Raising the Top Alpha as a Beta - Chapter 3

Half-grown little cubs like this appeared every now and then. Whether they’d run away from home, wandered in from elsewhere, or been abandoned by their parents due to congenital defects, it was nothing new in the Nest Silk Factory Community.

Si Ye looked at the child’s bright black eyes and agile movements and decided he didn’t seem to have any congenital defects.

The little cub ran off, and the park returned to its quiet state. Si Qing asked softly, “Is he a child who ran away from home?”

“Doesn’t look like it.” Si Ye helped her up and started walking toward the building entrance. “His clothes are practically rags. He’s as hungry as a little wolf. What kind of family would be so careless to let their child run out like that?”

Si Qing nodded and said no more. But before entering the building, she glanced back one last time, her clouded eyes filled with faint worry.

If she were still healthy and able to work and earn money, she might have taken the child in for the night and helped find his parents. But now she was being cared for by her son, unable to even manage her own daily needs, let alone take in a wild child.

“Let’s go, Mom,” Si Ye said, pretending not to see her gaze as he helped her upstairs. If he had money and leisure, he wouldn’t mind showing a little charity. But he himself hadn’t lived comfortably for a few days, and his kindness was truly limited.

He admitted his ideological awareness wasn’t so high that he could beg on the streets to save the world. The resentment and ambition buried deep within him were like a nail, constantly and sharply reminding him to maintain absolute sensitivity to resources.

The next day, Si Ye went to work at the boxing gym as usual. When there were no matches, he would help Brother Kun train the newcomers.

Youth fighting had always been Jade Pavilion’s unique selling point, but the overall quality of the newly arrived kids was mediocre, they had big tempers but little strength. Si Ye had already become the class enemy of the little ones after knocking one out with a single punch.

Si Ye swept his cold gaze over the group of indignant young Alphas and said expressionlessly, “Fifty more push-ups.”

“Why should we listen to you!” a little curly-haired kid stood up and said with a stiff neck, “I don’t want to practice this stuff, I want to compete in matches!”

Most of the kids Brother Kun had found were little punks from various places. Eight- or nine-year-old Alphas often developed faster than Betas and Omegas of the same age, and they were just starting to realize their gender advantage, each one acting arrogant and cocky.

Si Ye looked down at him, glaring so fiercely that the young Alpha flinched. Before the boy could react, Si Ye swept his leg out, knocking him to the ground. “You can’t even plant your feet,” he sneered. “How the hell are you supposed to fight?”

The curly-haired boy rolled a few times on the ground, his eyes reddening. He fell silent, whether from fury or the verge of tears.

At his young age, he had yet to understand that when you are too weak, people won’t even bother to guess what you’re feeling.

While Si Ye was berating the boy, Cheng Xiaomo stood nearby, sipping a bottle of yogurt and watching. When he finished, he didn’t leave. Instead, he wriggled his small body and snuggled into Si Ye’s arms, starting to doze off.

Omegas were soft, their pheromones smelling of sweet jasmine. Omegas are so much easier to deal with, Si Ye thought expressionlessly. Far better than Alphas who only know how to fight stupidly.

The teenager’s likes and dislikes were starkly divided. Because of his own bastard of an Alpha father, Si Ye couldn’t bring himself to like Alphas.

The grueling midday training session had left the young Alphas like breadworms, writhing on the ground and gasping for air. After changing, Si Ye hurried toward the carport. He still had to prepare lunch for Si Qing.

The bicycle shed was tucked away in a small corner of the parking lot. As Si Ye approached, he saw a pot-bellied Alpha helping a woman out of a car. The man called out to him from a distance, “Hey, kid!”

Si Ye turned his head, his lips tightening with displeasure. The onlooker whistled. “Why didn’t you fight this morning?”

When Si Ye didn’t respond, the heavily made-up Omega woman in the man’s arms giggled. “He’s got a nasty temper. If you’re interested, I’ll keep an eye out for you from now on.”

The Alpha was clearly pleased with her tact and squeezed her full breast. “Don’t go to the Jade Pavilion tonight. Come to my place for a few drinks instead.”

The woman half-resisted, half-acquiesced. As they passed, Si Ye threw out a remark: “Cheng Xiaomo’s isolation patch hasn’t been changed for days. A mother shouldn’t be so focused on her own pleasure.”

The woman’s face darkened. Before she could snap back, Si Ye had already mounted his bicycle and sped past like the wind.

He had a match in the afternoon, so he needed to get back and prepare as quickly as possible. Si Ye pedaled furiously, a few strands of hair whipping up and blocking his vision. He let go of the handlebars, pulled a rubber band from his pocket, and tied his hair back. He’d been so busy lately that he hadn’t even had time for a haircut; it was already long enough to tie into a small ponytail.

The wind sliced across his cheeks, bringing a fleeting late-summer coolness. Si Ye closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. This daily commute from the boxing gym to home was one of the few times he ever got to rest.

Back at the Nest Silk Factory Community, the savory aroma of food from the convenience store already wafted through the air. Dunzi was home today, weighing tomatoes for a customer. When he saw Si Ye, he roared, “Yezi!”

The shout knocked a tomato off the scale. The customer grabbed it and put it back. “What’s all the excitement for? You scared me.”

“Five yuan and twenty cents. I’ll round it down for you—just don’t tell my mom,” Dunzi chuckled, then blocked Si Ye’s path and grabbed him. “Guess what I saw today?”

Though Zhang Dunhao was a low-level Alpha, it hadn’t hindered his physical development. Helping his dad unload shipments two or three times a week had built him a wild, muscular physique. He yanked Si Ye so hard he stumbled.

In stark contrast to his brawn was his worrying lack of intelligence. While Dunzi was still fussing over the kind of flashy gadgets that appealed to young boys, Si Ye already found such frivolous things childish. He had little interest in whatever Dunzi had discovered and replied dismissively, “What?”

“A kid!” Dunzi leaned in, his excitement spraying spit everywhere. “Hey, when was the last time we saw a little street urchin around here? Even Aunt Qing came down to see him.”

“Hmm?” Hearing Si Qing’s name, Si Ye finally showed a flicker of interest. He swatted the chubby face away. “My mom came down too?”

“She’s chatting over there!” Dunzi pointed, but just as he did, another customer arrived to buy something, and he hurriedly rushed back to help.

Si Ye walked around the convenience store and, sure enough, saw Si Qing chatting with Aunt Dunzi. To his surprise, the same kid from yesterday had reappeared. He was crouching nearby—neither too close nor too far—munching on half a cob of boiled corn.

That yellow-and-white corn was the one he’d boiled this morning. He and Si Qing had shared it, one half each.

Si Qing looked completely relaxed, her words laced with laughter. Fine lines crinkled at the corners of her eyes, and even the dark circles beneath them seemed to have faded.

“Mom,” Si Ye called out.

“Oh, Yezi,” Aunt Dunzi turned her head. “Have you seen that kid? Your mom said he was here yesterday too.”

“I have.” Si Ye walked over. Perhaps his expression wasn’t very friendly, because the Little Cub abruptly hid the boiled corn in his embrace and stared at him warily.

“He’s always like this, doesn’t speak,” Aunt Dunzi said. “You can’t even tell his second gender. I was just telling your mom if we should report it to the police.”

“Xiao Ye?” Si Qing reached out blankly.

“Over here.” Si Ye squeezed her hand, then turned to look at the Little Cub. The child was too young, his scent gland not fully developed, so he had almost no pheromones. It was difficult to tell his second gender from his appearance.

So Si Ye simply and bluntly walked over, then broke into a run. Sensing something was wrong, the child turned to bolt, but Si Ye grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him up. The half-eaten corn fell to the ground.

The child let out a piercing scream.

Si Ye remained unmoved. He directly pinched the child’s chin with his thumb and middle finger, then stuck his index finger into the child’s mouth and swept it around, feeling the small, sharp teeth behind the front ones. “He’s an Alpha.”

Being lifted up and having his teeth felt like that, stripped of all dignity, finally ignited the Little Cub’s last spirit of resistance. The moment Si Ye reached his conclusion, he bit down, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light like a small beast.

But unfortunately, Si Ye’s grip was stronger. With a slight increase in force, the Little Cub couldn’t close his mouth. His screams turned into whines, and he kicked his short legs helplessly in mid-air.

Si Ye didn’t bother bullying the child anymore and tossed him back onto the ground. The Little Cub immediately snatched up the corn and stumbled away.

“Even Alphas aren’t wanted these days,” Aunt Dunzi sighed. “He’s just a tiny thing. How pitiful.”

Si Qing suddenly fell silent, her movements stiffening almost imperceptibly. Aunt Dunzi quickly changed the subject. “Xiao Ye’s so fast! That little vagrant almost bit him.”

Despite her words, the atmosphere grew heavy. Everyone unconsciously remembered the child Si Qing had lost—the little Alpha, cut from her womb while still breathing. If he were alive, he would be about this age now.

Even after being roughly treated by Si Ye several times, the little vagrant still made a home in the Nest Silk Factory Community. He had found a tattered blanket somewhere and built a nest next to the bicycle shed. Every day, he diligently rummaged through trash cans for food, barely surviving.

The only thing he found truly unbearable was the mouth-watering aroma of the food from the convenience store. Aunt Dunzi wasn’t a generous woman; she would feed Si Ye for helping drive off the neighborhood thugs, but she was utterly stingy with the little vagrant.

Most of the time, the Little Cub could only eat dry buns scavenged from the trash, using the scent of her cooking to make them palatable.

Gradually, Si Qing became his primary source of food.

Ever since Little Cub took up residence in the community parking shed, Si Qing began coming downstairs much more frequently. Little Cub said nothing, and neither did she. She would simply hold out her palm, fumbling to offer him food, and wait patiently for him to take it.

Si Ye had secretly followed her a few times and noticed that Little Cub showed no aggression. He remained wary, however, observing for a long time before ever reaching out for the food. When she did this, Si Qing looked like one of those schoolgirls feeding stray cats, a light smile on her lips, her face unusually relaxed and gentle.

For over half a month, that thin, ragged figure appeared in every corner of the Nest Silk Factory Community. Eventually, he learned to be smarter about it. After six in the evening, he would wait by the entrance of her building, and Si Qing would come out shortly after with a small snack for him.

Aunt Dunzi would occasionally watch from the sidelines, but she rarely had the patience to wait for Little Cub to reach out for the food. When there were too many people around, Little Cub would only crouch warily nearby, refusing to approach.

“Feeding a dog for so many days, and it’s still not tamed,” she grumbled, unable to persuade Si Qing and rolling her eyes in frustration. “This kid’s probably not even human.”

However, just a few days after Aunt Dunzi said that, something happened that left everyone utterly stunned.

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