“I’m not that bored.” He Siheng sat down beside Tan Jing, his long legs lazily propped against the ground as he reached out to him. “Give me one.”
Tan Jing flicked the ash from his cigarette with a bent finger, his gaze falling on He Siheng’s slender, elegant fingers. “You smoke?”
He Siheng snorted disdainfully. “Is it that hard?”
Tan Jing raised an eyebrow slightly and pulled the cigarette pack from his pocket, handing it over.
He Siheng took out a cigarette and clamped it between his lips, then lifted his chin toward Tan Jing. “Light.”
He thought Tan Jing would just place the lighter in his hand like he would a cigarette, but after he spoke, Tan Jing leaned in with the lighter instead.
In that moment, He Siheng suddenly felt the innate oppressive presence of an Alpha.
As Tan Jing bent forward, he stiffened for an instant—not something he could control, but an instinct carved into his Omega genes.
Click.
The bright yellow flame danced between them, its faint light illuminating their lean faces.
The Alpha’s scent, mingled with the faint mint of the cigarette, invaded his nostrils.
The cigarette tip glowed crimson, and He Siheng averted his gaze. He leaned back with the cigarette in his mouth, pinched the filter between long fingers, and took a clumsy drag without any technique.
Unsurprisingly, he choked.
“Cough cough cough…”
He Siheng coughed until his face turned red, as if the capillaries in his lungs had burst. “Which idiot said smoking relieves stress? Cough cough cough…”
He didn’t know if it relieved stress, but his lungs felt like they were about to cough themselves out.
Tan Jing watched him cough from his neck to his face turning red and laughed without surprise.
Once the coughing fit finally passed, He Siheng bent down and ground the cigarette butt into the ground with utter disgust. “What’s so good about this crap anyway.”
Tan Jing ground out his own half-smoked cigarette and echoed flatly, “Yeah, not much good about it.”
The faint mint scent dissipated into the air, leaving only a wordless silence.
The conversation seemed to end abruptly, and neither spoke again. The sound of wind rustling leaves grew clear.
At this hour, people walking dogs in the park had mostly gone home. Occasionally, someone passed by with a dog on a leash.
The owner wanted to head home early, while the Husky wanted to play longer—they tugged at opposite ends of the leash like a tug-of-war.
This park was practically a dog park, where residents from nearby neighborhoods came to walk their pets. He Siheng and Tan Jing used to bring Big King here without fail when they took it out for walks.
Back then, Big King still had plenty of energy. To get out and play sooner, it pulled out all the stops to sweet-talk them. One second it was dead asleep, the next it perked up its ears at the words “let’s go play.”
Tonight was their last time bringing Big King here.
He Siheng patted the wooden box beside him. “This is where Big King met its little girlfriend.”
Tan Jing hummed in acknowledgment. “And where it got dumped.”
Big King, neutered early on, had a brief romance with a little Bichon after the procedure. Maybe because it was already fixed, Big King lacked that male dog swagger. Just three days in, the Bichon fell for another Husky instead.
He Siheng still felt indignant on Big King’s behalf. “No idea what that Husky had going for it. Our Big King was way handsomer.”
Tan Jing chuckled. “That’s parental bias talking.”
He Siheng was dissatisfied. “You seriously don’t think Big King was handsome?”
“Only word that comes to mind is ‘dopey.'”
“…”
He Siheng wanted to argue but inexplicably burst out laughing. “Yeah, it was pretty dopey.”
Tan Jing let out a light sigh. “Hope this dopey mutt doesn’t get bullied by other dogs over there.”
“No way,” He Siheng said confidently on this point alone. “It just looks dopey—actually pretty clever. It even helped me steal… “
He cut himself off mid-sentence.
Tan Jing turned his head to look at him, smiling faintly. “Steal what?”
He Siheng denied it stubbornly. “…Nothing.”
No way was he admitting he’d sicced Big King on Tan Jing’s finished homework so he couldn’t turn it in.
“It stole my stuff, right?” Tan Jing’s tone was eerie. “No wonder it went missing so many times.”
He Siheng defended himself at once. “So many times? I only sent Big King after your homework twice. Three times max!”
Tan Jing huffed a laugh. “So it was just homework.”
He Siheng caught on. “Damn, you tricked me?”
Tan Jing tilted his head. “Did I?”
Shameless people really were invincible.
He Siheng ground his teeth, stewing in frustration for a bit before spotting the slip in Tan Jing’s words. “What do you mean ‘just homework’? Did you have Big King steal my stuff too? And not just homework?”
Tan Jing didn’t deny it, calmly humming in agreement.
He Siheng asked hurriedly, “What’d you have it steal from me?”
Tan Jing seemed to recall something, a tiny curve hooking his lips. He looked utterly relaxed, not like someone under interrogation. “You don’t wanna know.”
“Tell me! Leniency for confession!”
“How lenient exactly?”
…He was haggling first?
He Siheng’s curiosity grew. “You’re being so evasive—what the hell did you steal…”
“Underwear.”
“…”
For the first second, He Siheng thought he’d misheard.
Second second, he asked uncertainly, “What’d you say?”
Tan Jing: “Your underwear.”
“…”
Stunned, He Siheng jumped three feet off the bench. “Damn! You pervert!!!”
Tan Jing lifted his gaze to him, his dark eyes still serene in the night. “Compared to your telescope, we’re even.”
He Siheng’s ears burned hotter. “I told you I wasn’t peeping on you naked!”
Tan Jing’s lips curved faintly. “Process doesn’t matter—result’s the same.”
Just like when he’d sent Big King to steal the love letter He Siheng wrote to Tan Wan, but the dopey dog came back with a pair of underwear instead. No matter the original intent, the end result still screamed pervert.
Half-believing, He Siheng sat back down at the far end of the bench, keeping maximum distance. His expression was weird as he asked, “You really stole it? Why steal that crap?”
Tan Jing shrugged indifferently. “Ask the perp dog.”
“…” He Siheng was speechless. “It’s gone—how do I ask it?”
Even if it were still here, the dog couldn’t talk human anyway.
Tan Jing said dead seriously, “Have it visit you in a dream tonight.”
“Whatever,” He Siheng decided not to dwell. “First night, let it find you instead.”
Tan Jing’s eyebrow arched. “Scared of a doggy ghost?”
“…Who said I’m scared?” He Siheng explained indignantly. “I just think you miss it more.”
He realized what he’d said and awkwardly turned away, muttering under his breath. “Tch, good intentions wasted—shouldn’t have—”
“Sorry,” Tan Jing said suddenly. “I’m an ungrateful jerk.”
His abrupt apology stunned He Siheng.
He… apologized just like that?
He Siheng scratched his brow, conflicted for a few seconds before saying awkwardly, “Fine, I guess I forgive you.”
“That easy?”
“For your pathetic sake today.” He Siheng stressed.
Then he heard Tan Jing ask, “If I apologize again, will you forgive that too?”
This guy was pushing his luck?
He Siheng marveled again at the guy’s thick skin while curiosity nagged at him. “What other shady crap did you pull behind my back?”
Tan Jing paused, silent for a long moment before speaking. “Back then, I never told you Tan Wan was dating someone. Sorry.”
He Siheng froze and turned back to look at him.
The boy lowered his eyes, his distinctly separated lashes drooping straight down. His eye sockets were deep-set, pupils dark and intense—every stroke of his brows and eyes boldly inked.
The streetlamp’s light cast a gray shadow under his long lashes. “The reason I didn’t tell you wasn’t to laugh at you.”
Tan Jing turned his head, meeting his clear amber eyes. “I just… didn’t want you to be sad.”
An explanation finally voiced after four years.
An apology received after four years.
He Siheng didn’t feel the relief or vindication he’d imagined. Instead, an unexpected mood took over, leaving him slow to react.
Many beats later, he came back to himself and parted his lips. “Oh…”
A meaningless monosyllable, hardly a response.
“What does ‘oh’ mean?” Tan Jing wasn’t satisfied with the vagueness. “Forgiven or not?”
He Siheng didn’t even know himself.
Forgive? One apology and done—made him seem too easy.
Not forgive? He’d apologized—what was he, heartless?
He Siheng ruffled his hair. “Lemme think about it.”
“Don’t forget,” Tan Jing stared unblinking, his voice softening. “I’m super pathetic today.”
“…”
