Chapter Text
Wu Suowei's Apartment...
The evening light had begun to fade from Wu Suowei's apartment windows, painting the walls in shades of orange. The beta had been restless since the afternoon. He was not exhausted though. The beta was dealing with having too many feelings and nowhere sensible to put them. Chi Cheng had gone to work, and he was supposed to be back by 9 PM. He glanced at the clock, it was 7 PM, still two more hours to go.
Wu Suowei sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed for a long moment, staring at nothing, his fingers absently smoothing the wrinkled corner of his bedsheet. Last night had been...he exhaled slowly, searching for a word that fit, and found that none of them quite did. Incredible came closest.
He had convinced himself that the first time he had sex with Chi Cheng was just an adrenaline fuelled anomaly. A virgin beta having good sex with a virile alpha? It didn't make sense. Maybe it was nerves, or the way it had happened. What if it was just a fluke? What if the next time was different awkward or painful ?
However, Last night had proven the theory wrong.
After Shen Song asked him whether he was prepared to be the "wife" in the relationship, he had gone looking for answers. He ventured secretly onto alpha/beta dating subreddits. Hell!! He even watched porn ,not the fetishised kind where betas topped alphas. Everything pointed to the same conclusion. A beta having sex with an alpha and taking the said alphas knot was very much uncomfortable, especially the initial few times. It required lot of preparation and tolerance. The beta also needed to probably endure some pain. The message had been clear, this was not going to be easy. And he had believed it, the way one did when receiving plenty of proof.
Last night Chi Cheng had looked at him with desire and lust, and Wu Suowei had forgotten his own theory that this time, it might be uncomfortable. But it hadn't been uncomfortable. This was one detail that Wu Suowei kept thinking over and over. He had always assumed that beta having sex with an alpha was something which would take time to adjust. However it ended up in him shamlessly enjoying being a bottom under the alpha. He had been wrong. Chi Cheng was gentle and attentive in ways Wu Suowei hadn't even known to want. He indeed was an incredible lover and the way his body responded caught the beta off guard. Chi Cheng, on the other hand, seemed quietly pleased.
The knot!! Wu Suowei thought as he buried his face in his hands as it turned red with embarassment. He was not going to think about it. Because...it turned him on!!
Chi Cheng had later on held him afterward and had said things had said things Wu Suowei felt he didn't deserve. Not while the truth still sat between them like ticking time bomb. The beta then stood abruptly and began to pace.
He had meant to tell him. He had been meaning to tell him in last two days espeacially after Shen Song convinced him to do it. The beta had spent time planning out the conversation in his head at eight in the morning, rehearsing the words. Today while having breakfast with the alpha, Wu Suowei looked at Chi Cheng, "Chi Cheng,there's something I have to tell you about how we met. The beginning wasn't what you think it was. I wasn't entirely innocent when approaching you." He thought of breaking the news just like ripping out a band aid.
But then Chi Cheng just looked at him, a faint smile on his lips as he sipped his morning tea. Just like that every rehearsed sentence Wu Suowei thought of saying just vanished. Because the look in Chi Cheng's eyes filled with love and admiration towards him, was something Wu Suowei wanted to protect. The possibility of those eyes filled with betrayal and anger made Wu Suowei's words die in his throat every single time."
He knew he was a coward and knowing it didn't seem to be helping.
Wu Suowei then grabbed his phone off the coffee table and scrolled the contact all the way to Shen Song who was still on a vacation, probably planning on drinking wine which was more expensive than Wu Suowei's monthly grocery budget. His Macau best friend was blissfully unavailable to the rest of the world. However, Shen Song, who had been listening to Wu Suowei talk about Chi Cheng in some form or another in last few days had not yet run out of patience. Wu Suowei sat on the sofa and pressed call before he could talk himself out of it.
Shen Song answered on the third ring, his voice sounded drowsy with sleep. He probably woke up from his extended afternoon nap. Wu Suowei felt the tension in his chest ease, just a little hearing his best friends voice.
"Hello, Wu Suowei." Wu Suowei could imagine Shen Song smiling even though his nap was interrupted. He didn't seem surprised at all. Of course he wasn't surprised. "Let me guess. Chi Cheng..."
Wu Suowei opened his mouth, then closed it. "Umm...Am I that obvious?"
"I can tell. It's about him, isn't it ?," Shen Song said, entirely without judgment. "Just give me a moment. I'm going to pour wine. This sounds like a wine conversation."
Wu Suowei waited while he heard the familiar sounds of Shen Song moving around his apartment. There was a soft pop of a cork followed by the clink of glass. Finally Shen Song setlledi nto what was probably his favourite armchair by the window.
"Alright," Shen Song said, leaning back into the chair as he stared at the Macau city skyline through the windows. "I'm listening. What's troubling my favourite beta friend ?"
"Shen Song..Have you...? Have you ever been knotted ?" Wu Suowei blurted out, then immediately wanted to crawl under his sofa and disappear entirely.
The silence that followed was profound, broken only by what sounded like Shen Song choking on his wine.
"GOOD GOD!! WHAT THE FUCK WU SUOWEI!?" Shen Song spluttered, followed by a fit of coughing as he nearly choked on his wine. "That's an incredibly personal question to ask someone!!!"
Wu Suowei buried his face in his free hand, his entire body burning with shame. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have.."
"No, no, it's fine," Shen Song said between coughs, his voice still rough. "Just...warn me next time before you drop something like that. I nearly choked on my wine." He paused, catching his breath, then let out a soft chuckle.
"The answer is no," Shen Song spoke in a cheeky tone. "I'm still a virgin. Why do you ask?"
Wu Suowei felt his embarrassment ease a little. Shen Song wasn't the type to get weird about things like this. If anyone could hear this and not make a big deal out of it, it was him.
"Because...," Wu Suowei said carefully, "Even during my second time...it felt... good. Really good. Much better than I expected it to."
"Ah..," Shen Song said, and Wu Suowei could practically hear his friend going into analytical mode. "..and this surprises you because...?"
"Because every bit of information I got from, including you, suggested that a beta's first time with an alpha, especially one as dominant as Chi Cheng, should have been much more difficult. Uncomfortable, maybe even painful. But it wasn't."
Wu Suowei got up from the sofa and began pacing again in a restless manner. "Shen Song, Don't get me wrong there was some adjustment required, and I was definitely sore afterward. But even the second time, both of us having sex. The experience was...intense in a good way. Like my body knew exactly what to do, exactly how to respond."
"Hmmm..." Shen Song said, and something in his voice made Wu Suowei stop pacing.
Wu Suowei held the phone a little closer, like Shen Song might actually be there with him in the room. "Hmmm what ?"
"Nothing...," Shen Song replied too quickly. "Just... interesting."
Wu Suowei frowned, with a hint of irritation creeping in. Shen Song was doing that thing again!! Once more he went again being deliberately vague. Hadn't they just had this exact conversation last time?
"Shen Song", Wu Suowei said in a frustrated tone, rubbing his forehead, "what aren't you telling me ?"
"Well...I'm not telling you lots of things," Shen Song replied cheerfully. "Such as the colour of my underwear or what I had for breakfast, my opinion about the new gambling policies in Macau..."
"You know what I mean." Wu Suowei replied.
There was a pause, and the beta could figure that Shen Song seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
"I have some...theories,"Shen Song said slowly. "About what's going on with the unusual compatibility between you and that alpha. He exhaled. "But I'm not sure yet."
Wu Suowei felt his frustration spike. "What kind of theories?"
"The kind I'm keeping to myself for now," Shen Song replied and after a brief pause. "Wu Suowei...Hang on!! Can I ask you something ?"
"I just asked you a few minutes ago if you were ever knotted," Wu Suowei said. "Pretty sure we are both past politeness."
Shen Song laughed in response. "Fair point. Tell me about your family history. Have your parents mentioned about any unusual circumstances around your birth or early development?"
Wu Suowei frowned at the seemingly random question. "Shen Song..What do you mean by unusual?"
"Medical complications during pregnancy, early health issues, anything that might have required specialised treatment or monitoring." Shen Song asked eagerly.
Wu Suowei thought back through his childhood memories. He tried to recall conversations he had overheard between his parents or comments from relatives during family gatherings.
"Umm..Not that I know of," he said slowly. "My mother had normal pregnancies with all three of us. I was actually the easiest birth, according to her faster labour and fewer complications than my sisters had."
"And your development? Any delays, accelerated growth periods, unusual responses to medications or treatments?" Shen Song asked the next set of question rapidly.
"Shen Song, what are you getting at?"
"Probably nothing," Shen Song said, but his tone said something quite different. "It's just that your physical compatibility with an alpha, especially on your first encounter, is quite remarkable for a beta. Most people in your situation would have required significantly more preparation and adjustment time."
Wu Suowei felt something cold settle in his stomach, the particular chill of a question he wasn't sure he wanted answered. "Are you suggesting there's something wrong with me?"
"Wrong ? No, No absolutely not," Shen Song said quickly. "This situation seems different, maybe. Perhaps even unusual, for sure. But not wrong."
"Then what are you suggesting?" Wu Suowei pressed.
"What I'm suggesting...," Shen Song said carefully, "is that there might be something more complex at play." He paused. "Biology and designations are usually straightforward, but...there's some variation here I can't quite explain. I could be wrong though.”
Wu Suowei felt his frustration boil over. "You're hiding something from me on purpose, and it's driving me insane. If you know something, please just tell me."
"Wu Suowei, I can't be sure," Shen Song spoke in a firm tone. "I have a few theories based on what you've told me, but...nothing solid." after a pause. "I'm not going to put ideas in your head if I might be wrong."
"So what am I supposed to do with these theories of yours ? " Wu Suowei asked sitting back on the sofa.
"For now ? Nothing," Shen Song spoke gently. "Just...enjoy being with Chi Cheng. Focus on how you're feeling. Don't overthink everything else."
Wu Suowei huffed in frustration. "You realise you have just made it impossible for me to stop thinking about this, right ?"
"I realise that," Shen Song admitted with what sounded like genuine regret. "But Wu Suowei, even if my suspicions are correct, it doesn't change anything about who you are or what you want from life."
"Besides...." Shen Song continued, his tone lighter now, "you have got more pressing things to worry about. Like the fact that you still haven't told the real truth to Chi Cheng about how you met.”
Wu Suowei felt his stomach clench at the reminder. "Shen Song...I know. I keep meaning to, but..."
"But you're terrified he'll leave you if he finds out," Shen Song finished gently. "Which I understand. But my friend, the longer you wait, the worse the eventual revelation will be."
"What if he can't forgive me?" Wu Suowei asked in a small voice.
"What if he can?" Shen Song countered without hesitation. "What if his feelings for you are strong enough to overcome his initial anger about the deception? You'll never know unless you give him the chance to prove it."
Wu Suowei slumped onto the sofa. The guilt hit him all at once. "It's just..." he began, then stopped. "He's in love with me, Shen Song. He actually said it and asked me to be his lover." He let out a breath. "And I think...I love him too. More than I thought I could. I can't lose that."
"The idea of building something real on a lie is worse," Shen Song said, voice steady. "Wu Suowei...you can't protect a relationship like that." He continued after a short pause. "The truth's going to come out. It always does...and when it does, Chi Cheng won't just be dealing with what you did at the start, he'll also be dealing with the fact that you kept it going."
Wu Suowei knew his friend was right. The longer he waited, the deeper the betrayal would feel when Chi Cheng inevitably learned the truth and men like Chi Cheng always, always learned the truth.
"I'll tell him," Wu Suowei said quietly. "Soon."
"How soon?" Shen Song asked.
"This week," Wu Suowei promised his other best friend, even as his stomach tightened at the thought.
"Good..," Shen Song said with obvious relief. "And Wu Suowei ? Whatever my suspicions about your unusdual situation... they don't change the fact that you deserve honesty and happiness. Both from Chi Cheng and from yourself."
After they hung up, Wu Suowei sat in his quiet apartment, pondering over his best friends cryptic comments. Shen Song clearly suspected something about Wu Suowei's unusual physical compatibility with Chi Cheng, but whatever it was, Shen Song wasn't ready to share his theories. He would never withhold something without a reason. But still...this felt different. More personal. As if Shen Song was protecting him from information that might be difficult to process.
The mystery would have to wait, though. Wu Suowei sighed, he had more immediate concerns, like finding the courage to tell the man he loved that their entire relationship had begun as an elaborate lie. The only question was whether Wu Suowei would be brave enough to reveal the truth before circumstances forced his hand.
Meanwhile...back in Macau
Shen Song set down his phone and stared out the window of his Macau apartment. The skyline was lit in fading orange, reflecting off glass and the harbour below. The conversation with Wu Suowei had stirred up memories he had been trying to avoid. It brought up thoughts that had been nagging at him ever since his friend had first described his unusual compatibility with Chi Cheng.
He reached for his wine glass, taking a slow sip as he thought about what Wu Suowei had told him. The way how his best friend described how his body easily responded to the alpha without having any discomfort. The way the alpha latched on to the beta pursuing him intensely. It all pointed to something.
Something Shen Song wasn’t ready to say out loud. Not yet. "It's happening again", he whispered with a mixture of wonder and concern. Almost similar to what happened to Xiao Shu He.
The comparison had been there from the moment Wu Suowei started talking about Chi Cheng, Shen Song had just hoped he was overthinking it. But after today's conversation, about knotting, and how easily everything seemed to fit between Wu Suowei and Chi Cheng both physically and emotionally. He wasn't so sure anymore.
Shen Song closed his eyes and let himself remember Xiao Shu He. His other best friend. He was working in international finance now but he had been there long before that. Since they were seven, maybe eight, running through the same neighbourhood and getting into trouble together. He was similar to Wu Suowei. Quite handsome. Intelligent without making a show of it. Loyal without ever needing to be asked. And like Wu Suowei, had fallen for an alpha who should have been completely out of his league.
Duan Zi Ang, an alpha was not only was handsome, he was also wealthy and powerful. He came from an incredibly rich family that owned shipping harbours of Macau. This alpha could have had any omega he wanted, yet he had started to pursue Xiao Shu He in a way that had surprised everyone who knew him.
"It's just attraction," Shen Song remembered telling Xiao Shu He when he was proposed for the tenth time by Duan Zi Ang. "Alphas like him...they get fixated sometimes. Especially when they can't have something easily. Don't read too much into it."
Shen Song thought back...and it hadn't been just physical attraction, had it? Xiao Shu He a beta. Duan Zi Ang an alpha. It should have been nothing more than a passing fling between the two. But that wasn't the case. The connection between the two was intense and deeper than it should have been. Shen Song remembered the morning after Xiao Shu He's first night with Duan Zi Ang, how his friend had called him in a state of being both confused but also happy.
"Shen Song...It was perfect," Xiao Shu He had said, his voice still rough with sleep and satisfied exhaustion. "I don't understand it. Everything I had read suggested that a beta's first time with an alpha, especially one as dominant as Duan Zi Ang, should have been difficult. But it wasn't. It was like my body already knew what to do."
The parallel to Wu Suowei's first and the most recent confession was so exact that it made Shen Song's chest tight with recognition and worry.
He had been happy for Xiao Shu He and had celebrated his friend's unexpected romance. However he was having concerns whether the relationship between a middle class beta and an alpha heir would even work out. Duan Zi Ang's family had expectations, which included grandchildren which was something Xiao Shu He could never fulfill.
Or so they had all thought.
Shen Song took another sip of wine, his mind drifting back to that morning six months into Xiao Shu He's relationship with Duan Zi Ang. His friend had called him in a panic, his voice shaking with confusion and fear.
"Shen Song...Something's wrong with me," Xiao Shu He spoke. "I think I'm sick."
"What kind of sick ?" Shen Song had asked, immediately as a concerned friend.
"I...I can't stop sweating," Xiao Shu He said, dragging a hand through his damp hair. "I feel feverish, and there's this...scent." He hesitated, swallowing hard. "I don’t know how to describe it, but it's like my body is producing pheromones I have never had before."
Shen Song had known immediately what was happening, though at that time he had barely believe it. Secondary differentiation was quite rare. So rare that some people even considered it a medical myth rather than a genuine phenomenon. But the symptoms Xiao Shu He was describing were unmistakable.
"You need to get to a hospital," Shen Song had told him. "Now!! And call Duan Zi Ang."
The diagnosis had been confirmed within hours: Xiao Shu He, who had been classified as a beta since he was born, was undergoing secondary differentiation into an omega. His body was producing omega hormones, developing omega characteristics, and preparing for his first heat.
What followed felt like a whirlwind of medical consultations, difficult conversations, everything shifting at once. And when it was over, there was no going back for his best friend. Within weeks, Xiao Shu He was indistinguishable from any other omega having heat cycles, pheromones, even the ability to get pregnant.
Duan Zi Ang had been over the moon, his family had welcomed Xiao Shu He with open arms, and within a year they had been married in a ceremony that had been the talk of Macau's social elite.
"It was meant to be," Xiao Shu He spoke as he hugged Shen Song on his wedding day, glowing with happiness and the early stages of pregnancy. "All those months of wondering how we could make it work, all the concerns about his family's expectations none of it mattered once I differentiated."
Shen Song had been genuinely happy for his friend, had celebrated the miracle that had transformed an impossible relationship into a fairy tale romance.
Now, staring out at the Macau skyline, Shen Song couldn't ignore the similarities between Xiao Shu He's story and what Wu Suowei was experiencing. The unusual physical compatibility, the intense emotional connection, the way Chi Cheng seemed drawn to Wu Suowei despite all the practical obstacles, it was almost identical to what Duan Zi Ang and Xiao Shu He had experienced.
But secondary differentiation was extraordinarily rare. The medical literature suggested it occurred in less than 0.1% of the population. Just because it had happened to Xiao Shu He didn't mean it would happen to Wu Suowei. The similarities could be nothing. Just coincidence. Not...the same thing happening again.
Shen Song set down his wine glass and rubbed his temples, feeling the weight of knowledge he wasn't sure he should share. If he told Wu Suowei about his suspicions, about the possibility of secondary differentiation, how would his friend react?
On one hand, it might give Wu Suowei hope for a future with Chi Cheng that could overcome all the practical obstacles they faced. If Wu Suowei differentiated into an omega, Chi Cheng's father would have no grounds for objection to their relationship. They could marry, have children, fulfill all the social expectations that currently made their romance seem impossible.
But what if Shen Song was wrong? What if the similarities to Xiao Shu He's situation were just coincidence, and Wu Suowei spent months or years waiting for a differentiation that would never come?
Worse, what if Wu Suowei used the possibility of differentiation as an excuse to delay telling Chi Cheng the truth about their relationship's origins? If Wu Suowei convinced himself that he just needed to wait for his body to change, he might never find the courage to confess his deception.
Shen Song stood and walked to his balcony, letting the evening breeze carry away some of his anxiety. Wu Suowei was already struggling with guilt and insecurity about his relationship with Chi Cheng. Adding the possibility of biological transformation to his current emotional state seemed cruel, especially when the chances of it actually happening were so slim.
No, he decided. He wouldn't say anything, not yet. Not until he had more concrete evidence that Wu Suowei was actually experiencing the early stages of secondary differentiation.
Besides, Wu Suowei had more immediate concerns to address. The truth about Yue Yue and the deceptive origins of his relationship with Chi Cheng needed to come out first. That conversation couldn't be delayed or avoided, no matter what the future might hold.
But even as Shen Song made the decision to keep his suspicions to himself, he couldn't help but hope. If Wu Suowei was experiencing the early stages of differentiation, if his unusual compatibility with Chi Cheng was a sign of impending secondary differentiation than simple individual variation, then maybe....his friend's impossible romance might have a chance at a fairy tale ending.
Xiao Shu He and Duan Zi Ang were proof that such miracles could happen, that love could overcome even the most fundamental biological incompatibilities when fate decided to intervene.
But miracles can't be counted on, Shen Song reminded himself firmly. Wu Suowei needs to build his future on certainties, not possibilities.
He pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to Wu Suowei: Remember what we discussed about honesty. Some conversations can't wait for perfect timing.
After sending the text, Shen Song returned to his chair and his wine, watching the city lights begin to twinkle in the growing darkness. Somewhere across the water, Wu Suowei was preparing to risk everything on the hope that love might be stronger than deception. Shen Song could only pray that his friend would find the courage to tell the truth before circumstances biological or otherwiseforced his hand.
The future, as always, remained unwritten. But for the first time since Wu Suowei had started telling him about Chi Cheng, Shen Song allowed himself to believe that maybe this story might have a happy ending after all. Hopefully....