The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Bad Person and Bad Love

Broken?

Wen Zhiyi did not immediately understand what Wei Yuzhi meant by “broken.”

He instinctively followed Wei Yuzhi’s movement to look at the thumb-sized patch of skin on the back of his neck, and unexpectedly saw gauze covering the entire scent gland. Wei Yuzhi had been facing him, so he hadn’t noticed the gauze until this moment.

Wei Yuzhi maintained the posture of bending his head. He had a fractured leg, and the man had to lean on his cane for balance. It was even more difficult to maintain balance when he curled his abdomen, yet his breathing remained steady and controlled. He said to Wen Zhiyi: “If you don’t believe me, do you want to verify it?”

Verify…?

How could he verify this?

Wen Zhiyi didn’t immediately respond. He instinctively frowned, sensing that this matter didn’t seem to have much to do with him, but Wei Yuzhi’s breath was so close as he spoke into his ear, so close that he couldn’t help but recall that gentle, low recording, and for a moment, he fell silent instead.

Wei Yuzhi smiled at him and suggested very calmly: “You can remove the gauze, or lean in and smell for pheromones. He Xin is currently discussing treatment plans with the doctors, but I don’t hold much hope for it.”

His expression looked genuinely calm, as if a damaged scent gland was no big deal.

However, in this extremely calm expression, Wen Zhiyi keenly detected a subtle sadness.

He pondered briefly, then slowly shook his head. Removing gauze from an unhealed wound would only make it worse.

“If you can’t sleep, shall we walk together?”

The early autumn night was not cold, but the air was already becoming crisp and light. Walking under the softly illuminated night sky easily calmed one’s emotions, and the night wind gently blowing past their ears was incredibly soft and tranquil.

Wei Yuzhi habitually walked on the outer side of the road. Appearing reliable in front of Wen Zhiyi had become a deeply ingrained instinct for him. Even when he intended to show weakness or evoke pity, he did it clumsily, completely unaware that now was a perfect opportunity.

“…The Wei family had some issues over the past week, so I didn’t come to see you. Feng Yun, you should know her, she was Wei Xingjiang’s former teacher. She was next to Wei Zhao, passing messages to her master. Your relationship with me, Wei Zhao’s family situation… she did a lot for the Feng family. Wei Zhao was very angry when he found out and nearly had someone throw her off the balcony.”

Wei Yuzhi suddenly started talking about many secrets.

“It wasn’t a two- or three-story villa balcony, of course, but a new high-rise property Wei Zhao was interested in, about thirty stories high,” Wei Yuzhi continued casually. “She is Feng Wenzheng’s goddaughter. Her brother was one of the three murderers who tampered with my mother’s car ten years ago. Her whole family works for Feng Wenzheng.”

Over the past week, He Xin had investigated a lot. Those who needed to be settled were settled, and those who needed to go to jail went to jail. He was always Wei Yuzhi’s most capable subordinate, calmly and systematically executing the pre-arranged plan even while his boss was in the ICU.

“Wei Xingjiang, who was confined, knocked down a group of bodyguards, disarmed their guns, and ran to find Wei Zhao, just in time for Feng Yun’s execution.” Wei Yuzhi sometimes didn’t understand what his cousin was thinking. In his view, Wei Xingjiang’s greatest enemy was definitely not Wei Zhao, but his own weakness and incompetence.

“He saved Feng Yun,” Wen Zhiyi finished Wei Yuzhi’s sentence. He could imagine what decision the young Alpha, suppressing a belly full of anger, would ultimately make. “What then? I guess he wouldn’t just meekly accept Wei Zhao’s punishment.”

“Mm.” Wei Yuzhi briefly acknowledged with a hum. “The tranquilizer given to him was enough to put down a few cows. When he wakes up, he’ll find himself already in the Northern Military Region.”

In reality, when Wei Xingjiang successfully escaped the villa, he had two choices: the first was to execute his original intention of finding Wen Zhiyi, and the second was to save Feng Yun. Han Wang had told him that the enraged Wei Zhao had taken Feng Yun to Jingtan Garden, and if he arrived in time, he might still save her.

What was Feng Yun to Wei Xingjiang?

A cold-hearted betrayer, a mistress who had climbed into his father’s bed, a teacher he had genuinely regarded as family.

Between seeing Wen Zhiyi for the last time and saving Feng Yun’s life, Wei Xingjiang ultimately chose the latter.

“He made the right choice,” Wen Zhiyi commented. He was happy that Wei Xingjiang was capable of… growth. He paused to think, choosing that word.

It was hard to truly be happy when constantly harboring a feeling of unforgiveness.

He suddenly thought of the documents he had read.

Hatred, shame, pain, execution… these heavy-sounding things had once occupied the decade that should have been the easiest part of a person’s life, and they would continue to endlessly affect the rest of that person’s life.

He could, of course, say, “But what does this have to do with me?” Yet, he and Wei Yuzhi had been married for two years, and only thirty days had passed since he wanted to end that marriage.

Wei Yuzhi walked slowly beside Wen Zhiyi, treading on the shadows of the trees. He noticed Wen Zhiyi slowing down. He knew this was not Wen Zhiyi’s usual walking pace.

Wen Zhiyi had slowed his steps for him.

The heart that hadn’t been completely shaken even when learning about the torn scent gland suddenly erupted in turmoil. He could barely stop himself from weakly wiping away tears. This soft, sour emotion was so foreign to him, like a cat suddenly thrown into his arms. He was utterly at a loss but had to be careful.

“…These things won’t happen again in the future, I promise,” Wei Yuzhi abruptly offered a pledge, just as he had promised to safely take Wen Zhiyi down the mountain when he first met him. “On the path you take from now on, there will only be good things. There will be nothing you don’t wish to see.”

Wen Zhiyi suddenly stopped walking.

Silvery moonlight spilled deeply and lightly across his face through the tree shadows, like a silver-plated mask against his skin, clearly outlining the perfect contours of his face.

He looked up at Wei Yuzhi calmly and softly repeated: “You think I don’t wish to see these things?”

This was almost a serious accusation.

Wei Yuzhi met his gaze. After an extremely restrained deep breath, he inevitably trembled slightly. The tall, straight Omega slowly gave a sad smile: “These terrible things can, in a way, explain why I am a terrible person.”

He looked into Wen Zhiyi’s eyes, openly and completely admitting the fact he had desperately tried to conceal: “I am a bad person, so in the past, I wasn’t able to give you non-terrible love. But, but now I truly…”

He found it almost impossible to continue speaking.

What could be more painful than personally denying the love he had given? But he couldn’t make excuses anymore. When Wen Zhiyi received that bad love, wasn’t he also in pain?

Bad person and bad love… Wen Zhiyi was momentarily dazed hearing this phrase.

This wasn’t the first time he had looked at Wei Yuzhi so closely, but it was the first time he looked at the other person with such a strange feeling.

How utterly defeated.

Nesting period, fracture, high fever, broken scent gland, almost naked self-denial… If the partner you once entered marriage with out of deep love appeared before you in such a state, and the only thing he cared about, wanted, and craved—was you—then how should you treat him?

The answer to this question was actually very simple.

Do you still love him? Does your heart still feel pain, pity, and reluctance because of him? Is the remnant of your love for him still enough to support you to hold his hand, walk across the newly opened wilderness, and find a path where “only good things” happen?

In this silent night with almost no wind, and in Wei Yuzhi’s burning, hot eyes, Wen Zhiyi suddenly understood why the Affection Value he saw was heartbroken and gray—

He thought, Love is not always sweet. It is the hand that reaches into the deep soul of the other, strokes the defeated past, glimpses the other’s true pain and vulnerability, and then, after striving to restrain the darkness in one’s own heart, finally gives rise to compassion and tenderness.