The Alpha’s Hidden Marriage, Public Obsession - Chapter 20

In just a few minutes, Lin Yulan and Lin Yujin were already at each other’s throats, squabbling like sparrows outside. Their incessant bickering was so loud that even the butler and maids, busy in various rooms, couldn’t resist poking their heads out to eavesdrop. Some were even tempted to pull out their phones and livestream the scene, already brainstorming titles “My Alpha Aunt Married My Favorite Teacher but Claims She Was Forced, Is It Wrong to Suspect She’s Incompetent?”

But the argument grew so heated that not even closing the door could muffle it. Worried the two might escalate from shouting to blows, Jiang Xue quickly stepped in to pull Lin Yujin away.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”

Lin Yujin scoffed, her glare at Lin Yulan turning even fiercer.

Their relationship had always been decent before after all, they mostly lived separate lives, only meeting during holidays or family gatherings, so their aunt-niece dynamic had been quite harmonious. But after Jiang Xue became Lin Yujin’s private tutor, Lin Yulan, upon finding out, started making trouble for Jiang Xue at every turn. This eventually led Jiang Xue to distance herself, refusing to continue as her tutor and even avoiding her outside of class.

Lin Yujin had privately approached Jiang Xue to clarify her stance just because they were related by blood didn’t mean she and Lin Yulan were the same person. Besides, the issue was entirely Lin Yulan’s doing; Jiang Xue had no reason to quit over something that wasn’t her fault.

But in the end, she still couldn’t convince Jiang Xue.

And all of this it was Lin Yulan’s fault!

“I knew there was something off when you invited me over for dinner tonight. A weasel paying respects to a chicken, you had ulterior motives from the start!”

Jiang Xue hadn’t expected Lin Yujin to react so strongly to her marriage to Lin Yulan, to the point of nearly kicking her to death. She’d even braced herself for Lin Yujin to side with Lin Yulan and accuse her of scheming. The moment she saw Lin Yujin, her mind had raced with anxiety. Does she think I’m manipulative? Did she only agree to tutor me because she saw me as a potential wife for the Lin family?

So this reaction was completely unexpected.

Lin Yulan, too heated to notice anything odd in Lin Yujin’s words, was solely focused on not losing face in front of Jiang Xue. She snapped back, “What ‘ulterior motives’? You think I wanted to call you over? It was Mom who forced me to! Don’t act like you’re the victim here!”

Lin Yujin was convinced Lin Yulan was playing dumb. As an Alpha, her temper wasn’t to be trifled with, and she fired back, “Bullshit! Grandma would never do something like that! You wanted me here, thinking I’d side with you and gang up on Professor Jiang. Your intentions are so obvious even an idiot could see them your face practically screams, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant!’ Do you really think I don’t know you?!”

Wait, had she really been that transparent?

Lin Yulan opened her mouth to retort, but Ming Zelan and Lin He were already standing at the doorway.

Ming Zelan had intended to ask if the sky was falling, given how loudly they were arguing, the noise could be heard dozens of meters away. But the moment she looked up and saw the person standing in the living room, her words died in her throat.

“Y-Yujin? What are you doing here?”

Jiang Xue immediately sensed something was off. Had Ming Zelan really not invited Lin Yujin tonight?

Lin Yujin called out “Grandma” before wrenching herself free from Jiang Xue’s grip and turning to leave.

Ming Zelan hurried after her, grabbing her arm. “Yujin, since you’re already here, why not stay for dinner?”

Lin Yujin let out a bitter laugh. Despite her anger, she still had to maintain respect for Ming Zelan’s seniority. “Grandma, so… was it your idea for Lin Yulan to marry Teacher Jiang?”

The question was clearly skeptical. Everyone in the Lin family knew Lin Yulan had a long-standing first love, a white moonlight she had once brought home. She had even been willing to abandon her future as the Lin Group’s heir for that Omega, who had since vanished without a trace. There was no way she would willingly marry Jiang Xue.

Her earlier attitude had made that much clear.

If Lin Yulan was marrying Jiang Xue, it had to be under duress, Ming Zelan’s doing.

“Yujin, listen to me, this matter is actually—”

“I don’t want to hear it right now!” Lin Yujin gritted her teeth. “I told you long ago how I felt. Doesn’t Lin Yulan dislike Jiang Xue? Didn’t she say that herself?”

“Yes, she did say that, but…”

“If she said it herself, and you know she doesn’t like Jiang Xue, then why force Jiang Xue to marry her?! And you specifically called me here today, wasn’t it just to crush any hope I had left?”

Lin Yujin’s voice trembled on the verge of tears. She had always deeply respected Ming Zelan, this kind and warm-hearted grandmother who treated her like her own granddaughter. She had never dared to raise her voice or speak harshly in front of her.

But this crossed a line. She had never imagined Ming Zelan would do this to her.

“You knew I was about to graduate. Once I finish my thesis, I won’t be her student anymore. Why would you do this to me? Inviting me here today, was it just to make me give up?” Lin Yujin shook her head with a hollow laugh. “Just because Lin Yulan is your biological daughter, you think everything good in this world should belong to her, don’t you?!”

Ming Zelan tried to defend herself, but Lin Yujin refused to listen. With a cold “I hate you,” she turned and ran out of the Lin residence.

“Madam, should we go after her?” an assistant asked.

Ming Zelan raised a hand to stop them. “It’s no use. That child is as stubborn as her mother, once she’s made up her mind, nothing can change it. She was bound to find out sooner or later. Maybe it’s better this way.”

The assistant ventured carefully, “Then… was Young Master Lin doing this on purpose? Does this mean she actually has feelings for the young madam. ”

“Feelings my ass!”

Ming Zelan was well aware of what her worthless daughter was thinking. If Lin Yulan had known that Lin Yujin liked Jiang Xue, she would have long tried every means to bring them together.

That way, she wouldn’t have had to force her daughter into marrying Jiang Xue under her own domineering pressure. The only reason Lin Yujin had been invited today was entirely by accident her worthless daughter hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“Does the young madam know about the cousin?”

“Judging by her reaction earlier, she probably doesn’t know.”

This also indirectly proved that the Omega truly only had eyes for her daughter. It seemed she hadn’t chosen the wrong person.

At the mention of this, Ming Zelan was so exasperated she could barely contain herself. She muttered a few curses under her breath about her useless offspring before strutting back to the living room in her high heels.

At that moment, Lin Yulan was lounging on the sofa, leisurely eating freshly washed fruit brought by the maid. Seeing Ming Zelan and her assistant return without Lin Yujin in sight, she couldn’t help but ask, puzzled, “Mom, do you think Lin Yujin took the wrong medicine today? I just invited her over for a meal to celebrate her beloved Teacher Jiang’s marriage into wealth, and she actually got mad at me!”

Ming Zelan felt her daughter was beyond saving. Had her brain been completely addled by that fox Qu Mengxin? How could she be so utterly clueless?

But with Jiang Xue present today, Ming Zelan didn’t want her to find out about such matters, so she quickly changed the subject. “Xue’er, today is the day you and that deadbeat Yulan got your marriage certificate. Originally, I should have called the rest of the family over to have a meal with you. Now that you’re part of the Lin family, they really should come greet you. But because of this deadbeat… well, today it’s just me and her father. I hope you’ll bear with us.”

As she spoke, Ming Zelan nudged Lin He beside her with her elbow.

Lin He immediately took the hint and said, “Xue’er, in the end, it’s Yulan who’s let you down. When the right opportunity comes, I’ll make sure to make it up to you! For now, you’ll have to endure a little hardship.”

Jiang Xue didn’t feel wronged at all. In fact, she thought the current arrangement was quite good, she hadn’t wanted too many people to know about this in the first place. “It’s no hardship. I should be thanking you, Aunt Ming, for making this possible.”

Hearing this, Ming Zelan felt immensely pleased. The more she looked at Jiang Xue, the more satisfied she became. Noticing the time, she had the servants bring out the dishes.

The four of them sat around the table and shared a relatively pleasant meal. As they were finishing up, Ming Zelan and Lin He had urgent business matters to attend to, so after giving the butler a few instructions, they left.

Jiang Xue had planned to leave as well after eating, but the butler stopped her.

Only then did she realize why the Lin family’s servants had suddenly become so busy earlier, constantly carrying things upstairs, they had been preparing the bridal suite for them.

Left with no choice, Jiang Xue had to stay.

When the time came, she was led by the servants to the bridal suite Ming Zelan had prepared for them, a bedroom with an enormous floor-to-ceiling window.

This had always been Jiang Xue’s dream. She had longed for a home of her own, with a bedroom featuring a vast, sunlit window where she could sit lazily, basking in the warm sunlight with half-closed eyes.

But this didn’t belong to her. She was merely a temporary resident with usage rights.

Jiang Xue stood by the floor-to-ceiling window for quite some time when she heard the sound of a door opening behind her. She turned around to see Lin Yulan closing the door.

His expression made it clear he had drunk quite a bit.

“Stop looking. No matter how much you stare, it still won’t be yours.”

After Ming Zelan and Lin He left, Lin Yulan had drowned himself in alcohol. Now, with the liquor clouding his mind, seeing Jiang Xue in the marital home he had originally prepared for another Omega made his anger boil over. “Jiang Xue, you better remember this, you’re just a stand-in, sitting in her place as the young madam of the Lin family!”

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