Love the momentum in this one — the Qingxue texting scene, the office dynamics, and the cliffhanger ending all have real energy. Paste it in whenever you're ready and I'll get started.
Oh wait, you already did! Give me just a moment.
Zhirui
I wake up to my alarm going off. I must have forgotten to turn it off last night.
I lie there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, then reach for my phone. There are a few new messages. One is from Qingxue, so I open that one first.
Qingxue ❄️:When are you planning to tell her? You know she'll find out eventually.
I stare at the message longer than I need to. Then I type back.
Me:Sooner or later. Don't worry about it.
Qingxue ❄️:How can I not worry? I'm an omega too, Zhirui. I know what taking that many suppressants does to a person. You need to stop.
I feel the tears before I notice them — two slow tracks down the side of my face, cool against my temple. She's right. I've known she's right for years. But knowing and doing are different things, and I am too far in to find my way back easily.
Me:I'll stop as soon as I can. Happy?
Qingxue ❄️:Don't make promises you won't keep. See you this afternoon.
We made plans last week — coffee, somewhere quiet, just the two of us, because we've both been too buried in work to breathe lately. I have the afternoon free for once. I'm looking forward to it more than I've admitted.
Me:See you.
I set the phone down and lie still for another minute.
Then I get up.
I spot Lexin the moment I walk into the building. She's leaning against the front desk, talking to someone, looking effortlessly put-together in that way that makes me briefly hate her. I drop my gaze immediately and aim for the stairwell.
"Zhirui."
Too late.
I turn around slowly. She's already crossed the distance between us, and now she's right there, purple eyes fixed on my face with an attention that feels like pressure.
"Were you trying to avoid me?"
"What? No. Why would I?"
She studies my expression for a long moment. I keep mine neutral with the specific effort of someone who has had years of practice. Finally, she smiles.
"I must have imagined it. Sorry."
She slings an arm around my shoulders and steers me toward the office. I let her, for a few steps. Then, as we reach the door, I ease out from under her arm.
"Go ahead. I need to use the restroom."
She raises an eyebrow but doesn't push. I'm already moving when I hear something hit the floor behind me.
"You dropped this."
I know the voice before I turn around.
Qingxue is standing in the hallway, holding out the suppressant bottle with an expression I can't quite read. Calm, mostly. Careful.
"What are you doing here?" I ask. "We said this afternoon."
"I came to ask Lexin to let you leave early." She presses the bottle into my hand. "And you promised you'd stop taking these."
"I said I needed time." I pocket the bottle before anyone else can see it.
She gives me a look — the kind that means this conversation isn't finished — then tilts her head toward the office. "Shall we?"
We go in together.
Lexin looks up from her desk the moment she sees Qingxue and her expression does something complicated. "What are you doing here?"
"Stealing your assistant," Qingxue says pleasantly.
"Just the assistant? What about the boss?"
"The boss can wait."
Lexin presses a hand to her chest. "Qingxue. When did you get so heartless? Don't tell me Wenlan taught you that."
I laugh — actually laugh, sudden and unguarded — and both of them look at me. Lexin's expression shifts into something warmer, softer, and I feel the familiar ache of it settle in my chest.
"And you," she says, pointing at me. "Why didn't you tell me you were going out with this menace? I could have come."
That's exactly why I didn't tell you.
Because you'd want to come, and if you came, you'd see too much. You'd notice things. You always notice things, Lexin — that's what makes you the best. It's also what makes you dangerous.
"Qingxue wanted help," I say quickly, "choosing a gift. For your brother." I hear the words as I'm saying them and immediately know it's a terrible lie. Qingxue brings one hand to her forehead.
Lexin's eyes slide back to Qingxue. "Is that right?"
Qingxue nods, composed as ever. Bless her.
"Fine." Lexin waves a hand. "Take the afternoon, Zhirui. But don't make a habit of it." She pauses. "Understood?"
"Understood, boss."
I grab Qingxue's hand and pull her toward the door before Lexin can change her mind or ask follow-up questions. "We'll see you Monday."
"Have fun," Lexin says.
I glance back. Her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.
What's wrong with you? I think, studying her for half a second. Then it clicks — slow, then all at once.
Oh.
Is she jealous? Of Qingxue?
I have to press my lips together to keep from smiling. I turn back around and follow Qingxue into the corridor, where she has stopped dead.
I look up.
"Ruofei." I blink. "What are you doing here?"
He's standing very still, hands in his pockets, gaze moving between me and Qingxue with that unreadable expression of his. Ruofei is an omega — recessive, which is why almost no one knows. His family. A few close friends.
His eyes settle on me.
"I came to see you, Zhirui."
"Me?" I give a small, careful laugh. "If this is about Lexin's schedule, I can send it by email — "
"I know your secret."
The words are quiet. Matter-of-fact. The hallway doesn't change, but something in it shifts.
"I think we should talk about it." He glances at Qingxue, reading her expression in an instant. "She already knows, doesn't she."
It isn't a question. I nod.
My hands are shaking. I press one against my forehead, willing the sudden dizziness to pass. It doesn't pass — it builds, the hallway tilting slightly, the light going strange at the edges.
I close my eyes.
The floor comes up fast. Two sets of hands catch me before I reach it.
I hear them calling my name — Qingxue's voice, then Ruofei's — but they're coming from somewhere far away, underwater, and I don't have the strength to answer. I drift. I know I'm still alive because I can feel it distantly, the fact of my own breathing.
For now, that's enough.