The Corporate Slave Beta Is Surrounded by Alphas - Chapter 9

“Team Leader Cheng.”

Cheng An looked up at the Alpha greeting him.

Changyun was a massive company with numerous departments. When projects didn’t overlap, project leads and workspaces remained distinct. Since Cheng An had been dedicated to this single game from conception to launch, he wasn’t familiar with staff from other sectors. Seeing a new face didn’t surprise him; he simply offered a polite, “Hello.”

For some reason, the other person immediately beamed a smile that looked incredibly kind and gentle.

Lately, Cheng An had noticed he was being greeted quite often. People he didn’t know would acknowledge him in passing. They were mostly unfamiliar faces. Assuming it was just workplace etiquette, Cheng An always replied with earnest politeness.

He carried his things into the elevator. It was early, so the car wasn’t packed like usual, and he wasn’t shoved into a corner. He looked at the elevator’s interior, seeing his reflection clear up in the polished metal. He looked rested the perk of a recent holiday. With no massive crises on his plate, he had slept remarkably well the night before.

He ordered a coffee on his phone, planning to pick it up later.

The weather was sour today; the sky was heavy with dark clouds, and a morning chill bit through the air. Cheng An wore a turtleneck under his suit jacket. His slender neck was hidden, his Adam’s apple covered, completely obscuring the fair, elegant skin of his throat.

Finding his fingers a bit cold once he sat down, he headed to the breakroom to heat some water. The room was empty and silent. While waiting for the kettle to boil, he stood quietly before the water dispenser with his mug.

Meanwhile, the An-an Kitten forum was quietly exploding.

[# Aaaaah, the six-hour mute is finally over! I can finally speak! I was going to suffocate. I’m saying everything in one go. Seeing the kitten today put me in such a good mood. God has no idea how I survived yesterday without him.  The kitten is wearing a turtleneck today so precious. Does he think covering his neck means I can’t “slurp” it? I want to hickey his neck red; I want to lick it until it’s soaking wet. I’ll pull down the sweater and kiss the marks I left. Then I’ll cover it back up so no one else can see. A repressed kitten with a neck full of my marks… I’m losing it. I saw him waiting so obediently by the water dispenser; he’s so cute I want to smash the machine. Can’t this stupid thing heat up faster? Don’t make him wait. I have “hot water” right here for him to drink; I want to taste his sweet water instead.]

[What are you even saying? You sound cat-drunk.]

[Stop being a creep. I hope you don’t make those perverted faces when you’re actually looking at him. The kitten is very timid.]

[Kitten, what did you put in my water? My whole body feels hot…]

[Heh, the person above is hallucinating again. Keep daydreaming and you’ll never get a lick of that cat in your life.]

[The OP is already deluded by ‘Kitten Aphrodisiac.’ That filthy mouth wants to be all over him.]

[Move aside, I’m heading to the breakroom right now. Heroic Cat Rescue, coming through!]

[Kitten, hehe, I’m coming, kitten, hehe.]

As Cheng An finished filling his mug and turned to leave, he was startled to find that the once-empty breakroom was suddenly bustling.

People were everywhere, seemingly busy with their own tasks—brewing tea, grinding coffee, or typing furiously into their phones. Seeing them, Cheng An realized that quite a few people actually came in early.

He cradled his mug with both hands, using the heat to warm his fingertips. He brought the mug close to his face, letting the steam soothe his chilled cheeks. His glasses fogged up instantly, turning his world into a hazy white void.

Because of this, he didn’t see the way every gaze in the room snapped toward him in that exact moment.

They saw his pale cheeks, flushed pink by the outside wind, and the delicate tint of rose on the tip of his nose and cheekbones. His usually pale lips were turned a vibrant red by the steam. His slender hands clung to the mug, fingers gently curving around the ceramic.

Cheng An noticed the room had gone dead silent. Even the sound of frantic typing had ceased. He casually took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with his sleeve. When he looked up again, his vision had cleared.

The scene appeared unchanged.

Everyone was back to their business, facing away from him as if nothing had happened. As he walked out with his tea, he caught a glimpse of the man who had been stabbing at his phone—the guy looked like he was trying to punch through the screen with sheer intensity.

Cheng An didn’t understand it, but he figured it wasn’t important.

[# The Screaming Thread]

[AAAAAHHHHHHHH]

[AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH]

[Why can’t the kitten be mine and mine alone?!]

[Kitten_Warming_Hands.jpg]

[Wallpaper set. Thank you.]

[My screen is wet. Let me wipe it.]

[Changyun needs to realize the kitten is the only reason I stay. Trash company, what are you without the kitten?]

[Down with Changyun! Seize the kitten!]

[Down with Changyun! Seize the kitten!]

[Down with Changyun! Seize the kitten!] …

Cheng An returned to his office as the rest of the staff began to trickle in. He walked toward his desk, mug in hand, and saw a familiar figure standing there.

The young man’s head was slightly bowed, looking a bit awkward. His brown hair hung softly over his brow, and despite his tall frame, he seemed to be trying to make himself look smaller. Cheng An was reminded of his own first day at Changyun. Back then, though he looked calm on the surface, he had been so panicked he couldn’t tell left from right.

“Ji Ting,” Cheng An called out.

The Alpha, who had been waiting quietly, looked up. His eyes immediately brightened upon seeing Cheng An. He gave a slight bow. “Hello, Team Leader Cheng.”

Cheng An, realizing he was still cradling his mug with both hands, felt it didn’t look very “managerial.” He smoothly switched to holding it with one hand and said, “Come inside with me.”

He pushed open the door.

Ji Ting followed behind him. Seeing Cheng An’s soft ears peeking out from under his dark hair, Ji Ting’s cheeks flushed slightly.

This Alpha’s mind was a kaleidoscope of vivid, colored fantasies. Right now, he perceived a beautiful, warm orange glow radiating from Cheng An. In his mind, he pictured a kitten running through a sunset, its thin ears turning translucent red in the light.

“Are you feeling a bit hot?” Cheng An asked.

Ji Ting immediately looked down again.

Cheng An was surprised by this “snail-like” personality—one touch and he retreated into his shell. Even so, he could see the tips of the Alpha’s ears turning red under his brown hair. The tall Alpha kept his head low, his hair obscuring his features so completely that his expression was unreadable.

Perhaps this is just the eccentric personality of an artist, Cheng An thought. He knew that people gifted in art often had rich, strange inner worlds. He decided not to worry about it and simply focus on giving the intern a good working experience. After all, the man was highly capablen he remembered Bi Yuanliang’s high praise.

“Take a seat,” Cheng An said.

Ji Ting found a chair.

Cheng An booted up his computer. “Show me the full range of effects your team is looking for. Find your renders and videos first.”

Ji Ting opened his laptop, appearing to search diligently for the files. In reality, he was double-checking that nothing “wrong” was hidden in his folders. He had to be sure no strange images would pop up during the presentation. He had scrubbed the laptop before coming over, changing his wallpaper, renaming folders, and even running a virus scan just to be safe.

Cheng An took off his glasses and leaned down to feel the warm steam from his mug. Seeing Ji Ting still fiddling with the laptop, he closed his eyes for a moment to let them rest.

When he opened them, Ji Ting’s voice was right next to his ear. “Team Leader Cheng, I’m ready.”

Cheng An looked up. His grey eyes were wide and unfocused, looking a bit blank and dazed. His lashes were tipped with tiny, glistening droplets of condensation that sparkled under the office lights. When Ji Ting spoke, his lashes fluttered slightly.

Cheng An reached out to find his glasses. Ji Ting gently pushed them closer to his hand.

Once the thick black frames were back on, the soft, dazed look vanished. Cheng An once again looked stern and serious—the stoic, hardworking Team Leader Cheng.

Ji Ting set his laptop down and dragged his chair over, sitting right beside Cheng An.

As Cheng An studied the renders, he was already mental-mapping how to achieve the effects and which of his team members was best suited for each task. He quickly drafted a mental list of assignments.

For the more complex visuals, Cheng An needed to watch the loops several times to conceptualize the code. During these silences, Ji Ting stopped talking, waiting for further instructions. This allowed him to watch Cheng An from a breathless distance.

This was the closest he had ever been to Cheng An, and for the longest duration. For so long, he had only watched from afar. Looking at him now, Ji Ting realized how many “mistakes” there were in his previous drawings.

Cheng An had a very faint, tiny mole near his brow bone that was only visible at this range. It added a touch of delicate beauty to the features hidden behind those cold glasses.

The shape of his ears was also slightly different than Ji Ting had imagined. And below the earlobe… there was another mole.

Like a treasure hunter, Ji Ting used his gaze to map every mole on Cheng An’s skin in the gaps between work. He felt that the placement of every single one held a unique charm, a distinct kind of sexiness.

He could find these moles on the skin left exposed by the clothes. He couldn’t help but wonder… were there more hidden beneath?

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