The Beta from the Countryside (16)

Xie Yishu had been irritable lately.

He had felt that way ever since he accompanied Xue Ci to the basketball game that day.

After the game, Xue Ci hadn't let him walk him back to the dorm. Instead, he said he was going out to buy milk tea with Xin Yue.

He had thought Xue Ci was just keeping his promise, but unexpectedly, Xue Ci had begun treating him coldly after that.

He didn't want to go to the classroom with him or let him line up to buy lunch for him. He didn't ask him questions, and his replies to his messages were perfunctory.

Whenever Xie Yishu approached him to talk, he would hide behind Xin Yue or Duan Xingyan as though fleeing some terrible beast.

The sudden estrangement made Xie Yishu carefully retrace everything that had happened on the day of the game, but he couldn't find anything wrong. He clearly remembered every word Xue Ci had said and every expression he had made. Everything had been much the same as usual.

Was it because of Gu Xu?

But Xue Ci didn't seem to like Gu Xu.

Compared to Gu Xu, he thought Xin Yue and Duan Xingyan were more dangerous.

Buzz, buzz-

His phone vibrated twice.

Xie Yishu immediately opened the message.

It wasn't from Xue Ci. It was a message in the dorm group chat.

It's your little Xinxin: [Photo.jpg.]

It's your little Xinxin: [How did you know Xue Ci bought me milk tea and added extra milk foam?]

Xie Yishu's expression darkened.

Xin Yue had sent a photo of a hand holding milk tea. Even without enlarging it, he could clearly see a small section of an arm in the bottom right corner.

Pale, cool-toned and slender.

Tiny blue-purple veins were visible beneath the skin.

Soon, more messages appeared in the group.

Duan Xingxing: [Obviously because I got one too.]

Duan Xingxing: [Photo.jpg.]

The photo was deleted a second after it was sent. Soon, Xin Yue deleted his messages too and sent a few unrelated ones in their place.

They had probably been asked to.

Though it didn't really count as asking. Xue Ci only had to look a little unhappy, and without him even opening his mouth, they would obediently delete their messages like dogs that had guessed their master's thoughts.

Xue Ci didn't want him to see those things.

Xie Yishu's fingers gripping his phone were a sickly white.

He was the only one who didn't have one.

Xue Ci had left him out.

The pheromones in the room were like a fierce, violent storm. At its center, the Alpha opened a drawer.

On the right was a thick stack of photos, all of Xue Ci. Many showed him sleeping, and it was obvious they had been taken without permission.

On the left were a few buttons and pen caps that looked like discarded trash.

Xie Yishu reached out and picked up the photo on top.

"I really want to handcuff you."

"Right here in this room, on this bed."

With final exams approaching, Gu Xu didn't have many tasks for Xue Ci, so all Xue Ci had to do was maintain his persona as a diligent student.

Classes had ended, and after Xue Ci repeatedly turned down Xie Yishu's invitations to go to the library together, Xie Yishu had probably noticed something and stopped bringing it up. Every day, he disappeared early in the morning and came back late at night.

His skin hunger hadn't acted up during this time, and the progress bar was advancing slowly.

One thing Xue Ci wasn't happy about was that studying had become harder.

Before, with Xie Yishu around, he could get help with problems he couldn't solve right away. Now he could only struggle through them himself.

But Xue Ci knew when to give up and turned his attention to a mobile game.

Unfortunately, the game had gotten harder too.

"Want me to beat the level for you?" Xin Yue leaned over from beside him.

Xue Ci said, "Oh," and was fed a little bear-shaped cookie.

He had just handed over his phone when a WeChat message popped up.

It was actually from Xie Yishu, whom he hadn't spoken to or contacted in days.

[Let's talk.]

[I'm waiting for you outside the study room.]

"Who sent that?" Xin Yue noticed that Xue Ci's expression wasn't quite right and grew wary.

Xue Ci pursed his lips.

He could actually tell that Xie Yishu had been in low spirits these past few days, perhaps because he had deliberately distanced himself from him.

When Xue Ci didn't reply, Xie Yishu quickly sent another message-

[I organized some exam notes for you.]

In the empty corridor, Xue Ci was enveloped in the Alpha's shadow.

He could tell that Xie Yishu was different from usual.

His brows were lowered, his lips taut, and his eyes dark as he stared fixedly at him.

Xue Ci knew he was in the wrong and guiltily looked away.

Xie Yishu held out the notebook in his hand. "This is for you, Xue Ci."

The Alpha's voice was a little hoarse, and his eyes were rimmed red, as though he hadn't rested well.

Xue Ci hadn't expected Xie Yishu to still be willing to organize notes for him, but they weren't getting along anymore.

He quietly refused. "N-no, it's okay."

Xie Yishu fell silent, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

"I want to go back..."

Xue Ci didn't dare look at Xie Yishu's expression. He had just started to move when, the next second, his vision suddenly swayed.

"Mm..."

The feeling of weightlessness made him instinctively wrap his arms around the neck of the person in front of him.

A pair of strong hands held him tightly around the waist, and just like that, he was lifted onto a nearby platform.

"Avoiding me?"

Xie Yishu's voice was cold. It was only two words, but the pressure they carried was unlike anything before.

Xue Ci had never seen this unfamiliar side of Xie Yishu.

His eyelashes fluttered wildly, and his slender legs dangled in the air without support.

He couldn't find a reason to give Xie Yishu, so he could only bite his lower lip fearfully.

The air fell silent for a moment. In the end, Xie Yishu spoke first. "Did I do something wrong?"

Xue Ci froze.

He was the one being unreasonable, yet Xie Yishu was looking for the reason in himself.

Guiltily, Xue Ci opened his mouth to say something, only to hear Xin Yue's angry voice from not far away.

"What are you doing to Xue Ci?!"

Soon, Xin Yue lifted him down and shielded him behind his back.

"He didn't do anything to me. He just-" Xue Ci had barely begun explaining when Xie Yishu pressed the notebook into his hands, then gave Xin Yue an indifferent glance and left without saying a word.

Even after making sure Xue Ci was all right, Xin Yue still felt uneasy. For Friday afternoon's archery class, he got an access card through a friend and came straight over to accompany Xue Ci to class.

He was talented at sports and learned quickly. He was also talkative, and after a few words, everyone gathered around to chat. A few people took advantage of the crowd to come over and strike up a conversation with Xue Ci.

Xin Yue quickly chased those people away.

Xue Ci turned his face to the side and accidentally caught sight of Xie Yishu sitting in a chair.

The Alpha sat all alone, looking desolate. His eyes were lowered, and his expression was impossible to make out.

After that day, Xie Yishu seemed to have been affected by the blow. He hadn't spoken to Xue Ci, or even to anyone else in their class. He went out alone every day, and the occasional times Xue Ci saw him in the cafeteria, he was alone too.

Seeing that Xue Ci seemed inclined to go over to Xie Yishu, 11 reminded him: [Host, if you take the initiative to approach him, our progress bar will go backward.]

Xue Ci pursed his lips. [I remember he has a lot of friends.]

Why does he look like he's being isolated now?

Don't look so pitiful...

11: [He isolated everyone else.]

Xue Ci said, "...Is that so?"

11 reassured him: [You don't need to worry about Xie Yishu, host. The core of his character is super stable.]

Besides, it thought Xie Yishu was a super scheming boy who was acting pitiful to win the host's sympathy. What's he pretending for?! Even I have never pretended to be pitiful!

"Xue Ci, class is over." Xin Yue helped pack his schoolbag and put away his bow and arrows. Seeing that Xue Ci was still in a daze, he waved a hand in front of him. "Aren't you going home today?"

Xue Ci came back to his senses and stopped thinking about Xie Yishu.

The two left the archery hall and headed toward the school gate.

The familiar tingling sensation came over him again.

The symptoms weren't too severe, and Xue Ci could just about bear them, but he was afraid he wouldn't last until they reached the gate.

He glanced at Xin Yue beside him, leaned closer, and whispered, "You've got something dirty here."

Hearing Xue Ci's voice, Xin Yue's whole body tensed and froze. "...What?"

"I'll brush it off for you." Lying because of his skin hunger was in character. Xue Ci leaned over and made a show of patting the nonexistent dust with his palm. "Let me see if there's any on the front."

Xin Yue's breathing instantly grew heavier.

His muscles tensed. It was as though a glutinous rice ball had nestled into his arms, sweet and soft.

Just staring at Xue Ci's mouth like this was almost more than Xin Yue could bear.

His mouth looked so soft.

What would it feel like to eat it?

Xue Ci didn't notice Xin Yue's gaze. His symptoms had eased considerably, and he secretly pressed into the Alpha's arms a little more before pulling away.

When he saw a familiar car at the school gate, Xue Ci waved goodbye to Xin Yue and jogged over to get in.

The temperature in the car was comfortable, and he put down his schoolbag to rest.

His eyelids felt heavy. Half asleep, he heard his phone ring.

He opened it and found a text message from an unknown number.

[Baby, have you been naughty?]

Xue Ci jolted in fright.

Wh-what?

But he had no time to react before another message followed.

[Does baby have skin hunger? Your skin turned pink from just one touch.]