Senior, Stop Pretending to be an Alpha - Chapter 41

“Do you want to try and see?”

Yu Qiao’s throat moved, and her gaze involuntarily drifted downward, landing on the other girl’s lips.

 

Xie Bufei’s lip color was naturally rich, coated now in a layer of thin, glossy lip glaze. Her lips were full and well-shaped, her teeth bright and white; she was as vivid as a painting.

 

If they kissed, she wondered what that layer of lip glaze would taste like.

 

If she took a gentle bite or a light lick, would the color of those lips become even deeper?

 

As she imagined that scene, Yu Qiao’s cheeks slowly began to burn.

 

She felt so depraved. How could she think of something so scandalous? If Senior ever found out, she would probably break off their friendship…

 

Xie Bufei blinked, watching the distracted girl before her. Her red lips moved as she spoke, “Qiaoqiao, I’m just curious and want to try. Is that not okay?”

 

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she looked a bit disappointed, cautiously tugging at Yu Qiao’s sleeve. “Qiaoqiao?”

 

The air was saturated with the sweet fragrance of lily of the valley, silently intertwining with the scent of vegetation. It was like an invisible chain, tightening bit by bit around her.

 

Yu Qiao’s heart accelerated instantly, and her mouth felt dry. Unconsciously, she met those clear, shimmering eyes.

 

As if possessed, she spoke, “Then let’s try it.”

 

Xie Bufei’s eyes curved, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. A flash of hunter-like cunning and triumph crossed her eyes for a fleeting second.

 

She leaned closer to Yu Qiao and whispered, “Should you… or should I?”

 

Yu Qiao’s breath hitched. She whispered back, “I’ll do it.”

 

Xie Bufei gave a light laugh. “Okay.”

 

She tilted her face up toward the other girl, obediently closing both eyes.

 

In the autumn afternoon, the girl’s curled eyelashes were turned a pale shade by the sunlight overhead, looking exceptionally beautiful.

 

Yu Qiao took a deep breath. As if entranced, she slowly lowered her head toward her.

 

The girl’s features were exquisite, and her fair cheeks were close enough that Yu Qiao could almost see the fine, pale-gold down on her skin.

 

Their breaths mingled against each other’s faces. Xie Bufei’s eyelashes trembled imperceptibly, and her fingers unconsciously gripped her sleeves, betraying her nervousness.

 

Even the process of waiting felt incredibly long.

 

In the next second, a warm sensation touched her lips.

 

Xie Bufei’s entire body trembled slightly, and she reached out to slowly hook her arms around Yu Qiao’s neck.

 

A breeze swept past, and a soft, sweet fragrance swirled around her nose, making her dizzy.

 

“Mmm…” A tiny sound escaped her lips, only to be swallowed back up immediately.

 

After an unknown amount of time, distant and blurred shouts drifted over.

 

“Vice President—”

 

“Senior Xie—where did you go—”

 

The voices grew closer. The two gradually snapped back to their senses and pulled apart as if they had been electrocuted.

 

Yu Qiao took a deep breath, her heart pounding like a drum, feeling light-headed and weak in the knees.

 

In her daze, she saw Xie Bufei looking down. The girl’s eyes were misty, and half of the lip glaze on her lips had been licked away, yet the color had become even more vivid, as lush as peach blossoms on a branch in March.

 

Yu Qiao’s cheeks were scalding. She stared at her blankly. “Senior…”

 

“You just bit me,” Xie Bufei said suddenly, her eyes flickering.

 

Yu Qiao snapped out of it, feeling intensely ashamed. “I’m sorry.”

 

Xie Bufei smiled and pursed her lips, evening out the brilliant red color.

 

“It seems there isn’t any static electricity when kissing,” she concluded, her expression unchanged.

 

Yu Qiao was unable to answer and could only nod, feigning composure.

 

By the time the kiss had started, she had already thrown that thought to the back of her mind. She hadn’t noticed whether there was static electricity at all…

 

“Vice President—”

 

Finally spotting their backs, two girls ran toward them, looking anxious. “The head of the broadcasting station called. She wants you to pick up the phone…”

 

They saw a tall girl standing face-to-face with Xie Bufei. The latter stood before her, her cheeks tinged with a faint pink and her lips a vivid red, yet her entire being radiated a sense of rippling satisfaction.

 

Xie Bufei glanced at them and said lazily, “I know. I’m coming.”

 

The two girls exchanged looks and obediently stood to the side with their heads down.

 

Yu Qiao glanced at them and said in a low voice, “Senior, you should go.”

 

“Okay.” Xie Bufei’s eyes curved. She reached out to straighten Yu Qiao’s collar. “Qiaoqiao, see you later.”

 

Yu Qiao watched her leave. Walking at the back of the group, the girl suddenly turned around, blew her a kiss, and waved with a brilliant smile.

 

“Uh…” Dizzily, Yu Qiao waved back. Only when the other girl’s figure was out of sight did she clear her throat and slowly turn to leave the playground.

 

On the way back to the dorm, Yu Qiao couldn’t help but secretly touch her lips, the heat rising to her cheeks again.

 

It seemed that Senior didn’t dislike kissing her?

 

Did this mean she might have a chance? But was such an act normal between friends?

 

Yu Qiao held her breath, pulled out her phone, and immediately sought help from her “consultant team.”

 

“Do you guys kiss your friends?”

 

Yao the Fairy: “Emmm, that depends on the situation, right? If it’s a very, very close best friend, I could accept it… But for ordinary friends, no way!”

 

Lu the Socialite: “Same here. If it’s a punishment for Truth or Dare, a quick kiss is no big deal.”

 

Yu the Scholar: “Oh…”

 

Yao the Fairy: “Qiaoqiao, why are you asking this? Who forced a kiss on you?! [Subway Old Man Looking at Phone.jpg]”

 

Yu the Scholar: “No one, Senior just kissed me.”

 

Lu the Socialite: “Was she drunk again?”

 

Yu the Scholar: “No, she wanted to discuss a physics problem regarding static electricity with me.”

 

Yao the Fairy: “I don’t understand! Is this how you top students discuss problems? Sacrificing yourselves for science?!”

 

Yu the Scholar: “…”

 

Yu the Scholar: “I don’t know what she’s thinking either. Maybe she just treats me as a very, very close best friend.”

 

Lu the Socialite: “Actually, I’m more curious about what it’s like to kiss the school beauty.”

 

Yu the Scholar: “…”

 

Yu the Scholar: “It was quite comfortable.”

 

Yao the Fairy: “So jealous. I won’t say who’s eating lemons right now.”

 

Lu the Socialite: “I have a feeling Qiaoqiao will be the first one in our dorm to escape being single.”

 

Yu the Scholar: “…”

 

Lu the Socialite: “Okay, jokes aside, here’s a serious answer. If you really were discussing a physics problem and Xie Bufei was the proactive one without showing any discomfort, then she definitely isn’t repulsed by kissing you.”

 

Lu the Socialite: “Or there’s another possibility: she’s using the opportunity to test your feelings…”

 

Yu Qiao froze.

 

Could Senior be testing her? If so, her motive would be to find out if I like her, and then…

 

Yu the Scholar: “If she finds out, what will happen?”

 

Yao the Fairy: “Two possibilities. First, she likes you too, and you live happily ever after. The other is more extreme: she doesn’t like you, and she only tested you to confirm your feelings so she could take the chance to distance herself from you.”

 

Yu the Scholar: “I see.”

 

Lu the Socialite: “No need to be too pessimistic. You and Xie Bufei are so close. Unless she’s a ‘Straight Alpha’ who only likes Omegas and finds AA relationships disgusting, she won’t just cut you off…”

 

Yu the Scholar: “I understand. Thank you both.”

 

Yu Qiao put her phone away, took a deep breath, and walked toward the dorm.

 

She knew Xie Bufei wasn’t that kind of “Straight Alpha.” Looking at it this way, her chances were actually quite good.

 

As long as there was a sliver of a possibility, she would never give up.

 

Two days later, the Java course announced the submission of the midterm projects.

 

Yu Qiao briefly organized her code and uploaded the entire project to the teacher.

 

A few days later, He Li messaged her on Penguin again: “Group Leader Yu, did you submit the project?”

 

Yu Qiao: “It’s been submitted.”

 

He Li: “Thank you! I didn’t seem to be much help this time! Sorry about that—”

 

Yu Qiao: “It’s fine.” I didn’t plan on including your name anyway.

 

He Li was overjoyed. “Yu Qiao, you’re such a good person. When can I treat you to some milk tea?”

 

Yu Qiao: “No need.”

 

He Li didn’t continue with the fake politeness. “Alright, I’ll treat you next time!”

 

She ended the conversation quickly, feeling that her grade was secure this time. She couldn’t help but feel a bit smug, her pride showing whenever she chatted with her boyfriend, like a peacock spreading its feathers.

 

The speaker volume was too high. Her roommate couldn’t take it anymore and knocked on her desk. “Can you keep it down a bit?”

 

He Li glanced at her and spoke into the voice chat with a giggle, “It’s fine, baby. Some people are just bitter because they don’t have a boyfriend. We’ll be the bigger people and speak softly.”

 

The roommate sneered. “Who’s bitter? I wouldn’t take that unsightly man of yours even if he were free.”

 

He Li hung up the phone and said angrily, “What? Who are you talking about?”

 

The roommate replied, “Whoever takes it personally is the one I’m talking about.”

 

He Li’s face turned red with rage. Suddenly, her phone chimed. A message appeared in the class group.

 

She looked closely; the Java midterm results were out. In the column for the first-place group, their project name was clearly listed.

 

Since the first-place group received extra points for the final grade, He Li stopped being angry. she leisurely crossed her legs. “I won’t bother with some people. After all, they can’t always be first.”

 

“You’re first?” the roommate said. “Are you dreaming?”

 

“Look at the group yourself.” He Li glanced at her phone and gave a chuckle, showing it to her triumphantly. “The teacher sent me a private message asking me to go to her office. I guess she wants to praise me for being first, right?”

 

The roommate was unimpressed, her face full of disgust. “So, what if you’re first? That project had nothing to do with you; Yu Qiao and Xu Boyu did everything. You really have a thick skin.”

 

He Li ignored her and skipped out the door, humming all the way to the administrative building.

 

Pushing open the door to the professor’s office, she saw that Yu Qiao was also there. She gave a greeting in a great mood, “Group Leader, you’re here too?”

Yu Qiao nodded expressionlessly.

The professor sat behind her desk, her face grim and serious. A sense of unease flickered through He Li’s heart. In the next second, she heard the professor ask, “What’s going on with your group? Why are there only two names on the final submission?”

 

Yu Qiao answered calmly, “Because Student Xu Bowen and I completed all the work. Student He Li did not participate, so we only wrote our two names at the end.”

 

The professor raised an eyebrow and looked at He Li. “He Li, how do you explain this?”

 

He Li finally snapped out of her daze, trembling with rage. “Teacher, she’s lying! I was clearly responsible for the project manual section!”

 

Yu Qiao said flatly, “No, you were only responsible for the first two parts, which were riddled with errors and were entirely corrected by me. You didn’t write any of the subsequent content; you dumped it all on me.”

 

He Li choked, fuming. “You’re lying…”

 

Yu Qiao pulled out her phone and flashed the screen at her, her expression serene. “I have all our chat records here to prove my words.”

 

The girl’s back was straight, radiating an aura of cold indifference. Compared to the stuttering He Li, her credibility was naturally much higher.

 

The professor, having gathered a general idea of the situation, held out her hand with a face as dark as water. “Let me see.”

 

The chat records contained evidence of her begging Yu Qiao to do her homework!

 

Seeing that she could no longer hide it, He Li’s eyes suddenly reddened as she whispered a defense, “Teacher, it’s not like that. It’s because I had things going on at home…”

 

Yu Qiao looked at her, her eyes clear and bright. “Busy dating your boyfriend every day?”

 

She continued, “I just asked your roommates. They have evidence of your phone calls with your boyfriend.”

 

“They asked me to tell you: thank you for always putting your calls on speaker.”

 

A bang went off in He Li’s mind, and her face turned deathly pale.

 

She had been fond of taking advantage and being lazy since she was young, but she had never been called out and targeted like this. In an instant, her shame turned to rage, and she screamed uncontrollably, “Yu Qiao, why are you sabotaging me like this? Did I do anything to wrong you? It’s just one assignment! Is it worth all this?!”

 

The professor stood up abruptly, her voice sharp as she interrupted, “He Li, is this your attitude toward learning?”

 

He Li closed her mouth sullenly, her lips trembling. Her face crumpled as she burst into tears.

 

Watching her sob, the professor let out a heavy sigh, rubbed her temples with her index finger, and said coldly, “You receive no grade for this assignment. If there is a next time, prepare to retake the course.”

 

She then looked at Yu Qiao, her expression softening. “You did the right thing. The project was completed to a high standard. I will give your group extra credit for the final grade.”

 

Yu Qiao nodded to her. “Thank you, Teacher.”

 

“That’s enough. Both of you, out,” the professor waved her hand, sighing wearily. “Don’t let this happen again.”

 

The two walked out of the office. As Yu Qiao turned to leave, He Li stared fixedly at her back and suddenly shouted, “Yu Qiao!”

 

Yu Qiao turned around and looked at her. “Is there something else?”

 

She looked composed and unruffled. There was no mockery or sarcasm in her eyes; they were like a pool of clear, quiet water, reflecting He Li’s distorted expression clearly.

 

“Do you look down on me?” He Li wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes crudely and suddenly sneered. “Top student, your grades are good, so you’re high and mighty, always looking down on ordinary people like us, right?”

 

Yu Qiao’s gaze landed on her. She was tall and her eyes were indifferent. When she looked down at He Li, it was as if she were looking at something trivial.

 

“I don’t look down on you,” Yu Qiao said. “You are the one looking down on yourself.”

 

The strong aura of an Alpha spread out silently. He Li froze on the spot, staring blankly as Yu Qiao walked away, her nails digging painfully into her palms.

 

Light footsteps sounded from behind her, and someone tapped her gently on the shoulder.

 

He Li turned around in a daze and saw a pale, fragile-looking girl smiling at her.

 

The girl’s pretty eyes curved, shimmering like lake water. “I heard everything just now. Can we talk?”

 

In late October, the temperature dropped suddenly.

 

The night before the sports meet, a sudden torrential rain hit the city. The rain was fierce and showed no signs of stopping by the next morning.

 

The Principal had no choice but to issue a temporary notice: the sports meet was postponed, and today would follow the original class schedule.

 

Outside the window, the rain poured down, dyeing the entire campus gray. The students who had been looking forward to the sports meet were now dejected, arriving at their classrooms with somber moods.

 

Yao Rudong slumped over her desk listlessly, sighing. “I was planning to sneak home during the sports meet. Why is God being like this? No respect at all…”

 

Lu Yun said, “It’s been too dry lately; it hasn’t rained in so long. This rain looks like it’ll last for several days.”

 

Yao Rudong groaned, “I really don’t want an 8:00 AM class. Who understands?!”

 

Lu Yun clasped her hands together and prayed fervently, “I understand. I hope the rain stops tomorrow and the sports meet starts immediately.”

 

Yu Qiao listened to the lecture intently, turning a deaf ear to the chatter beside her, occasionally looking down to take notes.

 

After class, she walked out of the teaching building with the other two. The rain seemed to have intensified slightly, the raindrops clattering against the umbrellas like falling beans.

 

Back at the dorm, Xie Bufei sent a WeChat message.

 

Gary: “Qiaoqiao! It’s raining so hard outside!! My shoes are half-soaked!!”

 

Gary: “[Cat rolling over.gif]”

 

Yu Qiao: “Mine too. Do you have more classes, Senior?”

 

Gary: “Wuuu, two more…”

 

Gary: “What about you? Back at the dorm?”

 

Yu Qiao: “Yes, just got back.”

 

Gary: “Ah, that’s so nice…”

 

Gary: “I’m going to class now. Let’s talk after! [Cat waving.jpg]”

 

Yu Qiao replied and put her phone away.

 

She opened her computer and immersed herself in the world of code. About an hour later, a WeChat notification popped up in the bottom right corner.

 

Gary: “Qiaoqiao, I think my umbrella is gone…”

 

Gary: “Who would be so wicked! They took my umbrella!! Arghhh!!”

 

Yu Qiao looked at the message, then turned to look at the sky. Outside, the sky was dark and the rain fell in a thick veil, forming eight hundred silver threads falling from the eaves.

 

The sound of the rain was chaotic, with no sign of letting up.

 

Yu Qiao: “Where are you?”

 

Gary: “At the entrance of the teaching building, waiting for the rain to stop…”

 

Gary: “No idea how much longer it’ll be.”

 

Yu Qiao: “Senior, stay where you are. Don’t move.”

 

Gary: “Eh?”

 

Gary: “Are you coming? Actually, you don’t have to. I’ll just wait for it to stop…”

 

Yu Qiao: “It won’t stop anytime soon.”

 

Yu Qiao: “Wait for me there.”

 

Gary: “Okay! [Cat sitting obediently.jpg]”

 

Yu Qiao checked the time, stood up, and grabbed the umbrella from the balcony.

 

Yao Rudong turned to look at her. “Qiaoqiao, you’re going out now?”

 

Yu Qiao said, “Yes, I’m going to pick up Senior. She lost her umbrella.”

 

Lu Yun clapped her hands. “Go, go! This is a great opportunity… Wait, why are you taking two umbrellas?”

 

Yu Qiao looked up blankly. “One for her and one for me.”

 

Lu Yun: “…”

 

Yao Rudong burst out laughing. “Qiaoqiao, you’re so adorably stupid! If you take one umbrella, can’t you both share it?!”

 

Yu Qiao realized. “Oh, I can do that too…”

 

She hurried out of the dormitory. The surrounding scenery was blurred by the curtain of rain; countless figures walked by under umbrellas of various colors, looking like a field of colorful mushrooms.

 

The sky was dark, as if torn open by the storm, and the rain fell toward the earth with a vengeance.

 

Vaguely, she heard the sound of muffled thunder.

 

Following that, a bolt of lightning flashed across the dim horizon, lighting up the entire world.

 

The teaching building was close. Yu Qiao caught sight of a familiar figure at the entrance and hurried forward. “Senior…”

 

Xie Bufei looked up, saw her, and lunged under her umbrella.

 

“You really came!”

 

She looked up at Yu Qiao with sparkling eyes and a trusting expression. Glancing at Yu Qiao’s soaked sneakers and pant legs, she couldn’t help but ask nervously, “Are you cold?”

 

“It’s fine.” Yu Qiao tilted the umbrella toward her. “Let’s go back…”

 

Suddenly, another rumble of thunder sounded from the sky. A bright bolt of lightning split the rain like a sword, its sound heart-stopping.

 

Xie Bufei let out a cry and instantly threw herself into Yu Qiao’s arms, her whole body trembling.

 

Yu Qiao froze and held her by the shoulders. “Senior…”

 

Was she afraid of thunder?

 

Xie Bufei looked up, her lips pale and her eyes misty. “Qiaoqiao, I’m a little scared.”

 

As she spoke, she silently zipped up her backpack, hiding the umbrella inside, and said with a trembling voice, “Let’s go back quickly.”