Chapter 33.1

Xue Wu averted her gaze from Luo Yan’s direction, feeling extremely irritable. The gland at the back of her neck seemed to be heating up slightly; she knew this was a bad omen.

Watching the screen still filled with comments like “husband” and “wife”—and people saying not to be so strict with gender—made her even more annoyed… and sparked an inexplicable sense of crisis.

She had always been the one to manipulate Alphas, and rarely could an Alpha manipulate her. But now, she could clearly feel that this little Alpha, Luo Yan, could influence her every move through her emotions.

She knew these were signs that she cared about the other person, and she didn’t reject the fact that she truly liked her. However… having her Alpha coveted by so many people was terrible.

Especially since Luo Yan wasn’t an entertainer; having so many people chasing her and calling her “husband” or “wife” made Xue Wu feel stifled and found it hard to accept.

In her mind, Luo Yan’s virtues should only be known to her, not seen and unearthed by so many people. Even just talk was unacceptable to her.

But then, she had almost forgotten that Luo Yan was naturally popular. Even if she claimed her rank wasn’t high and she was a playboy, she had her family background and good looks. The world is never short of people willing to commit themselves for money—who wouldn’t like such an Alpha?

Besides, could the person she, Xue Wu, liked be anything but good? Naturally, she was the best.

So, anyone with a bit of aesthetic sense and eyes that weren’t blind would probably like Luo Yan, wouldn’t they? Not to mention Luo Yan’s performance from just now was commendable.

Xue Wu suddenly wanted to hide Luo Yan away so others couldn’t see her. Such a dazzling Alpha was truly impossible to look away from.

However, as she realized she had such domineering thoughts, she discovered… that she had pathetically become a substitute for someone else.

Recalling how Luo Yan had solemnly sworn when she first unauthorized copywoke up that she hadn’t treated her as a substitute—that there were no substitutes and only one White Moonlight—her heart ached.

She realized she had been deceived. All the sweetness given to her these days was a lie. She had been fooled miserably; it was truly pathetic.

On the screen, about ten minutes later, Luo Yan returned to the stage to discuss her design concept. It was as if her sudden departure to find another Omega hadn’t happened. She had no intention of explaining anything, though she was somewhat worried that Xue Wu might have seen that scene; that would be quite troublesome.

Now, if the organizers hadn’t sent Zhao Xin several times to tell her to go up and speak, she wouldn’t have gone up at all.

The little Alpha seen through the lens seemed radiant, without a trace of weakness or paleness. Her lips were slightly glistening, looking inexplicably enticing.

Xue Wu knew very well… her lips always looked like that after they kissed. She must have been behind the wall kissing that true White Moonlight, lost in the moment.

The thought made her entire body uncomfortable. Her pheromones were beginning to surge uncontrollably, frightening Chen Jia into calling for a doctor immediately.

Chen Jia never expected that watching a live stream of a preliminary round would turn Xue Wu into this… Miss Luo was something else too; how could she be with an Omega who looked sixty percent like her boss? And in front of so many people!

While struggling to control her pheromones, Xue Wu continued to watch the movement on the screen, almost masochistically.

She still couldn’t ignore her, and she wanted to know what Luo Yan was thinking. So she didn’t turn off the live stream but watched to see what she would say on stage.

“Actually, there isn’t much of a design concept; I just did it as the idea came to me,” she said, a smile still on her face. Her emotions seemed to have stabilized. When her gaze met the camera, it softened slightly, as if she had completed a great task: “By the way, I forgot to mention, the name of this design is ‘Undusted.’ I hope that a bright pearl will never be covered in dust, and I hope the person I like can always live according to their own heart and will.”

—A person she likes??? A remote confession???

—Luo Yan has someone she likes??? It must be Movie Queen Xue from just now???

—Hah, Luo Yan’s ex-girlfriends are counted by the truckload. Her saying she has someone she likes usually means there’s a new interest, likely the hard-to-get type.

—Aaaaah, I want to be the one she likes too! Movie Queen Xue is so lucky! Doesn’t this mean wearing beautiful jewelry every day?

—Almost forgot her family literally owns mines…

The people below the stage broke into an uproar upon hearing Luo Yan say this. Everyone wanted to know who her new love was. But since many had just seen her go to find “Xue Wu” without regard for others, they all confirmed the relationship between them.

The original owner’s Weibo already had several million followers. After all, she flaunted her wealth and girlfriends every day, and had a rich father and a powerful sister. It felt wrong not to follow the ordinary life of a wealthy person.

So as she flaunted her wealth more often, her follower count grew.

The moment she said she had someone she liked on stage, many fans tagged her in comments under her latest update:

—Second Miss Luo, who caught your eye this time? A rising supermodel or some popular fairy? Or is it that Movie Queen surnamed Xue? Haven’t seen you post in ages; I thought you’d retired from the game!

—Wait, wait! Didn’t her ex-girlfriend just speak up? Is there a sign of a reunion?

—Pfft, tell them not to overthink it. As far as I know, this Second Miss of the Luo family never “eats old grass” (goes back to an ex).

—I say living like her makes life worth it, even if one achieves nothing.

—Please, how is she achieving nothing? Didn’t you see her design just now? It’s amazing! And her Weibo bio stolen content has always said she’s the CEO of Cui Can Jewelry. Having a company and designing so well at such a young age—and you say she’s achieved nothing?

Xue Wu watched the satisfied Alpha on the screen, her heart truly conflicted.

She really hadn’t expected Luo Yan to be so high-profile as to say she had someone she liked on stage. She had originally felt that Luo Yan wasn’t the type to be loud about things, even if she was indeed fickle before, she never blatantly flaunted things like this.

Yet today she spoke those words, which truly surprised her. And the person she referred to as the one she liked—Xue Wu now knew clearly it wasn’t her. If she had said those words this morning, she would have thought they were for her.

But after that scene just now, she wasn’t that stupid. She was just one of the thousands of Omegas the Alpha had toyed with. And she had plunged in headfirst…

Truly… Xue Wu, you are too foolish. Weren’t the lessons from your previous life enough?

On stage.

Luo Yan didn’t linger after finishing her design concept. She drew a lot and then left the stage, appearing much more steady and restrained than imagined, which shocked many who thought they knew her.

Perhaps because she was trending so much on Weibo, Ji Tong—the “fair-weather friend” of the original owner whom she met right after transmigrating—actually called her.

Luo Yan felt that this person looking for her certainly meant no good. She sat in the car, clutching her abdomen. Cold sweat had broken out on her forehead at some point. Looking at the caller ID on the screen, she didn’t want to answer.

In fact, it wasn’t that Ji Tong hadn’t contacted her in a long time, but rather that Luo Yan had been too busy lately to fool around with them. She had simply muted the groups where the original owner communicated with them to focus on her career and studies.

She thought this would naturally fade the contact, but she hadn’t expected Ji Tong to look for her today.

Luo Yan thought about it; the Luo family had an important cooperation with the Ji family recently. It wasn’t good to cut things off too cleanly. Enduring the pain in her abdomen, she picked up the ​unauthorized copy​phone and steadied her voice: “Hello? Old Ji, long time no see.”

“Yo, I thought you’d forgotten me, Luo the Third,” Ji Tong teased, her true emotions unreadable.

“How could I forget you?” Luo Yan said calmly. Noticing Zhao Xin’s worried gaze, she waved her hand to signal she was fine and told her to have the driver go straight to the police station. Without stopping her speech, she asked Ji Tong: “What is it?”

“Can’t I call you without a reason?” Ji Tong joked.

“It’s not that, just feels like it’s been a while since I played with you all.”

“Luo the Third, you remember you haven’t played with us in a while?” Ji Tong hadn’t expected her to bring it up herself. Her teasing tone became even more obvious: “Just saw you on the trending searches and saw your design. First, congratulations. It was a huge surprise; I didn’t think you were busy with this lately.”

“Just a minor thing. I’ll come out and play with you all when I have time.” Luo Yan felt her palm was somewhat damp. Looking down, she saw that the abdominal wound, which she had struggled to stop with pheromones, was bleeding again. The pain swept over her in overwhelming waves.

Now she really didn’t want to waste breath with her.

“Hey, don’t hang up yet,” Ji Tong stopped her. “Do you remember Chen Yiyi?”

“Chen Yiyi?” Luo Yan’s head felt a bit dizzy. She clutched the wound and tried hard to remember, finally recalling the person from a dusty corner. She asked: “What about her?”

“You two were a couple after all. She’s been very down and out lately, and as far as I know, your jewelry company is about to launch a new line. Why not let Chen Yiyi be the model for your company?”

“How did she find you?” Luo Yan remembered that this Chen Yiyi was indeed one of the original owner’s ex-girlfriends—the first one when she was pretending to be decadent. But they were just in a relationship of mutual utility; it ended when the transaction was over, and there were no deep interactions.

But how had she found Ji Tong now?

“Didn’t you delete all her contact info and block her? She couldn’t find anyone, so she came to me. I saw her, an Omega with no one to rely on, and she was miserable. I wanted to help her, but she didn’t want my help; she insisted on yours. What could I do? I could only find you, the busy person.”

Ji Tong’s tone sounded helpless, but to Luo Yan’s ears, it was schadenfreude, not a genuine desire to help Chen Yiyi.

“I say Chen Yiyi is quite good. Aren’t you single now? You don’t like other Omegas either, so why not get back together? It’s quite nice. But… if it’s true as the internet says and you’re already with Movie Queen Xue, disregard what I said.”

Seeing her silence, Ji Tong continued giving suggestions, mostly to probe her. To Luo Yan’s ears, it was just nonsense. She knew she liked Xue Wu; using Chen Yiyi to test her now? It was hilarious.

“No need. I don’t like her at all. If she wants to find me, have her make an appointment at my company. I won’t refuse to see her.”

“Fine. When do you have time to come out for a meal? Some top-tier Omegas, both male and female, recently arrived at ‘Chao.’ If you want to try something fresh, try a male one.”

“…Miss Ji, I already have an Omega I like. Truly, don’t trouble yourself.” Some of the ideas of the original owner’s friends were truly beyond her expectations; they played way too hard. As a law-abiding, good citizen, she couldn’t agree with them.

However, Luo Yan knew that Ji Tong was actually eyeing Xue Wu. She wasn’t a good person at all; it was a wonder the original owner could stand someone like her.

“Hah, so what if you have one? Can’t you find another on the side? You’re an Alpha; although a bit weak, how can one Omega satisfy you? Finding another is good, right?” Ji Tong began to urge her.

“No,” Luo Yan said, her tone gaining more patience and a smile when she mentioned Xue Wu. Recalling that she had accomplished a major task today and likely prevented a major event from the book, her smile grew sweeter. It pulled at her abdominal wound, making it hurt more, but at this moment she didn’t care. She said firmly: “I only want her.”

“Luo the Third, don’t tell me you’re actually with that popular Movie Queen Xue Wu. Someone like her is fine for a fling, but don’t fall in headfirst.”

Ji Tong could clearly hear the joy and admiration in Luo Yan’s voice; it was indeed the emotion an Alpha in love should have. Combined with the recent trending searches where the names Luo Yan and Xue Wu appeared most frequently, and the discussions from the live stream and Weibo just now, it was naturally impossible not to link them.

Luo Yan knew that the view of love for people like Ji Tong was to play around, and when they reached marriageable age, they would probably choose a match arranged by their family for an alliance. They wouldn’t care who the person was, as long as they helped the family.

So they maintained an attitude of playing with the world. Luo Yan, however, remained non-committal.