Chapter 251: WE’VE BEEN MISSING EACH OTHER LATELY

—------------

"Are you doing alright?" Guiying tilted his head, studying the tight line of Limo’s shoulders, the way his knee hadn’t stopped bouncing since he sat down. "That’s not just Kong Siying sitting on you, is it?"

Limo pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, holding them there a moment before dragging them down his face.

"I’m conflicted." His voice came out rough. "I’ve been avoiding Moying. Every time he looks at me like I’ve kicked him, that quiet way he goes still instead of arguing back, it does something to my chest I can’t sit with."

Guiying waited, saying nothing.

"I don’t understand why he wants me at all." Limo’s hands twisted together in his lap. "We only just met. But I keep finding myself drawn to him anyway."

"So what’s stopping you?"

"We’re both alphas." The words came out heavier than he intended. "I can’t carry the pressure that comes with that."

"Limo." Guiying leaned forward. "If you like him even a little, why are you throwing it away?"

"It’s not that simple."

"If he’s baring his heart out for you, why can’t you see it?" Guiying’s tone stayed gentle, firm underneath. "No one owes you a reason for liking you. Sometimes you won’t understand it fully, and that’s fine. But you can’t keep running from it. You’ll only hurt yourself, and him."

"Why worry about children we’re not going to have right now?"

Limo’s jaw tightened. "Because I’ll get greedy."

The words tumbled out before he could stop them.

"I already see a future with him. How can I not think about children, about what we can’t have together?" He dragged both hands down his face. "I don’t know what to do."

"Accept it." Guiying’s voice stayed even. "Just live a little. Stop overthinking the future when you haven’t even told him you feel the same."

Limo’s breath caught.

"What if you’re too late?" Guiying pressed. "What if he gives up? How sure are you that he’ll keep waiting?"

Limo went still.

He’d spent this entire conversation inside his own head, wrapped up in his own fears, his own imagined future. Not once had he considered what Moying actually knew.

Moying had no idea any of this existed in his head at all.

"I need to see him." Limo pushed up off the couch, already reaching for his jacket.

Guiying rose too, smiling. "Good luck, bud. I’ll be leaving now."

Wang Chengli was already waiting on him, gift shopping for a mother-in-law who’d sooner criticize whatever he brought than thank him for it.

Guiying stepped out of Limo’s office, made his way through the lobby, and pushed through the front doors into the parking lot, spotting Wang Chengli already waiting beside the car.

"Uncle Wang." He picked up his pace. "Sorry to keep you."

"Not at all." Wang Chengli opened the door for him. "I only arrived a few minutes ago myself."

Settling into the back seat, Guiying let out a slow breath, some of Limo’s anxious energy still clinging to him from the last hour.

"To the antique district, then?" Wang Chengli told Haiyan as he pulled the car out of the lot. "I know a shop that specializes in ceramics. Madam Fu’s taste runs toward Song dynasty pieces, if I remember correctly."

"That’s what Liuxian said too." Guiying glanced out the window. "Let’s hope we find something she won’t immediately criticize."

Wang Chengli’s mouth twitched at the corner. "I wouldn’t count on it."

Meanwhile, upstairs in the trainee wing, Limo made his way toward the dance studio, intent on finding Moying before he lost his nerve entirely.

Music thumped faintly through the closed door, bass heavy enough to feel through the floor. He pushed it open without knocking, expecting an empty room between sessions.

He found the opposite.

Moying stood at the center of the floor, moving through a routine with a female trainee, her body pressed close against his, hips rolling in time with a rhythm that had nothing professional left in it. Moying’s hands rested at her waist, guiding her through a turn that brought her back flush against his chest.

Limo’s stomach dropped.

He stayed frozen in the doorway, bile climbing the back of his throat, some ugly, unwelcome thought taking root before he could stop it.

Has he already moved on?

Near the mirrors, Xue Peng caught sight of him first, a slow, cruel smile spreading across his face. His eyes flicked toward the girl, something deliberate passing between them, an unspoken cue.

She caught it. Understood it. Turned in Moying’s arms and pressed her mouth against his before he could react.

Limo’s eyes went wide.

His hand slipped from the door frame. He didn’t remember deciding to move, only registered himself already backing away, then turning, then running, each step carrying him further from a sight he couldn’t unsee.

Behind him, Xue Peng’s laughter followed him halfway down the hall, delighted with the damage he’d caused without lifting more than an eyebrow.

Inside the studio, Moying shoved the girl back hard enough that she stumbled.

"What the fuck was that?" His voice cracked with fury. "That wasn’t in the routine."

"The mood felt right." She shrugged, unbothered, touching her own lips like she’d enjoyed herself.

Moying didn’t wait to hear more. He stormed out, jaw clenched so tight it ached, disgust curdling low in his stomach. He’d only ever wanted to kiss one person. How dare she take something that wasn’t hers to take. How dare his own body freeze half a second too long before he could stop her.

He found Limo’s office ten minutes later, chest still tight, desperate for even a glimpse of him.

He knocked once and let himself in.

Limo didn’t look up from his desk.

Something in Moying’s chest cracked at that, though he pushed past it, telling himself that as long as he could see Limo, breathe the same air as him for a few minutes, it would be enough.

"I came to see you." He crossed the room, reaching for Limo’s hand. "We’ve been missing each other lately."

Limo slapped his hand away before it could land. "Get out."