A Stand-in Alpha Awakens - Chapter 22

Before coming here, Su Mengrui had thought that after meeting Chu Ziyan and calming her emotions, she would find an opportunity to try and see Jiang Lu again.

The rage she had accumulated that night had been vented in a somewhat unconventional way, but the frustration of not being able to retaliate directly had only deepened her obsession. Her attitude toward that little Alpha was now extremely complex. To put it bluntly, it had reached the point where things wouldn’t be over if she didn’t get her, and they might not necessarily be over even if she did.

Therefore, when she saw Chu Ziyan appear in her line of sight bringing Jiang Lu along, the expression on her face and the activity in her mind reached a rare state of total synchronization.

Wait, what exactly is Chu Ziyan trying to do? Why would she bring Jiang Lu here?

Su Mengrui was so shocked that her movements getting out of the car hitched, and she nearly tripped over the running board. Watching the two figures approach behind the motorized gate, the expression on her face shifted from pale to red, then to black. In her heart, which was thumping with guilt, a rare and sharp realization surfaced, causing her a moment of panicked dread.

—Is she planning to bring us face-to-face to confront me about something?

Her tensed nerves pulled her exquisitely groomed eyebrows upward. The arrogant look Su Mengrui usually wore—as if nothing in the world mattered—finally dissolved, replaced by something new.

The security guard had worked at No. 1 High for seven years and had known Su Mengrui since the first time he saw her. The school was a public-private partnership, but the public side held the majority share; no matter how capable the private side was, they couldn’t buy special privileges on campus.

However, a lack of “privileges” didn’t mean a lack of power, especially when it came to something as trivial as mobilizing a mere security guard. The school required him to be diligent, which was mandatory for him, but he also had to respect the Su family’s prestige—he couldn’t ignore them, but he couldn’t do too much for them either.

Seeing Su Mengrui’s car parked at the entrance earlier, his heart had been in his throat. He had waited nervously for a long time, and when the young mistress didn’t get out, he assumed she had just come back to reminisce about high school life. Now, seeing her approach the gate, he straightened his chest and switched to the serious face he had been trained for during his induction.

Fortunately, Su Mengrui didn’t walk toward him this time; she simply stood there, not even giving him a glance.

There was no helping it—after all, they were two Alphas with 100% compatibility. No matter how much Su Mengrui was used to suppressing her nature, she couldn’t remain completely unaffected. Not to mention the relationship between the three of them was… complicated.

Today’s weather was excellent, a clear sky without a single cloud, and orange sunlight enveloped the entire city of Liancheng. Half of Su Mengrui’s face was exposed to the golden light. Her eyes were half-squinted, fixed straight ahead, unable to look away.

Not far away, Chu Ziyan’s tensed expression began to melt as the distance shortened and Su Mengrui’s features became clear. Ever since they were children, it seemed to be this way between them: no matter what kind of conflict occurred or how angry she became, the moment she saw that cute, haughty little face, everything was forgotten.

Her tolerance for Su Mengrui exceeded even her own imagination. She needed no reason; as long as Su Mengrui appeared, all her stubbornness and grievances would simply vanish.

“Mengrui, when did you get here? Have you been waiting long? Did you eat breakfast?” Before she even reached the gate, Chu Ziyan’s concern burst out.

Su Mengrui’s expression softened significantly. Hearing Chu Ziyan speak like this, the last bit of unease she felt vanished completely.

“Not long. Knowing you’re busy with review, I came early so I wouldn’t waste your time,” Su Mengrui said, gesturing toward the car not far behind her.

“It’s no waste,” Chu Ziyan replied as if nothing were wrong, waving her hand behind her to signal Jiang Lu to walk faster.

From the moment they left the cafeteria, Jiang Lu had maintained a distance of exactly two steps behind. Seeing the hand beckoning her, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

The novel that had suddenly appeared in her mind was over a million words long. Seventy percent of it detailed the bittersweet romance between these two, while the remaining thirty percent was used to highlight their love. Two “people” for whom nothing mattered except their romance.

Seeing their “sweet interaction” with her own eyes now, the feeling of suffocation in Jiang Lu’s chest was identical to how she felt when she first saw Su Mengrui on the start of term. The difference was that she was now more resilient and wouldn’t vomit on the spot. She irritably rubbed her ringing ears and turned to look at Liang Shuang, who was leaning against a corner.

Liang Shuang was a woman of her word; having said she wouldn’t eavesdrop, she truly didn’t. She followed them to the intersection but stopped of her own accord to wait, though her eyes never left Jiang Lu for a moment.

The sunlight was too bright for their gaze to exchange any useful information, but Jiang Lu’s heart genuinely felt steadier because of that one look.

Outside the motorized gate—where decorative appeal and utility barely coexisted—Su Mengrui held the items she had specially brought for Chu Ziyan over the bars with a stiff smile. “Ziyan, why did you bring her?”

“You brought me things again,” Chu Ziyan said, reaching out to take them. She turned sideways with a smile to look at Jiang Lu, who stood diagonally behind her. “I ran into her at the cafeteria. I thought since there was a misunderstanding between you two, I’d invite her over so you could reconcile and clear things up.”

Jiang Lu looked at Su Mengrui with a faint, mocking smile but didn’t speak.

Fearing Chu Ziyan would notice something, Su Mengrui didn’t dare let her gaze linger on Jiang Lu’s face. She bit the bullet and replied, “Right, it was a misunderstanding. Little A… I mean, Junior, about before… I’m sorry. That day, I simply thought your sunglasses looked good.”

Hearing Su Mengrui repeat the same excuse in front of Jiang Lu, Chu Ziyan’s trust in her, which had dipped, was instantly restored to full. Not only that, her mood visibly brightened. “Jiang Lu, Mengrui’s temper is just like that. She always has a sour face when talking to people. If she said something unpleasant to you, I’ll apologize on her behalf. Don’t hold it against her; she’s been like this since she was little—she rarely says what she actually means.”

“A lot of the time…”

Looking at Chu Ziyan, who was becoming increasingly cheerful as she spoke, Jiang Lu suddenly felt this scene was funnier than the entire novel. An insincere, bordering on farcical apology; a trust so blind it seemed brainless. They truly were the two female leads—a match made in heaven.

Breaking up a pair like this… how could that not be interesting?

“Senior, I understand what you mean, but you might have misunderstood,” Jiang Lu said, waiting patiently for Chu Ziyan to finish. Her smiling eyes swept over the Omega who was glaring at her from outside the gate.

“What?” Chu Ziyan looked blank, clearly not following. “I misunderstood?”

Jiang Lu nodded. “I told you last time: I’ve met this friend of yours more than once.”

Su Mengrui’s heart leaped into her throat.

Of course! I knew it!

This little Alpha who doesn’t value her life was never going to play nice with Chu Ziyan!

The fact that she was being so uncooperative right in front of her face meant there was no telling what she might say behind her back. Su Mengrui didn’t dare think further, let alone allow Jiang Lu to continue. She shouted out an angry interruption: “Hey! I’ve offered my apologies for Ziyan’s sake, don’t push your luck!”

The joy and ease on Chu Ziyan’s face were as brief as an illusion. Hearing Su Mengrui’s shrill voice, the information she had intentionally tried to forget resurfaced in her mind. Along with all the questions that had plagued her before she received a reply last night.

Su Mengrui had never given her a proper explanation. She wasn’t being honest. She was hiding a lot. She was panicking…

I can’t listen to her anymore; I need to hear what Jiang Lu has to say.

Jiang Lu looked at the two women, whose expressions were worlds apart. She gently rubbed the face of the watch on her left wrist, her voice calm: “Senior, to be honest with you, including this time, she and I have met four times. But she only apologized for that one instance. I’m sorry, but I cannot accept that.”

“Four times?” Chu Ziyan was stunned. She thought it was only three; there shouldn’t have been more.

“Yes.” Jiang Lu ignored Su Mengrui’s warning glare. “And none of them were particularly pleasant, so please forgive me for not going into detail.”

Su Mengrui gripped the gate, her emotions and volume spiraling out of control: “Jiang Lu! What the fuck are you talking about! You’re intentionally driving a wedge between us! What are your motives?! What are you trying to do?! Do you believe I’ll kill you!?”

“Mengrui! Can you please calm down!” Chu Ziyan’s mind was in unprecedented chaos.

Su Mengrui stopped shouting, her chest heaving violently, her reddened eyes fixed on Jiang Lu.

Jiang Lu looked back at Liang Shuang, who was hesitantly walking toward them. She exhaled forcefully, a trace of weariness in her eyes. “Senior, I understand you were trying to help us resolve a misunderstanding out of the goodness of your heart. But some things can’t be forced. I’m sorry to have wasted your kindness. Sigh, let me tell you one more truth.”

“Personally, I really dislike this friend of yours. Dislike in every sense of the word. The kind where I never want to see her again.”

Chu Ziyan looked up abruptly, her eyes full of disbelief.

Jiang Lu stepped back, her expression couldn’t be more sincere: “I actually really hate ‘Green Teas’—especially the ones that smell fishy.”

“Smell fishy?” Chu Ziyan turned in shock toward Su Mengrui, who was leaning against the gate.

Meeting Chu Ziyan’s shocked gaze, Su Mengrui’s curses for Jiang Lu caught in her throat, along with her voice.

Jiang Lu watched the two of them “gaze deeply” at each other, the light in her eyes brightening slightly. As Chu Ziyan uttered a trembling, “Did you temporarily mark someone, or were you temporarily marked by someone?”, Jiang Lu turned around and strode toward Liang Shuang, who was moving toward them with a furrowed brow.

An Omega’s voice tends to be thin; it lacked volume but had incredible piercing power. Liang Shuang was too far away to hear exactly what Su Mengrui was shouting, but she could feel the rage. When Jiang Lu finally returned, she glanced back dissatisfied. “What was that one yelling about? Chu Zishan’s sister is useless—she couldn’t even keep things under control, so why’d she ask you to go?”

“Looking for a thrill, I guess,” Jiang Lu replied casually, a very faint smile appearing on her sun-drenched face. “What was our first period again?”

“I think it’s Chinese, then History for the second, followed by Math and English.” Liang Shuang thought for a moment, then hurried to catch up with Jiang Lu. “Why are you running? Hey, wait for me!”

“You’re asking why I’m running? We have a dictation test today. Have you memorized it? If you have a typo this time, you’ll be writing lines until the end of time.” Jiang Lu crossed the corridor and turned toward the Xiuyuan Building.

Liang Shuang’s face changed instantly. She lunged ahead of Jiang Lu, shouting as she ran: “I forgot!”