DTP chapter 37

On Sunday, Sheng Li woke up on the sofa. The previous night, he had a college reunion, drank, and returned home late.

After getting home, he suddenly noticed the record player in the living room and impulsively decided to play some music. He found that the records were all his favorites. One by one, they were like memories of time.

Some songs were classics, still on his playlist, while others had become relics of the past. Yet, when the melodies played, it felt like being a teenager again.

He fell asleep to the music, dreaming of past events.

He dreamed of the attic in kindergarten, where the teacher gave each child a cup of milk that had to be finished before naptime. Zuo Chi didn’t like milk and drank slowly.

After gulping his own milk, Sheng Li brought his face close to Zuo Chi’s cup. “I’ll help you drink it!”

Zuo Chi frowned. “You can’t drink from my cup; it’s not hygienic.”

“What’s the big deal? Best friends share everything!”

“Best friends?”

Sheng Li patted his chest, “Don’t worry, as my best friend, no one in this kindergarten will dare bully you!”

Once, when he was caught drinking Zuo Chi’s milk, the teacher scolded him: “You need to drink milk to grow tall. If you drink Zuo Chi’s milk, he won’t grow tall.”

Noticing that Zuo Chi was half a head shorter than him, Sheng Li realized this was a serious problem. So every morning, he brought milk for Zuo Chi from home and made sure he drank it all.

Zuo Chi almost threw up from all the milk during that time.

He dreamed of middle school when he skipped class with Xiang Yiqun and the others to play games at an internet cafe. Upon leaving, they saw Zuo Chi and Cheng Xiangwan playing at a claw machine in the mall.

Cheng Xiangwan had his eye on a deformed, ugly Doraemon, and Zuo Chi bought a basket of tokens to try and win it.

Zuo Chi’s serious expression while staring at the claw made Sheng Li upset.

It’s just a stuffed toy!

He went over to greet them and offered to help Zuo Chi, winning it in just two tries.

Cheng Xiangwan held onto the Doraemon’s leg, laughing happily: “Thank you, Chi!”

“Hey, I won it.” Sheng Li asked Zuo Chi, “Am I awesome?”

Zuo Chi replied with a simple “Mm,” adding, “You must have practiced a lot to impress your boyfriend.”

In his memory, Zuo Chi had teased him with a smile, but in the dream, Zuo Chi’s attitude was indifferent.

Just as he was about to retort, the dream changed.

He dreamed of the day Zuo Chi differentiated, carrying him to the isolation room.

It was a dream, not reality, and the road was endlessly long. He smelled the scent of blackcurrant pheromones, felt Zuo Chi’s scorching skin, and grew anxious, running desperately forward but never reaching the end.

He was frantic, calling Zuo Chi’s name over and over: “Ah Chi, Ah Chi…”

“Ah Chi…”

Sheng Li woke from the dream, drenched in sweat. He gasped for breath, grabbed his phone, and saw it was almost noon.

He sent a message to Zuo Chi: Want to have lunch together?

Zuo Chi replied: Busy.

Busy again.

Sheng Li sighed, irritably kicking the blanket off the sofa. He ordered takeout, planning to combine breakfast and lunch.

In the group chat with his close friends, a new message popped up—

Xu Hui: Moving on Friday, remember to come and help.

Xu Hui and Bai Fan had been dating for a while and planned to move into a new home together. Although Sheng Li and his friends were incredibly close, they each had their own lives after graduation and didn’t share every little detail. Xu Hui had mentioned needing some help with the house renovations before, speaking with a tone full of anticipation. Sheng Li was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected Xu Hui to be so invested and committed to his relationship.

Tai Xingyu Can’t afford to hire workers as a big star?

Xiang Yiqun: I’m not going to be a laborer. It’s exhausting and my back aches.

Tai Xingyu What did you do last night to make your back ache?

Xiang Yiqun: What are you thinking? I went to play badminton with my soon to be father in law.

Sheng Li: Got it, you already mentioned that yesterday.

Sheng Li: Will you remind us every day a month before the wedding?

Tai Xingyu Is cohabiting really that enjoyable?

Xiang Yiqun: You guys should understand, it’s an Alpha cohabiting with an Omega for the first time at twenty-six.

Xiang Yiqun: @Sheng Li.

Sheng Li paused for a moment, then replied: Why tag me? Are you crazy?

Xiang Yiqun: Is living with Zuo Chi enjoyable?

Sheng Li looked around the empty living room, feeling uncomfortable: Let’s not talk about him.

He had invited Zuo Chi several times, but Zuo Chi had always declined, citing being too busy with work. Sheng Li knew Zuo Chi was a workaholic and understood that he needed time to settle into a new job environment. But he couldn’t understand why Zuo Chi, after generously giving up the position of general manager to Zuo Lie, continued to work hard for the Zuo family, unable to even spare time to meet him.

Tai Xingyu @Xu Hui, did you buy this house or did Bai Fan buy it?

Xu Hui: Bai Fan’s father bought it for him.

Tai Xingyu Why not live in your house on Finance Street? Isn’t it closer to the airport?

Xu Hui: Living in my house might make him feel insecure.

Tai Xingyu ?

“Xu Hui” deleted a message.

Xu Hui: Just a guess. There are paparazzi lurking there, and it’s not very convenient. Besides, it doesn’t matter where you live, as long as you’re with the right person.

Sheng Li pondered. Would Zuo Chi feel insecure living at his place?

Could it be because of this that Zuo Chi wanted to move out? But whose house it was, wouldn’t it be the same wherever he lived? He had changed the lock once, dissatisfied with Sheng Changyu privately giving Zuo Chi a key, but after that, he hadn’t mentioned asking Zuo Chi to leave, had he?

It shouldn’t be.

After dinner and a game, Sheng Li headed to the gym. He enjoyed exercising, and taking a shower after sweating made him feel refreshed, so going to the gym three or four times a week had become a habit.

That day at the gym, another Beta approached him asking for his contact information, which Sheng Li’s personal trainer found amusing, teasing him about his blossoming love life.

Sheng Li was tall and had a good physique with attractive muscle definition, exuding a rich family’s aura that naturally drew many people’s attention.

“Aren’t you single? Why did you reject him? Is it because he’s a Beta?” the trainer asked.

Sheng Li shook his head. Whether the person was a Beta or not didn’t matter. He just wasn’t in the mood right now. After spending two hours at the gym, releasing the excess energy, he prepared to leave.

Coming out of the shower room, he bumped into a familiar face, a regular at the gym. The person greeted him, “Hi, Sheng Li, I just saw your friend.”

Sheng Li didn’t pay much attention. “Hmm? Who?”

“The one named Chi. I remember he’s been here with you a few times.”

“Zuo Chi?!”

“Yeah, that’s him…”

Sheng Li grabbed the person’s shoulder. “Where is he?”

The sudden excitement startled the person. “He’s on the second floor. I saw him coming out of the taekwondo hall.”

Sheng Li hurried out and asked the staff at the taekwondo hall. They recognized Zuo Chi. “He just left.”

Sheng Li searched the second floor but didn’t see him. He was about to call Zuo Chi when he saw him getting into the elevator to the ground floor.

He rushed over to catch up with him, only to find another person beside him.

Zuo Chi was wearing a simple black sports T-shirt, with his hair slightly damp from exercise. His cheeks were flushed, and he had a thin layer of red on both sides of his face, presumably from the workout. He had a patch on his neck, revealing his slender neck. If you looked closely, you could see the imprint left by long-term wear of a bite-proof collar. When he saw Sheng Li, his expression changed slightly.

Standing next to him was a stranger, almost as tall as Sheng Li, and looked like a mixed-blood.

Sheng Li looked at the man warily. Although he couldn’t smell pheromones, his intuition told him that the man was most likely an Alpha.

Zuo Chi introduced, “Qin Xu.”

Qin? Sheng Li guessed. He had seen the news but didn’t pay attention to the photos. He knew that Qin Yanren publicly acknowledged his illegitimate child at his birthday party. The man in front of him was probably Qin Yanren’s second Alpha son.

But why was he alone with Zuo Chi?

Zuo Chi turned to Qin Xu and said, “Sheng Li, my… friend.”

Sheng Li felt a strange emotion welling up inside him. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with the word “friend,” so why did he feel uncomfortable? Perhaps it was because the introduction was too brief, ignoring their friendship of over twenty years.

Qin Xu politely extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.” Sheng Li shook his hand perfunctorily and casually asked, “What did you guys do this afternoon?”

Qin Xu smiled at Zuo Chi. “Chi took me to the taekwondo hall. It was fun.”

Chi? He was calling Zuo Chi by his name? Were they close? Calling each other so intimately. Why did he have the right to do so? Perhaps because Qin Xu grew up abroad, his sense of propriety in interacting with Chinese people was different?

Sheng Li frowned, suppressing the discomfort in his heart. “Ah Chi has been practicing taekwondo since he was young. He’s a fourth-degree black belt, and many Alphas can’t beat him.”

Although Qin Xu didn’t know what a fourth-degree black belt meant, it didn’t stop him from praising Zuo Chi. “That’s cool.”

Sheng Li followed closely beside Zuo Chi and whispered to him, “Are you cooperating with the Qin family?”

Zuo Chi pursed his lips. “Sort of.”

Marriage could also be considered a form of cooperation, so that wasn’t wrong.

Sheng Li muttered, “Why didn’t you discuss it at a restaurant? Why bring him to the taekwondo hall?”

Zuo Chi replied calmly, “Cooperation depends on the willingness of the parties involved.”

Since there was cooperation, Sheng Li felt relieved. Whatever the reason, Zuo Chi declined his invitation because of work, not anything else.

Sheng Li said, “You should have invited me along; it’s been a while since I watched you do Taekwondo.”

During their student days, whenever Zuo Chi had Taekwondo competitions, he would always give Sheng Li a ticket to watch. Zuo Chi’s movements in the arena were clean and precise, his expressionless face conveying a determination never to surrender. It was a resilience that moved people.

Zuo Chi opened his mouth, wanting to ask Sheng Li if his proficiency in Taekwondo was also a reason why he didn’t seem like an Omega. But he ultimately swallowed the words because they were meaningless.

Whether he was like an Omega or not, it didn’t matter how Sheng Li saw him from an Alpha’s perspective anymore.

After all, he wasn’t Sheng Li’s Omega.