Senior, Stop Pretending to be an Alpha - Chapter 25

The Senior was speechless, thinking she was intentionally messing with him. He managed a bitter smile. “Junior, you don’t have to make up such an excuse to brush me off.”

“I’m not making up excuses.” Xie Bufei glanced at him, her tone indifferent. “I’m serious.”

The Senior scratched his head. “How can someone like that exist?” Both smart and silly? Was she talking about someone with a split personality?

Xie Bufei never liked wasting words, but she uncharacteristically offered one more explanation: “They exist; you just haven’t met them.”

The Senior caught the underlying meaning and gave a sheepish laugh. “I see. So, Junior has already met someone who makes her heart flutter?”

Yu Qiao listened silently but didn’t hear a verbal answer from Xie Bufei. She only saw the girl tilt her head slightly, seemingly a silent admission.

Xie Bufei turned her face, her gaze drifting across the long distance, inadvertently looking toward where Yu Qiao was standing.

Yu Qiao suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She instinctively took a few steps back and averted her eyes. She quickly realized that since she was standing in an unlit area, her face wouldn’t be clear; there was no need to worry about being recognized.

After thinking it over, she decided to pretend nothing had happened. She crouched down as if to tie her shoelaces, then continued jogging along the track.

After completing a full lap with a blank mind, she neared the same spot and stopped to look. The two of them were gone.

They must have left…

Yu Qiao let out a long, deep breath, unsure of how she actually felt.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse; the autumn night was gentle and cool. Despite the good weather, a trace of melancholy—the kind usually born on a rainy day, tangled and hard to unravel—crept into her heart.

The track was scattered with leaves fallen from the camphor trees. Large and small, they had been dyed golden by the arrival of autumn, and having dried in the wind, they made a crisp crunching sound when stepped on.

Yu Qiao heard that crisp crackle approaching until it stopped right behind her.

A hand lightly tapped her shoulder.

“Qiaoqiao?”

Yu Qiao turned around to find the girl who had just vanished standing right there, looking up at her with her beautiful fox-like eyes narrowed slightly.

She was wearing a soft cream-colored knit sweater and a black choker around her slender, swan-like neck. Her skin was pale and smooth under the moonlight, her collarbones tracing a thin, silver glow.

Xie Bufei looked at her and chuckled. “Out for another run?”

Yu Qiao suddenly felt a bit nervous. She replied in a low voice, “Yeah.”

Xie Bufei smiled and pulled out a tissue, handing it to her. “Wipe the sweat off your face.”

Yu Qiao thanked her and took the tissue.

“New glasses?” Xie Bufei watched her take off the glasses to wipe her face. “You look better like this.”

Yu Qiao explained, “The old ones were broken.”

Xie Bufei leaned in a little closer, staring at her face and murmuring softly, “You should have changed them a long time ago.”

As Yu Qiao met her gaze, she inexplicably tightened her grip on the tissue.

Xie Bufei’s eyes were stunning; the narrow corners turned upward, her lashes were long and curled, and there was a dizzying quality to her gaze that was hard to resist. For a moment, neither spoke. Then, Yu Qiao finally couldn’t help but look away.

In the quiet autumn night, she heard the rustling of the branches above, sounding like the swaying of ocean waves. Fallen leaves by her feet were swept up by the night wind, fluttering toward the distance.

Xie Bufei suddenly said, “I think I saw you just now.”

She looked around and added, “Right here.”

Yu Qiao replied with a straight face, “I might have just been passing by.”

“Is that so?” Xie Bufei tilted her head, a faint smile rippling in her eyes. “So Qiaoqiao didn’t see me?”

“No.”

Xie Bufei: “So you didn’t hear what that Junior and I were talking about?”

Yu Qiao froze. “Wasn’t that person a Senior?”

She immediately realized what she had said and clamped her mouth shut, a look of distress appearing in her eyes.

Xie Bufei’s eyes curved as she laughed triumphantly. “Qiaoqiao, so you really were eavesdropping.”

“Actually, I just thought it looked like you, so I bluffed a bit.” She curled her lips, looking smug. “You’re so easy to trick.”

Yu Qiao had no defense against her. She pressed her lips together, feeling a sudden surge of annoyance at being played like a fiddle.

“Senior, you’re doing it again…”

“I’m sorry, it’s just because Qiaoqiao is too well-behaved.” Xie Bufei pressed her palms together in front of her chest. Showing no remorse, she said quite candidly, “I just can’t help but want to tease you a little.”

Seeing that Yu Qiao remained silent, she stepped forward and gently tugged at the corner of her shirt with her finger. “Qiaoqiao, why aren’t you talking to me anymore?”

Yu Qiao actually felt a subtle emotion, but it wasn’t anger. She had a good temper; as long as no lines were crossed, she could ignore most things.

But Xie Bufei seemed to relish saying strange things to provoke her, watching her get flustered only to smile and walk away. Yu Qiao didn’t know how to respond and was always caught off guard, while the culprit remained carefree, which was strangely aggravating.

It was always like this—as if she were the only one troubled by it from start to finish.

Yu Qiao met her gaze and suddenly grabbed Xie Bufei’s hand in return. She saw the bright smile on the other’s face stiffen slightly as surprise surfaced in her beautiful eyes.

A sudden sense of vengeful satisfaction rose in Yu Qiao’s heart.

She lifted her chin slightly and asked calmly, “Am I not allowed to listen?”

Xie Bufei paused, her fingertips secretly brushing against the other’s palm in a placating gesture. “Of course, you can.”

Yu Qiao: “If you were able to notice me, it seems Senior wasn’t focused enough back then.”

The faint woody scent was inches away. Xie Bufei felt a bit intoxicated; her gaze darted around as she gave several haphazard hums of agreement. She looked like she was smoothing the fur of a grumpy big dog, coaxing her in a soft voice, “I don’t like him anyway.”

She quickly added, “I like people like you more.”

Yu Qiao watched her for a while and then suddenly laughed. “Senior is teasing me again.”

Xie Bufei’s eyes widened. “It’s true…”

No matter how much she defended herself, Yu Qiao shook her head, dismissive. “I don’t believe it.”

Xie Bufei was at a loss for words. The story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” was a universal truth—if you play too many pranks, no one believes you anymore.

A pity her heart was as pure as the bright moon.

As they walked back along the track, Yu Qiao hadn’t let go of her hand, holding it gently. Her palm was soft and warm.

Xie Bufei asked curiously, “Qiaoqiao, have you ever been confessed to?”

Yu Qiao thought for a moment. “I don’t think so.”

Xie Bufei blinked. “No way. You’re so outstanding; no one is pursuing you?”

Yu Qiao: “I don’t know. I’ve never noticed.”

During her three years of high school, she was busy with studying and exams. She had some close friends at first who would invite her out on weekends, but she always refused due to studying or part-time work. Over time, they stopped asking.

The people around her grew fewer and fewer. By the time she noticed, she was alone again. She was never good at interpersonal relationships and didn’t feel they were necessary—not until meeting Yao Rudong and Lu Yun did she feel her social skills were indeed lacking.

Xie Bufei curled her lips and asked again, “Then have you ever met someone who was your ‘type’?”

Yu Qiao looked back at her and shook her head honestly. “No.”

She then asked casually, “What about you, Senior? You’re so popular, many people are pursuing you.”

“Yeah.” Xie Bufei gave a faint smile, looking up at the night sky where sparse stars flickered. “But I don’t feel anything for them.”

Yu Qiao couldn’t help but recall what Xie Bufei had said earlier: liking someone smart but a bit silly… what a strange type. Did such a person really exist?

“That Senior actually seemed quite nice.”

Xie Bufei arched an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. “You’re interested in him?”

Yu Qiao said, “Not interested, I just thought he looked decent.”

“But I don’t like people like that,” Xie Bufei said in a low voice, looking down and kicking a pebble by her feet.

Recalling what Tang Sijia had said that morning, Yu Qiao’s throat suddenly felt dry. She asked softly, “Then what kind of Omega do you like?”

“Didn’t I say it before?” Xie Bufei looked up, gazing at her profile, and laughed. “Besides, who said I only like Omegas?”

“If I like someone, I don’t care about their gender.”

Yu Qiao asked blankly, “So regardless of male or female, Alphas and Betas are okay too?”

“Mm, I don’t care about that.” Xie Bufei lightly scratched her palm. “As long as she is the way I like.”

They chatted intermittently as they reached the dormitory. Seeing several girls walking toward them, Yu Qiao instinctively let go of Xie Bufei’s hand.

The wind felt cold against her palm. Xie Bufei pouted slightly, her gaze looking a bit lonely.

When it was time to part, she stood on a step above, looking down at Yu Qiao with a faint smile. “Qiaoqiao, see you tomorrow.”

Yu Qiao nodded. “See you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

Xie Bufei waved at her, the quiet moonlight falling on her dark hair like a hazy white veil.

“Goodnight.”

Yu Qiao watched the slender figure about to disappear around the corner and suddenly called out to her, “Senior.”

Xie Bufei turned back, slightly surprised. “What is it?”

Yu Qiao strode up the steps, stopped in front of her, and reached out to ruffle her hair.

She said softly, “Sweet dreams.”

Support