Reborn as the Heartless Alpha - Chapter 30.2

She didn’t even bother noticing the subtle exchanges between the other two at the table food was the priority now.

After dinner, she eagerly returned to the sofa, ready for another round of chess. Since Song Yi and Zhou Zhou were still eating, she busied herself by sorting the chess pieces by color before idly playing with a grasshopper figurine on the couch.

At the table, Zhou Zhou tentatively broke the silence, “Miss Song, do you know how to play chess?”

“I do,” Song Yi answered truthfully. In her original world, she had been forced to learn many things from a young age chess, Go, piano, calligraphy, painting, tea ceremonies, golf. She was proficient in most, though she disliked the majority of them. She had followed her parents’ arrangements, believing that one couldn’t afford to fall behind early in life, and indeed, many of those skills proved useful in business dealings later on.

Zhou Zhou took a quiet breath, seeing this as an opportunity. Gathering her courage, she suggested, “Miss Song, maybe you could play a game with You Xuechu later? It might help, mend things between you.”

“I don’t like it,” Song Yi replied, lifting her gaze sharply, her expression firm and piercing.

Zhou Zhou felt as if struck by that look, her heart skipping a beat in confusion. Did Song Yi mean she disliked chess or the person?

She didn’t dare ask further. She had no right or standing to.

“I’m done eating,” Zhou Zhou said, setting down her bowl and retreating to You Xuechu’s side.

Song Yi followed closely behind. She noticed You Xuechu lounging lazily on the sofa, toying with a vividly green grasshopper figurine, handling it with obvious care.

A pang of unease shot through her had Zhou Zhou given that to You Xuechu?

You Xuechu noticed Song Yi’s gaze and closed her fingers over the green grasshopper. Only when she asked Zhou Zhou did she open her palm again: “You made this, didn’t you? Can you give it to me?”

Zhou Zhou nodded lightly. It was just a casually made grasshopper, and if Miss You liked it, she was more than happy to give it to her.

But when she turned slightly and saw Miss Song’s displeased expression, her heart suddenly clenched.

She remembered how Miss Song had given her the grasshopper made with her own blood, and she hadn’t given anything back to Miss Song yet. If she agreed to give the grasshopper to Miss You, would Miss Song misunderstand again?

Song Yi was still staring at the grasshopper in You Xuechu’s hand, the one Zhou Zhou had made. You Xuechu looked up at her and said, “Song Yi, do you want one too? But I don’t think a grasshopper suits you. You should weave a butterfly instead.”

Song Yi understood that You Xuechu was subtly mocking her for being fickle, like a fluttering butterfly probably for Zhou Zhou’s benefit. She didn’t take it too seriously and quietly averted her gaze. “I’ll take my leave now,” she said before turning to go.

You Xuechu suddenly regretted her sharp tongue. It wasn’t good to speak ill of Song Yi in front of someone she liked, but words once spoken were like water spilled, impossible to take back.

Zhou Zhou watched Miss Song leave with reluctant eyes, then noticed Miss You’s unhappiness.

Back in school, her classmates had said that love was a mix of sweetness and bitterness, a tormenting experience. Now, it seemed they were right.

You Xuechu pulled Zhou Zhou into two more rounds of Gomoku before heading upstairs to rest, urging Zhou Zhou to do the same. But Zhou Zhou couldn’t sit idle. She wanted to work, only to find that the housekeeping staff had already taken care of everything. She stepped out of the villa and returned to the lawn.

Zhou Zhou thought of the sorrowful look in Miss Song’s eyes when she saw the grasshopper, and Miss You’s remark that Miss Song should weave a butterfly.

Kneeling in the grass, she picked two blades and, weaving them together, crafted two lifelike butterflies. As she gently stroked them, her right index finger was accidentally nicked by the sharp edge.

Remembering the similar cut on Miss Song’s left index finger, Zhou Zhou smiled, a bittersweet warmth rising in her heart.

Looking at the tiny bead of blood on her finger, she secretly thought: Now I have something in common with Miss Song, even if it’s something small. It’s enough to make me happy for the whole day.

Song Yi returned to her villa and went straight to her room on the second floor, changing out of her loungewear. It wasn’t until evening, when hunger struck, that she went downstairs to find something to eat.

Opening the fridge without much expectation, she was surprised to find a fresh batch of cherries replenishing the ones she had finished that morning.

It must be Zhou Zhou.

A flicker of warmth spread through Song Yi’s chest, pushing away the tangled thoughts in her mind. She took the cherries to the dining table and ate every single one.

Ding Chen suddenly called, asking about her current situation, but the call ended quickly.

Then, like a tide, emptiness and loneliness swallowed Song Yi whole. In her original world, there was always endless work to do, but now she had too much free time. She desperately needed something to occupy herself.

She thought of her purpose in transmigrating into this book: to change Zhou Zhou’s life trajectory, to spare her from suffering at the hands of scum, and to help her live happily.

For now, Song Yi could barely suppress the original scummy Alpha’s instincts. But to truly protect Zhou Zhou from danger, the best solution was to help her find her birth parents and fiancée to give her a strong support system.

The problem was, Song Yi realized she couldn’t recall any useful information. She only remembered that Zhou Zhou’s parents and fiancée appeared in the story after Zhou Zhou herself had already grown strong. Their appearances were brief, with little description, and Song Yi’s memory was hazy, she couldn’t remember the names of these minor characters at all. All she knew was that they were currently developing their careers abroad.

Song Yi pinched the bridge of her nose. Even if it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, she had to try. She pulled up the contact for the person in charge of information gathering at the Song Corporation on her phone and made a request: to screen for overseas Chinese businesspeople, especially those with missing daughters, compile the data, and send it to her.

Though the person in charge found the request absurd, they still agreed to the future boss’s demand.

After handling this, Song Yi got up from the dining table and went out to the garden for a walk. As she stepped onto the lawn, she recalled cutting grass with Zhou Zhou that morning, surrounded by the fresh scent of greenery, Zhou Zhou teaching her how to weave grass into a grasshopper.

Unconsciously, she wandered to the fountain. The silent fountain suddenly lit up with a blue-purple glow, water jets spraying from the center in the shape of a flower. Song Yi remembered how Zhou Zhou’s eyes had sparkled with curiosity at the fountain that day, and her heart stirred.

She had deliberately kept it a mystery, saying it could only be seen on a special night. But now Zhou Zhou wasn’t here to see it, and watching it alone felt rather dull.

After quietly observing for a while, she took out her phone, snapped a still photo, and sent it over.

Then she added a message: [It’s dark now. You can see the fountain.]

At that moment, Zhou Zhou had just finished dinner with Miss You and returned to her room to rest. When she received Miss Song’s message, she hesitated before opening it.

Inside was a photo of the fountain, the one she hadn’t gotten to see before leaving with Miss You.

The blue-purgle light was slightly blurry, but still beautiful.

She replied: [Thank you, Miss Song. I see it. It’s very pretty.]

Song Yi received the reply, rolled over in bed, typed out a response, then deleted it.

In the end, she only sent: [Goodnight.]

Zhou Zhou replied with the same.

Song Yi lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Zhou Zhou wasn’t asleep either. She thought, Miss Song must be going to bed now. If I sneak over to see the fountain, I probably won’t run into her, right?

For some reason, she really wanted to see that dazzling fountain with her own eyes. After wrestling with the idea for a few minutes, she made a bold decision, she would go quietly. If she was careful, neither Miss You nor Miss Song would notice.

Zhou Zhou changed into the white dress she had arrived in, its skirt flaring like gardenia petals, and tiptoed out. She remembered the way back to Miss Song’s villa.

The streetlights lit the path brightly, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. She felt a little afraid, but when she saw the lights still on in Miss Song’s garden, her fear eased. She quickened her pace, the hem of her dress swaying gracefully in the night breeze.

Finally, she reached the gate of Miss Song’s villa but she couldn’t just open it and walk in. Before, she had always entered with Miss Song.

Peering through the iron bars, she saw the garden was lit, but the area around the medium-sized fountain was dark. She didn’t know where the secret lay, so she stood there quietly, waiting.

Unable to sleep after lying in bed for a long time, Song Yi irritably switched on the bedside lamp and got up to walk to the floor-to-ceiling window. Her gaze drifted aimlessly outside before suddenly fixing on a particular spot, her eyes lighting up with recognition.

She saw Zhou Zhou!

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