Jiang Chicheng arrived home earlier than Shiye. As soon as he stepped inside, he frantically removed his wig, took off his makeup, changed his clothes, and showered. By the time he heard the door open, he had just put on his pajamas and was drying his hair as he walked out of the bathroom, pretending he had just returned from the lab.
Shiye was drenched in sweat, as if he had just run through the rain. He changed his shoes and headed straight to the table, finding the cup too small. Instead, he grabbed the kettle and tilted his head back, gulping down the water.
Jiang Chicheng pulled back the curtains and said, "It wasn't raining when I got back."
Shiye drank about half of the kettle in one go and wiped his mouth. "It didn't rain. I ran back from the dock."
Jiang Chicheng pretended to rub his nose, covering his lips that were betraying a smile. He casually remarked, "Was the wind at the dock that strong? Did it blow away your jacket?"
Shiye chuckled, "It's with your sister."
Jiang Chicheng's eyes widened. "Is that true? My sister has a cleanliness obsession and never lets anyone touch her things. She even hates my clothes, yet she wore yours?"
Shiye suddenly recalled the shrimp "Jiang Chizao" had fed him during dinner. She hadn’t used serving chopsticks but rather her own used ones. Realizing this, he felt a bit flustered but also pleased.
He scratched his head. "There was a little accident at dinner, and her clothes got wet, so I took off my jacket and gave it to her."
"You didn't take her to buy a new one when her clothes got wet?"
"I bought one!"
Jiang Chicheng raised an eyebrow. "You bought one and still let her wear your jacket? You wouldn't be stingy about buying a jacket, would you?"
"What do I have to be stingy about? If we're going to be together in the future, my money is hers," Shiye thought of something again, his gaze evasive, and his ears flushed red. He grabbed the water cup to hide his embarrassment. "I mainly bought something else."
Jiang Chicheng asked, "What else?"
Shiye recalled a fleeting flash of light pink and how "Jiang Chizao" had come out of the restroom wearing his black windbreaker. Clinging to the jacket was the inner lining, which left nothing to the imagination.
His throat tightened. He slammed the cup down on the table, impatience creeping in. "Why are you so nosy? Why don’t you ask your own boyfriend?"
With that, he dashed back to his room, quickly grabbing a change of clothes and hurriedly entering the bathroom. Moments later, the sound of running water echoed through the apartment.
Seeing Shiye flee, Jiang Chicheng felt a silent tremor in his chest. He glanced at the clock; it was half-past ten. He opened a bag of chips, and while listening to the sound of water, he pulled out his phone and started searching for information about the Yuan City Half Marathon.
Having never participated in a marathon before, he browsed for a while until he confirmed that results beyond the first hundred places wouldn’t be published. He registered.
After signing up, he finally read the details of the event and was stunned by the 20-kilometer figure. Calculating that on the school track, one kilometer equals 2.5 laps, 20 kilometers meant running 50 laps.
Fifty laps???
Surely that wouldn’t kill him?
Right?
---
At half-past eleven, Jiang Chicheng had been working late on a paper. With his phone set to silent, he didn’t see the backup phone light up until he stepped out to get some water around midnight. He casually turned on the phone and saw a single unread message.
It was from Shiye, simply asking: "Are you busy?"
Forty minutes had passed since the message was sent.
Jiang Chicheng turned to see the light spilling from under Shiye’s room door. Was he still awake at this hour? He kicked the door open and immediately called.
The phone rang once before connecting, and he heard the sound of shuffling, as if Shiye had hurriedly gotten up from bed.
Jiang Chicheng fidgeted with the green bib of his capybara plush on the bedside table, almost able to picture what Shiye looked like just a wall away, his lips curling into a smile. "I just saw your message. Um… is something up? I hope I'm not disturbing your rest by calling so late."
Shiye replied, "No, no, I was just cutting my cat's nails. I'm still awake."
Cutting nails, or was he actually just waiting for "Jiang Chizao" to reply?
Jiang Chicheng nodded. "That's good."
He heard Shiye get up and walk a few steps before sitting down, the chair creaking softly.
After a moment, Shiye cleared his throat and said, "It's not a big deal, but… after sweating from running and being out in the sea breeze for so long, when you get home, make some ginger tea with brown sugar, take a hot bath, or soak your feet. It’ll help with circulation and boost your immune system. If you don’t feel well, drink a packet of cold medicine; otherwise, you might catch a chill."
Jiang Chicheng heard the sound of pages flipping, which was almost impossible to imagine in Shiye's room.
His eyes sparkled as he chuckled softly. "You didn’t just read that off a note, did you?"
Shiye’s voice suddenly shot up. "How did you know?!"
"Jiang Chizao" laughed. "What about you? Did you make ginger tea, soak your feet, and boost your immune system when you got home?"
Shiye answered a bit sheepishly, "I took a hot bath."
After saying this, there was a long silence on the line, and then Shiye softly called out, "Xiao Ye Ge."
"Mm?"
After spending the night together, Shiye had discovered that whenever Xiao Mai (little wheat) wanted to be spoiled, she would first call out his name, just like a game character preparing for a big move.
As expected, she followed up with, "I want to ask you a question."
Shiye guessed it wouldn't be an easy question to answer.
He straightened up a bit, tightening his grip on the phone. "What is it?"
Sure enough, she asked, "Do you think I look better this time or last time?"
Shiye was confused. "What kind of question is that? You look good no matter which time it is; you’re you."
"Jiang Chizao" wasn’t satisfied. "No, you have to choose one!"
Shiye suspected this was some kind of internet trend, a trick question or something, but he couldn't think too much. It almost slipped out. "Today."
"Is it because I wore super short shorts today?"
Shiye shook his head and replied seriously, "It's because I got to know you a little better today."
After hanging up the phone and turning off the lights, he was surrounded by darkness. The soft moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting long shadows in the room.
Jiang Chicheng curled up on the bed, his face buried deep in the windbreaker Shiye had lent him. He sniffed at it eagerly, his actions somewhat frantic, until he nudged into the collar area, catching a whiff of the faint citrus scent of shower gel mixed with the minty smell of shampoo. He paused for a moment, his breathing quickening, and bit down hard.
The rich floral scent enveloped him like a tight web, enveloping the entire bed as if a trapped beast was desperately searching for comfort but couldn't find it.
After a long while, he let out a muffled whimper, releasing his grip, only to bury his face deeper into the jacket, leaving two small, shallow imprints on the collar.
---
Shiye didn’t know if he was bewitched or something, but during class the next day, he found himself frequently distracted.
He watched a couple in front of him, an alpha and an omega, holding hands under the table. The alpha would pull the omega’s hand onto his lap, playing with each finger and occasionally pinching a nail. When the teacher wasn’t looking, he would lean down to give the omega a kiss, earning a roll of the eyes from the omega, who didn’t withdraw his hand.
Shiye gazed at the palm of his right hand. He had only realized afterward that he had held an omega’s hand while running yesterday, feeling embarrassed when he let go.
The sensations he hadn’t deliberately focused on then were now vividly replaying in his mind.
His hand was still his hand, yet it felt like something was missing, as if a part of his heart had been carved out, leaving him yearning to grasp something.
Shiye curled his fingers, suppressing the rising tumult in his chest, and looked up at the blackboard, unconsciously gripping a piece of eraser tightly.
Suddenly, someone poked him in the back twice. Shiye flinched at first but then leaned back and turned his head.
Luo Qing whispered, "Did you see the message in the group? Today is Cao Sheng's birthday, and we’re going to the Fresh Seafood Restaurant for dinner tonight."
Shiye hadn’t seen the message and shielded his face with a book. "Who else is going? The coach isn’t coming, right?"
"He’s not coming. It’s just us. Oh right, Cao Sheng’s new omega boyfriend is coming too. He’s really good-looking, and I heard he’s a model. Let me show you a picture."
Luo Qing said, flipping through the chat history to find a photo of the omega, while Shiye leaned in to take a look.
In the photo, the omega was wearing a misty pink off-shoulder T-shirt. His cat-eye sunglasses had slipped down to the tip of his nose as he flashed a peace sign at the camera, his smile radiant.
“Looks good, right?”
“Yeah, he does,” Shiye thought, but not as good as Xiaomai.
Luo Qing took back his phone and said a bit sourly, “No wonder he’s an A-class alpha. After just a few days of school, he’s already got a partner, and it's an omega. This time, he really can’t help but show off.”
Shiye asked curiously, “How did they get together?”
“What do you expect? AO attracts, pheromones, you know? Hey, what does it feel like to have a gland growing on your neck? Does it really work like that? Is it really that nice?”
As Luo Qing spoke, he poked Shiye’s neck with his finger. Shiye shot him a glare. “If you ask me, who should I ask? I don’t have one!”
After saying that, he glanced at the podium and noticed the teacher was staring at them, so he quickly sat up straight and picked up his pen to start pretending to take notes.
Yesterday, Xiaomai had put on a blocking patch.
Hmm… I wonder what Xiaomai’s pheromones smell like?
The pen glided across the paper twice, and by the time he realized it, he had already written the word “pheromones.”
After class, Shiye walked along the path with the crowd.
He used to walk quickly, sometimes chatting with friends or just by himself, but he never paid attention to the people around him.
Now, his eyes seemed to have radar, capturing every couple holding hands in sight.
He saw an alpha grasping an omega’s fingers, gently biting them at the lips, and another couple whose fingers were intertwined, swaying back and forth.
The flesh between the fingers is the softest and most tender part of a person's hand.
Shiye couldn’t help but wonder.
If he slipped his fingers into Xiaomai’s, their palms pressed together, what would that feel like?
Shiye felt a bit overwhelmed. He never understood why teachers always said that falling in love would affect your studies, but now he finally got it. A person’s heart can only hold so much; once you let someone in, there’s no room for anyone else.
By noon, Shiye finished his meal and lay on his bed at home.
Xiaomai was working during the day, and Shiye didn’t dare disturb her, so he turned to bother Jiang Chicheng instead.
ShiyeBBQ: I actually held her hand last night.
After waiting a minute with no response, Shiye directly called Jiang Chicheng to urge him to reply. The call rang twice before it was hung up, and soon after, his phone vibrated twice.
O.o: And then?
Satisfied, Shiye began typing.
ShiyeBBQ: It was actually an accident.
ShiyeBBQ: How can I hold her hand again?
After a moment of silence from the other side, just as Shiye was about to call again, his phone vibrated.
O.o: What did it feel like to hold her hand?
ShiyeBBQ: Her palm was bigger than I imagined.
Shiguo Kaorou: Her fingers were longer than I thought.
Shiguo Kaorou: The texture was harder than I expected.
O.o: Are you a bit disappointed?
Shiye frowned, and as he was typing “No, I’m not” in the input box, a barrage of messages came through.
O.o: She’s actually a bit more masculine and has a larger build.
O.o: You should have guessed by her height; normal omegas aren’t that tall. But I think being tall is great; it prevents people from bullying you like when I was a kid.
Shiye had never realized how fast Jiang Chiqing could type.
ShiyeBBQ: …………
O.o: Are you rejecting her??
ShiyeBBQ: I haven’t finished typing.
O.o: Oh.
O.o: Go on.
Suddenly, Jiang Chicheng urged Shiye to speak, but he couldn’t find the words. He just felt a restless itch in his heart, feeling completely full. He imagined pulling Xiaomai’s hand like those couples he saw at school, sneaking a kiss when the teacher wasn’t looking during class.
His thoughts, filled with various inappropriate ideas, were quite simple.
So, he began to type.
ShiyeBBQ: I think.
ShiyeBBQ: I might be in love with your sister.
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