How Long Are You Going to Keep Acting Like A Beta? ABO - Chapter 6

“CEO Qi, here is your coffee.” Shu Qian was forced to temporarily take over as secretary during Xu Yuxi’s leave. Thankfully, Xu Yuxi had already handled all the important matters, and as she had promised, Shu Qian only needed to take care of daily tasks.

After two days on the job, Qi Qing maintained her aloof, “don’t-come-near-me” demeanor, and Shu Qian finally relaxed. After delivering the coffee, she was about to leave when Qi Qing suddenly asked her to wait.

Shu Qian paused, turning with her habitual smile. “CEO Qi, is there anything else?”

Qi Qing silently scrutinized her for a few seconds before asking, “Do you know why I only hire Betas as my secretaries?”

The question was too strange, and Shu Qian, who had something to hide, naturally felt uneasy. However, she was confident that her identity was foolproof and couldn’t be discovered. She recited her answer like she was quoting company policy. “To prevent interested parties from using gender to influence and cause losses to the company.” To put it bluntly, it was to prevent Omegas from using any opportunity to harass their boss.

It was said that this rule didn’t exist before, but after several Omegas mixed business with personal matters and harassed her using their work as an excuse, Qi Qing finally had enough and established this rule.

Qi Qing stared at her, giving a flat hum in response.

Her gaze was so direct that Shu Qian couldn’t help but wonder if she knew something. She became a little nervous.

“There’s another reason. It’s not gender discrimination, but my Beta secretaries are all more efficient than Omegas.” Qi Qing sat up straight. “Secretary Xu has high hopes for you. Although I am strict, I will never shortchange you. Keep up the good work.”

So she was just giving her encouragement… Shu Qian smiled on the surface, but internally she was fighting back the urge to scoff. “Thank you, CEO Qi. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”

Only after she had left the room did she let out a sigh of relief, muttering to herself, “That was close. I thought I’d been found out.” She returned to her desk with a lingering sense of dread. Her phone vibrated.

She picked it up and was instantly speechless.

[Public Physiological Health Center] “Hello, He Shen. You have a message from your matched partner.”

Qing: Are you interested in my proposal from yesterday? I think we can have a more long-term plan. 10:02

Shu Qian checked the time. It was 10:03, which meant that the big boss inside had sent her a message right after she left.

She remembered an experienced Omega friend once saying that a newly initiated Alpha whose pheromones were running wild was nothing but a creature driven by its lower body. Especially after their first bond, their minds were filled with lust, and they could get hard instantly, no matter the time or place, just by seeing their Omega.

At the time, she thought her friend was exaggerating and her words were too crude. But after receiving several messages from Qi Qing in the past two days, Shu Qian couldn’t agree more.

The temporary marking had provided some relief from her reliance on inhibitors and illicit drugs. But in two months at the most, she would still need Qi Qing’s help. And the more they interacted, the higher the chance her disguise would be exposed. Shu Qian felt helpless. Why couldn’t Alphas just put on their pants and leave?

Even though she didn’t want to reply, she considered that she might need her help in the future… Shu Qian carefully composed a message and finally replied.

[Public Physiological Health Center] “Hello, Qing. You have a message from your matched partner.”

He Shen: The Health Center recommends a one- to two-month interval between the first and second bonds.

Finally, she received a reply, but it was a silent refusal of Qi Qing’s request for private contact.

She frowned and took a deep breath. She found that after marking the Omega, her emotions were becoming uncontrollable. She kept reminiscing about those days of passion, unable to stop herself from craving the Omega’s company. Now that the person she had marked had rejected her, she felt a surge of irritability.

In the week after bonding, Alphas also needed the Omega’s scent to soothe them. However, people who went to the Health Center were in a unique situation. Besides the necessary physiological needs, they would avoid contact as much as possible to ensure both parties’ safety and privacy.

Therefore, the soothing period had to be endured alone.

Qi Qing understood that the other person’s rationality was correct. After all, before they met, she had prepared herself for the possibility of being pestered by the Omega. She never expected that she would be the one who became dependent.

The uncontrollable biological instincts made Qi Qing feel an extreme sense of disgust. She disliked anything that went beyond the bounds of reason.

On a side note, Qi Qing also quite admired her matched partner. It wasn’t because of her own vanity, but her conditions surpassed many Alphas. Yet, He Shen could refuse her request, which showed that she was a very rational Omega.

Admiration aside, until their next meeting, Qi Qing needed to find something to keep herself busy enough to forget the scenes in her mind.

After a few seconds of contemplation, she pressed the intercom.

“A business trip?” Shu Qian suppressed her gasp and calmly listened to the instructions from the other end of the phone. “To inspect the branch company tomorrow morning, for three days?” She held the phone with her shoulder and picked up a pen and paper to take notes.

Plane tickets

Hotel

Branch company revenue data*

“Okay. I understand. I’ll get it ready, CEO Qi.” Shu Qian said. After a few seconds, her expression suddenly changed, but she managed to maintain the same tone in her voice. “Am I going, too?”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll make the arrangements.” After hanging up, Shu Qian began to consider the possibility of quitting.

She had just replied to Qi Qing as an Omega, refusing her request for a private meeting and insisting they wait for the Health Center’s arrangement. In the blink of an eye, the other person, as her boss, was demanding that she go on a three-day business trip with her.

“She didn’t find out, did she…?” Shu Qian didn’t want to think about that possibility. But it was impossible to quit now. She might as well use these three days to observe the other person.

After convincing herself, she glanced at the clock. It was five in the afternoon, with only one hour left until the end of the workday. In other words, she had to work overtime again.

Resigned to her fate, she found Qi Qing’s information, booked the plane tickets and hotel, and then rummaged through the files Xu Yuxi had handed over to find the branch company’s data.

“Xiao Shu, I’m heading home now.” Chen Lin finished her work at seven and said goodbye as she left.

“Okay, see you tomorrow.” Shu Qian quickly looked up and smiled. She saw no trace of jealousy in Chen Lin’s eyes, and she finally understood why Xu Yuxi had chosen her.

Everyone wanted different things. Chen Lin had no ambition and just wanted to do her job. But she didn’t have any ambition either. It was just her luck to be chosen for this temporary position during such a sensitive time. The fate of AO was truly terrifying.

It was almost nine o’clock, and the documents were finally all ready, with only the finishing touches left. Shu Qian had planned to finish before leaving work, but she suddenly remembered Qi Qing’s unmovable schedule of turning off the lights at nine. She didn’t want to have too much contact with her to avoid being discovered, so she immediately packed up her documents and laptop, intending to work on them at home.

“Leaving now?” Qi Qing came out of her office just as the assistant was turning off the lights to leave, and politely asked.

“Y-yes, I am.” Shu Qian feigned a submissive demeanor. When the elevator came up, she walked in behind Qi Qing. Seeing her press the first-floor button for her, she immediately hid in the back, unconsciously slowing her breathing to minimize her presence.

She stared at the floor panel, feeling like the elevator was going down too slowly.

“By the way, what perfume are you using?”

“Huh?” Shu Qian looked at Qi Qing’s back, only to see her suddenly turn around and repeat the question.

“Your scent, it’s so familiar. What perfume are you using?” She had wanted to ask last time but had forgotten about it. Now, sharing an elevator with the assistant again, she smelled that familiar scent and finally remembered to ask.

Her normally irritable mood was unexpectedly calm after smelling that scent.

Shu Qian’s heart sank a little, but her face remained calm. “A friend gave it to me, and I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I started using it. I’m not sure what it is. I’ll check when I get home and let you know.”

Suddenly, Shu Qian looked up and said, “Ah, this is my floor.”

Qi Qing looked at her and held the door open as the elevator door opened. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Shu Qian quickly walked out, guiltily escaping the confined space.

Releasing the button, Qi Qing slowly chewed on the phrase, “This is my floor.” My floor…

Her eyes trembled slightly.

Author’s note: As I write, I feel more and more hopeless. I have to go back to work, too.