Not a Scummy Alpha, But a Sweet Puppy (Transmigration Into A Novel) - Chapter 20

The moment the words left Gu Zhibai’s lips, she felt a phantom sensation of being transported back to her childhood. Her father, the undisputed authority in the Gu family, could dictate the lives of every member according to his whims.

Her mother never argued with him, her younger brother never argued with him, and she herself had never dared to defy him.

Father Gu had orchestrated her entire life, from the schools she attended to her major, extracurricular activities, and now, her future.

Her verbal refusal was as futile as an ant trying to shake a tree, bordering on the absurd. Without power or shares, she stood no chance against him.

Suppressing her feelings of helplessness and humiliation, Gu Zhibai went to the evening’s appointment.

Xue Yi was the sole heir of the Xue family, groomed from childhood as the next Family Head. He had entered the Xue Group early on and was now its de facto leader, a man of strong convictions and sharp business acumen.

Within their elite social circles, he was considered one of the most outstanding figures. Gu Zhibai had little interaction with him; both preferred to avoid forming cliques.

Xue Yi possessed striking features: a high, straight nose, thin lips, and peach blossom eyes that seemed to radiate warmth, making every glance appear tender and affectionate. His short, tousled hair gave him a rakish charm, and his slender, well-defined fingers held a water glass with effortless grace. He looked like a figure who had stepped straight out of a painting.

Xue Yi stood up as soon as he saw Gu Zhibai, gentlemanly pulling out her chair before speaking first. “It’s been a while, Miss Gu.”

His voice was deep and elegant, like the resonant tones of a cello. By all appearances, he was a man of considerable charm. Yet Gu Zhibai remained unmoved, her heart filled only with annoyance.

Xue Yi said calmly, “Miss Gu, please order first. We can talk after you’ve made your selection.”

Gu Zhibai shot him a sharp glance, summoned a waiter, and casually ordered a set menu. “What did you want to discuss?” she asked slowly.

“I know you’re a woman of strong convictions,” Xue Yi replied. “This meeting was arranged by our elders, and I imagine you must have many reservations. I wasn’t informed beforehand. My family has been pressuring me to find a suitable marriage partner, but I’ve always refused. In their impatience, they reached an agreement with the Elder Gu Family Head behind my back.”

“So you don’t want this marriage?” Gu Zhibai raised an eyebrow.

“To be honest, I already have someone I love,” Xue Yi admitted. “But his identity makes our relationship impossible to reveal publicly, which is why I’ve kept it hidden. My parents suspect something, which is why they’re so eager to finalize a marriage for me.”

“So, I have a proposal,” Xue Yi said with a smile. “Why don’t we collaborate? We can publicly say we’re getting to know each other and use each other as shields. Otherwise, these incidents will keep happening, and it’ll be a constant nuisance.”

Gu Zhibai’s heart stirred slightly. What he suggested was indeed a viable solution, but… “Wouldn’t your partner be jealous?”

Xue Yi chuckled wryly. “He is jealous, but he agreed. He’d rather I have a partner who has no romantic feelings for me than be constantly harassed by all sorts of people. In fact, this idea was his suggestion.”

“Miss Gu, please don’t rush to reject this. It’s a win-win for both of us. We won’t get engaged, there will be no private meetings, we’ll simply announce the possibility of a marriage alliance. That should deter future incidents.”

Gu Zhibai hesitated for a moment before admitting, “Your proposal is tempting, but I need time to consider it.”

Xue Yi smiled warmly. “Of course. But I’d appreciate it if you kept things vague publicly while you’re considering. If you decide against collaborating, then we can announce that we won’t be marrying.”

“Sure, I’m fine with that,” Gu Zhibai said.

The two didn’t continue their conversation. Xue Yi even occasionally checked his phone, tapping away with a genuine smile on his face.

Gu Zhibai guessed he was probably chatting with his lover. She didn’t find his behavior rude; on the contrary, his demeanor only strengthened her desire to collaborate.

It was clear their relationship was solid, significantly reducing the likelihood that Xue Yi was merely putting on an act.

She spent the entire afternoon barely glancing at her phone, her mind preoccupied with the arranged marriage and pushing last night’s worries to the back of her mind.
She had more pressing matters occupying her thoughts, but Jiang Zhenmian did not.

Sitting in her office, staring at Photoshop, Jiang Zhenmian couldn’t stop glancing at the WeChat icon.

An hour passed with no message.

Two hours passed with no message.

Three hours passed, and the WeChat app seemed as dead as a doornail.

The pressure around Jiang Zhenmian grew heavier and heavier. In a manga, a dark cloud would undoubtedly be hovering over her head, black resentment radiating outward in a five-meter radius.

What the hell? The “Love Manual” chapter on playing hard to get didn’t say anything about this!

Normally, Gu Zhibai should have suddenly realized how important Jiang Zhenmian was to her, then begged her to stay, chased after her, and poured out hundreds of words of heartfelt confessions, leading to a perfect happy ending, right?

But Gu Zhibai just vanished! That’s not how the script was supposed to go!

What’s this about “I’m supposed to play along, but I’m pretending not to notice”?

Gu Zhibai, I, Jiang Zhenmian, am giving you a serious warning: don’t force someone who loves you most to improvise!

Damn it, why isn’t she replying? Did I really come off too cold?

No… Jiang Zhenmian scrolled through their morning messages, reviewing every exchange. Even though my tone was a bit flat, I replied to every message.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, stopping at the last message: I’m having lunch with Xiao Xu.

Could that be it?

Does Gu Zhibai dislike Xiao Xu? Did seeing us having lunch together make her angry?

Xiao Xu had a baby-soft, doll-like face. Though she was twenty-five, she looked like a high schooler, and everyone in the office loved to pinch her round cheeks.

Jiang Zhenmian, who disliked physical contact, had never joined in.
Still, Jiang Zhenmian and Xiao Xu got along quite well. The girl was a foodie who had tried every dish at every restaurant around the office, knowing exactly what was delicious and what wasn’t.

Jiang Zhenmian shared similar tastes, and the two often chatted about food, their relationship was quite good.

Now that she thought about it, Jiang Zhenmian had mentioned Xiao Xu more frequently in their conversations lately. Even though most of it was about food, she couldn’t be sure Gu Zhibai wouldn’t get jealous.

When you love someone, you become possessive, wanting to keep them from getting too close to others. That’s perfectly logical!

Desperate for a solution, Jiang Zhenmian convinced herself she’d found the cause and secretly resolved to create some distance between herself and Xiao Xu.

As soon as it was time to leave work, Xiao Xu came running over, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Want to go to Zhang Ji’s for Peking duck? Seriously, it’s amazing! You haven’t tried it yet, I guarantee it’ll blow your mind!”

Jiang Zhenmian was tempted but politely declined, “I can’t go.”

Xiao Xu grabbed her arm and shook it gently, her voice softening. “Please come! It’s seriously delicious, trust me!”

Her sweet, adorable voice paired with her round, doll-like face was almost too much to bear. But Jiang Zhenmian, the heartless Corporate Slave, subtly frowned, grabbed Xiao Xu’s hand, and firmly pulled her arm free.

“I really don’t want to go. Why don’t you ask someone else?”

Xiao Xu’s disappointment was palpable. She pouted and mumbled, “Fine, then.”

Free from Xiao Xu, Jiang Zhenmian regained her peace. A strong impulse surged through her to go straight to the top floor and confront Gu Zhibai. After a fierce internal battle, she forced herself to resist.

If I go up there now, all my efforts will have been for nothing! she thought. I initiated this game of playing hard to get. How can I be the first to compromise?

Gritting her teeth, Jiang Zhenmian marched toward the school. As fate would have it, just as she exited the subway and began walking toward her dormitory, a pen salesman blocked her path.
The man claimed he was doing an internship and his company required him to sell all the carbon pens today, or he would fail his internship. Jiang Zhenmian was in a foul mood and couldn’t be bothered to pretend to be polite or agreeable. She bluntly refused, “I’m not buying any.”

She tried to walk past him, but he stubbornly blocked her path again. Perhaps noticing her head was lowered and she seemed lacking in confidence, he assumed she was timid and wouldn’t refuse him.

The pen salesman, who fancied himself handsome, wore only a thin jacket despite the freezing weather. He leaned in close to Jiang Zhenmian, “Beautiful lady, just buy one box. You’ll need pens anyway, right? It’s a steal at just one yuan per pen—they cost two and a half yuan in stationery stores. I can tell you’re pretty and kind-hearted. Please, senior, just buy one box. Would you really let me fail my internship?”

Jiang Zhenmian stopped and stared coldly into his eyes, sneering, “Yes, I would. Didn’t you know beautiful women have no conscience? Besides, buddy, your eye bags are practically dragging on your chin. Stop trying to act cool. You’re dressed like you forgot to pay your IQ bill, shivering in this freezing weather, and dragging your old, arthritic legs around to guilt-trip people into buying your pens. Must be tough. Still waiting for your pension check?”

“Look at all these people passing by, and you’re not stopping any of them. Why single me out? Think I’m an easy target? You’ve picked the wrong person. Judging by your behavior, it’s not just your brain that’s malfunctioning; your eyesight’s failing too. Get yourself some reading glasses. If you’re too broke, scavenge a pair from the junkyard. Anything’s better than wearing plastic balls as eyes, right?”

“You’re lucky you ran into me today. I’m kind-hearted and won’t stoop to your level. I’ll even give you some life lessons. But what if you cross someone with a nasty temper? They might break both your legs so you’ll never suffer from those aching joints again. Who would you complain to then? They’d just say they were doing you a favor out of kindness. Wouldn’t they be right?”

Jiang Zhenmian’s mouth was a weapon, her words rapid-fire and relentless. The man couldn’t even open his mouth to reply. She didn’t curse once, just dripped sarcasm. Students nearby stopped to listen, some secretly recording.

What a warrior against moral blackmail!

Surrounded by a growing crowd, the pen vendor’s face turned green with shame. Afraid to retaliate, he glared at Jiang Zhenmian before fleeing in disgrace.

The verbal barrage hadn’t relieved Jiang Zhenmian’s frustration; her irritation only intensified. She trudged back to her dorm, skipping dinner. Just as she reached the door, her phone pinged.
Jiang Zhenmian’s face lit up as she pulled out her phone right at the door. But her smile froze when she saw the sender: Gu Zhiyao’s elite assistant.

The assistant had sent several messages in quick succession. Jiang Zhenmian clicked one open with a dismissive click of her tongue, and her gaze instantly froze.

It was a photo of Gu Zhibai dining with a handsome man. The assistant’s message demanded to know what Jiang Zhenmian had been doing. Gu Zhibai was about to get engaged to the Xue family’s young master!

Jiang Zhenmian: ???

Jiang Zhenmian: What are you talking about?!

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