The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Damp, Ghostly Man Stares at You Constantly

Along with this verification message came countless fragments of memories Wen Zhiyi thought he had forgotten—a warm overcoat that once wrapped around him, closely intertwined fingers secretly held on the roadside, the breeze blowing across his cheek in the summer night under the tree shade…

…and the gaze from Chen Que, which was always soft and fixed on him in the dim light of the night.

Wen Zhiyi, having been stared at for a long time, was no longer shy. Instead, he boldly wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, looked up, and smiled at Chen Que, asking, “Why are you always staring at me?”

At that time, Chen Que was studying Sculpture at the National Academy of Fine Arts next to Jing University. He himself was perfectly handsome and tall, like a sculpture. He was the focus of attention wherever he went, and his reputation as a “Highland Flower” spread from the Academy of Fine Arts all the way to Jing University. Even Little Wen, who had just enrolled, knew there was an ice-cold Alpha next door.

The taciturn Chen Que still didn’t talk much after falling in love, but he always responded to every request and question from Little Wen. No matter how fanciful or childish Wen Zhiyi’s nonsense was, Chen Que would patiently and seriously reply to every single word.

So, when Little Wen asked him why he was always staring at himself, the handsome, tall Alpha opened a pair of black, cavernous eyes and seriously said that he couldn’t control his eyes; they automatically tracked Wen Zhiyi.

Chen Que, calmly speaking words of affection, had an expression that was both soft and cold. This highly contrasting, contradictory look made the pale Alpha in the darkness appear damp and aloof, as if he had just emerged from a lake, dripping with water. His black eyes, reflecting the faint light from the window, shimmered like gems dug out of mud—smooth, damp, and brilliant.

On this sultry summer night, two years after their breakup, all the memories that surged when Wen Zhiyi thought of Chen Que ultimately settled on that pair of black, cavernous eyes.

The handsome Alpha who once said he couldn’t stop looking at Little Wen had broken up with him two years ago without warning, no reason given, no softness shown, leaving Wen Zhiyi alone and stunned.

Wen Zhiyi looked expressionlessly at the verification message on his phone screen, extinguished the screen with an unidentifiable emotion, and calmly and rationally realized that he no longer had the impulse to uncover the truth.

He was no longer obsessed with the reason he never got two years ago.

The black-screened phone suddenly lit up again. Chen Que sent another verification message.

“I’m sorry, I still haven’t remembered.”

“Could you give me a hint?”

Seemingly sensing that Wen Zhiyi had no intention of accepting the friend request, the other side stopped sending continuous verification messages and instead started persistently sending messages one after another via text message.

Chen Que sent an image.

A long, strong, pale hand with bulging veins neatly held a brown leather notebook. In the middle of the open, blank page was a string of messy, hurried numbers. Beside this string of numbers was a blurry portrait.

The portrait was only palm-sized but very expressive. One could vaguely make out a short-haired male figure. The body and facial contours were very rough, but only a pair of lacquer-like, delicate, and soft eyes were finely depicted.

All the strokes other than those for the eyes were rigid and straight like blades, resembling a cold stone statue carved out by a knife and an axe rather than a pencil sketch.

“I thought for a long time, but this is all I could recall. I guess this must be you.”

“I must have drawn countless portraits of you, not just these eyes.”

“Can I remember you? Please.”

The continuous text messages made Wen Zhiyi’s phone vibrate non-stop. He simply blocked the number directly and then seamlessly deleted all the messages the sender had sent.

However, after only one minute, AliPay started popping up messages again—

You have received a transfer from an unknown sender. Amount: XXXXXX Yuan. Time: XXXX Year, August 17, 21:08. Please log in to AliPay for details.

Transfer Memo: Chen Que

Wen Zhiyi gasped at the string of zeros, and after checking them one by one, he was certain that the other party had some kind of problem.

He was so irritated by his returning ex that he couldn’t bear to look at the half-revised thesis anymore. He frowned impatiently at the densely packed Song Ti font size 4 words on the computer screen; the characters seemed to spread and crawl like restless ants in his distracted eyes.

His pale, slender fingers subconsciously touched the phone again. The screen, glowing with a faint, cold light, finally stopped at the WeChat interface. After a boundless period of contemplation, Wen Zhiyi decided to accept the friend request to thoroughly resolve this Alpha who was giving him a headache.

“You know who I am.”

“You recognized me immediately.”

“You still remember me, and you’re still willing to remember me.”

Almost the instant he was accepted, Chen Que sent three messages consecutively. Before Wen Zhiyi could react, the other side started initiating call requests, and when refused, sent video requests. In less than a minute, the chat interface was already filled with Chen Que’s unilateral messages and communication requests.

It was like a heavy, stagnant mountain suddenly pressing down, or cold, sticky pool water quietly rising. Sitting in the air-conditioned room, Wen Zhiyi felt the suffocating, humid heat again. He inevitably recalled Chen Que’s gaze that had always been fixed on him—

Soft and cold, like strands of hair tangled on his fingers that were difficult to brush away.

Wen Zhiyi took a deep breath, forcing himself not to think about anything related to two years ago. Maintaining a calm and indifferent mindset, he sent the first sentence to the other side:

“Get to the point if you have something to say. Finish speaking and then disappear. Don’t bother me again.”

He didn’t ask Chen Que what illness he had or what medicine he was taking, nor did he ask what kind of medication would cause memory confusion. His only concern was whether the other party could stop bothering him.

He had been so depleted that he didn’t have much sympathy left to give anyone else.

This is a somewhat regrettable fact.

Wen Zhiyi thought calmly.

The chat interface showed “The other person is typing…”

A few seconds later, it changed to “The other person is speaking.”

The minute hand slowly and firmly moved around twice. Just as Wen Zhiyi’s patience was about to run out, Chen Que finally sent a voice message.

Even though he couldn’t see the other person’s actions or expression through the screen, the moment he clicked on the voice message, Wen Zhiyi somehow felt that the other person was trembling.

He heard Chen Que’s voice—

Like submerged ice blocks colliding in the Arctic Ocean, conveying a hard and cold texture. These giant fragments of ice seemed like they would plunge into the cold depths the next second, yet they persistently floated on the water, gradually becoming fragmented in their entangled collision with each other.

He heard intermittent sobs, hidden deeply.

He heard that Chen Que had to pause briefly after every phrase to hide these broken, vulnerable sounds, yet quickly spoke again, afraid the pause would be too long.

He heard Chen Que say—

“I’m sorry, Zhizhi, I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Zhizhi… I remember you’re called Zhizhi, right? You’re mine, you’re my Zhizhi, you’re mine, you’re mine… and I am yours, too.”

When he said the last sentence, Chen Que’s voice suddenly became soft.