Chapter 25: The Beta Who Hates Alphas

Yu Sui slept until past two in the afternoon before hunger finally woke him.

Yawning, he rolled over and slowly sat up. The blanket had slipped down below his waist.

The room’s curtains were drawn, leaving the space dim amid the overcast weather.

He flicked on the bedside lamp.

Yu Sui grabbed his phone to check the time and noticed two new WeChat messages waiting.

Rubbing his eyes, he tapped to open them.

In the next instant, his phone went flying.

“Holy shit!”

Catching an unexpected glimpse of someone else’s dick had left Yu Sui feeling like his eyes needed bleach.

“Wait…”

Once his brain caught up, he picked the phone up off the floor. Staring at the sender marked as “x,” he felt a complicated mix of emotions. “I never pegged Jiang Nianxing as the type…”

[I bet he figured out it’s you,] the System said with certainty. [Why else would he send a dick pic after turning down your abs photo?]

“Then what the hell is he after?” Yu Sui swiped out of the chat, his face twisting in disgust.

[Jiang Nianxing hates you even more than in the original plot. You can tell from how he doesn’t even want to share the same air with you. Now that he knows the alt account is yours, that message probably feels like you’re rubbing today’s events in his face,] the System analyzed. [He’s doing it on purpose—to gross you out. He’d even sacrifice his own dignity just to make you miserable.]

“No need to go that far, is there?” Yu Sui said. “Could just be some random pic off the internet.”

[Have some faith in the protagonist’s instincts,] the System replied.

Yu Sui wasn’t buying it. “So what now?”

[Pretend you have no idea he clocked your identity. Keep the harassment going,] the System instructed.

Yu Sui quietly deleted the offending image. Then, muttering to himself, he fired off a few more messages.

[WeChat] y: You ever made out with anyone?

[WeChat] y: Show your bro those legs.

[WeChat] y: Up for some spicy chat tonight?

In the practice room, Jiang Nianxing was drilling his vocal part. His throat parched, he dropped onto the sofa and lifted a cup of water to his lips. That’s when the chime rang out—”ding dong, ding dong.”

He pulled out his phone for a look and immediately choked on his drink.

Jiang Nianxing clutched the device, his eyes flicking guiltily toward the focused Shen Anliu. Tension knotted in his gut.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Jinxia picked up on his unease right away.

The youth’s face had flushed beet red. Lu Jinxia narrowed his eyes. “What guilty secret are you hiding?”

“Nothing…” Jiang Nianxing shook his head fast and snapped the phone shut.

His odd behavior brought the other three to a halt. They all turned and headed his way.

An inexplicable unease stirred in Shen Anliu’s chest. If he wasn’t mistaken, Jiang Nianxing had just snuck a glance his way.

He Baiyan eyed Jiang Nianxing. “Someone messaging you?”

The youth’s startled reaction only confirmed the captain’s hunch.

“Yu Sui?” Lu Jinxia ventured.

Jiang Nianxing’s mouth opened, words of denial on the tip of his tongue.

A surge of crisis gripped Shen Anliu. Clearly, Yu Sui had taken a real shine to this Jiang Nianxing—hell, Yu Sui had never sent him anything like that.

“Why the blush? You send something you can’t show the light of day?” Lu Jinxia pressed. “You harassing him?”

“How could you…” For the first time, Shen Anliu sounded annoyed with his senior.

He Baiyan said nothing, but reproach flickered in his eyes.

Jiang Nianxing frowned. He’d planned to keep playing lapdog in secret, but now that they knew, and they were pushing him… Fine. Time to lay it all out. “This is between us—you don’t need to butt in. Besides, the feeling’s mutual between me and Yu Sui.”

“Mutual? What mutual?” Shen Anliu’s voice pitched up. “No way!”

Doubt creased the faces of the other two.

Just as Jiang Nianxing figured—they wouldn’t buy it. He unlocked his phone and shoved the chat interface under their noses. “Take a good look. This is proof of Master’s affection for me!”

Ding dong—

Another message dropped in.

[WeChat] y: Watching you dance has my heart racing. I wanna drag you into a room, kiss you senseless, make you cry from it.