Dressed as the Scumbag Alpha Mom of the Tragic Female Lead (ABO, GL) - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Among the people Gu Lingjun invited were her classmates, close seniors and colleagues from the student council, and then Jiang Chuxie and Zhuang Qi. Except for Zhuang Qi and Jiang Chuxie, everyone else was either an Omega or a Beta.

To avoid staying up too late, the birthday party was scheduled for noon, and most of the guests who were free arrived before ten in the morning.

Jiang Chuxie and Zhuang Qi weren’t particularly late, but Zhao Zi and the others got there even earlier. A group of people sat in the living room, watching TV and chatting, while a few gathered around a computer, looking at something.

As the goddess of the Life Sciences Institute and a figure in the spotlight recently, Zhao Zi was practically the center of attention before the two arrived. A bunch of Omegas surrounded her, expressing their support.

“You two finally made it,” Zhao Zi greeted them warmly when she saw them. “If you’d come any later, there’d be no one to do the heavy lifting.”

Zhuang Qi’s face darkened. “We just got here, and you’re already putting us to work?”

Zhao Zi grinned. “Don’t you Alphas always brag about being the strongest?”

Zhuang Qi knew Zhao Zi had been thoroughly disgusted by Dean Xu lately and didn’t mind her sharp words, pleading, “Good sister, I never said that. But fine, I’ll do the heavy lifting. What do you need?”

Zhuang Qi always maintained a good-girl, popular-idol image outside, which was why she was so well-liked.

Gu Lingjun chuckled lightly. “No need, Senior. Someone will bring it up. You guys can just sit.”

Gu Lingjun’s house was over three hundred square meters, with a spacious dining room and living room that could easily accommodate over a dozen people.

Zhuang Qi, the social butterfly, blended into the crowd effortlessly, soon hitting it off with a group of younger students.

Jiang Chuxie wasn’t as outgoing and didn’t want to draw attention. Scanning the living room, she looked for a quiet corner to sit in, but Gu Lingjun took her hand and asked softly, “Senior, what would you like to drink?”

Asking what she wanted to drink—why did she have to hold her hand?

Jiang Chuxie felt that ever since Gu Lingjun kissed her hand that day, things had been getting weirder. She wasn’t sure if it was Gu Lingjun’s behavior that was off or if she was just overthinking it.

Sure, she did tend to overthink when it came to Gu Lingjun, but this time…

Looking at Gu Lingjun’s gentle, smiling face, Jiang Chuxie quickly pushed those inappropriate thoughts out of her mind.

Gu Lingjun was indeed getting closer to her, but that only showed their friendship was deepening, and Gu Lingjun trusted her more. Nothing else.

In fact, based on Gu Lingjun’s personality as described in the original story, if she really saw Jiang Chuxie as a romantic interest, she probably wouldn’t dare be this close. So, in a way, this proved Gu Lingjun had no feelings for her.

The problem was clearly with herself!

If her exaggerated admiration for Gu Lingjun could be blamed on the story’s influence, then feeling restless, overthinking, and getting carried away by a bit of physical closeness was definitely due to her own impure thoughts.

Could becoming an Alpha really change her mind too? In her past life, no matter how close she was with her best friend, she never had such filthy thoughts.

Wait, speaking of that, it was her best friend’s fault! If she hadn’t recommended “Too Early for Fashion” to her to relieve stress, Jiang Chuxie wouldn’t have read smut!

But if she hadn’t read smut, would she have died suddenly and missed the chance to transmigrate?

“Senior?”

Hearing Gu Lingjun’s voice again, Jiang Chuxie realized she’d been led to a quieter corner of the living room. Just from a brief handhold, she’d zoned out that badly.

“Anything’s fine… Oh, right, I have a gift for you.”

Talking about drinks reminded Jiang Chuxie of what she’d brought. She’d agonized over what to get Gu Lingjun, but at the café, she noticed Gu Lingjun seemed to love coffee. So, she asked Liu Wen to get some high-quality coffee beans as a birthday gift.

“These are… coffee beans?”

Gu Lingjun smiled when she saw the gift Jiang Chuxie pulled from her bag.

“Ahem, I just got them this morning and didn’t have time to wrap them.”

As a birthday gift, the coffee beans’ plain packaging was a bit underwhelming. But their price was far from plain—Jiang Chuxie had gritted her teeth to buy them, considering Gu Lian had given her five million. A cheap gift wouldn’t do.

“I love them. Thank you, Senior,” Gu Lingjun said, clearly recognizing their value. She took the gift with a light laugh. “Looks like I need to get some equipment and learn how to brew coffee properly so I don’t waste your thoughtfulness.”

“Oh…” Jiang Chuxie realized she’d overlooked that, showing a hint of regret. “I didn’t think it through.”

“Not at all. I really do love coffee… Senior, I remember you work as a barista at the café, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Gu Lingjun’s fingertips gently brushed the coffee bean packaging, and Jiang Chuxie found herself inexplicably unable to look away from those delicate, pink fingertips.

Was this one of Gu Lingjun’s habits? She recalled Gu Lingjun touching her hand the same way, almost unconsciously…

“Could you teach me?”

“Teach you?”

“Yeah, I want to brew the coffee beans you gave me myself.”

Well… it wasn’t impossible, but Jiang Chuxie felt that if this continued, she and Gu Lingjun would only get closer. If it was just friendly closeness, that’d be fine, but she was starting to lose confidence in herself.

She’d had everything figured out before, so why was she wavering so much after just a few days?

Jiang Chuxie couldn’t make sense of it!

“It’s possible… maybe when there’s a chance.”

“Then I’ll wait for you, Senior.”

Gu Lingjun’s tone had a playful lilt, and Jiang Chuxie found her smile so dazzling it made her conscience ache.

After becoming an Alpha, Jiang Chuxie felt self-loathing for having physiological reactions to people she didn’t even like. Having improper thoughts about a real person was completely different from reading smut. Her self-loathing stemmed from the fear of losing herself.

But her wild thoughts about Gu Lingjun were clearly different from mere physical reactions. It wasn’t her body acting out of control—it was her mind.

This didn’t cause intense self-loathing, but it left her with more conflict and confusion.

As Gu Lingjun went to put away the coffee beans, Jiang Chuxie let out a quiet sigh of relief. She subtly scanned the living room, where everyone was chatting and laughing. Zhuang Qi and Zhao Zi, as the central figures, drew most of the attention, so few were focused on her.

But soon, she noticed a gaze from another direction.

Near the balcony, a carved bookshelf created a small secluded space. Jiang Chuxie remembered there was a computer there, and she’d seen people using it when she arrived.

Curious, she looked toward the source of the gaze and saw a glasses-wearing female Beta staring at her openly. When their eyes met, the Beta showed no sign of panic or avoidance, hesitating only briefly before walking toward her.

“Senior Jiang, hello.”

Jiang Chuxie was certain she didn’t know this Beta.

“Hello, may I…?”

“I’m Yuan Ning, Gu Lingjun’s classmate.”

“Oh… hi.”

Jiang Chuxie didn’t know why Yuan Ning was approaching her. She didn’t seem like a fan.

“Senior Jiang, we were just looking at the topic voting on the student network.”

Jiang Chuxie’s expression tightened, a trace of wariness in her eyes. Yuan Ning seemed unfazed by her caution and continued, “I’m curious—did the developers plan this feature long ago, or was it to boost Senior Zhao Zi’s campaign?”

The student network had evolved from B University’s network. Though B University was now just one of its communities, its students still had significant influence. Many new features were tested in the B University community first.

Using Zhao Zi’s election as the first topic for voting, though just an institute matter, had already sparked widespread discussion on the network.

Yuan Ning’s question showed she knew Jiang Chuxie was the student network’s founder. It wasn’t hard to find out, but few paid attention. Even those who knew the founder’s name couldn’t identify her, so this was the first time a stranger approached her to discuss the network.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Curiosity, I guess?” Yuan Ning sat beside her, seemingly eager for a deeper discussion. “I’m curious why you’re helping an Omega run for student council president.”

“Why not ask Zhuang Qi?”

“I can roughly guess Senior Zhuang’s reasons, but not yours. Not just this time, but also the welcome event.”

Jiang Chuxie’s guard went up, her entire body on alert.

“How do you know about the welcome event? You’re not in the student council.”

“Don’t be nervous, Senior. We mean no harm. In fact, we’d like to work with you.”

“We?” Jiang Chuxie frowned at Yuan Ning, a sudden thought flashing through her mind. “You’re the so-called ‘opposition’ in the student council?”

“That’s what outsiders call us, but I need to clarify. We don’t oppose for the sake of opposing. We’re fighting for our rightful interests, so we prefer to be called the equality movement…”

Jiang Chuxie raised a hand to stop her. “I’m not interested in your group or student council matters.”

“But you’re helping Senior Zhao Zi.”

“Because Zhao Zi is my friend.”

Well, more like Zhuang Qi’s friend, but she didn’t dislike her.

“And you saved Yuwen multiple times.”

Jiang Chuxie’s frown deepened. “How do you know…”

The welcome event aside, how did Yuan Ning—or this so-called equality movement—know she’d saved Yuwen multiple times?

“Senior, did you know the ratio of Alphas, Omegas, and Betas is roughly 1:1:8? If Betas unite, our intelligence network alone outmatches Alphas.”

“So what do you want?”

Yuan Ning furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment. “Honestly, I’m not sure what the higher-ups are planning. I’m just an ordinary member who hasn’t done much. But since I had the chance to meet you, the president asked me to gauge your interest. We’ve been observing you for a while and think your ideals align with our association. Would you be willing to work with us? With our support, Senior Zhao Zi could easily win.”

Though Jiang Chuxie strongly disliked the gender discrimination in this world, she hadn’t initially considered doing anything to change it. She saw herself as an ordinary person—neither great nor noble, and certainly not capable of carrying others’ hopes.

Her current actions were just because she couldn’t stand seeing such things happen around her. It was more about her frustration with the unfair treatment she and her friends faced—a personal grievance.

She could understand and even partially agree with these people’s ideals, but… she simply couldn’t trust them.

She’d never considered working with them or any other organization, regardless of whether their ideals aligned. She didn’t want her thoughts to be co-opted, and she didn’t trust people she hadn’t vetted.

“Is your goal the student network?”

She especially didn’t want her creation to become a tool for others.

“Maybe.”

No, Jiang Chuxie felt their goal wasn’t just the student network. To put it bluntly, they were likely after her technical skills and potential.

She was already dealing with enough troubles—why did these people have to barge in now?

Jiang Chuxie took a deep breath. “If that’s what you wanted to say, let me be clear: I have zero interest in working with you. As for Zhao Zi’s campaign, I trust you’ll make choices that benefit you.”

Yuan Ning’s expression stiffened. “So, Senior, you’re still siding with the Alphas?”

“I’m not siding with anyone. I do what I want to do.”

Yuan Ning sighed. “But one person often can’t do much. Haven’t you ever felt powerless, Senior?”

“Then I’ll choose my own teammates when necessary, not join a group I don’t understand. If you really think our ideals align, we might cross paths on the same road someday, even if we don’t walk together. Until then, it’s better we keep our distance.”

Yuan Ning wasn’t foolish—she fully understood Jiang Chuxie’s meaning.

They’d each do their own thing, maybe loosely collaborating when their goals aligned—like in this Life Sciences Institute election. Even if Jiang Chuxie refused to work with them, they’d likely vote for Zhao Zi out of self-interest.

When their goals diverged, though, it’d be a matter of who had the better skills.

It was clear Jiang Chuxie was calm, resolute, and fiercely independent—the hardest type to control.

The president’s hopes were probably dashed.

“I understand,” Yuan Ning said with a regretful look. “But if you change your mind, you’re welcome to find us anytime. For today, let’s just enjoy Gu Lingjun’s birthday.”

“You’re not close with Gu Lingjun?”

The thought of someone like Yuan Ning being around Gu Lingjun made Jiang Chuxie uneasy. But from Yuan Ning’s tone, they didn’t seem particularly close.

“Not really, just classmates. Well, you could say I’m her rival… academically.” Yuan Ning noticed Jiang Chuxie’s concern and smiled. “Are you worried I’ll influence her? But our numbers are larger than you think. Even if you rule me out, you can’t guarantee she won’t encounter others.”

Jiang Chuxie was startled. In the heroine’s era in the original story, Omega and Beta status had improved significantly, but there was no mention of this organization or its role.

Was this a hidden plotline, a correction to the world’s logic, or something changed by her transmigration?

“Don’t worry, we’re just ordinary people, not some cult recruiting everyone. We don’t force people to do what they don’t want or brainwash them. We’re just a group of like-minded people supporting each other in this cold society. And we owe thanks to your student network, or else…”

Yuan Ning stopped mid-sentence, switching gears. “I’ve said what I needed to. I won’t disturb you further, Senior.”

Jiang Chuxie was shocked by her half-finished sentence when Gu Lingjun’s voice cut in.

“Senior, what were you and Yuan Ning talking about?”

“Nothing much, just a bit about Zhao Zi’s election. We’re done. You guys chat.”

Yuan Ning’s expression shifted when she saw Gu Lingjun, and she got up to leave.

Gu Lingjun watched Yuan Ning go, handing Jiang Chuxie a glass of juice with a light smile. “I didn’t expect Yuan Ning to be interested in the election too.”

Still distracted by Yuan Ning’s words, Jiang Chuxie took the juice and mumbled, “Yeah…”

If Yuan Ning’s words were true, this so-called equality organization had likely used the student network to expand and recruit many “like-minded” people.

Through the internet, information spread and was exchanged at ten or a hundred times the speed, allowing an organization that once relied on offline communication to grow rapidly.

This was almost an inevitable stage in the internet’s development, but since the student network was ahead of the curve, it became their platform.

Realizing this, Jiang Chuxie began to worry about the impact her actions might have on this world.

“Senior, I saw the poll on the student network. Zhao Zi’s leading right now.”

“Yeah…”

But from the original story, this world would follow certain patterns regardless of her actions. The events that were meant to happen would happen—she might only be speeding up the process.

Now wasn’t the time to hold back. If anything, she needed to be more proactive.

Gu Lingjun sat beside her, smiling lightly. “I never knew you created the student network. I even registered an account.”

“Yeah…”

If you fell behind, you’d get beaten. Instead of worrying, she should seize the initiative and gain some control over the situation.

And Gu Lingjun…

As Jiang Chuxie was caught up in thoughts about the plot and her future plans, a warm, soft hand gently covered the back of hers.

“Senior, what are you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

Jiang Chuxie’s hand trembled, nearly spilling her juice. She hurriedly turned to Gu Lingjun, who had a serious, almost stern expression, her brows slightly drooped, her cheeks puffed out with a hint of girlish annoyance.

And a touch of grievance.

“You’re talking to me, but your mind’s on something else?”

“Uh…”

Jiang Chuxie felt a pang of guilt, but what caught her attention more was Gu Lingjun’s hand.

This time felt even more excessive—why was she… intertwining their fingers?

Jiang Chuxie’s gaze couldn’t help but fall to her hand, where Gu Lingjun’s smaller palm rested on hers, her slender fingertips slowly slipping between Jiang Chuxie’s fingers.

Jiang Chuxie’s face flushed red, and the thoughts swirling in her mind vanished to who-knows-where.

It was like she couldn’t think about anything else when she was with Gu Lingjun.

Wasn’t this flirting?

No, no, how could she think that of Gu Lingjun? Hold it together, Jiang Chuxie—don’t let this Alpha body take over. Gu Lingjun was just close to her, treating her like a best friend!

In her past life, her best friend loved holding hands tightly while shopping, didn’t she?

But… her heart was about to explode!

Why was Gu Lingjun rubbing her fingers? Too… no, no, the perverted one was her. She’d only read one ABO smut novel—why was her brain full of dirty thoughts?

“Senior…”

Stop calling her Senior—she was really going to lose it.

“I-I wasn’t thinking anything, I was just…”

At least in that moment, she truly couldn’t think of anything else. Gu Lingjun dominated all her thoughts.

Gu Lingjun smiled with pursed lips. “I just asked Uncle Wu to buy some coffee brewing equipment. When it arrives, will you teach me how to make it, Senior?”

But wasn’t today Gu Lingjun’s birthday? Brewing coffee on her birthday seemed a bit…

“Okay…”

“Oh, right, Senior, you haven’t seen the apartment yet, have you? Want me to give you a tour?”

“Uh, sure.”

Though Yuan Ning had moved to the other side, she was still discreetly watching Jiang Chuxie and Gu Lingjun. But seeing how Gu Lingjun treated Jiang Chuxie, she seriously doubted her own eyes.

They acted like that, and they weren’t in a relationship?

And who was this lovestruck Jiang Chuxie? Where was the calm, composed demeanor from earlier?

Watching Gu Lingjun pull Jiang Chuxie out of the living room, Yuan Ning wouldn’t have been surprised if they announced their engagement at the birthday party.