After Being Marked By A Love Rival - Chapter 40

Zhao Rongrong froze stiffly, practically confessing without prompting: “Wh-what did you find? I haven’t done anything!”

Qi Musi lowered her eyes and chuckled lightly, her posture relaxed. “No need to be so nervous. I didn’t intend to warn you, let alone murder you to silence you… or anything.”

Zhao Rongrong swallowed hard.

The smile on Qi Musi’s lips was faint, then she said, “Your guess is correct. I do like Xiao Rong.”

Caught off guard by the sudden confirmation, Zhao Rongrong’s eyes widened, unable to mask her reaction for a moment.

She opened her mouth, “But, you’re both Alphas?”

Qi Musi smiled, unconcerned about the matter. Her eyes held seriousness and determination. “Does liking a person have anything to do with her being an Alpha?”

Zhao Rongrong was caught by surprise by the question. “But…”

Qi Musi said, “I know what you want to say, but I’ve thought about it very seriously, and my feelings are not mistaken. Liking is liking, and I won’t avoid it because of that.”

“I like Xie Rong, and it has nothing to do with whether she is an Alpha. It’s just because I like her as a person. And…”

She raised her gaze, her dark eyes flashing with a slight gleam and a smile. “I’m very sure that I won’t transfer my affection due to pheromones or gender in the future either.”

If Zhao Rongrong was only mildly shocked before, after Qi Musi said this, she became extremely shocked.

“But this, this… is it really possible?” she stammered, her words urgent.

“Have you not felt an Omega’s pheromones, is that why you say that? You know the attraction between Alphas and Omegas is irresistible to anyone. This kind of thing isn’t something you can do just by saying it.”

“You speak nicely now, saying you can resist an Omega, but who knows what the future holds? What if you run off with an Omega…”

Qi Musi scoffed, shaking her head. “Do you take me for an animal that only goes into heat when smelling pheromones?”

“Not at all, I’m just a little worried and posing a question.” Zhao Rongrong’s voice lowered, feeling a bit guilty for some reason.

Qi Musi curved her lips, smiling. “I won’t. Just relax. Besides, it’s too early to consider these things now. After all, I’m still very far from Xiao Rong. Too far.”

She murmured, lowering her eyes, “So far that I still can’t reach her.”

Hearing this, Zhao Rongrong also calmed down, pulling herself out of her previous emotional state. She scratched the back of her head, feeling embarrassed that she had been overly emotional.

“Uh, I’m sorry, Musi. I shouldn’t have been so dismissive of you.”

Qi Musi laughed lightly, not minding at all. “It’s nothing.”

She also knew that the image she usually projected might lead to misunderstandings, but Qi Musi didn’t care about these things, nor did she care about the opinions of others.

She only needed one person to understand her feelings.

Just then, Xie Rong returned from outside.

Zhao Rongrong peered over, then whispered, “Then don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret.”

Qi Musi raised an eyebrow and smiled, her peach blossom eyes carrying a captivating smile. “No, you don’t have to. You just need to be yourself.”

Zhao Rongrong was a little confused.

But Qi Musi had no intention of explaining further.

Nothing new happened in the following half a month. The only thing worth mentioning was that there had been progress with Qi Musi’s family matters.

She received a call from her stepmother.

Seeing the incoming call, Qi Musi knew things on that end had likely succeeded. She chuckled and answered the phone.

The woman’s voice immediately came through: “It was you, wasn’t it?”

Qi Musi’s smile remained. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

The other party took a deep breath, seemingly trying hard to restrain her emotions, but appeared to have failed, causing her volume to increase when she spoke.

“Some little hussy Qi Rong brought back who’s got him completely infatuated! Don’t you dare tell me this has nothing to do with you! I’m telling you, even if you are Qi Rong’s daughter, even if you manage to fish out some fox spirit, you won’t shake my and Mu Yan’s position in the Qi family!”

“We are his wife and his son. No matter what scheme or trick you have, you won’t succeed!”

Qi Musi heard the voice on the other end quiet down, and only then did she bring the phone back to her ear.

As if she didn’t sense the other person’s anger, she only chuckled: “Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. What are you saying? I don’t understand a single word.”

“Dad is free to like whoever he wants; as his daughter, I can’t question it. Besides… I certainly know you are his wife.”

Saying this, her eyes grew cold.

“That’s why I’ve always respected you and been very caring towards Mu Yan. So I hope you stop laying unwarranted blame on me. If there’s a next time, I can only inform Father.”

“What, you’re going to tattle on me?” The woman sneered dismissively, seemingly having already gauged Qi Musi’s current disadvantage.

In the two sides of the scale, they would ultimately be the heavier one.

Qi Musi simply smiled, “It’s not tattling, just letting Father mediate. After all, I might… in a moment of pique, move back home and live with you day and night, just so you can clear up your misunderstanding about me.”

Hearing Qi Musi mention this, the woman paused.

Qi Musi was always the daughter Qi Rong loved the most. If it hadn’t been for the Zhong Ling incident that intervened, forcing Qi Musi to ultimately change her ambition and deviate from the path Qi Rong had planned for her, their father-daughter relationship might not have reached this point today.

Furthermore, Qi Musi refused to return to the Qi family, preferring to live at school as the Qi family heir, which made Qi Rong lose face and thus diminished his affection for Qi Musi.

If Qi Musi were to return to the Qi family… Zhong Ling bit her lip. Then all the effort she put into pushing Qi Mu Yan to his current position would probably be surpassed by Qi Musi with little effort.

After all, she is an Alpha, while Qi Mu Yan is only an Omega.

Is the difference brought by gender really that significant?

Thinking this way, Zhong Ling completely ignored her son’s various misdeeds, placing all the blame on Qi Musi.

She cannot be allowed to return.

Realizing this, Zhong Ling took a deep breath, suppressed the indignation in her heart, and forced herself to say, “Is that so? Then it seems I misunderstood you.”

Qi Musi chuckled, “It’s good that you can see things clearly, after all…”

She tilted her head, her tone incredibly gentle, like a lover’s whisper, yet laced with cool indifference.

“Didn’t you also enter the Qi family this way back then?”

Zhong Ling abruptly hung up the phone. Her face was ashen.

Hearing the disconnect tone, Qi Musi casually closed her phone.

She wondered how long Zhong Ling would have lasted. She didn’t expect it to be so short.

However, her easy compromise suggests that the weight of the Qi family heir position is very heavy in her mind.

Qi Musi hadn’t thrown away the leftover water from before. Instead, she set a trap through someone, found a “partner,” and they each got what they wanted. That person used the remaining people to successfully get into Qi Rong’s bed.

Then, by her own means, she gradually squeezed out Zhong Ling’s position in Qi Rong’s heart.

It makes sense, as someone who is used to cheating, she naturally falls into the same trap.

She just didn’t know how Zhong Ling felt now, watching the scene repeat itself.

When Qi Musi returned to the dorm, Zhao Rongrong was talking about the Laba Festival.

“So, are you guys going to have Laba congee?”

She looked very excited, but only Mo Yue gave a definite positive response.

Xie Rong said, “I’m not very interested.”

Zhao Rongrong asked again, “What about Musi?”

Qi Musi curved her lips and smiled, the previous malice in her heart well-hidden. She countered, “What do you think?”

Zhao Rongrong’s mouth twitched and she glanced towards Xie Rong. Okay, she understood. If Xie Rong wasn’t going, Qi Musi naturally wouldn’t either.

She sighed, “Why is it so difficult?”

Mo Yue said, “Why are you so obsessed with this? It’s just congee.”

Zhao Rongrong said, “I was hoping to have a dorm team building activity.”

“Again?”

Zhao Rongrong nodded matter of factly. She couldn’t help it; she just loved going out with her roommates or friends in other words, team building.

Qi Musi suddenly thought of something. “Speaking of which, are you interested in soaking in hot springs?”

Zhao Rongrong immediately leaped up: “What, what? Hot springs? Interested, interested! Where are the hot springs?”

The corners of Qi Musi’s lips held a gentle smile, but her peripheral vision was observing Xie Rong. “I have a hot spring hotel under my name. It might be a bit far from the school, but I can arrange transportation. If you’re interested, should I reserve a spot?”

Zhao Rongrong’s eyes sparkled, and it was as if a tail was wagging behind her.

Qi Musi couldn’t help but laugh, but still said, “However, there are conditions.” She looked at Zhao Rongrong, hinting, “You know.”

Zhao Rongrong suddenly got it.

She understood. So the boss was setting a trap not for her, but for Xiao Rong. Sigh.

But even so, Zhao Rongrong’s excitement wasn’t dampened. She ran over to Xie Rong, rubbing against her. “Xiao Rong, Xiao Rong, let’s go together, okay?”

Xie Rong looked at her, and before she could speak, she heard Zhao Rongrong whining and nagging: “Soaking in hot springs is so comfortable. I’ve never soaked in a hot spring in my life. Please, please come with me.”

Xie Rong originally wanted to say why she needed her to join if she was going to the hot springs, but before she could open her mouth, she was overwhelmed by Zhao Rongrong’s whining, nagging, and coquetry, making her mind fuzzy, so she just nodded, “Okay, fine.”

Zhao Rongrong jumped up and cheered: “Yay!”

Xie Rong couldn’t help but shake her head, a faint smile in her eyes.

Qi Musi looked at Xie Rong, and the smile on her lips also curved.

“Great, let’s go tomorrow then. Tomorrow afternoon and the day after tomorrow morning, we don’t have classes.”

Naturally, no one objected.

Taking advantage of a moment when they were alone, Zhao Rongrong secretly whispered to Qi Musi: “Musi, tell me quietly, did you specifically mention hot springs because you have some ulterior motive?”

Qi Musi chuckled, “What ulterior motive could I have?”

Zhao Rongrong: “I’ve read a lot of novels, don’t try to fool me.”

Qi Musi tapped her head, only saying, “The four of us will be in the same hot tub. What do you think I can do?” Although she said this, the smile on her lips was very seductive.