The Cold Alpha's Black Lotus O Strategy Plan (GL) - Chapter 46

“Our stage play got an A+!”

“Ahhhhh!”

Zhu Wanqing and Xiaobai checked their grades in the dormitory, high-fived each other, and embraced.

Jin Sique smiled and put everything on her desk into the drawers and cabinets.

“What time are your flights?”

“Oh.”

Xiaobai checked the time, closed her laptop, and put it into her backpack.

“I need to leave now.”

Jin Sique nodded.

“I’ll take both of you.”

Zhu Wanqing and Xiaobai looked at each other before asking in unison, “You drove here?”

Jin Sique tilted her head with a smile and held up the car keys.

“That’s right.”

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Zhu Wanqing and Xiaobai threw themselves at her and crowded around her.

“Sique, we love you!”

Jin Sique leaned backward and smiled helplessly.

“Have you finished packing?”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

—

Inside the car, Zhu Wanqing stroked the interior and sighed admiringly.

“Is this your Sister’s car?”

Jin Sique made a soft sound of acknowledgment. She skillfully turned the steering wheel and adjusted her sitting position.

“Are you two on the same flight?”

“Yes.”

Xiaobai leaned forward and curiously watched Jin Sique steer.

“Sique, why did you bring so many things?”

Jin Sique gave her a questioning look.

“The trunk,” Xiaobai explained. “There’s a suitcase in there. I think I saw you use it last year. There are also two cardboard boxes.”

Jin Sique froze, then pressed her lips together in a smile.

“Mm. I’m moving out of my Sister’s house.”

—

The previous night.

“There’s no need to be in such a hurry.”

Lü Zhongcai had finished washing and was dressed in a silk robe as she watched Jin Sique spread open a suitcase and pack her belongings.

“Didn’t we agree on this a few days ago?” Jin Sique said with a smile. “Now that my final examinations are over, I can pack everything tonight and move out tomorrow.”

Lü Zhongcai parted her lips slightly.

Jin Sique withdrew her gaze and closed the suitcase.

“I’ll find two more boxes.”

“I’ll help you.”

Lü Zhongcai crouched and helped Jin Sique organize the things she intended to take away.

“I’ll have Xiao Wang drive you tomorrow.”

“N-No need,” Jin Sique said.

“Then drive yourself. Choose whichever car you want from the garage. That settles it.”

Lü Zhongcai’s tone allowed no argument, so Jin Sique smiled and agreed.

“Don’t put that in the box,” Jin Sique suddenly said.

Lü Zhongcai looked up and discovered that she had casually taken a spare finger cot from the bottom of the wardrobe and was about to place it in Jin Sique’s suitcase.

Slightly embarrassed, she put it back.

Jin Sique’s ears reddened faintly.

“We won’t need it anymore.”

“Mm…”

Lü Zhongcai hesitated, then glanced at Jin Sique.

“You can return at any time.”

Jin Sique nodded.

Her head remained lowered, and her hands continued moving. She did not look at Lü Zhongcai at all.

Lü Zhongcai pushed the finger cot back into the drawer and closed the cabinet.

“If it isn’t used, it will expire.”

—

“Sique?”

A hand waved before her eyes.

Jin Sique returned to her senses and looked at Zhu Wanqing.

“Hmm?”

“The light is green.”

Zhu Wanqing pointed toward the intersection.

Jin Sique immediately started the car.

“Sorry.”

“Bye-bye! See you next semester!”

Xiaobai and Zhu Wanqing waved at Jin Sique before disappearing through the ticket checkpoint.

Jin Sique lowered her hand.

The smile on her lips gradually faded.

She stood there quietly with both hands in her pockets for a while before turning and walking back toward the car.

—

“Your president didn’t object?”

Xie Ying opened the door and watched Jin Sique carry bags and boxes into the living room.

Jin Sique wiped away her sweat.

“No. This was the result of our discussion.”

Xie Ying looked baffled.

“You can bear to leave her?”

Jin Sique smiled, turned, and leaned against the wall with an easy expression.

“What is there to be reluctant about?”

Xie Ying froze briefly.

She looked at Jin Sique.

A thin layer of perspiration covered Jin Sique’s forehead, and fine strands of hair clung to her temples, making her resemble a crystal grape freshly lifted from water.

“Don’t move,” Xie Ying immediately said.

“Hmm?”

Jin Sique tilted her head in confusion, supporting herself with both hands against the old wardrobe in Xie Ying’s apartment.

“What are you doing?”

Xie Ying took out her phone and snapped a picture.

“Oh, you’ve become even prettier.”

Jin Sique straightened, took Xie Ying’s phone, and examined the picture.

“It’s all right.”

“Why are you being modest?”

Xie Ying shrugged and tossed the phone onto the sofa.

Then she glanced at Jin Sique again and smiled meaningfully.

“What are you looking at? Come help me clean the room,” Jin Sique called from the second bedroom.

Xie Ying said, “Hey, how about I post your photograph to Moments?”

“Don’t advertise me like a pimp.”

Jin Sique removed two disposable masks from their packaging, handed one to Xie Ying, and put on the other before beginning to clean.

Xie Ying remained to one side playing with her phone.

She edited Jin Sique’s photograph, beautifying it again and again, only to discover that it looked better before any alterations.

In the end, she merely edited the background and posted it.

“I’m coming to help,” Xie Ying said.

“Wipe the wardrobe,” Jin Sique replied.

—

“Why are you staring into space?”

Lu Baimei asked curiously. She lightly tapped the table with the other end of her chopsticks to get Lü Zhongcai’s attention.

Lü Zhongcai raised her eyes toward Lu Baimei, then returned her gaze to her phone.

Her long fingers held the thin device while her thumb scrolled casually.

She repeatedly moved up and down before stopping at a particular place.

After looking for several moments, she turned the phone facedown on the table.

Lu Baimei craned her neck curiously.

“Your wife?”

“Mm…”

Lu Baimei laughed.

“Did she have professional photographs taken? She isn’t revealing anything, yet she still looks incredibly sexy. Is that the unique charm of an Omega?”

Lü Zhongcai glanced at Lu Baimei, danger appearing in her eyes as though warning her.

“Does your wife have any classmates or close friends?” Lu Baimei remained utterly shameless. “Give me an Omega with delicate skin and plenty of substance too.”

Lü Zhongcai stood, picked up her tray, and left the restaurant.

“Hey—where are you going?” Lu Baimei called from behind.

“Rehabilitation.”

Only then did Lu Baimei examine Lü Zhongcai’s right leg.

Three months had passed since the car accident, but the resulting injury required a long recovery.

Lü Zhongcai still walked with a slight limp and could not travel long distances. Her cane served as a mobility aid, greatly reducing the strain on her right leg.

Lu Baimei did not know whether it was merely her imagination.

Lü Zhongcai’s presence was usually so powerful that it was difficult to notice her limp, yet today the problem seemed unusually obvious.

“Huh? I thought you had recovered.”

Lu Baimei hurried after her, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“Strange. Why did I have that impression?”

Lü Zhongcai could not be bothered to answer.

She handed her tray to a staff member, took the elevator downstairs, and went to the fitness center.

Inside her mind, 052 muttered, “Idiot.”

“Ah—”

Lu Baimei groaned while pulling at a weight machine.

“Isn’t exercising right after eating bad for you?”

Lü Zhongcai nodded slightly.

“It is.”

Then she continued performing low-intensity rehabilitation exercises on a treadmill set to its lowest speed, training only her right foot.

“What are you reading?”

Lu Baimei released the weight machine.

“Something about EA?”

Lü Zhongcai curled one finger and tapped the screen of the e-reader in front of her.

“EA officially declared bankruptcy this morning and has entered asset liquidation.”

Lu Baimei made a sound of acknowledgment.

“And? Are you investing or not?”

A trace of cold amusement appeared at the corner of Lü Zhongcai’s mouth.

Lu Baimei said, “Let me think. Did the EA representative cause such an embarrassing scene when she came to see you that you deliberately decided to make things difficult for them?”

Lü Zhongcai did not deny it.

“That’s exactly how you are. Whenever you make a move, you do it from the shadows.”

Lu Baimei shuddered.

“I’m genuinely afraid that one day I’ll offend you and be framed without realizing it. When are you planning to act?”

“As long as LE refuses to take over, no one in China will guarantee EA’s bankruptcy restructuring,” Lü Zhongcai said.

“That’s because EA hasn’t demonstrated its true capabilities yet,” Lu Baimei replied. “Or rather, they need an opportunity to prove themselves.”

“You have to admit that if a product has investment potential, there will always be someone willing to invest.”

Lü Zhongcai remained silent.

Lu Baimei patted her shoulder.

“President, be careful you don’t lift a rock only to crush your own foot.”

“To determine EA’s value, I need a professional computer engineering team to conduct a technical assessment,” Lü Zhongcai said.

Lu Baimei cursed.

“I thought you already understood it.”

“I’m not a specialist.”

Lü Zhongcai looked at Lu Baimei as though she were an idiot.

“I’m not arrogant enough to believe I can evaluate it alone.”

“Three months,” Lu Baimei said. “You have three months at most.”

“If you cannot make a decision by then, EA’s work will become public and be auctioned. At that point, you’ll find it difficult to acquire it cheaply, and the founder will lose control of the technology.”

Lü Zhongcai nodded.

“Do you know a reliable team? They would need to sign a confidentiality agreement.”

Lu Baimei smiled slyly.

“Nope. I’m not a specialist.”

Lü Zhongcai: “…”

—

That night, inside Xie Ying’s apartment.

“How long are you planning to stay?” Xie Ying asked.

She handed Jin Sique several grilled skewers, opened a bottle of alcohol for herself, and drank intermittently.

Jin Sique crooked a finger, indicating that she wanted a bottle too.

“Are you trying to drive me away?”

Xie Ying clicked her tongue.

Half-reclining on the carpet, she scrolled through her phone.

A conspicuous notification appeared on Moments.

She opened it and found the post she had made earlier.

Among the visible interactions, a WeChat account saved simply as Lü stood out prominently.

“Hey.”

Xie Ying nudged Jin Sique’s foot.

Jin Sique turned her head.

Because of the heat, she wore only a wide-strapped camisole. A scent-blocking patch printed with an orange cat covered the back of her neck.

“Hmm?”

“You haven’t liked my post yet, have you?” Xie Ying asked.

Jin Sique smiled helplessly and took two gulps of beer.

She dug her phone out from a corner of the sofa after ignoring it all day.

Several WeChat messages awaited her.

She answered them one by one before leisurely opening Moments.

She found Xie Ying’s post.

It was the photograph Xie Ying had casually taken around noon.

Jin Sique stood smiling in the sunlight, resembling a cat lying on soft grass and lazily stretching beneath the sun.

Ying: Summer Cat.

Among the replies visible to mutual friends:

Lü: May I save this photograph?

Ying @ Little Sparrow: The person in the photograph gets to decide.

Jin Sique froze.

She seemed to suspect that she had read it incorrectly.

She exited, refreshed, and opened the post again.

For one brief instant, it felt as though her heart had stopped.

“What kind of expression is that?” Xie Ying asked.

“How do you have her WeChat?” Jin Sique asked.

Xie Ying raised her brows and straightened slightly.

“What? Are you jealous?”

Jin Sique’s brow twitched.

She bit her lower lip.

“No. I’m not.”