Guide To Lying Flat And Getting Rich As A Kept Alpha - Chapter 33

33

After dinner, Luo Hetu perked up and seized the opportunity to bond with the two aunties, chatting extensively. The cooking auntie was surnamed Wang, and the cleaning auntie was surnamed Li. Both had worked for Cheng Youqing for many years and treated her like their own daughter.

“Miss works too hard,” Auntie Wang said with concern. “She doesn’t eat properly. Xiao Zhang says she often has stomachaches. I keep stomach medicine ready for her, but she only remembers to take it when Xiao Zhang reminds her. So young, yet managing such a big company—it’s not easy.”

“What about Ms. Cheng’s… mother?”

Calling her “Ms. Cheng” after getting married felt odd, but Luo Hetu wasn’t sure what else to call her. It seemed any other address might come off as disrespectful.

Thankfully, the aunties didn’t mind.

“Madam lives in another house. Miss is so busy, she only visits occasionally when she has time.”

From the aunties’ accounts, Cheng Youqing’s daily routine was rigid: waking up at a fixed time, eating breakfast, and heading to work. She returned home at unpredictable hours, sometimes late at night, only to shower and sleep. Her life revolved around work, with little else. Even during meals, she was quiet, barely speaking. The aunties sometimes tried to cheer her up with jokes, but she’d only respond briefly before retreating to her room.

“We could never guess what kind of person Miss would marry,” they said. “Rich people are either like her, buried in work, or gallivanting around, never home. Marrying someone as work-obsessed as her would make life dull, with barely any conversation. But marrying the other type risks them not truly caring for her. Neither seems like a recipe for happiness.”

Luo Hetu laughed. “What about me? I’m just an ordinary person with no money.”

Auntie Wang’s wrinkles deepened with her smile. “You may be ordinary, but Miss is happy with you, and that makes us happy.”

Luo Hetu was taken aback. “Is she happy?”

Auntie Li looked mildly exasperated. “Didn’t you listen to your Auntie Wang? Miss usually comes home, eats in silence, and either works or sleeps. But since you arrived, she’s been telling us to take good care of you. Yesterday, she talked more than usual, and this morning, she spoke more too, with livelier expressions. That’s happiness in her book.”

Luo Hetu thought it over and suspected the aunties, long accustomed to Cheng Youqing’s aloofness, were projecting their own sentimentality. As a newcomer, it was only natural for Cheng Youqing, as the host, to show extra concern. This morning, she’d only asked where Luo Hetu was going. At breakfast, her face was expressionless, and when she left for work, her demeanor was as cool as ever, indistinguishable from any other day.

Still, Luo Hetu felt a spark of joy.

Eager to help, she insisted on assisting Auntie Li with cleaning, only to be shooed away in a huff. “What kind of alpha wife helps with chores? Go do important things or rest—don’t steal my work!”

Though Luo Hetu’s lifelong dream was to be pampered, as a newly “married-in” wife, she felt a bit sheepish. She left Cheng Youqing’s house, pedaling her creaky old bicycle out of the neighborhood.

As one of Jiang City’s few affluent areas, the gated community’s security guards watched in confusion as Luo Hetu rode out on her rickety bike. They whispered among themselves, wondering which family she belonged to and where she’d gotten such a beat-up bicycle. Was this some rich person’s attempt at “living like a commoner”?

“I know,” said a guard, mouth full of instant noodles, barely intelligible. “She’s the Cheng family’s ‘married-in alpha.’”

“Which Cheng family?” “What’s a married-in alpha?” “Isn’t the Cheng family just Chairman Cheng’s household?”

“Exactly,” the noodle-eating guard said, brimming with gossip. “It’s Chairman Cheng’s married-in alpha. They got married. I was on duty yesterday, and Chairman Cheng herself told me so I wouldn’t stop her.”

The other guards: …

“She doesn’t look rich at all, riding that bike.”

“That’s why she’s the married-in alpha. She just brought a suitcase and moved in.”

The guards fell silent for a moment. A young one piped up, “If I’d known Chairman Cheng was taking a married-in alpha, I’d have applied for the job.”

The others: Who wouldn’t?

If this poor alpha could do it, why not them? Weren’t they all strong, capable alphas too?

…

Luo Hetu pedaled leisurely to the bus stop and took a bus to Sike Internet Café. All 50 computers were occupied, and even the steep 40 yuan per hour fee couldn’t deter the enthusiasm of young people experiencing the internet for the first time.

Since Luo Hetu rarely visited the café, she’d hired a manager and brought over Xiao Si, one of Ye Qingzhu’s underlings from Qianbao, to run the place. Xiao Si was bright, having excelled in school before dropping out due to her parents’ divorce and remarriages, which left her with no money or support. She’d been hanging out with Ye Qingzhu in the south of the city until Luo Hetu recognized her potential and made her the manager of Sike Internet Café, tasking her with handling accounts and operations.

Now, the gentle and refined Xiao Si sat at the front desk, reconciling accounts with a part-time receptionist. Seeing Luo Hetu, she beamed. “Teacher Luo!”

Luo Hetu brought milk tea for them and checked the café’s earnings.

With the high pricing, profits were substantial. In just one month since opening, the café had earned over 200,000 yuan. After rent, labor, and utilities, the net profit was around 160,000 yuan, even with a free trial hour promotion. Next month’s earnings were expected to rise, though the hefty initial investment meant it would take six months to break even.

Of course, for someone like Luo Hetu, who’d bought computers in bulk through backchannels, she’d start reaping pure profits in a month or two.

This was the golden era of the internet’s infancy, and Sike was Jiang City’s first internet café. But as more cafés opened and internet users grew, the 40-yuan-per-hour rate wouldn’t hold. Eventually, prices would drop to a few yuan per hour. For now, though, she’d milk the high rates for as long as possible.

After reviewing the books and finding no issues, Luo Hetu discussed the café’s future with Xiao Si, answering her questions. When Xiao Si mentioned feeling limited by her knowledge, Luo Hetu suggested finance websites to follow and offered to subscribe her to finance magazines for further learning.

Xiao Si’s eyes sparkled as she called Luo Hetu “Teacher Luo” with increasing sweetness.

As they chatted, a customer playing a 4399 game nearby wailed, “Boss, you got Shanhe Tuling milk tea! I want some too! Is there a place nearby that sells it?”

Xiao Shi grinned. “Nope, our boss brought these.”

“Ugh, the commercial street near the university is so far! We have to take a long ride just for milk tea,” a male beta student groaned. “If it weren’t for the internet café, there’d be nothing good to eat or do around here.”

Luo Hetu laughed. “Easy fix. Just open a milk tea shop here. Like to sing? How about a Qianbao karaoke branch too?”

The student’s eyes widened. “Who do you think you are? You can’t just open shops like that!”

Two weeks later, two storefronts near the university were under renovation, their signs clearly reading “Shanhe Tuling” and “Qianbao.” The same student, hearing the news, rushed over after class, jaw dropping in disbelief.

…

Luo Hetu had other business to attend to.

Unsure how long the 40-yuan-per-hour rate could last, she decided to capitalize on the café’s explosive earnings by buying the 400-square-meter storefront. Using Qianbao as collateral, she secured a 400,000-yuan bank loan, combined it with the 300,000-yuan card from Cheng Youqing and her own savings, and purchased the property for 750,000 yuan.

And just like that, her wife’s money was gone, leaving her 400,000 yuan in debt.

As Luo Hetu grappled with her newfound debt and wondered if she was a magnet for financial chaos, Cheng Youqing was facing a barrage from her relatives.

Her omega mother was the first to struggle with the news. Though she trusted her daughter’s judgment, she questioned and fretted for a long time before reluctantly accepting that Cheng Youqing had married an ordinary person. But the rest of the Cheng family, the business world, and everyone who knew her erupted in fervent discussion.

Cheng Youqing was at the center of a storm.

Upon arriving at the company, she was ambushed at her office door by her frantic beta second uncle.

“Cheng Youqing! Have you lost your mind? How could you just casually get married like that?”

“Is Second Uncle here to deliver wedding gifts?” Cheng Youqing replied coolly, striding into her office without pausing. Her executive secretary stepped past the uncle, handing her today’s work schedule.

As the office buzzed with activity, Second Uncle knew he was in the way but couldn’t leave without answers.

“The company’s facing massive problems, and we told you to marry to secure a partnership with a big firm. And what do you do? You marry some penniless alpha! What’s wrong with you? If you wanted an ordinary alpha, you could’ve picked one anywhere. Did you have to marry one? Wanlong’s so furious they’re threatening to cut ties!”

Cheng Youqing glanced up, silent, her gaze cold and resolute. The intensity made her uncle falter, his words catching in his throat.

“Whatever you promised Wanlong is your business. You’re no longer an executive director. You’re responsible for your own reckless promises. Don’t expect the company—or me—to clean up your mess. If you promised Zheng Xiaolong a marriage, I suggest you marry him yourself. Beta and alpha marriages aren’t impossible.”

With that, she ignored him, focusing on her meeting materials.

Fuming, Second Uncle stormed off, muttering about her “hardened wings” and how she’d handle the company’s mess.

Others weren’t as confrontational as the meddling uncle, but the phone calls kept coming. Even the two CEOs she met that day couldn’t resist asking about her marriage before discussing business.

“I married someone I like. No other reason.” Cheng Youqing said calmly.

Her refusal to elaborate only fueled the confusion and speculation.

In this era, the prime childbearing age for omegas was before 30. At nearly 30, Cheng Youqing’s single status was already notable. The business world had assumed her excellence and busy schedule—coupled with her beauty, poise, and capability as Cheng Group’s president—meant she might never marry. Though the Cheng Group was now struggling with mounting debts, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse. Cheng Youqing herself, even at 40, would remain a magnet for alphas.

That was the expectation. Yet recent rumors suggested that, with the Cheng Group’s debts spiking, Cheng Youqing was actively seeking a marriage alliance to resolve the company’s issues. Alphas from wealthy families were circling, each weighing their moves. To them, her marriage was a bargaining chip, her personal appeal merely a bonus.

Every major group with eligible alpha heirs was scheming, holding back, or offering resources to woo her. The options were so numerous that Cheng Youqing couldn’t review them all in one night.

Her marriage had turned Jiang City’s business world into a battlefield.

And then, just as the drama unfolded, the star of the show stepped off the stage, declaring, “The play’s over. I’m married.”

To whom? An ordinary female alpha with no money, who moved into her home with just a suitcase.

What?

Was this some kind of cosmic joke?