The Cold Alpha's Black Lotus O Strategy Plan (GL) - Chapter 18

Inside that cramped rented room, the distance from the entrance to the sofa was only a few steps, yet every step felt as though Jin Sique were walking across the points of knives.

Enduring her humiliation, she forced herself to approach Lü Zhongcai.

“Why are you crying?”

Lü Zhongcai stood, towering over her like a mountain.

Jin Sique’s eyes were slightly red, but not a single tear fell. She continued smiling—the same seductive, enchanting, and clearly purposeful smile that Xie Ying often wore.

“I’m not crying,” Jin Sique said.

Lü Zhongcai looked down at her from above, seemingly both assessing and puzzled.

She stood there silently for several seconds before removing her suit jacket and offering it to Jin Sique.

Jin Sique froze and raised her head slightly.

“I…”

When Lü Zhongcai saw that she would not take it, she shook the jacket open and draped it over Jin Sique’s shoulders.

Jin Sique felt warmth settle across them.

By the time she recovered, Lü Zhongcai had already reached the doorway. She gently closed the door behind her and went downstairs.

—

“You like her?” Xie Ying asked.

Jin Sique leaned over the railing and pressed her burning cheek against the cold iron bars.

A smile rested on her lips. Holding a can of beer in one hand, she lazily tapped it against Xie Ying’s and let out a brief, intoxicated laugh.

“You’ve gone insane.”

Xie Ying drank half the can in one breath and stared into the distance.

“You think there will be love?”

“She was too gentle,” Jin Sique said lazily.

“That’s because…”

Xie Ying moved close to Jin Sique, her breath brushing against her temple.

“Your scrawny body held no attraction for her.”

“That was only a little pity casually tossed aside by a hypocrite looking down from above upon an unappealing weed beside the road.”

Xie Ying turned her head, her gaze seeming to gather beneath a bank of dark clouds.

“You treated that tiny amount of pity like a treasure?”

Jin Sique stared at her with unfocused eyes.

“Hmm?”

Annoyed, Xie Ying pressed one finger against Jin Sique’s forehead.

“You…”

Xie Ying’s voice gradually faded.

In its place came Fang Xiaohe’s clear, furious voice, pulling Jin Sique out of her brief memory.

“I’m going home.”

Jin Sique shrugged, appearing not to care about Fang Xiaohe’s words.

Fang Xiaohe hurried after her and extended an arm to block her path.

“What will it take for you to withdraw the lawsuit?”

“As you said, we’re the same kind of person,” Jin Sique replied. “But my owner doesn’t like me attracting this much attention.”

Fang Xiaohe paused.

“All the information online has already been removed. What more do you want?”

“Publicly admit that you did everything.”

Jin Sique slipped both hands into her pockets. Beneath her hood, all amusement had vanished from her eyes.

“Otherwise, we’ll have to go to court.”

Fang Xiaohe clenched her teeth and slowly lowered her tightly balled fist.

“Impossible.”

Jin Sique smiled indifferently.

“Good night.”

…

The latest issue of an international finance journal played through the waterproof earphones.

Its obscure economic theories and extensive political analysis made 052 feel as though a tightening spell had been placed around her head.

Dizzy and disoriented, 052 asked, “Could we listen to a transmigration novel instead?”

“Although I’m only a system, I also possess a thirst for knowledge. I want to study the experiences of my colleagues so that I can serve my host more effectively.”

Lü Zhongcai completely ignored her.

Wearing only a shirt, she sat on a chair beside the faucet and rubbed shampoo through her foam-covered hair.

052 sighed.

“Even a president doesn’t look particularly attractive while washing her hair. But why didn’t you remove your shirt?”

“This looks exactly like an erotic film. It feels as though someone could push open the door at any moment and then…”

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked twice on the bathroom door.

With her eyes closed, Lü Zhongcai raised a hand and wiped the foam from her face.

Jin Sique entered and closed the door behind her, looking somewhat surprised by the sight of Lü Zhongcai beneath the shower.

Lü Zhongcai reached out and switched off the hot water.

Her white shirt was completely soaked and clung unevenly to the curves of her body, outlining light and shadow like an oil painting.

052 asked in horror, “Why has the black lotus come back?!”

“Why didn’t you ask Aunt Guo to help you?” Jin Sique asked.

“You aren’t staying at the university?” Lü Zhongcai responded.

After finishing washing her hair, she began removing her shirt.

She disliked exposing herself to others at any time or place. Even Aunt Guo, who had personally cared for her during her hospitalization, had stopped interfering in her private affairs once Lü Zhongcai could manage them herself.

In this respect, Lü Zhongcai was relatively tolerant of Jin Sique.

Perhaps because they had long shared an intimate physical relationship, she would not deliberately avoid Jin Sique unless necessary.

Jin Sique touched the gland at the back of her neck.

After confirming that only a few days had passed since her most recent marking, she stepped beneath the water and helped Lü Zhongcai wash her body.

Even so, within the enclosed and relaxing environment of the bathroom, restless impulses still began stirring in both her body and mind.

Lü Zhongcai removed the last piece of clothing and looked coldly at Jin Sique.

“Take off your clothes.”

Jin Sique’s face flushed slightly.

She stood and removed her hoodie and trousers until she was completely naked. Her clothes collapsed into a pile at her feet and became soaked by the water before she kicked them aside.

The bathrobe brushed against Lü Zhongcai’s long, pale legs.

Rehabilitation had produced excellent results in her right leg. At the very least, the muscular atrophy was not particularly noticeable. Two faint scars from surgery remained along her lower leg.

Her other, uninjured leg remained one of the Creator’s finest achievements.

It was straight and slender, with faint blue veins visible beneath the cool, pale skin, radiating powerful vitality.

The Alpha continued watching Jin Sique.

The Omega knelt halfway on the floor and devoutly, meticulously washed her legs like a faithful believer.

As though she could surrender at Lü Zhongcai’s feet at any moment.

After rinsing away the foam, Jin Sique stood, wrapped Lü Zhongcai in a bathrobe, and pushed her outside the shower area before preparing to bathe herself.

Lü Zhongcai used a long hairpin to secure her hair.

“Don’t use cold water.”

Jin Sique froze.

She bit the inside of her lip and paused for several seconds before softly acknowledging her with her back turned.

Then she adjusted the water from cold to hot.

—

Lü Zhongcai lay on the bed, her hair nearly dry.

After finishing her shower, Jin Sique entered, lifted the soft silk quilt, and moved close beside Lü Zhongcai before beginning to undo the buttons of her pajamas.

“She’s offering herself to you, Host~ Hold firm—”

052 spoke again after having remained quiet for some time.

Lü Zhongcai frowned.

For some reason, she had noticed that whenever 052 faced Jin Sique, the system displayed a kind of irrational frenzy.

At times, even her behavior became impossible to understand.

“Zhongcai…”

Jin Sique switched off the bedside lamp and nestled closer in the hazy, mist-like darkness.

052 reminded her, “The two of you still haven’t properly discussed what happened at the university. Hehehe, I bet the black lotus is about to bring it up herself.”

Jin Sique looked at Lü Zhongcai.

The warm floor lamp beside the window remained on, its faint glow making the room appear soft and watery.

Her eyes sparkled as she pressed a kiss against Lü Zhongcai’s lips, then continued looking at her.

Lü Zhongcai returned her gaze.

She casually placed the book in her hand on the bedside table and nodded slightly, indicating that Jin Sique should say whatever she wished.

“You must always interpret the black lotus’s words in the opposite way!” 052 said.

“Friendly reminder: I believe she’s about to plead her innocence.”

Plead her innocence?

Lü Zhongcai considered the phrase.

“I’m sorry, Zhongcai,” Jin Sique said. “I failed to handle the situation at the university properly and made you help me with so much.”

She looked at Lü Zhongcai.

Her face remained flushed from the hot shower, and her body emitted the faint grassy scent of pheromones, like the tenderest tip of a newly sprouted green shoot.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, President Lü,” 052 translated. “You were the one who insisted on interfering.”

Lü Zhongcai raised her eyebrows slightly.

Within the dim light, she lowered her gaze toward Jin Sique in her arms.