The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 67

Faced with Su Mo’s easygoing nature, Qiu Fu felt a surge of anxiety. This was her first time celebrating the New Year, and her first time doing so at someone else’s home. Unsure of what to bring, she had resorted to buying a gift set based on guides she found on the Star Net.

Her previous visit had left her with a deep impression of the Old Master and not a particularly pleasant one. This made her hesitate even more today.

“Happy New Year, Butler Ying, Miss Su. It’s been a while.”

Raya followed Qiu Fu’s lead with the greeting. It was her first time inside the Su estate; she had previously only taken orders at the company, so the ancestral home felt quite foreign to her. However, the elderly man standing before her was a figure she knew well by reputation.

“Raya, it’s been a long time,” the butler said, his impression of her quite favorable. “Happy New Year to you both. Please, come in.”

Su Mo waved them forward, leading the group inside while the butler took their things to be stored.

The meal was already prepared. Since they had arrived at noon, the spread consisted of traditional stir-fries and several large portions of meat. For people like Raya who worked in security, physical stamina was paramount, so their diet leaned heavily toward protein. Su Mo herself was a dedicated carnivore, and since both Qiu Fu and Pu Ying enjoyed meat, everyone found the meal highly satisfying.

Seeing the Old Master again, Qiu Fu became stiff and withdrawn, unable to relax. The Old Master shot her a glance and then took the initiative to prompt Su Mo to serve her some food, hoping to ease her visible anxiety.

Noticing how Qiu Fu’s hands were clenched into tight fists resting on her lap, Su Mo placed a large chicken leg in her bowl. “Eat up,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”

Qiu Fu nodded, but remained restrained, eating with painful politeness. Across the table, Pu Ying was the complete opposite; she was a natural. She rarely spoke while eating, finishing her food with a speed and stability that suggested a high-efficiency combatant. Raya was equally unbothered. In the end, only Qiu Fu found the meal somewhat tasteless due to her nerves.

Su Mo wasn’t sure how else to help her, so she simply kept piling food onto her plate. To any attentive observer, it was clear Su Mo favored Qiu Fu. While the Old Master didn’t seem particularly fond of this development, he tolerated it which, in its own way, was a form of tacit approval.

The meal was a struggle for Qiu Fu. Fortunately, once the Old Master finished, he offered a brief word and headed upstairs, leaving the others to finish at their own pace. The moment he left, the tension drained from Qiu Fu’s face, replaced by a visible sense of relief.

Su Mo chuckled at the sight. She picked up a napkin and wiped a stray bit of grease from the corner of Qiu Fu’s mouth, teasingly asking, “Are you really that afraid of Grandfather?”

Qiu Fu took the napkin, her eyes downcast as she shook her head. “Not exactly ‘afraid.'” It wasn’t fear, per se—it was just that his presence was incredibly imposing. Coupled with the bad impression from last time, she had been anxious about how today would go.

“That’s good,” Su Mo said, taking a bite of corn. “The Old Master might look fierce, but he’s essentially a good person. He’s just a bit traditional. Just treat him like a regular old man.”

Knowing Su Mo was trying to comfort her, Qiu Fu nodded. “I will.”

The second half of the meal was far more relaxed, and the sounds of light laughter finally drifted through the dining room.

After lunch, everyone began decorating the old house. Though the ornaments were simple, they infused the ancestral estate with a vibrant, celebratory atmosphere.

When the Old Master came back downstairs and saw the decorations, he paused, momentarily wondering if he had walked into the wrong house. “This is.”

“The Young Miss and her friends set it up,” the butler explained with a smile. “They said it gives the place more of a New Year’s spirit.”

The Old Master went silent for a moment. “It certainly does.”

He leaned on his cane and took a slow lap around the room, inspecting the decor. His voice carried a hint of nostalgia. “They say that back in the Earth Era, when the people of the Central Kingdom celebrated the New Year, every household would put up paper cuttings, lanterns, and.”

“Spring Couplets,” Su Mo finished.

The Old Master brushed his fingers over the red paper. The characters had been written stroke by stroke by Su Mo herself. Her handwriting was elegant and clean, certainly impressive by Interstellar standards. At that moment, she was still busy at the desk, couplets flying off her brush in rapid succession.

The Old Master picked one up and read aloud: “May all things go as you wish and the family prosper in wealth; may the spring breeze bring success and the hall be filled with joy.”

“Beautifully written,” he praised.

Su Mo finally noticed he had come down. She set her brush aside and massaged her wrist. “Would you like to try, Grandfather?”

The Old Master waved a hand. “No, no. I can’t do that.”

“It’s not hard. Come, I’ll teach you.”

Su Mo insisted, pulling him over. She laid out a fresh sheet of red paper and guided his hand, teaching him how to write the character for ‘Blessing’ (Fu).

“This is the most common character used during the New Year,” she explained. “It represents the greatest wish for good fortune.”

Long ago, her orphanage director had taught her to write this way. Now, teaching the Old Master how to use a calligraphy brush felt surprisingly right.

“It looks wonderful,” Qiu Fu remarked from the side, her eyes filled with admiration for Su Mo. “I’ve never learned how to do that.”

The Old Master had been enjoying the process, but seeing the envious look in Qiu Fu’s eyes, he paused and set the brush down. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

Qiu Fu looked at him and immediately waved her hands in panic. “No, no, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Let Mo Mo teach you.”

The Old Master spoke with absolute confidence in Su Mo. Although he hadn’t been satisfied with Qiu Fu before, since Su Mo liked her, he had decided to stop interfering. Now that they had reached an understanding, he no longer felt the need to act like a stern, overbearing patriarch obsessed with her marriage prospects. Once he relaxed, he found that he didn’t mind having Qiu Fu around at all.

“Mo Mo, go help out over there for a moment. I’d like to have a word with Miss Qiu.”

The Old Master gestured with his chin, signaling for Su Mo to leave so they could talk privately. Su Mo looked toward the other side of the room where Raya was indeed calling for her; they were struggling to figure out which scroll of the Spring Couplets went on which side of the door.

She called back that she’d be right there, then turned to Qiu Fu. She silently mouthed, “Don’t be afraid,” adding a reassuring look to let her know she’d be watching from a distance if anything went wrong, Qiu Fu just had to raise her voice.

Qiu Fu felt a wave of warmth in her chest and nodded gratefully. Only then did Su Mo feel comfortable enough to step away.

Watching her granddaughter leave, the Old Master shook his head helplessly. He truly hadn’t expected her to be this devoted to someone. Reflecting on Su Mo’s protective stance, his voice softened, losing the harsh edge it usually held.

“Don’t be afraid. I had my reservations about you before, but since you’re someone Mo Mo cares for, I will make an effort to accept you.”

This sudden shift to a kind, gentle demeanor caught Qiu Fu completely off guard. She panicked slightly, her movements becoming flustered. “Please, Grandfather Su, you don’t need to say that.”

She didn’t quite know how to respond. Truth be told, her meetings with Su Mo had become much less frequent lately, and she hadn’t dared to entertain any grand expectations. She hadn’t known what Su Mo was thinking when she invited her here today; she had spent the entire night tossing and turning, worrying that this was an official “meet the parents” situation. She had even dragged Raya out of bed at the crack of dawn to help her pick the perfect outfit so they wouldn’t arrive late.

“Mo Mo’s mind is deeper than most,” the Old Master continued, his words heavy with subtext. “If you truly want to understand her, you must peel back the outer shell she presents to the world and touch the soul within. Of course, that is only if she is willing to let you.”

Qiu Fu was confused. Why was he telling her this? Was he encouraging her to be with Su Mo, or warning her off? “What exactly do you mean?”

The Old Master tapped his cane lightly. “Do you like her? Is it the kind of ‘like’ where you truly want to be together? The kind where you trust her no matter what happens? Or the kind where as long as it’s her, nothing else matters?”

Blindsided by his directness, Qiu Fu’s mind went blank for a moment. She opened her mouth, took a breath to steady herself, and answered honestly. “My feelings for her perhaps haven’t reached that level of depth yet.”

“Grandfather Su, I do like her, and I truly want to be with her. But this affection hasn’t turned into love yet, not the kind where I would sacrifice everything for her.”

She spoke with total sincerity, using the moment to reflect on her relationship with Su Mo. Their dynamic had always been ambiguous, and Su Mo was never short of company. In many ways, their current bond felt more like a tangle of mutual interests than deep romance. Just as Su Mo had once suggested, their current state was stable and perhaps exactly what Su Mo wanted.

Surprised by her blunt honesty, the Old Master fell silent for a moment. “I see. Thank you for your sincere answer.”

“It’s nothing, Grandfather Su,” Qiu Fu replied. “Your question helped me see into my own heart as well. I realize my feelings haven’t quite reached the heights I imagined.”

However, she thought to herself, if Su Mo were willing to take the next step, she would certainly consider it.

Unnoticed, Pu Ying had approached with a fruit platter. It was unclear how long she had been eavesdropping, but she chose this moment to interject.

“She has marked you,” Pu Ying stated coldly. “Even if you don’t have those feelings for her now, the pheromones will eventually induce a physiological need. You will slowly become dependent on her, and then fall in love. It’s called Pheromone Dependency Syndrome.”

She set the fruit platter down and looked at Qiu Fu with a grim expression. “If you already have feelings for her, that craving for her pheromones will only intensify your desire to possess her. If you don’t want the situation to worsen, your only option is to have the mark surgically removed but that is dangerous.”

Removing a mark was excruciating. It was a level of pain few could endure, and it carried the risk of permanent damage to the glands, potentially stripping a person of their Omega status forever.

Was Qiu Fu truly willing to go that far?

“Who’s removing a mark?”

Su Mo had finished helping the others and walked back just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. Her mind went blank for a second. She looked at Qiu Fu, the only Omega present.

Was Qiu Fu planning to scrub away the mark she had left?