Chapter 31: The Beta Who Hates Alphas Part 1

The manager noticed their silence and first singled out one of the groups.

“You always complain that I don’t give you opportunities. Aren’t you going to fight for this one?”

Those Alphas were already sweating bullets. They knew their own shortcomings all too well. If they had to stay in front of the cameras like this, they’d end up trending negatively on Hot Search within minutes.

“Virtue doesn’t match the position.” The Alphas didn’t hesitate to downplay themselves.

Alphas were born competitive by nature, but in this moment, they learned the art of humility.

“In terms of skill, how could we possibly compare to the seniors from TYE?” Honorifics started flying out.

Chen Qing followed their lead and glanced at the TYE members.

“I’ve got some information here.” He pressed the remote in his hand, and the large screen switched over.

The guest list appeared shortly after.

The Alphas on the sofa spotted one name among them, and their faces turned grim.

Even the TYE members looked rather solemn.

Shen Anliu, however, was surprised.

That Alpha was a former contemporary of He Baiyan and the others, matching them in strength across the board. But because of his explosive temper, he’d assaulted someone and gotten shelved by the company.

No one knew what happened to artists the company shelved.

It had been years for this guy, and now he was popping up out of nowhere…

“How is he…” They stared at Chen Qing, their expressions darkening.

One of them had been on the receiving end of a beating from this Alpha and still carried the trauma at the sight of his name.

“Someone paid off his fines for him.” Chen Qing shrugged. “As for where he ended up afterward, I have no idea. I was pretty shocked myself when I saw him on the guest list.”

Jiang Nianxing bit his lip. This teammate’s scandals went far beyond just brawling, but the company had turned a blind eye because of his strong performance metrics.

The three of them, as his former teammates, had suffered greatly because of him.

As for Huo Tian, the leaked photos that got him in trouble had been the handiwork of those three. The company had already viewed him as too hard to control, so they’d taken the opportunity to shelve him.

He had a vague sense of foreboding.

“Baiyan, I want you all to take this.” Chen Qing was blunt. “The team needs the exposure right now, and with your old teammate on this variety show, there’s no shortage of buzz.”

Though he framed it as a discussion, they all knew that artists under Star Sea Entertainment had no say in the matter.

“Let’s do it then. Who’s scared?” Jiang Nianxing clenched his fist.

Sweat still beaded on his forehead, a clear sign that his heart wasn’t as calm as he pretended.

Yu Sui was the only one left baffled. He hated every Alpha equally and equally shallowly, never bothering to learn the details.

He glanced around now, seeing them all act like they were facing a deadly foe, and wondered what the big deal was.

Plus, this didn’t seem to be part of the original plot…

[In the plot, you didn’t perform well and dragged the whole team down. But now, you’ve single-handedly elevated everyone.] The System chimed in with more praise.

“But the mission…” Yu Sui fought to keep his lips from curving up.

[Don’t worry about it.] The System said mysteriously. [The protagonist started acting weird, and I didn’t catch it in time. But the root cause is the world’s fault, so I filed a special request. They approved some extra permissions.]

“Oh?” Yu Sui perked up with interest.

[No matter how things change, the core remains the same.] The System continued. [You know exactly what core I’m talking about.]

“So?”

[Exactly. Your mission is to sabotage them and get them to bond closely. Even if the venue changes, you can still pull it off.]

“Will they…”

[As for this sudden variety show, I suspect the world intervened.] The System explained. [In some worlds, outsider meddling suppresses the protagonist and stunts his growth. That’s when the world alters the original plot to favor the protagonist, handing him some cheats.]

“It can do that?” He was astonished.

[Of course. Creating a protagonist isn’t easy for a world.] The System replied.

“They got cheats too?” Yu Sui glanced around curiously.

[This world exists for romance. Any plot shifts are naturally to play matchmaker for them.] The System said. [The so-called cheats are things like deepening bonds between protagonists, soul resonances, and fated connections.]

“Cupid’s arrow.” Yu Sui summed it up.

[Spot on.]

Yu Sui’s eyes sparkled. So that explained why Shen Anliu hadn’t been clinging to him these past few days—the world’s subtle influence at work.

He finally let go of his worries completely.

With the matter settled just like that, the other members voiced no complaints, inwardly celebrating their escape from the fiery pit.

They left first, shooting sympathetic looks at TYE on their way out.

Once the door closed, Chen Qing brought up info on the other idols.

“This is obviously targeted at us.” Lu Jinxia frowned.

Yu Sui blinked in confusion. What was so special about the rest?

“The invitation fee is this high.” Chen Qing held up his fingers in a gesture.

They all sucked in sharp breaths.

As company artists, they each had fixed annual KPIs. Meeting or exceeding them could shave years off their contracts.

That was the driving force behind many Alphas’ hard work—they all wanted out.

If they could just wrap up the recording smoothly, then…

Chen Qing noted their hesitation and narrowed his eyes. They wouldn’t refuse, pit or not.

With that in mind, he glanced at the two newcomers.

Shen Anliu was deep in thought, while Yu Sui looked utterly indifferent.

Unbidden respect stirred in Chen Qing’s heart. This Alpha was something else. If he were at another company, some boss would surely poach him.

The manager went through the motions of telling them to think it over before sending them off.

They left the office and headed straight to the practice room.

Yu Sui finally couldn’t hold back. “What’s the deal with those people?”

He had a vague memory of the ex-teammate but knew nothing about the others.

“It’s personal for us.” Lu Jinxia said with a frown.

Shen Anliu arched a brow at that.

Yu Sui waited for more, but it never came.

Meanwhile, netizens were buzzing about the variety show Friendly Competition.

Every season’s launch brought idol scandals, so casual onlookers loved tuning in for the drama.

The production team had just dropped info on some of the guests.

The most notorious was Huo Tian, a former TYE member.

[Wasn’t this guy shelved?]

[What’s the point of dragging out trash like this?]

[The production team’s getting worse. What kind of lineup is this?]

[Don’t know any of them lol.]

[If you got nothing, just don’t bother.]

[This season’s gotta be the most boring. Either has-beens or total nobodies. Where are the A-listers?]

[Huo Tian gonna throw punches on the show or what?]

Huo Tian was the only one with any name recognition among the guests, and explainers were popping up everywhere.

Some trolls finished reading and started speculating wildly.

[TYE’s been blowing up lately, and now their ex-teammate’s in? With Star Sea Entertainment’s style, no way they pass up free hype.]

At Star Sea Entertainment.

Yu Sui noticed everyone was out of it. Curiosity gnawing at him, he simply pulled out his phone to check.

But aside from Huo Tian, the rest had zero connection to TYE’s trio.

He racked his brain but came up empty, eventually giving up.

Three days later, the production team released the remaining guest list.

TYE All Members Join Friendly Competition# shot straight to the top of Hot Search.

[Holy shit! Someone nailed it!]

[I knew Star Sea wouldn’t miss this traffic.]

[Poor He, Jiang, and Lu. That teammate left some serious scars.]

[Drama incoming.]

[The two TYE rookies got dealt a bad hand. No way Huo Tian stays quiet.]

The comments were a mess, with some even flooding Star Sea Entertainment’s account with abuse—but it changed nothing.

Yu Sui was holed up in the apartment at the time.

With the show about to air, they didn’t need to grind practice anymore.

He wasn’t the diligent type anyway, so of course he’d slack off when he could.

He opened his Weibo and saw tons of people warning him about Huo Tian.

Yu Sui gripped his phone tighter, his expression turning serious.

Shen Anliu only knew about Star Sea Entertainment. He was clueless and uninterested in TYE’s personal histories.

But Huo Tian set off his alarms.

The guy had a record: harassing fellow company Alphas, assaulting artists, romantic entanglements with multiple Omegas. Total scumbag.

Coming downstairs, he spotted Yu Sui on the sofa.

Ever since moving in together, they’d grown even more distant.

Every night, Shen Anliu would recall the taste of those lips, waking up with aching loneliness. But he didn’t want to make Yu Sui hate him more, so he kept his distance.

He pulled a drink from the fridge, moving slowly as he racked his brain for a conversation starter. “Where’s everyone else?”

Yu Sui was deep into a game of Fight the Landlord when he heard it. His fingers paused. Looks like the plot was powerful after all—Shen Anliu was starting to care about the others.

“No idea.” And he genuinely didn’t.

Seeing Yu Sui brush him off, Shen Anliu’s eyes darkened as he tightened his grip on the drink.

He nursed it for ages, dawdling, his gaze never leaving Yu Sui.

But Yu Sui didn’t spare him a single glance.

It stung Shen Anliu’s heart. Even hatred, jabs, or curses would be better than this cold indifference.

His throat bobbed. He licked his lips. “Yu Sui, watch out for that Huo Tian.”

“Mm,” Yu Sui replied.

Seeing the response, Shen Anliu’s eyes lit up. His mood lifted, and he headed upstairs with his drink.

Aside from the mission, he’d always had a bit of interest in the industry since joining Star Sea Entertainment.

He loved music and dance—the way movement and voice could convey so many emotions and stories.

Inspiration struck Shen Anliu right then.

He sat at the desk with his guitar in lap, pen in hand. He’d glance up to strum now and then before dipping his head to scribble something down.

Yu Sui had won, and in a good mood, he sat up.

Bang—

The door was forcefully shoved open.

Lu Jinxia was more furious than ever before. His handsome face was dark and filled with menace.

Yu Sui sensed the killing intent.

His body stiffened. He swallowed hard and asked cautiously, “You… what’s wrong with you?”

Hearing his concern, Lu Jinxia parted his lips. In the end, though, he said nothing.

Downstairs, a room door opened before slamming shut with a heavy thud.

Good. This teammate was hostile toward him too.

Yu Sui felt even more reassured.

That day, the other two didn’t return to the apartment.

It wasn’t until the company notified them to head to the pre-booked hotel that Yu Sui saw He Baiyan and Jiang Nianxing.

The former wore his usual cold expression. The latter had bruises on his face, as if he’d gotten into a fight.

Yu Sui silently kept his distance from him.

The hotel rooms were all next to one another. Tomorrow at eight in the morning, the show would go live.

Yu Sui felt a little nervous. He tidied up his suitcase to make sure nothing messy or revealing would be caught on camera before finally going to sleep.