Chapter 18: The Beta Who Hates Alphas

Jiang Nianxing paused for a moment before silently closing the cabinet door.

Yu Sui’s face had already darkened from his outburst, and now Lu Jinxia had shown up too.

Even though cannon fodder could get away with shady deeds, Yu Sui still felt embarrassed. He’d already been punished once and had no desire for a repeat.

“It’s nothing,” he said quickly, cutting it off. “We shouldn’t keep the viewers waiting any longer. Let’s head back.”

Jiang Nianxing didn’t want anyone else knowing about this either, so he nodded. “Yeah.”

Lu Jinxia glanced between the two of them, his gaze lingering on the closed cabinet door as his eyes narrowed. “Sorry, Yu Sui. That was just for the show. I forgot for a second that you hate Alphas…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Yu Sui was all compliance now. He just wanted to get out of there.

Lu Jinxia let out a breath of relief.

The three of them returned to the lounge.

Sure enough, the moment Yu Sui appeared, the viewer comments erupted into a frenzy.

A faint anger lingered on his face, but his heart had calmed.

[Looks like you’re getting used to it.] The System remarked, pleased.

“There’s no choice if I’m not,” Yu Sui sighed.

Next up was the game segment.

And Yu Sui was one of the fixed guests.

He faced off against Shen Anliu in an arm-wrestling match, their hands clasped together.

Yu Sui poured all his strength into it, determined to win.

He already had his act planned out: if he lost, he’d pull a sour face; if he won, he’d throw in some mockery. Either way, it’d make the viewers turn on him hard.

The others nearby all stood up to watch the two of them.

Shen Anliu’s ear tips flushed bright red as he held hands with Yu Sui.

His eyelashes trembled. Feeling Yu Sui’s intensity made his heart race, scattering his focus.

Lost in his fantasies, Shen Anliu completely forgot about the match—and the people around them.

Jiang Nianxing noticed Shen Anliu’s evasive gaze and the shy way he bit his lip. He frowned. What was this guy thinking?

Finally, Shen Anliu’s hand slammed back against the table. He’d lost the match.

Yu Sui immediately let go, a trace of disdain in his eyes. “You’re trash. And why’s your palm all sweaty? Disgusting.”

Shen Anliu’s face burned, his heart pounding. “Sorry, I… I got too nervous…”

[Arm-wrestling and you’re swallowing nonstop—what kinda crap is in that head of yours?]

[Look at everyone’s faces around them. Something feels off…]

[I gotta admit, TYE knows how to hype things. Not one person dropped the ball in that match. Every expression was gold.]

Yu Sui wiped his hand with a wet wipe before sitting back down.

Shen Anliu opened his mouth to say something, but Jiang Nianxing shoved him aside. “My turn.”

He didn’t bother hiding his eagerness.

[Sorry for overthinking, but… Sui Sui can’t handle that, right…?]

Seeing that comment made Yu Sui wish he hadn’t looked up. He felt like his innocence was gone—he got it instantly.

This world really was too explosive. Knowledge bombarded him from all sides.

Jiang Nianxing sat beside him, itching for some physical contact. But they’d planned for him to wipe sweat off Jiang’s face naturally. Changing it on the fly might anger Yu Sui.

As planned, he would sing, and Yu Sui would dab his face with a tissue.

He’d originally picked a high-energy track from his solo album, but Jiang Nianxing switched it last minute to a song by another artist.

Gazing at Yu Sui beside him, he began with a hint of nervousness. His voice was gentler than ever. In the group, he was the rapper—always cool and cocky.

“Baby…”

When he hit that line, he tuned out everyone else, locking eyes with Yu Sui. His gaze was practically drowning.

Yu Sui had been dazed from the start. This was nothing like the plan. And singing something like this to him while leaning in—what was he doing?

[That’s called an indirect play.] The System sighed. [You’ve become their flirting prop.]

“Huh?” Yu Sui didn’t get it.

[Take a look at who’s behind you.]

Yu Sui glanced back. Shen Anliu.

“Jiang Nianxing’s got skills,” he said, shocked. Flirting secretly in front of the viewers—what could be more thrilling?

He’d felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but realizing he was just a plank in the middle made it easier. Still, as a Beta who hated Alphas, he scooted a little farther away.

But Jiang Nianxing pursued relentlessly, too immersed to notice. He ignored Yu Sui completely, leaning toward Shen Anliu.

Yu Sui’s brow furrowed. He wanted to push him away.

[Don’t push him off. Lean back into Shen Anliu instead.] The System instructed. [Let the protagonists make physical contact. Boost their bond.]

“What about me? The one stuck in the middle?” Yu Sui couldn’t stay calm.

[Eye contact over you, hands clasped tight—doesn’t that make it even more thrilling?] The System went on. [Plus, you hate Alphas. Two birds with one stone: the protagonists get their thrill, the cannon fodder suffers, everyone becomes part of their game. Bliss!]

“Where’d you learn all this?” Yu Sui’s eyelid twitched. He hesitated, then followed the System’s advice.

[My database updated.] The System replied.

No one expected Jiang Nianxing to switch songs mid-performance, singing to Yu Sui and inching closer.

Lu Jinxia was about to say something when he heard a muffled “oof.”

The CP-shipping comments froze for a second, then exploded.

He Baiyan’s usually expressionless face turned icy.

Jiang Nianxing had toppled onto Yu Sui, who in turn fell onto Shen Anliu’s lap.

Now the young man was sandwiched between his two teammates.

This…

[Holy crap? This explosive right out the gate?]

[Sandwich… cough cough…]

[Is this a Queerbaitingpairing? A threesome?]

[Why are they still dressed?]

[Star Sea Entertainment, you win!]

[I’m shipping, okay?!]

[Fine, TYE, I’ll stan you!]

[This new member’s savage!]

“Not getting up?” Lu Jinxia ignored his disgust and grabbed Jiang Nianxing’s arm.

His eyelid twitched. He hadn’t expected this guy to throw caution to the wind on a live stream, of all things…

What happened behind closed doors, then?

Lu Jinxia recalled the sounds of ripping fabric he’d overheard. Could Jiang Nianxing be into Yu Sui…?

He pursed his lips, yanking harder.

Jiang Nianxing hadn’t anticipated this either. He’d gotten too close and could feel Yu Sui’s heartbeat, his body heat, the faint clean scent on him.

And…

If he hadn’t turned his head, he would’ve kissed the young man’s cheek.

Regret and shyness flooded him as he got yanked upright, completely caught off guard.

“Cough, cough, I…”

Jiang Nianxing’s eyes darted guiltily toward Yu Sui. He’d been singing “Baby, I want to kiss your lips” and flashed back to Yu Sui sharing a cookie with Lu Jinxia. He fixated on the young man’s mouth and leaned in without thinking…

Yu Sui’s expression soured.

Even prepared, having Jiang Nianxing crash into him hurt.

“Bro…”

Shen Anliu had already felt sour watching them sing a love song. Then Yu Sui ended up in his lap.

He’d been staring the whole time, so he saw Yu Sui lean back first.

Yu Sui really was all talk, no action.

Before he could say more, Yu Sui sat up.

“Sorry.” Jiang Nianxing cleared his throat with an apology.

Yu Sui shot him a glare, but inwardly he was calm. The System had said both protagonists blushed and tensed in that moment—clearly thrilled.

The planned sweat-wipe got skipped by the cannon fodder. On the surface, though, they’d sold it big—two pairs at once.

Now the whole stream was spamming 666s.

[Underestimated this Yu Sui. He’s a pro.]

[Top-tier hype. Nailed the audience psych.]

[AA Romance hits different—Alphas are aggressive, better stamina… they compete to outdo each other…]

[Up front, no driving!]

[One comment from a chef = a full-course meal. Delicious!]

[Alright, following Yu Sui. Wanna see his next hype move.]

[Straight guy? No way.]

Yu Sui glanced at the comments and saw the suspicions about his orientation. He had no words. Fine—they were just props in the protagonists’ game. It was normal they didn’t get it yet. Once the mains’ relationship blew up, the viewers would connect the dots.

He gathered his thoughts and turned to find He Baiyan sitting beside him at some point, radiating chill.

Yu Sui shivered. Had he figured it out?

He Baiyan said nothing, just steered the topic back on track.

He was the one meant to do a Queerbaitingpairing with Yu Sui, but instead of games, he started cueing a song.

The staff didn’t push; too much of that would get stale.

Thanks to Yu Sui’s play, TYE shot up the Hot Search again.

Curious passersby clicked in expecting dirt, only to find CP hype.

[Star Sea Entertainment found a gem this time.]

[This Alpha’s next-level dedicated. AA repel each other, but he shipped two pairs at once.]

[Don’t care about gender. Shipping!]

[Sando 666, TYE fixed their weak spot.]

[Never calling TYE friendless again.]

[Yummy, gobble gobble.]

[Willing to perform for us? Good Alpha.]

Yu Sui gained a ton of fans from the stream. Some for his pissed-off reactions, some for the CP, some curious what Alpha could hustle like that. Either way, he won big.

The company was thrilled with him, overlooking his past slip-ups.

Idols who made money were the good ones.

Meanwhile, the other groups from the same company had lackluster streams.

Many idol agencies under Alpha leads had resigned themselves to their fate, but Alphas were innately competitive, so plenty of boy groups were eager to surpass TYE.

This time, they pulled out all the stops. Enduring their instinctive repulsion, they got up close and personal—even manufacturing some boundary-crossing physical contact—yet their popularity and buzz remained firmly under TYE’s thumb.

The livestream ended, and the equipment powered down.

With grim expressions, they pulled up the hot search trends. Their already stormy faces and surging pheromones ground to a sudden halt the moment they spotted the edited clip.

Huh?

Dishing out two servings of ship bait at once? Sandwiched between two Alphas—and not just any Alphas, but a pair of 3S-grade ones? Holy shit! That was one hell of a sacrifice!

Just like that, they threw in the towel.

Though the livestream had wrapped, the online chatter showed no signs of dying down.

Yu Sui let out a quiet sigh of relief, only to look up and find his roommates all staring at him.

His body went rigid. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh…” Jiang Nianxing wanted to talk about the clothes—and the accidental hug from earlier—but with everyone else still there, he couldn’t bring himself to speak up.

Shen Anliu wanted to test the waters on Yu Sui’s feelings, but a crowd wasn’t the place.

He Baiyan was worried about Yu Sui’s safety. He’d clocked that Jiang Nianxing was no pushover either, so he held his ground without saying a word.

Lu Jinxia, seeing no one else leaving, naturally stayed put as well.

The awkward standoff stretched on until the door swung open.

The manager burst in, grinning from ear to ear. “Xiao Yu, you’re incredible! I knew I hadn’t picked wrong.”

Yu Sui blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

“TYE’s overall strength holds its own against any boy group out there. The only weak spot? CP marketing. But now that you’re here, you’ve filled that gap—no, you’ve blown it out of the water!”

The manager clapped him on the shoulder. “The company’s decided to give you the recognition you deserve.”

A bad feeling stirred in Yu Sui’s gut.

“Star Sea Entertainment’s King of QueerbaitingPairings!”

Yu Sui: …

Just let him die already.