Thuggish Behavior

That glance was a big mistake.

Han Xi had just finished drinking water too. Xue Jingshu took the bottle from his hand and, just like Shen Yanlang, drank straight from it! Mouth to mouth!

Not only that, Xue Jingshu stared at Han Xi as he drank. His glasses obscured whatever look he had in his eyes, so Duan Xu could not see clearly. He only saw Han Xi turn his head away, seeming a little shy.

Duan Xu sucked in a breath. Oh, Mom, what kind of wild development was this?

The scene hit Duan Xu far too hard. He had only meant to sneak a glance, but now he was staring blankly.

Watching Han Xi again?

Shen Yanlang was displeased. He pinched Duan Xu's chin and turned his face toward him. "What are you looking at Han Xi for?"

Duan Xu snapped back to his senses and tilted his head back, breaking free of Shen Yanlang's hand. "N-No, I wasn't looking."

Heh, lying.

Xue Jingshu and the other three heard them and glanced over. Then Xue Jingshu looked at Han Xi again and said quietly, "He was looking at you."

Han Xi replied coolly, "It has nothing to do with me."

Xue Jingshu smiled, clearly in a good mood.

For now, Shen Yanlang did not press the matter with Duan Xu. "Go sit down for a while."

I'll settle this with you slowly later.

Settle what? He was not going to hit me, was he?

Duan Xu's thoughts drifted for a moment. Recalling what he had just seen, he walked toward the bench and gave Shen Yanlang... or rather, the top of his head, a meaningful look.

Shen Yanlang: "???"

That look...

Why did it seem like he thought I was wearing a green hat?

Exactly! You understood perfectly!

After sitting down, Duan Xu silently echoed Shen Yanlang's thoughts in his heart. Unfortunately, Shen Yanlang could not hear him.

I must have seen it wrong. He doesn't know what I'm thinking, so why would he think that?

Duan Xu froze. What thoughts?

Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu had already rested enough, but after seeing what Shen Yanlang and Xue Jingshu had done, Xiao Xu suddenly understood something. He asked Zhou Zhou, "Do you still want water?"

Zhou Zhou's water was in Xiao Xu's bag.

Zhou Zhou got on his bike and said, "No more. We've rested enough. Let's go."

Xiao Xu gave a regretful oh, said goodbye to Shen Yanlang and the others, and left first.

Not long after, Xue Jingshu and Han Xi left as well. Aside from pedestrians and other passing cyclists, only the two of them remained.

Shen Yanlang sat beside Duan Xu and set his bag down nearby. He checked his watch. "Rest another five minutes before we go?"

"Sure." Duan Xu nodded.

Duan Xu turned to look in the direction they had come from, though he was really thinking about Shen Yanlang and Han Xi. He did not know exactly how they had gotten together, but judging from today, neither of them seemed to have feelings for the other.

So how had they gotten together?

Shen Yanlang had no idea what Duan Xu was thinking. Taking advantage of Duan Xu's inability to see him, he boldly let his gaze linger on Duan Xu's fair neck.

A moment later, his gaze shifted lower to the back of Duan Xu's neck. Half of it was hidden by his collar, while the other half was exposed to the air. On closer inspection, there seemed to be a slight swell there.

His gland.

Still developing...

Duan Xu stiffened. Shen Yanlang was looking at his gland?

I really want to...

Want to what?

Duan Xu did not understand, but he was eager to know. Shen Yanlang had been out of his sight for three minutes now, and the rest was suddenly cut off.

Wanting to know what came next, Duan Xu turned to look at Shen Yanlang.

The instant Duan Xu turned around, Shen Yanlang withdrew his gaze. It landed squarely on Duan Xu's face as he asked with a perfectly serious expression, "What's wrong?"

"Were you looking at me the whole time just now?" Duan Xu could not stop himself from asking.

Shen Yanlang admitted it openly. "Yeah. I took a look at your gland."

Duan Xu: "..."

He really was honest, huh!

But Duan Xu felt terribly embarrassed. He knew glands were very private, but since his had not fully developed yet, he had not paid much attention to that.

"Why, why were you looking at my gland?" Duan Xu looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

Shy? Heh...

The corners of Shen Yanlang's lips curved up slightly, faint sparks glimmering in his peach-blossom eyes. "I wanted to see how it was developing and whether it had been affected."

Duan Xu's ears heated up. Fiddling with his fingers, he said, "It probably hasn't been affected, right?"

Duan Xu had been a beta for so many years and had paid close attention in physiology class, but as a beta, he was not particularly sensitive to this kind of thuggish behavior.

"Mm, there's no problem for now." Shen Yanlang saw that Duan Xu's earlobes had turned red again.

I want to pinch them, then bite them.

Duan Xu: "???"

What the hell was he talking about?

Duan Xu had no time to think further. Shen Yanlang stood and ruffled Duan Xu's fluffy, soft hair. "Five minutes are up. Let's go too."

"Oh."

Just as they got back on their bikes, Zhu Lin caught up from behind. Then the group continued cycling onward.

Half an hour later, Duan Xu's group was the last to arrive at Lihu Park.

At the entrance, Huang Yonghe had already arranged everyone into position. Seeing them arrive, he waved them over. "Come on, come on, we've just been waiting for you. Once we take the photo, everyone can go do whatever they want."

Duan Xu and the others walked over. Shen Yanlang stood beside Duan Xu at the edge, while Huang Yonghe asked someone to take the photo before hurrying over to join them.

Everyone found their spots and struck a pose. At the instant the shutter clicked, Shen Yanlang draped his hand over Duan Xu's shoulder.

Duan Xu's smile faltered, and it was captured at just the right moment, preserved perfectly in the photo.

After the picture, everyone dispersed to do their own thing, agreeing to meet at the entrance in an hour.

"I just checked the map. Li Lake is pretty big. It'd take at least two or three hours to walk all the way around it." Zhou Zhou came over to Duan Xu and the others with his phone.

Duan Xu leaned over and pressed close to Zhou Zhou to look at the map with him. "Then which way should we go? How far can we walk and still make it back within an hour?"

Seeing them standing so close, Shen Yanlang's eyes darkened. He reached out and pulled Duan Xu over. "Send the map to the group chat. We'll look at it together."

They're standing so close, their faces are practically touching.

Were they? No, right? Duan Xu did not think so.

Zhou Zhou noticed Shen Yanlang's poor tone. He looked at him, then at Duan Xu, and blinked. "Sure, but there are only two options."

Xiao Xu was a little jealous too, but he was not as bold as Shen Yanlang when it came to pulling someone away.

Zhou Zhou sent the map to the group chat, and the four of them looked at it together. A moment later, Shen Yanlang asked Duan Xu, "Which way do you want to go?"

"I want to check out this Underwater Bookstore." Duan Xu was immediately interested when he saw it. "What about you guys?"

Zhou Zhou smiled and blinked. "Just what I was thinking."

"I heard about this Underwater Bookstore from a friend before. It's pretty good, worth seeing." Zhou Zhou added.

Since they all said so, Shen Yanlang and Xiao Xu naturally had no objections. They parked their bikes beside those belonging to the club members, locked them up, and headed inside.

"Why don't I see President Xue and the others?" Zhou Zhou looked around. "Did they leave already?"

Duan Xu was curious too. "Brother Yan, don't you know them? Why didn't they go with you?"