Conquering The Love Rival Alpha - Chapter 5

The crowd gathered at the school gate quickly dispersed after the main characters left the scene. Outside the entrance, which had regained its smooth flow, two figures standing on the left and right immediately became extremely noticeable.

Noticing the person standing across from her, the disgust on Xun Zhou’s face as she carried her schoolbag instantly vanished like smoke, replaced by delight and concern.

She instinctively walked a few steps forward. But when she saw that Ding Xueyao was still staring in the direction inside the school gate, lost in thought, her steps abruptly stopped. “Xueyao?”

Ding Xueyao’s eyes were filled entirely with the sight of Feng Qingyu protecting that little Omega as they walked away. She had not noticed Xun Zhou standing across from her at all. Suddenly hearing that familiar voice, she was startled.

She hurriedly shifted her gaze away, and the expression on her face almost failed to hide itself. “Xun Zhou? What a coincidence. I thought you’d arrived early.”

Xun Zhou was a true top student who was neither showy nor low-key, and whose goals were perfectly clear. As long as something involved studying, her attitude was especially serious. Because of that, in the very first month after she transferred over, the entire grade knew that the school had gained an incredibly capable and hardworking Alpha.

At the same time, they also knew that this Alpha’s self-control was terrifyingly strong. No matter if it was windy or raining, she was always the first one to arrive in class.

So, in Ding Xueyao’s expectations, she should have arrived in the second after the school gates opened. Ding Xueyao had completely forgotten that this top student, who was serious to the point of being a little stubborn, was merely punctual. She was not a study maniac who seized every possible second to learn.

Or rather, she actually did know and remember. It was just that at this moment, she was being dominated by stronger emotions, and so she forgot.

In any case, as long as Xun Zhou did not care, it did not matter.

And Xun Zhou really did not care. She even thought Ding Xueyao was concerned about her, so she explained in a good mood, “The homeroom teacher sent the gathering time. It’s still early, so there’s no rush. We can go in together.”

“Okay.”

……

“Mm-hmm, I understand. Yes, yes, you’re right. Okay, okay, I’ll definitely pay attention next time. Thank you, Teacher.” Feng Qingyu, who was very responsible, stood before the stern-faced school doctor with her head lowered, repeatedly admitting her mistake.

Ding Xueyao, who was standing behind her, was blocked so tightly that nothing could be seen. Still unwilling to give up, she kept shifting back and forth, trying to cut in. “Teacher, Teacher? Qingyu, let me explain to the teacher.”

Feng Qingyu thought, We’re about to leave already, so what is there left to say? She turned around and stopped Grandma, whose face was full of worry—probably worry—and prepared to push her away and leave.

Who would have thought that before she could move, the teacher sitting behind the office desk spoke again in a cold voice. “What is it, little student? What do you want to say? Come here, come stand beside me.”

Feng Qingyu: “…”

“Ai!” Grandma, who currently had the appearance of a sixteen-year-old girl, immediately pushed her eldest granddaughter aside and walked around the desk to stand before the teacher in the white coat.

The school doctor said, “Say what you want to say. Did she bully you? If she did, tell the teacher. The teacher will help you solve it.”

Meeting the school doctor’s scrutinizing, guarded gaze, Feng Qingyu’s throat choked.

So she had been treated like a bastard, huh.

That was truly a huge injustice!

Grandma, who felt even more wronged than she did, waved her hands like a rattle-drum and denied it at an extremely fast speed. “No, no, that’s not it, Teacher. She didn’t bully me, and she didn’t bump into me either. Really. I didn’t have time to explain to you just now. I was the one who ran too fast and accidentally brushed against her. It was thanks to her that she caught me. Teacher, you misunderstood her, really. Teacher, believe me. My grand—she’s a very good person!”

The moment the words “my grand” came out, Feng Qingyu’s entire back went taut. Only after hearing Grandma change her words did her breathing become smooth again.

The sharp, thorny look in the school doctor’s eyes also softened. But for some reason, she kept feeling that this cute-looking little student in front of her spoke with a sort of… indescribable awkwardness.

After coming out of the infirmary, Feng Qingyu looked left and right, then followed the corridor and stopped in front of the stairwell on the other side. She did not rush to leave.

Today was the first day of school, and black-and-white uniforms were everywhere. She looked around twice. Only this place was convenient for talking, so she pulled Grandma to sit down on the steps and seized every second to “catch up.”

“Grandma, what’s your name now?” When they were at the door just now, she had vaguely heard others say it was Meng Qingying. It did share the same surname her grandmother had before, but she did not know which characters made up the name.

The little Omega sitting beside her thought for a moment, then pulled her phone out of her pocket, opened the photo album, and tapped open the first picture before handing it to Feng Qingyu. “Meng Qingying.”

Feng Qingyu looked at the white ID card in the photo, and the corner of her mouth twitched. “Grandma, you don’t pull out a picture of your ID every time someone asks your name, do you?”

“Of course not. Do you think Grandma is stupid? Back in the village, the loudspeaker in the brigade broadcast this every day: protect your personal ID card and bank cards, and beware of scams.”

“That’s true.” Feng Qingyu asked whatever came to mind. “Grandma, how is the family you’re in now? Are they good to you?”

“Good! Very good! Clothes appear when I stretch out my hand, and food comes when I open my mouth. Yesterday, because school was starting today, they stuffed me with twenty thousand in pocket money. It’s like a dream. Hey, Yu’er, do you want some?” As Meng Qingying spoke, she unzipped her schoolbag. “I didn’t dare bring too much. I only packed two hundred today. I’ll give you half first. Grandma will bring the rest to you tomorrow.”

The eldest granddaughter whose family owned a castle pressed down on her hand at once. “No need, no need. I have money. You keep it and spend it yourself.”

“Really? Don’t try to act tough with Grandma. If you’re short on money, you must tell Grandma.” The expression on that childish face was a seriousness that did not match it. “Understand? Grandma is different from before now.”

That was right. In the past, her grandmother was called Meng Dong. Now, her grandmother was called Meng Qingying. Not only had she returned to youth, she was also an Omega little girl at least a year younger than Feng Qingyu. And she was incredibly kawaii-looking too, with a high nose bridge, big eyes, and a pair of cherry-like lips that kept saying things other people would not dare listen to.

Feng Qingyu lowered her eyes and looked at that tender young face. Soaked in the sense of absurdity, she laughed. She reached out and covered her eyes, for a moment not knowing whether she should cry or laugh.

Seeing that her mood was off, Meng Qingying, whose hands were pressed against her schoolbag, pursed her lips, freed one hand, and gently stroked the top of Feng Qingyu’s head. “Little darling, don’t be sad. Grandma saw you come back that day.”

The eyes hidden beneath Feng Qingyu’s palm ultimately could not hold back. Amid the intense sour ache in her heart, two lines of hot tears flowed down.

Once this kind of comfort arrived, her emotions collapsed like a landslide and could not be stopped. The little time left was barely enough for her to pull herself together.

The grandmother and granddaughter simply chatted about each other’s recent situation while walking downstairs.

Compared with a seventy-year-old woman, Feng Qingyu, who was only in her early twenties, had an adaptability that was not just a tiny bit stronger. After recalling things for a long time and finding that there was not much to say about herself, she focused instead on caring about Grandma’s daily life and mental state.

When she learned that the first-year students had already come early for a week of military training, Feng Qingyu’s worried heart steadied somewhat, but it also gained a lot more heartache. With her poor imagination, she truly could not imagine how her elderly grandmother had endured in this sort of environment. Unconsciously, she leaned over and wrapped an arm around Grandma’s thin, small shoulders. “Grandma, let’s go to the cafeteria together after school at noon.”

“Okay. The cafeteria here tastes very good, and the prices are cheap too. Hey, Yu’er, did you get even taller? I remember I used to reach your shoulder.”

Feng Qingyu smiled. “I did get a little taller, and a little stronger too. If anyone bullies you, tell me. I’ll go back you up. Look!”

Stopping on the steps, Feng Qingyu rolled up her sleeve and shook her shoulder. In the blink of an eye, the muscles starting from her arm and spreading across her entire back unfolded.

“Wow! Amazing! I told you our Yu’er was the best!” Meng Qingying’s crisp voice echoed through the stairwell the moment she got excited, so loud that Feng Qingyu felt a little embarrassed.

From childhood to adulthood, Grandma had been the only person in that family who praised her. But even after hearing it for so many years, hearing it again still made her ears turn red.

Feng Qingyu scratched her ear, quickened her pace, and ran a few steps ahead. As she grabbed the handrail and turned the corner, her mind was drifting so much that she nearly crashed into someone coming upstairs.

Xiang Chen had just been startled by the echo downstairs, and now Feng Qingyu scared her too. Her body lost balance and tipped backward. The shout she let out meant Feng Qingyu did not even need to look at the mole.

“Xiang Chen!” Grabbing her by the collar and pulling her back, Feng Qingyu’s face turned deathly pale as she patted her own chest hard.

Xiang Chen took two seconds to recover, then held the handrail and said, “So it was you two. I was wondering why there were ghosts making noise in broad daylight.”

“…” Feng Qingyu turned back and glanced at the empty stairwell. Hooking an arm around her neck, she continued walking down. “You’re the ghost. You suddenly popped out and scared me too.”

Xiang Chen opened her mouth but did not argue. When they reached the last step, she turned to face the stairs leading upward. “Where’s that little student? Aren’t you with her?”

“No, we split up.” Feng Qingyu lied as naturally as breathing.

Xiang Chen glared at her. “Liar. I clearly heard it. It was you two talking just now! I recognize your voice. You said you were going to back her up, and she said you were the best. She even called you her Yu’er. Since when did you become her Yu’er? What’s going on between you two?”

“Oh! Feng Qingyu! Behind our backs, did you start puppy love with her?!”

Hearing those two words shouted so loudly that Xiang Chen seemed to want the whole school to hear them, Feng Qingyu felt as if her soul was about to be shaken out of her body. She covered Xiang Chen’s mouth and denied it. “No! Don’t talk nonsense! It’s not what you think!”

“Then what is it?” On the way back to the classroom, Xiang Wan, who had caught up two minutes late, was rarely united with Xiang Chen on this front and followed on Feng Qingyu’s other side to question her.

Feng Qingyu turned back and glanced at the teaching building behind them, where Meng Qingying was no longer visible. It felt as if two tractors were roaring inside her head. Her mouth began spitting words out uncontrollably. “She… is actually a relative of mine.”

“A relative?!” The question seemed to ring beside both her ears like separate left and right audio channels.

Feng Qingyu uncomfortably scratched at her ears and braced herself as she answered, “Yes! A relative!”

“How come we’ve never heard you mention her before?” Xiang Chen did not believe her. “You’re not just making that up to fool us, are you?!”

“Why would I lie to you?” As Feng Qingyu spoke, she charged two steps forward. On the third step, she was dragged back by the people on her left and right, so she had no choice but to lower her head and look at the ground beneath her feet as she continued patching the lie. “What I said is true. I never told you before because I didn’t know either. Didn’t I get hospitalized during the break? Her family came to the hospital to see me. I only found out after hearing my mom say it. It turns out she’s the daughter of my cousin-aunt’s uncle.”

“My cousin-aunt’s uncle was worried that she, an Omega, would be bullied at school, so he asked me to help take care of her. Mm, that’s how it is.” Feng Qingyu went from lacking confidence to feeling confident, and then to becoming more and more confident. Suddenly, she understood all that nonsense Feng Chongan had told the old man that day.

People really did often have no choice.

Xiang Wan glanced at Xiang Chen across from her. Xiang Chen thought it sounded quite reasonable, but: “What kind of relative is a cousin-aunt’s uncle? How do you calculate that?”

Feng Qingyu, who had more authority to speak on this subject, cleared her throat and said, “He’s the uncle from my cousin-grandaunt’s family.”

Xiang Chen frowned. “Cousin-grandaunt?”

Xiang Wan looked disgusted. “Are you stupid? You even need to ask that? A cousin-grandaunt means one of your grandmother’s female cousins.”

“Right!” Feng Qingyu nodded hard.

Xiang Wan looked thoughtful. “Then that’s outside the five degrees of mourning, isn’t it?”

Xiang Chen poked her head forward. “What are the five degrees of mourning?”

Xiang Wan sneered mockingly. “I truly don’t understand how you get your exam scores.”

The flammable and explosive Xiang Chen let go of Feng Qingyu and hooked an arm around Xiang Wan’s neck. “Try mocking me one more time! Exams don’t test this stuff!”

The topic was successfully diverted. The two sisters, for the who-knew-how-many-th time, tangled themselves into a ball again. Feng Qingyu, secretly letting out a breath of relief, symbolically pulled at them twice and urged them to return to the classroom.