Beta Chapter 20: Are you angry?

Chapter 20: Are you angry?

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Once he guessed this possibility, he chose to evade and directly deny it. After leaving the bathroom, Luo Songran told his roommate that he didn’t feel well, and then left the bar ahead of everyone else. He no longer had any mood to drink.

The summer breeze was gentle, and the bustling commercial street was still crowded with people at around eight o’clock in the evening.

“Be careful, don’t walk so fast, and look at how big your belly is. What if you bump into someone?” 

“But I have you, honey.”

Luo Songran brushed past a couple, the man embracing the pregnant woman beside him. Her belly was quite large under her long skirt, indicating she was well into her pregnancy. He absentmindedly stared at that belly, then suddenly realized what he was doing. It felt as if he was looking at something terrifying, so he quickly averted his gaze and tried to erase what he had heard from his mind.

But the more he tried, the more things seemed to happen around him.

An elderly couple was pushing their granddaughter, who was still in a stroller, past him, their voices leaving behind the sounds of playing with the child. Someone in the bar restroom just found out they were pregnant. A pregnant woman who was already well into her pregnancy. A child babbling in the stroller.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze shifting to the clearly visible pharmacy nearby. He hesitated for a moment, but as he took a step forward, the next moment he turned around and quickly walked away as if the pharmacy behind him was a ferocious beast. He didn’t know how long he had been walking on this commercial street. Luo Songran stood at the pedestrian crossing waiting for the traffic lights. When the light turned green, he watched as pedestrians hurriedly crossed the street, afraid that they wouldn’t make it before the countdown ended.

And he didn’t move, just watching as the green light turned red. He stared at the red pedestrian figure on the opposite traffic light, and suddenly, it felt as if the world had stopped. Panic swept over him as he began to question what he was doing. Wasn’t it just a minor incident that made him doubt himself?

It was then that his stomach suddenly growled.

The green light flashed.

A thought popped into Luo Songran’s mind, something he wanted to eat, but it was a bit far from here, and it would probably take half an hour by car. Yet, he decided to go. Because he wanted to have the hot pot porridge he had with Duan Yizhou in the old city area of Yan Cheng that night.

The old city area had low, old buildings, with an atmosphere filled with the scent of fireworks. The night market had started, and the nightlife of the night owls had officially begun. People living nearby wore short sleeves and flip-flops, carrying packaged snacks or barbecues, or drinking as they walked home.

Students who had just finished evening self-study wore school uniforms and carried backpacks, standing in front of the Eastern-style boiled food stall, pointing at the radish and tofu skewers they wanted.

Under the canopy of the hot pot porridge stall, the boss, who was picking vegetables, happened to see a boy not far away. Her eyes lit up as she recognized him and enthusiastically waved at him. “Hey, kid, are you here to eat hot pot porridge at Auntie’s place?”

Luo Songran was startled by the hearty voice. He looked over and saw the boss of the hot pot porridge stall, wearing a mask, waving at him. He hurriedly walked up to the stall and obediently greeted, “Good evening, Auntie.”

The boss looked at the handsome and well-behaved boy in front of her with great joy. She looked around and asked, “Didn’t Uncle Duan come with you today?”

Upon hearing the boss mention this name, Luo Songran pursed his lips for a moment, “He’s on a business trip.”

It was better not to mention it. Once mentioned, it would only anger him.

The boss seemed to understand something and chuckled. She placed the clean pot on the stove and ladled four big spoonfuls of white porridge into it. “Auntie noticed last time that you two are a couple. Is it because Little Duan is too busy and doesn’t spend much time with you? Are you angry with him?”

“I want lean meat porridge.” Luo Songran pointed to the freshly sliced ​​meat nearby.

“No onions, right?” the boss smiled.

Luo Songran was taken aback. “Auntie, how did you know? I didn’t say anything. Yes, I don’t want onions.”

The boss smiled with her eyes squinting. “Last time, I saw Little Duan picking out the onions for you. You even complained when he missed picking out a tiny piece of onion.”

Luo Songran was speechless. He awkwardly smiled, “You saw all of that?”

The boss stirred the white porridge heated by the stove with a spoon to make it smoother. She said, “Little Duan has been very attentive since he was a child. He has a good memory and is very clever. He’s quite famous in our area.”

This made Luo Songran a little curious. “Did he… live around here when he was young?”

“Little Duan’s grandfather was the principal of Yan Cheng No. 1 Middle School. He grew up here with his grandfather. Maybe because Principal Duan was quite strict, he had strict discipline at home, so Little Duan is very attentive. Don’t be fooled by his tall stature; he’s actually very gentle. When he went abroad, we neighbors were all reluctant to see him leave.”

“Why?”

The boss chuckled at the thought, “My grandchildren are about the same age as Little Duan, and all the neighborhood kids are around the same age. Every afternoon after school, the kids loved to go to Little Duan for tutoring. Little Duan was the most beloved tutor among the kids here. We were all delighted; these little rascals all went to Little Duan, so there was no need for them to cause trouble outside.”

Luo Songran thought of Duan Yizhou’s attitude towards him, sometimes like coaxing a child. So, it turns out he had experience in dealing with children since he was young. Suddenly, he thought of that night and gritted his teeth. He must have been coaxed by Duan Yizhou too!

If it’s true that he’s pregnant—Ah!!

As they chatted, the hot pot porridge was ready. The boss, wearing heat-resistant gloves, brought the pot of porridge to the table. “Child, eat while it’s hot,” she said, turning the large fan towards Luo Songran’s direction.

Giving a bit more care out of selfishness. Luo Songran noticed it. He bowed his head, took a spoonful of hot porridge, blew on it, and just then, his phone, placed on the table, vibrated. Glancing at it, he saw that it was a video call from ‘Old Man’.

It was Duan Yizhou.

Luo Songran stared at the screen, watching the words ‘Old Man’ popping up, as if urging him to answer quickly. But his mind began to rebel; suddenly, he didn’t want to answer, even though he used to answer immediately before. He didn’t want it to be like this. The possibility felt suffocating, leaving him panicked and confused. It was something he couldn’t bear.

So he chose not to answer.

The video call was disconnected, but the next second, it continued to come in, persistently, as if it would keep calling until he answered. Luo Songran lowered his head and ate the cooled porridge from the spoon, his finger tapping on the screen, not even bothering to pick up the phone to accept the call.

“Baby, why aren’t you answering my call? Are you angry?” 

Just as Luo Songran was about to continue eating his porridge, through the medium of the phone, this voice, so gentle, sounded in his ear, even expressing his feelings at this moment before he could speak. His hand holding the spoon trembled, and his heart grew even more anxious.

“Are you in the old city area? Are you eating hot pot porridge?” Duan Yizhou on the video call hadn’t seen Luo Songran’s face, only the canopy in the video and the familiar light bulb. He smiled, “Did you remember to tell Auntie not to add onions? There’s no one beside you to pick them out for you when I’m not there.”

Luo Songran pursed his lips, his eyes flickering slightly, and his hand holding the spoon gradually tightened. He took a deep breath, as if preparing to say something.

But Duan Yizhou on the other end spoke first, “RanRan, I really miss you today. Do you know why?”

Just as Luo Songran was summoning up the courage to speak, Duan Yizhou on the other end cut him off, and he inexplicably replied, “Why?”

As soon as he said it, he regretted it instantly.

Duan Yizhou on the other end of the video call laughed, his voice deep but tender, “Today, you didn’t send me any messages like yesterday. I’ve been checking my phone since morning, even during meetings and breaks, just like you. Whenever I miss you, I send you a message, just like you do to me, waiting for your reply. At this moment, I feel particularly sensitive, feeling the joy and anticipation when you send me messages. Today, since you didn’t message me that you missed me, it means you’re not happy, and it’s because I made you unhappy, right, baby?”

The night market was bustling, the air was hot, and even under the canopy of the hot pot porridge stall, it was hot. But Duan Yizhou’s voice in the video call was like ice cubes dropped into soda water. With a ‘crack’, the bubble and ice cube merged together, gradually melting in the cup.

And this tender and indulgent ‘right, baby?’ melted in Luo Songran’s restless body. Luo Songran tilted his head slightly, taking a deep breath. Why did he provoke an alpha he couldn’t afford from the start? Why did he use this alpha for curiosity?

Those omegas or alphas who approached him all had their purposes, and he could see through them all. So, he would make requests of them, and they would cooperate, with no debts left after it was over. But now, he was intentionally approaching Duan Yizhou. Initially, maybe Duan Yizhou was drawn to him because of the chip, but he didn’t approach him in this way.

So, reaching this point was terrible. It was a situation he couldn’t control, one he couldn’t predict. He had a feeling that it might be a situation he couldn’t bear. Because he couldn’t give Duan Yizhou what he wanted.

“Baby, I miss you, I want to see you.”

Listening to Duan Yizhou’s gentle voice, Luo Songran’s mood grew more and more restless. He pushed the phone away a bit, and indifferently said, “I don’t want to see you today.”

“Then, can you tell me why you’re angry? Is it because I’m on a business trip? Or because I was too busy yesterday to reply to your messages?”

Luo Songran drank the porridge sullenly, ignoring it. It was getting cold if he didn’t eat it soon.

Duan Yizhou on the other end of the video call heard the sound of drinking porridge and chuckled, “Baby, you’re drinking your porridge so fast. It seems like I’ve done something really wrong. That’s why you’re so angry, right?”

Luo Songran’s hand holding the spoon trembled. Was this guy Sherlock Holmes? He could judge his mood from the speed of drinking porridge. He just gave a soft hum. No, he couldn’t continue like this. He had to find time to talk to Duan Yizhou.

“RanRan, it’s okay if you don’t want to see me now, and it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me why you’re angry. Just tell me when you want to, I won’t lose patience with you.”

After a few seconds, Luo Songran finally spoke, “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Okay, then you can hang up,” Duan Yizhou said gently.

Luo Songran heard this and became angry. His eyes reddened with anger, and he shouted at the screen, “Goodbye!”

Then, with a fierce gesture, he hung up the video call. He didn’t look at his phone anymore, burying his head and finishing the porridge, trying to numb his chaotic brain with food.

In F country— In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hotel, Duan Yizhou looked at the disconnected video call, his brows furrowed slightly. Why was this little guy suddenly angry?

Just then, he received a text message from an acquaintance in China:【Yizhou, due to health reasons, I may not be able to go back to teach the children for the next two months. Can you come to Yan University to substitute for me for two months? I don’t have many classes, just two sessions a week.】

Duan Yizhou contemplated for a moment, then quickly replied:【No problem, Uncle Yan.】

 

 

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