Chapter 96: Beta

What gender?

Fu Shixing wondered why she cared about such a question.

Su Mi glanced at her and said, “It’s Alpha.”

Fu Shixing slammed on the brakes.

Su Mi jumped in surprise and turned to look at Fu Shixing in astonishment. Fu Shixing pointed innocently at the traffic light ahead. “Red light.”

Su Mi hesitated to speak. “Your driving skills…” were even worse than mine.

Fu Shixing stared ahead. When the light turned green and the cars started moving, she suddenly spoke up. “So you ended up falling for an Alpha.”

Su Mi didn’t understand what Fu Shixing meant and gave her a strange look.

What exactly did Fu Shixing mean?

She had said it wasn’t romantic interest, but her behavior showed she clearly cared that Su Mi already had someone she liked.

Yet Fu Shixing’s eyes suddenly flared with anger. Her almond-shaped eyes stared at the heavy rain outside the window as she drove on in silence.

She stopped mentioning the “casual chat” she had insisted it was.

Su Mi only remembered the matter when the car pulled into the underground garage and she saw the apartment doors straight ahead.

She stiffened for a moment, feeling it wasn’t great to bring Fu Shixing home.

But it was pouring outside, and finding a café on short notice wasn’t realistic. Plus, Fu Shixing’s clothes were still wet…

In the end, she dazedly brought Fu Shixing upstairs.

Su Mi rummaged around for a while and finally found a pair of shoe covers in a cabinet. She looked down at Fu Shixing and said, “Don’t wander around. Wait in the living room. I’ll grab a new set of clothes for you to change into. My girlfriend’s coming soon, so let’s chat quickly.”

Fu Shixing didn’t take the shoe covers. She stared at her. “You really started dating? Weren’t you asking me just recently how to confess? What about me?”

Su Mi didn’t want to joke around with her. She had few memories related to Fu Shixing—starting as online friends was fine, but if Fu Shixing said these things about feelings to her face, Su Mi felt it crossed a line.

She didn’t hand them over anymore and set the shoe covers on the shoe cabinet. Pursing her lips, she went to the bedroom and pulled out an oversized brand-new hoodie. She held it up, figuring Fu Shixing could wear it.

When she came out, she found Fu Shixing wandering all over the place—from the couple’s mugs of Su Mi and Shen Han on the side cabinet in the dining area, to the insulated dishes on the table, and even slipping out to the balcony to look at the potted plants outside.

Su Mi pulled her back to the living room and speechlessly shoved the clothes into her arms. “Sit down properly. Don’t wander.”

Fu Shixing hugged the clothes, annoyed. “When you used to stay at my place, you turned the whole house upside down. Now in your little home, I can’t even look around?”

Su Mi paused, and a memory did surface.

It seemed that when she was little, there was a time when Su Ciyu and Wen Zisu were very busy, so they let her stay at Fu Shixing’s house. The two families were neighboring row houses.

Fu Shixing had been pretty good to her, picking her up after school and walking home together. They’d do homework and watch movies in the study. Fu Shixing had liked tinkering with advanced tech gadgets back then, often showing Su Mi her experiment results and chattering about some gadget or other.

Su Mi zoned out for a moment, only to see Fu Shixing already examining Shen Han’s tea set on the coffee table. She picked up a teacup with her fingers and inspected it. “This set isn’t cheap, right? Your girlfriend’s hobby? Pretty old-fashioned. She wouldn’t be in her thirties or forties, would she?”

Su Mi: “…” Shen Han looked great brewing tea with this set. Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t get it.

Fu Shixing’s attitude gave her a headache. She reached out, took the teacup down, and placed it back properly.

Su Mi asked seriously, “What exactly do you want to talk about?”

Fu Shixing looked at her and smiled. “How come there’s not a trace of your girlfriend’s scent in this place? Do you live together?”

Su Mi frowned. “That’s our private business, isn’t it?”

Fu Shixing said, “Fine, I won’t ask about privacy. But look, you’re still wearing the Barrier Earring. Does that mean you remember our promise?”

Su Mi blinked. “What promise?”

No memory fragments popped up. Su Mi was utterly confused.

Fu Shixing feigned some hurt. “I thought you still remembered.”

Su Mi: “Tell me first.”

Fu Shixing said very seriously, “We promised back then to both be betas. Only a beta society is a good society.”

Su Mi: “Huh?” Beta… society?

She looked at Fu Shixing in bewilderment, unable to grasp where this idea had come from.

Fu Shixing said earnestly, “Humans shouldn’t have ABO secondary gender classifications. It creates absolute differences physically, leading to fundamental inequality between people. Though the omega equality movement has been very successful now, deep down, people’s mindsets and emphasis on secondary gender differences haven’t changed. If there were no alphas or omegas in the world—just betas—society would be countless times better.”

“…” Su Mi didn’t quite follow how the topic had jumped like this. She asked, “So our promise back then was just that?”

Fu Shixing’s eyes sparkled. “We promised that no matter what we differentiated into, we’d both be betas, stay together forever, work toward that goal, and live together.”

Su Mi: …She had just been going from elementary to middle school back then. She took that seriously?

Subconsciously, she touched her Barrier Earring. So that was why Fu Shixing, even though not in that field or job, was making these kinds of products?

Facing Fu Shixing’s intense, seeking-kin gaze, Su Mi thought about it.

Ah, wasn’t this just a world without ABO secondary genders?

Su Mi found it a bit miraculous that Fu Shixing was envisioning such a world. She blinked and asked, “So you’re planning to mass-produce these kinds of products?”

Fu Shixing’s eyes lit up at her approval.

“I knew Ya Ya, you’d always understand me. We’re perfect for each other, so break up with your girlfriend. An alpha won’t get this. Let’s both be betas together.” She said with a grin.

Su Mi: “Tell me about yours first.”

She poured Fu Shixing a glass of water and gestured for her to explain her plan.

After hearing it, Su Mi thought it sounded far-fetched, even without relevant knowledge. There was basically no chance of it working.

Su Mi pointed out a key issue. “Even with products like the Barrier Earring, they can’t fundamentally change someone’s secondary gender. If the alpha wearing it takes it off, they’re back to being a dominant alpha, right?”

“Smart,” Fu Shixing clapped. “So I’ve actually considered promoting gland modification too.”

Su Mi: …?

A question mark popped up over her head. She couldn’t help glancing at her Light Brain. If she remembered right, wasn’t that illegal?

Before she could say anything, Fu Shixing suddenly coughed.

Su Mi: “? What’s wrong?”

She looked up and saw Fu Shixing’s expression was a bit odd.

Fu Shixing was still smiling, but her gaze shifted away from the side. “Right, after hearing what I said earlier about beta society being better, what do you think?”

Su Mi thought about her original world and the ABO stories she’d read, comparing them. “It makes sense. Two betas together do seem more equal and suitable—in body, family atmosphere, all that. Yeah.”

“But modifying glands is a bit too much, isn’t it? That’s illegal…” Su Mi added softly.

Fu Shixing smiled mysteriously. “Actually, plenty of people get gland modification surgery.”

Su Mi’s eyes widened. “How do you know?”

Fu Shixing said, “There was a high-level confidential incident in Prime City a while back. You probably don’t know. All the news got sealed. A powerful alpha imprisoned her beta, tried to modify his glands, but the surgery failed. The alpha killed that beta, then committed suicide…” She recounted it in detail.

Su Mi shivered after hearing it. “Why kill?”

Fu Shixing: “Because she couldn’t mark him, and some other cough cough reasons.”

As someone who had lived over twenty years in a world without ABO and only been here for half a year, Su Mi still wasn’t used to how important secondary genders were.

She was puzzled. “Is marking or not that big a deal?”

Fu Shixing: “Isn’t it terrifying?”

Su Mi thought about the feeling when her glands were touched, let alone modifying them.

She said, “It really is terrifying… So if everyone were betas together, with no glands and no desire for the other to have glands, it would be better.”

Fu Shixing looked aside. “So that’s what we promised back then. Looks like you remember too. And… you’re still wearing the Barrier Earring I gave you.”

As she spoke, she even reached out to touch Su Mi’s earlobe. Su Mi instinctively dodged.

Fu Shixing smiled. “This one I gave you is my first-generation prototype—the most perfect one. I worked on it for half a year. You’ve never taken it off since I gave it to you, right? I’m so happy.”

Su Mi felt Fu Shixing had suddenly become very strange.

One moment warm, one moment cold—very strange.

She hadn’t given her even a hint of ambiguous vibes, but Fu Shixing insisted on tying herself to Su Mi, always saying these ambiguous things. Did she think wearing the Barrier Earring to pretend to be beta meant agreeing with her views?

Su Mi’s intuition was always spot on.

And Fu Shixing was involved with illegal gland modification surgery? Talking about murder cases in vivid detail—it was really terrifying.

She hadn’t seemed this sinister when they chatted online before.

Su Mi even felt chills creeping over her after hearing too much. She pondered finding an excuse to send her guest away.

She hugged her arms and stayed silent for a bit when suddenly a thought struck her.

Wait… this chill wasn’t an illusion.

Su Mi turned back in confusion.

…

There stood Shen Han at the entryway, hands in her trench coat pockets, not sure how long she’d been listening.

?!!

Su Mi jolted and stood up in a panic. Her mushy brain finally started working, recalling what the two had just said.

Beta society? Murder case? And what else?

Betas together are better? Oh right, and Fu Shixing deliberately mentioning the Barrier Earring stuff!

Before Su Mi could sort her thoughts, Shen Han smiled at her, looking calm as she said, “Keep chatting. I forgot something in the car—your gift. I’ll go grab it.”

Shen Han closed the door and left.

Su Mi was stunned. She whipped around to question Fu Shixing. “You said those things on purpose?”

Fu Shixing spread her hands and smiled. “What things? What did I say?”

Su Mi: “You talked about the Barrier Earring, didn’t you?”

Fu Shixing blinked, her smile widening. “You didn’t tell me you were dating Shen Han either.”

Su Mi was baffled. Was that important?

Fu Shixing’s smile cooled. She stood up, looking down at Su Mi. “Do you know what happened in her family? I was doing this for your own good. What I just told you is her parents’ story.”

Su Mi froze.

Seeing her stunned, Fu Shixing smiled and continued. “Why did you stay at my house when you were little? Why were your parents too busy to look after you? Because Shen Han’s mom went crazy, imprisoned and tormented her dad. That gland surgery? Shen Han’s mom had my dad do it. Because of that, our family left Prime City, and I transferred schools.”

“This was extremely confidential. I was in medical prep back then and assisted my father. I went with him to the basement in Southern Garden. Bet you didn’t know—you’ve probably been to Southern Garden many times. Do you know it has a basement? Do you know how badly her mom tormented her dad? An alpha lost in pheromones and possessiveness is more disgusting and terrifying than a beast.”

“Ya Ya, I’m doing this for your good, giving you a chance to break up. Otherwise, you’ll be the next one. The Shen Family are all lunatics. Even if Shen Han pretends to be normal, she’s definitely crazy too. Alphas have inferior, disgusting genes. I’m only helping because we grew up together.”

Fu Shixing spoke righteously.

Su Mi was overwhelmed by the massive info dump. She clenched her fists, eyes widening uncontrollably. She really hadn’t heard these past events from Su Ciyu or Shen Han.

But…

Gritting her teeth, fueled by a surge from deep inside, Su Mi retorted, “What does it have to do with you?”

She glared at Fu Shixing angrily. “Can parents decide a person’s character and future? Can gender decide if a person is good or bad? Others can’t be good, but I believe Shen Han can. Do you know her or do I know her? I know Shen Han best. No matter what she’s like, she’s the one I like.”

On the last sentence, Su Mi paused. Words she had always been shy to utter came out surprisingly smoothly this time.

“Moreover, you—you clearly don’t like me either. We haven’t seen each other for so long; we don’t really know each other at all. Who knows what purpose you’re harboring when you deliberately say such things, spouting all that biased slander, defining people just by their gender and doing such self-righteous things? You’re the inexplicable lunatic! Do you hate Alphas?”

Su Mi certainly knew Shen Han had a dark side—depressive, gloomy aspects that led to her blackening. She had once counted Shen Han’s blackening value day by day; she knew it better than anyone. Shen Han never showed it in front of her because she was working hard to improve.

Moreover, she trusted Shen Han even more—the Shen Han she knew, the one who kissed and hugged her, who half-knelt before her with teary eyes, overwhelmed by emotion as she confessed her love.

Besides, if Shen Han’s parents were so awful, then she herself, with no father or mother, must be even worse. Two awful people actually made a pretty good match.

What kind of person to be and what path to take—Su Mi had always firmly believed those were decided by oneself.

Fu Shixing stared at her for a moment before tsking.

“Take good care of yourself.” She turned and left.

The elevator arrived at the negative first floor.

Fu Shixing stepped out of the elevator, her expression turning grave. The temperature ahead plummeted, a zone of extremely low pressure and bone-chilling cold.

She spotted Shen Han standing in the elevator bay—tall and slender, with an indifferent expression.

Shen Han lifted her eyes, seemingly calm, and said, “Nice to meet you?”

“Fu Shixing.”

Shen Han heard the surname and paused, quickly recalling that incident.

Her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth as she suppressed a wave of nausea. “Is Fu Chenhai your father?”

Fu Shixing smiled. “Yes.”

Shen Han’s face darkened. “So you’re approaching Su Mi because of Fu Family matters?”

The surrounding pressure dropped sharply. Fu Shixing felt a piercing chill, nearly able to foresee that if she said yes, overwhelming mental power would crush her flat—and the Fu Family, already driven out of Yu City, would face total upheaval.

It was always like this.

Fu Shixing gritted her teeth, her mental defenses cracking even as she forced a smile. “No, we’ve known each other since we were kids. Didn’t you know?”

The ambient temperature rose slightly. Shen Han furrowed her brows and fixed her gaze on her.

Fu Shixing’s smile deepened. “In Ya Ya’s eyes, I’m more important than you think. When she’s with you, doesn’t she never take off that barrier earring? I gave it to her. My name has ‘star’ in it—you can probably guess why.”

“Oh, right—she hasn’t told you about your family’s issues. After all, she’s such a timid one. Su’s mother has always told me to look after her properly here in Prime City. We grew up together; I’m the one she trusts and cares about most among her peers. I only came this time reminiscing about my past with Ya Ya. Haha, she probably hasn’t mentioned it to you. It’s all in the past. I just came to chat about old times~ with her. Neither of us expected you’d come back.”

Fu Shixing spoke while slowly edging outward. She knew Su Mi wouldn’t spill everything to Shen Han while wearing the barrier earring. She was betting Shen Han wouldn’t dare act rashly—not in front of Su Mi, anyway, when she had to play the good guy.

She had only planned to test modifying an omega’s gland once. Su Mi was familiar and easygoing; they were so compatible, bolstered by past promises—it should have worked… Who knew she’d run into this woman.

Fu Shixing could still close her eyes and vividly recall that day in her youth when she followed her father to Southern Garden—like a childhood trauma haunting her dreams.

The Shen Family—a pack of lunatics. Alphas—a pack of lunatics.

Unexpectedly, Shen Han didn’t stop her. She just stood there, seemingly lost in thought.

Fu Shixing hurriedly climbed into the sports car parked just outside the elevator bay.

Fuck.

By the end of that short distance, her back was drenched in cold sweat.

Was an alpha’s physiological dominance over a beta really this overwhelmingly unbeatable? Not fair at all.

Shen Han probably hadn’t even used a third of her strength, and it was already too much to bear. She must really like Su Mi. Tsk…

Fu Shixing pulled the car out of the spot, eager to speed away.

As she passed the elevator where Shen Han stood, suddenly—a violent force slammed from beneath the car. The front tire burst!

Fu Shixing’s speed wasn’t fast, but she still lost control of the steering wheel. The front of the car veered sharply toward a pillar mere feet away. “Screech—” The piercing sound erupted through the garage.

Just as it was about to smash into the pillar—Fu Shixing gripping the wheel tightly with eyes squeezed shut—

An invisible force abruptly halted the car’s front. The vehicle screeched to a stop less than half a meter from the pillar.

Fu Shixing slammed heavily into the steering wheel. The sports car’s premium safety alarms failed to trigger. The light brain showed no response whatsoever.

In that instant, sweat poured from Fu Shixing like rain.

She looked toward the elevator in horror. Shen Han stood there in silence. Aside from Fu Shixing’s ragged breaths, the air itself seemed frozen solid.

“I remember now. Didn’t you also set your sights on Li Zhao? In East City of Yu City, there’s a rehab center—as far as I know—run by someone with the same name as your mother. It actually performs illegal gland modification surgeries.”

In the deathly silent garage, Shen Han’s voice carried clearly, cold as ice. “I don’t mind extending a friendly hand to Yu City and contributing to local public safety. I won’t drive you out of Prime City, but take good care of yourself. Visit home more often when you can—each trip might be your last.”

Pausing, Shen Han said flatly, “Also, whatever is between Su Mi and me is our business and has nothing to do with you. If I catch you deliberately approaching her again, I hope you can bear the consequences.”

“…”

Thump, thump, thump…

She didn’t know how much time passed before Fu Shixing realized it was her own heartbeat.

As the elevator doors closed in the distance, the surrounding pressure abruptly lifted. Fu Shixing exhaled a puff of white vapor amid her dizziness. After a long silence, she glanced back at the elevator bay—empty.