After Setting Me Up With My Ex, The Aloof Alpha Regrets It - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Could You Button This For Me?

Zhu Yunqi didn’t know where her sense of irritability was coming from.

Shi Li had also cried in front of her yesterday, her eyes red, which was a sight that made her heart ache. Zhu Yunqi attributed this to an Alpha’s instinctual, genetic protective drive toward an Omega.

Alphas are highly protective creatures. An Omega’s vulnerability can easily trigger their protective and possessive desires. This is hard-wired into their genes, so Zhu Yunqi didn’t find it strange. For this reason, the school had even offered a course specifically for students who had differentiated as Alphas, teaching them how to control their inner desires, how to respect and protect Omegas, and how to stay calm after accidentally smelling an Omega’s pheromones, instead of just thinking about possession.

But this feeling was different from yesterday’s.

She realized she was angry. Angry at Wen Yue, because how could she make Shi Li cry?

Zhu Yunqi felt an impulse to take Shi Li and leave the restaurant.

Her smart device’s health monitor beeped: “Master, a 0.8-degree Celsius increase in body temperature detected, pheromone concentration increased by 9%, and significant emotional fluctuation. It is estimated that your rut period has been brought forward. It is recommended that you find an Omega with a pheromone match of 50% or higher or use a pheromone suppressant to get through this period.”

Ah, so it’s a rut period. Alphas in a rut become irritable and sensitive, which explained why she found Wen Yue so unpleasant to look at today.

Regardless, Shi Li was a competent “vendor.” She was efficient and was trying to mend her relationship with Wen Yue as requested. As the “client,” Zhu Yunqi thought she should be satisfied and happy.

She wasn’t as happy as she expected to be, probably due to the onset of the rut period. She would be happy once it passed.

Zhu Yunqi said to her device: “Guide me to the nearest pharmacy.”

The device navigated her to a nearby pharmacy where she bought suppressant patches. Zhu Yunqi was wearing a high-necked, sleeveless top today, which made it difficult to apply the patch. She found a public restroom.

Inside a stall, she turned her head, unbuttoned her top, and exposed her scent gland to the air. At the same time, she smelled a faint scent of orange wood.

It was the smell of her own pheromones. A mix of sweetness and a lingering bitterness.

She centered the suppressant patch and stuck it on, tidied her clothes, and walked out to the sink to wash her hands. She heard the distinct click-clack of high heels approaching.

Zhu Yunqi quickly dried the water from her hands. As she turned around, she came face to face with Shi Li’s bright, black eyes.

Shi Li froze.

Then her pupils widened slightly. “Mr. Zhu… Zhu Yunqi, what a coincidence. You’re in the area too.”

It’s no coincidence, Zhu Yunqi thought. I followed you here. However, she really hadn’t expected to run into her in this exact spot.

She said, “Yes, it’s quite a coincidence.”

Shi Li also smelled the faint orange wood scent in the air. She was wearing a suppressant patch and wasn’t sensitive to Alpha pheromones, but her face still uncontrollably flushed, and her heart rate quickened a bit.

Her body had already reacted, but the deep-seated fear of Alpha pheromones made her feel dizzy.

Fortunately, the orange wood scent wasn’t an aggressive or overbearing kind, and the Alpha in front of her also made her feel secure.

Noticing Shi Li’s reaction, Zhu Yunqi explained, “I have a suppressant patch on. This bit of pheromone will dissipate soon.”

Shi Li was there to wash a sauce stain off her sleeve. Wen Yue had accidentally dropped a spoon just now, splashing a few drops of soup that landed right on Shi Li’s cuff.

She ran her sleeve under the cool tap water.

While scrubbing her sleeve, she said, “Wen Yue and I are having dinner nearby. Zhu Yunqi, are you in your rut period?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever had an Omega?” Shi Li was quite curious about Zhu Yunqi’s romantic history. One of her guesses for why Zhu Yunqi didn’t want to marry Wen Yue was that Zhu Yunqi had a deep-seated love for someone, but for reasons of family background, region, gender, or something else, they couldn’t be together openly.

Besides, given Zhu Yunqi’s status, even if she spent most of her time in the Black Star Belt, many Omegas would be drawn to her and want to be marked.

Zhu Yunqi didn’t understand why Shi Li suddenly asked this.

But it wasn’t a question she couldn’t answer.

“No, I haven’t. I’m single.”

“I’ve heard that it’s easier for Alphas to get through their rut period when they’re with their Omega,” Shi Li explained, trying to cover her curiosity. “That’s why I asked. I didn’t mean to pry into your private life.”

“It’s okay, you can ask.”

Looking at the faint tear stains at the corners of Shi Li’s eyes, Zhu Yunqi wanted to ask what Wen Yue had done to her to make her cry again.

But the words caught in her throat.

Asking would make it seem like she was interfering too much. Like a crazy person who needed to know every single detail.

So she said instead: “I didn’t expect to run into you here today. I didn’t bring the contract. I’ll get your signature the next time we meet. I’ll get going now. Will Wen Yue be driving you home later?”

Shi Li replied, “Signing it anytime is fine. Yes, she’ll be taking me.”

She had originally wanted to give Zhu Yunqi an update—that she had made plans to hang out with Wen Yue this weekend. But then she had a change of heart. The plans weren’t fully set yet, and it was better not to mention something that wasn’t 100% certain, to avoid giving anyone false hope if something went wrong.

She looked up at the mirror. Next to her reflection, she saw the back of the Alpha who was about to leave.

Under the Alpha’s neatly pinned-up hair, the top button of the high-necked, sleeveless top was undone, revealing a small patch of fair skin on her back.

“Wait.” Shi Li called out to Zhu Yunqi. “One of your buttons is undone.”

Zhu Yunqi stopped. “Which one?”

She fumbled blindly at her back, not bothering to find the button herself. Instead, she took a step back toward Shi Li and said, “Could you button this for me?”

Then she knelt down.

The person in front of Shi Li suddenly became shorter. Zhu Yunqi was about ten centimeters taller than her. Today, Shi Li was wearing high heels, making her roughly the same height as Zhu Yunqi in her flat shoes.

The Alpha, who had always seemed so unattainable, was now kneeling before her, exposing her vulnerable neck.

Beneath the collar, a corner of the suppressant patch was visible.

Zhu Yunqi heard the high heels take a step forward. Then, soft, delicate fingers found her button. As they fumbled with it, the fingertips brushed against the skin on the back of her neck, a fleeting touch, like a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface.

Those fingertips were cool and damp from being washed.

A curled lock of long hair fell beside her ear.

Shi Li was looking down to button the shirt. Her hair, which was loose on her shoulders, naturally hung down, the ends tickling Zhu Yunqi’s ear. As she turned her head slightly, her nose was filled with the lemon scent of Shi Li’s hair.

Even their breathing was incredibly close. Zhu Yunqi could hear Shi Li’s heartbeat again.

The few seconds felt both very short and very long.

The sensation on her neck disappeared, the high heels moved back to their original position, and everything returned to normal, as if the fragrant hair was a hallucination caused by the rut period.

Shi Li stood up straight and said, “It’s done.”

“Thank you. I’ll get going now.”

With that, Zhu Yunqi left without looking back.

Shi Li watched her retreating figure in the mirror, and couldn’t help but admire how long Zhu Yunqi’s legs were. She was wearing tight pants today, which made her legs look even more impossibly straight and slender.

She had a swan-like neck and a thin waist. Her body proportions were almost identical to the models they used for humanoid robot designs.

But the tone of Zhu Yunqi’s last sentence seemed odd, as if she were upset about something.

Shi Li didn’t think she had done anything to upset Zhu Yunqi.

Perhaps Alphas in a rut period, just like Omegas in heat, have larger emotional swings.

After fixing her sleeve, Shi Li reapplied a bit of lipstick.

In a flash of realization, a bad premonition came over her. Wen Yue said she was going to buy takoyaki and would come back to find her. Judging by the time, she should be back by now.

What if she just ran into Zhu Yunqi?

In that case, would she and Zhu Yunqi have to pretend not to know each other?

With this thought, Shi Li tiptoed to the restroom door, poking half her head out to look.

Just as she expected, the dreaded love triangle scene was unfolding.

…

Wen Yue was holding a box of takoyaki. Zhu Yunqi was standing about a meter away from her. Neither of them seemed to have expected to see the other there, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

The moment she saw Zhu Yunqi, Wen Yue’s vision went black.

And when she saw the direction Zhu Yunqi was coming from…

Did she just use the same restroom as Shi Li?

Wen Yue’s mind raced. Zhu Yunqi didn’t know Shi Li. Shi Li only knew Zhu Yunqi’s name, but there were no photos of her on the network, so Shi Li wouldn’t recognize Zhu Yunqi either.

She just had to get Zhu Yunqi to leave before Shi Li came out.

For a moment, Wen Yue didn’t know which would be worse: for Zhu Yunqi to find out she had a girlfriend and kill her, or for the girlfriend she had just managed to win back to run into her “rival” in this kind of situation.

She felt the awkwardness of being caught with a mistress while shopping with her wife, and also the deadly sensation of being caught cheating with a mistress by her wife.

Wen Yue wished she could transform into a takoyaki ball on the spot. What a mess.

Zhu Yunqi glanced at the takoyaki in Wen Yue’s hand.

It was a portion for two.

“Good evening, Ms. Wen.”

She raised her voice slightly so that Shi Li in the restroom could hear, signaling to her not to come out just yet. Although the sight of the three of them together would likely make Wen Yue wish she were dead, Zhu Yunqi thought Shi Li might be hurt. After all, Shi Li still loved Wen Yue.

Wen Yue tried her hardest not to faint.

She managed a standard socialite smile. “Yunqi, what a coincidence. Are you having dinner around here too? We haven’t seen each other alone since our parents arranged for us to meet a week ago.”

Zhu Yunqi shifted her weight to one leg, casually extending the other. “Do you want to have dinner with me? I haven’t eaten yet.”

I can’t do that.

Wen Yue nervously swallowed. “I… I’ve already eaten. Maybe next time.”

“With a friend? Or a colleague?”

Wen Yue stiffly nodded. “A friend.”

Zhu Yunqi looked back. The restroom door was empty; Shi Li hadn’t come out.

“So that friend who just went in was yours.”

She deliberately emphasized the word “friend.”

Wen Yue was breaking out in a cold sweat. “Yes, that’s right.”

“Since you have company, I won’t bother you.” Zhu Yunqi turned to leave. If she didn’t leave, Shi Li wouldn’t come out, and if they lingered, it might make Wen Yue suspicious.

Wen Yue felt as if she had been granted a reprieve.

Soon after Zhu Yunqi left, Shi Li walked out of the restroom, tidying her hair.

She pretended she hadn’t heard anything, took the takoyaki from Wen Yue’s hand, and reached up to touch her forehead. Her palm came away sticky with cold sweat.

She immediately asked with concern, “Why are you sweating so much? Are you not feeling well?”

Wen Yue subtly pulled away.

“No, I’m fine. Maybe I haven’t been resting well lately, and my body feels a bit weak. Was it hard to wash your sleeve? Why were you in there for so long?”

Shi Li sneered inwardly.

If she had come out before Zhu Yunqi left, Wen Yue would have been unhappy.

Shi Li had heard every word of their conversation.

Although she had long known that Wen Yue wanted to have it both ways, hearing her say “a friend” still caused a dull, unstoppable ache in her heart.

She had wondered if it was right to take Zhu Yunqi’s money to deceive Wen Yue’s feelings. She knew she wasn’t a good person. But Wen Yue always managed to prove, time and again, that all of this was exactly what Wen Yue deserved.

Wen Yue asking why she was in there for so long was just her way of trying to figure out if she had spoken to Zhu Yunqi.

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