The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Pheromone Perfume – He Xin Discovered That Her Boss Most…

He Xin discovered that her boss’s temper had improved recently.

Using “improved temper” might not be entirely accurate. Although the boss, Wei Yuzhi, was arrogant and cold, he mostly maintained excellent manners, and never once verbally abused a subordinate. His difficulty lay in his zero-tolerance for mistakes and oversights.

The boss’s sense of oppression primarily came from his non-negotiable commands. His instructions had to be completed on schedule, and anything he decided had to be flawless. Coupled with the fact that Wei Yuzhi consistently made correct decisions, words like questioning, hesitation, and procrastination were virtually synonymous with incompetence in his eyes.

Yet, recently, he had shown a rare degree of tolerance.

Before issuing an unquestionable judgment, he was finally able to patiently listen to the reasons instead of just criticizing the person.

As the chief secretary who directly interfaced with Wei Yuzhi, He Xin was deeply gratified, feeling that her retirement plan could be postponed a little further.

Even the driver, who usually feared Wei Yuzhi like a tiger, took several deep breaths of relief. Following his father’s instructions, he diligently and conscientiously served as Wei Yuzhi’s driver. He would chat with He Xin, discussing which company CEO was being ripped apart by his original spouse for having an illegitimate child, or which company executives were blocked by reporters outside a hotel after a wild party…

In short, the driver was having a good time recently.

Except for one thing.

The second-generation heir, who had almost never been involved in family business, was asked to be responsible for the investment in a certain company preparing to go public. He, of course, knew nothing about it, but He Xin thoughtfully arranged everything. He only needed to show his face to indicate that their foundation was not just an empty shell.

The driver hadn’t even looked at the company’s prospectus. He only knew it was a tiny company with fewer than a hundred employees, including the founder. When he went to sign the documents at the company, he found that they couldn’t even afford a full floor in the China World Trade Center.

After walking out of the founder’s office, if he strolled for a bit, he would accidentally step onto another company’s premises.

In all fairness, the driver couldn’t figure out why the Wei family had to go through such a lengthy process, using his name to invest in this company. Since he couldn’t figure it out, he simply stopped trying. The only explanation was that the founder possessed potential that he couldn’t see.

The foolish second-generation heir accepted this explanation. Remembering He Xin’s stern instructions, he did not put on the airs of a rich Alpha investor in front of the founder. Although he was there to give money, he maintained a humble attitude and impeccable manners, treating himself entirely as the supplicant.

Although he didn’t like the tea in the founder’s office, the driver strongly complimented the other party’s taste and discreetly assessed the young Alpha.

He had only started as Wei Yuzhi’s driver this summer. Except for the most central circle of people, most powerful figures were still unaware of this news, and they were still calling the previous driver for inquiries and favors. He guessed the Alpha in front of him was probably also unaware of this.

He watched the other party solemnly sign the agreement, repeated the name in his mind, and finally understood the significance of his job.

Wen Zhijie.

The legendary older brother of little Wen.

No wonder he looks so familiar.

The driver gave a subtle smile to the handsome and composed Alpha founder in front of him. Even though he was extremely curious and wanted to scan the person from head to toe, his outward gaze remained appropriate and polite.

Wen Zhijie touched his face, feeling puzzled, and wondered if he had forgotten to wipe his mouth after breakfast that morning.

Big Wen and little Wen shared a surprisingly similar trait in these unconscious small gestures.

They actually didn’t look very alike. Big Wen resembled Mr. Wen Changming; when he wasn’t speaking, he could manage to look aloof. Little Wen resembled Ms. Zhao Mingzhu; his almond eyes naturally held warmth even when he wasn’t smiling, and since he was never stingy with a smile, his temperament was gentle even when his expression looked cold.

What truly made the driver feel a sense of familiarity was this small gesture, which Wen Zhijie consciously restrained but occasionally revealed.

The driver, having successfully completed his task, was given the opportunity to report directly to Wei Yuzhi. The second-generation heir, who had almost begun to see himself as an assistant during this time, was so flattered that he stammered. The usually expressionless boss merely frowned slightly, noncommittally sinking into thought.

Perfect. Whenever Wei Yuzhi showed this expression, the driver knew he could say whatever he wanted, as the other party was likely not listening or caring anyway.

The driver, excellent at playing the wooden man, dutifully became one again, quietly stepping out of his boss’s sight.

Wei Yuzhi’s expression was calm as he subconsciously stroked the ring on his pinky finger, as if the ring still held the warmth of another person.

He thought that he truly used to take everything for granted.

It was natural that Wen Zhiyi married him. It was natural that he could win Wen Zhiyi back within thirty days. No wonder little Wen had that expression back then.

He was so arrogant and conceited that he thought he could control Wen Zhiyi, and Wen Zhiyi’s willingness to listen to him in the past was never because he was always right.

If, if he really overcame all the necessary obstacles in just thirty days, then what did those past actions that hurt and saddened Wen Zhiyi amount to?

He had to accept that he, too, could make mistakes. And since even he could make mistakes, it was perfectly normal for others to do so. With this long-overdue self-reflection, Wei Yuzhi finally stopped being overly critical of everyone around him.

…

As Wen Zhiyi’s internship entered its second week, the work assigned to him began to get busy. As the only intern working on two major teams simultaneously, little Wen had become the walking source of gossip in the eyes of the other interns.

The group of young kids didn’t treat him as an outsider. They covertly added him to the interns’ small group and eagerly asked for gossip about Gu Yansheng’s team, while also digging up the dirt on the outwardly glamorous lawyers on Xie Lu’s team.

For example, Shi Xuning had been subtly making advances toward Li Zan, but the Alpha, who clearly did not want to turn over a new leaf, ignored him. One intern even caught sight of Li Zan smoking in the hallway in the evening, with Shi Xuning standing extremely close, handing him a lighter.

For example, Lawyer Su Xian, who had the lowest sense of presence, was actually the most reliable mentor, never assigning interns impossible tasks and always willing to answer questions.

For example, Li Zan’s secondary Weibo account occasionally posted about decadent bar hopping, and Wen Zhiyi was surprised that they had managed to dig up Li Zan’s secondary account.

One intern claimed they had found the account through a lawyer voting activity in Li Zan’s Moments and then analyzed the list of mutual followers to figure out which one was most likely Li Zan’s secondary account.

Wen Zhiyi thought for a moment and couldn’t think of anything worth sharing about Gu Yansheng’s team.

Of course, he wouldn’t discuss his past with Gu Yansheng. The lawyers on Gu Yansheng’s team seemed completely absorbed in their work, constantly drinking coffee at their desks. The only slightly amusing thing was his accidental discovery of a lawyer slacking off at their desk to study for the civil service exam.

So, the group chat’s topic shifted to employment issues for law students. Everyone unanimously turned into a wailing “Xianglin’s Wife,” lamenting over civil service exams, lawyer licensing, and legal affairs, no longer curious about Gu Yansheng.

Every intern who came to Zhongcheng Law Firm was most curious about Gu Yansheng’s team—

A senior partner who had recently joined the top red-circle firm, quickly building up the third-largest litigation team besides Lawyer Xie and Lawyer Li in an unbelievable amount of time, while his main job was being the youngest associate professor in the history of the university’s law school.

Inspirational, truly inspirational. The interns drank this bowl of inspirational chicken soup with tears in their eyes.

Wen Zhiyi exited the interns’ group chat, casually wiping the cat figurine on his desk. Thinking about whether Zhuangzhuang had adapted to the newly installed automatic feeder, he picked up his phone and opened the monitor view that came with the feeder.

The feeder was fully functional. Features like feeding and monitoring could be bound to multiple accounts. Not only could Wen Zhiyi observe Zhuangzhuang, but Wei Xingjiang could also remotely control the feeding. So, Wen Zhiyi placed it in a corner of the balcony to prevent Young Master Wei from seeing things he shouldn’t.

Squeezed in front of the camera were the cat’s chubby face and fluffy chest.

Wen Zhiyi held his phone, walked into the hallway, and quietly called the fat cat’s name a few times.

The fat cat, who was earnestly “performing a ritual” in front of the feeder, hoping for freeze-dried food, vigilantly backed up a few steps, its round, emerald eyes widening, showing a very human-like expression of surprise.

Wen Zhiyi slowly moved the camera up, gently coaxing: “Stinky cat, I’m… well, I’m Dad. Don’t you remember me?”

He was rather unskilled in calling himself this.

A message popped up from the other account bound to the feeder, with Wei Xingjiang using an ugly photo of Zhuangzhuang as his profile picture, correcting him: “I am. You’re not.”

Wei Xingjiang tapped his finger, and the feeder dispensed a small bowl of freeze-dried food. A kind father spoils his child; he couldn’t stand seeing the fat cat hungry.

Thus, the fat cat discovered a truth: as long as it bowed in front of this black contraption, it would get freeze-dried food. This action of raising its front paws to “worship” became its fixed ritual before every begging session.

However, it wasn’t the feeder that had a soft heart; it was Wei Xingjiang.

So, the bowing didn’t always work. At least Wen Zhiyi could be hard-hearted enough to put the fat cat on a diet.

Little Wen, standing in the hallway, didn’t notice Li Zan walking toward him, as he was smiling at the round cat on the monitor.

It wasn’t until the shadow of another person fell upon his phone screen that he belatedly looked up at the Alpha standing beside him. Even though Betas are usually not very sensitive to personal space, little Wen sensed the other party’s excessive closeness.

He frowned slightly, took a step back, and turned to leave expressionlessly.

Li Zan, who had a belly full of words he wanted to say, of course didn’t want to let him go easily. He subconsciously reached out to grab Wen Zhiyi’s wrist, but Wen Zhiyi cleanly shook him off by angling his body as he turned.

And it was in this split second of distance that Wen Zhiyi smelled a very familiar scent.

Li Zan was wearing pheromone perfume on the back of his neck.

He had used this product before, so he was sensitive enough to distinguish it by smell alone.

Under normal circumstances, the pheromones of Alphas and Omegas are impossible for Betas to smell, but pheromone perfumes, which simulate pheromones, can be smelled by all genders.

Why would an Alpha wear this kind of perfume?

The fleeting moment of confusion did not stir much turmoil in Wen Zhiyi’s heart.