What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 26

“Who are you chatting with? You look quite happy.” Yuan Si Bai sat by the hospital bed, peeling a round apple. When he glanced up and saw the bright smile in Chi Jinxian’s eyes, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Who else could it be? No need to guess,” Chi Sui walked over from the window and, taking advantage of the moment, bent down behind Yuan Si Bai to grab his wrist and take a bite of the peeled apple. “Must be Lu the Celestial Being.”

Yuan Si Bai stared blankly at the apple now missing nearly a quarter of its flesh. It wasn’t until after the other finished speaking that he came back to his senses and slapped Chi Sui’s hand away.

“I was peeling this for An An.”

Chi Jinxian had just finished sending a message and looked up to refute: “It wasn’t Brother Lu.”

His voice was slightly low, his tone contradictory – as if he both wished it were Lu Zhi, yet also didn’t want it to be Lu Zhi.

“Oh,” Chi Sui said, grabbing Yuan Si Bai’s wrist again and using his fingers to take the entire apple. He took a bite while saying, “He can wait to eat later.”

“…” Yuan Si Bai glared at him. “Chi Sui.”

Chi Sui pretended not to hear, sitting next to Yuan Si Bai while watching Chi Jinxian’s suddenly somewhat dejected expression. He sneered, “If it’s not Lu Zhi, why do you care so much? Yesterday you only glanced at your phone briefly when your classmates sent their regards. Today your mood has clearly improved – if it’s not him, then who? So hopeless.”

“So what if I’m hopeless?” Chi Jinxian pouted slightly and let out a soft “hmph,” saying, “It’s a very good friend. If it really were Lu Zhi yesterday, I wouldn’t have only looked at my phone briefly.”

Being retorted so confidently, Chi Sui immediately felt irritated. Unable to contain his frustration, he clicked his tongue and said, “Truly, when sons grow up, they don’t listen to their fathers.”

Yuan Si Bai lowered his head to peel another apple, letting out a soft chuckle at this but saying nothing.

“Dad, I vaguely remember falling on the day I fainted – I hurt my knees. But when I checked this morning, there wasn’t any bruising on my knees. Did they heal during these days I was asleep?” Having finished chatting with Xiao Lu, Chi Jinxian put away his phone and asked.

“Hm?” Yuan Si Bai looked up and handed the newly peeled apple to Chi Jinxian. “There weren’t any injuries on your body. After your condition stabilized, I changed you into the hospital gown – no injuries.”

Chi Sui chimed in from the side: “Must be confused memories.”

Hearing this, Chi Jinxian murmured, “No injuries?”

But before he fell, he had truly heard a loud, painful sound – clearly the sound of bones hitting something hard.

Once his brain started thinking, it involuntarily drifted further, and so did his senses. Chi Jinxian blinked, staring at the position of his knees beneath the blanket.

He had been in so much pain at that time, his body burning with thirst. Ultimately, his willpower subconsciously chose self-preservation, shutting off his consciousness to suffer less. Lu Zhi’s strong hands had held him semi-upright, and then the legs that suddenly knelt down…

So, was it Lu Zhi’s knees that had slammed against the ground?

Thinking this far and confirming this was the only possibility, Chi Jinxian’s heart unconsciously tightened. He almost couldn’t stop himself from calling Lu Zhi!

But the thought that Lu Zhi already knew he was a Beta timely emerged and hovered overhead, suppressing Chi Jinxian’s very practical yet daring desire. For a moment, an even deeper layer of dejection settled over him.

Unconsciously, he began staring blankly at the apple in his hand.

“Tsk, what’s going on?” Chi Sui finished his apple and tossed the core into the trash, then leaned forward to snatch another apple and continued munching, commenting after finishing, “This one seems sweeter than the one I just had.”

The large apple in his hand vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye. Chi Jinxian was bewildered, staring at his slender fingers for over ten seconds. He had no time to dwell on it now, lifting his head to glare unfriendly at Chi Sui, saying, “Forget about the ones that haven’t reached my hands, but how dare you snatch one right from me! Aren’t you ashamed? Not even blushing!”

“Hey, say that again ”

“Dad.” Chi Jinxian’s eyebrows drooped slightly as he switched tactics, playing pitiful.

Yuan Si Bai turned his head expressionlessly, fixing his gaze on Chi Sui.

Chi Sui: “…”

“My bad, my bad,” Chi Sui chuckled awkwardly, taking another bite of the apple and reaching out to placatingly pat Yuan Si Bai’s arm. “Don’t be mad. I’ll peel one for him.”

With that, he quickly finished the apple in his hand, picked up another from the fruit plate, and began peeling it carefully.

“Dad, can I ask, what illness do I have?” Chi Jinxian had just woken up yesterday, and Yuan Si Bai had even cried. No matter how much he wanted to know what was wrong, he hadn’t dared to ask.

Besides, he wasn’t in any pain or discomfort at the time, and by the time Yuan Si Bai and Chi Sui returned from Doctor Yang’s, he had forgotten about it.

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into a sudden silence, even Chi Sui’s apple-peeling movements paused for a moment.

“An An,” Yuan Si Bai finally said softly, “You’ve undergone secondary differentiation.”

“Huh? Really?” The daze lasted only a moment before Chi Jinxian’s eyes lit up slightly, filled with anticipation. “What Secondary Gender?”

Yuan Si Bai smiled lightly. As Chi Sui handed the peeled apple to Chi Jinxian, saying, “Here you go, son,” he replied, “Beta.”

Sigh.

Chi Jinxian took small bites of the apple, sighing dejectedly. “I knew it.”

The probability of one’s Secondary Gender matching their primary gender is ninety-nine percent. He really couldn’t be that one percent.

There was no hope of becoming an Omega in this lifetime. He had always liked being a Beta, but this gender created an insurmountable chasm between him and Lu Zhi.

Thinking of this, Chi Jinxian sighed again, like a little old man, utterly distressed.

Yuan Si Bai was amused by him and asked, “Why all the sighing?”

Chi Jinxian continued with another “sigh,” nibbling on the apple and waving his hand. “It’s nothing, not a big deal.”

He needed to think it through carefully. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, after all.

“Did I end up in the hospital because of this differentiation?” Chi Jinxian asked. At the same time, he frowned slightly, thinking to himself that he had never seen anyone else have such an intense reaction to differentiation.

Sure enough, Yuan Si Bai denied it. “No. But it’s somewhat related.”

“What happened?” Chi Jinxian asked, his eyes full of inquiry.

Yuan Si Bai said, “Doctor Yang said it can temporarily be called pheromone deficiency disorder.”

“Huh?” Chi Jinxian was baffled, staring at his dad for a while, then at the apple as if seeking reality, but still couldn’t quite process it. “What does that mean? I, I’m a Beta, right? How could I lack pheromones? And have a disorder?”

Just then, someone knocked on the hospital room door. Chi Sui went to open it, and Doctor Yang walked in, hands tucked into his white coat.

He adjusted his glasses and said, “How are you feeling today, Jinxian?”

“Hello, Uncle Yang.” Chi Jinxian greeted him and replied, “When I woke up yesterday, I was just weak from hunger. After eating something, I felt no different from usual. If it weren’t for being in the hospital, I’d have thought I never even got sick.”

His words reassured the adults present, and they all smiled knowingly.

“In that case, we’ll do a full checkup later,” Doctor Yang said. “If everything looks normal, you can be discharged.”

Chi Jinxian was puzzled. Aside from feeling like he was on death’s door when he was admitted to the hospital, he had been completely unaware of anything else since.

He asked, “Uncle Yang, what is pheromone deficiency disorder?”

“Oh, that.” Doctor Yang reached up to adjust his glasses frame and explained in simpler terms what he had initially told Yuan Si Bai and the others.

Chi Jinxian seemed to understand but still didn’t quite grasp it. “But I’m a Beta. How could I get such a disease?”

The room fell silent for a moment. Doctor Yang glanced at Yuan Si Bai and Chi Sui and understood, they hadn’t explained it yet.

“You’re right, you are a Beta, and we should be grateful you’re still a Beta,” Doctor Yang said ambiguously. “The details are better left for your dad and papa to explain to you later.”

Chi Jinxian let out an uncertain “Oh” and smiled. “So in the future, will I be fine as long as I use the ‘Inducer’ you developed?”

Broadly speaking, unlike Omega Heat periods or Alpha Ruts where pheromones overflow and need suppression, Chi Jinxian needed something to trigger his deficiency to achieve a balanced state.

Last night, when Doctor Yang came to give Chi Jinxian an injection, he asked out of curiosity what the medicine was called. Doctor Yang first said he didn’t know, but upon seeing Chi Jinxian’s slightly panicked expression that seemed to ask, “Will this medicine kill me?” he found it amusing and calmly replied, “Let’s call it the Inducer then.”

He had just named it on the spot!

“You could say that,” Doctor Yang chuckled along with him. “I’ve discussed this with your dad. Your symptoms should clear up within a few years.” Then his tone turned more serious. “I promise, don’t be afraid.”

Chi Jinxian patted his chest. “I’m not afraid!”

Doctor Yang laughed again and joked, “If you ever have an Alpha or Omega partner in the future, you could try having them bite your scent gland. It might have a similar effect to the medicine. Then you wouldn’t need the Inducer anymore.”

Chi Jinxian looked surprised. “Really?”

Yuan Si Bai also perked up his ears curiously.

“You haven’t tried it, so I don’t know,” Doctor Yang shrugged lightly and chuckled. “But if you do try it, don’t forget to come back and tell me the results. It’ll be another study on the medication in your system.”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

Such a pragmatic doctor.

Although this illness had struck fiercely, nearly a week had passed, and even if it had been a Heat period, it would have ended by now.

Upon discharge, Doctor Yang reassured him in a calming tone that when the next episode of pheromone deficiency disorder occurred, the symptoms would definitely not be as frightening as this time, advising him not to worry. In the meantime, he didn’t need to take any Inducers and should just carry on as usual.

However, he must always keep Inducers on hand and not be careless.

Returning home in the evening, Chi Jinxian felt a sense of physical and mental ease, stretching lazily as if he could stretch more fully than usual.

“Dad, I’m hungry,” he said, bouncing over to the sofa and lying down, patting his stomach while grinning foolishly at Yuan Si Bai.

Yuan Si Bai had no choice but to indulge him. After changing his shoes, he said, “I’ll make some midnight snacks.”

Chi Jinxian’s smile grew even sillier. “Thank you, Dad.”

Now that everything was settled, although Chi Sui did have the right to take six months off from the company, he still had to work from home to stay updated on the current management style and the progress of various projects, Grandpa Chi wouldn’t allow him to slack off.

He had just set his laptop on the coffee table in the living room, intending to half-heartedly tap at the keyboard to get by, when Chi Jinxian suddenly spoke up:

“Dad.”

Chi Sui glanced up briefly before lowering his eyes again. “Hmm?”

Chi Jinxian lay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling for a moment, then asked, “Uncle Yang mentioned something about medication in my body… What exactly is inside me? Is the Smart Ring monitoring this?”

The sound of typing abruptly stopped, followed by a soft “snap.”

Chi Sui closed the laptop.

Chi Jinxian had only asked casually after all, it was his own body and his own life, but Chi Sui’s sudden seriousness made him too nervous to remain lying down.

He sat up straight, placing his hands on his knees, adopting a formal posture as he asked quietly and curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Yuan Si Bai emerged from the kitchen but didn’t come into the living room, keeping his eyes downcast.

Chi Sui glanced toward the kitchen before turning back. He rested his elbows on his slightly parted knees, interlacing his fingers.

After a moment of silence in the living room, Chi Sui finally spoke slowly, “Before you were born, I had a business partner.”

Chi Jinxian listened intently, not blinking, accepting the unusually solemn and tense atmosphere.

“At the time, I was rather idealistic and invested in a medical project,” Chi Sui explained. “Omegas and Alphas are different from Betas, they go through Heat Periods and sensitive phases at regular intervals. Especially for Omegas, if they accidentally go into heat in public, it can be extremely dangerous.”

“I wanted to develop a highly effective Suppressant even if it couldn’t provide a permanent solution, I hoped to see tangible results.”

Chi Jinxian already knew this all the Suppressants sold in the Alliance bore the Chi family’s logo.

“So.” Chi Jinxian guessed softly, “Did you discover a second research direction?”

After a moment of silence, Chi Sui stood up and walked over to sit beside Chi Jinxian.

As if being closer to his child gave him the courage to continue.

“I was just an investor, providing all the necessary support for the drug research. What I wanted was indeed developed, all the Suppressants on the market now are improved versions from that time,” Chi Sui said, pursing his lips.

He had long forgotten why he had such an absurd idea back then. Perhaps it was before he started dating Yuan Si Bai, when he had witnessed him during his heat period and learned that he had to inject Suppressants every day throughout that week.

For Omegas and Alphas who hadn’t found a partner, long-term accumulation of Suppressants could cause certain harm to their bodies. For instance, without receiving genuine pheromones, the Suppressants might gradually lose their effectiveness, and what would happen then was imaginable.

The Alliance still had a law stating, “If someone remains single by the age of 30, the system will automatically find them a partner with the highest pheromone compatibility,” to prevent accidents.

Chi Sui’s project had made significant progress. Nowadays, when a heat period arrives, people only need to inject one dose of Suppressant to achieve the same effect as twenty years ago.

Moreover, the suppression of various bodily indicators no longer produced such severe side effects.

Just three years ago, based on the advancements in Suppressant research, the Alliance revised the law from “automatic partner assignment at age 30” to “automatic partner assignment at age 50.”

“But before this, there were many defective products in the research and development of refined Suppressants.” Chi Sui’s voice was very low, and if the living room had been noisier at that moment, his words might have been inaudible. “One of the professors among the researchers, Qiao Ming, had dedicated many years to the medical field. Relying on my investment, he transformed ordinary defective products into malformed ones.”

Chi Jinxian already had an intuition that this defective product would inevitably be connected to him. He didn’t speak, only subconsciously holding his breath slightly.

“He developed a drug he named ‘Secondary Gender,'” Chi Sui said. ” It can ‘customize’ everyone’s gender.”

As if hearing a horror story, Chi Jinxian widened his eyes in shock and stammered, “Wh-what do you mean?”

Chi Sui fell silent again, as if thinking about how to explain.

After a moment of contemplation, he looked up and stared directly at Chi Jinxian, saying, “The simplest and clearest example is that he wants to make you an Omega.”

Though he didn’t know the specifics and had no mental images of what Chi Sui described, Chi Jinxian felt a chill run down his spine. He turned and stretched his arms out toward Yuan Si Bai, exclaiming exaggeratedly, “Dad, hold me quickly!”

His tone was theatrical, as if he were acting. For some reason, Chi Sui suddenly felt less somber and couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Yuan Si Bai hurried over and truly embraced Chi Jinxian, tenderly stroking his hair.

Before the “Secondary Gender” drug was discovered, Chi Sui had no idea about it. It wasn’t until reports emerged in the Alliance about someone conducting human experiments to alter genders that this scandal came to light.

The Alliance sent investigators to conduct a thorough inquiry but found that all the volunteers who had participated in the research had already passed away, and without exception, their Secondary Genders had been altered.

Chi Sui cooperated with the investigation, sternly ordered Qiao Ming to halt his research, and immediately terminated his investment.

Since the others had voluntarily undergone “modification,” the Alliance couldn’t produce concrete charges to arrest Qiao Ming, so he remained at large.

After his funding was cut off, Qiao Ming approached Chi Sui several times, extolling the benefits of “Secondary Gender” how it could allow people to choose their own gender automatically, and what was wrong with that?

Chi Sui remained unmoved and called the police.

Until,

He kidnapped Chi Jinxian, who was only seven years old at the time.

Back then, Doctor Yang happened to analyze the dangers of the malformed defective drug. That medication could indeed forcibly reverse a person’s gender, but the slightest mishap could be life-threatening.

And the suffering before death was particularly degrading.

For example, if he turned a Beta into an Omega, someone who originally didn’t produce pheromones would suddenly experience a heat period, the burning sensation was something most people couldn’t endure.

According to the natural laws of ABO society, during a heat period, one must either take Suppressants or engage in intimate acts with a partner, who didn’t necessarily have to be a mate.

These were the only two methods to find relief.

Those who had their Secondary Gender forcibly reversed would crave that pleasure even more intensely, which was why their deaths were described as particularly degrading.

Qiao Ming was fully aware of all the side effects but continued his research. After Chi Sui forcibly terminated their collaboration, he held a grudge and directed his revenge toward Chi Sui’s son.

When Xiao Chi Jinxian was found, he was covered in injuries that bastard had even physically abused and beaten him!

Upon seeing Chi Sui and Yuan Si Bai, Chi Jinxian cried heartbreakingly but refused to let them touch him.

It was as if every touch from anyone would inflict another wound on him.

Everyone was a villain.

The only saving grace was that Xiao Chi Jinxian was just a seven-year-old child at the time. The drug intended to turn him into an Omega, but Omegas only experience heat periods after reaching maturity, so the transformation didn’t succeed immediately.

As soon as he was found, Chi Sui immediately took him to the hospital to cleanse the drug from his system.

The results at the time indicated that the cleansing was successful and thorough.

But no one dared to be careless. Thus, Doctor Yang spent ten years researching this matter and gave Chi Jinxian a Smart Ring to monitor whether any residual drugs remained in his body.

“Thank goodness I’m a Beta.” After speaking, this was Chi Jinxian’s only thought.

He hugged Yuan Si Bai’s waist tightly, pretending to cry like a child seeking parental protection, but with genuine emotion: “It’s so great that I’m a Beta!”

Yuan Si Bai’s heart ached too much for words, and he kept stroking Chi Jinxian’s hair.

“But why don’t I have any memory of these events? Logically, shouldn’t I remember things from when I was seven?” He truly couldn’t find any traces of these memories in his mind. The earlier panic was real, but once that moment passed, Chi Jinxian was no longer afraid.

He released Yuan Si Bai’s waist and looked at Chi Sui, asking: “And Dad, you never told me about this.”

Yuan Si Bai sat down and said, “We didn’t want to tell you about something uncertain it would only make you worry every day.”

“As for why you have no memory.”

Yuan Si Bai’s voice trailed off, as if considering how to explain.

“You had a high fever,” Chi Sui interjected at that moment.

Chi Jinxian looked over, skeptically guessing: “Did I burn out my brains?”

“Pretty much,” Chi Sui sighed and said, “But you were quite clever you forgot everything you wanted to forget. My son is just different from others, even having unique ideas about how to handle a fever.”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

For a moment, he actually thought his father made a good point. Because all these years, if not for today, he would never have realized he truly couldn’t remember anything from around age seven!

And he’d never bothered to reflect on it truly the pinnacle of carefree oblivion.

So he couldn’t find words to refute.

Both adults could see the indescribable expression on his face and couldn’t help chuckling softly. Chi Jinxian then laughed along and complained to his father, “You never miss a chance to tease me. That’s really mean.”

“But Dad, what happened to that bad guy in the end?”

Hearing this, Chi Sui stopped his light laughter, a trace of coldness evident in his eyes. Even his tone when he spoke again was icy: “I sent him to his death.”

“…” Chi Jinxian blinked twice, startled by his father. He asked softly, “Isn’t that illegal?”

Chi Sui: “…”

What kind of logic is that?! Chi Sui stopped exuding his cold aura, feeling too exasperated to roll his eyes. He retorted irritably, “I gathered evidence to send him to prison to die, what’s illegal about that?”

Chi Jinxian breathed a sigh of relief. “You should’ve said so earlier.”

Chi Sui clicked his tongue, seemingly angered. But suddenly, his emotions vanished in the blink of an eye. After a long pause, he said with a slightly tense voice, “An An, I’m sorry don’t blame me.”

“Huh?” Chi Jinxian was confused by the apology, then quickly realized his father was blaming himself. He immediately put on a serious expression and said, “Why would I blame you? My dad is amazing! Handsome, wealthy, and contributing to the Alliance! Other people’s ambitions and mistakes are their own business. My dad is super impressive”

As he spoke, he even used both arms to gesture, drawing a long line as if it could encompass all of Chi Sui’s achievements.

Yuan Si Bai chuckled lightly, glancing at Chi Sui and teasing, “See? What did I tell you?”

How could he ever blame them?

Chi Sui was flustered by the praise and finally laughed while scolding, “You little rascal.”

Chi Jinxian added, “Besides, if I have the time, I’d rather go coax Lu Zhi and chat with him, make him like me.”

Chi Sui: “…”

Chi Sui calmed down, stood up, pointed at Chi Jinxian, and gritted his teeth, “You little brat, is that all you care about?”

Chi Jinxian just grinned foolishly.

Yuan Si Bai shook his head, watching them fondly with a smile in his eyes, then went to the kitchen to check if his late-night snack was ready.

Chi Jinxian spoke boldly about having time to coax Lu Zhi. He didn’t do it while hospitalized, but now he genuinely had plenty of time.

After washing up, Chi Jinxian lay on his bed, opening his phone, closing it, opening it again repeating the cycle.

The screen consistently showed the pinned chat box labeled [Future Husband].

Lu Zhi hated Betas, but how could he make Lu Zhi not hate him?

Chi Jinxian placed his fingers on the keyboard, typing one character at a time while murmuring softly and slowly, “Bro, when Monday comes can I still get a meal with you please don’t hate, ahhh no no no.” Frustrated, he deleted all the text and muttered to himself, “How can I directly ask him not to hate me? That would just remind him he hates Betas.”

The blinking cursor in the input box seemed to urge him to continue typing. Chi Jinxian thought dejectedly: But I am a Beta.

“Buzz.”

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone vibrated, startling Chi Jinxian out of his daze. His eyes instinctively darted to see who had sent the message.

What he saw shocked him so much that he threw his phone and sat up straight in bed!

The phone screen, lying flat on the bed, glowed brightly. The page still showed Lu Zhi’s chat box. Before Chi Jinxian could send a single character, a new message had come in from the other side.

Chi Jinxian stared wide-eyed at the screen, holding his breath. The two messages didn’t disappear.

It wasn’t a hallucination!

Lu Zhi: [Chi Jinxian, why aren’t you replying to my messages?]

Lu Zhi: [Reply to me.]