Chapter 15

Zhuang Xiaoyue's change in attitude towards him could actually be seen a long time ago.

Pei Xingzhi first realized this during one of their outings.

Unlike other universities, the Union University is located in the heart of the capital city, a location that is arguably the most expensive outside of the city center.

Land is expensive, so things on the land are naturally even more expensive.

If he hadn't gotten into this school, Pei Xingzhi probably would never have imagined that a glass strawberry, only four or five centimeters in size, could sell for nine thousand yuan.

So when he accidentally broke a glass strawberry that was casually placed on the display stand while he was playing around with Zhuang Xiaoyue, he hesitated for the first time after hearing the price, even though he had offered to pay for it.

Nine thousand is a bit too expensive for him.

He might have been able to scrape together the money before, but after paying the dormitory fees, he barely had any left. His father had secretly helped him out a few times, but Pei Xingzhi had transferred all that money to Zhuang Xiaoyue under various pretexts.

Zhuang Xiaoyue's family was visibly poor, and it wasn't uncommon for Omegas to go astray for money. Although he didn't really trust Gu Xiang and his group, he really didn't want Zhuang Xiaoyue to get involved in the same kind of incident again because of money.

Therefore, most of his money is now with Zhuang Xiaoyue.

Pei Xingzhi scraped together all his funds, even using the cashback he hadn't had time to redeem when ordering takeout last time, but in the end he only managed to scrape together less than five thousand yuan.

The waiter, holding the voucher machine, smiled just the right amount and stood quietly to the side watching Pei Xingzhi frantically try to collect the money.

He had seen too many incidents like this before, and was no longer surprised by them.

"Sir, may I pay now?" The waiter smiled gently, and his tone and pace of speech were very pleasant.

But Pei Xingzhi had no time to appreciate the excellent service. He glanced up at the waiter, then lowered his head again and tremblingly tapped the screen a few times. The person on the other end of the chat window didn't respond for a long time. He glanced at the waiter out of the corner of his eye, then lowered his head again, his lips twitching a few times but still unable to force a smile in response.

He shifted his gaze, casting a pleading look at Zhuang Xiaoyue.

"Xiaoyue, can you lend me four thousand first?" Pei Xingzhi asked in a low voice, trying not to make his situation too conspicuous. "I'll pay you back when I get back."

Zhuang Xiaoyue kept his head down, his fingers nervously clutching the hem of his clothes. When he heard Pei Xingzhi ask him for money, he looked up at him, letting everyone see the tears on his face, and then immediately lowered his head again, slowly uttering a few words in a tone that was clearly tinged with sobs.

"I...I didn't..."

It's not common for a Beta to ask an Omega for money. The waiter raised an eyebrow, his lips parted and closed as if he wanted to say something, but out of professionalism, he kept his mouth shut and didn't show any other emotions. He just urged Pei Xingzhi again.

“If you are unable to pay in full at once, we also support installment payments, but there will be some interest involved. I wonder if that would be acceptable to you.”

Pei Xingzhi pursed his lips, bit his lower lip, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally chose to pay in installments.

After what happened, neither of them was in the mood to continue shopping. Pei Xingzhi came out of the mall, and Zhuang Xiaoyue, carrying a paper bag, jogged a few steps to catch up with him from behind.

After the matter was resolved, Zhuang Xiaoyue's emotions returned to normal, and she followed Pei Xingzhi all the way, apologizing to him.

Pei Xingzhi glanced at the bag in his hand, then walked forward with a cold face as if he hadn't heard Zhuang Xiaoyue's voice behind him. Finally, he turned at the elevator entrance and went to the stairwell.

Zhuang Xiaoyue followed Pei Xingzhi inside and saw him standing against the wall. She immediately stepped forward, took his hands, looked up at him, and apologized.

His upward angle allowed Pei Xingzhi to see the tears on his face and his eyes brimming with tears. Perhaps because his skin was too sensitive, Zhuang Xiaoyue's nose was red, and her pitiful appearance made it impossible to be angry with her.

"Xiao Zhi, it's not that I don't want to give you the money, I was just too scared. Shall we go and pay it back now?" Zhuang Xiaoyue's voice was a little hoarse, and her tears dripped onto Pei Xingzhi's hand. The icy touch made Pei Xingzhi's heart soften a little.

"I had the shop assistant glue the strawberries back on." Seeing Pei Xingzhi's expression soften, Zhuang Xiaoyue immediately took out the strawberries from the paper bag as if presenting a treasure.

Pei Xingzhi's eyes flickered as he looked at the glass strawberry with obvious cracks. After a few seconds of silence, he met Zhuang Xiaoyue's gaze.

"Have you glued it back on?"

"Hmm..." Zhuang Xiaoyue lowered her head, seemingly a little embarrassed.

Zhuang Xiaoyue is, after all, an Omega; it's normal for her to be afraid. Pei Xingzhi comforted himself with this thought.

"Fine, let's do this." Pei Xingzhi took the initiative to back down. Even if he had a falling out with Zhuang Xiaoyue, it wouldn't solve anything. Who told him to act like a hero and insist on bearing the compensation alone? Let's just treat this as a lesson.

After this incident, Pei Xingzhi intentionally or unintentionally reduced the amount of money he transferred to Zhuang Xiaoyue. Although Zhuang Xiaoyue didn't say anything, her attitude towards him became much colder.

Pei Xingzhi disagreed, feeling that Gu Xiang's incident had left a shadow on Zhuang Xiaoyue, and he didn't believe that Zhuang Xiaoyue would really only treat him as a tool.

Therefore, when he and Xie Nanyi were trapped in the tool shed because of Gu Xiang's encirclement, Pei Xingzhi waited a long time before sending a distress call to Zhuang Xiaoyue.

He couldn't smell the pheromones, but now he realizes with a start that Zhuang Xiaoyue probably sensed them back then.

He didn't know where Gu Xiang got Zhuang Xiaoyue's whereabouts, but Zhuang Xiaoyue felt that he had informed on her.

Zhuang Xiaoyue never considered him a friend.

He thought he could influence everything, but reality told him that it was all just his imagination.

He was just an ordinary Beta; he couldn't create any miracles like a savior.

The verification yielded a conclusion, but Pei Xingzhi was not happy.

This so-called friendship is just him deceiving himself. He already knows it's impossible, but he still insists on believing he can create a miracle.

Pei Xingzhi slowly squatted down and buried his head in his knees.

He just felt a little sad.

Are you growing mushrooms?

Xie Nanyi's voice came from the doorway. Pei Xingzhi froze for a moment, then buried his head even deeper into his knees.

His eyes must be swollen from crying. If Xie Nanyi saw them, it would definitely become a black mark on his life.

"Why aren't you responding? Are you asleep?" Xie Nan asked again when he didn't get a reply.

The footsteps grew closer, and Pei Xingzhi shifted to the side in an extremely contorted posture.

"Why aren't you answering if you're awake?"

Xie Nanyi squatted down beside him and reached out to tug at his arm.

"Get up—"

"I don't want to—" Pei Xingzhi's voice was muffled, with a slight upward inflection at the end.

"Don't act cute." Xie Nanyi withdrew her hand, observed carefully, and then lifted Pei Xingzhi up by his arms.

Suddenly lifted into the air, Pei Xingzhi's consciousness couldn't keep up with his muscle memory, and he slapped Xie Nanyi with a "smack".

This left both of them somewhat embarrassed, and they remained frozen in place for a good seven or eight seconds before figuring out their next move.

Pei Xingzhi shook off Xie Nanyi's hand. Since things had already come to this, let Xie Nanyi see it; he had nothing more to be ashamed of anyway.

"Are you calm now?"

Seeing Pei Xingzhi pouting and staring intently at her, Xie Nanyi couldn't help but chuckle softly.

He was acting like he was going to die just a moment ago, but now he's all energetic. He's just like the little dog he used to feed when he was a kid; even if he had just scolded it, it would come back with its tongue lolling out as soon as he was given some food.

"I'm not angry." Pei Xingzhi tilted his head back and glared at Xie Nanyi before looking straight ahead again. Xie Nanyi was too tall, and he looked up at people without any imposing presence, so he could only use this method to show off to Xie Nanyi.

"I won't be angry for Zhuang Xiaoyue."

I had a premonition about this, and now I'm just sad.

"Gu Xiang has marked Zhuang Xiaoyue."

"What?"

Pei Xingzhi, who had been putting on airs, suddenly looked up at Xie Nanyi after hearing this. He took a step forward, closed the distance between them, grabbed Xie Nanyi's collar, and made him repeat it again.

“Gu Xiang has already marked Zhuang Xiaoyue; it’s a lifelong mark.” Pei Xingzhi’s rude behavior did not anger Xie Nanyi. He patiently pried open Pei Xingzhi’s fingers and wrapped his hand in his own palm.

"When did this happen?" Pei Xingzhi's throat hurt, and it felt like something had rolled through his chest, leaving only a dense, throbbing pain. "How could a low-quality Omega like him be marked?"

"Before we first met, Gu Xiang used some special methods..." Xie Nanyi paused, then added, "It wasn't good for Zhuang Xiaoyue..."

Before the first meeting...

Pei Xingzhi gripped Xie Nanyi's hand tightly, so tightly that his fingertips turned white.

"Didn't you already realize it? Why are you still so sad?" Xie Nanyi let him hold her hand and gently patted his shoulder so he could lean on her.

The matter between Zhuang Xiaoyue and Gu Xiang was not difficult to investigate. Xie Nanyi only needed to read the general outline to understand the ins and outs of the incident.

Zhuang Xiaoyue was indeed short of money. With a gambling father, a seriously ill mother, a younger brother in school, and himself being an Omega, he would have been a typical pitiful little Omega in any other situation.

Unfortunately, Gu Xiang was not his "aggressive" Alpha.

Gu Xiang was just an unloved child in the Gu family, and the money he used to buy Zhuang Xiaoyue was not the 900,000 he claimed, but at most 100,000.

The 100,000 yuan was poured into Zhuang Xiaoyue's bottomless pit, and not even a sound was heard.

Gu Xiang may seem stupid, but he's not really stupid.

The contract he signed with Zhuang Xiaoyue clearly stated 900,000 yuan, and the remaining 800,000 yuan did indeed circulate in Zhuang Xiaoyue's hands.

However, Gu Xiang used them all to buy his own admission spot.

Zhuang Xiaoyue is very smart, but he grew up in poverty and had never even heard of some things that others considered common sense.

So when Zhuang Xiaoyue heard Gu Xiang say that if he wasn't given enough money, he would be rejected by the Alliance University even if he had the score to get in, given his inferior Omega status.

He wanted to escape that hellhole, and he would do whatever it took to get out.

He left 100,000 yuan to pay for his mother's medical expenses and gave the remaining 800,000 yuan to Gu Xiang, asking him to "buy" his admission spot back.

It wasn't until Zhuang Xiaoyue entered the Alliance University that he realized Gu Xiang had lied to him. However, he had already signed the "contract of servitude," and if he broke the contract, he would have to compensate Gu Xiang 900,000 yuan.

Under pressure from various factors, Zhuang Xiaoyue agreed to Gu Xiang's request for a lifelong mark. He was an inferior Omega and unable to undergo a true mark. He didn't know what methods Gu Xiang used, but he was tormented all night, and when he woke up again, the mark had already been formed.

It was a one-sided mark belonging only to Zhuang Xiaoyue. He became Gu Xiang's dog, always at his beck and call, a dog who could never leave his master for the rest of his life.

Nine hundred thousand yuan isn't enough to buy a university admission spot, but one hundred thousand yuan bought Zhuang Xiaoyue's entire life.

It's a very sad story.

But how innocent was Pei Xingzhi?

Xie Nanyi carried Pei Xingzhi to the sofa, knelt down in front of him, and slowly told him Zhuang Xiaoyue's story. Pei Xingzhi hadn't recovered from the shock yet, and Xie Nanyi could feel his sadness just by looking at him.

He squatted down in front of Pei Xingzhi and gently stroked his cheek.

"I had someone change your dorm room. You should be there by now. Do you want to go check if there's anything you forgot?"

"Thank you." Pei Xingzhi sighed. "Could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"I want to find Zhuang Xiaoyue a lawyer, the kind who can win that contract battle."

A note from the author:

Don't inflict your own suffering on innocent people.

Heartache is the beginning of attraction, N1, admit it, you've fallen for her!