The Alpha’s Hidden Marriage, Public Obsession - Chapter 52

After taking the medicine, Jiang Xue acted like a heartless scumbag Omega who zips up and walks away without a second glance not even sparing Lin Yulan a look as she left with absolute decisiveness.

Meanwhile, Lin Yulan resembled a pitiful abandoned Alpha, having lost both the battle and the spoils. Clutching the other’s shoe like a lovesick stone statue, she stood on tiptoe, staring mournfully at Jiang Xue’s retreating figure, her gaze practically shattered.

“Assistant Manager Lin, is your foot alright?”

Lin Yulan turned her head stiffly. If assault weren’t illegal, the high heel in her hand would’ve already been hurled at her tactless assistant’s face without hesitation.

But assault was illegal. Suppressing the urge with gritted teeth, Lin Yulan finally hissed through clenched jaws, “Didn’t I tell you to wait for me at the school gate? What are you doing back here?!”

She had been this close just this close to making Jiang Xue feel sorry for her, which would’ve been the perfect opportunity to mend their fractured relationship.

And yet, her assistant had to show up at the worst possible moment. It was almost too convenient was this deliberate sabotage?!

Even the densest assistant would’ve caught on by now. “Assistant Manager Lin, I saw you limping and thought Madam might’ve, used violence against you. I came back to shield you!”

“……” Lin Yulan was rendered speechless. The streets were packed with people, and Jiang Xue had too much pride no matter how much she hated her, she’d never resort to public assault.

Besides, this assistant had been handpicked by Ming Zhelan. Lin Yulan had every reason to suspect this was intentional, but she had no proof!

“Assistant Manager Lin, should we head back now or…?”

“Where else would I go if not back?”

The assistant meekly added, “Should we still follow Madam?”

Lin Yulan wanted to, but there was no point now. Besides, she had to commit to the act even if Jiang Xue had already seen through her ruse, she had to keep up the pretense. “Follow what? Go home!”

The assistant mused to herself: People always said an Omega’s heart was as fathomable as the ocean, but honestly, that saying should be revised a boss’s heart was the real enigma!

“…Understood, Assistant Manager Lin.”

Back home, Lin Yulan agonized over the problem all night. She had considered asking Xia Ran to arrange a meeting with Xia Yin but hesitated, unsure how to broach the subject.

How could she possibly say to Xia Ran, Your sister is trying to steal my wife, I need to set her straight?

But if she simply said, I need to talk to your sister about something, can you arrange it? Xia Ran would immediately be suspicious after all, Lin Yulan had no prior connection to Xia Yin.

No matter how she spun it, Xia Ran would inevitably catch on.

Lin Yulan was at her wit’s end. If all else failed, she could always approach Xia Yin under the guise of discussing a business collaboration with Lin Corporation.

But then she remembered Xia Yin wasn’t always at the company these days; she spent most of her time at the university. If Lin Yulan wanted to confront her, she’d either have to stake out the school or Xia Corporation both of which required knowing Xia Yin’s schedule in advance.

Which meant she’d still have to go through Xia Ran.

Lin Yulan collapsed onto her bed, utterly defeated. As she stewed in frustration, exhaustion finally pulled her into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, while still in bed, Lin Yulan’s mind was filled with thoughts of how to broach the subject with Xia Ran. What she didn’t expect was that speak of the devil and he shall appear.

As soon as she stepped out of her bedroom, she saw the butler standing outside her door.

“Uncle Zhao, what are you doing here so early in the morning?”

The butler replied, “Miss, you’re finally awake. Young Miss Xia is waiting for you downstairs.”

“Who? Who’s waiting for me downstairs?”

“Young Miss Xia. I told her you had business late last night and only just returned. She was worried about disturbing your rest, so she asked me not to wake you.”

Talk about thinking of something and it happens…

Lin Yulan felt a wave of despair. She wasn’t prepared at all. Ever since last night, when she learned that the person trying to woo her wife was none other than her best friend’s older sister, she felt that fate had played the cruelest joke on her.

“Miss, what’s the matter? Young Miss Xia came all this way to see you, isn’t that something to be happy about?”

Happy?

Her head was practically aching from worry, how could she possibly be happy?

Lin Yulan didn’t answer the butler’s question. Instead, she asked, “Did Xia Ran say why she came to see me?”

The butler shook his head. “Young Miss Xia didn’t specify, but I doubt it’s anything urgent. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so patient waiting downstairs.”

That was true.

But why would Xia Ran suddenly come to see her out of the blue?

This was completely unlike the Xia Ran she knew!

“Alright, I understand. Uncle Zhao, you can go about your business. I’ll head downstairs now.”

The butler nodded and turned to leave.

Since the visitor was no stranger, Lin Yulan didn’t bother dressing up. After tidying herself slightly, she went downstairs.

Xia Ran was sitting on the living room sofa, scrolling through her phone probably giving instructions to her employees, with earbuds in her ears. She only removed them when she saw Lin Yulan coming down.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Miss Lin, finally awake,” Xia Ran teased. “I thought I’d have to wait a few more hours, at least until noon.”

Lin Yulan plopped down beside Xia Ran. This time, she skipped the banter and got straight to the point. “Alright, Young Miss Xia, what brings you here so early in the morning?”

Xia Ran was taken aback. Normally, whenever she visited Lin Yulan, the latter never asked her this directly. “Can’t it just be that I missed you and wanted to see you?”

Lin Yulan turned to face her and pulled Xia Ran closer. “Sweetheart, look me in the eyes and say that again.”

Xia Ran shuddered at the term “sweetheart.” There was no denying that Lin Yulan had a natural talent for bewitching people. Anyone with a less steady mind would’ve had their soul stolen long ago.

The most infuriating part was that Lin Yulan had no idea how alluring she was like a peacock flaunting its feathers without a care.

“I told you not to call me ‘sweetheart.’ You’re a married woman now. If Jiang Xue heard that, I’d never be able to clear my name.”

“She won’t.”

“How can you be so sure? You’re not Jiang Xue.”

“She’d sooner believe I had a thing with a dog than with you.”

Xia Ran: “…” Well, thanks for the vote of confidence.

Lin Yulan released her and asked, “So, what exactly brings you here to see me so early in the morning?”

First and foremost, Xia Ran definitely wasn’t here to ask for her help. One of the key reasons their friendship had lasted so long was precisely because they never allowed matters of wealth or power to interfere with their bond.

So, ruling that out, whatever brought Xia Ran here must be something important on another front.

“Qu Mengxin has returned to the country. Did you know that?”

She had a feeling.

Lin Yulan leaned back, resting her entire back against the sofa, and said without reservation, “I know. She came to the company to see me yesterday.”

Xia Ran was taken aback. “She actually went to the company to find you? Aunt Ming… doesn’t she despise Qu Mengxin?”

The fact that Qu Mengxin was allowed in politely was truly beyond Xia Ran’s expectations.

“You mean to say you’re surprised my mom tolerated her entering the company without throwing a fit, right?”

“Those are your words, not mine.”

Lin Yulan chuckled. “If my mom had known it was her, forget letting her into the company she probably would’ve had her turned away over the phone. Last night, she came as the representative of Zhao Corporation to discuss a project with my family. She’s the overall person in charge of this project and goes by an artistic name, Asa. My mom likely didn’t look into it too carefully, and with business to discuss, she just had me handle the meeting in the rush of the moment. I genuinely didn’t expect it to be her.”

Xia Ran asked, “So what did you two talk about last night?”

If anyone else had asked this, Lin Yulan would’ve suspected ulterior motives or an overstep into her private affairs. But she knew Xia Ran wasn’t like that.

Xia Ran was asking purely out of concern that Lin Yulan might still have lingering feelings for Qu Mengxin. After all, she was now married to Jiang Xue and was even on the path of trying to win her back. With Qu Mengxin suddenly returning, Xia Ran was worried she might waver.

For Jiang Xue, this would be more than just unfair.

Instead of answering, Lin Yulan countered, “Then guess what she said to me?”

Xia Ran gave her a deadpan look. “My dear, how am I supposed to guess what you and your ex talked about?! Stop playing games, how childish can you be? Are we back to the ‘guess what I’m thinking’ phase like we’re still teenagers? Spit it out already!”

After grumbling about Xia Ran’s lack of patience, Lin Yulan finally replied leisurely, “She said she came back now because of me, and that the reason the Zhao family pursued this project was entirely for my sake too. Doesn’t that sound touching?”

“…And were you touched by that?”

“Touched my ass.”

“Oh?”

“You don’t believe me? You actually don’t believe me?!”

Xia Ran simply watched her continue the act. She couldn’t speak for others, but Qu Mengxin was Lin Yulan’s first love, her white moonlight. Expecting her to completely forget someone like that was as likely as pigs climbing trees!

Clutching her chest in mock agony, Lin Yulan lamented, “After all these years of friendship, you know me better than anyone. If even you don’t trust me, what’s the point of living?!”

“Alright, alright!” Xia Ran had a headache seeing Lin Yulan like this and finally gave in. “I believe you, okay? So, Uncle Zhao mentioned you came back very late last night. Could it be that you stayed up all night at the company having a deep conversation with her?”

“How could that be!”

If it weren’t for Qu Mengxin, there was no way she would have let Xia Yin go out shopping with Jiang Xue last night!

“Let’s not talk about me for now. What about you? You came to see me, it can’t just be to tell me about Qu Mengxin’s return, right?”

At the mention of this, Xia Ran’s expression visibly darkened.

Lin Yulan noticed and asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen at the company?”

Xia Ran was silent for a moment before saying, “You just mentioned that Qu Mengxin is the lead person in charge of your Lin Group’s current collaboration project, right?”

Lin Yulan immediately caught on. “Yes, that’s exactly what she said.”

“And what do you think about that?”

The implication was clear, what did Lin Yulan think about Qu Mengxin being appointed as the lead person in charge of such a major project for the Zhao Group?

Lin Yulan shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“I don’t believe you haven’t had your doubts.”

“Xia Ran, I—”

After a moment’s thought, Lin Yulan said, “My mom asked me the same thing last night. To be honest, and I’m not afraid of you hitting me for this, I really haven’t thought about it that way. I’ve already come to terms with whether she returns to the country or not. Whether she’s back or not doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

Xia Ran looked at her skeptically. “You really think that way?”

“Otherwise? What do you think I should think?”

I thought you might want to rekindle the old flame.

Xia Ran ultimately didn’t voice that thought. “It’s best if you don’t think that way. Have you told Jiang Xue about Qu Mengxin’s return?”

Jiang Xue’s attitude toward Lin Yulan had almost reached the point of utter despair. If Lin Yulan could proactively explain the situation to Jiang Xue, their relationship might improve.

And if they ever wanted to truly mend things in the future, it would be more beneficial than harmful.

At the mention of this, Lin Yulan immediately thought of Xia Yin again.

She stared at Xia Ran for a long while, until Xia Ran grew uncomfortable under her gaze and threatened to leave if she kept looking at her like that. Only then did Lin Yulan snap out of it.

“I’ll find a chance to tell her eventually,” Lin Yulan said. “But before that, I have a question for you.”

Xia Ran was thrown off by her unusually serious demeanor this wasn’t the Lin Yulan she knew. She even wondered if Lin Yulan had been possessed, acting so strangely all day.

“Just ask whatever you want. Between the two of us, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”

Lin Yulan hesitated for a long time before stammering, “Well, it’s just… a friend of mine came to me yesterday and asked me something. She said her best friend’s older sister has fallen for an Omega, but that Omega is already taken and married. In that case, how do you think I should respond to her?”

Xia Ran’s ability to react to situations was truly terrifying. The moment Lin Yulan finished speaking, Xia Ran immediately understood and sprang up from the couch. “Yulan, what do you mean by that? Are you saying my sister likes Jiang Xue and is actively pursuing her?”

Seeing Lin Yulan remain silent only made Xia Ran more agitated. “Do you have any proof for what you’re saying? We may be close, but if you’re spreading baseless rumors about my sister, no matter how strong our friendship is, I won’t stand for this kind of slander!”

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