The Live-in Alpha Only Wants to Be a Quiet Salted Fish - Chapter 24

Su Mo was dizzy from being jostled in the crowd when she suddenly heard a loud shout nearby.

“Someone fell into the water!”

The panicked tone made Su Mo’s heart thump heavily.

“Move! Everyone move!”

In her urgency, her voice even distorted a little, and her icy gaze made the excited fans step back half a pace in fear.

She pushed through the crowd, searching the shoreline for a familiar figure, but to no avail.

The ripples on the lake hadn’t yet dispersed. Without hesitation, she plunged in, diving headfirst into the lake, leaving a chorus of gasps on the shore.

••••

How powerful was the impact of falling into water?

Roughly speaking, after a deep dive, when you look up, even the surface of the lake begins to seem impossibly far away.

Lin Mu was submerged, completely unprepared. Her stomach and lungs filled with lake water, her nose burned, and she couldn’t open her eyes. She could only instinctively flail her hands, trying to surface and breathe the scarce oxygen.

However, her chaotic thrashing provided very limited buoyancy. Not only did it fail to bring her to the surface, but it also propelled her further away from the shore.

Yes, that’s right. Lin Mu was a landlubber.

The only few times she had played in water were in the small stream next to the orphanage, the kind that barely covered her ankles. How was she supposed to learn to swim there?

The suffocation from lack of oxygen made her consciousness begin to haze. Her struggles weakened. It felt like a long time, and yet no time at all. In a daze, a blurry shadow approached her.

Lin Mu half-closed her eyes, and suddenly felt that the sky had brightened…

“Splash…”

Su Mo broke the surface, still holding a bobbing head, but she no longer had the strength to pull the person up.

“Help! Someone help!”

At her cry for help, the fans on the shore rushed forward, helping hands reaching out, and together they lifted Lin Mu onto the bank.

Su Mo’s body was weak. She stumbled upon reaching the shore, almost losing her footing.

At this moment, she cared nothing for her image as a goddess. She didn’t care about those holding up their phones, nor did she care that her disheveled state was being seen by the public.

Only one thought remained in her mind.

She knelt beside Lin Mu, gently patting her face.

“Silly Alpha? Silly Alpha?” There was no response.

Su Mo’s hands were trembling. She immediately used her limited knowledge to perform first aid.

Her rosy lips met the pale, thin lips. Without a moment’s hesitation, they pressed tightly together.

There was no romantic atmosphere, no hint of shyness. She mechanically gave her air, pressing down on her chest over and over.

The more she pressed, the more Su Mo’s heart sank.

Finally, after an unknown number of breaths, with a single press, Lin Mu reacted. Her body twitched, and with a “whoosh,” she spat out a large amount of water.

“Cough, cough…”

Lin Mu coughed, and Su Mo quickly supported her, patting her back to help her breathe. The tension in her heart finally eased.

“Burp, so full…” Lin Mu was still a bit dazed. She instinctively rubbed her stomach, her face wrinkled.

Su Mo felt both angry and amused, but those emotions were overshadowed by a surge of post-fear that made her nose sting and her eyes well up.

“You scared me to death!”

In the end, she couldn’t fight back the overwhelming tears. She lunged forward and hugged Lin Mu tightly. Warm droplets mixed with water landed on Lin Mu’s neck, feeling somewhat hot.

Lin Mu instinctively hugged her back, looking around blankly.

A crowd surrounded them, each person holding a phone, some taking pictures, some recording videos, their expressions more excited than the last.

It was very much like tourists taking photos at a zoo, and she and Su Mo…

were the two monkeys in the middle.

••••

That day, the hot search exploded again. A quick scroll revealed all sorts of videos and photos of “Beautiful Omega saves Alpha.” In this day and age, a hero saving a beauty was common, but a beautiful Omega saving an Alpha was a first, especially when the rescuer was a popular celebrity.

The cheating scandal had just passed, and now this news broke. Some suspected it was a publicity stunt, others thought it was an act. Finally, the appearance of a video dispelled these notions.

This video was filmed very early. Although the picture was a bit blurry, it started from when the two were strolling by the lake, thus also recording the subsequent chaotic scene. A large group of fans surged forward, separating the Alpha and Omega. As the Alpha struggled to push through, a figure wearing a baseball cap suddenly ran past her, brushing against her. Following this was the Alpha falling into the water, and the Omega coming to the rescue.

The video thoughtfully slowed down the few frames before the fall and specifically circled a spot in red: a hand, only partially visible, retracting.

When the video was released, public opinion was in an uproar. This also confirmed the authenticity of the incident: Lin Mu had not accidentally fallen into the water, but had been pushed.

An accident escalating to a criminal case caught everyone off guard, but it also gave Su Mo’s anger an outlet.

••••

Leaving the hospital with Lin Mu, on the way home, she made phone calls incessantly.

All her instructions summarized into one word: investigate!

No matter what, they had to find out who the ‘pusher’ was!

She had intended to test the silly Alpha, yes, but she could take the silly Alpha for a boat ride on the lake, or to the water facilities in the park. But none of these included putting the silly Alpha in danger.

The thought of the silly Alpha almost dying today kept her from calming down.

Perhaps this anger didn’t just stem from the silly Alpha’s brush with danger, but also from the vague emotion she detected within herself.

Even though her swimming skills weren’t good, she still jumped in without hesitation to save the silly Alpha. Even if one were to argue it was simply an urgent desire to save someone, her thoughts after saving her were also strange. At that moment, her only thought was…

She couldn’t lose the silly Alpha!

Su Mo rubbed her temples, trying to suppress the thoughts in her heart, but in the end, she couldn’t deceive herself and sighed deeply.

What to do? She seemed to… have fallen a little for the silly Alpha…

It was just liking, not even love, not that deeply ingrained. It was just a liking that had subtly developed, and then evolved into something more important than mere fondness.

Although the silly Alpha was unreliable and always caused trouble that greatly annoyed her, she didn’t have any of those bad Alpha habits, and being with her always made her feel at ease.

Perhaps, this was why she was attracted to her.

But recognizing it was one thing; accepting it immediately was another. Especially seeing this person’s goofy appearance, it only made her even more exasperated.

Lin Mu was sleeping soundly, leaning against the car window. Her silly face reflected in the glass, making Su Mo angrier the more she looked at it.

Why? I’ve fallen for you, but you…

Thinking this, she raised her leg and gave a kick, hitting the person’s calf and making her body lurch to the side.

“Hm, what, are we home?” Lin Mu suddenly looked up, glancing around, her eyes heavy with sleep.

“Almost!” Su Mo said without changing her expression. Traffic jam, so about half an hour more.

“Oh, then call me when we get there. I’ll sleep a bit more.” She said, trying to close her eyes again.

Su Mo raised an eyebrow and kicked again.

“Hm??”

“Don’t you have anything to say?” Su Mo asked, arms crossed, looking at her.

Lin Mu paused, then realization dawned.

Sorry, my brain just got waterlogged, so I’m a bit muddled right now.

“Thank you!” She said with great sincerity.

Lin Mu turned her head to look at her, her brows soft, hinting at a touch of tenderness.

Su Mo’s heart fluttered for a moment. She raised a hand to shield her face, tucking strands of hair behind her ear.

“Never mind, it’s…”

“A life-saving grace, I have nothing to repay you with, otherwise…”

Su Mo was stunned, her heart tightening.

“Let’s become sworn siblings!” Lin Mu’s eyes lit up.

Her heart dropped, sinking two more degrees.

Right, what was she expecting…

“From now on, you’re my big sister, even closer than a blood sister!”

Lin Mu excitedly rambled on, unaware that Su Mo’s expression was growing increasingly grim.

“Who wants to be sworn siblings with you? Who wants to be your big sister?! Get lost!” The car’s pillow became a weapon again, angrily striking the dog’s head.

“Oh, come on, don’t hit me! If you don’t want to, then don’t! Don’t worry, even if you don’t want to, I’ll still think of you as my big sister in my heart, from now on…” She continued her lengthy monologue, chattering away.

Su Mo threw down the pillow, sighing helplessly, massaging her forehead. Forget it, she was tired, too tired to be angry.

She no longer cared what Lin Mu was saying. Su Mo’s gaze was heavy, but she thought of something else instead.

“I’ll arrange some classes for you soon. First, you need to learn how to swim!”

An Alpha who’s a landlubber, pushed into the water, unable to even save herself. What if she wasn’t there one day…?

Thinking of that surge of fear and heart palpitations, Su Mo became even more worried, especially with the hidden ‘pusher’ lurking in the shadows.

“Oh, and while you’re at it, learn some self-defense techniques. Sign up for combat training too.”

“Huh??” Lin Mu was dumbfounded. This, so sudden?

There was also that bodyguard training; should she arrange for the silly Alpha to take that course?

Su Mo fell into thought, while Lin Mu quietly shifted sideways, trying to minimize her presence.

She felt that Su Mo’s demands on her seemed to have increased significantly. Could it be that the standards for being “sworn sisters” were different from those for biological sisters?

No way! How can she have double standards?!

••••

After a tumultuous event, they finally arrived home.

Although Lin Mu had been submerged in water, her Alpha physique ensured she was fine after a check-up, and she remained lively after returning home.

In contrast, Su Mo, with her Omega’s smaller frame, having performed a “beautiful Omega saves Alpha,” put in a lot of effort and worry. Once the adrenaline wore off at home, she completely deflated. After washing up, she lay weakly on the bed, her body starting to feel warm, as if a fire was burning inside her heart.

Was this a fever?

No, it wasn’t…

A flicker of realization crossed Su Mo’s eyes. As her temperature climbed, what followed wasn’t physical weakness, but a surging impulse. The gland at the back of her neck throbbed violently, her pheromones opening the floodgates and gushing out.

The entire room filled with the sweet, enticing scent of peaches.

Her heat… had arrived!

How could it be so sudden?!

Still in shock and unable to react, the bedroom door opened.

“Dinner time…”

Lin Mu pushed the door open and walked straight into a pink vortex.

“This scent is…”