After the Scumbag Alpha Heard her Inner Thoughts - Chapter 7

Everyone was stunned by that look in Chu Muqing’s eyes. The moment passed—and then they caught the scent.

Her unique pheromones filled the air.

An S-class Alpha’s rose pheromones—powerful, intoxicating, and laced with aggression.

The moment the scent hit, every Omega nearby felt their legs weaken, as if they’d wandered into a wild rose garden, thorns pressing from all sides.

Dangerous. Yet alluring.

The command—“Get out.”
That one word sent people scrambling, tripping over one another as they fled the room.

Chu Muqing swept her gaze over the dispersing crowd. No one looked particularly suspicious. Good.

But the one suffering the most from her pheromones—was Su Wanqing.

She could barely stand, her knees buckling as a hazy memory of that night surged into her mind—
of Chu Muqing on top of her…

Su Wanqing shook her head hard, trying to drive away the inappropriate thought. What the hell was that?!
It had to be the damn pheromones messing with her.

She gave Chu Muqing a shove, snapping her out of her daze. Chu Muqing looked down at the woman in her arms.

She hadn’t even really bitten her—just grazed the gland with her teeth. And this was the reaction?

“I’m going to check on Lu-jie,” Su Wanqing said, heading toward the bedroom.

Chu Muqing nodded and let her go. She stepped aside and pulled out her phone, calling Cheng Zhuo to give him a quick rundown of what had just happened.

On the other end of the call, Cheng Zhuo froze.

He and Lu Qinghe had been keeping their relationship secret to avoid complications. Not even Chu Muqing knew.

He hadn’t expected so much to happen in just two hours.

To avoid raising suspicion, he hadn’t attended the banquet. But the night before, out of nowhere, Chu Muqing had called him and told him to clear his schedule.

He checked it—nothing urgent—so he’d agreed. But the next day, his phone mysteriously went missing, and he was called in to perform three consecutive gland-repair surgeries.

Cheng Zhuo’s chest tightened with unease. He clenched his teeth and confessed, “Qing-jie, Lu Qinghe… is my Omega. Can you help her?”

Chu Muqing replied calmly, “If I didn’t want to help, you wouldn’t have gotten this call. Go wait at the Yuejing District.”

“Thank you, Qing-jie.”

Chu Muqing had reached out to Cheng Zhuo just in case—mainly for insight into Omega heat responses. But just now, when she was close to Lu Qinghe, she’d sensed another Alpha’s pheromone on her.

It had triggered a strong instinctive reaction.
Aggression.

She’d suppressed it, but she recognized the faint scent. It wasn’t Lu Qinghe’s. It was…

Cedarwood. Cold. Controlled.
Cheng Zhuo.

So they’re having a secret relationship… right under my nose.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Su Wanqing opened the cabinet door. Lu Qinghe slowly lifted her eyelids, her voice weak and airy:

“They’re gone?”

“Mm. Are you okay?” Su Wanqing asked. Lu Qinghe’s face was pale, sweat still clinging to her brow. Her flawless makeup was now smudged.

There was a kind of fragile beauty in it.

No wonder they call her the most beautiful Omega.

“Those people… they were definitely provoked into coming,” Su Wanqing muttered. “Whoever’s behind it won’t give up easily. The banquet still has two hours left. What now?”

The Omega pheromones radiating from Lu Qinghe were impossible to hide. If Chu Muqing hadn’t released her Alpha pheromones just now to overwhelm the space, Lu Qinghe would’ve already been exposed.

“Xu Chengke’s downstairs,” Chu Muqing said as she walked in.

“But how is she supposed to get down there?” Su Wanqing asked, lifting her chin.

It was a real problem.

The banquet hall had only two exits, both on the first floor. And there were servers posted at each. Not to mention the crowd—
Someone in that crowd might even be the mastermind.

The three of them fell silent.

“…I’ve got it,” Su Wanqing said suddenly. “She’ll wear my dress. You take her down. No one would dare stop you.”

Chu Muqing raised an eyebrow. “And what about you?”

“I’ve got a plan,” Su Wanqing said, getting to her feet. “You go wait outside. We’ll switch clothes.”

Chu Muqing looked at Lu Qinghe, then back at Su Wanqing. They didn’t have time to waste, so she turned and stepped out of the bedroom.

The two women quickly swapped outfits. When they emerged, Lu Qinghe was now dressed in the champagne-colored gown, while Su Wanqing wore a black denim jacket and light-washed jeans.

“It belonged to my stylist,” Lu Qinghe explained softly.

Su Wanqing was also holding a black-and-white baseball cap. She pulled it down over her head and adjusted it slightly, just enough for her eyes to peek through. Looking at the two of them, she asked, “How do we look?”

Su Wanqing had once been labeled a “country bumpkin,” but in these simple, casual clothes, she didn’t look out of place at all. In fact, they suited her.

They suited her even better than the fancy gowns.

Natural. Effortless.

Chu Muqing gave them both a once-over, then stepped forward to support Lu Qinghe. The two of them headed downstairs.

Once they had left, Su Wanqing stood in front of the mirror, smoothed down her hair, and confirmed everything was in place.

Then she followed them down.

At the top of the staircase in the grand hall, Chu Muqing reached out to stop Lu Qinghe and murmured, “Pardon me.” Then she bent down and swept Lu Qinghe into her arms.

She didn’t bother hiding it—she walked boldly through the crowd.

Lu Qinghe leaned against her chest, her face hidden. No one dared step forward. They could only sneak glances from the sides and whisper quietly once the two had passed.

[Didn’t expect Chu Muqing to be that kind of Alpha.]

[I thought she was the cool, aloof, abstinent type. Guess she couldn’t even wait till the banquet ended.]

[Maybe she just knows how to play the game.]

[First it’s the compatibility thing… then she publicly goes into heat in someone else’s venue. Tsk.]

[Do you think Chu Muqing actually likes her? Or is it just pheromones?]

[Do you really need to ask? Alphas are all like this.]

Su Wanqing caught the tail end of the conversation as she came down the stairs. She couldn’t help but nod to herself—
Yeah, Alphas really are like that. Especially scumbag Alphas.

She tugged her cap lower and slipped quietly through the side exit, avoiding the crowd.

Xu Chengke’s car was parked out front, hazard lights blinking. She jogged over and hopped into the front passenger seat.

Xu Chengke blinked, surprised by how different she looked from when she’d left earlier that evening. Still stunned, he greeted, “Madam.”

“Mm,” Su Wanqing replied simply.

The car sped off.

In the back seat, Chu Muqing gave a quiet instruction. “To Yuejing District.”

Xu Chengke didn’t know what had happened, but he followed the order without question.

When they arrived, a white car was already parked near the entrance. Cheng Zhuo stood on the roadside, scanning the cars anxiously.

“Boss, Dr. Cheng is here.”

“Mm.”

At the sound of his name, Lu Qinghe stirred from her half-asleep state and sat up slowly, bracing herself as she pushed the car door open.

Cheng Zhuo had just approached the car when their eyes met.

He looked past her at Chu Muqing and gave a small nod.

All four of them entered the living room. Cheng Zhuo examined Lu Qinghe carefully. Physically, she was fine—
It was just the pheromone-induced heat. Still, she’d be weak for the next couple of days.

“What happened?” Cheng Zhuo asked, his brow furrowed. “How did someone find out?”

“Someone used your number to text me,” Lu Qinghe said quietly. “And they knew exactly where we meet on the third floor.”

The last time they’d met, it had been during Lu Qinghe’s heat. Cheng Zhuo had used imported suppressants mixed with his own pheromones to stabilize her.

Aside from that night, the two had always kept a respectful distance. So for someone else to know about it, it had to be one of two people.

Cheng Zhuo already had two suspects in mind.

“I’ll go back and check who’s had access to my phone,” he said calmly.

Su Wanqing sat quietly in the farthest corner of the room. She already knew how this storyline played out, but she couldn’t speak up—not unless she wanted Chu Muqing to start getting suspicious.

Chu Muqing listened to the conversation between Lu Qinghe and Cheng Zhuo. Combined with her own observations, she had already formed some theories.

What came next wasn’t something she wanted Su Wanqing to hear.

“You help Lu Qinghe upstairs to rest,” Chu Muqing instructed.

Su Wanqing looked up at her.
[What kind of tone is that? So cold. You really think you’re the queen of the world or something?]

With every word Chu Muqing said, her face seemed to darken another shade. By the time she finished speaking, she shot Su Wanqing a sharp glare.

That was all it took. Su Wanqing jumped to her feet. “Lu-jie, you must be exhausted after everything today, right?”

She had never been to this house before, so she helped Lu Qinghe upstairs to look for a bedroom—anything to get away from that moody Alpha downstairs.

When they reached the second floor, Lu Qinghe whispered, “Thank you for everything today.”

“No need,” Su Wanqing replied with a goofy smile.

[I helped the beautiful sister! Heck yes!]
[So happy!]

“I’ll see if there are any spare clothes,” she said, and began looking through the closets.

But all she found were stiff button-down shirts and perfectly pressed suits—nothing suitable.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Xu Chengke, holding two sets of clothes.

“President Chu had these prepared,” he said.

Su Wanqing blinked in surprise. For someone labeled a cold-hearted scumbag, Chu Muqing had actually thought this far ahead?

She accepted the clothes.

Xu Chengke added, “Madam, the boss said if you haven’t found a place yet, you can stay here for now.”

She had checked out the neighborhood earlier while they were in the car and found this location pretty ideal. Since Chu Muqing had brought it up first, there was no reason to turn her down too quickly.

“Alright. I’ll move in tomorrow, then.”

Recently, the major families had been maintaining a fragile peace.

Chu Muqing had been laying low, casting bait.

The Gu family had remained steady, refusing to rise to the provocation. Stalemate.

But the sudden alliance between the Chu and Su families had forced everyone to move forward—
breaking the stillness.

Chu Muqing now wanted to join forces with the Lu family to stand against the Gu family. And with Lu Qinghe’s sudden incident, she couldn’t afford to look away.

One event after another—there was no time for Chu Muqing to deal with her just yet. But thinking about what would happen later, Su Wanqing had no reason to be polite.

So she ate what she wanted, used what she needed.

Take advantage while you can.

“I didn’t mean to hide my relationship with Qinghe from you…” Cheng Zhuo started to explain.

“No need,” Chu Muqing interrupted. “You’ve known about my gland issue for a while, haven’t you?”

“You knew I knew?” Cheng Zhuo looked surprised.

Everyone has secrets. As long as they didn’t interfere with her business, Chu Muqing didn’t care.

Her gland condition—any competent doctor could figure it out after seeing her a few times. That’s why she never used the same doctor twice. But the last time she fainted unexpectedly, Xu Chengke had no choice but to call Cheng Zhuo.

He must’ve figured it out but chose to stay quiet.

That secret, if exposed, could turn the entire Chu family upside down. So when he found out, he shut his mouth—smart move.

“Then the reason you kept me around is…?” Cheng Zhuo asked, a bit taken aback. He thought she might use the secret as leverage.

“Lu Qinghe’s situation—it’s probably the Gu family. Or my uncle.”

“Him?”

“You check out the Gu family. I’ll handle my uncle.”

“Alright. No problem.” Cheng Zhuo gritted his teeth. “If someone dared mess with Qinghe, I won’t let it go.”

With business done, Chu Muqing paused and studied Cheng Zhuo closely. She was trying to figure out how to ask the next question—

The thing about hearing Su Wanqing’s inner voice.

“You… you’re looking at me like that. What do you want to ask?” Cheng Zhuo backed up slightly.

“It’s just…”
Chu Muqing, a legendary strategist in the business world—flawless, unstoppable—was suddenly fumbling for words.

“After a temporary mark… are there any side effects?”

“Side effects?” Cheng Zhuo rubbed his chin. “For who?”

“…”

Sensing her expression darken, Cheng Zhuo quickly corrected himself. “For Alphas, usually no. For Omegas, sometimes. They might feel weak, sleepy, even show false pregnancy symptoms.”

“What about if the compatibility rate is high?”

“Then even less of a chance.”

“The higher the compatibility, the more in-sync you are physically and spiritually. Honestly, it just makes things feel better. Why would there be discomfort?”

“…”

“Can you not go straight to the gutter with every sentence?” Chu Muqing said with visible distaste. “Do you ever not speak from your crotch?”

“But, sis, we’re literally talking about marking! What do you expect?” Cheng Zhuo’s voice trailed off, getting quieter with each word.

“I’m asking… is it possible that after marking her, I’ve started hearing things she thinks—like her inner voice? She doesn’t speak aloud, but I still hear it.”

Cheng Zhuo’s expression changed instantly. “You’re sure you heard it? With your ears?”

Chu Muqing nodded seriously.

“How long has this been happening?”

“Since the marking. Not often. Usually at night.”

As soon as she finished, Chu Muqing realized something didn’t feel quite right.

“Qing-jie… this really isn’t my area of expertise,” Cheng Zhuo said carefully. “Maybe I should book you an appointment with a psychiatrist?”

Chu Muqing: “…”

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