What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 41

“Hey, no no no,” Chi Jinxian felt his scalp tingle as he hurriedly grabbed Lu Zhi’s wrist, speaking rapidly, “I’m not going back. You said yourself there’s no one in the classroom you’ll definitely teach me a lesson or mess with me.”

Lu Zhi turned a deaf ear, as Chi Jinxian’s feeble strength couldn’t budge him in the slightest.

Far away on the basketball court, Jiang Jin was waiting for Lu Zhi to return. Growing bored after a while, he passed the ball to others to play with and casually glanced around to locate someone outside the court.

He saw Lu Zhi storming out of the sports field, gripping someone’s wrist with what looked like considerable force.

Behind him, Chi Jinxian was saying something while struggling to keep up with Lu Zhi’s pace, stumbling along as he was dragged.

Jiang Jin was startled, thinking to himself, Could it be that Little Cash said something wrong and Lu Zhi is about to hit him?

After all, Ren Yiran had been over there earlier. What did those two talk about? And what did Chi Jinxian tell Lu Zhi?

Either scenario was bad news. Jiang Jin no longer had time to overthink and quickly dashed out.

He intended to play peacemaker and calm things down.

But Chi Jinxian couldn’t wait for him. As they drew closer to the sports field exit, Chi Jinxian’s panic made his heart race. His features unconsciously scrunched up, and with a pained expression, he pleaded, “Bro, bro, bro, I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you. Just don’t teach me a lesson.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhi seemed to have achieved his goal and abruptly halted his long strides. The two stood “hand in hand” at the edge of the track on the flat ground about two meters away from the runway.

Noticing Lu Zhi still firmly gripping his wrist, Chi Jinxian muttered a complaint, “Why are you so fierce?”

“I told you not to interact with him, and after you did, you refused to say what you talked about. If I’m not fierce with you, then who should I be fierce with?” Lu Zhi retorted harshly, his gaze still icy.

He seemed completely unconcerned about controlling his temper, edging closer to the realm of “emotional overreaction.”

“Lu Zhi ” Jiang Jin’s shout came from behind.

But he was blocked. On the track, students were participating in a 3000-meter race that was nearing its end. The crowd surrounding the track grew increasingly excited, cheering and shouting encouragement.

A few seconds later, explosive cheers erupted the winner had been decided.

The winner’s friends went wild, hugging him and lifting him high.

But the winner seemed to be a bit shy. As everyone tried to lift him, he resisted in panic, his face flushing as he insisted, “No need, no need!”

However, the crowd’s enthusiasm only surged higher with the cheers. They were determined to lift the winner today, no matter what.

Thus began a tug-of-war of pushes and pulls.

As they jostled, they moved from the edge of the track onto the flat ground. The commotion grew rowdy, and someone lost their footing, stumbling backward. The momentum dragged the entire group down, and no one could stop the collapse. They ended up crashing directly onto the person closest to them.

By the time Chi Jinxian sensed objects rushing toward him, Lu Zhi, who was still holding his wrist, had instinctively pulled him forward. But it was too late.

The weight of several people slammed into Chi Jinxian, forcing him to his knees with uncontrollable, immense force.

He toppled forward abruptly, and in the next instant, several sickening thuds echoed as more than one person hit the ground.

Chi Jinxian ended up kneeling directly on the flat surface, both knees fully contacting the ground, with only his hands instinctively gripping Lu Zhi’s shoulders.

He hissed in pain, his brow furrowing, but soon realized that although both knees had struck the ground, only one throbbed with a numb, immobilizing ache.

After a moment’s assessment, he confirmed the pain was indeed isolated to just one knee.

The rowdy group behind them, realizing they’d caused an accident, scrambled to their feet. Freed from their weight, Chi Jinxian instinctively glanced down and his eyes widened in shock.

“Bro, your hand!”

“How’s your leg?”

They spoke simultaneously, neither hearing the other’s concern.

Chi Jinxian remained fixated on Lu Zhi’s hand, his brow now furrowed not from pain but from heartache.

Lu Zhi had one hand gripping Chi Jinxian’s arm to offer support, while the other was wedged beneath Chi Jinxian’s right knee the back of his own hand bearing the full friction against the hard ground.

Such a rapid reaction under those circumstances seemed explainable only by instinct.

Yet Lu Zhi himself showed no sign of pain, not even blinking, his first concern being for Chi Jinxian.

But Chi Jinxian was alarmed, the memory of the loud impact resounding in his mind. He tried to stand using his legs, but Lu Zhi stopped him coldly: “Don’t move if it hurts.”

At the same time, Lu Zhi lifted his gaze to the dozen or so students now standing nearby. The icy glare in his eyes seemed almost tangible, as if pinning each of them to the ground.

“Sorry, classmates! We got too carried away, this is our fault! But we didn’t mean to crash into you! We’re really, really sorry!” As if coordinated, the group shrank under his frosty stare before bowing in unison, their apologies earnest.

Fortunately, they weren’t so synchronized as to chant the words together. Otherwise, instead of an apology, they’d have just startled everyone further.

Lu Zhi, who had just parted his lips to speak, closed them at this outburst, his expression turning even colder.

Chi Jinxian wanted to be angry too especially seeing Lu’s hand still cushioning his knee made him angrier!

How could anyone be so careless? But these underclassmen were at least polite and hard to fault after all, it wasn’t intentional. With their sincere bows and apologies, harsh words felt impossible to voice.

As he pondered, the same underclassman spoke again: “Classmates, you seem hurt. Let us take you to the infirmary, I’ll cover the medical costs. We’re truly sorry!”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

“Unnecessary.” Lu Zhi withdrew his gaze, his expression frigid. The hand gripping Chi Jinxian began applying gradual pressure, helping him rise slowly.

Noting that the group remained rooted in place, each face etched with guilt, Lu Zhi icily commanded, “Vanish.”

Too intimidating. They were likely first-years; otherwise, they wouldn’t be unfamiliar with Lu Zhi and Chi Jinxian’s faces, even if one didn’t recognize them, it was impossible for the entire group to be equally clueless.

The freshmen had only been here for a month and were still cautious about everything, not daring to be reckless. Seeing that someone was about to lose their temper, they quickly apologized for the third time and hurried away.

“Can you stand up?” Lu Zhi asked him while easing the pressure in his hand.

Chi Jinxian gripped Lu Zhi’s shoulder with one hand and his arm with the other, anxiously saying, “Stop asking me and just move your hand out from under my knee first.”

As he spoke, the numbing pain in his knee lessened slightly. Frowning, he stood up, staggering a couple of times from the pain before steadying himself fortunately, Lu Zhi was holding him firmly the entire time.

The moment the two stood up, their expressions turned cold simultaneously, as if synchronized.

On the ground where Chi Jinxian’s left knee had landed, there was a clear red mark, obviously caused by friction between flesh and the hard stone pavement.

The ground beneath Lu Zhi’s hand was similarly stained red. When Chi Jinxian looked at Lu Zhi’s hand, his barely relaxed brows furrowed again.

The back of Lu Zhi’s hand was scraped raw, with almost no intact skin left earlier, due to the force, his hand had protected Chi Jinxian’s knee and slid across the ground. Blood quickly welled up, seeping drop by drop from beneath the skin. Small particles were embedded in the wound, making it a gruesome sight.

In comparison, Chi Jinxian’s uniform pants were torn at the knee, but the layer of fabric had cushioned the impact. His knee was only slightly scraped and bleeding, not nearly as severe.

“Oh, you! Why did you put your hand there?” Chi Jinxian was heartbroken and wanted to check Lu Zhi’s hand, but Lu Zhi gently avoided him.

He only said, “Let’s go to the infirmary.”

As soon as Chi Jinxian nodded, Lu Zhi asked him, “Can you walk?”

Chi Jinxian wanted to say, “Of course I can! It’s just my left knee that’s scraped and bleeding my right leg is perfectly fine. How could I not walk?”

But he didn’t say it. When he bent his left knee, a sharp, sore, and swollen pain shot through him, and he couldn’t help but grimace.

This was normal fresh wounds, especially around joints, often hurt more when moved. Bending or straightening would create pressure, stretching the wound further and intensifying the pain.

It would ease after a while.

Realizing this, Chi Jinxian didn’t push himself and admitted honestly, “Bro, give me two minutes to adjust.”

Lu Zhi didn’t wait.

The next moment, as Chi Jinxian lowered his head and gently moved his left leg to acclimate to the pain, he was suddenly lifted off the ground! Gravity no longer applied to him his legs were dangling in the air!

Chi Jinxian was startled, looking up at Lu Zhi in disbelief, then at the ground, then back at Lu Zhi. Repeating this several times, he felt the slight jostling as Lu Zhi walked, and his already wide eyes grew even rounder in shock.

“Bro, bro Wh-why are you carrying me? I can walk, really!” he stammered, not daring to struggle, but his face gradually flushed red.

At the same time, his heart caught up with the situation, pounding so hard he felt he might go deaf from the noise.

Lu Zhi seemed annoyed and said, “Shut up.”

“Holy crap, Cash was carried away by God Lu?” Zhong Qing exclaimed in disbelief beside Jiang Jin, nearly giving the latter a heart attack.

“Holy shit! What are you guys doing? Why are you all here?” Jiang Jin turned his head to look at them and couldn’t resist slapping Zhong Qing, then patted his own fragile little heart.

Zhong Qing said, “We saw you and God Lu both leave, so we took a look and noticed something off between God Lu and Cash. The class monitor looked like he was about to hit someone.” He nudged Jiang Jin’s shoulder and asked, “But why did you chase after them, Brother Jiang?”

Jiang Jin snapped irritably, “I was afraid that Lu Dog would start a fight! Who knew they’d end up hugging in the blink of an eye!”

As he spoke, he rested his chin on his hand and gazed thoughtfully in the direction where Lu and Chi had disappeared.

The people beside him immediately started mimicking him.

Being far away and separated by others, they didn’t see that Lu Zhi had injured his hand and Chi Jinxian had injured his leg.

“Break it up, break it up,” Jiang Jin turned around and saw them all copying him, so he shoved them irritably and said, “Can’t you play ball without Lu Zhi? Let’s go back and continue.”

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

“Alright!”

The group marched back to the basketball court in a grand procession, with Jiang Jin lagging behind slowly.

He noticed that Ren Yiran was still there, quietly staring in a certain direction.

As he passed by him, Jiang Jin said softly, “Do you see now how different Chi Jinxian is to Lu Zhi?”

“Lu Zhi doesn’t let anyone touch those he dislikes, let alone take the initiative to touch others himself.”

The lower half of his face beneath the baseball cap tightened, and Ren Yiran remained silent.

“Yiran,” Jiang Jin advised, “Stop interacting with him.”

Ren Yiran let out a cold laugh but still didn’t respond, turning and walking away.

“Treat him first,” Lu Zhi said to the school doctor in the infirmary, placing Chi Jinxian on a stool.

The once passionate little rose was now only left with “fire” today, utterly useless. Chi Jinxian’s face had been burning hot the entire way, and even after arriving at the infirmary, he still didn’t dare to lift his head.

He just obediently hung his head, letting the school doctor clean his wound.

His uniform pants were rolled up above his knees, and after the walk, the wound seemed to have finally registered his entire knee was bruised purple and swollen.

It left a ghastly mark on his fair and delicate leg.

It looked awful and was painful to see.

The school doctor carefully applied medicine and bandaged him up, then turned to Lu Zhi and said, “You sit down too. The blood on the back of your hand has been dripping all the way here.”

Hearing this, Chi Jinxian immediately looked up at him. Lu Zhi didn’t sit, just said “thank you” and stood still, raising his hand for the school doctor to clean.

“Did you two get into a fight? How did you get hurt like this?” the school doctor asked while tending to Lu Zhi’s wound.

Before Chi Jinxian could say, “How could that be? No,” the school doctor added on his own, “But if you really fought, you probably wouldn’t have carried him in.”

Chi Jinxian: “…”

The embarrassment that had just started to fade instantly surged back. Chi Jinxian raised a hand to cover one of his ears it was burning hot.

But he was genuinely concerned about Lu Zhi’s hand, so he kept alternating between looking up and down, causing his thick, curly lashes to flutter like little fans.

Lu Zhi stared at him intently.

“Ah, I remember you. You’re Chi Jinxian, right?” the school doctor said, glancing at him while taking out gauze after cleaning the wound. “Last time you came here with a classmate who fell down the stairs, if I’m not mistaken?”

“Ah,” Chi Jinxian lowered his hands from his ears, stopped fluttering his eyelashes, and replied, “I didn’t remember wrong.”

The school doctor laughed and said, “That name is too famous hard to forget.”

“At the time, I even mistook you two for a couple.”

As if suddenly stung by pain, Lu Zhi instinctively twitched his hand slightly. The school doctor tapped his wrist and said, “Don’t move,” before continuing to bandage him.

Lu Zhi frowned deeply and stared even more unabashedly at Chi Jinxian.

Chi Jinxian hurriedly explained, “We’re not.”

“I know you’re not.” The school doctor trimmed the excess gauze, glanced up at the injured person, and teased, “This time it’s Lu Zhi, right?”

Lu Zhi’s frown eased, though he probably didn’t even realize it himself.

On the way back, since both of them were injured, Chi Jinxian’s mind was still filled with the memory of being carried like a princess earlier, unable to shake off the lingering romantic thoughts.

Coupled with his slight limp as he walked, he looked both pitiful and endearing. Lu Zhi parted his lips but ultimately said nothing.

Chi Jinxian himself had no intention of bringing up the earlier topic about Ren Yiran.

Now that he had finally experienced such close physical contact with his “Lu-ge,” the hopelessly infatuated Chi was still savoring the moment.

When Jiang Jin and the others returned from lunch and realized both of them had gotten injured from the fall hence the embrace their interest and gossipy enthusiasm were instantly dampened.

They had thought Lu Zhi had finally come to his senses, recognized Little Cash’s worth, and could no longer resist making a move.

Turns out, the reserved one was still reserved, the tight-lipped gourd remained tight-lipped beyond saving.

The group spent the last afternoon of that Friday in a carefree, playful atmosphere, skipping classes.

After school, Chi Jinxian bid farewell at the gate: “See you on Monday, ge.”

Lu Zhi glanced at his leg. The walking was fine now, but the bruised patch visible through the torn school pants was still glaring.

“Mm,” he responded.

Chi Jinxian waved vigorously and turned to leave.

Lu Zhi also got into the car.

Over ten minutes later, Chi Jinxian stopped at a corner on the road and stared quietly ahead.

In front of him stood a crowd of about ten people.

Aside from Ren Yiran, he didn’t recognize any of the others.

Chi Jinxian couldn’t help but twitch an eyebrow slightly and asked, “Are you here to fight me?”

Ren Yiran reached up and took off his baseball cap, chuckling lightly. “I wouldn’t call it a fight. More like beating you up you probably can’t fight back.”

“I’ve been watching you for a full week. Every time, you go home from here, and every time you’re alone.” Ren Yiran stared intently at Chi Jinxian, smiling as if discussing something incredibly amusing.

“Most importantly, there’s hardly anyone around on this road.”

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Chi Jinxian first frowned in disgust: “How can you resort to sneaky little tricks like spying and stalking?” Then he asked sincerely, “So how far did you follow me? Not all the way to my home, right?”

Ren Yiran was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Chi Jinxian understood then. He hadn’t followed him home. He still didn’t know about Chi Jinxian’s relationship with Chi Sui, that’s why he dared act so fearlessly.

“Alright, Ren Yiran,” Chi Jinxian shrugged off one strap of his backpack, saying, “You’re really annoying, constantly picking fights for no reason. And I’m someone who takes advantage of favor to act arrogantly, I also love tattling. If you hit me, you’ll probably have a hard time afterward.”

Not long after Qi Suiyi’s threat, Chi Jinxian’s own bold claims followed.

Ren Yiran looked at them, thinking to himself that it was no wonder they were childhood friends both had such big mouths.

He narrowed his eyes and said, “What kind of official authority or status could my family not handle?”

By then, Chi Jinxian had already slipped off the other backpack strap and thrown the bag to the ground.

Ignoring the remark, he said, “When it comes to fighting, I have plenty of experience. My dad often drags me into fights with him if you don’t learn how, you just end up getting beaten.”

Just as Ren Yiran was about to respond, someone nearby interrupted, “Hey, Yiran, why waste words on him? I didn’t really believe you when you said he was good-looking, so I went and searched for his photos on the forum. I never expected him to be this pretty in person.”

Calling a boy “pretty” isn’t necessarily an insult plenty of guys are praised for their looks.

But in this context, the word made Chi Jinxian instinctively uneasy. He stopped talking about fighting, quickly snatched his backpack from the ground, turned, and ran!

He moved so fast he became a blur, leaving no time for anyone to react.

Ren Yiran’s eyes widened slightly. “Stop him!” he ordered.

No matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t grow an extra leg. The path had no alternate turns, and the pursuers closed in without losing ground.

Chi Jinxian’s school uniform flapped behind him as he ran. Not daring to look back, he shouted, “Ren Yiran, now I see how despicable you are! If it’s a fight you want, even ten against one might not guarantee your win. But resorting to underhanded tricks, how disgusting!”

“Who wouldn’t be scared being liked by someone like you?”

Hearing this, Ren Yiran’s face darkened. Another person calling him despicable!

If it were Lu Zhi, fine but what right did Chi Jinxian have?

Chi Jinxian didn’t dare stop, pushing himself to run faster.

He reached the intersection leading back to school. It wasn’t far now, and there would be more people around.

A wise man knows when to retreat. He wouldn’t let momentary pride cloud his judgment. Though unafraid of a fight, he feared exhausting himself that would lead to real trouble.

As he neared the crowded area, his pursuers still a meter behind, Chi Jinxian prepared to accelerate around the corner when he suddenly collided head-on with someone’s chest.

The impact sent both stumbling backward. The knee he’d scraped at noon throbbed with pain, and as he slowed, the ache overwhelmed him. Staggering unsteadily, he was about to fall when a strong hand steadied his waist, pulling him upright. The hand withdrew almost immediately.

A slightly deep breath sounded above his head.

Sensing something off, Chi Jinxian quickly looked up and saw Lu Zhi, who was gazing coldly at the group that had abruptly halted ahead. Without glancing down, Lu Zhi gently pulled Chi Jinxian’s arm, drawing him closer.

“Brother?” Chi Jinxian asked, still dazed and breathless. “What are you doing here?”

“I sensed you were about to be bullied, so I asked Uncle Fang to turn around and check.” As he spoke these words, Lu Zhi didn’t even glance down at him, keeping his cold gaze fixed straight ahead on the person before them.

But Chi Jinxian could tell he was trying to ease his mind. It didn’t help much though, Chi Jinxian still felt lingering fear.

He had been genuinely scared earlier, otherwise he wouldn’t have run.

“Lu Zhi.” Ren Yiran’s voice trembled.

“What were you trying to do to him?” Lu Zhi asked, his tone flat without much coldness, yet inexplicably chilling.

The faint light cast by the sunset gradually faded from these figures, leaving uneven shadows to cover them.

On the long, quiet road, the streetlights on both sides stood silently, showing no signs of lighting up.

A scent carrying a biting cold wind a scent without smell suddenly erupted, mixed with perpetual ice and snow. When it swept across faces, it felt like an avalanche, cutting through skin until blood flowed freely.

The limbs were the next to sense it. In autumn, bones and flesh that should have maintained normal temperature suddenly felt as if blood had stopped flowing. The weight of an avalanche crashed down on shoulders, followed by successive thuds of knees hitting the ground.

Ren Yiran’s face turned pale, his breathing uncontrollably rapid.

At the same time, an extremely faint fragrance slowly diffused around. Amid the harsh cold of ice and snow, it was as if a proud plum blossom stood tall in a blizzard the colder it got, the more it bloomed, and the purer its scent became.

It was the only touch of tenderness in the boundless cold.

That tenderness now enveloped Chi Jinxian entirely.

Chi Jinxian watched in disbelief as those who had been standing perfectly fine moments ago knelt one by one, their faces contorted in agony.

He asked in confusion, “Brother, what’s wrong with them?”

Ren Yiran’s eyes widened in fury as he glared at Lu Zhi and shouted, “Lu Zhi, you actually infused your other pheromone into a Beta and are comforting him! Can he even smell it? Can he even feel it?!”

Trembling, he hugged his knees and sat on the ground, his eyes reddening from the strain.

Hearing this, Chi Jinxian blinked in even greater confusion. He lowered his gaze to himself and cautiously sniffed.

He couldn’t smell anything, and his recently calmed mood instantly threatened to flare up again.

Suddenly, Chi Jinxian felt his vision go dark, a garment had been thrown over his head. Lu Zhi had taken off his school uniform and draped it over him, enveloping him beneath it.

Before Chi Jinxian could react and lift the garment, Lu Zhi’s voice came from nearby.

He said, “Keep the uniform on and walk away. Be good. I’m going to take action don’t watch.” After a moment’s thought, he added, “If you don’t listen, I’ll deal with you after I finish with them.”

Chi Jinxian was startled, his eyes wide open. “Brother, you.”

“Call the teacher now,” Lu Zhi interrupted him, saying only that.

Chi Jinxian was even more bewildered. If you’re calling the teacher, why are you still fighting?!

But Lu Zhi said nothing more. The next moment, a scream echoed in his ears.

Seeing Lu Zhi go mad, Ren Yiran unexpectedly lost his fear and sneered, “You’re not actually attracted to his gender, are you? Lu Zhi, oh Lu Zhi, have you already forgotten what your stepfather was like? All that talk about hating Betas, hahahaha.” He looked up at Lu Zhi, deranged, and asked, “If he weren’t a Beta, would you still care about him this much?”

“Why not turn him into an Omega? There are drugs for that.”

“Bang!”

“Ah!!!”

Ren Yiran suddenly let out an extremely piercing scream, and in the next second, he began to sob.

This time, Lu Zhi had truly crippled his hand.

As dusk gradually fell, the location wasn’t far from the school. With just one call from Chi Jinxian, a teacher still on campus would arrive within ten minutes.

Lu Zhi used those ten minutes to satisfy his own urges.

Ren Yiran’s cries seemed to convey intense pain, but amid the similar wails of those around him, the noise he made was almost inaudible.

A faint crescent moon had already risen in the sky. Lu Zhi half-crouched down and, in the still relatively bright twilight, spoke to Ren Yiran in a calm tone that only the two of them could hear: “Chi Jinxian doesn’t need to do anything. Just by being there, he is enough for me to chase after him for a lifetime.”