Chapter 2: The Married Beta is Grabbed by a Man

Chapter 2: The Married Beta Cornered by an Alpha

Hearing that the guest in the Black Gold VIP booth was looking for a beta, all the waiters, bartenders, and resident singers in the bar pulled out all the stops, hoping to get close to the powerful client.

The scent of pheromones in the VIP booth had already been cleared by the ventilation system. All the betas in the bar stood in rows before Situ Jing, their eyes filled with a mix of flattery and shrewdness.

Situ Jing took out a small pendant, the red bead swaying slightly. "Whose is this?"

"Mine."

"Mine!"

"Nonsense, my mom bought this for me—a cinnabar bead for protection."

...

Situ Jing couldn't be bothered checking each of their necks one by one for the lingering scent of his pheromones. He held the small pendant in his hand and said unhurriedly, "This beta zapped me twice with a stun baton. I’m here to settle the score."

This time, no one dared to falsely claim ownership. Silence fell.

The bar manager pulled up the surveillance footage and handed the tablet to Situ Jing. "Mr. Situ, several people passed by your booth. The one who went in was our substitute singer. Do you think he’s the one who zapped you?"

Situ Jing watched the footage: a boy in a shirt stumbled down the hallway, pushed open the VIP booth door... Half an hour later, he ran out of the room toward the exit.

"It’s him."

"Alright, we’ll immediately find a few people who’ve spoken with Bai Yu and locate where he lives."

"Wait." Situ Jing rewound the surveillance footage.

The boy walked quickly, unsteadily, as if hiding from someone, which was why he barged into the booth. Not long after, two men loitered outside the VIP booth for a while, one of them wearing an Armani eagle-emblazoned jacket.

Situ Jing’s eyes darkened. "Who is he?"

The bar manager took a look. "He’s a regular at our bar, named Cui Che."

Secretary Zhou added beside his boss, "The son of Cui Wenhua, the steel cable magnate. Three years ago, he got into a motorcycle accident and called off his engagement with the Wu family."

Situ Jing sneered, "So it’s that infertile scallion-head alpha."

Secretary Zhou stifled a laugh, marveling at his boss’s precise description.

Cui Che’s pheromones smelled like scallions, similar to garlic; you’d occasionally catch a whiff when you ran into him.

Two or three people in the VIP booth chuckled softly, and the bar manager glared at them.

Situ Jing asked, "Does Cui Che know him?"

The bar manager: "Uh..."

A waiter stepped forward. "Bai Yu was currying favor with Cui Che because he’s rich and drank with him, but later he couldn’t handle the drinking and ran off."

Situ Jing held the small pendant. "Is that so?"

*

Bai Yu returned to his rented apartment on the Third Ring Road feeling woozy, his eyelids twitching.

He looked in the mirror at the bite mark on the back of his neck. The canine teeth had left two dark red circular wounds, and besides that, there were hickeys from sucking.

Looking further down, Bai Yu realized the small pendant he wore was missing.

His mother had bought the small pendant for him a long time ago, and Bai Yu had worn it for years. He searched the room but couldn’t find it.

Did it fall off when that alpha bit him?

It was already 2 a.m., and the bar had closed.

Bai Yu scratched his head. Luckily, he didn’t have any part-time work tomorrow, so he could go look for it when the bar opened in the afternoon. He hoped the cleaning lady hadn’t thrown it away.

*

After a night’s sleep, Bai Yu went to the hospital early to visit his younger sister, Bai Li.

Bai Li had just finished chemotherapy and returned to her ward. Her face was pale, and her striped hospital gown hung loosely on her.

Bai Li said that siblings have a connection—even if she couldn’t see, she could still sense it.

Just as Bai Yu entered the ward, Bai Li turned around and smiled. "Brother, aren’t you working part-time today?"

"Yeah, I thought your chemotherapy was the day after tomorrow. Did you go today?"

"Yes, the doctor said I need chemotherapy every five days now."

Bai Yu had a sinking feeling that the shortened chemotherapy cycle wasn’t a good sign.

Bai Li tilted her head and looked at Bai Yu, pointing at a suspicious red mark on his neck. "What’s this?"

Bai Yu checked it with his phone. It was probably from that person kissing him yesterday. He’d only remembered to buy a Barrier Patch but forgot to get a band-aid to cover it. "It’s nothing, just something that happened during my part-time job."

Bai Li nodded noncommittally. "Oh, I see."

Bai Yu played games with Bai Li for a while until the doctor came for rounds.

After examining Bai Li, the doctor told Bai Yu privately, "The patient’s condition has reached the mid-stage. If we don’t find a matching bone marrow stem cell within three months, we might miss the best treatment opportunity."

Bai Yu asked, "Besides matching, is there no other way?"

"The effect of drug treatment is minimal, as you know. But we’re still waiting for news from the bone marrow bank."

If possible, Bai Yu would willingly transplant his own bone marrow to Bai Li, but he’d already been checked—his wasn’t a match.

When Bai Yu returned to the ward, Bai Li was watching a variety show on her phone, laughing heartily.

"It’s almost noon. What do you want to eat?"

"Let me think." Bai Li tapped her lips. "I haven’t had spicy chicken pot in a long time. Can we have that?"

"Sure, let’s have spicy chicken pot."

Bai Li changed into a pink thin cotton jacket and went out with Bai Yu. There was a food alley near the hospital, crowded with people during lunch.

The two found an empty table in an eatery, placed their order on their phone, and soon the sizzling dishes arrived.

Bai Li had a good appetite and enjoyed the meal happily. Bai Yu started eating too.

There was a middle school near the hospital, and students were allowed out during lunch. Several middle school students were eating there. If Bai Li were healthy, she’d be in eighth grade now.

The middle school students were chattering away, discussing the newly opened amusement park and making plans to go there on the weekend.

Bai Li said, "Brother, I want to go to the place they’re talking about too."

"Okay, once you’re better, we’ll go."

Bai Yu had no idea when that day would arrive, but he believed it would.

He selected some chicken pieces and put them in Bai Li's bowl, then added some vegetables. "Eat more."

Bai Li saw her bowl was already stacked like a small mountain. "Stop giving me all the food—you should eat too. You look thinner; your work must be exhausting, huh?"

"Alright, let’s both eat."

After lunch, Bai Yu and Bai Li strolled through the park near the hospital before returning.

As soon as they entered the ward, Bai Li vomited, emptying everything in her stomach. She had tried her best to hold it in but couldn’t.

Bai Yu patted her back, could feel the outline of her spine. "Still feeling unwell?"

Bai Li was leaning against the sink, coughing after vomiting. "Cough, cough. The acid is burning my throat. Such a shame—I won’t eat that kind of food again."

Bai Yu gave her some warm water. "What would you like to eat? I’ll buy it for you."

"Plain congee. Cough, cough."

Bai Yu bought plain congee for Bai Li, made sure she finished it, and then stayed until she fell asleep.

Just then, He Lele sent Bai Yu a message: [You’ve gotten into big trouble, you know?]

He Lele was Bai Yu’s friend, also a beta, studying architectural design at Yunjing Architecture College. He came from a small-town family and had been paying his way through college with part-time jobs.

Bai Yu and He Lele had met several times at night venues—one singing, the other selling drinks, flowers, or snacks. Over time, they became friends, referring gigs to each other and occasionally working together.

Bai Yu: [What trouble?]

He Lele: [Did you electrocute a guest in the W Bar’s Black Gold VIP room last night? That guest is looking for you everywhere. He’s had all the betas in the bar lined up to be identified, and he looks furious.]

Bai Yu recalled the man from last night—he didn't seem like good news. He quickly typed: [At the time, Cui Che was buying rounds for everyone, so I went into his room and had a drink. I didn’t expect it to be drugged. When I left, Cui Che chased me, and I accidentally stumbled into that room thinking it was empty. The guest was acting strange and attacked me, so I electrocuted him. What’s wrong?]

He Lele: [I see. What was Cui Che trying to do?]

Bai Yu: [Not sure, but I don’t want to run into him again.]

He Lele: [I’ll explain things to the manager at W Bar and see if he can help smooth it over. Don’t take any nightclub gigs for the next few days—let’s focus on daytime work.]

Bai Yu: [Got it. Thanks, Lele.]

He Lele: [No need to thank me.]

Bai Yu abandoned the plan of returning to W Bar to look for his pendant and went back to his rented room to rest for the night.

＊

That night, Cui Che brought three omegas to his villa in the suburbs of Yunjing to play some games. Various props were scattered on the floor.

"Scream more pitifully... Not enough... Louder!"

Suddenly, the door was forced open with a high heel, and Cui Che's mother walked in.

Cui Che froze, immediately dropped the whip, and hurriedly looked for clothes to put on. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Cui Che's mother grabbed his ear. "Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Your father received a stack of photos—there’s a boy who’s two months shy of nineteen. If this gets out, do you still want our family to stay in Yunjing?"

"What? Who took them? Who was in them? I didn’t know there was anyone under nineteen!"

"Don’t ask. Your father says you’re to go to the oil processing plant in Country G as the manager. It’s full of alphas—no opportunity for you to cause trouble. You can go camping in the desert, buy gems, stick to safe activities. Just go directly to the airport." Cui Che's mother looked at the robe Cui Che had wrapped himself in.

Cui Che: "The desert? How am I supposed to live there?"

"Either go or get out of this family! You’re going to be the death of me!" Cui Che's mother took off her high heel and swung it at Cui Che’s head.

A miserable scream echoed in the room. "Ouch, Mom—!"

＊

A few days later, Bai Yu went out to work at a milk tea shop.

A Mercedes was parked at the entrance of his neighborhood, and a man in a suit was standing beside it, talking on the phone.

The dilapidated apartment complex never had nice cars driving in—if one did, it would only get stolen.

Bai Yu suspected the man was sent by the guest from the Black Gold VIP room. But he’d only electrocuted him twice—was it really that serious?

Was it?

He’d been bitten too.

Bai Yu pulled his baseball cap down low, got on a shared bicycle, and rode away.

He couldn’t use his phone while working at the milk tea shop, so he set it to silent, put it in his bag, changed into his uniform, and started working.

During his lunch break, he checked his phone and saw several missed calls from unknown numbers. He didn’t call back. He was getting genuinely frightened.

After work, Bai Yu bought a bag of apples from a fruit stand at the intersection and headed to the hospital.

Bai Li had no one to stay with her, so sometimes she had to rely on other patients’ families in the ward for help. Bai Yu often brought them food to thank them.

When he arrived at the hospital, Bai Yu saw three men in suits standing outside the ward. One of them was the man with glasses he’d bumped into in the hallway at W Bar.

Bai Yu stopped. Had electrocuting that guy twice really led them to find him?!

Among the three, the man with glasses turned and spotted Bai Yu. "You’re Bai Yu?"

Bai Yu immediately turned and ran, dropping the apples outside the ward.

"Stop, Mr. Bai Yu!"

Bai Yu didn’t get far before two more men came up the stairs and blocked his path. He quickly headed for the elevator, took it to the top floor, then switched to another elevator going down to the first floor.

When the elevator doors opened, more of their men were waiting on the first floor.

Bai Yu dashed toward the main road outside the hospital, but a man grabbed him from behind. The man with glasses ran over with a group of others, out of breath. "We mean no harm!"

"If you mean no harm, what do you want?!"

"Our boss wants to see you."

Bai Yu looked at the man with glasses, confused. "He’s not here to cause trouble? Then what does he want?"

The man with glasses said, "You’ll find out when you get there."

Bai Yu got into the Mercedes, flanked by two broad-shouldered, long-legged bodyguards, and didn’t dare to move.

The man with glasses, who was driving, introduced himself: "I’m the boss’s secretary, my last name is Zhou. You probably know who my boss is, right?"

Bai Yu was confused, "I don't know, what is it?"

"The Situ Family, ever heard of them? My boss is the eldest son of the Situ Family, Situ Jing."

The Situ Family is one of the top wealthy families in Yunjing and even in Country C, in charge of the multinational company Hengyu Technology, with public assets exceeding hundreds of billions, not to mention other hidden investments.

Bai Yu had heard this surname in the news before but felt such people were way out of his league.

The Mercedes-Benz stopped at the entrance of an upscale Western restaurant.

Bai Yu walked in; soft jazz was playing inside, a smooth female melody echoing through the space. Except for one occupied table, all the others were empty.

Situ Jing was dressed in a well-tailored black suit, his shirt buttons buttoned all the way up, wearing an Inhibitor Bracelet on his wrist—a polished, high-class look, with no sign of that night’s wildness remaining.

Wait, no—there was a faint red mark on his neck, as if someone had scratched him.

Bai Yu looked down at his nails. That wasn’t me, was it?

As if Situ Jing knew exactly what Bai Yu was looking at, he met his gaze sharply.

The moment Bai Yu made eye contact, he quickly looked away. "Hello, Mr. Situ."

Situ Jing said coolly, "Please, have a seat."

The waiter brought over menus and two glasses of lemon water.

Situ Jing opened the menu. "Let's order first."

Bai Yu hadn’t had dinner yet. His fingers scrolled through the long menu, and he ordered a main course of Beef Wellington.

The waiter stood politely beside Situ Jing. "What would you like, sir?"

Situ Jing didn’t order and handed the menu back to the waiter.

After confirming Bai Yu’s appearance and name, Situ Jing had Secretary Zhou look into Bai Yu.

Bai Yu’s parents had passed away many years ago. He was currently majoring in Composition at the Yunjing University Conservatory of Music and had good grades.

Due to his younger sister suffering from leukemia, he had applied for a leave of absence a year ago, taking on odd jobs to cover her chemotherapy costs. So, he wasn’t hard to track down.

The only odd part was that Bai Yu had married an alpha from Country E right after he turned twenty. There was even a photo of them together on the Civil Affairs Bureau’s public records, but the marriage had only lasted three months and ended in divorce last month.

While waiting for the food, the two chatted briefly.

Situ Jing said, "I understand you were previously married to an alpha."

"That was a moment of impulse. Even if there were feelings, a beta can’t produce pheromones and can’t provide comfort during an alpha’s rut. That’s something that can’t be changed."

This explanation was prepared back when Bai Yu and his ex-husband were divorcing, meant for the Civil Affairs Bureau’s records. Now, he could say it easily, as if he had truly been trapped in an incompatible marriage.

But Bai Yu didn’t know what Situ Jing meant by asking this, though he was certain he had been investigated.

Bai Yu’s hands played with the sleeves of his plain white hoodie under the table, his legs pressed tightly together, feeling nervous.

Situ Jing raised an eyebrow, crossing his hands over his knees. "Have you cut all ties with your ex-husband?"

"Huh? Uh... yes, it’s over."

More than over—it had never really existed in the first place.

Bai Yu took a sip of lemon water, waiting for Situ Jing to continue.

Situ Jing said, "Your sister’s chemotherapy and medical expenses are very high. It’s a struggle for you to manage with just part-time jobs, and there’s no telling how long it will take to find a matching hematopoietic stem cell. I can help you."

"The condition is to become my partner and help me get through my rut."