After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 40

40: The Ever-Proud Princess

Lou Huaiche’s words were resolute, showing no sign that she had just been at a disadvantage.

This Omega was always like this—even on the verge of death, she’d take a bite out of others, fierce and unyielding.

“Tsk,” Jiang Youbai suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as she helped Lou Huaiche straighten her disheveled clothes. With a mocking curl of her lips, she said, “Miss Lou, your mouth is truly something else. When you die and are cremated, your relics will probably have ‘Let me teach you how to be an Alpha’ engraved on them.”

“Shut up.”

Lou Huaiche grabbed her collar, pulling Jiang Youbai close, and vented her frustration by kissing her.

Jiang Youbai, never one to back down from a challenge, immediately started tugging at the Omega’s collar, undoing the clothes she had just neatly arranged.

……

After their reckless escapade in the reception room, both of them felt a faint sense of awkwardness as they straightened their clothes. When their eyes met, the awkwardness became palpable.

Jiang Youbai coughed lightly. “Why are you looking at me? You were the one who bit me first.”

“I bit you? I didn’t bite you at all!” Lou Huaiche gritted her teeth, grabbing Jiang Youbai’s hand and biting it. “Who said I was biting you? I was trying to ask you something. You’re the one who brought it up.”

Jiang Youbai, her chin gripped by Lou Huaiche, raised an eyebrow defiantly. “Hah? I brought it up? But you were the one who started releasing pheromones first, weren’t you, Miss Lou? Can’t win a fight, so you resort to pheromones—tsk tsk.”

Lou Huaiche shook off her hand and turned to leave in a huff.

After just two steps, her legs—weakened from exhaustion—nearly gave out, and she stumbled.

Jiang Youbai quickly reached out to steady her, only to receive an icy glare.

“Why the glare? I was just helping you. Fine, I won’t next time.”

Lou Huaiche licked her sharpest canine teeth, feeling the urge to bite Jiang Youbai again. “I…”

She wanted to say, Isn’t this your fault? But the words sounded too coquettish, too intimate, as if they were a bickering couple. The words stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.

Lou Huaiche fell silent, and Jiang Youbai’s confidence soared. “What? It’s not like I caused this. Are you trying to blame me?”

Jiang Youbai didn’t know if she had sensed Lou Huaiche’s unspoken words or if she genuinely believed it, but the retort slipped out effortlessly.

Her attitude was so nonchalant, as if their earlier intimacy had never happened—as if Lou Huaiche was the only one overthinking it, turning it over and over in her mind.

Only someone who didn’t care at all could be so indifferent.

Lou Huaiche’s expression darkened instantly.

She couldn’t stand the idea that in this seemingly intimate relationship, she was the only one who had fallen into it.

She gripped Jiang Youbai’s hand tightly. “Your Highness, I didn’t hear you clearly. Say it again.”

During their earlier scuffle, Jiang Youbai had accidentally bruised her arm. The dull pain flared up as Lou Huaiche squeezed, and she couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

She debated whether to keep arguing. Not retaliating would leave her frustrated, but provoking Lou Huaiche further might backfire.

Even a rabbit would bite when cornered, let alone a beast like Lou Huaiche.

After some thought, Jiang Youbai decided that since Lou Huaiche couldn’t beat her today anyway, she might as well have the last word. Otherwise, she wouldn’t sleep well tonight.

“I said, it’s not like I caused this. Are you trying to blame me?”

Lou Huaiche’s face became expressionless, all emotions locked away in some dark corner of her heart, festering into malice that screamed to drag this Alpha down into the same abyss of suffering.

She idly rubbed her fingers, glancing at Jiang Youbai with feigned indifference. “Good. Very good.”

Jiang Youbai paused. “What’s so good… Lou Huaiche, don’t smile like that. It looks like you’re not angry at all.”

Lou Huaiche sneered. “Exactly.”

Jiang Youbai stroked her chin. “But I get the feeling you’re actually furious beyond words, to the point where neither words nor actions can express your desire to kill me.”

Lou Huaiche smiled softly, her expression tender. “How could that be? I’m not angry at all.”

Her face wore a gentle smile, her eyes warm and affectionate, devoid of any trace of her usual madness.

Jiang Youbai stiffened, a sudden sense of danger prickling her spine. She might sleep soundly tonight after winning the argument, but Lou Huaiche definitely wouldn’t.

She added, “Ah, don’t take it to heart. It’s just a small thing.”

Don’t take it to heart. It’s just a small thing. Lou Huaiche took a deep breath, unnoticeable to anyone else.

Right now, they still had to arrange Jiang Youbai’s return to the Upper District. Lou Huaiche repeatedly reminded herself that this was Jiang Youbai—alive, the person she had missed day and night—before finally calming down enough to set the matter aside for now.

Seeing that Lou Huaiche seemed to have let it go, Jiang Youbai relaxed and began handling the logistics of returning to the Upper District.

After careful consideration, she decided not to alter her current appearance. First, it was troublesome—if she slipped up, it would be worse than staying as she was. Second, this face, nearly identical to her past one, might have some unexpected effects.

Thus, there was no need for a disguise.

While altering her appearance wasn’t necessary, disguising her secondary gender as a Beta was. Though it was almost as troublesome as changing her appearance, it was the highest priority.

Traveling from the Lower District to the Upper District as an Alpha carried too high a risk of exposure.

Disguising one’s secondary gender was easier than altering one’s primary gender. For an Alpha to pose as a Beta, all it took was some medication to suppress pheromone secretion and a conscious effort to mask their scent.

Humans distinguished secondary genders by pheromones. Alpha pheromones were the most intense on the spectrum, and lowering hormone levels could fool about 80% of people.

Lou Chuxue had likely returned long ago. Hearing the commotion in the reception room, she had shooed everyone away and stood guard at a distance, waiting anxiously.

The moment Lou Huaiche messaged her, Lou Chuxue rushed in with the medication. “Boss! Finally! Any later and I’d have had to knock. It’s getting late!”

Understanding the implication, Jiang Youbai’s expression faltered—or rather, her entire face stiffened.

Lou Chuxue shoved the medicine into Jiang Youbai’s hands. Unsure what to call her, she settled for her new identity. “Bai Mu, take this. After this, you’re good to go.”

Jiang Youbai: “No need to phrase it like that.”

The medication came in two types: one was a fast-acting drug that took effect within half an hour, the other a long-term hormone regulator.

These drugs weren’t originally developed for gender disguise.

A very small percentage of people underwent a second, unexpected gender differentiation years after their initial one in their late teens or early twenties. Due to unstable hormone levels during the second differentiation, these medications were necessary.

As she took the pills, Jiang Youbai couldn’t help but think of Jiang Qingxian.

Jiang Qingxian had returned to the imperial capital as the Fourth Princess at twenty-two. Rumors spread that she had differentiated from a Beta into an Alpha, though the gossip died down before gaining traction amid the capital’s political turmoil.

After swallowing the pills, Jiang Youbai said to Lou Huaiche, “Once we’re in the Upper District, don’t recklessly release pheromones around me. It’s too easy to get caught.”

Lou Huaiche replied, “I know my limits.”

Jiang Youbai sighed. “Miss Lou, you’re always saying you’ll teach me how to be an Alpha. What if one day you differentiate into one…”

Lou Huaiche cut her off. “That won’t happen. And I don’t want to be an Alpha.”

She hated being an Omega not because of the gender itself, but because society and environment had molded her into an “Omega,” restricting her in every way.

If she became an Alpha, she’d just be switching from the oppressed to the oppressor.

It meant nothing.

As an Alpha, Jiang Youbai didn’t fully grasp her meaning and chose not to press further.

When it came to secondary genders, she—as an Alpha—struggled to face Lou Huaiche and Chi Ruo, let alone understand their perspectives.

If she couldn’t comprehend, she could at least keep quiet.

Jiang Youbai turned to Lou Chuxue. “Is everything ready?”

Lou Chuxue glanced at her, then at Lou Huaiche, curiosity plastered on her face.

But she only nodded. “All set. You can head out now. But first, you’ll need to get the paperwork done at the A-Zone government office. It’s not hard, just tedious—running around with receipts, getting stamps. The office is huge, so it’ll take three or four hours.”

Jiang Youbai sighed.

It was already past 5 p.m., nearly 6. By the time they finished the paperwork and went through the Upper District’s immigration procedures—another three to four hours—it would be close to midnight.

She’d be starving by then.

Lou Huaiche didn’t actually make Jiang Youbai run around on an empty stomach. They grabbed some nutrient packs and energy supplements from the cafeteria before heading out.

The Lower District’s outdated infrastructure lacked dedicated flight paths for hovercrafts, and its residents couldn’t afford them anyway. Cars were the norm, bumping along the rubble-strewn streets, making for a rough ride.

Within half an hour of getting in the car, Jiang Youbai felt nauseous, her chest tight and uncomfortable.

She told Lou Huaiche, “I think I’m carsick. I feel awful.”

Lou Huaiche rolled down the window. “Will some air help? Hang in there. The Lower District doesn’t have hovercrafts. We’ve got about twenty more minutes.”

Jiang Youbai pressed a hand to her forehead, forcing down the dizziness.

After running through the procedures and finally crossing into the Upper District, Jiang Youbai couldn’t take it anymore. She crouched by a greenbelt and vomited bile.

The Upper District wasn’t like the Lower District—getting caught by patrols could mean a fine. Lou Huaiche stood guard, handing her a bottle of water once she was done.

Jiang Youbai, pale-faced, muttered, “Thanks.”

She rinsed her mouth and drank half the bottle, the discomfort easing slightly.

Lou Huaiche patted her back reassuringly. “It’s fine. We’re in the Upper District now. We can take a hovercraft.”

Jiang Youbai weakly draped half her weight over Lou Huaiche, her voice faint. “I feel like I’m dying. I wasn’t this miserable when I was actually dying. So dizzy… And now I’m hungry again.”

Lou Huaiche said, “Let’s finish the formalities first.”

Since it was late, they hadn’t arranged for a pickup after crossing into the Upper District. They hailed a taxi to the immigration office.

Once inside, Jiang Youbai immediately noticed a shift in how people treated her.

She was adept at reading people, and the change was unmistakable.

There was less respect, though not outright disdain. Just a casual indifference in tone and demeanor.

Even when she wasn’t acting as the princess, Jiang Youbai had always drawn attention—whether for her poise or her looks.

Now, despite being even more striking, most people barely glanced at her before stamping her papers and shoving the receipts back at her.

“Next window’s over there,” a clerk said dismissively, not even looking up.

Simple tasks that had once been effortless now required repetition and patience.

It wasn’t until she stepped out of the immigration office, gazing up at the starry Upper District sky, that it hit her.

At first, she thought it was because she came from the Lower District. But the real reason lay in Jiang Youbai herself.

Her appearance and demeanor hadn’t changed, but her secondary gender had.

She was no longer a female Alpha, but a female Beta.

Standing there, under a meteor shower streaking across the night sky, Jiang Youbai realized what Chi Ruo had endured in the Upper District’s rigid hierarchy.

Empathy was hard without shared experience.

The dismissive glances, the cold shoulders—they were just the tip of the iceberg for Betas.

Even among Betas, there was no solidarity.

Centuries of ABO hierarchy had ingrained this mindset so deeply that even Betas unconsciously perpetuated it.

They didn’t feel inferior, but their actions betrayed their conditioning.

And Omegas?

Omegas, barred from even joining the parliament—what was life like for them?

Lou Huaiche noticed Jiang Youbai’s mood. “What’s wrong?”

In the Upper District, she had to watch her words, awkwardly adding, “Bai Mu.”

Jiang Youbai shook her head. “Nothing. Let’s eat.”

Crossing into the Upper District revealed a world worlds apart from the Lower District.

Towering buildings, hovercraft lanes in the clouds, neon lights bright as day, and rows of upscale shops.

Everywhere spoke of wealth, of excess.

The people here moved with a lightness those in the Lower District lacked, their attire impeccable, their manners refined.

Jiang Youbai had been an Alpha princess.

From her perch, her gaze had always been fixed on the palace, on power and money. The Omegas of the capital barely registered, let alone those below.

High above, those beneath her had seemed insignificant. Her suffering, and that of the Lower District, were fundamentally different.

She’d never faced cold shoulders for her secondary gender, never starved for a personal terminal.

A broken music box? Toss it. No need to repair.

Amid the Upper District’s glittering excess, Jiang Youbai realized the chasm a single wall could create.

She ate in silence.

Fresh vegetables, exquisite dishes—things only someone like Lou Huaiche, a faction leader, could afford in the Lower District.

Jiang Youbai exhaled slowly.

Though Lou Huaiche sensed her odd mood, she stayed quiet.

She understood why Jiang Youbai was upset but didn’t know what to say.

What was there to say?

These were facts, ignored by Upper District Alphas for centuries. Pointing them out changed nothing.

Jiang Youbai asked, “Miss Lou, why did you become an actress?”

Lou Huaiche glanced at her, her tone cool. “It was the only option.”

“Your High—Bai Mu, we could only be actresses. No matter how successful, it just made us more valuable bargaining chips for Alpha nobles in marriages.”

Jiang Youbai knew this, but only now did she understand what it truly meant.

Lou Huaiche said, “Finish up. It’s past 2 a.m. We’ve got things to do tomorrow.”

They planned to stay at Lou Huaiche’s place, only to find the door lock had erased her biometrics after months of absence.

Jiang Youbai: “Uh…”

Lou Huaiche: “Tch.”

With no other choice, they found a hotel. On the way, Jiang Youbai asked, “Can’t we stay with a friend?”

Lou Huaiche said, “Ning Yunze is my only friend. Do you have any besides Chi Ruo?”

Jiang Youbai laughed awkwardly. “Chi Ruo’s my only friend too. And even if I had others, we couldn’t just crash at their place.”

Lou Huaiche’s home was in a quieter part of the Upper District, but by Lower District standards, it was prime real estate. They found a small hotel nearby.

Only the front desk was lit. The clerk didn’t look up. “How many rooms?”

Jiang Youbai: “Two.”

Lou Huaiche: “One. Twin beds.”

Jiang Youbai opened her mouth to protest, but Lou Huaiche cut her off. “I’m paying. My call.”

The clerk registered them. “Room 301. Your terminals can unlock the door. Stay safe.”

Upstairs, Jiang Youbai checked the time—nearly 3 a.m. She set an alarm for 8:30, deciding to squeeze in some sleep.

The twin room had two bathrooms. They washed up quickly and went to bed.

Exhausted from two hectic days, Jiang Youbai fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

She completely forgot about their earlier argument—the one that had left Lou Huaiche fuming.

So when she was jolted awake at 8 a.m. by Lou Huaiche biting her gland, she was utterly bewildered.

Jiang Youbai had woken before 8 due to her internal clock but had rolled over for more sleep. At 8, Lou Huaiche’s alarm went off, but Jiang Youbai, facing away, had ignored it.

Then the familiar pain at her gland yanked her from sleep.

Blinking groggily, she realized Lou Huaiche was biting her.

Jiang Youbai thrashed, hissing. “Lou Huaiche! What the hell? Are you rabid?”

As she struggled, she discovered her hands were tied.

A chill ran down her spine.

She scooted toward the corner, forcing calm. “Miss Lou, let’s talk. Whatever I did, I’ll apologize.”

Lou Huaiche smirked darkly. “Your Highness, where’s that sharp tongue now?”

Jiang Youbai’s meekness lasted all of a second before her defiance returned. She released pheromones. “Tsk. Miss Lou, either kill me now, or when you go into heat later, I’ll bite you to death.”

Lou Huaiche ignored the threat. “Oh? Who was it yesterday that said ‘resorting to pheromones when you can’t win’? Tsk tsk.”

Her tone and expression mirrored Jiang Youbai’s mocking from the afternoon.

Jiang Youbai scoffed. “Fine. Let’s see you resist my pheromones without going into heat.”

Lou Huaiche leaned down, sinking her teeth into Jiang Youbai’s gland, relishing her shudder. Smiling coldly, she whispered, “Your Highness, when you’re at a disadvantage, maybe don’t be so proud.”