Guide To Lying Flat And Getting Rich As A Kept Alpha - Chapter 45

45

Cheng Youqing’s car drove to the east side of the city, with Shisan sitting beside her in the spacious interior.

Today, she was heading to inspect a site in the east, but due to the last-minute addition of a bodyguard, Cheng Youqing and Shisan were seated together in the back.

After a short while, Cheng Youqing furrowed her brows slightly and closed her eyes.

The alpha pheromones, which didn’t belong to Luo Hetu, made her frown uncomfortably. This also sparked irritation toward Luo Hetu. Assigning an alpha to stay by her side—did Luo Hetu not understand, or simply not care?

As a result, Cheng Youqing was in a bad mood from the start. When they arrived at the construction site, she took the safety helmet handed to her by Xiao Zhang, hesitated for a long time, and reluctantly put it on with a grimace.

Xiao Zhang carried a stack of documents, accompanied by the project manager and various mid-level staff. The group toured the site for over an hour before heading to the site’s meeting room for another hour of discussion. By the time they finally left the site to return to the company, the project manager let out a sigh of relief.

At last, they had sent this “princess” off. Why was she in such a foul mood today? She seemed encased in layers of ice. Even the emotionally intelligent deputy general manager, who tried to lighten the mood with a few words, got nothing but a frosty glare from Cheng Youqing that felt like a level-ten frostbite.

As soon as Cheng Youqing returned to her office, she instructed Xiao Zhang not to let anyone disturb her.

She sat in her office chair for a moment, then pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

At Shanhe Tuling, next to the Sike Internet Café, Luo Hetu was listening attentively to Zhang Hanyu talk about the grand vision for his Hanyu Technology. When her phone rang, she glanced at it and raised a hand to pause Zhang Hanyu.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“At the internet café, dealing with some business.”

“Why do I feel like you’re busier than I am every day?”

Luo Hetu blinked, her tone softening. “Are you tired from work?”

A scoff came through the phone.

Tired, and unhappy.

Luo Hetu: “How about I cook for you tonight? What do you want to eat?”

The phone was silent for a few seconds before a cool, clear female voice responded, “Come over.”

“Huh? When?”

“When you’re free.”

What a way to put it.

After hanging up, Luo Hetu thought for a moment and said to Zhang Hanyu, “Let’s call it a day. How about you continue tomorrow?”

Zhang Hanyu gave her a skeptical look. Not for any other reason, but an alpha who claimed to be an angel investor seemed suspiciously like a henpecked spouse.

Though the term “love-struck” didn’t exist in this era, in Zhang Hanyu’s eyes, entrepreneurs like them walked on thin ice, treating work like home and toiling day and night. The way this alpha spoke on the phone, with that sticky-sweet tone, was clearly directed at a lover or partner. To so casually abandon a major investment opportunity for this? Zhang Hanyu couldn’t help but question her reliability as an investor.

Luo Hetu didn’t know or care what he thought. She stood up, grabbed her jacket, and pulled two hundred-yuan bills from her wallet, handing them to Xiao Si. “Find a nearby hotel for Mr. Zhang tonight and let him buy some food.”

That amount was enough for her to live on for over ten days.

By not giving the money directly to Zhang Hanyu, she avoided any sense of charity, maintaining an equal business relationship by delegating the task to her subordinate.

In his mind, Zhang Hanyu labeled her as someone worth befriending, and his mood improved significantly. Like a scruffy stray dog, he trailed a few steps behind her. “When are you coming back? Or should I come to you?”

Though being overly eager was a negotiation taboo, Zhang Hanyu didn’t care anymore. He was already at rock bottom—what worse could happen?

“Tomorrow,” Luo Hetu replied. “I’ll call the internet café. If you need anything, talk to the manager.”

With a quick wave, Luo Hetu hopped on her old-fashioned bicycle and rode off.

Watching her carefree figure in the wind, Zhang Hanyu couldn’t help himself. “She’s really your boss, right? Someone who can afford to run an internet café, make that much money, and has such good judgment—yet she’s riding a bicycle around the streets?”

Xiao Si, stone-faced, retorted, “If you don’t believe it, don’t come back. Talk bad about our boss again, and you won’t have a hotel to stay in tonight.”

“No hotel, fine. I’m good surfing the net here.”

“The two hundred our boss gave you is enough for five hours. After that, we’ll kick you out onto the street. Your choice.”

Zhang Hanyu shrank back and shut up.

Luo Hetu rode for forty minutes to the headquarters of the Cheng Group.

She had been here before to look at a model display, so she parked her bicycle among a cluster of bikes nearby, locked it carefully, and strolled toward the towering building. The Cheng Group prioritized a tidy entrance, so bicycles were parked a bit farther away.

At the front desk, she said she was looking for Chairman Cheng.

The receptionist, different from the last one, asked politely, “Do you have an appointment?”

Luo Hetu answered honestly, “No.”

“Please wait a moment. May I have your name?”

“Luo Hetu.”

“Alright.” The receptionist began making a call.

Luo Hetu glanced around and noticed a few people sitting on sofas in the lobby, so she joined them to wait.

The sofa held a mix of men and women, all dressed impeccably in suits, some clearly together, all waiting for someone.

Luo Hetu, in her usual T-shirt, long pants, and denim jacket, sat twirling the prayer beads on her wrist, exuding a casual air that stood out starkly from the others.

The waiting group cast sidelong glances at her. Many gave her a once-over and turned away in disdain.

Who was this person, they wondered? Probably here to meet someone, but showing up at the Cheng Group dressed so casually? She looked like a nobody.

Just then, Assistant Xiao Zhang emerged from the elevator and headed straight for the waiting area.

“Assistant Zhang.”

The suited guests stood up immediately, smiling and greeting her.

A young woman whispered to the man beside her, “Who’s that?”

“Chairman Cheng’s secretary,” the man replied softly.

The woman straightened up and fell silent.

Most of them were here to discuss projects or partnerships with the Cheng Group, but they couldn’t even meet the general manager, only project managers at best. Seeing Assistant Zhang was unexpected. For small companies like theirs, waiting downstairs and hoping for a project manager’s availability was standard, so encountering Assistant Zhang warranted extra respect.

Assistant Zhang gave a faint nod and walked directly to Luo Hetu with a warm demeanor. “Please come with me.”

Luo Hetu stood and followed Xiao Zhang into the elevator. Only then did Xiao Zhang exhale. “My apologies, I forgot to inform the front desk about you in advance.”

“No big deal.” Luo Hetu said, genuinely unbothered.

Xiao Zhang pressed her lips together, saying nothing more.

Luo Hetu suddenly understood her expression and turned her gaze forward.

Perhaps Cheng Youqing hadn’t told the front desk anything about her and had no intention of doing so.

At the Cheng Group, likely few knew Cheng Youqing was married. She never mentioned it publicly or introduced Luo Hetu to the company.

Luo Hetu found this reasonable. Though they were legally married, an alpha-in-law should know her place.

She even considered reassuring Xiao Zhang, but logically, it seemed she was the one who needed reassuring. After all, as a legally wedded alpha-omega spouse, she still had to wait downstairs for an assistant to escort her to see her wife.

The elevator doors opened, and Luo Hetu followed Xiao Zhang to the chairman’s office.

Cheng Youqing was standing by the window, on a call. Seeing them enter, she gave a slight nod before turning back to the window.

Xiao Zhang closed the door and left.

Luo Hetu hadn’t been in Cheng Youqing’s office before and now took a moment to look around. The furniture wasn’t exactly beautiful, carrying a distinct retro vibe, but Cheng Youqing’s taste shone through. She favored Chinese-style decor: a large solid wood desk, a leather chair, no modern computer in sight, just stacks of documents, books, and folders. There were fountain pens, dip pens, and ink bottles in a jade holder, plus a brush rack.

A calligraphy scroll hung on the wall, and nearby was a Chinese-style guest area with an ornate tea tray and cushioned grandmaster chairs. A row of solid wood filing cabinets stood in the corner, alongside a traditional basin stand with intricate patterns, holding a copper basin and a neatly folded dark towel.

The office had several tall green plants; Cheng Youqing seemed to dislike small ones.

She stood by the window in a fitted short top and wide-leg pants, her slender neck flowing into a delicate back, a glimpse of fair skin at her waist, and further down, the rounded curves Luo Hetu rarely dared to linger on outside of their intimate moments.

Luo Hetu watched for a moment, then lowered her gaze. Seeing Cheng Youqing still on the phone, she looked up again.

It was strange—despite being legally married and having seen each other bare countless times, Cheng Youqing’s fully dressed, professional demeanor captivated her more, perfectly fulfilling every fantasy she had of a partner.

Cheng Youqing ended the call.

She wasn’t oblivious to the gaze lingering on her. Unfazed, she placed her small, silver flip phone on the desk, sat down, and finally looked at Luo Hetu.

Luo Hetu, who had been staring, now sat upright on the grandmaster chair, looking prim and proper, as if a river separated her from Cheng Youqing.

Seeing her obedient, serious demeanor, Cheng Youqing said, “Come here.”

It sounded like a command to a subordinate.

But Luo Hetu’s whole body shivered, her inner self shamelessly jumping with joy.

She stood and quickly walked to Cheng Youqing’s chair.

Cheng Youqing sat in her leather chair, looking up at Luo Hetu.

Her posture was unguarded, even faintly seductive—at least, Luo Hetu thought so. Unable to resist, she stood there for a moment, but when Cheng Youqing remained silent, she took a step closer, closing the distance to something less than safe.

Cheng Youqing still said nothing, her crossed leg swaying slightly, almost as if on purpose.

Luo Hetu couldn’t hold back any longer. She leaned forward, encircling Cheng Youqing in her chair, and gently kissed her cheek.

A soft, tender touch, then a pause.

Cheng Youqing’s eyes held a trace of amusement, which Luo Hetu caught.

Emboldened by the success of her test, Luo Hetu tilted her head and softly kissed her lips.

The afternoon sunlight was gentle, and as evening approached, it carried the warmth of home—home, where someone who loves you waits.

Cheng Youqing tilted her head back, parting her lips to welcome the gentle yet bold intruder.

They kissed for who knows how long. When Cheng Youqing finally caught her breath, she noticed a hand had slipped under her top and stayed there, even after the kiss ended.

She cleared her throat lightly and glanced at the clock on the wall.

“I still have some work to finish.” She said, her first words since Luo Hetu entered ten minutes ago.

Luo Hetu hummed, rubbing her cheek against hers, hand still lingering. “I’ll wait for you.”

“Wait for what?”

“For you to finish work so I can take you home for dinner.”

Perhaps it was the sudden touch near her heart, but Cheng Youqing felt as if this alpha had caressed her very soul.

“I want to eat out tonight,” she said after a pause. “You’re paying.”

“No problem, it’s a small thing.”

“I might order something expensive.”

“I’d sell myself to make sure you eat well.”

Luo Hetu’s sweet words were like rough pastries—not soft or sugary, but practical and satisfying.

Cheng Youqing lifted her chin. “Take your hand out and wait over there.”