After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 34

Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting a bright shimmer into the room.

For Lu Xinxue and Tang Cheng, it had been a long time since they’d slept so peacefully. Luckily, today was a rest day. When Lu Xinxue checked her phone, it was already eleven o’clock.

They had dinner plans with Grandmother that evening—plenty of time to spare.

She rose, pulled back a corner of the dark curtain. The sunlight outside was so abundant it seemed to swallow her whole. A single slit of brightness instantly filled the room.

On the bed, Tang Cheng stirred, opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was Lu Xinxue standing there, and joy flickered across her heart. Stretching lazily, she sat up and asked softly, “What should we eat for breakfast?”

“It’s already noon.”

Her loose pajamas slipped at the waist, revealing the curve of her figure. Lu Xinxue turned away, her thoughts shifting.

Noticing her avoidance, Tang Cheng glanced down and realized she was nearly exposed. She tugged at her clothes half-heartedly. “Axin, good afternoon.”

“Don’t cook. Let’s eat out later.”

“You dislike my cooking?”

“Last time your spicy chicken had no salt. I’d rather not.”

Finally, she had the chance to mention it. Watching Tang Cheng’s startled expression, Lu Xinxue felt oddly satisfied.

Tang Cheng sat frozen. That meal had been on the day she competed with Xie Chensong—her mind distracted by the chip, forgetting the salt. Yet Lu Xinxue had eaten it all.

She watched her walk away, her heart tightening. It must have tasted awful.

After washing up upstairs and downstairs, they prepared to go out. The question remained: what to eat?

“Anything,” Tang Cheng said.

Lu Xinxue scrolled through her phone. For her, a rest day was little more than working from home. Without her assistant, efficiency often dropped.

“Hotpot?”

“Too hot.”

“Japanese food?”

“Not in the mood for raw dishes.”

“Then let’s go to that private kitchen near A University. Since it’s a holiday, we can stroll around campus too.”

That idea wasn’t bad. Lu Xinxue finished her last message and nodded.

She had only been to A University twice: once to enroll Tang Cheng, and once, in the midst of her busy schedule, to process her withdrawal. If the latter didn’t count, she had only accompanied Tang Cheng once.

After eighteen, most of their meetings had been at that private kitchen or at home.

“There’s a willow grove by the artificial lake at A University. Grass and flowers, the scent of summer—it’s the most pleasant place.”

“How do you know it’s the most pleasant? Who did you go with?”

“I was waiting to go with you. I only heard about it from others.”

The conversation from their youth replayed vividly—Tang Cheng’s innocence, Lu Xinxue’s pride. Yet they had never walked into that grove together.

Lu Xinxue sat in the passenger seat while Tang Cheng adjusted the temperature. Even parked in the garage, the summer heat lingered.

“I heard there’s a willow grove by the lake at A University. I wonder if it’s still there after all these years.”

She spoke as if to herself, recalling memories, ignoring the longing gaze beside her.

“Who did you go with?”

Tang Cheng turned, startled. The words were familiar—Lu Xinxue had teased her like this before.

“I waited for so long, but never for the person I wanted to go with.”

This conversation was six years late, yet both remembered it deeply.

The dry summer air thickened, lashes trembled, and in their eyes they confirmed what words could not. A glance carried a thousand unspoken truths.

The past condensed into this single moment.

A honk from behind broke the spell. Tang Cheng pulled her gaze back, pressed the accelerator, and drove on.

By noon, the restaurant was bustling. No private rooms were available, so they sat in the noisy hall.

The air was cool enough. Around them, young A University students filled the space, brimming with energy.

Lu Xinxue took charge of ordering. Tang Cheng sat opposite, idly observing the students—some eating with roommates, some clearly from the mechanical department, their tools strapped at their waists. Even from the way they held chopsticks, Tang Cheng could tell.

When the dishes were chosen, Lu Xinxue asked, “What’s wrong? Do you miss your university days?”

“Nothing worth missing.” Tang Cheng shook her head. Those lonely, joyless years held no nostalgia.

Classes filled with cold stares, pranks after lectures, experiments disappearing overnight in the lab—too many bitter memories. She had no fondness for the academy, least of all its cruelties.

Afraid Lu Xinxue might press further, she quickly changed the subject. “What did you order?”

Her acting was poor. Lu Xinxue saw through it instantly, but chose not to ask. She simply noted it silently, saving it for later.

“Water spinach, and spicy chicken.”

Clearly a deliberate reminder of her forgotten salt. Seeing Tang Cheng’s embarrassment, Lu Xinxue felt amused.

“I’ll remember next time.”

“Then we’ll see next time.”

“Hello!”

Before Lu Xinxue could reply, two young women appeared, clearly A University students. Tang Cheng lowered her head. Their fingers bore calluses, palms hardened—mechanics, most likely.

“We’re students from the mechanical department. Excuse me, are you President Lu?”

Lu Xinxue glanced at Tang Cheng. The students hadn’t approached her, but Lu Xinxue instead. Though not the right field, she nodded politely.

“Could we have your autograph?”

So, they were fans. No wonder they hadn’t recognized the renowned mechanic sitting beside her.

As they rummaged in their bags, Lu Xinxue stopped them. “Sorry, I don’t sign autographs.” Their faces fell, until she added, “But we can take a photo.”

The girls cheered, unlocking their phones, then turned to Tang Cheng.

A bad feeling rose in her chest.

“Um, Assistant-jie, could you take our photo with President Lu?”

She met Lu Xinxue’s teasing gaze. Assistant? Did she really look like her assistant? With no choice, she accepted the phone.

It wasn’t surprising they didn’t recognize her. The heavily made-up woman in the news looked nothing like the fresh, striking figure she was now.

Still, the sight of a top mechanic holding a phone to take pictures of students with her boss was oddly ironic.

The photo was taken, the dishes arrived, and the students left, promising not to reveal Lu Xinxue’s whereabouts.

“President Lu is quite popular.”

Not “Axin.” Clearly, Tang Cheng minded.

“The Lu Corporation is the hottest mechanical company right now. They just finished recruitment, an industry leader. At the gates of A University, the top mechanical school, being recognized isn’t unusual.”

Lu Xinxue thought for a moment before speaking.

Tang Cheng glanced at her but said nothing more.

“How’s Grandmother’s health?” she asked, remembering they would visit the old estate that evening.

Her feelings toward Lu Fei were not particularly deep. Back when Lu Fei was still active in the company, she was the formidable President Lu—bold enough to challenge even the powerful Gu family, navigating the business world with ease and carving out her own empire. As children, Lu Xinxue and Tang Cheng had admired her most of all.

But because Lu Fei was always busy with company affairs, she rarely came home. The two girls had only each other for companionship, and over time their affection for Lu Fei faded into mere respect.

As for Tang Cheng, an outsider by blood, Lu Fei had never cared much for her. Tang Cheng didn’t mind, she knew her place and only did what was expected of her.

Still, she felt gratitude. Without Lu Fei’s permission for Lu Xinxue to bring her home, she would not be where she was today. After her differentiation, if Lu Fei hadn’t approved the engagement, she and Lu Xinxue would never have come this far.

Grandmother?

“She’s in good health. When we go tonight, don’t upset her. Let her say whatever she wants.”

Lu Xinxue seemed unwilling to dwell on Lu Fei, brushing past the topic with a few words.

Tang Cheng understood. Some matters had yet to be resolved, and Lu Xinxue feared angering the elder.

If so, then bringing Tang Cheng along must have its purpose.

After lunch, the sky was clear and not too hot. Tang Cheng took out a parasol, and the two walked side by side into A University.

Most of the buildings looked the same as in her memory, as if she had only left a few days ago, yet six years had passed.

“If you want, you could come back and finish those two years,” Lu Xinxue said at the right moment.

Tang Cheng had been branded a plagiarist in her sophomore year, engaged to Lu Xinxue shortly after, and expelled from the academy that same year.

She shook her head. The academy’s teachings were of little use to her; she had already mastered what mattered.

“Let the past stay in the past.”

She sighed. All the unpleasantness, all the shameful memories, she chose to forget them.

A University had not given her the joy of academic pursuit, but baseless conflict. It was the first trouble she encountered after leaving the Lu estate. If she could, she would never return.

She preferred a pure research environment, where people gathered only for study, not for fame.

Lu Xinxue noticed her unease. Anything related to A University seemed to weigh heavily on Tang Cheng.

Suddenly, Lu Xinxue realized how little she knew about Tang Cheng’s two years there. One of them had been consumed by family business, striving to win a wager with Grandmother; the other had been trapped in the academy, struggling for a place at her side.

Tang Cheng led the way. Around them, students walked in pairs under umbrellas. She glanced at them, her eyes betraying a quiet longing. If only.

Lu Xinxue said, “What you’re doing now must be what suits you best.”

Tang Cheng returned to herself. Beside her, Lu Xinxue wore a simple white dress, abandoning her usual business attire. It suited the campus stroll.

The best? With Lu Xinxue at her side, the worries seemed fewer.

“I was just thinking, if you had been with me at A University, would things have turned out differently?”

“No.”

The answer was firm, without hesitation. Lu Xinxue rejected the thought outright.

Tang Cheng didn’t press. Perhaps she was right, if they had been together at A University, no one could say what the future might have been.

“We’re here.”

Tang Cheng stopped. From afar, she could already smell summer—the scent of grass scorched by the afternoon sun.

A grove of willows stood tall, serene and pleasant.

“The scenery is nice,” Lu Xinxue remarked. For her, such leisurely days were rare. Usually, she was confined to her office, drowning in endless tasks and negotiations. The sight of green soothed her, relaxing her whole body.

They followed a narrow path, shaded by trees. The lake lay calm, the hot wind at their backs pushing them forward, easing the sweat on their skin.

“Hello?”

Another interruption.

They turned to see a young Alpha woman with cropped hair, earrings glinting in the sun. Tang Cheng frowned. Next time, she thought, she wouldn’t come here, she had underestimated the boldness of youth, and now she had unwittingly attracted rivals.

“Could I have your contact information? I’m Wu Lan, a senior in the mechanical department.” The girl’s face was shy, her gaze tentative, fixed on Tang Cheng.

Noticing the direction of her eyes, Tang Cheng looked at Lu Xinxue, who was watching her with amusement.

“Me?”

“Is that alright?”

Tang Cheng was stunned. She hadn’t expected the girl to approach her. But.

To refuse outright and declare Lu Xinxue her fiancée, what if the girl only wanted to discuss mechanics? Wouldn’t that be arrogant? Tang Cheng lacked the experience, and the decisiveness Lu Xinxue possessed.

Lu Xinxue intervened smoothly. “It may not be convenient. My fiancée’s work is rather special.”

The words dissolved the awkwardness. The girl looked disappointed but nodded in understanding before leaving.

Only then did Tang Cheng release her grip on her clothes and breathe out in relief.

“If I wasn’t here, would you have agreed?” Lu Xinxue asked, her gaze drifting to the lake. Not far away, two black swans nestled together in the shade beneath a bridge.

Tang Cheng adjusted the parasol to shield Lu Xinxue from the sun, considering her answer. “Probably. I’m not good at this sort of thing.”

Lu Xinxue kicked a pebble into the lake, her interest gone. “Come on. Let’s go home and prepare for the visit.”

Together they returned to the car and drove home.

The ride was quiet. Lu Xinxue didn’t tease her further, sitting silently in the passenger seat. Sometimes she replied to messages, sometimes she called her assistant to handle urgent matters.

By the time they arrived, it was already half past two. Lu Xinxue went upstairs, while Tang Cheng stayed on the sofa downstairs, tinkering with a mechanical arm she planned to bring to the company tomorrow. If Yu Xia’an wouldn’t guide her, she would study it herself.

Time passed quickly. At five-thirty, Lu Xinxue changed into a teal qipao, and together they set out for the old estate.

At the gate, the gray-haired housekeeper was already waiting.

But when she saw Tang Cheng behind the wheel, her smile faltered, her expression uneasy.

She looked to Lu Xinxue, but the latter ignored it. “Aunt Feng, thank you.”

Tang Cheng hadn’t even greeted her before Lu Xinxue took her arm and led her inside.

The path was lined with flowers, blooming even in summer.

It was Tang Cheng’s first time back at the old estate. Years ago, there hadn’t been so many flowers. Lu Xinxue loved them, but hated to see them wither. Tang Cheng had once replaced them often to keep them fresh. Lu Fei, however, had chosen to fill the entire courtyard with blossoms.