What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 8

Chi Jinxian almost frantically caught the meal card, his movements somewhat flustered, his palm directly covering the back of Lu Zhi’s hand resting on his collarbone, it truly felt wonderful to hold!

Being entrusted with the meal card while also getting to touch him, the immense unreality brought by this double joy nearly made Chi Jinxian lose his head. He grinned foolishly, hehe-ing, until Lu Zhi subtly moved his fingers beneath that palm and said in a restrained low voice, “Let go.”

Only then did Chi Jinxian snap out of it, tilting his face up with several understanding “oh oh”s before hurriedly releasing his hand.

“Thanks, Brother Lu!” After turning back around, he kept his head lowered, meticulously examining the meal card in his hand from every angle as if trying to bore a hole through it with his gaze.

Jiang Baixiao was completely baffled by the scene before him. Just yesterday, he had been battling it out for hundreds of rounds on the forum with those who claimed they’d continue mocking Chi Jinxian, he could bully his own deskmate, but others weren’t allowed to look down on him!

He figured other classmates who were close to Chi Jinxian felt similarly.

But what did Lu Zhi mean by today’s actions? Was he allowing Chi Jinxian to openly mooch meals off him?

It felt like Jiang Baixiao was meeting Chi Jinxian for the first time all over again. He stared intently at him, hoping to catch his attention with a gaze both sincere and probing.

But Chi Jinxian was wholly absorbed in the joy of obtaining the meal card, completely oblivious to anything else.

As for looking at Lu Zhi well, he dared to, but even if he did, he wouldn’t dare ask anything. If their eyes met, should he speak up or not? What would he even say? Ask why he’d suddenly acted so out of character? Or what kind of relationship he intended to build with Chi Jinxian?

As these thoughts swirled, bold as if he’d consumed bear hearts and leopard gallbladders, Jiang Baixiao’s mind screamed not to turn around, yet his head and eyes had already begun stealthily pivoting backward.

Just then, his other audacious thoughts materialized one by one. As if sensing more than one scrutinizing gaze, the moment Jiang Baixiao’s body turned a fraction and his eyes caught a sliver of a glance, he instantly locked eyes with Lu Zhi’s indifferent stare!

Terrified, he gasped softly and instinctively blurted, “Sorry!” before hastily crossing his arms, facing the blackboard, and sitting up straight.

A smart person seeks survival, not trouble.

Abandoning the idea of probing Chi Jinxian or Lu Zhi, Jiang Baixiao’s senses returned, and he finally noticed the vibration from the phone in his pocket.

Puzzled, he reached to feel it was still buzzing, and class was about to start!

“Baixiao, Baixiao,”

“Psst, psst.”

“Alliance Know-It-All.”

Someone was calling him. Growing more confused, Jiang Baixiao looked up to see two boys in the front middle rows taking turns whispering his name, even hissing “psst” through their teeth, clearly having been at it for two or three minutes.

The moment he glanced over, the boy named Mada exaggeratedly mimed holding a phone with one hand and tapping it with the other.

He was reminding him to check his phone!

Jiang Baixiao lowered his head, feigning a casual touch to his nose, and understood.

First Interstellar Alliance High School had a specific rule for class assignments: to avoid excessive special treatment, prevent students from feeling disparities, reduce the need to constantly adapt to new environments, and encourage mutual learning and progress among classmates. After students selected their subjects in the second semester of tenth grade, the school would randomly assign classes for eleventh grade.

In the class that the third-year high school students were divided into and assigned to, ninety-nine percent of the students were still the same classmates from the second year.

The remaining one percent consisted of individual students pursuing arts tracks. Due to differences in their academic schedule arrangements, they would form a separate class.

Last year’s Class 10 of the second year this year’s Class 10 of the third year, had no students pursuing arts.

Therefore, they remained the same big family.

Who knows how many group chats other classes have, but Class 10 of the third year has two.

One group includes all the students, while the other includes all the students except Chi Jinxian and Lu Zhi.

At that moment, the group missing those two was buzzing with lively activity.

Surviving in the Cracks: Class 10 of the Third Year ,

Class Rep Zhong Qing: [Damn, damn, damn, what’s going on? The class monitor gave the meal card to Cash?]

Class Rep Zhong Qing: [I’m not seeing things, right? Everyone saw it too!]

Little Mada Dada: [Class rep, believe in yourself. All 52 classmates… no, 50 classmates saw it.]

Class Rep Zhong Qing: [I don’t believe it. Two years! Cash has been chasing him for two years, and the class monitor barely even glanced his way! Shouldn’t we focus on studying hard in the third year? What’s going on?!]

Class Rep Zhong Qing: [Baixiao, do you know something? @Jianghu Baixiaosheng]

Little Mada Dada: [Class rep, as the class rep, please remember to focus on studying and not gossip so much.]

Class Rep Zhong Qing: […]

Little Mada Dada: [Baixiao, let’s chat privately and you can tell me about it. @Jianghu Baixiaosheng]

Class Rep Zhong Qing: […]

Class Rep Zhong Qing: [Just you wait.]

He Sui Who Drinks Water Every Day: [Haha, but why am I so happy? Our little Cash has really made it! Look at all those people on the forum laughing at him, they have no idea how adorable Cash is!]

He Sui Who Drinks Water Every Day: [@Jianghu Baixiaosheng]

Unknown Ruan Zhizhi: [If you all weren’t chatting, I would’ve almost forgotten we even have this group.]

Unknown Ruan Zhizhi: [But speaking of which, this group has been around for a year, and the class monitor isn’t even in it. Why are all your nicknames still using your real names? So obedient, huh?]

As soon as this was said, the flurry of messages tagging Jiang Baixiao suddenly paused for a moment, followed by a wave of silence.

It seemed like, for a moment, no one knew what to say, or perhaps they didn’t dare to comment on it.

Fortunately, just then, a new message notification popped up in the chat, it must have been Jiang Baixiao, summoned by their earlier tags.

But in the next instant, almost half the class gasped in unison! The sound was so synchronized it was almost loud.

A new message had indeed appeared in the group, but not in Group .

Nearly three-quarters of the students stared wide-eyed at their phones, questioning reality the other large group, which hadn’t seen more than three conversations in a year, had suddenly come back to life, and it was an unexpected person who had revived it.

Class 10 of the Third Year:

Lu Zhi: [Class is starting.]

Jiang Baixiao’s message in Group followed right after Lu Zhi’s momentous statement.

Jianghu Baixiaosheng: [Although I’d love to say something, there’s really no need to ask me, I don’t know either! [Frantically]]

After sending it, he reacted just like the other students: his pupils trembled, and he hurriedly put away his phone, sitting up straight with lightning speed.

Panicked yet steady, an extremely contradictory state.

Could this god foresee what they were up to?!

Lu Zhi appeared unapproachable at first glance, and attempts to interact with him confirmed that he truly was. In the entire school, aside from Chi Jinxian, there was likely no second person who dared to stick close to him like this.

Previously, Jiang Baixiao had told Chi Jinxian that Lu Zhi had a bad temper in middle school and even got into fights. It was probably true that, aside from Chi Jinxian, most people in the school had heard about it mainly because even if Chi Jinxian heard it, he wouldn’t believe it. He viewed Lu Zhi through rose-tinted glasses.

Over the past two years of high school, although Lu Zhi remained aloof and somewhat detached, no one had actually seen him lose his temper. As time passed, many began to believe that those rumors were either baseless or exaggerated.

Still, no one dared to approach Lu Zhi for casual conversation.

As the class monitor, Lu Zhi seemed to live within a strict set of principles, an unbreakable circle that no one could cross. Since they were classmates, everyone had to use their real names in the group chat.

Even though they were in the second group chat, they all deeply remembered their instinctive, unshakable deference to Lu Zhi.

As class time approached, the classroom finally fell completely silent.

Jiang Baixiao knew that, as Chi Jinxian’s deskmate, his task was daunting.

But he genuinely had no idea what had happened today.

It seemed as though the teacher hadn’t heard the bell, there was no sign of them outside the door. After putting away his phone, Jiang Baixiao grew unbearably curious and restless. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk, as if trying to hint at something.

The person being hinted at finally noticed the commotion and snapped out of his daze. Chi Jinxian turned to look at Jiang Baixiao, his eyes still sparkling.

Seeing an opportunity, Jiang Baixiao’s eyes lit up in response. He slightly parted his lips, whispering “Cash,” while his hand already gripped the edge of his stool, ready to pull it closer to Chi Jinxian.

The stool legs had barely shifted a centimeter, and before he could even ask a question, Jiang Baixiao found himself unable to speak.

“Pay attention in class,” Lu Zhi’s voice came from behind, calm and unruffled, as he stared at the two figures in front.

Jiang Baixiao: “…”

His body was more honest than his mind, Jiang Baixiao immediately straightened up! But his eyes remained unwilling, frequently glancing toward Chi Jinxian.

Chi Jinxian tucked away his meal card, acting as if he hadn’t heard the class monitor’s command. He turned to Jiang Baixiao and whispered, “Want to ask me something?”

Jiang Baixiao didn’t dare nod, so he blinked frantically instead.

Look how curious he was. Chi Jinxian grinned and mouthed with a secretive expression, “Not telling you.”

Jiang Baixiao: “…”

The teacher finally remembered that the students of Class 10, Grade 12 were waiting for class and arrived belatedly. During the moment when the students stood up to greet the teacher, Chi Jinxian quickly turned around to look at Lu Zhi.

Truth be told, he was also very curious. Even now, the feeling of having the meal card on him seemed unreal. Chi Jinxian couldn’t help but wonder: Was it because of yesterday’s pitiful act? If he had known it would have this effect, he would have done it sooner!

“Lu-ge.”

“Turn back around.” After the teacher greeted the class and everyone sat down, Lu Zhi lowered his gaze and said, “Behave.”

“Got it!” Chi Jinxian responded with a beaming smile, listening to the lecture with utmost seriousness and asking no further questions.

Too overjoyed, Chi Jinxian dashed out during the first break to let off steam, pacing back and forth along the entire third-floor hallway twice. During the longer break, he ran out again to release his excitement, pacing the hallway eight times.

Until the third period ended and class was about to start, Qi Suiyi could no longer stand it when he spotted Chi Jinxian passing by the window and doorway again. He dashed out, hooked an arm around the other’s neck, and dragged him into the restroom.

With barely two minutes left before the bell, Qi Suiyi glanced around to ensure no one was nearby. Leaning in, he whispered, “Alright, spill it. What’s got you so happy?”

“Ah, you finally asked! I was just dying to tell someone, but it didn’t feel right to share it with anyone before my uncle.” Chi Jinxian grinned, pulling a perfectly ordinary meal card from his pocket. “Want to hear the story?”

“…” Qi Suiyi released him, not particularly eager to listen.

But Chi Jinxian had already launched into his tale.

After spending a minute exuberantly recounting his joy and the story behind it, Chi Jinxian asked, “So, I’m still special, right?”

Qi Suiyi: “…”

Well, well this was payback for Qi Suiyi’s remark days ago about Chi Jinxian being “not even special” in Lu Zhi’s eyes!

Qi Suiyi gritted his teeth in frustration. Even as the class bell rang, he kept griping at Chi Jinxian.

“Chi Jinxian, tell me, what exactly do you see in him?” Qi Suiyi truly couldn’t understand, his confusion genuine. “His looks? Sure, he’s handsome, I’ll admit, but that can’t be all. His personality? That icy demeanor that wouldn’t thaw even if his parents showed up you’re into that? Did I kick your brain loose or something?!”

“Ahem.” Chi Jinxian cleared his throat, adopting the air of someone about to reveal a momentous secret. Qi Suiyi straightened up, expecting to finally hear the real reason. He was determined to learn what could possibly,

“I believe Lu Zhi and I were betrothed in an arranged marriage many years ago, so I have to take responsibility for him.” Chi Jinxian declared with utmost seriousness, his expression grave. “I’m meant to be his wife. Understand?”

“…” Qi Suiyi was beyond exasperated. He strode out without another glance at his hopeless nephew, muttering in disdain, “Some ambition you’ve got’wife.'”

“What’s wrong with knowing my place?” Chi Jinxian retorted behind him.

Qi Suiyi couldn’t be bothered to respond further. He bolted toward his classroom as if riding a wind-fire wheel, whizzing past Class 10, Grade 12 in a blur. Chi Jinxian hurried after him, calling out, “Reporting!”

The teacher glanced at him, nodding slightly to grant entry.

Lu Zhi withdrew his gaze from outside the window, his fingers idly spinning a pen.

Eyes lowered, he seemed suddenly preoccupied, as if burdened by unspoken thoughts.

Never before had Chi Jinxian felt so justified in mooching a meal. He transformed from a mere follower to walking side-by-side with Lu Zhi, boldly brandishing the meal card in his hand.

Jiang Jin, on the other side, joked lightly, “Word about you giving him the card has already spread.”

Lu Zhi acknowledged with a noncommittal “Mm,” offering no further comment.

Gossip among the school’s notable figures always traveled fastest, as if on wings.

It was hardly surprising.

“Jinxian seems thrilled,” Jiang Jin remarked, his tone teasing as if caught up in the cheerful atmosphere.

Hearing his name, Chi Jinxian’s smile widened. “I”

“Brother.” A voice from behind halted the group except for Lu Zhi.

As if hearing nothing, Lu Zhi continued forward without so much as a glance.

But the owner of the voice, seemingly overjoyed at the rare chance to see Lu Zhi at school, persisted eagerly, chasing after them: “Brother!”

Jiang Jin tilted his body, eyeing the newcomer with meaningful scrutiny. Chi Jinxian instinctively halted in his tracks as well.

With two of the three dining companions suddenly gone, Lu Zhi remained silent for a moment before ultimately stopping too.

He spared only a sliver of peripheral vision, almost like a condescending gesture, toward the boy who had already positioned himself beside him.

Lu Wan. His half-brother, a sophomore in high school.

“Going to eat?” Lu Wan’s features were strikingly beautiful, his frame petite, leading most to assume at first glance that he was a delicate, fragile Omega incapable of heavy lifting.

But he was an Alpha. Upon closer inspection, the sharp, angular contours in his handsome face became apparent, as if tinged with an indelible gloom.

Lu Zhi withdrew his gaze and addressed the two lagging slightly behind him, “Let’s go.”

Chi Jinxian was the first to follow, with Jiang Jin close behind. Before leaving, Jiang Jin politely waved a hand at Lu Wan in farewell.

“Is Chi Jinxian still following you?” Lu Wan suddenly raised his voice.

Noticing the trio’s steps halt as expected, he advanced a few paces and spoke with feigned consideration, “Brother, don’t you find him annoying? Even though you clearly ignore him, he still trails after you.”

“And you,” Lu Wan turned his aim toward Chi Jinxian, smiling as he said, “Anyone else would’ve known to back off by now. At the very least, they’d understand when to stop.”

His haughty demeanor suggested he had already secured Lu Zhi’s approval, granting him the authority to boss Chi Jinxian around.

Lu Zhi’s expression visibly chilled. Jiang Jin’s brow furrowed in discomfort, and he softly cautioned, “Lu Wan,” as a subtle warning.

Chi Jinxian was well aware that Lu Zhi had a troublesome younger brother and that this person occasionally made his presence known at school in front of Lu Zhi just like today. However, he had rarely interacted with him directly and was experiencing such treatment for the first time.

Was it because he suddenly felt his brother was being taken away today, sparking his anger?

While Chi Jinxian had a gentle temperament, he wasn’t one to tolerate bullying. Besides, aside from Lu Zhi, he would never allow anyone else to walk all over him.

The usually sunny, naive, and sweet Chi Jinxian, who always shone like a little sun around Lu Zhi, lightly furrowed his brow.

His expression turned indifferent as he stated, “Show some respect. Who knows, I might just become your sister-in-law someday. And when that time comes, I’d prefer my first act not to be throwing you out.”