After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 2

Tang Cheng opened the news feed, scrolling back to that world-famous engagement banquet six years ago.

When she saw their names—Lu Xinxue, Tang Cheng—side by side again, something stirred in her chest. The memories felt as fresh as if they’d happened yesterday.

But the very first headline made her uneasy: “Lu Xinxue and Tang Cheng’s engagement banquet proceeds smoothly.”

Her mind had gone blank before that day. Who had she been engaged to?

She stared at the photo, her teeth grinding with a hint of jealousy.

In the picture, her own eyes were filled with laughter, her face piled high with a worthless, overly-bright smile. Beside her, Lu Xinxue still looked young—cold but unmistakably happy.

But…

The one smiling ear to ear and holding Lu Xinxue’s hand was her.
The photo wasn’t fake. But back then, she had already been replaced.

Scrolling further through the financial section, she saw Lu Xinxue stepping into the company, beginning her role as heir to the Lu family. Every little thing about the Lu family was magnified in the economic news, shaping the winds of all A City.

Lu Xinxue was the legitimate daughter of the family. With both mothers living abroad, her grandmother—former head of the Lu family—had held sole power for years. At twenty, Lu Xinxue was appointed CEO of the Lu Group, with the entire family paving the way for her.

In her six years at the helm, she had pushed the already formidable Lu family several steps higher, making them the undisputed leader of the country’s electronic information technology sector.

And in that same time, Tang Cheng’s name had all but vanished.

She never claimed to be a genius, but she was never insignificant either.

In their youth, she and Lu Xinxue had studied mechanical engineering together. Even in university, she was the student who needed the least guidance yet achieved the most. But now, searching the business and cultural spheres, Tang Cheng couldn’t even find her own name.

A creeping sense of dread rose in her.

Switching the filter from “Finance” to “Entertainment,” she didn’t even have to search before the top trending headline jumped out at her: “Tang Cheng spotted in a deep-V dress at XX Club.”

Clicking in, she saw herself in the video—sultry, provocative, flirting shamelessly for the camera. A woman completely unlike the one she knew herself to be.

Had she been possessed by a fox spirit?

For a staunch materialist like Tang Cheng, she instantly regretted opening that link.

She scrolled further down until the doorbell rang. Fetching the suppressant from the delivery person, she finally had to accept it—during the six years she’d been gone, she had become a complete disgrace.

Her academics had plummeted; she’d been expelled by her mentor. Within her family, she was disrespectful to elders, greedy for money, abusing her status to forcibly take the Omegas she liked, arrogant to her subordinates, even physically violent.

At the very bottom, she found a post from some anonymous account claiming that years ago, she had tried to forcibly mark Lu Xinxue. When it was exposed, she’d spent over half a month locked up at the police station.

The air went out of her. Things had played out in the worst possible way. Every scandal she’d only ever heard whispers about had actually happened—to her.

The whole world believed that after the engagement, Tang Cheng had finally shown her true colors, using every sordid trick on Lu Xinxue. Six years was more than enough for those vile deeds to be seared into everyone’s mind.

The scent of thyme in the air gradually faded—Lu Xinxue had endured another heat cycle. Tang Cheng’s gaze fell to a dent in the solid wood coffee table’s edge, remembering when, as a child, she’d scraped her knee there. The next day, Lu Xinxue had personally brought someone to sand it smooth.

The world could see her as nothing but garbage—but as long as Lu Xinxue believed in her, it would be enough.

She sat on the sofa, breathing in, feeling the undeniable reality of being alive.

White light began to spread across the window—the first glow of dawn. It had been a long time since Tang Cheng had personally witnessed night turning into morning. That empty, timeless place she’d been trapped in had made her feel like she was already dead.

Upstairs, the sound of running water signaled someone washing up.

Tang Cheng had not slept all night, yet she felt strangely alert. Sitting primly on the sofa with her legs together, almost like a student, she suddenly felt it was inappropriate and got up to wash her face. She pinned back the stray hair she’d messed up in the night, made sure she looked presentable, and stepped out.

The wait for Lu Xinxue to come downstairs was torture. Tang Cheng ran through countless drafts in her mind—how to make her believe this absurd story.

She regretted not fighting for more chances to speak seriously in public when she was younger. Now, every word had to be weighed and measured.

But this was the woman she’d longed for day and night. It wasn’t overkill to prepare each word like a custom-made gift.

Seven o’clock came, but there was no movement upstairs. It seemed Lu Xinxue had no intention of coming down.

Tang Cheng pressed her lips together. After a long moment of hesitation, she stepped onto the stairs to find her herself.

She knocked gently. “A-Xin, are you alright?”

After a long pause, a voice came from inside: “Still here? Planning to move into my house?” The words were weak, still worn down from last night’s painful heat. “And don’t call me that.”

“I bought suppressants. Can you open the door?”

Refusing to answer her question had always been Tang Cheng’s way of dealing with Lu Xinxue’s anger. Even after all this time, maybe it would still work.

Lu Xinxue’s voice was suspicious: “What are you trying to do?”

Tang Cheng said, “If it’s inconvenient, I’ll just leave it by the door. I’ll go downstairs. I… have something to tell you.”

The silence that followed was tacit permission. Tang Cheng placed the unopened box of Omega-specific medication by the door. “I took a suppressant too. I won’t… do anything.”

With that, she went downstairs.

Six years of disgrace kept her cautious. It was only natural for Lu Xinxue to be guarded. Tang Cheng began refining her words again.

At 7:15, footsteps sounded from upstairs, carrying with them the sharp scent of thyme.

Tang Cheng looked up—and froze.

Lu Xinxue stood at the top of the stairs, deliberately keeping her distance.

Dressed in a white shirt, one hand gripping the railing, her eyes were clouded with weakness and fatigue. She gestured for Tang Cheng to speak.

Tang Cheng’s throat tightened. She forced her hands to stay at her sides. “You didn’t take the suppressant?”

Lu Xinxue only stared at her. “Don’t pretend. You know that stuff doesn’t work on me.”

The coldness landed squarely in Tang Cheng’s chest. She took two steps back and forced a stiff smile. “You sit, I’ll stand.”

“Say it.”

The words Tang Cheng had just rehearsed jammed in her throat.

If Lu Xinxue didn’t want to believe her, if she had already moved on—if even the twenty-year-old Tang Cheng in her memory was no longer needed—then what could she do?

She had no one else to believe her.

The scent of thyme thickened. Tang Cheng fought the itch at the back of her neck. For an Omega who rejected Alpha comfort and was immune to suppressants, the pain was far greater than her own.

Tang Cheng said, “Actually, at the engagement banquet… I wasn’t me anymore. I don’t even know how these six years passed. I was trapped in a place I couldn’t name, until just now… I could feel again. I could stand in front of you again. A-Xin… you… believe me, don’t you?”

Her eyes were pleading. The tall figure hunched slightly, trying to meet Lu Xinxue’s gaze on equal footing, searching for even a sliver of space in her frozen stare.

But the last thread of hope snapped—Lu Xinxue didn’t believe her.

“If you’re hoping to pull the same trick again, to make me clean up your mess, don’t count on it.”

Lu Xinxue turned to leave. Tang Cheng’s heart lurched, her vision blurring. She stepped forward, grabbing her arm, voice raised: “If even you don’t believe me… I don’t know who else will!”

“Let go!”

There was no warmth left in those eyes—only blades honed from their shared past, cutting off every retreat.

Tang Cheng lowered her head and slowly released her grip. Her fingertips still held the faint heat of Lu Xinxue’s skin, tinged with that unique thyme scent.

“A-Xin, I…”

Tears blurred her sight, falling onto the hardwood floor, darkening it in a small circle.

Lu Xinxue turned away, biting her lower lip, visibly holding herself back.

Her knuckles whitened on the banister. One more step, and she might actually soften.

But the sound of a door closing upstairs sealed the thyme scent away, and in moments, it faded.

Tang Cheng sank onto the stairs, a faint despair welling in her eyes.

From a young age, she’d known her purpose was to connect the Tang and Lu families, to guard Lu Xinxue’s path. What she wore, what she studied—everything was tightly controlled by the Lu family, except for that one unexpected differentiation.

After that, she entered the academy alone, endured years of restraint, until the day of the engagement when she finally had a chance to be alone with Lu Xinxue.

But when she woke again, she had—without knowing—committed unforgivable crimes, and was about to lose the only person who loved her.

Everything had slipped beyond her control. What she’d once cherished had been squandered by another, using her own body.

Leaning against the spiral staircase, Tang Cheng greedily inhaled the lingering thyme scent, needing proof that none of this was just a dream.

She rubbed her dry eyes and walked into the kitchen.

During those academy years, she’d thrown herself into her studies, surviving on coffee and tea. If she wanted Lu Xinxue to make time for a meal, she had to cook it herself.

After a moment, her resolve firmed again.

Her body felt fine. In two days, she’d go to the hospital for a check-up. As long as she stayed here, she’d have a chance to make Lu Xinxue believe her—and she had faith she could change her mind.

Tang Cheng quickly made a sandwich, trimming the crusts, and headed upstairs.

On the landing, she ran into Lu Xinxue—dressed for work, a suppressant patch on the back of her neck.

“You’re leaving already?”

Knowing she couldn’t stop her, Tang Cheng handed her the plate. “Be safe.”

Lu Xinxue glanced at the sandwich, then shot Tang Cheng a wary look, biting back her words.

“Don’t let me see you again anytime soon.”

She brushed past Tang Cheng and walked out.

Only then did Tang Cheng notice the bruise peeking from beneath the old scarf Lu Xinxue had worn last night—a mark like someone’s hand had closed around her throat.

A flash of anger lit Tang Cheng’s eyes. She tossed the sandwich into the trash, something dangerous flickering in her gaze.

She entered Lu Xinxue’s room. It was exactly as she remembered. She opened the wardrobe, chose a shirt that fit, paired it with casual slacks. The fabric still carried the faint scent of thyme.

Tang Cheng was going out.