Chapter 43: Part 2

Lu Ningshuang pictured Qin Yushu in her mind and listed her criteria one by one: “Someone pretty.”

Tian Li exclaimed, “Whoa! You’re a looks person, huh? Makes sense—you’re pretty yourself. Gotta match!”

“A bit older, not too much older—just a little older than me.”

Yang Haoqi marveled, “Wow! An older one! Older ones know how to take care of people. Not bad.”

“Best if they have their own career, so I don’t have to worry.”

Putting those three conditions together…

Wang Jie was the first to catch on. “Little Lu, are you trying to… eat soft rice?”

Lu·Who Had Already Secured Her Iron Rice Bowl of Soft Rice·Ningshuang blinked innocently and asked, “Is that not allowed?”

Tian Li: “……”

Yang Haoqi: “……”

Wang Jie: “……”

The three fell silent in unison!

They never imagined that young Little Lu already harbored such a “grand” ambition of “not wanting to work hard”!

Recalling when Lu Ningshuang had first joined the company… It must have been that morally crooked Cao Wenjun who led the innocent Little Lu astray!

And then there was that Alpha’s face in front of them—more delicate and pure than an Omega’s pretty features.

She just wanted to eat some soft rice. What was wrong with that!

“It’s fine.”

“It’s fine, totally fine!!”

Tian Li even patted her chest in assurance. “Just wait. If my parents try to set me up again and the other side turns out to be an Omega, I’ll contact you right away.”

Lu·Who Already Had an O·Ningshuang smiled sweetly. “Thanks, Lily Sis.”

She still couldn’t reveal that she was President Qin’s secret marriage partner. So, for the rest…

Lu Ningshuang said tactfully, “I still hope to find one myself—someone where we click, you know? Go with the flow.”

Her rich woman fate had already arrived.

Yang Haoqi thought: …Looks like Little Lu’s heart isn’t fully set on eating soft rice.

Wang Jie, however, was quite pleased.

In today’s society, even though everyone preached equality among Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, an Alpha wanting to eat an Omega’s soft rice still didn’t sound great—it would earn disdain from most people.

Since none of the three objected to Lu Ningshuang’s mindset, they naturally kept it quiet.

When Yang Haoqi got up to pour some water, he glanced at the back of Lu Ningshuang’s neck. “Hey, what’s that cut on your neck?”

Lu Ningshuang casually tilted her neck, showing no panic at all. In her mind, she thought:

Last night, when Qin Yushu was messing around with her, she hadn’t bitten her gland to mark her again—Omegas couldn’t mark Alphas anyway; it was just psychological, or rather… a bit of fun.

So the cut Tian Li mentioned was probably just a scratch from a fingernail.

Most of last night’s emotions had been drowned in heat and passion; she hadn’t felt it much.

With that in mind, Lu Ningshuang brushed it off lightly. “Probably scratched by a cat.”

“A cat?!”

Tian Li’s eyes lit up from across the way, and she jumped into the conversation forcefully. “You got a cat?”

Lu Ningshuang nodded. “Just recently.”

A slender, soft-furred cat with beautiful eyes—arrogant, noble, moody and hard to please, but surprisingly easy to coax at times. An adorable kitty.

Tian Li suddenly wore a fangirl expression and giggled, “Got pics? Lemme see.”

Lu Ningshuang: “……”

She definitely couldn’t show them pics— you’d all drop dead from shock!

So, she replied, “Haven’t taken any yet. Just brought it home.”

Or rather, she had just been brought home by the domineering kitty named “President Qin.”

“Oh, I see…”

Tian Li looked a bit disappointed at missing out on fresh kitty pics, but she quickly perked up. Bonding over cats, she started sharing the cat photos stored on her phone with Lu Ningshuang.

Lu Ningshuang looked through them one by one, praising appropriately here and there. Tian Li was thrilled with the response and, as a veteran cat owner, shared all sorts of beginner cat care pitfalls.

Lu Ningshuang could only lament inwardly:

Can’t lie casually.

One lie requires a million more to cover it! Can’t keep up, just can’t!

Tian Li was super enthusiastic. “I’ve got all brands of cat food and treats at home. Want your kitty to try them and see which one it likes? Oh, and some old cat beds and scratching posts too—if you don’t mind…”

“No need!!!”

Lu Ningshuang quickly stopped her. “Everything’s prepared at home. It… she doesn’t like me smelling like other cats.”

An indecent son-in-law Alpha from a wealthy family would probably get hung on the city walls for three days and nights by her contractual employer, dried into salted fish, right?

Tian Li gave her an “I get it” look.

Lu Ningshuang: “……”

Heart so tired QAQ.

That afternoon, she endured Tian Li’s occasional cat knowledge mini-lessons. Lu Ningshuang was mentally drained and had no time to dwell on lunchtime matters.

Finally, it was time to clock out!

Lu Ningshuang pulled out her phone and saw Qin Yushu’s reply to her lunchtime message.

It was from just past three in the afternoon.

Q: [What are you thinking about again?]

After spending time together, Lu Ningshuang’s understanding of Qin Yushu had deepened—not just a vague template of a character anymore. And Qin Yushu felt the same about her.

She could probably add a few words to that message—”silly nonsense.”

Lu Ningshuang felt a bit embarrassed. Her lunchtime text had been pure gossip-fueled impulse; now it seemed awkward. Qin Yushu not replying would have been perfect.

Lu Ningshuang opened the keyboard and changed the subject: [I won’t be back for dinner tonight!]

She might not have even noticed using the word “back.”

Q: [?]

Qin Yushu was actually online this time!

Lu Ningshuang hurriedly reported to her wife.

[It’s my cousin—you met him last night. We scheduled to meet tonight.]

[It was planned before, not me making excuses on a whim…]

Q: [So you want me to go with you…]

Q: [To meet your family?]

Lu Ningshuang: Huh?

She was just informing Qin Yushu of her plans. When did a mere son-in-law Alpha dare make demands of her sugar mommy O?

Lu Ningshuang immediately clarified: [No—]

Strictly speaking, Qin Yushu had only taken her to one banquet so far, and that had been necessary and useful.

She hadn’t even met Qin Yushu’s family yet…

Well, Qin Yushu’s parents had passed early, and Old Master Qin, who raised her, had gone a few years ago. The remaining relatives were all headaches.

Better not to meet them!

At most, maybe meet President Qin’s friends. But according to Housekeeper Nangong’s First Law of CEO Novels:

A domineering CEO’s friends usually looked down on ordinary folks like her. And among those friends, there might be one who admired Qin Yushu. If that crowd tried to pair them up and she suddenly appeared…

The plot was getting too wild just thinking about it!

Stepping back ten thousand steps:

Qin Yushu hadn’t even met Lu Ningshuang’s parents yet—how could it be Qi Jingming’s turn, a same-generation cousin by marriage?

However, Qin Yushu interrupted her explanation first.

Q: [I haven’t restricted Miss Lu’s freedom.]

Lu Ningshuang was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a voice message followed, then another.

She checked her surroundings, confirmed no one was nearby, and that the mic was on speaker mode. Only then did she hold the phone to her ear and play them.

Qin Yushu’s voice was clear and unhurried.

“So if Miss Lu wants to go somewhere, do something, or skip a meal, just let them know in advance. You don’t need to report every little detail to me.”

“…That would exhaust me.”

“Youyou only needs to be by my side when I need her. That’s enough.”

This was rare for their long-distance chats—a long, proactive message from Qin Yushu.

How to describe it?

It first gave Lu Ningshuang space for independent life—respectful and polite.

But it was perhaps too free, revealing a hint of indifference.

Especially that word “need.”

It stripped bare the essence of their relationship. From start to finish, it had all boiled down to “mutual benefit.”

Lu Ningshuang paused after listening, then held down the voice key to reply.

“Got it~”

Little Dog’s voice was still clean, lively, and free of any gloom.

She had been specially selected by Qin Yushu as a “tool” from the beginning—she knew that. So why dwell on the origins now that things had progressed?

Anyway, she was President Qin’s Alpha now.

Without her big-hearted personality, she really couldn’t do this job!!

They had coincidentally run into each other at the banquet last night, advancing the timing. Lu Ningshuang had said she wanted to talk alone, but then left early with Qin Yushu and forgot all about it until bedtime.

She suddenly remembered in the middle of work this morning.

She had forgotten her cousin!

The meeting spot was a reasonably priced restaurant with good reviews, chosen by Qi Jingming.

Lu Ningshuang had no illusions about her now-successful cousin sharing the wealth—no bringing the whole family along. After all, even as a son-in-law Alpha, she couldn’t… bring her whole family to prosperity.

Sigh, everyone had it tough. Everything as usual.

They met up, and Lu Ningshuang first apologized for last night.

“No problem,” Qi Jingming said. “I’m used to it.”

Not used to his cousin ditching him, but to his parents—specifically his love-struck dad, who even after marriage stuck to Mom like glue, all lovey-dovey.

Even on family outings, the couple would wander off mid-way, leaving young Qi Jingming behind.

Qi Jingming’s current temperament and composure had been “trained” by that unreliable, romance-obsessed dad.

Young Master Qi deserved all the credit!

The two were close and knew the family situation well, so Lu Ningshuang didn’t take it as sarcasm.

Qi Jingming arrived first and ordered according to Lu Ningshuang’s usual preferences. As the dishes came out, he had the server place her favorites in front of her, with the lesser ones on his side.

As they ate, he said, “I’ve already sent people to investigate the matter you mentioned last night.”

Lu Ningshuang’s chopsticks froze mid-air.

He hadn’t said a word about the System or Huo Yunyi yet? How did Cousin Qi know?

The banquet last night?

She didn’t think she’d mentioned it!!

Could hearing the System be an ancestral trait of the Old Lu Family? Does everyone have it? Huo Yunyi and Qi Jingming were both there yesterday, so maybe Cousin heard it too??

Oh no.

This threw Lu Ningshuang’s plans into disarray.

She hadn’t intended to tell Qi Jingming everything.

It wasn’t distrust. Compared to her recent new wife Qin Yushu, with all their tangled benefits, it was hard to sort good from bad, right from wrong. She didn’t dare say it, couldn’t say it.

She did indeed share over twenty years of growing up together with Qi Jingming, and as family, she could naturally entrust her back to him completely without fear of betrayal.

But precisely because of that… she couldn’t tell him everything.

It was for different reasons.

Because Lu Ningshuang knew that if she spoke up, no matter how bizarre it sounded, Qi Facai would believe her and help her carry it out, handling everything to perfection.

But this matter had nothing to do with Qi Jingming. Her opponent—setting aside that trash transmigrator—was the System, the true mastermind behind the scenes that coveted Fortune.

The System possessed too many and too powerful special abilities, along with upgrade functions. From the fragments she’d heard so far, how far was she from grasping its full picture? Did the System hold even more terrifying weapons in its grasp?

Lu Ningshuang knew none of it, so she couldn’t drag an unrelated person into this whirlpool.

As these thoughts swirled in her mind, her response came out slow and drawn-out. “You… already know?”

“Mm.” Qi Jingming’s expression and voice were both gravely heavy.

Lu Ningshuang: !!!

Once Qi Facai showed this expression, things were… in trouble!!

Should she try to fix it while there was still time?

“Then—”

Qi Jingming interrupted, “I don’t know how you ended up like this, but since it’s what you want, I’ve already sent people to Yunnan to find the Lover Gu. It’ll be delivered to you the moment it’s obtained.”

“I’m not sure if it’ll actually work—it’s all legend—but it might have a chance of making the other party devoted to you heart and soul.”

Qi Jingming sighed inwardly.

This was all he could do for his little sisters.

Qi Jingming added, “You grasp the timing yourself.”

Lu Ningshuang, who had been about to come clean: “………………Ha??????”