Chapter 1
In the square of Mingyue Residential Community, the closest residential complex to the Qiao family villa, the streetlights beneath the lush green trees cast warm yellow halos. The Qiao family’s little old matriarch was happily doing square dancing with her friends from the senior dance troupe.
All the elderly ladies wore Bluetooth earphones, which had supposedly been purchased by the troupe leader but were actually gifts from the Qiao family’s little old matriarch’s granddaughter, Qiao Nian. As a result, their dancing produced absolutely no music-related noise.
From a distance, the little old ladies appeared to be dancing enthusiastically, waving their arms and legs about. But a closer look revealed that the speakers outside a nearby barbecue restaurant were blasting DJ music, which happened to match the rhythm of their dance steps perfectly. Anyone who didn’t know better would have assumed the music was coming from the elderly ladies. One resident upstairs had even opened their window several times to look down at them.
Old Madam Qiao stood in the center of the third row, a red silk scarf tied around her neck. Whenever she raised her arms and spun, the scarf fluttered beautifully in the summer evening breeze, resembling the feathers of a peacock spreading proudly. She danced with a delighted smile on her face, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Her driver and bodyguard, Tan Meiju, was browsing a small stall selling children’s toys.
She didn’t dare stand too close to the old madam because the latter kept a very low profile in the dance troupe. Rather than a wealthy old lady with a personal driver and bodyguard, she presented herself as an ordinary retiree who received a few thousand yuan in pension payments every month and loved introducing potential marriage partners to her granddaughter.
Tan Meiju glanced toward Old Madam Qiao again to make sure she was safe, then turned her attention back to the toys.
A few minutes later, Tan Meiju suddenly received a phone call. Her expression changed drastically, and the moment she hung up, she hurried toward Old Madam Qiao.
Although the old madam was dancing, she had always been accustomed to keeping an eye on her surroundings. When she suddenly noticed the change in Xiao Tan’s expression, her heart immediately tightened.
Old Madam Qiao stopped dancing and removed her earphones, her legs growing weak as she waited for Xiao Tan to approach.
Tan Meiju came over, supported the old madam by the arm, and said, “Grandma, Aunt Zong asked me to bring you home.” Aunt Zong was the Qiao family’s housekeeper.
The old madam anxiously lowered her voice. “Has Nian Nian’s rut come early again this month?”
Tan Meiju was filled with panic and heartache. “Yes, but Grandma, please don’t worry. Miss Qiao is already in her room, and Aunt Zong is with her. She’s been given both suppressants and painkillers.”
How could Old Madam Qiao possibly not worry? Her eyes instantly reddened. “But suppressants and painkillers don’t work on Nian Nian! Quick, Xiao Tan, hurry and bring the car around. I’ll wait for you by the roadside…”
·
At the Qiao family’s lakeside villa, the elevator doors opened on the third floor, and Old Madam Qiao hurried out. The beautiful silk scarf she had worn around her neck had long since been untied and tossed into the car.
Her granddaughter’s rut had come early, leaving her in unbearable pain. How could she possibly be in the mood to care about her appearance?
The housekeeper, Zong Hui, was standing outside Qiao Nian’s bedroom. Seeing the old madam return, she hurried forward to steady her. “Aunt Qiao, please don’t rush. Take your time.”
Old Madam Qiao anxiously asked, “What happened?”
Zong Hui motioned for Tan Meiju to fetch a chair for the old madam while explaining, “Miss Qiao started feeling unwell in the greenhouse. She called and asked me to come get her. Fortunately, she was still in relatively good condition when I arrived. And since you’ve always insisted that we mustn’t keep anything from you, I called Xiao Tan after getting Miss Qiao settled and asked her to bring you home.”
Tan Meiju brought over a chair, and Zong Hui helped the old madam sit down.
Old Madam Qiao sat down and, overcome with heartache, struck her thighs hard twice with her fists. Looking up, she asked, “What time did Nian Nian call you?”
Zong Hui tried her best to keep her voice steady as she answered softly, “Seven thirty. I brought Miss Qiao back in a wheelchair, administered her suppressants and painkillers, switched on the pheromone-blocking device in her room, and prepared an oral bite guard and towels for her. I also trimmed her fingernails so she wouldn’t scratch herself. Only after everything was properly arranged did I call Xiao Tan. Aunt Qiao, please rest assured.”
But Old Madam Qiao couldn’t put her mind at ease at all.
Even with a door separating them, faint, stifled groans of pain could still be heard coming from the bedroom.
Old Madam Qiao wanted to raise her hand and knock, to ask how her granddaughter was doing, but she didn’t dare. Her aging eyes grew increasingly red.
Zong Hui crouched down and looked up at the old madam, speaking quietly. “Aunt Qiao, why don’t you go back to your room and wait? I’ll stay here with Miss Qiao. As soon as the door opens, I’ll have someone notify you.”
Old Madam Qiao shook her head, seeming to have aged considerably in an instant. “Every time Nian Nian goes through this, she’s in pain all night. I don’t know how many more nights I’ll be able to stay by her side. I’ll keep her company here.”
Zong Hui’s voice choked with emotion. “Aunt Qiao, you’re talking nonsense again. You’re still in excellent health! Just look at that square dancing you do. I’d be out of breath after a single song, but you don’t even get tired or winded.”
Old Madam Qiao nodded, suddenly looking much more vigorous. “Exactly! I’m still in excellent health. So staying up one more night with Nian Nian won’t hurt me at all.”
Zong Hui: “…”
Zong Hui couldn’t argue with the old madam. She also knew the old woman was merely putting on a brave front, so there was nothing more she could say. All she could do was stay there and keep watch alongside her.
Two chairs stood on either side of the doorway. Old Madam Qiao sat on one, and the housekeeper sat on the other. Listening to the occasional sounds of pain coming from the room, they remained silent for a long time.
The moon rose above the treetops. In her hands, Zong Hui fingered a string of Buddhist prayer beads she had obtained from a mountain temple five years earlier.
That was the year Miss Qiao had first presented as an Alpha. When her test results confirmed that she was an S-class Alpha, everyone had been delighted for her. Little had they imagined that the strongest genes would also bring Miss Qiao her most fatal weakness—
Miss Qiao suffered from pheromone imbalance disorder. Whenever her rut arrived, neither suppressants nor painkillers had any effect on her. She could only endure it through sheer willpower, just as she was doing tonight. The only solution was for her to marry as soon as possible. The pheromones of an Omega with a high compatibility rate could regulate the imbalance of pheromones in her body.
But Miss Qiao was entirely devoted to her career and refused to go on blind dates…
Zong Hui lowered her eyes and continued fingering the prayer beads, praying devoutly that Miss Qiao would soon overcome this ordeal. She hoped the heavens would take pity on her and mercifully send her a destined partner, someone she would genuinely love, so she would never have to suffer such agony again and again.
A destined romance would probably arrive sooner than a medical breakthrough. After all, it took years of clinical trials before a new drug could reach the market. Since she desperately wanted a quick solution, all she could do was pray for Miss Qiao’s true love to appear as soon as possible.
·
The night passed. At seven the next morning, the smart lock on the bedroom door suddenly clicked open, and both the old madam and Zong Hui raised their heads.
The old madam hurriedly said, “Quick, Nian Nian’s rut is over! Xiao Hui, help me inside.”
Old Madam Qiao had been sitting all night, and her legs had grown stiff. Supported by Zong Hui, she slowly made her way inside on trembling legs.
As they passed through the outer study, the air was thick with chaotic pheromones, their scent damp yet piercingly cold.
When they reached the dimly lit bedroom doorway, they saw Qiao Nian lying beneath the covers with her eyes tightly shut, her face deathly pale and her hair soaked with sweat.
Old Madam Qiao looked around. Everything was clean and tidy, but she could still tell that Qiao Nian had only just dragged her utterly exhausted body around to clean up. For instance, the oral bite guard on the table had almost been bitten to pieces. The battery compartment cover of the door-opening device had fallen off and disappeared. The decorative cushion had been placed with its front and back reversed. Even the quilt covering Nian Nian was upside down…
That was simply how Nian Nian was. No matter how much pain she was in, she refused to let anyone stay beside her and watch. And no matter how little strength she had left, she would always tidy up the mess left behind by an episode before pressing the button to open the door.
Without saying a word, Old Madam Qiao sat down beside the bed and reached beneath the covers to feel her granddaughter’s body. Her pajamas were completely drenched in sweat, and even the bedsheet beneath her was soaked through.
Not only was her body covered in sweat, but her face and neck were as well. Old Madam Qiao gazed at her granddaughter’s weak, pale face, her eyes brimming with heartache. Taking the damp towel Zong Hui handed her, she carefully wiped away the sweat brought on by the pain.
Qiao Nian’s eyelashes trembled faintly, but she didn’t open her eyes.
After a long while, the old madam began singing softly to her granddaughter. “Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, all the way to Grandma’s bridge. Grandma calls me her good little baby, gives me a steamed bun and a piece of cake…”
Hearing the familiar song, Qiao Nian slowly opened her eyes. Those normally beautiful eyes were now bloodshot, and her usually melodious voice had become nothing but a hoarse rasp. “Grandma, I’m fine now. Go back and get some sleep.”
Tears filled Old Madam Qiao’s eyes. Gently stroking her granddaughter’s face, she said softly, “All right. In a little while, let Aunt Zong wipe you down. Once you’re clean and dry, have some porridge before going back to sleep. I’ll have some porridge and catch up on my sleep too. We’ll both eat properly and get some good rest. We’ll both be fine… Nian Nian, is there anything you’d like to eat tonight?”
Qiao Nian opened her eyes, then closed them again. Already barely conscious, she murmured indistinctly, “Mom’s brown sugar rice cakes.”
Old Madam Qiao could no longer hold back her tears. They fell like pearls from a broken string as she choked out, “All right. Grandma will make them for Nian Nian tonight.”
·
Old Madam Qiao stayed with Qiao Nian until her granddaughter had finished her porridge and fallen asleep. She then had some porridge herself and made sure the household had all the ingredients needed to prepare brown sugar rice cakes before finally returning to her room to rest.
Having stayed awake all night, Old Madam Qiao was utterly exhausted. She fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
In her drowsiness, she seemed to wander into a children’s amusement park.
But why was there nobody in this amusement park? Had it not opened yet? She didn’t remember the family group owning an amusement park, either.
Puzzled, Old Madam Qiao continued walking forward when suddenly, something wrapped itself around her right leg!
What kind of enormous bug was that?!
Startled, Old Madam Qiao shook her leg violently, but whatever it was wouldn’t come off. She lowered her head in astonishment, only to discover that the thing clinging to her leg was a tiny toddler with her hair tied into two little horn-shaped buns!
How beautiful! The child was round and chubby, just like one of those adorable babies that seemed to have stepped straight out of a traditional New Year painting. And she appeared to be a little girl.
Old Madam Qiao asked suspiciously, “Where did you come from…?”
“Great-Grandma!” The adorable little girl tilted her face upward and smiled. “Hello, Great-Grandma!”
Old Madam Qiao: “…?”
Bewildered, Old Madam Qiao crouched down and asked kindly, “How old are you, sweetheart? Where are your parents? Why are you here all by yourself?”
The little girl’s eyes were big, round, black, and sparkling. Two deep dimples appeared whenever she smiled, and in a sweet, soft voice, she recited, “Baby is three and a half years old this year. Baby’s full name is Qiao Mengdie, and Baby’s nickname is Little Butterfly. Baby’s Alpha Mommy is Qiao Nian, and Mommy is Chu Jingzhi. Chu as in ‘charming and moving,’ Jing as in ‘Peking opera,’ and Zhi as in ‘willow branch.’ Baby’s mommy is the bestest, bestest acupuncturist in the whole world…”
“Wait, wait!” Old Madam Qiao stared in disbelief and hurriedly looked around. “This is a scam! You’re running a scam! You’ve been taught to scam people at such a young age?”
The baby stared blankly at Great-Grandma. What did “scam” mean?
But Baby wasn’t lying! And Baby wasn’t trying to trick anyone by making a big fuss, either.
Looking at the little girl’s bewildered, dazed face, Old Madam Qiao suddenly noticed something.
This child looked remarkably like… Qiao Nian when she was little!
Just look at those bright, beautiful eyes. They were practically identical.
Old Madam Qiao’s mouth went dry. “Y-you said your Alpha Mommy is Qiao Nian?”
This time, the baby understood. She opened her mouth in a delighted smile, her chubby cheeks squeezing her round eyes into adorable little crescents. “That’s right! Baby’s Alpha Mommy is Qiao Nian. Baby came from the future, so Great-Grandma has to believe Baby, okay?”
Old Madam Qiao: “…?”
Had scam syndicates these days started offering personalized services? Had they specifically found a child who looked so much like Qiao Nian to deceive a wealthy old lady like her? Or was this some kind of AI scam?
The baby suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, Great-Grandma!”
Old Madam Qiao was just about to frown, but when she met those beautiful eyes that looked exactly like Qiao Nian’s, her voice unconsciously softened again. “What is it?”
The baby climbed into Great-Grandma’s arms and leaned close to her ear. Whispering as forcefully as she could, she grew angrier and angrier as she spoke. “On the eighteenth of this month, someone’s going to scatter soybeans all over Great-Grandma’s square! Lots of grandmas will fall down, and Great-Grandma will fall and hurt her leg so badly she can’t walk properly anymore!”
Alpha Mommy said that person had even caused Great-Grandma to spend a hundred days in a wheelchair. What a big meanie! Baby was so angry!
Old Madam Qiao sucked in a sharp breath. “Hey, what kind of baby goes around cursing people like that?!”
No matter how beautiful or adorable a child was, she couldn’t talk like that! Just how had her parents raised her?
Old Madam Qiao sucked in another sharp breath, but this time, the sound suddenly woke her up.
Opening her eyes, Old Madam Qiao found herself staring at the familiar surroundings of her own bedroom. Gradually, she sank into a state of uncertainty, torn between belief and disbelief, troubled by the thought that it was better to be safe than sorry.
That dream… couldn’t possibly be real, could it?
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