What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 27.2

Jiang Baixiao said with a straight face, “You’re clearly a Beta, but you’ve been saying for two years that you’re an Omega. You didn’t even tell me. Isn’t that a bit much, huh?”

Before he even finished speaking, an almost overwhelming numbness surged through Chi Jinxian’s scalp. He stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Jiang Baixiao for a long moment before stammering out, “You all know… know I’m a Beta?”

“Yep,” Jiang Baixiao said. “Even though you went to the restroom during class, there were probably other people in there. The class monitor told the teacher during class that he wanted to check on you, and if you were unwell, he’d report it to the homeroom teacher. And then.”

Chi Jinxian could barely hear Jiang Baixiao’s words anymore, as his hands and feet had already turned cold.

After a long pause, he asked in a small, hopeful voice, “Do a lot of people know?”

“Sis, it’s not a lot of people,” Jiang Baixiao said. “It’s the entire school.”

There had been someone else in one of the restroom stalls that day no one knew who, but they had overheard Chi Jinxian’s conversation with Lu Zhi, learned that Chi Jinxian was sick, and heard what Lu Zhi said.

That afternoon, an anonymous user posted about it on the forum.

Click.

A sound came from the back door.

Lu Zhi had arrived.

Chi Jinxian had been facing Jiang Baixiao, looking at him, but when a familiar figure entered his peripheral vision, he was startled. Almost instinctively, he immediately straightened his face and lowered his head to look at the notebook on his desk.

He clearly looked very timid.

Lu Zhi closed the door, tidied his seat, and sat down quietly, his gaze withdrawing from Chi Jinxian.

With the other party involved now present, Jiang Baixiao immediately shut his mouth and straightened his posture.

There wasn’t much time left before class started, and the classroom had grown considerably quieter than before.

Amid this tranquility, Chi Jinxian’s fingers restlessly played with the pages of his book, his thoughts swirling in disbelief that the entire school now knew he was a Beta.

Having browsed the school forum no more than three times in total, Chi Jinxian deliberated for less than three minutes before pulling out his phone and navigating to the forum.

Just as expected, Jiang Baixiao hadn’t exaggerated in the slightest. The entire school truly knew, the discussion thread had grown exceptionally long.

Scrolling through the posts, he saw everyone wishing him good health polite, at least. After the well-wishes, the topic inevitably circled back to how Chi Jinxian had pursued Lu Zhi for two years without success. They explicitly stated they’d continue watching the spectacle. Now, however, it wasn’t just about amusement, they were certain Lu Zhi would despise Chi Jinxian for being a Beta.

Thus, the betting began.

One side wagered on whether Chi Jinxian, now exposed as a Beta, would continue following Lu Zhi. The other side bet on whether Lu Zhi would openly tell Chi Jinxian how much he disgusted him.

Whichever the outcome, everyone seemed eagerly entertained.

The preparatory bell rang. Chi Jinxian put away his phone, the light in his eyes dimmer than ever before.

He hung his head, thinking, There’s really no saving this now. Everyone knows. Denying it is useless, I can’t fool Brother Lu.

If I keep following him, I’ll only earn his dislike, even his revulsion, How heartbreaking that would be.

It was a new Monday, yet Chi Jinxian remained joyless and barely spoke a word.

His mind was utterly blank, devoid of any solution truly helpless.

All he could think was, Last week when I wasn’t here, Lu Zhi had no meal card. He must have had to mooch off Jiang Jin.

Just before third period, Lu Zhi returned from the restroom. After closing the back door and turning around, he paused mid-sit.

Lying perfectly centered on his desk was a meticulously placed card Lu Zhi’s meal card returned by Chi Jinxian.

Lu Zhi lowered his gaze, his half-lidded eyes fixed on the card for a long moment before his indifferent stare shifted to Chi Jinxian’s back.

The latter was frantically catching up on last week’s missed lessons by borrowing Jiang Baixiao’s notes. The moment Lu Zhi’s gaze landed on him, Chi Jinxian seemed to sense it his back slowly, gradually straightened even more rigidly.

If one looked closely, he appeared almost stiff.

Though that piercing gaze made his spine prickle, he never once glanced back.

This standoff lasted until the class bell rang. Only then did Lu Zhi lower his lashes, withdraw his gaze, sit down, and pocket the meal card.

Chi Jinxian’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly, a quiet sigh of relief evident.

He was also grateful for having missed classes the previous week it gave him something to focus on now. Chi Jinxian refused to let himself overthink and devoted himself to catching up on notes.

Besides, in a few days, he might just come up with a new plan!

But for now, Chi Jinxian didn’t dare. Just like how the six roses from that day had been returned exactly as they were given.

Back home, Chi Jinxian had replanted the six rose stems. And this week, to avoid being a nuisance, he decided not to prepare any more.

The week passed in a blink, and Friday arrived amidst Chi Jinxian’s quiet compliance.

For five whole days, not only had Chi Jinxian avoided tailing Lu Zhi for meals he hadn’t even dared to speak a single word to him.

Thinking back carefully, their eyes hadn’t even met once!

Jiang Baixiao was intensely curious, itching to know what was going on.

After coming back from lunch at noon, he finally couldn’t hold back anymore. He approached Chi Jinxian, who had returned from eating alone, and asked, “Cash, what’s going on between you and the class monitor?”

“Huh?” Chi Jinxian’s hand, which was making up notes, paused. His eyes instinctively glanced toward the back Lu Zhi hadn’t returned yet.

He turned to look at Jiang Baixiao, then quickly averted his gaze, stammering, “N-nothing much.”

“Tch.” Jiang Baixiao clearly didn’t believe him, his face full of suspicion. “Why aren’t you eating with the class monitor anymore? Didn’t he give you his card? How will he eat if you don’t go? Last week he ate with Jiang Jin from the next class over.”

“…” Chi Jinxian lowered his eyes, offering no explanation and naturally remaining silent.

After a moment, Jiang Baixiao seemed to figure it out. “Is it because God Lu hates Betas?”

The person beside him remained even more silent.

Just as expected. Jiang Baixiao stopped asking and even sighed.

But a moment later, Chi Jinxian finally spoke.

He whispered, “Baixiao, you said you went to the same middle school as Brother Lu… Why does Brother Lu hate Betas?”

Hey, the Alliance Know-It-All was actually coming in handy. Hearing this, Jiang Baixiao immediately leaned in again, speaking as if sharing a secret. “It seems it’s because of his dad’s current wife Lu Wan’s stepfather. That gentleman is a Beta, right? No reproductive cavity, but he still had Lu Wan apparently through medication. Anyway, with all the technology available these days.”

This was the first time Chi Jinxian seriously listened to these rumors, since he wouldn’t dare ask the person himself. Seeing how engrossed he was, Jiang Baixiao became even more animated in his storytelling. “When the class monitor was in eighth grade, he beat up that gentleman at the school gate. Don’t know the exact reason. Almost beat him half to death hard to believe, right? A kid putting an adult in the hospital. Now you know how fierce the class monitor can be. Because of this, he even got a demerit. In the end, General Lu himself had to come to the school to settle it, but everyone in my middle school knew about this incident.”

“Really?” Chi Jinxian looked full of doubt. Although he didn’t quite believe it, it made some sense that Lu Zhi hated Betas because of this at least it was a reason.

“Hey, Chi Cash, look at you. I tell you, and you don’t believe me.” Jiang Baixiao pushed Chi Jinxian’s gossip-leaning head back to his own seat and said, “Go write your notes. I’m not telling you anymore.”

Chi Jinxian spent the entire afternoon thinking about this, still preoccupied when he went to the restroom after third period.

He thought to himself, even if Lu Zhi really hated Betas because of this, it had nothing to do with him. He wasn’t Lu Wan’s father.

But everyone said Lu Zhi’s hatred for this gender was collective if they had nothing to do with him, anyone could be a Beta, and his attitude would be no different from toward anyone else. But if a Beta had any connection to him, then Lu Zhi’s attitude would definitely include disgust.

This problem seemed unsolvable. The little confidence he’d mustered faded again at this thought. Chi Jinxian washed his hands at the sink, so lost in thought he didn’t hear someone calling him nearby.

Until someone poked his arm with a finger.

Chi Jinxian instinctively turned, first looking at his arm, then at the person.

Nan Mengbai smiled. “What are you thinking about so intently? I called you several times.”

“Ah, it’s you.” Chi Jinxian turned off the faucet, shaking his hands dry. “Maybe I’ve gone dumb from catching up on notes.”

Amused by his humor, Nan Mengbai laughed. “I don’t think so.”

“But it might actually be because you’ve been catching up on notes lately. This is the first time I’ve seen you all week.”

Chi Jinxian nodded. “There really is a lot of homework.” After saying this, he glanced at Nan Mengbai’s foot, a hint of relief appearing on his face. “Your foot is finally better.”

Nan Mengbai also looked down and chuckled, saying, “Yeah. It’s healed. It was just a sprain anyway, and with the cast, it recovered quickly.”

Both of them had finished washing their hands and began walking out. Nan Mengbai looked Chi Jinxian up and down as if meeting him for the first time, then said, “Jinxian, I really didn’t expect you to be a Beta.”

“Ah.” Chi Jinxian tilted his neck slightly upward, as if wanting to vent, but his voice was soft, almost pleading helplessly. “Don’t remind me of this anymore. I’m really worried about it.”

Nan Mengbai laughed again and asked, “What are you worried about?”

Chi Jinxian replied listlessly, “Worried that Brother Lu hates me.”

“No wonder everyone’s been saying lately that you and Lu Zhi seem to have fallen out.”

“We haven’t fallen out,” Chi Jinxian retorted with a resentful glance.

“Alright, you haven’t fallen out,” Nan Mengbai conceded with a helpless smile and a nod. “But are you giving up on pursuing Lu Zhi?”

Otherwise, why would the once lively little sun, who used to orbit around one person, now not even exchange a word with him?

But Chi Jinxian immediately declared, “Of course I’m still pursuing him!”

After stating his stance, he slumped back into dejection, consoling himself, “I’ll wait a few more days.”

Nan Mengbai asked, “Why?”

Chi Jinxian, in his despondency, made a bold declaration: “I’ll wait until Brother Lu has fully processed the fact that I’m a Beta before I pursue him again.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Nan Mengbai fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

In a daze, he followed Chi Jinxian all the way to the tenth-grade class area.

By the time he snapped out of it, Chi Jinxian had already reached the back door.

“Jinxian,” Nan Mengbai suddenly called out his name. When the other turned to look, he said, “I really like you.”

“…” Chi Jinxian frowned, looking troubled. “What kind of ‘like’? If it’s that kind, I’ve already said not to like me. I like…”

He instinctively glanced through the window toward the back row, only to find Lu Zhi staring at him with a heavy gaze!

Startled, Chi Jinxian quickly lowered his eyelashes, turned on his heel, and decided not to use the back door, opting to go around to the front instead.

Nan Mengbai found his behavior odd and only then realized they had already passed their own classroom. He hurriedly turned back as well, asking Chi Jinxian why he wasn’t going through the back.

Chi Jinxian pushed open the front door and entered, whispering, “I’m afraid Brother Lu might suddenly grab me and say he hates me. It’s better to keep my distance for now.”

With that, he closed the door, raised the collar of his school uniform, and pulled the zipper all the way to the top.

Chi Jinxian lightly bit the zipper, burying his chin and the tip of his nose in the upturned collar, as if he could make himself invisible this way.

He kept his head down, staring at the floor, and quickly returned to his seat to continue taking notes. He was so quiet and well-behaved that he made no sound at all.

This week was another one where all students could go home.

The fourth period passed quickly, and it felt like the dismissal bell rang in no time.

Jiang Baixiao had started packing up two minutes earlier. As soon as the bell rang, he immediately slung his backpack over his shoulder and said, “See you next week, Cash.”

“Okay,” Chi Jinxian waved goodbye. His things were already packed, and after replying, he stood up, ready to leave immediately. After all, he had already developed experience and habits for avoiding Lu Zhi this week.

But this time, his experience and habits proved useless.

Before Chi Jinxian could even take a step, before he had time to stand up a sharp “screech ” suddenly pierced his ears.

Hugging his backpack tightly, he froze mid-motion.

Right after Jiang Baixiao left his seat, Lu Zhi pushed his own desk sideways with one hand, tilting the two-person table to occupy Jiang Baixiao’s spot, causing it to collide with the desk in front.

The other end of the desk pressed against the wall, neatly trapping Chi Jinxian in his seat.

The other students in the class slowed or even halted their movements at the commotion even Jiang Baixiao stood frozen, holding his breath as he watched them.

Lu Zhi remained seated, leisurely packing his things.

Perhaps because the silence had stretched on too long, Lu Zhi lifted his eyes indifferently, and the pause button was instantly released. Everyone quickly gathered their belongings faster than before and fled.

With so many people in the class, even at top speed, it would still take several minutes for the commotion to settle.

Chi Jinxian felt like a captive bride snatched up a mountain, clutching his backpack warily as he was confined in that cramped space.

If his heart could sweat, he’d have shed buckets by now! At the very least, his back felt icy cold. He thought to himself, it’s happening, it’s happening even though he’d been avoiding it, Lu Zhi was determined to confront him face-to-face about how much he disliked him.

Chi Jinxian didn’t want to hear it!

He didn’t notice when the classroom had emptied out. Without much thought, his instincts took over, and before he knew it, he had crouched down low, slipped out from under the desk that trapped him, and crept toward the back door, hunched over.

But just as the door cracked open a sliver, a dull “thud!” sounded. Still dazed and wondering why the door had shut, Chi Jinxian felt a sudden tug on the back of his collar, followed by a distinct “clang ”

He was yanked up and pinned against the door, his cheek nearly pressed flat against it!

Lu Zhi stood behind him, holding him firmly in place, rendering him immobile.

Lu Zhi’s gaze was intense, looking down at Chi Jinxian as if trying to draw him into the depths of his pupils, Chi Jinxian didn’t dare look back or even glance sideways, so he didn’t see it.

But his heart was racing wildly. In that moment, he couldn’t tell if it was from nervousness, excitement, or a touch of fear. His fingers unconsciously dug into the edge of his backpack.

A moment passed, and neither of them spoke. Chi Jinxian could feel the chilling aura radiating from the person behind him.

He swallowed hard and timidly whispered, “Lu-ge, let go ”

“Still planning to run?” Lu Zhi cut him off coldly, tightening his grip slightly.

Pinned uncomfortably, Chi Jinxian quickly shook his head and replied, “N-no, I won’t run.”

“Still going to hide?” Lu Zhi pressed.

Chi Jinxian shook his head again, earnestly stating his stance, “No, I won’t hide.”

Lu Zhi held him a moment longer, as if deciding whether to believe him, then issued a cold warning: “I’m letting you go now. Behave. If you dare run, unless you never come back to school, I’ll make you cry every time I see you.”

“Understood?”