The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 76

Qiu Fu still felt a lingering sense of bashfulness. Not long ago, she had firmly insisted that her feelings hadn’t reached the level of love that it was merely a “like” she could walk away from. But hearing Su Mo confess her feelings out loud sparked a joy in her heart that she couldn’t suppress.

She lowered her gaze, whispering, “What I said before was also true. My feelings for you haven’t reached the point where I can’t live without you. Even knowing that, are you still willing to keep loving me?”

Afraid Su Mo might misunderstand, she quickly added, “If your feelings for me are just based on pheromone dependence or a sense of responsibility, it’s okay to reject me. Really, I’m used to it.”

“It’s not that,” Su Mo said.

Qiu F: “?”

“It’s not pheromone dependence, and it’s not out of responsibility.” Su Mo spoke with a profound earnestness. “I truly like you. It’s the kind of ‘like’ where I simply want to be with you.”

“I’ve already talked to my grandfather. He told me the choice is mine to look into my own heart and stop wavering.”

That was why she had been so blunt. She had spoken the words despite knowing that once they were out, they would trigger unpredictable consequences.

Looking at Su Mo’s face, Qiu Fu saw that the distant, calculated restraint was gone. In its place was a raw, undeniable sincerity. That lingering wall between them had finally crumbled.

Her eyes grew moist, the rims turning a faint red. After a long silence, she finally gathered her resolve. “Then, do you want us to be together?”

“Yes,” Su Mo replied. “I want to be with you.”

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have been this reckless.

Qiu Fu looked at her and suddenly laughed through her tears. “Then, I accept.”

In that instant, a sense of wholeness filled Su Mo’s heart. “Mm.”

They talked through the night, only ending their conversation the next morning when the Old Master came downstairs.

The Old Master observed Su Mo. She looked relaxed, radiating a strange sense of contentment. “Have you decided?” he asked kindly. “No more switching? No more hesitating?”

“Yes. I’ve decided.”

Facing her grandfather again, Su Mo was no longer as stiff as she had been at the start. Her expression was easy. Perhaps because they had both laid their cards on the table and understood each other’s true circumstances, their interactions had become more natural.

The Old Master sat beside her, leaning on his cane. “Sometimes, being direct saves a world of trouble.”

“Yes, you’re right about that.”

Su Mo couldn’t agree more. If she hadn’t been tethered to the System’s missions, she likely would have made this choice much sooner. Once she had allowed herself to fall, there was no going back; her inner struggle had merely been a gamble on a different possibility.

“Go get some rest,” the Old Master said. “When the time is right, bring her back here so we can talk properly. We’ll have a meal and lay everything out in the open. Don’t keep people hanging anymore.”

“I understand.”

As Su Mo went upstairs to catch up on sleep, the Old Master looked out at the empty living room and let out a long, weary sigh. For the first time in years, Pu Ying wasn’t there at this hour.

He truly looked at Pu Ying as a granddaughter. He wondered what she was thinking, if she planned to never return to this home again. He understood her pain, but he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

When Pu Ying arrived, the first thing she saw was this lonely scene. She felt a surge of guilt and heartache; she hadn’t expected the Old Master to be up so early.

This was the first time in years she had “left” the Su household, only to return now as if she were a guest visiting relatives. The adjustment was jarring.

“Old Master,” she called out, her voice slightly raspy.

“You still know the way back?”

Without looking up, the Old Master recognized her footsteps. He gave a huff, though he wasn’t truly angry. He was simply happy she had come back. After what Su Mo had done, he had found it difficult to face Pu Ying.

Pu Ying stepped behind him and began to massage his shoulders. Since she first entered the Su family, she had noticed his health wasn’t what it used to be particularly his arms, which had become stiff in his old age due to an old injury.

To help him, she had self-studied traditional massage techniques, frequently helping him relieve his physical exhaustion.

The Old Master always appreciated her touch; he felt no one else’s massage was quite as soothing as hers. Perhaps it was because she put her whole heart into it.

After a moment, the Old Master placed his hand over hers and pulled her around to sit in front of him. His expression softened. “I know Mo Mo has hurt you,” he said gently. “But matters of the heart cannot be forced. Even I cannot change her mind.”

“You are a good child. So is Qiu Fu, and so is Mo Mo. It pains me to see any of you get hurt.”

Pu Ying hadn’t expected an apology from him. She said hurriedly, “You don’t need to apologize to me. I know love can’t be coerced. I never dared to hope for Su Mo’s love; just knowing I had a place in her life was enough.”

“Sigh.”

The Old Master couldn’t bear to see her so humble. But since his granddaughter and her chosen partner were now in love, he was powerless to help Pu Ying, no matter how much he wanted to. All he had left for her was guilt.

If he hadn’t let her enter the entertainment industry back then, perhaps none of this would have happened.

“Back then it was my fault. If only I hadn’t let you go.”

He still lived with that regret. If he had been more assertive, if he hadn’t been so consumed by his own grief at the time, Pu Ying might never have encountered that horror. She might have met someone she loved much sooner, instead of.

Back then.

At the mention of that era, Pu Ying’s body went rigid. It was as if the warmth were being sucked out of her. Her mind went blank, her thoughts slowing to a crawl. It was the first time in years the Old Master had brought it up. Despite how much time had passed, the memory still paralyzed her.

She always told herself she had forgotten, but when she had confessed it to Qiu Fu under the influence of wine, her heart hadn’t stopped trembling.

At that moment, the realization hit her: she hadn’t truly moved on. Her heart had been treading water, anchored in the same spot.

She was trapped in the past.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

A vision of a younger Su Mo flashed through her mind, the proud yet shy girl who had once forced a handkerchief into her hand. A warmth began to radiate through Pu Ying’s body once more. Su Mo’s innocent, youthful face acted as a shield, overlaying and softening the scars of the past.

“Pu Ying, if there’s anything you want, just say the word. As long as it’s within my power, I will help you.”

The Old Master didn’t know what else to say. He had spent his life burdened by guilt over this matter; if he could make Pu Ying feel even slightly better, he would do anything.

After a long silence, Pu Ying replied, her voice slightly hoarse. “There’s no need.”

“Working for you has always been my wish, Grandpa. You don’t need to feel indebted to me, because I’ve been very happy these past few years.”

She spoke with a grave, earnest sincerity. “You shouldn’t linger in the past either because I have already found my way out.”

It was because of Su Mo that she was no longer afraid.

So, even though the Su Mo of today was with someone else, it was enough for Pu Ying to hold onto the memory of that proud, tsundere young girl. As long as those memories remained, she could endure the long years of her life.

The Old Master sighed inwardly. Such a good child. It’s a pity fate wasn’t on her side.

By the time Su Mo woke up again, it was already evening. Her optical computer held a message from Qiu Fu, sent less than five minutes ago.

He had likely just woken up himself and sent his regards immediately. Su Mo smiled to herself and sent a reply.

After washing up, she headed downstairs, her stomach past the point of hunger and feeling strangely numb. There, she found Pu Ying accompanying the Old Master as he reviewed data.

Su Mo faltered for a moment. She remembered last night she was certain Pu Ying had already left.

Pu Ying looked up, her gaze calm. “You’re awake. I was just about to go up and get you.”

“Dinner is ready.”

Su Mo stood there with the lingering daze of someone who had just woken up. Once she cleared her head, she gave a composed nod.

“Grandpa, let’s eat.”

The Old Master powered down his optical computer. At the dinner table, he asked with feigned nonchalance, “This Tan Ya you’ve dealt with her before. What do you think of her?”

“Her mental power has been officially registered now, and she’s displayed an unexpected talent for business. In less than four months, she’s not only pulled the Tan family back from the brink but has elevated them to new heights.”

“If things continue like this.”

The Old Master thought of Tan Ya’s predatory precision, her wolf-like speed and decisiveness. For a moment, he feared she might eventually clash with Su Mo, and he wasn’t sure Su Mo could win that game.

Still, there was something familiar about the way she laid out her moves. He just couldn’t place it.

“Tan Ya?”

Su Mo hadn’t paid much attention to her since sending her back. She had simply instructed her people to protect Tan Ya if she was in danger, but otherwise, they were to stay out of her way.

She hadn’t heard anything from her subordinates yet, but here was her grandfather bringing it up.

She nodded. “You intervened in that Tan family incident before, so you must have seen her then?”

At the mention of this, the Old Master looked regretful. “Back then, I didn’t see any ambition in her, nor anything particularly special. Thinking back, this might be the first time I’ve misjudged someone.”

“The girl’s business acumen is incredibly high. Her style is a bit like.”

Mid-sentence, he realized who her methods reminded him of. He sighed helplessly. “Did you lend Kevin to her?”

Kevin had been trained under him. His style was similar to the Old Master’s, though Kevin was gentler, tempered by a touch of compassion.

But Tan Ya hadn’t picked up that gentleness. Instead, her ruthless execution was a mirror image of the Old Master in his youth.

“Do you realize that if this continues, you’re raising a nemesis for yourself?”

And she was doing it with her own hands.

Su Mo replied calmly, “I know.”

“But I cannot clip her wings just because I am afraid.”

Otherwise, what would be the difference between her and those who wanted to destroy the Su family?