Has The Live-in Alpha Stepped Up - Chapter 32
32: The Plot Advances Early
Heat cycle?
An Yizhu froze. Was this the source of the rose scent?
Should she mark Yu Guqiu?
She liked Yu Guqiu but hadn’t confessed her feelings. Would being intimate with her now count as taking advantage of the situation?
No, no—the most urgent matter at hand was the upcoming board meeting.
Would Yu Guqiu be alright in this state?
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through An Yizhu’s mind.
But at that moment, Yu Guqiu’s legs gave out, and she collapsed completely into An Yizhu’s arms.
An Yizhu snapped back to attention.
There was no time to overthink. She quickly lifted Yu Guqiu and carried her to the office chair, setting her down.
Just as An Yizhu tried to straighten up, Yu Guqiu tightly gripped the hem of her shirt.
Yu Guqiu frowned in discomfort, clutching An Yizhu’s clothes like a lifeline.
An Yizhu hadn’t expected Yu Guqiu’s grip to be so strong. Losing her balance, she braced herself with one hand and one knee against the office chair.
Yu Guqiu’s office chair was a plush leather swivel chair with an auto-balancing function. The moment it tilted backward, An Yizhu’s heart nearly stopped. She flailed, struggling to find her footing.
Yu Guqiu, meanwhile, seized An Yizhu’s collar.
Finally, the chair stabilized at a 30-degree recline.
An Yizhu’s body also settled into an awkward half-leaning, half-embracing position.
Pressed against Yu Guqiu, she could feel her own heart pounding wildly against Yu Guqiu’s arm.
Through the frantic heartbeat, Yu Guqiu sensed An Yizhu’s panic and slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze landed on An Yizhu’s shoulder, where the loose collar of her shirt drooped slightly.
Yu Guqiu’s warm breath brushed against An Yizhu’s skin, carrying back the heat of her body.
Her eyes traced along An Yizhu’s collarbone before shyly darting away, her own body growing hotter.
She felt like she was melting in An Yizhu’s arms—melting into a puddle of ice water, boiling until it bubbled with the scent of roses.
But her pheromones still hadn’t fully released.
This was her body’s resistance in the early stages of her heat cycle—it happened every time.
Her heat cycle wasn’t even supposed to arrive today. It must have been triggered by the drug from before.
Normally, even with customized suppressants, she’d still endure a day or two of pheromone torment. She was used to bearing the pain of her heat cycles, but this time, the reaction was more intense than ever.
Luckily, An Yizhu was here. Otherwise, she’d have no choice but to miss the board meeting.
And today’s meeting was critical—she couldn’t afford any mistakes.
With that thought, she pushed aside her embarrassment and wrapped her arms around An Yizhu’s neck.
Their already intimate position became even closer.
An Yizhu glanced down at Yu Guqiu just once.
Yu Guqiu’s entire body was feverish, her face flushed peach-pink.
An Yizhu quickly looked away, not daring to meet her eyes.
Afraid that even one glance would shatter her self-control.
How could anyone resist when the person they loved was right there, completely vulnerable?
Yu Guqiu chuckled at An Yizhu’s odd behavior. “Am I going to eat you?”
An Yizhu bit her lower lip. “It’s me who wants to eat you.”
She shouldn’t have said that, but she couldn’t hold back.
Yu Guqiu only laughed even more boldly.
The sound was intoxicating—something An Yizhu would never normally get to hear.
Just the sound alone made An Yizhu’s heart itch. She wanted to scratch it, but didn’t know where.
Yu Guqiu felt like she had trained An Yizhu well.
This time, she reached up and peeled off her own inhibitor patch.
The already warm, humid air in the office instantly turned sweet and thick.
Every breath An Yizhu took felt like a gentle caress from Yu Guqiu.
The rose-scented pheromones wrapped around her like Yu Guqiu’s arms around her neck, engulfing her completely.
An Yizhu’s glands throbbed, her pheromones surging restlessly beneath her own inhibitor patch. The fangs beneath her gums reacted instinctively.
She was hyperaware of everything—Yu Guqiu’s reddened eyes, the arms coiled around her neck, the fingertips teasing at her nape.
She was going mad with want.
More than the pheromones begging to be released, she couldn’t control her racing heart or the love threatening to spill from her chest.
“If that’s the case, what are you still waiting for?” Yu Guqiu suddenly spoke.
An Yizhu felt a tingling heat rush up her spine and flood her mind.
Was this really what she thought it meant?
An Yizhu hesitated, unsure if this would repeat what happened at the old house. But in that moment of doubt, Yu Guqiu peeled off her inhibitor patch too.
The pent-up pheromones beneath surged out like a tidal wave.
Yu Guqiu’s breath hitched, and she quickly shut her eyes.
The overwhelming rush of alpha pheromones drowned her like an ocean, the possessive intensity swallowing her own scent whole.
Alpha pheromones were always like this—domineering, inconsiderate of an omega’s comfort.
But when she opened her eyes again, An Yizhu was still biting her lip, restraining herself. Her gaze held nothing but concern.
“Is this okay?”
[So obedient.]
Yu Guqiu couldn’t resist trailing her fingers along An Yizhu’s neck, tracing the curve of her reddened ear, then down her jawline to cup her cheek.
An Yizhu’s lips trembled slightly at the cool touch.
[I want to tease her.]
Yu Guqiu didn’t suppress the fleeting thought. For once, she didn’t feel the usual frustration of being an omega in heat.
She slid her fingertips past An Yizhu’s lips.
Afraid her sharp fangs might scratch Yu Guqiu, An Yizhu gently caught the fingers between her lips.
Yu Guqiu murmured, “Mark me.”
A direct command, devoid of hesitation.
An Yizhu swallowed hard and stopped overthinking. She bared her fangs.
But the moment she parted her lips, she realized she’d been tricked.
Yu Guqiu’s fingers didn’t withdraw. Instead, they brushed against An Yizhu’s small canine teeth.
Unlike her alpha fangs, these were blunt and cute—a hint of wildness, just like An Yizhu herself. Fierce, but never toward her.
“If it’s you… it’s okay.” Yu Guqiu gave a new answer. She withdrew her hand and tilted her head, slowly exposing her scent gland.
She didn’t know why she added those words, but she wanted An Yizhu to know—this was trust.
With no more reservations, An Yizhu leaned in.
Yu Guqiu still smelled so good!
Pheromones dampened the gland, leaving it exposed to the air.
This was the first time An Yizhu had seen it clearly. She exhaled a hot breath.
The warmth fanned over Yu Guqiu’s nape, drawing out even more of the rose fragrance.
Yu Guqiu bit her lip, fighting back sounds as her arms tightened around An Yizhu, pulling her closer.
The first time they’d marked each other, they’d been drunk on pheromones, acting on instinct.
But this time, they were sober—choosing to lose themselves willingly.
“Mmm—”
Yu Guqiu couldn’t suppress a soft whimper at the sting.
An Yizhu had used the gentlest pressure, but the pain still pierced through Yu Guqiu’s usual defenses.
She clutched An Yizhu’s clothes tightly.
An Yizhu wrapped an arm around Yu Guqiu’s waist, lifting her slightly to press their bodies flush together.
The intimate marking unfolded in broad daylight, in the office, secluded from the bustling world outside.
The room was silent.
An Yizhu’s free hand still braced against the leather chair, her fingers nearly digging through the surface.
Her other arm loosened around Yu Guqiu’s waist.
Yu Guqiu’s lashes fluttered, her blush refusing to fade, but her body moved first.
She gave An Yizhu’s shoulder a light push.
Understanding, An Yizhu stood.
When Yu Guqiu looked up, she saw An Yizhu’s lips pressed together, a faint wetness lingering at the corner.
She reached out, thumb swiping it away.
An Yizhu clenched her fists, fighting the urge to pull Yu Guqiu back into her arms.
But she wanted that embrace to happen when they weren’t ruled by pheromones.
For now, she suppressed the urge.
Yu Guqiu retrieved two inhibitor patches from her desk drawer—one placed on the table, the other already in her hand.
An Yizhu stepped closer, reaching to help.
Yu Guqiu didn’t hear An Yizhu ask, so naturally, she couldn’t refuse.
The pheromones in the air lingered, tangled and inseparable, declaring their connection.
An Yizhu loved Yu Guqiu.
Yu Guqiu needed An Yizhu.
But there was a subtle imbalance between them.
Yu Guqiu felt the warmth of An Yizhu’s touch on her shoulder.
An Yizhu’s body was like a little sun—always radiating warmth.
Once the patch was secured, An Yizhu obediently stepped back to apply her own.
But Yu Guqiu suddenly stopped her. “Wait a bit.”
She admitted it—even after being marked, her heat cycle still craved an alpha’s pheromones to soothe her.
An Yizhu had already guessed as much.
She’d studied up on alpha-omega dynamics.
Omegas in heat were especially prone to insecurity.
An Yizhu immediately clasped Yu Guqiu’s hand and leaned against the executive desk.
Yu Guqiu readjusted her chair, quietly accepting this, gazing out the window at the bright sunlight.
She didn’t dare dwell on what had just happened in the office.
An Yizhu’s ears burned red, but she smiled.
It might have been shameless, exploiting Yu Guqiu’s heat cycle, but she was lucky.
For now, she could be her support.
Knock, knock, knock—
A knock sounded at the door.
Before An Yizhu could react, Lin Meng walked in.
Lin Meng froze mid-step. From her angle, she couldn’t even see Yu Guqiu—An Yizhu blocked her entirely, except for one clasped hand.
Her brain short-circuited, trying to process the scene.
Why was An Yizhu sitting on the desk?
Why were she and Yu Guqiu holding hands?
Wait—what were you two doing in the office?!
Lin Meng stood rooted in place, unsure whether to proceed.
An Yizhu turned and spotted her, unsure whether to let go of Yu Guqiu’s hand.
It only then dawned on her—everything that had just happened in the office had taken place with the door unlocked!
Anyone could have walked in at any moment!
Normally, Lin Meng would wait for Yu Guqiu’s response before entering, but today’s board meeting was an exception. Once everyone arrived, she’d notify Yu Guqiu immediately—standard procedure.
Even Yu Guqiu took a deep breath. She’d genuinely forgotten.
The CEO’s office door had been broken for half a month—it couldn’t lock. She’d gotten used to it.
Since she didn’t want unrelated personnel entering the secretary’s area during this period, she’d planned to fix it after the busy season.
Yu Guqiu suddenly felt grateful that the board members who’d wanted to intimidate her hadn’t arrived on time.
She glanced at An Yizhu and subtly signaled for her to step aside.
An Yizhu got the message and calmly picked up the inhibitor patch from the desk, retreating to the lounge area.
Lin Meng, of course, noticed An Yizhu’s actions. A flash of disdain crossed her eyes, though she wasn’t surprised.
She pretended not to see and approached Yu Guqiu. “President Yu, the board members have arrived. The materials have already been sent over.”
“Good.” Yu Guqiu nodded and stood to leave.
An Yizhu remained seated on the sofa, dutifully applying her patch.
Yu Guqiu waited until she was done, then extended a hand.
An Yizhu hurried over and took it.
Lin Meng kept her eyes forward, refusing to look, simply holding her folder as she led the way.
The secretaries in the office were busy but still found time to sneak glances, quietly fangirling.
One even boldly snapped a photo of their retreating figures.
It was time to set the record straight for the couple. With so many negative posts online lately, this was the perfect moment to clap back with hard evidence.
On the 58th floor, in the conference hall, conversations buzzed incessantly.
It was clear there were two factions, each with their own stance, arguing relentlessly.
The slightly ajar door swung open.
Gradually, the voices died down as everyone turned to look.
The secretary held the door as Yu Guqiu and An Yizhu walked in hand-in-hand—an “unseemly” display.
Most of the attendees didn’t recognize the young alpha, but her identity was obvious.
“So Xiao Qiu really got married. How rushed—we aunties and uncles didn’t even get a chance to congratulate you.” A middle-aged man seated at the table remarked, swinging his chair to block the aisle.
But An Yizhu saw no warmth in his expression—only mockery.
He was clearly laughing at Yu Guqiu for resorting to marriage to stabilize the company’s morale.
Yu Guqiu ignored him. “Director Zhang, you’ve been working hard abroad with my father. How are things progressing over there?”
Director Zhang smirked. “Once your father returns, the company will be saved.”
An Yizhu frowned.
Just from these few words, she suddenly understood—Yu Guqiu and her father were on opposing sides?
No wonder those aunts had acted so boldly.
In this boardroom, at least one faction supported Yu Guqiu’s father.
For example, Meng Jiayang sat coldly in her seat, watching them with scorn, as if to say that though she’d lost the upper hand last time, today was her domain.
Who knew what schemes she was hiding, staying silent for now.
An Yizhu couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge her, following Yu Guqiu to the head of the table—the CEO’s seat.
An extra chair had already been placed there. An Yizhu sat down without fuss.
Everyone’s eyebrows twitched.
The secretary in charge of setup silently praised An Yizhu a hundred times over—such composure! Truly worthy of being President Yu’s wife!
They’d originally prepared an identical executive chair for An Yizhu, but a board member had suddenly complained about space, ordering it replaced with an ordinary office chair—a deliberate power play.
An Yizhu hadn’t even blinked. Their first plan had failed miserably.
If she’d known this was meant to be a slight, she would’ve laughed out loud, mocking these board members for being so out of touch they’d forgotten how ordinary people lived.
Unless deliberately provoked or pushed to a breaking point, who would throw a tantrum over a chair during an important meeting?
An Yizhu, of course, wasn’t that kind of person.
Even if they’d given her a stool, she’d have sat on it without a second thought. She didn’t care about appearances.
Or perhaps, even in such a tense setting, she was still lost in the afterglow of what had just happened in the office, too preoccupied to bother with these trivial matters.
The licorice scent grew sweeter and thicker, spreading through the air.
Yu Guqiu glanced at An Yizhu.
For a moment, she couldn’t tell if the woman was lost in thought or deliberately trying to stabilize her heat cycle.
Hmm… probably lost in thought.
Yu Guqiu shook her head with a faint smile, realizing she was getting better and better at reading An Yizhu. None of her expressions could escape her notice—let alone the shifts in her pheromones.
But the people in this room were different.
Most were betas. The only two alphas and omegas present were trusted confidantes of her grandmother. Years ago, due to lab accidents, their glands had been damaged, and they’d lost the ability to perceive pheromones entirely.
Yu Guqiu withdrew her gaze and tapped the table, drawing attention.
“This is my newlywed wife, An Yizhu. Today marks her introduction to all of you. Moving forward, she will participate in meetings as needed.”
“Xiao Qiu, this matter should still require a board resolution, don’t you think? We don’t oppose your marriage, but for the company’s interests, we can’t just let an outsider casually join the board. Your father didn’t rely on nepotism to join back then either.” Director Zhang interjected again.
Yu Guqiu smirked coldly. “I wonder what connections you relied on to get in, Director Zhang?”
The words were no different from a direct slap to the face.
Director Zhang’s temper flared instantly, as if his tail had been stepped on. “Yu Guqiu, what do you mean by that? Your father recommended me purely because of my sales network! Many of the company’s equipment distributors were introduced through my connections. Without me, Yu Corporation wouldn’t have stable sales channels!”
Yu Guqiu pointed at the documents on the table. “Then perhaps you should take a look at this report first. If you can’t spot the discrepancies in the data, I can circle them for you one by one. How much kickback you’ve taken—you know best.”
Yet Director Zhang showed no signs of being cornered. Instead, he sneered. “A little girl like you, holed up in an office all day, could never understand the difficulties of fieldwork. If we don’t grease the wheels, how could things run so smoothly?”
“Wow, what a disgusting attitude.” An Yizhu muttered under her breath, realizing that even the supposedly prestigious board meeting was just as chaotic as a slapdash operation.
But her comment happened to slip out during a lull in the conversation.
A muttered remark in the silence.
Making the room even quieter.
Yu Guqiu, however, merely curled her lips, pretending not to hear. “Why the silence? Keep going.”
Meng Jiayang seized the opportunity. “Xiao Qiu, I’m not trying to lecture you, but you really should listen to your elders. If you haven’t seen the posts from the past two days, you can borrow my phone to take a look.”
She’d come prepared. As she spoke, she activated the multimedia projector, displaying her phone screen—already synced to the trending hashtags.
#YuGuqiuSecretlyMarriesRumoredLover
#WhyWasYuGuqiuWeddingKeptQuiet
Countless posts speculated that Yu Guqiu had married in secret because she was pregnant—that her hospital visits were for prenatal care.
The rumors sounded almost convincing.
“?” An Yizhu was baffled. Had she and Yu Guqiu just been turned into expectant mothers online?
But the bulk of the content analyzed that Yu Guqiu had only married to stabilize the company, choosing a controllable alpha. That part wasn’t wrong, but the descriptions of the “mysterious spouse” were downright slanderous.
An Yizhu almost wished they’d just reveal her identity outright—at least it’d put an end to the negative speculation.
But then she thought of An Lan and the children at the welfare home, who had just settled into their new place. She swallowed the impulse. She might not care, but their peace would definitely be disrupted.
As she scrolled further, the tone of the posts seemed to shift.
Meng Jiayang, however, was about to close the page.
An Yizhu quickly stopped her. “Don’t close it yet! Keep scrolling—it’s getting interesting.”
“…” Meng Jiayang choked. What kind of person is this?! Didn’t she understand how terrifying public opinion could be? It was a force of nature!
An Yizhu let out an excited “Wow!” “Xiao Qiu, even in these hate posts, there are people shipping us! Are we going viral?”
Yu Guqiu, who had been irritated by the post titles, also looked over.
Other attendees followed suit, skimming through the comments.
“Is this forced negativity fun? I’m a nurse at the hospital, and we’re already obsessed! A 100% pheromone match—even with today’s advanced technology, how many pairs in the country can achieve that?”
“Seriously, I’m in med school. I’ve already read the first published paper and applied for pheromone samples at Yuhe Hospital. I need to study their pheromones, or I’ll never rest in peace. If you haters ruin this couple, my thesis and I will haunt you forever!”
“Come on, you just haven’t met them in person. Those who have only have good things to say! Heavily censoring my job here, but I see President Yu regularly. Everyone online knows her as the ‘Ice Queen,’ but have you seen her smiling like a lovestruck fool? I have!”
“Hahaha, keep hating. Smart people are already shipping them. Case in point—this morning. [Photo].”
The photo showed An Yizhu and Yu Guqiu holding hands in the office. The outfits matched—it had clearly been taken just moments ago, fresh out of the oven.
No wonder—the secretary’s office was the true stronghold of CP shippers.
The posts were indeed trending, and the negative impact was undeniable.
But Yu Guqiu noticed something: these posts had all been published between 5 and 6 a.m., with the most vitriolic comments concentrated in the first hour after posting.
The pro-shipping replies, however, were scattered throughout the workday—clearly the handiwork of employees slacking off. And the likes were climbing rapidly.
This suggested the posts themselves were orchestrated, while the organic CP fans were genuine.
Yu Guqiu had kept her marriage low-profile precisely to avoid media scrutiny.
But now that it was out in the open, she might as well use it to her advantage.
She laughed outright. “Is this all? Isn’t this actually good for our company?”
“Yu Guqiu, have you lost your mind? Instead of acting recklessly, you should wait for your father to return,” someone snapped.
An older board member also chimed in. “Xiao Qiu, you really need to address this. You can’t just ignore it. You’re young—you understand the modern internet better than we do. But reputation is critical for a company.”
Yu Guqiu pressed her lips together and exhaled.
An Yizhu caught a whiff of bitter roses.
Yu Guqiu was in a bad mood.
An Yizhu quickly assessed the room.
The table was roughly divided into two factions.
One was likely aligned with Yu Guqiu’s father—or rather, the “Meng family.” Their motives were simple yet malicious: they wanted control of the board.
The other faction was loyal to Yu Shanmei, Yu Guqiu’s grandmother. These were the veterans who had built Yu Corporation alongside her. Their stance was more complicated: they genuinely wanted the company to thrive and were well-disposed toward Yu Guqiu, but they still treated her like a junior, not fully yielding to her authority.
At the wedding banquet, the relatives had been annoying, but Yu Guqiu could still play the Meng and Yu families against each other.
Here, the situation was worse. The Yu family relatives lacked the competence to even sit at this table, and while the board appeared split into two factions, there were really three—with Yu Guqiu standing alone. That was the real problem.
An Yizhu gave Yu Guqiu’s hand a reassuring squeeze under the table.
Yu Guqiu glanced at her, then straightened, addressing the room.
“Let me ask everyone a question: what’s the fastest way to make money in today’s society?” Yu Guqiu abruptly changed the subject.
“What kind of question is that? If we need capital, we need orders, partners, or angel investors. Yu Corporation isn’t going public, and we won’t dilute shares, so the last option is off the table.” Director Zhang retorted, though his business acumen was undeniable.
Yu Guqiu refused to humor him. Instead, she pointed at the projection screen. “Wrong. It’s the internet. It’s traffic.”
Meng Jiayang frowned, unsure where Yu Guqiu was going with this.
Yu Guqiu tapped the documents on the table. “I assume you were all too busy ‘discussing’ earlier to actually read the materials in front of you. Take a moment now to turn to page two.”
Without waiting, she continued, “This is my proposal to increase investment in Guangying Xinghui Media. As you can see, even with minimal initial input, a single variety show has already recouped all costs through ad revenue. The remaining profits will be reinvested in film and animation.”
An Yizhu’s eyes widened in shock, along with everyone else in the room.
The ensuing uproar of objections faded into the background for her.
Only one thought echoed in her mind:
This is bad. The plot’s accelerating—everything’s happening ahead of schedule!