The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Unreasonable Love (Three) – Wen Zhiyi and Chen Que...

The fate of Wen Zhiyi and Chen Que began at the mixer dance during the first semester of university. This Alpha started appearing in front of Wen Zhiyi so frequently that Wen Zhiyi began to suspect that students from Guomei (China Art Academy) didn’t have classes.

Zhu Qiao, of course, was not to be outdone. His initial Goodwill Value was twenty points higher than Chen Que’s, but he couldn’t skip classes as brazenly and unscrupulously as Chen Que—not everyone was a genius like Chen Que, and not everyone could do as they pleased like him.

Consequently, as Wen Zhiyi and Chen Que’s contact increased, Zhu Qiao naturally fell behind.

The day after meeting Wen Zhiyi, Chen Que knew that the person was not an Omega but a Beta wearing pheromone perfume. Little Wen easily admitted this to him and smiled while showing him the sixty hours of volunteer service he had earned.

It was a certification sheet officially stamped by the student union, clearly stating: “Student Wen Zhiyi assisted the department in organizing the mixer event, with cumulative work hours totaling sixty hours.”

Where did sixty hours come from?

Chen Que was amused. He held the certificate and said in a low, husky voice, “I’m going to report you.”

Wen Zhiyi raised an eyebrow, looking at him, and shook his head, saying he didn’t believe it: “You don’t know my academic advisor. Who are you going to report me to?”

Chen Que hooked up the corner of his lips noncommittally, his gaze always following Wen Zhiyi.

His good friend Zhu Qiao was quite unwilling to be excluded from the relationship between Chen Que and Wen Zhiyi. Outside of all class hours, he actively appeared before Wen Zhiyi, sending flowers, jewelry, and every gift that could express his feelings. It was so public that everyone in Jing University’s law school knew that the silver-haired cool guy from Guomei’s oil painting department was relentlessly pursuing Wen Zhiyi.

Unfortunately, the flowers, the jewelry, and all the gifts meant to express his feelings were returned to Zhu Qiao by Wen Zhiyi through Chen Que. Little Wen was very direct, saying he was touched by Zhu Qiao’s intention, but—but he felt that Zhu Qiao and he were too stylistically different and were not people who could end up together.

Chen Que, who usually couldn’t be bothered to deal with anyone else’s affairs, diligently handed every single gift back to Zhu Qiao, informing him concisely: “Wen Zhiyi doesn’t like you, don’t bother him.”

Zhu Qiao grabbed his silver hair in surprise and countered in an almost incredible tone: “Does he like you then?”

Chen Que pondered for a moment and nodded matter-of-factly.

Wen Zhiyi might not like him, but it was enough that he liked Wen Zhiyi more than anyone else.

The aloof beauty from Guomei’s sculpture department thought calmly.

Zhu Qiao, who outwardly accepted this statement, met Wen Zhiyi privately behind his best friend’s back. He cut straight to the chase, asking Wen Zhiyi if he still had a chance, and if he could still hold Wen Zhiyi’s hand like the first time they met.

Little Wen looked at the cool guy’s slightly reddened eyes, patted the long bench next to him, and motioned for the other person to sit down and talk.

They sat by Jing University’s most famous lake, looking at the vibrant greenery of late spring/early summer, resolving their youthful emotional dilemma with peace of mind.

Of course, “peace of mind” could probably only describe Wen Zhiyi’s mood.

As he contemplated what to say, Zhu Qiao’s hand, adorned with various strange, irregular rings, stealthily reached over along the bench, like a serpent covered in trinkets, quietly opening its soft, deep maw.

Wen Zhiyi’s hand was held.

He turned to look at Zhu Qiao, who was holding his right hand, and found that the other’s narrow, cold eyes were now covered with a film of water, bright and clear like two sparkling marbles.

He looks like he’s about to cry.

Wen Zhiyi thought softly to himself.

With a mix of amusement and frustration, he clasped Zhu Qiao’s hand in return. In the face of the other’s surprised look, he tried hard to recall the routine used by his psychologist to comfort him. Racking his brain and searching through his memories, he could only come up with a single, dry phrase—

Time heals everything.

So, he said earnestly to Zhu Qiao: “It will be better once it’s over.”

That’s right, it will be better once it’s over. Everyone gets through it that way. Wen Zhijie got through it that way, and Wen Zhiyi got through it that way.

So, he thought everyone could get through it that way.

Later, much later, he learned that some things never pass, and that some people never allowed him to move on.

But little Wen, at this moment, still believed he was someone that anyone could move on from. So, the only comfort he could offer Zhu Qiao was holding his hand and saying, it will be better once it’s over.

What he didn’t tell Zhu Qiao was that Zhu Qiao’s progress bar was very unstable. It jumped up and down, fluctuating wildly, full of emotionality and extremism. Although it generally stayed at eighty, one second it could hit the maximum, and the next it could drop back to fifty or sixty, a perfect reflection of the other person’s mood.

It was as if one second he regarded Wen Zhiyi as a god, and the next he realized Wen Zhiyi was just an ordinary person.

Wen Zhiyi was, of course, just an ordinary person, unable to be his muse at all times.

If someone is going to love Wen Zhiyi, they must love him as an ordinary person, not as some kind of lofty embodiment or superior product.

That’s how it is.

Little Wen nodded at the conclusion he had painstakingly reached.

In any case, under Chen Que’s daily attention, his progress bar for Wen Zhiyi showed a steady upward trend: from sixty to seventy, then to eighty, and finally reaching ninety-nine, just one step away.

This was a soft, slow, and airtight love, like the cool, shimmering lake water floating in the dark night, like the soft strands of hair wrapping around the fingers. Because it had no fixed shape, it seemed ubiquitous.

Chen Que truly gave Wen Zhiyi everything he wanted, without any demands in return.

He didn’t care if Wen Zhiyi could be marked by him, nor did he care if Wen Zhiyi had flaws. All secular standards for a partner were completely outside Chen Que’s consideration. He was satisfied just being able to look at Wen Zhiyi and hold his hand.

Zhizhi can do whatever he wants, have whatever he wants, live however he wants, as long as he stays within his sight, then everything else is insignificant.

It’s hard to imagine a perfectly standard Alpha being so compliant, delicate, and sensitive in love.

But Wen Zhiyi had never thought of it that way.

Perhaps influenced by Wen Zhijie, little Wen never thought about how Chen Que, as an Alpha, should behave, or how he, as a Beta, should behave. He simply accepted Chen Que’s gaze, and then held this pale, hard, stubborn rock in his hand, taking it wherever he went.

Because this rock truly loved him, and because he loved this rock too.

That final point on the progress bar was finally completely illuminated one night.

During the summer break at the end of Wen Zhiyi’s freshman year, the summer a year after Gu Yansheng left, little Wen smiled as he put his hand into Chen Que’s while they sat on a Ferris wheel, and then clasped their hands together, fingers intertwined.

He said: “I love you.”

This “I love you” essentially meant that someone was formally announcing their exit from Wen Zhiyi’s life, though he himself was not clearly aware of it at that moment.

Afterward, Wen Zhiyi and Chen Que spent two very happy years. Chen Que continued to skip classes to be with Wen Zhiyi, and they traveled everywhere during the holidays. Boarding passes to various places, fervent declarations of love, passionate kisses… Chen Que truly succeeded in liking Wen Zhiyi more than anyone else and loving Wen Zhiyi more than anyone else.

For the past twenty-one years, he had been close to the world but distant from people. He had delicately and sensitively engaged with the world, yet coldly and heartlessly distanced himself from the crowd.

But now, Wen Zhiyi was in the crowd.

In these two years, Wen Zhiyi hadn’t thought about the meaning of the progress bar again.

Because Chen Que was by his side, he no longer paid attention to anyone’s progress bar.

Regarding this relationship, he did not ponder, did not engage in internal struggle, did not hesitate, and did not agonize, because there was no need to. He knew the kind of love he was receiving, and he knew the kind of love he was giving.

Mr. Chen and Ms. Wang also knew about little Wen and were surprised and pleased that their son had found a beloved partner. With joy, they suggested to their son that he solidify the relationship with Wen Zhiyi more deeply sooner rather than later.

You can get engaged even if you’re not old enough to marry yet.

With this suggestion as the backdrop, Chen Que took less than a second to decide to prepare a proposal ceremony.

While he was solemnly selecting an engagement ring, he casually prepared for a pre-marital physical exam.

What kind of problem could an S-class Alpha’s physical fitness possibly have?

His physical fitness was indeed fine.

The problem was—his mental illness.

It erupted suddenly, without warning.

In the instant the hallucination struck, the instant his perceptual abilities failed, he couldn’t even hold a ring.

As a male Alpha, Chen Que’s uncle also carried this family-inherited gene, but his rank was not as high as Chen Que’s, and his symptoms during episodes were much milder. His most outrageous behavior was only attempting suicide twice while hallucinating.

Fortunately, this beautiful, melancholic Alpha had a very qualified partner, who rescued him from the abyss of pain time and time again—until he was exhausted.

Exhausted.

Chen Que’s pupils, black as caves, clearly reflected his uncle and his partner.

It must be tiring.

He thought calmly and wearily.

So ugly.

He looked down indifferently at the video recording of his own episode.

In truth, the most terrifying thing about the disease is not the torment of the flesh, but the wearing down of one’s spirit. It mercilessly strips a person of their most important qualities, making a person unlike themselves, and causing a deep sense of inferiority in an S-class Alpha.

A person who is sick, body and soul, logically believes that their partner cannot love them enough to accept this complete mess.

Then, one can only leave at an appropriate time.

Wen Zhiyi received this news in the summer.

At that moment, the scorching sun was overhead.