Chapter 13

After lunch ended, the teacher told everyone to go back to their rooms for a nap; they'd set off at half past two for the lecture. He Wei and Gu Yunchi had slept enough on the bus, and Lu Heyang had rested before the meal, so the three of them planned to go out for a wander.

Before leaving, Lu Heyang walked over to Xu Ze's seat and handed him the key card. 'Here's the key card. I'm heading out in a bit.'

Xu Ze took the card, his gaze lingering on Lu Heyang's fingers. 'Okay.'

Back in the room, Xu Ze splashed some water on his face and drew the curtains. Reaching the bedside, he paused; after a brief hesitation, he bent down and tugged up a creased corner of Lu Heyang's bedding, smoothing the surface with care.

The hotel bed was very soft, and Xu Ze wasn't used to it. He turned over a few times, then finally lay on his left side, facing Lu Heyang's pillow across the aisle, and slowly closed his eyes.

About forty minutes later, Xu Ze woke and glanced at his mobile phone: one-thirty. He was about to sit up when he heard a very soft knock at the door — tentative, as if not really knocking, just testing.

Xu Ze got out of bed, went to the door, and pulled it open without checking the peephole.

Outside, Lu Heyang had a bag in his hand and looked as though he was about to leave; hearing the door open, he turned back with a slight smile — clearly having had a good time. 'Did I wake you up?'

Xu Ze was still in the slow, dazed state of having just woken — a few strands of hair sticking up at odd angles, his T-shirt collar askew. Once he registered what was happening, he pulled the door wider. 'No, I just woke up.'

'Perfect timing.' Lu Heyang smiled again. He walked past Xu Ze and set the bag on the table. 'Leave the door open for now — He Wei and the others are coming over soon.'

'Okay.' Xu Ze eased the door almost shut, then went to draw back the curtains.

Lu Heyang was opening the bag when a box of tissues was suddenly held out beside him. He turned his head — Xu Ze seemed to have come back to himself, but his expression had grown a touch awkward. 'Wipe the sweat.'

'I'm fine, I'm going to shower in a bit.' Lu Heyang took out a cup of watermelon juice from the bag and set it on the table. 'Want some? Freshly squeezed.'

Xu Ze paused, then realised the cup must have been meant for one of the three of them — certainly not for him. He was about to refuse.

But Lu Heyang went on: 'I got it for you. If you don't like it, that's fine.'

The sun outside was fierce; Lu Heyang's face was a little flushed from it, his hair pushed back in disarray, sweat trailing from his temples — and yet he didn't look the least bit dishevelled. The heat had stripped away some of his usual coolness, letting a wilder, more vital edge of his Alpha nature show through, accompanied by a pheromone the wristband's low setting couldn't fully hold back.

Xu Ze's fingertips twitched. He felt clearly the pressure of another S-Class Alpha — it didn't discomfort him so much as stir an instinctive urge to match and resist.

'Thanks.' Xu Ze's throat was dry. He said it quietly.

Lu Heyang had gone to shower, and not long after, He Wei and Gu Yunchi pushed the door open. Seeing Xu Ze standing by the table looking a bit lost, his hair and collar still askew, He Wei blurted out without thinking: 'Wow, anyone would think Lu Heyang had done something to you.'

The bathroom door opened and Lu Heyang came out towelling his hair. 'What?'

'Are you sure you want to hear him repeat all that nonsense?' Gu Yunchi said.

Lu Heyang nodded in agreement. 'Then forget it.'

'I can't be bothered explaining to you lot.' He Wei walked over, picked up the bag from the table and carried it to the coffee table, pulling out a bag of bayberries. 'I fell in the river trying to catch fish just now.'

Gu Yunchi sat down on the sofa. 'If you hadn't fallen in, we wouldn't have come back so early.'

True enough. He Wei grumbled in protest, stabbed a straw into the watermelon juice and took a sip. After a couple of sips he looked up and asked Xu Ze: 'Have you had some? Heyang squeezed this himself — it's really sweet.'

Before Xu Ze could answer, Lu Heyang fished a straw from the bag, popped it into the cup of watermelon juice on the table and handed it to Xu Ze, then opened another for Gu Yunchi.

'There's iced bayberries too.' He Wei was, at heart, a young master who found everything novel once he got to the mountains. He picked out the largest bayberry for himself, bit into it, and said, 'The boss says they're chilled in mountain spring water — really refreshing.'

A leisurely midsummer afternoon. Lu Heyang and Gu Yunchi lounged on the sofa, He Wei perched at one end of the coffee table; outside, the sun blazed, and the air-conditioning stirred the thin curtains. The three Alphas chatted — from He Wei's thoroughbreds at the stud farm, to the painting Gu Yunchi had bid for last week accompanying his grandfather at auction, to Lu Heyang's regular paragliding and skydiving. Xu Ze sat quietly at the foot of the bed, watching them, and thought the moment was a good one — even though he didn't belong to any of them.

Some boundaries were plain to see. Lu Heyang and his circle were polite and courteous, but only up to a point; the actual distance would never close. The circles had been drawn at birth, and outsiders found it hard to become truly close with them — nor did they need to.

But that didn't really matter to Xu Ze; he hadn't given it any thought. For now, at least, he could sit here and watch what Lu Heyang was like among his close friends — all sides of him Xu Ze had never had the chance to see before.

At half past two, they left the room. The corridor wasn't wide, and four Alphas walking together made it feel a little cramped. Xu Ze fell back on his own; within two seconds, Lu Heyang slowed his pace and dropped back to walk beside him.

Once everyone had gathered, the school bus headed up the mountain and reached the Base after ten minutes or so — but today was the day the researchers gave their unified reports, so there was no tour; they'd have to wait until tomorrow.

The lecture was held in the conference hall. Besides the S-Class students from the Preparatory Academy, there was also a group of students from key high schools in the city. An S-Class team of Alphas and Omegas showing up together was a rare sight, and even after they were seated, curious gazes kept drifting over them. Xu Ze sat in the second-to-last row, three rows behind Lu Heyang and the others.

Not long after the lecture began, an Omega from another school on Lu Heyang's left leaned over to talk to him — from the look of it, not about the lecture.

Xu Ze watched them for a moment, then turned his eyes to the big screen and quietly took notes.

Three hours later, the lecture ended and the S-Class students took the bus back down to the hotel. While there was still daylight, He Wei suggested going to catch fish again. For him, wading into a mountain stream was actually fresher and more fun than deep-sea fishing off a private yacht.

Lu Heyang had planned to give Xu Ze the key card first, but after looking around, he couldn't find him anywhere. He went to ask the teacher, who told him: 'Xu Ze asked for leave as soon as he got off the bus — said he was going out.'

'Where could he have gone?' He Wei offered some wild guesses on the side. 'He didn't get lured off by an Omega from another school, did he?'

'Here's what we'll do — I'll get in touch with Xu Ze and have him pick up another key card from the front desk later.' The teacher said, 'You lot going out to play, stay safe. It's going to rain tonight, so come back early.'

'Mm-hm.' He Wei's lies came easily. 'We're just going to look at the scenery, take a walk.'

The mountain fish were nimble; after more than an hour of trying, they only ended up with a few fingerlings, which the three of them released back into the river before heading ashore, back to the hotel to shower and have dinner.

In the ten minutes it took to walk back, a heavy rain had come down; by the time they reached the hotel, their hair and clothes were soaked. Lu Heyang opened the door to a dark room — Xu Ze hadn't returned yet.

Even after dinner ended, past eight, Xu Ze still hadn't appeared. The rain was still pouring outside. As Lu Heyang was leaving the restaurant, the teacher told him: 'Xu Ze said he's on his way back — remember to open the door for him.'

'Okay,' Lu Heyang replied.

Back in the room, Lu Heyang turned on the TV; the news channel was replaying the morning broadcast. He watched the Alpha on screen, surrounded by a crowd of high officials, his face expressionless, then pressed the remote and changed the channel.

About ten minutes later, he heard a knock.

Lu Heyang stood up from the sofa and went to open the door.

Standing outside was Xu Ze — looking as though he'd just been pulled out of the water, soaked through, droplets falling one by one from the ends of his hair. The thin white T clung to his body, the lines beneath clearly visible. His lips and face were pale, but the moment their eyes met, something seemed to kindle in those deep-grey pupils, and his lashes gave a faint tremor.

In his hand he carried a bag, wrapped layer upon layer — whatever was inside, it was impossible to tell.

'Come in.' Seeing Xu Ze still standing there, Lu Heyang prompted him.

Xu Ze shifted his toes and walked into the room. The switch panel was by the door; Lu Heyang turned the air-conditioning up. He didn't ask where Xu Ze had been or what he'd done — that was his private business. Lu Heyang only said, 'Go shower first.'

'Mm.' Xu Ze answered softly. He set the bag on the table and went to his schoolbag for a change of clothes. He seemed a little hesitant — as if he already knew the answer, but still wanted to ask something.

After a moment's hesitation, Xu Ze finally asked: 'Have you already eaten dinner?'

'Yes.'

Xu Ze nodded silently and went into the bathroom with his clothes.