After Cat A Saved the Wrong Female Lead - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Dressed Up Tang Li

Even with two bags in her hands, Tang Li reacted swiftly, catching the person who was falling towards her.

“Oh dear, what happened?”

It was lunchtime at the mall, and people were bustling about. A kind-hearted auntie saw Tang Li stumble, with someone leaning on her arm, and quickly came to help. Tang Li finally managed to steady herself. Although the person wasn’t heavy, it was hard for anyone unprepared to catch someone falling suddenly, right? She breathed a sigh of relief. After the girl was lifted off her, Tang Li realized the person looked somewhat familiar.

The girl was very young, with smooth, chestnut-brown hair and delicate, unadorned skin. Even with her eyes closed and looking a bit disheveled, she was clearly a graceful beauty.

However, Tang Li only glanced at her before looking away. More than her looks, she was concerned if this Omega had some problem.

A sweet and sour raspberry pheromone intertwined in the air, very faint. Tang Li had already held her breath and hadn’t smelled it carefully. Under everyone’s gaze, she helped the auntie carry the person to a lounge chair and quickly dialed the police, explaining the situation. After that, she deliberately looked up.

Thankfully, the mall’s surveillance cameras were overhead, monitoring in 180° without blind spots. Tang Li had heard of many “professional con artists” before and was afraid of being extorted by a pretty woman. Just then, Qin Shiyang also came out of the restroom and saw a crowd gathered, with Tang Li in the center. She walked over, and the girl obediently squeezed out of the crowd, simultaneously turning back to the onlookers and shouting:

“Auntie, I’m in a hurry, I’m not needed anymore!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled Qin Shiyang and quickly moved away from the center of chaos, leaving Qin Shiyang puzzled. Only when they were further away did Tang Li explain what had just happened:

“That Omega suddenly fell on me. She’s so pretty, like a celebrity, so I ran away first.”

Running away just because someone is pretty, what kind of twisted logic is that? Qin Shiyang couldn’t help but be amused by her. Then she heard the little one’s strong survival instinct supplement:

“But I think, Xiao Yu, you’re much prettier than her!”

This sentence structure with a supplementary ending sounded too much like flattery, yet the girl’s clear voice made it sound so sweet that one didn’t even think to question its sincerity.

Qin Shiyang ignored her distorted use of her nickname.

Her brief interaction with the little one felt pretty good.

….

Tang Li, who believed she had performed remarkably in front of the female lead, was in a joyful mood. When she got back, she saw a message from Yao Cheche asking how she was doing. She initially wanted to blacklist her directly but thought about it and chose to read without replying.

After a while, the other party should be able to tell from her cold attitude that she didn’t want to continue being friends. If she had even a little bit of sense or dignity, she should proactively withdraw from the social circle.

Tang Li wasn’t the kind of person described in the original book. Although she wasn’t an introverted social phobic, she didn’t like useless social interactions like fair-weather friends. Moreover, in the original plot, her “enemies” were countless, including those who coveted the female lead and those who wanted to squeeze her out in the family, making her an enemy on all fronts.

If she didn’t get herself together soon, she probably wouldn’t even need the female lead to deal with her; those people alone would be enough to make her miserable.

The two elder sisters who initially messaged her to curse her out later fell silent, probably because they went to complain to her elders and got dealt with. Her two mothers were equally protective. Although their relationship was gradually souring, their protective instincts for her, their only daughter, were very strong, but not blindly doting.

For example, her Omega mother, Bai Xuan, had advised her several times to find a stable job, work for a while to gain experience, and then, if she could adapt, join one of the Bai family’s enterprises to at least live a stable life.

The internship the original owner found was at a design company, and she was officially starting tomorrow. Plus, Tang Li herself didn’t have any proper career plans, so she decided to just go with it for now. The original owner had studied advertising design in college. Since she was just a minor villain in the original work, not much was written about her, and Tang Li only had a vague understanding of it, but the memories of the original owner’s professional knowledge in her mind were enough.

That afternoon, she really did go to check out the place and enthusiastically reported for duty the next day. After all, it was her first official job, and she was full of anticipation.

The head of the design department was a mature woman in her forties. She seemed serious and hard to talk to. She brought Tang Li over, introduced her to a senior sister, and then left. Most of the department members were women. An Alpha like Tang Li, who was pretty, friendly, and young, was actually very popular. She had only been there for one morning, and Tang Li had already gotten acquainted with her colleagues. At noon, a girl even offered to treat her to bubble tea when ordering.

Tang Li was thriving there, unaware that she had successfully avoided a plot patch from the original story.

As a villain in the original book, how could she still have only minimal interaction with the female lead by now?

The plot’s progression gave Tang Li a second chance to be smitten by the female lead, but she, being quite clueless, handed it over to a kind auntie.

Yu Qingshuang woke up, opening her eyes vaguely in the hospital room, only feeling a slight itch and pain in her estrus gland, but it was much better than before.

A police officer had sent her to the hospital, and a kind auntie was watching over her. Yu Qingshuang was a polite person, so after waking up, she thanked the auntie. The auntie quickly waved her hand:

“I was just watching the commotion. When you fainted, a young woman caught you. That girl later left with her companion because she had something to do and asked me to bring you here.”

Yu Qingshuang blinked her somewhat dry eyes, listening to the auntie describe the other kind person’s appearance, and for some reason, felt a hint of familiarity.

….

Time quickly moved to the weekend. That day, Yu Zhou specifically sent someone to pick up Tang Li and brought her to a studio early. Soon after, she herself arrived.

This studio was only open to specific artists. Outsiders couldn’t make appointments unless they had “money power” and even then, it depended on the owner’s mood. Yu Zhou had connections, and the owner had to show her some respect since they were good friends. However, upon seeing Tang Li, the mixed-race owner’s eyes lit up, and she spoke to Yu Zhou in pure foreign language:

“Whose beautiful daughter is this? So pretty. Have you considered letting her enter the entertainment industry? I can help with connections.”

“Get lost, go do your styling design properly.”

Yu Zhou knew her daughter’s personality well. If she were to enter the entertainment industry, it would probably be just a whim. Although the family had the money to let her squander, Yu Zhou didn’t want her to be tainted by the bad habits in the entertainment industry. She unhesitatingly refused her friend and warned her face-to-face to prevent her from secretly approaching Tang Li later.

The friend made a gesture of admitting fault.

Tang Li herself couldn’t do makeup. She stared at the makeup artist’s technique for a long time, only feeling dizzy. After her eye makeup was done, she adapted for a short while and then fell asleep. An hour later, her entire demeanor had elevated by a level.

“Done, little princess. Are you satisfied?”

Doing makeup and styling for a girl with naturally good features was truly enjoyable. The designer whistled lightly, signaling Tang Li that she could stand up now. Tang Li tried to adapt to the long dress and slender high heels and was taken care of by Yu Zhou’s people as she got into the car. As soon as she left, Qin Shiyang received a report from the private investigator.

After all, she had decided on a marriage partner for a short period, and the issue of the estrus period was seriously pressing. Qin Shiyang had no interest or time for romance.

If it worked out, she would have to live with an Alpha for three years. Although it was an exchange of interests, the other party’s moral bottom line had to have some limit.

Not having multiple partners and being a habitual liar were the most basic requirements. She didn’t want to smell unwanted scents from her comfort Alpha during her estrus period.

Therefore, finding a private investigator was the most convenient and simple way to understand the other party’s private character.

The private investigator Qin Shiyang hired was tight-lipped and efficient. When he detected Tang Li’s movements, he promptly reported to Qin Shiyang. To this, Qin Shiyang replied five minutes later:

[Keep an eye on her. No need to report constantly unless something major happens.]

A capable private investigator inherently held countless connections. Sneaking into an entertainment industry banquet wasn’t a difficult task. Qin Shiyang only needed to investigate whether Tang Li was an unruly Alpha. Without concrete evidence, the private investigator certainly wouldn’t speak nonsense.

It was already night, but the Shuiyun Mansion, located in the southern part of Huadu, was brightly lit. Waiters moved through the spacious aisles of the banquet tables, promptly changing dishes, delivering drinks, and serving wine and refreshments to those conversing.

Tang Li was completely unaware that she was being watched by a private investigator and was chatting animatedly with a young woman.

Due to the crowded social setting, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Tang Li had applied an inhibitor patch today, so there was no pheromone overflow. However, Yu Qingshuang still found out that she was the Alpha who had helped her close the door that night and genuinely thanked Tang Li.

“Tang Li,” Yu Qingshuang was a rising star in the industry, having recently gained some popularity for playing the third female lead in a hit idol drama. Her features were elegant, like a white plum blooming in the snow, graceful and touching. She savored the name, her eyes flickering slightly, and asked shyly, “May I ask, is your surname Yu?”

“No, that’s just my name.”

In this ABO world where women held power, Alpha, Omega, and Beta were actually secondary genders. The upper echelons of society were mostly controlled by Alphas, but as long as they respected their wives and weren’t too overbearing, Alphas wouldn’t contend with Omegas, who painstakingly gave birth after ten months, for the right to pass on the family name.

But Tang Li’s name was indeed Tang Li; her surname was neither Bai nor Yu. Perhaps the author was too lazy to set it, or perhaps her two mothers’ unconventional personalities could explain it.

“Oh.”

Yu Qingshuang, who had asked about her name, was clearly unable to hide a hint of delight. Seeing Tang Li’s gaze fall on a pastry a bit far from her, she proactively asked:

“Do you need help?”

….

The clock hands pointed to before eleven o’clock at night. Qin Shiyang finally finished her work for the day, and the auditing department’s oversight incident was now resolved.

This incident was caused by internal management deceiving their superiors. It didn’t cause major trouble and was caught in time, so the lowest level only felt it was much ado about nothing. In their impression, the decisive CEO Qin didn’t investigate and punish many people as they imagined; some minor issues were gently let go with warnings. Some people privately attributed this to the Omega’s soft-heartedness and limited ability, discussing it with a hint of discriminatory malice.

In the office, Qin Shiyang looked at the list of names sent by her secretary. After copying and saving it, she closed her computer and rubbed her somewhat sore temples.

Her recent displays of great anger had taken a toll on her body, and with her estrus period having just ended, her glands still felt uncomfortable at times.

At this point, she couldn’t help but recall the hasty sweetness of that night. Qin Shiyang subconsciously opened her phone and found that two whole hours had passed, and the private investigator hadn’t sent her a message.

Did he not find anything?

[Photo.]

The private investigator suddenly received Qin Shiyang’s brief message and quickly sent a photo, indicating that he wasn’t slacking off.

This was Qin Shiyang’s first time seeing Tang Li in formal attire.

She wore fishbone-colored high heels today, their slender heels making her already tall figure appear even more superior. Her makeup emphasized the lively and delicate features of her face, without excessive exaggeration or even false eyelashes. Instead, her natural eyelashes were simply made more distinct, complementing her long, dense eyebrows, giving her a wild and untamed look.

But Tang Li’s original appearance was refined and beautiful, and the carefully applied makeup only maximized her natural advantages without completely transforming her. Her light golden hair was slightly curled, with a few wisps of air bangs falling down, complemented by a black, layered long gauze dress, making her moving and captivating.

Taken alone, it was a beauty that blurred gender attributes, but with the smaller Omega next to her, the two transformed from having their own unique charms into a perfectly matched pair.

The private investigator didn’t say anything to her, only took this photo, indicating that the two were merely socializing normally. Qin Shiyang wasn’t the type to be foolishly jealous, but upon seeing the photo, an undeniable stir within her told Qin Shiyang directly that she was annoyed.

Her gaze settled, and when she clearly saw the Omega next to her, her thumb pressed against the edge of the phone, accidentally turning off the screen.

Soon, Qin Shiyang logged into her alternate account and, with an displeased expression, sent a message to Tang Li.

Come to me.

Is that too domineering?

Where are you now?

It also sounded like she was monitoring someone.

After much deliberation, Qin Shiyang pressed the record button and sent a voice message. After sending this message, the playfully indifferent expression she had thought was flawless showed a slight crack. Her dark eyes darted around, Qin Shiyang’s fingertips hovered over the voice message bar, and a moment later, she abruptly stood up and turned off the light.