Zhou Shiyi took two bowls of noodles down to the kitchen.

The cleaning auntie cleans out the fridge on a schedule; the dates on everything were very fresh.

Zhou Shiyi glanced at what was in the fridge and made the simplest tomato and egg noodles.

He had just brought them out when the doorbell rang. Before he could set the bowls down, he heard someone unlocking the front door with a key.

Zhou Shiyi and Nian Meilan, who had just come in, exchanged a glance.

Nian Meilan hadn’t expected to see someone else here either; both of them were momentarily stunned.

Seeing the newcomer—who, at certain angles, looked very much like Gu Sheng—Zhou Shiyi immediately realized she was a family member. “Hello, Auntie. I’m Gu Sheng’s classmate. My name is Zhou Shiyi.”

Nian Meilan smiled gently with a warm demeanor. “You’re Shengsheng’s classmate, huh? And what brings you here?”

Nian Meilan hesitated as her gaze swept over the bowl Zhou Shiyi was holding.

Zhou Shiyi set the bowl down. “Auntie, have you had breakfast? Gu Sheng will be down in a bit. Let’s eat together.”

So when Gu Sheng rubbed his sleepy eyes and came downstairs looking like he hadn’t slept enough, he saw his mother and Zhou Shiyi sitting opposite each other, eating breakfast together.

Nian Meilan helped Gu Sheng to his feet and scolded teasingly, “Well, isn’t that just like you—sleeping soundly in bed and getting your classmate to make you breakfast.”

Seeing Zhou Shiyi give him a look and guessing that Mrs. Nian still didn’t know he was hurt, he stretched lazily and sat down without any composure.

Mrs. Nian wiped her mouth gracefully. She hadn’t eaten much either; she had sat down to breakfast mainly to keep Zhou Shiyi company and to prevent him from feeling awkward sitting alone.

She saw that Gu Sheng seemed otherwise fine, just looking a bit listless and haggard, as if they’d skipped class yesterday to play video games all night.

What she didn’t know was that Gu Sheng’s exhaustion didn’t come from gaming; it was from being pushed and tossed around yesterday, plus a high fever in the middle of the night. The fact that he could sit there looking composed at all was already him forcing himself.

Gu Sheng wore a long-sleeved shirt that hid the bandages, but some details couldn’t be concealed.

His eyes were half-open as he reached for the soup bun the matron Nian had brought, but halfway there he felt the wound sting, so his chopsticks shifted and he instead went for a side dish nearby.

Before Madam Nian could ask anything, Zhou Shiyi had already placed the plate of soup buns in front of Gu Sheng.

Madam Nian was startled. Since Gu Sheng was diagnosed with pheromone allergy, he disliked accepting things other people had touched, yet unexpectedly he casually picked up a soup bun and ate it in a distracted, half-hearted way.

“You’re such a lazy child.”

While having breakfast with Zhou Shiyi, Nian Meilan had already learned that he was a beta, a special admit to Mingde High School, with excellent grades—and that he lived only with an elderly family member.

When she first came in she felt Zhou Shiyi looked familiar, and only later remembered that he was the one who had saved her two sons.

As a mother herself, seeing Zhou Shiyi about the same age as her younger son and having to shoulder the family’s burden, and given her good first impression of him, she didn’t ask why the two of them had skipped class.

She only reminded the two of them that this was a critical period and they should still prioritize their studies.

Mrs. Nian’s attitude was very gentle, a smile at the corner of her mouth, without any hint of reproach.

It was the first time Zhou Shiyi had been spoken to like that by a parent. In his previous life he had always been “that other family’s child”; no one cared about his grades, but he still collected scholarships effortlessly and eventually got into a top university.

He hurriedly agreed, while Gu Sheng showed a bit of reluctance, looking exactly like a disaffected teenager tired of school.

Nian Meilan glared at him again, then turned to Zhou Shiyi and spoke in a very gentle tone: “You’re still in the second year now; next term you’ll be in your third year. This year is the most critical—you need to study properly.”

When Mrs. Nian left, she hadn’t actually said anything heavy, but both Zhou Shiyi and Gu Sheng felt the pressure.

Watching Mrs. Nian get into the car, Zhou Shiyi closed the door and saw Gu Sheng lounging lazily, leaning against the entryway.

A whole night’s fever had left Gu Sheng in poor spirits. Zhou Shiyi helped him to sit in the living room and placed a throw pillow behind him.

“Do you want to go upstairs and sleep for a bit? You don’t look well.”

Gu Shengsheng said helplessly, “No, if I sleep now I won’t have to go to class this afternoon.”

“You still have class this afternoon?” Zhou Shiyi looked at his shoulder, hesitating to speak.

“Ms. Nian gave me an ultimatum a little while ago—if I don’t go this afternoon, it won’t be my mom coming over, it’ll be my dad coming to have a talk.” Gu Sheng shrugged his phone; Ms. Nian messaged him as soon as she got in the car.

Mrs. Nian dotes on her child, but only when Gu Sheng truly needs to take time off or faces problems he can’t solve; if he were simply skipping class to play games, she wouldn’t indulge him without limits.

By the afternoon, the two of them went to school together.

They entered the classroom one after the other, drawing the attention of their classmates.

Gu Sheng taking time off this semester had become as normal as eating and drinking, while Zhou Shiyi never socialized with the class; in his free time you could always find him over there doing practice problems.

Yesterday they both asked for leave at the same time; this afternoon they came to class together. Nobody knew when their relationship had gotten so close.

Although Gu Sheng came to class, he’d lost a lot of blood and hadn’t recovered, so he had no energy.

All afternoon, Gu Sheng slept with his head on the desk.

Zhou Shiyi, unusually, didn’t work on the exercise book; instead he took out his notes and listened to the teacher, occasionally scribbling and doodling in them.

He Yanqing looked at the two of them suspiciously.

Originally he often saw Gu Sheng constantly turning his head to stare at Zhou Shiyi during class, while Zhou Shiyi acted indifferent. Today Zhou Shiyi seemed to have changed—during free moments in class he would glance at Gu Sheng, and when he saw Gu Sheng sitting awkwardly he would lightly frown.

Not to mention, at dismissal time, when his meal card was missing and he rushed back to the classroom, he happened to see Zhou Shiyi walking to Gu Sheng’s desk and handing him the notes he’d taken in class.

Gu Sheng had a terrible morning mood; He Yanqing experienced it on his first day—whenever Gu Sheng was still catching up on sleep, the rest of the class would tone themselves down.

But this time, Zhou Shiyi woke him, and instead of losing his temper he said a few things to Zhou Shiyi, then packed up and walked out together with him.

If it was inconvenient to go home after school in the afternoon, he could finish dinner at school and return later—He Yanqing did that.

But given Gu Sheng’s injuries, Zhou Shiyi could only make convalescent meals for him.

Gu Sheng’s household atmosphere was fairly relaxed; as long as Gu Sheng said he didn’t want to go home, staying out was acceptable.

And he didn’t dare have the housekeeper cook for him—if she came too often, Gu Sheng’s injuries would inevitably be exposed. So until his wounds healed, he didn’t dare go home.

He was out on his own with no one to look after him, and Zhou Shiyi couldn’t bear it, so he went back with him.

When Grandma Zhou had been in the hospital, Zhou Shiyi had gotten pretty skilled at making meals for the sick.

Fortunately his cooking was good, so the recovery food he made was low in oil and salt but not at all tasteless; you could even taste the natural fragrance of the ingredients, and Gu Sheng found himself eating a bit more.

He lay on the sofa watching Zhou Shiyi bustling around tidying up, directing him to put the bowls in the dishwasher, and Zhou Shiyi even cleaned the kitchen.

“Zhou Shiyi, has anyone ever told you—”

“What?” Zhou Shiyi couldn’t hear clearly from the kitchen and asked again.

Gu Sheng raised his voice: “You really remind me of the Snail Girl.”

As soon as the words came out, both of them froze.

How to describe the relationship between the two of them was hard to say — they looked very close, the kind who could go home and cook together — but strictly speaking, their relationship only truly began to break the ice yesterday.

As soon as Gu Sheng’s words left his mouth, he felt something was off. Maybe the easy, natural atmosphere between them had given him the mistaken impression that he could joke around with Zhou Shiyi, but Zhou Shiyi was not the kind of person who could take a joke.

He’d seen it back in college—his two roommates joked that Zhou Shiyi lived like a programmed AI.

What he meant was that Zhou Shiyi got up and went to bed at the same times every day, went to the lab like clockwork — for three or four years he’d kept that routine without fail; his life was extremely regular.

The other roommate smiled knowingly, admiring Zhou Shiyi’s day-in, day-out routine over the past four years.

Zhou Shiyi listened with a face full of question marks, not understanding what they were laughing about.

Gu Sheng chuckled a few times as well, and the topic was quickly diverted, so the roommate’s remark didn’t cause much embarrassment.

Now it was just him and Zhou Shiyi. If Zhou Shiyi didn’t respond, they would surely fall into an awkward silence.

He had meant to apologize, to say he was only speaking carelessly and that Zhou Shiyi shouldn’t take it to heart, but before he could get the words out, he heard Zhou Shiyi say one sentence.

“No.”

“Hm?”

Zhou Shiyi thought for a moment, then said seriously, “No one has ever told me I look like the snail girl, you’re the first.”

So that’s why Zhou Shiyi hadn’t spoken earlier — he was thinking about that.

Gu Sheng suddenly laughed out loud.

He found Zhou Shiyi’s deadpan, expressionless face, earnestly answering his thoughtless joking remark, somehow endearing.

Zhou Shiyi looked a little puzzled, not knowing why he was smiling.

Who knew that seeing Zhou Shiyi standing there with a confused look made Gu Sheng find it only more amusing.

He laughed out loud on the sofa and couldn’t stop, laughing until tears streamed down Gu Sheng’s face.

Zhou Shiyi, why are you a person like this.

If not for the things you did—watching him roll on the floor in unbearable pain with no dignity, treating him like a mindless beast, tying him to the hospital bed.

Maybe they could become very good friends.

The corners of his mouth lifted high, but his eyes kept shedding tears.

“What’s wrong? Did the wound split open?”

Gu Sheng felt a little pressure at the corner of his eye, opened his eyes and saw Zhou Shiyi looking at him with a worried expression, using a dry, warm thumb to wipe away the tears streaming down his face.

Gu Sheng’s exaggerated laughter stopped abruptly, like someone had slammed a pause button.

“Smack.”

Gu Sheng’s body moved faster than his brain; he reached out and pried Zhou Shiyi’s hand open.

“It’s nothing, I just choked a bit.” Gu Sheng pushed Zhou Shiyi’s hand away, stood up, and passed by him.

Zhou Shiyi stared at the reddened patch on the back of his hand, unable to understand why Gu Sheng’s attitude toward him had suddenly turned so cold.

He looked at Gu Sheng’s retreating figure, noticing the small spots of blood seeping through his clothes.

Gu Sheng went upstairs as if he felt nothing.

He gave himself a quick wash in the bathroom, then flopped onto the bed.

*knock knock knock*

Gu Sheng buried his face in the blanket, not wanting to respond.

He had clearly intended to get closer to Zhou Shiyi first, then find the key evidence linking Zhou Shiyi to the extremist organization—but how had he failed to hide his emotions just now?

“Gu Sheng, I’m here to help you change the dressing.”

Hearing Zhou Shiyi speak outside, Gu Sheng wiped his face and opened the door calmly.

He saw Zhou Shiyi holding a medical kit and, with a cold expression, let him in.

“You can’t change the dressing by yourself; I’ll leave after it’s done.”

Gu Sheng frowned displeased at his words. “You’re leaving?”

Zhou Shiyi nodded. “Only my grandma’s at home. I didn’t go back yesterday—I was worried she’d worry.”

“Oh.” Gu Sheng replied coldly. Fortunately, Zhou Shiyi was somewhat slow in that regard, so he didn’t take his tone to heart.

Gu Sheng’s wound was on his back; he really couldn’t change the dressing by himself, but having it changed meant he’d have to undress in front of Zhou Shiyi.

Gu Sheng’s body stiffened.

In the last life, in front of Zhou Shiyi he had virtually no privacy; baring his body was a daily occurrence, and even the gland on the back of his neck had been touched countless times by Zhou Shiyi wearing gloves.

Exposing his back now meant he’d have to reveal the gland on the nape of his neck to Zhou Shiyi.

Gu Sheng felt a bit dizzy. Could Zhou Shiyi really have no sense of gender at all, not know that an alpha’s glands can’t be touched casually?

Then he remembered that Zhou Shiyi really might be like that. In his previous life Zhou Shiyi not only touched his glands, he’d also gone through the glands of the alphas and omegas sent into the lab. Although he knew that was for examinations, and maybe to Zhou Shiyi it was just a piece of flesh.

But for the person being touched, exposing the most vulnerable part of your body in front of someone you don’t trust—that psychological torment was the most painful.

Zhou Shiyi set the medicine kit on the bedside table, took out its contents, and saw Gu Sheng still standing there, motionless.

“What’s wrong? Take off your shirt first, I’ll check the wound.”

Gu Sheng, in the midst of a mental tug-of-war, knew rationally that if he wanted to earn Zhou Shiyi’s trust, there was no time for hesitation. Zhou Shiyi was still very weak now; he wouldn’t do anything to him.

Emotionally, he recoiled at the idea of undressing in front of Zhou Shiyi. The small, emotional voice inside him screamed that Zhou Shiyi would surely seize the chance to gather his pheromones and use them against him later.

Reason told him that if he kept hesitating, Zhou Shiyi would get suspicious. Zhou Shiyi, just a beta, wasn’t even afraid when an alpha undressed in front of him—what was he, an alpha, being so fussy for?

Gu Sheng’s hand hovered over the hem of his clothes, unsure whose advice to follow.

When he turned his head, he saw Zhou Shiyi looking at him with suspicion, an encouraging glint still in his eyes.

Gu Sheng kept a cold expression; he couldn’t understand why he could see encouragement on Zhou Shiyi’s poker face. Surely he didn’t think he was afraid of pain and that’s why he hesitated.

With a sudden resolve, Gu Sheng gritted his teeth, grabbed the hem, and took off his pajamas.

He took off his clothes, and Gu Sheng slowly folded them, cupping the garments in both hands like an offering and placing them on the bed.

Seeing that dawdling would get them nowhere, Gu Sheng moved in front of Zhou Shiyi and turned his body toward him.

“Turn around.” Zhou Shiyi said as he disinfected his own hands, doing the preparatory work.

Gu Sheng’s body stiffened for a moment; he forced down his instincts and exposed his back.

If he turned away, he couldn’t see Zhou Shiyi’s face.

Gu Sheng comforted himself, telling himself not to think of him as Zhou Shiyi—he’s just an ordinary person.

Sure enough, there were bloodstains seeping through the gauze, and earlier when Gu Sheng was scrubbing, some water had gotten on the gauze. The gauze had stuck to the wound, and without prompt treatment it could easily become reinfected.

Zhou Shiyi first moistened the gauze around the wound, then peeled the gauze off bit by bit; in the process he and Gu Sheng unavoidably had some physical contact.

When the wound was exposed, the edges were a bit red and swollen. He dipped a cotton ball in an appropriate amount of povidone-iodine and disinfected the wound.

Once he finished bandaging the wound, his sharp eyes noticed that Gu Sheng’s ears were so red they looked ready to bleed; it wasn’t just his ears—Gu Sheng’s skin had taken on a faint pink flush all over.

He hadn’t noticed earlier because he’d been focused on changing the dressing—Gu Sheng hadn’t said a word since a while ago, and his whole body remained tense, muscles locked in stiffly without relaxing.

He hurriedly turned Gu Sheng around, and was taken aback by Gu Sheng’s appearance.

Gu Sheng’s face was already flushed bright red, his teeth biting into his lower lip—small wounds had been bitten there. He seemed to be enduring some pain, eyes shut, sweat appearing on his forehead.

“Gu Sheng?” Seeing Gu Sheng unmoving, Zhou Shiyi hurriedly reached out, his hand caught between Gu Sheng’s lower jaw and upper teeth. Gu Sheng was forced to open his mouth, freeing his lower lip. He had no idea where Gu Sheng’s unpleasant habit of biting things when he was uncomfortable came from.

Held by Zhou Shiyi at the jaw, Gu Sheng seemed to suddenly rediscover how to breathe correctly and drew in a sharp gasp.