Shen Zhinan’s heart jolted violently at the sight of Fu Yanshi’s hands covered in shards of glass and bright red blood.
Holy heavens! Bro, what kind of superhuman strength is this? How did you manage to crush it with such force?
Fu Yanshi stared unblinkingly at Shen Zhinan, his expression unreadable.
“Quick! Go find some gauze!” He Yanzhou urged hastily.
Panicking, Shen Zhinan instinctively pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and hurriedly began wrapping Fu Yanshi’s hand.
Halfway through, Shen Zhinan froze.
It was a navy-blue handkerchief, adorned with faint, vine-like patterns.
Made of silk, it felt soft against the skin
It was the very same handkerchief Fu Yanshi had used to bandage Shen Zhinan’s wound when the two of them went hiking together.
After washing it clean, Shen Zhinan had kept it with him ever since.
“This is…” Fu Yanshi clearly recognized the handkerchief as well. His gaze burned into Shen Zhinan, as if trying to bore a hole through the omega.
Too guilty to meet his eyes, Shen Zhinan finished the bandaging, set an alarm, and hurriedly fled.
Not only had he secretly kept the other’s handkerchief, but he’d also been carrying it around.
It made him look like some kind of creep.
So embarrassing!
Unfortunately, Fu Yanshi had two legs and knew how to use them. He found his way to the staff breakroom on his own.
Just as Fu Yanshi was about to knock on the door, he caught a glimpse through the crack of Shen Zhinan exchanging contact information with someone else.
It was a beta dressed as a prince. The beta glanced at Shen Zhinan’s exposed, pale thighs and said, “There are quite a few events like this. Let’s exchange contacts I can reach out if something suitable comes up.”
Shen Zhinan pulled out his phone. “Sure.” He flashed a polite smile and added, “Thanks! From now on, we’re brothers from different mothers.”
The beta’s mouth twitched at that. Then, familiarly, he slung an arm around Shen Zhinan’s shoulder. “Good brother, want to grab a meal later?”
Shen Zhinan shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, I’ve got something to do later. Maybe another time?”
He still had to go back and grade Fu Zihan’s papers and prepare materials for tomorrow’s tutoring session.
As a busy junior in college, Shen Zhinan had considered quitting the tutoring job.
But Fu Zihan was in his third year of middle school now, and he’d done exceptionally well on his last finals. Zhou Xin was so pleased that she asked Shen Zhinan to continue tutoring.
Shen Zhinan quite liked Fu Zihan, and Zhou Xin paid generously, so he agreed.
The beta looked disappointed but suddenly asked, “Yang Dahua, are you single?”
Sticking to his fine tradition of using an alias when out and about, Shen Zhinan had casually made up a name when registering.
Fu Yanshi, standing outside the door: “…”
Shen Zhinan joked, “Single, born that way. Destined to be a frog.”
The beta looked puzzled. “What do you mean, ‘frog’s destiny’?”
Shen Zhinan explained, “Frogs go ‘ribbit, ribbit,’ right?”
The beta: “…”
Fu Yanshi: “…”
Shen Zhinan’s pun plunged both sides of the door into an awkward silence.
Hearing that Shen Zhinan was single, the beta felt a surge of happiness and hinted, “I’m single too. Born single.”
He heard that nowadays omegas prefer those without romantic histories; the current trend is for sunny, cheerful boys.
Shen Zhinan gave a thumbs up: “Damn, you’re even more impressive than me you’ve been single for thirty years!”
Beta: …
The beta thought for a moment and still couldn’t resist asking again: “So, what kind of person do you like?”
Suddenly, an exquisitely beautiful face appeared in Shen Zhinan’s mind a pair of peach blossom eyes that curved like crescent moons when smiling, with prominent under-eye bags and dimples on the cheeks.
“I like” Shen Zhinan pondered for a moment, while Fu Yanshi quickly took out his phone and opened the memo app, pressing his ear against the door.
“I like someone good-looking, with a pleasant personality, who loves to laugh,” Shen Zhinan listed a few common criteria for choosing a partner, then suddenly recalled Fu Yanshi singing at the bar and became more specific, “Someone who carries a handkerchief, is good at taking photos, sings well, and preferably writes their own lyrics, has experience playing in a band.”
The beta scratched his head, wondering if it was too late for him to start taking singing lessons now.
Shen Zhinan felt he had talked too much today. He glanced at his watch it was getting late, and he needed to hurry back or he’d miss the last bus.
It wasn’t exactly close to where he lived.
“I’m heading out now,” Shen Zhinan said as he opened the door to the staff lounge and was met with a pleasant scent of cedar.
Damn!
Shen Zhinan’s eyes widened slightly.
Was he hallucinating Fu Yanshi’s scent from thinking about him too much?
He patted his head, telling himself not to overthink things every day. The other person had already said they shouldn’t meet again clearly, it was a clean break.
One should know when to stop.
What was he thinking wildly about?
Shen Zhinan walked out of the banquet hall and realized it was raining outside, the raindrops forming a curtain of water.
He remembered checking the weather forecast before leaving home today. He opened his phone to confirm just a moment ago, it said no rain, but after refreshing, it now showed heavy rain.
Shen Zhinan was speechless.
He wondered if he could still make it to the bus stop in time for the last bus.
Taking a taxi would cost dozens, and Shen Zhinan couldn’t bear to spend that much.
Whatever, he’d just have to get drenched.
Shen Zhinan took off his jacket, held it over his head, and prepared to make a run for it.
Suddenly, a black Bentley appeared in front of him.
The window rolled down, and there appeared the person who was good-looking, had a pleasant personality, loved to laugh, carried a handkerchief, was good at taking photos, sang well, wrote their own lyrics, and had played in a band.
“Shen Zhinan,” Fu Yanshi called out, “Get in.”
Shen Zhinan hadn’t expected Fu Yanshi to still be here so late. He stood frozen, staring at the alpha, until Fu Yanshi called his name again. Only then did he finally open the passenger door and get in.
In the car.
Fu Yanshi was driving himself today. He glanced sideways at Shen Zhinan, whose makeup hadn’t been removed yet his originally delicate features now appeared somewhat more alluring.
Shen Zhinan knew Fu Yanshi was looking at him and pretended to be busy by checking his seatbelt and then opening his phone to chat with the file transfer assistant.
He didn’t once look at Fu Yanshi the entire time.
After a long silence, Fu Yanshi suddenly said, “You seem to have lost weight.”
There were only two people in the car, so Shen Zhinan couldn’t keep pretending to be deaf and mute. He quickly exchanged a glance with Fu Yanshi and stammered, “R-really?”
Seriously, why am I stuttering? Shen Zhinan, can’t you have a little more backbone?!
Shen Zhinan roared inwardly.
Fu Yanshi noticed that the omega’s cheeks seemed a bit sunken.
Although Shen Zhinan had always been quite thin, there used to be a bit of softness in his face, especially a faint hint of baby fat on his cheeks.
But after just half a month apart, the plumpness in his cheeks had disappeared.
This realization felt like a sharp prick in Fu Yanshi’s heart.
“Do you want to grab something to eat?” Fu Yanshi asked again.
“Okay…” Shen Zhinan’s tongue nearly betrayed him, but he quickly backtracked, “It’s already quite late, so maybe not.”
Gurgle!
As soon as Shen Zhinan finished speaking, his stomach let out a loud, unmistakable growl.
The air in the car instantly turned still.
Shen Zhinan roared inwardly once more.
How could someone be this hopeless?!
Fu Yanshi had heard that many omegas these days liked to diet to maintain their figures. Assuming Shen Zhinan was doing the same, he frowned slightly and made the decision: “I’ll take you to get something to eat first.”
Shen Zhinan pursed his lips and silently acquiesced.
His stomach betrayed him again with another growl.
He had been busy all day and only had a piece of bread for lunch he was practically starving.
“What do you feel like eating?” Fu Yanshi asked.
Shen Zhinan wanted something quick so he could finish eating and leave as soon as possible. Every second spent with Fu Yanshi inexplicably made him feel on edge, so he said, “How about noodles?”
Fu Yanshi replied, “Sure.”
Fu Yanshi took Shen Zhinan to the noodle shop where they had first met. When Fu Yanshi pushed the door open, the owner recognized him and smiled.
“Aunt Cheng, two bowls of noodles, please,” Fu Yanshi said familiarly.
Aunt Cheng nodded with a smile.
The noodles were ready quickly. Fu Yanshi helped bring them over, chatting with Aunt Cheng as he walked. “How’s the hearing aid working for you?”
Aunt Cheng smiled and gestured with her hands.
Fu Yanshi smiled back. “As long as it works well. Let me know if there are any issues.”
Aunt Cheng nodded again, still smiling.
When the noodles were placed in front of Shen Zhinan, he could barely see the noodles themselves under the generous toppings.
There were vegetables, a fried egg, a slice of marinated dried tofu, and a generous portion of beef.
In contrast, Fu Yanshi’s bowl was much simpler it had vegetables and a fried egg but not a single piece of meat.
Shen Zhinan wanted to share some of his toppings with Fu Yanshi, but Fu Yanshi moved his bowl away. “Just eat yours.”
Fu Yanshi added, “The shop only had these ingredients left. If you’re still hungry later, I’ll take you somewhere else.”
Shen Zhinan replied, “Alright.”
Last time, Shen Zhinan hadn’t been able to properly taste the noodles here. This time, he picked up a piece of meat first, then a bite of noodles.
“Delicious,” Shen Zhinan’s eyes lit up.
The noodles were firm and springy, the beef tender and flavorful it was the best bowl of noodles Shen Zhinan had ever tasted.
“Aunt Cheng has always made excellent noodles,” Fu Yanshi said with a smile.
Shen Zhinan asked curiously, “Are you close with the owner?”
Fu Yanshi explained, “Aunt Cheng used to work for our family. After my mother passed away, she didn’t want to stay on. So I helped her open this noodle shop it gives her something to do.”
Shen Zhinan was hearing about Fu Yanshi’s family for the first time, and he never expected that Fu Yanshi’s mother had already passed away.
“I see,” Shen Zhinan said.
Aunt Cheng bustled in the kitchen for a while before bringing them two parfaits.
“Thank you,” Shen Zhinan quickly accepted the glasses.
Through the transparent cups, they could see the layers of the parfait.
The bottom layer was yogurt, followed by strawberries, mangoes, blueberries, crushed almonds, and chiffon cake in the middle.
On top was whipped fresh cream and some handmade cookies.
“This is too much trouble. I’ve told you I’m all grown up now and don’t really care for these anymore,” Fu Yanshi said. “You should stop fussing and sit down to rest for a bit.”
Aunt Cheng always remembered how much Fu Yanshi loved these treats as a child. Back then, he was picky and would only eat freshly made ones, especially those that looked intricate and delicate.
Aunt Cheng always kept the ingredients on hand, and whenever Fu Yanshi visited, she would make one for him.
Fu Yanshi always told her not to bother, insisting he’d long outgrown his fondness for such things, but Aunt Cheng never tired of it.
Shen Zhinan took a bite and was once again amazed, his eyes widening in delight.
Seeing his reaction, Fu Yanshi thought to himself, Kids really do love these things.
Noticing that Shen Zhinan seemed particularly fond of the mango, Fu Yanshi gave him all the mango pieces from his own portion.
Shen Zhinan ended up finishing both the large bowl of noodles and the parfait, much to Aunt Cheng’s delight. She even wrote him a little note, inviting him to visit often.
With their bellies full and the rain easing up, Aunt Cheng handed them an umbrella and reminded them to take care on their way back.
The two left the noodle shop. Their car was parked on the main road, so they strolled leisurely through the narrow alley.
The umbrella wasn’t very large, and Fu Yanshi found it amusing that there was enough space between them for another person. He pulled Shen Zhinan closer. “Come here. What, do I smell or something?”
“Haha,” Shen Zhinan chuckled awkwardly, “I was afraid I might.”
Fu Yanshi laughed for a moment before saying, “You smell nice.”
Like hibiscus a pleasant fragrance.
“Remember this place?” Fu Yanshi asked, holding the umbrella and pointing to a seemingly ordinary section of the wall.
How could Shen Zhinan forget? This was where it all began.
It was here that he experienced what a heat cycle felt like and asked Fu Yanshi for help.
And then came the moans, the gasps, and the wet, slick sounds.
Recalling those explicit moments, Shen Zhinan felt a tingling sensation, his ears growing strangely warm. He turned his head and scratched his neck, murmuring softly, “I don’t remember.”
Fu Yanshi glanced at him, noticing the blush spreading across Shen Zhinan’s face and neck, and smiled.
This guy’s still so shy, he thought.
But as he smiled, Fu Yanshi’s expression suddenly shifted. He grabbed Shen Zhinan’s face and saw a rash breaking out around his neck and lips.
“Shen Zhinan, you’re having an allergic reaction!”