Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Li Yang’s mind went blank, a wave of guilt washing over him as if he’d been caught red-handed. His eyes darted around, deliberately avoiding Ying Xi’s gaze.

“No,” he blurted out, though the tremor in his voice betrayed his lack of conviction.

“You first, get up,” Li Yang said.

The intimate, ambiguous position was too distracting for clear thought. He lowered his lashes, completely evading Ying Xi’s stare. Under the light, his fair, translucent skin was mesmerizing—impossible to look away from.

Ying Xi obediently sat back, released his hand, and chuckled softly. “Seriously, nothing?”

The intoxicating haze faded, and Li Yang regained his composure, stiffening. “No.”

“So it was a dream?” Ying Xi propped his chin on his hand, feigning deep thought. “Did you dream about kissing me?”

Wait, wasn’t he asleep? How could he have noticed the stolen kiss?

Li Yang buried his face in the pillow before the blush could betray him, his voice slightly hoarse. “I don’t know.”

“Lights off,” he mumbled. “Ying Xi, turn them off.”

If the light stayed on, he’d die of embarrassment.

A low, pleasant laugh echoed in the room before the lights finally went out.

Li Yang sighed in relief, cautiously peeking out.

Ying Xi lay beside him, head resting on his arm, watching him with a smile.

In the dark, those eyes shone with unmistakable tenderness.

Li Yang lowered his voice in warning. “The boundary. You should go back.”

“Really nothing?” In the dim room, his vision blurred, but his hearing sharpened. Ying Xi’s voice was especially captivating now. “Did Yangyang truly not kiss me while I was asleep?”

It felt as if, unless he gave Ying Xi the answer he wanted, this night would drag on endlessly.

Li Yang shut his eyes, stiffening his neck, and simply admitted the truth. “Fine, I did.”

He raised his voice, bolstering his courage. “I didn’t mean to. It was just one kiss—a second, then I pulled away.”

Fidgeting with the ring on his middle finger, his thoughts and words tangled, unsure of what he was even saying. “If you want, kiss me back.”

Everything froze. The second the words left his mouth, Li Yang wanted to vanish.

This wasn’t like him at all.

Ying Xi leaned in, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Not now. I’ll collect later.”

Li Yang’s face burned, not daring to think about when that “later” would be.

He yanked the blanket over his head, then just as quickly tossed it aside, his cheeks on fire, body overheating as his thoughts scattered.

The room was warm, so Li Yang didn’t feel cold. Instead, after a slight relaxation, he drifted off to sleep.

Half-asleep, fingers brushed his cheek, trailed to his ear, and gave the lobe a soft pinch before pulling away.

Li Yang blinked groggily.

Morning came. The blanket was over him—had he pulled it up, or had someone else?

Ying Xi wasn’t in the room.

Li Yang eyed the plush toy marking their divide, relieved that despite last night’s incident, he hadn’t crossed over to Ying Xi’s side.

He picked up his phone. His contacts were few, and aside from Wen Yun’s holiday greetings, there were no other messages.

Then, as he scrolled down, he spotted the chat with Wen Xinci. Opening it, he was hit with a wall of messages—overwhelming.

Li Yang’s eye twitched.

Wen Xinci was still persistently texting: “It’s late. Still asleep?”

“What time are you going to school tomorrow?”

With the New Year’s holiday and the weekend combined, they had three days off. School resumed tomorrow.

Li Yang could already guess—if he gave a specific time, Wen Xinci would absolutely camp out at the school gates to wait for him.

Getting straight to the point, Li Yang replied, “Wen Xinci, we can be friends, but this is too much.”

Wen Xinci: “You replied! My New Year’s wish worked.”

Li Yang: “Stop texting. I muted you—I won’t see them.”

Wen Xinci: “Then I’ll stop. Can you unmute me?”

Li Yang agreed, tacking on a late “Happy New Year.”

Wen Xinci sent an excited sticker but, true to his word, didn’t spam.

The curtains were still closed, faint light leaking in. Li Yang pressed the button beside him.

With a soft beep, the curtains slowly parted.

The sunlight outside felt unreal, like summer.

The snow had stopped, the white world melting away.

Kids were everywhere, having snowball fights, the air buzzing with noise.

Li Yang stared, vague images flickering in his mind before fading, gone for good.

Frowning, he gazed blankly outside, long lashes lowering, oblivious to his growling stomach.

“Yangyang.” A soft voice called from behind. “Time to eat.”

Li Yang startled, rubbing his temples. “Lately, I can’t stop spacing out.”

“After eating, we’ll go to the hospital,” Ying Xi said.

In white loungewear, he looked soft, none of his usual edge.

Li Yang nodded. After washing up, passing Ying Xi, he paused for no reason.

“Actually… I can smell your pheromones.”

Ying Xi, who had just closed the bedroom door, froze mid-motion. “You can smell them?”

He recalled a long time ago when the classroom was in chaos, and Li Yang retched for half an hour amidst everyone's grim expressions, his gaze growing heavy.

"Right." Li Yang rubbed his nose. "But what I smell isn't normal pheromones. Your pheromones are really gross to me, like that carsick feeling. Have you ever gotten carsick? That kind of nausea. But now, you're different..."

Before he could finish, he was suddenly pulled into Ying Xi's embrace.

A dry, warm hand cradled the back of his head, stroking slowly, while the other gently patted his back in reassurance.

"You've suffered, Yangyang."

The achingly tender voice made Li Yang freeze, his arms stiffening, thrown off by the out-of-nowhere embrace. He even glanced awkwardly at the floor in embarrassment.

Ying Xi rested his chin lightly on Li Yang's shoulder, his voice heavy with remorse. "I've released my pheromones around you so many times. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Li Yang tried to push him away by pressing against his shoulders, but Ying Xi wouldn't move. He gave a weak chuckle and explained, "It's different now. For some reason, everyone else's pheromones still reek, but you're not the same."

The arms around him tightened abruptly before loosening. Ying Xi looked down at him. "I'm different?"

"Yeah." Li Yang turned and walked to the dining table, sitting down and propping his chin on his hand. "Your pheromones feel completely normal to me. That's why I need you to come with me to the hospital for tests—to figure out why you're the only exception."

Something in his words seemed to delight Ying Xi, who smiled the entire time, getting Li Yang warm milk and serving him food with enthusiasm.

All this fussing made Li Yang squirm.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Hearing you say all this makes me feel like I hold a unique place by your side." Ying Xi slowly curved his lips. "I'm thrilled."

His happiness was unmistakable—his eyes and brows were crinkled with happiness.

Li Yang turned his head away uncomfortably. "The doctor did say something similar."

"What?" Ying Xi leaned in closer.

He had never seen Ying Xi so openly emotional before, like a child who had just gotten candy, absolutely giddy.

Li Yang blurted out, "He said we're probably quite compatible."

Realizing he had left out the key detail, he quickly waved his hands to clarify. "Not us—our pheromones. Not us as people."

The gaze fixed on him was scorching. Li Yang lowered his head, wishing he could vanish into thin air.

He stared hard at the table's woodgrain to distract himself.

Footsteps sounded, and the next moment, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around him from behind, along with a quiet laugh.

The warmth of the embrace bled through his clothes, sending a shiver down Li Yang's spine, as if an electric current had passed through him, setting off weird tingles.

"Don't be this happy," Li Yang got out weakly. "It's kind of scary."

It felt like Ying Xi was so excited he might eat him alive at any moment.

"Sorry." Ying Xi buried his face in the crook of Li Yang's neck, drinking in the warmth. "I can't control myself."

Hot breath brushed against his skin, sparking a shaky warmth that nearly short-circuited his brain.

Li Yang raised a hand, then lowered it, finally tilting his head slightly to put some distance between them.

"Ying Xi," he said hoarsely. "This is too intimate."

Ying Xi released him, standing up and messing up his hair. Noticing the faint blush on Li Yang's ears, he couldn't resist poking one lightly.

Li Yang jumped like a spooked cat, jerking away and covering his ear, staring at Ying Xi in shock.

The exaggerated reaction left both of them frozen.

"Sorry." Ying Xi withdrew his hand, genuinely sorry.

"It's fine." Li Yang felt like he had been acting weirder and weirder lately. He wanted to trace the cause but couldn't put his finger on it—only a subconscious sense that it was related to Ying Xi.

He spoke softly, "Maybe we should sleep apart for a while."

"Why?" Ying Xi stared at him.

Li Yang covered his neck, looking away. "I just think it'd be better if we slept apart recently."

Ying Xi didn't answer. After a moment, he changed the subject. "Let's go to the hospital after we finish eating."

Li Yang nodded but couldn't concentrate on eating.

Even though Ying Xi sat across from him, separated by the table, he could still feel his presence and warmth.

It was like a fine net, slowly enveloping him, making escape impossible—only sinking deeper and deeper.

His rationality was hanging by a thread. Li Yang pressed a hand to his forehead, letting out a quiet breath, figuring he should put some space between them to clear his mind.

He might care about Ying Xi more than he realized.

*

Li Yang slept in, and it was already 1 p.m. by the time they finished eating.

This time, they went to a private hospital Ying Xi had chosen—not as busy, more peaceful, with staff guiding them.

After listening to Li Yang's explanation, the staff led them to the doctor's office, had a quick word with the physician, then turned to them with a smile.

"We've had three or four similar cases here, all handled by Dr. Xu. You can discuss the details with him."

Then he left, closing the door behind him.

The room fell silent, soon filled with the sound of typing.

Li Yang looked at the doctor seated before the computer.

Younger than expected—around thirty, with some gray streaks at his temples and wearing black-framed glasses.

Noticing his gaze, Dr. Xu turned, studying them briefly before pushing up his glasses, smiling.

"I've got the gist of the situation. I may ask a few blunt questions next."

Li Yang nodded, signaling him to proceed.

Dr. Xu cut to the chase. "After you became able to perceive pheromones, how intense was the pull you felt toward your partner's pheromones?"