Chapter 16: Lin Jinxu

“Date.” A peculiar word. By its literal definition, it carried no implication of romance whatsoever—it could just as easily describe a gathering of friends.

But in practice, everyone except those pitiful souls who had never been in a relationship understood it to mean something two mutually interested people did together.

Sang Ling, most unfortunately, belonged to that latter category.

Faced with the word “date,” delivered with pointed emphasis, she grasped nothing of the subtext and answered with perfect candor: “I suppose so? She did me such a huge favor—of course she’s my friend.”

Lin Jinxu’s pale white hand rested on her shoulder, very close to the side of her neck. One small reach, and she could have touched the pale green veins pulsing beneath that pallid skin.

Every Alpha instinct was screaming alarms, warning Sang Ling that this position was extremely dangerous—that she must never expose her vitals like this.

But Sang Ling’s reason was saying, What’s the big deal? Lin Jinxu is just being friendly.

She even tilted her head a little to look at Lin Jinxu better, letting a few strands of hair fall onto that hand.

“I don’t really understand this stuff. She helped me so much—shouldn’t I thank her properly?” Sang Ling asked in complete sincerity. “She mentioned an ice cream shop. Is that a hint that I should treat her to ice cream?”

The few strands of hair tickled Lin Jinxu’s hand faintly. She looked at Sang Ling’s earnest face, and her eyes curved just slightly.

“Of course. This lady is a good person. You must thank her with proper ceremony.”

Like a patient teacher leading a student through her lessons, she guided the clumsy Alpha through the ways of the world, teaching her how to face the Beta who had done her this great favor—polite, but never overstepping.

She curled her fingers and tapped lightly along the shoulder seam of the white shirt, sighing as she spoke:

“Alphas, my dear, must know the measure of their own presence. When you meet Miss Su, better to err on the side of excessive courtesy than to give offense.”

She has a point!

Sang Ling nodded furiously.

She was always forgetting she was an Alpha now—forgetting the discomfort a high-aggression Alpha could inflict on others just by existing.

She took back her Light Brain and began composing a reply, weighing every word.

“Miss Su, thank you very much for your invitation.”

Mm. Very polite.

“It would be my great honor to accompany you to view the apartment. To express my gratitude, I would like to treat you to a meal. Please do not refuse.”

Super polite!

Sang Ling hit send, read the message over once more, then raised her head proudly, seeking Lin Jinxu’s opinion.

Lin Jinxu smiled. “Very well written.”

“Ding!”

In the Su Family Ancestral Mansion, Su Qingyue picked up her chiming Light Brain and read the message Sang Ling had just sent.

Feeling the politeness and distance between every line, her face cooled by half a degree.

Sang Ling had not been like this before.

She pressed at the furrow between her brows, leaned back against the sofa, and gave the Butler her instruction. “Release the Second Miss.”

The Butler nodded and headed for the second-floor bedroom that belonged to Su Qingqing. The moment she opened the door, she heard porcelain shatter violently against the floor.

The room’s occupant was mid-meltdown, the sound of things being smashed rising and falling without pause.

The commotion carried down to the first-floor living room where Su Qingyue sat. The woman simply lifted a cup of hot tea and took an unhurried sip, her expression unchanged.

Su Qingqing soon stopped throwing things—and came charging downstairs barefoot.

“Su Qingyue!”

she shouted. “I never did anything to you, did I? You’re my sister. Why won’t you let me see her?”

On the day Sang Ling had taken the commission, Su Qingqing had been kept locked in the house the entire day. It was only when Su Qingyue came home that evening that she received a single offhand sentence from her sister:

“Stop using your Myriad Phenomena Account. And don’t contact that person again.”

So it had been her—the one who blocked her from meeting Your Excellency Sang Ling!

Su Qingqing ground her teeth. “You know perfectly well I love Chu Zhou. I love her so much I’ve decided I’ll never marry—as long as Your Excellency Chu Zhou stays by my side, that’s enough for this lifetime.”

“And then—finally, finally—I found an Alpha who looks just like her. It was like my Chu Zhou had walked straight out of the screen.”

The veins at Su Qingqing’s temple were nearly standing out; she was genuinely furious now. “All I wanted was to meet her once in the real world. What did I do wrong? What gives you the right to forbid me?”

“Am I a child? Do I need your approval just to spend my own money?”

Su Qingyue watched Su Qingqing’s meltdown in silence, sipping her black tea at intervals. Behind her gold-rimmed glasses, her gaze was so cold, so unmoved.

Only when Su Qingqing had finally raged herself exhausted and collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving, did she gently set down her expensive bone china teacup.

“Finished?” Su Qingyue said flatly.

Su Qingqing lifted her head, face streaked with tears. The young Beta’s eyes were red-rimmed, utterly wronged.

The eldest sister stands as the mother of the house—and in the Su Family, more than anywhere. Su Qingqing had always cared deeply about Su Qingyue’s opinion. This forced prohibition had genuinely wounded her.

“I’m tired. I’ll have my meltdown again later.” She said it with her chin stuck out stubbornly.

“I went to meet her in your place that day.” Su Qingyue dropped the bombshell lightly. “Quite handsome. The resemblance is striking.”

Su Qingqing’s eyes went wide at once. She didn’t even have time to stay angry before blurting, “Really?”

Su Qingyue’s word had always been reliable. Su Qingqing’s regret doubled instantly.

“AHHHHHHH!”

“That handsome! THAT handsome! Why wouldn’t you let me go see her!”

She grabbed Su Qingyue’s forearm and shook it wildly.

Su Qingyue didn’t move an inch. “She thinks I’m you.”

Su Qingqing’s movements froze mid-shake.

The calm, rational President Su continued in that same light tone, “As it happens, I also found her performance rather interesting.”

Su Qingqing went on alert. “Sis. What are you planning?”

Su Qingyue smiled. “Qingqing, do you remember, when we were little, that one-of-a-kind limited-edition Doll? The one with the ocean-blue diamond eyes.”

“Of course I remember. You snatched it first, played with it for half a month, got bored, and gave it back.”

“Then this time will be the same.” Su Qingyue’s expression was mild, but her tone was pure arrogance. “This Alpha—I will acquire her. But I play with her first. Understood?”

“Once I’m tired of her, she’ll be yours.”

Su Qingyue was confident that what she loved was still Chu Zhou—that forever handsome, forever graceful and gentle virtual AI—infinitely more reliable than any flesh-and-blood Alpha. So she judged she would soon tire of this Sang Ling, with her mountain of embarrassing history.

“It won’t take long, Qingqing. You’ll wait.”

“Sis, I’m going out this afternoon. Can you help me pick an outfit?”

After lunch, Sang Ling came hesitantly knocking on the master bedroom door.

She knew herself: her emotional intelligence was low, she had no eye for subtlety. But Lin Jinxu looked every inch the high-EQ, understanding flower of a woman—so she decided to adopt Teacher Lin’s advice in full.

Lin Jinxu was sitting at her vanity, writing something. When the knock interrupted her, her expression had been a touch cold.

Sang Ling said, “Sorry—am I bothering you?”

Lin Jinxu glanced at her. Sang Ling’s small dependence on her put her in a good mood, and her expression warmed. “No. You came at just the right time.”

“I actually knew you were going out. I just pressed a jacket for you.”

So thoughtful.

Sang Ling watched her pull a white suit jacket from the wardrobe. “This cut is clean and sharp—pairs best with casual clothes. Do you have a white T-shirt?”

“I do!”

“Light blue jeans?”

“Also yes!”

Lin Jinxu: “Then change into this set first.”

At this point Sang Ling had entirely forgotten any distinction between Alpha and Omega. All she felt was the girlish delight of a friend dressing her up. Her fingers caught the hem of her top and she started to pull it up—

“Hey—!” Lin Jinxu moved to stop her, too late. Sang Ling had already stripped off the long T-shirt in one clean motion, revealing the white strappy sports bra underneath, and pale abdominal muscles.

Lin Jinxu instinctively moved to close her eyes—and instead stared, without missing a single detail.

There was a quality to Sang Ling’s pallor that bordered on unhealthy—but it was precisely that which made the lines of her abdominal muscles look like a Greek marble sculpture, every ridge sharply defined.

Unlike so many Alphas, she made no show of her musculature or her training results. She pulled on a clean white T-shirt with brisk efficiency, changed into the jeans, and held her hand out to Lin Jinxu.

Lin Jinxu stood there hugging the jacket, still not fully back in her own head.

“What? Oh—the jacket.”

She didn’t hand it over. Instead she stepped forward, shook the jacket open, and held it out for Sang Ling’s arm.

Sang Ling looked a little sheepish, but she obliged—bending her knees slightly in a half-crouch to make it easier for Lin Jinxu to dress her.

Once she was dressed, Lin Jinxu stepped back two paces and looked her over as a whole.

The young Alpha still carried abundant boyishness, but her tall, slender frame lent even simple casual wear the air of a designer brand. The white jacket added a note of steadiness, so she no longer looked like a completely reckless young pup.

Sang Ling walked to the mirror to inspect the result herself and was thoroughly satisfied. Her internal evaluation of Lin Jinxu climbed another notch. This Omega really is a good person.

She’d assumed this would be the end of it—but Lin Jinxu suddenly frowned slightly, strode to her vanity, and rummaged through the cabinet that held almost nothing, producing the opal necklace from that day. She pulled the chain free, revealing the back of the opal pendant.

It was, in fact, also a brooch.

Lin Jinxu hurried over with the Opal Brooch and pinned it to the breast of Sang Ling’s white suit jacket.

The purple opal gave off a mysterious luster, stark against the white fabric—like a purple iris blooming on snow.

Sang Ling watched her work, head lowered, and sniffed. “It smells really nice, actually.”

Lin Jinxu smiled. Once the brooch was fastened, she stepped back two paces to admire the effect, and nodded, satisfied.

Then she came close to Sang Ling again and beckoned.

The Alpha, not understanding, bent down slightly, expecting advice—and heard only Lin Jinxu’s breath, soft as hidden orchid, at her very ear, in a whisper:

“You are not to take off that brooch. Do you hear me?”

Because if she took it off, how would that Beta ever see it?