I'm sucking up to Mr. Jiang

This time, it was Jiang Lan's turn to fall silent.

The two fell quiet. Only when they were nearly at the summit did Wen Zhiyan suddenly speak again:

"Jiang Lan, why were you there tonight?"

Without thinking, Jiang Lan told him the truth. "To save you, man. I was going to head back to the dorm and sleep, but Xiao Bai kept blowing up my phone, saying he'd seen you get cornered."

Wen Zhiyan was puzzled. "But we don't know each other well."

Jiang Lan didn't think they knew each other well either, but in truth, even if it hadn't been Wen Zhiyan, if someone had asked Jiang Lan for help at a time like that, he probably couldn't have stood by and done nothing.

Though he thought that, he instinctively refrained from saying it. Instead, he said, "We're not total strangers, are we? Didn't you buy me coffee? That cup cost a damn fortune."

Wen Zhiyan laughed. "But that was just a thank-you gift. You helped me with the campus housing paperwork first."

Jiang Lan nodded. "Exactly. You could've come earlier or later, but you just had to show up when I was welcoming new students. Quite a coincidence, wasn't it?"

Wen Zhiyan squeezed Jiang Lan's palm. "Does that count as fate?"

At his squeeze, Jiang Lan instinctively curled his fingertips.

He repeated the word "fate" twice in his heart, then said with a soft laugh, "Maybe."

When they reached the summit, the sky was just turning pale on the horizon. The morning mist gradually dispersed, and a streak of dawn light appeared at the city's edge, slowly climbing over the towering buildings.

Like a big, perfectly round orange.

Wen Zhiyan gazed at the distant sunrise, and even his previously indifferent mood couldn't help stirring a little.

He thought that if scenery like this always awaited him after hardship, then perhaps, whatever he went through along the way, it would all be worth it.

He licked his somewhat dry lips and handed Jiang Lan the bottle of milk, still more than half full.

He said, "Lan-ge, I can't drink any more. If you don't mind, could you finish it for me?"

Lan-ge.

Almost everyone Jiang Lan knew called him that.

Yet when those two syllables came from Wen Zhiyan's mouth, they somehow seemed especially different.

As though they had pierced the clouds, crossed the dawn-lit sky, traveled over mountains and through darkness, and found their way into Jiang Lan's heart.

Watching the golden dawn light fall on Wen Zhiyan's injured, slightly bedraggled face, Jiang Lan felt for the first time that something so beautiful truly did exist in this world.

He restrained himself and looked away, reaching out to take the half-finished bottle of milk.

Jiang Lan, who had always refused to share cups, chopsticks, bowls, plates, or any other utensils with anyone, drank something someone else had left over for the first time.

They sat on the summit until the sunrise was over and the sunlight was no longer gentle. Only then did Wen Zhiyan get to his feet first and say to Jiang Lan:

"Let's head back."

Perhaps because it was fully light now, the way down seemed much shorter than the climb up. Wen Zhiyan didn't take Jiang Lan's hand again, and Jiang Lan didn't offer again either.

They walked one behind the other along the deserted mountain path. Only when they were nearly at the foot of the mountain did Jiang Lan ask Wen Zhiyan, as though something had suddenly occurred to him:

"Are you still going to that part-time job?"

Wen Zhiyan was wavering over that too. There was still no word about the tutoring job, and every day he didn't go to the café was another day without income. Although S University was a public university, tuition for the art department was never cheap.

He thought for a moment. "I'm looking for another part-time job. I'll stick it out for another couple of days. I'll find a way to change jobs before those people get out of detention."

Jiang Lan was uneasy. "What if they have accomplices? Or connections that get them released early?"

The reality he had to face next shattered Wen Zhiyan's earlier good mood. He irritably kicked at the grass beside the path and said quietly:

"Then I'll put them in the hospital again."

Looking at his stubborn, impatient expression, Jiang Lan found it amusing. Unable to help himself, he reached out to smooth Wen Zhiyan's slightly disheveled hair and said:

"Need a bodyguard? The kind who picks you up and drops you off at work?"

At that, Wen Zhiyan raised his head to look at Jiang Lan.

Reason told him that not a single alpha in this world was any good, and that he should refuse kindness from any alpha.

But as he looked into Jiang Lan's smiling eyes, the refusal on the tip of his tongue turned into:

"I don't have any money, Lan-ge. Can I get it for free?"

A crisp alarm woke Jiang Lan from his sleep.

Jiang Lan opened his eyes groggily, reached over to slap the little alarm clock by his bed into silence, then picked up the phone the production team had provided to check the time. Eight on the dot.

Still fairly early.

He stretched and sat up in bed. Looking at the bright daylight outside the window, he was momentarily unsure what day or year it was.

He rubbed his face, put the lid on the incense box, which had already burned out, and got out of bed bare-chested to wash up in the bathroom.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he felt somewhat unfamiliar. He couldn't remember what he had looked like when he first met Wen Zhiyan ten years ago, or how he differed from the person he was now.

Once he was ready, he dug a white casual outfit out of the cardboard box he had carried back yesterday and put it on. Then he tidied the bed before heading out of the room.

The moment he opened the door, he ran into Wen Zhiyan standing outside the room opposite.

Wen Zhiyan had abandoned his previous look of a beast dressed in a shirt and slacks. He wore sportswear and held a towel and a water bottle.

Had Wen Zhiyan not now been slightly taller than Jiang Lan, and no longer slender and thin, the sight might really have left Jiang Lan momentarily dazed.

"Morning."

Wen Zhiyan greeted Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan looked at Wen Zhiyan. "Morning workout?"

Wen Zhiyan nodded. "Morning run."

At that, Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow. "You really are keeping in shape, huh? Are you going to leave any hope for people like me who sleep until eight or nine?"

Wen Zhiyan looked Jiang Lan up and down. "You're naturally gifted, Lan-ge. Your figure is unmatched, so perfect without even working out. It's truly enviable."

Jiang Lan laughed at his words. "What are you sucking up for?"

Just as he finished speaking, the door to another single room a little farther away opened too. Tan Duoduo looked at Jiang Lan, then at Wen Zhiyan, and greeted them:

"Trading professional compliments?"

Wen Zhiyan said calmly, "I'm sucking up to Mr. Jiang."

Jiang Lan glanced at him. "Less talk. Give me something tangible."

Wen Zhiyan asked, "What counts as tangible?"

Jiang Lan thought for a moment. "Clear-stewed pork ribs, red-braised beef brisket, and braised eggplant with green beans."

Lunch dishes for breakfast. They had only just done it yesterday, and now they were doing it again today.

Tan Duoduo was just about to exclaim, "Good grief," when Wen Zhiyan merely glanced at his watch and said, "Ten minutes. I'll shower and change."

Jiang Lan nodded like a lord and, as he walked toward the stairs, called back, "Hurry up. I'm hungry."

And so, the omegas who had originally agreed to make breakfast that morning had a perfectly legitimate excuse to slack off for another day, joining Jiang Lan in enjoying a breakfast they hadn't worked for.

Because Jiang Lan had gotten up early today, the voting results were announced half an hour earlier than yesterday too.

Just as the food was set on the table, the projection in the living room lit up.