Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Su Xingze, afraid of his abnormality being discovered, clutched his chest and burrowed under the covers.

Why have I been getting so distracted by a pretty face lately? If this kept up, his bro-code was about to go out the window!

Before his body could betray him any more, he turned off the light and urged, "Let's just go to sleep, I'm beat."

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, and Lu Xingwen was totally lost. Usually at times like this, Chen Chen would be all over him, demanding answers, so why did he just bundle himself up and pass out today, not even facing him?

Was Aunt Zhang right after all? Had he still not made up with a sulking Chen Chen?

"Okay." Lu Xingwen said, lying down to wait it out.

Finally, he heard the even sound of breathing.

At one in the morning. Not a peep in the room, and outside was dead quiet.

Lu Xingwen sat up, looking at the person beside him through the moonlight.

These past few days had felt like a dream, so beautiful he was completely lost in it. He just couldn't bear to wake up from it.

But every time in the dead of night, he'd wonder if any of this was real, or just some impossible fantasy he'd cooked up.

Lu Xingwen first glanced at the bandage on his hand, then fished around in his coat pocket for his meds.

Shit, he'd forgotten his meds today.

He got out of bed and went to the living room. He glanced down at the tent in his pants and trudged to the bathroom, defeated.

Whenever he was around Chen Chen, he could never keep his cool. Looking at that face smiling at him, he wanted nothing more than to crush it and grind it into his bones.

It wasn't the pheromones—it was him. He was just that twisted a person; the pheromones only did the heavy lifting.

Lu Xingwen opened the bathroom cabinet, found the razor blade stashed behind the body wash, and gripped it tight, the tip aimed at his gland.

There was already a small nick on the gland. But the Alpha hesitated for a few seconds, then chucked the blade into the trash.

He couldn't do this—Chen Chen would notice. The cut on Chen Chen's wrist still hadn't healed; he couldn't add another one to the pile.

He took care of business first, then got dressed and called Lu He'an.

It wasn't weird for a med grad student to be up at one in the morning. Lu He'an was in the lab doing research when his phone rang, scaring the hell out of him. He hurriedly wrapped up what he was doing and called back.

He hardly ever got calls at this hour. The second he saw the name, Lu He'an knew something was up and asked, "What's wrong? Ran out of meds again?"

Lu Xingwen was totally calm: "No, I forgot to bring them."

Lu He'an: "And then? What's your deal right now?"

Lu Xingwen: "No deal. I just called to check if I'm dreaming."

Because usually at times like this, when he called Lu He'an, the guy wouldn't even pick up.

Lu He'an: "..."

"Bro, you scared the shit out of me, you know that! Give me your address, I'll bring you the meds! Don't do anything dumb, and don't hurt yourself." Lu He'an took off his lab coat and ran out.

"Relax." Lu Xingwen soothed. "Don't be so jumpy. I'm fine."

Of course Lu He'an was freaking out—he knew exactly what his brother was like!

If he didn't take his meds in this state, he'd easily spiral into overthinking!

"Where are you at right now?" Lu He'an hailed a taxi downstairs.

"The bathroom." Lu Xingwen said.

Lu He'an reminded him: "Don't stay in the bathroom. Here's what you do—go check on Su Xingze. Stay next to him."

"No." Lu Xingwen refused. "He doesn't want to see me today. He's dodging me."

Lu He'an asked, "Why is he dodging you?"

Lu Xingwen gave him a rough rundown of what happened, and Lu He'an said in surprise, "Bro, have you ever thought that maybe he's just shy? He got too embarrassed to keep staring at you, so he turned off the light and went to bed?"

"Chen Chen would never do that." Lu Xingwen said, dead certain.

Lu He'an analyzed: "Well, before, you two were just good bros, so of course not. Now that he likes you, that changes things."

Likes me?

A flicker of light seemed to rise from the depths of Lu Xingwen's eyes. He really had never considered that possibility, nor dared to even go there.

But thinking about it that way, time seemed to fly by, the days felt less unbearable, and even the future seemed to hold some hope.

When you're stuck on one thing, you just keep going in circles, but if someone snaps you out of it, everything clicks.

The truth was, Lu Xingwen didn't want to live in that dark place either. He'd been fighting his way out of it all along, desperate for some kind of rescue.

By the time Lu He'an showed up, it was already two. He'd also brought a huge load of late-night grub. Med students already had crap health from pulling all-nighters, and climbing six flights of stairs nearly killed him. After he knocked, his brother finally came to the door.

The first thing out of his mouth was: "Chen Chen's asleep. Keep it down."

Lu He'an leaned weakly against the doorframe and said helplessly, "Bro, I came at two in the morning to bring you meds, and I even brought food. My heart is pounding—I feel like I'm about to drop dead—and your first words are telling me to keep it down?"

At that, Lu Xingwen coughed awkwardly and glanced toward the room: "Sorry. Give me the meds."

"And then?" Lu He'an handed over the meds, waiting for the next words.

Lu Xingwen continued: "I'll allocate funds for your research."

"Awesome, bro." Lu He'an instantly stood up straight. His legs didn't ache anymore, his chest didn't hurt either. He walked quietly into the living room, set down the late-night food, and whispered, "Come eat together. That lemon fish place downstairs is still open—smells amazing. I grabbed a portion."

Lu Xingwen took his meds and opened a can of cola.

Lu He'an opened the grilled fish, lit the flame, and had just cooked the side dishes when he heard footsteps, and then someone sat down.

Su Xingze, wearing his calico cat plush pajamas, was so sleepy his eyelids could barely stay open, yawning repeatedly, yet he asked, "Can we eat yet?"

Lu He'an: "..."

Lu Xingwen: "..."

Su Xingze smiled slightly and said, "I smelled it as soon as you brought it in. I've been waiting for you to open it. Lemon fish—I love it."

He opened a can of cola and took a few gulps to wet his lips, feeling like something was missing.

His consciousness was fuzzy, but his spirits were high. Su Xingze washed a plate of strawberries and brought out a chilled watermelon, cutting half of it.

“When I came in the afternoon, I checked the fridge and found a lot of fruit inside,” Su Xingze said, the cold snapping him awake. “It’s probably bought by the cleaning lady who comes by regularly, but since no one usually lives here, the fridge is always full. It feels like such a waste.”

“It doesn’t go to waste,” Lu Xingwen explained. “After three days, the lady takes the fruit home.”

He quietly moved the watermelon aside. Eating watermelon with hot lemon fish in paper at this hour could easily cause acute enteritis.

“Su Xingze, why are you focused on such weird stuff?” Lu Hean asked curiously.

Su Xingze paused, his hand frozen mid-air holding the fish.

Can’t they see it? He’d dragged himself out of bed in the middle of the night just to eat!

As a foodie, he only wanted food in his stomach, not in the trash.

“No reason, let’s eat the fish—it’s absorbed the flavor by now, it smells great,” Su Xingze said, picking a piece for Lu Xingwen.

Then he patted his stomach. Abs, oh abs, wait one more year—next year he’d definitely train hard.

Eating late-night snacks always came with a side of guilt, and by the time they finished eating, it was already 3:30 AM.

Lu Hean kept sighing. “I don’t even have a partner yet, and my abs are almost gone. What am I gonna do in the future!”

“Doesn’t your research institute have any Omegas?” Su Xingze was full now and wide awake, unable to sleep at all.

Lu Hean complained, “There are, but everyone stays up late every day, basically half-dead. How could I find someone who’s the same as me?”

“So what kind do you like?” Lu Xingwen asked from the side.

After thinking it over, Lu Hean said, “Probably someone who’s really good-looking, smiles adorably, preferably with dimples, fun to be around, speaks up when something happens, and loves food.”

The more Su Xingze listened, the more it sounded like his brother from another mother—exactly the same.

Lu Xingwen sneered and pulled Su Xingze into his arms, then dismissed Lu Hean, who was sprawled on the sofa: “Go to sleep. Don’t come here for the next few days.”

Lu Hean glared at him. What was this about now? Was just lying there bothering his brother or something?

He was tired, and he had work tomorrow—time to sleep.

The downside of staying up late was not being able to wake up during the day.

Su Xingze woke up in the afternoon, missing not only his morning class but his afternoon one too. Luckily, he hadn’t planned to go anyway.

But Lu Xingwen had it rough—he got calls from several teachers, and the company had a ton of work waiting for him.

The teachers were already lenient with him; their only requirement was that he show up and sit in class. Nothing more.

As for the company, most of it was urgent documents needing signatures, and they had to be done quickly.

While Lu Xingwen was busy with work, Su Xingze had already scouted three storefronts and planned to check them all out before picking the best one.

As for the Su family matter, aside from Master Li, everyone else who knew about it had vanished without a trace. All the servants who used to work at the Su house had been replaced. He asked Aunt Zhang, but she didn’t know where they’d gone either.

He asked Master Li to help look into it and gave him fifty thousand yuan.

The bank cards in the room had been sorted out—the money was still there, along with a savings book his mother had left him. Together, it added up to a few million. Now he had plenty of money and no longer had to worry about funds.

It was almost dark, and Xiaolu still wasn’t done with work. He warmed up a bottle of milk and cut up some fruit to bring over.

The Alpha was wearing glasses, staring at the computer with a thoughtful look, totally focused.

Su Xingze set the things down and was about to leave, but Lu Xingwen was so absorbed he didn’t even notice him come in. Curious, Su Xingze glanced at the screen and froze in place.

It was a document titled “Aggressive Pursuit Techniques.”

And Xiaolu happened to be reading item 49.

49. In love, you must turn passivity into initiative—don’t just wait for love to come to you. Take the lead, and when the mood is right, go for a deep kiss to win his heart.

50. After getting close, listen to his heartbeat—it doesn’t lie. If it speeds up, he definitely likes you! Don’t question it!

Su Xingze coughed twice and smiled. “Tired from work, huh? Have some fruit.”

Lu Xingwen snapped out of it. “When did you come in?”

“Just now.” Su Xingze turned, reached out, and placed his hand on Lu Xingwen’s chest, flashing him a smile as bright as the sun.

Lu Xingwen tensed up. “What are you doing?”

“I’m testing whether that document of yours is real or fake.” Su Xingze could feel the heartbeat under his palm—thump, thump, each beat strong and powerful.

Just a few seconds later, the heartbeat under his palm quickened, pounding against his hand rapidly.

Su Xingze looked down at Lu Xingwen, and Lu Xingwen looked back at him.

Before he could say anything, Lu Xingwen asked, “So, do you think the document is real or fake?”

==========Author’s Note:==========

Of course it is!