What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 4

“Ahhhhhhh”

“Qi Suiyi”

“What are you doing?!” Chi Jinxian’s heart-wrenching roar shattered the strangely stunned silence.

With a sudden thud, he rolled off the bed onto the floor, barefoot and frantic as he scrambled to snatch the love letter from Qi Suiyi’s hand, his face burning bright red.

“You can read it if you want! I never said you couldn’t! But why did you have to read it out loud?!” Chi Jinxian kicked him with his bare foot, chest heaving with heavy breaths.

Afraid of being kicked again, Qi Suiyi, still wearing an expression of disbelief and speechlessness quickly dodged, raising his arm as if to block.

The next moment, a flash of red light from the nearby wrist caught his eye. The light spot briefly settled deep in his pupils, like flipping a switch on a lamp.

“Your Smart Ring lit up!”

“Huh?” Chi Jinxian looked down at the silver Smart Ring on his left wrist. A tiny dot in the center flickered briefly before the last bit of light faded completely.

“Hmph.” He completely stopped his assault, shooting one last glare at the other before irritably folding the love letter and tucking it into the envelope adorned with rose petals.

“You’re already 17. When are you going to remove this Smart Ring? Really waiting until you’re 18?” Qi Suiyi cautiously reached for a bottle of milk on the desk. Before he could revel in his success, Chi Jinxian snatched it away and hugged it protectively to his chest. “Can’t you see this is the only one in my room? It’s for someone tomorrow. If you want milk, go get one yourself downstairs.”

Qi Suiyi: “…”

This was infuriating.

“I’m half a year younger than you! Can’t you give me a break?” Qi Suiyi snapped. “Even Lu Zhi doesn’t drink your milk!”

“You’re my uncle,” Chi Jinxian reminded him. “Elders should dote on their juniors.”

Qi Suiyi: “…”

“It’s not necessarily at 18. The doctor said bodily functions generally stabilize after adulthood.” Chi Jinxian placed both the love letter and the milk into his backpack to avoid forgetting them if he overslept the next day. “Since there were no abnormalities in childhood, it’s even less likely to happen by then.” Feeling his statement was too absolute, he hummed and added nonchalantly, “Most likely.”

Chi Jinxian had been ill as a child. He couldn’t be bothered to remember the professional medical terms, only knowing it could affect his gender differentiation nothing else seemed to be impacted.

Just as infants are assigned a gender at birth Alpha, Beta, or Omega they undergo Secondary Gender differentiation around ages fourteen or fifteen.

In other words, the gender at birth doesn’t necessarily determine what they will become though most do.

More strictly speaking, the second differentiation is the true one.

Chi Jinxian was born a Beta and remained one at 17, but

He hadn’t undergone his second differentiation yet.

His illness happened to affect his differentiation, which was why he had worn this Smart Ring since childhood it could detect underlying causes.

“Besides detecting Secondary Gender, it has many uses, like recording my vital signs and waking me up in the morning.” Chi Jinxian raised his wrist, waving the ring in front of Qi Suiyi. “And it looks nice. I might not even remove it after adulthood, I’ll wear it as a bracelet.”

The Smart Ring was silver, about three millimeters wide, snug against Chi Jinxian’s wrist just behind the wrist bone, accentuating his already slender hands.

This thing had automatically adjusted to Chi Jinxian’s bone structure since childhood, so after all these years, it seemed unchanged.

Qi Suiyi didn’t argue with him, his expression turning more serious. “This is the third time it’s lit up, right?”

The Smart Ring had been on Chi Jinxian’s wrist for so many years and had only lit up three times so far.

The first time was when he was 16. Yuan Si Bai thought he was going through his second differentiation and rushed him to the hospital in a panic.

After the examination, his vital signs were normal no differentiation.

The second time was three months ago. Chi Sui immediately called the family doctor without delay. After the examination, his vital signs were normal no differentiation.

Tonight was the third time.

“Going to the hospital tomorrow?” Qi Suiyi added.

“Let’s go after school in the afternoon,” Chi Jinxian said, feeling his feet were a bit cold. He looked down and realized he wasn’t wearing shoes. The deep-seated resentment from having his love letter read aloud earlier resurfaced. He glared at Qi Suiyi, then ran to put on his shoes, saying, “After two ‘crying wolf’ incidents, I’m sure it’s nothing again because I don’t feel any discomfort.”

Qi Suiyi thought so too and grunted in agreement.

The warm lighting in the room seemed to soften people’s features, including the memory of the love letter. The paper and envelope of the love letter carried obvious hints and ambiguity, but all Qi Suiyi could recall were those exceptionally bold and straightforward words right from the beginning!

Especially after being glared at by Chi Jinxian again, his shock suddenly turned into anger.

“Chi Jinxian, look at how pathetic you are. Is this how you write a love letter? Isn’t it too much! Don’t tell me the ones you wrote the past two years were like this too?”

“Of course not!” Chi Jinxian’s head steamed up again, his face flushing bright red. It was clear that this was truly his first time writing such a love letter today, and having it seen by someone else made him extremely embarrassed. “I’m not actually that shameless.”

Everyone knew Chi Jinxian had been delivering love letters for a full two years, and this was the third year. But no one knew, he had only ever delivered three love letters in the true sense.

The first one was in the first year. He delivered the same letter for an entire year: “Brother Lu, please like me. I’m super cute.”

The second one was in the second year. He delivered the same letter for an entire year: “Brother Lu, it’s okay if you don’t like me, but how about a kiss?”

The third one, for the third year, had just started yesterday: “Brother Lu, after high school graduation, I want to xx with you.”

Barring any surprises, this love letter would also last a whole year.

“And you still dare to say that,” Qi Suiyi stared at him expressionlessly and said, “I’m going to tell Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law that you’re getting crazier.”

“Go ahead,” Chi Jinxian slightly lifted his chin, his expression quite arrogant. “I already told you my dad and little dad know I’m pursuing someone.”

Qi Suiyi knew! It was precisely because he knew that he couldn’t understand: “Why don’t my brothers stop you?!”

“My grades are good, I get along well with my classmates, the teachers like me, my friends like me. Even though I’m pursuing someone, I’m not being indiscreet or lacking self-respect. So what?”

Qi Suiyi: “…”

He couldn’t find a point to refute.

Finally, Chi Jinxian concluded: “Love is free. I have the right to boldly pursue true love.”

Qi Suiyi: “…”

“My dad pursued my little dad this way, which proves this method works!” Chi Jinxian wore an expression of having inherited a true legacy, full of drive and determination.

Qi Suiyi was going crazy, trying to awaken his friend’s love-struck brain: “Third Brother and his partner already had mutual feelings and liked each other! When Third Brother gives gifts, his partner accepts them all, they even go on dates! What about you? You’ve never successfully given anything, and that dog Lu Zhi? He’s never accepted anything. Look, you’re not even special.”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

The two faced off, staring at each other with equally unpleasant expressions. Feeling his intimidation tactics were insufficient, Qi Suiyi gradually widened his eyes, straining to glare back only to receive Chi Jinxian’s “complimentary kick-out service”!

“Out, out, out,” he grumbled irritably as he pushed the other out, adding, “You annoy me.”

With that, the door slammed shut with a “Bang!”

Leaning against the door with his back, Chi Jinxian remained completely unaffected by Qi Suiyi’s antics. Instead, he cheerfully muttered to himself, “I am special though, I’ve been mooching meals off him for two years.”

“And I did give him things.”

Even if it was all done stealthily, forced upon him when he wasn’t paying attention.

But still,

Starting tomorrow, no more free meals. Sigh.

At that thought, Chi Jinxian’s spirits plummeted again, wilting like a frost-bitten eggplant. He shuffled over to the bed in his slippers and flopped face down.

Feeling miserable, he decided to confide in his best friend.

Cash Pool: [Xiao Lu, Xiao Lu, Dear Xiao Lu, Save me [crying emoji JPG.]]

The moment the message was sent, his phone vibrated with an instant reply.

Approaching: [I’m here, I’m here]

Approaching: [What’s up, Xiao Chi]

Chi Jinxian and this “Xiao Lu” had met when they first entered high school same school, same age. Who added whom and how they connected was long forgotten, untraceable now.

But as they chatted, they became best friends online unequivocally so. The “online” part was because they’d never met in person.

Their interests and hobbies aligned in strangely perfect harmony, giving them endless topics to discuss. For two years, they never lost touch.

Since they attended the same school, Chi Jinxian had suggested meeting up, but Xiao Lu claimed he’d suddenly fallen ill and transferred to a school in another city.

Because of this, he refused to share his real name, fearing that if he passed away someday, others might remember and mourn him, causing unnecessary trouble.

He only told Chi Jinxian he liked deer, so he asked to be called Xiao Lu.

Due to the distance and Xiao Lu’s reluctance, plans to meet kept getting postponed.

Aside from family matters, Xiao Lu knew almost everything about Chi Jinxian, including his crush on Lu Zhi.

In fact, most of the ideas for pursuing Lu Zhi came from Xiao Lu, though he never expected Chi Jinxian to be so persistent.

Since Chi Jinxian often gave people roses, Xiao Lu liked to jokingly call him “Little Rose.”

Approaching: [Little Rose?]

Approaching: [Did you get lost?]

Cash Pool: [Not lost.]

Cash Pool: [I made someone angry [softly]]

Approaching: [Lu Zhi?]

Cash Pool: [Yeah~ [soft whimpering JPG.]]

Cash Pool: [What should I dooo]

Approaching: [Hey, it’s simple.]

“Brother Lu.”

The next day, Chi Jinxian arrived at class quite early. Only a few students were there, but Lu Zhi was already present.

He had earphones in and was reading a book with his head down.

“Brother Lu.” Chi Jinxian cheerfully hurried to his seat, pulled a carton of milk from his backpack, and slid it over to Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi’s gaze lingered on the milk for a second before shifting away. He didn’t touch it.

Xiao Lu had said, Be a brave rose, thorns and all, undeterred by hardship.

Lu Zhi still didn’t accept it as before, and his attitude hadn’t changed, this was a good thing! Chi Jinxian chuckled twice, pushed the milk forward a little more, then turned around to study.

But before studying, he’d play with his phone for a while.

Most of the class had gradually arrived, and it was a bit noisy, but this didn’t affect Chi Jinxian’s good mood in the slightest.

Cash Pool: [Xiao Lu, Brother Lu didn’t reject me!]

Five seconds later, the other person replied.

Closer: [See? I told you, his attitude hasn’t changed. Don’t worry about whether he’s angry or not, just stick with him.]

Cash Pool: [Got it!]

Cash Pool: [Mwah!]

Chi Jinxian happily put away his phone and planned to sneak another glance at Lu Zhi. As soon as he turned his head, he saw the person in his line of sight looking at his phone.

As if sensing he was being watched, Lu Zhi’s long eyelashes suddenly lifted, and his gaze met Chi Jinxian’s squarely. Their eyes only touched for a moment, not even long enough to clash, before he averted his gaze.

Just like many times before when he didn’t want to look at Chi Jinxian for even a second longer.

Lu Zhi’s face showed no expression as he calmly lowered his eyes, turned off his phone without changing his expression, and placed it face down on the desk, as if it had never been opened at all.