Chapter 75 [VIP]

"Xie Nanyi... I... I can't answer you. Can you let me calm down?" Pei Xingzhi's throat tightened, and he stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, as if under some kind of spell. What did Xie Nanyi want him to answer? Did she want to hear him say that he loved Xie Nanyi too?

Does he love Xie Nanyi?

He didn't know.

There may have been some attraction, but it was far from love.

"Xie Nanyi, I don't like you."

"I know." Xie Nanyi's calm tone suggested that he hadn't understood what Pei Xingzhi had just said. He stubbornly held Pei Xingzhi's hand, refusing to let him go, and forced him to listen to what he had to say, word by word.

"You're just lying to yourself. You like me, you really like me, you love me to bits." Xie Nanyi was like a madwoman who had lost her mind, her scarlet eyes reflecting Pei Xingzhi's panicked face. "Pei Xingzhi, you never face your own heart."

"My inner answer is that I don't like you." Pei Xingzhi tried to break free from his grasp, but gave up the idea after several unsuccessful attempts.

He said that Xie Nanyi never respected his ideas; they only wanted what they wanted.

"Xie Nanyi, we can't communicate properly at all. I've already made myself clear. If you want to be friends with me, I'm happy to, but if you continue with these unrealistic ideas, then you should give up now." No matter how many times this pointless conversation happens, it's useless; he won't love Xie Nanyi.

Pei Xingzhi slumped wearily onto the bed. If he had to make things clear today, his answer could only be one: it was impossible.

He had finally escaped the cage of his past, and he didn't want to go back.

Xie Nanyi withdrew her hand, slowly squatted down and knelt in front of Pei Xingzhi, turning Pei Xingzhi's head so that he would look at her properly.

Pei Xingzhi couldn't describe Xie Nanyi's current state; he seemed to be crying, yet his lips were curved in a smile. Xie Nanyi lowered his head, tears sliding down his eyelashes and landing on Pei Xingzhi's fingers. Pei Xingzhi's hand twitched, and the two remained in that position for a long time without moving.

"Pei Xingzhi, do you know that you've been running away all along?"

"Xie Nanyi, please don't change the subject."

“You were running away, and I was running away too, so I pretended not to know and let you escape for two years. But now, I don’t want to run away anymore. No matter what you think, I will not give up pursuing you.” Xie Nanyi looked up, clearly smiling, but it always made people feel that he was very sad.

"Whether you pursue me or not is your business. No matter how you pursue me, my answer is only one: I don't like you." Pei Xingzhi insisted on his point of view, as if he could convince himself by saying it enough times.

He doesn't like Xie Nanyi, nor does he care about her. He doesn't need anyone by his side; he can live happily on his own.

“But I like you, and you can’t stop me from pursuing you.” Xie Nanyi’s persistent attitude was also very clear; he couldn’t let Pei Xingzhi leave his side again. “During the two years you were away from me, Pumpkin Party was by your side. I’ve always been by your side. Pumpkin Party, so you like me, Pei Xingzhi. Stop lying to yourself.”

"Xie Nanyi, are you ever going to stop?" Pei Xingzhi shook off Xie Nanyi's hand, showing a rare hint of anger. "How many times are you going to bring this up? Virtual and reality are different. You haven't always been with me. The one who's always been with me is Chu Ling, not you!" Pei Xingzhi was so angry at Xie Nanyi's twisted logic that he almost lost his temper. He felt that if he didn't say something to stop Xie Nanyi's wild imagination, he would be finished.

"Chu Ling lives in Ningbei, which is almost three hours away from you. What can he do for you?"

"Why can't he be with me! I go to Chu Ling's place to see him every day, and Chu Ling and I are together every day!"

"That's just friendship. Chu Ling is an Omega, so you two can't be together."

"Who says Omega and Beta can't be together! Is there any law that says only Alphas and Omegas can be together? I'm a Beta, and you're still pursuing me, aren't you?"

"I'll go back and add a clause to the regulations prohibiting Omegas and Betas from dating!"

"What right do you have to tell me what to do? I just like Chu Ling, so what if I don't like you!"

"Pei Xingzhi, you're making me angry again!"

"..." Pei Xingzhi was a little annoyed by Xie Nanyi's words, and only realized what he had just said after the words were out of his mouth. Xie Nanyi was brainless, did he want to be as brainless as Xie Nanyi?

Pei Xingzhi realized he had spoken recklessly, and collapsed back onto the bed, panting heavily with his right hand over his eyes.

"Xie Nanyi, this is really pointless of us." It's like elementary school kids bickering; what is he even doing? "I don't care what you're doing anymore, and don't waste your time here."

"Pei Xingzhi, you like me." Xie Nanyi seemed not to understand what Pei Xingzhi was saying. He was like a robot that had been given instructions, unable to understand anything else, and could only keep repeating this meaningless sentence.

"Okay, okay, you can keep liking it, I'm tired." Xie Nanyi wanted to continue, but Pei Xingzhi didn't have the energy to keep playing along. "If you let me go, I'll go. If you don't let me go, I'll sleep for a while. I have to go to work tomorrow. Be quiet and don't bother me."

Since starting work, he realized how strong and healthy he used to be. Before, he could have argued with Xie Nanyi for a while, but now, he was really tired.

Xie Nanyi blocked his way, and although she didn't say anything more, she still refused to let him go.

“Fine…” Pei Xingzhi gave in. “You stay here, I’m going to sleep.”

As Pei Xingzhi spoke, he turned over and wrapped himself in the blanket. After a while, there was no movement from Pei Xingzhi's side, only the sound of soft breathing, which sounded like he was asleep.

"Are you asleep?" Xie Nanyi sat on the edge of the bed and whispered to Pei Xingzhi, who was wrapped up like a chicken roll.

Pei Xingzhi naturally couldn't answer him, and the air fell silent.

“Then I’ll tell you a bedtime story.” Xie Nanyi didn’t care about the awkward silence. He didn’t need anyone’s response and just continued, “It’s not really a story, but I want to tell it to you.”

"The main characters in this story are my parents, or rather, not really my parents. I don't know if you've heard any news about them, but there probably aren't many articles left now. They used to love creating these kinds of news stories to promote how loving they were; for them, these kinds of news only served to maintain a good image."

"It seems I've gone a bit off-topic. Where was I? Oh, right, my parents aren't my parents. This isn't a tongue twister, my mother isn't my biological mother. Although my current parents are also in a political marriage, they grew up together and are childhood sweethearts with a foundation of affection. They are a typical AO couple, and for the first two years after their marriage, they lived a relatively happy life. But not long after, my father's secondary sexual characteristics evolved, and he developed an imprint, and the object of his imprint was my biological mother."

At this point, Xie Nanyi took a deep breath. He had never told any of this to anyone else, nor did he know how to begin. No one would be interested in such a boring and clichéd story; the only one who would suffer was himself, who had personally experienced it all.

“The mark is something you can’t get rid of, so my father gave in very easily. He didn’t want to divorce his current wife, but he also didn’t want to overcome his nature to choose an Omega. After careful consideration, he made another choice.”

"He concealed the fact that he had developed a mark and continued his marriage to the Omega. He secretly kept my Beta mother in the suburbs, only visiting her when he could no longer control his mark-related needs."

An Alpha with the mark cannot have children with an Omega. He took advantage of this to pin the blame for his infertility on the Omega, and then took me back shortly after I was born.

My Omega mother is a very simple and kind person. She took all the blame upon herself and gave me all her love.

With the support of my Omega mother's family, my father continued to expand his power, and gradually he no longer needed my Omega mother's assistance. He also no longer needed to worry about my Omega mother's existence, and brought my Beta mother from the suburbs to our home.

My Beta mother didn't love him. He had his own lover, but he couldn't disobey the commands of the Marked Alpha. They could have had their own lives, but the Mark ruined them forever. That's why I hate the Mark, and I hate that I'm also an Alpha with a Mark.

Xie Nanyi's story was not particularly appealing.

The bland tone and the rambling, off-the-cuff delivery of the story made Pei Xingzhi, as a listener, feel that there was no story at all.

"And then?" Pei Xingzhi rolled over, poked his head out from under the covers, and asked, looking at Xie Nanyi's face.

There was no trace of sadness on his face, as if the people in his story had nothing to do with him.

"And then what?"

What happened to your two mothers afterwards?

"Dead," Xie Nanyi said calmly.

"..." Pei Xingzhi did not expect him to answer so bluntly and directly, even somewhat disrespectfully to the deceased.

"Are you trying to say that what I said was rude?" Xie Nanyi directly voiced Pei Xingzhi's thoughts. "Because I don't know if I should be sad about their departure. They longed for death because only through death could they escape their father's side."

"They tried everything, even considered exposing their father's true colors through the media. But it was no use; no one would help them. The Xie family has the money to satisfy all their material needs, but their spirits have long been hollowed out by the Xie family."

My Omega mother had to maintain the image of a perfect wife in public, while enduring the humiliation of her partner of decades seeking fulfillment with others. My Beta mother had to bear the burden of my father's desires and endure the pain of her dignity being trampled upon. I wanted to save them, but there was nothing I could do. They wanted to leave; death was not a source of fear for them, but a release.

"And you? How are you doing?"

"I don't know." Xie Nanyi shook her head. "I've never suffered any hardship in the Xie family, so I don't know if I've had a good life."

“Pei Xingzhi, do you know that I used to hate the existence of the Marks? They were driven crazy by the Marks. I was afraid that I would become like that too. I don’t want to hurt others.”

Are you succumbing to your instincts now?

"No," Xie Nanyi answered decisively. "It's just because I love you."

Pei Xingzhi didn't ask anything further, but just hummed softly, as if mocking Xie Nanyi for giving the same answer again.

Xie Nanyi only knew how to talk about herself and still didn't care about him at all.

"Xie Nanyi, if you're trying to win my love by playing the victim, then forget it. It's not just you who's miserable; I'm miserable too."

He sympathized with Xie Nanyi's plight, but at most felt only pity. His misfortunes were not caused by Pei Xingzhi, and he didn't need to sacrifice everything for that pitiful situation.

"Pei Xingzhi, do you still not understand what I mean?" Xie Nanyi gritted his teeth, somewhat helpless that his communication with Pei Xingzhi was always tinged with prejudice.

"What could you possibly want? You just want to be with me, don't you?"

"Pei Xingzhi! I said all that just to let you know that I like you not because of the seal. The seal was just the opportunity for me to get to know you. What I like is you as a person!"

A note from the author:

N1: To put it bluntly! I've wasted my breath!