As the sun dipped below the horizon, the tension of the day finally ebbed away, replaced by a sudden, overwhelming wave of hunger.
“How about hotpot?” Sheng Yichen suggested.
Seeing Sheng Mian daze for a moment, Yichen made the executive decision: “My treat. Let’s go!”
Sheng Mian was indeed starving; the day’s events had drained her energy completely. She flashed a grin and followed him. After quickly messaging her parents in the group chat to let them know they were eating out, she trailed Yichen to a local hotpot chain.
Inside, the restaurant was a cacophony of voices and rising steam. Sheng Mian dipped a slice of fatty beef into sesame sauce and popped it into her mouth.
“Was that the first time those thugs troubled you?” she asked, her voice muffled by food. “How did you even get on their bad side?”
“It wasn’t the first time,” Yichen replied, his mouth stained red from the spicy broth. “Those three are ninth-graders at our school.”
“Why didn’t you say anything? If Shen Zhilin and I hadn’t shown up today, you would’ve definitely taken a beating.”
Yichen didn’t look particularly convinced. He took a massive swig of Coke and let out a sharp, satisfied hiss.
“Don’t keep things bottled up like that. Your mom is worried about you,” Sheng Mian said, her tone shifting. “But I have to warn you, you’re only in eighth grade. No ‘puppy love’ allowed.”
“Cough, cough!” Yichen choked violently on the chili oil. “What puppy love?”
Sheng Mian gave him a look that said nice try. “Don’t hide it. I followed you today. You’ve been quietly walking that girl home for several days now, haven’t you?”
Yichen stared at her as if she were a total creep. “We aren’t in that kind of relationship. It’s strictly platonic!”
Sheng Mian’s mind immediately jumped to the next possibility. “If it’s not puppy love, then you must be chasing her, she turned you down, and you’re just stubbornly following her around!” She made a large ‘X’ with her arms. “That’s a no-go.”
“Where is your head even at?” Yichen marveled at her imagination. “She’s my classmate. That Alpha, the one in the middle of the three today has been harassing her. She was scared, so I’ve just been walking her home for the past few days.”
“I didn’t expect them to corner us today.”
“Why didn’t you tell the teachers?” Sheng Mian asked. This wasn’t a small matter; it was harassment.
“She’s afraid of retaliation. I’ll try to talk her into it tomorrow.”
Between the harassment of an Omega and provoking a fight, those three were likely looking at expulsion.
Having exhausted her physical and mental energy the day before, Sheng Mian accidentally overslept. She scrambled to get ready, grabbing a large meat bun to eat on the go.
Sheng Yichen couldn’t help but laugh at her, her hair still a bird’s nest of tangles.
“Is your classmate going to the administration today?” Sheng Mian asked, stomping her feet into her shoes.
“I suggested it last night,” Yichen said, his brow furrowed with concern. “But she’s still a bit hesitant.”
It was understandable. A young girl facing such a situation would naturally be paralyzed by fear of the consequences. At that age, one always anticipates the worst.
“At the very least, her parents need to know,” Sheng Mian said. She glanced at the time, and her face went pale. “Shoot, I have to run!”
By the time Sheng Mian reached the school, the gates were empty of students. The quiet campus echoed with the sound of her sprinting and her heavy, ragged gasps. The back of her throat tasted faintly of iron.
The teacher took pity on her and allowed her to take her seat. Sheng Mian tried to muffle her panting, her chest heaving as she took deep, steadying breaths.
A scent of vanilla ice cream began to drift from her gland. Shen Zhilin was the first to notice, her nose twitching slightly.
Keeping a respectful distance, she whispered a reminder: “You’re not wearing a scent blocker?”
“Ack!” Sheng Mian gasped, her eyes widening. “I forgot! I woke up late this morning.”
The intense run had caused her pheromones to surge uncontrollably. Not yet knowing how to suppress them mentally, Sheng Mian could only clamp her hand firmly over the back of her neck.
Looking at Sheng Mian’s disheveled hair, Shen Zhilin could easily picture just how frantic her morning had been.
Soon, the students in the rows ahead and behind also caught the scent. “Whose pheromones are leaking?” Qin Heng muttered.
Pia. A small object flicked onto Sheng Mian’s desk. It was an Omega scent-blocking patch. Yi Chi leaned back slightly, whispering, “I have an extra. Use this for now.”
Sheng Mian thanked her profusely and applied the patch by feel. It ended up crooked, but at least the pheromones were contained.
“Let me buy you dinner tonight,” Sheng Mian wrote on a scrap of paper and tossed it to Shen Zhilin.
When Zhilin looked over, Sheng Mian was pretending to listen intently to the lecture. Zhilin opened the note and read the offer.
Sheng Mian’s handwriting suited her—elegant and pretty. Scribble, scribble. Shen Zhilin quickly wrote a response and handed it back.
Sheng Mian opened it with excitement, only to have a bucket of cold water dumped on her. There were only two words written in a wild, arrogant hand: “No, thanks.”
A woman of few words indeed.
Assuming Sheng Mian would drop it, Shen Zhilin returned her attention to the lesson. However, a moment later, Sheng Mian leaned in close, looking utterly pathetic. “It’s Friday! I really wanted to treat you to barbecue. That place is pretty famous.”
Shen Zhilin felt a sudden pang of guilt, as if she had just heartlessly rejected a child who desperately wanted a toy. Except this “child” wasn’t throwing a tantrum; she was just looking up with those pitiful eyes that seemed to say, “Please? Please come with me.”
Sensing eyes on them, Shen Zhilin gritted her teeth and nodded. Sheng Mian practically vibrated with excitement.
Shen Zhilin had to call “Fatty’s BBQ” to ask for the night off. The owners were kind and agreed readily; since their shop wasn’t in a high-traffic area, the couple could manage the dinner rush on their own.
Sheng Mian packed her bag at lightning speed. She had been craving this meal for ages. Once ready, she stood by, watching Shen Zhilin expectantly.
Shen Zhilin hesitated, then pointed to Sheng Mian’s hair and handed her a comb.
After smoothing out the tangles, Sheng Mian gathered her hair and pulled it into a high ponytail. A few stray strands fell against the pale, slender curve of her neck—the contrast of black hair against white skin was strikingly beautiful.
Outside, the sky was a masterpiece of “fire clouds”—brilliant oranges and purples bleeding into one another. Sheng Mian dazed at the sight; the sunsets during high school always seemed exceptionally beautiful.
Shen Zhilin walked out, slinging her bag over one shoulder. Hearing the movement, Sheng Mian turned back, the warm glow of the dusk reflecting off her clean, fair face and the slight smile on her lips.
“Let’s go!” Sheng Mian instinctively reached out to tuck her arm through Shen Zhilin’s.
Zhilin stiffened and pulled her arm away with a start.
Sheng Mian froze. She had forgotten that Shen Zhilin disliked close physical contact. Although they were both women, Shen Zhilin was an Alpha, and Sheng Mian’s ingrained habits from her previous life made it difficult to judge the proper boundaries.
“I’m sorry,” Sheng Mian laughed apologetically, stepping back to a respectful distance.
Shen Zhilin went to the bike shed to retrieve her bicycle, and Sheng Mian followed her obediently, step for step.
As Shen Zhilin pushed her bike along the outer edge of the path, she kept a slow pace. Sheng Mian’s swinging ponytail kept bobbing into her peripheral vision, as did that messy, crooked scent patch on her neck.
It felt like a cat was scratching at Shen Zhilin’s heart, she felt restless and uncomfortable. She glanced over several times before she finally couldn’t take it anymore. She cleared her throat.
“The patch.”
“Huh?” Sheng Mian didn’t understand.
“It’s not on right.”
Sheng Mian reached back and felt the crooked, uneven scent patch. She peeled it off and tried again, but it still felt off. “Is it okay this time?”
Shen Zhilin shook her head. Giving up, Sheng Mian sighed. “Can you do it for me? I can’t see what I’m doing back there.”
Sheng Mian stood obediently, lifting her ponytail and bowing her head slightly, exposing the vulnerable, snowy-white nape of her neck.
For an Omega to expose their neck so defenselessly to an Alpha was a delicate, even dangerous gesture. But Sheng Mian seemed entirely oblivious to the implications. She simply waited, quiet and docile, for Zhilin to help. When Zhilin didn’t move immediately, Sheng Mian even gave a small, impatient nudge of encouragement.
Truthfully, Shen Zhilin didn’t want to help. This was far beyond her usual social boundaries, it felt far too intimate.
If only an Omega would walk by right now, she thought.
Sensing the long silence, Sheng Mian turned around. Her tone was soft, almost like she was coaxing a child: “Come on, help me out.”
The tone made Zhilin feel deeply awkward. Resigning herself to fate, she finally raised her hand.
A moment later, Sheng Mian felt a cool touch on her neck. Zhilin moved with extreme care, trying to minimize any skin contact, but the light touch was ticklish. Sheng Mian couldn’t help but shrink her neck back instinctively.
Zhilin reapplied the patch and smoothed it down with her thumb. Seeing it perfectly flat and centered at last, she felt a wave of quiet satisfaction.
Sheng Mian checked the map on her phone. “The shop is a bit of a walk. Let’s bike there; it’s on Siping Street.”
Sheng Mian hopped onto the back rack, sitting sideways on her tiptoes. She gripped the fabric of Zhilin’s shirt at the waist, trying her best to avoid direct physical contact.
As they set off, the airflow created a precious, cool breeze against the sweltering autumn heat. It felt wonderful.
As they hit bump after bump in the uneven road, Sheng Mian’s grip on the shirt tightened. Contact with Zhilin’s waist became unavoidable. Through the thin layers of their clothes, their body heat merged for a fleeting second before pulling apart again.
As they turned onto Siping Street, the surroundings became increasingly familiar. “It’s right there—Fatty’s BBQ.”
It was the very shop where Shen Zhilin worked every day after school.
When they pulled up, the outdoor tables were packed, though there were still a few empty seats inside.
“Scan the code on the table to order!” the owner, Fatty, called out while busy with customers. He froze in surprise when he spotted Zhilin. “Wait, didn’t you say you weren’t coming in today?”
“You two know each other?” Sheng Mian looked back and forth between them, her head tilting in confusion.
“I work here part-time,” Zhilin explained simply.
“What a coincidence!” Sheng Mian added. “I told Zhilin this place was amazing. I had to beg her several times before she agreed to take the night off and come eat with me.”
Hearing such high praise for his craft, Fatty beamed. “It’s a secret family recipe, I guarantee you’ll love it! I’ll give you twenty percent off today. Make sure to come back often!”
Sheng Mian politely declined with a smile. “Oh, we couldn’t do that. If you give us a discount, we’ll be too embarrassed to come back. Just charge us the regular price.”
Fatty didn’t push further, but he instructed the kitchen to send over a complimentary cold appetizer and a plate of chilled green mango salad.
Fatty’s BBQ was an old establishment. The shop was filled with plastic tables and stools that reflected a greasy sheen under the yellowed lights.
Shen Zhilin had worked here for months. While the place looked aged, she knew it was cleaned thoroughly every night. It was simply that after so many years, a layer of stubborn grime had permeated the tables and walls, turning them a permanent shade of sallow yellow.
Zhilin pulled a few cheap napkins from the dispenser to wipe the table, but the years of oil stains wouldn’t budge.
Noticing this, Sheng Mian assumed Zhilin wasn’t used to eating in such a place. She offered some gentle reassurance: “It might look a bit old-fashioned, but these old shops always have the best food. It’s just been around a long time, so the stains are stuck, but it’s actually quite clean.”
Zhilin looked up, surprised. Sheng Mian’s words sounded as if she were comforting Zhilin so she wouldn’t feel disgusted by the environment.
An Omega who grew up in the lap of luxury was actually comforting her, someone living at the bottom of the social ladder not to look down on the surroundings.
Zhilin shook her head. “I don’t mind it at all. Fatty and his wife are good people. The meat and vegetables are fresh every day; no ‘high-tech’ additives here.”
Sheng Mian realized she had overthought things. How could Zhilin look down on a place she worked at? She felt a bit sheepish for speaking out of turn.
“Skewers are up!” Fatty’s wife called out, emerging from the kitchen with two small iron basins. The meat hissed with rendered fat, glistening beautifully, and the savory aroma rushed into their senses.
“Let me know if they get cold, I’ll reheat them for you,” she said before being hurried away by another table.
Sheng Mian grabbed three or four cloves of garlic and peeled them one by one. She placed two next to Zhilin’s hand and raised her eyebrows playfully. “Meat without garlic loses half its soul!”
She arranged the skewers, pointing half the sticks toward herself and the other half toward Zhilin for easy reaching.
It was clear Sheng Mian had been craving this; she couldn’t wait to take a bite. “So good,” she whispered, her eyes narrowing slightly with a look of pure bliss and satisfaction.
“How did you find this place?”
“I did my research! The locals all swear by this spot. I’ve been craving barbecue for so long, and I really wanted to thank you properly.”
Back in her “corporate slave” days, her only solace was going out for barbecue with friends every now and then. It felt like it had been forever.
“Here, try this.” Sheng Mian handed over a few medium-well skewers heavily dusted with chili flakes. “These are incredible. The spice is such a rush.”
Zhilin took a cautious bite. A few seconds later, a deep flush crept across her handsome, pale face. She had never eaten anything this spicy in her life.
As Zhilin’s eyes began to water, Sheng Mian hurriedly twisted open a bottle of juice, looking guiltily apologetic. “You can’t handle spicy food? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know!”
Zhilin took the drink and gulped it down. The stinging sensation on her tongue faded slowly, though her face remained bright red. “It’s, it’s very good.”
Sheng Mian pushed a piece of the chilled green mango toward her. It was cool, tart, and refreshing. “Eat this, it’ll help.”
Being fussed over by Sheng Mian made Zhilin feel a bit restless. “Just eat your own food,” she muttered.