[ABO] After Accidental Marking, I Became Everyone’s Darling chapter 112

Chapter 112

“What else?”

Xiao Xiao was completely bewildered. Besides slacking off on the job, what else could an employee possibly do to make their boss angry? He couldn’t think of anything.

But then, Gu Qian suddenly smiled. “Do you want to pursue me?”

Xiao Xiao froze, thinking about Gu Qian’s whiplash-inducing behavior—warm one moment, cold the next. He had no idea what he was trying to do. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “But you said you don’t like betas.”

He did want to pursue Gu Qian. He was handsome, had a good character, and was incredibly wealthy—the dream guy and perfect husband for so many people. He wanted that, too. But Gu Qian had explicitly told him he didn’t like betas. If he still threw himself at him, he’d just be making a fool of himself.

“What does that have to do with you pursuing me?”

The question completely threw Xiao Xiao. His mouth fell open, and for a moment, he was speechless. It took him a while to find his voice, and when he did, he had to force the words past the lump in his throat. “How does it have nothing to do with it? You said you don’t like betas, but I… I am a beta!”

The moment the words were out, Xiao Xiao felt himself start to break. His eyes reddened, and he fought back a sob. “One minute you’re giving me permission to pursue you, the next you’re saying you don’t like betas, and now you’re asking me what that has to do with anything and giving me the cold shoulder! You… don’t think you can just play with me like this because you’re my boss!”

The pressures of life and his own anxieties often made Xiao Xiao unhappy, but he usually pushed those feelings aside, trying to focus on things that made him happy. But when all those unhappy things piled up and exploded at once, the pain was much worse than usual.

This was one of those times. He had lost An Le’s dependence, and now he was being toyed with by Gu Qian. He couldn’t hold it in any longer and blurted out what he was really thinking.

But as soon as he said it, clarity returned, and with it, fear. He was afraid Gu Qian would get tired of playing with him and just fire him.

He had saved some money over the past two years, though, and learned a lot at the company. If Gu Qian really did fire him, he wouldn’t be like he was before, unable to find a job or even afford to eat. Still, he didn’t want to be fired.

He lowered his head and said no more.

He expected Gu Qian to be angry, to be displeased. But after waiting for a long time in silence, he looked up curiously and found Gu Qian looking right back at him.

Seeing him look up, Gu Qian finally spoke. “I’m not playing with you. Whether I like betas or not isn’t your problem to worry about. You just have to pursue me. I can take care of everything else.”

Xiao Xiao was stunned.

What on earth did he mean? If it weren’t for Gu Qian’s generally gentle and upstanding public persona, he would suspect he was mentally unstable. He was always saying these strange, incomprehensible things.

Seeing his stunned expression, Gu Qian smiled. “What, you don’t want to?”

Xiao Xiao shook his head instinctively. “No, that’s not it. I… but what do you mean? I don’t understand.”

Even if he liked Gu Qian, he still had his dignity. If Gu Qian was just playing with him, he would rather quit his job than be a part of it.

“Why don’t you understand?” Gu Qian frowned. “I gave you permission to pursue me, but you haven’t made a move. And you’re talking to other alphas.”

In the business world, Gu Qian was always precise and unstoppable, but he wore a mask, never revealing his true thoughts to anyone. With Xiao Xiao, however, he felt relaxed and was more than willing to share what was on his mind.

But Xiao Xiao didn’t get it.

There were things Xiao Xiao didn’t want to say, but things had already reached a point of no return. He clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, “Your… your attitude towards me makes me feel like you’re playing with me.”

“Why would you think that?” Gu Qian laughed. “I would never play with you, Xiao Xiao. You should trust me.”

“…”

He wanted to trust him, he really did, but Gu Qian’s behavior made it impossible for him to lie to himself. When it came to work, Gu Qian was completely reliable; he would trust him without question. But when it came to personal feelings, he acted like a total scumbag.

“Alright, I admit I’m not a good person.” Seeing the disbelief in Xiao Xiao’s eyes, Gu Qian’s smile faded. “But if you pursue me, I’ll give you anything you want. If you don’t… you might regret it later.”

“?? What do you mean?”

Gu Qian smiled again. “I want you to pursue me.”

“…”

This was not the first time he’d seriously thought Gu Qian was sick in the head.

“Will you?” Gu Qian asked.

When he smiled, he was so warm. Xiao Xiao liked it so much. He didn’t want to refuse, but he hesitated. He knew he was a coward, that he didn’t have the courage to take a leap of faith in a situation like this. He was terrified of being abandoned again.

He hadn’t even lived for twenty-five years, and he had already been abandoned by his father, then his mother, and finally… An Le didn’t need him anymore. If the person he loved abandoned him too, he was afraid he would end up going down the same path as his mother.

Xiao Xiao’s mind was a mess. He didn’t know what to do, whether to agree or not. He didn’t want to give up, but he was too scared to take that step forward. His heart ached. He wanted to cry, but he also didn’t.

Slowly, tears began to stream down his face, but his voice was unnervingly calm. “But you said… you don’t like betas. I… I…”

“You’re different.”

Gu Qian stood up and walked over to him. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped the tears from Xiao Xiao’s face, his voice both gentle and bewitching. “You’re different. No matter what your second gender is, in my eyes, you are just Xiao Xiao.”

Xiao Xiao looked up at Gu Qian’s tender gaze and whispered, “Really?”

“Really,” Gu Qian said. “Pursue me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Xiao Xiao finally nodded. The moment he agreed, he felt a wave of relief wash over him, the tension draining away.

“Good boy,” Gu Qian said.

Xiao Xiao didn’t quite know how to respond.

“If you’re done with your work, you can rest,” Gu Qian added. “You can play on your phone, but don’t talk to other alphas.”

Xiao Xiao’s mind was still elsewhere, and he didn’t fully register the meaning of Gu Qian’s words. He just nodded instinctively. “I know.”

He left the office and sat at his desk, still in a daze. He didn’t see the疯狂 and paranoid obsession behind Gu Qian’s gentle gaze, or the despotic possessiveness lacing his words.

Gu Qian had waited two years for that medicine to be perfected, and he was reaching his limit. He wasn’t blind; he knew Xiao Xiao liked him. But the medicine wasn’t ready yet, and he was afraid his true self would scare Xiao Xiao away, even more afraid that Xiao Xiao would reject him and run. So, he had been enduring, waiting, suppressing his desires.

During that time, several new employees had tried to get close to Xiao Xiao, and he had secretly driven every single one of them away. And today, another one had shown up, one who had immediately sent Xiao Xiao running out to buy pheromone neutralizer to completely erase the scent he had deliberately left on him.

The thought made the anger in Gu Qian’s eyes burn hotter.

For the past two years, he had periodically left his pheromones on Xiao Xiao. Every omega and alpha in the company knew. But no one dared to tell Xiao Xiao. He was always careful to control the timing and concentration of the scent so that Xiao Xiao’s friends wouldn’t notice his little trick when he went home. He loved it when Xiao Xiao was covered in his scent. It made him feel satisfied, happy.

But there was always some newcomer trying to ruin his plans.

He really couldn’t take it anymore.

Gu Qian sat in his chair, watching the dazed beta on his monitor, and suddenly began to laugh. “Xiao Xiao, don’t be afraid of me…”

Xiao Xiao was still in a daze when the workday ended. He had just agreed to pursue Gu Qian, but he had no idea how to do that. He had never pursued anyone in his life.

He considered just forgetting about it, but when he remembered the look on Gu Qian’s face and the tone of his voice, he felt he couldn’t refuse, and he certainly couldn’t just let it go. Otherwise, he might be in for some bad luck. He didn’t know where that thought came from, but it was there.

With no other choice, he went back to his dorm, flopped onto his bed, and searched online for how to pursue an alpha.

The methods the internet suggested were all very direct and very bold. They told him to use his pheromones to seduce the alpha.

But he was a beta. He didn’t have pheromones. He couldn’t even smell them, so how was he supposed to use them for seduction?

He posted his situation online.

A little while later, he got a reply from the same user as before, “Ma Cha Chong.”

Ma Cha Chong: It doesn’t matter that you’re a beta. In some ways, certain alphas prefer betas to omegas.

Ma Cha Chong: So, use that to your advantage, and you’ll have him wrapped around your finger in no time.

The user then attached several pictures. They were all… very cute. They showed male betas in revealing bunny and kitty outfits, showing off their long legs, complete with little tails and ears, looking innocently at the camera.

Xiao Xiao: “…”

They were quite good-looking. And all these betas had one thing in common: they were all beautiful and petite, looking very much like omegas. So, it wasn’t that alphas liked betas, but that they liked how “fun” betas were—no risk of pregnancy, no responsibility.

Xiao Xiao froze. So, to pursue Gu Qian, did he have to pretend to be an omega and seduce him?

As he was hesitating, Ma Cha Chong replied again.

Ma Cha Chong: Learn from these pictures. Even a beta can be a total siren. I guarantee that alpha won’t be able to walk straight after seeing you.

Then, Ma Cha Chong dropped several links.

Ma Cha Chong: Here are the links. This shop has a great variety of cute styles, good quality, and they’re cheap. Totally worth it!

Xiao Xiao: …

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