Reborn as the Heartless Alpha - Chapter 50

Song Yi dismissed the thought of sudden death almost immediately. She had frequently pulled all-nighters and worked overtime in her previous life without any major health issues; it would be ridiculous if she were to drop dead in this world just because of one night of studying and existential reflection.

She tossed her phone aside, rubbed her temples, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Zhou Zhou had already prepared the meal and was standing by the table waiting for her.

“It smells wonderful,” Song Yi praised. She leaned in and saw that besides the egg ribbons, the soup contained seaweed and shrimp.

Seeing that Ms. Song’s attention was entirely on the food, Zhou Zhou felt relieved that the little incident in the kitchen had been put behind them. After breakfast, Song Yi went back upstairs to continue her review. Final exams were approaching, and since she was accompanying Zhou Zhou to school tomorrow, she decided to put in extra study time today.

Downstairs, Zhou Zhou managed the villa affairs. Fresh meat, eggs, and vegetables had arrived from the farm, and the fruit supplier had delivered as well. Zhou Zhou sorted them and took a box of cherries to wash. She wondered if she should take them up to Ms. Song, who was studying so hard. She wanted to, but the fact that the fruit matched her own pheromone scent made her hesitate.

Around nine o’clock, the housekeeper and the cook arrived. Zhou Zhou was staring blankly at the washed cherries when the housekeeper, unaware of Zhou Zhou’s pheromone scent, remarked casually, “Ms. Song doesn’t eat cherries.”

Zhou Zhou froze. “Why?”

“She said she doesn’t like them. Said they’re watery, too much moisture, and not sweet enough.”

The housekeeper remembered clearly; in the past, whenever cherries were bought for the villa, they weren’t for Ms. Song, but for her female companions. Ms. Song would only occasionally eat them if her companion went to great lengths to feed them to her. Once, the housekeeper had walked in to tidy a room and caught them flirting quite shamelessly—it was enough to make an old lady blush.

“What’s wrong, Zhou Zhou?” the two women asked, noticing her expression.

“Nothing,” Zhou Zhou shook her head and put the cherries back in the refrigerator.

The next morning, Song Yi went down to the kitchen for water and discovered the box of cherries. She saw the label from yesterday and washed them again.

“Ms. Song, you’re up so early today,” Zhou Zhou said, clearly shocked to find her in the kitchen.

Song Yi smiled and shook the cherries in her hand. “Woke up hungry.”

In truth, she hadn’t woken up hungry; she was just placing a lot of importance on accompanying Zhou Zhou to see her results today. She had woken up before her alarm.

Zhou Zhou, unaware of this, looked anxious. “Please wait, Ms. Song, I’ll make breakfast immediately.”

“No rush. I’ll have some cherries to tide me over. Take your time, and be careful not to get hurt.”

Thinking of how Zhou Zhou had almost burned herself yesterday, she offered the reminder before leaving the kitchen. she could tell that her presence there made Zhou Zhou self-conscious. Zhou Zhou’s face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and sweetness—Ms. Song actually remembered that little episode.

Song Yi sat on the sofa, eating the cherries one by one. As the sweet juice burst in her mouth, she stared at her phone screen, reviewing the PDF scan of her materials one last time before breakfast.

Once breakfast was served, Song Yi put away her phone to eat with Zhou Zhou. Afterward, they set off together. The driver was on leave, so Song Yi decided to drive herself. Instead of taking the car parked in the yard, she led Zhou Zhou to the underground garage.

When the garage door opened, Song Yi was stunned. The original “Scum Alpha” was indeed a top-tier socialite who only knew how to enjoy life; the garage was larger than she could have imagined, filled with luxury cars like a massive collection of expensive stamps.

“Which one do you want to ride in?” Song Yi asked, turning to Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou was awestruck by the sea of high-end vehicles gleaming under the lights. Today, she realized that Ms. Song’s wealth far exceeded her imagination. The villas, the entire clothing store, and now this. Everything felt unreachable, even though she was living in that villa and wearing the clothes Ms. Song bought.

“I get to choose?” Zhou Zhou looked up at Ms. Song. From this angle, she could see Ms. Song’s perfect jawline and sharp eyes. Yet, when Ms. Song looked at her directly, her gaze was always so gentle.

“Mhm. You choose,” Song Yi replied with a smile, instinctively wanting to follow Zhou Zhou’s preference.

Zhou Zhou walked forward. Song Yi noticed she wasn’t wearing a dress today but one of the few pant-suits from “Sweet Peach.” It was oversized and conservative, hiding her curves. Song Yi immediately sensed that Zhou Zhou felt insecure. The high school campus was indeed a place where Zhou Zhou had been bullied, which was why Song Yi insisted on coming along. If she were there, Zhou Zhou wouldn’t be alone.

Zhou Zhou didn’t know much about cars, so she looked for something that seemed low-profile. She wondered if she should sit in the front or the back. She felt guilty that her boss was personally driving her to school, being so kind and attentive, while she was the one being pampered. She didn’t know how much longer she would be the butler, but she silently added “learning to drive” to her to-do list.

“Ms. Song, is this one okay?” Zhou Zhou pointed to a black car that looked relatively modest.

“Of course.” Song Yi walked over, thinking Zhou Zhou had excellent taste. The car was expensive and high-performance, but it was designed to blend into traffic. She opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

The black luxury car sped along the asphalt. Zhou Zhou gripped her seatbelt, looking a bit nervous. Song Yi noticed and slowed down slightly.

When they reached the school gate, they were stopped. Visitors had to queue for registration, while students could go in. Song Yi looked at the long line and the time—it was past nine. She asked for Zhou Zhou’s class information and told her to go in first while she finished the registration.

Mr. Lin had said to gather at nine for the results and then head to the auditorium at nine-thirty. Despite Song Yi’s fast driving, Zhou Zhou was a few minutes late and had to run the rest of the way.

She stopped at the classroom door, her face flushed and her hair slightly messy. She stood straight and called out “Reporting!” to Mr. Lin on the podium. The noise in the classroom ceased instantly.

Fifty pairs of eyes turned to her. The morning sun cast a golden glow through the leaves of the century-old camphor tree outside, highlighting her silhouette. Everyone noticed the change: she no longer looked poor.

“Is that the ‘Sweet Peach’ exclusive set?” a girl whispered. “I wanted to buy it when the pre-sale was announced, but it was sold out by the time I got to the store. I saved up for so long… what a shame.”

“She looks even better in those clothes,” a boy remarked. “The clothes make the woman.”

Someone immediately countered, “Zhou Zhou is pretty; she’d look good in anything.”

The classroom buzzed with excitement over her transformation. Mr. Lin tapped the podium for silence. “Come in, Zhou Zhou. We’re starting to hand out the results.”

As students went up to collect their transcripts, Zhou Zhou walked calmly to her seat. She reached her desk only to find her chair was missing—another prank. She stood to the side. The girl who had missed out on the clothes tried to get close. “Zhou Zhou, sit with me.” Zhou Zhou politely declined.

“How did you get those clothes?” the girl whispered.

Zhou Zhou didn’t know how to explain that Ms. Song had bought them in her name. Just then, Chu Weiwei, sitting behind her, spoke up in a snide tone.

“How else? By finding a sugar mommy. You were so tough at the store the other day, Zhou Zhou, why are you speechless now?”

Chu Weiwei kept her voice just loud enough for the surrounding students to hear. They looked at Zhou Zhou with questioning eyes. Mr. Lin, being a bit hard of hearing, didn’t realize the verbal attack was happening.

“No way,” the girl who had offered her a seat said, looking surprised. “So many rich Alphas chased you in school and you never agreed.”

“Hmph,” Chu Weiwei sneered.

“Probably because they didn’t offer enough. As our famous school beauty, she has high standards. If I recall correctly, the rich woman who’s keeping her bought out the entire ‘Sweet Peach’ store in one go.”

“The whole store!” “No wonder the clerk told me they were sold out.”

Zhou Zhou didn’t argue. Over the past three years, she had grown used to the ridicule and rumors. At first, she would cry, not knowing who was smearing her. If a boy confessed, the rumor was they slept together. If she stayed late to study, the rumor was she was hiding in the woods with a boy. Even asking a teacher a question was twisted into “seducing” them.

Zhou Zhou wondered if it was because of her face. People said a beautiful face made life easier, but she knew that wasn’t true for her. Explanations and sadness were useless, so she had learned to remain indifferent. But today, when Chu Weiwei brought Ms. Song into it, her heart ached sharply.

“Tsk tsk, after acting poor for three years, I thought you were so pure,” Chu Weiwei continued. “Turns out you couldn’t resist the money. If you were that desperate, you should have just asked; we could have crowdfunded for you.

Why sell your body? It’s the only thing you have left to offer; what will you do when you’re truly out of options?”

“Oh, I almost forgot—you wouldn’t look twice at the pittance we have to offer anyway.”

Chu Weiwei’s mouth ran incessantly, determined to reclaim every bit of face she had lost to Zhou Zhou the other day.

“Chu Weiwei.”

Mr. Lin’s call interrupted her. She froze in fear for a few seconds before realizing the teacher was simply calling her up to collect her transcript; Mr. Lin couldn’t actually hear the nasty things she was whispering to Zhou Zhou.

She relaxed, stood up, and straightened her back as she walked past Zhou Zhou. She was confident she had done well, perhaps even well enough to surpass her rival. For three years of high school, she had been suppressed by Zhou Zhou for too long—be it in grades or in popularity.

Many people liked Zhou Zhou, but Chu Weiwei knew how to destroy such superficial, fragile affection. After all, how many people could openly admit to liking someone once they learned that person was “indiscreet” or “morally corrupt”? Most would stay away, except for those Alphas who had ill intentions to begin with.

Like the Alphas who had cornered and bullied Zhou Zhou against a wall that day; Chu Weiwei had passed by and could have stopped it, but she hadn’t.

In the mock exams before the college entrance exams, Zhou Zhou had only narrowly defeated her by a few points. Before every subject of the actual exams, Chu Weiwei had deliberately tried to mess with Zhou Zhou’s mental state. She refused to believe Zhou Zhou could perform better than her this time.

The top spot had to be hers.

“Chu Weiwei, 680. Well done.” As Mr. Lin handed her the transcript, he noticed the smug smile on her face and offered a piece of advice. “Life is long. Everyone should maintain a humble attitude toward learning; avoid arrogance and impetuousness.”

Chu Weiwei took the transcript with a smile, but inwardly, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. Mr. Lin always protected Zhou Zhou, and protecting Zhou Zhou meant being against her. She didn’t like this homeroom teacher; although Mr. Lin was a good instructor and had helped her with her weak point, Mathematics, she preferred to believe her improvement came from the private tutors her parents hired.

On her way back to her seat, she deliberately slowed her pace. She wanted to see a hint of envy, distress, or dissatisfaction on Zhou Zhou’s annoyingly beautiful face. But there was nothing. Zhou Zhou’s expression remained indifferent, not giving her a shred of emotion, as if she didn’t care at all about what Chu Weiwei had scored.

Chu Weiwei gritted her teeth, her right hand clenching into a fist and crumpling the transcript. She felt a surge of bottled-up rage with nowhere to vent. She had competed with Zhou Zhou for three years, and yet the girl didn’t even show a ripple of emotion upon hearing her impressive score.

“Zhou Zhou.” On the podium, Mr. Lin held the final transcript, a smile of pure admiration on his face.

It was her turn. Zhou Zhou rose calmly, but it was at this moment that she truly began to feel nervous. Every cell in her body was trembling. Her fingers tightened by her side, and she instinctively glanced toward the door. Deep down, she was anticipating something, though she dared not hold any real expectations.

As she reached the podium, that silhouette appeared.

Zhou Zhou pinched her palm with her thumb, her heart racing even faster. She had been able to ignore Chu Weiwei’s blatant provocations, but now, with Ms. Song simply standing outside the door, she began to panic. She was terrified that if her results were disappointing, she would lose face in front of Ms. Song.

She lowered her head before Mr. Lin and closed her eyes, quietly awaiting the verdict.

“Zhou Zhou scored 709 points.” Mr. Lin paused to take a deep breath. “She is our province’s top scorer in the Liberal Arts category this year.”

As Mr. Lin finished, he led the applause. After a second of stunned silence, the classroom erupted into thunderous cheers. Even Chu Weiwei, who had hoped Zhou Zhou would score less than her, began clapping instinctively. Realizing what she was doing, she belatedly lowered her hands and turned her head away, though in her heart, she had to admit defeat.

For the past decade or so, the top scorers had been monopolized by the children of the super-wealthy from elite private high schools. After all, the massive gap created at birth is hard to close, and the inequality of educational resources makes that chasm nearly insurmountable.

For Zhou Zhou to achieve the rank of provincial top scorer was a massive honor for the school. Chu Weiwei’s hand, resting on her leg, gave two more soft, secret claps that went unnoticed.

Zhou Zhou felt as if her breath had hitched. Her hands shook as she took the cement-colored paper. The transcript, with its small black print, felt heavy. All those years of desperate hard work had finally paid off.

Amidst the warm applause, she turned her head. She saw Ms. Song standing in the hallway outside the classroom, framed by the old, yellowing tiles. She was clapping for her, a warm, bright smile on her face, appearing genuinely delighted. Ms. Song was happy for her.

Song Yi knew Zhou Zhou’s grades were good, but she hadn’t expected her to be this impressive. She looked at the cramped classroom packed with over fifty students. The podium was a wooden table with a corner missing, seemingly gnawed by rats. A piece of the chalkboard was missing for some unknown reason, and even the windows were mostly broken, patched with varying amounts of newspaper. It must be freezing when the wind leaked in during winter.

She couldn’t help but think about how much Zhou Zhou must have suffered to achieve such a score in such a harsh environment. Her heart ached for her.

Once all the transcripts were handed out, the room was a mix of joy and sorrow; some students with red eyes were already planning to repeat the year to try again. Mr. Lin gave an inspiring speech to wrap things up, wishing everyone a bright future. Seeing that the time was up, the teacher instructed everyone to head to the school’s large meeting room. To snag the front-row seats, the students swarmed out of the room. Only Zhou Zhou and a few students who were unhappy with their results stood up slowly.

As Zhou Zhou walked out of the classroom, Song Yi was standing by a ceramic ledge that only reached her waist, gazing into the distance.

“Ms. Song.”

Song Yi turned around at the sound of Zhou Zhou’s voice, her smile tender. “Congratulations. Our Zhou Zhou turns out to be a top-tier scholar.”

Zhou Zhou’s face flushed as she lowered her eyes. Song Yi asked with a smile, “Is it over?”

“There’s still a seminar,” Zhou Zhou said shyly. “I’m not sure when it will end. You don’t have to wait for me, Ms. Song.”

Song Yi just smiled and said, “Go on.”

“Then I’m going. Goodbye, Ms. Song.” Zhou Zhou waved reluctantly and ran off.

Song Yi smiled as she watched Zhou Zhou’s retreating back until she was out of sight.

“Hello, Miss. May I ask if you know Zhou Zhou?” Mr. Lin had been observing from the classroom for a while. He had always thought Zhou Zhou had no friends and no family, but this woman of exceptional temperament seemed very familiar with her. Having taught Zhou Zhou for three years, the teacher couldn’t help but step forward to ask.

“Hello, Mr. Lin,” Song Yi said politely.

“You know who I am?”

“Zhou Zhou mentioned you.” Song Yi couldn’t say she had read the novel and knew him as a character, so she could only offer that explanation.

“And you are to Zhou Zhou…?” Mr. Lin asked curiously.

This question stumped Song Yi. She couldn’t very well say she was Zhou Zhou’s boss, as that might cause a misunderstanding. She simply said, “We met through work. Zhou Zhou is very capable. I came along because I wanted to see what kind of school produced such an outstanding student.”

Mr. Lin smiled. “It’s just an ordinary high school. Zhou Zhou is a once-in-a-lifetime student.”

“There will be more good students in the future.” Song Yi paused and then added, “I wonder if you know the process for providing financial aid?”

“What do you mean?” Mr. Lin’s swollen eyes widened with excitement.

“I am willing to provide funding to help more students like Zhou Zhou, and to improve the learning environment here.”

“Thank you! Let me take you to see the Principal!” Mr. Lin enthusiastically led Song Yi to the Principal’s office.

After discussing the aid, Song Yi emphasized her hope that the school would strengthen moral education and eliminate bullying. The Principal agreed readily, though Song Yi knew it would be difficult to implement; however, things would get better. Just like Zhou Zhou.

The Principal warmly offered to show Song Yi around the campus, but she declined, saying she had other matters to attend to. The Principal was happy to let it go and asked Mr. Lin to see her out.

“The seminar should be finishing up soon. I’ll take you over to wait for Zhou Zhou.”

Song Yi nodded slightly. “Thank you, Mr. Lin.”

On the way, Song Yi heard more about Zhou Zhou from Mr. Lin—details that hadn’t been in the novel. Zhou Zhou had arrived for enrollment alone with almost no luggage; her school uniform jacket had been maliciously hidden by others; she had lost her meal card and had no money to replace it, going hungry for two days until Mr. Lin found out and took her to get a new one…

There were so many stories, and hearing them made Song Yi feel a heavy bitterness in her heart. She stopped walking. “Mr. Lin, thank you.”

A light filled Mr. Lin’s tired eyes; he was clearly extremely proud of Zhou Zhou. “Zhou Zhou is an excellent student, both in character and academics. She’s very resilient, though her personality is a bit soft. If you continue to cross paths in work, please look out for her.”

“I definitely will.”

“Look, Ms. Song, that’s the school’s celebratory banner.” Mr. Lin suddenly looked up. Song Yi followed his gaze to a fiery red banner with large characters congratulating Zhou Zhou on her achievement as the provincial top scorer.

Song Yi held up her phone to take a photo.

Suddenly, the doors to the meeting room opened nearby. Students poured out like birds finally released from a cage, eager to spread their wings and fly.

Zhou Zhou spotted Ms. Song and Mr. Lin standing together immediately. A breeze blew toward her, tickling her heart.

Ms. Song is still here. Is she waiting for me?

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