After the Corporate Slave Beta and the Top Alpha Married - Chapter 33

When Ji Yu woke up, he was alone in the room.

The memory of himself clinging to Shang Yuanzhou’s chest and crying miserably the night before flooded back. As his rationality regained control from his emotions, embarrassment and awkwardness quickly followed.

Fortunately, Shang Yuanzhou was no longer in the room, allowing Ji Yu to hide from reality for a moment. He curled up on the bed and slowly buried his head under the covers.

The sound at the door caused his head to pop out again. Shang Yuanzhou walked in with breakfast, only to see Ji Yu staring at him with a pair of reddened eyes.

He looked very well-behaved. Whether he was staring at him now or curled up in his arms asleep last night, he seemed small and docile.

Ji Yu didn’t realize that his nearly 1.8-meter frame was being perceived as “small.” Seeing Shang Yuanzhou enter, he was still trapped in an unspeakable awkwardness. Having the scars he least wanted to reveal exposed to this man made it hard not to feel humiliated.

“You’re awake,” Shang Yuanzhou said, placing the tray on the nightstand. “Get up and eat breakfast.”

Ji Yu’s fingers twitched unconsciously. “Thank you.”

Thank you for the breakfast, for finding a doctor to tell him those truths, and for tactfully hiding his identity so his pain wouldn’t be exposed to others.

Ji Yu threw back the covers and went to wash up. He was still wearing the same clothes from last night; the high-end custom suit was now a wrinkled mess. He smoothed his hair repeatedly in front of the mirror, but couldn’t press down a single stubborn, swaying cowlick.

“You said before that you wanted to give the Ji family a sum of money to pay back everything you used over the years, and then sever all ties with them. What about now?”

Shang Yuanzhou walked over, one hand in his pocket. His sleeve was rolled up slightly, revealing a sturdy forearm the curve of it felt like a solid, stable arch bridge. There was a strange sense of security about him that no one else could replace.

“Knowing that they’ve been using the lie about you causing your mother’s death to manipulate you…”

Being indoctrinated with such a thought since childhood, it was natural that he wouldn’t dare to investigate or face it after growing up.

Ji Yu dampened his fingers with some water and finally managed to press the cowlick down. Facing Shang Yuanzhou’s question, a sudden curiosity struck him. “If it were you, what would you do?”

Shang Yuanzhou smiled, his tone casual: “I would reason with them sincerely, make them realize their mistakes, and have them repent for their actions.”

“After all, they are family.”

Ji Yu froze. The cowlick he had just pressed down popped back up right on cue. “I thought…”

The previous night, when Shang Yuanzhou had gripped Ji Hexuan’s throat until the man almost suffocated, Ji Yu had seen a glimpse of fierce ruthlessness. He hadn’t expected the proposed solution to be so…

Shang Yuanzhou: “You thought what?”

Ji Yu shook his head. “I thought you’d be decisive and cutthroat, like a CEO in a drama.”

Ji Yu had seen many people online struggling with the pain of their families of origin; he considered himself lucky for not being obsessed with an ethereal concept of familial love. Ji Bohan was ten years older than him, and Ji Hexuan was eight years older neither could truly be called his “brother.”

But he was also just an ordinary person, a corporate drone Beta. He couldn’t bring himself to risk everything for revenge; leaving was the best solution he could think of. No forgiveness, no meeting ever again that was the best ending.

He had assumed that an Alpha like Shang Yuanzhou, whose status and second gender were at the top of the social pyramid, would have a more resolute approach.

“It turns out you’d just ‘reason’ with them for the sake of being family? You’re even softer than I am,” he marveled. “Fortunately, you don’t have any terrible relatives, or you’d be the type of person bound by their family of origin, unable to escape.”

Ji Yu hesitated, then spoke: “Can I get an advance on part of my salary? Since things have already come to this, I want to settle the score and sever ties with them immediately.”

Shang Yuanzhou agreed and added: “I’ll go with you.”

Eh?

Ji Yu shook his head quickly. “No need, A-Zhou. This is a private matter; I can handle it myself.”

When he acted spoiled or wanted to draw a line, he called him A-Zhou. When he was angry or unhappy, he called him President Shang.

Shang Yuanzhou was almost laughed into a temper. He looked at Ji Yu with a dangerous glint in his eyes, his fangs itching; he desperately wanted to bite the mouth of this disobedient wife to shut out the words he didn’t like to hear.

“I am accompanying you.”

Ji Yu keenly sensed the undercurrent beneath the calm. Or rather, ever since the events of last night, he had faintly caught onto a “tail.” Before he could even grasp that feeling, his instinct rose to refuse.

The flesh inside his mouth was bitten lightly as he conflicted with himself right up until the moment of leaving, but he still couldn’t dissuade Shang Yuanzhou from coming along.

“President Shang… the contract says neither party shall interfere in private lives. What I told you last night was my mistake, but you don’t need to follow me today.”

Shang Yuanzhou’s eyes darkened, his thin lips curling slightly. “The contract says you shall not interfere in Shang Yuanzhou’s private life. It does not say I cannot interfere in yours.”

Eh?!

A stunned and bewildered Ji Yu was led to the car by Shang Yuanzhou. It wasn’t until he was seated inside that he weakly protested: “That seems like a rogue clause, President Shang.”

When he signed the contract, he never imagined a day would come when Shang Yuanzhou would forcefully interfere in his private life. Since it was a personal matter, Shang Yuanzhou didn’t have a driver; he drove himself, so Ji Yu spoke freely.

Shang Yuanzhou: “Don’t overthink it. At the gala, I acted like I cared about you very much in front of Ji Hexuan. If I’m not there during such an important moment, even a small detail could spark suspicion later. Besides, we are friends now.”

He raised an eyebrow, sounding as if he were also bothered by the situation: “I don’t wish to interfere so deeply in an employee’s private affairs either, but you are a very special employee.”

On the way there, Shang Yuanzhou made several calls, summoning a group of people to the location in front of Ji Yu. Ji Yu didn’t know what they were for at first, but he soon understood.

Ji Bohan’s office welcomed guests of a caliber that the Ji family could never hope to invite. Normally, Ji Bohan would be grinning from ear to ear, but now, cold sweat was trickling down his face.

Shang Yuanzhou saw Ji Hexuan was also in the office. “Everyone’s here? That makes things easier.”

Tall, black-clad bodyguards blocked the office door, cutting off the curious gazes of outsiders and blocking Ji Bohan and Ji Hexuan’s exit.

Ji Bohan wiped the sweat from his forehead. “President Shang, what is the meaning of this? And Xiao Yu, why didn’t you call ahead?”

Ji Yu spoke: “Brother.” He paused, then smiled. “Ji Bohan, I’m here to pay back every cent I used from the Ji family. From now on, you are no longer my brother.”

An accountant in professional attire took out a paper document, spread it on the table, and pushed it toward the two brothers. “This is every expense used by Mr. Ji Yu since birth. We have made an estimate for every single transaction. You may verify it.”

Ji Bohan looked at the figures it was precise down to the cost of drinking water, with decimals stretching out several places. His face shifted colors repeatedly. “What is this? You got married and now your wings are strong enough to fly?”

Shang Yuanzhou glanced at him indifferently. A bodyguard behind him stepped forward and delivered a heavy punch to Ji Bohan’s face.

Thud.

“You mother F…” Ji Bohan scrambled to get up and strike back, but was pinned to the floor by two other bodyguards. He was hauled up, and another powerful punch landed in his stomach.

Only then did Shang Yuanzhou speak, his voice slow and cold as ice: “Let me correct you. Ji Yu is a male Beta. He is married to me. Understand?”

Before them was Ji Bohan, hanging like a dead dog between two bodyguards, and Ji Hexuan, who was trembling with fear by the table. Shang Yuanzhou, in his sharp suit, sat with his long legs crossed and hands joined. Behind him stood two bodyguards, an accountant with files, and a lawyer with a laptop.

Ji Yu blinked, suddenly feeling that the CEOs in the dramas he’d watched were eclipsed by this moment. It wasn’t just the scene itself, but the respect in Shang Yuanzhou’s words. He believed that even if he were a woman, Shang Yuanzhou would have had them struck for the blatant contempt in the phrase “sold yourself off.”

Shang Yuanzhou was truly a good person. Even if a corporate drone Beta like him was destined not to be the protagonist of Shang Yuanzhou’s “CEO drama,” he would always remember this protection.

Ji Yu walked over and placed a card on the table. He didn’t want to hand it directly to either of them he loathed them from the bottom of his heart. “This card contains 965,851.60 credits.”

As he spoke, he felt he should have complicated emotions, but in reality, he just wanted to laugh. He hadn’t used Ji family money since graduating high school. He had calculated the amount to be roughly one million; he had intended to just give a flat million, but Shang Yuanzhou had the accountant tally every single cent. He was “petty” enough to refuse giving them even an extra penny.

No matter how unwilling the brothers were, the matter was settled. Ji Yu left, feeling as if a lifelong burden had been lifted.

Downstairs, in front of the bodyguards, Shang Yuanzhou pinched the soft flesh on Ji Yu’s cheek. “Husband has to go to the office to handle some things. Take a car home and be good. If you’re in a bad mood, you can go out and play for a bit.”

Ji Yu shook his head. “I’m fine. You go ahead.”

Shang Yuanzhou had one of the bodyguards drive Ji Yu home. As he watched the car drive away, the smile on his face vanished. He turned and walked back into the building he had just exited.

Without a word, the rest of the men followed him, stopping at the door to stand guard.

Inside, Ji Bohan and Ji Hexuan were shocked and angry to see him return. That anger quickly turned into terror.

This time, no one used their fists. Instead, a terrifyingly vast amount of pheromones filled the room. It should have smelled of bitter wine, but in this moment, it felt like the smoke of death, making them shake uncontrollably.

Ji Bohan was an Alpha too, but it was the first time he realized an Alpha’s pheromones could be this overwhelming. It felt like thousands of tons of sea pressure crushing down on him. He couldn’t even stand; he could only crawl on his knees, hearing his bones creak under the weight.

Ji Hexuan realized for the first time that Alpha pheromones couldn’t just induce an Omega’s heat they could make an Omega feel the literal threat of death.

Shang Yuanzhou stood at the desk, his long fingers tapping rhythmically on the card Ji Yu had left. “Ji Yu has paid back what he used. Now… what about what you owe Ji Yu?”

Ji Bohan squeezed a voice from his throat with difficulty: “What do you mean?”

Ji Hexuan was an Omega with a weaker constitution; he could no longer speak, his chest aching just from gasping for air.

Shang Yuanzhou smiled, the warmth not reaching his narrow eyes. “I’ve prepared a place for you. No one will talk to you there. It’s custom-made for the two of you. Of course, you’ll be living separately. How can people with ‘social withdrawal’ communicate with each other?”

“It won’t be long. You’ll be out in five years.”

No internet, no contact with the outside world, and not a single living creature to converse with. Such immense loneliness and despair it was time they tasted it.

Ji Hexuan looked at him in horror: “You want to send us to a mental asylum?!”

“I’m not sending you,” Shang Yuanzhou said, his eyes cold. “You are going to want to go in yourselves.”

He tossed a piece of paper in front of them. “These are all the upstream suppliers and downstream distributors that work with the Ji family company. You should be familiar with them. If they all refuse to work with you simultaneously… a company going bankrupt and incurring hundreds of millions in debt takes only an instant.”

Ji Bohan and Ji Hexuan’s faces turned ash-grey instantly.