GBROTAH CH50

Shen Bianye also felt that he wasn’t quite normal. He didn’t want to lose control of his emotions, nor did he want to appear strangely pathetic.

So, he left again, swaggering into Zhou Chao’s spacious apartment, where Zhou Chao lived alone, and lay on the sofa, spacing out.

Zhou Chao and Lu Qiang sat on the single seats on either side of the sofa, staring at the person who had taken over the entire long sofa.

Lu Qiang was putting on his clothes, his muscular physique hidden beneath a black tight-fitting shirt. His gaze towards Shen Bianye was filled with a thousand cuts.

Zhou Chao, on the other hand, was relaxed. He shoved a glass of wine into Shen Bianye’s hand and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Bianye stared blankly at the ceiling. “Nothing.”

“What’s with that pug-like light on your ceiling?”

Zhou Chao was speechless: “That’s Pochacco, okay?”

“My last girlfriend liked it. She set it up.”

Lu Qiang’s spirits lifted: “You brought a girlfriend home? Are you serious?”

Zhou Chao rolled his eyes at him: “My last girlfriend, we already broke up, okay?”

Lu Qiang: “Good riddance.”

Shen Bianye: “Excellent riddance.”

Zhou Chao chuckled, “Talking about me? Some people look like they’ve been dumped.”

Shen Bianye suddenly sat up, gritting his teeth: “Xie Yuanxing and I aren’t dating.”

Zhou Chao said faintly, “I said ‘some people,’ did I say you?”

“Who mentioned Xie Yuanxing? Did anyone mention him?”

Lu Qiang chimed in: “I certainly didn’t.”

Shen Bianye sneered, retorting, “Are you two dating?”

Both men next to him flinched. Lu Qiang nervously glanced at Zhou Chao, then quickly said, “What the hell are you talking about? No, we’re not.”

Shen Bianye scoffed: “Not dating? If you’re not dating, what are you doing at Zhou Chao’s place late at night without your shirt on?”

“Feverish from the heat?”

Lu Qiang blushed. A burly, muscular man, he stammered, “J-j-just now, I was showing him my workout results.”

Zhou Chao’s narrow, foxy eyes flickered. He cleared his throat, not wanting to expose them, and changed the subject: “Do you really need to be so annoyed about Xie Yuanxing?”

“Your relationship is strained. If you tell him about the things you did behind his back, he might warm up to you.”

From Xie Yuanxing’s perspective, Shen Bianye only helped him with the lawsuit. Although there was gratitude, it couldn’t outweigh Shen Bianye’s venomous tongue.

Just the act of driving for five hours, over three hundred kilometers, just to buy Xie Yuanxing a snowflake crisp that he wanted to eat, would let Xie Yuanxing know that Shen Bianye didn’t look down on him as much as he pretended.

If you truly despise someone, you wouldn’t spend both money and time on them.

For people of their social standing, a little money might not mean much, but the willingness to invest time in it is telling enough.

Shen Bianye was unmoved: “I didn’t do anything significant; no need to mention it.”

Zhou Chao: “…Have you sorted out your own thoughts? Maybe you should think about it carefully.”

Shen Bianye pondered for a moment, then said faintly, “I’m thinking, maybe it’s because Xie Yuanxing is an Omega.”

Zhou Chao was puzzled: “Isn’t he a Beta?”

Shen Bianye ignored him, muttering to himself: “Xie Yuanxing’s predicted differentiation result at birth was Omega. He was malnourished growing up, and the differentiation failed, making him a Beta.”

“But my pheromones still treat him as an Omega, and secretly, the compatibility is very high, so…”

So, even if he tasted sweetness, even if Xie Yuanxing was slightly displeased, he could still taste a faint milky flavor, without having to bother coaxing Xie Yuanxing.

He still…

Couldn’t stand Xie Yuanxing being so cold to him.

He didn’t mention these thoughts. After a pause, he naturally continued: “You all know how important Alpha pheromones are to Alphas. Sometimes rationality isn’t entirely rational; it can also be dominated by physiology or instinct.”

Zhou Chao rubbed his forehead: “What you’re saying might sound logical, but we’re not doctors, bro. Stop lecturing, it’s torture.”

“I’m going to sleep. You two do as you please.”

Lu Qiang echoed him, telling Shen Bianye: “I also think you’re torturing your brothers.”

“I’m going to sleep too.”

Shen Bianye sat alone in the spacious living room of the apartment. He picked up his phone and sent a message to Dr. Li: “Are you asleep?”

Dr. Li: “Doctors don’t sleep. No doctor is asleep at this hour.”

Good, he’s not asleep. It’s easier to torture someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Shen Bianye called directly: “Uncle Li, I want to ask you something.”

The unsuspecting Dr. Li spoke calmly: “Go ahead.”

Shen Bianye re-explained his theory.

Dr. Li: “From a medical perspective, this is not possible. After differentiating into a Beta, a scent gland will not develop, and Xie Yuanxing indeed has no scent gland.”

“There cannot be any kind of secret compatibility between the two of you.”

Shen Bianye was displeased: “Current medical knowledge can’t even explain pheromone disorder clearly. Do you dare say that the unknown fields not yet researched don’t contain the possibility I’m talking about?”

Dr. Li: …

He was just a small medical director; please, let him go, he wouldn’t dare.

Dr. Li said with difficulty, “It’s not entirely impossible, but to my knowledge, after differentiating into a Beta, one truly has no connection to scent glands or pheromones whatsoever.”

Shen Bianye: “Not entirely impossible, that means there’s still a possibility. Doesn’t medicine still have great prospects for development? If it can’t explain this, and it can’t explain that, then what is it developing?”

Dr. Li was convinced and sighed deeply: “You’re right, there’s such a possibility. So, what do you plan to do?”

My dear young master.

Shen Bianye didn’t know what he was going to do either. He just wanted to confirm that his strange abnormality had nothing to do with him personally.

He fell silent for a moment, then said “Never mind” and hung up.

Lying on the sofa, bored, he stared at the light. Pochacco’s black ears, under the dizzying light, grew smaller and smaller in Shen Bianye’s eyes, shrinking into a shimmering tear mole.

Shen Bianye: …

Why was he staring at a dog? He must be crazy.

He picked up his phone again, scrolling through various apps on the large-screen short video shopping platform. Finally, almost by a trick of fate, he clicked into his photo album.

A distorted voice, too faint to be clearly heard, emerged from the phone. On the enlarged screen, a slender and tall figure in a black tuxedo appeared, with long, delicate fingers that looked exceptionally beautiful pressed against the black and white piano keys.

He was just looking, just a glance.

His thumb rested on the right side of the phone, his finger caressing the smooth screen, as if trying to reach through it and touch that small tear mole.

Xie Yuanxing hadn’t worn the gemstone brooch that day, yet the tear mole beneath his eye shimmered like black crystal, just as dazzling as he remembered. When replayed, it hadn’t faded from his memory either.

Damn it!

What was he doing?

Shen Bianye abruptly turned off his phone. His dark face was reflected in the black screen.

Why was he inexplicably watching Xie Yuanxing’s video?

He took a deep breath, trying to lower the burning sensation inside him. Now he believed Lu Qiang was hot. With the air conditioning and heating turned up so high, only dead people wouldn’t be hot.

On the weekend, Xie Yuanxing hadn’t even reached the school gate when he saw Shi Tingting waving at him from afar, wearing a red vest.

Shi Tingting: “Xingxing, come quickly!”

She handed Xie Yuanxing one of the red vests she held, and then gave him a badge. “Put it on first. Once everyone’s here, we can leave.”

Xie Yuanxing looked around: “There don’t seem to be many people?”

Shi Tingting said mysteriously: “Because this event has a sponsor this time, we didn’t want to invite too many people to freeload. Of course, a rich sponsor probably doesn’t care whether there are many or few people.”

“But actually, there are still about ten people.”

Xie Yuanxing was surprised: “A sponsor?”

“Social practice activities have sponsors too?”

He thought they were just going to act as free labor, to alleviate some pressure on the community.

Shi Tingting looked at Xie Yuanxing and smiled: “There weren’t any sponsors initially, but one popped up temporarily.”

“After the event, we get free food and drinks!”

Someone with a red armband began to ask, “Is everyone here? The bus is at the school gate.”

“Let’s go, let’s go, get on the bus.”

“It’s freezing outside. When will it warm up?”

“Let’s go, let’s go, get on the bus and then we’ll count heads.”

Xie Yuanxing and Shi Tingting got on the bus, which swayed and rocked all the way to the entrance of the nursing home.

After getting off the bus, a tall figure stood beside the community workers and nursing home staff waiting at the entrance.

Also wearing a red vest, he had a black hoodie underneath. The oversized red vest didn’t look ugly or tacky on him at all; instead, it looked like a trendy outfit.

He was tall, and beneath the red and black top were long legs encased in black pants. Anyone who saw him would praise him for being handsome.

Shi Tingting saw him and greeted him excitedly, “Senior Shen, you’re here too!”

Xie Yuanxing seemed to understand who the “suddenly appeared sponsor” Shi Tingting had mentioned was.

Shen Bianye walked over, saw his expression, and frowned: “What’s with that face? Do you think I shouldn’t be here?”

Xie Yuanxing pursed his lips and shook his head: “No.”

Shi Tingting looked at him, then at Shen Bianye, feeling that the atmosphere between them was strange, as if they had argued. Gathering her courage, she spoke: “Senior Shen, why are you so fierce with Xingxing?”

Facing Shen Bianye’s gaze, her voice grew smaller as she spoke: “It’s too… too fierce, it’s not good…”

You might not get a wife.

Shen Bianye frowned deeper and asked, “Is my tone very fierce?”

Shi Tingting regained a bit of courage and nodded.

After a moment of silence, Shen Bianye said to Xie Yuanxing, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t being fierce with you.”

“Forgive me,” he said softly, mimicking X’s tone, “Can you?”

He had figured it out. Even if he didn’t want Xie Yuanxing to fall in love with him, there was no need to let their relationship sink to freezing point.

Xie Yuanxing wasn’t as gloomy anymore, and he didn’t look as annoying as before.

Once he was cured, and Xie Yuanxing moved out, it would just be that they had an awkward experience. Whether he was an Alpha or Xie Yuanxing was a Beta, neither would forget that biting or being bitten was something to be forgotten.

So moving out and separating would be good for both of them.

Before moving out, he could try to maintain a normal roommate relationship.

As for how to mend things?

He could easily adopt X’s approach, couldn’t he?

Xie Yuanxing was quite delicate; he needed to be coaxed and praised, and occasionally given gifts to amuse him.

Hearing him apologize, Xie Yuanxing looked a little surprised. He shook his head and said, “I’m not angry. You don’t need to apologize.”

“It’s weird.”

These words weren’t as harsh, far from the point where Shen Bianye would apologize. Xie Yuanxing was very unaccustomed to it.

Weird my ass.

X apologized to Xie Yuanxing all the time, and Xie Yuanxing never said it was weird.

Why should they be treated so differently?

Shen Bianye suppressed the irritation in his heart, his expression calm as he nodded. “Is that so? I think it’s weird too.”