After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 14

The elevator stopped at the thirty-second floor. The air was thick with Omega pheromones, but they were quickly overwhelmed by Lu Xinxue’s thyme.

Sweet basil spilled from Tang Cheng’s nape, entwining with it. She bent down and lifted Lu Xinxue into her arms, searching for the room number.

Lu Xinxue was light. Years of office work had left her body frail, sustained only by the barest layer of flesh. Tang Cheng, who had been training her body diligently, carried her without strain.

At the end of the corridor, one door stood open. Faint pheromones drifted out, accompanied by muffled breaths and the rustle of fabric.

Lu Xinxue’s room was opposite. Tang Cheng pulled the card from her bag, swiped it, and entered. In her arms, Lu Xinxue looped an arm around her neck, her breath warm against Tang Cheng’s cheek.

Before the door closed, someone across the hall stepped out, shutting their own door with deliberate care. Red waves of hair lingered in the air for a moment before the door sealed, cutting off all sight.

The woman in Tang Cheng’s arms noticed, and her hands grew bolder.

But Tang Cheng was still shaken by what she had just seen.

Zhong Rou?

Lu Xinxue pressed closer. At last, in the safety of a closed room, her suppressed pheromones burst free.

The soft bed cradled her. She reached up, cupping Tang Cheng’s face, delicate fingers brushing her skin. Sweet basil filled the air, soaking into her, while the dim light fell across Tang Cheng’s features. Lu Xinxue studied her intently.

Tang Cheng leaned over her, sweeping chestnut hair from her nape. Alpha pheromones spilled out, flooding into Lu Xinxue’s fragile glands.

Her body couldn’t withstand so much at once. She gasped in pain, forcing Tang Cheng to pull back, loosening her grip at the waist.

Tang Cheng’s palms tingled. How long had it been since she had looked at Lu Xinxue this closely? Back at the academy, they had rarely spent time together—Tang Cheng buried in the lab, Lu Xinxue consumed by the company. Their moments had been steadily eroded.

“Axin,” Tang Cheng whispered.

Her unfocused eyes slowly sharpened, fixing on Tang Cheng. For once, the cold Lu Xinxue smiled. The pain in her glands blurred her consciousness, but when Tang Cheng called, she fought to respond.

Tang Cheng lowered her head, exposing her own vulnerable gland. Sweet and unguarded, it lay before Lu Xinxue. An Alpha marked by an Omega—an act considered shameful, unspoken.

Lu Xinxue froze, then, as Tang Cheng buried her head against her side, her lips parted. She bit down.

Sharp pain radiated from Tang Cheng’s nape, spreading through her body. Her hands clenched the sheets, fingers digging deep. The raging thyme quieted, soothed by Lu Xinxue’s mark.

Teeth withdrew slowly, leaving space for breath. A soft tongue brushed the tender spot, easing the sting. Hands slid up her back.

The first wave of heat subsided. Tang Cheng lifted her head. Their eyes met—clear, unhesitant. Lips pressed together, thyme and basil mingling in the air.

Breath quickened. Lu Xinxue pushed her away, chest rising and falling, then pulled her back into an embrace.

Like long-separated lovers reunited, desperate with longing.

Downstairs, the gala continued—deals struck, reputations made or broken. None of it touched them.

Only the moon bore witness to their surrender, lasting until dawn.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains. It was already late morning. Tang Cheng’s nape throbbed, her pheromones strangely muted.

She still held Lu Xinxue against her, skin to skin. After soothing her with her gland, Tang Cheng had collapsed into sleep, unconscious. She had woken later to clean her, working until the night was nearly gone.

Lu Xinxue slept deeply, no sign of waking. The Alpha’s mark had worked. Aside from Tang Cheng’s struggle to contain her own leaking pheromones, there was no problem.

Tang Cheng rose quietly, but faint voices outside caught her ear. Curiosity tugged her toward the door.

She peered through the peephole.

It was Zhong Rou. And opposite her—Tang Qinggu?

Tang Qinggu stood in a hotel nightdress, arms folded, leaning lazily against the frame. Her smile was softer than the one she wore for businessmen—tinged with intimacy.

The red hair needed no confirmation. Zhong Rou.

So, they were together. A fleeting night.

No wonder she hadn’t smelled Alpha pheromones yesterday. No wonder Tang Qinggu hadn’t appeared downstairs with Liu Xiangqin.

“What are you doing?”

The voice behind her made Tang Cheng shiver. She turned to meet Lu Xinxue’s curious gaze. Her face was calm, but her throat rasped faintly, and her eyes carried a cold gleam.

Tang Cheng forced a sheepish smile. One was her sister in name, the other Lu Xinxue’s friend. It was hardly honorable.

Lu Xinxue stepped closer, pupils narrowing. When she looked at Tang Cheng again, it was with the dazed expression from last night—strangely endearing.

“They.”

“They were already here when I carried you upstairs,” Tang Cheng explained. She knew what Lu Xinxue was asking.

Lu Xinxue withdrew her probing gaze, exhaled. “Her private matter.”

Soon, Zhong Rou left. Tang Qinggu lingered briefly, then closed the door.

Lu Xinxue returned to the room, answering a call. Her voice was cool, businesslike. Tang Cheng caught fragments—she was going back to the company.

Tang Cheng frowned. “Leaving already? No rest?”

Lu Xinxue said calmly, “I’m fine now.”

Tang Cheng’s voice rose. “Your health is terrible—don’t you realize that?”

“So what?”

Tang Cheng stepped forward, gripping her arm tightly. “You’re insane, pushing yourself like this. Have you ever thought about yourself?”

Lu Xinxue froze, then lowered her gaze to Tang Cheng’s hand clutching her. A cold laugh escaped her lips. “Tang Cheng, don’t you think you sound childish?”

It was a conversation no one could have predicted.

Tang Cheng faltered. She had never seen such chill in Lu Xinxue’s eyes.

Moments later, Lu Xinxue was gone, leaving the room heavy with basil that had nowhere to disperse. Tang Cheng leaned against the doorway, unable to control her glands. Her nape throbbed, swollen and sore. She needed comfort.

Desire flushed her face—something she had never felt before. Was this how Lu Xinxue had endured all these years, forcing herself through each cycle alone?

In Sun Qiang’s car, Lu Xinxue sat in silence. Distance from Tang Cheng brought no relief. Last night, an Alpha’s gland had soothed her heat, but it was only temporary. To truly resolve the torment, she needed an Alpha’s mark. She pressed her hand against her itching nape, forcing her thoughts back into order.

Jenny’s words echoed in her ears again and again.

Jenny—the blonde Alpha. She was the largest export broker in the United States, handling all of Lu Xinxue’s imported materials.

The contract signed yesterday was worth an entire year’s profit for the Lu Corporation. With it, Lu Xinxue could secure her place as the undisputed leader of A City.

“Is she really worthy of you? You need a fiancée equal to your strength.”

A wanderer, a family’s discarded Alpha—neither was what Lu Xinxue needed.

“So devoted. Your eyes never leave her.”

“President Lu, I don’t think you love her. You’re just clinging to twenty years of memories.”

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Lu Xinxue rubbed her forehead. How had she answered her? She couldn’t recall.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sun Qiang. “Miss, the matriarch wants to see you today.”

Her grandmother’s health was failing. She usually appeared only at the end of events. Last night, Lu Xinxue’s heat had struck suddenly, forcing her to leave in haste. It was no surprise her grandmother hadn’t seen her.

Lu Xinxue gathered herself and nodded. “Alright. I’ll go home after I finish signing the contract.”

She couldn’t bear to make her grandmother wait. In her youth, she had always urged Lu Xinxue to stay humble, restrained. Yet she had made mistakes. Last night, her absence would surely have been noticed. Perhaps her grandmother had already heard rumors about her and Tang Cheng. Lu Xinxue needed to prepare carefully for that conversation.

Meanwhile, Tang Cheng had packed up and was ready to leave the hotel. Opening the door, she met a pair of startled eyes—quickly masked with a smile.

No trace of embarrassment at being caught.

“Xiao Cheng, you’re staying here too?”

Tang Qinggu stepped out almost at the same time. Tang Cheng had just closed her door—there was nowhere to retreat.

She had no choice but to walk downstairs beside her. As they moved together, Tang Cheng noticed a faint red mark on her sister’s neck.

She forced a polite smile, unsure whether to comment.

Tang Qinggu seemed oblivious, continuing smoothly, “When will you have time? Father always says he misses you. Why not bring President Lu home for dinner?”

The intent was obvious.

Tang Cheng replied curtly, “Lu Xinxue is very busy. I doubt she has time.”

Tang Qinggu smiled warmly. “Then you can come alone. Your sister will welcome you.”

Tang Cheng shot her a suspicious glance. “I’m busy too. Preparing for the Lu Corporation interview. I don’t think I’ll have time.”

Tang Qinggu kept up her gentle act. “Alright. Contact me when you’re free.”

The elevator reached the ground floor. As they stepped out, Tang Cheng pointed at her sister’s neck. “You still have a mark.”

Tang Qinggu touched it casually, her expression unchanged. As the elevator doors closed, she lifted her phone, snapped a photo of the mark, and sent it off with a smile.

Tang Cheng hadn’t expected to run into her so directly.

Her father was a businessman to the core—no emotions, only utility. Whoever had value, he used, regardless of identity.

If not for Tang Qinggu’s skill in sparring with Liu Xiangqin, she would have been devoured long ago. Even their third brother would have been destroyed alongside her.

The two sides were evenly matched. Tang Cheng was the only variable. Whichever side she leaned toward would gain Lu Corporation’s future support—and with it, absolute power.

Her sister wasn’t satisfied with one alliance. She was courting Zhong Rou too. Greedy enough to choke herself.

Tang Cheng took a taxi back to Lu Xinxue’s home. Along the way, her pheromones leaked uncontrollably, making her dizzy. Her nape burned, her body flushed, her head heavy.

Something had been wrong since the moment Lu Xinxue left.

She searched online again about Alphas marked by Omegas. Most symptoms matched. One stood out: some Alphas developed an urgent craving to be marked again.

Tang Cheng hurled her phone aside, collapsing to her knees by the sofa. She dug her nails into her palms, trying to use pain to drown out the spasms in her nape.