Yu Silin was completely shaken by these two statements. He stared blankly for two seconds before stammering, “Why?” It was evident that he still hadn’t processed Xu Jiaheng’s words.
“First, get off me.” Xu Jiaheng pushed at Yu Silin’s shoulders, making a motion to push him away.
He had expected Yu Silin to cling to him without letting go as usual. Instead, the moment he pushed, Yu Silin stood right up. Feeling a sudden emptiness in his arms, Xu Jiaheng’s eyebrows twitched into a swift frown, so fast that he himself wasn’t even conscious of it.
“Why?!” Yu Silin finally fully processed what was happening, looking as though the sky were falling. “Why, why? Why can’t I sleep with you?!” As he spoke, his lips pursed into a pout, looking on the verge of tears.
Xu Jiaheng stood up from his chair, frowning. He raised a hand to touch Yu Silin’s face, but Yu Silin batted it away. With practiced patience, Xu Jiaheng said, “You have already gone through secondary sex differentiation. You are an Omega, and I am an Alpha. It is no longer appropriate for us to share a bed.”
“So what? Who says Alphas and Omegas can’t sleep together?” Yu Silin looked up at Xu Jiaheng, hoping he would take it back.
Xu Jiaheng let out a very soft sigh and said, “Alphas and Omegas are two different sexes. Individuals of different sexes must keep a proper distance; they shouldn’t be too intimate.”
Yu Silin didn’t understand all of this. He only knew that in the afternoon, his brother had been reluctant to catch his scent, and now he was saying they couldn’t share a bed. The feeling of being repeatedly rejected by his brother was far from pleasant. With tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, Yu Silin said angrily, “Xu Jiaheng, I hate you.”
Leaving those words behind, Yu Silin yanked open the bedroom door and ran out. Xu Jiaheng instinctively took a step to chase after him; Yu Silin was genuinely angry and running fast. By the time Xu Jiaheng reached downstairs and stepped into the courtyard, he saw Yu Silin running out with Little Cow in his arms, while the rest of the cats and dogs scurried along behind him on their short little legs.
The tethered yard dog couldn’t run out and was so anxious it let out a series of yelps. It wanted to be picked up by Brother Xiaolin and go play with him too.
Xu Jiaheng didn’t chase any further. He tilted his head to look at the yelping yard dog, walked over, and squatted down beside it. The dog immediately shut its mouth and flattened itself quietly on the ground, pretending to be a quiet and melancholic little dog.
Xu Jiaheng gave its head a heavy rub and said indifferently, “Haven’t I always been good to you? Such an ungrateful little thing.”
The yard dog couldn’t understand human speech. It lifted its eyelids to look at Xu Jiaheng, as if saying: Human, are you insulting me while talking to me?
The human couldn’t understand the dog’s little side-eye either, and mercilessly stood up to head back to his room.
The sun hung halfway down the western horizon, and the heat was no longer as scorching as during the day. In the crisscrossing alleys, the flow of people increased, and the aroma of food drifted out from various courtyards.
Little Flower, Little White, Little Yellow, and the others following behind Yu Silin scattered in all directions, making their familiar rounds to beg for food at different houses. Only Little Cow in his arms couldn’t escape, barking at Yu Silin.
People came and went in the alley, long accustomed to seeing Yu Silin running around with a dog in his arms. Someone teased him, “Xiaolin really is like the king of the cat-and-dog squad.”
“Brother Xiaolin’s QQ nickname is ‘Cat King’!” a little girl chimed in.
“I know, I know! Brother Jiaheng’s QQ nickname is ‘Dog King’!” another little boy quickly echoed.
“Xiaolin’s mom doesn’t like those little beasts. Stop talking about it, or if her mom hears, Xiaolin is going to get scolded again.”
Yu Silin ran all the way to his own front door. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he stopped, sat down against the courtyard wall holding Little Cow, and muttered grumpily, “Xu Jiaheng is the most hateful. I never want to talk to him again.”
“Woof woof!” Little Cow agreed.
Yu Silin held Little Cow up, looked into its rolling eyes, and asked, “Do you think he’s hateful too?”
“Woof, woof, woof!”
“Whatever, even if I tell you, you won’t understand.” Yu Silin set Little Cow down on the ground and said, “Go find other little dogs to play with.”
“Woof woof.” Little Cow barked twice, scrambling off on its four short legs in a chaotic dash.
Yu Silin wiped his eyes, stood up, and entered his family’s courtyard. Just then, Qu Yun walked out of the living room. Spotting the dog hair all over Yu Silin, she lunged forward in one swift stride, pinched his ear, and scolded him, “Yu Silin, did you go provoke that pack of little beasts again? Look at all this dog hair on you! Haven’t I told you not to hold them?!”
He was wearing a white T-shirt today, and Little Cow’s coat was a mix of black and white, plus it was shedding season, so he had picked up a lot of fur. Normally, he would use a lint roller at Xu Jiaheng’s house to clean himself up before coming back, but today he had been too preoccupied with being mad at Xu Jiaheng to remember.
“Oh my, what’s wrong with you?” Qu Yun pulled a lint roller out of the entryway cabinet. Seeing the red corners of Yu Silin’s eyes as if he had just been crying, along with two black ink smudges on his cheeks, she said, “I just said a word or two to you, is it really that dramatic?”
As she spoke, Qu Yun used the lint roller to clear off the dog hair. Noticing that Yu Silin hadn’t uttered a sound and had run back right around dinnertime, she guessed, “Did you get into a fight with Jiaheng?”
“Hmph, Brother Jiaheng is hateful.” Yu Silin was an only child, doted on heavily by his parents and elders, and had been pampered since childhood. The moment his mom asked, he felt a wave of grievances and muttered a whole stream of complaints to her.
To her surprise, Qu Yun burst into laughter so hard she couldn’t stand straight. “You’re crying just because Jiaheng won’t let you sleep with him?”
Yu Silin: “…”
“Yu Silin, how old are you?” Qu Yun looked at Yu Silin’s reddened face and hurriedly stopped laughing, though she couldn’t help pressing on, “Why are you still acting like a little kid who needs someone to sleep with him?”
“Mom, you’re hateful too!” Not only did Yu Silin fail to get any comfort from his mom, but he was also mercilessly mocked. He felt both heartbroken and hot with embarrassment.
“Tsk, you child.” Qu Yun gave him a slap on the shoulder. “So disrespectful. Go back to your room, change out of those clothes, and throw them into the laundry basket on the balcony.”
The laundry basket on the balcony was one Qu Yun had specially bought for him to store the dirty clothes polluted by cats and dogs.
Qu Yun followed Yu Silin into the living room. Watching him head upstairs, she called out, “Are you still eating dinner at home?”
Without looking back, Yu Silin answered fiercely, “Yes!”
Qu Yun didn’t mind his attitude; she was too amused.
She completely understood the point of what Xu Jiaheng had done. Previously, before Yu Silin had undergone differentiation and when both were boys, it didn’t matter if they were close. But now Yu Silin had differentiated into an Omega, and Xu Jiaheng was an Alpha; continuing to be overly intimate was no longer appropriate.
She wasn’t worried about what might happen between the two of them. Yu Silin’s brain capacity was entirely occupied by the stray animals outside, what to eat, and what games to play. Xu Jiaheng was a year older than Yu Silin and much more mature and steady than his peers, giving Qu Yun even less cause for concern.
However, Alpha and Omega pheromones could influence each other. They were still young, and if they couldn’t control their pheromones properly, it could become quite troublesome.
Honestly, she completely agreed with Xu Jiaheng’s approach.
Unaware that his mother had switched sides, Yu Silin went back to his room, obediently changed his clothes, threw them into the balcony’s laundry basket, and collapsed limply onto the tatami mat. Hugging a dog plushie, he wore an expression of utter devastation.
Xu Jiaheng rejecting him happened from time to time, but those were always trivial matters or instances of him throwing a tantrum where Xu Jiaheng got too annoyed to comply.
Besides, sleeping with Xu Jiaheng was by no means a trivial matter! He used to sleep with Xu Jiaheng all the time, and Xu Jiaheng had never refused him on the matter of sleeping.
Furthermore, he had been very good today, reading when told to read and eating fruit when told to eat fruit, without causing any trouble for Xu Jiaheng.
And yet Xu Jiaheng still had the heart to reject him!
The more Yu Silin thought about it, the sadder he felt, convinced the sky was falling. Xu Jiaheng must not like him anymore; he must find him annoying, which was why he rejected him. He hated Xu Jiaheng!
Flipping over while hugging the dog plushie, he watched the red glow outside the French windows slowly fade away. The more he thought, the more aggrieved he felt, and tears welled up again, falling silently as he cried. Crying made him feel pathetic and spineless, so he tried wiping his tears with the dog plushie’s head, only for the tears to stream down even faster.
He really was this spineless. He just wanted to sleep with Xu Jiaheng. How could Xu Jiaheng be like this? Saying no sleep together just like that, he was truly hateful.
“Little Silin, come down for dinner.” Qu Yun’s voice drifted up from downstairs. Hearing it, Yu Silin chose not to respond.
Before long, footsteps approached, followed by a knock on the door, and Qu Yun’s voice sounded from outside, “Yu Silin? What are you doing? Come downstairs for dinner.”
“I’m not eating.” Yu Silin’s voice was heavily nasal. Qu Yun immediately heard that something was wrong and pushed the door open.
Seeing Yu Silin lying on the tatami mat hugging the dog plushie, she walked over and caught sight of his red eye rims, the tear tracks on his cheeks, and the two black lines blurred by his tears. She paused in surprise, “Why are you crying like this?”
“Hmph.” He hadn’t forgotten how Madam Qu had laughed at him earlier. Turning his head away, he put on an expression of I refuse to talk to you.
Realizing he was still holding a grudge over what happened moments earlier, Qu Yun offered an apology, “Mom was wrong just now; I shouldn’t have made fun of you.” Seeing Yu Silin turn back to look at her, she shifted her tone and continued, “Jiaheng isn’t entirely wrong to do this either. You two are of different sexes; being too intimate isn’t good. Just like boys and girls shouldn’t be overly intimate. Alphas and Omegas are different, you understand?”
Yu Silin didn’t reply, but Qu Yun knew he had taken it in.
She didn’t hold high academic expectations for him. As long as he could support himself in the future, even if it meant collecting junk, she would be fine with it.
Because of this, she had been called into teachers’ offices for talks more than once, mostly hearing how Yu Silin was a smart child who caught on instantly, but simply refused to put in the effort.
In class, he was either sleeping or doing homework for other subjects, and even then, he was just copying—anything to avoid actually listening.
Seeing his state today, Qu Yun could easily guess that when health class was taught at school, her son definitely hadn’t been paying attention or focusing on the right things.
She nudged Yu Silin’s leg to make room, sat down on the edge of the tatami mat, and patiently explained, “You’ve grown up, and your Brother Jiaheng has grown up too. You can’t sleep together the way you used to. Plus, Alpha and Omega pheromones affect each other; the higher the compatibility, the greater the impact. You guys are half-grown kids now, but you haven’t reached adulthood yet. If you aren’t careful and get affected by pheromones, it’s something that affects you for life.”
Knowing Yu Silin had a childish mindset, Qu Yun kept things from being too blunt, concluding with, “Anyway, I agree with Jiaheng’s approach.”
Yu Silin listened with a dazed understanding, failing to see why wanting to sleep with Brother Jiaheng could become a lifelong issue.
He was definitely going to be with someone he liked in the future; he wasn’t going to sleep with Xu Jiaheng for the rest of his life anyway.
Still, he understood the gist of what Qu Yun was saying: today had been his unreasonable tantrum, and it wasn’t Xu Jiaheng’s fault.
“Then I’ll go find Brother Jiaheng later and apologize to him,” Yu Silin muttered, immediately regretting it.
He had just told Xu Jiaheng that he hated him a little while ago, and now he was going to apologize? Did he have no pride?
At the very least, he should wait until tomorrow morning to go apologize.
There was no way Qu Yun could guess the twisting thoughts in his head. She said, “Go down and eat first. You can go find your Brother Jiaheng after you’ve eaten.”
“Oh.” Yu Silin responded outwardly, but in his heart, he planned to go straight back to his room to sleep after eating and find Xu Jiaheng tomorrow instead.
Going today would be too embarrassing.
Yu Silin’s emotions came and went quickly. With light footsteps, he followed Qu Yun downstairs. Seeing no one in the living room, he asked, “Is Dad not coming back tonight?”
“Your dad is working overtime.” Qu Yun was a high school Chinese teacher and, like Yu Silin, was currently on summer vacation. Yu Silin’s father was a programmer, so working overtime was a common occurrence.
“Oh, what are we having for dinner?” Yu Silin followed Qu Yun into the kitchen. After reading books all afternoon and crying just now, he was starving.
“Braised beef brisket and braised prawns.”
The two dishes for dinner were Yu Silin’s favorites. He polished off two bowls of rice with the brisket and prawns before finally putting down his chopsticks.
Once well-fed and full, Yu Silin promptly threw the matter of going to apologize to Xu Jiaheng out the window.
Everything Qu Yun said was wrong. Obviously, it was Xu Jiaheng who refused to sleep with him; regardless of his reasons, it was Xu Jiaheng’s fault, and he wasn’t going to apologize to him.
Even if Xu Jiaheng came to apologize to him, he wouldn’t forgive him easily!
Unless Xu Jiaheng agreed to continue sharing the same bed with him.