After Being Mistaken for a Heartless Alpha by My Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 6

Once again, Yue Ximing found herself questioning reality. Did she truly understand her childhood friend at all?

She knew Qiao Yang loved comics, often curling up with a book for an entire weekend afternoon, and she knew exactly who her favorite comic artists and series were. But had Qiao Yang’s tastes shifted this drastically over the past four years?

Yue Ximing knit her brows. Could Qiao Qiao’s bizarre delusions actually be linked to these specific comics?

Just as she reached out to grab one, a ghostly voice drifted from behind her. “What are you looking at?”

Yue Ximing’s hand froze.

Turning around to meet Qiao Yang’s searching, defensive gaze, she hesitated for only a fraction of a second before answering honestly, “Your comic books.”

The air in the room seemed to solidify for a moment. Only Baigao broke the silence, gracefully leaping onto the stack of comics to leisurely lick her paws.

After a brief thought, Yue Ximing added, “They look quite interesting.”

Qiao Yang clenched her fists, her lips forming a tight line. She stared unblinkingly at Yue Ximing, refusing to miss even the slightest micro-expression on her face.

She asked softly, “Are you hungry?”

Yue Ximing was bewildered but clearly picked up on Qiao Yang’s extreme nervousness. Deliberately drawing her hand back to distance herself from the comics, she answered truthfully, “I just had lunch.”

Qiao Yang pressed further, “Then… do you want to play with the baby for a bit?”

Yue Ximing readily picked up the feather wand, fully prepared to build a better relationship with her makeshift daughter. She simply couldn’t comprehend why Qiao Yang was so eager to change the subject. Was it purely because she had discovered her taste in comics?

Yue Ximing gave her hand a gentle shake. The little bell on the feather wand jingled crisply.

Baigao instantly perked up, pouncing down from the coffee table to chase the toy with her paws. Out of the corner of her eye, Yue Ximing saw Qiao Yang scoop up the stack of comics and swiftly relocate them to the study. Her hurried movements, even from behind, radiated pure panic.

She really didn’t get it. They were just dramatic, cliché comic books. Why was Qiao Qiao so terrified of her finding out?

“Meow~”

A gentle tug on the feather wand and a sweet, needy meow pulled Yue Ximing’s attention back.

Though Baigao was a bit of a scaredy-cat, she had clearly traded her brains for pure beauty. She was an incredibly well-behaved, empathetic little cat. As Yue Ximing played with her, she kept her claws safely tucked away, padding her lightly with her soft pink paws.

Seeing Yue Ximing squatting down to look at her, Baigao proactively stepped forward, nudging her fluffy head right into Yue Ximing’s palm.

She was demanding head scratches. Yue Ximing couldn’t help but pet her a few times, thinking to herself how honest this little cat was.

If only Qiao Qiao could be this honest, too.

Just then, Qiao Yang emerged from the study. She shut the door firmly behind her, followed by a sharp click as she locked it, silently declaring the study a forbidden zone.

Baigao immediately trotted over to rub against Qiao Yang’s legs, acting cute. Qiao Yang scooped the cat into her arms and sat down next to Yue Ximing, leaving a careful thirty-centimeter gap between them—not too far, but not too close.

Lifting her downturned eyes, she secretly observed Yue Ximing’s demeanor.

Yue Ximing suddenly spoke up, “Come to think of it, I don’t think I know your pen name yet, Qiao Qiao.”

She had only heard that Qiao Yang was a highly popular, rising comic artist whose book signings always drew massive crowds.

Qiao Yang looked away, letting out a cold, mocking laugh. “Heh. Would someone as high and mighty as you actually be curious about my life?”

Yet, her body remained incredibly tense, her eyes filled with a sharp defensiveness, looking exactly like a hyper-reactive little hedgehog.

Thanks to the rigorous training of the past two days, Yue Ximing accepted this with grace, already capable of handling any sudden outburst without batting an eye.

She explained patiently, “It’s not sudden. I’ve always wanted to know.”

Beyond that, she also wanted to know what Qiao Yang had been doing over the past four years, whether she had suffered any hardships, or if she had made new friends. But she couldn’t just pry into everything. Pushing too hard could easily trigger resentment; that was basic social awareness.

Qiao Yang bit her lip tightly, seemingly debating whether to tell her.

Yue Ximing softened her voice, “It’s alright if you don’t want to tell me.”

She was trying to be understanding, but Qiao Yang suddenly bolted upright, shouting fiercely, “I don’t want to say it! You won’t like that kind of stuff anyway!”

The moment the words left her mouth, she seemed to startle herself. Looking flustered, she quickly sat back down, pulling Baigao over to pet her aggressively to mask her embarrassment. Baigao meowed in protest, swatting at Qiao Yang’s hands with her paws.

Yue Ximing was left a bit stunned by the shouting. She instinctively countered, “You haven’t even tried, so how do you know I won’t like it?”

It was a completely casual question, and she truly didn’t understand why Qiao Yang had suddenly snapped. Was this Qiao Yang’s genuine perspective, or was it a byproduct of her altered memory?

Qiao Yang turned her face away, the corners of her eyes flushing a faint pink. It was obvious she didn’t want to elaborate.

The sudden loss of control caused a wave of restlessness to surge within Yue Ximing again. She let out a soft sigh, attempting to settle her chaotic emotions.

Just then, a phone rang, shattering the heavy silence.

Yue Ximing answered it and listened for a long moment before turning to Qiao Yang. “There’s an urgent matter at my studio that I need to handle—”

Qiao Yang cut her off coldly, “Just go. I’ll head back by myself later.”

Yue Ximing nodded. She stood up and walked away without looking back.

The front door closed with a firm thud. Qiao Yang sat frozen for a few seconds before suddenly pulling her knees to her chest and curling into a ball. Biting her lip, she thought with an edge of self-defeat, Whatever. I’ve already been abandoned by that cold Alpha anyway.

Yet, her eyes kept drifting toward her phone anyway.

Baigao trotted over to her side, meowing sweetly. The cat proactively rolled over, exposing her snowy-white belly for Qiao Yang to rub, as if trying to comfort her. Qiao Yang listlessly massaged the soft, warm belly, and her mood finally lifted a fraction.

She slid open the drawer of the coffee table, intending to feed Baigao a cat treat, only to find it completely empty. The treats at home were entirely gone. No wonder Baigao’s meows had sounded so incredibly dramatic today.

Qiao Yang pulled her phone up, but her messaging apps were completely blank. Perhaps Yue Ximing was genuinely angry and didn’t want to deal with her anymore.

The tiny bit of good mood she had just recovered vanished entirely. Dejectedly, she opened a shopping app, selected a box of Baigao’s favorite treats, and went to check out.

To her utter surprise, a bright red exclamation mark popped up on the payment screen, accompanied by a notification: Transaction failed. Insufficient balance.

“Huh?” Qiao Yang blinked in confusion, muttering to herself, “Where is my money?”

She tapped into her digital wallet, and a massive, glaring number 10 practically blinded her.

A terrible foreboding sensation rising in her chest, Qiao Yang began to check her bank cards one by one. As the horrifying reality slowly materialized, her heart raced, her hands shook, and her mind went entirely blank—

Every single account was at zero!!!

Where was the money she had worked so hard to save over the past four years?! She clearly remembered being quite wealthy just a few months ago, always buying the most expensive cat food and treats.

Qiao Yang covered Baigao’s eyes, forcing herself to calm down.

她的 comic royalties hadn’t been processed yet. Because she had bought ice cream earlier, her balance was down to exactly ten yuan, and due to her sudden hospitalization, her credit card was even carrying a bit of debt. She didn’t even dare to think about how she was going to survive the remaining ten days of the month.

She ransacked the kitchen, only to discover in utter despair that there were only two bundles of dried noodles and a few seasonings left. When she had made noodles for Yue Ximing last night, the only two eggs and the last piece of green vegetable had been used up. The only saving grace was that she still had a large stockpile of cat food and litter.

But Qiao Yang had absolutely no memory of where she had spent her money.

With both her brain and her accounts wiped completely clean, Qiao Yang and Baigao simply stared at each other in mutual bewilderment. Where on earth was her money?!

Baigao tilted her head, watching her owner frantically scramble around the room before finally crouching into a corner, muttering under her breath.

In reality, Qiao Yang was reviewing her transaction history. Her statements had always been perfectly normal until a month ago—

There were two astronomical expenses. One transaction went toward ordering a custom gown from a famous luxury brand, while the other was a direct wire transfer to an individual, with the memo reading “Manuscript Designs.”

The latter charge in particular was a staggering amount. If she were still living under the Qiao family roof, this sum would have only caused her minor financial heartache for a week. But in her current situation, it was an absolute thunderbolt. It was this exact expenditure that had whittled her savings down to just enough for one month of living expenses, and her unexpected hospitalization had officially declared her bankrupt.

“Mew—”

Baigao was startled by the sharp gasp her human suddenly let out, quickly scrambling to a higher perch.

Qiao Yang stared at the giant, blood-red numbers on her screen, completely unable to wrap her head around it. How could she have spent such a massive fortune on things she had absolutely no use for?

Unless… it hadn’t been her own choice.

Of course. Clothing and design manuscripts were exactly the kinds of things Yue Ximing loved. The more Qiao Yang thought about it, the more plausible it became. Perhaps Yue Ximing had used some unspeakable, underhanded methods to manipulate her, draining her savings so she would be utterly incapable of leaving her.

Was this another one of Yue Ximing’s ways to control her?

Qiao Yang covered her face in deep sorrow. She truly could never escape Yue Ximing’s clutches.

But she adjusted her mindset quickly, choosing to look at the bright side. It didn’t matter. She could lay low for now, bide her time, and keep saving money to escape this prison later. But before she could do any of that, she had to find a way to survive the next ten days.

Qiao Yang calmly dialed a phone number. After a few rings, the call connected.

Yue Ximing’s gentle, clear voice echoed through the line, “What’s wrong, Qiao Qiao?”

Qiao Yang closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke. “You win.”

On the other end of the line, Yue Ximing knit her brows, not quite understanding what she meant. She was still on her way to the studio when she suddenly received Qiao Yang’s call, assuming something terrible had happened.

Qiao Yang continued entirely on her own track, “When you come to pick me up tomorrow, remember to bring a box of treats for the baby.”

Giving Yue Ximing absolutely no chance to ask questions, she hung up the phone immediately after delivering her terms.

A few seconds later, a notification popped up on Yue Ximing’s phone. Qiao Yang had sent a message. It was a pitiful emoji of a Persian cat with the caption: I’m sorry!

Right after came another picture of a cat exposing its snowy-white belly: You can pet me however you want!

The corners of Yue Ximing’s mouth curved upward. The frustration that had accumulated earlier instantly dissolved, turning into a puddle of soft cotton. Her little childhood friend had become so incredibly hard to read ever since she lost her memory.

Staring at the enlarged photo of the obedient cat on her screen, she lowered her gaze, pondering the words Qiao Yang had said to her earlier today.

The girl had stated with absolute certainty, “You won’t like that kind of stuff anyway.”

Yue Ximing rarely felt slighted; she didn’t care about being misunderstood or blamed by unimportant people. It was only when facing Qiao Yang that she felt a sharp, sour ache in her chest, like taking a bite out of an unripened plum.

But Yue Ximing was never one to sit around and accept defeat. She resolved that tonight, she would go read a few trashy, dramatic comic books.

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