82: Extra 7 - Sleep With Me
Qian Kun had already told his mom that he could fool other people, but not necessarily Shen Jin.
He explained to his boyfriend, who was still staring blankly, “My mom’s entering a production in two weeks. She’s playing a cross-border spy, military background. She takes this role really seriously. This is basically rehearsal.”
Shen Jin opened his mouth. No wonder when he got into the car, he felt the driver’s aura suited a soldier so well. It fit the “Qian family bodyguard” vibe perfectly. And judging by how used to it Qian Kun was, this definitely wasn’t the first time.
With a mom that fun, Qian Kun’s childhood must’ve been extremely eventful.
Liu Manning was unlike the typical wealthy wife. Even after marriage, she never stopped pursuing her career. She even deliberately downplayed who she married outside. She didn’t want to hear any of that bullsh*t about how her achievements came from her husband’s family.
Liu Manning removed the disguise and walked over with a smile. “I mainly wanted to test whether I’d still be recognized after a full disguise. Looks like my acting still needs work.”
Up close, Liu Manning was even more dazzling. Shen Jin hurriedly shook his head. “Your aura and your eyes were spot-on just now. It’s mainly because your eye shape is too similar to his.”
Those delicate phoenix eyes, Shen Jin had only ever seen them on this mother and son.
Qian Kun touched the upturned corner of his eye. If Shen Jin recognized it so fast, didn’t that indirectly prove Shen Jin was extremely familiar with him?
Liu Manning said, “So that’s why.”
She flicked a glance at her son, who was quietly pleased, and still felt Shen Jin was far too good to him. Look at that spring-breeze-on-his-face expression. Give him the tiniest bit of sweetness and he was happy like this, yet he still acted all serious. He had definitely tricked the kid plenty, hadn’t he?
The three of them entered the elevator together. Shen Jin was so nervous he almost moved his hands and feet on the same side.
Liu Manning looked at him. “Last time we met was this brat’s birthday, right? There were too many people to host then, so I didn’t get the chance to really talk with you. This time it happens to be a stage play, and the plot is pretty good. You two have heavy study loads lately, so it’s a nice chance to relax. That’s why I had him invite you to come watch.”
Hearing that, Shen Jin’s nerves finally eased a little.
Though as a parent, shouldn’t she be scolding them to study?
Eh. Did I forget something?
Shen Jin suddenly remembered the kiss in the back seat earlier.
Didn’t she see all of that?!
Ahhhhhhh!
Qian Kun, could you not rein it in even a little?!
Shen Jin finally experienced what “social death” truly meant.
Seeing two rosy patches float up on Shen Jin’s cheeks, Liu Manning thought, Aiyo, so cute.
Just as Shen Jin wanted to drill into the ground, they arrived at the backstage dressing room. Since Liu Manning was a special guest cameo, she had her own private makeup room.
She directly shooed her son off to buy drinks. Qian Kun’s gaze was calm, and he didn’t leave right away.
Liu Manning rolled her eyes. “Relax. I’m not going to bully your precious treasure.”
Qian Kun nodded and finally left them space.
Shen Jin’s face turned even redder at the word “precious.” He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Liu Manning brewed him a cup of tea. “Have some tea. Auntie doesn’t eat people.”
Shen Jin took a sip and managed to steady his emotions.
Only then did Liu Manning say, “Besides letting you relax, there’s something else I want to talk to you about today.”
Here it comes.
Shen Jin straightened his back and listened carefully.
“Do you know what my gender is?”
“Female Beta?”
This was famous. With Liu Manning’s outstanding looks and aura, most people would assume she was Omega, but in reality she was categorized as the “ordinary” Beta.
“As everyone knows, Betas, male or female, have low fertility. When I married your uncle, I faced quite a lot of resistance and nasty gossip. After marriage, we didn’t have a child for a long time, and the mockery was everywhere. But so what? Your uncle and I didn’t care. Marriage was our choice.”
Liu Manning’s gaze was bright and proud.
Shen Jin felt something stir. Liu Manning lived boldly and freely.
Something he’d been missing, something he’d been worried about, felt like it was being filled in from another direction.
“What I want to tell you today is that whether you have children has nothing to do with carrying on a bloodline, age, the people around you, or what your parents hope for.”
“If a child is born, the only reason should be love.”
Not long ago at a banquet, Mother Ke, whether out of curiosity or unwillingness, asked Liu Manning if she knew Shen Jin had differentiated into a Beta. Qian Kun’s future was bound to be that of an outstanding leader. Choosing an Omega partner with stronger fertility was the trend and the logical choice.
Liu Manning had only replied, “Oh, but I’m a Beta too.”
One killing blow that made Mother Ke unable to continue the conversation.
From Mother Ke, Liu Manning could already foresee the pressure Shen Jin would face in the future, so she decided to lay it out in advance.
Shen Jin had guessed this private talk might be intense, but he never imagined it would be this intense.
He curled his fingers in embarrassment and gave a soft, “Mm.”
Liu Manning saw that if they kept going, the young man would run, so once Shen Jin understood, she naturally skipped the sensitive topic and moved on to funny stories from Qian Kun’s childhood.
They hadn’t chatted long before a staff member came to notify her it was time to prepare.
Even though Liu Manning was only a cameo and wouldn’t appear until the second half, she still needed to do makeup and arrangements now.
When Shen Jin was leaving, he endured his shyness and called softly, “Auntie.”
Liu Manning, facing the mirror while being made up, said, “Yes?”
“After I differentiated, my constitution is special, so that… that part isn’t affected.”
It was also because of Qian Kun. After Shen Jin’s differentiation finished, Qian Kun insisted on a full-body check. That aspect had been tested too.
Liu Manning froze, then understood what Shen Jin meant.
The makeup brush clattered onto the tabletop.
So I called you here for nothing today?!
Shen Jin said goodbye and fled, shutting the door like he was escaping.
He immediately ran into Qian Kun, who’d been waiting a long time. The Alpha lifted a hand, hooked him closer.
Qian Kun asked, “What did she say?”
Shen Jin’s gaze darted. He felt Liu Manning’s topic was way too far ahead. He was still a high school student.
Shen Jin grabbed a different topic. “She talked about some things you did when you were little. Also, the fake rock garden and that heavenly-beast charm on your desk, that’s because they were afraid that you’d die alone and sought them out?”
That charm looked wildly out of place on his desk. Shen Jin had always thought it was there to ward off ghosts.
Back then, the Qian family even wanted Qian Kun to carry the talisman on him at all times. It was honestly hilarious.
Liu Manning said that when Qian Kun was still in the womb, a master had calculated his fate, saying he was a rare 3S mental-power Alpha, but born with a solitary destiny.
At first the family didn’t believe it. But many of the master’s predictions came true, like how Qian Kun caused a sensation the moment he was born, when his mental power would awaken, what award he’d win overseas at what age, when he’d have a fever that wouldn’t go down…
After that, Liu Manning and her husband couldn’t help believing it. Grandpa Qian worried himself sick over his grandson’s marriage.
And yet this grandson had a mind of his own from childhood. He had zero interest in romance and thought it was a burden, basically unnecessary. Even in puberty, he never showed the slightest stirrings.
Later on, Grandpa Gan basically decided that as long as someone could make his grandson agree, anyone would do.
Who would’ve thought Qian Kun would bring home someone who exceeded everyone’s expectations, to the point the family was deeply satisfied. Where had he even found such a treasure?
To say the Qian family was very curious about Shen Jin was really no exaggeration.
They had waited years for this. If Shen Jin hadn’t appeared, their little demon king might’ve actually fulfilled that “solitary fate” prophecy.
Qian Kun rubbed his nose. “Why would she tell you all that?”
Shen Jin asked, “Is it true?”
“Sort of, but that fate’s already been changed.”
From the moment I met you.
The two of them finished the stage play, and Liu Manning, still not fully removed from her makeup, drove them back to school.
After such a heart-stopping day, Shen Jin fell asleep quickly. Across from him, Qian Kun stared through the air for a long time before he finally closed his eyes.
Maybe because of today’s topic, both of them slept uneasily.
Qian Kun dreamed he returned to the day he transferred schools.
He stared around in astonishment. Everything was painfully real. The class he transferred into was still Class Nine.
Thinking he’d soon see Shen Jin, he couldn’t help feeling eager.
But… Shen Jin wasn’t here.
He waited half a month and never once heard of anyone named Shen Jin. Everyone in the class was the same as in his memory, except Shen Jin was missing.
Everyone said the Shen Jin he spoke of was someone who didn’t exist.
The Shen family didn’t have Shen Jin either. There was only a child named Shen Xie’an, but he’d been torn apart by kidnappers when he was four.
Qian Kun waited a few more months, but the only one who showed up was that tea-scented You Jia, exactly the same as always.
After a while, classmates noticed he “ran into” You Jia too often. Rumors started to spread, but Qian Kun denied them quickly.
No matter how many times he was reborn, You Jia was never the type that could make his heart move.
He spent three years of high school waiting. Then four years of college. In the middle, he even helped Xie Ling, who nearly got screwed over to death by his brother.
Xie Ling sent countless lavish gifts and Qian Kun accepted them all. If he didn’t accept, Xie Ling would repay him another way anyway.
The one thing Xie Ling couldn’t understand was why Qian Kun, someone he’d never even met, would help him.
“No reason. I just felt like it.”
In Xie Ling’s eyes, that young master of the Qian family who dominated the world outside turned his head with reddened eyes.
His voice carried a choke, a desperation.
“Xie Ling, I miss him.”
Where is he, exactly?
How much longer do I have to wait?
By the time Qian Kun was 45, the friends and brothers around him had all gotten married. He even attended the teacher appreciation banquet for homeroom teacher Hu Shengqiang’s daughter.
His parents never pressured him about marriage, but their gazes were always full of worry.
His grandfather died that year too.
On his deathbed, Grandpa Gan’s cloudy eyes were full of pleading. “I gave you that name because I wanted you to be free, but you’re too free. Before Grandpa dies, I only have one wish. Can you let Grandpa see a grandson’s wife, just once? Can you? Huh?”
Honestly, even if Qian Kun had brought someone at that point, it would’ve been fake.
The old man understood. He just couldn’t let go of the grandson he’d raised, the one who was still so lonely. Even if it was just a lie to comfort himself, it would’ve been something.
Qian Kun held the old man’s hand and quietly shut his eyes.
His voice sounded like it had to be forced out. “I can’t… Grandpa, I can’t do it.”
I can’t lie to you.
If it’s not him, it’s no one.
…
………
Qian Kun jolted awake, breathing fast.
It was dark all around. He was still in the dorm.
He looked toward the bed next to him. He could still hear Shen Jin’s steady breathing.
He’s here.
Qian Kun covered his dry eyes. His brain felt exhausted, like he’d truly walked through those decades.
Every day in that dream had been long and bleak.
Maybe that was the life he was supposed to live.
Shen Jin hadn’t slept well either. He’d had a dream, but it blurred the moment he woke.
It felt important. Maybe if he fell back asleep, he could remember it.
Shen Jin turned over, about to drift off again, when a faint breeze brushed his face.
He opened his eyes and saw someone on the balcony, smoking suppression cigarettes, back turned to him, looking lonely.
Shen Jin was fully awake now.
That back looked painfully solitary.
He didn’t like seeing Qian Kun like that at all.
Ever since coming of age, Qian Kun’s pheromones had stabilized. Even when he had occasional flare-ups, they could always find a hidden corner to mark.
Qian Kun rarely smoked anymore unless he was extremely irritated.
Probably hearing Shen Jin stir, Qian Kun stubbed out the cigarette and walked back inside.
In the dark, Shen Jin couldn’t see his expression. He only heard that deep, heavy voice.
“Can I sleep with you?”
Huh?
This fast?
But we haven’t graduated. We’re adults, sure, but this is a dorm, I’m not ready…
But if Qian Kun really wants it, and I refuse the first time, will it hurt his confidence?
A whole line of imaginary bullet comments popped into Shen Jin’s head. The words he wanted to say hovered at the tip of his tongue.
Shen Jin grabbed his blanket. When he looked at the figure standing in the darkness, his heart tightened for no reason.
“Okay…”
In the pitch-black night, the tall boy sprayed barrier agent first. He didn’t want the smoke smell to cling to Shen Jin.
He came to Shen Jin’s bed.
With soft rustling sounds, he slipped into Shen Jin’s warm blanket.
Shen Jin lay curled on his side, fingers tense against his chest.
He realized the dorm bed was really too small. It was already cramped with just him. Add a taller boy, and no matter how either of them moved, they’d bump into each other.
Those accidental touches sent electric currents through him. Even Shen Jin’s breathing changed.
A large hand wrapped around his waist over his sleep shirt, and a warm chest pressed against his back.
Shen Jin trembled once, then stayed quiet, letting the Alpha hold him.
Qian Kun looked down at the person in his arms. Shen Jin was too good, too obedient. Good to the point that Qian Kun wanted to keep him in his palms at all times.
Qian Kun rested against the pillow, breathing in Shen Jin’s hair. He’d never felt this kind of peace.
He noticed Shen Jin’s body trembling slightly.
He was a little surprised, then realized what Shen Jin must’ve misunderstood. Tonight, he didn’t have those thoughts at all.
Shen Jin was too soft. How could he agree so easily to something like that? It made Qian Kun feel warm and shaken at the same time.
He smiled, pressing his face into the soft hair.
He murmured, “I won’t do anything to you right now.”
In the night, the Alpha’s magnetic voice flowed on. Shen Jin knew Qian Kun didn’t make promises lightly, but if he said it, he meant it. Shen Jin finally relaxed a little and drifted back to sleep in that warmth.
Listening to Shen Jin’s breathing, Qian Kun tightened his arms around him.
This person is warm. He’s real.
Being able to hold him like this is wonderful.
Qian Kun buried his face in Shen Jin’s shoulder.
He exhaled softly.
“I missed you so much.”
So much, so so much.
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