After Being Used As A Substitute By A Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 26

“Xu Sui.” Su He’s voice held a hint of hesitation before he decided to just let it all out. “I saw her at the bar last night. We didn’t speak, but I went out of my way to ask a few of her best friends about her. She came back yesterday.”

Zhongli Tang spun the pen that Qin Wei had left behind between her fingers. Her face betrayed no emotion. After a moment, she spoke indifferently. “Heh, those friends again.”

Su He didn’t dare say much more. “Actually, Xu Sui is just in a bad mood, so she sought out those people to drown her sorrows. Since you didn’t help her this time, she’s afraid her position as the Chairperson of the Omega Association is goner.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Zhongli Tang gritted her teeth. “Don’t mention her affairs to me ever again.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop.” Su He shut his mouth, but in his heart, he didn’t quite believe it. Zhongli Tang, indifferent to Xu Sui?

What a joke.

Standing behind the study door, Qin Wei heard everything clearly. Her expression was pensive as she distinctly heard the name Xu Sui.

To keep Qin Wei from being angry, Zhongli Tang had tacitly permitted many of her behaviors including, but not limited to, turning half the house into a laboratory so she wouldn’t have to run back and forth to school.

Zhongli Tang felt a strange sense of being redundant in her own home, but seeing the look of satisfaction in Qin Wei’s eyes, she felt it didn’t matter.

However, once a certain time of day hit, Zhongli Tang could no longer restrain herself. Without any argument, she would simply pick the woman up and carry her away.

Qin Wei’s temper came and went quickly. While Zhongli Tang was still pondering how to make amends, Qin Wei had already stopped being angry. The two seemed to have developed a wordless understanding, neither mentioned what had happened that day.

Zhongli Tang was afraid she would bring up the past specifically, if Qin Wei asked for a permanent mark, would she give it or not?

As for Qin Wei, she truly didn’t care.

Days and nights of hard work had paid off. Qin Wei’s research was only one step away from completion. Even in the face of external pressure and criticism, she didn’t panic or rush to publish everything. Without absolute certainty, she didn’t want to make promises too soon.

“Time to eat.”

Zhongli Tang spoke helplessly. She felt like she was raising two pets, though Qin Wei was much easier to care for than she imagined. All she had to do was supervise three meals a day and sleep usually, the girl was so docile it made Zhongli Tang want to pet her head.

“Stop rubbing it.” Irritated, Qin Wei turned around with a slight glare, her hair a bit messy.

Zhongli Tang didn’t let go, a faint smile flickering in her eyes. “What’s wrong? Afraid you’ll turn stupid?”

“Of course.” Qin Wei pursed her lips, looking dissatisfied.

Zhongli Tang didn’t mind, her tone casual. “Don’t be afraid. Even if you become stupid, I’ll take care of you.”

These weren’t just empty words. She had the strength and confidence. Qin Wei didn’t actually need to work this hard. But since she wanted to, Zhongli Tang would help her. So what if she became “stupid,” failed to get a scholarship, or the project failed? With her around, who would dare say a word? In other words, even if Qin Wei’s pheromones changed one day, she was still her person.

It wasn’t a stranger’s place to bully her.

“I don’t want that,” Qin Wei whispered in protest.

Zhongli Tang gave her head one last vigorous rub and then pinched her cheek, still feeling unsatisfied. “I know. I have some business at the company and will be back a bit late. Remember to eat lunch and don’t stare at the computer for too long.”

Qin Wei froze for a moment, looking up at her with a hint of confusion. She gave a faint, “Oh.”

If you’re leaving, just leave. Why tell me? This never happened before.

“Are you that reluctant to see me go?”

Zhongli Tang misunderstood. A part of her heart that had been like stagnant water was stirred by that look, creating ripples that wouldn’t dissipate. Qin Wei was truly too clingy.

Qin Wei didn’t want to deal with her anymore and turned to leave.

Without thinking, Zhongli Tang pressed her onto the sofa and shared a kiss, eventually kissing the gland on the back of Qin Wei’s neck. It was filled with the scent of the sea, a declaration that this Omega belonged to her.

In a daze, Zhongli Tang felt that even this wasn’t enough.

Qin Wei’s usually cold face was gone, replaced by a deep flush. A single tear hung from the corner of her eye, making her look soft and pitiable, the image of someone bullied to her limit.

“Wait for me to come back tonight.” Zhongli Tang gently wiped away the tear, her voice low and husky, carrying an undetectable warmth as if she were handling a precious porcelain vase.

Qin Wei remained still, her expression complex as she watched her leave.

It took a while for Qin Wei to recover. Suddenly, she felt a sense of uncertainty. Zhongli Tang seemed to have changed.

[Bai Ling: Senior, we’ve arrived. When are you coming? We’ve reserved a seat for you backstage, just come straight here.]

Qin Wei suppressed her thoughts and replied with a simple “Mhm.”

The opening ceremony was held in the university’s Grand Auditorium. It was large enough to hold ten thousand people and was essentially packed. To prevent any incidents, a security team had been hired. The preparations were incredibly thorough.

When Qin Wei arrived, she was inevitably stared at for a long time. Even as she walked away, the gossip didn’t stop. Things improved once she entered the dressing room. She was questioned by several people, but she maintained a consistent response: No progress to report yet. Her polite and refined manner made others feel embarrassed to pry further.

Seeing they wouldn’t get the answers or reactions they wanted, the crowd eventually dispersed.

“Why are there so many people today?” Qin Wei asked casually.

Bai Ling replied immediately, “Senior, you’ve been away recently, so you probably don’t know. The school is taking this opening ceremony very seriously. They invited many celebrities and apparently, it’s being live-streamed.”

“Is that so?” Qin Wei reflexively asked.

Before Bai Ling could speak, a sophomore makeup artist nearby said excitedly, “Yes, yes! I just took a look outside. Professor Feng from the Research Institute is here, along with many successful entrepreneurs who graduated from our school!”

“Wow, does that mean we’ll see a lot of big shots?!” The girl applying Qin Wei’s makeup brightened up, her hands pausing.

“Of course! They say we might even see Zhongli Tang. The streaming ratings would explode. After all, she’s a legitimate ‘Outstanding Alumna’.”

Another junior shook her head. “I thought she’d come too, but I’ve checked Weibo several times these past few days and there’s no news. She probably isn’t coming.”

“Ah,” the makeup artist felt it was a pity. “But she’s a star now. Maybe it’s not appropriate for her to attend such a formal occasion.”

“You guys know too little.” Bai Ling disagreed. “Zhongli Tang isn’t just a star. I heard she has other identities. No one in the entertainment industry dares to mess with her.”

Qin Wei wasn’t interested. She scrolled through her phone out of boredom and suddenly received a message.

[Zhongli Tang: I’ve reached the company. Don’t stare at the computer for too long, it’s bad for your eyes.]

Listening to their conversation, Qin Wei expressionlessly swiped the message away without replying.

The makeup artist was dusting a bit of blush on her cheeks and applying lipstick. She couldn’t help but marvel at how perfect Qin Wei’s skin was, almost zero flaws. As she used the brush to blend some excess powder down toward the neck, she suddenly stopped.

She noticed two scent-blocking patches on the back of Qin Wei’s neck. Beneath them, she could just make out a red mark, the shape of it looked like a forceful hickey.

The makeup artist’s heart jumped, and her face turned red. Her grip loosened, and the brush almost fell to the floor.

This… this is playing too wild.

She finally understood why two blocking patches were needed. It was clearly because the Alpha’s pheromones were too powerful for one to cover.

“Careful.” Qin Wei calmly caught the brush without even a flinch.

The makeup artist didn’t know if she’d been caught looking. She instinctively peeked at Qin Wei’s expression in the mirror. Their eyes met, and Qin Wei gave her a small smile and a slight nod, encouraging her to continue.

The makeup artist’s heart was racing, but Qin Wei, the protagonist of these events, remained indifferent and composed.

“Senior, do you think this color is okay?” The makeup artist changed the subject.

Qin Wei’s lips were a deep red, like they had been stained with blood, making her skin appear even fairer.

“It looks good.”

Everyone in the room took a look. Qin Wei usually looked “plain” (like clear soup), but with a little color, her whole presence brightened. She didn’t look vulgar, the lingering coldness in her eyes made her seem unattainable.

“This is amazing!”

“It’s pretty, but is it a bit too red?”

The makeup artist waved her hands, insisting it wasn’t. In truth, the lipstick was nowhere near as red as the mark on her neck. She swallowed hard, unable to imagine what Qin Wei looked like when she was actually moved by passion.

Would she endure it, or let loose? Or would she cry?

However, no one else noticed the anomaly.

“Whoa!” a junior suddenly stood up. “This is incredible!”

“Quick, look at the school group chat…”

Seeing how excited everyone was, Qin Wei opened the chat. It was exploding, messages were flying by too fast to read.

[Xu Sui: Hello everyone, I am Xu Sui. I am very happy to meet you all.]