The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Family Education

Wen Zhiyi had certainly looked closely at this face.

Countless days and nights over the past two years, every morning kiss, every evening embrace, every casual gaze… he had always looked closely at Wei Yuzhi.

Vision itself is an intimate, secret form of following and kissing. You can’t kiss someone’s lips regardless of the occasion, but you can follow them with your eyes at every moment, and a mutual gaze is a response.

Wei Yuzhi had learned to respond and give feedback. Active staring was necessary, but a gentle, subtle mutual gaze was equally important.

This was quite novel for Wen Zhiyi. Wei Yuzhi was the type of person who would naturally say, “I wanted to see you,” but not the type who would add, “and let you see me, too.”

What kind of person desires to be seen by their partner?

It is someone who constantly cares about their partner’s feedback of love, someone who fears and worries about whether they are basking in that affection. And what did such a person have to do with Wei Yuzhi?

Snow grains, mixed with cold wind, scattered wildly everywhere. Wei Yuzhi tried his best to maintain his composure, standing straight before Wen Zhiyi. He was very tall; the snow grains couldn’t cross over him to blow onto Wen Zhiyi, so they gradually accumulated on his shoulders, the crown of his hair, and the depression between the bridge of his nose and his brow bone.

He slightly raised his hand to brush the snow from his hair, then continued in a calm, open manner: “I shouldn’t have affected your mood?”

“You said not to bother you; I remember everything,” Wei Yuzhi’s subsequent words made Wen Zhiyi feel so unfamiliar that he was somewhat at a loss. “An accidental encounter is indeed not something I can control.”

An accidental encounter?

Wen Zhiyi, skeptical, carefully observed the tall Omega with the relaxed expression in front of him. He saw that the other was standing with a straight back and good posture, truly Wei Yuzhi’s characteristic solemn and aloof demeanor. But if he looked closer, he could spot a faint, deeply hidden tiredness and fatigue.

Given Wei Yuzhi’s physical condition, this was extremely rare.

“If it was an accidental encounter, then exchanging greetings is enough,” Wen Zhiyi suppressed the urge to probe further, tilting his head slightly to give Wei Yuzhi a polite, restrained smile. “Now that greetings have been exchanged, we can part ways here.”

“…” Wei Yuzhi’s calm expression cracked for a moment. He seemed to faintly grasp something and yet dared not confirm it, so with an urgency and shock that was plain to see, he instinctively moved closer to Wen Zhiyi, reaching out uncontrollably to grip the other’s beautifully defined shoulder.

Lin Chang, who also noticed the anomaly, abruptly turned to look at Wen Zhiyi. He couldn’t maintain his usual calm and composure.

Only Wei Xingjiang, who had been mercilessly shoved away by Wei Yuzhi, was confused, subconsciously frowning at Wen Zhiyi while glancing at the seemingly facing-a-great-enemy Lin Chang.

The person who had unconsciously emitted a signal of softness was far less perceptive about it than others.

“What if it wasn’t accidental?” The clearly protruding Adam’s apple beneath the high collar of the shell jacket bobbed slightly. Wei Yuzhi stared fixedly at Wen Zhiyi’s expression, as if afraid of startling a bird that had finally consented to approach and fold its wings. “Are you willing to…”

“I’m not willing.” Wen Zhiyi interrupted his question, not waiting for him to finish speaking.

The person unconsciously releasing a signal now had to consciously retrieve it.

“I’m not willing,” Wen Zhiyi repeated, his expression quite gentle. The crack that had flashed abruptly, like a faint light in the dark night, did not open further. On the contrary, it stingily closed up. “No matter what it is, I’m not willing.”

So now, we can part ways.

Wei Xingjiang let out a long sigh of relief.

He even broke into a smile.

He laughed openly, completely disregarding Wei Yuzhi’s suddenly sinking expression. Lin Chang, who had been holding his breath, also imperceptibly relaxed.

Although Wei Yuzhi was, to a large extent, a formidable figure over everyone in the Wei family, Wei Xingjiang actually ignored this fact at the moment, gloating and rubbing it in. He was too young; once he believed his love rival was completely out of the picture, he couldn’t wait to show off.

“Since Little Wen Gege says he’s not willing, Cousin, let’s part ways here,” Wei Xingjiang slowly began, staring at Wei Yuzhi’s deep, cold, and hard-to-read expression, daring to stick his neck out. “Anyway, you two are already…”

Anyway, you two are already divorced.

He did not manage to finish the sentence.

The punch that suddenly landed on Wei Xingjiang’s face was so powerful that it snapped his head sideways, forcing his entire body to quickly step backward to absorb the remaining force. An unignorable bruise immediately swelled on his handsome young cheek. A pain as sharp as burning liquor seared from his face all the way to his brain. Having basically never suffered such a loss growing up, he instinctively prepared to strike back.

He was desperately held back from behind by Lin Chang. His swinging fist stopped mere centimeters from the tip of Wei Yuzhi’s nose.

Wei Yuzhi made no move to dodge. He maintained a deep, cold, and composed expression, looking down condescendingly at his young cousin. At the same time, he casually pulled off his outermost glove, stepping on the layer of material that had just touched Wei Xingjiang’s cheek. He curved his lips into an aloof, unhurried smile, grinding the young master’s “face” under his foot.

“Are you acting out with me?” Wei Yuzhi’s cold, hard voice reached Wei Xingjiang’s ears, like a heavy hammer radiating icy chill suddenly dropping. “Go back and stop classes for a few weeks. Use that time to reflect on yourself.”

“Stopping classes” was a very subtle term within the Wei family. This punishment was mainly aimed at the younger generation still in school, essentially being solitary confinement and corporal punishment. Several generations of young people in the Wei family had endured this hardship, and to this day, there hadn’t been a single perfectly well-behaved honors student who had completely avoided it.

No matter their gender, people in the Wei family were quite rebellious in their youth. Even Betas, renowned for their stability and reliability, would do something earth-shattering when they married into the Wei family.

One could only say that the strict punishment system compensated for the deficiency in gentle home discipline.

Wei Yuzhi never looked at Lin Chang during the whole ordeal. Dealing with Lin Chang would be simple, but Lin Chang was an important founder of Wen Zhijie’s company. During the company’s IPO phase, he would temporarily suppress his feelings.

Dealing with Wei Xingjiang was even simpler. Being from the same family, Wei Yuzhi’s correction was purely out of a cousin’s responsibility.

Wei Yuzhi had acted so harmlessly in front of Wen Zhiyi that Wei Xingjiang forgot what kind of person he truly was. The relationship between him and Wei Xingjiang was cousin to cousin, one where Wei Xingjiang’s own father had to tread carefully around him. As for the love-rival relationship—Wei Yuzhi would only take him seriously when he truly possessed the strength to stand against him.

Wei Yuzhi could certainly endure being rejected by Wen Zhiyi countless times. He could accept everything that came from Wen Zhiyi, but what did that have to do with anyone else?

However—

His ruthless expression suddenly softened for a moment.

However, shouldn’t he appear less unfeeling? At least in front of Wen Zhiyi, he should act gentler and more reasonable. He had to let Wen Zhiyi know that he had acquired empathy, and this empathy was for everyone, not just Wen Zhiyi, so Wen Zhiyi would feel more reassured.

He really had changed.

Wei Yuzhi’s deeply set brow bone suddenly furrowed for an instant, then quickly relaxed. The shadows, unevenly distributed due to his profoundly defined facial structure, also shifted for a moment. This cold, indifferent face showed an expression that could be called gentle.

He subtly bit his back teeth hard, then looked at Wei Xingjiang again, having recovered his composure: “…Your weekend tutoring classes can continue. …Apply an ice pack when you get back.”

Because someone still needs to do tutoring to earn money.

Wen Zhiyi understood the intention behind Wei Yuzhi’s change in disposition, laughed speechlessly, and for a moment, felt complicated about the stiff, supplementary final sentence.

He knew what that sentence meant.

A person who has truly learned empathy would never just empathize with one person, nor could they only possess sympathy for one person. Their healthy, normal, and positive emotional processing ability should be directed towards everyone.

Wei Yuzhi clearly hadn’t learned this yet, and he didn’t hide the fact. Instead, he honestly showed Wen Zhiyi—I am learning, I am trying. I want you to see that I am changing.

This supplementary sentence of “concern” from Wei Yuzhi simultaneously disgusted two people: himself and the person being “concerned” for, Wei Xingjiang.

Wei Xingjiang was grateful that he hadn’t eaten much along the way, otherwise, he likely would have struggled to hold back from vomiting.

That punch completely jolted him awake. He silently began to strategize for the future—as for forever submitting beneath Wei Yuzhi, he genuinely hadn’t considered that.