She doesn’t want to pretend to be an Omega either! - Chapter 20

“That doesn’t seem very appropriate,” Wen Mo said, lowering her head. She hooked her fingers together, fidgeting as she spoke in a small voice. “How could you ask an Omega to take off their clothes?”

Her weak tone, paired with her timid posture, might have made an outsider think she was shy. But both Zhu Shen and Wen Mo knew that “shy” was the last thing she was feeling.

The only reason Wen Mo had bowed her head was to keep her expression from crumbling.

This is beyond ridiculous!

She looked so frail, yet instead of gallantly offering her his jacket, he actually had the nerve to ask for hers? Did he really not believe she was an Omega? Even if there were a one-in-a-million chance she was telling the truth, wouldn’t his conscience prick him for bullying a delicate Omega?

Of course, even if Zhu Shen had offered his jacket, Wen Mo wouldn’t have taken it. How could a thoughtful, considerate Omega bear to let a friend catch a cold?

Still, he could have at least gone through the motions of being polite! Wen Mo lowered her eyes, grumbling inwardly. This man really is as rude as ever.

Zhu Shen didn’t have nearly as many thoughts. Having confirmed that Wen Mo was an Alpha, hearing her talk about being an Omega now was nothing short of a joke.

Shy? This girl probably didn’t even know how to spell the word. If she were capable of feeling shame, she never would have concocted such a brazen lie to begin with.

“Then why did you even ask, you idiot?” Zhu Shen huffed coldly.

Wen Mo bowed her head even further, appearing frightened by his icy tone. “I was just checking on you, is that not allowed?”

Calls me an idiot, talks about farts—so much for the cold, elegant CEO vibe. How vulgar!

“It’s allowed,” Zhu Shen said, staring down at the top of her head with a chilling gaze. “If you’re so concerned, take off your jacket and give it to me. Actions speak louder than words; what good is verbal concern?”

Wen Mo: “…”

Damn it, he’s actually making sense. I can’t even argue with that.

Wen Mo fell silent.

Zhu Shen felt a surge of triumph. Finally, he had shut that yapping mouth of hers.

“Still not moving?” A smirk played on Zhu Shen’s lips. “Or was that just a hypocritical question? Do you actually not care about me at all?”

Wen Mo: “…”

Great. He’s backed me into a corner.

“Well, if you really need it, I can give it to you.” Wen Mo said aggrievedly, her fingers moving slowly to the buttons of her suit jacket.

“Take it off, then.” Zhu Shen stopped walking, turned around, and waited with an air of relaxed expectation.

Wen Mo was officially done with this man’s nonsense. Fine. You want it? You got it. It’s just a jacket; it’s not like she’d freeze to death in five minutes!

She stopped stalling and briskly shrugged off the jacket. Holding it up with both hands, she looked up at Zhu Shen with watery eyes, her lips slightly pursed—the perfect image of a resilient “little white flower” acting tough.

“Here. Do you need me to help you put it on?” the little white flower asked considerately.

They happened to be standing right under a streetlight. The bright bulb was reflected in Wen Mo’s eyes, making her already clear gaze sparkle like a pair of stars. Zhu Shen was momentarily dazzled, his mind wandering for a split second.

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew past, and Wen Mo felt a tickle in her nose.

“A-choo!”

A loud, forceful sneeze erupted right toward Zhu Shen.

Zhu Shen: “…”

His brow furrowed in immediate disgust, and he took a sharp step back.

“I-I’m so sor—A-choo!” Before she could finish her apology, another thunderous sneeze followed.
Zhu Shen turned on his heel and began marching away, looking as though he didn’t want to spend another second in her presence.

Wen Mo: “…”

Was that really necessary?

Wen Mo wiped her nose and watched Zhu Shen’s retreating figure. She gave the jacket in her hands a little shake. “President Zhu! Don’t you want the jacket anymore?”

“Wear it yourself!” Zhu Shen’s voice drifted back from up ahead.

Wen Mo curled her lip at his back. She certainly didn’t think he was being kind because he was worried she’d get sick; he was clearly just terrified she’d pass her germs on to him.

A big, tough Alpha, and yet he’s so fussy.

In truth, Wen Mo didn’t think he would have accepted the jacket even without the sneezes. Zhu Shen was over 190cm tall; squeezing into her 180cm-sized light blue jacket would have utterly ruined his “Domineering President” image.

Besides, given how much he detested her, he’d surely find her used clothes repulsive.

Thinking about it, she felt her sneezes were poorly timed. She would have gladly braved the cold just to watch Zhu Shen suffer through the awkwardness of wearing a jacket that destroyed his dignity just because he had been too stubborn to back down. If he was miserable, she was happy!

Alas, he hadn’t waited for her. And without the jacket, it really was freezing. Not wanting to get sick without even getting a laugh out of it, Wen Mo threw the jacket back on, wrapped it tightly around herself, and hurried to catch up.

“President Zhu, wait for me!”

Seeing her catch up, Zhu Shen sped up his pace.

“President Zhu, where are you going?” Wen Mo asked, amused by his reaction. She raised her voice into a high-pitched, girlish trill.

Only then did Zhu Shen realize he wasn’t familiar with the Wei estate. He arrived at a fork in the path and had no idea which way led where. He was forced to slow down.

“Hurry up,” he called out. “You walk in front.”

Wen Mo was even more amused now. Her lips curled upward, but she kept her voice sounding humble and terrified. “Oh, how could I? You’re the great Young President Zhu! How could I dare walk in front of you?”

When Zhu Shen first entered the company, his father was still in charge, having been “President Zhu” for decades. To distinguish them, people called him “Young President Zhu.” Even after taking over, since he was quite young compared to many in the circle, the nickname stuck.

Zhu Shen hadn’t cared much about the “Young” part before, mostly because no one dared to use it with a mocking or dismissive tone. But coming from Wen Mo’s mouth, “You’re the great Young President Zhu” sounded incredibly grating.

Even though she hadn’t emphasized the “Young,” he felt her words were dripping with sarcasm. In fact, he was certain this little drama queen was being passive-aggressive.

Zhu Shen came to a dead stop and whirled around to face her.

The smile on Wen Mo’s face froze for a second before she adjusted it into a wider, more natural grin. “Right, right. Whatever you say, President Zhu. Don’t be impatient, I’m coming to lead the way.” She quickened her step and walked past him.

Zhu Shen’s vision was sharp; he hadn’t missed that momentary flicker of stiffness in her expression.

This girl, she was definitely mocking me just now, wasn’t she?

He narrowed his eyes, his voice turning cold. “What are you smiling at?”

Wen Mo: “Hmm?”

Zhu Shen: “Are you laughing at me?”

Wen Mo’s eyes widened. “I’m being framed!”

She was truly being wronged!

She wasn’t laughing at him; she just thought it was hilarious that this supposedly omnipotent CEO had been scared off by her high-pitched “cloying” voice, and that he’d been forced to slow down and wait for a girl he utterly despised just because he didn’t know the way.

It was a smile of pure, innocent goodwill!

“I was smiling because I thought you were cute!” Seeing Zhu Shen’s face grow increasingly icy, Wen Mo rushed to explain.

“Cute?” Zhu Shen was staggered by the word. His stony expression flickered with a moment of blank confusion.

“Yes!” ‘Cute’ was such a versatile word; Wen Mo saw no problem with it. She beamed at him, her voice softening as if she were coaxing a toddler. “Running away just because I sneezed twice—I never expected Young President Zhu to be so afraid of getting sick. It’s unexpectedly cute.”

Zhu Shen looked at Wen Mo’s silly, innocent smile and listened to her deliver these cringe-worthy lines with such immersive dedication. She was a drama queen through and through.

When a person reaches the absolute limit of speechlessness, they achieve a sort of momentary zen. Zhu Shen suddenly found himself unable to stay angry; in fact, he found it somewhat amusing. To be a drama queen to this extent was a talent in its own right.

“I’m not afraid of getting sick. I just find you repulsive,” Zhu Shen said, his voice flattening out now that he’d reached his “zen” state. “I was afraid your spit would land on me.”

Wen Mo knew perfectly well he despised her.

“S-So, that was the reason?” Her eyes widened in shock, followed by a look of deep hurt, before she slowly lowered her head in a display of shame and dejection.

Zhu Shen watched her perform in silence.

Not a bad act, he thought. The characterization was meticulous—from the expression to the posture to the dialogue. It was more entertaining than watching TV.

Wen Mo seemed genuinely heartbroken. She stopped talking and walked slowly in front of Zhu Shen to lead the way.

Watching her, Zhu Shen found it even more interesting. He was curious: did Wen Mo ever get tired of acting like this?

According to the investigation report his subordinates had provided, Wen Mo was a hot-tempered person who couldn’t stand the slightest grievance and was liable to explode at any moment. He trusted his people’s capabilities and didn’t doubt the report’s accuracy, even though the Wen Mo he was seeing now was worlds apart from the one in the files.

Zhu Shen didn’t believe personalities could shift overnight either. Thus, he felt her acting was quite impressive; there wasn’t a trace of her original personality left.

Suddenly, Zhu Shen wanted to see how long she could keep this up. If he exposed her true face now, wouldn’t he lose out on this spectacular performance?

Amidst the silence, Zhu Shen changed his mind. He decided to postpone the moment he would throw the medical files in her face.

Unfortunately, Wen Mo had no idea.

The air outside was freezing, so Wen Mo led Zhu Shen to the warmth of the glass conservatory.

She wandered through the greenhouse, admiring the beautiful and rare exotic flowers. As she did, she whipped out her phone to take frantic close-ups of the blooms, followed by a flurry of selfies with the flowers as her backdrop.

When a girl starts taking selfies, men basically cease to exist. Because Zhu Shen was being so quiet, Wen Mo almost forgot he was even there.

Zhu Shen wasn’t in the mood to look at flowers, but he didn’t mind watching Wen Mo put on this show of acting like a typical Omega, snapping photos and posing everywhere. As he watched, his inner confusion deepened.

Her love for this tedious activity seemed genuine. If this was also an act, he truly admired her. What kind of Alpha would love taking selfies pressed up against flowers?

As a “straight-man” Alpha, Zhu Shen found it utterly incomprehensible and mildly shocking. However, being open-minded, he respected the diversity of the human species, so a moment of surprise was enough.

A good show needs ups and downs to stay interesting. Wen Mo’s frenetic selfie session was okay at first, but it grew boring after a while. Zhu Shen checked his watch and realized time had flown; Yin Qingyue had likely arrived by now.

He looked around, trying to spot Wen Mo amidst the foliage. As his peripheral vision caught a figure outside the glass house, he paused, a plan forming in his mind.

“Wen Mo!” Zhu Shen called out, turning his body so his back was to the conservatory entrance.

“Huh?” Wen Mo’s voice drifted back from the flowers.

“Why on earth are you pretending to be an Alpha?” Zhu Shen asked, raising his volume appropriately.

Wen Mo, who was bent over photographing a flower, stiffened. She immediately forced herself to look composed and replied briskly without turning around, “I told you last time! Our family business is huge and there are too many side branches. To keep the inheritance in our direct line, I’m forced to pose as an Alpha!”