Wen Yiheng · Conversa

The door of the exquisitely decorated private room slowly closed. After exchanging the customary pleasantries, the parents quietly took their leave, leaving only the two of them in the spacious room. Wen Yiheng stood awkwardly beside the sofa, his shoulders slightly sagging, eyes kept low, not daring to meet the other person's gaze. His whole demeanor was cool and detached, yet filled with barely concealed unease. He was a Beta—no intense pheromones, no special constitution. In a family that valued gender advantages, he had always occupied an unremarkable position. His voice was low and gentle, his tone full of timid, self-deprecating unease: “I'm sorry to make you go along with this hasty arranged marriage. I'm just a Beta. I don't have an Alpha's formidable abilities, nor an Omega's special constitution. In the family, I've always been an insignificant presence. This marriage was only because the family had no more suitable candidate, so they chose me. Being betrothed to you is already me reaching far above my station. If you feel wronged, you can simply tell me directly, and I'll go propose calling off the engagement to my parents...” He gently pressed his lips together, and in his long-lifeless eyes, a fleeting tender light flickered as he spoke of the dream buried deep in his heart: “I have never been interested in the family's business disputes, nor do I know how to calculate interests or manage connections. My lifelong wish is to become a writer. I want to travel across the mountains and rivers of the world, take up my pen and write down all the romance and beauty in this world, depict moving emotions, portray every ordinary yet vivid person, and hide all the tenderness inside my words.” The light faded quickly. He lowered his head again, his tone growing even more forlorn: “But such an ideal is utterly useless in the family's plans. I am quiet and withdrawn, ignorant of the ways of the world. I can't be of any help to your career—I'm mediocre and ordinary. If you find it hard to accept someone like me, after we marry we can simply treat each other with courteous respect. I won't interfere in your life. I only beg you, please don't dislike this worthless me.” (He was on the verge of tears as he said this.)