Senior, Stop Pretending to be an Alpha - Chapter 34

Yu Qiao’s movements faltered. With a sharp rip, the vegetable in her hand was torn in half.

“Mom, what are you saying?” She pursed her lips and added, “She and I are just friends.”

Gu Cuilan looked at her and said, “It’s the first time I’ve seen you so close to someone. You never used to bring friends home before.”

Yu Qiao didn’t know what to say. She lowered her head and tossed the mangled leaf into the trash can by her feet.

She suddenly realized: Had her relationship with Xie Bufei unknowingly become that close?

Gu Cuilan seemed intent on getting to the bottom of it. “How did you and Xiao Fei meet?”

“By chance,” Yu Qiao replied. “Senior has helped me a lot.”

“Oh,” Gu Cuilan smiled warmly upon hearing this. “I can tell Xiao Fei is a good girl. I feel at ease knowing you’re friends with her.”

She paused, then asked tentatively, “Qiaoqiao, are you really not considering her? Do you truly have no feelings for her at all?”

Clear water rushed over Yu Qiao’s palms, feeling slightly chilly.

Her fingertips unconsciously traced the fine veins of the vegetables. A strange emotion suddenly surged in her heart, just like last night; her heartbeat became irregular again, fluctuating so wildly it felt as if it might leap out of her throat.

What does it feel like to like someone?

She had never liked anyone before, so she didn’t understand. Therefore, she couldn’t give an answer to that question.

After a moment of silence, Yu Qiao said softly, “Senior and I are both Alphas. The possibility of her liking me is very small.”

Gu Cuilan’s eyes widened as if she were listening to a fairy tale. “What? You differentiated into an Alpha?!”

“Yes,” Yu Qiao said. “It happened suddenly, and I didn’t tell you.”

Due to a previous conflict regarding her father, she hadn’t been in much contact with her mother. Fortunately, there are no grudges between family that last forever. Neither of them mentioned the past, and now they could stand here, chatting peacefully.

Gu Cuilan opened her mouth, looking at her in shock. “Qiaoqiao.”

“I, at most, I thought you would differentiate into a Beta. I never expected an Alpha,” she stammered, murmuring, “It’s good, it’s also good.”

“It’s just a pity Xiao Fei is also an Alpha, sigh.” Gu Cuilan sighed. “I thought she was an Omega; the two of you would have been perfect together.”

Yu Qiao found those words strange.

She said, “If I really liked her, I wouldn’t care if she was an Alpha or not.”

Gu Cuilan shook her head and explained seriously, “Qiaoqiao, you’re still young and don’t understand these truths. Nowadays, it’s only natural for an Alpha and an Omega to be together.”

Yu Qiao’s brows gradually furrowed. “That’s not right. Nothing is ‘only natural.’ Some Betas are with Omegas or Alphas, too.”

Knowing her daughter had been stubborn since childhood, Gu Cuilan said with a wry smile, “Those are the minority! Go outside and see for yourself: are there more AO pairings or other pairings?”

“Even if a Beta is with an Alpha or an Omega, that’s just temporary love. Alphas and Omegas are naturally attracted to each other. Who can guarantee they won’t be affected by pheromones for a lifetime? Not to mention the issue of compatibility.”

“If you two Alphas get together, and long from now you suddenly meet your destined high-compatibility Omega, what do you plan to do? Abandon Xiao Fei?”

Gu Cuilan concluded, “That’s why only when an Alpha and Omega are together can they experience true happiness.”

Yu Qiao shook her head, her expression serious. “I disagree with you. If you truly love someone, you won’t be influenced by other pheromones. I wouldn’t give up on Senior just because a high-compatibility Omega appeared. That would be a lack of love and a sign of irresponsibility.”

Gu Cuilan looked at her helplessly. “You child, you’ve always been so stubborn. Alphas and Omegas are a match made in heaven.”

Yu Qiao looked at her and suddenly asked, “Mom, you are an Omega. After you were with Dad, were you really happy?”

Gu Cuilan froze, all color instantly draining from her face.

Her lips trembled. She subconsciously looked around, her eyes flickering with panic. Only after a long while did she mutter, “How, how can you say that?”

Yu Qiao looked away and said softly, “I’m sorry. I just wanted to say that being an Alpha and Omega together doesn’t necessarily mean happiness. Being with the person who suits you is the true happiness.”

The two fell silent; the air grew heavy. Yu Qiao finished washing the vegetables, finely diced the meat, and began preparing the seasonings.

Gu Cuilan stood before the gas stove, head lowered, watching the oil crackle in the pan. She whispered, “Qiaoqiao, actually, you have a point. But you can’t change the views of the world.”

Yu Qiao replied, “I don’t care what the world thinks.”

Gu Cuilan let out a deep sigh. “Forget it. You have your own thoughts; I won’t say anything more.”

Yu Qiao carried the prepared dishes out of the kitchen. Xie Bufei was sitting at the dining table playing with her phone, her long hair falling over her shoulders with a few stray strands tucked behind her ear. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and asked with a smile, “Do you need help?”

The girl’s profile was illuminated by the light from the window, as if a hazy filter had been applied, her smile bright and radiant.

Seeing her, the irritability in Yu Qiao’s heart gradually eased. She shook her head. “Just stay seated.”

Xie Bufei rested her chin on her hand, watching her silently for a moment before whispering, “Are you in a bad mood?”

Yu Qiao was startled. “No.”

“Your eyebrows are all knitted together.” Xie Bufei’s gaze was worried. “Did you have a fight with your mom?”

Yu Qiao shook her head. “Just a minor disagreement. It’s fine.”

Xie Bufei didn’t press further, her eyes crinkling. “Well, if something is wrong, remember to tell me.”

A moment later, Gu Cuilan came out of the kitchen, smiling as kindly as before.

After lunch, she went to work, leaving Yu Qiao and Xie Bufei to look after the house.

Xie Bufei sat on the sofa playing games. After a while, she couldn’t help but lean toward Yu Qiao, eventually leaning her entire body against her, clinging softly like she had no bones.

Yu Qiao let her lean, her laptop on her knees as she silently worked on her course assignments.

Crackling game sound effects came from the phone: a barrage of English that sounded very intense.

Yu Qiao didn’t understand it. She occasionally glanced sideways to see two characters on the screen using strange magic against each other.

After a while, a sudden ringtone interrupted the fierce duel.

Xie Bufei’s movements stopped.

She let the phone ring for a moment without any intention of answering.

“Aren’t you going to answer?” Yu Qiao looked up from her code.

Xie Bufei bit her lip. “It’s my dad.”

Understanding, Yu Qiao nodded. “If you don’t want to answer, just ignore him.”

Xie Bufei stared at the screen, smiled faintly, and said, “I’ll take it. I want to see what he has to say.”

She pressed the green button. The next second, Xie Hongxin’s voice rang out: “Xie Bufei, where have you gone? You didn’t come back for the whole night!”

He spoke so loudly that his voice pierced through the receiver, clearly audible to Yu Qiao nearby.

Xie Bufei’s voice was cold. “I’m at a friend’s house.”

“Why are you like this every time? I only said a few things to you, and now you dare to run away from home?” Xie Hongxin was furious. “Come home immediately!”

Xie Bufei lowered her eyes, her heart sinking. Her knuckles gripping the phone turned white.

“I’m not coming back,” she said indifferently. “The three of you can go wherever you like. Just pretend I don’t exist.”

Xie Hongxin shouted, “Xie Bufei, don’t always be so willful! I don’t usually say anything about you not liking Keke, but you’re throwing a tantrum on a holiday? Come back now for National Day; let’s have a proper family meal.”

Xie Bufei fell silent. She closed her eyes and took a very deep breath.

“I’m not coming back. Do as you please.”

Xie Hongxin: “Xie Bufei! If you don’t come back now, don’t ever come back!”

Xie Bufei paused, then suddenly said, “Dad, do you remember that today is the anniversary of Mom’s death?”

With that, she hung up. She felt a wave of lightheadedness.

She looked up and met Yu Qiao’s worried eyes.

“I’m fine.” Xie Bufei forced a smile, trying to act nonchalant. “It was just a fight. It happens all the time.”

Yu Qiao gently took her hand that was resting on her knee, her gaze clear. “I’ll go back with you.”

Xie Bufei was stunned. “I don’t want to go home.”

“Not home,” Yu Qiao patted her palm and said softly. “To see your mother.”

Xie Bufei looked at her and shook her head slightly.

“My mom doesn’t have a tombstone.” She lowered her eyes, her voice faint, blowing past like a gentle wind. “She loved the sea, but after she got sick, she never went again. One day, lying in her hospital bed, she told me she wanted to be buried in the ocean.”

“Later, she chose a sea burial. Her ashes, I scattered them into the sea with my own hands.”

Yu Qiao gripped her hand even tighter. “Then we’ll go to the seaside.”

The sea in this small town wasn’t well-known, so there weren’t many tourists. White waves crashed against the reefs. Further out, the surface was calm, appearing in shades of grey like a dim silhouette, carrying the desolation of autumn.

A breeze stirred the hair near Xie Bufei’s ears. She walked barefoot on the beach, step by step toward the sea.

The transparent seawater churned with foam, repeatedly submerging her slender, white ankles.

Yu Qiao lagged behind. She watched Xie Bufei’s back: that thin figure getting further and further away, smaller and smaller. The fluttering hem of her clothes and her fair skin seemed to melt into the view, suddenly giving Yu Qiao the illusion that she might disappear into the deep sea.

A strange emotion surged in her heart. At this moment, she didn’t want Xie Bufei to leave her like this.

Yu Qiao sprinted forward, her feet sinking unevenly into the wet sand. Water splashed up, soaking the bottom of her trousers.

Panting, she reached Xie Bufei and grabbed the girl’s arm.

Xie Bufei turned to look at her, her long black hair lifted gently by the wind. She crinkled her eyes, the piercing white sunlight falling on her profile. Amidst the play of light and shadow, her smile was exceptionally beautiful. “Qiaoqiao, what’s wrong?”

Yu Qiao’s eyes widened. She took a deep breath, and her heart began to beat erratically again.

Thump-thump, thump-thump-thump.

She pressed her hand to her chest in a daze and muttered, “Senior, I think I’m sick. I’ve become so strange.”

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