The Villain Turned Out to Be a Scummy Omega? [GL] - Chapter 26

Song Ziqing twisted her head around in disbelief, staring at Lu Qinnian, who was still whispering in her ear. She actually wanted Song Ziqing to date her in exchange for not signing this contract?!

There must be a catch! I’m doomed! She must know I’m the one behind this! Song Ziqing thought with mounting unease.

The representatives from the other company watched the intimate display with bewildered looks. One of them laughed. “President Lu, let’s hold off on the flirting for now, shall we? You can flirt all you want once the papers are signed.”

Lu Qinnian nodded with a smile. “You’re right.”

She reached for Song Ziqing’s hand, repositioning her pen to sign the document. Song Ziqing jumped in shock and snatched the contract away. “I promise! I’ll do it!”

Lu Qinnian froze for a second. Her tightly set lips curled into a faint, subtle smile as she set the pen down. “My apologies. I’ve just received a benefit far greater than this deal, so I cannot sign this contract.”

Lu Qinnian rose elegantly. Song Ziqing let out a massive sigh of relief and stood up to leave, only for Lu Qinnian to reach out and firmly interlock their fingers.

Song Ziqing gasped, staring down at their joined hands in disbelief before looking up at her with wide eyes.

Ignoring the angry expressions of the opposing party, Lu Qinnian gave a thin smile. “This is a decent project. You should go find Yan Hui for a partnership. Hasn’t she been competing with me for everything lately? I’m sure she’d be very happy to work with you.”

With that, she led Song Ziqing by the hand out of the conference room under the stunned gazes of everyone present, heading straight back to her private office.

The representatives exchanged looks of confusion before turning to glare at Song Chi outside. Song Chi’s face was ashen; she turned and marched away in a fury.

In the hallway, the staff whispered frantically as they watched the two women enter the office.

“Since when did President Lu get so close to Song Ziqing? Wasn’t she just kicked out of the family? Why is she here sabotaging the President’s contracts? And they don’t exactly look like sisters…”

“She’s an Omega, and they’re holding hands. How could they look like sisters?”

“How devious. To hide her identity as an Alpha just to stay in the Lu house and get an advantage… what a low-down tactic.”

“Even after being kicked out, she managed to come back. That’s impressive!”

“I wonder what kind of tricks that little vixen used to stay by President Lu’s side?!”

“If Miss Xie finds out, she’ll probably be livid.”

Meanwhile, at the Xie Residence.

Xie Muqing sat on the sofa with her head bowed. The woman beside her had her hands on her hips, sighing in frustration as she looked at her with a “hopeless” expression. “I say, Xie Muqing! What were you thinking? What good did it do you to blow her cover?”

“I just wanted to drive her away,” Xie Muqing muttered.

“Drive her away?” The woman took a deep breath. “Are you stupid? Do you think just anyone can be fostered by the Lu family for over ten years? Do you think just anyone can receive that much doting from the entire household?”

“I didn’t know her mother had such a deep history with the Lus.”

“You didn’t know! Hah!” The woman spoke through gritted teeth. “It’s safe to say that without Song Ziqing’s mother, there wouldn’t be a Lu family as we know it today. Now Song Ziqing is back at the estate, and you—you were clumsy enough to leave a trail! Chairman Lu has already called me, and her opinion of you is at rock bottom!”

Xie Muqing looked up anxiously. “Sister, you have to help me!”

Xie Qi let out a helpless, heavy breath. “I’ve already received notice that Lu Qinnian is terminating her cooperation with our hotels. With her withdrawal, our hotels won’t run as smoothly as before. I expect many others will follow her lead and pull their investments too.”

“How can that be? Qinnian, she…”

“She what? I originally thought that given her personality, she’d eventually marry you even without love just to be a good husband, and our families could continue our partnership. Now, you’ve made her loathe you, and you’ve dragged the whole Xie family down with you.”

“Sister, I know I was wrong, but for her to end the partnership just like that… isn’t it too heartless?” Xie Muqing began to sob.

“Why? Just because of one Song Ziqing? Ten years of friendship thrown away just like that! Waaah…”

“You have ten years of history with her, but does Song Ziqing not have ten years of history with her too?”

Xie Muqing froze, choking on her sobs. “But she always hated Song Ziqing.”

“No matter how much she hated her, she never actually kicked her out.”

Xie Muqing finally fell silent, letting out small, quiet whimpers. “Sister, what should I do?”

“There’s no other way. We have to cooperate with the Yan family.”

“I don’t want to! I refuse to marry Yan Hui’s dimwitted sister!” Xie Muqing threw a childish tantrum.

Xie Qi looked at her helplessly. “Then work harder and marry Yan Hui herself.”

Xie Muqing froze for a second, then let out a bitter laugh.

Xie Qi felt an uneasy pang watching her. Xie Muqing laughed hollowly. “Sister! Yan Hui has liked Song Ziqing for a long time. What do I have to compete with?”

Xie Qi remained silent. Yan Hui’s temperament was much like Lu Qinnian’s; when it came to marriage, no one could sway her unless she was willing. Otherwise, she wouldn’t still be single at her age.

“Why? I worked hard for over ten years, yet all she has to do is get her identity exposed to get everything I’ve fought for?” Xie Muqing lowered her head and laughed, her body trembling with fury.

Xie Qi stood by without speaking for a long time before saying one final thing: “Don’t do anything reckless.”

Xie Muqing looked up at Xie Qi’s retreating figure and gave a pained smile.

“I won’t be reckless. But I will absolutely never let Song Ziqing have everything so easily!”

“Achoo!”

Lu Qinnian looked up at the person sitting in front of her. Song Ziqing rubbed her nose, her face looking miserable. “Great. I bet there are a ton of people cursing me right now.”

Lu Qinnian fed some documents into the shredder and glanced at her. “I imagine one of those people is Yan Hui.”

Song Ziqing looked up in confusion. “Don’t go slandering other people.”

“Slandering?” Lu Qinnian studied her. Could it be she didn’t cooperate with Yan Hui to set this trap? Does she really not know that company belongs to Yan Hui?

“Yeah! Why would Yan Hui curse me? She should probably buy me dinner. After all, since you didn’t snatch this project, it’s all hers now.”

Lu Qinnian paused, leaning her body toward her. “You didn’t know?”

“Know what?” Song Ziqing asked, clutching her coffee in confusion.

Lu Qinnian let out a sharp, angry laugh. “Song Ziqing, do you truly not know that the opposing company belongs to Yan Hui?”

Song Ziqing froze. “Holy crap! So that’s how it is!”

No wonder Yan Hui was able to seize the market so quickly after Lu Qinnian fell into the trap in the original story. She had been precise in her suppression because she had been the one pulling the strings using Song Ziqing!

“So you actually knew it was a scam?” Song Ziqing looked at Lu Qinnian in shock.

Lu Qinnian stared at the girl in disbelief. This little wolf was actually being used without even knowing it? So I misunderstood her? She wasn’t working with Yan Hui to deal with me?

Lu Qinnian walked over and sat beside her, turning her body to face the girl.

Song Ziqing was sipping her coffee. Sensing the proximity, she nervously shifted back. Lu Qinnian reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her back close.

Song Ziqing laughed tentatively, keeping her head down and pretending to drink her coffee so she wouldn’t have to look her in the eye. If her previous schemes were exposed, she had no idea how she’d explain them away.

Lu Qinnian watched her tenderly. “It’s empty. What are you still drinking?”

Song Ziqing froze. Looking at the empty cup, she blurted out, “I’ll go make more.”

She tried to stand, but Lu Qinnian pulled her back down. She took the empty cup from the girl’s hand and pulled her around so they were face-to-face. Song Ziqing gave a nervous smile. How do I convince her I’m innocent?

Looking at the anxious girl, Lu Qinnian knit her brows, her expression turning stern. “What’s this? Are you trying to back out of what you promised in the conference room?”

Song Ziqing’s heart skipped a beat. She stared at the woman so close to her, blinking rapidly. She let out a sigh of relief and shook her head quickly with a grin. “Of course not!”

“Good.” Lu Qinnian suddenly released her and stood up, moving to sit on the opposite sofa. As their eyes met, Song Ziqing shifted uncomfortably back into the cushions, giving a placating smile.

What is Lu Qinnian doing? Is she trying to mess with me? We’re supposed to be dating, right? Why sit so far away? And what’s with the ‘interrogating a criminal’ look? It’s making my skin crawl!

Unable to bear the dangerous silence, Song Ziqing spoke first. “W-what’s wrong?”

“Director Song… Song Chi. You know her, right?”

Song Ziqing’s heart hammered. She took a small gulp. “I know her.”

“She’s a member of your Song family, your cousin. It’s impossible for you not to know her.”

Song Ziqing gave a foolish, wide grin. “Then I know her. What about it? Did she offend you?”

Lu Qinnian paused, a faint, unreadable smile playing on her lips. “Mm. Not bad. Refusing to admit it to the bitter end—very much your style.”

Song Ziqing bit her lip, her cheeks puffing out in a look of grievance. “I thought Niannian really wanted to date me, but it turns out you still don’t trust me. Do you think I set up this whole scam just to trap you?”

Lu Qinnian froze, her mouth hanging open as she watched the “aggrieved” girl.

Song Ziqing looked at her with tearful eyes. “If I wanted to trick you, why would I run here to stop you from signing? Why would I agree to such an outrageous request to date you? I didn’t expect my good intentions to be so worthless in your eyes. Since that’s how it is, I won’t bother with you ever again!”

Choking on a sob, Song Ziqing grabbed her bag and ran out of the office in tears.

Lu Qinnian sat there dazed. She looked at the door that had slammed shut with a bang. It took her a long time to process it. “Is she… trying to back out?”

Song Ziqing stepped into the elevator and immediately wiped the tears away. She let out a long breath and patted her chest. “Close one! Good thing I’m quick on my feet!”

She gave a wicked grin. “Humph! Go ahead and feel guilty, Lu Qinnian! Accusing a good person like me and making me so ‘miserable’… let’s see how you feel now! Humph!”

The elevator doors slid open, and Lu Qinnian was standing right there.

Song Ziqing shivered in fright and backed into a corner. Lu Qinnian stepped inside. “I do feel quite bad.”

Song Ziqing slapped her forehead and looked away. “This is so embarrassing!”

“I know I was wrong, and I feel incredibly guilty.”

Song Ziqing froze. She looked up at Lu Qinnian, who was staring at her with a helpless, uneasy gaze and slightly furrowed brows.

Song Ziqing cleared her throat and hung her head. Ever since she was caught red-handed planting the bomb, her claim of being a “good person” was a bit hard to sustain.

Lu Qinnian looked at the bowed head and stroked the girl’s hair with an aching heart. “Silly girl. Mother was always going to divide the Lu family assets with you anyway. You are one of the heirs.”

Song Ziqing looked up in shock. Lu Qinnian gave a soft laugh. “Are you relieved now?”

Song Ziqing nodded mechanically. The Lu family really was too good to her!

“So, about what you promised me… do you still want to back out?”

Song Ziqing looked confused. “What promise?”

Lu Qinnian’s face darkened. She gave a thin, fake smile. “About dating me.”

“Oh!” Song Ziqing had a moment of realization. She then narrowed her eyes at Lu Qinnian. “You aren’t just dating me because you’re greedy for the assets Auntie is giving me, are you?”

Lu Qinnian’s lips twitched. She let out a cold laugh. “Am I really that bad?”

Song Ziqing thought about it. Lu Qinnian had changed so quickly; there had to be a catch. She nodded solemnly and let out an “mm-hmm.”

Lu Qinnian’s brow furrowed. Dissatisfied, she lifted the girl’s chin and lowered her head to kiss her forcefully.

Song Ziqing pushed her away, staring at the woman’s pained expression in shock. She swallowed hard. “Y-y-you… you don’t have to sacrifice yourself that much, do you?”

“It’s not like we haven’t kissed before,” Lu Qinnian said. She reached out, pulled the girl into her arms, and held her in a tight embrace. She lowered her head, pressing her lips against the lips of the struggling girl and kissing her deeply. After a long while, she tightened her arms and whispered into Song Ziqing’s ear with a raspy voice:

“No backing out.”

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