GBROTAH CH9

In the doctor’s office, Xie Yuanxing held a paper cup of warm water in both hands, staring blankly out the window as if it had nothing to do with him. The sky outside had completely darkened. A plane, its red lights blinking, streaked across the sky, drawing his gaze. He seemed to think of something, and his lips curled into a slight smile. His pale face instantly came alive, showing a childishness unsuited to his age.

The door banged open, and a tall man strode in, holding several inspection reports. He walked and read, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, his face extremely grim.

Shen Bianye: “Uncle Li, his reports are out. Take a look.”

“What’s with him turning into a bitter gourd spirit? Could it be caused by malnutrition?”

“Is it serious? Will it affect his body? Can we fix it by getting him a nutritionist to plan his three meals starting now?” Standing by the doctor’s desk, his 192cm height, he frowned and tapped the table, his presence intimidating. “Speak, Uncle Li.”

Dr. Li was startled, then spoke slowly, his tone carrying a familiar teasing note. “You came in like a machine gun, your words faster than rapid-fire bullets. I wanted to speak, but you didn’t give me a chance.”

Shen Bianye choked, subtly glancing at Xie Yuanxing from the corner of his eye. The latter was still looking out the window, wondering what exactly was out there that could capture his attention so much. The expression on his face unconsciously softened a bit. He retracted his gaze and asked Dr. Li, “Then speak now, Uncle Li.”

Dr. Li put down the reports in his hand, pondered for a moment, then began: “There’s nothing majorly wrong with his body; he’s just a bit anemic and malnourished.”

“As for what you said about him turning into a bitter gourd spirit…” He paused, considering how to explain.

Xie Yuanxing, sitting by the window, blinked. This was clearly his physical examination, yet he, the subject, inexplicably became the most relaxed person in the room. He quietly held the paper cup and took a sip of hot water. The paper cup covered most of his face as he mumbled indistinctly, “Not a bitter gourd spirit.” But his voice was too low, almost to himself. Of the two people present, one was deep in thought, and the other was impatiently waiting, so neither heard him.

Dr. Li, after much thought, decided to voice his speculation: “Your pheromones treat him as an Omega, but he is a Beta. He himself has no pheromones. One possible scenario is that your pheromones can detect his emotions and mistake emotional substances for pheromones.”

“You can understand it as: in the eyes of your pheromones, his emotions are his pheromones.”

“This is a theory proposed by a professor who has studied pheromone disorder syndrome for many years, but due to a lack of supporting data and clinical experience, it is only a theoretical concept. However, besides this theory, there are currently no technical means to explain your situation.” He smiled helplessly, a hint of pity in his eyes: “As you know, people with pheromone disorder are extremely rare. I can only tell you my speculation.”

“The expert’s emotional pheromone theory suggests that bitterness signifies resentment and pain; sweetness signifies happiness and joy; sourness signifies sadness; and spiciness seems to signify anger.”

As they walked out of the hospital and waited for a car, Xie Yuanxing subtly nudged away. He simply couldn’t stand Shen Bianye’s strange, scrutinizing gaze after leaving the hospital.

Shen Bianye hailed a car with his phone, watching Xie Yuanxing’s retreating movement without speaking. So, being bitten by him was a painful experience for Xie Yuanxing. Ha, how laughable. The phone’s light illuminated Shen Bianye’s eyes, as cold as a deep pool, dark and profound, seemingly brewing a storm, or perhaps a raging tsunami, filled with resentment and anger.

The two got into the car one after the other, both in the back seat, yet neither spoke a word. The car drove towards the school. Although Xie Yuanxing was introverted and not good at social interaction, no matter how slow he was, he could tell that Shen Bianye seemed angry.

He sat beside Shen Bianye, not looking at him, and quietly said, “I’ll pay you back for the check-up fees.”

Check-up fees?! Who the hell cares about that! Shen Bianye turned his head incredulously. In his sight was Xie Yuanxing’s slightly bowed head. He scoffed, “Who are you trying to show pity to?”

Xie Yuanxing was used to Shen Bianye’s sarcasm. Hearing this, he didn’t refute but merely spoke in an even smaller, somewhat guilty voice, “Then I won’t pay.” Saving a little was always better. He’d already taken the blame, and now he had to pay too? In Xie Yuanxing’s frugal world of careful budgeting, there was no such logic.

Shen Bianye was so angry his chest hurt. He didn’t even bother to snort, simply ignored him, leaving him aside. Upon reaching the school, he immediately pushed the door open and got out, dropping a line before leaving, “Make him pay the fare.”

Xie Yuanxing was stunned, his action of getting out of the car halted. Didn’t they say Shen Bianye was very generous? He wasn’t paying for the hospital check-up, so he was trying to get it back from these little things? But Shen Bianye had forcefully dragged him to the hospital for the check-up, and Shen Bianye had hailed the taxi on his phone… What a stingy person.

Xie Yuanxing took out his phone, searching for the payment QR code in the car, and asked, “Driver, how much?”

The driver, who was even more awkward than him, was stunned by the question and stammered, “Well, uh, give, give, fifty yuan.”

Xie Yuanxing’s hand, entering the amount, paused. He doubted his ears. “How much?” Fifty yuan for such a short ride from the hospital to the school?

The driver forced a calm expression. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” He was big and burly, and his poker face was quite intimidating. Xie Yuanxing’s eyelashes drooped. Just as he was about to pay, he suddenly thought, “Isn’t this an order placed on a phone app? Can’t it be deducted from his phone?”

The driver refused quickly. “No, didn’t I say you have to pay? The customer chose offline payment.”

Xie Yuanxing: “Oh, I see.”

“Where do I scan?”

The driver pulled out his phone for him to scan. Xie Yuanxing reluctantly paid fifty yuan, feeling a pang of pain, and pushed the door open to get out. As the car turned around to leave, Xie Yuanxing raised his phone and took a picture of the license plate, planning to report it to the traffic management bureau. In his lens, the retreating figure of the Maybach was frozen.

He slowly walked towards the dorm, pondering whether reporting to the traffic management bureau would be useful. He had hardly ever used online ride-hailing services but knew that charging fifty yuan for a less-than-twenty-minute ride was unreasonable. If reporting it could get his money back, that would be great. Then he could pretend he had only lost 250 yuan at the bar.

…When Xie Yuanxing returned to the dorm, it was very dark inside, with no lights on. The bright moonlight streamed in from the balcony, faintly illuminating the dorm. The moonlight, like silver threads, outlined the tall figure of the person standing in the dorm. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, muscular arms exposed by the black T-shirt, smooth lines, and long legs that made his proportions exceptionally outstanding. 

However, he had his back to the moonlight, making his face unclear.

Xie Yuanxing was about to ask why the lights weren’t on when he heard the other person call him.

Shen Bianye: “Baby, come here.” 

He called him “baby,” but his voice wasn’t gentle; it subtly held a sense of control.

Xie Yuanxing’s heart skipped a beat. When Shen Bianye had gone to get the report, his question to the doctor, which he had avoided asking Shen Bianye, suddenly echoed in his ears. 

“Why does he seem like a different person when he bites me?”

“Marking behavior will make him treat you as his Omega. This is normal; it’s just that you’re a Beta, so you might not feel anything.” 

In Xie Yuanxing’s view, this was just biting his neck, nothing but pain. But both the doctor and Shen Bianye knew that this was an Alpha’s instinctive marking behavior.

Although he had taken the money, having such thoughts was perhaps inappropriate, but it truly hurt. Xie Yuanxing still instinctively wanted to back away, so he hesitated and said, “Didn’t you say it tastes bitter right now? Maybe we should wait.”

Shen Bianye quietly looked at him, his lips slightly curved as if smiling, yet his eyes were as cold as a deep pool. He countered, “Can I wait for the day it’s not bitter?”

Xie Yuanxing was bewildered, blinking blankly. Why couldn’t he wait? He was indeed upset about the three hundred yuan deduction, but he wouldn’t be upset about it for his entire four years of college. It wasn’t worth it, really not worth it. And honestly, with Shen Bianye pushing him to eat and dragging him to the hospital, this whole ordeal had already made him feel less upset.

Shen Bianye approached him, pressing closer step by step. His well-defined large hand half-gripped the back of Xie Yuanxing’s neck, his thumb loosely resting there, as if ready to press down on the wound at any moment. The moonlight in the dorm was dim. Shen Bianye stared intently into Xie Yuanxing’s eyes, like a hawk fixing on its prey. “Tell me, what are you dissatisfied with, what are you in pain over?” If it was the pain of being bitten by him, then even if there was dissatisfaction, even if there was pain, he would have to endure it.

Xie Yuanxing uneasily turned his head. “It has nothing to do with you, does it?”

Shen Bianye: “It does.” He pinched Xie Yuanxing’s jaw, applying a slight force to prevent the latter from breaking free, and said mockingly, “Do you think I really want to meddle in your affairs?” He didn’t particularly want to clarify, after all, even if Xie Yuanxing was dissatisfied, he could only be bitten by him.

However, if it truly wasn’t about that, then he could try to handle it. Mainly, no one wants to taste bitter gourd every day, right?

“You reek of bitter gourd spirit all over. How am I supposed to bite you?”

Xie Yuanxing smelled nothing. Shen Bianye’s words even made him want to lick himself a couple of times to taste it. He wanted to turn his head, but his jaw was pinched painfully, leaving him no choice but to meet Shen Bianye’s gaze. He wasn’t used to talking about himself with others, and he certainly didn’t want to expose his pain to anyone. But seeing Shen Bianye’s expression, it seemed he wouldn’t let it go if he didn’t speak. He had no choice but to honestly say, “Today, the bar manager told me that because of the trouble with the customer last time, three hundred yuan was deducted from my wages.”

Shen Bianye frowned deeply, looking at him suspiciously. “Lying to me? All this emotional distress over three hundred yuan?” After all, he still thought Xie Yuanxing was trying to use this to hide the truth about not wanting to be bitten…

Xie Yuanxing calmly looked at him: “I worked for four days, from ten at night to four in the morning every day, sleeping only four hours a day. I cleaned bathrooms full of customers’ vomit, and picked out melon seed shells from floor cracks with my bare hands. Do you know how much I could get in total?” Before Shen Bianye could answer, he extended his hand and made a gesture indicating a number. “Six hundred yuan.”

“Just because customers caused trouble, half of my wages were deducted.”

All of Shen Bianye’s chaotic thoughts vanished. An immense anger swept through his mind. At this moment, only one thought remained in his head.

How dare those people? How dare they bully Xie Yuanxing like that?!