The Cold Alpha's Black Lotus O Strategy Plan (GL) - Chapter 19

“Can you forgive me?” Jin Sique asked cautiously.

Hope shimmered in her eyes like golden light rippling across the surface of water.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Lü Zhongcai said. “As long as our marriage remains in effect, this is my responsibility.”

A smile slowly spread across Jin Sique’s face. Satisfied, she rested her head against Lü Zhongcai’s shoulder.

“Let’s sleep,” Jin Sique said.

“Mm.”

The clock pointed to two in the morning.

Jin Sique turned over and quietly slipped out of Lü Zhongcai’s embrace. She faced away and closed her eyes, while Lü Zhongcai behind her had already fallen into a deep sleep.

“Well done, President Lü. That’s exactly what you should do… Provoke her… Make her reveal her true colors…”

052 yawned lazily, her voice gradually fading.

—

The next morning, Lü Zhongcai woke and sat up. Supporting herself with both arms, she moved from the bed into the wheelchair that had already been prepared beside the window.

An electronic robot dog about knee-high rolled over to the bedside.

“Good morning, President Lü. Today is Wednesday, March 8, International Women’s Day. The weather is clear, with temperatures ranging from twelve to seventeen degrees Celsius. The air quality is excellent…”

052 reacted in horror and shouted as though jumping in rage.

“What is that thing?”

Lü Zhongcai looked at the robot dog in confusion.

She guided her wheelchair into and out of the bathroom, and the robot dog followed closely behind.

“Good morning, President Lü. Today is March 8…”

Lü Zhongcai entered the walk-in closet and pushed open the door. It swung back and shut the robot dog outside.

“Wednesday, International Women’s Day. The weather is clear, with temperatures ranging from twelve to seventeen degrees Celsius. The air quality is excellent…”

Because of Lü Zhongcai’s injured legs, the walk-in closet had been equipped with a full-height mechanical support device. It could hold her around the waist and allow her to dress and undress independently.

Half an hour later, Lü Zhongcai was neatly dressed.

She guided her wheelchair downstairs and found Jin Sique sitting on the living room carpet, adjusting the robot dog.

“Good morning, President Lü… Today…”

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

Aunt Guo finished arranging breakfast and smiled as she pushed Lü Zhongcai toward the table.

“This is Sique’s Women’s Day gift for you. Do you like it?”

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

Jin Sique fastened the robot dog’s metal head back into place, tightened the screws, washed her hands in the kitchen, and sat beside Lü Zhongcai.

She leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Aunt Guo smiled, removed the serving tray, and left the dining room.

“Happy Women’s Day,” Jin Sique said.

Lü Zhongcai smiled faintly.

“I’m already considered a married woman?”

Jin Sique laughed openly, her face brightening along with her smile.

“You’re married. Should I stop giving you gifts next year?”

“Careful. She’s mocking what you said last night,” 052 complained.

Lü Zhongcai lifted her glass of milk toward Jin Sique.

“Happy Women’s Day.”

Jin Sique raised her own glass in return.

—

After breakfast, Lü Zhongcai returned to Fengyue Financial Tower.

Jin Sique remained in the living room and called Lü Zhongcai’s mother in Shandong.

Meng Yuqing was an Omega. After marrying Lü Jianming, she had devoted much of her attention to the family, though she also maintained a small business of her own.

She had opened several chain cake shops, mostly to provide herself and her friends with places to enjoy afternoon tea.

The businesses struggled financially and frequently operated at a loss.

“Mom.”

Once the call connected, Jin Sique greeted the person on the other end with a smile.

052 said, “I don’t think you need to contact Her Majesty the Mother, President Lü. What do you think? After all, once the call connects…”

Before 052 could finish speaking, Lü Zhongcai had already called the ancestral residence in Shandong.

A mechanical female voice informed her that the other party was currently on another call.

“The black lotus is probably greeting your mother,” 052 said. “When it comes to social niceties, she can perform them flawlessly whenever she wishes.”

Before the call disconnected automatically, it was transferred to an extension at the ancestral residence.

Lü Jianming answered, his voice strong and energetic.

“Have you eaten?”

“I have,” Lü Zhongcai replied.

052: “…”

“Sique ordered a cake for your mother, sent her a jade-and-pearl headdress set, and gave her a recipe for marinated roasted lamb leg in your name. She also ordered flowers,” Lü Jianming said, his tone carrying an undercurrent of reproach.

Lü Zhongcai gave a quiet acknowledgment.

“Please wish Mother a happy holiday on my behalf.”

“All right,” Lü Jianming replied.

The conversation ended there.

Neither of them had anything else to say, and silence spread between them.

052 cautiously reminded her, “You could ask how his health is or whether work has been busy.”

Lü Zhongcai’s gaze darkened.

On the other end, Lü Jianming said, “Treat Sique better. Your mother asked a few days ago whether Sique would have time off during the May Day holiday.”

“If she does, come back to Shandong. She wants to hear Sique sing.”

Beep, beep—

Before Lü Zhongcai could respond, the call ended.

After thinking about it, Lü Zhongcai relayed her father’s words to Jin Sique.

The moment the message was sent, 052 let out an extremely sinister laugh.

“Jin Sique doesn’t like performing opera, but since you’ve asked her this way, she’ll certainly refuse to turn you down.”

Lü Zhongcai frowned.

“She doesn’t like it?”

The driver in the front heard her speak and glanced at her through the rearview mirror.

“President Lü?”

Lü Zhongcai ignored him.

“Why?”

The driver froze.

Then he remembered the gossip circulating through the company. Rumor had it that President Lü had developed mental problems after the car accident.

His face immediately filled with alarm.

“P-President Lü… Are you all right?” the driver asked quietly.

Lü Zhongcai raised her eyes.

“Have we arrived?”

The driver, Xiao Zeng, immediately fell silent and continued driving, not daring to say another word.

He only glanced back at Lü Zhongcai from time to time with fear and unease.

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

052 said, “Wearing earphones might help.”

Lü Zhongcai put on her Bluetooth earpiece and pretended to be on a call.

“Speak.”

“Although Jin Sique is the adopted daughter of Wangchun Pavilion’s troupe master, he never taught her to sing,” 052 said.

“She didn’t learn those skills because she loved them. She only enjoyed the grandeur of a famous performer being surrounded and admired by everyone onstage.”

—

Three years earlier.

Near the end of spring, Jin Sique encountered Lü Zhongcai once again.

Lü Zhongcai was dining with friends in a private room at a restaurant. Jin Sique was the server responsible for taking their order.

“President Lü.”

“Oh? A regular customer?” the person sitting opposite Lü Zhongcai teased.

Lü Zhongcai closed the menu and looked at Jin Sique.

“You work here?”

A few red marks remained on Jin Sique’s youthful face.

She gave a quiet acknowledgment.

“That will be all.”

Lü Zhongcai handed the menu to Jin Sique. Several banknotes were tucked inside as a tip.

“She’s quite pretty,” one of Lü Zhongcai’s friends said.

The voice reached Jin Sique from behind.

“Why not keep her here and have some fun?”

“What sort of fun do you want?” Lü Zhongcai asked in amusement.

She flicked her cigarette with one bent finger, knocking a length of ash into a glass cup.

“Hey.”

“Do you want a tip?”

When Jin Sique returned with the food, the friend stopped her.

She took out two banknotes and pressed them onto Jin Sique’s serving tray.

Jin Sique froze, her small face filled with bewilderment.

“Can you sing or dance?” the friend asked.

She gradually raised the amount, doubling the tip every few seconds until a small pile of bills had accumulated on the tray.

Jin Sique lowered her head.

After a long silence, she said, “…I can sing a few lines of Peking Opera.”

“Oh! The national treasure.”

The friend clapped out a rhythm and smiled brightly at Jin Sique.

“Go on, sing something.”

Jin Sique stood at the other end of the room.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her entire presence abruptly changed.

The moment she opened her mouth, her clear voice refreshed everyone’s spirits.

She effortlessly performed an aria from Eight-Treasure Soup, tears glistening in her eyes. Even diners outside the private room peered through the gap in the door to watch.

052 asked, “What did she sing that day?”

“President Lü, do you think she selected something at random? She was clearly…”

The ringing of a phone interrupted what 052 was about to say.

“Zhongcai?”

Jin Sique was calling.

Lü Zhongcai pressed her Bluetooth earpiece and responded quietly.

“Mm.”

“Does Dad want to hear me perform?” Jin Sique asked. “I spoke to Mom earlier, but she didn’t mention it.”

Lü Zhongcai was silent for a long moment.

“Dad wants to hear it.”

The voice on the other end seemed to pause.

Then Jin Sique’s smiling voice sounded again.

“All right, I understand. I’ll ask him later what he wants to hear.”

“I’m going to the university now. Lawyer Zhang also arranged to meet me.”

This time, Jin Sique ended the call before Lü Zhongcai did.

Afterward, Lü Zhongcai suddenly felt that Jin Sique was unfamiliar to her.

“She performed Eight-Treasure Soup that day.”

Eight-Treasure Soup, also known as The Three Successful Scholars and The Search for an Ear, told the story of someone selling herself into servitude.

Did Jin Sique consider herself a slave?

Lü Zhongcai frowned.