After Setting Me Up With My Ex, The Aloof Alpha Regrets It - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What if it were a Billion Dollars?

Federation Upper Star System Z3291, New Planet Taike, Shakespeare Street, Sunset Rose Cafe.

It’s two in the afternoon. The weather is sunny, with large patches of sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the cafe. It’s early summer, and the temperature is just right.

Yet the weather forecast keeps broadcasting a yellow alert: There’s a high chance of hail around 6 p.m., accompanied by short-term heavy rain, thunderstorms, and high winds. Citizens are advised to travel with caution and take precautions.

Shi Li looks up at the blue sky outside the window. In a few hours, this gentle blue will be replaced by rain and hail.

Things change so fast.

Shi Li tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear, opens her communicator, and types: Break up.

Her eyelashes flutter, and her rosy lips move as she lets out a soft sigh. She confirms and sends the message.

The recipient is Wen Yue, her girlfriend of seven years.

Not long ago, at a mutual friend’s wedding, they were asked when they would get married. “A’Yue and Xiao Li have been together since they started college, almost seven years, right? They’ve almost made it through the seven-year itch; it doesn’t make sense not to get married now,” a friend said in a joking tone, urging them to tie the knot.

Wen Yue laughed and held Shi Li’s hand, her tone especially gentle: “We’ll see if we can find a good time to get engaged by the end of this year.”

A prophecy fulfilled.

Wen Yue is indeed getting engaged. But not to Shi Li. Instead, she’s marrying an Alpha arranged by her family, the second daughter of the Zhu Holdings family.

A week ago, Wen Yue confessed her family’s arrangements to Shi Li. But she didn’t want to break up with Shi Li and brazenly proposed a so-called “win-win” solution:

“Honey, that Alpha and I were both arranged by our families. We don’t love each other at all. She’s an Alpha, and I’m a Beta. Even if we get married, we won’t belong to each other. We’ll most likely do our own thing. So our marriage is just a formality; she’ll have her own Omega, and the person I truly love is you.”

“I can give you everything you want—money, a house, a car. You’ve been a team leader for two years, haven’t you? I can ask someone to get you promoted to deputy director… Just don’t leave me. My heart belongs completely to you.”

Shi Li’s stomach turned. She endured the intense discomfort, calmly proposed a breakup to Wen Yue, and fled in a panic.

For a whole week, facing a barrage of messages from Wen Yue on her communicator, Shi Li acted like an ostrich, only replying with a resolute “Break up” and nothing else.

She didn’t know what else to say. She had no experience with sudden breakups.

After sending the message, Shi Li turned off the notification alerts on her communicator to prevent Wen Yue’s messages from affecting her mood again. She was going to the hospital soon to get a pheromone stabilizer injection. The doctor had repeatedly warned her to keep her emotions stable before and after the injection, or it might affect the medication’s efficacy.

After drinking the last sip of her pistachio latte, Shi Li picked up her bag, ready to leave.

A gust of wind moved the curtain.

As Shi Li stood up, a new customer entered the cafe.

An Omega’s keen senses instantly identified the other person’s identity: a female Alpha of at least S-class.

The Alpha was wearing a well-tailored black casual suit. Her height was estimated to be close to 180 centimeters. Her legs were straight and well-proportioned, wrapped in thin fabric and disappearing into matching black matte leather boots. A very thin silver chain was wrapped around her waist, outlining the fit of her high-collared silk shirt. Her long sleeves were casually rolled up to her elbows, revealing two pale, cool forearms.

She should have long hair. But it wasn’t down; instead, a silver steel hairpin was used to tie it into a loose, carefree bun at the back of her head. The hairpin was simple but hard and cold; her demeanor was lazy, but her presence was sharp. Shi Li, who works in design, smelled a contradictory and alluring beauty from the Alpha.

The Alpha was a bit like a snake poised to strike.

Her eyes were a mysterious gray, like hoarfrost condensed on a winter night—cold and clear. Her gaze swept over Shi Li, then fixed on her, like a snake locking onto its prey.

Shi Li had a premonition: this Alpha was here for her.

But they didn’t know each other; they had never even met before. Shi Li had a good memory. If they had met before, she would have a deep impression of such an aggressively beautiful face.

In just a few seconds, the Alpha had crossed the small cafe and strode in front of Shi Li.

She spoke first: “Good afternoon, Miss Shi.”

Her voice was mature and cool.

Shi Li could no longer pretend to be organizing her bag and ignore her. She instinctively took half a step back, her eyes filled with confusion. “You are?”

At the same time, Shi Li’s mind raced, recalling her recent actions. She confirmed that she hadn’t done anything illegal or disorderly. She had even paid her monthly income tax to the last penny, making her a model citizen of the Federation.

The Alpha pulled out a chair for her.

“Zhu Yunqi. Wen Yue’s fiancée.”

“Is this a good time? We should talk.”

Oh my god, Wen Yue’s fiancée. She had unexpectedly met her ex-girlfriend’s fiancée!

Instantly, ten thousand alpacas stampeded through Shi Li’s mind.

At this point, even if it wasn’t a good time, it had to be.

Shi Li sat back down. She wasn’t without curiosity about who Wen Yue’s fiancée was. From the information Wen Yue had revealed, she only knew that the other person was the second daughter of Zhu Holdings. She knew nothing else. She couldn’t find any information about the second daughter of Zhu Holdings on the StarNet, but there was a lot of information about their other daughter.

Seeing Shi Li’s silent consent, Zhu Yunqi sat down opposite her with ease.

Shi Li was surprised by the name “Zhu Yunqi,” but her reaction to her identity as “fiancée” was indifferent. Zhu Yunqi understood that she already knew about her engagement to Wen Yue. This would make things easier. She could get straight to the point without having to explain the background. It was too much trouble.

Zhu Yunqi took out a black card, held it with two fingers, and pushed it toward Shi Li.

Because the card and the table were both too smooth, after Zhu Yunqi’s hand left the card, it slid forward a bit due to inertia, looking as if it had been thrown.

Shi Li’s gaze moved from Zhu Yunqi’s fingertips to the card. It looked like a bank card. The card was entirely black, reflecting a dark, textured light as it moved.

Shi Li asked uncertainly: “Miss Zhu, is this…?”

Zhu Yunqi’s thin lips parted slightly: “There’s a billion dollars in this card.”

Shi Li: “Huh—huh?”

How much? A billion? The annual interest alone is enough for her to buy a 15-million-dollar apartment in the Star City!

As expected of the daughter of Zhu Holdings! A casual card has a billion dollars in it!

No Federation citizen would be unfamiliar with Zhu Holdings. Zhu Holdings started in the medical industry and has a wide range of investment businesses, spanning various fields such as minerals, real estate, medicine, and biotechnology. There’s even a saying: “As long as you’ve breathed the air of the Federation, you must have given money to Zhu Holdings.”

It is said that Planet Z3291, where Shi Li currently lives, was originally private property of Zhu Holdings and was sold to the Federation government at a high price after being developed.

The morning news today was still reporting: [Zhu Holdings has discovered new tin ore on asteroid C7836 in the northern part of the Mid-Star System and has successfully secured a 70% mining right.]

Shi Li had originally wanted to pick up the card to examine it closely, but now that she knew a billion dollars was in it, she felt that even a glance was enough to burn her eyes.

No, maybe I’ll only see such a large black card once in my life. A few more glances are a bonus.

Shi Li’s gaze bounced between the card and the table.

What was Zhu Yunqi doing, throwing so much money in front of her? Showing off her wealth? Telling her not to be a fool and compete with her for Wen Yue?

But a billion is too much for that. For Shi Li, who earns a conscientious 700,000 star coins a year, a billion is beyond her comprehension of money. She can’t even think of something worth a billion dollars to visualize this massive amount, so she can only settle for visualizing the interest on it.

This is the sorrow of an ordinary person. Shi Li couldn’t help but think of the dream she had of winning the lottery when she was at her poorest. The maximum amount she dared to fantasize about was only eight million.

For a moment, Shi Li couldn’t tell which was more unbearable: the shame of being poor that made her unable to lift her head, or the pangs of the sudden breakup.

Shi Li silently lit a candle for herself.

Her heart was in turmoil, but her face was calm and unruffled. Shi Li was very good at controlling her facial expressions. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to stand out among a group of Beta and Alpha employees and become the leader of the second design team at Xing Shang Group in three years, managing her team with a cold face every day.

She looked up slightly, her dark pupils meeting Zhu Yunqi’s. Her red lips curled up slightly, and her tone carried a hint of mockery: “Miss Zhu, this couldn’t be for me, could it?”

Zhu Yunqi gave a slight nod, then raised her chin slightly.

“Mhm. The password is your birthday. I’m sorry, I did some research on you before I came.”

She said “sorry,” but her tone lacked any apology.

Shi Li didn’t care. Her birthday was clearly displayed on her communicator. It would be easy to find. Since Zhu Yunqi could find her directly, she must know her whereabouts very well. It would be strange if she hadn’t investigated her personal information.

But, Zhu Yunqi said this billion was for her?

Shi Li’s eyelid twitched for some reason.

What kind of Federation joke is this? She’s Wen Yue’s ex-girlfriend, who broke up with her in a messy way. Zhu Yunqi is Wen Yue’s fiancée. In a way, she and Zhu Yunqi are “love rivals.” Giving a “love rival” a huge amount of money? Only a lunatic would do that.

After thinking about it, there was only one possibility: this was Zhu Yunqi’s breakup fee for her.

Zhu Yunqi was afraid that she would cling to Wen Yue and affect their engagement, and she had found out from her research that she was a super-poor person, so she decided to stun her with a huge amount of money.

It has been shown countless times in TV dramas: a CEO’s destined fiancée arrives. The fiancée finds the CEO’s Cinderella girlfriend, throws five million dollars at her, and tells her to disappear from the CEO’s life forever.

Usually, Cinderella would choose to refuse the five million, throw a cup of water at the rich woman, resolutely defend her dignity, and declare to the world that she would protect their love.

…

The Cinderella in the TV drama chose love because five million star coins weren’t enough.

But what if it were a billion dollars?

Shi Li suddenly had the illusion of being dazed by a massive amount of wealth. And this windfall only hit half of her head; the other half was stubbornly staying awake.

She had already broken up with Wen Yue. Even if Zhu Yunqi hadn’t found her, she would have proactively kept her distance from Wen Yue.

Shi Li raised her finger with a pang of heartache, ready to push the card back.

“Miss Zhu, Wen Yue and I have already pretty much broken up. This breakup fee…”

Her conscience would hurt if she took it. A billion dollars in one go? Zhu Yunqi is quite dramatic.

At the same time, Zhu Yunqi saw that Shi Li had finally touched the card and thought it was a signal of agreement to continue.

She also spoke: “Miss Shi, I want you to stay by Wen Yue’s side, continue your relationship with her, and ideally, marry her.”

Support After Setting Me Up With My Ex, The Aloof Alpha Regrets It