After Being Used As A Substitute By A Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 28

The roads weren’t crowded, and Zhongli Tang drove fast. Her usually calm mind was in complete disarray, overturned by a turmoil she couldn’t settle. Guilt and complexity swirled within her, she didn’t even know how she had managed to arrive at Capital University. Just the thought of “that scene” made her heart panic, as if she were standing before a thousand-foot cliff with no way forward or back.

Her steps actually faltered with hesitation. She didn’t even know what she was agonizing over, whether it was the possibility of seeing Xu Sui, whom she loved and hated in equal measure, or the fear that Qin Wei would find out she was merely being used as a substitute. Perhaps it was both, and she couldn’t even say which weighed heavier.

“Student, which department are you from? The opening ceremony only has a few performances left. Why are you just getting here?” A female Omega stopped her at the entrance of the auditorium, looking suspicious. “Do you have a student ID?”

Zhongli Tang paused, then casually pulled down her mask, revealing her exquisite and radiant features.

“Ah, Zhong…Zhongli Tang?!! You’re Zhongli Tang!” The Omega’s eyes lit up instantly, and she became tongue tied with excitement.

Zhongli Tang remained expressionless. She pressed a slender index finger to her red lips, while her eyes held no discernible emotion, they gave off a cold, sharp aura.

This face was the best pass she could have.

The Omega understood her meaning immediately. She covered her mouth and whispered with a blush, “Teacher Zhong, you’ve arrived quite late. There might not be much left to see, it’s ending soon. There are still seats in the first row. Shall I take you there?”

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary.” Zhongli Tang put her mask back on. She hadn’t come for the ceremony anyway. The words at the tip of her tongue changed: “Do you know where Xu Sui is?”

Since it was ending soon, she should be leaving, right?

The Omega hurriedly replied, “Associate Director Xu is in the fifth dressing room backstage. Should I lead you there?”

Zhongli Tang waved her hand. “No need, I’ll find it myself.”

Even though the ceremony was nearly over, the backstage area was frantic. No one noticed an extra person, let alone that it was Zhongli Tang.

“Senior, you were so calm on stage! I was barely holding it together to keep from shaking.” A junior student, if she hadn’t been in the middle of removing her makeup, would have rushed forward to hug Qin Wei.

“I wasn’t.” Qin Wei smiled at her antics. She had actually thought of Zhongli Tang just then, if it were her, she would have been perfectly composed.

Bai Ling blinked. “Senior, are you free this afternoon? I can take you to meet the landlord.”

“You found a place so quickly?” the junior asked.

Qin Wei froze. She had been so busy lately that the matter had slipped her mind. If not for the reminder, she wouldn’t have remembered. Regardless, Zhongli Tang usually didn’t return until night once she went to the office, so she wasn’t in a hurry. Just as she was about to agree.

There was a knock on the dressing room door. A stranger appeared, but Qin Wei recognized her.

“Hello, students. I am the assistant to Teacher Xu Sui. I was wondering if you have any plans for what’s next?”

The group looked at each other.

The assistant didn’t take them seriously, speaking as if performing a routine chore. “Teacher Xu says she wants to discuss the project with Qin Wei. She’s busy right now, so please go wait for her in her dressing room, it’s the one next to the changing area.”

Having finished, she left without another word.

Everyone present frowned. Qin Wei remained calm; even if Xu Sui hadn’t sent for her, she would have gone to find her. However, the other party seemed much more impatient than she had imagined.

“That attitude is sky-high. You’d think there was a blood feud or something.”

“Exactly.”

“What does she mean by this?” Bai Ling was the first to cool down, her expression hard to read. “Senior, do you know her?”

Qin Wei shook her head. Strictly speaking, she didn’t know her, but the other party clearly thought otherwise.

“I’ll go over there first. If it takes too long, you don’t have to accompany me to see the landlord this afternoon. I can go by myself.”

After Qin Wei stepped out, she stopped a younger student to ask for the location of the changing rooms and headed deeper inside.

A temporary sign hung on the door: Reserved for Xu Sui. Qin Wei remembered that many people didn’t have such requirements and the school hadn’t made them, they must have brought it themselves.

Qin Wei calmly looked away, placed her hand on the door handle, and turned it. Likely because she was expected, the door wasn’t locked.

“Xu Sui, you’re here.”

A familiar yet strange voice came from inside, cold in tone. Qin Wei parted her lips, taking in the scene. Zhongli Tang was sitting on the sofa, still wearing the white suit she hadn’t had time to change out of. Her posture was noble and frigid, one glance made anyone feel unworthy of her.

Zhongli Tang, having received no response, finally looked up, only to see Qin Wei.

“Why are you here?”

Qin Wei quickly regained her composure, so she didn’t miss the flash of disappointment in Zhongli Tang’s eyes because the person entering wasn’t Xu Sui, but her. She blinked. “Sister, did you come for the ceremony too? I didn’t see you in the audience just now.”

Zhongli Tang’s expression became unnatural. She couldn’t answer immediately. “Something came up on the way, so I just arrived. I must have walked into the wrong room. Lead me out.”

She couldn’t quite suppress the panic in her heart, and her movements grew urgent as she tried to pull the girl out.

However, Qin Wei hesitated, staying rooted to the spot. “But Teacher Xu told me to come here. She wants to discuss something with me…”

Zhongli Tang bit her lip, her brow furrowed. Her greatest fear had indeed come true. “You… you’ve already met her?”

Qin Wei nodded.

Zhongli Tang could only be thankful that the two hadn’t spoken yet. Losing all her previous composure, she reached out and grabbed Qin Wei by the waist with an air of absolute authority. “Listen to me. Ignore her. Come out with me first.”

Qin Wei couldn’t even say “okay.”

The sound of high heels clicking against the floor echoed from outside the dressing room, drawing closer step by step. It was too late to leave; they would likely run right into her.

Zhongli Tang gritted her teeth. Acting on physical instinct, she pulled Qin Wei’s hand and ducked into a narrow gap between the wardrobes.

The moment they hid, the door opened. Through the sliver of light, they could see Xu Sui walking in, followed by an assistant.

The gap wasn’t large, but it was just enough for two people. Combined with the cover of the hanging clothes, they wouldn’t be discovered even with a careful look.

Zhongli Tang assessed the situation before pulling back her gaze. She realized Qin Wei had been staring at her. They were so close they could hear each other’s heartbeats and breathing, which, as time passed, began to sync up.

Qin Wei didn’t speak; she simply pointed behind her ear.

Zhongli Tang didn’t understand. Qin Wei repeated the gesture, and then she realized: in the scramble, a lock of Qin Wei’s hair had gotten caught in a clothes clip behind her. It was tangled tightly. If it hadn’t been so painful, she probably wouldn’t have sought help.

Zhongli Tang hurried to untangle it, but she didn’t dare move too much. Even so, a few strands were pulled out as she freed it.

Does it hurt?

Zhongli Tang asked with her eyes, her fingers gently rubbing the irritated spot on the scalp.

Qin Wei frowned and shook her head.

A small world was isolated inside, but the outside was different.

“Did you notify her?” Xu Sui’s face looked unpleasant.

The assistant nodded repeatedly. “I really did ask, but she still hasn’t come. How about this, Teacher Xu? You wait here for a bit, and I’ll go try to call her over again.”

Xu Sui gave a silent consent.

The person she had once longed for was less than two meters away, a person who carried too many memories and too much pain.

Zhongli Tang’s heart hammered like a drum, but she felt it wasn’t because of Xu Sui.

Qin Wei was holding her hand, tracing characters onto her palm stroke by stroke. Zhongli Tang looked down and saw those long eyelashes, looking like fallen feathers.

….Is it okay for us to be doing this?

If the situation hadn’t forbidden it, Zhongli Tang would have laughed softly. Fortunately, Qin Wei didn’t seem to notice anything, seemingly thinking they were just up to some mischief.

The voices outside continued. Xu Sui made a call, or perhaps someone called her. The dressing room was empty and quiet, so even without the speakerphone, the two could hear the conversation clearly.

“When I came in today, I saw the poor student you mentioned backstage.” Xu Sui bit her lip, her tone no longer gentle but urgent. “She isn’t at all like you described. Besides, I feel like with Li Tang’s personality, it’s impossible for her to accept someone so ordinary.”

“Xu Sui, Teacher Xu, don’t be so nervous. Relax. She’s just a pheromone substitute, what are you afraid of? How long have you and Zhongli Tang been friends…”

The moment those words were spoken, Zhongli Tang covered Qin Wei’s ears.

Qin Wei looked at her, bewildered. She didn’t resist. In the dim light, her clear, shallow eyes looked like bright stars in the galaxy, impossible to catch, impossible to leave, scattering away the moment they are touched, never to be found again in this life.

It was a very ordinary gaze, devoid of even a trace of love.

Yet Zhongli Tang felt as if her breath had been stolen. Her heart beat slowly. Seeing her own reflection in Qin Wei’s eyes, she suddenly felt a sense of unreality.

Yielding to desire, she simply kissed her. It wasn’t quite a kiss, it was more like a biting graze, as if trying to prove something.

Qin Wei let out a silent whimper, the corners of her eyes turning red.