On this chilly night, as the cold wind whispered through, Bai Yue had barely laid down when he heard a faint noise outside his window.
He rose from bed, walking to the window to peer below. A familiar figure lingered at the door, their jet-black hair almost blending with the night. Sensing something, they looked up, their emerald eyes shining even in the darkness.
The figure mouthed: "Come down."
Bai Yue drew the curtains shut and stepped out.
It was deep into the night, silence enveloping the surroundings. Not a single light illuminated the nearby houses.
Approaching downstairs, Shang Yufei stood, hands in pockets, beside the door.
Bai Yue then noticed a backpack discarded at Shang Yufei's feet, the same one he had carried upon his return.
Realization dawned upon him as he asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah," Shang Yufei replied.
"So suddenly?" Bai Yue inquired.
"Got caught trying to escape," Shang Yufei sighed.
Bai Yue was taken aback.
"I have to go back now, and I won't be able to come back for summer break," Shang Yufei muttered.
Bai Yue pondered for a moment. "You said before that you had gotten permission for leave in advance?"
Shang Yufei seemed hesitant, avoiding eye contact. "I lied about that."
"The truth is, I flunked all subjects, so I have to stay back for remedial classes. But I wanted to come back to celebrate your birthday, so I just escaped. Now I've been caught," Shang Yufei sighed.
"That's embarrassing, can't even say it," he frowned.
"What's embarrassing? Failing exams?" Bai Yue puzzled, "But your grades were always poor."
"Hey!" Shang Yufei retorted.
"Sorry, I was just kidding," Bai Yue chuckled.
"It's just a birthday, whether we celebrate it or not doesn't matter," he softened, "We have plenty of time ahead of us."
Shang Yufei fell silent.
At least for this one coming-of-age ceremony, he wanted to be with Bai Yue.
However, he didn't voice those words. Instead, he reached into his pocket, hesitated for a moment, and pulled out a plain-colored box. He handed it over with a light cough.
"Here... your... coming-of-age gift," his ears turned slightly red.
Bai Yue stared at him for a moment, until Shang Yufei glared back as if questioning why he was staring, before smiling. His gaze shifted downwards, landing on the plain box.
He had noticed its presence since the day Shang Yufei returned.
"Bai Yue: "Aren't you going to help me put it on?"
Shang Yufei paused, then realized, "You already knew?"
Bai Yue didn't reply, only extending his hand.
...He indeed knew in advance.
Shang Yufei had originally hoped to see Bai Yue's surprised expression, but to his disappointment, it seemed things had already gone awry from the start.
Nevertheless, when he saw the faint gleam in Bai Yue's eyes, he decided not to dwell on it.
Shang Yufei knelt down on one knee, taking Bai Yue's hand in his, and with the other hand, he opened the small box, taking out the silver ring.
The ring was simple with no additional adornments, but it was elegant. Only on the inside was the spelling of "BAIYUE" engraved.
There were no flowers around, no crowd watching, only the stars above in the night sky, silently witnessing the two figures on the ground, shyly peeking out from behind the darkness.
Shang Yufei, solemnly, attempted to put the ring on Bai Yue's ring finger, about to speak his lines, but the ring got stuck halfway.
The size was wrong.
For a "proposal," this was indeed a major mishap.
Shang Yufei froze in place.
Seeing this, Bai Yue reached out, grabbing Shang Yufei's wrist and pulling him up directly.
"I grew 10 centimeters taller," he shrugged, "My frame got bigger."
After all, it had been a year since they last saw each other; it was inevitable.
But for Shang Yufei, it was just too embarrassing. He coughed lightly, trying to retract his hand, "We can try again another time..."
However, his hand was instead firmly held.
Bai Yue lowered his head.
Looking at the ring in his hand, "It's okay, I want this one."
With that, he took out another ring from his pocket, with a silver chain threaded through it.
"Could you help me put it on?"
Since he had known Bai Yue, Shang Yufei had noticed that Bai Yue always carried this ring with him. He had asked before who had given it to him, but never got an answer.
So perhaps there was also a sense of competition in giving the same ring.
Silently, he took the silver chain from Bai Yue's hand and threaded his own ring onto it. The two rings collided in the air, emitting a soft click.
Bai Yue watched Shang Yufei's actions quietly, then suddenly said, "You asked me before who gave this to me."
"I didn't tell you the name at the time... because I didn't know either."
At these words, Shang Yufei looked up suddenly.
Bai Yue continued, "It's been around my neck for as long as I can remember. I just know it's something very important."
Because of this ring, Shang Yufei had been jealous for quite some time. But because they were still too young back then, Bai Yue didn't realize his feelings, so he just found it strange.
He took the silver chain from Shang Yufei's hand, "Now, there are two."
As he was about to put the chain around his neck, he was stopped.
Shang Yufei said, "Let me help you."
With that, he turned and stood behind Bai Yue, pulling open his collar to reveal a slender, fair neck.
He unfolded the silver chain, looping it around Bai Yue's body, and fastened it around his neck.
Bai Yue fiddled with the two rings in front of him. But after the silver chain was put on, the person behind him remained motionless. A burning gaze emanated from the back of his neck, faintly heating up the area.
Bai Yue turned his head slightly, meeting the other's emerald eyes with a smile. "What's this, planning to take a bite?"
Alphas mark Omegas by biting their neck glands to declare their sovereignty. But obviously, there's no such function between two Alphas.
Shang Yufei looked at Bai Yue, his eyebrows raised slightly.
Bai Yue had only meant it as a joke and was about to brush it off when he felt his shoulder being pressed by the person behind him. That person opened their mouth and buried their head into the back of his neck.
A warm breath washed over his neck. Bai Yue hadn't expected Shang Yufei to actually do this, causing his body to stiffen momentarily.
However, after a while, there was no sensation of pain from behind. Instead, there was just the feeling of strands of hair brushing against him, slightly tickling.
A familiar voice came from behind his ear, "Idiot, stop teasing me all the time."
Bai Yue felt a light pressure on the back of his neck, "Next time, I might actually do it for real."
His collar was adjusted. Bai Yue lifted his hand and gently stroked the back of his neck. The silver chain was there, icy cold, yet his fingertips felt incredibly hot.
His heartbeat accelerated, somewhat uncontrollable.
But even if Shang Yufei had just bitten him, there wouldn't be anything left there except for bite marks.
He remembered the conversation he had with Shang Yufei before—after coming of age, they would mark each other.
Though it had only happened recently, it felt as though a long time had passed.
The "marking behavior" was no longer possible. Physiologically, Alphas were naturally repelled from each other.
"..."
Bai Yue turned around. "When are you leaving?"
Shang Yufei glanced at the time. "I have to leave now."
The Emperor Yi Military Academy was located in another galaxy and could only be reached by airship. The next departure was coming up soon.
Bai Yue was silent for a moment before saying, "Perhaps, I could also go to your school..."
"No," Shang Yufei interrupted without hesitation, "I don't want you to become a soldier. Besides, didn't you want to open your own restaurant?"
As a soldier, one would certainly receive a lot of respect and privileges within the empire, but the early stages of promotion were extremely difficult. In Shang Yufei's opinion, although Bai Yue had undergone secondary differentiation into an Alpha physically, his mentality couldn't change immediately. Moreover, to change his current status, having him alone was enough. He wanted Bai Yue to pursue what he loved.
"..." Bai Yue smiled. "I understand."
Then, due to the need to catch the airship, Shang Yufei left. They didn't know when they would meet again.
Bai Yue stood there, watching him leave, lingering for a long time.
As the college entrance examination approached, even the third year students at the Luohua Academy began to cram — except for those who were certain of their acceptance through recommendation.
Although he had passed the interview for recommendation, he still needed to take the entrance examination held separately by the university. However, compared to the college entrance examination, its difficulty was much lower.
These days, An Yu hadn't been wasting any time. He had talked to almost every third-year Alpha, but still hadn't found the hero who had saved him that day.
Feeling increasingly despondent, he couldn't help but feel like Cinderella abandoned by her prince charming.
He crossed out the last name on the notebook used for recording. With that, all the third-year Alphas had been eliminated.
An Yu sighed, recalling the events of that night.
Although some time had passed, after days of repeatedly recalling it, the memory had deepened even further. And many embellished scenes had appeared.
This made An Yu increasingly convinced that the Alpha he had met that day was undoubtedly his destined lover!
He walked into the classroom with the notebook in hand. With his head lowered, he didn't notice the person walking towards him. Their shoulders accidentally collided.
"Sorry."
The person responded.
Now, An Yu's mind was completely focused on finding someone, so his personality wasn't as aggressive as before. But he still had his pride and felt that this person must have deliberately bumped into him, wanting to touch his body.
An Yu raised his eyebrows, about to question, but when he saw the person's figure, he swallowed the second half of his sentence subconsciously and reached out his hand, "Wait!"
Bai Yue was pulled back, his steps halted. He turned around, "What's the matter?"
An Yu suddenly realized who he had grabbed.
He let go immediately. "It's nothing."
Bai Yue was used to this person's fickleness and didn't pay much attention, intending to continue walking forward. However, he was called back again.
"Wait!"
"You, you..." An Yu's pretty face turned bright red, "Do you want to touch my..."
Bai Yue: "?"
Ah ah ah ah ah, impossible!
An Yu didn't finish his sentence, turning his head and running away in disbelief, holding his face in his hands.
What was he thinking? Why did he ask that guy such a question? Even though their figures were somewhat similar, he wouldn't confuse Omega and Alpha. How could he think of asking Bai Yue?
An Yu's mind was in chaos, becoming more and more confused about what he was thinking.
Similarly puzzled was Bai Yue.
He just felt that this person had become increasingly strange after the awakening period ended.
Li Ren, who was standing nearby, saw everything, his expression horrified. "Is he going crazy?"
Bai Yue shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
At that moment, the class teacher suddenly appeared at the door. His gaze swept across the whole class, finally fixing on Bai Yue, his expression serious, his face not looking good.
"Bai Yue, the principal wants to see you."