The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 68

Su Mo wasn’t the only one shocked; the Old Master was equally stunned. He froze for a long moment before finally finding his voice.

“You, what did you just say? Mo Mo has already successfully marked her?”

The words seemed to catch in his throat, as the news completely defied his expectations. Su Mo had explicitly told him before that she was unable to completely mark Qiu Fu.

Wait.

The Old Master recalled the incident at the testing center. Su Mo had used her mental power to pin Major Song to the ground, rendering him unable to even stand. This meant her mental strength far exceeded Major Song’s by at least two grades. If Major Song was a B-rank, Su Mo was at least an S-rank.

And if she was an S-rank, why would she be unable to mark Qiu Fu? There was only one logical conclusion: Su Mo had lied to him.

The Old Master’s gaze fixed on Su Mo, but her eyes remained locked on Qiu Fu.

“You want to scrub the mark?” Su Mo asked bluntly.

Qiu Fu lowered her gaze. “No. I haven’t decided yet.”

Su Mu: “…”

Pu Ying couldn’t stand the sight of the two of them hesitating and wavering. At this rate, when would they ever come to terms with their feelings? She decided to give them a nudge.

“If you refuse to give her an official status, scrubbing the mark becomes her only desperate choice,” Pu Ying interjected.

An Omega could only be marked by one Alpha in their lifetime. Even if the mark was surgically removed, they would never be able to accept another Alpha again. They would be forced to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness, dependent on suppressants. The mere thought was tragic.

Having said her piece, Pu Ying took a sip of cold tea and waited for Su Mo’s response. Su Mo’s lips parted, but when she met Qiu Fu’s expectant gaze, she instinctively looked away, seemingly unwilling to answer.

Qiu Fu’s heart sank. Seeing Su Mo avoid the question confirmed her fears: Su Mo truly didn’t want to be with her.

“Now is not the time,” Su Mo muttered, abruptly changing the subject. “Let’s get back to the calligraphy.”

Qiu Fu didn’t want to remain in this awkward atmosphere. “No, you should teach Grandfather Su. I’ll go help Raya with the couplets.” Without waiting for Su Mo to stop her, she turned and left.

The Old Master watched Su Mo silently, waiting for her to speak. When she remained stubbornly silent, he let out a long sigh and turned toward the stairs. “Follow me.”

Su Mo set down her things and followed. Pu Ying watched them go, then lowered her head to continue drinking her tea. However, she had been holding a mouthful of tea without swallowing; as she moved, the liquid spilled down her chin and stained her clothes.

In her flustered attempt to wipe it away with a napkin, the butler walked over. “Go to the guest room and change,” he said gently. “Your usual room has clothes in your size. It’s uncomfortable to wear wet clothes.”

Pu Ying paused, then stood up. “Understood.”

As she turned to leave, the butler added, “Actually, you’ve done a good job.”

Pu Ying looked back, confused. “Excuse me?”

The butler quickly tidied the table. “You keep your private feelings and your work very separate. I’ve always admired that, as has the Old Master.”

Pu Ying bit her lip. She knew exactly what he was implying. “I only do what is necessary for the job,” she whispered.

If she could truly separate the two, her heart wouldn’t ache this much. Her face went pale it was hard to tell if it was her makeup or a genuine loss of color.

While Pu Ying went to change, Raya looked at Qiu Fu, who had come over to help with the couplets looking utterly miserable. Raya didn’t understand why she wasn’t bonding with the Old Master.

“I don’t need two people for this,” Raya said. She could finish it quickly on her own.

Qiu Fu didn’t want to leave. Her eyes were rimmed with red. “Just let me help you,” she rasped. If she didn’t stay here, she didn’t know where else to go.

Maybe she shouldn’t have come. If she had refused the invitation, would she have avoided this humiliation? Seeing Qiu Fu on the verge of tears, Raya glanced back at the desk where they had been writing. It was empty. She didn’t know what had happened, but as a bodyguard, her priority was finding a safe place for Qiu Fu to process her grief.

In the study, the Old Master sat in the high-backed chair, his gaze heavy as he looked at Su Mo. “Sit.”

Su Mo sat, her expression unreadable. Seeing her like this, the Old Master’s anger dissipated into a weary sigh.

“Why did you lie to me? When did the mark become permanent?”

“After we left the estate last time.”

That early.

“So, you had already succeeded when you told me you couldn’t,” the Old Master realized. “You’ve been deceiving me this whole time.” He knew it was because she didn’t fully trust him, but it still hurt.

“What do you intend to do now? A child of the Su family cannot be someone who shirks their responsibilities. Since you marked her, you should be taking care of her, not ignoring her like this.”

The Old Master figured that since Su Mo invited her for the New Year, she intended to introduce her to the family. So why did she act so dismissive just now?

“There are things involved that aren’t as simple as you think,” Su Mo said, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know how you became so certain that I am your granddaughter even after realizing I’m different. But there are secrets I cannot tell you, secrets I can’t tell anyone.”

She exhaled slowly. “I can only say this: I cannot be with her.”

She had to leave. If she didn’t, this world would fall into an infinite loop until she was dragged down with it. She couldn’t let that happen.

The Old Master’s face darkened. “Then why did you mark her? Just because she was under the influence of the ‘Trefoil’ drug and you were the first to provide pheromones? You know that once marked, she has no retreat. You’re stringing her along, refusing to be with her while continuing to do whatever this is. What are you trying to achieve?”

“If you cannot take responsibility for her, you should leave her completely. Cut off all her lingering hope instead of bringing her here and constantly leading her on.”

The Old Master’s voice was powerful and resonant, piece by piece shattering the careful justifications Su Mo had built in her heart.

“You like her, so you can’t help but want to be near her. Yet, at the same time, you have another agenda, so you constantly push her away.” He looked at her with disappointment. “This is nothing short of being a ‘scumbag.'”

Su Mo closed her eyes. He’s right, she thought. I really am a scumbag.

The little troublemaker System sensed Su Mo’s inner turmoil and spoke up in a tiny, cautious voice: 【Host, are you alright?】

【I’m fine.】

Though a storm of thoughts was surging through her mind, Su Mo maintained her outward composure. The System didn’t believe her; it knew that it was largely responsible for things turning out this way.

It spoke up timidly: 【How about we don’t leave?】

Don’t leave. Stay. Sink with this world into an endless cycle of reincarnation until our sense of self is gone and we dissipate entirely.

【If it’s for you, I can use all my energy to carve your name into this world, saving your consciousness from fading into the infinite loop.】

Su Mo let out a bitter laugh in her mind. 【Are you trying to help me or kill me?】

The System’s data tilted in confusion: 【?】

【Entering an infinite loop is painful enough. You want me to remember everything clearly while living through it over and over? Wouldn’t that be even more agonizing?】

No, perhaps it wouldn’t just be pain. It would be despair. Unable to die, unable to truly live; a life worse than death, like a walking corpse. She saw this as a punishment rather than a reward.

The System was momentarily speechless: 【!】

【Then, what do we do? It’s already come to this. The missions can’t be retracted, and the path can’t be changed again. We can only follow this through to the end.】

If things continued this way, Su Mo wouldn’t be able to bear it. On the current trajectory, Qiu Fu had nothing to do with Su Mo’s objectives. Su Mo couldn’t simply be with her; if she did, she would fail the mission and face severe consequences. The System’s punishments for those who willfully deviated from their tasks were infamously brutal.

Su Mo took a long time to respond.

【Just continue with the missions.】

Even the System felt a pang of pity for her. Its voice was much softer as it announced the next task.

【Mission: Help Miao Xiaoyu secure the lead female role.】

Su Mo: “…”

Miao Xiaoyu—the one Gong Jiaojiao is in love with.

【Is she also connected to Tan Ya?】

The System’s “eyes” flickered guiltily, and its voice grew smaller: 【Actually, in the revised plot, aside from a few outsiders, almost all the significant female characters have some degree of connection with Tan Ya.】

Su Mo: “…”

So, it really is an NP (reverse harem) setup.

“Are you even listening to me? Do you not even care what I have to say anymore?”

The Old Master slammed his hand onto the desk, snapping Su Mo out of her mental exchange with the System.

Su Mo blinked and said softly, “I know I’m being a scumbag.”

The Old Master was incredulous. She knew she was being a scumbag, yet she intended to keep doing it? “Give me a reason.”

Unless she had a logical explanation, he would absolutely not allow her to continue this behavior.

“If you must have a reason.” Su Mo began, pausing for breath. “You should know by now I am not a person of your world.”

“I came here with a mission. They are my targets. Once the mission is over, I have to leave. I won’t be staying here.”

The System was terrified: 【No, Host! You can’t say that!】

The Old Master froze in place. His lips parted, but no sound came out. After a long silence, it was as if his entire posture collapsed; he seemed to age a decade in an instant.

“You’re still going to.” He couldn’t finish the word.

Leave.

That single word left the Old Master’s head spinning. He had waited so long, held onto so much hope. If she was destined to leave anyway, then what had been the point of all his waiting?