A Beta from the Countryside (07)

"Decent" was definitely Duan Xingyan being modest. Before he was adopted, he had lived in an orphanage, and afterward, he had spent most of his time on his own. Without the ability to take care of himself, it would have been hard to survive in the slums.

The pot of noodles was soon brought to the table.

The aroma was enough to make Xue Ci's mouth water. To his delight, he found that Duan Xingyan's noodles tasted much like the ones his grandmother had made him when he was little.

But... was there enough for three?

He glanced at the sofa nearby.

Gu Xu had been quiet since coming in. After watching him finish putting his things away in the dorm, he showed no intention of leaving.

Xue Ci pursed his lips and tentatively asked, "Do you want to have noodles with us?"

For a moment, Gu Xu didn't know how to answer. He had only brought a meal over because he was afraid Xue Ci would get low blood sugar from hunger and faint later, which would be troublesome. Now that he'd delivered the food, it was time for him to leave.

But just as he got up, Duan Xingyan spoke. "You haven't eaten either, have you? Join us?"

...Us?

"Sure," Gu Xu said coldly.

As he got up, he didn't forget to bring the two meals he had brought over to the table.

Xue Ci's eyes widened. "You eat that much by yourself?"

Gu Xu couldn't explain himself, so he stiffly answered, "Mm."

Xue Ci asked no more. He ran to the kitchen to ask Duan Xingyan, then took three sets of bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard and set them out at each seat.

Gu Xu glanced at them indifferently.

His bowl was bigger than Duan Xingyan's.

His mood brightened.

But the next second, Duan Xingyan propped his cheek on his hand and said lazily, "Xiao Xue Ci, want me to serve you some noodles?"

His mood went from sunny to a torrential downpour.

After Duan Xingyan filled Xue Ci's bowl to the brim with noodles, Gu Xu suddenly piled so many toppings into it that it looked like a little mountain.

?

[Gu Xu really does hate me.]

Xue Ci complained to 11.

11, who had already sensed that something was a little off when the host's cheeks were pinched, replied hesitantly, [...How could you tell, host?]

Xue Ci fumed, [He wants to stuff me to death.]

11: [...⊙▽⊙ Right!]

A little system who supported his host unconditionally!

There were no classes to attend on enrollment day. Duan Xingyan and Gu Xu went to their classrooms one after the other, leaving Xue Ci alone in the dorm.

Duan Xingyan had put his luggage away, and the kitchen they had used was spotless.

Xue Ci couldn't even find any trash to take out.

He neatly arranged the books he had received that day on the shelf, then began considering his electives.

The aristocratic academy offered a wide variety of courses. Besides textbook theory and practical classes, there were plenty of sports, such as golf, horseback riding, shooting, archery, skiing, and more... The students were all being trained as heirs.

In the original plot, Xue Ci had come from the countryside and had never even seen any of these things, much less passed tests in them. Almost every time he attended class, his classmates laughed at how clumsy he was, making him increasingly insecure.

He really was a pitiful, honest person who had wandered into the world of the rich.

Xue Ci wasn't in a hurry to choose. He didn't know how to do most of these sports, so getting people to laugh at him would be easy enough.

The tricky part was pursuing Gu Xu.

He had a secret crush, but he made it too obvious. Once some people with ulterior motives noticed, they deliberately told him that men liked a direct approach and encouraged him to do bold things that could be called harassment.

He believed everything they said and ended up thoroughly infuriating Gu Xu.

As for what those bold things were, the specifics wouldn't refresh until the time came.

Xue Ci was a little tired. He closed One Hundred Ways to Pursue an Alpha and fell into a deep sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Xin Yue had been in low spirits these past few days. He had wanted to play ball with Gu Xu and ask when Song Xueci was coming to school, but Gu Xu seemed to have something important to do at noon and disappeared as soon as class ended.

They hadn't played ball, so naturally, he hadn't gotten any news either.

Gu Xu seemed very stingy with information about Song Xueci, unwilling to reveal the slightest detail, as though he were hiding him away.

Xin Yue had even learned Song Xueci's name from another friend.

That friend was on good terms with a teacher in the admissions office and had more detailed information about Song Xueci. By the time Xin Yue realized it, he had already asked several questions in a row.

He stopped himself immediately-

Though he had no particular purpose, Xin Yue subconsciously felt that doing this was like doing something immoral behind Gu Xu's back.

Gu Xu was his brother, after all; they had grown up together.

Xin Yue was feeling down, so he skipped the last two classes of the afternoon and went straight back to the dorm. But the moment he walked in, he smelled the sweet, misty scent he had been searching for these past few days.

Alphas with strong constitutions also had sharp senses. Before long, he found the source of the scent.

A slender young man stood near the balcony, surrounded by a haze of moisture. His arms were raised as he dried his hair with a towel, covering most of his face and leaving only a snow-white, pointed chin visible.

The next second, the towel moved away.

Xin Yue met those misty, damp eyes, and his temples throbbed wildly twice.

He immediately looked away as if he'd been burned.

His breathing was a little quick, but his voice sounded fairly steady. "You're... Song Xueci, right? I've heard Gu Xu mention you."

He didn't know why he had to lie and drag Gu Xu into it when he had clearly found out on his own.

Maybe he was afraid the Beta would mistakenly think he had improper intentions.

But he was terrible at lying. His eyes darted away, and the tips of his ears grew slightly hot.

Xue Ci didn't notice. He was looking at the information 11 had sent him-Xin Yue was the protagonist's closest friend, an outgoing and cheerful Alpha. In the original plot, Xue Ci had a secret crush on Gu Xu and, loving him and everything associated with him, had tried hard to get along with Xin Yue.

At first, the two of them really did get along well, but as his skin hunger grew worse, he constantly sought hugs and touches, and Xin Yue gradually distanced himself from him.

"Were you assigned to this dorm?" Xin Yue had originally wondered why he wasn't in the same dorm as Gu Xu, but when he remembered that Gu Xu didn't agree to the marriage, he understood why Xue Ci was standing here. He remembered he hadn't introduced himself yet. "I'm Xin Yue, from the management department. We met in the residential complex before."

At the reminder, Xue Ci finally remembered that he was the boy who had stood beside Gu Xu on his first day at the Gu family home.

No wonder he looked a little familiar.

He tilted his face up, his brows and eyes still damp. "I remember you."

Xin Yue's shoulders went abruptly still, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. Seeing water still dripping from Xue Ci's hair and nearly soaking his collar, he said, "Do you want to blow-dry your hair? I have a hair dryer in the bathroom."

"Is it the white one?" Xue Ci had seen it when he was showering earlier and had put it somewhere dry for fear the water would damage it.

"Yeah. Want to use it? I'll get it."

Before Xue Ci could react, Xin Yue had already strode into the bathroom on his long legs.

When the Alpha came out, he plugged in the hair dryer and handed it to him.

Xue Ci's hair looked very soft. The hot air blew the scent right into Xin Yue's face.

Why is it so hot...

Xin Yue stood there stiffly and offered a wooden excuse. "I'll go put my backpack away first."

A moment later, Xue Ci said, "Oh."

My new classmate... is so friendly.

It wasn't until Xin Yue pushed open the bedroom door that he realized he had been in too much of a hurry to get to class that morning to tidy his desk.

He hurriedly put away the things scattered about and stuffed his clothes into the wardrobe.

When he had finished, Xin Yue realized that the bedroom smelled a little different.

The only spare bed had been made with sheets and a quilt. There were signs that someone had lain on it, taking up a very small space.

His bed was right next to it.

Xin Yue didn't dare look any longer and went back to the living room.

Xue Ci was standing on the balcony with his hair half-dry, holding several pieces of clothing, his brows slightly knitted.

The young man immediately understood. He crossed over in a few strides and explained how to operate the washing machine. "Press this first, then turn the dial to set the time. Go back, choose the drying method, set the time again, and finally press confirm."

"Thank you."

The ends of Xue Ci's hair were still a little damp.

There was water on his collar too. To stay in character, Xue Ci was wearing his own old pajamas. They had been washed many times and were thin to begin with. Once soaked through, they became completely transparent, revealing the color of the skin underneath.

Xin Yue's back went taut, and he looked away as though facing a formidable enemy.

Xue Ci concentrated on operating the washing machine, his lips pressed tightly together and his movements somewhat unfamiliar.

Xin Yue remembered that the schools Xue Ci had attended before were all in rather remote places. Maybe he had never used this brand of washing machine.

He was afraid Xue Ci would feel embarrassed. "This washing machine is hard to use. I couldn't figure it out at first either."

So it's not that I'm stupid...

Xue Ci closed the lid.

Remembering that he needed to become friends with Xin Yue, he took the opportunity to invite him. "Have you had dinner?"

Xin Yue hesitated for a moment.

But only for 0.0001 seconds.

He wasn't hungry.

But he had to eat.

After class, Gu Xu went to the dining hall.

The lousy noodles at noon had been so poorly made that he'd barely eaten any, and he had gotten hungry around three or four in the afternoon.

Xue Ci was probably hungry too.

Gu Xu lowered his eyes slightly and opened WeChat. [What do you want to eat? Steak? Or the stewed fish you like?]

After sending it, he scrolled up through the conversation.

16:03.

He had sent a message: [Hungry? I happen to have time, so I can bring you something.]

15:49.

[Have you chosen your courses? Which ones?]

15:38.

Another message: [Have you put all your things away?]

14:01.

He had started out aloof: [There?]

Xue Ci still hadn't replied.

He was probably busy.

Gu Xu was considering whether to buy both steak and stewed fish, along with a yogurt, when his gaze accidentally fell on two people nearby.

It was Xue Ci.

The other was... his good brother Xin Yue.

Gu Xu froze in place.

Normally, Xin Yue would have noticed that burning gaze long ago. But at the moment, his whole body felt a little hot. As though no one else were around, he rinsed the chopsticks and porcelain spoon with hot water for the Beta across from him, then carefully handed them over. After that, he put a straw in the drink before placing it by Xue Ci's hand as though presenting a treasure.

Seeing Xue Ci's attention caught by the long line at a serving window, he followed his gaze.

It was a dessert stall.

Xin Yue wasn't interested in that kind of food, but he had heard others say it tasted good; the line was just very slow.

"Do you want some?"

Xue Ci hesitated. "There are so many people."

The Alpha got up at once. "You eat first, or the food will get cold. I'll go line up."

Gu Xu had no idea that the cold aura he was giving off had already scared off more than one person.

He suddenly thought of what the people on the ball team had recently said while teasing a certain bootlicker. Though it wasn't right to describe his own brother that way, Xin Yue really did fit the description at that moment.

Like a dog that, after being slapped, would take the opportunity to lick its master's fingers.

His thoughts went back to a few days ago.

He remembered Xin Yue asking what he thought of the childhood engagement his family had arranged. After Gu Xu answered that he "didn't like arranged marriages but would try to take care of the other person to keep the family from nagging," Xin Yue had patted him on the shoulder.

At the time, Xin Yue had looked every bit the considerate friend.

As though he sympathized, or was genuinely willing to share the burden.

"He just got here, so there must be a lot of things he doesn't know, and you don't have the time."

"How about I help you take care of him, brother?"

Author's note:

Brother is only helping you take care of him. It's out of loyalty, not for anything else. Your wife is just a little fairer, a little prettier, a little slimmer around the waist, a little softer when he speaks, and a little too much like a kitten. Brother has strong morals. When he says he'll help take care of him, that's all he means. He doesn't want to kiss your wife at all, doesn't want to kiss him on the lips, and wants even less to kiss him anywhere else.