“Such dark circles under your eyes—you didn’t sleep well last night?” Shu Qiu yawned gracefully and, upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, noticed what he was holding. “Is that… bedding in your arms?”
She paused, then immediately broke into the knowing smile of an adult. Her tone turned ambiguous as she drawled, “Oh~ Drawing maps, huh?”
Back when he was little, “drawing maps” meant wetting the bed. But as an adult, the phrase carried far more… loaded implications.
He Siheng’s face flushed crimson. Unable to argue, he simply clutched the sheets tighter and bolted back to his room without a backward glance.
From behind him, Shu Qiu was still chuckling. “What’s there to be shy about? This is a good thing—it means you’ve grown up.”
He Siheng had thin skin, and after that morning fiasco, he skipped breakfast at home altogether. He spent half the morning fumbling with the sheets and bedding in his room, but he overestimated his housekeeping skills. In the end, he was drenched in sweat and had only made a bigger mess of the bed.
His young master’s temper flared up, and He Siheng simply gave up. He left the mess behind and stormed out of the house.
The internet cafes weren’t open yet at this hour, so He Siheng wandered into a nearby breakfast shop to fill his stomach. With nothing better to do, he aimlessly strolled from the streets into the park.
Seeing people walking their dogs in the park jogged his memory—he had to pick up the little golden retriever puppy today.
He definitely couldn’t bring it straight home. If Boss He saw it, he’d insist on keeping it. So from the start, He Siheng planned to dump the puppy—along with all its supplies—on Tan Jing in one go.
Which meant he had to see Tan Jing again today.
And he’d had that dream last night.
Just thinking about it gave He Siheng goosebumps. He pulled out his phone and searched over and over:
Is it normal to like girls but dream about a guy?
Under what circumstances would you dream about doing… with a man?
He typed out the word “doing” but deleted it again. It was just a touch—nothing more. It didn’t count as “doing.”
He Siheng changed the description to “intimate contact” and scanned the search results. Finally, he zeroed in on one: Pheromones at work.
It turned out this had nothing to do with emotions. It was just the instinctive attraction between Alpha and Omega pheromones. A Temporary Mark could influence an Omega’s perception of affection toward the Alpha. Until the mark fully faded, the Omega’s body would instinctively crave dependence on that Alpha.
He Siheng touched the back of his neck. A week had passed, and the tooth marks from that dog of an Alpha had vanished. But his body could still sense the lingering traces of the Alpha’s pheromones. So the dream last night was just the pheromones messing with him? Perfectly understandable?
Enlightenment dawned.
He Siheng let out a huge sigh of relief. Finally in the mood, he headed to the supermarket, bought all the pet supplies, and arranged for delivery straight to Tan Jing’s house at the appointed time. Then he went to Zhang Xunyue’s cousin’s place to pick up the little golden retriever and take it “home.”
He’d originally planned to have Tan Jing come out to collect the puppy, but considering his plastered leg, He Siheng messaged him first: Are your parents home?
Tan Jing replied quickly: Just me.
Only then did He Siheng relax and lead the puppy up to the front door.
He rang the doorbell, and not long after, the door swung open from the inside.
Tan Jing was dressed casually at home today, in a loose white shirt.
Meeting his eyes, all of He Siheng’s mental preparation from before evaporated in an instant. He averted his gaze and cleared his throat twice. “Uh, so…”
“Woof!”
Before his awkward words could finish, the little golden retriever at his feet let out a yip, drawing the attention of the guy at the door.
Tan Jing looked down and spotted the fluffy little ball at He Siheng’s feet. “Where’d this little pup come from?”
He Siheng bent down and scooped up the golden retriever, whose tail was wagging like a propeller. “I bought it from Zhang Xunyue’s cousin. Doesn’t it look just like Big King when he was little?”
So that’s why he’d gone to Zhang Xunyue. Tan Jing hummed in acknowledgment and patted the puppy’s head. “Yeah, it does look pretty similar.”
Validated by his approval, He Siheng felt an inexplicable surge of pride and opened up. “So I named it Great Handsome—just as majestic as Big King. But this little guy’s way more mischievous than Big King was as a pup. It’ll probably cause chaos for the first few days in a new home. You’ll have to put in some effort.”
Catching the implication, Tan Jing paused slightly. “You’re giving it to me?”
“Who else?” He Siheng assumed he wasn’t happy about it. “I can’t even keep a cactus alive. You want Great Handsome to go to doggy heaven after a few days with me? If you don’t want it, I’ll just…”
His rambling cut off abruptly due to the movement from the guy in front of him.
Tan Jing reached out and ruffled his fluffy hair. “Thanks.”
The gentle pressure was just like when he’d petted the puppy’s head.
He Siheng froze for a moment, processing it for a few seconds before awkwardly swatting his hand away. “A thanks is fine—why mess with my head? You ruined my hair!”
Tan Jing chuckled and leaned down toward him. “Want me to fix it for you?”
“I’m not as childish as you,” He Siheng huffed in disdain. “Move aside—Great Handsome and I are coming in to play.”
With that, he hugged the puppy tighter and squeezed past Tan Jing into the house. But after just a few steps, the little golden retriever suddenly got excited and tried to leap from his arms.
Terrified it would hurt itself, He Siheng clumsily tried to hold it steady. But the wriggling pup kicked against his chest. The puppy landed safely on the ground, while He Siheng lost his balance and staggered backward.
Seeing he was about to fall, Tan Jing hurried over in two strides despite his cast and caught him with an outstretched arm.
“You okay?”
“N-No problem.”
Feeling the long, strong arm wrapped around his waist and locking eyes with those deep, ink-black ones up close, He Siheng’s heart skipped inexplicably. His hands and feet flailed even more chaotically as he scrambled upright and out of Tan Jing’s hold.
Then it hit him—what was wrong with this picture.
He Siheng’s gaze dropped to Tan Jing’s plastered leg, now firmly planted on the ground. He looked utterly shocked. “Your leg’s not lame anymore?”
