GBROTAH CH19

Messages, like a sudden downpour, deluged Xie Yuanxing’s phone, screen after screen filled with X’s texts, carrying an abnormal restlessness.

If a truly experienced adult were to see this, they would know how to describe it: like a husband whose wife had run off, feeling anxious, jealous, and begging her to return.

But Xie Yuanxing didn’t understand. He could only discern the other’s anxiety and a hint of hidden unease from these messages. It must be an illusion, Xie Yuanxing thought. Because he was a Beta, unaffected and not dominated by pheromones, and under normal circumstances, couldn’t even smell them, he calmly typed his reply:

“What are you talking about? I’m a Beta.”

“And Betas can’t smell pheromones.”

Forgot Xie Yuanxing is a Beta, it’s impossible for him to smell other people’s pheromones.

Only his, only his.

The restless pheromones briefly subsided, and the fiery embers no longer carried the aggressive intensity of consuming everything. In the dorm room, Shen Bianye slowly moved his body, which had been rigid from standing for too long. He looked at the messages on his phone, scrolling up. The phrase “Please, baby” abruptly caught his eye. The phone screen clicked off, reflecting his stern face and a subtly curved lip.

Never mind, they were all sent by X.

What does it have to do with him?

The darkened screen suddenly lit up again. Someone had sent him another message.

“Poor baby”: “What I meant by some Alphas in their susceptible period being idiots, I was talking about my roommate.”

“Poor baby”: “They even bite Betas when they go crazy. An idiot is an idiot.”

“Poor baby”: “Oh, by the way, what’s your secondary gender?”

The man, still in his susceptible period, was silent for a moment, ignoring the lingering scent of embers throughout the dorm, and replied: “Beta.”

“Just like baby.”

His distinctly jointed fingers tapped on the “Poor baby” profile picture, deleting “Poor” from the notes and typing “Bad.” He then added: “Baby, don’t use bad words.”

“Bad baby” ignored this, as if realizing belatedly, “That’s strange, why did you suddenly start calling me baby?”

In the auditorium, Xie Yuanxing was ready for the other party’s praise, something like, You’re so cute, that’s why I call you baby. He cradled his expectant heart for the impending compliment, as the lecturer on stage began to set the stage for the climax. Dong, dong, dong. On stage and off, everyone was tense for the upcoming moment. Amidst the thunderous applause that was so synchronized it felt like even heartbeats were in unison throughout the auditorium, Xie Yuanxing saw X’s message.

X: “Because baby doesn’t need to be brave.”

X: “When I call you baby, your pain can be borne by me.”

Xie Yuanxing’s ears were filled with thunderous applause, and his heart beat a few extra times due to the clapping. He lowered his gaze, his slender, pale fingertips tapping on the keyboard on the screen. The words also seemed to become a soft question:

“You’re very strange.”

“Do you like me?”

In the dorm room, the lingering scent of embers instantly intensified. Shen Bianye’s expression was also a spectacle: laughter, a frown, excitement, annoyance, appearing on his face in turns.

For a moment, he uncharacteristically didn’t know how to reply. This misunderstanding was truly a bit big. His intention was that if he bore all the pain, Xie Yuanxing would be happy, and he would get a taste of sweetness. But Xie Yuanxing had clearly misunderstood.

Shen Bianye awkwardly muttered to himself, This is X, it has nothing to do with Shen Bianye. Xie Yuanxing doesn’t know it’s him, and it’s impossible for him to find him based on X. Anyway, the meaning of X’s existence was to make Xie Yuanxing happy, so a misunderstanding was actually fine. After hesitating for a long time, he still replied:

X: “I suppose so. I hope you can be happy.”

Xie Yuanxing stared at “I suppose so,” thought for a moment, and typed: “I like you too.” He genuinely did like X, only X, nothing else, the Beta from S University. The X who would enthusiastically praise him, care for him, who wouldn’t meet him, who wouldn’t appear in reality.

“Bad baby”: “I like you too.”

Shen Bianye’s heart skipped a beat.

“Bad baby”: “I like you when you praise me too.”

Shen Bianye’s heart missed a beat.

“Bad baby”: “Sorry, I accidentally sent it before finishing.”

Shen Bianye suspiciously looked at the chat history above. He already knew that Xie Yuanxing occasionally had some mischievous ideas, completely unlike his outwardly quiet and harmless appearance; he was gloomy, with some bad intentions brewing inside. But he couldn’t be sure if this “accidentally” was truly accidental or deliberately so.

While Shen Bianye was suspecting and agonizing, Xie Yuanxing’s lips curved in the auditorium. Fang Zhi beside him suddenly spoke, “What are you smiling about?”

Xie Yuanxing shook his head: “Nothing, just remembered a prank.”

The target of his prank had replied, but before Xie Yuanxing could read it, he heard Fang Zhi chuckle.

Fang Zhi said softly, “You actually look very good when you smile. You should smile more often.”

“Want to go sketching together next weekend? Getting out can also help you relax.”

Xie Yuanxing refused: “I don’t like going out. I’m too poor; everything costs money when you go out.”

From the other side, Gao Yufei poked his head out, “I’m so poor too. Why isn’t it next month yet? If the imperial court’s relief grain doesn’t come down soon, I’ll have to go begging.” He looked at Fang Zhi: “Speaking of which, Fang Zhi, you’ve been doing well lately. Have you secretly taken on any part-time jobs?”

“I see you quietly changed your phone to the latest Apple model. I’ve been meaning to ask. Come on, confess honestly.”

Fang Zhi’s smile stiffened on his face. He subconsciously glanced at Xie Yuanxing, who was looking down at his phone, his attention seemingly elsewhere. He let out a sigh of relief and poked Gao Yufei with his elbow, “What part-time job? This was a reward from my parents after I got into A University’s School of Engineering.”

“I just wanted to wait until my old phone broke before getting a new one, so I’ve been putting off buying it until now.”

Fang Zhi’s explanation sounded perfectly fine. Xie Yuanxing, however, paid no attention to what he was saying. The two people next to him started chatting, and Xie Yuanxing naturally disengaged from the conversation. In the short time they had been talking, X had sent quite a few more messages.

X: “Are you deliberately teasing me? Bad baby.”

X: “Tease me if you want. I’m not mad at you. Just don’t stop replying.”

X: “Okay, I’ll praise baby every day.”

X: “What kind of things does baby like? Cars, or watches? Can I send them to baby?”

X: “Ignoring me again?”

X: “Is listening to a lecture that busy, or are you chatting with that Alpha who went with you?”

X: “Replying to him but not me? Baby, you can’t do that.”

Xie Yuanxing was a little surprised by the other party’s clinginess and had to say, “You’re a bit… too talkative.”

“My phone battery is low. Stop sending messages.”

He had been disliked, without a doubt. Regardless of what X sent next, the other side didn’t reply even a single word. Most crucially, he didn’t reply to the question of whether he was chatting with that Alpha who was in his susceptible period. He had been talking to Xie Yuanxing the whole time because he didn’t want Xie Yuanxing to chat with anyone else.

But now…

Shen Bianye’s face darkened. He constantly refreshed the chat box filled with messages he had sent, but it remained the same, no new messages appearing despite the refresh. He unhappily licked his canine teeth, with full signal bars, quickly switched to mobile data, disconnected and reconnected, then opened WeChat to check. Nothing, still nothing.

The question returned to his mind: Was Xie Yuanxing chatting with that Alpha who was in his susceptible period? Every university student had attended lectures, most of them incredibly boring, forcing them to sit there for at least an hour or two. Playing on their phones was the best solution.

What do you do when your phone battery dies? Naturally, you chat in hushed tones. The answer to this question was almost certainly yes. Alpha, susceptible period, and the two should still be sitting together. Xie Yuanxing might even be tainted with that Alpha’s unpleasant sea salt pheromone scent.

Shen Bianye was agitated by his own imagination, and his pheromones, sensing his emotions, suddenly became restless. The scent of embers in the dorm grew thick, as if it would incinerate everything. Yet, the first thing to feel the scorching pain from this invisible lingering fire was the heart in his chest. Annoyance, jealousy, and a tiny bit of grievance corroded his heart like a raging fire, like poison.

Why should he pay attention to that Alpha and not him?

The impulse brought on by the susceptible period made him want to drag Xie Yuanxing back right now. Reason, teetering on the edge, told him that it was the auditorium, with nearly a thousand people there; it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to rush in like that.

Shen Bianye silently cursed. The susceptible period was unsoothed, and not getting a reply from Xie Yuanxing made him continuously scroll through the messages. His fingertip suddenly stopped at a photo.

Xie Yuanxing, with dark, round, bright eyes, was in it, his gaze flitting away, not daring to look at him. The normal Shen Bianye knew this was because he disliked facing the camera. The anxious Shen Bianye, in his susceptible period, would only think—

Baby is shy.

The thought he had when he first saw the photo reappeared in his mind. Those flirty thoughts, wrapped with a hint of vulgar intimacy, also appeared. Shen Bianye’s breathing grew heavy. The enlarged photo lay quietly on the table. He sat in Xie Yuanxing’s spot, the throbbing pain in his body silently asserting its presence. His hand reached out and then abruptly pulled back, a struggle flickering in his eyes.

He didn’t like Xie Yuanxing; it was just this damned pheromone disorder that made him treat Xie Yuanxing as his Omega. To… to Xie Yuanxing’s photo…

A person cannot.

At least, they shouldn’t.

Shen Bianye hurriedly got up and rummaged for his inhibitor, pushing the plunger all the way down with a violent thrust. He sat back down, the empty inhibitor tossed aside. The person in the photo on the desk looked timidly at him. Shen Bianye’s Adam’s apple uncontrollably bobbed.

The lecture was two hours long. Only an hour had passed. Xie Yuanxing wouldn’t be back in the dorm for another hour. One hour was enough for him, enough for him… The sensation of the cold medicine entering his body failed to calm Shen Bianye. His eyes, rolling with desire, suddenly darkened. In the quiet dorm room, his whisper echoed: “Baby.”


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