The "Honest" Beta Deceived Day and Night by a Twisted Obsessive - Chapter 7

“The engagement between Duan Huaijing and Xie Ming is dissolved.” 

Duan Huaijing couldn’t help but ask: “What happens if I don’t finish it within ten days?”

I’ll hide you away. I’m not cut out to be ‘the other man’.

Duan Huaijing swallowed hard. He thought to himself: The “Eye” certainly wasn’t suited to being a mistress; he was far too ambitious for that.

With the money provided by the “Eye,” his grandmother received better care at the hospital, and his own daily life wasn’t nearly as strained.

It felt a bit like being a kept man, but these were desperate times. If he didn’t swallow his pride and accept it, he’d likely have starved to death by now.

When he visited the hospital today, his grandmother was awake. She was leaning over, trying to reach an apple on the table.

Duan Huaijing rushed over to steady her. “Stay lying down, I’ll peel the apple for you.”

His grandmother leaned back against the headboard. Watching him work in silence, his head bowed as he carefully peeled the fruit, she suddenly spoke. “This hospital stay must have cost a fortune.”

Duan Huaijing placed the peeled apple into her hand and stared at the tips of his shoes. “Not at all. The medical insurance covers most of it.”

His grandmother sighed and tried to reach for something on the table again. Startled, Duan Huaijing stood up to stop her, fretting: “Just ask me if you need anything. If I’m not here, call the nurse. It’s too dangerous for you to be getting up like this.”

She swatted his hand away, looking disgruntled. “What, do you think I’m senile?”

“No,” Duan Huaijing muttered defensively. “I just don’t want you to fall and die.”

He was never very good at sweet-talking people he was close to; he tended to say exactly what came to mind. Unsurprisingly, the old lady nearly jumped out of her bed. “You little brat! Do you think I’m too old to give you a thrashing?”

Duan Huaijing had heard this a thousand times. He knew his grandmother was all talk. He patted her back to soothe her, wanting to say something to make amends, but knowing he lacked a silver tongue, he simply pursed his lips and stayed silent.

His grandmother opened her tiffin carrier, revealing several steaming buns. She handed them to Duan Huaijing. “Didn’t you say you wanted leek and egg buns the other day? I saved a few for you.”

Duan Huaijing glanced at them. “You haven’t eaten.”

“Just eat when I tell you to,” she snapped playfully. “Stop fussing about this and that.”

Duan Huaijing took a bite. The dough was thin and the filling generous, far better than anything sold in the shops.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the empty soup container at the bottom of the carrier. He suddenly realised why she hadn’t touched the buns.

If he hadn’t mentioned wanting them, she probably would have eaten them herself. But because he said he liked them, she was so worried he wouldn’t have enough that she’d saved every single one for him.

Duan Huaijing gave her a smile.

It was a sweet, radiant look like the first snowfall of winter illuminated by a streetlamp, as if stars had fallen into his lap.

See? There was still someone in this world who cared for him. He wasn’t the unloved nobody his enemies claimed he was.

His grandmother watched him with clouded eyes. After a moment, she asked: “Back when the engagement with the Xie family was settled… do you think it was a blessing or a curse?”

Duan Huaijing took another bite of the bun and gave a sugary-sweet smile. “A blessing, of course.”

Not in the slightest, he thought.

His grandmother bowed her head and sighed softly. She took his hand and patted the back of it with a steady, rhythmic cadence. Her dry, calloused hands felt comforting, and her voice was steady, as if she were telling an old folk tale.

“It’s a bit of both. You know our circumstances. Compared to them, we’re just a small, ordinary family. In any other life, we’d never even cross paths with a family like the Xies. It’s a good thing you can use this ladder to climb higher and meet more people, but the class divide is real. You’ll face a lot of malice.”

Duan Huaijing understood everything she was saying. He didn’t interrupt.

“Being mismatched in status is a problem. Even if you marry that Xie boy, life won’t be easy. Your values, your views on money, your habits, everything will clash. Wealthy young masters don’t look at common folk like us with any real respect.”

Duan Huaijing thought of Xie Ming’s attitude toward him. She was right.

“You’ve always been headstrong. I worry that after seeing a different life through the Xies and gaining more things, you’ll forget who you really are. You can use their resources to grow and get what you want, but don’t let your ambition outpace your ability. That’s when it becomes dangerous.”

Her eyes were serious, filled with the wisdom of a lifetime. “Relying on others for your security is the most foolish thing you can do, especially with a family like the Xies. It looks gilded on the outside, but it’s a place that swallows people whole. Getting in isn’t the achievement; being able to stand your ground there is.”

His mother had done everything to wrap him in a sugar-coated shell just to throw him at the Xies, but his grandmother was the only one trying to pull him back.

Duan Huaijing nodded. “I understand. My plan was always to distance myself from the Xies once the engagement was off. By then, I’ll have saved enough to go abroad. I’ll take you with me.”

That was the plan: save enough, leave this place, delete the “Eye,” and get away from all this rubbish.

His grandmother chuckled, looking relieved. “You’ve never given me a moment’s worry.”

Thinking of the “Eye” pinned at the top of his chat and their history, Duan Huaijing lowered his head and bit into his bun in silence.

*****

As a new employee, Duan Huaijing didn’t have a massive workload. He spent his spare time drawing commissions and even managed to make a friend a colleague who had started on the same day as him.

After work, his colleague excitedly asked if he wanted to go to a KTV. Having just finished a piece of fan art for a follower, Duan Huaijing agreed.

The new colleague was an Omega named Fang Qing. He was enthusiastic but a bit dim-witted; he’d already been saddled with a ton of extra work by the senior staff in just a few days.

Whenever he thought about it, Fang Qing would sigh dramatically. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I’d probably still be slaving away doing someone else’s overtime.”

The method Duan Huaijing had taught him was simple: play dumb. If someone asks, you don’t know. If they ask again, shift the blame. See who loses their patience first.

Duan Huaijing didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d only helped because he couldn’t stand watching someone be so stupid.

He helped Fang Qing because they were the only two newcomers. While Fang Qing was stuck doing others’ work, Duan Huaijing, whose desk was directly opposite, was famously efficient at leaving the moment the clock struck five. The boss had had a “chat” with him about it several times.

He figured Fang Qing hung out with him because he couldn’t fit in with the seniors, and since Duan Huaijing gave him advice, he was a safe bet for a friend.

Duan Huaijing assumed Fang Qing was just using him; once he got settled and realised what kind of person Duan Huaijing really was, the friendship would likely fizzle out.

As they approached the KTV entrance, a crowd had gathered. Camera flashes were going off everywhere, making it busier than a street food market. Duan Huaijing assumed it was some big celebrity. He tried to peek over the “human wall,” but saw nothing and turned to keep walking.

Suddenly, he heard someone shriek: “Oh my god! That must be Xie Ming’s fiancé!! They look so good together!!”

Duan Huaijing’s heart skipped a beat. He instinctively looked toward the speaker.

Fang Qing tugged on his sleeve and leaned in to whisper: “I heard the second Xie son has an arranged marriage from childhood. I bet the one in his car right now is the fiancé. What do you reckon?”

Duan Huaijing said nothing. He didn’t know how to respond.

Fang Qing kept chattering away beside him.

Duan Huaijing’s gaze darted around. He felt a strange mixture of emotions—on one hand, there was a secret sense of security in listening to people discuss “him” while he remained anonymous in the crowd; on the other, he was terrified Xie Ming would spot him.

He caught a fleeting glimpse of the same Omega from the other day. Quickly looking away, he grabbed Fang Qing’s hand and pulled him through the crowd in the opposite direction.

Once inside their private booth, Fang Qing was still reeling. Seeing that Duan Huaijing’s expression hadn’t changed, he relaxed and started sharing his “review” of the scene outside.

“If that really was Xie Ming’s fiancé, it’s actually quite shocking.”

Duan Huaijing hummed non-committally. He was trying to figure out how to reduce the chances of running into Xie Ming to zero.

Maybe I should just leave.

Just then, the door to their booth was pushed open. Two men in black uniforms walked in. They wore sunglasses and flashed their IDs at Duan Huaijing. “Our young master requests your presence. He says he wants to catch up on old times.”

Duan Huaijing froze. He’d been caught.

Fang Qing, oblivious to the shift in atmosphere, tugged at him excitedly. “What’s going on? Who are these people?”

“It’s fine,” Duan Huaijing whispered.

He didn’t think he and Xie Ming had anything to “catch up” on. He knew exactly how much the man loathed him. This was likely just a way to use him for entertainment.

Duan Huaijing’s eyes darted toward the exit, weighing his chances of bolting. But the men in black anticipated him, stepping forward like a wall to block his path.

Thinking fast, Duan Huaijing turned slightly and handed his phone to Fang Qing out of their line of sight. “Keep this for me. Don’t let them take it.”

Fang Qing was confused, but even he wasn’t so dense that he didn’t realise things had taken a turn.

Thinking back over the last few minutes a realization began to dawn on him.

He didn’t know whether to be happy that his friend knew the Xie son who drove a Rolls-Royce, or terrified of what these men and Duan Huaijing’s words implied. His brain went blank under the information overload; he forgot what Duan Huaijing said almost as soon as he heard it.

Duan Huaijing was escorted into another booth. As the door opened, a cloud of cigarette smoke mixed with various pheromones hit him. He took an instinctive step back.

The men in black stepped up behind him, blocking his retreat.

****

Duan Huaijing turned his head away, held his breath, and walked in.

Xie Ming wasn’t hard to find. Duan Huaijing spotted him immediately.

He was sitting dead centre, flanked by three or four beautiful women and handsome men. Some were lighting his cigarettes; others were offering him drinks.

Through the haze of smoke, Xie Ming looked at him.

“Get over here.” Xie Ming had a cigarette between his lips, squinting at him through the smoke.

Duan Huaijing swallowed. He gripped the hem of his shirt, feeling horribly out of place. Everyone around Xie Ming was dressed in very revealing clothes; by comparison, he was practically bundled up.

Xie Ming’s “get over here” certainly wasn’t meant literally.

Duan Huaijing hesitated, dragging his feet.

Seeing his reluctance, Xie Ming’s temper flared. In front of the dozen or so people in the room, he barked, “Who are you playing the innocent for now? Weren’t you keen enough when you were crawling into my bed?”

At this, the room erupted. The “hype squad” of friends began to jeer and whistle. Dozens of eyes fell on Duan Huaijing, looking at him like a rabbit that had stumbled into a wolf’s den.

These fair-weather friends were used to this kind of rowdy behaviour, but to Duan Huaijing, standing there under their gaze felt as humiliating as being stripped bare.

His face flushed red as he tried to defend himself loudly: “I lived in that room anyway! I didn’t know you were going to come in!”

Duan Huaijing was a handsome man—his features were soft and refined, like a flower about to bloom. His eyes always seemed to be brimming with moisture, as if they were speaking for him. He wasn’t strikingly beautiful in a loud way, but he was the type you couldn’t forget once you’d seen him.

He looked fragile, melancholy, and pitiable.

The exact kind of look that triggered an Alpha’s innate desire to dominate and mistreat.

Xie Ming licked his back teeth and downed a glass of wine, which was immediately refilled.

“Don’t think I haven’t seen through your little game. Everything you’ve done is just a ploy to get me to break off the engagement, isn’t it?”

Duan Huaijing, with his head bowed, felt a flicker of hope.

Is he actually going to agree?

He waited with bated breath. Xie Ming leaned back, tilted his chin up, and spoke with the tone of an absolute command: “The engagement between Duan Huaijing and Xie Ming is dissolved.”

Duan Huaijing’s breath hitched. He instinctively looked up.

Seeing the mixture of surprise and sheer relief on Duan Huaijing’s face, Xie Ming smirked. He slowly delivered his sentence:

“That’s exactly ten words. One word, one item of clothing. Once you’ve taken off ten items, the agreement is official.”

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