After Being Used As A Substitute By A Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 16

When the food was brought to the table, Zhongli Tang and Su He were chatting about something or rather, one side was talking incessantly while the other nodded calmly, occasionally dropping a word or two. Su He was used to this, back in school, Zhongli Tang had always been like this, only becoming talkative when facing Xu Sui.

“Wow, this is delicious!” Su He’s eyes lit up the moment she tasted the dishes.

Zhongli Tang frowned slightly. She had always felt the food tasted good because the atmosphere at Qin Wei’s place was so pleasant, she hadn’t expected someone else to come and offer such praise. Now, the more she looked at Su He, the more of an eyesore she became.

Qin Wei gave a faint smile. “You’re too kind.”

Seeing her casual attitude, neither nervous nor fawning, acting as if she didn’t know Su He was the head of the Su Corporation. Su He asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“She isn’t even afraid of me, why should she be afraid of you?” Zhongli Tang interjected first.

Su He thought about it and realized it was true. “By the way, how is the preparation for that competition going?”

If Qin Wei eventually decided to sign with the Su Corporation, it was only natural for Su He to want to know these things.

“It’s all ready. The organizers said the results will be out in a few days,” Qin Wei answered honestly.

“That’s good. I thought you would sign with Gamma,” Su He muttered casually. Given their relationship, Su He felt like her company was just picking up the leftovers.

Qin Wei paused, not quite understanding her meaning. “What do you mean, sign with Gamma?”

Su He reacted quickly, and before Zhongli Tang could kill her with a look, she immediately explained, “Well, Gamma is a huge company, after all.” Zhongli Tang hadn’t told Qin Wei about the Gamma situation.

“That’s true,” Qin Wei nodded, not suspecting much.

Zhongli Tang fell silent for a moment. She realized she didn’t understand the thoughts of this “little stand-in” at all, whether in the past or the future. Ridiculous, why did she even want to understand? “Do you want to go there?”

Su He blinked rapidly upon hearing this, gaining a new perception of Zhongli Tang. Likely because she had suffered losses before, Zhongli Tang usually held strict, even harsh requirements for company matters, yet she was making an exception here. Granted, Qin Wei’s qualifications were sufficient, but no company would usually let a graduate student handle a major project.

Qin Wei wasn’t as shocked as Su He, she just looked at Zhongli Tang quietly, as if she would believe anything the woman said.

However, Zhongli Tang detected a hint of confusion in her eyes. Why? Was Qin Wei unwilling, or was there another reason?

“No need. I’d rather rely on myself to get in through the exams.”

Zhongli Tang was stunned for a moment, then said coldly, “Suit yourself.”

“You two chat, I’ll go cut some fruit.” Qin Wei stood up and began clearing their dishes.

Su He immediately followed. “I’ll help you.”

After putting the items into the dishwasher and starting the cycle, Qin Wei picked out several kinds of fruit. She suddenly asked, “Do you eat apples?”

Su He raised an eyebrow and hurriedly said, “I do.”

“Good. But there’s nothing much to do here, you should go rest.”

Qin Wei took out two apples and turned her head to give Su He a serene smile. She then began to focus on peeling. Her expression was concentrated and gentle, without a trace of impatience. Her long, fair fingers cradled the apple, and the peel never broke, spiraling down elegantly as if in a dance.

Su He understood that this was merely a polite way of hosting a lover’s best friend, but for some reason, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from that simple action. Even though it was only their third meeting, she realized that Qin Wei and Xu Sui were two completely different types of people. The former was willing to give, while the latter only knew how to take. But then again, Zhongli Tang was the one who couldn’t let go.

“Why don’t you help me throw away the peels?” Qin Wei noticed her standing there out of the corner of her eye and spoke casually.

“Sure, sure.”

Su He hurried to take them. As they stood close, Qin Wei, wearing a thin nightgown, emitted a faint scent of agarwood. As she moved, her collar shifted slightly, and Su He froze. There was a very deep bite mark on her skin.

Su He was a woman of her word, she left the next morning. How much of that was her own choice and how much was “forced” remains unknown.

Zhongli Tang’s stay didn’t lengthen just because she had moved in. Her work schedule was packed, and the two didn’t have much overlapping time. Their routines differed greatly. Zhongli Tang would wake up around nine, while Qin Wei was already at the lab by eight. Usually, a breakfast would be left on the table. When Qin Wei returned around eight or nine in the evening, Zhongli Tang wouldn’t be back until midnight, yet they synchronized well.

No matter how late she returned, Qin Wei always left a light on for her. And even if she was exhausted, she would wake up in a half-dreaming state to give her a kiss.

Recently, Zhongli Tang had been busy trying to recover the experimental data for M6149. After staring at the progress for days without any breakthrough, the situation was becoming awkward, and the pressure was mounting.

“When did you wake up?”

Zhongli Tang turned around to see Qin Wei’s clear gaze. It was a complex look, but notably devoid of love. Zhongli Tang felt a sudden surge of panic in her heart and found herself afraid to look back.

Qin Wei coldly grabbed the grey fluff-ball (the rabbit) that had crawled up to their pillows, her breathing uneven. “Ask him. Fortunately, he didn’t treat the bed as a toilet.”

Otherwise, regardless of any breakup, she would immediately haul it to the lab to be a live specimen.

The grey fluff-ball covered its eyes with its long ears, acting pitiful and innocent. It was smart, when Zhongli Tang wasn’t home, it never caused trouble and stayed quiet. Unless it was mealtime, it wouldn’t even cross Qin Wei’s path. But when Zhongli Tang was home, it became as annoying as possible.

Zhongli Tang found the standoff between the human and the pet hilarious and quickly snatched the rabbit away. “He’s still a child, we adults have to educate him.” She released the rabbit, which vanished in a flash.

“How can you be like this, sister…” Qin Wei frowned in dissatisfaction.

Just as Zhongli Tang was about to coax her, her phone lit up. It was a friend request. After seeing who it was, she fell silent.

[Xu Sui: It’s Xu Sui.] [Xu Sui: How have you been lately?] [Xu Sui: I heard from friends you found a girlfriend. She must be very pretty. When I get back, shall we find a time to meet up?]

The moment she saw Xu Sui’s name, the blood in Zhongli Tang’s body seemed to freeze, and her breathing hitched. How did she dare come looking for her?!

She noticed the other woman’s profile picture was now an Omega symbol, while she herself was still using a photo of a sunset they had taken on campus when they were dating.

No matter how she looked at it, it felt awkward, as if she were in an inferior position.

“Wait for me a moment.”

Qin Wei blinked, not quite understanding what was happening.

Zhongli Tang threw on a jacket and walked out quickly. When she returned, she held a diamond bracelet in her hand.

“This is too expensive.” Qin Wei tried to refuse.

“Don’t move.” Zhongli Tang’s voice grew heavy as she firmly took Qin Wei’s wrist and put it on her.

Qin Wei didn’t resist, she complied. Her hands were naturally beautiful, slender with pale wrists. With the diamond bracelet, it looked as if a galaxy had fallen and wrapped around her, making her exceptionally striking.

Zhongli Tang took out her phone, snapped a photo, and set it as her profile picture. After that, Xu Sui’s requests stopped coming. She took a deep breath and clicked “Ignore.”

“Does it look good?” Qin Wei didn’t seem surprised by Zhongli Tang’s behavior. Instead, she shook the bracelet, looking playful and spirited.

Zhongli Tang’s mind cleared slightly. She had been impulsive. She gently rubbed the spot she had turned red, nodding truthfully. Usually, Qin Wei rarely wore jewelry, so she hadn’t realized how much it suited her. She looked radiant. “It looks good,” she added sincerely.

“Since you’ve finished the photo, sister, I’ll put it away.”

Qin Wei seemed reluctant, yet she took it off and almost tossed it into the nearest cabinet.

“Why?” Zhongli Tang instinctively moved to stop her, surprised by her own speed.

Qin Wei stared at her, her pale eyes beneath thick lashes filled with confusion. “We aren’t allowed to wear these things in the laboratory.”