Seduced By My Omega Stepsister - Chapter 22

It’s All About Need.

Over the course of three days, Fu Zhou took Chu Xiyu to see four movies, not just on the big screen on the third floor of her home, but also at external theaters.

On the fourth day, Chu Xiyu rejected Fu Zhou’s idea of going to the amusement park. She had packed her things early, explaining that she had to attend a training session for the subject competition selections.

“Which subject?” Fu Zhou thought for a moment before remembering that the school held selections every year mid-semester for students to participate in provincial subject competitions for every discipline.

“English,” Chu Xiyu uttered, a word that made Fu Zhou’s head ache. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and turned to leave.

Fu Zhou hurried after her, rolling her bicycle out of the garage.

“Are you going to walk? Come on, get on. I’ll take you to school.”

Chu Xiyu glanced at the sparkling, puppy-like eyes in front of her and closed the ride hailing app on her phone.

She sat on the back seat of the bicycle, her hands naturally encircling Fu Zhou’s lean waist. Feeling the faint contours beneath the black shirt, a sliver of a smile touched her lips.

“Xiao Zhou, is every Alpha’s waist this good?”

The tips of the rider’s ears turned slightly red, but Fu Zhou’s voice was high with excitement. “I don’t know about other Alphas, but I’m great.”

Having differentiated as an Alpha, her physique was her best asset, she didn’t gain weight no matter what she ate, and her muscles remained in peak condition, lean, elegant, and well-defined.

“Mm, very great,” Chu Xiyu’s voice was soft and thin, swaying with the headwind, sounding even more ethereal.

“Did you used to ride often?” Fu Zhou’s skills were excellent, handling several slopes with steady precision. However, since someone usually picked them up from school and Fu Zhou hadn’t touched the bike during the first few days of the break, Chu Xiyu had assumed the bike in the garage was just a decoration.

Like a child who keeps a specific object in a specific corner of the house just to declare sovereignty.

At least, that’s how Chu Xiyu was.

She would place a flower picked from outside on the windowsill, pin her school awards to the wall herself, and display carefully crafted handiwork on the counter. No one noticed her, yet over countless nights, she had filled the corners of her home with these little pieces of herself.

A private proof of her existence in that family.

But did Fu Zhou need that?

Probably not. Unlike her, Fu Zhou was a child raised surrounded by love.

Beside her ear, the youth’s voice was warm and clean, like a clear breeze blowing through a mountain stream.

“Me? I used to ride a lot… at first, my mom insisted on teaching me. She said she’d hold the back and told me to ride forward boldly.”

“Actually, she wasn’t holding on at all. She only followed for two steps before letting go. I rode very fast, and when I circled back and saw her sitting there cheering for me, I stumbled and fell.”

“But since then, I knew how to ride. I just haven’t ridden much since she passed away.”

Some skills, once learned, are never forgotten. In any year of Fu Zhou’s remaining life, whenever the word “bicycle” appeared, memories of her late mother would surge like the tide. It was like a bone damaged in winter, the pain might not be obvious near a hearth or during spring and summer, but the moment a specific scene was triggered, a dull, swollen ache would return to the body.

Chu Xiyu knew this better than anyone. She knew the weight of memory, and she knew the hidden wound beneath the youth’s warm smile.

Who wouldn’t love their mother?

Yet she only smiled lightly, tightening her grip around Fu Zhou’s waist, dismissively bypassing the youth’s melancholy.

She felt herself to be base.

Distance and proximity were entirely dependent on her own needs. Like a hesitant cloud in the rainy season, she only revealed her moisture and dampness at the opportune moment.

She didn’t care. Even if she had to weigh every ounce of sincerity on a scale to craft a staircase to the clouds, she would do it.

The distance from home to school was less than a twenty-minute ride. Once Fu Zhou parked the bike and stood there with crescent-moon puppy eyes to see her off, the girl, who was about to enter the school gate, suddenly stopped.

Fu Zhou walked over in confusion, stopping a few paces away.

Chu Xiyu gently and naturally straightened Fu Zhou’s sleeve, which had been ruffled by the wind. Her eyes shimmered like spring sunlight hitting the water’s surface, looking as though they held infinite affection.

“Will you come pick me up tonight?”

On the fourth day of the holiday, Zhou Heyu finally managed to meet up with Fu Zhou.

For the past year, during every monthly break, the three of them had spent their time together. But this time, from the night Fu Zhou first declined her invitation, Zhou Heyu felt something was off. Sure enough, over the following days, Fu Zhou had rejected her eight hundred times with various excuses.

The only time Fu Zhou actively invited her was at the school gate.

Zhou Heyu stood to Zhang Meng’s left, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the girl sitting in the milk tea shop.

Normally, the shop wouldn’t be crowded during the break, but since the senior students were returning to school this afternoon, some boarding students had come out early to buy “funeral goods” (school supplies) for the coming term. About a dozen people were scattered around the tables.

With Fu Zhou as the center, the tables further away were empty.

The 8:00 or 9:00 AM summer sun was already intense. She sat in the shade, looking down at her phone. A few rays of light fell on her fair neck, where the scent-blocking patch was firmly applied.

Even in a crowd, Fu Zhou was conspicuous. She had a striking beauty, leaning back in her chair with a bit of a slouch,car eless yet lazy. Her thick lashes cast a small shadow over her dark, puppy-like eyes, giving her a cold, unapproachable aura.

Zhou Heyu and Zhang Meng were roughly the same height. After catching several girls stealing glances at Fu Zhou for the umpteenth time, Zhou Heyu chuckled. She leaned in close to Zhang Meng’s ear, almost touching, and whispered:

“Zhang Meng, you’re both Alphas. Why aren’t you as popular as Fu Zhou?”

Zhang Meng coldly reached out and turned Zhou Heyu’s head away. “I keep a lower profile.”

Zhou Heyu laughed dismissively and pulled Zhang Meng toward the shop.

Zhang Meng wasn’t lying, she did keep a low profile. Since differentiating as an Alpha, she never appeared in large social settings, didn’t play basketball or run track, and never added any “fan girls” on social media.

Fu Zhou, on the other hand, had a reputation that preceded her since her first year. Even before her status as a top-tier Alpha was widely known, she had added countless girls simply because of her face and she was dim enough to think they just wanted to be “friends.”

When they sent “good morning” and “good night” messages or gifts, Fu Zhou would dutifully send “good morning” and “good night” back and exchange gifts in return. Every morning, Fu Zhou’s locker would be stuffed with letters and presents, and she would spend the next day returning the favors one by one.

Eventually, rumors spread that Fu Zhou was a “player” who flirted with everyone at once, while she remained utterly clueless. Consequently, labels like “Top Alpha,” “Player,” “Dangerous,” and “God-tier Beauty” were pinned to her. Yet, Fu Zhou never actually dated. Aside from a very public, months-long pursuit of someone in her first year which ended in rejection, no actual scandals had ever been confirmed.

Through this series of events, Fu Zhou’s “persona” naturally became exactly the type girls liked most. Even now, people specifically came to their classroom door just to see what kind of person she was.

Once Zhou Heyu and Zhang Meng entered, part of the crowd’s attention shifted to them. Both were attractive. Zhou Heyu had a cute smile, while Zhang Meng looked cold together, they were a contrast of summer and winter.

They sat unceremoniously on either side of Fu Zhou. Two unopened milk teas were on the table, presumably ordered for them.

“Why come to school when there’s no class? Do you miss it? Or do you just like watching the seniors suffer?” Zhou Heyu was the only one of the three who liked full sugar. She took a sip, squinting in satisfaction as the sweetness exploded in her mouth.

“Chu Xiyu is here for subject competition training. I dropped her off,” Fu Zhou said, looking up. The cold aura vanished instantly, replaced by a clean, youthful vibe.

“Subject competition?” Zhou Heyu’s brain took a moment to catch up. “Isn’t that for the regular classes? The Advanced Placement (AP) classes aren’t forced to participate.”

In fact, these “favored children of heaven” usually looked down on these mid-term exams with low prestige. The school’s expectations for them were focused on the provincial competitions at the end of the second year, the all subject competitions during holidays, and the national competitions at the start of the third year. Those had rankings and real weight.

Mid-term competitions were mostly single subject formalities to encourage students in regular classes.

Zhang Meng took a sip of her sugar free tea and pursed her lips slightly. “She needs an opportunity to prove her strength.”

Usually, when something confused both of them, they deferred to Zhang Meng’s insight.

“Prove her strength? She’s been at the top of the rankings for so many weekly tests… isn’t that enough?”

“In our class and the one next door, who takes weekly tests seriously? Everyone just cruises through them.”

“If you cruise through a weekly test, you might not perform your best. Monthly exams can be niche. Mid-terms are school designed. It’s too late for the finals now… Even if the regular subject competition isn’t prestigious, taking first place would still mean she’s beaten more than half of the AP students.”

Fu Zhou fell silent.

She had been integrated into her new school environment for so long that she had almost forgotten how difficult it is for a fixed social circle to accept an outsider. Chu Xiyu had transferred from an obscure high school directly into the AP Class B; many people were dissatisfied.

She had to prove herself, placing herself in a position that was “excellent but not excessive” to avoid being ostracized.

Yet, Chu Xiyu had never rejected a single request for companionship from Fu Zhou… over this past month.