Senior, Stop Pretending to be an Alpha - Chapter 5

The next morning, Yu Qiao got up early and headed to class with Yao Rudong and Lu Yun.

Although it was already the second week of the semester, most students were still struggling with the reversed sleep schedules they had developed during the summer break. Getting up early felt like an impossible challenge for them.

Yao Rudong was halfway through breakfast, her eyelids barely staying open. She looked at Yu Qiao and asked blankly, “Aren’t you tired at all?”

Yu Qiao took a sip of soy milk and replied, “I’m okay. I went to sleep quite early last night.”

She was wearing a crisp white shirt, her back straight and her sleeves rolled up to reveal slender, pale wrists. Her long hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, giving her the vibrant energy unique to youth.

Looking at Yu Qiao’s spirited appearance, Yao Rudong felt a pang of envy. “I’m definitely going to bed early tonight.”

Lu Yun didn’t miss a beat to tease her. “You’ve said that eight hundred times. I’ve yet to see you actually do it.”

Yao Rudong rolled her eyes. Just then, the phone on the table vibrated. She looked down and saw that someone had shared a post to the class group chat. Unable to resist, she clicked on it.

Lu Yun finished her breakfast quickly and noticed Yao Rudong staring intently at her screen. She tapped on the table. “What are you looking at? Eat up, we’re going to be late!”

Yao Rudong offered a few perfunctory mumbles, her eyes never leaving the screen as she mindlessly stuffed a steamed bun into her mouth.

The three of them finished breakfast and rushed to the classroom. It was already half full. This lecture wasn’t just for their class; Class 2 was also attending. Before the bell rang, the room was a cacophony of chatter.

Lu Yun picked a spot toward the back, and the three of them sat down. Surrounding them were classmates from Class 1. Yu Qiao took the seat right next to the aisle.

Since Yu Qiao rarely socialized, she didn’t know most of the people there. Aside from her roommates, she could only barely recognize a few of the more active students.

A girl sitting in front of them turned around, looking extremely excited. “Hey, have you guys seen the Confession Wall? There’s some massive tea!”

Yao Rudong, who had been on her phone the whole way there, looked like she hadn’t had enough. “I’m looking at it right now! That Omega is so brave, she did an amazing job!”

Lu Yun was startled and immediately grabbed Yao Rudong. “What tea? You didn’t even tell me!”

Yao Rudong replied, “Oh, I just saw it in the class group! Go look, it’s so intense…”

For many students, the most exciting part of extracurricular life was gossip—especially campus gossip, and the more dramatic, the better. It was the perfect fodder for post-meal conversation.

Yu Qiao wasn’t very interested in such things. She pulled out her notebook, pen, and JSP textbook to start reviewing the material from the previous lesson. She tried to concentrate, but the room was noisy, and snippets of Lu Yun and Yao Rudong’s conversation drifted into her ears.

“…Scumbag… together for five years… cheating…”

“Domestic violence… no, wait!”

The tip of Yu Qiao’s pen paused. She looked up at them.

“She was brave enough to stand up and expose that domestic abuser, and yet there are people in the comments saying ‘it takes two to tango,'” Yao Rudong said, her face flushing with anger. “Are they really blaming the victim? What is wrong with people’s values!”

Lu Yun added, “There are always idiots with weird logic in this world, don’t mind them. Anyway, Xu Jie’s reputation is ruined. Once this reaches the counselor, he might even get disciplined.”

The girl in the front seat had glowing eyes as she murmured, “Don’t you guys wonder who that Alpha was? The one who saved the poster? I think she sounds so cool…”

It sounded quite serious. Yu Qiao asked, “What happened?”

Yao Rudong replied, “Qiaoqiao, you’re interested in this too? I’ll forward the Confession Wall post to you.”

Her phone buzzed, and Yu Qiao opened the link. It redirected her to the A University Confession Wall space, where an anonymous post caught her eye.

Yu Qiao skimmed through it. The poster was a female Omega accusing her Alpha boyfriend of five years, Xu Jie, of cheating with a wealthy girl from outside the school. When she tried to break up with him, he nearly turned violent.

The Alpha’s name, grade, and phone number were all exposed, along with screenshots of flirtatious chats and intimate photos. It was enough to make anyone’s blood boil.

At the end of the post, the author had left a specific message:

“I was being threatened by Xu Jie and was terrified. I thought he was going to beat me to death… I didn’t expect an Alpha to suddenly appear, grab Xu Jie’s wrist, and stop him.

Because Xu Jie released his pheromones, I had to leave the scene immediately. I don’t know what happened to that Alpha sister afterward…

If you’re reading this, I want to say thank you so, so much!! If possible, could we be friends? If you’re willing to contact me, you can find me through the Wall Admin…”

The Confession Wall had massive traffic, and the comments were already in the thousands. Many were shocked that Xu Jie, from Architecture Class 5, was capable of such things.

“I’m in the same class as Xu Jie. He usually looks so refined, I never thought he’d be this kind of person…”

“I always thought he was a poser. Wearing suits to school and showing off his sneakers every day just to let everyone know he’s rich.”

“His family wasn’t well-off before, right? Suddenly he can afford luxury brands—turns out he cheated his way up.”

“The poster did the right thing. This kind of trashy Alpha deserves to be exposed!”

“#XuJieGetOutOfAUniversity#!!”

While a few comments questioned the authenticity, the photographic evidence was so solid that those voices were quickly drowned out. Amidst the chaos, another trend of comments had gained high likes:

“So, who exactly is the hero Alpha?? I really want to know!”

“The poster must have been so desperate. Thank god someone stood up for her.”

“From the description, this girl is so brave… This kind of ‘Strong A’ energy should be commended university-wide. I’m in love.”

“Ahem, I don’t mean anything by this, I just want to meet this brave Alpha sister too. Does she need a girlfriend? Consider me? slurp…”

“The person above, put some clothes on. Is there no one left in this school you care about?”

Yu Qiao: “…”

She pushed up her glasses and silently put her phone away.

Yao Rudong and the others were still gossiping animatedly, moving from the scumbag’s cheating to the heroic Alpha. Yu Qiao didn’t know how to react. She had no intention of contacting the poster; she had just lent a hand, and it wasn’t a big deal to her.

She hadn’t expected that she would be forced into the role of an “Alpha” because of this, or that she would suddenly gain a bunch of admirers. It was both ridiculous and ironic.

Yao Rudong rested her chin in her hands, a dreamy look on her face. “If I were in danger, I wish a handsome Alpha would descend from the clouds to save me too…”

Lu Yun noted, “Someone is already offering a reward on the Confession Wall for information on this Alpha. It’s so exaggerated. Is it really necessary?”

y, it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but the contrast between her and Xu Jie was so stark—one saving people, the other hurting them—that Yu Qiao was instantly elevated to the status of an exceptionally “outstanding Alpha.”

Yu Qiao rubbed her temples, set her phone aside, and prepared to continue her review. Suddenly, someone walked down the adjacent aisle and slammed hard into her elbow as they passed.

Yu Qiao’s hand jerked violently. Her black pen flew out of her grip and clattered onto the floor.

The girl who had brushed past glanced at her and said indifferently, “Oh, sorry about that.” Then, without looking back, she strutted away.

Yu Qiao paused for a moment, said nothing, and picked up the pen from the floor. She tried to write, but nothing came out. The pen tip merely left a few jagged scratches on the paper, like a dried-up riverbed.

Knit her brows, Yu Qiao gave the pen several hard shakes, but the ink refused to flow.

Lu Yun noticed and looked over. “What’s wrong, Qiaoqiao? Did the pen break when it fell?”

The girl in the front seat spoke up, “I just saw Tang Sijia come over and bump into her. The pen went flying like a rocket.”

Yao Rudong added, “Her again? She’s doing this on purpose. She’s been looking for trouble over and over… like that time she didn’t notify Qiaoqiao about the class meeting, making her late.”

“She just can’t stand the sight of Yu Qiao,” Lu Yun snorted. “Who told Qiaoqiao to get better grades than her? Qiaoqiao is always ranked above her. Being the ‘eternal second place’ has driven Tang Sijia absolutely crazy…”

Yu Qiao thought for a moment and asked, “She gets second place?”

Lu Yun replied, “Haven’t you noticed? Every time you’re first, the name Tang Sijia is always right behind yours.”

Yu Qiao shook her head and said sincerely, “I haven’t noticed.” She didn’t usually pay attention to other people’s grades.

Yao Rudong laughed. “Tang Sijia would drop dead of anger if she heard that. She’s been treating you as an arch-rival for ages, and it turns out you don’t even have her on your radar.”

Yu Qiao’s clean, clear gaze held a touch of confusion. “I didn’t mean to look down on her.” She just didn’t like competing.

Looking at her innocent expression, Yao Rudong couldn’t help but sigh, reaching out to ruffle Yu Qiao’s hair. “It’s like punching a cotton ball. It only makes me more frustrated on your behalf!”

Lu Yun asked, “Do you have another pen? If not, take mine.”

Yu Qiao tried again, but still no ink. It seemed completely broken. She unscrewed the cap and saw the refill was still mostly full of ink. She sighed with a hint of regret and replaced it with a new one. “No thanks, I have more.”

Yao Rudong grew even more annoyed. “No way, we can’t let Tang Sijia be this arrogant. We have to teach her a lesson!”

“How?” Lu Yun mused. “Does she have any weaknesses?”

Yu Qiao misunderstood and knit her brows, saying seriously, “No, hitting people is wrong…”

Yao Rudong waved her hands hurriedly. “Oh, we don’t want to hit her! Just a tiny warning to make her stop targeting you.”

Yu Qiao’s expression softened slightly. “What kind of warning? It shouldn’t be anything too over the line.”

The group didn’t know much about Tang Sijia, so they looked at each other, stumped.

The girl in the front, Yang Qin, was a gossip enthusiast. She leaned over Yu Qiao’s desk excitedly. “I actually know something! I heard from Tang Sijia’s roommate that she’s obsessed with Xie Bufei. Like, she treats her as a goddess. She even has several photos of Xie Bufei taped to her desk and stares at them every day!”

“Oh, come on! How is that a weakness?” Yao Rudong laughed. “Everyone loves beauty. Who doesn’t like Xie Bufei? We’re all the same!”

In the hearts of almost all students at A University, Xie Bufei—born of a prestigious family and cold as ice—was as distant and brilliant as a crane in the clouds or the moon in the sea. Because she was so perfect, she felt unapproachable. No one could help but like such a perfect dream girl.

Yu Qiao paused, and for the first time, she recalled how the “flower on a high ridge” had blushed last night. Those beautiful, lively fox-eyes flickering, a faint pink on her cheeks, her ears turning red, and that light fragrance surrounding her.

Sweet and soft.

For a brief, unnoticed moment, Yu Qiao propped her chin on her hand and smiled gently.

Yao Rudong said, “It’s not like we can just invite Xie Bufei over here.”

“That’s definitely unrealistic. We don’t even know her,” Lu Yun said, leaning back in her chair with a slow smile. “But I have another idea.”

Yao Rudong looked at her eagerly. “What is it?!”

Lu Yun snapped her fingers, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “You’ll find out in a bit.”

A few minutes later, the professor arrived and started the lesson. It was a JSP class—theory first, followed by hands-on practice. As the professor lectured passionately, Yu Qiao focused and began taking notes. With her straight back and bright eyes, she was exactly the kind of student professors loved, so he frequently called on her to answer questions.

Seeing Yu Qiao answer correctly every time, Tang Sijia rolled her eyes with disdain.

The second half of the class was in the computer lab. Yu Qiao clicked open MyEclipse, writing code and debugging according to the experiment goals. Before the bell rang, the professor announced, “Academic Rep, please collect the lab assignments. Organize them and hand them to me before next class. The zip file must include the system project and screenshots of the main code, otherwise, your grade won’t count.”

Lu Yun, who also had excellent grades, was the Academic Rep for Class 1. She acknowledged the instruction and began receiving everyone’s files.

Yao Rudong saw how calm she was and got anxious. “Weren’t you going to mess with her? Where’s the plan?”

“Don’t worry.” Lu Yun tilted her chin up, staring at the screen with a mischievous grin. “It’s coming.”

Tang Sijia was a diligent student and had finished her project within the two class periods. She sent it to Lu Yun immediately, but to her surprise, there was no response. Feeling odd, she prompted Lu Yun a few times, but it took Lu Yun a full hour to even acknowledge the file.

That wasn’t the worst part. Lu Yun followed up with a message: “The content of your screenshots isn’t up to standard. You need to include the project name in the capture.”

“Fine.” Tang Sijia chalked it up to bad luck, re-captured everything, and sent it over.

Another half hour passed. Lu Yun replied lazily, “Still not right. You need the file package and the class names in the shot too. Were you not listening in class?”

Tang Sijia: “…”

She took the screenshots several more times, but Lu Yun kept finding excuses—either the file naming wasn’t standard or the interface background had to be set to white. Tang Sijia ended up sitting in front of the computer all morning until her eyes were sore, nearly missing her lunch window. She had a nagging feeling she was being played, but with no proof, she was fuming.

It wasn’t until her roommate came over and asked curiously, “Why are you taking so many screenshots? Don’t we just need the code?”

Tang Sijia clenched her fists. “Just the code? We don’t need the filenames?”

“No. I just sent a random capture and she didn’t say a thing.”

Tang Sijia was absolutely livid—she had indeed been played by Lu Yun! She had wasted hours on screenshots while the other girl was probably laughing her head off. She had no personal grudge with Lu Yun; the only possibility was that Lu Yun was retaliating on Yu Qiao’s behalf.

An hour past noon, Tang Sijia was starving and foul-tempered as she stomped out to get food. To her surprise, as soon as she stepped out of the dorm building, she saw Yu Qiao walking toward her.

Tang Sijia was about to go over and demand an explanation when she saw the person standing next to Yu Qiao. Her eyes widened in shock.

Xie Bufei was wearing a black slip dress, her long hair pinned up, looking tall and radiant. She was leaning slightly toward Yu Qiao, chatting and smiling at her. The two were standing very close, their intimate behavior creating a natural atmosphere that no outsider could enter.

Tang Sijia was hungry, angry, and now seeing her goddess walking with the person she hated most was the final blow. Her face turned green.

Yu Qiao had just finished treating Xie Bufei to lunch. As they reached the dorm building, she saw Tang Sijia standing in front of them, eyes wide as saucers.

Seeing Yu Qiao stop, Xie Bufei cast a casual glance at Tang Sijia and asked lazily, “Do you know her?”

Yu Qiao nodded, then shook her head. “Not well.”

Tang Sijia: “…”

She watched the two of them pass by her, chatting and laughing as they headed upstairs. Her heart completely shattered and blew away in the wind.

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