The Corporate Slave Beta Is Surrounded by Alphas - Chapter 12

Ji Ting’s long bangs still obscured his eyes, leaving the glasses-less Cheng An unable to read his expression. He only felt that the man standing so silently before him, wordless and still, was acting a bit strange. Gradually, he became aware of a weight Ji Ting’s gaze was fixed on him.

That gaze felt sticky, lingering on his skin with a bizarre intensity, as if it had been clinging to him for a very long time…

“I found them.”

Song Boyan’s voice suddenly shattered the silence. Cheng An turned and saw Song Boyan standing there, holding his glasses.

Finally reunited with his vision, the blurry world around him was beginning to cause a headache. Cheng An stepped forward with some urgency, taking the glasses from Song Boyan and sliding them onto the bridge of his nose. In that brief interval, the two Alphas engaged in a silent standoff.

Alphas possess a sharp instinct a hidden wariness and annoyance that flares up the moment they encounter a potential rival. They locked eyes for two seconds before simultaneously looking away, refocusing their attention on the young man in the middle who had just regained his sight.

Once the glasses were back on, that dazed, “soul-less” aura vanished. The professional gravity that usually cloaked Cheng An returned instantly. If not for his slightly messy hair and rumpled collar, he would have looked exactly like the cold, elegant Team Leader Cheng from the office.

“I should get going,” Cheng An said, finally able to read the clock on the wall.

Song Boyan maintained his soft, warm, and understanding persona. He spoke gently: “Get home safely. But I suggest you come by again this weekend. If you’re free, I’d like to take you to dinner we can take a walk afterward and head back here.” His tone was familiar, almost intimate.

Cheng An felt that Song Boyan’s smile was a bit more deliberate than usual, and his tone was unusually soft. He didn’t quite understand why Song Boyan was acting so “extra,” but he replied, “You treated me last time. I should be the one to treat you next time.”

Song Boyan didn’t care about the logistics; as long as the appointment was set, that was enough. “Alright, it’s a deal.”

On the other side, the other Alpha didn’t straighten his back or lift his head. His eyes remained hidden in the shadows, watching the interaction with a dark, chilling intensity. Their conversation was brief, but Ji Ting couldn’t wait any longer. He blurted out, “Team Leader Cheng.”

He used that polite, distant title to mask the heat burning inside him, desperate to snatch Cheng An’s attention back to himself.

Cheng An turned to look at him. He could hear the panic and unease in the young man’s voice. “What is it?” he asked.

He assumed the unease was work-related; after all, they didn’t really have anything else to talk about. Before addressing Ji Ting, Cheng An told him to “wait a moment” while he went back into the treatment room to gather his belongings, once again leaving the two Alphas face-to-face.

Silence fell between them again.

The previous brief exchange had confirmed they were enemies. This second silence was even more rigid and cold. Alpha pheromones seeped out wordlessly, flooding the small space and clashing in a violent, invisible struggle. Yet, Cheng An—at the very center of this battlefield—remained completely oblivious.

When he stepped out, he saw the two of them staring at each other. He wondered if they actually knew each other.

As he walked through the thick, terrifying wall of pheromones, sensing none of the bloodless war being waged on his account, he said to Song Boyan, “I’m heading out. See you next time.”

“Mhm,” Song Boyan said with a beaming smile. But as soon as Cheng An turned toward the door, his eyes went cold again, fixed straight on Ji Ting. Ji Ting had already reined in his expression, his pheromones slowly receding.

As Cheng An walked up to him, the strange, suffocating tension in the air seemed to dissipate. Ji Ting acted perfectly well-behaved, whispering softly, “Team Leader Cheng.”

He was always so polite; Cheng An actually had a good impression of him. Since he had managed a good nap at Song Boyan’s place, Cheng An was in a decent mood. His voice was softer than usual as he asked, “Is something wrong with the project?”

“No,” Ji Ting said quickly. “I was just passing by. I saw someone inside who looked like you, Team Leader, so I stayed for a bit to make sure.”

Cheng An let out a quiet sigh of relief. “I thought something had happened.”

“Don’t worry, Team Leader. Everything is going smoothly,” Ji Ting assured him.

They walked together to the bus stop. Cheng An vaguely remembered that Ji Ting’s home was in the opposite direction from his own. As they waited for the bus, he remarked, “I recall you don’t live this way.” It was just a casual reminder.

But those words sparked a flare of anxiety in the Alpha who had been following him. He stammered, “I… I just wanted to wait with you for a bit.”

Cheng An felt a touch of helplessness. “I’m not the kind of leader who makes things difficult for his team, nor do I give people special treatment for no reason. You don’t need to be so tense around me.”

“It’s not about wanting special treatment…” Ji Ting said urgently, terrified of being seen as a sycophant.

“I know,” Cheng An said softly.

The bus arrived. In the deep of the night, it was the final route the streets were empty and silent. Cheng An’s voice drifted over quietly: “I’m going now. Get home safely.”

He stepped onto the bus. Under the Alpha’s watchful gaze, Cheng An’s face was framed by the glass window. The vibrant city lights reflected off the pane, casting a brilliant, dreamlike glow over his delicate and beautiful features.

Cheng An turned to look at him. Knowing Ji Ting couldn’t hear him through the glass, he simply moved his lips to mouth the words: Goodbye.

The cold, stoic shell Cheng An usually wore was merely a cover for his soft, gentle core a side of him that was heartbreakingly beautiful.

Ji Ting stood there, dazed, staring into the distance as the bus pulled away. Cheng An’s silhouette was seared into his mind, impossible to erase.

[The new product launches tomorrow. The first cup is free, and I can reserve it for you.]

When Cheng An finished showering and lay in bed, he checked his work groups a habit to ensure he hadn’t missed anything. A message that looked like an advertisement popped up. Seeing the unfamiliar screen name, Cheng An finally remembered he had added the part-timer from the coffee shop earlier today.

Just then, someone @-ed him in the group chat, asking him to review a visual effect, so he didn’t reply to the private message immediately.

In the silence of the night, on the other end of the connection, a college student was biting his nails, anxiously waiting for a reply. The minutes ticked by. By the time his eyes felt dry, he realized a significant amount of time had passed.

He started to feel that the “ad-like” message was embarrassing and went to recall it, only to find the time limit had expired. Frustrated, he threw his phone into his pillow and prepared to go to sleep in a huff.

But then Cheng An, having finished guiding his team member, remembered the unread message. He replied: [Okay, please reserve a cup for me.]

Almost instantly, the reply came: [Got it! I’ll make sure you get the very first cup. Enjoy the freebie!] [Puppy_Offering_Flowers.jpg]

The other person’s bright, cheerful style made Cheng An feel a bit more relaxed. He wanted to reply with a sticker too, but looking through his favorites, he found his collection was tiny and very boring. He sent a message to his team group: [Send me some cute stickers.]

[??] [Team Leader is using stickers? I’m moved to tears.] [I can’t even imagine how cute Team Leader would be with a sticker.] [Tsk tsk, you’ve changed, Team Leader. Come clean, who is she?] [Team Leader! Take these stickers I’ve been saving just for you!] [Cool_Cat_Pushing_Glasses.jpg] [Cat_Drinking_Water.jpg] [Cat_Holding_Paws.jpg] [Cat_Typing.gif] [Sleepy_Cat.jpg]…

Cheng An was confused. Looking at the flood of cat stickers, he asked: [Why are they all cats?]

[Cats are cute!] [Long live the cats!] [Hail the Great Cat King, Team Leader!]

Cheng An didn’t understand why his team had suddenly become so hyper.

Sometimes he felt like he truly couldn’t keep up with the logic of younger people. He silently saved the cat stickers anyway.

In reality, he wasn’t much older than them, but because he rarely followed internet slang, he often didn’t know what they were talking about. This usually led to him zoning out during team dinners which only made him look colder and more detached. The stereotype was only deepening.

After saving the stickers, Cheng An picked a [Cat_Thanks] image and sent it to Zhou Song as a reply.

The other side went silent for a few minutes. Cheng An figured the conversation was over and they were both heading to sleep. He went back to the group to assign tomorrow’s tasks.

When he exited the chat again, he noticed that Zhou Song’s puppy profile picture had changed to an image of a hand stroking a cat’s head.

In the distance, a certain college student’s heart had completely melted. He had already rolled around in his blankets several times before finally staring, breathless, at the little cat sticker on his screen. Just thinking about Cheng An’s serious face sending a sticker like that made him want to wriggle around in bed again.

His roommate grumbled, “Zhou Song, if you’re going to roll around like a dog all night instead of sleeping, why don’t you go roll outside?”

The student immediately behaved and lay flat to go to sleep.

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