Chapter 29: Hating Alpha’s Beta Part 1

In the cramped space, two grown men pressed extremely close together.

They could feel each other’s breaths, heartbeats, and the other’s undeniable presence.

Yu Sui’s body went rigid, his scalp prickling as an urge to retreat welled up inside him.

Yet he couldn’t take even a single step back.

Moreover…

As time dragged on, he actually…

Yu Sui’s expression turned grim. This was utterly against his intentions.

Shen Anliu lowered his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. A sense of relief settled in his chest.

It seemed Yu Sui didn’t hate him quite as much as he’d feared.

“Bro…” He lifted his head and leaned toward Yu Sui’s ear, his voice husky.

Yu Sui bit his lip, shame burning across his face. Disbelief filled his eyes, stung by the rejection.

The instinctive murmur on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back down by force.

“Looks like you don’t like it, bro.” Shen Anliu sighed, halting his movements. He simply stared at Yu Sui’s face, his breath ghosting over the other’s cheek. Just a little closer, and their lips would meet.

Caught in this awkward limbo, Yu Sui found the torment excruciating.

He reached out and pushed at Shen Anliu’s chest. The young man seized his fingers, tilting his head back slightly to gain some distance. Then he locked eyes with Yu Sui, nipping at his fingertip with a mix of reverence and sultry desire.

Those eyes, flushed with waves of heat, shimmered and gleamed, laced with a subtle seduction.

Yu Sui’s reflection shone clearly in them, captivating his gaze and halting his breath.

Shen Anliu’s eyes curved into sly crescents, his smile mischievous.

Yu Sui’s Adam’s apple slid unconsciously. His lips parted, his cheeks erupting in crimson—this time from sheer, inexplicable embarrassment.

A faint sting pricked his finger, followed by a teasing itch.

It crept from the fingertip, racing up his arm and flooding his entire body.

Yu Sui jolted back to his senses, terror surging through his heart.

He yanked his hand free, his voice cracking unnaturally with a faint tremor. “W-what are you doing?”

Shen Anliu hadn’t missed Yu Sui’s reactions to his touch. Far from repulsed, Yu Sui seemed to welcome it.

When Yu Sui pulled away, Shen Anliu let him go without protest.

He stepped back, leaving an awkward chasm between them.

Shen Anliu was the one drugged, yet Yu Sui stood there flushed pink from head to toe, his shirt splayed open, baring his chest.

Released abruptly, Yu Sui’s legs buckled, and he nearly lost his balance.

This whole situation felt utterly bizarre.

Yu Sui bit the tip of his tongue, words hovering on his lips, but hesitation held him back.

Threats or taunts now would only fan the flames.

“Bro, aren’t you going to take care of it?” Shen Anliu’s gaze pinned him. The young man’s arms tensed, veins bulging on the backs of his hands as he moved with agonizing slowness.

His eyes assaulted, his posture enticed.

Yu Sui was already on edge, and the sight sent fresh prickles across his scalp. He couldn’t block the vivid impact crashing through his mind.

Shen Anliu faltered, composure cracking as his breath hitched. “Bro, you don’t hate me.”

“Shut up.” Yu Sui shot him a furious glare. But ignoring it wasn’t an option—the embarrassment was too acute.

Besides, Yu Sui truly felt unwell, his emotions a tangled mess he couldn’t unravel.

He turned away, eyes dropping. He didn’t dare glimpse the young man’s face.

Yet he felt that gaze scorching into his back, heavy and blazing.

Shen Anliu didn’t close the distance, but his breathing grew ragged, his earlier restraint dissolving into reckless abandon.

A shiver like an electric jolt ran down Yu Sui’s spine.

In the private room, Jiang Nianxing grew restless. “Why haven’t they come back? I’ll go look.”

He strode out swiftly, his expression darkening.

Two guys vanishing into the bathroom for this long? It was impossible not to suspect they’d gotten carried away.

He Baiyan arched a brow, eyeing Jiang Nianxing’s retreating figure. He was about to invent his own excuse to leave when a message pinged on his phone.

“How’d the paparazzi sneak in here?”

He rose with a puzzled mutter, his face hardening. “Find those two.”

Lu Jinxia shot him a penetrating look before standing as well.

Jiang Nianxing was nearing the bathroom door when he spotted two men clutching cameras under duckbill caps.

On instinct, he tugged his cap brim low, slipped on a mask, and veered away.

A crowd trailed the pair—regular diners from the restaurant, by the look of it.

The paparazzi had lingered at the back door until they’d wilted like dead flowers. No orders came, and their messages to Yu Sui went unanswered.

Feeling duped, they’d slipped inside through the unlocked rear entrance.

The restaurant bustled with guests, but no sign of TYE Team members.

They headed upstairs to hunt but ran into hotel staff blocking their path.

“Who are you? How’d you get in?” The lobby manager confronted them sternly, radioing security at once.

“TYE Team infighting!”

As guards closed in, one paparazzo bellowed, “All those online photos and videos were staged! In reality, the team’s isolating and bullying the rookies!”

“You got proof?” a nearby TYE fan fired back.

“Don’t believe me? Follow and see for yourselves.”

Schadenfreude was second nature to the crowd.

Security tried to intervene, but the swelling throng—packed with alphas—proved unmanageable.

The lobby manager dialed Star Sea Entertainment’s manager; the companies collaborated often, so he had the number.

“Forget it,” Chen Qing replied airily after hearing the rundown.

The manager understood. Let TYE sort their own mess.

So the rumors held water after all?

Sweat beading on his forehead, he directed security to shadow the group. If fists started flying, they could step in fast.

And so the mob surged toward the fifth floor in noisy disarray.

Jiang Nianxing whipped around a corner and ducked into a storage closet.

He watched them file past toward the private rooms, then bolted for the bathroom.

If those two really were up to something… getting caught on camera would be disastrous.

Yu Sui soothed himself with a deep breath, his mind blanking out momentarily.

Shen Anliu, though, was far from recovered.

Seizing Yu Sui’s daze, he leaned in once more. Bending slightly, he craned up and captured his lips.

Shen Anliu’s hands moved like lightning, thwarting any shove.

His kiss pursued doggedly, compelling Yu Sui to part his lips and yield again.

Yu Sui’s chest heaved wildly. At last, the young man drew back.

Shen Anliu licked his lips, steadying Yu Sui’s weakened legs as he relished the lingering taste.

“Yu Sui! You guys in there?”

Jiang Nianxing’s voice rang out from beyond the door.

Shen Anliu scowled, instinctively checking Yu Sui’s face.

As expected, the young man’s eyes sparked with intent to answer.

Jealousy knifed through Shen Anliu. He’d been the fool, while those two were destined.

Without a second thought, he claimed Yu Sui’s lips again.

His hand clamped the young man’s waist in a warning grip.

Yu Sui went stock-still, silent as a statue.

No response from the bathroom. Jiang Nianxing moved on to search elsewhere.

The footsteps receded. Shen Anliu pulled away. “You like him that much?”

“Where do I like him?” Yu Sui blinked in confusion.

“The messages you sent.” Jealousy twisted Shen Anliu’s words. “So intimate. Calling him ‘baby’ and all.”

“Messages?” Yu Sui’s heart lurched. He fought for composure. “What messages?”

“The ones from your alt account.” Yu Sui kept feigning ignorance, so Shen Anliu spelled it out. “How am I any worse? Anything you want from him, I can give.”

“You… how do you know?” Dread pooled in Yu Sui’s gut.

“Not just me.” Shen Anliu smirked at Yu Sui’s crumbling expression. “The whole team’s in on it.”

Yu Sui nearly spat blood.

Before more words could pass, a clamor of footsteps echoed outside.

“They’ve gotta be here.”

“I’m telling you!”

“TYE’s two rookies are MIA. Probably bullied into hiding.”

“If they’ve got nothing to hide, why not show themselves?”

At the bathroom door, He Baiyan—as captain—tried reasoning with the paparazzi.

But the pair proved shameless pests, tuning him out entirely.

He Baiyan pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaustion weighing him down.

He’d texted Shen Anliu and Yu Sui too. Still radio silence.

Inside the bathroom, the argument filtered through—teammates clashing with strangers.

Yu Sui froze. He’d completely forgotten.

If that mob burst in now, photos would immortalize…

Seeing Yu Sui unravel, Shen Anliu swallowed hard. “This your setup? To trash my name?”

“I… I haven’t sent the signal yet.” Panic edged Yu Sui’s voice.

Shen Anliu eyed his fear, baffled. “What’re you scared of?”

“I…” Yu Sui longed to explain: he didn’t want pictures with Shen Anliu, especially not like this—it screamed scandal.

But he clamped his mouth shut, dreading another kiss.

His tongue had gone numb; his lips were swollen.

Why it didn’t repulse him more? Yu Sui shoved the thought aside.

Shen Anliu was no fool—every emotion played across Yu Sui’s face.

Frustration clogged his chest.

Still, he had zero taste for an audience.

Shen Anliu grabbed a tissue to wipe his hands, straightened his clothes, then sidled up to Yu Sui.

With deliberate leisure, he buttoned Yu Sui’s shirt and cinched his belt.

“I-I can do it myself.” Yu Sui pushed weakly at him.

“The drug’s still got me. Don’t tease.” Shen Anliu’s gaze dropped to Yu Sui’s ravaged chest.

Yu Sui wanted to spit blood. “Tease who?!”

He glared at the young man, then caught the sound of him swallowing hard.

Yu Sui jerked his eyes away.

Shen Anliu smoothed out the wrinkles on his pants, then leisurely buttoned up Yu Sui’s shirt.

“Bro, this is way too obvious,” he said with a slight frown, eyeing the bulge in the fabric.

“Who’s to blame for that?” Yu Sui ground out through clenched teeth.

“If Bro hadn’t drugged me…” Shen Anliu reminded him.

Yu Sui choked on his words.

Outside, the three of them couldn’t hold back the crowd for long. The hotel security guards kept saying not to cause a scene, but they didn’t do much to intervene.

Jiang Nianxing and the others felt their hearts sink. This had to be connected to the company’s arrangements.

Cursing under their breaths, they still tried their hardest to block the way.

“I never thought you guys were like this!”

Their guilty, evasive behavior only fueled the passersby’s anger.

Bang—

The door was finally pushed open.

“The people inside…”

The lead Alpha had barely opened his mouth when he froze. The crowd squeezing in behind him was puzzled at first, but upon seeing the scene inside, they all went slack-jawed.

“What happened?”

More people pressed forward in confusion, but as each one stepped into the restroom, they froze like statues.

At the nearby sink, the young man in the white dress shirt leaned against the edge. The taller Alpha loomed over him, body tilted forward.

His long legs had forced their way between the young man’s knees, one hand braced on the sink’s rim in a classic wall-slam position.

Yu Sui reached out as if to shove the man away, but his hands were captured.

His fingers, still dripping with water droplets, were guided to Shen Anliu’s lips.

Shen Anliu’s gaze locked hungrily onto Yu Sui’s. The tip of his tongue teased the pad of one finger, testing and enticing.

Yu Sui’s nose was flushed red, his lips slightly swollen, and his misty eyes glared furiously at his teammate.