Late at night, the shadows turned a bit cold. They fell across Qi Fan’s tall figure, creating an indescribable feeling of gloom.
This “what a coincidence” gave Sheng Zhiyu the strange feeling that he had been caught by Qi Fan.
Before he could respond, he heard Lin Weiyu’s voice: [Is Qi Fan making a move on the protagonist? I see An Yu’s face is very red.]
Although he couldn’t check Qi Fan’s mission progress, some things could be seen with the naked eye.
Sheng Zhiyu’s gaze met Qi Fan’s for a moment. In those light-colored eyes, he could only see his own reflection; he couldn’t read any other emotions.
The leaf he had been twirling around his finger slipped away at some point. Its tip brushed against his palm, causing a dense, tiny itch.
Chu Baiqian had seen the two of them at the door as he came around the pool. The swaying shadows of the trees prevented him from seeing Qi Fan’s expression clearly, but he could clearly see the red on An Yu’s face.
He froze for a moment, then looked up at the man standing next to An Yu.
Qi Fan naturally noticed Chu Baiqian’s probing gaze. He could even feel a sense of late-coming hostility from Chu Baiqian, as well as a shallow desire to protect Sheng Zhiyu.
“Protect” wasn’t quite the right word; it was more like an elder defending a younger person.
The young Alpha really did attract the liking of older people.
“Yes, what a coincidence. We just finished a walk and were about to head back. Are you doing the same, Teacher Qi?” After a moment of silence, Chu Baiqian was the one to answer.
Sheng Zhiyu’s gaze followed the end of the sentence to An Yu. He gave a faint smile. “Are you still scared?”
An Yu shook his head. He blinked at Sheng Zhiyu’s gentle concern and suddenly asked, “Xiao Yu, are you hungry?”
Sheng Zhiyu had been a bit distracted, but his attention snapped back at those words. He replied with a puzzled sound. “Mm?”
An Yu smiled at him. “I’m hungry and want to eat something… Would Teacher Qi and Mr. Chu like to join us?”
Chu Baiqian looked around and gave a faint smile. “Alright.”
An Yu entered the villa first. Sheng Zhiyu was about to follow, but as he stepped forward, he heard Qi Fan’s deep, calm voice: “Weren’t you feeling unwell? Why are you still out in the night wind?”
As soon as he said this, Chu Baiqian’s expression changed slightly. He looked at Sheng Zhiyu with concern. “Xiao Yu, where do you feel unwell?”
When they came back earlier tonight, he did feel that Sheng Zhiyu’s expression wasn’t quite right. However, he had assumed it was just an after-effect of the haunted house. After all, An Yu’s face looked even worse when he came out.
Sheng Zhiyu’s thin lips moved. He wanted to deny it, but then he met Chu Baiqian’s caring gaze.
“…It’s not very obvious. Just a little bit.”
Chu Baiqian paused, quickly understanding. “Is it your rut?”
While an Alpha’s rut is certainly not as fragile as an Omega’s heat, irritability definitely exists, and rest is needed.
This feeling of being cared for made the Alpha uncomfortable, as if he had been placed in the position of a weakling. Sheng Zhiyu frowned slightly. “It’s nothing. I took a suppressor.”
He was indeed not as violent or desperate for comfort as he had been yesterday. Besides, this discomfort had been bothering him all day; he had grown used to it by enduring.
Seeing that Sheng Zhiyu didn’t want to say more, Chu Baiqian paused, sensing a clear distance.
Because an Alpha’s hunting instinct awakens during a rut, their hostility and rejection of other Alphas double. Most of them won’t let others know about their rut, nor are they curious about anyone else’s.
Xiao Yu hadn’t let him notice at all, likely due to intentional restraint… because to him, Chu Baiqian was a stranger.
Yet Qi Fan knew everything about him.
Qi Fan glanced at the confusion on Chu Baiqian’s face and calmly looked away, turning back to Sheng Zhiyu. “The suppressor from the production team isn’t very effective. You’re having a slight allergic reaction. Watch your dosage for the next few days.”
Sheng Zhiyu paused. “Really?”
Qi Fan’s voice carried a hint of a smile, sounding both cold and helpless. “Don’t you know how delicate your body is?”
The exchange was casual, but it clearly closed the distance between them, giving off an indescribable sense of intimacy.
Chu Baiqian froze. By the time he realized what was happening, there was no space for him to intervene.
He looked up, only to meet Qi Fan’s cold gaze. It wasn’t as nonchalant as it had been at noon, and it was even colder than when he was standing by An Yu just now.
…Since Mr. Qi cared more about Sheng Zhiyu than An Yu, why did he proactively approach An Yu?
Was it a so-called “dating show script”?
But who would dare assign a script to someone of Qi Fan’s status?
Chu Baiqian paused. When he looked back, Sheng Zhiyu and Qi Fan had already entered the villa, leaving him alone outside.
In the kitchen, An Yu found a bag of opened frozen dumplings in the fridge. These were ones Sheng Zhiyu had picked up randomly when buying ingredients; he couldn’t even remember the flavor.
But An Yu remembered that Xiao Yu had brought them back, so he subconsciously assumed Xiao Yu liked eating them.
Sheng Zhiyu came in and looked at the plain-looking dumplings without much interest, but he didn’t show it on his face.
As he turned to help get the bowls and chopsticks, he suddenly bumped into a firm chest.
The scent of dark agarwood carried the coolness of the night wind. It reached the tip of his nose, and Sheng Zhiyu instinctively stepped back. He felt his waist being gently supported.
The man’s hand wasn’t heavy, but it was wide and large. He couldn’t help but apply some pressure as he held that thin waist.
Seeing a flash of pain on Sheng Zhiyu’s face, he slowly let go and said, as if accidentally, “Careful.”
Such a heavy hand, yet he speaks like a perfect gentleman… what a hypocritical wolf.
Just as Sheng Zhiyu was about to push him away, he saw out of the corner of his eye that An Yu was looking at them with a slightly dazed expression.
Sheng Zhiyu pushed off with his palm, putting distance between himself and Qi Fan. He put on a polite smile. “I just lost my footing for a second. Thank you, Teacher Qi.”
Qi Fan smiled slightly. “You’re welcome.”
It seems Xiao Yu isn’t very good at housework, An Yu thought. He rubbed his nose and said softly, “Xiao Yu, why don’t you wait outside? I’ll handle this.”
If Xiao Yu fell or had an accident while trying to help him, he would feel guilty.
Sheng Zhiyu just smiled. “I want to help. Otherwise, won’t it look like I did nothing when the show airs?”
An Yu thought that made sense, so he only gave Sheng Zhiyu some simple tasks.
Qi Fan watched the person following An Yu like a little tail. He turned to the fridge, opened it for a quick scan, and picked out a few scattered but fresh vegetables.
“Are you making noodles?” An Yu asked softly, noticing his movements.
“Mm. Those dumplings won’t be enough. Any food allergies?” Qi Fan asked casually.
An Yu shook his head.
Sheng Zhiyu stood beside An Yu, watching the man methodically prep ingredients and start the noodles. Suddenly, he had a strange feeling.
Noticing his gaze, Qi Fan looked up. “What?”
“Nothing,” Sheng Zhiyu said with a smile. “I didn’t know Teacher Qi could cook.”
Qi Fan rolled up his sleeves, revealing his well-defined hands. “Mm. After all, not everyone is a young master who has never done a day’s work in his life.”
Sheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow, then immediately turned to An Yu with a pitiful look. “Brother An Yu, Teacher Qi is picking on me.”
Qi Fan’s words hadn’t carried much emotion; at most, it was a joke. An Yu looked at the beautiful face leaning toward him and couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s okay. As long as Xiao Yu knows how to eat, that’s enough.”
Seeing the provocative look returned by the younger man, Qi Fan smiled faintly. “True. He not only knows how to eat, but he also knows how to act spoiled.”
Hearing the back-and-forth between the two, An Yu’s cheeks couldn’t stop heating up. He found it hard to speak, so he focused on the pot.
Once the dumplings were done, he plated them and prepared to carry them out.
Sheng Zhiyu was about to follow, but before he could take two steps, a long hand reached behind him and gently hooked the collar of his jacket.
Sheng Zhiyu was pulled over to Qi Fan like that.
“Weren’t you going to help? Planning to be lazy?”
Seeing that An Yu had already left the kitchen, Sheng Zhiyu was confused. “Did I say I was going to help you?”
Qi Fan said casually, “Didn’t you?”
Truly arrogant.
“Then, what do I need to do?” With so few ingredients, Sheng Zhiyu didn’t think Qi Fan could really put him to work.
The man glanced at him first, then gently folded his sleeves to reveal his toned arms. “Taste test.”
Sheng Zhiyu: “…”
Qi Fan’s knife skills were unexpectedly good—quick and skilled. “You have such picky taste. if it passes your test, An Yu won’t say it’s bad.”
Sheng Zhiyu sneered. “Using me as a guinea pig?”
Qi Fan focused on his work, but his words didn’t stop. “Guinea pigs are kept in cages. They don’t wander around outside in the middle of the night.”
Lin Weiyu paused and asked softly: [Does he mean he’s not just experimenting on you, but also complaining that you’re hard to control?]
…Damn it! Subtract ten thousand more points from the ‘Scum Gong’ group’s impression!
Lin Weiyu was always easy to trigger. Sheng Zhiyu ignored his noisy chatter and leaned against the kitchen door, lost in thought.
Talking to Chu Baiqian by the pool felt good, but once the nostalgia and familiarity faded, a strange sense of eeriness crept into his heart.
Fifteen years old… is it just a coincidence?
Once his memories drifted far away, Sheng Zhiyu tended to ignore his surroundings. He didn’t even realize Qi Fan had turned around to stand in front of him.
Seeing him lost in thought with his eyes downcast, Qi Fan’s gaze turned colder. He used wooden chopsticks to lift a small bundle of noodles to Sheng Zhiyu’s lips.
“Xiao Yu, open up.”
Perhaps because Chu Baiqian had given him an indescribable sense of familiarity tonight, or perhaps because this sentence overlapped with a certain memory, Sheng Zhiyu didn’t snap out of it immediately. He subconsciously and obediently opened his mouth.
It wasn’t until the faint, fresh savory taste spread across his tongue that he froze slightly.
The first thing he saw when he looked up was Qi Fan holding a white porcelain bowl in one hand and black chopsticks in the other, leaning over to feed him.
The person in front of him was Qi Fan… not his brother.
Sheng Zhiyu forgot to chew the noodles and just swallowed them.
Qi Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. “That hungry?”
Sheng Zhiyu: “…”
“How does it taste?”
Because he swallowed too fast, Sheng Zhiyu could only briefly taste the savory flavor on his tongue. It was delicious, but he was unwilling to give this man credit, so he said, “It’s okay.”
“I don’t make noodles that are just ‘okay’.” Qi Fan was clearly unsatisfied with the answer. He picked up another bundle with the chopsticks and held them to Sheng Zhiyu’s lips. “Taste it again. You’re not allowed to think about anyone else while you eat.”
His feeding posture was too natural. Sheng Zhiyu found it impossible to reach out and take the bowl, so he just pursed his lips slightly. “I’ll eat it myself.”
“What, you don’t like me feeding you? Do you want to switch to someone else?”
“…No need, I’ll do it myself.” Sheng Zhiyu bluntly took the chopsticks from his hand and finished the small bowl of noodles.
When he was distracted earlier, he only thought it was good. Now that he tasted it carefully, the flavor was surprisingly stunning.
After finishing, Sheng Zhiyu looked up and caught Qi Fan’s gaze.
No words were needed; the ambiguous smile in Qi Fan’s eyes showed he had seen through Sheng Zhiyu’s thoughts.
Sheng Zhiyu licked the soup from his lips. “Were you a chef in a previous instance?”
Qi Fan took the bowl from him and turned to put it in the sink. “You don’t need to beat around the bush to give a compliment.”
Two bowls of good-looking noodles were ready. As Sheng Zhiyu reached for them, Qi Fan shoved two pairs of chopsticks into his hands.
He looked up in confusion.
The man glanced at him calmly. “I made the noodles. If you carry them out, how am I supposed to show my kindness to An Yu?”
Lin Weiyu almost jumped in front of the terminal: [He’s actually being petty after you helped him?!]
It was as if someone was competing with him for favorability. They were both top performers; was it necessary to compete with him at every opportunity?
An Yu and Chu Baiqian were already at the dining table. The “everyone loves him” protagonist naturally had a sunny personality and had quickly struck up a conversation with Chu Baiqian.
Chu Baiqian ate with refined manners, showing his good upbringing at a glance.
Sheng Zhiyu suddenly froze in place.
The shadow clinging to Chu Baiqian suddenly vanished.
“Xiao Yu is out? Come and eat.” An Yu smiled and waved at him.
As soon as Sheng Zhiyu sat down, Qi Fan came out as well. The man carried two bowls of noodles and placed them in front of him and An Yu.
“Not many ingredients, so there are only two bowls.” He looked at Chu Baiqian with a smile, but there was no warmth in his eyes. “Mr. Chu shouldn’t mind, right?”
Chu Baiqian smiled.
Sheng Zhiyu held his chopsticks, thinking that this man was truly petty.
There were clearly extra noodles in the pot.
An Yu tasted the noodles, and his expression was full of surprise. Likely because his impression of Teacher Qi was that he was too detached from the world, this sudden contrast, a contrast that happened to suit his tastes caused his favorability to jump significantly.
Sheng Zhiyu was also full. Dinner hadn’t suited his taste so he hadn’t eaten much, but now he felt a satisfying fullness.
He wanted to help clean up, but Chu Baiqian smiled and said that since he had eaten the dumplings, it wouldn’t be right to do nothing, so he took over with a smile.
Having learned about Sheng Zhiyu’s rut discomfort at the table, An Yu urged him to go upstairs and rest.
“Alright.” Seeing An Yu’s rare persistence, Sheng Zhiyu had to be obedient. “Then, goodnight.”
An Yu waved at him. “Goodnight.”
After being fed and watered, the young master felt a bit relaxed. Standing in front of his bedroom door, he felt a bit lazy and unwilling to move.
The small mailbox hanging on the door was still empty; no letters had been delivered yet.
…Xu Tu probably wouldn’t come back to embarrass himself, but what about An Yu and Chu Baiqian?
As he mused, a shadow slowly fell in front of him.
Sheng Zhiyu only snapped out of it when he was enveloped by the man’s aura.
Just as he was about to turn around, Qi Fan’s presence fell heavily upon him, like a large beast suddenly landing on his shoulder—a sense of intimacy that made one afraid to move yet also made one’s hair stand on end.
“What are you daydreaming about at the door?”
Sheng Zhiyu pushed the door open and stepped into the bedroom to put distance between them. He looked at him without haste. “Why don’t you make any sound when you walk?”
Qi Fan looked at him leisurely. “Isn’t it because you were daydreaming?”
When he came up, he had seen Sheng Zhiyu staring at the mailbox. “What, are you hoping to receive a letter from someone?”
Because the mission came first, both of their letters could only be given to An Yu, and their mailboxes could only hope for An Yu’s letter.
Sheng Zhiyu wouldn’t get hung up on such a small matter. If he was lost in thought, he was likely thinking about Chu Baiqian.
“No, I was just looking for my room card.” Sheng Zhiyu smiled at him casually. “It’s late, Teacher Qi. Shouldn’t you be resting too?”
“No rush.” Qi Fan took a composed step into his territory, invisibly releasing an Alpha’s aura. “As the Alpha who marked you, there is something I need to confirm.”
The scent of dark agarwood fell over him, triggering a faint itch on the side of his shoulder.
Sheng Zhiyu saw Qi Fan’s slender finger hook the neck collar.
The complex shackles were easily removed, revealing the man’s scarred neck.
Although it was a neck that had been ravaged and lacked aesthetic beauty, it instantly triggered Sheng Zhiyu’s desire to bite.
Controlling while also alluring.
Qi Fan lowered his head, his eyes showing danger in the backlight.
“I smelled it at the villa entrance. You seem to be stained with the scent of another Alpha.”