What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 10

Chi Jinxian sat at the desk in his room, his back ramrod straight like a diligent student devoted to his studies. Yet in this posture of academic reverence, he merely propped his elbows on the table, holding only his phone.

He stared at the chat interface with Lu Zhi, where the words “The other party is typing.” never appeared at the top. For the past two years, whenever he sent a confession, he would fix his gaze on the phone, but as expected, just like every other day there was no response from the other side. His “Give me a chance to date, please” sank like a stone, not even stirring a ripple.

Yet Chi Jinxian was certain Lu Zhi had seen it, because.

Cash Pool: 【Bro, do you find me annoying? [whispering softly]】

Five minutes later, a new message arrived on his phone.

Lu Zhi: 【?】

See? He had seen it he just wasn’t replying.

But Chi Jinxian was easily satisfied; as long as the other person responded at all, that was enough.

Setting aside the matter of dating for now, Chi Jinxian genuinely couldn’t shake off the events of the day. For someone like Lu Wan, a single retort was far too lenient.

What truly unsettled him was being laughed at by Jiang Jin afterward, and Lu Zhi’s complete silence throughout not because he felt guilty about his attitude toward Lu Wan, but because Lu Wan’s words had struck a chord. He was afraid Lu Zhi might actually find him annoying.

After all, Lu Wan wasn’t entirely wrong.

Chi Jinxian typed and deleted words in the chat box, still contemplating whether to stubbornly compose another playful, pleading message, when a new message popped up from the other side.

Lu Zhi: 【Lu Wan?】

Chi Jinxian deleted the words in his draft one by one, sending only a timid sticker in response.

Cash Pool: 【[Lying on the floor, not daring to make a sound JPG.]】

Lu Zhi: 【You won’t have to see him much.】

Not entirely sure what Lu Zhi meant, Chi Jinxian didn’t press further Lu Zhi wouldn’t explain anyway. Still, reading those words brought him an inexplicable sense of relief.

Outside, night had fully descended. The light in the room couldn’t penetrate the thick darkness beyond the window, but it made the sparkle in Chi Jinxian’s eyes shine even brighter.

Confessing his feelings was like the daily cycle of the sun and moon. Missing a day or two was understandable, but going without for too long would make many people sick psychologically, it was unavoidable. Chi Jinxian believed expressing his emotions should be as natural as the celestial bodies; if he skipped it, even he would feel something was off.

And it didn’t have to be just once a day he could do it anytime, anywhere.

Cash Pool: 【Bro, I like you!】

Lu Zhi: 【I don’t like you.】

The image of Lu Zhi, who always prefaced rejecting love letters and roses with this exact phrase, flashed through Chi Jinxian’s mind. He chuckled, eyes crinkling, and tapped rapidly on his phone.

Cash Pool: 【I know, I just wanted to say it】

Cash Pool: 【Hehe [Little bunny wiggling ears JPG.]】

“An An ” Yuan Si Bai’s voice called from downstairs. Chi Jinxian twisted his neck toward the door and responded to indicate he’d heard. Yuan Si Bai said, “Come down for a late-night snack, or you’ll get hungry.”

“Heard you, Dad!” Chi Jinxian bid Lu Zhi an early goodnight, set down his phone, and headed downstairs.

It was almost nine in the evening, and perhaps a bit hungry, Chi Sui downstairs hovered around Yuan Si Bai, looking here and touching there, as if being close to him could fill his stomach.

“Chi Sui, could you please step back a bit?” Yuan Si Bai carried a plate from the kitchen into the dining room and nearly bumped into someone as he turned around, sounding quite helpless.

Chi Sui glanced up at the person descending the stairs and took a step back, letting out a reluctant and disappointed “Oh.” Chi Jinxian couldn’t stand his father’s habit of taking out his frustrations from his interactions with his younger dad on him like now, as Chi Sui kept staring at him with a very unfriendly gaze.

After a moment’s thought, Chi Jinxian said, “Dad, you really don’t need to worry about whether I’m around or not. After all, I’m already 18, so there’s no need to be too reserved.”

Yuan Si Bai was slightly taken aback. “You’re 18?”

How could he not know his own child was 18?

And was that even the point? Even if Chi Jinxian were truly an adult, he wouldn’t allow Chi Sui to be overly affectionate with him in front of their child.

Though Chi Sui was being defended, he didn’t appreciate Chi Jinxian’s attempt to curry favor and retorted sarcastically, “Hah, who was it that celebrated their 17th birthday just a few days ago? Was it some dog son of yours and mine?”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

Yuan Si Bai pinched Chi Sui. “Who are you calling a dog?”

Chi Sui caught Yuan Si Bai’s hand and played with it, letting out an “Oh” as he remembered. “Our little An here was the one who got his parents called to school during the first flag-raising ceremony in high school. At 15, he claimed to be 16, and at 16, he said he was 17, all to desperately catch the tail end of adulthood, wasn’t he?”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

It did sound like something he’d done.

Chi Sui reached out to tousle Yuan Si Bai’s hair, glancing sideways at Chi Jinxian. “Finally ’18’ this year, aren’t you thrilled?”

“…” Chi Jinxian took a deep, indignant breath, looking as if he wanted to argue back. But since it was indeed his own doing, he couldn’t deny it. After a brief pause, he said, “So what if I count my nominal age? Nominal age is always a year older than the actual age.”

“Mm,” Chi Sui went along with it, his expression serious. “Whether it’s nominal or actual, if you misbehave before you’re fully an adult, I will definitely spank you. Your younger dad won’t be able to stop me.”

Yuan Si Bai said calmly, “Don’t worry, I won’t stop you.”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

Of course, Chi Jinxian knew that one must not only avoid reckless behavior but also respect and cherish oneself. But hearing his younger dad say he wouldn’t protect him had a remarkably sobering effect. He shrank his neck and became exceptionally well-behaved.

“I know,” Chi Jinxian said, pulling out a chair to sit down and happily digging into the late-night snack, praising Yuan Si Bai between bites. “Younger Dad, this is so delicious.”

Yuan Si Bai smiled. “Then I’ll give you your dad’s portion too.” But as soon as he finished speaking, he was met with a protest.

“That’s too much. Do I have no rights at home?” Chi Sui quickly grabbed his bowl, afraid Chi Jinxian might actually try to snatch his food.

Yuan Si Bai said, “You’re hardly ever home, not even for lunch you’re always at the company. What rights are you talking about?”

“Then I’d have to eat both breakfast and dinner at home. Out of three meals a day, I’d be spending two with you day and night, and you’re already disliking me?” Chi Sui found this utterly unbelievable and even felt somewhat hurt. “An, your little dad seems to dislike me now.”

Chi Jinxian said, “You just finished scolding me, so I won’t speak up for you.”

Yuan Si Bai chuckled.

Chi Sui: “…”

But something didn’t seem quite right, Chi Jinxian thought. Ever since his birthday, his dad had been staying home a lot. Counting on his fingers, it hadn’t even been a full year of him managing the company yet, so why was he already lounging around at home?

Chi Jinxian lifted his head from his bowl, swallowed the noodles in his mouth, and asked, “Dad, have you not been going to the company much these past few days?”

This was how things were at home, there always had to be one punching bag for everyone to target. Fortunately, there were only three of them in the family. If there were two more troublemaking kids to deal with, Chi Sui felt he would surely die of frustration. Having just been rebuked, Chi Sui wisely decided to focus on eating. Hearing this, however, he let out an “Eh?” and laughed. He also looked up and explained earnestly, “After a full discussion among the company’s upper management, the shareholders have decided to change the company’s board position for the Chi family from one person managing for a year to each person managing for half a year, I’ll be resting for the next six months.”

His tone was gleeful, his smile radiant. Chi Sui was so happy he could practically grin from ear to ear.

Chi Jinxian: “…”

Speaking of their Chi family, even he, as the direct descendant and “crown prince,” found the management of the Chi family company quite peculiar.

Evolving gradually from ancient times to today’s Interstellar Alliance, the average human lifespan had reached 180 years, with the corresponding retirement age extended to 120.

Grandpa Chi Yuan Shen was now 90 years old. If he didn’t mention his age, no one could tell how many years had passed just by looking at his face. But ever since his sons grew up, Grandpa Chi had completely lost interest in managing the company and had often thrown subtle or not-so-subtle tantrums.

The aftermath was: the eldest son didn’t want to manage, finding it too exhausting; the second son was so scared as a child that he couldn’t even carry a tune in music class, yet he grew up to become a famous singer; the third son was Chi Sui, who also didn’t want to manage, finding it too annoying; the fourth son, Qi Suiyi, was still in school, and from his usual chat ID, Chi Jinxian had already glimpsed his future, a big star who would absolutely never step into the company.

For a while, Chi Jinxian even thought that his grandpa had these sons just to slack off himself. Unfortunately, his sons were even more unambitious and lazier than he was, with no fighting spirit at all. Who would have thought that when Chi Yuan Shen only had two sons, he worried they might fight over the family assets? In the end, he found them utterly hopeless…

There were four sons though only two were willing to manage the company, but there was only one father. Chi Yuan Shen was destined to be no match for them, and the company remained his. At the time, this annoyed Chi Yuan Shen so much he couldn’t sleep well for months. Finally, he came up with a plan: he devised a management method suitable for all of them, where each would manage for one year. The next year, when it was someone else’s turn, they wouldn’t be too unfamiliar with the company though, in truth, this was all a lie. Even during the year when someone wasn’t managing the company, they were still keeping an eye on the company’s developments.

Chi Jinxian never expected they could shorten the management period from one year to just six months. He now felt that the Chi family not only avoided bankruptcy but grew even larger precisely because these managers possessed genuine talent and formidable skills.

“The upper management’s decision is basically just yours, grandpa’s, and uncle’s decision, right?” Chi Jinxian called them out.

Chi Sui finished eating in high spirits: “Mhm. Once your winter break starts, your other dad and I are going on a trip.”

“…” Chi Jinxian didn’t understand and asked sincerely, “Can’t you go now?”

“We’re worried about you while you’re in school,” Yuan Si Bai collected their bowls and pushed them all to Chi Sui, telling him to take them to the kitchen. Chi Sui stood up with the bowls and said, “Besides, you’re at school all day now, not interrupting our alone time, so there’s no need.”

Yuan Si Bai chided him: “An An’s dad, stop talking nonsense.”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

So his dad actually meant they wouldn’t leave while he was away at school, but would hurry off the moment he came home for winter break?

Having never been in a relationship himself, Chi Jinxian felt like he’d swallowed a bellyful of lemon juice. Yet it was precisely Chi Sui and Yuan Si Bai’s consistent way of being together that made him fantasize countless times about being with Lu Zhi. He wondered if Lu Zhi would always be this quiet, seeming to care about nothing at all.

Would he ever say he liked him? Would he be unable to resist kissing him? Would he want to bite his scent gland? Would he want to mark him?

He didn’t know what a permanent mark felt like, and probably never would – Betas can’t be marked, just like they can’t produce or detect pheromones. But Chi Jinxian had read many novels and watched clips – because of himself and Lu Zhi, he almost exclusively consumed ABO content. In those stories, when an Alpha has a Beta partner, their innate possessiveness makes them bite the Beta’s scent gland over and over. When they discover they can’t mark their partner, they become frantic, claiming them again and again,

“An An.”

Someone was speaking, as if pushing open a bedroom door. Chi Jinxian clamped his legs around the blanket, shifting unconsciously, his hands tightly gripping the edge of the quilt and bringing it to rub against his red lips, as if about to enter that rosy-lipped mouth to bite.

His brows furrowed slightly, but not like someone having a nightmare – more like,

Chi Jinxian’s hands were pinned by Lu Zhi, who held him from behind, insisting on hearing him cry while refusing to let him move. Frustrated by the inability to permanently mark him, Lu Zhi was fierce, completely losing his rationality.

“An An.”

“Thump !” Chi Jinxian suddenly rolled upright in bed, nearly falling off the edge. Yuan Si Bai startled, quickly reaching to catch him and rolling him toward the center, the blanket twisting around its owner again like someone from his dream.

“Dad?” Chi Jinxian wasn’t fully awake yet, somewhat dazed, his voice hoarse.

Yuan Si Bai looked concerned, leaning forward to feel his forehead: “Why is your face so red? And you’ve been crying – are you sick?”

As the words fell, the true reason why he had worn the expression Yuan Si Bai described made Chi Jinxian’s face burn with a sudden flush. He rubbed his cheeks haphazardly, avoiding eye contact, and hastily grabbed Yuan Si Bai’s hand to pull it away, stammering, “N-no, I’m not sick. Little Dad, why did you come up?”

“I noticed you didn’t get up as usual today. I waited ten minutes and still didn’t see you come downstairs, so I came up to check on you.” Yuan Si Bai still wore a worried expression. “Are you really not feeling unwell anywhere?”

“No.” Chi Jinxian continued to avoid looking at him, cleared his throat with a cough, threw off the covers, and got out of bed to put on his shoes. “Maybe I stayed up a bit late yesterday after finishing dinner and doing some homework, so I didn’t feel the Smart Ring vibrate Little Dad, you go ahead and have breakfast. I’ll come down after changing.”

“Oh, alright.” At some point, the concern in Yuan Si Bai’s voice had vanished, replaced by a hint of teasing laughter. Chi Jinxian noticed it and turned back to look at Yuan Si Bai in confusion, only to hear his Little Dad say, “Xiao An, your pajama pants are dirty.”