An Obsessive Alpha Covets The Honest Beta - Chapter 1

In the B1 level parking garage of Yuting, Li You leaned half of his head against the car window, his eyelids half-closed, on the verge of falling asleep.

His husband, Lin Zhaoning, was tied up in a business engagement and unable to get away; every time he returned home, he was inevitably dead drunk. Lin Zhaoning had a leg injury, and after he had taken a fall last time because of it, Li You no longer felt comfortable letting him come home alone.

Li You lit up his phone screen and took a look; it was already ten-thirty. He had been waiting here for nearly an hour without catching even a glimpse of his husband.

Pushing open the car door, a chilly breeze seeped into his clothes along his collar. Li You was only wearing a simple white shirt, and when the wind blew, he felt a bit cold.

He shivered and looked up, only to bump straight into the arms of an Alpha. The man was much taller than him, a suit jacket draped over his forearm, gently supporting Li You in passing so he wouldn’t fall.

“Th-thank…”

Li You’s words of gratitude froze in his throat. As he clearly saw who it was, his movements went rigid.

Lin Xun frowned and let out an impatient tsk, as if expressing his dissatisfaction.

Li You quietly pulled back to create distance and dryly exchanged a couple of polite pleasantries: “Xunxun, you’re here too?”

The moment those words left his mouth, Li You’s head buzzed. He didn’t dare to look at the Alpha’s reaction.

Lin Xun was Lin Zhaoning’s younger brother, so naturally he couldn’t be absent from the company’s social gatherings. What was important was that this “younger brother” apparently disliked being called that by others.

The air seemed to freeze. It wasn’t until a long moment passed that Li You heard a faint sound from above his head.

Confused, he looked over and found Lin Xun half-leaning against the side of the car, pulling out a lighter with one hand to light a cigarette. The cigarette clung loosely between his lips, dangling unsteadily.

Lin Xun lit the cigarette and took a drag. There wasn’t actually much smoke, but it still made Li You take half a step backward.

The light in the parking lot was dim, and with Lin Xun being so tall, Li You couldn’t make out his expression clearly. He could only vaguely feel that this Alpha was indeed in a rather bad mood right now.

Yes, Li You was afraid of Lin Xun.

Unlike Lin Zhaoning’s warm, gentle, and approachable demeanor, Lin Xun possessed sharp, striking, and clean-cut features. Despite his young age, his approach was extremely decisive and resolute; at just twenty-six, he had already launched a power play that forced Chairman Lin to step into the background.

Had it not been for Lin Zhaoning being obsessed with art and taking a passive, half-hearted approach toward the family business, Li You believed his life would have been even harder than it was now.

Lin Xun kept his eyes fixed on the Beta standing before him, his nominal sister-in-law.

Li You was a Beta, but he had a fair and clean appearance. When his almond eyes moved around, they were lively and full of spirit, yet he was not a restless person. Instead, he was very quiet and spoke softly.

Right now, this Beta had his eyes cast downward, his two arms wrapped around himself in a defensive embrace. He looked dazed and silly, completely unaware of what he was thinking about.

Lin Xun snuffed out the cigarette. He didn’t call out Li You’s name, nor did he call him “Sister-in-law”; he merely let out a low, muffled “Mm.”

He shifted his gaze from Li You’s face down to his fair collar, staring at his collarbone for a few seconds. Suddenly, he reached out two fingers, pinched the tucked-in collar of the shirt, and seemed to press gently down on that specific fold.

Li You flinched violently in fright.

“I’m leaving now…”

“Your brother… he should be coming out soon…”

Stumbling over his words, he couldn’t even speak clearly.

Lin Xun took a step closer, his chin coming so low it almost rested against Li You’s forehead. Just now, while flipping the collar, he had inadvertently caught a glimpse of a red mark on the collarbone covered by the clothes.

It looked like a burn.

“Sister-in-law?”

Lin Xun asked this question out of who-knows-what motive, leaving Li You completely stunned on the spot.

His voice was very deep, and calling him that felt extremely strange.

“Here to pick him up to go home?”

Hearing Lin Xun ask again, Li You finally understood this time and subconsciously nodded along.

Lin Xun went quiet once more. Li You looked toward the direction of his gaze again and caught sight of a familiar figure.

That person had a slight limp in his right leg, and perhaps due to drinking too much alcohol or something else, he walked even more unsteadily. Had it not been for the person beside him offering support, he likely would have fallen to the ground immediately.

Li You’s eyes lit up, but then he saw the young boy supporting his husband coyly offer a kiss. Before Li You could even take a step forward, his feet instantly froze where they were.

The young boy hugged the Alpha reluctantly, his expression aggrieved, almost on the verge of tears.

And his husband did not push the person away. On the contrary, he reached out a hand to pat the lover’s slender back, then lowered his head to nuzzle against his ear and whisper a few words, instantly coaxing the person into a bright smile.

Lin Xun raised an eyebrow, pointing with his chin to signal: “That’s an Omega.”

With Lin Xun stating it like that, Li You understood everything.

Lin Zhaoning was an Alpha, and Alphas possessed an inherently strong sense of possessiveness by nature. Meanwhile, as a Beta, Li You could not be marked, could not smell an Alpha’s pheromones, and could not provide pheromone comfort. Choosing a Beta as a partner meant that a day like this would likely arrive sooner or later.

Li You thought in a daze: nine years of dating, three years of marriage, a whole twelve years had passed. They had walked through nearly a sixth of a lifetime together hand in hand, only to meet his husband’s betrayal before the first half of the twelfth year had even finished.

This was no different from losing a close relative to death.

That Omega was indeed very beautiful, sweet, delicate, and endearing. If returning home meant facing a dull, uninteresting, and utterly ordinary Beta spouse, then any Alpha would likely find it hard to refuse such a cute Omega lover.

Li You didn’t know how he managed to get into the car.

Lin Xun probably treated him like a driver. Whatever Lin Xun said, Li You did, until he eventually brought the man back home in a dazed, completely bewildered state.

Perhaps Lin Zhaoning would not come home tonight.

Lin Xun must have drunk a lot of alcohol; after the car came to a complete stop, he leaned against the seat, his eyelids closed without moving.

Li You reached out to push him, but he barely touched him at all, merely brushing against the corner of his clothes before pulling his hand back. Looking at the Alpha who was out cold from drunkenness, he stumbled half-heartbroken and half-bitterly as he helped him back to the guest bedroom.

No matter what, his marriage with Lin Zhaoning still existed, so he couldn’t just leave Lin Xun unattended.

Besides, he didn’t dare to.

After taking the man back to the room, Li You went to wash up and go to sleep all by himself, feeling completely lost.

The scene from the parking garage was fixed dead in his mind like a nail, unable to be avoided, unable to be shaken off.

He and Lin Zhaoning had met during university.

Their first meeting took place at the school’s calligraphy club. Lin Zhaoning was a senior student one year ahead of him. During club recruitment, the booths set up along both sides of the campus path were packed with people, except for the calligraphy club.

Lin Zhaoning was refined and gentle in appearance, with a soft demeanor. Although he attracted many curious glances, everyone backed away as soon as they saw it was a calligraphy club. In late September, fallen leaves littered the main path; as the autumn wind blew, it swept up the fallen leaves, floating and scattering across half of Lin Zhaoning’s eye.

Li You only stole a single glance, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away anymore. Perhaps his gaze was too intense, because amidst the bustling clamor of the crowd, Lin Zhaoning looked over at him.

He looked at him for a long time, so long that Li You thought he had stared too much and upset the other person.

Li You nodded apologetically at him and turned to leave.

Lin Zhaoning continued to stare at him in a daze, as if looking at an old friend he hadn’t seen in a very long time. Finally, the Alpha spoke softly: “The calligraphy club, would you like to learn more about it, junior?”

“Ah? I… I don’t know how to do it…”

“It doesn’t matter. Give it a try, and I’ll teach you. Would that be okay?”

Lin Zhaoning smiled at Li You, causing the tips of Li You’s ears to flush completely red.

He had never seen an Alpha who was so good-looking yet possessed such a gentle temperament.

Switching off the lights, Li You limply placed his palm over his eyes.

It was still pitch black either way; it didn’t help at all.

Later on, he and Lin Zhaoning naturally got together.

Lin Zhaoning was an Alpha, and when he first pursued him, Li You had been startled.

Yet back then, the young boy assured him with absolute certainty that he didn’t care.

So when exactly did he start to care?

Li You thought it was probably during the moment when Lin Zhaoning cared about him the most.

Four years ago, while he and Lin Zhaoning were on a road trip, they got into a car accident.

In that crash, Lin Zhaoning could have escaped safely, yet at the moment the oncoming truck smashed into them, he chose to throw himself over his partner to shield him underneath.

Although he ultimately managed to keep his life, his right leg was left permanently disabled. All of this should have been suffered by Li You instead.

Tears fell silently through the cracks between his fingers.

From that day onward, Lin Zhaoning became a little different.

His obsession with calligraphy grew far more severe than before, and at the same time, he became quick-tempered and easily angered.

Li You blinked stiffly, rolled over, and pulled the blanket over his head.

Perhaps right now, Lin Zhaoning felt more hatred than love for him.

Deep into the night, the room was shrouded in darkness.

The blanket piled up on the bed formed a small mound, a tiny figure curled tightly inside, covering himself completely without a single gap.

A corner of the curtain was pulled open, and the faint, thin moonlight outlined a hazy, tall figure. That figure slowly moved to the bedside and reached out to lift the blanket.

The person inside had probably fallen asleep while crying. His eyelids were red and swollen like walnuts, and his tears had long dried, leaving behind a few faint, dried white tracks.

Lin Xun pulled the blanket open a bit further, reaching a hand behind Li You’s nape to feel it, his tongue unconsciously pressing against his sharp canine tooth.

Betas didn’t have glands.

A bit of a pity.

His fingertips pressed down and hovered back and forth over that small red mark on the collarbone again, rubbing the uneven skin until it turned even redder.

He saw Li You shiver almost imperceptibly.

“Tsk,” Lin Xun let out his second sound of dissatisfaction. Looking at the person on the bed who was fast asleep yet currently being defiled by him, he restrained his emotions and quietly pronounced: “How pitiable.”

“Sister-in-law,” Lin Xun repeated those two words. Lowering his head, he leaned closer bit by bit toward the corner of Li You’s lips and dropped a kiss.

Using the moonlight, he traced Li You’s snow-white side profile with near-obsessive fixated devotion.

“Sister-in-law, you’re really beautiful.”

“Why don’t you dare to look at me?”

The crisp, chilly scent of cedarwood swept recklessly through every corner of the room, including the person on the bed; from head to toe, he was completely drenched in Lin Xun’s scent.

In a sense, releasing pheromones to perform a territory-marking act on another Alpha’s turf and on his wife’s body was truly immoral. But unfortunately, Lin Xun was by no means a person of high moral character, and he didn’t feel the slightest bit of shame for his behavior.

Lin Xun looked down at him, a rare hint of gentleness entering his eyes, his tone bearing a mild scolding yet a bit of lightness: “It doesn’t matter.”

“As long as I lock you up, you’ll only look at me.”

Li You remained curled up, his eyelids swollen red, looking truly fragile, helpless, and pitiable, making one intensely desire to continue offending him. In his sleep, he murmured a few words to himself, grabbing onto Lin Xun’s fingers without letting go.

“Zhaoning…”

Hearing Li You’s sleep-talk, the Alpha’s fingertips froze, feeling that Li You’s tranquil face instantly became utterly repulsive. He expressionlessly pulled his hand back, the slight curve at the corner of his lips completely flattening out.

Without a trace of emotion, Lin Xun overturned that merciful decision he had just made; right now, he simply wanted to strangle Li You to death.

Exiting the master bedroom, Lin Xun received dozens of unread messages from an unfamiliar phone number.

He casually glanced through those explicit, intimate photos that could make anyone blush. Taking his jacket from the side, he straightened his somewhat messy shirt, dressed impeccably, opened the door, and left.

Let’s see how long you can endure this.

Since you’re heartbroken, then go ahead and suffer to your heart’s content.