After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 16

Their lips met, easing Tang Cheng’s discomfort, but her feverish body had no strength left. She couldn’t even hold the awkward posture of the kiss.

She gave up quickly. It was enough to know Lu Xinxue was there. In her ears, a faint roar—like the static crackle of an electronic chip.

“Tang Cheng, get up. Let’s go back to the room.”

“Ah Cheng. Ah Cheng.”

After that, her memories blurred. She only knew Lu Xinxue drew close, then pulled away.

She lingered at Tang Cheng’s nape, sniffing and licking, marking her again and again to ease the pain. Later, she went downstairs to brew medicine, to wipe her body. Beyond that, Tang Cheng remembered nothing.

She dreamed—a beautiful dream. She saw herself at her first differentiation, in the hospital, the stench of disinfectant filling her nose. The pain of that moment had made the memory bitter.

But Lu Xinxue had been there. In that instant, the world shrank to just the two of them, clinging to each other. It was their first kiss, untouched by the labels of Alpha or Omega. They were simply Tang Cheng and Lu Xinxue, driven by youthful passion and pheromones, sharing their first sacred closeness.

In the dream, Lu Xinxue was still tender, her features unformed, without the coolness of reality. She was shy, her eyes full of affection, fingers tightly entwined, warmth delicate and true.

By morning, Tang Cheng felt reborn.

The soreness at her nape had been soothed. Her body was filled with the mingling scents of thyme and basil, comforting and harmonious. If pheromones had compatibility scores, she was certain theirs would be above ninety percent.

The thyme still lingered in the air. Lu Xinxue was home. Tang Cheng dressed and went to find her.

At last, they had a moment of calm. Tang Cheng needed to talk—about their bodies, about the missing six years, about the truths she had begun to piece together.

She opened the door. Across the room, Lu Xinxue sat curled on the balcony, a cigarette between her fingers.

The glowing ember hadn’t yet been extinguished. Surprised to see Tang Cheng awake, she quickly pressed it into the ashtray, snuffing it out.

The last breath of smoke left her lips before she dared open the glass door and step into the study.

“You’re up,” she said evenly. Only the faint flush at her ears betrayed her embarrassment at being caught.

Tang Cheng asked softly, “When did you start smoking?”

“A few years ago. I don’t remember exactly.”

Tang Cheng nodded, settling onto the small sofa. “Let’s talk.”

Lu Xinxue’s gaze wavered, evasive. She didn’t want to sit opposite her. Tang Cheng’s eyes flashed with unease, but eventually, Lu Xinxue sat down.

Tang Cheng spoke directly. “I don’t believe these six years were simple. I’m a mechanical engineer, trained in advanced technology. I know some medicine too. You studied with me once, you wouldn’t believe in something as absurd as time travel either.”

She had thought about this for so long, since the first night she woke here. She had rehearsed every word, searching for the most precise way to say it. At first, she had been afraid, afraid of startling Lu Xinxue, afraid she had changed.

Only recently had she found the chance to speak.

Her heart had been full of panic. If Lu Xinxue no longer loved her, she would rather believe everything was false. But once she confirmed it, she had courage.

Like a child on stage, searching for their parent in the crowd, only then able to perform with all their heart. Knowing Lu Xinxue loved her gave meaning to the search for truth. Without it, life itself meant nothing.

“I was thinking, before the engagement, I—”

“What are you talking about?”

Her carefully prepared words stuck in her throat. Tang Cheng faltered. “Axin.”

“I want you to understand. I signed the agreement with you only because suppressants no longer work for me. It has nothing to do with you personally.”

Her tone was firm. Her eyes swept from Tang Cheng’s lips to her gaze, lifting slightly, coldness flashing.

It was as if she was a different person from last night. The chill froze Tang Cheng’s hands and feet. She didn’t know what to say.

So, all that intimacy—was it a lie? When she kissed her, who was she thinking of?

No. This wasn’t right. Lu Xinxue shouldn’t react this way.

Tang Cheng knew her. She was lying. She had to be lying.

But Lu Xinxue’s eyes grew colder, and Tang Cheng lost the courage to defend her.

Actions couldn’t lie. But what about her eyes? Her voice?

Confusion weighed on Tang Cheng’s chest like a stone.

“Prepare well for the Lu Corporation interview. And make clear what we are.”

Lu Xinxue rose. The conversation was over.

Tang Cheng stood, grabbing her arm. “Axin! This isn’t right.”

Lu Xinxue shook her off. Red marks remained where Tang Cheng had gripped her too tightly.

Her brows furrowed. “Everything that happened during heat was only because I was in heat. If you think to use it against me, I can find countless Alphas better than you. I used you only because it was convenient.”

Each word struck Tang Cheng’s heart. Every explanation crumbled. Her eyes reddened, the defenses she had built shattered with a single push.

Her nose stung. Tears welled, staring at Lu Xinxue, the warmth in her palm fading, the distance between them growing.

“Your tears are worthless.”

“Needing you doesn’t mean you’re the only one.”

The sound faded, leaving the study empty, her alone, and the lingering thyme carried away with Lu Xinxue.

She had left—just as decisively as that first night.

She hadn’t even had the patience to hear her out. Had Tang Cheng disrupted her plans again?

The Lu Corporation needed a mechanic. She knew all the effort Tang Cheng had put in. Was it all just exploitation?

Tang Cheng pressed her fingertips into her palm, a wave of grievance rising unbidden.

Moments later, her fingers slackened. All strength drained from her.

Did Lu Xinxue not love her or simply not believe her? The recent discussions about dissolving their engagement echoed vividly in her mind.

If it was the former, she was powerless. Twenty years would mean nothing. She would resign herself to being Lu Xinxue’s suppressant, willingly consumed like a moth to flame. From the moment she returned, there had been no retreat.

If it was the latter, then she needed proof—direct, undeniable evidence to show her true identity. She had to uncover how the hidden hand had imprisoned her, how they had manipulated the six years she had lost.

Lu Xinxue surely had her own plan, but for now she wasn’t willing to share it. If she wouldn’t speak, Tang Cheng would find the answers herself.

Every machine part had its limits, requiring regular inspection. For six years, someone must have been maintaining her altered body. Her sudden return had broken their scheme—a flaw in the machinery. The night before she came back, she had lost a million at Star City.

Star City. That was where she had to go. The evidence she needed would be there.

She steadied her thoughts. Under Lu Xinxue’s pressure, she had to seize time. There would be another chance.

Her tears fell, striking the floor.

Tang Cheng lifted her head, trying to choke them back, but her ragged breathing forced her down again. Her chest heaved, her tears unstoppable.

All that tenderness—was it just her imagination under crushing pressure?

She had no one to rely on. The only person she trusted no longer trusted her. She was like duckweed adrift in the sea, like an ant at the foot of a mountain. Six stolen years had taken everything, altering the course of her life.

But she refused to yield. She would return to Lu Xinxue’s side.

Tang Cheng set out, preparing to drive to Star City.

It was still early. Star City, the largest casino in A City, only came alive in the afternoon. To investigate, she would need the cover of night, when crowds and chaos offered protection.

For now, she searched for information.

The ownership of Star City was tangled, inevitably tied to the city’s elites.

After long study, one name caught her eye.

Gu Zhou?

The Gu family. Of course, she knew them, an old aristocratic house, once dominant in advanced industries, until the Lu Corporation seized part of their business.

She remembered the quarrel with Lu Xinxue over Gu Simiao. The Lu and Gu families had been rivals for years. Naturally, Lu Xinxue had kept her from getting too close.

The two families were evenly matched. Tang Cheng marked Gu Zhou as a suspect.

If Lu Xinxue suffered a setback, the greatest beneficiary would be the Gu family. That much was clear. Yet in the past month, Tang Cheng had combed through A City’s academic papers and technological reports. Not a single recent breakthrough bore the Gu name.

It meant their competitiveness was weak. Gu Zhou seemed to be nothing more than a businessman.

But casinos were a web of interests. Someone who could hand her large sums of cash, offer schemes to siphon money from Lu Xinxue, even if petty tricks could still cause serious trouble.

Then there was the Zhang family. Zhang He stood out. They specialized in chip manufacturing, counterfeit-proofing casino tokens. No wonder Zhang He had such confidence.

To swallow so much at once, the Zhang heir had to be more than a playboy.

If she could identify who she had most frequently interacted with in the casino, she could likely expose the rat behind it all.

Zhang He?

Tang Cheng shook her head. She was surely still plotting against her. Her cronies were no more trustworthy.

She thought of someone else. Perhaps he could help.

“Me? Why should I help you?”

Tang Cheng had waited outside the casino for barely an hour before her target appeared.

At a roadside noodle stall, the blond youth lifted his head warily.

A red plastic chair held a bowl of soup noodles. He sat on a lower stool, chopsticks stirring aimlessly.

By the timing, he must have just come out of the police station.

Tang Cheng leaned forward. “A deal?”