The two of them were standing extremely close. Xie Ling could feel Qin Han’s scorching breath washing over his face, and his body inexplicably went a little soft. Without thinking, he shifted his gaze away. “I don’t think this is a good idea…”
“Why not?” Qin Han ran his fingertips through the soft curls at Xie Ling’s temple, his voice laced with a touch of obsessive grievance. “Yu Rong can do it, so why can’t I?”
In that instant, Xie Ling desperately wanted to drag that insider from the School Forum out into the street and give them a good thrashing with a riding crop.
What the hell were they thinking, posting that nonsense? Now look—it had stirred up the kid’s competitive streak again!
“Well, times have changed, and the conditions are different now,” Xie Ling said with a cough. “We’ve got blankets here, air conditioning, heating. It’s way better than me jumping into bed with you for body heat.”
“But I think body heat works better.” As he spoke, Qin Han pulled his other hand out from under the blanket and used both hands to toy with Xie Ling’s hair. “This is the most primal, simplest, and most classic method.”
“…” Xie Ling grabbed Qin Han’s hands. “No.”
“Why not?” Qin Han paused. “Didn’t we sleep holding each other last night? If you’re really against it, you don’t have to take your clothes off.”
“…No means no.” Last night was last night, but things were different now.
For one thing, ever since he’d collapsed onto Qin Han in this position just moments ago, his heart had been pounding like he was at a rave—faster than it ever had before.
Xie Ling instinctively didn’t want Qin Han to notice.
For another, he just felt like they couldn’t cuddle right now. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why, but he even thought that if it were Zhang Chengrui or Xiao Yanfei or anyone else lying here, it would be fine—but not Qin Han.
Xie Ling pried Qin Han’s hands out of his hair and quickly rolled off the bed. He was about to tuck Qin Han’s hands back under the blanket when Qin Han suddenly gripped his hand in return.
“If you won’t let me hold you,” Qin Han said weakly, “then will you sing me a lullaby?”
Xie Ling wondered if fevers really did lower people’s intelligence on a case-by-case basis. “How about I play one on my phone for you?”
“I want to hear you sing it.”
“Be good. Daddy’s too old now—I can’t capture the essence of a lullaby anymore.” Back when he was a kid, he hadn’t really understood much. Yu Rong had been throwing a massive fit with his fever one time, and Xie Ling suddenly remembered how Madam Fu used to sing him lullabies to sleep during his own infancy. So he’d mimicked her and sung one to Yu Rong, thinking he was hot shit at the time. Looking back now, that was pure black history material.
Him—a tough, badass guy like that—singing lullabies? Totally inappropriate.
Especially not to Qin Han, of all people.
“Let go and get some sleep. I’ll go keep that porridge I made for you warm so you can have it when you wake up.”
Xie Ling turned to leave after saying this, only to find his wrist gripped even tighter.
He looked down at it, then at Qin Han, and suddenly found it a little funny. “Bro, why are you so insistent on this?”
It was because he was being driven mad by waves of insane jealousy. Even if those rumors weren’t true, even if they were all fabricated by others, just hearing people pair Xie Ling’s name with Yu Rong’s in that kind of context—or imagining those scenes that had never actually happened—made him want to explode.
The only way to soothe that restless agitation, even a little, was to draw Xie Ling closer, hold him completely in his arms like last night, and actually do those things for real.
But Xie Ling wasn’t willing.
He had plenty of other ways to make it happen—the simplest being to just grab him and tie him down. But he couldn’t do that.
He was insanely jealous, but he couldn’t make Xie Ling dislike him. And he absolutely couldn’t hurt Xie Ling.
Qin Han closed his eyes and slowly released Xie Ling’s hand. He turned over, burying himself in the blanket.
The evening sunlight filtered through a gap in the curtains, falling on his hair and the side of his face, lending an air of inexplicable loneliness and solitude.
In that moment, Xie Ling suddenly felt an urge to rush forward and grant Qin Han’s every wish.
…He must be losing his mind.
In the end, he did nothing. He quietly opened the door and slipped out.
~~~
Yu Rong’s parents were both doing business in France and couldn’t make it back for his birthday. The only ones who showed up at the restaurant that day were Xie Ling and their group, plus the three exchange students who’d come with Yu Rong.
“Holy shit, these garlic spare ribs are insanely good!!”
“I think the saliva chicken is even better. Damn it, leave some for me!!”
“Hey!! We’re out of beer!! Server, more booze— the birthday boy hasn’t even started drinking yet!”
After two weeks of school events both big and small, plus some friendly private hangouts, the two groups had gotten pretty chummy. They were shamelessly snatching dishes from each other at the table, smearing greasy fingers on one another’s faces.
The only one who stayed completely out of the fray—and whom no one dared drag into it—was Qin Han.
Throughout the entire meal, aside from taking a few bites for himself, Qin Han had been busy peeling shrimp shells, crab shells, and every other kind of shell for Xie Ling. Xiao Yanfei and the others were used to it by now, but Yu Rong’s friends were dumbfounded.
Xie Ling coughed lightly and explained, “Due to some history between us, he’s developed this habit of being eager to help. Don’t think too much of it.”
Yu Rong’s friends exchanged smiles. One of them, the green-haired guy, teased, “Come on, Ling Bro, don’t fool us. If Qin God’s so eager to help, how come he’s not peeling shells for us?”
“Yeah, yeah—he’s clearly playing favorites with you.”
Xie Ling’s ears heated up. Seeing Qin Han still peeling away, he hurriedly said, “Stop that. Eat something yourself. I haven’t seen you touch your chopsticks much.”
“I’m fine.” Qin Han smiled and pushed a small bowl of pristine, peeled shrimp meat toward Xie Ling. “You’re more important. Careful, it’s hot.”
Xie Ling: “…”
He’d actually reflected on it seriously before. When Qin Han had first transferred in, had he gone too far making the guy serve him food like that? Had he broken him somehow? Because ever since, at every meal with shrimp, crab, or fish, Qin Han would get obsessed with peeling and deboning for him.
Green Hair seemed to know something about it and got all excited, winking at Yu Rong. “Hey, Brother Yu, you’re falling behind here.”
Yu Rong tsked. Just then, the server brought out a plate of green pepper stir-fry with shredded pork. Qin Han knew Xie Ling liked it and was about to serve him some when Yu Rong suddenly said to the server, “Is this green pepper stir-fry made with pork? I remember you guys used to use chicken.”
The server smiled. “We’ve switched to pork now.”
Yu Rong frowned slightly. “I’ll pay extra. Can you make me a plate with chicken instead?”
Xie Ling blinked, realizing what Yu Rong was up to, and chuckled. “What, got too much money burning a hole in your pocket? Pork’s fine—it’s all the same.”
“It’s not the same. Don’t you always complain that pork has that off flavor when stir-fried?”
Qin Han’s chopsticks paused mid-air as he was serving Xie Ling. After a moment, he asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Is that true?”
He knew Xie Ling liked green pepper stir-fry, but he’d never known he disliked the pork version. Every time it was on the menu, he’d eagerly order it for him.
And most of those times, it had been the pork version.
Seeing Qin Han’s eyelids droop, Xie Ling subconsciously explained—for whatever reason—”That’s just a kid thing. Now I think pork or chicken, it’s all the same.”
When he was little, he’d eaten some subpar green pepper pork at a home restaurant once. The pork had a super strong gaminess, and Xie Ling’s stomach had been upset that day to boot, so he’d developed a psychological aversion to pork stir-fry. For a while, he’d only eat the chicken version.
But that shadow had mostly faded with time, so he hadn’t mentioned it again.
Yu Rong was still negotiating with the server over there. “For this celery leaf and mock chicken dish, can you swap the mock chicken for dried tofu? Yeah, and extra sesame oil. Oh, and for the glutinous rice dumplings—no filling…”
The restaurant had stood the test of time precisely because it listened to customers and tweaked the menu on the fly. Yu Rong’s requests weren’t tricky, and the server jotted them all down.
Yu Rong’s three buddies watched in awe, whispering, “Damn, we’ve been roommates with Brother Yu for so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen him micromanage food like this.”
Yu Rong might look like he had a short temper, but he was actually pretty laid-back—especially about food. He didn’t have many preferences.
“Can he not? If he doesn’t get it right, how’s he supposed to chase someone? Hey, take notes—this level of thoughtfulness from Brother Yu? Any Omega would fall head over heels.”
“You think you can just learn this? He’s got the childhood sweetheart advantage…”
As they gossiped, Qin Han suddenly set down his chopsticks and stood up.
Xie Ling had just picked up a scallop to put in Qin Han’s bowl when he noticed. “What’s up?”
Yu Rong’s friends had been whispering, and Xie Ling hadn’t caught it. But as a top-tier Alpha, Qin Han had heard every word crystal clear.
His fingers clenched subtly. Qin Han flashed Xie Ling a smile. “Nothing. Gotta hit the bathroom. Eat without me.”
With that, he headed out.
Xie Ling’s eyes followed Qin Han’s retreating back the whole way. Ever since that fever last time, he’d felt like something was off with him lately.
On the surface, he seemed the same—smiling as usual, cracking those occasional jokes that left you not knowing how to respond. But Xie Ling couldn’t shake the feeling that Qin Han was hiding something in his heart.
Yu Rong had just finished speaking with the waiter when he turned around and saw Xie Ling holding his chopsticks, staring blankly toward the door. A glance to Xie Ling’s right revealed that Qin Han had slipped away at some point.
“Xie Ling…” Yu Rong called out.
Xie Ling suddenly stood up. “You guys eat first. I need to hit the bathroom.”
“I’ll go with you,” Yu Rong said.
Zhang Chengrui had been boozing hard with the exchange students all evening. His face flushed red as he lurched to his feet. “Wait for me, Ling Bro, Brother Yu! I’ll come with you guys…”
Before he could finish, Xiao Yanfei and Xia Yu pinned him back down onto his chair.
“What are you doing? I gotta pee!”
“Hold it!” Xiao Yanfei and Xia Yu said in unison.
Zhang Chengrui blinked. “???”
~~~
“Wait,” Yu Rong said. He glanced at the sign on the bathroom door and called out to Xie Ling. “You planning to go into the Alpha bathroom?”
Ever since Xie Ling’s identity as an Omega had been exposed, he’d made a few mistakes at first but had gotten into the habit of using the Omega bathroom lately. Today, though…
Xie Ling rubbed his nose. “Force of habit, you know. Your daddy here has been faking being an Alpha for years, so I’ve never really paid much attention to bathrooms.”
“Habit?” Yu Rong arched an eyebrow. “Sounds more like you’re looking for someone.”
“…”
Caught red-handed, Xie Ling dropped the pretense. He even gave Yu Rong an appreciative pat on the shoulder. “Smart!”
Yu Rong fell silent.
Yet after the two of them finished up in the bathroom and lingered by the door for nearly ten minutes, Qin Han still hadn’t emerged.
“He wouldn’t have already left, would he?” But they’d left right on Qin Han’s heels—there was no way they’d miss him if he’d gone. Xie Ling subconsciously reached for his phone.
“Maybe he’s constipated,” Yu Rong suggested.
Xie Ling pictured Qin Han’s face twisted in constipation for a moment and burst out laughing.
He eyed the deathly quiet bathroom, debating whether to shout inside and test the waters, when Yu Rong suddenly spoke up. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Only then did Xie Ling remember what Yu Rong had mentioned over the phone last week. He glanced toward the bathroom again. For some reason, ever since Qin Han had left the table, an unease had gnawed at him right up until now.
“How about we hold off? Let me just find Qin…”
“It’s about your grandma trying to set you up with a marriage alliance.”
Xie Ling froze.
~~~
After the two had walked away, another three minutes ticked by before the door to one of the bathroom stalls creaked open from the inside.
The Alpha suspected of constipation stepped out, his clothes soaked through with sweat despite the December chill.
Qin Han tossed the three empty sedative tubes from his hand into the trash bin. He steadied his breathing, then followed unhesitatingly in the direction Yu Rong and Xie Ling had gone.
