Transmigrated As an Alpha, The Female Lead Cried in My Arms. - Chapter 14

After they parted ways, Pei Suyu expected Gan Lu to make a scene—to cry, to scream, to bombard her with relentless calls, or even show up at her doorstep. But none of that happened.

Gan Lu was being unnaturally quiet. In the week following the hospital incident, there was no sign of her. Even the girl’s belongings were picked up by people sent by Gan Feng, as if the family truly didn’t want to see Pei Suyu ever again.

Pei Suyu felt a wave of relief, yet it was tinged with a faint, lingering sense of loss. Ultimately, she didn’t reach out. Perhaps it was better to end it this way.

The first message from Gan Lu arrived another week later. It was simple, consisting of only four words:

[Gan Lu]: Thank you, Teacher Pei.

Receiving such a cryptic message left Pei Suyu feeling unsettled. She hesitated for a long time before she couldn’t resist calling her back.

The moment the call connected, a vibrant, slightly joyful voice rang out from the other end.

“Teacher Pei.”

“Gan… Lu Lu, how have you been lately?” Pei Suyu paused, reflexively using the girl’s nickname. Her voice softened unconsciously.

“I’m doing great. I was discharged last week, and I haven’t had any more episodes.”

Pei Suyu suddenly found herself at a loss for words. This polite, sensible version of Gan Lu was someone she wasn’t used to. On the other end, Gan Lu seemed afraid she would hang up and began to chatter away.

“Teacher Pei, are you still mad at me? I really didn’t mean to call you a bastard that day. I was just so angry and scared… I didn’t want to leave you. Uncle Chen was right; my dependency on you was wrong—pathological. I need to learn to overcome it myself. I’m much better now and won’t cause you any more trouble. Thank you for taking care of me; I was just being immature back then. Please don’t hold it against me.”

Gan Lu rambled on for a while.

Listening to her, Pei Suyu felt a complex mix of emotions. She wondered how the girl had grown up so fast. Had she truly come to her senses, or did she simply realize that throwing tantrums wouldn’t change the fact that Pei Suyu had hardened her heart?

Either way, the result was a good one.

She followed up with a polite response. “It’s good that you’ve come to terms with it. You’re still young; you’ll understand many things as you get older.”

The conversation seemed to hit a dead end. Pei Suyu could hear Gan Lu’s heavy breathing on the other end, as if she wanted to say more but hesitated, yet she stubbornly refused to hang up.

Driven by a strange impulse, Pei Suyu waited patiently.

Finally, a small, cautious voice asked: “Teacher Pei, can I still call you in the future?” Fearing a rejection, she quickly added, “Don’t worry, I won’t bother you for long. I just want to talk to you every now and then.”

Hearing that piteous, cautious tone, Pei Suyu’s heart softened. Seeing that the girl now understood boundaries, the suffocating pressure of being forced into a choice eased. She agreed.

“Alright. You can ask me if you have any questions about your studies, too.”

“That’s wonderful! Thank you, Teacher Pei!” Even through the phone, the girl’s sheer joy was palpable, though she quickly composed herself. “Then I won’t disturb you any longer. Goodbye, Teacher Pei.”

For the first time, Gan Lu was the one to hang up first. Pei Suyu shook her head with a bitter smile, unable to define the strange feeling in her chest.

*****

On the other side, the moment Gan Lu hung up, she began jumping and screaming on her bed in celebration.

“Aaaah! It worked! It actually worked! She took my call!”

After her victory dance, she calmed down and messaged Ying Zi.

[Gan Lu]: Ying Zi, you really know your stuff! I did exactly what you said, and Teacher Pei actually answered. She was so gentle, and she said we could stay in touch!

Gan Lu was grinning like an idiot, now thoroughly impressed by Ying Zi.

After Pei Suyu had left that day, Gan Lu had been livid. She had considered every classic tactic—reporting to her mother, squatting at Pei’s house, crying, screaming—anything to avoid being abandoned. But before she could act, Ying Zi had messaged her. Desperate to vent, she had spilled everything.

Ying Zi had been silent for a long time before asking: “That Teacher Pei is truly ‘incapable’? She’s rejected you more than once?”

When Gan Lu nodded firmly, the usually somber Ying Zi had let out a snicker, muttering that things were “getting interesting.” She then offered to help Gan Lu “fish” for Pei Suyu.

To Gan Lu’s shock, Ying Zi turned out to be a master of the “long game.” After a detailed interrogation about their daily life, she offered a twelve-character mantra:

Use stillness to control motion. Use softness to overcome hardness. Play hard to get. The gentle blade.

Gan Lu was baffled, especially by the last part. “What does that mean? Especially ‘The Gentle Blade’? Are you sure that’s for romance?”

Ying Zi paused awkwardly. “Ignore the last one. Your little brain isn’t ready for the gentle blade. Focus on the first three.”

And so, Gan Lu listened intently to the analysis.

“First, Teacher Pei is currently annoyed by your tantrums. You need to use stillness—stay quiet for a few days. Second, from your description, she’s ‘cold-faced but warm-hearted.’ People like her respond to vulnerability, not force. Third… isn’t your teacher ‘incapable’?”

Ying Zi gave a strange laugh. “Since she’s struggling, jumping straight to the ‘big moves’ is just poking her where it hurts. You need to play hard to get. Build the emotional foundation first before discussing… bedroom matters.”

Gan Lu nodded like a baby bird. She suppressed the fire in her heart and stayed quiet for a week at home. After getting the green light from Ying Zi and practicing her lines multiple times, she finally made the call.

It worked perfectly. Ying Zi really was a “treasure goddess.”

Ying Zi replied to her message shortly: [Ying Zi]: Look at you getting excited over nothing. This is just the beginning.

[Gan Lu]: What should I do next?

[Ying Zi]: Study hard and make progress every day.

[Gan Lu]: I suspect you’re trying to make life difficult for me.

[Ying Zi]: Don’t you want to go to Art School? You have to keep up with your academic courses. Don’t be an embarrassment.

[Gan Lu]: Sigh… I’m starting to believe Teacher Pei. You trapped me into the Kyoto University promise on purpose.

[Ying Zi]: No… I just overestimated your IQ during your ‘Silly-White-Sweet’ phase. I’m at Kyoto University; I wanted you here so I could look after you.

[Gan Lu]: OMG! Ying Zi, you’re a top-tier scholar? Amazing. Why don’t you tutor me when you’re free? I’ll try the entrance exam again.

[Ying Zi]: …

[Gan Lu]: You’re looking down on me.

[Ying Zi]: Go back to pestering your Teacher Pei.

Gan Lu had a moment of realization. [Gan Lu]: Right! Asking Teacher Pei whenever I hit a problem I don’t understand—it’s the perfect excuse!

And so, Gan Lu began her new life of “studying hard” while “pestering Teacher Pei.”

*****

Pei Suyu, the target of this new strategy, didn’t return to teaching. Becoming a teacher had been an accident in this world. Now that the person who influenced her was gone and she was in a new life, she wanted to live the way she’d always wanted to.

While she was idle, Jing Xin called her to the bar. Since it was daytime, the place wasn’t open yet. They sat in a booth, chatting.

“So, Cousin,” Jing Xin nudged her. “It’s officially over with that sweet girl? You lost your job too?”

Pei Suyu smiled casually. “It’s not that serious. I didn’t want to go back to the school anyway. I grew tired of it.”

“Fine! Rich and willful,” Jing Xin sighed. “Not everyone can play the hero and earn 1.5 million in two months.”

Pei Suyu shot her a look. “Be serious. I’m planning to start a business.”

Jing Xin perked up. “Tell me! What kind? If it’s a good path, take your little sister with you!”

Pei Suyu tapped her fingers on the table, silent for a long time. Finally, she said slowly, “I want to open a security consulting firm.”

“A… what?”

“A bodyguard agency,” Pei Suyu explained.

Jing Xin looked like she’d been struck by lightning. “Cousin… that is a massive career jump! In the old days, they’d call this ‘dropping the pen for the sword.’ Let me process this.”

Pei Suyu leaned back and closed her eyes while her cousin processed. She’d had this idea for a while. Ever since she transmigrated—or rather, ever since that important person died—she’d been living aimlessly.

In middle school, she had been a delinquent. She thought she was the coolest person alive until she was cornered in an alley and beaten bloody. Her attackers were about to strip her when her PE teacher, Li Wei, saved her.

Li Wei was a “cool” woman with a gentle name. Her family owned a martial arts school. Watching her take down the thugs with effortless grace had been a revelation for Pei Suyu. After that, Pei Suyu became her apprentice. By high school, she was nearly undefeated in the school, but under Li Wei’s influence, she grew mature and restrained.

But fate loved to play jokes. Li Wei left teaching to join her family’s security firm. They stayed in touch, and Pei Suyu even interned there during summers. Then, Li Wei died protecting a client. Her dying wish for Pei Suyu was: Just be a teacher. It’s safe.

Pei Suyu became a teacher and rarely mentioned Li Wei again. The feelings were too complex—mentor, friend, perhaps a touch of adolescent infatuation. It all faded with her death. But now, Pei Suyu was bored of this “stagnant” life. She wanted to do something she actually loved.

Jing Xin’s cough broke her train of thought. “Cousin… if you’re serious, remember our Grandma? She was a bodyguard after she retired from the military. You should ask her if she has any connections.”

Pei Suyu searched her memory. This grandmother was a legendary figure who lived alone in the suburbs and had a distant relationship with her adopted children. Pei Suyu felt a sudden urge to visit her.

They chatted a bit more. Jing Xin, seeing her cousin’s mood, teased: “Why the sudden business itch? Frustrated in love, so you’re turning to a career as a distraction?”

Pei Suyu remained noncommittal.

“Is it because of the sweet girl?”

Before Jing Xin could dig deeper, Pei Suyu’s phone buzzed. It was a message from Gan Lu, asking if she was free and attaching a photo of a math problem she couldn’t solve.

Looking at the neat handwriting, Pei Suyu knew Gan Lu was truly putting in the effort. She smiled.

“Is it the sweet girl?” Jing Xin asked, standing up. “I’ll leave you to it. I have work to do.”

Ignoring her cousin, Pei Suyu considered sending a voice note, but the image of the girl’s playful smile popped into her head. On an impulse, she hit the video call button.

The screen flickered, and Gan Lu’s flushed face appeared. Her hair was damp and draped over her chest, and droplets of water glistened on her collarbones. Her watery eyes blinked as she bit her lip.

“Teacher Pei? Why did you video call me?”

Pei Suyu’s gaze darkened. “What are you doing?”

“Taking a shower!” Gan Lu wiped her face, her smile innocent.

The screen showed the girl’s pretty face, her slightly pouted lips, and the sound of splashing water.

Pei Suyu looked away, her lips tightening. “Why are you asking questions while taking a shower?” Her voice was cold, tinged with a hint of rising irritation.

“I… I just wanted to ask you first,” Gan Lu explained quickly. “That way, by the time I’m done and back at my desk, I can see your answer. It saves time!”

“I see. A truly remarkable transformation,” Pei Suyu sneered. “Student Gan, since when did you become so dedicated to your studies?”

“Teacher Pei, I suspect you’re mocking me, but I have no evidence.”

Pei Suyu didn’t listen to more nonsense and hung up. For some reason, a surge of heat flared in her chest. She took a sip of ice water, but it barely helped.

Lately, Gan Lu was being… very strange.

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