Why Did the Top Alpha Suddenly Stop Acting Out? - Chapter 42

The morning sun shone brightly, filtering through the floral-patterned curtains and scattering golden blossoms across the wooden floor, brightening the otherwise gray-toned room with its radiant glow.

In bed, Yi Qian rolled over and reached out to the empty space beside her. Finding no one there, she frowned and sat up, grabbing her phone from the nightstand to call Ye Shuyi.

The call connected before the first ring even finished.

A satisfied smile curled at Yi Qian’s lips, her voice still husky from sleep as she got straight to the point: “Where’d you go?”

Hearing her voice, Ye Shuyi’s lips quirked slightly as she teased, “Are your eyes even open yet?”

“They’re open just didn’t see someone suddenly disappear,” Yi Qian mumbled, sounding like a wronged little wife before repeating, “So where are you?”

Ye Shuyi exhaled silently as she stared at the tightly shut front door before her, forcing a light tone. “I left you a note on the dining table. I even mentioned it, bet you’re still lying in bed now, huh?”

Yi Qian was indeed still in bed or more accurately, sprawled across it, her head resting on her arm, eyelids drooping as if she might doze off any second.

But the teasing didn’t amuse her. Instead, her drowsy mind sharpened in an instant. Though the other woman might have tried to mask it, Yi Qian caught the faint hint of dejection in her voice.

A thought struck her. She scrambled out of bed, dashed to the dining table, and scanned the note before asking, “You’re there already?”

Ye Shuyi paused, dropping the act as her voice cooled to its usual detached tone. “At the doorstep.”

“Tsk… That fast? Just how early did you get up? Tsk… Guess I wasn’t up to par last night if you’re not even tired.” Yi Qian deliberately provoked her.

Silence. Then an icy reply: “Shut up. Can’t believe you’re spouting this nonsense first thing in the morning.”

Yi Qian chuckled. “That a blush I hear?”

Ye Shuyi’s pinky finger scratched at her earlobe, which was steadily turning red, but her voice remained frosty. “One more word, and I’m hanging up.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop.” Yi Qian’s smile faded as she sobered. “Want me to come over and keep you company?”

“No.” The refusal was immediate.

They’d been together for three years. Though their parents knew of each other’s existence, neither had met the other’s family. After graduation, Yi Qian had repeatedly tried to take her home to meet her parents or visit Ye Shuyi’s family, but she’d always found excuses to refuse.

If that was the case before, now with their relationship still undefined there was no way she’d let her come over.

It was just the usual pre-visit nerves. She’d get over it soon.

After a long pause, Yi Qian tentatively asked, “You coming back today? I’ll wait for you at home.”

“I’ll probably stay here overnight. You should head back after breakfast.” Ye Shuyi hesitated. “I’ll hang up now. Going inside.”

Without waiting for a response, she ended the call.

She reached out and pressed the doorbell. A voice inside quickly responded, “Coming!” Moments later, the door opened, accompanied by a woman’s excited voice: “My dear son, did you forget to take your—”

Upon seeing the visitor, the woman’s voice abruptly stopped, and her smile froze on her face.

Ye Shuyi looked at the woman before her. Time had left faint traces at the corners of her eyes, and streaks of gray were faintly visible in her thick black hair. In the past, Ye Shuyi only returned home during holidays. This year, due to an exceptionally busy workload, she hadn’t come back for any of the major or minor holidays, merely exchanging a few words over the phone. It had been a full year since they last saw each other.

After a year apart, the woman before her seemed noticeably older than she remembered.

Just as she was about to speak, an impatient voice came from behind the woman: “Mom, what are you shouting about? You woke me up. I haven’t even left yet.”

Ye Shuyi tilted her head to look inside. A young man stood there in slippers, his pajamas hanging loosely on him, his dyed red hair a tangled mess as he rubbed his head with an annoyed expression.

Every time she saw him, he looked different.

The woman turned to glance at him and coaxed, “It’s nothing, nothing. You can go back to sleep if you want. I’ll go buy groceries myself later.”

Turning back to Ye Shuyi, the woman explained, “Last night, when he heard you were coming back, your little brother insisted on going out to buy your favorite dishes.”

Oh? Really?

Ye Shuyi raised an eyebrow at him.

The young man merely gave her a sidelong glance, yawned, and headed back to his room. “Then I’ll go back to sleep. Wake me up when it’s time to eat.”

“Go ahead, I’ll call you when it’s ready,” the woman replied.

After placating her son, the woman turned back, her smile faint, as if suddenly recalling the awkwardness from when she first opened the door. She explained, “You’re back so early. I thought you wouldn’t arrive until noon. Why didn’t you call me first?”

As she spoke, she stepped aside to let Ye Shuyi in.

“I thought it was still early, so I just sent you a message,” Ye Shuyi said as she walked in.

“I usually don’t check my messages. Next time, remember to call directly,” the woman emphasized.

“Mm,” Ye Shuyi responded flatly. She placed the things she had brought on the table, then took her bag to her room, intending to put it away before coming back out to help.

The woman had been tidying up but, seeing her head toward the room, called out, “Ah, ah!” in an attempt to stop her. But it was already too late, Ye Shuyi had opened the door.

Her figure stiffened slightly in the doorway.

The room before her was no longer what it used to be. It had been converted into a gaming setup, with three of the latest computers on the desk. If Ye Shuyi wasn’t mistaken no, she definitely wasn’t one of them was the exclusive limited-edition model endorsed by Yi Qian, priced at no less than seven figures.

Behind the computer desk stood two bookshelves, but instead of books, they were filled with an array of figurines, dazzling to the eye.

Ye Shuyi’s grip on the doorknob tightened, her lips curling into a cold, mocking smile.

How ironic. When she had bought this house for them, she had specifically chosen a five-bedroom, one-living-room layout with a kitchen and bathroom to avoid exactly this situation. Yet, it seemed there was still no place for her here.

Perhaps from the day her parents divorced, she had already lost what could be called a home.

“I forgot to mention this earlier. Mom thought since you only come home once or twice a year, and even then you often don’t stay overnight, your room was just sitting empty. Your younger brother kept saying how much he wanted a gaming room, all his classmates have one. I couldn’t bear to say no, so we converted this room. Shushu, you won’t blame Mom, will you?”

Mom?

Come to think of it, she only ever called herself “Mom” when asking for money or after doing something that made her feel guilty.

Her brother wanted a gaming room so badly.

She wanted to ask when she was little, their family wasn’t poor, so why was she called selfish and wasteful for repeatedly asking for a pink fox plush toy?

Even now, grown up, she still hadn’t spent that money.

She wanted to ask, why during high school, when she earned so much scholarship money, was she only given an always insufficient allowance? Why was she told to take part-time jobs if she needed more, that it would “help her adapt to society early”?

Mom?

She wanted to ask, how could someone who called herself “Mom” have never acted like one? Living together yet like strangers sharing a house, never showing her the slightest care.

She’d always thought she was the reason her parents divorced, that this was why her mother’s attitude changed afterward. She’d carried that guilt, never daring to ask for anything.

But later, hadn’t her mother explicitly told her the divorce wasn’t her fault?

All these pent-up emotions seemed to erupt at once. Ye Shuyi desperately wanted to scream these questions at the woman behind her , why? After all these years, why?

But even if she asked, nothing would change, would it?

Though the bond between mother and daughter had long been fragile, if others didn’t care about her feelings, she at least had to maintain her own dignity.

Ye Shuyi took a silent deep breath, her hand on the doorknob tightening and loosening repeatedly. Only when she felt composed did she slowly turn around, forcing a casual smile: “It’s fine. Of course the people living here should take priority.”

Seeing her relaxed expression, the woman quietly exhaled in relief. “Will you be staying overnight? If so, I’ll have Uncle Lan sleep on the couch tonight so we can share the bed.”

Ye Shuyi’s lips curved into a faint smile. “No need. I have important work tomorrow, I’ll leave after lunch.”

“Alright, then rest here for now. Uncle Lan went for a walk, I’ll call him to pick up some groceries.” The woman turned to leave.

“Oh,” Ye Shuyi paused, suddenly remembering something. “What happened to all the things in my old room?”

The woman stiffened slightly, offering an awkward smile. “I thought since you’d left them here, you probably didn’t want them anymore, so I donated everything. Consider it accumulating some goodwill for our family. There wasn’t anything valuable in there, was there?”

Valuable?

Every single item had been important.

Yet they’d been thrown away deemed worthless, just like their owner.

Ye Shuyi shook her head with a strained smile. “It’s fine. No big deal if they’re gone.”

“I’ll go make that call then.” With that, the woman disappeared into her room.

Ye Shuyi sat in the living room for a while before getting up to use the bathroom. As she passed by the slightly ajar bedroom door on her way back, she heard her name mentioned and instinctively paused.

“Ye Shuyi… Yes, she’s back. Came back so early without even notifying us. Had I known it was her, I would’ve pretended to still be sleeping rather than opening the door this early. I thought it was our precious son.”

“The room situation? She knows. So what if she knows? Even though she bought this apartment for me, it’s mine now. I can do whatever I want with it. Opening the door for her is already being generous.”

“Oh, when you go grocery shopping, buy more mushrooms and fungi. She’s allergic to those. I’ll make sure to add plenty when cooking. She can eat it or not who cares? Serves her right for coming back unannounced and ruining our good mood. She even made me wake up our son, who then scolded me. So unfair.”

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as her breathing grew uncontrollably rapid. Her eyes reddened instantly. Tilting her head back, Ye Shuyi took a deep breath with all her might to steady her emotions, but a single tear still escaped when she closed her eyes.

She’d always known she wasn’t welcome in this household, but she never imagined they’d come to despise her to this extent. Others might be one thing, but even her own mother…

Wiping away the tear, she slowly exhaled the suffocating weight in her chest. As she lowered her gaze, she accidentally locked eyes with a young man standing nearby, whose face was full of disdain. Noticing her look, he snorted coldly, rolled his eyes, and headed to the bathroom.

Returning to the living room, Ye Shuyi waited until the woman finally finished her call and emerged from the bedroom. Picking up her bag, she stood and said with deliberate calmness, “The company just called there’s an emergency I need to handle. I won’t be staying for dinner.”

A flash of joy crossed the woman’s face before being quickly masked with feigned reluctance. “So urgent? Uncle Lan will be home soon. I can cook early so you can eat quickly before leaving.”

“No need. I probably wouldn’t be able to eat anyway.” As she moved toward the door, she paused mid-step as if remembering something. Turning back, her voice was eerily calm, like stagnant water undisturbed by ripples. “I’ve always wondered, why did you fight for custody in court back then? Didn’t you ever consider me a burden?”

The woman hesitated briefly before arranging a smile. “How could my brilliant daughter be a burden? I took you from your good-for-nothing father firstly for your future, and secondly because… a mother loves her child.”

Yes the child who consistently scored perfect marks and ranked first in the entire school. How could she not be brilliant.

Ye Shuyi lifted her gaze coolly, a faint, mocking smile curling her lips. “Then I suppose I haven’t disappointed you, growing up like this.”

“Of course not. You’re my greatest pride,” the woman beamed.

A capable ATM to buy you houses and cars, what’s not to be proud of?

Ye Shuyi looked directly into her eyes, her words carrying an ambiguous meaning: “Is that so? I hope I won’t disappoint you in the future either.”

As the door closed behind her, the woman stood frozen in place, unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words.

“She was standing outside your door earlier, she must have heard your phone conversation.”

A sudden voice from behind startled the woman. She turned quickly to see her son standing there. Walking over, she patted his shoulder and scolded, “Why do you have to walk so quietly? You scared me!”

Ignoring her complaints, the young man stared coldly at the door and speculated, “So… does this mean she might stop giving us living expenses from now on?”

“Impossible! Even if she heard something, what can she do? She came from my womb that bond can never be broken. Besides, if I hadn’t raised her when she was little, how could she have grown up like this?” The woman showed no hint of remorse. “If she dares to stop, I’ll make her regret it.”

The young man shook his head, pinching his chin. “Not necessarily. Just a few days ago, I asked her for a few thousand, and she refused.”

Hearing this, the woman slapped his shoulder again. “Why would you ask her for money? Isn’t that embarrassing? If you need something, just come to me, when have I ever refused you?”

The young man scratched his head awkwardly. “Well,  I just asked you for hundreds of thousands a few days ago. I was afraid you’d think I spend too fast.”

“How could I ever think that? You’re a college student this is the age when you should be spending! Have I ever scolded you for it? Next time, just come straight to me. Don’t stoop to begging from her.” She paused, then added, “Honestly, your sister is so stingy refusing a few thousand? I’ll demand the money from her right now and give it to you.”

With that, the woman returned to her room, grabbed her phone, and sent Ye Shuyi a message.

In the car, Ye Shuyi glanced at the notification popping up on her phone mounted on the dashboard but ignored it, keeping her focus on the road.

As expected, within minutes, another message arrived. This time, she didn’t even look, her eyes fixed ahead as she drove.

She meandered aimlessly through the streets, turning wherever the road led, like a lost soul that had stumbled into the mortal world with no place to belong.

Messages continued to bombard her phone throughout the drive, but this time, she chose to ignore them completely.

She had no idea how long she had been drifting through the streets of Xingcheng when she finally snapped back to reality, the sky had darkened completely.

The once-bright sunlight had been replaced by a desolate moonlight, while neon lights flickered along the streets, bustling with people and traffic.

Ye Shuyi slowly pulled over, resting her forehead against the steering wheel, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, in an upscale villa in a gated community, Yi Qian popped a grape into her mouth, her gaze fixed on the movie playing on the TV. Suddenly, as if sensing something, she turned her head toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

It was snowing.

The weather truly was as unpredictable as a certain someonebright and sunny this morning, now silently blanketed in snow without warning.

She picked up her phone and checked not a single returned call.

So fickle.

Yi Qian watched the snowflakes drift down outside, tossing another grape into her mouth.

Just as she was about to look away, a familiar car came into view.

Ye Shuyi’s… car?

Unable to believe her eyes, she rubbed them, doubting what she saw.

She wasn’t mistaken. Beyond the fence entwined with withered vines, under the faint yellow glow of the streetlight, there indeed sat a white car parked steadily.

The same car Ye Shuyi had once lent her to drive home.

Yi Qian quickly set down the plate of grapes on the table and stood up without hesitation, ready to stride toward the door. But her foot hovered mid-step as a thought struck her. She withdrew her foot, sat back down on the sofa, picked up the plate of grapes again, and decided she would go out only when the doorbell rang.

Yet after waiting a while, the doorbell remained silent. Glancing through the floor-to-ceiling window, she saw the white car’s headlights flick on as the vehicle slowly started moving, apparently preparing to turn around and leave.

Tossing the remote control aside haphazardly, it landed in the corner of the sofa, its batteries rolling out, Yi Qian sprang up and dashed toward the front door.

Support