After Setting Me Up With My Ex, The Aloof Alpha Regrets It - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Is There Anyone You Want to See Before You Leave?

Wen Yue was beaten.

The Zhu family’s intentions couldn’t be more obvious. They planned to postpone the engagement until Zhu Yunqi’s next vacation.

After Wen Lirong heard the news, he returned home with a calm expression.

Wen Yue was sitting on the sofa studying. When she saw Wen Lirong come back, she called out “Dad” without looking up.

Wen Lirong walked around the living room and calmly went to the storage room. He took a golf club from behind the door and walked straight to Wen Yue. Wen Yue saw that something was wrong and hurriedly got up. Before she could even speak, she was hit on the back of her knee by the club.

Wen Yue couldn’t stand and fell directly to her knees.

She had a general idea of why Wen Lirong was angry.

It was nothing but the engagement. She had heard some things these past few days. The Zhu family seemed to be subtly displeased with the Wen family. She was also worried, wondering if Wen Lirong had found out about Shi Li.

Wen Lirong hit Wen Yue on the back with another swing. He didn’t hold back. Wen Yue felt as if her back was about to shatter from the pain.

She gritted her teeth and endured it without making a sound. Wen Lirong only had her as a child. He wouldn’t beat her to death.

“Since you can’t pilot a mech, why did you try to show off?”

Wen Lirong seemed calm on the surface, but he was actually so angry that his head was spinning. All of this started when Wen Yue tried to show off by piloting a mech at the military academy’s promotional event and crashed, causing his reputation to decline during this time and his ranking on the candidate list for major general to drop from the top three to the bottom. The Zhu family was so heartless. When they saw the situation was not right, they withdrew without hesitation. He had no reason to blame the Zhu family either—Zhu Yunqi saved Wen Yue’s life.

If Zhu Yunqi hadn’t been quick to rescue Wen Yue, Wen Yue would either be dead or severely disabled now.

He had gone to great lengths to find a good marriage partner for Wen Yue, but Wen Yue had ruined it with her own hands. Zhu Shengxi didn’t explicitly say that the alliance was canceled. She only said that she was busy lately and that they would talk about it later, but in Wen Lirong’s eyes, it was almost the same as being canceled. It was a blatant slap in his face.

Wen Yue felt a sense of relief. At least he hadn’t found out about Shi Li. Her dad was in a fit of rage right now. If he found out that she was still secretly dating Shi Li, the golf club he was using to beat her would immediately turn into a stick to beat the lovers apart.

After Wen Lirong had his fill, Wen Yue got up from the ground on her own and went to the family medical pod to heal her wounds. Wen Lirong was so angry with her that he left the house. He was too angry to care about her, which was the perfect opportunity for her to go find Shi Li.

Shi Li came home. As soon as she got out of the elevator, a person suddenly rushed out from the shadows of the hallway, scaring her so much that the things in her hands scattered all over the floor.

Wen Yue approached her with red eyes and hugged her.

Shi Li pushed her away. Wen Yue’s back hit the cold wall. The injury from the golf club wasn’t completely healed, and the pain made her wince and hiss with cold air.

“Shi Li, do you hate me that much now?”

“Get out.” Shi Li pointed at the elevator door.

Eavesdropping on her, threatening her with Shi Yu… Every single one of these things was a hundred times more disgusting than when Wen Yue tried to have it both ways back then.

She had immediately contacted Shi Yu, wanting to move her to another sanatorium, but Shi Yu was used to living in the current one and really liked her new caregiver. Shi Li couldn’t explain the reason in too much detail. After saying a few more words, Shi Yu was about to have a breakdown and go crazy again. There was nothing she could do but give up.

Wen Yue hugged her again without asking for permission. “You just hate me for a little while. Once this is over, you’ll still love me.”

Shi Li couldn’t break free. She bit Wen Yue’s shoulder hard. Wen Yue only let go when Shi Li could smell blood on her teeth.

Shi Li was out of breath. “Wen Yue, look at what you’ve become.”

Wen Yue pretended not to hear Shi Li’s words. “I told you, you have to be by my side. Nothing else you say to me is useful. The reason you wanted to break up with me back then wasn’t because you were disgusted that I was engaged to Zhu Yunqi? Now I’m not engaged to her anymore, and you’re still making a fuss with me. Have I spoiled you too much lately? My dad is one of the thirteen major generals in the Federation. You’re just a small employee from an ordinary family. How am I not worthy of you? Oh, right, you always said you were scared of Alphas. I bet that was a lie. You probably just pretend you don’t care about Alphas because your gland is damaged and no Alpha is willing to have you. I’m a Beta. I don’t care that you have a problem with your gland. Only I am willing to love you. Don’t be ungrateful.”

Shi Li said coldly, “You’re crazy.”

She squatted on the ground to pick up the scattered items. Wen Yue, however, changed her tone from just a moment ago. She joined her in picking up the items, handed them over, and two tears fell directly onto Shi Li’s hand.

Wen Yue covered her face and sobbed painfully. “I’m sorry, baby. What I just said wasn’t my true feeling. I was so angry that I spoke without thinking. Please don’t take it to heart… I’m crazy. I gave up so much for you, and all I got in return was you who won’t even spare me a glance… And Zhu Yunqi, I admit I’m jealous of her, and I know you don’t like her. I shouldn’t have doubted you… What do I have to do for you to forgive me?”

“Delete that recording. And don’t touch my mom.”

“I can’t do that,” Wen Yue replied immediately. “If I do what you say, you’ll leave me right away.”

Shi Li took her things and stood up, giving Wen Yue a bleak smile from a higher position.

“Then there’s nothing for us to talk about.”

When Shi Li opened the door, Wen Yue also tried to follow her in, but she was blocked by the door.

In the empty stairwell, Wen Yue leaned her head against the door for a while. Her whole body ached. Not only from Wen Lirong’s golf club, but also the spot on her shoulder where Shi Li had bitten her was burning with pain. Shi Li didn’t hesitate at all when she bit her. She bit down hard, completely disregarding how much pain she would cause her.

She used to feel so much love when Shi Li furrowed her brow, but now Shi Li would actively leave wounds on her body.

They were once so in love. Now, as soon as Shi Li saw her, she would put up a level-one alert, as if she had seen her sworn enemy.

Wen Yue slowly squatted down against the door, collapsing in the empty elevator area.

She ruined everything. She ruined everything.

But even if she ruined everything, Shi Li had to be hers.

Even if she had to destroy her, she had to be hers.

…

After Shi Li returned home, she was still shaken and poured herself a glass of warm water to calm down.

Then, she used her optical computer to retrieve the surveillance footage from her door. She had specifically adjusted the parameters of the surveillance a few days ago. The exported video was very clear and fully recorded how Wen Yue had been staking out her home, and how she had forcibly hugged her again and again. Every word Wen Yue said was also recorded clearly.

These past few days, she had been carrying a recorder and a miniature camera with her to record every moment of Wen Yue’s madness and hysteria.

She didn’t want to go to this extent initially.

But she couldn’t be completely at Wen Yue’s mercy. When necessary, she also had to have a bargaining chip that she could use to fight with her until one of them was destroyed. Wen Lirong would absolutely not allow these things in her hands to appear on the StarNet. On the other hand, these videos and recordings might become her lifeline.

Wen Yue putting a bug on her bag gave her an idea. In the end, it was just using her own methods against her.

She would not actively attack others. But if she was pushed to the edge, she would never sit back and let it happen.

…

After Zhu Yunqi returned home, she handed the twins over to Zhu Jingshan and went back to her room.

She had been feeling unwell on the way home. She asked her optical computer’s health manager, and it was indeed that annoying estrus period again.

Zhu Yunqi buried herself in the blanket, enduring the anxiety and chaos brought by the estrus period, and desperately wanted the comfort of Omega pheromones.

But she searched the entire house and couldn’t find any item related to Shi Li anymore.

The uncomforted Alpha pheromones were like a highly poisonous snake coiling all over her body. Every nerve was savoring the pain of being cut by the venom.

“Shi Li, Shi Li…”

Zhu Yunqi whispered her name into the blanket, as if calling the name of her loved one could alleviate the pain.

However, there was no relief. Shi Li’s resolute words echoed in her ears over and over again, reminding her that she had loved the wrong person, and mocking her for her cowardice.

Zhu Yunqi struggled to get up. She took a strong inhibitor from the backup medicine box and went to the bathroom.

She took off her clothes. Large patches of her skin were an abnormal pink. Zhu Yunqi grabbed her wet hair from sweating and looked in the mirror.

The Alpha in the mirror was more haggard than ever before. Those eyes that had always been indifferent and calm now only had a gray haze. Water vapor gathered and condensed in the fog, as if it could form droplets at any moment.

Zhu Yunqi raised her hand and plunged the needle into the gland on the back of her neck. The cold inhibitor was forcefully pushed into the heated gland, causing a sharp sting. Zhu Yunqi, however, felt that this pain was just right. The physical pain offset some of the regret in her heart.

She threw away the syringe. While waiting for the medication to take effect, Zhu Yunqi went to the gym that came with the villa.

She had to find something to do for herself.

Zhu Yunqi started to run frantically on the treadmill…

In the living room, Zhu Jingshan asked about the twins’ time at the amusement park.

The younger twin happily held up eight fingers. “Mom and Dad, I made Auntie smile eight times today. Sister didn’t. Can I have eight days off from homework?”

The older twin was not convinced. “I didn’t make Auntie smile. But I played with another pretty auntie for a long time.”

“Oh, there were others?” Zhu Jingshan raised an eyebrow.

The younger twin counted on her fingers. “There was a blue-haired Alpha auntie, a Beta auntie in an orange dress, and another Omega auntie with curly hair who was as pretty as Mom. I like the Omega auntie the most. Auntie always smiles when she looks at her, but when she came back, Auntie cried again. I asked Auntie, and she said something got in her eye, but I know that when adults say something got in their eye, it means they’re crying.”

Zhu Jingshan found it quite interesting after listening to her.

Zhu Yunqi had never liked to cry since she was a child, but now she was shedding tears because of an Omega. She was very curious about what kind of person that was.

“Tell Mom more about that pretty auntie.”

…

Before leaving Z3291, Zhu Yunqi went to the Stardew General Hospital.

She found Dr. Ji and said that she wanted to extract more pheromones for Shi Li’s needs.

Dr. Ji said, “The pheromones I extracted for you last time are enough for Shi Li for almost a year. It’s not a good thing for you to extract pheromones so frequently in such a short amount of time. It might damage your gland.”

“I might not be back here often. The next time could be years from now. I’m worried that the pheromones I leave behind won’t be enough. After she uses up my pheromones, she’ll have to get marked by someone else. They say it’s very painful to get your marking washed.”

Dr. Ji looked at Zhu Yunqi several times in a row.

She couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly is your relationship with Shi Li?”

They seemed like lovers, good friends, and family, and yet they seemed like none of those things.

Zhu Yunqi said indifferently, “We were business partners before.”

Dr. Ji had never seen two people so strange.

She followed Zhu Yunqi’s request and extracted several more tubes of pheromones from her gland. Zhu Yunqi endured the pain. When the extraction was done, she breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the tubes of bloody pheromones being sent to the purifier.

When she stood up, her body swayed.

She put on her clothes, thanked Dr. Ji, and left the hospital with a dejected look.

This was probably the last thing she could do for Shi Li before she left.

…

The day Zhu Yunqi left was a Monday. She and Hai Yao took the same intergalactic train back.

They had to first take the intergalactic train to the border between the Mid-Star Domain and the Lower Star Domain, and then take a military starship to the Black Star Belt, skipping twelve jump points in a row.

Before leaving, Zhu Yunqi approved Hai Yao’s end-of-vacation request and also submitted her own end-of-vacation request to Colonel Cheng Yin.

Cheng Yin received the request and approved it immediately, with the note: Welcome back to the Black Star Belt.

Zhu Jingshan personally sent Zhu Yunqi to the intergalactic train station.

Looking at her calm sister, Zhu Jingshan reminded her, “Is there anyone you want to see before you leave? There’s still some time before departure. I can take you.”

Through the twins’ descriptions and her investigation, Zhu Jingshan had already confirmed that the person who made Zhu Yunqi cry was Shi Li.

It took Zhu Jingshan a while to accept the result.

She never would have thought that Zhu Yunqi would have feelings for her former fiancée’s girlfriend. No wonder Zhu Yunqi was so sad. Shi Li was about to break up with Wen Yue, but Zhu Yunqi spent a lot of money to get them back together, acting as a matchmaker to save their love.

In Zhu Yunqi’s eyes, she had personally pushed the person she liked to someone else.

That’s just how life works.

It seemed that Zhu Yunqi had now chosen to give up and let Wen Yue and Shi Li be together.

Zhu Jingshan was afraid that Zhu Yunqi would regret her decision to give up today, so she wanted to give her another chance.

Anyway, Shi Li and Wen Yue weren’t married yet. As long as Zhu Yunqi wanted to fight for her, she could use all her means to help her win Shi Li over.

Zhu Yunqi was stunned for a moment and then said slowly, “There’s no one.”

It was a Monday. Shi Li was probably working at her desk by the window on the twenty-third floor of Building B at the Star Style headquarters.

Shi Li would probably be happy and relieved to hear that she was finally going back to the Black Star Belt. Shi Li would no longer be bound by the contract and could be with Wen Yue according to her own heart.

On the way, they passed by the Sunset Rose Cafe. In the morning, there were not many people in the cafe. Zhu Yunqi had excellent dynamic vision. The car flashed past the Sunset Rose, but her eyes still managed to locate the table where she and Shi Li had sat face to face. There was no one sitting at that table. Two cute little cat coasters were placed in front of the seats, and a bouquet of artificial fake roses was in a vase on the table.

They first met each other here, and it was also here that they agreed to open up to each other, have no secrets, and be good friends.

She broke her promise. Not only did she fail to be a good friend to Shi Li, but she also hid her true feelings from her.

Zhu Jingshan saw the loneliness in her eyes and didn’t say anything else. All she could do was remind her. She couldn’t actually make a decision for Zhu Yunqi.

Zhu Yunqi and Hai Yao arrived at the station at about the same time.

The military would reimburse the tickets for vacations to and from the Black Star Belt. Hai Yao had booked the first-class cabin early, and her seat was in the same row as Zhu Yunqi’s.

There were only two seats in a row in the first-class cabin, separated by a walkway. You could tell the intelligent system to create a private cabin, and you could do whatever you wanted inside.

After the train started, Hai Yao took out a sky-blue box wrapped with a ribbon and handed it to Zhu Yunqi.

The box looked like a jewelry box. It felt light in her hand. Zhu Yunqi took it. “What is this?”

Hai Yao shrugged. “I don’t know. Tang Yingchi asked me to give it to you. I asked her what was inside, and she wouldn’t tell me. It’s weird. Captain Zhu, you’re not close to Tang Yingchi, so why would she give you a farewell gift and not me?”

Hai Yao felt a strange sense of jealousy.

Zhu Yunqi was also puzzled.

She and Tang Yingchi were not close at all.

Across the aisle, Hai Yao craned her neck, wishing she could attach her head to Zhu Yunqi’s seat, and urged her, “She specifically told me to give it to you after we get on the train. Hurry up and open it.”

She pulled the ribbon, and the opening of the box was held by magnets. With a gentle pull, the lid popped open.

Inside lay a small, white dried flower.

The flower was the size of a fingernail, with a one-inch-long thin stem below it. In the center of the flower was a round clump of stamens. The flower was perfectly bloomed. It must have been picked at its peak and then specially treated to become an immortal flower.

Hai Yao was stunned. “What kind of flower is this? And what does she mean by giving you a flower?”

“I don’t know.” Zhu Yunqi looked at it from all angles and thought it looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t identify the species. She asked her optical computer to look it up.

The result showed: White Crystal Chrysanthemum.

“Recording the growth of the little plant—Day 28, the only white crystal chrysanthemum has grown a bud. What will it look like when it blooms?”

—Shi Li’s only post on her optical computer community feed.

“Look, there’s a different one here. It’s growing a little faster than the other plants. I looked it up, and it’s a white crystal chrysanthemum seedling. When it gets a little bigger, I’m going to move it out of Little Cloud.”

—After the Liu Yisha concert, Shi Li excitedly showed her the pictures of the plant’s growth.

It wasn’t Tang Yingchi who wanted to give it to her. It was Shi Li who had asked Tang Yingchi to give it to her.

Zhu Yunqi sprang up from her seat.

Hai Yao was startled. “Captain Zhu, what are you doing? Is she cursing you to die by giving you a white flower?”

Zhu Yunqi: “Don’t say anything.”

She immediately activated the single cabin mode. The partition automatically rose from the floor, blocking the prying Hai Yao on the outside.

Zhu Yunqi’s throat was dry. She swallowed, and her heart rate shot up to 180 within seconds. The hand holding the flower was trembling.

She gently picked up the dried flower, afraid that if she used too much force, she would damage this one-of-a-kind little flower.

Underneath the flower was a layer of raffia. Zhu Yunqi took out the raffia and placed it on the table. She carefully gathered each strand, and at the bottom of the box, she found a pink card.

“Zhu Yunqi:”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t come to see you off because of work. This is the only white crystal chrysanthemum that grew from the little plant you gave me. I didn’t know what to give you, and after thinking about it, only this flower seemed to have some meaning.”

“The meaning of the white crystal chrysanthemum is ‘innocence, longing for sunlight, health, and happiness.’ The sun in Z3291 is not the sun in the Black Star Belt. I hope all the light shines on you.”

“Shi Li.”

Hai Yao knocked on the door of the single cabin from the outside. Zhu Yunqi didn’t move at all. Hai Yao put her ear to the door to try and hear what was happening inside.

After a while, the door was pulled open with a “whoosh.” Hai Yao immediately lost her balance and fell directly into Zhu Yunqi’s seat.

Zhu Yunqi had already put all the items back into the box. The box lay quietly in the palm of her hand.

“Stop the train. I want to get off.”

Hai Yao bounced up from the seat, doubting her ears. “What did you say?”

Zhu Yunqi’s expression was serious. “I want to get off. I want to go back.”

Hai Yao’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Captain Zhu, are you crazy? Do you think the intergalactic train is your private car that you can stop and start whenever you want? The intergalactic train travels at a superluminal speed. We’ve already flown out of the star system where Z3291 is, okay?”

Zhu Yunqi: “…”

“You’re right. I was impulsive.”

Just with a note and a flower, she couldn’t guess Shi Li’s intentions.

Perhaps Shi Li just wanted to part on good terms and add a little ceremony to her departure, which was why she asked Tang Yingchi to pass on the flower.

But the moment she saw the note, she desperately, desperately wanted to rush back to Shi Li’s side, ask her the meaning of this gift, and then confess everything to her.

She sat back down. Hai Yao patted her chest to calm herself down and soothe her little heart. In her eyes, Zhu Yunqi had always been a composed and calm captain. Today, she suddenly went crazy, which scared her a lot.

Hai Yao leaned over again, wanting to see what was in that box besides the little white flower.

As soon as she put her face over, Zhu Yunqi closed the single cabin door with a “bang.”

Hai Yao covered her nose. Ouch. It hurt.

She thought with great horror that there must be something extremely terrifying in the box to make Zhu Yunqi, who didn’t even bat an eye in front of a space pirate’s high-power particle cannons, act so strangely.

Hai Yao couldn’t help but think of a cliche scene from a TV show she had watched once: after a couple broke up, one of them was about to go on a long journey, and the other aborted their child and sent it to the other person in a box. The person who received the child immediately went insane…

Could it be that Zhu Yunqi saw something similar to an unformed fetus in the box and suddenly lost her mind?

Instantly, Hai Yao felt that the entire first-class cabin had become eerie and terrifying, as if a cold wind was blowing from behind her.

She didn’t dare to guess what was in the box anymore. She quickly returned to her own cabin and raised the partition as well.

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