What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 42.1

“Stop! All of you stand by the roadside! No one is allowed to fight!” The booming roar made Lu Zhi pause mid-motion as he raised his hand. His eyes flickered toward the source of the voice, then he slowly stood up without proceeding further.

The Dean of Students, who often caught students not wearing their uniforms at the school gate, hurried over with several teachers. When they were still several meters away from the group, he began shouting, “Where’s Chi Jinxian? Where is Chi Jinxian?”

A voice from a corner by the roadside, belonging to a body without a head, said, “Dean, I’m here.”

As he spoke, he even raised his hand, lifting his own head up!

As dusk approached, the Dean squinted at this scene and was utterly terrified, gasping sharply as his eyes went from squinting to wide open in an instant.

Only when he stumbled closer, trembling, did the Dean realize Chi Jinxian had a school uniform draped over his head! The breath he had been holding in his chest finally released with relief, and his complexion regained some color.

With the Dean and teachers present, it was probably safe to remove the uniform. Thinking this, Chi Jinxian gently pulled the uniform off his head, messing up his hair in the process. He paid no mind to it, but when he saw the scene before him, he forgot to blink and instinctively hugged Lu Zhi’s clothes tighter.

Every one of the people brought by Ren Yiran was lying face down on the ground, their faces pale. If not for the groans of pain coming from their mouths, they might as well have been dead.

Ren Yiran was slightly better off not completely prone, but curled up in a trembling ball, sweating profusely from his forehead and clutching his arm.

The Dean had ordered everyone to stand properly, but aside from Lu Zhi and Chi Jinxian, no one else could get up.

“Is this, were they all ganging up on Chi Jinxian, or were you beating them up, Lu Zhi?” The Dean stared at Lu Zhi, his voice trembling.

“They were trying to corner me!” Chi Jinxian pulled his gaze away from the people on the ground, seeming slightly shaken but not hesitating to report the incident. “Dean, I was on my way home after school, and they were waiting for me on this road. Their intention wasn’t to fight me.”

“They wanted to force themselves on me.” As he said this, Chi Jinxian showed no embarrassment, but his voice lowered steadily, filled with disgust and discomfort. “If my brother, if Lu Zhi hadn’t come along this road, I might as well have been finished right here.”

He wasn’t threatening anyone, nor was it in his nature to do so. But having lived a clean and sunny life, if he were suddenly subjected to such a filthy experience, he likely wouldn’t be able to bear it.

He loved Lu Zhi so much, how could he allow anyone else to touch him?

Just moments ago, Chi Jinxian had seriously considered it: his usual optimistic outlook didn’t apply here. If he couldn’t overcome this hurdle, he wouldn’t be able to move on.

If Lu Zhi hadn’t coincidentally asked Uncle Fang to turn back and check on him, Chi Jinxian was eighty percent sure he could have escaped he had almost reached the corner.

But that twenty percent possibility still existed, and once it happened, it would be irreversible.

Chi Jinxian would never forgive.

After these words fell, silence lingered for dozens of seconds. No one around responded, as if stunned by Chi Jinxian’s statement, or perhaps shocked by Ren Yiran’s audacious intentions and actions.

The surrounding adults, along with the few underage students who had all taken courses on Heat Periods and susceptibility, understood the situation perfectly well.

The teachers’ faces grew increasingly grim, their lips pressed tightly together as they remained silent, clearly contemplating the severity of this incident, which was far from ordinary.

It wasn’t until another piercing scream snapped everyone back to their senses.

“Ahhh”

“Bang!”

Lu Zhi, who had been standing perfectly fine just moments before, suddenly went berserk. He had somehow gotten hold of a hard object and smashed it violently into Ren Yiran’s arm.

Judging by the trajectory, he had initially aimed for the head! Only at the last possible moment did a shred of reason prevail, causing him to shift the target.

“Lu Zhi! Lu Zhi!” The Dean of Students and several teachers rushed over to restrain him, their voices as frantic as the screams.

They were terrified. Yet no one could subdue him.

Lu Zhi said, “Ren Yiran, you intended to do this to him.”

After uttering those words, he fell silent, his jaw clenched so tightly it was unclear whether from cold or shock.

Seeing that the adults seemed largely ineffective, Chi Jinxian couldn’t recall how things had escalated so abruptly, nor did he have time to ponder anything else. He hurried over and grabbed Lu Zhi’s hand.

He said, “Brother, brother, nothing happened. Don’t be angry. Besides, I’m fast even if I weren’t, I can fight. My dad often has me spar with him; I’m pretty good.”

The moment that hand gripped his without hesitation and the familiar voice reached his ears, Lu Zhi strangely calmed down.

Only his chest continued to heave irregularly.

After a moment of hesitation, the Dean of Students and the others, seeing that he seemed truly subdued, released Lu Zhi’s arms and sternly ordered, “Chi Jinxian, take him back to the school gate now. You must be there when I return, and both of you call your parents immediately!”

Chi Jinxian agreed, picked up his backpack from the ground, and tried to pull Lu Zhi away, but he wouldn’t budge. Chi Jinxian turned to look at him. “Brother? Let’s go.”

Hearing his reluctance, the Dean of Students glared fiercely at Lu Zhi. “Do you still want to fight? Committing a major offense in front of teachers could get you expelled!”

Chi Jinxian panicked, furrowing his brow as he tugged at Lu Zhi. “Lu-ge.”

Lu Zhi gripped his hand back and said, “I won’t move. Go get Ren Yiran’s backpack for me.”

As long as he wasn’t acting like an uncontrollable madman anymore, no one cared what he intended to do. Dozens of people lay injured on the ground and needed immediate medical attention if anything worse happened, it would be irreparable.

The Dean of Students instructed the other teachers to check on the injured while he pulled out his phone to call the hospital.

Chi Jinxian fetched Ren Yiran’s backpack and handed it to Lu Zhi, who took it and pulled out two unlabeled syringes.

Unlike standard Alpha and Omega Blockers or Suppressants, which are clearly labeled, these two were different. Their names were printed directly on the glass tubes, as if afraid someone might mistake them, requiring explicit identification.

And the names were unusual, ABO.

Following the ABO designation, specific genders were indicated: one for Omega, one for Alpha.

“Bro, what’s.” Chi Jinxian noticed Lu Zhi seemed lost in thought, as if confirming something, and instinctively followed his gaze toward his hand, only to have his words trail off.

“Your dad really can’t see reason. Isn’t it good to be able to choose your own gender?”

An unfamiliar voice abruptly echoed in his mind. Chi Jinxian stared unblinkingly, swallowing hard as his hands rapidly turned cold.

He didn’t want that voice speaking in his head, but the image of the syringe in his eyes refused to fade, he couldn’t control it.

“Aside from male and female being fixed at birth and irreversible, the other three genders are yours to choose from. Isn’t that good?”

“No, Uncle Qiao, Uncle Qiao, it’s me, Xiao Chi. You liked me so much when you came to see Dad. My other dad taught me to be obedient, I’m very hic good,” Xiao Chi Jinxian huddled in a corner, hugging his knees, crying so hard he started hiccupping. His long eyelashes were stuck together, making his eyes look even more pitiful. “Don’t hit me, it hurts, it hurts. Dad and my other dad never hit me, waaah.”

“Oh, Xiao Chi, don’t cry, don’t cry,” the man quickly stepped forward and crouched in front of Xiao Chi Jinxian, ignoring his flinching. He affectionately patted Xiao Chi Jinxian’s head, yet his face was full of madness. “Uncle doesn’t want to hurt you. Uncle just wants to prove to your dad that my research isn’t wrong.”

The adult’s palm was warm. Xiao Chi Jinxian didn’t understand his meaning, but that warmth provided some comfort.

Until a cold syringe was injected into his body.

He was still young, his Secondary Gender hadn’t differentiated, so he wouldn’t immediately become an Omega.

But as the liquid flowed into his body, he still felt terrible, burning as if he were being boiled in scalding water.

He cried out, “It hurts,” but no one heard him.

“Chi Jinxian.” Suddenly, an all-too-familiar voice sounded beside him. Lu Zhi looked down at him, brows slightly furrowed. “Chi Jinxian.”

Chi Jinxian snapped back to reality, looked up, his face somewhat pale. He said, “Bro, put this syringe away. I’m scared.”

His voice carried a faint tremble, barely restrained but still noticeable.

Lu Zhi pressed his lips together, his movements swift. The two syringes vanished in an instant.

Their hands were still clasped, never having let go.

Chi Jinxian’s grip was tight, as if seeking a safe harbor. Lu Zhi noticed and responded by holding his hand even tighter.

Lu Zhi led Chi Jinxian to find the Dean of Students. The latter glanced down at their joined hands, his expression turning odd, but then he remembered, even the principal turned a blind eye to these two students’ relationship.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to react, so he just snorted fiercely through his nostrils, venting his frustration.

“Dean,” Lu Zhi said, “there are two syringes in the backpack. Take one now and send it to the hospital. I’ll keep the other. To prevent me from framing Ren Yiran, when the school issues our punishment on Monday, the school and I will exchange information on the syringe’s composition and purpose, if there are any results.”

Even though he was a student, even though he’d made a mistake, he dared to speak so calmly and even with such audacity!

But it had to be said that what he said made sense. The Dean of Students took out one of the syringes and said, “Go back to the school gate now and call your parents.”

The sky had completely darkened, and the streetlights on both sides lit up one by one, stretching or shortening the shadows of people on the ground.

Lu Zhi led Chi Jinxian back. It wasn’t until they reached the school gate that he noticed the other’s complexion growing increasingly pale, his hands almost icy cold. After a while, Chi Jinxian furrowed his brows deeply, and his shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably.

Before anyone could ask, Chi Jinxian used his free hand to grab Lu Zhi’s arm tightly and said, “Brother, I’m having an episode it hurts a lot.”

“What?” Lu Zhi interrupted abruptly, “Where does it hurt?”

As soon as he spoke, he realized how pointless his question was. Just then, the sound of an ambulance echoed from behind.

They were here to pick up Ren Yiran and the others.

Lu Zhi said quickly, “I’ll go stop the car. Wait here.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, Chi Jinxian grabbed him. Lu Zhi looked back at him, his eyes dark and unreadable.

Chi Jinxian, pale-faced and not noticing, spoke just as quickly, “I have medicine prepared in my backpack. I don’t need to go to the hospital. But my hands are shaking too much to inject it. Brother, please help me.”

Without another word, Lu Zhi rummaged through his backpack. After finding it, he tore open the packaging without even looking and said in a low voice, “Where?”

“Next to the Scent Gland.”

Lu Zhi then reached out to pull aside the collar of his school uniform. Without saying something like “It might hurt, bear with it,” he injected the needle in one swift motion.

Five minutes later, Chi Jinxian’s complexion gradually began to recover, showing a hint of color.

Doctor Yang was right. The first time Chi Jinxian had an episode, because his body completely lacked pheromones, it nearly cost him his life.

But once the illness manifested and a coping method was established, Chi Jinxian’s body would learn to integrate with the organic pheromones in the Inducer, preventing the extreme pain he experienced the first time.

Moreover, the symptoms would gradually lessen over time.

In the evening breeze as they waited for their parents, Chi Jinxian whispered to Lu Zhi, “Brother, I got sick because I was injected with some kind of drug when I was little… but I don’t remember it well.”

Twenty minutes later, the situation was mostly resolved.

After explaining the basic circumstances to their respective parents, the school and the families agreed to propose solutions by Saturday or Sunday.

Setting aside Ren Yiran for a moment, the fact that Lu Zhi had been involved in a fight and a one-sided beating at that near the school gate was already an extremely serious offense.

Ren Guanming paced anxiously back and forth in the hospital. Ren Yiran had already lost consciousness before the ambulance even arrived.

Lu Zisheng had no choice but to take Lu Zhi to the hospital first to apologize.

Since Chi Jinxian hadn’t thrown a single punch and had remained a bystander throughout, he was the least involved. Before long, he was taken home by Chi Sui.

It was already Friday of the second week. Qi Suiyi had no more excuses to stay and, not daring to defy Chi Yuan Shen’s authority any longer, had returned home today.

Thus, with one less troublemaker in the Chi household, it had become much quieter.

“Come on, my dear ancestor, please enter,” Chi Sui personally opened the door for Chi Jinxian and even made a gesture of invitation.

After the other entered, he closed the door and changed his shoes in the entryway, calling out to the person already heading toward the living room, “Chi Jinxian, all these years chasing after someone, and now you’ve learned to get into fights? If you don’t explain yourself properly today, even your dad won’t be able to stop me.”

Yuan Sibu had originally returned to his parents’ home, while Chi Sui was called back to the company by Chi Yuan Shen to handle some matters. When the school called, neither of them had returned yet. Since his parents’ home was quite far from the school, no matter how anxious he felt, Yuan Sibu had no choice but to let Chi Sui go to the school alone.

Seeing Chi Jinxian enter the door, Yuan Sibu first carefully examined him. When he noticed the torn hole in his school uniform pants and the large patch of bruised purple on his exposed knee, Yuan Sibu was startled and hurriedly checked his injury. “How did you get hurt like this? Did you get into a fight?”

Hearing this, Chi Sui looked over in confusion, and upon seeing the injury, he furrowed his brow.

He said, “It was too dark earlier, I didn’t notice. Didn’t you say you didn’t fight? Who did this to you? Did you fight back? Don’t tell me you didn’t.”

Chi Jinxian explained, “It wasn’t from a fight. I accidentally fell and scraped it.”

After saying this, he quietly recounted the incident from noon in a few words. Only then did Yuan Sibu breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, instead of asking Chi Jinxian, Yuan Sibu looked up and asked Chi Sui, “What happened to An An at school?”

Chi Sui replied, “I don’t know. Lu Zisheng’s son and Ren Guanming’s son had a serious altercation. When I arrived, no one told me exactly what happened. They only said our little troublemaker wasn’t involved, he even called the teacher over himself, so he wasn’t even an accomplice. They just told me to bring him home first.”

Chi Jinxian hung his head without speaking, but his mind was filled with the image of Lu Zisheng coldly leading Lu Zhi away.

Something felt completely off. After thinking for a moment, Yuan Sibu asked Chi Jinxian softly, “An An, why did Lu Zhi get into a fight with the Ren family’s child?”

Hearing this, Chi Sui spoke first, “He was the one who attacked the other kid. The other didn’t even get a chance to fight back.”

Chi Jinxian whispered, “Because of me.”

Yuan Sibu exclaimed, “What?”

Chi Sui, who had been reaching for a glass of water, paused mid-motion.

“Dad,” Chi Jinxian looked up, the corners of his eyes red.

Yuan Sibu was startled. He had rarely seen Chi Jinxian so aggrieved and vulnerable. He quickly said, “What’s wrong? Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying. It’s just from the pain earlier when my condition flared up,” Chi Jinxian explained.

At this, Yuan Sibu’s face paled slightly. He asked anxiously, “Are you okay now?”

Chi Jinxian shook his head and said, “Dad, it wasn’t Lu Zhi who insisted on fighting Ren Yiran. It wasn’t his fault. Ren Yiran intercepted me after school. He wanted to.”