After the Scumbag Alpha Heard her Inner Thoughts (GL) - Chapter 19

That brief flash of panic did not escape Chu Muqing’s eyes. She thought to herself:
This person really is just all bark and no bite. After thinking about it for so long, she only dared to wish for a hug—and even then, only in her heart.

“You’re already married,” Chu Muqing said, suddenly feeling a bit mischievous. “Can’t even sleep together?”

Still not fully recovered from the earlier hug, Su Wanqing was startled by the unexpected comment.

Connecting it to Chu Muqing’s earlier initiative in hugging her, Su Wanqing’s dazed mind, clouded by pheromones, finally started functioning properly again.
The bond formed by repeated marking made her instinctively want to get closer to Chu Muqing.
But what about Chu Muqing?
If she, too, was influenced by pheromones, what exactly did she want to do?

Thinking of how the novel had described Chu Muqing—forced marking, followed by pregnancy, miscarriage, and so on—Su Wanqing’s feet felt as if they had rooted to the ground. She couldn’t take a single step forward.

Chu Muqing had already reached the stairs. Glancing sideways, she noticed that Su Wanqing hadn’t followed. Resting her hand casually on the railing, she looked down at her, amused by the constantly changing expressions on her face.

Just from that look, she could easily guess what Su Wanqing was imagining.
Is she so scared that she’s even stopped her internal monologue? Chu Muqing wondered.

The clock on the wall kept ticking, minute by minute, yet neither of them had really noticed.
It was already close to midnight.
There was a tough battle to fight tomorrow—no time to keep teasing her.

Chu Muqing leaned lazily against the railing and tapped it lightly with her knuckles.

The crisp sound snapped Su Wanqing back to reality.
She looked up.
Chu Muqing’s eyes were as cold and emotionless as ever.
Even if Chu Muqing really wanted to do something…
Su Wanqing realized, she had neither the standing nor the identity to refuse.

Still, the Omega Protection Association might be somewhat useful…

“Stop overthinking,” Chu Muqing finally said, her voice calm.
“I’m not doing anything. You were brought over here on short notice. The guest room isn’t prepared, so you’ll have to sleep with me.”

“Otherwise,” Chu Muqing lifted her eyes, “you can sleep on the couch in the living room—or walk back to Ban Gui Manor if you prefer.”

Su Wanqing: “……”

[Does Chu Muqing have mind-reading powers? How did she know exactly what I was thinking?]

[Was I judging her unfairly with my own petty thoughts?]

[Impossible. Chu Muqing isn’t some noble hero—she’s a scumbag Alpha.]

Even so, those reassuring words had clearly worked.
The terrified, speechless Su Wanqing now had time to grumble internally again—though somehow, the content of her complaints sounded more bitter than before.

Chu Muqing wasn’t sure if it was because she had too many people around her who always obeyed her, but Su Wanqing’s every word seemed to hit her sore spots.
And—on a side note—when exactly had she earned the title of ‘scumbag Alpha’?
Chu Muqing herself had no idea.

Su Wanqing was lost in her thoughts and didn’t notice Chu Muqing suddenly stopping ahead.
Caught off guard, she bumped into her.

“Hiss～” she hissed in pain.

“Quit imagining things,” Chu Muqing said without turning around.

“How did you know…” Su Wanqing began, but before she could finish, Chu Muqing interrupted coldly:
“You should look in the mirror. Every thought you have is written all over your face.
What… do I really look that desperate to you?”

Su Wanqing was left speechless.

It wasn’t that she thought Chu Muqing looked desperate—
It was just that, well, as a ‘scumbag Alpha’, she might be capable of things worse than being desperate.

Still, even if Chu Muqing was a bit of a scumbag, she was the type who used straightforward schemes.
She wouldn’t stoop to saying one thing and doing another.
Besides, in this apartment, even if Chu Muqing wanted to “deal with” her, no one would ever find out.

Defeated, Su Wanqing drooped her head and obediently followed Chu Muqing upstairs.

Chu Muqing’s bedroom was very spacious.
There wasn’t much furniture—just a dressing table—and the entire room was done in dark blue tones.
Under the cool palette, it looked even more vast and empty.

Like a curious kitten, Su Wanqing tiptoed around, sneaking glances here and there.

Chu Muqing opened the wardrobe, pulling the doors wide open.
“My assistant prepared these for me as spares—for business trips. Everything’s here. Pick whatever you like,” she said casually.
“I’m going to take a shower first.”

Carrying a set of sleepwear, Chu Muqing walked toward the bathroom.
“If you can’t wait, there’s another bathroom in the guest room,” she added.

Once Chu Muqing closed the bathroom door, Su Wanqing’s courage grew a little.

Inside the wardrobe, two sets of toiletries were neatly placed—one in black, the other in dark blue.

How very Chu Muqing, Su Wanqing thought. After a moment’s consideration, she picked the dark blue set.

She had initially planned to sit on the bed and wait for Chu Muqing to finish her shower.

The bedroom was deathly silent, the only sound being the faint trickle of water from the bathroom.
The longer she listened, the more she felt the atmosphere turning… dangerously ambiguous.

Before her mind could wander too far, Su Wanqing grabbed the toiletries and hurried off to the guest room.

Half an hour later, Su Wanqing stood in front of the mirror, examining herself.

The pajamas were a little too big—the top nearly reached her thighs, and with the pants on, she looked like a child who had stolen adult clothes.

Is Chu Muqing really that tall? she thought in disbelief.

She towel-dried her hair until it was half-dry, then tiptoed back toward the master bedroom.

[I hope she suddenly gets urgent work and has to pull an all-nighter.]

That way, Su Wanqing could sleep peacefully in the master bedroom without worrying about Chu Muqing suddenly losing control.

Chu Muqing: “……”

Even as a boss, she still found that thought extremely insulting.

As Su Wanqing prayed fervently while walking, she reached the bedroom door—only to see Chu Muqing standing there, arms crossed, as if she was about to leave.

Su Wanqing jumped in shock, then quickly composed herself.

[Could it be? Could she really have to work overtime? Could she? rubs hands like a scheming fly.jpg]

[Her face looks so dark—it must be overtime!]

Chu Muqing let out a low chuckle.
Even if the sky falls today, I will not work overtime. Thanks.

“What are you doing here?” Su Wanqing asked, staring at Chu Muqing’s grim expression, heart full of hope that she would say she needed to work.

But Chu Muqing shot her a frosty glance.
“You were so slow in the shower I thought you had walked back home.”

Su Wanqing: “……”

Dream shattered.

Chu Muqing turned and walked straight toward the bed.
“Come sleep. If you don’t get into bed soon, I’ll throw you out,” she said coldly.

She lifted the covers and lay down.

Su Wanqing crept toward the other side of the bed.
Thankfully, the CEO’s bed was huge.
She climbed in from the far side, lying down carefully, maintaining a healthy distance between them.

Chu Muqing glanced at her.
Su Wanqing was curled up at the very edge of the bed, looking like she had been severely mistreated.
“I have thorns on my body or something? Move closer,” Chu Muqing said.

Reluctantly, Su Wanqing inched over, still wrapped tightly in the blanket.

Now that they were closer, she could feel the warmth radiating from Chu Muqing’s body.

Chu Muqing said nothing more.
She simply reached out, turned off the bedside lamp, and lay back down.

Before falling asleep, Chu Muqing released a moderate amount of pheromones.

Half-drifting into sleep, Su Wanqing felt the gentle soothing of those pheromones, and soon slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.

With an Omega beside her, Chu Muqing—rarely able to rest so well—slept exceptionally soundly.

The next morning, sunlight filtered softly through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the bed.

The phone on the bedside table rang loudly.

Chu Muqing opened her eyes to find a certain someone clinging tightly to her, one leg tossed over her under the blanket.

Expressionless, she reached over and silenced the phone.

Right after Chu Muqing silenced the phone, a new message popped up:

[Boss, the plan is underway. When will you come oversee it? I’m worried I might miss something.]

[On my way.]

[Should I order breakfast to be delivered in an hour?]

[Is it for you and Madam?]

No reply.

Xu Chengke clicked his tongue.
About to face such a big battle, and she’s still indulging in her love life… Truly worthy of being the boss.

Meanwhile, Gu Heng thought he had operated quietly enough—but he never expected that he had already been discovered.

Seeing the stock prices being driven up sharply, he let out a contemptuous chuckle.
“So they only noticed now? A little late, isn’t it?”

This time, he had bet everything, pouring all his funds into buying stocks.
But the stocks weren’t even his real trump card—he held a hidden advantage that no one knew about.
That, truly, was the key to victory.

“Chu Muqing,” he sneered coldly at the screen, “you’ve been in power for three years. That’s long enough. I’m just taking back what was mine to begin with.”

One day passed.

Chu Muqing reviewed the data, finding that things had developed exactly as she had predicted.
“Now, only the final step remains.”

“The Lu family is aware,” Xu Chengke reported.
“Lu Qinghe just invited you to dinner tonight—probably about this.”

The stock turbulence in the Chu family was obvious to anyone who wasn’t blind.
They could guess at the situation, but the full picture was known only to those inside Chu’s inner circle.

“Meet with her,” Chu Muqing said calmly.
“Let her help stir the pot a little.”

Xu Chengke immediately understood what she meant.

Today, the Chu family had noticed the problem and tried to intervene by manipulating the stock price—but had failed.
In desperation, they would naturally seek help from their most trusted allies—the Lu family.

If the Lu family cooperated and helped create the illusion that Chu Muqing had exhausted all her options, Gu Heng would completely drop his guard.

Tsk tsk tsk.

What a ruthless plan.
Gu Heng would be played like a fool till the very end.

That evening, in Cheng Zhuo’s private, members-only restaurant, Lu Qinghe entered the private room.
Before she could even settle down, she blurted out,
“What’s going on? Why have so many shares been transferred?”

“Calm down,” Chu Muqing said, raising a hand.
“Sit first.”

Once Lu Qinghe sat, Chu Muqing noticed something odd.
The usual scent of Lu Qinghe’s pheromones was gone, replaced by a faint Alpha scent.

“You… you two…” Chu Muqing began, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Work could wait—this juicy gossip needed clarification.

“Mm, just like you’re thinking,” Lu Qinghe admitted openly.
“But you go first.”

Chu Muqing didn’t speak. Instead, Xu Chengke, who had been standing nearby, briefly explained the entire situation—leaving out Chu Muqing’s personal secrets, of course.

“So that’s how it is!” Lu Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief.
“You scared me half to death. I thought you were going bankrupt!”

“Even if I did, it wouldn’t affect the Lu family,” Chu Muqing said lightly.
“Your family can stand on its own now.”

“I’m just worried you won’t be able to support Qingqing,” Lu Qinghe teased.

“She can support herself just fine,” Chu Muqing said, laughing softly.

Thinking of Su Wanqing’s strong survival skills these past few days, Chu Muqing knew—even without her, Su Wanqing would have no problem living well.

Mentioning Su Wanqing made Chu Muqing recall a certain word that had kept popping up in Su Wanqing’s internal monologues:

“Scumbag Alpha.”

“Do I really seem that much like a scumbag?” Chu Muqing suddenly asked.

Hearing the question, Lu Qinghe couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“What kind of question is that?”

“You do seem like a scumbag,” she said, smiling mischievously, “but the kind that people are willing to be scumbagged by.”

Chu Muqing: “……”