“This is the boss’s business card. Take it with you, and you’ll be able to go straight to the top-floor CEO’s office to see him.”
She looked at the person before her, then down at the card with the two gilded characters “Lu Yue” on it.
Unsure what they were really after, she hesitated to take the card right away.
“…Did Mr. Lu send you to find me?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why he wants to see me?”
Bai Long was intimidated by the whole setup. Even though it was Lu Yue who had sent them, she still didn’t dare follow them without question.
The two men in black shook their heads. Most of the time, they just followed orders without asking too many questions.
“I see…”
She felt a little disappointed and couldn’t help glancing toward the driver in the front seat.
“Sorry, Miss Bai, I don’t know either. Probably Mr. Lu has something he wants to discuss privately with you. You’ll find out once you get there.”
Perhaps sensing Bai Long’s unease, he smiled and added.
“Don’t worry. Mr. Lu might have a short temper, but he’s a good person. He won’t make things difficult for you.”
What Bai Long was worried about wasn’t exactly whether Lu Yue would make things difficult for her.
She didn’t know why, but when the driver mentioned Lu Yue had something to discuss with her privately, her mind uncontrollably flashed back to what Chen Lan had told her earlier.
What kind of thing needs to be said in private? And sending bodyguards, a dedicated car, and a personal escort? It could have been done with just a phone call. Why go through all this ceremony?
Could it really be like Chen Lan said? Could Mr. Lu actually… like her?
With such a grand gesture… is he… is he going to confess to me?
But… but I’m still a student…
What should I do? Should I say no? But Mr. Lu has been so good to me——would he be really hurt if I turned him down?
Or… accept? Aaaa, but they’ve only known each other for a short while. Wouldn’t that be too rushed? QwQ
On the way to Chen Yue Company, Bai Long’s mind spiraled with wild thoughts, leaving her dizzy and overwhelmed.
The business card in her hand was already crumpled from her grip.
After getting out of the car, she followed their instructions and walked straight toward the entrance of Chen Yue Company.
The building was huge, and she paid close attention to the path, afraid she might take a wrong turn.
But once she stepped inside, numerous gazes suddenly landed on her.
Bai Long tensed up, standing in place, unsure whether to move forward.
Perhaps sensing they had startled the young girl, the onlookers subtly averted their eyes the next moment.
Meanwhile, Lin Yu, who had been at the front desk, spotted Bai Long and blinked in surprise before approaching with a friendly smile.
“Hello, may I ask who you’re looking for?”
“…Um, excuse me, could you let Mr. Lu know I’m here?”
Bai Long’s face flushed as she lowered her head, nervously clutching her sleeves.
Lin Yu was stunned. The moment Bai Long finished speaking, she recalled the recent rumors circulating in the company about Lu Yue having an Alpha.
The girl before her was clearly an Alpha too, but she looked like she might still be in high school.
She said she was here to see Lu Yue?
What did that mean?
Was she Lu Yue’s secret love child, or the elusive Alpha everyone talked about?
Damn, either option felt way too wild and intense!
“…Alright. May I ask what you need to see him for?”
Lin Yu paused briefly, then composed herself and continued with a polite, inquiring smile.
What was she here for?
Bai Long opened her mouth, wanting to answer but unsure how to respond.
Because in her situation, whether it was about being taken care of or finding a sugar daddy to rely on, neither sounded good to say out loud.
“…I’m probably here to have a meal with him.”
But it’s a “soft rice” meal… QwQ
…
Lin Yu escorted Bai Long to the CEO’s office and had been planning to linger under the pretext of bringing in coffee, hoping to catch a snippet of their conversation.
But before she could even step inside, two bodyguards at the door blocked her way.
“Um, I’m here to bring the boss his coffee.”
“The boss is occupied. No unauthorized personnel are allowed inside.”
Lin Yu’s smile stiffened, but there was nothing she could do about it. She tried to peek inside, but seeing nothing, she finally gave up.
“So, Sister Lin Yu, did you hear what they were talking about? Is that girl really the boss’s Alpha? Or maybe a relative?”
“Ugh, don’t ask. I don’t know what confidential stuff they’re discussing in there. Even during meetings, the boss usually lets me in, but this time, forget listening—they’ve sealed it off so tightly not even a fly could get in.”
As she spoke, she placed the coffee cup on the table.
“But that girl’s rank must be pretty high. I’m an A-rank Beta, and even walking beside her all the way up, I couldn’t pick up her pheromones. It’s rare for someone her age to have such precise control over them.”
Hearing this, the girl who had been frightened to tears by Bai Long’s pheromones before reached up and touched the back of her own neck.
There was an instinctive rivalry between Alphas. Even if you couldn’t smell the other’s pheromones, as long as you had been suppressed once, your body would retain a certain memory of it.
The moment she saw Bai Long, she had felt a chill run down her spine—the pressure of a higher-ranking Alpha.
“By the way, I only transferred to the company a few days ago. You probably don’t know my rank yet.”
Suddenly remembering something, she brought it up.
“That’s your personal information. You can share if you want, but we generally don’t pry.”
When she said this, everyone assumed she was about to brag about her rank. While they weren’t particularly fond of that kind of behavior, she was young, fresh out of school, and an Alpha—a little pride wasn’t hard to understand.
So no one tried to dampen her spirits.
Probably sensing their misunderstanding, she scratched her nose awkwardly.
“Um, that’s not it. I’m an A-rank Alpha, but I’m not trying to show off.”
“What I wanted to say is that the girl Sister Lin Yu brought up just now is almost definitely the boss’s Alpha. I could feel it.”
“And what I really want to say is… an A-rank Alpha is qualified to mark an S-rank Omega, but if she were only A-rank, she wouldn’t be able to suppress me, another A-rank Alpha.”
Her expression grew serious, and she lowered her voice, looking quite solemn.
“So, unless I’m mistaken, that girl earlier must have at least S-rank mental energy or physical ability—maybe both.”
…
When Bai Long entered the office, Lu Yue was still busy handling paperwork.
Unlike what she had imagined, he didn’t look pleased to see her—if anything, his attitude seemed even colder than during their first meeting.
When he noticed her come in, he only lifted his eyes briefly, then gestured for her to sit and wait.
If Bai Long had been wondering earlier whether he might actually like her and was planning to confess, by now she was pretty sure she had just been overthinking.
Right, who falls for someone they’ve barely just met? Besides, Mr. Lu is the CEO of an entertainment company—he’s seen countless good-looking Alpha celebrities. Why would he even look twice at someone like me?
She felt like there was probably something wrong with her own head, to have almost believed the romantic analysis of Chen Lan, an Alpha who hadn’t even held hands with an Omega in eighteen years.
At that thought, Bai Long sighed softly and glanced cautiously toward the man sitting at the desk.
It had been almost half a month since they last met. Mr. Lu seemed a bit thinner, and there was no trace of her pheromones on him anymore.
The dependency period was over. He probably didn’t need her anymore.
Bai Long’s eyes flickered slightly. She lowered her gaze to the business card in her hand, her thumb subtly brushing over the two gilded characters.
So why did Mr. Lu ask to see her?
Had he seen the messages she sent and wanted to talk properly? Or was there another reason?
While Bai Long was daydreaming, Lu Yue eventually set down his documents and fixed his gaze on her. She had her pheromones well-restrained; he could barely catch a hint of them.
But maybe that was precisely why he could once again confirm it was her he was drawn to—not just her pheromones.
“I heard Liang Shen sent you to the hospital for genetic testing a few days ago? Is that right?”
Lu Yue’s sudden question startled Bai Long, who had been spacing out.
“Ah, yes. I just got tested. The results should be ready tomorrow or the day after.”
Her voice was soft again, tinged with the same nervous awkwardness as when they first met.
“But one thing was odd—I heard from the nurse that genetic testing only requires a blood sample, not a pheromone collection. Yet Dr. Liang did both for me.”
Hearing this, Lu Yue’s fingers twitched slightly. He lowered his gaze, hiding the flicker in his eyes from Bai Long.
“…Your case is special. Collecting an extra sample is just a precaution.”
The reason he had asked Bai Long to come today was simply to have her sign the long-term marking contract.
He felt he understood Bai Long’s temperament well enough—she likely wouldn’t refuse the offer.
But now that the moment had arrived, Lu Yue found himself unable to bring it up.
“So… how’s your part-time job going lately?”
Damn it, what kind of messy, irrelevant question was that?!
He was here to get her to sign the contract, not to make small talk!
Bai Long’s eyes brightened. Encouraged by his concern, her spirits lifted noticeably.
“I’m doing well. The manager and the Omega older sister at the café are really kind to me—sometimes they even give me cakes to take home as dessert.”
An Omega? An “older sister”?
So she gives you a few slices of cake and you call her ‘sister’? I pay you thirty thousand for a single mark and you don’t even call me ‘brother’ once?
Lu Yue’s brow furrowed in displeasure. Just a moment ago, he had found it hard to bring up the contract. Now, fueled by his irritation, he directly slid the contract on the desk toward her.
“Mr. Lu, what’s this…?”
“A long-term marking contract.”
“Given my overall satisfaction with your pheromones across these several markings, and co acceptable nsidering I have a bit of a… physical cleanliness preference and don’t want to look for another Alpha right now, take a look at the terms. If you find them acceptable, sign it. If not, I won’t force you.”
Now Bai Long understood why he had asked her to come today.
She stared at the contract in her hands, still processing it. The terms were the same—thirty thousand per mark, plus an additional ten thousand per session for dependency-period comfort.
“…So that’s why you called me here.”
She wasn’t sure why she felt a pang of disappointment. The contract was clearly advantageous for her in every way.
But she held the pen for a long time without signing.
“What’s wrong? Are the terms not satisfactory?”
Lu Yue felt he had already been quite generous with the conditions. Seeing Bai Long’s hesitant expression, he couldn’t help but recall how she had haggled with him over marking before, and his expression visibly darkened.
“Bai Long, don’t think that just because—”
He paused mid-sentence, swallowing back the rest of his words.
“Don’t push your luck.”
“…That’s not it, Mr. Lu. I’m satisfied with everything.”
“I’m just… a little sad.”
Bai Long wasn’t upset by his words. She shook her head and looked up at the man before her.
Her amber eyes were like stars—clear and bright.
“I thought Mr. Lu might have liked me a little too.”