“You’Er, that’s what he said I should call him,” Zhang Beihan said.
Lu Yicheng froze for a moment.
Since when did Shi You and Zhang Beihan know each other?
Then he caught sight of the identical cookie bag beside Zhang Beihan, exactly the same as the one in his own hand. “Why do you have one too?”
“You’Er gave it to me,” Zhang Beihan said casually. “He came looking for you earlier but couldn’t find you, so he gave the cookies to us instead.”
Us?
Lu Yicheng turned his gaze to the others across the table.
Hu Min, Ke Zida, and Fu Jiahui all nodded, raising their own identical cookie bags.
Lu Yicheng fell silent.
“I just tried one,they’re delicious,” Hu Min said with a bright smile. “He’s so adorable. Last time I mentioned I liked nut cookies, and he actually made them for me.”
Ke Zida immediately chimed in, “Yeah! Mine has chocolate chips!”
“And he remembered I like cranberries,” another added.
“I even suggested he use transparent cookie bags, and he actually listened!”
“Seriously, Yuu’er is just too sweet. Makes you want to kiss him right on the cheek~”
The group chattered away, one sentence after another, laughing and gushing.
Meanwhile, Lu Yicheng’s jaw had tightened, his dark eyes shadowed with a deepening gloom. He sat still, saying nothing.
After a while, he reached into the bag, took out a cookie, and bit into it.
It really wasn’t that sweet anymore.
So that was it. These cookies weren’t made just for him.
In fact, his batch was the plainest,no extra ingredients, not even a little more sugar.
Lu Yicheng pressed his lips together.
That little scheming Beta.
Zhang Beihan was still typing away in the group chat, praising the cookies, when a firm hand landed on his shoulder. He spun around, finding himself face to face with Lu Yicheng.
The man’s brows were drawn together, voice low and deliberate. “When did you two meet?”
Zhang Beihan stiffened under the sharp stare and stammered, “Y-You… Shi You came by last night. You weren’t here, and we happened to be having a meeting, so he chatted with us for a bit.”
Lu Yicheng’s tone dropped lower. “And chatting involves giving out cookies now?”
“He said he was practicing, and asked what flavors we liked. Everyone told him. I didn’t think much of it, but later he added me on WeChat so I could send him my preferences.”
Lu Yicheng’s gaze turned colder. “You needed to add him on WeChat for that?”
“…” Zhang Beihan blinked. That was really not the point here.
Lu Yicheng didn’t press further. He knew he was being unreasonable, and yet…
He turned back to his laptop, typing a few keys before saying flatly, “Zhang Beihan, you’ll present first.”
“What?! Hey! We agreed to draw lots!” Zhang Beihan protested.
Lu Yicheng leaned back in his chair lazily, dark eyes half-lidded, a faint smirk ghosting across his lips. “When you finally get praised by the professor once, I’ll let you pick your order.”
Zhang Beihan: “…”
Demon. Absolute demon.
The meeting began with Zhang Beihan’s report and his miserable scolding.
For some reason, Professor Yang was in a foul mood today, finding fault with everyone except Lu Yicheng.
By the end, the room was filled with a heavy, oppressive silence.
“Yicheng,” Professor Sui Qingyan called as he was packing up to leave.
Lu Yicheng stopped and turned back politely. “Good afternoon, Professor. Do you need something?”
“It’s nothing urgent,” Sui Qingyan said with a kind smile. “I listened to your presentation in Cell Biology. Impressive work. That’s a challenging topic for botany, it’s worth pursuing further.”
“Thank you, Professor,” Lu Yicheng replied calmly.
“But about the project you showed Professor Yang earlier, the one on the growth rings, any progress there?”
“The technical side’s basically sorted out,” Lu Yicheng said. “I just need to find a designer for the prototype.”
“Good thinking. Aesthetics are important if you’re targeting practical applications.” Sui Qingyan nodded. “I know some students at the Academy of Fine Arts. I’ll recommend a few to you.”
“Thank you very much, Professor.”
Shi You returned home carrying Lu Yicheng’s jacket.
His schedule this semester wasn’t too packed; he only had morning classes.
The autumn wind outside was sharp and biting, rustling the trees in the residential complex and sending golden osmanthus petals tumbling to the ground.
Shi You shivered as he dashed into the apartment. The windows had been left open, and the chill seeped in.
He hurried to close them. Beijing’s autumn was cold and dry, his mushrooms might not survive the draft.
Just a while ago, he’d seen Lu Yicheng again. Even being in the same airspace as him seemed to warm him up.
He looked down at the jacket in his arms, puzzled. Why had Lu Yicheng given it to him anyway? Was it because he had a cleanliness quirk, once someone else wore it, he didn’t want it back?
He leaned in closer. The faint scent of cedarwood pheromones lingered, cool and crisp, blending with the mint from the detergent.
It smelled nice. Really nice.
Maybe… he shouldn’t have washed it. Now the scent had faded.
Wait, why did that sound kind of weird?
Shaking his head quickly, Shi You hung the jacket neatly on the rack in the living room.
Now, it was time to finish unpacking. Everything from his dorm had been moved here, piled messily across the floor. If he didn’t sort it out soon, the place would be a disaster.
Living alone for the first time, he was determined to make everything just the way he liked.
First order of business, turn on the heater. Max temperature, 28°C.
His previous dorm mates had all been “tough guys” who hated warm air conditioning, leaving Shi You freezing half to death every winter.
Next, the beauty humidifier. Crank it up.
He’d never had space for it in the dorm, and had to use his sister’s small facial steamer instead. Now that he had his own place, he could finally buy a real humidifier later.
The air quickly filled with a comforting warmth. Shi You stood there, basking in it, a little smile spreading across his face.
So this was living alone, so comfortable, so luxurious!
Feeling giddy, he shed his thick jacket and swapped into a thin white long-sleeve shirt.
Still too warm.
He started unbuttoning his trousers. His hips were narrow, his frame slender, and the loose autumn pants slid right off his legs when he stepped on the hem, pooling around his ankles.
Barefoot except for his socks, he padded around the apartment. The thin fabric stretched taut over his arches, accentuating the delicate curve of his feet.
Shi You pulled on his summer home shorts, his pale legs showing, and hummed a tune as he continued cleaning.
Organization wasn’t exactly his strong suit.
He grouped items vaguely by category but soon ran out of space. His gaze drifted to the large black curtains taking up half the floor. Maybe he should hang those first.
Grabbing one, he carried it to the balcony, only for the sudden gust of wind outside to startle him.
Just then, his phone rang.
He dropped the curtain fabric and dug through the pile of boxes to find it. “Hello?”
“Shi You, are you busy?” It was Professor Sui Qingyan’s voice.
“Professor Sui! No, not at all!” Shi You quickly shut the balcony door and straightened up.
Sui Qingyan was a respected professor at Beijing University and an old friend of Shi You’s brother-in-law. He had always been kind to Shi You.
“I heard you participated in the provincial design competition recently?”
“Oh, yes! The Tech Innovation Design Cup.”
“Right, that one. Your functional device design really stood out. I remember it well. Actually, one of my graduate students has a solid project that could use a designer. Would you be interested?”
Shi You blinked in surprise. Many people would kill for a chance to join a professor’s project, especially as an undergraduate.
“Me? I can?”
“Of course.” Sui Qingyan chuckled. “I’ll just make the introduction. Whether you join or not depends on the project lead.”
“Thank you so much, Professor!”
They chatted a little longer. After hanging up, Shi You couldn’t stop smiling. He’d been looking for a project anyway, something to boost his portfolio for his U-Design exchange application. This was perfect.
He stretched, loosened his shoulders, and turned toward the balcony again, then froze.
Wait.
Where was his curtain?
Shi You’s heart dropped. He dashed to the balcony and slid the glass door open. A blast of wind swept into his face. The large black curtain that had been lying there was gone.
“Oh no!” He leaned out over the railing, scanning below for any sign of it.
A piece that big shouldn’t be hard to spot, but from this height, nothing.
He turned back toward the apartment, intending to run downstairs to look for it but then stopped.
His eyes fell on the neighboring balcony.
There it was. His black curtain, draped neatly over a metal rack filled with potted plants.
Lu Yicheng’s balcony.
Crap.
Shi You rushed out the door, banging on his neighbor’s doorbell. “Lu Yicheng! Are you home?”
No response.
Probably still in class. He patted his pockets, where was his phone again?
He went back to the balcony to check. The curtain swayed in the wind, one corner lifting slightly..
Clink.
A test tube fell.
Shi You froze.
The curtain must’ve snagged on the plant stand, and the wind was whipping it hard. Another gust could send the whole shelf crashing down.
Lu Yicheng would kill him.
Shi You stood on tiptoe, stretching his arm as far as he could, but the fabric was still out of reach.
It was close, though… just one step away.
Maybe… maybe he could climb over?
He hesitated for half a second, then decided to go for it.
At that same moment, Lu Yicheng stood at the university gate, facing a flashy convertible Ferrari and an equally flashy man leaning against it.
Jiang Yanbai, his childhood friend and the very definition of “obnoxiously rich Alpha.”
Dressed head to toe in luxury brands, sunglasses perched on his nose, his pheromones broadcasted arrogance like cologne.
Before he could even say hello, Lu Yicheng had already walked past him without so much as a glance.
“Hey hey hey…. Lu!” Jiang hurried after him. “Why’re you walking away already?”
Lu Yicheng shot him a look. “Are you trying to get me in trouble? Driving that thing to the campus gate?”
“Come on, this car’s amazing!” Jiang Yanbai gestured proudly at the liquid-silver Ferrari. “Only four of these in the world! I brought it just to pick you up for some fun.”
Lu Yicheng’s expression didn’t change, “Whatever my dad offered you to do this, I’ll pay you double. Now disappear.”
“Whoa, whoa… what do you mean ‘offered’? Uncle Lu just asked me to check on you.” Jiang trailed after him. “Another arranged date, huh?”
Lu Yicheng ignored him.
“Got it, got it,” Jiang said, grinning. “All those top-tier Alphas your age go through the matchmaking phase. But I know you, you hate that stuff. So I figured I’d drag you out for a drink instead.”
“Not interested.”
“C’mon, man, just one drink… ”
“No.”
“At least let me hang out at your place, then!”
“Leave.”
But Jiang Yanbai was relentless, swaggering along beside him. “Seriously though, why don’t you date anyone? A top-grade Alpha like you, bet you’ve got Omegas lining up for a chance.”
Lu Yicheng said nothing.
“Don’t tell me it’s because you’re too busy studying. I wouldn’t get that, I’m a proud academic failure myself. So… you got someone you like?”
No answer.
“Ah, so you do! What’s the deal then boy Omega, girl Omega? Younger? Older? Someone I know?”
By the time they reached Lu Yicheng’s building, Jiang was practically narrating his own detective story.
The elevator doors opened.
Lu Yicheng sighed. “Aren’t you leaving yet?”
Jiang clapped his hands suddenly, eyes lighting up. “Wait! you’re hiding someone, aren’t you? Like… a secret lover?”
“…,” Lu Yicheng was too tired to respond. “Hide. What lover. ”
The front door swung open.
And the words died in his throat.
In the middle of the living room stood a pale, delicate boy, frozen in surprise, wide eyes staring at them.
He wore a snug white shirt, a bundle of black fabric clutched to his chest. The curve of his collarbones was sharply defined, his slim waist tapering neatly under the hem of the shirt.
Below that bare legs, impossibly fair, catching the light.
For a second, everything went still.
Even the air seemed to pause.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
A mysterious coffee offering may increase translator happiness by 37%. Probably.
☕ 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