After Becoming an Alpha, I Became a Charmer (GL) - Chapter 6

“What reports?” Since Xia Zhiyu was acting normal, the employees didn’t want to needlessly mock her. They asked her a normal question while secretly sizing her up.

Xia Zhiyu handed the reports to the nearest employee, a woman with a round face. Her movements were proper and professional. After giving the reports, she naturally withdrew her hand, making no attempt to take advantage of the contact.

While the round-faced employee was checking the reports, another, slightly older, employee saw Xia Zhiyu just standing there, with no intention of making small talk. She couldn’t help but ask, “Secretary Xia, do you have a partner now?”

As soon as she asked, she regretted it. Xia Zhiyu had finally stopped her usual harassment, so why was she putting herself out there?

“Not yet, Sister Zhang,” Xia Zhiyu replied with a smile before falling silent again.

Sister Zhang immediately forgot her regret. Her tone was tinged with gossip. “Impossible. Your Sister Zhang has been working for years and I’m a good judge of character. I’ve never been wrong. Oh, I get it now. Secretary Xia, you must have a new target, right? Is the person new? Do they come from a good family?”

While Sister Zhang was gossiping, the round-faced employee had already finished checking the reports and signed them. Xia Zhiyu took them back and said to Sister Zhang, “No, there’s really no one. Just think of me as having a sudden epiphany. I still need to go to HR, so I can’t chat right now.”

The impression the original “Xia Zhiyu” left on her colleagues was so deep that she couldn’t change it in a day. Besides, a person who goes around telling people she’s “normal now” would only seem more abnormal.

After Xia Zhiyu left the finance department, Sister Zhang immediately posted a warning in the group chat.

SisterZhang: HR, level one alert! That fish is swimming your way!!!

Wanderer: Oh no, that’s terrible. My sympathy to the HR kids.

Wanderer: How was that fish with you? Didn’t Xiao Wu and the others say at lunch that she seemed normal?

SisterZhang: It’s hard to say. It’s true she wasn’t as gross as before, because she barely said a word to me. Even when I directly asked her something, she was tight-lipped.

SisterZhang: So I’m guessing she’s got her eye on a much bigger pond and is putting on an act to get in.

Wanderer: I think your guess makes sense. A leopard can’t change its spots. All you youngsters in the group, don’t let your guard down. You never know when she’ll stop pretending. Don’t let yourself get played just because of her face.

LemonHead: You’re underestimating us. We’re young, but we’re not stupid.

The HR and finance departments were on the same floor. Xia Zhiyu arrived very quickly. The HR staff had just managed to glance at the group message and receive the bad news when Xia Zhiyu knocked and came in.

The senior HR manager was on leave today, leaving only four people in their twenties. They had just started working at the company, so they were thin-skinned and inexperienced. If the original “Xia Zhiyu” had said something vulgar to them, they would have had to just awkwardly laugh and listen.

To them, Xia Zhiyu was a big shot who worked directly with the CEO. If they said the wrong thing and offended her, what if they were targeted and lost their chance at a promotion? When their manager was around, she would always mock Xia Zhiyu on their behalf, and they felt as safe as chicks with their mother hen.

But their manager was not here today.

So, when Xia Zhiyu walked in, she saw several visibly panicked faces. They looked nervous and on guard, their timid expressions both funny and pathetic.

“I’m here to update my file. Can one of you help me?” Xia Zhiyu asked.

The four employees in the office looked at each other until the one who seemed the bravest gathered her courage and said, “Secretary Xia, they’re all busy with work. I’ll help you.”

“Great.” Xia Zhiyu walked over. The employee’s body became increasingly rigid. She didn’t relax until Xia Zhiyu stopped in front of her desk, confirming that she wouldn’t walk around to stand right next to her.

“Secretary Xia, whose file do you want to change?”

“Mine.”

The employee quickly pulled up Xia Zhiyu’s file and opened it. She looked up to ask what information Xia Zhiyu wanted to change, but was immediately stunned by her overwhelming beauty.

For a moment, the employee completely forgot about Xia Zhiyu’s real personality. Luckily, someone in the office happened to choke on their water. The sound of coughing startled her, and she realized her palms were covered in cold sweat.

She normally ignored Xia Zhiyu, but she still had to listen to her make vulgar remarks to her face. If Xia Zhiyu had seen her get lost in her beauty, she would have probably followed her home after work.

The employee quickly pulled herself together and avoided looking at Xia Zhiyu’s seductive face. She asked, “What information do you want to change, Secretary Xia?”

“My gender,” Xia Zhiyu said, her voice as calm as if she were saying she was going to have beef and rice for dinner.

“Oh, you want to change your gender,” the employee said, not fully processing the information due to her nervousness. It took her brain two seconds to catch up, and she looked up in surprise. “Secretary Xia, I didn’t hear you clearly. Did you say you want to change your gender?”

“Yes, you heard me right.”

The other three employees, who were all eavesdropping, were also shocked. Change her gender? Xia Zhiyu is twenty-six. She’s way past the age for secondary differentiation. Could she be an Omega who was pretending to be a Beta?

If that were the case, her previous vulgar teasing… no, those words and actions would still be just as gross coming from an Omega!

“…Please, may I ask why you want to change your gender? Do you have a doctor’s note?” the employee asked, trying to close her mouth, which had dropped open in surprise.

Xia Zhiyu glanced at the desk phone next to the employee. “Didn’t Ms. Ruan call you?”

“What call?” the employee asked. The desk phone suddenly rang.

She immediately picked up the receiver. “Yes, Ms. Ruan. I understand, Ms. Ruan.”

The employee hung up the phone and said to Xia Zhiyu, “Secretary Xia, I’ll contact Jiangguang Hospital to change your gender. Ms. Ruan said she needs the reports in your hands urgently, and that you… that you shouldn’t waste any more time.”

…So that’s what Ruan Wu was waiting for.

Before coming here, Xia Zhiyu had wondered why Ruan Wu told her to come to HR when she could have just called herself. It turns out it was a way to legitimately criticize her and damage her reputation in the eyes of the other employees.

But Ruan Wu miscalculated. She hadn’t paid attention to the original “Xia Zhiyu” and didn’t know that “Xia Zhiyu” had no reputation to begin with. This small amount of damage was meaningless to her.

On her way back to the CEO’s office, Xia Zhiyu kept thinking that the way the female lead got her revenge in the novel was never this simple. Ruan Wu must have another trick up her sleeve, and she needed to stay on high alert.