Jiang Zhihuo didn’t have much luggage, just a suitcase. After a quick trip back to his place, he returned shortly with a suitcase in tow. He placed it on the floor, took some clothes, and went to take a shower.
After finishing his shower, he casually lay down on the bed and said, “Hello, friend!”
Yan Mu was studying, with a desk lamp lit on the table. He kept his head down the whole time, showing no intention of responding to Jiang Zhihuo, leaving only a cool and aloof view of the back of his head.
Jiang Zhihuo lay on the side of the bed, playing with his phone while saying, “I have good sleeping habits!”
“It’s true, I don’t move at all. Whatever position I lie down in, I stay in that position until the next day.”
“Just treat me as a handsome doll.”
Upon hearing Jiang Zhihuo’s voice, Yan Mu didn’t even lift his head. It seemed like he found the noise bothersome and reached over to put on Bluetooth earphones.
From the looks of it, he clearly didn’t want to give the other person any attention.
Jiang Zhihuo raised an eyebrow but didn’t mind. Having been tormented by the heat last night and having had a long, exhausting day, he was already extremely tired and fell asleep quickly.
After finishing a set of practice papers, Yan Mu turned around and realized that Jiang Zhihuo was already sound asleep. A thin blanket was draped over his waist, and he had divided the bed into two sides with a pillow, each person taking one side. Jiang Zhihuo was lying quietly on one side of the bed.
Yan Mu dimmed the lights, stood by the bed for a while as he rubbed his forehead.
These past couple of days have been quite inexplicable.
Marked Jiang Zhihuo for no apparent reason.
End up in this baffling situation.
Yan Mu’s bed was very soft, much more comfortable than the hard wooden bed at his place. With the refreshing scent of pheromones surrounding him, Jiang Zhihuo slept exceptionally well that night, without dreams and remained fully oblivious to everything around him.
Until he woke up in Yan Mu’s arms the next morning—
Raising his gaze, he saw Yan Mu looking exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes. His whole face seemed to be covered with a layer of frost as he coldly said, “Good morning.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “……”
Jiang Zhihuo pushed Yan Mu away in an instant, finally spotting his surroundings clearly.
The blanket that was covering him had somehow been kicked to the floor. The pillow that was supposed to separate the two of them had also mysteriously disappeared. His clothes were wrinkled from sleep, and when he touched the back of his head, he found his hair tangled into a messy knot.
Jiang Zhihuo: “…..”
Yan Mu sat up in bed, leaned against the headboard, and closed his eyes. He gently massaged his brow with two fingers, then, without a hint of mercy, gave Jiang Zhihuo a slightly mocking glance.
“Such great sleeping habits, huh?”
“一like a statue?”
“Like a doll?”
Well, this…
Jiang Zhihuo scratched his head.
He had never slept in the same bed with anyone before!
How would he know what his sleeping posture was like! As long as he fell asleep in bed and woke up in bed, how bad could it be?
Since it had come to this, Jiang Zhihuo had no intention of explaining. He quickly adjusted his mindset, stretched lazily, and said, “I’m a patient. You’ll just have to get used to it.”
He spoke so naturally that Yan Mu frowned, just about to say something, when Jiang Zhihuo had already taken off his shirt and put on a white hoodie. His fingers casually rested on his neck as he turned around and smiled. “I really need your pheromones right now.”
Yan Mu: “……”
He was silent for a moment, said nothing, got out of bed to wash up, and when he came out, Jiang Zhihuo had already changed clothes.
Today, Jiang Zhihuo was going out with Bai Yujun, so he put away his school bully behavior and dressed more properly than usual. He wore a hoodie and jeans and put a band-aid on his neck to cover the bite mark. The school bully Jiang often had small wounds on him, so it wasn’t unusual for him to have a few band-aids on.
When Yan Mu came out, Jiang Zhihuo hurriedly finished washing up, then bounced up in front of Yan Mu with a slight curve in his eyelashes and a grin, saying, “Do you think I look handsome?”
“……” Yan Mu turned his head away, adjusting his collar and ignoring the other person.
He was still wearing a shirt, the high collar covering the red mark on his neck.
Seeing that Yan Mu ignored him, Jiang Zhihuo moved closer and said, “How about a kiss if you think I’m handsome?”
The young man had just finished washing up. He had a clean and fresh scent, with a hint of minty toothpaste in his breath brushing against the side of his face.
Yan Mu lifted his eyes slightly.
It’s inevitable that Jiang Zhihuo has bad sleeping posture.
The night was so long that no matter how much contact there was, the symptoms of the fever would eventually appear. So, last night, Jiang Zhihuo, with a scent of sweet wine all over his body, kept pressing against Yan Mu.
It’s likely that this would have to continue until he was fully recovered.
Yan Mu meticulously buttoned up his shirt. Noticing that Jiang Zhihuo still wanted to get closer, he directly grabbed both of his wrists and turned around, pressing the other party against the door.
When Jiang Zhihuo came in earlier, he hadn’t closed the door properly. With the impact, the door moved back slightly, and the latch slid into the lock with a “click.”
The alpha’s pheromones overwhelmed the surrounding area.
It was hard to say whether it was the kisses they shared yesterday, but Yan Mu became rougher this time, not giving Jiang Zhihuo any chance to resist at all. As an alpha, Yan Mu was always dominant in such matters, and since Jiang Zhihuo had been marked by him, he couldn’t struggle and could only submit.
The pheromones that were like heavy rain grew even stronger, making the surrounding feel hot. As soon as three minutes were up, Yan Mu immediately ended the kiss. He parted his lips but did not release his grip.
Jiang Zhihuo would never admit that, at a certain moment, he was suppressed by Yan Mu. He lifted his chin and met Yan Mu’s gaze.
Still so close, and with the same icy tone. “Give up.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Give up what?”
Yan Mu: “Stop chasing.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Huh?”
Yan Mu stared at him intently, wiped away a bit of moisture from the corner of his eye, and said, “After just three minutes of kissing, you’re already weak in the knees, red-faced, and in tears. You can’t handle it; you won’t be able to keep up.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “……”
Jiang Zhihuo: “…………”
That was me, damn it??
Jiang Zhihuo shoved Yan Mu onto the bed. Although he was in the process of secondary differentiation and would eventually become an omega, he still had strength, and this push was effortless. “What the hell did you just say??”
*****
Jiang Zhihuo and Bai Yujun had originally planned to meet at 11 AM outside a certain flower shop.
From the moment he left the house, Jiang Zhihuo hadn’t said another word to Yan Mu.
Bai Yujun’s family must be well-off; only families with ample means would send a girl to learn flower arranging. The transparent greenhouse was filled with flowers of various colors, with a long table in the center where a young and beautiful florist was teaching the girls flower arrangement techniques.
Bai Yujun stood in the middle, still in her white dress, with long hair draping over her shoulders. Her long silhouette and flowing skirt revealed a delicate, petite ankle.
She was attentively listening to the florist’s explanation, occasionally nodding her head. A group of young, delicate girls and vibrant flowers made an aesthetically pleasing scene that caught the attention of many passersby, who frequently looked back.
Jiang Zhihuo clearly noticed that, at some point, Yan Mu had shed his usual aloofness. Although his expression remained mostly unchanged, his gaze softened bit by bit, entirely focused on Bai Yujun.
At this moment, the girl beside Bai Yujun reminded her that someone was waiting at the door. Bai Yujun turned her head, and Jiang Zhihuo raised a smile, waving at her. Bai Yujun smiled back at him. When she saw Yan Mu standing to the side, her expression froze, showing slight surprise.
After class, Bai Yujun bid farewell to the girl beside her and jogged out of the greenhouse with a slight smile. “So, the extra person you mentioned bringing is Yan Mu.”
Jiang Zhihuo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “It’s not that I wanted to bring him; he insisted on coming along.”
Yan Mu: “I’m worried.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Huh? What are you so worried about? Is it really at the point where you need to be concerned?”
Yan Mu: “Don’t you know why you’re out here by yourself?”
Bai Yujun walked between the two, hearing them bickering again, thus she smiled and advised, “Let’s not argue. How about we go eat first?”
It was afternoon, the temperature reaching thirty-eight or thirty-nine degrees Celsius, and with nothing to do outside, the three of them walked into a meticulously decorated Western restaurant.
It wasn’t peak dining time, so the restaurant wasn’t very crowded. When Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu, the tall and handsome young men, stepped in, they immediately attracted the attention of the staff. After a brief moment of being stunned and admiring the two, the staff remembered their duty. “How many of you are there?”
“Three,” Jiang Zhihuo said.
Only then did the staff notice that these two handsome young men were accompanied by a very attractive young woman. Internally impressed, they planned to discuss with their colleagues later about which of the two men the woman was with.
Bai Yujun was usually quiet, and she remained the same even while eating. In contrast, Jiang Zhihuo was unable to stay silent and would say whatever came to mind. Conversations at the table were quite relaxed. Yan Mu spoke little, so Bai Yujun would lead the conversation toward him. Jiang Zhihuo would occasionally mock Yan Mu while he spoke, only to be immediately mocked back. Despite this, the atmosphere of the meal was surprisingly harmonious.
At this moment, the waiter brought in two young women. When the women saw Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu, they briefly paused, and upon noticing Bai Yujun, they quickly averted their gaze.
Bai Yujun smiled and said, “You’re too handsome; the girls can’t help but look at you.”
At the high school, there were two popular boys, and word of them had long spread to other schools.
“It’s you they’re looking at,” Jiang Zhihuo replied casually. “Isn’t it said that girls like to look at pretty girls?”
Bai Yujun covered her mouth and smiled. She reached out to grab a pastry placed in the center of the table and was about to roll up her sleeve when she suddenly seemed to remember something. She then put her hand down.
Yan Mu pushed the plate of pastries in front of Bai Yujun. Bai Yujun smiled and said, “Thank you.”
Jiang Zhihuo asked, “Why are you wearing long sleeves in such hot weather?”
“Eh? This?” Bai Yuyun pinched her sleeve. “It’s chiffon, very thin, not hot.”
Jiang Zhihuo stared at the sleeve for a long time, making Bai Yuyun almost want to pull her hand back. Then he smiled and said, “I see.”
“Mhm.” Bai Yuyun nodded.
There was a marketplace area in the shopping mall where the Western restaurant was located. It was on the lower ground floor. The stalls were gorgeously decorated and sold everything.
Jiang Zhihuo said, “If you go a bit further, there’s a popular photo spot that’s been quite popular lately. Want to check it out?”
It looked like a lot of effort was put into preparing for this “date.”
The photo spot was an open-air plaza filled with cherry blossom trees. The scene was vibrant and colorful, with the entire ground covered in pink petals.
The weather in Lincheng wasn’t suitable for growing cherry blossoms, and it wasn’t the season for them to be in full bloom, so these were probably not real cherry trees. Even so, the scene was incredibly beautiful and spectacular. When the wind blew, the petals drifted around, resembling pink snowflakes falling in the scorching sun.
Yan Mu suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Jiang Zhihuo and Bai Yujun walked a bit ahead before they realized that Yan Mu was still standing in a daze.
He thought to himself: Just as well, stay there and don’t come over.
Bai Yujun walked to a cherry blossom tree. Her white dress matched perfectly with the pale pink petals. Her long hair was blown by the midday breeze, and a few petals fell into her hair.
“Can you take a picture for me?” Bai Yujun asked.
“Of course, no problem,” Jiang Zhihuo said as he reached for his phone. Just then, Yan Mu, who had been standing in a daze, suddenly came over, crouched down, found the right angle, and pressed the shutter before Jiang Zhihuo could react.
Then, he stared at the photo on the screen for a long time.
“Are you done yet?” Jiang Zhihuo resisted the urge to kick Yan Mu. It was bad enough that he was interrupting his date, but now he was taking over the cameraman role as well? And even staring at the photo in a daze right in front of him?!
This time, Yan Mu didn’t argue with him. He handed the phone to Bai Yujun, waited for her to choose, and then sent the photo to her.
The weather was too hot, so after wandering around for a while, Yan Mu said he needed to go to the restroom and told them to go first. Jiang Zhihuo couldn’t have been happier; he had already looked up interesting places nearby and was eager to ditch Yan Mu. However, after walking only a short distance, he looked back and found that Yan Mu had already caught up with them without him noticing.
Jiang Zhihuo: “……”
The three of them then walked into a dessert shop.
Just after they had ordered, Jiang Zhihuo suddenly frowned, grabbed Yan Mu, and said, “Come with me.”
Three hours had passed.
Jiang Zhihuo pulled Yan Mu into the restroom, squeezed into a stall, cupped his face, and pressed his lips against his.
This morning, Yan Mu had mentioned being sensitive, so Jiang Zhihuo kissed him with extra force. However, Yan Mu seemed to be zoning out, and the kiss felt rather perfunctory for the three minutes it lasted.
After the kiss, Jiang Zhihuo wiped his lips and pointed at Yan Mu. “I’ll be out in ten minutes. You’re not allowed to say anything nonsense to Yujun.”
The two of them went out together, but only Yan Mu came back. Bai Yujun asked in confusion, “Where’s Zhihuo?”
“I don’t know,” Yan Mu said. “He only said he’d be back in ten minutes.”
“Okay.”
Yan Mu sat across from Bai Yujun. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke up, “Actually, we’re all pursuing you. You know that, right?”
Bai Yujun was initially taken aback and momentarily speechless. The statement was too straightforward; such things were usually said at a more appropriate time. However, it was Yan Mu who said it, and with Yan Mu’s direct personality, it wasn’t surprising.
“Ah, I see now.”
She looked somewhat at a loss and reached for the fruit plate in the middle. Yan Mu happened to reach for it as well. Seeing that their fingers were about to touch, Yan Mu glanced at her and withdrew his hand instead.
That was a very indifferent gaze. Yan Mu looked at Bai Yujun as if he were looking at any passerby, not at someone who had just said, ‘We are all pursuing you.’
However, that gaze seemed like an illusion, because the next moment, the corner of Yan Mu’s eyes softened again. He took out a small box, opened it, and pushed it toward Bai Yujun.
Bai Yujun was once again stunned.
It was the handmade necklace she had just seen and took a fancy to while passing through the store!
She liked this style and glanced at it a bit longer, but she hadn’t mentioned wanting to buy it.
Yan Mu, however, had noticed. What he had said about going to the restroom was actually just to buy the necklace for her!
“Looks like I wasn’t mistaken,” Yan Mu said. “It’s a gift for you.”
When Jiang Zhihuo returned with a paper bag, he saw Bai Yujun’s surprised and touched expression, plus the box placed in the center, and the ambiguous atmosphere on the table.
What the heck??
He placed the paper bag next to the box and said, “You mentioned wanting to try the new products from this place. I noticed there wasn’t much of a line, so I bought some for you. Take it home and enjoy.”
Bai Yujun looked at him with the same stunned expression. Then, suddenly, she began to cry. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Jiang Zhihuo, worried about being away too long, ran back and was still out of breath. He steadied his breathing and quickly took out a tissue, handing it to Bai Yujun, quietly asking, “What happened?”
Yan Mu was also caught off guard and replied, “Nothing.”
Jiang Zhihuo didn’t have time to pay attention to Yan Mu. Although he didn’t know what had happened, he still said, “Don’t cry.”
Bai Yujun took the tissue. As she extended her hand, her sleeve slightly pulled up, revealing a bruise on her wrist. Bai Yujun quickly withdrew her hand, as if she didn’t want anyone to see it.
Jiang Zhihuo pretended not to see anything. After a while, Bai Yujun calmed down and apologized, saying, “Sorry, I couldn’t hold it.”
She covered her reddened nose with a tissue but still managed a gentle smile. “It’s been a long time since anyone has been this kind to me. Thank you.”
Bai Yujun felt like crying again. Yan Mu handed her two more tissues and cast a subtle look at Jiang Zhihuo.
Based on Yan Mu’s understanding of Jiang Zhihuo, if Bai Yujun was crying, it was definitely because of his behavior. Jiang Zhihuo would easily say a few words to make her happy and help calm her down.
But he didn’t. Strangely, he sat quietly, staring intently at Bai Yujun’s wrist covered by her sleeve, lost in thought. After a long while, he finally spoke in a joking tone, “If you need anything, you can talk to me. Remember, it’s me you talk to, not the person next to me. He might just make you sick from being so gloomy.”
Bai Yujun let out a faint laugh.
“You can leave me here,” Bai Yujun said to Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu as she stopped at the intersection.
They originally intended to take her home, but Bai Yujun shook her head and said her father had called a driver to pick her up.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do then.” They watched Bai Yujun get into the car before heading back to Yan Mu’s place together.
Jiang Zhihuo rarely remained quiet the entire way.
Just a moment ago, when the driver got out, he gave them a glance. Although it was brief, the feeling was uncomfortable, as if they were being scrutinized. The driver’s first action wasn’t to open the door for Bai Yujun to get into the car, but to take the paper bag from her hand and ask, “What’s this?”
In the late afternoon, with not many people on the street, at a certain traffic light, Yan Mu suddenly asked Jiang Zhihuo, “Why do you like Bai Yujun?”
“Huh?” Jiang Zhihuo looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s pretty and has a very good grade! Of course I like her!”
“Is that so?” Yan Mu asked again.
Yan Mu’s gaze was sharp, and Jiang Zhihuo had a feeling that Yan Mu had noticed something. Keeping his composure, he shifted the topic away from himself, saying, “What about you? What do you like about her?”
Yan Mu understood.
It didn’t matter if Jiang Zhihuo was unwilling to tell the truth
The road was empty, and the sky was pale from the intense sunlight. The cicadas chirped softly.
Before him was a large cherry blossom tree. The young Yan Mu pushed open the window. He couldn’t touch others and hadn’t been out for a long time. The place he lived in was quite remote, and few people came here.
But he saw a little boy.
The warm wind blew, causing cherry blossoms to fall onto his hair and brush against his fair, delicate cheeks.
It was an extremely proud face, yet upon seeing him, the other party broke into a bright smile.
—He hadn’t seen him for a long time.
“Say something?” Yan Mu hadn’t responded, so Jiang Zhihuo nudged him with his elbow.
Yan Mu’s gaze gradually softened again. Then he spoke in a very soft, gentle voice, “I also think he1T/N: The Chinese word “他” (tā) can mean “he,” “she,” or “they” depending on the context, as Chinese does not differentiate between genders in third-person pronouns. But I think Yan Mu is likely referring to the little boy in his memory. is very beautiful.”
The author has something to say:
Isn’t Bai Yuyun strange?
That’s right.
