The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Two Things You Have In Common With A Firefly

The long wind, streaming over his fingertips, shoulders, back, and ankles, blew away all the lingering, sticky, suffocating heat of summer.

Wen Zhiyi, sitting on the very back of the motorbike’s rear seat, clung tightly to Wei Xingjiang’s waist. The traffic and gale-force wind whistling past his ears were like a suddenly twisted kaleidoscope, relentlessly thrown in the opposite direction of their travel. On this route, consisting almost entirely of straight-line acceleration, the full power advantage of the top-tier motorbike was utilized to the extreme.

Amidst the sensation of pressure created by the wind speed on both sides, Wen Zhiyi instinctively leaned closer to Wei Xingjiang. The young Alpha’s physique was sufficient to block all the wind and sunlight assaulting them from the front. He awkwardly rested his hands on the other person’s waist; the young Alpha’s superbly toned core became the only anchor he could hold onto in the storm of wind and waves.

Every time Wei Xingjiang accelerated, Wen Zhiyi subconsciously squeezed tighter, and when he decelerated, he immediately relaxed. The high school student, tortured back and forth like this, inwardly chuckled, certain that ten fingerprints were definitely left on his waist.

The last person Wen Zhiyi was close to, so unguardedly and unavoidably, was Wei Yuzhi. He was far less callow and pure than Wei Xingjiang. He was never satisfied with fleeting displays of affection or hugs. His body was more mature and powerful than Wei Xingjiang’s, and clinging to him, enveloped in sweat and exhaustion, was also the only shore Wen Zhiyi could reach in the ocean of lust and affection.

In truth, Wei Xingjiang’s speed was much slower than usual. With Wen Zhiyi sitting behind him, he dared not ride too fast no matter what. The motorbike, usually used to vent his frustration and anger, had become the vehicle for his escape with Little Mr. Wen. For the first time, Wei Xingjiang felt that this kind of boring activity seemed to hold some fun.

They arrived at the club where Wei Xingjiang usually rides.

This was a building so tall that one would have to tilt their head back 180 degrees to see the top floor.

Arriving at the front lobby, Wei Xingjiang, whose face was instantly recognizable, smoothly took the elevator to the top floor. He carelessly used his fingerprint to open the room closest to the elevator. All the rooms on this floor were empty solely for him; it didn’t matter which one he went to.

The rooms here were not the king or twin rooms Wen Zhiyi had imagined, but home-entertainment suites, fully equipped with various appliances and facilities. Even if Wei Xingjiang had a sudden urge to cook a couple of dishes, he could find every type of kitchenware.

So, it was just moving from one room to another?

Wen Zhiyi smiled.

“What are you laughing at?” Wei Xingjiang slammed the leather sofa, making a loud pa-pa sound.

He’s exactly like a large dog giving a warning before wrecking the house.

Wen Zhiyi thought.

He walked onto the sunlit balcony and realized that the club wasn’t just this one building. Behind it was a vast outdoor track. The track had no audience seating, only a sparsely seated grandstand, which was understandable; people who rode here naturally wouldn’t perform a race against death just to please others.

Wei Xingjiang, who hadn’t gotten a reply from Wen Zhiyi, padded over to him in his slippers, carelessly pushing back his slightly sweaty bangs: “Want to go down and ride?”

Wen Zhiyi still didn’t answer.

He was pondering: Did my expression completely contradict what I was thinking?

In reality, the soreness left from training with Lin Chang still lingered in Xiao Wen’s body. If he made movements like bending over, twisting his body, or raising his arms, the lactic acid accumulated inside would inevitably make Xiao Wen inwardly grimace.

But—he still looked perfectly calm on the surface.

Forget it. The sofa looks so soft. It should be fine if I just lie down, right?

Wen Zhiyi flopped onto the sofa with a paji sound.

Zero frame startup, no wind-up.

Wei Xingjiang froze in place.

He immediately crouched beside the sofa, lowered his shoulder, bent his head, and slightly cocked it to keep his gaze level with Wen Zhiyi’s. He maintained this extremely awkward posture while gently shaking Wen Zhiyi’s shoulder: “…Are you hungry?”

Xiao Wen lazily shook his head: “What do you think their reaction will be?”

“They” naturally referred to Wei Yuzhi and Wei Zhao.

Wei Xingjiang wasn’t worried that Wei Zhao would send people to look for him; he knew the latter didn’t hold Wei Yuzhi in such high regard yet.

Although Wen Zhiyi claimed not to be hungry, Wei Xingjiang checked the time, and it was nearly dinner. As the older one between the two, he consciously opened the fridge to look for food that didn’t require much preparation.

Might as well feed Zhuangzhuang.

“…How about we just order takeout?” Wen Zhiyi announced his surrender. “I’m worried about food poisoning.”

Wei Xingjiang sneered and used the landline to call the downstairs catering service.

“Don’t worry, the food here is decent. I’ve been eating it for… one, two, three, four… about four or five years, right?” Wei Xingjiang sprawled on the sofa, casually counting on his fingers.

Wen Zhiyi lay next to him, signaling with his eyes for him to move his leg. A duang-sized Alpha nearly occupied the entire couch.

Wei Xingjiang received the signal and scooted his butt over, patting the empty space in the crook of his arm for Wen Zhiyi.

Xiao Wen clicked his tongue, remaining unmoved.

Wei Xingjiang patted again.

Xiao Wen remained unmoved still.

Wei Xingjiang patted yet again, showing his limited patience.

Friends who have owned cats know that when you lie on the bed and pat the mattress for the cat, the wary creature will ignore you and continue doing whatever it was doing. In this situation, there seems to be no better option than persistent, heart-scratching, increasingly desperate patting.

Wei Xingjiang’s patience was purely trained by Jack (Zhuangzhuang).

Wen Zhiyi was the first to lose patience. He chose to sit up straight, resolutely refusing to align himself with Wei Xingjiang.

After dinner, it was around 7 PM. Wen Zhiyi sat on a lounge chair on the balcony, enjoying the breeze and calmly watching the fiery sunset clouds drift westward. In this incredibly tranquil summer evening, he knew another day was about to pass.

When the light fades and the sun sets, many people can’t help but review what they did today, trying to find proof of ‘worth,’ trying to prove they haven’t wasted time. It’s as if spending a day doing nothing is a waste of life.

Wen Zhiyi used to be like that, too. He would complain over and over that he hadn’t done ‘valuable things,’ feeling anxious about falling behind others, and distressed that he couldn’t become better or more outstanding.

But now, he focuses more on whether he did what he wanted to do.

Wei Xingjiang sat down beside him.

If the mountain won’t come to me, I must go to the mountain.

“I look a lot like Wei Zhao.”

Wei Xingjiang also looked toward the twilight, stating the fact he hated so much, flatly.

Wen Zhiyi turned to look at him, simultaneously smelling the very faint, slightly burnt scent of lavender in the air. Newly adult Alphas are always so unable to control their pheromones; the released dose was noticeable even to him, a Beta. For a mature Alpha, this would be the level released during the highly volatile rut period.

“Hmm, you’re quite handsome,” Xiao Wen pretended to examine the other’s face in detail.

Cold features, deep contours—a typical high-level Alpha appearance. The full lip shape inherited from Wang Han didn’t detract from his handsomeness; instead, it lent him the unique, not-yet-fully-mature, handsome youthfulness of a young Alpha.

Wei Xingjiang also turned to look at Wen Zhiyi, raising his eyebrow in an extremely untamed gesture: “Complimenting me on my looks? Little Mr. Wen, I just turned eighteen.”

Wen Zhiyi withdrew his gaze, inwardly cursing the arrogant high school student, while looking at his nose and contemplating his heart.

“About half of a person’s genes come from their father. That can’t be changed, even until death.”

Wei Xingjiang abruptly dropped all smiles. The light and shadow cast by the magnificent twilight on his face became blurred at that moment, his high brow bone causing his eyes to be completely cast in shadow.

He looked at the calm, lighthearted Wen Zhiyi and said softly: “Compared to most people, I shouldn’t have any worries, but I can’t convince myself otherwise. These nasty, persistent emotions are more unreasonable than I am.”

Wen Zhiyi reached out and vaguely grasped the distant setting sun: “Suffering cannot be compared. Should the eight billion-plus people on Earth hold a ‘misery competition’ to select the most miserable person, and forbid everyone else from claiming to be in pain?”

He continued unhurriedly: “Of course, this doesn’t mean I sympathize with you. I don’t think I have the moral high ground to sympathize with you, but that doesn’t stop you from feeling, expressing, and alleviating your pain. Suppressing emotional issues for too long easily leads to psychological problems.”

“Humans and bananas share about fifty percent of their genes, but that fifty percent only accounts for one percent of the total human DNA. If you can’t say I’m a banana, then you can’t assume Mr. Wei will determine your entire life.”

Little Mr. Wen, speaking eloquently, patted Wei Xingjiang’s shoulder: “Thirty years east, thirty years west of the river—do not bully a young man in poverty.”

What he didn’t say was—If you can’t beat him, can’t you outlive him? Wei Xingjiang looked like he could certainly outlive Wei Zhao.

Of course, Xiao Wen would only grumble such overly offensive words in his heart.

Wei Xingjiang stared at Wen Zhiyi, then slowly blinked, revealing his entire face from the twilight shadows, looking intently at the Beta before him.

The aversion value began to climb steeply.

Twenty percent, forty percent, eighty percent… finally stopping just shy of a full bar.

In the silent atmosphere where neither of them spoke, Wen Zhiyi cleared his throat, deciding to ignore the progress bar he saw.

It’s no big deal.

He thought, feeling a lack of interest.

I don’t care anyway.

He considered what he should say next, attempting to ease the awkwardness of being disliked.

“Have I ever told you that your eyes are beautiful?”

Wei Xingjiang suddenly spoke, cutting in before Xiao Wen.

He wore what could be called a relaxed smile, but his gaze drifted restlessly away from Wen Zhiyi, before landing once more on Wen Zhiyi’s eyes. Then, he said cautiously and with restraint:

“They really are beautiful.”

“The two things you have in common with a firefly are: first, you are shimmering and glowing, and second, you arrived belatedly, many years later.”