After Becoming an Alpha, I Became a Charmer (GL) - Chapter 28.1

Tonight, Xia Zhiyu was to accompany Ruan Wu to the Xie family’s banquet. Early that morning, someone had already arrived at the house to deliver various evening gowns in Xia Zhiyu’s size, for her to choose from.

Xia Zhiyu came out of the bedroom after washing up and saw two rows of exquisite gowns laid out in the living room. She asked Ruan Wu, who was sitting on the sofa reading some scandalous news, “Ms. Ruan, can I choose any of these?”

“Keep any that you like. You’ll be attending more than just this one banquet in the future, and what you wear represents my reputation.” Ruan Wu finished speaking, but then suddenly remembered the stunning effect Xia Zhiyu had when she wore the dress the night before. Although these were relatively less revealing styles that she had personally selected, with Xia Zhiyu’s figure, they might still have an unexpected impact.

“Try them on one by one. I’ll help you choose.” Ruan Wu couldn’t leave such a risky decision entirely to Xia Zhiyu.

Xia Zhiyu hadn’t expected Ruan Wu to have a hobby of watching people try on clothes. However, it was still early. It was just trying on clothes. If it made Ruan Wu happy, and she made her breakfast again, it would be a worthwhile trade.

“Okay, Ms. Ruan. I’ll try them on one by one.” There were about twenty gowns in two rows. Xia Zhiyu changed into one every ten minutes, came out for Ruan Wu’s opinion, and only those Ruan Wu approved of were kept.

However, Xia Zhiyu tried on four or five gowns in a row, and Ruan Wu didn’t approve of a single one.

“Not this one. Change.” Ruan Wu frowned, seemingly particularly displeased with the dress Xia Zhiyu was currently wearing.

When Xia Zhiyu looked in the mirror while changing, she thought it looked quite good and was a style she liked. She wanted to keep this one. She walked close to Ruan Wu and spun around in front of her. “Ms. Ruan, take another look. Isn’t this one beautiful? It’s better than the previous ones. I think we should keep it.”

Ruan Wu: “…” It’s precisely because it’s too beautiful.

Even though the material of this dress wasn’t particularly form-fitting, when Xia Zhiyu wore it, she was still mesmerizing, like a dark-night elf, attracting all eyes. Ruan Wu stared at her for a long time, suppressing the urge to take a photo on her phone. She came up with an excuse. “It’s too flashy. It’ll steal the spotlight.”

Ruan Wu hadn’t expected her secretary’s excessive charm to be such a bothersome problem. She wished Xia Zhiyu was still the unnoticed Beta from before.

“Alright then,” Xia Zhiyu said regretfully. She genuinely liked this gown, but the price tag was currently beyond her means. Since Ruan Wu was paying, Ruan Wu had the final say.

“Ms. Ruan, I’ll go change into the next one.” Xia Zhiyu turned around and took down the next dress from the rack.

“Wait.” Ruan Wu frowned, as if making a difficult decision. “The one you’re wearing, you can keep it if you like, but you can’t wear it to the banquet.”

In other words, she could only wear it at home, with Ruan Wu as the sole admirer.

Xia Zhiyu turned back, surprised. “Thank you, Ms. Ruan! I definitely won’t wear it outside.”

The private gathering with Ruan Wu’s friends is this Saturday. I didn’t know what to wear. Since Ruan Wu said this, she must mean what I think she means, right?

Ruan Wu truly is such a thoughtful boss~

Xia Zhiyu tried on all the gowns. Ruan Wu reluctantly picked out five that Xia Zhiyu didn’t look too stunning in, though that was only because the gowns themselves were quite plain. Xia Zhiyu looked at the dresses Ruan Wu chose and couldn’t help but think: So this is the aesthetic of the great Omega female lead. She only likes plain things.

No wonder she didn’t want to sleep with me again. Is it because I’m not plain enough?

An Alpha’s looks are naturally superior. It’s difficult to find someone who looks plain. Is this why Ruan Wu dislikes Alphas?

“What are you thinking?” Ruan Wu frowned, noticing that Xia Zhiyu’s gaze toward her was growing increasingly strange, even tinged with sympathy.

Xia Zhiyu snapped back to reality. Seeing Ruan Wu’s displeasure, she quickly said, “Nothing, Ms. Ruan. I was just thinking about the banquet tonight. I heard that Xie Li’s uncle is currently the head of the Xie family. I’m worried they might hold a grudge against you because of Xie Li’s situation.”

Xie Li was one of the Alphas who tried to molest Xia Zhiyu at the resort. The Ruan and Xie families were old family friends. The elders had a good relationship, and the companies had many cooperative projects. Ruan Wu directly called the police to arrest Xie Li, which might be perceived by the Xie family as heartless.

It would be bad if it affected the cooperation between the two families.

“That’s not something you need to worry about,” Ruan Wu said.

There was certainly pressure. The day Xie Li was arrested, the Xie family had called her parents to plead for mercy, asking her to let go of Xie Li for the sake of their long-standing relationship. Ruan Wu refused.

The Ruan Group had been completely handed over to Ruan Wu by her father. The shares were also in Ruan Wu’s name. Because she had the strength and confidence, no one could pressure Ruan Wu into changing her decisions.

At noon, Ruan Wu went with Xia Zhiyu to the cafeteria to buy food for the first time.

On the way, Xia Zhiyu could clearly tell the difference between taking the elevator with Ruan Wu and taking it alone.

The people who were chattering excitedly yesterday were now speechless, covering their mouths and expressing their excitement with flushed faces and wide eyes. Half of the attention that was on Xia Zhiyu shifted to Ruan Wu. Xia Zhiyu’s pressure was cut in half and transferred to Ruan Wu.

Most importantly, a vacuum immediately formed wherever the two walked. Ruan Wu was like a cold, aloof moon that had descended to earth. No one dared to get too close, fearing they might disturb her.

The two came down from the elevator together. People who had been waiting for Xia Zhiyu and periodically looking toward the elevator suddenly saw Ruan Wu’s face and thought they were seeing things. They closed their eyes and opened them again. Ruan Wu was still there.

Anon: Breaking—Ms. Ruan spotted at the company cafeteria! Secretary Xia is with her, choosing dishes! Seeing two beauties at once has saved my two days of dry eyes!

Anon: Wuwuwu, our company cafeteria is truly a great place. We have Z-cuisine, F-cuisine, and the feast for the eyes that is Ms. Ruan and Secretary Xia~

MinisterLi: Recall quickly, recall quickly! It would be terrible if Secretary Xia saw that message. She’ll definitely tell Ms. Ruan!

Minister Li’s tone was overly excited. The person who sent the previous message, despite being confused, quickly recalled the message.

The cafeteria was crowded. Ruan Wu and Xia Zhiyu declined the offers from people to cut in line for them and waited at the end to get their food.

Xia Zhiyu took out her phone to check for new messages. She happened to see the message Minister Li had sent in the group chat. She couldn’t help but smile, took a screenshot before the sender could recall the message, and took another screenshot after the recall. Xia Zhiyu combined the two images and sent it to Ruan Wu.

Although she didn’t know what Ruan Wu and Minister Li talked about that afternoon, Xia Zhiyu could guess a thing or two from Minister Li’s increasingly strict monitoring of the group chat.

Ruan Wu’s phone vibrated. She was standing in front of Xia Zhiyu. She took out her phone, saw the WeChat message from Xia Zhiyu, and looked back at Xia Zhiyu in confusion.

What did she send me that she couldn’t say directly for fear of others hearing?

Ruan Wu opened the image. The comparison was obvious.

Minister Li is truly dedicated and doing a good job.

But why would Xia Zhiyu send me this picture? Does she think Minister Li is acting on my instructions?

RuanWu: ?

XiaZhiyu: (Smiling)

Ruan Wu frowned. What nonsense is Xia Zhiyu sending me?

Fortunately, the cafeteria auntie was quick to serve food today, not daring to delay the CEO. Ruan Wu’s turn came before she could type another sentence.

Not far away, Minister Li and Yu Qingyi were eating at a table. Minister Li was staring at his phone, while Yu Qingyi was watching Ruan Wu and Xia Zhiyu queuing.

Minister Li looked up, satisfied with his successful recall, meeting Yu Qingyi’s astonished gaze. “Minister Li, you’re truly amazing. You noticed something so subtle. If you hadn’t told me the truth, I would never have figured it out.”

They’re standing together and still sending WeChat messages to each other. I wonder if they’re sending sweet nothings.

What kind of sweet talk does Ms. Ruan use?

Although Minister Li didn’t know what Yu Qingyi had seen, as long as Yu Qingyi was convinced of the situation, his goal was achieved.

After work, Ruan Wu and Xia Zhiyu returned home to change into their gowns and do their makeup for the banquet.

Xia Zhiyu wore one of the plain dresses, with only her neck and collarbones exposed.

Due to a vague sense of guilt, Ruan Wu didn’t stop Xia Zhiyu from applying bright red lipstick, even though she didn’t want her to.

Ultimately, Xia Zhiyu’s face saved the dress. The stunning and beautiful Xia Zhiyu was in no way inferior walking next to Ruan Wu.

The sky had darkened. Rows of streetlights illuminated the roadside. Xia Zhiyu and Ruan Wu sat in the car, driving into a bustling area.

Getting out in front of the hotel, Xia Zhiyu stepped out of the car first. Her appearance and demeanor were nothing like a secretary’s. Xie Ke, who was waiting to greet guests outside, assumed she was an important guest and rushed over to welcome and chat with her. But he saw Xia Zhiyu turn and walk to the other side of the car, bending down to open the door and carefully shielding the door frame with one hand while helping the person inside step out with the other.

Xie Ke recognized Ruan Wu and was stunned for a moment before rushing over.

“Ms. Ruan, long time no see.”

Xie Ke, who was in charge of greeting guests, was Xie Li’s half-brother. He had always been overlooked by his family, but with Xie Li’s incarceration, his uncle finally gave him some attention.

Seeing Ruan Wu was like seeing a savior.

He enthusiastically invited Ruan Wu inside. “Rong Rong has been looking forward to seeing you, Sister Ruan Wu, all day. She’s been so excited. She even wanted to greet guests with me earlier to see you right away, but Uncle persuaded her to stay inside, saying that as an Omega, it wasn’t appropriate for her to do this.”

Xie Rongrong was the only daughter of the Xie family’s current head, Xie Wuyu. Xie Wuyu held traditional views and didn’t plan to hand over all his assets to his Omega daughter, like the Ruan family did. Instead, he was grooming a few nephews as heirs.

Xie Li was articulate and was originally one of Xie Wuyu’s most valued candidates for heir. Xie Wuyu had specifically placed him as a general manager in the joint Ruan-Xie branch company for experience. But who would have thought that a vacation would land him straight in jail? Xie Wuyu valued reputation and face and would naturally not allow a disgraced Alpha like him to inherit the family business. However, he had always looked down on Omegas and strongly disliked Ruan Wu’s handling of the situation.

If he hadn’t already sent Ruan Wu an invitation, Xie Wuyu would absolutely not have invited an Omega who had just sent his nephew to the police on his daughter’s eighteenth birthday, even if that Omega was the de facto head of the Ruan Group.

In contrast to her father, Xie Wuyu, Xie Rongrong was still a huge admirer of Ruan Wu, even though Xie Wuyu had raised her as a model proper lady and constantly complained in her ear about Ruan Wu’s supposed outrageous behavior and how her father shouldn’t have handed the company over to her.

Ruan Wu’s family situation was very similar to hers, yet Ruan Wu had lived a life Xie Rongrong couldn’t even imagine.

As Xie Ke led Ruan Wu into the banquet hall, he curiously looked at Xia Zhiyu. Although the wind wasn’t strong tonight, he still faintly smelled Alpha pheromones coming from Xia Zhiyu.

“Ms. Ruan, may I ask which esteemed young lady this is? I’ve only just come out with my uncle to identify guests. I may not recognize some people right away, even if I’ve heard their names.”

Xia Zhiyu smiled and said, “Thank you for the compliment, but I’m just a secretary by Ms. Ruan’s side. My name is Xia Zhiyu. You can just call me Secretary Xia.”

Xie Ke looked at Ruan Wu in surprise. Only when Ruan Wu nodded did he confirm that Xia Zhiyu was actually telling the truth. “Hello, Secretary Xia. My name is Xie Ke. Secretary Xia, your demeanor is certainly not like a secretary’s.”