The Beta From the Countryside (24)

When Xue Ci was startled, his eyes went round and soft. With his lashes lowered, his normally striking features softened, lending him an innocent, almost pure look.

It was as though whatever he said was right, and giving him the best things in the world was right too.

A small piece of Xie Yishu's wicked heart suddenly melted, warming like a gentle stream.

"I was teasing you."

He rubbed the other boy's soft, fluffy hair and pointed to the jacket. "There's enough pheromone on this."

Xue Ci breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Yishu had already been very good to him lately. They couldn't do anything else that crossed the line like that; it wouldn't be good for either of them when they looked for a partner later.

11: [It's okay, host. You probably won't have much to do with him in the future. In the original plot, after Gu Xu and he openly fell out, you stayed far away from him. By the time the two of them made peace, you'd already gone back to your hometown in the countryside.]

I see.

Xue Ci picked up the jacket and tactfully declined his offer to treat his skin hunger. "There's a competition tomorrow, so I won't trouble you tonight."

Xie Yishu said nothing. That evening, he sent Xue Ci the sticker pack.

Xie Yishu: [Saying goodnight to the kitten.jpg.]

Xue Ci had gone to bed early and woke up full of energy the next morning. Before the competition, Xie Yishu came to his dorm and helped treat him for a while. Then the two grabbed breakfast and headed to the competition venue.

The venue was inside the academy and hadn't opened yet. Contestants from all over Fog City had gathered outside. Some chatted in groups of two or three, boasting about how many prizes they'd won, while others with social anxiety found corners to themselves and silently looked down at their phones as they waited for the doors to open.

Art students had refined tastes and sharp eyes, and before long, quite a few were staring at Xue Ci. A few were itching to approach him, only to be deterred by the icy look from the tall Alpha beside him.

Then again, someone that pretty having a partner was only natural.

At eight in the morning in midsummer, the sun was already intense. Xue Ci had arrived early and claimed a shady corner, and Xie Yishu blocked the remaining sunlight for him.

He glanced at the Alpha. Unlike usual, the other man's jaw was sharp and his lips were pressed tight.

When he was serious, he looked even less approachable than Gu Xu.

As Xie Yishu gave off a cold, forbidding air to those around him, someone suddenly tugged gently at the hem of his shirt.

"Are you nervous?" Xue Ci wore an expression that said, So even top students get nervous about exams.

From Xie Yishu's perspective, the boy looked a little like a kitten standing on tiptoe to get closer.

His cheeks were plump, his chin pointed.

His eyes were round.

Xie Yishu couldn't keep up his cold demeanor in the face of that look. He went along with him gently. "Yeah, painting isn't my strong suit."

Xue Ci thought for a moment. "Then bend down a little."

Xie Yishu promptly leaned down.

A head immediately appeared in front of Xue Ci. He took a step back, rubbed his head against the other man's, then straightened up again.

"If we touch like this, I can pass what I know on to you." Xue Ci felt a little embarrassed after saying it and looked away. He touched the tip of his nose, then scratched his head, before finally explaining, "My grandma taught me this. Before every exam, I'd lie on my books for a while, and the knowledge would flow from a higher concentration to a lower one."

As soon as he finished, he felt Xie Yishu lean against his shoulder. Then he heard a few low, husky chuckles the man couldn't hold back.

*?*

He's laughing at me...

Xue Ci's cheeks flushed. "But you probably don't need it, class monitor."

How can he be... this cute?

Now I want even less for anyone else to see him.

Xie Yishu raised his head and played along. "I think it worked pretty well. I'm not nervous at all now."

It did help calm him down, then.

Xue Ci's eyes curved into a smile.

Just then, the venue opened, and the contestants crowded toward it. Protected by Xie Yishu, Xue Ci didn't feel the crush and soon entered the classroom.

Near noon, the tense competition finally ended.

As soon as Xue Ci left the venue, he received a call from Hu Shenglan, who asked how his painting had gone and whether he was tired.

Xue Ci thought it should have gone better than in the original plot, but whether he placed was out of his hands.

"A competition is a chance to practice. Just do your best." Hu Shenglan knew how demanding painting was; artists often had to stay in one place for more than ten hours, straining both their bodies and their eyes. "Oh, right, Gu Xu is back. I'll have him help move your luggage home in a bit."

"Thank you," Xue Ci said.

Hu Shenglan said, "We're family. You don't have to be so polite from now on. If we don't make Gu Xu do this, all those muscles of his will have grown for nothing."

He had spent nearly a month at the training course and exchanged only a few messages with the protagonist, so the progress bar had barely moved. Xue Ci immediately agreed. "Okay, I'll wait for him in the dorm."

As soon as he came out of the teaching building, Xue Ci spotted Xie Yishu waiting for him under a tree. They had agreed to meet there after the competition.

Xie Yishu seemed to have been waiting for a while; his jacket was hot from the sun.

Xue Ci accepted the water the other man handed him and took a sip. The two walked back to the dorm side by side.

On the way, 11 suddenly spoke up. [Host, the protagonist is almost at the academy. Seeing you with Xie Yishu might affect the progress bar. You need to try to ditch Xie Yishu!]

It had put extra emphasis on "ditch," clearly letting its personal feelings show.

Xue Ci didn't think he needed to ditch him. Surely Xie Yishu had things of his own to do.

Unexpectedly, however, Xie Yishu kept following him after they returned to the dorm and even asked what his plans were for the afternoon.

Xue Ci answered honestly, "Gu Xu is coming to help me move out of the dorm."

Xie Yishu didn't seem to catch what he was implying. "Then I'll help you move too."

Xue Ci hesitated. "Moving things is tiring."

He stole a glance at Xie Yishu, whose face was expressionless.

After a moment of silence, the Alpha suddenly asked, "Do you like Gu Xu?"

Wh-what?

Xue Ci hadn't expected Xie Yishu to be the first person to see through his feelings. Staying in character, he put on the surprise and embarrassment one would feel at having a secret crush exposed. "Please don't tell anyone, okay?"

Although Xie Yishu hadn't noticed any affection for Gu Xu from Xue Ci, the answer still filled him with fierce jealousy. He nearly lost control of his expression as he said, word by word, "You don't want Gu Xu to see us together, do you?"

Xue Ci answered him with a guilty look.

In that instant, Xie Yishu's head felt as if it might split. He badly wanted to tear off his hypocritical, false mask, lay bare his obsessive, mad love, and force Xue Ci to accept it all.

He took a step forward, only for Xue Ci to recoil in fright.

Xue Ci was afraid of him.

Why was he afraid of him?

He began to consider the consequences, growing anxious about gains and losses, even holding back that damp, clinging side of himself a little.

A few seconds passed.

Xie Yishu said hoarsely, "Then while Gu Xu isn't around, let's be together in secret. What do you think?"

Xue Ci looked confused.

Get together in secret... to play?

As long as it didn't deduct progress, he was still willing to be friends with Xie Yishu.

After 11 reminded him that Gu Xu was almost downstairs, Xue Ci gave Xie Yishu a push and urged him back to his dorm.

Xie Yishu lowered his eyes and glanced at Xue Ci's pink-and-white fingertips. His lips parted, but in the end, he said nothing and obediently left.

Xue Ci had thought Gu Xu would be the only one coming to help, but all three Gu brothers showed up. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he'd called a moving company.

The room wasn't very big to begin with, and with three burly Alphas coming in at once, even the air grew thin. They all gathered together, and Xue Ci was so squeezed in that he could only breathe through his mouth.

Fortunately, after chatting for a bit, they began packing up the room.

While his eldest and second brothers were sorting his luggage, Xue Ci slipped over to Gu Xu. "Weren't you supposed to be the only one coming to help?"

Gu Xu was annoyed too. He had spent a month at a tutoring course and only got home yesterday. They had originally agreed that he would help Xue Ci move, but Ms. Hu brought it up at the dinner table, and Gu Ling and Duan Xingyan insisted on coming along, saying more hands would make the work go faster.

At the time, Gu Xu had scoffed inwardly.

His two brothers had practically laid their feelings for Xue Ci out in the open.

But Xue Ci was staying with the Gu Family, so Gu Xu couldn't very well stop them from helping.

"Maybe they've got too much time on their hands." His voice was lazy, but his hands moved briskly as he cleared the desk.

"Oh," Xue Ci said.

Gu Xu suddenly said, "Oh, right, look at this."

Xue Ci leaned over Gu Xu's phone. It showed an English exam paper with a grade of A-.

Going from a C to an A- was astonishingly fast.

His eyes filled with admiration. "That's amazing!"

Gu Xu was like a peacock displaying its feathers, though he pretended otherwise. "It's not bad."

The results had come out two days ago. He had held back from sending them to Xue Ci because he wanted to see his reaction in person.

Xue Ci heard the progress bar increase. 11 explained that it was related to the protagonist's growth.

It looks like improving his grades counts as part of his growth too. His eyes lit up, and he encouraged him, "Then keep working hard."

"Yeah."

If Gu Xu had a tail, it would have been spinning like a propeller.

He hadn't seen Xue Ci for a month. He acted cool on the outside, but in truth, just talking to Xue Ci was enough to make his heart race.

He seems prettier again.

His cheeks have filled out a little.

They look nice to touch.

As Gu Xu stared, his brain shut down. His face drew closer and closer, but just as his lips were about to touch Xue Ci's earlobe, a low voice suddenly sounded behind him. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he immediately came to his senses and pulled back to stand straight. His hands fumbled as he pretended to be busy.

"Have you packed the wardrobe?"

It was Gu Ling who had interrupted Gu Xu. He stood farthest from Xue Ci, yet could keep track of everything happening around him at all times.

"N-not yet..." Gu Xu felt so guilty he could barely speak. He was just about to pack Xue Ci's clothes when his brother of the same age beat him to it.

"I'll do it."

Duan Xingyan deftly folded Xue Ci's clothes and packed them into vacuum bags. "I'm faster at it."

What he meant was: I often do this for Xue Ci.

In an exaggeratedly courteous tone, Gu Xu said, "Really? Then at least you'll never starve. You can always become a male nanny."

Duan Xingyan acted as though he hadn't noticed the sarcasm. "Then I'll be Xue Ci's personal nanny in the future."

Gu Xu sneered inwardly.

Personal nanny? More like he wants to be a bed-warming maid.

"Xiao Ci, are you taking this too?"

Hearing Gu Ling call him, Xue Ci turned sideways, only to see the man holding the big bear by its ear, as though he might toss it into the trash the next second.

He sucked in a breath and ran over to stop him. "You can't pull its ear like that."

The man's fingers stiffened at the scolding. Though he disliked the toy, Xue Ci liked it, so he ultimately placed it in the cardboard box in a comfortable position.

Gu Xu glanced at the toy. "Did you just buy it?"

He remembered that Xue Ci hadn't had it when he moved into this dorm.

Xue Ci said, "Xin Yue won it from a claw machine."

Gu Xu's expression quickly turned disdainful. "He had the nerve to give you that?"

Beside them, Duan Xingyan quickly finished his task and took a look. "I think the Shiba Inu I gave you is a little cuter."

Gu Xu: "..."

Xue Ci couldn't see the open and hidden rivalry among the Alphas. He only thought... everyone seemed so full of energy.

The tall men walked back and forth around the room, and even the air conditioner couldn't keep up. By the time the luggage was packed, they were all coated in sweat.

Their pheromones also leaked out beyond their control.

Xue Ci, however, couldn't smell them, nor did he realize that any one of the Alphas there could easily pick him up, pin him against the wall, and do things that would leave him without the strength to resist.

Everyone was busy, and Xue Ci had nothing to do, so he opened the fruit platter Gu Ling had brought and fed each Alpha a piece in turn.

On their way downstairs, their small amount of luggage and large group drew the dorm supervisor's attention. The woman knew Xue Ci; he was a pretty child who greeted her every time he came in.

"Heading home? Are these all your classmates?"

A light blue sun hat blocked Xue Ci's view. He adjusted it with his hand, revealing a face with delicate features.

He shook his head, and his hat swayed along with it. "No, they're all my brothers."

"You brothers must be very close," the woman remarked. Then she saw the man in the white shirt, who looked the most mature of the group, fasten Xue Ci's hat strap for him.

After the move, the dorm room was empty, with only a few discarded brushes and sheets of drawing paper lying forlornly in the trash. Before long, however, a pair of slender, bony hands retrieved them.

The painting competition results came out quickly. Xue Ci placed higher than expected, and the prize money was a full six figures!

Holy Spiral Academy released the funds quickly, paying the contestants on the day the results were announced.

Xue Ci took his bank card and spent the day at the mall, picking out gifts for everyone in the Gu Family. That evening, however, the Gu Family not only threw him a celebration dinner, but each of them had also prepared a gift for him.

The two elders had a cake custom-made for him. Gu Xu gave him a set of personally signed comics, and Gu Ling gave him a bracelet. Duan Xingyan's gift was the last one he opened.

Inside was a painting, very carefully wrapped.

Xue Ci didn't know much about such things, but the painting was signed, and the artist's works had appeared at auction, so it naturally couldn't have been cheap.

The Gu Family had acknowledged Duan Xingyan as one of their own, but he didn't feel a sense of belonging, and he usually didn't use the allowance the elders gave him. Apart from his tuition, he earned the money for all his living expenses himself.

Xue Ci didn't know where he had earned the money, or why he had given him such an expensive gift. He remembered that when Duan Xingyan handed it over, he had merely said casually that it wasn't worth much and asked him not to look down on it, then placed it in an inconspicuous spot.

Xue Ci knew he was a little slow on the uptake, but not so much that he couldn't tell who was good to him.

He decided to give Duan Xingyan another gift.

Fortunately, Duan Xingyan had plenty of free time lately and often came to the villa. Xue Ci gave him the gift the very next day.

The Alpha was visibly caught off guard. He froze for two seconds, then curled his lips. "There's such a good deal? One gift gets me two from Xiao Xue Ci? That's quite a bargain."

Xue Ci had given him a necklace with a star in the middle.

"Is it because there's a 'star' in my name?"

"Mm-hm."

"Thank you, our Xue Ci."

When Duan Xingyan's brows relaxed, his looks and bearing resembled Hu Shenglan's even more. All the sunlight around him seemed to gather in the mole beside his peach-blossom eyes.

He handed the necklace to Xue Ci. "Can you help your big brother put it on?"

Xue Ci nodded.

Without making him stand on tiptoe, Duan Xingyan bent down of his own accord, lowering his head within Xue Ci's reach.

"Oh, right, big brother has been using the ointment you gave me every day. The scar seems to be gone now."

It seemed the shop didn't sell fakes after all.

Xue Ci leaned close to the back of Duan Xingyan's neck, his head resting on his broad shoulder. In this position, it looked as though Duan Xingyan had his arms around him.

Gu Xu came upstairs and saw this scene. He was as sour as ten-year-aged vinegar, and his voice rose uncontrollably. "What are you doing?"

Xue Ci was slow to react, while Duan Xingyan heard him and made no attempt to hide anything.

He even kindly explained it to Gu Xu.

"Oh, the scar on the back of my neck healed after I used the scar-removing ointment Xue Ci gave me. Then Xiao Xue Ci gave me a necklace. The pendant is a star, matching the 'star' in my name."

It was a simple sentence, but it left Gu Xu so aggrieved that his breath went numb.

When had he given him scar-removing ointment?

And-

Duan Xingyan got a beautiful necklace with a special meaning, while he got a set of English test papers?

The author has something to say:

Baby spent points to get those real past exam papers just to raise the progress bar!

Yet Mr. Pretends-Too-Hard stayed up in the middle of the night working through the questions, deliberately giving himself dark circles so baby would feel sorry for him.