When Lu Qingyan returned to school, there was still half an hour until the end of evening self-study.
He swiped his card at the back entrance, and the security guards, familiar with him, turned a blind eye and muttered, “Skipping class all the time won’t let you top the exams next time.”
Lu Qingyan smiled and waved at them.
As he walked into the school, every teaching building, from the first floor to the fourth floor, had its lights on, shining brightly in the dark night.
In each classroom, dozens of students were working on their school work, taking advantage of the ten-minute break between classes to chat and snack.
Lin You was also among these students. He had probably finished his homework long ago, but today, without Lu Qingyan by his side, he could only lay bored on the desk alone.
Lu Qingyan followed the light from the streetlamp and arrived at the entrance of the teaching building. However, he took a turn and went around to the other side.
He didn’t enter the classroom but headed for the southern building.
He swiped his card and entered the apartment building, he walked up the side stairs all the way to the rooftop. The moonlight was clear as water, and there was no one there. It was already late November, and the night breeze was chilly. He found a spot with backlighting and sat down, taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.
Because Lin You disliked the smell, he rarely smoked.
In Lin You’s words, smoking would make him short.
Lu Qingyan, who was already over 185 centimeters tall, pretended to be convinced.
Lin You—when he thought of this name and the face that came to mind along with it, Lu Qingyan felt a slight ache in his chest.
Recently, although he didn’t show any abnormalities on the surface, every minute he spent beside Lin You was torture for him.
To Lu Qingyan, Lin You had always been like a brother to him.
They grew up together, attended the same school, and would find jobs in the future that are near each other. They would spend the next few decades together.
Until they’re old men with white hair, sitting together, basking in the sun on lounging chairs.
But other things, things unrelated to Lin You, such as his love life, marriage, and having and raising children, he had never seriously considered it.
Just let things take their natural course; after all, he would always be with Lin You in the end.
One by one, the people around him started dating, and Lin You would occasionally nag in his ear about this cute omega or that beautiful beta. While he would agree on the surface, his heart remained calm and still.
He didn’t have anyone he liked.
No matter how beautiful and enchanting an omega was, no matter how sweet their pheromones were, it wasn’t enough to stir even a ripple in his heart.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Until Lin You also presented as an omega.
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Today, Xiao Ping exposed his thoughts, saying that he liked Lin You, saying that he was pitiful, and that he didn’t dare tell Lin You.
Xiao Ping was right, but also not quite.
Actually, before today, he had been avoiding this matter.
Because it wasn’t just anyone, it was Lin You.
In his mind, he and Lin You would be supporting each other for decades and would always be standing behind each other.
If it were anyone else, regardless of age or gender, if he liked them, he would go pursue them.
He wouldn’t care about the consequences, he wouldn’t even seek a result.
Only Lin You made him hesitate, leaving him caught between choices.
He didn’t even dare to confirm whether he had truly developed feelings for Lin You, to confirm how much of that stirring in his heart was because of the seductive influence of pheromones, and how much was genuine love for his childhood friend.
Lu Qingyan sat on the rooftop for a while.
As he lit his second cigarette, the rooftop door was pushed open.
He turned his head and glanced back. In the darkness, a tall figure walked in through the door, wearing the same black school uniform as him. The coming person had fair skin and dark eyebrows, exuding an indescribable sense of aloofness.
Xue Yixin also noticed Lu Qingyan and casually greeted, “You’re here too.”
Lu Qingyan watched as Xue Yixin approached and sat down beside him, then took out a cigarette from his pocket as well.
With a click, an orange spark illuminated the night sky, casting light on the cold profile of this indifferent omega.
Lu Qingyan found it a bit peculiar since he had never seen Xue Yixin smoke, although Xue Yixin had never seen him either.
He could tell that Xue Yixin must also have something on his mind.
On this spacious rooftop, two troubled souls sat in silence.
“Tang Qi doesn’t allow me to smoke,” Xue Yixin explained as if he knew what Lu Qingyan was thinking. “Remember to help me keep it a secret.”
Lu Qingyan responded with a soft “Mn” and added, “Then you don’t tell Lin You either.”
Lu Qingyan wasn’t one to engage in conversation with others.
But after sitting for a while, he saw Xue Yixin taking out his phone and Tang Qi’s face flashed across the screen. Out of character, he asked, “Are you and Tang Qi a couple?”
“Mn,” Xue Yixin didn’t evade the question, not even lifting his eyelids. “I forced him to be with me.”
He said this without a smile. As soon as he left Tang Qi, his whole demeanor turned cold. It was hard to tell whether he was telling a joke or the truth.
Lu Qingyan didn’t inquire further.
He simply narrowed his eyes, observing the crowd pouring out of the teaching building. Suddenly, he asked, “How did you realize that you like Tang Qi?”
Xue Yixin turned his head and gave him a glance, as if finding his question amusing.
“When you like someone, do you really need to realize it? Your eyes are always on them, with no room for anyone else. When you look at them, you think about spending your future together, growing old together,” Xue Yixin smiled faintly, his gaze softening. “When you look at them, your heart would race, and when you think about them, it would soften.”
Lu Qingyan gazed at the lights in that classroom as they extinguished one by one.
The whole campus was filled with students talking and laughing, noisy and chaotic, mixing together.
His Lin You was also among them.
“You like Lin You?” Xue Yixin asked casually, taking a drag of his cigarette. It didn’t sound like he was prying into someone’s secret but rather engaging in post-class small talk.
Lu Qingyan didn’t deny it. “Is it that obvious?”
“Not exactly,” Xue Yixin replied. “But it’s obvious to me.”
After finishing his cigarette, Xue Yixin checked the time, stood up, and said, “I’m heading back, Tang Qi has returned to the dorm. Let’s pretend we never met today. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Lin You.”
With that, he waved his hand at Lu Qingyan and walked towards the rooftop door.
Just as his hand was about to touch the door, Lu Qingyan called out to him from behind.
Xue Yixin halted.
Lu Qingyan asked, “Does Tang Qi know that you’re an alpha?”
Xue Yixin turned around, leaned against the door, and observed Lu Qingyan for a moment. His gaze lacked any semblance of friendliness.
Lu Qingyan calmly met his gaze. “I won’t tell anyone either.”
Xue Yixin let out a faint laugh, opened the door, and left.
He didn’t answer.
Lu Qingyan didn’t go down yet. His thoughts were still a bit jumbled, and he wasn’t quite ready to face Lin You’s face.
He had looked at that face for over a decade, but never before had he felt that it could disturb his peace of mind like it did now.
When Lu Qingyan returned to the dormitory, the pendulum clock had already struck ten.
He opened the door. The lights were off but the curtains were left undrawn, allowing the moonlight to softly illuminate the interior.
Lin You was on the sofa in the living room, curled up in a ball, fast asleep.
Lu Qingyan changed his shoes and walked over quietly. In the crystal-clear moonlight, Lin You had his eyes closed, lips slightly parted, and each individual eyelash was clearly visible in the hazy light and shadow.
Lu Qingyan couldn’t resist caressing Lin You’s cheek.
As if sensing something, Lin You furrowed his brows and opened his eyes a little strugglingly.
“You’re back?” He mumbled, his voice groggy. He strugglingly lifted his head to look at Lu Qingyan and grumbled, “What time is it?”
“Why did you fall asleep here?” Lu Qingyan asked.
Although he already knew why Lin You was sleeping here, he insisted on asking, wanting to hear it from Lin You’s own mouth.
Lin You yawned, “I was waiting for you. I sent you a text, but you didn’t reply, so I sat here to wait for you a bit, but then I ended up falling asleep.”
As Lin You spoke, he yawned again. There were traces of tears on his lashes, and his eyes seemed a little dazed, reddened even.
But he smiled at Lu Qingyan instinctively, his lips curling up, revealing a barely noticeable dimple on his left cheek.
Lu Qingyan stared at that little dimple.
On this hazy moonlit night.
He suddenly understood what it meant to have a fluttering heart.
How could he not like Lin You?
He clearly likes Lin You way too much.
Lu Qingyan finally realized his true feelings, now we wait for Lin You to do the same.
Thank you for the chapter!
HAHAHAHA!!! GET FEELINGS, IDIOT! I’m enjoying this story way too much ☺️
it took a few chapters, but lu qingyan finally acknowledged his feelings,, we love to see it tbh
Liking the direction of this~ next stop: lin you discovering his feelings ☺
Finally! Lols. Onwards!! Chase your dreams 🤣
am I the only one finding it weird that xue yixin hasn’t told his partner his actual 2nd gender?? ughhh