The Crematorium of the Top Omega Chasing After Alpha - Chapter 2

Ming Yu!

Song Qingpei’s pupils dilated instantly, but after a moment, she slowly calmed down. Instead, she felt a sense of resignation, it was only a matter of time before Ming Yu, with her capabilities, would find her.

No matter what, her daughter was her only family in this world, and she would never let Ming Yu take her away.

She stepped forward, warily sizing up the old acquaintance she hadn’t seen in two years.

Ming Yu was as beautiful as ever. Her dark, silky hair was casually tied up, revealing a slender neck and fair collarbones. Elegant and poised, she wore a faint yet distant smile, as cold as she had been after regaining her memories.

Her wife had died two years ago, there was no use clinging to false hopes.

The intense sorrow rising in Song Qingpei’s heart gradually faded in the face of Ming Yu’s indifference. She asked, already knowing the answer, “General Ming Yu, what do you want?”

Ming Yu didn’t even spare her a glance. Her gaze swept past Song Qingpei and settled on Song Song’s little face, studying it intently. For a moment, her calm, detached expression faltered.

After a long pause, she crouched down and opened her arms to her daughter. “Song Song, come here and let me see you.”

Song Song looked up at Ming Yu, her dark, bright eyes filled with confusion but no fear. This pretty auntie looked like someone she had seen on screen before.

She couldn’t help but take a step forward and asked curiously, “Auntie, I’ve seen you before. Are you my mom’s friend?”

At the address “Auntie,” Ming Yu’s expression visibly darkened. She shot a murderous glare at Song Qingpei, who had taken their daughter away.

But not wanting to frighten her daughter at their first meeting, she suppressed her boiling anger and forced a gentle tone. “Song Song, I’m your mommy.”

“Mommy?”

Song Song froze, then turned to look at Song Qingpei, who was visibly tense. Leaning close to her ear, she whispered, “Mom, didn’t you say Mommy was dead?”

Song Qingpei: “…”

Back then, because the little one kept crying for her mommy, and Song Qingpei did harbor some resentment toward the wife who had abandoned her, she had casually said, “Your mommy has gone to heaven.” She never expected it would be repeated so bluntly in front of Ming Yu, the “deceased.”

Sure enough, Ming Yu’s face instantly turned cold, her gaze icy as she glared at Song Qingpei.

Song Qingpei, thick-skinned, pretended not to notice. What was said was said.

Meanwhile, the little girl seemed oblivious to the tension between the two and continued chattering, “Mom, why aren’t you saying anything? Is this pretty auntie a liar? Is she trying to kidnap me and sell me?”

Ming Yu could no longer contain herself and snapped sharply, “Song. Qing. Pei.”

“Why are you shouting so loud? Trying to show off your voice?” Song Qingpei muttered under her breath, “Our daughter kept crying for her mommy. What else was I supposed to say?”

Ming Yu, no longer able to maintain her composure, pointed at Song Qingpei and said angrily, “So you told our daughter I was dead?”

Feeling somewhat guilty, Song Qingpei pulled Song Song closer and whispered soothingly, “Song Song, it’s true. She is your mommy.”

Her mommy wasn’t dead. This impressive auntie was her mommy. She wasn’t a poor child without a mother after all.

Song Song blinked her big eyes, looking from Song Qingpei to Ming Yu, her expression filled with innocent confusion. “You’re really my mommy? Then why did you abandon me and Mom?”

The question left Ming Yu speechless, instantly extinguishing the anger in her heart.

She couldn’t explain adult matters to a child. Back when she was suppressing the rebels, her mech had unfortunately crashed. Coinciding with her heat cycle, a twist of fate led her to have an encounter with Song Qingpei, that low-grade Alpha, and even resulted in a daughter.

Song Qingpei was unworthy of marking her, let alone making her bear a child. The moment she regained her memories, her first instinct was to erase that humiliating past. But she never expected Song Qingpei to have the audacity to run off with their daughter.

Now, two years later, their daughter had grown distant from her. If she were to forcibly take the child away, would her daughter resent her? For the first time, the usually decisive and resolute general found herself hesitating.

It was all that despicable, low-grade Alpha Song Qingpei’s fault. She would never let her off lightly.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t confront Song Qingpei openly in front of their daughter. Suppressing her murderous intent, Ming Yu walked over to the child and patiently explained, “Song Song, Mommy didn’t abandon you. Mommy was out.”

“Mommy was out fighting pirates, protecting more people,” Song Qingpei suddenly chimed in from the side, smiling as she coaxed, “Song Song, didn’t you just see Mommy fighting pirates on the big screen? You even said Mommy was so pretty and amazing, a real hero.”

Surprised that Song Qingpei would help her lie, Ming Yu gave her a strange look.

But Song Qingpei was too focused on their daughter to notice her gaze.

“Oh, right! I saw it!” Song Song’s eyes lit up. Suddenly remembering the mech toy Song Qingpei had given her, she immediately pulled it out and excitedly waved it in front of Ming Yu. “Was Mommy driving a tall, big mech like this to fight pirates? Mommy is so amazing! Song Song wants to pilot a mech and fight pirates too someday.”

Hearing the word “Mommy” from her daughter’s lips, Ming Yu, who rarely showed emotion, felt a pang of bittersweet ache.

Awkwardly, she patted her daughter’s shoulder and promised earnestly, “Alright, Mommy promises to take you to pilot a real mech someday, okay?”

“Yay!” Song Song bounced excitedly and stretched out her hand toward Ming Yu. “Pinky swear!”

Ming Yu looked momentarily confused, she had no idea what a pinky swear was.

Seeing this, Song Qingpei quietly extended her own pinky, hooking it with Song Song’s in a silent demonstration. Ming Yu’s expression shifted slightly, but she still mimicked the gesture.

“And we have to stamp it!” Song Song pressed her thumb against Ming Yu’s while chanting, “Pinky swear, hang for a hundred years, no changing!”

Following along with these childish actions, a faint smile touched Ming Yu’s usually cold face.

Song Song reminded her, “Mommy, you haven’t said it yet.”

Ming Yu sighed softly and repeated quietly, “Pinky swear, hang for a hundred years, no changing.”

Watching the heartwarming scene before her, Song Qingpei felt a sharp ache in her chest.

This was exactly the kind of family she had always longed for. But the recovered Ming Yu looked down on her, and the two were destined to clash over their daughter’s custody. Yet, she couldn’t bear to let the ugliness between adults hurt their child.

Softening her tone, she coaxed, “Song Song, Mommy needs to talk to Mama for a bit. Why don’t you go play in your room for a while?”

Song Song tilted her head thoughtfully, then nodded obediently. “Okay, Song Song will wait for Mama.”

Song Qingpei breathed a sigh of relief, taking Song Song’s hand as they walked toward the children’s room. At the doorway, Song Song turned to glance at Ming Yu, paused, and asked softly, “Mommy, are you going to leave again soon?”

Ming Yu was taken aback and blurted out, “Does Song Song not want Mommy to leave?”

Song Song shook her head, pouting seriously as she said, “Song Song wants Mommy.”

“Then how about Song Song comes with Mommy?” Ming Yu seized the moment to test the waters.

“Okay!” Song Song laughed cheerfully, turning to Song Qingpei and asking, “Mom, didn’t you say earlier we were going home to pack? Are we going to Mommy’s place?”

Feeling the sharpness in Ming Yu’s gaze, Song Qingpei felt utterly helpless.

This little “warm jacket” of hers seemed to have holes everywhere. Song Qingpei paused briefly before quickly ushering her daughter into the room.

“Alright, Song Song, play by yourself for a bit. We’ll come play with you once we’re done talking.”

Taking a deep breath, Song Qingpei silently steeled herself before turning to face her ex-wife now the high-ranking Imperial General.

The door had already been closed, and outside stood soldiers armed to the teeth.

Ming Yu had settled onto the sofa, legs crossed, back straight, one hand resting on her knee while the other lightly tapped the back of her hand, exuding an air of ease.

Seeing this posture, Song Qingpei grew even more uneasy. Clenching her teeth, she walked over, forcing herself to stay calm.

Before she could say anything, Ming Yu suddenly spoke, “Song Qingpei, why did you speak up for me earlier?”

“I just didn’t want Song Song to think she was abandoned.”

Ming Yu scoffed, “So you told her I was dead.”

“…” Song Qingpei choked, then defended herself, “Being dead is different from being abandoned.”

“How is it different?”

“If she were abandoned, she’d be heartbroken, wondering if it was because she wasn’t good enough or didn’t deserve love. But death is an act of fate. She’d only be sad, not think her mother didn’t want her.”

As she spoke, Song Qingpei’s expression gradually dimmed.

Ming Yu glanced at her, her gaze sharp and penetrating, as if she could see right through her.

Her words cut even deeper, “I heard you’re an orphan. Is that how you comforted yourself?”

Stunned that Ming Yu would so cruelly reopen her old wounds, Song Qingpei’s expression shifted to one of disappointment and anger. “I genuinely wanted to discuss our daughter with you. Do you have to be so harsh?”

Ming Yu sneered, “Song Qingpei, you stole my daughter. What kind of pleasantries do you expect from me?”

Hearing this, Song Qingpei’s breath hitched as she argued, “Song Song is my daughter too.”

“I gave birth to her. What right did you have to take her away?”

Ming Yu rose from the sofa, her cold eyes simmering with intensity as she enunciated each word, “According to Alliance Marriage Law, children under the age of five are to be primarily raised by the Omega who gave birth. Song Qingpei, how much chance do you think you have of winning custody from me?”

Those words drained all color from Song Qingpei’s face.

Her heart pounded wildly, a wave of overwhelming fear washing over her. Ming Yu was still determined to take their daughter away, and this time, she had no power to stop it.

Her lips trembled, and it took her a moment to force out the words, “Back then, you were the one who insisted on cutting all ties with me. I had no choice but to run away with our daughter. You can’t be so unreasonable.”

“Hmph.” Ming Yu let out a scornful laugh, a mocking glint in her eyes. “Who was it that snatched our daughter away in the end? Who was it that separated me from my daughter for two years? What? Now you want to talk reason?”

“I, I…”

She wanted to say that she understood Ming Yu, if their daughter were taken away by Ming Yu, she would never have any connection with her again. Ming Yu would undoubtedly sever all ties between her and their daughter.

But she feared that such words would provoke Ming Yu and jeopardize the negotiations ahead, so she suppressed her anger.

Ming Yu looked at her, disdain evident in her gaze. “Song Qingpei, be sensible. Return our daughter to me, and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“Impossible.” Song Qingpei refused outright. “Song Song is the only family I have left in this world. I can’t give her up.”

Hearing this, Ming Yu suddenly laughed.

Song Qingpei watched her laugh, growing increasingly uneasy.

Ming Yu’s smile was breathtakingly beautiful as she spoke unhurriedly, “Song Qingpei, what right do you have to negotiate with me?”

The more critical the negotiation, the more one must avoid being manipulated by the other party.

Steadying her nerves, Song Qingpei replied calmly, “On the strength of the two years of bonding I’ve shared with our daughter. She can’t bear to be apart from me, and she won’t willingly go with you.”

This struck right at Ming Yu’s core concern, hitting her where it hurt most.

Seizing the opportunity, Song Qingpei continued to persuade, “Let’s not drag our child into the grievances between us adults. I know you resent me for secretly taking our daughter away back then. But if it were you, you’d probably have done even worse taking her away without ever letting me see her again. And for me to try to find you would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens, wouldn’t it?”

Ming Yu snorted coldly, tacitly acknowledging her point.

Song Qingpei pressed on, “Song Song is both of our daughter. We both want her to be happy. Why don’t we set aside our differences for now? Let Song Song continue to stay with me, and you can visit her anytime you want.”

“Song Qingpei, you really have the nerve to say that.” Ming Yu laughed coldly, her anger simmering.

“Then what do you want? As long as you promise to let me stay by our daughter’s side, I’ll agree to anything.”

“Conditions?” Ming Yu narrowed her phoenix-like eyes, a flicker of cunning passing through them. “Song Qingpei, since you’re using the two years you’ve spent with our daughter as leverage, I’ll grant you a fair chance. Come back to Lanxing with me and let me spend two years with our daughter as well. After two years, we’ll let her choose who she wants to live with. How does that sound?”

Taken aback by Ming Yu’s proposal, Song Qingpei froze, wondering if there was some hidden scheme behind it.

Seeing her expression shift uncertainly, Ming Yu grew impatient and pressed, “Tell me, what’s your decision?”

At this point, Song Qingpei knew she had little room to maneuver. If she provoked Ming Yu, she could easily take their daughter by force. This was already the most peaceful option, the one that would cause the least harm to their daughter.

Pursing her lips, Song Qingpei gritted her teeth and said, “Fine, I agree.”

A two-year period, after which their daughter would decide for herself whom to live with.

Support