I Woke Up and Became an Alpha (GL) - Chapter 11
Today, Huo Qingzhi’s schedule was to visit the branch factory to check on the workshop’s production status. The factory was in one of the industrial park buildings, surrounded by various processing plants.
This was also Song Yuran’s first time entering a garment production workshop. She mostly followed President Huo, carrying her bag and acting as her driver.
Listening to Huo Qingzhi ask the factory manager about production progress, Song Yuran wasn’t very interested. Her curious gaze fell on the garment raw materials.
As a fashion designer, she had previously made clothes of her own design, but back then, she only used very ordinary sewing machines. The machines in front of her now looked very similar to what she remembered, yet they were also different.
Workers stacked two pieces of fabric together, stepped on a pedal, and quickly the two pieces of fabric were sewn into one continuous piece. The stitching was even, and the machine even back-stitched and cut threads automatically, completely eliminating the need for manual back-stitching as she used to do. The noise was also very low.
She curiously asked, “What kind of machine is this?”
The worker, seeing she was with the big boss, was happy to answer, “This is the latest model of computer-controlled sewing machine.”
Huo Qingzhi finished catching up with the factory manager on the latest factory situation, then turned around to find Song Yuran gone. The factory manager quickly said, “I just saw Secretary Song go into the computer workshop.”
Declining the factory manager’s kind offer to lead her to find the person, Huo Qingzhi walked to the computer workshop alone. As she entered, she saw a certain someone sitting at one of the workstations, operating a computer-controlled sewing machine under the guidance of a nearby worker.
Song Yuran found this new machine very exciting. She got the hang of it in just a few minutes. The worker found her a scrap piece of fabric, and she sewed a five-pointed star pattern on it.
She was having a great time playing, when she looked up and saw Huo Qingzhi walking towards her. Only then did she remember she was there to be a driver. Her smile froze on her face, and she hurriedly tried to stand up, but at this crucial moment, her legs wouldn’t obey her!
The worker, seeing the boss arrive, also felt intimidated and used the excuse of going to the restroom to slip away.
In just a moment of distraction, Huo Qingzhi had walked up to her. She wasn’t angry, but looked down at Song Yuran’s five-pointed star stitching.
“Let me see.”
“Oh, oh.” Song Yuran quickly moved the fabric from under the needle. Without automatic thread cutting, it came out with two long threads attached. She looked around the machine surface but couldn’t find any scissors.
“…” The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Song Yuran didn’t know whether to give it to her or not.
Huo Qingzhi saw through her predicament. She walked to Song Yuran’s side, bent down, and reached out to tap the control panel.
“Here.” Huo Qingzhi pointed to one of the buttons, then pressed it under Song Yuran’s gaze. The long threads were then cut.
Immediately after, Huo Qingzhi picked up the five-pointed star, straightened up, and examined it. The entire process took no more than five seconds.
But Song Yuran could still smell the faint fragrance lingering in the air, as if Huo Qingzhi were still right beside her.
The stitching of the five-pointed star was steadier than Huo Qingzhi had imagined. One couldn’t achieve this level without some basic skill, which somewhat surprised Huo Qingzhi about her talent.
“Secretary Chen has been here so many times, and I’ve never seen her interested in sewing machines,” Huo Qingzhi remarked.
Song Yuran chuckled awkwardly, “I think it’s quite fun.”
The computer-controlled sewing machine was indeed more comfortable to use than old-fashioned ones, with smooth stitching and no creaking sounds.
Huo Qingzhi said nothing more, returned the five-pointed star to her, and they both left the factory.
Song Yuran hadn’t forgotten her initial purpose: to tell Huo Qingzhi about the design being plagiarized.
“President Huo…” She had just opened her mouth when she heard a commotion from within the industrial park.
A group of people had gathered in front of a factory building not far ahead. Some were carrying tarps and mats, others were on their phones, and the scene was somewhat chaotic.
Song Yuran looked up and saw someone standing on the factory rooftop.
“!!!” She couldn’t help but widen her eyes. “Someone’s going to jump!”
Huo Qingzhi also saw it, but there was no great ripple on her face. She merely frowned and said, “It’s this factory again…”
This factory had serious exploitation problems. Delayed wages were common. Some workers wanted to leave but couldn’t because they were owed a large sum of money. Complaints were fruitless, so they could only grit their teeth and continue working, forming a vicious cycle.
In such situations, desperate workers would resort to extreme methods to demand their wages, such as jumping from a building.
Song Yuran didn’t want to watch the drama, but just as she was about to leave, the person on the rooftop made a move. He shouted skyward, spread his arms, and his body fell freely.
Her heart tightened suddenly. Almost instinctively, Song Yuran, who was half a person’s distance from Huo Qingzhi, turned sideways to shield her, reaching out to cover her eyes forcefully.
She remembered that Huo Qingzhi in the original novel had hemophobia. The scene of someone jumping from a building would be quite bloody, and if she fainted, Song Yuran would have the trouble of taking her to the hospital.
At this moment, a strong Alpha pheromone was released.
The intense pheromone assaulted the unprepared Huo Qingzhi. She stepped back, stumbled, and they both fell to the ground.
Huo Qingzhi’s face held a slightly astonished expression. She was surprised by Song Yuran’s immediate reaction to protect her, even to the point of being so mentally strained that she unconsciously released pheromones.
“S-sorry…” Song Yuran never imagined she would tackle someone down. She scrambled up from Huo Qingzhi, hurriedly pulled her up, “Did you hurt anything?”
Huo Qingzhi shook her head. She looked into Song Yuran’s eyes and asked, “Why did you protect me?”
Clearly, even if someone jumped, they wouldn’t have been hit at that distance.
“I was afraid you’d faint from the sight of bl00d,” Song Yuran blurted out, then realized her words could easily expose a flaw. She quickly patched it up: “The scene of someone jumping is too terrifying; it’s better not to watch.”
Song Yuran’s words reminded Huo Qingzhi of their first meeting. Even though she had been rejected with an unkind tone, Song Yuran was still willing to help her when she made a request.
This person, perhaps, was somewhat different.
The person who attempted to jump didn’t succeed. They fell onto thick mats and were taken away by the arriving ambulance for examination.
They left the industrial park. Song Yuran glanced at the time; there was half an hour left until quitting time.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, worried about being sidetracked again, Song Yuran immediately said, “President Huo, I have something to tell you.”
Huo Qingzhi raised an eyebrow, “Is it about your resignation again?”
“No.”
“Then start driving first.”
Song Yuran had no choice but to start the car, planning to talk on the way. Huo Qingzhi, beside her, started fiddling with the car’s navigation system.
A minute later, the driving route was set, and the female voice of the navigation system began to announce.
“Ready to depart, heading to Qilixiang, total distance 73 kilometers, estimated travel time fifteen minutes.”
“Qilixiang?” Song Yuran heard it and was familiar with the song. “What kind of place is that?”
“A restaurant,” President Huo said. “I’m hungry.”
“Oh, okay.”
The car was somewhat quiet, so quiet that Song Yuran, focused on driving, forgot someone else was beside her. The restaurant’s name brought back memories of song lyrics, and she quietly hummed the tune.
“The rain falls all night, my love overflows like rainwater, the fallen leaves in the courtyard are piled thick with my longing…”
Her karaoke session last night wasn’t satisfying enough, and now Song Yuran’s craving had returned. Suddenly, she heard Huo Qingzhi ask, “What song are you singing?”
The singing stopped abruptly. Song Yuran said, “Ah,” then, “The name is ‘Qilixiang,’ by Jay Chou.”
Huo Qingzhi thought for a moment and replied, “I haven’t heard of that singer.”
“He’s relatively ‘obscure,’ I guess.” Song Yuran chuckled awkwardly. If someone said Jay Chou was an obscure singer in modern times, they’d probably be laughed at for a long time.
“It sounds like a love song,” Huo Qingzhi said.
“It seems so,” Song Yuran thought about the lyrics for a moment, then added, “It should be.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“No,” Song Yuran didn’t dwell on why Huo Qingzhi suddenly asked about her romantic life. She casually replied, “I’d like to, but I don’t know if I’ll ever find a partner in this lifetime.”
Song Yuran was the type who constantly clamored about “wanting a sweet relationship,” but once she had a suitor, she’d reject them faster than anyone else.
She was a very typical “giant on the mouth, dwarf in action.”
“We have many Omegas in our company.”
The Omegas in her department were all female. She had never seen a male Omega, so Song Yuran’s impression of Omegas was basically synonymous with women.
Thinking of this, she blurted out without much thought, “I don’t like Omegas anyway.”
“…”
After saying that, Song Yuran clearly felt the atmosphere in the car solidify.
She belatedly realized… both she and Huo Qingzhi were Alphas. Her saying she didn’t like Omegas, to Huo Qingzhi, would sound like she liked Alphas? Wouldn’t this be equivalent to saying “I’m gay” to someone of the same s3x in modern society?
Song Yuran quickly explained, “Ah, no, President Huo, I wasn’t saying I like Alphas. I meant I’m not interested in the Omegas in the company. Don’t worry, I’m not gay.”
“I’m not worried,” Huo Qingzhi said calmly. “I’m not gay either.”
Song Yuran didn’t know how they had gotten onto the topic of homosexuality. She hadn’t fully accepted the gender rules of this world yet, and discussing this topic was truly killing her.
Fortunately, they soon arrived at the restaurant. Song Yuran quickly changed the subject. After parking the car, she showed no intention of getting out, instead turning to watch Huo Qingzhi open the car door and step out.
Huo Qingzhi walked two steps forward, then realized something was off. She turned her head and saw Song Yuran still in the car.
She tapped on the car hood, signaling her to get out.
Song Yuran pointed to herself with an uncertain expression. After receiving confirmation, she opened the door and got out. “President Huo?”
“What are you doing in the car?”
“You’re hungry, aren’t you? I’ll wait outside for you to finish eating.” Song Yuran’s self-positioning was very clear—she was the driver.
“…”
Huo Qingzhi realized that Song Yuran seemed a bit simple-minded.