Chapter 33: Brother

Inside was a piece of fabric soaked with a thick, unidentified bodily fluid—anyone could tell what it was. Beneath the damp cloth was a painting, vaguely showing a deep purple hue.

Pei Huai leaned in to look. He knew exactly the size of that fabric—it was Song Yuqing’s. But now it was soiled with filth.

Even when he stole Song Yuqing’s belongings, he never dared to do something like this. Only when he couldn’t control himself would he lower his head to inhale the cool scent lingering on them.

The alpha, who had been flirtatious and animated just moments before, now had a gaze that turned ice-cold and menacing. He kicked over the table that had held the box, furious almost to the point of madness.

Damn it.

Did they think I was dead?

Song Yuqing: "..."

So much for living peacefully for even a few days, huh?

It had been so long that he almost forgot he was in a BL story like this.

88: "..."

88: "Qingqing, you’re adapting better and better."

Song Yuqing: "..."

Just then, Song Yuqing’s phone rang. An ID that had been blocked countless times but always returned with a new number appeared on the screen. Song Yuqing looked down.

"Baby, a gift for you. I really wish I could stuff it into your ** myself."

"Would that make you pregnant?"

"Then Qingqing would become a little mommy."

A figure stood at the base of the dormitory building, dressed ordinarily, blending in seamlessly among the countless students of Victor University—unremarkable and forgettable.

But at that moment, the person was looking down at their phone, eyes gleaming with excitement.

They really wanted to see Song Yuqing’s expression now, to witness his reaction to these vulgar words.

They longed to whisper the filthiest, most obscene things into Song Yuqing’s ear, right beside that refined but cold face.

To watch that face turn bright red because of them, to see him bewildered and bullied, only to regain brief clarity and slap them, calling them a beast. How could such a cool, beautiful beta not provoke desire, not make others want to taint him?

Unfortunately, they couldn’t see Song Yuqing’s expression when he discovered those things. The first time they sent Song Yuqing a photo, all the hidden cameras in room 3126 were found and discarded by Song Yuqing. If not for their strong counter-surveillance skills, they would have been exposed that time, and they wouldn’t be able to message Song Yuqing every day now.

Song Yuqing looked down, his calm eyes showing a hint of disgust, though his expression remained largely unchanged—cold as always.

Since becoming the student council president, all sexually explicit posts had been banned, and it had been a long time since Song Yuqing had encountered such disgusting remarks.

Those overt provocations had now retreated into the shadows.

As he read the messages, Song Yuqing recalled the people he had recently encountered and those who held grudges against him. In truth, the mere title of student council president had deterred many from causing trouble openly.

After thinking it over carefully, Song Yuqing still couldn’t pinpoint anyone capable of such actions.

Just as Song Yuqing was about to pick up the items on the floor, Pei Huai grabbed his wrist. "Don’t touch it. I’ll find whoever did this..."

If he found the person, he’d make them pay—if they survived, it’d be a miracle.

The alpha radiated hostility, looking ready to fight at any moment.

Song Yuqing gave him a quick look, and Pei Huai immediately fell silent, leaving the rest of his threat unspoken. Song Yuqing didn’t like it when he fought, so he’d just deal with the person quietly, without Song Yuqing knowing.

Qi Ran, standing nearby, also looked terrifyingly grim. The strands of hair covering his forehead obscured his fierce eyes, making him resemble a mushroom growing in a dark corner—pitiful yet gloomy.

Song Yuqing glanced at Qi Ran, assuming he was shocked by the scene and thus wore such a pitiful expression.

Song Yuqing comforted him, "Don’t be afraid. I’ll handle it."

Qi Ran clenched his fists. "I’m not afraid."

He was just disgusted, feeling that these sewer rats deserved to die. Qi Ran crouched down, picked up the items, took a sealed bag, and used a pen to lift the soiled fabric into it.

Seeing the extent of the filth, his expression grew even darker.

Testing the items could reveal the culprit, but without substantial harm, sending such things would only lead to a short detention—a punishment all three of them found utterly insufficient.

Moreover, whoever did this might not be easily identified through mere testing or matching.

Identity records in the First District were complete, but in the slums of the Fifth District, records were far less thorough.

The Fifth District had a large number of unregistered individuals.

Tracking them down wouldn’t be easy.

Song Yuqing noticed a painting in the box. It had been unclear earlier, but now, with the covering fabric removed, the framed painting was clearly visible.

It depicted him on a jacaranda-lined avenue, holding books, the hem of his white shirt lifted slightly by the wind. The lush jacaranda blossoms fell softly. At that time, Song Yuqing still had short hair, with strands lightly shading his delicate, cold eyes.

It was a serene and gentle scene.

But staring at the painting for too long evoked a strange sense of being watched, as if a pair of eyes were fixed on the cool beta in the image.

The gaze felt like shadowy threads, wrapping layer upon layer around the beta until he could barely breathe, becoming nothing more than a beautiful, exquisite puppet.

After studying the painting carefully, Song Yuqing finally pinpointed the source of the eerie dissonance: his posture in the painting didn’t seem like his own. It resembled a puppet’s—seemingly natural but unnatural upon closer inspection. The artist’s controlling desire seemed to seep through the canvas, tightly binding him.

After examining the painting, Song Yuqing turned his attention to the box it came in. The outermost layer was a cardboard box, wrapped tightly with tape, with traces of tearing at the edges.

Though the clues were few, Song Yuqing mentally cataloged every usable detail.

Suddenly, a cheerful alpha’s voice sounded from outside the door. "Brother."

The voice snapped all three of them back to reality.

Song Yuqing: "..."

The little lunatic was here again.

Was it time for the plot to advance? Song Yuqing lowered his head slightly, pondering the day’s events.

"Brother, if it weren’t for my art exhibition, I would’ve been by your side when you became president."

The alpha sounded cheerful, like a happy little dog, then his tone turned somewhat regretful. "What a pity, gege, are you still angry with me? I know I was wrong."

He was completely talking to himself; even though Song Yuqing ignored him, he chattered on like a talkative puppy.

The alpha quickly moved toward Song Yuqing, and seeing him looking at the painting, his face lit up with delight.

He had prepared this gift for Song Yuqing for a long time.

Did he notice it?

Song Yuqing was so smart; he must have noticed. He really wanted to see his gege's expression when he saw those things.

It had been a while since they last met, but Song Yuqing was still so beautiful. Even in an ordinary cotton white T-shirt, he looked stunning.

His hair had grown longer, gently falling by his face, his features delicately beautiful. When he slightly lowered his gaze in thought, he appeared serious and meticulous. He wanted to paint Song Yuqing again.

Especially now, as Song Yuqing was carefully examining the gift he had prepared for him, which made Xiao Jinshi inexplicably excited.

Qingqing, gege, I'm back.

Xiao Jinshi couldn't wait. "Gege, do you like the gift I gave you?"

Just these words made the two alphas, who already held a strong grudge against him, their faces darken abruptly.

Pei Huai even landed a punch on Xiao Jinshi's face. Xiao Jinshi, still gazing at Song Yuqing's back, never expected Pei Huai to suddenly attack and was hit squarely in the face.

Stumbling, he lunged toward Song Yuqing.

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing decisively stepped aside.

Xiao Jinshi ended up grabbing at air and fell hard to the ground.

Xiao Jinshi whined pitifully, "Gege—"

Song Yuqing looked down at Xiao Jinshi lying on the ground, remaining unmoved.

The earlier happy puppy demeanor completely vanished. A shadow of darkness flickered in his eyes as he stared at Song Yuqing, his expression innocent yet gritting his teeth as he cursed Pei Huai, "What's wrong with you? Did I provoke you?"

Pei Huai threw another punch, sneering, "I'm fucking beating the shit out of you, you bastard."

Stealing Song Yuqing's things was bad enough, but to use them for such purposes—and not only that, to bring those disgusting things and show them to Song Yuqing.

Xiao Jinshi refused to back down, and the two alphas instantly started grappling with each other.

Song Yuqing watched coldly for a moment as Xiao Jinshi was beaten by Pei Huai before speaking up, "Stop fighting. Xiao Jinshi wasn’t the one who sent those things."

Xiao Jinshi: "..."

His lungs felt like they were about to explode from the beating. He had been desperate to ask Song Yuqing if there was some misunderstanding, to explain himself to him.

But now, he suddenly heard Song Yuqing's casual remark that it wasn't him.

Xiao Jinshi looked at Song Yuqing in disbelief, as if wronged. Gege, you knew it wasn’t me, yet you let him hit me anyway?

Song Yuqing paid no attention to Xiao Jinshi's gaze. Xiao Jinshi getting beaten served him right.

He wasn’t entirely innocent either—Xiao Jinshi knew what was hidden beneath the painting.

The delivery box had two tear marks that didn't line up, indicating they weren’t made at the same time. They had torn it open once when unpacking, so the other tear must have been from someone opening the box midway to put something inside.

Xiao Jinshi also understood what had happened, and the cold fury in his eyes was barely containable.

Well done. That bastard not only sent things to Song Yuqing but also placed his filthy items inside the painting he had given to Song Yuqing.

How was this any different from defiling Song Yuqing?

Bastard.

Song Yuqing watched as Xiao Jinshi was so angry he could barely maintain his sunny, cheerful expression, and said quietly, "Let's go to sleep."

He casually tossed the painting back into the box, making no move to keep it.

Xiao Jinshi: "Gege, aren’t you going to keep it safe? I worked on it for a long time."

Song Yuqing coldly looked at Xiao Jinshi. "What do I care how long you worked on it? I remember telling you—I dislike you."

Xiao Jinshi's smile froze for a second. Song Yuqing didn’t care about him, so no matter how much time he spent, Song Yuqing would never take notice.

But Song Yuqing was just that kind of cold, detached beta. What wasn’t important to him, he would never spare a second glance.

All the surprises he had prepared for Song Yuqing were just illusions.

For a moment, Xiao Jinshi found himself powerless against Song Yuqing.

In the quiet of Room 3216, it was rare for everyone to be in the dorm, each lying in their own bed, yet none of the four felt sleepy.

In Song Yuqing's memory, after the scene with Tan Shu in the counseling office, the next plot point was that Qi Ran would be dragged into a back alley...

According to the original storyline, this was called "defilement."

Not an important character, yet someone who could do whatever they wanted to Qi Ran.

The next day, before heading out, Song Yuqing waited for Qi Ran and asked, "Do you have anything to do today?"

Because Song Yuqing had spoken to him out of the blue, Qi Ran's eyes lit up slightly.

Lately, Song Yuqing had been spending a lot of time with Pei Huai, and Qi Ran had few chances to get close to him. Song Yuqing had too much on his plate—lab work, studying, training sessions with Pei Huai—so very little attention was left for him.

But as long as Song Yuqing occasionally remembered him, that was enough.

"If you’re free, come to the lab with me today?"

Qi Ran's lips curved into an unpracticed smile, shy but clearly happy. "I'll go with you."

Song Yuqing: "Okay."

Song Yuqing wondered if he had been paying too little attention to Qi Ran lately and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Let's go."

Pei Huai scoffed coldly. That dog alpha who only knows how to call him "daddy."

Using these schemes again to win over Song Yuqing.

Acting subservient all day, worthless dog.

Xiao Jinshi didn’t speak but was observing the dynamics between the three. He had been away for a month and had missed out on a lot of what happened during that time.

After Song Yuqing left, Xiao Jinshi spoke in a leisurely manner, "What’s wrong with acting subservient? As long as it works."

A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips. That dog Pei Huai had probably groveled plenty in front of Song Yuqing too, just to earn a shred of his pity.

Really, even with Tan Shu gone, there were still so many worthless dogs swarming around his brother.

Perhaps only by locking his brother away would he then belong to him completely?

But maybe even locking him up wouldn’t make him his. What if he confined his brother in a basement, shackled that slender ankle with chains, and got him pregnant—wouldn’t his brother have no choice but to belong to him then?

His brother would surely look even more beautiful when pregnant, with a slightly rounded belly—a serene yet gentle mother, glowing with maternal radiance, tender and captivating.

He could embrace his brother from behind, kiss his underdeveloped neck gland, kissed until he was kicking out in protest. But a pregnant brother would be less mobile, easily held by the ankle.

He would reverently, so reverently, kiss his brother’s ankle.

His brother might not love him, but wouldn’t he love their child?

Yet even loving their child would make him insanely jealous, making him want to strangle the bastard that stole Song Yuqing’s attention.

Such a pain.

Was there truly no way to make his brother entirely his?

Ye Siling had been waiting in the lab early, working on tasks assigned by his teacher while sneaking looks outside.

His face was stern, exuding a cold, keep-your-distance vibe.

Should he apologize to Song Yuqing?

But he had never apologized to anyone before.

The thought of apologizing made Ye Siling found himself tongue-tied.

Professor Lin watched for a moment and shook his head.

He had no idea what conflict had arisen between his discount apprentice and his star student.

Professor Lin glared, bristling. “What dumb thing have you done now?”

Ye Siling remained silent for a while. The innate ruthlessness and indifference he’d cultivated had crumbled overnight, repeatedly haunted by the image of the pitiful, innocent beta.

After confessing his misdeeds from the previous night, Professor Lin was speechless.

He knew Ye Siling was stubborn, but he hadn’t realized just how stubborn.

After some thought, Professor Lin said, “What you said wasn’t off base, but you should’ve at least gotten his consent.”

“You insulted Qi Zhengqing, and now Qi Zhengqing is making things hard for Song Yuqing.”

Fortunately, he knew a thing or two about Qi Zhengqing.

Over a decade ago, Qi Zhengqing had been his student too, working on robotics alongside him.

If not for certain events, Qi Zhengqing might have grown into a mild-mannered, refined alpha, rather than the power-hungry leader of the Qi family, all about profit and power.

He wouldn’t have completely ignored his partner or hoped for Qi Ran to die overseas. Refraining from harming Qi Ran was probably the last bit of his decency.

Pushing aside the memories, Professor Lin said, “Apologize. Apologize sincerely. Qingqing might seem hard to approach, but if you admit your mistake genuinely, he usually won’t hold a grudge.”

Many might find Song Yuqing difficult, but he knew Song Yuqing was the type to return kindness with kindness—treat him well, and he won’t treat you poorly.

But if anyone tried to mess with him, Song Yuqing wasn’t afraid to fight back, even if it hurt him.

He liked Song Yuqing not just for his intelligence, but for his character.

Ye Siling replied, “Got it.”

Professor Lin coughed twice, his eyes shifting uncomfortably. “Ahem, you… do you know what kind of apology carries the most sincerity?”

Ye Siling pondered seriously, his thin lips uttering two words: “Being genuine.”

Professor Lin: “…”

That’s the most useless answer possible.

Who needs your worthless sincerity?

Professor Lin was so frustrated he nearly coughed up blood. Since hints were useless, he said plainly: “Money.”

Ye Siling: “…”

It felt like his teacher was in cahoots with Song Yuqing to cheat him.

Robots were the only things in the world that wouldn’t betray him—at least they wouldn’t plot to take his money.

Ye Siling replied, “…Understood.”

Ye Siling waited a long time before Song Yuqing finally arrived at the lab, but he’d brought another alpha with him.

Ye Siling’s gaze locked onto Song Yuqing, his brow furrowing. Besides Pei Huai, was Song Yuqing keeping another side piece? And even bringing him to the lab—was he that into this one?

Qi Ran was smiling, obediently following behind Song Yuqing. He clearly noticed Ye Siling’s gaze—hostile and searching, yet fixed on Song Yuqing.

Song Yuqing greeted Professor Lin calmly, his tone even. “Morning, Professor.”

Professor Lin replied, “Mm.”

He joked casually, “Here comes the little robot?”

Song Yuqing: “…”

He wasn’t a little robot. Please drop the first three words, thank you.

Ye Siling spoke up, “Good morning.”

Song Yuqing nodded slightly. As he moved to his workstation to put down his stuff, Ye Siling grabbed his wrist. “I…”

Song Yuqing lifted his head slightly, his cool, clear eyes meeting Ye Siling’s.

His tone was flat and detached. “Is there something?”

The alpha hesitated. Though he’d gone over this moment countless times in his mind, faced with Song Yuqing’s indifferent gaze, he found himself momentarily speechless.

Qi Ran’s eyes darkened. He grabbed Song Yuqing’s wrist, pulling it free from the alpha’s grasp, and meticulously wiped Song Yuqing’s hand with a tissue. Song Yuqing’s skin was pale and delicate, easily marked. Just that brief contact had already left red traces, like red blooms on snow—cold, elegant, and aloof.

Alphas always sought to leave their marks on Song Yuqing, but they were all too dirty, not good enough for him.

“Dad, who is he?”

Author’s Note:

The moment Qi Ran senses a threat, he calls him “dad” in front of other alphas.

Song Qingqing: ? So it wasn’t just about calling me dad? Wait, isn’t he the bargain son I’m raising?