Dressed as the Scumbag Alpha Mom of the Tragic Female Lead (ABO, GL) - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

These past couple of days, Jiang Chuxie has been busy with website updates. Gu Lingjun would occasionally send her messages, and she’d reply right away.

You could say that, except for their secondary genders not quite matching, their current way of interacting did feel a bit like best friends.

Jiang Chuxie wasn’t sure if this was good or bad, and sometimes her feelings were quite complicated. But no matter how tangled her thoughts got, she no longer had any intention of completely cutting ties with Gu Lingjun.

After all, after being treated so gently and comforted by Gu Lingjun, she couldn’t bear to hurt her feelings again.

“Birthday, huh…”

After receiving Gu Lingjun’s invitation, Jiang Chuxie started stressing over what to get as a birthday gift. Since crossing over, she hadn’t celebrated her own birthday or attended anyone else’s, so the concept of birthday gifts was something she hadn’t dealt with in a long time.

In her past life, she had plenty of experience giving gifts, but those weren’t exactly suitable for a refined young lady like Gu Lingjun. Given their current relationship, Jiang Chuxie was at a loss about what would be an appropriate gift.

Technology here hadn’t advanced enough. If this were her previous life, even if she couldn’t think of something right away, she could browse online for some inspiration.

Building an online shopping platform was becoming urgent!

While she was agonizing over what to buy, a phone call interrupted her thoughts.

“Hello, Dean Zhuang.”

Not many people called her. Before, it was just Liu Wen and her husband, Zhuang Qi, and Zhuang Jingyuan. Of course, now Gu Lingjun was the one contacting her most often.

“Chuxie, come to my office right now.”

“Is it about the software, a new project, or… running low?”

Jiang Chuxie didn’t hesitate and immediately got ready. She always had a great attitude toward this generous patron and excellent mentor.

“…All of the above.”

Dean Zhuang was known for being concise and not wasting words. Jiang Chuxie didn’t ask further, simply replying, “Got it,” before taking most of her suppressants out of a locked drawer.

She kept only one forced suppressant for herself, wrapping the rest tightly in a black plastic bag and putting them in her backpack.

Most of the school’s faculty were Betas, with only a few Alphas, but those Alphas occupied most of the mid-to-high-level positions. Dean Zhuang was one of the few Betas among them, and also the youngest.

“Dean Zhuang, you wanted to see me?”

Zhuang Jingyuan looked about thirty, with bold, heavy makeup but nothing particularly striking otherwise.

However, Jiang Chuxie knew some secrets others didn’t. She knew that under that heavy makeup was an overly delicate face.

“Mm, sit.”

Zhuang Jingyuan’s expression and words were very cold. Jiang Chuxie sat across from her and took the black bag out of her backpack, placing it on the desk.

Zhuang Jingyuan didn’t check it, casually taking the bag and stuffing it into a drawer, saying lightly, “Thanks. I’ll transfer the money along with your project payment.”

“You’re welcome.”

That’s right—Dean Zhuang wasn’t a Beta at all but an Omega pretending to be one. When Jiang Chuxie first became her assistant, she accidentally stumbled upon this secret.

Yes, her troublesome nature kicked in at just the right time, and she happened to run into Zhuang Jingyuan during her heat cycle.

Luckily, by then, she had already met Liu Wen and gotten her hands on forced suppressants, narrowly avoiding a crisis.

After Zhuang Jingyuan learned Jiang Chuxie had a way to get suppressants, she’d been buying them from her for the past two years. Jiang Chuxie initially didn’t want to get involved, but Zhuang Jingyuan wasn’t just the dean—she was also her mentor and financial backer. In short, Dean Zhuang was just too generous.

Jiang Chuxie didn’t overcharge for the suppressants, but Zhuang Jingyuan had access to the most appealing projects and could provide her with comprehensive guidance. Jiang Chuxie found it hard to refuse her requests.

Besides, she never imagined she’d actually meet an Omega pretending to be a Beta in this ABO world, so she secretly wanted to support this rebellious spirit.

“Now, let’s talk about your instant messaging software.”

“Go ahead.”

Despite her heavy makeup, Zhuang Jingyuan had a very cold personality. Unlike Jiang Chuxie’s feigned aloofness, she genuinely wasn’t interested in anything outside of work.

Jiang Chuxie had suspected more than once that Zhuang Jingyuan pretended to be a Beta to focus better on her work.

Pretending to be a Beta as an Omega was extremely difficult, let alone as an Alpha—otherwise, Jiang Chuxie wouldn’t have thought Zhuang Qi’s ideas were so far-fetched. But even Zhuang Qi didn’t know that her aunt was actually an Omega, which showed how well Zhuang Jingyuan hid it.

Experiencing heat cycles meant Zhuang Jingyuan hadn’t removed her glands. Jiang Chuxie had no idea how she managed to conceal her pheromones so thoroughly.

“There are many details that need improvement, but the overall design is already very mature… So, have you thought about how to promote it?”

Jiang Chuxie couldn’t hide her surprise. She’d assumed Zhuang Jingyuan wanted to discuss improvements, not skip straight to talking about commercialization.

But she was prepared and quickly answered, “The school network is a great platform for promotion.”

Zhuang Jingyuan nodded. “I heard about the website from Zhuang Qi… So, you’re planning to offer it for free download?”

“Yes.”

“But that way, you won’t make a profit in the short term.”

“I know.”

Zhuang Jingyuan sighed. “I have a friend who wants to embed your software into their system, offering you a commission for every system sold.”

“Teacher, that’s not how it works, right?” Jiang Chuxie smiled slightly. “Your ‘friend’s’ system only has a 5% market share. They want to tie my software exclusively to their platform, preventing me from developing versions for other platforms or systems, don’t they?”

“You’re very smart… But I don’t think it’s a bad offer for you right now.”

“It’s not bad. Honestly, I’m optimistic about your ‘friend’s’ system and believe it’ll gradually become the mainstream for computer platforms.”

“Then you…”

“The success of a system doesn’t guarantee the success of the software tied to it. I want more control over the products I develop and hope they can shine in more places.”

Sure, it was basically a mishmash of messaging software from her past life, but no one in this world would know!

Her expectations for this software were much higher than for the school network. It wasn’t that she thought messaging software had more potential than a social networking site, but as a tool, she believed it had greater practical value.

Seeing her firm stance, Zhuang Jingyuan didn’t press further. “Alright, then let’s discuss the issues and areas for improvement.”

After leaving Zhuang Jingyuan’s office, Jiang Chuxie let out a heavy sigh of relief. Dean Zhuang was great in every way, except for her serious, no-nonsense demeanor. Talking about professional matters with her was always intense.

But this time, the meeting was very fruitful, and Jiang Chuxie planned to revise her work based on the email Zhuang Jingyuan sent.

Feeling pleased, she didn’t expect her good mood to turn sour. At the stairwell, she ran into someone she really disliked and had almost forgotten about!

Dean Xu from the Life Sciences Institute was coming upstairs. By the time Jiang Chuxie saw him, it was too late to avoid him. They locked eyes, both momentarily stunned.

When Dean Xu recognized Jiang Chuxie, his expression shifted from surprise to a dark, brooding look, a cold smirk on his lips as he said in a sinister tone, “You… you’re a student at B University?”

Likely due to the Gu family’s intervention, Dean Xu hadn’t shown up again after that day when he acted all high and mighty. After Zhao Gang’s trial, Jiang Chuxie thought the matter was over and didn’t expect to run into him at school.

Cursing her bad luck inwardly, she kept her expression calm. “That’s right.”

“Heh, I didn’t realize… So, you helped Gu Lingjun because you knew her.”

This old-school Alpha chauvinist probably thought she helped Gu Lingjun because she was after her wealth. Jiang Chuxie knew arguing with an idiot was pointless, so she ignored his comment and said curtly, “Dean Xu, I have things to do, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Oh, leaving so soon? As a student, don’t you think you should apologize for your earlier disrespectful attitude?”

Jiang Chuxie caught the threat in his tone. “If you can apologize to Gu Lingjun, I wouldn’t mind saying sorry to you.”

She never backed down from a challenge. Thinking she’d handled it pretty coolly, she walked away confidently.

Even if Dean Xu tried to cause trouble, he’d have to go through Dean Zhuang first. Not to mention whether the institutes were friendly enough for him to discipline a student from another department, his Alpha-supremacist attitude was enough to make Zhuang Jingyuan dislike him.

That was why Jiang Chuxie wasn’t afraid to stand up to him.

Rushing out of the administrative building like she was escaping a plague, Jiang Chuxie still felt disgusted by Dean Xu’s arrogant attitude.

With a dean like that in the Life Sciences Institute, it was impressive that Zhao Zi managed to become student council president.

“Jiang Chuxie?”

Just as she was shaking her head in frustration, a low male voice she vaguely recognized called her name.

“President Chen?”

Looking toward the sound, she saw a tall figure waving at her from the second floor. The building she was passing housed the student council offices and activity rooms. Who else could it be but Chen Yue, the university student council president?

“Jiang Chuxie, I was just looking for you. Can you come up for a moment?”

Something to discuss?

It was probably about that matter. Jiang Chuxie hesitated briefly before nodding. “Sure, give me a second.”

The student council office was on the second floor. When she got there, she noticed the door was still closed. Chen Yue was standing outside, seemingly waiting for someone. He greeted her warmly, “Thanks for coming. It’s about the welcome event… I wanted to discuss it with you.”

“No problem,” Jiang Chuxie glanced at the office door. “Are we talking inside, or…?”

“Oh, sorry, please wait a moment. I’ve asked security to grab the key.”

“Security has the office key?”

“The security office has spare keys for all the rooms on this floor. I’ve been so busy lately, I keep forgetting to bring mine…”

“No worries, I’m not in a rush.”

Jiang Chuxie nodded understandingly. They chatted for a bit until a young male Beta security guard hurried over with the key.

The guard looked so young that, without his uniform, Jiang Chuxie would’ve mistaken him for a B University student. For some reason, she felt he looked familiar. Had she seen him somewhere before?

“What took you so long?”

As Jiang Chuxie tried to recall where she’d seen him, she suddenly heard Chen Yue’s annoyed scolding.

“Sorry…”

“You’ve been working here for two months, right? Can’t even handle something this simple? It took you over ten minutes to get a key. Do you think I have all day?”

Hiss—

Watching the domineering Alpha in front of her, Jiang Chuxie felt a strange sense of detachment. This was only their second close interaction. The last time, and even earlier today, Chen Yue had seemed polite and well-mannered.

But now, his attitude toward this Beta was no different from Dean Xu’s just moments ago.