The Cold Alpha's Black Lotus O Strategy Plan (GL) - Chapter 29

“How does it taste?” Jin Sique asked with a smile.

Lü Zhongcai took several spoonfuls of congee and nodded.

“Not bad.”

Jin Sique pressed her lips together in a smile. She removed her apron, balled it up in her hands, and glanced at Lü Zhongcai several times before speaking with a wandering gaze.

“Then I… I’ll go upstairs and shower.”

“Mm.”

Lü Zhongcai inclined her head.

“I’ll wash the dishes.”

Jin Sique paused.

“…All right.”

She climbed the stairs one step at a time.

Suddenly, she turned and glanced back at Lü Zhongcai.

Lü Zhongcai remained seated at the dining table and raised her head to meet her eyes.

Jin Sique forced out a smile.

“Rest early.”

“I still have some work to do, so I’ll sleep in the study,” Lü Zhongcai said. “You should rest early.”

Jin Sique froze.

Her five fingers tightened around the stair railing.

“The trial is in two days. Will you come?”

“If I have time,” Lü Zhongcai answered.

Jin Sique nodded and quickened her steps toward the bedroom.

The door shut with a bang.

She leaned against it, biting and grinding her inner lip between her pearly teeth several times before straightening and walking toward the bed.

052 asked, “I thought you returned so you could be affectionate with her?”

After finishing the fish congee, Lü Zhongcai raised her wrist and glanced at her watch.

“Not to be affectionate. I only wanted to clarify a few things.”

—

In the study, Lü Zhongcai opened a drawer and found a document envelope.

She opened it.

Inside was the information she had ordered someone to investigate two years ago, before marrying Jin Sique.

“Oh, I forgot you still had that,” 052 said.

Lü Zhongcai removed the documents and began reading from the beginning.

She had briefly reviewed them two years earlier, but looking back now, there might have been something she had overlooked.

The information covered Jin Sique’s life beginning at the orphanage and continuing through her adoption by the troupe master of Wangchun Pavilion.

It consisted only of simple details: her family background, education, interests, and a few friends.

Anything earlier or more extensive could no longer be verified.

“Honestly, this report contains less information than I know,” 052 said.

Lü Zhongcai examined the pages one by one.

Suddenly, she saw a name.

Xie Ying.

052 explained, “She is Jin Sique’s only friend after leaving Wangchun Pavilion. She’s a social butterfly.”

Lü Zhongcai acknowledged this and removed two photographs from the envelope.

One had been taken on the day Jin Sique was adopted. She stood with Director Mom and the troupe master of Wangchun Pavilion.

The other had been casually taken by a staff member in front of the oath platform when Jin Sique and Lü Zhongcai registered their marriage.

052 sighed emotionally.

“Do you think the black lotus has ever resented you for giving her a marriage without even a wedding?”

Lü Zhongcai frowned.

“It was only a transaction.”

“Then what are you doing now?” 052 asked in return.

Lü Zhongcai put the documents away.

Her cool eyes stared into empty space as she clasped her hands together and looked down at her injured leg.

Although she no longer needed the wheelchair, it would probably take another two months before she could abandon all mobility aids and recover completely.

“She doesn’t love you,” 052 said. “Besides, in the black lotus’s eyes, your intimacy only tramples upon her dignity.”

Lü Zhongcai loosely interlaced her fingers over her knees and studied Jin Sique in the photograph.

Jin Sique had only been eighteen when they married.

Nearly two years had passed, yet she was still only twenty.

Back then, although Jin Sique had faced the camera, her gaze had been angled away.

It was directed toward Lü Zhongcai.

The corners of her lips curved slightly, carrying barely restrained joy. She looked so shy that it truly seemed as though she were entering a marriage with someone who returned her feelings.

Lü Zhongcai carefully examined the photograph.

No matter how she tried, she could not connect this Jin Sique with the cold expression she had worn that night.

“Why are you always obsessing over whether Jin Sique loves you?” 052 asked in confusion.

“She cannot possibly love you.”

“If she loved you, would she join forces with her unforgettable first love to torture you until you were homeless, with your gland carved out?”

052 earnestly advised her, “President Lü, listen to me. Before the black lotus’s wings become strong, divorce her and send her away.”

“The farther, the better. Make sure she can never return to the country. That is the best plan.”

Lü Zhongcai ignored 052.

She put the documents away, turned on her computer, and continued her unfinished work.

052 cursed indistinctly, then shouted, “Useless! Useless!”

—

“Useless!”

A furious roar tore through the night, followed by a girl’s scream.

Fang Xiaohe was seized and thrown onto the ground.

Shocked, she immediately burst into tears.

“I went back to find her, but… but she wasn’t in the dormitory. Zhu Wanqing stays beside her during class, so I couldn’t…”

“Useless!”

Chen Gang crouched on the ground with his phone.

One hand supported his forehead while the other frantically scrolled through messages.

The video of him kneeling before Jin Sique outside the cafeteria had already spread overseas.

Numerous famous content creators mocked him. Some people had even recreated similar videos merely to chase online traffic.

Within a single night, his family, university, parents, and relatives had been stripped bare like bark torn from a tree and openly discussed as entertainment by everyone.

They had spent millions trying to suppress the trending topic, yet it remained nailed to the rankings and could not be removed.

He had already apologized, but not only had Jin Sique refused to forgive him—the video had spread across the entire internet.

The situation continued worsening.

His father’s new project had collapsed, and the company’s stock had suffered a serious blow.

After the trial, if the circumstances were judged severe, he might be criminally detained.

Then the university would pressure him to withdraw.

Chen Gang’s eyes nearly split with rage.

He roared, threw down his phone, and stomped on it wildly.

He drove it into the mud, crushing the screen and leaving a depression in the ground as he continued shouting.

Fang Xiaohe watched in terror.

Only when she realized that Chen Gang had lost control and his pheromones were flooding the entire area did she fearfully take out her phone and make a call.

“An Alpha—Chen Gang… He’s lost control…”

“Someone, please come quickly…”

—

Several days later, the case went to trial as scheduled.

Zhu Wanqing pushed open the car door and immediately recoiled in fright.

“Ouch!”

Xiaobai’s foot was stepped on.

“What happened?”

“Damn, it’s crowded out there,” Zhu Wanqing said.

A large number of reporters and livestreaming influencers had gathered outside the courthouse.

The instant they saw Zhu Wanqing, they surrounded her like cats spotting a mouse.

Zhu Wanqing slammed the door shut, covered her heart, and widened her eyes in alarm.

Xiaobai: “…”

Jin Sique sat in the last row, adjusting her backpack.

She smiled at the two of them and waved three masks.

“I came prepared.”

Zhang Zui burst into laughter from the driver’s seat and restarted the car.

“We are not fortunate enough to enjoy the enthusiasm of our media friends. We’ll simply use another entrance.”

“You should have said that earlier!”

All three women condemned him simultaneously.

The media chased after the vehicle, continuously firing their camera shutters at it.

Zhang Zui begged forgiveness verbally while laughing wildly.

The tense atmosphere before the trial immediately dispersed.

Jin Sique entered the courtroom through a side entrance.

The defendant’s seat was empty, which surprised her.

Zhang Zui glanced at it and shrugged, looking as though the enemy had surrendered without a fight.

With the evidence overwhelmingly complete, the trial proceeded with unexpected ease.

The defense attorney also appeared to lack confidence, while the jury’s position was completely one-sided.

Even the judge repeatedly signaled for everyone to accelerate the proceedings so they could finish work sooner.

Zhu Wanqing and Xiaobai waited outside the courtroom.

Less than an hour later, the doors opened wide, and Jin Sique and Zhang Zui emerged looking completely relaxed.

“That’s it?” Zhu Wanqing asked in bewilderment.

Xiaobai spread her hands.

“Apparently. There was no suspense whatsoever.”

Jin Sique approached and lightly struck both their foreheads with the rolled-up documents.

“Lawyer Zhang is highly capable.”

“Hahaha, naturally.”

Zhang Zui swept back his bangs and walked aside with his phone.

“I’ll report to the president first.”

Jin Sique nodded.

The smile beside her lips faded slightly as she lowered her head toward her own phone.

Zhu Wanqing leaned closer with a mischievous grin and examined her.

“That… president of yours. Who is she?”

Jin Sique restored her smile and placed a hand over Zhu Wanqing’s face.

“Guess.”

Zhang Zui returned and waved his phone, indicating that the report had been completed.

He pointed toward the underground parking garage.

“Let’s go. This Zhang will personally drive the ladies back.”

“The defamation charge has been confirmed. Chen Gang is definitely going to prison. You can hold a celebration when you return.”

“Then why was Chen Gang absent?” Zhu Wanqing asked in confusion.

Jin Sique was about to enter the front passenger seat when her gaze swept to the side.

She stopped.

“Sique.”

It was Fang Xiaohe.

Zhang Zui leaned his head out of the car, glanced at Fang Xiaohe, and reminded Jin Sique, “Miss Jin, you don’t actually need to deal with her.”

That day’s hearing had primarily concerned Chen Gang.

The lawsuits against Fang Xiaohe and the university were scheduled for the following morning and afternoon, respectively.

The defendants’ defeat was inevitable.

There was a video of Chen Gang personally admitting that he had spread the rumors.

For Fang Xiaohe, they had the network IP address obtained through the university, the voice recording, and the transaction records Zhang Zui had collected showing that she had purchased clothing and bags identical to Jin Sique’s from secondhand websites.

The evidence was conclusive.

The defense attorneys had no way to argue against it.

Jin Sique closed the car door and walked toward Fang Xiaohe with a faint smile.

Inside the car, Zhu Wanqing muttered, “Has she come to ask Sique to withdraw the lawsuit again?”

Fang Xiaohe’s face was pale, and heavy dark circles surrounded her eyes.

It was obvious that she had not rested properly for several days.

“Can we talk alone?”

Zhu Wanqing and Xiaobai each stuck their heads out of the windows and shouted in unison:

“No!”

Jin Sique, however, raised an eyebrow.

“All right.”

The two walked several steps away and stopped near a corner of the underground garage.

“Chen Gang has been hospitalized,” Fang Xiaohe said.

Jin Sique smiled faintly.

“The defense lawyer said that emotional agitation caused him to become violent, triggering a glandular disorder.”

“He needs to remain hospitalized under isolated observation, so his absence from the hearing can be excused.”

“However, once his condition improves, his prison sentence will begin.”

“Mm. Congratulations to him.”

Fang Xiaohe’s lips moved.

With difficulty, she said, “I’m going to apply for a leave of absence…”

“That is your own decision.”

Jin Sique continued smiling.

“Did you deliberately wait here merely to tell me that?”

She reached behind her neck and rubbed it twice.

“If this concerns withdrawing the lawsuit, then I’m sorry. It is impossible.”

Fang Xiaohe looked at her, hatred nearly erupting from her eyes.

“You won. Are you feeling very proud of yourself?”

“Of course,” Jin Sique answered seriously.

The muscles in Fang Xiaohe’s face began twitching.

She took several deep breaths before managing to control her emotions.

Lowering her voice, she said, “You’re nothing but a bitch.”

“Keep pretending. Sooner or later, everyone will see your true face.”

Jin Sique took several steps closer.

In the same low tone, she whispered beside Fang Xiaohe’s ear:

“What a pity.”

“Even though we both sold ourselves, this bitch was simply more skillful than you.”

Tears immediately spilled from Fang Xiaohe’s eyes.

She shoved Jin Sique away, turned, and fled unsteadily.

Jin Sique gave a cold snort and crossed her arms.

Like a hunter admiring struggling prey, she watched Fang Xiaohe’s retreating back with a faint smile until it disappeared.

Then she erased her expression and turned around.

Her footsteps abruptly stopped.

A long shadow stretched from around the corner.

Dressed in a suit, Lü Zhongcai stood beside the handrail several steps away from Jin Sique.

Their eyes met.

Neither spoke for a long time.