The Alpha’s Hidden Marriage, Public Obsession - Chapter 61

Jiang Xue returned to school and was immediately called into a meeting in the conference room.

The school leadership had been paying close attention to the Melbourne project, so Jiang Xue initially thought the meeting was to finalize the specific departure date. However, upon arriving, she learned that the trip to Melbourne had been postponed by half a month.

While the delay didn’t affect Jiang Xue’s personal schedule, she had only agreed to go in the first place to distance herself from Lin Yulan she couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated at the sudden change.

“Why the delay?” Jiang Xue couldn’t resist asking her colleague Chu Yuan, who was usually on good terms with her. “Wasn’t it settled that we’d fly out in the next few days? Did the investors back out?”

Chu Yuan pulled Jiang Xue aside and lowered her voice. “Xue, it’s not that the investors backed out. There’s talk of adding a new investor, but the original ones aren’t happy about it, so they’re still negotiating. If they can’t reach an agreement, who knows when this project will actually start.”

“A new investor?” Jiang Xue had a bad feeling about this. “What’s really going on?”

Chu Yuan hesitated before asking, “Xue, do you know the real identity of Xia Yin, the one who’s always working with us? The one who sticks to you like glue, it’s obvious she’s into you.”

At the mention of Xia Yin, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but recall what had happened that afternoon. She quickly cut Chu Yuan off. “Let’s not talk about that. Yuan, just tell me, what does this project have to do with her? Is she the new investor they want to bring in?”

Chu Yuan nodded. “Yeah, she’s the one. I just found out from Director Gao, she’s the newly appointed CEO of the Xia Group.”

After saying this, Chu Yuan’s expression noticeably shifted.

Her face clearly showed she had more to say, but she seemed hesitant, likely out of consideration for Jiang Xue’s feelings.

After a long pause, Chu Yuan carefully broached the subject. “Xue, we’ve been friends for years, so I’ll just ask directly does Xia Yin like you?”

Jiang Xue instantly understood what Chu Yuan was getting at. “Are you asking if Xia Yin suddenly joined this project because of me?”

Chu Yuan fell silent for a moment before nodding.

In truth, it wasn’t just Chu Yuan. Almost everyone who worked with them could tell Xia Yin had feelings for Jiang Xue, they just hadn’t pointed it out to avoid making things awkward.

After all, there were plenty of people at the school who admired Jiang Xue’s teaching. But since she had never shown interest in any Alpha, everyone assumed she must already have someone special in her heart, which was why she remained indifferent to the others around her.

“So, why did Director Gao call me here today?” Jiang Xue didn’t even need to think hard to guess what the higher-ups were scheming. “They’re not planning to persuade me to talk to Xia Yin, are they?”

As one of Jiang Xue’s few close friends at the school, Chu Yuan had anticipated this outcome the moment she heard the news. She completely understood why Jiang Xue would be upset. “Well, what are you going to do, Xue?”

Actually, what she wanted to say even more was: If Xia Yin, that Alpha, uses this project to negotiate terms with the school and sells out Jiang Xue someone the school could easily replace anyway then what are you going to do, Jiang Xue? But after some thought, Chu Yuan still didn’t put it so bluntly.

Even though she didn’t spell it out, Jiang Xue understood exactly what she meant.

“Do they still think there’s something going on between me and Xia Yin?” Jiang Xue’s anger flared up instantly.

Chu Yuan nodded. “Back when she was getting especially close to you, people were already gossiping behind your back. It’s just that you’ve always been firm in your attitude and never showed any interest in that direction, so they didn’t dare say it to your face.”

“What exactly did they say?”

“It’s pretty nasty, Xiao Xue. You’re better off not knowing.”

If it weren’t for today’s incident, Jiang Xue might have brushed off the vile and filthy things these people were saying. But this had crossed a line for her, she couldn’t just pretend she hadn’t heard anything. “It’s fine. Tell me.”

Chu Yuan hesitated for a moment before saying, “Xiao Xue, you know our school has very few Omega instructors. Aside from you, almost all the other Omega instructors are already in relationships, so they think you’re not actually uninterested in the Alphas around you, that you’re just playing hard to get. And now that Xia Yin has revealed her identity as an investor, they’ve decided you’re not playing hard to get but are actually angling to become a wealthy socialite.”

Jiang Xue nearly laughed in disbelief at the absurdity of these rumors. If she really wanted to marry into wealth, the Lin family was among the elite of the elite several tiers above the Xia Group.

So why wouldn’t she just choose the Lin family instead?

It was clear these people had too much time on their hands, gossiping and spreading rumors behind others’ backs. Jiang Xue didn’t even need to guess she could count on her fingers exactly who was behind these malicious rumors.

“Xiao Xue, don’t let it get to you. Ignore them. They’re just bitter because they couldn’t win you over, so they’re resorting to slander and dirty rumors. It’s disgusting,” Chu Yuan reassured her. “If they really plan to sacrifice you to curry favor with Xia Yin. I think you should just withdraw from this project. Who knows what those people might do next?”

Jiang Xue was about to respond when her phone rang.

Glancing at the screen, she saw it was Xia Ran calling.

But why would Xia Ran suddenly call her?

Without overthinking it, Jiang Xue excused herself to Chu Yuan, saying, “I need to take this call,” and stepped into an empty hallway.

“Hello?”

“Jiang Xue, come over here.”

The tone alone told her this wasn’t good news. Jiang Xue instinctively frowned. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Xia Ran’s voice was clearly anxious as she cut straight to the point. “My sister and Yu Lan got into a fight somehow, and they’re both hurt.”

“What?!”

“I just found out and am heading over now. You should come too.”

Jiang Xue didn’t think Lin Yulan was the impulsive type. It wasn’t as if Lin Yulan had never been in a fight before that had happened during their third year of university, but only after deliberate provocation. Now that they were past the age of youthful recklessness, Lin Yulan shouldn’t be acting like some hot-headed kid anymore.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Xue tentatively asked, “Your sister? Is it Xia Yin?”

Xia Ran replied, “I thought you would’ve guessed our relationship from the surname.”

“There are so many people in the country with the surname Xia. If I assumed every Xia was your sister, would that make them all your sisters?”

Fair point.

Without prior knowledge, most people wouldn’t make that connection.

Xia Ran paused before answering, “Yes, Xia Yin is my sister. As for why they got into a fight, I have no idea.”

Jiang Xue pressed further, “How badly are they hurt?”

Was she implying, if they’re still breathing, then there’s no need for me to go?

Xia Ran hadn’t seen Lin Yulan recently, so she wasn’t sure about the current state of Lin Yulan and Jiang Xue’s relationship. Had it improved? Or had it worsened?

If things were worse, then this call would be pointless Jiang Xue wouldn’t go no matter what.

But legally speaking, as long as the two weren’t married, Jiang Xue was still Lin Yulan’s Omega her other half. In a situation like this, Xia Ran had to inform Jiang Xue regardless.

Whether Jiang Xue would go or not was entirely up to her.

“My sister and Yulan got into a fight in a private room at one of the Xia Group’s hotels under Changye. They locked the door, so no one could get in. The hotel manager could only tell they were fighting from the sounds inside and it sounded pretty intense. That’s why they asked me to check on them.”

Jiang Xue: “…” How old were they, still resorting to physical fights? She didn’t know whether to call Alphas childish or just hot-tempered.

“I understand. Send me the address, I’ll go now.”

Xia Ran was taken aback by how readily Jiang Xue agreed, almost disbelieving. “Alright, I’ll send it right away.”

After hanging up, Jiang Xue went back to find Chu Yuan.

“Yuan, something urgent came up at home, I have to leave immediately. Could you let Director Gao know I won’t make the meeting?”

Chu Yuan could see the urgency in Jiang Xue’s expression and didn’t dare pry, wary of saying something inappropriate. “But the meeting’s about to start. If you leave now, they’ll probably.”

“It’s fine. Let them say whatever they want.”

“Alright, go ahead. I’ll talk to Director Gao later.”

Jiang Xue thanked her and immediately rushed downstairs.

If it had been anyone else anyone but Xia Yin, Jiang Xue would’ve refused outright. After all, someone would step in to break it up, and as long as no one died, it would just be a matter of calling the police.

But of all people, it had to be Xia Yin fighting Lin Yulan. If Jiang Xue didn’t go, the situation could escalate, and given how fast gossip reporters worked, it might spiral out of control.

Jiang Xue wanted to drive her own car, but after going downstairs, she realized she had parked it near her dormitory. Today, she had taken a taxi to the Civil Affairs Bureau, so if she wanted to use her own car, she’d have to walk half an hour back to the dorm.

After some thought, Jiang Xue ended up borrowing a colleague’s car to rush over.

★

What she didn’t expect was that reality wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Xia Ran had made it out to be the two had indeed gotten into a fight, but it was just a few punches exchanged, a couple of slaps thrown at each other. In the end, when they heard the hotel manager shouting outside with others to avoid misunderstandings, they had no choice but to stop.

“This is what you called a ‘serious fight’?” Jiang Xue stood outside the door, glaring at Xia Ran.

Xia Ran, who had arrived just a step ahead of Jiang Xue, hadn’t expected things to turn out like this either and said sheepishly, “It’s not my fault it’s theirs!”

Meanwhile, Lin Yulan was surprised that Jiang Xue had rushed over for her. “Xiao Xue, why did you come?”

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