Pretending to Be an Alpha in an All-Alpha Boy Band - Chapter 74
Chapter 74: White Horse
“Are you two really brothers?”
Inside the smoothly gliding car, Bo Jin rested his slender fingers on the steering wheel and voiced his skepticism. “You don’t look much alike.”
Ahead, the road was a sea of red taillights, the traffic completely jammed.
Yuan Shiyuan lazily twirled the edge of his seatbelt around his fingertip. “What’s it to you whether we look alike or not?”
Good thing Yuan Shize isn’t here, Yuan Shiyuan thought. If he heard Bo Jin say that, he’d probably get insecure again and cling to me like glue.
The gridlocked traffic finally began to inch forward.
Bo Jin lightly pressed the accelerator, the black car gliding forward a short distance. He glanced sideways at the passenger seat, where Yuan Shiyuan was idly fiddling with his fingers, head bowed in boredom. Outside, the streetlights danced in the strands of his pale pink hair, framing his tranquil, delicate features.
“Are you angry?”
“Why would I be angry?”
“Then tell me everything that happened between you and Pei Yanbing last night,” Bo Jin added. “Every single detail.”
“…………”
Yuan Shiyuan, who had been drifting off to sleep in the gridlock, jolted awake. “Why would you even ask?”
Bo Jin snorted coldly. “I took the fall for Pei Yanbing. Don’t I deserve to know what happened?”
Yuan Shiyuan found himself at a loss for words.
Bo Jin was frighteningly perceptive and remarkably intelligent, always pulling Yuan Shiyuan out of tight spots. Based on Yuan Shiyuan’s various reactions, Bo Jin had likely pieced together the general outline of what had happened.
“It’s nothing special, really,” Yuan Shiyuan said casually, picking out a few details. “Yesterday, I went out for some fresh air and wandered into the practice room. I happened to bump into the captain during his susceptible period…”
Before he could finish, Bo Jin’s expression darkened. “What did he do to you?” he demanded, his tone sharp with alarm.
“He bit me,” Yuan Shiyuan replied, discreetly observing Bo Jin’s reaction. As expected, Bo Jin frowned, clearly disgusted by the act.
“It’s not a big deal, though. We’re both Alphas, after all. A bite is just a bite,” Yuan Shiyuan said nonchalantly. “I just didn’t want the captain to find out and make things awkward between us, so I kept it quiet.”
“Both Alphas, you say? What a mess.” Bo Jin’s tone dripped with disapproval. “By your logic, if you were an Omega, he could just bite you whenever he pleased?”
Yuan Shiyuan countered with feigned nonchalance, “And what if I were an Omega?”
“Then I’d call the police immediately and have him arrested.”
Yuan Shiyuan stared, speechless.
We’re on the same team, for crying out loud!
He thought it was outrageous enough that he might steal his teammate’s orange slices, but Bo Jin went even further, wanting to personally deliver an entire orange to his teammate.
“You can’t possibly be an Omega. Such a hypothesis is meaningless.”
Bo Jin skillfully maneuvered the car into the underground garage, avoiding the crowded areas and seeking out a secluded corner.
The tires rumbled over the speed bumps, causing a slight tremor as he backed into the parking space. He pressed again, “Is it really that simple?”
“Just that simple.”
Bo Jin parked the car, switched off the engine, but didn’t immediately unbuckle his seatbelt. He turned sideways, fixing Yuan Shiyuan with a stare as he dissected each word, “So you spent the first half of last night with Pei Yanbing, and the second half with Ying Mingxi.”
Why is Ying Mingxi being dragged into this again? Yuan Shiyuan was bewildered.
Bo Jin took Yuan Shiyuan’s reaction as tacit confirmation.
His gaze slowly drifted downward, finally settling below Yuan Shiyuan’s waistline. His low voice carried a mix of anger and a grinding edge, “The bite mark on your pigudrum… was that also Pei Yanbing’s doing?”
Yuan Shiyuan’s eyes widened, his face a mask of genuine confusion and shock. “What bite mark? What pigudrum?”
This completely clueless and innocent demeanor didn’t seem like an act. After all, the location was quite… specific, and Yuan Shiyuan likely couldn’t easily see it himself.
Bitten and still clueless.
Based solely on the marks on Yuan Shiyuan’s body and his own observations, Bo Jin instantly pieced together the events of the previous night with remarkable accuracy.
Pei Yanbing, overwhelmed by his susceptible period, had lost control and indiscriminately bitten Yuan Shiyuan, who had mistakenly wandered into the music room. Yuan Shiyuan, enduring the humiliation for the sake of his team’s camaraderie, barely escaped the Alpha’s jaws only to stumble into the clutches of the malicious Ying Mingxi…
Afterward, under the guise of “practice,” Ying Mingxi had coaxed Yuan Shiyuan into several kisses. Yet Yuan Shiyuan’s thoughts remained fixated on Bo Jin, remembering to reply to his messages even in that moment…
“Dealing with three Alphas in one night.”
Bo Jin unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned abruptly across the passenger seat. Reaching over, he released Yuan Shiyuan’s seatbelt, his voice dripping with jealousy and bitterness. “Big star, you’ve really packed your schedule tight.”
Yuan Shiyuan blinked innocently, his face a mask of feigned cluelessness.
As Bo Jin stared at Yuan Shiyuan’s expression, a wave of intense regret washed over him.
If only I’d held on longer while Yuan Shiyuan was still half-asleep.
Held on tighter, deeper. Made sure he remembered the sensation of me.
Even if it was just my fingers.
Though Bo Jin wasn’t Silence’s VIC, he was this shopping mall’s VIC.
His private VIC Lounge showcased exclusive, limited-edition treasures unavailable to the public, the air perfumed with the aroma of exquisite teas and pastries.
“Mr. Yuan!”
A Silence sales associate burst into the VIC Lounge, her face alight with surprise. “What brings you here so suddenly?”
Yuan Shiyuan, fully masked and hooded after being outfitted by Bo Jin, was almost unrecognizable. He had let his hair grow a bit longer in preparation for his upcoming role.
As they passed a boutique, Bo Jin purchased a pale pink and white silk scarf and tied Yuan Shiyuan’s hair to one side.
The scarf draped down from the side of his neck, its ends fastened to the tips of his pink hair. Bo Jin tilted his head, glanced at him, and reached out to straighten the scarf.
His fingertips brushed against Yuan Shiyuan’s plump, rounded earlobe, and he gently pinched it, neither too hard nor too soft.
The sales associate froze, then suddenly felt inexplicably excited.
Yuan Shiyuan, oblivious to the others’ reactions, slapped Bo Jin’s hand away. “What are you doing?”
“Can’t even touch you?”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t be touched. They needed to get used to physical contact, and Yuan Shiyuan could sense that the team members were consciously increasing the scale of physical interaction.
Desensitization during daily training would make the audition much easier.
Yuan Shiyuan waited until the VIC Lounge door closed before removing his hat and mask, his pale pink hair falling in disarray against his lightly flushed cheeks. He glanced at the Alpha with mild exasperation. “Could you at least wait until we’re somewhere less crowded to touch me?”
Perhaps Yuan Shiyuan was still a bit conservative.
He didn’t mind casual physical contact, but being touched in a crowded mall, where people could pass by at any moment, always gave him an unsettling, secretive sense of shame—like being filmed in public.
Even though the VIC Lounge wasn’t crowded, with only the manager, sales representatives, and other staff present.
Bo Jin found the slight displeasure in Yuan Shiyuan’s gaze oddly exhilarating, a tingling pleasure that warmed his heart.
“Alright, fine. Your wish is my command,” he chuckled softly. “I’ll save the rest for later.”
On the table before the sofa sat an exquisite bouquet of flowers, pastries, and drinks. Yuan Shiyuan, feeling thirsty, picked up a sparkling water and took a sip.
Bo Jin casually grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth, then asked, “If we meet today’s spending requirement to become VIC members, we’ll get an invitation to tomorrow’s anniversary event after the store closes, right?”
The saleswoman paused, a troubled expression crossing her face. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bo, all invitations have been distributed, and there are no more spots available. If you’re interested in Silence, we can…”
“How many haute couture jewelry pieces do you have in stock right now? How many can you urgently transfer from other stores?” Bo Jin interrupted her, his tone flat.
“Whatever you can get here before the mall closes, I’ll buy it all.”
Such extravagant spending stunned even the saleswoman, who was accustomed to high-end clientele, let alone Yuan Shiyuan.
Reacting swiftly, the saleswoman’s sharp eyes darted between the two men, immediately discerning who held the true power.
She respectfully presented the catalog to Yuan Shiyuan. “Mr. Yuan, I’ll need to call other branches to check their jewelry inventory… In the meantime, we can arrange for models to showcase our new ready-to-wear collection for you.”
“Would that be acceptable?”
Pierre had already arranged for staff to gift Yuan Shiyuan a selection of Silence ready-to-wear pieces. As the brand’s ambassador, Yuan Shiyuan naturally wore their clothing frequently.
But those were just a portion. Silence’s ready-to-wear collection still had many styles.
Yuan Shiyuan was about to decline when Bo Jin picked up the catalog and began browsing, answering for him, “That’s fine.”
The saleswoman smiled and left, then quickly whispered to a colleague and immediately contacted other boutiques to check the haute couture jewelry inventory at each location.
Up ahead, professional models showcased Silence’s latest ready-to-wear pieces, strutting through the VIC Lounge as if on a runway.
Bo Jin opened a bottle of champagne and turned to ask, “Which outfit do you like?”
“Seriously, I don’t need any of this,” Yuan Shiyuan protested.
He still found Bo Jin’s extravagance overwhelming. “I’m not nervous anymore, really. I can go alone just fine…”
“Alright,” Bo Jin nodded, then turned to the saleswoman beside him. “Have all the outfits the models just wore—new, unworn—altered to his size.”
He paused, then added, “The second-to-last suit jacket is too broad at the shoulders. Remember to narrow it.”
Yuan Shiyuan was about to faint.
He never imagined things would escalate like this, let alone that Bo Jin would be so lavishly generous with a friend.
“Brother Bo Jin, are you really treating me like a kept man?”
“No. Just treating you like my roommate.”
For the first time, Bo Jin was experiencing the joy of shopping. As he flipped through the catalog, he felt like every item would suit Yuan Shiyuan perfectly.
Securing a spot in the VIC Lounge today was a certainty. Given his spending habits, even if Silence’s invitation quota was exhausted, they would undoubtedly rush to create an additional slot.
This was the power of money.
“Don’t overthink it. And don’t treat my money like it’s precious. I’m an only child—I have more money than I could ever spend in my lifetime,” Bo Jin said, sensing Yuan Shiyuan’s thoughts. “If you help me spend it, I’ll be the one thanking you.”
Yuan Shiyuan sighed. Bo Jin was going to such lengths, even worrying about his packed schedule tomorrow! He really was a good brother.
He couldn’t resist leaning over to hug Bo Jin. “I’m so touched.”
With a warm embrace offered freely, Bo Jin naturally wrapped his arm around Yuan Shiyuan’s waist. Finding the position still too distant, he pulled Yuan Shiyuan closer, cradling him in his arms as they both lowered their heads to look at the catalog together.
“But I really can’t accept all this…”
“If you don’t want it, just throw it away.”
Yuan Shiyuan was silent for a moment, his head still resting on the Alpha’s shoulder. He tilted his face upward, his amber eyes sparkling. “I finally understand why people are so obsessed with domineering CEO novels.”
“Oh?”
“Even though I have my own principles, you keep corrupting me with money. Not even God could resist that.”
Hearing this, Bo Jin chuckled and reached out to pinch Yuan Shiyuan’s cheek. “Then stop resisting.”
Bo Jin swiftly swiped his card to pay, the purchase amount long surpassing the VIC threshold. A sales associate presented a warm invitation letter with a practiced smile.
Having achieved his goal, Bo Jin was in high spirits and casually ordered a few sets of jewelry for Yuan Shiyuan.
Yuan Shiyuan stared at the long string of numbers, ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions…
He was starting to feel dizzy from all the zeros.
Served by multiple sales associates, the two men were clearly uninterested in being disturbed. The staff tactfully withdrew to a distance, yet couldn’t resist whispering among themselves.
“Our brand ambassador is so handsome… No wonder the higher-ups were so eager to sign him.”
“How could we not be anxious? Back then, Yuan Shiyuan’s popularity was skyrocketing overseas, catching the attention of top executives at numerous luxury brands. Several other top-tier brands were also considering him, but they were still in the evaluation phase… Unlike our company, which acted decisively, immediately dispatching Pierre, our head of headquarters, to fly over!”
“I heard we were initially rejected…”
They were immensely grateful that Pierre had persisted. Now, mega screens and advertisements everywhere featured Yuan Shiyuan’s endorsement photos, especially the endorsements displayed behind the glass walls of the boutiques, which were drawing in many customers who had previously been indifferent to Silence.
These consumers spanned Alpha, Beta, and Omega demographics, many of whom weren’t celebrity chasers or even familiar with Yuan Shiyuan’s name. Yet, solely captivated by the expressive power in his endorsement photos, they walked straight into the boutiques and specifically requested the items he was promoting.
It was during this period that the sales staff couldn’t help but marvel:
So this is how easily we exceed our sales targets.
“Mr. Yuan, these outfits were personally selected for you by Mr. Pierre. He originally planned to have them delivered to your residence tonight, but now that you’re here, you can try them on right away…”
A tall, pink-haired young man was reflected in the mirror.
After the stylist’s touch, Yuan Shiyuan’s hair was swept back, revealing a smooth, full forehead—his beauty nearly sharp and intense.
The elevator ascended smoothly, its mirrored walls offering multiple angles of his current state.
As the elevator doors opened, he saw a white horse being led toward him.
“Mr. Yuan, rest assured, this horse has been professionally trained and is very docile.”
The horse was being led by a staff member, its coat pure white, its mane and tail smooth and glossy. Its color perfectly matched Yuan Shiyuan’s all-white attire.
Yuan Shiyuan reached out to the white horse, which gently pressed its face against his palm.
“Such a good boy,” he murmured, tilting his head to look at the staff member. “The event’s starting early, isn’t it?”
The staff member nodded. Zhuang He explained, “Silence’s closing event hasn’t even started yet, but the fans are so enthusiastic they’ve completely blocked off the mall. There’s even a crowd of fans outside who can’t get in… The turnout far exceeds our expectations.”
“We have no choice but to start the event early and end it quickly. If we delay any further, given the current rate of crowd growth, the situation will inevitably spiral out of control.”
According to the original plan, Yuan Shiyuan was supposed to ride a white horse directly into the Silence boutique.
The boutique’s closed-door event meant it was not open to the public. High barricades would be erected at the entrance to ensure the exclusive shopping experience for VIC customers.
But what about the fans who had been staking out spots in the mall since dawn, just to catch a glimpse of him?
Yuan Shiyuan couldn’t help but think of them. He knew many fans, hidden in corners or on higher floors, might not even catch a glimpse of him.
“I’m not sure if this is possible…”
“Could we clear a path on the first floor so I can make a round and ensure everyone gets to see me?”
The faint sound of fans calling his name drifted from a distance. Yuan Shiyuan murmured, “They must be so excited to see me, just as I’m excited to see them.”
“I don’t want them to have come all this way for nothing.”
The fans’ wishes were simple and pure, and easily granted: to see him, even just for a moment.
Yuan Shiyuan couldn’t bear to disappoint their affection, nor could he stand to fail to fulfill such a small, heartfelt desire.
The path to the Silence store had already been cleared by security in advance. Given the overwhelming crowds, carving out an additional route for Yuan Shiyuan to patrol was a formidable task.
Yet it wasn’t entirely impossible.
The key lay in the fans’ cooperation.
A staff member immediately said, “I’ll go coordinate with security and the fans right now.”
Security posed no major issue; the real challenge lay with the fans. Maintaining order in such a surging crowd was already difficult enough, let alone clearing a path.
But when the fans heard they might get to see Yuan Shiyuan, they nodded eagerly, as if afraid the staff might retract the offer. “We’ll cooperate!”
“We’ll definitely maintain order and make sure there’s no chaos!”
Under the staff’s guidance and the fans’ spontaneous cooperation, new routes were rapidly mapped out.
The previously restless crowd miraculously quieted down upon hearing the news that everyone might get a glimpse of Yuan Shiyuan.
The fans stood in orderly rows in their designated areas, united in maintaining the hard-won order.
Suddenly, an Omega asked curiously, “Why are they suddenly clearing paths, putting up barricades, and preparing new routes? Wasn’t the original route already planned?”
The staff had originally erected barricades inside the mall, with bodyguards stationed around the perimeter. The area had long been swarming with fans, leaving latecomers to occupy more distant spots or crowd the upper floors.
Beyond the barricades, whether anyone could catch a glimpse of Yuan Shiyuan depended entirely on luck.
But now, the staff were announcing that Yuan Shiyuan’s route had been changed, giving every single fan a chance to see him up close!
“This was Shiyuan’s request,” the staff member said with a smile.
“He said he didn’t want you to come all this way for nothing, nor did he want to disappoint your expectations. He hopes every single one of you will get to see him,” the staff member reiterated Yuan Shiyuan’s words. “He also said you must be just as eager to meet him as he is to meet you all.”
Upon hearing this, the Omega suddenly dropped the small signboard in his hand, bowing his head to pick it up, his eyes stinging. Under normal circumstances, retrieving a dropped item in such a dense crowd would have been nearly impossible.
But every fan nearby had heard the staff member’s announcement.
Yuan Shiyuan is just as eager to meet us as we are to meet him.
Many were students with limited finances, unable to become Silence’s VICs and gain invitations to the closed-door events. Yet their devotion to Yuan Shiyuan remained unwavering; they harbored no grand ambitions, only the desire to support him within their means.
A fleeting glimpse of Yuan Shiyuan from afar would suffice.
After all, Yuan Shiyuan had only recently debuted, and offline appearances were rare.
Yuan Shiyuan seemed to understand their unspoken wishes.
That’s why he had communicated with the staff, negotiated changes to the route, and done everything possible to ensure none of his fans went home empty-handed.
Many offered tissues to the Omega who was crying, while someone bent down to help him pick up his fallen standee. A stranger standing nearby comforted him gently.
“Don’t cry,” she said gently. “Shiyuan-ge always remembers us. We should be happy!”
Comfort poured in from all sides. The kindness of strangers, combined with the idol’s acknowledgment, only intensified his tears.
The Omega clutched the tissues tightly, his voice choked with emotion. “It’s just… I’m so happy, I can’t stop crying.”
The mall was packed to the brim, a sea of humanity.
In such a densely packed crowd, chaos would normally be expected. Yet everyone stood in their designated areas, as if following an unspoken agreement, collectively maintaining order.
The scene was remarkably quiet.
The silence was broken only by the mall’s Muzak.
Then, from a corner near the elevator passage, came the soft clip-clop of hooves.
A white figure slowly entered the frame.
Yuan Shiyuan, mounted on a white horse and escorted by black-suited bodyguards, gradually emerged into the crowd.
He wore a white embroidered shirt, its hems crossed and tied at his side, accentuating his slender waist. The tailoring was crisp and elegant, luxurious yet understated. Diamond-studded ribbons draped from his shoulders and collar.
Bathed in the mall’s bright lights, every movement of Yuan Shiyuan on his white steed seemed to radiate light.
Having risen to fame so quickly and debuted so recently, most of his fans were seeing him in person for the first time.
At that moment, everyone froze.
They held their breath, craning their necks to stare dumbly at the pink-haired alpha on horseback.
How could he be… so beautiful?
How could he be even more stunning than on camera?
Some fans rubbed their eyes in disbelief, convinced they were hallucinating.
How could anyone in reality possess such a face?!
A hush fell over the mall, so complete you could hear a pin drop.
Only the steady rhythm of hooves echoed softly across the tiled floor.
As he passed through the cordoned-off path, Yuan Shiyuan lowered his head and smiled at the fans on either side.
“Hello everyone, I’m Yuan Shiyuan,” he said. “Thank you for coming to see me.”
Yuan Shiyuan’s voice was thin, clear, and pure, like a can of soda freshly taken from the refrigerator on a scorching summer day, emitting a refreshing, misty chill.
When he first appeared, his face was expressionless, lending him a sharp, youthful beauty, brimming with youthful vigor. But the moment he smiled, he transformed completely, his eyes filling with the gentle starlight of tenderness, making it impossible to look away.
Fans on both sides of the barricade craned their necks, their eyes locked on his magnified face. Their minds seemed to freeze in blank confusion, their breathing rapid, their bodies trembling violently with excitement.
In the next instant, a deafening roar of cheers erupted throughout the mall.
The dense crowd surged forward, raising their small merchandise items high as they chanted the same name in unison:
“Yuan Shiyuan!”
“Yuan Shiyuan!!”
“Big Brother, we love you!!!”
Amidst the sea of faces, countless hands brandished small merchandise items.
The fans who had previously prided themselves on their “obedience” finally couldn’t contain their cheers. The entire mall descended into pandemonium, even the air crackling with excitement.
Hearing the thunderous roar, Yuan Shiyuan, seated on the white horse, paused between the red velvet barricades. He raised his hand in response to the fans, his smile radiant. Before him stretched an endless sea of faces. He tilted his head back, gazing up at the tiers of packed balconies—every level overflowing with people who had come just for him.
Though they hailed from every corner of the globe, these diverse crowds were united in their fervent devotion to a single person.
Every eye in the crowd was fixed on a single figure. They leaned forward, arms waving wildly, chanting the same name.