A Feverish Night and the Moving Out Notice

The torrential rain continued to lash against the world outside.

Muffled thunder rolled in alongside the rhythmic patter of rain, as if the world were undergoing a sudden baptism to wash away all its impurities. Inside the dorm, the door clicked open. Li Chen stepped in, water dripping from the hem of his clothes onto the floor, bringing with him the heavy, metallic scent of a rainstorm.

He didn’t even stop to turn on the lights. Navigating the darkness by touch, he strode to the sofa. The man in his arms had already fainted. As their skin pressed together, Li Chen could feel the other’s body temperature climbing steadily.

With wet hair clinging to his cheeks, Li Chen exhaled and carefully pulled back the school jacket he had used to shield Shi Ji’s head. Fortunately, thanks to the jacket and Li Chen’s own body, Shi Ji fared much better; aside from some damp patches on his clothes, he was mostly dry.

Li Chen reached out to touch Shi Ji’s forehead. The scorching heat made him knit his brows. He switched on the floor lamp, letting the warm yellow glow spill across the floor and soften the lines of Shi Ji’s face.

The man remained deathly pale, save for his thin, pressed lips which had turned a faint shade of pink. His thick lashes cast shadows over his closed eyes. He tilted his head unconsciously, looking like a beautiful, lifeless doll.

Li Chen leaned in, grasping Shi Ji’s slender fingers. His thumb traced the prominent knuckles as he whispered, “Shi Ji? Wake up.”

There was no response. Li Chen blinked and drifted closer. After a moment’s hesitation, he leaned down and rubbed the tip of his nose against Shi Ji’s.

The distance between them vanished. At this proximity, Li Chen could feel the man’s even, warm breath. His gaze dropped, lingering on Shi Ji’s lips. Because he had just been crying, the corners of the man’s eyes were still rimmed with red, and even the tip of his nose was flushed. Li Chen couldn’t resist nuzzling him twice more. The slight contact made his heart skip and dance—an intimate distance that would never be allowed during the day.

Shi Ji was hot—burning like a literal fire that threatened to ignite Li Chen’s own body. In contrast, Li Chen felt like a piece of damp wood; the chill clinging to his clothes made Shi Ji frown instinctively in his sleep.

Resistance, discomfort—these subconscious micro-movements of Shi Ji’s brushed against Li Chen’s heart like feathers. Even knowing it made Shi Ji uncomfortable, Li Chen stubbornly clung to him, wickedly trying to steal warmth from his flame.

A few muffled groans escaped Shi Ji’s throat, sounding like a disgruntled cat being forcibly woken. This only intensified the “itch” in Li Chen’s soul. He pressed his forehead against Shi Ji’s, watching the man’s quivering eyelids.

“Shi Ji,” he called again, wanting the man to open those misty eyes.

But the man stubbornly refused to wake. Distressed by the high fever, Li Chen finally relented. Ignoring his own soaked clothes, he went into the bathroom and returned with a wet towel. He folded it and meticulously wiped Shi Ji’s forehead. Even though he was gentle, the coarse fabric left visible red marks on the man’s sensitive skin.

Li Chen’s gaze drifted downward, stopping at the man’s soaked shirt. The thin, white fabric was nearly translucent, revealing two unmistakable points of red beneath the cloth.

Buzz. Li Chen felt his entire body catch fire alongside Shi Ji. A flush crept from his ears down his neck. He frantically averted his eyes, his heart rate skyrocketing.

Suddenly, Shi Ji let out a poorly timed sneeze. His brow furrowed tighter as he wrapped his arms around himself, beginning to shiver.

“Cold…” he rasped, his voice breaking. “I’m so cold…”

The face that had been pale was now flushed with fever. Li Chen snapped out of his daze; if he didn’t change Shi Ji’s clothes, the illness would only get worse. He hurried into the bedroom and pulled out Shi Ji’s navy blue silk pajamas.

Standing over the man with the clothes in hand, Li Chen froze. He didn’t know where to start. Shi Ji was curled into a ball, his soft hair shaking with his tremors, his teeth chattering.

Li Chen closed his eyes, making a silent resolution. He’s unconscious anyway. Last time, he took advantage of me passing out to write on my neck. This is just… tit for tat!

With trembling fingers, he unbuttoned the shirt one by one. First, the deep, elegant collarbones appeared, then the chest with its lean muscle, and finally the flat abdomen.

The sight was dazzling. Li Chen’s finger accidentally brushed against Shi Ji’s chest, and he gasped, hurriedly shoving the pajama sleeves onto the man’s arms. His movements were clumsy and frantic—he even fumbled the buttons, skipping several in his haste.

As the scent of the hidden Omega pheromones hit him, Li Chen felt a sudden surge of heat behind his eyes. His head felt like it was being stirred into a thick porridge. The glands at the back of his neck throbbed, and the room was suddenly heavy with the scent of Iris. Panicked, he touched his burning face and rushed to the drawer to slap on a fresh suppression patch.

The cool chemical fix barely suppressed the wildfire in his veins. It must just be that the patch failed earlier, he told himself.

Drenched in sweat, he stood and stared at the sleeping Shi Ji. Despite the commotion, the man hadn’t woken up. He leaned against the sofa, the wide collar of the silk pajamas sliding off his left shoulder to reveal his collarbone.

Li Chen ground his canines, suppressing a gnawing itch in his gums. Then, he felt a sudden warmth gush from his nose. Startled, he covered his face and bolted for the bathroom.

Bright red blood bloomed in the white sink. Li Chen stared, his thoughts slowing as he watched the blood spiral down the drain. He looked up at the mirror, seeing a face flushed deep crimson.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

By the time Shi Ji woke up, the world was pitch black. The torrential rain had slowed to a drizzle, the “patter-patter” against the windowsill sounding abnormally loud.

He rubbed his temples. After such a high fever, his eyes felt dry and his head was heavy. He struggled to open his eyes and looked out at the dark night. The streetlamp below was broken from the storm, leaving only an abyssal blackness. A draft snuck through the window gap, making him shiver.

As he tried to curl up, he suddenly felt a source of heat pressed against his back. A pair of arms was wrapped tightly around his waist, hands resting on his stomach. A mop of fluffy hair was tucked daringly into the crook of his neck.

Shi Ji’s sleepiness evaporated. His eyes snapped open.

There is someone… in my bed.

The thought made his skin crawl. He wiped the cold sweat from his palms and slowly, painstakingly, tried to turn his body. Every centimeter he moved made him more tense. By the time he successfully turned around, his back was soaked with sweat.

He took a deep breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and leaned in to see who it was. The distance closed until their noses almost touched. When he finally saw the face, Shi Ji let out an involuntary cry and—by pure reflex—kicked the person right off the bed.

The kick was powerful. Li Chen hit the floor with a loud thud and rolled several paces until his back hit the corner of the wardrobe.

Click.

The lights flicked on, banishing the darkness and leaving Shi Ji and Li Chen staring at each other. Shi Ji’s terror hadn’t faded. He couldn’t think of a single logical reason for Li Chen to be in his bed. He stared at the boy, who was rubbing his backside in pain, and blurted out: “Why are you here?!”

Li Chen frowned, confused and irritated. Didn’t he beg me not to leave?!

Li Chen remembered: after changing Shi Ji’s clothes, he had tried to leave, but Shi Ji wouldn’t let go of his hand. Every time he tried to pry the fingers away, Shi Ji would whimper and moan. Left with no choice, Li Chen had carried him to the bed, only for Shi Ji to become even more clingy. Perhaps as a lingering effect of the thunder, Shi Ji had spent the first half of the night shivering and practically fusing himself to Li Chen’s chest.

And so, he had held him until now.

Seeing Shi Ji look at him like he was a piece of filth—the classic look of a “scumbag” who abandons a lover after the deed is done—Li Chen’s temper flared.

He was the one who pulled me onto the bed. He was the one who crawled into my arms. He was the one who wouldn’t let me leave.

And now he’s playing the victim?

“Say something!” Shi Ji’s voice wavered. He backed away two steps. “What were you doing in my room?!”

Li Chen let out an annoyed “tsk,” his hands clenching into fists. He couldn’t understand why Shi Ji always looked at him like he was a life-threatening danger.

He thought of the things Shi Ji had mumbled in his sleep, and his anger burned hotter. He glared at Shi Ji and, before slamming the door to leave, threw out a harsh sentence: “I should have just left you there.”

The door slammed with a resounding bang. Shi Ji swallowed hard. He looked at the door and, after a long silence, it started to click.

It seemed… he was the one who had grabbed Li Chen.

How? Why would I grab him?

Shi Ji stared at his hands. It must have been the body’s subconscious reaction. He found a convenient excuse. Then, he noticed his pajamas.

His body felt warm and clean. His hair had been neatly brushed. His buttons were done up perfectly. On the nightstand sat a bottle of fever reducers and a basin of cool water with a grey towel floating in it.

Everything pointed to Li Chen.

Shi Ji realized the truth: Li Chen had carried him back and taken care of him all night.

Realizing this, Shi Ji scrambled out of bed and pushed the door open. The youth hadn’t gone to sleep yet; he was sitting on the sofa, half his face bathed in the yellow light of the lamp. As Shi Ji walked out, Li Chen looked up, his misty-blue eyes flickering before he pointedly looked away.

He was clearly still furious.

Shi Ji walked forward, hesitating. He looked at the boy’s profile, feeling an odd sense of guilt. “Just now, I…”

Before he could finish, Li Chen slammed a piece of paper onto the table, cutting him off coldly: “This is the new dorm assignment sheet. I’ve found a new roommate.”

“So, I’ll be moving out soon.”

Moving out?!

Shi Ji froze. “You want to move out?”

Li Chen turned his head, looking at Shi Ji with a strange expression before snorting. “Isn’t that what you wanted? For me to disappear from your sight?”

“You got your wish.” He stood up and walked toward Shi Ji, thrusting the paper against Shi Ji’s chest. “This way, you won’t have to look at me and get annoyed.”

Shi Ji met his gaze. The paper crinkled against his chest, the rustling sound sharp in the quiet night. He looked down at the sheet. To get the plot back on track, Li Chen should move out. His relationship with Jiang Mo was currently stuck; if he stayed here, it would only inflate Shi Ji’s role and risk a “plot deviation” warning from the system.

He thought for a few seconds before looking back up. Li Chen was watching him intently, his lips pressed thin.

“Fine,” Shi Ji said softly, his cold voice breaking the silence. He took the paper, trying to read the name on the wrinkled page. “Your new roommate… is a Beta?”

His tone was too calm. Li Chen’s lips parted slightly. He lowered his head, silent for a long while before muttering a quiet, “Yeah.”

Shi Ji nodded. If the new roommate was a Beta, it would be safer. As an unstable Omega, Li Chen’s pheromones were a liability, and Shi Ji didn’t want any Alphas losing control around him again.

The two stood in a heavy silence. Shi Ji realized they really had nothing left to say. If he suddenly started acting motherly and gave Li Chen advice, the boy would probably think he’d lost his mind.

Shi Ji turned to head back to his room to rest. His fever hadn’t fully broken, and the headache was returning.

But just as he took a step, he felt a strange pull from behind. He paused and looked down. A slender, pale hand was gripping his hem. The knuckles were prominent and beautiful under the warm lamp.

Li Chen was holding him tightly, his head bowed. He looked shrouded in gloom—almost dejected. For a split second, Shi Ji hallucinated that he saw a pair of puppy ears drooping on the boy’s head.

Like a dog. A wronged, pathetic little dog.

Shi Ji blinked rapidly to clear the image. “Something else?”

Li Chen nodded hesitantly, then suddenly yanked the hem, forcing Shi Ji to stumble back several steps. Shi Ji lost his balance and fell backward, his spine landing squarely against the boy’s warm chest.

The embrace wasn’t wide, but it was hot—so hot that Shi Ji wondered if his fever was spiking again.

Their hearts beat in a chaotic, overlapping rhythm. Shi Ji couldn’t tell whose heart had betrayed them by racing so fast.

The dorm sheet fluttered to the floor. The soft sound of paper hitting the ground seemed to disrupt Shi Ji’s breathing. He swallowed and covered his chest with his hand, terrified the boy behind him would hear his thundering heartbeat.

“What are you doing?” Shi Ji managed, keeping his voice from trembling.

Li Chen didn’t speak. He leaned in, his breath fanning across the back of Shi Ji’s ear. The skin there flushed pink.

“I have something to say to you,” the boy finally whispered. He was so close that his quiet voice seemed to drill directly into Shi Ji’s ear.

Shi Ji’s Adam’s apple rolled. He breathed in short, shallow gasps and tried to turn his head to look at Li Chen.

But Li Chen pressed a hand against the back of his head, refusing to let him turn. His hair brushed against the back of Shi Ji’s neck, sending an itchy tingle down his spine. Shi Ji shivered.

“Why did you go there?” Li Chen asked, his voice husky.

Shi Ji lowered his eyes. “The note.”

“The note?” Li Chen thought for a moment. “I don’t know who left that note. It was signed with Jiang Mo’s name, but I asked him—it wasn’t him.”

It was a trap from start to finish. Shi Ji felt a chill.

“So…” Li Chen paused for a long time before speaking again.

“Was it to find me?”