Has The Live-in Alpha Stepped Up - Chapter 49
49: Understood Seduction
An Yizhu, having received a positive response, felt the last trace of unease in her heart vanish completely.
She expressed herself fervently.
Her liking for Yu Guqiu wasn’t the kind an Alpha has for an Omega.
Rather, it was the deep attraction of one woman to another.
Intense, inexplicable.
A desire to extend it for a lifetime, gradually increasing its depth and intensity.
Until she could call it love.
But An Yizhu took a slow breath. Her excitement made it impossible to articulate her feelings fully.
Before she could finish, she noticed the faint smile on Yu Guqiu’s face.
As if the sweet response from moments ago had suddenly become an illusion.
An Yizhu froze slightly, panic rising.
What did Yu Guqiu’s reaction mean?
Was this rejection?
But—
The pheromones in the air hadn’t dissipated yet, so thick they could drown a person.
The sweetness on her lips hadn’t faded.
Even the slight sting on her tongue still tingled, stimulating her nerves.
Or was it possible that everything just now was still an act driven by pheromones?
At this thought, An Yizhu frowned.
Buzz buzz buzz—
The phone on the table vibrated incessantly.
An Yizhu glanced at it again.
Still Ji Lu’s call.
Her previously calmed pheromones began to stir restlessly again.
But this time, Yu Guqiu pushed An Yizhu’s shoulder with one hand while picking up the phone with the other.
Whether by accident or on purpose, the call was put on speaker.
Ji Lu’s voice came through clearly from the speaker:
“Sister Guqiu!” Ji Lu said excitedly. “About that project—I’ve already contacted a director my teacher introduced me to before. We worked together on a public service ad. This time, she read my script and thought it was good, so she’s willing to discuss it.”
Yu Guqiu stood up directly, taking her tablet and phone as she walked out of the room.
The call was switched back to earpiece mode.
She responded, “Let me know when the director is free, and we’ll arrange a meeting. I’ll have the team leaders attend as well.”
Yu Guqiu valued this opportunity to get things started.
Whatever the response on the other end was, Yu Guqiu chuckled lightly:
“With a good script and a good director, we won’t lack good actors.”
An Yizhu remained sitting on the bed, only catching fragments of the conversation from the room. She couldn’t help feeling resentful.
She smacked the pendant light.
The colorful lights flickered back on, but her expression remained dark.
She didn’t know whether Yu Guqiu’s ambiguous reaction earlier hurt more or Yu Guqiu’s cheerful conversation with Ji Lu now stung worse.
Yu Guqiu ended the call while An Yizhu was still tangled in her thoughts.
She walked back to the doorway.
Looking at An Yizhu sitting dazedly on the bed, she said, “I still have some work to do, so I’ll head back to my room first.”
Without stepping back into the guest room, Yu Guqiu walked straight to the master bedroom and closed the door behind her.
An Yizhu didn’t even have time to utter a sound.
She stared at the disappearing figure outside the door.
Then she flopped onto the crumpled sheets, breathing in the lingering scent of roses.
Sleep would be hard to come by tonight.
She rolled over and looked at the floor.
The gold-rimmed glasses shimmered under the dazzling lights.
“Yu Guqiu didn’t even take her glasses.” An Yizhu muttered, her tone full of complaint.
She still didn’t understand why Yu Guqiu had left.
She also didn’t know whether she should knock on the door to return the glasses.
In the end, An Yizhu calmed down.
She decided to leave the glasses on the dining table.
She comforted herself:
Yu Guqiu was probably experiencing this kind of confession for the first time too. It was normal to feel a little stunned or awkward.
No matter what—
That kiss just now wasn’t fake.
Even if Yu Guqiu regretted it now, at least that moment of delirium had been real.
An Yizhu still felt that her efforts during this time hadn’t been in vain.
Even if some mysterious force tried to steer the plot forward, she could summon the courage to face it.
Beyond that, she had no other options. She could only give Yu Guqiu some time to process things.
Before returning to her room, An Yizhu also left a sticky note on Yu Guqiu’s door:
“Glasses are on the table.”
She even muttered the words on the note to herself while standing outside the door.
What she didn’t expect, however—
Was that Yu Guqiu was still standing right there.
Leaning against the door, lost in thought.
Yet also regretting her choice to “escape” when she had the chance to respond to An Yizhu earlier.
Because, in her worldview—
An Alpha’s attraction to an Omega was the most intense, the most irresistible.
Just like how an Alpha’s mark, once imprinted—even temporarily—would leave an Omega carrying the Alpha’s scent, warning others away.
This kind of attraction came with an absolute possessiveness, leaving no room for others.
Yu Guqiu had clearly sensed this fierce possessiveness in An Yizhu, that big idiot.
[But why did she say she liked me, then say something like that? “Not an Alpha’s attraction to an Omega”—then what kind of attraction is it?]
Yu Guqiu could even understand how some Alphas, during their rut, might easily act impulsively toward anyone.
But why did An Yizhu restrain herself from acting on her impulses toward her?
For a moment, Yu Guqiu wondered if An Yizhu merely saw her as a comrade-in-arms.
A bond elevated from client and contractor, yet not quite reaching the level of lovers—wanting to alleviate the pain of her rut but refusing to choose marking as the solution.
Yu Guqiu was angry, yet she also felt this might be retribution for drafting that prenuptial agreement in the first place.
She had every right to demand an explanation from An Yizhu.
But the moment the kiss ended, An Yizhu’s pheromones had subsided, satisfied.
Yu Guqiu suddenly felt like an Omega who held no allure for her Alpha.
So she instinctively avoided pressing the issue.
To think that even she could feel something like “inferiority.”
Wasn’t this what it felt like to like someone?
Wasn’t An Yizhu also feeling this same “inferiority”?
Or was her “humility” just now merely guilt over breaching their contract and failing to fulfill her obligations as the contractor?
No matter how sharp Yu Guqiu’s business acumen was, she couldn’t decipher An Yizhu’s thoughts. She only felt the boomerang of client-contractor obligations repeatedly striking her.
She picked up her phone, wanting to seek help.
After scrolling through her contacts, the only person she could ask was Si Ruxin.
She stared at Si Ruxin’s chat interface for a long time.
She felt like she was going mad. Did she really have to consult Si Ruxin about this?
But the prenuptial agreement was a private matter between her and An Yizhu.
Yet, after a moment—
With the scent of licorice still clinging to her, Yu Guqiu finally sent Si Ruxin a message:
[An Yizhu is in rut today, but she won’t mark me.]
“!!!” Si Ruxin saw the brief message and replied instantly.
She also immediately called via video.
Yu Guqiu hung up just as quickly.
Si Ruxin seemed to understand and replied on her own:
[Got it, got it. You can’t take calls right now, right?]
Yu Guqiu didn’t answer.
She sat on the bed, hugging her knees. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take calls—she just didn’t want anyone to see her in this lost state.
Si Ruxin kept texting:
[I was just shipping you two in your CP fanclub. How did things turn out like this?]
[Are you too old to satisfy a young Alpha’s needs?]
Yu Guqiu closed her eyes, unable to believe what she was reading.
She never should’ve asked Si Ruxin!
Seeing no response, Si Ruxin pressed on:
[It definitely can’t be that you’ve lost your appeal to your little Alpha. Anyone with eyes can see that whenever you two are together, your little Alpha’s face is never facing forward—it’s always turned toward you! If you don’t believe me, check the CP fanclub.]
Ice Mountain Qiu: […]
Si Ruxin: [Don’t not believe me!]
Ice Mountain Qiu: [I’m not disbelieving. But what you’re saying doesn’t solve my problem.]
Si Ruxin: [Then ask your little Alpha. Someone so young shouldn’t be lacking in stamina.]
[Maybe you’ve never praised her? You’ve always been so unromantic. You should praise your partner more!]
Yu Guqiu stared at these suggestive and provocative words, then closed her eyes.
She really shouldn’t have asked Si Ruxin.
But upon reflection, Si Ruxin wasn’t entirely wrong. The overwhelming pheromones from earlier could’ve drowned her.
It definitely wasn’t that An Yizhu was incapable.
Could it really be because she’d never explicitly praised her?
Yu Guqiu pondered seriously.
Seeing no reply, Si Ruxin drew her own conclusions:
[Hey, as the older one, even if the younger does something lacking, you can be more forgiving. Alphas might occasionally have off days. If nothing else, try stimulating her a bit!]
Yu Guqiu tossed her phone onto the bed.
But a few seconds later, she picked it back up:
[Do you even read what you’re writing?]
Si Ruxin misunderstood:
[Don’t worry. Even though I’m single, I’m definitely the best strategist among singles. Just look at your Alpha—if you change into a different outfit, she’ll definitely devour you!]
Yu Guqiu couldn’t help but recall An Yizhu’s reaction earlier when she entered the room wearing this outfit.
That kind of physiological attraction couldn’t possibly be fake.
Yu Guqiu suddenly made a decision.
No matter what reason An Yizhu had for saying those words—
She would make An Yizhu’s little brain rethink things. Even if it wasn’t an Alpha’s attraction to an Omega, she would make it into the kind of unique, inescapable, absolutely possessive attraction.
Yu Guqiu picked up her phone and ended Si Ruxin’s rambling with one sentence:
Ice Mountain Qiu: [Understood. I’ll seduce her.]
Si Ruxin: “???”
“Wait, let me ask—how did you interpret it like that?! Is that what I meant? Oh, maybe it is. But—who are you? Get out of the icy Yu Guqiu’s body right now! Begone!”
Si Ruxin couldn’t hold back and sent a voice message, not caring whether Yu Guqiu could listen or not.
Yu Guqiu listened, then smiled and tossed her phone aside.
On the other end, Si Ruxin frantically screenshotted the conversation.
But she had nowhere to post the screenshots.
Post them in the CP fanclub?
Definitely not.
This was private talk between close friends—not for public eyes.
She and Yu Guqiu had almost no mutual friends beyond business associates, so she couldn’t vent to them either.
The most infuriating part? She didn’t even have An Yizhu’s WeChat. She couldn’t message the little Alpha and say: Your wife is going to seduce you!
Si Ruxin was so agitated she spun in circles.
Yu Guqiu was infuriating when she was cold, and now that she showed some human warmth, she was still infuriating!
In the end, Si Ruxin could only let it go for now. She saved all the screenshots, planning to send them to An Yizhu someday.
It never occurred to her that by the time she had the chance, An Yizhu would’ve already experienced these changes firsthand.
All she’d be able to do then was thank the advisor.
But tonight, An Yizhu had no such opportunity.
She lay restlessly on the right side of the bed—a spot she usually didn’t occupy—tossing and turning in agitation.
The left side still carried the scent of roses but felt cold and empty.
With her eyes open, she saw illusions of Yu Guqiu. With them closed, she smelled Yu Guqiu’s fragrance.
The torment lasted all night.
Anxiety might seem small, but it’s the kind of thing that crawls out of your heart, spreads all over your body, and slowly devours you—a terrifying monster.
An Yizhu couldn’t defeat this tiny anxiety.
Only when dawn broke did her biological clock finally overpower her unease and force her into slumber.
But she didn’t sleep long.
An Yizhu jolted awake from her restless dreams.
The time showed 10 a.m.
Damn.
Yu Guqiu must’ve already left for work.
An Yizhu sat up, her first thought being Yu Guqiu’s whereabouts.
As for herself, she didn’t even know where to go today.
The university was surely still reeling from yesterday’s stampede incident. Her appearance would only cause more chaos.
Can’t go there.
Guangying Xinghui Media would definitely be paying extra attention to her situation too.
After submitting her drafts last night, she’d received several messages from Team Leader Ma. But she’d been too upset to reply to any of them.
If she went to Guangying now, everyone’s focus would be more on her than the work, which wouldn’t help with deadlines.
She didn’t even know how to face them.
Can’t go there either.
That left her stuck at home, lost in her thoughts.
An Yizhu slumped dejectedly and shuffled out of her room.
“Awake?”
An Yizhu froze, wondering if she was hallucinating.
But the faint scent of roses in the air made her snap her head up.
Yu Guqiu sat at the dining table in a strappy nightgown—today, she wasn’t even wearing a shawl.
An Yizhu’s glands reacted faster than her brain.
A flood of pheromones surged out.
Panicked, she dashed back to her room: “I forgot to put on suppressant patches. Sorry.”
Yu Guqiu propped her chin on one hand, smiling with satisfaction.
Not an Alpha’s attraction to an Omega?
Weren’t her pheromones being honest?
Back in her room, An Yizhu clutched the back of her neck, her heart pounding wildly, unable to calm down for a long time.
Why was Yu Guqiu still home?
Had the hot search from yesterday made it inconvenient for her to go out too?
Did that mean they’d be spending the day together at home?
Why was she sitting at the dining table in a strappy nightgown?
No, no—strappy nightgowns were normal sleepwear.
Sitting at the dining table was for breakfast. Maybe she’d worked late last night and only just woken up.
An Yizhu still didn’t understand why she’d upset Yu Guqiu, but she’d considered finding a chance to apologize today.
Yet Yu Guqiu seemed completely unbothered, leaving her utterly confused.
An Yizhu swallowed hard, thinking for a long time but failing to untangle her thoughts.
In the end, she could only hurriedly inject herself with a suppressant and firmly apply a suppressant patch to the back of her neck.
Just yesterday, she’d confidently declared that her feelings had nothing to do with being an Alpha or Omega—that it was one woman’s attraction to another.
Now, her pheromones were acting like they wanted to devour someone. It was downright embarrassing.
An Yizhu didn’t dare linger in her room. Even if her blush hadn’t faded, she steeled herself and stepped out.
Today’s breakfast was toast.
Yu Guqiu had already heated it, stuffing it with leftover shrimp from yesterday. It was warm and fragrant.
“Eat,” Yu Guqiu said, watching An Yizhu intently as she took a sip of milk.
The milk left a trace on her lips.
An Yizhu couldn’t help but recall yesterday’s kiss, which had tasted like cream.
She didn’t dare look too long, lowering her head to focus on the toast.
Yu Guqiu didn’t press her, just continued watching while lightly swinging her slender legs.
Under the table, a cool breeze gently swayed.
An Yizhu’s grip on the toast tightened slightly.
Every tiny change made her nervous.
Yu Guqiu waited until An Yizhu was halfway through her toast before speaking:
“Today, you’re coming to Guangying with me.”
An Yizhu looked up, but the “eye contact” lasted only two seconds.
She quickly picked up her milk, hiding half her face, and asked softly, “After yesterday’s hot search, won’t us going to Guangying together cause a commotion?”
Yu Guqiu replied, “Rather than letting them gossip endlessly, dragging out the speculation for days until it fizzles out with endless rumors, it’s better to give them a chance today to properly see that we’re not so mysterious after all.”
An Yizhu thought it made sense.
The more you hid something, the more curiosity it sparked.
Might as well openly show people the truth, just like how they’d stood before the crowd yesterday.
At this point, An Yizhu suddenly remembered—she hadn’t even checked the current online wind direction yet.
“Did yesterday’s trending searches affect Guangying?” she asked quietly.
“Of course it did. One is Guangying’s controller, the other is the head of two departments at Guangying. The impact was huge.” Yu Guqiu said, watching An Yizhu.
An Yizhu immediately pulled out her phone: “How could this be? Spreading rumors that I’m some kind of department head—how awful for Team Leader Liao and Team Leader Ma! I only helped out a little. Should I clarify things?”
Yu Guqiu smiled.
This girl was as kind-hearted as ever.
“Team Leader Liao and Team Leader Ma don’t mind. They said: If we mess up in the future, can we just let Xiao Zhu take the blame? Sounds pretty good.”
The laughter in Yu Guqiu’s tone made An Yizhu look up again.
Today’s Yu Guqiu radiated warmth, unlike the anger from when she’d left the room last night.
Though An Yizhu still didn’t understand why Yu Guqiu had been upset, seeing her in such a good mood today was enough.
An Yizhu gulped down a big mouthful of milk and exhaled:
“As long as Team Leader Liao and Team Leader Ma aren’t upset.”
Yu Guqiu tapped An Yizhu’s phone on the table with a slender finger:
“But if you want to clarify something, you can. Register an account and get verified as Mrs. Yu.”
“Can I do that?” An Yizhu immediately straightened.
Yu Guqiu watched her with amusement.
As expected, An Yizhu had a strong reaction to the title Mrs. Yu.
“You are Mrs. Yu. Why wouldn’t you be able to?” Yu Guqiu countered.
An Yizhu nervously began registering.
Her original account had nothing on it anyway, so she’d already decided to abandon it.
For the new account—
What should she name it?
She had no talent for naming things.
Back when she’d entered the art competition, she’d been stumped and ended up combining a character from Yu Guqiu’s name with one from her own.
Now, for this account…
She peeked at Yu Guqiu’s username.
Simple—just her real name.
Oh, right. I can just use my real name too.
After all, no matter what username she picked, everyone already knew her name.
“You could consider naming it Mrs. Yu.” Yu Guqiu said, smiling.
An Yizhu’s face reddened again.
Yu Guqiu added, “Even if you don’t call yourself Mrs. Yu, I’ll have the official account verify you as Mrs. Yu.”
“You can do that?” An Yizhu was stunned, unaware such a thing was possible.
Yu Guqiu teased, “Or do you want to be verified as a Guangying Xinghui Media employee?”
An Yizhu could tell Yu Guqiu was messing with her. Pouting, she said, “I want to be verified as an artist!”
Yu Guqiu raised an eyebrow.
Considering An Yizhu’s painting skills, it was feasible.
If she wanted to pursue this path, Yu Guqiu could bring it up when interacting with Zhang Yuan and the Ai family later.
So Yu Guqiu supported the idea: “Sure.”
“Really?” An Yizhu hadn’t expected her joke to be taken seriously.
Yu Guqiu nodded: “Really. I think I’ve mentioned before—I’ll give you as much freedom as possible.”
Maybe she hadn’t said it, but the prenuptial agreement was drafted with that in mind.
Now, though, she mostly wanted An Yizhu to have her own choices.
But Yu Guqiu’s words now—
Made An Yizhu feel a pang of discontent. She sensed Yu Guqiu was implying that after the two-year contract ended, she could become anyone—except Mrs. Yu.
She didn’t want that.
An Yizhu quickly registered an account and applied for verification.
Then she dashed back to her room.
While Yu Guqiu was processing the verification, An Yizhu vanished from the dining table.
The two of them had been at the center of yesterday’s storm, bringing the platform a lot of traffic. The platform’s management was paying close attention.
By the time An Yizhu returned, her account had already been verified.
An Yizhu
Verified ✔
Mrs. Yu of Yu Corporation
An Yizhu held her phone, unable to hide her delight.
Yu Guqiu smiled at her: “Planning to post something?”
“Yes!” An Yizhu confirmed.
She held up a card she’d prepared earlier.
She’d gone back to her room to draw cartoon versions of herself and Yu Guqiu.
She took a photo of the drawing, including the dining table with the half-eaten toast and milk in the background.
She posted her first update.
No caption—just the photo, tagged with their CP hashtag.
Her follower count skyrocketed.
The comments section exploded.
[Am I seeing things? It’s Mrs. Yu’s account!]
[Wow, this hand-drawn artwork is amazing!]
[The background shows them having breakfast together? The sugar levels are off the charts! If you two don’t get married, how will this end?]
[Uh, hello? They’re already married. They’re a real couple!]
[Ahhh, that’s right!! This is the best! A real married couple—we’re saved!]
An Yizhu skimmed through the comments.
They were all over the place, but the CP fans had quickly taken over.
Relieved, An Yizhu said, “Thank goodness it’s the CP fans. We’re saved.”
Yu Guqiu laughed at her reaction and immediately praised her: “Adorable.”
“?!” An Yizhu stared at Yu Guqiu in shock.
Was Yu Guqiu complimenting her?
Calling her adorable!
Why adorable?
What was adorable about this?
Flustered, An Yizhu didn’t know what Yu Guqiu meant.
But it was at this moment that the belated realization hit her—
Yu Guqiu seemed different today.
She was so gentle, so unlike the aloof “ice beauty” the outside world knew.
She was just a rose hidden atop a snowy peak.
Those who carved a path through the snow could admire her beauty.
Now, as An Yizhu looked at Yu Guqiu—
Her eyes curved with unconcealed joy, dazzlingly radiant.
This smile belonged solely to her—Mrs. Yu.