A Stand-in Alpha Awakens - Chapter 40

The warm yellow light was like a flame surrounded by darkness, weak and helpless. It cast a layer of incongruous grievance and pity over the face of the Omega currently curled up on the soft sofa beneath it, softening her fierce and terrified expression.

Two contradictory emotions constantly shifted across her face and in her heart, as if two souls were fighting for control of this body. Around those dark pupils reflecting orange spots of light, an indescribable redness began to well up.

Su Mengrui hadn’t changed her posture for a long time, and the pressure made her already aching chest feel even more uncomfortable. She touched the patch of skin on her chest that hurt intensely despite showing no visible wound, then gritted her teeth and propped herself up with her arms. Her lingering fear was once again submerged by resentment.

That stinking woman, Bai Yue—a little white rabbit in public but a big gray wolf in private—had been this way since they were children; she wouldn’t take even a tiny loss! Recalling how she had been bullied by Bai Yue’s pheromones this afternoon and then forcibly dragged to the emergency room to be pumped full of suppressant medication by a doctor, Su Mengrui’s teeth itched with hatred.

As she reminisced, every grudge and grievance that had occurred since she could remember played through her mind for the nth time. The fear hidden in her heart instantly suffered defeat and was squeezed into an invisible corner.

—That’s right! She wasn’t wrong! She did nothing wrong! Even if something bad happened to Bai Yue from the crash, she deserved it!

It would be better if she lost an arm or a leg! Once she became a cripple, let’s see how she acts all high and mighty! Imagining Bai Yue sitting in a wheelchair, Su Mengrui’s heavy breathing became smoother than ever before. She let out a scoffing laugh as she rubbed her aching chest, snatched up the fruit wine standing in front of the sofa, and tilted her head back for a long gulp.

After taking the oral suppressant yesterday afternoon, the doctor said she had to watch her diet for twenty-four hours—no smoking, no drinking. When she didn’t take medicine, when did she ever have to deal with this?!

Damn it, add another mark against Bai Yue.

The sweet and sour strawberry flavor spread through her mouth, and the sharp liquid slid down her throat. Su Mengrui raised the bottle in surprise. Because of Chu Ziyan, she had long favored strawberry-flavored things, but she had never tried strawberry wine. She had even rejected it for a time; in her heart, strawberries were sweet and pure and shouldn’t be mixed with any “polluting” flavors. Especially alcohol.

But now, she tilted her head back in wonder and took another sip. The slightly sharp mouthfeel was very different from any strawberry drink—it wasn’t too sweet, nor too sour, but the intensity of the alcohol made it irresistible. As Su Mengrui savored the sweet fragrance, she allowed her thoughts to drift.

Then, her aching eyes wantonly crossed time and space, seeing the face of Jiang Lu, who had been less than thirty centimeters away from her.

—The high bridge of her nose was clean and smooth; the skin around the nostrils was delicate and fair, with no visible pores even from that close. Not only that, during the prime age for acne, that face didn’t have a single discordant blemish. Her eyebrows were thick enough to be envied, her long lashes naturally curled enough to spark jealousy, and especially the width of her double eyelids—they were more perfect than anything a top plastic surgeon could precisely calculate.

The only bad thing was that the light coming from those clear, bright eyes was too cold. Jiang Lu hated her—an undisguised hatred. Su Mengrui suspected that, if necessary, Jiang Lu would be willing to announce to the whole world exactly how much she despised her.

Who would have thought that such an iceberg Alpha’s pheromones would be strawberry-scented?

With more than half the bottle of fruit wine gone, Su Mengrui relished the scene of Jiang Lu speaking in front of her face at noon and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Actually, she was wrong just now; Jiang Lu’s coldness was only directed at her. To others, she wasn’t like that.

Su Mengrui’s lips curled downward. On her bright phone screen, the Alpha’s smile was more brilliant than she had ever seen.

She really needs to be taught a lesson! What method should be used to punish her? It couldn’t be the same as with Bai Yue. Her Alpha could lose her freedom of movement, but she couldn’t truly be immobilized.

Meanwhile, at the roadside of Huanghe South Road where it intersected with Ring Road East, Bai Yue’s car screeched to a halt, blocking the final escape route of the black Raptor.

The silver car door swung open, and Bai Yue, wearing a beige long dress, stepped out while lifting the hem. Her low-heeled leather shoes made a crisp sound against the ground. The night wind blew, lifting her loose sleeves and skirt, revealing her slender waist and limbs. Her thick long hair was gathered at the back of her neck with a ribbon the same color as her dress. The car headlights shone on her legs, making her small, delicate, palm-sized face look even more well-behaved.

Seeing the familiar person, Bai Yue habitually smiled and nodded. With that warm and polite appearance, anyone who saw her would surely offer a few words of praise. A typical “good girl”!

The “good girl” finished greeting the backup she had called over one by one, then stopped beside the Raptor. Her pink lips parted slightly, allowing the night wind to carry away her gentle, sweet voice: “Where is he? Drag him out.”

the tall man closest to the driver’s door gave an “Aye,” stepped forward, and knocked on the locked window glass. The car doors were locked while driving, and the moment it was forced to stop, the windows were locked from the inside as well. Expecting the person inside to cooperate voluntarily was basically impossible; the big guy’s knock was purely a notification, with no intention of negotiating.

Once the notification was done, he pulled out a professional lock-picking tool and jabbed it in. Hearing the lock click, he yanked the door open and dragged out the man who was frantically unbuckling his seatbelt and then frantically trying to put it back on. Because of the high chassis, the man didn’t have time to step on the running board and fell flat against the gravel-covered roadside, groaning and hissing in pain.

Bai Yue walked closer, took a small silver flashlight handed to her, and shone it directly into the man’s face. He looked young, thirty at most, with a non-descript, common face that would likely be lost in a crowd the moment you looked away. There was no helping it; after all, he was a Beta who wouldn’t even leave behind pheromones.

Mhm. Hiring someone like this to deal with her—at least they put some thought into it. Bai Yue nodded and shook the flashlight, moving the light to her forehead where the bandage was stuck. “Hey! Look here.”

The man sitting on the ground: “…”

Bai Yue asked: “Do you know why you’re here?”

The man: “…”

The “Big Brother” standing in front of him kicked him in the butt. “She’s asking you a question, you mute!”

Bai Yue hurriedly waved her hand. “It’s fine, Brother Hu. He just needs to listen to what I say.”

The man, who had been kicked several inches forward: “…” No, wait. No one told him this mission was this difficult before he came! If he’d known this would be the outcome—five thousand? He wouldn’t have taken it for fifty thousand!

The light in Bai Yue’s hand returned to the man’s chin. “I’m the most reasonable person. I don’t attack unless I’m attacked.”

The man’s eyes suddenly widened. Bai Yue knew he must be making wild associations, so she shook her head to comfort him. “Don’t be afraid, Brother. I won’t hit you.”

“What do you want?” The man quickly scanned the people surrounding him, his voice trembling along with his body.

Bai Yue said: “Tell me who told you to hit me. I’ll go find them.”

Hope surged in the man’s trembling pupils. “It was an Omega girl with short hair!”

“Mm-hm, and what else? Describe her looks.”

The man: “Her hair just covered her ears. Big eyes, small round face, fleshy chin. And her face… her left cheek has a very shallow dimple, and there’s a mole on the tip of her nose!”

Bai Yue thought for a moment, handed the flashlight back, then pulled out her phone and searched for a while until she got a group photo from Zhang Yi. The photo showed Su Mengrui and her good friend Gu Yingying.

Holding the photo in front of the man, Bai Yue’s voice was as friendly as if she were asking a kind stranger for directions: “Excuse me, is it her?”

In the photo, Gu Yingying had chest-length hair, so the man didn’t recognize her at first. But after a careful comparison, he nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, that’s her! She gave me five thousand yuan to… to hit—uh, to scare you.”

“Five thousand yuan?” Bai Yue straightened up, returned to the car with her phone, and pulled a plastic bag from her bag on the passenger seat to hand to the tall man.

“Give him fifty thousand. Forbid him from stepping on a gas pedal for three months. Oh, right—don’t forget to correct his understanding of why one learns to drive.”

“So young, yet willing to earn any kind of money. That simply won’t do.” Bai Yue shook her head sentimentally, got in her car, and left.

She had seen the person she wanted to see and heard the answer she wanted to hear. Next, she had to find the instigator. Only an adult for a few days, yet daring to engage in illegal acts—she had to be properly educated.

What she didn’t expect, however, was that upon arriving, she wouldn’t just be educating her bratty sister, but would be caught red-handed by Su Ying and the Old Matron who had come to catch the brat themselves.

9:18 PM.

Bai Yue had just given the lightheaded Su Mengrui a matching injury on her temple when the digital lock chimed, indicating it was unlocked. Even the wailing Su Mengrui went silent. “Who is it?”

Bai Yue let go of her, exhaling as she turned and tore the bandage off her own forehead, stuffing it into the side pocket of her dress. Immediately, Su Ying’s voice came from the open doorway: “Mom, be careful. I’ll turn on the lights.”

The moment the words fell, every light in the room turned on. The two by the window instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes from the glare. The Old Matron entered, supported by the housekeeper. Seeing both her granddaughters on the balcony with injuries on their foreheads, her legs went soft, and she nearly fell.

Su Ying had the strongest reaction, screaming as she rushed over: “Ruirui, what happened to your head?”

Just as Su Mengrui was about to answer, Bai Yue let out a soft cough. The Old Matron hurried over: “Susu! Your head is bleeding! My dear, come here and let me see!”

Because Bai Yue—at Su Cheng’s insistence—took the surname of her deceased Alpha mother, the Old Matron hadn’t been able to accept it for years and always called her by the nickname she had given her: “Susu.”

Once Bai Yue grew up and realized this “Su” was the “Su” of the Su family, she disliked the nickname. Hearing the Old Matron call her that again, she moved over while shielding her forehead reluctantly, her displeasure visible for the first time.

However, from her displeasure, the Old Matron saw only deep grievance and pain. Heartbroken, she pulled her close. “Quick, come home with me and have Dr. Kang come look at you.”

Having finished checking on Su Mengrui and hearing the Old Matron only had eyes and words for Bai Yue, Su Ying asked Bai Yue in a high-pitched, sarcastic tone: “Bai Yue, what are you two sisters doing? You’re both adults, and you’re still fighting? You’re the elder sister, after all.”

Su Mengrui huddled in Su Ying’s arms and nodded repeatedly, her heart bursting with grievance. Tears fell uncontrollably. “Grandma, Big Sister hit me! She grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the window! Look, there’s even a mark on the glass! Boohoo…”

Bai Yue kept her head down and remained silent, letting Su Ying and Su Mengrui shout without offering a single word of explanation. The Old Matron was pained. She glanced at the glass; under the lights, there was indeed a foggy patch on one spot. Her wrinkled brow furrowed even more deeply. She released Bai Yue’s hand and asked, “Bai Yue, is what your sister says true?”

Crystal droplets gathered on Bai Yue’s downcast lashes, and her voice choked up: “Grandma, why don’t you ask her how my injury happened?”

The tears in Su Mengrui’s eyes stopped. She shielded her forehead and glared at Bai Yue. Their gazes met. In that moment, she clearly saw that punchable mouth curl into a mocking arc. It was gone in an instant.

It was as if she were saying: You’d better admit you hit me.

Fuck! Su Mengrui was going crazy with rage. her chest heaved violently. Unable to suppress her fury, she suddenly broke free from Su Ying’s arms and rushed forward to pull Bai Yue’s hair.

Was Bai Yue just going to stand there and let her? She immediately lifted a foot beneath her long dress and secretly kicked Su Mengrui’s ankle.

The good thing was, amidst this chaos, what exactly happened before no longer seemed important. What mattered was that they had violated family rules in front of the Old Matron and had to accept family discipline first!

Looking at the two sisters being held apart by the housekeeper and Su Ying, the Old Matron was so angry she swept a vase off a nearby cabinet with a wave of her hand. She said in a deep voice: “Take them back. Lock them in confinement!”

At the words “lock them in confinement,” Bai Yue’s expression changed. She looked up at the Old Matron, who was being supported by the housekeeper as she turned away. “Grandma.”

The Old Matron raised a hand and kept walking. “I know both of you feel aggrieved. You can tell me about it tomorrow.”