The two returned from the supermarket.
Unlocking the door to his apartment, Xiao Shuqing said, “I have an Alaskan Malamute named Seligman. You can call him Saisa. He’s a large breed, but he’s incredibly gentle, so don’t be afraid.”
As he spoke, the door swung open, and right on cue, a massive, snow-white dog was sitting squarely at the entrance. It let out a soft, welcoming “Woof!” at the pair.
Noticing a stranger standing behind his master, the dog tilted its head in curious wonder.
Xiao Shuqing sanitized his hands with rubbing alcohol before giving the large dog a fond pat. “Saisa is very well-behaved. I have a professional trainer come regularly. He’s very affectionate and has the intelligence of a four-year-old child; he understands a lot of what you say.”
Turning to his pet, he introduced the guest at the door. “Saisa, come say hello to Uncl—”
He was about to say “Uncle,” but looking at the boy standing there so meekly and obediently, the title felt entirely out of place.
After a brief hesitation, Xiao Shuqing cleared his throat to swallow the word “Uncle” back down and quickly amended, “Say hello to Brother.”
Even if it did mess up the family seniority line a bit.
Squatting on the floor, the massive dog didn’t comprehend his master’s internal dilemma. Hearing the command, he obediently looked up, opening his mouth into a wide, goofy grin. “Woof!”
His tail thudded against the floor, wagging furiously.
“Where’s your front paw?” Xiao Shuqing reminded him.
The dog promptly lifted his right paw. “Woof!”
Yu Siyuan, still clutching the bags from their shopping trip, found himself in a sudden dilemma. Should he put the groceries down first? Should he follow Xiao Shuqing’s example and sanitize his hands? Or was shaking hands with the big dog the top priority right now?
After a long, panicked pause, his body moved before his brain could finish thinking. With a soft thud, he set the bags on the floor, vigorously wiped his palms against his trousers, and gently grasped the dog’s paw.
“Hello, Saisa. My name is Yu Siyuan.”
It was an exceedingly solemn and earnest self-introduction.
Xiao Shuqing glanced at the dust smudged onto his dog’s paw, then at the Alpha boy’s fair, clean fingers. Recalling how the kid had just aggressively rubbed his hands against his pants out of sheer panic—seemingly terrified of dirtying the dog’s paw—he couldn’t help himself.
As the human and the dog continued their earnest dialogue, Xiao Shuqing quietly turned his head away.
Behind his raised fist, the corners of his mouth curved up sharply.
How can someone be so stiff and proper, yet so utterly adorable?
Once Xiao Shuqing saw that the greeting between the two was finally wrapping up, he pulled a pair of slippers from the shopping bag, snipped off the tag, and placed them neatly on the mat.
He looked up at Yu Siyuan. “Would you like to come in and sit for a while?”
“Sure,” Yu Siyuan replied instinctively.
He shifted his feet to slip off his shoes, but just as his heel was halfway out, he froze visibly.
Their eyes met.
With a sudden whoosh, the boy shoved his foot right back into the shoe, his face flushing a bright, fiery red. Even the beauty mark centered on his forehead seemed to deepen in color.
“Professor Xiao, I, I just remembered! Dad told me to come home early for dinner. He made sweet and sour pork ribs. He said it’s to celebrate us getting our marriage certificate.”
Words failed Xiao Shuqing.
First of all, no parent on Earth would tell their child to come home early for dinner on their wedding day.
Secondly, if the celebration was meant for us, why was Yu Siyuan being called back alone? And leaving his newlywed “wife” behind, no less?
Tsk. Lying again.
And it was such a clumsy lie that anyone could see right through it.
But.
“Alright,” Xiao Shuqing said.
Whatever the reason for the lie, it was likely something trivial. After all, this was a good kid who took talking to a dog completely seriously.
“Remember to WeChat me tomorrow to let me know what time you’re coming over,” Xiao Shuqing added, gently tapping his phone screen.
The Alpha nodded instantly in comprehension. “Yes, of course. Goodbye, Professor Xiao.”
The moment the door clicked shut, a long, heavy sigh echoed from the hallway outside. The boy’s entire posture seemed to slump in relief.
It was as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
The older man stood by the door for a few seconds, letting out a soft, amused chuckle. Then, in a thoroughly pleasant mood, he patted his large dog.
“Let’s go, Saisa. Daddy’s going to get you some food.”
The next morning at exactly 9:55 AM, Xiao Shuqing received two consecutive messages on WeChat:
Yu Siyuan: Professor Xiao, Dad and I are almost there. Sorry to trouble you to open the door in a bit.
Yu Siyuan: I, I was wearing height-increasing insoles before. So, I might actually be a little short.
Xiao Shuqing was still chuckling to himself, wondering why the boy felt the need to report something like being “a little short” in advance.
But when he opened the door and let them in, he watched the supposedly six-foot-tall Alpha step out of his padded sneakers and instantly drop by half a head.
Xiao Shuqing stood there utterly speechless: “?”
Just how thick were those insoles yesterday?
So, the refusal to come inside yesterday afternoon was entirely out of a guilty conscience?
Sensing the professor’s evaluating gaze, the little Alpha weakly attempted to defend himself.
“I, I did write my actual height on the dating website. Um, you knew about that, right?”
Xiao Shuqing: “?”
He absolutely did not.
At the time, he had merely been going through the motions to fulfill a task assigned by his own father. Aside from a bit of professional habit making him glance at the boy’s personality and family background, he had completely ignored everything else.
Setting aside the fact that he truly had no inherent interest in Alphas, weren’t Alphas usually around six feet to six-foot-three? Ever since middle school, Xiao Shuqing had never encountered an Alpha who stood at just five-foot-eight.
For the first time in his life, the esteemed Professor Xiao—a man who prided himself on flawless calculations and keeping everything strictly under control—felt like he had slipped up.
Standing behind the petite Alpha, Yu Siyuan’s father looked at the tall, 5’11” Omega, then at his own 5’8″ cub. Crinkling his eyes with a teasing smile, he joked, “My, this height difference is quite something. Cub, are you about to get returned to the store on the spot?”
The moment the words left his mouth, the small Alpha’s entire body stiffened visibly.
Because he was short, his face was already angled slightly downward, leaving only his long, trembling eyelashes and the sharp tip of his chin visible to Xiao Shuqing.
“If I, if I wear my insoles, I’m really not that short. I won’t embarrass you.”
“I wasn’t trying to trick you either.”
The boy’s voice was painfully small, and his knuckles turned white as his grip tightened around the handle of his suitcase.
If I stay quiet any longer, it’ll just be bullying. Xiao Shuqing thought.
Oh well.
The older man let out a soft, resigned sigh. He reached out, gently covering the boy’s tense hand on the suitcase handle, and said, “No returns. And I won’t look down on him either.”
Then, like guiding a shy little bride, he led the boy into the house.
Yu Siyuan hadn’t brought much with him.
Just a few changes of everyday clothes and a laptop. Within a few minutes, the two of them had everything neatly put away.
Lunch was prepared by Yu Siyuan’s father.
There was a mouth-watering stir-fried pork with red and green chili peppers, a fragrant dish of garlic sprouts with Chinese sausage, and a light, crisp shredded bamboo shoot stir-fry. Finally, he threw a handful of dried seaweed and two beaten eggs into a pot, whipping up a steaming bowl of seaweed egg drop soup.
Once the dishes were laid out on the dining table, Yu Siyuan served a bowl of soup to each of the two Omegas before finally taking his own seat.
Come to think of it, this was only the third time Xiao Shuqing and Yu Siyuan were sharing a meal.
It was also only their third proper meeting.
In fact, they had barely exchanged more than a couple of messages on WeChat.
And yet, they were married.
Yu Siyuan’s father was clearly just as amused and curious about the situation. Stirring his soup, he rested his chin on his hand and looked at Xiao Shuqing. “The last time we met, you and Yuanyuan were still just testing the waters. I never expected you to become our family’s son-in-law so quickly. In the middle of the night before last, Yuanyuan came pounding on my bedroom door to tell me he was marrying Professor Xiao. I honestly thought he was sleepwalking.”
He was a beautiful man—the classic representation of a traditional Omega: gentle, soft-spoken, with porcelain-fair skin. Though he had been ravaged by illness for seven years, his elegant features remained intact, giving him a delicate, fragile grace.
He was, without a doubt, a striking beauty.
Of course, none of that was the real point.
The real point was that single question: How did you two manage to get married so quickly?
Xiao Shuqing set his chopsticks down and let out a long, slow breath.
“I drank a bit too much that night and acted on impulse.” He explained softly. “In the heat of the moment, I called him and said I wanted to get married. I never expected him to agree right away.”
He turned his head to look at the young Alpha, a perfectly calibrated touch of hesitation showing in his eyes. “An older Omega like me, living without an Alpha for too long can eventually cause medical issues with the glands, so I was a bit desperate. Plus, with the alcohol involved, I didn’t mean to alarm you, and I’m deeply sorry. Yu—sorry, Siyuan is an Alpha I like very much. I’m incredibly happy to be married to him, and I’m so grateful he was willing to accommodate such an arrogant request.”
The Omega father blinked, his beautiful eyes resting quietly on Xiao Shuqing for a moment. Then, a smile graced his lips, and he turned to the boy currently trying to bury his entire face in his rice bowl. “Yuanyuan, don’t you have anything to say? Your Omega just said he likes you very much.”
The little Alpha, who had been straining his ears to listen while pretending to eat, nearly choked. Panic-stricken, he swallowed his food in one giant gulp and stammered, “I, cough. I’m really happy to be married to Professor Xiao too. Yes. I like Professor Xiao a lot.”
It was supposed to be a mere performance for the parent, yet, to Xiao Shuqing’s surprise, the usually tongue-tied Alpha actually stumbled his way into playing along.
“Professor Xiao is also very handsome.”
“He’s the most beautiful Omega I’ve ever seen.”
He muttered.
This sudden, blindsiding “confession” caught Xiao Shuqing completely off guard.
The older man shifted his gaze, his eyes landing on the boy’s ears and neck, which were now flushed a violent crimson.
Pressing his lips together to stifle a laugh, he asked helplessly, “Do you think that because I’m an Omega in his late twenties, I must have developed thick skin over the years? Like I wouldn’t feel embarrassed being praised by my own Alpha right in front of his father?”
In response, the boy practically bolted upright from his chair, fiercely denying it:
“No! You aren’t old at all!”
“From now on, I’ll only praise you behind my dad’s back!”
It was a terribly clumsy response yet so profoundly sincere.
Even his sheer, awkward helplessness was perfectly endearing.
If they hadn’t literally negotiated the exact clauses of their prenuptial agreement just yesterday, Xiao Shuqing would have genuinely suspected they were in a deeply passionate relationship.
He honestly couldn’t comprehend how this kid managed to be so utterly unpredictable.
And so, damn.
Lovable.