Chapter 2

Jiang Suiye and I weren’t in the same formation during military training.

But our formations stood side by side and shared an instructor. He was tall, so he stood in the back row. I wasn’t short, either, and stood one row ahead of him, with only half an aisle between us.

The sun was brutal. The training ground practically steamed under it.

Sweat covered my face, and my uniform clung to my skin, stuffy and itchy. I was about to sneak a hand up to wipe my face when a breeze came from beside me.

It carried that agarwood scent straight into my nose, drowning out the sweat of the boys around me.

I paused and glanced at Jiang Suiye.

He stood ramrod straight, his face expressionless, but a sheen of sweat covered it just like everyone else’s.

Maybe I was imagining things, but his agarwood scent seemed stronger.

I edged half a step toward him.

Clearly, he and I thought alike. Everyone smelled awful during military training, so why not wear extra cologne to cover it up?

How had I never noticed he took such good care of himself?

When I got back to the dorm after training, it was dark inside. I was roasting.

The air conditioner was already on. Stepping through the door was like entering a different climate. It felt amazing.

Someone must have beaten me back.

I grabbed a change of clothes as fast as I could and made a dash for the bathroom.

The moment I opened the door, a wave of warm air laced with agarwood hit me in the face. It nearly made my head spin.

Obviously, Jiang Suiye had come back and showered first.

He really loved agarwood. Having cologne that smelled like it was one thing, but even his shower gel?

I stepped inside. The entire bathroom smelled of it.

It was as if the scent had wrapped itself around me, covering every inch of my body.

When the hot water poured down, the lingering agarwood clung to my skin with the steam.

Maybe it was my imagination, but the scent seemed to make the water hotter. Even after I turned down the temperature, cold water running over me did nothing to ease the heat.

I rubbed on shower gel absentmindedly. All I could think about was Jiang Suiye’s scent.

After a hasty shower, I came out drying my hair and looked up to find him sitting in a chair, watching me.

He must have just finished washing up. He’d changed into a loose white T-shirt, and his hair fell softly over his forehead. He looked much gentler than usual.

But there was something dark and unreadable in his eyes.

His stare made me nervous.

For some reason, I felt as though he wanted to devour me.

“You’re back?” I walked over, trying to sound calm. “That was quick. You’ve already showered.”

He didn’t answer. His gaze traveled up and down my body, and then he smiled.

Why did it feel like he wanted to eat me alive?

I had to be imagining it.

“Mm,” he said. “All done.”

Already?

He must have come straight back without dinner, then.

“Have you eaten? There are instant noodles in my cupboard. Help yourself.”

He lifted his eyes. The way he stared made me inexplicably nervous.

And his agarwood scent was getting stronger and stronger, until even my own body felt hot.

“Sure.” He gave me a perfect smile. “Anything you give me tastes best, Yanyan.”

My name is Zhou Suyan. Ever since we’d started sharing a room, he’d often called me that.

It felt awkward at first, but eventually I got used to it.

A nickname just showed how close we’d become, right? I never bothered to correct him.

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The intense agarwood scent from the bathroom filled my head.

I tried reading the most sleep-inducing book I owned, but no matter what I did, the moment I put it down, my drowsiness disappeared.

At last, I rolled over to face Jiang Suiye and secretly took several deep breaths of his scent through the railing.

That finished me.

I fell so soundly asleep I knew nothing more.