After Being Used As A Substitute By A Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 22

The phone call from the school came the very next second. Qin Wei was slightly surprised, it was later than she had imagined. The caller was a male Beta who sounded quite elderly. After a few initial pleasantries, he steered the conversation toward the main point.

“Student Qin Wei, right? I know you are very outstanding, but the impact of this incident has been too great. It’s no longer just people within the school paying attention. Of course, none of this is your fault. Reaching this stage is something none of us wanted to see…”

Qin Wei remained very calm, unmoved by his introductory remarks. “Teacher, if there is something specific, please speak plainly.”

“Ahem, our suggestion is that you should use the upcoming opening ceremony to focus on recovering from your injuries. Of course, if you are willing to come, we would welcome you. However, the current public opinion environment is hard to predict, there’s no guarantee the situation won’t deteriorate again. This is indeed unfair to you, but if you have any requests, the school will do its best to satisfy them.”

He was being very blunt, short of explicitly telling her not to attend the ceremony.

Qin Wei understood his meaning and the school’s approach. In the face of a public outcry, the only thing the school could do was try to suppress the noise as much as possible. In a way, this was also a form of protection for her.

“Alright, I understand. I will contact you if I need anything.”

Qin Wei hung up the phone and turned around to find Zhongli Tang standing behind her. From the look of it, she had overheard quite a bit.

Zhongli Tang arched an eyebrow, showing no sign of embarrassment or unease at being caught eavesdropping. “If you want to go, go. Do you want me to help with the school’s side?”

To her, it was just a matter of saying a single word.

“No,” Qin Wei refused unexpectedly.

She hadn’t originally been that keen on going, but she wouldn’t allow herself to lose the opportunity because of external pressure. Therefore, she would definitely attend this graduation ceremony.

“Why?” Zhongli Tang asked instinctively, not quite understanding.

Qin Wei paused for a moment, as if she had heard a small joke. The corners of her eyes crinkled slightly. “There’s no ‘why’ really. I can solve this myself, there’s absolutely no need to involve you, Sister.”

Zhongli Tang was momentarily dazed, looking at Qin Wei with a complex gaze before quickly looking away.

Qin Wei didn’t know what Zhongli Tang was thinking, nor did she care. In the end, her soup wasn’t made because Zhongli Tang had already ordered takeout.

After dinner, Zhongli Tang didn’t go to the study. Instead, she stayed in the living room, holding her laptop to check the laboratory’s progress. Qin Wei rested her head on Zhongli Tang’s lap while scrolling through her phone. The atmosphere was harmonious and intimate.

During her days in the hospital, Qin Wei had rarely touched her phone. This was mainly because Zhongli Tang was too strict, constantly insisting she rest and even taking her phone away when she went out to work. Consequently, Qin Wei didn’t fully understand the “online situation” the school had mentioned.

Qin Wei opened the school forum. Topics were varied, but when she searched for a few keywords, the results came back empty. It seemed the school had wiped everything clean. However, clicking into other posts revealed the underlying traces.

For instance, some social posts mentioned that one must never befriend a certain Omega, lest they find themselves being plagiarized one day without knowing it.

While the forum couldn’t display the content, there were no such restrictions on mainstream social media apps. It had become a “major scandal involving a student from a prestigious school” in the mouths of various bloggers. The comments below ranged from people “explaining” the situation to discussions about who her “sugar daddy” was. It was far more severe than what the school official had implied.

Qin Wei fell into deep thought until a hand patted the top of her head, interrupting her reflections. She couldn’t help but mutter softly, “I’m not a rabbit.”

Zhongli Tang ignored the small complaint in her tone and chuckled. “What is it? Are you sad?”

Qin Wei shook her head, then gave a soft “mm” of affirmation. She simply couldn’t understand it.

Zhongli Tang assumed this was a sign of her putting up a brave front, and her cold gaze softened slightly. In fact, she had already seen those posts; the current state was already after she had “processed” them.

Qin Wei seemed gentle and tempered, but in her bones, she was stubborn. Once she set her mind on something, she was firmer than anyone. To put it nicely, she was high-minded to put it harshly, she was inflexible and prone to breaking under pressure. But none of that mattered, under Zhongli Tang’s wings, such things wouldn’t happen again.

“If you’re sad, I’ll have someone delete all of it.”

“I’ve already thought of a way,” Qin Wei said softly. She sat up, pulling her hair away from Zhongli Tang’s fingers, and gave her a slight push.

The force was very light. To Zhongli Tang, it felt like acting spoiled, so she wasn’t angry at all. In fact, she found Qin Wei’s actions quite vivid and cute.

“Are you tired of me now? You were so proactive when I was marking you just now… and now that it’s over, you don’t want me? How heartless.”

“I didn’t,” Qin Wei’s rebuttal sounded somewhat weak.

Zhongli Tang gave a low laugh. “I’m not blaming you. Don’t be so nervous.”

Qin Wei shot her a glance and headed to the study on her own. Zhongli Tang did not follow to disturb her.

Despite Qin Wei saying she didn’t need help, Zhongli Tang didn’t take it literally. She secretly told Song Yuan to keep an eye out, if there was any unfavorable news, it was best to delete it directly. After a while, the noise would fade.

However, not long after, Song Yuan sent her a link.

[President Zhong, you should probably look at this first…]

Zhongli Tang frowned and clicked the link. It was the school forum, but the post pinned to the very top had the username: Qin Wei.

Zhongli Tang instinctively looked toward the study. What had Qin Wei posted?

In reality, she had only posted a few sentences, not even a hundred words in total.

“Thank you for your concern. There is no need for everyone to worry about my private life. Moving forward, I will be completing my research project independently.”

Within ten minutes of being posted, it stirred up quite a wave. There were dozens of replies. Qin Wei didn’t respond to any, she had posted it simply to make a statement.

• “Wow… first time seeing someone this bold.”
• “Junior sister is awesome. I admit I was a bit loud before, but this is truly daring!”
• “What the heck? The wind is changing direction too fast.”
• “They probably aren’t students from our department. There are very few people who dare to complete a project alone. If she were a plagiarist, she definitely wouldn’t have the skill level and would be hiding like a quail right now. I don’t care about the ‘sugar daddy’ stuff, but as long as she dares to say this, I’m impressed.”
• “Someone dug up Qin Wei’s resume. I just want to say with those grades, there’s no need to plagiarize at all. Besides, the original issue was that the organizers weren’t reliable.”
• “Waiting for the results.”
• “I hope I can have a day where I’m confident enough to complete a project solo…”

Safe to say, things had completely escaped Zhongli Tang’s control. Qin Wei was far more calm and clear-headed than she had imagined. Indeed, compared to clarifying and arguing, using strength was the best way to prove oneself.

“President Zhong, do we still need to delete things later?” Song Yuan asked cautiously. This was also unexpected for her.

Zhongli Tang snapped back to her senses and replied coldly, “No need.”

She actually felt like she had underestimated Qin Wei. Amidst the shock, there was also a hint of pride.

In the days that followed, Qin Wei became even busier than Zhongli Tang. She returned home late every day, and the time they spent together dwindled. On Saturdays and Sundays, Qin Wei was always cooped up in the study. The previous tenderness between them had vanished.

The study had essentially become Qin Wei’s second laboratory. Consequently, the housework fell to Zhongli Tang. Although Zhongli Tang knew that if she just called out, Qin Wei wouldn’t let her do these things, she never spoke up. Normally, she would never do chores.

Zhongli Tang didn’t understand why she didn’t just move out and leave. She quickly found an excuse for herself: she was afraid Qin Wei would starve to death in there alone.

Of course, she could handle basic chores, but Zhongli Tang had zero talent for cooking. Qin Wei was afraid she would burn the house down, so she specifically told her not to enter the kitchen. The two of them mostly lived on takeout, which made Zhongli Tang truly appreciate how good Qin Wei’s cooking actually was.

But she couldn’t disturb her too much.

Zhongli Tang silently added a large scoop of food to the grey fluffy rabbit’s bowl. In a short time, the rabbit, which was originally only the size of a palm, had grown a whole circle larger. It was becoming a struggle to hold it for long.

Once, the bedroom door was left open, and the little thing managed to sneak in. It jumped onto the bed and sat on Zhongli Tang’s leg, waking her up instantly. Strangely enough, it was terrifyingly well-behaved in front of Qin Wei.

“You really pick your favorites,” Zhongli Tang couldn’t help but accuse.

Grey Fluffy didn’t care. Since Qin Wei wasn’t there, it was acting out, running all over the room and scattering rabbit food everywhere.

Zhongli Tang took a few deep breaths and watched as Grey Fluffy tried to charge into Qin Wei’s study. She instinctively chased after it.

Through the slightly ajar door, Zhongli Tang saw Qin Wei wearing a white coat. Because it wasn’t a formal lab, there were only some basic pieces of equipment. Qin Wei’s gaze was focused, holding room for nothing else. She picked up a sample slide to observe the changes within, then input data into the computer. The entire sequence of movements was fluid and professional.

When an issue seemed to arise with the data, Qin Wei knit her brows slightly, showing no sign of annoyance. Her gaze was cold, and her figure was like a green bamboo, slender and light, yet carrying strength.

Zhongli Tang stopped in her tracks. Her breathing slowed down. She couldn’t pull her eyes away. She had gained a brand new understanding of Qin Wei, feeling a strange sense that they were, in fact, the same kind of person.

Qin Wei seemed to sense something and looked up at her.

A trace of panic rose in Zhongli Tang’s heart. It was very strange, this wasn’t the reaction one should have when seeing a lover. It felt more like being a stranger who had strayed onto someone else’s path.

Goodnight~ See you tomorrow.