Some people can dominate half of the entertainment industry's resources without doing a single thing.
For the past week, every topic related to Zhou Shu had remained firmly in the top three of the trending searches. This was a "skill" others could only dream of, leading many paid trolls to attack Zhou Shu for "occupying public resources."
"Occupying public resources?" Zhou Shu caught a glimpse of a push notification while lounging on the sofa watching a drama. He looked down with a cold smirk and said indifferently, "I *am* the public resource."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the "puppy" leaning beside him leaned in to kiss him. Between kisses, Jin Yan murmured, "Ge, you look so hot when you say that. You’re practically seducing me."
The temperature was just beginning to rise when the other *actual* puppy in Zhou Shu’s arms started jumping on him incessantly, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
Helpless, Jin Yan let go of Zhou Shu first and pressed down on Xunxun’s little head. "Xunxun, don't try to compete with me for affection. Where’s your sense of timing?"
Xunxun let out a soft "awoo," completely ignoring him. The dog continued to burrow into Zhou Shu’s arms with the arrogance of a favored pet, as if he had fully realized who the true boss of the house was.
Jin Yan shook his head and tried to lift Xunxun out of Zhou Shu’s arms, but he was stopped.
"Ge..." Jin Yan’s sense of grievance welled up. He playfully scratched Zhou Shu twice in protest. "I feel like you don't love me as much anymore."
He poked Xunxun’s head twice, then slid his hand under Zhou Shu’s clothes. "I feel like... my status in this family has dropped again."
"Hey! Stop it..." The moment Jin Yan’s skin touched his, Zhou Shu’s entire body shuddered. He patted Jin Yan’s restless hand. "Xunxun is still right here."
"Oh—" Jin Yan tilted the corner of his mouth, drawing out his words with deep meaning. "So, if Xunxun weren't here, it would be okay?"
The little head in Zhou Shu’s arms popped up again, lunging forward to nudge Jin Yan while letting out a high-pitched, milky bark, as if saying: *Don't you go too far!*
The two of them laughed at the sound, but in the end, a real dog was no match for a human "dog."
In the next second, Xunxun was "gently" placed into his luxurious little bed. He then watched with his own eyes as the head of the household was swept up in a princess carry by the third-in-command. The two entered the bedroom and shut the door.
Inside the room, the sound of kissing was incessant, and even their breaths were thick with heat.
At the final moment, Zhou Shu caught Jin Yan’s hand, his voice airy and strained. "The doctor said... we can't..."
"We can't?" Jin Yan suddenly felt a streak of mischief, wanting to tease his lover. After all, Zhou Shu was most beautiful when he was caught in the throes of passion, and his words were at their softest. "Tell me, what exactly can't we do?"
"The reproductive cavity... it hasn't fully developed yet..." Zhou Shu tilted his head back, enjoying Jin Yan’s dense rain of kisses. His hand rested on Jin Yan’s head, but he made no move to push him away.
Jin Yan understood Zhou Shu’s heart perfectly; after all, this "spray of seafoam" loved playing these games of push-and-pull the most.
He gave Zhou Shu a light bite, then leaned close to his ear. "Once it's developed, we can, right?"
"Mm..." How could Zhou Shu possibly withstand Jin Yan’s seduction? He could only follow along with whatever the other said.
The raindrop that had obtained an entire ocean was tireless, wanting only to demand more.
"Can we do it every day? Can I knot, too?"
"K-Knot...?" Hearing this, Zhou Shu’s eyes widened significantly.
"Yes, knotting." Jin Yan’s hand continued its restless wandering; he never intended to let Zhou Shu off easy. "Surely you know what knotting implies, Ge?"
Zhou Shu’s heart rate spiked. He turned his head away and whispered, "I know."
Seeing his lover’s ears turn a blood-red, Jin Yan finally felt a pang of tenderness. He leaned down to kiss Zhou Shu’s feverish earlobe and pulled him into his arms. "I’m just teasing. Don't be scared."
Like a storm that had abruptly ceased, the surface of the sea suddenly became terrifyingly quiet. This sudden silence felt like a soul being instantaneously stripped away. It left a hollow space in Zhou Shu’s heart, allowing a gentle, tingling sea breeze to drift in easily.
But the raindrop hidden in the clouds had yet to notice the dissatisfaction of the sea below. Zhou Shu thought to himself: *This really is a raindrop with no emotional intelligence.*
"What do you mean, 'just teasing'?" The more Zhou Shu thought about it, the angrier he got. His "physiological period" mood swings surged again. "You don't plan on marking me permanently?"
As expected, Jin Yan’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and his breath hitched for several seconds.
"Ge... do you know what you're saying?"
"Am I a child? Or did I not turn eighteen and miss my biology classes?" Zhou Shu’s tone was incredibly awkward. If Jin Yan couldn't tell he was angry now, then he truly would have no emotional intelligence.
"No..." Jin Yan’s heart softened into a puddle. He pecked at the beauty mark below his proud lover’s lip over and over, coaxing him softly. "I was afraid you didn't fully understand the Enigma gender yet. I was afraid... you didn't know what it meant to be an exclusive Omega."
"You mean, you'll mark my gland, and we'll still..." Zhou Shu paused, not finishing the sentence. "But now you're telling me you won't mark me permanently."
"No, that's not it..." Jin Yan laughed helplessly. "How did you misinterpret me like that? I’m being framed here." He took Zhou Shu’s hand, kissed his fingertips, and said solemnly, "Ge, permanent marking isn't what you think it is. Moreover, you were an Alpha; you never considered whether you wanted to be—or even *could* be—an exclusive Omega."
Seeing that Zhou Shu’s expression hadn't improved, he continued to explain, "I... I didn't mean it that way. What I wanted to say was..."
"It's you I love. As for whether I can permanently mark you, I don't care that much. Even if we were both Alphas, it would be the same to me." Jin Yan sighed softly, resting his head against Zhou Shu’s lower abdomen, gently stroking the area where the reproductive cavity lay. He said softly, "Permanent marking is very painful. I can't bear to put you through it..."
Hearing this, Zhou Shu felt a pang in his heart. He slowly raised his hand to stroke Jin Yan’s hair.
"Yan Yan."
"Mm."
"I am doing this willingly."
Jin Yan’s breath hitched, and a warm liquid seemed to slide from the corner of his eye. He turned his face, kissed Zhou Shu’s abdomen, and whispered, "Okay."
It was as if only at this moment did the two truly exchange their deepest feelings. They had finally voiced their desires and concerns clearly, reaching a common goal.
As for Zhou Duo...
Since their last conversation, Zhou Shu had realized many things. He had selfishly given birth to the personality of Zhou Duo, so he could no longer selfishly monopolize his life, letting him sleep forever within his body.
Zhou Duo had said he wanted to grow up; he didn't want to be eighteen forever. And when he would grow up was entirely up to Zhou Shu...
If the more connections he established with Jin Yan, the faster Zhou Duo would disappear... then the final catalyst for Zhou Duo to "grow up" would likely be the permanent marking between him and Jin Yan.
Zhou Shu closed his eyes helplessly, digesting the bitterness in his heart alone. That seawater, mixed with a myriad of emotions, flowed back, following the blood into Zhou Duo’s heart, where it bloomed into a bright spray of foam.
***
This weekend, the parents called Jin Yan and Zhou Shu back to the villa for dinner.
The moment Zhou Shu walked through the door, he was pulled onto the sofa by the mothers, who showered him with concern as if he had just finished his postpartum recovery month.
He awkwardly shot a glance at Jin Yan, and sure enough, the "puppy" scurried over in the next second. Jin Yan wrapped his arm around Zhou Shu’s waist and placed his hand over his lower abdomen.
"Mom, Auntie Liang, stop teasing my Ge. If you have your fun now, I’ll be the one suffering tonight."
"Jin Yan..." Zhou Shu sucked in a breath, his jaw tightening.
"Alright, Xiao Shu, don't always bully Yan Yan." Zhou Shu’s mother asked with a smile, "By the way, how is your reproductive cavity? Has it been hurting lately?"
"Actually, there hasn't been any abdominal pain for three days," Jin Yan answered naturally after a moment's thought. "His mood has been much better lately, and he’s not as lethargic."
Zhou Shu was slightly stunned, feeling a bit embarrassed.
To his surprise, the mothers started chatting away with Jin Yan.
"Aiya, Yan Yan, you have to be more attentive. You need to take more care of him when his emotions are unstable."
"That's right, especially during his future heat cycles. You must stay by his side."
"Wait..." Zhou Shu reached out to interrupt these terrifying statements, looking at Jin Yan in disbelief. "Heat cycles?"
Both mothers were also taken aback. "Xiao Shu, you didn't know?" They shook their heads, explaining as if watching a good show. "Once Yan Yan permanently marks you, you’ll have the estrous cycles of an Omega from then on."
"..."
Looking at Zhou Shu’s stunned expression, Jin Yan smiled and took his hand. "I can finally conclude that you spent all of biology class sleeping."
"You..." Zhou Shu was momentarily speechless. He shot him a glare. "That wasn't within the scope of what I needed to care about. Back then, I only listened seriously to how Alphas mark Omegas. Who knew things would turn out like this?"
Hearing this, both mothers almost couldn't hold back their laughter, but they didn't dare laugh in front of Zhou Shu. They could only press their lips together and go off to do other things.
Jin Yan took the opportunity to lean into Zhou Shu’s ear, speaking in a voice only they could hear. "Ge, it's okay. Tonight when we go back, we can study some videos together."
"Just like the ones you used to watch in secret..."
"Shut up!"
Zhou Shu’s sudden outburst of embarrassment and anger startled the two mothers. Fortunately, Jin Yan was quick, stopping them before they could try to mediate.
"It's nothing. I was just being a brat and teasing my Ge."
Jin Yan’s mother sighed helplessly, glaring at her son. "Your behavior right now is quite atrocious." She turned her head to look at Zhou Shu’s arm. "Xiao Shu, how is the arm you injured last time?"
Zhou Shu raised his hand and gave it a wave. "It's fine, it healed long ago. The wound wasn't deep to begin with."
His casual words brought a pang of heartache to the two mothers. This arm had not only been injured during the incident at the hotel but had also been "attacked" by Duan Xingyi’s fans at the airport previously. The injuries were even in the exact same spot.
Zhou Shu’s mother looked at her son’s scar and couldn't help but feel sorrowful again. "Look at you. You just had to enter the entertainment industry and wade into these muddy waters. Is our family short on money for you to spend, or what...?"
"Mom, why are you bringing this up again?"
Before Zhou Shu could finish, Jin Yan squeezed his hand.
"Auntie Liang, don't be sad," Jin Yan said softly. "My Ge is a natural-born actor; he was born for the stage. It’s my fault. I didn't protect him well enough."
"Yan Yan..."
"Don't worry. From now on, whenever my Ge is filming, I will do my best to make time to stay with the crew and accompany him." Jin Yan smiled, his eyes filled with brilliant light, like a rainbow refracted through raindrops.
Zhou Shu knew Jin Yan felt pained by what he had gone through, but he hadn't expected him to think this way. Was it because he loved him too much? That he would attribute every mistake to himself...
He didn't know when Jin Yan had made such a resolution; he only knew that at this moment, his own heart truly ached for him.
He hadn't originally had such a dream. Whether it was being an actor or becoming a household name, he had no interest in it. He had started down this path only because he had suddenly remembered a sentence from his childhood.
Once, he and Jin Yan had lost each other in a park. He had been so frantic he tried everything, but he couldn't find that small figure. Later, Zhou Shu finally found him in front of a billboard at the park entrance.
When Jin Yan saw his brother, he immediately lunged at him. Zhou Shu asked him why he was waiting there.
Jin Yan said it was because when they entered, his brother told him that the people who appeared on billboards were all incredibly amazing people—they would be seen by everyone, shining as bright as the sun.
"Because Gege is even more dazzling than the sun. The sun has set, and I can't find the sun anymore, so I had to wait for you here."
That was Jin Yan’s answer to Zhou Shu. From then on, they made a pact: if they ever got separated, they would look for each other at the most dazzling place.
But later, Jin Yan had left without saying goodbye, and Zhou Shu could never find him again.
So, carrying a bitter heart, he too stood in that most dazzling position. He wanted the little boy to be able to follow the light and find his way back, just like when they were children.
In the end, he succeeded. Jin Yan finally saw the radiant Zhou Shu and returned to his side.
The arrangements of fate still favored them. Their bond had been signed in the shadows long ago; even after wandering through life, they would still meet again in the crowd.
Zhou Shu reflected on his mindset when he first entered the industry and made a decision in his heart.
That night, after Jin Yan had fallen asleep, Zhou Shu got up and picked up his phone.
He logged into his social media account, which had been muted for a long time, and posted a message with his verified profile picture.
[I am very sorry for occupying so many public resources during this time. But since I've already occupied them, one more time won't hurt. I am Zhou Shu. I have been in the industry for three years, and I am grateful for everyone's misplaced love and support. I hereby announce my retirement from the entertainment industry; I will not be accepting any further commercial collaborations. Finally, as shown in the picture.]
[Wedding_Photo.jpg]
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
生殖腔 | Reproductive cavity | A fictional anatomical feature in ABO fiction where Alphas/Omegas can conceive.
终身标记 | Permanent marking | A deep, permanent bond formed between an Enigma/Alpha and an Alpha/Omega.
成结 | Knotting | A physiological process during mating in ABO fiction.
发情期 | Heat / Estrous cycle | A period of intense physiological desire and fertility.
出月子 | Postpartum confinement | The traditional month of rest after giving birth; used here metaphorically for Zhou Shu's recovery.
公共资源 | Public resources | Often used in C-ent to refer to trending topics that "waste" the public's attention.
退圈 | Retirement / Leaving the circle | Formally quitting the entertainment industry.
