The Beta from the Countryside (02)

The Gu family's villa looked quite new. Rather than having an elaborate, old-fashioned European or Chinese interior, it was fresh and minimalist.

After being shown into the living room, Xue Ci sat upright on the sofa. The butler was a kindly old man who soon brought him hot tea and a towel.

"Thank you." Even with an umbrella, Xue Ci had gotten damp walking through the rain for ten minutes. As he dried his hair with the towel, he heard 11 say, [Host, your next major objective is to stay with the Gu family.]

Xue Ci thought of Gu Xu's cold face. [I think that might be a little difficult.]

[It won't be!] Only Xue Ci could see 11's physical form, so 11 rolled around freely in his arms. [Grandpa Butler keeps smiling at you. He must like you! I bet the next thing he says is, "The young master hasn't brought anyone home in a long time."]

Xue Ci looked up and met the butler's eyes. The man wore a gratified smile. "It's been a long time since the young master brought a classmate home."

Hmm...

Sure enough.

Xue Ci obliged 11 with a compliment.

The butler had worked for the Gu family for decades. Usually, he only saw Gu Xu's carefree Alpha friends. He had never seen him get close to an Omega, much less bring one home.

Was he finally taking an interest?

The butler was afraid Gu Xu would remain single for life, so he didn't dare neglect their guest. "I'll go prepare some snacks and fruit."

Xue Ci thanked him again.

After drying the rain off himself, he held the towel in his hand and rose to ask the butler where to put it. Just then, he heard a creak-

Gu Xu had come back through the door.

The Alpha's black hair was slightly damp, and his eyes were lowered. He didn't look to be in a good mood.

He glanced at Xue Ci and saw him waiting with a towel.

Was he that concerned about him? He was an Alpha. What was a little rain? So he refused outright. "I don't need it."

Huh?

Need... what?

Before Xue Ci could react, the towel was snatched from his hand. In the blink of an eye, Gu Xu had it and was using it to wipe the rain from his hair and face.

"That..." I've already used it.

Gu Xu had clearly misunderstood something.

Xue Ci swallowed his words. He hadn't started his task yet and couldn't raise the other's disgust value prematurely. If Gu Xu knew he had used the towel, he would definitely hate him.

"Hmm?" The Alpha lifted his eyelids slightly, fixing him with a pair of dark eyes.

Feeling guilty, Xue Ci continued, "...There's some here too."

He then pointed at the droplets on Gu Xu's neck.

Though they were some distance apart, when the boy reached out his fingertip, Gu Xu felt as though an electric current had passed through his entire body. The strange tingling sensation left him unable to say what he was feeling.

As he hastily wiped the rain from his Adam's apple, a joke the basketball team often made suddenly rang in his ears-

"If his Adam's apple is big, then that's big too."

This Omega had been staring at his Adam's apple the whole time.

Gu Xu averted his gaze and took a step back, his heart pounding like thunder. The fragrance on the towel, however, tickled him all over like a feather.

Xue Ci was called over to eat fruit and didn't notice that Gu Xu's ears had turned red. The sharp-eyed butler did, though. "Young master, it's so late. Will your classmate be staying the night?"

Gu Xu came back to his senses and resumed his usual aloof expression. He glanced at Xue Ci. "I asked my family just now. It's true. They can't make it back tonight, so stay here for the night. We'll talk when they come tomorrow."

Xue Ci breathed a sigh of relief.

The plot was finally moving along.

The butler immediately prepared a bath. While Xue Ci was away, he asked Gu Xu who he was. Upon learning that Xue Ci had a marriage agreement with the Gu family, he said with relief, "Are you going to have a partner?"

?

Gu Xu scoffed, expressing his disdain for such feudal nonsense. "What age are we living in? An arranged marriage?"

"But your elders arranged it."

"Aren't there two other Alphas in the family besides me?"

The embarrassment of discovering that he had been mistaken about the Omega writing an engagement agreement by hand to pursue him came rushing back. The Alpha's face flushed with awkwardness, but he covered it up and curled his lips nonchalantly.

Whoever wanted to go through with that feudal arranged marriage could do it. It had nothing to do with him, anyway.

He didn't like Omegas who were physically frail and looked like trouble, either.

The butler detected a hint of jealousy.

No matter which young master of the Gu family he was engaged to, the pretty, quiet boy downstairs was an honored guest.

After eating some fruit and resting for a while, Xue Ci was led upstairs by the butler.

"This is the bathroom, and the guest room prepared for you is on the right." After introducing them, the butler pointed to the room beside the guest room. "That's Young Master Gu Xu's room. Once you've finished your bath, you can come downstairs for dinner. If you need anything in the meantime, call me at any time."

After a day of traveling, Xue Ci was tired and hungry. He went downstairs after bathing and changing into clean pajamas.

As he stepped onto the last stair, 11 suddenly spoke. [Host, a task is here!]

Xue Ci stopped.

11 had mentioned that every small world had objectives and tasks. The objective concerned the overall direction of the plot, while tasks refreshed in real time according to specific circumstances, with points awarded for completing them.

Once the plot reached one hundred percent completion, the small world would be reclaimed, and he would leave with it.

Of course, there was another restriction: 11 was an "honest person" system, so the roles assigned to Xue Ci were naturally all honest, downtrodden people who were bullied by others. His words and actions had to fit his character's personality. If he went OOC, he would be severely punished.

He would have to keep his temper in check.

Xue Ci reminded himself.

[Your task is to express your admiration for the protagonist. Complete it before eight tonight for 20 points.]

Xue Ci didn't think the task was particularly difficult.

Downstairs, the butler spotted his slender figure and kindly called him over.

Seeing that Xue Ci wasn't wearing an inhibitor ring on his wrist, he assumed he had forgotten to put it on after his bath and reminded him to wear one.

Xue Ci had already learned what an inhibitor ring did from 11. He explained, "I'm a Beta. I don't need to wear one."

This time, even Gu Xu, who was standing nearby, looked at him in mild surprise.

Betas didn't have pheromones.

Then was the fragrance he had smelled coming from Xue Ci himself?

Xue Ci didn't notice Gu Xu's gaze. His attention had been drawn to the beef noodles before him.

The rich golden broth, thick slices of beef, and handful of finely chopped scallions made the dish look especially appetizing.

He ate his noodles slowly, his lips reddened by the hot broth. His pretty face was hazy and slightly indistinct in the rising steam.

His clothes hung loosely from his shoulders, exposing a small patch of smooth, pale skin.

It was too dazzling.

Gu Xu stared for several seconds.

Seeing that he wasn't eating, Xue Ci asked, "Aren't you hungry?"

Gu Xu froze for a moment, then quickly lowered his head and picked up his chopsticks.

With his task in mind, Xue Ci seized the chance to ask, "Did you make the noodles?"

"No." His voice was stiff.

Xue Ci was a little disappointed. If Gu Xu had said yes, he could have taken the opportunity to praise his cooking, but that approach wouldn't work now. He looked at the glass of water beside him and tried again. "Did you boil the water?"

"...It's purified water."

Xue Ci didn't ask any more questions like that. He stared intently at the Alpha, wondering how to praise him in a way that expressed admiration. But Gu Xu kept his head down, avoiding him like the plague. Even his ears had turned red from being pestered, and he didn't look like he wanted to talk at all.

Unable to find an opportunity, Xue Ci ate his noodles in silence along with Gu Xu.

Gu Xu ate quickly. When he finished, he got up to go upstairs, and Xue Ci hurriedly put down his chopsticks and followed.

He followed him up the stairs and down the hall.

Just as Xue Ci was about to follow him into his room, Gu Xu turned around and looked back at him with a stern expression.

Xue Ci didn't react in time and nearly bumped into him when he stopped.

They were standing very close. Gu Xu was a head taller than Xue Ci, and under the hallway's dim yellow light, the Beta was completely enveloped in his shadow.

"You-" Gu Xu began coldly, only to stop after that single word. His gaze immediately shifted away from Xue Ci's chest.

Why was he wearing something so thin?

Xue Ci was still waiting for him to continue, but instead Gu Xu went straight into his room and slammed the door shut.

Was he...

Angry?

Xue Ci stood outside the door, struggling to decide whether to knock. Less than a minute later, Gu Xu opened it again, now holding a white long-sleeved shirt.

His expression was less than pleasant as he handed it over. "Don't you have any other clothes?"

It's so thin. Everything underneath was visible.

Xue Ci understood. Apparently, his clothes had been found lacking.

In the original plot, aside from his clingy behavior caused by skin hunger, there was another reason the protagonist disliked him: he was a country bumpkin with no eye for things and poor taste, someone from a completely different world.

"I only brought these few changes of clothes." The Beta's voice sounded a little pitiful.

Gu Xu suddenly felt as though he were bullying him.

Even his umbrella was broken like that. His clothes were probably all old too.

He couldn't help softening his voice. "Wear this for now."

Xue Ci took the shirt.

He was a little particular about cleanliness and needed to check it for strange smells. So he bent down and sniffed it like a small animal, rubbing even the tip of his nose and the soft flesh of his cheek against it.

Every one of those movements was a visual shock to Gu Xu.

...He's smelling my clothes.

Before Gu Xu could recover from his shock, he heard the soft, smooth voice across from him say, "Your shirt is so big!"

[Congratulations, host! Task one complete! You've earned 20 points!]

Xue Ci was satisfied.

You couldn't go wrong complimenting a guy on his height.

He hugged the shirt and left on his own after a quick "thank you," completely unaware that his few words had made the Alpha tense every muscle in his body, his back trembling slightly.

Gu Xu was the protagonist, more mature and composed than most people his age, but in the end he was still an inexperienced, wet-behind-the-ears kid.

All evening, he was unlike his usual self, who shut himself in his room to play games.

For instance, he suddenly opened his wardrobe to check whether every piece of clothing had been washed, then spent a long time searching on his phone for posts with the keywords "being told it's big."

The replies were a mess, with all sorts of things being said. Gu Xu fussed over them until midnight and still couldn't sleep. Thoroughly irritated, he grabbed his basketball and went out.

As soon as he went downstairs, he ran into Gu Ling, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes.

The Gu family's eldest and third sons looked somewhat alike, both having rugged features. The man had just finished a work call and stood by the door with a stern expression.

He glanced toward the sound, then quickly returned his attention to the documents in his hand.

"Going out to play ball this late?"

"Yeah. You're back, ge?"

The brothers were eight years apart. As the older brother, Gu Ling took good care of Gu Xu, and they had been close when they were young. But over the past few years, Gu Ling had devoted himself entirely to work, and they had grown considerably more distant, no longer able to talk about everything as they once had.

After several days on a business trip abroad, the man looked somewhat tired.

He gently pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come back after a little while, and be careful."

"Okay." Gu Xu headed out, but after only a few steps, he suddenly remembered something. He immediately returned and stopped Gu Ling, who was about to go upstairs.

"There's someone in the guest room on the second floor. If you make a call, ge, be mindful of that."

Gu Ling assumed Gu Xu had brought a classmate home for the night and didn't ask further. But just as he turned around, he faintly caught a lingering scent on Gu Xu.

An Omega?

He regarded his younger brother searchingly.

There was an eight-year age gap between them, after all. No matter how cool Gu Xu usually acted, the subtle tension in him didn't escape Gu Ling's eyes.

"Did you bring an Omega home?" the man asked bluntly.

"How could I possibly bring an Omega home?" Gu Xu's voice rose several degrees above its usual pitch. Realizing his tone had been a little excessive, he scratched his hair and pretended to be casual. "Didn't Mom tell you about it?"

Judging by Gu Ling's expression, he didn't know, so Gu Xu continued, "The person who's engaged to someone in the family came over. Grandpa arranged it-a childhood betrothal."

Gu Ling finally set the documents aside.

He had spent much of his childhood by the family head's side and vaguely remembered the old man exchanging letters with a friend surnamed Song.

He hadn't expected there to be a childhood betrothal as well.

"We'll talk about the details when Mom and Dad come over tomorrow." Gu Xu was about to leave with his ball when he was stopped.

"Wait."

Gu Ling's voice sounded steeped in the night, rough and cold. "Who in the family was the betrothal arranged with?"

There was no specific name written on the engagement agreement.

It belatedly dawned on Gu Xu.

When Grandpa died, Gu Ling had been his only grandson.

Did that mean Xue Ci was going to become his brother's wife?