Shiye nonsensical comments had left Jiang Chicheng restless all afternoon. That night, he skipped his shift at the lab, wanting to go home and chat with someone.
When Jiang Chicheng got home at six-thirty, the sky wasn't completely dark yet, and Shiye hadn't returned. He sent a message saying he'd be home for dinner and tossed his phone aside.
He paced around the living room for a while, opened the fridge to grab a bottle of calcium milk, then went to the bathroom, took out his hair tie, and messed up his hair. After nearly an hour of restlessness, he finally settled down and reached for his phone on the sofa.
Shiye still hadn't replied to his message, which was common. Jiang Chicheng assumed he'd read it and not responded.
He wasn't in the mood to cook, so he opened a food delivery app, figuring that by the time the food arrived, Shiye would be back as well. After placing the order, he tossed his phone aside again and went into the bathroom with his pajamas.
—
Shiye finished training at five-thirty and had just taken a shower when he was dragged to Ju Xian Lou. More than ten people crowded at the entrance, and anyone who didn't know would think they were about to rob the place.
Everyone knew the deal: this meal was ostensibly to celebrate Cao Sheng's birthday, but it was really just a gathering for the wives to meet each other.
Once inside the private room, after exchanging pleasantries and banter, just before the food arrived, the omega arrived fashionably late. As soon as the door opened, Cao Sheng stood up and went to the entrance to quietly complain about something, while everyone else curiously watched, only seeing the omega gently pinch his ear.
Luo Qing leaned in and whispered to Shiye, "Look at this flashy couple, throwing dog food before they even get in."
Shiye didn’t respond, feeling a bit guilty. He thought if he were in a relationship, he’d probably throw around even more.
Another alpha in the group called out, "Cao Sheng, what are you doing blocking the entrance? Not letting your wife in to eat or are you just reluctant for us to see her?"
Everyone chimed in, and only then did Cao Sheng lead the omega inside, draping his arm over their shoulder and pulling out a chair at the table for them.
With mostly alphas in the group, they moved to sit across the table to avoid overwhelming the omega, while the betas settled in closer. To Shiye's left was the omega.
Looking around, Shiye noticed there were only drinks in the boxes on the floor, so he turned to the waiter and ordered two boxes of juice. Opening the orange juice box, he asked, “Would you like some juice?”
The omega nodded, “Thank you.”
As Shiye poured the juice, the omega's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds, a curious yet sympathetic look that left Shiye puzzled, so he just smiled politely in return.
Once the food was served, a few gossip-loving friends couldn't hold back anymore and started asking questions. The omega was composed and didn’t seem intimidated at all.
“I heard from Cao Sheng that you’re a model?”
The omega picked up a piece of beef for Cao Sheng, shot him a glare, and replied, “He’s just making things up. Modeling is just a side job; I’m into music.”
“Wife in law, how did you meet our Cao Sheng?”
“Introduced by friends. He’s three years younger than me. We were just planning to chat, but who knew he wouldn’t let go, and that’s how it happened.”
Everyone chuckled and asked, “So how did Cao Sheng chase you?”
Shiye was also curious and perked up to listen.
“Just shameless. He would chase me after work and block me on my way home. I couldn’t even take out the trash without seeing him; it was so annoying.”
Everyone laughed teasingly, and Cao Sheng cleared his throat, frowning, “Alright, enough of that. No more questions; my wife hasn’t even eaten yet!”
He then kissed the omega on the cheek, “Babe, give me a little face here.”
After hearing this, Shiye fell into thought. He still didn’t know where Xiaomai worked; if he found out, wouldn't that mean they could run into each other during the day?
After dinner, everyone started shouting about going to KTV. Cao Sheng was slightly drunk and wouldn’t let anyone leave, insisting they all stay to enjoy the gathering. So the group moved from one private room to another.
Cao Sheng took the microphone and insisted on singing a love song for the omega who ignored the drunken fool and retreated to a corner with a big can.
Shiye's phone ran out of battery and shut off, and now he was in a corner trying to charge it. For some reason, it wasn’t charging, and he was a bit anxious to chat with Xiaomai.
Suddenly, the sofa beside him sank down, and looking up, he saw the omega sit next to him. He nodded in greeting.
The omega looked concerned. “Out of battery? I have a power bank and a data cable; it’s a Type-C connector.”
As he spoke, he pulled out the power bank from his bag. Shiye hesitated to take it, but the omega insisted, “Use it. It’s no big deal if your phone is dead, but if you miss any messages and cause misunderstandings, that could be a problem.”
The omega really was thoughtful, and Shiye accepted it, thanking him.
“I thought you wouldn’t come to a place like this,” the omega smiled at the people on stage and then looked back at him, clearly worried.
Shiye didn’t understand where that concern came from and chuckled, “What’s so bad about KTV? Don’t worry, we’re all serious students here, not into anything messy.”
The omega nodded, his brow relaxing a bit, “Then your alpha must be very gentle and understanding, right?”
Your… alpha?
That term, too specific for a title made Shiye's brain stall for three seconds. He forced a smile, “I think you’ve misunderstood something; I’m a beta, not an omega. I don’t look like one, do I?”
The omega was also confused. “Huh? Isn’t your partner an alpha?”
“Of course not! If I liked alphas, with so many great ones in the team, would I still be single?”
The omega gasped softly, covering his mouth, “I’m really sorry. I could smell the alpha's pheromones on your clothes; I thought…”
“Oh, that’s my roommate. He often wears my clothes.” Shiye waved his hand, then looked down to sniff his clothes. Having spent so much time together, he had gotten used to Jiang Chicheng’s pheromone scent and didn’t notice it at all.
The omega fell silent for a moment, his expression strange. “Uh, that’s not a good habit.”
“It’s no big deal; if he likes to wear them, let him. We’re just brothers; I don’t mind.”
The omega stayed quiet even longer, leaning in closer and speaking softly, “You don’t understand alphas. Leaving pheromones is equivalent to marking. Even if it’s unintentional, over time, once you get used to it, you’ll start to see it as yours.”
Shiye laughed, “That shouldn’t be a problem; it’s just a few pieces of clothing. Is he really going to fight me for them?”
“…………”
The omega hesitated, finally speaking up after a long while, “I still advise you to keep your distance from him.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice suddenly interrupted from right beside him, “Hmm? Who are you advising him to stay away from?”
The omega jumped in surprise.
That voice was like an elegant and deep cello, laced with laughter, undeniably gentle yet inexplicably sent chills down the omega’s spine.
Shiye was also startled, turning to see a beautifully flawless face—Jiang Chicheng had somehow entered without him noticing, leaning over the sofa like a ghost.
“Damn! What are you doing here?!”
Jiang Chicheng with his hands in his pockets, pulled down the brim of his hat and stood up, “You didn’t reply to my messages or answer my calls. I got worried, so I asked your friend.”
He pointed at Luo Qing, who was waving at him with a beer in hand, grinning.
Shiya was surprised, “When did you two meet?!”
Jiang Chicheng shrugged, “Does that really matter?”
Although he didn’t know what Jiang Chicheng was up to, now that he had come looking for him, it was time to head back.
Shiye looked down and saw the omega’s eyes slightly widened, returning the power bank to him, “Sorry, this is my roommate. He can be a bit neurotic sometimes; you don’t have to mind him.”
The omega nodded, grabbed his bag, and went to sit elsewhere.
—
As Shiye was leaving, he intended to greet Cao Sheng, but the drunken Cao Sheng waved at him from the stage, laughing, "Jiang Ge! Come play with us next time!"
Shiye was even more shocked. As soon as he got outside, he couldn't help but ask, "How do you guys know each other? When did you meet? Why didn’t I know about this?"
"I went to the hospital for a pulled muscle, and I happened to be in surgery. When I saw the referral from the school, I chatted with him for a bit," Jiang Chicheng said as he took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff with a frown, then added, "You didn’t answer my calls."
Shiye replied, "Oh, my phone was dead."
He had just borrowed the omega's phone to charge it for a bit; it had twenty percent now. Unlocking his phone, he saw over twenty missed calls, all from Jiang Chicheng.
Shiye glanced at him. "Why did you call me so many times… Ah! Your sister just messaged me. Wait, let me reply."
Jiang Chicheng nodded, and the two stood at the intersection. He had one hand in his pocket, watching Shiye reply.
Xiao Mai had sent only one message, an hour ago, asking what he was busy with.
Not sure if it was Jiang Chicheng watching him that made him uneasy or something else, Shiye typed a few words in the input box, then deleted them, putting his phone away. "Let’s just go."
Jiang Chicheng leaned against the streetlight. "Why aren’t you replying?"
Shiye avoided his gaze. "I’ll reply later."
Jiang Chicheng scoffed. "How can you reply later? She asked what you were busy with, just tell her you were messing around at KTV with a bunch of friends, and that your phone was dead because you were sitting in the corner with an omega chatting about pheromones."
Shiye jumped at that comment. "I—I didn’t…"
Jiang Chicheng interrupted him. "You just told me at noon that you 'fell in love,' saying you wanted to hold hands, that you couldn’t eat or sleep thinking about it. I thought you were really into it, but just a few hours later, you’re at KTV having a feast with someone else, not even realizing your phone was off."
"I borrowed a charger, but the outlet in the room was broken…"
"Still finding excuses. Don’t you know that omegas naturally lack a sense of security? You couldn’t even reply immediately, leaving them hanging for over an hour. Your phone’s charged now, right? If you don’t want to reply, just say so. If this is how it is before you’re even dating, I can’t imagine how it would be if you were together. My sister would be so miserable."
Jiang Chicheng finished in one breath, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and turned his back, not wanting to look at him anymore.
Shiye was stunned.
He initially thought that saying he went to KTV with someone sounded a bit sketchy and wanted to package it nicely to leave a good impression; that was only natural. He didn’t expect to step on so many landmines all at once, and Jiang Chicheng caught him on every one.
Seeing him so angry, Shiye didn’t dare think about what Xiao Mai would do if she found out; would she just block him outright?
Feeling both guilty and scared, Shiye poked him on the shoulder. "Please don’t tell your sister."
"You can’t even uphold the most basic trust; I think you should just forget it."
Shiye broke out in a cold sweat, his attitude softening immediately. "Just this once, I promise I’ll reply to messages right away from now on. Please don’t tell your sister."
"You can make that promise to the omega you were just with."
After Jiang Chicheng tossed that line out, he stepped to the roadside and hailed a cab. As he opened the door to get in, Shiye quickly reached for the door, but Jiang Chicheng not looking back, swung the door shut.
With a loud bang, Shiye cried out, "Ah, damn!"
Jiang Chicheng’s heart raced, and he turned to see Shiye’s fingers caught in the door, his face twisted in pain, and he hurriedly opened the door.
"What the hell are you doing? Why did you pull on the door?!"
"Damn! I didn’t think you’d really slam it shut!"
Jiang Chicheng was too annoyed to bicker. He grabbed Shiye’s arm and pulled him into the car, hastily telling the driver to take them to the hospital.
In the car, he quickly examined Shiye’s hand and sighed with relief. "Fortunately, it’s not broken."
Shiye held up his right hand, shaking from the pain. "Are you kidding? ‘Fortunately’? It hurts like hell!"
Jiang Chicheng asked the driver for a bottle of chilled mineral water, soaked it with his sweatshirt, and wrapped it around Shiye's swollen fingers until they reached the hospital.
After coming out of the examination room, Jiang Chicheng accompanied him to get his medication, asking, "What did the doctor say? Does it still hurt?"
Shiye held up his bandaged right hand. "It hurts so much I’m about to cry!"
Jiang Chicheng rolled his eyes. "Enough already. The girl next to you who hurt her foot is less whiny than you."
Shiye felt a bit embarrassed, putting his arm around Jiang Chicheng’s shoulder and patting him. "I stepped on your landmine, you slammed my hand in the door; we’re even now. You can’t tell your sister about this, and you can’t stay mad at me."
Still thinking about it, Jiang Chicheng didn’t know what to say and nodded. "Alright, we’re even."
Shiye continued, "I didn’t chat with the omega about pheromones; he misunderstood and thought you were my alpha. When you came over, I was just explaining that to him!"
Jiang Chicheng paused for two seconds, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, what did he say?"
"Why don’t you ask me what I was explaining?"
"What did you explain?"
"You don’t need to know what I explained; anyway, I didn’t chat about anything inappropriate."
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