Part 2
“Who doesn’t like Omegas?” Tang Xingye asked back. He squatted down, looking at the fish-scale patterns on the petals.
“I mean the romantic kind of like.”
“Then no.” Pei Lian breathed a sigh of relief.
“I have nothing right now. Marrying an Omega, I can’t give them happiness, only drag them down.” Tang Xingye propped his chin, fingertips fiddling with petals.
This was a standard answer. Actually, Tang Xingye had never thought about marriage. To him, marriage was simply the grave of good days.
Thinking of his reputation, Tang Xingye joked half-heartedly, “But no Omega would want to be with me anyway. I’m afraid wedding one day, funeral the next.”
Pei Lian concealed his disappointment. “I like.”
Tang Xingye found it funny. He looked Pei Lian’s clothes up and down. “You believe in this? Why aren’t you wearing Nike?”
Phone vibrated suddenly. Tang Xingye opened WeChat to check.
Lin Mo: [Do I need to save a seat for you at the lecture tonight?]
Tang Xingye hadn’t expected Lin Mo to remember this. He replied: [Thanks.]
After replying, Tang Xingye couldn’t help wondering why Lin Mo reminded him. Shouldn’t he be smug that his competitor forgot to come? Could it be that in Lin Mo’s eyes, he wasn’t qualified enough?
Tang Xingye knew that self-binding psychology was acting up again. Waking up early for part-time jobs, mooching off the lab computer without his own. Just seeing that some people’s lives could be so effortless—what was bearable became a bit unbearable again.
Finally, Tang Xingye concluded Lin Mo was a good person, but he hoped Lin Mo’s GPA wouldn’t surpass his.
Tang Xingye felt the rain wet his pant legs again, the sticky dampness clinging to him.
Tang Xingye replied to the message without hiding it from anyone, so Pei Lian naturally saw the avatar.
Noticing Pei Lian’s gaze, he thought his dark thoughts were detected, and subconsciously changed the subject. “Pity, you can’t grow holly. Glossy privet fruits have a pretty high market price.”
Pei Lian unwrapped a mint candy and put it in his mouth, crushed it, and swallowed. He followed the topic. “If you need money, my money can be yours.”
Tang Xingye was a bit stunned by this sudden sentence. If others said it, Tang Xingye might have agreed jokingly.
But he had witnessed Pei Lian’s stubborn temper. If he said yes, Pei Lian would really give it.
Tang Xingye was stunned. “You have nowhere else to spend your money?”
“You need it, and I happen to have it.” Pei Lian knew Tang Xingye’s vigilance and high self-esteem. Proposing rashly at the start might push him away.
Tang Xingye’s gaze swept across Pei Lian’s face. “Then why give it to me?”
Amidst the flowers and lights, Pei Lian said, “I like you.”
Tang Xingye paused. It wasn’t that no one had ever said they liked him. Being liked was something to be happy about.
But many of them, he didn’t know at all, had never even met.
He refused, they euphemistically said being friends was fine, then continued to harass or softened to retreat. Finally finding him unresponsive, they cursed him for playing with feelings, accusing him of hurting them.
Tang Xingye thought calmly that they probably looked down on him fundamentally. Showing such anger was just because their ego was damaged.
Tang Xingye didn’t believe in love. Impulses generated by pheromones and hormones disappeared when passion faded. Only weighing pros and cons made him feel safe.
Love was too profound; Tang Xingye didn’t want to ponder this great proposition. He said very seriously, “Don’t say such things. You’ve only known me for a few months.”
Tang Xingye thought for a moment. Although he hadn’t seriously dated, he still put on the attitude of an elder educating a junior. “Falling in love is good. I’m not advising you not to. In college, focus on improving learning abilities; don’t be a love-brain.”
Of course, with Pei Lian’s family background, even without studying hard, there was a way out.
After speaking, Tang Xingye feared overcorrecting and turning Pei Lian into a playboy scumbag. “No wait, if someone likes you, you should only like them back.”
Pei Lian looked at him with those pleading, affectionate eyes, repeating, “Only like one.”
Tang Xingye worried Pei Lian’s personality would lead to extreme things if dumped, so he seriously explained the dangers of messing around. “Healthy relationships. Don’t mess around; points will be deducted.”
While talking about healthy relationships, Pei Lian’s fingertips suddenly clasped Tang Xingye’s wrist, asking softly, “Taught so much… demonstrate for me?”
Tang Xingye was satisfied with Pei Lian’s obedience. “Pei Lian, like… Mmph!”
Pei Lian suddenly leaned close and kissed his lips.
The sudden kiss froze Tang Xingye. His brain had only one thought: Pei Lian is crazy!
Tang Xingye tried to press Pei Lian’s shoulders to push him away. Pei Lian hooked his neck, taking his lips into his mouth.
Fluids entangled between lips and teeth. Lemon pheromones fell on the body like wet rain threads, carrying ambiguous, hazy colors.
Tang Xingye’s limbs went weak. Pei Lian supported him, palm pressing on his waist, sending a shiver through his spine.
Cold and hot breaths intermingled. When pulling away, white vapor rose from the lip bead. Tang Xingye panted, the corners of his eyes flushed watery red.
Wrapped in pheromones, the first reaction crawling up the nerve endings was pleasure.
Tang Xingye wiped his lips, red from kissing, seemingly broken skin, a bit painful. He pinched Pei Lian’s chin. “Why kiss?”
Pei Lian mumbled indistinctly, “I’m handing in homework… the healthy relationship you taught.”
Tang Xingye looked at him askance. Great, using me for practice.
Pei Lian lowered his eyes, looking a bit sad. “Did I not do well enough? I’m not very skilled for the first time. I’ll do better next time.”
Tang Xingye was laughed at by Pei Lian. He pinched Pei Lian’s face harder. “Then do you need to find someone to fuck you first, practice well, before dating seriously? Is kissing such a casual thing?”
Pei Lian was honest. “Not casual. I was kissing you very seriously.”
“…”
Tang Xingye let go, carrying a hint of self-mockery. “Because I’m not important, so you can kiss casually?”
He suddenly felt annoyed. Why? Pei Lian disobeying, defying him?
Pei Lian quickly grabbed his wrist, holding his hand, explaining, “No, I like you. I said it very seriously.”
Tang Xingye raised his eyes lazily to look at him, slapping Pei Lian neither lightly nor heavily. “Like?”
Pei Lian stared at him. “As long as you nod, I can do anything to make you happy.”
“I’m not happy right now.” Tang Xingye’s words carried personal emotions, disregarding propriety. “Do you want to date, or just simply want a Beta…”
Before he could finish, Pei Lian kissed him again. The kiss fell like a sudden storm, catching Tang Xingye off guard. Words unspoken were blocked between lips and teeth.
Unlike the lingering just now, this time the tongue pried directly into the lip seam, deep into the wet, hot mouth, sucking his tongue tip, licking the fluids inside thoroughly.
This time Tang Xingye really wanted to slap Pei Lian. Sick in the head?
He kicked Pei Lian, but the other didn’t budge.
Crazy, truly crazy.
He couldn’t help scolding angrily a dozen times in his heart, but it was crushed between lips and teeth. A strange shiver surged from deep within his body.
The soft, moist mouth was addictive. Pei Lian finally understood why couples loved kissing. Not enough, still not enough.
Like a traveler in the desert picking up a leaf, wishing to hold it in his mouth, wanting to suck the dew on it dry, licking incessantly.
Tang Xingye couldn’t catch his breath, vision darkening a bit.
Pei Lian finally pulled away slightly, nose tip rubbing against the wet corner of his lips, voice low and hoarse, asking carefully, “Are you happier now?”
Tang Xingye’s breathing was disordered, eyes rimmed red, unable to stop sneering. Why didn’t you ask if I was happy when you kissed me just now?
“I like Brother so much. Your tongue is so comfortable and soft.”
Tang Xingye couldn’t bear it anymore and slapped Pei Lian again.
The crisp slap was exceptionally clear in the room.
Pei Lian turned his face, touched his numb cheek, stunned for a while.
He turned the other cheek toward Tang Xingye’s palm. “Here too.”
“…”
Really want to kill Pei Lian.
Seeing Tang Xingye not moving, Pei Lian lowered his head, apologizing seriously. “Sorry, hurt your hand.”
“What do you take me for?”
Tang Xingye felt Pei Lian’s view on love was truly deformed—needing to find someone to practice with before dating, only daring to date after practicing well.
If an Alpha said this, it would be a scumbag’s excuse for cheating. But Pei Lian spoke with sincerity.
“Lover.”
Lover’s practice partner, probably. That anger surged in Tang Xingye again. “Say that again, and I’ll glue your mouth shut with superglue.”
Pei Lian was silent for a while, extending his pinky to hook Tang Xingye’s pinky. Tang Xingye brushed his hand away. Pei Lian tried again, repeatedly.
Tang Xingye regretted it a bit. Why did he have to be a teacher and teach Pei Lian?
Pei Lian pinched his fingertip. “If you don’t like it, I won’t say it.”
“You like my brother?”
Pei Lian: “He snuck out from home, followed you shamelessly, and didn’t give you money. Why do you like him?”
Tang Xingye was speechless for a moment. Pei Lian’s tone was serious, full of curiosity, seemingly just wanting to know the answer.
If there appeared even a bit of contempt or accusation, Tang Xingye would slap him.
Tang Xingye scrutinized Pei Lian with a calm gaze. Those clear eyes revealed sadness, but still wanted an answer.
When they first met, their tacit understanding of identities wasn’t mutually exposed. At this moment, they had to be honest.
Wen Ze and his past were entangled too tightly, too complicated to explain the sequence of events.
Fortunately, Pei Lian didn’t intend to get to the bottom of it. He showed a refreshing smile, voice pinched a bit. “I look very much like my brother, right? Height, size, almost the same.”
Pei Lian’s demeanor at this moment was indeed very like Wen Ze. Could brothers related by blood not be alike?
Pei Lian grabbed Tang Xingye’s hand and pressed it on his own face. “You can treat me as him… It doesn’t matter if you call his name.”
Tang Xingye hadn’t expected him to say such words. He widened his eyes and withdrew his hand.
Pei Lian looked into Tang Xingye’s eyes. “The person watching stars with you that summer night was me. Wen Ze was sick and didn’t come. It was dark; you didn’t recognize me.”
His voice suddenly became very light. “You pointed at Lyra and said it looked like an isolated island abandoned by the galaxy.”
“When you counted the seventh meteor, you secretly made a wish.”
Fortunately, Pei Lian didn’t continue, only letting him know his liking wasn’t casual.
“…”
Was what Pei Lian said just now true? He was really confessing to me?
Tang Xingye realized.
He savored what Pei Lian said, falling into thought. Why was my first reaction avoidance and denial?
Probably because in my bones, I don’t believe in feelings, don’t believe in anyone.
Tang Xingye fell into silence. Pei Lian’s heart felt like it was roasting on a fire, fried repeatedly.
Knowing he was humiliating himself, he wanted to speak. “You don’t have to refuse me, you can try…”
Tang Xingye looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze, so he stopped, only spitting out the core word: “Substitute.”
Tang Xingye murmured this word in his heart. He didn’t know what to say, finally sighing:
“Wen Ze was my best friend.”
This was the most honest answer Tang Xingye could give.
…
Lin Mo listened expressionlessly to the conversation in the earphones, the red dot blinking on the computer screen.
The clock on the wall pointed to seven o’clock sharp. The lecture had already started; the noise in the auditorium was blocked out by the earphones.
In the earphones came the subtle sound of fabric friction.
Lin Mo’s face was cold, his gaze never leaving the screen—that red dot, from beginning to end, had never moved.
But until the event ended, Tang Xingye still didn’t appear.
A night passed. Tang Xingye didn’t return to the dormitory.
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