Transmigrated as the Domineering Scumbag Alpha Forced into Marriage by a Delicate Subordinate (GL) - Chapter 22

Wisp after wisp of Omega pheromones drifted into her nostrils, filling the air with a clean, refreshing soapy scent. Qin Jue hadn’t expected Tang Yun to be right outside the door and froze for a moment. As Tang Yun walked toward her, Qin Jue instinctively took half a step back.

“Are you… alright?” Qin Jue asked.

“CEO Qin, I’ve made up my mind,” Tang Yun whispered.

Qin Jue didn’t understand.

Tang Yun flashed a smile at Qin Jue. Before Qin Jue could react, she hooked a finger, the bath towel knot came undone, and the heavy fabric slipped down.

Qin Jue’s mind went blank with a buzz. She instinctively reached out, snatched the towel back, and wrapped it around Tang Yun at lightning speed. Everything happened too fast; Qin Jue’s reaction was purely instinctual. Only when her consciousness caught up with her action did she realize how intimate her current posture was.

She had encircled Tang Yun in her arms. Only one bath towel separated the two of them.

Tang Yun’s breath brushed her neck. The swollen Omega scent gland on her nape emitted an unusually tempting scent. Qin Jue suddenly felt a familiar discomfort in her heart, like a piece of spring willow catkin had landed somewhere—light and airy, but intensely itchy.

Qin Jue swallowed silently, then, without looking, helped Tang Yun secure the towel and pulled away from her.

“What are you trying to do?” Qin Jue asked, tilting her head and smiling, concealing any trace of her distress perfectly.

“What CEO Qin wants,” Tang Yun stated directly.

“A sudden change of heart? Why the rush?” Qin Jue frowned. That’s what the original host wanted, not me.

“It was my foolishness before, CEO Qin, I…”

Tang Yun tried to move closer again, but Qin Jue gently pushed her shoulder with two fingers, maintaining a distance.

“I don’t like when people humble themselves for favors,” Qin Jue said.

Tang Yun’s eyes instantly reddened again. Taking this step had consumed almost all her courage. She could grit her teeth and abandon her dignity, but being repeatedly interrupted by Qin Jue, her initial momentum was lost, and she was now at her breaking point.

“You’re doing this because of what happened today, right?” Qin Jue finally understood the reason for Tang Yun’s change. She truly needed to stay far away from that soapy scent, or her mind would be nothing but iridescent soap bubbles.

Qin Jue found a secure, sufficiently distant armchair to sit on. The room temperature seemed a little too high, and Qin Jue casually unbuttoned the top button of her collar.

Tang Yun’s sudden entry had disrupted Qin Jue’s plan. CEO Qin was never good at apologizing to younger women, and now she’d forgotten the polite, rehearsed apology she’d prepared, having to feign composure in front of Tang Yun.

“Let me guess. You feel wronged and want me to back you up, don’t you?” Qin Jue asked.

Tang Yun pursed her lips for a long time, her eyes watering slightly, then slowly calming down. When her voice wouldn’t betray a sob, she finally spoke to Qin Jue: “I didn’t plagiarize.”

“I know,” Qin Jue nodded. “He must have copied you.”

Tang Yun’s eyes widened. “You know?”

“You practically worked overtime right in front of me. I can at least tell whether it’s your own achievement or not,” Qin Jue said.

Tang Yun’s lips trembled, too stunned by Qin Jue’s matter-of-fact attitude to speak.

“Not only do I know, but Xiao Jianming, and Guan Li, the one who tried to force you to resign, they all know, too.”

“You stepped into someone else’s trap. You are, of course, innocent, and the people who harmed you know you’re innocent better than you do,” Qin Jue said.

“Th-then what?” Tang Yun clenched the fists hanging at her sides.

“Either you prove your own innocence, but self-vindication will be very difficult—since they set the trap, they won’t let you escape easily. Or, you directly flip their chessboard and deconstruct their authority.”

“I suggest you choose the latter,” Qin Jue said.

“Then is CEO Qin on their side?” Tang Yun asked.

Qin Jue was momentarily speechless, then laughed: “I am definitely not on their side.”

“Then is CEO Qin standing by me?” Tang Yun asked.

Qin Jue couldn’t answer “of course” with a smile. Although Qin Jue wasn’t the one who dug the pit for Tang Yun to fall into, she had fanned the flames. She had countless opportunities to inform Tang Yun, or even just warn her not to get too invested in that project, but she did nothing. She couldn’t claim to be on Tang Yun’s side.

Faced with Tang Yun’s direct question, Qin Jue was rarely at a loss for words. She nervously looked away, unsure if Tang Yun would understand what she was about to say.

“I was doing it for your own good,” Qin Jue said.

“If it’s for my own good, then let me reason it out clearly with them,” Tang Yun replied.

Qin Jue sighed. Young people were impulsive. Fortunately, she had gone through the same phase as Tang Yun, and she could pull Tang Yun back.

“You have plenty of time now. Can you prove yourself?” Qin Jue asked.

Tang Yun fell silent. After CEO Qin spoke in the conference room, she had no room to maneuver. She packed up her things and went home, and after a long, distracting bus ride, she received a compressed file from Lin Hao.

“I believe you. I copied Xiao Jianming’s development files. I refuse to believe I can’t find something on him,” Lin Hao had said.

Tang Yun returned to the apartment and opened her computer, examining the files Lin Hao sent her one by one. Xiao Jianming’s irrefutable evidence in the conference room was that his development log’s timestamp was earlier than hers, which should have been impossible. Tang Yun stared at the screen until her eyes hurt. Whether he overwrote files or adjusted the system clock, there should have been some inconsistencies, but Tang Yun found nothing.

“If you can’t even prove it now, how could you have explained yourself then, under the combined attack of Guan Li and Xiao Jianming?” Qin Jue asked. “Furthermore, there were so many people in that conference room, most of whom didn’t know the inside story. How would they view you? If it escalated and you got caught in public opinion, could you still calmly prove your innocence?” Qin Jue asked.

Qin Jue sighed internally. This was what she had wanted to tell Tang Yun earlier: never let yourself get dragged into the quagmire of being forced to prove your innocence.

Tang Yun had nothing to say. Following Qin Jue’s description, a chill ran down her spine.

Qin Jue’s sharp eyes noticed the hairs on Tang Yun’s arms stand up, realizing the girl was finally starting to feel scared. Learning from a mistake, perhaps the girl wouldn’t be easily deceived anymore. Qin Jue felt a sense of relief.

The change in mindset was immediately reflected in what Qin Jue said. She changed the subject, smiling slightly as she asked Tang Yun: “I only suspended you. Did I fire you?”

Tang Yun: “You…”

“Don’t worry. Think carefully about how to overturn their chessboard. I will let you go back,” Qin Jue said.

Tang Yun’s tears fell without warning. A tsunami of emotions surged within her all at once, so much so that she seemed unable to distinguish her current feelings, and thus, had no time to control them.

Tang Yun finally shed tears in front of Qin Jue. Qin Jue’s figure blurred in her vision, shaking gently with the flick of the teardrops. Tang Yun sniffled, wiped away her tears with her hand, and a voice as soft as a murmur rolled out of her throat, “Thank you.”

“Have you cried enough? If so, go back and figure things out. Don’t stand here anymore.” Qin Jue’s composed smile was about to collapse; she was eager to rush Tang Yun out.

Tang Yun was momentarily stunned, then turned and pulled the door open, leaving.

Bang—the bedroom door closed again. Qin Jue collapsed onto the sofa, her back relaxing as if all strength had left her. A deep, lingering scent of sandalwood pheromones instantly filled the entire bedroom. Qin Jue gasped for breath, and after two seconds, stretched out her arm to grab the medicine box by the bedside.

The medicine box was a bit far. Qin Jue tried hard but couldn’t reach it. She tumbled off the armchair, completely devoid of grace.

Qin Jue’s fingers were trembling as she opened the medicine box, a layer of fine sweat making them slip on the lid. On the top layer of the box lay the Alpha suppressants. She pulled off the needle cap and gave herself an injection directly. As the cold liquid entered her body, she tilted her head back and slowly let out a breath.

“Is this the vulnerability period?” Qin Jue asked.

System: “Yes, Host. Your pheromone is a pleasant sandalwood scent. It seems Tang Yun’s pheromones have a high compatibility with yours. You are deeply affected by her scent.”

“Honestly, I still don’t understand why you refuse to simply be a normal benefactor. This is a complete welfare novel,” the System asked.

Qin Jue: “Shut up.”

In Qin Jue’s view, such matters belonged only to two people in love, occurring naturally when passion peaked and neither could hold back. To yield only to the most basic physiological urges, Qin Jue felt, was a desecration of both herself and the other person. That’s why she preferred the long, difficult, and thankless path of looking for loopholes in the world’s will. If it weren’t for the so-called character setting restricting her, she would have told Tang Yun clearly from the start that a relationship between them was absolutely impossible.

Qin Jue lay on the floor, staring at the white ceiling, slowly waiting for the suppressant to take effect. The surging heat in her blood gradually cooled down, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

In the blink of an eye, it was already late October. The temperature had dropped at night, and the floor was even colder. Qin Jue finally registered the cold. What about Tang Yun? She had just stood in this room with wet hair and bare feet, talking to Qin Jue for quite a while.

Qin Jue climbed up from the floor, glanced at the white wall separating her and Tang Yun, grabbed her phone, and typed a message to Tang Yun.

“Dry your hair, put on some shoes, and don’t catch a cold.”

After some thought, and to better fit the original host’s persona, Qin Jue added: “I don’t have the time to take care of you if you get sick.”

After sending it, Qin Jue stared at the screen for two minutes. Tang Yun didn’t reply with so much as a punctuation mark. Qin Jue didn’t know if Tang Yun hadn’t seen it or was still holding a grudge. She attributed this confusion to not yet having recovered her usual brilliance from the pheromone storm. So, she put down her phone, walked into the bathroom, filled the bathtub with hot water, closed her eyes, and slowly sank beneath the water.

This was a habit Qin Jue had developed since she was eighteen, a method of finding peace. She had gone three days and two nights without daring to shut her eyes due to nightmares, until she discovered that the hot water, by sealing off all her senses, brought a long-lost tranquility. Later, a psychologist agreed that she could choose some slightly excessive ways to de-stress, like smoking or sleeping while sitting in the bathtub. She had to learn to forgive herself, not abandon herself.

Qin Jue gradually relearned how to sleep. She felt she had recovered, just acquiring two small bad habits that she could fix over the long years.

Qin Jue was woken up by the cold in the early morning. The water in the bathtub was icy. She hadn’t expected to fall asleep, so she hadn’t turned on the warming function. The consequence of her laziness was that CEO Qin climbed out of the cold water and sneezed hard three times, her nose feeling blocked.

“You didn’t wake me up?” Qin Jue asked the System.

“Ah, I generally don’t disturb the Host when sleeping,” the System replied innocently.

Qin Jue quickly put on a thick bathrobe, poured herself a cup of hot water in the living room, and took a cold medicine tablet as a precaution. She had worried about Tang Yun catching a cold via WeChat, only to soak herself in cold water for half the night. If she were the one who got sick the next day, CEO Qin’s unspeakable self-esteem would undoubtedly take a major hit.

In the pitch darkness, a line of light showed beneath Tang Yun’s bedroom door. She definitely seemed to have rekindled her fighting spirit.

Tang Yun looked soft and easily bullied, but Qin Jue knew the girl was incredibly tough underneath, absolutely refusing to bow her head in defeat.

Then the question arose. Qin Jue found a logical inconsistency: since Tang Yun was so proud, why would she choose to sign a contract with the original host, essentially selling herself? She was about to graduate and could naturally start working to earn money. Why the rush?

Qin Jue couldn’t see any urgent need for a large sum of money for Tang Yun. She was very frugal, yet Tang Yun wore old glasses and bought clothes that cost only a few hundred yuan.

“So why did she sell herself? Did the original host force her?” Qin Jue asked.

“As far as I know, Tang Yun was fully aware of the contract terms and volunteered,” the System replied.

The contract between the original host and Tang Yun should be in her study. Qin Jue planned to take some time to read it.

The sky was lightening. Qin Jue finished her hot water and lay back down in bed. She had less than three hours left to sleep, so Qin Jue quickly tried to fall asleep. Qin Yao was returning from school today, and Mrs. Qin suggested a family dinner tonight, which Guan would also attend. Qin Jue needed to recover quickly.

Dawn broke. Qin Jue got up. Her nose was still stuffy, and her head felt heavy. She had indeed caught a cold.

Tang Yun hadn’t prepared breakfast. Qin Jue had no appetite at all and instructed Jian Zhen to bring her breakfast on the way.

Arriving at the office, an Iced Americano and a smoked beef bagel were on her desk. The bagel even had ice crystals on it. Since “keeping” a Tang Yun at home, Qin Jue seemed to have subconsciously stopped drinking coffee. Now, Qin Jue took a small sip. The ice-cold drink went down, and she felt her body temperature rise slightly.

Qin Jue called Jian Zhen in. “Is the list ready?” Qin Jue asked.

Jian Zhen handed over a folder containing several employee records. Qin Jue reviewed them one by one. Quite a few faces were glaringly obvious.

“Is everyone here?” Qin Jue confirmed.

“Yes,” Jian Zhen nodded.

This was Qin Jue’s plan: she set Tang Yun up as a target, allowing Guan Li to impatiently arrange a plot against her. As long as he mobilized his network of influence, it would be impossible to hide everything. The current Qin Jue was ready to watch for every ripple.

“What’s the next step?” Jian Zhen asked.

“Transfer those who should be transferred, send those who should be outsourced, and continue monitoring. I will organize an internal investigation soon,” Qin Jue said.

“Internal investigation? I’m afraid we lack a justifiable reason,” Jian Zhen worried.

Qin Jue curved her lips, “We will have one soon.” She believed in the Female Lead’s abilities.

Jian Zhen scribbled notes down, then carefully asked: “How do you plan to handle Miss Tang’s situation?”

“That’s Secretary Tang,” Qin Jue corrected.

Jian Zhen looked up at Qin Jue, understood Qin Jue’s stance, and immediately relaxed. She liked the girl—naïve and utterly guileless.

“Alright, I’ll go take care of it then,” Jian Zhen said.

Qin Jue’s instructions were clear. Jian Zhen turned to leave but was called back by CEO Qin just before reaching the door.

“Those glasses…” Qin Jue asked.

“I contacted a high-end custom manufacturer. They should be in the process of customization now. Would you like to see the bill?” Jian Zhen asked.

“No need. Just get them to me as soon as possible.”

Qin Jue waved her hand, signaling Jian Zhen to leave. She rested her head on her hand. A bitter taste lingered in her mouth from the Iced Americano, and she suddenly missed the hot, slightly sweet milk. CEO Qin pursed her lips and silently replaced the coffee with a cup of hot water for herself.

The family dinner was that evening. Guan Li had chosen a traditional Chinese restaurant. Qin Jue was the last to arrive and sat in the empty seat opposite Qin Yao, facing Qin Yao and Guan Li sitting side-by-side.

“This dinner tonight is mainly to celebrate our Yao Yao winning an award in the competition. Let’s all raise a glass to her,” Guan Li said with a smile.

Qin Jue picked up the young tangerine peel Pu-erh tea. “I have a cold and took some medicine, so no alcohol for me,” Qin Jue said.

“Jue, you must take care of yourself. Don’t overwork yourself with company matters. You have me, after all,” Guan Li chuckled.

“Perhaps I’d have less to worry about without you,” Qin Jue said with a smile.

Guan Li laughed it off, then explained to Mrs. Qin while subtly implying that Qin Jue was throwing a tantrum over his handling of Tang Yun.

“Alright, this is a family dinner, so let’s not bring up company matters and spoil Auntie’s mood,” Guan Li skillfully found a way to save face.

“Speaking of which, Yao Yao will be graduating in a little over a year… Auntie, Yao Yao and I have been together for several years now. I’d like to ask Auntie to bear witness for Yao Yao and me,” Guan Li said, raising his glass, hoping to secure an engagement.

“There’s nothing to bear witness to… However, our Yao Yao hasn’t graduated yet,” Mrs. Qin replied.

“There’s no rush, is there?” Qin Jue interrupted Guan Li mid-sentence.

“Yao Yao is still young, so naturally, there’s no rush. We finally have someone in the family who loves studying and has won an award; academics must definitely come first,” Qin Jue said. Since Mrs. Qin couldn’t play the bad guy, Qin Jue would.

Mrs. Qin glanced toward Qin Jue, understanding instantly: “Indeed. Jue wasn’t so bright when she was studying. Her father scolded her many times. Fortunately, Yao Yao is proving herself.”

“No rush. Yao Yao has a great talent for studying. If you ask me, she should go on to get her Master’s and Ph.D.” Qin Jue said. “If love is to last long, why only cling to the moment?” Qin Jue stared into Guan Li’s eyes and asked coldly, “Or is it that Vice CEO Guan can’t wait?”

The silence fell over the dinner table. Guan Li began to level accusations at Qin Jue: “CEO Qin, don’t be so feudal. Yao Yao is an independent person. You can’t ignore her wishes.”

“I…” Qin Yao suddenly spoke. She slowly said, “I also think that academics should be the priority for the next few years. Everything else can wait.”

Guan Li was astonished. Qin Yao quickly glanced toward Qin Jue. Qin Jue realized this was a plea for help.

“Heh, Vice CEO Guan, did you hear that? Yao Yao’s thoughts,” Qin Jue mocked.

Guan Li’s face turned cold. He softly said, “If Yao Yao wants to pursue academics, I definitely support it. We can just set a date, and I’ll handle the rest. It won’t interfere with anything.”

Shameless! Qin Jue had a terrible headache. Since she was already playing the villain, she stood up, threw down her chopsticks, and slammed the door behind her as she left, giving Guan Li a half-genuine, half-feigned dramatic exit.

Mrs. Qin sighed, shaking her head with practiced helplessness: “Jue has a bad temper. Why did you provoke her? None of us dare to. Let’s eat first.”

Qin Jue walked out, hungry and dizzy, and stood by the restaurant entrance. She messaged the driver to pick her up. Her hand slipped, and the message was sent to Tang Yun’s phone.

Qin Jue got into the taxi with Tang Yun. The scent of cheap car air freshener made Qin Jue’s already heavy head feel even groggier. She leaned on Tang Yun’s shoulder, her eyes half-closed.

“Later, I’ll pick out a car for you so you don’t have to take taxis when you go out,” Qin Jue said.

Tang Yun’s body stiffened. She paused for a moment, and then whispered, “I don’t know how to drive.”

“How can you not drive? Find some time to learn,” Qin Jue said casually, taking Tang Yun’s silence as assent.

They finally arrived at the apartment. Qin Jue was walking unsteadily. Tang Yun helped her out of the car and felt that Qin Jue was burning hot to the touch.

“CEO Qin, are you sick?” Tang Yun asked.

“Mhm, maybe,” Qin Jue replied.

Qin Jue leaned on Tang Yun as they entered the house, and Tang Yun immediately helped her into the bedroom and tucked her under the quilt.

Tang Yun rushed to check the medicine box. The cold medicine had expired six months ago. Tang Yun ran downstairs to buy new cold and fever medicine. The high cost gave the frugal Tang Yun a pang of pain.

She carried the large bag of medicine upstairs and sat in front of Qin Jue. She pulled out a packet of cold granules that tasted like sweet strawberries and intended to tear it open, when Qin Jue grabbed her hand.

CEO Qin shook her head with difficulty: “No. Don’t.”

“You won’t take the medicine?” Tang Yun asked.

Qin Jue’s eyes slowly focused, finally realizing what Tang Yun was holding. Qin Jue’s hand flopped back into the quilt. She closed her eyes, feigning death.

Tang Yun tore open the packet. The synthetic strawberry scent assaulted her. She stirred it with a small spoon and held it up to Qin Jue’s mouth.

“Cough, help me up. I’ll drink it myself,” Qin Jue said.

“Oh, okay. My apologies. I forgot you’re an adult,” Tang Yun smiled awkwardly.

“Treating me like a child?” Qin Jue muttered under her breath, took the cup, gulped down the medicine, and immediately collapsed to sleep.

Tang Yun looked down at Qin Jue, reached out, and checked her forehead temperature. It was still burning hot. Qin Jue had a weak heart and was an invalid, yet she never took her health seriously.

Tang Yun recalled that Qin Jue had never said she couldn’t stay in the same room as her. So, Tang Yun made a left turn, brought her laptop over, found a comfortable spot in Qin Jue’s bedroom, and intended to resume her work.

Her benefactor absolutely couldn’t be allowed to burn into an idiot.