"Bang!"
The bathroom door closed, and the sounds of water and voices could be heard, low and barely audible.
Soon, the delicate fragrance of jasmine, mixed with the scent of wood and the warmth of the sun, began to waft out from under the bathroom door, filling the entire bedroom.
Not long after, Duan Xu's voice rang out again. "Shen Rascal! You broke your promise!"
Then came Shen Yanlang's gentle coaxing voice. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."
"You..."
"Shh, keep your voice down, your aunt and uncle are still next door."
"..."
In the morning, Duan Xu forced himself to get up despite being sleepy, and was helped by Shen Yanlang to get dressed, brush his teeth, and wash his face.
Last night I said I'd give it a try, and I actually did. But after trying it, Duan Xu developed a psychological aversion to it and vowed never to eat navel oranges again—they're too hard on my back.
After washing up, Shen Yanlang pulled Duan Xu downstairs to have breakfast with Qiu Shan and Duan Hu.
At the dinner table, Duan Xu was still drowsy and very sleepy.
Seeing how sleepy Duan Xu was, Duan Hu and Qiu Shan understood perfectly well. Qiu Shan didn't say anything, but Duan Hu couldn't help but say, "I told you to be gentler, didn't you remember?"
Shen Yanlang and Duan Xu were both stunned for a moment, then one felt guilty and the other embarrassed.
Feeling guilty, Shen Yanlang whispered, "I remember."
Duan Xu was so embarrassed that he almost buried his head in his bowl.
Ah--I want to die!
I tried so hard to be patient and kept my voice down, so why did my parents still find out?
"Then how come he..." Duan Hu was interrupted by Qiu Shan slapping his arm. "Even food can't shut you up!"
Duan Hu choked, seeing that Duan Xu couldn't even lift his head, and finally shut up, but glared at Shen Yanlang with great dissatisfaction.
Shen Yanlang lowered his head guiltily, then silently served Duan Xu food.
After breakfast, Qiu Shan and Duan Hu were heading to the airport. Duan Hu went upstairs to get his suitcase, while Shen Yanlang was washing the dishes. Qiu Shan then pulled Duan Xu aside to talk.
"Xuxu, I know you two have a good relationship and are young, so you can be impulsive, but you need to be moderate," Qiu Shan advised him. "Don't hurt your health at such a young age, okay?"
Duan Xu blushed and said, "I understand."
Shen Yanlang, that old scoundrel! I must never let myself be tempted again!
After seeing Qiu Shan and Duan Hu off, Duan Xu threw a tantrum at Shen Yanlang, specifically by going upstairs to sleep and ignoring him.
Shen Yanlang knew he was ignoring her because he was embarrassed, so she didn't approach him. Instead, she said from the doorway, "I'll cook lunch, I'll call you when it's ready."
Duan Xu snorted loudly and covered his head, ignoring everyone.
Shen Yanlang chuckled, "So cute."
Shen Yanlang took his computer to the living room to work. When it was almost time, he bought groceries online. As soon as the groceries arrived, he got up to make lunch.
After finishing, he went up to call Duan Xu, Duan Xu was still asleep. So he waited by the bed for a while, quietly watching his sleeping face.
Finally, unable to resist, she lowered her head and kissed the corner of his lips before calling him again, "Xuxu, get up and eat. Eat before you go back to sleep."
The voice was right next to his ear. Duan Xu woke up and saw Shen Yanlang's handsome face so close to his. For a moment, he forgot that he was still throwing a tantrum and took the initiative to lean in and hug his neck, saying sleepily, "So sleepy, I want to sleep more..."
Seeing him like this, Shen Yanlang's heart melted, and his voice was as gentle as water, "Good boy, eat your food before you sleep, okay?"
However, Duan Xu remained in bed, refusing to get up or let go of Shen Yanlang, seemingly intending to continue sleeping while still holding him.
Shen Yanlang propped his elbows on the side of the bed, staring down at Duan Xu. He was reluctant to wake him, but he needed to eat on time, otherwise he would easily get stomach problems.
So, Shen Yanlang tried a different way to wake him up.
[Xuxu looks so cute when she's sleeping.]
I don't feel like eating dinner anymore, let's have Xuxu instead.
[Take off your clothes first, then...]
Duan Xu suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze unusually bright, and roared, "Shen Rascal! You're a pervert!"
He was asleep and you still wanted to mess with him? Wait, I already did that before, and even woke him up.
"Hehe..." Shen Yanlang chuckled softly, then gently ruffled his soft hair soothingly. "Get up and eat, then go back to sleep."
Duan Xu: "..."
He belatedly realized that Shen Yanlang wanted to wake him up, not that she really wanted to...
But that's also beastly and perverted!
Duan Xu huff, intending to continue his tantrum, but when he saw Shen Yanlang had squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush and dampened a towel, his temper immediately subsided.
Finally, seeing the prepared food on the table, all my anger vanished, and only one thought remained in my mind.
Shen Rascal is so good, it would be even better if he weren't such a hooligan.
*
Three days passed quickly, and on the day of the class reunion, Duan Xu didn't go in the afternoon; he stayed home and worked on his own.
When it was almost time, Shen Yanlang and I changed into matching outfits that the driver had brought us—white T-shirts that Qiu Shan had bought for us—and then the driver took us to the dinner party.
The restaurant was a Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of the city, and it was very elegantly decorated. Since there were more than 30 classmates and their families, making a total of more than 40 people, they booked a large private room and seated five tables.
Many of them hadn't seen each other for a year, and they had so much to talk about when they met. The private room was bustling with activity.
Suddenly, someone said, "Hey, why isn't Duan Xu here yet? I want to see his girlfriend!"
"Yeah, yeah!" someone echoed. "I always thought Duan Xu was too cute to date a female beta."
"Of course! Didn't he find a boyfriend? He's definitely a male beta now."
At one of the tables sat a very muscular young man with a rugged appearance. He stared at the group of people talking and listened to their conversation.
Someone next to him whispered, "Brother Xiao, didn't you used to like Duan Xu? Duan Xu has a boyfriend now, what do you think?"
"Hmph!" Wei Xiaoyang snorted, his face displeased. "No matter how much you like him, he's still a beta. Playing around is fine, but marriage is out of the question."
"Tsk tsk." The man chuckled lewdly. "So, Brother Xiao, how about we take advantage of this opportunity... this is a great chance to get him drunk..."
"Are you out of your mind?" Wei Xiaoyang gave Zhang Hui a gloomy look. "His boyfriend's here. Who benefits from getting him drunk?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hui immediately realized what was going on, "Yes, yes, I'm brainless, so Brother Xiao, are we just going to let it go like this?"
Wei Xiaoyang didn't speak, only let out a cold snort, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.
In his final year of high school, his father kept a close eye on him, and he was required to get into a top university. He liked Duan Xu, but he never had the energy for it. But now...
Just then, everyone was talking about Duan Xu's boyfriend, saying that he was a beta.
Sun Yao also arrived. She had a sweet and innocent appearance and a cheerful personality. Upon hearing this, she said, "Who said Xuxu's boyfriend is a beta? He's an alpha!"
"What?" Everyone was surprised and incredulous. "No way?"