After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 51

Shen Jin and Gu Yu hugged for a while before parting ways to go upstairs and take care of their own things.

 

In the guesthouse, there were only two or three groups of people staying that day. The others quickly mingled together by nature, while only Gu Yu went to the yard, carefully making rabbits out of snow.

 

On the third floor, Shen Jin and Qin Zhu were staying in a retro-style standard room.

 

As they packed their things, Shen Jin asked, “The terrain nearby is quite complex… If you’re pretending to be drunk tonight, which direction will you head? I see there’s a bamboo forest about seven or eight hundred meters down, which would be quite suitable.”

 

Qin Zhu replied, “Similar to what I had in mind. The bamboo forest and the slope behind it are both good. Let’s go with the bamboo forest—when the time comes, you can have Du Jun come this way to find us.”

 

“Okay.” Shen Jin looked at him thoughtfully and said, “It’s fine to take a beating, but remember to get as much information out of him as you can.”

 

Qin Zhu, looking like the typical internet-addicted teenager, was about 175 cm tall, with a delicate and slender build. As a beta, he didn’t have much muscle strength. Shen Jin, with his excellent combat skills in the esports department, was not only good because of his height but also because of the contrast with his peers.

 

Under the warm air, Qin Zhu showed a look of disdain. “Got it, you dutiful son.”

 

He then took out his phone, planning to message Yan Ze. “I’ll let Yan Ze know.”

 

“Are you using your brain? How many times have I told you that WeChat leaves evidence?” Shen Jin stopped him, saying, “This is something to discuss face-to-face. I’ll go downstairs and talk to him, and also find Gu Yu to hang out. You check with the boss for the Wi-Fi password.”

 

Qin Zhu gave him a look that suggested he wanted to kick him down from the third floor. “Are you going to die if you’re not around an alpha?”

 

Shen Jin stubbornly replied, “As soon as I see him, I get all wet and only my mouth is dry. What can I do? Just looking for a way to moisturize my mouth.”

 

Qin Zhu responded with just one word: “Get lost.”

 

The winter sun was lazy. Shen Jin quickly closed the door and went to the second floor, hiding some thoughts.

 

Qin Zhu would be in the bamboo forest below the guesthouse.

 

Shen Jin clenched his hands, went alone to the second-floor corridor, and called Yan Ze over, telling him that Qin Zhu would be on the… upper slope.

 

After Yan Ze confirmed with his arms crossed, he said, “Okay, after Qin Zhu ‘disappears’ in the evening, I’ll have Du Jun go up alone to search.”

 

Shen Jin’s eyes gleamed with a hidden light as he nodded and discussed many details with Yan Ze.

 

The only thing Shen Jin hadn’t told Yan Ze or Qin Zhu from the beginning was that he didn’t want Qin Zhu to suffer this loss. When Du Jun reached the mountain direction, it would be Shen Jin himself whom he encountered.

 

Wherever Du Jun went, the others would end up finishing the matter at that place, with no extra risk, just with Shen Jin instead of Du Jun grabbing his collar.

 

Before the scheduled time, to be safe, Shen Jin also took a suppressant. He thought: No matter how you look at it, I’m better at resisting and fighting than my son.

 

But he couldn’t say this out loud, lest Qin Zhu, being a dutiful son, disagreed like Xu Tingyun, making the minority obedient to the majority irrelevant.

 

Laughter could be heard from the second-floor corridor. Shen Jin intended to go to the pantry to get some snacks for Gu Yu, but the large floor-to-ceiling window reflected the figure downstairs, which halted his steps.

 

In the snow scene adorned with a touch of green, Gu Yu, tall at 189 cm and wrapped warmly, still seemed small to Shen Jin, like a quiet little boy of seven or eight years old, earnestly adorable.

 

Shen Jin’s gaze lingered on Gu Yu’s wind-blown red ears, and he stopped, pressing his forehead against the window, standing quietly.

 

So nice.

 

Seven years had passed. Just after he had crossed that rainy night, thinking it would be unlikely to see Gu Yu again in this lifetime, Gu Yu had returned to a place so close, just a floor away, just like when they were young, wanting to see him again, just going downstairs.

 

*

 

It was unclear how much time had passed, but Qin Zhu’s voice came to Shen Jin’s ear: “Hey, what was the director’s audition requirement for this scene, portraying a lovesick little wife gazing at her husband?”

 

Shen Jin came to his senses, his face reddened by the cold window.

 

“Get lost,” he replied to Qin Zhu. “I haven’t even licked the glass yet.”

 

Qin Zhu, with a look of frustration, started to roughhouse with Shen Jin in front of the window. They only stopped when Song Yizhi approached, and both of them eased up, looking like civilized college student omegas.

 

Song Yizhi, dressed in a white sweater, appeared soft and timid, hesitantly wanting to talk to them: “Brother Shen Jin, what’s this?”

 

Among them, aside from their group, the others were all alphas, and Song Yizhi probably felt there was no common topic with the alphas.

 

Shen Jin immediately started introducing Qin Zhu: “This is my son—come, Xiao Zhu, this is Uncle Song Yizhi, a student from B University next door, a friend of Gu Yu’s since childhood.”

 

“Fuck your grandpa,” Qin Zhu cursed, but under the pressure of Song Yizhi’s omega aura, he could only show some “omega” awareness and said gently, “Hello… You can call me Qin Zhu.”

 

Song Yizhi’s face, flushed by the air conditioning, looked very well-behaved.

 

He nodded and exchanged a few pleasantries with them, then suddenly shyly asked about omega-related topics: “Brother Shen Jin, Brother Qin Zhu… Are the athletes at your school reliable?”

 

Shen Jin was puzzled: “What’s up?”

 

Song Yizhi replied: “Nothing much, just that several people added me on WeChat… saying B University and C University are close anyway.”

 

He was very fair and soft, speaking slowly, and looked like the type of young master from a wealthy family that sports alphas would like.

 

Both Shen Jin and Qin Zhu weren’t surprised but were subtly worried.

 

Out of concern for the omega, Qin Zhu reminded the newly acquainted child: “You can add and get to know other people, but make sure not to interact with someone named Du Jun from B University.”

 

Shen Jin also nodded: “We all live in the university town. If they want to take you out, you can let me know.”

 

Song Yizhi nodded, blushing as he showed them several friend requests in his contact list, which was no exaggeration to call a star-studded affair.

 

Among them was indeed Du Jun.

 

Qin Zhu suggested rejecting him, but Song Yizhi was curious: “Why? Du Jun… I remember he seemed the most honest. The others encouraged him to add me.”

 

Qin Zhu and Shen Jin exchanged glances and quickly explained to Song Yizhi, casually mentioning the past incident.

 

“So you’re still hanging out with him?” Song Yizhi, as an omega, naturally felt scared hearing such things. “Isn’t that almost like dealing with a rapist? He’s clashed with you before…”

 

The two men looked at each other, and Shen Jin quickly clarified: “It’s just social etiquette. We’re familiar with the other members of the swimming team. Sometimes we include him in group activities—he doesn’t dare to cause trouble now, and the others are quite nice.”

 

“Oh… I see.” Song Yizhi smiled shyly. “I also think the others are pretty good, and they all like me a lot.”

 

It seemed like Song Yizhi was expecting a reaction from the two beside him, but unfortunately, neither Qin Zhu nor Shen Jin had any special response.

 

Shen Jin complimented: “Our Yizhi is such a beautiful omega, who wouldn’t like him?”

 

Qin Zhu, as a fake omega and a true beta, simply laughed and said, “I even find myself liking him a bit.”

 

“…” Song Yizhi wrinkled his forehead slightly, keeping his smile. “Thank you.”

 

The three of them added each other on WeChat, and while chatting by the window, Gu Yu downstairs had probably already built a large pile of little snow rabbits.

 

Qin Zhu glanced outside, jokingly asking Song Yizhi, “You’ve known Gu Yu since he was a child? Any childhood photos of him? Especially ones where he’s performing with a painted face and a mole on his forehead.”

 

Song Yizhi, amused by his teasing, said, “No, he’s always been very aloof, so I never gave up, always wanting to play with him. At first, Tao Yan and Jiang Lan even saw Gu Yu as a rival.”

 

It seemed Song Yizhi had matured and no longer called Gu Yu “brother.”

 

Shen Jin explained to Qin Zhu, “Tao Yan and Jiang Lan grew up with them too.”

 

But Qin Zhu’s originally friendly gaze turned cold as he said to Song Yizhi, “Is that so? It’s a good thing Gu Yu doesn’t like you at all.”

 

“…Yeah.” Song Yizhi’s gaze fixed on Gu Yu’s figure as he replied, “And I don’t like him either. Otherwise, Shen Jin wouldn’t be involved at all.”

 

Shen Jin furrowed his brow, realizing that Song Yizhi shouldn’t have spoken like that. Before he could speak, Qin Zhu directly asked, “Xiao Song, how long have you been playing the green tea act?”

 

Song Yizhi was taken aback, urgently saying, “W-what do you mean?”

 

His flustered and indignant reaction was still cute, but Qin Zhu answered sincerely, “It means I hope you’d raise your level and stop showing off your bronze skills in front of the national server’s mid-laner.”

 

Seeing Song Yizhi’s face turn red, Shen Jin unusually refrained from speaking up. Qin Zhu, however, still wasn’t satisfied and nudged Shen Jin lightly, continuing to ask Song Yizhi, “The one named He Senzhou didn’t come to add you, did he?”

 

Song Yizhi looked confused, “No…”

 

“That’s good,” Qin Zhu said. “At least he still has some sense. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even have his ashes left after a cremation.”

 

Afterward, Qin Zhu pulled Shen Jin away, saying, “We need to come up with a plan to make Gu Yu cut ties with this green tea.”

 

Shen Jin glanced at Song Yizhi’s expression and, for the first time, didn’t intervene, instead following Qin Zhu downstairs.

 

At the corner, Qin Zhu asked, “Why the hell didn’t you call him out? You were pretty vocal about the jungle monsters before, weren’t you?”

 

“…Who owns the jungle monsters again?” Shen Jin hooked his shoulder and explained, “I didn’t think he was that problematic before, as long as he didn’t harm others—just a bit spoiled. But now it seems… it’s indeed not right.”

 

He had to admit, Song Yizhi had rarely been considered in a negative light before. As an omega, he had always disliked others jumping to conclusions.

 

Others might see a cute and soft omega like Song Yizhi as a green tea, while someone strong and tall like him was said to have no omega traits. He found such malice very irritating.

 

But Song Yizhi’s recent comment had truly hit a nerve and felt off to him.

 

“Is it not my business?” He felt confused. “Gu Yu and I have known each other since we were eleven or twelve. I might have been his first… awakening. How can it not be my business?”

 

“…” Qin Zhu was silent for a few seconds before replying with disdain, “Not quite.”

 

The two of them headed into the courtyard, with Shen Jin wanting to ask Gu Yu for clarification.

 

Qin Zhu waited at the gate with crossed arms, while Shen Jin secretly approached Gu Yu and asked, “Making rabbits?”

 

Gu Yu turned his head, nervously trying to think of something romantic suitable for the snowy scene. Unexpectedly, Shen Jin suddenly asked in a low voice, “Gu Yu, when you first… had that experience, who appeared in your dreams or thoughts?”

 

Gu Yu was stunned, his ears turning a bright red.

 

This puzzled Shen Jin, who hesitated, “W-Was it really me?”

 

He recalled that he and Gu Yu had many intimate moments when they were young.

 

When playing basketball, Gu Yu accidentally knocked him down and, out of responsibility, had to hold his ankle and blow on his knee wound.

 

During fights, he had been on top of Gu Yu, clenching his fists, but Gu Yu had suddenly turned, flushing red with anger, and had to get him off.

 

In two summers, when he poured cool water over his neck, Gu Yu, upon seeing it, would clench his fists and criticize him for wasting water.

 

Looking back, although they were rivals, he had always been unrestrained in front of Gu Yu. Gu Yu might have suffered some peculiar torment from him.

 

In the empty courtyard, their breaths formed white clouds between them. Gu Yu stood up and, with his gloves just touched by the snow, touched Shen Jin’s neck, causing Shen Jin to shiver and shrink his shoulders, immediately giving in, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry—”

 

But Gu Yu wouldn’t let go. He pulled Shen Jin into an embrace, clearly very angry, “Senior, you’re not at fault. How could you be wrong?”

 

The two wrestled in the falling snowflakes, Shen Jin begging for mercy. Gu Yu, however, intensified his tickling, making Shen Jin cry out for help, “Quick, help me, Father appoints you as the crown prince—”

 

Hearing this, Qin Zhu immediately squatted down and threw a handful of snow at them, “The Qing Dynasty is dead.”

 

The two of them began throwing snowballs at each other, but most were blocked by Gu Yu.

 

“Damn!” Qin Zhu, without gloves, had his hands turning red from the cold while having to deal with this dog food, and just wanted to make a big snowball to take Gu Yu down with him.

 

As the snowball fight was in full swing, someone nearby handed Qin Zhu a pair of black gloves, saying, “…Wear these while you play.”

 

Qin Zhu looked up to find it was He Senzhou.

 

He Senzhou’s clean black hair was tousled by the wind, with some snowflakes in it, unusually quiet compared to his usual loud self.

 

Qin Zhu took the gloves, sneering, “So you’ve changed your attitude because you found out I’m actually an omega? Does your old classmate know you’re giving gloves used by you to other omegas?”

 

He Senzhou took a step forward, appearing flustered and unsure of what to say, simply responding, “I’ve broken up with him… He never liked me anyway.”

 

“Oh?” Qin Zhu raised an eyebrow, mocking, “Then you could just find another reproductive organ to be with.”

 

He Senzhou, who had always been unable to argue with Qin Zhu, turned red in the face, “I-I’m not…”

 

“Not what?” Qin Zhu threw the gloves back, “You like the differentiated gender, not people. Am I wrong?”

 

He Senzhou, who had never faced such sharp ridicule, couldn’t respond and wanted to retreat, but his eyes were drawn to Qin Zhu’s red, cold hands.

 

Whether or not they would get frostbite, he didn’t know, but he knew it wasn’t wise for someone who plays games with their hands.

 

Seeing Qin Zhu about to make more snowballs, He Senzhou, with a determined heart, forcibly pulled Qin Zhu’s hand to put on the gloves.

 

However, this action led to him receiving a slap from Qin Zhu. After hitting him, Qin Zhu turned and went into the hall without leaving any courtesy, “If you keep being handsy, watch out for getting cut.”

 

The snow had stopped, and Gu Yu noticed something was wrong. He stopped the play and took Shen Jin to the door, asking, “What’s wrong?”

 

He Senzhou looked stubborn, his eyes misty like a pitiful, abandoned puppy, but he said, “It’s nothing. Let’s go. It’s time to eat.”

 

Inside, people were calling for dinner. As the dishes were being served, Shen Jin rubbed his chin against Gu Yu’s and said, “We’ll have some drinks later. You can rest early and don’t worry about me. I’ll find you tomorrow.”

 

“…Okay.” Gu Yu initially wanted to appear more aloof, but couldn’t help but repeatedly advise, “Don’t drink too much, it’s bad for your stomach. Eat something before drinking, milk is best. If they smoke, stay away, and definitely don’t smoke yourself. Understand?”

 

Shen Jin hesitated for a moment but remained unusually obedient, nodding repeatedly.

 

After he left, Gu Yu turned to He Senzhou and asked, “Did you get scolded?”

 

He Senzhou tucked the gloves back into his pocket and said, “Yeah. I think… I did something wrong.”

 

Gu Yu seemed to have guessed, “Like being too eager to deny your true feelings, leading to your partner leaving you?”

 

He Senzhou nodded, looking down and wiping his eyes, “But you can rest assured… Senior Shen Jin probably won’t abandon you.”

 

“…” Gu Yu’s fist tightened, “Thanks, but I’d still like to remain a primate.”

 

The two returned to the dining table, and the snow that had stopped began to fall again, gently, pressing down the branches outside.