The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 19

Su Mo lifted her gaze to her and said softly, “Maybe it was a moment of weakness, maybe I was tempted by her looks or maybe I really did grow fond of her while helping suppress the drug’s effects. Either way, I think I would still choose to save her.”

Pu Ying clenched her jaw, refusing to look at Su Mo.

“If that’s your decision, then I’ll support you.”

A faint smile curved Su Mo’s lips. “Thank you. You’ve worked hard, all these years.”

“It’s nothing,” Pu Ying murmured.

She stood up, her voice slightly hoarse. “Since you’ve made your choice, I’ll arrange to adjust the schedule and strategy accordingly. No matter how things end between you two, I’ll make sure you can walk away safely.”

“Thank you.”

“Mm.”

Pu Ying turned and left, not even finishing her coffee. It was the first time she’d ever lost her composure like this—something she had never allowed herself before.

But she couldn’t care about that anymore. If she stayed a second longer, she was afraid she would lose control even further.

Jiang Xi, who had been waiting by the door, saw her emerge. She opened her mouth to speak, but Pu Ying walked right past without acknowledging her and headed straight out.

Jiang Xi scratched her head in confusion. She could’ve sworn she saw something unusual on Pu Ying’s face just now.

“Must’ve been my imagination.”

Someone as capable as Pu Ying—how could she ever look sad?

After closing the door, Pu Ying took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut before wiping the faint sting from the corners of them.

If this was what Su Mo wanted, she would give it to her.

Once she confirmed Pu Ying had left, Su Mo raised her voice. “Jiang Xi, come here.”

Jiang Xi rushed over immediately, standing before the coffee table, nerves taut. “S-Su-jie.”

“Mm.”

Su Mo watched her fidget with the hem of her shirt, clearly terrified. After a moment of thought, she said, “Sit.”

When Jiang Xi finally sat down, Su Mo softened her expression. “You’ve been with me for a few years now.”

Jiang Xi answered, “Four years. Ever since Su-jie’s second month in the industry.”

Su Mo nodded. “Four years, and I know you’ve suffered a lot in that time. Most of it because of me.”

Jiang Xi frantically shook her head. She wouldn’t dare place blame. “N-no, no! I know what Su-jie meant. You did it to train me.”

Su Mo found the girl fairly sensible. If things hadn’t turned out like this, she wouldn’t have considered replacing her at all.

She lifted a hand to signal her to relax. “I know everything that happened. Don’t be scared. I may be unreasonable sometimes, but I’m not brainless.”

“As for this matter, our final decision is to have you lay low for a while. You’ve already been in contact with them. Even if you refused, you’re still one of my people. They won’t let you go just because you didn’t say anything.”

Jiang Xi’s face went pale. She had no idea how things escalated to this point. Just a while ago, everything had still felt normal.

“Th-then, what do I do?”

Tears spilled as she dropped to her knees at Su Mo’s feet, clutching the hem of Su Mo’s dress with trembling fingers. “I didn’t know things would get like this! Su-jie, my family needs me. I can’t get involved in something dangerous—I still have to take care of my mother. She needs medication and long-term rehabilitation, I, I.”

Su Mo looked at her gently. She reached out and rested a hand on the girl’s head, speaking softly. “I know.”

“That’s why, for your own safety, I can’t just fire you. If I did, you’d have nothing—and that would make you even easier to target.”

“Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll transfer you to the company’s logistics department. The people there are simple, but they’re well-connected. They hear all sorts of things.”

Jiang Xi blinked up at her, stunned and confused. “W-what, what does that mean?”

“It means,” Su Mo said, tilting the girl’s chin lightly with her fingers, leaning down just a bit, eyes warm with trust and reassurance, “you’ll keep an eye on things from the back end. Someone will approach you again—count on it. Your job is to find anything useful among the people who try to contact you, and report it to me.”

“I’ll have someone help take care of your parents. Your salary will stay the same. If you can dig up anything valuable, your bonuses will remain unchanged too.”

“Do you understand?”

Jiang Xi stared into Su Mo’s gentle eyes, swallowed hard, and nodded slowly. “You want me to go undercover?”

Su Mo gave her a small smile and patted her cheek. “Exactly. You can do it, right?”

“I can!” Jiang Xi’s eyes lit with determination. She thought she would be fired—Pu Ying never kept around anyone who could potentially become a threat to Su Mo.

She had already prepared herself to lose her job, maybe cry into Su Mo’s lap for a small severance payout. She’d never expected Su Mo to transfer her to logistics—as an undercover agent!

At this moment, Jiang Xi wanted nothing more than to kneel and swear eternal loyalty.

Su Mo grabbed her arm and pulled her back up. She bent slightly and patted the girl’s knee. “A girl’s knees are precious. Don’t kneel so easily. I don’t like it.”

Jiang Xi froze, then nodded vigorously. “I understand.”

“Good. Go on then,” Su Mo said as she withdrew her hand. “Pu Ying will contact HR soon. You’ll get the transfer notice shortly.”

“And remember—don’t tell anyone I asked for this. Say you angered me and I kicked you out. Understood?”

Jiang Xi inhaled deeply. “Understood.”

After she left, Su Mo finally exhaled and relaxed completely. She grabbed her juice and downed it in one go.

“Tsk. Pretending to be the all-seeing mastermind is exhausting.”

Her system suddenly chimed in—a childish girl’s voice full of confusion:

【Host, did you really fall for Qiu Fu?】

【She’s one of the heroine’s high-ranking harem members in the ruined original novel, you know. If you really fall for her, the road ahead will be very difficult.】

Su Mo lounged back on the sofa, face expressionless in pure scum-like denial. “As if. If two kisses were enough to make me catch feelings, Qiu Fu would already be willing to live and die for me.”

The system was stunned.

【But you just.】

“I lied to her.”

Su Mo curled her lips. “I am an actress, you know.”

She’d acted out so many heart-stirring scenes, kissed so many scene partners—if two kisses were enough to make her fall for someone, the little deer in her heart would’ve already crashed itself to death.

“Wanting to save her is true. But that doesn’t require much on my end. Besides, there’s a price tag for everything.”

“And even if something did happen, I wouldn’t be losing anything.”

The system was stunned: 【Huh?】

It short-circuited. It had known it selected a professional actress, but it never expected someone to be this professional.

Just moments ago, Su Mo had sounded so earnest, as if she was truly willing to give her whole heart to rescue Qiu Fu only for her to reveal that she’d been acting the entire time?

Was its host really this dedicated to her craft?

Would she never break character?

“You said it yourself,” Su Mo continued calmly. “The path I’m supposed to walk isn’t the same as theirs. I can’t change the original plot. I have to play the scumbag. A scumbag can’t walk the normal route.”

She lowered her eyes, unbothered. “A flirt like me would never get tied down by one or two kisses.”

The system suddenly saw the light: 【Host, your acting is incredible. You fooled everyone—you even fooled me!】

【But, a host who can still keep her true self intact is rare. In a way, that’s a merit too.】

Su Mo shrugged. If she didn’t stick to her own principles, what else could she even rely on?

Her filming was done. Her next task was returning home to face the original Su Mo’s grandfather.

The Su family’s old estate was one of the few remaining mansions that preserved ancient Earth traditions. It had a courtyard, a loft, even a koi pond.

The front courtyard alone was huge—big enough for a hovercraft to fly straight in and wander around inside.

Su Mo’s gaze drifted over the clusters of artificial rock formations and groves outside, and she couldn’t help thinking: So, this is what they call wealth on full display.

The butler had already known she was back the moment she reached the gates. The entire estate automatically shifted into “Su Mo’s preferred mode,” removing anything that might irritate her.

When she reached the main hall and stepped out of the hovercraft, the butler was already waiting.

Their butler came from a long line of professional house stewards, all formally trained at the Steward Academy, serving the Su family generation after generation.

“Uncle Ying.”

Su Mo nodded politely at the middle-aged man and smiled. “It’s been months. You look even healthier than before.”

Butler Ying’s eyes swept over her, confirming she had no obvious injuries before he replied with a gentle laugh, “You flatter me, Miss. The old master is already waiting.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Su Mo strode into the living room. The space was enormous—large enough to hold several hundred people standing shoulder-to-shoulder.

Old Master Su, hair fully silver, still had the sharp, penetrating eyes of a man decades younger. When he saw Su Mo enter, a flicker of warmth briefly crossed his face before he forced it down.

He snorted, tapping his cane heavily against the floor. “You still remember to come home, do you?”

Su Mo instantly shed her usual cool public persona. With a mischievous grin, she slid up beside the old man like a spoiled child and looped her arm through his. “Grandpa, it’s rare for me to come home. Shouldn’t you treat me to a feast?”

The moment she touched him—and the butler—memories of the original owner’s interactions with them surfaced. All she needed to do was follow the script.

Old Master Su had loved Su Mo to his very marrow. Whatever she did was always right in his eyes—an indulgence carved deep into his bones. Even later, when he knew someone was using Su Mo to target the Su family, he was still willing to sacrifice the family fortune accumulated over generations just to save her life.

Even at death’s door, his final thoughts were worries about Su Mo.

If he was gone, would she survive?

Could she live without him?

But his failing body eventually gave way, and he left the world with those worries unresolved.

Su Mo couldn’t help sighing inwardly when she thought of how the old man, dignified and powerful all his life, had been denied even a proper farewell. In the original plot, his cremation was rushed, and his ashes had been shoved into a flimsy complimentary paper box—only to be dropped on the roadside in a storm, scattered everywhere by the rain.