[BL] Between an Alpha and Omega

AN: Random factoid about this story. In my original outline, Jun Yibai would have met Chen Guiren in high school rather than in middle school. I changed things up cause it felt strange to have a middle school arc where nothing really happened.

The full scenario will probably be an extra chapter.

*****

Much to his chagrin, a lot was lost that night and he had only learned what days later.

***

Classes started without a hitch. At least up until he was asked to talk to the professors in private. All of them.

His professors didn’t have high hopes for him but were very patronizingly proud of him for succeeding. As if he’d done a neat trick.

They truly didn’t hold him in that high of a regard, seeing his accomplishment as a fluke.

Jun Yibai clenched his fist as he accepted their words with a nod.

What fluke?! Did he not study and work hard to make it to the top? Was the fact he had to work for his success a drawback?

It was frustrating, seeing even strangers try and push him into mediocrity. It was probably just them being kind, to ease him down for when the inevitable happened and he was pushed back by some alphas.

For when everyone was back in their proper place in the hierarchy.

“If I wanted to hear that kind of bullshit, I would have stayed home with dad.” He later grumbled to himself as he stormed through the hallway. The corridor was fairly sparse so Jun Yibai could be openly frustrated and still be ignored.

He was big but nothing special so most barely gave him a glance as they passed him by.

All but one.

“Hey, Jun Yibai!” A familiarly jovial voice called out, jogging over. He looked a bit tired from the night before but that was to be expected.

“Hanyu.”

The omega leaned in, draping an arm over his shoulder in a friendly semi-hug.

“About last night.” He pressed on, looking a bit disgruntled. Jun Yibai frowned, wondering what he remembered from last night. Did he too have some suspicions about his ‘friend’?

“What did you say to my girlfriend?”

“Say?” He echoed, blinking at him in confusion. His girlfriend had come and picked him up last night without any fanfare, so it was only a minute of interaction. They didn’t say a word to each other. They merely glanced at one another and gave the most proper introvert greeting.

A nod in acknowledgment.

Barely perceptible to the naked eye but one that all introverts knew well.

“Yeah, she was telling me this morning about what a nice guy you are.” He grumbled, crossing his arms. “Here I am, suffering from a hangover and all she wants to tell me is how she likes you better than my other friends.” He continued on humble bragging as the situation became clear.

Ah, that's what this was about.

So his girlfriend was suspicious of Li Min too.

In the light of day, Jun Yibai had wondered if he’d been too wary last night. While she was being weirdly pushy about him leaving, that wasn’t necessarily proof that she had ill intentions.

In fact, there was no proof other than his instincts as a man.

Now, it would seem Hanyu’s girlfriend had similar thoughts. Hanyu, on the other hand, seemed unaware, talking about the girl casually.

This was troublesome.

Someone would have to warn this guy about predatory alphas. Just because the alpha was female, didn’t mean he couldn’t be taken advantage of. Pheromones were a thing after all.

Jun Yibai himself couldn’t do it. He’d only been friends with Hanyu for a day while Li Min was much closer to the man. It would only come off as an empty accusation.

Then again, coming from his girlfriend, it might come off as needless jealousy.

That woman, whether purposely or unintentionally, had put them in a bind.

Ugh, this was really troublesome~

He sighed, deciding to try and subtly hint about being more careful around others later on. While it was troublesome, he really couldn’t remain silent.

Hanyu then proceeded to tell Jun Yibai about his classes. Turns out this jovial guy was studying education. With his personality, it fits. In the looks department, though, it might be a bit much.

As if reading his thoughts, Hanyu grumbled. “Li Min said I’d do well in showbiz like her but honestly, being a celebrity would just be boring.”

At that, the beta chuckled. “I suppose compared to wrangling children, just smiling and looking pretty would be dull.”

“Exactly! See, I knew I had a good eye for cool people.”

When pressed on his own major, Jun Yibai chose not to say. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed but it would be troublesome if he was questioned on it. Hanyu was a cool guy but he was sure he’d get, at the very least, a cocked brow.

He was, after all, the only beta in the business department.

He’d gotten a few looks during his classes, as most betas who became entrepreneurs didn’t need a degree. They could open up a shop with enough money and just hire a manager if things got complicated.

Only those who were striving for the upper echelons bothered to get a degree in business. Hence most of his classmates were alphas. The only omega was the professor, who gave Jun Yibai an encouraging smile when he spotted him.

All his other professors? Well, they were ‘worried’ about him.

He didn’t want any more ‘worry’. He’d had enough for one day.

Like a bell of salvation, their conversation was interrupted by the clamor of women rushing past them. Hanyu, being the curious type, tapped one of the passing women’s shoulder and asked what was going on.

“A bunch of the basketball players challenged some young master to a match. We’re going to watch!” She happily provided, running over to join the crowd forming.

“Is that something worth gushing over?” Jun Yibai wondered aloud.

“There's only one way to find out!”

Grumbling all the way, Jun Yibai let Hanyu drag him over to the basketball court. As expected, there were dozens of adoring fans watching as the players began their game. Jun Yibai could just barely hear the crisp sound of rubber against the polished court over the screams.

“Oh no~ It would seem we can’t watch the game. What a shame.”

Did he have to be as sarcastic as he was? No, but it helped when things were annoying.

Hanyu, like the human puppy he was, refused to give up. Soon enough, they managed to find a space away from the crowd that overlooked the court. The game was intense and certainly warranted the crowd.

Yet that wasn’t what drew the beta’s eye.

“Of course, it's gotta be him.” Jun Yibai sighed, recognizing one of the players on sight.

Chen Guiren was wiping sweat off his neck, the crowd losing their collective shit at the display. How could they not? It was a shirts vs skins game and that guy chose skins.

Even Jun Yibai, much to his chagrin, couldn’t help but admire him. Muscles that were hardened from brawls and the like. Tiny scars that spoke of fights won and lost. Wild hair that begged for someone to sweep it back so they could fully appreciate his handsome face.

“Ugh, this is why I hate it when he shows up.” The beta grumbled to himself, annoyed. Chen Guiren was very different from Li Suren in a lot of ways but more so in his appeal.

People admired Li Suren, treating him like a piece of art. They stared and admired but rarely dared draw any closer, fearful that they would sully him.

Chen Guiren, on the other hand, was like a delicious meal set forth on a welcoming platter. Even those who had no desire to eat would look and think ‘maybe just one bite’?

The crowd below them who were only barely keeping themselves from charging the court was proof enough of this. They treated the alpha as if he were some kind of idol or star. Sure, he was a rich guy but this was a prestigious school, so there were plenty of second-generation heirs to fawn over.

But Chen Guiren was Chen Guiren, not just any rich kid.

Just a few hours ago, he was threatening to break some poor guy's kneecaps and now he's on the court, playing basketball as if he was just another student.

It was kind of scary how seamlessly he pulled off this ruse.

Still, Jun Yibai couldn’t help but watch him play. Sports can be generally boring but when it's someone you are invested in, it's quite the show.

And a show it was. Even on a team of alphas, Chen Guiren stuck out among them. He was taller than his teammates, making himself look to be the leader despite him clearly being in a support role this time around. Somehow, he took over as the game went on.

Like a king of old, he led his team with nothing but a mere glance. They moved like they were extensions of him, following his unspoken will.

This was a dominant Alpha.

Jun Yibai had always suspected as much. Even without the physical indications blaring in his face, the fact he was born from an alpha pair made it obvious.

Rich, athletic, cool, and handsome.

How could anyone look away when presented with such a thing? Even Jun Yibai, who was used to seeing his friend, couldn’t help but watch him. He’d never seen this cool side of Chen Guiren. That serious and kind of scary expression as if he were envisioning his opponent's corpses falling at his feet.

Yet he calls me ‘master’. He thought, feeling a trickle of excitement at the thought. He covered his mouth, feeling embarrassed at the thought. He shouldn’t think that way about his friend. Chen Guiren was just the clingy sort so there was no reason to think too much about such things, right?

“Ah?”

Jun Yibai turned to Hanyu, who was staring at the court with a weird expression. Curious, he turned too and saw…

Ah, shit, he spotted me!

***

He felt someone's gaze on his back.

That was a familiar feeling for Chen Guiren. Being watched. Whether it was his parents, the media, or even people his own age, he was always being watched.

He never really minded, having accepted it as a given. Since the day his parents introduced him to the public as their one-in-a-million lovechild, he’d learned to accept the gazes of others.

In fact, he loved it.

Having people watch him was exciting! Watch him perform and gaze at him with awe. Watch him break some uppity little shit’s nose for daring to act tough in front of him. Watch him dominate arrogant assholes at the sport they excel at. Watch him take over little by little of what was once your territory and now belonged to him.

It was exhilarating.

Even being watched by the sly fox was fun, though he felt less like a mere audience member and more like… a VIP? Someone the show was meant for rather than a bystander.

It was something Chen Guiren had yet to settle on so he was willing to just take possession of the omega until his role in all this was figured out.

All in all, the point was that Chen Guiren was used to the feeling of someone staring at him. Yet this gaze made him shiver, like a caress.

The only one who made him feel like that was-

He spun around, searching for the source. There were a bunch of faceless people in the mob but none held his interest. There was only one who did but surely that extremely uncommunicative guy wouldn’t be in a crowd like this?

But then, lifting his gaze up, he spotted him. His favorite person!

And some random fuck standing way too damn close to his favorite person.

Damn it, was it another fly?! He was sure li Suren had promised to keep them from bothering Master yet there was another one.

Useless fox.

The fly seemed to notice his glare, paling under his gaze and looking away.

Weak! He bared his teeth at the omega. Master isn't into such soft men.

No, he was sure his Master preferred someone who was overbearing, someone willing to push him past his comfort zone and introduce him to a whole other dimension of intimacy. Someone willing to kneel at his feet yet press him down beneath them in the same breath.

Ah, just the thought of his beta tugging on his hair as he knelt between his thick thighs, his gasping breath begging for-

As if feeling his gaze, Master turned to him with a sour look. Chen Guiren’s arousal made way for his amusement.

“Mas-” He started to call out but stopped when he saw Master’s gaze harden.

It was a look that said ‘if you finish that sentence, I’ll elbow-drop you from here.’ Such a thing should get him hard but how could he not?! The thought of master’s body pressing up against him of his own volition was too tempting a thought.

It might even lead to a full-on brawl where he could dominate the stubborn beta into submitting to him and-

No, he has to behave! Popping a full-on boner without a shirt to cover it would make things complicated! Not only would it be annoying to explain but what if someone noticed it was caused by Master?

He liked Master too much to let his own horniness become a bother to the beta.

The game ended soon after, with his team obviously winning. It was a short match but mostly unsatisfying. Chen Guiren still preferred fighting to sports like this. Maybe he should have challenged some MMA fighters next time.

As his thoughts drifted to more interesting things than his opponent's half-hearted attempt at preserving his wounded pride, Chen Guiren glanced up at the space where Master was.

It was empty.

A low growl rumbled from him, causing his opponent, some fuckhead alpha who had previously acted like he was hot shit, to trip over himself to jump away. A clear sign of weakness that he would usually use to subjugate another useful pawn.

Yet this previously valuable pawn had become nothing but a hindrance!

Damn it, he’d wanted to corner Master somewhere out of sight. The few times he’d tried ended with a knee in the balls but he was sure this time he could catch that naughty leg and put it where it belonged.

Hooked on his hip and pulling him close.

The thought made him yearn to run after him but he had a task to finish first. He sighed, making the others look at him warily.

This is fucking annoying~

***

Jun Yibai walked alongside Hanyu, the latter of which was buzzing with energy. He looked a bit flushed as well.

“Whoa, that was crazy.” The omega breathed, patting his cheeks as if waking himself up. “Right?”

Jun Yibai blinked at him, confused. “Hm?”

“Didn’t you see that one guy?!” He cried, pointing behind them. “The dominant alpha on the skins team. I swear he was glaring at me!”

Yeah, he probably was. Jun Yibai thought, feeling a bit guilty. He was sure that guy had come to some strange conclusion about Hanyu. He’d have to text him later to not bother the omega. Jun Yibai liked him.

Much to his surprise, Hanyu sighed wistfully as he looked back at the building they’d just exited. The crowd was still milling back, their excited chatter filling the air.

“Even so, he was super cool! And handsome.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Yes, and I love her to bits.” He stated with a wistful smile. It fell quickly as his body shivered and he started moving away from the crowd. “But my inner omega almost had me striping and presenting myself from his pheromones.”

“Gross.” The beta grimaced, not wanting that mental image to pop up. Yet his words made him frown. “He was releasing pheromones?”

“Obviously.” Hanyu gave him a look like he’d asked the most obvious thing ever. “Why else would such a large crowd have lost their mind at a mere basketball match? It's pretty common around here.”

Was it? So it was due to pheromones? He didn’t smell anything but the air had felt heavy while the game went on. He’d thought it was just the excitement but apparently it was more than that.

“Honestly, you are lucky that you don’t have to deal with pheromones.” Hanyu sighed, wiping at the sweat on his neck. They hadn’t run so the fact he was sweating spoke volumes about his condition. That and his face was still flushed.

“You need anything?”

“No, this much isn’t enough to push me.” He assured, fanning himself. “I… I just need a minute to cool down. Maybe call my girlfriend.”

Ah! Seeing as Hanyu was squirming in place, he seemed like he might be having a ‘situation’.

“Then I’ll leave you to it.” He said, nodding. “I have to see if my things arrived at my dorm yet.”

“Right, I was supposed to show you the way, wasn’t I?” The omega frowned, looking guilty.

“I can find my way over.” He assured, his tone haughty. “No need to mother me.”

“How could I mother over such a sour-faced kid like you!” He pushed back, giving him a friendly shoulder pat before briskly walking away.

This left Jun Yibai with his own thoughts on the matter. Mainly Hanyu’s words about being lucky. He’d never been told he was lucky to be a beta. Granted, he knew about the inconveniences of being an omega but to think some alpha could ruin your schedule so easily was a bit surprising.

It did sound very troublesome.

***

The trouble continued as he made his way to his dorm. As expected, enemies tend to cross paths on narrow roads.

In front of the men’s dorm, Li Min stood with another person. The man’s back was to Jun Yibai so he couldn’t see him. As soon as the woman noticed him, she dismissed the man.

Jun Yibai paid this no mind as he was already preparing himself as Li Min ran up to him with an eager smile.

“There you are! I’ve been waiting for you.” She said with a pout. “I never did get your number last night.”

“I never offered.” He shot back, cocking a brow at her attitude. Was she trying to get him on her side?

How strange.

She stared up at him for a minute, seeming to be expecting something from him. It took Jun Yibai a moment to realize that she was waiting for him to offer his phone number to her. As if he should be embarrassed for not offering before.

Yet Jun Yibai said nothing, staring back at her.

Her expression hardened.

She had tried being subtle but clearly wasn’t used to rejection. A prideful woman like that wouldn’t dare ask him directly.

No, it was only proper for the salivating men to offer her their number and for her to deign to take pity on them.

And they ate it right up.

But not him.

“If you’ll excuse me, senior.” He tried to end the conversation but was stooped by the alpha who blocked his path.

“Brother Jun!”

“I’d rather you not call me that if you don’t mind.” He scowled, disliking her casual manner of speaking. “We’ve only known each for a few hours so it feels strange to be claimed as a brother.”

Those he let call him brother were few and far between. He let his former co-worker, Huo Yun do it because he liked the guy and they worked well together. But her? He refused to allow it, upperclassman or not.

Yet she seemed determined as she tried once more.

“It’s just me being friendly and trying to welcome you.” She argued, smiling serenely.

“What would make me feel welcome is not being pressed like this.” He replied firmly, wanting to just leave. He’d had a long day already.

“Aren’t you being rude?”

“Am I?” He played dumb, glancing away as if thinking about it. “I just don’t want to be pressured into anything just because the person doing so is my elder. Isn’t that the same for you too?”

She didn’t have a response for that, just gritting her teeth as she bit out a smile.

No, it was a grimace, one that spoke of her frustration with him. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she received a text message.

“I’ll let this go for today.” She said, glancing over her phone. Her tone implied she was being accommodating and mature.

In the same way one might talk to an ignorant child who didn’t know any better.

After being condescended to by his professors, he was not in the mood for that.

“Rather than that, I’d prefer you not follow me around from now on.” He snapped moving past her. “It’s unbecoming of a lady to bother people who don't want her attention.”

He could feel her glaring holes into his back but he didn’t care.

Let her glare and seeth. As long as she left him alone, he’d be perfectly happy to do the same.

Honestly, though, he really didn’t understand what that was all about. He doubted they’d ever get along with each other. She wanted a follower to kiss her feet and smile as they did so.

Jun Yibai wasn’t that kind of man.

Heck, even if he was, he absolutely wouldn’t choose a person like her. Not only does she act like a creep toward her supposed friend but she also treated Jun Yibai like he was being silly for daring not to grovel at her feet.

If she wants a harem, he couldn’t care less about it but keep him out of it.

Upon arrival to his floor, he spotted a small crowd of people near his assigned room. Before he could even ask what had happened, he spotted it.

A familiar set of school supplies and books.

His own.

Almost all his luggage was dumped out front, one of them having been kicked over and scattered in the hallway. Luckily, he didn’t have a lot of things and his valuables were on his person but the fact this had happened made him suspicious.

The timing was curious.

Upon entering the dorm, he found a man sitting in the shared living space, playing with his phone on the couch. The fact that he would have had to step over his stuff to get in yet had done nothing was annoying.

“Are you my roommate?” Jun Yibai asked, placing the box he’d repacked near his bedroom door.

“Mn.” The man grunted. Jun Yibai took that as a yes.

“What happened to my stuff?”

“No clue.” He replied, shrugging. “The guys must have dropped them on the way in.

Yet his roommates' items were placed carefully in the corner? Moreover, he could see the tape he’d used to close the boxes in the trash.

Then the man turned to him with a smirk and it hit him why this man seemed somewhat familiar.

“My name is Li Han.” He waved, his smirk reminding him of another. “I heard you met my little sister last night?”

This was the guy he saw Li Min talking to in front of his dorm. Her insistence that he stay and talk now became clear.

“Jun Yibai.” He replied, showing no concern despite everything that had occurred.

Ah, he truly had underestimated how troublesome things were going to be.

*****