Pretending to Be an Alpha in an All-Alpha Boy Band - Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Skin Hunger
As long as Yuan Shiyuan wanted, he could make anyone like him.
Back at the orphanage he was already well liked—other kids liked him, and the caregivers would secretly give him candy. Aside from his delicate, pleasing face, his personality played a part.
There was a kind of warmth about him that drew people in.
But it seemed he’d hit a hard spot.
The twin brothers and Bo Jin were manageable, but the iceberg captain who always wore black gloves kept his distance. Especially anything the captain had touched once—Pei Yanbing would never touch it a second time.
Then there was Jiang Heng.
The sharp-tongued, cool guy who mocked everyone else was as if muted in his presence—expressionless, seeming to find even saying a single word to him too exhausting.
Yuan Shiyuan went to the bathroom to think about how to get everyone to pick him as their roommate.
Fortunately, the task wasn’t difficult.
The Scepter boy group members didn’t get along well; they were unlikely to volunteer to pick anyone. Once they agreed to choose him, they wouldn’t change their minds to pick someone else.
When he came out, there was another person by the sink.
An Alpha a head taller than him stood at the sensor faucet, his handsome face frosty; the black leather gloves were off. Distinct fingers were wrapped by running water, and from the repetitive rubbing they were unnaturally red.
“Captain?”
The fingers paused under the water. Pei Yanbing slowly turned his head; his eyes looked like a frozen lake.
Yuan Shiyuan, as if unaware of the other’s aloofness, stepped forward warmly. “I just heard some staff talking—later during the show it seems we’ll be picking roommates.”
“Captain, do you have someone you want to choose?”
Pei Yanbing shut off the faucet. “Who do you want to pick?”
Whether it was Yuan Shiyuan’s imagination or not, Pei Yanbing’s voice was lower and huskier than usual. Yuan didn’t hesitate. “Of course you.”
“You seem very clean and very quiet. If I picked you, I’d surely sleep well.”
“……”
In the mirror, the pink-haired Alpha took a calm step closer.
“Captain, will you pick me too?”
Yuan Shiyuan seemed to be born with a smile—his lips lifted, faint dimples appearing in his cheeks—making his request hard to refuse.
After a moment, Pei Yanbing said, “If there’s such a segment.”
“Great!”
Just the promise made the Alpha’s face bloom with delight. His brows curved, the pale pink hair floating like musical notes, radiating happiness.
Yuan Shiyuan pulled a tissue and offered it. “Captain, your hands are still wet. Wipe them.”
Pei Yanbing lowered his gaze to Yuan Shiyuan’s hand.
Yuan’s fingers were long and pale; because he’d just washed them they glistened with moisture, making the pink at the joints look even more delicate.
Although Pei Yanbing tried to avoid it, Yuan’s finger brushed his knuckle. The instant their skin touched, it felt as if blood surged the wrong way and then burned and boiled, spreading a pleasurable ache throughout him.
“Then it’s settled, okay!”
The moment the bathroom door closed, Pei Yanbing planted both hands on the sink. His clothes were neat, collar buttoned up to his throat; beneath his ascetic restraint, sudden, large patches of an abnormal, feverish red bloomed across him.
The sensor faucet ran; amid the rush of water came ragged breaths. Pei Yanbing mechanically scrubbed his hands, but the skin that had been touched felt like it had been seared by a branding iron, sending shivers of ecstatic pain through him.
The scrubbing slowed and gradually became an almost obsessive rubbing.
The places Pei Yanbing had been touched were still trembling faintly.
…
Yuan Shiyuan wasn’t worried Pei Yanbing would go back on his word.
Alphas liked living alone and hated sharing with other Alphas. Judging by the personalities of those Alpha guys around Pei Yanbing, they probably would rather not choose anyone.
Pei Yanbing wasn’t the sort to break a promise, either.
The staff had probably arranged this segment hoping Yuan Shiyuan would act as the group’s adhesive and help bring everyone together.
At the very least, don’t make it look fake.
With Pei Yanbing handled, who would be next?
A message popped up in the work group:
[The buses are parked at the entrance. Assemble quickly.]
The building’s signage was mediocre; Yuan Shiyuan circled the hallway twice and still couldn’t find the stairs or elevator.
He wasn’t great with directions—kind of directionally challenged.
While Yuan fussed with his navigation, a shadow fell over him from behind.
“The stairs are this way.”
Jiang Heng had appeared nearby at some point.
Dressed head to toe in black, his broad shoulders and narrow waist were wrapped by the outfit; the silver earring among his black curls flashed a dim light in the gloomy corridor.
Yuan glanced at the silver earring—it did catch the eye. He waved his phone. “Thanks. If you hadn’t been here, I’d have had to follow the GPS straight through a wall.”
“How did you know I’d find you lost?” Jiang Heng looked at him. “Do I look like I get lost a lot?”
Yuan smiled. “Just kidding. Hey, did you hear? We might be picking roommates during the recording.” He stopped at a stairwell corner. “You don’t snore when you sleep, do you?”
The topic jumped a bit, but Jiang Heng still answered, “I don’t.”
“I don’t snore either,” Yuan said. “If the production divides dorms and we’re choosing roommates, want to team up?”
“What do you think, buddy?”
Jiang Heng didn’t answer right away. Just when Yuan thought he might refuse, he said, “Mm.”
Two buses of contrasting colors were parked at the edge of the lawn—one purple, one gold.
Each member had to choose a color and board that bus; they weren’t allowed to consult each other during the process.
Only if everyone chose the same color would the challenge be considered successful.
Yuan stood by a planter surrounded by greenery, his pink hair dusted with a layer of gold shimmer. Not far off, Ying Mingxi walked toward him into the sunlight.
“Shiyuan, where did you just go?”
Yuan didn’t talk much with Ying Mingxi, but he knew Mingxi was an even-tempered Alpha.
Their eyes met, and Yuan said helplessly, “Don’t pretend.”
“What?”
“You don’t act like your brother at all.”
“How boring~” Ying Mingche tipped his head, showing his canine tooth, and called to the side, “Brother, someone can actually tell us apart.”
The real Ying Mingxi came over.
Ying Mingxi looked surprised too.
When they were kids they often played games pretending to be each other to trick caretakers and classmates. As adults, Ying Mingche still liked to play cruel pranks; Mingxi would go along quietly. They looked very similar, but their temperaments were completely different. Mingxi only needed to change his expression slightly to pass as the other.
And yet Yuan could recognize him at a glance.
“Aren’t we very similar?” Ying Mingche asked.
“You do look a lot alike,” Yuan said, “but Mingxi’s eyebrows are finer and sit lower; his upper lip is thinner than yours. Your eye colors are different too—Mingxi’s eyes have a hint of green that shows up in sunlight.”
“You’re not the same.”
Both twins froze.
Yuan smiled at Ying Mingxi. “Your eyes are very pretty.”
“Thank you.” Ying Mingxi’s fingertips twitched; his voice carried a gentle smile. “You’re the first to notice the differences between us.”
“The first?” Yuan Shiyuan was genuinely surprised.
They did look very similar, but anyone paying attention could spot the differences, right? Their parents hadn’t noticed all these years? qun⑹吧⑷叭叭5⑴5㈥
“Have you finished chatting? I’m still here.”
Ying Mingche cut in, annoyed—he didn’t like having attention stolen. “You observed my brother so carefully? Why only mention him and not me? And it’s weird—you saw me earlier and then turned and left.”
He smiled. “You were avoiding me.”
“How could that be?”
So he’d been found out?
Yuan had indeed been avoiding Ying Mingche. Ying Mingche’s outgoing, sunny nature and his repeated, forward attempts to attach himself had made Yuan uncomfortable.
Avoidance was a reflexive response to danger.
Ying Mingche’s tone grew low: “Really? I thought you hated me. We agreed to live in the same dorm, I took a call, and you backed out.”
Who had agreed with him? Yuan said, “When you left, Brother Zhuang had us draw dorms. I drew mine already—it’s awkward to reverse.”
He said earnestly, “How could I hate you?”
Under the pale-pink strands of hair, his face caught the sunlight into a thin blush, making him look almost pitiable. It was hard for Ying Mingche to doubt his sincerity.
“Then we’ll be on the same bus later.” Ying Mingche reluctantly believed him. “The bus color I’m going to choose is—”
A staff member hurriedly interrupted: “Each member must choose their bus independently. No prior communication allowed!”
Pressed by the crew, Ying Mingche made the first bus choice. Following the order, Ying Mingxi chose next.
When it was Yuan Shiyuan’s turn, he chose gold without hesitation.
No one could resist the color of gold.
The gold bus was empty—Yuan Shiyuan was the only one who chose it!
As he was about to pick a comfortable seat, footsteps sounded outside.
Bo Jin, seeing him, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Perfect timing. Yuan offered, “Come, sit here. The inner seat is yours—it’s cooler.”
Bo Jin sat down leisurely. “Being this nice to me, huh?”
Yuan: “Let the brother relax—what’s wrong with that? We’re good pals.”
All members had boarded: only Yuan and Bo Jin were on the gold bus. The other four members sat in the purple bus.
The crew handed everyone a phone: “These phones are only for contacting each other and receiving messages from production.”
“The buses will depart soon. Next, you need to pick a roommate and use your phones to contact them in advance. When the bus arrives at the destination, both parties must write the other’s name on a card.”
“If your partner writes someone else’s name, that means the roommate selection failed and you will lose priority for choosing a dorm.”
“This is the dorm you’ll be moving into.”
Dorms were either doubles or fours, with doubles clearly superior.
When the four-person rooms were shown, almost all the Alphas frowned—clearly dissatisfied.
Bo Jin asked, “What if I don’t choose a roommate?”
“Not choosing a roommate counts as choosing a four-person room.”
Choosing a roommate at least left the possibility of getting a double; not choosing meant you were automatically slotted into a four-person room—basically forcing them to make a choice.
“Start contacting the roommate you like.”
“And remember to make sure your chosen roommate won’t betray you.”
Why did they have to tack that last line on?
Yuan Shiyuan felt oddly nervous.
He knocked the armrest casually, feigning nonchalance. “We still need to pick roommates? Then let’s keep being roommates, okay?”
“You know what my situation is right now, right?”
Bo Jin smiled in a way that made your scalp tingle. He was like a brightly colored venomous snake—visually dazzling, with sharp fangs carrying poison.
“I know, which is exactly why I don’t trust you.”
Was he referring to his susceptible period? Bo Jin didn’t understand. “Why must you live with me?”
Yuan Shiyuan: “I feel like you’re a good person. I want to be friends with you.”
Bo Jin: “With me? Be friends?”
“Yes.”
Yuan suddenly leaned in. He smiled slightly, the muscles of his cheeks moving; two faint moles under his right eye seemed to come alive. “You even gave me new pajamas. I want to wear them for you.”
“May I?”
Sunlight streamed through the glass and hit Yuan’s face; he looked beautiful to the point of sharpness. Even the breeze favored him, gently stroking the tips of his pink hair.
Bo Jin’s expression turned strange.
…Why did he have to mention the pajamas he gave him?
Their relationship wasn’t at that level yet.
He found the idea of living with him somewhat pleasing, though he couldn’t pinpoint why—his chest felt as if it had been scratched by a tiny furry cat’s paw.
He looked at the pink-haired boy and, with reluctance, agreed, “Do as you like.”
It went even more smoothly than Yuan had expected.
From what the assistant and manager had described, all these S-rank Alphas were supposedly extremely difficult, nasty people; why did he feel they were actually pretty easy to talk to?
Now only the twins were left.
A little tricky—they were on the same bus and most likely would sit next to each other.
If Yuan messaged Ying Mingxi, Ying Mingche would certainly know, and the plan would fail…
But Ying Mingxi wasn’t a big mouth; once Mingche was on board, things would be much easier.
Yuan’s phone screen lit up. He raised an eyebrow—Ying Mingche had come to him willingly.
Ying Mingche: Want to live together, Princess Yuanyuan? ^^
Yuan Shiyuan: ok.
Ying Mingche: You agree so quickly now—why didn’t you agree to live with me before?
Yuan Shiyuan: pat pat jpg.
Ying Mingche: I was actually pretty angry before. Fine, I forgive you now. You must pick me this time.
Yuan Shiyuan: You can’t pick anyone else either.
Yuan Shiyuan: [rose]
Ying Mingche looked at that vivid rose and a pleased curve formed at his mouth. “See? I told you.”
Lately he’d been replaying things over and over, unable to understand why Yuan had suddenly changed his attitude toward him. He was very sensitive to people’s emotions and had noticed Yuan’s subsequent distance and politeness.
But they hadn’t communicated like that at the start.
Now, receiving Yuan’s decisive, possessive reply, Ying Mingche finally stopped worrying.
“Sorry, bro. I already have the roommate I like.”
He shook his phone like a kid showing off a toy he’d grabbed. “You’ll have to make do with the four-person room.”
For Ying Mingxi, there was no difference between a four-person room and a double; for an Alpha, both meant his territory had been intruded upon. Besides, he didn’t have someone he particularly wanted to room with.
He didn’t care who he lived with.
The bus ride was long. Ying Mingxi was about to put on his eye mask to nap when his phone suddenly vibrated.
He glanced down and, when he saw the sender’s name, froze for a moment.
Yuan Shiyuan: Mingxi-ge, have you found a roommate?
Yuan Shiyuan: Shall we team up?
What?
Ying Mingxi instinctively looked toward his brother, who was humming with the corner of his mouth upturned. Wasn’t Yuan Shiyuan supposed to have agreed to room with Ying Mingche? Why would he send an invitation to him…
Ying Mingche noticed the stare and turned his head: “Bro, what’s up?”
Ying Mingxi immediately flipped his phone face down and nonchalantly shifted his gaze, saying lightly, “Nothing.”
Ying Mingxi thought this was not good.
Ying Mingxi: Didn’t you already make arrangements with Mingche?
Yuan Shiyuan: But I want to live with Mingxi-ge more.
Yuan Shiyuan: You don’t want to? Okay, if you don’t want to, never mind.
Wants to live with him more?
Because he couldn’t stand Ying Mingche?
Ying Mingxi knew his brother’s bad habit well. Due to his handsome looks and personality, Ying Mingche got along with everyone; only Yuan Shiyuan had treated him coldly.
Ying Mingche loved being the center of attention—if you indulged him he’d get bored. But if you resisted him, he’d get excited really quickly.
Facing Ying Mingche’s pestering, Yuan Shiyuan must be really troubled.
He didn’t like Ying Mingche getting close, but because of his gentle temper and concern for team harmony, he kept choosing to endure it again and again.
Ying Mingxi didn’t like trouble; agreeing to Yuan Shiyuan would obviously bring trouble upon him.
His refusal couldn’t be sent successfully.
“You two are similar, but not the same.”
“Your eyes are very beautiful.”
“…”
Yuan Shiyuan had no idea that when he said those things, his eyes looked even more beautiful.
About two minutes later, Ying Mingxi finally replied: I’ll choose you.
The purple bus arrived first at the shooting location. As Yuan Shiyuan got off, he happened to see the four Alpha members standing together in the open, and as if by tacit agreement, they all turned their gazes toward him.
Yuan Shiyuan returned their looks with a warm smile and then blinked slowly.
All four Alphas were certain that the smile was for them.
Bo Jin, standing behind Yuan Shiyuan, took it all in.
Public flirting with exchanging looks.
Since when had Yuan Shiyuan become so close to them?
Author’s Note:
Flirting Glances [green heart]