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The university cafeteria buzzed with the familiar chaos of midday rush hour. Trays clattered, conversations overlapped in a cacophony of academic stress and social maneuvering, and the air carried the mingled scents of cheap coffee and whatever mystery protein the kitchen was serving today. At a corner table near the windows, Hua Cheng sat with the kind of expression that could freeze boiling water, his dark eyes fixed on the Alpha standing far too close to his personal space.
"Look, I already said no," Hua Cheng said, his voice low and sharp. "Three times. In the last five minutes. What part of 'I'm not interested' requires a diagram?"
The Alpha—a broad-shouldered junior from the business school named Zhang—leaned one hand on the table, clearly under the impression that persistence equaled charm. His friends were watching from two tables over, snickering like this was some kind of sporting event. "Come on, campus king. You haven't even given me a chance. One coffee. That's all I'm asking."
Hua Cheng's jaw tightened. He could feel the weight of stares from surrounding tables, the way other students whispered behind their hands. Campus king, they called him. The untouchable Omega. The one with the face of a painting and the personality of a blizzard. What they never seemed to understand was that his coldness wasn't a challenge, it was a survival mechanism.
"I don't drink coffee with people I don't like," Hua Cheng said flatly. "And I don't like you."
Zhang's smile flickered but didn't die. "Playing hard to get? That's cute. I can work with that."
Before Hua Cheng could deliver a verbal evisceration that would have made his literature professor proud, a commotion at the adjacent table drew everyone's attention. A small crowd had gathered around a single figure, and the shift in the room's energy was palpable. Where Hua Cheng's table radiated tension and barely contained hostility, the one next to his seemed to glow with warmth and gentle laughter.
Xie Lian sat at the center of it all, accepting a beautifully wrapped bento box from a blushing Omega while simultaneously trying to wave off a female Beta who was attempting to press a thermos into his hands. His smile was the kind that made people feel like they were the only person in the room, soft, genuine, and utterly unaware of its devastating effect on everyone around him.
"You really don't have to—" Xie Lian was saying, his voice carrying that particular note of flustered gratitude that made his admirers double down rather than retreat.
"Please, Xie-xuezhang! I made it specially!" the Omega insisted, his cheeks pink. "You've been working so hard on your thesis, and you look like you haven't been eating enough—"
"I've been eating plenty," Xie Lian protested gently, though he accepted the box with both hands and a slight bow of his head. "Thank you. This is very kind."
The Omega practically glowed. Two more students pushed forward with gifts of their own, and Hua Cheng watched the spectacle with narrowed eyes. Xie Lian. The campus saint. The Beta who had somehow become the most sought-after student in the entire university despite having no pheromones to speak of and about as much romantic awareness as a brick.
"Hey." Zhang was still there, still hovering, still not getting the message. "You want to get out of here? I know a place off-campus—"
"No," Hua Cheng said, and this time his voice carried an edge that finally made the Alpha step back. "I want you to leave."
Zhang's expression hardened, the friendly veneer cracking to show something uglier underneath. "Fine. Play your games. But everyone knows what you really need is someone to warm you up." He walked away, his friends following with knowing smirks, and Hua Cheng was left with the familiar taste of frustration coating his tongue.
He turned his attention back to his untouched lunch, but a shadow fell across his table. He looked up to find Xie Lian standing there, holding two bento boxes and looking somewhere between apologetic and amused.
"Mind if I join you?" Xie Lian asked. "I seem to have acquired more food than one person can reasonably consume, and I suspect you might have lost your appetite watching that display."
Hua Cheng's expression softened almost imperceptibly a shift that only someone who knew him well would have caught. "Sit. Before they swarm you again."
Xie Lian slid into the seat across from him, setting down the boxes with a small sigh. "Thank you. I think my apartment is already at maximum capacity for love letters. I found seventeen in my mailbox this morning."
"Seventeen," Hua Cheng repeated flatly.
"Eighteen if you count the one taped to my door." Xie Lian opened one of the bento boxes, revealing an elaborate arrangement of rice, vegetables, and carefully cut fruit. "I don't even know this person. They wrote a three-page poem about my smile. I didn't know anyone could write that much about teeth."
Despite himself, Hua Cheng felt the corner of his mouth twitch. "Your fans are devoted."
"They're exhausting," Xie Lian corrected, though there was no real complaint in his voice. "I can't walk to class without someone offering to carry my books. I can't study in the library without someone leaving snacks at my table. Last week, a group of Omegas tried to schedule a 'study session' with me. There were twelve of them. For one subject." He shook his head. "I thought being a Beta meant I'd have a quiet university experience."
Hua Cheng snorted. "And I thought being an Omega meant I'd be pursued by one or two interested parties, not the entire Alpha population of this campus. They think I'm a prize to be won. Like they could collect me if they just try hard enough."
Xie Lian studied him for a moment, his gaze thoughtful. "And they think I'm a free moving service with a convenient marriage potential attached. I have three Omegas waiting for me outside my lecture hall right now. I checked."
"They follow you to class?"
"They walk me there. And back. And to the cafeteria. And to the library." Xie Lian's smile was rueful. "I've started taking the long route just to get five minutes of peace."
They sat in silence for a moment, two people at opposite ends of the campus social spectrum who somehow found themselves united by the same problem: too much attention from all the wrong people. Hua Cheng's eyes drifted to the bento boxes, the neatly arranged food that some anonymous admirer had spent hours preparing, and something sparked in his mind.
"Gege," he said slowly, using the affectionate address that had slipped into their conversations over months of shared lunches and library study sessions. "I have an idea."
Xie Lian looked up, curiosity written across his features. "What kind of idea?"
"If I dated a Beta," Hua Cheng said, his voice dropping so that only Xie Lian could hear, "the Alphas would back off. I'd be claimed. Off-limits. No more 'Campus king needs taming' nonsense."
Understanding dawned in Xie Lian's eyes. "And if I dated an Omega, the others would see me as..."
"Out of their league," Hua Cheng finished. "Taken by someone with a secondary gender. Someone who actually has a scent. You'd go from 'safe Beta husband material' to 'committed to someone else.'" He leaned forward. "We could fake date each other. Solve both our problems."
Xie Lian was quiet for a long moment, processing the proposal. His brow furrowed slightly the same expression he wore when working through a complex equation. "It would solve the bottleneck outside the dorms," he mused. "And the constant gift-giving. And the unscheduled walking companions."
"And my problem with Alphas who don't understand consent," Hua Cheng added. "They won't bother an Omega who's clearly with someone else."
"Okay," Xie Lian said finally, and the simplicity of his agreement made Hua Cheng blink. "Let's do it. Fake date."
"Just like that?" Hua Cheng couldn't quite keep the surprise from his voice.
Xie Lian smiled that soft, unconsciously charming smile that had started all his problems in the first place. "Why not? You're my friend, San Lang. I trust you. And if this gets me through my final year without another three-page poem about my teeth, I'll consider it a success."
Hua Cheng felt something warm unfurl in his chest, something he carefully ignored. This was an arrangement. A strategy. Nothing more. "Then we should do it properly," he said. "Make a scene. Make sure everyone sees."
"A confession?" Xie Lian suggested, and there was a hint of amusement in his tone. "In the central quad? Maximum visibility?"
"Tomorrow," Hua Cheng agreed. "Noon. When everyone's between classes."
They shook hands on it, sealing the deal like businessmen closing a contract. But as Hua Cheng watched Xie Lian open the second bento box and begin to eat, he wondered if he had just made the most brilliant or the most foolish decision of his life.
The central quad was packed, as it always was during the noon rush. Students sprawled on the grass, gathered at picnic tables, or hurried between buildings with the focused intensity of people running late. The autumn sun cast long golden shadows across the cobblestones, and the air carried the crisp promise of approaching winter.
Hua Cheng stood near the old oak tree at the quad's center, his hands in his pockets and his expression carefully neutral. He could feel the weight of attention already, heads turning as he passed, whispers starting up like wind through leaves. The campus king was in the quad. Something interesting was about to happen.
Xie Lian appeared a moment later, walking across the quad with his usual unhurried pace. A group of Omegas immediately perked up, clearly preparing to intercept him, but Hua Cheng moved first. He crossed the distance between them in quick, purposeful strides, reaching out to catch Xie Lian's wrist in his hand.
The conversation around them stuttered and died. Every eye in the quad swung toward the unlikely pair—the terrifying Omega and the gentle Beta—standing too close, touching too familiarly.
"Gege," Hua Cheng said, pitching his voice to carry. "I have something to say."
Xie Lian's expression was perfectly composed, but Hua Cheng caught the slight widening of his eyes. "San Lang? What is it?"
Hua Cheng didn't answer with words. Instead, he stepped closer, eliminating any remaining distance between them, and raised his free hand to cup Xie Lian's face. The touch was gentle deliberately so, a contrast to the aggressive reputation that preceded him. "Be mine," he said, loud and clear. "Date me."
The silence that followed was absolute. Somewhere, a thermos clattered to the ground. A group of first-years audibly gasped. And Xie Lian, bless his ability to commit to a role, smiled with such serene warmth that half the watching crowd probably forgot how to breathe.
"Okay," Xie Lian said simply. "I will."
The quad exploded.
By the time Hua Cheng and Xie Lian walked away, hand in hand, the rumor mill was already spinning at full speed. The Cold Omega and the Saintly Beta, an impossible pairing, a match made in some cosmic joke's fever dream, was the talk of the entire campus. Hua Cheng allowed himself a small, satisfied smile as they rounded the corner of the library building.
"That was dramatic," Xie Lian observed once they were out of earshot. "The face-touching was a nice touch."
"I'm committed to the role," Hua Cheng replied, and was rewarded with a quiet laugh.
What neither of them anticipated was how thoroughly the performance would need to continue. Being fake-boyfriends, it turned out, was less about the dramatic gesture and more about the daily grind of convincing everyone around them that their relationship was real.
Xie Lian, in particular, took his role very seriously. Perhaps too seriously, Hua Cheng thought sometimes, watching the Beta navigate their fake relationship with the same earnest dedication he applied to everything else. The hand-holding became constant. The lunch meetings became public affairs. And the protective behavior...
The first incident happened three days after their staged confession. Hua Cheng was at his locker, retrieving books for his afternoon class, when a shadow fell across him. He didn't need to turn around to know it was another Alpha, some hopeful who hadn't gotten the message yet.
"Hey," a voice said, smooth and confident. "I heard about your little show with that Beta. But we all know that can't last. Betas can't satisfy an Omega like you."
Before Hua Cheng could respond, another presence materialized beside him. Xie Lian appeared as if summoned, his expression pleasant but his eyes carrying an unfamiliar edge. He reached out and took Hua Cheng's hand, interlacing their fingers in a gesture that was somehow both casual and unmistakably possessive.
"Can I help you?" Xie Lian asked, his voice terrifyingly polite.
The Alpha blinked, clearly caught off guard by the Beta's calm intervention. "I was just talking to—"
"To my boyfriend," Xie Lian finished. "While he was clearly trying to get his books. Is there something you needed, or were you just planning to waste his time?"
The temperature around them seemed to drop. Other students in the hallway slowed their pace, watching the confrontation with wide eyes. Hua Cheng found himself fascinated by the shift in Xie Lian's demeanor; this was not the gentle, accommodating Beta everyone knew. This was something else entirely.
The Alpha's jaw worked for a moment before he apparently decided retreat was the better part of valor. "Whatever," he muttered, and walked away with his pride bruised but intact.
Xie Lian watched him go, then turned to Hua Cheng with a smile that was completely back to normal. "Shall we go to class, San Lang?"
"Where did that come from?" Hua Cheng asked, unable to keep the surprise from his voice.
"What?" Xie Lian looked genuinely puzzled. "I was just being helpful."
"You were terrifying."
"I was polite," Xie Lian corrected. "Polite and firm. There's a difference." He squeezed Hua Cheng's hand and started walking toward their next class, apparently oblivious to the way Hua Cheng was staring at him.
The second incident came a few days later, from the opposite direction. They were walking through the student union when a female Beta approached Xie Lian, a beautifully wrapped gift bag in her hands. She had pretty delicate features, a sweet smile, and the kind of hopeful expression that said she had been planning this encounter for a while.
"Xie-xuezhang!" she said, stepping into their path. "I made these cookies for you. I know you probably get a lot of gifts, but I really wanted to—"
Hua Cheng didn't think. He just moved.
One moment he was walking beside Xie Lian; the next, he was pressed against the Beta's side, his chin resting on Xie Lian's shoulder. The height difference meant he had to tilt his head slightly, and he used the position to level a glare at the female Beta that could have melted steel.
"Cookies?" he said, his voice dripping with sugar-coated venom. "How thoughtful. Gege already has someone to cook for him, though. Don't you, Gege?"
Xie Lian, to his credit, didn't flinch. "I do," he agreed, his voice warm. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid San Lang is rather territorial about my meals."
The female Beta's face fell, then recovered with admirable grace. "I see. My mistake. Congratulations to you both." She retreated quickly, clutching her cookies, and Hua Cheng watched her go with narrowed eyes before finally releasing Xie Lian from his grip.
"You're very good at that," Xie Lian observed as they continued walking.
"At what?"
"Being jealous," Xie Lian said, and there was a hint of amusement in his tone. "It's very convincing."
Hua Cheng's heart did something uncomfortable in his chest. Convincing. Right. That's what this was. A performance. "I'm a method actor," he said lightly, and Xie Lian laughed.
What Hua Cheng hadn't expected was that their problems wouldn't stop; they would just change form. The Alphas, rather than backing off entirely, shifted their approach. Now they compete with Xie Lian. In sports, in grades, in everything they could measure. The logic seemed to be that if they could prove themselves superior to the Beta in every way, Hua Cheng would realize his mistake and leave.
"Another challenge match," Xie Lian said one afternoon, showing the omega a formal invitation he'd received. "This one wants to compete in archery. Apparently, defeating me in a sport I've never played will win your heart."
"You could just decline," Hua Cheng pointed out.
"I did decline the last three," Xie Lian said. "They've started showing up to my archery class to watch me practice. I don't even take archery." He sighed. "I've created monsters."
Meanwhile, the Omegas and Betas who had once pursued Xie Lian had reorganized into something far more organized: a support group called 'Moving On From Xie Lian,' dedicated to helping its members process their heartbreak and move forward with their lives.
"I think I should attend," Xie Lian said one day, staring at a flyer for the group that had been posted on the library bulletin board.
"You want to join a support group for people getting over you?" Hua Cheng asked flatly.
"They look like they need support," Xie Lian said earnestly. "And I'm very good at listening. I could help."
"Gege." Hua Cheng pinched the bridge of his nose. "That is not how that works."
"Are you sure? I could bring snacks."
Hua Cheng grabbed Xie Lian's hand and pulled him away from the bulletin board before he could cause any more chaos. "Come on. We're going to be late for class."
"But I already prepared a speech about the healing power of friendship—"
"No."
The problem with fake dating, Hua Cheng discovered, was that physical boundaries had a way of blurring. What started as performative hand-holding became habitual. What was meant to be possessive displays became casual touches that felt far too natural. And the more time they spent in each other's space, the more Hua Cheng found himself wanting things that weren't part of the arrangement.
It was a cool evening in late October, and they were walking back from an off-campus study session. The wind had picked up, carrying the promise of the first frost, and Hua Cheng found himself shivering in his thin sweater. He'd underestimated the weather, a rare oversight for someone usually so meticulous.
Xie Lian noticed immediately. Of course he did. The Beta seemed to have a radar for other people's discomfort that bordered on supernatural.
"You’re cold," Xie Lian observed, already reaching for the zipper of his windbreaker.
"I'm fine," Hua Cheng started to say, but Xie Lian was already pulling the jacket off and draping it over Hua Cheng's shoulders.
The effect was immediate and devastating. The jacket was warm from Xie Lian's body heat, and as it settled around Hua Cheng, he was enveloped in the Beta's scent. It was faint, Betas didn't have the powerful pheromones of Alphas or Omegas but what was there was clean and grounding. Sandalwood, maybe, and something that reminded Hua Cheng of fresh laundry drying in the sun.
Hua Cheng's hands clenched in the fabric, pulling it tighter around himself. His heart was racing, and he was grateful for the darkness that hid the flush creeping up his neck. This was just Xie Lian being Xie Lian helpful, considerate, entirely oblivious to the effect he was having. But to Hua Cheng, wrapped in the Beta's jacket and drowning in his scent, this felt like being claimed.
Xie Lian adjusted the collar of the jacket, his fingers brushing against Hua Cheng's neck in a way that sent electricity down the Omega's spine. He reached up and gently brushed a strand of hair back from Hua Cheng's face, tucking it behind his ear with the kind of casual intimacy that made Hua Cheng's breath catch.
"There," Xie Lian said softly. "Now you look properly taken care of."
A group of Omegas walking past chose that moment to glance over. Their eyes went wide as they took in the scene of the notorious campus king wrapped in someone else's jacket, being fussed over like a precious thing and their expressions shifted through shock, jealousy, and resignation in quick succession.
Hua Cheng caught their gazes and smirked, some of his composure returning. Let them look. Let them see. This was the performance, after all. The fact that his heart was pounding for reasons that had nothing to do with acting was his own secret to keep.
The jacket incident might have remained a singular event if not for what happened a week later. They were walking through a crowded lecture hall, trying to find seats for a guest speaker both were interested in, and the press of bodies was overwhelming. Hua Cheng found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with half a dozen other students, all of them contributing their own scents to the thick, cloying air.
By the time they reached their seats, Hua Cheng felt nauseous. The mixture of Alpha aggression and Omega sweetness was coating his skin, settling into his clothes, marking him with scents that weren't his and definitely weren't Xie Lian's.
Xie Lian noticed his discomfort immediately. "Are you alright? You look pale."
"I'm fine," Hua Cheng said automatically, but his voice lacked conviction. "Just... too many people."
They sat through the lecture, but Hua Cheng couldn't focus. Every movement brought a new wave of foreign scents, and his Omega instincts were screaming at him to find somewhere safe, somewhere clean, somewhere that smelled like home. When the lecture finally ended, he all but dragged Xie Lian outside, gulping in the fresh air like a drowning man.
"San Lang," Xie Lian said, his voice concerned. "What's wrong?"
Hua Cheng leaned against the building's wall, trying to steady himself. "I smell like everyone else," he said, the words coming out more strained than he intended. "Other Alphas. Other Omegas. It's... unpleasant."
Understanding flickered across Xie Lian's face. "Ah. You need to be scent-marked."
\
"I need a shower," Hua Cheng corrected, pushing off the wall. "A long one. With industrial-strength soap."
"That would work," Xie Lian agreed. "But there's a faster solution." He hesitated, then added, "I could scent you. If you wanted."
Hua Cheng went very still. "You're a Beta."
"Yes."
"Betas don't have scent glands."
"Not like Alphas and Omegas," Xie Lian acknowledged. "But we do have a scent. It's just... subtler. And it would cover the others." He met Hua Cheng's eyes steadily. "It would help sell the relationship, too. People expect a couple to smell like each other."
There were a dozen reasons Hua Cheng should say no. This was crossing a line from performance into something far more intimate. Scenting was what mates did, what couples in committed relationships did. It was a claiming, a marking, a statement of belonging.
But the foreign scents on his skin were making him dizzy, and the thought of being wrapped in Xie Lian's clean, warm presence again was too tempting to resist.
"Okay," he said quietly. "Just... rub your wrist on my neck. Please, Gege."
Xie Lian stepped closer, his expression carefully neutral. He raised his wrist and pressed it gently against the curve of Hua Cheng's neck, right where an Omega's scent gland would be. His touch was deliberate, careful, the same way he might apply medicine to a wound.
But Hua Cheng was a wreck. Every point of contact felt like a brand, and he had to concentrate on keeping his breathing steady. His instincts were screaming at him to lean into the touch, to bare his neck further, to offer himself completely to the person standing so close. He gripped the fabric of his own sleeves, nails digging into his palms, and tried not to let any of it show on his face.
"Is this okay?" Xie Lian asked, frowning slightly. "Am I pressing too hard?"
"It's fine," Hua Cheng managed, his voice only slightly strained. "Keep going."
Xie Lian continued, moving his wrist along Hua Cheng's neck with the same careful attention he gave everything. When he finally stepped back, Hua Cheng felt like he'd run a marathon. His skin was tingling where Xie Lian had touched, and the Beta's clean, subtle scent had replaced the overwhelming mixture of strangers.
"Better?" Xie Lian asked.
"Much better," Hua Cheng said honestly. "Thank you, Gege."
Xie Lian smiled, that soft, warm smile that made Hua Cheng's chest ache, and offered his hand. "Come on. Let's get something to eat."
Hua Cheng took the hand and told himself that the warmth spreading through him was just relief. It was just gratitude. It was just the comfort of finally being free of those unpleasant foreign scents.
It absolutely was not the feeling of wanting this—wanting Xie Lian—to be real.
The problem with fake dating was that it came with expectations that Hua Cheng hadn't fully considered when he'd proposed this arrangement. Xie Lian was supposed to act like a boyfriend. He was supposed to be possessive, protective, attentive. And he was all of those things, with an earnestness that made Hua Cheng's heart do dangerous things.
But Xie Lian was also, fundamentally, still Xie Lian. And Xie Lian helped people. It was in his nature the same way the sun rose in the east and set in the west, Xie Lian noticed when someone was struggling and immediately moved to assist.
The incident happened on a Thursday afternoon. Hua Cheng was walking across the quad, intending to meet Xie Lian for their regular study session, when he spotted a familiar figure near the fountain. Xie Lian was crouched on the ground, his attention focused on someone Hua Cheng couldn't see.
As Hua Cheng got closer, the scene resolved itself: a pretty female Omega had apparently tripped, scraping her knee on the stone path. Her face was tear-streaked, her hands trembling as she tried to assess the damage. And Xie Lian—kind, helpful, oblivious Xie Lian—was kneeling beside her, holding her hand gently as he examined the wound.
"It's not too deep," Xie Lian was saying, his voice soft and reassuring. "You'll need to clean it properly, but it shouldn't scar. Do you have someone who can help you to the infirmary?"
The Omega sniffled, looking up at him with wide, grateful eyes. "No... I don't think so. Everyone's in class."
"Then I'll walk you," Xie Lian said, already helping her to her feet. His hand was steady on her elbow, his attention completely focused on her in that way he had like she was the only person in the world who mattered in that moment.
Hua Cheng stopped walking. He told himself it was fine. This was just Xie Lian being Xie Lian helping someone in need, being the campus saint everyone adored. There was nothing romantic about it. Nothing that should make Hua Cheng's stomach churn the way it was churning.
But then the Omega leaned into Xie Lian's side, her hand still clasped in his, and smiled up at him with an expression that Hua Cheng recognized all too well. Gratitude. Admiration. The beginning stages of something that could very easily become infatuation.
And Xie Lian, oblivious as always, smiled back with that gentle warmth that had captured half the campus.
Hua Cheng turned and walked away. He didn't know where he was going just away, away from the sight of Xie Lian's hand wrapped around someone else's, away from the nausea rolling through his stomach, away from the realization that he had broken the most important rule of their arrangement.
"San Lang!"
Xie Lian's voice called out behind him, but Hua Cheng didn't stop. He couldn't. If he stopped, he would have to face what he was feeling, and that was not part of the plan. That was not what they had agreed to.
"San Lang, wait!" Footsteps hurried behind him, and then Xie Lian was there, falling into step beside him. "Where are you going? I thought we were studying."
"Changed my mind," Hua Cheng said shortly. "Busy."
"Busy with what? You're walking toward the parking lot."
"Maybe I have a car."
"You don't have a car. What's wrong?" Xie Lian's hand caught Hua Cheng's arm, stopping him. "Did something happen? Did an Alpha bother you again?"
Something in Hua Cheng snapped. "No! It's not Alphas! It's you!"
Xie Lian blinked, clearly confused. "Me? What did I do?"
"You're too nice, Gege!" Hua Cheng's voice came out louder than he intended, drawing stares from passing students. "You act like my boyfriend, you hold my hand, you scent me and then you turn around and hold hands with every Omega on campus!"
Xie Lian's brow furrowed. "I was administering first aid. She scraped her knee."
"It looked like a romance drama!" Hua Cheng could hear how unreasonable he sounded, but the words kept coming. "You were looking at her like she was the only person in the world. That's supposed to be... that's our..." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Silence stretched between them. Hua Cheng could feel his face heating, shame mixing with the jealousy in a toxic cocktail. This was not how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to be the uncaring, untouchable campus king, not some lovesick fool throwing a tantrum in the parking lot. But he was a lovesick fool for xie lian.
"I mean..." Hua Cheng took a breath, trying to regain control. "It hurts our cover. People won't believe we're dating if gege flirts with everyone."
It was a weak excuse, and they both knew it. Xie Lian studied him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, quietly: "I wasn't flirting."
"I know," Hua Cheng admitted. "I know you weren't. You're just... you."
"But you're upset," Xie Lian continued. "Because you saw me being kind to someone else, and it made you feel..." He trailed off, something shifting in his gaze. "San Lang. Look at me."
Hua Cheng forced himself to meet Xie Lian's eyes. What he saw there made his breath catch not confusion, not concern, but something deeper. Something that looked almost like understanding.
"I see," Xie Lian said softly. "You're very committed to the act."
The words landed like a blow. Committed to the act. Of course. That's all this was. That's all it could be. Xie Lian was a Beta unaffected by pheromones, unbound by Omega instincts. He could walk away from this arrangement whenever he wanted, and Hua Cheng would be left with nothing but the lingering scent of sandalwood and laundry soap.
"Right," Hua Cheng said, his voice hollow. "The act. I should go."
He turned and walked away, and this time, Xie Lian didn't follow.
The university's annual autumn formal was, by all accounts, the social event of the season. The administration spared no expense transforming the main hall into something out of a fairy tale, complete with twinkling lights, elegant draping, and a live orchestra. Students spent weeks planning their outfits, coordinating with friends, and building up expectations for a night of magic and romance.
Hua Cheng had been dreading it for exactly that reason.
He stood at the edge of the dance floor, dressed in a sharp black suit that made his already striking features look almost otherworldly. His hair was pulled back from his face, revealing the sharp angles of his jaw and cheekbones, and his eyes swept the room with the cold detachment that had earned him his nickname.
Xie Lian was somewhere in the crowd. They hadn't spoken since the parking lot confrontation three days ago, a silence that had stretched between them like a chasm, growing wider with each passing hour. Hua Cheng had told himself it was better this way. The arrangement had served its purpose; they could start phasing it out. Return to being friends. Pretend none of this had ever happened.
The thought made his chest ache.
"Campus king.”
Hua Cheng’s jaw clenched at the familiar voice. Zhang, the Alpha from the cafeteria, the one who'd started this whole mess, materialized at his side, dressed in an expensive suit and wearing a smile that was all teeth.
"I heard your Beta boyfriend isn't here tonight," Zhang said, stepping closer than was comfortable. "Trouble in paradise?"
"He's not my keeper," Hua Cheng said flatly. "And I'm not interested."
"Come on." Zhang's hand landed on Hua Cheng's arm, his grip tightening when the Omega tried to pull away. "Everyone knows that the whole relationship was a sham. A Beta can't satisfy an Omega. Not really. You need someone who understands what you need."
"Let go." Hua Cheng's voice was low and dangerous.
"Why? So you can keep pretending?" Zhang leaned in, his breath hot against Hua Cheng's ear. "Dance with me. Let me show you what a real partner feels like."
Across the room, Xie Lian was having his own problems. A group of Omegas had cornered him near the refreshment table, their eyes bright with hope and carefully applied glitter.
"Xie-xuezhang," one of them said, extending her hand. "Since Hua Cheng seems... occupied... would you like to dance?"
"I really shouldn't—" Xie Lian started to say, but another Omega cut him off.
"Just one dance! It's not like you're together anymore, right? Everyone's been talking."
Xie Lian's gaze drifted across the room to where Hua Cheng stood, Zhang's hand on his arm, his expression tight with discomfort. Something hot and unfamiliar flared in Xie Lian's chest, not jealousy, exactly, but something close to it. Something that made him want to cross the room and put himself between Hua Cheng and anyone who thought they had a right to touch him.
"Excuse me," he said to the Omegas, and walked away.
Hua Cheng saw him coming. He saw the determination in Xie Lian's face, the way he cut through the crowd like a man on a mission. And something in his chest that had been frozen for three days began to thaw.
"I said let go," he said to Zhang, shoving the Alpha's hand off his arm with force that was necessary. Then he turned and walked to meet Xie Lian halfway.
They stopped in front of each other, the noise of the party fading into the background. Xie Lian was wearing a cream-colored suit that made him look like something out of a painting, soft and golden and impossibly lovely. His eyes searched Hua Cheng's face, looking for something.
"San Lang," he said quietly. "I've been trying to give you space. But I don't think I can do that anymore."
Before Hua Cheng could respond, Xie Lian's hand shot out and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the dance floor. It was such an uncharacteristically aggressive move—from a Beta, no less—that Hua Cheng found himself stumbling after Xie Lian without protest.
"Dance with me," Xie Lian said, and it wasn't a question.
The music had shifted to something slow and sweet. Couples swayed across the floor, lost in each other, and Hua Cheng found himself being pulled into position. Xie Lian's hands settled on his waist, his own hands finding their way to Xie Lian's shoulders. They were close enough that Hua Cheng could smell that familiar sandalwood scent, and could feel the warmth radiating from Xie Lian's body.
"Gege," Hua Cheng started, his voice rough. "We don't have to—"
"Be quiet," Xie Lian said, not unkindly. "I need to say something, and if you interrupt, I might lose my nerve."
Hua Cheng closed his mouth. His heart was pounding so hard he was sure Xie Lian could feel it through his suit jacket.
They swayed together, a slow orbit, and Xie Lian's grip tightened almost imperceptibly on Hua Cheng's waist. "You know," he said, his voice thoughtful, "I haven't received a single love letter in a week. My fangirls have stopped texting me. No one's tried to walk me to class in days."
Hua Cheng's heart sank. "Good. The plan worked."
"Mm." Xie Lian's gaze was fixed somewhere over Hua Cheng's shoulder. "But the plan has a flaw."
"What?"
Xie Lian's eyes finally met his. "I don't want them to stop. I only want you to bother me."
The world seemed to narrow to the space between them. Hua Cheng's breath caught, his feet still moving in the slow dance but his mind completely still. "What?"
"I've been thinking," Xie Lian continued, his voice steady despite the flush creeping up his neck. "About what you said. About being too nice. About holding hands with other people." He swallowed. "The truth is, San Lang, I took the role seriously. I took it too seriously. I started getting irrationally angry when other Alphas looked at you. I started feeling sad when I didn't have your weight on my shoulder while walking. I started wanting..."
He paused. "Betas don't have instincts. Not like Omegas or Alphas. But I think my human instinct is telling me to be by your side. And not just for show."
Hua Cheng stopped dancing. The music continued around them, other couples still swaying, but he stood frozen in the middle of the dance floor with Xie Lian's hands on his waist and the world tilting on its axis.
"Gege," he breathed. "You can't mean that."
Xie Lian smiled, small and shy and nothing like the confident, oblivious Beta who had captured half the campus. "I know I'm not what you expected. I'm a Beta. I don't have pheromones that can calm you, or instincts that can guide you, or any of the things that Omegas are supposed to want in a partner." He took a breath. "But I care about you, San Lang. I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone. And if you'll have me—really have me—I would be honored to be yours."
Hua Cheng felt like his knees might buckle. All this time weeks and weeks of fake dating, of staged confessions and possessive glares, of jackets draped over shoulders and wrists pressed to necks and he had convinced himself that he was the only one breaking the rules. That he was the only one whose heart had gotten tangled up in the performance.
"You want this?" His voice came out strangled. "Even though I'm... difficult? And an Omega? And—"
"Especially because you're you," Xie Lian interrupted gently. "I don't care about secondary gender, San Lang. I care about the person who glares at Alphas like they're insects but saves the softest smiles for me. I care about you who lets me wrap him in my jacket and pretends he's not affected. I care about you."
Something cracked open in Hua Cheng's chest not painfully, but like a flower turning toward the sun. He had spent so long building walls, protecting himself from Alphas who saw him as a conquest and Omegas who saw him as competition. He had never expected someone to look at him and simply see... him.
"I'm yours," he said, the words coming out fierce and certain. "I've been yours since the beginning. I think I was yours the moment you sat down at my table and complained about love letters."
Xie Lian's face softened into something radiant. "Can I kiss you? Not for show. Not for the audience. Just because I want to."
Hua Cheng didn't answer with words. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to Xie Lian's, right there in the middle of the dance floor, with the orchestra playing and the lights twinkling and half the university watching. The kiss was soft at first tentative, questioning and then Xie Lian's hand came up to cup Hua Cheng's face, tilting his head for better access, and it deepened into something that made Hua Cheng's toes curl in his shoes.
Somewhere behind them, someone gasped. Someone else made a sound that might have been a sob. The whispers started immediately, spreading through the crowd like wildfire: They're kissing. The campus king and the Saintly Beta. And this time, it's real.
When they finally broke apart, Hua Cheng was breathless and flushed, his carefully constructed icy composure completely shattered. Xie Lian wasn't much better, his hair was slightly mussed from where Hua Cheng's hands had found their way into it, and his smile was so bright it could have lit up the entire hall.
"San Lang," he murmured. "Would you like to get out of here?"
"Yes," Hua Cheng said immediately. "Please."
They made their exit hand in hand, ignoring the stares and whispers, the Alphas who looked like they might cry and the Omegas who sighed in resigned defeat. None of it mattered. All that mattered was the warmth of Xie Lian's palm against his, the lingering taste of their kiss, and the promise of something real.
Three weeks later, Hua Cheng sat in the university library, pretending to study while actually watching Xie Lian do actual work across the table. The Beta was absorbed in a thick textbook, his brow slightly furrowed in concentration, a pen tapping absently against his lips.
They had settled into something comfortable, a routine that felt less like performance and more like life. Xie Lian walked him to class. Hua Cheng glared at anyone who got too close. They shared meals and study sessions and quiet moments that Hua Cheng hoarded like precious gems. The fake dating arrangement had become real somewhere along the way, so seamlessly that Hua Cheng couldn't pinpoint exactly when the shift had occurred.
A shadow fell across the table. Hua Cheng looked up to find a new student, someone he didn't recognize, probably a transfer standing there with a lost expression and a campus map clutched in their hands.
"Excuse me," the student said, looking between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. "Could you tell me where the science building is? I've been walking in circles for twenty minutes."
Xie Lian looked up from his textbook, his expression already shifting into helpful mode. "Of course! It's just past the—"
Before he could finish, a hand snaked around Xie Lian's waist. Hua Cheng had stood and circled the table without conscious thought, positioning himself behind Xie Lian's chair and draping himself over the Beta in a gesture of unmistakable possession. His eyes fixed on the new student with a red gleam that made them take a step back.
"The science building is that way," Hua Cheng said flatly, jerking his chin toward the library's east exit. "Third building on your left."
The student's eyes went wide. "Is... is he okay?" they asked, looking at Xie Lian. "His eyes just—"
"He's fine," Xie Lian said cheerfully, apparently unfazed by the display of territorial behavior. "Just protective. Ignore him."
The student fled, presumably in the direction of the science building, though they might have been running from Hua Cheng specifically. Once they were gone, Xie Lian twisted in his chair to look up at the Omega draped over him.
"San Lang. They just wanted directions."
"They were looking at you," Hua Cheng said, as if that explained everything.
"Everyone looks at me. I have a face."
"They were looking at you the wrong way."
Xie Lian laughed, that warm, genuine sound that had first drawn people to him like moths to a flame. He reached up and cupped Hua Cheng's face, pulling him down for a quick, sweet kiss that made the Omega's ridiculous possessiveness melt into something softer.
"You're ridiculous," Xie Lian murmured against his lips.
"I'm yours," Hua Cheng countered.
"Yes, yes." Xie Lian smiled and pressed another kiss to Hua Cheng's cheek. "Only you, San Lang. Now sit down and let me finish this chapter."
Hua Cheng sat, but he didn't let go of Xie Lian's hand. He didn't think he would ever want to let go. Not when he had finally found someone who saw past the Ice Prince facade, who wanted him not as a prize to be won but as a person to be loved.
The fake dating had been his idea. The real feelings had been an accident. But the outcome, this quiet, perfect happiness was something Hua Cheng would never regret.