Honey Flavor

Leading with a question about Pheromone scent, then following it with something even more ambiguous.

If Shi Qi had not looked so utterly open about it, anyone would have heard it as an invitation with a different edge.

Shang Sui repeated it. 'You want me to keep you company?'

Shi Qi nodded. When he stayed silent for too long, she suddenly understood. 'Are you more expensive than the last one? That's fine.'

If he was the restaurant's star attraction, charging more was only normal.

'?'

Only then did Shang Sui realize he had been mistaken for one of the restaurant staff.

He had said long ago there was something wrong with this dump Jiang Yan was running, and what kind of gimmick was Pheromone companionship anyway, it sounded like a front for special services.

Shi Qi kept looking at him without blinking, a little expectant, even more openly curious, and her face slowly overlapped with the younger, softer one in his memory.

He had thought Shi Qi would remember him, at least a little.

After all, that experience... should it be called unforgettable? Or just terrifying?

Shi Qi was still waiting for an answer. Once he was sure she truly did not remember him at all, Shang Sui fell silent for a moment, then smiled.

As if he were deliberately tempting someone to bite, or else trying not to scare the prey away—

'Of course. I'll keep you company.'

By the time they returned to the private room, nearly all the dishes they had ordered were on the table, and the last Alpha's scent had completely dissipated.

Shi Qi sat back in her seat. Shang Sui did not come over; he sat across from her instead.

After that string of interruptions, Shi Qi finally picked up her chopsticks, belatedly. Watching her lower her head and eat, Shang Sui guessed she really was hungry.

Shi Qi's hair had a fine texture. Even dyed that color, the pale strands were still soft and glossy, and beneath the loose hair by her cheek, a small earlobe showed.

Shang Sui looked once more and confirmed her earlobe was bare, with no stud in it.

After several bites to settle her stomach, Shi Qi remembered there was still someone else in the room.

When she looked up, he was looking at her too.

Shi Qi was rarely embarrassed. 'Do you want to eat?'

'No.'

She was still curious about his scent, but she was also afraid that if it was as overpowering as the last Alpha's, it would ruin her appetite instead.

Just then, Shang Sui asked, 'Do you want to smell it? My Pheromone.'

He held out a hand. Several Ring gleamed on his pale, long fingers. His knuckles were faintly pink, his joints pronounced, a very typical Alpha trait.

In an instant, Shi Qi remembered Lin Yan sitting beside her in class, playing on his phone and looking up Alpha hands all over the internet.

Lin Yan had a thing for hands. The moment he saw one of the pictures, he commented with great enthusiasm, 'They say Alpha hormones run high, that's why their knuckles turn pink.'

'?'

'One look at this hand and you know it could finger me to death.'

'...' Shi Qi's mouth twitched. 'I'm begging you. Advanced math is not outside the law.'

The joints on the hand in front of her seemed pretty pink too...?

The moment she realized what she was thinking, heat climbed to the tips of her ears. Without thinking, she ducked her head as if to escape, and ran straight into Shang Sui's palm.

Shang Sui froze.

He had only meant to keep a little distance and let Shi Qi smell the Pheromone at his fingertips. He had not expected this.

The head buried in his palm shifted uneasily, as if she also felt she had been rash. But very soon, Shi Qi's attention was caught by that sweet, clean scent again, and the tip of her nose brushed lightly over the fingertips giving off Pheromone.

He knew she had not meant it that way, but it looked exactly like coaxing.

What was this.

Shang Sui could not help the smile that reached his eyes.

Only after a while did Shi Qi lift her head and look at him, eyes bright.

The Pheromone lingering around her nose was sweet, warm Honey Flavor, but not cloying, threaded with a faint sandalwood note.

It was the favorite scent Shi Qi had ever smelled, clear and luminous enough to call amber to mind.

Shang Sui asked on purpose, 'You don't hate it, do you?'

He knew there was no way Shi Qi would hate it.

Even when Shi Qi had still been a boy not yet fully through Differentiation, she had liked his Pheromone very much.

Judging by this, even if she had forgotten him cleanly, her tastes had not changed.

Shi Qi shook her head, then nodded as if to make it certain.

All her life, she had never been able to get used to any Alpha's Pheromone. Fu Siyue had a high Compatibility Index with her, and in theory that should have made him tolerable, but the thought of the sharp, choking tobacco scent on Fu Siyue made Shi Qi want to kick him into the air.

So this was what it felt like to come across a scent that actually smelled good...

Shi Qi was already a little hooked on the novelty of it. 'Release a little more Pheromone.'

After making the request, she felt she should not let him provide a service for nothing. 'If people order a lot here, do you get commission for keeping them company?'

Shang Sui had no idea how this restaurant operated, so he answered casually, 'Probably.'

Shi Qi thought of the drinks menu she had glanced through earlier. The most expensive item had been on the last page, a single cherry-colored champagne. 'Then I'll order a champagne tower. The biggest one.'

Shang Sui went quiet for a moment. Seeing that Shi Qi was already preparing to call someone over to order, he began to feel that every single thing she did after their reunion was unexpected.

After all this time apart, how had she only become more interesting?

If Jiang Yan found out someone was ordering a champagne tower for his place, he would probably laugh himself sick.

Shang Sui asked, his tone suggestive:

'Is that my commission?'

'Boss, you're generous. Isn't this a little too much?'

Shi Qi blinked. For the first time, she felt Lin Yan had not been peddling false advertising. Alpha charm really did deserve the name.

Shi Qi said it was fine. Shang Sui suddenly asked, 'Do you get a lot of spending money?'

Most pampered young masters from rich families would probably find that offensive, but Shi Qi nodded with perfect frankness.

Shang Sui looked at her for a while. Shi Qi was baffled. '...What are you laughing at?'

'At you throwing money around on an Alpha you just met.'

'I didn't—'

'Didn't you?' Shang Sui said. 'You don't even remember my name.'

Shi Qi paused.

It was true. They had been talking this long, and she still did not know what the Alpha in front of her was called.

When she came in, the floor manager seemed to have mentioned it in passing. Lan... something?

Shang Sui helped her close the drinks menu and said softly:

'No need for the champagne tower. Just remember my name.'

-

When Shang Sui got back, it was still raining outside.

He had spent the past few years abroad. This apartment in the city center had been bought by Yu Wan before, and apart from basic necessities, it had no extra decoration at all.

For him, this temporary place to stay was a little too bare.

Halfway back, Shang Sui received a call. Xie Professor invited him once again to spend some time at Meiyan Academy as a teaching assistant.

Because of his unusual perspective in painting, his brilliant color, and the carnival-like atmosphere running through his work from beginning to end, Shang Sui's paintings were unforgettable. Their commercial value was high, and the industry held the young, already famous painter in equal regard.

Xie Professor had been friends with Yu Wan for many years and knew Shang Sui's abilities well. He knew making him a teaching assistant was wasting his talent, but a substitute instructor's title was not easy to secure on short notice, so for now it could only be done under the name of teaching assistant.

Even apart from work, staying at the relatively straightforward environment of the School could help change his mood.

Shang Sui was not especially interested in the proposal, but he could not directly brush off Xie Professor's kindness, so he only said he would think about it.

He had barely ended that call when Yu Wan's came through right after.

On the other end, Yu Wan asked how he had been and brought up the teaching assistant matter as well. If he was not interested, there was no need to force himself; she would answer Xie Professor for him.

At the end, Yu Wan asked a little carefully, 'Xiao Sui, is your Sensitivity Period coming soon?'

His Sensitivity Period had never followed a regular schedule. Since there had been no sign of it for so long, this time it would most likely be hard to get through.

'The last one was more than five months ago, so probably soon,' Shang Sui said, not especially concerned. 'I'll keep myself shut up properly.'

Yu Wan answered at once, 'What are you saying? What do you mean, shut up? Even if you're a little different from usual, that's still within the range of normal. Don't start thinking nonsense—'

'I'm joking, Mom. Don't worry.'

Yu Wan choked on that for a second, muttered brat under her breath, but she relaxed too.

Perhaps because Yu Wan was the only other person who remembered that old incident, even if she knew only a small part of it, Shang Sui said, 'By the way, today I ran into...'

He hesitated, then swallowed the rest. 'Forget it. It's nothing.'

'What?' Yu Wan pressed. 'Why are you stopping halfway again?'

'Nothing important. I can't be bothered to talk about it,' Shang Sui said, using an excuse to move the subject along. 'Did you call for anything else?'

As it happened, Yu Wan really did have something else to ask. 'Do you want to go away for a vacation soon? Your father has some free time lately too. We could find a warmer island and stay there for a while.'

'No, you two go. I don't want to be the third wheel.'

After the call ended, Shang Sui was just about to take a shower when his phone rang again.

What was with today?

Everyone had picked this hour.

'—You finally picked up!' The moment the call connected, Jiang Yan started wailing on the other end. 'Ge, you're my real ge, help me out here, jianghu emergency!'

Jiang Yan had always felt the Courtyard layout at Huijian Restaurant was a little cramped, but he could not pinpoint why, so he wanted Shang Sui to take a look and see what the problem was.

He had mentioned it several times. Since Shang Sui happened to have time today, he went over, and by rotten luck ran straight into this accident.

Even though it had happened so suddenly, Jiang Yan could not resist asking, 'You really received one of the restaurant's guests today? What kind of virtue did they accumulate to get you playing waiter? What level of roleplay is this?'

'At first I didn't think in that direction at all. I asked around before I found out it was you.'

Shang Sui cut him off. 'What exactly do you want?'

'Before you, there was another Alpha server in the shop. He was supposed to accompany that guest, but the guest told him to leave.'

'That server had something wrong with him. After getting rejected once, he couldn't accept it, secretly followed them back to the School, and insisted on getting an answer why.'

At this point Jiang Yan cursed. 'Fuck! Why else? With that brain-dead act of his, isn't it normal to get rejected?'

Shang Sui tightened his grip on the phone without realizing it. 'Did something happen?'

'No. He got stopped as soon as he entered the School.'

'That guest... right, the guest's name is Shi Qi. You remember her, don't you? She wants an explanation from us.'

'I said we'd compensate them and make sure that employee never harassed her again, but she wouldn't accept it.'

'That kid was obviously not short on money. She said no amount of compensation would do.'

By then, Shang Sui had a faint idea what kind of demand Shi Qi had made.

Jiang Yan also felt that sending Shang Sui over as if he were some kind of soothing measure was, more or less, not very decent.

But considering that he had already gone and done it, maybe his buddy only looked lofty and untouchable, while in private he actually loved playing paid companion. Right?

Jiang Yan asked tentatively, 'Could you do the roleplay one more time and make some time to keep her company?'