Chapter 15

Chapter 15

What's going on? What's Xiaolu hiding from? He used to look at me so openly before—in summer, when we wore short sleeves and shorts, we'd all seen each other's arms and legs plenty of times. Isn't it a little late to start being shy now?

Dr. Zhao said not to let others see the gland because it's like *that* part down below. But other parts can't have some special meaning too, right?

"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and wash those." Lu Xingwen had already finished cutting the vegetables. But Su Xingze's basket still had a huge pile left, and it was obvious the Omega wasn't seriously washing them—his head was somewhere else.

Su Xingze flicked the water off his hands: "Why are you dodging me?"

He showed his wrist again, demanding, "I'm showing you my wrist, so why are you dodging?"

Lu Xingwen backed up a step, keeping his eyes on the cutting board: "I'm not dodging. I'm trying to cut these veggies, I'm hungry."

"Really?" Su Xingze wasn't tall enough, so he got up on his tiptoes to look Lu Xingwen in the eye, trying to catch him slipping: "Xiaolu, you clearly dodged. You never used to be like this."

Back then, they were young and naive. They thought being together meant forever, that as long as the other was by their side, they could slowly win that fiery heart.

But after five years, things had changed so much they were unrecognizable. That pure, innocent heart was long gone.

His childhood friend thought he was still that seventeen-year-old boy—sweet, kind, thoughtful, and fun. But he'd long since turned into a wolf in sheep's clothing.

That flushed wrist, in the eyes of seventeen-year-old Lu Xingwen and Su Xingze, was just something fun and interesting. But to twenty-two-year-old Lu Xingwen, all he could think about were filthy, unspeakable things.

He'd even pictured the whole thing while chopping veggies.

Would Chen Chen still like a childhood friend like this?

Lu Xingwen kept chopping, distracted: "No, you must've seen it wrong."

Five years had passed, and he'd abandoned his childhood friend for another Alpha. It was only natural that Lu Xingwen wasn't as close to him anymore.

What was lost could be won back. As long as he kept at it, one day their bond would be even stronger!

Su Xingze quickly washed all the veggies and then some fruit.

There was a faint scent of pheromones in the air, mixed with a strong smell of blood.

Su Xingze turned his head and saw that Lu Xingwen had cut his finger, but he hadn't noticed yet, staring off into space as he kept chopping.

"Hey, hey, don't space out while you're chopping!" Su Xingze grabbed the knife and rinsed the veggie scraps off the wound, then led the Alpha over to bandage it.

Luckily, the cut wasn't deep, but it was bleeding a lot. He said helplessly, "You sit down. I'll do the cutting. But it won't look pretty, so don't complain."

Lu Xingwen stood up: "I'll do it."

"Your right index and middle fingers are basically wrapped up like dumplings! And you still want to chop veggies?" Su Xingze glared at him. "Is my cooking not edible or what?"

"It's edible." Lu Xingwen sat back down. "You cut."

Su Xingze bustled around, and by the time he came out, Lu Xingwen had the soup base ready, added hot water, and was just waiting for the vegetables to go in.

This mushroom soup base was amazing—he had no idea what mushrooms were in it, but it was super savory.

Because of his injured fingers, Lu Xingwen tried to pick up food a few times, but it kept falling back into the pot.

He looked absolutely ridiculous. Su Xingze couldn't help but crack up.

"Even if my cutting is a bit big and round, you're using a peace sign to pick up food—that's too funny! Hahahaha..."

"Quit laughing." Lu Xingwen's face went dark. It was too embarrassing.

"Alright, alright, I won't laugh. Come on, Xiaolu, let me feed you." Su Xingze used his own chopsticks to pick up a square piece of potato and held it to Lu Xingwen's lips, his eyes sparkling.

Lu Xingwen had only chewed a couple of times before he realized the middle wasn't cooked.

Su Xingze nudged Lu Xingwen with his shoulder, a mischievous idea forming, and joked, "We're sharing chopsticks—does that count as an indirect kiss?"

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Lu Xingwen almost choked to death.

"Just kidding, don't get so worked up. I know we're married in name only. I just thought you were too straight-laced and wanted to mess with you."

Lu Xingwen coughed until tears streamed down his face.

Me? Straight-laced?

He suddenly grabbed the back of Su Xingze's neck, pulled him in, and lightly pecked the corner of the Omega's lips, smirking: "You've got a grain of rice on your lip. Let me get it for you."

Even though he knew Lu Xingwen was getting back at him out of spite, Su Xingze's ears, neck, and cheeks slowly turned red.

Turning red just because his childhood friend wiped a grain of rice off his lip was more embarrassing than his friend eating with a peace sign and an injured hand!

This joke had backfired big time.

For the rest of the meal, Su Xingze didn't dare mess with him again.

In the afternoon, Su Xingze kept getting used to the world five years later.

Meanwhile, Lu Xingwen was in a meeting. Compared to the morning, the boss was way more irritable, scaring all the employees so much they were terrified of being called on.

Su Xingze roughly figured out what classes he had, who was in his class group chat, and who his counselor was.

One thing worth mentioning: he had terrible people skills. Not only did he have no friends, even the teachers didn't like him.

Managing to offend the entire grade and all the teachers all by himself was quite an achievement.

The class group chat was buzzing. It started with acting techniques—from body language to eye acting, scenes and ensemble work. But acting still required too much talent and looks, so the conversation gradually shifted to essays. Eventually, someone brought up Ying Ying, and somehow the topic ended up on Su Xingze.

Then the class group chat went quiet, and everyone moved to a smaller group. This group didn't have teachers or counselors, and several classmates weren't in it either. Everyone used nicknames, no real names, so the gossip flowed more freely.

Xingyuele: [In our acting class, only two people made it big before graduating—one is Ying Ying, the other is Fu Yao. The former is already a second-tier star, and while the latter is still an eighteenth-tier nobody, he's starting to show promise—his recent supporting roles in a few dramas have been pretty good.]

Jingye: [I know Ying Ying. I heard he's coming back in a few days for the senior year's final sports meet. Our department also has an opening performance at the event.]

Jingyinne: [Oh my god! The opening performance! I so want to be in it! Even just playing a random extra would be fine. Ying Ying is so handsome—he's my idol!]

Jingzi: [Save it. He's coming to the sports meet for his first love, Fu Yao. Why else would he come?]

Mingye: [Speaking of which, why haven't we seen Ying Ying's little groupie lately? He used to be around campus every day, asking everyone where Ying Ying was, even going to the teachers—total obsessed fanboy behavior.]

Meme: [Are you talking about Su Xingze?]

Womeiyoumimi: [I hate people like him! Ying Ying clearly only has his first love in his heart. This guy saw that he'd made it big—rich and handsome—and just latched on relentlessly, thinking someone like that would ever give him the time of day.]

Niegouye: [I heard he got into a car accident a few days ago and ended up in the hospital.]

Lingdie: [Serves him right! People like him who knowingly go after taken men deserve it—it's karma!]

Fu Yao: [Stop spreading rumors!]

The small group chat went silent too. Someone named Fu Yao spoke up in the group, and no one knew if it was really him or not, but no one dared to gossip openly anymore.

Fu Yao? Was it just a name coincidence? Or was it actually someone he knew?