Chapter 28: Day Twenty-Eight of Pretending to be A

Chapter 28: Faking Alpha – Day 28

Faking Alpha – Day 28

A hint of surprise flickered across Chu Mo's calm face.

He hadn’t expected the lost strong suppressants to wind up with Xie Songchen.

Chi Cheng’s eyes glared at the box in Xie Songchen’s grip.

Zhou Jingyan was just as shocked.

All three alphas were in disbelief—

Had Chu Mo been faking alpha all this time?!

If calculated from the time of differentiation, Chu Mo would have had to keep this up for at least nine years.

Zhou Jingyan’s first thought was: This can't be possible.

Xie Songchen shouldn’t have asked this question in front of Chi Cheng.

But Zhou Jingyan’s earlier words made him jealous.

He had always considered himself self-controlled.

Yet, when he heard that Chu Mo had helped an omega inject suppressants in a bathroom stall, he couldn’t suppress his jealousy.

Seeing Chu Mo remain silent, Xie Songchen's throat went dry.

His jaw tightened as he spoke. “What’s wrong? Afraid to answer?”

On the surface, Xie Songchen was confronting Chu Mo.

In reality, he was just as nervous.

He was afraid Chu Mo was an omega—it would mean Chu Mo had been deceiving him all along.

But he also feared Chu Mo wasn’t an omega, which would mean their relationship would stay impossible.

Either way, Xie Songchen’s emotions would be complicated.

The gazes of all three alphas were fixed on Chu Mo.

Chu Mo was on the verge of being exposed.

One wrong word, and his true gender could be revealed, his cover blown, with no way to return to his original world.

Chu Mo’s brain was working like a supercomputer, rapidly calculating his next move.

After a long pause—

“So you were the one who picked up these suppressants,” Chu Mo said, pretending to realize. “I searched everywhere for them.”

Xie Songchen frowned, narrowing his eyes. “Meaning?”

Chi Cheng blurted out, “You’re really an omega?”

Zhou Jingyan felt like he was dreaming.

"Actually, it's my first time buying inhibitors for him," Chu Mo said with a stony face, though his eyes held a flicker of embarrassment. He forced an aloof tone as he added, "I didn’t know the difference between strong inhibitors and regular ones. After buying them, I even got chewed out."

As soon as these words were spoken, the break room fell into a deafening silence.

Chu Mo’s statement was loaded with subtext.

The "him" he referred to was clearly an omega.

"Got chewed out" suggested that Chu Mo’s relationship with this omega was far from casual.

It was easy to jump to the conclusion that Chu Mo might be dating an omega.

Hearing Chu Mo’s answer, Chi Cheng felt like he’d been hit by a bolt.

He froze in place, his face a mix of shock, disbelief, and unchecked jealousy.

"Chu Mo, what do you mean by that?!" Chi Cheng shot back, unable to control his emotions. "Who is that omega?!"

Zhou Jingyan also looked surprised. He never expected the Chu Group heir, the top-dog alpha, to have such a soft side.

Deep down, he thought that omega was incredibly lucky to have met such a great alpha like President Chu.

Upon hearing this, Xie Songchen’s hand trembled slightly.

Outwardly, he kept his cool, his lips pressed thin.

But in reality, his fingers unconsciously tightened, mangling the box in his grip.

"P-President Chu..." Zhou Jingyan couldn’t help but ask, "Is that omega... your partner?"

The question Zhou Jingyan asked was also what Chi Cheng and Xie Songchen wanted to know.

All three of them waited for Chu Mo’s answer.

Chu Mo remained silent, and the thick atmosphere in the break room grew thick enough to choke on.

Chi Cheng held his breath, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white with tension.

Xie Songchen looked as if he were about to pulverize the box.

"As the Chu Group heir," Chu Mo raised an eyebrow, speaking with ice-cool composure, "I don’t answer to anyone about my private life."

On the surface, he kept his cool.

But in truth, Chu Mo’s palms were slick with sweat.

Green with envy, Chi Cheng couldn’t hold back. "Chu Mo, where’d you find the time to meet that omega? As the CEO of a company, how do you even have time to date an omega?!"

He had thought he could accept the fact that Chu Mo was a top-shelf alpha.

But hearing firsthand that Chu Mo had something going on with an omega sent a tidal wave of jealousy crashing through Chi Cheng’s heart.

Xie Songchen frowned deeply, his gaze drilling into Chu Mo.

Chu Mo didn’t understand why these two alphas were staring at him with such scorching intensity.

Wasn’t he, as a top-shelf alpha, allowed to have something going on with omegas?

Zhou Jingyan mused inwardly: Wait, so Chu—President Chu really is dating an omega!

Of course someone this exceptional would have a partner.

But for some reason, Zhou Jingyan felt a slight...

Letdown?

He couldn't name this feeling.

The atmosphere in the break room was tense.

To avoid further questioning, Chu Mo coldly left with a "Mind your own business."

Both Chi Cheng and Xie Songchen's faces darkened.

Zhou Jingyan observed their reactions and sensed something strange.

Why did they look like they'd just been dumped?

Weren't they Alphas?

After learning that Chu Mo might be dating an Omega,

Xie Songchen threw out all his previous theories about Chu Mo's orientation.

His mind was flooded with questions about Chu Mo's relationship: Who was that Omega? What did Chu Mo like about them? How far had their relationship progressed?

These thoughts left Xie Songchen too agitated to concentrate on work.

In the following days,

Xie Songchen was acting completely different.

Even Li Shuo noticed Xie Songchen's dropping productivity.

His mind was clearly elsewhere.

For instance, whenever Chu Mo was on a call, Xie Songchen would slip in with documents and linger until the call ended.

Or when Chu Mo texted during meetings, Xie Songchen would frown and study his face.

If Chu Mo smiled even slightly, Xie Songchen would automatically grip tighter on his cup, spilling some without realizing.

One day,

after bringing coffee to Chu Mo, Xie Songchen glanced at him.

Chu Mo was deep in his work.

Xie Songchen averted his gaze and was about to leave.

Then suddenly,

Chu Mo picked up his phone and looked at a WeChat.

Upon reading it, he couldn't help smiling.

Xie Songchen stopped dead.

He stole another glance at Chu Mo, searching for clues from his expression.

Just then.

"Let's have dinner together tonight."

Chu Mo pressed the voice message button and sent a bright, eager voice note.

Xie Songchen froze.

Chu Mo sent the message, then glanced up at Xie Songchen and asked casually, "Why are you still here? Is there something else?"

Xie Songchen remained silent.

After a beat, he feigned nonchalance and said, "I just remembered—I left a document here. I need to grab it."

Xie Songchen walked to the filing cabinet beside Chu Mo and made a show of looking for it.

But he kept stealing glances at Chu Mo, eavesdropping on his messages.

During this time, Chu Mo sent a few more voice notes.

"I miss you too."

"It’s been a while since we last had dinner together."

"..."

After sending the messages, Chu Mo looked at Xie Songchen.

He suddenly noticed that Xie Songchen was standing stiffly by the filing cabinet, his face unreadable.

The contents of the cabinet were in a complete mess from Xie Songchen’s searching.

"What, can’t find the file?" Chu Mo frowned, his voice sharp. "What’s with your incompetence? Can’t even find one damn file?"

His tone was night-and-day different from his earlier cheerful voice notes.

Xie Songchen paused.

Without looking at Chu Mo, he looked down and replied stiffly,

"...Can’t find it."

Somehow, Chu Mo got the impression that Xie Songchen had taken a serious hit.

Lately, Chu Mo had been smug about successfully concealing his gender.

But Xie Songchen had been off his game the entire time.

Chu Mo thought to himself—it seemed people’s feelings really don’t connect.

*Probably the main couple’s relationship was in trouble.*

At that moment, Xie Songchen looked at Chu Mo and asked casually, "You busy tonight?"

Chu Mo was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Xie Songchen to care about his personal life.

"What, since when do you care about my plans?" Chu Mo raised an eyebrow, his tone mocking. "Mind your own damn business. Watch it—keep this up and you’re fired."

Xie Songchen muttered an "Oh," then fell silent.

He left the office without a word.

Chu Mo glanced at his empty hands and couldn’t help but feel puzzled: Didn’t this guy say he was looking for a file? Why didn’t he take anything?

Evening.

As quitting time approached, the skies suddenly opened up.

After finishing an important email, Chu Mo got ready for his meeting.

The driver pulled up in his company car, waiting downstairs for him.

It had gotten colder lately.

Chu Mo put on his coat and stepped out of the office.

To his surprise, Xie Songchen, who usually worked overtime every day, wasn’t at his desk.

Chu Mo figured he’d left early for something.

Five minutes later.

Chu Mo arrived downstairs.

Outside, the rain was coming down harder.

As Chu Mo reached the entrance, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

Xie Songchen was standing by the entrance, dressed in a thin suit and shirt.

His hair was shiny with rainwater, accentuating his pale complexion.

His soaked shirt clung to his chest and collarbone, dark patches covering his shoulders.

When he saw Chu Mo, Xie Songchen seemed to hesitate.

"Xie Songchen?" Chu Mo asked, puzzled. "Why haven’t you gone home yet?"

Xie Songchen walked up to Chu Mo, looking down almost absently as he murmured quietly,

"I was on my way when it suddenly started raining heavily..."

Unlike his usual cool demeanor, Xie Songchen’s voice had a slight shiver from the cold.

The shiver was almost imperceptible, its owner doing his best to suppress it.

Chu Mo alone could detect it.

Chu Mo hesitated, then asked, "Didn’t you bring an umbrella?"

Raindrops trickled down Xie Songchen’s jawline, landing on his collar.

"I lent it to a colleague this morning," Xie Songchen said quietly, his throat moving slightly. "I’m without one."

Raindrops beaded on his lowered eyelashes.

Oddly enough.

A word that didn't suit Xie Songchen at all flashed through Chu Mo’s mind—

Vulnerability.

Chu Mo was startled by the thought.

Xie Songchen was a top alpha—how could he show such vulnerability in front of him?

It must be his imagination.

Unable to bring himself to speak too harshly, Chu Mo frowned and asked, "Then what do you plan to do now?"

Xie Songchen pursed his lips and looked up at Chu Mo.

His eyes showed a flicker of hope but quickly faded.

He lowered his head, watching the raindrops splashing on the ground.

"Forget it," he muttered, barely opening his lips, "You've got plans. I won't bother you."

Of course, Chu Mo couldn’t just leave Xie Songchen like this.

If Xie Songchen caught a cold from the rain, it would set back his career.

After a moment of silence, Chu Mo said,

"...Ride with me."

Xie Songchen stiffened.

A moment later, he looked at Chu Mo.

His face remained expressionless, but his tone carried a hint of suppressed delight: "Okay."

Chu Mo mentally raised an eyebrow.

Wait... Weren’t you just saying, "I won't bother you"?

Why so quick to accept?