After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 24

Lu Xinxue did not resist. Lips pressed together, she felt Tang Cheng’s soft breath against her face—warm, ticklish.

A probing tongue brushed her lips, prying them open without permission, pushing deeper.

Tang Cheng hooked onto her softness, teasing back and forth, one hand gripping the back of her neck so tightly that Lu Xinxue struggled to breathe. She tapped against Tang Cheng’s back in protest.

Tang Cheng ignored it, only pressing closer.

Lu Xinxue’s hand slid down, slipping beneath Tang Cheng’s loose vest. Cool fingertips grazed her waist, pinching a tender spot.

Finally, she pushed Tang Cheng away.

The room was left with greedy breaths. Her lips were flushed, glistening with moisture.

Perhaps the kiss had been too fierce. Tang Cheng reached to wipe the corner of her mouth, but Lu Xinxue instinctively leaned back, avoiding her touch.

She looked endearing, though her words were sharp.

“Get away!”

Her voice was cold, though her eyes held no anger. Tang Cheng only smiled, retreating slightly to sit beside her on the sofa.

Lu Xinxue rose, slammed her book onto the couch, and stormed upstairs—pausing only to glare at her one last time.

Tang Cheng didn’t dare follow. Such things had to be taken slowly.

If Lu Xinxue truly didn’t want closeness, she wouldn’t have sat downstairs waiting for her tonight.

The taste of thyme lingered on Tang Cheng’s tongue. Her mind replayed the moment endlessly, looping without pause.

That night, she dreamed of Lu Xinxue.

She dreamed of the night before their engagement—not the intimacy she remembered, but a younger, prouder Lu Xinxue, her face filled with anger and disbelief.

“You let someone steal your work?” she demanded.

“I’m sorry, I.” Tang Cheng faltered.

“I don’t want excuses. Losing is losing.”

“Axin, it’s my fault. Next time I’ll protect my things.”

Lu Xinxue’s expression was incredulous. “Next time? Why should I believe in your next time?”

Tang Cheng grabbed her hand, voice trembling. “Axin, Axin.”

“There is no next time, Tang Cheng. I will never tolerate failure.”

“I haven’t failed.”

“What I need is not a weak wife.”

“I’m not weak, Axin.”

“Then why did you never fight Zhou Yidong’s bullying? Why couldn’t you reclaim your research?”

Her hand was torn away, unfeeling, no matter how hard Tang Cheng tried to hold on.

“Admit it, you’re a failure,” Lu Xinxue said.

“I’m not!” Tang Cheng reached again, but Lu Xinxue evaded her.

“Let’s end the engagement. I don’t need you anymore.”

In the dream, a twenty-year-old Lu Xinxue stood beside an Alpha whose face was blurred. That person held her by the waist. They smiled at each other, and Lu Xinxue leaned in to kiss her.

Tang Cheng’s pleas, her shouts, were muted. They drifted farther and farther away, until she could no longer see them.

Thunder split the night, tearing open the sky. Tang Cheng jolted awake on the sofa, heart pounding.

The nightmare’s words clung to her. She could not forget.

Lu Xinxue must never know her cowardly past.

She could not give her reason to be disappointed. Never.

Rain poured outside. Humid air seeped in, heavy with earth. Even with the windows shut, Tang Cheng felt suffocated.

At three in the morning, she turned on the light. Sleep was impossible.

By dawn, Lu Xinxue came downstairs to find Tang Cheng slumped at the table, dark circles under her eyes.

She patted her head. Tang Cheng barely had the strength to lift her gaze, staring at her.

Lu Xinxue frowned. “If you’re unwell, go upstairs and rest.”

“Can I sleep in the bed from now on?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

Her spirit returned instantly, face glowing.

“When I’m not home,” Lu Xinxue added. She had no time for banter. Checking her watch, she prepared to leave.

Tang Cheng shoved a lunch box into her hands. Her bright eyes dimmed again as she dragged herself upstairs, exhausted.

Lu Xinxue glanced down at the box, then carried it out.

Tang Cheng lay in Lu Xinxue’s bed, letting the scent of thyme wrap around her. At last, the nightmare’s shadow faded.

She slept peacefully.

Downstairs, the breeze stirred the jade plants, their leaves intertwined, inseparable.

Tang Cheng woke at three in the afternoon. Stretching, she hugged Lu Xinxue’s blanket, ready to drift back to sleep.

Her phone rang. A spam call. She hung up, then noticed a message from Fang Jing.

Her case had been resolved, the attackers caught. She needed to sign papers at the police station.

The timing was right. Reluctant to leave the bed, Tang Cheng still rose, washed, and went out to meet Fang Jing.

After days apart, Fang Jing looked exhausted.

“Just sign here,” she said, yawning, drained.

Tang Cheng signed, then asked casually, “Why so tired? Don’t you get breaks?”

Leaning against the desk, Fang Jing sighed. “Busy. A few days ago, someone reported Star City. It’s a big case. All three teams are working nonstop. I can’t slack off.”

“Star City?” Tang Cheng’s ears pricked. “What happened?”

Fang Jing: “…”

It wasn’t something Tang Cheng was meant to know. Seeing Fang Jing’s silence, she nodded in understanding.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s fine. Just be careful yourself,” Fang Jing reminded.

Tang Cheng thought of her reputation, nodded. “I understand.”

“By the way,” Fang Jing called after her, hesitating. “Stay away from the one you fought last time.”

Zhang He?

“Don’t worry. I haven’t been in touch for a long time.”

Tang Cheng lifted a smile, adding the final words. After that, she understood enough.

If it involved Zhang He, then going straight to the police and using official channels was that Lu Xinxue’s doing, or Tang Qinggu’s?

The latter clearly had no need. The former shouldn’t have the time or inclination.

Tang Cheng pondered this as she drove home. Passing a cake shop, she stopped to buy a dessert, carefully choosing an elegant box.

“I’d like the orange ribbon, thank you.”

At the combined cake-and-flower shop, she also picked out several fresh tulips still in bud. The ones she had bought earlier had already bloomed and wilted.

After paying, she glanced through the tall glass window and froze.

Lu Xinxue. What was she doing here?

Across from her sat a blonde, blue-eyed Alpha.

The dream from last night still lingered. Tang Cheng’s grip on the tulips tightened.

The distance was too far; she couldn’t hear their words. But she could see clearly—Lu Xinxue was in good spirits, and the woman opposite her even more so.

Tang Cheng clenched her jaw. Jealousy surged.

Not just a little. A lot.

At home, Lu Xinxue allowed closeness, but her face remained cold. All Tang Cheng’s teasing, her touches, her playful provocations seemed to skim only the surface.

Lu Xinxue never showed joy or anger outwardly. So why did she smile at that woman, but never at her?

Her chest tightened with frustration.

The cake was wrapped. Tang Cheng picked it up and left. She didn’t dare approach.

She didn’t care about others’ opinions but that didn’t mean she was sick enough to enjoy public humiliation.

Outside, without hesitation, she tossed the cake into a filthy black trash bin.

She didn’t even like sweets.

She drove straight home.

There, she didn’t work on her mechanical arm, didn’t test the chip, didn’t clean.

Instead, she ran on Lu Xinxue’s treadmill until sweat poured down, then lifted weights until her energy was spent. Only then did she shower.

The nightmare still haunted her. Every pause brought back its mocking laughter.

After bathing, she saw a missed call.

Sun Qiang.

She shoved away her tangled thoughts. The phone rang again. She answered instantly. “What happened?”

“Miss Tang, the car tire burst. Could you come pick up President Lu?”

“Send me the address. I’m on my way.”

No hesitation. She dressed and left.

When she arrived, Sun Qiang was waiting by the car. Relief washed over his face at the sight of her.

“Miss Tang, President Lu is drunk. She insisted you come.”

“Alright. Thank you, Uncle Sun.”

“It’s my duty.”

Tang Cheng opened the door, reached in, and pulled Lu Xinxue out.

She held her close.

The stench of smoke and alcohol clung to her. How much had she drunk? Tang Cheng released her own pheromones, trying to mask the smell, suppressing her discomfort. She placed Lu Xinxue in her own car and drove home.

On the way, Lu Xinxue mumbled incoherently, reaching out to grab her.

Tang Cheng sighed. She was impossible.

“Tang Cheng, is that you?” Her voice was uncharacteristically soft. Tang Cheng glanced sideways, meeting her eyes. Was she awake or not?

She couldn’t tell. “Lu Xinxue, do you still know who I am?”

“My fiancée.”

A perfect answer. Tang Cheng couldn’t hide her smile. Yet the image of the afternoon returned to her mind.

She asked, “Who were you dining with, to drink this much?”

“Not much. It was at the United Tower. Company business.”

“Who else?”

Tang Cheng pressed gently. Drunk, Lu Xinxue looked dazed, her eyes unfocused, wandering.

“No one. Just some drinks.”

Little liar. I’ll believe you for now.

At home, Tang Cheng opened the car door, ready to carry her inside.

But Lu Xinxue pushed her away, glaring. “I can walk myself!”

“Really?”

“Of course! I’m Lu Xinxue.”

Tang Cheng shook her head. She couldn’t win. Watching her struggle in the car, one foot on the ground but unable to get out, she chuckled.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m getting out! Don’t laugh!”

Tang Cheng shook her head again, unwilling to argue with a drunk. She bent down, half her body leaning into the car, close enough that their faces were less than a fist apart.

Her lips were enticing, faintly red, soft to the touch.

Lu Xinxue pressed her head against the seat, breath catching, blood rushing hot. Her eyes cleared slightly.

“The seatbelt isn’t undone. How are you going to get out?”