Cool Alpha Pregnant with a Dryad’s Cub - Chapter 4

Zhuo Ti was woken up early in the morning. The wailing and grieving inner voices downstairs were simply impossible to ignore.

She opened her eyes, the dizziness and soreness telling her she had slept terribly. Reaching for her phone, she saw it was 8:30 AM, she had been asleep for less than four hours. She pulled the duvet over her head and rolled over, trying to drift back off.

“What am I going to do, oh, what am I going to do?“

“Sigh.“

Inner thoughts don’t lose volume because of a physical barrier. Covering her head with a blanket didn’t stop her from hearing the people downstairs. As the sighs grew heavier, Zhuo Ti sat up and let out a breath of her own. “Sigh.“

After washing up, she grabbed her headphones and left the bedroom, leaning against the staircase railing to look down.

In the first-floor living room sat the nanny, Aunt Qin, and Zhuo Ti’s niece, Zhuo Yuhe. Aunt Qin was holding a shattered vase, trying to glue the shards back together.

Zhuo Yuhe was flipping through a book, saying, “Grandma Qin, you don’t need to be so nervous. Auntie won’t blame you.“

“Xiao Ti loved this vase the most. She made it by hand when she was ten, back when she went to T City with her grandmother. It’s her treasure,” Aunt Qin said.

Zhuo Yuhe closed her book. “But it’s already broken. Even if you glue it back, it won’t be the same. Besides, this vase has always been on the top shelf of the cabinet. Auntie almost never looks up there. If no one mentions it, there’s only a one percent chance she’d ever notice.“

Aunt Qin looked at her. “Then what should I do?“

“Apologize to her,” Zhuo Yuhe said. “Own up to the mistake. Auntie won’t get mad.“

Aunt Qin adjusted her reading glasses, looking at the fragments in her hand with a sigh. “I’m not afraid of her being mad. I’m afraid she’ll…“

“Afraid she’ll what?” Zhuo Yuhe asked curiously.

Aunt Qin didn’t say anything else, gently touching the shards of the vase.

“Morning,” Zhuo Ti said as she walked downstairs, breaking the silence.

“Morning, Auntie!” Zhuo Yuhe smiled at her. “You’re up early today.“

“Don’t you have school?” Zhuo Ti asked.

“It’s Saturday,” Zhuo Yuhe replied.

Aunt Qin stood up, smiling hesitantly. “Xiao Ti, I need to apologize to you.“

Zhuo Ti walked over, asking despite already knowing, “What happened?“

“A big spider crawled onto the cabinet this morning. I tried to hit it with a broom,” Aunt Qin opened her palm to show her, “and I accidentally knocked the vase over.“

A few glued-together shards lay in her palm, while the rest were spread out on the coffee table. The vase was completely shattered, its original shape unrecognizable.

“Okay,” Zhuo Ti replied softly, squatting by the table. “It’s fine.“

Zhuo Yuhe cheered suddenly, “See! I told you Auntie wouldn’t be mad.“

Aunt Qin, however, couldn’t relax. Zhuo Yuhe was too young to understand, but Aunt Qin knew what that vase meant to Zhuo Ti. She patted Zhuo Ti’s back. “I’ll find a way to glue it back together.“

“No need, I’ll do it,” Zhuo Ti said.

Aunt Qin wanted to say more, but Zhuo Ti interrupted her, “Auntie Qin, I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?“

“Yes, yes! What do you want? I made dumplings yesterday; I can boil them or fry them.“

“Fried dumplings,” Zhuo Ti said.

The vase was badly broken, but since the shards were relatively large, putting it back together wasn’t difficult.

Zhuo Yuhe squatted beside her to help fit the pieces. “The vase’s molecular structure is compromised; it’ll never be one hundred percent again.“

Zhuo Ti glanced at her. “What have you been reading lately? You even know about molecules now.“

“Junior high chemistry. I’m going to have to learn it eventually anyway,” Zhuo Yuhe said seriously. “My brain is tired from the Math Olympiad prep lately, so I’m learning other things to relax.“

“Studying makes you relax? Why don’t you go out and play?” Zhuo Ti suggested.

Zhuo Yuhe shook her head. “I just need to shift my focus. Going out… is a waste of money. Forget it.“

Zhuo Ti’s hand paused. “If going out makes you happy, how is it a waste of money? I’ll give you the cash.“

“No need,” Zhuo Yuhe smiled at her. “Studying makes me happy too. Oh, and I’ve been playing a guessing game lately; it’s quite fun.“

“What kind of guessing game?“

“Just predicting the probability of things happening. Just for fun.“

Zhuo Ti rubbed her head. “Like what?“

“Like next door!” Zhuo Yuhe pointed toward the west.

She was referring to the vacant lot at the far western end or rather, the lot where construction had started last year. A two-story, fully transparent villa had been completed there early this year.

Zhuo Ti didn’t say anything, gluing a shard into place.

Zhuo Yuhe counted on her fingers, “The planning for this area was finished ages ago. I didn’t expect another villa to be built here. The neighbor must be someone important. A glass villa… I saw the decor through my binoculars, and the inside is filled with plants and flowers. The owner is most likely an Omega woman. There’s a huge empty space by the entrance; I don’t know if it’s unfinished or if they’re saving it to grow vegetables like Grandma Qin.“

Zhuo Yuhe continued, “The owner is probably an older lady who loves gardening. But that depends on if that empty lot really becomes a vegetable patch. Otherwise, it could be a young woman with a romantic heart. Only someone who believes in fairy tales would like an all-glass villa.“

Zhuo Ti wasn’t interested in who lived next door, but she still listened patiently to Zhuo Yuhe’s somewhat unreliable deductions.

“Mm, very impressive,” Zhuo Ti nodded.

The vase wasn’t expensive. When she made it, it only cost the price of the materials. It wasn’t even pretty—a lopsided oval with a light blue glaze and small characters carved into the bottom.

Mother and Xiao Ti

Because of the break, the base of the vase had split right through the character for “and,” leaving a crack running through the middle.

Zhuo Ti gently traced the small characters.

She didn’t put the repaired vase back on the first-floor cabinet; instead, she placed it on the side table opposite her bed. The vase was covered in cracks, but the fractures actually gave it a sense of artistic character.

Maybe she’d buy something to put inside later to make it look a bit more lively.

Zhuo Yuhe’s wild theories were put to the test that afternoon.

Zhuo Yuhe stood on Zhuo Ti’s balcony with her binoculars. One side of the balcony faced the villa next door, and the straight-line distance between the two houses was about three hundred meters.

Zhuo Yuhe: “Is… is that woman the owner? There’s no point of reference, but based on her standing by the threshold and the height of the door, she’s not shorter than you, Auntie. She must be an Alpha.“

Zhuo Ti sat at her computer, playing a game in silence, occasionally replying to messages from teammates.

[Ox-Man: Sis, help me carry my friend. They’re a newbie.]

[Blade-Killer: What’s the price?]

[Ox-Man:?? What do you mean? We’ve known each other for so long, do I still owe you for this?]

[Blade-Killer: Just say it, don’t talk nonsense.]

[Ox-Man: Same as usual.]

Zhuo Yuhe adjusted the focus of the binoculars and caught a glimpse of the person’s face. She gasped, “Auntie, come look! This owner is too beautiful. It’s a pity she’s an Alpha too, otherwise she could be my uncle-in-law. Actually… my older aunt is too busy, so she could be her husband instead.“

Zhuo Ti wiped out a four-man squad, ran into the safe zone, and hid inside a house. she took a sip of the milk tea on the table; the sweetness made her frown. While replying to Ox-Man, she said calmly, “Yuhe, you could consider her as your wife.“

[Blade-Killer: No problem. Don’t forget today’s payment.]

Zhuo Yuhe said, “But I’m also an Alpha.“

“True love knows no gender,” Zhuo Ti said indifferently. “As long as she’s pretty.“

Someone entered the house Zhuo Ti was hiding in, and she refocused on the screen.

Zhuo Yuhe: “Seriously, this person is dressed like an ancient noble. It’s not like those awkward cosplayers; it feels like this is just her everyday clothes. She’s really gorgeous. Auntie, do you want to see?“

Zhuo Yuhe adjusted the binoculars again, staring at the person’s face. The woman seemed to sense something and looked up toward the binoculars, her eyes meeting Zhuo Yuhe’s lens.

Zhuo Yuhe calmly pulled the binoculars back and ducked inside, clearly startled. “Auntie, she saw me!“

Zhuo Ti finished her last magazine of bullets, got an eleven-kill win, and exited the game to the lobby.

A WeChat notification popped up—the payment from Ox-Man. She tapped to accept it.

Pleasure doing business.

She took the binoculars herself and walked to the balcony to look across. There were several workers moving furniture in and out, but only one person with long hair, wearing a white silk robe, stood leisurely at the entrance. Zhuo Yuhe had adjusted the focus too tightly, and Zhuo Ti immediately saw the woman’s cheek—the skin was so fine you couldn’t see a single pore.

Isn’t this the “cosplay girl” she saw at the bar yesterday? She’s the owner next door?

But why was she dressed like this every day?

After calming down, Zhuo Yuhe accepted the fact that the neighbor was a female Alpha. She nudged Zhuo Ti, teasing, “Auntie, she’s a real beauty…”

Zhuo Ti also caught the other woman’s gaze. She silently retracted the binoculars and rubbed Zhuo Yuhe’s head, her face expressionless.

“Auntie,” Zhuo Yuhe looked up, “let’s go say hello to the new neighbor.”

Once the workers had left, Xu Zhuangyuan performed a dust-clearing spell, and the house was instantly refreshed. He put his hands on his hips, quite satisfied, waiting for Gongsun Wu to praise him. Turning around, he saw Gongsun Wu standing outside, looking off to the side.

Xu Zhuangyuan walked out and followed her gaze toward the villa next door.

Gongsun Wu pointed with a jade-like finger, “Osmanthus, is that red flashing light what you called a camera?”

“Yes,” Xu Zhuangyuan said. “It can record everything we do, just like a phone. I taught you this. Also, can you stop calling me Osmanthus? I’m a person of status in this world; it’s embarrassing if people hear.”

Gongsun Wu flicked her finger, and the camera above the neighboring villa’s iron gate fell with a thud.

Gongsun Wu: “Is it broken now?”

She had a smile on her lips, looking curiously childlike, making it impossible to guess she was a demon who had lived for over a thousand years.

“My goodness, boss,” Xu Zhuangyuan said, feeling a headache coming on. “Remember to cast a boundary before you use magic next time. The world isn’t like it was hundreds of years ago; there are cameras everywhere. Luckily there was only one there, or you would’ve been caught on tape. The people living here are all big shots; they might send us to prison. Even if breaking out is child’s play for you, being a global fugitive means no freedom. Do you understand freedom? Didn’t you cultivate in the deep mountains for centuries just for freedom? My ancestor!”

Gongsun Wu waved her sleeve and reached out, two ginkgo nuts appearing out of thin air in her palm. She tossed them to Xu Zhuangyuan, looking genuinely puzzled. “So noisy. In the centuries I was gone, how did the Pine and the Peony ever put up with you?”

Xu Zhuangyuan happily caught the nuts and ate them. “I told you, I learned it from you.”

The effects of the ginkgo nuts were immediate; he felt refreshed and energized. Xu Zhuangyuan let out a comfortable hum.

Gongsun Wu gave him a sidelong glance and leisurely walked back into the house.

The floor inside was planted with small blue glasswort, and purple wisteria vines wound around the furniture. Gongsun Wu pulled out a few seeds. Just as she was about to scatter them, she remembered Xu Zhuangyuan’s words and cast a boundary around the house.

Two small black seeds were tossed into a corner of the living room. She pricked her finger, letting a drop of fresh blood fall onto the seeds. She watched intently as the seeds broke through the soil at a visible speed, sprouting into buds, then saplings. They grew taller and taller, piercing through the first floor’s ceiling, then the second, and finally breaking through the roof, growing into two massive trees taller than the house.

The entire process took less than five minutes.

Gongsun Wu used magic to repair the punctured ceilings and roof. She wove the vines between the two trees into a hammock and lay down on it, looking quite pleased.

Xu Zhuangyuan was speechless. The only two Purple Immortal Trees in the world, and she was using them as a hammock. What a waste!

“Is anyone there?” a somewhat youthful female voice called out from outside.

Xu Zhuangyuan went to the door and saw a woman in white loungewear leading a younger girl.

The younger girl was holding a potted plant. She said, “Hello, sir. We’re your neighbors from next door.”

Xu Zhuangyuan arched an eyebrow. This woman was the mortal he had seen yesterday—the mortal who could see them.

“Boss,” Xu Zhuangyuan called toward the house. “We have guests.”

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