CH 6

Chapter 6: I have prepared a surprise for you.

From the night before Xu Yibai planned to confess to Shen Yao, he began to suffer from insomnia. He counted sheep until late at night and even woke up earlier than his alarm clock in the morning without feeling sleepy.

When Xu Yibai woke up, he saw a message from Shen Yao.

“I went to practice early morning exercises.”

“I’m so hungry and sleepy.” There was a cat emoji at the end.

Xu Yibai smiled and replied, “Which dance studio are you in? I’ll bring you breakfast.”

He didn’t use an emoji and thought that just sending two short sentences seemed too rigid. Xu Yibai carefully chose a bean emoji rubbing its head and sent it over.

Xu Yibai had rehearsed with Shen Yao for three months and knew his taste, so he made a cup of latte with milk and an egg and chicken croissant for him.

After packing up his things, he found that Shen Yao hadn’t replied to him yet. He thought that Shen Yao was still practicing early morning exercises. Xu Yibai parked his car in the school parking lot and checked his phone again, but he frowned when he saw that there was no message from Shen Yao.

Instead, there were numerous messages from his friends, and the more Xu Yibai read them, the tighter his lips became. One of his friends had said that Shen Yao was cold and aloof, and sent him several screenshots of conversations in the school’s group chat where people had said many derogatory things about Shen Yao.

“I know Shen Yao’s younger brother. Shen Yao is only cold and aloof on the surface, but he changes boyfriends faster than he changes clothes behind the scenes.”

“Omegas like him will sleep with you as long as you give them a little benefit.”

“Look at Shen Yao now, he’s hooked up with Xu Yibai. I wonder how many times he’s slept with Xu Yibai to get him to agree to accompany him.”

“But Xu Yibai must be really happy, after all, Shen Yao knows how to dance and can strike any pose he wants, right?”

Some people believed these groundless rumors, while others didn’t, but no one felt that it was wrong to discuss them privately. As they talked about it, the rumors became true, showing how easily people can be influenced by unfounded claims.

Xu Yibai only read half of it, and there were many vulgar and obscene words that made him feel disgusted with just one glance.

A fire seemed to be burning in his chest, and Xu Yibai was gripping his phone so tightly that it felt like he could crush it.

The rumor spread like wildfire in the middle of the night, even faster than the flu. Xu Yibai was afraid that Shen Yao already knew, so the first thing he did was to call him after calming down.

The phone rang for one second before being disconnected. Xu Yibai wanted to call back, but the next thing he received was Shen Yao’s location sharing.

Xu Yibai’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t care about the thermos in his hand, and threw it on the ground before running in the direction of the location.

The school was not just a small area, and Xu Yibai followed the location sharing all the way, panting heavily, and stopped at the small warehouse where sports equipment was stored.

He didn’t hesitate, and kicked the door with his leg clean and crisp.

“Bang!”

The door shook violently, and the lock slightly loosened.

Xu Yibai then kicked it many more times, and the rusty lock fell off. His chest was heaving heavily, and his collarbone and forehead were covered in sweat.

As the morning sun rose into the dark storage room, the moment Xu Yibai looked inside, he saw a figure running towards him and subconsciously opened his arms.

Shen Yao threw himself into Xu Yibai’s arms, clinging to his waist tightly, like a drowning person grabbing onto the last float.

“Xu Yibai!”

His voice carried an imperceptible sob, Shen Yao seemed to be greatly frightened. He buried his face in Xu Yibai’s body, and his thin shoulders were trembling.

Xu Yibai didn’t know if he had cried, but his shoulders and neck were hot. His high-strung heart finally settled down, as if he had survived a disaster, holding Shen Yao tightly, and then he began to feel sore and swollen.

This was a feeling he had never experienced before.

He patted Shen Yao’s back one by one, his arms wrapped around his waist, veins bulging, “Don’t be afraid… Shen Yao.”

In the familiar and warm embrace, Shen Yao’s erratic breathing gradually calmed down, but his hand holding onto his clothes corner refused to loosen.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Xu Yibai instinctively released pheromones, and the clean scent of blue wind chimes spread in the narrow and dark warehouse, covering up the smell of decay.

Comforting the Omega in his arms.

Xu Yibai’s palm protected Shen Yao’s head. He slowly raised his head, and saw the frightened Alpha standing in the warehouse, the same one he had seen delivering milk tea to Shen Yao at that time.

Xu Yibai faced the light, his expression obscure in the light and shadow.

Everyone thought he was easy-going and good-tempered. He now looked as if he was a threatened lion, able to tear people apart with a wave of his hand.

Although Xu Yibai had not moved, the Alpha was so intimidated by him that his head spun and his steps staggered backwards a few steps before he steadied himself.

As the Alpha turned pale, Xu Yibai lowered his head again and hugged Shen Yao, patiently telling him not to be afraid over and over again.

If it weren’t for Shen Yao holding onto him like this, if it weren’t for him wanting to comfort Shen Yao, if it weren’t for Shen Yao being so dependent on him now.

Xu Yibai could have kicked the Alpha unconscious with one foot. He just didn’t like to use violence, not that he couldn’t fight.

The police arrived quickly, and before they came, Xu Yibai had been blocking the door with Shen Yao in his arms.

When Shen Yao heard the police asking questions, he finally slowly let go of his waist. His eyes were red, his cheeks were still smudged with ash, and the collar of his beautiful Omega clothes had been pulled askew.

The police handcuffed the struggling Alpha and unconsciously softened their tone: “You are Shen Yao, right?”

Shen Yao grabbed Xu Yibai’s arm tightly and nodded slightly.

“Can you briefly explain the situation?”

Shen Yao stood behind Xu Yibai, his hand being caressed gently before being finally held in a warm palm. His face was pale from shock, but his thoughts were still clear when he spoke: “I came to the dance studio this morning for early practice, and a classmate told me that someone had said a lot of… a lot of unpleasant things behind my back, and many people believed it.”

He bit his lip and drew warmth from Xu Yibai’s hand, then continued softly, “Then I received a text message from an unknown number, asking me to go out and find him, otherwise he would release some photos.”

“I wanted to know who he was and what kind of photos he had, so I followed him out,” Shen Yao said. “As a result, he asked me to go to the equipment room with him…”

“You’re f*cking bullshitting!” The Alpha panicked and cursed, trying to defend himself. “It was clearly him who asked me to go to the equipment room with him. He even said that as long as I don’t talk about his past, I can do whatever I want to him-“

Before the Alpha could finish speaking, Xu Yibai grabbed his collar with a serious expression, then used force to throw him to the ground.

The Alpha screamed in pain, and just as he recovered from his dizziness, Xu Yibai grabbed his neck and lifted him up from the ground. A punch followed, and blood gushed from his nose.

Several policemen noticed the sudden situation and quickly intervened, pulling Xu Yibai’s clothes and holding his arms and shoulders down. No one had expected this seemingly handsome Alpha to have such strength, and he was about to beat someone to death.

Resistance came from all sides, but Xu Yibai broke free from one pair of hands after another. His eyes were bloodshot as he forcefully pressed the Alpha to the ground, striking him with his fists.

Finally, Shen Yao rushed over and hugged him from behind, trembling as he pleaded, “Xu Yibai, that’s enough, please stop hitting him.”

Only then did Xu Yibai suddenly lose his strength. He stood up and apologized to the policemen first, his lip bleeding from his own biting. He didn’t care and stood over the Alpha, saying, “If you enjoy spreading rumors, I’ll show you that everything comes with a price.”

“You’re disgusting, that’s why everything you see is disgusting.”

“I am willing to collaborate with Shen Yao because I watched his video and he dances very well.”

Shen Yao was afraid that he would act impulsively, so he tightly held his hand and continued to speak the unfinished words from earlier: “In the equipment room, he touched me…” The Omega turned around and revealed his smooth neck, saying with lingering fear, “He even wanted to mark me directly.”

In the end, they went to the police station together. The Alpha’s chat records with Shen Yao were still there, and the surveillance footage showed that the Alpha took him to the equipment room.

There was no surveillance in the equipment room, but there were obvious signs of a dispute. The Alpha’s pheromones were heavy in the room, and he had the intention of forcing the Omega into heat using his pheromones.

Moreover, there was evidence that the Alpha had been pestering Shen Yao for a long time. Shen Yao even provided the chat records from when the Alpha harassed him, with very unpleasant language. Shen Yao blocked one account, only to receive messages from another account, like a clingy tag.

The police frowned as they listened and even educated Shen Yao a few words, asking him not to act impulsively in the future.

Shen Yao nodded obediently and agreed.

Until the outcome of the case came out, the Alpha had to be temporarily detained. Xu Yibai had also been detained for hitting someone in front of the police.

He said he would be fine and asked Shen Yao to go back first.

But when he came out in the evening, Shen Yao was still there. The sunset started to spread from the edge of the sky, and maybe because he was tired of standing, Shen Yao was squatting on the small step under the tree.

When he saw Xu Yibai, his eyes lit up, and his dirty cheeks were more dazzling than the clouds on the horizon.

Xu Yibai half-knelt down, tied Shen Yao’s loose shoelaces, and then reached out, indicating that he wanted to pull him up, asking in a warm voice, “Didn’t I tell you to go back first? Why are you still waiting here?”

Shen Yao stood up with his help. He was taller than Xu Yibai when standing on the small step. He didn’t speak, but lowered his head, licked Xu Yibai’s lip wound, and then kissed his lips.

This was their first kiss, and it was initiated by Shen Yao.

Xu Yibai had never kissed anyone before, so he didn’t know what to do. All he knew was that Shen Yao’s lips were soft and his eyelashes were long. He couldn’t fully savor the kiss because it was too short.

Suddenly, the phone rang, but Xu Yibai was still in a daze. Shen Yao laughed and pushed his arm, bringing him back to reality.

“Hello…”

“I heard you reported it to the police?” A clean and crisp female voice came from the phone, not like she was accusing him, but more like teasing. “And you even beat someone up in front of the police until they couldn’t walk?”

“…,” Xu Yibai didn’t say anything. His fingers holding the phone were numb, still not fully recovered from the kiss just now.

“Xu Yibai, you’re really something now. You can even fight for an omega. But it’s fine, at least you’re not just sitting in the practice room all day anymore. I was a bit worried if you could ever find love in your life.”

After waiting for a while without a response, the impatient voice on the other end said, “Do you know that you’d still be crouching inside if it weren’t for me? You’re getting less and less cute as you grow up.”

It was only then that Xu Yibai came back to his senses and asked, “What did you say just now?”

“I said I shouldn’t waste my time on you.” The voice on the phone coldly snorted, “If you don’t tell me what kind of omega you like, then you can continue to squat inside.”

Xu Yibai felt helpless. “Can you not bring this up for now?”

The other person chuckled and asked, “What do you want to do with that scumbag alpha who spreads rumors and forces himself on omegas in school? He deserves to pay the price.”

Xu Yibai wiped off the dust on Shen Yao’s cheek with his fingertip and replied, “Maximum penalty.”

He hung up the phone and explained to Shen Yao, “That was my sister.”

Shen Yao heard the content of the call and asked in a confused tone, “Will he be punished?”

“Definitely,” Xu Yibai said and asked, “Let me take you to eat first. Have you eaten anything since this morning? You must be starving.” 

“I’m very hungry,” Shen Yao said with some regret. “I didn’t get to eat the breakfast you made.” 

“It’s okay, there will be many chances in the future. If you like, I can make breakfast for you every day,” Xu Yibai said with a smile. 

He then took Shen Yao’s hand and started to walk, but Shen Yao’s feet seemed to be glued to the ground. 

He turned his head and asked, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you hungry?” 

“Xu Yibai,” Shen Yao’s smile slowly disappeared as he lowered his head and stared at his toes. He hesitated and said, “If possible, can we not tell anyone that we are together yet?” 

Xu Yibai instinctively squeezed Shen Yao’s hand and asked, “Is there a problem?” 

“It’s not that… It’s just that you are too famous and everyone knows you. If people find out that we are together…” 

Shen Yao didn’t finish his sentence, but Xu Yibai knew what he wanted to say. 

Although he was very low-key, he had won all the awards at a young age and was handsome and young, which had attracted many fans. Xu Yibai was not a celebrity, just a pianist, but there were still many people watching him.

Whenever there was a rumor, reports about him would swarm in. His family would intervene and help him suppress it, but he didn’t like it, let alone something like going to the police station today. 

But if the news of him and Shen Yao dating was leaked… 

Shen Yao’s eyelashes cast shadows, helpless and desolate. 

“I don’t care much about what others think of me. I went out with that Alpha today just because he said he would talk to you if I didn’t go out with him.” 

“It has nothing to do with others, but I don’t want you to know, even if it’s fake.” 

“But I hate it when people misunderstand me for no reason. I never did those things, but they always believe them.” 

“When I walked into the dance studio this morning, they were all looking at me. I didn’t know what they were saying, but I knew they must be talking about something related to me… I…” 

“Okay, don’t say it,” Xu Yibai didn’t want him to recall these unpleasant things anymore. He promised, “Then we won’t make it public, it’s okay.”

Shen Yao muttered “Mmm” and said, “Let me tell you something else.”

“What is it?”

“We didn’t meet for the first time in the dance studio.” Shen Yao raised his hand and touched Xu Yibai’s face. “The first time I saw you was downstairs in the piano room. I saw you feeding the stray cats on campus.”

The Alpha was crouching on the road, wearing a clean white t-shirt and jeans, with a black backpack on his shoulders. The cat food was in a disposable bowl at his feet. His hand was clearly defined as he reached out to touch the stray cat’s head.

Shen Yao stood not far away, seeing his half-soft and clear face, with a smile like a gentle breeze at the corner of his mouth. He also smelled the fragrance of blue wind chimes in the air, which matched the alpha very well and was a comforting smell.

It has been the third year since they started their secret relationship. Xu Yibai had suggested taking him home many times, but each time Shen Yao delayed it with reasonable excuses.

People in love always worry and Xu Yibai sometimes doubted whether Shen Yao really liked him, and if so, how much.

After long-term contemplation, Xu Yibai believed that Shen Yao did like him.

Because omegas can only be marked for life by one alpha, while alphas can mark countless omegas, this is an innate and unfair physiological defect.

Although surgery is now very advanced and omegas can choose to remove their life-long mark, it also causes a lot of harm to their bodies, so omegas are still very cautious about choosing alphas.

So Xu Yibai wanted to love Shen Yao more and make him completely trust him.

Xu Yibai slept intermittently last night, with only a brief four hours of sleep. But he still woke up earlier than Shen Yao.

He remembered his words of making lunch for Shen Yao yesterday, so he prepared breakfast and went to the supermarket.

When he bought meat, he remembered that Shen Yao only ate lean meat. When he bought fish and shrimp, he thought about how to prepare them so that Shen Yao wouldn’t need to pick bones or peel them. When he bought snacks, he thought about how Shen Yao doesn’t like things that are too sweet.

He wanted to make everything for Shen Yao to eat, but when he pushed the shopping cart to the checkout counter, he realized that he had bought too much.

As Xu Yibai entered the door, he wanted to wake up Shen Yao first. Shen Yao wasn’t grumpy when he woke up, he just liked to daydream.

Xu Yibai imagined the scene and couldn’t help but smile.

“Click-“

At the sound of the door lock, Xu Yibai’s heart sank. He stopped in his tracks.

Something was missing from the shoe cabinet in the foyer – Shen Yao’s shoes were gone.

The house was quiet. Shen Yao had left without even leaving a brief goodbye.

He was like a butterfly that came and went freely, staying or leaving as he pleased.

Xu Yibai closed his eyes and quietly fermented his negative emotions. He was human, not an infinitely tolerant god, he also had dark thoughts that spread like an uncontrollable black hole.

Did he have to mark Shen Yao for life, leaving an eternal mark on his glands, in order to get him to settle down?

Xu Yibai remained silent and walked towards the living room with his full shopping bags.

His steps halted again – there was a ticket and a note left on the coffee table. The ticket was for the National Grand Theater and the familiar handwriting on the note was immediately recognizable to Xu Yibai.

“Come see my solo dance performance at the Grand Theater tonight.”

“Brother, this is special.”

“I have prepared a surprise for you.”

Xu Yibai’s gloomy mood dissipated and his expression was a bit stunned as he picked up the ticket.

Shen Yao had been very busy lately, but every time Xu Yibai asked him what he was doing, he would just hug him and smile, and then brush him off without saying anything.

It turned out that Shen Yao just wanted to give him a stunning stage performance.

Because of his selfish thoughts just now, Xu Yibai felt guilty.