Shi You dragged himself back to the dorm looking completely defeated.
His apartment off-campus was still under renovation, so for the time being, he was staying in Bai Yuanshan’s dorm.
One of Yuanshan’s Omega roommates had just moved out to live with his boyfriend, leaving an empty bed for him.
Bai Yuanshan was lounging on his chair with a facial mask plastered across his face, watching the latest over-the-top Alpha–Omega melodrama on his iPad.
He shouted at the screen in disgust, “What the hell is wrong with this Alpha? He can’t even protect his own Omega! What’s the point of existing then?”
He threw his hands up dramatically. “Seriously, this show is so damn stupid. Hey, You’Er, look at this… ”
But when he turned around, he froze.
Shi You was slumped over his desk, face pressed against the wood, completely motionless.
“Holy shit, what’s wrong with you?!” Yuanshan jumped up, tore off his mask, and hurried over to lift Shi You’s face from the table.
The boy was as soft and limp as a puddle of melted jelly, his head drooping weakly.
“Yuanshan…” Shi You murmured, “I think I made Lu Yicheng angry.”
“What?” Yuanshan’s eyes widened. “When? Where? Just now? Didn’t you two leave together?”
“Yeah,” Shi You answered listlessly, replying to each question one by one.
“We did leave together… but once we got to the classroom, he tried to run away. So to stop him, I followed the plan from that post you sent me.”
The moment Yuanshan heard “that post,” alarm bells went off. He quickly grabbed a stool and sat down beside him. “Wait, hold up. What exactly did you do?”
Shi You bit his lip nervously. “I just followed it step by step, told him one of my big secrets, hugged him, snuggled a bit, and then praised his chest muscles.”
His tone turned soft, almost dreamy. “His chest was really big and soft and… comfortable.”
Yuanshan: “…”
You’Er, you little beast.
Shi You’s lashes drooped as he rested his head on the desk again, mumbling, “Do you think Lu Yicheng will hate me now?”
That… was a tough question.
Yuanshan tried to comfort him. “Don’t worry, there are plenty of Alphas in the world. It’s not like he’s the only one. If you want, I can introduce you to some good ones, guaranteed high quality and definitely not idiots like Han Xiao.”
Shi You rolled onto his side and groaned. “But what if I only want Lu Yicheng…”
Yuanshan blinked. “Seriously? What do you even like about him? Don’t tell me your type is cold, expressionless jerks?”
Shi You sat up straight, his expression serious. “It’s his scent. Lu Yicheng smells really nice, it’s comforting.”
“His scent? You mean his pheromones?” Yuanshan was taken aback. “Wait, you can actually smell his pheromones? That’s rare, most Betas can’t sense them at all.”
Shi You nodded slightly. “Anyway, for… certain reasons, I have to get along with him.” He emphasized the words. “Very important reasons.”
Yuanshan looked at his pretty face, that delicate mix of innocence and temptation, honestly, with looks like that, he could probably reel in eight Alphas at once. Too bad he was a total idiot when it came to romance.
He sighed. “Fine, fine. Whatever you say. By the way, we’re having a club dinner tomorrow night, a home party after that. Are you coming?”
“No.” Shi You refused instantly. “I’m not playing with you guys again. You bullied me last time. Tomorrow, I’m going to my apartment. My packages are arriving, I need to start setting things up.”
Last time they played truth or dare, the group had forced him to change his delivery name on Taobao to “Little Princess with a Perky Butt and Slim Waist.” His face had burned so hot he thought he’d combust.
Yuanshan burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Your luck is just too good. Wait, did you ever change it back?”
That reminded Shi You. He immediately grabbed his phone and checked. “Crap. I forgot! I just ordered a few more packages too.”
“It’s fine, babe. No one actually looks at the name anyway.” Yuanshan waved it off.
Just then, Shi You’s phone buzzed with a text.
He glanced at it, an unknown number.
“Hello, is this Little Princess with a Perky Butt and Slim Waist?”
Shi You: “???”
He turned slowly to glare at Yuanshan, whose guilty expression said it all. “Maybe it’s the delivery guy!” Yuanshan said weakly. “Totally normal if he saw that name.”
Another text came in before he could answer.
“I’m your neighbor. It seems your package was delivered to my unit by mistake. I’ve brought it inside to keep it safe. Please come by to pick it up when you can.”
Shi You: “…”
Yuanshan: “…”
His future neighbor.
Shi You’s face flushed a deep pink as he glared daggers at Yuanshan, biting his lip so hard it almost hurt. “I actually put the wrong address, kill me now.”
He hurried to type back, ‘I’m so, so sorry! Thank you so much! I’ll come by tomorrow right away (⌒_⌒;)’
The other person replied almost immediately, “Tomorrow at 12:30 noon will be fine.”
Shi You responded with a simple Got it. His eyes lingered on that humiliating delivery name.
After a long moment, he sighed miserably. “Do you think my neighbor thinks I’m a pervert?”
Yuanshan tilted his head, thoughtful. “Well… you do have a perky butt and a slim waist.”
Shi You punched him.
A streak of cold weather over the next few days brought the true feeling of autumn. The air was damp and chilly, and golden leaves curled along the cobblestone paths.
Shi You didn’t have class that morning, and the dorm was unusually quiet. He slept until ten.
When he finally woke, the room was dim, the sky outside still gray. He poked his head out from the curtain of his bed, blinking sleepily toward the balcony.
His body was warm and flushed from sleep, his cheeks dusted with soft pink. As he climbed out of bed, the cool air made him shiver.
Mushrooms were said to be sensitive to changes in the weather and apparently, so was he.
He shuffled to the balcony to wash up, trembling a little. “So cold…” he muttered under his breath.
His phone rang. Bai Yuanshan.
“You’Er, you up yet?” came the noisy voice on the other end.
“Just woke up. What’s up?”
“Can you help me bring lunch to Huai Nian? That idiot’s playing basketball in the gym. Damn it, my assignment just got confiscated by the professor, so I can’t go.”
“I made him a fitness meal, it’s on my desk. You just need to drop it off.”
Huai Nian, full name Ran Huainian was a second-year master’s student in Applied Technology, their student council president, and Yuanshan’s childhood friend.
An Alpha, of course. The two of them had been inseparable since they were little, practically childhood sweethearts.
Shi You had always received a lot of help from the pair, so a small favor like this was nothing.
“Of course! No problem. The gym near the paddy fields, right?”
“Yep! I’ll text Huai Nian so he knows you’re coming. Thanks, babe~”
Shi You hung up, stretched lazily, then frowned. The chill in the air seemed to be getting to him more than usual. A faint pain pulsed at the back of his neck.
He thought about using his pheromone-suppressant spray but he’d finished the last bottle yesterday.
“It’s fine,” he told himself. “It’s not like anything will happen.”
He threw on a fresh outfit, grabbed the lunchbox, and headed for the gym.
The moment he stepped inside, the warmth hit him like a wave, thick with sweat and testosterone.
Most of the players were Alphas, muscles taut beneath sleeveless shirts, energy radiating off them in heatwaves.
And among them, one figure stood out immediately.
Tall, lean, graceful, Lu Yicheng.
Without his lab coat and gold-rimmed glasses, his sharp features looked even more striking, dangerously handsome.
His expression was calm, eyes focused, movements precise. He feinted, spun, and shot, the ball arced neatly through the air and into the hoop.
“Damn, Lu-ge! That was beautiful!” Zhang Beihan, dripping with sweat, ran over for a high-five. “If your rumored boyfriend saw that, he’d probably faint from how cool you looked.”
Lu Yicheng wiped the sweat from his jaw, his brows knitting. “Rumored boyfriend?”
“Yeah, that cute Beta you were with yesterday! The forum’s going crazy! The campus wall exploded, man! There’s even a headline.” Zhang Beihan shoved his phone in his face.
Across the screen, two giant characters screamed: Shocking!
“Shocking! The Campus Alpha God Lu Yicheng’s Mysterious Lover Exposed! Publicly Declares Possession and Runs Away with His Beta Boyfriend!”
Lu Yicheng’s expression went blank.
He scrolled through the replies.
[1L] OP: Saw it with my own eyes! The prettiest Beta in Fine Arts got confessed to by that green-tea Alpha Han Xiao, but then Lu Yicheng swooped in, shielded him, and left together! A declaration of sovereignty! They literally eloped on the spot!!
[4L] No way, that’s gotta be real, right?!
[25L] You guys don’t get it! A loving B means it’s true love! No pheromone influence! True! Love!
[27L] [Attached photo] Ahhh, Shi You are so cute! Betas can be this adorable?? The height difference is perfect, I’m dying…
[29L] Elegant, dangerous Alpha scientist x naughty little Beta, crying from lack of lube type of combo, I can’t breathe!!
Lu Yicheng put the phone down. “…Ridiculous.”
Zhang Beihan chuckled. “Come on, you’re not curious? Not even a little?”
Lu Yicheng thought of Shi You’s earnest little face from yesterday, tugging at his sleeve and declaring that he was a “mushroom.” The memory was absurd enough to make his lips twitch. “No. Not curious.”
“Suit yourself.” Zhang shrugged.
At that moment, another familiar voice called across the court. “Nice shot, Yicheng.”
Ran Huainian approached, spinning a basketball in his hands. He smiled. “Still as sharp as ever.”
Lu Yicheng nodded politely. “Thanks.”
They’d collaborated on projects before, Huainian was brilliant, well-connected, and friendly.
The three of them chatted briefly about work until Zhang suggested, “Hey, why don’t we grab lunch later? We still need you to introduce a designer for our environmental project.”
“Sure, I can introduce someone. But lunch…” Huainian checked his watch, then smiled. “Let’s do it another time. My partner’s bringing me food today.”
Zhang teased him, “Ohhh, so that’s the reason. Which little Omega stole your heart this time… ”
Before he could finish, Huainian waved toward the entrance. “You’Er! Over here!”
Lu Yicheng froze.
A boy came running inside, bundled in an oversized white hoodie, hair tousled, cheeks flushed pink from the wind.
His eyes were bright and soft, his ears tinged red. In his hands was a red heart-shaped lunchbox that stood out vividly against his snow-white clothes.
Zhang Beihan blinked, then elbowed Lu Yicheng hard, whispering, “Wait… isn’t that your little boyfriend?”
Lu Yicheng didn’t reply, but the sharp crease of his brow was enough to show his mood.
Yesterday, that Beta had been wrapped up with him in one ridiculous scene after another and now he was here, smiling sweetly while delivering lunch to another Alpha.
And the whole school was still gossiping about their “romance.”
Just how many Alphas did this Beta have?
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Tiny coffee. Big appreciation. ✧
☕ 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