Lu Ningshuang quickly accepted her new nickname.
She even felt a bit pleased about it.
It wasn’t until they retrieved the shawls they had taken off upon entering the venue and returned to the Rolls-Royce they had arrived in that Lu Ningshuang suddenly remembered—
Eh?
The essential banquet plot that Housekeeper Nangong had mentioned—the one where the domineering CEO helps his delicate little wife (even a wealthy family son-in-law Alpha could be delicate… right?) deliver a satisfying face-slap—seemed to have never happened in the end?
She had handled the face-slapping part herself and directly cut off President Qin’s big scene at the end!
This was stealing the show!
She had come specifically to act as a shield for Qin Yushu against the Huo Family’s forced marriage, but in the confrontation with Old Master Huo earlier, Qin Yushu had rolled up her sleeves and handled it herself. Lu Ningshuang had merely been a pretty decorative flourish on the side?
Even though she had thrown in a couple of pointed jabs at the old man toward the end, the overall development had nothing to do with her?
Although two unexpected Qin Family members—Third Uncle and Third Aunt—had shown up later, right on cue.
When dealing with them, she had unleashed a full set of “vulgar” tea-talk that the elegant President Qin would never say, sparking infighting among them and dominating the battlefield.
Th-this had to count as showing up for work today, right? It should be logged as billable hours and performance metrics, right?
After all, extreme villainous relatives were a crucial element in domineering CEO novels!!
So, for the two main quests—
One: She couldn’t hold back and forgot about it midway, failing outright. The face-slap cannon fodder was used up in one go, with no retry option afterward. Hilarious, total failure;
The other: By some stroke of luck, she followed the NPC President Qin, who was so capable that she completed it before Lu Ningshuang even got the chance;
Aside from those two majors, she had incidentally picked up a side quest in between and aced it.
So!
How exactly should her end-of-level settlement rewards be calculated now? And how would they be distributed?
So nerve-wracking!!!
Lu Youyou fell deep into thought.
Lu Youyou fidgeted restlessly.
Ever since the Alpha got into the car, all these shifting expressions had been fully observed by Qin Yushu.
For the ever-busy President Qin, attending such a banquet involved inevitable scheming and plotting, but compared to the cutthroat back-and-forth and hidden blades in the business world, it already counted as a rare chance to relax.
And part of that relaxation came from the freshly minted “Lu Youyou” miss sitting right beside her.
Watching her antics, Qin Yushu could roughly guess that the other woman’s thought process had probably already soared beyond the heavens!
She found it quite amusing and even savored the show a bit longer without rushing to speak.
It wasn’t until the Alpha’s expression froze on nervous anticipation, lingering there without changing for a while, that Qin Yushu finally spoke.
“Seeing how all your old classmates came to find you earlier, it seems Miss Lu’s social circle from back then was quite extensive?”
!
Lu Ningshuang immediately went on high alert!
She had just accepted the new nickname Qin Yushu gave her and thought the topic had moved past it, but unexpectedly, it was being brought up again?!
Besides, she hadn’t given herself the name “Youyou” just because she disliked the formality.
Youyou.
In Lu Ningshuang—this name that showcased her parents’ love—strictly speaking, only the final “Shuang” truly belonged to her.
Calling her “Little Shuang” fit the positioning of elders and family in daily life;
Calling her “Shuangshuang” felt overly mushy;
“Shuangning” was the safest for friends and such, but alas, Lu Ningshuang’s name carried profound meaning. Dropping the “Lu” and just calling “Ningshuang” always gave off the vibe that her mom, Lady Ning, had kicked out Old Lu and raised her daughter single-handedly in carefree independence.
Awkward.
So, calling “Youyou” at times like this was just perfect.
It split her last character into “Youyou” for “Shuang”—intimate yet not overly saccharine.
And it was a term of endearment unique to Qin Yushu.
But! Why!
Why wasn’t she calling it now? Back to “Miss Lu”?
She had come up with the name specifically to use it! So what was the point of giving her this special nickname if it wasn’t going to be used?
Countless doubts swirled in Lu Ningshuang’s heart, tinged with a bit of reluctance.
But she was too chicken to bring it up and had to explain her high school choice instead.
Lu Ningshuang: “I went to Lan Nuo Middle School for high school.”
Qin Yushu: “That school’s tuition seems pretty expensive?”
“Right!”
Lu Ningshuang said, “But I didn’t pay a dime—in fact, the school paid to have me attend, hahah!”
Seeing Little Dog laughing so smugly and wildly, still looking triumphant.
Qin Yushu shot her another look, and Lu Ningshuang immediately stopped laughing, straightening up to explain properly.
“It was during the junior-to-senior high transition. I got lucky with good middle school exam scores, and they recruited me to boost their enrollment rates. Our family was poor back then… well, maybe not that poor, but anyway, all three of us wanted that school choice fee, no need to even discuss it—we just went for it!”
Qin Yushu had personally reviewed Lu Ningshuang’s background files on her desk.
She wouldn’t say she had them memorized, but she knew them inside out.
Still, hearing Lu Youyou recount it herself now, analyzing her mindset from back then, added a unique flavor.
Qin Yushu continued: “It seems Miss Lu adapted quite well to school life…”
“It was okay.”
Lu Ningshuang thought for a moment. “There was some trouble at first, but I handled it. Afterward, we just got along like normal classmates.”
The idea that a kid from an ordinary family would face bullying at such a high school… Lu Ningshuang had never experienced any of that!
With her own abilities, her cousin’s cover and gang backing her up, plus her parents’ epic tantrums in the principal’s office when she was little—like a heavenly uproar.
Even though Lu Ningshuang had a face that looked easy to bully, she had truly never been genuinely bullied from childhood to now.
The one-night stand where President Qin pretended to be fragile didn’t count, right?
After all, she had enjoyed the process.
“Youyou seems quite popular?” Qin Yushu tossed out another question. “That Alpha even came over to find you—”
While Lu Ningshuang was eating to fill her stomach, one after another treated her like a wild mob to farm, and Qin Yushu had seen it all.
First was Little Dog’s cousin.
Qin Yushu had investigated Lu Ningshuang’s background beforehand and knew a fair bit about her blood relatives.
Favored by both old masters, this President Qi’s identity had never been hidden.
Two years older than her, of substantial worth, he appeared mild-mannered but that was merely a veneer of civility—he was truly a great white shark that devoured tigers and wolves.
Though she had never clashed with him directly, being in the same circle, she had heard things.
It wasn’t entirely a facade; at least privately, he was genuinely gentle and soft toward his two cousins on his mother’s side, like a male mom.
A complete sis-con, maxed out.
But he seemed bound by some restriction—perhaps the Lu Family’s “poor but proud” mentality, not wanting this generation’s kids to go astray—so he had never fully publicized Qi Jingming’s identity.
This left the sis-con seething; every gift he sent his two sisters was extremely limited, making up for it with frequency instead.
Combined with the Fu Lu Shou Jade Pendant that the Lu parents had recently given her—which she was still wearing now—
It always made Qin Yushu feel like the Lu couple was plotting something big.
At the very least, they definitely weren’t as poor as Little Dog imagined.
The kid had been hoodwinked since childhood—not easy—but if they hadn’t, she might not have been so easy to trick back then.
Good and bad mixed.
From now on, she could indulge “Lu Youyou” a bit more.
Qi Jingming came and left quickly.
Their sibling relationship was excellent, so there was no need for Qin Yushu to intervene, and besides, it wasn’t the right moment for a chat.
Then came that seemingly arrogant young Alpha heir.
In the time Qin Yushu had turned away, their conversation had already wrapped up, with Little Dog even kicking the guy.
Tsk.
Little Dog looked pretty fierce when baring her teeth, then played the obedient pitiful bunny afterward—no one could tell that bite mark was actually from her.
Not to mention that Lu Ningshuang had already gotten revenge on the spot—with Qin Yushu’s current status, she absolutely wouldn’t stoop to dealing with a idle rich second-gen Alpha personally.
That would be too demeaning!
At most, shoo him away on the spot and later have a “nice chat” with his parents—after all, if the child isn’t taught properly, it’s the father’s fault~
This was probably the “it’s getting chilly, the money bag’s about to break” that Housekeeper Nangong mentioned?
Now, with the Alpha confession brought up again, Lu Ningshuang tensed: “President Qin, take a look at my face?”
Qin Yushu: “…”
Qin Yushu simply watched silently as Lu Ningshuang shoved her head forward, like a puppy begging for pets.
For better rest tonight, the rear seats had no lights on. It was past eight now since leaving the banquet, and April’s night sky was fully dark.
As the car drove, passing streetlights and the starry sky cast faint glimmers—
The Alpha’s face was exceedingly beautiful.
Delicate and soft, her skin finely smooth and snow-white, not even a hint of open pores.
Her long, satin-black hair clung to her cheeks and neck, accentuating her pure and charming features. Her almond eyes were clear and moist, the flawless glass-amber hue perfectly reflecting the figure before her.
Clean, pure, harmless.
A 22-year-old college girl, untouched by society’s grind, her cheeks still bearing traces of collagen.
Not chubby-cute, but it made the Alpha seem extraordinarily… innocent.
An Alpha like this—even knowing her gender—would naturally attract others wanting a romance of love or desire, right?
Want to pinch, want to squeeze.
Qin Yushu’s heart stirred, and her slender fingers unceremoniously reached out to cover it.
Thus, in the Omega’s deep, abyss-like eyes, the other’s image was correspondingly reflected.
Then.
Under Lu Ningshuang’s shocked gaze, Qin Yushu pinched the Alpha’s collagen-rich cheek again, giving it a light squeeze.
President Qin then withdrew her hand, composure restored, and said, “Miss Lu, speak properly. Seduction won’t work on me.”
Not entirely ineffective.
At least for now, it was still within her ability to resist.
Lu Ningshuang was stunned!
She had never intended to use seduction on Qin Yushu—that was President Qin’s go-to move on her!
No!
Anyway, it couldn’t be said that President Qin had misunderstood the heartthrob Alpha Lu Youyou—no difference from the boss picking up food for her and her spinning the table away?
She could only silently accept this “smear” and hurriedly explain.
“Because of this face, during high school, I always thought I’d differentiate into an Omega—and deep down, I hoped for it.”
Qin Yushu, utterly relaxed: “Hm?”
Lu Ningshuang: “Then, things turned out just like you see now—the result was a bit unexpected.”
Qin Yushu: “Hm.”
If Lu Ningshuang had been an Omega, she probably wouldn’t have targeted her from the start.
Definitely!
“Aiya—”
Lu Ningshuang continued, “Anyway, no matter the outcome, that middle process still happened. Our family had no money, unlike theirs, and to avoid unnecessary conflicts or accidents, throughout high school, I was pretty… mmph mmph.”
“What?”
Lu Ningshuang’s last two words were too mumbled; Qin Yushu couldn’t make them out.
Lu Ningshuang glanced at the beauty, moved her lips, and continued.
“Mmph mmph.”
“Say it again.”
