After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 46

Tang Cheng nodded. The siblings were not as close as she had imagined.

Following Tang Qinggu’s lead inside, she saw Tang Feng and Tang Yi with Liu Xiangqin in a lounge. Their surprise at Tang Cheng’s presence was unavoidable, no one had expected the Tang family’s second daughter to appear today.

In the president’s office, Tang Cheng seated herself on the sofa. “When will Tang Siyuan arrive?”

“Eleven. The meeting begins at two. Two uncles will be late.”

Tang Qinggu flipped through her files casually, then pushed them forward, her eyes lingering on Tang Cheng with a depth that belied her smiling facade.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“I just didn’t expect this day to come so soon.”

Tang Cheng gave a small laugh, then asked suddenly: “Do you know Wu Lan? An illegitimate daughter, studying at A University.”

“So many siblings, I can’t know them all.” Tang Qinggu shook her head, dismissive. “What, someone came to claim you as family?”

“No.”

Tang Cheng didn’t explain further. She had thought Tang Qinggu might know something. That girl’s eyes had unsettled her, too much like her own.

“In the Tang family, only value makes you visible. That’s true for everyone.” Tang Qinggu’s words brushed aside the past. Tang Cheng recalled what Lu Xinxue had told her, but kept her questions unspoken.

“What do you want to say?”

“All these years, aren’t you tired?”

The smile faded. She stared at her sister, trying to force a smile, but found it frozen. She couldn’t even tell what expression she wore.

“It’s strange. You’re the first to ask me that.”

“Why not leave City A? You’ve achieved so much. Why not start over?”

“Xiao Cheng, not everyone can do what they want.”

She picked up a pen, black ink glistening at its tip.

“Because of the person waiting at home?”

Surprised she remembered, Tang Qinggu nodded. “Yes.”

“That’s why you fought Liu Xiangqin?”

“Yes.”

“Axin said you had resilience. I didn’t believe it before.”

“You and my sister-in-law talked about me?”

“Not exactly.”

“Well, to earn Lu’s respect is enough.” Her smile returned, relaxed, confident.

“Do you have time tonight? Axin and I want to take you to dinner.”

“For Lu, of course.” Tang Qinggu’s tone lightened, her eyes curving with amusement.

Tang Cheng couldn’t understand why Zhong Rou had fallen for such a smiling predator.

At 1:30, the secretary knocked. Tang Cheng straightened her clothes, leaving with Tang Qinggu. As the door opened, the elevator arrived.

The doors slid open to reveal a middle-aged man, tall, clean-shaven, his tailored suit casual, wrinkles betraying his age.

“Father.”

“Father.”

Tang Qinggu spoke first. Tang Cheng followed. She hadn’t seen Tang Siyuan in years, so long she barely recognized him as her father.

Realizing they were his daughters, he smiled broadly, greeting them perfunctorily. With Liu Xiangqin, Tang Feng, and Tang Yi behind him, the siblings were quickly edged aside.

They exchanged a glance, then withdrew silently to the conference room.

Tang Han approached Tang Qinggu, speaking briefly. His Alpha scent was strong. Tang Cheng frowned—her sister, a Beta, couldn’t sense it.

As shareholders filed in, seats were arranged by percentage. Tang Cheng sat on the left, first position.

Tang Qinggu took the head seat, casual, pen in hand, as if the outcome was already decided.

Tang Cheng felt uneasy, glancing back. Tang Han sat behind her, then left abruptly. She looked again at Tang Qinggu, calm as ever, and her nerves eased. Years of endurance and calculation, she wouldn’t falter now.

The meeting began. Tang Cheng listened closely to Tang Qinggu’s report: annual profits up five percent compared to last year, strategies for the current market.

Her mind drifted. Across the table, Tang Siyuan toyed with his phone, ignoring the report, smiling at the screen. Tang Feng’s eyes were dark, fixed on Tang Qinggu. Liu Xiangqin’s gaze was mocking.

Tang Cheng gripped her pen tighter. Beside her, Lu Xinxue’s secretary wrote steadily, recording every word.

“That concludes my report for the year.”

Tang Qinggu closed her report, folding the file neatly, both hands braced on the table.

“On this note, I have a proposal. Father is fifty-seven now. Perhaps it’s time to let someone more suitable take the seat.”

Her gaze fixed on Tang Siyuan, her smile polite, composed.

He heard her clearly. Setting down his phone, he returned the same smile.

“Indeed. I believe Tang Feng is far more suited to this position than I am.”

Two similar faces confronted each other. Tang Cheng could almost picture the years of endurance behind her sister—from kneeling before him in humiliation, to now daring to challenge him outright.

“Shareholders, prepare to vote.” Tang Qinggu’s voice was light, almost amused. “I nominate myself as official CEO, holding twenty percent.”

“I nominate Tang Feng as official CEO, holding thirty-one percent.”

“I support Tang Qinggu, ten percent.”

“Seven percent for Tang Qinggu.”

Tang Cheng spoke first, followed by Lu Xinxue’s secretary, who capped her pen and sat upright, every inch the professional.

Then Liu Xiangqin and her children cast their nine percent for Tang Siyuan.

The scattered shareholders followed, one by one. The tally stood: Tang Siyuan forty-eight, Tang Qinggu forty-nine.

The final shareholder arrived late—Tang Han.

The outcome seemed decided.

“Three percent. I support Tang Siyuan.”

Silence fell. Tang Cheng whipped around, staring at Tang Han. He kept his head low, but his eyes flicked toward his sister, gauging her reaction.

Unlike Tang Cheng’s shock, Tang Qinggu remained calm. She exhaled softly, then smiled broadly.

“In that case, I respect the decision.”

She set her pen down gently.

Rising, she walked to the door. At the threshold, she patted Tang Han’s shoulder.

“I thought you might show me some consideration.”

He brushed her hand away. “What consideration exists between us?”

“You’ve made your choice. I have nothing more to say.”

With that, she left.

Tang Cheng stood alone, watching Tang Siyuan’s triumphant grin, Tang Feng claiming the head seat, Liu Xiangqin clutching her daughter’s hand in excitement, and Tang Feng bracing himself against the table, jaw clenched.

The plan had unraveled. Tang Qinggu had let Tang Han decide. What conflict lay between them? Was this part of her design, or had she prepared another path?

Tang Feng spoke smoothly, confidently—his words too polished to be improvised. Tang Han’s defection had been planned. Since when? Perhaps since the mid-year meeting, when Liu Xiangqin intercepted her and Lu Xinxue downstairs.

Dazed, Tang Cheng listened through the remainder. The meeting ended quickly. Tang Siyuan approached, speaking perfunctorily—reminding her to serve Lu Xinxue well, to keep rumors of the broken engagement contained.

She was only an illegitimate daughter. Without Lu Xinxue, her fate would mirror Tang Qinggu’s or Wu Lan’s. The Tang family’s coldness could never be masked.

Tang Cheng nodded, then slipped away.

She dialed Tang Qinggu. The ringing quickened her breath.

The line connected.

“Where are you?”

“Why seek me?”

“You promised dinner with me and Axin tonight.”

Tang Qinggu: “?”

“I’ll send you the location. Seven-thirty. Don’t be late.”

She gave no room for refusal. Tang Cheng’s heart was unsettled. Was this outcome her sister’s design, or an accident?

Tang Qinggu was no longer CEO. What mattered now was Lu Xinxue’s stance. If Tang Qinggu had lost her value, what would Lu Xinxue’s attitude be? Their business together, how would it continue?

The dinner had been set by Lu Xinxue herself, meant as a celebration. Now, Tang Cheng couldn’t tell if it was a victory feast or a farewell.

As she hung up, a message arrived. From Tang Qinggu. A location pin.

“This place.”