"What did you mean by what you said today?"

By the time Zhou Shiyi had finished tidying up, Gu Sheng finally asked that question.

"Which one?"

Zhou Shiyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Gu Sheng stepped forward and stood in front of Zhou Shi Yi; at some point he noticed that Zhou Shi Yi was tilting his head up a little.

"What did you mean by that line, 'I'm jealous'?"

Gu Sheng refused to miss a single detail on Zhou Shi Yi's face.

Zhou Shiyi's eyes were like a deep pool that could draw people in. He looked at Gu Sheng and saw him staring without blinking, his gaze flickering constantly—he looked very nervous.

Zhou Shiyi smiled and said, "It means exactly what you think."

Gu Sheng was slightly dazed by that smile, and didn't fully come to until Zhou Shi Yi walked past him.

Zhou Shiyi was walking ahead when suddenly he heard rapid footsteps closing in from behind. He had barely turned when Gu Sheng pressed him against the corner wall.

Until his back suddenly slammed against the wall, and from the force, Gu Sheng was propelled into Zhou Shiyi's arms.

"You like me?"

Gu Sheng clenched Zhou Shiyi's clothes, his expression equal parts surprised and delighted.

Zhou Shiyi placed his hand over Gu Sheng's, which was gripping his clothes, bowed his head slightly, and smiled as he said, "Gu Sheng, I like you."

Gu Sheng heard the sound of his blood rushing against his eardrums; his blood was boiling because of Zhou Shi Yi's words.

"Say it again."

Gu Sheng could hardly believe it — that Zhou Shiyi, who had always looked down on the world as people drowned in their desires, had actually one day stepped down from his pedestal and fallen with him.

"Gu Sheng."

Zhou Shiyi cupped his face with both hands and said very earnestly,

"I like you. Will you be my boyfriend?"

Gu Sheng's face flushed all the way to the roots of his ears. He blinked and wrenched his hand free from Zhou Shiyi's.

Zhou Shiyi watched Gu Sheng bow his head, a nervousness fluttering in his chest.

"You're not willing?"

The rest of the words were muffled as Gu Sheng collided into both of their chests.

Feeling their rapid heartbeats, the competing emotions echoed in the cavity of his chest; the two heartbeats gradually synchronized, indistinguishable from one another.

"I do."

Gu Sheng held Zhou Shiyi tightly, his eyes warming. He seemed to be clutching the last bit of meaning, a life-saving straw, refusing to let go, as if trying to press the man before him into his very bones.

Out of Zhou Shiyi's sight, Gu Sheng's eyes were full of madness and stubbornness; he finally tucked that slice of moonlight into his own arms.

"Zhou Shiyi, that's what you said yourself—no backing out."

Zhou Shiyi hugged Gu Sheng again, rubbing his fingers through his soft hair.

"Mm, I won't take it back."

After a while, they heard someone hurrying toward the bathroom. Gu Sheng pulled away from Zhou Shiyi's embrace, but his hand didn't let go.

He held onto Zhou Shiyi's hand, afraid Zhou Shiyi would vanish from before his eyes.

Zhou Shiyi looked at his freshly minted boyfriend with nothing but indulgence.

And so he let him have his way.

Gu Sheng's eyes were red at the corners; he stared at Zhou Shiyi without blinking and said, "Am I dreaming? Zhou Shiyi, am I dreaming? If I am, you can't push me away."

Zhou Shiyi reached out with his other hand and mussed up his short hair.

"Idiot."

Feeling Zhou Shiyi's fingers threading through his hair, Gu Sheng exhaled slowly.

Like this, neither of them were fit to return to the dining table: one had wrinkled clothes, the other's gaze was all over the place, the corners of his eyes reddened, and his hair was a mess.

They both asked their respective instructors for leave, and hand in hand they walked back to school.

There were a lot of people along the way; seeing the two of them holding hands was not surprising at all—there were already many young couples here.

A couple who just started dating are like conjoined twins—inseparable, unwilling to part; no distance is ever too far, every return trip feels too short.

Besides, the dinner spot was not far outside the school.

Their hands, without either of them remembering who moved first, became interlaced fingers; feeling the sweat in their palms, they both knew the other was nervous too.

The walk from the school gate to the dorm used to feel too long to Gu Sheng, but now he only felt that the path was too short.

His soul kept drifting in the sky; every step he took felt like he was walking on cotton, and the only real thing was Zhou Shiyi clutched in his hands.

Zhou Shiyi wasn't any better; this was his first time in a relationship too.

He had always thought that after starting to date, things would just be a bit more intimate than before, that everyone would recognize them as a couple.

He had never imagined that after he and Gu Sheng shifted from friends to lovers, the change would be so great.

His heart in his chest was pounding violently at Gu Sheng's approach.

He suddenly felt very reluctant.

He couldn't bear to let go of Gu Sheng's hand; he couldn't bear to give Gu Sheng to anyone else.

Just as they were almost at the dormitory door, Gu Sheng suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

He stopped, and Zhou Shiyi stopped too.

The lighting here was a bit dim, but there were definitely quite a few people around.

Many couples had been escorted to the dormitory steps, reluctant to part; the dim lights here provided them cover.

The outer corners of Gu Sheng's eyes were still tinged with a faint red, a sheen of watery light in their depths; when he looked at someone with that gaze, it was as if he was looking at the person he loved most in his heart.

Almost drowning in Gu Sheng's eyes.

"Zhou Shiyi, what are we right now?"

Gu Sheng still couldn't quite believe it, so he could only ask again and again to confirm.

Zhou Shiyi quickly kissed the reddening corner of his eye, watching Gu Sheng look at him a beat behind.

Zhou Shiyi cupped Gu Sheng's face, his thumb brushing the corner of his eye.

"You are my boyfriend. We're a couple."

Gu Sheng's eyes trembled; after a long moment he said, "Mm."

The two of them held each other in the dim light, and Gu Sheng's heart finally settled to the ground.

"And you? What do you think our relationship is?"

Gu Sheng wrapped his arm around Zhou Shiyi's waist and said softly, "You're my boyfriend."

"The only boyfriend?"

Zhou Shiyi smiled faintly. He wasn't that much better than Gu Sheng—he didn't have much security either. He wanted to make their relationship definite, so no one could separate them.

"Yes." Gu Sheng held him tightly.

They held each other tightly, like two magnets finding their matching poles, hugging harder and harder until they were both a little short of breath.

And like that, they still didn't let go of each other.

Only when they heard the dorm supervisor starting to urge them did they release each other, smiles in their eyes.

"Let's go, they'll be locking the doors soon."

When you're a couple, even if you do nothing at all and just stay together, it makes time seem to fly.

Zhou Shiyi looked at the time — it was already late. He hadn't expected that a single hug would make him lose track of time.

He just wanted this moment to last a little longer, a little longer still.

When the two of them returned to the dorm, the other two roommates were already lying in bed; they hurried into the bathroom to wash up.

During this time they had no physical contact, but whenever their eyes met there was always a subtle, secret joy.

After washing up and playing around, they lay in bed and messaged each other.

For the first time, Zhou Shiyi didn't immediately put his phone down and go to sleep after the lights were out.

They talked for a long time; sometimes the topics were meaningless, but their enthusiasm never waned.

It wasn't until either Lu Qi or Wang Henian turned over that they belatedly wished each other good night.

Gu Sheng put his phone down still feeling a bit reluctant; he saw no light coming from Zhou Shiyi's curtains and knew he had gone to bed.

He lay in bed and still couldn't fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, his mind went back to what had happened today.

Gu Sheng simply couldn't sleep. He opened his phone and couldn't help but post a status update to his Moments.

Most of his friends on Moments were night owls. After he posted, he quickly received a few messages. Gu Sheng didn’t even look; he turned off his phone screen and set it aside to sleep.

He had no idea one of his posts had caused a ripple through his friends list.

He knew he couldn’t worry about it—he still had to get up early to accompany his boyfriend to morning exercise.

The next morning at six, Zhou Shiyi was awakened by his biological clock.

Although he had gone to bed late last night, his previously good habits meant that when he got up in the morning, aside from his mind being a little foggy, he didn't feel any other discomfort.

That lingering grogginess vanished after splashing cold water on his face in the morning.

When he returned to the dorm, he heard a vibration from Gu Sheng's bed. Gu Sheng's curtain fluttered and a head poked out.

Gu Sheng had stayed up late the night before; his eyes were closed but his mind was still buzzing. He only fell asleep shortly before it was time to get up.

Drowsily peeking out, Gu Sheng couldn't for a moment remember why he'd set such an early alarm.

Zhou Shiyi was a little surprised; he remembered Gu Sheng had third period this morning, so he could have slept until then.

Seeing Zhou Shiyi already ready to go, Gu Sheng suddenly scrambled out of bed.

Worried he'd fall, Zhou Shiyi reached out to steady him.

"Take it slow,"

Zhou Shiyi whispered, careful not to wake their two roommates.

Gu Sheng held Zhou Shiyi’s hand and replied in a breathy voice, “Wait for me, I’ll be ready in a minute.”

Gu Sheng rushed into the bathroom to wash up and came out quickly.

As he followed Zhou Shiyi downstairs, his mind still felt like mush.

Not until his feet hit the track and the morning chill blew over him did he…

Go Sheng got goosebumps all over; Zhou Shiyi had already started warming up.

He ran a couple of laps with Zhou Shiyi, then stood aside to wait for him to return.

He watched Zhou Shiyi; even though there were so many people on the field, his eyes were only on Zhou Shiyi.

After a few laps, Zhou Shiyi came back and took Gu Sheng to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Let's go."

Gu Sheng handed Zhou Shiyi a tissue and some warm water; the lingering drowsiness from the morning had completely vanished.

After breakfast, Zhou Shiyi said goodbye to Gu Sheng because he had to stop by the lab before class.

Gu Sheng felt all warm inside, completely unaware of how silly he’d been to get up early just to have breakfast with Zhou Shiyi.

So silly that Zhou Shiyi, before leaving, turned back and looked at him several times.

After Gu Sheng had breakfast, he brought breakfast for the other two in the dorm.

When he returned, he heard Wang Henian sit up from bed like a resurrected corpse: "Crap, it's too late."

Wang Henian still had class in the morning and had almost overslept.

"Take your time, I brought breakfast for you—eat a couple bites on the way."

Gu Sheng put down the food, took out a book, and started previewing.

His boyfriend is a top student, so he naturally can't be too shabby either.

"Mm mm mm."

Wang Henian had a toothbrush in his mouth; he spat out the foam before he could hear clearly what was said.

"Sheng ge, you're so nice, you even brought me breakfast. I'm really touched—best roommate in Huaguo."

He grabbed the books and was about to head out.

Lu Qi took a portion as well.

"Thanks."

It wasn't until they were about to leave that Wang Henian finally realized what had happened

"Sheng-ge, aren't you going to class? You're going to be late."

Gu Sheng leisurely flipped a page and said, "My third period, hurry up and go, you'll be late soon."

Wang Henian let out a wail and immediately dashed out of the dorm.

When Wang Henian reached the classroom, he saw that Zhou Shiyi had already saved seats for them.

He was moved to tears, went over and thanked Zhou Shiyi—what kind of virtue had he accumulated in his past life to have such a good roommate in this one.

That same morning, he received care from both of his roommates.

During class, halfway through, Wang Henian drifted off and suddenly remembered.

Gu Sheng clearly didn't have class that morning—why did he get up so early, and even bring them breakfast.

It wasn't until after class that Wang Henian pulled out his phone and saw that late last night, Gu Yuyan Shansheng had posted an update.

It read: "I'm no longer single."

There was nothing else—no expression, no extra symbols—just those few words, and yet they made your heart feel like it was being scratched by a cat's claws.

"Ah, Sheng-ge suddenly isn't single anymore? Is this for real?"

Zhou Shiyi looked at the phone Wang Henian handed him and saw the post Gu Sheng had made; he also noticed that Gu Sheng had posted it after they finished chatting last night.

"Yes, he's no longer single."

Wang Henian looked at him in horror.

"When did that happen?"

"Just last night."

Zhou Shiyi's ears were a little red.

Wang Henian was even more surprised. Lu Qi had also heard the commotion and looked at Zhou Shiyi with a faintly awkward expression, as if lost in thought.

Wang Henian, still reeling from the blow of his good roommate suddenly getting into a relationship behind his back, heard Zhou Shiyi say.

"I have good news for you all — I'm no longer single either."

Wang Hennian abruptly stood up from his seat and saw his classmates all staring at him. Embarrassed, he apologized and then sat back down.

He leaned over to Zhou Shiyi and asked quietly, "When did that happen?"

"Last night as well."

Wang Henian leaned back, hardly daring to believe it.

"Are you serious? You're not joking with me?"

Lu Qi had been suspecting it earlier; when he heard Zhou Shiyi say he was off the market too, he'd assumed it was true. But seeing Wang Henian looking completely oblivious to that possibility, Lu Qi felt like hiding his face.

"Of course it's true."

Wang Henian felt deeply wounded by his roommate and still hadn't recovered from the shock of both his roommates suddenly getting into relationships.

Wang Henian looked at Zhou Shiyi, then at the post Gu Sheng had made, and asked suspiciously, "You and Gu Sheng went out for dinner yesterday, right? Was it from then?"

"Ahem, I guess you could say that."

Wang Henian felt like he'd taken a heavy blow first thing in the morning.

It was foreseeable that Gu Sheng would stop being single — after all, he had always been very popular. But Zhou Shiyi, who threw himself into the lab and ignored everyone's advances, also ended up in a relationship.

Wang Henian still couldn't figure it out. He kept thinking about it and remembered that yesterday they'd posted in the dorm group saying the student council was having a dinner and might be back late, asking if anyone needed them to bring anything.

He never expected that after the dinner, both of them would be off the market.

It was like, he didn't understand why military training hadn't even finished before some people had already found partners; he equally couldn't understand why, for some people, getting into a relationship was so easy — and yet that person was not him.

"Weren't you guys playing Truth or Dare and doing a punishment task?"

"Alright, alright, class is starting, the teacher will be back any minute."

Lu Qi reached out and pulled Wang Henian back to his seat; he really couldn't stand it anymore—Wang Henian kept acting the fool.

Before class started, Zhou Shiyi took out his phone, saw the post Gu Sheng had made, and posted one of his own.

When he saw the teacher coming, Zhou Shiyi put his phone away, opened his textbook, and got ready for class.

After all, Gu Sheng had stayed up so late last night; he'd forced himself to read for an hour and was a bit tired.

But now lying in bed, with time still short, Gu Sheng took out his phone intending to rest for a bit.

Just as he unlocked his phone, he saw his WeChat notifications explode across the screen; it took him a moment to make out the messages.

The screen was full of red dots, like they were waiting for Gu Sheng to check them.

Gu Sheng opened it and saw that his former friend had been asking him about that post on his Moments.

The earliest message was from a few minutes earlier: Wang Henian had sent him

"!!!"

I don't know what kind of whim he was on, but Gu Sheng saw that someone was asking about it in the family group chat.

It was last night at two in the morning when Gu Yuan suddenly took a screenshot and posted it in the family group chat.

At that time Gu Sheng had just sent his message and then gone to sleep, so he didn't see it.

Gu Yuan took the screenshot after Qin Shu and Gu Jinyan arrived at the scene.

Qin Shu and Gu Jinyan are mutual friends of his and Gu Yuan's, so their avatars were visible.

Qin Shu: "???"

"Sheng ge, did your account get hacked?"

Gu Jinyan: "Wow."

This morning when she woke up, Nian Meilan saw it too.

"Shengsheng, is it true?"

Gu's father: "When are you bringing him home to meet us?"

Gu Sheng replied: "He's my classmate. He's a bit shy—when we feel it's the right time, we'll bring him home."

When Nian Meilan saw

"him," she at least learned a bit of information about the other party and naturally assumed that Gu Sheng's partner was a male omega.

She knew Gu Sheng's physical condition well; he had always acted very averse to pheromones, but Gu Sheng needed to find an omega with a high compatibility and try to develop a tailored suppressant.

She hadn't expected that Gu Sheng, just having started college, would already have a boyfriend.

In such a short time, unless he had harbored feelings for someone from the start, there was another possibility: he'd encountered an omega with very high compatibility, an attraction etched into their genes that could make them fall in love at first sight — not impossible.

If that were the case, Nian Meilan would feel considerably more at ease.

Gu Yuan, however, thought a bit more. He remembered Gu Sheng's classmate who had been called Zhou Shiyi.

From what he knew of Gu Sheng, it was impossible for him to fall for someone else so quickly. The most likely person for Gu Sheng to be involved with was none other than that beta.

He sent Gu Sheng a private message: "Is this Zhou Shiyi?"

Gu Sheng: "Mm."

"…"

Gu Sheng: "?"

"Really didn't expect that."

Gu Sheng, thinking about Gu Yuan sending screenshots and complaining in the middle of the night, replied, "Big brother, worry less. You sleep so late and get up so early—be careful you'll go bald."

Gu Yuan: "smile.jpg"

Gu Sheng backed out and saw hundreds of red dots under that post.

He clicked in and they were all asking about him being off the market.

There were also newly added friends who, seeing Gu Sheng's news, sent him their congratulations.

A few hundred people liked his post, and everyone was asking who it was.

He scrolled through and didn't see any messages from Zhou Shiyi.

He exited the feed and opened Zhou Shiyi's chat window, noticing that Zhou Shiyi had changed his profile picture.

Zhou Shiyi had been using the avatar Gu Sheng picked for him all along; unless there was a special reason, Zhou Shiyi probably wouldn't have changed it.

He clicked to enlarge the picture and saw a pot of mint.

Gu Sheng was stunned for a moment.

Then his face suddenly flushed bright red.

Zhou Shiyi was the kind of person who usually kept a low profile, but he often did things that were a little surprising.

In the ABO world, asking about someone's scent of pheromones is a very ambiguous matter; a beta like Zhou Shiyi would rarely pay attention to what someone else's pheromones smelled like.

Gu Sheng remembered again that Zhou Shiyi could smell his pheromones; Zhou Shiyi had tested it and could only smell Gu Sheng's pheromones.

Maybe it was because Gu Sheng was the one who caused the aftereffects in Zhou Shi Yi’s body. Then again, Zhou Shi Yi hadn’t thought to test anyone else, and Gu Sheng certainly wouldn’t let someone actually bite Zhou Shi Yi.

Gu Sheng wanted nothing more than to pack Zhou Shi Yi up and take him away, to keep him all to himself; whenever other people lingered on Zhou Shi Yi, he felt like he would go crazy.

But that was before — now he could rightfully leave his scent on Zhou Shi Yi and let everyone know Zhou Shi Yi belonged to him.

Seeing it was getting late, Gu Sheng tidied his mood and headed to class.

This class was taught by an old professor in the department who was fairly lenient with students. For the final class, he asked them to analyze the economy of a certain country.

In his previous life Gu Sheng had also studied finance, and coupled with a few extra years of experience beyond others, he finished it quickly.

The old professor told the students to do their homework; anyone who finished could go home early.

Gu Sheng rushed ahead and became the first.

The old professor looked at Gu Sheng with some surprise. He glanced down and skimmed through it; Gu Sheng’s viewpoint brightened his eyes. He had wanted to discuss it with Gu Sheng, but saw him leave the classroom without looking back—his silhouette even looked a little elated.

The old professor pushed his glasses up in surprise, thinking about how young people are these days.

Zhou Shiyi had a full morning of classes, as Gu Sheng knew, so after leaving the classroom he went to the Biology Department building and waited downstairs for Zhou Shiyi to finish.

Zhou Shiyi had just finished class and, on the stairs, saw Gu Sheng standing under the begonia tree.

The white begonia blossoms were at their peak; unable to withstand the breeze, a few petals drifted down, landing on the shoulders of the person waiting beneath the tree.

Gu Sheng stood under the begonia, sunlight filtering through the branches and flowers and casting over him, making it look as if he were coated in a layer of gold.

Zhou Shiyi could hear his heart pounding violently in his chest. He said goodbye to a few senior brothers and sisters and walked down the stairs.

Many people saw Gu Sheng standing under the begonia tree.

Someone mustered the courage to ask Gu Sheng for his contact information.

Gu Sheng didn't know what to say; he pointed toward Zhou Shiyi, who had hurried over. The man looked a bit surprised.

Turning around, he saw another handsome guy approaching. He felt a little dizzy, but that guy already had someone.

"I wish you both happiness."

When Zhou Shiyi came over, he heard the man say that to the two of them.

Gu Sheng smiled at that person and said, "Mm, thanks, you too."

"Why did you come over?"

Zhou Shiyi brushed the petals off Gu Sheng's shoulder.

"The teacher had us do homework this class, so we could leave early. So I came."

It was only a few minutes' walk, but Gu Sheng wanted to see him sooner.

Zhou Shiyi smiled once.

"Let's go, boyfriend."

"Mm." Gu Sheng followed with a calm expression. If his ears hadn't been bright red, Zhou Shiyi would have thought he really was that composed.

Wang Henián walked out of the academic building and saw Gu Sheng and Zhou Shiyi walking together. He was about to call to them, but Lu Qi held him back.

"What are you doing?"

"Sheng-ge and the big shot are leaving? Aren't they waiting for us?"

Lu Qi could only say to him, "Didn't you notice?"

Wang Henian looked bewildered: "Ah, what did you notice?"

Lu Qi could only shake his head, but refused to say anything more.

Watching the two walking ahead, there was clearly no physical contact and there was even room for someone to stand between them, but the atmosphere made it obvious at a glance that they were a pair — you just couldn't insert yourself.

And of course Wang Henian was still a little dazed and kept asking questions; Lu Qi, thoroughly annoyed, could only loop an arm over Wang Henian's shoulder and shepherd him along.

Wang Henen immediately blew up; he hated people who were taller than him and then bullied others more than anyone.

What should you do after you start dating?

Zhou Shiyi has never been in a relationship, but he can look things up.

“I heard this milk tea place is pretty good. Want to try it?”

After entering a relationship, what you do doesn't matter so much—what matters is being with that person.

Watching movies, drinking milk tea, even arranging to play games together—all of these can help strengthen a relationship.

“Sure.”

"Wait." Zhou Shiyi went to get in line.

He was tall, standing out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.

The milk tea shop was well-staffed, and before long it was Zhou Shiyi's turn.

Zhou Shiyi placed the order; since neither of them liked things too sweet, he had both drinks made with 30% sugar.

By the time Zhou Shiyi reached Gu Sheng, Gu Sheng still wanted to say that they could have queued together.

"Let's go."

Zhou Shiyi switched the milk tea to his other hand and offered his left hand. Gu Sheng immediately understood and placed his hand in Zhou Shiyi's.

The two of them walked out of the milk tea shop holding hands.

As soon as they stepped outside, Zhou Shiyi felt Gu Sheng's popularity. Just a moment ago, seeing Gu Sheng standing alone in the shop, he had looked like he was waiting for someone.

It turned out Gu Sheng really was waiting for someone, and that someone was his handsome roommate.

As expected, handsome and handsome handled it themselves.

Someone behind them snapped a photo of the two walking hand in hand and posted it on the school's forum.

On the school forum, Gu Sheng's popularity remained through the roof, and Zhou Shiyi was often brought up, labeled as Gu Sheng's handsome roommate.

But the strange thing was, after people had seen it, they would unconsciously ignore Zhou Shiyi's existence, and then the next time they saw a photo of Zhou Shiyi, they'd still be struck again by his looks.

But this time, standing beside Gu Sheng, everyone realized that Zhou Shi Yi really was an unusually handsome guy.

They were pained and remorseful — how had they never noticed before? Only now did they learn that these two were actually a couple.

Later someone suddenly popped up and said, "Zhou Shi Yi is a beta, and Gu Sheng seems to be an alpha, right?"

The thread fell silent for a moment, then plunged back into discussion. The whole thread was bumped up and became a hot post.