The Cold Alpha's Black Lotus O Strategy Plan (GL) - Chapter 39

“Look. My friend took this at a local hotel while traveling. Is this Mengzhen?”

Chen Xiaoyue showed Jin Sique the photograph on her phone.

It was a photograph of another photograph. The image quality was somewhat blurry, but the facial features and face shape were still relatively clear.

Jin Sique pressed her lips together tightly and accepted the phone at a loss.

She drew a deep breath, enlarged the photograph, then took out her own phone and zoomed in on a picture from her album.

She placed both phones on the table and compared them side by side.

Chen Xiaoyue leaned her head closer and stared at the two photographs.

“Is it the same person?”

Jin Sique’s lips trembled slightly.

The photograph on her own phone had already become somewhat blurred with age.

It showed fifteen-year-old Du Mengzhen, who had sent the picture to Director Mom after going abroad.

Although Du Mengzhen still appeared young in the photograph, the features she would possess as an adult were already visible.

“It’s her.”

Jin Sique stared dazedly at the picture, then raised her eyes toward Chen Xiaoyue.

Her eyes reddened with excitement before she immediately lowered her head again, staring unblinkingly at the phone.

“It’s her… Where is this? Where was it taken?”

“Africa,” Chen Xiaoyue said while chewing gum.

Jin Sique’s tightly pressed lips spread into a smile.

She wiped away the moisture gathering at the corner of one eye.

“Thank you, Xiaoyue.”

“It’s nothing.”

Chen Xiaoyue sprawled across the table.

“But my friend already asked the hotel owner. That photograph was taken six months ago, so she probably…”

Jin Sique shook her head and looked at Chen Xiaoyue gratefully.

“No. I’m already satisfied simply knowing there’s news of her.”

“Thank you, Xiaoyue.”

Chen Xiaoyue smiled awkwardly and took several loud gulps of milk tea.

Her eyes shifted before she asked, “What are you going to do next?”

Jin Sique raised her head, her eyes flickering.

“Is your friend still staying at that hotel?”

Chen Xiaoyue nodded.

“She should be.”

“She booked a room there.”

Jin Sique tightened her grip on the phone, her fingertip rubbing its edge.

“When she made the reservation, she should have left a phone number…”

“Oh!”

Chen Xiaoyue clapped both hands together and took the phone from Jin Sique.

“How did I not think of that? I’ll call my friend right now. Wait here.”

The instant the phone left her hand, Jin Sique’s heart seemed to miss a beat as well.

Only afterward did she realize what had happened, staring blankly at her empty palm.

While Chen Xiaoyue made the call beside her, Jin Sique rested her sweaty palms on her knees and repeatedly rubbed them against her jeans.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated.

She trembled and looked at it absentmindedly.

—Lü

“Hey, Sique, I spoke to my friend…”

Chen Xiaoyue sat down again and noticed the phone vibrating on the table.

A single character—Lü—was displayed on the screen.

Both women immediately fell silent.

Chen Xiaoyue snorted, dragged her chair closer with force, crossed her legs, and folded her arms as she watched.

Jin Sique did not answer.

She waited until the phone stopped buzzing.

Several more seconds passed, and the dark screen reflected the complicated expression in Jin Sique’s eyes.

Only then did Chen Xiaoyue speak.

“I got the number.”

Jin Sique raised her head.

Her emotions had already calmed somewhat.

“Thank you.”

“I sent it to you.”

Chen Xiaoyue held up her phone.

“I sent the photograph too.”

Then she added, “Honestly, now that you’ve found Du Mengzhen, what are you planning to do?”

Jin Sique leaned back and loosely clasped her hands together.

She looked toward a laughing couple outside the milk-tea shop.

“I…”

“We were never anything like that.”

Jin Sique smiled.

“I consider her family. As long as she’s safe, that’s enough.”

Chen Xiaoyue made two meaningful sounds and raised her brows.

“My friend also said she’s an extremely charming Alpha.”

Jin Sique raised her eyes.

Chen Xiaoyue smiled.

“What if she comes back?”

—

What if she comes back?

With a thud, Jin Sique twisted her foot and fell onto the stage.

Everything went silent.

Xiaobai and Zhu Wanqing immediately rushed over.

“Sique! What happened? Did you sprain it?”

Jin Sique shook her head.

Her lips had turned faintly pale, and sweat from the intensive rehearsal covered her forehead.

Zhu Wanqing and Xiaobai supported her to a corner and helped her sit down.

“Drink some water. Let me examine your foot.”

Xiaobai carefully inspected Jin Sique’s ankle.

“You’ve seemed absentminded for the past several days.”

Zhu Wanqing collapsed beside them and tilted her head back to drink water.

She said plaintively, “I’m absentminded too. Why don’t you examine my leg as well?”

“Get lost.”

Xiaobai glared at Zhu Wanqing, then asked Jin Sique, “Does this hurt? Here? What about here?”

“Hiss…”

Jin Sique frowned.

“A little.”

“Then you’ll need to rest for several days,” Xiaobai said. “Stop rehearsing today. Go home.”

Jin Sique froze.

“Go home…”

—

It was already evening when Lü Zhongcai received the call.

The driver supported one of Jin Sique’s arms, deliberately avoiding touching her more than necessary.

Jin Sique limped down the steps.

The hospital’s outpatient building stood behind her.

She looked at Lü Zhongcai in surprise.

“Why are you here?”

“Aunt Guo called and said you contacted the house because you injured your leg.”

Lü Zhongcai was dressed formally, clearly having come directly from the company.

Her pure-white shirt was made from a soft fabric, making her appear considerably gentler.

“I’ll help you.”

Jin Sique avoided Lü Zhongcai’s hand.

“Your own leg hasn’t even recovered.”

Lü Zhongcai turned, opened the car door, and indicated that Jin Sique should enter first.

The door closed, and the vehicle drove away from the hospital.

Jin Sique smiled.

“It’s nothing serious. Just a minor strain.”

“They gave me some medicinal liniment for bruises and sprains. It’ll recover after a few days.”

Lü Zhongcai acknowledged her.

She flipped through Jin Sique’s medical records.

Only after confirming that there was nothing serious did she place the scattered documents aside.

“It’s been a long time,” Lü Zhongcai suddenly said.

Jin Sique froze and abruptly turned toward her.

“Hmm?”

052 burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha! I told you to greet her with a few words. I didn’t tell you to make it this awkward!”

“Hahahahaha!”

Jin Sique recovered and quickly forced out a smile.

“It has been a long time.”

“More than a month,” Lü Zhongcai said.

Jin Sique glanced sideways.

Her slender fingers brushed across her forehead as she discreetly examined Lü Zhongcai.

“Mm. Final exams are approaching.”

Lü Zhongcai nodded.

“When is your end-of-term performance?”

“In about a week.”

Jin Sique smiled and casually asked, “Would you like to come? The academy has tickets that can be given to family members.”

“All right,” Lü Zhongcai answered.

Jin Sique’s movements stiffened for an instant.

She pressed her lips together and smiled shyly.

“Then I’ll bring one back in a few days.”

052 said in boredom, “Why are you two acting so unfamiliar? Do you need to go to bed before you can become close again?”

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

The car stopped outside the villa.

The driver hurried over and opened the door for Lü Zhongcai.

She stepped out first, then turned back to support Jin Sique.

The instant their fingertips touched, Jin Sique moved her wrist away.

She held the door frame and stood on her own.

“I can manage.”

052 immediately mocked her.

“Wow, President. You were rejected.”

Lü Zhongcai withdrew her hand and instead supported herself with her cane.

To match her pace, Jin Sique slowed down and walked beside her.

“It appears she has found a lead,” 052 said. “Events are always developing faster than I expect.”

“President, you should begin feeling a sense of urgency.”

—

Dinner had already been prepared at the villa.

Lü Zhongcai and Jin Sique had not eaten together for some time, so Aunt Guo had deliberately made several dishes.

“The eel is excellent during this season…”

Aunt Guo smiled and used her chopsticks to serve both of them food.

“Take your time eating. I’ll check whether the pig-trotter soup is ready.”

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

“Pig-trotter soup again.”

Jin Sique laughed and placed several pieces of green vegetables into Lü Zhongcai’s bowl.

“You must be tired of it. Perhaps it was prepared for me this time.”

Lü Zhongcai made a soft sound and gestured with her chopsticks for Jin Sique to eat her own food.

—

“Should I prepare your clothes for tomorrow?”

Inside the sitting room, Lü Zhongcai stood near the bedroom entrance while Jin Sique removed her coat and hung it on the wall.

Lü Zhongcai paused and glanced at her, seemingly confused.

“Your watch.”

Jin Sique raised her chin slightly and smiled as she gestured toward Lü Zhongcai.

Lü Zhongcai removed the watch.

Jin Sique naturally accepted it and placed it inside the bedroom vanity cabinet.

“Your brooch.”

“Your tie.”

Lü Zhongcai removed each accessory one by one.

After Jin Sique pulled away the tie, her collar loosened.

Lü Zhongcai casually unfastened the first button of her shirt, revealing the elegant line beneath her slender neck and a short length of silver chain.

Jin Sique turned around, then abruptly stepped backward.

Her breathing caught.

Her waist and hips struck the vanity.

The bottles and jars covering the surface shook, producing a series of tinkling collisions.

Lü Zhongcai leaned forward.

Her arm passed beside Jin Sique as she picked up a bottle of eye drops from the table.

“What’s wrong?”

Jin Sique paused.

“…Nothing. Are your eyes uncomfortable?”

“The stock market has been unstable recently,” Lü Zhongcai said. “Help me apply these.”

Lü Zhongcai sat on the edge of the bed, supporting herself with both arms behind her as she tilted her neck and looked toward the haloed ceiling light.

A drop of cold liquid fell into her ear.

Lü Zhongcai instinctively blinked.

“Don’t move!”

Jin Sique reminded her, then laughed helplessly.

“Honestly, I told you not to blink.”

With one eye closed and the other slightly narrowed, Lü Zhongcai stared at Jin Sique.

A barely perceptible smile rested at the corner of her lips, making her resemble a fox that had been stroked into contentment.

Jin Sique swallowed.

“The other eye.”

Once the drops had been applied, Lü Zhongcai closed her eyes and rested.

The excess liquid flowed down her cheek like the trace of a tear.

Jin Sique stared at it, frozen in place.

Her fingers unconsciously tightened, squeezing more liquid from the bottle and spilling it across her hand.

Lü Zhongcai felt the mattress sink beside her.

Then a kiss landed upon her eyelid.

Lü Zhongcai slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was Jin Sique’s dazed expression.

“I… I’m sorry…”

Jin Sique appeared equally surprised by her own reaction.

She looked at Lü Zhongcai, bewildered and helpless.

“Zhongcai… Ah!”

Jin Sique fell forward.

A hand seized her wrist and pulled her into Lü Zhongcai’s embrace.

A damp kiss landed against the side of her neck, instantly making her entire body tremble.

“One month.”

Lü Zhongcai’s voice carried a dangerous undertone.

It was deep and low, entering every pore of Jin Sique’s body together with the spreading pheromones.

“I…”

Jin Sique breathed rapidly.

“I used a suppressant two days ago.”

Lü Zhongcai began unfastening the buttons of her shirt one by one.

“Little girl, why would that matter?”

Jin Sique’s five fingers tightened.

She crumpled Lü Zhongcai’s shirt in her grip and dampened it with her palms.