Embrace

A faint disinfectant smell hung in the air. Shi Qi's lashes trembled slightly. In his haze, a pale beige ceiling came into view, and then a voice burst out by his ear, bright with surprise.

'Xiao Qi!' She Zhang was the first to rush over, nearly in tears. 'You're finally awake!'

Lin Yan leaned in from the other side. 'You were out forever. It's completely dark already. If you didn't wake up soon, we were about to send you to the hospital...!'

Too worked up, She Zhang grabbed one of his hands and Lin Yan took the other, both of them squeezing hard enough that Shi Qi felt like a rag doll hoisted up by two golden retrievers. He could only protest weakly, 'Don't cling to me. It's hot.'

But neither Lin Yan nor She Zhang heard him. Lin Yan even threw an arm around his shoulders. 'You scared me to death! Do you know what it's like to be blown away by how cool you are one second and scared stupid the next? If something had happened to you, how was I supposed to answer to Uncle Xiao'an—'

She Zhang was just as tearful. 'Wuwuwuwu! If anything happened to you, what would be the point of us taking first place!'

The two of them had plenty of drama. In the middle of the chaos, Shi Qi barely caught the key word first place, and repeated it. 'First?'

'Yeah, yeah!' She Zhang echoed. 'I was stunned too when I heard it. Wasn't our original goal just to muddle through this event?'

But after the first surprise, she adjusted to the result quickly enough.

Unlike half-conscious Shi Qi, once she joined in later on, she could clearly feel the audience being swept up. The atmosphere on site had been unbelievably heated.

Besides, everyone in the Dance Club had given this competition everything they had. Ever since Shi Qi joined, he was often practicing until dawn. He only ever demanded that much of himself, but everyone had seen the effort he put in. Even the laziest few were too embarrassed to drag him down, so whenever they didn't have class, they came and camped out in the studio.

'Want some water?' Shang Sui's voice cut in then.

Shi Qi looked up and saw that Shang Sui had taken a disposable paper cup from the infirmary and filled it with warm water.

There were red scratches across the back of Shang Sui's hand, as if something had clawed at him hard enough to draw blood. He seemed to have washed for a long time; there were still faint traces of water on his skin.

Shi Qi nodded, then asked, 'What happened to your hand?'

Before he passed out, he vaguely remembered Shang Sui catching him in his arms. To ease his discomfort, Shang Sui seemed to have covered his face and released Pheromone too.

The thought left Shi Qi mildly annoyed with himself.

He remembered almost nothing of what had happened then. Rare as the chance was to smell Shang Sui's Pheromone, he could not recall the exact scent at all.

Aside from that one time at Huijian Restaurant, he had never properly taken in Shang Sui's scent again. At most, during the course of being around him, he could catch the faintest trace of honey mixed with sandalwood. That only made the first time, when he had truly had his fill, feel all the more precious.

That bewitching fragrance in his memory teased at him like a cat's claw, leaving Shi Qi's heart itching.

But if he suddenly told Shang Sui I want to smell your Pheromone, that would be strange, and rude too.

Shi Qi stared at the injuries on his hand and suspected he had gotten too worked up while inhaling and scratched him by accident.

He knew himself well enough to know that when he was out of his mind, there was no telling what bastard thing he might do. Apology leaked into his gaze without his meaning it to.

'It's nothing. Banged it by accident.' Shang Sui paused slightly, as if he could see what Shi Qi was thinking. 'You didn't do it.'

As Shang Sui spoke, Lin Yan and She Zhang both stood up and naturally gave him the space beside the bed.

Coming back to himself, Lin Yan felt a trace of confusion.

From childhood on, Shi Qi had always been a little slow to things and not very good at taking care of himself, so Lin Yan had fallen into the habit of looking after him. In return, if Lin Yan ever ran into trouble, Shi Qi would always be the first to step forward for him.

That was how the two of them had grown up, helping each other along. No one had ever said it aloud, but in Lin Yan's mind, looking after Shi Qi was his job.

Now Shang Sui was already at the bedside, lifting the paper cup and resting it lightly against Shi Qi's lips, feeding him water little by little. Lin Yan suddenly felt that maybe it did not matter who was taking care of him. Shang Sui was doing a pretty good job of it anyway.

After half a cup of warm water, Shi Qi gradually cleared up and could not help confirming it again. 'We're really first?'

As he spoke, the corners of his mouth lifted before he realized it.

He had never cared that much about rankings, but being recognized by everyone still made him happy.

'The genuine article.' She Zhang swept back her hair smugly. 'Sorry, but the boys and girls here are just too strong. We're taking this first place.'

Lin Yan said, 'We're taking the ten thousand yuan too.'

Shi Qi raised a hand. 'I request a good meal.'

'No problem!'

'Shi Qi rendered distinguished service. Today, around here, that makes him the emperor who gets the final say on everything. Your Majesty, pick whatever you want to eat!'

'It's already past nine. At this hour, it's either barbecue or hotpot?'

'Hotpot, hotpot! They say it's going to snow tonight. On the night of First Snow, you should eat something lively and warm.' The girl speaking suddenly remembered something and looked to Shi Qi with open expectation. 'Is that all right, Your Majesty?'

Everyone burst out laughing, and Shi Qi gave a restrained nod. 'Permission granted.'

Feeling more or less rested, Shi Qi got out of bed and moved his arms and legs a little, making sure there was nothing seriously wrong with him.

Lin Yan reminded him, 'The doctor said you need to be more careful. The Enhanced Inhibitor is too strong. Even after waking up, you might still have side effects.'

He also mentioned, in passing, that Shi Qi would not be able to use Inhibitor during his next Heat Phase. Shi Qi answered absently, not especially bothered.

He did not go into Heat Phase that often over the course of a year anyway. When the time came, he would deal with it then.

'Right, where's Gu Cheng?' Just before they headed out, someone noticed one person was missing.

'I think he went to the bathroom. Around the same time Brother Sui did, and he never came back after that.' The boy speaking looked at Shang Sui. 'Did you run into him, ge?'

Thinking of how Gu Cheng had ended up kneeling on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, Shang Sui smiled as if nothing had happened. 'Nope.'

Lin Yan had never liked Gu Cheng much. The moment he heard he was gone, he said, 'Maybe Gu Cheng doesn't want to stick with us and already left. Why don't we grant his wish?'

'I'll transfer him his share of the money. We won't call him for dinner.' She Zhang paused. 'Gu Cheng really does... usually skip group gatherings anyway.'

Gu Cheng's relationship with everyone had never been especially close or distant. He was decent enough at dealing with people, but She Zhang could vaguely feel that he found their activities childish. Most of the time, he preferred hanging around nightclubs or doing other things.

There was a shopping district near School, so they picked a highly rated hotpot place nearby.

When they sat down, Shi Qi and Shang Sui ended up together by habit. Shang Sui called to him, and the two of them bent over the same phone to discuss the order. She Zhang could not help taking an extra look.

Shi Qi did not like heavily seasoned food. Once the dishes came, he stuck almost entirely to the clear broth side of the split pot. Shang Sui used the serving spoon to fish food out for him and let him pick what he liked.

Shi Qi seemed perfectly used to it. Watching from the side, She Zhang finally could not resist. She cleared her throat on purpose, and when Shi Qi looked up, she gave him a gossipy grin.

'Tell me the truth already. What exactly is going on between you two?'

One socially nimble boy jumped in at once. 'Your Majesty, this palace banquet cannot have outsiders at it.'

He paused for two deliberate seconds, then turned the line around. '—Unless his relationship with you is rather unusual. Then naturally that's a different matter.'

Everyone had eaten the desserts Shang Sui brought before, and on top of that he had helped Shi Qi out, so the members of the Dance Club were all pretty willing to give him face. 'Right, right, right. If it's Brother Sui, we can consider it.'

Someone asked Shang Sui with a laugh, 'Ge, you're an assistant instructor at Meiyan Academy, right?'

Curiosity showed on Shi Qi's face. 'How do you know that?'

The day he introduced him, he had clearly only said Shang Sui's name.

'Xiao Qi, do you not go on the forums? Or read those confession walls for the different schools and all that?'

When Shi Qi nodded, the boy went on excitedly, 'It blew up on his first day on the job. The gorgeous guy teacher from Meiyan Academy. Ask him if you don't believe me. Tons of people sit in on classes just for him. Some even come over from other schools to Meiyan Academy just to catch one look at him.'

Shi Qi froze for a moment. 'Really?'

That popular?

Shang Sui smiled. 'It's not that exaggerated.'

'Too modest. Are all handsome guys this low-key?'

'Being an assistant instructor at Meiyan Academy should be hard, right? I heard most people only get in once they're well into their thirties, but Brother Sui looks about our age.'

'Bullshit. He's about ten thousand times more radiant than you are. Don't use him as an excuse to raise your own status.'

Amid the laughter and joking, someone remembered the original topic and, working up his nerve, guessed, 'Ge, are you chasing Shi Qi?'

Before Shang Sui could answer, Shi Qi said flatly, 'Chasing what.'

She Zhang quickly shot a look over. The speaker thought he had taken the joke too far and was just about to apologize.

'He's family,' Shi Qi said, looking perfectly natural. 'My boyfriend.'

Unlike the calm he showed, the fingers hidden under the table had clenched tight without his knowing it. Saying those three words out loud in front of everyone still burned his mouth.

But no matter what, pursuing someone carried effort and strain with it. He did not want any misunderstanding to leave Shang Sui with that kind of impression in other people's minds.

Besides, Fu Siyue was also at A University. Sooner or later he would hear about their relationship. If Shi Qi acted the least bit suspicious, he had no doubt Fu Siyue would immediately call Shi An and tattle.

'That's right.' Shang Sui suddenly wrapped both hands around the arm of the person beside him and flashed Shi Qi a brilliant smile, clinging to him as he said, 'The emperor and I have exactly that kind of relationship.'

He was striking and seductive to begin with. Smiling now, even the corners of his eyes seemed to be sending sparks.

It was rare enough to see an Alpha this fond of acting spoiled with an Omega. Looking at Shang Sui on one side and Shi Qi on the other, stunned silly and nodding at random from being toyed with like this, the same line flashed through everyone's minds at once: seducing the ruler with beauty.

With Shang Sui leaning against him, a wave of dizziness washed over Shi Qi.

Not the kind from the stage, not that blackout feeling. It was as if his feet were planted in soft, comfortable clouds, while lazy drunkenness seeped through every limb and bone.

In his haze, he thought he caught a thin trace of honey in the air, enough to make saliva gather under his tongue.

Someone caught on and raised a glass. 'So you're the Empress. My respects, my respects.'

'Fuck, hahahahahahaha. Who gave you permission to think that fast?'

'Xiao Qi, you should've said he was your boyfriend sooner. A toast, a toast. May you two be together for a hundred years!'

As everyone lifted their glasses, Shi Qi asked in a low voice, 'How long are you planning to keep holding me?'

That was what he said, but he stayed perfectly still in the posture of having his arm wrapped, with no thought of throwing Shang Sui off. With his other hand, he struggled to reach for his glass where it sat farther away.

Shang Sui let go at that and smilingly pushed the glass over for him. 'Shall I help you, Your Majesty?'

Shi Qi said, '...Enough.'

Shi Qi was drinking cola, and Shang Sui had not touched the alcohol either.

Once that topic passed, the mood only grew more lively.

But the boneless, softening dizziness would not go away. It was getting worse, if anything. Belatedly, Shi Qi remembered Lin Yan saying that he had used an Enhanced Inhibitor earlier, that it felt just like being drunk, and that he had even grabbed people and babbled nonsense.

He was just about to ask Lin Yan when he saw him dragging She Zhang close, holding his cup in both hands as he declaimed, 'Little Peach Sister, I drain this cup to you. Back then, it was your discerning eye that recruited me. Without your guidance, there would be no me today!'

'Yan'er!' She Zhang's eyes shone with tears. She filled her own glass as well. 'I know, I understand it all. Every single time you sat in the back row playing games, I knew your heart was with everyone else!'

Shi Qi said nothing.

Apparently neither of those two was very clear-headed now.

'By the way, didn't you two go to the Amusement Park together before and run into an Alpha in a Special Sensitivity Period?' a girl asked, looking at Shang Sui and Shi Qi with a smile. 'I saw that good-Samaritan video on my feed back then. Tons of people in the comments were shipping you two. And now you really are together. The people have spoken, hahaha.'

Someone beside her caught the key phrase and picked it up. 'Speaking of that, an Alpha in a Special Sensitivity Period is seriously unstable. There was a serial murder case more than ten years ago, and the killer was one of those Special Sensitivity Period Alphas pretending to be a Beta. He even had a torture-and-kill fetish. Fuck, it was terrifying. When I was a kid, I saw the news and couldn't sleep for three days.'

'I remember that case too.' The boy speaking shuddered. 'If you ask me, sure, their lives aren't easy either, but if there were someone like that around me, my first instinct would absolutely be to stay as far away as possible.'

'They're unstable, after all, and I heard their physical abilities are different from ordinary Alphas too. They're like... a higher life-form? Or a monster, maybe?'

Shang Sui's expression did not change, but the five fingers around his cup slowly tightened.

Realizing he had put force into it without noticing, Shang Sui immediately loosened his grip again.

If someone had just finished saying that Alpha in a Special Sensitivity Period had physical abilities different from ordinary people, and then the very next second they watched someone crush a cup barehanded, that would have been a little too on the nose.

'Your hand,' a clear voice said suddenly, clean of any impurity, 'looks like it hurts a lot.'

Shi Qi was looking at him. Shang Sui lowered his head, only then noticing that the back of the hand Gu Cheng had grabbed was covered in red marks.

His skin was pale, and some of those marks had already begun to bruise blue, making them look vicious.

Shi Qi kept staring at him without blinking, as if worried. In a half-joking tone, as though sharing a secret, Shang Sui said, 'I'll tell you quietly. I actually went and beat up that rotten grape who talks nonsense.'

Gu Cheng's Pheromone was grape, so rotten grape was not far off.

'Really?'

Before Shang Sui could respond, Shi Qi said disdainfully, 'Fruit that talks? Who are you fooling, a child?'

Seeing how hazy he looked, Shang Sui hesitated a moment, then held up one finger. 'How many is this?'

Shi Qi answered without hesitation. 'Can't tell.'

Shang Sui said nothing.

Remembering that Shi Qi had not drunk any alcohol, Shang Sui realized this woozy behavior could only be a side effect of the Enhanced Inhibitor. He asked Shen Qianyu about it.

The reply came quickly. Shen Qianyu said side effects like this were considered very mild and nothing serious, and that he could just handle him the way he would handle someone drunk.

At the end, Shen Qianyu added:

[When you have time, could you please honor us with your presence and come do the Psychological Assessment. I am begging you.]

Shang Sui shut off his phone cleanly and pretended not to have seen it.

It was right then that a sudden weight settled onto his shoulder.

Along with it came a faint but fresh floral scent. Half-conscious, Shi Qi finally gave in to temptation and leaned over, tipping his head to rest against Shang Sui.

Feeling another person's breathing so close at hand, Shang Sui seemed to have a fixing spell cast on him. He froze where he stood, unable to move.

By the second half of the meal, Shi Qi was almost asleep.

His eyes half-lidded, he enjoyed the scent of Shang Sui the way a cat dozing in sunlight might, every inch of him giving off comfort and languid ease.

Only after everyone had started getting to their feet one by one did Shang Sui call to him softly, 'Up now. I'll take you back.'

Shi Qi made a quiet sound of assent and obediently stood up.

Lin Yan and She Zhang were dead drunk, held up by the people beside them. In comparison, Shi Qi, who could still walk on his own, was impressively holding it together.

The boy supporting Lin Yan said with relief, 'We'll leave Shi Qi to you, ge.'

Shang Sui answered, then after a brief hesitation, took Shi Qi's hand. 'How about I hold your hand while we walk?'

It would be safer that way, in case he slipped or walked into something.

Shi Qi docilely let himself be led, but once they got outside and the cold wind hit him, he gradually started to grow restless.

Eager, he squeezed Shang Sui's hand once. When he saw he was not shaken off, he simply lifted their clasped hands and, following his heart, pressed them to his cheek and rubbed against them in satisfaction.

Blood had seeped from the back of Shang Sui's hand earlier. Pheromone in bodily fluid was especially concentrated. Although the wound had already stopped bleeding, a rich, sweet scent still leaked through the half-healed flesh.

Without noticing when it happened, the others gradually moved farther away. The streets after midnight were sparse with people, and beneath the streetlights only the two of them remained.

Watching Shi Qi hum and cling to his hand as if he wanted to bury his face in it, Shang Sui felt amused. Deliberately ignoring the silent plea, he pulled his hand away.

Shi Qi hurried after him like a cat chasing a ball of yarn and voiced a request he would never have made while sober. 'Don't go. I want to smell your Pheromone...!'

'In exchange, I'll...' Shi Qi thought for a long while, unable to find a way to express an even trade. Then inspiration struck. 'I'll give you a gift.'

The quiet around them deepened. Shang Sui stopped short and looked at him, his gaze heavy.

Shen Qianyu had said he was making a fuss over nothing, that it was only a mild side effect like drunkenness, but Shang Sui had asked again and again, making sure.

But this was clearly... troublesome as hell.

A Compatibility Index of one hundred percent had left Shi Qi out of his mind, bent on getting close to him and nothing else.

'A gift?' Shang Sui repeated, his voice soft as though afraid of breaking something. 'I'm greedy. There are a lot of things I want.'

He watched Shi Qi's dazed face, knowing he understood nothing right now. 'I'm afraid you wouldn't be willing.'

Shi Qi followed him on instinct, only a little short of catching his hand again. But Shang Sui stepped away just before he could touch it, as if deliberately stringing him along.

Being left hanging like that nearly drove Shi Qi mad.

Irritation had only just risen in him when Shang Sui dragged a nail across the back of his already bruised hand, reopening the wound that had started to heal until fresh red blood beaded out again.

The scent of Pheromone in the blood was especially rich. Shi Qi was drawn to it at once. Adoration showed in his eyes, and the tip of his tongue slipped out to wet his teeth without his knowing it.

Meeting Shi Qi's gaze, Shang Sui said, 'I want a promise.'

Even knowing it would only be gibberish spoken under the sway of Pheromone, light-headed and not to be trusted, he was still willing to use this little trick as the price for hearing Shi Qi say a promise he could not hold him to.

He could treat it as a little placebo for himself.

Shang Sui thought to himself, amused at his own expense.

'I hope... you won't be afraid of me.'

A faint wetness touched his lashes, and something fine, cold, and silent melted away.

Shang Sui looked up and saw night snow falling from ten thousand meters above, a pure white like dancing spirits, quietly cracking open the black, flat midnight.

Just as the forecast had said, the year's First Snow came down beside them.

Shi Qi was quiet for a moment, then asked in return, 'What is there about you for me to be afraid of?'

In Shi Qi's eyes, the person before him was not a dangerous, abnormal Alpha, but a gift that belonged to him.

He smelled so good. He was sweet all over. Shi Qi wanted so badly to eat him up.

'Right.' Shang Sui answered himself, then smiled again, low bitterness in his voice. 'When I'm in Sensitivity Period, I become strange... I can't control myself.'

'I'm not afraid of you.' Since a gift that did not exist could not be given away, Shi Qi said directly, 'You already have that. Pick something else.'

Shang Sui went still. A feeling he had once thought he would never have again, as if his heart were being gently tugged, began to revive by slow degrees.

While he was luring Shi Qi on, Shi Qi's words were luring him too, and against his will his thoughts turned to something even more excessive.

If he asked for a kiss as the gift, would Shi Qi agree?

And something more intimate than that? How would he react?

Even if they had fallen behind everyone else, no one would find it strange, because Shi Qi had said with his own mouth that they were a couple. And the only person who knew the truth, Lin Yan, was drunk senseless.

The Shi Qi in front of him now was like a doll in his hands, pliant to whatever he wanted. Give him a little Pheromone, and he would obediently follow him anywhere. If he tricked him into bed, he would probably agree foolishly. He might even let him place a Lifelong Mark.

Shang Sui watched him with unreadable eyes. Snowflakes landed on Shi Qi's hair. He seemed faintly uncomfortable and shook his head, trying to toss them off.

The childish little motion made him look younger, as if for a moment he had gone back to the past.

'I want a hug.'

Shang Sui's voice was light and slow, almost pleading. 'Xiao Qi, hug me.'

As he spoke, he lifted his hand into Shi Qi's line of sight. Bright blood gave off a sweet Pheromone scent, glaringly vivid against the pale back of his hand. It was bait in plain view.

He had always been good at this: weakening himself just enough, playing the part of someone pitiful, and at the same time using every means to tempt.

Almost the instant he finished speaking, Shi Qi stepped forward, opened his arms, and wrapped him in an embrace.

Shang Sui stood there stupidly, not expecting the gift to come so fast.

He had thought Shi Qi would seize his hand first. After all, with a one-hundred-percent Compatibility Index, the Pheromone was more tempting than he himself was. But instead, Shi Qi chose a complete, wholehearted hug.

Only after a moment did he slowly adjust. The stiffness left his body by degrees, and Shang Sui closed his eyes, giving in to what he wanted.

So warm.

Being held by Shi Qi made him feel as though he too were melting like the night snow drifting down around them, drawing from the soul pressed close to his the courage he had always lacked.

He opened his eyes again and, tentative, slowly lifted his arms and returned the embrace.

Because he had caught more of that sweet, lush scent, the person in his arms happily pressed even closer.

...Thank god.

Shang Sui thought.

To receive an embrace this close on a snowy night—this was so good.