After Being Mistaken for a Heartless Alpha by My Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 3

Whenever Yue Ximing was thinking, she would fall completely silent, her fingers tapping away on her phone. When she smiled, she looked gentle enough, but when the smile faded, her eyes became as dark as ink, unreadable and impenetrable.

Qiao Yang didn’t want to admit it, but she was genuinely a little afraid of Yue Ximing when she was like this—especially now, when she needed something from her.

It hadn’t even crossed her mind that she could simply leave without Yue Ximing’s permission. Instead, she was racking her brain, trying to figure out what she could possibly offer to move this cold woman’s heart.

After weighing her options for what felt like an eternity, Qiao Yang bit her lip, reluctantly softening her voice to act cute.

“Please… I’ll do whatever you want…”

Yue Ximing glanced at her, casually pulled up the blanket to wrap her tightly, and then gently pressed her back onto the bed.

The Omega’s body was tense, and her shoulders were trembling slightly, but she didn’t try to pull away. Qiao Yang didn’t dare to imagine what Yue Ximing would do to her. She had already lowered herself to this point; what more did this woman want?!

But Yue Ximing merely tucked her in, then unhurriedly turned and walked out of the room, leaving no clue as to where she was going.

Hearing the soft click of the door closing, the spacious private room fell completely silent.

An inexplicable wave of irritability suddenly washed over her. Qiao Yang buried herself under the covers, listening to her racing heartbeat as a profound sense of sorrow gripped her. A look of misery crossed her face. That heartless Alpha really does despise me after all.

But what could she do? She was nothing more than a canary kept in a cage by Yue Ximing.

Yue Ximing was still thinking about Qiao Yang’s expression from just now.

She had no idea what was going on inside her childhood friend’s head. Why did a simple gesture like tucking her in make Qiao Yang look like she was bravely facing an execution?

She had already asked the doctor, and Qiao Yang’s health was fine. The head injury was healing nicely, and she was free to move around as long as she returned before the evening room checks. Taking Qiao Yang home, of course, came with her own selfish motives.

Yue Ximing knocked politely on the door before pushing it open.

The girl on the bed was caught completely unprepared. Startled, she hurriedly wiped her face with her sleeve. After a few frantic wipes, she managed to restore her expressionless mask. However, the corners of her eyes were flushed a soft pink, bearing suspicious traces of moisture.

Yue Ximing’s brow furrowed, her tone dipping slightly. “What’s wrong?”

Qiao Yang let out a cold huff, turning her head away. “None of your business.”

Her knuckles were white from gripping the blanket so tightly, revealing just how nervous she actually was.

Left with no choice, Yue Ximing changed the subject. “How far is your place from here?”

“A ten-minute drive.”

Qiao Yang answered almost instantly, her stubborn attitude completely vanishing. It was obvious that the “daughter” waiting at home was incredibly important to her.

Yue Ximing nodded. “Get dressed. I’ll take you back.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Qiao Yang bounced out of bed and tossed her things together in a matter of seconds. Then, grabbing a handful of Yue Ximing’s sleeve, she muttered softly, “Ready.”

The entire sequence of movements was smooth and completely natural. Neither Qiao Yang nor Yue Ximing felt there was anything strange about it.

Thus, one walked in front while the other followed closely behind.

It wasn’t until Yue Ximing reached into her pocket for her car keys that her trench coat was suddenly pulled downward, exposing a large patch of her slender shoulder. Only then did she notice the little tail attached to her clothes.

Qiao Yang quickly hid her hands behind her back, her face a picture of innocence as she pretended she had done absolutely nothing.

Yue Ximing didn’t say anything, opening the car door to step inside. “Address?”

Qiao Yang climbed into the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt before rattling off a set of directions.

The navigation showed their destination to be an ordinary residential community. At this hour, the neighborhood courtyard was filled with elderly folks and children taking strolls, grandparents returning from grocery shopping, and exhausted office workers carrying the heavy weight of the workday.

Qiao Yang expertly navigated the paths, leading Yue Ximing straight to her front door.

Upon entering, Yue Ximing took a moment to look around.

The apartment wasn’t large, but it was clean and tidy. The wallpaper and furniture were all in warm orange tones, and a vase on the dining table held a fresh bunch of sweet osmanthus.

Her nerves, which had been stretched taut all day long, suddenly relaxed completely—shifting from a rigid wire into a ball of soft yarn, perfect for knitting a cozy sweater.

Qiao Yang dug out a pair of clean slippers and tossed them to Yue Ximing, then tapped on the shoe cabinet. “Baby?”

Two glowing little eyes lit up the dark hallway, and a pure white Persian cat came trotting out. It was incredibly well-kept, its fur sleek and glossy, boasting a beautiful pair of odd-colored eyes—one blue, one gold. It had a tiny face and a thick, fluffy ruff of fur around its neck.

The cat circled around Qiao Yang’s legs, leaning into her with a sweet, affectionate meow.

Yue Ximing raised an eyebrow. “This is your daughter?”

Well, that explained everything.

She remembered it very clearly. The winter four years ago had been exceptionally cold. While she and Qiao Yang were taking a midnight stroll, they had found a white kitten in the snow. Its eyes weren’t even open yet; it was tiny, scrawny, and honestly a bit ugly. If they hadn’t saved it, it would have frozen to death. In the end, Qiao Yang had taken it home and named it Baigao.

Before moving abroad, Yue Ximing had received a message from Qiao Yang saying that Baigao had finally opened her eyes to reveal a pair of crystal-clear, odd-colored eyes. It seemed this was the very same cat.

“Baigao?” Yue Ximing called out experimentally.

The cat didn’t seem particularly bright, only just realizing that a stranger was standing nearby. It instantly arched its back in terror, batting its pink paws harmlessly at the air.

The moment Yue Ximing raised her hand slightly, Baigao leaped three feet away and bolted back into the bedroom, slipping and wiping out halfway through her escape.

She seemed quite clumsy. Truly, pets take after their owners.

Just as the corners of Yue Ximing’s mouth began to curve upward, she heard Qiao Yang explain solemnly, “Baigao is very shy around strangers. Because she only has me, she’s a child from a single-parent home…”

“I’m not saying this to blame you,” Qiao Yang added softly by her side, her voice filled with a strange melancholy. “But you can’t just refuse to pay a single cent of child support.”

Yue Ximing let out a helpless sigh. “Qiao Qiao, Baigao is a cat, not—”

“Are you really refusing to acknowledge your own daughter?” Qiao Yang looked completely incredulous, unable to believe the person in front of her could be such a monster.

“I suppose it makes sense,” a flash of heartache crossed her eyes as she let out a bitter smile. “Back then, you abandoned the baby in the freezing snow. If I hadn’t found her in time…”

Yue Ximing: “…”

This time, Yue Ximing wisely shut her mouth.

She realized that every time she tried to explain herself, her villainous image in Qiao Yang’s mind only grew worse. From unlawful detention to abandoning her child, if she kept explaining, she’d probably end up with a life sentence.

Left with no choice, she pulled out her phone. “Let’s exchange contact info.”

Qiao Yang’s face was like ice. “Why should I give it to you?”

“If you don’t, how am I supposed to transfer money?”

Hearing this, Qiao Yang silently held up a QR code.

She thought to herself miserably that she had ultimately succumbed to the power of money. But what choice did she have? She was just a pitiful Omega raising a daughter on her own—a captive canary played like a fiddle in Yue Ximing’s palms.

Yue Ximing watched as Qiao Yang’s expression shifted through a dozen different emotions, clearly scripting a massive drama in her head.

She interrupted her train of thought directly. “Is there anything to eat?”

She hadn’t eaten dinner yet after rushing around all day. Now that she had finally relaxed, a wave of physical exhaustion hit her like a tidal wave. She was genuinely starving.

Qiao Yang crossed her arms and glared at her. “I’m not making breakfast for you ever again.”

Yue Ximing slumped onto the sofa, her eyes fluttering shut with exhaustion. “I haven’t eaten anything since before I got there. I’m so hungry.”

Her voice was faint, sounding as though it might be carried away by a gentle breeze.

Qiao Yang’s fierce retort got stuck in her throat, leaving her chest feeling uncomfortably tight. She stomped over to the refrigerator in her slippers and pulled open the door, her expression colder than the freezer. “There’s only noodles.”

Yue Ximing nodded lazily. “That works.”

Qiao Yang took out a bundle of dried noodles and two eggs. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yue Ximing leaning against the sofa, her head resting on her hand as she rested with her eyes closed. Her off-the-shoulder evening gown shimmered brilliantly under the living room lights, making her entire being look radiant, like a lustrous pearl.

This woman was truly shameless, making herself right at home and falling asleep on the sofa without a care in the world.

Qiao Yang knit her brows. “Get up!”

Yue Ximing’s eyelashes fluttered before she opened her eyes blankly. With her body and mind running on empty, she looked up at the bristling Qiao Yang in confusion.

Qiao Yang’s voice was sharp enough to cut glass. She let out a cold laugh. “Are you acting all pitiful just to win my sympathy?”

Before Yue Ximing could answer, she snapped, “If you want to sleep, go sleep in the bed.”

Some people really weren’t as cold as they pretended to be.

Feeling a smile threating to break out, Yue Ximing feigned a light cough. “It’s fine. I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit.”

“Suit yourself.”

Seeing that her words were falling on deaf ears, Qiao Yang dropped the matter and marched into the kitchen.

She dumped two massive spoonfuls of chili flakes and several glugs of vinegar into the seasoning bowl. It wasn’t until the sour aroma made her own throat sting that she managed to ignore the ache in her heart.

Why was Yue Ximing dressed up like that anyway? Where did she go to live it up tonight?

Angrily, she tossed in half a spoonful of Sichuan peppercorn powder.

The bowl of noodles had been transformed into something truly demonic—one bite would probably send a person straight to the afterlife. But this was merely a canary’s petty revenge.

By the time Qiao Yang walked out carrying two bowls of noodles, Yue Ximing was already seated at the dining table.

With a heavy thud, Qiao Yang set one of the bowls roughly in front of Yue Ximing.

The noodles were topped with a few pieces of blanched greens, a scattering of oil droplets glistening on the dark broth, and a beautifully fried golden egg. It actually looked quite appetizing.

Yue Ximing dipped her chopsticks in and gave it a stir, only to fish out a second fried egg from the bottom, this one thoroughly soaked in the broth and piping hot. Without a second thought, she naturally lifted the egg and placed it into Qiao Yang’s bowl, her movements so fluid it looked as though she had done it thousands of times before.

Qiao Yang didn’t move her chopsticks. She just blinked, suddenly looking exceptionally obedient.

Yue Ximing didn’t notice anything amiss. She began to eat her noodles unhurriedly, her posture elegant and refined, without so much as a single twitch of her brows.

Now it was Qiao Yang’s turn to be bewildered. Seriously?

She couldn’t help but ask, “How does it taste?”

“It’s fine. A little salty.” With that, Yue Ximing took another mouthful.

Skeptical, Qiao Yang took a tiny bite of her fried egg, and her face instantly went through a spectacular range of expressions.

It was incredibly sour and fiercely spicy. The pungent heat violently assaulted her senses, while the Sichuan peppercorns completely numbed her tongue, making it feel as if a hundred tiny people were stomping all over it.

She hurriedly downed a huge glass of plain water, sticking her tongue out to cool it down, only managing to find relief after a long moment.

Has Yue Ximing lost her sense of taste? How is she eating that like nothing is wrong?

Seeing that Yue Ximing had set down her chopsticks after finishing the entire bowl, Qiao Yang hurriedly buried her head in her own bowl to drink the broth.

Just then, a phone rang. Yue Ximing answered it and stepped out onto the balcony, sliding the glass door shut behind her.

Yue Ximing let out a long breath as the cold wind brushed past her cheeks, clearing her mind considerably. Leaning against the railing, she looked down at the vibrant, chaotic city lights below while a steady female voice sounded in her ear.

“Is Qiao Qiao alright?”

Yue Ximing tapped her fingers lightly against the glass. “Aside from her distorted memory and perception, she’s perfectly fine.”

The voice pressed further, “You said she mistook you for someone else? What kind of person does she think you are? Can it be corrected?”

“It’s manageable,” Yue Ximing replied casually. Just a possessive, paranoid, and highly aggressive scumbag Alpha. She could handle it.

The person on the other end sighed, continuing in the tone of an elder, “I am so sorry you have to endure these baseless accusations, but I know this isn’t what Qiao Qiao truly intends.”

“Auntie, I know.”

She had known from the very beginning that Qiao Yang wasn’t doing this on purpose. She was simply unwell.

“I’ll take good care of her and help her recover her memories as soon as possible.”

Through the glass door, Yue Ximing watched as the familiar silhouette openly committed a petty crime: she was using her chopsticks to break apart the fried egg she couldn’t finish, secretly dumping all the pieces right into Yue Ximing’s empty bowl.

“As for the marriage alliance…” Yue Ximing lowered her gaze, her voice softening like a passing breeze.

“Let’s discuss that later.”

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