After Transmigrating as a Beta, I Got Messed Up with an Alpha (BL) - Chapter 26

In an instant, many thoughts raced through Huo Juan’s mind.

In the past, he had used pheromone suppression on Pei Yule many times, forcing him to follow obediently.

…That was back when he didn’t quite know what it was he craved.

And now, if he wanted to, he could similarly ignore this person’s rejection and take him away at any time.

The atmosphere remained silent for two seconds. The hand that had been left hanging in mid-air after being shaken off was slowly withdrawn. Huo Juan gave Pei Yule a deep look, lowered his eyelids, and turned to leave.

“……”

Watching the tall Alpha leave in silence, the tension in Pei Yule’s spine relaxed slightly, but then a wave of inexplicable emotion surged up. Huo Juan had actually done nothing; he just left like that.

Was it because his act of shaking off the hand just now was too blatant?

He couldn’t help it. As soon as he saw Huo Juan’s face, he couldn’t stop himself from remembering the experience of being drowned in overwhelming pheromones, unable to breathe, nearly dying. He had seen Huo Juan’s Rut, and the man was terrifying then, too—simply staring at him in silence had given him the illusion that he was about to be devoured. And in the memories he had previously forgotten, that feeling of terror was even more vivid; it was more than just “scary.” He felt he had nearly died. If it hadn’t been for Xu Yanxi and this Alpha named Bian Chuan appearing, he might really be reincarnating right now. If it weren’t for…

At that moment, a handsome face with blood at the corner of the mouth flashed through Pei Yule’s mind, and his thoughts stalled.

Due to his body’s self-protection mechanism, he had forgotten the memories of that day. However, he still had a vague impression of Huo Juan biting his own wrist. Since he himself was completely unharmed while Huo Juan’s wound seemed very deep, he had even felt guilty, wondering if Huo Juan had bitten himself because of him.

Now that he remembered everything—

Good grief, if it wasn’t for me, who else could it be for?

Just like during the Rut, Huo Juan’s loss of control only ended in him hurting himself. Alpha pheromones were naturally oppressive to others, and a top-tier Alpha was a presence that reigned over everything. The fact that an ordinary person like him could emerge unscathed from a top-tier Alpha’s loss of control—thinking deeper, wasn’t it because that Alpha was desperately suppressing his rampaging instincts?

He even bit himself twice to do it.

Recalling recent times, his relationship with Huo Juan had actually been quite good. The contact therapy had been going smoothly. When Huo Juan was in a good mood, he was truly an easy person to talk to. Especially lately, he seemed to have changed a lot and no longer forced him into anything. Besides, he was currently wearing the thermal sportswear the man had given him; he had even planned to find a time to thank him.

And yet, just now, out of fear, he had resisted contact with him…

“Aren’t you going to chase after him?”

Bian Chuan’s voice pulled Pei Yule back to his senses. He turned his face toward Bian Chuan, who gave a slight smile: “Your expression looks like you want to.”

“……”

Pei Yule did indeed feel a surge of regret.

But these complex emotions couldn’t be explained to others. He noticed the surrounding gazes on them; those two Omegas who inexplicably disliked him looked furious, glaring at him. He figured that after he had ruthlessly shaken off Huo Juan’s hand, they probably hated him even more. The reason they hated him in the first place likely had everything to do with Huo Juan anyway.

What a mess this is.

Pei Yule took a breath. He felt his head was full of messy emotions, and he didn’t want to care about what anyone else thought anymore. Come to think of it, when he woke up that day, Bian Chuan was already gone and he had forgotten what happened, so he hadn’t formally thanked him yet. He pushed aside the clutter in his mind, gave a slight bow to Bian Chuan, and said, “Thank you for what happened that day.”

“No need,” Bian Chuan replied. “It was just a small favor.”

No, if this person hadn’t helped, it would have been very difficult for him that day.

Pei Yule hesitated, then couldn’t help but ask: “You saw what happened that day, right? When Alphas lose control… is it always like that?” It was as if they wanted to tear a person apart and consume them; their faces were full of raw desire. His own consciousness had been scrambled into a mess, and no part of his body could resist the instinctive shudder the other person triggered. That feeling of powerlessness—of having one’s entire being and even one’s life controlled—made him feel panicked.

“…Yes,” Bian Chuan answered. “It is indeed like that. There are even cases more severe than that. After all, not all Alphas can resist the possessive instincts carved into their bones.” The fact that Huo Juan had managed it was actually quite rare.

For some reason, Pei Yule felt Bian Chuan’s tone was a bit subtle. But looking up at his face, he saw the Alpha’s expression was calm and gentle; he couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He realized this person was also an Alpha, yet he seemed completely different from the others.

Pei Yule had only interacted with four Alphas, and only this one felt gentle. He couldn’t help but ask: “Are you like that too?”

If he lost control, would he become like Huo Juan? Even an Alpha as gentle as this…

“…Of course,” Bian Chuan’s eyes flickered. “I am also an Alpha.”

An Alpha who, if he wants something, will plunder it and take it for his own. He might be even more terrifying than Huo Juan, who had at least retained a shred of sanity while out of control.

“Man, I heard you really stole the show in the archery competition!”

Leaving the archery range, Pei Yule—who had finished his duties for the sports meet—was walking across the playground lost in thought. Fei Yisa appeared out of nowhere and hooked an arm around his neck. “I didn’t expect your archery skills to be so top-notch, tying for first with President Bian Chuan. That guy has held the championship since his first year. Now you’ve appeared out of thin air; people say the match was incredible. It’s a pity I was competing and couldn’t see it. If I’d known, I would have joined the team event with you.”

Seeing Fei Yisa’s regretful face, Pei Yule rubbed his nose and said, “I’m not that great…” But he really had given it his all today. Usually, he’d just play around, but this world was quite unfriendly to Betas; he didn’t know if it was pheromone discrimination or what, but he wanted to show people that even without pheromones, an ordinary Beta could achieve things. He wanted them to see him in a new light.

Even though… he still couldn’t compare to Bian Chuan. That man was injured; his last arrow only missed because of that. If Bian Chuan hadn’t shown the bandage, he never would have known the man produced that score while his wrist was hurt. While he considered himself a high-level amateur, he wasn’t sure he could maintain that standard with an injury.

“You really are amazing. You don’t know how legendary Bian Chuan is. Tying with him is a miracle!” Fei Yisa refused to let Pei Yule belittle himself. He turned his head to Shen Pin. “A-Pin, didn’t you lose to him before? Shen Pin is very strong, but he’s still a bit behind the President. They say the President has practiced for many years.”

“Mm.” Shen Pin stared at the arm Fei Yisa had hooked around Pei Yule, then reached out and pulled the hand down. He said to Pei Yule: “It was indeed impressive.”

“Oh…” Since Shen Pin said so, Fei Yisa probably wasn’t just patronizing him. But Pei Yule was confused: “President?”

“Bian Chuan, obviously! Didn’t you know?” Fei Yisa looked even more confused than he was. “He’s our school’s Student Council President. Always number one on the academic rankings.”

Pei Yule really hadn’t known. Then again, the original owner had been so focused on Fei Yisa that he ignored everyone else. No wonder he had heard people calling him “President” at the range.

Thinking about that handsome, gentle Alpha saying he would be the same if he lost control, Pei Yule instinctively turned his gaze toward Shen Pin, staring at him.

This person… was also a top-tier Alpha.

By now, Pei Yule no longer thought of Shen Pin as the “sickly top” from the novel he’d read. Interacting with him was quite normal; as long as it didn’t involve Fei Yisa, the man was easy to get along with and answered any questions he had.

So…

Shen Pin saw Pei Yule, who usually didn’t get too close to him, suddenly lean in and ask in a serious tone: “Shen Pin, I have something I want to ask you—it’s about Alphas. I’m not sure if it’s convenient for you to answer.”

Shen Pin: “Ask.”

Pei Yule perked up, thought about his phrasing, and asked carefully: “Um, as an Alpha… when you’re in a Rut or your pheromones are out of control, is it very hard to restrain yourself?”

Shen Pin was also a top-tier Alpha, so his situation should be close to Huo Juan’s. His answer would serve as a good reference.

Shen Pin replied: “Generally speaking, it is very difficult to control. Especially for Alphas with powerful pheromones—all instincts are amplified. Being able to maintain rationality while out of control is an incredibly difficult feat.”

Fei Yisa nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Sometimes when you’re driven by instinct, there’s really no way to stay rational.”

Why do you, an Omega, have such a strong opinion on this?

Pei Yule looked at Fei Yisa, then heard him ask curiously: “But why do you ask? Did you encounter an Alpha losing control?”

A spark of inspiration hit Fei Yisa. Recalling the Alphas Pei Yule interacted with—besides Shen Pin, there were only Huo Juan and Xu Yanxi. Based on their relationship, he ruled out Xu Yanxi. So Pei Yule’s question definitely had to do with Huo Juan!

“Could it be that Huo Juan lost control?” he said as he realized. “Come to think of it, he only came back today after taking a week off. Usually, an Alpha wouldn’t take so many days off unless it was a Rut. Looking back, he took several days off before that too… so this time it was a pheromone loss of control?”

Fei Yisa was too sharp. Pei Yule hadn’t said anything, yet he’d guessed almost everything correctly.

Shen Pin reached out and tapped Fei Yisa. “Why is an Omega like you so focused on another Alpha?”

Fei Yisa rubbed his forehead and muttered, “Why bring gender into it? That’s discrimination. Can’t I care about Student Huo Juan out of school spirit?”

Shen Pin ignored him and looked back at Pei Yule. Out of a sense of duty, he said: “If Huo Juan loses control, do not go near him. In that state, an Alpha basically doesn’t recognize their own family, and the more powerful the pheromones, the more destructive they are.” He paused slightly. “What A-Sa said wasn’t entirely an exaggeration. Entering a Rut makes one easily prone to hurting others because of irritability or impulsiveness. Do not trust a calm-looking Alpha too much; that is usually just a facade.”

Fei Yisa disagreed: “Who says? You aren’t like that.”

Shen Pin continued to ignore Fei Yisa and gave his warning: “Instinctive impulses are not easily suppressed. If you don’t want to get hurt, you’d better be careful yourself.”

Two Alphas—both Bian Chuan and Shen Pin—considered an Alpha out of control to be dangerous. Pei Yule fully understood this now.

But Huo Juan… In that situation, he never hurt him. And both times, he bit himself instead.

Pei Yule was a Beta. He didn’t know how painful an Alpha Rut or pheromone disorder was, but the testimony of these two Alphas made him feel he might have underestimated the impact. If even Huo Juan didn’t want to become like that, then his behavior just now—showing such obvious fear—wasn’t that very hurtful?

“I understand.”

Pei Yule patted Fei Yisa’s shoulder and said to them both: “I just remembered I have something to do. I’ll head off first.”

“Where to?” Fei Yisa asked. “I’ve finished my match too. We can wait for you. It’s almost lunch time anyway, let’s go grab something together.”

“You guys go ahead, I don’t know how long I’ll be.” Pei Yule thought for a moment and said: “I’m going to find Huo Juan.”

“Oh—so you’re looking for him?” Fei Yisa dragged out the words and gave a sly smile. “Alright then, we won’t wait. I think I saw him heading back toward the C-block locker rooms.”

Locker rooms?

Pei Yule nodded and turned toward C-block.

On the other side, Huo Juan wordlessly inserted a slender needle into his arm, his eyes cold as he watched the liquid enter his body. He then leaned back against a locker and closed his eyes.