PTBC chapter 1

During the signing event, Xia Yan felt slightly unwell, experiencing dizziness.

A girl sitting in front of him, wearing a beautiful silver dress and a headband supporting their group—a clear beta—excitedly handed him a small note.

“Xia Yan, you’re my favorite in D.A,” she said with sparkling eyes, her voice a bit hoarse. “I love your group’s new album, and I’ve watched your solo stage performance countless times.”

“Thank you for the compliments,” Xia Yan replied with a slight smile.

His strikingly handsome features were sharp and captivating. His peach blossom eyes exuded charm, his fair skin was flawless like porcelain, and his tall, well-built physique—broad shoulders, long legs, and a sculpted waistline—was enough to make fans scream when he revealed his toned upper body.

When he smiled, his eyes seemed even more captivating, as if filled with affection.

The beta in front of him froze for three seconds, feeling as if she could hardly breathe.

Xia Yan opened the small note she handed over.

Her question wasn’t too daring, just a standard one:

“What’s Xia Yan’s ideal type? Which of the ABO types do you prefer?”

Xia Yan twirled the pen in his hand.

He’d answered such questions on shows before, always giving the standard response:

“Omegas, tall, elegant, and beautiful.”

This answer often made rival fans mock him, labeling him as an outdated, old-school Alpha with aesthetic preferences that lacked progressive ideals, no matter how polished his behavior was.

But today, looking at the note, Xia Yan paused for a few seconds before changing his answer.

“Any ABO type is fine. Coming from a dual-Alpha family, I don’t fixate too much on gender,” he tilted his head slightly, his peach blossom eyes thoughtful. “But I think I’d like someone who can make me laugh.”

It was an honest answer.

He didn’t strictly prefer omegas; it was just that his ideal type leaned toward elegant Omegas. If he found one, great; if not, he’d leave it up to fate.

The fan in front of him squealed softly, “Really?!”

Xia Yan smiled faintly, lowering his head to autograph the album she handed him. But then she asked again,

“When will you undergo differentiation, Yan Yan?”

“Ah, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to ask because people with delayed gland development usually feel unwell during differentiation periods…”

Xia Yan’s pen paused. For some reason, hearing the words “differentiation period” made his already heated body feel even worse.

His heart pounded heavily a few times, and his chest felt suffocated, as though someone was gripping his heart. Sweat broke out on his back, and every sound around him seemed amplified.

But this discomfort lasted only a moment. When he looked up again, his face showed no sign of anything unusual, still calm and collected.

“I’m not sure,” he replied. “The last hospital checkup said it’s almost time, but there’s still no sign of it recently. Honestly, I’d like to differentiate sooner.”

He shrugged. “Maybe the universe wants to keep my surprise box unopened for a little longer.”

The girl chuckled, “How could it be a surprise box? Yan Yan, didn’t the tests already show that your differentiation probability is Omega?”

“…What the—”

Xia Yan nearly fell out of bed, staring at the ceiling in disbelief for a long time.

“What kind of nonsensical dream was that?” he muttered.

It was unbelievable. He’d dreamed that his differentiation leaned towards Omega.

“Must’ve been caused by that ridiculous fanfiction Lin Qixu sent…”

Wiping his face, Xia Yan recalled a fanfiction shared by his teammate Lin Qixu last night.

In the story, not only did he defy societal norms to fall madly in love with their teammate Xu Cong, but he also differentiated into an Omega for him, and the two of them had three kids, forming a blissfully happy family.

The absurdity of it nearly made Xia Yan spit out his dinner.

Thinking about the dream he just had, Xia Yan concluded that maybe he hadn’t hit Lin Qixu hard enough yesterday.

After some self-consolation and digesting the bizarre dream, Xia Yan got up and checked his phone.

8:05 AM.

Time to get up.

He headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

While brushing his teeth, he received a message from his manager, reminding him to wake up the other members because they had an ad shoot in the morning and couldn’t be late.

Xia Yan, toothbrush in mouth, replied with an “OK” emoji.

After rinsing his mouth, he washed his face and looked at himself in the mirror.

Even though he had only gone to bed at 2 a.m., there were no signs of fatigue on his face. He looked as energetic as ever, his features bold and striking.

Ten minutes later, he emerged from his room and headed to the dining area, where three people were already seated.

There was Xu Cong, the main vocalist of D.A.

Xiao Ning, the youngest member at just 20 years old, fresh-faced and youthful.

And Ye Zhaoyang, the third member, a songwriter like Xu Cong. Nearly all the group’s songs were composed by these two.

Only Lin Qixu, the reclusive gamer, was absent.

“Where’s Lin Qixu?” Xia Yan sat at the table and casually took a sandwich from Xu Cong’s plate.

Remembering his earlier dream, he asked with a grim expression, “Is he hiding because he’s afraid I’ll kill him for sharing that fanfiction yesterday?”

Xu Cong coughed lightly, as if he had choked on his coffee.

He also remembered the fanfic from yesterday.

In it, Xia Yan shyly and tearfully snuggled into his arms, begging him to hold him…

The other two also laughed, but when the leader shot them a death glare, they immediately sat up straight.

“He wouldn’t confess,” Ye Zhaoyang said. He knew that if Xia Yan went to wake Lin Qixu up, he would drag him up by the foot. Out of brotherly kindness, he stood up, “I’ll go wake him up, you guys eat breakfast.”

Xia Yan didn’t object.

He had already taken his share of breakfast but still found Xu Cong’s plate more appetizing, so he took a piece of chicken from it.

“Did you sleep well?” Xu Cong asked.

“Mm.” Xia Yan took a sip of his coffee, “I had an absurd dream,” he said, not minding sharing with Xu Cong, “I dreamt that my differentiation turned into Omega.”

“Uh…” Xu Cong coughed again.

He gave Xia Yan a puzzled look, “Was it because of that fanfic from yesterday?”

“Who knows,” Xia Yan ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated and a bit helpless, “It might just be stress.”

…..

After getting Lin Qixu out of his room and giving him some food, the group headed downstairs to the car.

That day, they were filming an outdoor advertisement for a popular beverage brand. The company had launched a new series targeting young people and specifically sought them out as the spokespersons.

This was not their first advertisement. As the leader and captain, Xia Yan didn’t have much to say.

He only reminded them, “When we get to the set, act a little more enthusiastic, smile! Today’s an outdoor shoot, don’t think the paparazzi won’t snap pictures. Lin Qixu, I’m talking about you, no sulking faces. If I see anyone leaking that you have a bad temper to the magazines, you’re dead.”

Lin Qixu was still half-asleep, looking lifeless.

But he couldn’t help protesting.

“That was slander! The last time, I didn’t even see anyone in front of me and they said I purposely bumped into a staff member. I feel more wronged than Dou E.”

Lin Qixu was still upset thinking about it.

He had recently been heavily criticized. He accidentally spilled cola on a staff member because he wasn’t paying attention, but it wasn’t intentional. He even bought the staff member a new jacket and sent a red envelope, but the paparazzi caught it from an awkward angle, making it look like he did it on purpose with a cold expression, and it immediately trended.

Even though the staff member later clarified it was an accident, people still insisted that Lin Qixu had pressured them into doing so.

“You can’t do anything about being slandered,” Xia Yan coldly said, “Only your fans will listen to your explanation. The public will just remember you have a bad temper.”

Lin Qixu clicked his tongue, feeling even more frustrated, but he knew Xia Yan was right.

“Got it.” He grumbled in response.

After giving the necessary reminders, Xia Yan didn’t say more and just sat back listening to music.

He scrolled through his phone, occasionally spotting news related to their group on the entertainment pages.

Real or fake, it was all there.

One minute, it was about their fans fighting with another group, and the next minute, it was a rumor that someone in their group was dating.

Xia Yan scrolled for a while before closing his phone. He didn’t feel like sleeping, so he looked out the window.

If you counted it, they had been in the industry for almost three years already.

Time really flew.

D.A.

Their group, which had been consistently popular since debut, was getting more and more successful. They had endorsement deals pouring in and album sales breaking records.

All five members of the group were Alpha—tall, good-looking, and highly skilled. Even the youngest, Xiao Ning, was an A-level Alpha, while he and Xu Cong were S-level Alphas.

This was rare even in the world of entertainment, where most groups were full of Alpha members.

Even though society now emphasized diminishing the importance of pheromone levels, everyone knew that in the Alpha world, higher levels of pheromones gave a distinct advantage.

Standing on stage with other boy groups, they didn’t need fans to drag others down; just the presence of five high-tier Alphas was enough to create pressure.

So, many people in the industry avoided them like a plague, preferring to pay extra just to avoid sharing the stage with them.

Xia Yan smiled slightly, thinking it was worth it for the company’s executives to spend two years of effort just to match the five of them together.

But…

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling strangely uneasy.

As everyone knew, their group had two S-level Alphas.

One was Xu Cong, and the other was him.

But what was also well-known was that he hadn’t actually differentiated yet.

In the ABO system, most people’s gender is determined at birth.

But a small number of people, due to delayed gonadal development, couldn’t be assigned a gender at birth and had to go through repeated comparisons to determine their differentiation tendency.

These people often have very high pheromone levels and only differentiate during their youth, with the longest delay being up to 30 years.

Xia Yan was one of those people.

Since birth, his test results had said—”Differentiation tendency: ALPHA, probability: 99%.”

It was essentially a done deal.

Furthermore, he came from a very special double-Alpha family. Both of his parents were Alpha, and they had used external reproductive technology to have him and his sister.

His sister also only differentiated into an Alpha when she was fifteen.

In a family like his, having an Omega was practically a pipe dream.

So, the company was quite confident and had always used his non-differentiation as a gimmick.

Recently, he had shown signs that he might differentiate soon. The smell of his pheromones had become more noticeable, and the markers of differentiation were unusually active during a hospital check-up.

The company’s marketing department immediately geared up for it.

The official accounts also hinted that they would host a special differentiation celebration for him.

Fans were excited, screaming in anticipation, waiting to see what level his differentiation would be, and even the titles of articles were getting more and more shameless, like—

“Tremble, here comes the true king!”

“Xia Yan, the great general of Chinese entertainment, who dares to oppose!”

“I’m not bragging, once Xia Yan differentiates, even other Alphas will have to back off, just one second late and they’ll collapse in front of him.”

Seeing this, Xia Yan was at a loss for words, his sense of shame more intense than ever, and he immediately turned off his phone.

But all these signs pointed to one very clear message.

Everyone believed he would definitely be a super high-ranking alpha.

Even fans of rival groups thought so.

Although the insults were as dirty as ever, with some sourly claiming that he might not even have an S-rank, no one doubted that he would at least be an Alpha.

Xia Yan lowered his eyelids, the screen of his phone now turned off, but the face reflected in it didn’t look very happy.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of all the activities lately or the mounting pressure, but he felt a sense of unease.

He had indeed been showing many signs of differentiation.

Hot flashes.

Palpitations.

Increased sensitivity to pheromones.

Even his hearing and sense of smell seemed to have evolved.

But for some reason, whenever he was in the same vehicle with his teammates or too close to them, he often felt restless, his hair standing on end, and he became irritable… He even had the urge to beat up each of his teammates.

This made him have to control himself, and it was a real headache—after all, an S-rank alpha shouldn’t be affected by other Alpha-ranks.

At this thought, Xia Yan glanced at Xu Cong.

It was strange—Xu Cong had the highest pheromone level in the group. If anyone were to affect him, it should be Xu Cong.

But he was immune to Xu Cong.

Xu Cong’s sandalwood-scented pheromone neither made him uncomfortable nor irritable.

Sometimes, he even found it quite pleasant and relaxing.

So recently, he always tried to sit next to Xu Cong.

Maybe it’s because sandalwood has a calming effect, Xia Yan thought.

He closed his eyes and comforted himself, telling himself that these symptoms should disappear once his differentiation was complete.

…

More than half an hour later, their group arrived at their destination.

They had filmed the advertisement for a total of six hours, and immediately after finishing, they rushed to another brief interview, only resting for an hour on the way.

By the time everything finished, it was already past nine in the evening, and the group was so exhausted that no one wanted to speak.

Only Xu Cong, the physical powerhouse, showed no sign of fatigue. He opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Xia Yan.

“Are you very tired today?” Xu Cong asked curiously.

Normally, it was Xia Yan and Xu Cong who had exceptional stamina, likely due to being S-rank, always full of energy even when everyone else was exhausted.

Last week, Xia Yan had just performed push-ups with an Omega celebrity on a variety show, drawing screams from the crowd.

But now, he was lying on his seat, too tired to even lift a finger, his face full of exhaustion.

“A bit,” he replied, his throat slightly hoarse. He took the water and cleared his throat. “I probably just stayed up too late last night.”

“You didn’t eat much at lunch either,” Xu Cong said, raising his hand to tap Xia Yan’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re not suffering from heatstroke? Your face looks a bit red.”

“It’s impossible,” Xia Yan smiled softly, brushing his hand away. “Stop jinxing me. Maybe it’s just a bit hot right now.”

“Hey, you two, stop flirting for a second, let’s see what we’re having for supper?” Ye Zhaoyang came forward from the front.

He handed them his phone. “The youngest wants hotpot, Lin Qixu wants barbecue, I’m fine with both. You two decide.”

Xia Yan glanced at the colorful phone screen, then looked at the eager Xiao Ning, and decisively chose hotpot.

“Hotpot.”

Lin Qixu groaned, “No way, don’t I have any rights?”

…

In the end, adhering to humanitarian principles, they chose a hotpot restaurant with barbecue.

“I knew our captain was soft-hearted and still cares about me,” Lin Qixu happily placed beef on the grill. “Our captain can’t bear to see me without barbecue.”

Ye Zhaoyang sneered.

Xu Cong rolled his eyes at him.

Xia Yan, heating a slice of beef, couldn’t be bothered to respond to this playful guy.

“Good to know.”

He lazily said, but after heating the meat, he suddenly felt nauseous, lost all appetite, and transferred the piece to Xu Cong’s bowl.

“Not eating?” Xu Cong frowned.

Xia Yan hadn’t eaten much at lunch, and had only had two slices of grilled meat and some salad.

“I don’t have an appetite. I’ll go outside for a smoke.” Xia Yan took a cigarette from the pack on the table.

Xu Cong’s frown deepened.

He knew that Xia Yan didn’t have a strong smoking habit, he only smoked when stressed or upset.

But Xia Yan had already stood up from the table and even took a lighter. Xu Cong could only remind him, “Be careful of your surroundings, don’t let any paparazzi spot you.”

Xia Yan absent-mindedly nodded.

…

After Xia Yan left, Xiao Ning, who had been competing with Lin Qixu for the barbecue, looked strangely at Xia Yan’s retreating figure.

Although he was the youngest, his mind was more sensitive than the others.

He asked Xu Cong, “Is the captain in a bad mood today? I felt like something was off during the advertisement shoot, even though he’s always so dedicated, he spaced out several times.”

Xu Cong lowered his eyes and didn’t speak. He had noticed too, but Xia Yan kept saying he was just a little tired.

“Probably just tired,” Ye Zhaoyang interjected, “He only came from a drama set a few days ago. You know that drama has a crazy schedule, he often stayed up late. It’s normal for his body to not recover in time.”

Xia Yan had recently worked on a major director’s modern drama, playing a significant supporting role. His scenes were often at night, and after filming, he had lost several pounds.

“Yeah, if I had his workload, I’d be going crazy by now,” Xiao Ning nodded.

Their team was at the peak of popularity, but when it came to who had the highest fanbase, it was still Xia Yan and Xu Cong.

Both were S-rank Alphas and incredibly handsome and tall, making their fans swoon.

Xiao Ning thought for a moment, then relaxed and went back to grabbing more barbecue.

“I want that piece!” he shouted, quickly trying to steal the cheese from Lin Qixu’s chopsticks.

But Xu Cong had lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks and kept looking in the direction Xia Yan had left.

 

¹

Author’s Note:

The story has started～

Welcome, everyone, to support and show some love 💖

Young submissive dog Alpha × Fiery beauty Omega

From friends to lovers

After being an Alpha for twenty-three years, suddenly turning Omega

Is this a distortion of human nature or a collapse of morals?!

(Hmm, I think it’s still a relatively light-hearted story)

 

• 1
  
  
  Author’s Note:
  
  The story has started～
  
  Welcome, everyone, to support and show some love 💖
  
  Young submissive dog Alpha × Fiery beauty Omega
  
  From friends to lovers
  
  After being an Alpha for twenty-three years, suddenly turning Omega
  
  Is this a distortion of human nature or a collapse of morals?!
  
  (Hmm, I think it’s still a relatively light-hearted story)