That bright yet piercing smile stabbed straight into Qin Han’s heart.
“Put me in ropes…” He turned the words over in his mouth, then after a moment, let out a soft chuckle. “If you tie me up, I won’t be able to eat or drink. You’ll have to feed me yourself.”
Xie Ling froze for a second. He hadn’t expected Qin Han’s focus to land on something so peculiar.
Qin Han peered deep into Xie Ling’s eyes, his tone the picture of innocence and sincerity. “And I won’t even be able to use the bathroom. You’ll have to help me take off my pants.”
“…Don’t worry.” Xie Ling figured Qin Han was just trying to turn the tables and spook him. “If it comes to that, your daddy here will make damn sure you’re taken care of nice and comfy.”
Taken care of…
Qin Han’s hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists.
In that instant, Xie Ling caught the scent of Summer Sea Breeze.
An Omega in the midst of a heat period was hypersensitive to Alpha pheromones—especially when they were a perfect match like these two. Xie Ling could tell Qin Han’s pheromones weren’t their usual serene, lingering calm. There was a restless edge to them now, like the tense hush before a storm.
Oh-ho, so he’s hell-bent on dodging this, and now he’s gonna try overwhelming me with pheromones?
Xie Ling laughed despite his irritation, his hands still braced on the glass countertop edge behind Qin Han. There wasn’t a trace of fear on his face.
Fine, let him try to suppress me. He’d use it as practice for resisting Alpha pheromones. Either way, today he was absolutely going to…
“I won’t run.” Just as Xie Ling steeled himself for an all-out clash, Qin Han suddenly leaned back a little.
He was originally half a head taller than Xie Ling. Leaning back like that shortened him by a couple of inches, making him seem shorter overall. The shift lent him an air of softness, of perfect obedience.
“You don’t want me to run, so I won’t.”
Xie Ling blinked, then his expression eased. He let out a sigh. “You know, if you’d been this easygoing back then, things never would’ve gotten so messed up between us.”
Once he got started, Xie Ling found it hard to stop. “I was seriously pissed when I threw down that challenge to you. You abused your position, made me miss my idol’s signing event, and I scraped up my knee falling…”
Qin Han’s eyelids drooped slightly, his voice soft and measured. “I’m sorry.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
From the moment they’d reunited until now, Qin Han had reined in his desires time and again. He’d fed Xie Ling countless half-truths and white lies. But these words? They were one hundred percent genuine.
Whether it stemmed from his mental issues or those dark, selfish urges he kept hidden, hurting Xie Ling was something he could never forgive himself for.
That was why, the night he learned Xie Ling had gotten hurt because of him, he’d finally realized he couldn’t keep going like this.
His obsessive feelings for Xie Ling would only bring the boy harm.
So he’d agreed to go to America with his grandmother.
Never seeing him again—that would be the harshest punishment he could inflict on himself.
As long as he kept his distance, he wouldn’t hurt Xie Ling anymore.
But in the end, he’d underestimated the depth of his own emotions.
Which was why he’d thrown caution to the wind and come back.
Yet the scar on Xie Ling’s knee now burned like fire in his chest, dragging all those memories from back then to the surface.
He wanted to punish himself. Even if it meant resorting to the most childish method imaginable, one that bordered on self-harm.
Xie Ling stared at Qin Han’s tightly pursed lips. This was the first time he’d ever seen this man wear an expression like that—like utter, bone-deep remorse.
“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.” Xie Ling’s tone softened without him even realizing it. “Truth is, even all those times you pulled rank on me before, yeah, I was mad, but that wasn’t the real issue.”
Qin Han’s face showed clear confusion.
Xie Ling sighed. “I think I was just frustrated, you know? Couldn’t wrap my head around it. Back in first year of junior high, things were great between us. Remember? That 3000-meter run in the fitness test—we tied for first place in the whole school.”
Qin Han smiled faintly. “I remember. You were so fast, no one could keep up. Except me.”
Xie Ling grinned. “Yeah. I’d trash-talk that next time I’d smoke you, but deep down, I was thinking, ‘Damn, this guy’s incredible.'”
“And every exam after that too. Before I met you, I’d never really had a proper rival.” Xie Ling wasn’t one to hold back praise for people he respected. “For real, Chairman Qin—back then, I thought you were the shit. We even tag-teamed that asshole teacher and those dumbass classmates. I pulled an all-nighter campaigning for your Student Council President run… I just had to see you win.”
Qin Han’s pupils quivered.
These were words he’d never heard from Xie Ling before.
“I figured with a friendship like ours, it’d last forever. But then you became president…” Xie Ling scratched his head. “You wouldn’t explain yourself, just kept coming down hard on me. I’m not the most patient guy. After a few rounds of that, not understanding just made me madder.”
Qin Han squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
It wasn’t that he wouldn’t tell him. He couldn’t.
How could he confess the obsessive madness churning inside him—the feelings and desires so intense they could destroy everything?
How could he admit that just seeing Xie Ling walk with someone else sent him into a jealous frenzy, desperate to bind the boy to his side by any means necessary?
Especially after their school gene test came back showing they were both Alphas.
And Xie Ling had made it crystal clear he hated hanging with fellow Alphas.
“So yeah, you saddled me with extra recitations, reflection essays, and that fall that cost me my idol meet-up.” Xie Ling paused. “But what really got under my skin was not knowing what was going on in your head. Not understanding how we went from that to… this. Sometimes I’d curse you out and feel better for a minute, but looking back, it wasn’t like I was thrilled or anything.”
Every word carried unfiltered bewilderment, helplessness, regret, and pain.
Qin Han felt like his heart was drowning in the swell of Xie Ling’s emotions.
He got it.
He understood every bit of it.
“So you were angry because I changed.” As he spoke, Qin Han leaned in closer, until they were mere inches apart. “You were angry because you cared about me, right?”
Xie Ling sensed something off in the atmosphere but couldn’t put his finger on it.
He eased back a little, shrugging it off with his usual carefree attitude. “Yeah. Otherwise, if it’d been some random Zhang Han or Li Han pulling that shit on me, I’d have paid ’em back and called it even. Why hold a grudge for years over some nobody?”
In that fleeting moment, Qin Han felt like even dying right then would be worth it.
He held himself back as long as he could, but in the end, he couldn’t resist. He pulled Xie Ling into a tight embrace.
“I’m sorry.” Qin Han rested his chin on Xie Ling’s shoulder. “I was too immature back then. It won’t happen again.”
Xie Ling was thrown for a loop by the sudden hug at first, but he relaxed quickly enough.
Friends clearing the air with a bro hug? Totally normal.
“My bad too for being so oblivious. I just never figured someone as badass as you would go out of his way to mess with me… because I was too badass.” Xie Ling thought back to Qin Han’s WeChat apology from that day and smiled, all tension gone. “Alright, water under the bridge. I’ll treat you right from here on out.”
Qin Han’s breath caught. “Treat me right?”
“Yeah. I’m awesome to my bros.” Xie Ling puffed up with pride. “Just ask Xiao Yanfei or Zhang Chengrui.”
Qin Han: “…”
Qin Han: “Can’t my spot be a little more special?”
Xie Ling blinked. “Huh?”
“You know, our pheromones match perfectly…”
Qin Han hesitated, wondering how to angle for more perks, when Xie Ling’s face lit up like he’d just had an epiphany. “Oh, right! A perfect match like that doesn’t come around every day. Tell you what—you’re my best bro now. Feel honored?”
“…” Fine. No point getting greedy. He shouldn’t even be hoping for more right now anyway.
Qin Han tamped down the storm of emotions inside him and smiled. “Yeah. Super honored.”
Xie Ling was in high spirits and gave Qin Han a quick hug in return.
The moment they made contact, Qin Han let out a muffled grunt.
At the same time, the door swung open from the outside.
Oblivious, Xie Ling tugged at Qin Han in a rush. “Shit, almost forgot about those cuts on you. Hurry up, take off your shirt…”
He was already yanking at Qin Han’s jacket.
There was a thud from the doorway—a bag hitting the floor.
“Ah!” A short, shocked yelp.
Xie Ling glanced over, puzzled. “Mom? Why’re you back already?”
“I…” Madam Fu was still on the phone with Xie Cheng, struck speechless by the scene before her.
What had she just walked in on?! Her son had some ridiculously pretty boy pinned against the counter—and he was stripping the guy’s clothes off!
“Mom?” Xie Ling looked utterly baffled.
Madam Fu snapped out of it and clapped her hands over her eyes. “Nothing! Mom didn’t see a thing! Oh god, why didn’t you two at least go to a room! No, wait—Little Ling, you’re still in high school! You can’t be doing stuff like this!”
She rattled off a nonstop stream of words, which even roused Xie Cheng on the other end of the line. He kept asking what was going on.
Madam Fu clamped a hand over her mouth and muttered what she thought was quietly to Xie Cheng. “This is bad—I just busted Little Ling making out early. And straight to stripping clothes! Damn, he’s bolder than you were back in the day. You barely made it past lips to neck…”
Xie Cheng: “…”
Xie Ling: “…”
Qin Han: “…”
“Mom.” Xie Ling’s entire face went up in flames. He let go of Qin Han and hurried over. “What the hell are you telling Dad?”
Madam Fu said at the fastest speed of her life, “My son’s anxious, I’ll educate him first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll let you take over.”
After hanging up, she noticed the pretty boy who had just been pinned down and stripped by her son walking over.
Hm? Something seemed off. This classmate was good-looking, but “pretty” didn’t quite cover it—he didn’t have the softness of a typical Omega. There was an indescribable powerful aura about him, and most importantly, that height, that stature…
“Auntie, hello. I’m Xie Ling’s classmate, Qin Han.” Qin Han straightened his clothes messed up by Xie Ling, every gesture exuding impeccable elegance and politeness.
“Hello, hello.” Madam Fu grew more curious the more she looked, finally unable to hold back: “If Auntie may be so bold, are you an Omega?”
Xie Ling: “…”
Qin Han’s smile didn’t change: “I’m an Alpha.”
Madam Fu immediately covered her mouth and dragged Xie Ling to the side, whispering, “Son, impressive. You’ve even got yourself an AA romance.”
Madam Fu had been kept in the dark by both her husband and son, unaware that Xie Ling was an Omega.
Xie Ling helplessly: “Mom…”
Madam Fu: “Don’t worry, Mom doesn’t object to puppy love. Your dad and I started that way. AA is fine too—two powerhouses uniting. It’s just that you’re both still young, and if you’ve gone all the way to that step, it might be a bit…”
“Mom, we’re really just classmates. Oh, we just got promoted to best bros. Anyway, he’s just a really good friend of mine.” Xie Ling tried to cut off his mom’s wild imaginings. “I was stripping him because he got injured on his back. I wanted to help treat the wound.”
Madam Fu glanced slyly at Qin Han upon hearing this.
She happened to catch a fleeting glint in Qin Han’s eyes.
She knew Alphas had excellent hearing. At this distance, the classmate definitely heard her son’s words clearly.
“Sigh.” Madam Fu sighed, patting Xie Ling’s shoulder profoundly. “Son, you’re still too young.”
Xie Ling: “?”
—
In the end, the knife wound on Qin Han’s back was re-bandaged steadily and securely under the combined efforts of Xie Ling and Madam Fu.
That evening, after Xie Ling showered, he saw his phone on the table and suddenly remembered something.
He opened the front camera, smiled at the lens, and snapped a selfie.
Free: [Picture]
Free: The thank-you gift I promised you last time, forgot to send it
Free: How’s this one? Just took it, pure bare-faced, handsome without a single flaw [Cat pushing sunglasses.jpg]
Qin Han replied almost instantly.
Troublemaker: Very handsome.
Xie Ling smiled, then realized the remark he’d given Qin Han was no longer suitable for their current relationship.
He thought for a moment and changed it. Just after he finished, Qin Han messaged again.
Universe’s Second Hottest Guy: If you could pull the collar down a bit more, it’d be perfect.
Free: [Cat with question mark.jpg]
Universe’s Second Hottest Guy: Your collarbone is gorgeous. I want to admire it too -0-
Xie Ling instinctively felt something was off. It was the first time he’d heard of someone wanting to “admire” someone’s collarbone.
But thinking about how much Qin Han had helped him lately, and now that their relationship had improved, Xie Ling figured this was no big deal.
He looked at himself in the camera. He’d just showered and thrown on a plain white crew-neck T-shirt. The neckline was moderate, covering half his collarbone. To get a good shot, he’d probably have to…
Qin Han waited a long time with no reply from Xie Ling, assuming the little guy wasn’t willing.
Though their relationship wasn’t tense anymore, better safe than sorry. He didn’t know Xie Ling that well yet, and he was becoming best bros with ulterior motives—it was tricky to gauge.
Qin Han was about to send “Just kidding” when a photo suddenly popped up in the chat—
Universe’s Second Hottest Guy: Can you pull it down a bit more? (kind laughing.jpg)
