The Alpha’s Hidden Marriage, Public Obsession - Chapter 64

The mention of “wedding ceremony” made Jiang Xue freeze momentarily, reminding her that she and Lin Yulan had gotten their marriage certificate without any fanfare. No blessings, no gifts, not even a proper meal shared together just a silent return after signing the papers.

It was as if from the very beginning they were a couple destined to be uncelebrated.

Lin Yulan noticed the shift in Jiang Xue’s expression and signaled the butler to leave, not wanting anyone to intrude on their moment. The butler quickly took the hint, picking up the discarded invitation and hurrying downstairs.

Seeing the butler leave, Jiang Xue made to follow, but after just two steps, Lin Yulan pulled her back and pressed her against the wall near the staircase.

“Lin Yulan!”

Inside the room, Jiang Xue could tolerate Lin Yulan’s antics, but out here in the hallway, where anyone could glance up and see them, it was different. She wasn’t someone with exhibitionist tendencies or a taste for public displays, so she immediately tried to push Lin Yulan away.

Lin Yulan held her firmly within the circle of her arms and asked seriously, “You’re upset? Do you want me to accept the invitation?”

Jiang Xue retorted, “Young Mistress Lin must have vision problems, I’m not upset. Now let go, I’m in a hurry.”

Lin Yulan thought for a moment and then said, “If it’s not that, is it because I mentioned the wedding?”

Jiang Xue stiffened slightly at the question, lowering her gaze without answering.

Truthfully, whether or not they had a ceremony wasn’t what bothered her, it was Lin Yulan’s attitude at the time. Even without a wedding or blessings, if Lin Yulan had shown even a little warmth if she had simply said, “Since we’re married now, let’s at least have a meal together” Jiang Xue could have at least consoled herself with that.

But Lin Yulan had given her nothing.

In fact, right after signing the papers, she had inexplicably snapped at Jiang Xue outside the registry office.

“Today is Monday. If you want, we can hold the ceremony next Monday. How about it?!”

Jiang Xue didn’t look up, neither agreeing nor refusing.

But Lin Yulan guessed that deep down, Jiang Xue did want a wedding otherwise, she wouldn’t have reacted this way.

Just as Lin Yulan was about to speak, Jiang Xue pushed her away. “No need. It’s unnecessary.”

“How is it unnecessary?!” Lin Yulan wrapped her arms around Jiang Xue from behind. “We’ll have a wedding, a grand one! We’ll invite all our friends and family to celebrate us! Isn’t your mother always looking down on you? Then let’s show her exactly what happens when she underestimates you!”

The mention of this almost made Jiang Xue laugh. If Zhang Rong found out she had married into a wealthy family like the Lins, forget blessings she’d undoubtedly start spreading rumors.

But given the Lin family’s status, Zhang Rong would likely go beyond just slandering Jiang Xue she’d probably grovel shamelessly, desperate to lick the Lin family’s boots.

“Unnecessary.” Jiang Xue pried Lin Yulan’s hands off one finger at a time, breaking free from her embrace. “If Young Mistress Lin has nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”

Seeing this, Lin Yulan had no choice but to temporarily give up. After all, she still had time these things couldn’t be rushed, or it might backfire. “Let me take you back!”

“No need, I can go back myself.”

“Xiaoxue!”

Jiang Xue had initially intended to pretend she didn’t hear, but in the end, her heart softened, and she stopped, slowly turning around. “Director Lin, is there anything else you want to say?”

Lin Yulan hurried down the steps, stopping right in front of Jiang Xue.

Jiang Xue instinctively took a step back.

But Lin Yulan followed, reaching out to gently brush her fingers against Jiang Xue’s delicate ear before saying, “Thank you.”

Huh?

Thank you?

Jiang Xue clearly hadn’t expected those words from Lin Yulan and froze in surprise.

Seizing the moment while she was still dazed, Lin Yulan pulled her into another embrace. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

With that, she let go.

Jiang Xue snapped out of it, hesitating as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she turned and left without a word.

Meanwhile.

At the Zhao residence.

The returned invitation didn’t surprise Zhao Jin in the slightest. She tossed it in front of Qu Mengxin with a mocking tone. “I told you, Lin Yulan isn’t the same Alpha who used to revolve around you anymore, but you refused to believe it. Even though the invitation was sent under my name, as long as Lin Yulan isn’t stupid, she’d know it was your idea. She’s married to your old classmate now, of course she wouldn’t accept it. Qu Mengxin, you need to adjust your thinking.”

Qu Mengxin stared at the invitation on the table, her expression dark. After a long silence, she finally looked up. “This time, I lost. Do as you will, President Zhao.”

Zhao Jin moved from the opposite sofa to sit beside her, her hand resting improperly on Qu Mengxin’s shoulder as she chuckled. “Don’t be so serious, my dear designer. I just wanted to teach you one thing, it’s easy for an Alpha to fall in love with an Omega, but it’s just as easy to forget one, without even a hint of guilt. You thought you could win against me because you trusted too much in Lin Yulan’s feelings for you. But in reality, she might’ve already forgotten you the moment you left to study abroad. And now that she’s married to your old classmate, do you really think she’d still hold any lingering affection for you?”

“What exactly are you trying to say, President Zhao?”

“What do you think?”

Qu Mengxin knew very well why Zhao Jin had taken her under her wing, the main goal was to use her to strike at Lin Yulan. The two were sworn rivals. Though their families had business ties, it did nothing to ease the tension between them. If anything, it had only intensified.

And now, Zhao Jin wanted to use her to ensure Lin Yulan suffered a crushing defeat in this project. That way, Zhao Jin could find an excuse to turn the tables on Lin He and Ming Zelan, securing more support from the shareholders for the Zhao family.

“If you want to win Lin Yulan back, these little tricks of yours won’t cut it. She doesn’t feel anything for you anymore, she might not even want to see you. Oh, wait, let me rephrase that, it’s your old classmate who doesn’t want to see you, so Lin Yulan doesn’t want to see you either,” Zhao Jin said. “I’m not mocking you, but the truth is, you don’t understand Lin Yulan as well as I do. She’s the kind of person who gives her all when someone treats her sincerely, but once you betray her, she’ll never spare you another glance in this lifetime.”

The underlying message was clear Qu Mengxin had lost Lin Yulan the moment she chose to go abroad and leave her behind. If she wanted to win Lin Yulan back now, ordinary methods wouldn’t work.

Qu Mengxin knew Zhao Jin was admonishing her. She owed her current status largely to Zhao Jin’s help. Without it, a designer like her easily replaceable would never have gotten this far.

“Did you find out what I asked you to look into?” Qu Mengxin asked.

“Of course,” Zhao Jin replied. “But you might be disappointed. It’s not true that your old classmate pursued Lin Yulan for money. After graduation, she had no contact with Lin Yulan whatsoever not even casual interactions. It wasn’t until she became a mentor at H University and coincidentally taught Lin Yulan’s niece that the two reconnected.”

Qu Mengxin’s expression darkened further. “When did they get married?”

Zhao Jin paused. “I know what you’re implying. If you’d come back sooner, your old classmate might never have had a chance. But that’s on you you can’t blame anyone else.”

At the end of the day, it was just bitterness over the fact that someone who bore a sixty-percent resemblance to her had ended up happily with her ex-girlfriend.

Zhao Jin knew Qu Mengxin had never truly loved Lin Yulan even back then, it was just vanity at play. Now that something she once considered hers had been effortlessly taken by someone else especially an old classmate, it was only natural for her to feel resentful.

“How can you be so sure Jiang Xue didn’t deliberately get close to Lin Yulan?” Qu Mengxin snapped. “Her face looks just like yours, how do you know she didn’t use it to seduce Lin Yulan?”

Zhao Jin wanted to argue, the Omega’s demeanor clearly didn’t suggest she was that kind of person. But Qu Mengxin, utterly defeated, refused to accept reality and was grasping at straws.

Pathetic, but understandable.

“Enough of that. Focus on how you’re going to win Lin Yulan back,” Zhao Jin said, leaning back on the sofa. “I didn’t hand this project to you for fun. You need to show me some tangible returns.”

Qu Mengxin glanced at the time, then motioned for Zhao Jin to look outside.

The person who walked in was none other than Xia Yin.

This surprised Zhao Jin. Though she wasn’t particularly familiar with Xia Yin, their companies were competitors. The Zhao family was currently vying with the Xia family for a real estate project, with Xia Yin as the lead. It was impossible for Zhao Jin not to recognize her.

“Well, well, if it isn’t President Xia?”

Xia Yin’s expression darkened as she glared at Qu Mengxin, saying irritably, “Miss Qu, you never mentioned we’d be meeting at the Zhao residence.”

Qu Mengxin stood up, gently pressing Xia Yin down onto the sofa before replying, “Don’t be angry, President Xia. It’s just that President Zhao expressed interest in collaborating with you, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. What do you think?”

Even if Xia Yin were the slightest bit naive, she could see right through Qu Mengxin’s intentions. Without hesitation, she called her out, “Miss Qu, the only reason I agreed to work with you is because of Jiang Xue. There’s no way I’m dragging the Xia family into this mess. If you brought me here to discuss this with President Zhao, then we have nothing more to talk about.”

“President Xia, that’s a rather absolute statement,” Zhao Jin interjected, signaling a servant to pour tea for Xia Yin. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We’re all businesspeople, I’m sure you understand that principle.”

Xia Yin pushed the teacup away without courtesy. “The sole reason I came to see Miss Qu was about Jiang Xue. Beyond that, I won’t discuss anything else.”

Qu Mengxin and Zhao Jin exchanged a glance. Left with no choice, Qu Mengxin conceded, “Fine, then we’ll stick to that matter. As we agreed before, you handle Jiang Xue, and I’ll take care of Lin Yulan. As for whether we succeed well, that’ll be up to you, President Xia.”

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