A Return Gift

Shi Qi's dark gray eyes were damp as she stared at Shang Sui without blinking.

Even though she knew he probably would not refuse, that scene just now had mixed something subtle into it. Shi Qi simply said nothing and waited for his answer.

What she did not know was that, in someone else's eyes, she looked even more like an angel who had arrived out of nowhere with a surprise.

And one who was making a first trip down to the mortal world, not quite familiar with the work yet.

Shang Sui ran her words through his head once before asking, 'A gift for me?'

Shi Qi neither confirmed nor denied it. 'Is there a second Teacher Shang here?'

'I was so happy I had to make sure again.' Shang Sui smiled at her and took the bag from Shi Qi's hand. 'I never thought I'd get a gift from you. Thank you.'

Shang Sui's reaction gave exactly the right amount of response. The little tension in Shi Qi vanished. She gave a cool little hmph, then added, 'No need.'

'Can I look?'

'It's your gift. Do whatever you want with it.'

Shang Sui undid the layers of wrapping and found a black-and-orange satin baseball jacket, nothing like Shi Qi's usual style. He immediately realized she had picked it out especially for him.

'It's a beautiful jacket. I've actually liked this kind of color pairing lately. I was thinking of buying something similar myself.'

That part was true. In such a good mood, even Shang Sui's voice carried a smile, warm enough to catch at a person. 'Thank you, Xiao Qi. We really are in sync.'

'...Mm.'

Shang Sui was far too familiar, but Shi Qi was already getting used to him calling her by a nickname. 'As long as you like it.'

'But why did you want to give me clothes?' Shang Sui asked, curious.

'You went with me for the Compatibility Test. And you took photos.'

Shi Qi watched him put the jacket back into the bag and thought that after all that, he was still too embarrassed to accept it. She sped up as she explained, 'Even between friends, if someone helps you, you should thank them. And you've helped me a lot.'

So just take it and stop worrying.

Otherwise I'd have to carry this thing back, and Lin Yan would definitely start asking questions.

'So that's it.' After she finished, Shang Sui said, 'I'll prepare a return gift for you.'

Hm...?

Shi Qi froze for a second, puzzled why she was the one thanking Shang Sui and he still wanted to give her something back, but on second thought, this kind of give-and-take did not seem overly formal either.

Without meaning to, Shi Qi grew curious.

Would she really get a return gift from Shang Sui, and what would it be?

-

Inside the grand theater, the lights drew in, and with the last note, the crimson curtain slowly fell. The show was over.

Thunderous applause rose all around. When the curtain call came, the lights came up again, and the host and cast walked onstage one by one to bow and give thanks.

Jiang Yan woke to the noise, opened his eyes blearily, and asked the person beside him, 'It's over?'

'Just ended,' Shang Sui answered.

'...Next time we meet, can you not pick somewhere this refined?'

Jiang Yan rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep ten minutes in and had no idea how Shang Sui had managed to watch the whole thing with such relish.

Before coming, Jiang Yan had read the synopsis for the musical. It was a story about grudges and entanglements.

In a distant ancient kingdom, there was a kind-hearted boy who happened upon a prisoner on the verge of death, newly escaped from a gray zone.

The prisoner had thought he was bound to die, but the boy took pity on him. He hid the truth from the city patrols and secretly brought him food and water, then precious medicine, clothes to keep out the cold...

The place the prisoner had once lived was sealed off from the world, and the boy was deeply curious. The two of them often talked.

On the day the prisoner left, the boy said goodbye and wished him well.

When he woke again, what the boy saw was not the ceiling of his home. Outside the window was the chaotic, dangerous lawless land the prisoner had once described.

The boy had saved someone else, only to be dragged by that prisoner into hell himself.

Jiang Yan had not looked too closely at the rest. Apparently the boy tried every possible way to take revenge, and the two kept fighting and killing without end.

What a farce of a farmer and the snake.

Jiang Yan judged silently.

Shang Sui could not even be bothered to argue with him. 'You were the one who insisted on coming.'

'Because I wanted to talk to you about investing in Huijian Restaurant.' At that, Jiang Yan came alive at once. 'Even if you only put in one yuan, that's fine. I'm begging you, Xiao Sui-gege.'

Huijian Restaurant had been running fairly well, but it had never quite exploded the way Jiang Yan had imagined. A few days ago he had gone to a fortune-teller for a reading, and the man told him he was only one benefactor away from doing something big.

Whatever Shang Sui invested in made money. His luck was absurdly good. Jiang Yan looked left, looked right, and decided Shang Sui was exactly that benefactor.

But Shang Sui was a man with too many ideas of his own and usually did not budge easily. Jiang Yan had already prepared himself for a long campaign of persuasion when Shang Sui said thoughtfully, 'All right.'

'Huh??' Jiang Yan sat up straight at once. 'You actually agreed just like that?!'

'Your return gift.'

'What?'

'It just occurred to me that you've helped me a great deal too.'

If Jiang Yan had not asked him that day to look at the Courtyard layout at Huijian Restaurant, he would never have run into Shi Qi again, much less in a way that fit so perfectly.

'What did I help you with? Even I don't know.' Jiang Yan turned over Shang Sui's tone just now in his mind and immediately broke out in goosebumps. 'Why do you sound so creepy? Don't start plotting against me. I'm not smart enough for that.'

Shang Sui had just opened his mouth when Jiang Yan spotted a figure in the distance and his expression changed.

'Holy shit, why is that freak Shen Qianyu here too.' Jiang Yan got to his feet in one clean motion. 'You two talk, I'm leaving first. Last time during my Sensitivity Period I felt awful and went to Shen Qianyu for treatment. He suggested I remove my gland. I suggested he learn some basic decency before medicine. That man is clearly sick in the head—'

Before leaving, he did not forget to remind Shang Sui, 'Don't forget what you promised me! I'll send you the contract later!'

By the time Shen Qianyu walked over, Jiang Yan was already nowhere to be seen. He lifted a hand and pushed up the thin frame of his glasses. 'Jiang Yan left?'

'He didn't want to see you.'

Shen Qianyu drew back his gaze and looked Shang Sui over for a moment before saying with a half-smile, 'Good evening, young master. Seeing me, did you remember anything you were supposed to do?'

Shang Sui fell into a suspicious silence for a moment. 'I forgot.'

Shen Qianyu was his private doctor, and the two of them were also old friends. At a young age, Shen Qianyu had already become the vice director of a private hospital; the only reason he served as Shang Sui's doctor at all was personal friendship.

'Why don't you check your phone. It's been a full month since I messaged you, and now you casually tell me you forgot?'

'I told you last month to come in for the Psychological Assessment. If we hadn't happened to run into each other today, I wouldn't even know where to find you.'

'...' Shang Sui finally said what he really thought. 'I don't want to do that thing. Just looking at it annoys me.'

Shen Qianyu frowned slightly. To some extent, he understood why Shang Sui had put this off for so long.

In the public eye, an Alpha with a Special Sensitivity Period was practically synonymous with danger. Shang Sui had always delayed the Psychological Assessment whenever he could. After all, no one wanted to be reminded that he was different.

Even so, there were less than two months left in the year, and once the assessment was done, uploading it to the database for review would still take time.

Shen Qianyu tried to persuade him. 'For Yu Madam's sake, you should get the Psychological Assessment done sooner rather than later.'

An Alpha with a Special Sensitivity Period had to have a guarantor. An Omega partner, family member, or friend could all serve in that role.

If he bonded with an Omega, then that Omega partner would automatically take priority over every other relationship and become the guarantor. At present, Shang Sui's guarantor was Yu Wan.

If anything happened to Shang Sui, Yu Wan would be implicated as well.

'Don't worry. I'll show up right at the deadline.'

'...That flaw of yours is beyond saving.'

For Shen Qianyu, who was used to making detailed plans well in advance for everything, Shang Sui's looseness was impossible to accept.

With a headache coming on, Shen Qianyu looked at him.

'One impolite question. Is there anyone in this world whose messages you reply to instantly?'

-

Shi Qi had not expected Shang Sui's return gift to arrive even faster than she had imagined.

Less than five days after they met at Meiyan Academy, she received a delivery. Shi Qi had meant to have the courier leave it at the School pickup station, but the courier said it was a valuable package and had to be handed to her in person.

She had even wondered what it could be, since she had not bought anything lately. After opening it and seeing the clothes inside the box, she suddenly realized who had sent it.

Shi Qi took a photo and sent it to him.

17: [Did you send this?]

Shang Sui replied quickly.

Ss: [Got the gift?]

Ss: [Hope you like it ^^]

Shi Qi looked at the light-colored brushed sweater in the box and could not help falling into thought.

How to put it.

Objectively speaking, the sweater was pretty. It just ran entirely counter to what she usually wore.

After thinking it over again and again, Shi Qi decided to go against her usual style for once and judge it on pure aesthetics alone.

17: [It looks nice. Thank you.]

Ss: [You're welcome.]

Ss: [Are you free today? I'm covering a class this afternoon. Dinner tonight?]

17: [Okay.]

17: [I'm free after 4:30.]

Before leaving for class, Shi Qi hesitated for a while.

If she praised the sweater to Shang Sui one moment and then showed up without wearing it the next, no matter how she thought about it, that would feel perfunctory.

After wavering again and again, Shi Qi reached for the baby-blue sweater.

It had not looked obvious in the box, but once she put it on, Shi Qi realized the collar dipped lower than most sweaters. A narrow stretch of collarbone showed.

No matter how she looked at it, Shi Qi felt off. In the end she grabbed a black coat and put it on, and only then did she feel like herself again.

She had planned to come back after class and catch up on sleep for a bit, then go find Shang Sui after waking at dusk, but before class ended, She Zhang from the Dance Club started urgently looking for her in the group chat.

She Zhang: [@17, Xiao Qi, are you free in a bit? Can you come to the dance club? We need to discuss something urgent!]

17: [Yes. I'll come after class.]

She Zhang: [Perfect!! Waiting for you!!]

The urgent matter She Zhang had mentioned turned out to be even more troublesome than Shi Qi had expected, and she had no choice but to stay for the time being. Probably because he had not heard from her for a while, Shang Sui took the initiative and sent her a sticker after class.

It was a wide-eyed cat with its head tilted, as if asking, 'What are you doing?'

Shi Qi looked at the cat, then at Shang Sui's blue-and-gold British shorthair profile picture, and felt more and more that he was a mass of contradictions.

Where did Shang Sui even find so many cutesy cats?

17: [I'm over at the Dance Club. Something came up.]

17: [Dinner might have to be a little later.]

Ss: [Then should I come find you?]

17: [Okay.]

Remembering that Shang Sui was unfamiliar with their School, Shi Qi added another line.

17: [Where are you? I'll come get you.]

A moment later, Shang Sui replied: [I ran into your friend. He's bringing me over.]

'Hey, handsome, meeting again.' Lin Yan was carrying a huge pile of milk tea and greeted Shang Sui warmly. 'I thought you looked familiar from a distance. Didn't expect it to really be you.'

Seeing him carrying so many drinks on his own with obvious effort, Shang Sui said, 'Let me help.'

Lin Yan did not stand on ceremony. He handed half of them straight over. 'Bought them for the dance club. Shi Qi happens to be there too. I'll take you over.'

'Dance club?'

'You haven't seen it, have you? Shi Qi dances really well.' Lin Yan thought of the messages in the group. 'I think She Zhang wants her to enter some competition, but I don't know the details either. We'll ask when we get there.'

'Right, I've never found a chance to tell you this.' Lin Yan paused slightly, then smiled as he thanked Shang Sui. 'Thanks for helping Shi Qi out.'

'Her family spoils her, so sometimes people might feel she has a bit of a young-master temper, but she's actually soft-hearted. Please bear with her.'

Shang Sui answered with an easy expression, 'I think her personality is very good. She doesn't have much of a temper at all.'

Lin Yan went quiet for a moment. Once he was sure Shang Sui was not merely being polite, he could not help laughing. 'You're the first person who's ever said that. Even I don't dare describe her that way.'

'Let me tell you something funny. Have you noticed that Shi Qi only ever likes wearing black and white?'

Shang Sui gave a soft sound of assent.

That was why he had hesitated over clothes for so long. But in the end he still felt that a clean, pale blue suited Shi Qi's hair perfectly, and chose that sweater.

'Uncle Xiao'an... that is, Shi Qi's dad, and Yoning-jie, the two of them are kind of awful.'

'When Shi Qi was little and didn't know any better, Uncle Xiao'an tricked her into wearing dresses, and Yoning-jie went along with it and coaxed her too.'

As a child, Shi Qi had been pretty enough that her looks blurred the line between boy and girl, with big watery eyes in a face no bigger than a palm. Shi An had simply been unable to suppress the urge stirring in him.

The dresses he picked for Shi Qi were all bright colors like pink, yellow, and blue. Jiang Yoning, meanwhile, treated Shi Qi as her oversized doll outright. She not only lied and told her everyone wore dresses, she even put all kinds of hair accessories on her.

'Later Shi Qi grew up and gradually realized that wasn't true. The matter should have ended there. But in high school, she accidentally saw Uncle Xiao'an's Album once.'

Lin Yan had been there that day too, and remembered clearly the way Shi Qi's face darkened after flipping through it.

At first Shi An thought it was not a big deal, but later, seeing that Shi Qi was genuinely angry, he realized he had been wrong and kept apologizing.

Shi An could not soothe her no matter what he did, and in the end, in total despair, he said, 'Baby, don't be mad. We'll get rid of all the photos. I won't keep a single one...!'

Shi Qi did not actually make Shi An get rid of the photos, but from then on, she began wearing only black and white.

Shi An had thought those colorful dresses had left Shi Qi with a psychological shadow and was terrified for a while. In the end, Shi Qi herself said that at first she really had been unhappy, but later she simply felt black and white looked good on her, clean and simple.

Jiang Yoning was a fashion designer. Around that time, she had introduced Shi Qi to quite a few part-time modeling jobs, hoping to get her into brighter colors, but once the shoots were over, Shi Qi still would not touch colorful clothes.

'...That's about it,' Lin Yan concluded after finishing the story. 'She only looks obedient. She actually has a lot of will of her own.'

After hearing the story, Shang Sui could not help picturing a tiny Shi Qi in a dress, half doubtful and half resigned, with no choice but to follow the arrangements of her elders.

Just imagining it felt unbearably cute.

By the time he met Shi Qi, she was already a teenager. He had never seen the younger version Lin Yan described, and he could not help feeling a little regretful.

Talking all the while, the two of them reached the door of the dance club before they knew it.

The dance studio was well heated, a stark contrast to the biting cold outside. Not long after arriving, Shi Qi had taken off her coat.

The loose collar of the sweater made her neck look long and fine, and the strip of skin it revealed was almost dazzlingly pale.

Lin Yan, sharp-eyed as ever, caught the difference from her usual look at once and raised his voice the moment he stepped inside.

'Wow, Shi Qi! What are you wearing today, a fluffy sweater? And such a pale blue too! I haven't seen you dress this pure in years.'

'The sky's about to rain blood!'

'...Shut up.'

Feeling Shang Sui's gaze turn toward her, Shi Qi tugged uncomfortably at the low collar.

Why was the heat in the dance studio turned up so high?

It was so hot.