Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha and Got Marked by the Enemy (ABO, GL) - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

It was still raining outside, dimming the indoor light. For better filming, the crew set up several bright lamps, their glow reflecting off the pool in shimmering waves, casting a soft halo on everyone.

The girl stood just half a meter away, her fair face beaming with a radiant smile, her beautiful eyes brimming with triumphant mischief. The camera operator, standing in the water, couldn’t catch such details, but Ming Zhu, face-to-face with her, saw it all clearly.

Looking at that vibrant, slightly youthful face, Ming Zhu lowered the hand shielding her chest, her other hand gripping the inflatable stick a bit tighter.

She lost count of how many times this had happened. The game just now, the one before, the water-drinking stare-off before the show, the teasing in the dressing room—all were this girl’s deliberate ploys to mess with her.

Such clumsy acting, and yet Ming Zhu fell for it every time.

Winning or losing didn’t matter much. Ming Zhu wasn’t angry, just expressionless as she watched her, her thoughts churning.

So good-looking, so young.

To win, to climb higher, would she really resort to any means?

“One more challenger left. Ming Zhu, stay up there,” Yang Ming’s voice rang out. “Congrats to Yu Jing for scoring a point! Yu Jing, come down. Xiao Yihuan, get ready.”

Xiao Yihuan was waiting on the side. As Yu Jing stepped down, she rushed over: “Jingjing, you’re amazing! The only Alpha to beat Ming Zhu!”

The word “Alpha” made Yu Jing’s heart skip. She gave an awkward smile, patting her shoulder: “Good luck.”

Xiao Yihuan climbed onto the cylinder.

The crew reattached a balloon to Ming Zhu’s head.

Alphas and Omegas naturally attract, and an Alpha like Ming Zhu, with top-tier looks and genes, was the kind sweet Omegas idolized. But for some reason, Xiao Yihuan felt nervous around her, avoiding her gaze. Clutching the inflatable stick, she said timidly, “M-Ming Zhu, can you go easy on me?”

She had no confidence saying it, assuming someone as aloof as Ming Zhu wouldn’t give her a break.

To her surprise, Ming Zhu asked, “How do you want me to go easy?”

Caught off guard, Xiao Yihuan noticed her tone soften. Growing bolder, she glanced at Yu Jing by the pool and smiled shyly: “Like with Jingjing just now—let’s do rock-paper-scissors.”

Ming Zhu didn’t agree right away. She glanced at the figure who’d just left the cylinder, her gaze returning as her brow furrowed slightly.

“Can we start?” Xiao Yihuan asked cautiously.

Ming Zhu, momentarily distracted, adjusted and said, “Go ahead.”

Xiao Yihuan’s luck wasn’t as good as Yu Jing’s. She lost all three rounds of rock-paper-scissors.

But Ming Zhu went easy. The first two swings were light, deliberately missing the balloon. On the third, she said, “Sorry, can’t go easy anymore,” and popped Xiao Yihuan’s balloon.

The matchup was too tame, lacking excitement, and the live stream comments slowed down.

Ming Zhu faced all four challengers, losing once to Yu Jing, earning three points.

After Ming Zhu stepped down, her teammate Peng Ze took the cylinder.

Both Peng Ze and Xiao Yihuan were Omegas, so no one went easy. They followed the original rules, swinging their sticks wildly and yelling, making a lively, chaotic scene.

After a few minutes, Xiao Yihuan, exhausted, fell into the water, losing.

Xie Haichao, feeling for his cute teammate now a drenched mess, declared boldly, “Yihuan, your bro will avenge you!”

He stormed onto the cylinder, his presence intimidating Peng Ze, who pleaded, “Haichao, I’m an Omega too. Go easy!”

Xie Haichao didn’t budge, feigning anger: “Your teammate beat me and mine last round. If I lose to you, where’s my pride?”

Without waiting for Peng Ze to prepare, he swung his stick.

Peng Ze flailed, and in under thirty seconds, splash—he hit the water.

Finally winning one, Xie Haichao laughed heartily. Seeing Peng Ze, soaked and helped up by staff, he toned down his grin: “Sorry, Ze, just joking.”

Peng Ze, good-natured, wiped water from his face and smiled: “It’s fine, Haichao.”

As Xie Haichao stepped down, Chen Chen eagerly jumped up to challenge.

“Haichao, that was harsh, bullying a sweet Omega like that,” Chen Chen teased, grinning at Peng Ze. “Don’t worry, Ze, I’m not as bad as Haichao. I’ll use one hand with the stick, you use two. I’ll go easy!”

Peng Ze said, “You’re so nice, Chen,” but, fearing a trick, gripped the stick tightly with both hands.

Chen Chen, seeing this, gave a mischievous grin: “Ready?”

“Ready!”

“You go first.”

Peng Ze swung both hands eagerly but missed.

Not only did he miss, but letting go of the cylinder threw him off balance. Wobbling, he practically offered his balloon to Chen Chen.

Pop!

Chen Chen smashed it, pointing at the stunned Peng Ze and laughing mercilessly: “Hahaha, Ze, you’re too gullible!”

Peng Ze realized he’d been tricked. Before he could pout, his stick slipped, and reaching for it, he lost balance. Splash—back in the water.

The live stream filled with comments calling Chen Chen sneaky, and the guests on set joined in, with Xie Haichao the loudest: “You dare call me sneaky? You’re way worse!”

Xiao Yihuan looked at Chen Chen coming down: “Didn’t expect you to be that kind of Alpha, Chen.”

Chen Chen dragged Xie Haichao into it: “Learned it from Haichao.”

“Get lost!” Xie Haichao shoved him into the pool. Amid the splash and Chen Chen’s yelps, he puffed out his chest, saying to Peng Ze, now helped ashore, “Ze, I avenged you!”

Chen Chen flailed in the water, shouting, “Yu Jing, push Haichao in to avenge me!”

Yu Jing ignored the childish pair, rolling her eyes inwardly: “Poor Ze’s been bullied enough by you two!”

Xie Haichao goaded her: “You’re an Alpha too. Got the guts to not bully Ze?”

“…”

Oops, she’d trapped herself.

Yu Jing, the fake Alpha, couldn’t stand seeing Xie Haichao and Chen Chen gang up on Peng Ze. She forced herself to say, “I’ll compete with him fairly.”

Fair meant no tricks, no cheating—just skill.

Yu Jing put on the balloon hat and climbed up, seeing the drenched, frail Peng Ze. Feeling pity but amused, she waited for him to recover before starting.

Peng Ze was shy and held back, while Yu Jing went all out. In a few swings, she popped his balloon.

Though he lost, Peng Ze was happy not to fall in the water. With no points himself, their team, with Ming Zhu’s three, had three points total.

Yang Ming announced the results. Peng Ze felt embarrassed, whispering to Ming Zhu on shore, “I’m so bad, dragging you down.”

Ming Zhu comforted him: “It’s okay. You did your best.”

Yu Jing, standing nearby, overheard and glanced over.

Ming Zhu looked back.

Their eyes met in the air.

“…”

“…”

Then they silently looked away.

The camera caught this perfectly.

[They really can’t stand each other, always looking away the second they lock eyes.]

[That mutual disdain—how do people still think they’ve got a thing going?]

[All this talk of a fling over one ‘black lace underwear’ comment. You double-Alpha shippers are gross.]

[Yeah, they clearly don’t get along. A fling? Please.]

[Their earlier face-offs weren’t super intense, but this subtle rivalry is so good!]

[They’re public figures, so they won’t openly fight for image’s sake, but I bet one of them will snap eventually.]

Having already faced off, Ming Zhu and Yu Jing wouldn’t give the audience the “catfight” they wanted yet.

Next, the Yu Jing-Chen Chen team versus the Xiao Yihuan-Xie Haichao team was full of laughs. Chen Chen and Xie Haichao bickered like kids, making for explosive entertainment. The audience ate it up.

Two hours passed unnoticed.

The second game went to Ming Zhu and Peng Ze’s team, earning a clue card with “seven flavors” written on it. They couldn’t guess what it meant.

Except for Ming Zhu and Yu Jing, who stayed mostly dry, the other four were soaked from falling in. It was lunchtime, so Yang Ming paused filming, and the live stream stopped.

Yu Jing, not needing a change, felt the urge to use the restroom. Xiao Ya ran up, asking, “Teacher Yu Jing, tired from the games?”

The morning games weren’t too taxing. Yu Jing shook her head, smiling: “Not tired. You staff probably work harder.”

“It’s fine, not hard,” Xiao Ya said, pausing. “Wait, I’ve got something for you.”

Yu Jing watched her dig through her bag, pulling out a light blue shirt. Her smile froze.

“This shirt,” Xiao Ya said, holding it out. “I found it in the dressing room. I remember only you and Teacher Ming Zhu were there, so is it yours?”

At “dressing room,” Yu Jing’s expression stiffened. She recognized the shirt and almost said no, but recalling Ming Zhu didn’t want it, she weighed her options, smiled, and said, “Yeah, it’s mine. Thanks.”

“No problem!” Xiao Ya handed it over, turning to leave, then stopped, eyeing the shirt.

It was in a dust bag, neatly folded, style clear. Xiao Ya thought a moment, then couldn’t resist: “I remember at last night’s dinner, Teacher Ming Zhu wore a shirt like this… Did you two get matching couple outfits?”

!

“No!” Caught off guard by another misunderstanding, Yu Jing panicked, blurting, “It’s actually her shirt, not mine!”

Xiao Ya paused, then nodded knowingly: “Oh, you should’ve said! Got it, you’re just holding it for her.”

“Who’s holding it for her? I just—”

Footsteps interrupted her. Yu Jing looked up sharply.

Ming Zhu walked out of the restroom.

Yu Jing’s heart jumped, and she shut her mouth.

Ming Zhu’s cool gaze swept over the two at the door, pausing on the shirt in Yu Jing’s hands.

Xiao Ya, pretending not to notice, gave a knowing smile and said to Ming Zhu, “Don’t worry, Teacher Ming Zhu, my lips are sealed. You two chat, I’m off.”

“Hey—” Yu Jing had no chance to explain as Xiao Ya bolted, afraid to intrude, leaving her wanting to cry.

Ming Zhu, confused, looked from Xiao Ya’s retreating figure to the conflicted girl in front of her. After a pause, she asked softly, “What secret was she talking about?”

Yu Jing steadied herself, meeting her puzzled gaze with a raised brow: “Guess.”

“…”

Since discovering teasing Ming Zhu was fun, Yu Jing was hooked.

After saying “guess,” she saw Ming Zhu’s face twist in barely restrained annoyance, and her mood soared.

Before, Ming Zhu either ignored her or froze her with icy stares. Yu Jing tried to fight back, but Ming Zhu’s unshakable calm frustrated her. Finally finding a way to crack that iceberg, she wasn’t letting it go!

With no outsiders and no need to hide, Yu Jing’s collagen-rich face glowed, her peach-blossom eyes sparkling, her lips brimming with mischievous smiles.

Looking at her, a phrase popped into Ming Zhu’s mind: whimsical and clever.

Honestly, Yu Jing’s face was very likable, but as the teased target, Ming Zhu wasn’t in the mood to admire it.

Her thin lips twitched, curiosity flickering in her eyes before her icy face practically screamed “not guessing.”

Yu Jing expected she wouldn’t bite, shrugging off the rebuff.

Ming Zhu’s gaze left her face, catching the shirt in her hands.

A fleeting glance, but Yu Jing caught it, holding up the shirt: “You really don’t want this?”

Ming Zhu looked away, her elegant neck exposed, lips sparing two words: “Don’t want.”

“If you don’t want it, I’ll keep it as a treasure.”

If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t mind what Yu Jing did with it. Ming Zhu nearly said “whatever,” but caught her last word, looking back: “Treasure?”

“Yeah.” Yu Jing’s lively eyes gleamed, her smile pure. “It’s your shirt, with your scent. Of course I’ll treasure it.”

For effect, she opened the dust bag and brought it to her nose.

She’d planned a dramatic line, but when a familiar yet strange, cool, slightly bitter scent hit her, she froze.

It wasn’t body fragrance.

It was an Alpha’s pheromone!

The scent was crisp, unique, faintly bitter like iced tea in summer, surging through her limbs.

Every cell in Yu Jing’s body seemed to awaken, filled by the scent, her whole being floating. A strange current rose in her core…

Desire sparked in an instant.