The Alpha’s Hidden Marriage, Public Obsession (GL) - Chapter 4
“Why isn’t Professor Jiang saying anything?”
Lin Yulan’s sarcasm became more obvious. “Someone like you, so well-read and eloquent, should have no problem answering such a simple question. Or are you actually at a loss for words?”
Jiang Xue’s greatest strength was that no matter the situation, she always stayed calm. She never reacted impulsively to provocation or bait. Since childhood, she had been treated like this more times than she could count. She had heard much harsher words than this. She was used to it.
“What is it that Miss Lin wants me to say?” Jiang Xue looked at her with a completely innocent expression. “I honestly don’t know what it is you want me to respond to. Could you give me a clue?”
She was clearly pretending not to understand.
Jiang Xue was doing it on purpose.
“You…”
Lin Yulan gritted her teeth and glared at Jiang Xue, seething with frustration. She wanted nothing more than to slap her, if only it weren’t for that face of hers.
She was used to others yielding to her, not the other way around.
“Do you think that just because my mother is backing you, you’re suddenly someone important?” Lin Yulan stood up, bracing herself on the table, and leaned closer. “Let me tell you something. Not just anyone can walk into the Lin family. Women like you, trying to get in through tricks and schemes, are everywhere. Sure, my mother likes you now, but she can like another Omega just as easily. Don’t think you’re so special. No one is irreplaceable. You really believe that just because you have a face that resembles hers, you can become her? Stop dreaming. If you have any sense at all, you’ll stay far away from me. Otherwise, I promise you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
Regret it for the rest of her life.
Jiang Xue had thought deeply about this before agreeing to Ming Zelan’s offer. From the outside, she did seem like a third party, taking a position that originally belonged to another Omega. She might even be seen as the scheming villain.
But just like Ming Zelan had said earlier, if she had to watch the Alpha she loved marry someone else, that kind of regret would follow her forever.
She had grown up receiving very little. Her family favored Alphas and dismissed Omegas. Everything good went to her younger sister, who was an Alpha. Whether she liked it or not, whatever her sister wanted, her parents would take from Jiang Xue and give it to her without hesitation.
This time, she finally had a chance to fight for something. Even if the Alpha did not love her, even if he hated her and might divorce her in the future, at least she would have had this one moment to stand at the altar. Even if only once, she still wanted to become a bride.
“Miss Lin, you’re right. No one is truly irreplaceable.” Jiang Xue smiled slightly. “But if what you said is true, that I’m not the special one, and if your mother could like me, she could also like another Omega. Then by that logic, if the person sitting here now was your first love, would she also be…”
“Shut your mouth.”
Lin Yulan’s hatred reached a boiling point. She shouted, “Who do you think you are, comparing yourself to her? Even if I never have a future with Mengxin, someone like you has no right to bring her up. I don’t know what tricks you used to fool my mother into pushing me to marry you, but let me be clear. You will never compare to a single strand of Mengxin’s hair.”
Her voice echoed through the living room.
Ming Zelan, who had been on the phone nearby, was startled by the shouting. She quickly ended her call, apologized, and hurried into the room, worried that Lin Yulan was about to lose control.
She arrived just in time to see Lin Yulan glaring down at Jiang Xue, her posture tense as if she might lash out at any moment.
“You brat, put your hands down right now.”
Without hesitation, Ming Zelan marched over and grabbed Lin Yulan by the ear. “The moment I step out, you start causing chaos? You were about to hit her? If you’re so full of energy, why don’t you go find something productive to do?”
“Ouch, it hurts.”
“Mom, let go. My ear is going to fall off.”
“Hold still. If your ear falls off, I’ll get you another one that can actually understand human speech.”
“I wasn’t going to hit her. She was the one who provoked me first.” Lin Yulan turned to look at Jiang Xue and said instinctively, “Jiang Xue, say something. Tell my mom I didn’t try to hit you.”
If Lin Yulan hadn’t just said such harsh things, Jiang Xue might have considered helping her. But she had her limits. Lin Yulan could say whatever she wanted, but Jiang Xue wasn’t expected to just accept it without saying a word.
Ming Zelan looked at her and asked, “Xue, is that true?”
“She…”
Jiang Xue hesitated, then glanced toward Lin Yulan. Her expression looked timid, as if she had been threatened and was too scared to speak.
Ming Zelan immediately understood and twisted Lin Yulan’s ear even harder.
“You still want to argue? Look at how frightened she is. She can’t even speak. If you’re like this with me standing right here, how much worse would you be if I weren’t around?”
Lin Yulan was fuming. Her eyes burned with rage as she stared at Jiang Xue.
She turned toward the housekeeper, struggling to defend herself. “I knew she was manipulative. Mom, if you don’t believe me, you can ask the housekeeper. I never intended to hit her. She’s faking it.”
Ming Zelan gave the housekeeper a pointed look. The housekeeper immediately understood and stepped forward.
“Miss Lin, an Alpha striking an Omega is something no one will ever accept.”
“What?”
“Even if you dislike Miss Jiang, as an Alpha, your actions were inappropriate.”
Lin Yulan looked like her fur had been brushed the wrong way. She was shocked to find even the housekeeper siding with Jiang Xue. If she had truly wanted to hit her, Jiang Xue’s face would be swollen by now.
She didn’t understand why everyone was taking Jiang Xue’s side and ignoring the truth.
“I didn’t try to hit her,” she snapped. “And are you really my mother, or hers? Was I adopted from a dumpster or something?”
Ming Zelan answered calmly, “Of course not. A dumpster wouldn’t give me something as stubborn and unreasonable as you. You came in a buy-one-get-one-free deal that I couldn’t return.”
The housekeeper quietly sighed. Truly, this was a mother who knew how to fight back.
Lin Yulan fell silent.
The mother and daughter bickered in the living room for quite a while before Lin Yulan finally gave up and sat back down on the couch, defeated.
She kept her eyes fixed on Jiang Xue the whole time, as if trying to pin her to the spot with just her gaze.
Jiang Xue ignored it. She acted as though she hadn’t noticed, even as Lin Yulan continued to look at her with hatred. She glanced at the time. It was already close to nine o’clock.
“Aunt Ming, I…” She wanted to return to the dormitory.
“You child, why are you calling me ‘Madam’ again? Didn’t I tell you to just call me Aunt Ming?”
Only then did Ming Zelan remember the reason she had asked Jiang Xue to come in the first place. She silently cursed herself for letting her troublesome daughter distract her.
“Aunt Ming smiled and said, “Here’s the thing, Xue. Yesterday I had someone check the calendar and pick out a lucky day. Since you and my daughter are getting married anyway, and since they say there’s no better time than the present, how about getting your marriage certificate tomorrow? We can hold the wedding later this month. What do you think?”
Jiang Xue had no objections. She didn’t care when the wedding happened. Even if there was no wedding at all, she wouldn’t complain.
Many Omegas might see that as a disgrace. No ceremony, no celebration, especially when marrying into a wealthy family. To most people, a grand wedding meant recognition. It was proof that the Omega was respected and welcomed by the family.
But if Jiang Xue had a choice, she would still prefer not to have one.
Lin Yulan, however, would never agree.
After all, she was the future heiress of the Lin Corporation. No matter what happened, she would never allow herself to be wronged.
However, what Jiang Xue did not expect was that the next second, she heard Lin Yulan say coldly,
“A wedding ceremony? Mom, you want me to marry this woman in front of everyone? Is that your idea, or is it what Teacher Jiang wants?”
Ming Zelan immediately sensed something was wrong.
“What do you mean, my idea? Or Xiaoxue’s idea? You’re getting married. If there is no wedding, then what do you plan to do? Xiaoxue is marrying into our Lin family. Of course the ceremony has to be grand and dignified.”
“A dignified ceremony?” Lin Yulan sneered.
“Mom, you forced me to marry her, and that’s fine. I will accept it. But you promised me that if I agreed to the marriage, no matter what conditions I gave, you would accept them. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
Lin Yulan stared directly at Jiang Xue, her eyes cold and emotionless. Her voice was sharp and detached as she said, word by word,
“Here is my condition. I will marry her and go with her to the civil affairs office to get the marriage certificate, just as you want. But I will not hold a wedding ceremony. I refuse.”
“You ungrateful girl…”
“Mom, if you won’t agree to my condition, then I’m sorry. Teacher Jiang’s dream of marrying into a wealthy family is over.”
Jiang Xue had already expected things to turn out this way, so she was not surprised. But hearing these words directly from Lin Yulan’s mouth still made her heart ache.
Of course, Lin Yulan would never simply go along with Ming Zelan’s arrangements.
“In that case,” Jiang Xue replied calmly and politely, her expression unbothered,
“Director Lin does not want a wedding ceremony. That is fine, Madam Ming. It saves us all the trouble, and it will save a lot of money too.”
Even hearing that made Ming Zelan feel wronged, let alone Jiang Xue who was at the center of the matter. Not having a wedding meant the marriage had no proper recognition. No matter what era it was, that was always considered a form of humiliation for the bride.
How could Jiang Xue accept that?
Ming Zelan truly liked Jiang Xue as her future daughter-in-law. She had planned the wedding personally. She knew Jiang Xue’s family was not well-off and had even prepared a generous dowry for her. She worried Jiang Xue might feel insecure because of her background and was also concerned that other family members might look down on her. That was why she took care of everything herself. She wanted to support Jiang Xue with all her heart.
But what she did not expect was that her own daughter would cause such a scene.
What was most heartbreaking was that Jiang Xue actually agreed to it.
“Xiaoxue, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?” Ming Zelan looked at her with concern.
“Marriage is a lifelong commitment. It only happens once. If you agree to this now, won’t you regret it later? Xiaoxue, please think it over again.”
As she spoke, Ming Zelan turned to glare harshly at Lin Yulan.
“You heartless girl. Are you doing this on purpose to humiliate Xiaoxue? I cannot agree to this condition. Ask for anything else, and I will give it to you.”
Lin Yulan had not expected Jiang Xue to agree so quickly either. But on second thought, it made perfect sense. If she was determined to marry into the Lin family, then enduring a little humiliation was probably worth it to her.
“Mom, you were the one who said I could set any condition. Now that I have, and you refuse to accept it, why didn’t you just say from the start that your promise came with limits? That way, I wouldn’t have bothered coming here today.”
Lin Yulan knew there was no way to completely disobey her mother. She would eventually go with Jiang Xue to register the marriage. But if she had to go through with something that made her unhappy, then Jiang Xue should not be allowed to feel happy either. If she had to suffer, then they might as well suffer together. After all, their relationship was destined to be full of resentment.
“Mom, you always taught me that trust and integrity are the most important things in business and in life. So why don’t your promises count anymore? You cannot expect others to be honest if you are not.”
“You insolent girl, you…”
“I do not have any other conditions, and I am not being unreasonable. This is the only thing I want. If you cannot agree, then I will leave right now. I do not care about being the heir of the Lin family. You and Dad can just raise a new one instead.”
That final remark nearly made Ming Zelan faint with anger. Her face turned pale and her voice trembled.
“You… How can you compare the two? That is not the same at all.”
It was obvious that she was doing this just to take revenge on Jiang Xue.
Ming Zelan realized it clearly now. Ever since she had refused to let Lin Yulan pursue that omega named Qu Mengxin, her daughter had held a grudge. And now she was punishing Jiang Xue for it. She had probably been holding on to that anger, just waiting for a chance like today.
“Madam Ming, I have already thought it through,” Jiang Xue said gently.
“There is no need to worry about me. I will be fine.”
Jiang Xue knew that if she stayed in the Lin household any longer tonight, the mother and daughter would end up arguing until morning. She did not want Madam Ming to keep worrying about her. Not having a wedding ceremony was not a big deal to her. She had endured far worse in her life. One more disappointment did not matter.
“Xiaoxue, you…”
“Madam Ming, really, I am fine.”
Jiang Xue gave a small smile and slowly stood up.
“Madam Ming, it is getting late. I still have work to take care of at school. I should be heading back now.”