The CEO Omega’s 'Soft Rice' Alpha - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The little Alpha was in a rush, appearing as only a blur outside the door. By the time Lan Yan reached the entrance, her figure had already vanished.

“Come on, drink with me. Tonight, we don’t go home until we’re drunk. That stinking man, that dog of a man… what’s so great about him anyway?”

“Where are the people? Where is everyone? Lan Yu, Lan Yu, call a few more Alphas for me. I want men and women, they have to be good-looking, and they need to have abs!”

Jiang Mu was extremely restless when drunk. Lying on the sofa, he was still clamoring for more wine and Alphas. Seeing nothing but empty bottles scattered around the room, he began to wail loudly, a complete departure from his usual self. Seeing him in this delirious state, Lan Yan naturally couldn’t leave him here alone. Consequently, she didn’t chase after the Alpha, though her expression grew increasingly dark.

“A-Mu, I’m taking you back.”

Lan Yan was quick to catch Jiang Mu as he struggled to stand up from the sofa, wobbling and nearly falling onto the broken glass bottles. “You’ve had too much to drink.”

Jiang Mu opened his bleary eyes and looked at the familiar person beside him. He stopped struggling but kept grumbling: “Too much? I haven’t had too much. I’m not going home, I want to find an Alpha.”

“Lan Lan, do you know why that dog man came to see me today? He wanted me to be his ‘little third’ (mistress). He said he wanted to keep me. Me? The eldest young master of the Jiang family? Do I need someone to keep me?”

Lan Yan humored him: “Yes, it’s his fault. Let’s go home first.”

Jiang Mu’s ex-boyfriend was a typical “Phoenix Man” (a man from a poor background who achieved success through education/work but remains calculating). He hadn’t known Jiang Mu’s true background. During their relationship, he had latched onto another wealthy woman and cheated. From the beginning, Lan Yan hadn’t approved of him; she saw through his act instantly—how could someone full of lies be good?

Unfortunately, at that time, Jiang Mu’s hormones were in control, and he didn’t listen to her advice. Later, he was indeed hurt, and even had to go to the hospital to wash away the pheromones, making it difficult for him to conceive in the future. It had been so long, yet this man had the audacity to show up again. She thought Jiang Mu had moved on, but now she saw he still cared—not about the man, but because the incident was a wound that wouldn’t heal, and every time the man appeared, it was like rubbing salt in it.

Lan Yan didn’t know how to comfort him. She couldn’t bring herself to join him in cursing the scumbag, so she could only agree and try to get him home.

“No, no, no, it’s my fault, I was blind. I’m not going back, I want an Alpha. Where are they? Where are the Alphas I ordered?”

At this, Jiang Mu started acting up again. His drunken strength was immense, and Lan Yan nearly couldn’t hold him. With him acting this way, she couldn’t simply drag him out. Since this was her cousin Lan Yu’s territory and she had come in a hurry, she hadn’t brought bodyguards.

In the end, Jiang Mu broke free and stumbled back into the sofa. This time he went quiet, but his body was so heavy that Lan Yan couldn’t pull him up again. The veins on Lan Yan’s forehead throbbed. Finally, she took out her phone and dialed Lan Yu: “Brother, find someone to help me send Jiang Mu back.”

After the incident at the Zhang family banquet involving the little Alpha was discovered by Lan Yu, she had been somewhat reluctant to face him. That was why she had come personally instead of asking for his help initially, but since it was Jiang Mu, she couldn’t leave it to just anyone. Now, she had no choice.

Lan Yu didn’t say much, only asking: “Where are you?”

Lan Yan: “In your bar, Room 666.” She hesitated before adding, “Brother, help me find someone else too.”

She wanted to know what the little Alpha was doing here. It wasn’t that she was worried about her doing something bad—the little Alpha’s personality wouldn’t allow it. Rather, she was afraid the girl hadn’t listened to her advice and had snuck here to work a part-time job. And if the little Alpha was working here, it was likely for money. Where the money she had given her went was obvious.

Lan Yu’s voice dropped: “That little Alpha of yours?”

Lan Yan’s face stiffened. She didn’t deny it, instead asking: “Brother, how did you know?”

Lan Yu sneered, glancing at the seemingly obedient person sitting across from him. How did he know? Naturally, because the little Alpha had come straight to his door.

The amount of mental energy Yan Yan was spending on this person far exceeded many other people and things. The little Alpha was asking him to find someone, and Yan Yan wanted him to find the little Alpha. He didn’t even know what to say. Lan Yu’s mood was incredibly complex; he suddenly wondered why he had decided to come to the bar tonight. Wouldn’t it have been better to stay home? If he were home, he wouldn’t have to deal with this irritating situation. Lan Yu felt that even drinking several cups of cooling tea wouldn’t quench the hidden fire rising in his heart.

This little Alpha was bold indeed, actually taking the initiative to find him. Was she so sure he wouldn’t do anything to her? Although, for Yan Yan’s sake, he actually wouldn’t.

Lan Yu’s office was large, his voice wasn’t loud, and he wasn’t using the speakerphone. He had even stepped away to take the call, but he couldn’t hide it from Su Yi’an and the System.

Listening to the conversation, the System was very worried: “Lan Yan seems to be here too. Isn’t the Host afraid of her identity being exposed?” It hadn’t expected the Host to directly ask Lan Yu for help.

Su Yi’an lowered her eyes: “Mm.”

To say she wasn’t afraid at all would be a lie. The moment the System said her Sister was on the phone, her first reaction was panic. But after the panic came a pleasant surprise. Tonight, she was only here to find her “nephew,” so even if it was traced back to Zhan Ming, nothing would be found. Their relationship was, after all, real. As for the parts that could expose her true identity, she had wiped them long ago.

Her Sister might feel a bit embarrassed—after all, the two people she once thought about “sponsoring” were aunt and nephew. However, that bit of embarrassment wouldn’t be enough for her Sister to terminate the contract. Overall, she was safe. What Su Yi’an feared was her Sister being unhappy.

She thought she wouldn’t see her Sister today, so this surprise during the mission was welcome. It seemed Zhan Ming wasn’t a trouble at all, but rather her lucky star, bringing her Sister to her side time and again. For that alone, she was happy to give Zhan Ming money.

In Lan Yu’s territory, her own people couldn’t easily interfere. Without the use of her mental energy, finding Zhan Ming and Jiang Dong in this vast bar would be very difficult. Lan Yu was smart and capable; the Zhang family incident had almost led him to some clues, so for safety, her people shouldn’t clash with him directly. Thus, after careful consideration, Su Yi’an chose to ask Lan Yu for help. For her Sister’s sake, she believed he wouldn’t make things difficult for such a small favor.

Lan Yu, of course, couldn’t hear the conversation between Su Yi’an and the System. After hanging up, he walked over to Su Yi’an, staring at her intensely as if trying to see through her. “You want me to help you find Zhan Ming? Why do you think I would agree?”

“Who is Zhan Ming to you, and why are you looking for him?”

The questions were sharp. A person with weaker nerves would have panicked. Su Yi’an ignored his gaze—or rather, she pretended not to understand his hostility, his expression, or his interrogation. She answered with extreme sincerity: “Zhan Ming is my nephew. He didn’t come here voluntarily tonight. I’m looking for him because I’m afraid something happened. This place is too big, and there are many rooms I can’t enter. I can’t find him alone. A life is at stake; I believe President Lan wouldn’t stand by and watch someone die.”

Seeing nothing on Su Yi’an’s face, Lan Yu withdrew his gaze. His tone wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either: “Wait here.”

He indeed wouldn’t let someone die on his turf. But how could this little Alpha prove that Zhan Ming was in danger? If it weren’t for Yan Yan’s call, he might have hesitated. Wait… the little Alpha said she and Zhan Ming were aunt and nephew? The two Alphas he had wanted Yan Yan to choose between were related like that? Did Yan Yan know?

Lan Yu’s head was full of question marks, and his expression became complicated. He made another call to his subordinates: “Find this person, Zhan Ming, within ten minutes and bring him to Room 888. Also, go to Room 666 and send Jiang Mu home.”

After speaking, Lan Yu looked at the person standing by the door like a block of wood. He narrowed his eyes, sat back in his chair, and pointed to an empty seat nearby. He forced a smile: “Why are you standing? Sit.”

If Yan Yan came in and saw this, she’d think he was bullying the little Alpha. The personality he had once found more and more pleasing was now becoming more and more irritating.

“Thank you, President Lan.” Su Yi’an didn’t stand on ceremony and walked over. She knew things were likely settled. In Lan Yu’s territory, he could easily handle this small matter. Now she just had to wait for her Sister to show up.

Su Yi’an was happy, but she knew Lan Yu, the “sister-con,” probably found her eyesore right now. So, she didn’t show it; her body remained tense, making her look nervous. Seeing this, Lan Yu even wondered if he was being too menacing. Aside from that time at the Zhang banquet when he saw her being “disrespectful” to his Yan Yan and raised his voice in a fit of rage, he hadn’t really scolded or hit her. Even now, though he was displeased, he didn’t show it much. This little Alpha was so timid; she definitely lacked responsibility—how could she be worthy of his Yan Yan?

Someone like this, joining the Lan family… even if she passed his test and the tests of everyone in the Lan family, she’d be bullied to death by others in the future, maybe even dragging Yan Yan down. No matter how he looked at it, she and Yan Yan weren’t a match. Being an agreement lover was one thing, but being real wives was a long way off.

Lan Yu’s thoughts were far-reaching, and his gaze toward Su Yi’an grew darker. “What are your plans after graduation? I hear it’s not easy for Chemistry majors to find jobs.” He asked casually, but the feeling he gave Su Yi’an was anything but casual.

To be honest, this was a hard question to answer. She already had everything—her own business, her own hobbies—all she lacked was a wife and child, and that was what she was working for now. Her major didn’t affect her at all; returning to campus was only to be near her Sister. So, job prospects didn’t matter. Naturally, she couldn’t tell Lan Yu any of this.

As he said, it was indeed hard to find a job in Chemistry. From a current perspective, she truly wasn’t worthy of her Sister. She had to admit, Lan Yu lived up to his reputation as an “old fox”; he was quite perceptive in this regard.

Su Yi’an kept her eyes lowered and answered truthfully: “I probably won’t work in my major. I want to start a business.” She understood Lan Yu’s meaning, but when her identity was eventually exposed, she would inevitably have to face him. Unless necessary, she didn’t want to lie to her future brother-in-law, so she gave an ambiguous answer. First, she was afraid her Sister would hold a grudge later; second, if Lan Yu knew she had lied, the road to marrying her Sister would be even harder. Right now, Lan Yu was leaving her alone because of her Sister, but once her identity was out, her Sister would surely give her the cold shoulder for a while. If Lan Yu stirred up more trouble, she couldn’t guarantee she could win her Sister back.

Su Yi’an had essentially planned out every step. Of course, she didn’t intend to deceive Lan Yan forever. Once she was sure her Sister’s heart was hers, she would find the right moment to confess. After all, if someone approached her with a hidden identity, Su Yi’an wouldn’t give them a good look either. So, her Sister being angry was inevitable. But as long as her Sister didn’t break things off completely and gave her a chance to pursue her based on their past affection, it would be enough.

The tea that had just been poured was getting cold. Lan Yu sneered, handed the tea to Su Yi’an, and said nothing more. “Starting a business”—to put it nicely, it was having great ambitions; to put it harshly, it was having eyes bigger than one’s stomach. A poor student with no connections and no family background who wanted to start a business faced immense risks, with a 90% failure rate. It wasn’t that he looked down on her, but that was just the way the world was. Without connections or capital, how could one talk about starting a business based on a whim? Besides, this little Alpha was always stuck to Yan Yan lately—where would she find the time to improve herself?

Of course, if she wanted to take the “soft rice” (being supported) route, it would be much easier with the Lan family’s help. But whether they’d let her eat Yan Yan’s “soft rice” depended on the Lan family’s consent. In short, he didn’t want a “spineless” person around Yan Yan.

Su Yi’an wasn’t polite; she took a sip of the tea and said politely, “Thank you, President Lan.” From Lan Yu’s attitude, she understood why Zhan Ming, despite having such a good sister, was always obsessed with making a name for himself to pay back the money. Unfortunately, she wasn’t Zhan Ming. So what if she ate her Sister’s “soft rice”? As long as her Sister didn’t mind, she could always be her Sister’s sweet little rabbit. Whether others respected her didn’t matter to her.

Just like the cooled tea, the temperature in the room dropped a notch, especially since neither of them spoke. Lan Yu was silent, occasionally checking his phone, while Su Yi’an quietly sipped her tea, as obedient as a real little rabbit who knew nothing. In reality, her thoughts were no shallower than Lan Yu’s. Having lived two lives and managed a massive family enterprise, she had seen all kinds of people.

Time seemed to pass slowly, but it had only been ten minutes. A knock sounded at the door. Su Yi’an’s spirits lifted, her eyes brightening several degrees. She pricked up her ears, even forgetting to swallow the tea in her mouth. She waited silently for her Sister’s arrival.

However, she was destined for disappointment. The voice of the bar manager sounded outside: “Brother Lan, I’ve brought the person. Do you want to see them now?”

Su Yi’an lowered her eyes and took another sip of tea, then another, until the cup was empty. She placed it on the side table. Lan Yu didn’t notice this subtle change. He called out: “Bring him in.”

“Yes.” The bar manager replied, turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

Zhan Ming followed behind him, looking dejected. His lips were slightly swollen, there was a small wound at the corner of his mouth, his clothes were messy, and his hair was disheveled. He looked incredibly haggard, but his eyes were filled with obvious relief. At first glance, he looked like he had just come from a fight. But Su Yi’an smelled the two mixed pheromones on him and knew his state was thanks to Jiang Dong. Most likely, that wound on his mouth was from Jiang Dong biting him.

Zhan Ming froze when he saw Su Yi’an in the office. “Great-Aunt…” He looked at Su Yi’an and realized there were others present, so he swallowed the rest of his words. He looked like a junior caught by an elder after doing something wrong.

“Mm.” Su Yi’an nodded slightly, her expression unchanged. “Are you okay?”

Zhan Ming shook his head blankly, suddenly feeling a surge of guilt. He had promised his Great-Aunt not to date Jiang Dong, and she had kept her promise to destroy those videos in Jiang Dong’s possession. But this time, Jiang Dong seemed to have changed his strategy. He had come to the bar, found a bunch of Alphas, and threatened that if Zhan Ming didn’t come, he would drink and sleep with them until he died. Zhan Ming hadn’t wanted to care about someone so self-destructive, but looking at him, he couldn’t truly let someone die in front of him. Considering their past, Zhan Ming came.

He had been flustered and hadn’t thought of calling the police. He came as if possessed. He hadn’t expected that as soon as he reached the spot, Jiang Dong would grab him and start gnawing on him. Perhaps because he had been marked before, he couldn’t resist the temptation of the pheromones and nearly had a messy encounter in the bar again. Jiang Dong had even filmed another video. Just as Jiang Dong was threatening him to sign that fake relationship agreement, the bar manager arrived and saved him. He thought President Lan had acted out of kindness, not wanting trouble on his turf, but it turned out to be his Great-Aunt.

His Great-Aunt seemed very familiar with Lan Yu. Could they be old acquaintances? Was the reason she wouldn’t let him be with Lan Yan because she liked Lan Yan herself? It seemed so; otherwise, she wouldn’t have abandoned her massive family estate to come all this way just to sign that kind of agreement. When he first found out, he thought it was her latest plot. But it was all his own speculation. After all, it was hard to believe someone who once did anything for profit would suddenly become like this for love. That was why he was so shocked when he first found out about the agreement.

Although he had initially liked Lan Yan, he currently lacked the courage and capital to compete with his Great-Aunt for the person she wanted. Now, Jiang Dong alone was enough of a headache. He couldn’t understand why the campus belle of Beijing University and a famous rich second-generation would be so obsessed with signing this agreement. Jiang Dong wouldn’t tell him, and ever since that accident, he had become more and more excessive. However, since he had promised his Great-Aunt not to sign, he wouldn’t sign. He wouldn’t be a “kept man”; he hated that behavior. Although his Great-Aunt gave him money, it was a transaction—he would pay it back later, and they didn’t have that kind of relationship. He was relatively free. So Jiang Dong’s plan was unwise.

But this Great-Aunt arrived so fast every time—just how great was her influence? A trace of fear flashed through Zhan Ming’s heart. He felt lucky again for his wise decision. He looked at Su Yi’an with a complex expression: “Did Great-Aunt come to save me?”

Before she spoke, he shouldn’t say anything rash. He relied on her for many things, and his career had just started. If he said the wrong thing and she took back the money, it would be a disaster. After the recent setbacks, Zhan Ming had become much smarter. This question happened to match the excuse Su Yi’an had given Lan Yu.

Su Yi’an was very satisfied with this tactful nephew, but in front of Lan Yu, there were many things she couldn’t say. Her Sister hadn’t arrived yet, and she was getting anxious. But staying longer would look too intentional and would likely irritate Lan Yu. She couldn’t find an excuse to stay. She planned to take Zhan Ming away and then find a way to “accidentally” run into her Sister. Anyway, the System had notified her that the mission was complete. As long as Zhan Ming didn’t meet Jiang Dong again tonight, it would be fine.

Su Yi’an made up her mind, stood up, and bowed slightly to Lan Yu: “Thank you for tonight, President Lan. I’ll take Zhan Ming back to school then. I’ll treat you to dinner another day.”

“Go ahead.” Lan Yu waved his hand impatiently. He didn’t want to see this little Alpha for a second longer—dinner? He’d rather eat someone. Yan Yan hadn’t arrived yet, which was for the best. He could just say the little Alpha left in a hurry with Zhan Ming, and he couldn’t be blamed for not helping them meet. Thinking of this, Lan Yu’s mood improved, and he looked at Su Yi’an more pleasantly. Zhan Ming’s appearance had actually dispelled his suspicions; at least it proved the little Alpha hadn’t lied.

Su Yi’an took Zhan Ming and didn’t stay. However, just as she opened the door, she ran into Lan Yan. “Sister Grape” was covered in a light sweat, clearly having rushed over.

“Sister,” Su Yi’an stopped in her tracks.

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