Chapter 24: Day Twenty-Four of Pretending to be A [Double Update Combined]

Chapter 24: Playing Alpha – Day 24 (Double Chapter Release)

Playing Alpha – Day 24

Ever since Chu Mo offered to pay Xie Songchen for the concert tickets, their relationship had turned frosty.

Things were even more strained than before.

Chu Mo could clearly sense that Xie Songchen seemed to be keeping his distance, whether intentionally or not.

They were supposed to be CEO and secretary, but now it felt more like a CEO and an ordinary employee.

Every time Xie Songchen finished reporting on work or schedules, he would coolly and professionally place the documents down and leave.

At the same time, Chu Mo noticed that Xie Songchen was acting strangely.

It seemed like there was something he wanted to ask Chu Mo.

Every time he was about to speak, Xie Songchen hesitated and held back.

Then he would return to his cold facade.

Chu Mo had never felt this distant from Xie Songchen before.

At work, Xie Songchen still excelled at his job.

The project he led delivered outstanding results, and even their collaborator Zhou Ming couldn’t help praising Chu Mo for picking such an excellent secretary.

However, during this period, Chu Mo was preoccupied with other matters.

He often didn’t have time to monitor Xie Songchen’s progress.

The relationship between the two drifted further apart.

Even though their offices were right next to each other, the wall might as well have been a mile thick.

Before Chu Mo could figure out why Xie Songchen was so distant, new challenges piled up.

After agreeing to invest in Chi Cheng’s project, most of Chu Group’s higher-ups were against it.

It wasn’t hard to see why—the Chi family had fallen from grace, and Chi Cheng was a playboy.

Moreover, since there was no track record of success for this project, the board judged that Chu Mo was just throwing money away.

Many wrote emails to Chairman Chu Yansheng to complain about Chu Mo.

Chu Mo was frustrated—not because of the investment itself.

As someone who’d transmigrated into this world, Chu Mo knew very well that Chi Cheng’s new company could go public with this project.

Chu Group was guaranteed to profit.

The real problem was Chu Yansheng.

Chu Mo had feared Chu Yansheng since he was a kid.

Especially when he made bad calls.

Every time Chu Mo made a mistake in his decisions, Chu Yansheng would come down hard on him.

Sure enough, upon hearing the news, Chu Yansheng, who was overseas, was on the phone in no time.

"Chu Mo, why did you invest in Chi Cheng's new company?" Chu Yansheng said coldly. "You’d better have a damn good reason."

The moment Chu Yansheng's voice sounded, Chu Mo could already feel a headache coming on.

Since waking up in this novel’s world, he had known all the plot developments and wasn’t scared of anything—except dear old dad.

"Dad, Chi Cheng's business plan is actually solid," Chu Mo explained. "So I decided to invest some money."

"I never taught you to throw money at something just because of a business plan," Chu Yansheng said emotionlessly.

Chu Mo had no comeback.

He couldn’t exactly say that the original novel stated this project would make a fortune, could he?

Chu Mo tried to end the conversation: "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the money’s..."

"Forget it," Chu Yansheng interrupted. "This time, I’ll write it off as doing the Chis a solid. But don’t let it happen again."

Chu Mo let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He thought to himself, if Chu Yansheng knew Chi Cheng’s new company would later become a unicorn, he’d realize they weren’t doing the Chis a favor—they were getting the sweet end of the deal.

Just then, Chu Yansheng added, "To punish you for making thoughtless decisions, I’ve decided to dump this on you—a newly acquired entertainment company."

Chu Mo blinked. "An entertainment company?"

Chu Yansheng’s assistant sent an acquisition document to Chu Mo’s email.

Chu Mo opened it and saw that the acquired entertainment company was named "Xiangyang Entertainment."

The name rang a bell.

"To expand our family’s entertainment industry," Chu Yansheng said, "I’ve decided to acquire Xiangyang Entertainment and let you 'manage' this so-called gem."

Chu Mo glanced at Xiangyang Entertainment’s financial report and almost saw stars.

Some 'golden opportunity'—this was a dumpster fire.

Chu Yansheng instructed, "The acquisition is still in progress. The finance and legal folks are busy, so swing by the place if you have time."

Clearly, Chu Yansheng wanted to palm this off on someone else.

After hanging up, it didn’t take long for it to hit him.

This "Xiangyang Entertainment"...

Wait—wasn’t this the same company that...

the third love interest in the original novel worked for?!

In the novel, the third love interest was named Zhou Jingyan.

He was Chu Yun's university teammate, from the dance department, and extremely good-looking.

Zhou Jingyan's dream was to become a center-stage star, but after over three years as an idol trainee, he still hadn't debuted.

Later, Zhou Jingyan's company was about to go under, and he was ready to give up on his dream.

Chu Yun was the one who kept encouraging him, urging him to persevere.

That's what kept him going, and he continued to train hard in dance and vocals.

Xiangyang Entertainment was acquired by a major company, and Zhou Jingyan's efforts were finally recognized.

From then on, his luck turned around, and he successfully debuted.

Zhou Jingyan was eternally grateful to Chu Yun and, after becoming an idol, fell in love with him.

At the same time, Zhou Jingyan was also one of Chu Yun's perfect alpha matches.

Upon learning this, Chu Mo pulled out all the stops to prevent Zhou Jingyan from getting close to Chu Yun.

Simultaneously, he used every trick in the book to suppress Zhou Jingyan.

Later on, Zhou Jingyan rose through the ranks to become a top-tier singer, giving Chu Mo a taste of humble pie.

At a concert, Zhou Jingyan put his career on the line to publicly confess his love for Chu Yun.

Chu Mo never expected that Chu Yansheng would just happen to acquire Xiangyang Entertainment, where Zhou Jingyan was signed.

How could the comeuppance storyline proceed now?

Chu Mo couldn't help but facepalm.

Every damn day, why did the storyline keep taking unexpected turns?

The next day.

Chu Mo made his way to Xiangyang Entertainment.

Xie Songchen accompanied him, taking care of odds and ends along the way.

The two sat together in the back of the company car.

Xie Songchen had clearly replaced Li Shuo as Chu Mo's right-hand man.

Yet the atmosphere between them got frostier by the minute.

It was even more awkward than when Xie Songchen had first joined the secretary department.

After finishing his work report, Xie Songchen handed Chu Mo a document.

His lips were pressed tightly together, not saying a word more than necessary.

Just as the air in the car could've frozen over.

Chu Mo reached for the file, his fingers grazing Xie Songchen's hand.

Before Chu Mo could react, Xie Songchen snatched his hand back.

Chu Mo shot a look at Xie Songchen, who was now staring out the window with a furrowed brow, as if the touch burned him.

"You've been doing well with your work lately," Chu Mo said with measured indifference before getting out of the car. "But just because you're doing well doesn't mean I'll easily agree to let you stay by Shengmo's side."

Chu Mo still felt guilty about missing Xie Songchen's competition the other day.

Bound by his persona, he could only give Xie Songchen a graceful exit in this manner.

Obviously, Chu Mo's patronizing remarks did nothing to make Xie Songchen happy.

Xie Songchen clenched his fists on his knees and remained silent.

Inside the Xiangyang Entertainment company.

Zhou Jingyan received news that the company's future new CEO would be visiting for an inspection.

The message came from the director of the trainee department.

Between the lines, it hinted at one thing: the new CEO was here to streamline operations.

In other words, layoffs.

Zhou Jingyan's stomach dropped.

As one of the trainees who had undebuted for years, Zhou Jingyan felt he was most likely to be laid off.

Reading the director's message, Zhou Jingyan actually felt a sense of relief—a weight lifted off his shoulders.

Finally...

Could he give up on his dream with a clear conscience?

After the relief came an overwhelming sense of loss.

That day, Zhou Jingyan still came to the company as usual.

The dance studio was nearly deserted, as the trainees were all worried about being laid off and huddled together in discussion.

Zhou Jingyan wanted to practice his dance one final time before leaving the company.

After half an hour of practice,

Zhou Jingyan picked up a white towel, wiped off his sweat, and stepped out of the dance room.

Outside, there was a buzz of voices as a crowd gathered to discuss something.

"Is that the new CEO?"

"Darn handsome!"

"His assistant's pretty hot too."

"Wait, doesn't he look like...who was it..."

Just then, footsteps approached from nearby.

A looming figure—fair-skinned alpha in an impeccably suited attire—approached the gathered trainees.

The young alphas, betas, and omegas automatically cleared a path like the Red Sea.

Zhou Jingyan, too stunned to move, stood rooted in the middle of the path.

The crowd's gaze turned to Zhou Jingyan, as if he were a fool.

Zhou Jingyan came back to his senses and was stepping aside when his eyes landed on the group in front of him.

"Xie Songchen?!" Zhou Jingyan’s eyes widened in shock.

The next second, he looked at the alpha standing beside Xie Songchen, his astonishment growing—

Wasn't this the alpha who had been late to the match that day?

Zhou Jingyan remembered thinking to himself at the time—how could someone obtain such a precious ticket and not even show up for the match?

And this person turned out to be the future CEO of Xiangyang Entertainment?!

"Everyone, greet President Chu," the director of the trainee department said to the group.

"P-P-President Chu?" Zhou Jingyan froze.

Don't tell me...?

"I am Chu Mo from the Chu Group," the man introduced himself in a chilly tone. "Pleased to meet you all."

Chu Mo's gaze fell on the most striking-looking alpha standing in the center.

This clearly superior appearance belonged to the third male lead from the original novel.

He couldn’t understand why the company’s executives hadn’t debuted someone with such outstanding looks.

Hearing this, everyone gasped.

Chu Mo—the most high-profile alpha CEO in City H?

Zhou Jingyan’s guess was confirmed. This man really was Chu Yun’s older brother—Chu Mo.

He hadn’t expected Chu Yun’s overprotective older brother to be such a young and handsome alpha.

If not for Chu Mo’s overwhelming presence, his face could be mistaken for that of a recent college graduate.

His unusually fair complexion didn’t seem typical for an alpha.

First, everyone was stunned by the new CEO’s identity.

Then, they all shot sympathetic looks at Zhou Jingyan.

Everyone knew that Zhou Jingyan and Chu Yun were 100% compatible.

They also knew all too well that Chu Mo was an infamously overprotective brother—he would undoubtedly see Zhou Jingyan as a thorn in his side.

"Your trainee department has too many people," Chu Mo said coldly and ruthlessly. "Those who lack competence will definitely be eliminated."

At these words, everyone’s faces fell.

Zhou Jingyan looked the worst.

Given Chu Mo’s well-known brother complex, he'd likely be the first to be cut.

Chu Mo raised his eyes to look at Zhou Jingyan and said icily, "Zhou Jingyan."

Caught off guard by being addressed, Zhou Jingyan jolted. "Here."

"I heard you're 100% compatible with my brother," Chu Mo said meaningfully.

Upon hearing this, only two words echoed in Zhou Jingyan's mind:

I'm done.

Just then, Chu Mo's voice rang out again, "In that case, starting from now—"

Zhou Jingyan swallowed hard.

He looked down, not daring to look at the man who controlled his future.

Sweat from his dance rehearsal slid down his face and dripped onto the floor.

Zhou Jingyan closed his eyes, awaiting the verdict.

"Get ready to debut."

The room fell silent.

The entire company was completely silent.

Zhou Jingyan froze.

A few seconds passed.

Wait— In disbelief, he looked at Chu Mo and blurted out, "For real?"

Xie Songchen, standing nearby, also looked astonished.

Everyone present was shocked.

Chu Mo was actually letting Zhou Jingyan debut?

Zhou Jingyan had been a trainee for over three years without debuting.

And he was a 100% match for Chu Mo's favorite younger brother.

Why would Chu Mo keep someone like him in the company?

Zhou Jingyan himself was the most floored.

After three years as a trainee, watching wave after wave of trainees leave,

he'd almost quit, struggling with deep insecurity and anxiety.

He never expected the new president to put him up for debut right after taking over!

What the— As everyone looked at each other in shock, Chu Mo spoke again, "Of course it's true—but on one condition. You must sign an agreement banning dating after debut."

Everyone was stunned.

They suddenly realized—

Chu Mo was letting Zhou Jingyan debut because idols can't date?!

No way!

In the original story, Chu Mo kept his guard up around Zhou Jingyan.

He feared that Zhou Jingyan, like him and Chi Cheng, might make a move on Chu Yun.

To keep Zhou Jingyan away from his younger brother, Chu Mo used his connections to have Xiangyang Entertainment sign an agreement with Zhou Jingyan.

The contract banned Zhou Jingyan from dating during his debut period.

Now, the president of Xiangyang Entertainment was none other than Chu Mo.

Since that was the case, he would play out this scenario in his capacity as the company's president.

Zhou Jingyan was shocked too—Chu Mo was willing to let him debut, all for this reason.

Xie Songchen stood by with a conflicted look.

Seeing Zhou Jingyan stay quiet, Chu Mo sneered and said, "What, do you like my brother, so you're unwilling?"

Zhou Jingyan immediately shook his head vigorously.

He didn’t like Chu Yun.

He wanted to debut.

The chance he'd been waiting three years for was right in front of him.

"President Chu, I want to debut," Zhou Jingyan said earnestly, his eyes shining as he looked at Chu Mo. "I’m willing to sign the agreement with you."

In the novel, Zhou Jingyan was no different—he hadn’t realized his feelings for Chu Yun at first.

Later, after becoming a popular idol, Zhou Jingyan regretted signing this agreement a million times over.

"Let’s get one thing straight," Chu Mo said coldly and ruthlessly. "Whether you become successful after debut is all on you. Even if you do, you'll never set foot in the Chu family."

Chu Mo’s tone dripped with condescension.

"Your family has no money, and you can’t give my brother happiness. I advise you not to get any ideas about him."

Hearing Chu Mo’s words, Zhou Jingyan didn’t get mad.

With a pounding heart, he looked at Chu Mo and asked hesitant but hopeful, "I have no problem signing the agreement. When can we sign it, President Chu?"

Like he was terrified Chu Mo would change his mind.

Chu Mo thought to himself, *You’re desperate to debut now, but you’ll regret signing this agreement later.*

He glanced at Xie Songchen, signaling him to bring out the agreement.

Xie Songchen dug through a pile of documents, pulled out a no-dating clause contract, and handed it to Zhou Jingyan.

After giving it a quick once-over, Zhou Jingyan signed without hesitation.

Chu Mo casually took the document, left a "wait for the notice," and turned on his heel and left.

He didn’t even spare a glance at the other trainees.

For a moment, everyone looked at Zhou Jingyan with envy:

"Oh my god, Xiao Zhou, how did you score a debut?"

"I thought he was going to fire you."

"Congratulations, Zhou..."

Zhou Jingyan gazed in disbelief at Chu Mo's receding back, unable to resist shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and pinching his thigh hard.

"Ouch..."

Zhou Jingyan hissed in pain.

This was real.

Zhou Jingyan never expected that the precious debut opportunity he had worked, agonized, and waited three years to earn would be given to him so easily by Chu Mo.

His heart raced out of control.

The spiked heart rate from the half-hour dance practice earlier was nothing compared to the acceleration he felt now, watching Chu Mo’s back.

Of course, Zhou Jingyan knew this was just a small favor for Chu Mo.

But at this moment, all he could think was—how is there a boss this incredible?!

No wonder Xie Songchen was willing to give his vote to Chu Mo.

Zhou Jingyan believed Xie Songchen must have been charmed by Chu Mo’s charisma in the workplace.

After leaving Xiangyang Entertainment.

Chu Mo suddenly remembered something and reached into the inner pocket of his suit.

His heat was approaching, and he needed to use suppressants more frequently.

His fingers closed on empty air.

Chu Mo froze.

The box of strong suppressants Xu Yi had prescribed was missing.

Xie Songchen asked him flatly from the side, "Why aren’t you getting in the car?"

Chu Mo pressed his lips together and replied casually, "No big deal."

He told himself—it was only suppressants. If it was lost, he could buy another.

He wasn’t experiencing any intense symptoms yet, so regular suppressants would do.

After work.

On the surface, Chu Mo remained his usual composed self.

Alone, he headed to a 24/7 suppressant dispensary near the company.

These shops were discreet, designed specifically for omegas who wanted to hide their heats.

The dispensary was nestled in a corner, inconspicuous.

Chu Mo bundled up, wearing a mask to conceal his identity.

Entering the dispensary, he bought several boxes of suppressants and tucked them into a plain bag.

He tugged down the brim of his cap and walked out of the pharmacy.

Just then.

A voice rang out:

"Hey there, pretty boy, buying suppressors all by yourself?"

The voice was dripping with sleaze.

Chu Mo frowned and looked toward the speaker.

Not far away, a few bleach-blond alphas were leering at him.

Chu Mo rarely came to places like this.

He knew some horny alphas camped out here, waiting for omegas to come alone to buy suppressors.

Omegas in heat usually wouldn’t go out alone at night to buy suppressors.

Except for Chu Mo.

He didn’t want anyone to know his identity, and the darkness hid him well.

"I’m an alpha," Chu Mo said coldly, his face blank. "Scram."

The punks sized up Chu Mo’s frame, hesitating for a moment.

This guy really did seem like an alpha.

They traded uneasy glances.

The blond ringleader, not backing off, sneered, "Says you?"

With that, he lunged forward and ripped off Chu Mo’s mask.

Chu Mo didn’t resist.

Beneath the cap, his face was icy, his piercing gaze oozing dominance.

This aura was unmistakably that of a prime alpha.

The punks shrank back.

Chu Mo raised a brow. "You wanna get wrecked?"

What Chu Mo didn’t realize was that, after a day without suppressants, he didn’t quite resemble a typical alpha.

At this moment, though he appeared as an alpha, there was a vibe way hotter than any omega.

His broad shoulders packed into that suit only amplified this magnetism, making him far more enticing than the average omega.

The leader’s throat went dry and muttered to his lackeys, "Why do I feel like… this alpha is way fucking hotter than any omega?"

One of his underlings stammered, "Boss, no way—you’re into alphas now?"

The others groaned:

"Dude, he’s alpha!"

"He’s not as easy to take down as an omega."

"Bunch of pussies." The blond leader spat. "I think he's an omega."

With that, he went for Chu Mo’s neck.

No matter how well an omega fakes being an alpha, they would still have a scent gland.

Chu Mo grabbed the leader's hand and twisted it sharply.

*Crack!*

The leader’s eyes nearly popped out in pain as he let out a scream: "Agh—!"

Seeing their boss being attacked, the thugs exchanged glances.

They decided to jump in and teach this omega-pretending-to-be-an-alpha a lesson.

The next second, the thugs surrounded Chu Mo.

Chu Mo had trained in MMA and boxing—he was stronger than your average alpha.

As the thugs lunged at him, he tossed his bag aside without a second thought and threw a sharp punch.

His fist shot out, instantly dislocating one thug’s jaw.

Screams rang out from the street corner.

But Chu Mo was still an omega. Without suppressants, taking on multiple alphas was wearing him down.

Just as one thug tried to sucker-punch him while he was distracted—

*Bang!*

Someone darted behind Chu Mo, lashing out with a flying kick straight to the thug’s chest.

Under the streetlight, the thug went flying several meters.

He collapsed to the ground, seeing stars, on the verge of blacking out.

Chu Mo whipped around in surprise to see the tall figure behind him.

The next moment, a familiar face came into focus.

Chu Mo’s eyes flew open—

"Xie Songchen?!"

The hell was he doing here??

Chu Mo didn’t want Xie Songchen to look down on him.

He scowled, voice icy, "I don’t need your help. I can handle these small-time punks..."

"I know you can," Xie Songchen deadpanned.

Chu Mo stiffened.

Before he could react, Xie Songchen had already wiped out the rest of the thugs in seconds.

The group fled in a panic, scrambling over each other.

Chu Mo stared at Xie Songchen's back shielding him, suddenly hit by a wave of familiarity.

The last time he'd felt this way was when shooting arrows.

Every time before Chu Mo took his shot, Xie Songchen would nail high scores first, giving Chu Mo room to miss.

Chu Mo couldn't quite put his finger on this feeling.

If he had to describe it...

Perhaps it was...

*A sense of security?*

Jesus—how could he possibly feel secure around Xie Songchen?

He couldn't go OOC.

"If you knew I could handle them," Chu Mo adopted his bossy alpha act, annoyance sharp in his tone, "then why did you interfere?"

Xie Songchen glanced at him.

Abruptly, Xie Songchen said:

"I didn't want to see their hands touch you."

Chu Mo's face scrunched in confusion—

The hell did that mean?

Just then.

Xie Songchen's gaze snagged on an unmarked black bag on the ground.

He bent down to pick it up.

Chu Mo's stomach dropped.

He moved to stop him, but it was too late.

Xie Songchen had already opened the bag.

Multiple boxes of omega suppressants spilled into view.

Uh, those—" Chu Mo put on a cool front, explaining with forced calm, "All these suppressants? They're for Chu Yun."

Xie Songchen said nothing.

Chu Mo couldn't tell if he'd bought it.

Xie Songchen paused. 'I didn't want to see their hands touch you."

Chu Mo looked at Xie Songchen.

He always felt that Chu Mo in the moonlight seemed distinctly different from usual.

Chu Mo noticed Xie Songchen's scrutinizing gaze and quickly lowered his head, using the shadow of his hat brim to cover his face.

At this moment, Xie Songchen's initial assumption suddenly flickered with doubt.

Not long ago, he had guessed that Chu Mo's inhibitors were intended for another omega. He even suspected that omega might be Chu Mo's partner.

But now, as Xie Songchen looked at this overflowing bag of inhibitors, a bold yet absurd thought suddenly struck him—

Could it be that Chu Mo—

might actually be an omega?!

—