Has The Live-in Alpha Stepped Up - Chapter 7
7: Beyond the Novel
Yu Guqiu’s fingertips tapped rapidly on her phone screen, busy with who-knows-what.
An Yizhu didn’t leave or speak, just sat quietly on the bay window, watching the traffic outside, swinging her legs.
Strangely enough, even though she was sitting in the hospital just like before, An Yizhu didn’t feel bored at all now.
Knock, knock, knock—
“Excuse me, President Yu.”
Another visitor arrived.
A woman strode in, looking like she had rushed over in a hurry.
She wore a strict business suit and oversized black-framed glasses that obscured her features.
As an art student, An Yizhu instinctively deconstructed her facial structure in her mind.
Her bone structure wasn’t bad—in fact, it bore some resemblance to Yu Guqiu’s, like the slight bump on the bridge of her nose.
If she took off those glasses and dressed up a bit, she could easily be a stunning beauty.
Yu Guqiu asked, “Lin Meng, how did things go with what I asked you to handle?”
Lin Meng nodded and held up two bags—one was a black briefcase, which she handed to Yu Guqiu.
The other was a colorful backpack that clashed completely with her professional demeanor.
She glanced at An Yizhu and said, “I found her belongings. Her ID is inside.”
An Yizhu jumped up from the bay window and dashed over in two long strides, snatching the backpack.
The enhanced physique of a post-differentiation Alpha was truly something—even the sharp pain from her wound stretching didn’t faze her in her excitement.
Lin Meng flinched and took a step back.
An Yizhu ignored her and rummaged through the bag.
Inside was a wallet with some loose change and an ID card.
The name on the ID read: An Yizhu.
“Amazing!” she cheered.
Yu Guqiu and Lin Meng stared at her, puzzled.
An Yizhu explained, “I really am An Yizhu!”
“……”
That explanation only made things more confusing.
Lin Meng thought An Yizhu seemed less like someone with amnesia and more like someone who’d lost her mind.
Yu Guqiu, however, found An Yizhu’s genuine reaction amusing.
If this little Alpha she’d picked up really had cleanly lost her memory, it would save her a lot of trouble.
An Yizhu kept digging through the bag.
There was also a student ID.
Jiangcheng University, Screenwriting Department.
“I’m even a college student!” An Yizhu exclaimed.
Lin Meng added dryly, “A senior, but with low grades and insufficient credits. You have a lot of make-up exams this year and might have to repeat a year.”
She had called the university earlier, pretending to be from a company offering internships to gather information.
The academic advisor had tried to sugarcoat it, but Lin Meng saw right through it.
An Yizhu remained cheerful. “Repeating a year is fine. Slowing down and taking a fifth year sounds great!”
College life—communal living—was something An Yizhu had always dreamed of.
Yu Guqiu frowned at that. Her life had never allowed for “slowing down.” How could An Yizhu say it so casually?
“You really are optimistic.” Yu Guqiu remarked.
An Yizhu looked at her, catching a trace of lingering sadness in her eyes, and grinned even brighter.
Of course she was optimistic.
Maybe it was innate, or maybe it was a gift from her mom and sister.
Fighting illness from a young age, she wouldn’t have made it this far without their love and her own stubborn hopefulness.
“Take it slow, everything will be okay” was her mom’s favorite “magic spell.”
An Yizhu kept searching the bag.
Aside from random trinkets, there was a key and a phone.
The key was plain—probably for her dorm.
The phone was a basic smartphone with a cracked screen. It was either broken or just out of battery, as the screen wouldn’t turn on.
“Can I get a charger or a power bank?” An Yizhu asked.
Lin Meng handed her a charger, already prepared.
“Thanks!” An Yizhu plugged it in.
Once the phone had some charge, she turned back. “You’re Lin Meng, right? You seem to know a bit about me. Do you know where my family is? Where I live? Do I have friends?”
Lin Meng bristled at the rapid-fire questions. “How would I know?”
She added stiffly, “Just call me Lin Meng. No need for fake closeness.”
Yu Guqiu gave her a curious look.
Lin Meng was usually unflappable—why was she so agitated today?
Lin Meng realized she’d lost her composure and sighed. “Sorry, President Yu. I was worried about you last night and didn’t sleep well. The backpack was at the police station near the old factory district. They had it on file under ‘An Yizhu,’ so I went to retrieve it.”
“The old factory district’s station?” Yu Guqiu seized on the detail.
Lin Meng nodded. “Yes! That area’s practically deserted. It’s suspicious that she was even there yesterday!”
An Yizhu nodded vigorously. “Exactly! I’m super suspicious! You should definitely investigate me thoroughly—family, friends, teachers, even work history!”
Lin Meng closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. “What kind of person are you?”
She barely held back the “Are you insane?” since Yu Guqiu was right there.
But An Yizhu just said, “I want to know what kind of person I am, too.”
Completely unfazed, her tone utterly sincere.
Lin Meng was speechless.
Ding—
The phone finally had enough power to turn on.
Good news: It wasn’t broken, and it didn’t have a password.
Bad news: No password because it had been factory reset. No useful info, no apps—not even a SIM card.
An Yizhu frowned.
Why carry a blank phone like this?
“What’s on it?” Yu Guqiu asked, noticing her stare.
An Yizhu handed it over without hesitation. “Nothing. Guess I really do have to rely on you guys.”
She even brought up the marriage idea again. “We should definitely draft a prenup. Can’t let me take advantage.”
She had no intention of scheming, but who knew what the original owner of this body had been up to?
Lin Meng cut in, asking Yu Guqiu, “President Yu, you’re really marrying someone this shady?”
Yu Guqiu nodded, openly discussing An Yizhu in front of her. “She’s suspicious, but our pheromone match is real. Marrying her solves a lot of problems for me. Grandma’s health hasn’t been great—she’s been hoping I’d marry. This’ll make her happy.”
Lin Meng’s expression twisted.
Just for that, she’d marry a complete stranger?
She studied Yu Guqiu.
Sitting on the hospital bed, still working like nothing was wrong, but her usual sharpness was dulled by exhaustion.
Even someone as aloof as Yu Guqiu changed after being marked.
Was this why her relatives kept pushing her to find an Alpha?
Would she still be the work-obsessed Yu Guqiu after this?
Yu Guqiu ignored Lin Meng’s internal turmoil. There was no need to explain further.
“Lin Meng, go back to the company. We can’t leave it unattended.”
Lin Meng forced a stiff smile and left swiftly.
Right now, escaping this bizarre situation felt like a blessing.
Yu Guqiu had work to do. She pulled out her laptop, put on gold-rimmed glasses, and got to it.
An Yizhu stared shamelessly.
So Yu Guqiu was nearsighted? The novel hadn’t mentioned that.
It hit her then: The Yu Guqiu in front of her was the character from the book, but also more than that. She was a living, breathing person.
She was fuller than the words on the page, with a life beyond what was written.
No author could capture everything about her.
Yu Guqiu typed one-handed, using the other to tie her hair up haphazardly. With her shoulders exposed, the loose hospital gown revealed delicate collarbones.
And on them—the still-red mark from An Yizhu’s bite.
The glaring “evidence” made An Yizhu blush and look away.
She fiddled with the phone, then noticed a scratch on her hand.
When had that happened?
Probably last night.
Cough, cough—
An Yizhu suddenly choked.
She looked up to see Yu Guqiu holding a slender cigarette between elegant fingers.
White smoke curled upward.
Yu Guqiu’s red lips parted slightly as she exhaled.
The novel had mentioned Yu Guqiu’s smoking habit—she’d even reserved a smoke-friendly hospital room for herself.
Cough, cough— An Yizhu kept coughing.
She hated smoke, hated smokers.
But Yu Guqiu was the exception.
If only technology could make smoke non-irritating—then she could enjoy the sight pain-free.
Yu Guqiu tapped ash into the tray and glanced at her.
“Go to your room. I have a meeting soon.”
“Got it.” An Yizhu didn’t argue, heading straight for the side room.
“And no eavesdropping this time.” Yu Guqiu added, half-warning.
But behind the laptop screen, the corner of her lips might have twitched—a hint of playfulness at odds with her usual cool demeanor.
An Yizhu, embarrassed, sped up. “Me? Eavesdrop? Hahaha, never!”