Wake Up, I’m A Beta - Chapter 1

“Betas can’t smell an omega’s pheromones.”

That was something everyone learned in middle-school biology.

—

Winter had arrived in Jiangcheng. The weather was damp and bitterly cold, the chill seeming to seep straight into one’s bones.

“My legs aren’t as nimble as they used to be. It’s an old problem.” The elderly woman sat in a recliner with her eyes half-closed. “You don’t need to come to the old residence to see me every day.”

Mu Suiyun sat on the sofa opposite her, a gentle smile on her face. “Grandma, are you getting tired of me?”

“Yes.” The old woman nodded. “People your age are usually glued to their partners, spending all their time going on dates.”

She opened her eyes and stared at Mu Suiyun. “I told you before not to invest in Zhifan’s new company. Now look at this. Zhifan is so busy she practically lives at the office, while you wander around leisurely every day. I’m getting sick of seeing you.”

And calling it an investment was generous. Mu Suiyun hadn’t asked for any shares or equity. She had simply handed over the money.

Mu Suiyun laughed helplessly. “She’s capable. As her fiancée, of course I should support her.”

“Don’t you admire capable people like her too, Grandma?”

The old woman looked at her as though she were hopeless. “I do, but only if she’s my granddaughter. She’s my granddaughter-in-law. What does she need to be so capable for? Be careful she doesn’t devour you whole one day.”

“Hey, stop, stop.” Mu Suiyun said, “You’re being awfully old-fashioned. We’re about to get married. Can’t you sincerely treat Zhifan like your own granddaughter?”

Grandma Mu had been an exceptional and shrewd businesswoman. It was only in the past two years, because of her health, that she had stepped down as chairwoman and handed the position over to Mu Suiyun’s aunt.

Though her eyes had grown cloudy with age, she could still see worldly matters with perfect clarity.

“That fiancée of yours is very ambitious.”

“Weren’t you the one who chose her for me? Now that the wedding is coming up, you’re dissatisfied again?” Mu Suiyun sighed, then said seriously, “Grandma, people are very sensitive. Stop being so wary of Zhifan. I don’t want her to marry me and end up unhappy.”

Grandma Mu snorted. “When have I ever treated her poorly when I saw her?”

“That’s true. You treat us better than anyone.” Mu Suiyun smiled again. “Zhifan has been thinking about you too. She said she’ll come with me to see you this weekend.”

Grandma Mu waved a hand. “All right, all right. Stop saying nice things just to coax this old woman.”

Then she reminded her, “Your wedding outfits are almost finished. Remember to have them sent over so you can try them on. There are still three months left. If anything doesn’t fit or you don’t like it, there’ll still be time to make alterations.”2

Mu Suiyun nodded. “I’ll remember.”

The old woman looked at her gentle expression and began to worry again.

It was true that she had chosen Ning Zhifan for Mu Suiyun, but that was only because Ning Zhifan was an exceptionally rare S-rank omega. As for Ning Zhifan’s character, she couldn’t exactly say it was bad. But someone so proud and aloof—once she gained enough power, would she simply turn around and cast Suiyun aside?

She knew her own granddaughter well.

Mu Suiyun was too good-natured. She disliked conflict and had no desire for power, to the point that she didn’t even want to involve herself in the family conglomerate.

Were these two… really suited for each other?

But after thinking it over, the old woman reassured herself that as long as the Mu family remained prosperous and powerful, Ning Zhifan would be content to remain Suiyun’s wife.2

The Mu family could offer Ning Zhifan far too many benefits. An ambitious person like her would never willingly give those up.

Besides, she had made them sign an agreement long ago. Even after marriage, Ning Zhifan would have no way of getting involved with the Mu family’s businesses. That ensured that no matter what happened, Suiyun would never lose her share of the family assets.

At that thought, the old woman relaxed.

“Once you’re married, have a child as soon as possible.”

The reason she had arranged for Mu Suiyun to marry Ning Zhifan in the first place was because she felt sorry that Mu Suiyun was a beta and wanted her to have an alpha or omega child.1

Mu Suiyun did not like hearing that, but she didn’t argue. She simply brushed it off. “We’ll make arrangements.”

The old woman saw through her attitude and snorted again, but didn’t continue nagging her.

“Remember to bring Zhifan this weekend.”

For that matter, reminding Ning Zhifan would be enough.

Back when the Mu and Ning families had discussed their marriage alliance, this condition had been stated perfectly clearly.

Ning Zhifan herself had agreed to it.

—

There were only three months left until the wedding.

After leaving the old residence, Mu Suiyun drove back to her apartment in the city. She happened to run into the evening rush hour, and traffic crawled along in fits and starts.

She lowered the window slightly. Cold air rushed inside, bringing down the temperature in the car.

With the window open, the noise outside grew louder as well, punctuated by the occasional blare of a horn.

Mu Suiyun glanced outside and wasn’t particularly surprised.

She was passing Ning Zhifan’s company.

She looked at the building, which still had lights on inside, and began counting the floors upward.

The company did not belong to the Mu family.

Nor did it belong to the Ning family.

It belonged solely to Ning Zhifan.

She didn’t have that much capital, so she had only rented three floors in a commercial building in the central business district.

…Sixteen, seventeen…

“Beeep—!”

The sudden horn startled Mu Suiyun. She snapped back to herself and realized the light was about to turn green. She hurriedly moved forward and finally managed to find the twenty-seventh floor.

The lights were on.

Still working.

Mu Suiyun sighed inwardly. When the light turned green, she drove ahead, but changed her route.

She made a detour to a pastry shop and waited in line for nearly an hour before finally buying a box of pastries, then drove home.

The apartment she had bought was a large single-floor unit located very close to the Mu Group. Originally, it had been purchased to make commuting to the company easier for Mu Suiyun, but she had refused to work there.

Coincidentally, the apartment was also close to Ning Zhifan’s company, so she had continued living there.

After their engagement, their two families had wanted them to “cultivate their relationship,” and within a few months had arranged for them to live together.

Mu Suiyun unlocked the door and stepped inside. The lights in the living room were on.

She took off her trench coat, hung it on the coat rack by the entrance, changed her shoes, and walked farther in.

“Zhifan?”

Mu Suiyun reached the living room but saw no one. Puzzled, she called out.

She placed the box of pastries on the coffee table and looked around, then noticed that the door to her own bedroom was slightly ajar.

When she left this morning, she was pretty sure she had… closed it properly?

Mu Suiyun was a little confused.

Although she and Ning Zhifan were fiancées and maintained the appearance of a normal engaged couple in front of their families through an unspoken understanding, in private they were more like… well, strangely compatible friends?

They got along very well, but there was none of the intimacy between lovers.

So even after moving in together, they slept in separate rooms.

Which was why… Mu Suiyun wondered, why would Ning Zhifan have gone into her bedroom?

She walked over, hoping to prove her guess wrong.

But when she gently pushed the door open, she saw that her neatly arranged blanket had been pushed up into a mound.

Someone was underneath it.

“Zhifan?”

Mu Suiyun wasn’t sure whether she was resting, so when she called again, her voice was very soft.

The newly thickened winter blanket shifted.

Mu Suiyun heard faint, hurried breathing beneath it.

…Something was wrong.

She stopped hesitating and stepped forward, gently lifting the blanket away enough to expose Ning Zhifan’s face.

Ning Zhifan was a distant and aloof woman, like the purest, coldest handful of snow atop a mountain peak. Usually, when the two of them spent time together, Ning Zhifan would occasionally soften, allowing Mu Suiyun glimpses of what she was like when the snow melted.

But never like this.

Now, it was as though the snow had completely melted into water.

The breathtaking woman, whose pale, cool-toned skin seemed sculpted from white jade, was lying in Mu Suiyun’s bed. Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, her cheeks were flushed, her lips vivid red as heated breaths escaped them.

Mu Suiyun froze.

Her gaze met Ning Zhifan’s.

Ning Zhifan had beautiful eyes. Her irises were pale, clear and translucent like icicles. But now, those eyes seemed veiled in darkness, their corners rubbed red.

She reached out and grabbed Mu Suiyun by the wrist.

So hot.

The heat seemed to snap Mu Suiyun back to her senses. She frowned in concern and placed her other hand against Ning Zhifan’s forehead.

“…Do you have a fever?”

Her forehead was burning too.

Ning Zhifan’s consciousness was hazy. She could only hear her fiancée muttering anxiously to herself.

“I’ll call the doctor and ask her to come over. There’s fever medicine in the living room medicine cabinet, so I’ll get some. You need to cool down too. I think we have cooling patches?”

Her fiancée was going to leave.

Ning Zhifan’s eyelashes trembled before she closed her eyes.

Betas couldn’t smell pheromones.

That was why her fiancée thought she was sick with a fever.

She had no idea that the entire room was already saturated with Ning Zhifan’s pheromones.

The scent was so much like Ning Zhifan herself—cold, yet concealing a scorching heat beneath the surface, as though it could swallow someone whole.

Mu Suiyun didn’t move.

Because Ning Zhifan was still gripping her hand tightly.

Mu Suiyun’s voice was soft and gentle, as if she were negotiating with her.

“I’m just going to the living room. I’ll get what you need and come straight back. It’ll only take a moment. Then you won’t feel so awful.”

Hearing Mu Suiyun coax her, Ning Zhifan gave a bitter, quiet laugh inside.

How could a beta who couldn’t provide her with pheromones possibly make her feel any less miserable than she did now?

She couldn’t even tell what condition Ning Zhifan was in.

“…Suppressant.”

Her normally cool voice had turned low and hoarse.

Ning Zhifan reminded Mu Suiyun, “It’s in the drawer of my bedside table.”

Mu Suiyun’s eyes widened slightly before realization dawned.

Ning Zhifan’s heat had arrived…

This time, Ning Zhifan released her hand and allowed her to go get the suppressant.

Mu Suiyun didn’t dare delay. She quickly ran to Ning Zhifan’s room.

They slept separately, and Mu Suiyun respected Ning Zhifan’s privacy. She had never entered this room before, much less looked around inside.

So this was her first time here.

Once she spotted the bedside table, she walked over and pulled open the drawer. Several medicine boxes were arranged neatly inside. She picked up one, saw the word suppressant printed on it, and immediately took it with her.

Mu Suiyun didn’t look at anything else in the room.

She hurried back to her own bedroom with the suppressant, opening the package as she went, then handed the syringe to Ning Zhifan.

Ning Zhifan took it.

She sat up and swept aside her long black hair, exposing her slender, fair neck.

At the back of her neck was the gland that marked her as an omega.

It was a small protrusion, slightly pinker than the skin around it, giving it an almost fragile appearance.

Mu Suiyun lowered her head.

She knew she shouldn’t look.

Instead, she stared at her pale bedsheets and thought that fortunately, she had only changed and washed the sheets and duvet cover yesterday. At least Ning Zhifan wouldn’t feel uncomfortable sleeping among unfamiliar scents.

For some inexplicable reason, Mu Suiyun suddenly felt rather embarrassed.

Now that the situation was nearly resolved, she found herself worrying that there might be something wrong with her room that Ning Zhifan would notice.

“Suiyun.”

Ning Zhifan murmured her name.

A cold syringe was pressed into Mu Suiyun’s palm.

She lifted her eyes and looked at Ning Zhifan in confusion.

Ning Zhifan’s body had gone weak and limp.

Her breaths were burning hot as she gently collapsed toward Mu Suiyun.

Mu Suiyun hurriedly caught her.

The aloof, distant beauty ended up resting in her arms.

Then she heard Ning Zhifan say,

“Help me… inject the suppressant.”

Her breath brushed against the skin of Mu Suiyun’s neck, sending a tingling shiver down her spine.

…How strange.1

The back of Ning Zhifan’s neck was exposed before her.

The gland she had deliberately averted her eyes from earlier was now fully visible.

Small.

Fragile.

Swollen.

Mu Suiyun’s fingertips climbed onto the back of Ning Zhifan’s neck.

“…Mm.”

Ning Zhifan let out a muffled moan, one hand suddenly clutching at Mu Suiyun’s back.

“Don’t…”