Before I Win Over the Beta

Coming soon: Pretending to Be a Metaphysics Expert, Then Getting Caught. Please add it to your reading list! (-3-)

Ji Huai had liked his deskmate for a long time. He wanted to mark him, hide him away, and, more than anything... make him smell entirely of his pheromones.

Unfortunately, the other boy was a Beta: delicate and timid, and seemingly afraid of him.

This troubled him greatly, until one day he unexpectedly went into heat and temporarily marked his deskmate. He decided his chance had finally come.

First, he would get close to the Beta without drawing attention. Then he would casually manufacture opportunities for physical contact, occasionally act weak to bring out the Beta's protective instincts, and keep an eye on rivals one through five who wanted to get close to him.

Hard work paid off. Ji Huai went from holding hands and putting an arm around his shoulders to kissing and cuddling him, and finally claimed the coveted boyfriend title.

Then everything went off the rails on the night he and the Beta got engaged...

The Beta was sprawled across his bed, flipping through two books with fingers as white as jade. “How to Become a Proper Green Tea and 101 Ways to Win Over Your Crush, a Beta... Ji Huai, care to explain?”

Ji Huai: “...”

There was no way he was explaining anything. He'd already tricked his darling into his arms.

Lin Yishen had a school bully for a deskmate. The other guy had never picked on him, but Lin always felt like that gaze of his could devour him. Being timid, Lin did his best to avoid him, only to accidentally get temporarily marked by him.

After that, his deskmate seemed to latch on to him.

He said he had no friends, so Lin Yishen somehow became his best friend. He said friends should hug and hold hands, so everyone at school started wondering if the two of them were dating. He even insisted he must be an Omega pretending to be a Beta, and since he'd temporarily marked Lin, he had to take responsibility. Somehow, Lin ended up as his boyfriend, too.

Later, the Alpha went into heat, looking every bit the cool guy as tears streamed down his face. Since Betas couldn't be permanently marked, the Alpha could only bite the back of his neck again and again, desperately.

Feeling thoroughly duped, Lin Yishen couldn't help asking, “Have you been manipulating me this whole time?”

The Alpha sniffled guiltily. “How could I?”

Soft-hearted, pretty Beta bottom X scheming green-tea Alpha top

Theme: Be alert and stay safe from scams.