Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Stop, stop, stop." The direct gaze and the endless smile on Ying Xi's face almost made Li Yang clap a hand over his mouth.

His face burned, as if he’d plunged into hot water. Snapping back to reality, he rushed into the bedroom, closing the door only to cautiously open it again a second later.

"Dreams go the opposite way. Just forget it."

"In the dream, you didn’t reject me," Ying Xi said with a smile, his voice low and magnetic.

His usually unremarkable voice now carried an inexplicable allure, making Li Yang’s ears tingle. He said stiffly, "That’s why dreams go the opposite way."

He closed the door again, pressing his back against it, his muffled voice slipping through the gap: "Just... drop this dream thing."

No wonder Ying Xi had been acting so strange today. He shouldn’t have asked—now he was the flustered one.

Silence fell outside the door.

Li Yang quietly cracked it open a sliver, only to look up and find Ying Xi leaning down to meet his gaze.

Face to face, their noses nearly touched, breaths mingling intimately.

Reality and dream merged at that moment, pulling Ying Xi back into the Ferris wheel of his mind.

He leaned back slightly, his gaze unconsciously lingering on Li Yang’s glistening lips.

"Snap out of it." That hungry look made Li Yang push Ying Xi’s head away with a palm, his alarmed tone completely shattering the ambiguous atmosphere.

The spell broke. Ying Xi retreated to a safe distance and immediately bowed deeply in apology. "Sorry, I was distracted just now... I’ll take the couch tonight."

"Uh-huh." Li Yang appeared calm and indifferent, but his thoughts were scrambled, too scattered to care about Ying Xi’s overly earnest apology.

Images of Ying Xi leaning in flashed through his mind, followed by the startling heat of his breath. Li Yang could even smell a crisp minty scent lingering between them.

This was all Ying Xi’s fault.

That night, Li Yang had a strange dream.

It was a continuation of the kiss that never happened.

Except this time, Ying Xi didn’t move—instead, Li Yang rose on his toes and, with some difficulty, pressed his lips against Ying Xi’s.

Those deep, smiling eyes in the dream shocked Li Yang awake.

He opened his eyes, threw off the covers, and found his face burning like he'd been sunburnt.

Screwed.

Li Yang got out of bed, pressed the button beside him, and waited for the curtains to open before cracking the window and sticking his head out.

The icy air cooled the heat from that dream. Then, as if sensing something, he turned his head.

Next to him, Ying Xi’s face was also turned toward the wind, his hair completely tousled. His face was shadowed, the blurred outline only making him look even more striking.

Li Yang: "..."

Of course.

"Can’t sleep either?" Ying Xi asked hoarsely.

Li Yang thought of the dream and abruptly turned his head away, his hand instinctively moving to cover his face before realizing it was pointless and dropping it again.

"Just a little insomnia. Getting some air."

The boy’s gentle voice carried over with the wind: "You're blushing, Yangyang."

"It’s the insomnia," Li Yang said, lightly patting his cheeks and letting the cold wind dissipate the flush.

Ying Xi chuckled.

Neither of them mentioned the elephant in the room, each keeping their own complicated thoughts to themselves.

The wind moaned, carrying a biting chill. Li Yang’s cheeks grew cold, and when he touched them, they were wet.

He looked up.

The dark sky was dotted with faint white specks at first, growing larger within a minute.

It was snowing.

Li Yang stared blankly at the swirling snowflakes, real happiness flashing in his beautiful eyes.

Without thinking, he glanced at Ying Xi—though he couldn’t explain why.

The icy wind couldn’t dispel the ambiguous tension between them. If anything, the first snow just amped it up.

The city slowly turned white.

The next day, the snow had stopped, leaving the ground blanketed in thick snow.

Li Yang aimlessly kicked through it, his pale skin practically glowing against the white backdrop, though the dark circles under his eyes were impossible to miss.

"You've got matching dark circles!" Wen Yun overtook them, looking back and forth in amazement. "How’d you manage that? Teach me."

"They don’t," Li Yang said, his mind fried from overthinking all night to come up with a better excuse. "Just insomnia. Gaokao is coming up."

Wen Yun gave him a knowing look that made it hard not to suspect he’d misunderstood.

"Really, just insomnia." Li Yang rubbed his eyes, remembering how not long ago, he’d only wanted to avoid this whole mess. Now, his thoughts were so tangled it felt like thousands of people were having a rave in his head.

And it was all because of Ying Xi.

Li Yang couldn’t help but glance at him.

Though the dark circles were noticeable, they did nothing to diminish Ying Xi’s looks—especially today, in his short jacket, his long legs were basically a tourist attraction that drew everyone's eyes.

"Alright then," Wen Yun said. "I was gonna make a big one to nail you with, but since you didn’t sleep well, I’ll just make a small one."

He scooped up a handful of snow, packed a loose snowball, and lightly tossed it at Li Yang’s head.

The snow scattered, some dusting his forehead before slowly sliding down.

Li Yang squinted, brushing it off. His dark lashes brushed away some snow, which soon melted, leaving them damp. He scrubbed at his eyes, irritated.

At some point, Wen Yun and Ying Xi had begun giving him intense looks.

"What are you looking at me for?" Li Yang mused curiously after rubbing his eyes.

Wen Yun whipped out his phone and took a close-up of Li Yang's face, inspecting it closely.

"Li Yang, you're so cute! How come I never noticed how adorable you were before? Aww, you're even cuter than my favorite pink stuffed bunny!"

In the photo, Li Yang's face was perfectly proportioned and flawless, his skin delicate, with no imperfections to be found. The way he rubbed his eyes added a touch of sleepy charm.

Li Yang had heard the word "cute" so often that it had lost its impact. Still, he couldn't help but wonder—if so many people thought he was cute, did Ying Xi feel the same?

He pondered for two seconds before shaking his head abruptly, grabbing some snow, shaping it into a ball, and playfully lobbing it at Wen Yun with a grin.

Before, he hadn’t paid much attention during the daily routine to and from school, but today, perhaps because of the snow, the area was swarming with students, many of whom were having snowball fights.

Li Yang noticed that the school still had tons of Betas, while Omegas were few and far between—almost all of them concentrated in his class.

At that moment, they found themselves right in the middle of the snowball fight.

Realizing this, Li Yang quickly grabbed Wen Yun’s sleeve with one hand and Ying Xi’s arm with the other, yanking them back from the spot.

The next second, several large snowballs landed exactly where they had been standing, smashing onto the ground.

That was close.

Li Yang let go, only to notice Ying Xi holding a snowball in his hand. Assuming he wanted to join the fight, Li Yang said, "You can go play up ahead."

Ying Xi shook his head, his fingers skillfully molding the snow.

Li Yang’s attention was drawn to a commotion ahead. Looking up, he saw Jiang Su and He Shi engaged in a snowball war.

Jiang Su had formed a snowball the size of a head and hurled it at He Shi, missing completely. Instead, He Shi retaliated by pelting Jiang Su with three smaller snowballs right in the face.

Furious but powerless, Jiang Su kicked one of his goons and snapped at the onlookers, "What are you staring at? Scram! Don’t mess with my game."

His arrogant, obnoxious attitude instantly rallied the crowd to He Shi’s side. People began forming snowballs and handing them to He Shi, leaving Jiang Su completely overwhelmed.

"Pathetic," the top-tier Omega sneered down at Jiang Su before catching sight of a familiar figure on the school building’s corridor. His expression instantly softened as he waved cheerfully.

The bitter cold seeped into every exposed inch of skin, sending shivers down Li Yang’s spine. He instinctively huddled into himself but still managed to smile back at He Shi.

Suddenly, a slender hand appeared in his line of sight, holding a perfectly miniature snowman. Its eyes were made of pebbles, its mouth a thin twig, and its arms curled paper strips.

Li Yang reached out and gently poked it. Though inanimate, the snowman inexplicably became more adorable the longer he looked.

"For you," Ying Xi said, offering the snowman toward him.

Perhaps because he had been packing it too firmly for too long, his fingers were red from the cold.

Li Yang hesitated for a moment before holding out both hands, palms up, gazing expectantly at Ying Xi, waiting for him to hand it over.

But Ying Xi didn’t move, holding his position as if he had no intention of giving it to him.

"Isn’t it for me?" Li Yang tilted his head in confusion, wondering if he’d changed his mind. "You don’t want to give it to me anymore?"

"I’ll hold onto it," Ying Xi said with a small smile. "Let’s go back to the classroom."

Li Yang went still, understanding his reasoning almost instantly.

"Why won’t he give it to you?" Wen Yun, still not getting it, glanced around. "Didn’t he make that snowman for you? I was going to take a picture."

Li Yang curled his fingers, rubbing his thumb against his chilled index finger before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "It’s too cold. I can’t hold it."

"Ohhh—" Wen Yun drew out the word in sudden realization. "That makes sense."

"Stop overthinking," Li Yang said. "If it weren’t so cold, you’d be covered in snowballs from me by now."

Wen Yun cracked up. "You really hate the cold, huh?"

"Kind of," Li Yang admitted.

It was mostly his hands—they turned red and stiff quickly when exposed to the cold.

"Then hurry back to the classroom," Wen Yun said, stepping into the elevator and waving Li Yang in. "Come on!"

Ying Xi remained still, holding the snowman, glancing sideways at them.

Their eyes met across the distance.

Suddenly, Ying Xi raised his hand higher and, with a playful shake of his palm, mimicked the snowman’s voice, putting on a silly voice: "Yangyang, come in quickly, or you’ll catch a cold!"

The people inside the elevator broke into laughter, though many tried to stifle it upon realizing who Ying Xi was, only to fail and dissolve into suppressed snickers.

Li Yang’s eye twitched as he quickly stepped into the elevator and pressed the door-close button.

"You’re so childish," he muttered, criticizing Ying Xi’s goofy snowman act—yet his lips kept twitching into a smile.

Ying Xi lowered his voice. "It rarely snows in City A. The last time it snowed was..."

He trailed off, thinking back. Li Yang’s mind flashed with something, and he instinctively answered, "Six years ago?"

"Right, six years ago. We were twelve then," Ying Xi said, smiling at their reflections on the elevator wall.

Li Yang went rigid, an odd sensation washing over him.

A hazy memory surfaced in his mind—a heavy snowfall, someone lying in the deep snow, pressing out a human-shaped imprint before laughing and inviting him to lie down in it.

This wasn’t his memory. And there was no way he could’ve known it had snowed six years ago.

Was it the original host’s memory?

Something felt off.

An answer dangled just beyond his grasp, teasingly close yet still elusive.

The elevator doors opened, and people slowly filed out.

Li Yang pushed the thoughts away. Lately, whether due to Ying Xi’s influence or not, he found himself overthinking things.

The classroom was warm, heated against the chill. Ying Xi placed the snowman on the corridor railing, positioning it so its face was turned toward Li Yang.

Every time he looked up, he could see it through the front door.

Li Yang had assumed the snowman would melt quickly, but it lasted all morning, only the very bottom beginning to sag slightly.

By noon, Ying Xi patched up its base and perched it atop a larger snowman someone else had built, then took out his phone to photograph it from every angle.

The more Li Yang observed, the more he realized how much Ying Xi’s outer appearance contrasted with his true nature.

He appeared cold and indifferent, but in reality, he was sincere and meticulous.

...and so on.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Li Yang lowered his head, wanting to bury his face in the snowman to cool his head.

Ying Xi was quick to block his forehead, stopping him.

"Did you trip?" he asked gently.

Li Yang blinked slowly. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I tripped."

Ying Xi withdrew his hand and raised his phone. "Wanna take a picture with the snowman?"

The warmth on his forehead wouldn't fade, and Li Yang found himself forced to face a fact.

Even such a brief contact made him get hung up on Ying Xi constantly. If this continued, their relationship would inevitably undergo a massive change.

Whatever.

Li Yang crouched down, idly tracing lines in the snow with his fingers, totally giving up.

After all, feelings weren’t something he could control just because he wanted to. If he really ended up liking Ying Xi, then whatever.

Besides, their relationship was already unusual to begin with.

Thinking this, Li Yang felt much lighter. He threw up a peace sign at Ying Xi’s camera. "Go ahead, take one for me."

He tilted his head slightly with a soft laugh, his dark eyes sparkling, his pink lips looking healthy and pink. His radiant appearance became the brightest thing in the snowy landscape.

Ying Xi’s eyes were intense as he raised his phone and pressed the shutter, snapping dozens of photos in rapid succession, each one exactly right.

Li Yang went from puzzled to his smile freezing before finally standing up to stop Ying Xi. "One is enough. You don’t need to take so many."

"Taking photos? Help me take some too." Wen Yun popped up out of nowhere, handing his phone to Li Yang and posing in front of the snowman. "How’s this?"

"Okay," Li Yang said, snapping a few shots from different angles.

Ying Xi kept at it even when Li Yang was taking photos for Wen Yun.

By the end, Li Yang stared silently at the hundred-plus pretty much the same photos before selecting the best ones and sending them to himself.

"Can we take a photo together?" Ying Xi asked, dead serious.

"Sure." Li Yang felt he was being overly cautious—asking to take a photo like he was proposing.

He almost said so outright, but he bit back the words.

Better to be careful. After all, Ying Xi’s thought process worked differently, and misunderstandings could be awkward.

He passed the phone into Wen Yun’s hands—still engrossed in reviewing the photos—as Ying Xi said, "Help us take a few."

Hearing Ying Xi ask for his help so politely, Wen Yun was flattered.

Ying Xi straightened his clothes and stood to the snowman’s right.

Li Yang stood on the left, wondering whether to pose, when Wen Yun chimed in, "Get closer, won’t you? Aren’t you taking a photo together? You could do a gesture, like doing a heart."

A heart?

Li Yang took a couple seconds to work out how to make a heart shape with his hands, forming two C-shapes.

"Not separately—both of you reach over the snowman and make one heart together," Wen Yun clarified.

Li Yang adjusted, placing his hand on the snowman’s head, getting flustered under Ying Xi’s intense stare.

"Not like that, each doing one half," Wen Yun demonstrated, motioning for them to follow. "One hand each."

Li Yang’s hands seemed to disobey him, flailing about before barely managing half a heart.

But a photo like this would unmistakably scream a romantic relationship to anyone who saw it.

He was just going to change poses when Ying Xi’s fingers touched his, finishing the heart.

The moment their fingers connected, heat shot through him. Li Yang’s eyes went wide.

"Hey, that’s it!" Wen Yun got the shot. "Done! Just one shot, but it looks great!"

Li Yang yanked his hand away, moving so fast he nearly knocked off the snowman’s stick arm, catching it just in time.

Ying Xi took the phone, and they checked out the picture together.

It clearly captured Li Yang’s widened eyes from shock, his smile a little forced. A closer look revealed his entire body was tense all over.

In contrast, Ying Xi was cool as a cucumber, his face turned toward Li Yang, his lips curved in a grin nearly as wide as the snowman’s goofy grin.

"Li Yang looks a little nervous here," Wen Yun suddenly pointed out. "But it’s still really nice."

Li Yang couldn't even look at the heart gesture, trying to sound casual. "I wasn’t nervous."

"It’s nice." Ying Xi grinned, pleased. "Can I keep it?"

Li Yang nodded.

If he didn’t admit to being nervous, then he wasn’t nervous. Who didn’t feel a little awkward in photos?

His gaze dropped, and Li Yang suddenly noticed Ying Xi’s slightly trembling hand.

Assuming it was from being cold, he said, "Let’s go back to the classroom. You’re shivering."

"No." Ying Xi clenched his trembling hand, feeling like a total creep—just touching Li Yang’s hand while making a heart had left him way too worked up. "I’m just too thrilled."

"Thrilled?" Wen Yun looked confused. "From taking a photo? It’s not like it’s a wedding shoot."

He could tell the two had made progress recently and was curious about their current stage.

It hit him in a flash of realization where Ying Xi’s excitement came from. The hand at his side burned.

He clenched and unclenched it before turning away and taking off. "Let’s go back."

Li Yang walked so fast that by the time Wen Yun came to, only he and Ying Xi remained.

"Are you and Li Yang together now?"

"No." Ying Xi set the amusement park photo as his wallpaper and the snowman photo as his lock screen before pocketing his phone, his gaze resolute. "I’m working on it."

Wen Yun didn’t know what to say. "Well... good luck."

A Quality Alpha having to try this hard to pursue a Beta—people would lose it if they heard that.

But when it came to Li Yang and Ying Xi, it totally tracked.

"Thank you." Ying Xi smiled slightly. "You'll get a prime seat at our wedding."

Wen Yun gave a thumbs up.

He's already planning marriage—clearly, his relationship with Li Yang went way deeper than Wen Yun thought.

"But I feel like you'll need to work even harder." Wen Yun suddenly remembered something and glanced in the direction Li Yang had left. "The class president is so adorable. A lot of people like him, and with graduation approaching, it's open season for confessions."

Plenty of people liked Ying Xi too, but he was hard to approach, being a Quality Alpha.

In comparison, confessing to Li Yang, a Beta, was much easier.

What if someone actually won him over?

Ying Xi's expression darkened. "I know. Thank you."

Wen Yun was about to suggest they walk back together, but before Wen Yun could blink, Ying Xi was already several steps ahead, chasing after Li Yang.

Perhaps because it was the first snowfall, Li Yang saw people confessing left and right on his way back to the classroom.

Mostly Alphas and Omegas.

Just as he was wondering why there were no Betas, a pink envelope shaped like a heart suddenly appeared before him.