But I’m Just a Beta 60

60 

This dinner was truly just a casual gathering among friends, without even any alcohol.

They usually had countless drinking parties; it was better to give their stomachs a break and enjoy some tea or milk when gathering with friends.

Although Qi Zhao liked dairy products, he preferred slightly sweet flower tea with meals, so he drank tea, while the others, who weren’t fond of dairy, had other drinks.

During dinner, Qi Zhao barely lifted a finger. Just like at home, with Qi Wei by his side, everything was taken care of by him, and Qi Zhao just had to eat what was in his bowl.

And these people…

Qi Wei himself wasn’t embarrassed at all, and Yang Shou and the others even teased him.

When the unpeeled shrimp and crab were served, Yang Shou and Yan Shuang started chanting, urging Qi Wei to show off his alpha charm and peel them for him.

—They were clearly aware of Qi Zhao’s fake alpha identity, but they tacitly didn’t mention it.

Qi Zhao wasn’t used to being teased like this in public, especially with Qi Wei present. He felt a little embarrassed.

It reminded him of being teased by his classmates back in school.

But he didn’t say anything, just giving Yan Shuang and Yang Shou a helpless look and nudging Qi Wei’s foot under the table, signaling him to tell them to stop.

They were Qi Wei’s friends, after all; he wasn’t close to them. The one he was close to was busy eating, not participating in their teasing.

And Qi Wei, after being nudged, looked down and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Zhao didn’t believe that Qi Wei didn’t know what was wrong, so he just looked at him, speechless.

Playing dumb again.

Qi Wei, meeting Qi Zhao’s gaze, his already smiling eyes brightening even more, placed the peeled shrimp and crab in Qi Zhao’s bowl and slowly wiped his hands. “Don’t mind them, they’re just being boisterous.”

Yang Shou: “?”

Yan Shuang: “?”

Yan Shuang looked at Yang Shou. “My dear President, does he even realize that we’re S-rank alphas and can hear him?”

Although they weren’t sitting close together, even scattered around the table, the higher an alpha’s rank, the better their hearing.

And Qi Wei hadn’t lowered his voice much; he was just looking at Qi Zhao, speaking softly as usual.

So not just Qi Wei, but Qi Zhao also knew that Yan Shuang and the others could definitely hear him.

“He obviously knows,” Yang Shou swallowed the food in his mouth, “he’s deliberately calling us ‘boisterous’ to our faces.”

Despite his words, Yang Shou’s tone wasn’t displeased at all; it was just playful banter between friends.

Halfway through the meal, Yang Shou called the waiter over. “Please pack a serving of the braised three-delicacy platter and a bowl of salted bone porridge, no scallions or greens, with shredded ginger.”

After the waiter left, Yang Shou smacked his lips and said, “Jingsong definitely loves this braised platter.”

He said to Qi Wei, “Your hotel’s braised platter is getting better and better.”

Qi Wei knew the reason. “They changed chefs.”

He didn’t say more, but Qi Zhao, tasting the familiar flavor of the braised platter, sighed inwardly.

It was made by their former family chef.

Qi Zhao loved this dish, and he hadn’t been able to find the same taste elsewhere. He had asked the chef if he had added anything special, and the chef had just smiled and said it was a secret recipe from his hometown.

At the time, he had even said, “Xiao Zhao, if you like it, I can make it for you for the rest of your life.”

But later, due to some family issues, he had asked Qi Mu for a loan, a considerable sum of several million, and after being rejected, he had resigned.

Qi Zhao had found him and offered to help him raise the money, but he had said, “Xiao Zhao, don’t worry about me. It’s my son’s fault, he’s incompetent yet ambitious…”

The grown man couldn’t help but cry in front of Qi Zhao. “It’s my fault for not raising him well. I’ll find a way myself. Don’t borrow money from your friends; it’ll only embarrass you and upset President Qi. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, I won’t do anything rash.”

After that, Qi Zhao hadn’t heard from him again.

And now…

After dinner, in the car, Qi Zhao asked Qi Wei softly, “Did you help Uncle Wu repay his debt?”

“Not exactly repay,” Qi Wei didn’t hide it, just tacitly not mentioning how he knew about this matter. “Consider it a loan. He’s a skilled chef. I’m paying him a base salary of 30,000 a month. He can repay it in a few years.”

Qi Zhao pursed his lips slightly, then reached out and hugged Qi Wei’s waist, leaning against him. “Qi Wei, thank you.”

His voice was a little muffled. “I was really sad back then… sad that I couldn’t help him.”

And… even Uncle Wu had noticed his precarious position in the Qi family back then.

But despite that, Uncle Wu had still treated him well, always caring about him, never looking down on him.

Qi Zhao confessed to Qi Wei, “Before that, I only vaguely felt that something was amiss with my relationship with my family. After that, I realized I was powerless. So that’s when I started thinking…”

…about competing with Qi Wense.

As it turned out, his situation was even worse than he had imagined; even competing wasn’t allowed.

Qi Wei held Qi Zhao with one arm, his other hand moving from his head to his back, then up again, a strange yet comforting gesture that quickly dispelled Qi Zhao’s gloomy thoughts.

“…Stop touching me.”

It felt strange.

Qi Wei chuckled. “Ah Zhao, don’t worry, Uncle Wu’s son, after being scammed by loan sharks that time, is now on the right track. He’s also working at the restaurant, learning from his father.”

Qi Zhao nodded. “That’s good… so can you stop touching me now?”

Qi Wei, slightly disappointed that he couldn’t change the subject, stopped. “Do you want to know about Yang Shou?”

“To be honest,” Qi Zhao looked up at him, “I’m a little curious, but it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“There’s nothing I can’t talk about,” Qi Wei said, “you’ll find out eventually.”

He thought for a moment. “You must have heard the rumors about Yang Shou liking an alpha.”

Qi Zhao nodded, and Qi Wei continued, “It’s true. His name is Ming Jingsong. You probably haven’t heard of him… but you should know ‘Moonlight Z’.”

Qi Zhao’s eyes widened slightly. “…The hacker who, fifteen years ago, after Country Y claimed that their government’s electronic security network was the strongest in the world, unbreakable by any hacker, not only hacked it the next day, but also posted the government officials’ sexually suggestive chat logs on all the electronic screens around the government buildings?”

Qi Wei smiled. “That’s him.”

He rubbed the back of Qi Zhao’s head and continued slowly, “He was only fourteen at the time, and the whole world was looking for him. In the end, he turned himself in, but this matter was only known within the government, and only to a very small number of people.”

“His skills were too exceptional. After some discussion, they decided to have him stay with the Yang family for the time being, partly because he had committed a crime and needed guidance, and partly because he had poor health due to a genetic defect.”

Qi Wei recalled, “I’ve met him twice. He’s a very fragile alpha. You’ll see it too if you meet him.”

Qi Zhao was amazed by Ming Jingsong’s skills, but even more curious about something else. “So are he and Yang Shou together?”

Qi Wei shrugged slightly. “We don’t know. Yan Shuang and Pei Lechuan have asked many times, but every time Yang Shou either gives them a knowing look and remains silent, or pretends to be angry and starts a fight with them.”

Qi Zhao smiled. “Would they actually fight Yang Shou?”

He was the President, after all.

It wasn’t about status, but fighting with the President, even as close friends, could easily be used against them, causing unnecessary trouble.

That’s why even the closest friends seemed to distance themselves after reaching a certain status.

But if both sides didn’t mind this distance, and understood and accepted the reason behind it, then their friendship remained strong.

Just like Yang Shou and them now.

“They wouldn’t actually fight, not out of respect,” Qi Wei said casually, “but because it would cause unnecessary trouble.”

He lowered his head, nuzzling Qi Zhao’s neck, his voice slightly muffled. “So Yang Shou always uses this to bully us. Ah Zhao, he’s done this to me many times.”

Qi Zhao: “.”

The conversation had somehow circled back to him.

Qi Zhao looked at Qi Wei, trying to suppress his laughter. “Qi Wei, are you acting coquettishly?”

The alpha readily admitted, “Yes.”

Qi Wei raised his head, his forehead touching Qi Zhao’s. “Comfort me.”

Qi Zhao: “…”

He could do this too?

He looked at Qi Wei helplessly, his heart racing uncontrollably, and tilted his chin up slightly, kissing Qi Wei lightly on the lips.

But Qi Wei didn’t pull back, their eyelashes brushing against each other, their breaths mingling in the close proximity.

Qi Zhao’s nerves tightened, and he even thought he could smell the faint fragrance of the perfume based on Qi Wei’s pheromones.

Perhaps it was emanating from Qi Wei, or perhaps Qi Wei’s persistence had finally etched the scent into his mind.

In any case, as Qi Zhao’s fingertips curled involuntarily, Qi Wei spoke again. “Ah Zhao.”

He caressed the back of Qi Zhao’s neck, murmuring, “You sounded so sexy when you said ‘sexually suggestive chat’.”

Alarm bells rang in Qi Zhao’s mind. “Qi Wei…”

But before he could voice his rejection, Qi Wei kissed him again.

He captured his lips, silencing his protest, leaving only two muffled whimpers.

And Qi Wei naturally pretended not to hear.

Qi Zhao genuinely felt that this alpha was not only good at playing dumb, but also incredibly wicked.

Yang Shou bullying him?

He didn’t believe it one bit now.