Shen Jiayu covered his cheeks with both hands in disbelief. His entire small face had turned into a bright red apple, the crimson flush spreading all the way behind his ears.
I actually said those things and did those things to Sir… this is too shameful!
Shen Jiayu was embarrassed to the extreme. Subconsciously, he hid his entire body under the covers.
Consequently, when Wen Xiuheng entered carrying a glass of water, he saw that the figure on the bed had vanished. In its place, a strange, moving lump had formed under the quilt in the center of the bed.
Wen Xiuheng: “……?”
The Alpha walked to the bedside, a helpless smile tugging at his lips. “What’s wrong, Jiayu…?”
The silhouette bulging under the quilt stiffened instantly, freezing in place.
After a moment, a muffled voice came from inside the covers, soft and waxy like a little glutinous rice ball: “It’s… it’s nothing, Sir.”
Wen Xiuheng found it adorable and continued to coax him patiently: “Be good, come out and drink some water, okay?”
The silhouette under the quilt moved sluggishly. Then, messy, fluffy rose colored hair emerged, followed by a pair of misty, rose colored eyes.
Like a little snail retreating into its shell, Shen Jiayu only dared to show two tiny antennae. He peeked timidly at Wen Xiuheng with his beautiful, flushed face and whispered obediently: “Please put it on the table… I’ll drink it in a little while.”
Though puzzled, Wen Xiuheng respected the boy’s wishes and placed the water aside.
Looking at the pot of roses next to the water glass, Wen Xiuheng had a rough guess, his little one likely remembered what had happened during his drunken state the night before.
He still had some work to handle and thought it best to give the boy some private space. After warmly reminding him to drink the water, he walked out.
Only after Wen Xiuheng left did the “little snail” slowly crawl out from under the covers with a red face. Whenever he thought of last night, he felt it was truly too humiliating. He had no idea how to face Sir anymore.
When Wen Xiuheng returned from the office, he finally realized the “severity” of what had happened the previous night. Specifically, during dinner, the boy’s face was constantly red, and he didn’t dare look at him. Whenever their eyes met by chance, Jiayu would look away in a panic.
After finishing his meal, Shen Jiayu hurried upstairs back to his room. Wen Xiuheng put down his chopsticks and sighed helplessly, causing Auntie Cui to ask him worriedly what was wrong.
Wen Xiuheng intended to go upstairs to talk to Shen Jiayu. He knocked lightly on the door, and a weak voice came from inside: “Sir, I… I’m already asleep.”
The Alpha rubbed the bridge of his nose helplessly. He didn’t want to force Shen Jiayu into anything, perhaps his little one needed more time to process the events of that drunken night.
The man said warmly outside the door: “Alright. Goodnight, Jiayu.”
Inside the room, Shen Jiayu slowly emerged from the covers, his face flushed. He turned to look at the pot of roses by the bed and bit his lip.
The next day, on the way back to the company from an outside meeting, Wen Xiuheng sat in the back seat, staring out the window with a slight frown, lost in thought.
Zhou Yi, sitting in the passenger seat, peeked cautiously through the rearview mirror. He wondered what was wrong with the boss, the merger meeting just now had gone smoothly, so why did the boss look so heavy-hearted?
As Zhou Yi was thinking this, his eyes locked onto Wen Xiuheng’s through the mirror. Zhou Yi inwardly hissed and tried to find a topic to save the situation.
To his surprise, Wen Xiuheng spoke first: “Assistant Zhou, don’t you have a younger brother who just started high school?”
“…Huh?” The question caught Zhou Yi completely off guard. “Yes… yes, President Wen.”
The Alpha’s long fingers tapped nonchalantly on his wristwatch. “What should one do if a child of that age is unwilling to communicate much?”
A giant question mark popped up over Zhou Yi’s head: ???
Is the boss asking me for parenting advice? I don’t know either! My “good” brother only looks for me when he wants pocket money. His opening line in the chat is always: ‘Bro, you there?’
Zhou Yi’s lip twitched, but being clever, he immediately connected the dots.
Why else would the boss ask? Of course, it was because of the partner at home who was ten years younger! Something must have happened between the boss and Young Master Shen.
“Kids this age have strong self-esteem and their own ideas. Communicating with them has to be done slowly; you can’t rush it.” After saying this, Zhou Yi accidentally bit his tongue. His words were essentially meaningless, mostly because this was indeed outside his field of expertise.
Zhou Yi scratched his head and continued tentatively: “Maybe you could look online to see what others say? Honestly, I don’t have much experience.”
“Mm,” Wen Xiuheng responded deeply. He had indeed considered something similar.
Consequently, that afternoon, Zhou Yi received a document from Wen Xiuheng containing a long list of books to be purchased. The titles included:
Psychology of Adolescent Communication, Techniques and Mindsets for Communicating with Teenagers, Manual for Solving Key Problems in Adolescence, How to Communicate with Teenagers: Speak Slowly…
Zhou Yi: ????
On the other side, at school, Shen Jiayu was uncharacteristically dazed during class until Yin Youning nudged him back to reality.
After class, Yin Youning poked Shen Jiayu curiously: “Little Jiayu, what’s up with you? You seem so distracted.”
Shen Jiayu hurriedly lowered his eyes: “It’s… it’s nothing.”
“Hmm?” Yin Youning narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Is it about your husband?”
At the mention of the word “husband,” Shen Jiayu’s face turned red instantly.
Yin Youning was immediately certain it involved that Alpha. Ever since returning from the weekend, Shen Jiayu had been like this. Something must have happened.
“Did he bully you?” Yin Youning asked, knitting his brows and rolling up his sleeves, revealing arms with zero muscle.
Shen Jiayu quickly denied it: “No, Sir didn’t bully me!”
“Then what is it?”
Shen Jiayu’s shoulders slumped like a deflated ball. “It’s me… I did something very embarrassing in front of Sir…”
Yin Youning asked, puzzled: “What specifically happened?”
Shen Jiayu stuttered and lowered his head, his face crimson. He could never bring himself to say things like “touching Sir’s Adam’s apple” or “talking about having babies.”
Before Yin Youning could get an answer, the class bell rang. The professor announced that the once a semester outdoor sketching trip was coming up. Their entire class would go to the outskirts of the neighboring city for five days, with the school organizing transportation and lodging.
This had been mentioned before, the departure was set for the day after tomorrow.
Returning home that evening, Shen Jiayu thought he should tell Sir about the trip in advance.
At dinner, Wen Xiuheng was busy and couldn’t make it back in time. Later that night, Shen Jiayu hesitated before walking to Wen Xiuheng’s bedroom and knocking.
The door opened, and the tall, handsome Alpha appeared in front of him wearing a bathrobe. He looked like he had just showered, his dark hair wasn’t fully dry, and his firm chest muscles were partially visible under the loose robe.
Wen Xiuheng was a bit surprised that Shen Jiayu had come to find him.
“Jiayu, what is it?” His deep, magnetic voice sounded gentle. He stepped aside, gesturing for the boy to come in and talk.
Shen Jiayu shook his head like a little rattle and said softly: “Sir, I wanted to tell you that our class is going on a sketching trip the day after tomorrow. We’ll be gone for five days.”
Wen Xiuheng paused, then smiled. “Alright. How are you getting there? Should I take you?”
Shen Jiayu waved his hands. “No need to trouble you, Sir. The school has a bus.”
Wen Xiuheng’s smile turned a bit helpless as he negotiated gently: “Then I’ll drop you off at the bus, okay?”
Shen Jiayu lowered his gaze. His eyes accidentally caught the small mole on the man’s Adam’s apple, reminding him once again of that drunken night. His ears turned red again.
Wen Xiuheng thought Shen Jiayu didn’t want him to go, so he lowered his posture even further, his voice tinged with a pleading tone: “Let me take you, okay?”
His little one was leaving for five days; how could he not miss him? How could he not want to see him off personally?
“Jiayu.”
Wen Xiuheng called his name again. That deep, magnetic voice was so tender it felt like it could melt. Shen Jiayu’s ears burned even hotter.
“Um… um, okay.” Shen Jiayu nodded hurriedly. For some reason, he felt his heart racing, not the kind of racing from his illness, but something else he didn’t understand.
Shen Jiayu looked at Wen Xiuheng again, his ears red. He hurriedly said “Goodnight.” Before turning around, he noticed several books lying by Sir’s bed.
Shen Jiayu hurried back to his room. Wen Xiuheng watched him for a long time before going back inside. He thought that, perhaps as the books suggested, he should give the boy more time and space. Maybe by the time the boy returned from his trip, the impact of the previous events would have faded.
Furthermore, his rut would arrive just after the boy returned. He had to hurry and make all the necessary arrangements.
On the day of departure, Wen Xiuheng double checked the luggage at home, especially ensuring all emergency medications were packed. He then gave a long list of safety precautions, being so meticulous that Auntie Cui couldn’t even get a word in.
Wen Xiuheng arrived at the school gate where the bus was parked right on time. Many students were already boarding. Some students on the bus noticed a car parked nearby, though low-profile in appearance, it was clearly ultra-expensive. Those interested in cars immediately recognized it as a top-tier model of a luxury brand.
Because Wen Xiuheng had to go to the office afterward, Shen Jiayu didn’t want to trouble him to get out, but Wen Xiuheng insisted on walking him to the bus.
The driver helped carry the luggage to the bus compartment. Shen Jiayu, with red ears, said goodbye softly: “Sir, I’m leaving now…”
The Alpha looked down at him. “Safe travels. Be careful.”
“Mm, okay…” Shen Jiayu pursed his lips and couldn’t help but ask for a favor. “Sir, while I’m away, could I trouble you to look after the pot of roses in my room?”
Recently, since Wen Xiuheng had brought those roses for him, he had consulted Auntie Cui on gardening tips and tried his hand at caring for the one in his room. So far, the rose was still blooming.
Wen Xiuheng’s lips curved into a warm smile as he agreed.
“Thank you, Sir.” Shen Jiayu couldn’t help but show a shy, obedient smile. Then, like an elementary student on a field trip, he waved. “Goodbye, Sir.”
Wen Xiuheng said softly, “Alright.”
Just as Shen Jiayu was about to turn, the man called him again.
“Jiayu.”
“Huh?” Shen Jiayu responded instinctively and turned around. He saw those silver-gray eyes fixed intently on him.
Wen Xiuheng’s usually calm face betrayed a sense of restraint and endurance. Ultimately, he took a step forward.
He raised his hand and, under the boy’s stunned gaze, stroked the youth’s cheek. He whispered: “I will miss you, Jiayu.”
Will you miss me?
Wen Xiuheng wanted to ask this in his heart, but in the end, he didn’t. Perhaps now wasn’t the right time.
His palm slowly moved to the back of the neck. The possessiveness etched into an Alpha’s genes still made him unable to resist leaving his mark on Shen Jiayu.
As a Beta, Shen Jiayu naturally had no way of knowing this. He felt himself dazed under the other’s gaze, his mind momentarily blank.
For a split second, a voice seemed to pop up in his head, responding to Sir: I will miss you too.
The cars parked side by side blocked their figures, people on the bus could only see Wen Xiuheng from the shoulders up. The Alpha looked down at the person in front of him, showing a handsome profile, and leaned down slightly. From the movement, it looked like he was kissing Shen Jiayu.
Seeing this, several students let out “Wow!” sounds, their faces showing they were totally “shipping” it.
By the time Shen Jiayu snapped out of it, the teacher was already at the bus door calling roll. He had to say goodbye to Wen Xiuheng again and boarded the bus under the man’s watchful gaze.
As soon as Shen Jiayu stepped on, the Alphas and Omegas among the students smelled the cold, sharp pheromones on him, like ice and snow. Those were the pheromones of an S-grade Alpha, representing possession and a declaration of sovereignty.
Only Shen Jiayu was left utterly confused by the mysterious smiles on his classmates’ faces.
On the first day of the sketching trip, everyone spent the day in a vast meadow, sketching landscapes under the teacher’s guidance. In the evening, they returned to the hotel to rest, with everyone having a private room.
Yin Youning stayed in Shen Jiayu’s room for a while to chat. Smelling the pheromones the Alpha had left on his friend, Yin Youning’s expression was complicated.
Ever since he found out Shen Jiayu was in an arranged marriage with Wen Xiuheng, he had a “marrying off a daughter” feeling. His best friend had been snatched away by an old man much older than him, it felt wrong no matter how he thought about it. But whenever the Alpha was mentioned, Shen Jiayu always said things like “Sir is very gentle,” and his tone was so sincere it didn’t seem fake at all. Yin Youning couldn’t help but sigh.
After Yin Youning left, Shen Jiayu’s phone rang. Opening the chat, he saw a photo sent by Wen Xiuheng.
The photo was of the pot of roses in Shen Jiayu’s room. The soil in the pot was moist, and the delicate petals were brushed with water droplets.
Then came a text from Wen Xiuheng: “Watered them this morning.”
Shen Jiayu’s lips curved upward, knowing Sir had remembered his words and was taking good care of the rose.
Shen Jiayu first replied: “Mm mm! ^^”
Then he started scrolling through his collection of cat emojis to find one to say thank you. In his haste, he accidentally tapped the one next to it.
A chubby, short-legged kitten, exposing its round belly, acting cute and rolling around, with “Pet me!” written all over it.
Shen Jiayu’s breath hitched. His small face instantly turned into a little tomato. Internally, he became a kitten screaming while holding its head.
No, it’s not like that! I didn’t mean to ask for pets! I didn’t want Sir to touch me!
What do I do? What do I do? Shen Jiayu panicked. Right, unsend. I’ll unsend it. In his fluster, the phone slipped from his hand and tumbled onto the carpet, the screen going dark.
Shen Jiayu let out a short, small gasp and quickly bent over to pick up the phone.
With trembling fingers, he opened the chat again. He let out a small sigh of relief. Sir hadn’t replied yet, maybe there was still time.
Shen Jiayu pressed down on the emoji, about to unsend it. The next second, a new message arrived from Wen Xiuheng.
It was an emoji from the same series: a hand appeared in the frame, gently patting the kitten’s head.