The Cold Alpha's Black Lotus O Strategy Plan (GL) - Chapter 37

The bedroom lights went out.

Jin Sique lay with her back toward Lü Zhongcai and pulled the blanket up to her nose, attempting to block out the faint scent of gunpowder.

An Alpha’s pheromones.

Jin Sique frowned.

She disliked the smell of gunpowder. It was acrid and unpleasant, but what disgusted her even more was the way her own body uncontrollably wanted to move closer to Lü Zhongcai.

She had only been marked a few days ago.

Jin Sique bit her lip, closed her eyes, and tried her hardest to sink into sleep.

“Are you working part-time?” Lü Zhongcai suddenly asked from behind her.

Jin Sique murmured an acknowledgment.

“Is the money I give you insufficient, or is there another reason?”

“I can’t depend on you forever.”

There was laughter in Jin Sique’s voice, though her expression remained cold where Lü Zhongcai could not see it.

“I’ll have to find a job after graduation.”

Lü Zhongcai fell silent again.

After a moment, she raised herself slightly and looked at Jin Sique.

“You never mentioned it.”

“You’re too busy,” Jin Sique replied.

052 said, “That’s how the black lotus is. How could she possibly rely on you wholeheartedly?”

“An Omega is constantly longing to break free from her Alpha. Why not grant her wish now?”

Lü Zhongcai remained silent, then lay back down.

“Good night.”

“Good night,” Jin Sique replied.

—

The following morning, Jin Sique woke to find that the place where Lü Zhongcai had slept was already cold.

She tidied herself and went downstairs, where Aunt Guo had prepared breakfast.

“The family home in Shandong called this morning. Madam asked about how things have been recently,” Aunt Guo said.

Jin Sique acknowledged her and began eating congee while considering how she should return the call later.

“How is Madam spending the holiday?” she asked.

Aunt Guo smiled.

“She went abroad to shop with some friends and inspect the market while she’s there. Apparently, she wants to invest in property and perhaps open a hotel.”

Jin Sique nodded.

She picked up some spicy pickled vegetables with her chopsticks, their fragrance spreading across her tongue.

“What about Dad?”

Aunt Guo thought for a moment.

She did not know much about the affairs of the family home in Shandong either. Her information came from servants she had previously worked with there.

“Master is probably busy with work.”

Jin Sique acknowledged her, quickly finished breakfast, and began collecting the bowls and plates.

Aunt Guo immediately set aside what she was doing.

“I’ll do it. Let me.”

“I can do it.”

Jin Sique moved her arm away and carried the dishes into the kitchen.

Unexpectedly, she encountered Lü Zhongcai making pour-over coffee.

“You…”

Holding the cup, Lü Zhongcai raised one hand toward Jin Sique.

“Good morning.”

Summer was approaching, and the weather had already begun to warm.

At home, Lü Zhongcai dressed simply and casually. Her long, straight black hair, which was normally swept up neatly, now fell smoothly over her shoulders.

Jin Sique: “…”

She had forgotten the last time she encountered Lü Zhongcai at home during the daytime on a holiday.

This version of Lü Zhongcai created an unexpectedly strong visual impact.

“Good morning,” Jin Sique replied, placing the dishes into the sink.

“I’ll wash them,” Lü Zhongcai said.

Jin Sique answered, but the rushing water drowned out Lü Zhongcai’s voice.

After washing everything and drying her hands, Jin Sique went to the cupboard and took out flour and eggs.

“What are you making?” Lü Zhongcai asked curiously.

“A cake. I’m taking it to the children at the orphanage.”

Lü Zhongcai nodded and remained where she was, watching Jin Sique work.

Her gaze made Jin Sique’s thoughts twist into a tangled mess.

“Go and do your work.”

“I’m keeping you company. Do you need help?”

Jin Sique’s hand trembled, and the egg cracked outside the bowl.

“N-No.”

052 burst into laughter inside Lü Zhongcai’s mind. Had she possessed a body, she would undoubtedly have been standing with both hands on her hips.

A faint smile appeared in Lü Zhongcai’s eyes.

“All right.”

She carried her coffee out of the kitchen and sat on the lawn in the front garden to rest.

Jin Sique looked outside through the kitchen’s floor-to-ceiling window.

Lü Zhongcai was taking a call. Her laptop and cane rested beside her while she reviewed the day’s opening market indexes.

“Why aren’t you at work?” 052 asked. “You aren’t staying home because you’re afraid she’ll go looking for Fang Zhiming, are you?”

Lü Zhongcai did not answer.

“You constantly refuse to communicate with me,” 052 continued. “That is not how problems are solved.”

Although Lü Zhongcai was technically on holiday that day, she received one call after another and even held a brief meeting with New York.

After lunch, Jin Sique picked up the cake and left Jingwan Villa.

She refused the driver’s offer and rode away on her bicycle.

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

052 gloated.

“Oh.”

“On this rare holiday, your lovely wife truly abandoned the president and went out to enjoy herself alone.”

Her laughter became unrestrained.

“President, is this the Omega who loves you?”

“She is avoiding me.”

Lü Zhongcai massaged her brow, removed the nonprescription glasses from her nose, and casually placed them aside.

“Besides the orphanage, where else would she go?”

“I don’t know,” 052 replied.

Lü Zhongcai frowned.

“Dear President, your awakening was like a butterfly beating its wings over the Pacific Ocean,” 052 explained.

“From that day onward, the direction of every event began to change.”

“Even I can only know approximately which major events will occur. I cannot predict every action the black lotus takes at every moment.”

“For example, I told you she would contact Fang Zhiming voluntarily, but her motives may have changed because the preceding circumstances are different.”

“That makes the final result even more uncertain.”

Lü Zhongcai lowered the book in her hand.

She adjusted her position, crossed her legs, and rested her hands upon her knee.

After thinking briefly, she said, “Her personality appears rather strong-willed.”

“She has always been strong-willed,” 052 replied.

“She’s a black lotus. The more insecure someone is, the more desperately she craves dignity.”

Lü Zhongcai froze.

As though suddenly recalling something, her brows knitted tightly.

“What connection does she have with Fang Zhiming?”

—

“Has she contacted you again?”

Jin Sique set down the medicine and opened the window of Xie Ying’s rented apartment, allowing sunlight to enter.

Xie Ying yawned.

The table was covered in instant-noodle cups.

“No. We didn’t finish the story and originally agreed to continue another time, but she hasn’t contacted me in half a month.”

Jin Sique smiled.

“What is it?” Xie Ying asked.

Jin Sique immediately restrained the smile.

“Nothing.”

“You didn’t return to Shandong to visit your mother-in-law during the holiday?” Xie Ying asked.

Jin Sique shook her head and tied back her long hair before beginning to clean the apartment.

“No. I didn’t want to go.”

Xie Ying narrowed her eyes and examined Jin Sique from head to toe.

“What happened? That isn’t something a good daughter-in-law would do.”

Jin Sique continued cleaning without saying a word.

By the time she finished tidying the entire apartment, the sunlight had turned warm gold.

Xie Ying went outside and returned with takeaway food and several cans of beer.

Together, they watched the television that was rarely switched on even once every ten days or half a month.

“You aren’t going back?” Xie Ying asked curiously.

She and Jin Sique did not contact each other often.

Jin Sique bought her medicine and visited occasionally to check whether she was still alive.

Apart from that, she rarely sat with her and watched television as she did today.

“It’s a holiday. I have nothing to do,” Jin Sique replied.

After a while, she stood.

“Forget it. I’m going back.”

Xie Ying drank her beer and burst out laughing.

“I knew it. Hurry up and leave.”

Jin Sique tugged at the corner of her mouth, stood, and said goodbye.

It had begun raining again.

Amid the misty drizzle, Jin Sique stood at a bus stop with her arms folded, waiting.

She raised her head.

Beneath the hazy night rain, she could not stop herself from thinking about Lü Zhongcai’s behavior recently.

Her phone vibrated.

It was an unfamiliar number.

“Hello. May I ask who is calling?”

“Miss Jin, this is Fang Zhiming,” the person on the other end said.

Jin Sique froze, then replied, “Hello, Mr. Fang.”

Fang Zhiming laughed heartily.

The distinct sound of rhythmic clappers and opera could be heard clearly through the phone.

Fang Zhiming was at Mingyuefeng.

Had he asked Mazi for her contact information?

Jin Sique frowned and spoke first.

“I’m sorry. Regarding the compensation, I will—”

“Could I invite Miss Jin to come and have some tea?” Fang Zhiming asked with a smile.

“I knew your adoptive father. I used to be a regular patron of Wangchun Pavilion.”

A regular patron?

Jin Sique frowned.

After ending the call, she searched her memories carefully.

She did not seem to have seen Fang Zhiming at Wangchun Pavilion.

The bus arrived.

Jin Sique scanned her transit card and selected a seat beside the window.

Then she suddenly remembered that there might indeed have been such a person.

People who stood at the pinnacle of money and power disliked crowds and had no time to visit the opera house specifically for performances.

Instead, they would contact the troupe master and invite the performers to their homes.

Such people were often extremely generous.

They paid hundreds of thousands for a single piece, favored traditional customs, and enjoyed patronizing performers.

They gave gold bars and jewelry, treating famous stars like revered ancestors.

Naturally, it was not only their voices they supported.

Before Wangchun Pavilion declined, Jin Sique had been fortunate enough to witness it twice.

Miss Qiu had been in her forties, but the moment she opened her mouth, the entire hall erupted in applause. Whenever the gongs sounded, the venue became packed with people.

Unfortunately, fewer people loved Peking Opera now.

There were also fewer people capable of performing it properly, and the fashion of lavishly supporting famous opera stars had disappeared.

Jin Sique did not know precisely why Fang Zhiming wanted to meet her.

By the time she arrived at Mingyuefeng, the stage had already been cleared for the day.

Mazi was drinking tea with Fang Zhiming.

Qiu Die had not yet removed her makeup and sat beside them while the group talked and laughed.

“Oh! You’re here!”

Mazi waved Jin Sique over.

Her bicycle had been left locked beneath Xie Ying’s apartment building.

Because of the rain, she had taken the bus instead.

The rain had intensified when she got off, so she had opened an umbrella.

Jin Sique closed it, revealing warm red lips, a delicate upturned nose, and graceful, distant brows.

“Mm. I’m here.”

Her voice was gentle and musical, like spring water falling into a pool and echoing among hollow stones.

Fang Zhiming lifted his cup to his lips and examined Jin Sique meaningfully.

At last, he nodded.

“Miss Jin, sit down and talk.”

The corner of Qiu Die’s mouth pulled downward.

The look she gave Jin Sique carried obvious jealousy and resentment.

—

“You mean Fang Zhiming wants to keep her as his mistress?”

Lü Zhongcai sat upright.

052 answered slyly, “Yes.”

Lü Zhongcai stood and paced back and forth across the living room.

“He wouldn’t.”

“Who wouldn’t?” 052 asked. “The black lotus, or Fang Zhiming?”

Lü Zhongcai frowned, her voice becoming heavier.

“Stop being deliberately mysterious and finish what you’re saying.”

“I have one condition,” 052 said.

“You must do exactly as I tell you. Otherwise, I’ll… I’ll pretend to be dead!”

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

“Fine.”