After Mistakenly Marking My Ex’s Older Sister, the Disabled Alpha Stood Up - Chapter 1

The snow in Atlantis was falling harder now, covering the edges of a massive billboard on the side of a high-rise.

On the billboard, the national leader’s mixed-race features were bold and striking, his expression arrogant, eyes sweeping disdainfully over the passersby.

Atlantis was a constitutional monarchy. In the capital, Yacheng, public spaces—streets, airports, giant screens—were plastered not only with celebrities, but also with countless portraits of Queen Lin Ruxi.

A black stretch Lincoln glided past beneath the billboard. Inside sat the Queen’s Chief Secretary—Jin Yunxi.

As the highest-ranking figure beneath the throne, the youngest secretary in Atlantis’s history, and one of Yacheng’s rare S-Class Alphas, Jin Yunxi had been in the spotlight lately.

She, however, felt only weariness.

Wrapped in the warmth of the car, she folded her arms tight across her chest. Her sharp jawline was taut, her phoenix-shaped eyes dulled with fatigue. Faint shadows lingered beneath them, betraying sleepless nights.

The glass kept out the winter wind, but not the chill that seemed to hang in the air itself.

One hand pressed hard against her knee. The sky-blue prayer beads brushed against her tailored suit, and from the marrow of her right shin seeped an ache both old and constant. Her other hand gripped the sandalwood cane, and she drew a sharp breath.

[Message from Her Majesty: New instructions have arrived!]

Her AI assistant chimed aloud. The driver and the bodyguard in the passenger seat immediately sat upright.

Jin Yunxi’s half-lidded eyes opened. Behind the thin gold rims of her glasses, the phoenix gaze regained its sharpness.

[Xiao Yun Yun, don’t forget to speak on my behalf at the press conference. And the banquet tonight—I won’t be attending. I trust my Chief Secretary will handle everything perfectly.]

From the royal palace came the voice of the thirty-seven-year-old queen, unusually gentle and indulgent.

On the Queen’s lap, an Omega beauty shot a jealous glance at Jin Yunxi’s WeChat avatar: a plain white-suited ID photo, serious and restrained, the faint tilt at the corners of her eyes radiating an innate nobility and distance.

The Omega curled her lips. “Your Majesty, this Omega is so pretty. Have you set your sights on a new prey?”

On the heavy wooden desk were rows of Omega photos, displayed like candidates waiting to be chosen for a royal harem.

At the far end lay a photo of Jin Yunxi—striking in its austerity, beautiful among the sea of Omegas.

And yet, utterly out of place.

Lin Ruxi smiled faintly. “She’s not an Omega.”

Her slender fingers tapped at her phone. “Xiao Yun Yun, did you get that?”

Unaware that her photo had been “chosen,” Jin Yunxi parted her lips and replied, strictly businesslike:

[Understood, Your Majesty.]

Lin Ruxi’s manicured fingers slowly traced the edge of Jin Yunxi’s photo. Her red lips curved. “Don’t be so formal with me, Xiao Yun Yun.”

Such a clueless Alpha. Did she truly love that Beta wife of hers so much?

Remembering Jin Yunxi’s gentle yet firm refusals—all for the sake of a so-called “true love” with her Beta spouse—the Queen’s eyes flickered with amusement. She gave a soft laugh.

Dialing her shadow guard, she instructed, “Follow the Secretary. Her precious Beta wife will also be at tonight’s banquet.”

A pause.

“Worried she’ll notice? Let her.”

________________________________________

With a snap, Jin Yunxi shut her phone, frowning as she recalled the look in the Queen’s eyes on the day of her inauguration.

Through the car window, she saw staff dismantling a billboard.

A skincare ad. The model’s fair skin glowed like snow, her eyes curved in a bright smile, long silky hair cascading like spring grass and white blossoms.

“Stop the car.”

The Lincoln eased to the curb.

Pedestrians tilted their heads, their chatter drifting inside:

“Hey, isn’t that the actress Yan Qingmei from a few years back? Why are they taking her ad down?”

“Tch, she’s moved on from the domestic market—went to Hollywood.”

“Still, she’s stunning. As dazzling as our Queen herself.”

“Shh! Don’t say that. If the Queen hears, she won’t like it.”

Another voice piped up, excited:

“You’re all wrong. The most beautiful isn’t her or the Queen—it’s Yan Qingmei’s elder sister, Yan Qingruo! Back in the day she was the face of Yacheng TV. Don’t know why she suddenly went behind the scenes.”

The speaker pulled a carefully preserved clipping from his wallet, showing it off like treasure.

Someone snatched it and gasped.

“My god… she’s breathtaking. So the rumors were true—Yacheng’s number one beauty was her!”

“Shame she’s a Beta. If she was an Omega, every top family would’ve fought to marry her long ago.”

“Well, her younger sister did marry the Queen’s Chief Secretary—Jin Yunxi, CEO of the Jin Group.”

At that, Jin Yunxi’s hand tightened on her knee, knuckles pale. She rubbed her ear irritably and said coldly to the driver:

“Drive.”

Her slender fingers tapped the armrest, eyes falling to an old text message from a year ago. At once, her gaze turned frigid, the very air around her heavy.

[Sister Yunxi, I’m sorry. We’re not suitable for marriage right now.]

“Why?” Jin Yunxi had asked. Because of her injury?

The memory tasted of blood.

Back then, Yan Qingmei’s career was soaring—until she suddenly vanished, unreachable.

At the same time, Jin Yunxi was fighting through the most critical stage of her campaign for Secretary. Her votes plummeted, negative press flooded the headlines, and rivals whispered that she’d be thrown in jail.

Her future had never looked darker.

The Yan family avoided her. Rumors flew wild.

“Yan Qingmei dumped her because she feared Yunxi would lose and drag her down.”

“Or maybe she hated that Yunxi’s leg was bad, sometimes needing a wheelchair.”

“She wanted to break into Hollywood, and Yunxi couldn’t help her. So she cut her loose.”

“Or maybe Qingmei’s sick—cancer, they say—and didn’t want to burden Yunxi. They did date for years, after all.”

Every word, every rumor, cut into Yunxi like a knife. That night, for the first time in her life, she drank—glass after glass, until the whole bottle was gone.

The next morning, she rose immaculate as ever: flawless makeup, sharp suit, cane steady in hand, her face cold and unyielding as she went to the election. Against all odds, she won, rising as the highest power beneath the Queen.

But the broken engagement remained a private scandal, whispered about with cruel amusement.

“Didn’t even warm the Secretary’s seat before getting dumped. Must be some hidden flaw—or a rotten character. Won’t last long in office.”

The opportunistic Yan family panicked once again. They had been counting on Jin Yunxi to elevate them to glory.

Old Madam Jin, Yunxi’s grandmother, was so furious she wanted nothing more than to annihilate the Yan family.

At this critical moment, Yan Qingmei’s elder sister—the eldest daughter and a Beta—Yan Qingruo, stepped forward.

“I’m willing to marry in place of my sister.”

From then on, the scandal of the younger sister’s runaway marriage was tightly concealed. Yan Qingruo’s name was erased, her price a hundred million: fifty million from the Yan family, fifty million from Jin Yunxi.

“A one-year marriage, terminated upon expiry.” Jin Yunxi set the terms coldly. Her face was expressionless, her thin lips pressed tight as she slapped the contract down on the table. Behind the lenses of her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes were as icy as frost.

“Play her well.” She fixed her gaze on Yan Qingruo, her tone detached. “Play your sister.” Extending her hand, she gestured for a handshake.

Yan Qingruo’s lips curved into a dazzling smile. She slowly extended her slender fingers, but just as Jin Yunxi’s hand was about to close over hers, she withdrew—her fingertips brushing past Yunxi’s palm, grazing her skin with deliberate provocation.

Jin Yunxi’s breath caught. She frowned.

The woman casually twirled a lock of her curled hair by her ear, her every movement naturally seductive. Lifting her chin slightly, she met Yunxi’s gaze. Her eyes shimmered with thoughts Jin Yunxi could not read.

“Pleasure working with you, Chief Secretary.”

After that day, Jin Yunxi never again saw Yan Qingruo wear that bright, alluring smile.

It was as if it had been nothing more than an illusion from a dream.

________________________________________

Flashbulbs snapped. At the podium, Jin Yunxi stood tall in a perfectly tailored white suit that traced every clean, elegant line of her figure.

Her hair was swept up in a meticulous knot, a few loose strands brushing against the glittering diamond studs at her ears, catching the light in dazzling brilliance.

Everyone admired her, but pity lingered too. The extendable cane resting under her palm dimmed the admiration with a touch of regret.

The prayer beads at her wrist were cool and silent, soothing her weariness. She loathed the spotlight, despised entangling with politics, but to topple her father and seize the chairman’s seat, everything was worth it.

Even if it meant marrying her ex’s elder sister.

Jin Yunxi was never one to act without purpose, and almost nothing could sway her decisions—least of all the reporters before her now.

One raised his camera and microphone. “Chief Secretary, regarding the trade negotiations between the Yate Empire and Country A, do you have confidence in the outcome?”

The corner of Yunxi’s lips tugged into a mocking curve. “Is it the Queen’s decision you doubt, or my ability to speak on her behalf?”

A sharp retort, and the reporter shrank back, silenced.

Others tried to probe further, but her unsmiling composure stifled them. Soon, admiration replaced suspicion.

As the press conference drew to a close and the banquet was set to begin, Yunxi caught a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye: a female Alpha in black-rimmed glasses. She recognized her—one of Lin Ruxi’s shadows.

Moments later, an aide approached hesitantly. “Your Excellency, the Queen says you’ll need an escort tonight. An Omega gentleman will do.”

The palace, of course, would provide suitable companions. Yunxi frowned.

The aide quickly added, “The Queen also said if you prefer a Beta woman, that’s acceptable too—if your wife is unable to attend.”

A throb pulsed at Yunxi’s temples. What exactly was this Alpha queen scheming?

She had already made it clear that her wife was a Beta, yet still, the probing into her preferences never ceased.

Remembering the rumors of the Queen’s eccentric tastes, Yunxi felt a chill spread from her damaged glands. Surrounded by watchful eyes, her fingers tightened around the cool beads.

A sharp “ding”—a message lit her phone. Yan Qingruo.

【President Jin, will you be home tonight?】

The cold fog in her chest lifted slightly. Along with it came the faint fragrance of narcissus, reminding her of the gentle, rabbit-soft wife waiting at home.

No matter how busy, Yan Qingruo would prepare three dishes and one soup every day. She would always ask if Yunxi was coming back, though somehow the meals never matched Yunxi’s tastes—almost deliberately the opposite.

“What’s wrong, President Jin? I made this especially for you. Don’t you like it?” Qingruo would rest her chin in her palm, eyes blinking innocently.

The butler and servants would watch expectantly.

Yunxi would force down a mouthful of the dry, tasteless food, lips twitching. “It’s fine.”

Because if she said it wasn’t, Qingruo would obediently don an apron and cook again—each time worse than the last.

“Then eat more. Don’t waste my effort, hmm?” Her voice would soften like water, tender and coaxing.

Yunxi would purse her lips, eyes closed, swallowing it down—like a decorative vase at home, she didn’t care whether it was genuine or a replica.

And so the two continued their performance of “harmonious respect and marital bliss.”

But after all this time of cooperating with Yan Qingruo… perhaps it was time the woman returned the favor.

She recalled the words she’d spoken on their wedding night: “Don’t develop unnecessary feelings for me.”

And indeed, Qingruo had abided. She was unexpectedly compliant—except for those rare moments when her aloof courtesy disguised a subtle provocation.

Now, however, Yunxi had no time to think further.

【Miss Yan, there’s a banquet tonight. I’ll send a driver to fetch you.】

The reply came quickly, marked with the proper courtesy.

【President Jin, I’m sorry. I have something tonight. Next time, I promise.】

The little white rabbit’s tone was innocent, guileless.

Yunxi arched a brow. And what exactly was so important?

【President Jin, my second aunt’s niece was in a car accident and has lost her memory. I need to go to the hospital tonight to look after her.”】

Jin Yunxi: …

What happened to contractual obligation? Did Yan Qingruo no longer want her fifty million?

This was the first refusal in their year-long marriage. Did it mean the contract was about to expire, and the fox tail was finally showing?

Recalling that first provocative brush of her hand, and the year of icy, respectful distance that followed, something in Yunxi’s blood stirred. The bleakness of the world seemed to brighten with a spark of amusement.

She curved her lips, setting down her phone. That familiar feeling returned—as if Yan Qingruo had once again revealed that hidden side beneath the white-rabbit mask.

The teasing, unrestrained side.

“President Jin just got a call from Madam and actually smiled!” the first aide blurted in delight.

“Yeah, this is the first time this month we’ve seen her smile,” the second assistant chimed in, snickering with gossip.

At those words, Jin Yunxi’s motion stilled. The faint 0.5-degree smile tugging at her lips vanished in an instant.