Chapter 20

The weather was still sunny and bright the day of their date at the botanical garden. It was a gigantic place, swept into a dome of its very own. Even craning his neck back as far as he could and peeking over his sunglasses, Sun Fang still couldn’t see the top of it. He was starting to think that maybe this place was a bigger deal then he’d assumed.

He had arrived before Mo Cheng. After shooting a quick text to Mo Cheng, letting him know where Sun Fang was waiting, Sun Fang simply splayed out on the bench and leaned his head back, letting the sunlight wash over him.

Today, he was wearing clothes much better suited for this warm, sweltering weather.

The wide-brimmed hat on his head protected him from the some of the sun’s offending rays, but he was still positively slathered in sunscreen. He’d shoved it onto every bit of exposed skin, cursing when he found some places looking a little red where the sunscreen hadn’t been applied properly. Spreading out over the bench, he ignored the looks passersby gave him.

It didn’t take long for Mo Cheng to arrive. Sun Fang was, at that point, lying on the bench with the hat over his face to keep the sun from blinding him. He had an arm bent under his head and was whistling slightly under his breath, a long lost melody coursing through him. He couldn’t remember where he’d heard it, but it had been stuck in his head all morning.

”Hey,” Mo Cheng’s voice broke through the haze that had enveloped him.

Sun Fang pulled the hat off his face, holding it to his chest, and grinned up at the beta. ”Hello yourself,” he drawled, pushing himself up. He jumped off the bench, putting the hat back on his head and dusting himself off.

The two went up to the entrance and the date had officially begun. Or did it begin when they met outside? Sun Fang wasn’t entirely clear on this.

The botanical garden reminded Sun Fang of a fairytale. The sunlight filtering through the transparent dome gave the whole world a hazy quality. The scent of flowers and earth was overpowering, overshadowing all the smells of pheromones. It was colorful, too—bright yellows, and greens, and blues, and reds. The cobblestone path in the middle of all the flowerbeds was lined with old-fashioned chains to show that people weren’t allowed to cross them.

Tilting his head back, Sun Fang pulled into a great breath, his lungs noticeably expanding in his chest. When he opened his eyes again, they were glittering.

Grabbing Mo Cheng’s hand and slotting their fingers together, Sun Fang shot off into the garden.

There were birds and insects and butterflies in the garden too, not just flowers. One of the butterflies, a dark purple one, landed on a bench not far from them and Sun Fang got a up close and personal moment with a butterfly for the first time ever in his life. He whipped out his phone with record speed and took lots and lots of pictures before something scared it away.

He pouted as he watched it go. Tugging on Mo Cheng’s hand, they started walking again.

There was so much to see it almost made Sun Fang dizzy.

The next couple hours passed in a blur. By the time it was over, he had hardly any of idea of what the time had been spent on but plenty of photographic evidence that they had, in fact, been here and had fun. Time passed so quickly that he didn’t understand where it had all went.

They had walked through the entire garden. They had eaten ice cream at an ice cream stand in the middle of it and then, some time later when they got hungry again, had gotten even more ice cream. There had been a fountain that Sun Fang had adored; a retro news stand that Mo Cheng had taken about a thousand pictures of.

On the way out, Sun Fang spun around so he walked backward. He grinned at Mo Cheng, ”Had fun?”

Mo Cheng smiled, his eyes sparkling, and said, ”Very, yes. You?”

Sun Fang grinned wider, ”I had a blast,” he said and almost skipped the last bit of distance to Mo Cheng. He held out his hand, his eyes ghosting over Mo Cheng’s cheeks and the shape of his nose, the sweet curl to his pink lips. The beta gripped his hand, and Sun Fang turned around so he was walking forwards again.

Their entwined hands swung in the air between them. They had been at the garden for several hours, but as they’d gotten their pretty early in the first place, it wasn’t yet evening. Which meant that the sunlight was still attempting to murder them.

Luckily, Sun Fang was wearing sunglasses. The suns would not succeed at blinding him today.

He squeezed Mo Cheng’s hand, feeling the other man squeezing back. A tingle shot up his arm, that calming scent filling the air around them. Sun Fang breathed it in, his lungs expanding. His eyes fluttered—he enjoyed how unobtrusive the scent was. Alphas’ scents were always loud, and cloying, and it felt like they were trying to choke him.

”Wanna go back to my place?” Sun Fang asked on a whim, the words escaping before he had a chance to catch them.

Mo Cheng stopped walking and gave him a sharp look, ”You’re sure?”

”Yeah.” Sun Fang smirked, ”Let’s watch a movie and cuddle on the couch.”

Mo Cheng smirked back, his eyes glittering at him. A blush stained his cheeks just below his eyes, and Sun Fang traced it with his eyes. This man was too cute. Even when he was smirking, he looked adorable. ”Lead the way,” Mo Cheng said, his voice smooth as ice.

Sun Fang cheerfully guided the man to the car where his butler was waiting. His butler opened the door to the backseat when they were close enough and Sun Fang smoothly slid into the car, Mo Cheng following behind him.