Senior, Stop Pretending to be an Alpha - Chapter 31

“N-no, you finally made it home,” the girl on the other end of the line took a short, sharp breath and whispered incoherently, “It’s too late now. I’m not. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay, take it easy,” Yu Qiao softened her tone, comforting her with almost the utmost tenderness.

She grabbed her keys and ID card from the desk, walked quickly to the living room, opened the security door, and hurried down the stairs. “Senior, where are you right now?”

Xie Bufei said, “I’m outside.”

Yu Qiao didn’t ask her why she wasn’t at home. She navigated through the crowded alleyway, heading toward the nearest train station against the flow of the increasingly bustling night market crowd.

“Are you alone?”

“Mm,” Xie Bufei answered lowly. “I didn’t want to stay at the house.”

Yu Qiao heard a female voice over a loudspeaker in the background, articulating clearly that the train to X County was about to depart and asking passengers to prepare.

She stopped abruptly. “Are you at the station?”

Xie Bufei went quiet for a moment, pulling her jacket tighter. Her voice carried a heavy nasal tone. “I originally wanted to come find you.”

But she didn’t know where Yu Qiao lived, and she felt lost regarding her final destination, standing alone in the night wind looking at the distant, flickering lights. Those were the iconic neon lights of the big city, looking very lively.

Unfortunately, none of that liveliness belonged to her.

Yu Qiao checked her phone; it was almost seven o’clock. She asked, “Then where do you plan to go tonight?”

“I… might stay at a hotel or something,” Xie Bufei forced a smile, pretending to be casual. “Thank you for worrying about me, Qiaoqiao.”

Yu Qiao went silent for a beat before asking, “Do you want to come to my house?”

Xie Bufei gripped her phone, her breath hitching instantly.

After a long while, she asked almost cautiously, “Can I?”

“You can,” Yu Qiao repeated. “Or, I can come find you.”

“No… I’m coming right now!” Xie Bufei seemed to start running, the whistling wind rushing past. “Wait for me!”

“Okay, don’t run too fast,” Yu Qiao said. “I’ll wait for you at the station.”

The train station in the small county was built quite shabbily and lacked a proper waiting room. She sat on a wobbly chair as the surging crowds brought waves of hot air, making her feel dizzy and stifled.

Yu Qiao looked up and saw small insects dancing around the dim yellowish fluorescent lights, constantly crashing into the lampshade out of a light-seeking instinct.

An hour later, she finally saw Xie Bufei.

The girl was tall, wearing a thin lemon-colored hoodie and slim jeans, with her hands tucked in her pockets. Amidst the gray, drab crowd, she was the most dazzling presence.

Yu Qiao stood up and walked toward her, waving her hand high.

Xie Bufei looked around, her gaze landing on her, and she ran over, weaving through the passing travelers.

She was like a brilliant, unexpected meteor, falling straight into Yu Qiao’s arms.

The girl’s slender arms wrapped around her waist, trembling as she repeatedly called her name.

“Qiaoqiao, Qiaoqiao…”

Yu Qiao stepped forward and hugged her tightly, like a moth to a flame.

“It’s okay now.” She stroked the girl’s head, bundled in her hood, and said it once more, “It’s already okay.”

Xie Bufei looked up, and the hazy light above fell into those eyes, shattering into pieces that seemed ready to overflow.

“I missed you so much.”

Amidst the coming and going crowd, Yu Qiao looked down and smiled, clumsily wiping away her tears and answering softly, “I missed you, too.”

Yu Qiao led Xie Bufei into the dilapidated stairwell. The girl followed closely behind, her beautiful eyes scanning left and right, yet she remained silent.

Yu Qiao didn’t ask what had happened today, and Xie Bufei didn’t ask why she lived in such a messy, run-down place. Sometimes, they were both grateful for each other’s silence.

As they passed through the corridor, several middle-aged women walked down from upstairs, chatting and laughing. When they passed by, their gazes swept over them with almost palpable malice.

“Oh, if it isn’t Yu Qiao?” one of the women spoke up. Her voice was loud, like a faulty megaphone. “You’re home, huh?”

Yu Qiao looked back at her and nodded politely. “Yes.”

“Your mother waits for you every day,” another plump woman said. “Why didn’t you come back sooner?”

“Oh, please! Who would want to come back here after that happened? If it were me, I’d have run away long ago.”

“It’s been a few years now, hasn’t it, Yu Qiao? Is your dad about to get out of prison? Careful he doesn’t come back to harass you and your mother again.”

The women laughed lowly, completely disregarding their reactions. “Tsk tsk tsk, who knows! Her mother’s the type who can’t live without an Alpha anyway. She was beaten so hard back then and still didn’t get a divorce; maybe she was actually quite happy about it.”

“Yu Qiao, don’t you think so?”

Yu Qiao lowered her eyes calmly and didn’t answer, bowing her head to open the security door. Xie Bufei, however, suddenly spun around and shouted at the top of her lungs: “Shut up! Aren’t you people annoying?!”

The women were startled, clutching their chests in fright. “What are you shouting for?”

“Scared the life out of me…”

“Like father, like daughter, after all.”

Xie Bufei said coldly, “Whatever happens in other people’s homes is none of your business. Think I’m too loud? Don’t you know you have to shout when talking to dogs?”

The middle-aged woman was stunned. “You!”

She looked as though she wanted to get physical, so Yu Qiao quickly pulled Xie Bufei into the house and turned to close the door.

Faint curses from the women could still be heard from outside. The living room remained as it was—lights on, but empty.

Hearing the door open, Curry ran out from the bedroom, wagging its tail and circling around them.

Xie Bufei’s chest was heaving with anger. Gritting her teeth, she said, “What did you do that for? I wasn’t finished yelling at them.”

Yu Qiao couldn’t help but smile. “There’s no need to argue with them; it’s useless.”

Most people in this building viewed them through a biased lens. Rumors always fermented faster than actual facts. No matter how she explained, it would always be suspected as an excuse.

“So you just let them insult you like that?” Xie Bufei looked at her for a moment, her eyelids drooping.

She wore her hood, the brim obscuring most of her face, making her look like a wandering, pitiful little kitten.

Yu Qiao patted her head. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.” She had long since grown used to it.

She got up and went into the kitchen, opening the freezer to take out a few bags of frozen dumplings. “Senior, would you like some dumplings?”

Xie Bufei rubbed her empty stomach and said dejectedly, “Yes.”

While the dumplings were boiling, Yu Qiao felt Xie Bufei approach her from behind, her hands gently encircling her waist.

The girl buried her face in the crook of Yu Qiao’s neck and remained quiet for a long while. Her voice was muffled and heavily nasal, her warm breath fanning against Yu Qiao’s skin. “Even if you say you don’t mind, I still feel bad for you.”

Yu Qiao’s heart skipped a beat, and a multitude of complex, indescribable emotions suddenly surfaced.

She turned around, gently held Xie Bufei, and slowly tightened her arms.

Xie Bufei let her hold her, her nose gently rubbing against Yu Qiao’s face. She closed her eyes, her hands tightly gripping the clothes on Yu Qiao’s back.

The sound of bubbling water came from the kitchen, but the surroundings were silent. They held each other quietly, neither saying a word, like two small animals huddling together for comfort and healing.

“I had a fight with my dad.”

When the dumplings were served, Xie Bufei sat at the table and looked up at her. Under the white fluorescent light, the girl looked pale and fragile.

“Do you want to talk about why?” Yu Qiao handed her a pair of chopsticks. “If you don’t want to, Senior, then forget it.”

Xie Bufei took the chopsticks and said softly, “It’s because of my mother.”

Steam rose from the plate, the white mist blurring her eyes.

“Tomorrow is a holiday, and he wanted the whole family to go out for a meal together.” Xie Bufei lowered her eyes, her fingertips turning white as she gripped the chopsticks. “But I didn’t want to go.”

Yu Qiao listened silently, not responding.

“Actually, tomorrow is the anniversary of my mother’s death.”

Xie Bufei raised her eyes, her tone carrying a hint of self-mockery. “I thought he would at least remember that… but I didn’t expect that in the end, I’m the only one who remembers.”

“He never remembered, not even at the very end.”

Her eyes shimmered, filled with tiny bits of light, but a second later, that light shattered. Tears slid down her cheeks one by one.

Yu Qiao had never seen Xie Bufei cry. She always looked so brilliant and confident, as if no shadows could touch her smile.

She loved the way Xie Bufei looked when she smiled—like a flower in full bloom—rather than like this, with petals curled and silently withering.

She reached out and wiped Xie Bufei’s cheek. The warm liquid flowed over her fingertips as if it would never end, soaking Yu Qiao’s heart with an aching softness.

“Don’t cry…”

Xie Bufei looked at her through tears and asked softly, “Qiaoqiao, can you hold me again?”

She was like a person walking through a desolate snowy field who suddenly saw the firelight from a cabin’s fireplace, desperately craving that small bit of bright warmth.

Yu Qiao stood up, walked over to her, and once again held her firmly. Xie Bufei buried her head against her stomach, her hands gripping tightly as she suppressed broken sobs in her throat.

Yu Qiao gently stroked her hair, offering clumsy comfort. “If you want to cry, Senior, you don’t have to hold it back.”

Xie Bufei took a breath and began to cry aloud.

Her crying was intermittent, broken by sobs. Yu Qiao leaned down, holding her and rocking her gently.

When she was very young and got hurt, her mother would hold her in her arms just like this, rocking her side to side to comfort her.

Yu Qiao coaxed her lowly, “There, there, don’t cry, don’t cry…”

After a long while, Xie Bufei’s crying subsided. She moved slightly, looked up with wet eyes and a red nose, and gave an embarrassed smile.

“I think I cried all over your clothes.”

“It’s okay.” Yu Qiao looked down at the wet circle on her chest. “I’ll just wash it tomorrow.”

Xie Bufei tucked a stray hair behind her ear and sniffed. “Then… let’s eat first, before it gets cold.”

The dumplings were actually quite good, and the tomato and egg soup was delicious. She swallowed them slowly.

Yu Qiao looked a bit dejected, saying softly, “I’m sorry, Senior. This is your first time as a guest, and this is all I can offer.”

“No, I’m very happy.” Xie Bufei immediately took a large bite and said seriously, “What Qiaoqiao makes is delicious.”

She smiled with her eyes narrowed, a hint of light red at the corners. “I like eating what you make. Thank you, Qiaoqiao.”

Yu Qiao looked at her and gave a faint smile in return.

After dinner and washing the dishes, the two sat on the living room sofa watching TV. Night had deepened outside, and stars were faintly visible through the clouds.

The sofa was small; with two people sitting there, it was already crowded. They sat shoulder to shoulder, their limbs inevitably touching.

The TV was an old model with a small screen, and the host of the program was chattering away. Xie Bufei had never lived in such a cramped house, yet she felt inexplicably warm.

Yu Qiao suddenly turned her head and said, “Senior, stay the night.”

Xie Bufei froze, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. “Then,  where will I sleep?”

There were no extra guest rooms in the house, and the living room sofa was too small to stretch out on.

“Let’s sleep together,” Yu Qiao said, looking at her.

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