After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Husband Fell for Me on His Own - Chapter 4

Yu Yi initially thought it was just a routine physical examination. It was not until the doctor instructed him to remove his shirt and lie down inside a cylindrical instrument that he sensed something was wrong.

The machine slowly slid him inward. There was no light inside, only pitch-black darkness. Before he could react, a sharp beep sounded, followed by a cold, mechanical female voice near his ear.

[Male Beta. Respiration: Normal. Body Temperature…]

In the darkness, Yu Yi listened to the mechanical voice report his bodily data item by item, including several details he did not even know about himself. At first, he treated it like a free medical checkup, but as the voice began reporting private physical data, he felt stunned.

“Wait, is this not crossing a line?” he thought. “We are not close enough for this!”

The sensation was subtle yet unpleasant. It reminded Yu Yi of the feeling of being ignored when he lived in the Cheng household. They did not truly see him. Just like now, he was being scanned up and down by a cold machine like a piece of merchandise waiting to be priced, all to determine his “value.”

These were the longest five minutes of his life. Everything, down to the degree to which his reproductive cavity could be developed, was reported in exhaustive detail.

Yu Yi felt a surge of anger mixed with a sense of helplessness. What could he do? There was no turning back now. For the first time, he truly felt as though he had been “sold.”

He stared into the darkness, thinking about the money that had been deposited into his account and Ji Xingxiao’s face, which happened to be exactly his type. Yu Yi decided that, perhaps, it was not a bad deal.

Moreover, it was entirely possible the man would not even like him. That would be for the best. The money was already in his hands, and he had no intention of giving it back. With that thought, he relaxed slightly.

After the examination was over, Yu Yi felt quite tired. When the driver brought him back, he found Cheng Sui, Bai Changfeng, and Bai Ziqi all sitting in the dining room, which was so large one could barely see the end of it.

A table full of fine food sat there. No one had touched their chopsticks, and the food was being kept warm, as if they were waiting for him to return. Had the sun risen in the west?

For the first time, Yu Yi felt as though this family was actually acknowledging him. He sat down awkwardly, though the memory of the humiliating examination still left him feeling disgruntled.

He sat down and asked directly, “Why did the Ji family need to examine my body?”

Cheng Sui and Bai Changfeng exchanged a glance. Cheng Sui pursed his lips and said, “It was merely a routine checkup.”

“You mean they do not believe Chairman Cheng could father a Beta son?” Yu Yi laughed. He leaned back and crossed his legs. “So, how is it? Did I pass?”

“Drop that uncouth behavior you learned on the streets!” Cheng Sui frowned and began to scold him.

He was suddenly interrupted by Bai Changfeng. A graceful smile played on Bai Changfeng’s face, and his mid-length hair was tied in a low ponytail. He looked elegant, showing no trace of his civilian origins in the Lower District, nor did he look like one of the rare top-tier Omegas from the Combat Academy. He appeared beautiful and entirely non-threatening.

“You passed,” Bai Changfeng said. “Starting tomorrow, we will request a half-month leave for you. During this time, you must learn what is required of you as a provider for a future commander and what you need to study for your fiancé.”

Bai Changfeng placed a heavy emphasis on the word “fiancé.”

“Provider?” Yu Yi had heard of the term in class, but his understanding was vague. He looked confused. “Is that not a connection that only exists between Alphas and Omegas? Can a Beta do it too?”

“Of course,” Bai Changfeng replied. “Furthermore, Ji Xingxiao is a rare natural ability user. To him, it does not matter if you are an Omega or a Beta because he is strong enough on his own.”

Yu Yi did not fully understand the technicalities, but anyone described as “strong enough” by Bai Changfeng must be truly impressive.

“If that is the case, would someone like him even be interested in me?” Yu Yi asked, possessing a fair amount of self-awareness. “Just to be clear, I am not returning the money.”

“Of course,” Bai Changfeng said with a slight smile. “However, the Ji family has always been strict and values their reputation immensely. If you intentionally do something to displease them, I guarantee they will not let you graduate from the Defense Academy. At that point, even we will not be able to protect you.”

Yu Yi, whose small schemes had been seen through, pursed his lips. “I would not do that.”

“You had better not,” Cheng Sui said coldly.

Over the next few days, Yu Yi crammed information regarding Providers and Ability Users.

A Provider and an Ability User can create a link during missions. With mutual consent, the Ability User can draw power from the Provider to strengthen themselves. Consequently, Providers were often jokingly referred to as “emergency rations.”

The amount of power gained depended on the pheromone compatibility between the two individuals. As a Beta, Yu Yi was actually more convenient in some ways, as there was no need to test compatibility. However, the power a Beta could provide was far inferior to that of an Omega.

Perhaps because Ji Xingxiao was so powerful, the Ji family did not seem to mind that Yu Yi was a Beta. They even agreed to let him replace his younger brother, who had recently differentiated into an Alpha, for the marriage alliance.

Genes were also categorized into natural and synthetic types. Individuals like Bai Changfeng, born in the Lower District without genetic screening, who were natural S-class Omegas, possessed the most powerful natural genes. Due to the overuse of technology in the Upper District, natural genes had become very rare.

Natural genes always carried special abilities, whereas synthetic genes only had a 30% probability of possessing them. Ji Xingxiao was truly a chosen one. Born of noble blood and a natural ability user, he had entered the Command Academy at a very young age.

The more Yu Yi heard, the more inferior he felt. Why was the world so unfair? Why give all the best things to one person? Could no one help a poor Beta who had lost his mother and had a scumbag for a father?

Yu Yi opened the photo of the man’s profile again, looked at it, and then silently closed his phone. It was a problem. The more he looked at it, the more his heart fluttered.

However, the half-month of systematic study helped him catch up on the classes he had missed. Yu Yi finally gained some understanding of how the Upper District operated and the purpose of the Defense Academy. He was no longer as ignorant as before.

Everything they were currently studying was intended to help Ability Users better complete purification missions. The Upper and Lower Districts were merely a small portion of the planet that had been developed. Beyond the city limits were areas where humans could not survive, which required purification by Ability Users.

Yu Yi’s expression went blank for a moment when he heard this. Was he supposed to help purify the world and contribute to the survival of humanity? Suddenly, Yu Yi felt a surge of respect.

He was a bit dazed. He had never heard of these things in the Lower District. Even after entering the Defense Academy, he only had a vague understanding of the relationship between Providers and Ability Users. He never imagined that what they did was linked to the fate of the entire world. It was incredibly impressive.

Unfortunately, the further he got into his studies, the more Yu Yi felt it had little to do with him. Most textbooks used Alphas and Omegas as examples because they could form pheromone links. The description of Betas was usually that of an anonymous bystander standing behind the Alpha and Omega.

This was not surprising. After all, the probability of an Ability User appearing among Betas was even lower than the probability of an S-class Alpha or Omega being born in the Lower District.

Having lived as an ordinary person for twenty years, Yu Yi knew he was not that one-in-ten-thousand lucky person. His luck had likely been spent elsewhere, such as being the Beta son of a high-level Alpha.

Perhaps the Ji family truly did not care about his Beta status. As the date of the engagement approached, he had not even met his supposed fiancé or anyone from the Ji family.

After finishing his intensive studies during his leave, Yu Yi finally felt as though he had one foot in the Upper District. He might not be able to save the world, but his fiancé could. Suddenly, Yu Yi felt a sense of reflected glory regarding the fiancé he had only seen once in a nightclub.

Speaking of the nightclub, the man seemed like he knew how to have a good time. That was even better. He would likely be too busy to bother with Yu Yi in the future.

Yu Yi was not worried about being recognized for working at the nightclub. First, he was genuinely poor. Second, the lights there were dim and flickering. He was just an ordinary Beta. Why would Ji Xingxiao remember a brief encounter with him?

Since the classes ended early enough, Yu Yi bought a ticket back to the Lower District. He treated himself to a seat he had never been able to afford and returned to the place where he had lived for over a decade.

He had not been back in over a year, and it was time to visit his mother’s grave. He was afraid Yu Qing might scold him in his dreams. When Yu Qing passed away, her boyfriend had disappeared immediately, leaving the underage Yu Yi to handle the funeral arrangements alone.

Until his mother was buried, Yu Yi had not fully processed it and had not cried. It was only after he was evicted from his home that he ran to the tombstone and cried for a long time. He had not known what to do. He just had to find a way to survive.

Yu Yi easily found the grave in the corner. He sat down in front of Yu Qing’s tombstone and got straight to the point. “Mom, I am getting married.”

If Yu Qing were still alive to hear that, she would probably have bolted upright. As he spoke, he leaned down to pull the weeds in front of the grave.

He had not visited in a long time, and the weeds were thick. This kind of grass had to be cleared every year. Its life force was too stubborn. It could climb through any crack and would shoot up as long as there was a bit of sun and rain. It was just like him.

“You are surprised, right? Yes, I am surprised too,” Yu Yi said. He clutched a handful of weeds, the sharp edges cutting small nicks into his palm. He tossed them aside and continued pulling. “There was no other way. It is too hard to survive in the Upper District, but I would never make anything of myself in the Lower District either, right?”

The evening sun was still intense, and Yu Yi was drenched in sweat. He wiped his brow and continued, “Do not worry. I am doing quite well.”

“I will bring him to see you when I have the chance. He is quite handsome.” At this point, Yu Yi laughed. “Did I inherit my obsession with looks from you? That was a disadvantage. I sold myself for a single photograph.”

He paused and then added, “Actually, it was mostly because they offered so much money. Rest assured, I will definitely not end up like you.”

He cleared all the weeds from the front of the tombstone and clapped his hands to brush off the dirt. As he stood up, he suddenly asked, “Mom, do you think people are born to suffer?”

“Because they are not like that at all.”

Support After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Husband Fell for Me on His Own