This Beta Is Excessively Lazy - Chapter 1

The weather this year was downright bizarre. Even in mid-September, the city of Lancheng was still trapped under a blazing, merciless sun.

First period after lunch was math. The teacher, Mr. Li, was a middle-aged guy in his forties with a flat, drone-like delivery that could put anyone to sleep. He wasn’t handsome, he wasn’t funny, and he taught strictly by the book. Halfway through the lesson, the back rows of Class 8 were already dropping like flies.

During the first week of freshman year, everyone had at least tried to save face and stay awake. But by week two? If you were tired, you slept. Simple as that.

Jiang Chen rested his chin lazily in his hand, doodling two stick figures in a fierce martial arts showdown in his notebook.

He let out a yawn and glanced down at his phone. Only fifteen minutes left of class. Old Li probably won’t cover much more in fifteen minutes, he thought. Maybe I’ll just close my eyes for a bit.

Giving in to the urge had immediate consequences. His head began to dip, inch by inch, until a minute later his face finally made contact with his left arm.

The pen in his right hand slipped from his fingers with a soft clack, landing right on his math textbook. Jiang Chen was peacefully asleep.

When the dismissal bell finally rang, Jiang Chen sleepily blinked his eyes open.

Next up was P.E. Within three minutes, nearly two-thirds of the classroom had cleared out.

For everyone else, P.E. was a break. For Jiang Chen, it was absolute torture.

Seeing that Jiang Chen was still glued to his seat, Wei Meng walked over from a few rows away and slapped him on the back. “Chen-er! P.E. time, let’s move!”

Wei Meng was an Alpha. The two had been desk mates throughout their three years of junior high, scored similarly on their high school entrance exams, and ended up at the same high school. He was built like a tank and had a booming voice that instantly chased away the last remnants of Jiang Chen’s drowsiness.

Jiang Chen stood up half-heartedly. “P.E., man… It’s too damn sunny out there.”

Wei Meng nudged him with his shoulder. “Yeah, but we get to check out the girls.” He grinned like a dork and lowered his voice. “Guess which class we’re sharing the field with today?”

“Which one?” Jiang Chen played along, though it wasn’t hard to guess. Wei Meng only got this excited when pretty girls were involved.

“You seriously don’t know? Class 9. The school beauty’s class.” Wei Meng nudged him again. “Hurry up, hurry up!”

Jiang Chen trailed behind him at a snail’s pace. “Look at you, hyperventilating. Anyone would think you’re rushing to get a marriage certificate with her.”

“Hey, you never know,” Wei Meng shot back. “What if she falls for me?”

Jiang Chen stopped on the stairs and patted him on the shoulder. “My dear son, you can have anything you want… in your dreams.”

Because of rain the previous week, P.E. had been held indoors. But today was clear skies, so the teacher dragged them out to the main sports field.

When they arrived, the sports equipment was already laid out by the teacher’s feet. A few Alphas were already flying across the grass kicking a soccer ball around. Watching them sprint under the glaring sun, Jiang Chen knit his brows. Sunny days were truly hostile to his survival.

Wei Meng was scanning the area, clearly hunting for his goddess. He spotted her standing a short distance away, watching the guys play soccer, and immediately started shaking Jiang Chen’s arm like a madman.

“Chen-er! Chen-er! Look! Does she like soccer? That’s it, I’m changing my hobbies for my goddess. I’m picking up soccer, goodbye basketball!”

Dizzy from the shaking, Jiang Chen kicked him away. “Get lost, stop shaking me. Pick it up, don’t pick it up, see if I care.”

Wei Meng grinned. “I’m going to ask for her WeChat after class.”

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. “Go ahead, you’re annoying me. If you actually had any guts, you’d have bagged a girlfriend by now. Besides, do you really think she’s looking at the soccer ball?”

Wei Meng looked back out at the field. The most dazzling player out there was their class monitor. He was dribbling past people with effortless grace, looking incredibly sharp. Even Wei Meng had to admit the guy’s skills were mesmerizing. He turned back around, dramatically trying to hug Jiang Chen for comfort. “What the hell does the monitor eat to grow like that? My goddess can’t possibly be looking at him, right? He’s such a show-off.”

Jiang Chen blocked the sun with his hand and said indifferently, “Who knows? Either way, he’s not eating your family’s rice.”

The P.E. teacher blew the whistle to assemble the classes, and the soccer players jogged over to join the lines.

After taking attendance, the teacher directly ordered the freshmen to start their warm-up laps. “Alphas, 3000 meters. Betas, 1500. Omegas, 800.”

Jiang Chen had loathed running since he was a kid. Knowing there was no escaping the 1500 meters as a Beta, his eyes drifted toward the Omega line at the front.

Isn’t 800 meters way better than 1500?

With sudden determination, his eyes locked onto the Omega group. He was suddenly filled with energy.

One lap around the track was 400 meters, so 800 meters was a mere two laps.

As the Omegas stepped out first, followed by the rest of the classes, Jiang Chen looked up at the brutal sun and desperately wished he had been born an Omega. Why the hell didn’t my parents make me an Omega? What a perfect gender for slacking off.

The students around him watched in disbelief as Jiang Chen, adopting a hilarious “you can’t see me” posture, smoothly blended right into the Omega queue.

With his looks and height, if he claimed to be an Omega, people might actually believe him…plenty of male Omegas grew quite tall, after all.

Yang Xiu, an Omega who sat right in front of Jiang Chen in the classroom, couldn’t help but whisper a reminder, even though they weren’t close. “Um, Jiang Chen? Did you walk into the wrong line? Aren’t you supposed to be in the back?”

Jiang Chen replied with absolute, unwavering certainty, “Nope. I belong right here.”

Yang Xiu, who was a little shorter than him: “…” Honestly, looking at Jiang Chen’s face, people really would believe it.

And so, Jiang Chen successfully counterfeited his way through two laps with the Omegas.

But as he finished, the P.E. teacher walked right up to him with a stern expression. “Jiang Chen, you’re done?”

Jiang Chen shook his head, executing a flawless denial. “Teacher, I’m not Jiang Chen.”

The teacher gave him a skeptical look, checking his clipboard. “I don’t misremember faces. Go run another two laps.” With a face like Jiang Chen’s, it was impossible to forget him. A male Beta that delicate-looking was rare, and the teacher knew exactly who he was.

Jiang Chen pouted. “Teacher, just for this class, can you pretend I’m an Omega?”

The teacher didn’t ruin the fun, but a flicker of amusement broke through his stern face. “Go finish your last lap. Stop trying to fake being an O.”

Jiang Chen grumbled under his breath, “TV dramas have O’s pretending to be A’s, O’s pretending to be B’s, and A’s pretending to be O’s all the time. Why can’t a B pretend to be an O for once?”

The P.E. teacher couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Finish the lap, and I’ll let you pretend to be an O for the rest of the period. Deal?”

The surrounding Omegas burst out laughing.

While society had progressed significantly, certain biological traits evolved slowly. It was a universal truth that Alphas possessed naturally superior strength, while Betas generally outperformed Omegas physically. Exceptions were incredibly rare…a one-in-a-million chance of an Omega having an Alpha’s physical capabilities…and as far as anyone knew, Third High School didn’t have any anomalies like that.

With his “Fake an Omega” plan thoroughly foiled, Jiang Chen could only drag his feet across the grass. The other Betas had already finished their 1500 meters, so he was forced to tag along at the very back of the Alpha line.

He happened to end up right behind the guys who had been playing soccer. Running at the absolute tail end made him stand out quite a bit.

While others looked on in confusion, the class monitor, Gu Xin, who was running just ahead of him, glanced back and immediately deduced what happened.

Gu Xin’s breathing was completely steady. He lowered his voice and said, “Got caught trying to slack off by the teacher?”

Jiang Chen gave him a cold shoulder. “Mind your own business.”

Gu Xin dropped his voice even lower. “…Are you still mad at me?”

Jiang Chen let out a sharp, frosty scoff through his nose.

Gu Xin: “…” Seeing that Jiang Chen was ignoring him, he touched his nose awkwardly and focused on running.

By the time Jiang Chen finally dragged himself across the finish line of his 1500 meters, he was drenched in sweat.

He usually spent classes sleeping and hadn’t really socialized with anyone since the term started. But after his legendary “B trying to pass as an O” stunt, he instantly became the center of attention.

Wei Meng, his closest friend, ran over and scrutinized him from head to toe with a deeply punchable grin. “Chen-er, we’ve been classmates for three years, and I never knew you were a closeted Omega. Why don’t you grow your hair long? I might actually forget about the school beauty.”

Jiang Chen lunged forward, grabbing him and putting him in a headlock. “Oh, you want to be captivated? Let me captivate you!”

Wei Meng yelled in agony, “Crap! Let go, let go! I’m not captivated anymore!”

Jiang Chen pinched his side mercilessly. “Call me daddy and I’ll let you go.”

“Screw you, don’t tickle me!” Wei Meng burst into uncontrollable laughter. “Hahaha, you’re my daddy! You’re my daddy! Mercy!”

Jiang Chen smacked him on the back. “Useless disappointment of a son.”

Behind them, Jiang Yibai, who was doing cool-down stretches, nudged Gu Xin. “Hey Old Gu, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you offer a warm face just to get a cold shoulder.”

Gu Xin twisted his waist to stretch, muttering, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Jiang Yibai remarked thoughtfully, “Jiang Chen really is striking, though.”

Gu Xin ignored him. It wasn’t what Jiang Yibai thought at all.

The first half of P.E. was spent on structured physical training, but the second half was free time. They weren’t allowed to leave the field or just sit around, though…they had to use the equipment the teacher brought out.

Jiang Chen, who generally avoided sweating at all costs, eventually chose a group game of hacky sack. You barely had to lift your feet half the time, making it the perfect sport for coasting. He instantly fell in love with it.

As the period finally wound down, a crowd gathered by the soccer field to watch Gu Xin and the others play.

On the field, Gu Xin was in mid-sprint. He deftly maneuvered past two defenders, executed a sharp feint that sent the goalie diving the wrong way, and with a light flick of his foot, sent the ball rolling smoothly into the net.

The watching Omegas clapped in unison, including the school beauty, Ou Ruoyi.

Wei Meng was dead set on getting her WeChat today. He grabbed Jiang Chen’s arm to use him as a meat shield.

Jiang Chen wanted no part of it. “I’m not going. You want her WeChat, what does that have to do with me?”

Wei Meng whined, “Chen-er, buddy, I’m nervous! She’s so pretty!”

Jiang Chen pointed to his own face. “Look at me to build up your courage. Am I pretty?”

Wei Meng nodded earnestly. “Very pretty!”

Jiang Chen pressed, “Am I so pretty that I’m basically on par with your goddess?”

Wei Meng gave an honest assessment. “Chen-er, if you grew your hair out, you could definitely take her. You’re beautiful, but I just prefer girls with long hair.”

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. “Get lost. Go by yourself!”

“Don’t be like that!” Wei Meng literally shoved Jiang Chen forward. “Just come with me to ask! I really think she’s gorgeous.”

The guy was incredibly strong. In the blink of an eye, he had successfully propelled Jiang Chen right in front of Ou Ruoyi.

Jiang Chen: “…”

Seeing the situation, the surrounding students immediately caught on. Everyone loved a pretty girl. They subtly backed up to give them space, watching the drama unfold from the corners of their eyes.

Wei Meng was a total traitor, leaving Jiang Chen completely cornered. Left with no choice, Jiang Chen stood before the ponytail-wearing school beauty, exuding an aura of pure, casual confidence.

He casually slid his hands into his pockets and gave her a slight, roguish smile. “Hey. Can I get your WeChat?”

Ou Ruoyi parted her lips to answer, but before she could speak, a white soccer ball came rolling across the grass, stopping just a meter away from them.

The interruption broke her train of thought. Spotting the student walking over to retrieve the ball, she gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

The newcomer was Class 8’s handsome monitor, Gu Xin. He scooped up the ball, holding it against his hip. His eyes lingered on Jiang Chen’s face for a beat or two before he finally turned to Ou Ruoyi.

“Sorry,” he said smoothly. “My shot went a little wild.”

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