A Stand-in Alpha Awakens - Chapter 13

No one inside the room cared how long Song Wushuang waited outside.

The rhythmic rain against the window was perfect for sleeping. Jiang Lu lay on her bed, unwilling to move or speak, and simply let the sound of the rain lull her into a drowsy state.

When she woke up again, the rain had stopped. Looking down from the balcony, she could see significant puddles on the ground. To be safe, she and Liang Shuang brought a compact folding umbrella when they headed back to the classroom.

However, by the end of the second period in the afternoon, the sky had cleared completely. Sunlight broke through the clouds, spilling over the washed world and making everything sparkle. The playground’s drainage system was efficient, and since the temperature hadn’t dropped much after the rain, most of the ground had dried within an hour. Class 1’s fourth-period PE class was unaffected.

As Jiang Lu headed downstairs to line up, she noticed another class standing in front of the teaching building. Her gaze swept over them and landed on a girl in the back row wearing a mask. Looking closer, she recognized her as Song Wushuang.

“Looks like her dad came to the school to hit her. Strange, didn’t the security guards stop him? Do you think she went to the school office to complain?” Liang Shuang muttered under her breath, placing her hands on Jiang Lu’s shoulders. “Alright, eyes forward, we’re falling behind.”

On the distant playground, two PE teachers with whistles were waving them over. The sports representative had just led the team out. Jiang Lu picked up her pace to catch up with the students in front.

Liang Shuang turned her head to glare at Song Wushuang, who was craning her neck to look at Jiang Lu. Liang Shuang raised her middle finger in a gesture and walked away without looking back.

The playground at No. 1 High was massive, capable of hosting several classes for PE while simultaneously accommodating the freshmen’s military training. However, due to the recent rain, some track events were temporarily suspended. The PE teacher for Class 1 simply conducted the usual long and short-distance sprints before dismissing them.

Jiang Lu and Liang Shuang weren’t particularly skilled at many ball sports. Seeing the crowd around the ping-pong tables, they didn’t feel like walking back and instead wandered toward a quieter area. They sat down on the semi-dry stone steps to watch the freshmen standing in formation and practicing their goose-steps.

They weren’t far from the freshmen. As long as one didn’t have poor eyesight and the view wasn’t blocked, it was easy to see faces clearly. After a few minutes of sitting, both Jiang Lu and Liang Shuang felt something was off.

The rows of students facing them all seemed to be staring in their direction.

Liang Shuang frowned uncomfortably. “Jiang Lu, do you get the feeling they’re all looking at us?”

“…” Jiang Lu wanted to say no, but the facts were undeniable. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “They probably all saw the Confession Wall.”

The attention gathered by the Confession Wall had exceeded Jiang Lu’s expectations. With two consecutive days of updates and pinned posts, the likes and comments had multiplied several times over. Setting aside the alumni, almost every freshman currently on campus had seen it. If it weren’t for the instructors and the fact that they didn’t have their phones, they’d probably be swarming them with cameras right now.

Reminded by Jiang Lu, Liang Shuang—who had completely forgotten about the Wall—jerked her hand, accidentally pulling up a weed growing from a crack in the bricks. She let out a noncommittal “Ah” and shredded the leaf into tiny pieces. “Should we move somewhere else?”

Jiang Lu was considering whether to ask the Wall admin to unpin the post. She snapped out of it and was about to agree when her light and view were suddenly blocked by someone.

Chu Zishan stood in front of her. “Jiang Lu, want to play a round?”

“Play what?” Jiang Lu looked at the purple sneakers on Zishan’s feet without looking up.

Chu Zishan held out a pair of badminton rackets crossed behind her shoulders. “Badminton. I heard you’re very good, but I missed seeing it. Since we’re free, want to try a match?”

Liang Shuang propped herself up with one hand and looked at Chu Ziyan, who was standing partially behind Zishan, also holding rackets. “Yo, your sister is here too? What’s the deal? Two-on-one?”

The refusal was already on Jiang Lu’s lips, but she looked up in surprise. She hadn’t expected “Grandma Heaven” to arrange things so perfectly—Chu Ziyan happened to have PE this period as well.

Chu Ziyan met her gaze and handed a racket to Liang Shuang. “Doubles. Do you dare?”

“If I said ‘no,’ would you accept that?” The coldness in Jiang Lu’s eyes thawed. She smiled, pushed herself up from the ground, took the racket, and exchanged a look with Liang Shuang before walking toward Chu Ziyan.

Chu Ziyan seemed in much better spirits than she had been that morning. Combined with the fact that Song Wushuang had shamelessly sought her out at noon…

Jiang Lu guessed that Ziyan and Su Mengrui must have spoken. Her expression remained neutral as she greeted her with a smile: “Senior Chu, what a coincidence.”

Chu Ziyan nodded with a smile. “Mm. Shanshan told me you’re very good at badminton.”

“Not really, just a hobby,” Jiang Lu said. Seeing Chu Zishan approach, she habitually stepped back toward Liang Shuang.

There were many people playing badminton on the playground, but no one was playing doubles. Consequently, shortly after they started, a large crowd of curious students gathered. Coincidentally, the bored PE teachers from Class 1 and Class 16 were among them.

After several rallies, the four girls were playing a neck-and-neck match that got the onlookers’ blood pumping. The Class 1 teacher’s hands started itching; he began shouting directions and repeatedly calling Liang Shuang’s name. Annoyed by the nagging, Liang Shuang purposefully missed a shot and voluntarily stepped off the court to let the excited, eager PE teacher take her place.

The Chu sisters’ desire to win was out in the open. Jiang Lu didn’t give an inch. Her eyes were locked onto Chu Ziyan until her uniform was soaked with sweat and a string on her racket snapped, letting the shuttlecock fly through the gap and fall behind her.

“Not bad! I didn’t know our class had players like you!” The PE teacher wiped sweat from his forehead, looking at Chu Zishan and Jiang Lu with excitement.

Jiang Lu waved it off. “Just lucky.”

“Is that so? Too bad for you, I won by pure skill,” Chu Zishan said, looking like a peacock with its feathers spread, acting incredibly smug.

Jiang Lu gave her a supportive thumbs-up. “Mhm, you’re the best!”

Chu Zishan tilted her head up. “Of course.”

Jiang Lu returned the racket to her, shook out her hands, and turned to find Liang Shuang to go wash up in the restroom.

At the sink, Jiang Lu bent over to rinse the sweat from her arms and neck. Liang Shuang soaked a disposable towel, wrung it out, and handed it to her. Leaning against the sink, she said, “Jiang Lu, I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I keep feeling that Chu Zishan’s sister, Chu… Chu-what’s-her-name? Tsk, whatever, her. The way she looks at you is weird.”

“Weird how?” Jiang Lu wiped her face and the back of her neck.

Liang Shuang shook her head. “I can’t describe it. It’s just off.”

“Is it a bit like she’s looking at a love rival?” Jiang Lu joked.

“Yes! Exactly like that!” Liang Shuang clapped her hands. “Wait?! Did you feel it too?”

“No.”

“Then why did you…” Liang Shuang didn’t believe her.

Jiang Lu: “I was just following your lead.”

Liang Shuang: “…”

Jiang Lu wrung out the towel again and wiped down her arms. “Are you thirsty? I am. If it’s convenient, could you buy me a soda?”

“Sure. I’ll wait for you outside then?” Liang Shuang asked.

Jiang Lu nodded. After watching Liang Shuang leave, she tossed the towel and walked toward the stalls. The Alpha section was the largest, with the most stalls. Passing through the doorway, she saw several doors open. Just as she headed toward the furthest stall, her nose twitched, and she instinctively reached out to grab something.

A familiar scent of kumquat lunged from the side. Jiang Lu’s expression didn’t change; she gripped the hand, pushed it forward, then pulled back, pinning the person against the greyish-white tiled wall.

“What’s this? Since I’m ignoring you, you’ve decided to start a fight?” Jiang Lu looked at the disposable mask puffing in and out with heavy breaths. She tilted her head to find Song Wushuang’s eyes. “Next time you try to sneak up on someone, remember to pull back your eye-stinging pheromones first.”

Song Wushuang squirmed like a restless fish. Meeting Jiang Lu’s eyes, she jerked her head back, but Jiang Lu pinned her down with one hand.

“Jiang Lu, let me go, or I’ll fight you to the end,” Song Wushuang’s voice sounded different than at noon, slightly muffled as if something was in her mouth.

Jiang Lu hooked her pinky and ripped off the mask, her eyebrows arching. “Injured again? Who hit you this time? Are you going to blame this on me too?”

“You! Yes! It is you! It’s all because of you!” Song Wushuang’s hands were pinned behind her back; she could only resist with her words.

Hearing this, Jiang Lu understood. She let go and took a step back, the contempt in her eyes sharper than a needle. “You really are stupid. You’re afraid to hit those you can actually beat, but you throw your life away against those you can’t.”

Song Wushuang froze. Watching Jiang Lu turn away as if she didn’t exist, she clenched her fists and charged, shouting, “Jiang Lu! You bastard! I’m not done with you!”

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Jiang Lu turned and delivered a sharp kick. Before Song Wushuang could even swing a punch, she fell backward onto the floor with a thud.

Jiang Lu gave her a harsh glare before entering the furthest stall and shutting the door.

“Didn’t I tell you long ago that I took many extracurricular classes in primary school?” Jiang Lu’s voice echoed in the Alpha restroom. “What exactly were you doubting?”

Song Wushuang pushed herself up, wincing in pain as she leaned against the cold tile wall. When Jiang Lu came out and saw she was still there, she let out a helpless sigh. “One last piece of advice: stop measuring others by your own standards. Whether it’s IQ or fighting ability.”

Song Wushuang: “…”

Exiting the restroom, Jiang Lu saw Liang Shuang walking toward her with two bottles of water. She flicked the water off her hands and jogged over.

The fifty-minute period ended in a flash. The PE teacher blew his whistle for assembly, checked the count, and waved them off. “Representative, lead them back to the building for dismissal.”

The dismissal rituals for each class were similar. After her class was dismissed, Chu Zishan followed her sister’s instructions and intercepted Jiang Lu. “Hey, don’t be in such a hurry to leave.”

“Something up?” Jiang Lu asked.

Chu Zishan nodded. “My sister wants to treat you to dinner. Join us?”

“Eat what? The cafeteria? That’s not very sincere,” Liang Shuang said, leaning on Jiang Lu’s shoulder with a sly grin.

Chu Zishan didn’t expect Liang Shuang to be so blunt. “Well, we can’t leave campus. What else is there besides the cafeteria?”

Liang Shuang was about to say “if you can’t leave, find a way out,” but she felt a nudge. Jiang Lu looked past Zishan and smiled at Chu Ziyan, who was walking over. “Senior.”

Chu Ziyan stood beside her sister. “Jiang Lu, I have some things to say. Want to eat dinner together?”

“No thanks, Senior. I don’t like chatting while I eat. If you have something to say, say it now.” Jiang Lu partially shielded Liang Shuang behind her.

Chu Ziyan didn’t insist. She looked at the dispersing crowd and suggested with a smile, “Alright then, I won’t force you. Shall we talk while we walk?”

Jiang Lu didn’t refuse this time. She gave Liang Shuang a look and followed Chu Ziyan at a slight distance.

“It’s actually nothing major. We talked about it this morning. Mengrui came to see me at noon, and I passed on what you told me. But Mengrui said it was all a misunderstanding.” Chu Ziyan’s voice was full of smiles; she clearly believed Su Mengrui completely. “She didn’t mean it the way you thought. She won’t bother you again, so don’t worry.”

Jiang Lu wasn’t surprised by this story. Su Mengrui only used her silver tongue on two people: the Old Matron and Chu Ziyan. She looked at the happy Ziyan and said sincerely, “That’s wonderful. Thank you, Senior. You have no idea—I was quite startled when I saw her in my classroom on the first day. I kept worrying she’d come back. That’s why I was so blunt yesterday afternoon. It seems I overthought things. Thank you so much.”

“Oh, and please pass on my apologies as well. I feel quite bad about it.”

The smile on Chu Ziyan’s face stiffened.

Jiang Lu pretended not to notice. She pulled Liang Shuang along and said, “Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, we’ll be heading off.”

“…Alright.” Chu Ziyan nodded, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her hands.

When they met at noon, Su Mengrui hadn’t mentioned seeing them in the school. She hadn’t said she’d been there on the day the sophomores returned. She had said she ran into Jiang Lu yesterday afternoon by chance and they had an argument.

…So she lied to me?

Then of the things she said at noon, how many were true?

Chu Ziyan stood frozen, her heart feeling as if a bottle of vinegar had been poured into it, making her eyes sting with bitterness.

Chu Zishan was confused. Seeing her sister stunned, she asked blankly, “Sis? What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh.” Chu Ziyan snapped out of it. Remembering her sister was in the same class as Jiang Lu, she grabbed her hand. “Shanshan, did you see Mengrui in your classroom on the first day?”

“Sister Mengrui?” Chu Zishan was even more confused. “No.”

Just as Chu Ziyan’s heart was about to settle, Zishan added, “Sis, you forgot. I’m a transfer student. I was in the grade dean’s office before the placement test. I only went to Class 1 after the rankings came out.”

The small bit of relief Chu Ziyan felt turned into a lump of air stuck in her throat.

In the cafeteria, Jiang Lu and Liang Shuang sat down with bowls of beef rice noodles. Liang Shuang broke apart her chopsticks and handed them to Jiang Lu. “Hey, back to the dorm or the classroom later?”

“Dorm,” Jiang Lu said. “I sweated too much; I want to go back and wash up.”

“I agree,” Liang Shuang said.

After eating, Jiang Lu went back for a quick rinse. While waiting for Liang Shuang, she used her smartwatch to contact the Confession Wall admin. The reply was instant; they promised to unpin the post and update with new content within ten minutes. Seeing the admin was cooperative, Jiang Lu generously sent an extra tip.

The admin didn’t hesitate. After receiving it, they exited the chat and clicked on another avatar with a transfer reminder. After confirming the receipt, they explicitly stated they could only cover the old content with new posts and unpin it—they could not delete it.

Seeing the reply, Su Mengrui stabbed the screen in anger: How much more do you want?

Wall Admin: I’m sorry, baby, I don’t understand what you mean~

Su Mengrui: I’m saying, name your price to delete it.

Wall Admin: Baby, it’s not a matter of money~

Su Mengrui: Is ten thousand enough!!!

Su Mengrui: Also, DON’T call me baby!!! It’s disgusting!!!

Wall Admin: …Alright then~

Wall Admin: But it really isn’t about the money. If you really don’t want to see the first two posts, you can buy new updates to bury them.

Wall Admin: Only two posts though~

Su Mengrui: Twenty thousand. Add one more post!

Wall Admin: …

Two minutes later.

Wall Admin: That works. But just this once, don’t expect it again~!

After a livid Su Mengrui transferred the twenty thousand, she sat waiting for the update. She had rushed back at noon and hadn’t been able to settle the score with Jiang Lu; she’d taken her anger out on Song Wushuang, and now being provoked by a wall admin made her want to strangle Jiang Lu on the spot.

However, the reality was she couldn’t even touch a hair on Jiang Lu’s head.

God damn her! God damn her!!

Fuck! Sooner or later I’m going to make that ungrateful Alpha Jiang Lu pay!

One minute later, the Confession Wall—which had earned triple pay on a single update—refreshed. The person operating the account gave a thumbs-up to their boss, who was petting a cat nearby. “As expected of my Sister Yue!”

“Mm.” Bai Yue gently set the stretched-out Chinchilla cat back on the rug. She checked the time, filled the empty transparent bowl with freeze-dried food, and stood up. She said to the girl on the sofa, “Give me the account info of the person who voluntarily sent the red envelopes.”

The Beta girl, Zhang Yi, looked back from the coffee table piled with electronics. “Huh? What for?”

“What do you think?” The barefoot Omega sat down on the rug on the other side of the table.

Zhang Yi probed: “You want to add her as a friend?”

Bai Yue countered: “Is that not allowed?”

“It’s not that it’s not allowed, it’s… well, I’ll be direct.” Zhang Yi turned the phone screen toward her. “She disabled friend requests. You can’t add her.”

“Oh, I see.” Bai Yue rested her slender chin on her hand. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Then help me find an account of hers that can be added.”

Zhang Yi: “Ah?”

“If you find it, the Confession Wall is yours, and all this equipment is yours for free.” Bai Yue smiled enticingly. “Consider it?”

Zhang Yi grabbed Bai Yue’s hand and promised solemnly, “No need to consider. I’ll do it right now. Fifteen minutes, tops!”

Bai Yue pulled her hand back. “I believe you.”