Reborn as the Heartless Alpha - Chapter 39

After Song Yi finished speaking, she realized her tone had been a bit harsh. Seeing Zhou Zhou lower her head, she was just about to find a way to make amends when Zhou Zhou suddenly looked up, her eyes firm. “Then, I’ll give it a try.”

“This orange doll…”

“I’ll hold it for you for now.” The doll temporarily returned to Song Yi’s arms as she placed the very last game coin into Zhou Zhou’s palm.

Afraid that Zhou Zhou would feel burdened, Song Yi offered some preemptive comfort: “Don’t feel pressured; just treat it as a game experience. It took me ninety-nine tries to catch one. If you get it in one go, I’ll be the one losing face.”

Zhou Zhou had been quite nervous, but hearing such a clearly intentional remark, she couldn’t help but smile, and her entire being relaxed.

Just treat it as an experience, she thought, just as Ms. Song had said.

This was the first time in Zhou Zhou’s life playing a claw machine, and as expected, she failed without any suspense. Surprisingly, her mood didn’t turn sour; instead, she felt a sense of lightness. A pleasant aura radiated from her, as if a feeling long suppressed in her heart had finally been released and was slowly spreading out.

Watching Zhou Zhou’s radiant expression, Song Yi couldn’t help but curve her lips. She handed the cute orange doll back to Zhou Zhou, who hesitated and didn’t immediately reach out.

“You have to believe that you deserve all the luck in this world.” Song Yi moved the orange doll forward a bit more.

Zhou Zhou finally took it. she lowered her eyes to look at the orange doll in her arms; its cartoonish, curved eyes and wide grin seemed to be praising her: “Ms. Song is right.”

The hardships of her upbringing had placed layers of shackles upon her, but just now, Ms. Song had helped her unlock one.

“Thank you, Ms. Song,” Zhou Zhou said, looking up with heartfelt sincerity, a faint glimmer of tears in her eyes.

Song Yi gazed at Zhou Zhou, wishing she could tell her right now that in the near future, her biological parents would find her, she would recover the parental love missing from her childhood, and she would have a trustworthy fiancée to cherish her.

But saying that out loud would probably make her sound insane. Song Yi swallowed back those future plot points, which could be considered “heavenly secrets.”

Until Zhou Zhou’s parents and fiancée appeared, she would be the one to take care of her.

Song Yi raised her hand to brush away a tear from the corner of Zhou Zhou’s eye, her voice tender. “Don’t cry.”

Zhou Zhou also felt she shouldn’t show her vulnerable side in front of Ms. Song. She quickly held back her tears—holding back tears was one of the things she was best at; it was effortless for her, having done it far too many times as a child.

She could even smile instantly and say to the person who helped wipe her tears, “I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Ms. Song. I think something got in my eye.” She blinked a few times, and the tears stopped.

Song Yi saw through it but didn’t expose her. Instead, she cooperated and asked, “Do you need me to help blow it out?”

“No need.” Zhou Zhou refused immediately, rubbing her eyes herself and quickly saying, “It’s better now.”

The two continued to browse nearby. During this time, they encountered Chu Weiwei once more—or rather, they didn’t exactly “meet,” as Song Yi spotted her while Zhou Zhou did not.

They were quite a distance apart, but Chu Weiwei was gritting her teeth in anger. Because of Zhou Zhou, she hadn’t been able to buy anything she liked all morning. After those new designer dresses she first laid eyes on were snatched away by Zhou Zhou, everything she saw afterward felt unappealing.

She ground her back teeth, watching Zhou Zhou, who had already changed into a beautiful new dress and comfortable white sneakers, holding an orange doll. She recognized it as coming from the claw machine; she remembered it well because she had failed to catch one after many attempts. Seeing a sophisticated-looking woman standing next to her made her even angrier—her blood was practically boiling.

Is this Zhou Zhou’s latest sugar mommy? Chu Weiwei felt a bit bitter. With such a generous spender, the underlying transaction must be quite sordid. To regain some psychological balance, Chu Weiwei silently vilified the relationship of the pair in her heart, even taking several “click-click” candid shots with her phone.

Suddenly, the woman next to Zhou Zhou looked over with a sharp, dangerous gaze. For a moment, Chu Weiwei was terrified, clumsily trying to cover up by pretending she was just taking a selfie.

Song Yi stared coldly at the girl standing by the directory sign. She remembered that in the book The Scum Alpha Always Abandons Others, Chu Weiwei was a brainless female supporting character. The original author had likely arranged such a character just to create conflict, and she had bullied Zhou Zhou quite a bit throughout their three years of high school.

After a few seconds, the girl found the gaze unbearable and fled in a panic.

This was the “death stare” Song Yi had frequently used while managing her company in her previous world. Being young and in a high position, she had to display the aura of a seasoned predator to hold her ground and suppress the “old foxes” in the company who were always looking for an opportunity to rebel.

She hadn’t expected that after transmigrating into a book, her old tricks would still come in handy.

“Ah, that!” Zhou Zhou’s excited voice suddenly came from beside her. “Ms. Song, look!”

“What is it?” Song Yi snapped out of the aftermath of intimidating Chu Weiwei.

“Over there.” Zhou Zhou held the grinning orange doll in one hand and pointed toward a glass window with the other.

Inside the transparent glass wall, everything was made of wood. On the display stands against the inner wall were various types of board games. There were some that Zhou Zhou couldn’t even name; she only saw the most prominent one, Chess, being played by people sitting face-to-face.

For a moment, Song Yi didn’t understand why Zhou Zhou was so excited to see Chess.

“Ms. You would definitely love this place,” Zhou Zhou said, looking at her with earnest sincerity.

Song Yi understood now. Zhou Zhou was still thinking of ways to help her and You Xuechu reconcile.

Smoothing over the relationship was fine, as she didn’t want to be loathed by You Xuechu forever, but “rekindling the flame” was out of the question. You Xuechu clearly had no more interest in her, and she certainly didn’t feel that way about You Xuechu.

Thus, Song Yi made a quick decision. She pulled Zhou Zhou in the opposite direction and, upon seeing the elevator, took it directly downstairs.

As the elevator descended, Zhou Zhou looked back several times before finally unable to resist asking, “Ms. Song, why did you…”

“I don’t like You Xuechu.” Song Yi turned her head and interrupted Zhou Zhou directly. “She likely doesn’t like me either. You don’t need to trouble yourself with playing matchmaker anymore.”

Zhou Zhou was a bit dumbfounded. Previously, both Ms. Song and Ms. You had expressed a lack of romantic interest in each other, but she had only thought they were having a lover’s spat, with neither side willing to back down.

Now it seemed it was actually true?

Ms. Song had spoken so seriously just now, and based on her tone, she even seemed a bit angry. Zhou Zhou felt a surge of unease.

After walking out of the mall, Song Yi’s pace was swift, almost like the wind. Zhou Zhou’s heels had been rubbed raw by the high heels earlier, and the friction while walking caused quite a bit of pain; she was struggling to keep up.

Song Yi couldn’t quite say why she had suddenly become unhappy or why her tone had turned sharp. Her reflection yielded no conclusion, but she stopped walking. Seeing Zhou Zhou trailing behind, she felt uneasy and turned back.

“Do your feet hurt?”

“No.” Zhou Zhou shook her head, lying: “My legs aren’t as long as yours, Ms. Song, so I can’t keep up.”

“I’m sorry,” Song Yi apologized with sincere gravity.

She wasn’t usually an emotional person, yet today she had already spoken to Zhou Zhou in a serious tone twice, and even walked fast without considering her. What was wrong with her?

Deeply frustrated with herself, Song Yi slowed her pace and walked side-by-side with Zhou Zhou.

Sensing that Ms. Song was accommodating her speed, Zhou Zhou asked cautiously, “Ms. Song, where are we going next?”

“There are several universities nearby. Want to go take a look?” Song Yi remembered the main task and turned to Zhou Zhou. “It’s better to have an idea before the results come out and you have to fill in your preferences. It beats choosing blindly.”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhou’s heart felt a slight tug, as if an invisible thread had bound her heart and lifted it a few inches.

Ms. Song had actually considered this for her.

“C University, F University, and J University are the best in the province. Among them, C University is one of the top-ranked schools in the country. Zhou Zhou, would you like to go see it?”

“…Yes.” Zhou Zhou nodded hesitantly. She remembered that back in her first year of high school, the homeroom teacher had urged everyone to visit good universities during the holidays. Every student had to fill out a target school card for the new semester, which was posted on a blackboard at the back of the classroom.

Other students were taken by their parents, but Zhou Zhou didn’t have that, and she didn’t want to go alone. She had filled in C University as her target, striving for the highest goal so that the final result wouldn’t be too bad.

“How about we go to C University first?” Song Yi asked. She had her own selfish reasons; she hoped Zhou Zhou would come to C University so they could be at the same school. As a senior, she would have more opportunities to look after Zhou Zhou.

“C University?” Zhou Zhou hugged the orange doll tighter and looked up at her. “Ms. Song, do you think… I have the ability to get into C University?”

“Yes. I believe so.” She believed without a second thought.

Zhou Zhou worked so hard; the results would surely not fail her. Song Yi was certain that in the original plot, if Song Yi hadn’t used underhanded tactics to have Zhou Zhou’s scores swapped, Zhou Zhou would never have lost the chance to attend university. She wouldn’t have spent her days by the Scum Alpha’s side as a mere pastime, and later, she wouldn’t have been forced to watch as the Scum Alpha spent time with other women.

The original Scum Alpha had even allowed her new lover to kick Zhou Zhou out before she could even pack her things. It had been pouring rain that day, and Zhou Zhou was soaked to the bone. Caught in the rain while in heat, her Alpha wasn’t by her side—no, she no longer had an Alpha. She had been abandoned by the very Alpha who had completely marked her and coaxed her with sweet words, even if it was done through someone else’s hands.

On that day, Zhou Zhou had nearly died in the heavy rain. It was Ding Chen, arriving on schedule to perform a health check for the original Scum Alpha, who saw Zhou Zhou unconscious by the roadside, took her home, and saved her.

Recalling that incredibly miserable part of the novel, Song Yi’s expression turned grim. She wondered if, despite her own changes, another “Scum Alpha” figure would appear and do the same contemptible things to Zhou Zhou.

“Zhou Zhou, come to C University. I’ll be your senior then, and I’ll only feel at ease if you’re by my side.” The question turned into a direct suggestion. Song Yi didn’t realize that these words once again caused quite a bit of turmoil for Zhou Zhou.

She had made up her mind in her heart: since she had transmigrated into this book, she would not let Zhou Zhou suffer those harms again, no matter what—even if it was just a possibility.

During this time when Zhou Zhou’s parents and fiancée were absent, she would be the one to protect her. She had nothing more important to do anyway, and the reason she transmigrated was that she felt for Zhou Zhou and hated the injustice she faced.

Zhou Zhou was in a daze. She completely couldn’t guess Ms. Song’s thoughts today.

Just a moment ago, Ms. Song had appeared angry several times, yet now she was suddenly inviting her to visit C University, hoping she would go there, and even saying things like “I’ll only feel at ease if you’re by my side.”

That sentence didn’t necessarily sound romantic, but it was perhaps a bit too close.

Was she really that important to Ms. Song?

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