Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The university campus looked strikingly different, bathed in soft moonlight. The streets that bustled with students and faculty by day now lay empty, save for the somewhat inebriated pair of alphas stumbling home. 

Walking down the footpath, Shen Yuan found it hard to hold onto his worries, enjoying the nipping winds against his skin while the alpha leaning on his shoulder alternated between happy chatter and anxious babbling.

"It sucks, you know? Are we really ready to... y'know, go out there? With jobs and... taxes and stuff? We should have longer, right? Like, why'd they graduate now? We're not... responsible enough to guide the newbies!"

"Don't we already pay taxes?"

Did he pay taxes? Honestly, he had no idea.

"That's not the main part, dumbass! It's... that's going to be us next year! Graduating! No more college, no more nothing!" she grumbled.

"Pfft, if you graduate, ha ha."

She clumsily elbowed him in response, nearly sending both crashing to the pavement.

"Hey, I'm not the one coasting off an... art degree."

"Literature, dumbass."

"A non-sciency degree", she commented dismissively. "And we're still single dogs after all this suffering!"

The drunk dumbass hopped atop a nearby bench with surprising agility, somehow perching on the narrow backrest.

"Where's the love? The romance?!" she declared, spreading her arms dramatically, promptly losing her balance and toppling onto the dirt.

Shen Yuan tried to catch her.

Specifically, he thought about catching her, but his body couldn't react in time.

He gazed off into the distance, taking in the atmosphere. It felt like there was something special about this night, like something was in the air. Qi'er's defeated groan snapped him out of his daze.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe. No more of that, though," she sighed as he helped her up.

"I just... love this place. Like, the trees, the flowers, the buildings, the classes, even the professors -"

Shen Yuan's attention slipped as his companion kept rambling with increasing agitation.

There was something in the air. It wasn't the alcohol, he was sure of it.

"Hey, do you... Can you smell that too?"

Qi'er continued rambling, seemingly lecturing a nearby lamppost with fervor. 

Maybe it would be okay to step away for a while - to follow the source of the scent. She wasn't likely to wander off or do something stupid in the few minutes it would take.

He followed the scent a short distance over a bridge leading to the engineering buildings. It was unmistakable: earthy, almost natural, yet distinctly not, coming from the alleyway beside Engineering Building 4. With the light from his phone, he could make out a figure huddled against the wall next to the exhaust vents.

Before he could speak, he felt a sharp tug, yanking him away from the alley and sending him tumbling to the ground. The next thing he saw was Qi'er stepping past him, lunging at the stranger with surprising hostility.

Maybe the shock sobered him up.

He snapped forward, grabbing Qi'er's foot in time to trip her.

"Are you crazy?! Qi'er, stop!" he yelled, pinning the shorter alpha down as she flailed wildly. Despite her lack of coordination, she still landed a few painful hits. He couldn't hold her down for long. 

"Run! I'll keep her down, just go! Quickly!" he called out to Qi'er's would-be victim. The figure in the shadows remained motionless despite his warnings. With a lucky strike to Shen Yuan's ribs, Qi'er broke free.

In the next moment, she flopped back onto the ground without warning.

"Qi'er?!" he panicked and laid her on her back.

What was he supposed to do? CPR? Call an ambulance? Maybe he should call his brother?

"She is fine, just unconscious," a voice spoke calmly from the shadows. The certainty in the tone helped him ground his thoughts. Looking closer at Qi'er, her chest was moving with steady breaths. It looked like she had decided to take a nap on the ground.

That was just as worrying in another way. Her life may not be in danger, but that didn't explain why she had gone from drunk antics to sudden violence to spontaneous narcolepsy. It wasn't like human beings came with an off switch.

...Were there drugs at the farewell party?

Living off campus, he rarely attended dorm parties. While that kind of scenario was common in novels, surely no one would use anything serious at a farewell party?

He could call an ambulance or campus security, but... what would happen to them if they were caught with something illegal? What would happen to the graduating batch? Would it even be worth it if she were to simply wake up in a little while?

He shifted her back onto his shoulder, struggling under the dead-weight. 

There was no way he could bring her the whole way back to her apartment. He could ask someone from the company, but if his family found out... He didn't want to be a bigger disappointment than he already was.

But if all they needed was a place to wait for a little while, maybe Qi'er's ID would let them into one of the engineering buildings.

Shen Yuan glanced at the shadows by the vents and saw the source of the scent watching him.

"Uh... I'm taking her inside. Do you - Do you want to wait with us? I mean inside?" he stammered.

The figure considered his offer, then rose silently. As he stepped out of the darkness, Shen Yuan took a better look.

He was unusually tall for an omega. His ill-fitting clothes hung loose off his thin, skeletal frame, yet he held himself with a quiet dignity. His dark, intelligent eyes landed on Shen Yuan, regarding him with a hint of judgment.

Right, stop staring like an idiot.

Thankfully, Qi'er had come to the party straight from her lab and had her ID on her. Once inside, he headed to the closest break room and settled Qi'er on a couch, listening to her grunt in displeasure.

That was a good sign. She probably was just sleeping after all. Hopefully, she'd wake up in a few hours at most, and this incident would be something to tease her about.

Glancing through the door, he saw the man quietly sitting in the main break room. 

For an omega to have his scent out like that, so late at night... 

He didn't look affected, so maybe this was someone's idea of a cruel joke. His gaze was downcast, lost in thought, still somewhat tense. 

It wouldn't hurt to help a little. After all, the break room had all the essentials for a pick-me-up - coffee machines, microwaves, medicine kits, and even a vending machine in the hallway.

He found the medicine kit and dug out some suppressors, wondering if he should also do something about the scratches on his arms from the earlier struggle. The coffee machine beeped on filling the second cup, so he stuffed the rest of the kit away.

"Here. It's not the best, but at least it's free", he said, taking a seat across from the omega, setting both cups on the table. The quiet man looked up and accepted the cup with a nod. 

There was a slight tremor to the man's grip.

"H-Hey, sorry about that. She's not usually like that, I think she was just drunk", Shen Yuan explained. "You're... are you okay? Not hurt or anything?"

"I am well. You have nothing to apologize for."

He spoke with a crisp, smooth voice that made Shen Yuan want to listen forever.

"That-that's good."

Shit, did that seem insincere? 

"Uh, are you, y'know. Ok? In other places? Uh, I mean, is there anything -  Can I do anything to, do you want me to call someone? Or get you a ride home, or something?"

Wow, smooth as sandpaper.

"Your concern is unnecessary. You have already provided more than enough."

"Right, right. Got locked out or something then? I can relate", he nervously smiled.

The crinkle of plastic reminded him of the suppressor pill strip he'd found in the first aid kit. He slid it over wordlessly, feeling somewhat apprehensive at the awkward situation. 

He could have offered it with the coffee. That would have been the perfect timing. He hoped the omega wouldn't think he was withholding it on purpose.

The man took the strip without comment, perfectly content to ruminate in silence.

"Considering your access to the building, I take it you are a scholar?", his pensive companion asked, breaking the silence. 

It took a moment for his brain to register the question.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm a student too - well, I'm not an engineering major, that's Qi'er, but I major in classical literature... Are you, uh, is this your department?"

He had found the well-spoken man right outside the building after all.

"My field of expertise is more... esoteric. I was under the impression that those from different departments did not interact often."

"Ah, yeah. We've known each other since high school. We don't share classes or groups, so we mostly just run into each other at the library or hang out off campus," he shrugged. 

They continued chatting about the campus, student life, and other mundane things. The omega was eloquent and polite, contrasting his weather-worn attire. Though he'd hoped to continue their conversation until Qi'er woke, Shen Yuan felt his eyes grow heavier with each passing minute.

He woke the next morning to a tidy yet empty break room and a mild headache. The only remnant from the meeting the night before was a fading scent.

Chapter Text

The life of a college student was filled with mundanity and stress in equal parts. The professors seemed to plan their deadlines to overlap with the last week before midterms for optimal stress. Like many of his peers, Shen Yuan made his pilgrimage to the library, hoping to make a dent in the mountain of work he had due. 

He pushed back his chair and stretched his arms above him, groaning softly at the satisfying pop. After an evening of juggling references to make something to impress the professor or at least the TA who would be grading them, his brain was demanding rest, leisure, and most importantly, food.

He gathered his things to head out, but stopped in his tracks. There was a familiar scent: faint, earthy, but unmistakably present.

It came from an empty chair at a corner by the west window, a spot hidden from casual passersby, and a terrible place to work due to the evening sun's glare. Yet, the omega from that day had been here recently. The thought turned to curiosity, and soon he'd moved more and more of his study sessions to the library, passing by that table whenever he could. The scent would concentrate and dissipate, seemingly on a whim, and each time he passed the corner, he'd note the change ritualistically as the dreaded hell week drew closer.

One such evening, he prepared to head out but stopped with a start.

In the usually empty chair, the man from that night sat dressed in a neat, fitted full-sleeved shirt, long hair drawn back into a low ponytail that showed glimpses of a black choker. Before him lay at least a dozen books and newspapers, his one hand scribbling onto a small notebook with occasional pauses, his other going from source to source, flipping pages as he worked.

Despite his apprehension, Shen Yuan changed course, casually took a seat diagonally across from the man, and set his things down as though he'd just arrived. The omega acknowledged his arrival with a glance and a quick nod and went straight back to his work.

Shen Yuan slowly lowered his half-raised arm and swallowed the greeting nearly on his lips. He couldn't just leave after having just pretended to have arrived, and he did have another essay due in about half a week that he hadn't even started on. This was just as good a time to make progress on it as any.

Time ticked away slowly in the quiet library, and Shen Yuan felt hyper aware of every hurried footstep, every hushed whisper, every page turning around him. His focus was drifting more towards the table's other occupant, diligently reading and making notes from an impressive variety of books, including a book with what looked like math symbols, some sort of geographical book, what was possibly a medical book, and -

"Local legends collection?", he muttered in equal parts recognition and confusion. That was a collection of folk songs and short ballads, wasn't it?

The man paused his work at the comment, looking up from his work.

"A-Ah, I just recognize it from my last semester. For comparative analysis", Shen Yuan hurriedly explained, trying to answer his quiet companion's wordless question.

"Comparative analysis."

"For Lit-theory. It was that, Yuefu poems and a Qing compilation."

Shen Yuan was used to people outside the literary department tuning him out whenever he brought up schoolwork. Unlike them, the omega listened intently, which he took as a sign to continue.

What followed was nearly an hour of questions on ancient poetry he had forced himself to get through for a grade, now with a live critic challenging him on half-remembered conclusions he'd put in his final essay. The exchange ended in Shen Yuan checking out the same books he'd sworn he wouldn't touch again after the previous semester, while the omega whose name he still did not know sat at the table, looking over a fresh print of the essay that had barely gotten him an A during the previous semester.

He retook his seat across from the man, placing the two poetry collections with a couple of additional references he'd remembered from Lit-Theory.

The omega was going through the pages at a somewhat relaxed pace with an unreadable expression. Shen Yuan felt a mix of anxiety and embarrassment at the unexpected review for what should have been lost to memory.

"It's not my best work", he sheepishly admitted.

The man gave him a look that seemed to silently agree with the assessment. 

"Unpolished, but you have the insight to make something of this", the man said.

Insight that he'd failed to materialize in any meaningful way, though that was merely implied.

Shen Yuan felt his phone buzz, breaking the mortifying silence.

"It's Qi'er", he spoke aloud to the omega who showed no interest.

Message after message with Qi'er complaining about the administration office giving her grief and begging for a ride downtown for something.

As messy as she was, it would be a miracle if the office didn't react after she'd misplaced IDs practically every year.

Shen Yuan hesitated, but ultimately gathered his things. "Something's come up, so...", he trailed off, awkwardly fiddling with the strap on his phone. 

The omega finally met his gaze again with a short nod, gathering the assignment printout and the poetry books.

"Oh! I don't - you can use those if they're helpful, just drop them off at the return bin when you're done", Shen Yuan said, interrupting the omega. "It was great talking with you. Maybe we can do this again, if we run into each other..."

Shen Yuan didn't register the words before they were already out of his mouth.

To his surprise, the omega nodded. 

The silence stretched for a few moments, while they both stared, waiting for the other to move.

"...Shen Jiu", the omega offered, breaking the silence.

The words took a few moments to make sense. He finally knew the beautiful omega's name.

"R-right. Well, good luck with your work, Shen Laoshi!"

Shen Yuan half ran and half skipped out of the library that day.

Chapter Text

After that day, Shen Yuan made a habit of dropping by the corner at the library's west window. Shen Jiu seemed to appear whenever he pleased. On the days he was in, he'd find him in his usual ponytail and long white sleeves, buried in his work and oblivious to the world.

On those days when the earthy scent was stronger than usual, Shen Yuan would pick up two cups of hot tea and a few snacks from the library cafe. He'd take his usual seat diagonally across from Shen Jiu, who would acknowledge him with a glance and a nod, silently accepting the refreshments. With each meeting, the occasional tremors in his companion's delicate hands grew increasingly infrequent.

They mostly worked in silence. Sometimes he'd help Shen Jiu find references or discuss topics ranging from geography to ancient folklore. Whenever their conversation strayed to his ongoing work, Shen Yuan would inevitably find himself waiting anxiously while Shen Jiu quickly scanned whatever draft he had in progress. 

Working with tight deadlines, he rarely had the luxury to decipher Shen Jiu's layered, concise feedback. Unraveling its meaning felt like solving a puzzle, filling him with elation the few times he successfully managed it and a sense of defeat when the countdown forced him to submit what he had.

Despite the hassle, the library became an ingrained part of his routine. Any disruption to his almost-daily visits would leave Shen Yuan uneasy.

Yet, some things took priority over stalking the library - something Shen Yuan accepted with a resigned sigh as he stepped out of the company car to accompany one of his brother's employees to what he understood to be some sort of land deal.

The assistant manager handling the specifics was already at the door, waiting for him with barely disguised impatience. On her lapel, he spotted a name tag.

Zhao Min.

It wasn't one of the managers he'd tagged along with before.

As he approached, the prim-looking alpha woman held the door open for him.

"Master Shen, the representative of the Hong group, Ms. Jiang Xiu is already waiting for us in the 7th-floor office. The land bureau representative has sent word that he will-"

Shen Yuan could already feel his eyes begin to glaze over.

It was always the same with these dumb meetings. Everything was discussed and finalized long before. Why did he even have to be here for something so trivial? Was this experience worth anything to his resume?

Zhao Min continued to brief him on the specifics of the deal that he needed to know nothing of. His entire purpose was simply to wait around while the others discussed things and sign whatever he was asked to sign.

They weren't counting on any of his 'keen' insight on this.

The office was just as run-down as the rest of the building. The water stains and peeling paint did no favors to the already aged design. A small wooden desk with a monitor sat at one end of the room. A cozy couch set at the center had a glass table with several documents, with pages trying to flutter away from the loud AC unit directed at it.

An older omega lady with her graying hair in a proper bun rose from the desk to meet them at the door.

"Welcome, welcome! It's good to finally see everything to completion. Please take a seat with me. The land bureau official should be here soon."

Zhao Min stepped past him, quickly sitting down to review and reorganize the documents she carried.

The two women chatted amiably about their past dealings, something Shen Yuan had no involvement or interest in. Apart from the occasional perfunctory response, he watched a clock on the wall tick away while they waited for the official.

His boredom was unrelieved with the official's arrival, which served only as a slight break with the exchange of greetings and requisite small talk. An employee brought in fresh tea for the closing deal, so Shen Yuan at least had something to fiddle with as he waited for the others to do the legal work before he was needed.

A few minutes later, he signed where he was asked to sign, nodded when he was supposed to nod, then went back into spacing out as they continued with more uninteresting bureaucracy talk.

Having to wake up 2 hours earlier than he would have was doing him no favors either, and he couldn't help but let out a muffled yawn.

His eyes refocused to see the room looking at him - the official in annoyance, the omega lady in amusement, and his brother's employee in contempt.

"Sorry, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.", Shen Yuan apologized meekly.

"Hm, I'll have someone bring in fresh tea shortly. Please bear with us, Mr. Shen.", the omega lady offered with a gracious smile.

"This will take a while. Perhaps we can wrap up other conversations while you take a break, Master Shen? There are matters around the tax work which do not require your presence", the assistant manager added.

"That's... I don't really need-"

"That sounds like a good idea. There is quite a lot to go through, and all I need is a representative from your group, Mr. Shen", the official interrupted, backing the alpha woman's suggestion.

Outvoted by the group, he mumbled thanks to the group for their patience and walked out the door and down the narrow hallway. A few steps past the elevator next to the window by the stairwell, he stopped in disbelief.

It was that characteristic earthy scent that had no reason to be here. It was a scent meant to be intertwined with books and silence, not damp walls and stained floors.

He paced back and forth before stopping at the stairwell door.

He hadn't been hallucinating.

The scent was unmistakable.

Opening the creaky door, he climbed down the narrow stairwell, the scent getting stronger with each flight.

On the ground floor, rising from a seat on the railing, was Shen Jiu, sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to reveal a lean forearm, his beautiful fingers hidden by ugly black gloves. His hair was pulled higher into a tight ponytail, drawing attention to a slender white neck and a sharp jawline. His eyes flashed with something unreadable before reverting to a familiar, impassive gaze.

"Shen Laoshi?!" he yelped in surprise, his mind failing to reconcile what his senses confirmed.

"Shen Yuan", the man acknowledged, straightening up with a vigilance he had not seen since their first meeting. His eyes flicked over Shen Yuan, assessing the formal suit, designer shoes, and neatly combed hair that sharply contrasted with his usual, relaxed attire on campus.

"I wasn't expecting to see you - what are you doing here?!"

"Is this a place I should not be?" Shen Jiu asked calmly. 

A mixed complex to be sold to one of his brother's companies for demolition and redevelopment - was there a reason for anyone to be here? He struggled to make sense of the question that must have an answer. 

Shen Jiu watched his struggle for an uncomfortably long time, then slowly pushed off the wall he was leaning on.

"It seems I am needed elsewhere. Farewell, Shen Yuan.", he said, opening the door into the lobby.

Shen Yuan followed him.

"Wait! I didn't mean to chase you out", he called out.

Shen Jiu turned to look at him, then, without a word, he walked out to the parking area. Shen Yuan felt his phone buzz with a pointed message from the assistant manager requesting his immediate presence.

He ran up the stairs, his heart racing to match his thoughts.

Shen Jiu couldn't be one of the property manager's employees - he wasn't dressed for it. Was he...a tenant?

Back in the office, the assistant manager, who was mid-apology, practically dragged him to the seat. A dozen papers ready for his signature were already arranged neatly before him.

"About the complex... what happens to the tenants?" he asked, his pen hesitant to approach the dotted lines.

"I'm sorry, Sir. Master Shen is new to the business, please forgive his inexperience.", the assistant manager sighed, turning to the bureau official. "We shouldn't inconvenience others unnecessarily. I will be happy to answer your questions once we've finished wrapping everything up here."

"But-"

"Sir, Ms. Jiang, I apologize. May we take a few moments to convene privately?" The assistant manager excused herself, stepping out of the office with a fake smile, pulling Shen Yuan behind her.

"Master Shen, you don't need to be concerned with the tenants. Evictions are already covered by the seller's party, so you don't need to bring it up, please", she smiled, her eyes cold as ice.

"Evictions? You mean-"

"Master Shen. Everything around this deal has already been in motion for months and already has the Boss's approval.. We should respect the effort our employees put in to negotiate the final terms with the Hong group. I humbly request that you help close this deal as the Boss's family and representative", the alpha woman responded with surprising hostility.

Shen Yuan mumbled a soft apology. He followed the woman into the meeting, signing the dotted lines as he was supposed to.

The official gathered his documents and left shortly. Shen Yuan watched the women exchange highly corporate goodbyes and followed the alpha to the parking area.

Old Zhao, their family's long-time chauffeur, was squatting on a box by the wall. He put out his cigarette and walked to meet them by the entrance.

"Little boss, why do you look so pitiful? Did someone bully you, hm?" the gruff old man teased. 

Shen Yuan reflexively looked at the alpha woman who was already turning to walk to her car.

"Ah, this one", old Zhao commented, "You'll have to forgive her young master, her partner had a little one just last month, you see. Some new parents are terrible with all the stress."

The alpha woman turned to face old Zhao, her face impassive. He chuckled good-naturedly. 

"So hot-headed. Lass, even alphas don't get far if they don't know how to speak well.", he tutted playfully.

She turned and walked briskly towards her car.

"5 years and the girl still can't hold her tongue. All that studying and not a lick of sense", he sighed.

Shen Yuan wasn't sure how to respond, so he thanked old Zhao softly as he climbed into the car through the door the older man held open for him.

The drive home was filled with anxious dread - both about the effects of his disruption at the deal and his unexpected meeting with Shen Jiu.

Chapter Text

The next week felt like a decade. 

His brother hadn't been upset. He rarely ever reacted to any of Shen Yuan's screw ups. Everything was always within his expectations. The old apartment complex was confirmed to be unoccupied and would no doubt be rubble in the near future. If he were braver, he'd have asked old Zhao to take him there so he could see what his family had wrought.

Instead, he went back to his daily rhythm.

The scent that hung over the corner table of the library grew weaker with each passing day. At first, he dreaded running into Shen Jiu, seeing his cold expression - disappointed in his inadvertent betrayal.

On the first day, he thought of how he'd apologize, even kneeling if that could convey his sincerity. The second day, he played out scenario after scenario in his head, trying to think of a way to halt the redevelopment project, at least for the duration of Shen Jiu's research. By the end of the week, he'd checked the news, unsuccessfully tried to contact Zhao Min, and begged old Zhao to help him.

The grandfatherly man had softly scolded him for overthinking, but agreed to get him details of the building's former residents after some important work at the west rail yard.

Shen Yuan didn't want to wait.

It didn't take him long to get to the rail yard.

The station was massive, the white tiles of its grand entrance hall supporting thousands of people going about their business. Notice boards displayed information about arrivals and departures, accompanied by frequent announcements from speakers Shen Yuan couldn't spot.

None of the signs said anything helpful to him.

Scanning the yard from the elevated walkway also revealed nothing. All the trains looked indistinguishable from each other. He watched the trains come and go for a few minutes, wondering what he had expected to find in the first place - a company logo? Color coding? A neon sign pointing to the old man's office?

The next thing he did was ask a uniformed man by the walkway entrance, who looked at him blankly, then asked him to talk to the information desk.

"Hello! How can I help you?"

"Hello, can you help me find... the business trains?"

From the look on the information desk receptionist's face, it didn't seem like that idea would work out either.

The beta lady at the desk smiled stiffly. "Can you please clarify your question, sir? If you have a train number or a destination, I can help you further."

"No! That's not - I'm looking for an employee from my family's company. He said he had some business at the rail yard..."

"Sir, we cannot disclose that information without the required documentation," the lady smiled.

"Documentation? But it's my family's company! I can even provide my ID, you can check-", he said, voice tinged with irritation.

"Even so, I cannot disclose this information to you. The best course of action here would be to ask your staff. They will have more relevant information."

Shen Yuan clenched his fists.

He was here because he didn't know where his company's employees were.

The receptionist's eyes were already telling him to go away - all without letting her professional smile slip.

He walked back to the platforms dejected. He tried to deduce where the train might be with the types of people and goods going onto the platform, with little success. People, luggage, and boxes flowed around him like a stream.

Watching the crowd, he formulated his next plan.

In a little while, he caught one of the porters taking his cart back to the entry hall. 

"Hey! Can you please help me? I need to find a train", he called out, running towards the man. "I can pay you for your time!"

The man stopped immediately, turning to Shen Yuan with a smile. "Of course! Sir, just let me know what train!"

The man's smile dimmed on hearing his vague descriptions till he asked for the company by name. That made him almost run away till Shen Yuan pulled out whatever he had in his wallet and thrust it at the porter.

The money was gone in an instant, and the porter took him around the railway station with gusto.

Within 20 minutes, he was at a completely different part of the station across the tracks that he hadn't even realized he could get to. The porter had gone back to his job, happily pocketing around 300 RMB. The little office he had brought Shen Yuan to had the logos he was looking for, so it was money well spent.

The door was locked, but that wasn't an issue - he just had to wait until he could find someone to help. Someone here had to know old Zhao.

"Hey! What are you doing, you brat?! Scram!"

A tall, behemoth of a woman was stomping towards him, face twisted in a scowl, and sleeves rolled up her trunk-like forearms.

Shen Yuan smiled happily, noticing her jacket.

"Hello! Are you an employee of the OO-Corp? I'm looking for someone..."

"Then ask the information desk. This isn't a detective office", she scoffed.

Shen Yuan strained to hold his smile. "I'm looking for Zhao Cheng. He said he was working at the rail yard..."

The lady peered at him. "What, are you his grandkid or something? Brat, you report to the warehouse if you want work."

"No, I was here to - he said he'd get me some documents!" Shen Yuan nearly snapped.

"...what documents? That's handled by the corporate office", she said. He could feel the warning radiating from her narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

"It's something I asked him for!"

"Asked him for", she paused for a beat. "...What's your name?"

"Shen Yuan"

The lady blinked, then let out a snort of amusement. "Nice try, kid. Don't try pulling that with anyone else here unless you're looking for a beating."

Frustrated beyond belief, he pulled out his ID card and thrust it in her face.

Her face shifted rapidly between expressions.

"A-Ah, little boss! What are you doing in this dirty place?" she smiled genially. "If it's Lao Zhao you need, you can just call him! No need to trouble yourself like this! Let Auntie Xumei arrange a ride back for you..."

"It's ok, I can wait inside", he said, pointing to the office door.

The lady, Xumei, froze. "Oh, that? That office isn't in use."

"...but the porter said this was the OO-Corp office?"

"Probably a new worker! Those youngsters are always on the passenger platforms anyway. They don't know much about what happens on the cargo side."

Shen Yuan frowned, spotting several red-jacketed porters further down the platform.

Xumei followed his line of sight. 

"W-what I mean is, most porters work the passenger platforms! There are a few who assist us here occasionally!"

The exchange was starting to give him a migraine.

"Look, can you just tell him I'm here? I tried texting him, but he hasn't replied yet.", he sighed.

Xumei agreed hesitantly, apologizing a few times and taking off like her life depended on it.

Shen Yuan leaned against the wall with a sigh.

His conversation hadn't gone unnoticed. A few rail workers glanced at him curiously. They may have thought their looks were discreet, but 5 minutes of it was all it took for Shen Yuan to be fed up.

He walked along the platform, keeping the supposedly defunct office in sight. As long as he could spot Xumei, walking around shouldn't be a problem.

Then, he froze, spotting a familiar face stepping out of a boxcar a few meters ahead.

"Shen Laoshi!!", he gasped out in surprise. 

His legs moved on their own, running towards the man.

Shen Jiu spotted his mad dash from a distance. He said a few words to the man he was talking to by the boxcar, then moved to meet Shen Yuan halfway.

"Shen Yuan."

Despite the flat tone of the greeting, Shen Yuan was happy to finally hear that voice.

"Shen Laoshi! You're okay! You weren't coming to the library, so I was worried", he blurted out, hands on his knees, gasping for air.

"I see."

Within about a minute, Shen Yuan's heart stopped racing from the exertion. It was now racing for a different reason.

"...Shen Laoshi", he started hesitantly, "Are you okay? After the... after what happened with the apartments..."

After what he did to the omega's home... he didn't want to ask, and seeing the ice in the taller man's eyes, he felt his heart drop.

"...If you have nothing to say, please excuse me. I must return to work."

The weight in his heart was unbearable. He couldn't bear to watch Shen Jiu struggle with such backbreaking labor. His eyes were meant for books and theses, his hands were meant for poetry, and the finer arts. 

He shouldn't have to worry about losing his home. He shouldn't have to be here, in the heat and exhaust fumes.

"Wait!" he reflexively called out, grabbing a corner of the omega's rolled-up white sleeve. He let go immediately upon noticing Shen Jiu's brows slowly tightening. The omega waited with folded arms, oozing annoyance.

"I... I have an apartment, I mean, I'm looking for a roommate! I, it's close to the library, and, if you'd like a place to stay", he stammered, "N-not that you have to, I can also look into something else..." 

"Little boss!" a voice frantically yelled. 

Xumei sprinted towards them, looking very worried.

"Little boss! Don't bother with this rascal! Boss Zhao said he'd mail-"

"Auntie Xumei!" he hurriedly interrupted. The last thing he needed was for Shen Jiu to know he was snooping into his personal life. "I took care of that, I'm fine! I'll go back in a little bit. Please, don't let me interrupt your work!"

Xumei protested, but eventually left - but not before shooting Shen Jiu a look of warning. 

Shen Yuan anxiously looked at Shen Jiu, trying to read his expression.

"...what are your terms?" he asked.

Terms?

He hadn't thought that far. Terms for a room - would that be something like a leasing contract?

If it weren't for the fact that an alpha offering an omega a free room would seem inappropriate, he would have said so in a heartbeat.

"It's reasonable, it's a three-bedroom apartment, so the rent is about 2000...", Shen Yuan started, noticing a slight frown forming on the omega's face., "But that's for three rooms, so we can cut that by a third -"

The frown was still very present. 

Oh no, was it too high? Too low?

"I, I also appreciate your help with, in the library, so we can negotiate a rate!"

Shen Jiu watched him struggle through his pitch. "...If you are willing to wait for half an hour, I can accompany you."

"F-for a tour! Yeah, we can do that! That's fine, I'll be right here!"

About an hour later, they were back in his apartment. Shen Jiu looked at home on the plush couch.

On the glass table between them was a simple contract.

Shen Jiu chose the unused bedroom across the kitchen, furthest from the master bedroom. The contract required complete privacy within each person's bedroom. No intrusions without permission - even from cleaning staff. Instead of an unenforceable monetary payment, Shen Jiu would be an in-house proofreader for Shen Yuan's work. Each had to inform the other of guests or visitors, and be respectful. The contract would be in effect till Shen Yuan graduated or till Shen Jiu decided to leave. There was also a one-week notice period for termination.

It wasn't much of a contract. He stared at the one-page document, unable to think of any conditions to add. He signed the end - a quick scribble alongside Shen Jiu's neat penmanship, still in disbelief at how his harebrained scheme had actually worked.

Chapter Text

"Is that a chemical equation?"

The unexpected question came from a voice hovering right beside his ear. Shen Yuan shot up straight, looking like a startled deer.

Qi'er looked similarly surprised by his reaction before breaking into her typical annoying grin.

"Did you use all your brain cells for science?" she teased, pulling out the chair next to him, falling into it like the library was her home. "You shouldn't stress your poor head like that. What if it explodes? Who would do the poetry thing then?"

Shen Yuan flicked a pen cap at her head. She caught it with a swift swipe and twirled it between her fingers in a triumphant smirk.

"Literature isn't all about poetry. Not that a numbers nerd would know anything about culture", he teased back in mock offense.

She huffed in amusement, "Yep. You're the paragon of culture here."

The diminutive alpha woman leaned well into his personal space, looking at his work. "Seriously, what are you even doing? This is an impressive level of wrong. Why do you have superscripts on a compound?"

Shen Yuan gave a light tap to her temple in retaliation. The other alpha snatched his pen and notes and started making minor modifications.

"It's been years since high school. Why would you expect me to know anything about organic chemistry?"

"Hm. Fair. But unless you're suddenly considering an alternative career cooking crystal-"

Shen Yuan grimaced.

She'd noticed.

"I'm helping a friend."

It wasn't technically a lie. He was already cohabiting with Shen Jiu. Didn't that make them something like friends?

Even if they rarely saw each other, even though their interactions were limited to research and proofreading...

"Oh. The omega you're hanging with?" Qi'er asked, her face scrunched up at the quality of his work. "So you're doing homework? Must be hot, huh."

"We're not - wait, what makes you think that?!"

"Apart from the scent, you mean? What else makes an alpha drop off the face of the planet like that? Haven't seen you in weeks."

Shen Yuan sniffed his arm experimentally, feeling his face heat up. "I haven't... I shouldn't smell like him...?"

Qi'er tossed the paper onto the table, leaning back. "I can pick it up if I get close. Makes my nose itch."

Was it that obvious? Did anyone else notice?

"We're just... roommates. I had some spare bedrooms and... thought I'd help out", he muttered.

"Oh god. Roommates", she grinned, "Got room for one more? I could use a free room. I'll even let you do my homework."

"He doesn't even like the servants entering - wait, how did you know it was free?!"

"No. No way", she was shaking in suppressed laughter, "no way, you crazy bastard! I was joking, don't tell me you actually brought in an omega with a free room?! And it worked?!"

Shen Yuan wondered what the possibility of a localized sinkhole opening up beneath him would be, burying his face in his hands. It took a few seconds for Qi'er to catch her breath.

"Haaah, as long as you didn't bring home a serial killer or something", she nudged playfully. "Why are you doing his homework, though? He'd probably do a better job than this even if he were dumb as rocks."

He fidgeted in his seat at the question.

"He's doing some sort of research, I just... I thought it'd help if I could... understand better to help out. He didn't ask me to... do all this."

"I don't think any level of hot is worth this much research, kinda high maintenance if you ask me", she said, pointing to the books he had laid out.

"He's not like that, he's just... really smart, I want to - wait, why are you here? Don't you have class on Wednesday evenings?"

Qi'er shrugged at the question, "Yeah, and it's done. I don't have classes at 8pm."

8 PM?!

Shen Yuan grabbed everything on the table, carelessly throwing his work into his bag.

"Something's come up, I have to go."

"Bring him along next time, the dorm parties could use something to balance your ugly mug!"

Shen Yuan flipped her off casually, then rushed to his apartment as fast as he could.

Shen Jiu's feedback usually required at least an hour or two to get through, and Shen Yuan didn't want to submit his work late again.

Within about half an hour, he was stepping out of the elevator into his dark apartment, wincing slightly as the lights turned on with the movement. 

Shen Yuan let out a sigh of relief, setting down his bag. He pulled out the recently printed draft, tidied it up a bit, and set it neatly on the coffee table Shen Jiu liked to sit at. The notepad he used for feedback was already placed right next to it with a pen laid atop.

Good. He wasn't late.

His heart rate was slowing from its rabbit pace, and the cool AC felt nice against his skin. Despite wanting to mindlessly indulge in a few online matches, he went straight to the shower.

When he stepped out, the assignment was still on the coffee table, but the pen had been set aside.

Shen Yuan smiled at the sight. Shen Jiu was already done.

He looked around the apartment briefly, hoping to see the omega in some corner. A few minutes of futile searching later, he picked up his work to see the feedback.

There was a lot. 

Sentence structure, short quips on the validity of his reasoning, and entire sections marked as redundant.

He smiled wearily. Shen Jiu was nothing if not thorough.

He mentally thanked Qi'er for her interruption as he flipped through the pages. There was so much he had left to do before midnight.

No, it was unrealistic to think he could finish so quickly. It took a few seconds to send the professor a deadline extension request. Without waiting for a response, Shen Yuan got to work.

Chapter Text

The wall clock hands moved silently, the motion-sensitive lights turned off, yet Shen Yuan kept his pace, illuminated by the harsh light of his screen. By the time he submitted his work, the hour hand was a sliver away from 1. He hadn't bothered checking for the professor's response - either he got a deduction or he didn't.  There wasn't much else he could do in the middle of the night. It probably wouldn't cost him an overall A if he wasn't late for any more submissions.

When he stood up, the first thing that hit him was a sense of weakness. Then came the gnawing feeling in his gut.

That was to be expected: he hadn't had anything but coffee since morning.

He shut his laptop softly and turned off his monitor, waiting a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the moonlight. A quick check on the smart-home app switched off the automatic lights - a basic courtesy to the omega he was cohabiting with.

With careful steps, he crept into the kitchen, hoping to find something in the pantry that didn't need microwaving. He stopped before he got anywhere near it.

Instead, he stood in front of the closed guest bedroom that Shen Jiu had taken over. The familiar earthy scent was stronger than ever, almost overpowering his thoughts.

The door looked as it always did, but felt like a barrier. One of the few stipulations of their 'rental contract' was against trespassing.

He placed his hand on the doorknob. It felt like cold metal.

"Shen Laoshi? It's me. Are you alright?"

His voice came out in a whisper.

"If there's anything you need..."

"Shen Laoshi?"

His volume refused to rise. His mind felt hazy. His stomach growled, but he barely registered the noise. 

There wasn't any movement beyond the door.

He raised his hand to knock, but froze.

If Shen-ge was sleeping... he didn't need to disturb him. It would be just a peek. No one would know.

Pressing down, he twisted the doorknob gently, feeling the twang of the mechanism under strain. Each movement felt like a thunderclap.

From the crack of the door, the scent struck him like lightning. It felt like walking on clouds, like his worries were melting away. The moonlight spilling into the room from the large frame doors to the balcony illuminated the medicinal plants he'd gotten for the omega, but an untouched bed.

Even in his dream-like state, his fists clenched.

"Jiu-ge?", he whispered, inching into the room. Every step was desecrating a sacred space. It was exciting. Unnerving. His instincts told him to flee and to tether himself forever.

But through all his uncoordinated thoughts,  he could hear something. 

Shallow breathing. Quick, nearly inaudible. 

Taking a few steps forward, he saw the omega. Huddled on the other side of the bed, he sat nestled between a wall and the end table. His fingers dug into his arms, and his head lay pressed against his knees. 

He looked so small.

Shen Yuan kneeled at the foot of the bed.

"Jiu-ge...", his quiet whisper matched the omega's breathing. He hadn't moved, or yelled, or told him to leave.

Shen Yuan crawled forward slowly to the omega in the moonlight. He was so close he could almost hear the beautiful man's heartbeat. 

"Jiu-ge...", he breathed, reaching out a hand to sweep back the messy hair pooling at the omega's side.

Before he could make contact, an arm shot out. Shen Jiu glared through his locks, holding Shen Yuan's wrist in a painful vice grip. He winced in pain, instinctively pulling his wrist back.

It remained locked in place.

"Jiu-ge...!"

He hated how shaky his voice sounded. The grip seemed to tighten with it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I was worried. I want you to be okay", he muttered to the silent omega.

Shen Yuan shifted closer to ease the pain of the grip, to be nearer to the omega who was clearly in distress.

"Jiu-ge, please. I won't do anything bad. I'll listen to you. I'll be good."

He pressed his forehead against the hand holding his arm, a prayer and penance for his mistakes.

"I won't hurt you. You're safe with me, I'd never hurt you."

His thoughts tumbled out in a jumbled mess. It was all the same drivel, repeated over and over like a song. He sat kneeling before his roommate, pleading for the man to come back.

After what felt like hours, the grip slowly eased. Shen Yuan raised his head and met the omega's eyes. 

No, there was only a single eye. The other looked like an empty pit.

His thoughts did not feel as disconnected anymore. 

"Shen-ge..."

The omega finally released his wrist. He rose with a grunt, bracing himself against the end table. Without another word, he glided gracefully into the kitchen.

Shen Yuan followed. 

Shen-ge had his back turned towards him.

"Your wrist will bruise.", he said, pouring himself a glass of water.

Even in the moonlight, Shen Yuan could see bands of red across his wrist. He covered it with his palm, then mentally kicked himself, opening the freezer to take out an iced vegetable bag.

"It's nothing serious. I was an idiot for not being careful. Omega heats can be pretty bad sometimes, I don't know why I didn't bring you suppressors or call an ambulance or something..."

Too much. Why was he saying so much?!

"That was not a heat response."

What?

Shen-ge took a sip of water, his hands shaking almost imperceptibly. 

"I am suffering from... a type of spiritual malady. It seems my latest attempt at a remedy also led to a dead end."

Shen Yuan stared in surprise at the omega.

This was not what he was expecting. Disappointment, anger, betrayal - there was none of that. Instead, there was this... whatever this explanation was supposed to be.

"A... spiritual malady?", he repeated. 

Shen-ge looked at him briefly. "It is of no concern. You may disregard that if you wish."

"No, no. I didn't mean it like that! I want to help, I really do! I just... am I helping?"

Had he come off as dismissive? He didn't know how to deal with someone suffering from delusions. He wanted to believe his words.

The pain in his wrist focused his thoughts.

No. Shen-ge wasn't the type to have a weak mind. He couldn't be. He was always self-assured, always so strong. He wouldn't make up something so ridiculous. 

"Helping... yes, you are helpful." The omega set down his empty cup. "Very well. I will consider you if I require assistance."

"Shen-ge, I won't let you down!" Shen Yuan smiled.

It felt like a breakthrough. From opposite sides of the kitchen, they felt closer than ever.

Chapter Text

The afternoon sunshine glinted off the metal railing beyond the foliage on the balcony. Despite being seated right by the large framed glass window separating the plants outside from the tiled floors of the apartment, Shen Yuan couldn't feel a hint of the cold winter air blowing outside. He continued drawing an interconnected web of circles and lines, eyes darting frequently between his tablet, an anatomy textbook, and Shen-ge's neat handwriting.

The sound of his housemate's room opening broke him out of his focus. He moved his things to the small breakfast table by the center of the window and quickly headed to the kitchen.

The electric kettle already had steaming hot water ready. Shen Yuan added some tea leaves to one of the fresh cups and filled it with water.

He carried the still-steeping cup quickly to the omega who was already at the breakfast table, setting it down carefully before the man. Shen-ge held his hand out in response. Shen Yuan took it gingerly, keeping hold as he settled into the chair beside him.

His scent was nowhere near as strong as that night. Its potency was more reminiscent of the night they'd first met. Shen-ge had his eyes closed, breathing in a carefully regulated cadence. His hand still trembled from the exertion, even if his expression showed no such sign.

The plants beyond the glass grew visibly, vines hanging a centimeter or two lower, bushes growing fuller, leaves unfurling before his eyes.

Another failure.

Shen Yuan quieted his worries by focusing on the pulsing rhythm of a heartbeat from where he held the omega's hand. His other hand pulled his tablet closer in hopes that he could make some progress, even with his non-dominant hand.

Within a few minutes, Shen-ge's breathing was far calmer, and the omega released his hand in favor of the tea that sat waiting for him.

"Is it the same thing again? The gathered qi spiraling?", Shen Yuan asked, trying to keep the academic tone Shen-ge preferred.

The omega hummed, no indication of frustration or anger in his voice. "Your intuition on the flow has merit. The disruption began when reforging my dantian."

"That's good, maybe the process can be in steps. Heal bits with each cycle, stop more collapse before the next round.", Shen Yuan suggested, pushing his tablet over.

Shen-ge glanced at the screen, setting his cup to the side. "You changed it again", he noted.

"Yeah, the cycle looks a lot easier to figure out when I pull it out of its human shape. Still the same routes, I think. I need to check if I'm not missing anything."

Shen-ge listened to his explanation without comment, fully engrossed in the details of his drawing that resembled a tangle of beads more than any system within a living body. "Intertwined cycles, how intriguing", he commented, laying down the tablet. "It could work, with a sufficient number of cycles. Yet if something were to go awry with so many flows, the backlash would not be so simple."

"...Like that night?" Shen Yuan asked quietly.

"Maybe. Perhaps worse. The solution does not seem simple. Your visual aid makes that all too clear."

Shen Yuan pulled the tablet back. 

All the circles marked red had to be repaired together if Shen-ge was right about the nodes tolerating no pooling of flows. He tried tracing a few paths, but found himself losing track.

"...What if I stay with you while you try? I could pull you out...", he commented, squeezing his now empty hand.

"No, you are better suited to assist in other ways."

The rejection was immediate.

"But Shen-ge, you said it helps! And all I have to do is hold on! I already did it once."

Shen-ge did not even bother with an answer. He stood up and moved to the balcony unhurriedly, stepping into the icy winds outside. Shen Yuan grabbed the fluffy decorative quilt from the chaise lounge and followed.

"I'm serious, it wouldn't be any trouble. I can use a mask to make sure I don't lose myself to the scent. I read about some really good ones film crews use, it's not hard to get.", he said, holding out the quilt in offering to the omega.

Shen-ge silently watched the roads below, unbothered by the cold winds.

"Shen-ge, please let me help. I can do it."

The omega finally let out a short sigh. "I already told you no. Do not bring this up further."

"But..."

Shen-ge turned slightly, his eyes locking with Shen Yuan's. "You have neither the physical ability nor the discipline to be trusted with such a task. If you wish to help, do as I ask. Direct your efforts to searching for a solution to... your interweaving array. Find more useful information."

"But, all I need to do is to make contact... I just have to stay close enough", Shen Yuan muttered.

Shen-ge moved as if to take the offered quilt, but in a swift movement, Shen Yuan found his sleeve pulled up by a few inches, just high enough to show the yellow splotches remaining from that night.

"T-that's still contact! It's healing quickly."

"Hm. And what if it had not been your wrist?" Shen-ge's voice dropped to a low hum. "What if it were a little. Bit. Higher."

Shen Yuan's hands followed the omega's gaze, resting on his neck.

"Is that also simple contact? How would you fare with your throat crushed, little fool?", the omega spoke softly, a cold smile matching his false eye spreading across his features.

Shen Yuan stood there, wanting to answer, struggling to say anything. Shen-ge walked past him, going back through the glass door.

A few minutes later, Shen Yuan stepped back into the empty apartment.

He was too weak.

But he didn't have to be.

That was something he could fix, right?

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan paused at the automated doors to the gym. He'd passed by the enormous building many times, paying it no mind. Most of what he knew of it came from orientation materials he'd skimmed out of boredom, and from tidbits Qi'er dropped occasionally.

The student at the turnstile glanced up from her phone at the sound of the door. In a moment, her head was back down without a word. Shen Yuan stepped forward and hesitated at the gate. 

"ID", the girl spoke dryly, still focused on her phone, "Just swipe it."

"Right, Thanks."

The gate swung open, and he followed a narrow hallway, passing doors both lit and unlit, till it split in two. The overly broad signs announced a choice between an aquatics center and the game spaces.

Shouldn't a gym have... gym things?

He picked a direction and walked past a massive pool opening into yet another corridor lined with lockers. Beyond that, he saw dance studios and wellness rooms closed for the night, a sauna glowing softly behind frosted glass, and a mostly deserted hallway.

As he passed more and more rooms, he considered randomly opening a few to speed up his search.

Up ahead, a door opened and a group of students spilled out, laughing and chatting. From the scent, they were mostly omegas, rackets in hand, fresh from a late-night game. One girl in the group made a dramatic gesture with her hands, spinning around and sending her long hair twirling around her in sync with her skirt.

Pretty.

Shen Yuan blinked at the thought. He debated asking them for directions, but seeing them continue down the main hallway, decided to follow them instead. Maybe he'd ask at a better time, or even stumble on his goal along the way. 

They soon opened a heavy side door and disappeared inside. Shen Yuan followed and found a large stairwell, a row of elevators, and a large directory listing the floors and their contents.

Why wasn't this at the entrance?

The omega group was already entering an elevator, but Shen Yuan, confident with the signage, chose the stairs. Some of the labels were still vague - What was the difference between a mobility center and an endurance center? What was a well-rec area? - so he went floor by floor.

Each level had something different:

Rock climbing walls? Pass. An indoor track? Maybe. A room with a bunch of heavy gym equipment? Locked.

He passed basketball courts, gymnastics facilities, doctors' offices, and athletic tracks. Much of it was off limits or closed for the night.

Eventually, he found it - a room that looked right.

Weights and dumbbells were stacked neatly in a corner. Mats leaned on the wall to the side, ready for use. All kinds of gym equipment were spread around the room - from racks to treadmills to things he couldn't even name.

This had to be it, the gym-gym. 

And he didn't even have to search the whole building to find it.

He went to the weights and grabbed the heaviest ones he could lift. He brought them up to his chest in a few experimental curls, feeling his wrist creak with the movement.

Was this right?

The door opened, and a tall alpha in a baggy sweatshirt walked in with a bag slung over his shoulder. They both froze for a moment. The guy mumbled something under his breath and headed off to a room to the side.

In a few minutes, he was out in a tank top and sweatpants, holding onto a water bottle.

Shen Yuan looked at his own clothes - his jacket was in a pile next to his bag by the dumbbells.

There was a locker room. Of course there was.

He wondered if he could still sneak his things in, mortified at his mistake. The guy was off to the side doing some stretches. He wasn't paying any attention, but Shen Yuan didn't want to draw any attention.

Maybe he could pretend he'd meant it. He'd be done soon anyway, and they probably wouldn't meet for the rest of time if he could help it.

He put the weights back, moving to one of the machines. A little yellow sign on its side had vague instructions for use - something about setting weights and pulling form. The pictures looked more like modern art than anything helpful, but the machine seemed straightforward enough. He slid a pin into one of the weights, got into position, then pulled as hard as he could.

The machine clanked as the weight shot up and hit the frame.

"Ah, the pin must have slipped", Shen Yuan mumbled to no one. The alpha looked his way on hearing the noise, but went back to his routine.

This time, he set the pin to the middle, and the machine offered a lot more resistance.

He pulled over and over again till his arms felt sore, then stopped to catch his breath. The alpha had gone to a set of pull-up bars, completing reps with ease.

Spending a few minutes on a leg press gave his arms enough time to stop burning with pain, so he looked for something more serious.

At another rack, he spotted a barbell with attachable weights. It looked straightforward, so he started fiddling with some on either side.

"...be careful with that, not a lot of traction with your shoes", the tall alpha spoke in a quiet, deep voice. Shen Yuan looked over to see the man watching him, mid-wipe on the machine he'd just been using.

He looked down at his shoes, then to the alpha's. His looked a bit fancier than the alpha's well-worn, functional black trainers. 

Shen Yuan nodded with a mumbled thanks, readjusting the weights for something less ambitious. He positioned himself by the bar, picking it up.

The weight was heavier than expected, and he struggled to hold it up. 

"Careful! Wait, hold it steady. I'll help you set it down." 

The alpha was already over, abandoning his previous routine. He took over the bar from Shen Yuan, slotting it back into place on the rack.

"Sorry."

"'s alright. Pretty challenging when you're starting out."

He adjusted the weights to the lightest, then got in position before the bar.

"It's all about getting the form right. Once you have that, you can start building on it.", he said. Shen Yuan nodded, noting how the taller alpha handed the bar.

The alpha re-racked the bar and stepped aside, allowing Shen Yuan to give it another shot. This time, the bar cooperated. The alpha stayed for a few reps, giving quiet words of advice. 

"Thanks. I'm Shen Yuan, by the way."

The alpha nodded, "Liu Lisheng."

They worked out separately for the rest of their time, exchanging a few words occasionally. Liu Lisheng wasn't the biggest alpha around, being more on the wiry side, but his lean physique was well defined and surprisingly powerful, judging by how easily he got through his routine. Looking at the long-haired alpha dabbing sweat off his brow, Shen Yuan wondered how long it would take to get even halfway to what he'd achieved.

Chapter Text

Apart from the abundance of white surfaces, the engineering library was not too different from the main campus library. Students sat around in strangely artistic chairs, too focused on their work to appreciate the sweeping curves and purposeful lighting that echoed its splendor.

None of its inhabitants seemed concerned about the literary major standing by the entrance.

The turnstile was either non-functional or open to all, so Shen Yuan walked through with little trouble. On the sprawling floor facing the giant, polarized glass window, there were small arced shelves not higher than his waist, seemingly placed more to allow students sitting between them some privacy than to hold anything of value.

A quick scan through a few showed sci-fi novels, self-help books, and a dictionary.

He clenched his hands in his pockets, trying to make sense of the place. 

There had to be some place these STEM students got their books, it couldn't all be beamed into their heads.

Ascending to the second floor, he found a sprawling labyrinth of computers and cubicles, looking more like an office than a library. It was louder here, with students gathered around the occasional machine, discussing things on their laptops while occasionally checking on the library computer before it logged them out. 

Further in, he found private rooms for group work, all full of students animatedly discussing things or poring over whiteboards.

He walked further, past sound rooms, recording studios, fabrication labs, and even a video game lounge. 

Maybe this wasn't the library? The sign on the outside claimed so, but maybe there was an underground tunnel or a secret library elevator you were supposed to use.

"Shen Yuan.", a familiar, quiet voice caught his attention. 

"Lisheng. I didn't realize you were in engineering.", he greeted the alpha. They'd met regularly over the past week or so in the gym, but this was the first time he'd seen the guy elsewhere. He still favored the shapeless hoodie that obscured the enviable physique beneath.

The alpha shrugged. A moment of silence followed. Shen Yuan stared, wondering how to end their non-conversation politely.

"So, group meeting?" Lisheng finally asked.

"No, just... browsing."

"Browsing?"

...Had he said something wrong?

"Did you transfer recently?"

Shen Yuan blinked at the question. 

"You reserve books via the portal, pick up at the front desk", Lisheng clarified.

Ah.

"That makes sense. The main campus library isn't like this", Shen Yuan explained, face burning up in embarrassment.

Another blunder to add to the pile.

"Then, you're not in engineering?"

"Literature."

Lisheng hummed in acknowledgement. "I can show you the basics. If you'd like."

He looked the same as always, not a hint of judgment on his face - just like at the gym. "Sure. I'd really appreciate it."

They found an available system by the enormous wall of glass looking over the campus. Shen Yuan wondered briefly why this section was abandoned before noticing the harsh glare on the screen. He positioned himself to obscure some of the light.

Lisheng walked him through the basics, how to discover and filter books, read excerpts, and reserve rooms and books.

"Do you know what you need to check out?"

Shen Yuan fidgeted with his fingers. 

What he needed..?

"I was, uh, hoping to stumble into something."

After a moment of hesitation, he brought out his tablet, pulling up the tangle of beads that had been mocking his pitiful attempts at solving it.

"It felt like a math problem, so I figured I could try my luck here."

He watched Lisheng's expression, waiting for annoyance, confusion, disinterest - anything. The alpha took the tablet, inspecting it closely. "Looks like a graph problem."

The comment sparked an ember of hope.

"Do you know how to solve it?"

Lisheng looked at his expectant eyes, then looked aside. "I took an elective last year. I can try, but I don't know for sure."

Shen Yuan pushed the tablet slightly towards Lisheng, giving permission - no, making a request.

Seeing no rejection, Shen Yuan pulled his chair closer, putting on his glasses in preparation.

"Didn't know you wore glasses", Lisheng commented.

"I usually use contacts."

"Suits you."

"...thanks?" Shen Yuan said, not knowing how to respond.

Thankfully, the awkward air dissipated soon, with both working side by side on Shen Yuan's impossible task even as the monitor timed out.

The atmosphere didn't last long.

"What are we looking at?" a voice spoke right behind Shen Yuan. He managed to stifle a scream into a little yelp of surprise, then looked back with undisguised annoyance at the source. Qi'er rested her elbow on his shoulder, peering over to see their work.

Shen Yuan brought up his hand to lightly whack the little gremlin, and she pulled back, taking his tablet with her. Lisheng stood up, looming tall over the alpha girl.

"Qi-jie", the voice sounded more aggrieved than angry. 

...Qi Jie?

Lisheng was younger than him?!

"Fine, fine. I can't bully you when you look like that", she said, handing the tablet back to Lisheng.

"So, what brings you to our domain, A'Yuan? Finally decided to join the numbers squad? Ready to make the poets cry?" she nudged.

"You wish. I'm looking into something personal."

"Oh. That again", Qi'er said, sounding bored. "When I told you to take your weird foreplay elsewhere, I didn't mean you should drag our poor juniors into it. Xiaosheng, is he even treating you for this?"

"It's not-it's nothing weird like that, I'm helping a friend with some research.", Shen Yuan quickly explained, glaring at Qi'er.

Joking around was fine when it was just them, but wasn't it going too far to bring it up with acquaintances? And a junior at that?!

"Uh-huh, a friend. An omega friend. Who's also a roommate."

"Yeah. And I think your brain is poisoned by the internet. Maybe go outside and touch grass sometime", Shen Yuan quipped back. 

He knew she probably saw the sun more than he did, STEM major or no.

"Qi-jie, I offered help", Lisheng cut in.

"Hm. So you did. What did you get so far?"

"Well..."

They'd tried a few things, cleaning up the representation, writing a simple simulation - most of it went nowhere.

"Yeah, that's what I thought", she said, taking back the tablet.

"I thought you didn't want to help?"

"I don't. But someone ought to know what this is."

Shen Yuan belatedly realized her intent and grabbed back the tablet.

On the screen was a post on the university message board with his problem described.

"What the hell, Qi'er?!" Shen Yuan hissed.

"Relax, it's not like I posted it on the internet. Academia is all about collaboration, you know. Not about beating yourself to death for no reason", she lazily replied. "You know what? Give it some time. Just till after lunch. If you still think it's a bad idea, just delete it! Sound good?"

Shen Yuan hesitated. Shen-ge hadn't explicitly asked for secrecy on any of his work, and he'd been willing to let him help out before. 

He was discussing things with Qi'er and Lisheng anyway, so maybe this wasn't disallowed?

Taking his silence as agreement, Qi'er got between them. "Good. Now let's go grab lunch."

"Huh?"

"There's a noodle bar by the agriculture department that I've been meaning to try for ages."

"But Lisheng-"

"Xiaosheng is coming too, aren't you?"

Neither one could offer much resistance. They left the library together in a very mismatched group, leaving an online thread to gather reply after reply.

Chapter Text

Activate P2:clockwise, 2pt, K3:clockwise, 1pt.

Delay 2pt

Activate A7:anticlockwise, 1pt

Cycle #7.

Activate L1. No, L7?, clockwise, 2pt

...And, collision at JL2-19.

Shen Yuan sighed, untagging yet another reply to his master thread. He looked at his diagram.

810 out of 1296 nodes active.

It was progress. Leagues better than anything he'd found on his own.

But progress wasn't good enough with a life on the line.

His self-pitying spiral took a backseat when he heard Shen-ge's door. He'd stopped questioning long ago how the man could appear without ever using the main elevators - he had seen too much to be hung up on such insignificant details. 

It wasn't the time for tea or refreshments, so Shen Yuan tidied up, straightened his slouch, and quietly entered the living area.

Shen-ge took his usual place at the coffee table, going over the draft Shen Yuan had left for review rapidly. Not wanting to disturb the omega, he hung back for a breath before pushing down his instinctive hesitation. He sat in the accent chair beside Shen-ge without a word.

Shen-ge continued his work silently, so he brought out some new reference materials, this time copies of fragmentary manuscripts from the eastern Zhou archives. He did not know how or why this would help, but he did not need to know everything to trust Shen-ge's methods.

The omega was done in a few minutes, placing the draft and his recommendations aside. 

Unlike usual, he did not collect the new reference materials and leave. He sat there with a copy of a manuscript in hand, looking like this was a part of his routine.

Shen Yuan felt the weight of the omega's presence. 

He watched the other man for a moment, then cautiously moved for the notes and draft which had been placed almost out of reach. He winced, feeling his sore muscles stretch, but got up to take the draft.

A ruler moved it slightly just as his fingers got close.

Shen Yuan paused, looking at the omega in confusion. Shen-ge looked as calm as ever. The ruler now lay on the seat beside him.

"Is... everything okay?" Shen Yuan asked.

"Your work is rushed.", the omega said.

Shen Yuan averted his eyes. "Sorry. I lost track of time with... things."

"Things."

"Looking into internships... and some graph things..."

"Is that all."

That was less of a question, more of a damning statement. He didn't answer, reaching for the draft once again.

The ruler moved once again, this time pressing lightly on his forearm, somehow striking it in a way that made his sore muscles tense in pain. He flinched, drawing his arm back. He rubbed it, trying to dissipate the sensation, but did not speak.

"You reek", the omega commented, "The stench of other alphas."

Shen Yuan kept his eyes lowered. He'd made sure to shower every time. Was there some sort of gym smell that seeped into his clothes? Lisheng was the only one he ever trained with, and he hadn't noticed anything particular during their sessions, but omegas did supposedly have a keener sense of smell.

"Sorry. I'll shower again when I get back from the gym."

"Then you are determined to keep going."

At this, Shen Yuan finally raised his eyes. The omega's face may as well have been carved from stone. Those eyes looked as non-judgmental and heavy as a temple idol.

But Shen Yuan didn't lower his gaze. "I want to be better. For next time."

The longer they locked eyes, the harder it was to not avert his gaze. Despite his instincts, he persisted.

"Little fool", the omega said finally, breaking the tense air.

"If that is your aim, you will stop wasting your time with such frivolities immediately."

"But-"

"Instead. Wake up before the sun rises", the omega continued, "At 4. If you wish so desperately to be useful, then I shall see how useful you can truly become. Whether you choose to endure or withdraw is up to you."

The omega got up, gathering the manuscript copies.

As he stepped away, he paused one last time, "Know that I will provide you one chance. Once you give up, you shall no longer persist with your foolishness."

Shen Yuan stood stunned, watching the omega disappear into his room. The clock was still hovering around noon. He had to go back soon for his afternoon classes. 

He stepped into his room, leaving the draft on his desk, and tried to think.

A chance? What did Shen-ge mean by a chance? What was happening at 4am?

Did it even matter? This was why he had started going in the first place. 

He wondered if he could stop by at the gym one final time to let Lisheng know.

He paused for a moment.

They had only trained together for a little over a week. Would Lisheng really care about some alpha from the gym? Was it even worth possibly breaking Shen-ge's conditions for something so unimportant?

He took out his phone and started a message.

He typed and re-typed over and over again.

Then, finally deleted everything. 

This whole thing was stupid. He was overthinking things. He had a long day ahead of him and an early day tomorrow. He could always clear things up if needed, if they ever met in person again.

Shen Yuan stared at the ceiling with a blank mind for a few blissful minutes. He picked up his bag and left for his classes.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan was awake long before his alarm rang. He rolled out of bed, went about his morning routine, and was in the kitchen in under 10 minutes. 

He quickly started on some simple congee for the morning, looking out at the dark sky outside. The sun would not rise for a few hours still. Plenty of time to get through everything before going over the array graph one last time.

The latest solution on the thread was promising, lasting all the way up to 17 cycles with all nodes active. It seemed perfect, like the world was finally coming together to acknowledge his efforts.

He took the congee off the heat and poured himself a bowl. Standing by the sink, he blinked back his tears while shoveling down the steaming bowl before Shen-ge came in to lecture him on proper posture or dining etiquette.

Congee was congee, and he had training to get to.

He was out on the balcony soon, and as he went through his warm-ups, it felt like his burning meal gave him some modicum of warmth. Following that would be the drills, then he would have to go down to the outskirts of the campus to run the hilly trail, and be back about half an hour past sunrise to take a bath and prepare for the day.

He still hadn't gotten used to the freezing temperatures, but as he proceeded through his training, he felt his blood warm up.

Soon, he was out, running past the barren trees, up a dirt path, cresting the small hills along the way. The streetlights turned off one by one in the distance, no doubt preparing for the morning light. He finally reached the end of the trail, a small, artificial lake hidden at the opposite side of the campus, creating gentle puffs of mist from nowhere.

He stopped to catch his breath and noticed just how alive he felt. 

The first time he had seen this sight, he was nearly crawling on his knees. The sun had already long been up. Only his stubbornness pushed him to complete the run back then.

Just a few weeks later, the burn felt like life itself embracing him. He watched the sky above the dark lake, looking for a glimmer of the sunrise.

"Early again? Perhaps I should not be so lenient with you."

Shen Yuan turned to see Shen-ge, looking out on the lake from beneath a nearby plum tree. He smiled happily at the omega's words. 

Coming from Shen-ge, that was high praise.

"If you think it's right for me, I'm ready to go further."

Shen-ge moved closer, stance shifting slightly. Shen Yuan knew by now what that meant - an invitation to spar, to try making even the slightest contact.

Shen Yuan controlled his breathing to focus his mind. He shifted on his foot, then moved.

On approach, he instinctively swivelled in his step, lowering himself slightly to evade the first strike. He did not go for the obvious opening, the open palm right next to him.

He had to make sure he wasn't in the way of a counterattack, so he leapt back for some distance, circling just out of reach. His landing was unsteady, but he managed to not fall this time.

Shen-ge watched from his position, unmoving, simulating his state during his recent backlashes. His eyes did not move from their focus on the horizon, looking to the world to be a man lost in its mysteries.

Shen Yuan moved forward again, just within Shen-ge's peripheral vision, close enough to bait another strike. He saw the expected lunge again, but still hesitated to commit to his counter. Once again, he stepped back, out of reach but also too far from his stationary target.

The dance continued, with Shen Yuan getting a little more confident each time.

Finally, he saw his opening. 

He side-stepped the strike, then caught his palm in one gloved hand, his wrist in another. Shen-ge immediately moved to pin him to the ground. The dirt and dead grass pressed into his face, and the arm twisted behind his back screamed in pain, but he held on for a painful few seconds.

The pain grew too great, and he finally had to let go.

The pressure on his arm disappeared. Shen Yuan sat up with a grunt, picked himself up, and dusted off the bits of dirt on him.

He grimaced at the outcome. He thought he had it for certain this time. He thought he'd read Shen-ge right.

Still not good enough.

"How far have you gotten with your reformulated array?"

Shen Yuan looked at Shen-ge, eyes wide in surprise. It had been over a month since Shen-ge asked him about anything regarding his efforts. Each time he'd tried to bring it up, the omega dismissed him quickly.

Was he finally ready?!

"There's progress. I think I have a solution, I checked for 17 cycles and it seems to hold.", he replied, straightening up to match Shen-ge's posture. "I can check it further today - as a precaution."

"Good. Do up to 20. 25 if you can. We will need to convert it into a usable form if viable."

They would. They would. Of course they would.

"Of course! I will get to it right away!"

"After you are done with your responsibilities."

He grinned sheepishly at the omega's admonishment.

Right, following Shen-ge did not mean he could ignore his coursework.

He nodded in agreement and followed the omega back to their apartment under the light of the rising sun.

Chapter Text

On a certain day, a thread appeared within the internal board of a university, detailing a deceptively simple problem - activate and sustain specific nodes in a graph by sending periodic cycles through it without any node double-activating.

Simple.

Post by post, the thread grew longer with attempts to find an answer.

Eventually, a frustrated professor posted the question in an email thread. From there, it went into a discussion forum.

And on, and on, till it landed on a specific board, where someone posted a solution with no explanation.

People tried it. 

One by one, they tried it, and it seemed to work. 

They simulated as much as their memories would hold, and it seemed to work.

Everyone agreed: this was the solution. It was simply a matter of finding out how it was derived, of why it worked.

A single post disagreed.

Anon: It will fail. If you keep going, it fails at the 11664th iteration. After that, the failure cascades.

 

Testinprod: Proof?

 

Whatfigure2: You're telling me you simulated 10k+ iterations? Brother, did you invent a supercomputer?

 

Cruiseto118: Obvious bait.

 

Reviewer2isdad: Fermat, is that you?

 

Holydice1616: @Reviewe2isdad Fields medal thwarted by narrow margins again lmao

And so the thread went on, with one voice speaking alone like Cassandra.

Shen Yuan, oblivious to the single post, prepared for the night's attempt. 

The moon was waxing, hanging nearly whole in the night sky. The stars were still obscured by wispy clouds and city lights. Shen Yuan waited in the cold for Shen-ge to finish his preparations on the hill by the lake.

He sat down on the grass, a graceful lotus pose illuminated by moonlight. This was Shen Yuan's signal to get ready. As soon as Shen-ge's earthy scent spiked - if he lost himself, he had to act. No sooner, no later.

He watched and counted each breath the omega took. A single breath, a hundred cycles. A difficult endeavor, requiring perfect focus.

It went on, and on. Each minute passed without incident.

But his fists remained tight as he watched the omega in silent meditation.

Maybe the heavens heard his doubts.

Abruptly, Shen-ge's breathing began to change. Shallow, deep, stuttering, tense.

A hand involuntarily clutched his chest.

Yet the air remained clear - a cool night breeze.

Shen Yuan didn't care. He couldn't wait for the signal.

He rushed forward, kneeling next to the seated omega. All his training, all their drills - none of it mattered. 

"Shen-ge, can you hear me?" he pleaded, taking the omega's hand.

It felt like ice.

Shen-ge's eyes did not seem to register anything. He didn't even try to push back. 

And then he collapsed - eyes half open, breath growing fainter with each moment.

The plants weren't growing, and the earthy scent was missing. All that remained was an unresponsive omega in his hands.

What...?

What happened? What was going on? Why had things turned out like this?

He had to wake up. Everything was going so well. This couldn't be real.

"Shen-ge!", he shook the omega. No response, no resistance. 

"Help", his voice barely rose above a whisper.

No one was around. No one to hear. Someone had to come. Anyone.

He dug out his phone. His fingers felt frozen. He still dialed the emergency number.

Shen-ge, he'd collapsed. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing right -

Where? Lake - the artificial lake.

Shen-ge was cold, he -

East or west gate? He, he didn't know. It was on the trail.

Buildings, signs... the textile building. Behind it. By the lake. Fuhai Road? He didn't know.

No, it was real. He wasn't - he'd collapsed. He didn't know why.

He could move to the street. No? He could... he could stay put. Just - hurry, please.

Then, the flashing lights. Sounds. People. 

They came. They had to help.

Shen-ge. He was hurt. He didn't know - some spiritual malady... meditating. They were meditating. It was cold.

No, he could wait. Where? The Jishui general hospital? He'd follow. They had to save Shen-ge. It didn't matter how. They had to.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan reentered the hospital. It felt less overwhelming this time. The lights and white walls looked less harsh. The decorative plants were no longer accusatory. He walked up to the registration windows, barely feeling anything.

Even in the early morning hours, there was still a line at each window. He joined one at random, wondering how each person ahead of him found themselves here.

Some were quiet like he was. Others looked bored. Ahead, a little boy sobbed into his father's shoulder. The man patted the child's back absently.

It didn't matter. They were all here against their will.

The line moved at a glacial pace, but eventually it was his turn.

It came too soon. He wasn't ready.

"I'm here on behalf of... a patient brought into the CICU today. A few hours ago, Shen Jiu."

The neatly dressed woman at the counter typed a few words and turned to him.

"I've pulled up his form. Are you a relative? Or a legal partner?"

"No. I'm a friend. A roommate."

"That's ok. Is there anyone we can call? A parent, guardian, or sibling?"

"No. It's just us."

"Do you have his campus ID or student number? It will help with the registration."

"No, I... I checked. I couldn't find anything at home."

He checked. Even if he wasn't supposed to enter Shen-ge's room, he checked.

"Then, can you verify a few details? You already provided his name."

He had. He did not know how it was written, so he made his best guess. 

"Do you know his date of birth?"

"No."

"Rough Age?"

"Maybe... twenty-five?"

What age could someone timeless be?

"Any known allergies? To medications or anything else?"

"I... don't know. He hates salty things."

"Are you aware of any medications he was on?"

"I didn't see him take anything."

"Any preexisting medical conditions?"

"He mentioned something spiritual..."

"Hm. Do you know if he is on campus insurance or public insurance?"

"I... I don't know."

"You're doing fine. Just take a breath, alright? We'll keep going when you're ready."

Shen Yuan balled his fists. He wasn't panicking. His mind was blank, clearer than ever. He barely felt anything.

He took a few steady breaths, and the receptionist continued.

"Now, we have a report from the EMTs on the scene, but since we don't have a next of kin, can we use you as an emergency contact temporarily?"

It was a simple, obvious question. There could only be one answer.

"Of course."

That was why he was here.

Chapter Text

Each day at the hospital melded together. His professors didn't want to excuse his absence for a roommate's sake, so he had to go to his classes. He took down notes mechanically, writing down things his mind distantly registered.

When he wasn't in class, he was at the hospital.

Thankfully, Shen-ge had been discharged from the CICU. The doctors said he was stable, that there was nothing wrong with him. Everything came back normal, so it was just a matter of time before he woke up.

The private room was better than the CICU waiting room - quiet, well-lit, and not as cramped. Perfect for class work. 

He kept up with his training. He could not spar with himself, but he would keep himself ready to help when Shen-ge finally woke up.

The hardest part was keeping the exhaustion at bay. 

Like usual, he came in from his evening classes with a bowl of soup. He planned to complete his assigned reading, but his eyes grew heavier.

He woke up to darkness and frowned. Had he turned the lights off?

At least Shen-ge didn't have to rest under fluorescent lights for another night.

The clock showed 4:04 am, a good time to complete his training drills. He got up from his seat, trying to stretch out the kinks in his shoulders from his awkward sleeping position.

Still stiff, but it would have to do.

He turned around to check on Shen-ge and saw someone sitting beside him in the dark.

It was a familiar silhouette, sitting silently beside the unconscious omega, barely moving at all. Despite his hesitation, Shen Yuan turned on the light. 

"...Da-ge? What are you doing here?" he called out.

On the bedside chair was an alpha who looked remarkably similar to himself. If it weren't for the man's bearing and his incomparably more refined features, they could be doppelgangers.

"I could ask you the same thing", the man responded.

There was no judgment in his voice, no disappointment. There never was.

Nothing Shen Yuan did seemed to ever be beyond his expectations. 

He walked close to the bed, stopping a few steps behind his brother. He did not want to see his face.

"He's a roommate. Someone important to me."

"A roommate in an apartment I pay for", Da-ge pointed out.

He didn't sound surprised.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

Everything Shen Yuan had came from his family. How could he not have known?

He stood silently, dreading his brother's words.

"Do you regret it?" his brother asked.

Regret...? Regret what, letting Shen-ge stay? Not getting Da-ge's permission? Letting this... happen to Shen-ge?

He didn't answer. His brother turned around to face him. Shen Yuan answered the implicit command, raising his eyes to meet him.

Behind his glasses, his dark eyes seemed to flash in sparks of green, perhaps illuminated by the hospital lights.

They were unnerving to look at.

"Is he worth it?" Da-ge asked. "Are you willing to go through with this?"

Shen Yuan didn't answer, but he did not avert his eyes. The moment stretched into infinity, but he finally managed a nod.

Da-ge didn't react. He never did.

He walked past Shen Yuan, moving with enviable poise. "I will take care of the bill. Try not to do anything you will regret."

He left the room, leaving him alone with Shen-ge, who mumbled something. 

Shen Yuan froze, then darted to the bedside. Da-ge's words - his lack of disapproval - none of it mattered anymore.

Shen-ge twitched again, lips moving silently. 

He hadn't imagined it. He'd really moved!

It was like every emotion that evaded him broke through.

Excitement, nervousness, elation, dread - everything at once, in perfect harmony.

He sat down in the vacated chair, looking at the omega with a wobbly smile.

It would happen soon.

It didn't matter how many classes he had to skip. He was going to be here when Shen-ge woke up.

That was what he was here for.

Chapter Text

Within a few hours, Jiu-ge woke up. In a few days, he could walk. Within a week, he was ready for discharge.

Shen Yuan stayed in the room whenever he could, trying to figure out what went wrong with their array. The solution from the internal board seemed correct. The thread hadn't been updated in quite some time.

Yet, it had failed. 

He didn't remember that night too clearly, but Shen Yuan was sure they had crossed a hundred breaths - at least 10,000 cycles.

Jiu-ge accepted the failure with grace. They had prepared correctly. If the solution was destined to fail, that was something beyond either of them. With no way to test the cycles safely, they had made the best of their disastrous hand.

It was simply a matter of avoiding mistakes when possible and learning from them otherwise.

Shen Yuan collected the discharge certificate, looking over the rest of his paperwork. True to his word, Da-ge had handled the payment - nothing was outstanding on the invoices. He thumbed through the report, looking at prescriptions for nausea medication and doctors' recommendations.

Jiu-ge waited by the information desk, still pale after his recovery. He stood tall, barely showing any other signs of weakness. 

After confirming all the documents were in order, he started walking to Jiu-ge, ready to leave the hospital behind.

A few steps in, he tripped over something, dropping the papers and barely catching himself before his face met the floor.

"Sorry, my bad. Let me pick that up for you."

Beside him, a man in a jacket bent down to pick up his papers. His face was hidden by a simple surgical mask, and his brown hair was mostly stuffed under a janitor's cap. Apart from the faint smell of disinfectant, he had nothing notable about him.

A beta.

"Yup, yup! That should be everything.", he said, pushing the paper into his hands. Shen Yuan felt his skin crawl at the contact. 

The man stood up, dusting himself off. "Well then. See ya!"

Shen Yuan stood clutching the discharge papers, unsure of how to react. Before he could fully turn to face Jiu-ge, the omega was already beside him. He dragged Shen Yuan in a purposeful stride, heading out the door after the strange beta.

"Jiu-ge?" he spoke questioningly, matching the omega's stride.

"That man. He knows something."

The janitor?

The encounter was strange - had Jiu-ge seen something he hadn't?

He didn't voice his questions. Stuffing the discharge papers into his bag, he followed the omega. 

The beta was hard to track - he blended in with all the other betas milling about. Without a scent, they had to rely solely on his very ordinary appearance.

As they followed, he could feel Jiu-ge slowing down slightly. His breathing was harsher, his skin glistening in a sheen of sweat.

"Jiu-ge..."

"I stand out", the omega said mid-stride. "He's keeping track. We won't corner him this way."

He stopped abruptly. "Follow him. Do not lose sight of that man. I will join you shortly."

Shen Yuan nodded, scanning the crowd to find the beta again.

There, a few meters ahead by the flower shop. He'd slid into the alleyway to the side.

Shen Yuan broke into a sprint, closing the distance quickly. 

Rounding the corner, he saw the man on the other side of the narrow path, merging back with the crowd on the main road. Shen Yuan gave chase without a thought.

When he exited the alley, the man was close - about 50 meters ahead. 

Close.

Unfortunately, he also saw Shen Yuan.

The beta power walked ahead, running past a street crossing. 

The lights were flashing, about to change.

No time to lose. 

He ran as fast as he could, wincing at several angry horns. On the other side, the beta had entered a furniture store.

Shen Yuan paused at the entrance, trying to find some sign of the man.

He wasn't sure if there was more than one exit. People filed in and out around him, none of them matching the beta.

He saw a flash of brown hair, a faint nutty whiff of an omega's pheromones. Turning around, he spotted a blue bandana and a flashy white jacket. Nothing like his target.

Something in his head disagreed.

"Hey, wait", he reached out instinctively. 

The moment he saw his face, he knew. The mask was missing, revealing a face with pleasing but not outstanding features. His eyes, however. Those were the same as the janitor's. 

"You!" he yelled, giving chase.

The store alarm went off, blaring around him. Shen Yuan stopped in shock, long enough for the beta to put some distance between them.

He didn't have time to wait around - he had to follow that man!

Evading security was all too easy - barely a challenge compared to Jiu-ge's agile strikes.

He ran after the man into a nearby subway station, running up the escalator after him.

Pushing past the crowd, he managed to scan his phone and enter the subway platform. The beta was already ahead, heading down an escalator to another platform. He ran after him down the stairs, then hopped the railing on the side to get past the milling crowd. 

Ignoring the shock to his heels, he pushed forward, entering the train just in time.

He wasn't in the right car, but he was in.

Shaking, he pulled out his phone.

"Jiu-ge, he's on the subway. The station by the hospital, on the red line.", he spoke rapidly, still catching his breath.

Then he noticed a flash of brown hair outside.

The bastard had stepped off the train.

Shen Yuan pushed through the train, desperate to get to the door. He yanked the emergency cord and bought himself just enough time to get out.

The subway security would be on him soon. He couldn't stop now.

He scanned the platform for the familiar brown hair. 

There - at a restricted entrance. 

He ran ahead, slipping through the door in the bustle of the platform.

The other side was almost deserted, but he saw a door to the side slowly closing. 

That had to be it.

Entering the door, he saw an open hatch with a ladder plunging into the darkness. 

The grimy bars gave him pause, but he steeped himself and climbed down.

He found himself in some sort of maintenance tunnel, smelling heavily of rot, rust, and mildew. 

It was nearly overbearing.

However, there was a faint nutty scent underneath. 

Shen Yuan narrowed his eyes. He wasn't about to give up so easily.

Not when he could hear the echo of footsteps ahead.

He ran through the tunnel, slowed down by the poor lighting and uneven footing. The roads rumbled above him, but he kept focused on the resonant sound of a fleeing beta.

When the footsteps stopped, he continued in their direction till the nutty scent abruptly weakened - right next to another ladder.

Without hesitation, he scaled the grimy ladder, emerging from another hatch in a room that opened into a parking lot.

He followed the scent like a bloodhound. Just as he was about to run down to the lower levels, he noticed the shade of brown he'd been looking for, out in the external lot.

Between the pheromones and his eyes, he chose to trust his vision.

He vaulted over the small barrier in front of the parking complex, chasing after the beta. 

The man did something strange. 

He kneeled down as though he was tying his shoelaces, but when he got back up, he pushed off the ground frictionlessly.

Like he was on rollerskates, somehow.

There was no way he could match that pace easily.

Shen Yuan still ran, then spotted a cab waiting by the road. 

He yanked the door open.

"Follow that man!" he yelled to the driver.

Maybe his voice was authoritative, maybe the beta cab driver could not resist an alpha's pressure. Either way, the man obeyed.

Shen Yuan resumed his call. "Jiu-ge, I'm still keeping up. He's moving faster somehow. We're at - where is this?"

"By the Juran water authority, sir!"

"The Juran water authority.", he repeated into the phone.

"Follow from a distance. I'm on my way.", Jiu-ge confirmed.

The cab followed the beta for a few blocks, closing the distance quickly. The raised railings forced the man to stay in sight.

Soon, Shen Yuan's fortune ran out.

A red light.

"Damn it!"

He opened the door, nearly knocking over a motorcycle.

He knew he should apologize, but the beta was getting further and further away.

"Sir! You haven't paid!"

Shen Yuan growled, but pulled out whatever he could from his wallet and stuffed it into the driver's hands.

"T-thank you for your generosity, sir!"

But Shen Yuan was already running after the beta.

"He turned to Taigong Street. I'm following, but I can't keep up much longer!"

"Ahead, stop at the Nanhu intersection.", Jiu-ge said.

Nanhu, Nanhu - he scanned street names as he ran, seeing the beta in the distance.

He got to the intersection. There, Jiu-ge was waiting, ready with a bike.

"Get on."

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan slid behind the omega. He let his arm hover for a moment, unsure where to put it, before deciding on holding gently to Jiu-ge's shirt.

"He's still on Taigong. I saw him."

"Hold on tight", Jiu-ge said.

The bike took off with such speed that Shen Yuan reflexively hugged the omega before him. If his face hadn't been drained of blood from the fright, he would have been frozen at even attempting such a thing.

Jiu-ge paid him no mind, leaning into the wind as they sped forward.

They slid into Taigong and weaved through traffic like water through sand. The beta must have seen them approach - he took the first opportunity to get off the road, swivelling into a narrow alley.

Jiu-ge followed, undeterred by the possibility of becoming an organic impression on brick and concrete.

Shen Yuan felt his heart beat wildly, as though it wanted to eject his soul from his body. He heard Jiu-ge grunt in pain from his grip, but he was too terrified to loosen it even slightly. 

Exiting onto the road, the beta slid straight toward an overpass.

"Close your eyes", Jiu-ge ordered. Shen Yuan obeyed eagerly, then felt weightless.

He opened his eyes in terror.

Somehow, he was in the air, held in Jiu-ge's arms. The bike they had been on skidded ahead in front of them - an out-of-control projectile heading straight toward the beta.

They landed on the street. Shen Yuan could feel the shock of the impact, but barely had the coherence to wonder how Jiu-ge wasn't walking on powdered bones.

"You crazy psychopath, are you trying to kill me?!", the beta exclaimed, picking himself up from the ground. Mere inches to his side, Shen Yuan spotted the skid marks of melted rubber - leading to the smoking wreck denting the railing. 

Jiu-ge pushed Shen Yuan to the side, stuffing something in his hands.

A piece of paper? No, a talisman?

Before he could ask anything, Jiu-ge stepped forward, appearing before the beta in a flash. The mousy-haired man redirected his blow to the side, looking shocked at the approach.

Jiu-ge was right. Whoever this guy was, he wasn't ordinary. 

Shen Yuan could barely touch the omega, even when he was standing in place. For some beta to dodge him, even if he was still recovering - this guy was trouble.

Jiu-ge didn't let up. Blow after blow, each redirect flowing into the next strike - he barely gave the man enough time to breathe.

Just as the beta seemed cornered, Shen Yuan noticed a momentary blue gleam across his skin.

Instead of redirecting Jiu-ge's next strike, he stepped forward with a counterattack.

Jiu-ge reeled from the strike to his shoulder, but the man wasn't unscathed either: he had avoided the brunt of the blow, but there was a thin line to the side of his chest, slicing across his jacket's left side and drawing blood underneath. Coins and receipts tumbled from the destroyed jacket onto the street.

"Jiu-ge, he's bleeding", Shen Yuan said stupidly.

It was obvious.

He still couldn't help but point it out.

Even if they were chasing after the beta, wasn't this going too far?

He stepped back, not noticing the piece of debris behind him. 

Like an idiot, Shen Yuan nearly tripped into oncoming traffic.

A blue light flashed by him, and he saw both Jiu-ge and the beta moving toward him.

And then he was back on his feet, as though gravity had decided to reverse directions for a moment.

As he stood confused, Jiu-ge finally hit the man with a powerful strike to the chest.

He closed the distance, grabbing the recovering beta by the collar. The shorter man dangled in the air, trying to break free.

Jiu-ge sneered at his efforts and extended a hand toward Shen Yuan.

Was he unstable again?

Shen Yuan approached meekly, then took the outstretched hand.

Jiu-ge froze at the contact. 

Maybe he loosened his grip momentarily. 

That was all the beta needed.

He pulled out something from his pocket, then grasped the hand holding him aloft.

In the next instant, Jiu-ge's wrist crashed to the ground, taking him with it.

"Jiu-ge!" Shen Yuan exclaimed in shock.

The beta jumped back to the overpass railing.

"Well, it's been lovely meeting you two, but duty calls", he said with a wink. "Dasvidanya, psychopath and friend~!"

With a blown kiss, the beta flipped over the railing. Shen Yuan wanted to go after him, to see where he'd gone, but he couldn't leave Jiu-ge on the ground. The omega had adjusted himself slightly to a more comfortable position, but he was still very much stuck.

He kneeled down to help.

Jiu-ge flicked his head with a finger.

"Little fool, did you forget what I handed you?" he scolded lightly.

Ah. The talisman.

That made a lot more sense, considering the circumstances. 

Shen Yuan wanted to kick himself.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight."

It was all his fault. He messed everything up, despite how far they got.

"Hm. You have trouble doing that. Did you mistake following for chasing? Did I ask you to hunt him down?"

"I'm... sorry?"

Shen Yuan was confused. Not by the question, but by the tone. Jiu-ge sounded unusual. Not like he'd been thwarted.

He sounded like he had just heard a great joke.

Shen Yuan buried his unease.

Moving closer, he examined Jiu-ge's wrist and saw... a plastic bracelet?

One of those cheap ones he'd seen as entry bands at some low-class parties.

"Be careful. Don't damage it, we should be gracious with gifts", the omega said.

It was tricky to undo, but with some twisting,  it straightened out, freeing the omega from the ground. 

Now free, they stood by the overpass. Apart from the bits of trash on the road, the beta was long gone.

Shen Yuan clutched his arm nervously, watching the omega survey the damage.

Jiu-ge was shaking. 

Then he burst out in a chuckle, a genuinely delighted laugh.

"You should not be so quick to give up", he said, picking up the bits of paper from the street. "Our chase is far from over."

Shen Yuan understood his next task - he diligently collected everything he could, even the pieces that had flown onto the road.

Receipts, a dry cleaning bill, an invoice for something, and an... employee ID from the hospital?

Off to the side, Jiu-ge made a call.

Soon, they were off the scene in a white car. The driver cursed Jiu-ge out, but they both rode the car away from the smoking wreck by the railing long before sirens approached.

Chapter Text

A little over a week had passed since the incident on the overpass. It went completely unnoticed by most.

No newspaper reported it, no channel talked about it. What little chatter there was on social media barely made a blip. Knowledge of the incident soon faded from all but the first-hand witnesses.

Apart from the participants, that is.

Away from the luxury of prestigious universities and penthouse apartments was one such participant.

A brown haired beta sat shirtless on the small examining table, waiting obediently while the experienced nurse examined him.

"Ah! Zhao-jie, not so hard!" Qinhui hissed.

"Hush. I'm barely touching you, brat.", the nurse, Zhao-jie, tutted. "If you're going to be dramatic, I'll ship you straight to the general hospital."

"You know what, I feel better already! Zhao-jie truly has a healing touch", Qinhui teased, laying it on thick.

"This rascal. Where did you learn this alpha shamelessness, hm?" the older beta lady huffed in mock irritation. She took one final look at Qinhui's stitches, then addressed him. "You're lucky they didn't open again. I told you to rest, didn't I? No more strenuous work this week, part-time or otherwise."

"But Zhao-jie~", Qinhui pleaded with puppy dog eyes. He got a smack atop his head for his efforts.

"No buts! Nurse's orders."

Qinhui nodded, knowing he'd likely be back within the week. He couldn't afford to slack off now.

As he pulled on his shirt, he probed her gently for info.

"So, was there anything else about young master Shen?"

"Hm, not much since then. He didn't ask about anything at all with the front desk", she commented. "I told you it wasn't something to worry so much about. The Shen family is too wealthy to worry about something simple like earpods."

True.

He wasn't even sure young master Shen noticed he'd been pickpocketed. He'd hoped to lure him and his hanger-on back to the hospital to get something out of them.

At least something more than a fake name.

So either the young master hadn't noticed, or this Shen Jiu was a lot scarier than he'd realized.

"Qinhui, are you sure you don't want to come in next week? The Shen family isn't idle enough to torment one young man over something so trivial."

Zhao-jie's voice was laced with genuine concern.

If only it were that simple.

"I'll have to see. I have a couple of other jobs lined up. For after I heal, of course. Lao Zhang already knows - and I'll tell him the moment I'm free."

Zhao-jie looked unconvinced, but did not push him further. "You're a good seed, Qinhui. We older folk would love to see you around."

"I'll be sure to come in soon.", he smiled.

Stepping out, he kept his happy facade long enough to board the bus. His stitches twinged in pain - a reminder of his predicament.

How could he dare to go back to work at the general hospital when there was a non-zero chance that psychopath had his ID? He'd been lucky enough to get away once. He couldn't always count on silly second-generation shenanigans to redirect the murder-happy companion.

Besides, the chances of the gravity band working again were slim at best.

Not wanting gray hairs before 30, he decided to distract himself with some of his readers' comments. He opened his web novel's page, scrolling down to find something interesting.

A good deal of them simply thanked him for his work. Some echoed beats in the chapter. Others cursed his existence for subjecting imaginary characters to imaginary predicaments.

Very rote.

He scanned to see if he could catch any hint of his resident thesis commenter again. Unfortunately, the poster hadn't returned.

Perhaps he had gotten tired of Qinhui's bullshit. 

Pity. 

It was fun seeing the commenter praise and curse him all at once. The feedback was poetic - it nurtured his creative spirit with new ways of frustrating the alpha.

Or non-alpha.

He wasn't going to judge.

Soon, he was at his destination. He ambled toward his home from the bus stop, returning the neighbours' greetings and savoring the cool wind on his face.

As he neared the apartment complex, he debated jumping over the back wall.

It would mean he could avoid his cousin's nagging, but Zhao-jie would probably mail-order him straight to the general hospital if he came in with open stitches so soon.

Ah, the sacrifices he made for his community.

He walked into the main courtyard, hoping to get to his apartment in peace.

"Sun Qinhui!"

Qinhui paused at the address.

He didn't need to turn around to know who had called him, but he did so anyway.

Unsurprisingly, it was Sun Shangyi again.

"Sun Qinhui, are you ignoring Auntie Ye again? She said you didn't go in for your interview." His cousin spoke, brown hair shimmering gold in the sunset.

"Oh! Was that today?" Qinhui feigned forgetfulness. "I'm really sorry, I had a job lined up and didn't realize. I thought for sure it was next month."

Shangyi frowned. "Qinhui, how long are you going to play around like this? Don't you want to find a respectable job? Even little Xiyue has an internship, you know?"

Of course he knew. He was the one who bribed Lao Wei to nudge his go buddy into it.

'Sanctimonious Qinghua bastard. One degree and he was out lecturing everyone', Qinhui didn't say, because he wasn't keen on another hour of lecturing.

And maybe also because he didn't want to hurt his cousin that much.

"Good for her! I'm sure she'll do well." Qinhui deflected. "I have to go, I have an early day tomorrow!"

Shangyi looked like he was about to say something, but gave up seeing how quickly Qinhui was ascending the stairs. 

With each step, his stitches pulled a little bit. 

He didn't care.

He was almost home. The next hour would be reserved exclusively for lounging about and doing precisely nothing.

He stepped into his tiny apartment and closed the door behind him, hearing the sound of machinery hum.

He walked into the kitchen, heading straight to the fridge. 

"System. Status report?"

"All components are functional", a calm voice sounded from around him. "Core temperature: 52°. Current load: 10.0. Network connection unavailable. Would you like a more detailed report?"

Qinhui rooted through the fridge looking for something suitably unhealthy to eat. "No, hold off on that. Any updates on the array?"

Leftovers, old leafy vegetables, one particularly ancient bowl of rice - nothing looked good.

"The split-axis method has promising results. Would you like me to detail it now?"

Qinhui shut the fridge. 

So today was going to be another instant noodles day.

"No, I'll take a look tonight. Go back to your tasks for now.", he said, adding water to a metal bowl.

He opened a pack of noodles and dropped the brick in with a tiny splash. 

The powder went in next.

He heated the bowl in one hand and dug around for a pair of chopsticks. Feeling the water begin to boil, he cut off the energy to his hand.

It would take a few more minutes to get to true noodly goodness, but his stomach demanded sustenance.

He shoved a mouthful of half-cooked noodles and turned to head to his bedroom.

"Moyo pochtenie. You have a... wonderfully quaint home, Sun-Xiansheng."

'Motherf-'

Leaning on the door, like he owned the place, was the psychopath - the supposed 'Shen Jiu'. He spotted a very confused young master Shen in the bedroom behind him.

The Shen Qingqiu impersonator smiled. The quirk of his lips felt like a blade to Qinhui's throat.

Chapter Text

Qinhui set down his noodle bowl casually, trying not to show the depth of his unease. The clinking of the bowl rang through the apartment, a wonderful addition to the tense atmosphere. 

His teacher always spoke of the importance of vigilance. He hadn't expected to need it in his own home.

This could have fit perfectly into one of his 'character-building lessons'.

"Sorry for the mess. I wasn't expecting guests", Qinhui said flippantly. 

He knew he was deeply screwed, but the moment the Shen Qingqiu impersonator knew that he was trapped, he might as well sign his will.

Thankfully, the psycho bastard had come with his handler. 

He just needed to play this carefully.

Shen Qingqiu either was not aware of his thoughts or did not care. He smiled genially. "After such a memorable invitation, how could I refuse?"

Petty bastard.

"Haha, as you see, I don't have a home worthy of... welcoming esteemed personages like yourself and young master Shen. I'm just a humble beta."

He could do it. He could lick as many boots as he needed to if it meant survival.

"Indeed, you are truly a paragon of humility", Shen Qingqiu sneered. "So much so that you would humble yourself to approach my benefactor."

Qinhui's eyes flicked to the anxious young master hanging in the shadows.

Shit.

He needed a good reason to pass this off.

"Ah, I was just worried about the young master's... interest in such a dangerous array. It was out of curiosity for... his wellbeing"

"Huh? You're on the university board?", the young master Shen finally spoke, breaking his silence with a quiet mumble. In the small apartment, it was easily loud enough to pick up from the other side. 

And it was just the right sort of tangent.

"It leaked to the internet. I don't know how it got there, but I asked around and followed it to your university - to you." Qinhui continued, "I have a bit of a Taoist background. It just looked familiar."

Every word from his mouth was bullshit sprinkled with truth. The young master nodded as though it made sense.

"Right, it was more volatile than expected," he confirmed. "So, you were looking for us, since you thought we were cultivators? Are you a cultivator as well? You had some pretty mystical artifacts, even if they were a bit..."

Master Shen trailed off, catching himself before he insulted Qinhui to his face.

What a pleasant and considerate guy. Shame he came with Arkham incarnate lounging by the door.

"Nothing like that. I'm primarily an enthusiast. I recognized it from what I'd learned from Taoist books. I don't know much about it myself, but I know that spells are dangerous sometimes."

"Strange. An enthusiast was able to so easily identify an array twisted into something barely recognizable." Shen Qingqiu chimed in. "I'm curious about the books you referenced. Perhaps you would be willing to walk a fellow enthusiast through them."

Shit, shit. Offering too much detail - what a basic mistake.

"I have some knowledge of...practicing with arrays too. Though I have tools to help me. Highly specialized ones, barely worth much outside of their purpose, but they are useful when applied correctly", Qinhui replied, careful not to sound nervous. 

"Tools like your servant, I presume." Shen Qingqiu pointed out, eyes flicking to a groove in the ceiling that hid a tiny speaker. 

He knew he should have waited till he got to the bedroom to check the system. His work ethic had done him in again.

"Haha, I should have known better than to hide things from Shen Qingqiu."

The flippant comment had a chilling effect.

Shen Qingqiu no longer looked vaguely amused. He approached slowly.

"What a curious statement. Care to repeat yourself?" he asked softly.

"Ah, I meant no offense. I will be transparent with any inquiries henceforth!" Qinhui chirped, leaning into his useful idiot image.

"No, that isn't what you said. Care to repeat yourself?"

The question was barely above a whisper.

What set off the madman this time?

"I just-", he began, only for the wind to be knocked out of his lungs.

He was held aloft once again, feet kicking uselessly in search of the floor. The grip was so tight around his collar that he could feel the pulse throbbing in his head.

He could barely breathe.

"J-Jiu-ge, I think he's choking!"

The insane bastard adjusted his grip slightly. 

"He has plenty of air to speak."

'Because you loosened the choke hold, you Vader wannabe', Qinhui didn't say, because he valued the integrity of his trachea.

"W-what did I say?", he choked out.

"You know what. Shen Qingqiu. Lying rat, claim ignorance again if you dare."

Crazy!

"But it's just a character - they're the same essence, Shen Jiu and Shen Qingqiu-" Qinhui wheeled out.

"The same person", Shen Qingqiu laughed mirthlessly. "An understandable mistake."

Suddenly, the omega drew him closer. There was the sensation of cold metal under his eye.

"I would be honored to educate you of the difference", he said, pressing the switchblade deep enough to draw blood from the shallow cut.

"Jiu-ge, wait! He's telling the truth!"

Thank you, sweet prince!

"Shen Jiu, Shen Qingqiu - they're names of a character from a web novel. The same one."

"If you don't trust me, trust your benefactor", Qinhui yelped in fear.

The next moment, he was on the floor, gasping for air. Before he could get up, a foot landed square on his chest, pinning him in place.

"Explain."

The question was directed at them both.

"Y-you see, it's a novel about... cultivation. And a mystical world. I read a few of the initial chapters - I can pull it up now." Master Shen scrambled to stop a murder.

Sweet, sweet idiot.

"Not gonna work", Qinhui croaked. "No connection anywhere in the apartment."

The foot pressed down on him.

"Then I hope for your sake you have some way of proving your words, liar."

Of all the things Qinhui valued, his life was an easy top 3.

So despite his reservations, he called out. "System, is Shen Qingqiu a character from the novel 'Proud Immortal Demon Way'?"

"Yes. Shen Qingqiu is a character in 'Proud Immortal Demon Way'. He is the primary antagonist of volumes 2 and 3, and is a minor antagonist in volume 6. He has minor appearances in volumes 7 and 9. Would you like to include details from your notes?"

Shit, shit! 

Too much, too much!

"System. Describe Shen Qingqiu", Shen Qingqiu spoke.

As expected, it didn't answer.

"It only listens to me. I can ask it if you let up -"

"Then ask. Ask why you are the only one who it listens to."

What was with this perceptive bastard?! Couldn't he let anything go?

The foot pressed down further. He felt his ribs creak.

"B-because I'm a registered user", Qinhui answered.

Better that it came from him than the computer.

"Then go ahead. Register me."

Excellent. He lied himself into the worst-case scenario. Truly, there were few as skilled in the pain Olympics.

"System, register new user: Shen Qingqiu."

"Acknowledged. Registration in process."

A single chime sounded.

"Registration complete.  Greetings, user."

"System. Describe Shen Qingqiu."

The next few minutes passed painfully slowly, each question probing into the various aspects of 'Shen Qingqiu's' backstory and plot.

Question after question, all the way till the gruesome end.

"-once imprisoned in the water prison, Shen Qingqiu has his limbs amputated to be used as bait to lure Yue QingYuan to his death. He then has his right eye gouged out. In volume 7, Shen Qingqiu has his tongue removed with his torso converted into a human stick. In volume 9, Shen Qingqiu dies after extensive torture. Would you like details on any specific section?"

He was dead. Just moments away from becoming a bloody mess on the floor.

What a way to die, becoming modern art.

Then, the pressure lifted off his chest.

"Hmph. And to think I believed you were something to worry about."

That... wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

Rage, despair, existential dread - all fine.

Maybe this was denial.

Shen Jiu moved away, and Master Shen shuffled into place.

"Sorry, he isn't usually like that", he whispered.

Brother, what kind of world are you living in?

Master Shen pulled out bandages from the bag he was carrying. At his questioning glance, he sheepishly clarified, "For the bleeding."

Never mind the possibly murderous possessive omega in the other room, Qinhui had one burning question.

"Why do you have bandages?"

"I just thought, after the bridge incident... if there was a fight, I wanted to help."

Are you from heaven? Can you take a poor author with you?

Thankfully, he didn't go so far as to tend to Qinhui's wounds. Always best to avoid setting off the resident murder enthusiast.

Qinhui did play it up for his audience, though. 

His bruised chest and freshly opened stitches hurt, but he managed to add an extra hiss or a pained wince to the mix.

"So you're Airplane?" the young master asked.

Shit.

Was the perceptiveness contagious?

"Yeah. A fan, I presume?"

"N-no. I've read a bit when my little sister pushed me to. Not really that into that stuff."

Yet he knew the Shen Jiu name-reveal in volume 6 and the community nickname of a minor webnovel author.

But he wasn't going to bully the one piece of goodness influencing Shen Qingqiu.

Let the poor alpha remain a closet fan.

Qinhui nodded, wearing his trusting idiot mask this time. An easy switch, he just needed to emulate the young master beside him.

"...So, can you register me too?" the young master asked. 

Shen Qingqiu was still standing mere meters away. He didn't seem to acknowledge the quiet request, but Qinhui could bet his left kidney that the bastard was fully alert.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Qinhui sighed, picking up his noodle bowl for reheating.

It wasn't the worst thing that happened that evening.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan sat across Airplane in their private cabin. The scenery outside whipped past rapidly with the train's speed, yet the inside showed no signs of movement apart from the occasional bump. 

Jiu-ge sat by the window with the second volume of a Proud Immortal Demon Way - anniversary edition that Shen Yuan had managed to pass off as his sister's. He studied the book with intense focus, occasionally flipping to earlier in the novel.

Shen Yuan was not keen on showing the depth of his... devotion as a fan. Not in front of Jiu-ge, but especially not in front of the hack author sitting across from him.

So he channeled his focus into the array formulated by the beta.

"...This is nonsense.", he said with rising frustration. 

"It's a solution, young master."

A solution?

"What kind of solution requires you to split your mind? How is anyone supposed to mentally maintain 21 flows at once?!" he fumed,  "This was the whole reason everything had to be one array."

Airplane pulled out a handful of seeds from the pack he brought, munching them absentmindedly. "It's doable."

"By who, you?"

The beta shrugged, stuffing another mouthful of seeds.

There was something about this beta that made him want to pull out his hair.

"Relax. You're going to blow a vein", the author drawled. "The path to understanding is mostly about going with the flow. You aren't going to get far by beating yourself up."

Right now, Shen Yuan had a particular target he wanted to beat up.

"And how is nonsense supposed to help? Didn't you say you knew a way?"

Airplane seemed unaffected by his growing rage. He leaned back in a stretch, groaning sleepily. "Yep. Too bad you can't see it."

He was half tempted to call Jiu-ge, if that didn't feel so petulant. 

"Fine", Shen Yuan conceded with a groan, "Let's talk about literally anything else. What's our plan once we get to the village?"

The hack author shrugged again. "Dunno. Depends on your bodyguard over there."

Jiu-ge continued reading, brows drawn a hair's breadth closer - though that seemed to be more from the quality of the writing he was subjecting himself to.

He truly had the patience of a saint.

"What does that mean? We just walk around and hope we find something?"

Airplane sank lower into his seat, practically melting into it. "It's uncharted territory. We won't know till we get there."

"Can you focus for five minutes?"

At this, Airplane finally sat up with a groan. He leaned forward, tenting his fingers as though he was carefully choosing his words.

"Listen. Young master. A lot of this stuff is really location-specific. No matter how many war games we play, it won't mean squat till we're able to examine what's going on.", he said with surprising clarity. "We might as well throw physics itself out the window with the kind of impossibility we're dealing with."

He leaned back again, closing his eyes. "So relax, enjoy the first-class experience and have a few free snacks."

"They aren't free."

"Well, they're free for me", Airplane grinned,  eyes still shut. "Contractor privileges."

Shen Yuan frowned.

He stole a glance at Jiu-ge, who didn't seem to have any opinion on their argument.

Staring longer didn't make any difference, no matter how aggrieved he felt.

Finally, he walked to the in-unit pantry to check out their offerings. 

Nuts, cookies, energy bars, and refrigerated juices - not a lot of selection. 

At least there was a menu for fresh orders, even if it was a bit limited.

He sat down again, grumbling under his breath. He began to seriously study the menu while the beta across him drifted off to sleep.

Somewhere along the way, the gentle rocking of the carriage lulled him into unconsciousness.

He woke up to the beta prodding his arm.

"Rise and shine, dear employer. The train departs in 5 minutes. If you aren't planning a cross-country tour, I suggest you wake up soon~"

Shen Yuan peered blearily at the irritating self-appointed alarm clock. He leaned forward, then suddenly noticed the blanket pooling on the floor.

Jiu-ge was already on the platform outside, and Airplane hung by the cabin door, bag bulging with what Shen Yuan was certain was the pantry's contents.

"...Is the blanket ours?" he asked, still half asleep.

"It can be if you want to pay for it."

Shen Yuan ignored the teasing and walked out. Exiting the cabin was enough to be inundated with the ambient noise of the train station.

Passengers on the platform chatted among themselves, trolley bags rolled from place to place, the porters loaded and unloaded cargo - all while a distant voice announced the new arrivals and departures.

He opened the car door and was met with... air.

There was no scent or anything notably special about it. All the regular smells - smoke, oil, dust, people - they were all there. 

It just felt different in some indescribable way.

Maybe it was just his mind assigning labels to things in anticipation. 

"So, is this it? The village?" he asked, scanning the platform. 

The station certainly looked smaller than the city railyard. He could see the end of the platforms to either side. The platform itself, while populated, wasn't filled with a sea of people.

"Not quite. We still have a few more hours left. It gets more remote from here, but we have a few options to get there."

Shen Yuan frowned as he heard of their 'options': a bus line, rickety old taxis, or sturdy, spartan trucks - all with their unique drawbacks, none particularly geared toward experience.

With some searching, they found a guide to take them around - a necessary resource for the type of expedition they were on.

Soon, they were at the village.

It was tiny.

Not so small as to have dirt roads and endless fields around, but small enough that the narrow streets that ran through the mountain village looked faded with age compared to the city streets.

There were houses on either side along smaller streets that branched away from the artery cutting through the town. A simple yellow building proclaimed itself as the local school. He also spotted a few storefronts open among the streets.

"Is this really the place?" Shen Yuan asked skeptically. "Forget hospitals, there isn't even a clinic here."

Airplane pulled out the paper map he'd procured prior to their trip. "It's our best lead from what Boss Shen described. The first place we have a name for is Fenyang temple, which he got to by following a river - probably Taiyi."

Jiu-ge nodded in confirmation. "I am certain of the temple. Additionally, the river matches my memories."

"So we just... follow it back indefinitely?" Shen Yuan asked incredulously

"It's not like we have a better idea", the author shrugged. "And we know the terrain was green and hilly the whole way. We can probably stop long before getting to the river basin."

So this was why the beta was so vague with the details.

There was no plan.

Shen Yuan stared absently in despair.

"This was why I suggested we wait till summer. The mountains are a lot nicer then", Airplane relayed his sage advice.

Like that was the problem.

"...I'm ok with rescheduling the trip", Shen Yuan said softly.

"Too late!", Airplane sang with gleeful schadenfreude, "If I go back and ask for another month off, I'll be free for the rest of my life. I'd like to stay employed, thanks."

"I can hire you."

"I respectfully decline."

Chapter Text

The River Taiyi was one of many tributaries that wound down the mountains, eventually emptying into the eastern sea. Unusually stable, it had been the lifeblood of many small villages that made their homes near the path the stream cut through the earth.

While the greater river flowing through the plains needed to be wrangled by man-made restraints into submission, the stream gently nurtured the many farms and orchards that branched from its banks.

Following its path upstream, you would come across happy little villages of simple mountain folk - communities of betas living happy lives, knowing little of the bustle of the cities.

Their journey along its path led them through these carefree communities, each serving as a marker on Jiu-ge's descent to civilization months prior.

Their journey ended in one such village, a little collection of houses, farms, and shops. Shen Yuan could see chickens and goats living alongside the people of the land.

This was the place.

The place from Jiu-ge's earliest memories. 

"So... what now?" Shen Yuan asked, settling into the guesthouse they had booked for their stay. "Do we look for an array or something?"

"Not exactly. We'd need to get closer to know anything concrete. To ground zero, where Boss Shen first arrived.", the author replied.

Shen Yuan thought back to Jiu-ge's account. 

Bright lights, smell of disinfectant, people moving about...

"Do you think it was a hospital where you woke up first?" Shen Yuan wondered. There was one on their way - an aged building with yellow paint that stood cheerfully next to the main road.

"Plausible, considering the state of my injuries when I fully regained myself."

"Then it's easy. We ask them where they found you!"

Finally, something straightforward.

"I think it's better to ask around. If someone brought him into the village hospital, they were probably locals. This isn't exactly a high traffic area after all.", the beta reasoned.

The existence of the little guest house contested this, but only a little, considering its age.

"That would take forever. Besides, the hospital should have exactly what we need in their records."

"Yep. They should. But you know who else has records of mysterious appearances and disappearances of people? The authorities.", Airplane countered. "Authorities whom the hospital will undoubtedly contact if we go asking - especially considering it's a missing omega case."

...That was true. With the relative rarity of omegas and the higher incidences of omegas in good families, people tended to pay a lot of attention to them.

"So what? We aren't doing anything illegal. It's Jiu-ge's file. He has every right to it."

"I'm not saying he doesn't, it's just... the optics aren't great.", the author clarified. "A mysterious omega X shows up with the heir of the prestigious Shen family-"

"-I'm not the heir-"

"- with the son of the prestigious Shen family. You'll probably be let off after a few words with your family. The rest of us..."

Airplane sighed, heating up a pot of water in his hands.

"...I'd probably get a few questions about my involvement, but be let off after some questions - If the Shen family doesn't press any charges against me."

Shen Yuan frowned. He may have been uneasy about his family, but hearing someone else talk of them like they're unreasonable people...

"As for Boss Shen, there's a risk they'll dig into his, uh, circumstances. I don't know the specifics of his cover, but if they find some holes - especially with how thorough non-beta medical records and documents typically are - the best outcome we can hope for is them thinking he's just undocumented. If they consider him a spy or something..."

"B-but he's not! He's..."

...What was Jiu-ge? Had they ever established what he was? He was supernaturally agile, highly intelligent, and convinced of his identity as a novel character. 

Did that make him a transmigrator? Some kind of superhuman method actor? A crazy person?

Shen Yuan reflected quietly on how naturally he'd followed Jiu-ge's lead without question. The omega seemed... so sure and methodical about things. Nothing was a throwaway fancy, no word was wasted. Such a purposeful man couldn't just be delusional, right? Could delusion withstand reality with such resilience?

He looked over at the beta, who was preparing some tea from the leaves they bought along the way. 

Airplane also followed along with just a few mild threats from Jiu-ge and a promise of compensation from him. The beta had accepted Jiu-ge's story with no pushback.

Shen Yuan could chalk up his trust to the time they'd spent together, but why was Airplane so eager to go along in their quest?

"All this scheming for such a simple thing. Do you think I believe such a menial task to be beyond your abilities? After such a... memorable first meeting?", Jiu-ge asked, cold gaze pinning Airplane.

Shen Yuan was skeptical about Jiu-ge's unexpected confidence - even if Airplane tracked them down before, that was in the city, following a post online. Not exactly the right skillset for a countryside investigation. If anything, they'd done far more in tracking the beta to his apartment.

Airplane was quiet, moving back on instinct from the calm omega. Jiu-ge pulled out another volume of the novel and took a seat in a corner of the room. "Take care of it.", he ordered, uninterested in continuing the discussion.

"Jiu-ge, shouldn't we... help? It'd be faster if we pitched in."

"Unobservant", the omega remarked flatly. "Did you pay no attention to our gracious host?"

The... beta who checked them into the guesthouse? The woman was completely unremarkable. She had stuttered through her words and rushed to leave after handing over their keys, but that was hardly worth noting.

Jiu-ge watched his reaction. A few moments later, his focus was back on the pages.

Shen Yuan felt anxious, as though he had failed some sort of test. Was there something he was supposed to notice? Was the woman suspicious? Was there some hidden message she was signalling?

He struggled fruitlessly to understand. 

"It's fine. He's right, I... should be able to manage this. It'll take a few days, but I can get it done.", Airplane said, offering him a cup of steaming coffee.

Shen Yuan took a sip of the cheap instant coffee and grimaced.

The thought of piling everything on Airplane felt unfair.

Even if he was just the normie of the group, there had to be something he could do.

"I'll help. Let me come with you."

Airplane glanced over at Jiu-ge. "I don't know if, uh, that's the best course of action."

"Jiu-ge, it's ok if I check things out too, right?"

The omega waved his hand dismissively. "Do as you please, as long as you do not impede the help."

Airplane grumbled inaudibly. 

In a few minutes, they were in the yard outside the guesthouse, leaving Jiu-ge to read in peace. Shen Yuan played with the fake ID he'd been handed, wondering what he'd be facing in the coming days.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan carried the makeshift goodies basket, trailing behind Airplane. The basket itself looked remarkably similar to the welcome kit they got at the first (and only) proper hotel on their trail. Its contents had been replaced with a plethora of nuts, candy, and cereal bars.

There was no doubting it. This was exactly what he'd seen in the pantry of their train cabin.

The author had even found a ribbon from somewhere, adding a messy bow to top off the whole display.

The beta knocked on the door of the modest house they had been directed to.

Soon enough, a little beta lady cracked open the door.

"Hello, host! We wanted to thank you for the warm welcome to your lovely village. The guesthouse is beautiful, we're fortunate to have the chance to stay at such a marvelous home", the beta said, smiling disarmingly.  "We wanted to show our appreciation for accommodating our sudden arrival."

"No, no. It was no trouble at all. We don't get many guests in our village, so we are happy to... have you here." The flustered lady spoke. 

"Please, we insist. My friend here would be distraught if we couldn't show our gratitude properly."

No, he wouldn't - this was going way too far for someone just doing their job.

But he stood there in the now-opened door, basket in hand. He offered an awkward smile.

"This is for you."

The diminutive woman looked up at him with wide eyes, openly staring. It was like she was looking at some kind of exotic animal.

Shen Yuan wanted to clear his throat under the scrutiny. 

Thankfully, Airplane came to the rescue, swiping the basket in one clean motion and holding it out to obstruct her view.

"May we come in?"

The lady blushed, moving aside to let them in.

Airplane followed after her with a friendly smile.

Shen Yuan took the opportunity to breathe in relief, but trailed after.

They walked through a narrow courtyard with a few thriving potted plants reaching for the sky among clotheslines. To the side, he could see colorful knick-knacks and glints of metal, though he did not take a closer look to avoid hawking at their host's home.

They crossed a low wood door that they both had to duck under, eventually entering a little sitting room.

 The ceiling was low enough to be reachable with a jump. Light streamed in from the courtyard, illuminating the rattan chairs inside that were hurriedly moved into place by their hostess. 

Sensing movement in his peripheral vision, Shen Yuan turned to see a couple of teens staring at the two outsiders. The hostess scolded them sharply and sent them back inside with the basket.

As they settled into the chairs, Shen Yuan noticed what looked like an antique loom by the door.

"I am sorry to welcome you into such a humble home", the lady said, hands wringing fretfully.

"Humble? Nonsense, it is cozier than anything you can find in the city. You can truly feel the warmth of a well-loved home. It touches the soul."

Every word from the author's mouth sounded like a veiled insult to Shen Yuan's ears, but the hostess smiled despite herself.

Perhaps the people here were weak to flattery.

"Thank you, honorable guests! Though we aren't deserving of such praise, we will happily accept your kind words."

"Words are one of our priceless treasures, after all.", the author laughed. "I'm happy to see my craft bring happiness to the world."

The lady paused. "Your craft? Then, sir, are you... a poet?"

"Nothing so fancy. I am merely a traveler, journeying with my companions to learn of the soul of our nation's people."

The sheer amount of nonsense the author so shamelessly spewed made him want to cringe in embarrassment. 

A few minutes into listening to the hack waxing poetic about his supposed mission, which was met with surprising enthusiasm from their hostess, the teens from earlier reentered the room.

One, a young man who looked barely in his twenties, brought in a bowl full of some sort of berry he did not recognize, while the other, a girl perhaps a year or two younger, served them tea.

Feeling the expectant glances from the two who moved to stand behind their mother, Shen Yuan picked up a berry from the bowl.

It was red and glossy, a little larger than a grape. Water glistened on the freshly washed surface.

Not wanting to keep his spectators waiting, he took a bite.

The thick rind was tougher to bite through than expected. It was fairly bland with a hint of sourness. Unusual, but not at all unwelcome.

He finished off the rest of the small fruit, only to feel a small pit buried inside.

There was nowhere to spit out the seed. Could he ask for a bowl, plate, or even a napkin? He looked to the hostess, who was engrossed in her conversation. The teens were of similarly little help, standing practically next to each other and whispering when they thought he wasn't looking.

Airplane had pivoted the discussion to village gossip and was eagerly swapping stories.

"Really, the chief worries us all. He still dreams of reopening that cursed place, even more so after that terrible tragedy."

"He must surely have everyone's best interests at heart. You know how the elders are, they love nothing more than to share their wisdom."

Shen Yuan tried to reengage with the conversation that he'd momentarily tuned out. He brought his cup to his lips for a sip.

The tea was... surprisingly mild.

Almost flavorless.

Shen Yuan glanced down and saw the suspiciously clear-looking tea.

....Was this just water?

Resolving not to get distracted again, he put every ounce of his attention on the ongoing conversation.

"- and it was the Li girl too. What a shame, such a bright young lass."

"Indeed. Water's fury is something even emperors have struggled to tame. We can only help those left behind. How is the family doing now?"

"Ah, it has been a few years now. The children know not to test the river. Between that and the mines, we have lost too much in such a short time", the hostess sighed regretfully.

"A mine?"

"We once used to be a proud mining town, back when I was a young girl barely at my mother's knees", the hostess explained. "I was far too young to know, but I've heard stories over the years. The old chief, the one from my father's time - he warned the outsiders of harming the land. We have to pay off our debts now, till the land takes its due."

"How inauspicious! I've heard similar stories from other villages - a cursed mill they had to board shut. They even brought in a monk to drive out the evil, but it wouldn't leave", Airplane added.

Who knows if he was simply spinning a tale or if that had really happened. Both seemed equally likely as far as he could tell.

"A monk? I don't know....", the lady spoke warily, "For a mine they don't even dare to close... they keep inspecting over and over again, as though the evil will flee one day. It's not a good place."

She leaned towards the author, worry clear in her eyes. "You're both good, honest people. Promise me you won't go disturbing the waters and the earth. The spirits are vicious, especially to outsiders like you."

The plea was so guileless, so earnest, that Shen Yuan nodded automatically.

"We are guests on this land, we will keep your wisdom close to our hearts.", Airplane reassured the woman.

With a few more words, they bid a heartfelt goodbye - or at least, Airplane did. Shen Yuan, with the fruit pit still on his tongue, could only bow solemnly.

The moment they were out, he spat the seed discreetly, dropping it by a bush.

It wasn't his proudest moment.

"Hm, it's not much, but we have something to go off of", Airplane started. "The river and the old mine are both promising - out of the way 'cursed' places that take outsiders, both with defunct industry and regular activity. There's also the schoolmistress's 'soul sickness'. We'll need help to get to a shut-in like that. The village chief's feud with our hostess, though... possibly worth poking at, if only to see what she's hiding."

Shen Yuan's eyes widened. Had Airplane gotten all that from just a few minutes of gossip?

"What she's hiding?" he echoed. That simple lady?

"Yeah, she was chatty about all kinds of things, but clammed up the second I probed a little about the guesthouse's regular visitors. Very wary about the mine folk, or maybe just outsiders in general."

Shen Yuan tried to recall bits of conversation from when he wasn't preoccupied. "Sorry, I wasn't any help."

Maybe Jiu-ge had the right idea, leaving it to the beta. He was in his element among these folk.

"Well, it gets easier if you know what to expect. Can't imagine it gets any easier as an alpha here." Airplane consoled. "Keep at it, just act natural and get them talking. They're usually eager to spill everything to a friendly face - especially a handsome one."

He winced at the reminder. 

He wasn't someone people would consider handsome - nowhere near someone as breathtaking as Jiu-ge. Maybe the villagers hadn't seen too many alphas.

At least now he had a template to follow, a vague idea of how to speak.

Their path took them by the schoolyard next. Under the noon sun, the children chased one another in rambunctious glee. 

They made it two steps into the yard before the kids noticed. 

A blanket of silence swept across the schoolyard, punctuated mostly by excited whispering. They watched from a distance, hesitant to approach the outsiders.

He took a deep breath to steel himself under the weight of a score of inquisitive eyes, then put on a smile and waved.

If it had been just whispering before, it was now full-on chatter.

He walked through the yard into the building, looking for the staff room, trying not to think about the trail of kids following him.

Thankfully, the staff room was close by. 

He knocked on the door, patiently waiting for a reply.

"There's no one in there.", a little voice piped up. "Are you our new teacher?"

It was a young boy just entering the awkwardness of puberty. Mid-growth spurt, the messy-haired child had positioned himself near the front of his 'tail'.

One person who was distinctly not part of it was the hack author.

Shen Yuan looked around discreetly. Where had that slacker gone now? Hadn't they discussed looking into the schoolmistress?

The young boy and his friends had inadvertently formed a barrier blocking his way out.

Shen Yuan didn't let his unease show too openly. He smiled softly at the waist-high human wall before him.

"No, I'm afraid not. I have some business with your schoolmistress. Do you know where I can find her?"

The murmurs erupted again.

"She's dead, right?" "Nah, my mom said she's-" "I saw her, I saw -" "I found a worm on the big tree -" "teacher is in the tank!"

Shen Yuan felt his temples begin to throb. 

He had caught a few words of the cacophony of voices, all trying to talk over each other,  growing louder and louder.

"Children, can you please stop?" he strained, barely audible over excited young voices.

The kids kept offering more and more - chatter that was devolving into white noise around him.

"Kids! One at a time!" he said sharply, raising his voice louder than he had intended. 

The ensuing silence was worse than the noise. Shen Yuan coughed, feeling his face burn.

"Thank you."

The kids responded with a forest of raised hands.

Memories of nearly forgotten school days flashed, now mirrored in absurdity.

Shen Yuan smiled wryly. 

One at a time, then.

Chapter Text

Balancing on the remarkably steady ladder, Shen Yuan peered into the darkness. He shone his phone's weak flashlight into the tank, trying to get a better look.

"I'm afraid I don't see anything," he informed the small, eager crowd gathered below.

"Really? Maybe you don't see her 'cause your eyes are bad?" one of the boys offered helpfully.

"Yeah! My grandma has glasses too, and she can't see anything," a little girl added with a solemn nod.

"Can I see?" asked one of the younger ones, gripping the ladder's base with sticky fingers.

"Me, me! Mom says I've got the best eyes! I can spot all the snakes!"

His audience was quickly pivoting from insulting his eyesight to debating over their qualifications as tank inspector in chief. Shen Yuan said nothing. He simply took a quick photo of the interior, closed the lid, and began climbing down.

"I don't think there's anything interesting in there. See?" He said, crouching down to present the photo evidence to the children.

They swarmed him, pushing each other out of the way for a better view. The older kids peeked over his shoulders, and the younger ones wormed their way around his arms, one even fully climbing onto his knee.

"Whoa, it's dark!" exclaimed one boy, pressing down on his shoulder.

"What's that?" asked a little boy, struggling to shove away the little girl who was increasingly nudging him out of his spot.

"Don't you know anything? That's a phone, dummy!" answered the girl beside him.

"Nuh-uh, Ming-jie has a phone, it's not like that!", the boy protested.

"That's 'cause, 'cause it's a city phone!", the boy on his knee replied.

This was met with a chorus of enlightened oohs and aahs. 

"Gege, are you from the city?" asked the boy by his shoulder.

"Rui-jie is from the city, too! Do you know her, Gege?" a girl asked, tugging at his shirt. "She's a pilot! On a plane! Have you been on a plane?"

"I have", answered Shen Yuan in the tiniest of breaks he could find among the barrage of questions. 

He had to stop the conversation from derailing further. 

"Children, can you help me out? I'm trying to figure out a mystery. Can you tell me if you know anything that seemed different about your schoolmistress lately? If she talked about finding or seeing something strange, or if she went somewhere unusual?"

Suddenly, everyone was quiet.

"Why? Did she do something bad?"

The child on his knee asked, unconsciously tightening his grip.

Ah.

Perhaps he came off as a bit too suspicious.

"No, not that I'm aware of. I have a friend who... had something strange happen to him. I'm helping him find some clues", he reassured them.

"Is he sad too?" The little girl by his arm asked. "Teacher was sad before. I even did all my homework, and she was still sad."

"I heard the grownups say she was dead to them, but she was all fine and even came to class a few times", the boy at his shoulder noted.

"But, but she stopped! And she was in her house a whole lot! Like, a whoooole lot!", another girl said, arms stretched out for emphasis.

"Let's go to her house!" suggested the little boy on his knee enthusiastically.

"What if she's crying again?", a little voice whispered warily.

"That's cuz you're too dumb to do your homework right."

"Am not! You're dumb!"

A minor scuffle broke out, with all the shoving, scratching, and hair-pulling involved.

"Stop! Stop! Don't fight, neither of you is dumb", Shen Yuan said, physically separating the two scrapping children. "None of you is responsible for anything your teacher does. You're all good kids."

He felt a hug around his arm. The little boy clutching onto him looked up with a quivering lip. 

"Gege, can we go there? To Teacher's house?"

The sight of an almost crying child was enough to send him scrambling mentally.

He was not equipped to deal with tears of any kind.

Was the schoolmistress even at her home? If she were, wouldn't she panic if a stranger showed up at her home with her entire student body?

What if she wasn't at home? He'd not only have wasted his time, but also crushed the hopes of an entire generation of the village.

The lip was quivering too much for comfort.

He didn't have the luxury of deliberation. 

"We shouldn't disturb her if she's busy", he gently pointed out.

"She isn't even there", proclaimed a little girl. "She won't be at home till you complete all your homework."

The grip around his arm tightened, and the boy looked even closer to breaking into tears. 

"But-but I don't get it. It's too hard..."

A pair of tears rolled down his cheeks.

And then the floodgates were opened.

The child pressed his face to his arm, letting tears drench his sleeve.

Shen Yuan pivoted in place to pat the little boy on his back.

"Don't cry. It's ok if you don't understand some things. That's why you can always ask for help."

Was that good advice for a child? He wasn't sure. He didn't have a lot of experiences to draw from.

"T-then, Gege, are you smart?"

Now that was a question he was completely unqualified to answer.

In the conventional sense? Maybe not. He was never at the top of his class, even if he got all A's.

Practically everyone got that.

He wasn't even in one of the challenging majors, like math or science.

He was good at what he liked and had no regrets with his choice of majors, but he wasn't going to delude himself into thinking he was anywhere near someone like Qi'er, let alone an intellectual titan like Jiu-ge.

But to this group of children...

"I'm not bad. I'm a student too. When I have trouble with my homework, I sometimes ask others."

"Gege, you don't have a job?"

There was no malice in the question, just innocent curiosity.

"No, not yet. I'm learning new things so I can be ready for the kind of job I want to have someday", he explained.

"Then, can you help me, Gege? Geometry is hard."

"Me too! My homework is harder."

"Gege, me! Me!"

"Then we can all go see Teacher!"

In the following impromptu tutoring session, Shen Yuan was glad he could at least remember enough to help with primary school math.

It was a close call, too - had they asked him anything about triangles or congruence, he would have struggled to retain the dignity of a university student.

They then set off to the schoolmistress's house - the children excited with their completed homework, and Shen Yuan being the reluctant chaperone.

The journey was short. They did not even leave the school yard.

The children led him to a small building to the side of the main school building, about half its size.

He knocked on the door and waited.

No answer.

"I guess she isn't home today", Shen Yuan noted.

The door shook under the force of a tiny fist striking the wooden surface with all its might. "Teacher! We're done with our homework! Wanna see?" shouted a little boy.

Shen Yuan pulled the child back before he could break his fist.

"Stop, that's not nice. We shouldn't disturb her if-"

"The window's open!" shouted a boy.

"Put Pingping in!" screamed a little girl.

"No! Do not put anyone in anything", shouted Shen Yuan, running towards the sound.

Too late. 

By the time he got to the scene, he spotted two very scared children with another child who barely looked four on the other side of a barred window.

A barred window to a locked house.

He rushed to the window, reaching out to the child on the other side.

"Pingping, don't be scared. Just come to Gege."

The bars that let the child in did a remarkably good job of keeping him out.

Thankfully, the little girl listened and walked right up to the window.

"High. Gege, help...", she pleaded.

The child was too close to the ground. His arms were long, but not that long.

"Pingping, use the chair", ordered one of the two troublemakers.

"Yeah, push it to the door! If you open it, I'll let you play with my doll", his partner in crime called out.

"Pingping, no. Just come up to the window and jump, I'll try to reach you."

"The door, Pingping!"

"Get the door! We're counting on you!"

Shen Yuan felt like he was going insane watching the little girl push a wooden chair with her whole body. 

"Pingping! Be careful, come to Gege!"

"No, you'll be in trouble!"

"Pingping, just come over. You're not in trouble. I won't be mad."

"That's what all the grown-ups say when you're in trouble!"

The back and forth was going nowhere.

Shen Yuan debated his options.

Did the village have a locksmith? If not, would they object to breaking down a door?

His mind played out increasingly terrible outcomes as he called out to the child.

Airplane would know what to do if he were here. Lockpicking seemed like something he probably knew.

He watched despairingly as the tiny child climbed onto the wooden chair that wobbled under her weight.

The little girl wasn't anywhere near as bothered by her near-tumble and got to work on the latch. 

"Are there any adults in the village who can help? Can you get them for me?" he asked, addressing the oldest child.

The boy looked between him and the two troublemakers who started the whole incident.

"Please, don't. Grandpa will be mad. Please", pleaded the girl.

"Gege, Pingping opened it!"  Announced the child.

That was... unexpectedly fast. Had they done this before?

Shen Yuan warned the child away from the door. Pushing it open, he felt the expected resistance from the chair behind it, but nothing else.

A single latch. 

That was all that secured the tiny, empty living space.

The moment the door cracked open, the little girl rushed to hug his leg. The children behind him cheered, the loudest of whom were the troublemakers. 

Inside was a small bed, a table, and a single chair. There were some clothes on the nearly empty shelves, right next to chalk and stationery. 

On the table, there were a few folders of varying thickness. The floor had some more paper, both scattered sheets blown around by the wind and balls of discarded work.

Thankfully, there was nothing more alarming.

The children peeked in alongside him.

A little boy tugged at his pants for attention. "Messy!" the child exclaimed. "Grandma will be mad."

"Is that why she went away? 'Cause she didn't clean her room?" whispered a little girl in horror.

"Nope, she's a grownup. Grownups don't have to listen to their parents", a girl in pigtails proclaimed.

Shen Yuan couldn't help but smile to himself despite the situation.

If only, child. If only.

"Children, why don't you go and play? I'll clean things up here and lock up so no one gets in trouble", Shen Yuan offered.

"Then, then Gege, can you be our teacher now?" asked the boy, tugging at his leg. "We'll be good. Please?"

"But Gege can't stay here", shouted the oldest child. "What if Teacher comes back? And Gege is here, and she can't be here?"

"Gege, Gege, Gege", another little hand prodded him over and over for attention. "My house - stay there! Grandpa's dead, and, and there's a bed!"

"No way. Gege is from the city", pointed out another girl. "He can fly here. Like the city people!"

Shen Yuan watched the skin helplessly, trying to find a break to interject. In a stroke of inspiration, he brought his hands up and clapped once.

The sudden noise startled the crowd into silence.

He cleared his throat before speaking. 

"I'm afraid I won't be replacing your teacher. Don't worry, though. I'm sure you won't be left without a teacher for long", he spoke in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "Now go out and play, and I won't tell anyone about this. I will even clean up so no one gets mad."

The children looked at each other, wavering at his firm tone. They filed out one by one with drooping heads and upset frowns. The one by his leg stayed the longest, clutching on as he watched his peers leave. When the last of the group was a few steps away, the little boy let go of his death grip and rushed after his peers, not wanting to be left behind.

Shen Yuan felt strange watching them leave. His search seemed like a dead end, but the thought of children waiting so eagerly for a teacher in an empty room... 

He could ask around, maybe. Perhaps he could even prod someone into looking for a replacement if the old schoolmistress had really abandoned her work.

After locking the windows and any other entries to stop another tiny home invasion, he paused.

He was already technically breaking and entering. Snooping through paperwork wasn't that much of an extra crime. He may even find some clues.

So he looked through lesson plans, homework, tests, and mail till he got a general idea of the situation.

A personal tragedy - messages to next of kin, clinically informing the recipient of a family passing. A need to deal with arrangements.

This wasn't anything supernatural.

His intrusion into the poor woman's living space felt increasingly unjustified. He placed everything exactly as he found it. He penned a quick apology to explain the situation, making sure to leave out names. He stopped before signing his own name.

With the anonymous letter set on the table beneath a folder, he shut the door behind him from the outside. Hopefully, the schoolmistress (or her replacement) wouldn't panic too much.

Chapter Text

After closing up the teacher's residence, he walked towards the street. As he approached the main road, a familiar voice broke his melancholy.

"You're here? Took you long enough. Here I thought you'd found your new calling."

Smiling widely, perched on a shaded ledge ahead was Airplane.

"Maybe if I didn't have to pick up after a certain Freeloader, I wouldn't have taken as long", he sniped back.

The beta gasped theatrically. "Freeloader? Me? Dear employer, I'm happy to let you know I was hard at work!"

"Doing what, hiding from responsibility?"

Airplane swung off the ledge, making a clean landing on the ground. "About 20 percent of that. The rest of it was just getting myself a checkup, giving our hardworking nurses some company~"

Shen Yuan froze.

The hospital. That had been one of their primary targets.

"You went without me?" he asked, hating how whiny he sounded. "No, that's not important. Did you find anything?"

Airplane paused, no longer smiling like a fool. 

"Hm. Something, possibly."

Another cryptic answer.

"Then can you share with the class?"

"I'd be happy to, but we're short on attendance, don't you think?" Airplane rebutted easily, "We'll have plenty of time to compare notes once we get back."

With that, Airplane started walking towards town in the evening glow.

"Hey! Aren't you curious what I found?" Shen Yuan shouted, running after the beta. The man slowed down to let him before matching Shen Yuan's pace.

"I'm not that much of a hypocrite. I can wait a few hours too", Airplane commented, "Besides, we have one last stop to hit tonight, to try our luck."

Shen Yuan tagged along, mentally cataloging their progress so far.

There was still the matter of the village chief's feud, the hostess's secrecy, records from the villagers, and whatever else Airplane was keeping to himself.

The beta walking beside him was annoyingly reticent, but that didn't stop him from guessing.

Where would they need to go under the setting sun? Could there be some sort of ancient graveyard or ruin or something nearby? Was it something only visible in the moonlight, maybe something that polarized in sunlight?

No. Wait. That wasn't how polarization worked. 

He wasn't sure how it did, but that sounded wrong.

So he kept thinking, worrying, and waiting.

He didn't have to wait long.

His ears picked it up first - the sound of lively chatter. 

Then came his nose, carrying wonderful smells of warm meals and cheap wine.

Finally, his eyes saw the glow of lights from a building on the street. On closer approach, Shen Yuan noticed a crowd intermingling and chatting at several tables.

Two teens walked between tables, bringing fried snacks and jars of drink.

Probably something alcoholic, considering the prevailing mood.

"A leisure house?"

"Most of the townsfolk in one place with just enough liquor to keep things interesting", Airplane commented. "Can't really single anyone out for a one-on-one, but keep listening and you're likely to chance on something juicy."

Their arrival grabbed attention, but nowhere near the way he'd experienced throughout the day. A few tables hollered at them, slurring out drunken greetings with cheer.

Airplane returned each one with mirrored gusto. Shen Yuan scanned the crowd, trying to find familiar faces.

"So, what's the plan? Do I just…", Shen Yuan trailed off, making a jerky movement with his hand. He belatedly realized that he had no idea what he was trying to signal.

"Just stick around. Mingle. Try not to drink too much."

With that vague advice, Airplane greeted a table of patrons with delight, as though he were meeting old friends and not just people he'd first met that very day.

Shen Yuan spotted a game of Mahjong on the table and stayed well away.

That was not something he wanted to be involved in.

Instead, he drifted from group to group, trying to get past the repeated questions about inane details of his life to get something useful.

The sound of shattering glass rang through the noise, startling him. He looked towards the source - it was from one of the Mahjong tables.

At the table were two men facing off against each other, slurring vulgar threats.

Airplane was off to the side, waving his hands frantically and saying something inaudible over the crowd.

Shen Yuan excused himself from company and pushed through the crowd toward the commotion.

He got to the front just in time to see one man - a stocky, bearded man in a red shirt chuck a tile at his graying opponent. 

"What's going on?" he asked, sidling up to Airplane.

"Sore losers and gambling games do not mix well", Airplane whispered back.

Another player tried to intervene and got a shove for it.

Everything devolved from there.

Shen Yuan joined Airplane behind some chairs, ducking to avoid flying plates and tiles.

"Please tell me you have a plan", Shen Yuan begged the beta beside him. "Oh, shit! That guy drew blood!"

"The best plan was to stop the fight before it started", Airplane muttered. "I doubt we can subdue a dozen drunks in a free-for-all without catching more than a few strays. I don't know about you, but I really don't need to get any uglier."

"It's not a free-for-all, I think.", Shen Yuan commented.

It was hard to tell in the chaos, but certain assailants were defending others, punching for their friends, and targeting specific people in the mayhem.

Airplane snuck another look at the brawl, pulling away in time to avoid a ceramic shard flying toward him from a shattered pot.

"Huh. Good eye, I didn't expect them to team up this fast.", Airplane noted. "You got a plan?"

"Me?", he reeled from the sudden pressure. 

A plan?

"Uh, maybe, we can, uh, take them down, one by one? Keep low, take opposite sides maybe… I mean, it could keep… everyone from targeting us at… once?"

What kind of plan was that? A plan for blunt force trauma?

"Good plan, let's do it. Left or right?" 

Huh?

"Uh, either?"

"Okay. You go right. I'll go left."

Airplane weaved into the crowd, ignoring a panicked Shen Yuan frozen behind the chair.

What?

Why had Airplane asked for a plan?

Why had he gone along with such a half-baked plan?!

The author appeared to be a worried bystander to the casual observer, if one didn't pay close attention to how his erratic movements and panicked evasion moved him closer to the fight, fast. 

He clenched his fists, letting his mind drift back to his training.

Light on your feet, flow like the breeze.

It wasn't meant for anything close to this, but maybe it could work.

Shen Yuan charged forward, mindful to keep his opponents in sight.

Dodge a swing, sidestep a tumbling man, don't step on glass -

He made his way close enough to the group.

He just needed to grab one.

He approached, then backed away immediately.

Grab one, and then what? Should he toss him away? Throw a punch? Push him to the ground?

How did you stop a fight?

He looked over to see Airplane shoot up from a little distance away, yelping in fear as he jumped away from a man slumped on the floor.

Somehow, Shen Yuan didn't think high-pitched screaming would help his situation.

He surveyed the fight again, working up the courage to do something.

He could do it.

He was a head taller than everyone in the fight and had longer limbs to match.

All he had to do was wait…

And grab!

With a victim's shirt in his grasp, he yanked back, sending the man tumbling towards him. "Stop! You're taking this way too far!" he yelled at the man who was sitting dazed on the floor.

Shen Yuan turned back to the field.

Okay. This was a good strategy. 

He just needed to keep going. 

He went in for another, catching another by his arm.

The man spun around and socked him in the gut.

Shen Yuan wasn't unfamiliar with pain, but he followed gravity to Earth's sweet embrace. The man kicked his side for good measure, leaving him curled on the ground before returning to the fight.

So, not exactly the best strategy out there.

He grunted in pain, rising back up on shaky legs.

It didn't hurt. It didn't hurt. It really wasn't all that bad. He could keep going.

Airplane was still flitting about the fight, which seemed to his pain-addled mind to have… far fewer participants? 

Had the drunkards knocked some of their own out?

He breathed purposefully to clear his mind and tried again.

This time, he went for another - a taller, lanky beta, who was reeling from a shove.

Shen Yuan caught him, kicking himself for going for the arm yet again.

The man squirmed and lashed out predictably.

He intercepted the kick to his shin, snatching the offending limb, holding the beta up like sentient luggage.

"Just, stop! Please!" he said, shuffling with the man, who was trying to attack his pants.

He dropped him just in time to save his modesty and watched the man hurl from the sudden drop.

He thanked everything holy that none of it had gotten on his nice shoes.

The sound of a shrill whistle cut clearly through the air.

"Stop! Everyone not wanting to spend a few nights in jail, stand down, and put your hands in the air!" an amplified voice commanded the group.

Shen Yuan looked toward the voice.

Police.

He was relieved beyond words, but only for a moment.

A few in the group had sheepishly moved away, but there were a good half dozen still around, including the guy who gave him what Shen Yuan suspected was a bruise.

The officer charged in bravely, arms squared, taking a hit or two before handcuffing one of the men to a pole. The inebriated man confusedly looked at his arm and sat on the ground.

The sight spooked one, who fled in his direction. 

He took the chance.

Instead of a catch and release, he pulled the man into a tight hug.

"I got one, officer - Please, hurry!", he yelled.

In under a minute, the officer was there to help, taking the drunkard away with Airplane's assistance.

With all the troublemakers under some semblance of control, the officer surveyed the chaos.

"This again. Every time I'm on night duty - I swear these shitheads have a calendar somewhere.", the officer muttered under his breath.

"Thank you, officer. For stopping that." Shen Yuan spoke nervously. "I didn't know how bad it would get, so I'm glad you're here."

The officer, a uniformed, trim beta, sighed. "Well, that's how the job goes. I'll offer that same thanks back to you - appreciate the help, but you should be careful when jumping into a fight like that. You could get seriously hurt."

…it had been a half-baked plan, after all.

"Of course, officer! You are absolutely right. That was not worth a kick to the back.", Airplane announced, seemingly appearing from the ether. "But there are a lot of unconscious bodies here now. If you're looking for extra hands, we'd love to volunteer."

Shen Yuan tried his best to beam his thoughts into the author's head, hoping he'd either 

stop doing what the officer had explicitly asked them not to, or at least have the decency to fall unconscious.

"Hm, you have a point", the officer said. "Sure. Beats leaving you two behind to play hero again."

Chapter Text

It took a good hour to move everyone, especially since more than half made it their life's mission to not go quietly with the officer.

Eventually, well after midnight, they brought the last man in.

"I'm sorry about today, officer", Shen Yuan apologized. "It was, everything was so chaotic, and I don't know what got into them."

"Oh. This? This is normal. Nothing to worry about. This lot gets locked up every other day. If I didn't feel bad for their wives, I'd keep them in long enough to teach them a thing or two", the officer laughed, shutting the cell door.

"Normal...", Shen Yuan muttered incredulously. How was this normal? One man had a black eye, and he was fairly certain another had been force-fed mahjong tiles at some point in the scuffle.

"Haha, my friend here is something of a city boy. Not really that close to the real world", Airplane interjected jovially.

"Really? I couldn't tell", the officer playfully quipped, grinning widely. "No need to keep you folks here much longer. I just need your names - for the report, you see. Very straightforward."

"Of course! Su Quanhe, happy to help!" Airplane smiled. He turned over a piece of plastic in a smooth motion.

The officer took a look and nodded. "Oh. The visitors from the guesthouse. Auntie Shao was talking everyone's ears off about you yesterday. It's a shame your visit here has been so chaotic."

"Chaos is the spice of life", Airplane grinned, casually taking back the returned ID. "If anything, it makes the trip more memorable."

"That's a good attitude. Ever think about joining the force? You weren't half-bad at the tea house."

"I don't think I'm the right sort of person for such responsibility", Airplane chuckled. "My teachers always told me I was too much of a people-pleaser."

The officer shrugged.  "You're missing out", he turned to Shen Yuan, flashing a playful smile. "And you, city boy? Got an ID for us?"

Shen Yuan rifled quickly through his pockets and pulled out the ID he'd been given earlier. "O-of course, here you go!"

The officer took a look at it. As seconds ticked by, his smile faded.

"What did you say your name was again?" he said, holding the card to the light.

Oh god, what had his name been? Chen something, Chen... Chen...

"Chen An", he blurted out.

The officer hummed, looking at the ID closer. "Now tell me your real name."

"I-I'm sorry?"

"You should know, misrepresenting your identity to an officer is a crime.", the officer said, expression hardening. "If you don't want to make things worse for yourself and your friend, I suggest you hand over your real ID."

Shen Yuan stood stunned, eyes darting to Airplane for help. The beta looked aghast at the turn of events, somehow looking betrayed.

As though he hadn't been the one to hand him the fake ID in the first place.

Bitter, Shen Yuan meekly pulled out the ID from the inner recesses of his wallet with a soft apology.

"Hm. So you had another one besides the one you used at the guest house?"

Ah. 

He pulled out yet another crude ID from his pockets. The officer took one look at it and pocketed it in favor of his actual ID.

At least he didn't have to prove which of his IDs was real.

The officer had them follow him to the office. Shen Yuan bounced nervously on the balls of his feet, waiting for the verdict.

The officer powered on the old computer. The withered machine sputtered to life over the next few awkward, silent minutes.

The officer was clicking and typing away not long after. He pressed each key slowly and deliberately, occasionally cursing and making wide circles with the mouse. "Tch. Even at night? Stupid satellite connections", he grumbled.

Shen Yuan hoped the connection would keep failing. Maybe the officer might feel frustrated enough to let them go.

Unfortunately, whatever the officer was waiting for had finally loaded.

He peered at the screen, then at the screen. He looked over the monitor at his nervous fidgeting, then back at the screen again.

"Well, I'll be. That explains the quality of the fake", the officer muttered in disbelief. "You're really from the Shen family? That Shen family?"

"Y-yes."

"The KT conglomerate guys? That Shen family?"

"Yes."

"Truest friends~ forged by storms~"

"Yes", Shen Yuan stated emphatically, cutting off the embarrassing jingle. "That Shen family."

"I can't wait to tell the guys about this, what a shift!" The officer smiled widely, handing back the ID. "You're a lot more, uh, normal than I thought. What brings you to our little village? Did word get out about our famous rice wine?"

Shen Yuan fidgeted with the returned ID, thinking of something to say.

"T-there was... I heard there was a mysterious incident here. L-like, an occult phenomenon", he stuttered.

"Hah, chasing ghost stories? Not much going on here for that. Maybe a couple of accidents with the river, the occasional old geezer drinking himself to death", the officer smiled wryly. "Where'd you get the ID, though? That's some professional work."

"I...", Shen Yuan began, trailing off into paralyzed silence.

"Huh. Anything to do with your pal over here?" the officer asked, turning around to face the author.

The author, who was crouched on the ground by the shelf at the back, had one hand on one of the many folders stuffed on the rack. The beta let out a nervous chuckle.

"You. Get away from that, face the wall", the officer ordered.

"Wait, wait! Aren't we all friends here? I was just looking at how old these were to pass the time", the author said, swiping his hands across the lowest row as a demonstration.

"Wall. Now."

Shen Yuan watched helplessly as the beta was put in handcuffs.

"W-wait, officer. He's-"

"Mr. Shen, a fake ID is one thing. Tampering or stealing records is another matter entirely", the officer growled. "I should book the two of you for suspicious behavior. Let's see how your stories hold up in daylight."

"I didn't do anything!" Airplane yelped, trying to turn back while facing the wall. "The tapes! Check the cameras, I'm telling the truth!"

Shen Yuan glanced with barely disguised panic at the beta. The cameras? Had Airplane disabled them somehow?

Even if he had, wouldn't that make them more suspicious?

"Fine. Let's have a look together. Won't take long", the officer spat out, dragging Airplane to the table.

With a few clicks, the video began playing. The officer skipped until the moment they first entered the room.

There they were, Shen Yuan looking nervous, the officer struggling with the computer, and Airplane... wandering off? Looking bored?

He was at the shelf soon, tilting his head, then glancing back. Then with an outstretched finger, he touched the record.

He looked back again to see the others still occupied. He dragged his finger across the shelf, onto the next shelf, till the end of the row.

Then he went to the one below, then the next, and so on till he was practically crawling like an inchworm.

When the video concluded, Shen Yuan and the officer looked at the crazy beta.

What kind of idiot crawled on the floor of a police office to... touch classified materials? Was he some sort of pervert?

"See, I didn't do anything!" Airplane blubbered.

The officer peered at the beta, coming right up to the man.

Airplane looked ridiculous, cowering next to the uniformed officer who stood a few inches shorter than him. Shen Yuan hadn't realized how unusual he was for a beta, sporting a physique more typical of alphas or veterans.

The officer started patting him down, digging into pockets and folds in a manner uncomfortable to watch. Shen Yuan couldn't tear his eyes away, watching each item turn up in the search with horror.

What would be their undoing? That little glass bottle? A long set of ribbons? A blank notebook?

The things kept coming till they finally stopped.

Airplane was in tears.

The officer finally stepped back, huffing in annoyance. "If you're that interested in old things, go to the museum, freak."

"Sorry, he's just, uh, weird.", Shen Yuan offered, trying to find the self-assuredness his alpha forbearers seemed intent on withholding from him.

The officer glared at him.

Seconds passed.

The officer grunted, now looking less murderous, more annoyed.

"Mr. Shen. Collect his things and leave immediately. If I catch either of you causing trouble, I won't be so lenient next time."

He didn't need to be told twice.

Shen Yuan took everything in a bundle and rushed out of the station with a mumbled apology and a teary beta in tow.

Airplane got dressed, and they set off to the guesthouse.

"That went well", Airplane grinned, no signs of tears apart from the little drops of rapidly drying wetness on his shirt.

"Well?! What part of that was well? Are you stupid or something?!"

He couldn't help it.

All the tension from the night burst out at once as venom.

"Easy there. Everything went as planned - we have everything we need." Airplane said calmly. "Consider that some of my… magical bullshit. I just need some time to go through everything. We should have some solid leads by tomorrow."

"No. Explain. Now."

The author shrugged. "Like I said, magical bullshit. Not much else to say about that.

Shen Yuan glared. He put every ounce of his frustration into it, imposing some semblance of shame onto the author.

It didn't work.

The author just met his glare with nonchalance.

"...And the fake IDs?"

The fakes were now in police custody. Who knew what would befall them?

"Hah! Like they're going to investigate something so minor", Airplane laughed. "Even if they don't, they won't find much apart from hundreds of prints. They won't pin a thing on either of us."

That grin.

It was begging to be punched.

Shen Yuan took a swing.

Airplane reacted as though it was in slow motion, leaning slightly to the left. 

"Careful, you shouldn't really aim for the teeth. Hurts your fist", he said, as though he were some kind of damned instructor. "Try the gut instead. Bigger, softer target."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind next time.", Shen Yuan hissed, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Seriously, though, you did well back there. The occult thing was a nice touch. Vague, and completely believable. You really sold it.", Airplane commented. "Plus, it's nice to walk away with all my stuff for once - without even a fine or a medical bill. You really are made of luck, aren't you?"

The sudden praise came out of nowhere. 

At least, Shen Yuan thought it was praise.

"Thanks?" he said, not noticing his anger slip away into confusion.

The beta walked forward a little faster, then spun around. He skipped backwards, facing Shen Yuan with a cheeky smile. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's get some rest, shall we?"

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan finished his stretches, feeling his limbs lose their stiffness from the night. He still felt a twinge of pain from the prior night's kick, but it was hardly enough to stop him.

He mentally mapped out his running path - away from the village through the orchards on the outskirts, out by the river banks, before cresting back over the hill behind the guest house.

Airplane emerged from the guesthouse, dragging his feet and stifling a yawn. The bags beneath his eyes seemed darker than usual, giving the beta a listless look.

Shen Yuan frowned. "Are you sure you want to tag along today? I can go alone if you're not feeling it today."

Airplane blinked slowly. "Nah, I'm fine. I need to wake up anyway."

Shen Yuan was positive the man hadn't actually slept the previous night.

He didn't feel the need to press the issue, so he nodded. With a few light hops, he started on a light jog. Airplane skipped warm-ups like usual, keeping place despite drooping eyelids.

He ran down winding paths through the trees. Airplane ran at a leisurely pace, preferring to leap over fences and across irrigation pipes instead of following the clean, winding footpath.

As long as the author kept up, he wasn't complaining.

They followed the path Shen Yuan had mentally mapped out somewhat loosely, running past the river, across locals heading off to the fields, and up the hill that was just warming with the morning sun.

Shen Yuan stopped to take in the view. 

The grassy hilltop dotted with the occasional tree, with the roaring river still visible in the distance, was reminiscent of the lake by the campus, where he first began training in earnest. 

The air was cleaner here, cool enough for misty breath. It felt amazing against his skin flushed with exertion.

Airplane stopped by him, barely showing any sign of the run. He plopped down on the grass with a yawn.

"You'd wake up faster if you stopped heating yourself up", Shen Yuan pointed out. 

Airplane cracked open an eye.

"Bro, I'm suffering already. Just let me have this", he whined.

Shen Yuan looked with disgust at the pathetic beta who was trying to sink into the grass. He sighed, then joined him on the grass.

He could feel the heat wafting off the author even with the short distance between them. He wondered if the grass would spot an Airplane-shaped hole by the time they left.

"So did you do it? Work your 'magical bullshit'?", he asked.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, somewhat. There's more than I thought", the author said, yawning again.

"That's why you shouldn't take on everything by yourself. Jiu-ge already said I could help, why do you keep being so weird about this?"

Airplane looked off into the distance, dazed.

...Was he sleeping with his eyes open?

"Hey, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Almost done, there's more than I thought."

He was. He definitely was.

Shen Yuan stood up, lightly kicking the beta. "If you're going to sleep anyway, do that in an actual bed. I'm paying for the guesthouse for a reason."

Airplane whined, but slowly rolled upright. "Bro, I'm not sleepy. Just tired", he explained.

He stood up with a groan, waiting expectantly for Shen Yuan to lead the way.

The way the morning light illuminated the man, he had none of the elegant grace Jiu-ge possessed. Instead, the beta looked the picture of freedom, unbothered by the world and its expectations - like the concept of worry was beyond him.

Maybe he had more similarities with Jiu-ge than was obvious.

"Before we head back, can we spar?"

The question surprised them both - especially Shen Yuan, as it left his mouth.

"Do you even know how to fight, bro? Pretty sure you ate dirt more than a few times last night."

"All the more reason for practice", Shen Yuan pressed, eyes narrowed.

Airplane considered the request. "Alright, as long as I'm not covering your medical bill."

Shen Yuan took his position, controlling his breathing as he lowered his position.

"Any handicaps?" asked the author.

"It's just a spar. Nothing excessive."

"No broken bones or stitches. Got it.", the author nodded, bouncing on his feet.

Shen Yuan moved as usual, keeping light on his feet.

Airplane, on the other hand, was practically floating.

He moved in a wide circle, trying to find an opportunity to approach. Unlike Jiu-ge, who stood still for their spars, Airplane moved in time with him.

He attempted an approach, only to be met with a kick. Jumping back to dodge barely saved his nose.

"Nice one! I thought I had you there", the beta smirked.

So direct approaches were out. Maybe he could bait Airplane?

He moved in again, this time tensing his core.

Move in, lower yourself for the first strike, side step to dodge, and-

There!

Airplane had moved in for a follow-up, stepping forward, and Shen Yuan went in for a strike.

A quick fist forward that met nothing solid. Before he could disengage, he felt a light tap on the shoulder.

Airplane had twirled aside in time, humming a cheery tune to himself. 

It was like he was playing.

Maybe he was, considering the skill gap quickly becoming apparent to Shen Yuan.

"Bro, don't tell me you've never thrown a punch before. What was that supposed to be, a nudge?" Airplane called out with a grin.

"Why not let it hit you then? Afraid of a nudge?" He shot back.

"Maybe I'll consider letting you get one in once you aren't so embarrassing to watch", the author remarked.

He breathed calmly, attempting to wrangle his mind into order. Even with all that bouncing around, he had no hope of outlasting the beta.

Direct attacks didn't work, and neither did faints.

Maybe there was something he could try.

He stepped back yet again, trying to circle the author. 

His approach was once again met with a kick, but he suppressed his instincts to retreat. 

Just dip down like the beta and-

"Shit!", he heard Airplane exclaim. "Are you okay?"

He sat up, feeling slightly disoriented.

"What happened?" he asked, still feeling a bit dazed. It was hard to hold onto things.

"Why don't you tell me? What made you think it was a good idea to parry a kick with your head?" The author fumed. "Shit, if I hadn't pulled back-"

Ah.

They were sparring. 

"I… lost", he observed calmly.

"Is that really all you have to say?"

He watched docilely as Airplane pressed a finger against his neck. He felt a mild shiver as a surge of warmth was quickly replaced by goosebumps. 

"At least you don't have any real damage", he sighed. Shen Yuan stared up at the beta.

"Alright. No more training for anyone today", declared the author, hauling Shen Yuan to his feet. "I'm at least not sleepy anymore - I'll concede that much."

Chapter Text

For the rest of the morning, Airplane hovered in the vicinity. Shen Yuan wasn't sure if the author was convinced he'd drop dead the second he looked away, or if he was just worried about what Jiu-ge might do if he found out.

For his part, he drifted through his thoughts, trying to get them to cooperate.

Thankfully, breakfast was enough to bring clarity back to his mind. 

That clarity hurt more than usual as he watched Airplane fiddle with his phone. 

He knew giving up his phone wasn't much of a sacrifice. He'd had it for 3 years - long overdue for an update. Everything was backed up, and his SIM rested safely in his pocket.

That didn't stop him from feeling like he was watching the slow, methodical torture of a close friend.

"Alright, done. Give it a spin", the author said, casually tossing him the phone. Shen Yuan caught the device, noting its changes.

Tiny scratches around its edges were the only sign of tampering. The screen lit up to a completely unfamiliar display of plain text.

Each line was a series of numbers, all ten digits long.

He tapped one open, seeing details of some petty noise complaint.

"What the hell, did you do this yesterday?"

"Minor details", said the author, flippantly waving off his concerns. "What is important is getting through these. Just go through these, strike off anything that isn't relevant."

Shen Yuan took the pad and pen pushed toward him.

The page was filled with 10 number sequences from top to bottom - each one a case number.

"Isn't there an easier way to do this? Don't tell me your system can't even filter by contents."

"Does it matter?" The author rebutted, "We can probably go through it in the time it takes to get it to reliably read files anyway. It's just a few hundred entries we need to check."

Shen Yuan flipped through the noise complaint report on his phone. 

"So, each report, at least around 3 pages long, and with about 400 records each to go after, and an ambitious 2 minutes to scan each page - about 2400 minutes for each of us", Shen Yuan calculated. "So, about 4800 overall - over 3 days even if you worked all day every day, more like a week if you didn't."

Shen Yuan stared down the beta, open judgment in his gaze. The author looked like he'd bitten something sour.

"Fine, fine. Let's do it the hard way, then", Airplane grumbled in defeat.

It took till late in the evening to get anything worth using out of the system.

Shen Yuan hadn't been able to do much apart from test out each of Airplane's attempts, but their efforts finally paid off.

With their latest attempt, the number of files to review shrank down to 4.

Shen Yuan looked through one - a medical report.

A report detailing an unidentified male omega brought in by bystanders from Du'an mine.

He wasn't sure what ocular enucleation was, but considering the state of Jiu-ge's right eye, he could make an educated guess.

That was all he needed.

He could stop, present his discovery. Their next target was the Du'an mines.

But there was more. 

There was so much more, and he wanted to know.

Perhaps it was morbid curiosity, but he didn't want to be in the dark.

It went on, detailing numbers and acronyms he couldn't understand fully. His attention gravitated to the parts he could make something of.

Lacerations, puncture wounds, a fever that wouldn't break for days. Ligature marks on his limbs. Starved till he was little more than a wisp, barely clinging to life. 

Each page he scrolled past added gruesome detail to Jiu-ge's condition. It had all been fun to see on the pages of a novel - righteous retribution for a villain. He was among the voices cheering for Jiu-ge's suffering not long ago, calling for blood.

What lingered the longest was the simplest of details.

6 months. No - closer to 7.

Jiu-ge had been on his own, surviving unaided before Shen Yuan even became aware of his existence.

His throat felt tight. 

Maybe there was still some heavenly force looking out for the omega. The hospital hadn't judged him for his unknown background. They had performed their duty with unshakable conviction despite their limited resources.

Shen Yuan noted the diagnosis and treatment notes. 

Meticulous care for his wounds, investigation and treatment of an infection of some sort that finally lifted his fever (what was a motile protozoan? Could the pathology report mentioned within shed light on Jiu-ge's condition?), IVs, and constant monitoring just to keep him alive - all far more than he could ever have done.

He thought back to the village hospital.

It was such an unremarkable building, not even close to the one on campus, let alone Jishui General.

But they'd been the ones to care for him - about 5 days in the ICU and nearly 2 days out of it. They'd looked for him when he left.

They had been there to help before Shen Yuan was even in the picture.

Shen Yuan stared at the words till even the ones that made sense initially looked like squiggles on his screen.

Was it any wonder that he'd been so slow to accept Shen Yuan's meagre offers to help? After all he'd suffered through, weren't such efforts laughable at best?

"Jackpot!" Airplane exclaimed. "Check this out, an investigation into an omega X."

"Oh", he said, trying to sound normal. "That's good."

The beta looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Bro, how are you this disinterested after all that? You made me do work, you know."

"I'm interested. Just tired. What did you find?"

Airplane watched him for a second or two. "...They found him nearby in an abandoned mine. Pretty far in. No clue how long he was there, it could have been a few weeks before the locals found him."

"...Yeah, that lines up with what I found", he offered. There wasn't any need to bring up the past. It felt personal, an account of Jiu-ge's remarkable perseverance.

Airplane's smile faded, disappointed by Shen Yuan's anemic reaction. "...I guess I'll let Boss Shen know. We can prep and set out for the mines tonight."

Shen Yuan nodded, clutching his repurposed phone in a tense grip.

They had too much to do to linger in the past.

Chapter Text

The rough gloves felt itchy against his palm. Old, worn straps still closed snugly, dutifully holding the coarse cloth to his wrist.

He fiddled with the old flashlight Airplane had procured from somewhere around the mine, feeling the warm air from his breath on his face under the simple bandana.

Jiu-ge looked tense in his usual white shirt, long hair up in the tight ponytail Shen Yuan had seen only a few times. His arms were crossed, fists tightening ever so slightly under the ugly black gloves. 

They stood together under the moonlight by the mine entrance, waiting for the last member of their party.

The nighttime chill had just started to seep through his layers when the beta finally showed up.

Humming a lilting tune, Airplane trotted down the slope to the entrance, dressed in a ridiculous oversized puffy jacket. Catching Shen Yuan's gaze, he gave a lazy wave and hopped the last few meters down the slope.

"Special delivery!" The author announced, tossing a small pack at them both.

Shen Yuan caught the paper lump easily, unfurling it. Inside was a pair of batteries - a little rusty, but hopefully functional.

He unscrewed the flashlight, sliding the newly procured batteries into its cavity. 

"What's with the jacket?" he asked.

The beta twirled playfully. "You like it? I think it brings out my eyes."

Shen Yuan snorted a puff of air. "You look ridiculous. Why do you even need one? Isn't heat your whole thing?"

"Maybe. But being alive is also very much my thing", the author deadpanned. "Defunct or not, we are still going into a coal mine."

"I couldn't tell. Are your fingers exempt from the 'being alive' thing?" he asked, screwing the flashlight back on.

"Oh, these?" Airplane began, raising a hand to show the back of his hand. "It'd be a shame to hide these puppies after all the work I put into them."

The fingerless gloves themselves looked unremarkable. There didn't seem to be any special arrays or anything noteworthy on it.

"Is it for some sort of touch-based thing?" Shen Yuan asked.

"Not quite. See these? They're our canaries", Airplane continued, wiggling his fingers, "Keep an eye on them. If blue you see~ it's time to leave~"

Cryptic as usual.

If he pressed for an explanation, Shen Yuan was sure he wouldn't get much more than 'magical bullshit'.

"That doesn't even rhyme", he pointed out.

Airplane tilted his head, then stepped closer.

"Do you want to see an even neater trick?" he whispered.

The beta raised his hands to Shen Yuan, then closed his fingers theatrically till just the two middle ones remained.

Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at the gesture, experimentally flicking the flashlight off and on. The beam was a little weak, but bright enough to see.

Good, everything was working as expected.

He turned it on one last time, nodding to the other two.

Jiu-ge, who had been apathetically tolerating their nonsense, nodded back, turning on his own flashlight, with Airplane following suit.

None of them knew the layout of the mine, so they would need to go step by step.

"From what I gathered, the last inspection was about 2 weeks ago. The mine isn't due for another one for at least another month still. We have plenty of time", Airplane stated, "But that also means we need to make sure nothing goes wrong, or that at least one of us makes it to the surface to get help."

At that, Shen Yuan noticed two pairs of eyes fixed on him.

"...I can always come back if things look bad", Shen Yuan said. His fists clenched in a defensive impulse. "I'll be more useful as an extra pair of eyes anyway."

With that, they began their descent in relative silence.

Airplane occasionally offered tidbits about the mine's history that he'd gleaned from the village to punctuate the silence.

As much as he wanted to deny it, he had to admit that it helped as they descended down narrow pathways and forking paths.

"Hm... if they turn blue... then leaving is what you do?" Airplane muttered, workshopping the mnemonic to his trick. 

"Remarkable. An inferior rendition to already uninspired drivel", Jiu-ge commented dryly.

Shen Yuan let out a surprised puff of laughter, nearly biting his tongue as he stepped into another patch of mud.

He pulled his shoe out of the muddy earth, bracing against a wooden support beam. 

Meeting something squishy, he reflexively drew his arm back, shining torchlight onto the repulsive surface.

"There's mold here", he observed with disgust, seeing the black growth on the support beam.

Airplane looked over, scrunching his nose.

"Gross", he shuddered, "Here I was, thinking that was just the coal."

"So rumors of embezzlement have some merit", observed Jiu-ge, "Proceed with caution - watch for unstable scaffolding."

Yet another thing to track in an already nerve-wracking descent.

Walking further through the narrowing passageways, they finally got to a steep drop.

Shen Yuan peered into the darkness.

Was this it? About 15 minutes of walking to a dead drop?

"Hey, over here", Airplane called out. Despite practically whispering, his voice reverberated through the cave.

Shen Yuan joined the beta to see what he was so excited about. As he approached, he saw the wooden bracing on the walls and a thick, brown, metallic rope descending into the darkness.

Following the rope to the top, he saw it run through a series of wheels before disappearing elsewhere.

"An elevator?" he observed quizzically.

Airplane nodded. "Hopefully, the one that the inspectors use to get around. Now get over here and help me out."

Near the elevator was a crank mounted on the wall. Rope looped around the gear, ascending back into the dark ceiling above.

"It's manual?" he asked, dreading the response.

"Looks like it", Airplane shrugged, nudging the crank experimentally. "Pretty tight too."

The author withdrew his hand, grimacing at the grime on his fingers. He wiped the dust off as well as he could.

"Wait. Your nails!" Shen Yuan exclaimed.

There was a smattering of pale blue that was distinct even under the weak lighting.

"Oh. That?" Airplane noted, cleaning his hand better against his jacket, "False positive - it does that sometimes. Still worth keeping an eye on it, especially when you can't tell what it's reacting to. Good job noticing."

Shen Yuan nodded, piecing together information.

So it was some sort of chemical detector.

He turned his attention back to the crank.

"So, we'll need to operate the elevator from here?" he voiced his suspicions with dread.

If one of them would have to stay behind, the choice was obvious.

Jiu-ge was the strongest of them, the wisest, and the one whom their search was about. He was definitely a part of the expedition into the depths.

Airplane, for all his annoying tendencies, was competent and far more aware of the arcane than he was. Whatever they were looking for, he would have valuable insight.

That left the leftover - the tagalong.

It made sense.

He still didn't want to be left behind, waiting anxiously in the darkness.

"So quick to conclusions", commented Jiu-ge from within the elevator. Shen Yuan followed, trying to find something out of place.

Inside the car, there were simple buttons and an accordion door. The simple metal cage clanked as he stepped on, shaking slightly as the rope above shivered.

The pulley wheel fixed to the ceiling didn't look strange either - at least no stranger than what the rest of the setup seemed to someone who hadn't ever stepped foot inside a mine before.

"Is something broken?" he guessed nervously.

Jiu-ge glanced at him, unimpressed. 

"The control panel - it exists inside the elevator", he pointed out, "It must normally run on auxiliary power."

Shen Yuan's eyes widened in understanding, amazed at Jiu-ge's intelligence and ashamed at his lack of perceptiveness.

Shen Yuan poked a button, feeling the worn surface. "It's not working. Do we need to turn something on?"

"The place is supposed to be shut down. It's not surprising that they turned off the power systems", Airplane reasoned, "We don't know what state it could be in. The crank is simpler - safer."

Shen Yuan stepped out and spotted the author planted firmly next to the rusty crank.

"I think we should at least try to get it online", he insisted to the author, "That crank doesn't look like it's seen use in decades - I doubt anything the inspectors use even semi-regularly would be in such bad shape."

Airplane paused, seemingly taken aback by what seemed like basic reasoning to Shen Yuan. He thought for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"Sure, but what if... the reason the mine closed has something to do with electrical wiring?" the beta speculated, "It is a coal mine. A single spark could be devastating."

Jiu-ge stepped out of the car smoothly. 

"If it were, the crank would not be in such disrepair", the omega sharply interjected. "Stop wasting time."

Airplane cowed under the taller man's glare.

The author always seemed far too nervous around Jiu-ge.

Shen Yuan didn't bother encouraging the theatrics.

After some backtracking, they found a box mounted to the wall marked with all kinds of warnings. Airplane walked up and carefully opened it to find rows of tiny switches flipped in different directions.

"Is that...?" Shen Yuan began, struggling to find the word for the contraption. He'd seen it once in one of his family's hotels when he went exploring as a little child.

"A breaker box", Airplane said, completing his words, "Good thing the miners left notes."

Shen Yuan peered into the box under the weak lighting and saw little pictographs next to certain switches.

Some had big X's above them, others had arrows, a shovel, and a square box.

"This is probably the one", Airplane said, pointing to one with a tiny piece of paper taped above it.

It had two lines of scribbled text on it - one in black under the yellowing tape, the other in blue.

"What are those for?" Shen Yuan wondered aloud.

"One matches the path we took for the elevator: Left, Center, Center, Left", Airplane pointed out, "The other is either a different elevator, a control room, or even just directions to a backup generator."

"It is untouched by the mold - likely placed after the mine's closure", Jiu-ge deduced, "Instructions by recent visitors, no doubt."

A sharp observation, very much like Jiu-ge.

An accurate one, too, as they soon found out.

Finding the breaker box unresponsive, they followed the simple directions to the other target, finding a locked room - a control room. With some fiddling, Airplane had the padlock open.

Inside was a simple wood floor with a chair, table, and a number of electrical components. To one side was a dusty red generator - old, but untouched by rust or noticeable wear.

This was their target.

Airplane pulled a plastic jug from under the table and opened it for a sniff.

"Yep, that's diesel. This should easily give us a few hours", he noted.

After refueling the generator, they were back at the elevator after a brief stop at the now-functioning breaker box. His flashlight flickered dangerously for a few seconds along the way, but managed to stay alive after a few forceful taps.

They boarded the elevator and were on their way with the push of a button.

Inching slowly down the shaft on the creaking elevator, Shen Yuan couldn't help but nervously go over all those discussions on how to survive a sudden drop - was he supposed to jump at the end? Lay flat?

He joined online speculation gleefully at the time, but feeling his life at the mercy of rusted chains, he tightened his grip on the flashlight. As though responding to his nerves, it flicked off yet again.

He hit it a couple more times, trying to get it working.

"Here, switch with me", Airplane said, tossing him another flashlight. Shen Yuan traded his with the author, who tapped it a few times for a flickering beam.

"I told you we should have brought our phones", Shen Yuan complained.

"And risk losing them down here? No way", Airplane said, rejecting the suggestion with absolutely no hesitation.

He went back to humming.

"Ah, if it's blue~ it's time to skidoo~!", he said, tapping the flashlight in sudden enlightenment.

The flashlight responded to the author's attempt by turning off again.

Shen Yuan laughed despite the atmosphere. "That's the first time I've seen an inanimate object boo something."

He wasn't sure if he saw Jiu-ge briefly crack a smile, or if it was a trick of the light.

The author tapped the flashlight aggressively, getting it to cooperate again.

When the elevator lurched to a halt at the bottom, they pushed aside the gate to step into tunnels shrouded in complete darkness - the kind that was somehow darker than the night sky, darker than what Shen Yuan thought was even possible.

Even their flashlights couldn't light everything, struggling to illuminate low ceilings braced by sagging wood and old, brittle wires running along the walls, connecting light bulbs and occasionally patched with tape.

Of course - lights. It was obvious that there would be something like that within the mines.

How unfortunate that they were minutes away from the breaker box.

They continued down the narrow tunnels, so low that he and Jiu-ge needed to duck through several sections. The passages seemed to be made for betas. Airplane navigated without much of an issue.

"Your nails, they're turning again", Shen Yuan pointed out. The pale blue was barely perceptible, but distinct enough to alpha senses.

Airplane checked his hands on hearing Shen Yuan.

"Huh, so they are", he commented, "Not too bad though - probably just the coal dust. It clocks all kinds of mundane things. Watch for brighter blues - that's when it gets dangerous."

First rust, now dust? What was it going to react to next, salt?

They followed the path till they ran into something unexpected - bright yellow caution tape.

Airplane carefully stepped over the barrier, with the other two ducking uncomfortably to follow.

"Boss Shen, why don't you take a look around - see if anything looks familiar?", Airplane suggested.

"Indeed, let me draw upon memories of unconsciousness for reference", Jiu-ge deadpanned.

Shen Yuan grinned in the darkness. He hoped to see more of this new side of the omega even after their expedition concluded. It was unrestrained - so unlike the usual grace he carried himself with, yet refreshing all the same.

"Well, this has to be the place", Airplane said, defending his suggestion, "Not much reason to wall it off like a crime scene otherwise."

"Let's take a look then, there might be something here", Shen Yuan offered.

"Sounds good", Airplane agreed, "Hopefully there's something the police haven't already locked up with evidence."

"Look for traces of qi", Jiu-ge ordered Airplane, "Even a half-year-old array leaves traces behind if not dismantled properly. Even then, the earth remembers traces of the practitioner."

Shen Yuan watched the exchange, feeling useless. That was one matter he couldn't help with at all.

He could still look for other things out of the ordinary - perhaps a rune or an artifact left behind. 

They got to work, with Airplane and Jiu-ge closely inspecting the walls as Shen Yuan looked around for anything unusual.

A few minutes of searching later, Shen Yuan spotted a glint in the dirt. He approached for a closer look, finding what appeared to be glass.

He picked it up for a closer look, only to be surprised by a clear reflection - as though it transitioned from glass to mirror on meeting his reflection. 

Shen Yuan turned around, wanting to present the trinket, but the others were deep in their work.

No sense making a fuss about such a minor discovery.

He pocketed the shard, continuing his search.

Then he found another.

And another. 

And several more pieces, some of which even fit together.

Something broken? 

He put everything into the small pouch he'd brought along, hoping to reassemble the artifact once they were back at the guesthouse.

The shards got harder and harder to find with each one, and by the time he found about a dozen, he couldn't locate any more, no matter how closely he looked.

He pulled out one from his pouch for closer inspection, bringing it close to the torchlight.

There was something distinctly metallic about it - firm, not brittle in the slightest. 

An experimental poke left him hissing in pain, withdrawing to find a fine line, somehow cutting through the rough material of the glove to reach his finger.

Before he could react, Jiu-ge forcefully snatched the shard.

"Where did you find that?!"

Chapter Text

Jiu-ge closed his palm around the shard, clutching onto it tightly. Through his fingers, it glowed with a bright light, illuminating the tunnel.

"Careful, Jiu-ge! It's sharp!" Shen Yuan cried in warning. 

Jiu-ge didn't seem to care, holding onto the metal like a lifeline. 

Shen Yuan frowned.

It was like he was trapped in his own world, much like the aftermath of their failed attempts at fixing Jiu-ge's meridians.

"Jiu-ge, can you hear me?" Shen Yuan asked cautiously. He wasn't confident about landing a grip on Jiu-ge if his condition was too far gone - not with the uneven footing and restricting walls.

"Where did you find him?" Jiu-ge asked, ignoring Shen Yuan's question.

"They were just lying around", he offered, voice shaking in irrational fear, "I found more. They're in my pouch."

"More", Jiu-ge parroted, sounding hollow. He chuckled softly, voice lacking mirth. "In your pouch."

Hearing the unnerving noise, Shen Yuan reflexively stepped back, catching himself only after the movement.

He cursed at his own cowardice. 

This was Jiu-ge - how could he react so irrationally towards him?

Airplane cursed off to the side.

"Shit! Bro, we need to leave before he deviates all over the place", Airplane nervously said, "I'm not about to see if I can bench press a couple of tons."

"I can hear you, rat", Jiu-ge sharply commented. "I am fine - this is hardly a qi deviation."

"Then can you stop your subterranean reforestation?" Airplane snapped, pointing to the walls.

The wood supports were indeed reacting, sprouting roots that spread across and into the walls.

"Jiu-ge-"

"I... will control myself", Jiu-ge said, noticing the walls for the first time.

The roots stubbornly continued their growth.

"Not worth it. Let's get out and cool off", Airplane retorted, "If we leave while things are intact, we can always come back. That's not going to happen if everything collapses first."

Jiu-ge remained frozen.

"Jiu-ge, he's right", Shen Yuan gently prodded, "I have the remaining shards anyway. I... have him with me."

Jiu-ge nodded hesitantly.

They ran through the mine, tearing through the tape and rushing through narrowing tunnels, following the beta's lead.

Thankfully, the author seemed to know exactly what route to take in the darkness, as though he had a map in his head.

They were soon at the elevator, creaking up while watching the wood around them sprout new roots.

He had to calm the omega down somehow.

He drew from his instincts as an alpha, lacing his voice with a certainty he didn't feel.

"Jiu-ge, it's going to be ok. I have him with me", Shen Yuan reassured. 

He reached for his pouch and found nothing.

Feeling a growing dread, he checked his waist.

Gone.

Jiu-ge followed his movement, noticing the missing pouch. 

"Where is he?" Jiu-ge demanded, voice dropping low, dangerous. He moved closer, eyes dark and unreadable as he looked down on Shen Yuan.

"I-I think, I dropped the pouch-"

"What have you done, fool?!"

The venom in Jiu-ge's voice was unbearable.

But it was deserved.

This was his fault. Everything was his fault.

What could he do but face his comeuppance?

Jiu-ge moved toward the gate, only to be intercepted by Airplane.

"Calm down. This isn't helping anyone", the beta said, somehow unwavering before Jiu-ge's intensity, "Let's all get out first, then make plans from there."

Jiu-ge tensed, looming threateningly over the shorter man.

"If you think I will abandon him-"

"I'm not asking you to", Airplane interjected. "You're clearly unstable. Just - go out for now. Leave the pouch to me."

Jiu-ge froze at the suggestion.

Airplane lowered his guard slightly, turning to Shen Yuan.

"Once you're out, stay clear of the mine, but wait for me by the entrance", the beta ordered.

The author drew back the moving elevator's gate, then, after a beat, stepped off into the darkness below through the narrow gap.

For the rest of the ride, Shen Yuan anxiously watched the wood beyond the open gate sprout, unwilling to meet Jiu-ge's eyes. The omega's earthy scent was nearly overpowering - it took everything to stop from throwing himself at his companion's feet, begging for acceptance. 

Once at the surface, Shen Yuan navigated them to the entrance. Wood warped and mold bloomed in their wake, leaving clouds of black spores.

Finally, they stepped out into open ground, away from low ceilings and stale air.

Jiu-ge walked out slowly, each step a heavy ordeal. He sat down on a nearby rock with closed eyes, breathing deep, steady breaths.

He trusted Airplane.

And Shen Yuan did too.

They waited together under the cold moonlight, minutes dragging out the painful silence.

Each second he watched the dark entrance, he felt his breath speed up.

It was unbearable, being next to Jiu-ge.

Jiu-ge, who was trying to calm himself after Shen Yuan's blunder, who hadn't called on him to stabilize his uncontrolled qi.

Shen Yuan paced nervously around the entrance, hoping he'd see some sign of the author's return.

What if something had gone wrong?

Between the mold clouds, the warped wood, the weak lighting -

- the flashlight.

Airplane had traded for his malfunctioning flashlight.

What if it stopped working? Was the author stumbling around in darkness?

And the elevator, he hadn't sent it to the bottom. He hadn't thought to do so, too preoccupied with his pity party.

"I'll just, see if he's coming", Shen Yuan mumbled, looking to Jiu-ge for permission.

Seeing the omega's lack of reaction, Shen Yuan reentered the mine.

He ran through the tunnels, retracing their path through the mud and mold clouds, only to pause on seeing a familiar breaker box.

He walked up to it, opening the creaking hinges carefully. Inside were the switches he'd seen barely an hour before.

One of these had to be for the lights. 

That would solve at least one of their problems, ensuring the beta wouldn't have to search blindly in the dark.

He looked over each switch, trying to decipher the pictographic markings on each one. Apart from the one switch they'd flipped for the elevator, he had no clues to their function apart from faded scribbles from long ago.

Which was the right one? Maybe the one with two arrows pointing below? Maybe the one with a circle with a strike over it?

The ones crossed out were probably unsafe, but the rest were indecipherable.

So he reached out and flipped one.

And waited.

There was no hum or sudden flush of light - nothing to indicate he'd done anything at all.

Maybe not that one then?

He flipped another and got no response. 

So he flipped another.

Then another.

Each one flipped faster than the last; each one did nothing at all.

Until they did.

On flipping another one - a switch whose markings had completely faded - he finally heard something.

A loud thud in the distance.

His heart dropped.

He flipped off the switch immediately and ran to the elevator. As he drew closer, he picked up the unmistakable, acrid smell of burning from deep within the tunnels.

He hoped it was from somewhere else in the mine, perhaps down another tunnel - anywhere as long as it was not from the elevator shaft.

He skidded to a halt, bracing himself on a dirty wall. Thick smoke stung his eyes, emerging from the dead drop ahead. The rusty rope dangled above, swaying softly.

The elevator was gone.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan inched forward on unsteady legs, toward the gnarled wood on the far side of the drop. He knelt to the ground, peering over the edge.

There was no sign of any lights below or even a glint of metal. The dark shaft continued on with shoots of brown growing off the bracing wood.

The flashlight wasn't powerful enough to light very far.

A few grains of sand dropped from the edge as he leaned forward, disappearing into the drop without a sound.

He gripped the edge tightly, scanning the darkness over and over.

This couldn't be real. It couldn't happen, not the beta. That irresponsible, flippant man shouldn't be the sort to...

No, it wasn't possible.

He had to be down there. 

He could envision the man cursing his luck, pulling out some gadget or trick to save himself. He'd come out with a snappy quip, and Shen Yuan would never, ever snark at him again.

Or maybe he was already out. Maybe they'd missed each other somehow, and he was waiting outside. He might tease him for messing up again. He might.

Shen Yuan didn't move.

What if...

What if he was down there, though? 

What if he was hurt, or unconscious - waiting for rescue? If he were pinned by the earth, what then?

Was that possible? It couldn't, right? Not to Airplane.

He inched forward, getting a face full of smoke. Through teary eyes, he noticed the scaffolding extending into the darkness.

If he were stuck, wouldn't a rescue be possible? Shen Yuan counted the wooden beams stretching into the darkness.

If he climbed down, he could reach the beta. The smoke was thick, but maybe he could make it.

But what if he made things worse again?

Shouldn't he go out, beg Jiu-ge for help? Bring the villagers, or anyone who could help?

Feeling the smoke in his lungs, he coughed.

He tried to keep watch, but kept coughing harder and harder.

The smoke wasn't leaving him.

He shrank back, rubbing his eyes with the rough gloves and trying to clear his lungs.

He couldn't stop wheezing. Couldn't get closer.

He couldn't do anything.

There was nothing here but a flickering flashlight, plumes of smoke, and the sound of his strained breathing.

Shen Yuan staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall. He kept watching the elevator shaft, knowing he should leave.

Then, he heard coughing.

Distant, not just an echo.

Could it be?

He went closer, as close as the smoke would allow, looking as long as he could.

There was another.

It had to be him.

Airplane was alive.

"Here! This way!" he called out hoarsely.

The sound was approaching, getting closer, louder.

Then, in the darkness, he saw sparks of blue rapidly approaching.

Within a few seconds, he saw the beta bounding up the walls with ease, hopping from wall to wall.

Shen Yuan scrambled back to give Airplane room to land.

The bastard touched down with one arm in the air like he was a superhero.

He might as well be.

"I didn't ask for a welcome crew-", Airplane wheezed, only to be cut off by a tight hug.

"Whoa, whoa - don't start crying on me", the author said, flinching in the embrace, "I'm not dead yet, and I intend to keep it that way."

He wiggled out of the hug, pulling Shen Yuan to his feet.

Tiny bubbles of blue light popped around him like fireflies blinking in and out of existence.

"Come on, let's get out of here before we get arrested."

He didn't say anything, happy to follow the beta wherever he led. 

Airplane knew what he was doing. He always did.

When they emerged, Jiu-ge was there, still seated on the rock.

In the moonlight, he could see the author wasn't as unscathed as he pretended.

The smell of smoke clung to him, possibly from his singed, nearly destroyed shirt. The skin underneath was angry red, looking more like angry sunburn than a serious wound.

He spotted cuts and bruises all over, weeping blood onto his already damaged clothing.

Yet the man merely looked annoyed, like he had been sent on a tedious errand.

"Hey, I got your sect leader", Airplane said, tossing over a singed bag to Jiu-ge, "We should leave, now. Won't take long before they notice the burning."

Jiu-ge caught the pouch wordlessly. He brought it close, clutching it tight, then nodded. He silently walked back to the guest house.

Plant life no longer followed his steps, and his earthy scent had grown subdued. Airplane looked back at the mine once, then jogged to keep up with the omega's long stride.

Shen Yuan trailed behind, resolving to at least ensure the beta wouldn't drop dead.

They'd leave this town, but once they got far enough, he'd force him into the first hospital he saw.

Chapter Text

Within the walls of the small apartment, two men sat at the small kitchen table. One, a poised figure with an omega choker held lightly onto the other's wrist.

The second man, with messy, mousy hair, focused on a tiny speck of light at the tip of his finger, no greater than a grain of sand.

The little light that was once a fruitfly shivered under the mousy-haired man's control. Bands of energy, the lifebreath of the universe itself, gathered around its being. Each wave felt comforting and overwhelming, drawing it closer to something greater than itself.

The little soul absorbed more and more of the energy supplied to it, webbing a cocoon around itself to contain its increasing strength. It grew more, understood more. Perhaps it knew more than any fruitfly - no, more than any insect ever had.

In the depths of its elation, it failed to notice the state of its being.

With a spectacular flash, the little soul disintegrated in a violent display.

Sun Qinhui watched the event with a grimace, apologizing to the poor soul as he absorbed the backlash. He redirected the excess energy away from him, careful to not accumulate any within his own soul.

Shen Qingqiu observed with open fascination, eyes sparkling with interest on seeing the bubbles of blue energy popping near the beta's skin, each leaving an angry red mark in its wake.

"That's what happens", Qinhui explained, "It's why your array was bound to fail."

Shen Qingqiu hummed in acknowledgement,  sending a wave of qi pulsing through him. Qinhui gritted his teeth at the invasion, fighting the urge to pull away his wrist.

"So you are unable to progress as well", Shen Qingqiu stated, sounding pleased. "How... unfortunate."

No shit, Sherlock.

Qinhui was sure the omega would be smiling widely if he could hide his expression.

"Well, yeah. That's just how the world works", Qinhui commented.

"Indeed." Shen Qingqiu drew back his hand, eyes glittering with amusement. "A pity how such talent can be wasted under the wrong circumstances."

Petty bastard.

"This is where I've made my home", he coolly responded, "I have no regrets about my fate."

"Not even if you had a chance?" Shen Qingqiu asked, observing him closely, "To be something more, under the right guidance?"

Qinhui kept his face expressionless.

A trap, laden with honey for a particular fly.

He wasn't going to be that fly.

"I don't think I have the right mindset to... seek something so grand."

"So you are content to live a life of mediocrity - nothing more than an errand boy till even your bones melt away and your name slips into oblivion", the omega mused, "A pity."

'Rather an errand boy than a pawn to a psychopath in a foreign world', Qinhui didn't say, because he did not want a knife through the throat.

"I don't have much time to make something of myself anyway", he said instead, "And I'd be starting rather late with a skewed foundation. I wouldn't want to waste a prospective teacher's time."

"Your eyes are unclouded", Shen Qingqiu noted, "That is a rare feat."

It wasn't worth doing more than acknowledging the backhanded compliment, so Qinhui nodded deferentially.

"And what about you? The other world has some... dangerous people waiting for you."

They both knew who. 

Luo Binghe, the man within the pages who'd taken everything from Shen Qingqiu, the one who would surely hunt him down.

Shen Qingqiu tilted his head, as though he hadn't just heard someone bring up the bane of his existence.

"A simple beast. Nothing more."

A simple beast that left you half dead

"True, but a rabid beast can be dangerous", Qinhui offered cautiously. 

He hoped the omega would take the bait. Just anything to have the man fixate on payback.

Or anything at all, as long as the psychopath left Qinhui's world alone.

A rare smile flashed across Shen Qingqiu's face.

"And what of it? What would you have me do about the beast?" He asked playfully, "Are you abandoning your own creation, esteemed author?"

Qinhui flinched. 

The omega knew what he was trying.

"...Like you said, I'm nothing more than a chronicler", he muttered.

He should have known better than to talk around Shen Qingqiu.

The tense mood was interrupted by knocking.

"I'll just...", Qinhui said, excusing himself by pointing in the general direction of the door.

He stepped around the omega, careful to not touch even a strand of his hair.

He opened the door to see a welcome sight.

On the other side, with his messy hair and nervous fidgeting was the least 'alpha' alpha he'd ever had the pleasure of meeting.

"Is this a good time?" he asked, adorably anxious. "I, uh, brought food. In case you haven't eaten yet."

Again with the food.

Qinhui wasn't thin-skinned enough to refuse.

"Bro, why are you still treating me like a stranger? Mi casa es tu casa, and all that", he said, pulling the bespectacled young man in. He took the bag of food offered, looking at his prize.

Nice - it was from that fancy Italian place.

He pulled out take-out boxes of what he only knew was some kind of spaghetti, probably, paired with some kind of fat pasta, some cake-looking thing, and little rolls of bread?

He wasn't sure, but he was going to eat like a king tonight~

He pulled a piece of the bread, stuffing it into his mouth. 

Fluffy~ 

"Ah, you should pair that with the bisque", the alpha said, failing to hide his horror at Qinhui's caveman etiquette. 

There was more?

Under the pasta was another bowl, a soup.

"Bisque", Qinhui tested out, feeling the word roll strangely off his tongue.

Even the word sounded aristocratic.

On opening the lid, he savored the smell for a moment. 

Tomato-ey. Creamy. Maybe, herby?

It didn't matter. It was going straight into his stomach. 

He tore another piece of the bread, dipping it into the soup thing.

Down the hatch!

The bread practically melted on his tongue, filling his mouth with a rich, tangy taste that had notes he wasn't equipped to describe. 

Shen Yuan looked at him with a lukewarm gaze, looking constipated in an effort to bite back a sharp quip.

Qinhui grinned.

He'd break him yet. It was just a matter of time before he annoyed him enough to get the alpha to drop his guilt-ridden restraint.

He noticed the alpha tense as he kept stuffing his face.

He followed the young man's gaze to his other guest.

"Jiu-ge, you're here?"

The omega gave no acknowledgement, letting Shen Yuan stew in his thoughts.

No wonder the guy was a nervous wreck. 

Shen Yuan fiddled with his bag, pulling out a sheaf of papers.

"I did some work on the array from the mine - if you want to take a look", he said, adjusting his glasses.

Nope, Qinhui wasn't going to indulge this masochism fest under his roof.

"Cool. Go ahead and upload that to the system", he said, cheeks puffed with bread and soup, "Thanks, bro. You saved me weeks of work."

Shen Yuan looked away, still unused to even mild praise.

"It's nothing that big", he muttered. 

"Maybe, but any time I don't spend on homework is more time to sleep", Qinhui shot back.

If it were anything like Shen Yuan's usual work, it really would save them weeks of effort.

The alpha was a veritable genius with arrays after all.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan stood near the wall of the underground shelter beneath the hospital, checking the gate array one last time. Everything had to be perfect. They couldn't afford mistakes when it came to Jiu-ge's safety. All the simulations had tested successfully, but a deep gnawing feeling remained. 

The complex array spanned the entire room, suspended a few inches off the ground in various places with cleverly placed magnets. That had been entirely Airplane's doing, converting an impossibility into an easy feat.

Things were in their rightful place, not a thing was misaligned.

He still couldn't shake the feeling.

Deep down, he knew exactly why.

If things failed today, Jiu-ge might be hurt - maybe even irreversibly. He may resent Shen Yuan for the rest of his days, cursing his incompetence.

But if they succeeded...

Shen Yuan tried not to think about the medical report, of all the horrors Jiu-ge had experienced in his own world before his accidental arrival here.

No matter what the omega left behind, was it worth going back to a place that nearly destroyed him?

Was that even his call to make?

He paced back and forth, wondering if it would be better if he weren't here for Jiu-ge's departure.

Maybe if he didn't see it, he could pretend that Jiu-ge was alright, just living his life in this mundane world.

A world that was too ordinary for someone like him, but one that he could possibly find happiness in one day. One that wouldn't do more than throw an occasional day of hard work at him.

But it would be a betrayal, an act of self-indulgent cowardice.

To not even stand by him on his final day here.

It just felt too short to Shen Yuan.

It hadn't even been 4 months since that first meeting on that cold autumn morning. They hadn't even seen the flowers bloom together. Did he truly have to leave so soon?

"You're here already?"

Shen Yuan turned to the door to see Airplane stepping through, with Jiu-ge following close behind.

"2 am, bro. Did you forget?" Airplane asked, waltzing into place. "We even set a calendar invite and all."

"I know. I didn't have anything more important to do", Shen Yuan deflected. 

"Oh. So you got done with that essay you were talking about yesterday?"

Shen Yuan thought of the half-finished essay that was due two hours ago.

It didn't matter. 

None of it did.

He shrugged, not wanting to speak for fear of his voice breaking.

"And what of the array?" Jiu-ge asked, commanding the room.

"Nodes 12, 576, and 80. The simulations ran perfectly, all we need to do is start it up and wait for the second resonance for stabilization", Shen Yuan rattled off. "Once that's done, it should maintain the gate."

The omega nodded, taking everything in.

Shen Yuan took in his appearance.

The taller man had exchanged his usual formal white shirt, collar, and boots for recently tailored, elegant robes. They were not mystical artifacts or powerful divine tools, but Shen Yuan had at least made sure to find good silk and a skilled seamstress to put it together.

It made him look otherworldly, a little more out of reach.

"Yep, sounds about right to me!" Airplane said, casually circling the room with his glide step trick, hovering just out of reach of the meticulous lines.

He zoomed back to the edge, landing with a flourish. 

"Well then, gentlemen - if we're done with our farewells, shall we get on with it?"

Jiu-ge answered by taking his position at the center, lighting one of the nodes on the way. He clutched the pouch containing Xuan Su's fragments - the last remnants of the shixiong he cared so deeply for.

Airplane zipped back in, activating the other two.

Seeing the array light up, he felt his heart beat wildly.

"Jiu-ge", he shouted, "Shouldn't we plan this further? There could be something dangerous there."

The omega smiled as though he had just been told a funny joke.

"Little fool, the life of a cultivator is abound with danger. That does not excuse one of their duties", he said softly, "I must return to set things right."

He was right.

No amount of planning would account for all of the novel's dangers. And by this point, Jiu-ge had practically memorized its contents.

What more planning could he realistically help with?

The lines on the ground hummed with energy invisible to his eyes. Airplane was following its activity alongside him, tracing its movements across the ground. 

An invisible breeze picked up, scattering the familiar earthy scent around the room. Jiu-ge was feeding the array now, the final push for the second resonance.

Shen Yuan called out one last time.

"Jiu-ge, please be safe."

The omega nodded as though acknowledging his prayer.  He smiled warmly, an expression Shen Yuan had never seen in all their time together. 

In the next moment, he was gone without a sound. 

"Well, that was an ordeal and a half. I don't want to look at another array for at least a year", Airplane whined. He stretched his arms over his head, letting out a wide yawn. "Bro, are you hungry? I know some people at the cafeteria who can get us some premium hospital food~"

Shen Yuan kept his eyes fixed on where Jiu-ge stood just moments before.

"Do you think he made it?" he asked, hoping his voice wasn't shaking.

"Huh? Yeah. We checked everything already. He wouldn't have stepped in if he wasn't sure."

But he had.

Before, with the meridian repair array, Jiu-ge had trusted Shen Yuan's work and nearly died for it.

It wasn't just his work this time, though - Airplane had checked everything personally, and that man did not make mistakes.

"So... late-night dinner, or early-morning breakfast?", Airplane asked, holding the door open.

Shen Yuan took one last look at the room.

The soft breeze continued cycling around the room, a small indicator of the still functioning gate. There was still a path for Jiu-ge to return if that world mistreated him.

No matter what, there would be a place waiting for him.

Shen Yuan tore himself away and followed the author out.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan was awake again before the crack of dawn. The world beyond his window was dark, but only as dark as the city lights would allow it to be.

He got up out of habit, going about his routine mechanically. Each time he walked past Jiu-ge's old room, he sped up a little.

In the cool early morning air, he set out on another run to the edge of the campus.

Reaching the outskirts of the compound past the buildings, he entered his usual dirt path. Passing budding trees and cresting small hills, he eventually got to the artificial lake reflecting the dark sky above.

He was alone. 

He'd skipped his drills again. There wasn't any point in training for a man who was already whole, healthy, and home.

Instead, he walked up the hill, standing where Jiu-ge once stood, wondering if he noticed the same things as Shen Yuan had.

He barely felt the exertion anymore after a few minutes of idleness, and the chill was already around to remind him of how he did not belong here.

So he set off again, heading back to his apartment, back to his classes and his future.

He spent the day in classes that he could barely understand. They had covered a lot of material in the month he was gone, and he had quite a bit of work due.

Tests to retake, assignments to turn in - there was too much to even breathe.

It was barely any work at all.

As he read through the pages of yet another pointless article, he wondered for the first time if he had chosen the wrong major.

He always thought he was terrible at math, but maybe he just never paid attention. Not till he had something to work toward, someone to work for. Maybe that was the difference a good teacher made.

He typed the first thing that came to mind, putting his thoughts together for his report.

The quality was unacceptable, he knew it. If he were to turn this in for review, a certain omega would return it to him in minutes with entire sections crossed out.

The library didn't feel like the right place for this, so he packed up to leave.

On his way out, he saw a friendly face.

"Qi'er!" He called out.

The short alpha girl turned around, acknowledging his approach with a lazy wave but none of her usual enthusiasm.

"So you're finally descending to grace us mortals with your presence again?" She remarked dryly, "What happened? Finally got dumped?"

Shen Yuan was taken aback by the coldness.

"What? I already told you it wasn't like that."

Qi'er shrugged, then watched him for a moment.

Shen Yuan fidgeted, feeling the oppressive silence.

"...So, how have you been?" he asked, unused to being the one to start their conversations. 

Qi'er shrugged again.

"Y'know. Dealing. Got projects and finals due, an internship lined up."

Shen Yuan nodded.

That was good.

The silence stretched out again.

Qi'er waited for him for a few more minutes.

Shen Yuan couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well, I need to get back to class", the shorter alpha said, lacking any of her warmth. She waved a casual goodbye, then left him standing.

Shen Yuan waved back, wondering how much he had missed in the past blissful months.

Back at his apartment, he redid his work sitting at the coffee table. For each one, he imagined Jiu-ge's reactions, what critiques he might offer.

Too wordy. Meandering in his journey towards meaning.

No, that didn't seem quite right.

He looked over the document again, seeing if he could spot anything.

It looked fine, like all of his sloppy work before.

It didn't matter. There wasn't anyone to hold him to account for his laziness.

For the first time in months, he turned his work in well before it was due.

It still wasn't close to midnight.

Despite his drowsiness, he walked up to Jiu-ge's room.

He wasn't supposed to enter, but someone had to care for the plants.

So he went in again, checking the leaves and soil for each one.

They were the last traces of the omega's presence.

Once done, he sank to the floor next to the bed, watching the room remain unchanged. As the seconds ticked by, he felt stupid for even being here.

This was just a guest room. The apartment wasn't even his. He would have to leave the moment he graduated. 

And then, his life would truly have moved past this magical dream he had woken from.

He headed back, grabbing his jacket to step out onto the balcony's cold air. It was nothing like the village - not as pure or crisp.

But it was cold, and he paused to feel the sensation against his skin, digging his hands into his pockets.

His fingers brushed something cold, metallic. 

He drew out a glass-like shard from his pocket.

A piece of Yue Qingyuan's sword.

Had he never given this to Jiu-ge?

He was probably upset, worrying over being unable to send his shixiong off properly.

It was... wrong of him to keep this, when someone who cared so deeply was waiting for its return. For his return.

He could include an apology letter.

Maybe, if Jiu-ge went by the gate again, he might see it. He might take the shard and put his sect leader to rest.

Shen Yuan penned a few words, each one chosen with more care than all of his submitted work, then headed off to the hospital.

He followed Airplane's advice, walking through the halls as though he had the right to, and no one questioned him.

In a few steps, he was at the door to the underground shelter again.

The locked door.

It wasn't supposed to be locked - had the staff done this?

What if Jiu-ge had tried to visit, only to be met with a locked door? Why hadn't Shen Yuan bothered to check something so basic?

He pulled at the lock.

It remained tightly in place.

But the lock itself looked like the kind Airplane could pick in half a minute. 

Within a few minutes, he got a paperclip and a video to guide him through the process. With nearly an hour of fiddling, playing the video over and over till parts of the video came unbidden, the lock finally clicked open.

Shen Yuan opened the heavy door to an empty room.

He was met with still air.

The carefully constructed array, the levitating runes, the gentle breeze of the opened gate - it was all gone.

How could this happen?! 

Hadn't Airplane claimed the room was unused, untouched? Had he been mistaken?

He was just a janitor, a part-time one at that. Why had Shen Yuan relied on just his word?

This was no time to panic. He had to get to the beta - to let him know.

Airplane would know how to fix this.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan rushed out of the hospital, hailing the first cab he could find to head straight to Airplane's place.

It was a little past midnight, but if anyone could understand, it would be that man. Shen Yuan wanted to call ahead, but realized he'd never gotten around to setting up his new phone. His SIM was in, but he hadn't bothered restoring anything.

It hardly mattered.

He paid the cab driver and bounded up the stairs, knocking frantically.

Over and over.

Was the beta not at home?

That wasn't entirely unusual. The man kept some odd hours for his many side gigs.

Shen Yuan searched a nearby pot and pulled out a spare key.

It made no sense to wait in the cold like a suspicious person, so he let himself inside.

Stepping through, he closed the door behind him. 

"System, can you turn the lights on?" he called out.

The lights blinked on in response.

The little apartment was as messy as usual. Shen Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

The whole place wasn't even as big as his living room. How did the author struggle to keep even such a tiny place clean? Honestly, it was like the beta had chosen all the wrong skills for basic, adult life.

No wonder he was single. How would anyone, even a beta, tolerate this pigsty?

"System, how long has Qinhui been out?" He asked, the name feeling odd on his lips.

"I cannot disclose information that infringes upon user privacy", a calm, emotionless voice announced from around him.

"Then, any idea when he'll be back?"

"I cannot disclose information that infringes upon user privacy."

Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at the response. 

Typical. 

He picked up some of the discarded food boxes and papers, stuffing them into a garbage bin as he cleaned up. He continued through the house, making sure to only throw away the crumpled balls of paper, never the ones that may just have fallen from a messy pile somewhere - keeping the organic and recyclable bits separate in case the author ever needed to dig through the trash for something discarded.

As he swept through the tiny apartment, he noticed a familiar device. 

He picked it up, feeling it in his hands.

It was his old phone, repurposed as a system replica for his research, back when they were working out the gate.

Shen Yuan stared at it unimpressed. 

For a supposedly dangerous artifact that could 'definitely end worlds', Airplane sure was taking his sweet time dismantling it.

Shen Yuan played with the phone in his hands till he heard the door open.

He pocketed the device instinctively, heading to the entryway.

Airplane stepped through, looking tense. On seeing Shen Yuan emerge from the bedroom, he deflated, losing all the tension in his shoulders.

"Bro, don't do that! Shit, I thought someone broke in", the beta mumbled.

Shen Yuan looked at him unimpressed.

"Like that would ever be a threat to you", he pointed out, "Even if someone did bother breaking in, the only thing they'd be getting is a hospital bill."

The beta sniffed, smiling at the praise.

"So, what brings you here, Master Shen? Miss me?"

Shen Yuan tensed at the reminder.

"It's... I went back to the gate today. Just to check", Shen Yuan explained. "I think the staff got to it. We need to reopen it somewhere else in case Jiu-ge needs us."

Airplane listened to his explanation.

There was no shock, no urgency - not even a slapped-together plan or a light-hearted quip.

Airplane just looked ashamed, like he'd been caught doodling something crass on a whiteboard.

"Ah. It's gone? That's so weird...", he said, finally.

Shen Yuan suppressed his unease at the strange reaction.

"...That's not important. We need to redo it. Preferably somewhere different, where no one can get to it accidentally", he mused.

It would have to be a wide open space with little activity.

"I don't know for sure, but I think I can ask my brother for help. He should have somewhere we can use. He has a lot of real estate holdings."

As long as it was secure, private, and with a wide open space, it would do.

"Da-ge is a businessman first, and he does... listen, at the very least", he continued, "If I trade some of my stake in our holding companies, I'm sure he'd be open to giving us a suitable apartment."

Maybe he could even negotiate for ownership of his current apartment, so Jiu ge'd find a familiar environment when he returned.

Airplane remained silent, biting his lips and scuffing his feet against the floor.

"Bro, doesn't that seem... excessive?"

Shen Yuan paused, unable to understand the beta's words.

"I mean, aren't company stakes worth a lot? That's practically your meal ticket there. Pretty sure Shen Qingqiu wouldn't want you to, uh, trade your livelihood in a rush."

Shen Yuan blinked.

A meal ticket?

It was something he'd just been given. Something he hadn't ever earned.

If the rest of the world could earn their living, if Airplane could do it, why couldn't he?

"I don't care about that. I'll survive", Shen Yuan pressed on, "What's important is Jiu-ge. His life could be at risk."

"That is sorta what comes with the package though", Airplane offered, "Great power, heaven's wrath - isn't that what immortality is all about?"

Shen Yuan frowned, feeling his jaw tighten.

The beta was taking it lightly again, like some sort of game.

"That doesn't mean we don't offer him a way back", he retorted.

"But, it isn't just a path back for Shen Qingqiu, though", Airplane explained, softening his voice as though he was talking to a child, "Anyone could come through, you know? It'd be dangerous to, uh, open that somewhere we couldn't contain."

Shen Yuan froze.

He put the full weight of his scrutiny on the beta still standing by the entrance.

The man caught his gaze, immediately turning his attention to some old mail piled at the small desk next to the entryway. He was in a blue jumpsuit from work, declaring him a proud employee of 'Lightning pest control', with brown hair hidden partially by the undersized cap. Under close observation, Shen Yuan noticed each twitch - the nervous swallowing, the repetitive tapping - all adding to his suspicions.

"...It was you, wasn't it?"

The beta didn't deny it.

"...Hey, before you freak out -"

But Shen Yuan couldn't stop himself. He grabbed the traitor by his collar, holding tight.

"How could you?! After all we've been through, after everything, how could you?"

Airplane was annoyingly calm, like he was dealing with a toddler's tantrum.

"Calm down. I didn't dismantle it lightly", he said.

The condescension was infuriating.

The beta grabbed hold of his wrist and pressed down, forcing Shen Yuan to release his grip. 

"Listen. I wasn't joking about the two-way gate thing. If Shen Qingqiu can come back, so can anyone else. And I do mean anyone."

Shen Yuan watched the author slowly move back.

"Then we remake the gate so only he can return", Shen Yuan pushed.

Airplane frowned.

"Bro, that's not how it works. You should know, you practically reverse-engineered the whole thing."

"So we abandon him?!"

Airplane sighed.

"He isn't a puppy, you know", Airplane patiently pointed out, "That's still Shen Qingqiu - murderer, child abuser, scum villain. Even if he acts sweet, he's still fundamentally the same person. Haven't you read the novel?"

None of it made sense. Those words in some stallion novel didn't hold a fraction of who Jiu-ge was. It might as well have been another person entirely - not the patient, elegant omega who carefully critiqued his work, who trained a complete novice, who had a surprisingly sharp sense of humor that he showed in rare glimmers.

"He's not like that. You've been with us for over a month, you should know that", Shen Yuan hissed, stepping forward in defiance.

"Yeah. I knew him for under two months", Airplane said, unimpressed. "You knew him for what, 4? How much did you really know about him during that time?"

He knew enough.

"He never told you his real name before I mentioned it. I saw your surprise that day, you know."

Because Shen Yuan had never bothered to ask.

"He's always been a cold, unpleasant prick. Isn't it weird that he made you run errands as your guest? What kind of omega makes an alpha fetch them tea?"

He didn't make anyone do anything. Everything had been Shen Yuan. He'd been the one to overstep, meddle, to force himself into Jiu-ge's life.

He couldn't bear it.

He lashed out with a punch.

Airplane had him on the ground in under 3 seconds.

"Ok, this clearly isn't working. Here's what we're going to do", the beta said, barely acknowledging Shen Yuan's struggles. "You're going to go home, take a few days off, and recharge. Reach out to some friends. Visit family. Seriously, you need to reconnect with what's actually important, and you'll realize how much you have ahead of you."

Shen Yuan didn't listen.

He didn't want to.

His eyesight blurred with frustration, and blood vessels popped in exertion.

Airplane sighed again.

"...Well, you'll thank me for this someday. Farewell, Master Shen."

Suddenly, Shen Yuan's world plunged into darkness.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan slowly blinked awake to a white ceiling. He groaned incoherently, trying to string his scattered thoughts together into words.

The nurse was in the room within moments.

"Easy. Try not to strain yourself. You've had a rough night, after all", the nurse explained.

Shen Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and looked around, trying to orient himself.

"What happened?"

"You were found collapsed on the street. You're lucky a bystander found you and brought you in", the nurse explained. "Student Shen, you shouldn't overexert yourself regardless of your course load. Make sure to get plenty of rest and to take meals on time, or you will make your family worry."

Shen Yuan listened carefully, trying to parse the nurse's words.

"Who brought me in?"

"Just a passer-by. He wasn't a student but still took the time to bring you in", the nurse noted with admiration.

"Did he leave a name?"

"Ah. Su Quanhe, I believe", she said. "A good man."

That was one of Airplane's aliases.

So he'd been handed off like a parcel.

Shen Yuan listened quietly, blankly staring off into the distance. He mechanically filled out the forms the nurse handed him, then headed back to his empty apartment.

He watched the clouds drifting through the blue sky above him as he replayed the night before.

He'd been a fool.

Airplane had never been fond of Jiu-ge. The beta was always jumpy, always a touch too deferential.

Perhaps even the dangerous journey to fetch Xuan Su's fragments had been in service of a greater plan to send Jiu-ge away permanently. 

He must have been delusional to attempt to fight the beta. How had he ever imagined facing off against someone who could hold his own against Jiu-ge for minutes? Airplane had even gone easy on him - no stitches or broken bones.

Shen Yuan clenched his fists.

Did he have any hope of convincing the beta now? After that outburst, he wouldn't be surprised if Airplane picked up his things and vanished without a trace.

Frustrated, he shoved his hands into his pockets.

On feeling a specific coolness, he froze.

Maybe he didn't need to convince the shifty beta.

In one pocket, he felt Xuan Su's fragment. In the other, the repurposed phone.

Maybe something out there wanted him to succeed. Perhaps it was the sect leader's spirit, guiding him to unravel Airplane's deception and impulsively pocket the tools for his path forward.

He walked hurriedly to his apartment, stepping off the elevator into the living area.

He pulled out his old phone.

"System, what's the weather like today?"

Shen Yuan waited for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I do not have the sensors to answer that question."

It didn't matter.

Shen Yuan knew what he had in his hands.

Airplane hadn't unregistered him as a user. He still had access to all of the AI's analytical power and all the schematics they had worked on over the past weeks.

Shen Yuan smiled, a brittle, manic expression.

All he needed now was a place - somewhere Airplane could not easily find, somewhere no one could dismantle the way back.

Over the next few days, he worked without rest. He sent out a blanket email excusing himself from class for a personal emergency and logged out of all his accounts.

He'd face whatever came his way once he returned. For now, he needed to focus.

Through hours of persistent effort, the new gate began to take shape. The AI remained his faithful companion, unable to even conceive of deception.

Each night, he jogged down the familiar dirt trail to his chosen site - the artificial lake. He pushed the small raft to its surface, maneuvering it to specific places where his guide ropes directed him. 

Everything was perfect, like it had to be.

Eventually, the night came.

He couldn't meet Jiu-ge as he was, so he took a shower and cleaned himself up. His clothes were freshly pressed, smelling softly of detergent.

In a small satchel, he carried essentials - a portable charger for his phone, a utility knife, a flashlight, first aid supplies - even a change of clothes. He clutched Xuan Su, praying silently to the sect leader's spirit - a short request to help him bring Jiu-ge to safety.

The AI was also with him, his one link to cultivation of any sort. 

With everything prepared, he paddled out to the lake, to the center of the hidden array he had painstakingly fashioned.

"System, how does the gate array look?"

"The gate array is fully functional. With an anchor, I can prime it to open a stable connection to a compatible plane of existence. Would you like me to do that?"  a calm voice mechanically announced through an earpiece. 

So this was it.

He was going to do it.

"Go ahead. Use the spirit sword fragment as an anchor", he ordered, touching the metal shard to the phone. 

The fragment glowed, then merged into the device. 

A light breeze began to pick up.

Shen Yuan clutched his satchel, trying to steady his nerves.

It would be a simple task: go in, get Jiu-ge, get out.

Nothing to worry about, and nothing compared to the ordeals they had to face so far.

He just needed to stay focused.

His body felt strange, as though it were floating in place. He shut his eyes, trying to ignore the feeling of weightlessness.

A few seconds later, there wasn't a soul on the placid lake. The only sign of Shen Yuan's efforts was a persistent, soft breeze and a small ripple on its surface.

Not even the raft remained.

Chapter Text

Sun Qinhui was woken by the sound of the door clicking open. A severe-looking alpha woman stepped through, hair back in a tight bun, neat white shirt wrinkled from the day's use. 

"Detective", Qinhui acknowledged her arrival with a nod.

"Mr. Sun, thank you for your patience", the detective responded. "I have some good news for you. I've cleared you to be released. You don't have to remain at the station."

Qinhui couldn't help but feel the tension in his shoulders ease at those words. Even he couldn't deny the effect of the hours of interrogation on his psyche.

The detective continued, pretending not to notice his reaction, but Qinhui knew she was watching with a trained eye.

"We will need you to stay in the city, in case we need you to come in again."

"Of course!" Qinhui nodded, "Ah, but what if I get an assignment out of town?"

He had to cover his bases - make sure not to raise any flags.

"Try to avoid travel as far as possible. If an employer is forcing you to travel, have them give me a call", she said, presenting a business card, "and keep me updated if you have to leave for any reason, even a family emergency."

Qinhui accepted the card, carefully placing it in his pocket. He stood up and followed the detective to the door.

She stopped at the threshold, hand on the handle.

"I hope I don't need to remind you of the importance of discretion for a pending investigation", she said, eyeing him carefully. "That means no social media posts, no interviews, no speculation. Don't give us a reason to bring you here."

Qinhui nodded so fast he felt the crick in his neck throb.

He followed the detective out, who handed him over to another officer.

The young officer brought him to the lobby, where a nervous young man was pacing. On seeing Qinhui, the man tensed up.

Qinhui waved at his cousin, offering a small smile.

The nervous man waited by the entrance, watching him go through the necessary paperwork before leaving.

"Sun Qinhui, what have you gotten yourself into now?" the man asked, more worried than accusatory.

"It's nice to see you too, Shangyi", Qinhui offered tiredly. "Can we leave first? I haven't had anything decent to eat in hours."

He didn't even have to put on an act this time. He must have looked pitiful, considering the absence of nagging during their walk to the car.

His cousin began the short drive back to their home.

"...Xinyi's preparing braised pork tonight", Shangyi said, eyes trained on the road.

"That sounds wonderful, you're a lucky man."

"You should come. She'll be delighted to see you", his cousin continued, "And Yiyi would be happy to play with her uncle after such a long time."

Qinhui stared forward, contemplating the offer in silence.

That busybody was always trying to insert himself where he didn't need to, like he was personally responsible for his charity case cousin.

"...I appreciate the offer, but is that wise? You did just pick me up from the station, after all."

"But you didn't do anything wrong, did you?" Shangyi asked, fingers tightening around the steering, "There's nothing wrong with being called in. Plenty of reasons to be at the station."

"Even so, there's no harm in being cautious. Think of Yiyi."

They rolled to a stop at a red light.

"Qinhui, is this... serious?"

Serious?

Not in the legal way. He'd been far too careful to leave even the smallest of crumbs for the authorities. All they'd find were 'Shen Jiu' and 'Su Quanhe' - ghosts they'd chase for years with nothing to show.

No, the bigger problem was the missing person himself, the stupidly loyal alpha, who knew exactly how to cut short Qinhui's lifespan with each ridiculous stunt.

"I don't know", he said instead, "They told me not to leave the city."

"...You should take this as a sign", his cousin began.

Oh, good. Here comes the lecture.

"You're far too old to be drifting like this. It's high time you got a stable job. I can ask-"

"The light's green."

Shangyi snapped his attention back to the road, pressing down on the accelerator to keep up with the car in front of them.

He began speaking again, and Qinhui tuned out the lecture with practiced ease, humming and nodding where appropriate and looking thoughtful enough to satisfy his chaperone.

He had more important matters to consider.

For one, he had to confirm his suspicions about Shen Yuan's disappearance. The alpha did not have the skill to evade the many cameras on the street, which meant one of two things.

That the more favorable outcome was the grimmer one for the good-natured guy wasn't a fact Qinhui was happy to acknowledge. However, an untimely obituary was better than the alternative - at least for the rest of the world.

As for the alternative...

While the alpha did not have the means, he certainly had the knowledge for it. Qinhui hadn't bothered to check if Shen Qingqiu had cleaned up after himself before his departure - a serious mistake on his part. So while highly unlikely, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.

For now, he would have to bide his time to see for himself when curious eyes weren't watching.

Chapter Text

It took a few days to lull the detectives watching him into complacency.

That much was unsurprising, considering exactly whose disappearance they were investigating. Qinhui knew he was lucky to get off with just an 18-hour interrogation.

That didn't mean he had to be lazy with his own investigation.

With a carefully timed power outage, he entered the building: a supposedly tardy member of the maintenance crew. The cameras were taken care of, but he wouldn't have more than half an hour at best before everything was online again.

Plenty of time for a sweep.

He opened the stairwell, a towering, grimy thing that barely saw any use. There was a slight disturbance - a pair of small footprints smudging the dirt in a scramble up the stairs, probably just a teenager challenging themselves to ascend the difficult climb. Apart from the state of the kid's poor knees, it wasn't anything Qinhui had to worry about. 

With a leap, he bounded up the stairwell from railing to railing, clearing entire floors at a time.

At the top, he smashed open the lock with a swift strike - he didn't have the seconds to waste picking locks.

He opened the creaky metal door, opening to the rooftop.

The city sprawled out before him, pulsing with light even late into the night. The university was just a stone's throw away, as was the hospital - the apartment could not have been cheap, judging from the location alone.

From what he remembered, Shen Yuan had a penthouse apartment. Despite how stereotypically rich-guy that was, it certainly made Qinhui's job easier.

He approached the edge, sliding down the wall to the balcony below.

If he hadn't known he was dropping to the 17th story, he could have been fooled into believing he'd just dropped into someone's yard.

The whole balcony was practically a forest, with all kinds of potted bushes and trees placed tastefully around the furniture.

A small dining table sat beneath the overhang for residents to enjoy the garden. Qinhui also spotted another, metallic table in the open - for when they wanted to enjoy the sun but could not be bothered to shift their furniture a few inches. There was even a swing bed nestled among the greenery, presumably for when someone felt like feeding the mosquitoes.

Under more favorable circumstances, he may have lingered to snap as many reference photos as humanly possible, but he had to move quickly that night.

Two glass doors opened into the apartment itself. Seeing a bed behind one of the doors, he went straight to it.

Locked.

Qinhui frowned. 

He didn't want to leave traces if he could help it, not right in the middle of an investigation site.

Trying the other door produced more favorable results. It was a bit heavier than expected, but the glass door slid open to a huge dining table reflecting the moonlight. A small table flanked by chairs sat in a cozy nook facing large French windows.

He gave the area a quick search.

Nothing interesting.

Stepping down from the elevated dining area, Qinhui quickly searched the living room and the... other living room.

Two rooms with couches. He had no idea if they had special names. They would be living room 1 and 2 in his head. He found nothing hidden in the cushions, no hidden spaces in the tables, and nothing of interest on the shelves.

The open space led into a narrow hallway, where he could no longer rely on moonlight. 

With a quick gesture, a spark of green flashed across his eyes, and the world lit up. To an observer, it may seem like tiny fireworks were going off behind his iris. To Qinhui, the darkness no longer concealed anything.

Down the hallway, two doors faced each other: one to a kitchen, the other to a bedroom, seemingly competing with the balcony on how much greenery it could hold. 

Unlike the balcony, he could see the signs of damage - someone bending vegetation to his will, siphoning vitality from the leaves. A risky maneuver, but something that should be within Shen Qingqiu's skillset.

There had to be something here.

He opened drawers and checked beneath mattresses, scanning every surface for arrays or spells of some kind. He didn't have time to analyze his findings, but he would catalogue whatever he could with this chance.

The plant life didn't reveal much apart from their damage.

Feeling his time running out, he quickly moved to the kitchen. 

The room was barely used, with the only sign of human presence being a small splatter near one of the burners that had sunk into the otherwise flawless glass surface. The many appliances looked like they may as well have been bought the day before - apart from the microwave and the fridge.

Qinhui paused.

He didn't really need to do it.

He still crept to the fridge and opened its doors.

Inside, he found a fairly simple fair. Vegetables and fruits, milk and yogurt- all of which seemed to either be expired or on their way to be, a pack of tofu, and even soy sauce on the shelves.

There were even a few leftover boxes with old noodles or some sort of gravy inside.

He closed the fridge door, feeling a little ashamed.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, or even hoping to find. No one was going to store secret plans in the fridge.

Shen Yuan was hardly an alien. What else would his fridge have but food?

There were still a few more rooms to search.

He walked past the elevator - the private elevator - to another bedroom that looked completely untouched. Qinhui didn't bother doing more than a basic search, moving quickly onto the game room and the study.

Both rooms looked like they were plucked out of an interior decor magazine. They were dealt with as quickly as the other untouched rooms, leaving Qinghui with enough time to search the final room - the master bedroom.

He approached the door and paused.

In the silence, adorned by the hum of the refrigerator, he could hear breathing. 

Soft, controlled, but definitely there.

So he wasn't alone.

Chapter Text

Qinhui paused, listening to the shallow, stuttering breathing. The other intruder was standing close to the door, possibly listening for his movements to prepare for an ambush. It was close to hyperventilation - the person on the other side was either a skilled agent, or a terrified interloper.

Only one way to find out.

Qinhui opened the door.

He shifted aside to evade a tennis racket to the groin, quickly grabbing the arm of his assailant. With a firm press, the bat was on the floor, leaving its wielder stunned.

He looked briefly at the teenager trying to claw her way out of his grip, then let go.

The girl tumbled onto the floor from her sudden freedom. 

Even under night-sight, the resemblance was uncanny, especially considering the familiar recklessness.

Qinhui had to bite back a laugh.

The girl recovered from her surprise and watched him carefully.

She lunged for the bat on the floor.

Qinhui moved a foot on top of it.

"You know, you really shouldn't fight unless you absolutely have to", Qinhui advised.

"Shut up!" She gritted defiantly, still trying to pull the racket from beneath his foot. "I'm not stupid enough to listen to an intruder."

She looked ridiculous in her earnest effort to free her weapon.

Qinhui released the pressure on the racket, causing the girl to go sprawling.

"From where I stand, you look more like an intruder than I do."

The girl, possibly around 15, was dressed entirely in black. She'd taken great pains to even tuck her hair into a swim cap for maximum suspiciousness.

"I'm not! I-I mean, none of your business, asshole!" she spat, scrambling to her feet.

Qinhui dodged another swipe.

"Let me guess. You're Shen Yuan's little sister?"

The girl froze for a beat - more than enough time for Qinhui to claim her weapon.

"Give that back!" She demanded imperiously. "Give it here, or I'll call the police!"

"Sure, go ahead", he grinned, calling her obvious bluff. "Maybe you can call your parents while you're at it. Explain how you need a ride from an investigation site."

The girl stepped back, seething but unable to say anything.

Qinhui had yet to see that expression on Shen Yuan. The worst he'd seen so far was the horror of betrayal.

...Maybe he didn't need to see that either.

"Whoa, relax. I'm not going to tattle if you aren't", Qinhui reassured, "Private detective Su, at your service."

Qinhui pulled out a business card, infused it with a tiny film of energy beneath the laminate, and handed it to the girl. It would be blank in a matter of hours.

The girl reached out for it hesitantly.

"I can't see in the dark, dumbass", she said. Her voice had lost most of its venom, now sounding uncertain. "So did Da-ge send you? Was it my parents?"

"I'd love to tell, but I have to keep client confidentiality", he said, miming zipping his lips.

The girl looked between him and the card, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"So, Su Quanhe", she said, trying to seem intimidating but squinting to see the card's details in the dark, "...What can you tell me?"

Time to establish some trust.

"Well, I can't disclose too much...", Qinhui said, miming deep thought. The teen waited anxiously for his revelations. "...How about this? One of the guest rooms shows extensive activity of another guest - someone who lived there for a good amount of time."

The teen's eyes widened.

"I thought it was weird too!" She declared excitedly, "It's weird, right? Yuan-ge gets a mystery guest and stops calling..."

"Yep, and an omega at that", Qinhui said, completing the girl's thoughts.

She stiffened, as though hearing something unexpected.

Ah, so this one hadn't differentiated yet. 

Something of a late bloomer? No matter, she was bound to hear something soon, even if it wasn't from him.

"...So that's why...", she muttered pensively.

Seconds ticked by.

Qinhui had a suspicion that the girl was making up whole stories in her head about her brother for each one. He would have let her stew longer, but he did not have that luxury this time.

He stepped past the girl, surveying the room.

It was only slightly messy, with sheets tucked in and the floor free of laundry. The computer table was piled with scattered paper, with more balled-up pages littering the floor around. The bedside table was similarly messy - tangles of wires piled on top of a laptop.

The large, glass door to the green balcony outside was shut tight. Perhaps it was never opened.

There was one other door leading out of the room, which he assumed would lead to the bathroom.

No shelves though? That was strange.

Qinhui opened the door.

On the other side was an entire other room - a massive dressing room leading into a lavish bathroom. A large tub sat well within view on a sunken section, with two glass doors leading to other sections of the bathroom.

The dressing room itself was stuffed with the mess that Qinhui was certain had belonged to the bedroom not long ago.

"Hey! That's private!" The girl hissed, finally following after him. At his questioning glance, the teen seemed to have realized the absurdity of her statement.

"I-I mean, don't look at it without me."

Qinhui hid his grin, continuing his work.

He checked the bottoms of laundry piles, backs of book stacks - the usual hiding places. His teenage companion mimed his actions, watching him closely.

"...So, what are we looking for?" the girl asked conspiratorially.

Qinhui glanced at her, tailoring his words.

With a witness present, he couldn't use any of his more overt tricks. Even if no one would take her seriously, he didn't want a determined detective a few years down the line, digging into his secrets when he'd no longer be around to hide them.

She was still potentially useful, if only because of her intimate familiarity with the missing alpha.

"You know your brother better than I do. How is he with plans?" He asked, "Is he a whiteboard kind of guy? A journal writer?"

"I don't think he plans at all."

Oof, poor big brother Yuan. 

By his own sister, too.

"Then we look for any signs of where he may have gone. Receipts, documents, notes-", he listed off, continuing his sweep, "But most importantly, any devices."

Qinhui crouched to pull out a box.

Seeing the contents, he grinned like an idiot. This was one box whose contents he knew intimately.

"Say, any thoughts on 'Proud Immortal Demon Way'?" he asked the teen.

"Huh? What's that?"

She popped over, peering into the box. Seeing the books and merch inside, she wrinkled her nose. 

"Isn't that just Yuan-ge's smut? He's kinda obsessive with that stuff. Mom was mad when she found out."

Qinhui liked to think his work was quality smut. He even had a semi-coherent plot before bills forced him to write more wish fulfillment and fan service.

He shifted the books around to see another familiar series. 'Chasing the devil beauty'? 'Eight hundred years a sage'?

Say it isn't so, Master Shen~! How could he be intellectually disloyal in his selection of trash? Wasn't Qinhui's work special?

...There was more merch of his stuff, so maybe he was still Shen Yuan's favorite guilty pleasure author.

That was enough time for silliness.

He scanned through the box just in case, cataloging its contents for later use.

"Oh, hey! I found a tablet", Shen Yuan's sister called out, "It's one of his older ones, though."

Better than nothing. 

"The police should have his newer devices in evidence. I'm surprised they didn't bother with this one."

Sloppy work.

"It's dead, though. I can plug it in, maybe we can find something", she said, heading back into the bedroom.

He quickly went through the rest of the shelves in the short window.

No hard disks, no devices.

He sighed.

It was a long shot anyway. If nothing turned up, he'd have to check the evidence lockers next.

Entering the bedroom, he saw his teenage assistant fiddling with the tablet. 

"I don't see anything in his email", she said, "Just requests for some time off. He doesn't say why."

Requests. As in, multiple.

"When did he ask? And how long?"

Qinhui approached the girl, who handed over the pad for a better look.

The one-month absence was expected. He'd personally accompanied Shen Yuan on that particular expedition.

The one after, though? Just a week and a half ago, with short, overly direct text. He hadn't been approved for the extended absence, but Qinhui had a feeling Shen Yuan hadn't bothered to honor the rejection.

He switched over to the browser, checking for any synced history.

Searches, location - anything.

He saw searches for robes and tailors - probably for the outfit he'd seen Shen Qingqiu leave in, but not much more than online food orders.

Strange, he'd have expected an apartment like this to have an in-house catering service.

It was dead end after dead end.

The only interesting thing he'd found was the answer to the mystery behind the disappearance of his thesis commenter - poor Cucumber bro was too busy suffering under Shen Qingqiu to engage with his latest chapters.

He handed over the tablet to the teen perched on the bed.

The last thing to look through was the messy table the police had left behind.

Seeing him approach the table, the girl spoke up.

"I already checked those, there isn't anything there. Just homework, I think."

Qinhui flipped a few pages and felt a growing dread.

Just homework, huh.

Staring at him from the page were partial reconstructions of a very familiar array - his worst fears realized.

His jaw tightened.

It was a miracle the police hadn't clocked geometric calculations as strange for a literature student. That oversight worked in Qinhui's favor.

"I'll take a look, just in case", he explained, leafing through everything. Fingertips cataloged each page for later review, for more detailed analysis with the system.

He even picked up all the discarded pages, annotating them as they entered storage.

A soft beep sounded in his ear - a reminder of the ticking clock.

With his unexpected companion, he couldn't escape the way he came in.

"Well, I think it's time we head out", he said, turning to face the girl.

She hesitated.

"Already? We didn't even find anything."

"We found a trail", Qinhui pointed out, "The guest room, the absence requests - it's a start."

"Lame...", she whined, tossing the tablet on the bed.

Qinhui paused.

The authorities would probably notice the new device accessing Shen Yuan's accounts. If they were to check for prints, there would be one clear set - the teen.

She could tell them about Qinhui till her voice turned hoarse, but they wouldn't find anything solid.

He turned off the tablet and wiped her prints, returning the device to its initial spot and quickly tidying the bed. He couldn't fix any messes she'd made prior to his arrival. This would have to do.

The one he cleaned up after bounced on her heels impatiently at the fire exit. The door was half open, unlocked by spare keys that the girl fiddled absentmindedly with.

The door opened to the stairwell he'd arrived through, just one floor below the rooftop access. His teen companion pulled out a bag she'd stuffed behind the door, pulling a simple frock over her head. Gone was the swim cap, revealing short, messy hair that the girl quickly patted down.

So she wasn't entirely unprepared.

Did she think she had to wear black when sneaking in?

They went down the many flights of stairs. Qinhui carefully stepped in the small footprints the teen left behind. For each flight, he apologized to his poor knees for the abuse.

Halfway down, the lights flicked on.

Shit.

They were emergency lights, but if they got that far, it wouldn't be long before power was fully restored.

"Alright, time to speed things up. Don't scream, ok?"

He pulled the girl into a princess carry, leaping off the side of the railings. With a few well-timed steps on the railings below, he was on the ground floor.

Shen Yuan's sister held on tight, winding to release her terrified grip even after a few seconds on the ground.

"What was that?!", she said, voice still shaking.

Qinhui shrugged. "I work out a lot."

Getting out was a little easier since the teen was willing to be shoved into a cart on the way out. Qinhui nodded at the security guard and made his way to the parked maintenance trucks.

Moving carefully between the vehicles, he maneuvered into a shaded portion of the compound, away from eyes and cameras. 

"You can come out now", he informed the girl, shrugging off his uniform. He frowned, seeing the rip in his jacket.

That'd need fixing before he could return it.

"Who are you?", the teen asked, stumbling out of the cart. She looked like a mess, nearly toppling the whole thing before Qinhui stabilized it with a foot.

"Like I said, private detective Su Quanhe -"

"Bullshit."

She stomped toward him, now free of her mobile prison. 

"There's no way a detective can do all that", she said accusatorily, "The dodging, the glowy eyes, the jumping - and, and I saw you jump onto the balcony!"

"I'm a very good private detective."

"I wasn't born yesterday."

Qinhui put the folded uniform into a bag, turning to the teen.

"Then you should know that some things aren't safe to talk about", he remarked breezily, "I'd like to keep my job, and I'm sure you'd like to stay un-missing."

The girl stepped back, perhaps realizing just how unequipped she was for the first time. 

"T-then, Yuan-ge..."

Qinhui glanced at her, lining up the facts of his story.

"He's not in danger."

Or, he's at least not dead yet, probably.

Qinhui shifted the bag for a better hold.

"I'm a friend. I want to find him, to see if I can convince him to go home."

"Is Yuan-ge a secret agent?"

"I can't tell you much more", he said, pressing a finger to his lips. "Now let's get you home."

The teen's eyes widened at that, before quickly fixing on a rock to the side.

"You don't have to do that. I can go back on my own."

He'd already suffered enough for one missing Shen kid. He wasn't about to add another to that list.

"It's no trouble at all. Come on, I have a truck with plenty of room."

"No, really! I don't need-"

"Kid, I'm not leaving you in the middle of the street in the dead of night. Now it's either the police station or home. You pick."

The girl winced at his ultimatum. She nervously played with her skirt, keeping her eyes to the ground.

"...Then, can you drop me off at Keystone Academy?"

Oh.

Clever girl.

"Need some help getting back into the dorms?" he grinned conspiratorially.

The teen brightened up, following after him.

Chapter Text

Qinhui trudged through the door into his apartment. He didn't even bother going into the kitchen, collapsing onto the mattress with a groan.

Around him, his apartment looked like the scene of a disaster. Papers and clothes were scattered everywhere, forming piles among electronics, stationery, and other personal effects. 

All that mess from the previous night's frantic, fruitless search.

Today had been just as pointless - sneaking about the police station had only confirmed one thing: Shen Yuan hadn't gone anywhere.

Or, to be more specific, he hadn't gone anywhere that left a digital footprint.

No sightings on security footage, no hastily purchased tickets, no eyewitness accounts.

Shen Yuan had withdrawn to his apartment for a few days, and then failed to return from his jog one morning.

Qinhui knew the alpha had picked up a few tricks on their month-long excursion, but he was nowhere near skilled enough to erase all traces.

He opened his eyes and stared at the unchanging ceiling.

"System, any matches for a suitable location?"

"Of course. I have located 8 matches for your description -"

Qinhui listened to the options one by one.

The middle of a military training ground, a sports arena, beneath two different lakes, a busy 6-way intersection, an orchard a few kilometers outside the city, a restricted section of the Blue Line subway maintenance tunnels, and an active construction site.

Some were impossible to get into, others nonsensical to even consider, and nearly all were unreachable without being seen somewhere along the way.

Not that it mattered too much - he already had a rough reconstruction of the gate Shen Yuan had fashioned. He might be off by a bit in space-time, but not enough to be significant. At most, it would add a few more days to his search.

The problem was the where, the what, and the who.

It was bad enough that the alpha had gone after a scum villain, but he'd also taken a golden finger powerful enough to form gods- especially in a place lacking any of the real world's restrictions.

Qinhui held his arm to the light, inspecting the nearly imperceptible ink on it. It looked like a ribbon winding around his upper arm and onto his torso.

He flicked his hand, pulling the tattoo into his palm, where a small vial materialized. The sand within was a mix of bright blue and silvery white, sparkling like jewels.

Qinhui sighed and let the ink retake its place. 

A quarter of his supply was gone. He'd been lazy in refilling his stock after the month in the mountains with Shen Qingqiu and his alpha handler.

Would it have made much of a difference? He'd barely had over a month since they returned - nearly half of which was spent placating a psychopath.

Right, there was no point in what-ifs. There was an alpha to be rescued and a system to be retrieved.

He groaned, pushing himself upright again.

"System, get me the schematics for gateway array 4. Overlay with the numbers from last night and resize for... a 10-meter radius."

The old bridge by the railway line was a good spot. The array would fit snugly on its underside.

The mission was simple: go in, get the idiot, get out.

He'd need to make a few calls so his cousin wouldn't get caught in the fallout in case things took longer than expected.

Pushing himself to his feet, he felt a wave of dizziness.

Change of plans.

He'd grab something to eat, make some arrangements, construct a gate, then go after the missing alpha.

He walked out of the apartment, ready to see his plan through.