I Woke Up and Became an Alpha (GL) - Chapter 4
Huo Qingzhi…
Song Yuran was absolutely certain she had heard that name somewhere before.
She brainstormed for a while, and finally, clear memories related to the name emerged.
The name Huo Qingzhi was identical to the protagonist of an ABO-themed novel she had read.
The story revolved around the protagonist, Huo Qingzhi, inheriting her deceased parents’ clothing company and determined to make the brand flourish. Originally focused solely on her career, she fell into her uncle’s conspiracy and then suffered betrayal from a friend. Under this double blow, she rapidly matured, evolving into Niohuru Huo Qingzhi.
Song Yuran had thought she simply entered another world, but she had actually transmigrated into a book?!
Upon realizing this, she suddenly recalled a treacherous cannon fodder female Alpha in the book. Although she was only mentioned briefly, her foolishness left a deep impression.
This cannon fodder Alpha, leveraging her position in the marketing department, sold the company’s upcoming marketing plans to the antagonist, causing the company significant financial losses.
Because her actions were so foolish, Huo Qingzhi quickly uncovered them when the truth came out, and promptly sent the cannon fodder female Alpha to prison, earning her a pair of silver handcuffs.
Carefully analyzing her current situation, Song Yuran quickly arrived at a grim conclusion.
Considering her start date and gender, she seemed to be… that cannon fodder female Alpha.
Song Yuran’s heart turned to ashes, and she instantly lost all her vitality. She looked up at the ceiling, feeling as if she had lost her soul.
Why do others transmigrate either as the protagonist or the protagonist’s love interest, while she transmigrated as cannon fodder, and to top it all off, she had to go to jail?!
“Yuran?? Are you okay? You look terrible.”
Song Yuran forced a smile and replied, “No, I’m… fine…”
She was just thinking about whether diligently pedaling the sewing machine in prison could earn her a reduced sentence.
She spent the day in a daze. Back home, Song Yuran managed to regain some of her spirits and started mentally preparing herself.
She couldn’t just sit there and wait to die; she had to defy fate and change her destiny!
She wasn’t sure what part of the original novel’s plot the world’s development had reached, but the current Song Yuran had her own consciousness and could completely avoid the incident of selling information that would lead to her imprisonment.
However, she was also afraid that even if she avoided jail, other events would occur, ultimately leading to an unhappy ending.
Therefore, changing jobs was the safest bet! It would both prevent her from being discovered as an ordinary person and detach her from the story’s trajectory.
As long as she escaped the protagonist, she could jump out of the story, and then it would no longer concern her.
Thinking this, Song Yuran quickly opened the recruitment app. She wanted to change jobs as quickly as possible, ideally taking leave tomorrow for an interview. What kind of work it was no longer mattered.
But HR personnel also left work in the evening. Song Yuran submitted a few design-related resumes, and despite recruiters being online, no one replied.
C
Song Yuran couldn’t sit still, so she simply got up to put away clothes and take a shower. When she saw one of her new outfits, she suddenly remembered the olive branch extended by the “Qi Jiu Zhi Jia” store manager yesterday.
She paused, then quickly ran back into the room and rummaged through a drawer for the business card that was with her shopping receipt.
Although she had firmly refused the manager’s invitation at the time, the manager still handed her a business card. Song Yuran didn’t pay it much mind, and simply put it in her drawer with the shopping receipt from her pocket when she got home.
Her refusal yesterday was so firm, but her attitude on the phone today was equally humble.
“Manager Chen, hello, I’m the one who was at your store yesterday…” Song Yuran paused, suddenly unsure how to continue. Saying “customer” didn’t seem right; not only did she not buy clothes, but she also got one for free…
“Ah, I know,” the manager quickly said. “Is this Miss Song?”
The manager’s voice clearly perked up: “Thank you for your valuable feedback. Today, I submitted your suggestions to headquarters, and the design department is already working on improvements.”
“Miss Song, do you have any more valuable suggestions for revision?”
“Uh…” Song Yuran was so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to crawl into. But compared to the cold iron bars beckoning her, what was saving face?
“It’s like this,” she composed herself. “For personal reasons, I need to change jobs, and I’d like to apply for a position at your company.”
The manager welcomed her words and quickly arranged an interview for her at the head office tomorrow at 3 PM.
Song Yuran, putting down her phone, felt a sense of relief. Jerry’s white handkerchief waving meme popped into her head: Goodbye, Mom, I’m setting sail today.jpg
Before going to sleep, Song Yuran had already planned out her wonderful future. With the current aesthetics of this world, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to join a clothing company. Plus, the company’s rigorous attitude of “correcting mistakes when they realize them” would likely not refuse her.
After designing a few more earth-shattering bestsellers, luxury cars and money would be waving at her in the near future!
After fantasizing about becoming an internationally renowned designer, Song Yuran closed her eyes, letting sleepiness wash over her as she drifted into slumber.
Before sleeping, she didn’t forget to comfort herself: she was an ordinary person, not a true Alpha. Maybe the cannon fodder female Alpha was someone else entirely. Maybe she was just scaring herself.
The next day, Song Yuran took the afternoon off but worked as usual in the morning.
For no other reason than wanting to chat with Zhao Anye about her “new employer.”
During lunch, Song Yuran looked at the chicken drumstick bento in front of her, then at Zhao Anye, who was eating and looking at her phone across from her.
She asked casually, “Oh, by the way, Anye, the clothes Qi Jiu Zhi Jia sent me? I washed them. They don’t fade or shrink; the quality is pretty good.”
“Didn’t I tell you!” Zhao Anye raised an eyebrow, a little smug. “My taste is never wrong. I’ve worn them for years.”
“Has this brand been around for that long?”
Zhao Anye thought for a moment, “Since I graduated, at least four or five years. They say the boss started by selling clothes from a self-made three-wheeled cart at a night market. Once they earned money, they opened a store, and then it just grew bigger and bigger, opening branches.”
“Why a small three-wheeled cart?” Song Yuran was a bit confused. Shouldn’t night markets set up stalls?
“So they can run when the city management comes!”
Song Yuran: “…………”
“Speaking of which…” Song Yuran looked Zhao Anye up and down. Yesterday, she had briefly looked at the clothes for sale on the Jian Ai brand’s official website. “Why don’t you buy clothes from our company’s brand?”
Zhao Anye shook her head: “Our company’s brand style doesn’t suit me. Most of it is ladylike and sweet. I prefer simple styles.”
“True.” Song Yuran nodded. Zhao Anye often wore T-shirts and jeans, which suited her cool and stylish appearance.
Some ABO novels always describe female Alphas as tending towards neutrality, creating a stereotype, but she realized it wasn’t like that until she entered this world and saw it with her own eyes.
Alphas have diverse styles. Some prefer loose and comfortable clothes, while others prefer pretty little dresses.
And Omegas aren’t always delicate; some are cool and dashing.
Alpha or Omega is just a gender distinction, not a personal style.
Thinking this, Song Yuran felt even more confident that she could survive in this world as an ordinary person, as long as she didn’t end up in jail.
“I think President Huo wears clothes from our company’s own brand. I’ve seen it several times.”
Hearing the surname “Huo,” Song Yuran instinctively looked up, her expression tense as she blurted out, “President Huo?”
“Yeah, President Huo is our company’s big boss. You didn’t forget, did you?”
How could she forget the woman who was going to send her to jail!
Song Yuran chuckled awkwardly, “I remember. Just didn’t connect it when you suddenly mentioned her.”
“Speaking of President Huo…” Zhao Anye put down her chopsticks, rested one hand on her cheek, and her gaze started to wander. “She’s really beautiful. Too bad she’s an Alpha, otherwise I’d go after her.”
Song Yuran: “…”
Don’t get close, you’ll become unlucky.
“Her personality is also very good, polite, but her aura is too strong.”
Song Yuran: “…”
Fake. She’s Niohuru Huo Qingzhi; she’ll turn evil! Those who offend her won’t have a good end!
“What kind of Omega will she find in the future…”
Song Yuran’s internal monologue abruptly stopped. She remembered that at the end of the story, Huo Qingzhi, having achieved career success, was still single and had no destined partner. There was one fleeting romance in between, but after a joint betrayal, it was also cleanly dealt with.
Not only did she have no partner, but everyone who tried to seduce her was thrown out.
This implicitly meant that this woman had no heart. Run!
The more Song Yuran thought, the more her scalp tingled. She quickly changed the subject: “Do you see President Huo often?”
“Not really. On average, once every two or three months. You know the executives are upstairs. President Huo only comes down when there’s an event planned, and usually just to meet with our manager for marketing meetings. Most of the time, I only see her from afar.”
“That’s good…” Song Yuran sighed a small breath of relief. This would reduce the probability of encountering the protagonist. As long as she could secure a new job before the company health check-up, she could resign.
The interview was scheduled for 3 PM. Both her current company and Huason were in the same central district. After lunch break, Song Yuran wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, she passed the time at the company coffee shop.
She took a sip of her latte and casually pulled out a tin of vanilla mints from her pocket.
She poured one into her palm and popped it into her mouth. The refreshing mint flavor spread from her tongue, carrying a subtle hint of vanilla.
The familiar minty taste made Song Yuran feel immensely comfortable. In every late-night overtime session before, she would prepare a tin of mints for herself. Caffeine no longer worked on her, but mint brought solace to her chaotic brain.
The habit of eating mints stuck with her.
She rested one hand on her cheek, bored, looking at the view outside the coffee shop.
The midday sun was still intense, baking the concrete ground. Just looking at it, Song Yuran could feel the stifling heat of the sun on her.
A woman walked past the coffee shop’s large glass floor-to-ceiling window. Her steps were quick, her sheer skirt lightly fluttering in the air with her movements. Her beautiful profile caught Song Yuran’s attention.
This person…
“Rachel?” Song Yuran was very surprised to see Rachel again and let out an involuntary gasp of surprise. But separated by a thick pane of glass, the other person didn’t hear her and quickly walked past the coffee shop.
The surprise was fleeting. This place was a business district, not far from where they met before, so it was normal for the other person to work nearby.
When it was almost time, Song Yuran got up and left the shop, heading towards the interview location.
On the way, she seriously searched for the company she was about to interview with. To her surprise, the seemingly ordinary brand had dozens of branches nationwide and was highly renowned, known for its good quality and affordable prices.
The pay must be good, she thought. Song Yuran was eager to start a great career.
She arrived punctually at the interview site. Guided by staff, she entered the conference room. Inside, two men and two women sat, with documents laid out before them, looking quite formal.
Song Yuran had barely experienced interviews. Right after graduation, she received a job offer and formally started after a simple conversation.
Now facing four unfamiliar faces, she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of pressure, and her heart began to pound violently.
“Please take a seat.” One of the interviewers spoke, seeing her standing at the door without moving.
Song Yuran composed herself, suppressed the anxiety in her heart, and quickly walked to the opposite side of the conference table and sat down.
The interviewer said, “Please give a brief self-introduction and briefly explain your reasons for choosing our company.”
“Okay.” Song Yuran placed her hands on her lap, then felt it was inappropriate, so she raised her hands to the tabletop, clasping them together.
She consciously straightened her back and continued, “My name is Song Yuran, I am twenty-six years old, and I have over four years of experience in fashion design…”
The further she spoke, the more Song Yuran felt her heartbeat quicken, and everything in front of her gradually began to blur.
Her body suddenly felt very heavy, and she had to support her forehead with one hand. What she touched felt scorching hot.
The interviewer noticed her abnormality and couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Song? Are you feeling unwell?”
Everything in front of her began to distort. Before losing consciousness, Song Yuran saw several interviewers rushing towards her, their faces filled with panic.
What’s happening…?