The O Posing as a B is Fought Over in a Dating Show Shambles - Chapter 3

Huff… huff…

In the darkness, aside from the increasingly heavy breathing, there was no answer.

Xi Qingli fumbled with his phone, pressing a button until the screen emitted a faint white glow, barely illuminating the space a few paces ahead. Despite the impact earlier, the phone hadn’t broken.

Taking a shaky breath, he used the wall for support and slowly edged deeper into the alley.

Logically, he should have turned and run. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, something in the depths of the shadows seemed to be pulling him in, an irresistible magnetic force.

One step, two steps.

By the weak light of his screen, he finally spotted a blurry silhouette in the corner. The figure had his back turned, so his face was hidden, but Xi Qingli could just make out that it was a man.

Xi Qingli tightened his grip on the utility knife in his other hand. “You”

The man spun around abruptly.

Before Xi Qingli could even register the stranger’s features, he was slammed against the rough brick wall by a terrifying force. His phone hit the ground with a clack, the light extinguishing instantly.

The world plunged back into total, suffocating darkness.

A searingly hot body pressed against him from behind. In an instant, Xi Qingli was pinned, utterly overwhelmed by a thick, suffocating wave of Alpha pheromones.

The scent of ice-cold, high-proof liquor crashed over his senses without restraint, making him feel as though he were drowning in a sea of alcohol, an experience both agonizing and intoxicating. He tried to raise the knife, but a large hand clamped down on his wrist, pinning it firmly against the wall.

“Get… mmph!”

His curse was cut short in his throat as a sharp, piercing pain exploded from the fragile gland at the nape of his neck.

Xi Qingli’s fingers clawed instinctively at the bricks. His struggles and the pained whimpers he couldn’t suppress were locked into the narrow space between him and the Alpha.

As his mind went blank, a delayed realization hit him: he was being… bitten?

In the dark, the stranger leaned against the side of his neck, breathing heavily. Not even the icy rainwater could douse the man’s scorching heat. Xi Qingli felt as though he were melting; his mind turned to static, and he could no longer find a shred of strength to resist.

A long time passed.

Suddenly, Xi Qingli was shoved aside. He tumbled onto the wet ground in a heap as the sound of hurried, panicked footsteps retreated into the distance.

He forced himself to turn his head.

Through the gloom, he caught a glimpse of a tall, blurry figure shrouded in a swirling golden mist, staggering away until he vanished at the mouth of the alley.

Xi Qingli had seen many colors of pheromones over the past few days, but gold was a first. It was a divine, dreamlike color.

He wiped the rain from his face. If it weren’t for the throbbing pain in his neck gland and the fact that his “side effects” had suddenly been calmed, as if someone had smoothed over ruffled fur, he would have thought the whole ordeal was a hallucination.

He had been a Beta for twenty-two years; who would have thought that after only a few days as an Omega, he’d be “temporarily marked” by a complete stranger? The worst part was that he hadn’t even seen the man’s face.

No matter. He remembered the scent of those pheromones cold, biting liquor. It was best if they never crossed paths again; otherwise, he would beat that biting dog so far into a wall that no one would be able to dig him out.

With trembling fingers, he gathered his phone and knife and walked out of the alley, his clothes a disheveled mess.

The rain showed no signs of letting up. He dragged his suitcase to a sheltered spot and called his manager, Du Mongmong.

Her name sounded like a soft, sweet girl, but in reality, Du Mongmong was a genuine, six-foot-three female Alpha.

“Li-bao! I heard what happened with the production crew. Screw them, we don’t need that trashy show anyway! I just signed you for a massive variety show, we’re going there to show them what you’re made of!”

Mongmong’s familiar, booming voice blared from the phone.

Xi Qingli was supposed to have a night shoot, but because the lead actor didn’t like the look of him, the director had kicked him off the set to avoid offending anyone. This wasn’t news in the entertainment industry; people without a background or a “big” name went through this constantly.

Xi Qingli just happened to be one of them.

Perhaps because his “heat” had just subsided, he felt drained. “Sister Du, don’t start selling me dreams again.”

Du Mongmong cleared her throat. “It really is a huge show. You’ve heard of Heartbeat of Beauties, right?”

“Heartbeat of Beauties?”

Xi Qingli blinked. He knew the show. It was currently the most popular livestream-style variety show on the market. Every guest featured was from a prestigious background.

More importantly, the show only invited “beauties.” But that wasn’t the point the point was that it was a dating show.

Previously, the cast was fixed at eight people: four Alphas and four Omegas. For some reason, when the official lineup for the new season was announced two days ago, the production team suddenly declared they were adding a ninth guest a Beta.

He hadn’t expected Sister Du to actually snag that slot.

“Sister Du, doesn’t that show have background requirements?”

Xi Qingli knew he wasn’t ugly; he could probably pass for the “beauty” requirement. But as for his background… he had nothing. If he did, his adoptive parents wouldn’t have been so desperate to marry him off to a “mutt” like Qin Fenghai.

Du Mongmong hesitated. “Well… that’s not important. I’ve already signed the contract they can’t back out now. Besides, you’re great. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“By the way, are you at Hongye Apartments? The crew gave me a character profile kit; I’ll bring it over now.”

Hongye Apartments was where Qin Fenghai lived.

Xi Qingli touched his aching gland, then his burning forehead. His voice sounded muffled. “I’m not there.”

“What happened? Did Qin Fenghai bully you?” Mongmong caught the change in his tone, her voice rising an octave. “Dammit! If he touched a hair on your head, I’ll go end him right now!”

“He didn’t bully me. I dumped him.”

Xi Qingli pouted slightly, a trace of vulnerability leaking into his voice. “Sister Du… I think I have a fever.”

Midnight. The Hospital.

“As an Alpha, no matter what happens, you shouldn’t have worked your Omega into this state.”

“He has a high fever, his gland wasn’t treated properly after being bitten, and he was out in the rain. Do you realize that if he’d been brought in any later, he’d be at risk for severe inflammation? If something happened to him, it would be too late for regrets…”

Xi Qingli opened his eyes to see a bewildered Du Mongmong being lectured by a petite Omega doctor.

He hadn’t told Mongmong about his secondary differentiation yet.

The doctor’s sharp eyes noticed he was awake. She strode over and asked softly, “You’re awake. Are you feeling any better?”

Xi Qingli blinked, staring at the pink pheromones swirling around her, but said nothing.

The doctor reached out to touch his forehead. “Once this IV drip is finished, the fever should break.”

Xi Qingli’s gaze shifted to the doctor’s hand.

The moment the doctor’s palm touched his forehead, the pink pheromones surrounding her were sucked into his body like a flowing stream. Instantly, every cell in his body felt as though it were being soaked in warm water. A soothing heat spread through him.

Xi Qingli licked his dry lips, his eyes turning slightly bright.

Pink pheromones meant: Heart-fluttering / Infatuation.

This… was the “free medicine” that could soothe his condition.

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