Accident

'...What is that.'

Shi Qi muttered.

He didn't mind being called pretty; he was pretty, after all.

But the indulgent tone in Shang Sui's voice...

Her earlier displeasure vanished abruptly. Shi Qi realized she had actually been coaxed into a good mood by a single sentence from him, and her feelings were complicated.

'Let's go.' Seeing she was uncomfortable, Shang Sui shifted the topic at the right moment. 'The parade starts in a little while. Do you want to grab something to eat first?'

He had noticed at the restaurant last time that Shi Qi loved sweets. Shang Sui gestured toward a dessert cart not far away: 'There are ice cream and small cakes over there.'

Shi Qi nodded.

The dessert cart was shaped like a pumpkin carriage, its wheels wrapped in colorful decorative lights. Quite a few people were taking pictures there.

Presumably because the boss of Huijian Restaurant had provided ample funding, Shang Sui had bought VIP passes for the amusement park, and he had been the one paying for everything along the way.

Shi Qi eventually picked a pomelo-flavored ice cream from the pumpkin carriage and ate it as they walked.

She ate in small bites, and when she licked the ice cream, a sliver of her vibrant red tongue peeked out.

Shang Sui watched for a moment longer before calling her name: 'Shi Qi.'

The person addressed turned her head at the sound, her cat ears swaying along with her.

'A napkin. You forgot to take one earlier.'

'Oh, thanks.'

Shi Qi reached out to take it. The surrounding lights flickered suddenly, and music began to play.

The curtain rose with a crisp, fluid piano melody, followed immediately by a chorus of childish voices that suddenly shifted in the final syllable, turning into shrill, eerie laughter.

The parade procession moved slowly forward. Shi Qi’s attention was entirely captured, and she didn't notice a group of people passing by, one of whom stopped abruptly upon seeing her.

'What are you staring at?'

Someone beside him patted Fu Siyue. The latter looked at the cat ears on Shi Qi's head in disbelief, confirming it wasn't just a hallucination from a dream: 'Shi Qi?'

Damn.

Why is this loser here?

Since there were so many people around anyway, Shi Qi simply pretended not to hear. Shang Sui glanced in that direction and likewise ignored them.

When no one responded, the friend asked hesitantly: 'Do you know her?'

'Yeah,' Fu Siyue said. 'You guys go ahead. I'll be over in a bit.'

Once the others left, Fu Siyue walked up to Shi Qi. He had meant to say that her headband was quite cute, but the words came out as: 'How old are you, why are you still wearing such childish crap?'

Shi Qi remained expressionless. Shang Sui could tell she was getting annoyed.

He had known Fu Siyue and Lin Yan since childhood, and Shi Qi had always found Fu Siyue’s mouth insufferable. Before her Differentiation, she could beat Fu Siyue until he cried every now and then; after... for certain reasons, the elders in Shi Qi's family hoped she would get along well with Fu Siyue, which only made Shi Qi dislike him even more.

No one paid him any mind. Fu Siyue studied the Alpha beside Shi Qi. The other man's presence was too intense to ignore—flashy and flamboyant; he didn't look like good news at all.

But he also felt it was impossible for Shi Qi to be out alone with an Alpha, so he played a trick and asked: 'Why are you here by yourself?'

'Can't you tell?' Before Shi Qi could speak, Shang Sui said nonchalantly, 'We're on a date.'

Fu Siyue paused, meeting Shang Sui's gaze.

Shang Sui was taller than him, looking down slightly with a faint, intentional smile.

Fu Siyue immediately frowned: 'Did I ask you? Who are you?'

He didn't expect the Alpha who had been provoking him a second ago to suddenly change his expression: 'Wow, so fierce.'

Fu Siyue: '?'

What shocked Fu Siyue even more was that Shi Qi bought it completely, stepping forward to block Shang Sui—who was taller than her—with a hostile tone: 'Who gave you permission to be fierce to him?'

Wait, what?

Wasn't he the one who started it?

Fu Siyue hadn't even reacted yet when, counting on Shi Qi not being able to see, Shang Sui pressed a finger under his lower eyelid and made a mocking face at him.

Coupled with the red demon horns on his head, it was as sinister as it could get.

'You!' Fu Siyue blurted out in anger, 'If you've got guts, don't hide behind Shi Qi—'

'That's enough.' Shi Qi’s patience was exhausted. 'Move aside, don't block the way.'

Fu Siyue was choked up, feeling a hint of grievance.

They were childhood friends, after all, yet Shi Qi had never defended him once; not berating him was already a mercy.

It was at this moment that the parade procession gradually drew near.

The staff at the front were dressed as the Grim Reaper, riding a headless horse and holding a blood-red scythe, followed by a group of little ghosts carrying jack-o'-lanterns.

The tourists' attention was drawn away, and a girl closest to them was focused on recording. Shang Sui suddenly turned his head, his expression shifting.

For just an instant, Shi Qi caught the faint scent of a Pheromone.

It was a scent she couldn't quite name, like burning gasoline, as if it might explode at any second.

The girl’s eyes were fixed on her phone screen. Suddenly, she noticed a little ghost carrying a jack-o'-lantern closing in on her, the pale, painted face filling the entire screen.

He reached out, pulling something straight from the jack-o'-lantern, a blinding flash of cold light flickering past.

At the critical moment, someone shoved her aside.

The girl escaped disaster, her voice trembling as she regained her senses: '...He has a knife!'

'That's not a prop! He really tried to stab me just now!!'

Seeing the person who saved her still confronting the little ghost, the girl shouted anxiously to those around: 'Hurry and help!!'

Everyone else around was paralyzed with fear; only Shi Qi reacted: 'Shang Sui!'

The little ghost raised the knife to stab, but Shang Sui was faster, kicking him directly in the abdomen. Taking advantage of the little ghost doubling over in pain, he snatched the knife and kicked it aside.

His movements were fluid and seamless; Fu Siyue watched with wide eyes. The little ghost struggled to get up, only to be pinned by someone else from behind, shoulders forced down hard.

The little ghost who had lashed out let out a painful scream.

Fu Siyue blinked, only then realizing there was no one left beside him: 'Shi Qi...?' When did she rush out?!

Shi Qi held the little ghost's shoulders, shouting in the chaos: 'Are you okay?!'

Pinned down by their combined strength, the little ghost could only curse incessantly, a stream of filthy, vile words pouring out.

'I'm fine.' Shang Sui’s breathing was ragged, but his voice remained steady. To prevent any accidents, he pressed one hand over the back of Shi Qi's hand. 'Hold him steady.'

This thrilling accident made Shi Qi’s heart race. She used all her strength, the veins on the back of her hand bulging, as she firmly pinned the person in place.

'I know,' Shi Qi replied.

The people around were still shaken. Amusement park security arrived at this moment, surrounding the circle.

-

Shi Qi never expected that she would run into one lunatic after another lately, and that she'd end up at a Police Station just for visiting an amusement park.

She, Shang Sui, and the girl who had been attacked were all called in to give statements. Shi Qi took the opportunity to update her Omega protection registration.

The policewoman taking her statement learned that she had been stalked not long ago, yet had still dared to step up and act heroically at a critical moment. The look in her eyes was full of warmth, and she praised her over and over, making Shi Qi feel a bit embarrassed.

She revealed to Shi Qi that the little ghost who had lashed out was an Alpha in a Special Sensitivity Period. He did not know the girl he attacked; it was likely a random assault.

To mask the intense pheromones of his Sensitivity Period, the Alpha had intentionally used a large amount of Isolation Agent.

This was the first time Shi Qi had heard the term: 'Special Sensitivity Period?'

'Most Alphas have a Sensitivity Period lasting two to three days. For a small number of Alphas, the Sensitivity Period does not stop naturally; it only ends when their desires are satisfied or they are completely exhausted.'

'An Alpha in a Special Sensitivity Period retains some rationality, but the dark side of their personality is constantly amplified. Many psychopathic Alpha criminals share this trait,' the policewoman explained. 'Simply put, they are more aggressive, more extreme, and more dangerous than the average Alpha.'

Thinking of the Alpha's crazed, bloodshot eyes at the amusement park, Shi Qi couldn't help but furrow her brows.

Her side finished quickly, but after waiting a long time, Shang Sui still hadn't come out.

Fu Siyue couldn't rest easy and had followed along, constantly pestering about Shang Sui's identity while waiting: 'Who exactly is he?'

'His combat skills don't look ordinary; he's probably been trained. He was hiding behind you earlier pretending to be weak. You never used to associate with these kinds of shady people—'

Shi Qi was annoyed to death, asking coldly: 'Are you done yet?'

Fu Siyue accidentally told the truth: 'Huh? Not quite.'

'Shut up.'

Shi Qi had an imposing aura when she went cold; even with a thousand words, Fu Siyue was blocked by that single command.

But he was genuinely worried about Shi Qi. After thinking it over, he realized that if he told the elders, his main and alt accounts would likely be blacklisted by Shi Qi forever, so he had to go through Lin Yan instead.

To get Lin Yan's attention, Fu Siyue described Shang Sui as a total succubus, which happened to align perfectly with Lin Yan's predictions.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After Shang Sui finished his statement, the Police Captain in charge of the case stood up and said: 'Thank you for your cooperation.'

Shang Sui nodded, intending to say that the police had worked hard too, but the Police Captain suddenly changed the subject: 'By the way, there is one more thing I want to ask you.'

'We carefully reviewed the surveillance footage. Before the suspect acted, you seemed to have already sensed something was wrong.'

Shang Sui paused, raising his eyes to look at him.

This sentence could be interpreted in many ways. At worst, he was suspected of having a connection to the suspect, which would allow him to know the other's actions in advance.

The Police Captain smiled kindly, not intending to hide anything: 'Don't worry, we've investigated. You have no connection to him. The reason I made you wait a little longer just now was because we were checking that.'

'Asking this is purely out of my own curiosity. If it offends you, I apologize in advance.'

After a moment, Shang Sui said softly: '...Intuition, I suppose.'

The Police Captain looked thoughtful, then said solemnly: 'Regardless, thank you for today.'

'If it weren't for you and your friend, that girl might have been in grave danger. If the suspect hadn't been subdued in time, who knows what other accidents might have occurred.'

When Shang Sui came out, Shi Qi was standing in the hallway, talking to the girl who had been attacked.

The girl seemed to be saying something in thanks. Shi Qi, who usually looked cool, had ears that were burning red.

She waved her hand as if to say it was nothing, then froze when the girl bowed, hurriedly bowing back to her.

She probably wasn't used to such occasions; in her panic, Shi Qi nearly folded at a ninety-degree angle. Shang Sui watched her and couldn't help but smile.

The girl's parents were standing to the side, and seeing Shang Sui, they walked up to thank him repeatedly.

'You're too kind; it was the right thing to do.' Thinking of how he had pushed her away in the heat of the moment, Shang Sui asked, 'I couldn't pay attention at the time, she wasn't hurt, was she?'

'Xia Xia is fine. As long as you two are fine, that's all that matters.'

The girl's mother’s eyes reddened slightly, remembering how the other kid had reacted similarly just now and even turned around to care for them. Her gratitude was beyond words: 'You are both good children. This debt of life, I really don't know how to thank you! Our whole family will never forget...'

Shang Sui spoke with the girl's parents for a while longer and politely declined their offer of a reward.

Not far away, Shi Qi noticed them and waved at Shang Sui. When the girl saw her coming over, she thanked her once more.

-

After saying goodbye to the family, the two walked down the steps outside the Police Station.

Shi Qi’s phone vibrated wildly as she walked down, and upon checking, Lin Yan’s messages were popping up one after another.

Yan Yan: [Fu Siyue said he ran into you at the amusement park, and you guys encountered an attack??]

Yan Yan: [Why didn't you tell me about something so big!! Are you hurt??!]

17: [It's fine now, we were just giving statements.]

Lin Yan sent a long string of exclamation marks, clearly terrified, and Shi Qi said again that she was really fine.

A moment later, Lin Yan sent another message.

Yan Yan: [Fu Siyue also said you were bewitched by some mysterious succubus and told me to wake you up immediately.]

Yan Yan: [Is it true? It sounds so scandalous.]

17: [He's writing fiction.]

17: [Fu Siyue has such a smooth brain, you dare to believe what he says?]

Speaking of which, Shi Qi remembered there was someone else, and looking back, she didn't see a trace of Fu Siyue. She recalled that he seemed to have left over ten minutes ago, telling her to send a message once she got back to School.

Fu Siyue probably knew he wouldn't have a good ending if he stayed, so he had slipped away early.

Yan Yan: [Fu Siyue sent me a photo.]

Through the screen, Shi Qi could feel Lin Yan’s curiosity and excitement: [Let me see who you're secretly meeting!]

Fine.

Not only spreading rumors but daring to sneak photos.

Shi Qi was considering whether to unblock Fu Siyue and berate him when Lin Yan’s two voice messages arrived at top speed. Shi Qi clicked on them without thinking.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yan’s voice was ten times louder than expected:

'Holy shit! Dressed so slutty, who is this guy?'

'Doesn't look like he has a real job, is he trying to seduce you on purpose?'

It took a full three seconds for Shi Qi to digest Lin Yan’s outrageous words.

Her cheeks heated up rapidly, and she nearly threw her phone away. In her panic, she subconsciously looked at Shang Sui’s reaction, but her finger accidentally tapped the next latest voice message.

Lin Yan struck again: 'But that's perfect, baby, you've always liked this kind of slutty type...'

Damn! I want to poison Lin Yan into silence!!

Shi Qi was going crazy.

She didn't even dare to look at Shang Sui, only hanging her head like an ostrich.

Did Shang Sui hear it? Or even if he did, would he think it was about himself?

After all, who would tell a friend to their face that someone else was indecent and seducing people! That's the logic, right? Hahaha!

Shang Sui wasn't saying anything, he definitely hadn't thought too much into it, it's fine!

...Three, two, one.

That should be enough.

Shang Sui, disregarding Shi Qi’s flushed face, thought with zero empathy.

Just as Shi Qi thought everything was fine and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Shang Sui asked out of the blue:

'Are they talking about me?'