Lu Ningshuang was so embarrassed she could have dug out a castle.
【Q: Miss Lu, care to explain?】
Lu Ningshuang hadn’t even considered this—Qin Yushu hadn’t set a note for her!
It wasn’t necessary anyway.
The contract had been proposed at noon and canceled that evening; in total, it hadn’t even lasted twelve hours. Up to today, her chat history with Qin Yushu consisted of just two messages—transferring money and receiving it.
It was clean as could be.
They hadn’t even chatted otherwise. The fact that she was still on Qin Yushu’s WeChat contact list, and her messages didn’t show a red exclamation mark, was already something to be grateful for.
No!
Today, she had approached Qin Yushu herself. Wasn’t this walking right into a trap, digging her own grave?
Lu Ningshuang: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
Facing Qin Yushu’s follow-up question, Lu Ningshuang racked her brain to recall—
That day, it had been deep into the night. She’d demanded a “rich second-generation” identity from her dear old dad, failed, and as an Alpha whose mind was muddled from losing both money and her lover’s side gig, she’d angrily changed her name to this in a fit of rage.
Her sugar baby side hustle had collapsed in an instant, so how could she have imagined that one day Qin Yushu would come back swinging?
Ah????
Embarrassing as it was, she still had to face reality.
Just as Lu Ningshuang mustered the energy she’d used during her college entrance exams to carefully craft her response, another message from Qin Yushu arrived.
【Q: I wonder what kind of person meets Miss Lu’s “rich woman” criteria in her name?】
This one was easy to answer.
Lu Ningshuang: 【Someone with a few hundred million or even billions in assets, I suppose.】
【Q: Miss Lu’s standards aren’t too high.】
Lu Ningshuang glanced at it and prepared to send another reply.
【Q: I must be worth several thousand of the “rich women” from Miss Lu’s mouth right now.】
【Q: I just don’t know if Miss Lu has any unique requirements regarding age?】
Lu Ningshuang deleted the words she’d just typed, and the message she sent became—
【…………】
Aaaah!
What did that mean? What was she getting at? She wanted to know so badly!
No, the other woman had a history of “playing” with her. She had to hold back; she couldn’t let her lead her on again. She’d already fallen for it once…
On the subway, Lu Ningshuang stood holding the handrail with one hand. She suppressed the excited scream bubbling in her heart and typed on her phone screen with the other.
【No age requirements.】
【The name doesn’t really mean anything special. It’s just like a lot of people online, playing a meme. It’s a new kind of metaphysics.】
【Hoping to accumulate more financial luck this way.】
Her phone vibrated twice more.
【Q: Oh.】
【Q: I remember when I first added Miss Lu, you weren’t called this yet?】
Lu Ningshuang feigned composure.
【Yeah.】
【Changed it recently.】
【Q: So, does Miss Lu regret it now, with this name?】
Time and air around her slowed to a crawl. She held her breath in anticipation until Qin Yushu’s next message arrived, startling her.
【Q: If you really regret it, now—】
When her gaze swept over the word “regret” in the middle, Lu Ningshuang’s heart skipped uncontrollably.
She read on.
Qin Yushu only had this one chat history with her. Flipping up, it was easy to see that in these sparse messages, the other woman always ended with proper punctuation.
Most people didn’t use punctuation in casual online chats, especially everyday talk.
This revealed Qin Yushu’s personality: self-disciplined, stubborn, perhaps with a touch of mild OCD.
But the last sentence ended with “now” without punctuation, meaning the sentence itself wasn’t finished.
So, what was Qin Yushu going to say in the latter half of that hypothetical? What did she intend to express?
Lu Ningshuang’s heart felt like it was suspended by a thin thread, dangling up and down, pounding wildly.
Climbing up was tempting, but the thread was so fragile. She might not even reach the top before it snapped under the weight, leaving her suspended in limbo, crashing to shatter into pieces with no hope of recovery.
Lu Ningshuang took a deep breath, calming herself a bit.
【No.】
She kept typing.
【The name is just a little wishful hope of mine, the end of a dream. It’s too far from reality; it doesn’t have to come true.】
【If President Qin doesn’t like it, I can change it back.】
After sending those two messages, nearly half a minute passed with no reply from Qin Yushu.
She had been replying almost instantly before.
Lu Ningshuang’s eyelashes drooped.
Clearly an Alpha, but her face was so delicately beautiful like a lotus, giving off a sense of grievance and pity.
Lu Ningshuang had already opened her profile page, ready to fiddle with it.
The status bar showed a new message from Q.
【Q: No need to change it.】
【Q: This is fine. You still need some material for tonight’s dreams, don’t you?】
Even though it was just text, without tone or expression, the Alpha could feel the Omega on the other end suddenly turn cold.
It was to be expected.
And perhaps it was that last sentence from Qin Yushu that swayed her, but Lu Ningshuang indeed didn’t mess with her nickname anymore. She just stared at that shameless name flaunting itself.
【I Want to Be Kept by a Rich Woman QAQ: Mm.】
She waited a bit longer, but no new message prompt came. Thinking the conversation was over, Lu Ningshuang prepared to put her phone away—
【Q: Wishing Miss Lu all your dreams come true.】
*
The two-day weekend flew by, and Lu Ningshuang returned to her wage slave routine.
Because last time she had “accidentally” spilled coffee on Cao Wenjun, even though she’d compensated for dry cleaning right away, he’d been giving her the cold shoulder ever since—nose upturned, eyes narrowed, nitpicking her deliberately.
Fortunately, Lu Ningshuang had always been well-liked. She handled it herself, and with colleagues’ help, Cao Wenjun gained nothing and only made himself more disliked.
Before he was even out of earshot, Wang Jie couldn’t hold back her complaint.
“Who knows what demon’s got into him lately. He’s like he swallowed gunpowder, snapping at everyone. As if he’s some big-shot Alpha and the rest of us are just punching bags? No way we’re indulging him.”
“What makes you think I know?” Tian Li, a Beta woman, poked her head out from the side.
“You tell me then.”
Tian Li winked mischievously. “A few days ago, after work, he was still hanging around the office. Everyone knows he’s the laziest in the company, always trying to dump his work on others. I thought he was putting on a show for the new boss to score a raise, but nope, you won’t believe it—his ambitions are huge!”
Yang Haoqi slid his chair over from the right. “Ooh, I left late yesterday and saw him wandering downstairs in that flashy new pink suit of his. You should’ve seen the look…”
Wang Jie covered her mouth in shock. “No way, he couldn’t be…”
The two exchanged knowing glances with her.
“Just what you’re thinking.”
“But don’t worry, President Qin wouldn’t even glance at him. Probably hasn’t even seen him yet. His little scheme failed, so of course he’s taking it out on us.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, that Cao Wenjun really dares to dream… Doesn’t even look in the mirror…”
The comments grew harsher. Lu Ningshuang coughed lightly, interrupting the impromptu gossip session.
“Forget it, Little Lu’s still here. The kid’s young; don’t say stuff that’ll corrupt her.” Wang Jie spoke first.
“No, no.”
“We’re just chatting. Speaking of, Little Lu, you’re too good-tempered. That Cao guy’s treating you like that, and you’re still helping him…”
“No.”
Lu Ningshuang flashed an obedient smile. She didn’t badmouth him behind his back, just said, “Brother Cao went to get water; he’ll probably be back soon.”
As if it was just a casual, kind reminder.
“Got it, got it.”
“Look at me, not scared of him, but we’re all in one office. Best to avoid direct clashes.”
“Lunch, lunch. Let’s order takeout first. Gotta work overtime tonight, who knows how late. At least pad our stomachs…”
“Little Lu, you read the winds so well!”
Lu Ningshuang smiled shyly.
The group returned to their workstations, discussing dinner options. Lu Ningshuang’s eyes drooped slightly.
Lowering her head, the light dimmed, and her hazel eyes no longer seemed so pure and warm.
Cao Wenjun targeting her wasn’t misplaced after all.
Her phone on the desk suddenly vibrated twice.
At first, she thought it was a colleague sharing a takeout group order link. Not hungry yet, Lu Ningshuang glanced at it leisurely.
She froze.
Two messages were folded.
The next one was indeed from the WeChat work group.
The one above.
【Q: Come over.】
No ending punctuation.
Lu Ningshuang didn’t hesitate. Ignoring the one below, she tapped straight into the private chat.
Qin Yushu hadn’t sent anything new; no “typing” indicator either.
Scrolling up, at 17:22, the other woman had sent a message.
A hotel location pin.
Lu Ningshuang: 【What’s wrong?】
【What happened?】
【What do I need to do when I get there?】
She fired off three messages in quick succession, but they sank without a ripple.
No response from the other end.
“Little Lu, which one are you picking?”
Lu Ningshuang grabbed her coat and shot to her feet—
