The Corporate Slave Beta Is Surrounded by Alphas - Chapter 2

The artist had used a hyper-realistic painting style, which was why Cheng An had recognized himself instantly. Even in the small thumbnails, the depictions of naked, lewd scenes were unmistakable. While the details were blurred at that size, the bold use of color and the nature of the poses were enough to seize anyone’s attention.

Cheng An’s gaze swept over the desk. It was slightly cluttered but relatively clean; however, he saw nothing that explicitly identified the owner.

Hearing a sudden clamor of footsteps and voices behind him, Cheng An clicked the computer into sleep mode and stood up.

The Art Department had returned from their meeting. Seeing him there, the department head, Bi Yuanliang, asked, “Lead Cheng? What brings you here?”

“There was an issue with one of your computers. I came to take a look,” Cheng An replied.

The intern who had fetched him rushed forward to explain the situation to the group. They stood in a circle, listening to the sequence of events.

Among them was a handsome Alpha with floppy brown hair. He wore a well-fitted suit that emphasized his broad, tall frame, but his personality seemed timid. He kept his head bowed, his bangs obscuring his eyes and expression. He stole a furtive glance at Cheng An.

Cheng An was currently speaking to Bi Yuanliang. His expression was placid, his thin lips moving steadily, the soft lines of his eyes giving him an air of quiet gentleness. Even with the visible traces of exhaustion, that very touch of weariness only served to make him look more refined and unique.

As the Alpha stared at the elegant profile of Cheng An’s face, his own face flushed uncontrollably. A flicker of suppressed joy and excitement flared in the depths of his pupils, though he quickly cast his gaze downward to hide it.

Bi Yuanliang looked a bit tense. “The problem isn’t too serious, is it?”

“The computers can be restarted now,” Cheng An said. “Everyone should check their workstations to see if any files were lost.” He then turned to Bi Yuanliang. “I’ve already called Yan Chen over. He’s a bit more of an expert on this than I am.”

Bi Yuanliang nodded, letting out a frustrated sigh. “Mr. Lu just handed down a new task. I can’t believe this happened right at the critical moment.”

“It’s likely that someone used a flash drive with a virus. Just have Yan Chen run a full system scan.”

Bi Yuanliang understood immediately. He sighed again. “Interns are so difficult to manage. I specifically told them not to use personal drives. Now look, half the equipment in this section is compromised.”

Cheng An looked at Bi Yuanliang, his gaze calm as water, carrying a faint, soft warmth. He simply said, “We were all interns once. It’s normal not to know everything.”

Bi Yuanliang smiled. “I know. I was under your wing once, too.”

As they finished speaking, Yan Chen arrived. Cheng An took his leave.

The members of the Art Department returned to their desks to check their files. The brown-haired Alpha rebooted his computer, and the desktop immediately displayed a scattered array of drawings. Aside from work tasks, every single one featured Cheng An.

One particular piece was drawn from a high-angle perspective, depicting Cheng An lying naked on a bed. Every detail was meticulously rendered: the hazy, misted eyes, the flush of his lips, the skin marked with bite marks and hickeys, and that shimmering, vivid red… He slammed the computer shut instantly.

He knew Cheng An had just been standing at his workstation. His ears, hidden beneath his hair, turned a scorching crimson. He buried his face deep into his palms, letting out a low murmur that only he could hear.

No one knew what he said.

….

“Lead?”

Cheng An shifted his focus to the person beside him.

The team member stepped forward and handed over some papers. “Here is today’s report.”

Cheng An took them and set them on his desk. Once his subordinate had left, he finally took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Without the glasses, Cheng An’s face, which was usually almost entirely obscured, was fully revealed.

Most services in this district were designed for Alphas. Clothing, furniture, public facilities, and daily necessities were all scaled to an Alpha’s stature and build.

To find things that actually fit him, Cheng An usually had to rely on online shopping. However, for something like glasses, he had to go to a physical store to ensure the prescription was right. Other than the frames being a bit too large and heavy, they didn’t cause him much discomfort.

But because these frames were designed for Alphas, they covered half of Cheng An’s small, delicate face.

Now, with the glasses removed, his features were clear. His pupils were a pale gray, and due to his nearsightedness, his gaze often seemed a bit vacant or indifferent when he looked at people.

He stared blankly at his computer screen, still preoccupied with what he had discovered earlier.

He could see a blurry reflection of himself in the dark monitor. He had never considered himself particularly good-looking.

After all, there were so many Alphas here—tall, handsome men who made him look frail by comparison. And as for being “pretty,” he was nowhere near the level of the beautiful Omegas he had seen. He truly couldn’t understand why someone would have those kinds of fantasies about him.

His phone buzzed. Cheng An realized it was nearly four o’clock. He needed to go to Lu Xunzhou’s office for his detailed briefing.

When he arrived, Lu Xunzhou was seated at his computer, looking busy. Cheng An paused at the door, and without looking up, Lu Xunzhou said, “Come in.”

Lu Xunzhou finally raised his head. His dark eyes locked onto Cheng An; he always seemed to pick up on Cheng An’s moods instantly. “What is it?” he asked, setting his work aside. His expression was composed yet soft.

“You seem distracted.”

Cheng An said nothing, merely looking down as he organized the materials he intended to show the boss.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to talk, Lu Xunzhou didn’t press him. He stood up and moved to the sofa on the other side of the room, gesturing for Cheng An to sit beside him to go over the project details.

Which programs had been optimized, which details had been adjusted, everything had to be explained clearly. Lu Xunzhou was an expert in this field; he often provided insightful suggestions, streamlining the code to make it simpler and more precise. Cheng An, in turn, would offer his own insights to explain the logic behind his choices.

Once they delved into work, Cheng An’s distraction vanished, replaced by a cold, professional focus. Lu Xunzhou watched him from the side, waiting for him to finish his thought. After a moment of reflection, Lu Xunzhou asked, “Isn’t that approach a bit too cumbersome?”

“The purpose of building the framework this way is to make it easier to modify if errors occur later,” Cheng An explained. “You can just swap out the faulty parts. If we used your method, a single error would require replacing the entire framework. Rebuilding a structure that supports all these programs and refilling the content in a short amount of time would be extremely difficult.”

“We’ll do it your way, then.”

Lu Xunzhou’s finger lightly pushed an item across the table. “Xiao Yi asked me to bring this to you. He says he misses you and insists I give you this box of chocolates no matter what.”

Lu Xunzhou and Cheng An had met at the start of this game project; back then, they were the only two people on the team. Lu Xunzhou had a young nephew named Lu Hangyi. During the days they stayed up all night coding, Cheng An would sometimes stay at Lu Xunzhou’s house for a few days, and the nephew would often visit.

As a result, Cheng An and Lu Hangyi were quite close.

Cheng An’s gaze settled on the box. He knew these chocolates were very expensive. “I’ve received a lot of things lately,” he said. “Tell Xiao Yi not to send any more. I’ll make time to go see him.”

“I’ll tell him. But since he’s already sent them, you should take them. Knowing you said that, he probably won’t send things quite so frequently.”

Cheng An thought it over and accepted the gift.

“Have you not been sleeping well lately?” Lu Xunzhou asked suddenly as Cheng An was packing his things to leave. Lu Xunzhou was back at his computer, watching him.

“You’ve looked exhausted lately.”

“A bit of insomnia,” Cheng An admitted.

“The beta test is putting too much pressure on you. I’ll give you a few days off.”

“That’s not necessary. This is a critical time; I need to be here to oversee things.”

Lu Xunzhou fell silent, his steady gaze fixed on Cheng An. Cheng An was incredibly stubborn, no one could sway him once his mind was made up, especially regarding work.

“Tomorrow is the weekend,” Lu Xunzhou finally said. “You should get some proper rest. Everyone else is taking their scheduled break, and you should too.”

“I know,” Cheng An replied. “I have an appointment with a doctor this weekend.”

“A doctor?” Lu Xunzhou’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Just for the insomnia. He suggested that a massage before bed would help me relax. He also said that because of my job, I have some pretty bad cervical spondylosis, which is contributing to the sleeplessness. Massaging the back of my neck makes me feel much better.”

“Is the doctor an Alpha?” Lu Xunzhou asked abruptly.

Cheng An looked up, noticing that Lu Xunzhou’s expression had turned quite stern.

Lu Xunzhou continued, “Is that why you show up to work every Monday covered in an Alpha’s pheromones?” He let out a sigh. “And you actually let him massage the back of your neck.”

Cheng An was silent for a moment, not quite understanding why Lu Xunzhou was so focused on this. “Mr. Lu,” he said, “you seem to have forgotten. I’m a Beta.”

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