Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Li Yang was startled, not expecting those words. Thinking Ying Xi was still shaken by the earlier incident, he hesitated for a moment before raising his hand to ruffle Ying Xi’s hair affectionately.

“I already told you I’m okay,” Li Yang said. “Besides, you’re also an Alpha. If I have to stay away, then—”

“Including me.” Ying Xi’s voice lowered. “So you should stay away from me too when needed.”

Li Yang paused, withdrawing his hand as if he’d misheard. “What did you say?”

“All Alphas are dangerous,” Ying Xi murmured, lowering his gaze.

He had always overlooked this fact.

The image of that out-of-control Alpha was still vivid in his mind. Ying Xi closed his eyes, his hands at his sides gradually clenching into fists.

He would never hurt Li Yang, but what if he lost control too?

“Ying Xi.” Li Yang firmly grabbed his face with both hands, lifting it to meet his gaze seriously. “What are you saying? Do you think you’re dangerous? That you’d hurt me if you lost control?”

Before Ying Xi could respond, Li Yang smiled and continued, “I managed to fight off that Alpha today—I could fight you off too. Don’t sell Betas short.”

“Quit overthinking things.” He leaned his forehead against Ying Xi’s and whispered, “You should be more worried about whether I’ll hurt you if you lose control when you're in rut.”

“And they said you could wear a muzzle. If it bothers you, you can wear one.” After saying this slowly, Li Yang ruffled Ying Xi’s hair again, not giving him a chance to reply before turning and quickly returning to his seat.

The young man raised his head, silently staring at Li Yang’s retreating figure, his eyes dark with turbulent emotions.

What he feared more was losing control when he was in rut, being overcome with the need to possess Li Yang.

That would lead to a terrifying outcome—one even a muzzle couldn’t restrain.

So the only thing he could do now was rein in some of these overwhelming feelings.

Just a little.

He could feel Ying Xi's intense stare burning into his back, making Li Yang close his eyes, his thoughts a jumbled mess. He couldn’t help but sigh.

“Ying Xi's being really weird today,” Wen Yun remarked, also noticing the odd behavior.

“You think so too?” Li Yang paused while holding his pen.

“Yeah.” Wen Yun glanced over, scratching his head before lowering his voice. “But he still looks at you with that same intense stare—like he wants to eat you alive.”

Li Yang got goosebumps. “How can you say something so creepy with a straight face?”

Wen Yun burst into laughter before suddenly turning serious. “Sorry, got too caught up in novels. That’s how they always describe it.”

Li Yang didn’t respond, sneaking another look at Ying Xi from the corner of his eye.

That gaze wasn’t just intense—it was filled with every possible emotion, gradually growing increasingly dark and disturbing.

Li Yang quickly looked away, lowering his head to focus on his homework.

By noon, word had spread through the whole school about the Alpha who had tried to mark a Beta during his rut.

Two students from another school were discussing the dangers of Alphas.

“People like that who knowingly break the rules should be made an example of.”

“Agreed. That Beta beat him up—so satisfying. I heard he even transferred. He got off too easy.”

Li Yang and Wen Yun walked past in silence, a weird chill running down their spines.

“I think Ying Xi's really hung up about what happened this morning,” Wen Yun mused, rubbing the back of his head. “Did something else happen between you two?”

Li Yang recalled Ying Xi’s words about keeping his distance and frowned slightly.

“He seems afraid of losing control himself and told me to stay away from him.”

Wen Yun thought he’d misheard, his shock mirroring Li Yang’s initial reaction.

“No way. He used to cling to you so much—now he’s saying that? That's love for you. First, they want more, then they become timid and hesitant.” Wen Yun shook his head. “Just like in novels.”

Li Yang’s face fell as he stared into the distance.

He had finally taken the first step. No matter how Ying Xi changed, he wasn't about to back down.

Besides, he truly believed that a clear-headed Beta could hold their own over an out-of-control Alpha.

So Ying Xi’s fears were unfounded.

The three of them arrived at the cafeteria.

Lost in thought, Li Yang mindlessly rested his fingers on his lap while ordering.

At first, the ring had felt awkward, but now it felt completely natural.

Li Yang lowered his lashes, fidgeting with the ring.

They had arrived during the lunch rush, and the cafeteria was packed, filled with noise and chatter.

The noise blurred together for Li Yang as his attention drifted—one moment to the conversation at the next table, the next to the ring on his finger. He didn’t even notice Wen Yun calling for his order several times.

Li Yang ended up ordering the same thing as Ying Xi, only to realize Ying Xi had been staring at the ring on his finger for who knows how long.

A sharp, acrid smell suddenly hit him. At first, Li Yang thought someone had released pheromones, but when he turned, he saw a man smoking nearby.

“How rude,” muttered someone at the next table, a parent with a child, shooting daggers at the smoker.

“Huh?” The smoking man swaggered to his feet, not only continuing to exhale smoke but also lighting a second cigarette without restraint. “Who the hell's yapping over there?”

The neighboring table waved down a waiter angrily. “That jerk’s blind—can’t see the no-smoking sign. Can you kick him out?”

The staff member hesitated, eyeing the burly man before speaking into his walkie-talkie awkwardly. “There’s a customer smoking in the front. Can we get some backup here?”

The “free” person implicitly meant someone strong enough to control the situation.

Unfortunately, there was no response.

“Sorry, I’ll try to talk to him, but if it doesn’t work, there’s nothing I can do,” the staff member apologized. “He’s an Alpha—stronger than me. I can’t fight him.”

The neighboring table, filled with Omegas, could only sigh and nod.

Realizing this, the smoking man smirked and purposely let his pheromones loose, pushing their buttons.

Li Yang unconsciously dug his nails into the table's edge, glaring icily at the man blowing smoke. His nails dug in hard enough to turn his fingertips red, but he didn’t flinch.

No matter the world, there are always people like this.

He recalled encountering such troublesome individuals during his part-time job in the real world, and coupled with his earlier frustration, he couldn’t help but frown, his expression darkening as a shadow flickered across his dark, gleaming eyes.

"What are you looking at?" The man, having noticed Li Yang’s prolonged stare and the undisguised disgust in his eyes, raised his brows and glared. "What's with the attitude, Beta?"

Even knowing the other was a Beta, the man still spitefully released his pheromones, grinning arrogantly.

"Actually, Betas have their own charm. After getting tired of Omegas, sampling a Beta could be fun."

The surrounding Omegas reacted with mixed reactions, while the Alphas mostly watched the scene unfold, shrugging off their Omega friends' concerns with a dismissive,

"What’s the big deal? I’m not like him, and he wasn’t even talking about you. Mind your own business."

An oppressive atmosphere settled, and for some reason, the crowd gradually fell silent, the air going dead.

The man’s cigarette slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground. Swearing up a storm, he remained oblivious to the strange tension in the air.

Li Yang’s gaze shifted between himself and the man, comparing their physiques, before his hand tightened around a plate on the table.

*Click.* Ying Xi set down his knife and fork, the crisp sound shattering the heavy silence.

He stood, swapping his cut steak with Li Yang’s, then took hold of Li Yang’s fingers—which had been unconsciously clawing at the table’s edge—and gently massaged them.

Li Yang jerked back to awareness, meeting Ying Xi’s smiling face. His eyelid twitched as he lowered his hand. "It’s nothing."

Wen Yun, who had been considering dumping a plate of spaghetti on the man’s head, abruptly stood and intercepted a waiter. "Excuse me, where’s the restroom?"

The waiter pointed, and Wen Yun hurried off, all but bolting into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

The man crushed the cigarette under his shoe, thinking he'd cowed everyone into silence. He lit another one, blowing smoke with a sneer before flicking ashes onto the neighboring table.

"So? Which smells better—my smoke or my pheromones?"

The comment was practically harassment, yet with the restaurant staff doing nothing, no one dared to speak up.

Li Yang glared at his steak, appetite gone. Just as he picked up his fork and prepared to stand, Ying Xi rose first.

"I’ll handle it."

*Thud. Thud. Thud.*

The steady footsteps echoed like a slow, deliberate melody in the quiet space, drawing everyone’s attention to the young man.

Dressed in a black sweater, his features sharp and cold, his deep eyes radiated quiet elegance.

A silver fork spun lazily between his slender fingers, the motion effortless yet deliberate.

He stopped beside the man, his imposing figure exuding authority as he looked down at him with chilling contempt.

"Do you not need your eyes?" His voice was detached, as if commenting on the poor weather, stunning the man into silence.

Only when ash fell onto the back of his hand, burning him, did the man realize the eerie tension in the restaurant stemmed from this person.

"What do you want?" The man’s confidence wavered, panic making him lash out. "Who the hell are you talking to? You’ve got a death wish."

Ying Xi tilted his body, effortlessly dodging the strike, then cocked his head slightly, meeting the man’s gaze with the annoyance of swatting a fly.

"I just thought if you don’t need your eyes, we could dispose of them."

"You asking to die?" The man sneered, grabbing a plate and flinging it at Ying Xi.

The plate shattered on the ground, but in the next instant, the cigarette vanished from the man’s hand.

Before he could react, the lit end was coming straight for him.

With a roar, he tried to dodge, but too late—the ember pressed against his eyelid.

The hiss of burning flesh filled the air, the stench of scorched flesh drowning out his pathetic pheromones.

"Ah—!" The man slapped Ying Xi’s hand away, clutching his seared eyelid as he collapsed to his knees, screaming in pain.

The other Alphas at his table, no longer smirking, rose one by one, grabbing their cutlery like weapons.

An overwhelming surge of pheromones instantly pinned them in place. Every non-Beta in the restaurant covered their noses, faces white with terror.

"You—you’re a Quality Alpha?" The man, now with a burnt hole in his eyelid, snarled venomously at Ying Xi. "This has nothing to do with you! Why butt in?"

"If you can throw your Alpha weight around, why can’t I interfere?" Ying Xi raised the silver fork, then casually let it drop.

The fork landed upright, just grazing the man’s shoe as it embedded into the wooden floor.

The man shuddered, gasping for air, his gaze darting around before finally settling on Li Yang, who sat unaffected, coolly eating his steak.

"What? He your boyfriend or something? You’re defending him like this? It was just a joke." The man spat through gritted teeth. "Where's your sense of humor?"

The young man before him narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning ice-cold.

He smiled faintly, leaning down deliberately, his grip on the man’s hair seemingly casual but ironclad.

"What a coincidence. I love jokes too."

With that, he slammed the man’s head into the table.

*Bang. Bang.*

Stunned and reeling, the man roared, scrabbling uselessly at Ying Xi’s arm in a futile attempt to resist.

But his strength was no match. Ying Xi’s hand clamped down like a vise, mercilessly holding him in place.

By the third impact, the man’s vision blurred, survival instinct kicking in as he sobbed for mercy.

"I—I was wrong! Let me go! No more jokes, I swear!" "Why?" Ying Xi’s lips curved, though his eyes stayed cold. "But I’m not done joking with you yet."