The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 53

“If there’s anything else you need, just say the word.”

Su Mo didn’t want to force anything on Qiu Fu. After dropping her off at the hotel, Su Mo’s expression darkened the moment the girl disappeared inside.

“Raya was negligent today.”

Though her voice remained cool, Pu Ying could tell that Su Mo was genuinely angry.

“Do you want me to replace her?”

“No. Qiu Fu likes her.” Su Mo’s fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest. “Just give her a warning. She’s paid far too well to work this carelessly. If this happens again, I’ll choose to let her go.”

“Understood,” Pu Ying replied. “I’ll deal with her later. It’s my fault as well; I didn’t train her well enough. It won’t happen again.”

“Mhm.”

Su Mo didn’t feel like lecturing Pu Ying. Pu Ying was generally excellent, but she needed to pay closer attention to these small details.

“I’m not going back for now. I’ll find a hotel nearby and stay until my scenes are finished.”

Su Mo pulled her coat tighter. The weather had turned quite chilly.

Ever since Earth vanished, humanity had developed an obsession with the “natural.” Seasons were allowed to run their course without artificial intervention; in fact, people preferred it that way. Except for homes, aircraft, and specific designated locations where smart climate control was permitted, adjusting the temperature was strictly prohibited—illegal, even.

Pu Ying pursed her lips. “But the Old Man.”

She felt Su Mo should go back. Staying here was inconvenient and would only give the Old Man more ammunition to criticize her.

“It’s fine,” Su Mo dismissed. “I only have a few minutes of screen time. It won’t take more than ten days.”

If they filmed everything at once, it might only take three days. However, knowing Director Jiang’s meticulous nature, it would likely take at least half a month.

“It’s not even a holiday yet. Usually, I don’t head back until the end of the year anyway. Grandfather will understand.” Su Mo waved her hand, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further. She was feeling restless and irritable.

Pu Ying glanced at Su Mo’s sour expression. A thought struck her. “Is this because of the blind date?”

Is she throwing a tantrum because she doesn’t want to go on the date? Is this her way of rebelling against the Old Man? It seemed a bit childish.

Su Mo looked away, staring out the window. “Grandfather wants me to marry you.”

“Pfft!”

Though Pu Ying had heard whispers and inquiries from the Old Man’s side, hearing it directly from Su Mo’s mouth was a shock. Her hands shook slightly on the steering wheel.

“And, cough, what do you think?”

Even though Pu Ying had already withdrawn herself from the “competition,” she still desperately wanted to know Su Mo’s answer.

Su Mo rested her chin on her hand, watching the scenery blur past. “I didn’t agree,” she said calmly.

Pu Ying didn’t know if she felt more sorrow or relief. The answer was exactly what she had expected. That was Su Mo, after all—if she had agreed, it would have been even more awkward, especially since Su Mo’s heart still belonged to someone else.

Perhaps that would have been more painful. This way was better: one person hurting was better than three.

“Yeah. It makes sense that you refused.”

Pu Ying tried to keep her voice steady, yet she couldn’t help but probe further. She asked as if it were a casual curiosity, “Why didn’t you agree?”

Su Mo was blunt. “I think we’re better as friends. I’m more suited for interests and alliances than I am for romance. If I let feelings get mixed up in this, I don’t think I’d be able to do what I want to do.”

Pu Ying took a deep breath, her voice airy. “How can you be so sure I wouldn’t be willing to follow you in whatever you want to do?”

“I’m not sure. I just don’t want to.”

Pu Ying: “…”

Pu Ying’s hands were still trembling. She didn’t know what she had done wrong to make Su Mo distrust her so completely. Or rather, Su Mo had simply never envisioned a place for her in her future.

Understanding this, Pu Ying laughed bitterly. No wonder Su Mo had been avoiding her ever since Qiu Fu appeared. It all made sense now.

“I see. I won’t ask about it again.”

“Good.”

The two lapsed into silence. After dropping Su Mo off at a local five-star hotel, Pu Ying prepared to fly away. Just as she started the engine, she remembered something. She opened the storage compartment and pulled out a pair of ceramic dolls.

Clutching the dolls, she watched Su Mo’s retreating figure. Ultimately, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Looking at the dolls, she remembered how Su Mo used to secretly buy her favorite snacks and save them for her, keeping it their little secret.

If you don’t like me, if you don’t want a future with me, why were you so good to me?

“These are ‘couple’ dolls. If you don’t like me, why did you give them to me?”

They had bought them together. At the time, Pu Ying had thought it was a hint. It turned out she had just been overthinking. It was all a one-sided delusion; Su Mo had never said a word, and she had built a fantasy out of nothing.

Pu Ying took one last look at the dolls, locked them back in the storage compartment, and flew away.

Meanwhile, Gong Jiaojiao’s aircraft caught up to Miao Xiaoyu. Flying side-by-side, she called out, “Sister Miao, pull over for a second.”

Miao Xiaoyu glanced at her. She didn’t really want to deal with Gong Jiaojiao, but since she had been hailed, she was forced to pull into a temporary stopping point.

She leaned her head out the window, a polite smile plastered on her face. “Is something wrong?”

Gong Jiaojiao reached through the passenger side and handed over a bag, it was from the restaurant where they had just eaten.

Miao Xiaoyu hesitated. “?”

Is this a gift for me?

“For you,” Gong Jiaojiao said.

Gong Jiaojiao put on a charmingly naive expression and said, “I noticed you really seemed to enjoy these desserts when we were eating, so I ordered a few extra. Take them home and enjoy them at your leisure.”

While Miao Xiaoyu did like the treats, she wasn’t the type to accept kindness from just anyone. Faced with Gong Jiaojiao’s sudden proactive friendliness, she felt a bit stiff and reserved.

“There’s no need. I’m quite full. You should take them home for your family to try.”

“My family doesn’t really care for sweets. These were bought specifically for you.”

Gong Jiaojiao looked at her with pitiful, puppy-dog eyes. “Sister Miao, I know you’ve misunderstood me. I know I have a bit of a reputation that I seem reckless or even loose but I’m actually very devoted. For all these years, I’ve only ever liked Su Mo’s face; everyone else was just a comparison. I’ve never actually done anything with them.”

In that regard, she and Su Mo were quite similar. Both had reputations for being “players” who lived fast and loose, but it was all surface-level noise. Compared to those who maintained a cold, celibate public image while indulging in private debauchery, they were completely different.

They only had the “playboy” titles; deep down, they were still pure-hearted.

However, while she lacked practical experience, Gong Jiaojiao was far more adept at the game of emotions than Su Mo. Being the bolder of the two, she was incredibly direct when it came to her feelings.

If she liked someone, she liked them. And if she liked them, she would use any means necessary to have them.

She was very clear about what she wanted. This was exactly why the Old Man had chosen her as a blind date for Su Mo, he had looked past her flamboyant exterior and seen her true nature.

Miao Xiaoyu: “…”

Miao Xiaoyu didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t particularly want to get involved with this person at all.

“Sister Miao, can we really not be friends? I love your face so much even more than Su Mo’s! Just be my friend, please? Other people only like my money; they don’t like me at all. Behind my back, they all say I’m just a fool with deep pockets.”

As she spoke, Gong Jiaojiao couldn’t help but shed a few tears, looking like a lonely soul whose brilliance was understood by no one.

Miao Xiaoyu felt her face heat up as she gripped the steering wheel. She had never experienced someone chasing her down just to be friends, let alone someone who would cry if rejected. Usually, her manager handled these social entanglements; now that she was alone, she found she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

“I.”

The moment Miao Xiaoyu spoke, Gong Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up with intense expectation.

But Miao Xiaoyu hesitated, leaving a long silence that made it seem as though she was simply letting the fire die out. Slowly, the light in Gong Jiaojiao’s eyes dimmed, replaced by a look of utter heartbreak.

Unable to bear watching the spark fade from those bright eyes, Miao Xiaoyu hesitated for a long moment before finally extending her light-brain. She looked away and whispered, “If you want to add me go ahead.”

Gong Jiaojiao’s eyes snapped back to life instantly, like a lightbulb being switched back on, so bright they were almost blinding.

Seizing the moment before Miao Xiaoyu could regret it, Gong Jiaojiao quickly added her contact. She then looped the dessert bag over Miao Xiaoyu’s wrist, flashing a wide, beaming smile that showed off all eight of her perfectly neat teeth. “Thank you for being my friend, Sister Miao!”

It was the first time Miao Xiaoyu had dealt with such an enthusiastic “younger sister.” At twenty-nine, a faint smile finally flickered across her face. She placed the bag in the passenger seat and waved goodbye.

Gong Jiaojiao waved back happily. “Goodbye, Sister Miao!”

The second Miao Xiaoyu’s aircraft pulled away, the innocent smile on Gong Jiaojiao’s face twisted into a smirk.

Humming a cheerful tune, she sent a message to her bodyguard: “You have thirty minutes. Send every scrap of data on Miao Xiaoyu to my light-brain.”

The bodyguard, who was technically hired for protection but spent most of their time acting as a personal errand runner, replied with a silent, weary: “Yes.”

Gong Jiaojiao stared at the gray avatar in her contact list, a look of absolute conquest crossing her face. “You’re mine.”

She had never met anyone who made her heart itch quite like Miao Xiaoyu. The last person to truly impress her was Su Mo, but with Su Mo, it was more about the thrill of meeting a match, a fellow “alpha” with the same level of pride.

As a devoted “visualist,” she hadn’t seen anyone more beautiful than Su Mo when they were younger, so she had tried to claim her only to be brutally rejected. That rejection had left a significant scar on her fragile ego.

For years, she had been searching for a face that could make her heart race. Only a top-tier visual could spark her interest, and interest was the prerequisite for the hunt.

But most of the people she found over the years were missing something. They were pretty, but they didn’t have that “spark” that left her breathless.

So, she had turned her attention to the entertainment industry. She had sponsored many beautiful celebrities, but they lacked the substance she craved. Those with both beauty and substance were either too old or only interested in leaching her resources. She would play around for a bit and lose interest. None of them could sustain her curiosity or trigger her predatory instincts.

Until today.

Her heart was pounding wildly. She knew it, the one she had been waiting for had arrived. Miao Xiaoyu was the perfect combination of grace and beauty. Even after she left, the image of her stayed behind, lingering in the mind. Her personality was exactly the type Gong Jiaojiao adored.

“The more I think about her, the more I like her.”

Gong Jiaojiao searched for some of Miao Xiaoyu’s drama stills and giggled foolishly at the photos for a while.

“Next time, I’ll know you even better Sister Miao.”