Troublesome

"Duan Xu, Xuxu, don't be mad anymore, okay?" Shen Yanlang softened his voice as he coaxed him.

That final "okay" went straight to Duan Xu's heart, making it melt. He felt like an unreasonable omega being placated by his own alpha.

And Shen Yanlang had called him "Xuxu." His heart was beating a little too fast.

"I-I'm not mad." Duan Xu noticed that passersby kept glancing at them curiously, making him a little embarrassed. "Let go of me first. We can talk properly."

"What if you run away again?" Shen Yanlang still did not let go.

Hearing that, Duan Xu steeled himself, turned his head away, and squeezed his eyes shut. "I won't run. Really."

Shen Yanlang watched Duan Xu, his brows drawing together slightly. "Why are you closing your eyes?"

Duan Xu could not explain it and wanted to make up an excuse, but Shen Yanlang came up with one himself. "You don't want to see me? You hate me?"

The affection in Shen Yanlang's peach blossom eyes instantly froze over as he said it.

Duan Xu could no longer hear Shen Yanlang's thoughts, but he was afraid Shen Yanlang would truly think that. "I don't."

"Then why won't you open your eyes?" Shen Yanlang asked in a low voice.

"I... I want some peace and quiet." After holding it in for a long time, that was all Duan Xu managed to say.

Shen Yanlang: "..."

Duan Xu heard Shen Yanlang laugh, then say, "You can call me Shen Jingjing."

Duan Xu: "..."

Shen Jingjing my ass! More like Shen Psycho!

Shen Yanlang's words lightened Duan Xu's mood considerably, but a bewildering suspicion still hung over his heart.

"I saw you smile." Shen Yanlang had seen the corners of his lips lift slightly.

A little embarrassed, Duan Xu kept his eyes closed and changed the subject. "It's about time. Shouldn't we head back?"

Shen Yanlang fell silent. His gaze lingered on Duan Xu's pink lips. With his eyes closed, Duan Xu looked as though he were waiting for a kiss, making Shen Yanlang's thoughts wander.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Duan Xu had not heard Shen Yanlang's voice for a while.

Shen Yanlang snapped back to himself, looked away, and said, "Open your eyes and we'll leave. Keep them closed, and we won't."

Duan Xu: "..."

Shen Yanlang stopped speaking. Duan Xu did not have the courage to open his eyes either, and the two of them remained locked in a standoff.

A few minutes later.

"What are you two doing here?" Zhou Zhou, Xiao Xu, Xue Jingshu, and Han Xi came over together.

Xue Jingshu curled his lips. "Maybe they're playing a game?"

"Huh?" Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu looked utterly confused.

Han Xi remained expressionless.

Startled, Duan Xu opened his eyes and saw Shen Yanlang turn to stare at Xue Jingshu, his gaze carrying a warning. "If you don't know how to talk, you can keep your mouth shut."

Xue Jingshu shook his head slightly, putting on a sorrowful expression. "Little Yan, you weren't like this before. At the very least, you knew how to respect your elders."

Shen Yanlang did not want to bother with him. He gave a soft snort and pulled Duan Xu away.

"Ah." Xue Jingshu sighed softly and elegantly adjusted his glasses.

"Um, we should go too. The meeting time's almost here." Xiao Xu tugged at Zhou Zhou, looking at Xue Jingshu as though he were avoiding the plague.

Zhou Zhou felt the same way. Xue Jingshu clearly had a gentle-looking face, yet he gave off the air of an old fox. Best to stay away. "Mm-hm, mm-hm. Let's go, let's go."

Xue Jingshu could not help smiling as he followed with Han Xi. His pace was unhurried as he asked Han Xi, "Are you afraid of me?"

"No." Han Xi answered blandly.

Xue Jingshu smiled again, a glint flashing through his eyes.

Duan Xu did not say a word the entire way. He still held to the principle of not looking at Shen Yanlang if he could help it, letting Shen Yanlang pull him all the way to the park entrance.

Huang Yonghe and Zhu Linqing counted heads. Once everyone was accounted for, they set off back to school.

This time, Duan Xu pedaled like mad, determined not to let Shen Yanlang get ahead of him.

Shen Yanlang had no such intention. He preferred watching Duan Xu from behind, where he could keep an eye on him at all times and respond quickly if anything happened.

They returned to school at around five. Huang Yonghe sent the location of the farmhouse restaurant to the group chat and said dinner would start at six.

Everyone either parked their bikes or returned them, then took taxis from the school gate.

The farmhouse restaurant was some distance from the school, and the taxi ride took half an hour.

When they got into the taxi, Duan Xu beat everyone to the front passenger seat, leaving Shen Yanlang no choice but to sit in the back with Xiao Xu and the others.

In the backseat, both Xiao Xu and Zhou Zhou noticed that the two were having a spat. After exchanging a silent look, Xiao Xu pulled out his phone and messaged Shen Yanlang.

Xiao Xu: [Yan-ge, did you and Duan Xu have a fight?]

Shen Yanlang's phone chimed. He took it out and glanced at the message, then cast a look at Xiao Xu beside him before lowering his head to reply.

Shen Yanlang: [No.]

Xiao Xu: [But Duan Xu hasn't said a word to you the whole way.]

Shen Yanlang: [...]

Xiao Xu: [I don't know what happened between you two, but Duan Xu has a pretty good temper. Go apologize to him. Maybe you'll make up.]

Shen Yanlang had already apologized, but Duan Xu still did not want to talk to him or even see him.

At first, he thought Duan Xu had been upset because he had acted shamelessly, but later he realized that did not seem to be why Duan Xu was ignoring him.

But if it was not because of that, he truly could not think of any reason why Duan Xu would not even want to look at him.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhou was messaging Duan Xu as well.

Zhou Zhou: [Xuxu, what happened between you and Yan-ge?]

Duan Xu glanced at his phone and took a long while before replying: [It's hard to explain.]

Zhou Zhou: [...]

Zhou Zhou: [Then explain it in two sentences? Three is fine too, if needed.]

Duan Xu: [...]

When Zhou Zhou saw that Duan Xu had not replied for a while, he sent another message: [Ahem, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. It's just that seeing you two at odds has us worried.]

Zhou Zhou: [We're roommates, after all. Getting along peacefully is the most important thing!]

Duan Xu: [Mm, I know. Thanks. It'll be fine in a bit.]

Seeing Zhou Zhou's final message, he suddenly remembered that Shen Yanlang was the male lead. He could lose his temper with anyone but Shen Yanlang, or he would become cannon fodder in no time!

But!

Thinking of Shen Yanlang's ambiguous thoughts made Duan Xu panic, and all the things that had confused him before suddenly made sense.

Yet understanding them only brought an even bigger question. Why would Shen Yanlang feel that way about him...?

Or had Shen Yanlang smelled his pheromones? He had also been the one to discover Duan Xu's secondary differentiation. Had that affected him?

Ugh! What a headache!

Duan Xu frowned as he watched the scenery outside the window. He thought about it the whole ride but still could not make sense of it.

"Student, we're here."

The driver's voice pulled Duan Xu from his thoughts. Seeing Zhou Zhou and the others get out one after another, he took a deep breath and opened the car door with the air of a warrior heading off on a one-way journey.

Since he could not figure it out, he would just listen!

After getting out of the car, Duan Xu slowly let out another breath and thought optimistically, Maybe I'm overthinking it. I'm just cannon fodder, after all. I can't be so full of myself.

Shen Yanlang took in every one of Duan Xu's little movements, yet he still could not figure out why.