The Live-in Alpha Only Wants to Be a Quiet Salted Fish (GL) - Chapter 5
In the living room, Lin Mu and the lawyer stared at each other, their eyes wide. The scattered scent of food continually wafted into her nose, making her gaze involuntarily drift towards the dining room.
On the other side, Su Mo unhurriedly ate her dinner, glancing at Lin Mu’s expression before contentedly taking another bite of hot rice.
Logically, there were plenty of rooms in the house. Not to mention the study, there were several reception rooms that could have been used as a classroom for Lin Mu. But Su Mo deliberately had the lawyer set the location in the living room for no other reason than two words: appetite enhancer!
“Aunt Liang, this lobster is good. Let’s make another portion tomorrow.”
The tender shrimp meat landed between her chopsticks. Not ignoring the direct gaze from next door, Su Mo secretly chuckled to herself, calmly delivering it, bite by small bite, to her cherry lips.
Ah, truly delicious!
“Um… can’t I memorize it after dinner?”
Lin Mu drooled uncontrollably, restless with hunger. Her stomach rumbled wildly, and even the base of her tongue felt sour.
The lawyer cut in, fiercely blocking her view.
Hmph, silly Alpha! Don’t even think about coveting my Miss!
“What are you looking at?! Have you memorized all the key points?! Can you recite them? If you can’t, you won’t eat today!”
Lin Mu silently lowered her head, looking at the copy of “Gentleman Alpha Aesthetics” in her hand. It clearly wasn’t a proper book. It was A4 printed, not thick, but not thin either—over twenty pages of dense, tiny text, reminding her of the dread of memorizing political facts in high school.
Memorize it all? Are you trying to kill me?!
Lin Mu felt like giving up. Even if they paid her 100,000 to do it, she couldn’t. What’s more, the gnawing hunger in her stomach tormented her senses.
Ever since she transmigrated as an Alpha, she noticed her appetite had significantly increased, and she couldn’t tolerate hunger. Fortunately, a quick scan of the original owner’s memories revealed that this was typical for Alpha physiques. Good physical stamina came from ingested energy, making them all bottomless pits. The only upside was perhaps no longer worrying about gaining weight.
Besides the food aroma, a faint fruity scent drifted into her nose, so subtle that if Lin Mu’s sense of smell hadn’t been keen, she might have missed it entirely.
The clear fragrance of peach. Just smelling it, her tongue seemed to taste a hint of sweetness.
Lin Mu’s eyes lit up. If I can’t eat a meal, having some fruit to tide me over should be fine, right?!
“Then can I have some fruit?! I swear, after I eat, I’ll memorize it diligently! Just let me have something to eat to hold me over, otherwise I can’t concentrate at all!”
Lin Mu whined, knowing the lawyer couldn’t make the decision, so she directed her pleading gaze at Su Mo, practically wagging her tail in supplication.
Su Mo gave no indication, merely taking another slow bite of rice.
Aunt Liang, who had been observing for a while, finally understood. She realized that although this ‘son-in-law’ was of unknown origin, her Miss probably liked her. She could have gone to the study, but deliberately kept her under her watchful eye. Aunt Liang understood, she understood it all! These young people, when they’re in love, can’t bear to be apart for a second. And look, just by watching the person, Miss ate half a bowl more rice than usual. What was that called? That was called ‘beauty that whets the appetite’!
Aunt Liang had an enlightened expression and quickly stepped in to mediate, “Oh, Xiao Luo, you too. There’s no rush. Let her eat something before she memorizes it. What fruit does the son-in-law want? I’ll have a fruit platter cut for her right away.”
Aunt Liang had worked in this household for over twenty years, and even Su Mo had grown up under her care, so her words naturally carried some authority.
The lawyer’s arrogant demeanor was suppressed by this, his mouth twitching, not daring to argue.
Lin Mu, as if granted a great pardon, nodded profusely, flashing a grateful smile, “Thank you, Aunt Liang! No need to trouble yourself so much. Is there any peach at home? I smell it. Just bring me a washed peach.”
“Clink…”
Su Mo looked up in surprise, her hand pausing, and her chopsticks clattered against the rim of her bowl, making a crisp sound.
“You…” Do you know what you’re saying?!
She bit her lip, glaring fiercely at Lin Mu, both embarrassed and angry.
Her pheromone was exactly peach-scented. She had taken a shower as soon as she returned home. The other household members were Betas, so there was no need for them to use inhibitors, which meant a faint scent had leaked.
But what was wrong with this person?! Even if she was AA-loving, she shouldn’t have forgotten common sense! Could she not smell pheromones?! And she actually so openly asked to eat… eat…
Aunt Liang was a bit puzzled, “Peach? I don’t think we’ve bought any. It’s okay, if you want some, son-in-law, I’ll send someone to buy it right away.”
“We don’t have any? Then why do I smell it? Is it air freshener?” Lin Mu also froze, wondering aloud.
Air freshener? She dared to call her pheromone air freshener!!
“Slam!” Su Mo slammed her chopsticks onto the table and abruptly stood up.
“Don’t buy it for her!”
???
Meeting several surprised gazes, Su Mo realized her reaction was too strong. Her face slightly changed color, but her excellent facial management still allowed her to maintain her composure, though she appeared even colder.
“Aunt Liang, don’t mind her. She can’t even finish memorizing a few pages and she’s already thinking about food. Clear away all the dishes. I’ll see when she finishes memorizing. If she doesn’t finish, she won’t eat anything!” Su Mo feigned anger, then quickly slipped away after her outburst.
Lin Mu was left, eyes green with hunger, watching helplessly as plate after plate of delicious food was cleared from before her.
Her heart ached so much she almost fainted.
How can there be such a cruel woman? I hate her!
••••
Time flowed by. Perhaps it was the motivation born from extreme hunger, or perhaps the superior memory of a top-tier Alpha’s body. Even Lin Mu hadn’t imagined she could actually memorize a third of this casually compiled “Gentleman Alpha Aesthetics”.
However, the progress towards finishing it remained distant. Tonight’s meal was likely destined to be missed.
Even the demanding lawyer couldn’t help but feel sympathy. Although this silly Alpha’s personality was unreliable, at least her abilities weren’t bad.
Alphas could become the leading class of society, which was inseparable from their individual excellence. The higher the rank of the Alpha, the more outstanding they were, not just physically, but even intellectually. While ordinary Betas were still agonizing over every word and rote memorization, a top-tier Alpha might already effortlessly understand and recite it backwards.
Finally, after seeing the lawyer off, it was already 8 PM. The dining table, once laden with delicacies, was empty. Even the maids had returned to their rooms to rest. The entire hall was just Lin Mu, feeling somewhat deathly quiet.
Lin Mu sprawled on the sofa, too hungry to move a single finger. Her mind ceaselessly battled the surging hunger.
The book, rather than teaching her to be an Alpha, was more like an Alpha’s guide to picking up women and social etiquette. The various rules in it gave her a headache, such as always remembering the Omega’s fragility and offering care in various details.
It was much like the so-called “gentlemanly conduct” of her previous life. The various details were harmless, but the underlying ideology subtly revealed in it made her somewhat disagree.
Almost every word emphasized the Omega’s fragility and the Alpha’s dominance.
Like “being helpful is a good virtue,” but it turned the concept of “vulnerable groups” into gender, telling Alphas to be eager to help Omegas. “Humility is a virtue,” but it became “be humble to Omegas,” because they are delicate and fragile, which felt a bit sexist.
In school, she had encountered this. It was understandable for some girls who couldn’t lift heavy boxes to ask boys for help. But Lin Mu had done manual labor since childhood, and her strength was not small. She didn’t need help but was stopped by someone saying, “You’re a girl, I’ll help you carry it.”
In their words and actions, Lin Mu didn’t feel any thoughtfulness or gentleness, only an arrogant disdain for female strength. So, Lin Mu, without a word, became self-reliant and carried the box upstairs herself, leaving the speaking senior dumbfounded.
The book gave Lin Mu the same feeling. It put Omegas in a vulnerable position in every aspect, without considering people’s actual needs, only various stereotypes. To put it nicely, it was “showing grace,” but in essence, it was still treating Omegas as weak and fragile beings, which then led to this series of ‘care’ that Lin Mu instinctively disliked.
After thinking about a bunch of irrelevant things, Lin Mu’s stomach grew even hungrier.
She glanced at the empty living room, then secretly peeked into the kitchen. When she came back to her senses, she was already standing in front of the refrigerator.
A flicker of struggle passed through Lin Mu’s eyes. Before she could even raise her hand, she heard a sharp sound behind her.
“What are you doing?!”