The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: You Should Be a Very Important Person to Me

After Wen Zhiyi said that lightly, Wei Yuzhi, who was slightly tilted and resting his chin on his hand, still looked calm. He seemed to be thinking about how to reply. His long, firm fingers subconsciously trembled and tapped the solid wooden table, making a dull, brief, low sound.

He didn’t take the bait, and Wen Zhiyi was too lazy to continue talking. The driver in the front naturally couldn’t interrupt and remained focused on the road, looking completely out of it and minding his own business. Thus, the atmosphere in the car briefly fell silent.

Me and you.

Wei Yuzhi looked expressionlessly at his knuckles, which were slightly flushed from hitting the table, and repeated Wen Zhiyi’s words in his mind.

Not us, but me and you.

His understanding of Wen Zhiyi had already reached a depth that the latter himself couldn’t imagine. He knew that when Wen Zhiyi described a comfortable intimate relationship, he would often use a term with a sweetness and favoritism that even he hadn’t noticed—

Little Wen would accurately use words like “we” or “us” (zánmen).

For example, shortly after they got married, Little Wen would always excitedly hold up his phone to Wei Yuzhi and point to a colorful interface on a food app, saying, “When do you have time? How about we go eat this?”

It wasn’t until a week ago, when Little Wen sent Wei Yuzhi the divorce agreement, that he said, “We should divorce.”

“No room for negotiation?”

Wei Yuzhi asked calmly.

Wen Zhiyi firmly shook his head.

And then silence returned.

The car soon reached its destination. Before Wen Zhiyi got out, Wei Yuzhi finally agreed to sign the divorce agreement.

“Let’s have a meal together tomorrow, a farewell dinner.” The handsome Omega showed his partner a smile that was neither soft nor hard, and slowly suggested in a negotiating tone, “I can sign the papers after the meal. For you, this is a choice so simple it doesn’t require hesitation.”

Wen Zhiyi stood tall and straight outside the car in a patch of greenery. His straight, long lines stretched from his calves all the way to his slender waist. He looked like a character cut out from a film reel and then casually pasted into a summer poster, carrying a cool, refreshing feeling that was out of place with the environment.

Wei Yuzhi looked at him through the car window, maintaining his inscrutable smile as he continued, “Shanquan Residence—the one you were curious about before. We can go tomorrow. I think you’ll like the food there. Getting rid of me with just a meal, there’s nothing better than that, right?”

Something’s not quite right.

Wen Zhiyi returned Wei Yuzhi’s gaze, equally unreadable, thinking quietly to himself.

Can he finally get divorced?

At this juncture, barely a step away from freedom, facing Wei Yuzhi’s seductive, devilish whispers, even though he rationally held suspicions, Wen Zhiyi stared at the other person and slowly nodded.

Wei Yuzhi’s palm, resting on the table, slowly and imperceptibly tightened until his fingers clenched into a fist. He clearly saw a momentary relaxation at the corners of Wen Zhiyi’s pursed lips when he said the word “get rid of.”

It was an expression containing relief, confusion, and anticipation.

In fact, his interpretation was quite correct.

Regardless of what Wei Yuzhi was thinking, Wen Zhiyi, finally seeing the light of divorce, returned home quickly and joyfully, in a good mood, and began to unpack and assemble a series of pet supplies that had been delivered.

Zhuangzhuang, who had woken up from a nap, cautiously burrowed under the sofa with its round body, its emerald cat eyes staring at its new home, appearing both bewildered and curious.

Secret observation.jpg

Wen Zhiyi didn’t forcibly pull it out from under the sofa. Instead, he bent down, poured some cat food and water into the cat bowl, placed it where Zhuangzhuang could see it, and then busied himself assembling the litter box and cat tree.

The litter box delivered by the pet store was a closed small house with a swing-door design. When scooping, the roof could be removed for easy cleaning of the litter. The front door of the small house was similar to a flip-top trash can; the cat only needed to push the door open to enter.

The manually skilled Little Wen finished assembling the litter box and cat tree in about half an hour. To avoid obstructing daily movement, he chose to place these two rather large items in the living room near the balcony.

The finely packaged cat food cans, freeze-dried treats, and other items were placed in the storage room, where a cool, dry environment would facilitate their long-term storage.

By the time Wen Zhiyi finished tidying up these bits and pieces, it was around six in the evening. He took the dismantled plastic film, cardboard boxes, and other trash downstairs, throwing them respectively into the blue container for “recyclables” and the gray container for “other waste.”

He was completely unconcerned with his appearance, simply shuffling down in slippers to take out the trash, giving no thought to the possibility of running into an acquaintance.

Wen Zhiyi boredly watched the digital display next to the elevator and childishly held his breath, deciding to attempt a great breath-holding challenge from now until the elevator reached the first floor.

The number on the display quickly changed from “7” to “5.”

Great, the chance of success is high.

Little Wen silently calculated the time.

“5” → “4”

Unfortunately, good luck didn’t last. The elevator stopped on the fourth floor for a long moment. Wen Zhiyi clicked his tongue and chose to start over.

Doesn’t count this time.

Fortunately, it was smooth sailing afterward. The elevator reached the first floor without any further stops. With the cheerful chime of the elevator door opening, Wen Zhiyi gave a thumbs-up to his lung capacity.

The ability to breathe means good lungs, no need to compare with those Alphas.

The young Beta, dressed in a white T-shirt and long pants, was not hard on himself. He casually looked into the elevator and, realizing someone was inside, subconsciously stepped aside a little to allow the person to exit.

Wen Zhiyi’s mood was still light and pleasant until he clearly saw the face of the person in the elevator.

To be fair, the male Beta standing in the elevator and smiling warmly at Wen Zhiyi had a countenance that could be called pleasing to the eye—handsome features, tall with long legs. The straight legs encased in dress pants revealed clear muscle lines as he stepped out. The rolled-up shirt sleeves to the forearms neutralized his overly reserved demeanor.

Gu Yansheng slightly tilted his head, his thick, dark brows gently arching upwards. He smiled and greeted Little Wen, who was frozen in place, with a raised hand: “Good evening, Zhizhi.”

Wen Zhiyi expressionlessly looked at the gray progress bar next to Gu Yansheng, which was pulled to the top. Then he looked at the other person’s warm, sincere smile and mature, proper attire, and finally at the fluorescent green slippers on his own feet, unable to stop his mouth from twitching.

This reunion after five years could hardly be called beautiful. It was nothing like the grand, serious occasion Wen Zhiyi had imagined in the past. Little Wen, who was shuffling in slippers after just taking out the trash, had even worked up a slight sweat, awkwardly and silently staring blankly at the childhood friend he hadn’t seen in five years.

He wasn’t angry at all, let alone excited.

Wen Zhiyi, who five years ago would have tossed and turned for his first love who left without saying goodbye, was now neither overjoyed by the other person’s return nor angry or pained by the five years of silence.

He was just awkwardly looking down at his slippers, responding to Gu Yansheng’s greeting with a vague, perfunctory syllable: “…Good evening.”

Meeting again after five years, all Wen Zhiyi could feel was a vague sense of unfamiliarity and awkwardness. Over ten years of companionship in childhood and adolescence could not compensate for the five years of absence in young adulthood. The ages of 18 to 23 are the most complex and transformative five years in a person’s life. Moreover, human cells completely replace themselves every seven years. In other words, in just two more years, Gu Yansheng would see a completely different Little Wen.

Gu Yansheng quietly watched Wen Zhiyi, who was immersed in his own thoughts. The warm, sincere smile on his lips slowly disappeared. His dark, deep, and tranquil eyes meticulously read every trace of emotion on the other’s face.

Ah, a bit of a surprise.

He didn’t see any trace that could be associated with anger, disappointment, excitement, or joy.

Gu Yansheng’s smile finally vanished completely.

But the moment Wen Zhiyi looked over, the handsome Beta, playing the role of the childhood friend and big brother next door, put on a tender and concerned smile again. He lowered his voice as if slightly embarrassed, and said warmly and deeply to Wen Zhiyi:

“Long time no see, Zhizhi. I heard from your aunt and uncle that you are now pursuing a master’s in law at Jing University? If all goes as planned, I will officially start working at the Jing University Law School next week. I didn’t expect that after five years, we’d have the chance to see each other in the same school again.”

He seemed unaware that he still hadn’t explained his departure five years ago, wanting to casually and lightly gloss over it, yet he intentionally or unintentionally brought up five years ago again.

Wen Zhiyi tilted his head, slightly puzzled. He keenly but vaguely sensed the contradiction in Gu Yansheng’s words, like—

Like avoiding the wound you inflicted on someone else out of guilt, yet repeatedly and resentfully, maliciously tearing it open, absolutely unwilling to let the other person heal from it.

Wen Zhiyi couldn’t understand.

He couldn’t figure out what Gu Yansheng was thinking, and he was too lazy to try. So, he nodded at the other person somewhat confusedly: “Well, congratulations. Are you done talking? If not, I’m going home now.”

He gestured that he needed to go up, politely and tactfully urging the other person to quickly exit the elevator.

Gu Yansheng did not reply.

He maintained his gentle and elegant smile, watching Wen Zhiyi walk into the elevator, and then stood there watching the numbers on the elevator display jump up one by one.

He stood motionless for half an hour.

Until the sky finally turned completely dark, and the brilliant, silent sunset clouds, carrying the twilight, disappeared on the other side of the sky, as if sinking into the other side of the world. All that remained in this half of the sky was the night, with dim, twinkling evening stars silently hanging high above Gu Yansheng’s head.

He stared expressionlessly at the number 7 on the display, and after sensing the irresistible change in light, he slowly looked up at the night sky outside the glass door. Then, as if remembering something, he quickly walked to the trash sorting area and stood still, looking at the cardboard box that was neatly folded and thrown into the recyclables bin, and quietly said with deep eyes, “You got a cat.”

After returning home, Wen Zhiyi was not affected by the sudden appearance of Gu Yansheng for too long. While browsing the takeout platform, he casually pondered the meaning of the other person’s words, but this not-so-serious thought was soon thrown to the back of his mind.

Five years ago, he had already seriously, solemnly, and intently pondered Gu Yansheng’s words, and since he couldn’t figure anything out back then, there was no need to rethink it now.

After dinner, Wen Zhiyi checked the time, guessing that Wen Zhijie was once again working overtime—overtime is a regular practice for a start-up internet company. Even though Wen Zhijie himself was the founder of this small company, he couldn’t escape the fate of working overtime with everyone else.

After offering a silent candle for his brother’s hair, Wen Zhiyi took a shower and then curled up on the sofa with his laptop to write his thesis. He needed to submit a small paper for the Master’s and Doctoral Forum in the first semester of his second year of graduate school, and he had already finished the first draft, with only a few minor details needing revision.

He had just opened his laptop and connected to his phone’s hotspot when he saw a new message notification in his WeChat contacts.

Who would be adding him at this hour?

Wen Zhiyi clicked on the verification message with a slight surprise.

“Hello, sorry to bother you. I’ve been taking medication on and off for the past few years and have forgotten many things. Today, I finally remembered the password for my backup phone and saw this number in the memo. Although I don’t remember who you are, you should be a very important person to me. May I please add you back?”