The Five Heartless Scumbag Alphas Turned Against Each Other Because Of Me - Chapter 46.1

Startled, Tan Hua flung the iPad away, eyes wide as she locked gazes with Zheng Jinyu.

The woman’s upturned lips held a faint, amused smile—one that, in that moment, looked infuriatingly smug.

Tan Hua couldn’t, for the life of her, have predicted this kind of blatant, shameless stunt from Zheng Jinyu. She had to admit: when it came to boldness, Zheng Jinyu had her thoroughly beaten.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, Cheng Yuan was staring at what was now just a bright white ceiling. She blinked, puzzled, uncertain.

This was Zheng Jinyu’s account—she hadn’t gotten that wrong, right?

But then… who was that with the double chin?

Even though she didn’t catch the person’s full face during the brief moment onscreen, the curve of that jawline—tight and angular—hinted at undeniable beauty.

She imagined a small, pointed face, no larger than the palm of a hand. Fair, delicate skin—soft enough to bounce light off—and features so refined that they’d captivate whether bare-faced or done up.

But more than that, she imagined a gentle, fragile aura. The type that evoked sympathy and drew people in effortlessly—someone who could quietly manipulate the room by playing harmless. A slow, steady game of boiling the frog.

How else could she explain why, at this hour, the woman was at Zheng Jinyu’s home? Casually holding her iPad, flipping through her contacts?

Cheng Yuan narrowed her eyes, thinking.

Was it unintentional… or calculated?

If it was unintentional, then it only proved one thing: Zheng Jinyu trusted her deeply. Loved her, even.

But if it was intentional… Cheng Yuan’s expression turned thoughtful.

Faint voices came through the speaker—women talking, arguing maybe. She couldn’t make out the words, but like a seasoned hunter, Cheng Yuan remained still, listening, waiting.

Back in the room, Tan Hua glared at Zheng Jinyu, her face full of suspicion.
“What are you trying to do?”

“To explain things to her,” Zheng Jinyu replied, face unbothered, voice firm. “To give you a sense of security.”

Her tone was so self-assured, so free of guilt, that Tan Hua momentarily lost the will to argue.

They stood there, locked in silence for ten seconds. Then Tan Hua slowly lifted her eyes, deadpan.
“Tell me something—have you ever actually been in a relationship before?”

Zheng Jinyu: “?”
Where did that come from?

Was she… testing her?

Still, she took pride in her record. Even back when she’d been wild and impulsive in her youth, she’d never behaved like a typical playboy. A flicker of self-satisfaction passed over her face.
“Of course not,” she answered, a soft smile curling her lips. “You saw right through me.”

“No wonder,” Tan Hua sighed dramatically.
“If you had been in a relationship and still managed to mess things up this badly, I’d be worried there was something wrong with you.”

She tapped her finger lightly against her own temple.

Zheng Jinyu’s smugness froze instantly. “……”

There was no hoping Zheng Jinyu would resolve the mess she’d made, so Tan Hua accepted her fate. With a resigned sigh, she picked the iPad back up from the floor, then flashed the screen a bright, dazzling smile.

“Hello,” she said sweetly. “I’m Tan Hua, a friend of Mu Wanyi.”

On the other end, Cheng Yuan’s screen once again displayed a pretty face. It matched her earlier guess—though with a few surprises.

She’d expected a delicate, docile beauty. Someone soft, fragile—a pitiful little flower you’d instinctively want to protect.

But the reality was different.

One look at Tan Hua, and Cheng Yuan immediately realized: this Omega was anything but fragile. She was wild.

She had tapped her own temple, and the proud expression on Zheng Jinyu’s face froze immediately.
“……”

There was no hoping Zheng Jinyu could clean up this mess. Accepting her fate, Tan Hua bent down to pick the iPad back up from the floor. The moment she straightened up, she beamed with a radiant, dazzling smile.
“Hi, I’m Tan Hua—Mu Wanyi’s friend.”

Cheng Yuan’s eyes were met once more with a beautiful face. It was more or less as she had imagined, but with some key differences. She had expected someone soft, delicate, perhaps even a little pitiful—a classic “white flower.”

But the reality was far from that.

With just a glance, Cheng Yuan realized: this Omega was wild.

Her face was small and sharply defined, her skin porcelain-pale and smooth, but her features were anything but mild. They were striking—almost aggressively so.

Her arched brows looked like ink washed faintly onto paper, giving her a softness laced with charm. But her pupils—jet black and intense—shone like drops of pure ink pressed into clean parchment. A delicate, defined nose, full crimson lips—there was a certain richness and nobility to her appearance.

This kind of Omega—no matter how many people Cheng Yuan had encountered in her life—was truly one of a kind.

No wonder Zheng Jinyu made an exception for her, Cheng Yuan thought. She finally understood.

She offered a polite smile. Though she had no memory of anyone named “Mu Wanyi,” it didn’t stop her from replying civilly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Cheng Yuan.”

Her eyes flicked briefly toward the edge of the screen, where Zheng Jinyu’s face remained only partially visible. She didn’t bring up their relationship.

Tan Hua noticed Zheng Jinyu’s silence and knew she had to step in. Gritting her teeth, she launched into it herself,
“So… you know that longtime childhood friend of hers? The beautiful secretary who’s always by her side?”

Cheng Yuan paused to think.
“You mean… Yan Yan?”

Yan Yan was indeed beautiful—tall, striking, and extremely capable. With her strong resume and confidence, Cheng Yuan had always seen her as a formidable rival—in every sense. But she didn’t understand why Tan Hua was suddenly bringing her up.
“What about her?”

“She was fired today,” Tan Hua said, racking her brain for ways to spark conversation that would make the female lead appreciate her gesture without making it look like she was showing off—and definitely not enough to trigger any hostility.

“Zheng always surrounds herself with Alphas and Betas now. No more Omega secretaries.”

That caught Cheng Yuan by surprise. She herself had tried separating Zheng Jinyu and Yan Yan more than once, but even when Zheng had shown interest in her, she’d never succeeded.

Yan Yan had always held a special place in Zheng’s life—someone not easily replaced.

So now this Omega suddenly tells her Zheng Jinyu fired Yan Yan? Cheng Yuan’s smile deepened, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Was it because of you?”

Tan Hua’s stomach flipped. She shook her head rapidly,
“No, no, of course not. Why would it be because of me?” She blinked, then—completely ignoring the fact that Zheng Jinyu was sitting right there—blurted:
“Obviously, it was because of you.”

“Zheng has always had feelings for you—deep, unwavering. Now that you’re back and done with your studies, of course she’d want to clear out all the ‘background noise’ around her. Make room for you.”

She hadn’t even finished spinning her nonsense when the iPad was snatched out of her hands.

Zheng Jinyu furrowed her brows and stared at her.
“What are you talking about?”

Was she really saying I fired Yan Yan because of Cheng Yuan? No—she had done it because Tan Hua had thrown jabs at her, again and again, making her feel cornered—so much so that she finally cut off one of her most trusted aides.

Zheng Jinyu’s expression turned sour. Tan Hua averted her gaze, pretending she hadn’t seen a thing.

Well, now that the iPad had been reclaimed, the battle between the female lead and Zheng Jinyu was no longer her problem.

Tan Hua shot her a look that said, “Good luck. You’re on your own now,” and then used the excuse of going to the bathroom to tactically retreat from the war zone.

She shut the door, plopped down on the toilet lid, and whispered to the system while eavesdropping,
“System baby, you think they’ll start fighting for real?”

So now this Omega had come all the way to tell her that Zheng Jinyu had fired Yan Yan… Cheng Yuan’s smile widened slightly, though it never reached her eyes.
“Was it because of you?”

Tan Hua’s gut clenched. She immediately shook her head.
“No, no, of course not. Why would it be because of me?”
She blinked innocently, completely ignoring the fact that the person in question—Zheng Jinyu—was still sitting right there, and proceeded to spin nonsense with alarming ease:
“Obviously, it was because of you.”

“President Zheng has been hopelessly in love with you for ages—loyal and devoted. Now that you’re back, fresh from your studies, of course she’d want to clear out all the little flirtatious distractions around her to make space for you…”

She didn’t even finish before the iPad was snatched out of her hands.

Zheng Jinyu frowned deeply, staring at her.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Was it really because of Cheng Yuan that she fired Yan Yan? No—she’d done it because of Tan Hua. Tan Hua’s constant jabs, her relentless teasing, had backed her into a corner. She’d cut off one of her own most trusted people just to show she cared.

Zheng Jinyu’s expression darkened in irritation. Tan Hua looked away, pretending not to notice.

Well, she thought, now that Zheng Jinyu has the iPad back, dealing with Cheng Yuan isn’t my problem anymore.

She threw Zheng Jinyu a look that clearly said, “You’re on your own—good luck,” then slipped away under the pretense of needing the bathroom to escape the emotional minefield.

Sitting on the toilet lid, she pressed her ear against the door and began whispering to the system.
“System baby, do you think they’ll actually start fighting?”

“Fighting? Probably not,” the system replied matter-of-factly. “They’re just on a video call, remember? Most likely just arguing.”

Tan Hua: “……”
Damn. Clever.

Even now, despite everything she’d experienced firsthand, Tan Hua still found herself in disbelief at Zheng Jinyu’s boldness. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose slightly and—somewhat narcissistically—wonder aloud,
“Could it be that Zheng Jinyu’s really fallen for me?”

But no… that didn’t make sense.

Zheng Jinyu wasn’t the type to get lovestruck. She was a hard-nosed businesswoman, refined and ruthless after two decades in the cutthroat world of commerce.

Love? Tan Hua had never seen it as anything but a liability for people like them.

Compared to that vague, romantic ideal of “true love,” hard interests and real returns were far more desirable—and far more dangerous. People like Zheng Jinyu were far more likely to bleed over a broken deal than a broken heart.

So as for those tender confessions from Zheng Jinyu? Tan Hua hadn’t believed a single word.

Look at Lu Huaixu, she thought, he’s the real deal. The guy had started second-guessing himself just because he couldn’t understand why he still remembered some woman from years ago. Now that was how a profit-driven businessman acted.

Zheng Jinyu? She was probably just fooling herself.

The outside had gone completely quiet. So quiet, it seemed like the video call might have ended. Tan Hua and the system pressed their faces closer to the door, ears straining like satellite dishes—but not a single sound came through.

Tan Hua whispered, “Go check for me—”

She didn’t get to finish. Zheng Jinyu’s voice rang out from the other side of the door:
“Still not done? Need some help in there?”

Tan Hua: “?”
Subway Grandpa watching phone.jpg

“All done! Coming out now,” she replied quickly, standing up and flushing the toilet for effect. She stepped out, feigning surprise.
“You two finished already?”

“Finished.” Zheng Jinyu’s tone was mild, but her smile had the faintest edge—as if she could see right through all of Tan Hua’s little tricks. Tan Hua blushed slightly but brazened it out as she walked back into the room.
“What a shame. I didn’t even get a proper chance to say hello to her.”

Then, unable to resist, she asked, “So… do you think Cheng Yuan’s first impression of me was bad? Will she think poorly of me because of what happened today?”

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