What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 2

“Do you have a wet wipe?” Lu Zhi’s voice was cold, his tone polite as he spoke.

He then raised his dark, somber eyes and looked at Chi Jinxian.

“Yes!” Chi Jinxian, as if completely unaware of the two hands still resting on his shoulders, immediately lowered his head to rummage through his backpack. He pulled out a small pack of wet wipes and handed it over. “Here!”

Qi Suiyi, thrown off balance by Chi Jinxian’s swift and cheerful movement, lost his stability as half his body still leaned against the windowsill. He nearly tumbled further into the classroom.

In a panic to avoid falling, Qi Suiyi let out a series of “Hey, hey, hey!” cries, flailing his arms as he grabbed onto Chi Jinxian’s neck.

He was now clinging to him.

“Do you even see me?” Qi Suiyi glared at Chi Jinxian with a hostile expression, his face dark with displeasure.

After a moment, he abruptly turned his head to glare at the indifferent person behind him.

Chi Jinxian spoke softly, his voice both guilty and dismissive: “Yes, of course I do.” At the same time, he raised his hand slightly. “Lu Ge.”

Lu Zhi reached out to take the wet wipes, opened the pack, and pulled one out. “Thank you,” he said.

Having said that, he began cleaning his desk, the compartment beneath it, and his chair. From start to finish, he never once glanced at Qi Suiyi.

Chi Jinxian had already shaken off Qi Suiyi’s hands, telling him to stand properly in the corridor outside the window and stop acting as if he were missing limbs.

Once freed, Chi Jinxian bent down again to retrieve something from his backpack a bottle of milk.

“Lu Ge, milk.” Chi Jinxian placed the bottle on Lu Zhi’s desk and nudged it forward slightly.

Lu Zhi flicked his wrist, and the wet wipe still in his hand landed precisely inside Chi Jinxian’s still-open backpack. He neither looked at nor touched the bottle of milk.

Sigh. Chi Jinxian sighed inwardly, thinking, I knew it. Still won’t accept it.

Lu Zhi pulled out his chair and sat down, as if only then realizing that the classroom was unusually quiet. He lifted his eyes and swept a casual glance around.

Instantly, chairs scraped forward, bodies bumped into each other, and pained hisses filled the air. The students who had been staring intently at the corner moments earlier now faced the blackboard, sitting upright and proper. Those who had been chatting or laughing went back to their usual activities, as if the curious, gossipy looks they had exchanged earlier had never happened.

As classmates and friends, they had witnessed this scene of unrequited enthusiasm countless times.

Even though they knew the inevitable outcome, they still felt a pang of sympathy for Chi Jinxian.

Look at him, why did he have to fall for someone like that? Of all people, he had to choose a study machine who barely spoke. God Lu had only studying on his mind, nothing else.

And Chi Jinxian himself? He was beyond reasoning.

“Chi Jinxian!” The eight o’clock preparatory bell rang, and Qi Suiyi couldn’t linger outside another class any longer. He finally pointed a finger at Chi Jinxian’s nose, scolding him with the exasperation of an elder lecturing a junior. “You have absolutely no self-respect!”

Even after being scolded, Chi Jinxian looked as if he’d just eaten a candy. He grinned and shouted back, “Can self-respect fill my stomach?”

Qi Suiyi, who had just dashed back to his own classroom, couldn’t get that sentence out of his head. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He pulled out his phone and furiously typed a message.

Future Superstar: [I’m going to tell Third Brother you’re dating someone again!]

Chi Jinxian, who had been eagerly turned around trying to talk to Lu Zhi, was distracted by the vibration in his pocket.

“Not bad,” Lu Zhi replied indifferently to Chi Jinxian’s earlier question about how his summer vacation had been.

Cash Pool: [I’ve never been in a relationship, so how can you say I’m dating someone?]

Cash Pool: [I’d love to be in one, but Lu Ge won’t give me the chance.]

Future Superstar: [Are you trying to piss off the elders? Is he really that handsome?]

Cash Pool: [Handsomer than you]

Chi Jinxian frowned slightly, clearly refuting someone’s words or perhaps engaging in a playful argument.

After a while, noticing the person still leaning over his desk playing with their phone without leaving, Lu Zhi said, “Chi Jinxian.”

“Huh?” Chi Jinxian looked up, responded, and put away his phone in one fluid motion, his frown instantly smoothing out. “What’s up, Lu-ge?”

“Turn around.” Lu Zhi said. “Take your milk with you.”

Being dismissed like this, he’d just beat up Qi Suiyi when he got back.

Chi Jinxian let out an “Oh” and reluctantly turned around, though his head still craned backward as he whispered, “Lu-ge, please take the milk. I want to mooch lunch off you at noon.”

Lu Zhi ignored him, so Chi Jinxian took it as agreement.

He immediately resumed his text war.

Cash Pool: [It’s not like my dad and papa just found out I’m chasing someone. Why are you tattling? The roses I give Lu-ge every day are even picked from my dad’s garden.]

Future Superstar: […]

Cash Pool: [Never mind. When I get back I’m telling grandpa you bullied me again.]

Future Superstar: […]

Qi Suiyi got scared and stopped responding. Chi Jinxian knew he’d won again, the corners of his eyebrows lifting slightly in delight.

“Hey, who are you chatting with to be this happy?”

“Ah!” A face suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Chi Jinxian’s shoulders jerked violently as he whipped his head around. “You scared me to death!”

His deskmate, who’d been sitting with him since sophomore year, leaned back with a giggle. “Glad I scared you!”

This little shit,

“Jiang Baixiao.” Chi Jinxian gritted his teeth and reached out to grab him, but the latter dodged quickly, laughing as he begged for mercy: “Gentlemanly students don’t lay hands on Omegas.”

Chi Jinxian froze mid-action, even elegantly straightening his uniform collar. But the next second, he was the one pinned against the desk!

Jiang Baixiao half-hugged his neck, saying, “But Little Cash is an Omega too! Sisterly bonding~”

Hearing this, Chi Jinxian’s expression flickered with unease. Pinned down, he couldn’t move much, only managing a quick glance backward.

Lu Zhi had earphones in, seemingly blocking out all sound.

But Chi Jinxian still felt guilty.

He wasn’t an Omega – he was a Beta. Unlike Alphas and Omegas, Betas had no pheromones.

Betas not only lacked pheromones, they couldn’t even smell them.

The Alliance’s civilization was no longer the battleships-versus-pirates era of the past. The ABO hierarchy wasn’t as strictly enforced anymore.

No matter what you presented as, you didn’t need to care too much about your status.

But Chi Jinxian still hid his Beta identity.

On the first day he decided to pursue Lu Zhi, Chi Jinxian had done his research: Lu Zhi absolutely despised Betas.

No one knew if it was true – no one dared ask.

Just in case, Chi Jinxian became an “Omega.”

“Ah, yes~” Chi Jinxian immediately hugged Jiang Baixiao back, exaggerating dramatically: “Sisterly bonding!”

“Is it that hard for you two to act like bros?!” Someone laughed and teased after watching them cling to each other.

“Hahahahaha So hard.”

The commotion instantly dispelled the awkward atmosphere that had lingered in the classroom, plunging the room into cheerful chaos.

Students began chatting and catching up, eagerly asking each other about their summer vacations.

When the class monitor entered, the noise was so overwhelming it felt like a flock of birds had burst out of a cage, nearly deafening him.

His voice struggled to be heard amid the clamor: “Class president, the teacher wants a few male Alphas to go to the office to collect the textbooks. If there aren’t enough, male Betas should come along too.”

Lu Zhi acknowledged the request, stood up, removed his earphones and placed them on the desk, then slipped out through the back door.

The boys who heard the announcement immediately called out, “Wait, wait, we’ll finish the game later,” and hurried after Lu Zhi to the office.

Even though it was the start of the school year, and they were already seniors, half a day was inevitably wasted.

After collecting the textbooks, their homeroom teacher, Gao Ming, emphasized the importance of the year ahead, and before they knew it, lunchtime had arrived.

“Lu Zhi.” Just as the back door opened, a tall, slender figure appeared at the entrance, extending an invitation to the person who had just stood up. “Let’s grab lunch.”

Lu Zhi replied, “Mm.”

The one inviting him was Jiang Jin, practically Lu Zhi’s childhood friend. He was from the class next door and happened to pass by Class 10 on his way downstairs.

At school, the two of them always ate lunch together.

As they were about to head downstairs side by side, a little tail came chasing after them.

“Lu-ge.” Chi Jinxian followed close behind, grinning widely. “Take me with you?”

Jiang Jin glanced at him, unsurprised, and greeted him with a laugh. “Hey, little Cash.”

“Hey, Jiang-ge.”

Lu Zhi shot him a sidelong glance but didn’t respond, leaving it unclear whether he agreed or refused.

Chi Jinxian tilted his head up, keeping pace with Lu Zhi, and shamelessly spun a tale: “Lu-ge, you know how it is with me, I’m broke. If you take my milk when we get back, at least let me mooch a bowl of congee.”

The cafeteria was already swarming with students; a moment’s hesitation meant missing out on food. Not wanting to delay, Jiang Jin quickened his pace. Not wanting to offend anyone either, he smoothly mediated based on past experience: “Lu Zhi didn’t say no, so just tag along.”

No sooner had he spoken than Lu Zhi shot him a sidelong glance. Jiang Jin chuckled softly and leaned in to whisper, “If you won’t speak up, whose fault is that? And he’s such a good-looking Omega.”

Lu Zhi’s gaze turned icy. Jiang Jin nodded and sealed his lips, saying no more.

But Chi Jinxian got his wish and followed along.

He cheerfully replied, “Alright, sounds good!”

For the past two years, Chi Jinxian had relied on this tactic, playing the pity card and claiming poverty to trail after Lu Zhi.

The first time Chi Jinxian confessed, Lu Zhi asked if he was out of his mind. After that, whenever they crossed paths, Lu Zhi would tell him to stop following, but of course, Chi Jinxian never listened.

Within a month, Lu Zhi gave up trying and simply ignored him.

Unlike most of his admirers, Chi Jinxian, despite confessing daily, never overstepped boundaries. He always stayed within a range that wouldn’t become annoying. It was almost as if he’d caught it from the principal, Lu Zhi began turning a blind eye.

Chi Jinxian felt that Lu Zhi simply couldn’t bear to see him starve; otherwise, why would he let him mooch a bowl of congee every time? Over the past two years, he’d mentally patted himself on the back countless times for his cleverness.

His leech-like meal-mooching antics were well-known throughout the school, which was why so many people were eager to “keep watching the spectacle of Chi Jinxian failing to catch Lu Zhi.”

Every time Chi Jinxian said he was just mooching a bowl of congee, he truly meant just that nothing more. He bought his own staple food. Though he was pursuing someone and wanted to spend more time with Brother Lu Zhi, he wouldn’t mistreat himself, nor was he willing to spend more of Lu Zhi’s money.

But Jiang Jin always asked if he’d eaten his fill, assuming that if he was reduced to mooching meals, even if it was just a bowl of congee he must be hard up.

And Chi Jinxian would always reply, “I’m full, I’m full!”

This time, Jiang Jin asked again, “Aren’t you here to mooch a meal? Did you manage to? Are you full?”

“Yep, I mooched,” Chi Jinxian said, lifting his bowl to finish the last sip of congee. “I mooched off Lu, you guys eating together.”

After saying that, he immediately cleared his bowl and chopsticks and hurried after Lu Zhi, who had already left.

Jiang Jin looked utterly speechless.

Everyone in the cafeteria was watching, and as soon as the group disappeared from sight, a wave of murmurs broke out.

The afternoon was for actual classes. Chi Jinxian got excited as soon as school started, listening to the lectures while occasionally turning his head to glance back.

He managed to both study and let his mind wander without neglecting either.

The afternoon flew by in the blink of an eye.

It was Thursday. Only after the flag-raising ceremony next Monday would the senior year students officially begin evening self-study sessions.

As soon as the school bell rang, the students acted as if they’d endured immense suffering, unwilling to stay in the classroom a moment longer. They leaped and scrambled, rushing out of the classroom and heading straight for the school gates.

Chi Jinxian called out to Lu Zhi just as he was about to leave the classroom, then bent down to retrieve something from his backpack.

It was an envelope adorned with rose petals and a exquisitely wrapped fiery red rose.

“Brother Lu, I lo ”

“I don’t like you,” Lu Zhi interrupted expressionlessly.

He was so practiced it seemed as though he’d done it a thousand times before.

“Ah, I know,” Chi Jinxian said, his eyes bright and entirely undeterred. Happily, he added, “Brother Lu, this is the most beautiful rose that bloomed in my dad’s garden today. I sneaked over and picked it this morning it’s for you.”

Even after a whole day, the rose petals remained stunningly vibrant, without the slightest sign of wilting.

The rose was exquisitely wrapped in transparent paper, its thorny stem clearly visible.

Only the bottom of the wrapping was tinted a fiery red. Lu Zhi glanced down at it briefly before indifferently looking away.

Chi Jinxian put great care into his pursuit. Inside the wrapping at the bottom was a small section of the rose’s main stem, still coated with a bit of damp soil, providing the rose with enough nutrients to stay alive.

Not just for one day it could last another day without withering and might even be planted to grow.

Lu Zhi said, “No,” then slung his backpack over one shoulder and turned to leave.

Chi Jinxian sighed dramatically, feigning resignation as he said, “Alright then,” while simultaneously catching up and deftly slipping the rose and love letter into the side pocket of Lu Zhi’s backpack.

Without making a sound, Chi Jinxian chuckled contentedly.

“Brother Lu,” Chi Jinxian quickened his pace to walk alongside him as they headed toward the school gate. “Today’s my birthday.”

He blinked, as if hoping for birthday wishes.

Lu Zhi seemed inclined to ignore him, but after a moment’s thought, he still said, “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you, Brother Lu!” Chi Jinxian replied cheerfully. Gripping his backpack straps, he dashed off toward home, turning back to wave at Lu Zhi. “See you tomorrow, Brother Lu!”

Chi Jinxian thought this birthday would be like all the others celebrated at home with his dad and stepdad.

Unexpectedly, before he even reached his doorstep, the butler intercepted him halfway and took him to a hotel.

“Not celebrating at home this year?” Chi Jinxian asked in confusion.

The butler replied, “The young master said that since you’re already 17, you’re practically a young adult now. It’s time to get familiar with certain things, so we’ve invited some guests this year.”

“Oh, alright.” Chi Jinxian looked down at himself. “Should I just wear my school uniform?”

The butler smiled and said, “Young adults aren’t fully grown adults yet. No need for formal attire – nobody will mind.” Still, he asked, “Would you like to change, young master?”

Clearly there were alternatives.

Chi Jinxian waved his hand dismissively, saying it wasn’t necessary since he was the birthday boy anyway. Wearing his school uniform would make him stand out as special at the event.

However,

That evening, it turned out he wasn’t the only one standing out in school uniform.