The Beta from the Countryside (23)

In the corridor, where lamplight and moonlight mingled, the only sound was the chirping of insects in the bushes.

Xin Yue thought he ought to be the most embarrassed one here. A parent had caught him dating while still in school, even trying to stay the night.

Like a thug up to no good.

He didn't know whether the man across from him had heard any of it. Afraid things would get even more awkward, he decided to say something to break the impasse.

The man was his elder, and Xin Yue wanted to leave a good impression. But his mind went blank, and for a moment he forgot the name of the Gu family's eldest son. What came out of his mouth was, "...Big brother."

Gu Ling's sharp brows drew together even more tightly.

Even Xue Ci could sense Xin Yue's nervousness. Besides, he didn't want an outsider to see him being scolded by a parent. It would be so embarrassing. So he tugged at Xin Yue's sleeve. "I'm back now. Do you want to go home?"

"...Yeah, I'll head back first."

It looked like he could only ask Xue Ci out again next time.

Xin Yue turned and headed down the stairs. At the turn, he looked up, hoping for one last glimpse of Xue Ci, only to catch sight of the man's hand rubbing the boy's head.

Xue Ci usually wasn't very afraid of Gu Ling, but today's situation left him feeling guilty. So even though Gu Ling took the stuffed toy for him, he didn't let his guard down completely.

"Let's go inside first."

Only when Gu Ling finally spoke did Xue Ci realize they had been standing outside all this time.

After opening the dorm door, the two went inside.

For some reason, the room, which had originally been spacious, seemed much more crowded once Gu Ling entered.

Afraid of being scolded, Xue Ci immediately pointed at the phone on the table. "I didn't take my phone with me this afternoon, so I missed your calls."

Gu Ling put the stuffed toy on a chair and glanced at it. The assembly-line product was crudely made. He couldn't believe Xue Ci had been lured away for an entire afternoon by this thing.

"That classmate just now was called Xin Yue, right?" he asked quietly. Recalling what he'd heard about staying the night, he frowned deeply. "Has he stayed here before?"

Xue Ci shook his head. "The dorm auntie checks the rooms. Outsiders aren't allowed to stay overnight."

Only then did the man's expression improve a little.

After handing Xue Ci a glass of water, he asked him at a leisurely pace about his afternoon.

Xue Ci left out the part about Xie Yishu, saying vaguely that he hadn't felt very well and had been in a bad mood. A classmate had happened to come looking for him, so he'd gone out with him without taking his phone.

"I promise I'll tell you before I go out to have fun next time, okay?"

Xue Ci knew how to act vulnerable in front of his elders, probably because he'd been used to acting spoiled with his grandmother as a child.

The man's expression softened. His broad palm rubbed the boy's fluffy head, casually smoothing down the hair that had stuck up while he was out playing. "What do you mean you weren't feeling well?"

Xue Ci pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Gu Ling understood at once. "Skin hunger?"

"Mm. It was only for a little while. It's nothing serious, and I wasn't particularly uncomfortable." Xue Ci was afraid Gu Ling would suggest that he move out. He'd already suggested it once before Xue Ci joined the training class, but Xue Ci had tactfully refused, afraid it would affect the plot's progress.

If Gu Ling took a firmer stance this time, he wouldn't know what to do.

Gu Ling lowered his eyes. He had checked the room assignments: Xue Ci had three Alpha roommates, all young and handsome, and they all got along well.

If they noticed Xue Ci had skin hunger, there was a strong chance they would help treat it.

After much hesitation, Gu Ling compromised when he saw Xue Ci's reluctant expression. But he didn't leave immediately. After calling his assistant, he sat down beside Xue Ci and opened his sketchbook.

He looked like a parent checking homework.

Xue Ci was a little nervous and sat up straight. "I only took this afternoon off. I've been painting diligently the rest of the time."

"Mm, your painting has improved." Gu Ling was never stingy with praise for Xue Ci. He carefully closed the sketchbook and leaned in, bringing them an almost intimate distance apart.

"Xue Ci, is it time for treatment?"

Gu Ling held him so tightly that not a breath of air could get through.

Short of oxygen, Xue Ci didn't know exactly what Gu Ling was doing. He only felt hot breaths against the back of his neck, which made him a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the treatment was quick this time.

At around eight, the assistant arrived with an even bigger stuffed toy. Before leaving, Gu Ling put the big teddy bear Xin Yue had won from the claw machine in an inconspicuous corner.

Xue Ci: "?"

11 couldn't help complaining: [So childish! He isn't even as mature and steady as 11!]

Xue Ci stroked the little system ball.

With the two stuffed toys there, the room did look much cozier. After thinking it over, he made a little nest for each of them and put them inside.

Just as he finished arranging them, there was a knock at the door.

Xie Yishu must have been looking for him for a long time. As soon as Xue Ci opened the door, he asked anxiously, "Xue Ci, why did you take the afternoon off? I called you so many times."

Seeing Xie Yishu now reminded Xue Ci of him kissing someone in his sleep, and he looked away awkwardly. "Xin Yue came to see me, and I went out with him."

"I see." Seeing that he was all right, Xie Yishu's tone settled. "Aren't you sleeping with me tonight?"

Xue Ci: "?"

What... kind of question is that?

He was startled by Xie Yishu's wording, but the other man's expression and tone were perfectly serious.

It was all his own fault for taking it the wrong way.

How could Xie Yishu have meant it like that?

Xue Ci put the thought aside. "I haven't been feeling very well lately. I don't want to disturb you, so I want to stay by myself."

"You're not feeling well? What's wrong?" His tone was concerned, but his gaze fell inscrutably on Xue Ci's lips.

Xue Ci brushed the question off.

Xie Yishu didn't ask any more. "No one's stayed in your room for a while. I'll help you tidy it up."

Xue Ci froze.

Xie Yishu was really nice.

He felt guilty about the bad things he'd secretly done during this time.

Xie Yishu deftly helped Xue Ci change the four-piece bedding set, then put the dirty clothes he'd changed out of into the washing machine.

As he worked, his gaze would inadvertently linger on the back of Xue Ci's neck.

On the skin beneath his soft black hair, where his gland was, there was a red mark.

It had been sucked there.

Was it Xin Yue? Or the older man who had come to see Xue Ci that evening?

Xie Yishu looked away and turned on the tap. His broad hands rubbed a small piece of white cloth back and forth.

Xue Ci slept well that night. His room seemed to have fewer mosquitoes than Xie Yishu's, and he didn't wake up the next day with little red dots on his neck again.

His skin hunger flared up over the next two days, though only mildly. Afraid it would show, Xue Ci stayed by himself as much as possible, tactfully declining invitations from Xie Yishu and the others and buying meals to bring back to his dorm.

Now it really did look like the original plot, with him isolated by his classmates.

Several days passed like that.

One morning.

During a break in the studio, a classmate asked Xue Ci about mixing paints. Xue Ci was carefully comparing several colors when the whole class suddenly turned toward the back row.

"Huh? Xie Yishu, what happened to your arm?"

"The competition is in two days. Are you okay?"

"How did that happen?"

Xue Ci paused and looked toward the back of the classroom.

Xie Yishu's arm was wrapped in a thick cast and suspended from his neck in a sling. His bangs were damp and half covered his eyes, and the skin on his cheek was scraped. The dried blood on the wound was mixed with dirt, making him look especially bedraggled.

The classmate who had been talking to Xue Ci knew the two were close. Seeing that Xue Ci's attention was entirely on Xie Yishu, he gave up on making conversation and returned sheepishly to his seat with his paints.

Xue Ci stared at Xie Yishu, his round eyes full of surprise and concern.

Before he could ask, Xie Yishu sat down beside him and spoke first. "Xue Ci, my arm really hurts."

Xie Yishu's tone was stiff, and even his expression was calm and impassive. He didn't look very good at telling others about his pain. But the more he was like that, the easier it was to win their sympathy.

Especially when the person across from him was a softhearted fool.

Xie Yishu's skin was fair to begin with, and the blood loss had left his face pale. Even though it was only a dislocation, it looked worse than it actually was.

Xue Ci's breath caught, and he felt the pain on his behalf. "You... what happened? Have you been to the infirmary?"

"I fell by accident. I've already been."

Xie Yishu raised his hand with some effort, apparently wanting to show him the cast. Alarmed, Xue Ci immediately held him still, his little face stern. "Don't move!"

Xie Yishu's pupils contracted sharply at Xue Ci's concern. He concealed it, then lowered his eyes, looking dejected. "Without Xue Ci beside me, it seems I can't do anything right."

Is that so...?

Xue Ci had thought he was the one being looked after more.

Though he was a little puzzled, Xie Yishu's words still had a great effect on him.

Taking care of the class monitor became something Xue Ci considered his responsibility.

The wound on Xie Yishu's face still hadn't been treated, and he was unwilling to go to the hospital. Xue Ci got some disinfectant from the dorm auntie and applied it for him. At noon, he also went to the cafeteria with him and helped buy his meal.

11 glared at Xie Yishu indignantly, thinking the man had so many ways of playing the victim.

Xue Ci didn't see through it at all. He even felt sorry for Xie Yishu. There was only a week left before the competition, and he didn't know whether Xie Yishu would recover in time.

During the lunch break.

"Xue Ci?"

There was a knock at the door.

Xue Ci opened the dorm door. Xie Yishu looked apologetic. "Sorry, I accidentally spilled a drink on my clothes just now. It's hard for me to change."

"I tried just now, and my arm got really sore."

"Xue Ci..."

Xue Ci understood. He wanted help changing his clothes.

He got up and went to Xie Yishu's dorm, walking faster than usual because he wanted to return before his skin hunger flared up.

But changing Xie Yishu's clothes was more difficult than he'd imagined.

The cast was very thick. Xue Ci held his breath and moved carefully and gently, afraid of touching the injury.

He was so focused that he didn't notice how he was tucked into Xie Yishu's arms, standing on tiptoe, as if he had been delivered right to the man's lips.

Xie Yishu suppressed the excitement on his face. He didn't think his methods were despicable or dirty in the slightest. Instead, he was glad he could keep Xue Ci with him.

"Does this hurt? Am I touching the injury? Is this okay?"

As he asked, Xue Ci carefully lifted Xie Yishu's arm. It took some effort for him; by the time he'd helped him take off his shirt, a layer of sweat had already formed on the tip of his nose.

A rich fragrance emerged and drifted straight into Xie Yishu's nose. The Alpha stared at the gorgeous, palm-sized face, only to find that the light-colored eyes were gradually losing focus.

"Xue Ci?" he called.

Xue Ci gave a soft little hum, then climbed his cool fingers up around Xie Yishu's neck.

His face was tilted upward. The condition had made his thick lashes damp and sticky, and a haze quickly formed in his unfocused eyes.

So beautiful.

Xie Yishu's gaze fell on the little bead in the middle of his lips.

Xie Yishu had read up on skin hunger. It was a psychological condition that required caresses and skin contact, and there was no medication to treat it.

He didn't know what a flare-up felt like. Perhaps it was a strong desire to hold something tightly, or to press skin against skin.

If that was the case, his condition seemed much more severe than Xue Ci's.

The intimate wet sounds grew louder and louder. When Xie Yishu pulled away, their lips and teeth parted with a loud pop-

Xue Ci's eyes were unfocused, and his chin was wet. His mouth had been kissed slightly open and wouldn't quite close.

He, meanwhile, was like a shadowy monster, staring at Xue Ci's face without looking away for a moment. Seeing the lips he had kissed red and swollen, and the slightly dazed expression, he let out a satisfied, soundless sigh.

"You smell so good, Xiao Ci."

"Let's stay together like this forever, okay?"

Xie Yishu had explosive strength and could easily lift Xue Ci with one arm. He sat down in a chair, pulled Xue Ci onto his lap, and held him tightly, leaving no gap between them.

Only when the person in his arms regained a little awareness did he loosen his grip.

When Xue Ci came to his senses and found himself sitting in Xie Yishu's arms, he was completely bewildered.

"Xue Ci?" Xie Yishu cleared his throat, concealing his earlier fervor and adoration. Now he looked more like a victim, surprised and at a loss.

"You just... kissed me."

Xue Ci was stunned.

The thing he'd worried about most had happened after all.

Ignoring the tingling in his mouth, he got off Xie Yishu's lap and apologized through his embarrassment. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to."

Xue Ci was flustered, repeating the same two apologies over and over.

He glanced at Xie Yishu. His lips really were very red, and even the roots of his ears and his neck were red.

"I was planning to save that sort of thing for my partner." Xie Yishu's voice was soft. He seemed to place great importance on his chastity.

What should I do?

Xie Yishu wasn't someone who could casually be intimate with another person.

Xue Ci felt he really had done something bad... He couldn't worry about anything else. "Th-that doesn't count as a kiss. Sorry, I actually have skin hunger. I didn't mean to do that just now."

"When you meet someone you like in the future, I'll keep it secret for you."

Hearing this, Xie Yishu indeed stopped dwelling on the kiss and became concerned about him instead. "Skin hunger? Does it make you really want skin contact with someone else?"

Xue Ci nodded.

Xie Yishu quickly asked, "How do you treat it?"

Xue Ci shook his head. "There's no way to cure it."

"Then when it flares up, isn't it best to have someone nearby?" Xie Yishu quickly grasped the point. "Xue Ci, let me help treat you."

Huh?

But didn't he just say... he was saving that for his partner?

"We're so close, of course I should help you." Xie Yishu didn't give Xue Ci any extra time to think. He pinched the soft flesh between his thumb and index finger back and forth, as though he'd found something amusing. "Xue Ci, you should have told me sooner."

Xue Ci genuinely thought the class monitor was a very good person. He didn't know how to answer. After glancing at Xie Yishu's arm suspended in the air, he finally agreed.

He had originally worried that being too close to Xie Yishu would reduce the progress, but after offering to help with the treatment, Xie Yishu was especially enthusiastic, taking the initiative to ask every time, so the progress bar wasn't affected.

And because Xie Yishu was restrained and gentlemanly when they touched, never becoming overly intimate like Gu Ling, all of Xue Ci's worries disappeared.

As the competition drew closer, his skin hunger grew worse, and the time they spent hugging each day grew much longer.

Sometimes, as soon as Xie Yishu entered the dorm room, he would pull him onto his lap.

Xue Ci thought the position was a little strange, but Xie Yishu said it wouldn't stop him from reading.

"Weren't you looking for photography books? I have several collections of award-winning photographs." Xie Yishu had never studied painting, but his exposure to art since childhood had allowed him to reach a level beyond ordinary people in a short time. Practicing creative work without thinking about it would yield half the results for twice the effort. He could tell Xue Ci took this painting competition seriously, so he suggested that he look at more photographs before bed each night to find inspiration.

Xue Ci found it genuinely effective: when he worked on his painting during the day, he no longer found himself unable to picture anything. He was so absorbed that he didn't notice he had been sitting on the Alpha's lap for half an hour.

It was as though it had already become a habit.

Habits were a frightening thing.

For now, he was only being held on his lap, but what about later? Kissing, or something else?

Once he got used to it, would he stop resisting?

According to the plot, on the day of the competition, Xue Ci's skin hunger, which had gone unsoothed for a long time, would reach its worst point.

The prize money for the painting competition was substantial, but whether he placed had no effect on the progress bar.

The Gu family had always taken care of Xue Ci, and he wanted to win the prize money to buy everyone gifts.

So he asked Xie Yishu if they could do the treatment before the competition.

Xie Yishu was very understanding and agreed at once.

"Then do you want to do it tonight?"

Xue Ci hesitated, and just then his phone vibrated several times.

When he opened it, he found a message from Gu Xu. Sure enough, it was wishing him luck in the competition.

He had received quite a few messages like that tonight. Even the harasser had sent one.

Gu Xu was away taking extra English lessons this month, and the two had rarely been in touch. Xue Ci seized the opportunity and replied at once.

Xue Ci: [Thanks!]

Xue Ci: [Kitten peeking.jpg.]

Soon, he heard the progress bar move forward a little.

The overall progress for this world had reached 70%, which was fairly smooth going for a newcomer like Xue Ci.

A satisfied expression appeared on his face, but when Xie Yishu saw it, he thought it was because of Gu Xu.

Another stray dog he couldn't chase away.

Of course Xie Yishu could tell that Gu Xu was in love with Xue Ci. Though Gu Xu refused to admit it, he was always sneaking glances at Xue Ci's face in class.

Now that he had received a sticker from Xue Ci, he was probably dying of pleasure on the other end of the phone.

The jealousy and madness in the Alpha's eyes were gradually becoming harder to suppress, yet his lips curved upward, his face as gentle and handsome as ever. "Who are you messaging?"

Xue Ci had no guard up around him and even showed him the phone screen. "Gu Xu messaged me."

Xie Yishu glanced at it. "Where did you download that sticker? I don't think I've seen it before."

"It's right there in WeChat." Xue Ci was happy to share things like this. He immediately sent Xie Yishu the same sticker and showed him how to download the whole sticker pack.

"So that's how."

The glow of the phone made Xie Yishu's smile look a little sickly. "By the way, Xue Ci, do you want to wear my jacket to the competition tomorrow?"

Huh?

Xue Ci felt a little hurt.

He lowered his head. Did his own jacket look that ugly?

Xie Yishu saw what he was thinking and chuckled under his breath. "That's not what I meant."

"Big Brother bought this for me." Xue Ci was a little like a child showing off how much his parent doted on him. "He bought me lots of them."

Xie Yishu nodded along, then said, "Last year, an Alpha went into a susceptible period during the competition and almost hurt an Omega. I thought if you wore my jacket, he probably wouldn't dare attack you."

Xue Ci hadn't considered that. He thought about it carefully for a while and felt that what Xie Yishu said made sense.

Though he was a Beta and unaffected by pheromones, the sight of an Alpha going berserk was frightening.

Seeing Xue Ci agree, Xie Yishu opened the wardrobe. "Which one do you want?"

Every one of the Alpha's jackets was large on Xue Ci. He pointed at a blue one. "I want this one."

Xie Yishu took the jacket out and handed it to Xue Ci.

Xue Ci lowered his head and sniffed it gently. "I still can't smell any mint. Will it work?" he asked quietly.

Xie Yishu said, "Pheromones really don't last long on a jacket, but there's another very effective way for a Beta to pick up their scent."

Huh?

Xue Ci looked up and nearly bumped into the tip of Xie Yishu's nose.

When did he get so close...

The Alpha stood very close, his tall frame large enough to completely envelop Xue Ci.

His breath was hot, almost all of it falling against Xue Ci's snow-white cheek.

His skin quickly turned pink.

So sensitive.

"An Alpha has a lot of pheromones in his mouth."

Xue Ci's shoulders trembled ever so slightly, and Xie Yishu's voice grew a little huskier. "The simplest way-"

"Get some saliva in your mouth."

Author's note:

Eating and taking it to go too, tsk [yellow heart][yellow heart][yellow heart]