Compatibility Index

'—Number 119, you may come collect your report.'

Shi Qi heard the announcement, put away her phone, and set aside the noisy family group chat for the moment. 'Shall we?'

Shang Sui nodded and went into the consultation room with her.

A doctor inside was responsible for interpreting the report. Before Shi Qi had even stepped in, a sincere congratulation came through: 'Congratulations.'

Shi Qi's steps faltered. She nearly thought she had wandered into a marriage registry.

The doctor, seeing her look puzzled, explained with a smile: 'Your Compatibility Index is extraordinary—a rare 100%.'

The nurse following behind added her own congratulations: 'Congratulations! This is the first time our hospital has measured a Compatibility Index this high! We thought the machine was broken at first, so we ran the test twice.'

100%...?

Shi Qi was somewhat dazed and instinctively looked to the person beside her. Shang Sui happened to be looking down at her, apparently surprised as well.

Seeing this, the nurse's lips curved up. She clearly thought the two of them were very sweet and loving.

'Normally, we recommend Alphas and Omegas with a Compatibility Index of 50% or above become partners. 70% and above is considered high compatibility. A 100% like this—something you almost only see in textbooks—we call a match made by heaven, destined by fate.'

The doctor finished speaking and handed them the report: 'There doesn't seem to be much need for explanation. You can look it over yourselves. Come back if you have any questions.'

After leaving the consultation room, Shi Qi held the report in her hands and still felt it wasn't quite real.

Shang Sui adapted a little faster and had already begun flipping through the report. The Compatibility Test collected basic physical data. Shi Qi saw Shang Sui's height listed as 188.5cm, then looked down at her own 177cm, and fell silent for a moment.

'For a while, I thought there was something wrong with my name.'

'Why?' Shang Sui stopped flipping and listened.

'If not for this name, I might have grown a little taller.'

Shang Sui processed this for a moment.

Shi Qi, 177?

He burst out laughing and comforted her sincerely: 'You're fine just the way you are.'

As he spoke, Shang Sui turned a page. His gaze landed on Shi Qi's Pheromone type. Shi Qi noticed what he was looking at and asked, uncomfortable: 'Have you looked enough? Why won't you turn the page?'

'First time seeing it. It feels novel.'

When they had first met, Shi Qi had not yet undergone Differentiation. He had no idea whether Shi Qi would grow up to be an Omega, a Beta, or an Alpha.

Shang Sui added: 'This kind of flower is cute.'

Shi Qi's Pheromone was a very beautiful and pure flower—one could imagine clusters of blossoms in full bloom.

'...' Shi Qi muttered, 'You don't know much. Omegas are basically all floral or fruity scents, or else things like milk, strawberry, chocolate—your kind of sweet Pheromone is what's rare among Alphas.'

She finished in one breath without pausing. Shang Sui suddenly called out: 'Xiao Qi.'

'?'

'Are you shy?' Shang Sui asked with a smile.

Shi Qi flushed with embarrassment and snatched the report away: 'Stop looking. I want to take a photo!'

Shang Sui knew when to stop and didn't push further. He watched her snap two quick photos of the 100% page. Then, as if remembering something, Shi Qi deliberately cropped out Shang Sui's personal information and turned to look at him.

'My dad is a busybody. He'll definitely ask all sorts of questions. If there's anything you don't want to reveal, just tell me. I won't say anything to them.'

'It's fine. I don't mind.' After saying this, Shang Sui added: 'But I think, for the sake of credibility, you might want to tell them about this gradually.'

Dropping a bomb like 'my boyfriend and I are doing a Compatibility Test' right off the bat had been too explosive—it had made Shi An start doubting its authenticity.

Shi Qi frowned slightly: 'But I've already told them directly.'

She told Shang Sui about what had happened earlier. After listening, Shang Sui thought for a moment.

'In that case, how about finding an opportunity to tell them we knew each other before?'

Shi Qi blinked: 'Huh?'

The script is this dramatic?

'Because there was already goodwill in the past, we got close quickly, which is how we became a couple in such a short time.'

'That sounds more believable, doesn't it?'

The idea sounded absurd at first, but on reflection it actually made some sense and could answer most of Shi An and Jiang Yoning's questions.

'Then... when did we meet?'

Shang Sui gazed into her bright, translucent eyes and answered, his voice slowing: 'When you were about fourteen.'

Shi Qi thought it over.

Those years, their family would vacation somewhere every summer, usually settling in one place for many days at a stretch. Shi An and Jiang Li would go off for their own time as a couple. It was entirely possible she had secretly met a strange Alpha.

But Shang Sui's luck was something else—casually making up a story that happened to match reality.

Shang Sui looked at her oblivious face. Though he had long known she had forgotten the past, complex, unspeakable emotions still welled up in him.

Defeat, and the resignation of having expected it, and some relief he wasn't sure should exist.

Seeing her nod in agreement with the proposal, Shang Sui said finally: 'Mention it to your family first. We can work out the details later.'

She had a natural trust in Shang Sui's arrangements. Without much hesitation, Shi Qi opened the group chat and replied to Shi An's earlier question about how she had met this person and why she had suddenly started dating someone.

17: [It's not sudden. I met him when I was little.]

Shi An, half-believing: [When?]

Now it was Jiang Yoning's turn to be upset: [Xiao Qi? Fine, you don't tell your dads, but how can you hide it from your sister?]

Jiang Yoning grew more dissatisfied the more she thought about it: [Every time I dated someone I told you everything. I even told you when I got dumped!]

Shi Qi had no time to pacify her for the moment. She sent the photo of the Compatibility Report.

Jiang Yoning: [Holy shit!!!!]

Probably feeling that swearing in front of elders was inappropriate, she quickly recalled the message, but couldn't help asking: [Is this real or photoshopped?!]

Shi An, who had been skeptical until now, instantly changed her tune: [Baby, when does your boyfriend have time? Let's meet.]

Meeting the parents was not currently in Shi Qi's plans. She refused cleanly.

17: [No.]

17: [You'll scare him.]

Shi An: [?]

Shi An: [Are you the Omega or is he the Omega?]

17: [I am, but stereotypes aren't valid.]

Shi An: [...]

Jiang Yoning had never seen such a high Compatibility Index. Even with Shi Qi's refusal, she was intensely curious: [At least send a photo?]

That required asking the person involved.

Shi Qi turned her head. While she had been chatting with her family, Shang Sui hadn't been looking at her messages but had been playing with his phone on his own.

Shi Qi glanced over quickly. Shang Sui seemed to be... shopping for clothes? Not clothes for the current season either, but thin shirts.

No wonder he always looked so polished.

She had never seen an Alpha who dressed up more than Shang Sui. Shi Qi had no doubt that, if not for his own Pheromone, every time she saw Shang Sui he would be wearing a different scented perfume.

'My family wants to see a photo of you. I won't photograph your face. Can I take some other part?'

'Sure.' Shang Sui put away his phone. 'My face is fine too. That's something I'm fairly confident about.'

'...' Shi Qi couldn't argue.

But she had no intention of letting Shang Sui show his face. First, appearance was relatively private—even though Shang Sui said he didn't mind, Shi Qi felt it wasn't appropriate. Second, Shi Qi had learned this time to take things gradually. That face was to be saved as a finishing move for when it was truly needed.

She pointed the camera at Shang Sui and snapped. The Alpha in the photo had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Even from a hastily chosen angle, his figure was clearly excellent.

Shi Qi was fairly satisfied with this faceless photo and was about to send it when Shang Sui suddenly leaned in.

Shi Qi's nose caught a faint, rich, sweet scent—light and lovely, like bubbles.

Shang Sui looked at the photo and commented: 'This looks too distant. We don't seem very familiar.'

Shi Qi said nothing. Because Shang Sui had suddenly moved closer, her five fingers gripping the phone tightened unconsciously.

Shang Sui seemed not to notice her tension and asked, perfectly at ease: 'Can I hold your hand?'

Shi Qi's mind went taut. Without thinking, she nodded.

Almost the moment she agreed, another person's warmth covered her hand. The Alpha's veins stood out prominently on the back of his hand, his skin like white jade.

By comparison, Shi Qi's fingers, though slender, were much smaller overall. Her pink-tipped fingertips looked like trembling buds.

At the moment their skin touched, Shi Qi instinctively wanted to pull away, but Shang Sui held her with a slight pressure. His fingers slid, one by one, into the gaps between hers. His fingertips pressed down, and finally his palm met hers.

'You can take the photo now.'

'What?' Shi Qi couldn't process at all.

Seeing her dazed, Shang Sui couldn't help curving his lips. He used his other hand to unlock the screen and photographed their interlocked fingers.

Before letting go, he playfully pinched Shi Qi's fingertip. Without waiting for her reaction, he casually retreated to a safe distance.

'Send this one.' Shang Sui sent her the photo he had just taken. 'This looks more like a couple.'

-

That ambiguous photo of interlocked fingers worked wonders. Shi An stopped pressing and just told them to get along well for now.

Shi Qi judged she should be free for a while, but judging from the bank card that was still frozen, Shi An hadn't fully believed her.

Thinking of this, Shi Qi felt she should express some gratitude to Shang Sui. He wouldn't take her money, but a gift would be acceptable.

Just as she was considering what would be appropriate as a thank-you gift, Qin Shuhe reached out first.

Because he talked too much, Shi Qi had set Qin Shuhe to Do Not Disturb. Every time he wanted to play games and couldn't reach Shi Qi, he could only ask Lin Yan to pass the message along.

Qin Shuhe had probably just thought of Shi Qi's connection with Shang Sui and came to chatter at her.

Qin Shuhe: [The new TA is incredible.]

Qin Shuhe: [He's way too good-looking. At first everyone thought he was just a pretty face. Today Xie Professor wasn't there, he took a class for us, and by the end everyone had quieted down.]

[First time I've seen someone with color sensitivity this sharp. He had me adjust a few things slightly and the texture of the piece immediately changed.]

[I kneel. This is the god of color.]

[No wonder Xie Professor kept mentioning how long it would take for him to come to the School. He's found other TAs before but never seemed to care this much. Our last TA was also very good, but still not as good as Teacher Shang.]

Already calling him teacher?

For the first time, Shi Qi found Qin Shuhe's rambling genuinely entertaining and asked another question: [How was your Teacher Shang recruited?]

Qin Shuhe was thrilled, like a concubine in a cold palace: [Your Majesty! You actually read my message!]

[I'm not sure either. Maybe a former student of Xie Professor's? Our last TA was like that. I heard her family wasn't well-off, and Xie Professor especially valued talent, so he found a way to get her in as a TA here for a while as a special exception.]

Shi Qi's gaze lingered on 'family wasn't well-off.' Thinking of Shang Sui's previous work at Huijian Restaurant, she suddenly felt everything connected.

So that was how it was?

Shi Qi couldn't help imagining a story of someone pursuing artistic dreams by working at a restaurant. The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

17: [Noted. Court dismissed.]

After saying this, regardless of the fact that Qin Shuhe's admiration for Shang Sui hadn't finished pouring out, Shi Qi cleanly exited the chat.

Shang Sui had quite rich life experience. No wonder he could casually make up that childhood meeting story earlier.

But even knowing more about this person, she still didn't know what would be appropriate to give him.

After much thought, Shi Qi finally decided to give him clothes, according to his tastes.

Picking the clothes took quite a while. Shi Qi finally chose a wide, oversized satin baseball jacket. She had first picked black, then thought all-black was too plain for Shang Sui, and specifically switched to a style with bright orange accents.

Lin Yan, seeing the logo shopping bag in the Dormitory, asked curiously: 'You don't usually wear this brand, do you? You said it was too flashy.'

Shi Qi left two simple words: 'Thank-you gift.'

Without waiting for Lin Yan to ask more, Shi Qi took the bag and headed out.

Shang Sui happened to have a class today. They had agreed to meet after it ended.

Shi Qi was fairly familiar with Meiyan Academy. Once, to help out in an emergency, she had modeled for Qin Shuhe's roommate who studied fashion design. Following her memory, she walked all the way to the teaching building. Seeing the time was about right, she went up to the fifth floor according to the information Shang Sui had given her.

Just as she came around the stairwell corner, she saw Shang Sui's figure in the distance.

Shi Qi was about to greet him when a long-haired girl ran up from behind and called out to Shang Sui first.

The girl held a small pink bag and said brightly: 'Teacher Shang, these are homemade cookies from my friend. You helped her with her assignment a few days ago and she's very grateful.'

'She's too embarrassed to come herself. I wanted to pass them along.'

Compared to a TA, Shang Sui's age made him seem more like their senior, though his professional abilities were outstanding. Everyone liked the new TA.

But though Shang Sui had no airs about him, he gave off a hard-to-approach feeling. Everyone understood this well enough—talented people naturally had a bit of personality.

Her friend was shy. Even with a crush, she didn't dare approach him directly.

The girl asked tentatively: 'Is it okay to accept?'

'Thank your friend for me.' Shang Sui thanked her but didn't take the gift. 'Guiding assignments is my job. No need for such formality.'

The girl understood his meaning: 'Okay, okay, sorry to bother you!'

She hesitated for a moment, then added jokingly: 'Teacher, you won't give us low scores for this, right?'

'Of course not.' Shang Sui smiled too. 'But no daydreaming in class next time.'

Wow, his smile was really handsome.

And he spoke well too.

After sighing this to herself, the girl said goodbye with a smile. Shang Sui turned around, only to find Shi Qi raising an eyebrow at him from half a corridor away.

A rare, splendidly sunny winter day. Shi Qi stood bathed in warm, dizzying gold. Her skin and hair were both lit translucent and pale, like a being that existed only in fantasy stories.

An angel that might disappear if you weren't careful... something like that?

Shang Sui stopped his wandering thoughts.

Not knowing how much of the previous scene Shi Qi had seen, he instinctively quickened his pace. As he got closer, he felt there was no need to worry—Shi Qi probably wouldn't care at all.

'This very popular Teacher Shang,' the little angel raised her eyelids and said slowly, 'may I give you my gift?'