Chapter 41: Brother, You Are Mine

Chapter 41: Brother, You Are Mine

Song Yuqing entered, placing his books on the back-row desk.

Pei Huai immediately took the seat next to Song Yuqing. Xiao Jinshi, a step too late, could only raise an eyebrow. "I'll sit in front of Brother, but..."

A faint smile touched Xiao Jinshi's lips as he looked at Song Yuqing, his tone solicitous, as if entirely considering Song Yuqing's needs. "But I might be a bit tall—will Brother still be able to see the blackboard? Should I let Brother sit in front instead?"

Song Yuqing pulled out his chair, eyes downcast, not looking at Xiao Jinshi. "No need. You sit in front; you need to see the blackboard far more than I do."

"You can't always rely on your family to transfer you to another class," Song Yuqing remarked flatly, his tone devoid of mockery, yet this very lack of sarcasm made the jab all the more potent.

The smile on Xiao Jinshi's lips froze. Pei Huai smirked coldly—Xiao Jinshi had been hit where it hurt, yet he was still acting smug.

In Pei Huai's opinion, only someone officially recognized, like Qi Zhengqing, could compare to him. As an alpha, he was top-tier; as a homewrecker, he was the most skilled.

Qi Ran, arriving a step late, could only stand there awkwardly, watching Song Yuqing surrounded by alphas.

Song Yuqing glanced up at Qi Ran and spoke to Pei Huai, "Find another seat. Qi Ran will sit with me."

He needed to keep this faux son of his under his watchful eye.

A light ignited in Qi Ran's eyes as he slowly reined in his emotions.

He suppressed the depraved thoughts in his heart once again. Song Yuqing was good to him, always paying attention to him, holding him.

As long as he behaved and didn't cross that line, he could stay by Song Yuqing's side forever.

As long as Song Yuqing remained his little dad, all his actions would be justified.

Love was justified, intimacy was justified, dependence was justified.

Pei Huai scoffed. That scheming, pathetic alpha—always using such tactics to grab Song Yuqing's attention.

But Pei Huai still did as Song Yuqing said, relinquishing his seat and moving to the spot across the aisle from Song Yuqing.

"I'm letting him have it this time, but you can't always make me give way to him."

Pei Huai leaned forward. Even while seated, he was an imposing figure, stretching his long legs and resting his elbows on Song Yuqing's desk. His leaning posture seemed to cage Song Yuqing in.

The stark difference in their sizes drew the aggressive gazes of Xiao Jinshi and Ye Siling, who hadn't looked away from the scene.

Why was there someone so small? Not in a delicate way, but slender and delicate, yet not feeble.

Like the size difference between a snow fox and a large wolf.

Ye Siling lowered his gaze. Why wasn't he the one encircling Song Yuqing like that? Was it because Pei Huai was obedient?

Or because Pei Huai was so good at *playing the dog*?

"Mhm," Song Yuqing nodded, then asked Pei Huai, "Have you seen a doctor? Does it still hurt?"

Pei Huai could barely suppress the smile on his lips, his brow arching arrogantly. "This is barely a scratch to me."

"Qingqing, don't worry."

How could he be so caring? Song Yuqing was just too captivating.

I want to kiss him, even if Song Yuqing might hit me, I still want to kiss Song Yuqing.

Watching the alpha's Adam's apple bob, Song Yuqing pushed Pei Huai's face away, "Go back and study properly. You're so dumb."

His tone carried a hint of disdain again.

But Pei Huai still felt thrilled—being looked down on by an aloof kitten.

"Alright, I'll focus on studying now," he said.

Pei Huai kept talking, "Are you planning to go to school in Xinzhou? I know you still like me a little. If my grades aren't good enough and I have to go study in another province, you wouldn't see me for a long time. You'll miss me, right?"

Pei Huai kept talking, but Song Yuqing had long tuned out this chatterbox.

"But if I really don't get in and have to go study in another province, I'll definitely come back to see you."

Song Yuqing didn't answer Pei Huai and kept reading his research paper.

"For you, I'll still study hard."

Song Yuqing continued reading his research paper.

Xiao Jinshi sneered, "What an idiot, still talking. Song Yuqing can't even be bothered with him, and he really thinks Song Yuqing likes him that much."

The day's classes were intensive and boring, enough to make anyone drowsy. This was already a tradition at Victor—the old professor lectured like he was reciting scriptures.

Song Yuqing handed his neatly organized notes to Qi Ran, "Where are the notes I gave you before?"

Qi Ran hurriedly handed them to Song Yuqing. Song Yuqing asked, "Have you finished studying all of these?"

"All finished." Qi Ran nodded vigorously, his fingers nervously gripping his uniform pants as he looked at Song Yuqing expectantly.

Song Yuqing said, "Okay, hand them over."

Seeing Song Yuqing pass the notes he’d given him earlier to Pei Huai, the light in Qi Ran's eyes slowly faded. His heart felt as if it had been drenched in water, its beat growing heavy and slow.

So they weren’t just for him.

Pei Huai could have them too.

Before leaving, Song Yuqing noticed from the corner of his eye that Qi Ran seemed upset. He reached out and ruffled Qi Ran's hair affectionately, "Well done, mastering so much knowledge so quickly."

Qi Ran's heart began to beat faster again. He looked at Song Yuqing and managed a strained, unpracticed smile.

Song Yuqing: "..."

This foster son of his looked better when he wasn’t smiling.

Song Yuqing smiled back at Qi Ran, "Keep working hard."

Under the table, the alpha's hand clenched slightly. Even after Song Yuqing had left, Qi Ran was still savoring the memory of Song Yuqing's fingertips brushing against his scalp—the slightly cool touch, the careless way he played with his hair.

When he smiled at him, it was so gentle, as if... he really were his Omega mother.

Qi Ran had never met his Omega mother, but he imagined she would be like Song Yuqing—gentle yet strong, capable of handling everything, occasionally stern and serious when teaching him.

Yet, Song Yuqing wasn’t entirely like a mother’s tenderness. Some of his awkward touches felt more like an older brother’s.

It made him unable to resist sinking deeper into these feelings.

Xiao Jinshi suddenly tapped his fingers on the desk, taunting, "Don’t forget, he’s your *xiao-ba*. Anyone else might be possible, but not you."

Qi Ran was jolted back to awareness, his face turning deathly pale.

So pathetic.

Xiao Jinshi got annoyed every time he saw Qi Ran like this, yet Song Yuqing seemed completely unaware.

Xiao Jinshi went to the studio—his private studio. Velvet curtains blocked out all the light in the room, with only the painting in the center of the wall illuminated by a soft glow.

It concealed his deepest desires and those filthy thoughts.

On the canvas that covered an entire wall was a young man radiating maternal radiance, his belly slightly rounded. An elaborate and ornate cage imprisoned him like a bird trapped within, unable to break free.

Expanses of bright red roses could not overshadow the young man’s beauty. Amid the lush profusion, he was the only touch of fresh, pure color—like pristine white porcelain, yet filled with intoxicating desire.

Xiao Jinshi pressed his cheek against the painting. "Brother, why can’t you look at me more?"

His fingers traced the eyes of the figure in the painting, and his lips pressed against them. He closed his eyes, as if imagining he wasn’t kissing a painting but Song Yuqing himself. "Brother, caress me too."

They all coveted Song Yuqing, all wanted to soil him, all wanted Song Yuqing to love them.

"Brother, don’t be afraid. I’ll wash you clean." Xiao Jinshi stared obsessively at the painting. Even if Song Yuqing really got together with Qi Zhengqing, even if he were stained by Qi Zhengqing’s filth, he would cleanse Song Yuqing, leave his own scent on him, and overwrite, again and again, the traces left by other alphas on Song Yuqing.

Xiao Jinshi lowered his head and kissed the slightly rounded belly of the figure in the painting.

He adored the motherly softness that Song Yuqing unconsciously exuded, yet he feared it—feared that Song Yuqing would truly become a mother, giving birth to an illegitimate child.

That illegitimate child would also compete for Song Yuqing’s affection, developing a strong emotional attachment and possessiveness toward him.

Every place the alpha’s fingers touched was filled with various paintings of Song Yuqing. Even in the most delicate brushwork, there was an intense undercurrent of possessiveness.

The alpha stood in the room, eyes closed, savoring the moment as if Song Yuqing were right beside him.

Song Yuqing went to the lab, and Ye Siling followed him after class since they were heading the same way.

After a break during the holiday, Song Yuqing had a lot to catch up on. Ignoring Ye Siling’s gaze, he worked in the lab until 9 p.m.

Then, Song Yuqing went to the pheromone research lab to continue organizing materials. He had already submitted all the necessary documents and project plans for the project he was working on with Gu Jingtang.

However, after logging into the student backend account, he saw that Gu Jingtang had not yet approved his project.

Song Yuqing glanced at it but didn’t dwell on it, continuing instead to compile previous research on pheromones and psychic power.

It wasn’t until midnight that Song Yuqing shut down the computer and headed to the training ground.

Pei Huai was waiting for Song Yuqing at the training ground, flipping through the notes Song Yuqing had given him while he waited. He didn’t enjoy studying, but the thought that these were from Song Yuqing made him smile foolishly as he imagined Song Yuqing taking notes.

Song Yuqing watched Pei Huai from a distance and instinctively took a step back.

"Did I give him the wrong notes? Did I accidentally give Pei Huai a joke book?"

88: "...He might just have something wrong with his brain."

Song Yuqing walked over and kicked Pei Huai lightly. "Training."

Pei Huai remembered what the doctor had said—too frequent training wasn’t good. "No training today. The doctor said your physical condition isn’t great. You shouldn’t engage in psychic practice too often."

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing: "I’m leaving."

As Song Yuqing turned to go, Pei Huai grabbed his wrist. "How’s your project going?"

Song Yuqing: "It's complicated."

His thoughts were tangled. There were many paths already explored by predecessors, as well as numerous different schools of thought.

Additionally, while there were methods to alleviate alpha psychic breakdowns, these were at best mitigative—they might lead in the right direction or prove to be misguided.

Such is scientific research: until the final step, no one knows if results will emerge.

Song Yuqing might be academically gifted and talented in mechanics, but as a newcomer in this field, he found it challenging.

There were even moments when Song Yuqing felt lost.

Pei Huai raised an eyebrow. "Then how about I smuggle you into Gu Jingtang’s lab?"

Song Yuqing: "?"

Probably because Gu Jingtang had noticed their previous intrusion, he had approved other team members to assist in the lab but barred Song Yuqing, assigning him only scattered assignments—mostly data analysis.

Song Yuqing: "Okay."

The two sneaked into the university hospital, a place Song Yuqing had never been before. The hospital had two underground levels.

Song Yuqing and Pei Huai put on white lab coats and went inside.

A medical mask covered half of the beta’s face, revealing only his beautiful, delicate eyes. His demeanor was cold and distant, refinedly elegant.

He bore a slight resemblance to the female beta researcher named Jiang on the ID badge pinned to his chest—even their hair length was the same.

Pei Huai walked beside Song Yuqing. The tall alpha filled out the lab coat but didn’t look scholarly; instead, it seemed somewhat incongruous.

They encountered people along the way, but passed without obstruction, so smoothly that Song Yuqing couldn’t help but frown.

The first underground level of the lab opened into a spacious area. On the far left was a row of octopuses as specimens in jars. In the glass containers, the dead octopuses’ suckers were pressed against the walls.

Song Yuqing glanced over, his gaze lingering.

He had read Gu Jingtang’s papers. Gu Jingtang’s research primarily focused on breaking genetic constraints, fundamentally freeing alphas from genetic constraints.

Gu Jingtang’s vision was forward-looking: to nurture a next generation of alphas with perfect, unrestricted genetic potential.

These octopuses were likely Gu Jingtang’s references.

Gu Jingtang believed contemporary alphas faced similar constraints as these octopuses.

A researcher happened to step out of a lab and spotted Song Yuqing. "Young Jiang, hurry inside. Engineer Zhang is looking for you."

Song Yuqing: "..."

Pei Huai: "..."

The two who sneaked into the laboratory decided to go for it despite their nerves.

As soon as they entered the lab, Engineer Zhang waved at "Little Jiang" (a nickname), saying, "Come here, start with the gene sequencing."

Song Yuqing took the sample and got to work. He was familiar with most of the equipment and had read up on the procedures from books, working through the steps like a pro.

Even though it was late, most people in the lab were still hard at work, each focused on their own tasks. For a while, no one noticed that two intruders had mixed in.

Occasionally, someone glanced up but didn’t catch any errors in Song Yuqing's operations. No one even considered that Xiao Jiang was a different person.

Pei Huai stood beside Song Yuqing, watching him work, when he was suddenly called away, "You, come here. Take care of this."

Pei Huai was speechless.

Pei Huai almost pointed at himself—Wait, me?

Song Yuqing was speechless.

While continuing his own work, Song Yuqing coached Pei Huai, "First, start with the centrifuge to separate the carrier."

"Then use the catalytic enzyme…"

Pei Huai: "Which one is the catalytic enzyme?"

Song Yuqing was speechless.

Song Yuqing pointed at the bottle cap with his fingertip, "This one."

They reached the step of labeling and mapping, still undetected.

"Mr. Gu…"

Gu Jingtang: "Hmm."

Someone greeted Gu Jingtang, and he responded. Pei Huai, noticing Gu Jingtang's sudden appearance, gave up on pretending. He went to grab Song Yuqing's hand, ready to flee, but Song Yuqing beat him to it and took his hand.

"Keep going."

Song Yuqing's voice was low, audible only to Pei Huai. Though quiet, it was weirdly calming.

Gu Jingtang's gaze fell on Song Yuqing, a slight smile curling his lips. This was exactly the kind of thing Song Yuqing would do.

Of course, he had also intentionally let it slide.

Otherwise, did these two really think his lab was a sieve, allowing them to sneak in so easily?

Gu Jingtang watched every step Song Yuqing took—orderly and pretty smooth for a first timer.

Even after sneaking in and knowing Gu Jingtang was there, he remained calm, showing no panic, still calm and collected, almost flawless.

Gu Jingtang walked over and adjusted Song Yuqing's hand slightly, "Keep your hand steady."

Pei Huai, seeing Gu Jingtang hold Song Yuqing's hand, snapped instantly, "Gu Jingtang, get your hands off him."

Gu Jingtang raised an eyebrow, meeting Song Yuqing's eyes, "Done pretending?"

"You two are really bold, sneaking into my lab and messing around." Gu Jingtang's eyes held a smile as he looked at Song Yuqing, "Do you want a write-up or to lose points?"

Song Yuqing was speechless.

Song Yuqing: "The professor allowed us in, so we came naturally."

Song Yuqing had a hunch something was wrong from the moment they weren’t recognized and no one noticed.

Gu Jingtang met Song Yuqing's gaze and suddenly chuckled, "You're clever. Keep going. Pei Huai, move along and don’t get in the way."

"If you do well, come do unpaid work for me tomorrow."

Song Yuqing was speechless.

Song Yuqing finished the remaining steps, compared the gene sequences on the computer, and handed the results to Gu Jingtang.

Gu Jingtang: "Decent."

"You can come learn with the researchers in my lab, but as you can see, it’s busy here. You’ll have your work cut out for you. Think about whether you want to come."

"If you decide to come, Engineer Zhang from earlier will guide you. You’ll work on his project."

Song Yuqing didn’t skip a beat, "I’ll come."

"Alright, call it a day. Tomorrow…"

Song Yuqing told Gu Jingtang his schedule, "I’m seeing Professor Lin in the morning. I can come in the afternoon."

Gu Jingtang nodded, "Then come in the afternoon."

"By the way, any luck catching the guy who jumped me off campus?" Just as Song Yuqing and Pei Huai were about to leave, Gu Jingtang grabbed Song Yuqing's wrist. Meeting Song Yuqing's icy stare, Gu Jingtang suddenly thought he resembled a pretty doctor lady. Thinking it, he voiced it, "Hmm? Doc?"

Author's Note:

Gu Jingtang: Pretty Qingqing, fan art twist.

Pei Dog: Don’t say it, but you really have to admit, my wife’s gorgeous.

Song Qingqing: …