Lu Yicheng and Zhang Beihan had come to Building Three to hand in their lab report to their advisor.
It was raining outside, the paths were slippery, and as they passed through the covered walkway after turning in their report, they heard a commotion ahead.
Zhang Beihan, who could smell gossip from a mile away, tugged at Lu Yicheng excitedly, “Lu ge, what do you think, another big campus drama? Maybe it’s…”
Before he could finish, a soft but furious voice rang out through the noise:
“I like Lu Yicheng! I like him, I like him, I like him! What’s it to you?!”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
Zhang Beihan instantly shut up.
The atmosphere froze solid.
At that exact moment, the little Beta spun around and crashed straight into Lu Yicheng’s chest.
All eyes snapped toward them at once.
Lu Yicheng stood there, expression unreadable, looking down at the person now clinging to his front.
Shi You seemed completely stunned from the impact. His soft cheeks were squished pink, brows pinched, his bangs slightly messy.
But he didn’t immediately move away. Instead, he stayed there for a moment, actually rubbing his cheek against the man’s chest before realizing something was off. He quickly lifted his head in a panic.
Their eyes met.
The silence was so sharp you could practically hear people curling their toes into the floor.
Shi You’s round eyes were wide with surprise; clearly, he hadn’t expected Lu Yicheng to appear here.
Behind him, Han Xiao’s expression also froze, pure disbelief at how things had turned.
To be honest, if Lu Yicheng didn’t spend all day buried in his lab, no one would believe he was a researcher.
He was too striking! Sharp-boned, handsome in a way that drew attention no matter what he wore. If he ever went into modeling instead of academia, he’d be worth a ridiculous amount of money.
With his looks, height, academic record, and the superior Alpha physique, it was practically impossible for him not to stand out, though he did try to stay out of drama.
He just didn’t care for social fuss. Too much trouble, too little meaning.
So in this kind of situation, his general attitude was: Respect it. Understand it. But don’t get involved.
Lu Yicheng said nothing. He turned his head slightly, forcing his gaze away from the smooth hollow of Shi You’s collarbone.
He stepped back, intending to put some distance between them but the next second, his elbow was grabbed.
Lu Yicheng: “?”
The little thing had latched onto him, arms wrapped tightly around his elbow, soft and stubborn like sticky rice cake.
Startled, Lu Yicheng instinctively reached to pull him off but then he met Shi You’s eyes.
Clear, bright, a light amber color.
They were slightly red-rimmed, maybe from anger, maybe from holding back tears. His neck stretched as he looked up, jawline delicate, expression pitiful and stubborn all at once.
Lu Yicheng: “…”
Shi You wasn’t an Omega and he was a boy, so technically, there was nothing wrong with this kind of contact.
And yet… something felt wrong.
For once, Lu Yicheng couldn’t find a logical reason to make him let go.
Han Xiao, seeing Shi You cling to another Alpha in public, felt his face twist. He forced a smile and said to Lu Yicheng, “Sorry, Senior Lu, You’Er must’ve bothered.. . ”
“Shut up! You green-tea Alpha!”
Shi You cut him off instantly.
Han Xiao: “…”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
After that outburst, Shi You hugged Lu Yicheng’s arm even tighter and tried to drag him away.
Unfortunately, their size difference was enormous. The little mushroom didn’t have much strength to begin with he tugged once and bounced right back like a rubber ball.
Frustrated mushroom.
Shi You glared up again, eyes meeting Lu Yicheng’s.
Lu Yicheng’s brows drew together; everyone around was holding their breath, waiting for his reaction. Some were even whispering under their breath.
The innocent, fiery gaze clinging to his arm was almost burning through him.
Lu Yicheng: “…”
After a long silence, he sighed quietly.
He placed a hand on Shi You’s shoulder, turned him around, and then began walking, letting the little Beta pull him away.
When Shi You realized he could actually move him, his eyes lit up like fireworks. Without hesitation, he grabbed tighter and ran.
The crowd stayed frozen in stunned silence.
Then..
“HOLY SH*T!”
“What’s going on?! This is major gossip!”
“Wait! Lu Yicheng?! Shi You?! And Han Xiao?! WHAT?!”
“A full-on love triangle!! what the hell?!”
Shi You dragged Lu Yicheng into an empty classroom on the first floor. He leaned against the doorframe, scanning the hallway to make sure no one had followed, then finally let out a long sigh.
Phew. Finally ditched Han Xiao.
Any longer, and he might’ve cursed that guy’s entire family tree on the spot.
“Hey.”
The low male voice behind him was calm and cool, carrying a lazy kind of authority. Shi You felt a warm breath brush past his ear and the back of his neck, making him tingle with heat.
He turned around and found Lu Yicheng was leaning slightly forward from being pulled along earlier, a tall frame casting a shadow over him.
Lu’s gaze dropped to the small white hands still gripping his sleeve. The thin gold rims of his glasses glanced coldly as he spoke in an even tone, “Let go.”
“Oh. Oh, right.”
Hearing that, Shi You reluctantly released him.
Lu Yicheng straightened up, face calm, unreadable. His deep eyes gave away nothing as he said, “Care to explain what that was about?”
…How was he supposed to explain that?
Shi You pursed his lips, then deciding to go for broke, raised a hand and traced a little heart in the air, blinking innocently.
“Because… I love you~?”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
A complete lunatic.
He lowered his gaze and reached for the door, ready to leave.
Seeing that, Shi You panicked and darted in front of him, blocking the way, “Wait, wait, wait! don’t go!”
He hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. He hadn’t expected Lu Yicheng to appear just then, and dragging him into this mess by accident made him feel genuinely bad.
“I… I… I…” Shi You’s brain scrambled for words.
“I’m Shi You, sophomore in Environmental Design at the Kyoto Academy of Fine Arts! I just wanted to, um, get to know you.”
Then, as if remembering his manners, he added,
“I never properly introduced myself before. I just wanted to make friends.”
Lu Yicheng looked down at the Beta before him and said flatly,
“So to make friends, you run to my lab every day and shout in public that you like me?”
Shi You: “…”
Okay… maybe that did sound a bit over the top.
Suddenly, he remembered something he’d read in a dating guide for chasing Alphas.
[Step 1: Arouse the Alpha’s curiosity.]
Seeing Lu Yicheng about to walk away again, Shi You blurted out,
“Wait! Wait! Wait! I haven’t finished!”
Maybe it was his face! those soft eyes with slightly upturned corners, long lashes curling as he blinked that made people’s hearts melt.
Lu Yicheng paused, half against his better judgment, and turned back to look at him.
The little Beta was now biting his lower lip, making it turn rosy red.
“…Let me tell you a secret,” he said, voice suddenly soft and serious.
“Come closer.”
Lu Yicheng didn’t move.
Seeing no reaction, Shi You reached out, tugged lightly at the edge of his coat, his fingers warm and pink as they hooked around Lu’s little finger.
“Come on! You’re too tall. Just bend down a bit.”
Lu Yicheng stayed expressionless, though a hint of exasperation flickered across his eyes. After a long second, he finally gave in and leaned down.
The tall Alpha lowered his head. Shi You rose on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, the white line of his ankle flashing, startlingly delicate.
Fine, Lu Yicheng thought. Let’s hear what he’s got to say.
Shi You drew in a deep breath, then whispered, soft and solemn, “Actually… I’m a mushroom.”
Lu Yicheng: “?”
Shi You hadn’t planned on revealing his mushroom identity to Lu Yicheng so soon but since he wanted to make friends and hopefully have Lu Yicheng become his future nurturing host, it felt only right to be honest between man and mushroom.
However… when he looked up at Lu Yicheng’s face, all he saw was an expression that screamed, ‘What nonsense are you even talking about?’
The little mushroom instantly wilted.
“Y-you don’t believe me, do you?” he asked, sounding wronged.
Lu Yicheng fell silent.
As a researcher who lived by science, he couldn’t even begin to entertain such a claim.
Shi You said he was a mushroom.
Ha. Ridiculous!
He might as well say he’s actually an Omega while he’s at it.
“I don’t have time to play around with you,” Lu Yicheng said flatly, turning to leave.
But before he could take two steps, Shi You threw himself forward and hugged him around the waist.
Caught completely off guard, Lu Yicheng stumbled. Somehow, the little Beta had plastered himself to his front again.
[Step 2: Physical contact!
Alphas naturally enjoy touch, and A–B contact is totally normal! Be bold! Stick close! ❤️]
Shi You, desperate and flustered, followed the guide word for word.
He buried his face in Lu Yicheng’s chest and shouted in muffled panic:
“I really am a mushroom!”
The person in his arms squirmed around, making Lu Yicheng’s balance wobble. He instinctively reached out to steady Shi You by the waist.
Shi You was thin, so pale he almost looked translucent, all skin and bone at first glance.
But unexpectedly, his body was soft. One hand could easily circle his waist, and even a light squeeze left a delicate, yielding impression.
Shi You, on the other hand, felt extremely satisfied. Sure enough, Lu Yicheng’s scent was incredible, warm, clean, and addictive.
He liked it. Liked it so much!
Lu Yicheng pried the Beta off him, holding him firmly in place.
Absurd. No, utterly absurd.
But when he looked down at the pure sincerity shining in Shi You’s eyes, he somehow managed to rein in his irritation and asked,
“You said… you’re a mushroom?”
Shi You nodded solemnly.
Lu Yicheng: “…What kind of mushroom?”
Shi You answered with complete seriousness, “I’m a sticky mushroom. I just… like sticking to people.”
Lu Yicheng: “.”
A madman.
That was the only conclusion he could draw.
He studied plants and fungi for a living. He knew about shiitakes, king oysters, enokis, tea-tree mushrooms…
But this was the first time he’d ever heard of a clingy mushroom.
Utterly preposterous.
Shi You knew Lu Yicheng probably thought he was insane, but he pressed on anyway, “I’m a mutated mushroom that took on human form.
I can’t turn back into my mushroom shape anymore, and I don’t even know exactly what kind I was.”
He paused thoughtfully, then added,
“Oh, right! I’m a domestic mushroom, I like warm, humid places, love rainy weather, and don’t really like sunlight.”
Lu Yicheng listened to him earnestly introducing himself as a mushroom and honestly feared what other impossible statements might come next.
“I also really like hugging soft things,” Shi You continued.
His pink lips moved gently as his gaze dropped again, to Lu Yicheng’s broad chest tapering into a narrow waist.
And sure enough, his next words confirmed it.
Lu Yicheng realized, with absolute certainty, that he was being shamelessly flirted with by a little liar who didn’t even realize it.
“So… I really like your chest muscles,” Shi You said.
“……”
Silence fell like the night over the River Cam.
When Lu Yicheng didn’t respond, Shi You thought maybe he hadn’t explained clearly enough, so he hastily added,
“I mean, your chest muscles feel so soft to the touch… no, not soft, I mean… comfortable… no, not comfortable either, I guess it’s more like…”
Before he could finish, Lu Yicheng clapped a hand over his mouth.
That single, blunt compliment about his chest had actually made Lu Yicheng, stoic, unflappable Lu Yicheng blush.
Hidden by the shadows, his profile was unreadable, but the faint tension in his voice betrayed him.
The person in front of him just wouldn’t stop talking.
So Lu Yicheng did the only logical thing: cover his mouth and force silence.
He’d heard plenty of compliments before people praised his looks, his grades, his background, his money…
But this was the first time anyone had ever praised his chest muscles.
And for being soft and comfortable, no less.
Did this Beta’s brain have a loose wire?
Shi You blinked in surprise at suddenly being silenced. The warmth of Lu Yicheng’s palm was much hotter than his own skin, and he instinctively pried at the man’s fingers with his own.
It was then that Lu Yicheng realized he was still holding him.
He immediately let go.
But his hand still tingled,
the ghost of that soft touch, those pliant lips, lingering like heat under his skin.
He should be grateful that Shi You was a Beta.
If he were an Omega and Lu Yicheng had covered his mouth like that, it could easily have been seen as harassment.
Shi You, however, didn’t seem to care about the interruption at all. He simply looked up at him and asked earnestly,
“So do you believe me now?”
Lu Yicheng pinched the bridge of his nose, “Believe what exactly?”
Shi You blinked.
“That I’m a mushroom.”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
The last time he’d been this speechless was… probably never.
“I know it’s hard to believe,” Shi You said softly, “but I’m not lying! Oh right and I have mycelium tentacles, but they’re unstable right now. I can’t grow them out yet. You can wait and.. ”
“Enough.” Lu Yicheng cut him off sharply.
Shi You froze.
The man’s expression had cooled noticeably, his deep voice carrying a trace of restrained irritation.
“That’s enough,” he repeated, tone firmer this time.
He looked weary, even slightly grim, as though he’d had his fill of nonsense for one day. The air between them chilled; when Lu Yicheng got serious, the sharpness of his features made him seem almost forbidding.
He seemed ready to say more, but when his gaze accidentally fell on Shi You’s anxious face, his voice softened, just barely.
He exhaled slowly, turned his head aside, and said in a more measured tone,
“I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve here. But claiming to be a ‘mutated mushroom’, that’s absurd. It violates every principle of evolution and biology. Why should I believe you?”
He paused a moment, then added,
“And if you’re just using me to fend off another Alpha who’s chasing you, I suggest you find someone else.”
Shi You opened his mouth, wanting to explain but the words stuck in his throat.
Lu Yicheng took his silence as an agreement, “I’ll be going,” he said quietly, then turned and left the classroom.
The door clicked shut behind him,
ending this ridiculous farce in a single, final sound.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(￣ω￣;) the translator is staring at the coffee button
☕ 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