Chapter 5

Qin Yushu: “……”

“Come here.”

Qin Yushu stopped pretending.

To be fair, Lu Ningshuang’s current identity was somewhat awkward—at least, that’s what she thought.

Before she could make a choice, Qin Yushu reached out, bypassed Lu Ningshuang’s arm, and tugged lightly at the end of her dangling ponytail.

She made the choice for her.

Lu Ningshuang had leaned down to speak quietly, afraid of being overheard, which gave the other woman the perfect opportunity.

It was like a naughty boy from student days pulling a prank on purpose, just to get a girl’s attention.

In contrast, Qin Yushu’s action was undoubtedly much gentler.

She still maintained her pose with one hand propping up her cheek, using the other hand to tug the hair.

The Omega had long hands and legs; even as her arm drew near, her upper body kept a certain distance from Lu Ningshuang. Yet her pitch-black eyes steadily locked onto the Alpha, like a magnet finding its opposite pole.

After tugging, Qin Yushu didn’t withdraw her hand. Her fingertips toyed with the strands of Lu Ningshuang’s hair tips, winding them lightly.

The playful, half-smiling emotion in those eyes grew thicker, like fish flicking their tails in a clear lake, stirring up a pool of spring water.

“I had no idea Miss Lu’s imagination was so vivid.”

Lu Ningshuang: “……”

Wasn’t it?

Had she guessed wrong?

She didn’t speak, but the Alpha’s eyes spoke volumes.

At that moment, those beautiful, expressive eyes clearly conveyed her emotions.

“Suddenly, I’m a bit curious—what kind of image do I have in Miss Lu’s eyes?”

What image?

The female protagonist, the big boss, and… the person she’d accidentally spent a night of passion with.

Lu Ningshuang blinked.

“Go back and think about it properly.” Qin Yushu suddenly withdrew her hand. “Alright, you can go now.”

Lu Ningshuang stood up. The hair tip that had been tugged moments ago swayed, brushing her neck. Before she could savor the sensation, she looked up and saw the original male lead, Huo Yunyi, returning from not far away.

The Alpha’s movements stiffened for a moment.

It was a tingling, numbing feeling—like gulping down honey pomelo water amid the boiling heat of July.

Refreshing and sweetly tart.

As she left, Qin Yushu had withdrawn her hand, but her fingertips had accidentally brushed Lu Ningshuang’s waist.

It was… maddening!

Meanwhile, Huo Yunyi sat back down. Qin Yushu had already summoned a server for him first—this time, it wasn’t Lu Ningshuang.

Huo Yunyi didn’t think much of it. “Ladies first.”

“No need. Order what you like,” Qin Yushu said. “Mine is already being prepared.”

Huo Yunyi recalled the server who had been standing by Qin Yushu’s side when he returned. They had been a bit far away, and with Qin Yushu’s posture, he couldn’t clearly see what they were doing. He assumed it was just routine service.

Of course, a mere server wasn’t even on Huo Yunyi’s radar.

After stating his order, Huo Yunyi’s gaze remained on Qin Yushu’s face. “Yushu seems to be in a good mood. Did something good happen while I was gone? Tell me about it.”

Qin Yushu’s features were stunningly beautiful, but her exquisite face usually carried a distant chill. Since this was just a casual dinner and not an important business partner, she only deigned to glance at him when he spoke.

“You should call me President Qin or Miss Qin,” she corrected his form of address. “And take back that last sentence.”

It made her feel like he was treating her affairs as mere entertainment, a dismissive attitude.

Her tone unconsciously took on a dominant edge.

This contradicted the polite demeanor Huo Yunyi had shown since they met, and it differed greatly from the ruthless image she’d heard about him in the past.

Qin Yushu looked squarely at the male Alpha across from her.

How to put it? There was something off about him, like a child wearing an adult’s clothes, no matter how he tried to hide it.

He was far worse than she’d imagined. Fortunately, she had never agreed to this from start to finish.

The two families had known each other through the previous generation and currently had projects in collaboration. They were in the same business circle, so Qin Yushu had heard of Huo Yunyi, and she believed he had heard of her too.

But dining alone like this was their first time, and they weren’t close enough for him to call her by her given name.

Qin Yushu disliked this sense of overstepping.

If she didn’t stop his tentative advance or rejected it too mildly, he would take advantage and leap right onto her head, lording over her. Because of that silent acquiescence, others would see it as natural.

The unreasonable became habit, the offensive became the rule.

Qin Yushu had always made a habit of keeping the initiative firmly in her grasp, turning it into a weapon to control others.

With her current status, she could do as she pleased without regard for others’ faces. When Huo Yunyi heard her words, a crack flashed across his expression before he quickly restored his hypocritical mask of gentleness.

“Sorry, my mistake.”

The man raised both hands in surrender. No matter his reputation outside, in front of Qin Yushu, he was all poise and patience.

His eyes looked over again, and he smiled. “It seems President Qin truly doesn’t remember.”

Qin Yushu didn’t respond. Huo Yunyi wasn’t embarrassed and continued on his own, clearly with skin thick enough.

“We met when we were kids. You were so small back then, standing in the crowd like the most beautiful and pampered princess from a fairy tale. I watched you, and it felt like all the story’s descriptions came to life.”

“Is that so.”

Qin Yushu’s tone was flat, clearly uninterested in lengthy reminiscences. “I don’t remember you.”

“It was a long time ago, so it’s normal that President Qin doesn’t…”

Qin Yushu interrupted him again. “My memory has always been excellent.”

She raised her eyes to look at the man across from her, seemingly casual yet appraising. This was the first time that evening she’d looked at his face so formally.

There seemed to be something unusual in that gaze. Finally, Qin Yushu spoke calmly.

“Sorry, you probably just don’t have anything particularly memorable about you.”

Neither in the past nor now.

Huo Yunyi’s noble, handsome face froze.

Qin Yushu’s words were an apology, but they pierced his heart like a sharp blade.

Everyone knew Huo Yunyi had originally been an illegitimate child. The Huo Family had always had few heirs, and with his birth mother’s early “death,” he was only taken back and survived in the family for a time.

At the time, the wife of Huo Zong had powerful family backing. He and Huo Yunyi’s birth mother weren’t true loves—just a fling that resulted in an accident. She had chosen to give birth out of selfishness, but she never enjoyed any blessings and brought disaster on herself instead.

What a person with thin fortune.

They guarded against her tightly on one side, and an accident happened on the other, so young Huo Yunyi only survived in the Huo Family for a short while. As an illegitimate child, he was like a transparent nobody with little presence, at best not wanting for food or clothing.

But even that put him ahead of 90% of the country.

So after being sent away, he remained obsessed.

It was only a year ago, when the Huo Family Eldest Young Master—who had been groomed as heir—died unexpectedly, that Huo Yunyi was brought back and elevated to the stage, giving him a platform to display his talents and ambitions.

At first, many looked down on him, but Huo Yunyi used his abilities and a bit of luck to slap their faces hard. He gradually established himself in the business circle, and afterward, few dared mention his past in front of him.

Until… now, when Qin Yushu brought it up again.

Not quite.

It was Huo Yunyi who had tried to reminisce about the past to close the distance—self-inflicted.

Unlike Huo Yunyi, who had come halfway into the role, Qin Yushu was like the late Huo Family Eldest Young Master: groomed as heir from childhood, with extraordinary insight and poise.

She was the unattainable flower on a high mountain that Huo Yunyi could never reach, a cloud in the sky.

Incidentally, if that Huo Dashao were still alive, Huo Yunyi wouldn’t be sitting across from Qin Yushu today. He was merely the last choice in a helpless situation.

Huo Yunyi’s expression shifted repeatedly; even his facade of refined elegance was hard to maintain. Just then, their ordered dishes arrived.

“Let’s eat first.”

Qin Yushu said, “We came out for this meal, didn’t we?”

“You’re right, President Qin.” Huo Yunyi forced a smile. “We can’t let a noble Omega lady go hungry.”

At the same time, Huo Yunyi raged inwardly: [System, system, come out! What’s going on here!?]

The man’s incompetent fury.

[Didn’t you say this identity of mine is Qin Yushu’s official partner? Our pheromones are a perfect match, destined marriage—then why is she so cold to me?]

[That bitch!]

[I was so attentive, and she keeps embarrassing me—what’s so great about being a rich young lady? Who does she look down on? I’m rich now too! Without your crappy system, I’d have gone to the entertainment industry for celebrities—they’d all kneel and lick me!]

[Host, please calm down.] An electronic mechanical voice responded.

[You traversed into this world, after all; you’re not the original owner of this body. You arrived late in the timeline, missing key plot points, so things have changed somewhat.]

[Do you think I wanted to miss it, you fuck!!!!!!]

Mentioning this made “Huo Yunyi” furious. When he traversed, the system had urgently told him to do a task. He waited half the night on that road, nose running from the cold, and didn’t even see the female lead’s shadow.

Later, the system showed him the plot, and he realized that was where he and the female lead first hooked up.

Why the fuck didn’t you tell me earlier!!

Huo Yunyi regretted it immensely afterward. Men think about that stuff, after all.

Moreover, this world had extra ABO attributes beyond his original one. He didn’t understand the settings, only that XX was even better, which was enough. And being a top-tier Alpha first gender? Even better!

He really wanted to try this Alpha identity, but the system said he had to keep the body clean and save his first time for Qin Yushu. What bad luck.

He thought seeing her today would put the plot back on track. He’d even planned to go straight to the presidential suite upstairs after dinner and thoroughly deal with Qin Yushu. But…

Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck!

[It’s all your fault! If I’d slept with her earlier, she’d be putty in my hands—no more bullshit!]

System: [……]

Truth be told, sometimes it wanted to crack open the host’s head and see if it was filled with nothing but yellow waste material.

No matter how Huo Yunyi cloaked himself in an elite facade, he was inherently a useless loser. After his impotent rage, he could only pin all hopes on his current lifeline—the system.

[Qin Yushu is hard to handle. What do I do now?] Huo Yunyi’s tone softened as he asked.

[I told you not to change the persona on your own. Qin Yushu is the Qin Family’s future heir; she’s had countless suitors fawning over her since childhood. How could she be fooled by your fake gentleness?]

The system’s cold mechanical voice carried a hint of mockery. [The one-night marking hasn’t worn off yet. You must show her your excellence, your dominance, your strength—make her see you as an equal, and she’ll acknowledge and eventually be conquered by you.]

Huo Yunyi was annoyed. He had no real skills before traversing; a mere identity change wouldn’t make him suddenly competent—not like some male protagonist in a power fantasy novel.

The system alternated stick and carrot, taming him completely. [Got it, got it. I’ll listen to you from now on.]

[You’d better remember that.]

The system softened its tone and added, [We’re one entity. If you thrive, I thrive. I won’t harm you.]

Hearing Huo Yunyi agree, the icy system felt a trace of smug disdain.

Indeed a loser, but easy to control.

We can’t just “sleep” together randomly anymore, okay?*