The youth woke up with a start, his fists tightly clenched. His body trembled with restrained aggression, leading him to roughly sit up and straddle his pillow.
It was a bit difficult to image his own face while punching, but imagining a nice pile of shit would work. To Yufei, that asshole was the exact equivalent of shit anyway.
After sending enough punches to the edge of the pillow to mat its cotton solid, Yufei finally took a breather, his cheeks a light shade of pink and his lips tinted scarlet. Beneath the bright moonlight that streamed through the window, Yufei leaned backwards on his hands, head tilted back to reveal a red, slender neck and sharp Adam's apple. His hair was damp and stuck to the sides of his face. His breath was short and his long eyelashes were wet.
Yufei's tired and messy appearance coupled with the natural lighting of the moon gave him the vibe of something precious that was ravaged into a daze.
With his naturally soft and warm features now turned sharp and cold as a blade, it gave others an alluring yet warning message. It was like trying to get close to a magnetic flame. Nearby, it was warm and bright, but push the boundaries any farther and you'll get burned.
Now that Yufei had calmed down and cooled off, he finally settled back into bed. His body felt strangely calm and refreshed, the perfect state to fall back asleep in. Unfortunately, his eyes refused to stay closed.
Waves of anxiety filled his stomach each time his thoughts wandered, disrupting his rest. In the end, he couldn't fall back asleep and had to wait until it was time to start his day.
* * *
Yufei was finally in the car, his chauffeur at the wheel while he stared outside blankly in the back seat.
'So that's what they meant by nightmares…'
It was far from pleasant, infuriating even, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Yufei had assumed that "law of causality" thing was super important, so he had expected the type of nightmare that made you afraid to go to sleep. Was it really a harsh enough punishment…? Or will they gradually get worse…
An ominous premonition arose, but he quickly stopped thinking about it.
It'd only make him feel worse if he kept spiraling in his thoughts.
Trying to distract himself from the unsettling feeling, Yufei fiddled with his smartphone. He knew from experience one surefire method to lift his spirits: talking with Xiaodan.
It was almost like magic how just seeing him reply to his texts with kind words made everything wrong in his life feel okay. The fear would always dissolve and be replaced by a sense of security and warmth.
Yufei really wanted to see him.
If only he could get to school faster…
Unfortunately, that wasn't how reality worked. Quashing his trivial complaints, Yufei opened the chat and messaged Xiaodan with a bright smile.
Me:
[Good morning :)]
It only took a few seconds for him to reply at lightning speed.
Quan Xiaodan:
[Good morning! Did you sleep well?]
Yufei's thumbs paused.
If he were being honest, his night was awful. He had only gotten 3 hours of sleep, and to make matters worse, that dream had made those few hours of sleep go by fitfully. Right now, he felt worse than when he had pulled two all-nighters in a row studying for an exam.
However, Yufei decided not to detail it and just replied normally.
Me:
[Yeah. You?]
Quan Xiaodan:
[Same. I dreamt of you and we were on a school trip. It was nice ^^]
Yufei's smile had already looked like it couldn't get any wider, but sometimes life was unpredictable.
Me:
[Are you at school right now? I'm in the car but I'm almost there.]
Quan Xiaodan:
[Yep. Got here a few minutes ago.]
Me:
[Early!]
Quan Xiaodan:
[Hahaha XD]
Hearing his chauffeur call him, Yufei closed the chat and looked up just as the car pulled up in front of the school. Waving the nicely dressed chauffeur goodbye, youngest master Li entered the campus with light steps.
He might've be tired, but his joy to be with Xiaodan overpowered all.
"Xiao Dan!"
Seeing him in front of the classroom, Yufei called out to him and quickly walked over with a grin. He didn't know why, but just looking at Xiaodan's gentle gaze made his heart feel warm, and right now, he needed his chicken soup.
"Hi, Yufei."
As soon as Yufei was in range, Xiaodan pulled him into a tight embrace as if he hadn't seen him just yesterday. Even so, the abruptly captured youth didn't mind, just finding that it felt warm and comfortable.
Yufei wrapped his hands around Xiaodan's broad back, not missing the sound of him inhaling sharply in surprise as he did so.
"Hahaha!" Yufei laughed, his warm eyes lit with humor. It was funny how Xiaodan froze every time without fail. It reminded him of those silly goats that stiffened up when frightened, falling on theirs sides like a block of wood.
Secretly entertaining himself with the adorable comparison, Yufei released another soft bout of laughter, his breath brushing past a bright red ear.
Abruptly, Xiaodan tightened his hold, burying his face into the delicate shoulder. Feeling as though he might get squeezed to death, Yufei tapped the bear's back frantically.
Can't breathe! Heart is beating too fast! Is it hot in here??
Luckily, Xiaodan seemed to understand, letting his arms loosen so that Yufei could pry them off before a bright red hue managed to grace his face.
Lately, Xiaodan had been a lot clingier than usual, making Yufei feel strange. Not unpleasant, just strange…
Unbeknownst to the affectionate duo, some surrounding students cast varying glances in their direction. However, none were of the judgmental type. Same-sex relationships had become widely accepted and supported after what people called The Progressive Movement, which was sparked by a massive surge of angry demonstrations demanding rights and protection for male omegas.
Decades later, even mega conservative countries like China and Japan couldn't deny the demographics anymore. Same-sex and opposite-sex relationships shared the same playing field when it came to prevalence!
Only the strictly traditional few would click their tongues with disdain. However, they couldn't even do that openly unless they wanted to be met with collective berating, ridicule, and even utter bafflement.
If Yufei and Xiaodan were to ever consider coming out as a couple, there might be jealousy from a few sour admirers, but being met with disdain wasn't an issue. Their compatibility was hard to deny, so it was likely the majority would support them.
However, according to both Yufei and Xiaodan, this wasn't even relevant info. They were never in that type of relationship in the first place! Unfortunately, they were the only ones in the world who would believe in such bullshit.
(I'm not buying it. Don't they have anything else in stock???)
Although Yufei wasn't aware of other people's assumptions, he wouldn't care even if he knew. He couldn't be caught up in such things when they were nearing the end of their senior year!
(Yes, but it's just the second season of the first product. Sorry... They refused to put anything else on the shelves…)
The youth had been studying diligently, and with his natural intelligence, Yufei felt pretty confident. Still, it wasn't over just yet.
But it was close…
* * *
For god knows what reason, Xiaodan had been feeling suffocated all morning, a longing to see Yufei clawing at his heart.
Thankfully, after getting his dose of Yufei, Xiaodan could breathe a little easier. Though, it was unfortunate how meager it was. He hadn't been given enough time to properly relish the sensations, leaving the acute disquiet in Xiaodan's gut hardly treated. Still, it was just enough to focus on class, albeit barely.
Even while trying to pay attention to the lecture, Xiaodan thought in the back of his mind that if he could embrace Yufei just a little more, he was sure he'd feel much more at ease. However, he also knew that if he got ahold of Yufei again, the embrace would long surpass "just a little more."
Bouncing his knee, Xiaodan stared at his nonexistent notes with unfocused eyes. No matter how badly he wanted to reach out, to hold and cradle, they were still in the middle of class. That wouldn't be appropriate.
'I really want to hold him… Just wait until lunch… Lunch.'
Repeatedly reminding himself to be patient and have restraint, Xiaodan inadvertently glanced at Yufei beside him who was dazedly taking notes. The youth had said over text that he slept well, but his current appearance was giving a very different message.
Xiaodan hadn't paid much attention before, but now that he was looking at Yufei seriously, the dark circles were actually quite striking against his pale face. And if one looked closely, the rims of his eyelids were a little red and swollen, only a tiny bit, but Xiaodan couldn't miss it.
'Even though he looks so haggard, it still isn't able to mask his…'
Xiaodan's thoughts trailed off, his eyes widening briefly before silently closing as he collected himself.
Thoughts reeled in and anchored, he returned his gaze to the swaying Yufei, his eyes softening. Sleeping in class wasn't good, especially at this time of year… But this was an opportunity Xiaodan couldn't resist.
"Yufei…"
He whispered quietly.
"Mmh…"
Yufei forced out a small grunt in response as if he didn't even have enough energy to speak.
Just this morning, he had been bounding up to Xiaodan like a happy baby deer, but now the leaping deer had turned into a drowsy kitten.
'Cute…'
"Lean on me…"
Xiaodan gently pulled the small head towards his shoulder.
"'Kay…"
-Bathump…
His ears turned crimson as the hot breath brushed his neck and the airy voice tickled his ears.
Was it bad that he wanted to hold him even closer?
Xiaodan gazed down at the youth's fluttering eyelashes, the distance so close that he could count each individual lash if he so desired. But, that wasn't news to Xiaodan. In fact, he'd already done that more than once in the past.
Unfortunately, they were in class at the moment. He had to at least remember the lecture so that he could debrief Yufei later.
Yet even knowing that, Xiaodan discreetly brought his nose closer to the silky head of hair, wanting to smell the subtle scent of plums wafting from him.
Since Yufei was a beta, it was likely just a scented product.
But, god, it smelled so good…
Closing his eyes, Xiaodan breathed in another whiff.
Plum was his favorite fruit…
The sweet smell coming off of Yufei stirred Xiaodan's appetite. He wanted to… eat him.
But in the end, he could only wrap his arm around the dozing boy's waist, focusing on the rhythmic breathing grazing his neck.
It was a sense of calm and comfort, even with the droning teacher and a few interactive students in the background.
Just for that moment, they were in a world of their own.