The Honest Man Was Targeted by His Ex-Boyfriend's Alpha Brother - Chapter 1

Inside the high-end luxury boutique, the lights were brilliant. The man’s cufflinks gave off a subtle glint, reminiscent of the dazzling optically variable ink found on banknotes.

“Can I make a partial payment first and pay the rest in installments?”

The smiling Sales Associate froze for a moment. Customers who frequented this store usually spent thousands without blinking; where did this request for installment plans come from? Furthermore, this customer did not look like he was struggling financially.

He was handsome, young, and possessed refined features with a faint edge of coldness. The handmade suit looked as if it existed solely for him. The well-tailored fabric clung to his slender waist and followed the curve of his firm glutes down to his straight, long legs. Standing there, he exuded the elegant temperament of a noble son from a scholarly family. Even though he was a mere Beta, people could not help but steal glances at him, wanting to draw closer.

Receiving no response, the man looked at her. Realizing her lapse in professionalism, the Sales Associate’s face instantly flushed. “Of course you can!”

Chen Wang did not care at all about the speculation of others. He calmly observed his flawless reflection in the mirror while mentally organizing the allocation of this month’s salary. One portion would go to his sick mother living in the slums, one portion to his sister in college, and one portion to his father’s creditors.

As for himself, his long lashes cast two pools of shadow over his eyelids, trembling slightly. He needed this suit for an interview for a new job. As long as the result was worth it, Chen Wang did not mind how difficult the process became.

When he emerged from the fitting room after paying, a burst of cloyingly sweet, coquettish laughter suddenly made half of Chen Wang’s body go numb. He rubbed his ear and looked toward the nearby VIP lounge. Fitting models were walking a catwalk, taking turns elegantly displaying outfits for the VIPs. A sudden, inexplicable sense of melancholy swept over him; his shadow seemed to shrink a little.

Being rich must be nice. When would he be able to live a life like that?

“Mhm. If you like them, buy them all.”

A familiar, gentle male voice drifted over. It took a moment for Chen Wang to realize who was sitting on the sofa. He saw the man with his arm around a dainty little Omega. Before he could even react, a violent, stabbing pain shot through his heart. He turned on his heel and bolted.

It was such bad luck to run into an unfaithful ex-boyfriend while buying clothes on an installment plan. What was even more hateful was that the ex was living better than he was. His thin lips were pressed tight, and a flicker of hidden pain appeared on his bloodless face. He did not know how far he ran before stopping, gasping for air, while his clenched fists shook uncontrollably.

It figured. That ex-boyfriend was Hua Jingchen, the eldest young master of the Hua Financial Group. He was an Alpha who had everything from birth. Hua Jingchen had been the golden boy surrounded by admirers since they met in high school. And Chen Wang? He was just a Beta from the slums who had struggled through years of diligent study to reach the Central City.

After a period of love, the man ultimately chose to be with an Omega of equal social standing. It was he who had betrayed Chen Wang, and he even had the audacity to try and make Chen Wang his hidden lover. What a joke.

Chen Wang tasted blood in his mouth. At some point, he had bitten his lip, leaving his full mouth looking like the mottled red of rose petals. In short, he would rather die than have anything to do with a member of the Hua family ever again. To the current him, love was not worth mentioning; it was not nearly as important as filling his stomach.

Over the next few days, the interview went smoothly. Chen Wang started working at a small three-story hospital, specifically in the department he once despised: Pediatrics. However, because he had caused trouble upon graduation, his employment options were limited. This job, though filled with the constant noise of children, paid more than his previous one, and that was all that mattered.

“Kissing will not make you pregnant.”

“You are an Alpha, and your little boyfriend is a Beta,” Chen Wang said, staring down at the two restless teenagers across from him, caught between laughter and tears. “A Beta’s reproductive cavity is vestigial. The probability of conception is less than 0.1%. How could he be pregnant?”

The young Alpha stammered, his face turning red. “But we…”

Although the doctor across from them was very handsome, he wore a mask and a white lab coat, looking like a precise, sharp surgical knife. His cold aura was truly intimidating.

Chen Wang tapped away at his keyboard and interrupted ruthlessly, “French kissing will not do it either.”

Having received the authoritative certification of Doctor Chen, the two teenagers thanked him joyfully and left. They were too shy to talk about it, but they were not too shy to kiss. Chen Wang shook his head with a small laugh. “Children will be children; they do not know anything.”

His voice suddenly caught. As if struck by a terrible memory, his expression dimmed slightly. The Head Nurse knocked on the door, speaking kindly. “Doctor Chen, it is time to get off work.”

“Alright.” Chen Wang gave her a slight smile.

Until his back disappeared at the end of the corridor, the Head Nurse remained immersed in the look he had just given her. It turned out a Beta could be this charming. He was young, steady, and reliable; he was truly perfect marriage material.

A group of interns, like chicks following a mother hen, immediately broke into a clamor of voices. “Next time we take promotional photos, we have to let Doctor Chen stand in the middle. He makes a lab coat look like it is on a runway. I heard Doctor Chen graduated from the Federal Medical University with top honors. Why did he come to a small place like ours?”

“Why else? He dresses in famous brands every day and looks polished. He clearly does not lack money. He must be a rich young master here to experience life!”

“Please take your belongings with you, and I would appreciate a good rating. Thank you.”

The taxi pulled over to the curb. A black mask covered the man’s handsome profile as he gave a slight nod to the customer in the back seat. Once the car door closed, Chen Wang’s quiet solitude did not last three seconds. He sighed and picked up the phone that was vibrating incessantly. Before he could even get the word “Mom” out, the woman on the other end began nagging.

“Xiao Wang, I received the living expenses. Has your father’s debt for this month been paid? I do not know where he has run off to again these past few days. That deadbeat, I am going to divorce him sooner or later! Alphas are all no good!”

Chen Wang suspected he was under some kind of curse. He clearly longed for a close relationship with his family. He wanted to have a harbor he could rely on at any time, just like everyone else. But right now, even this car belonged to a taxi company. He pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples, his brow furrowing involuntarily as he patiently soothed her.

“If you had not been so impulsive back then, fighting with the Governor’s son over a thesis, you would not be stuck unable to enter a large hospital! Such a bright future, yet you are seeing children and driving a taxi!”

His mother’s words stabbed deep into his heart. Because she had a weak heart, Chen Wang could only endure in silence. Parents raised in the slums had rarely attended school. The concepts of originality and plagiarism meant nothing to them. They only knew who the high-ranking officials were; if they saw one, they had to bow and scrape, humbly giving up everything. Even their words and deeds revealed a background that could never be changed. Yet, they still hoped their son would become a success.

A fire rolled in Chen Wang’s chest, but his expression remained calm. She spoke again, “By the way, it is time to pay your sister’s tuition for her junior year.”

“I already sent it. Please get some rest.”

Before his mother could start scolding his sister for not coming home, he hurriedly ended the call. The hand pressed against his forehead was still cold. It was strange. His troublesome sister usually refused to take his money; she would usually return it within an hour of him sending it. Today was unnervingly quiet.

Chen Wang was distracted as he reversed his car into the garage. To his shock, the moment he pushed the door open, someone covered his nose and mouth from behind, shoving him into a nearby van with lightning speed.

“Mmph!”

A bodyguard said coldly, “Sir, come with us.”

“By what right? Who are you!”

It all happened too fast. Chen Wang suspected these were his father’s creditors. He struggled, putting all his strength into a swing, but the opponent was an Alpha who was stronger than him. The man pinned his arm back while holding a phone to his ear. A raspy female voice pierced his eardrums.

“Chen Wang, do not come here!”

A heavy thud followed as she hit the ground. She had clearly been beaten again before she could finish speaking. His mind went blank. Stumbling into the KTV, the garish, flickering lights made it hard for Chen Wang to see the path. Like a gust of wind, he threw himself into the most luxurious private suite at the end of the hall.

Silence. Total silence. Only Chen Wang’s heavy panting was audible, sounding abrupt and ragged. Bodyguards stood on either side like two rows of cold weaponry. There was no life, only lethal force. Someone seemed to be sitting in the seat of honor, hidden in the shadows and shrouded in a cloud of smoke, gazing down at everything from a high position.

Chen Wang did not have the heart to see who it was. He rushed straight to his sister, Chen Yuxi, trembling as he scooped up the person who had been beaten into a pulp. “Xiao Xi!”

“Who told you to come?”

His blood-covered sister was a Vodka-scented Alpha. Because of her intense emotional fluctuations, her pheromones were crashing about wildly. But as a Beta, Chen Wang could not sense that much. At most, he smelled a faint scent of alcohol, so he naturally did not notice the rapidly spiraling scent of Damascus rose in the room. The trained bodyguards, suppressed by the Alpha pheromones, were enduring the pain.

“What did she do to be beaten like this?” he roared, losing his composure. “This is a society ruled by law! This is Central City! You are lawless! I am going to hire a lawyer and sue you!”

“Mr. Chen truly should learn what your sister has done.”

An assistant pushed up his glasses, his smile not reaching his eyes. “She marked our future Young Mistress. Tell me, which law or regulation should be used to punish that?”

Chen Wang’s body jerked violently. His mind went blank, and he knelt on the floor clutching his sister, unable to get up for a long time. “What?”

On the way here, he thought Xiao Xi had just gotten into another fight. Drinking and brawling were common occurrences for this sister of his. But marking someone else’s fiancée? Even if she had caused a great disaster, it should not have escalated to this level. His momentum from a moment ago vanished instantly. “How could she?”

Footsteps sounded. Hand-made, thin-soled leather shoes stepped on the floor. The bright red soles flashed rhythmically, almost like a flirtation, as the man who had been watching coldly strolled over. Like a net falling from the sky, he blocked all the light in front of Chen Wang.

Leather, tobacco, and the scent of roses. It was so familiar. Chen Wang’s pupils constricted. Soon, a coldness that seeped into his very marrow made him shiver. He looked up mechanically, finally seeing the man’s face. The man followed suit and squatted down, though Chen Wang still had to tilt his head up slightly to see him.

In his memory, he was just a quiet child. In the blink of an eye, he had grown this much. The man did not have to do anything; his mere presence felt like it could crush Chen Wang, carrying the absolute pressure of a highly stratified world. The young man let out a short laugh, looking like he was in a very good mood.

“Why are you shaking, Brother Chen Wang?”

Slender fingers removed a nearly finished cigarette. The slightly damp filter was pushed, with extreme aggression, inch by inch into Chen Wang’s lips. He wickedly ground and rubbed it against those trembling lips. Pushing deeper, he went even further, lightly tapping against Chen Wang’s teeth, signaling him to open his mouth and take it.

“Or should I call you…”

Hua Yunlian narrowed his golden pupils. “Sister-in-law?”