The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Nesting

What should he do about Gu Yansheng?

Wei Yuzhi was currently facing this problem. One moment, he wished he could personally kill the Beta; the next, he hesitated, considering Wen Zhiyi’s relationship with the man. Wen Zhiyi had treated Gu Yansheng as a friend for over a decade, so what could he possibly do to Gu Yansheng?

Even though Gu Yansheng had ambushed him, even though Gu Yansheng had betrayed him, before making any decision, Wei Yuzhi first had to consider that the man was Wen Zhiyi’s childhood friend of over ten years.

It had been countless years since he had experienced this feeling of internal combustion—anger, anxiety, pain, and jealousy—all at once. On one hand, he had to swallow his pride and resentment; on the other, the fire of jealousy raged due to Wen Zhiyi’s care for Gu Yansheng. And beneath all these intense, unbearable emotions, lay bottomless sorrow and sadness.

The tearing of the scent gland was excruciating. The persistent high fever and wound infection were painful. The divorce from Wen Zhiyi also hurt immensely. He had a premonition that his nesting period had arrived as well; his vigorously pulsing scent gland felt like it was melting, struggling to release pheromones.

Unsurprisingly, CEO Wei, who was in such a terrible state, became irritable again.

He patiently chose his words, sending Wen Zhiyi a dinner invitation. After being rejected, he cautiously asked if Wen Zhiyi didn’t want to eat with him today, or if he never wanted to eat with him again.

If Wen Zhiyi didn’t want to eat with him, could he have the Wei family’s chef send dinner to Wen Zhiyi in the future? He knew Wen Zhiyi sometimes got too lazy to eat, a detail that had troubled him immensely from the times he accompanied Wen Zhiyi during internships in other cities.

How could Wen Zhiyi, who needed someone to supervise his meals, leave him?

Wei Yuzhi sighed.

He thought of having to pick up the divorce certificate.

This was certainly not a task He Xin could handle. Even though Wei Yuzhi had been feverish and muddle-headed for several consecutive days, he had to personally obtain the divorce certificate.

It was an essential document for future remarriage. If it were lost, he would have to reapply, and Wei Yuzhi absolutely did not want to go through the process again.

There was still a pile of clothes Wen Zhiyi hadn’t taken when he left the second-floor bedroom of the Foothills Villa. Normally, housekeeping would clean these items regularly, but Wei Yuzhi had long forbidden anyone from stepping into that bedroom.

Perhaps a faint trace of Wen Zhiyi’s scent still lingered.

Wei Yuzhi, who was already lying in his apartment bed, suddenly sat up. It was ten o’clock at night. The drive to the Foothills Villa was only about half an hour. Wu Cheng had long since left work, so he had no choice but to drive himself.

The twenty-seven-year-old Wei Yuzhi rarely felt an excitement that was nearly low-grade, thrilling, and clandestine. He briefly questioned whether his actions were too inappropriate or shameful, but once the thought arose, it became the only bright lighthouse on the sea surface. After a few seconds of hesitation, he grabbed his keys and went downstairs.

Logically, Wei Yuzhi should be staying in the Foothills Villa, which was clustered with medical staff, rather than the modestly equipped apartment complex. However, he truly could only sleep soundly here. Insomnia seemed not to disappear, only to transfer from one person to another.

On the drive back to the villa, Wei Yuzhi was in an internal conflict.

He wasn’t agonizing over whether or not to use Wen Zhiyi’s clothes for nesting, but rather—which clothes to use for nesting. He remembered that all the clothes Wen Zhiyi left at the villa were coats, down jackets, sweaters, jackets, and shirts… but… there were also intimate garments.

Like underwear and socks.

Oh, and thermal underwear.

Wen Zhiyi was very sensitive to cold. In winter, he absolutely had to wear long thermal underwear, otherwise, his knees would always be cold. At night, after getting into bed, he would deliberately use his knees to ice Wei Yuzhi’s thigh. Wei Yuzhi, who constantly worked out, preferred to sleep naked even in winter. After being stripped a few times, Wen Zhiyi simply gave up resisting and successfully contracted the habit.

Little Wen only relented and agreed to let Wei Yuzhi drive him to and from work every day when he became too cold to bear it, thus saying goodbye to thermal underwear.

CEO Wei, who broke into his own villa late at night, was met with the vigilance of the security staff. He honked the horn expressionlessly. The suddenly illuminated headlights revealed the handsome, cold face of the Omega in the driver’s seat. He frowned silently, too tired to speak a single word.

After being swiftly cleared, Wei Yuzhi went straight up to the second-floor bedroom. He remembered a huge wedding photo by the bedside, which was tacky but conspicuous. Wen Zhiyi had often complained about his aesthetics because of it.

To be honest, he had considered turning it into a life-sized standee for the villa’s collection room.

There was also a large pile of clothes in the walk-in closet, but they were all unopened, so they couldn’t possibly carry Wen Zhiyi’s scent.

Wen Zhiyi’s scent—What was it like?

Wei Yuzhi, whose hands slightly trembled as he flipped through the underwear drawer, recalled it briefly. He had kissed that smooth, thin skin countless times, held his breath and buried his face in the back of the other’s neck countless times, and smelled that gland with craving and urgency countless times. Yet now, it felt like a million years ago, and it was truly difficult to recall.

Peppermint candy.

Light, cold, and sweet.

Under the combined effect of a sudden surge of self-loathing and his last thread of reserve, Wei Yuzhi slowly stared at the underwear box he had retrieved. His expression tended infinitely toward coldness and depth, enough to stop a child from crying at night.

This sharply defined, clean-cut face, which looked as if carved by a knife, was faintly flushed due to the high fever that wouldn’t abate.

He cleared his throat solemnly a few times.

Why didn’t Wen Zhiyi throw these clothes away when he packed his luggage?

It must be because he knew my nesting period was approaching.

Since these clothes were left here, since nesting was an unstoppable instinct, and since Wen Zhiyi was familiar with his nesting dates, then this was perfectly logical.

It was clear that Wei Yuzhi was indeed confused by the high fever and the nesting period; he was actually finding reasons for his actions, completely unaware that he generally didn’t need a reason for anything he did.

None of the bags in the villa were useful for practicality; none could hold all the clothes. Wei Yuzhi thought for a moment and decided to use a bed sheet to bundle them up and transport them.

A perfect plan.

Thus, CEO Wei, carrying a large bundle of clothes on his back and supported by a cane, ran into Wen Zhiyi, who was taking a late-night walk because he couldn’t sleep, downstairs at the apartment building.

Wen Zhiyi didn’t know what expression to make, so he remained silent.

He scratched his head.

After a moment of silence, he scratched his head again.

“You live here too? That’s quite a coincidence,” Wen Zhiyi controlled his gaze, trying not to look at his ex-husband too much.

Wei Yuzhi frowned extremely slowly.

He looked at Wen Zhiyi and said very candidly: “It’s not a coincidence. Because you are here, I am also living here.”

Immediately afterward, he tried his best to maintain a composed demeanor, raised his hand to look at his wristwatch, and countered very naturally: “It’s nearly 11:30 PM. Why are you still downstairs?”

No.

This tone is wrong.

Realizing this, Wei Yuzhi immediately softened his tone and repeated: “I remember you usually go to bed at 11:30 PM, but now—now you’re still downstairs. Can’t sleep? Did something unexpected happen at the forum today, or is there another situation?”

Wen Zhiyi found it hard to say that he was a little excited about his first divorce and had come downstairs for a walk because he couldn’t sleep.

“…If you don’t want to answer that question, how about the other one?” Wei Yuzhi adjusted his posture, attempting to conceal the large bundle of clothes behind him. “Those documents, have you read them?”

The documents about his past, his weaknesses, his inner self.

When asked this question, Wen Zhiyi subtly raised an eyebrow. Another question he didn’t want to answer.

He pointed at Wei Yuzhi’s cane: “I have the right to ask questions too. What is that pile of stuff you’re carrying that has you turning yourself into this at night?”

It’s utterly unsightly.

When had Wei Yuzhi ever been like this in front of him?

Wei Yuzhi, who was once flawless and thought highly of himself, being reduced to this state genuinely made Wen Zhiyi feel at a loss. His psychological reaction was certainly not one of schadenfreude, but a very strange and rare astonishment. An impeccable Wei Yuzhi would have made him leave without hesitation; a Wei Yuzhi relying on a cane awkwardly annoyed him.

He really is a trouble magnet.

Wen Zhiyi clicked his tongue, thinking he really should just turn around and leave.

He swore he was genuinely thinking that, but—

But something very familiar fell onto the ground behind Wei Yuzhi.

He stared silently for a moment, recognizing it as his shirt.

“You saw it—my nesting period has arrived, Wen Zhiyi.”

He heard Wei Yuzhi’s voice come from above his head, like a kind of cold, heavy colloid, slow and undeniable. He strangely heard suppressed excitement in it, like the saliva drooling excitedly from a beast’s open jaws, dripping onto Wen Zhiyi’s shoulder.

Wei Yuzhi was slightly less than half a head taller than Wen Zhiyi. When the latter looked down at the shirt on the ground, this height difference became especially noticeable.

From the most minute expressions to the most obvious body language, Wei Yuzhi stared at all of Wen Zhiyi’s reactions. He was slightly hazy from the fever. After confessing to Wen Zhiyi word by word, he slowly revealed a smile, trying his best to sound understated: “Just like before, I need you, and I need your scent, but I couldn’t disturb you.”

Nesting period… Wen Zhiyi silently calculated. It really is around this time.

He subconsciously tilted his head and frowned, sniffing the air with a hint of disbelief: “Are you lying to me? Not a single pheromone has leaked out.”

Like an Alpha’s rut, an Omega’s nesting period would release a large amount of pheromones, so dense that a Beta could smell them even through a scent gland patch. Since Betas are not affected by pheromones, Wei Yuzhi never suppressed his pheromones during his nesting period. Wen Zhiyi would be saturated with them every time, to the point where he would be suspected of being an Omega when walking outside.

Wei Yuzhi’s smile slowly stiffened. He seemed to be thinking about how to explain.

Finally, his conclusion was to be honest.

He slowly bent down, lowered his head, and exposed the back of his neck to Wen Zhiyi. Then, Wen Zhiyi heard him point to his scent gland and say: “I’m not lying to you. It’s broken.”