YPSSS Chapter 03

The atmosphere in the living room felt strange.

After exchanging greetings, Xie Ji fell silent.

Xia Shiruan was never talkative to begin with, and now he felt even more at a loss for words, so he could only glance at his mother for help.

The situation turned extremely awkward when his childhood acquaintance, someone he could barely call a “friend”, suddenly appeared before him, especially since their last memory together was far from pleasant.

Gao Qiuyun felt somewhat uncomfortable being caught in the middle. Seeing the two younger men staying quiet, she thought it might be because of her presence. She stood up and said, “You two chat first, I’ll go make dinner – Xiao Ji, why don’t you stay and eat with us?”

Xie Ji shifted his gaze from Xia Shiruan’s face and gave Gao Qiuyun a standard, well-behaved junior’s smile. “Auntie, please don’t trouble yourself. I’ll be leaving soon.”

Gao Qiuyun smiled and said, “You rarely come back, and you even made a special trip to visit. Even if you won’t stay for dinner, at least stay a bit longer.”

Before Xie Ji could respond, she stood up and walked toward the kitchen, saying, “I’ll get some fruit! Keep sitting!”

Xie Ji smiled helplessly and said “Okay.”

Xia Shiruan looked up at him.

After Gao Qiuyun left, only the two of them remained in the living room.

The weather had been hot lately, and since Xia Shiruan had just recovered from a cold, he hadn’t dared to set the air conditioning too low.

As an Alpha, Xie Ji naturally had a higher body temperature, and the thoughtful Gao Qiuyun had set the living room temperature quite low.

After sitting on the sofa for just a few minutes, Xia Shiruan felt cold, so he said to Xie Ji, “It’s a bit cold, I’ll adjust the air conditioning.”

This was their first exchange besides “long time no see” since meeting.

Xie Ji raised his eyebrows, made a sound of acknowledgment, and gestured for him to go ahead.

The air conditioning controls were on Xie Ji’s side, within his reach.

Unfortunately, Xie Ji showed no intention of helping.

Xia Shiruan stood up and walked around the sofa, only to find his path blocked by a pair of long legs.

Those long legs stretched across the gap between the sofa and coffee table. The legs didn’t even budge as he approached, lazily propped up.

After a pause, Xia Shiruan said, “Move your legs.”

Xie Ji answered immediately with a shameless, “No.”

Xia Shiruan: “…”

This childish behavior felt all too familiar.

Xia Shiruan pushed down the memories that suddenly surfaced in his mind and ignored Xie Ji. He supported himself with one hand on the sofa back while the other hand reached forward with effort. It took some effort, but he managed to reach the switch.

Xie Ji laughed again, his low voice coming from beneath Xia Shiruan’s armpit. “Xia Shiruan, you’re still so short. You can’t even reach that.”

Xia Shiruan: “…”

He took a deep breath, pressed the switch twice firmly to raise the temperature by two degrees, then lowered his arm. He glanced at Xie Ji and said flatly, “Isn’t it normal? I’m a Beta.”

Xie Ji’s smile darkened, and he fell silent again.

Xia Shiruan ignored him and quickly moved away, intending to return to his armchair.

Before he took two steps, Xie Ji suddenly spoke from behind, “Xia Shiruan, I heard you got into the doctoral program?”

Xia Shiruan sat back in his chair and replied, “Yes.”

Xie Ji smiled again and clapped his hands in what seemed like an insincere gesture, saying, “That’s impressive.”

Xie Ji had narrow eyes that looked sharp when squinted, but appeared childish when he smiled. His way of speaking was very different from when he was young, but Xia Shiruan couldn’t quite pinpoint how.

Xia Shiruan couldn’t be bothered to think about it.

His mind was occupied with the formula he couldn’t solve earlier. He sat on the sofa with his head slightly tilted, unconsciously fiddling with the sofa fabric while lost in thought.

Xie Ji watched his distracted appearance with narrowed eyes.

From the moment Xia Shiruan came downstairs, Xie Ji had been observing him.

Now that Gao Qiuyun was gone, he let his gaze roam freely over Xia Shiruan’s face.

Except for his slightly longer hair, Xia Shiruan looked almost exactly the same as he did four years ago – fair cheeks, a small pointed chin, and large black eyes that always seemed devoid of emotion.

Anyone who saw him for the first time would immediately think, “This person probably doesn’t have many friends.”

Even if a Beta with such a naturally cold and serious face was good-looking, it still counted against their first impression.

After all, society expected Betas to be gentle and accommodating, not aloof and distant.

Xia Shiruan’s mental calculations were soon interrupted by a faint fragrance.

In fact, since coming downstairs, Xia Shiruan had noticed the house smelled more fragrant than usual.

At first, he thought Gao Qiuyun had sprayed some perfume, but now he realized it wasn’t that – the scent seemed to come from Xie Ji, and it became more noticeable after he went to Xie Ji’s side to adjust the air conditioning.

The scent was subtle, too faint to identify beyond just smelling pleasant, yet impossible to ignore.

Because this fragrance made him feel strangely uncomfortable, Xia Shiruan wanted to ask about it several times but held back.

After all, Xie Ji’s face clearly showed his displeasure, and Xia Shiruan had no desire to talk with him more than necessary.

He hoped this person would leave soon so he could go upstairs and continue reading his “Online Monitoring and Fault Analysis of Photonic Devices.”

The two sat in silence with their own thoughts for a while before Gao Qiuyun came out with freshly cut fruit and some homemade dessert.

Seeing them still not speaking to each other, Gao Qiuyun smiled helplessly to herself, thinking how children became less lively as they grew up.

Gao Qiuyun pushed a plate of watermelon toward Xie Ji, smiling, “Xiao Ji just said the watermelon was sweet, here, have some more.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

She then pushed another plate of cut white dragon fruit to Xia Shiruan, saying, “Xiao Ruan, eat this, it’s good for your complexion.”

“…” Xia Shiruan calmly forked a piece and put it in his mouth.

Xie Ji let out a “pfft” laugh beside them. When Gao Qiuyun looked over, he quickly said, “Auntie, you take such good care of Xia Shiruan. My mom isn’t as gentle as you. She never cuts fruit for me.” He then ate a piece of watermelon with a smile.

No middle-aged woman could resist such flattery.

Gao Qiuyun immediately smiled and exclaimed, “Oh my! How can you compare? Your mother is a military officer’s wife, she doesn’t need to cut fruit herself.”

Gao Qiuyun knew well about the grandeur of the Xie family. They had people accompanying them everywhere, servants lined up during breakfast, and military vehicles clearing the way when they went out. It was an intimidating sight from afar.

In fact, the Xia family was also well-off, but Gao Qiuyun never liked having unfamiliar people coming and going in her home. Besides the monthly cleaning service, she didn’t hire any additional help.

Xia Shiruan sat quietly eating dragon fruit. After a few pieces, he felt like going upstairs.

He wondered what cologne Xie Ji was wearing. The scent wasn’t unpleasant, but he didn’t dare get too close.

Something inside seemed to warn him – stay away.

While Gao Qiuyun was still chatting with Xie Ji, Xia Shiruan grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth.

Just as he was about to quietly get up, the conversation somehow turned to him. Both Gao Qiuyun and Xie Ji looked his way. Xie Ji held a small fork with a bright red piece of watermelon on it.

Xie Ji smiled at him, extending the fork forward as if wanting to feed him.

Gao Qiuyun said with a laugh, “Xiao Ruan doesn’t like watermelon. He doesn’t like things that are too sweet.”

“Oh, really?” Xie Ji seemed unconcerned. He got up and sat next to Xia Shiruan, casually draping an arm over his shoulders. With a gentle smile, he said, “Try a piece, it helps you grow taller.”

As for Xia Shiruan, he could barely keep his expression in check.

He really didn’t like sweet things. Anything too sweet made him feel nauseous.

Even with dragon fruit, he only ate the white-fleshed ones.

For some reason, when Xie Ji moved closer, the combination of the watermelon and that subtle, sweet fragrance on him pushed Xia Shiruan’s discomfort to its limit.

The next second, his stomach churned. Looking at Xie Ji’s face, he retched with a “huack.”

Xie Ji’s expression froze.

The watermelon on his fork tilted and slid off, falling onto the coffee table.

Even Gao Qiuyun was shocked. Putting everything else aside, she quickly asked, “Xiao Ruan, what’s wrong?”

Xia Shiruan’s vision darkened. He weakly said, “I… feel sick…”