The Five Heartless Scumbag Alphas Turned Against Each Other Because Of Me - Chapter 28

What do you mean “chasing women”? That sounds awful.

Tan Hua immediately hid her phone behind her back and flat-out denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Then she turned it around and scolded, eyes wide with mock anger, “Why are you looking at someone else’s phone? That’s so rude.”

Sheng Yiheng’s temple twitched. “I’m rude?”

The moment the Alpha narrowed her eyes, her whole demeanor turned dangerous. Tan Hua’s heart skipped a beat, but her face stayed stubborn—even if her mouth quickly caved. Every part of her seemed to be operating on its own.

“President Sheng, you must have misheard.”

“I was just saying you look stunning—like a wild cat. Elegant, yet fierce.”

She spewed the lie without blinking, not the faintest trace of guilt on her face.

Sheng Yiheng sneered. “You’ve been gone all this time—were you fooling around with some shady Alpha?”

Who else could it have been? Tan Hua thought to herself. Obviously Lu Huaixu and Zheng Jinyu.

Still, she didn’t show a thing on her face. Instead, she feigned distress. “No, I was looking for someone.”

She lifted her delicate face. “President Sheng, have you seen my friend?”

“I’ve been looking everywhere, but I can’t find her,” she said with a worried look. “It’s chaotic here, and she’s a soft, delicate Omega. Her husband isn’t around either. If anything were to happen to her, I’d never forgive myself…”

Sheng Yiheng stood there, silently watching her act.

Once Tan Hua finished her performance, she immediately poked a hole in it without mercy. “You two have known each other for so long. Don’t you have her phone number?”

Tan Hua’s dramatic expression froze for a second. Then she dropped her gaze and replied quietly, “We had a fight. She blocked me everywhere.”

“It’s my fault. I was too stubborn and insisted on being right. If I’d backed off just a little, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point.”

She lowered her head, looking completely dejected. “It’s all on me.”

“I’m the one who lost her.” Her voice softened into a whisper, perfectly crafted to sound heartbreaking.

But Sheng Yiheng didn’t even flinch.

After a brief pause, she hit again. “She blocked you,” she repeated. “Couldn’t you have contacted her husband instead?”

“You didn’t bother saving her family’s numbers?”

Tan Hua’s eyes flew open in mock panic. “Oh no, no, President Sheng, please don’t say such things!”

“I would never save another woman’s husband’s number—much less contact him privately! That would’ve gotten me drowned in a pig cage back in ancient times!”

Looking lost and indignant, she acted like she’d just been falsely accused of high treason.

Sheng Yiheng’s lips twitched. She said nothing but gave her a deadpan stare: I’m just going to keep watching you dig your own grave.

An Omega like Tan Hua—whose scheming mind was deeper than her bank account—wasn’t someone Sheng Yiheng trusted in the slightest.

She thought back to how peaceful her life had been before Tan Hua barged in—no stand-in drama, no chaos. But somehow, Tan Hua had wormed her way in, sweet-talked her into hiring her as Cheng Yuan’s stand-in, and even convinced her to let her into the company under the guise of a secretary—spending day and night together.

This wasn’t some thrilling, secret affair.

It was surveillance.

She’d created her own trap, blinded by lust, and handed Tan Hua the key.

She’d betrayed Cheng Yuan, sure—but she was also losing tens of thousands every month to this Omega’s endless “expenses.”

It was a classic case of trying to steal a chicken and ending up losing the rice.

Every time she thought about it, Sheng Yiheng was overcome with regret. She’d lie awake at night, furious with herself.

Her mother’s fortune-teller friend had warned her since she was young:

“She’ll live a smooth life, wealthy and powerful—but the one pitfall in her fate will be a woman. One who will con her out of money. And it’ll be bad.”

Sheng Yiheng had looked left, right, front, and back—and no matter which way she looked now, Tan Hua fit that prediction perfectly.

Just thinking about it made her face darken.

Her eyes locked on Tan Hua’s face, gaze heavy and brooding. The pressure made Tan Hua’s heart thump uneasily.

She tentatively reached out and poked Sheng Yiheng’s arm, speaking in a soft, diplomatic tone:

“President Lu and President Zheng are over there talking business. Don’t you want to join them?”

“If the two of them teamed up, wouldn’t that make it harder for you to chase after Cheng Yuan later?”

Tan Hua tried her best to sound like a caring confidante—but Sheng Yiheng didn’t buy it for a second.

She narrowed her eyes, leaned in, and gave Tan Hua a cold, humorless smile. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”

She said it with such certainty, as if she’d cracked Tan Hua’s plan wide open.

Tan Hua blinked, looking blank. “I’m not.”

Sheng Yiheng ignored the denial, speaking each word slowly and clearly. “You want to go hunting for more Alphas.”

Bingo, Tan Hua thought, flashing Sheng Yiheng a look of admiration—then immediately turned to the system and said with brutal honesty:

“Too late though. I already got the numbers of all the Alphas I liked.”

The system was stunned.

It glanced toward Sheng Yiheng. If only you’d come a little earlier—even just a few minutes—you’d have caught this unfaithful schemer red-handed.

But alas… too late.

This place was still the host’s lawless playground—for now.

“President Sheng, what are you even saying?” Tan Hua looked at the Alpha’s deep, dangerously captivating eyes with wide-eyed innocence. “You know my heart belongs to you and only you.”

She flipped the script with shameless boldness. “Are you really that insecure about your looks and charm?”

Sheng Yiheng: “…” How was she even supposed to respond to that?

She stared at Tan Hua for a long moment, eyes narrowed. Then, out of nowhere, she let out a soft laugh and said meaningfully, “It better be.”

That sounded like she wasn’t planning to pursue the topic further. Tan Hua seized the opportunity and quickly changed the subject.

“President Sheng, are you sure you haven’t seen my friend?”

Sheng Yiheng gave her a baffled look. “Why would you assume I saw her and just didn’t tell you?”

“You were socializing all night,” Tan Hua replied, then caught herself and added, “Though I suppose with your head filled with business deals, you probably didn’t bother noticing some random Omega.”

“I don’t have time to talk. I really need to go find her now.”

Before Sheng Yiheng could react, Tan Hua slipped away.

A moment later, Sheng Yiheng lifted her wine glass, eyes narrowing as she watched the Omega—now in simpler clothes but still glowing like a star—make her way through the crowd.

Tan Hua finally found Mu Wanyi and sighed in relief. “Wanyi, you have no idea how long I’ve been looking for you.”

Mu Wanyi looked confused. “Why were you looking for me?”

“I missed you. It’s been too long.”

Sure, sticking with Lu Huaixu was important—but being near Mu Wanyi made Tan Hua feel safer.

She thought about it and concluded: Maybe it’s just something that comes naturally to Omegas—like how gentle little sheep stick close together for comfort.

Mu Wanyi didn’t buy a word of it.

She squinted at Tan Hua. “Alright, spill it. What are you scheming this time?”

She leaned closer, eyes scanning her suspiciously, and then a lightbulb went off.

“Wait… you didn’t use me as a decoy again, did you?”

“Did you piss off Zheng Jinyu and Lu Huaixu?!”

“No, of course not!” Tan Hua gasped, clutching her chest like she’d been stabbed. Her voice trembled. “Wanyi, how could you think that of me? I’m already fragile and sensitive from being in heat, and now you’re twisting my sincere affection into something awful.”

“There’s only your Alpha in your eyes now. What about me? The friend who’s been by your side since elementary, middle, and high school?”

Her voice was mournful, expression full of betrayal.

Mu Wanyi stared blankly. “You only ever remember I exist when you’re weak and hormonal.”

“When I need you, you ignore my texts, dodge my calls, and disappear for days. So tell me—whose arms were you in during all those times?”

Tan Hua: “?” Oh? Is that how the original host behaved?

Immediately, she joined in on the self-dragging. “Then I really am trash. I’m a total scumbag!”

Mu Wanyi: “…”

She was stunned. She hadn’t expected Tan Hua to agree that easily—let alone start insulting herself.

For a few seconds, she didn’t know what to say. Finally, she just waved a hand. “Forget it.”

“Let’s go.”

Tan Hua suddenly grabbed her by the wrist, eyes shining. “The banquet’s about to start! Let’s go find President Lu and the others.”

Mu Wanyi instantly tensed. “Why would we do that?”

Be around Lu Huaixu? Just the idea made her chest tighten.

She instinctively resisted, trying to pull away. “You go. I’ve got other things to do.”

She tried to slip away, but Tan Hua wasn’t about to let her.

In a gentle, coaxing tone, she asked Mu Wanyi, “How often do you get a chance to meet an Alpha like Lu Huaixu, someone with that level of power and status?”

Mu Wanyi paused, then honestly shook her head. “Never.”

“And someone like Zheng Jinyu?”

“Also never.”

“Well then,” Tan Hua sighed, like she couldn’t believe how hopeless this friend of hers was. She smacked Mu Wanyi lightly on the waist. “Other women would kill to be on their radar, to form connections, to leverage those relationships for their own gain. But you? You avoid them like the plague!”

“Don’t you want to seize one of those little side projects they toss out like table scraps and use it to rise up—become an Omega with real power, someone like your husband, someone who holds others’ fates in her hands?”

Mu Wanyi hesitated. But her heart was already stirred.

Yes, she’d used a few underhanded tricks to make her husband permanently mark her—and yes, that’s how she’d married into a wealthy family. But in her husband’s and especially her mother-in-law’s eyes, she’d never truly been accepted.

At home, her mother-in-law was cold and condescending, constantly nitpicking and criticizing. Her husband treated her like a convenience—he called, she came; he dismissed, she left. Even the servants dared show her attitude.

Mu Wanyi was furious. But so what?

In the end, she was just a woman from an ordinary background, someone whose voice carried no weight in that house.

She had tried to resist, to fight back. But in her in-laws’ eyes, her defiance was laughable.

And now, hearing Tan Hua’s words, she suddenly imagined—what if she could get close to someone like Lu Huaixu or Zheng Jinyu? What if she could change her fate?

Her eyes suddenly lit up. “I want to,” she said firmly.

“That’s more like it!” Tan Hua beamed.

“An Omega without ambition is like a collapsed puppet. Depending on Alphas for survival? Please. We have to take our lives into our own hands!”

The motivational speech was a bit dramatic—if not downright toxic—but it clearly worked on someone like Mu Wanyi, who harbored quiet ambition.

Fired up, Mu Wanyi’s fear of Alphas seemed to vanish completely. She didn’t even realize that Tan Hua’s rousing speech had a second motive: using her to draw attention away from herself and fulfill her social “homework” with Lu Huaixu.

The system was speechless.

“…Host, don’t you think you’re overqualified for this little manipulation?”

“Not at all,” Tan Hua replied lazily, barely glancing at the system.

“Black cat, white cat—as long as it catches the mouse, it’s a good cat. Besides, Mu Wanyi’s my half-sister in spirit and bl00d. Lending her a hand? What’s the harm?”

System: …You mostly just want her to draw fire so you don’t get roasted alive.

With the confidence of someone freshly injected with adrenaline, Mu Wanyi marched back to Lu Huaixu’s side with Tan Hua, her fear buried under a mountain of resolve.

She even took the initiative to greet both Lu Huaixu and Zheng Jinyu, despite her nerves.

The two Alphas glanced at each other, then back at Tan Hua—thinking the same thing: What are you scheming now?

But Mu Wanyi was oblivious.

She only knew that this was a rare opportunity to gain favor with powerful people—an opportunity that might make her husband and mother-in-law finally take her seriously.

So she became unusually warm, enthusiastic, and eager to chat. Her presence pulled enough attention away from Tan Hua that neither Alpha could stay fully focused on her anymore.

Tan Hua watched Mu Wanyi throw herself into conversation like a freshly onboarded intern. She raised her brows in pleasant surprise. Not bad. She’s got potential.

Relieved, she happily focused on filling her stomach. Only when she was stuffed did she finally put her chopsticks down.

Looking up, she saw Mu Wanyi still chatting politely, while Lu Huaixu and Zheng Jinyu… had barely touched their food.

She grabbed a drink and took a long sip, then casually suggested, “You’re getting along so well. Why not exchange contact info? That way, Wanyi can reach out to you for advice later.”

As soon as Tan Hua made the suggestion, Mu Wanyi’s eyes lit up with anticipation, glancing eagerly at the two Alphas.

Lu Huaixu responded with a half-smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Zheng Jinyu, on the other hand, was completely expressionless.

Seeing their reactions, Tan Hua quickly tried to smooth things over, her smile turning a bit awkward. “But if you’re not comfortable with it, that’s fine too.”

Mu Wanyi immediately looked a little disappointed.

Zheng Jinyu, ever the composed one, didn’t leave room for awkwardness. After a moment of thought, she calmly took out her business card and handed it to Mu Wanyi.

Mu Wanyi’s face lit up. “Thank you, President Zheng!”

Tan Hua folded her arms and clicked her tongue. “Told you—Zheng Jinyu’s a classic heartbreaker. I just wonder who has the better-looking assistants—hers or Sheng Yiheng’s.”

“I’d love to take a peek inside her company sometime,” she mused.

The system quietly sighed. If you want to stir trouble, just say so. No need to put a bow on it.

But on the surface, it politely replied, “From what I know, they’re all quite stunning—fair-skinned, long-legged, high-educated returnees. All very accomplished.”

In other words, way out of your current character tier, host.

Of course, Tan Hua was blissfully unaware of the system’s inner criticisms. She was too busy fantasizing, her heart skipping with excitement just imagining it.

“I start work at Sheng Yiheng’s company tomorrow,” she murmured to herself, a spark of mischief lighting up her face. Her eagerness couldn’t be hidden.

System: “???” Have you lost your mind? Are you actually eyeing Sheng Yiheng’s assistants now?

Lu Huaixu didn’t pay much attention to Mu Wanyi, but Mu Wanyi didn’t seem to mind. She had already assumed Lu Huaixu was the aloof type—unlike Zheng Jinyu, who at least gave her the time of day.

That only made her even more enthusiastic in her interactions with Zheng Jinyu.

Zheng Jinyu, however, wasn’t enjoying it. She frowned slightly, glancing between Tan Hua and Lu Huaixu before a realization slowly sank in:

Was Tan Hua using Mu Wanyi to test them?

Lu Huaixu hadn’t budged an inch in response to Mu Wanyi.

And yet… she had.

That uncomfortable awareness stirred something in Zheng Jinyu. Her mood turned sour as she stared at Tan Hua, feeling both frustrated and powerless.

She wanted to call her out for being manipulative—but what grounds did she really have?

After all, she’d been the one to suggest giving Mu Wanyi her card in the first place. She’d only done it to ease the awkwardness.

Zheng Jinyu had assumed Lu Huaixu would do the same.

But how could she have known that Lu Huaixu truly didn’t budge? Not even a flicker of softness for a sweet, delicate Omega like Mu Wanyi.

Pressing her lips together, Zheng Jinyu looked at Tan Hua, her gaze growing complicated, locked onto her face.

Tan Hua caught the look and felt baffled. She quietly tugged at the system.

“What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” the system replied after glancing at her. “Your face is clean.”

Tan Hua frowned. “Then why is she staring at me like that? I didn’t even do anything to her.”

The system stayed quiet for a few beats, then gave up trying to explain.

“…Maybe she’s just mesmerized by you.”

Tan Hua raised her brows. “Hmm. That wouldn’t be too surprising.”

“But still—so bold? In public? What if people saw us and started gossiping about our relationship?”

She shook her head with a sigh and looked at Zheng Jinyu with mild disappointment. “Forget it, forget it. I know—I’m just too charming, too irresistible. No wonder she can’t help herself.”

The system, numb and unfeeling, replied, Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.

Tan Hua’s string of self-absorbed antics played out right before Zheng Jinyu’s eyes—and they hit very differently for her.

The Alpha watched the Omega’s smug, triumphant little expression, and her chest tightened painfully.

Then, without warning, Zheng Jinyu stood up. She said nothing, didn’t make a scene. She simply turned and walked away.

But her retreating figure—so sharp, so composed—carried a kind of panic and helplessness that was hard to miss.

Lu Huaixu glanced in her direction, expression unreadable, her gaze impossible to decipher.

Tan Hua blinked in confusion. “Wait—why did she leave?”

The system thought for a second and replied, “Probably because if she stays here any longer, she won’t be able to control her heart.”

Tan Hua tilted her head, suspicious. The system’s explanation felt fishy, but she couldn’t quite figure out where the trick was.

In the end, she just chalked it up to: Alphas… their hearts are like needles in the sea—unreadable.

Zheng Jinyu’s abrupt exit only made Mu Wanyi flinch for a second. But as soon as she turned back and saw Tan Hua, any anxiety melted away.

She instinctively leaned closer and asked softly, “Aren’t you scared of her?”

She nodded toward Lu Huaixu and quickly averted her eyes again. Even when that woman wasn’t saying anything, her very presence exuded pressure.

Tan Hua looked genuinely puzzled. “Scared? Of what?”

Mu Wanyi opened her mouth to complain but fell silent when she met Tan Hua’s clear, unshaken gaze.

Maybe someone who grew up constantly dodging debt collectors just isn’t scared of a little Alpha intimidation.

Mu Wanyi sighed and changed the subject. “Have your parents contacted you lately?”

“Probably not?” Tan Hua replied uncertainly.

They might’ve tried, but she never answered unknown numbers.

“Probably?” Mu Wanyi’s face turned blank. “Then what about their creditors?”

Tan Hua’s eyes widened. “Them? With that ridiculous interest rate? If they even dare try and contact me, I’ll have them behind bars faster than they can say ‘loan shark’.”

The Omega looked every bit like someone who’d go down swinging over even half a coin, and Mu Wanyi was left speechless.

That’s when it finally hit her—Tan Hua really had changed.

She wasn’t the same timid, soft-spoken Omega from before. She was bolder, sharper, and didn’t seem to fear anyone anymore.

From nearby, Lu Huaixu overheard their quiet conversation. Her face didn’t change, but something flickered beneath the surface.

Still, she reminded herself—she’d already had Tan Hua’s background checked the first time they met. There wasn’t anything here she didn’t already know.

Their arrangement was purely transactional.

Speaking of transactions, Lu Huaixu pushed her chair back and stood up. “Let’s go.”

Tan Hua blinked, then realized she was the one being called. “Coming!”

Her eyes lit up. The banquet was over, which meant it was time to settle accounts.

So… was Lu Huaixu finally going to pay her the rest of today’s commission?

She practically bounced after her, eyes glittering with anticipation—so much so that even Lu Huaixu couldn’t quite ignore it.

Finally, Lu Huaixu stopped and turned. “Speak.”

Her voice was cool, her attitude detached—but that didn’t dampen Tan Hua’s enthusiasm one bit.

Twisting her fingers together and trying to act demure, she said softly, “President Lu… don’t you think you forgot something?”

Lu Huaixu raised a brow. “Like what?”

Tan Hua twisted even more dramatically. “You know… that thing.”

That thing? Lu Huaixu stared at her for a beat—then suddenly smiled.

It was a gentle smile, but it sent a chill straight down Tan Hua’s spine.

“You want to chase after Zheng Jinyu?” she said slowly.

“If you like her so much, why don’t you ask her to be your sponsor instead?”

Tan Hua: “???”

Excuse me? Which part of me looks like I’m into Zheng Jinyu?

She was just trying to get paid, thank you very much!

Wait—her eyes suddenly narrowed. Hold on. Is Lu Huaixu trying to get out of paying me?

Tan Hua, internally: Break my heart if you must, but steal my money? Never.

I can fall in love a thousand times in this life, but I can only earn so much.

Lu Huaixu: …