After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 43

The meal was served, but Lu Xinxue only picked at it, her gaze never leaving the screen before her.

Tang Cheng didn’t mind. She simply carried over her mechanical equipment, sat beside her, and worked in quiet companionship.

The atmosphere was strange—pheromones still mingled faintly in the air, yet neither moved, each absorbed in their own tasks.

Thanks to Tang Cheng’s insistence, Lu Xinxue’s heat cycle was spent entirely at home these past two days.

Life had settled into a rhythm so ordinary it felt like they had lived this way for over a decade. That night, as the restlessness at her nape finally subsided, Lu Xinxue’s eyes opened, unreadable.

Beside her, Tang Cheng was already asleep. Carefully, Lu Xinxue slid her arm from beneath Tang Cheng’s neck, unwilling to disturb her.

She had dreamed. In the dream, they divorced.

Tang Cheng sat across from her, the atmosphere heavy, unfamiliar. It was still her Tang Cheng, but something was different.

The woman in the dream wore a dark blouse, heavy black-rimmed glasses that couldn’t hide the shadows beneath her eyes. Her gaze was weary, swollen, lifeless.

The divorce papers on the table pierced Lu Xinxue’s heart.

“I’m sorry, Axin. I’m too tired.” Tang Cheng pushed the agreement forward with trembling hands.

It was her Tang Cheng, sitting opposite, defeated, speaking of separation.

“I won’t let you go.”

The suffocating sense of loss surged again. Lu Xinxue clenched her fists. This wasn’t real. Tang Cheng was here. It wasn’t real.

“But you can’t accept me like this, can you?”

Lu Xinxue froze. In the window’s reflection, she saw herself—immaculate makeup, elegant attire, the perfect president of Lu Group. She didn’t match the woman across from her. She lowered her head with a bitter laugh. “Axin, I’m sorry.”

She reached out, but grasped only air. As if Tang Cheng had never existed.

No. That wasn’t her Tang Cheng. Her Tang Cheng would never become like that.

No, she would never allow Tang Cheng to become like that.

Why did her chest ache? She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, it was darkness, the sound of steady breathing beside her.

A sudden thought struck her: Tang Cheng was only twenty now. What would she be at twenty-six?

Would she resemble the woman in her dream—worn, defeated? Would she still love her then?

If Tang Cheng ceased to be a mechanic, could she accept her?

She hadn’t even had the courage to introduce Tang Cheng to her grandmother. What about the future? Would she dare let Tang Cheng stand at her side?

If Tang Cheng became ordinary, unremarkable, would she still need her?

Questions flooded her mind. She needed a partner who could stand beside her, strong, independent, unwavering in support. If Tang Cheng no longer fit that standard, would she replace her or change the standard itself?

The final question struck terror into her.

Why was she even thinking this?

“Axin? Are you still unwell?”

The woman beside her stirred, switched on the lamp, blinking sleepily. It was her Tang Cheng, eyes so different from the dream. She wrapped her arms around Lu Xinxue’s waist, warm body pressing close, and Lu Xinxue’s racing heart finally calmed.

Thank goodness it was only a dream. Her Tang Cheng would not change. She would never have to make that choice.

“I had a nightmare. Go back to sleep.”

Tang Cheng couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. Ever since Lu Xinxue’s heat cycle ended, she had been subdued, distracted, often staring blankly even when spoken to.

When asked, she gave no clear answer. Suspicion gnawed at Tang Cheng, but she didn’t press.

At work, she studied the bio-energy chip, then turned to system design. September approached, and she wanted to prepare a surprise for Lu Xinxue on that special day.

From across the office, Yu Xia’an watched her, eyes sometimes clouded with disapproval, though she never voiced it. The lab Tang Cheng had never entered remained closed most of the time.

Evenings, she rushed home to share time with Lu Xinxue. When Lu Xinxue had social engagements, she stayed late at the company.

One evening, Lu Xinxue went out to dine with Zhong Rou and several industry executives. Tang Cheng worked until eight, leaving with Yu Xia’an.

As the elevator doors opened, a young figure appeared nearby. At first, Tang Cheng paid no attention, heading for the main exit. But the figure approached, lifting her head—eyes timid, short hair neat, ear studs glinting beneath her fringe.

Tang Cheng recognized her. A student from A University who had once asked for her contact information.

“Hello, I.”

Yu Xia’an stopped in her tracks. Tang Cheng also paused. Silence hung between the three, heavy.

“I, may I speak with you? My name is Wu Lan. I’m a student in A University’s mechanical engineering department.” She forced the words out, fringe shadowing her eyes.

“Sorry, we’re not hiring. Please contact HR.” Yu Xia’an replied politely. Such encounters weren’t rare, mechanics sometimes tried their luck at the company.

“I, I only want to speak with Tang Cheng!”

Yu Xia’an glanced at Tang Cheng, stepped back with a complicated look.

Noticing, Tang Cheng sighed, silently telling her: it’s fine.

“You go ahead. I’ve met her before.”

Her soft words lit up the girl’s face. She looked at Tang Cheng with sudden joy. For a moment, Tang Cheng felt a strange illusion, this girl resembled her somehow.

“Your sister?” Yu Xia’an whispered.

“Huh?” Tang Cheng studied her again. “I don’t know.”

Given Tang Siyuan’s history, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had children outside. But Tang Cheng had long left the Tang family. Even if this girl was truly her sister, why seek her out instead of Tang Qinggu?

She was due to attend the Tang shareholders’ meeting soon, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be entangled in the family’s messy ties. She regretted agreeing to meet the girl.

Yu Xia’an left first.

In the lounge on the first floor, Tang Cheng invited the girl to sit.

“What is it you wanted to tell me?”

Wu Lan’s words carried a weight Tang Cheng hadn’t expected.

“I’m not here to trouble you. I just want to ask, will you continue working in the field of mechanics?”

Tang Cheng froze. She had imagined questions about the Tang family, about Lu Xinxue, about herself but never this.

“Before I answer, can you tell me why you want to know?”

Her voice was patient, her gaze steady. Wu Lan’s face betrayed complexity.

“My mother was once a supervisor at Tang Corporation. After I was born, she left for City B.”

So, it was as Tang Cheng suspected, Wu Lan was Tang Siyuan’s illegitimate daughter. Her mother had fled Liu Xiangqin’s pressure, living quietly with the money Tang Siyuan provided. Wu Lan’s birth had changed everything.

When Tang Cheng rose suddenly as the Tang family’s second daughter, destined to marry into the Lu family, Wu Lan’s mother glimpsed hope.

From then on, Wu Lan followed Tang Cheng’s shadow. She studied mechanics, entered the same field, and grew up reading about Tang Cheng—the rising star. In middle school, she devoured Tang Cheng’s papers, memorized her habits as a left-handed engineer, and traced every step of her career.

But in her second year of middle school, it all collapsed. Tang Cheng vanished from the industry, seen instead in the social world, drinking and laughing with strangers.

Her guiding light was gone. Wu Lan sank into silence, but the next year she fought her way into the best high school in City B, then into A University’s mechanical engineering program.

There she learned the rumor: Tang Cheng had plagiarized someone else’s work.

That day, Wu Lan fought for the first time in her life.

Tang Cheng’s hand stilled on her teacup. “And after that?” she asked quietly.

Wu Lan steadied herself. “After that, I kept studying. I couldn’t see you, but I could keep learning. Still, the question never left me.”

Her eyes lifted again. “So, will you stay in mechanics?”

The look in her eyes was achingly familiar, like Tang Cheng’s own younger self, timid but determined.

Tang Cheng hesitated, then nodded. “As you can see, I will.”

Wu Lan’s vision blurred with tears. “Thank you.”

Something softened in Tang Cheng’s chest. This girl reminded her of herself, chasing Lu Xinxue, never daring to stop. To be someone’s direction, someone’s certainty, it was moving in a way she hadn’t expected.

“Why did you choose mechanics?”

“At first, to become you. Later, I realized I couldn’t. So, I decided to chase you instead.”

Her sincerity stunned Tang Cheng. Once, she too had wanted to become Lu Xinxue, to catch up to her.

Those eyes, so much like her own past. Tang Cheng smiled faintly. “Then I’ll wait for you in the future.”

She drove Wu Lan back to A University, then stopped by a private kitchen to pack two dishes before returning home.

Over dinner, she pulled out the chip she had been working on for days, recording the system she had built. Books filled the house—Lu Xinxue’s study, the corner shelves, even beside the sofa.

Years ago, mechanics dominated; now finance outweighed them. The old mechanical texts, yellowed but clean, sat tucked away upstairs.

Tang Cheng recorded them one by one. Lu Xinxue loved books but often misplaced them. So, Tang Cheng fitted each spine with a simple spring device, linked to the central system. A click would locate the book, and the system stored every title for electronic search.

She had no money for luxury gifts, no poetry for grand gestures. But gears and circuits were her language. Recording a thousand books, building a system of memory, that was her romance.

Tonight, she finished the last batch, the oldest volumes, some carried from Lu Fei’s estate. In them, Lu Xinxue’s handwriting was still girlish, neat strokes marking mechanical notes. Tang Cheng had copied every highlight into a thick notebook, even the punctuation.

She leafed through them again, reliving the past, seeing the young Lu Xinxue vivid before her eyes.

Wu Lan’s gaze returned to her mind. Was that how she had once looked at Lu Xinxue, clear, bright, full of love?

She had become someone’s idol in mechanics, though she had nearly forgotten that era. But Lu Xinxue was more than an idol, she was her lover, her partner, her equal.

She fitted the last magazine with its spring device, completing the system. Tomorrow, she would test it at the company. For now, she rubbed her sore shoulders, tidied the tools, and hid the surprise from Lu Xinxue.

Just as she sank into the sofa, the door opened.

Lu Xinxue entered, hair pinned up to reveal her swanlike neck, makeup flawless, a red gown trailing elegantly behind her.

She rarely dressed so boldly. The crimson swept the room, holding Tang Cheng’s gaze captive.

“Do I look good?”