Falling Asleep in Each Other’s Arms

Shang Sui went back to get his pajamas and wash up on the way. Shi Qi waited in the room.

He played on his phone for a while, then quickly realized he couldn't focus at all; not a single character on the screen went in.

It hadn't seemed like a problem when he said it just now, but alone now, Shi Qi couldn't help looking at the bed.

Sleeping with Shang Sui...

The room Chu Tao had booked for him was a single, and though the bed was large, there was only one quilt.

But if he asked Shang Sui to bring over another quilt, not only would it be a hassle, it would look painfully deliberate.

Sharing one quilt should be fine, right.

Shi Qi comforted himself in silence.

He'd slept with Lin Yan before. There had been a stretch in high school when Lin Yan got obsessed with watching horror movies in the Dormitory and got so scared he climbed into Shi Qi's bed every night.

The two of them squeezed onto the Dormitory's narrow bed day after day. It happened to be summer then, and Shi Qi was already irritable from the heat, but he still couldn't very well kick a shivering Lin Yan off.

It was also because they slept crammed together that Lin Yan discovered Shi Qi's insomnia was worse than he'd imagined. More often than not, after he had fallen asleep, Shi Qi was still beside him, motionless, staring into space.

Seeing how hard he had it, Lin Yan finally couldn't help suggesting one night, 'Why don't you get a boyfriend?'

Shi Qi stared at the ceiling, bored out of his mind. 'Why?'

'I heard that when an Omega is with an Alpha with a high Compatibility Index, they sleep really well.'

At the thought of a hard-bodied Alpha lying beside him, disgust showed on Shi Qi's face. 'No thanks. Not a single Alpha smells good.'

Half the students at School were Beta, another thirty percent were Alpha, and Omega were the rarest of all.

Because Shi Qi was pretty, Alphas would often release Pheromone at him while walking by, like water balloons that might explode if mishandled.

Once Shi Qi's face turned cold, those troublemaking Alphas only got more excited, some even whistling at him. Every time that happened, Lin Yan was on edge, afraid Shi Qi would go over and punch someone.

Shi Qi thought of something. 'Besides, what's the point of high compatibility? Fu Siyue smells awful. He's not even half as nice as you.'

'Well of course. I smell good to begin with.' Lin Yan's Pheromone was fig, and Shi Qi actually liked it. 'Forget Fu Siyue, his cursed Pheromone is kind of special... what kind of scent do you like?'

'Sweet ones.'

'Then you're done for, baby,' Lin Yan said with pity. 'Sweet-leaning Alpha are rare to begin with, and if you also want one who's good-looking and knows how to sweet-talk people, that species has probably already gone extinct.'

'...'

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Shi Qi gathered up his scattered thoughts, padded over in slippers, and answered, 'Coming.'

Shang Sui stood outside. His hair was half tied back and looked not quite dry; he had clearly come over right after washing.

Thinking of what Lin Yan had said, Shi Qi refuted him silently in his heart.

Wasn't there still one right here? Not completely extinct after all.

Maybe because that memory had just flashed through his mind, Shi Qi moved his nose on instinct.

The Alpha in front of him had his Pheromone reined in completely. All Shi Qi could smell on him was the iris scent of shampoo and body wash.

Seeing him stand there without moving, Shang Sui asked, 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing.' Shi Qi came back to himself, too embarrassed to voice the little thought in his head. 'Come in. I'll shower first.'

Maybe later he could bring it up to Shang Sui—ask him to release a little Pheromone while they slept?

What if it really worked? He hadn't slept well in years.

With that in mind, Shi Qi finished his shower quickly. Just as he was changing into his pajamas, his phone suddenly rang.

As soon as he answered, Shi An's voice came from the other end. 'What are you doing, baby?'

Drying his hair, Shi Qi replied, 'Just got out of the shower.'

'By yourself?' Shi An sounded casual. 'It's this late and you're not with your boyfriend?'

He had always been half convinced and half unconvinced about the boyfriend who had suddenly appeared in Shi Qi's life. If not for that shockingly high Compatibility Index, Shi An would have suspected the man was an actor Shi Qi had hired at the last minute.

But the bite mark from yesterday had looked too real, nothing like an act. After turning it over in his mind, Shi An decided on a surprise inspection.

Shi Qi pulled open the bathroom door. 'He's outside.'

'On the phone?'

Shang Sui had changed into his pajamas and just finished drying his hair. He was sitting lazily on the sofa, playing on his phone, and looked up when he heard movement.

The hotel sofa was the right size for Shi Qi, but with Shang Sui sitting on it, it looked a little cramped; his long legs had nowhere comfortable to go.

Hearing an unfamiliar male voice, Shi An finally became convinced that Shi Qi might really be dating someone.

After a brief silence, Shi An suddenly said, 'If it's convenient, I'd like to say a few words to your boyfriend.'

Shi Qi hesitated, then looked at Shang Sui. 'My dad wants to talk to you. He tends to make a fuss out of things. If you don't want to, forget it.'

'What are you saying, baby?' Shi An's tone was gentle, but there was a hint of threat beneath it.

Shang Sui held out a hand. 'It's fine. Give it to me.'

The moment Shi Qi remembered that Shang Sui was scared of thunder, he felt even more strongly that he couldn't let him face Shi An alone.

'I turned on speaker.' Instead of handing it over, Shi Qi put the phone on the coffee table and stayed beside it. Then he said to Shi An, 'I'm listening from here, so don't bully him.'

'...'

In a fit of anger, Shi An temporarily muted his phone and grabbed Jiang Li beside him. 'Am I that scary?'

Jiang Li had his arm clamped hard in Shi An's grip and answered with a smile, 'How could you be? ...Um, darling, you're squeezing a little hard.'

After calming himself, Shi An turned the microphone back on. 'Hello, I'm Xiao Qi's father. What's your name?'

'Hello, my name is Shang Sui.'

'Xiao Shang, is it? You two are sleeping together tonight?'

Shang Sui acknowledged it. 'Xiao Qi just came out of Heat Phase. If we sleep together tonight, he should be a little more comfortable.'

Shi An understood the implication at once.

Because Shi Qi had only just come out of Heat Phase, this Alpha who had stolen his son away wasn't going to do anything. They were simply sleeping.

That answer was measured enough, but the thought of the Temporary Mark at Shi Qi's neck still made Shi An frown.

'Xiao Qi said you helped him with a Temporary Mark last night?' There was meaning beneath Shi An's words. 'You bit a little too deep.'

If a mark was made too deep, an Omega would feel a slight sense of suffocation. Over time, they could even become addicted to that feeling. It could be a kind of erotic play, and in a way, a mild method of conditioning.

That branding kind of act especially displeased Shi An. He only felt that the Alpha Shi Qi had found was far too possessive. And Shi Qi, foolish child that he was, had even taken photos of the bite mark without understanding any of it.

'I'm sorry,' Shang Sui replied gently. 'I'll be more careful next time.'

Shi Qi couldn't listen any longer and snatched the phone back. 'Why are you blaming him? I was the one who told him to bite me. I like it deep.'

Shi Qi was taking Shang Sui's side so obviously that Shi An had no idea what kind of spell this child had fallen under. In his anger, he dug his fingers into Jiang Li's arm again.

Jiang Li could only endure the pain and say, 'This is Xiao Qi's choice too, so don't get too anxious... maybe ease up a little? Don't tire yourself out.'

After venting, Shi An calmed down a little. Remembering how last time he had asked how long the two of them had known each other only to be interrupted by Jiang Yoning, he brought it up again. 'Xiao Qi said you knew each other before?'

Shi Qi froze and couldn't help exchanging a look with Shang Sui.

Damn. They hadn't had time to come up with a script yet.

For a moment no one answered. Just as Shi Qi was about to search on his phone for how to make up a couple's first meeting, Shang Sui gave a soft response.

'The first time we met was in high summer. At the time I was... you could say on vacation, staying in the mountains for a while.'

'My parents were busy, so it was just me, along with some bodyguards my family had arranged.'

'Xiao Qi took a wrong turn and ran into the garden downstairs. He was young, and there was a very narrow path through the Endless Summer Flower Field, so the bodyguards didn't notice him right away.'

Huh?

Shi Qi blinked.

A script set in a forest and flower sea, like a movie scene and a fairy tale at once—wasn't that laying it on a little too thick?

And yet as Shang Sui described it, a blooming Endless Summer Flower Field gradually rose before his eyes. At the tip of his nose, he could almost smell plants warmed through by the sun, as if he really had walked that path between blossoms bright as clouds at sunset.

'I was painting on the balcony then.'

'Because of the bodyguards downstairs, Xiao Qi thought... I was being kept there.'

At that point, Shang Sui observed Shi Qi's reaction without showing it.

Apparently thinking he had made up a very good story, Shi Qi looked at him in approval and gave him a thumbs-up.

Shang Sui: '...'

Shang Sui sighed inwardly. He couldn't quite name what he was feeling.

Sometimes, he wished Shi Qi could remember the past, because to him that memory, known now by him alone, carried an irreplaceable meaning.

But at the same time, he contradictorily hoped Shi Qi would forget it completely.

Maybe its preciousness was only his own one-sided feeling. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing that Shi Qi didn't remember.

Shang Sui steadied himself and went on. 'Xiao Qi climbed in from the windowsill, and we said our first words to each other.'

—What are you doing here by yourself?

At the time he had been absorbed in painting and hadn't noticed someone land soundlessly at his side. It was only when he heard the voice that he turned his head all at once.

The boy with black hair and gray eyes looked at him with open curiosity, his delicate features still carrying traces of childhood.

Shi Qi was strangely practiced at climbing through windows and over walls, probably because he did it often, like a cat appearing out of nowhere at the sill.

At that, Shi An finally spoke. 'I see. Understood.'

'It's late. You two should rest early.'

Shi An paused slightly, then added with pointed meaning, 'If there's a chance, I'd like to meet you in person.'

'Of course. I would too,' Shang Sui replied. 'Please rest early as well.'

After hanging up, neither Shi An nor Jiang Li spoke.

A little while later, Shi An asked first, 'What do you think of Shang Sui?'

'He knows when to advance and when to stop, neither servile nor overbearing.' Jiang Li had been pinched into caution by Shi An and answered very carefully. 'From the way he described things, his family background should be very good.'

Shi An and Jiang Li were focused on completely different things. 'That's not what I mean.'

'Before, I suspected he was an actor Xiao Qi found to deal with marriage pressure. But now it does seem Xiao Qi may really have fallen for him.'

Jiang Li hadn't expected Shi An to change his mind so fast. 'Why do you say that?'

At the mention of Shi Qi's childhood, Shi An's gaze softened. 'Didn't he used to love fairy tales? He was a little older when he first met Shang Sui, not really at the age to believe in fairy tales anymore... but that's just how Shi Qi is. The things he likes never really change.'

'If it were some arrogant, conceited Alpha, he'd kick him away in one go.'

'But if it's the pretty and pitiful type, he'll want to save them.'

Summer, a sea of flowers, bodyguards arranged by the family, and a lonely stranger painting by himself, looking as though he had been locked in a tower.

'From Shang Sui's description, to Shi Qi he was practically...' Saying 'trap' would have been too biased, so Shi An chose a compromise. '...practically the embodiment of every fantasy.'

As if to prove Shi An right, Shi Qi unconsciously looked enthralled. Even after the call had ended, he still pressed on, 'And then? You're actually pretty good at making things up.'

Seeing that he had really taken everything as a story and was listening with relish, Shang Sui's feelings turned complicated.

He didn't want to talk about these things anymore and said flatly, 'I'll make up the rest next time.'

'...'

Much as he wanted more, Shi Qi thought it was already not easy for Shang Sui to improvise that much, so he didn't keep pestering him for the rest of the story.

A dull peal of thunder suddenly rolled in from outside the window.

The first raindrop burst against the glass, and then came a rush of rapid sound as rain poured down in sheets together with lightning tearing through the night sky.

Shi Qi looked at Shang Sui. This rare winter thunderstorm turned everything around them black and white for an instant. Shifting light and shadow swept across the Alpha's unreadable face, while the muffled thunder at their ears sounded like drums struck hard.

Shi Qi asked hesitantly, 'Are you okay? Do you want me to comfort you?'

Shang Sui looked at him and nodded.

Shi Qi hadn't expected him to actually need comforting. For a moment, he had no idea what to do.

Should he have Shang Sui cover his ears?

Or put on noise-canceling headphones?

Shi Qi racked his brains, then suddenly remembered how Shi An used to comfort him when he was little and decided to make up a story for Shang Sui too. 'Try thinking of it like this. When it rains this hard, nature is dancing, and the lightning is the lights, and the thunder is the drums—'

Halfway through, Shi Qi felt the method was childish himself, and Shang Sui's expression made it even harder to continue. 'What kind of look is that? Are you actually scared or not?'

It would have been fine if he hadn't asked. The moment he did, Shang Sui completely lost it and let out a laugh.

Shi Qi: '...'

Fuck, this guy was asking to be hit.

Apparently aware this was a bad look, Shang Sui explained through his laughter, 'I'm not laughing at you. I just think you're so cute like this...!'

Seeing him laugh so hard his eyes were almost watering, Shi Qi withdrew every trace of sympathy and turned toward the bed. 'You can sleep on the sofa by yourself.'

'Don't. The sofa's too small to sleep on. I really don't like Thunderstorm Day.' Shang Sui finally stopped laughing, his eyes bright. 'Thank you, Xiao Qi. Very few people have ever coaxed me like that.'

Shi Qi said nothing, but his steps stopped.

Didn't Shang Sui's family comfort him?

But on second thought, Shi An really had always treated both him and Jiang Yoning like children. One day Jiang Yoning had said, 'Dad, I'm already an Alpha who's gone through Differentiation. Please stop patting my head every chance you get.' Shi An had agreed, then been so heartbroken that he turned around and thoroughly ruffled Shi Qi instead, back when Shi Qi was still small.

Maybe Shang Sui had been expected to be independent from childhood?

At that thought, Shi Qi softened again.

He kicked off his slippers and got into bed, then patted the spot beside him. 'Come here.'

Shang Sui did as he was told and walked to the bedside, then suddenly seemed to think of something. 'Should I say, many thanks for Your Majesty's grace?'

Before Shi Qi could speak, Shang Sui smiled at him, his naturally affectionate eyes gentle as water. 'Many thanks for Your Majesty's favor, for granting me the chance to attend your bed.'

'...If you keep acting like this, I'm kicking you down.'

Shang Sui took the hint and stopped. 'Then I'll turn off the light?'

'Mm.' As he answered, Shi Qi slowly burrowed into the quilt. 'Turn it off.'

Click.

The room went dark, leaving only thunder and lightning outside the window.

The bed dipped slightly beneath the Alpha's weight. They had been joking with each other a second ago, but the moment Shang Sui got into bed, Shi Qi felt an indescribable pressure.

Without a word, he edged farther to the other side, then a little farther.

'The bed is only so big,' a clear voice suddenly sounded in the dark room. 'If you keep shrinking over there, aren't you afraid you'll fall off?'

That one sentence pinned Shi Qi where he was.

Maybe because Shang Sui had been provoking him again and again, Shi Qi's temper flared up all at once.

This was his bed. If anyone should get off, it should be Shang Sui.

With that thought, Shi Qi moved back without fear and finally asked the question that had been circling in his head. 'Can you release a little Pheromone?'

Shang Sui didn't answer. Instead he asked, 'What, do you really want me to serve you?'

His tone was light, almost careless. It was as if something pricked Shi Qi's ears, and heat quickly flared at their roots.

Shi Qi explained softly, 'Our Compatibility Index is high. I heard it's more comfortable to sleep like that.'

The Alpha only inches away laughed. 'I want to feel comfortable too.'

It was as if Shang Sui had taken the wrong medicine. Every line out of his mouth carried an edge of aggression, like a challenge, and yet it made Shi Qi's heart race.

There was only one quilt, so they were bound to brush against each other here and there. Shi Qi had just noticed that their thighs seemed to have drifted together and was about to pull back when Shang Sui's next words made him pause.

'I like sleeping with something in my arms. Let's help each other out.'

'What do you mean?' Shi Qi thought it over and couldn't think of anything for him to hold, so he could only ask warily, 'You want my pillow?'

'...' For the first time, Shang Sui couldn't take his slowness. 'I want you.'

The bluntness of it made Shi Qi's heart tremble on its own. Uneasy, he looked around at random and thought, Why does that sound so ambiguous?

As his emotions rose and fell, Shi Qi's eyes gradually adjusted to the dark, and he could already make out the Alpha's face faintly.

He could feel Shang Sui staring at him without blinking, waiting for his answer.

Be Shang Sui's body pillow?

Hesitation showed in Shi Qi's eyes. He was afraid that if they held each other, they would affect one another and neither would sleep well.

Shang Sui didn't urge him, but the faint sweet scent spread like mist too elusive to catch. The Pheromone he released was especially thin, yet it was enough to make a person ache with want.

Shi Qi tightened his grip on the pillow despite himself.

'Come here, Xiao Qi.' The pleasant voice was like a web one couldn't break free from, wrapping around him. 'We'll both feel better this way.'

Shi Qi resisted for half a minute, then decisively burrowed into Shang Sui's arms.

The scent of honey grew rich in an instant. Shi Qi pressed close to him in complete satisfaction, but still had to say, 'Even Lin Yan wasn't as clingy as you.'

As if answering the word clingy, Shang Sui's warm palm slowly stroked down his back and drew him fully into his embrace, leaving not the slightest gap.

The heat at the roots of Shi Qi's ears threatened to rise again. For one moment, he almost wanted to ask Shang Sui to pet him some more.

Shi Qi hated physical contact with people he disliked.

But with people close to him, he actually liked being touched. Best of all was from the nape of his neck all the way down to his tailbone; that careful contact would send a fine numb current through his whole body.

But once he got a little older, Shi Qi felt too embarrassed to ask anyone to touch him like that.

Especially after Jiang Yoning refused to let Shi An pat her head, Shi Qi followed suit. Even if Shi An wanted to touch him, he would run far away.

Shi Qi let his thoughts drift in and out, and somehow drowsiness gradually crept over him.

His body slowly relaxed in the sweet fragrance. At this hour, the brain that usually refused to stop seemed soothed at last and no longer held itself taut.

It was as if there were nowhere in the world safer for him than this embrace.

Time passed, and the rain outside only grew heavier.

A huge flash of lightning tore through the night, and thunder came rolling after it like the end of the world.

Half asleep and half awake, Shi Qi still remembered that Shang Sui was afraid. He reached out and covered the ears of the person beside him, mumbling drowsily,

'Don't be scared. I'll stay with you...'

Unlike Shi Qi, Shang Sui had not fallen asleep at all.

Lying in the same bed again after so many years, and after having just told a small piece of the past, he was in a mood too complicated to describe. All kinds of thoughts screamed through his mind.

Until Shi Qi reached out and covered his ears, and everything stopped short.

A long time later, Shang Sui closed his eyes for the first time that night.

When he was younger, he had once hoped days like this would never come again. Whenever a thunderstorm night like this came, he felt like an error that could never be corrected.

But because of the warmth in his arms, just like six years ago, he once again felt that if the world stopped in this moment, it would not be so bad.

'I'm really scared.'

But not of thunder and rain.

Holding the sleeping Shi Qi, Shang Sui whispered into the dark, 'Don't leave me again.'