Unexpected Motherhood: Marked by the Elite Alpha - Chapter 1

The shade on the mountain was cool and refreshing. Li Sangyue, having worked all morning, sat down to take a break.

It was peak cherry season. She and her small team had been busy helping the villagers sell their harvest by filming videos, hosting livestreams, and even hauling crates to the city on weekends to set up street stalls. She was run off her feet, losing a noticeable amount of weight in the process, but she did not care. Her mind was entirely focused on getting the village’s cherries sold before such beautiful fruit rotted in the fields.

She pulled a bag of soy-braised pork buns from her pack to share with her teammates. Taking a bite herself, she said with full cheeks, “Let’s wrap up early today. Taiyang has a parent-teacher meeting at school, so I need to go. I will edit the footage tonight and post it; it should bring us some traffic and make tomorrow’s sales in the city a bit easier.”

The team consisted of only three people, including herself. The one with the round face and chubby belly was her assistant, Tuanjie. The other, tall and thin, was Lin Yin, the team’s photographer. Lin Yin handled everything from filming to managing the livestream equipment. Both lived and ate at Li Sangyue’s house; when they were not busy with content, they helped out with the farm work.

To save time, they usually packed buns and drinks when heading up the mountain so they would not have to trek back home for lunch. While her family often thought about bringing them meals, Li Sangyue’s two grandmothers were elderly and the mountain paths were treacherous, so she insisted they stay home. Her mother was home, but she had her reasons for not calling on her.

Tuanjie, always talkative, asked through a mouthful of pork bun, “Hmm? Does your mother not usually go to those?”

Li Sangyue had a daughter in first grade, and the school held parent-teacher meetings every Friday. She unscrewed her water bottle and took a sip. “My mom beat up another parent last week. I do not dare let her go again.”

Tuanjie and Lin Yin’s eyes widened simultaneously. “Your mom got physical again?!” they exclaimed in unison.

Li Sangyue rubbed her brow, at a loss for words. That particular parent had allowed their child to bully Taiyang. Taiyang had not told her when she got home, but she had told her grandmother. Li Sangyue’s mother, a woman with a fierce protective streak and an explosive temper, had waited along the route to the school. In a spot with no surveillance cameras, she had intercepted the parent and broken their nose. The victim called the police, but since they had not seen the assailant’s face and no evidence was left behind, they had to suffer the loss in silence.

After hearing the brief explanation, Tuanjie and Lin Yin gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “Typical Auntie. She is always reliable.”

“She cannot stand seeing Taiyang get bullied at school,” Li Sangyue noted.

“You and Taiyang are her treasures,” Tuanjie added. “If anyone messes with either of you, she is going to settle the score.”

Li Sangyue smiled warmly. “She has always been protective. She was like that when I was a kid, too.”

Tuanjie gave her a playful shove. “Look at you, all smug. We know your mom protects you; the whole village knows!”

Li Sangyue poked Tuanjie’s stomach in retaliation. “Admit it, you are jealous.”

Tuanjie dodged, clutching her stomach. She was incredibly ticklish there. “Jealous? Please. I am calling my mom right now to be so sappy it will make you sick.”

“Go on then!” Li Sangyue laughed, playfully gesturing at her.

The two messed around under the tree for a while before settling down. The exertion had caused Li Sangyue to break a sweat again, and she tugged at her collar to fan herself. The skin beneath her collar, rarely exposed to the sun, was as white and tender as silken tofu. Flushed from the heat, it took on an unnaturally vivid, alluring hue.

Lin Yin noticed and reached out to stop her hand, tidying the collar for her. Sangyue’s heat was approaching. Li Sangyue felt it too; her body temperature had been high lately, making it hard to sleep at night. Overusing suppressants could lead to immunity, and she did not know how many more heats she could endure.

She stood up and brushed the leaves off her pants. “I am finished. I am going back to work.”

“Rest a bit longer!” Tuanjie shouted after her.

“The sooner we pick, the sooner we are done.”

Li Sangyue headed down the mountain just before 3:00 PM. She figured she had just enough time to shower and change before the meeting.

Her village, Yangtoubu, was a mountain settlement under Taining City in Eastern Province. It was one of the more populated villages in the area. Most young people lived and worked in the city, returning only for holidays, leaving the village primarily to the elderly and children. Families like hers, where the elderly, the young, and the middle generation all lived together, were a rarity.

Her house was the one with the blue-painted gate right off the village road. Usually, neighbors would stop by to chat with her grandmother, but today, several large motorcycles were parked outside. These clearly did not belong to any locals.

She parked her electric tricycle, lugged a crate of cherries from the back, and walked into the courtyard. “Grandma! I am back!” she called out.

The courtyard was modest. To the right were the kitchen and bathroom; to the left was a small shed for storage and the stairs leading to the roof. The main house consisted of a living room and three bedrooms. Her two grandmothers shared the large room, she and Taiyang took the second, and her mother had the smallest. Tuanjie and Lin Yin slept in the attic.

Her grandmother, Yang Hehua, who was entertaining guests in the living room, answered happily. She came out carrying a teapot, and seeing the heavy crate, she hurried to help.

Since her grandmother was in her seventies, Li Sangyue did not dare let her lift it. She stepped aside quickly. “It is not heavy, I have got it. Do not worry about it.” She peeked toward the living room. “Do we have guests? Who is it?”

The people sitting on the sofa were unfamiliar. They did not look like locals, nor were they relatives.

“Just some young people riding through. They asked to use the bathroom, so I invited them in for tea,” Grandma said, pulling Li Sangyue into a corner after she set the cherries down. She pulled a roll of cash from her pocket. “They gave me this. I said I did not want it, but they insisted.”

Li Sangyue wiped her hands on her clothes and counted the money. They were generous. It was a thousand yuan just for using the restroom. It was lucky they stopped here; had they gone a few dozen meters further to her grand-aunt’s house, they would have been fleeced like prize sheep. Her grandmother was too kind-hearted; she would not be able to sleep knowing she took that much for nothing.

Li Sangyue took the money, grabbed a small basin of cherries, and rinsed them under the tap. “Where are Grandma and Mom?” she asked, noticing the house felt empty.

“Someone caught a huge fish in the river this morning; they all went to see it.” Grandma headed into the kitchen to look for something.

The nearby river was full of wild fish, often attracting amateur anglers. Li Sangyue was used to it. She carried the cherries in, parting the beaded curtain of the living room. She glanced over the group, placed the basin and the money on the coffee table, and said with a friendly smile, “These are small cherries just picked from the mountain. They are quite sweet, so please try some. Also, we cannot take this money. Everyone needs a hand when they are traveling. A cup of tea and a place to wash up is no trouble at all. It would not be right to charge you. Please, take it back. Come visit us again if you have the chance.”

Her manner was warm and easygoing, the kind that immediately put people at ease.

Qin Nian’s gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes as memories of a feverish night surged back. The recollection flipped a switch, causing her to instinctively retract her cold, unapproachable Alpha aura. She uncrossed her legs and was the first to reach for a water-beaded cherry. The others followed suit.

Finding the taste pleasant, Qin Nian asked, “Did your family grow these?”

“The villagers did. I am just helping to sell them.” Li Sangyue had already turned to pull a large watermelon from the fridge.

She let her eyes linger on the woman who had spoken. All the visitors were remarkably good-looking, but this one was unforgettable. Her features were refined yet cold, and her temperament was reserved and steady. Yet, the motorcycle gloves and helmet beside her suggested a wild, cool streak. Li Sangyue was struck by how these two polar-opposite vibes existed in one person. Furthermore, the woman looked familiar, as if they had met somewhere, though she could not quite place it.

“It tastes good,” Qin Nian commented politely.

These small red-and-yellow cherries were sweet with a hint of tartness. Because they could not compete with the size or fame of imported cherries, they had gradually been pushed out of the market. However, with the recent economic downturn and consumers looking for more affordable local options, these small cherries were making a comeback.

The watermelon had been picked that morning. It was a thin-skinned, seedless variety from their own patch. It was crisp and sweet, perfect for a sweltering summer day. Several more large ones sat on the floor by the door; their fridge was too small to hold them all. Li Sangyue planned to take a few to her relatives in town when she left for the meeting.

Qin Nian watched as Li Sangyue bustled about, hosting them before she even had a chance to change. Her face was flushed red from the heat. Compared to that night, the little Omega had changed; her features had matured, but she was far too thin, and she clearly did not remember her.

Grandma came back in from the yard holding two warm eggs she had just gathered from the coop. She wanted to save them for Sangyue and Taiyang’s breakfast tomorrow.

Noticing that Li Sangyue seemed to be in a hurry to leave, Qin Nian decided it would be rude to stay longer. She stood up to leave.

“You are leaving already? Stay for dinner!” Grandma urged warmly, noting she had already started defrosting meat.

The group thanked her politely but declined. They did not take the money on the table; in fact, they added another thousand to the pile. By the time Li Sangyue grabbed the cash and ran outside to return it, they were gone. Only the distant roar of heavy engines echoed from the village entrance.

She stood at the gate for a moment before heading back inside. She was forced to keep the two thousand yuan.