Chapter 10

That “baby” was spoken with extraordinary affection.

Seeing Jiang Bailu fall silent, Zhai You felt a faint awkwardness drifting through the air.

Who was this woman, and why was she calling her baby?

Could it be that before the original owner started coercing Jiang Bailu, she had already gotten involved with another woman? Zhai You’s expression didn’t change as she glanced toward the living room.

So pretty.

About seventy or eighty percent as pretty as me.

Wasn’t this none other than Mother Zhai, the woman who was now related to her by blood?!

Mother Zhai was already in her forties, yet she looked barely over thirty, right at the age where her mature charm was at its peak.

That face, similar to Zhai You’s, was also at its most captivating.

She came over in an overly affectionate manner and pulled Zhai You into a hug. “Baby, [bailiantales.com]why are you only coming home now? And who is this little girl?”

Mother Zhai looked past Zhai You toward Jiang Bailu, her gaze turning cold as the corner of her mouth lifted contemptuously.

“Mom…” Zhai You called softly, a little unsure how to face Mother Zhai.

No. She had to do something.

The original novel had clearly described what happened the first time Jiang Bailu followed Zhai You home. Mother Zhai thought Jiang Bailu came from a poor family and had merely relied on being an Omega and having a somewhat pretty face to deceive her daughter.

At first, she still restrained herself out of consideration for the original owner’s feelings toward Jiang Bailu. But later, once she realized the original owner didn’t care about Jiang Bailu at all,

she made things difficult for Jiang Bailu in every possible way.

In the future, she absolutely couldn’t let Mother Zhai continue playing the role of the vicious mother-in-law.

That thought flashed through Zhai You’s mind. She grabbed Mother Zhai’s hand. “Mom, why did you come back early without telling me? I would’ve come home sooner.”

Mother Zhai shifted her gaze from Jiang Bailu back to Zhai You. The doting affection of a mother toward her daughter appeared on her face as she reached out and cupped Zhai You’s cheeks. “How could I bear to disturb my precious little baby?”

Honestly, Zhai You really couldn’t handle people calling her “precious little baby.”

Especially with Mother Zhai’s exaggerated tone, like she was performing in a stage play. It made Zhai You feel completely pulled out of the moment.

She almost couldn’t bring herself to call her Mom again.

Fortunately, Mother Zhai changed the subject. “You must be hungry. I’ll have them make all your favorite dishes right now.”

Zhai You wasn’t sure whether the original owner’s tastes were the same as hers.

With the original owner’s bizarre way of thinking, what if her tastes in food were equally strange? If Zhai You couldn’t eat any of it, would Mother Zhai become suspicious?

At that thought, Zhai You’s brows drew together slightly.

The book never mentioned what the original owner liked to eat. After all, she was only a cannon-fodder scumbag Alpha. Who cared?

But it did mention Jiang Bailu’s favorite foods.

Jiang Bailu preferred light flavors. Even after joining a production, she tended to eat mostly vegetarian dishes.

The righteous love interest had gone to great lengths to take care of the white moonlight in her heart and had even stolen content specially hired a chef to prepare vegetarian temple cuisine to make Jiang Bailu happy.

Having the kitchen prepare vegetarian temple cuisine right now was obviously unrealistic, but vegetarian dishes were still possible.

Zhai You lightly rubbed her fingertips together and casually said as though it were nothing, “I don’t have much of an appetite today. Just make a couple of vegetarian dishes. Especially almond tofu.”

“Bailu likes it.”

The moment she finished speaking, the living room fell silent for two seconds.

Jiang Bailu was already a woman of few words. Unless necessary, she rarely spoke. But even Mother Zhai said nothing, instead looking at Zhai You with a strange expression.

After a long while, Mother Zhai frowned and looked impatiently toward Jiang Bailu.

Her name was Bailu, right?

Mother Zhai didn’t mind her daughter fooling around outside, and in truth, the original owner had never brought anyone home before either.

She only started crossing that line after meeting Jiang Bailu.

Maybe it was the influence of the plot. Who knew? In any case, in Mother Zhai’s heart, even though her daughter liked to play around, she was still a good child.

And now she had suddenly brought someone home without saying a word, and that someone was an Omega—the gender most capable of affecting her daughter. How could Mother Zhai not worry?

As she thought this, Mother Zhai couldn’t help glancing at Jiang Bailu again. She looked quiet, but dogs that bite don’t bark. If she didn’t have some tricks up her sleeve, how could she have gotten her daughter to bring her home?

Afraid that Zhai You might be deceived, Mother Zhai took her hand. “Is this your friend? How long have you known each other? Why haven’t you told your mother about her?”

“We’ve known each other… for quite a while.” Two months counted, right? That was quite a while. Zhai You glanced at her left hand, then reached out and took Jiang Bailu’s hand beside her, giving her no chance to pull away.

Jiang Bailu only struggled slightly before seeming to remember something and obediently allowed Zhai You to hold her hand.

Right in front of Mother Zhai, Zhai You smiled softly. “Mom, let me introduce you. This is my wife, your daughter-in-law.”

Mother Zhai’s eyes widened in shock, and she stumbled back several steps. Her long lashes trembled twice as she stared at their joined hands, unable to accept it for a moment.

Playing around was one thing, but she had actually thought about marriage…

“Youyou, today isn’t April Fool’s Day.” Mother Zhai’s tone grew heavier, even though she knew Zhai You wasn’t someone who liked joking about serious matters.

“Mom must be overwhelmed with happiness.” Zhai You pretended not to understand.

She pulled out the little red booklet and handed it to Mother Zhai to look at, proving that what she had said was an indisputable fact.

Only after seeing the marriage certificate did Mother Zhai clearly understand Jiang Bailu’s place in her daughter’s heart.

This was absolutely beyond the level of merely playing around. Even if Zhai You acted casual, she truly had fallen for Jiang Bailu!

For a woman Mother Zhai knew absolutely nothing about.

And just like that, this woman had become her daughter-in-law. Ha… Mother Zhai tried to use a smile to conceal how she felt, but when the corner of her mouth lifted, it looked more like self-mockery.

Mother Zhai pressed her lips into a straight line.

She was practically struggling to breathe and felt like she might faint on the spot.

Something as major as marriage, and she hadn’t discussed it with the family at all! Mother Zhai flung the red booklet back into Zhai You’s arms. “Wait until your father finds out. He’ll scold you to death!”

The news was far too shocking for Mother Zhai. She needed some time to digest it.

At the same time, she needed to arrange for someone to investigate Jiang Bailu as soon as possible.

Just how had she gotten close to her daughter? What methods had she used… Mother Zhai breathed lightly, wanting to look at Jiang Bailu but worrying that her gaze was too unfriendly right now, that Jiang Bailu might take offense and go whisper complaints into Zhai You’s ear.

…At the very least, she was someone Zhai You currently liked. What if they really stayed together for a long time?

If Mother Zhai treated Jiang Bailu badly, wouldn’t that drive a wedge between her and Zhai You as mother and daughter?

With her spirits deflated, Mother Zhai returned to her room.

The moment Mother Zhai left, Jiang Bailu’s fingertips moved slightly within Zhai You’s palm, and soon she pulled her hand away.

Honestly, Jiang Bailu was somewhat surprised.

She had imagined all kinds of developments. She had even considered the possibility of Mother Zhai mercilessly throwing her out of the house.

Jiang Bailu didn’t particularly care about those things. After all, it was a fake marriage. She hadn’t genuinely fallen in love. If she got thrown out, then so be it.

It would even save her the trouble of spending time dealing with Zhai You.

But the way things were developing now made Jiang Bailu feel… a little strange.

First of all, Zhai You herself was the strangest.

“Tell me first.” Jiang Bailu finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. Her fair face was full of conflicted emotion. “What exactly am I supposed to do?”

Zhai You acting like this kept Jiang Bailu constantly on edge.

The more Zhai You did things that seemed to take Jiang Bailu’s side, the more Jiang Bailu suspected there might be some enormous pit ahead waiting for her to jump into, one that would leave her beyond redemption.

If that was the case, then Zhai You was far too cruel.

And then there was the matter of her preferring vegetarian food.

Jiang Bailu stared directly at Zhai You, as though trying to see through her completely.

Then her gaze suddenly met Zhai You’s bright eyes. Just like Zhai You’s personality, there was no concealment in them at all. They were so direct that they made one’s heart… flutter.

Zhai You reached her hand toward Jiang Bailu, but Jiang Bailu immediately avoided it.

There was no smile on her face. She only looked at Zhai You warily.

The hand suspended in midair slowly lowered.

Zhai You looked thoughtful. After hesitating repeatedly, she came up with an absurd excuse. “You know, I’m very beautiful.”

“……”

“That bastard Su Luo spends every day trying to sell me off. There are plenty of people who like me. If they end up fighting because of me, wouldn’t that make me guilty?” Zhai You spoke slowly and leisurely.

Jiang Bailu’s hand tightened slightly as she listened.

“So first, you’ll fake-marry me and help fool them. In another couple years, once those people who covet my beauty get tired of it, then we’ll…”

No matter how hard Zhai You tried, she couldn’t force out the word divorce.

So she simply didn’t say it.

Anyway, she had made up an excuse. Whether Jiang Bailu believed it or not was up to her. Zhai You wasn’t planning to let Jiang Bailu leave easily.

The wariness in Jiang Bailu’s eyes faded, and she reluctantly believed her.

As expected, Zhai You thought calmly, beauty was an invincible excuse.

*

Mother Zhai returned to her room.

She really was getting older. No matter how young she looked, her body was no longer what it used to be.

After learning that Zhai You had gotten married behind her back, the shock had nearly left her brain starved of blood, and she still felt dizzy now.

Fortunately, she wasn’t completely powerless. Mother Zhai called a private investigation agency she was familiar with.

“Investigate Jiang Bailu for me.”

After hanging up, Mother Zhai felt wronged and called her husband. He answered quickly, greeting her with his most affectionate pet name. “What’s wrong, my darling wife? Weren’t you going to see our daughter today? Miss me already?”

Mother Zhai’s eyes, so similar to Zhai You’s, turned red. “Darling, our daughter got married behind our backs!”

There was a pause on the other end.

Then an “Oh.”

Mother Zhai: “……”

So infuriating.

“She got married behind our backs and didn’t tell us anything! What if the other person saw how foolish our daughter is and deliberately tricked her? We only have one daughter. Why aren’t you more concerned?”

After listening to Mother Zhai’s angry words, a low laugh came through the phone. “Darling, that’s our daughter.”

Mother Zhai seemed to think of something and fell silent for a long while.

“Anyway, come home too. They’re eating here right now.”

“All right, I’ll come back immediately. Wait for me at home, wife.”

After hanging up, Mother Zhai’s beautiful eyes turned toward the huge framed photograph hanging on the wall.

It showed their family of three.

Thinking that before long, another person would be added to that picture—or perhaps two more in the future—Mother Zhai’s gaze flickered.

No.

She still felt wronged.

And for some reason, the moment she saw Jiang Bailu, she couldn’t help wanting to make things difficult for her.

Mother Zhai frowned.

She knew all too well just how much an Omega could affect an Alpha.

Back then, that was exactly how she and her darling had gotten together.

A blush appeared on Mother Zhai’s face. Then she sighed again and no longer felt like speaking.