But I’m Just a Beta 6

06

They finished breakfast in silence. Afterward, Qi Zhao remembered to send Hua Tang a message, telling him that the matter was resolved.

Hua Tang was a beta friend he had met abroad. They had known each other for three or four years. They weren’t particularly close, but they got along well. Among his new circle of friends abroad, Hua Tang was the most worried about him.

Due to the time difference, Hua Tang didn’t reply immediately. Qi Zhao didn’t mind and put down his phone. Looking up, he met Qi Wei’s gaze as he meticulously wiped his hands with a new, disinfected hot towel.

The higher the alpha’s rank, the more severe their obsession with cleanliness. Qi Zhao had done research on alpha behavioral studies, so he knew this.

But Qi Wei staring at him while wiping his hands still made him feel a little…

Under Qi Wei’s gaze, Qi Zhao always had the fleeting illusion of being prey.

His gaze was like a net being woven, spreading out behind him bit by bit. Qi Wei didn’t seem like the type to directly capture and confine him, but the net was there, behind him, and he couldn’t retreat or escape.

Qi Zhao wasn’t comfortable with this kind of attention. Even if Qi Wei had concealed it slightly, he wouldn’t feel so at a loss. But Qi Wei seemed to want him to get used to it, as if… this was just the beginning.

An alpha’s possessiveness.

“Ah Zhao.”

Qi Wei’s low voice pulled Qi Zhao back to his senses. Qi Zhao looked up and saw Qi Wei’s eyes slightly curved, his smile gentle and warm, with no trace of danger or pressure. “Shall we go now?”

“…Yes.” Qi Zhao stood up and finally said, “Just make your request.”

He said to Qi Wei solemnly, “Thank you.”

Although Qi Wei wanted something from him, what Qi Wei had given him was truly difficult for Qi Zhao to express in just a few words of gratitude.

Qi Wei’s lips curved slightly, his eyes gentle. Qi Zhao thought he would say something cliché like, “I’ll let it go this time, but there won’t be a next time,” but Qi Wei changed his tone and said, “Then I’ll have to think carefully about what request to make.”

Qi Zhao: “…?”

He paused, but this actually made him feel truly relaxed. “Yes, there’s no rush.”

He wasn’t so tense anymore. “You have plenty of time to think.”

This time, it wasn’t Xu Chenzhou driving, but Qiu Ji. Xu Chenzhou worked as an assistant by Qi Wei’s side. He had mentioned to Qi Zhao before that he was in Group C, responsible for new technologies.

Qiu Ji was Qi Wei’s personal assistant, so he was also Qi Wei’s driver.

When Qi Zhao followed Qi Wei to the garage, Qi Wei called out to him in advance, “Ah Zhao.”

He opened the car door, his elbow resting on the top of the door frame, clearly holding the door open for Qi Zhao.

Qi Zhao paused, suddenly feeling a little dazed.

It wasn’t that no one had ever held a car door open for him, even an alpha had done it before. But at that time, he hadn’t yet been confirmed as a beta. He was still the young master of the Qi family, and his abilities were indeed strong, so everyone assumed he would differentiate into an alpha. But then…

Qi Zhao glanced at Qi Wei.

Qi Wei tilted his head slightly, as if he didn’t think there was anything wrong with his actions.

The lighting in the garage was a bit gloomy. The pale light wasn’t very bright, and coupled with the dim environment, the alpha’s eyes held no gentle smile. Standing there calmly, he didn’t seem like someone who would hold a car door open for others.

But Qi Zhao only hesitated for a moment before bending down and brushing past Qi Wei to sit in the back seat.

He didn’t know that as he approached, Qi Wei lowered his eyes, his gaze following the line of his neck, staring at the exposed patch of white skin, inhaling the unique scent of the beta discreetly.

There were no pheromones, but everyone had their own unique scent, even betas, even if it was faint. But the superior five senses of a super S-rank alpha allowed Qi Wei to feel extreme satisfaction at this moment, while also giving rise to more greed and emptiness.

Qi Wei gently closed the door and then got into the car on the other side.

The partition between the front and back seats made the space inside the car more defined and also much narrower. Qi Zhao couldn’t smell Qi Wei’s pheromones, but he could sense his presence. The man’s hormones filled the space.

Qi Zhao wasn’t usually awkward, but his current relationship with Qi Wei was… difficult not to make him slightly tense.

After the car started, Qi Wei slowly took a men’s necklace out of his pocket and handed it to Qi Zhao.

A black cord with a simple but unique round ball pendant. White smoke swirled inside, looking a bit like the cotton絮 (xù – floss, fluff) inside jade.

“Although your official records have been changed to alpha, the fact that you don’t have pheromones is undeniable.”

Qi Wei held out his hand, letting Qi Zhao take the necklace from his palm. “This contains my pheromones. Wear it regularly. It lasts for a week, and you can just replace the ‘core’ every week.”

Qi Zhao didn’t refuse Qi Wei’s “gift.”

He looked down at the necklace, sighing silently in his heart, and reached out to take it from Qi Wei’s palm.

Inevitable contact.

His fingertips brushed against Qi Wei’s palm. The moment they touched, before Qi Zhao could react, Qi Wei suddenly tightened his grip, trapping his fingers in his hand, making Qi Zhao pause.

He didn’t have much of a reaction, except… was it because Qi Wei’s pheromones were like liquor? It was so hot.

Qi Wei’s body temperature was higher than that of ordinary people.

Pheromones affected the physical characteristics of alphas and omegas. So some people with rose-scented pheromones might have red eyes and red hair. Although not ubiquitous, it wasn’t uncommon either.

It was just holding hands. Qi Zhao wasn’t a sensitive omega and wouldn’t be triggered by an alpha’s touch. So he didn’t struggle, just glanced at the tense muscles in Qi Wei’s arm.

He was wearing short sleeves today, so his toned forearms were exposed. Those bulging muscles were a level Qi Zhao had strived for seven years but failed to achieve—the natural advantage of an alpha. Qi Zhao would have to take drugs to reach that level.

And now, the veins on Qi Wei’s arm were slightly bulging.

…But Qi Zhao didn’t feel Qi Wei gripping him tightly, just holding him.

Was it the result of restraint?

Qi Zhao remembered Qi Wei saying that he had never had an omega, and he also remembered never hearing any gossip about Qi Wei over the years.

He had alpha friends, like Xu Chenzhou. Xu Chenzhou was a B+ rank alpha, and even he had a hard time during his ruts. When suppressants didn’t work, he had to ask a highly compatible omega to release soothing pheromones to help him get through it.

Qi Zhao didn’t think there was anything wrong with this, but at times like these, as a beta, he felt a bit sorry for them.

If Qi Wei had to ask an omega to release soothing pheromones to help him through his rut, he would find it perfectly normal. But… how should he put it, with Qi Wei’s crazy behavior, he seriously doubted whether Qi Wei had even done that.

Not even just smelling an omega’s pheromones to ease his rut.

Qi Zhao lowered his eyes slightly. Qi Wei didn’t hold his hand for long, just a few seconds, before slowly releasing it. “Sorry.”

The alpha said casually, “I couldn’t control myself… If I lose control and touch you, and you don’t like it, just push me away, okay?”

Qi Zhao realized that Qi Wei might do things against his own will when he lost control, and he felt even more sympathy for alphas during their beast-like ruts.

Qi Zhao took the necklace from him and replied obediently, “Okay.”

But he couldn’t help but ask, “…Er-ge, there’s a difference in strength between alphas and betas. What if I can’t push you away?”

This was indeed a valid concern.

Qi Wei raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly, feeling a twinge of sadness that Qi Zhao actually intended to push him away.

But he said casually, “Then carry a knife with you.”

He didn’t say what to do with the knife, but it made Qi Zhao fall silent on the spot.

“…”

Crazy.

Still crazy.

Qi Zhao turned his head away, refusing to look at him.

Qi Wei’s gaze followed him, landing on the tense line of his neck and the jade-like skin of his throat as he turned his head. Qi Zhao’s Adam’s apple was prominent, making Qi Wei want to touch it, kiss it, and bite it.

Qi Wei chuckled softly. “Don’t be afraid.”

He said, “Even if you kill me, you won’t be breaking the law.”

Qi Zhao’s eyelids twitched. He knew that since Qi Wei said this, he was either coaxing him or he had actually informed the President…

“…” Qi Zhao looked back at him and couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you playing a bit too big?”

Qi Wei raised an eyebrow again. Hearing Qi Zhao’s words, he smiled slowly. “I only have one life, and only one person I want. To me, the person is more important.”

Qi Zhao was stunned.

He widened his eyes slightly, looking at Qi Wei. Qi Wei also looked at him, a teasing smile in his eyes, but Qi Zhao could also sense his sincerity.

“…”

He was still crazy, but he was truly… different from the Qi Wei he had imagined.

Qi Zhao averted his gaze again, unconsciously clenching the necklace in his hand, falling silent.

Qi Wei took out another item and gave it to him. “This.”

It was a button, seemingly nothing special.

Qi Zhao reached out, letting Qi Wei place it in his palm, and heard Qi Wei say, “After you see Qi Mu, if he upsets you, press this.”

Qi Zhao: “…?”

Although he didn’t know what it was, he still subconsciously asked, “Er-ge, aren’t you coming with me?”

Qi Wei said calmly, “I’d like to, but do you want me to come with you?”

Qi Zhao loosened his grip on the necklace, exhaled softly, and shook his head. “I want to go alone.”

This was his “karma” with Qi Mu and the Qi family, also his painful past. He didn’t want others to get too involved, even though he could guess that Qi Wei probably knew more about it than he did.

Qi Wei nodded. “Okay.”

He put on a respectful air. “Then I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Qi Zhao lowered his head and put on the necklace. “Okay.”

He still said, “Thank you.”

Still not out of politeness, but out of sincerity.

Qi Wei raised an eyebrow and reminded him slowly, “Ah Zhao, that’s the second request.”

Qi Zhao nodded. “Yes, I’ll wait for you to make it.”