Lu Yicheng’s hand paused halfway through pushing the steamer.
It wasn’t the first time someone had mistaken his relationship with Shi You, but it was the first time a stranger had asked so directly.
He was just about to explain when Shi You opened his mouth first.
“No, we’re just neighbors.”
Shi You’s tone was light and natural, not a hint of hesitation or embarrassment.
Lu Yicheng: “…”
Wasn’t he being a little too calm?
It wasn’t at all what Lu Yicheng had imagined. He’d thought Shi You might blush and stammer out an explanation, or maybe get shy and stay quiet. Instead, he was so straightforward and casual, clearing up the misunderstanding as if it were nothing at all, his bright eyes still sparkling with that same easy warmth.
Well, that was normal, wasn’t it? After all, there really was nothing between them. Any other reaction might have made things more suspicious.
Lu Yicheng lowered his gaze, lifted his eyelids, and bit into a dumpling.
…Why did it suddenly not taste as good as before?
Aunt Sun rested her chin on her hand, sighing in disappointment. “Ah, so that’s how it is. You’re just neighbors then.”
“Not exactly,” Shi You said.
Lu Yicheng’s hand froze.
He heard the little Beta chuckle lightly. “He’s also my senior at school.”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
…Was this some kind of playing hard to get tactic?
Lu Yicheng promptly finished off all the dumplings in front of him.
Then Shi You suddenly seemed to remember something. “By the way, Yicheng, how was that batch of cookies I made last time? Did they taste any better?”
Lu Yicheng wiped his mouth and said coolly, “The flavor was a bit one-note.”
Shi You blinked.
One-note? What kind of description was that?
Why did it feel like he’d gone cold on him again?
Lu Yicheng, seeing that they were done eating, stood up and gestured toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“Oh, okay.” Shi You stood up too, then remembered something. “Wait a sec, I’ll go pay.”
Aunt Sun poked her head out from the kitchen. “No need, little You, your neighbor senior already paid for you.”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
Neighbor senior. What kind of strange title was that?
Shi You perked up instantly, hurrying after him with a grin. “Thanks, Yicheng! Then I’ll treat you next time.”
“No need.”
Lu Yicheng’s voice was cool, his brows slightly drawn as he strode straight toward the school. “You don’t need to be polite with your neighbor senior.”
Shi You: “?”
Seeing how fast he was walking, Shi You followed close behind, afraid to let the distance between them stretch even two meters.
He glanced down at his phone.
Tch. Barely half an hour.
Not nearly enough for his body to stabilize.
His breathing started to go uneven. He felt weightless, like the air around him was swelling and pressing down, waves of something strange rushing over him. His body tingled, his skin prickling as though something invisible were brushing against him.
Then he walked right into Lu Yicheng’s back.
Even through layers of fabric, he could feel the faint, cool scent of cedarwood wrapping around him, steady and grounding.
Shi You blinked, his senses finally returning. They were already at the school gate.
“Watch where you’re going.”
Lu Yicheng’s tone was calm, expression unreadable. He reached out, his long, well-shaped fingers pressing lightly on Shi You’s shoulder to push him away, then gave him a brief glance. “I’m leaving.”
Before he could turn, Shi You reached out and grabbed the corner of his coat. “Wait, wait, wait, hold on!”
Lu Yicheng frowned slightly. What was this kid up to now?
Shi You’s grip tightened subconsciously, his voice soft and a little breathless. “Can I… maybe come find you for lunch sometime?”
Lu Yicheng looked down at his pale face, the faint sheen of sweat on his forehead, and after a pause, said, “I’ve got a lunch meeting with my project group.”
“Then dinner?”
“I have night classes.”
“Then… can we go home together after school?”
“…”
“Shi You.”
Lu Yicheng’s tone dropped, low and steady. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
Shi You froze, words sticking in his throat. “I, no, nothing, I just…”
His face flushed, eyes darting nervously as he bit his lower lip.
This kid wasn’t even an Omega, and yet somehow, in that moment, Lu Yicheng felt like he was the one acting like some Alpha bullying an innocent Omega.
He sighed, brushing his hair back with a faintly irritated motion, expression composed but sharp around the edges. “Do whatever you want.”
Shi You finally let out a relieved breath, releasing his grip. “Then I’ll contact you later!”
And before Lu Yicheng could say a word, he turned and ran off.
Lu Yicheng stood there for a long moment.
Wait.
They didn’t even have each other’s WeChat.
How was he planning to contact him?
Shi You ran all the way to the small grove behind the fifth teaching building.
The air there was cooler, the scents of wood and damp leaves dulling everything else.
He crouched under a tree, rummaging through his bag until he found a small silver canister.
It was the emergency suppressant spray Yu Jingyue had mailed him, a last resort for when the symptoms got too bad to handle.
He couldn’t just shamelessly cling to Lu Yicheng for help. And even if they stayed close, it wouldn’t really work unless there was… a lot of contact.
Shi You sprayed himself several times, the sharp scent filling the air. Then he sat there, head in his hands, trying to ride out the wave of dizziness and heat crawling under his skin.
Cold sweat ran down his forehead. His vision swam. His skin felt like it was burning from the inside out, tiny sparks of pain darting everywhere. His fingers twisted in his shirt, leaving faint creases behind.
“Am I getting weaker?” he muttered between breaths. “Maybe I really should work out more.”
He sighed again and checked the time.
Damn, it was already class time.
But there was no way he could make it to class like this.
Annoying.
He sent a message to his advisor asking for leave, then shouldered his bag and went home.
That’s why Lu Yicheng never saw him again that day.
By the time evening fell, the sky had already turned black. The air was heavy with moisture, clouds pressing low as if a downpour were about to begin.
Lu Yicheng’s professor had suddenly changed the time for their evening session. Even so, he didn’t go home right away.
He lingered in the lab, telling himself he was just finishing up some data, though part of him kept glancing toward the door, just in case Shi You showed up.
He sorted and rechecked every last bit of data, and when he finally looked up, the hallway outside was empty.
No sign of anyone peeking in, no messages on his phone either.
Most students had already gone home; only a few Alphas and Omegas stayed behind for self-study.
A strange, faint feeling of absurdity washed over him. Was he really waiting for Shi You?
He stood, gathering his things, convincing himself he’d only stayed behind to work.
Just then, there was a sudden noise outside the lab door.
Lu Yicheng looked up.
Standing in the doorway was Jiang Yanbai, grinning like a fool. “Yo, Lao Lu!”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
Instant disdain.
Seeing his friend’s expression shift from cold to murderous, Jiang Yanbai instinctively hunched his shoulders, half hiding behind the door. “Okay, okay, I can tell I came at a bad time.”
Lu Yicheng walked past him without a word, flipping off the lights as he went.
“Hey, hey, Lao Lu, don’t be like that!” Jiang hurried after him. “I came to apologize, to you and to your little brother-in-law!”
At the words little brother-in-law, Lu Yicheng stopped dead.
The glare he turned on him could have cut glass.
Jiang swallowed hard. Okay, maybe not the best time for jokes.
“You’re waiting for him, aren’t you?” he asked tentatively.
“Who’s waiting for him?” Lu Yicheng shot back immediately, voice clipped and cold.
“…”
Terrifying.
Desperate to save himself, Jiang quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, I bought some strawberry cake from Fecake. You know, the one people line up three hours for? It’s amazing. You could use it to make peace with your little… uh, friend.”
Lu Yicheng’s gaze landed on the box.
He’d heard of that bakery, Shi You would probably love it. The kid had a sweet tooth.
…But why should he care whether the kid was happy or not?
The faint flare of emotion made Jiang’s instincts prickle; he could practically feel the Alpha’s mood shift through the air.
Lu Yicheng clicked his tongue softly. “Drink?”
“Huh? At this hour?” Jiang blinked, then shrugged. “Sure, give me a minute, I’ll book a room and call a few people. Oh, and the cake, should I just send it with the driver?”
“Just us,” Lu Yicheng said coolly. “The bar across from campus. And when did I say I wasn’t keeping the cake?”
Jiang Yanbai: “…”
He had absolutely no idea what was going on anymore.
Still, if Lu Yicheng actually wanted to drink, he’d be damned if he didn’t tag along. Maybe he could even dig up some gossip about that Beta.
At the bar
“What the hell? You mean you two aren’t together?!”
The sound of a glass hitting the counter echoed sharply, drawing curious glances from nearby tables.
“Shut up.”
Lu Yicheng’s tone was low, his expression dark. He leaned back, fingers tapping the rim of his glass. The usual calm, restrained aura around him seemed to crack just slightly.
Jiang lowered his voice, but the disbelief still leaked through. “No way. So it’s true then, you’re not keeping that Beta? Damn, Jiang Hancheng was right!”
“You’re sick,” Lu Yicheng said flatly. “There’s nothing between us. He just said he liked me, and sometimes comes around.”
“Oh… so he’s your admirer then.” Jiang refilled his glass with a smirk. “Still, you’ve been acting different. I’ve known you for years, and I’ve never seen you like this.”
Lu Yicheng’s eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
Jiang raised a brow. “Well, for starters, who the hell goes to a bar and immediately asks the bartender to chill a strawberry cake?”
Lu Yicheng’s silence was answer enough.
“Anyway,” Jiang went on, “if that pretty Beta really likes you, and he suddenly ghosted you for no reason… maybe something happened. I mean, not that you’d think of that kind of thing. You don’t even care about Omegas whose pheromones could knock out a room, so how could I expect you to understand a Beta’s feelings?”
“At the very least,” Jiang Yanbai said, his words slightly slurred from drink, “that little Beta’s so damn pretty, why don’t you just say yes to him already? You could even bring him home to piss your old man off.”
Lu Yicheng only half-heard the sentence. His mind had stopped at the beginning, that little Beta. The faint nasal sound in Shi You’s voice that morning flashed through his head. Was he… sick?
Jiang had already downed eight bottles by then, his face flushed crimson. “Lao Lu, seriously, you’re still drinking?”
“Mm.”
Lu Yicheng poured himself another.
“I get it, you can hold your liquor,” Jiang groaned, leaning over the table, “.. but I can’t. If you keep this up, I’ll die here.”
“Mm.” Another glass poured, calm as ever.
By the time they were done, Jiang Yanbai was seeing double. His driver had to half-carry him out of the bar.
Lu Yicheng watched the car pull away before heading to the counter to settle the bill. On his way out, he didn’t forget the strawberry cake waiting in the bar’s refrigerator.
The night had deepened, streetlights casting long amber streaks across the empty road. The faint wind carried a chill sharp enough to brush against the skin, though it couldn’t quite stir the few scattered leaves still clinging to the trees.
Lu Yicheng walked steadily down the quiet street, dressed all in black, the pink cake box in his hand looking absurdly out of place against the rest of him.
He wasn’t completely drunk, his steps were firm and his head clear, but there was a drowsy haze behind his eyes, the kind that made his thoughts drift.
He soon reached his building. For a brief moment, he wondered where that little liar might be now.
He pressed the elevator button and waited.
It wasn’t surprising that Shi You hadn’t shown up. After all, he was the one who’d rejected him first. No matter how thick-skinned the kid was, coming by again after that would’ve been awkward.
And besides, he’d long stopped expecting anyone to actually wait for him. From childhood until now, expectations like that always led to disappointment.
Forget it.
He exhaled slowly, as if letting go of something invisible.
Shi You was right, they were just neighbors, schoolmates at best. He had no right to expect anything more.
Ding,
The elevator doors slid open.
Dim light stretched across the narrow corridor, breaking into uneven patches of gold and shadow. It was unusually quiet. The closed windows held in a faint trace of warmth, blending with the darkness. The air smelled faintly sweet, almost comforting.
And right there, in front of his door, where no one ever waited, sat a young man.
Lu Yicheng froze.
Shi You was leaning against a small potted fir by the doorway, bundled up in a thick cotton jacket, his head drooping as though asleep.
The soft glow from the corridor lights brushed over his hair, his lashes casting small shadows on his cheeks. He looked like a little mushroom that had sprouted at his doorstep.
Well… technically, he was a mushroom.
Lu Yicheng squatted down slowly, studying him.
He had a dozen questions, why was he here, how long had he been waiting, wasn’t he cold? But he’d had enough to drink that his thoughts came sluggishly, one at a time, dissolving before he could chase them down.
So instead of thinking, he just looked.
The boy’s face was painfully good-looking, skin pale and smooth, eyelashes long and curling upward, features delicate and fine in every line.
His eyes were closed, his cheeks slightly flushed, lips soft, his breath coming slow and even. He looked so harmless like this, so obediently still, that Lu Yicheng suddenly felt an odd impulse to reach out and pinch his cheek.
Compared to his usual noisy, clingy behavior, this version of Shi You was… quietly endearing. Almost gentle.
He must have stared for a long while, because just then, Shi You’s lashes trembled. His eyes fluttered open.
Their gazes met.
Something in those half-dazed eyes caught Lu Yicheng off guard, like a sudden jolt of static under the skin. For a second, he forgot how close they were, the air between them thin as paper.
Shi You blinked up at him, disoriented. “Am I hallucinating?”
His voice, soft and sleepy, brushed across Lu Yicheng’s chest like a feather. It lingered there, trailing warmth and something that tickled faintly, unsettlingly pleasant.
And then, before he could react, the boy threw his arms around his neck.
Lu Yicheng’s balance tilted, his hands bracing against the door behind Shi You, effectively trapping him within the circle of his arms.
The kid wasn’t fully conscious, his body heavy and burning. The suppressant spray had clearly failed, and his temperature was high enough that the heat radiated through their clothes.
This had to be his worst post-warmth reaction yet.
He’d tried to leave earlier, tried to go find Lu Yicheng like he promised, but he’d realized too late, he didn’t even have his WeChat. He didn’t know if it’d be okay to go knock on his door. And when he’d turned back, his own door had slammed shut in the wind.
No phone. No keys. A fever that only kept climbing.
He’d nearly passed out right there.
But luckily, he’d waited long enough.
In his half-delirious state, guided by instinct more than thought, Shi You leaned closer to the only scent that could calm him, the clean, steady cedar that belonged to Lu Yicheng.
Gone was the mischievous boy who teased and grinned and talked too much. Now, he was quiet, gentle, his cheek rubbing faintly against Lu Yicheng’s shoulder as if seeking comfort. His lashes fluttered once against his skin, soft as down.
“It’s really you,” Shi You murmured, voice small and hoarse. “You smell so good… feels so nice.”
Then he sniffed again, right against Lu Yicheng’s neck. “Yicheng, you’ve been drinking.”
Lu Yicheng’s pulse jumped. His hands hovered awkwardly midair, not sure where to put them. The tips of his ears went red before he even realized it.
He was about to pull Shi You away, but the moment his fingers wrapped around the boy’s wrist, the heat of his skin made him flinch.
Too hot.
The haze of alcohol snapped right out of his head. He steadied the boy and touched his forehead with the back of his hand.
Burning. Definitely a fever.
He’d known something was off that morning, he should have said something, made him wear more layers. Maybe then he wouldn’t have gotten this bad.
Shi You was half-asleep again, his weight slumping against Lu Yicheng’s shoulder, murmuring something unintelligible but refusing to move away.
Lu Yicheng sighed softly and patted his back.
The only response was a few small, sleepy hums.
“I’ll take you home,” he said.
“Don’t have my keys…” came the faint mumble against his chest.
“Then call your friend.”
“No phone…”
“…”
Lu Yicheng exhaled, long and slow. Property management would’ve gone home by now, and without a phone, they couldn’t even call a locksmith.
He hesitated, then reached out to tug lightly at Shi You’s arm. “Shi You, let go for a second.”
“Mm.” The response was obedient, but his arms didn’t move an inch.
Lu Yicheng tried again, gently. “Let go.”
“Mm.. Hmm.”
Still nothing.
Silence hung between them for a moment. Then Lu Yicheng’s shoulders relaxed, his tone softening. “Alright then. Hold on tight.”
Before Shi You could process it, his feet left the ground.
Lu Yicheng’s arm slipped around his waist, steady and strong. His fingers curved naturally against his back, the motion smooth and practiced, veins standing faintly under his skin as he lifted him with ease.
Balancing him with one hand, he fished out his keys with the other, sliding them into the lock.
“Come on,” he said quietly, pushing the door open. “You’re staying at my place tonight.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
No propaganda here. Only coffee.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · MushroomChapter 2 · Blocking The RoadChapter 3 · Pectoral MuscleChapter 4 · Delivering MealChapter 5 · CoatChapter 6 · NeighbourChapter 7 · CookiesChapter 8 · BalconyChapter 9 · MyceliumChapter 10 · Don’t PinchChapter 11 · Warmth and NourishmentChapter 12 · Speak without RestraintChapter 13 · On the bedChapter 14 · InterviewChapter 15 · InjuredChapter 16 · So WetChapter 17 · Drink WineChapter 18 · Play AgainChapter 19 · HostChapter 20 · RomanceChapter 21 · KissChapter 22 · What should Daddy do?Chapter 23 · Washing FeetsChapter 24 · MoodChapter 25 · No kissing allowedChapter 26 · Broken BridgeChapter 27 · Blind DateChapter 28 · Dinner PartyChapter 29 · FamilyChapter 30 · Heat Sensitivity PeriodChapter 31 · LickChapter 32 · AgainChapter 33 · BabyChapter 34 · SeminarChapter 35 · Matcha TroubleChapter 36 · SpankingChapter 37 · EroticChapter 38 · JealousyChapter 39 · Little Male ServantChapter 40 · I want…Chapter 41 · Deep ConnectionChapter 42 · ToothpasteChapter 43 · DifferentiationChapter 44 · A KissChapter 45 · The Taoist TempleChapter 46 · Chasing SomeoneChapter 47 · Feeding the MedicineChapter 48 · The MessageChapter 49 · Get DownChapter 50 · Soft WaistChapter 51 · HeatChapter 52 · Deep Within the ForestChapter 53 · SensitivityChapter 54 · The Little Perverted MushroomChapter 55 · Turn AroundChapter 56 · DisappearanceChapter 57 · Don’t NurtureChapter 58 · MadnessChapter 59 · The ReasonChapter 60 · Declaring OwnershipChapter 61 · I Love YouChapter 62 · KitchenChapter 63 · Sneaking into BedChapter 64 · AdulteryChapter 65 · The Muscle Show!Chapter 66 · Was It Fun?Chapter 67 · In Front of the MirrorChapter 68 · The LondonChapter 69 · Don’t Be SadChapter 70 · End of Main StoryChapter 71 · Extra 1Chapter 72 · Extra 2Chapter 73 · Extra 3Chapter 74 · Extra 4Chapter 75 · Extra 5