Chapter 33: Day Thirty-Three of Pretending to be A

Chapter 33: Day 33 of Pretending to Be an Alpha

Before showing up, Chen Songxie made sure to tone down his look.

He’d gone for his plainest outfit—just a simple T-shirt, a baseball jacket, and jeans.

No earrings, no chains, not even his vape.

The only thing left was his slightly short hair, styled in an alpha-approved trendy haircut—a textured crop cut.

Chen Songxie thought to himself, *Do I look like an omega now or what?*

"How is he even an omega?!" Chi Cheng was sure Chu Mo had grabbed some rando alpha to mess with him. He kept eyeing the dude at the door like a suspect. "Chu Mo, are you kidding me?!"

Chi Cheng stood up and realized this so-called "omega" was almost as tall as him.

He was shook all over again. "He’s as tall as two omegas combined!"

Okay, sure, there *were* omegas who looked like alphas.

Chu Yun, for example.

But Chi Cheng had never seen an omega this tall, this alpha-ish in vibe, and this intimidating.

Chu Mo knew right then—the agency had screwed him over.

He was about to say, "Wrong place, buddy," when the supposed "omega" suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, sorry I’m late, husb—"

Chen Songxie nearly blurted out "boss."

He choked it back last second.

All three of them were staring daggers at him.

He *had* to nail this; otherwise, his paycheck could get slashed.

Chen Songxie gulped hard, his Adam’s apple jumping.

*Fuck it,* he thought.

The next second—

Chen Songxie clenched his fingers tightly, face totally blank, and dropped the cringe nickname:

"Hubby."

Chu Mo: "...”

Chi Cheng: "......"

Xie Songchen: "............"

Silence. Absolute fucking silence.

The moment those two words were spoken, the entire office felt like a massive mausoleum.

All three of them were floored.

Chu Mo was visibly shaken by the sight of this sharp-dressed guy with an edgy textured crop cut calling him "husband."

His eyes widened, and he almost questioned his own ears.

Or perhaps he was just dreaming?

Seeing Chu Mo's lack of reaction, Chen Songxie assumed he was dissatisfied.

So, he softened his deep voice to sound sweeter, trying to make it seem more "innocent."

Keeping eye contact with Chu Mo, Chen Songxie cautiously repeated:

"Husband?"

Before Chi Cheng could recover from the first "husband," he was hit by another shock.

Xie Songchen, a man known for his icy demeanor, rarely showed expressions of shock and disbelief.

By now.

Chu Mo silently stood up, looked at this "so-called partner," and responded with a heavy-hearted "Mn," adding:

"You're finally here... I've been waiting, Xiao Chen."

There was a barely perceptible shake in Chu Mo's voice.

He truly doubted the gender of the guy in front of him.

But he couldn’t just say it outright.

Then, Chi Cheng regained his composure.

Gnashing his teeth, he spoke up from the side: "Chu Mo, don't think this charade can fool me."

He walked up to the guy who had just called Chu Mo "husband" and said coldly:

"Every inch of him doesn’t read as omega!"

At that moment, Chen Songxie pulled out a secondary gender report from his pocket.

Handing it to Chi Cheng, he stated matter-of-factly, "I just don’t look like an omega, that’s all."

Chi Cheng took the presentation test results, opened it, and saw that it indeed indicated omega.

The matchmaking agency had anticipated Chen Songxie’s gender being questioned and helped him prepare these results.

Chi Cheng frowned, skeptical yet uncertain.

Then, Xie Songchen remarked offhand:

"So, that box of high-potency suppressants from before was yours?"

Chen Songxie blanked. "What...?"

Chu Mo tensed up immediately at those words.

If Chen Songxie lacked tact and accidentally said the wrong thing, all his hard work would go down the drain.

Chen Songxie noticed Chu Mo's gaze.

It looked like a silent plea for help.

He caught on right away.

"You mean the inhibitor found on my husband?" Chen Songxie said coolly, "Of course he was keeping it for me. What else?"

Chu Mo ignored the words "my husband" from Chen Songxie, and the knot in his stomach finally loosened.

Chi Cheng went rigid.

Worried the report might give them away, Chen Songxie reached out to take it back.

He had no idea what was between these two alphas and his "husband."

But it seemed they both had this weird... hostility toward him?

Why would these alphas have hostility toward him, an "omega"?

Chen Songxie kept dropping "husband" this and "husband" that, one word after another.

Chi Cheng's fingers clenched, the veins in his hand standing out.

Jealousy burned through him.

His jaw clenched, and he ground out with difficulty, his tone laced with sarcasm, "Jesus, what, do you not have hands or feet? You need someone else to keep your inhibitors for you?"

The sudden jab made Chen Songxie's brow furrow.

He glanced at Chi Cheng, then at Xie Songchen, whose icy gaze was fixed on him, and seemed to understand something.

At this point, seeing Chen Songxie playing along so well, Chu Mo spoke up to defend him, "Xiao Chen is usually busy with classes. I figured he might forget to take his inhibitors, so I kept them for him."

Then, Chu Mo turned to Chi Cheng, his tone stern:

"Chi Cheng, cut Xiao Chen some slack from now on, got it?"

He needed to sell their couple act properly.

Chu Mo had thought about using pet names for Xiao Chen.

But it would kill him to say it.

Chi Cheng looked at Chu Mo in disbelief, "You're seriously... taking his side over mine?"

"Like it's the most obvious thing in the world," Chu Mo replied, puzzled by Chi Cheng’s reaction, "Xiao Chen is the one I'm with. Why wouldn't I have his back instead of yours?"

Chen Songxie did a slight double-take at this.

He hadn't counted on Chu Mo committing to the role this hard.

Growing up, Chen Songxie had never been in a relationship.

No one had ever had his back like this before.

Every time there was a fight at school, the teachers never bothered to ask who was at fault.

Because they always assumed Chen Songxie was the troublemaker.

Chen Songxie just had that troublemaker look.

Hearing his 'hubby' say that, Chen Songxie felt he needed to step up his game.

Chen Songxie glanced at the two alphas beside him and could roughly guess that these two were into his 'hubby.'

Probably, as an alpha, Chu Mo was sick of their flirting and had enlisted him to act as a couple, just to shut them down.

Chen Songxie decided to have his 'hubby's' back.

He turned his gaze toward Chi Cheng.

"I always forget my heats, so he often holds onto my suppressants for me," Chen Songxie said casually, though his tone carried a hint of smugness. "I’ve told him he doesn’t need to, but he won’t listen…"

"Guess I’m just too careless."

As he spoke, Chen Songxie glanced at Chu Mo, the corners of his thin lips curling slightly.

His sharp, cold single-lidded eyes held a smug little glint.

Chu Mo blinked in surprise.

He hadn’t expected Chen Songxie’s acting to be this good!

Hearing this, Chi Cheng was seething with jealousy, his jaw clenched so tight it could crack.

His glare could have killed Chen Songxie on the spot.

After a long pause, Chi Cheng finally forced out a few words through gritted teeth:

"G-o-o-d f-o-r y-o-u."

The lame comeback fell flat.

Beside them, Xie Songchen’s face stayed blank.

Yet Chen Songxie still keenly noticed his fingers white-knuckling the A4 sheet.

The paper was practically shredded under Xie Songchen’s grip.

"Is this your secretary?" Chen Songxie asked Chu Mo.

After handling Chi Cheng, he turned his attention to Xie Songchen.

Chu Mo nodded.

He frowned slightly—why was Chen Songxie asking this?

Chen Songxie closed the distance in two strides, looming right in front of Xie Songchen.

Xie Songchen went still.

"I should really thank you," Chen Songxie said calmly, looking at him. "For looking after my... husband for me."

Crunch.

The faint sound of tearing paper filled the air.

Xie Songchen crushed the paper in his hands.

He froze for a moment, fighting to stay calm.

"...I'll go reprint this," Xie Songchen muttered, pressing his lips together before leaving the office.

Chu Mo noticed Xie Songchen's face had darkened.

He didn't get why Xie Songchen was upset by those words.

Seeing this, Chi Cheng took a deep breath.

He threw a jealous glare at the smug figure but couldn't do anything.

After all, Chi Cheng was an alpha, and this person was an omega.

Otherwise, Chi Cheng couldn't see what made this guy any better than him.

Chu Mo actually chose such a manipulative type as his partner.

And he barely even looked like an omega.

Before leaving, Chi Cheng sneered at Chu Mo:

"...So this is your taste!"

What terrible taste!

Chu Mo was completely confused—why was Chi Cheng making fun of who he dated?

What did it have to do with Chi Cheng?

After leaving Chu Group, Chi Cheng kept ranting in his head about Chu Mo's awful taste.

What did that omega even have going for him?

He might as well be an alpha!

Did Chu Mo actually prefer omegas who look like alphas?

The longer Chi Cheng dwelled on it, the angrier he became.

He was tall too, he had muscles too, and he was a real alpha.

Chu Mo had to be blind to scold him for that guy's sake.

No taste whatsoever!

In the printing room.

After leaving the office, Xie Songchen printed new copies.

He was his usual calm self, face unreadable.

His gaze could practically bore another hole through the freshly printed documents.

Xie Songchen clenched his jaw, his jawline tense, and stayed silent the whole time.

Finally, he couldn’t help but frown and mumble to himself:

"...What the hell does he see in him?"

His tone was laced with confusion,

and carried a sharp edge of bitterness.

In the office.

Chu Mo was very satisfied with Chen Songxie’s performance.

He asked Chen Songxie, "What’s your name? I’ll transfer the money to you."

Online transfers required real-name verification.

Chen Songxie hesitated for a moment before replying, "Just give me cash instead."

The agency had told him it was best not to reveal his name to others.

You never knew if the client might harass him after the roleplay ended.

But Chen Songxie doubted Chu Mo would do something like that.

Chu Mo nodded, understanding.

"Come with me downstairs," he said. "I’ll withdraw cash for you from the bank."

Chen Songxie nodded.

Ten minutes later.

Chu Mo took his card and brought Chen Songxie to the ATM downstairs.

Chen Songxie waited outside the ATM booth, his face masked.

Neither of them noticed someone watching nearby.

Zhou Jingyan was at headquarters today for a meeting.

The thought of seeing President Chu again lifted his spirits.

Whenever Zhou Jingyan practiced dancing, he’d always think of Chu Mo.

And every time he thought of Chu Mo, he pushed himself harder.

When his manager mentioned the meeting at the company today, he hurried over right away.

When Zhou Jingyan got downstairs,

he suddenly spotted Chu Mo with a tall guy.

Zhou Jingyan stiffened.

That guy... was clearly an alpha.

And it was someone Zhou Jingyan didn't know.

Zhou Jingyan was about to step forward to greet them when he saw Chu Mo taking the guy to the ATM.

Zhou Jingyan felt a twinge of confusion—what were these two doing?

With both puzzlement and curiosity, Zhou Jingyan hid around the corner.

He watched their every move.

Soon after, Chu Mo came out of the ATM booth after finishing withdrawing the money.

"Here," Chu Mo handed Xiao Chen a fat stack of cash and said, "Take it."

Chen Songxie was taken aback for a moment. "This much?"

Off-script, Xiao Chen seemed rather introverted.

He appeared to have never seen so much money before, handling the cash awkwardly.

"I told you, if you did a good job, I'd give you a bonus," Chu Mo said slowly, looking at Xiao Chen.

Zhou Jingyan watched from the side, completely lost.

What the hell kind of job pays this much?

Chen Songxie didn’t refuse either, as he was genuinely in need of money.

After accepting the cash, Chen Songxie looked at Chu Mo and asked seriously:

"Today, I called you 'husband' without your permission. Did it bother you?"

Chu Mo didn’t care about that at all.

He just wanted to clear up Chi Cheng and Xie Songchen's suspicions about him.

So he shook his head. "No, it doesn’t bother me."

Seeing how chill and generous this "husband" was, Chen Songxie said:

"If you need me again next time, I’ll give you a discount."

Zhou Jingyan, still hiding in the corner, had his eyes go wide.

Holy shit! What the hell was this?!

He stared at the tall guy, thinking to himself, This dude's actually an omega?

And he called Chu Mo "husband"??

Zhou Jingyan’s gaze swept over the fat stack of cash in the guy’s hand, and combined with their earlier conversation, a nasty thought arose in his mind—

Could it be… Chu Mo was supporting an omega?

Zhou Jingyan sucked in a breath.

Wait, so that omega wasn't actually with Chu Mo!

Having interacted with people in this business, Zhou Jingyan knew there was a lot of sketchy stuff going on.

He was used to seeing alphas with sugar babies.

Yet at this moment, Zhou Jingyan still felt genuinely shocked.

He never expected that Chu Mo, who usually came across as celibate and cold, would have a sugar omega.

Zhou Jingyan’s good mood instantly vanished.

He didn’t even know why he was so upset.

Zhou Jingyan thought: *President Chu shouldn’t be doing this.*

That’s something only fuckboys would do.

Zhou Jingyan frowned, carefully observing the "omega" being paid for.

This person didn’t look like an omega at all, and looked shady as hell.

And he was charging so much money.

Zhou Jingyan was genuinely worried that Chu Mo was getting played.

He glanced again at the boy’s tall stature, his ripped physique barely concealed by his T-shirt, and the gangster-ass scar on his temple…

*Jesus, what’s Chu Mo even getting out of this?*

As an alpha, could he actually enjoy having an omega like this?

The more Zhou Jingyan thought about it, the more he thought Chu Mo was getting ripped off.

*This guy isn’t worth half what he’s charging, is he?*

After Chu Mo walked Xiao Chen out,

he returned to the company and bumped into Zhou Jingyan on the first floor.

Chu Mo gave him a blank stare and said with zero warmth, "You’ve been coming here pretty often lately. With how hard you’re working, don’t crash and burn right out the gate."

Zhou Jingyan wasn’t even hearing Chu Mo’s words.

He frowned, hesitating as if wanting to say something.

After a long pause, Zhou Jingyan mustered his courage.

He spoke to Chu Mo, dead serious, "President Chu, I know you’re a good person..."

Chu Mo blinked in confusion. "The hell?"

*A good person?*

Why would Zhou Jingyan think he was a good person?

He was constantly shitting on Zhou Jingyan.

Before Chu Mo could process that,

Zhou Jingyan said, dead serious, "But you shouldn’t just throw money around."

*Throw money around?*

What do you mean, charity?

Zhou Jingyan gave Chu Mo a dead-serious look. "Watch out for scams."

Who’s scamming me?

Chu Mo gaped at Zhou Jingyan, no clue what he was on about.

After speaking, Zhou Jingyan walked away, weighed down.

He hoped President Chu would wake up soon and stop financially supporting an omega.

At the very least, he shouldn’t support an omega beneath him.

After Zhou Jingyan left,

Chu Mo grumbled under his breath, "Are these people’s brains wired weird or something…?"

These tops’ minds were a mystery to him.

Evening.

C-U.

Chen Songxie had made some cash today. After returning to school, he sent money back home.

After a beat, he opened the chat labeled "Boss" and wrote a formal thank-you:

"President Chu, thank you."

Chu Mo replied, "I should be thanking you today. You did great."

Chen Songxie typed, wanting to continue expressing his gratitude.

Somehow, he suddenly remembered calling Chu Mo "babe" earlier that day.

His fingers fumbled, botching the text.

A moment later, he nuked the whole message and exited the conversation.

Chen Songxie had initially thought calling an alpha "babe" would gross him out.

But after saying it today, he didn’t feel as repulsed as he’d imagined.

Chen Songxie couldn’t explain it.

Was it because Chu Mo had pretty-boy looks and a vibe that went beyond alpha/beta/omega?

Chen Songxie said nothing.

His roommate Xiao Wang, hearing that Chen Songxie had made money, exclaimed in surprise, "No way, Xie-ge, did you really whore yourself out to an alpha? He didn’t even realize you’re an alpha?"

Chen Songxie shook his head. "No."

"Then he didn’t take advantage of you or cop a feel?" Xiao Wang asked curiously.

Chen Songxie pursed his lips and said, "Alphas aren’t all creeps."

Xiao Wang paused, thrown off.

What’s gotten into this guy today?

Normally so laid-back, he doesn’t even respect teachers.

But today, of all days, he defended an alpha?

"You must’ve scored some serious cash," Xiao Wang slung an arm around Chen Songxie’s neck and said, "Tonight, drinks are on you, or we won’t let you off!"

Chen Songxie had a good relationship with his roommates.

He wore a resigned expression. "As if I could ever dodge getting ripped off by you."

That night,

At a bar near H University.

The bar had a fancy setup, mostly packed with students from the nearby colleges.

Especially those from C University and H University, who often came here.

In one of the booths.

Xie Songchen sat in the corner, his drink sitting mostly untouched.

He’d been glued to his phone.

Xie Songchen opened a chat, typed a few words, then immediately deleted them.

He clicked into the other person’s Moments and glanced at it.

Finding no updates, he exited again.

Over and over, stuck in the same loop.

The people sitting nearby were all Xie Songchen’s classmates.

Xie Songchen wasn’t much of a bar guy, so his presence today surprised everyone.

In a funk, the blaring music grated on him.

This scene wasn’t his thing.

But right now, the chaos was the only thing keeping his mind off things.

Beside him, some alpha buddy leaned in, raising his phone to take a photo with Xie Songchen.

"Xie’s a rare sight around here," the alpha said, moving closer to Xie Songchen while snapping the photo. "Word is you’re interning at some big-shot company—swamped, right?"

Xie Songchen barely glanced up, took a sip from his glass, and replied indifferently, "Could be worse."

After taking the photo, the alpha immediately sent it to Xie Songchen on WeChat. "Gotta snap a pic for the memories."

Xie ignored him.

He wasn’t up for chitchat or pics.

Xie Songchen picked up his phone and began mindlessly scrolling through his feed.

Still no updates from Chu Mo.

He didn't message him either.

- Not even work-related ones.

While waiting for a message, he idly tapped open the photo his friend had just sent him.

Under the dim lighting, his looks still really stood out.

His aloof look even looked more striking under the bar's lights.

However, he wasn't about to save the picture.

Just as he was about to close the chat, his eyes suddenly caught a figure in the top left corner.

He frowned.

He pinched to zoom in on the photo.

Then, his frown deepened.

In the photo, he saw an alpha with single eyelids, tall and lanky, with another alpha throwing an arm around his shoulder.

The picture was blurry.

But he could still recognize that the alpha with single eyelids was Chu Mo's partner—Xiao Chen.

He looked back over his shoulder.

Sure enough, he spotted the scarred omega.

- He was hanging out with a bunch of alphas.

Wait, isn't he an omega?

What's he doing here?!

And why is he getting so cozy with those alphas...

He clenched his fingers, his earlier disappointment now replaced with anger.

He was pissed for Chu Mo.

This omega named "Xiao Chen" already had someone as outstanding as Chu Mo, yet he was pulling this shit?!

Suddenly, he felt that Chu Mo was getting the short end of the stick.

This omega didn't even deserve Chu Mo's affection!

He clenched his jaw, seriously pissed off by Xiao Chen's actions.

At the same time.

Chu Mo had just finished showering and was in his study giving himself a suppressant shot.

His phone just vibrated.

Chu Mo wiped his hands dry and picked up his phone to see a message from Xie Songchen.

"Xie Songchen: [Image]"

Chu Mo opened the chat, and a photo filled the screen.

In the photo, Xie Songchen's stunningly handsome face was breathtaking.

Chu Mo was stunned—since when did this guy get so full of himself?

Just then, Chu Mo noticed that Xie Songchen had drawn a red circle in the top right corner of the photo.

Chu Mo zoomed in on the red circle...

His jaw dropped—it was Xiao Chen?!

A moment later, Chu Mo's phone vibrated a few more times.

Messages from Xie Songchen flooded in rapid succession.

"Xie Songchen: Talk about a coincidence."

"Xie Songchen: The first time I came to a bar, I bumped into your boyfriend."

"Xie Songchen: He’s surrounded by alphas."

"Xie Songchen: Seems like he knows his way around here."