After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 74

The next day, as soon as Shen Jin carefully woke up, trying to get out of bed to make breakfast, a half-asleep Gu Yu pulled him back, holding him protectively in his arms.

“Don’t go…” Gu Yu tightened his grip, his voice warm and slightly whiny, “It’s still early, sleep a little longer.”

Shen Jin remembered the message Gu Yu’s cousin had sent last night, and a strange sense of unease rose inside him. He wanted to behave well, thinking, *Maybe this will help.* “But breakfast…”

He had gotten used to slacking off since he’d been running to the clinic every day, but Gu Yu showed no intention of letting him go. “Doesn’t matter, we’ll just grab something downstairs later.”

They lay side by side on the bed, and Shen Jin, feeling like a small fish caught in Gu Yu’s grasp, wiggled his way back into a comfortable position. Realizing he couldn’t break free, he yawned quietly and relaxed into Gu Yu’s embrace.

A faint smile appeared on Gu Yu’s face as he breathed in the scent of Shen Jin. “Good boy.”

The young alpha’s deep, alluring voice, mixed with the sweet scent of strawberry wine, dispelled Shen Jin’s earlier anxiety and left him bashfully muttering, “…No respect at all. Who are you calling a good boy?”

Gu Yu, still not fully awake, buried his face in Shen Jin’s hair and in a low, teasing voice called out, “Gege~” (big brother), making Shen Jin’s spine tingle. With no choice, Shen Jin gave in and allowed Gu Yu to cuddle him back to sleep for a while longer.

It wasn’t until they were really about to be late that they rushed downstairs, grabbing two bags of buns on their way to work.

Sitting on the back of Gu Yu’s bike, munching on a bun filled with juicy meat, Shen Jin stopped worrying about the message he saw the night before. He thought, *With Gu Yu’s personality, he’ll definitely refuse his cousin’s suggestion and stay with me for the New Year.*

He leaned against Gu Yu’s back, starting to plan the New Year’s Eve menu, thinking about the gifts and red envelopes he would prepare for Gu Yu as a “senior,” and imagining the supermarket aisles full of New Year goods. For the first time, he felt some excitement about the holiday he’d never cared for before.

*

The two of them navigated through the city. This part-time job was busier than Shen Jin had expected, but as Gu Yu had said, it wasn’t as exhausting as he had imagined.

They had time to listen to music and even stopped for a cup of hot milk tea. During the afternoon break, Shen Jin nearly dozed off against Gu Yu’s shoulder, and if it weren’t for the teasing of their coworkers, he might’ve drooled on Gu Yu’s clothes.

“Feeling sleepy?” Gu Yu frowned slightly and asked in a low voice, “Is it because I… last night…”

Shen Jin snapped out of his drowsiness and pushed him away, “Don’t overthink it. Your senior here is a super resilient, space-engineered cabbage!”

Gu Yu couldn’t help but laugh. If Shen Jin hadn’t gotten angry and threatened to start a fight, he might’ve teased him further, asking how this super cabbage got so easily “squished.”

In the afternoon, as the warmth of the sun began to fade, Shen Jin followed Gu Yu up and down the stairs, not really noticing the cold but feeling a bit uncomfortable from the thin layer of sweat on his back.

He wasn’t sure whether to say he was feeling hot or cold, but Gu Yu, noticing first, pulled out a fresh towel from the back of the bike and stuffed it behind his back. “Take it out when it’s dry.”

Shen Jin glanced at Gu Yu, a wide grin spreading across his face. “How thoughtful, little strawberry. Whoever dates you is gonna be so lucky~”

Gu Yu turned his head away. “I’d say the person who dates me would have to be out of their mind—sweating like this while running around with me and still feeling lucky.”

Shen Jin playfully aimed a punch at his shoulder, but Gu Yu caught him by the waist, effortlessly lifting him onto the back of the motorbike.

After goofing around for a bit, they resumed their afternoon deliveries.

The weather stayed clear all day. At some point, they found a couple of nicely shaped sticks in a quiet corner of the city and competed to see who could run up the stairs faster when the elevator was out of order. They also helped an elderly woman find her way at a street corner, both of them getting annoyed along the way.

“Her sons and daughters are so unreliable, sending their mom a GPS pin over WeChat!” Shen Jin fumed.

Gu Yu was equally angry. They complained while running back, and Gu Yu, by now experienced with time management, commented, “We’ll probably be two or three minutes late for this delivery.”

While waiting for the elevator, Shen Jin patted Gu Yu’s back. “I’ll take the blame for you if the customer gets mad.”

“You’ll take the blame?” Gu Yu was texting the customer while hugging Shen Jin’s arm. “I’m more worried you’d just curse them out, and then we’d both end up sleeping under a bridge tomorrow.”

Luckily, they secured the customer’s understanding, and Gu Yu marked the order as delivered while still in the elevator. They didn’t run into any major problems throughout the day, and time flew by.

By the time they finished work at 9 p.m., Gu Yu was about to suggest they head back to the clinic, but Shen Jin suddenly pulled out a vibrant rose from behind his back and handed it to him.

Gu Yu blinked, instinctively taking a step back. “…What’s going on?”

He immediately assumed Shen Jin was giving the flower to him, and his ears turned red as he avoided eye contact.

Unfortunately for him, Shen Jin didn’t care about his shyness. He thrust the flower into Gu Yu’s hands and even stood on tiptoe to give him a serious kiss on the forehead.

“I bought it while waiting for you outside the store. It’s for you.” Shen Jin’s eyes curved with laughter, full of warmth. “Later, your senior will take you to eat something delicious.”

A few curious glances from people around them lasted only a few seconds. Gu Yu carefully but firmly held onto the rose wrapped in brown paper, muttering, “…I don’t even like flowers.”

“But I like you.” Shen Jin, with a mischievous grin, wrapped his arms around Gu Yu’s waist and looked up, pressing him, “Really, you don’t like it?”

No matter how many years passed, Shen Jin’s smug expression was just as devilish as it had been when he was 14. Gu Yu, knowing he was at Shen Jin’s mercy, could only hug him tighter and softly admit, “I like it.”

In the past, Shen Jin had walked past Gu Yu’s classroom countless times, always grinning mischievously, and Gu Yu would find himself involuntarily looking up at him every time, getting caught in Shen Jin’s playful gaze. Just like now, Shen Jin always acted like he’d discovered Gu Yu’s biggest secret, his smile nearly reaching the sky.

Of course, Shen Jin must have seen through his lie. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have urged him to hold on tighter, forcing Gu Yu to grit his teeth and protest, “The flowers will get crushed…!”

In the night breeze, Shen Jin’s laughter filled the air. Gu Yu was on the verge of tears with frustration before Shen Jin finally cupped his face, coaxed him gently, and pulled him toward a barbecue shop near the university town for a late-night snack.

When they arrived at the clinic, Shen Jin wanted Gu Yu to return to the apartment to rest, but Gu Yu, still fuming, dragged him inside without giving him a chance to resist. 

The nurse on duty was familiar with them by now. Seeing Gu Yu holding onto Shen Jin with one hand and delicately clutching the flower with the other, she gave them a curious look. “Got time today to accompany him for his shot?”

Gu Yu nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries with the nurse, and, though he was supposed to maintain his aloof alpha persona, couldn’t hold it together for long. Pointing at Shen Jin, he started bombarding the nurse with questions:

“Sister, does he cry when he comes for his shots alone?”

“He sits here for two or three hours at a time. Could that medically trigger other illnesses?”

“Sister, he’s still coughing at night. How long will it take for him to get better?”

The university town was quiet during the winter break, and the nurse wasn’t too busy, but Shen Jin, embarrassed, tried to hush Gu Yu, whispering, “You’re practically causing a medical disturbance at this point.”

Gu Yu, sulking, held Shen Jin’s fingers without responding. The nurse, on the other hand, seemed delighted by Gu Yu’s frequent “sister” and happily chatted with him for a while. “Don’t worry, just follow the doctor’s advice, and it’ll get better with time.”

“You don’t need to worry either. What would he cry about? He’s practically dragged all the clinic staff up to King-tier in online games.”

“Are you two coming on New Year’s Eve? Only one person is on duty then, and they’ll be leaving for dinner, so if you plan to come, come early.”

Since part of the medication had a mild sedative effect, Shen Jin typically came at night. Gu Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, “Could we skip one day?”

The nurse nodded, indicating it wouldn’t affect the treatment, and Shen Jin was thrilled. “Then I won’t come on New Year’s Eve. The Spring Festival Gala won’t survive without me!”

Thinking of Gu Yu mentioning they’d have three days off from New Year’s Eve to the second day of the new year, Shen Jin excitedly chatted with the nurse about his holiday plans. It wasn’t until he noticed that Gu Yu had fallen asleep, leaning on his shoulder, that he lowered his voice and quietly adjusted the flower still clutched in Gu Yu’s hand.

The nurse smiled knowingly and left, leaving the two of them on the couch, resting against each other.

Just then, the phone rang. Shen Jin glanced at it and saw that Jiang Lan was calling Gu Yu via WeChat.

Gu Yu, still holding tightly to the vibrant rose, was half asleep and couldn’t reach for his phone. “Senior, help me answer it.”

Shen Jin, sighing, ruffled Gu Yu’s hair and answered the call.

He expected Jiang Lan to have something urgent, but instead, upon hearing Shen Jin’s voice, Jiang Lan seemed to suddenly become more reserved, exchanged a few polite words, and quickly prepared to hang up, explaining that he was just bored during the winter break and wanted to chat with Gu Yu.

If Shen Jin wasn’t mistaken, Tao Yan was with Jiang Lan at the time. Tao had greeted them earlier when he thought it was Gu Yu on the call, but once he realized it wasn’t, he hadn’t spoken another word.

“…?” Shen Jin, confused, put down the phone and, out of habit, glanced at the screen. That’s when a few lines of text from Gu Yu’s chat history with his cousin caught his eye.

Cousin: [Okay, I won’t trouble anyone else. I’ll come pick you up on New Year’s Eve.]

The hospital’s bright lights made Shen Jin freeze in place, momentarily unable to comprehend the meaning of these few words.

When he came to his senses, his heart raced with unease, as if something that had been firmly grounded within him had been suddenly uprooted. His hand, moving faster than his thoughts, instinctively clicked open Gu Yu’s conversation with his cousin.

Could it be that Gu Yu was planning to go home for New Year’s?

Or was there some kind of misunderstanding?

But one second later, Shen Jin regretted checking their conversation—he knew full well that he shouldn’t invade someone’s privacy like that. And the idea of a “misunderstanding” was probably just his wishful thinking.

Yet, Gu Yu had explicitly told him before that he didn’t mind him looking at his phone.

With his heart pounding, Shen Jin rationalized his actions with that excuse. He scrolled up and read through a large part of Gu Yu’s conversation with his cousin.

Their exchange wasn’t complicated. Gu Yu’s cousin had been asking him to come home for a while, and last night, Gu Yu finally responded: [Alright, pick me up at 4 PM on New Year’s Eve. There won’t be any traffic then, and I’ll be home just in time for dinner.]

His cousin replied: [That late? Can’t you leave a day earlier?]

Gu Yu answered: [I want to spend a few more hours with him.]

The “him” obviously referred to Shen Jin.

His cousin hesitated for a moment: [Okay… so your partner will be spending New Year’s alone in the university town?]

Faced with his cousin’s question, Gu Yu, either frustrated or torn, responded with just one word: [Yeah.]

Shen Jin scrolled down further to finish reading the conversation, then quickly exited the chat and locked the screen.

Jiang Lan and Tao Yan must have learned about this from Gu Yu’s cousin, which was why they had called Gu Yu earlier to confirm.

Beside him, Gu Yu’s breathing was soft but weary. Shen Jin turned his head slightly and ran his hand through Gu Yu’s clean hair. A wave of heartache and a sour feeling rose in his chest.

He suddenly realized that perhaps he wasn’t a very good boyfriend—he had neglected Gu Yu’s feelings all along, selfishly never considering how much Gu Yu might miss home.

After all, Gu Yu was just a college freshman, still a kid.

When the school year starts, many university students cry quietly in their beds at night, far from the carefree selves they appear to be during the day. Gu Yu, who hadn’t been home for most of the winter break, must have felt even more homesick, especially after working so hard at their part-time job and enduring hardships Shen Jin couldn’t even imagine.

His cousin, who cared deeply for Gu Yu, hadn’t given up on persuading him to come home for New Year’s. It was perfectly normal for Gu Yu to miss his family.

Shen Jin placed his free left hand over the back of Gu Yu’s hand. In his heart, a quiet voice asked: *Have I been making things difficult for you?*

Perhaps from the beginning, Shen Jin shouldn’t have assumed that Gu Yu wouldn’t go home.

If he hadn’t been so foolish as to show such excessive enthusiasm for a holiday that had once meant nothing to him, Gu Yu would have probably explained things to him sooner. Then Jiang Lan and Tao Yan wouldn’t have had to call to ask.

“I’m sorry, I just…”

Under the pale lights of the clinic, Shen Jin lowered his head, holding Gu Yu’s hand tightly, wanting to say something, but he couldn’t muster the courage to finish his sentence.