Stepmom Alpha’s Guide to Raising Kids - Chapter 48

Qi Zi sat atop Lu Luozhu, cradling her face in both hands.

Lu Luozhu’s gaze trembled slightly as she asked hoarsely, “What do you mean by this?”

Qi Zi didn’t answer, merely smiling at her—a rare sight, both shy and bold.

Lu Luozhu wondered if Qi Zi’s fans knew their idol could smile so sweetly.

Would they still call her aloof and unapproachable if they saw her like this?

Distracted, Lu Luozhu’s fingers tightened unconsciously around Qi Zi’s waist, wrinkling the silk pajamas.

Qi Zi’s scorching breath fanned across Lu Luozhu’s neck, the alpha’s dark eyes smoldering with restrained fire.

The next moment—

The tube of ointment was snatched into the alpha’s grasp.

Outside, the storm raged, fat raindrops drumming heavily against the window.

“Are you inviting extra services, sister?”

Lu Luozhu feigned ignorance. “Extras cost extra. I don’t come cheap.”

“I know exactly how expensive you are.”

Qi Zi’s breathing grew uneven, her gaze flickering nervously before her fingers tangled with Lu Luozhu’s jade-smooth ones.

“Name your price. Whatever I have—it’s yours.”

The beauty burned with feverish intensity, her usual rationality abandoned. She was staking everything—reputation, wealth, pride.

She had loved Lu Luozhu so fiercely, hated her just as deeply.

Yet now, she chose surrender.

Even if this tenderness was an act—so what?

It didn’t matter.

Perhaps the threat wasn’t immediate. At least her alpha hadn’t sunk to secretly recording them.

With the grim acceptance of potential ruin, Qi Zi wrapped her arms around Lu Luozhu’s neck and kissed her without hesitation.

Jaw nipped, the alpha panted harshly.

Suddenly—weightlessness.

Qi Zi was lifted effortlessly, one hand cupping her backside like a child.

The featherweight actress might as well have been a doll.

Lu Luozhu adjusted her grip midair, idly thinking she ought to fatten Qi Zi up.

Hmm. Definitely needs more meat.

Hardly any flesh on those hips.

Not the best texture to touch.

Her wandering thoughts contrasted sharply with Qi Zi’s tension—the woman trembled violently when laid atop warmed sheets, eyes fixed on the ceiling as regret crept in.

Could I still escape?

Too late. An ankle was captured.

A soft whimper escaped the actress as inky hair fanned across sterile white linen.

“I lack experience. Be gentle with me, jie.”

Such proper honorifics amidst indecency.

Qi Zi seethed inwardly.

Hypocrite.

She dared not voice it—fear had truly taken hold.

Her knees instinctively pressed together as Qi Zi turned on her side, thinking she might as well burrow under the covers and pretend nothing had happened.

But the alpha wouldn’t give her the chance to escape.

“Sister really came prepared.”

A soft, muffled chuckle sounded above Qi Zi’s head.

Then came the sound of a package being torn open.

“Even finger cots are ready—and so many styles too. I wonder if the shopkeeper secretly marvels at the customers’ stamina.”

Lu Luozhu picked through them, selecting a particularly thin one.

She didn’t have much experience, but as a little canary, she had the duty to study up on the subject beforehand.

A canary who sold her body for money naturally had to keep her master satisfied.

The scent of pear blossoms filled the small homestay.

The pheromone filtration device hummed dutifully in the background.

The alpha’s pheromones soothed the Omega’s trembling body.

“Why today?”

Lu Luozhu pressed a gentle kiss to Qi Zi’s cheek. “Did Sister pick an auspicious date after consulting the stars?”

Qi Zi stifled a whimper in her throat, her face flushing like dawn-tinted clouds.

Her usually cold, dark eyes were now misty with tears. The ceiling light glared down harshly—she couldn’t bear to look, pressing the back of her hand against her eyes like an ostrich hiding its head.

But the alpha playfully pulled her hand away.

Lu Luozhu met a pair of pitiful fox-like eyes. “Sister, don’t just cry—teach me. I really don’t know how.”

“Lu Luozhu!”

The Omega’s scolding came out more like honeyed words.

Just when Lu Luozhu thought Qi Zi wouldn’t answer her question, Qi Zi’s voice fractured into pieces.

“I—I—”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t like seeing you close to other Omegas. It… it makes me uncomfortable.”

“Ah, I see.” Lu Luozhu chuckled lowly, apologetic. “Then it’s my fault for taking those photos. I shouldn’t have made Sister unhappy.”

Who the hell kept saying sorry in the middle of that?!

Qi Zi hated alphas—she really wanted to kick her away.

Her lips grew redder and redder until she finally buried her face in Lu Luozhu’s chest.

So annoying. So, so annoying.

“Mmm… ngh…”

Her silk nightgown was in disarray, while Lu Luozhu remained perfectly composed, her skin carrying the coolness of the rain outside.

Lu Luozhu had never seen someone cry so much.

Omegas were made of water—but Qi Zi was made of a lot of water.

Tiny pearls of tears pattered onto Lu Luozhu’s clothes like broken strings of beads.

Frantic, Lu Luozhu kissed them away.

“Shh, shh, don’t cry. I’m here, I’m here.”

Qi Zi didn’t know how long their reckless antics lasted—only that the storm outside gradually quieted, replaced by the alpha’s soft lullaby.

Restlessly rubbing her thighs together, Qi Zi obediently let Lu Luozhu clean her up.

“Don’t go… Xiao Zhuzhu, don’t go.”

Lu Luozhu’s sleeve was clutched tightly. “I won’t.”

So clingy and weepy—even more of a child than Ningning.

Lu Luozhu couldn’t help but wonder how Qi Zi managed to put on that cold, untouchable facade in front of others.

In the dimly lit homestay room, Qi Zi slept soundly, her arms and legs wrapped around Luozhu like an octopus’s tentacles, holding him firmly in place.

You’re not going anywhere.

Luozhu chuckled silently as he reached for the ointment tube on the nightstand to apply it to Qi Zi.

The swollen gland at the nape of her neck needed attention,

And that other area probably required some too.

Hmm, better wipe away the excess first—too much pheromone fluid would dilute the medication’s potency.

…

The next morning, Qi Zi opened her eyes wearily to find the space beside her empty.

The cold, vacant sheets indicated her companion had left long ago.

Her back ached,

Her neck throbbed.

Every inch of her body hurt.

A whimper and curse escaped her lips as flushed embarrassment crossed her face.

Staring blankly at the ceiling, Qi Zi’s throat felt as rough as if she’d swallowed a ton of sandpaper overnight.

“Little Bamboo…”

No one answered her call.

She curled into a ball beneath the covers, rolling over to bury her face in Luozhu’s pillow.

Taking a deep breath.

The calming scent of bergamot soothed her.

An omega comforted all night craved her alpha’s presence most in the morning.

If this little fox had a tail, it would surely be wagging beneath the blankets now.

The door creaked open slightly, letting in the crisp coolness of post-rain freshness.

Along with the breeze came the rich aroma of hot congee.

The alpha entered carrying a steaming bowl of fresh beef porridge, the broth gently swaying with each step—the savory fragrance intensifying as she approached.

Qi Zi struggled to sit up, her disheveled hair and obvious pout making her resemble an irritated pufferfish.

The beef’s essence had completely infused the rice grains, each one plump with flavorful juices. The fresh slices of meat, cooked to perfection by the boiling porridge, glistened temptingly.

Her little golden canary set up the bed tray with attentive service.

“Breakfast is ready. Should I apply more ointment if you’re still sore?”

“Get lost.”

Qi Zi muttered weakly, her threat carrying less weight than a cat whose tail had been stepped on as she darted toward the bathroom.

The sound of running water soon filled the room.

Moments later, she slipped back into bed as nimbly as a feline.

Too adorable.

“Need me to feed you?”

“No.”

Qi Zi said stiffly, then brought the porcelain spoon to her mouth. The rice melted on her tongue—soft, sweet, and perfectly textured. The cook’s expertise showed in the ideal consistency, with subtle smoky notes detectable in every detail.

It couldn’t have been easy for Luozhu to prepare this warm meal under such constrained conditions.

Qi Zi’s bitten lip trembled slightly, stinging from the hot porridge.

So annoying.

But she’d forgive her.

Silently finishing most of the bowl, Qi Zi stole furtive glances at Luozhu’s expression.

“Not bad. Which shop did you get this from?”

Luozhu simply smiled without answering.

The spoon suddenly felt scalding in Qi Zi’s hand as she dropped it back into the bowl. Quickly retrieving it, she whispered, “You made this?”

The domestic alpha replied, “One bowl for you, one for Ningning.”

Qi Zi’s lips pressed into a tight line. The coercion from last night was still vivid in her mind, but what left an even deeper impression was the uncontrollable impulse she’d felt to completely merge with the other person.

“Thank you,” Qi Zi rasped.

She pushed a card toward Lu Luozhu. “This is for you—an unlimited spending card. Use it however you want.”

Regret immediately flooded Qi Zi after speaking. Her hand hovered mid-air with the card, fighting the urge to withdraw it. She shouldn’t have given Lu Luozhu so much money at once.

What if Lu Luozhu didn’t come back to serve her after getting rich?

Though the alpha lacked experience, her natural talent was extraordinary.

It would be such a shame if this was only a one-time experience.

“Even spending a night with high society’s most expensive courtesan wouldn’t cost this much,” Lu Luozhu remarked as she took the hovering card. After flipping it between her fingers, she tucked it back under Qi Zi’s pillow. “I don’t need much.”

Bending to collect the empty dishes, Lu Luozhu noted how thoroughly Qi Zi had eaten—not a single grain of rice remained.

What a conscientious child.

“What do you want then?” Qi Zi asked, surprised.

The room fell silent, the distant footsteps of staff faintly audible outside.

“Still not up? Makeup call is in thirty minutes,” their manager Qian Qianqian muttered outside the door. After knocking twice with no response, she continued her monologue—clearly not quite right in the head after Lu Luozhu’s bullying.

Qi Zi’s attention wavered. When she refocused, Lu Luozhu was holding several small boxes.

The sight made Qi Zi’s supposedly calm emotions boil over instantly.

“Put those down!” she demanded.

Lu Luozhu casually tossed the colorful finger cots in her hand. Modern variants came in various flavors—strawberry, pineapple, chocolate.

It had puzzled Lu Luozhu yesterday—could that place actually taste anything?

She now examined a lemon-flavored one, its pale-yellow packaging adorned with dazzling holographic stripes, elegant and pretty enough to be mistaken for travel-sized mouthwash or particularly girlish cigarette cases.

“No need for the bank card. Consider these my service fee for last night,” Lu Luozhu said, leaning down to plant a fleeting kiss on Qi Zi’s cheek—devoid of any suggestive meaning, simply because she wanted to.

Before Qi Zi could react, Lu Luozhu had already left with her “payment” and the tray of dishes.

The moment the door opened, Lu Luozhu locked eyes with Qian Qianqian outside.

“Good morning,” Lu Luozhu greeted cheerfully, beaming like a dog who’d just been rewarded with a bone by its owner.

Qian Qianqian’s gaze traveled over Lu Luozhu before freezing on the unmistakable hickey on her neck.

“Your… neck,” the manager stammered.

Lu Luozhu’s smile turned radiant. “Not just there—shoulders, arms, back too. Want me to show you in the dressing room?”

Sometimes Qian Qianqian really wanted to physically assault her artist.

With a mouth like that, Lu Luozhu absolutely deserved workplace bullying.

In the end, Qian Qianqian didn’t take action. Lu Luozhu stood in the sunlight with a warm, gentle smile. “Don’t look at me with those devouring eyes. Seems you just can’t handle the truth—what am I to do with you? Should I sweet-talk you instead?”

Lu Luozhu held a tray in one hand while pointing with the other at her neck, right at the most obvious hickey.

“Just kidding—these aren’t hickies. I pinched them myself last night out of boredom.”

Qian Qianqian: “…”

Was there no one who could rein her in?!

After Lu Luozhu left, Qian Qianqian tiptoed like a cat and pushed open her superstar’s bedroom door. Qi Zi remained exactly as she had been when Lu Luozhu left—sitting on the bed, her previously messy hair now neatly combed.

Thankfully.

There were no visible marks on Qi Zi’s neck or limbs.

That scoundrel Lu Luozhu still had some conscience left.

Qi Zi forced herself to change clothes despite the discomfort and silently followed her manager to the makeup artist.

Zhou Fan was already waiting in the makeup room. “Qi Zi, you’re finally here. Today, we’re shooting an explosion scene in a fire.”

As he spoke, Zhou Fan mimicked an explosion with his fingers. “As the architect investigating the substandard building, you’ve uncovered evidence implicating the corporation behind it. But the capitalists won’t let you go—they plan to silence you permanently by setting the place on fire. In the third act, you’ll escape through the window.”

The makeup artist dusted Qi Zi’s flawless, poreless skin with soot.

Sitting on a small stool, Qi Zi studied the script, her already expressionless face turning even more unapproachable from exhaustion.

Qi Xin wanted to approach her senior for advice, but the stern set of Qi Zi’s lips and her cold eyes always left her trembling.

Her senior was terrifying.

Qi Zi lifted her gaze slightly. “Need something?”

Qi Xin noticed something odd—her senior’s eyes and cheeks were flushed red.

Was it an allergic reaction?

…

Lu Luozhu drove Ningning back to kindergarten.

Having spent the night with Qi Zi, Lu Luozhu had only let Ningning play with her briefly in the morning.

From her car seat, Ningning rubbed her little face. “Mommy smells like Mama—so nice.”

After dropping her off at the classroom, Ningning suddenly clung to Lu Luozhu’s leg. “Ningning wants to stay with Mommy and Mama forever!”

On the way back, Lu Luozhu tapped her fingers rhythmically on the steering wheel, wearing Qi Zi’s signature sunglasses.

Her little canary was broke and couldn’t afford expensive shades.

So she had to borrow her wife’s.

Lu Luozhu was drenched in Qi Zi’s pheromones, their scents so thoroughly intertwined they seemed inseparable.

The sensation was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.

Curling her fingers slightly, Lu Luozhu recalled the feel of last night.

Her sugar mommy was undeniably adorable—and delicious.

A shame, really.

A shame this arrangement wouldn’t last.

Lu Luozhu sighed softly. Maybe she should’ve taken that card this morning and started building a nest egg.

—Lust really did cloud judgment.

As the light turned green, she pressed the accelerator, steering away from the film set.

She parked the black sedan in the overgrown lot outside a hospital.

This place wasn’t the capital, so its development was limited, but the hospital’s dilapidation far exceeded Lu Luozhu’s expectations.

The moment she stepped inside, the musty, pungent smell hit her like a wall.

Lu Luozhu tugged her cashmere scarf higher, inhaling deeply the lingering pheromones from Qi Zi.

The white paint on the walls was peeling, revealing patches of military-green beneath—likely a recent renovation, but the poor-quality materials meant the walls were still shedding in large swathes.

The ceiling lights were dim, the tubes flickering intermittently at both ends.

“Hello, who are you looking for?”

The nurse at the reception desk had been idly scrolling through her phone. When she noticed a stranger approaching, she slowly straightened up to ask.

For a private hospital, this place was way too shabby. Lu Luozhu thought it was a miracle it hadn’t been reported and forced to renovate by now.

Lu Luozhu: “I’m looking for Shen Jinhua.”

Nurse: “Who?”

Lu Luozhu pulled up a photo on her phone and showed it to the nurse. “She’s in the inpatient ward, but I don’t know which room.”

The nurse glanced at the photo, then looked up at the ceiling in thought before flipping quickly through the patient registry. After a moment, she mused,

“Are you family? You younger generations really are something. The elderly has been hospitalized for so long, and only now do you come to visit? Disgraceful.”

The nurse muttered under her breath—clearly, this private hospital didn’t enforce much discipline among its staff.

Lu Luozhu walked down the dimly lit hallway of the inpatient ward. Some of the doors were open, others ajar.

Inside, the white paint on the bed frames had chipped away, exposing rusted metal beneath.

The nurse stopped in front of a closed door. From outside, Lu Luozhu could hear the steady beeping of medical equipment inside.

“Thank you.”

Lu Luozhu offered the nurse a polite smile.

The nurse’s cheeks flushed pink, and after a few quick instructions, she hurried away.

Lu Luozhu paused at the door, taking two deep breaths. Her gloved fingers pressed against the handle.

With a soft click, the door swung open.

On the bed lay an emaciated old woman. When she noticed someone at the door, her clouded eyes suddenly widened in shock.

The photo in her hand slipped to the floor in surprise.

Step by step, Lu Luozhu approached the bed. The old woman trembled in fear—though only sixty in age, she looked like little more than a skeleton.

Lu Luozhu lowered her gaze. “Hello, Headmistress.”

The old woman’s throat rasped. “You—”

Lu Luozhu picked up the faded photo from the floor.

Standing by the bed, she studied Shen Jinhua’s face carefully.

There was something familiar about her, but Lu Luozhu couldn’t place it in her memories.

The longer she spent in this transmigrated world, the hazier her memories of her past life became.

But the moment her fingers touched the photo, fragments flashed through her mind—

A rundown orphanage.

An older sister standing beneath an osmanthus tree, wearing a red floral dress.

Huddling together for warmth on a drafty communal bed.

The old-fashioned cakes they had to fight over to get a piece.

And during a group birthday celebration at the orphanage, Lu Luozhu suddenly panicking at the sight of burning candles.

…Led by the hand into a mansion by an adult, someone pointed at unfamiliar men and women and told her to call them her adoptive parents, while an unfamiliar girl stood on the stairs silently watching her.

Lu Luozhu’s mind suddenly felt electrified, her already shadowy gaze growing even darker at that moment.

She must have forgotten something—something extremely important.

Her heart pounded violently in her chest, the beeping sounds of machines fading from her ears, replaced only by the deafening thud of her own heartbeat.

“What do the two red circles in the photo mean?”

In the photo, red circles were drawn around her head and the little girl beside her.

When Lu Luozhu mentioned the red circles, she noticed the elderly patient on the bed growing even more terrified.

People inevitably become timid in their old age.

Alpha stood like a demon from hell as she yanked the oxygen mask off the old woman’s face.

The transparent mask dangled helplessly in midair, swaying back and forth.

“You—you’re—”

The old woman met Lu Luozhu’s strikingly beautiful face and shrieked, “I don’t know! I don’t know anything! It wasn’t me—none of those things were my doing! I don’t know!”

Lu Luozhu said coldly, “The Lu family donated multiple sums totaling 4 million to Love Orphanage. Four million was no small amount twenty years ago.”

Shen Jinhua’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “I don’t know! I don’t know anything! That money wasn’t for me—I barely took any of it! I don’t know!”

Shen Jinhua’s words were incoherent, but Lu Luozhu felt not an ounce of pity for the old woman’s suffering.

“Then let me ask differently.”

Lu Luozhu tucked the childhood photos of herself and Qi Zi into her pocket.

“Where is my family?”