Everyone Loves the Alpha, But He’s Not Interested [Transmigration] - Chapter 22
At eight o’clock, Fang Huailian and Guan Yujing arrived on time. Yu Qingxue, along with Ning Xi and Jiang Yuanxin, went outside to greet them. The moment Jiang Yuanxin saw them, he enthusiastically stepped forward and gave them each a hug, lowering his voice as he winked playfully.
“You two finally made it. I’ve been suffering here alone at Qingxue’s place.”
Guan Yujing, a graceful-looking Beta woman with long eyes hidden behind gold-rimmed glasses, gave a small smile and said, “I thought you were excited to see us, but it turns out you just wanted us to rescue you from the fire.”
When Fang Huailian spotted Ning Xi standing beside Yu Qingxue, his eyes lit up. He walked over with a friendly smile.
“Ning Xi, everything alright over here? Qingxue’s not giving you a hard time, is she?”
“Not at all. President Yu treats me very well.” Ning Xi smiled and glanced toward Yu Qingxue. Her dark eyes were filled with a soft, starlit glow that could take your breath away, as if any movement might scatter that galaxy of light.
Yu Qingxue could only hold her gaze for less than a second before quickly looking away. She turned to Fang Huailian and said, “How could I ever mistreat one of your students, Professor Fang?”
Guan Yujing finished greeting Jiang Yuanxin, then came to stand beside Fang Huailian and extended a hand to Ning Xi.
“You must be Ning Xi. I’m Guan Yujing, your professor’s wife. He talks about you often.”
Ning Xi calmly reached out and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Ma’am.”
Fang Huailian blushed slightly and lightly patted Guan Yujing’s shoulder.
“Come on, don’t ruin my image in front of my student.”
Guan Yujing gave him a good-natured smile. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
The five of them headed into the villa and took their seats in the dining room.
The round table could seat up to seven people. Fang Huailian and Guan Yujing casually chose adjacent seats. Ning Xi followed Yu Qingxue’s lead and sat in the same spot they had used earlier for lunch. The four of them ended up sitting side by side in this order: Ning Xi, Yu Qingxue, Guan Yujing, Fang Huailian.
Feeling completely out of place, Jiang Yuanxin chose the only seat that wasn’t next to anyone.
He had thought that with Fang Huailian and Guan Yujing present, he would no longer be alone in the presence of Yu Qingxue and Ning Xi. Instead, he found himself sitting between not just one, but two couples.
Two couples.
By the time dinner ended, Jiang Yuanxin had witnessed Ning Xi quietly placing food onto Yu Qingxue’s plate, and Guan Yujing refilling Fang Huailian’s water whenever it ran low. He almost wanted to call his wife and beg her to come join him.
He was Director Jiang, not some lonely bachelor. Why did sitting between two couples feel so tragic?
After dinner, the five of them moved to the living room for tea. Soon after, Yu Qingxue invited Guan Yujing to the study to discuss business.
That left only Jiang Yuanxin, Fang Huailian, and Ning Xi in the living room.
Jiang Yuanxin took a sip of tea and sighed.
“Would it kill you couples to tone it down a little? Just because my wife isn’t here doesn’t mean you have to flaunt your happiness and rub it in my face.”
Fang Huailian, unaware that Yu Qingxue hadn’t actually won Ning Xi over yet, raised an eyebrow and asked, “What couples?”
Ning Xi also looked at Jiang Yuanxin in confusion.
Jiang Yuanxin thought to himself: They’re keeping this under wraps pretty tightly. Qingxue didn’t even tell Fang Huailian. If not for what happened this morning, he wouldn’t have believed that Yu Qingxue, the long-time single star, would be involved with a university student.
Since the two of them didn’t want their relationship exposed, he’d help keep it quiet.
He smiled and quickly backtracked.
“Slip of the tongue. I meant one couple. Just you and Guan Yujing, of course. It’s just… Ning Xi and Qingxue sitting together looked so perfect, I couldn’t help but imagine them as a pair.”
As he spoke, he carefully watched Ning Xi’s expression, but she only smiled calmly. He silently praised her composure. That was some impressive acting.
At ten thirty, Guan Yujing and Fang Huailian wrapped up their conversation and prepared to leave. Ning Xi, Yu Qingxue, and Jiang Yuanxin escorted them to the door.
Afterward, Jiang Yuanxin yawned and stretched.
“I’ll leave you two alone now. I need to sleep. We’ve got an early day tomorrow.” He shuffled off sleepily toward the guest room on the first floor.
As Ning Xi watched him disappear behind the guest room door, she turned back to Yu Qingxue.
“Director Jiang seems to have misunderstood.”
Yu Qingxue’s heart skipped a beat. A flicker of guilt flashed through her. After all, the misunderstanding wasn’t entirely unintentional. She had shown off her ‘little companion’ to her friends, and even let Wang You see them sharing a room.
At this point, even if she tried to explain, neither Jiang Yuanxin nor Wang You would believe that she and Ning Xi weren’t a couple. In fact, they weren’t even really friends.
The more she thought about it, the more bitter she felt. Still, she comforted herself with the thought that they had time. There was still a future ahead.
“I don’t think so,” Yu Qingxue said lightly. “Director Jiang often talks nonsense around people he’s comfortable with. Don’t take it seriously. I’ll talk to him next time.”
“It’s getting late. Let’s head upstairs.”
Since Yu Qingxue herself didn’t seem bothered, it would be strange for Ning Xi to keep pressing the topic.
She could only assume Director Jiang had truly misspoken.
The two of them went upstairs. Yu Qingxue turned toward the master bedroom, but Ning Xi called out to her.
“President Yu, I have something I’d like to talk to you about.”
Yu Qingxue turned with a lazy glance. “What is it?”
Ning Xi sat down on the sofa.
“I think we should sit while we talk.”
Yu Qingxue studied her for a moment, but found nothing unusual in her expression. She walked over and sat across from her, leaning comfortably against the cushions. Her soft curls fell beside her cheek, and she twirled a few strands around her fingers as she looked up.
“Go ahead.”
Ning Xi carefully chose her words.
“President Yu, I really appreciate you helping me with the forum situation…”
Yu Qingxue’s posture straightened slightly. Her brows drew together.
“You found out?”
Then she quickly composed herself.
“Honestly, there’s no need to thank me. I was just concerned it might affect your mood and delay the filming schedule. The female lead of Asking the Devil has to be spotless. Any scandal would hurt box office performance. Recasting would be a hassle. As an investor, helping you was helping myself.”
Ning Xi quietly observed her expression and body language. Although Yu Qingxue tried to appear calm and casual, her refusal to meet Ning Xi’s eyes gave her away.
Why was she trying so hard to distance herself?
This wasn’t how a rational investor should act. If she were truly just thinking from a business perspective, she would have made sure Ning Xi knew about it, earning her gratitude and loyalty.
But instead, she had kept it secret and now insisted it was only for professional reasons.
No smart businessperson would turn down goodwill freely offered.
Ning Xi couldn’t understand why Yu Qingxue would act this way.
“President Yu, I still think—”
“Ning Xi,” Yu Qingxue interrupted. “I said it already. I did it for myself. You don’t need to feel burdened or think you owe me anything.”
Her delicate fingers rested near her lips as she let out a small yawn. Her pale eyes shimmered faintly with moisture, glowing softly in the dim light.
“It’s late. You should get some rest.”
With that, she stood and walked into the master bedroom. After closing the door, she leaned back against it, pressing a hand to her chest where her heart was racing.
There wasn’t a trace of drowsiness in her eyes.
She had acted terribly just now. She could only hope Ning Xi hadn’t noticed.
“Sigh…” Yu Qingxue let out a soft breath as she lay back down on the bed, staring blankly at the beautiful crystal chandelier above her.
Ning Xi was still just an ordinary student, yet Yu Qingxue wanted a relationship with her that was equal. What she didn’t want was Ning Xi’s gratitude from a place of admiration or feeling indebted.
She turned on her side, hugging the blanket, and thought about telling Fang Huailian what had just happened. But after glancing at the time, she decided it was too late. She would wait until morning.
As she scrolled through her WeChat contacts, her finger accidentally landed on Ning Xi’s name. Their chat history ended with a message from two nights ago, where Ning Xi had explained that her words weren’t meant the way Yu Qingxue had taken them.
Yu Qingxue lightly tapped on Ning Xi’s profile picture, murmuring to herself in a soft, slightly pouty tone.
“Then what did you mean? What are you really thinking? Why do you have to be so emotionally dense?”
Thankfully, she still had the excuse of being “Assistant Xue” in their chat. Through that identity, she could keep talking to Ning Xi and try to figure out what she truly thought of her.
That was better than sitting alone, drowning in guesses.
Ning Xi stood silently, staring at the master bedroom door that had just closed behind Yu Qingxue.
Was that why Yu Qingxue had told her not to feel burdened, not to think she owed her anything?
Her heart stirred, like something had gently nudged it.
Ever since she had entered this novel world, Ning Xi had struggled to feel grounded in it. She had always assumed people treated her kindly only because she was the “main character.” But now, she wasn’t so sure.
Yu Qingxue, who was supposed to be her enemy in the original storyline, had helped her so quietly, without asking for anything in return. She did it not for the original version of Ning Xi, but for the one standing here now.
It made Ning Xi realize that she was truly living in this world.
The fog lifted from her mind.
Suddenly, the phone on the sofa buzzed twice. Ning Xi picked it up, unlocked the screen, and saw that “Assistant Xue” had finally replied on WeChat.
Yu Qingxue’s Assistant:
[embarrassed emoji] So sorry! I completely forgot to reply. Work’s been hectic lately.
Yu Qingxue’s Assistant:
But don’t worry! I won’t misunderstand, and I definitely won’t report anything to President Yu~
Yu Qingxue’s Assistant:
Honestly, even if you liked President Yu, that would be totally understandable. A ton of Alphas are into her. Foreign princes, heirs to conglomerates, academic geniuses… the list goes on. But President Yu never gives any of them the time of day.
Yu Qingxue’s Assistant:
You get to eat with her, go shopping with her, and now you’re starring in a movie she’s producing. That’s like winning the jackpot. If those other Alphas found out, they’d probably drop dead from jealousy.
Ning Xi read the messages and didn’t think the assistant was joking. Given Yu Qingxue’s appearance and abilities, it made perfect sense that many outstanding Alphas would be drawn to her.
What she couldn’t understand was why the author of the novel had paired Yu Qingxue with someone like Cai Yixuan. Did she really deserve her?
Thankfully, because of Ning Xi’s arrival in the story, Cai Yixuan had already been removed from the production. She and Yu Qingxue no longer had opportunities to interact, which meant there was little chance they would end up together now.
Ning Xi:
I do feel very honored.
Yu Qingxue’s Assistant:
Just honored?
Ning Xi:
And grateful.
Yu Qingxue’s Assistant:
That’s it???
Ning Xi:
I admire President Yu very much.
Back in the master bedroom, Yu Qingxue rolled onto her side, hugging her blanket tightly as she groaned into the pillows.
Ning Xi was unbelievably slow to warm up. How was it possible that she still didn’t feel even a hint of attraction?
Yu Qingxue’s Assistant:
How about this? Try describing what kind of person President Yu is.
Ning Xi:
She’s a good person.
In every sense of the word.
Yu Qingxue stared blankly at the message on her screen.
She, the one known as the pride of Omegas, had just been given a “you’re a good person” card by Ning Xi?