After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 41

The hotpot restaurant was bustling with noise, and as soon as Qin Zhu and Xu Tingyun entered the private room, they both noticed something amiss.

 

Xu Tingyun asked, “Where did the necklace come from?”

 

Shen Jin gestured for them to sit down, “Gu Yu gave it to me.”

 

“Oh?” Qin Zhu was straightforward, “Looks like your skills are improving, son. But still, try to restrain yourself a bit; don’t get a fever again.”

 

Shen Jin’s neck flushed red as he punched him, replying, “When are we cutting ties?”

 

While ordering food, Qin Zhu laughed, “Whenever you want, but don’t tell me you need an official notice from me?”

 

They ordered a dual-flavored hotpot and a variety of dishes, chatting until after 8 PM before leaving the restaurant. As they exited, Qin Zhu, still curious, asked Gu Yu, “When did you get that necklace around your neck?”

 

If he remembered correctly, Gu Yu’s collarbone had been bare earlier, yet now there was something hanging there.

 

Gu Yu’s throat moved slightly as he replied, “Shen Jin bought it.”

 

Since Shen Jin didn’t put it on him, there was no harm in wearing it himself. However, he felt that the hotpot restaurant’s oily smoke was too much, and it was better to put it on after they left.

 

“Shen Jin? Who’s Shen Jin? You’re already on a first-name basis and not calling him senior anymore?” Qin Zhu teased him, “Not bad, junior. Looks like you’ve either been bewitched or cursed. What happened to the deep-seated hatred?”

 

At that moment, Shen Jin returned after paying the bill and immediately gave Qin Zhu a complete set of military punches from behind, “If you don’t shut up, will you die?”

 

Qin Zhu countered with a strong punch but feigned weakness, “I’m just envious, brother~ Your sworn enemy not only rushed you to the hospital in the middle of the night but also bought you a necklace, unlike me, who got rejected by a puppy that follows me around all day.”

 

The information in those words was a bit overwhelming, leaving Shen Jin stunned for a moment, “Who did you confess to?”

 

“Of course, it was He Senzhou,” Qin Zhu, always straightforward, said with a smile on his face, “But he turned me down. He said he wanted to be with an omega whose pheromones matched his. Since I’m an undifferentiated beta, he just sees me as a brother, which is fair enough.”

 

No one had expected Qin Zhu to have progressed so far with He Senzhou in secret. Both Shen Jin and Gu Yu wanted to say something, but Qin Zhu pushed them forward, “It’s fine, it’s just me overthinking. Let’s go, no point standing here, the wind’s strong.”

 

The open-air corridor was filled with groups of university students. As they turned toward the escalator, they ran into He Senzhou, who was coming up with a fair-skinned boy by his side, also seemingly there to eat.

 

Since this was the only large shopping mall in the university town, neither side was particularly surprised. He Senzhou hesitated for just a moment before greeting them as usual, “Senior, did you just finish hotpot?”

 

Qin Zhu glanced at the slim boy beside him and replied with a smile, “Yep, you’ve got quite the nose.”

 

He Senzhou avoided his gaze, while Gu Yu quickly stepped forward and asked in a low voice, “Didn’t you say you were having dinner with your high school friends today?”

 

“This is my high school friend.” It seemed He Senzhou wanted to cut off any unnecessary entanglements with Qin Zhu, so he immediately took the boy’s hand and said openly, “I still need to take him shopping. We’ll be off.”

 

He pulled the omega along, forcing their way past Qin Zhu, who sniffed and took a moment before saying, “What are you all standing around for? Don’t we have to build the future of China’s esports?”

 

With an online competition coming up at the end of the year, Qin Zhu urged them downstairs, and when it was time to part, he told Shen Jin not to worry, “I’ll just cry my eyes out when I get back—it’s no big deal. You get some proper rest for a few days, don’t want anything else going wrong.”

 

The night wind was cold. Shen Jin wanted to head back to school with them, but his two roommates insisted that the dorm was too cold and urged Gu Yu to take Shen Jin home.

 

Having no choice, Gu Yu gave them a few instructions and then took Shen Jin back.

 

*

 

The night wind continued to blow, and the atmosphere between the two inevitably became a bit silent.

 

As for what happened between Qin Zhu and He Senzhou, the two of them, as outsiders, really had no right to say much. Although He Senzhou had always liked hanging out with Qin Zhu, there was no issue with calling them just friends.

 

But that didn’t stop Shen Jin from feeling too dispirited to joke around as usual. Instead, he walked quietly, with a strange heaviness in his chest and chaotic thoughts.

 

In some way, he actually admired Qin Zhu’s courage amidst his surprise.

 

If it were him, he would never take the initiative to confess without certainty—the chances of mutual affection are low to begin with, and he couldn’t afford to take that risk.

 

He was fully aware of his own capacity to endure; he could handle unrequited love and even become addicted to secret admiration, but he could not confess, nor could he believe that anyone had a 100% chance of loving him.

 

If a person couldn’t even get the love of their closest blood relatives, how could they believe that someone else would love them for no reason?

 

So he would rather let his secrets rot inside him, festering into wounds that ache day and night, than gamble on an uncertain outcome.

 

Compared to Qin Zhu’s bravery, Shen Jin had long considered himself weak—by waving the white flag from the start, no one could fault him for any hesitation or denial of his feelings.

 

He would always be safe and never face rejection.

 

*

 

“What are you thinking about?” Gu Yu’s voice broke through the night wind, “Qin Zhu’s situation?”

 

Shen Jin snapped back to reality and smiled, “Hmm… Maybe I’ll give him all the blue buffs in the next game and bring him some extra snacks next time.”

 

After all, this was something Qin Zhu would have to work out on his own. There wasn’t much Shen Jin could do to help.

 

But thinking back on the recent days, Shen Jin couldn’t help but say, “Even I thought Senzhou liked Qin Zhu. He always called Qin Zhu out for meals, and during games, he’d sweet-talk him, call him brother or senior, and even gift him skins. He loved teasing Qin Zhu and then soothing him afterward… Not long ago, I saw them voice chatting in the middle of the night. Qin Zhu said he wanted grapes, and Senzhou replied that he had some. Ten minutes later, he brought them to our dorm.”

 

Shen Jin clenched his hands and asked, “Is it true that even if you alphas seem to really like someone, it could all be fake?”

 

“…” Gu Yu didn’t quite get it, “What does this have to do with me?”

 

Shen Jin, lost in thought, moved his lips slightly, suddenly realizing that he was being unreasonable.

 

He quickly laughed to cover it up, “Just asking, don’t take it seriously—let’s go buy some fruit at the supermarket? The hotpot was a bit spicy, and I feel like eating something sour.”

 

Feigning lightheartedness, he tugged on Gu Yu’s arm but then unknowingly walked faster, not even realizing how much his pace had quickened.

 

*

 

In the following days, Gu Yu noticed that Shen Jin seemed down. He was either deeply engaged in discussing game tactics with the team or buried in writing assignments on his computer. Although he still bantered with Gu Yu occasionally, he just didn’t seem as lively.

 

It was as if after recovering from an illness for two days, the little animal had quickly wilted again, looking like it might get even sicker.

 

Gu Yu sensed this subtle change, knowing that it partly had to do with He Senzhou and Qin Zhu, but there was more to it.

 

Whenever Gu Yu tried to talk more with Shen Jin, the other would just look tired and say he needed to sleep.

 

This made Gu Yu constantly picture Shen Jin collapsing in front of his computer during a game, feeling unwell. Shen Jin was still like that little rabbit who needed careful care; one moment he’d be happily nibbling on grass, the next moment he’d be downcast and trembling, falling to the ground in sorrow.

 

…Damn.

 

In the sun-filled study hall of Si Xian, Gu Yu looked down at an unsolved engineering mechanics problem in his book and wondered if he’d gone crazy. Everyone knew Shen Jin was a 1.8-meter-tall adult man. Although his health had declined in recent years, he certainly wasn’t so fragile as to warrant this much concern.

 

After the last incident, Shen Jin had promised to tell Gu Yu immediately if he felt unwell, never to delay again. But seeing Shen Jin’s low spirits these past few days made Gu Yu want to take time off and stay at the apartment, accompanying Shen Jin every minute.

 

So much so that during the two-hour lunch break, he would return home to have lunch with Shen Jin. And on Fridays, after the last class, he would probably leave the study hall faster than any other student.

 

In his more than ten years of schooling, he considered himself neither a particularly diligent student nor one of those geniuses who could play and sleep all day and still rank at the top. Most of the time, he would listen in class, finish his assignments, and, when bored, flip through his textbooks and problem sets. Scoring over 600 on the college entrance exam was simply his normal performance.

 

His self-discipline had ingrained in him the habit of completing tasks before playing—hardly anything or anyone could disrupt his studies.

 

But now, Shen Jin had easily broken this balance.

 

Just because Shen Jin hadn’t smiled much that morning, he kept picking up his phone, only to put it down again in frustration: Why hasn’t he messaged me?

 

He was actually *expecting* someone to interrupt his studies with a message.

 

At 11 a.m., Shen Jin finally sent him a screenshot of his game stats, along with a mocking emoji that said, “Playing ranked with you feels like being in prison.jpg.” Suddenly, he felt alive again, sitting up straight to reply: “What’s wrong with carrying me? .jpg.”

 

Shen Jin said, “Don’t keep these random pictures in the esports club group.”

 

Gu Yu smiled for a while, then furrowed his brow as he repeatedly tapped Shen Jin’s profile picture, and asked, “Still coughing?”

 

Shen Jin replied with a few words: “No, I don’t cough during the day,” but his heart was easily stirred—just thinking about the coughing sounds coming from the bedroom late at night made him uneasy, to the point where he couldn’t remember how to write the curvature formula.

 

Fortunately, this symptom had worsened later than usual. Had it happened during high school, he suspected his grades would have plummeted, and he would likely be repeating a year at home now.

 

But no matter what, he had to see Shen Jin soon. His only thought now was: without me cooking at home, that sickly little bunny would definitely miss me to the point of nearly dying.

 

As for that 1.8-meter tall adult man, he didn’t recognize him.

 

On the way back, he walked briskly, and the only thing that caught his eye was a flower stall set up by the roadside.

 

“Hey, handsome, buy some flowers?” The young flower seller, who looked like a part-time college student, was enthusiastic. “You’re so handsome, and yet so considerate~”

 

“…No.” Gu Yu adjusted his cold-weather mask, covering half his face.

 

He hesitated between roses and sunflowers, asking, “Does a red rose… always symbolize love?”

 

He hoped the flower seller would say it didn’t, so he could buy them without hesitation. Instead, the seller replied, “Red roses don’t symbolize anything else like filial piety. If you give a bouquet of these, he/she will definitely get it right away~”

 

“…” Gu Yu had no choice but to scan the payment code and said gloomily, “Then I’ll buy a bouquet of sunflowers.”

 

The flower seller didn’t understand and could only trim and package the sunflowers he wanted.

 

But under the night sky, Gu Yu bent down and picked up a rose, saying, “Don’t bother wrapping this. I’ll take it too.”

 

*

 

The cold wind was biting, and a few minutes later, Gu Yu returned to the apartment with his ears still red from the wind.

 

“I’m back.” He opened the door and stepped inside, hoping Shen Jin would be happier seeing the sunflowers. But the scene before him shocked him—Shen Jin had somehow found a triangular ladder and was currently standing on it, apparently installing curtains for the floor-to-ceiling windows.

 

Gu Yu froze for a moment, then hurriedly dropped the flowers and rushed over to steady the ladder. “What are you doing?”

 

Shen Jin, holding a curtain hook, didn’t understand: “Couldn’t it be that I’m hanging myself?”

 

Seeing Gu Yu’s expression darken, Shen Jin became serious: “The curtain fell while I was mopping. There was a ladder in the storage room, so I’m putting it back up.”

 

“…” Gu Yu was even more upset and asked, “Who told you to mop the floor?!”

 

Shen Jin pretended to think and answered, “A certain capitalist surnamed Gu who hired me to do housework~?”

 

Gu Yu took a deep breath and said, “Considering you’ve just been discharged from the hospital, you don’t have to do the cleaning this month.”

 

Normally, cleaning was done on Saturdays. He had planned to bring this up in the evening, but Shen Jin, clearly bored, had started early.

 

The floor was cleaned well, but because it was so clean, the risk of the triangular ladder sliding increased to infinity.

 

Gu Yu frowned deeply and extended his arms towards Shen Jin. “Come down first. It’s too dangerous.”

 

If Shen Jin were to fall and get seriously injured, not only would he forget the curvature formula, he might actually go insane and be unable to remember the multiplication table.

 

“What’s dangerous? The triangle is the most stable structure.” Shen Jin insisted on finishing the curtain installation. “How did you become so ignorant of the Pythagorean theorem after getting into university and studying engineering?”

 

Gu Yu’s breathing quickened and his tone grew heavy: “Come down. I’ll do it. I’m taller than you.”

 

Shen Jin wasn’t happy to hear that: “It’s only 8 or 9 centimeters more. It makes some difference inside, but what’s the difference outside?”

 

“…” Gu Yu anxiously watched as Shen Jin reached for the hook at the very edge. Unable to hold back, he said, “If you don’t come down, I’ll make sweet and sour ribs tonight.”

 

Shen Jin turned his head and looked at him with a bit of grievance. “But you said you’d make them for me this afternoon…”

 

“If you’re so capable, go ahead and hang yourself to force me.” Gu Yu realized his principles were nearly exhausted. He was being stubborn and severe in tone. “Otherwise, if I make plain rice with sugar tonight, it’ll be sweet too. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

 

Shen Jin continued to resist. “If necessary, I’ll just order takeout for sweet and sour ribs.”

 

Gu Yu pretended to let go: “So, you think takeout sweet and sour ribs are almost the same as mine?”

 

If there’s any dish most affected by takeout’s taste, it’s definitely something with a sweet and sour flavor.

 

Shen Jin sighed and gave in, coming down from the ladder. “I’ll surpass you in cooking skills one day.”

 

Gu Yu, ensuring Shen Jin safely landed, responded, “Surpass me? I suggest you get a protective shield for cooking next time, to avoid the same old splatters of oil as last time.”

 

“…” Shen Jin gritted his teeth and gave up, making a gesture of concession. “Fine, you do it. I’ll hold the ladder.”

 

Gu Yu stepped onto the ladder and said calmly, “No need to hold it. You go do your own thing. Aren’t you supposed to be coaching an online competition?”

 

The ladder was stable enough; he just… just wanted to be cautious, in case that delicate omega had another mishap.

 

Shen Jin didn’t leave. “It’s okay, no rush. Qin Zhu’s performance has been so chaotic these past two days that I don’t have many concerns.”

 

Ever since Qin Zhu’s confession to He Senzhou failed, it was as if he had ascended to a higher level, with an average of over ten kills per game. The entire team agreed: alphas are troublemakers, and spiritual castration is useful.

 

Gu Yu paused and then said, “I’ll also bring some food for Qin Zhu next time.”

 

He then asked Shen Jin, “So… can you go to bed earlier in the future?”

 

Shen Jin looked significantly better than the past few days and nodded. “Should be possible.”

 

Gu Yu would not interfere with Shen Jin’s schedule during the competition period. He could at most do some exercises with him, but if Shen Jin could go to bed even 10 minutes earlier, that would be good.

 

Feeling slightly relieved, he continued to hang the curtains.

 

The 8 or 9 centimeters made a significant difference. Gu Yu easily hung up the hooks, his face turning expressionless as he said, “Who was just saying that the 8 or 9 centimeters of height difference was insignificant?”

 

Shen Jin didn’t expect Gu Yu to hold a grudge over this: “I just didn’t want to move the ladder…!”

 

Gu Yu’s expression remained unchanged, but his eyes showed a victorious smugness, which made Shen Jin so annoyed that he wanted to put the ladder back in the storage room.

 

However, noticing the bouquet of flowers on the hallway cabinet, Shen Jin couldn’t help but be curious. “Where did the sunflowers come from?”

 

In an instant, Gu Yu’s victorious demeanor vanished.

 

“…I bought them. Home decor,” Gu Yu licked his dry lips and answered, “But if Senior wants to interpret them as flowers for you, that’s not impossible.”

 

Shen Jin, who played games regularly and had sharp eyesight, asked, “Is the rose also for me? Who pairs roses with sunflowers?”

 

Gu Yu’s expression didn’t change, but his brain was heating up.

 

Originally, he should have said that the rose was a discounted one with wilted petals, and he bought it because it was cheap and just to make do.

 

But when facing Shen Jin, he couldn’t bring himself to lie.

 

After all, he couldn’t possibly afford not to buy fresh and beautiful roses. How could Shen Jin not be upset if he heard such a humiliating comment?

 

At worst, Shen Jin might be so distressed that he would cry all night behind closed doors and pack up to leave the next day, never wanting to speak to him again.

 

Unable to find a reasonable explanation, Gu Yu could only pretend he didn’t hear and stubbornly turned to the kitchen to cook.

 

Shen Jin, puzzled, placed the ladder away but didn’t see the need to ask further questions.

 

He placed the sunflowers in the center of the coffee table and examined the unwrapped rose, guessing it might be a gift with the sunflowers.

 

Just then, Gu Yu suddenly stepped out of the kitchen, saying awkwardly, “I remembered. The rose is… a gift with the sunflowers.”

 

Well, now it’s definitely not a gift. Shen Jin frowned and joked, “A gift? It seems like it was specifically bought for me.”

 

Gu Yu stood at the kitchen door without moving, eventually looking down and saying faintly, “No.”

 

“Not a gift?” Shen Jin looked at the flowers in his hand, responding regretfully, “Well… I thought it was the first time I received flowers from someone.”

 

“…” Gu Yu asked, “Senior has never received flowers from others before?”

 

“Of course not,” Shen Jin replied suspiciously, “Everyone thinks I’m an alpha. I’ve never been in a relationship.”

 

Gu Yu remained silent for a moment and then said, “The rose was stolen by me. If Senior likes flowers, I’ll buy another bouquet next time.”

 

Shen Jin was extremely shocked and came to the kitchen door, saying, “You’d rather admit to stealing flowers than admit it’s a gift for me? It’s just a get-well-soon gesture; what’s the big deal?”

 

“…” Gu Yu, with his back to Shen Jin, was so angry that even the clinking of sauce jars was louder. “Think what you want. Don’t disturb me while I cook.”

 

Shen Jin, swinging the flower branch in his hand, insisted on staying at the door: “Can’t I learn to cook from you?”

 

Surrounded by the faint smell of thawing meat, the two of them continued to bicker while finishing the meal. The glass door reflected their overlapping figures, the myriad lights outside, and Gu Yu’s heart filled with uncontrollable, wildly growing hopes.

 

*

 

That night, Gu Yu should have been more relaxed than usual.

 

Tomorrow was finally the weekend. He didn’t have to go to school and could spend the whole day with Shen Jin.

 

But because of this, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

 

Just a moment ago, Shen Jin, as usual, said goodnight to him before going to bed, but Gu Yu found that he… couldn’t bear it.

 

These days, he always felt reluctant to leave Shen Jin alone, reluctant to let Shen Jin close the door, reluctant to Shen Jin’s silence, and even more reluctant to Shen Jin himself.

 

Even if they were separated by just a wall, his longing surged in his chest, filling his mind with Shen Jin’s image and torturing him to the point where he couldn’t fall asleep.

 

It was an ordinary day, yet he stared at the pitch-black ceiling, feeling as heavy as if he were drowning, realizing he might be on the brink of death.

 

What’s today’s date?

 

He looked at his phone and remembered this otherwise mundane Friday.

 

In the darkness, Gu Yu made a final struggle, not wanting to condemn himself.

 

But the surrounding air cruelly carried Shen Jin’s painful coughs—clearly, Shen Jin was trying hard to hold them in but couldn’t.

 

Gu Yu’s frown deepened, and his heart could no longer hold that heavy stone. It fell with a thud, leaving his heart torn and bleeding.

 

His feelings for Shen Jin went beyond just being nervous, jealous, and reluctant. He was like an incurable romantic, suffering every second, thinking about Shen Jin, wishing he could always be by Shen Jin’s side.

 

So, how likely is it that he likes Shen Jin?

 

His last shred of rationality calculated the number: this time, +110%.

 

Adding the previous 10%, 30%, and 50%, it increased by 200%.

 

Including the original 100% before the validation began, all his struggles were deemed invalid.

 

So, the result of this validation is—300%, he likes Shen Jin.