After Transmigrating as a Beta, I Got Messed Up with an Alpha (BL) - Chapter 49

Was he just asleep?

Pei Yule entered the living room full of doubt and walked toward the bedroom. Perhaps because of the unnaturally dense pheromones in the air, his heart felt unsettled the whole way.

The bedroom door was open. Pei Yule looked inside, and the first thing he saw was the large bed. The bedding was neatly arranged; it must have been tidied by Huo Juan.

He wasn’t sleeping.

Pei Yule felt even stranger. He entered the bedroom, intending to see if Huo Juan was in the bathroom. His eyes swept the room and caught sight of a large photo strip hanging on the side of the bookshelf. At first, he only glanced at it casually and looked away, but when his brain caught up and realized what it was, he jerked his head back. Staring at the photos, his entire body froze completely.

Photos of Fei Yisa!

How could they be hanging there?

Staring at the collection of candidly taken photos, a series of thunderclaps went off in his mind. Pei Yule remembered!

He had wondered before where the original owner’s money went, as the guy didn’t seem to have high standards for his lifestyle. How could he spend so much money regularly? It turned out his memories of the original owner weren’t perfectly clear; he often had to see an object or a person to trigger a specific “memory,” almost like a USB drive that only appears when plugged in.

So, Pei Yule realized now—this was exactly where the original owner’s money had gone!

Massive amounts of photography equipment, even pinhole cameras and the like; otherwise, he never could have taken so many photos without being noticed. The specialized, disguised bookshelf used for the collection and every single photo before him—they were all personally developed by the original owner, who had purchased all the related gear…

Pei Yule facepalmed, cold sweat breaking out on his spine.

Unbelievable. This… this stalker!

When he read the book, he thought the main characters were all “lunatics” for the sake of this background character, but it turns out this background character wasn’t normal at all. This level of candid photography was outright perverted. Even if you love someone, you can’t violate their privacy; that’s a crime!

Fear bubbled up in Pei Yule’s chest. He hadn’t remembered this at all. If he had known this bookshelf hid so much garbage, he never would have left it there. These things…

A spark of inspiration hit him. He suddenly remembered something and looked around the bedroom where he was now the only occupant.

Huo Juan…

Did he see these?

In an instant, Pei Yule’s hands and feet went cold. He saw them. So… he left?

Thinking of the abnormally thick scent of cold cypress in the air, Pei Yule snatched up his phone and dialed Huo Juan’s number. He had entered the number into his phone himself, but since they saw each other at home every day, he’d never actually called it. This was his first time; the ringtone was a piece of instrumental music.

The reason Pei Yule knew this was because after he dialed, he realized Huo Juan’s phone was sitting right there in the bedroom.

The person was gone, but the phone was here.

Logically, Huo Juan might have just stepped out for a moment and forgot his phone, but the pheromones saturating the air filled Pei Yule with unease. Especially with the “evidence of the crime” right there, clearly having been seen.

This led him to a grim conclusion.

Pei Yule hung up, and the instrumental music in the bedroom stopped abruptly. He walked over and picked up Huo Juan’s phone. Touching the lock key, a notification for a missed call popped up on the screen.

Huo Juan… where on earth did he go?

“Why did you bring him to my house?”

The usually gentle voice held a trace of displeasure. Bian Chuan looked at the Alpha on the sofa, making no attempt to hide his rejection of another Alpha invading his territory.

“I couldn’t take him to my place, so this was the only option.”

Xu Yanxi unwrapped a U-type drug he’d gotten from his uncle, shoved it into Huo Juan’s mouth, and gave him a sip of water. “Your place is safer.”

Bian Chuan watched his practiced movements, narrowing his eyes. He spoke objectively: “You should have taken him to the hospital.”

If I could have, would I have skipped it? The Huo family had already issued a final ultimatum: if he lost control one more time, he had to go back. Huo Juan would be damned if he went back willingly.

Perhaps the U-type drug was working, as the pheromones in the air finally began to slowly recede. They were still there, but the aggressive pressure was much improved compared to a moment ago.

Xu Yanxi sighed, slightly relaxing his tense spine. He knew Bian Chuan was also uncomfortable; being surrounded by an Alpha’s attack pheromones inevitably ignited hostility in any other Alpha. This instinctive rejection between Alphas was innate.

“I’ll take him away once he’s in a better state.”

Xu Yanxi raised his sweat-drenched eyelids, speaking listlessly: “So don’t be so cold. It’s unlike you, President.”

He wasn’t feeling great either; he’d already injected himself with suppressants twice.

Bian Chuan scanned the sweat on his face. After a silence, he asked, “What happened to him?”

“He lost control.”

Xu Yanxi spoke dismissively, but as Alphas, they both knew exactly what a “loss of control” signified.

“The cause?”

Hearing Bian Chuan’s question, Xu Yanxi’s gaze turned complex. He looked at the still-unconscious Huo Juan on the sofa and said: “Likely… it’s related to a certain someone.”

Over the past few months, every time Huo Juan lost control, it was related to Pei Yule. Although he’d wanted to be a spectator, this level of frequent instability—to the point where medication couldn’t fully contain it—was becoming a serious problem.

Thinking of Pei Yule, who was likely studying diligently at school right now, he rubbed his brow. For the first time, he felt his friend’s “descent to the mortal world” was going to be a rough path. Huo Juan was truly going through a trial by fire, while Pei Yule likely hadn’t even kept him in his heart. Otherwise, with Lord Juan’s charm, how could he have failed to win him over after so long? Instead, he was the one being driven to frequent instability. If he hadn’t seen it all with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it.

What should they do? Huo Juan couldn’t go home or to a hospital in this state. If he improved, it would be fine, but if things worsened, it would be trouble. His uncle had warned him: U-type drugs shouldn’t be overused. Worse yet, even after taking it, Huo Juan’s pheromones hadn’t fully retracted; they were suppressed briefly but were already starting to resurface.

Just as Xu Yanxi’s head began to ache, the phone in his pocket rang. He pulled it out and arched an eyebrow.

—Pei Yule.

He hadn’t expected Pei Yule to call him. Amidst the surprise, he felt a spark of hope. He answered and heard Pei Yule greet him before hesitating over the line: [Xu Yanxi, do you know… where Huo Juan is?]

Xu Yanxi glanced at the Huo Juan on the sofa. Pei Yule had come looking on his own initiative. Since he couldn’t solve the current situation and couldn’t decide for Huo Juan, he would hand the choice to Pei Yule.

If the cause of the loss of control was Pei Yule, then the only person who could calm Huo Juan down was likely him.

Pei Yule called in sick for the first time.

Holding a slip of paper with an address, he took a taxi to his destination and looked up at a place that resembled a farmhouse estate. He had decided to come here after speaking with Xu Yanxi.

There was no room now to think about maintaining the status quo or waiting for feelings to fade. He only knew that Huo Juan was suffering. Xu Yanxi told him that Huo Juan had lost control. Last time, during the two-week Rut, he could still respond to medication, but this time, even drugs couldn’t suppress the rampaging pheromones.

Pei Yule clenched his fists and pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong—

After a moment, someone opened the door. Pei Yule met Bian Chuan’s gaze and heard him say flatly: “Come in. He hasn’t woken up yet.”

Pei Yule had no time to wonder why Bian Chuan was here. He followed him inside, his heart thumping with worry and a faint sense of helplessness. He didn’t know if Huo Juan had lost control because he saw those photos. If he had, how was he supposed to explain it to him?

Bian Chuan led him into the living room. Pei Yule immediately saw Huo Juan lying on the sofa, the air thick with the scent of cold cypress. Combined with the violet scent from Bian Chuan and Xu Yanxi’s own pheromones, the atmosphere was one of mutual rejection, making even Pei Yule feel quite uncomfortable.

“…You’re here.” Xu Yanxi stood up and vacated his spot. “Stay here. Bian Chuan and I will be nearby. If he wakes up and loses control, just shout.”

He was here, but safety had to be guaranteed. Xu Yanxi noticed that Pei Yule wasn’t even looking at him; he was staring at Huo Juan as if he hadn’t heard a word. He arched an eyebrow. It seems Lord Juan isn’t the only one caught in this trial.

Pei Yule saw that Huo Juan’s complexion looked normal, and his tension eased slightly. He whispered to Xu Yanxi: “How is he?”

Xu Yanxi: “I told you the details on the phone. He’ll likely wake up soon. We need to see if there’s a way to get his pheromones to calm down.”

Pei Yule nodded. Xu Yanxi and Bian Chuan walked out.

Pei Yule slowly approached the sofa and sat down beside Huo Juan. He reached out to feel the Alpha’s forehead; it was even hotter than before. Perhaps disturbed by the touch, he saw Huo Juan’s eyelashes flutter, and then he slowly opened his eyes.

“…”

The brief daze of waking vanished as those dark eyes met Pei Yule’s. The two remained in silence for several seconds. Looking into those deep, dark eyes, Pei Yule’s previous anxiety strangely vanished. He locked gazes with Huo Juan and asked: “The photos in the study… did you see them?”

The dark eyes flickered slightly.

Pei Yule knew. He said: “That wasn’t my doing. I’ll explain the details to you later; the truth is very different from what you saw.” Though he hadn’t decided exactly how to explain it, the label of “perverted stalker” definitely had to be stripped away. Pei Yule’s voice dropped lower. “How are you feeling? Xu Yanxi said you lost control. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Huo Juan spoke, his voice even lower, but he didn’t answer the question. Instead, he asked: “Why did you come?”

Why? Likely because after hearing Xu Yanxi’s call, he simply couldn’t stop thinking about him. He knew he’d already fallen for Huo Juan, but this kind of heart-constricting, restless worry was a first. By the time he’d snapped out of it, he was already in the car. Even though Xu Yanxi told him it might be dangerous to come.

Pei Yule smiled slightly, a hint of his rare mischievousness in the look. “Me? I called in sick today.” He locked onto Huo Juan’s unreadable gaze and continued: “I heard today is your birthday. You’re in a bit of a rough state, so it’s hard to say ‘Happy Birthday’… but it doesn’t matter. I’ve brought you a gift.”

Before Huo Juan could react, he added as if to himself: “I don’t know if it’ll actually work, but based on the previous experience, it should be effective.” After all, it had been remarkably effective once before, so surely it would be now?

Under Huo Juan’s silent gaze, Pei Yule reached out and cupped the Alpha’s face, meeting those deep, dark eyes without flinching. Then, he leaned down and kissed Huo Juan’s lips. Without a pause, he pried open the line of his lips and slid his tongue inside.

Pei Yule didn’t hesitate. He let go of Huo Juan’s face and wrapped his arms around the Alpha’s tensed spine, his tongue and lips moving with a raw, amateurish gentleness as he gave a light suck.