Monday morning. The Life Sciences building at Beijing University was wrapped in a thin layer of morning mist. Inside the laboratory, the bouquet brought back from the wedding was properly nestled in a white ceramic vase on the windowsill. The pink-and-white petals unfurled in the morning light, bringing a romantic undertone that didn't quite belong in an academic hall.
Silas Shen sat behind his office desk, his fingertips pressing down on a thick grant proposal whose cover still held the residual warmth of the printer. It was a rare moment where he didn't immediately plunge into experiments; instead, he stared blankly at the document.
With a sharp thud, the laboratory door was pushed open.
Hunter Huo rushed in like a sudden gust of wind, his blonde hair sticking up haphazardly in the morning sun. He held a warm latte he had brought for Silas. Ever since his status as a "Plus-One" had been verified at the wedding, this puppy had acted more and more like a master inspecting his territory, with the smug aura of a boy in love radiating from every line of his face.
"Morning, Professor." Hunter placed the coffee steadily next to Silas's hand. Leaning over the edge of the desk, he greedily took a breath of that crisp fir scent before saying with a knowing grin, "I wasn't late today, was I? As family, I have a very high level of self-awareness."
Silas ignored his banter, merely lifting a hand to calmly slide the proposal forward.
"Take a look."
Hunter arched an eyebrow, pulled over a chair, and sat astride it. His gaze landed on the bold, dark line of text on the cover page:
"The Neurophysiological Basis of Atypical Alpha-Omega Emotional Connections: A Comparative Study Utilizing Beta-Omega Pairings as a Control Group"
Hunter froze. His fingers mindlessly rubbed the edge of the paper as he quickly flipped through a few pages. The proposal was densely packed with analyses regarding neurotransmitter receptors, atypical pheromone interference, and the weight of cognitive decision-making in the establishment of emotional bonds. Every data model and every hypothesis was incredibly bold, even bordering on unorthodox.
"This is..." Hunter looked up, the usual mischievous glint in his eyes fading, replaced by a look of sheer, unbelievable ecstasy. "The research project you mentioned at the wedding?"
"Yes," Silas stood up, leaning against the adjacent lab bench. He picked up his coffee, his fingers mindlessly tracing the warm texture of the cup as his gaze drifted to the ginkgo trees outside. "Lin and his wife gave me the inspiration. The rules of this world tell us that the compatibility between an Alpha and an Omega is God's will—a command written directly into our genes. But I want to use scientific methods to prove that love does not just exist within that oppressive, instinct-driven pheromone matching."
He turned his face, the eyes behind his lenses cool but resolute. "I want to search for the formula that belongs to the 'soul'."
Hunter's heart skipped a violent beat. He looked down at the applicant information section of the proposal. Directly beneath the line "Principal Investigator: Silas Shen," it was clearly printed: "Co-Author: Hunter Huo."
That name was printed precisely below Silas's name, their brushstrokes intertwining like a secret, formal covenant.
"Professor," Hunter's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his voice carrying a hint of unmaskable raspiness. "This project... how long do we need to research it?"
Silas pondered for a moment, rationally evaluating the experimental cycle. "This is a massive undertaking involving large-scale sample tracking and data comparison. At the shortest, a year; at the longest, three years."
"That won't do." Hunter suddenly knit his brows and shook his head decisively.
He fished a sign pen out of his lab coat pocket. With a click, he extended the pen tip and, with a swift stroke, crossed out the words "three years" in the "Research Duration" section of that sacred grant proposal.
Then, stroke by stroke, he wrote a word that was highly un-academic, even somewhat arrogant.
—[A Lifetime].
"Hunter Huo," Silas frowned slightly, a hint of warning in his voice. "This is a formal grant proposal to be submitted to the university and the foundation. You cannot doodle on it."
"I'm not doodling." Hunter set the pen down and stood up completely, bracing both hands on the lab bench to trap Silas between himself and the counter.
He looked down at his Professor, his dark eyes stripped of their usual playfulness, harboring instead a nearly pious stubbornness. "Silas Shen, if you want to research this project, then I am your only, lifelong sample. The ultimate goal of this project isn't to publish papers; it's to prove to you that my love for you is not governed by glands, nor is it governed by genes."
He lowered his head, his nose nearly touching Silas's cool tip. The scent of oranges and the aroma of fir tore and intertwined fiercely within the narrow space.
"This matter requires a lifetime of research. Short by even a single day, and it doesn't count as a final conclusion."
The laboratory became so quiet that only the faint hum of the exhaust fan could be heard.
Silas stared for a long time at that crookedly written "A Lifetime" which completely ruined the aesthetic layout of the proposal. He could feel Hunter's burning breath on his cheek and the youth's sincerity, which was so pure it was almost clumsy.
His life had always been precise—annual evaluations, experiments where every second counted.
And now, someone had tossed "forever" right onto his lab bench.
Silas lowered his head. Under Hunter's burning gaze, he slowly reached out and picked up the sign pen from the desk.
Directly below that "A Lifetime" and right next to that crude cross-out mark, he meticulously added a line of small, elegant script:
[Note: The authorized term for the assistant researcher of this project, Hunter Huo, is identical to the above.]
As he finished the final stroke, Silas set the pen down, an uncontrollable flush creeping up his ears. He adjusted his glasses, his voice steady as if he were delivering an established scientific conclusion, though his fingertips still carried a lingering tremor.
"It's stamped and approved. Satisfied now?"
Hunter stared at that line of small text, utterly dazed for a full three seconds.
The next moment, this "Golden Retriever" let out a cheer loud enough to take the roof off, leaping from his chair so violently he nearly knocked over a nearby petri dish.
"Silas Shen! This is status! Official status! You've signed me into the remainder of your life!"
"Stop shouting in the laboratory." Silas turned around, pretending to organize a microscope that was already perfectly neat, attempting to hide the softened smile in the corner of his eyes.
"I'm going to frame this proposal! I'm going to hang it in the most prominent spot in our living room! Everyone who visits will have to read it!"
"...That is a scientific document, not a marriage certificate. Wake up, Hunter Huo."
"It's practically the same thing! In my heart, it's the exact same thing!"
Hunter lunged forward from behind. Ignoring Silas's token struggle, he locked his arms tightly around Silas's waist, burying his head in the crook of his neck to nuzzle him.
Outside the window, the sunlight filtered through the blinds and spilled into this room filled with cold instruments, tracing golden, warm stripes across the two of them. In the air, the bitter crispness of the fir was completely enveloped by the sweet warmth of the orange. The two forces, which had once been entirely incompatible, had finally found their resonance within this single page of a lifelong research report.