The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Miserable State

A week after the Yunnan trip, Wen Zhiyi came to tutor Wei Xingjiang for the first time.

He came alone, of course. Gu Yansheng’s warning, after a brief thought, was suppressed deep in his heart, like placing a small, heavy stone that wasn’t overly burdensome but continuously weighed him down.

This heavy weight ultimately prompted him to come to the Wei family again.

Assistant Fang, who drove to pick up Wen Zhiyi, did not initiate conversation this time. The silence persisted until they stopped at a traffic light. Seeing no sign of the traffic moving anytime soon, he covertly glanced at the young Beta in the back seat via the rearview mirror. He gently tapped the steering wheel a few times with the wrist wearing a modest watch, finally breaking the silence as if unintentionally:

“How was your last week, Mr. Little Wen? When you’re young, you should travel around so you don’t regret not being able to when you’re older.”

Wen Zhiyi, who was looking down at his phone, slightly raised his eyes when addressed, meeting Assistant Fang’s gaze in the front. He casually scrolled through the message on his screen, briefly glancing at it before looking away.

It was from Gu Yansheng.

The gist of the message was that if Wen Zhiyi didn’t want to see him, he could arrange a few people to be around Little Wen. Once the turmoil passed, he would call them back, guaranteeing no disruption to Wen Zhiyi’s daily life.

Wen Zhiyi’s mind was still lingering on this message that foretold trouble. He frowned, responding to Assistant Fang absentmindedly: “…Yes, opportunities to take a lot of time off are indeed rare, so I simply made up my mind and left immediately.”

Assistant Fang, who received this non-committal answer, was momentarily at a loss for a reply. He simply chose to be frank: “Young Master Wei has been suspended from classes by Mr. Wei since returning from Yunnan. You should be the only living person he has seen recently. The Wei family has always been strict with Alphas, and physical punishment is common. Mr. Little Wen should be prepared not to be startled when he sees him later.”

Wen Zhiyi slightly raised an eyebrow, his attention finally focusing on the conversation with Assistant Fang: “Are you saying his condition might not be very good right now?”

“To be precise, it’s very bad,” Assistant Fang readily admitted. “You should be able to tell that Young Master Wei has some emotional issues and can sometimes be stubborn. He had a very serious conflict with Mr. Wei this time. Given Young Master Wei’s grade, Mr. Wei stopped laying hands on him a long time ago. It just so happens that a few bodyguards introduced by the Feng family used to be in special forces, so this time, he simply let them do the job.”

He caught the fleeting look of seriousness and confusion on Wen Zhiyi’s face. After a slight pause, he explained: “Miss Feng Yun, you’ve met her. She was also a talent introduced by the Feng family. After serving as Mr. Wei’s secretary for a few years, she transitioned to Young Master Wei’s tutor.”

Assistant Fang spoke vaguely, but Wen Zhiyi already understood the implication. Feng Yun—this beautiful, highly educated Omega—was likely the Feng family’s means of sexual bribery to Wei Zhao. She became the link connecting the Feng family and Wei Zhao, acting as a white glove in countless shady-turned-legitimate dealings.

His heart sank a little further.

In this restrained, silent atmosphere, Assistant Fang’s narration continued. The Beta, who appeared mature and steady on the outside, did not continue to focus on Wen Zhiyi but directed his gaze towards the deciduous trees by the roadside, whose leaves were beginning to yellow. His tone was calm:

“To be frank, Mr. Little Wen, what are your thoughts? For someone emotionally unstable like Young Master Wei, even being liked by him must be quite exhausting, right? Furthermore, being involved in the internal affairs of the Wei family will only bring you trouble. Has your view on this job changed now?”

Wen Zhiyi gripped his phone. For the sake of Zhuang Zhuang resting well after his surgery, he hadn’t brought the cat carrier this time, but now he thought it might have been better to bring the fat cat.

He seriously corrected Assistant Fang: “The ‘being liked’ you mentioned is just a misunderstanding. The reason Wei Xingjiang and I get along well is simply that we are both normal people, so it’s not a matter of being exhausting or not.”

Wei Xingjiang was, after all, only eighteen and shouldn’t be saddled with the title of “liking his tutor.” Perhaps in these elite circles, this was not a big deal, but Wen Zhiyi refused to accept it.

He continued: “I am merely a family tutor, far from being involved in the internal affairs of the Wei family. You want to know my opinion? My opinion is that if you truly care about Wei Xingjiang, get me a first-aid kit. That would be much more useful than probing what I think about him here.”

In the end, Wen Zhiyi successfully entered the backyard of the Wei family villa carrying a first-aid kit.

Assistant Fang, after making a phone call, retrieving the kit from his subordinate, and handing it to Little Wen, said no more.

He knew Wen Zhiyi was right. In this situation, what was the point of caring about Wen Zhiyi’s attitude toward Wei Xingjiang? The urgent matter was how to ease the relationship between Wei Zhao and Wei Xingjiang, and how to help Wei Xingjiang escape his current passive predicament.

He watched Wen Zhiyi carrying the first-aid kit. After several attempts to speak, he merely nodded.

This was Wen Zhiyi’s first time stepping into the backyard of the villa. A secluded small path connected the back door to another detached villa. When he and Wei Xingjiang made their quick escape last time, he hadn’t noticed this path.

The villa, or rather, the manor, where Wei Zhao lived was not the Wei family’s traditional ancestral home but merely the residence of Wei Zhao and Wang Han. It was impossible for Wei Yuzhi to have lived here. Wei Yuzhi’s childhood courtyard house was not in this area, and after he grew up, he, like Wei Zhao and everyone in the Wei family, moved out of that courtyard house to seek his own place.

Wei Xingjiang also started frequenting the motorcycle club in his teens and would absolutely refuse to return to live here unless necessary.

This was a very interesting phenomenon. Everyone in the Wei family always wanted to run away. Once they gained the ability to leave, they did so without looking back. No one wanted to live in the traditionally defined “home,” as if it were not a luxurious, warm house but the bloody maw of a man-eating beast.

The path was short. Wen Zhiyi reached the end in just five minutes.

The guards standing outside the villa maintained a strict yet scattered formation at the four cardinal directions. Any internal personnel appearing at an exit would be instantly locked onto. Wen Zhiyi even noticed the standard issue holsters exposed on their waists when they moved, stamped with a series of non-consecutive numbers, seemingly a type of code.

It seems Wei Xingjiang’s situation is more serious than he imagined. What did he do to provoke Wei Zhao to this extent?

Wen Zhiyi frowned deeply, his hand gripping the first-aid kit feeling cold.

The guards at the main entrance were two tall, armed Alphas with stern, proper looks. They had been coldly staring at Wen Zhiyi since he appeared at the other end of the path. In fact, professionally trained Alphas could visually recognize moving objects from a kilometer away.

One of the Alphas sharply raised his hand to signal Wen Zhiyi to stop, then lowered his gaze to scan the first-aid kit in Little Wen’s hand, briefly pausing before allowing him to proceed.

The villa hall was dark.

All the curtains were tightly drawn. It was a scorching afternoon, yet it felt like a pitch-black midnight.

Wen Zhiyi thought for a moment, fumbling for and switching on the living room chandelier. He only pressed one row of switches in his haste, so only half of the minimalist hall lit up, just enough to illuminate the solid wood staircase leading to the second floor.

No sign of anyone.

Wen Zhiyi, carrying the first-aid kit, sighed on the stairs. He held the smooth wooden railing and reached the second floor. The corridor before him had eight rooms, with only one door slightly ajar.

Wen Zhiyi inappropriately thought of horror movies he had seen. He took a steady deep breath, his palms slightly sweating, his heartbeat quickening. He pushed open the only door that was open without much hesitation; waiting was more frightening than fear itself.

The room was also dimly lit, but Wei Xingjiang was indeed inside.

He didn’t look entirely conscious, sitting on the edge of the bed with his head bowed. Strands of his messy hair fell slightly over his brow. This should have looked unkempt and desperate, but his face made it look like a carefully styled haircut.

Upon noticing someone entering the room, he slowly raised his eyes to observe the newcomer. Realizing it was Wen Zhiyi, he let out a soft “Ah” and quietly said, “Why did you come?”

Wen Zhiyi sat down next to him and asked, “Are you alright?”

Wei Xingjiang forced a smile: “Of course. Don’t I look perfectly fine? You even brought a first-aid kit?”

“Yes. Assistant Fang said you were severely punished.” Little Wen patted his shoulder but felt a burning sensation on the bare skin. The firm, taut muscle beneath his palm trembled very slightly the moment he touched it.

Wei Xingjiang scoffed, feigning disdain: “They weren’t much better off than me. There are currently sixteen people outside. Initially, there were twenty-four.”

…Wen Zhiyi didn’t know what to say.

“Alright, put the first-aid kit here. As for you, pack up and leave quickly.” Wei Xingjiang held Wen Zhiyi’s hand, a very simple action. Their hands were interlocked without any further movement. Wen Zhiyi was rarely held so simply, without the ambiguity of gently moving fingertips or the lingering touch of palm against palm. Wei Xingjiang was determined to hold his hand for only two minutes.

He waited quietly for a moment, then calmly said: “Go turn on the light.”

Wei Xingjiang stiffened for an instant, stubbornly retorting: “What, you missed me so much after a week?”

Wen Zhiyi patted his shoulder, silently urging him.

Little Wei reluctantly got up to turn on the light.

His vision could make out Wen Zhiyi in the dim light, but Wen Zhiyi could not. Now that the light was on, Wen Zhiyi saw that he was only wearing a pair of loose trousers. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, naked from the waist up and slightly hunched.

Wei Xingjiang was a standard S-class Alpha. The muscle lines from his shoulders to his arms were naturally smooth and defined. Even sitting casually hunched over, his abdomen showed clearly defined muscle blocks. Although only recently an adult, his body already showed powerful potential for explosiveness.

His entire upper body was covered in horrifying bruises. The shoulder Wen Zhiyi had touched had a dark, purplish-black contusion. When he turned around, Wen Zhiyi gasped sharply. Dense, shocking scars were scattered across the young Alpha’s broad, firm back. What truly concerned Wen Zhiyi was Wei Xingjiang’s empty nape.

Wei Xingjiang touched the back of his neck, explaining: “I took an inhibitor. Otherwise, if I released my pheromones, all those people would collapse.”

Of course. Pheromone suppression between Alphas was an instinct ingrained in their genes.

He turned back to look into Wen Zhiyi’s eyes, saying softly: “You really didn’t have to come. I would have been able to come out and find you in a few more days.”

He was currently running a high fever. The side effects of the forcibly injected inhibitor were obvious. His body was alternating between hot and cold, his head hurt badly, and he felt weak all over. After forcing himself to act fine for so long, the moment he saw Wen Zhiyi, his softly unfolding heart suddenly relaxed. He sat back down next to the other person, his voice hoarse as if he had a cold.

Wen Zhiyi no longer cared what Wei Xingjiang had done to be treated this way. The matter, to him, was simple: pure violence. Whatever Wei Xingjiang had done was insufficient as a justification for Wei Zhao.

He was angry about it, and he felt powerless because of it.

He firmly believed that caring for, guiding, and cherishing a young soul was what an elder should do.

But currently, there was no such environment here.

Through Wei Xingjiang, he once again gained a deeper understanding of the place where Wei Yuzhi once lived.