Chapter 57 [VIP]
Several astute individuals noticed his presence the moment he spoke and slipped away without him having to say anything further. The remaining few were those who had a decent relationship with this Alpha, and even though they knew Pei Xingzhi was going to cause trouble, they were too embarrassed to leave.
Pei Xingzhi glanced at them with a hint of appreciation. He hadn't expected them to be so loyal in such a crucial moment, something he hadn't noticed before.
"Um... Shi Linhua, you guys talk first, I'm going back to my dorm now."
"Me too, me too. I'm going back to sleep now, otherwise I won't be able to get up tomorrow."
Well, it seems his expectations were too high after all.
"Don't go! We're already here, what's the big deal?" Pei Xingzhi rarely lost his temper, so naturally he wasn't going to let anyone go. How could he be considered to have lost his temper if he didn't arrest a few people to establish his authority?
"No, no, you can talk to Shi Linhua about it. We won't listen."
Those men dared not linger there, but before they could take a step, Pei Xingzhi grabbed one of them by the sleeve. Although they could easily shake off Pei Xingzhi and run, firstly, Pei Xingzhi had an injured foot, and if he accidentally pushed someone and caused them harm, it would be difficult to explain; secondly, they weren't familiar with Xie Nanyi, and who knew what Xie Nanyi's attitude towards them was? Even if he didn't care much, Pei Xingzhi was still his imprinted Beta, and a little whispering in his ear could make them suffer for days.
The person who was caught didn't dare to run away, and the other person who wasn't caught thought the same thing. Shi Dehua, who was caught red-handed, naturally didn't dare to run away either. The three of them were forced to stay where they were, and could only curse Pei Xingzhi's behavior in their hearts.
Pei Xingzhi could tell what they were thinking. Although they said they wouldn't dare, their expressions didn't hide it at all. In the end, they still didn't take him seriously.
“You came with Shi Linhua, so naturally you should listen to what he has to say before you leave. Come on, Shi Linhua, you continue. Where were we? Right, what happened after Xie Nanyi won me over? Tell me, I want to hear it too.”
Pei Xingzhi gave them a gentle smile and patted Shi Linhua's shoulder with a slight force.
"I...I didn't mean to say anything...it's just...it's just..." Shi Linhua's words were intermittent. The closer Pei Xingzhi got, the softer his voice became, until finally it turned into a comical scene of him opening his mouth but not making a sound.
They were all in the same lab, so daily contact was inevitable. But Pei Xingzhi seemed to dislike them, the Alphas, and kept his distance from them. Shi Linhua wasn't afraid of Pei Xingzhi, the Beta, but when a strand of Pei Xingzhi's hair fell to his nose, Shi Linhua suddenly smelled the Alpha essence on him.
That was the pheromone unique to high-quality Alphas, and the fact that this pheromone could linger for so long on Pei Xingzhi, a Beta who practically lived in the lab, could only mean two things: Xie Nan intended to live with Pei Xingzhi, or—
Xie Nanyi and Pei Xingzhi completed the final engraving.
"What is it?" Pei Xingzhi continued to press him.
"It's...it's...Xie Nanyi really likes you!"
"What?"
Shi Linhua's careless words startled Pei Xingzhi. Fortunately, he was quick to accept it and only paused for a moment before putting on a smiling face again.
"I know he likes me, doesn't everyone at school know that?"
“However, it seems from what you just said that you didn’t mean that. You seem to know something that others don’t, and I’m also a bit curious about what secret Xie Nanyi is hiding from me. Could you share it with me?” Pei Xingzhi wasn’t going to let them off so easily.
Not only did they take advantage of him all the time, but they also spread rumors about him. Most of the rumors about him and Xie Nanyi came from them. These words were just harmless jokes to someone like Xie Nanyi who was at the top of the pyramid, but for Pei Xingzhi, every word from these people was troubling his life.
He has tolerated them for too long, and now it's time to try to change the way he interacts with them.
“That’s exactly what we meant, Pei Xingzhi, you’re overthinking it.”
"Yeah, Pei Xingzhi, you have such sensitive skin. We didn't say anything bad about you. Did you do something wrong that you can't hide anymore?"
"That's enough. It was just one sentence. Why are you making such a fuss about it?"
Seeing Pei Xingzhi's attitude harden, the Alphas, threatened by a mere Beta, seemed to have forgotten who this Beta "belonged" to. Their usual arrogant attitude returned, and they began to urge Pei Xingzhi to stop.
This has always been their attitude towards Pei Xingzhi. He's just a Beta; they've already been quite lenient with him.
Pei Xingzhi had long anticipated this reaction and was not surprised by their change in attitude.
"That's enough?" Pei Xingzhi chuckled and slapped Shi Dehua across the face before he could recover.
Shi Dehua was stunned by the slap, and the other two stared at him, speechless.
While the group was still in a daze, Pei Xingzhi gave each of them a slap, distributing the slaps fairly. Then he took out a small electric baton and slapped each of them one by one, knocking them down before giving them a few more slaps to make their cheeks even redder.
Ever since his kidnapping, he's made it a habit to carry a small stun gun. Since the stun guns sold on the market were too weak, he modified them slightly, keeping the current at a level that would instantly paralyze a person but not kill them. But since then, he's been living with Xie Nanyi, and Xie Nanyi has become the greatest danger in his life.
He thought his little invention would go to waste, but now it has come in handy.
After venting his anger, Pei Xingzhi didn't forget to kick those people again before leaving. Only after doing this did he slowly drag his injured foot out of the grove.
There were no security cameras in the grove, so if those people went out, there would be no way to prove anything. The reason he was sitting there was that he wanted to catch a few troublemakers and vent his anger.
In the past, he was very skeptical of the idea of fighting violence with violence, but after doing it once, he discovered that it was actually quite satisfying to beat up someone you dislike.
A pleasant mood is extremely beneficial for sleep. After returning to his dormitory and washing up, Pei Xingzhi fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
I slept without any dreams.
Pei Xingzhi was woken up by a noisy ringing bell the next day.
He'd already fallen out with the lab crew, so he no longer needed to get up early to help them with their projects. Last night, he deliberately turned off all his alarms, intending to sleep in.
Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed.
Pei Xingzhi rolled around in bed a few times, but the ringing showed no sign of stopping. Frustrated, he could only get up and pick up his phone from the bedside table.
Caller: Mom
Upon seeing the caller ID, Pei Xingzhi frowned with a sense of unease.
If his father was a very busy man who dedicated himself to medicine, then his mother was the behind-the-scenes manipulator who allowed him to focus on his career without worry.
Even now, Pei Xingzhi isn't entirely clear on the specifics of her job, but based on what he's known since childhood, Ms. Qin is probably involved in investing in medical equipment and some operations he's not familiar with.
Her work was always so mysterious, just like her as a person, using her unique yet undeniable gentleness to control everyone in the family.
Ms. Qin usually doesn't contact him proactively; most of their conversations are between Pei Xingzhi. But since her brother went missing last time, Pei Xingzhi has intentionally or unintentionally reduced their contact. If you do the math, they haven't spoken for almost half a month and haven't seen each other for almost two months.
Pei Xingzhi looked at the phone in his hand, which was playing a death knell incessantly, sighed, and answered it anyway.
"Mom, is there something you need? I've been busy with experiments lately and haven't had time to contact you. I didn't expect you to call first." Pei Xingzhi spoke first. No matter what Ms. Qin was going to say later, it was always good for him to start a conversation.
"I know you've been very busy lately, and Mom is just as busy as you. I only realized today, when I had a moment to myself, that it's been so long since we last contacted each other. Xiaozhi, how have you been? Do you have enough money for living expenses?"
"That's enough, that's enough, I have enough money..."
Pei Xingzhi's topic was indeed correct. After listening to him, Ms. Qin put aside the purpose of her call and chatted with him about these trivial matters.
Pei Xingzhi stared at the time, and when the score changed from 23 to 26, he spoke at just the right moment.
"Mom, I'm still doing an experiment here, and I really can't get away. Can you wait a little while and call me back after the experiment is over?" It was a perfect excuse. After saying that, Pei Xingzhi tapped the table with his finger to imitate the sound of knocking on a door. "My teacher is urging me, Mom, I have to hang up now."
"Xiao Zhi, are you really in the lab right now?"
The instant Pei Xingzhi's finger touched the hang-up button, Qin Wanyang's icy voice came through the receiver. Pei Xingzhi's hand froze in mid-air, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
We're doomed.
"Xiao Zhi, I don't want to hear you lie to me. No matter where you are now, I can forgive you, but only if you don't lie to me. Your teacher contacted me today; it seems you've gotten into quite a bit of trouble lately?"
"I caused trouble? How could that be? Don't you know what kind of person I am, Mom? I'm in the lab right now. I just sneaked out to answer a phone call." Pei Xingzhi stubbornly refused to admit it, taking advantage of Qin Wanyang's absence. As long as he showed the slightest weakness, Ms. Qin could seize his weakness and defeat him completely.
"Really?" Ms. Qin said softly, "Didn't you just wake up?"
"Xiao Zhi, don't try to lie to your mother."
"..." It's like this again.
Pei Xingzhi's fingertips, which were gripping the phone, turned slightly white. He bit his lip, remained silent for a few seconds, and then took the initiative to admit his mistake.
"I'm sorry, I didn't argue with my classmate. I was just a little tired from the experiment last night, so I took a break today."
"Xiao Zhi, I can forgive what you did, but do you remember what your mother told you?"
"Don't let Mom down."
A note from the author:
Xiao Zhi~ Mom earned five cents today—
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