After Setting Me Up With My Ex, The Aloof Alpha Regrets It - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Zhu Yunqi’s Politeness and Gentleness, Etched into Her Bones.

Zhu Yunqi didn’t know why she suddenly had the inspiration to wink. She wanted to greet Shi Li, but there were too many people. Tilting her chin up would seem disrespectful, and a nod would be too formal. So, she chose to wink.

She clapped her hands, just as she did before every Sea Serpent Squad mission. “Everyone, follow me.”

…

Inside the exhibition hall were mechs with a dark metallic sheen, her most familiar and intimate partners in the Black Star Belt. The outermost mech was hexagonal, about four meters tall, and looked like a miniature shield-shaped starship. After generations of improvements, the latest one was about 2.5 meters tall and was more human-shaped.

Zhu Yunqi walked to the first mech, grabbed the edge of the shell, and with a slight push, she agilely climbed inside. She pressed a button on the control panel, and the front part of the mech became transparent, allowing everyone to see the interior.

Zhu Yunqi introduced the buttons and panels on the control console: “This is the mental link port. This generation wasn’t smart enough, and most operations still need to be done manually… This gray square screen is a thumbnail, and the largest one shows the details and flight path… This is the ammunition control lever… The red exclamation mark button on the edge of the console is the self-destruct device, and the pill-shaped button next to it is the emergency escape pod. These two buttons are generally not used unless it’s a critical moment…”

Shi Li listened attentively. She had a certain understanding of the internal structure of mechs from her time in school and had even visited them, but this was the first time she had such close contact with a mech and had a professional combatant as a guide. She heard that mech academies were gradually linking up with the military, but unfortunately, she had already graduated.

Among the visitors were also employees of a new car company. Shi Li heard them discussing quietly, “We can add an emergency escape pod inside the car. When there’s danger, it can wrap the passengers and eject them. This way, we can highlight safety in our ads…”

After a brief introduction, Zhu Yunqi poked her head out of the cockpit. “Would anyone like to try it?” Her gaze fell on Shi Li. The Omega’s face was calm, but her eyes were eager. Shi Li raised her hand. “I want to try.”

Lin Xiaonan, who was like Shi Li’s human pendant, immediately dragged her to the front. “Commander Zhu… let’s go first.”

Zhu Yunqi nodded. “Okay.” She crouched down by the entrance. “Give me your hand.”

She first pulled Lin Xiaonan up, and then Shi Li followed, extending her hand. The Alpha’s hand was flexible and strong, easily enclosing Shi Li’s entire hand. With a slight pull, Shi Li felt herself lift instantly. The next second, Zhu Yunqi’s cold, exquisite face was just thirty centimeters away. The space in the cockpit was limited, and Shi Li’s foot tripped, causing her to lose her balance. Her arm was immediately supported by another hand, and the warmth of the body was transmitted through the thin fabric to her skin.

It was a light touch and let go quickly. Zhu Yunqi’s voice was clear and low, like an ancient string frozen for years. “Be careful.”

“Thank you.”

Next, Shi Li and Lin Xiaonan experienced a simple mech operation. Although this shield-shaped mech had been phased out by the military, most of its functions were still working. Zhu Yunqi even took them for a few laps around the exhibition hall. The internal space of the hall was large enough for display purposes, but when used for flying, the space was particularly small, requiring extremely refined operational skills to avoid hitting the walls.

After the experience, Zhu Yunqi jumped off the mech first and waited below to catch Shi Li and Lin Xiaonan to prevent them from falling when they jumped down. For office workers who hadn’t undergone systematic military training, the distance from the cockpit to the ground was quite high.

Just before their feet hit the ground, Zhu Yunqi’s hands gently touched the small of Shi Li’s and Lin Xiaonan’s backs, which acted as a buffer before landing. When they landed on the ground, they didn’t feel any impact, as if they had just stepped down from a small step.

Lin Xiaonan was mesmerized. Her eyes sparkling with adoration, she looked at Zhu Yunqi, who was catching the next group of people on the mech, and murmured, “She’s so nice. She’s so gentle with us. And she caught us by the waist, not the butt. You know, some terrible Alphas like to use these opportunities to touch others’ butts…”

“Xiao Shi, you’re still young. I’m telling you as someone who’s been there, if you get married, you must find a person who is inherently good. If a person is only good to you, they might be faking it; if a person is equally good to everyone, then they are a truly good person. If you marry someone like that, they will never be bad to you no matter what… You should think about these things before you marry Wen Yue…”

Shi Li agreed with her. Although she had only known Zhu Yunqi for a short time, she could feel Zhu Yunqi’s politeness and gentleness etched into her bones from her every action.

They had a short break after two hours. Shi Li felt a little dizzy, perhaps from getting up too early. She left Lin Xiaonan resting in the hall and went to the restroom by herself.

Zhu Yunqi happened to be there too. She wasn’t washing her hands or doing anything else; she was leaning against the sink, as if waiting for someone. As soon as Shi Li approached, Zhu Yunqi frowned slightly. “Are you not feeling well?”

She had noticed in the hall that Shi Li would occasionally rub her temples and let out a small sigh.

Shi Li said, “Maybe I didn’t sleep well. What a coincidence to see you here.”

“If you’re not feeling well, go rest. Do you remember what Dr. Ji said? What if your pheromones get out of whack from lack of rest—there are several Alphas in the visiting group.” Zhu Yunqi reminded her.

Shi Li pointed to the back of her neck. “I’m wearing an inhibitor patch. It’s fine.”

Zhu Yunqi: “But…” Inhibitor patches weren’t a cure-all. “You should still take leave and rest. If you’re really interested in mechs, I can take you to see my private mech sometime. It’s much more advanced than the ones on display here.”

Shi Li paused while spraying a refreshing mist on her temples. Zhu Yunqi seemed a little too concerned about her. It had gone beyond the client-contractor relationship she understood.

But she remembered what Lin Xiaonan had just said. Zhu Yunqi was the type of person who would be good to everyone. This kind of concern seemed to be outside the normal range in her eyes, but perhaps for Zhu Yunqi, it was just her usual politeness and she would show the same care to a stranger.

She gave Zhu Yunqi a bright smile. “I’m fine. Although I’m very interested in your private mech, it’s not convenient for me to go. It’s best we pretend not to know each other until our contract is fully resolved, so no one finds out, right?”

Zhu Yunqi had to admit that she made a valid point.

Shi Li added, “You’re so amazing at operating mechs. Even better than the videos in the textbooks I used in college.” Zhu Yunqi had heard similar compliments countless times. She had been first in her mech operations class in school and maintained a high standard after joining the Silver Serpent Legion.

But when the compliment came from Shi Li, it was different from others. It felt like the first time she had gotten first place. Zhu Yunqi’s mood at that moment was the same as it was then.

She unconsciously stood a little straighter, raised her hand to smooth a nonexistent stray hair by her ear, and cleared her throat. “There’s still room for improvement, actually.”

The break quickly ended. To avoid raising suspicion, Shi Li returned to the hall first.

After she left, Zhu Yunqi unintentionally looked in the mirror and found that the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile. She immediately pressed them down with her hand.

Damn it. This stupid mouth. It doesn’t smile when it should, and it smiles when it shouldn’t. It just has to be contrary.

As Zhu Yunqi walked out, she called her optical computer’s health manager. “Xiao Guang, please check if I have masseter muscle disorder.” A weak current spread from her arm throughout her body. Two seconds later, the health manager gave her the results. “Master, all your muscles are very healthy. You don’t have masseter muscle disorder. If you have doubts about your smile, it may be an illusion caused by not having smiled for a long time.”

Zhu Yunqi: …

Yes, it must be an illusion.

Back in the exhibition hall, the lecture continued. Worried about Shi Li, Zhu Yunqi kept a quiet eye on her for the rest of the lecture. Fortunately, Shi Li only seemed a little tired and showed no other abnormalities.

After everything was over, Shi Li and her group left. Zhu Yunqi spoke with the hall manager about some follow-up matters and confirmed that all the mechs were turned off before leaving.

As soon as she walked out of the hall, Siren sent her a message.

Siren: Captain Zhu, I’ve arrived in the Z3291 capital. I heard you’re treating me to dinner. Send me the address?

Zhu Yunqi’s face turned into a black line.

Silver Coil: …Who told you that?

Siren: Of course, the most beautiful, biggest-chested, slimmest-waisted, second-longest-legged, sweetest-singing, and all-around most charming Alpha in the Sea Serpent Squad—myself~

Zhu Yunqi closed her eyes. If it weren’t for Colonel Cheng Yin’s request, she would rather complete the capture mission by herself.

Silver Coil: You choose the place. Send me the location when you’ve decided.

Siren: Yes, madam!

A moment later, Siren sent the restaurant address. It was quite close to the mech research center.

When Zhu Yunqi turned into the restaurant, she saw the scene in front of her and almost died on the spot. Sitting across from Siren was Shi Li.

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