The Thing That Makes an Alpha Lose Control

Su Yutang sat in a rocking chair in the garden, cradling a glass of champagne and taking slow sips. Perhaps only this familiar fragrance could ease her body and mind, even briefly.

For some reason, her thoughts drifted to that little thing rubbing shower gel laced with her pheromones all over herself, completely oblivious. Truly adorable.

If she could wrap that little thing in her pheromones once more, would she get to smell that high-concentration S-rank alpha rose scent?

Su Yutang couldn't help but smile at the thought. Just then, a figure drew closer. She was so lost in her thoughts, a foolish smile lingering on her face, that she didn't notice anyone standing right in front of her.

"Jiejie, it's me..."

Only when that familiar voice sounded did Su Yutang snap back to reality. The smile on her face froze, and she lifted her head to look at the newcomer.

The girl wore a white gown, adorned with jewelry at her neck and in her hair—jewelry Su Yutang had once given her. Disgust rose in Su Yutang's heart. "Didn't I tell you to throw all this away? Do you ever listen to me?"

Bai Li's eyes immediately welled with tears. "No... Jiejie, it's exactly because I take your words so much to heart that I couldn't bear to throw them away. These hold the beautiful memories between us. You gave them to me with your own hands. I can't bear to part with them."

Su Yutang sneered. "Fine. If you won't throw them away, then don't. Didn't I say I didn't want to see you show your face in front of me again? Do you really want me to make this ugly?"

Bai Li hadn't snuck in only to reconcile with Su Yutang—she also had one thing she wanted to ask her in person.

Actually, when she was very young, although Su Yutang often played dog games with her and treated her like a thing, she was still very good to her, granting her almost every request.

But after that incident, she had vaguely sensed Su Yutang's attitude toward her growing colder.

Bai Li lowered her head, guilt written across her face. "Jiejie, if it's not about me leaving without saying goodbye, then is it about me not being able to save you when you were little? I was so scared back then... If I had been the one kidnapped by the robbers, I would have been willing to suffer those days in your place."

"Enough! Who gave you permission to bring that up? If you still want to live comfortably here, then shut your mouth and never mention it again. Otherwise, I won't care what my mother does to you."

Seeing Su Yutang's fierce expression, Bai Li twisted her hands into her dress. "No... I didn't mean to reopen your wound, Jiejie. I only want to know—you used to dote on me so much, so why are you so cold to me now? Is it only because I took Madam's suggestion and left without saying goodbye to study abroad?"

Su Yutang was annoyed by the questioning. "Yes! Exactly! I'm the one everyone looks up to, the one they all grovel before. You're the first person who ever dared to abandon me. I treated you so well before, and now I hate you just as much. Do you understand now?"

Bai Li staggered back a few steps. Her fingers brushed against a rose stem, and the sharp thorns pierced her skin.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears falling in large drops. "Jiejie, I'm hurt. It hurts..."

Su Yutang took a deep breath, utterly exasperated by the display. "If you're hurt, go find a bandage. It's not like I can heal you."

At her merciless words, Bai Li bit down hard on her lip, nearly drawing blood at the corner of her mouth. "So Jiejie hates me because I betrayed you, not because I'm a defective omega? You're deliberately distancing yourself from me because Madam told you to, aren't you?"

Su Yutang was so angry she laughed—a strange, helpless laugh. She ran her tongue over her back teeth, then rose and faced Bai Li directly. "What do you think you are? A disobedient dog that runs off is just gone. What would there be to distance myself from?"

Bai Li searched Su Yutang's eyes for the love she once had for her, but found only coldness and mockery. Su Yutang wouldn't even look at her directly.

As if deeply wounded, Bai Li lowered her head. "No... that's not it. I just..."

"Enough. You probably didn't come here just to say all this. I don't want to hear whatever comes next. I'll tell you only one thing: stay out of my sight. Otherwise, when I get angry one day, you'll learn what it means to be treated worse than a dog."

Su Yutang said all this calmly. By then, Bai Li was sobbing uncontrollably. She could no longer bring herself to express her love for Su Yutang.

Because this young miss had never taken her to heart. If she said one more word, Su Yutang might well make her life utterly miserable.

Bai Li lowered her head and said nothing more.

Su Yutang's mood, which had just begun to relax, turned irritable again. She took a deep breath, wanting to leave this suffocating place at once.

She brushed past Bai Li almost like the opening scene between strangers in a movie. Bai Li finally mustered her courage and reached out slightly, but in the end, she failed to catch Su Yutang's diamond-encrusted skirt.

Su Yutang's footsteps faded into the distance, and her heart grew colder by degrees. Could two people really be together without love? How could she become Su Yutang's wife without love?

Given Su Yutang's personality, that would be very difficult, wouldn't it?

Should she give up?

Just as her heart was burning with anxiety, those footsteps stopped, as if hearing her inner voice. Bai Li thought heaven had shown her mercy again, and her eyes burst with brilliant light.

And so it was. Su Yutang seemed to have thought of something and turned back to ask her a question. "Bai Li... that day, when I was kidnapped, I saw you nearby. You watched with your own eyes as I was taken away, and afterward you didn't tell my mom. Because of that, the trail went cold."

It was only later that Su Yurong contacted the minister of the Jing City Public Security Bureau, mobilized all available manpower, and finally rescued her after three days.

She had always thought that perhaps she'd been too terrified back then and seen wrong... that Bai Li hadn't been there at all, and that the three most horrifying, desperate days of her life were entirely the kidnappers' fault.

But just now, she'd heard Bai Li say, "if I had been the one kidnapped by the robbers." If Bai Li hadn't been at the scene, hadn't witnessed her being taken, why would she suddenly bring it up?

Bai Li had only been ten years old then. Fear should have been all she felt about that incident. Children don't willingly bring up things that frightened them, even once they've grown.

When Bai Li heard these words, she froze in place. Her hands and feet went cold, as if her whole body had frozen solid.

So... Su Yutang really had seen her that day?

If she denied it, would Su Yutang believe her?

If she didn't admit it, would Su Yutang let it go, and from then on the two of them would have nothing to do with each other?

Her breathing quickened with sheer terror, and her voice nearly cracked. "I... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I was too scared back then. I saw them holding knives. I was afraid they would hurt me. So back then, weak as I was, I chose to run away..."

Su Yutang sneered. "What I mean is, during those three days you had countless chances to tell the Su family. You probably saw their license plate number. But they saw you running away too—yet they chose not to silence you. Guess why?"

At that, Bai Li's legs gave out. She collapsed onto the fluorite-paved path.

Yes... she actually knew those kidnappers. One of them was a younger brother from her mother's hometown. Aunt Lu wasn't the only one involved in Su Yutang's kidnapping—her mother had a hand in it too.

Even if she hadn't taken part, she must have known. Aunt Lu had resorted to such an extreme method only because her daughter had leukemia—a bottomless pit of a disease. Even with a successful bone marrow transplant, the girl would need medication and treatment for life. But her mother had taken the risk only for her gambling-addict brother.

Not long after the kidnapping, Bai Li had woken in the middle of the night and passed by her mother's room—and seen a crazed, hideous smile on her mother's face as the woman smashed a hammer again and again onto someone's photograph.

"Die, die! You should have died long ago. Good thing you're dead..."

Good thing her mother had escaped her birth family once she reached adulthood. Good thing the Su family couldn't find a single trace connecting her mother to that person. Good thing Su Yutang hadn't pursued it, even after seeing.

So Su Yutang had known everything all along.

She could tolerate a family that had schemed against her living in her own house. She had still doted on the daughter of the would-be kidnapper and murderer as before.

No wonder. After that incident... her mother had been transferred away from the main household, but the Su family still gave her a bowl of rice. Su Yutang treated her the same as always.

All this peaceful happiness existed because Su Yutang hadn't pursued the matter.

So even the arrogant, domineering young miss could be considerate like this. She could let go of someone's cowardly, fear-driven actions because she had once liked her so much.

Because back then, she had chosen to protect her mother—and Su Yutang had trusted her, just like that.

After that incident, the only person dealt with was Aunt Lu. As for the kidnappers, they had been shot dead. The case files were sealed in classified archives, locked away forever. Unless the parties involved chose to reopen them, no one could investigate how many people had been involved back then.

Yes... in truth, she had stayed by Su Yutang's side in the beginning because this young miss was generous. Her family was truly poor, and the money her mother earned as a maid would partly be sent back to that broken home because of her own soft-heartedness. Since childhood, all her dresses had been dark-colored.

Because only dark dresses were stain-resistant enough to be worn longer.

But after she saw Su Yutang in a pink princess dress, she began to think light colors were beautiful. Those layered tulle skirts made her heart yearn.

As long as she followed behind Su Yutang, she could have these things. If she was bullied at school, all she had to do was cry in front of Su Yutang, and the young miss would be the first to stand up for her.

After that, no one dared bully her again. Everyone had to look at her the way they looked at Su Yutang.

She could wear all kinds of beautiful dresses and expensive jewelry. Every time she accepted them with trepidation, Su Yutang told her they were just things the young miss didn't want from her jewelry box.

After this happened many times, she stopped being afraid. She began to accept them as a matter of course, and in the end, she even coyly asked Su Yutang to hand-knit her a scarf.

So she had received so much indulgent love before.

But she always felt that the gap in status would one day shatter this beautiful bubble. Back then, she only thought: as long as she could enjoy these benefits, she would stay by Su Yutang's side.

Su Yutang's domineering outward attitude might have been a disguise for inner fragility.

Because after Madam Su dealt with Aunt Lu, Su Yutang anonymously donated money to Aunt Lu's daughter—the one with leukemia—and the girl was later transferred to the best children's hospital. She didn't know if the girl was ever cured.

At the thought, tears flowed unbidden down Bai Li's face. The expression on her face now was far more vivid than the fake one from before.

Su Yutang saw Bai Li's tears from a distance. By now she had more or less guessed the truth, but that matter was long past. Even Su Yutang herself had let it go.

She stared intently at Bai Li. "Bai Li, I, Su Yutang, owe you nothing. And right now, I simply don't want to see you. If you have even a shred of conscience, you'll leave my sight on your own. Understand?"

Bai Li stayed frozen in place. Her stiff neck gave an involuntary nod.

Seeing this, Su Yutang turned and left without looking back.

This was indeed a fruitless secret love, but its object was not Su Yutang.

Su Yutang's most beloved puppy had died back then. As a child, she had merely projected that nurturing affection onto this little girl whose personality resembled "Xiaobai"'s.

……

Yun Huaizhu followed Ji Quanying toward the back staircase, poise carefully restrained. She probed cautiously from behind. "Steward Ji, might I ask what Madam wants to see me about?"

Ji Quanying smiled politely. "Madam only said to invite you over. She didn't say what it was about."

Yun Huaizhu's expression gradually worsened at these words. The more Ji Quanying said that, the more uncertain she became.

Something sudden meant nothing good.

When Ji Quanying led Yun Huaizhu to the door of a third-floor room, she stepped back and bowed. "Miss Yun, please go in. Don't keep Madam waiting."

Yun Huaizhu's panic grew when she saw there wasn't a single guard around.

After all, Su Yurong was an extremely cautious person. Even in her own home, she had countless alarm devices installed. On an occasion like today, how could she not have a single bodyguard by her side?

There was only one reason she would send those people away—what she was about to say was important enough that only the two of them could know it.

At the thought, Yun Huaizhu took a deep breath and pushed open the door as if walking to her execution.

Just like the first time she had met Su Yurong, the woman sat with the air of a superior, brewing tea with perfect composure.

The moment Yun Huaizhu saw her, the air around her seemed to choke her. She walked over cautiously. "Madam, I heard you were looking for me."

Su Yurong didn't look up this time either. Knowing Yun Huaizhu had arrived, she pointed to the seat across the tea table. "Sit."

Yun Huaizhu took the seat, doing her utmost to conceal her unease. Su Yurong remained focused on the tea. As if dissatisfied, she poured the freshly brewed tea onto the agarwood table and began a fresh round of brewing.

Seeing that the woman had no intention of acknowledging her for now, Yun Huaizhu didn't dare say more. But she didn't know how long the woman intended to keep her. Lin Meng was still outside!

She had left Lin Meng alone in the banquet hall earlier, thinking she would return after a few words with those business people. But facing this woman who made her feel suffocated, she probably wouldn't be able to leave for an hour or two.

When Su Yurong looked up, she noticed Yun Huaizhu seemed distracted. She pushed a cup of cooling Longjing tea toward her. "How has your business been coming along lately?"

Hearing the woman finally speak, Yun Huaizhu quickly accepted the tea. "Thanks to you, Madam, everything is well."

Su Yurong had initially invested in Yun Huaizhu's emerging industry expecting to lose money, but she hadn't expected the woman to be so capable. The stock was even trending upward.

Yun Huaizhu was very capable. At that moment, Su Yurong looked at the young woman with admiration, as if appraising a magnificent object. "You look very beautiful in that dress today."

At Su Yurong's plain, unadorned praise, the unease in Yun Huaizhu's heart only deepened.

"Madam flatters me. I heard that when you were young, all the prominent omega young ladies in Jing City lined up to court you. Even now, polished by time, you're like a high-hanging moon—beautiful and noble. Someone ordinary like me could never compare."

Su Yurong laughed aloud at that. "Miss Yun, you have such a way with words. No wonder you succeed in whatever field you enter."

Yun Huaizhu continued to flatter her. "That's all thanks to you, Madam. Without your help, I'd probably be flat broke by now."

Yun Huaizhu was not only capable but also quite beautiful. If not for her overly strong personality clashing with Yutang's, Su Yurong might actually have set aside her prejudices about family background and done her best to match them.

A momentary love didn't matter—no one knew how long it would last, after all. But marriage in wealthy families was permanent. Once a marriage was tightly bound by interests, even if feelings broke down, the two wouldn't separate easily.

As long as two people endured each other long enough, no matter how much they hated each other, feelings would develop.

But Yun Huaizhu's personality was too similar to Su Yutang's. Both had a fierce drive. Together, they would only destroy each other.

Still, a child born from the union of two outstanding people like them would surely be both intelligent and beautiful.

At the thought, Su Yurong took a box the size of a bottle cap from the decorative pouch on her qipao.

The box looked like an antique—small but exquisitely crafted, with painted enamel and cloisonné work.

Su Yurong crooked a finger at Yun Huaizhu. "Good child, give me your hand."

Yun Huaizhu felt disgust at the gesture, but when accepting someone's help, she had no choice. So she pretended to be very obedient and extended her hand.

Su Yurong placed the small box in her palm, then closed her fingers around it.

Yun Huaizhu's sense of foreboding peaked at that moment. She withdrew her hand and looked at the box suspiciously. "Madam, what is this?"

Su Yurong gave her a meaningful smile. "I've checked. Today is an auspicious day for a perfect union. And this Rose Manor was built by Yutang's grandmother to celebrate her birth. It's the most suitable place for the birth of a noble S-rank bloodline."

At that, Yun Huaizhu's pupils contracted almost uncontrollably. "You mean..."

Su Yurong nodded with utter seriousness. "I know Yutang doesn't like you much so far, but it doesn't matter. You two don't need to like each other to have a child. What's in this box is a potent drug that can make any alpha lose control. But rest assured, it won't damage the body. After all, Tangtang is my only daughter. No matter what, I wouldn't harm her."

At that, Yun Huaizhu's hand clenched beneath the table, her nails digging into her palm.

This old witch—you might not harm your own daughter, but you're harming me!

Yun Huaizhu knew this woman's temperament was exactly like Su Yutang's. Her voice trembled as she tried to plead with the woman who seemed ready to devour her like a snake. "But... but Yutang won't be willing."

Su Yurong laughed at that. "With this drug, even if she's unwilling, her body will be honest. You don't need to worry about her settling scores when she wakes up, either. With me protecting you, she can't do anything to you."

Yun Huaizhu's palm was already cut bloody by her own nails. She could barely control her expression. "But..."

Seeing her still trying to bargain, Su Yurong dropped her pleasant expression. "Miss Yun, you were the one who came to me about cooperating. I'm merely asking you to fulfill your part of the deal ahead of time, yet you hem and haw. I don't like people who aren't straightforward. If you keep this up, it won't be fun anymore."

At that, Yun Huaizhu's eyes went bloodshot. A tear of humiliation slid uncontrollably down her cheek.

This pitiful appearance would move anyone—even if Su Yutang didn't like her, once she took the drug and saw this face, she wouldn't be able to control herself.

After all, an alpha understands an alpha best. And Su Yutang was her own daughter. No one in this world understood that child better than she did.

Yun Huaizhu clutched the box tightly. "Yes, Madam. I understand."

Seeing her take on the look of someone about to face martyrdom in humiliation, Su Yurong stood as if granting charity.

She walked around to Yun Huaizhu, who was trembling all over with fury, and pressed warm hands onto her shoulders. Her voice was like a demon's. "Good child, once you've done this, whatever you ask of me, I'll grant it."

At that, Yun Huaizhu suddenly released her clenched hand. She raised her tear-streaked face and gave Su Yurong a smile through gritted teeth. "Yes, I will definitely accomplish it."

Su Yurong patted Yun Huaizhu's shoulder in satisfaction. "Good child, I really do like you. You're very much like your mother."

Yun Huaizhu narrowed her eyes, using every ounce of pretense. "Thank you for the compliment."

……

Lin Meng sat in that corner of the banquet hall for a long time, but Yun Huaizhu never returned. When there were fewer people around, she went to the buffet table and had a few pieces of cake, then drank some grape juice.

She had to admit, this place truly lived up to being a wealthy family's reception hall—the cakes were better than any she had ever bought.

Lin Meng loved sweets. After finishing a strawberry one, she had a blueberry, then worked her way through mango, chocolate, matcha—nearly every flavor.

She rubbed her somewhat round belly and thought: she was already full just from the cake. She wondered what other good food there would be later, and whether she'd have room for it.

Just as she was intently eating cake, a girl dressed like a Rococo doll—like a little pink cake—approached her in high heels.

Lin Meng sensed someone staring at her and looked up. The girl had a face like a porcelain doll, making her look small and cute.

But right now she was examining Lin Meng with curious eyes. Seeing this, Lin Meng quickly put down her cake. "E-excuse me, is there something you need?"

The girl gave Lin Meng a sweet smile. "I've been watching you for a while. You've been eating cake this whole time—don't you find it cloying?"

Hearing that the girl had been watching her eat the whole time, Lin Meng's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. But since this cake lady was so pretty, she decided not to mind.

Lin Meng shook her head. "No. I couldn't eat things like this before, so of course I have to eat as much as I can while I have the chance."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise. "What? What kind of place do you live in, that you can't even eat this kind of thing?"

Lin Meng: "..."

The world of rich people was truly wonderful. Their different frame of reference occasionally stabbed poor people like her right in the heart.

Lin Meng nodded. "Yeah, I live in a very small house with broken bricks and tiles. In winter, I can't even afford clothes. So these are extremely precious delicacies in my eyes. I'm going to eat them all!"

The cake lady looked genuinely sympathetic. She covered her mouth, eyes reddening. "Oh my god, you're so pitiful... My name is Cen Jingshu. From now on, if you want to eat cake, come find me. My house has it every day."

Lin Meng was about to bury herself in cake again when she heard the young lady speak. She froze on the spot. "You... what did you say your name was?"

The girl politely lifted her skirt and curtsied. "Cen Jingshu."

If the top two crown princesses in Jing City were Su Yutang and Huo Yi, then the third spot belonged to the Cen family—this Miss Cen's family. Except Miss Cen was an A-rank omega, so her family had decided from childhood to raise her as a tool for marriage alliances with Jing City's major families.

In the novel, this Miss Cen also appeared briefly, with only a handful of scenes.

And when Lin Meng read it, she had felt the girl was pitiful. She had never attended school; all her knowledge came from private tutors her family hired. She had to learn not only piano and dance, but various etiquettes and four foreign languages...

Even grad school entrance exams weren't like this. But the Cen family did all this just to marry their daughter into a good family.

Truly infuriating.

By now, Lin Meng had completely forgotten the heartbreaking things Cen Jingshu had just said. She looked at this young lady being treated as a tool with immense pity. "Hello, hello. My name is Lin Meng... I really do think the cake is delicious. Very sweet."

Cen Jingshu furrowed her brows. "My family won't let me eat much. They say I'll get fat."

Hearing this, Lin Meng felt a surge of indignation. The Cen family really was a bunch of old relics.

She leaned closer to Cen Jingshu. "So. Do you think the cake is delicious?"

Cen Jingshu nodded slightly. "Even though I eat it every day, I can only have a little. Cake is still very delicious."

Lin Meng felt a wave of joy—good, good. She still had her own independent will. She wasn't a complete tool.

At that moment, Lin Meng was like someone trying to break the shackles of Cen Jingshu's years of education. "Then what about piano, dance, etiquette, and all those languages—do you like them?"

Cen Jingshu didn't know how this person knew she had studied these things. She furrowed her brows. "What's there to like or not like? Mom says these are things I must learn. Only by becoming an elegant young lady can I win an alpha's heart."

Lin Meng's expression at these words was hard to describe. She looked at Cen Jingshu as if disappointed by her failure to live up to expectations, then grabbed a whole strawberry mousse cake from the table and, without further ado, fed it into Cen Jingshu's mouth.

Cen Jingshu made a surprised sound but obediently swallowed it. When Lin Meng tried to feed her again, Cen Jingshu quickly waved her hands in refusal. "No, no, I can only eat one bite today..."

Lin Meng squinted, sizing up her small frame. "Little sister, look how thin you are. You can't eat more? Let me ask you—was that bite of cake I just fed you delicious?"

This was the first time Cen Jingshu had heard someone say such a thing to her—but this person named Lin Meng had looked very cute burying her face in cake earlier. She didn't think Lin Meng was a bad person.

She considered for a moment, then nodded. "It was delicious."

Lin Meng nodded in satisfaction. "Then that's settled. If you like eating, then eat. If you don't like doing something, then don't do it. You're not a child anymore—you're an adult. Listening to your mother is a thing of the past. You need your own judgment. Every time your mother stops you from doing something, or forces you to do something, you need to think about whether it's something you're willing to do."

Cen Jingshu lowered her head as if her thoughts were in turmoil. "But..."

Lin Meng took her hand and led her to the cake table. "Come, like I did earlier. Whatever you like, take it and eat until you're full!"

Cen Jingshu's eyes lit up at those words, but then she thought of her mother's instructions and hesitated, her hand half-extended.

Lin Meng pressed a strawberry cake directly into her hand. "Don't worry. Just imagine your mother isn't here today. Today is a very relaxing, very sunny day. You can do anything you want, as long as you're happy."

Those words seemed to give Miss Cen immense courage. Cen Jingshu finally began to eat the cake.

The cake was truly delicious. So this was what it felt like to eat it bite after bite—such happiness. As she ate, Cen Jingshu didn't know why tears began to flow.

In truth, Cen Jingshu's heart was very simple. Her childhood upbringing hadn't allowed for other thoughts, so her mindset had to be slowly reversed.

Watching Cen Jingshu eat the cake, Lin Meng felt a sweetness in her heart, even happier than when she had eaten the cake herself. Because at this moment, Cen Jingshu was no longer a tool in a book. She had used her own will to make the choice to "eat cake until full."

……

Lin Meng felt she had eaten too much earlier and wanted to go out for some air. Just then, Cen Jingshu, tears still clinging to her lashes, caught the ribbon of the bow on Lin Meng's dress. "Xiaolin jiejie, can I see you again in the future?"

Lin Meng smiled and nodded. "Of course. We can even exchange contact info. If you have any questions, you can tell me."

At that, Cen Jingshu lowered her head awkwardly. She seemed deeply embarrassed as she spoke. "My phone is with my mom. She doesn't allow me to use it when I'm alone."

The more Lin Meng heard, the more suffocated she felt. She asked curiously, "Just... just out of curiosity, Miss Cen, how old are you this year?"

Cen Jingshu raised her head. "I just turned eighteen."

Lin Meng felt like she was about to faint. This was the age to attend university, not to find a match and get married!

Lin Meng quickly leaned close to Cen Jingshu's ear. "Little sister, you're the eldest miss of the Cen family. How could you not have your own phone? Everyone needs their own private space. You can tell your mother a little lie... for example, say that Su Yutang, Eldest Miss Su, wants to date you, but doesn't want her private chats with you seen by irrelevant people. Then you can get a phone from your mother. Save up your allowance bit by bit. One day, you'll be able to go wherever you want."

As Cen Jingshu listened, she felt the worldview shaped over all these years slowly crumbling under this person's words. This person was truly too bold; every sentence caught her off guard, giving her the feeling that things could actually be done this way.

Cen Jingshu's heart trembled uncontrollably, not just from fear but from excited anticipation.

"Re... really?"

Lin Meng nodded with utter seriousness. "It's true. You don't actually have to get married, and you don't have to attract an alpha." As she spoke, she waved over a waiter carrying a tray among the guests.

The waiter quickly came over. "How may I help you, miss?"

Lin Meng looked at the pen in his suit pocket. "May I borrow your pen for a moment?"

The waiter handed her the pen. "Of course, miss."

After taking the pen, Lin Meng picked up a card from the flowers on the table—one that read "for lovely"—and wrote her contact information on the back. She handed it to Cen Jingshu. "Here. You must contact me, okay?"

Cen Jingshu accepted the card with great anticipation. When she saw the WeChat and phone number written on it, her heart suddenly felt as if something had ignited it, bright and luminous.

"Mm... I definitely will."

……

When Yun Huaizhu came down from the third floor with a dark expression, she suddenly stopped by the stained-glass skylight in the corridor. The window's design was much like those in churches. She seemed to be thinking with extreme anxiety about what to do next.

Just as her thoughts were in turmoil, she suddenly saw someone slumped on the fluorite path in the garden. The fluorescent green glow dyed the white dress a beautiful color—truly pitiful and lovely.

Yun Huaizhu recognized her at a glance—the little childhood friend who loved to be Su Yutang's dog.

She remembered that Su Yurong greatly disliked this person. Logically, she couldn't have received an invitation to this banquet. So there was only one reason she was here—to reconcile with Su Yutang.

It seemed her plan had failed. The poor little dog was shivering and crying in the garden.

As Yun Huaizhu observed her, her hand stroked the small box, which felt like a hot potato. A smile gradually formed at the corner of her lips.

She'd found a solution.

Su Yurong had only said to drug Su Yutang. But if a delirious Su Yutang got the wrong person, that wouldn't be her fault.

With that thought, Yun Huaizhu walked toward her with a calculated, catlike stride.

Bai Li didn't know how long she had been slumped there. The place was truly remote—so remote that not a single guest had come by. She didn't know how long she could stay frozen here.

Just then, a figure gradually approached. Bai Li slowly raised her stiff neck. The figure's shadow advanced until it covered her entirely.

Bai Li's pupils dilated instantly. The sorrow on her face was joined by a flicker of anger. "It's you—"

Yun Huaizhu smiled at her and extended a hand. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Bai Li didn't take the offered hand. She propped up her stiff body and stood on her own. "Are you here to laugh at me?"

Yun Huaizhu raised her index finger in a shushing gesture. "Don't get defensive. I'll tell you plainly: I don't like Su Yutang. I even have a bit of a physical aversion to her."

Seeing the woman's sinister smile, Bai Li grew puzzled... This woman didn't seem to be joking, and her behavior had never suggested she liked Su Yutang.

Yun Huaizhu revealed the antique box in her hand.

She reached out and grasped Bai Li's ice-cold hands, pressing the box—now warmed by her own body heat—into Bai Li's palm. "I came here to give you a chance to be with Su Yutang."