After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 13

In the business world, everyone favored working with passionate, innovative young minds. Seizing opportunities at the right moment was everything.

But Omegas carried an innate disadvantage—their susceptibility to Alpha pheromones. It was unavoidable. For years, Lu Xinxue had relied on one thing: a fiancée without ambition, who would never leave behind the mark of an Alpha.

For an Omega to break through, the first condition was independence. An Omega entrepreneur could not afford to be tainted by Alpha scent. Only then could their thoughts remain clear, their resolve intact.

Tang Cheng’s hand on her shoulder was brushed away. Her cheeks flushed with frustration. Even now, she’s still hung up on this? Doesn’t she see what state she’s in?

“Suppressant.”

Lu Xinxue carried one in her handbag, always prepared.

Tang Cheng’s fingers pressed into the leather, knuckles whitening. Her peach-blossom eyes locked on Lu Xinxue, filled with unspoken pain. Countless nights she had watched her endure like this. The surge of emotion was pure heartache.

The gap between them was widening, and Tang Cheng had no choice but to move faster if she wanted to catch up.

She released the bag, retrieved the syringe, and handed it to Lu Xinxue.

“I’m sorry.”

Her voice was low, head bowed, her expression hidden. She suppressed the basil scent and administered the injection herself.

Chestnut hair fell against her ear, brushing Lu Xinxue’s arm, tickling faintly. Her fingers trembled, caught inexplicably in that strand of hair.

The injection seemed to last forever—long enough for Lu Xinxue to forget she was in heat, seeing only the devoted figure before her.

When Tang Cheng rose, the strand of hair came with her, bent and twisted. Lu Xinxue released it just in time, perhaps without noticing.

The discomfort eased quickly. Lu Xinxue turned toward the lounge entrance. The person she had been waiting for had arrived.

A blonde, blue-eyed Alpha woman, dressed with understated elegance, surrounded by A City’s most influential figures. As Lu Xinxue approached, the crowd parted instinctively, giving her space.

Tang Cheng didn’t follow. She stayed back, watching silently.

The hall buzzed with energy. Tang Cheng’s gaze drifted. Not far away, Tang Qinggu was locked in tense conversation. For once, her smile was gone. Opposite her stood Liu Xiangqin, the current matriarch of the Tang family, clad in opulence. Behind her were the twins—Tang Cheng’s younger siblings, one Alpha, one Omega.

Their mother had brought them to the gala to build connections, laying groundwork for the looming power struggle against Tang Qinggu.
Tang Cheng knew her eldest sister’s story. Unwanted from birth, her name itself—Qinggu, “light as grain”—a mark of disdain. Sent abroad early, she rose to fame as a pianist, only to return and differentiate as a Beta. She had since taken over the company.

Memories resurfaced as Tang Cheng looked at Liu Xiangqin. When she first entered the Tang family, Liu had torn up Tang Qinggu’s ticket to Paris, then turned her gaze toward Lu Xinxue. By then, Tang Cheng was already living with the Lu family, yet Liu had wanted her foolish son to replace Tang Cheng’s place beside Lu Xinxue.

Now Liu stood with arms folded, one hand resting warmly on Tang Qinggu’s arm, gesturing to her son and daughter with a benevolent smile. But Tang Cheng could see the calculation in her eyes from across the room.

Perhaps her stare was too intense, because Liu’s gaze met hers.

Tang Cheng quickly turned away, unwilling to engage, focusing again on Lu Xinxue.

She was speaking with the blonde Alpha, her expression troubled. Tang Cheng wanted to step closer, but a hand suddenly clamped onto her arm.

“Tang Cheng! Long time no see. They say you’re a mechanic now—is that true?”

The tone was mocking, like teasing a frog struggling at the riverbank.

Tang Cheng disliked it instantly. She turned and met sharp eyes, red hair blazing, a raised glass in mock celebration.

Zhang He.

Of course. Her cronies were here to test her. Tang Qinggu wouldn’t risk offending the Zhangs for her sake. At best, she’d smooth things over. The trouble would inevitably fall back on Tang Cheng.

She ducked away from the man’s arm, replying evenly, “What do you want?”

He chuckled, leaning closer. “When are you coming to Star City? We’ve all been waiting.”

Star City—the place where they had tried to lure her into gambling, where they had schemed to siphon money from Lu Xinxue.

She had pried information from that red-haired fool before, but hadn’t yet had time to investigate. His words reminded her, she was free these days. She needed to go. She had to uncover the truth behind her condition, and the hand pulling the strings. Without it, she could never guarantee Lu Xinxue’s safety or her own.

“I’ll make time in the next couple of days,” she said calmly.

The man laughed, slapping her back hard. “Good! We’ll be waiting, sister!”

Tang Cheng forced herself not to flinch, nodding. He leaned in again. “So, is it true you and President Lu are breaking off the engagement?”

“No.”

“Rumors don’t spread without fire. Let me give you some advice. As Alphas, we have to control our Omegas. Otherwise, one day they’ll kick us aside, and we’ll regret it.”

Tang Cheng’s face darkened. Her eyes locked on him, cold and sharp. He didn’t notice, rambling on: “Especially when it’s President Lu. You know, she—”

Tang Cheng stopped listening. She turned and walked toward Lu Xinxue.

The man didn’t follow, muttering something under his breath. He ignored it.

It was true—Alpha influence over Omega was absolute, a biological inevitability. But Tang Cheng had never wanted to use it against Lu Xinxue. They were equals. Independent. They didn’t need protection or control. They solved problems together, not because of what they were, but because of who they were.

Yet the world insisted on defining them by it—whether in business or in love.

Tang Cheng’s anger simmered. Not only at the woman’s words, but at the fact that she was an Alpha at all.

She had never wanted to be an Alpha, nor did she care for the privileges that came with it—marking Omegas, manipulating their minds. Yet people insisted on smearing her with that filth she refused to acknowledge, offering Lu Xinxue pity she neither wanted nor needed. It was infuriating.

Society preached AO equality, but in practice, discrimination was everywhere.

As Tang Cheng approached, the conversation between Lu Xinxue and the blonde Alpha abruptly ceased, unnaturally deliberate.

Tang Cheng glanced at Lu Xinxue. Her expression was calm, but the tightening of her fingers betrayed the truth—she wasn’t well.

The blonde Alpha spoke, her Mandarin fluent enough: “You must be Tang Cheng, her fiancée. I’ve heard so much about you.”

It was certainly not praise. Tang Cheng saw she intended to continue, so she slipped an arm around Lu Xinxue’s waist, steadying her before she collapsed.

To the Alpha opposite, the gesture looked like a challenge.

Tang Cheng noticed, opened her mouth to explain, but Lu Xinxue’s hand pressed firmly over hers. “Excuse us. Tang Cheng, let’s go.”

Tang Cheng didn’t know how the negotiations had gone, but if Lu Xinxue said they could leave, then it was settled.

It was the first time since waking that she had been this close to Lu Xinxue. The thyme scent spilling from her was bitter, lingering with a slow sweetness. Tang Cheng couldn’t help but breathe it in twice more.

Lu Xinxue caught her, shot her a sharp look, and signaled her to lead the way out.

She had come tonight with one purpose. Uncle Sun had explained during makeup that afternoon: finish the final project quickly and leave. Banquets were dangerous—pheromones tangled in the air, and one misstep could trigger her heat. Ordinary Omegas avoided such places. For Lu Xinxue, it was perilous.

Upstairs, a lounge had already been prepared. The two walked side by side toward the elevator.

“Well, if it isn’t Xiao Cheng.”

The voice behind them was unfriendly.

Tang Cheng turned. It was Liu Xiangqin, the Tang family’s matriarch—the very woman she had watched earlier.

Three others followed: her third brother, who had been whispering with Tang Qinggu, and the twins, her fourth brother and youngest sister. Tang Qinggu herself was absent. Strange.

Tang Cheng had no desire to engage. Beside her, Lu Xinxue’s legs weakened, her body leaning heavily against her.

“Madam, what is it? Axin isn’t well. We’re going upstairs to rest.”

Two of the four were Alphas. Their pheromones pressed close, making Lu Xinxue nauseous. Tang Cheng released a flood of basil, trying to mask the discordant scent.

But Liu Xiangqin lacked tact. She stepped closer, reaching out as if to help Tang Cheng support Lu Xinxue.

Always touching, always interfering. What’s wrong with her?

“No need, Madam.”

“Oh, but I’m an Omega too. You Alphas don’t understand what gentleness is,” she laughed, oblivious to Lu Xinxue’s condition.

The elevator stalled on the thirty-second floor, refusing to descend.

Tang Cheng had no choice but to face her.

Lu Xinxue buried her head against Tang Cheng’s neck. The burn at her nape intensified, her glands aching for relief.

Her lips tingled, desperate to bite down.

She pressed deeper, fighting the instinct. Why now? That injection shouldn’t have worn off so quickly. Someone is provoking this heat.

Her mind blurred. She couldn’t think further.

Liu Xiangqin pressed on, smiling. “Look at them—so loving. Who spread that nonsense about President Lu breaking off the engagement?”

Tang Cheng’s brows knit tight. Her voice carried, drawing every eye in the room. Across the way, the blonde Alpha’s gaze sharpened, probing, fixed on the woman in Tang Cheng’s arms. Instinctively, Tang Cheng shifted to shield Lu Xinxue.

The body in her arms grew hotter, nearly unbearable. At last, the elevator arrived.

Tang Cheng marked Liu Xiangqin in her mind. One day, she would repay this.

Amid the murmurs and stares, Tang Cheng and Lu Xinxue withdrew safely.

Inside the elevator, the cool air eased her discomfort. Tang Cheng bent close. “Axin, are you alright?”

“I need you.”