What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 30.2

After watching him finish, Jiang Jin replied casually, “Oh, Lu Zhi said you weren’t responding to him, so he asked me to try reaching out. That’s when I realized forget trying to contact you, I didn’t even have your info.”

He took his phone back and double-checked before adding, “Do you have your phone with you? If not, don’t forget to accept the request when we get back to class.”

Chi Jinxian could barely make out Jiang Jin’s words anymore, nor did he fully understand them. He just nodded subconsciously and agreed.

But his mind was completely occupied by the words, “Lu Zhi said you’re not replying to him.”

He lifted his eyes to glance lightly at Lu Zhi, who had his gaze half-lowered, appearing as if he hadn’t heard their conversation, eating his meal expressionlessly.

“Then why didn’t you add me through Lu Zhi back then, Brother Jiang?” Chi Jinxian asked cautiously, his eyes fixed on Lu Zhi’s face, his tone soft and almost unconscious.

Hearing this, Jiang Jin looked up with a smile, enunciating each word as if to retaliate: “He wouldn’t give it.”

When Chi Jinxian was sick and absent for a week, others didn’t dare approach Lu Zhi, and Lu Zhi wouldn’t involve others without reason, so it was normal that no one noticed Lu Zhi’s unusual state. But Jiang Jin, who had grown up with him and still interacted with him daily, perceived it clearly.

The atmosphere around Lu Zhi was entirely abnormal.

At first, aside from speaking even less, there weren’t many other noticeable changes.

It wasn’t until one day when Qi Suiyi told their classmates in Class 10 of Grade 12 that Chi Jinxian was fine that Lu Zhi truly began to change.

He remained silent throughout the entire meal, and when playing basketball, he attacked relentlessly. To prevent him from taking his frustration out on others, Jiang Jin had no choice but to play along, treating it as a way for him to vent.

But even while playing, questions needed to be asked. That Friday, they didn’t even get to eat lunch. Jiang Jin was exhausted on the court, drenched in sweat as he sat on the ground, propping himself up with his hands behind him to relax his stiff body. He couldn’t hold back any longer and said, “Lu Zhi, just say what’s on your mind, okay? Keeping things bottled up is terrifying, especially when it’s you. Can you stop taking it all out on me? It’s just a game of basketball. With Cash not around, I have no idea what you’re thinking.”

Clang!

Lu Zhi expressionlessly made a precise shot, but the aim was slightly off. The basketball hit the rim with a deafening sound.

Jiang Jin watched as the backboard continued to vibrate for dozens of seconds, a sensation that seemed to evoke the buzzing of tinnitus. It was clear just how terrifying the force behind that shot had been. After a moment of silence, he said, “Want to play a couple more rounds?”

Lu Zhi didn’t respond, letting the ball roll farther away without any intention of retrieving it.

He merely lifted the hem of his shirt and roughly wiped his face, the gloom and hostility in his eyes undiminished.

After a while, he suddenly spoke: “Jiang Jin, send Chi Jinxian a message. He’s awake now.”

“Huh?” Jiang Jin was puzzled. “Wouldn’t it be more efficient if you messaged him? Little Cash might not reply to others, but he’d definitely reply to you.”

At this, an eerie silence fell between them.

Lu Zhi said, “He’s not replying to me.”

Jiang Jin’s mouth fell slightly open. “Huh?”

“He replies to everyone but me.”

“…” Jiang Jin was almost completely baffled. “Huh?”

Lu Zhi lowered his gaze and didn’t respond further.

Jiang Jin pushed himself up from the ground, his palms filthy. Though he didn’t fully grasp what Lu Zhi meant, seeing how insistent the other seemed, he slowly reached for his phone. A minute later, he hissed, “I don’t have Cash’s contact info. How absurd.”

Lu Zhi looked up at him, his eyes still filled with hostility but now tinged with a hint of bewilderment.

Jiang Jin said helplessly, “He’s been following you all this time, and there’s no need for contact. It’s been two years, and I actually never added him, nor did he add me.”

“Mm.” Lu Zhi lowered his eyes again and turned to pick up the ball, clearly not planning to continue playing. “Then forget it.”

“Hey, don’t just forget it,” Jiang Jin said, suddenly feeling inexplicably intrigued. He stood up and followed, “Give me Xianjin’s contact info. When I add him, I’ll just say who I am see if he responds or not.”

Lu Zhi shoved the ball he’d just picked up into Jiang Jin’s arms without a word, a clear refusal.

“So you see, he tells me to contact you but doesn’t give me your contact info,” Jiang Jin tapped his chopsticks on the tray, looking up at Chi Jinxian. “Doesn’t that seem like indirectly stirring up trouble for no reason?”

Chi Jinxian let out a short “ah,” not wanting to comment on the matter.

Lu Zhi, who had been acting like an invisible presence the whole time, finally glanced coldly at Jiang Jin and said indifferently, “I’m not that kind of person.”

Jiang Jin looked at him in confusion.

“I stir up trouble directly.” With that, Lu Zhi looked at Chi Jinxian and said, “Even when you get back, don’t accept his friend request.”

Jiang Jin: “…”

“Tch,” Jiang Jin nearly sneered, angered. “So now you don’t need me to find him?”

Lu Zhi said, “No need.” Then he added, “Anyway, with or without you, it’s useless.”

Jiang Jin: “…”

Jiang Jin nodded with a smile. If he weren’t outmatched, he really seemed like he wanted to throw hands with this guy surnamed Lu.

Chi Jinxian watched them from across the table, seeing no trace of the heavy, low-pressure mood Jiang Jin had described in Lu Zhi. On the contrary, he thought his Lu-ge was quite amusing today.

Look, how human he seemed.

Thinking this, he couldn’t help letting the corners of his lips curl up slightly.

“But Lu Zhi, there’s one thing I’m really curious about,” Jiang Jin said as they finished their meal, took their trays to the cleaning area, and walked out together.

Lu Zhi glanced sideways at him, signaling him to continue.

With a teasing glint in his eyes, Jiang Jin asked, “When did you find out that Little Xianjin was a Beta?”

“When the news spread throughout the school, you didn’t seem surprised at all.”

Ever since Chi Jinxian’s Secondary Gender as a Beta was exposed, the fact that he had previously claimed to be an Omega to deceive Lu Zhi had been dragged out and criticized repeatedly.

So naturally, everyone knew Chi Jinxian had never been an Omega.

When Jiang Jin first learned about it, his initial reaction was shock.

After all, in two years, he had never noticed anything unusual.

But when he saw Lu Zhi again, his reaction showed no surprise at all.

It was just that before Chi Jinxian returned, Lu Zhi had been in a foul mood, and Jiang Jin hadn’t dared to ask.

But now he did.

Hearing this, Chi Jinxian, who had been following along quietly, immediately perked up his ears, paying close attention.

Lu Zhi remained silent, so Jiang Jin asked again.

They reached the teaching building, and Lu Zhi started climbing the stairs. Just as the other two thought he wouldn’t answer, he suddenly asked out of the blue, “What do I smell like?”

“Huh?” Jiang Jin was puzzled and instinctively began to say, “Ice.”

“Wasn’t asking you,” Lu Zhi said.

Jiang Jin understood! Lu Zhi had asked Chi Jinxian this question back in their first year of high school, but unless he was angry or extremely serious, Lu Zhi always posed questions as if they were casual remarks. If he didn’t ask a second time, it seemed he didn’t particularly care about the point, so others could easily brush it off, and that would be the end of it.

That time in their first year, Chi Jinxian had evaded the question with vague excuses and never really answered.

But Lu Zhi had asked back in sophomore year! And that time was during his Heat Period he hadn’t made it home in time, and a bit of his pheromones accidentally leaked out.

Yet Lu Zhi, as an Alpha, possessed such powerful pheromones that unless stimulated by an unavoidable person or scent during his Heat Period, they would never leak unless he allowed it. That day, Jiang Jin, walking beside him, suddenly sensed something off and asked, “Did your Heat Period come early?”

As he spoke, he noticed Lu Zhi frowning deeply and instantly withdrawing his gloomy gaze from Chi Jinxian.

“Yeah,” Lu Zhi replied, “Just realized. I’ll take leave and go home soon.”

Before Jiang Jin could nod, Lu Zhi suddenly spoke up, looking at Chi Jinxian and asking, “What do I smell like?”

And today, for who-knows-how-many-times certainly no less than three he asked Chi Jinxian this same question again.

“You, you’ve always known Little Cash is a Beta?” Compared to just finding out Chi Jinxian was a Beta, this revelation clearly had a greater impact on Jiang Jin.

“Bro, you’ve known all along?!” Chi Jinxian was even more shocked than him.

The overlapping questions amplified the astonishment, pulling Jiang Jin’s senses back somewhat.

He thought: Lu Zhi dislikes Betas, yet he’s always known Chi Jinxian’s gender and silently allowed this little Beta to follow him for years.

Now, it seemed these actions were incredibly indulgent.

Jiang Jin was baffled, as if meeting these two for the first time, and lowered his gaze in deep thought.

Soon after, he glanced at Chi Jinxian with a strange look.

“Then, Lu-ge, why didn’t you tell me?”Chi Jinxian frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of complaint like a boyfriend would.”

And it made him act for so long.

As if recalling this too, Lu Zhi said indifferently, “You seemed to enjoy acting.”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

Thinking back on the past two years, embarrassment arrived belatedly. Chi Jinxian couldn’t help but rub his ears.

He muttered quietly, “Bro, why are you bullying me?”

As they talked, they reached the classroom. Just as Lu Zhi pushed open the back door to enter, Jiang Jin, who had been pondering suddenly snapped back and said, “Lu Zhi, wasn’t your knee swollen a few days ago? I saw it during basketball. Is it better now? If not, you should apply some medicine.”

Lu Zhi, holding the door handle, paused slightly while closing it and looked up to meet his gaze. Jiang Jin clicked his tongue, shrugged lightly, and walked away.

Chi Jinxian, who had just reached his seat and hadn’t sat down yet, jolted inwardly at the words. The scene from his episode that day instantly rushed back! He thought, So it was Lu-ge who got hurt!

He must have startled Lu-ge back then too; otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken such a hard fall just to catch him.

Chi Jinxian’s half-bent legs, about to sit, straightened instantly. Anxiously, he turned to face the back row, facing Lu Zhi.

Softly, he said, “Bro.”

Lu Zhi closed the door and responded, “Hm.”

“Was it your knee that hit the ground then?” Chi Jinxian asked with a pained expression. “Did it hurt?”

Lu Zhi replied, “What do you think?” After the rhetorical question, he added, “I thought you didn’t remember anything.”

Chi Jinxian’s face grew even more pained, tinged with heartache. He whispered, “I remember. It’s just, I was afraid you’d be mad, so I didn’t dare ask.”

“I don’t dare ask.” Lu Zhi repeated this point softly, pulling out a chair and sitting down. After a moment, he finally lifted his gaze to stare at Chi Jinxian, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalance as he said, “My knees are all bruised purple, and you’re still sulking without saying a word.”

“And now you’re brushing it off with just ‘I don’t dare ask’.”