Pretending to Be an Alpha in an All-Alpha Boy Band - Chapter 132
Chapter 132: Yuan Shiyuan
“You just… posted the video like that?” Zhuang He stammered, his face blank with shock. He opened his mouth, unsure whether to be more surprised that Yuan Shiyuan had been hiding an online persona or by how quickly he had acted.
Yuan Shiyuan glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the Alphas who were staring at him in utter bewilderment. He blinked slowly. “Does the fact that I’m ‘YUAN’… strike you as so unbelievable?”
From the very beginning, Ying Mingche, a veteran of the internet, had found Yuan Shiyuan’s voice eerily familiar. But later, preoccupied with building their CP forum dedicated to him and Yuan Shiyuan, he had no time to dwell on it.
Their CP forum had finally begun to take shape, and the popularity of Yuan Shiyuan’s pairings with other Alphas was surging.
Ying Mingche dared not relax for a moment, obsessively monitoring the forum’s metrics daily, terrified of being overtaken. But as Scepter’s popularity soared and its fanbase swelled, his artificial manipulations gradually lost their effectiveness.
He could only watch helplessly as their ranking was overtaken, then briefly regained… multiple CP pairings rose and fell on the leaderboard, achieving a fragile balance of equal strength.
Currently dominating the charts was “All Yuan,” fueled by the massive fanbase of all-pairing shippers, their overwhelming numbers securing a crushing lead.
“I even followed you on a burner account before,” Ying Mingche said, stunned. “Back then, I already thought your voice was… extraordinary.”
Yuan Shiyuan glanced at him, his tone flat. “Oh, so you never recognized me, even when I was right next to you every day?”
Realizing he’d said the wrong thing, Ying Mingche immediately panicked. He secretly observed Yuan Shiyuan’s expression, but Yuan Shiyuan’s face remained largely unchanged. A chill ran through him, and without hesitation, he decided to apologize.
“I was wrong…”
Yuan Shiyuan suddenly chuckled softly, amused by the Alpha’s flustered reaction.
“I’m not even angry,” he said, smiling. “Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
His mobile phone continued to vibrate incessantly.
Yuan Shiyuan glanced down in surprise and was astonished to see that the video’s likes had already surpassed half a million.
How long has it even been?
Netizens flooded the comments with shock and elation, some even digging up Yuan Shiyuan’s past works.
Many of those videos were early, casually recorded clips of varying quality. He felt embarrassed, but it was too late to hide them now.
Was I too impulsive?
Yuan Shiyuan randomly clicked on an old, amateurish video. Staring at the fans’ exaggerated praise, he felt only shame… Are these fans seeing me through too many filters?
He murmured softly, “I should have discussed this with you all first.”
“It’s not a huge problem,” Zhuang He said. “They’ve just started questioning you. Responding immediately and decisively is the fastest way to calm the fans’ emotions.”
This had been Yuan Shiyuan’s initial thought as well.
He didn’t want his fans, fresh off the exhilarating high of the concert, to turn around and find these baseless accusations online, ruining their mood.
For Yuan Shiyuan, refuting the allegations was a simple matter of words.
Had he hesitated, waiting for the company’s bureaucratic approval process, his fans would have endured prolonged anxiety.
“The concert just ended, and your popularity is at its peak.” Zhuang He scrolled through the platform’s hot searches and Yuan Shiyuan’s alternate account profile, then exclaimed in surprise, “This account… I’ve heard about it from a friend. He wanted to buy the adaptation rights and even considered acquiring your entire account.”
Yuan Shiyuan paused, recalling the numerous similar private messages he’d received.
But he refused to let his works be adapted, much less have his painstaking efforts distorted beyond recognition. He knew all too well that commercialized versions of his creations were worlds apart from his original vision.
“I rarely check my private messages,” Yuan Shiyuan replied.
He also wondered why this anonymous account, which revealed no personal information, always attracted swarms of predatory Alphas.
Initially, Yuan Shiyuan had been eager to communicate and engage with his fans.
As his follower count surged, Yuan Shiyuan was bombarded with harassing messages. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, he prominently declared on his profile: Straight Man (Sexual Orientation: Omega).
Though it did little good.
Everyone present was glued to their phones, scrolling through Yuan Shiyuan’s posts, naturally spotting his profile information.
Bo Jin glanced at the line and raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Straight man?”
Yuan Shiyuan felt the weight of countless gazes, especially Zhuang He’s—a complex mix of heartbreak, as if his carefully nurtured little cabbage had been rooted up by a wild boar. He cleared his throat awkwardly.
He casually shifted his gaze and insisted, “I’ve always been straight.”
Yuan Shiyuan stubbornly maintained his facade.
The Alphas chuckled softly at Yuan Shiyuan’s reddening ears, refraining from calling out his bluff.
Just then, Bo Jin leaned in close, his lips brushing Yuan Shiyuan’s ear, whispering in a voice only they could hear, “Still a straight man after being fucked by an Alpha?”
He deliberately drawled, emphasizing each syllable, “Wife.”
Yuan Shiyuan clearly hadn’t anticipated Bo Jin calling him that in front of so many people. His expression flashed with shock, the faint flush on his ear deepening to a fiery crimson, as if about to burst into flames.
Jiang Heng frowned sharply. “What did you say to him?”
Bo Jin rose languidly, his face serene. “Nothing much.”
Yuan Shiyuan’s expression betrayed that he was anything but fine.
As if triggered by a trauma, the word “wife” immediately conjured chaotic scenes in his mind.
Feigning busy, he lowered his head and swiped at his phone, intending to check netizens’ reactions. However, the platform was severely lagging.
The follower count on his alt account was skyrocketing at an astonishing rate, surging by over a hundred thousand in an instant with no sign of stopping. Meanwhile, his newly released work had overwhelmed the platform’s servers, causing the page to crash completely and become unviewable.
After a few futile swipes, Yuan Shiyuan gave up trying to refresh the page.
He switched to the background app and dropped a message in the family group chat.
The staff should have already picked up his family and be on their way.
Yuan Shiyuan sat obediently in his seat, his fingers unconsciously tracing patterns on his phone case as he waited for his family to arrive.
When Yuan Xing and the others were led into the waiting room, Yuan Shiyuan couldn’t resist giving each family member a hug in turn.
Yuan Shize stared at him blankly, his eyes brimming with undisguised adoration.
Yuan Shiyuan still wore his stage makeup, its vivid hues not yet cleansed, and the performance costume clung to his frame.
Just moments ago, he had been a star suspended high above the stage, the focus of countless adoring eyes. Now, he stood before Yuan Shize, utterly real.
An indescribable emotion surged through Yuan Shize as he hugged his brother tightly, quickly pressing something into his palm.
“Brother, you looked so beautiful today,” he said. “On stage… you were absolutely dazzling.”
Yuan Xing and her husband chuckled beside them. “Our Little Yuan was amazing! Truly outstanding!”
Yuan Shiyuan blushed, the corners of his lips curving shyly, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes. “Well, of course.”
Curiously, he opened his palm. “What’s this?”
A laser-colored streamer lay quietly in his palm, reflecting tiny, shimmering fragments of light.
He looked up in astonishment.
“It’s a streamer that fell from the stage,” Yuan Shize explained with a smile. “Lots of people were picking them up. Me too.”
Yuan Shize had always known his brother had many fans. It came as no surprise—his brother was so perfect, it was only natural the whole world should adore him.
Though dark thoughts sometimes flickered—urges to hide his brother away—seeing the sea of fans below the stage, heads bowed as they gathered confetti as souvenirs after the concert, his first impulse was overwhelming joy.
How wonderful, he thought, that so many people love my brother as deeply as I do.
The concert confetti was custom-made. Yuan Shiyuan reached out to stroke its surface, as if he could still catch the lingering, fervent scent of the arena.
From his younger brother’s few words, Yuan Shiyuan could vividly imagine the fans earnestly collecting confetti after the show, keeping it as cherished mementos of their love for him.
Carefully tucking the confetti away, Yuan Shiyuan smiled. “Then it belongs to me now.”
Yuan Shize smiled back, his tone earnest and matter-of-fact. “Everything I have has always belonged to you.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Heng and the others warmly welcomed Yuan Shiyuan’s family.
Ying Mingche, eager to impress, fussed over them. “Uncle, would you like some tea? Are you hungry? Is the air conditioner set to a comfortable temperature?”
His sycophantic behavior made Yuan Shiyuan roll his eyes and press a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
This is a bit too obvious…
Yuan Xing now had a close relationship with Yu Jiao and knew that the group before her were all Alphas connected to Yuan Shiyuan.
Her feelings were complex, but her gentle nature ultimately prevented her from rejecting their overtures. She responded politely to each one.
Instinct told the couple that these Alphas were no pushovers. Not a single one seemed to be the type to hold back.
Yet seeing Shiyuan’s face radiant with joy, utterly relaxed, their gazes softened involuntarily.
Fine. As long as Shiyuan is happy, we’ll support him.
“We used to take Little Yuan and his brother to concerts,” Yuan Xing remarked wistfully. “But we never imagined we’d one day be sitting below the stage, listening to Little Yuan perform. It’s such a surreal feeling.”
Father Yuan chimed in, his voice brimming with pride: “Our Little Yuan is a true star now.”
Shiyuan, having finished removing his makeup, sat beside them and tilted his bare face upward. “Not anymore,” he protested gently.
The couple paused, then chuckled. “What’s this? You’re not a big star without makeup?”
Moments later, faint but deliberate footsteps echoed outside the dressing room door.
Yu Jiao was the first to enter. Seeing her, Yuan Shiyuan sprang to his feet, beaming. “Mom?”
Yu Jiao stepped forward to embrace him, her voice brimming with pride. “I saw the whole concert, Little Yuan. It was absolutely spectacular.”
Yuan Shiyuan’s lips curled into a smile at the praise, but it faltered as his mother continued, “Your big sisters and big brothers were watching you from below the stage too.”
“They want to meet you,” she reassured him gently. “Don’t be nervous or scared. If you’re not ready, you don’t have to.”
“Our Little Yuan doesn’t need to force himself to do anything he doesn’t want to.”
Yu Jiao fully understood Yuan Shiyuan’s conflicting emotions. Despite their blood ties, nineteen years of separation loomed between them like an unfillable void.
Yuan Shiyuan froze.
In the Yuan family, he held a senior position, with many younger siblings. Conversely, in the Yu family, he was the youngest brother.
Meeting a large group of unfamiliar relatives so suddenly left Yuan Shiyuan feeling flustered and nervous.
“I can,” he nodded softly. “I also… want to meet my Big Sister and Big Brother.”
With Yuan Shiyuan’s consent, Yu Jiao allowed the line of young people waiting at the door to enter the lounge in turn.
Each of them was strikingly handsome or beautiful, their outfits clearly meticulously styled. Their hairstyles, styled by professionals, were adorned with colorful ribbons, some of which had inadvertently fallen onto their collars.
Upon seeing Yuan Shiyuan, they too visibly tensed up. As if eager to make a good first impression on their younger brother, some even discreetly retreated to the back, taking out their phones and using the front-facing cameras to check their appearances.
Yuan Shiyuan stood before them, knees pressed together, standing obediently. Overwhelmed by nervousness, he couldn’t think of what to say.
He was nervous, and the group of young people before him were equally at a loss for words.
Finally, a confident and outgoing woman stepped forward. “Hello, Little Yuan! I’m your cousin, Yu Wan. I’m ten years older than you.”
“Hi, Little Yuan, I’m your cousin…”
With the first introduction breaking the ice, the others lined up, earnestly introducing themselves and specifying their familial relation to Yuan Shiyuan. Knowing he wouldn’t recognize them, they included their relationship in their introductions to help him keep track.
They all believed this was their first meeting.
The tense yet expectant faces before him were all familiar to Yuan Shiyuan. He had seen them in the videos his mother had sent, where they meticulously prepared gifts for him.
After the introductions were completed, Yu Wan, who had led the group earlier, stepped forward again, carefully presenting a beautifully wrapped gift box.
“Little Yuan, congratulations on the perfect end to your concert. This is a gift we all prepared for you…” Her palms were clammy with nervousness. “We hope you’ll like it.”
Yuan Shiyuan accepted the heavy, love-filled gift with both hands. He suddenly looked up at her and whispered, “Thank you, Big Sister.”
He then turned to Yu Wan’s family behind her. “Thank you all, Big Sisters and Big Brothers.”
Yu Wan froze for a moment, then her face erupted into overwhelming joy.
The words “Big Sister” echoed endlessly in her ears, and she replayed the moment with giddy excitement all the way home.
The others were equally immersed in joy and excitement. As Yuan Shiyuan bowed his head to unwrap the gift, Yu Wan couldn’t contain her elation. She grabbed the person next to her and shook their shoulders vigorously.
“Did you hear that? Did you hear that?! Little Yuan just called me Big Sister!”
“Of course I heard it! He called me Big Brother too…” the other person grumbled, regret in their voice. “If only I’d started recording earlier!”
Seeing their reaction, Yu Jiao couldn’t help but smile. Her eyes softened with tenderness as she gazed at Yuan Shiyuan in the distance.
He was the center, bathed in the warmth of their love.