The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 33

“You still have something you haven’t said, don’t you?”

Qiu Fu frowned. “You’re asking me to help watch her, but at the same time telling me to be careful around her. Isn’t that a bit contradictory?”

Su Mo pursed her lips. “Right now, it’s all just speculation. She hasn’t actually done anything, so I can’t tell you for certain.”

“But I asked you to help watch her mainly because I want you to keep an eye on this child.”

Qiu Fu understood.

“Surveillance?”

“More or less.”

Qiu Fu frowned. “But I have filming coming up, I can’t stay home to watch her. I can’t skip work just to monitor a child.”

Su Mo had anticipated this; she wasn’t completely naive.

“I know. That’s why I wanted to ask you: I’ll assign you two assistants, one to accompany you on set, and one to stay at your place temporarily. They can help watch over her, and also take care of tidying up your apartment. Would that work?”

Qiu Fu pressed her lips together but didn’t answer immediately.

She didn’t like living with others, it made her feel like she had no personal space. Any private matters would be inconvenient, and showing her private self to others made her feel unsafe.

Su Mo noticed her hesitation. This matter was hers to handle; asking someone else to take on so much was probably too much.

“It’s fine. If you’re unwilling, that’s okay,” Su Mo said. “Eventually, she’ll have a nanny, so we could place the watcher there instead.”

But that risked raising Tan Ya’s suspicions, since the person would have been arranged by Su Mo’s side.

Hearing the mention of a nanny, Qiu Fu spoke up. “You can assign me a temporary nanny too, someone who cooks and cleans for me. When I’m not home, she has a reason to come over, so it won’t alert her that someone’s staying at my place.”

Su Mo realized she’d forgotten to arrange a nanny for Qiu Fu. “Ah, right. I’ll have Pu Ying set one up for you too.”

She had assumed Qiu Fu spent most of her time handling things alone, rarely at home after work, so she hadn’t considered a nanny.

Qiu Fu lowered her gaze. She wasn’t asking Su Mo for a nanny, she was a little jealous.

Su Mo had no obligation to provide one, yet she was still doing it.

Qiu Fu changed the subject. “What are you planning to do with her?”

“Tan Ya’s family probably already figured out I was the one who saved her. Soon, they’ll either come to negotiate or report to the authorities. I promised to report on Tan Ya’s behalf and consolidate the clues, then have someone take action for her revenge,” Su Mo explained honestly.

“I don’t need her for now,” she added.

Qiu Fu, curious, asked, “You don’t want the new resource path that Tan Ya’s family provides?”

Su Mo: “Honestly, I do.”

But she didn’t want to confront Tan Ya directly.

Although the Su family had reached a high level in the business world, the threats to them weren’t from other businessmen. She wanted to ensure her grandfather ended well.

She could tell he genuinely cared for her. On the surface, he spoke of arranging her marriage for the Su family’s sake, but he never actually pushed for a political union. Instead, he let her choose a suitable partner.

Having lived so long, her grandfather could see the difference between her and the original owner, yet he protected her anyway. That gave her an unusual sense of warmth.

So, she didn’t want to see him meet a bad end, she wanted to change the future.

Tan Ya had the potential to take the Tan family in a completely new direction because their foundation wasn’t yet fixed and their future uncertain. But Su Mo couldn’t do the same with her own family, the Su family still had her grandfather and many shareholders, with diverse industries branching in all directions.

Any move she made would ruffle feathers. The older generation wouldn’t let her reshape things at will.

So yes, she wanted the Tan family, but not yet.

“Tan Ya is different from the others. I want her to have a bright future. Do you understand what I mean?”

She needed Qiu Fu’s help. In the original story, Qiu Fu could stay close to Tan Ya and guide her, an important role she could fulfill.

But having someone you like guide the future of someone you might also like, it was painful.

Su Mo realized she might be thinking too big. But she had no one else she could use.

Qiu Fu pressed her lips, hesitant. She didn’t really want to meddle. If this wasn’t Su Mo’s request, she might have called the authorities instead.

After a moment, she nodded. “I’ll help you.”

“Thank you,” Su Mo smiled. “I’ll come get the suppressants later. They should arrive soon.”

Qiu Fu asked, “Do you want me to leave some food for you?”

Su Mo: “No need. I’ll be back at the old mansion tonight for dinner with my grandfather.”

Qiu Fu felt a twinge of disappointment. “Oh.”

Noticing this, Su Mo offered, “Do you want me to bring anything for you?”

Qiu Fu: “No, I’m not hungry.”

The video call ended. Su Mo thought for a moment, then had Pu Ying hover the aircraft nearby. She needed to buy a few things.

Pu Ying understood and silently followed her as she exited.

The supermarket was huge, a chain store so every product had a detailed origin, and staff could even contact manufacturers if needed.

Inside, Su Mo realized it was even bigger than she expected. From the outside, it looked like a single floor, but there were twenty levels inside, each filled with countless new items.

The first floor held emergency medicine cabinets, including suppressants and sedatives. Su Mo decided to buy a few top-tier ones for precautionary use.

No humans were around, just humanoid robots so there was no bargaining.

After scanning her light-brain, she watched as a robot handed her a bag of packaged goods.

“Thank you. Please store these in the locker for now. Once we finish shopping, we’ll gather everything together and I’ll retrieve it later.”

Robot: “Understood. Your locker number is X3303. The code has been transmitted directly to your light-brain. Only you can open it, and only once. After opening, it will expire. Please note. We wish you a pleasant shopping experience.”

Su Mo: “Got it.”

The food section was on the tenth floor, filled with an array of edible goods. However, since there were no restaurants here, most of the items though some were ready-to-eat couldn’t be cooked on the spot.

Cooking could only be done on the thirteenth floor, while floors thirteen through eighteen housed various restaurants. The five-star hotel, however, occupied the very top—the twentieth floor.

“Let’s go to the tenth floor,” Su Mo said.

Pu Ying nodded, “Mm.”

Even though Earth had vanished and everyone had arrived in this new star system, many habits from their Earth days remained. Food, recipes, and the like were all preserved.

Earth-era snacks were everywhere. Sometimes, seeing them made Su Mo almost forget that she wasn’t on Earth anymore.

“Do you want anything in particular?” she asked.

Su Mo scanned the recipes the system suggested for Qiu Fu’s taste. After careful observation, she picked out everything she knew Qiu Fu liked.

Pu Ying knew the purchases were for Qiu Fu, so she didn’t sneak in anything for herself. If Qiu Fu had noticed, Su Mo would’ve had to explain again.

“No, just focus on picking things for Qiu Fu,” Pu Ying said.

Su Mo gave her a strange look and stopped walking.

Pu Ying blinked in confusion.

“Are you done picking?” Su Mo asked.

“Not yet,” Pu Ying replied.

Su Mo added two cans of yellow peaches to the cart and a bag of tomato-flavored chips.

“Are you upset about something?” Su Mo asked.

Shaking her head while pushing the cart, Pu Ying replied, “No.”

“But it feels like you haven’t been seeking me out much lately. Is it because grandfather scolded you before? Or is it because of me?”

Pu Ying’s grip on the cart tightened slightly, then she feigned nonchalance: “No, it’s just that there hasn’t been any work for you to do recently, so I naturally haven’t needed you.”

“Good, as long as you’re not ignoring me.”

Su Mo smiled at her, eyes soft. “Besides grandfather, you’re the only one I can really rely on now. If you ignored me too, I’d have no one to confide in at all.”

Being stared at like that made Pu Ying’s heart beat a little faster. After a moment, she lowered her gaze and said softly, “Don’t you still have Qiu Fu?”

“If you like someone, you have to be brave,” Su Mo said. “Don’t wait until they’re gone and you’re left with nothing but regret.”

“Mm, liking someone is one thing,” Pu Ying murmured.

Su Mo picked up a pair of cute ceramic dolls—pink, delicate, and adorable. She examined them for a moment before having the robot wrap them.

“Liking someone isn’t unchangeable. Maybe one day I figure things out and my feelings shift. Who can say for sure?”

“Love isn’t a guarantee of permanence.”

Pu Ying nodded halfheartedly, “Mm.”

“But friendship lasts,” Su Mo continued. She tossed a box of spicy broad beans into the cart, followed by two braised chicken legs, speaking naturally: “That’s why I hope we’ll always remain friends.”

Pu Ying: “…”

But I don’t want to be your friend.

She hadn’t paid attention to what Su Mo was adding to the cart, lost in thought as she silently followed behind, replaying Su Mo’s words in her mind.

[Host, why are you suddenly saying this? You’re not trying to change the story, are you?] the system warned.

Su Mo chuckled softly. [I just think she’s too tense.]

[From my perspective, friendship really does last longer than love.]

Love was thrilling.

But after the passion faded, very few could continue to protect it.

Otherwise, Su Mo wouldn’t have been abandoned.

After checking out, the robot loaded their purchases onto the aircraft.

“Let’s go to the apartment and put these away first,” Su Mo said.