The "Honest" Beta Deceived Day and Night by a Twisted Obsessive - Chapter 16

The one I’m stealing is your fiancé.

Xie Ming felt that his previous suspicion hadn’t been baseless slander. From the moment he received those photos of Duan Huaijing and his brother applying medicine, he had kept a watchful eye. Throughout the haunted house incident and Xie Yun’s hospitalization, he had been constantly monitoring the situation between them.

They seemed normal in every way, without a single slip-up, but that was the problem, they were too normal. It felt deliberate.

He had seen how friends interacted with their siblings’ partners before; none of them acted like this, barely speaking a word to each other as if they were strictly avoiding any suspicion.

Seeing the shifting expressions on Xie Ming’s silent face, Duan Huaijing kept his head down, staring at his toes. He whispered, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to my room first.”

Xie Ming’s train of thought was broken. A trace of impatience knitted his brows, and seeing Duan’s humble, cowardly appearance only made his anger flare.

Could my brother actually like someone like this?

Xie Ming scanned him from head to toe. The person in front of him was skin and bones, so dry and thin that standing there, he didn’t inspire a shred of desire.

His gaze moved upward, landing on Duan Huaijing’s face.

Duan felt like a product on a shelf being appraised by a hostile customer. He instinctively took a small step back, only to be frozen in place by an unsatisfied “Tsk.”

At that moment, Duan Huaijing lowered his head timidly like a bewildered fawn pitiful and delicate. He clearly could have run, but out of some lingering concern or restraint, he stayed obediently in place, waiting to be slaughtered.

Xie Ming ran his tongue over his canine tooth. Even he found it unbelievable: he was actually feeling an attraction toward a Beta without a gland. That visceral urge to dominate and abuse erupted from within, tearing at his sanity.

As Xie Ming’s gaze lingered over him, Duan Huaijing gave an uncomfortable shiver. The alarm bells in his brain shrieked; he desperately wanted to flee.

Xie Ming’s voice turned husky, dripping with his usual brand of sarcasm. “With the way you are, I’m the only one who would even want you. Don’t go dreaming about climbing into my brother’s bed.”

Xie Ming let out a soft huff. “An ugly duckling can lie to itself all it wants, but it’ll never become a white swan.”

Hearing this, Duan Huaijing’s eyelashes trembled. He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from screaming an insult. His palms gripped his shirt so tightly he left deep wrinkles in the fabric.

“Come with me.” Xie Ming suddenly reached out. Without a word of explanation, he grabbed Duan Huaijing by the hair to drag him toward the room.

Duan’s scalp stung, and tears nearly welled up. Xie Ming’s behavior terrified him; it triggered a sensory memory of his childhood, whenever things didn’t go his mother’s way, she would grab him by the hair and drag him into a dark room to beat him.

His cries for help back then had merely served as a rhythm for her blows.

That deep-seated terror left him paralyzed, unsure of how to react even now. He didn’t dare cry out or resist, because every time he had done so in the past, his mother’s violence had only intensified.

A few whimpers escaped his throat, sounding like a trapped cub fighting to escape a snare. “Let go of me.”

Xie Ming, a playboy who had spent his life toying with people, was used to such displays. “Why play hard to get? You’re probably thrilled deep down that I’ve taken an interest in you.”

Duan Huaijing’s teeth ground together. He summoned every ounce of strength he had.

Suddenly, a door behind them opened. A voice, slow and steady yet carrying the weight of a thousand atmospheres, bore down on them. “Xie Ming.”

Xie Ming froze, his back stiffening.

Duan Huaijing acted instantly. Taking advantage of Xie Ming’s shock, he yanked himself free of the restraint. He scrambled back several paces, putting a wide distance between himself and Xie Ming.

Xie Ming was usually terrified of this older brother. Having been warned, he immediately put on an act of being well-behaved. “It’s nothing, Big Brother. I was just catching up with my fiancé.” He lied through his teeth without a hint of a blush. “Isn’t that right?”

Knowing the last question was directed at him, Duan Huaijing kept his head down and remained silent. Sensing a gaze fixed upon him, he lowered his head even further.

Let the two brothers fight their battle of words and hidden barbs; he would watch from a distance. Picking a side would only result in him getting burned.

Xie Yun’s eyelids lifted slightly. His tone was flat, as if merely stating a fact. “He doesn’t want to go with you.”

Xie Ming crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, letting out a reckless laugh. “He’s my fiancé. If I don’t understand him, do you, Big Brother?”

This time, Xie Ming’s impatience was palpable. Though he spoke with a smile, it didn’t reach his eyes.

Xie Yun didn’t answer him. His gaze settled on Duan Huaijing. “You can come over here.”

This sentence gave Duan Huaijing a graceful exit, a way out that told him: If you don’t want to go with him, you can come to me. Even if he wants to blame someone, he won’t blame you.

Duan Huaijing’s eyelashes fluttered. He shifted his feet, preparing to move toward Xie Yun.

Xie Ming let out a light snort, whispering in a tone only they could hear: “If you want to call off this engagement, keep walking.”

Duan Huaijing:

He stopped dead.

He slowly looked up at Xie Yun, who was a few paces away. The man sat in his wheelchair, the overhead lights casting an unreadable shadow into his eyes.

Despite being only a few steps away, Duan’s feet felt like lead. In that moment, he felt there were too many things standing between them. Too many things that were “proper” for Xie Ming to do, but “improper” for Xie Yun.

He failed to notice that when he hesitated and chose to stand by Xie Ming’s side, the veins on Xie Yun’s hands bulged with suppressed emotion, even though his face remained a mask of composure.

A moment later, he was pulled into the room by Xie Ming. Before they disappeared, the latter waved a cheerful goodbye to Xie Yun. “I’m going to catch up with my fiancé. You get back to work, Big Brother.”

He deliberately emphasized and elongated the word “fiancé.”

The door slammed shut.

Duan Huaijing and his fiancé were alone.

Outside, anyone could see that Xie Yun’s expression was terrifying. His silent rage was channeled into the handles of his wheelchair, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. His entire arm trembled slightly from the sheer force he was exerting.

As he stared at the closed door, his eyes were filled with unmasked jealousy and extreme, possessive desire.

****

“Keep your head down like that and people might actually think I like you.” The moment they entered, Xie Ming scanned the room with a look of disdain. He turned to face Duan Huaijing, his voice dripping with mockery.

Duan Huaijing said nothing, his eyes tracing the patterns of the floor tiles.

“Get on the bed.” As he spoke, Xie Ming began to strip off his clothes.

Duan Huaijing snapped his head up, not yet grasping what was happening. Xie Ming’s next words hit him like a physical blow. “Do I need to teach you? Given how you seduced my brother, I doubt you’re a virgin. Stop acting so pure.”

Duan Huaijing had heard many insults in his life, but this was the first time he’d been slandered with such filth. Every word felt like a steel needle driven into the marrow of his bones. He swayed, nearly losing his footing.

Xie Ming had finished removing his shirt, but Duan remained frozen in place. The younger man’s dissatisfaction grew. “Truly repulsive.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the transfer app. “Speak up. How many thousands?”

He was intending to pay for the “privilege” of using him.

Duan Huaijing wondered: Does Xie Ming think dating someone just means getting into bed? But they weren’t even dating; they only held the title of fiances, and they’d never even had physical contact before.

Was he really expected to go all the way before marriage?

Duan Huaijing couldn’t deny that his mindset was traditional; if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have felt a wave of visceral nausea at the suggestion.

Xie Ming finally lost all patience. “Don’t be ungrateful. Do you know how many people out there are begging for me to sleep with them?”

Then go find them. That was Duan’s first thought.

The next second, the world spun. When he opened his eyes again, Xie Ming’s face was inches from his own.

He had been shoved onto the bed!

Duan Huaijing struggled to sit up, but his wrists were pinned down with crushing force. Xie Ming began to brutally tear at his clothes.

Duan was like a small animal caught in a trap, using every bit of strength he possessed but unable to shake the predator off.

His eyes grew bloodshot as he stared hatefully at the wolf-like Xie Ming. He loathed Xie Ming’s lack of respect; he loathed the way the man thought a bank transfer equated to mutual consent; he loathed being forced to do things against his will while being powerless to resist because he had no money, no power, and no one to help him.

And so, he loathed his own weakness. He loathed the fact that he couldn’t tear Xie Ming apart with his bare hands.

Duan Huaijing stared blankly at the ceiling. The feeling of Xie Ming tearing at the fabric over his chest shifted from nausea to a dull numbness. He had bitten, he had kicked, but against an Alpha, his strength was like a chick throwing a tantrum—his emotions were never given any weight.

Tears escaped the corners of his eyes, sliding down the bridge of his nose and into his other eye.

The brilliant overhead lights blurred his vision. In his fading consciousness, he felt like he had returned to that other day when Xie Ming had tried to force him.

They looked at him like a fish on a chopping board, joking and casually discussing his price while he stood there helplessly, clutching his trousers for a shred of security.

There were so many of them; he had thought there was no escape. But then, a turning point had arrived. Xie Yun had come.

Xie Yun had stood behind him and told him to give them a taste of their own medicine.

Violence might not solve every problem, but it was the fastest way to solve the person causing the problem.

Duan Huaijing’s eyes snapped open. Summoning strength from some unknown reservoir, he shoved Xie Ming away just as the man was about to bite his chest. The sight of the stumbling Xie Ming merged with the memory of that day, and for a moment, he felt a sense of daze.

It was as if he could still see a man sitting lazily in a chair behind him, telling him: “Vent your anger first. If you can’t win, I’ll fight for you.”

Duan Huaijing clenched his fists and began landing blow after blow on Xie Ming’s body and face hitting wherever he could reach.

Having had Xie Yun back him up once before, he had learned a valuable lesson. When faced with someone or something that hurts you, you must strike back immediately. “Enduring it” won’t make it stop; it will only invite worse treatment.

Xie Ming might be arrogant, but he was currently testing the waters to see how much Duan would tolerate. If Duan let it slide this time, Xie Ming would own him forever.

Duan knew he couldn’t win a prolonged fight. Seeing Xie Ming dazed and reeling, he threw open the door and bolted, regardless of his disheveled state.

He had to run.

His clothes were in tatters. His phone in his pocket wouldn’t stop buzzing with messages, the vibrations eventually causing it to tumble out.

Duan pulled his torn clothes around himself and bent down to pick it up. The moment his finger touched the screen, a new message flashed.

Why aren’t you replying to me?

Reply to me reply to me reply to me reply to me reply to me.

Don’t play dead with me.

The vibration made Duan’s finger go numb. He flinched. Just as he was about to try again, a well-defined hand appeared in his field of vision and picked up the phone.

Duan’s heart leaped. The “Eyes” in the phone was still sending a barrage of messages. He snapped his head up.

The terrible outcome he expected didn’t happen.

Xie Yun was looking down, using his palm to wipe the dust off the phone.

He handed it back. Duan Huaijing blinked, took it quickly, and stood there awkwardly. He wasn’t sure if Xie Yun had seen anything, or how much. He whispered a thank you. “Thank you, Big Brother.”

Xie Yun’s tone was flat. “Don’t mention it.”

Duan Huaijing glanced behind him, worried Xie Ming would follow. He bowed deeply to say goodbye. “Big Brother, I’ll be going then.”

As he moved past, he felt Xie Yun tilt his head slightly toward him. Xie Yun’s fingers tapped a rhythmic beat on the armrest of his wheelchair as he said something seemingly out of the blue:

“If you have any dissatisfaction regarding the engagement, you can contact me at any time.”

Duan Huaijing didn’t process it immediately; he only nodded blankly.

****

Meanwhile, Xie Ming was on the balcony smoking, feeling frustrated. He’d failed to “get some,” and he’d lost a bet with his friends that he could sleep with Duan Huaijing today.

“Duan Huaijing is just a fossil. Why let him get to you, Brother Xie?”

“Exactly. He’s just like my ex-boyfriend. He was my sister-in-law, but so what? Slow-cook the frog, spend a little money, and given enough time, he was devoted to me.”

Xie Ming hesitated amidst the swirling smoke. He couldn’t bring himself to say that he’d actually felt something for Duan Huaijing back there.

He actually felt something for a piece of trash like that?

It made him feel like he’d lost face, as if he’d lowered his own standards. He said nothing, staring into the void.

A few minutes later, several of his friends suddenly stubbed out their cigarettes and stood up straight, putting on the act of model students. “Big Brother.”

One friend didn’t hear them, still lost in the story of himself and his sister-in-law, narrating with great flair. After finally catching the frantic signals from the others, he jerked his head around to see Xie Yun’s “King of Hell” face.

The man choked on his words. He had been saying: “even if you think your brother is acting weird, maybe he’s just helping out. I mean, you know how cold your brother is; he wouldn’t exactly…”

He wouldn’t exactly go and steal someone else’s fiancé, would he?

The man didn’t finish the sentence, but everyone knew what he meant.

Xie Yun scanned them coolly. Wherever his gaze landed, people stood straighter, trying to feign innocence and offering fawning smiles.

Xie Yun’s eyes swept over a certain spot. As if joining in on a casual chat, he replied flatly:

“That’s not necessarily true.”

The smiles on their faces froze. They picked at their ears, certain they had misheard him.

Xie Ming hadn’t taken a puff since Xie Yun arrived; a long stalk of ash had accumulated on his cigarette. Hearing those words, his finger froze mid-tap. The reckless, playboy look in his eyes was gone.

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