Chapter 2
Ren Yi agreed with a helpless sigh, then asked, “So, where are we headed, Brother Yuan?”
“Where did you just come from? Chunshui Xifeng?”
Ren Yi glanced at the blocker patch on the back of Xie Wangyuan’s neck and hesitated. “Yeah, I was, but the crowd there tonight is a mess. There are Omegas present, and with your condition…”
Ren Yi had known Xie Wangyuan since middle school. He had presented as a Beta at seventeen. When he found out Xie Wangyuan went abroad, he followed suit, though he returned after graduating from university. The two hadn’t seen each other for two years.
“We’re going there.”
Knowing Xie Wangyuan’s temper, Ren Yi sighed again and didn’t try to dissuade him further. After driving into the city center and navigating a few streets, Ren Yi turned the steering wheel and pulled into the clubhouse gates. “We’re here.”
Chunshui Xifeng was the largest private clubhouse in C City, located on the most expensive plot of land in the city center. Not only were the membership fees exorbitant, but the vetting process for members was also incredibly strict.
Xie Wangyuan changed into a fresh blocker patch and followed Ren Yi inside.
The music in the private box was deafening, and the disco ball overhead flashed with kaleidoscopic lights. The main lights were only turned on after Xie Wangyuan arrived. It was a pure drinking party, and the scene of debauchery was already getting chaotic.
Xie Wangyuan had been abroad for several years. Even before that, he hadn’t exactly been one to blend into the circle. Few people in present-day C City knew him personally, though plenty knew of him.
Tipsy rich kids came over in waves to toast him. Xie Wangyuan couldn’t be bothered to entertain them. eventually, Ren Yi stepped in to shoo everyone away, finally securing a bit of quiet in the corner.
Ren Yi poured a glass of wine, handed it to Xie Wangyuan, and lowered his voice. “Brother Yuan, how is your pheromone disorder? Do the strong inhibitors still work?”
Xie Wangyuan replied carelessly, “Useless. I’ve switched to short-acting ones now.”
Ren Yi asked again, “You haven’t seen a psychiatrist in the last two years?”
“Stopped going ages ago. It didn’t help.”
Xie Wangyuan was a late bloomer. At eighteen, he showed zero signs of presenting. Xie Tiancheng, who had always ignored him, suddenly started showering him with care overnight, eagerly hoping he would present as an Omega.
Him, Xie Wangyuan? A guy who had been wild and unruly since childhood, presenting as an Omega?
That was more absurd than the idea of him getting topped by a Beta.
Xie Tiancheng soon realized how unrealistic that hope was. So, one afternoon, he brought home an Omega who bore a passing resemblance to Xie Wangyuan’s late mother between the brows. That Omega was Yu Xiele.
A newly presented Omega’s pheromones are unstable to begin with. By the time Xie Wangyuan woke up in the hospital, he learned that he had been induced into an early presentation by highly compatible pheromones and had developed a disorder as a result.
Xie Wangyuan didn’t stay in the hospital for long. He didn’t even take the college entrance exams that were just days away. He simply bought a plane ticket and went abroad.
Ren Yi didn’t know these details, and Xie Wangyuan had never mentioned them. However, during the four years they were both abroad, Ren Yi knew about Xie Wangyuan’s illness.
Because of the pheromone disorder, Xie Wangyuan was more easily affected by pheromones than the average Alpha, and his ruts were extremely unstable.
For Alphas, the best treatment for such a disorder was the soothing pheromones of a highly compatible Omega. But Xie Wangyuan had a psychological rejection of Omega pheromones.
He had been hospitalized more than once for losing control of his pheromones. He had also spent entire ruts in the hospital multiple times because he had developed a resistance to inhibitors, meaning they couldn’t fully suppress his condition.
Ren Yi muttered, “Coming back so suddenly… I thought it was because of that Yu Xiele.”
Xie Wangyuan paused. “What?”
“You don’t know? The two of you are still trending on the hot search.” Ren Yi pulled out his phone, opened a gossip app, and handed it to Xie Wangyuan. “I thought your psychological issue was cured and you’d decided to turn over a new leaf.”
Xie Wangyuan took the phone, scanned it in a few seconds, and raised an eyebrow.
A few days ago, Xie Wangyuan had lost control of his pheromones and was admitted to the hospital, accidentally injuring an Alpha who was seeing a doctor at the pheromone clinic. He bought his ticket home immediately after being discharged.
Was Xie Tiancheng really so impatient to bind him and Yu Xiele together?
Ren Yi started probing, “What’s the deal with you and this Yu Xiele? I don’t remember hearing about him before we went abroad.”
Xie Wangyuan avoided the question, his gaze sweeping over a rich kid cuddling an Omega on the other side of the box.
“Oh right, Brother Zhi mentioned that your dad even invested in Yu Xiele’s entertainment company.” Ren Yi was confused. “Does he have some connection to your family?”
Xie Wangyuan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. “Invested?”
“Yeah, back when Brother Zhi first opened his entertainment company.”
Xie Wangyuan didn’t have many friends. Aside from Ren Yi, Meng Chaozhi was the second. despite being an Alpha, Meng had zero interest in his family’s business. Two years ago, he opened an entertainment company just to promote his little boyfriend.
Xie Wangyuan wondered aloud, “How come none of my stuff from abroad has been exposed? These marketing accounts are slacking.”
Ren Yi was also puzzled. “I don’t know either. You’re already trending; normally, they would have dug everything up by now.”
Xie Wangyuan scrolled through his contacts and called Meng Chaozhi.
After listening in, Ren Yi, who knew Xie Wangyuan never got along with his family, still couldn’t help clicking his tongue. “Brother Yuan, you’re going head-to-head with your dad the moment you get back…”
Xie Wangyuan replied nonchalantly, “He sent me such a big gift; I have to return the favor, don’t I?”
Massive amounts of alcohol fueled the excitement of the crowd in the box. The faint scent of pheromones drifted over occasionally. Xie Wangyuan quickly felt uncomfortable and touched the back of his neck. “I’m stepping out for a bit.”
Ren Yi couldn’t smell it, so he just raised his voice to remind him, “Left out the door, walk a bit and you’ll see the restroom.”
Xie Wangyuan washed his face and took a moment to compose himself before taking out a cigarette.
Two men in clubhouse uniforms were slacking off in the corner, chatting. They glanced briefly at Xie Wangyuan, then leaned closer together, lowering their voices.
But the washbasin area in the restroom was only so big, and Xie Wangyuan had excellent hearing. He caught their conversation.
“Where were we?”
“…Oh, right, the second young master of the Qin family. There wasn’t a clubhouse in the city he hadn’t visited. Now there’s been no news of him for years.”
“True. What happened to him?”
Xie Wangyuan pulled a paper towel to dry his hands, his ears perking up.
“You really don’t know?!” One guy leaned conspiratorially toward the other’s ear. “That young master was famous for playing hard. He nearly played an Omega to death once. A few years ago, an Omega stabbed him right in the gland—he almost didn’t survive.”
Xie Wangyuan, listening to the gossip: Whoa~! That’s really asking for it. But he’s got luck on his side; an Alpha stabbed in the gland usually doesn’t make it.
“No wonder! I was wondering why the Qin Corporation is run by a Beta now. So their own Alpha was crippled.”
“Shh—keep it down! That person is in the business box right now! Don’t look down on him just because he’s an illegitimate son. He’s got iron wrists and serious skills. How else could a Beta thrive in a business world full of Alphas? He’s the only one!”
Xie Wangyuan, continuing to listen: Hoh~! Qin family? Illegitimate son? Beta?
Interesting.
“Forget those big shots we’ll never meet. Hey, did you see the gossip from the last couple of days? I remember your girlfriend is a fan of Yu Xiele, right?”
“Don’t bring it up. She saw the hot search and cried for half the night, then happily started shipping them as a couple…”
Xie Wangyuan, realizing the gossip was about himself: …
Xie Wangyuan lost interest in listening further. He turned and went back to the box.
Less than half an hour later, a new topic featuring Xie Wangyuan’s name climbed onto the tail end of the hot search and quickly shot up into the top ten.
It was prime time for internet traffic. Yu Xiele had been very popular over the last two years, and Xie Wangyuan’s name was already trending. The peanut gallery was naturally curious about this unseen Second Young Master Xie. With fresh gossip available, they weren’t going to let it slide.
Only, the new topic wasn’t the confirmed romance they expected. Instead, it was photos of this Second Young Master Xie frequenting various entertainment clubs during his years abroad.
Not only that, but multiple marketing accounts broke the news: Although Second Young Master Xie was an Alpha, he exclusively requested Betas for company at these clubs.
Once the marketing accounts made their move, the comment sections filled with people adding their own revelations.
Xie Wangyuan was famously incompetent before he went abroad. After leaving the country, he became even more notorious in the international student circle—spending his days drinking and partying, living a life of debauchery, spending money like water, and flying all over the world.
A scumbag Alpha, a promiscuous playboy who only loved Betas. In an instant, the image built by the previous hot search was completely destroyed.
Ren Yi scrolled through the comments, still worrying. “Didn’t you say your dad invested? What if he contacts people to pull the hot search?”
“He won’t be staring at this stuff all day. And even if he pulls it, it doesn’t matter.” Xie Wangyuan transferred another sum of money to Meng Chaozhi and put down his phone. “That illegitimate son of the Qin family—how much do you know about him?”
Ren Yi paused. “Qin Yu? Where did you hear about him?”
Xie Wangyuan rolled the name slowly around his mouth. “Qin—Yu.”
“A few years ago, the Qin family held a banquet specifically to introduce Qin Yu,” Ren Yi recalled. “My sister went. She said it was a grand scene, but you know, an illegitimate son, and a Beta at that… The Qin family was the butt of a huge joke back then.”
“Under those circumstances, two years.” Ren Yi held up two fingers and waved them in front of Xie Wangyuan’s eyes, his tone excited. “Just two years! That Qin Yu took the seat of President of the Qin Corporation. Holy shit, he’s a Beta!”
After his excitement, Ren Yi muttered, “That’s why I suspect my sister saw how capable he was and decided to make me manage the family hotels. But are all people the same? Are all Betas the same? Qin Yu is stronger than a lot of Alphas.”
Xie Wangyuan tapped the table, pressing on. “Anything else?”
“Anything else?”
Xie Wangyuan smiled. “Private life. Relationships.”
Ren Yi looked at Xie Wangyuan’s expression, then at the hot search. He understood immediately. “Brother Yuan, don’t tell me you’re going to mess with him…”
Xie Wangyuan raised an eyebrow. “So what? Is he untouchable?”
Ren Yi looked back at the chaotic crowd of demons dancing wildly in the room, then leaned in close to Xie Wangyuan, lowering his voice. “I heard this from my sister. The Qin family only brought Qin Yu back after the second son had his accident. And, even though the Qin family suppressed it tight, the private circle rumors say Qin Yu was at the scene the night the second son had his accident.
“The second son wasn’t a good person, sure. But if it’s true… Qin Yu nearly killed someone to climb the ranks, and it was his own brother! My sister says Qin Yu is deep and calculating; no one gets the better of him in business. And you want to provoke him?”
“Really?”
Ren Yi looked up. Seeing the obvious excitement on Xie Wangyuan’s face, he was speechless. “Brother Yuan…”
Xie Wangyuan drawled lazily, “This Beta is kind of interesting.”
Xie Wangyuan stood up. Ren Yi immediately followed him, asking, “Where are you going?”
“Heard he’s in the business box right now.” Xie Wangyuan replied with a roguish air. “I’m going to go see for myself.”
